The Truth of the Matter
Disclaimer: This is a purely fan-made piece that is using the world and characters from DC Comics, particularly from various Batman and Flash franchises, and is made entirely for enjoyment. No financial gain has been made in the making of this piece. All other situations and plot developments are mine.
Summary: Wally gets hit by a spell that was meant for Robin. It has unexpected results.
Author's Note: CONTANT WARNING: Non-descriptive abuse. Please keep in mind while reading and do what is best for your mental health. On a completely unrelated note, happy Flash Appreciation Day! Have you appreciated a Flash (Flush Man in Argentina) yet? Possible out-of-characterness and un-beta'd
Constructive criticism and comments are always welcomed.
Published: 11 February 2025
Rating: T
Wally's head throbbed. It didn't feel like a concussion (which was probably a good thing), but then that raised some questions—what had happened to him?
Since trying to remember only made his head hurt worse, Wally pried open his eyes enough so he could squint at his surroundings. Everything was blurry and painfully bright, and he snapped them shut again.
"He's waking up!" Someone yelled and Wally winced.
A smaller hand slid into his. "KF?" Somebody else said quietly.
Oh, that was Robin's voice and Wally felt all the tension run out of his body. If Robin was here, everything was fine. And since Rob sounded worried but not panicked, it meant whatever happened to Wally wasn't some massive deal.
The familiar warmth ran through Wally's veins, and for the first time ever, he didn't feel like pretending it wasn't there. Robin was—hands down, no questions asked, absolutely no contest—the best person Wally had ever met—and that included the Flash (sorry, Uncle Barry!). Robin was smart, he was gorgeous, he was loyal, he was funny, he was talented—it was no wonder Wally was desperately smitten with him.
Wally forced himself to open his eyes again and it took him a moment, but then his eyes focused, and he found Robin. He tried to smile as reassuringly and sexily as he could before croaking out something that vaguely resembled a flirty greeting.
Normally, Wally wasn't so forward with Robin. He usually tried to act like he was only into girls and he definitely did not feel any sort of deeply romantic inklings towards his best friend, but for some reason, it didn't seem like a good idea right now. Robin should be told how amazing and desirable he was, as often as possible. It was what Robin deserved.
He tried to say something to that effect, and only made rasping sounds instead.
"Can we get some water for him?" Robin called out and a few moments later, a cup with a straw was pressed into his free hand. "Can you sit up a little?" He asked Wally. "Or will you need some help?"
Arms shaking, Wally tried to push himself upright. He only got a few inches before his arms gave up and refused to lift him any higher, threatening to go out from under him and drop him back on his back.
The hand in his pulled away, but before he could mourn its loss or worry that he had been gripping it too hard, Robin tucked his now-free arm under Wally's shoulders and helped him sit up. A moment after that, the cup reappeared and Wally gratefully drank. When he finished, he let himself fall against Robin's side. "Thanks, babe," he mumbled, closing his eyes and soaking in Robin's warmth and familiar scent. Even though Wally hated magic and thought it was a pseudo-science at best, having Robin here was really nice.
Robin's shoulders tightened slightly as the endearment, but it softened after a second. "No prob." He shifted, but immediately stopped when Wally made a protesting sound and snuggled in closer.
"Kid Flash." Batman's voice cut through Wally's happy haze.
Reluctantly, Wally opened his eyes and peered blearily at the looming dark blob that was probably Batman. Normally, he'd pull away from Robin in the hopes that Batman wouldn't figure out Wally's attraction, but he didn't want to today. Instead, he stayed leaning up against Robin and he fumbled until he found that clever small hand again and curled his fingers around it gently. "Yeah?" He mumbled into Robin's soft skin.
There was a heavy pause, and then Batman bit out 'report'. There was another pause, then Batman added "and take your face out of Robin's neck."
Wally sighed and turned his head so it was resting on Robin's shoulder instead. He already missed how good Robin's neck smelled. Maybe later, after Batman and everyone else had left, Robin would be able to stay and cuddle. That sounded nice.
Wally cleared his throat. "Um, landed a little way from the disturbance site," he croaked out. He took another sip of water when Rob offered him the glass and made himself continue because the sooner he got through this, the sooner he could snuggle with Robin. "Aqualad broke us into smaller teams and my team was sent to the left perimeter. We were to find a clear path for Zatanna to get close enough to get a reading or something." He took another sip of water and squeezed Robin's hand gently to reassure him. "We got Zee in, but then this crazy lady with all these mud men showed up. She starts monologuing while the mud men start slinging everywhere. Something about secrets and coming out of the shadows and letting the world know the truth? I dunno, I didn't really pay attention once the mud started flying. But then she pointed that discount wand at Rob…" Wally didn't finish the thought because it was too much to bear. He clung to Robin's hand and resisted the urge to bury his face back into the warmth of Rob's neck; he felt Robin's fingers tighten around his and his heart fluttered. It didn't matter that he was about to get a lecture as soon as he finished giving Batman his report or that he'd probably have to be benched while he recovered from…whatever happened to him; what mattered was Robin was safe.
Batman made a slightly annoyed, impatient sound, reminding Wally of what he was doing. "Um, knocked Robin out of the way, and I don't remember much beyond that. We're all here, so we won, yeah?"
"That's not the point!" Robin snapped before Batman could start lecturing. "You shouldn't've—that was so—you could've—we don't know—ugh!"
Wally tilted his head so he could look at the side of Robin's gorgeous face. "'M sorry, babe, for making you worry," he said as gently as his raw throat would let him. "I'll try to be better in the future for you, okay? Forgive me?" He one hundred percent would push Robin out of the way again, but since doing things like that upset Robin and the whole point was to keep Robin safe and happy, Wally was going to have to figure something out.
Maybe if he got faster—
"Oh my god, stop making googly eyes at Robin!" Artemis's voice broke in, sounding irritated. "Seriously, none of us can leave until this debriefing's over until you've finished your report, so lay off flirting with your boyfriend and tell Batman what happened!"
"He's not—I'm not—we're not dating," Robin stuttered out, the pink in his cheeks from Wally's earlier apology and promise darkening into red. It hurt a little to hear Robin say that, but it was the truth. Wally could only hope that one day, it would come true, and he'd be allowed to spend the rest of his days by Robin's side. It probably wouldn't ever happen, because Rob had only talked about girls during their hangouts, but Wally could dream. Anyhow, if he couldn't be Robin's boyfriend, he could still be his best friend and stay in his life that way.
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Either way, wrap it up."
Wally gave Robin's hand another gentle squeeze as he shrugged. "That's all I've got."
"Hn," Batman grunted before anyone else could say anything. "You've been hit with some sort of spell. All Zatanna could tell us about it was it deeply rooted and had a couple of layers. You will stay here at the Mountain until Dr Fate or Constantine or Blood can be brought in to give us some more information and hopefully, remove it."
"Okay. Can I call my uncle so he can make my excuses to my parents?" It always was better when Uncle Barry told Wally's parents that he'd be late than it was when Wally did. Wally still might get punished by his father, but it usually was lesser if the transgression was perceived to be not on Wally's side.
Batman grunted again, and Wally took that as an affirmative. "Thanks." He finished off his water and fumbled for his cell with his free hand.
"The rest of you, dismissed," Batman barked before dramatically swirling off to do Batman-things.
Robin huffed after a moment and took Wally's mobile away from him when he nearly dropped it for the third time. He unlocked it. "Want me to shoot your uncle a text?"
Wally happily buried his face back into Robin's warm neck. "Yeah. Thanks, babe. You're the best."
"Not boyfriends, my ass!" Artemis's voice interrupted Wally's thoughts, reminding him they were not alone.
"Artemis," M'gann hissed.
"What?" Robin glanced up as he hit 'send'.
"You have Kid's phone's pass code!"
"Well, of course I do." Rob blinked. "It makes things easier. I don't have to hack into his phone then."
"Way easier," mumbled Wally, enjoying the fact Robin was letting him curl around him more.
"He doesn't share his phone with anyone!"
"Rob isn't 'anyone'," Wally pointed out. He took his phone when Robin handed it to him, and immediately dropped it somewhere on the bed so he could have his hand free to wrap around his smaller friend. He loved how Robin seemed to fit perfectly in his arms and he never wanted to let go.
Robin started slightly, but relaxed after a moment.
Artemis made a disgusted noise, but didn't say anything more on the subject.
There was a faint buzzing sound and Robin sighed. "Hey, KF, B is summoning me. I've got to go see what he needs."
Wally reluctantly unwound himself from Robin, but before Robin could pull away completely, Wally carefully caught Rob's face between his hands. He really wanted to gently kiss the younger teen, but that was probably too forward, and would freak Robin out.
Instead, he leaned their foreheads together and brushed the tip of his nose against Robin's. "Okay," he breathed into the quiet space between them and he heard Robin's breath hitch. "Good luck."
When Wally eased back a little bit later, Robin hadn't moved and his cheeks were rosy. He was still as a statue and only seemed to shake it off when his ear piece buzzed again. Slowly, almost mechanically, he helped ease Wally back down on the bed and he left the infirmary, face still dazed.
The moment the door shut behind him, M'gann let out a noise that was reminiscent of an overly-excited balloon releasing all its air. "Guys!" She breathed, doing a terrible job of keeping her voice down. "What if Wally was hit with a love spell?"
Artemis made a thoughtful sound. "And he fell for the first person he saw? Maybe. Could explain why Baywatch is being weirder than normal."
"It's not what happened." Conner's voice startled Wally; he didn't know he was there. "If it was something for the first thing he saw, it'd be me he'd be all over; he saw Robin second."
"Oh." It sounded like that deflated M'gann quite a bit.
Wally's head was still hurting a bit, so he closed his eyes. He missed Robin.
"Maybe it's a touch thing; he was touching Robin when he got hit," suggested M'gann.
"Huh, maybe."
Wally vaguely listened as the three debated what kind of spell he might be under, but he didn't contribute any thoughts of his own. Honestly, with the exception of the headache—which was receding, so it might have had something to do with him being dehydrated instead of spelled—he felt pretty normal. He wondered if it was a spell that had very specific conditions it needed before it activated, or if it was one that took time to come to fruition. Maybe he was a ticking time bomb. That was a worrying thought.
Wally's phone pinged, and reluctantly, he patted around the bed, looking for it. His stomach clenched when he found it and saw the message there. His father had told him that—in no uncertain terms—that he needed to be home in twenty minutes.
Damn it.
Wally knew Batman had said he had to stay until they figured the spell out, but if his father said he wanted Wally home in twenty minutes, it meant Wally had better be home in fifteen or else. Yes, it meant sneaking out and pissing off Batman, but the worst Batman would do to Wally was bench him for a month or two and not let him hang out with Robin for a weekend; Wally's father, on the other hand, would not be so lenient. Plus, Batman—rigid as he was—could listen to reason and on occasion, could even be forgiving if circumstances were extreme enough.
Wally sent a silent apology to Robin, and made himself sit upright and swing his legs over the edge of the bed. His head spun a little for a moment, but it settled enough that he was reasonably certain he'd be able to walk.
"What are you doing?" Artemis's accusing voice interrupted his concentration. "Batman said you had to stay put."
"I want to rest in a place that doesn't smell like antiseptic and Bats's disapproval." Wally tested himself by standing up. He tucked his phone into a pocket on his thigh.
Artemis paused. "Yeah, okay, that's fair."
"But should you be walking?" M'gann fretted.
"Don't worry, hot stuff, I'm fine." Wally flashed her a cocky grin and hoped he didn't overdo it. He also deliberately tried to empty his head as much as possible so a stray thought wouldn't give him away.
"I'll walk you there," said Conner, much to Wally' surprise.
He briefly debated arguing, then decided it was more suspicious if he did. Plus, it wasted precious time Wally didn't have. "Only if you think you can keep up."
"No speed!" M'gann intervened before Wally could see if he could run or not. "Not until you've been cleared!"
He sighed loudly. "Fiiiiine."
Thankfully, Conner didn't seem to be in a talkative mood as he escorted Wally to his room so Wally didn't have to worry about getting too nervous and running at the mouth.
The silence also gave Wally a chance to gauge himself. Once he started moving, the headache receded even more and he felt less unsteady. In fact, by the time they reached his bedroom door, he felt almost normal.
He held out his fist to be bumped. "Thanks, man. You didn't have to."
Conner shrugged and awkwardly tapped his knuckles against Wally's. "Sure, whatever." He hesitated, then said "you do know Robin likes you back, yeah?"
That made Wally's heart beat faster, but he pushed aside the excitement and hope; he had to worry about his father and he couldn't afford to spend time dreaming that maybe Rob liked him back. Instead, he winked at Conner. "'Course he does! What's there not to like?"
Conner rolled his eyes and scrunched up his nose. "Clearly, it's an acquired taste," he grumbled. "Get some rest." He shuffled off, clearly trying too hard to appear annoyed at the world and not concerned.
Wally opened his door and grabbed his emergency backpack with his civilian clothes in it. He glanced out in the hall to make sure Conner was gone before carefully shutting his door. As quietly as he could, he hurried down the hall towards the Hanger. It was farther away than the Mission Room, but Wally figured there would be lots of people in there due to the ending of their last mission and far fewer people in the Hanger.
Luckily, there was nobody in the Hanger when Wally got there, so he didn't waste any time firing up the zeta tubes. Had things been normal, he would have just run home, which was good practice and exercise, and a great way to learn where the best pie shops were, but he wasn't Uncle Barry; it took him a good hundred minutes to get from Mount Justice to his house, and that was if he was really booking it and not getting distracted by anything along the way. He didn't have one hundred minutes, he had less than fifteen.
He hoped he could make it home before his father got really angry with him, and he hoped Robin would forgive him for this breach of trust. Maybe if he explained—
—It didn't matter. It was going to have to be a Future-Wally problem, not a Now-Wally problem. Wally was just going to have to put faith in his friendship with Robin, and hope that the younger teen would hear him out later.
He stepped into the zeta beam and wished he could stay at the mountain with Robin.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Robin had to take a minute after he left the infirmary. For a few moments there, he thought—he thought Wally was going to kiss him. And not just any sort of kiss—it felt like a Hollywood-level, teenager-swooning, cavity- and diabetes-inducing, crazy rom-com cliché, kind of a kiss, too. Wally's mouth had been right there, close enough Robin could taste his breath.
He didn't know if it made things better or worse that Wally didn't kiss him, but now he was having troubles thinking in English. He had to pull it together; he couldn't help Wally break whatever spell was on him if he was too distracted.
He'd think about kissing Wally later. Much, much, much later, when he was in his room with his door locked to signal that he wasn't to be disturbed.
Robin hurried down to the Mission Room. Batman didn't even glance over from the screen. "You're late."
"Sorry." Robin grabbed an office chair and perched on it. "Who's coming to help KF?"
"Probably Constantine," Batman grunted. He sounded annoyed and Robin didn't blame him; every time B had to do something with Constantine, Constantine spent half of it trying to seduce Batman. It was gross, because Constantine didn't care if he was trying to get Batman naked in front of Robin.
But he was good at what he did, so Robin was prepared to turn a blind eye to all the nasty flirting if it he could help Wally.
"When's he going to get here?"
"Hopefully, tonight, but it might be tomorrow. He was vague."
"It's a school night."
"It is."
"What are we going to do if Wally has to stay overnight?" Robin rested his elbows on the back of his chair and put his chin on his wrists. "He won't want to, and his parents might not let him."
Batman's pause in his typing was barely noticeable. "If it comes to that, I'll talk to the Flash. We'll work something out."
Robin waited to see if Batman was going to tell him what he was thinking, but the only sound in the room was the soft clack of the keyboard.
His thoughts turned back to Wally. It was his fault Wally had been hit by that spell. If he had only been paying more attention to his surroundings, his back never would have been towards that witch in the first place, and Wally wouldn't have needed to get him out of the way.
And now, because Robin hadn't had his head in the game, Wally was stuck in the infirmary, under some unknown spell.
At least Wally seemed to be doing okay, considering. The main effect of the spell seemed to be some light sensitivity and an urge to cuddle, which were pretty mild in their world.
And now that he started, Robin couldn't stop thinking about it. He remembered how Wally's face smoothed out when Robin had touched his hand and said his name, how he immediately sought out Robin's face when he opened his eyes, and how he seemingly wanted to be close to only Robin. Wally had smiled softly at Robin, called him 'babe', actively held Robin's hand, had genuinely apologised for upsetting Robin, and Robin's poor little heart couldn't take it. He'd always assumed that Wally had no interest in guys due to all the bad attempts at flirting with girls, and then Wally had to go and act like that. Now Robin's traitorous heart had hope.
Robin knew if it wasn't the spell itself making Wally more tactile than usual, it was his need for affirmation after such a scare, but that didn't stop Robin's heart from stuttering excitedly every time Wally squeezed his hand again or looked at him like he was the only thing worth seeing.
"Robin."
Robin tried not to flinch as he was jerked out of his thoughts. He looked up. "Yeah?"
Batman regarded him for a moment. "Did Kid Flash leave anything out of his report?"
"No, not really." Robin hunched his shoulders a bit. "I'm sorry I was sloppy enough that KF had to cover my back like that."
"We'll work on your situational awareness over our next few training sessions." Robin bit back a grimace, but didn't interrupt Batman. "But that is not what I was asking. Kid Flash has a history of embellishment if he thinks it will improve his standings and downplaying facts if he thinks they will diminish his reputation."
"It happened more or less like he said it did."
"Hn."
"Hey, B?" Robin said after a few minutes of silence.
Batman grunted, indicating that he was listening.
"Do you think—"
The computer in front of Batman buzzed and Batman stiffened. He clicked on something and his mouth tightened further. Robin shoved his chair over so he could see what was clearly bothering Batman so much.
All he saw was the live security footage of the hanger before Batman shut it down and stood up, cape flaring dramatically. "Robin," he said, and oh, he was furious. Whatever he just saw, it really had gotten under his skin. "Please go back to the Cave." He pressed a button and one of the zeta tubes spun to life.
"But what about Wal—"
"The Batcave, Robin. Now."
Yeah, that was a tone of voice Batman didn't pull out often, but when he did, Robin had learned not to argue with him.
So he slid out of his chair, shoved it in the general direction of where it was supposed to go, and reluctantly stepped through to the Batcave.
The moment he was through, the zeta was snapped off, and Robin booked it over to the Bat-computer. Really, Batman ought to have known better. If he didn't want Robin to snoop, he should have either done a better job distracting him, or sent him somewhere that wasn't the Batcave.
He hacked his way into the security feed Batman had been looking at before he sent Robin away. He rewound the footage and—oh. That's why B was so angry.
But what was KF doing? He knew better! Was the spell activating? Was that what was happening? And if it was, why on earth would it have him leave and go to…Robin squinted at the screen…go back home to Keystone? Why wasn't he going to some place important, like the Hall of Justice or the Watchtower? It didn't make sense, and Robin was going to get to the bottom of this, and he was going to get there before Batman did. First, he needed to know what the trigger that kicked things off was.
He pulled up the other security footage and began to trace KF's steps back. Before activating the zeta tubes in the hanger, he had come from his room. He hadn't been in his room long—he was only there long enough to grab the backpack he was carrying when he went through the zeta. Superboy had escorted KF to his room from the infirmary, and clearly hadn't thought anything was wrong because he left KF there without a second glance or any visible concern over KF's behaviour. Robin kept rewinding and watching the footage.
And there. There, KF got a text and that seemed to be what motivated him to leave. Robin didn't know if it was what triggered the spell or if it was something else entirely, but he was going to dig deeper. How had that magic-user gotten KF's number was a question Robin was dying to figure out, but it would have to wait until after he helped KF break the spell.
Robin switched from the security feeds to Batman's cell phone backdoor programme. He pulled up Wally's phone and frowned. The last text Wally had gotten wasn't from an unknown number—it was from his father.
A different worry settled in Robin's gut. He knew Wally had a complicated relationship with his father, but that was all Robin knew. Maybe the spell had nothing to do with anything at all.
Robin had an intense internal debate on whether he should read the text from Wally's father. He didn't like violating Wally's privacy like that, but this was important. He needed to know what was said. He opened the text.
It wasn't much, just a few words telling Wally he better be home in twenty minutes, but there was something about the wording that made Robin's skin crawl and his hackles go up. He scrolled through a couple more messages, just to get a larger sample size and to see if this was an unusual occurrence; it wasn't.
No wonder Wally only wanted to hang out at the Manor or the Mountain.
Robin forced himself to focus on the task at hand. Wally's father had called him home and Wally had felt that was something important enough to disregard Batman's orders; not an ideal situation. So, what was Robin going to do to fix it?
He drummed his fingers. A plan starts to form slowly. What if he just…went to Wally's house? He could pretend he went to school with Wally. Parents tended to love him, so it'd be an easy lie to sell. And then he could help Wally. Whether that was to be an extraction or just a promise to keep an eye out remained to be seen, but at least he could get a better gauge on the situation and give Wally whatever support he needed at the moment.
Robin jumped up and ran over to where he kept his civilian clothes. He changed quickly before stealing a page out of Uncle Clark's book and threw on a pair of ugly, thick, tinted glasses. Then he hurried back to the zeta tube. He quickly overrode what he called Batman's 'child lock' settings and picked the Keystone zeta point as his destination.
He mentally told Wally to hold on, and stepped through the beam.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Wally really had to push it, but he did manage to get home with two minutes to spare, which seemed to piss his father off even more. That meant it was going to be one of those nights. And since Wally didn't see his mother's jacket on the coat rack or her keys in the front hallway bowl, it meant Wally was going to get the worst of it, even if she came home soon.
She did show up about half way through the first wave of Wally's father's fury, and her eyes slid away from them. She muttered something about Wally needing to learn his lesson and that she'd get started on dinner. Wally couldn't say he was surprised by her response, because it never changed. Not for the first time, he wished she loved him enough to intervene; he loved her enough to try and stop his father when he started in on her; why couldn't she love Wally enough to do the same?
The doorbell rang. Wally froze and his father's face twisted in an ugly rage before he smoothed it out. He gave Wally a look that clearly said that this wasn't over yet and Wally had better not leave before he stalked over to the door.
"Yes?" He said coldly, and then had to look down a little bit. Wally felt a chill go up his spine, even before that familiar voice responded.
"Hi! You must be Wally's dad! Nice to meet you!"
Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! Not Rob, not here, not now! Robin was smart and he'd figure out what was going on. That probably should bother Wally more than it was, but right now, all he cared about was keeping Robin safe from his father.
Even though he knew it'd make things worse for him later, Wally hurried over. "Rob," he said, desperately trying to come off as if his world wasn't on the verge of imploding. "What are you doing here?"
"You forgot your notes with me and I thought you might need them to study." Robin waved a battered notebook at Wally with a bright grin, but Wally could see the increasing tension in his friend's shoulders and his eyes darted over both Wally and Wally's father from behind a pair of the ugliest glasses Wally had ever seen (Wally ignored the thought that Robin was still the most beautiful person in the whole wide world, even with those spectacles). "Plus, I think my calculator got mixed in with your things when you left." He smiled again.
"Thanks," Wally made himself say. He made himself ignore the pounding of his heart and the looping mantra of Robin's in danger and I have to protect him! "Let me just…" He gestured vaguely and hoped his father wasn't going to give him any trouble.
His father grunted, and Wally knew things were going to be bad when Rob left. Not ideal, but as long as his father didn't start up while Robin was there, Wally would be okay. He could take it; his biggest concern was Robin and his safety. For that, Wally would give up a hundred years of his life if it meant keeping Robin away from his father's bad moods.
Unfortunately, Robin didn't seem to realise the danger he was in. "Great!" He stepped inside, clearly planning on following Wally to his room.
Wally could feel his father's rage building, so he hustled Robin up to his room as fast as he dared.
"Wally—" Robin started to say the moment the door closed behind them, but Wally didn't give him a chance to talk. He cradled Rob's stunning face between his hands. "Rob, why are you here? Are you okay? Is there something wrong?"
"That's what I should be asking you," Robin hissed back, all pretences of being a cheerful, bubbly airhead gone. "Walls, what's going on? What's with your dad?"
"But you're okay?" Wally persisted. He gently stroked his thumbs over Robin's beautiful cheekbones. "You're not hurt or anything?"
"I'm fine." Robin's voice was annoyed, but something flashed in his eyes. "Wally, are you okay? You don't usually disobey orders from B like that, and your dad's being…well, freaky. Do you need help?"
"I've got it under control." Wally knew he should be careful; if there was one thing his father hated, it was boys who liked other boys. He hated them with a passion that was irrational. But Wally didn't care about that right now. Calming down and reassuring his beautiful friend was his number one priority. "Why did you come here?"
"Why…" Robin stared at him. "Wally, you were hit with an unknown spell! You deliberately didn't follow B's orders! You didn't tell me that you were leaving!" That last point had some hurt flickering over his gorgeous face.
Wally was still cradling Rob's face softly, so he used that and pulled it close enough he could rest their foreheads together. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I should have told you; I won't leave you in the lurch like that again, okay?"
"…Okay," Robin repeated, a little bit faintly. His face is too close for Wally to really read his expression, but Wally could see that his cheeks were darkening rapidly. It only served to highlight how gorgeous Rob's cheekbones were, how beautiful Rob simply was.
Of course, that was the moment that Wally's father decided they'd taken long enough and he threw open Wally's door.
Even without the Speed Force, Wally could see the emotions flashing on his father's face. None of them were good ones, and he settled on enraged hatred, and Wally had three thoughts in rapid succession: One, this was the worst thing his father could have seen; two, his father was angry enough he was going to do something stupid, and he wasn't going to care about the consequences for a very, very, very long time; and three, he was going to hurt Robin in his rage. It didn't matter that Robin wasn't his kid or what would happen to him when he did—he was going to do it anyway.
The knowledge that Robin was in danger took over every single thought in Wally's head. Nothing else mattered. Rob was about to be hurt, unless Wally protected him.
So he did the only thing he could do—he scooped up Robin and he ran. He ran faster than he ever had before and within a minute, he was across the border and in Central City.
Wally skidded to a stop in his aunt's backyard and gently put Robin down. He brushed his fingers across Rob's forehead, smoothing his windswept hair into a more natural appearance. "Don't worry, you're safe here," he said as Robin stared at him from behind his ugly, tinted glasses. "It's my aunt's house, and she'll make sure my uncle can get you to a zeta tube."
Robin grabbed onto Wally's arm when he tried to step back. "Wally—"
Wally made a soft shushing sound and curled his fingers around Robin's. "You're safe here," he repeated, touching Robin's soft cheek with his free hand gently. "I will always make sure you're safe."
Rob's beautiful blue eyes were huge behind his fake glasses, and he made a quiet, wounded sound in the back of his throat.
He was so gorgeous.
Wally gave in to the impulse and tenderly kissed Rob's forehead before making himself pull away. "I have to go help my mom. Stay here, okay? Don't worry about me; I'll be fine!" He winked, and then he took off.
It wasn't ideal, but Robin was safe, and that was the most important thing. Pretty much everything else paled in comparison.
And Wally would be fine—eventually—so it wasn't even a lie he told Robin.
It was going to be fine.
Eventually.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Iris was checking on dinner when her back door slammed open and a strange kid stumbled in. He started to yell something, and then he spotted her. He launched himself forward and grabbed her arm, shouting at her in another language.
"Let go—" She snapped, trying to yank her arm away, but the kid was tenacious; all he did was suddenly start speaking English.
"Call the Flash now!" He yelled frantically. "You have to call him now!"
Iris froze for a second and tried to pull herself together. "What? I can't just call the Flash—just because I write about him occasionally doesn't mean I—"
"He's your husband! Call him now!" The kid clutched her arm and she was shocked when a tear slid out from behind his clunky tinted glasses. "I can't get there as fast as he can! He has to save Wally!"
Iris's heart stopped. She grabbed the strange kid's shoulders. "What about Wally? What's happened to him? What danger is he in!" It took everything she had to keep her volume even and not to scream right back into the kid's face. If Wally was needing the Flash, getting hysterical with this weird kid would only lose precious time that would endanger her sweet little boy even more.
"There's something wrong—his father—call the Flash! Now!" The kid babbled and while she doesn't understand everything, he mentioned Rudy, and honestly, Iris didn't need to hear more than that. Rudy was a fucking piece of shit and she hated that he was related to her and Wally.
"Let go of me, and I'll call," Iris said with as much calm as she can muster. She was beginning to have an inkling on who the kid was, but that was a thought to explore later. Right now, she had to help Wally.
When the kid's fingers didn't loosen and he just kept repeating himself, she decided to test her theory. "Robin. You have to let go."
At the name, the kid blinked and it seemed to jerk him out of the loop he was trapped in. Slowly, his hands fell to his side.
Even though she wanted to run to her phone immediately, Iris couldn't—in good conscious—just leave the kid standing there, looking like that. She gently nudged him toward the chairs in the small breakfast nook. "Go sit down, and I'll be back in a moment."
As soon as Robin was sitting, she hurried out and grabbed her phone.
Thankfully, Barry answered on the first ring. "Hey, honey!" He greeted her cheerfully. "I'm running a bit behind, but I'll be home—"
"Barry," interrupted Iris. "You need to stop whatever you're doing right now, change into your other uniform if you're not in it already. and get to Keystone as fast as you can."
"What—"
"I don't have all the details, but that fucking bastard Rudy is either doing something or has done something to Wally. There's a kid in the kitchen I'm pretty sure is the Robin, and he is freaking out about Wally being in danger, so you need to go now."
"I'll call once I've got Wally. Love you, bye!" Barry, wonderful man he was, hung up with a rush of air that Iris knew was him releasing his suit before he changed into it.
Iris made herself take a deep breath and let it out very slowly. As much as she burned to run to her car and speed over to Keystone as fast as she could, she knew it wouldn't help anyone, not now, since Barry was on it. She was going to have to wait.
She went back to the kitchen. While she couldn't help her darling Wally right now, she could help his friend.
She quickly made up two mugs of cocoa and she put one down in front of Robin. She sat down across from him. "Now," she said, striving for a tone that was firm, yet still gentle, "tell me what happened."
xXxXxXxXxXx
Wally made it back to his house and found his mother in the kitchen, a chair braced against the door to the living room. "C'mon," he urged quietly, wanting to reach out to her, but knowing better than to try and touch her. "Let's get out of here."
Apparently, his voice wasn't quiet enough because the door behind the chair slammed against its frame alarmingly. Wally hoped it would hold.
He made himself focus on his mother. "C'mon, mom," he said again. "Let's go."
Slowly, his mother turned towards him. "Did you do this?" She asked. She sounded distant, which was never a good sign.
"Mom, c'mon. Let's get out of here before he breaks down the door."
Her eyes sharpened a little and focused on him. "Did you do this?" She repeated, a bit more insistently.
"We need to go, Mom. We don't have much time left!" Wally glanced over at the furiously rattling door, which was why he didn't duck when her palm came flying at his face.
He really should have known better; usually, Wally did, and he was able to get out of range of his mother's vicious slaps; this was on him being distracted by his father's fury. He wanted to touch his burning cheek, but also knew that would only make things worse with her.
"I said," she hissed, "did you do this!"
"Mom, no, I didn't do anything—"
Wally heard the kitchen door shatter and a second later, there were hands on his shoulders, shoving him forcefully back into his father's path.
As he stumbled right into his father's grasp, he thought oh, maybe she doesn't love me, after all.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Barry peeked in at his sleeping nephew again and desperately tried not blame himself. If he'd only been faster…
No, this wasn't his fault, and he had to remember that. This was on those horrid people, Rudy and Mary, not Barry.
But maybe it was his fault. That kind of violence in a household didn't just appear out of nowhere, and if he had been paying more attention, maybe he would have spotted the signs and gotten Wally out before things even got to this point. Because Barry had missed it, this had happened to his boy.
How many seminars had the police force and Batman given about recognising the signs of a bad homelife? How many times had Barry gone to a crime scene and overheard the social worker talking about how obvious it was? How many lectures had he given to Wally about what to look for?
Barry knew he was probably spiralling, but it was hard not to. He kept trying to think how he could have saved Wally from this, if only he'd been faster, better, more alert, more.
In the living room, Iris looked exhausted and like she was having the same internal struggle that Barry was. She was clearly trying to hold it together as she talked quietly to Batman about her legal options to be declared Wally's permanent guardian.
It said a lot about Barry's current state of affairs that he had Batman in his living room, cape and cowl and all, and that was the least of his worries. In fact, it might even be considered a good thing that the Dark Knight was there.
Barry slid into the loveseat next to Iris and took her hand. She squeezed it tightly. "Batman has kindly offered to put us into contact with his make-up artist friend," she said, keeping her voice low so she didn't wake up Robin (considering how dark the circles were under the Boy Wonder's eyes were and how he was curled up next to Batman on the couch, looking smaller and younger than he was, Barry didn't think it was going to be much of an issue). "So we can re-create…" She took a deep breath and soldiered on. "So we can re-create Wally's bruises and have them look like they're healing at normal speed for any court dates or statements that he'll have to give in the upcoming days."
"It was smart of you to take those photos of them right away," Batman rumbled, absently stroking Robin's hair and undermining just about every fearsome tale about him having no heart. "It will make it easier to match. I'll send you some images so if you get a surprise visit, you will be able to make something happen in a pinch, but I'll send someone discreet to help for the rest."
"Thank you. That's…thank you." Barry ran his fingers through his hair tiredly. "Honestly, I don't think we can thank you enough for all the help you've given here tonight. How can we ever repay you?"
"You can start with making sure your nephew isn't late tomorrow," Batman said. "Constantine is hard enough to pin down, and I want as few distractions between him and him doing his job as possible."
Iris frowned. "Isn't Constantine the occult one? Why does Wally need to see him?"
"He is, but he also does a lot with magic, as well. He was the only one I could get on short notice to analyse the spell and possibly remove it."
Barry's increasing alarm matched Iris's face. "What spell?" They both blurted out, almost at the same time.
If Barry hadn't been starting a completely new freak out, he would have appreciated the fact that his wife and his response caught Batman off-guard and now Batman was having a rare moment of being wrong-footed.
Not that it lasted for long. Batman's jaw briefly tightened, and then his lower face smoothed out. "Kid Flash was hit by a spell intended for Robin on their mission today," he said flatly, as if his position hadn't shifted a little bit to something more protective of his protégé. "We don't know exactly what it does yet. He left the Mountain before we could run more than the most basic tests."
"Is that why Wally wanted me to make some excuses to his dad?" Barry asked, suddenly remembering Wally's text. "Because you needed to run more tests for that spell?" The guilt, which he had pushed back, crested over the wall he'd built and crashed into him. Oh god, he must have triggered Rudy, putting him into a bad mood, and leading him to the path that ended like it did tonight. Would Wally ever forgive him? Could he ever forgive himself?
"That had been the plan, yes." Batman paused, clearly weighing his words. "I realise that…this is not a normal…situation and now is not the ideal time for this," he said, "but if you notice any…irregularities in your nephew's behaviour, please let me know. It might be helpful in unravelling this spell."
"We will," Iris promised and Barry was struck with an urge to check up on Wally again. He wasted three agonisingly long seconds debating the choice, and then gave in. He raced up to Wally's room and made sure Wally was sleeping and okay.
He was back in the living room after he had reassured himself that his boy was still safe. He wasn't gone long, but he knew his absence had been noted. Iris obviously understood, and some of her tension loosened when he shot her a look that promised Wally's safety. Batman must have understood as well, because he didn't bring attention to Barry's leaving abruptly, and that was about as explicit and permissive as Batman got.
Or maybe Batman was feeling his own protective urges, because he didn't stay much longer, claiming he needed to get back to Gotham for his nightly patrol, but judging how he picked up the sleeping Robin and how he draped his cape around the boy, he was needing his own reassurance about his kid's safety. Barry offered to run them both to the nearest zeta tube, but Batman waved him off before disappearing into the shadows in Barry's backyard.
Barry turned to Iris. Even though exhaustion was coming for both of them, there still were a couple things they needed to do before they crashed for the night. They were going to have to refigure out their budget, particularly the food budget, and they were going to have to discuss whether Wally would go to school here in Central, or if he was going to finish out the year in Keystone, and there was all of the legal paperwork to get started on, but the sooner they got Wally settled in their house, the better.
It was the absolute least they could do for their boy.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Batman had purposely told the Flash an earlier time than he had told Constantine, due to Flash's inability to read clocks and get places on time, so it was a surprise when Flash and Kid Flash both were early.
He decided the best course of action was not to draw attention to it. He grunted in their general direction and kept typing up his report.
Kid Flash zipped around the room and then skidded to a stop at the edge of the large computer. He folded his hands behind his back and rocked nervously on his toes.
Batman smothered a sigh. He didn't have enough sleep to deal with speedsters. "What."
"'M sorry for disobeying your orders," said Kid Flash with far too much earnestness and sincerity for how little caffeine Batman had in his system. "I should've explained, but I didn't think I had time." One of his shoulders lifted slightly. "When my father sends me messages like that, it means I had better get my butt home five minutes faster than he said. It gets worse if I'm not."
The Flash made a small, choked, wounded sound and Batman's fingers froze over his keyboard.
Kid Flash kept talking, as if he didn't just casually drop a nuclear bomb about his (former, Batman thought darkly, if it was the last thing he'd ever do) homelife. "And I know you don't like it when we don't do as you say, but you'll listen if I give you a good reason, and my father won't. Wouldn't," he corrected himself. "So…yeah. I'm sorry, and I hope you won't bench me forever."
"…Apology accepted," Batman said, still trying to think of new ways he could make Wally's parents' lives a living hell. The more he learned about the situation, the more he thought he needed to pay the two of them a…visit.
Kid Flash gave him a small smile, but didn't go away. If anything, his rocking got more pronounced. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat. "Um…I was wondering…that is, to say…I just thought…would you be okay with…"
"Spit it out." Batman didn't have time for whatever this was.
Usually, when he used that tone of voice, both speedsters would cower a little bit before spitting out whatever they wanted to say and then leaving. Today, however, Kid Flash held his ground. He squared his shoulders and determinedly stared at Batman until he looked up.
"I'd like to take Robin out on a date," he announced with all the bravado of a teenager overcompensating for their nerves. Flash made a sound like he was choking on the coffee he'd stolen and for the second time in so many minutes, Batman stopped typing. "And I wanted to know if you'd be okay with that."
"…Why are you asking me? Why aren't you asking Robin?" Batman's report could wait; he turned his chair so he could give the kid a hard look.
"Oh, I plan to." Kid Flash nodded a little too quickly. "But I wanted to clear it with you in case you wouldn't let him go 'cuz you think he's too young or something like that. If you weren't okay with it, I'd have to wait until you were. A relationship that has to be kept secret isn't exactly the key to a long lasting healthy one."
Batman narrowed his eyes.
"I promise I'll treat him well," continued Kid Flash after an uncomfortable moment of being stared at. "And I won't try anything funny with him; anyhow, I'm too young for sex."
"Kid Flash!" Flash appeared next to him, sounding mortified.
"What? I am. And if I am, then Rob definitely—mmpphft!"
"I am so sorry, Batman," Flash said, his hands over his nephew's mouth. "I don't know what's gotten into him, but—" His mouth snapped shut when Batman shifted his gaze to him.
Batman gestured that Flash should uncover Kid Flash's mouth. Flash did so, albeit very reluctantly. He hovered, like he was going to grab the kid the moment Batman did something.
"So are you asking permission or not," Batman said, actually curious.
"Sort of? I mean, it's up to Robin if he wants to go or not, but…you're his dad"—Batman abruptly felt like someone had tried to shove a spear into his chest in the most non-painful way possible and didn't know what that feeling really meant, so he pushed it aside until he could analyse it later—"and you get at least some say in if you think he's old enough for that sort of thing or not. I don't want to pretend that we're something we're not."
"If Robin says no?"
Kid Flash shrugged. "Be really disappointed, I guess. Mope a little bit and probably pine some. I wouldn't hold it against him," he hastily assured Batman. "Rob's allowed to be as attracted or not to whomever he wants. I'll just be really sad I couldn't make the cut."
"And if I say no?"
Kid Flash suddenly smiled. "I'll wait, then. You'll change your mind eventually; I am pretty awesome. And you're not going find anyone who gets Rob better than me, or who will treat him as well."
Flash looked like he didn't know whether he wanted to be proud of his protégé or if he wanted to throw himself at Batman's feet to apologise. Pride looked like it might be winning, though.
Batman grunted and studied the teen. Kid had just had a traumatic day, but based off of what the Flash had said and the few things the kid had let slip, his bad homelife was something he'd come to terms with a while ago. It obviously wasn't enough to deter him from his path of wanting to ask out Robin.
Or maybe…
Batman's brain launched into overdrive. He'd managed to get a few things out of Robin last night before the kid had crashed. Wally's homelife might have been bleak, but it wasn't until it looked like he might be involved with another boy that things had gone off the deep end. Maybe now, now he thought he was probably free from his parents (and Kid Flash would be; Batman was going throw as much money as he needed at this until the problem drowned under the weight of it all), he felt like he could do things like ask another boy out without fear of repercussion. As an added bonus, he would be sticking it to his homophobic parents at the same time.
The kid was also being unusually straightforward, and Batman appreciated that. He purposely cultivated a dark, menacing aura, and the fact that Kid Flash was so willing to brave it was something Batman could respect.
"I won't stand in your way," he finally said. "But if Robin turns you down…" Batman let the sentence hang for a moment. "You will respect that and you will not revisit the issue." He left the threat of what would happen if Kid Flash didn't hang heavily over the room.
Not that Kid Flash seemed to notice. He absolutely beamed at Batman. "Thank you, Batman. I promise that you won't regret this!" He turned and vanished from the room, nearly slamming the door behind him.
Batman already regretted it.
Before he could say anything or go back to his report, Flash spoke up. "Um…you asked us to report anything that seemed…not normal about Wally?"
Batman's attention snapped to the other man. "What?"
"Well…my wife said that at breakfast, he was…unusually candid about his homelife with his father. And…after seeing him with you…do you think…"
"A truth spell. He got hit with some sort of truth spell." Things quickly fell into place. Batman didn't know what the parameters of the spell were, but clearly the spell had some levels of lowering inhibition. It wasn't something that was a compulsion, like Diana's lasso, but there was definitely a loosening of lips. Since the spell had been meant for Robin…
Well, it seemed like Batman had more than one reason to be grateful the young speedster had taken the hit for Robin.
Batman wasn't someone who didn't repay his debts, so he immediately abandoned his report to start funnelling untraceable money into the Allen-West's bank account. If nothing else, he would pay the kid back by ensuring that there would be no financial hardships during his aunt and uncle's fight for custody.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Wally burst into the main living room of the Mountain. Only M'gann and Conner were there, so before either of them could say anything, he raced down to the training room. Nobody was there, so he did a quick search of the rest of the compound. Frustratingly, Robin wasn't there.
Wally double-checked the Mountain, just to be sure, before he barrelled back to the Mission Room. "Hey, Batman! Is Robin coming over here?"
Batman gave him a withering glare, but grunted out a 'yes.'
"Oh, awesome! D'you know when?"
Before Batman could reply, the zeta tube spun to life and the mechanical voice announced Robin, Dr Fate, and Constantine's designations.
Wally rocketed forward. "Rob!" He flung his arms around his smaller friend and hung on tight.
Robin staggered back a step before he got his feet back under him. "What the—KF! Are you okay?"
Robin sounded borderline frantic, so Wally eased back enough so they could see each other's faces. He gently cupped one hand around Rob's cheek. "I'm okay. I'm not perfect, but my uncle and aunt are gonna take care of me, so I'm gonna be fine. I don't think I'll ever have to go back there." He let his thumb lightly glide over his friend's pinkening soft skin. "I'm glad you're safe."
"Kid Flash."
"Just a sec, Batman." Wally heard someone choke on something behind him, but he ignored them. "Robin, will you go out with me? Say, this Friday afternoon?"
Robin stared at him. "What," he said, a bit faintly.
"…Did your kid just ask out Bats's kid in front of him?" A British voice asked in complete disbelief. He whistled. "Well, nice knowin' him."
Wally repeated himself, not acknowledging the peanut gallery. "If Friday doesn't work for you, we can do Saturday instead," he added.
Robin continued to stare at him. Finally, he swallowed hard. "Are you…are you serious? This isn't some sort of joke?"
Smiling, Wally shook his head a little bit. "Not a joke. I don't think I've been more serious in my life. And you don't have to worry about what Batman thinks—I've already talked to him."
"You've already talked to…" Robin faded out.
When all Robin seemed to do was stare at him, Wally decided to take the pressure off. "Do you need time to think about? You don't have to answer me now." Even though the not-knowing was kind of killing him inside, he let his hand drop and he took a step back. The absolute last thing he wanted was for Rob to feel trapped or obligated or anything like that. He cared way too much about him for that.
"Yes!" Robin blurted out.
That was a little disappointing. "Okay. Well, when you know—"
"No! I mean—I mean yes, I'll go out with you."
"Really?" Wally felt like a sun was rising in his chest.
Robin ducked his head, but glanced up through his eyelashes. "Yeah."
It took all Wally had not to let out a whoop. Robin had agreed to go out with him! Robin was open to dating him! He felt so buoyed, he could probably run around the world in record time.
He didn't have time for that and he knew it, but he did have time to dart forward and plant a quick kiss on Robin's cheek before he raced over by the adults, ignoring the small, adorable sound Robin made. "Hi!"
Between the Flash and Dr Fate, a man who was in desperate need of a shower, shave, and nap (and possibly not in that order) stood. He gave Wally a once-over. "Kid, you got some balls; I think I like that about you."
"Thanks?" It was probably a compliment, but Wally wasn't about to take any chances. "What do I need to do?" He asked, figuring getting back on track would make Batman happy, and he needed to care about that way more than he had to in the past.
"Please go stand right there," Dr Fate said, waving his hand towards the centre of the room. "And now, let us begin."
xXxXxXxXxXx
Robin tried to contain himself, but he felt like doing a whole row of back flip-flops until he couldn't see straight anymore. Wally had asked him out. Him. Holy dating scenarios, Wally had asked him out!
Not only that, he'd cleared with B, as well. Robin's heart pounded in his chest, because he knew Wally was scared wary of Batman (not that he'd ever admit it) and for him to risk Batman's paranoid and over-protective instincts to ask out Robin…well. Now Robin knew what a champagne bubble felt like.
He stole a glance over at Wally, who was standing in the centre of a faintly glowing circle while the magic workers did their thing. Wally had even immediately set a date for their date, and Robin was halfway convinced he'd hit his head during patrol because of how explicit Wally—his best friend, whom he had thought was straight until recently—had made his interest and intention.
Dr Fate stretched out a hand when Constantine stepped back from adjusting something on the edge of the glowing circle and said some strange words that had no basis in any language Robin knew. The glow pulsed and grew stronger for a moment, nearly reaching blinding levels before it faded away. Wally swayed and then his legs buckled. Before Robin could even take a step forward, Flash shot in and caught his nephew before he hit the ground.
"Is he okay? Can I…" Robin shifted his weight forward slightly, suddenly struck with insecurity; what if Wally only asked him out because of the spell and now that it was gone…
"Can I take him home?" Flash asked, cradling Wally.
"We need to keep him for observation," Batman said shortly. "Bring him to the Medbay."
Flash hesitated for a second, then nodded. A moment later, both speedsters were gone.
"Well, you were right, Bats." Constantine pulled a pouch out of his pocket and started rolling a cigarette. "Kid had a truth spell on him, one designed to make him want to share his most closely guarded secret."
Robin felt his gut swoop. Wally had been under a spell so he'd reveal the truth. And the truth was he liked Robin. Holy Batman's smoke bombs!
But Constantine had also said it was a secret, the most closely guarded one. So liking Robin was something he held over not telling people his or his uncle's secret identity, or the situation with his parents.
The swooping in Robin's gut shifted into something a little less pleasant.
"It was a simple spell, but haphazardly made." Dr Fate's tone suggested he was turning up his nose at such shoddy workmanship. "You are dealing with someone with more raw talent than skill." He held up his palm and a thin line of light appeared. It spun around, and then stopped, pointing southeast. "The spell's caster is that way. If you would like, I can…attend to it."
"Thank you. You are…better equipped to handle it than the team here is." Batman's jaw twitched as he unwillingly acknowledged a shortcoming of his. "It would be appreciated."
Dr Fate only nodded once and then he waved his free hand, opening a portal. He was gone a moment later.
"No smoking," said Batman, a bit sharply as Constantine pulled out a matchbook.
"You telling me that you'll give me something else to occupy my hands and mouth with?" Constantine winked, but put the matchbook away. He tucked the cigarette behind his ear. "'Cuz I think I can be convinced to delay my smoke break."
Robin gagged. First off, it was Batman, and second off, who said that sort of stuff, much less said it in front of a kid?
"No. Thank you for your help." Batman's posture didn't change, but the dismissal was clear.
"Pity." Constantine stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled towards the zeta tube. After a few steps, he paused and turned back. "Think the Flash could use some adult company?"
"No. He's happily married."
Constantine smirked a little. "Bet his wife would join in. D'you think she'd rather be the filling or would the Flash rather it be him—"
"Goodbye, Constantine. Robin, with me." Batman turned with only the softest rustle of his cape. He swept out of the room, ignoring Constantine's laughs.
"He's so gross," Robin complained as they headed to the Medbay.
"He's good at what he does, but yes, he is 'gross'." Robin could hear Alfred's influence in Batman's verbal air quotes. "And don't mention to the Flash what he said. It will only embarrass him."
"Why would I repeat that stuff? Gross."
It might have been a trick of the light, but the corner of Batman's mouth might have twitched up.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Wally woke with a pounding headache. Even through his eyelids, the room felt painfully bright, and maybe a little cold, too.
"Hey, I think he's waking up!"
Wally flinched away from the sound.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Whoever was speaking was clearly trying be quieter.
But then a smaller hand slipped into his. "KF?" A warm, familiar voice asked softly.
Oh. Robin was here, and Wally was pretty sure his friend had agreed to go on a date with him. Just to be safe, he should verify that it wasn't a dream. "Date?" He croaked out.
"Yeah, Walls," Robin said with a smile in his voice. "We have a date on Friday."
"'Kay. Good." He squeezed the hand in his gently and let his consciousness fade.
Maybe there was something to be said about magic, after all.
x Fin x