Chapter 3

Dick and Wally were sitting in the lounge at Mount Justice playing video games, cheering, sending playful taunts each other's way, and occasionally jabbing at each other, all in good fun.

"Oh, how's that Mr. "I can think at the speed of sound!" Ha!" Dick taunted, finishing off Wally's character. He threw his arms in the air and cheered and Wally groaned, sinking off the couch in defeat. Wally was sitting on the couch, upside down, with his fet over the backrest and his top half dangling off the edge, staring at the screen.

"Shut up midget, next round is mine," Wally shot back with a grin. Dick laughed and stuck out his tongue.

"We'll see about that," Dick retorted, starting up another match. Wally shifted on the couch, changing his position to sit up right for the next match when he heard the zeta tube activating.

Recognized B06 - Red Arrow

Wally tossed down the controller and glanced back at Red Arrow, face lighting up with a huge grin. He hopped over the back of the couch, keeping himself in check, and walked over to him as calmly as possible. It had been a week since he and Roy had gotten together, but he hadn't told anyone yet. He didn't have the...courage...to tell them. And Roy was nothing but patience. 'Who you date is none of their business' and 'I can wait as long as you want', Roy would tell him.

Well, tonight, that was going to change. He was going to tell them, the whole team. But first...

"Hey, Roy, what's up?" Wally asked. Roy smirked slightly at him and before he could get an answer out, Wally wrapped his arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. Oh no, not good enough, Roy thought, mischievous grin tugging at his lips. One of his arms snaked around the speedster's waste and pulled him close, kissing him deeply, slipping his tongue into the boy's mouth. Wally blushed a bit but allowed the contact, moaning softly as theirs tongues met. The kiss only lasted for a handful of seconds, but damn, was it good. Roy was a really good kisser.

When the two redheads parted, they turned their attention of those present; Artemis, Connor, Kaldur, M'gann, Zatanna and Dick, who was kneeling on the couch and leaning over the backrest. They were all staring at him, eyes wide, mouths dropped, except, of course, M'gann.

"Wait...what...what the fuck is going on? Did you just kiss Roy?" Artemis asked dumbfounded. Wally realized then, that this was going to be fun. He grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah. He's my boyfriend. Why wouldn't I?" Artemis, Zatanna, Kaldur and Connor all exchanged confused glances. They couldn't believe what they'd just heard! That notorious skirt-chaser and flirt, Wally West had a boyfriend! Connor didn't seem as affected as the rest of them, and M'gann floated over to Wally and Roy and hugged them.

"I'm so happy for you two! Congratulations!" She said cheerily.

"Wait, you knew?" Artemis asked. M'gann turned on the spot and smiled sweetly.

"I did," she said simply. Wally took a few hesitant steps forward.

"So...you guys, er...what do you think? Are you...okay with this?" he asked. He didn't need their approval, but he wanted it; they were his friends. Of course, he didn't need to ask, because they all smiled at him and he knew the answer. Well, all but Connor, but he rarely ever smile, so, whatever.

"Of course. You are our friend, Wally," Kaldur said evenly, with a slight bow of his head.

Dick couldn't believe what he'd seen...and his heart couldn't believe what he'd just heard. The rest of the conversation had been drowned out by his own emotional turmoil; he could feel the tears pricking his eyes. All this time, he had a crush on both Wally and Roy, and all this time, he'd been struggling with how to choose between the two of them. Well, now he didn't have to worry about that. Because his two crushes were dating each other. And his heart shattered into a million pieces.

He wanted to cry because he;'d been so god damn stupid and cowardly. Instead of...choosing, he kept his feelings to himself and now he'd lost them both. They'd still be friends, sure, but...he wanted more than that. Roy and Wally were the only two people he'd ever felt any kind of...special connection with. And now they were dating each other, and his chances...well...

He felt a tear slide down his cheek as he buried his face in his arms, allowing himself a small moment of sorrow before he quickly collected himself and hopped up off the couch. It was fortunate he was such a good actor, to the degree that he could fool even Wally and Roy. But with all the emotions bubbling to the surface right now, it wouldn't be long before he broke. So his only chance was to make a break for it.

"Congrats you two, I'm really happy for you!" Dick said in a fake, cheery tone, but it was just good enough to be convincing. He made his way to the zeta tube and patted Wally on the shoulder.

"Listen, about the rematch, maybe another time. I gotta go. I promised Jason I'd train with him today, and I don't wanna blow him off. See you guys later," Dick said smoothly, not waiting for a reply. Zatanna, however, knew better; Dick was upset, and she only knew because he'd told her about his crushes on both Roy and Wally. She happened to glance over at M'gann and caught her smile falter; she'd obviously felt some of his anxiety, because her eyes followed after him as he left. But she wasn't sure what to do...

"Alright, see you dude," Wally called after him, then turned back to Roy.

"So...your place, Wednesday night, after school?" Wally asked with a smirk on his face. Roy grinned and gave a shrug.

"Hmm. Wednesday, I can do. It's a date."

Dick made for his room when he got back to the manor. He didn't say a word to anyone, not Jason, not Alfred, not even Bruce. He closed his door shut, flopped down on his bed curled into a ball, hugging his knees and burying his face in his arms. He couldn't recall a time in his life when he felt worse, not since his parents...

"God dammit," he murmured, when a knock came at the door. Couldn't people leave him alone to be miserable for a little while?

"Come in," Dick said smoothly, laying back on his bed and trying to look casual. It was Bruce, naturally. The man strode up to him and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked angry. But then again, that was sort of his default. He always looked angry, even when he was trying to convey a different emotion altogether.

"You're upset. Care to tell me what's wrong?" Bruce asked. Dick glanced up at him and shrugged, playing it cool, and answered "nothing's wrong. Why?" Bruce snorted, smirk tugging at his lips, and shook his head in amusement.

"Dick, I can tell when something is wrong. I have known you for six years," Bruce said patiently. Dick frowned and then curled up into a ball again.

"Nothing's wrong. So you can leave me alone now."

"I'll venture a guess and say that Wallace doesn't return your feelings?" Bruce answered. Try as he might to conceal his reaction, Bruce caught the slight blush and the, brief, shocked look on his face.

"Th-that has nothing to do with it," Dick lied, but he knew then that that stutter would surely have given him away. Still, he could hope to get away with it, right? Bruce chuckled in amusement, shaking his head and sitting down on the edge of Dick's bed.

"You're a poor liar, Dick. Well, at least when you're lying to me anyway." Dick huffed in annoyance and replied "yeah, fine. Wally's dating someone else. He's dating Roy." Bruce seemed a little surprised by that, which amused Dick a little bit. Bruce was rarely surprised.

"I see...well, that's surely...interesting," Bruce muttered. Indeed, Wally dating another boy wasn't something he had expected. Which was why it was so easy for him to guess what Dick was upset over.

Of course, Bruce only knew half the truth. There was a zero chance of him ever telling the man about his crush on Roy, for obvious reasons. Then again, he didn't want to talk about any of this right now. He'd much rather just be left alone. Fortunately, Bruce seemed to pick up on this because the man pushed himself up off of Dick's bed and made for the door.

"Well, when you're ready to talk, I'll be waiting to listen," Bruce said evenly. Dick glanced back at him and just gave a nod. When the door closed, he sighed deeply and flopped back onto the bed. Could this day get any worse?

While the rest of the team was out in the lounge watching movies, Wally was laying on his bed, in his room, feeling somewhat miserable. He was dating Roy, and that as great, because he loved Roy, but...he loved Dick too. It somehow didn't seem fair, didn't seem right, to date Roy when he had feelings for Dick. It almost felt like he was just stringing Roy along, and he didn't know what to do about that. He was conflicted.

He sat up and stared at the wall, trying to imagine what confessing to Dick would have been like. In every scenario, he was rejected, but there was never a scenario where they stopped being best friends, because Dick wasn't that petty. He would never stop being friends with him, just because he was bi. Or possibly gay. No, no, definitely bi, because he soon remembered he still very much liked girls.

But Dick was definitely straight. He and Zatanna still had a pretty strong relationship. Zatanna was a girl, obviously, so there was zero chance Dick could possibly have any romantic feelings toward him. That thought made him feel a little better, but not by much. He couldn't entirely shake off that feeling, that he was stringing Roy along. Because, despite the facts, he still thought about Dick in the same way he thought about Roy. It was so confusing and he didn't know what to do.

Maybe after a while of dating Roy, he could forget about his feelings for Dick, though he seriously doubted that for some reason. All he knew was that he was dating Roy but he loved Dick, and he felt like he was being unfair to his boyfriend. Beyond that, he couldn't find any answers, couldn't figure out what to do. He sighed in annoyance; emotions were such a pain in the ass sometimes.

Roy sighed and flopped down onto his couch. Another night of tracking down drug dealers and busting drug rings in Star City. Occasionally, he'd team up with his old mentor, but only when they crossed paths. Otherwise, he continued to strike out on his own.

Tonight, however, something else was weighing, heavily, on his mind; his relationship with Wally. He loved Wally, he really did and he was glad that they were finally together. The problem was, he felt like he was being unfair to the speedster, because he still held the same feelings for Dick.

But there were very good reasons that he couldn't be with Dick. For starters, the age gap; there was a five year difference between him and Dick. Dick was also a minor. Well, technically, Wally was too, but he'd be eighteen in a few months, and there was only a three year gap between them. Lastly, there was Bruce, a.k.a Batman. If Roy did decide to pursue a relationship with Dick, he was fairly certain that Batman would carve out his heart. Not that he'd have let that scare him away; he loved Dick, and would have gladly suffered Bruce's wrath to be with him.

Roy peeled off his mask and tossed it aside, flipping on the tv, to hopefully drown out his thoughts, but it wasn't that simple. He could still feel that guilt inside him. He didn't have anything to be guilty about, not really. It wasn't like he was cheating on Wally. But at the same time, he felt like he was being unfair; dating Wally while harboring feelings for someone else. That didn't seem fair at all.

Roy growled and scrubbed his face with his hands before he pushed himself up from the couch and went into the kitchen to make something to eat. Perhaps the simple task of cooking would help take his mind off of things. So he went about making some ramen, since he didn't really feel like cooking a big meal. That was usually reserved for special occasions. No, he felt like something quick and easy. Probably a mistake, because the very simple meal didn't grant him much reprieve from his previous train of thought.

Roy growled and trudged into the living room again, bowl of ramen in hand. He was feeling even worse now, because his thoughts began to wander in Dick's direction. He hated himself for it, because he was dating Wally. This was wrong...but he couldn't help but think of Dick's beautiful blue eyes, so full of life and joy, of how handsome he looked even as young as he was. He was going to grow up to be a lady killer, he could tell just from the look of him now. That thought amused him somewhat, because he was already dating Zatanna.

"God dammit," Roy cursed under his breath, face palming. Why did emotions have to be so god damn difficult? He wasn't sure what to do, because it felt wrong for him to think about Dick so romantically, while dating Wally, but he loved Wally, so that would be enough, right? Roy huffed in annoyance, but he also felt sad again...because he soon realized that he loved Dick just as much as he loved Wally.

"Fuck," he muttered, sinking into the couch. He was happy with Wally though, so maybe...maybe he could forget about his feelings for Dick, with time. He didn't want to break up with Wally; he loved Wally. Fuck...