When Wally woke up, it was quiet. There was a soft breeze coming in from an open window, the curtains gently moving with it until they settled again.

Outside he could hear birds chirping, telling him a tree couldn't be too far off, as the singing remained a constant volume.

He blinked once, twice, as he took in the ceiling above him, his body sinking even more into the soft bed. His limbs were heavy but not in an unbearable way. Rather, as if he had rounded the world often enough to tire himself out.

Turning his head to look at the moving curtains, Wally watched them for a few seconds before he pushed himself up into a sitting position. One hand immediately went up to his chest, a soft gasp escaping.

So that was still sore, figures. Traveling twice with his own powers seemed to have really taken its toll.

He looked down to the device around his wrist. Sitting up straighter, one leg out of the bed, Wally let his other hand hover over the device, needing a moment to remember where Batman had started the sequence. He moved to start twice but stopped right before touching the metal, unsure if that was the right one.

"Focus, West," he murmured to himself. He stared at it two more seconds before he started the sequence without overthinking it. His fingers taped several places until suddenly, the device clicked open and fell from his hand into his lap.

There was a red, angry burn around his wrist, but it was already changing colors in some places.

His first instinct after that was blowing up the device but he refrained. It was probably for the best to not do that in Wayne Manor. A controlled explosion somewhere open would be better, just in case this thing really went off on him.

Instead, he put it on the nightstand beside the bed, making sure it was in the center and couldn't fall off and vanish somewhere.

Happy about being free from it, Wally sat at the edge of the bed, both legs dangling out and touching the cold floor.

There really should be a carpet for his feet.

He closed his eyes to bask in the quiet and calm. Something that rarely happened for him, but knowing he was back, that was an overwhelming feeling that he liked to keep for just a second longer.

He opened his eyes when the door to the room opened and Alfred entered, tray in hand, only for Alfred to stop when he saw that Wally was up.

"Master Wallace," Alfred said and immediately went over to him to put the tray on the end of the bed. "It's good to see you awake. We weren't sure how long you would be out of it."

Wally could only offer a silly smile.

Seeing Alfred and his reaction only confirmed that he had made it home, excitement and relief settling even more within him.

"It's good to be back," Wally said and made a surprised noise when Alfred actually bent and hugged him. Wally gladly hugged him back, face flushed happily. "You're too nice, Alfred."

Alfred let go of him and straightened his jacket. "There is no such thing for the people I care about," he replied easily and went to pick up the tray again.

Right then Tim came through the door as well, looking as if he had just jumped out of bed but hadn't slept at all. "Wallace!," he more or less shouted. "We're never going out alone again!" But Tim was grinning as he came over to Wally as well, Bruce trailing into the room after him.

Bruce looked exhausted as well. Sleep must have been a rare thing for them since Wally had disappeared.

Wally huffed out some air, feeling uselessly guilty, and looked at Tim. "It's not like I deliberately did that. You can't just ban me from one-on-one time forever."

"Ha, watch me!" Suddenly, the grin morphed in a way that promised trouble. "But enough of that. Let your capable unit pass through. He missed you the most!"

What? Silence reigned in the room, until suddenly, it dawned on Wally and his face turned rapidly red. He distinctly remembered such a thought. "I didn't say that out loud…"

The giddy look on Tim's face told a different story.

"Unfortunately, you did," signed Bruce and stepped closer to sit down beside Wally. He put an arm around Wally to pull him close and kissed him on the temple.

"I already told Dick. I'm sure he changed his contact for Bruce," Tim said in a way that left the 'like I did' unspoken. "After that big scare, it's the perfect start for your redemption."

Wally groaned. "I told you, it wasn't my fault."

The arm around his shoulders tightened while Alfred cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him.

"I believe Master Wallace should eat something. Then you may harass him further."

"Alfred!," Wally whined while both Bruce and Tim agreed.

"Eat first, then tell us what happened," Bruce said with another kiss to Wally's temple. He got up first before pulling Wally to his feet.

They relocated to the kitchen where Alfred had started to prepare a few meals since Wally's arrival. Take out was there as well, making Wally have to fight some tears from feeling so loved. It was stupid. It was just food.

Thankfully, no one said anything. Instead, all of them sat down, Tim and Alfred occasionally got up to bring more food, and listened while Wally explained in between meals what had happened, rather than wait until he was done.

He explained arriving back home, of meeting his friends and discovering the lie Batman had told the others. About the struggle to get back home to this dimension and how he managed in the end. Especially with Diana's and J'onn's help.

"And that device?," Bruce suddenly asked, glancing at Wally's wrist. "You had it when we found you."

Wally nodded while leaning back in his chair. He hadn't even realized that Bruce had put his arm over the back of the chair. Wally found the unwillingness to be too far away from him quite endearing. He felt the same as well. "Batman showed me how to take it off. When I woke up, that's the first thing I did. He said it had only one charge to start by itself but I didn't want to take any chances. It's on the nightstand beside the bed." One of his elbows went on the table, so that he could lean his head against his fist. "I will destroy it the first chance I can. While I told Batman that I'd endure the pain ten times over… I'd rather not."

The arm behind him moved as Bruce briefly held Wally's shoulder and then took his free hand into his. "Will you let me take a look at it? With you present, of course."

Wally glanced at Bruce before nodding. He had anticipated something along the lines, but at least Bruce wasn't making a secret out of it. He squeezed Bruce's hand briefly before glancing at the others. "And what exactly happened on your end? It probably wasn't fun."

Tim and Bruce exchanged a look, before Tim focused on him again. Bruce probably too, but Wally wasn't really looking.

Tim cleared his throat. "The Flash showed up."

"What?"

"The second you disappeared, causing a bit of chaos on the main street because people thought it could be a bomb, Flash showed up. He actually held Faro in place until Robin showed up, in broad daylight. At first I didn't even know what had happened or that you were involved. But Flash explained that there had been a spike in the…Speed Force, I believe?" Wally nodded as Tim went on, "Unfortunately, he still couldn't really tell us what to do."

Both of Wally's eyebrows went up as he sat up straight again. "Wait, you asked Flash for help?"

"He was already there," Bruce said as if that wasn't a big deal. "Not that I like having meta humans suddenly show up, but he was still our best bet."

"Flash also wants to meet you. Something about Speedsters sticking together, " Tim added with a slight grin.

"Me? Uh…" Of course, Wally would want to meet the other as well. But seeing how Bruce didn't really want too much attention-

A tighter grip on his hand drew his attention to Bruce. "Maybe not in Gotham. But do what you feel is right." Bruce even smiled at him and Wally gladly echoed it.

"Alright. That's simple enough to do. Only…you said he showed up right as I vanished. Shouldn't he have been there when I came back then too?" Then again, he had been so out of it, he didn't even remember Tim being there. Only Bruce?

Tim shook his head. "We told him we had it under control."

"Huh? You had what under control?" They didn't even know how to get him back. Had they been bluffing just so Flash would go away?

Bruce cleared his throat. "The surveillance. Barbara knew the second you showed up again. Actually, a bit earlier, even before the readings spiked."

Wally rolled his eyes, Bruce didn't even sound apologetic about it. Figures. He blew some air out of his nose, trying to hide a laugh. This family was somehow ridiculous and scary smart at the same time.

He loved every moment of being with them.

They continued to talk a bit more, even after all the food was gone until everyone decided to finally retire despite it being 1pm. Seeing the bags under the others' eyes, Wally couldn't fault them for it.

Bruce wished Tim and Alfred some well rest before he led Wally by the hand through the hallways towards his bedroom.

There, Bruce fell down on his giant bed. His head didn't even reach the pillow.

Wally shook out his hand after Bruce's possessive grip was gone, and laughed quietly at the sight. He was beckoned into the bed by a tired grunt and a waving hand, so natural all he could do was follow suit.

He crawled up beside Bruce and flopped down where he was pulled into an embrace not a moment later.

Wally felt Bruce kiss the top of his head and sighed happily, his head underneath Bruce's chin.

"I was a bit afraid. Lots, actually," Wally said with a soft voice, the arms around him tightening.

Bruce made a low noise in his throat. "I as well. But I knew you wouldn't be easily kept away."

"Your faith in my stubbornness is astounding." There could have been so many what ifs. What if the device only had had one charge to work with? What if it simply wouldn't bring him back the way he came from? What if Batman had refused to be of any help at all? Bruce didn't have any means to find him. Not the way Batman in his old dimension had, after meeting Lord Batman.

"My faith is perfectly placed," Bruce said with an obvious smile in his voice, before he quietly breathed out.

Bruce was quiet but there was still one thing Wally needed to know.

"What is it?," Bruce asked in an almost-falling-asleep voice.

Wally couldn't keep the snort from escaping. "You're scary good at reading minds…but what happened to Faro? Flash detained him and then, what?"

"Robin took over." One of Bruce's hands started lazy circles between his shoulder blades. "The police were contacted as well, since everyone believed there had been a bomb. Thankfully there was no surveillance in that alley."

"Neat." It probably wasn't a coincidence either.

"Exactly. We didn't pin a bomb on him but he was brought in with quite a few charges. The system has to do the rest. As for what he saw about you. I'm not sure he truly understands what happened."

Wally took that in, quiet for a few seconds. Did that mean…? "So, he didn't link anything to my powers? He doesn't know who I am?"

He could feel Bruce shake his head. "No. There's no guarantee that he might recognize it in the future, but even so, I don't think he can draw the connection between the device that was used and your powers. For all intents and purposes, it was the device that did everything. Nothing more than that." This was followed by another kiss to Wally's head, the circles between his shoulder blades slowing.

Wally didn't know how to voice his relief at that. He hadn't been compromised! He didn't have to deal with the consequences of that. "I'm glad, " he murmured into Bruce's collarbone, his voice slightly wobbling in the face of his relief.

"Sleep now. Everything else can wait," Bruce said with a low voice, sleep already pulling on him.

Instead of replying, Wally simply tightened his arms around Bruce as well and settled for real sleep this time.

Having returned back for good only left fully integrating Wally into the society there. Surprisingly, or rather not since it was Bruce at work here, most of it was already done.

Not only was Wally a certified, existing person in this universe, he even came from Central City but had moved to Gotham apparently. Even his work certification was there, along with past experience that only needed a bit of tweaking since Bruce couldn't have known all of the details.

Staring at his documents, Wally couldn't wait to find a job of his own. Bruce had offered him something in Wayne Enterprises but Wally wanted to find something by himself first. He wouldn't want to appear as if Bruce just gave him a job because they were together, despite Bruce's assurance that he didn't care if people thought that.

Bruce and his confidence were something else. Wally admired it every second it showed up during these simple things.

Standing there on a roof, masked and ready for any crime, the cold air hitting his face, Wally smiled brightly at Batman being framed by the bright neon lights below.

Bats had taken him to the top of the Wayne Tower, dwarfing Gotham below them and opening the sky above them.

While Wally had never been a fan of heights, yet he couldn't help but feel the safest and happiest he had ever been up there with Bruce.

The city below them didn't seem asleep at all: cars constantly moving, neon signs trying to get people's attention, honking noises of impatient drivers.

It seemed like they might be in for a busy night.

Wally looked at Bats when the other turned to him and offered a big smile.

The corners of Batman's mouth moved as well, causing Wally's heart to skip a beat easily. "You're so handsome."

The cold wind up there couldn't mask the snort that followed. "It's the mask."

"Maybe," Wally laughed and stepped up beside Bats, offering his hand. "Maybe it's a bit more than that. The suit helps."

His hand was taken without hesitation and brought up to Bats mouth for a soft kiss on Wally's knuckles. The tenderness alone made Wally's insides feel warm and gooey. To think he was here, with the person who was meant for him and he in turn for Bruce. That thought hadn't gotten old so far, nor did any of the colors he kept rediscovering each night when the bright lights turned on.

He moved his hand a bit, pulling free from Bruce's hand and gently tapped the sharp nose of the other's cowl. "That leaves only one question," Wally grinned.

"Which is?"

"How the hell will I get down from here? Is there a staircase?"

Bats snorted. "You're ridiculous."