Remember before when Richard said that the little scene yesterday in the living room was his 20th least favorite moment in his life? Well, this moment, when he woke up from a very comfortable sleep—this moment at 7:30 AM on Saturday was definitely in his top ten least favorite moments. Ironically Richard would also rank it in the top ten of his most favorite moments. You see it is in this moment that Richard realized that Wally West cuddled in his sleep. He shouldn't judge though since he himself was cuddling the plush elephant close to his chest.
The red head had an arm wrapped around his thin waist, hand placed precariously on the small of his back. Their legs tangled and Wally's face firmly planted in his dark hair. Richard had been laying her for what seemed like hours, but in actuality was only about fifteen minutes, relishing in the closeness. He took the time to look over the red head's sculpted slightly pale body; freckles sparsely littered the flawless skin. His blue eyes racked over the well-formed chest down to his well-defined six pack.
Richard breathed a heavy sigh when it became clear that it was way too hot to cuddle. He pushed the covers off of them and disentangled their legs. Slowly and carefully, as to not wake Wally, Dick slipped out of bed and out of the red heads comforting hold as well as leaving Zitka, and then out of the room. He walked toward the kitchen, a place his stomach was leading him. He hissed when his bare feet came into contact with the cold tiled floor. Wandering to the refrigerator he opened it and frowned at the sight.
There were at least eight different to-go boxes from different restaurants and hardly and real groceries; A bottle of ketchup, a carton of milk and a few rotten pieces of fruit. Dick's face blanched at the smell wafting from the fridge. Taking the plunge he grabbed a few to-go boxes and opened then. Sure enough they had gone bad—all of them. After going through and throwing away all of the Styrofoam containers and rotten pieces of fruit Wally was just down to milk and ketchup. Gulping he grabbed the carton of milk and opened it tentatively. Taking a sniff he sighed in relief when it didn't smell rancid.
Setting the carton down on the counter he walked to the cupboards and opened one and almost snorted. What Wally lacked in groceries he made up for in cereal. There were at least ten different boxes. "Bachelor chow." Dick snickered to himself. Grabbing the fruity pebbles, he set the box by the milk and journeyed to find a clean bowl. He ended up finding a clean bowl, as well as the rest of the clean dishes and silverware, in the dishwasher.
After pouring himself a bowl of fruity pebbles and putting the milk and cereal back in their respective places he sat on the couch in the living room and did what most teenagers do on Saturday morning; watch cartoons.
It wasn't till he was mostly done with his cereal that Wally wandered out of his room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He paused at the living room and looked at Dick, who was still only in his boxer briefs and t-shirt, sitting cross-legged on his sofa with a nearly empty bowl. "You know-" Richard started, breaking the awkward silence, "You have no food in your fridge."
"No way, I have a bunch of food in there!" Wally raised a red eyebrow and ventured into the kitchen, wincing when his feet came into contact with the cold tiled floor, and dashed to the fridge. Dick gave him an incredulous look as he watched the half-naked man run to the fridge and pull open the door. Wally's face blanched when he saw that Richard was right.
"If you're talking about all those food containers I threw them out." The ebony haired boy called out, his attention turning back to the T.V. and his cartoons.
"You did what!?"
"They were going bad Wally." Wally looked at Richard as if he had told him his puppy had died. "It had green fuzz all over it. I'm just glad your milk wasn't rancid.
"Ugh!" Wally groaned out over-dramatically and grabbed the milk and made himself a bowl of cereal then joined Dick on the couch with his bowl of crunch berries. They sat in silence watching Yu-Gi-Oh!, thighs pressed together.
"You do know—" Wally interrupted the cartoon and Richards's musings. "—since you're the one who threw my food out, you're coming grocery shopping with me." Wally said solemnly. Dick thought for a moment, finger tapping his chin.
"Fine." He said simply.
"Alright, let's go. I've already seen this episode a million times anyway." He motioned toward the cartoon. "You take a shower first, I'll go in after."
"Wait! I uh, don't have a change of clothes…" Dick stammered slightly at the thought of Wally in the shower. The both got up from the couch and headed toward Wally's room, the bathroom across the very short hallway.
"I'm sure I have something you can wear. Something I don't fit into anymore. So go! March!" He laughed as he shoved Dick into the bathroom.
"I need a towel!" The younger boy exclaimed. A large fluffy towel promptly slapped him in the face before the door was closed on him. Wally rushed into his room and into his closet, looking for something for Dick to wear. When his search came up empty he searched his drawers and also came up empty. The red head crossed his arms, thinking, trying to come up with a solution.
When Dick exited the shower he was mildly surprised to find some clothes sitting his towel he had left on the sink. After looking at the articles of clothing he concluded that he would be killing Wally-very soon.
Wally sat on his bed impatiently waiting for Dick to get out of the shower. He wasn't at all surprised that the boy took long showers but it had been closing in on thirty minutes! It was getting ridiculous. When Wally finally heard the creak of the door opening the red head rushed to the door and swung it the rest of the way open, causing Dick to nearly fall out of the steamy room.
After regaining his composure he glared up at Wally as the red head peered down at him. He had given Richard the same jeans he had worn yesterday and a pair of his old tighty-whities he had yet to throw away. He couldn't find a shirt that would fit the skinny boy so he gave him an old red shirt, slightly faded. It hung off of Richard's body leaving some of his shoulder exposed and even though it was a short sleeved shirt the sleeves came down to his elbows. The boy looked adorable with his hair matted down from the shower and the angry glare he was directing at Wally. Said red head was stifling a laugh which did not help the younger boy's mood.
"This thing is three sizes too big!" Richard exclaimed, arms in the air which caused the shirt to shift on his body, the opposite shoulder now exposed.
"It's the smallest thing I had…You're really scrawny. We may need to pick up some Wheaties for you." That particular comment earned him a fist to his gut. It didn't stop his fit of giggles though.
When Wally emerged from his quick, for Richard, shower he wandered into his room and paused for a second. Richard had shed the oversized shirt and, after rummaging through Wally's stuff apparently, was wearing Wally's old letterman jacket from Central High school. It's still too big on the boy's small frame but when it's buttoned up all the way his shoulder isn't exposed. Wally gawked for a second before pushing the thought that comes to his head and readjusting the towel around his waist. Dick is far too young and innocent to know what he's doing.
"Uh… I see you sound my high school jacket." Wally trailed off. Richard crossed his arms.
"It's better than the giant shirt you wanted me to wear."
"I…don't think that's a good idea." Wally smiled weakly. Richard rolled his eyes before walking passed Wally so the red head can get dressed.
It doesn't take long for them to get to the grocery store in Wally's car as it's just half a mile down the road. With half of the shopping cart full of food, mostly junk food and snacks—Richard notices—they finally make it to the bread isle. "There isn't one veggie in this cart." Richard says as Wally is grabbing a loaf of bread. The red head makes a face and Richard rolls his eyes. "They're good for you." Dick reasons.
"Fine!" Wally shines much like a child would, it causes Dick to chuckle.
"I'll go get some, you go get the peanut butter and jelly."
"You got it boss!" The redhead salutes. Richard walks out of the bread isle and over to where the fruits and vegetable would be. After browsing and picking up a stock of broccoli a voice interrupts his thoughts.
"Richard, is that you?" Richard turns around and nearly drops the vegetable he's holding when he's pulled into a sudden hug.
"Zatanna?" his eyes widen slightly when he pulls back from the hug.
"Hey Richard. It's been a while!"
"How come you didn't tell me you were back from Vegas?" He smiled at her, she returned it.
"I've only been back for a week, chill. It's been kind of hectic."
"Are you coming back to school?"
"Of course; just filling out paperwork and waiting for files and transcripts to come over. I should be good to go in a week or two." She said excitedly. "By the way…" She gave the younger boy a devious grin. "Whose jacket? I'm pretty sure they don't hand those out for mathletes. Has my little Richard gotten another boyfriend? It's about time you got over Jason if you ask me." Dicks face lit up with a dark blush that reached his ears.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Dick half shouted.
"Who's not your boyfriend?" Dick made a sound something akin to a squeak. He turned around and spotted Wally with their shopping cart giving the two a curious look. Well he was giving Zatanna a curious look.
"Wally, uh—this is Zatanna. She's an old friend of mine."
"Hey-a" The red head greeted her halfheartedly.
"Another red head?" Zatanna gave Richard a weird look; something between amusement and curiosity.
"Another…red head?" Wally asked cautiously.
"Yeah, Richard's last boyfrie—" She was cut off by a hand that covered her mouth.
"Last boyfriend?" The red head looked at the younger boy as if asking him to fill in some blanks.
"Thanks Zee. Wally didn't know that I was gay."
"I thought you already came out of the closet." Hey brow knit together looking between Dick and Wally.
"I did, it's just that…"
"Richard," Wally began. "You know I'm okay with you being gay right. I may be from a small town in Kansas but I'm…pretty open minded. Plus I already had an inkling you may be gay." He shrugged and offered Dick a lopsided smile.
"You…what? You knew?" Dick's blush was starting to rear its ugly head. Zatanna looked between the two boys suddenly having the feeling of being the third wheel. Being the good friend she was, she knew Dick needed a moment with his new friend even though her inner gossip was screaming for her to stay.
"Well, I'm going to let you two talk. I need to find my little brother Zack before he gets in trouble. Dick I'll call you later." She waved and walked off.
"Oh, uh, good bye Zatanna." Wally called out.
"Call me Zee." She shouted back. Wally's green eyes wandered back to Dick who stood there still as a statue, not really sure what to say.
"Uh…Dick?"
"How come you didn't say anything?" Was Dick's response. Wally shrugged.
"I just thought you would tell me when you were ready."
"Ah…well…I didn't think I was being that obvious." Dick said eyes downcast. This was incredibly embarrassing.
"Don't sweat it okay." Dick nodded and started toward the registers to pay for all the groceries. Wally, incredibly enough, stayed quiet while Dick thought. He kept a watchful eye on him, watching for him to eventually relax. After they had bought the food and headed out the door, where they again spotted Zatanna only this time dragging a boy who looked about seven, out of the store; they entered Wallys car, food all put away in the trunk, and began the journey home.
The red head made sure to drive extra slow, which didn't go unnoticed by Dick. "So…" Wally finally broke the silence. He could be patient but awkward silence bugged the hell out of him. "Who's your ex?" He immediately regretted the question when Dick visibly tensed. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want…" He trailed off, glancing to his companion then quickly back at the road.
"No, it's better if I just…get it off my chest I guess. No use brooding." Dick relaxed. "His name's Jason. We were together for about six months before I…broke it off."
"Why did you break it off? Six months down the drain…"
"I..He…" Dick paused to try and find the right words. "He wasn't with me because he liked me. Or maybe that's how it started…but…in the end of it all, all he wanted from me…was my body. He wanted me to have sex with him and I…I didn't think I was ready. The first time he took it well but he would just…ask again a week or two later. And he kept getting more forceful each time and angrier every time I said no. Eventually he got really physical with me and I thought, he was g-going to—" Dick trembled as the words refused to leave his mouth.
Wally pulled the car over; ignoring the honks he received from the guy he had to cut off. He turned to look at Dick who had a tear streaming down his cheek. He unbuckled both of their seatbelts and pulled Dick into a tight hug. Dick's trembles got stronger.
"Did he…?" Wally asked through gritted teeth.
"No…I thought he was but I…I couldn't deal with that. I was getting so scared every time we would be together. I –I had to end it. I couldn't…" Tears streamed freely from his eyes.
"It's okay." Wally murmured rubbing the younger boys back soothingly. "You're fine now Dick." They stayed like that for a while. Dick half in Wally's lap, legs still on the passenger's side. Even when it started to get uncomfortable Dick didn't say anything. "Did you tell anyone? Your dad? Your friends? I'm sure Arty would have kicked his ass."
"No…I don't know why I didn't, I guess I thought I was being a bad boyfriend. Like I was supposed to…"
"No Dick, you shouldn't be forced into anything you don't want to do."
"I know that now." He smiled, peering up at the red head as he wiped away the tears. "You know…you're the only one I've told this to." Wally's eyes widened at the statement. All he could think of was, why? Why hadn't the younger boy not gone for help, not told anyone about what was going on? His musings were halted when Richards phone went off in his pocket. Retrieving his phone he looked at the new text message he received from Alfred. Wally was surprised the old man knew how to work a cell phone. The message read "Your presence has been requested by Master Bruce."
"You uh, want me to take you home?" Wally asked as he read the message over Dick's shoulder.
"Yeah. My stuffs at your place though."
"I'll bring it to you tomorrow." Dick nodded and returned to his seat. The drive to the mansion was a quiet and tense one.
Later that night Wally lay awake on his bed looking up at the ceiling. He sighed loudly as he turned to his side and spotted Zitka. Grabbing the plush be brought it into a tight embrace. He couldn't help but notice it smelled like Richard.
Okay so, I'm sorry that this was late. I had it almost done a week or two ago and when I sat down to finish it the document mysteriously disappeared. I was very upset and I couldn't bring myself to re-write the whole thing. That is until I sad down and just slogged through it. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't that great(I don't feel that it is) but that's only because I was really turned off from it because I had to type it up again from memory.
AN ONE!: Okay the first thing I want to say is that Jason Todd is, in the comics, a red head (I'm not sure after the reboot). He only dyes his hair to look like Dick as to not rouse suspicion when he took the mantle of robin.(Batman and Robin Reborn Vol. 1)
AN TWO!: I had a really tough time deciding whether or not Dicks ex would be Roy or Jason. But for what I want with the plot I think Jason is a better fit. And since this is AU I can make Jason older or in this case the same age as Artemis and Megan.
AN THREE!: If you didn't know, Zatanna has a younger cousin name Zachary.