Chapter 26
Wally steps out of it an old phone booth, figuring arriving in the Batcave wouldn't be a great idea. How would he explain how he got into the house to Melinda? Thankfully the location isn't very far from the manor. This location though… It's… He shakes his head, ignoring the memory and starts walking toward the manor. Once there, he knocks on the door. He takes a couple of deep breaths, trying to relax. This is his best friend, he spends as much time with him as possible, they get along so well. What's he got to be nervous about?
The door opens, Melinda is the one opening it. She looks Wally up and down. He's wearing a dressy vest shirt and a silky button up, but is wearing a coat, he has black dress pants on. He waves a bit shyly.
"Hi, Mel." Wally greets.
"Hey! Come on in! He's just finishing up." Melinda says, stepping aside to let him in.
"Oh, uh, thanks!" He says happily, stepping inside. He's been in the manor many times, but he's still nervous and tense. Just because it's a date, doesn't mean he has anything to worry about! He doesn't need to fight to win him over.
Meanwhile, Dick is fixing up his outfit. He's wearing an open blue vest that's in a dark blue plaid pattern. The upper back is in a specific, flowery pattern. The ends in front come down a little longer than the rest as it's meant to be tied up, but he doesn't like it like that. He wears a long sleeve black undershirt that have a sort of fingerless glove-like style, but come down past the shoulders, so part of his shoulders are showing. He's wearing thick black leggings and tall dark boots that go mid-calf. Selina is helping with his rather unruly hair, making sure it's extra fluffy.
"Goodness, look at you! My beautiful boy!" Selina says happily, hugging him. He smiles widely. "That boy is gonna be speechless."
"Do you think he'll like the box?" Dick asks.
"I still have my whip if he doesn't!" Selina states, smiling mischievously.
"No whipping him…" Dick repeats himself from last night.
"No promises!" She places a hand on his back and they start for his bedroom door. Bruce is there, being as sneaky as always.
"Tracker?" Bruce asks. Dick holds up his watch. "Good. If anything happens, that button there on the side, hold it for a few seconds and I will get an alert on mine." He holds up his own watch. Dick nods in understands. "Are you sure you'll be warm enough in that? It's January…"
"I'll be fine. I don't get cold easy, remember?" Dick mentions. "Main thing is if anyone out there will recognize me as Dick Grayson… I'd rather a bunch of paparazzi didn't interrupt my date…"
"Most see you with your hair up, truly you look more feminine in that outfit." Bruce mentions. Dick blushes madly, looking down at himself, seeing what Bruce means… He even has tiny stud earrings in, blue of course. "That could work to your advantage."
"What's Wally gonna think…!" Dick whisper shouts, suddenly very nervous.
"He'll like it, I'm sure. You look cute." Bruce says, placing a reassuring hand on Dick's shoulder. "You'd look like you're going through an emo phase if you put on makeup."
"It's not a phase, dad!" Dick teases, smiling playfully. "Yours clearly wasn't."
"Pffff." Selina stifles a laugh. "He's got you dead bang there, Brucie." She jokes.
"Yea, yea." Bruce steps aside, letting the two walk through, following behind. Wally hears footsteps and sees his boyfriend coming down the stairs. He blushes a bit seeing him. He's never seen him dress like that, but to him it's pretty dang sexy.
"Wow…" Wally remarks, looking him up and down, looking into his eyes. Those beautifully deep, stormy eyes.
"Lookin' pretty sharp yourself!" Dick says, smiling widely. "Oh, I wanted to introduce you. Wally, this is Selina. Selina, this is Wally, my boyfriend." Wally nods, smiling, holding a hand out to her.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am!" Wally says happily.
"Pleasure is mine!" Selina says. "You seem quite the gentleman!" Their hands separate. "I trust you'll keep my little kitten safe."
"And you will bring him back before midnight, yes?" Bruce asks, firmly, sort of meaning he is expecting Dick to be home before midnight…
"Yes, sir!" Wally answers, probably a little too nervously. "A-And ma'am." Dick takes his hand, as if trying to help settle him. They turn around and head out, walking down the driveway. Wally does take a bit of a breath, relaxing a bit, but is also still just… tense. He feels like he could mess this up. "How're you feeling?"
"I feel ok. I'm happy to be doing normal things for once, not just… a bunch of other stuff, you know? I'm not in a hospital, I'm not fighting for my life. I'm just… existing right now. And it feels good." Dick explains.
"I know… I'm glad you're not at the hospital anymore, I'm glad you're doing better." Wally says.
"How've you been doing?" Dick asks.
"Better, talking to Dinah has helped a lot in dealing with things. She's also helped me understand my feelings for you better." He explains. "A lot of it is making more sense now."
"So, you're gonna stop being an idiot?" Dick teases.
"I promise nothing." Wally remarks, smirking. Dick giggles. Wally does stop, turning, having Dick turn to face him, looking at him, hands on his biceps. "Seriously though, I can't promise I won't mess up, that I won't make mistakes. But I can promise I'll do everything I can to show that you're loved, no matter what happens between us." A light blush forms on their cheeks as they look into each other's eyes. Wally's eyes narrow slightly and he leans in, soon closing the gap between them. Feeling Dick reciprocating the affection, he wraps an arm around his waist, pulling him close. Dick's arms reach up, wrapping around Wally's neck, pulling him closer as well. They soon pull away, opening their eyes to look at each other's again. "I'll never get tired of that…"
"Feeling the aster?" Dick asks softly.
"Feeling the aster." Wally answers, repeating, then kissing him again, caressing his cheek with his other hand, pulling away again. "We better get going before the movie starts." Dick nods and they continue on their way, using the Zeta teleporter hidden in a phone booth. Wally keeps Dick distracted so he doesn't think about what happened there as they head in, teleporting to Central City. They make their way through Wally's hometown. Dick marvels at it, it's so bright, clean and beautiful. The energy feels… safe…
"So, before we go too far, I actually have something for you." Dick says.
"Really? I… I have something for you too! You first." Wally says. "Since well, you brought it up first." Dick smiles, loving his boyfriend's adorkableness. Dick takes the small trinket box out of his vest pocket, holding it out to him. Wally's eyes widen, gently taking the little yellow box, seeing his hero symbol painted on top. "Wow… This… You painted this…?" Dick smiles wider and nods. "I really don't know what to say…" Wally says softly. "Now my present isn't even gonna compare…"
"Open it." Dick says. Wally does so, clicking the clasp and pulls the box open, seeing the tiger's eye gem necklace.
"Whoa…" Wally says. He pulls it out, seeing it's half a heart. "It's… beautiful…" Dick pulls out the lapis half from his pocket.
"I have the other half." He says, holding it up. "Think of it as like a promise ring, but, promise necklace!" Wally wastes no time placing the necklace around his neck. It sits comfortably on his collarbone. Dick places his own around his neck. "This was actually a bit of a surprise for both of us. Selina found out about our relationship and bought these for us, said one half is mine, the other is yours."
"I'll have to thank her when I bring you home. If she's still up." Wally mentions, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"Who do you think you're talking about?" Dick questions, brows knitting, smirking.
"Fair…" Wally says softly. Then, he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small box and holds it out to him. Dick takes it, opening it up, he sees a bright blue flower with a clip on it, there are some smaller flowers, bright red lilies. Dick looks at it curiously. "So… I thought, just because you're a guy doesn't mean I can't get you flowers." Wally says. He takes it and turns Dick's head slightly. It rests comfortably on his ear, designed to fit there. "They're synthetic, but feel real, I didn't want them dying on you." After it's affixed to his ear, he looks up at him, the red really makes his blue eyes pop. He takes Dick's hands up, holding them together with his own. "I know you're a guy and all… but you're so beautiful…" Dick can feel his heart race, blushing more, Wally moves one hand and gently brushes back some of his loose hair from his face. "I… I really love you… I don't know why it took so long for me to realize, but… Ever since we met, I knew there was something special about you… Something just… clicked…"
"I know what you mean… I… I felt like I'd known you forever… Like, talking to you was as easier as breathing…" Dick explains. "I… I love you too… So much…" Wally smiles softly and leans in, closing the gap between them, kissing him deeply once more. They separate, earning a slight whimper from the younger of the two, having wanted to keep going.
"You're like a needy puppy." Wally teases. "We really do need to get to that theatre though, before we miss the movie."
"Fine…" Dick agrees. They take each other's hands and start off toward the movie theatre, thankfully it's not too far from the secret Zeta teleporter. However… There's a few noises from behind them as they walk toward the ticket booth. Hecklers…
"Wow, freckle-face, got yourself a pretty little girlfriend, huh?" One teen says.
"Where'd you find her, the thrift store?" Another taunts. Wally rolls his eyes, ignoring them, but Dick is wary, tries not to make it obvious his guard's up.
"She looks like some goth chic, totally out of your league, ginger." A third teen comments. Wally can feel Dick's hand tighten, he does not like bullies, especially when someone else is being bullied. Wally gives him a reassuring hand-squeeze. Dick tries to relax.
"Two tickets to Tangled." Wally asks.
"Ok, that'll be 15 bucks." The attendant says. Wally removes his hand from Dick's to take out his wallet, but Dick is quicker, pulling out a very shiny platinum-styled card and handing it over.
"I got this one, love." Dick says happily.
"But, I asked you out, I'm supposed to be the one who pays…" Wally states.
"Think of it this way, you'll have more money for snacks." Dick mentions, smiling widely.
"Whoa…" The attendant says. "Bruce Wayne…? As in the Bruce Wayne?! I am holding Bruce Wayne's credit card…?!"
"Yep! I'm Richard Grayson, his ward and son, spending time in Central with my boyfriend." Dick is purposefully being loud and showboaty, smirking a bit. He moves up, kissing Wally's cheek happily, causing Wally to blush a little.
"Dude…" Wally mumbles, causing him to fidget a little. Dick glances at the bullies, seeing their gobsmacked faces. The obnoxious loser at Keystone High is dating Bruce Wayne's kid…? That's at least what Dick is thinking they're thinking. Dick giggles softly, looking up at Wally with his sweet, innocent blue eyes. "God, you're so cute…" The attendant hands the card back, then hands over the tickets.
"E-Enjoy your movie, gentlemen!" The attendant states happily, absolutely starstruck. Dick places the card back in his wallet and hands the tickets to Wally so Dick can adorably latch onto his arm while they go inside to get popcorn, candy, and drinks.
"What was all that about?" Wally asks, more just curious.
"To let those idiots know that you got yourself someone way up on the societal food chain. Small town boy being with one of the richest kids in the country? That should shut their mouths up." Dick remarks. "Do they bully you often?"
"Kind of… I usually just ignore them, but they've had their sights set on me for a bit now, since we came back from winter break." Wally explains.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Dick asks, worry in his eyes.
"Because you were dealing with your own thing, the whole court of owls problem, then you being kidnapped, twice, it just… never… You have so much else going on, I didn't want to add onto it." Wally explains. Dick gives his arm a light squeeze, understanding his reasoning.
"Ok… Just… Promise you'll talk to me if they or anyone else keeps bullying you from now on, ok? Even if I'm just an ear to listen. I want you to be ok." Dick says softly. "I know you know I understand what that's like." Wally nods, smiling a little.
"I promise, babe." Wally says softly. He kisses the top of his head affectionately. "What'd I do to deserve you?"
"Be at the right place at the right time, for once." Dick adds that last part to tease him. Wally laughs softly, then nuzzles him, causing Dick to smile widely and happily. He loves having his best friend here, he loves that his best friend is his boyfriend. They don't have to waste so much awkward time getting to know one another, they already know each other so well.
They go up to the counter and order their food, Wally letting Dick choose whatever he wants that'll be personally his to eat while Wally gets what he wants, and they get a large popcorn and soda to share. Wally hands the usher the tickets, the tickets are torn and the two halves are handed back. Dick takes his and plans to put it in his trinket box as a memory.
"You know, those bullies had really weak insults… I mean, seriously? The Thrift store? That the best they got? Sometimes you can find really good things at the thrift store!" Dick remarks.
"You're still thinking about that?" Wally asks.
"Well yea, no one gets to pick on my boyfriend! That's my job!" The young teen argues as they walk down to their movie. Wally laughs softly again.
"I find it adorable that you're so protective of me." Wally comments. "But you really don't have to worry about it, I promise it'll be ok! Speaking of bullies though, whatever happened with yours?"
"He's back at school, but Slade threatened him because he tried to hit me, but Slade grabbed his arm, scared the heck out of him." Dick explains. Wally sighs.
"Hopefully he'll back off, but I don't trust Slade one bit." Wally remarks. "I know you'll be careful, and I know you can handle yourself, but, that doesn't stop me from worrying about you."
"I know, but like you said, I'll be careful." Dick says. They enter the theatre, the previews are already playing, it's mostly empty as the majority of people who came to see it had come well before now, since it released in late November. This movie wasn't going to be here for much longer, but neither of them have seen it yet, they never had the time. So they find somewhere to sit to enjoy the movie.
Throughout, they whisper to each other about different scenes, laugh at a number of the scenes, especially being rather tickled when Flynn is fighting a sword wielding horse with a frying pan shouting that it's the weirdest thing he's ever done. Which, well, they've seen their share of weird.
"Need to tell Bruce to invest in a Bat-frying pan." Dick whispers softly, giggling, causing Wally to giggle, imagining the Dark Knight knocking the Joker out with a large chunk of cast iron… Complete with a bat symbol on the bottom of it. They absolutely love the song "I see the light" and they wanted to reach through the screen when Gothel showed up. The climax of the movie though, the two are holding hands, Dick being on the verge of tears as Eugene is dying and sacrifices being healed to save Rapunzel. It may just be a movie, but their love of movies and the suspension of disbelief they get into allows them to appreciate it that much more, especially as the movie ends and Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. Once the movie is over, they get up and leave the theatre, still holding hands, and throwing away their garbage.
"And at last I see the liiight, and it's like the fog has lifted!" Dick sings softly, giggling a bit.
"It still bewilders me how well you can sing, we've known each other for years and you never showed me." Wally remarks.
"It just never really came up. Singing has kind of been a personal thing for me." He explains.
"I get it." Wally says, he brings his arm up and wraps it around Dick's shoulders. "Are you hungry for dinner?"
"Yes!" Dick replies. They leave the theatre and go to a local burger place not too far away, with grease-bomb burgers, even greasier fries and delicious chocolate shakes.
"This isn't the classiest place, but I come here with my parents a lot. Especially when I was a kid." Wally explains, he holds the door open for Dick to walk in before entering himself.
"Hey, Wally!" The hostess greets. "Who's your friend?"
"Hey Nessa!" Wally greets back. "This is my boyfriend, Dick."
"Boyfriend! That's so cute!" She says happily. "I'll show you to a table." She grabs menus and napkin-wrapped silverware, leading them through the restaurant. She sets everything down and steps away so they can sit. It's a table with four chairs, allowing them to sit next to each other but still talk with ease. Dick notices the hostess walk away and whisper something to a waiter who soon comes over, he sets a special menu down.
"Welcome to Hals, my name is Jery, I'll be your server today. What can I get started for drinks?" Jery asks. Wally looks at Dick who is trying to decide, and find the part of the menu with drinks.
"Babe, you trust me?" Wally asks. Dick looks at him.
"Yea." Dick answers. Wally looks at Jery.
"Two chocolate shakes, and two of the Hal's special with onion rings." Wally tells the server.
"You got it, bud." Jery states, writing everything down. He then takes the menus and walks away.
"Chocolate shakes?" Dick asks.
"Yep! Best in town!" Wally explains. "Best in the world in my opinion. I would drink them for the rest of my life if I could!"
"Walls, you'd eat anything and everything." Dick teases. Wally sticks his tongue out playfully. Soon, two cups are set down on the table, filled to the brim with milkshake, topped with a bunch of whipped cream and a cherry. "Hey, dude, have you ever tried to tie a cherry stem in your mouth?"
"No, I haven't. Isn't that like a thing people do to see if they're a good kisser or not?" Wally asks.
"I've heard that too." Dick mentions. He takes the cherry off his milkshake eating it off the stem. "Race you?" Wally smirks, taking the cherry off his milkshake and eating the cherry. They hold out their hands as they each hold a stem, waiting to start their little race. They both pop in the cherry stem and move it around in their mouths to tie it, both are making weird faces and then Wally sticks his tongue out, showing the stem is tied first. Dick pouts a bit but sticks his tongue out after a few more seconds and shows that he's managed to tie his as well.
"I wim!" Wally blubbers out, still holding his tongue out. He takes the stem off and giggles as Dick takes his off, pouting some more. "Aww, who's a grumpy face!" Wally laughs a bit more. "Hey, you can't be good at everything."
"I'm still a better kisser." Dick argues.
"Not according to the cherry stems, babe." Wally's cheeks are starting to hurt from how much he was grinning. Dick lightly shoves his arm, which only slightly budges the speedster, and makes him giggle. Dick grabs the milkshake and starts trying to drink it, but it's still a bit too thick to actually drink. Soon though, the food comes out and is set on the table. Dick eyes it all curiously, not like any burger and onion rings he's ever seen, but it all looks so good…
"Anything else for you two right now?" Jery asks.
"I think I'm good. D?" Wally asks.
"Yep! Thank you!" Dick says sweetly, smiling. Jery nods and leaves them to eat. Dick glances at the waiter and sees he's talking to another server, kind of gesturing over to them. Dick's brows narrow a bit, but he turns his attention to the food. Wally's already started eating of course. Dick picks up his burger and takes a bite as well, the flavors meld together so well and dance across his tongue. He hums in satisfaction, taking more bites.
"Right?!" Wally says, mouth half full of food, having noticed Dick's enjoyment of the food. The petite teen scarfs the whole burger down before even really taking a full breath.
"I don't often get to eat burgers, and usually-" Dick pauses, letting a small air bubble release from his throat before it makes him burp unexpectedly. "Alfred makes them. I mean, Alfred makes good food, best food ever, but, there's something about this that is just, wow."
"I think it's more just the simplicity of it, it's greasy and responsible for majority of this town's heartburn issues, but it is dang delicious." Wally remarks. "You're not gonna get this sort of flavor from those fancy home made burgers."
"God, if I had more room in my stomach, I'd order another!" Dick states. He then reaches over and grabs an onion ring to try. The breading is flaky and crumbly, half of it trying to fall off the massive rings of grease-sodden onion, but it also just melds perfectly. And combine that with some ketchup, it adds a little more.
"Hand battered onion rings, by the way." Wally comments. They are nearly done with the onion rings when their server comes out with a small skillet with two large mounds of ice cream and hot fudge, nuts and two cherries, Dick doesn't even notice there's a big cookie under it until the tray is set down completely. His childish eyes stare at it with excitement.
"On the house, for the young couple." Jery says, smiling.
"Thanks, Jery!" Wally says excitedly. Jery nods, his smile broadening before stepping back, letting them enjoy the massive dessert.
"Oh, my stomach's in trouble…" Dick mumbles. He grabs one of the spoons, digging it in, the ice cream is so soft, but not too much, the cookie underneath is crispy, but not hard, it rips away easily and he takes the bite. Wally watches with bated breath to see what he thinks of it. Dick's eyes close, completely blissful. Wally giggles. "Dude, between the shake and this, I'll be lucky I don't end up in a massive sugar coma."
"I'm expecting you'll be hyper and giggly, if your twelfth birthday wasn't any indication." Wally teases, Dick grows red with embarrassment, remembering how he got so hyper from all the sugar that he did a handstand on the banister and then leaped off so high that he bumped into the chandelier, which Bruce had already replaced twice because of him. Then he proceeded to fall, on who else but Wally, who was trying to catch him. Neither were graceful in the slightest, but then they started laughing so hard, until Dick threw up… He ate too much candy and cake and ice cream for his tiny stomach to handle, and falling upset it.
Despite the rush of such a memory, Dick takes another bite of the cookie monster, Wally taking bites as well. It's so good that neither of them talk, just eat. Until…
"Hey, D." Wally calls. Dick looks up from the dessert,
"Ye-" He started to say, only for Wally to put his spoon in his mouth, feeding him playfully. That caused the younger teen to blush. He eats the bite of course. "Dude!" He shouts, but he laughs, licking his lips, then hums. It was the last bite from Wally's half too, so… Wally laughs at him though.
"I love making you blush." Wally comments. He takes a napkin and cleans off his face, having gotten ice cream and chocolate sauce all around his mouth. "You look like the Joker, you're so messy."
"If I'm the Joker, does that make you Harley?" Dick asks.
"Oh no, I could not rock pigtails." Wally answers.
"Yea, their relationship isn't healthy… I mean, ours probably isn't the best, but it's a hell of a lot better than theirs." Dick mentions. Wally licks his thumb to clean off his face easier, then places his hand on his cheek, Wally is staring into Dick's eyes, as if studying them. It causes Dick to start blushing more.
"To know you're mine, makes me feel like the luckiest, happiest guy in the world…" He gently strokes Dick's cheek. Dick lightly places his hand over Wally's, leaning into his touch, staring back longingly into Wally's beautiful emerald eyes. "Shall we go?"
"Huh?" Dick stirs, having been too entranced. "Oh uh, yea. I was basically done with the cookie anyway, I don't want to get sick, cut our date short, y'know?" Wally nods and smiles, grabbing Dick's arms and pulls him out of his seat. Wally pays at the front and they walk out, hand in hand. Could this day get any better?
As they walk to the park, they're quiet, just enjoying the peaceful energy. Things are calm, they're gentle, cool. Just being in each other's presence feels amazing. They do get to the park though, and there's not really anyone else there, it'll be closing soon probably, the play equipment for kids is already supposed to be shut down. Though, Wally and Dick continue to hold hands as they walk together.
"I basically grew up in this park, y'know? Played on the playset, family parties, but… You're the first date I brought here. Well… You're my first date period, but…" Wally trails off. He then sighs. "There's somewhere I want to show you. It's where I go when I just need to cool off from a long day of school, or just had a rough day in general. After New Years, I haven't been back there, I didn't feel like I deserved the beauty of it." Dick looks at him in cat-like curiosity. Wally pulls him along, entering a wooded path, completely encased by a tall canopy. Due to it being mid-January, there's no leaves on the trees, giving the path an eerie vibe, but that rush of adrenaline that both teens adore and crave. They also feel safe being side by side. Like no matter what is thrown at them, together they can handle anything.
"I bet this is beautiful in the fall." Dick says softly.
"It really is. So many different colors." Wally says back, just as soft. They enter a small clearing, there's some fallen trees, a small pond, a rock circle in the center, and further in is a massive, easily climbable tree.
"Wow…" Dick remarks, he looks around the clearing while Wally brings him further in, having him stand in the rock circle with him.
"If you stand right here and look up, you can see through the very center of the canopy." Wally says. "It's even prettier when it's a full moon." Dick looks up through the trees, seeing an almost perfect circle above.
"Whoa…" He mumbles, seeing so many stars, not as many as from the Watchtower, but still a lot more than in Gotham. There's too much pollution, light or otherwise. Dick smiles softly, singing again. "And at last I see the light, and it's like-"
"-The fog has lifted." He hears Wally join him, looking at him.
"And at last-" Wally sings, a bit off tune, but he's not too bad for not having really sung a lot.
"- I see the light." Dick rejoins his singing.
"And it's like the sky is new." Dick sings solo.
"And it's warm and real and bright." They sing together. "And the world has somehow shifted." Wally holds both of Dick's hands, doing the best he can since his right hand is in a rather thick cast. "All at once, everything is different, now that I see you. Now that I… seeeee-" Wally's voice breaks, unable to hold a long note,
"-youu-hooo." which makes Dick laugh as he sings the last bit alone. They both laugh and hug each other.
"You sounded like an owl there for a second." Wally comments.
"God, I hope not." Dick retorts. "You're not a bad singer, for a rookie? Really, not bad. More practice and I'm sure we could sing the whole song without your voice cracking."
Wally playfully glares, but he can't get rid of his smile. He then leans in, brushing some of his hair back like Eugene did with Rapunzel, but instead he actually kisses, nothing distracting him. Dick kisses him back. Wally does pull away, but only for a moment, lifting Dick's head lightly, wrapping the other around his waist to pull him closer, kissing him again, quick kisses that leave his mouth and travel to his jaw and then his neck, just kissing there for the moment, the unfamiliar affection sends a shiver down his spine, but it feels pleasant, and makes him blush vibrantly.
"Wall…" He gasps out. It makes Wally hold him tighter, his free hand starts to explore. Dick's heart is pounding like crazy in his chest. Wally moves his head back up, back toward his ear.
"You don't know how badly I want you…" Wally says softly. "It's one of my darkest secrets… And… part of why I denied you at first…" Both arms around Dick's hips now, holding him close to his body. "Because I want you to be innocent and pure forever…" He pulls back, but keeps him close, looking into those twinkling blue eyes. "I fear getting overzealous and taking advantage of your trust in me… Pushing you into something you're not ready for…"
"So… That's… the real reason…?" Dick asks softly.
"One of the big reasons… Another is that, I love you so much that the thought of losing our friendship would have destroyed me… I was content just being friends if it meant you'd be by my side for the rest of forever… But… I should have figured you'd have feelings for me too…" Wally says. "I didn't know anyone could like me… Especially the way you do…"
"I don't just like you, I love you…" Dick says. He lowers his gaze. "But… You're right… I'm… I'm not ready for that… Yet… One day, I'm sure, but…" He sighs softly, looking back at Wally's beautifully gleaming green eyes. "And I trust you that you won't push me until then… I trust you with my life every single day. I know you won't do anything I don't want…" Wally tears up a bit, bringing a hand up and placing it on his cheek, Dick leans into the touch, smiling softly.
"I appreciate the trust… I just hope it's not misguided, I can be kind of impulsive."
"You're a speedster with ADHD. Impulsive? You? Nah…" Dick teases, smiling widely. Wally chuckles softly. He places his hand on Dick's arm, feeling the slight tremble in his form.
"You're starting to feel cold." Wally says. He takes off his coat and places it around Dick's shoulders. It looks much bigger on him than it did on Wally. "Do you… Want to meet my parents?" Dick smiles up at him, nodding. "Awesome!" He takes Dick's hand and starts leading him away, out of the forest, headed for home.