Chapter Fourteen: Trapeze, Present, Secrets, Best Friends

They couldn't pick up the comm.-link signals anymore.

Dick's breath hitched in his throat. He stared at the computer screen for what felt like ages, his heart pounding in his chest. Aching. Loading up the holocomp on his glove, he flicked through it until the Arctic was shown so he could get a better view on what just happened. Two bright dots and a violent, swirling amount of heat—then nothing.

"No," Superboy murmured from his spot. He paled, hands slacking on his lap.

"Kid Flash, Impulse—do you read? This is Batgirl." Batgirl was the only one who could still move. Her fingers flew over the keyboard in front of her. Immediately the Bioship's front screen morphed into an aerial view of the Antarctic. It wasn't amazing—the League still hadn't built a Zeta Beam tube over there, and Dick was angrily beginning to wonder why.

One MFD, another explosion. They needed to get all areas of the world accessible towards heroes.

Or put a leash on their speedsters, Dick thought with an incoming headache. He couldn't get his hands to move. Dick was just too—too stunned.

"Kid Flash," Batgirl repeated, "Impulse—do you read? This is Batgirl."

"You know how unlikely it is that they're still operable after the explosion," Dick stated. He was trying to keep his voice even—but he couldn't even tell if he was distressed or mad or—or both. Regardless, he put away his holocomp and tinkered beside Babs to see if he could find a solution. Anything—

The team had split up—Superboy, Batgirl, and he back to the Bioship in order to solve the problem with Wally and Aqualad, Tigress, and Miss Martian in order to guard Perdita and Audrey. The night had gone as far from unplanned as you could get. Dick needed to rearrange his thoughts to salvage what was left of the mission.

As far as he knew, Perdita and Audrey were safe and recuperating. Count Vertigo had been reprimanded, and guards had been sent through neighboring towns to explain what happened.

Perdita and Audrey would be safe.

But what about Wally? At some point, Dick's fingers mashed keys and the screen didn't make sense to him anymore. His head pounded, and Dick cradled it between his hands to calm himself down.

"If the comm.-links are inoperable, especially because of the explosion," Superboy speculated carefully, "Then…?"

"How long would it take to get to Antarctica?" Dick cut him off.

"Too long," Babs replied instantly. "Hours, if we're lucky."

And by then, if Bart and Wally were still alive, they'd be dead.

"We could zeta-beam the Bioship to the nearest tube up north and fly up there," Superboy suggested.

"It'd still be a while before we got up there." Dick shook his head. "And we'd waste time trying to find the bodies."

He grimaced. Wasting time wasn't the best way to phrase it.

"Then what other possible solution do you have?" Conner's demeanor twisted into a scowl and he threw his hands in the chair. "We have to do something."

"Keep your cool," Dick countered. "You knew him being here would jeopardized the mission. You should have told—"

"Just like you should have told us about the Artemis stunt you pulled," Conner snapped back angrily.

Every argument and rebuttal Dick had died in his throat. He looked away, gripping the interface tightly beneath his hands.

"Look, I'm not defending the guy—but I think we both can agree that neither one of us want him dead." Conner scrunched his nose and kept talking. "This entire year has been one big headache after another, but we've never just sit here and do nothing."

"Stop bickering," Batgirl interjected. She flashed a look at both of them. "Nightwing, Tigress, and Aqualad are at fault for what happened earlier in the year, but Superboy, you and Impulse are at fault for not telling us about Wally. Throwing blame everywhere helps no one. We make mistakes, we get through them, and we try to reassemble ourselves as a team."

Silence.

"Do I make myself clear?" Batgirl's gaze flickered back and forth between her two roommates.

"Yes," Superboy and Nightwing both replied in unison. And they left it at that. Nothing was resolved. Dick knew that from the way Conner frowned at him.

But Babs and Conner were right. All they could to was wade it out.

"Conner's right," Dick said after a long silence. "We can't just sit here. Let's—"

"Kon-El, do you read?"

Superboy perked at the mention of his name. He pressed a button immediately on the interface. "Superman! Yes, I read! Are you and the Flash—"

"We're done with our mission in Iceland," Flash answered on cue. "What's going on? I've been getting messages from the Watchtower saying that you need me."

Silence.

The trio looked at each other, unsure of what to say next.

"Kon-El. Superboy—are you there?"

"Sorry," Dick interjected. He traveled to Conner's side and pressed the same button Conner had moments ago. "We're here. Flash. There was an explosion. Kid Flash and Impulse's comm.-links are down."

This time, radio silence was on the other end.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Flash responded. "Where?"

xxx

"Bart?"

Wally couldn't hear himself over the ringing in his ears. He saw red in the corners of his vision—saw it soaking the yellow lycra of his charred uniform, felt it oozing out of his ears, felt it spilling out of him into bleak white snow and mixing with it like a dam in Wally had been broken on the inside. It was fleeing because he was no longer useful.

He sobbed and realized that one of the lenses on his goggles had completely shattered, while the other cracked. It hurt just to move his face—which chipped away as snow beat down on him.

Move, he shouted in his head. Please. For Bart.

The explosion was over. Beads of sweat that were hot on his skin were now pale sheets of ice. The longer he stayed, the closer he felt to a corpse.

And his head hurt. Wally's head pounded, like Zoom was using his head like a treadmill and slamming it into the ground each time his ugly yellow boot made contact with Wally's skull.

"I am so sorry," Wally croaked. He bit back tears—Wally couldn't hear himself, but the vibration of his own voice burned in his throat.

All around him was white—cold, disgusting, and bleak. When he closed his eyes, it wasn't any better. Even his eyes were sore—and throbbing. And red.

So much red.

"…lly—hey. Hey. Hang in there. Please—pleasehanginthereKidWally—"

"Uncle Barry…?" Wally opened his eyes as fast as he could—which wasn't fast. It was slow—even by a normal human's standard. He saw red again—but a good red. Flash Red.

Flash's face stared back at him, demeanor twisted with worry beneath his cowl. His mouth fell open, and the tiny strained sound that came out of his mouth silenced the buzzing in Wally's head. Then Uncle Barry's demeanor tightened in a way Wally hadn't seen since he was a stupid thirteen-year-old kid who set up a chemistry experiment in his garage. Fear. Worry. Incoming panic that not even a cowl could hide.

"Bart," Wally murmured next, and his head lulled to the side.

"S'okay," Barry said, his voice cracking.

Wally wondered who looked worse off—him or Bart. And hoped it was him.

"He's safe," Barry continued. He turned his head elsewhere, but Wally's neck hurt too much to turn with Barry. "Superman—how's he look?"

There was a muffled sound, but judging from the way Flash's chest heaved, Wally assumed Bart was going to be okay.

This never should've happened, said a voice in the back of his head. It never should've gotten to this point.

Bart's life never should've been on the line. Bart never should have gotten hurt because of how stupid Wally was.

"I never should have gone on this mission," Wally muttered angrily. He coughed, his chest tight. Ribs pulsed beneath his skin, burning, and all Wally saw was red again.

"Hey—hey. It's not your fault," Flash murmured softly, like he was thirteen again.

And Wally could have laughed. He'd gotten chewed out by his team, by Dick—but Flash still didn't know what was going on. Wally'd put his favorite uncle—his hero's—twelve-year-old grandson on the line, and Flash was here consoling him.

Barry didn't even know the truth. And once he found out, he was going to kill Wally. If the speed didn't kill him first.

The latter thought only got worse when Flash picked him up. Wally's breath caught in his throat (burned) as his legs fell limp under Barry's grip. He tried to look—but the way Flash cradled his head made it hard to see his own feet.

"Easy there," Flash said. It was surprisingly soothing. "We're running gonna run back to Vlatava and take a zeta beam up to the Watchtower. The medical ward will take a look at you from there."

"Not a hospital, huh?" Wally mused. "Must be serious."

Flash didn't respond to that. He cradled Wally more comfortably. The gust picked up, and Wally shivered against it. Flash's body pulsed with electricity, pounding steadily against Wally's ear as he ran.

Eventually, he spoke again. "We'll get ahold of STAR Labs when we get up there, too."

Oh.

Since he was with the Fastest Man Alive, the trip was short. But each step Barry took had Wally desperately wishing he was still sprawled over his own blood in the Artic. Flash didn't yell at him like the team did. Barry was never like that—it'd taken a week for Barry to look at him again after the accident. And after that, Flash kept Kid Flash at arm's length at all times.

Which was a feat in itself—because when you were running, you used your own two feet. Not anyone else's.

Wally could only assume that Uncle Barry was trying to get his thoughts sorted. If Barry knew about what the powers were doing to Wally, then he knew that Wally'd been keeping it a secret for three years, too.

The familiar hues of blues and purples and reds caught Wally's sight. Again, a good red. He heard his name being called, and saw blurry silhouettes of his friends as they ran towards him.

(If they still wanted to be his friends.)

"Bart," Wally breathed when he finally saw his baby cousin.

Superman had put Bart on a stretcher. Impulse's goggles, much like Wally's, had shattered. Bart's nose was twisted at an ugly angle, left eye swollen, and blood crusting on the side of his face. He was unconscious, which scared Wally the most. Impulse's boots were mostly charred, with burn marks climbing up the lycra of his uniform. His shoulder, too, jutted in an ugly angle that made the hairs on Wally's arms bristle.

"Bart," Wally repeated. He found himself in a neck brace not two seconds later, as Flash sped around the Bioship for medical supplies. His goggles were taken off his face, cowl ripped off his head so Wally could see everything a little clearer, and an IV was suddenly through his arm. Wally tried to push himself up—but realized he couldn't even move his arm. A choked cry left his mouth and he quickly fiddled with the other arm—thankful to find that it still worked.

Nightwing pushed him down. "If you think he's in bad shape, you should see yourself."

Forcing himself to keep his eyes open, Wally's gaze dully landed on his teammate. His heart tore in two when he saw the look of concentration on Dick's face beneath that mask. He couldn't tell if Dick was relieved to see him, or if Dick wanted to kill him.

Wally tried to talk, but he could barely get his mind to work.

His best friend stared at him for a deft moment, then discarded his current gloves for a pair of sterile ones. Nightwing placed an oxygen mask over Wally's mouth.

They used to be okay, Wally thought. His eyes drooped, a painful cough slithering out of the back of his throat. Never, in all the time that they knew each other, did Wally ever think their friendship would diminish to this.

Maybe Dick was right.

Maybe Wally should've told everyone what happened, when it happened.

"How are they?" Nightwing asked.

"Three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, fractured nose, bruised left eye, and large contusion above the right eye," Superman informed as he inspected Bart. "I think that one of his ribs tore into some lung tissue. We need to hurry to the Watchtower."

"And Wally?" Flash stopped a moment later, and without a care, pulled his own cowl out of his face. Wally could have cried at the way his uncle looked at him.

Superman turned his head, and—

Bart's whimper caught everyone's attention. Out of nowhere, he started thrashing on his stretcher. He pounded his fists into the bedding, sobs coming from the back of his throat, and immediately Wally forced himself up.

"Bart!" Barry shouted, and he sped to his grandson's side.

"Bart—agh—" Wally's eyes wetted with tears, the pain in his chest throbbing like a thousand knives impaling his bones. He coughed, hand reaching to rip the oxygen mask away from his face—and Nightwing stopped him. "No—nononoletgohe'sinpain—"

"So are you," Nightwing snapped back. "Superman, what's going on?"

"Impulse's body is trying to heal on its own," Superman reported, voice urgent. He pressed a hand to Bart, and the speedster only cried out in pain. "If we don't operate on him soon, his ribs are going to reassemble through his lung tissue."

"Leggo'fhim!" Wally shouted. He writhed against Nightwing, trying to shake his best friend's grip off and failing. "Stopityou'rehurtinghim!"

"Wally! Wally, you've lost a lot of blood, you need to calm down!" Nightwing forced him down, and Wally hissed in pain.

"Sedatives?" Batgirl asked. She ran towards them, a flashlight in hand.

"Hyper-accelerated metabolism. Both of them," Barry pointed out. His voice cracked. "It'll leave their systems before having any effect."

"Leggo," Wally pleaded, and he smashed heads with Dick. It hurt, like the rest of him, but he didn't care. "I need—Bart—"

Again, Bart cried out and Batgirl did quick work that Wally couldn't see.

"Conner! ETA on the zeta-beam tube?" Nightwing shouted. He wasn't even facing Wally anymore, and that made Wally angry. How dare they try to separate Bart and him? They had no idea what Bart and he had been through.

"Twenty seconds—it's in view. Aqualad and the others are meeting us there."

"Let me see him!" Wally demanded. He tried once more to lunge off his stretcher—but both Flash and Nightwing kept him pinned. Wally growled as the oxygen mask was put back on his face, and he howled in pain when Flash unintentionally grazed his shoulder.

"Wally! Wally—Kid, you have got to calm down!"

"No! I need to see him—Ineedto!" Wally thrashed, but it was no use. His body felt used and worn and disgusting, and he was ready to die. Wally didn't care anymore, so long as Bart was okay.

The landing was a blur. Dick and Barry kept him restrained, and Wally's heart ripped in two every time he heard Bart cry in pain. A hatch opened up as they landed, and the stretchers were wheeled out of the Bioship.

"What's going on?" he barely heard Aqualad say. There was a gasp, and Wally saw an array of blond hair elsewhere.

"They both need medical attention ASAP," Nightwing informed. "Batgirl, set coordinates to the Watchtower."

"Affirmative."

"LET GO OF ME!" Wally shouted, and he regretted it. His throat blazed, body ached, vision blurred, and ears pounded. He saw Barry wheel Bart's stretcher away, and the panic set in. "WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM? LET GO—LET ME—"

"Sedative?" someone asked.

"No—it'll bleed through his system before it has time to work." Artemis held him by the crown of his head, the worry wrinkling her brow. "Dammit, Wally—sit still—"

"Here—leave him to me." M'gann slowly took Artemis's place. Her amber eyes stared down at him, expression stern and fully of worry, and she rubbed soothing circles into Wally's temples.

"Let me…go…" A wave of calmness hit Wally, and his next breath caught in his throat. He flattened against the bed, and M'gann held onto him firmly.

Someone grabbed onto his good hand as the calmness flourished over Wally's thoughts. His eyelids felt heavy, and although his heart was pounding, it felt better with M'gann's touch against him.

"That's it, Wally," Dick murmured softly. "Breathe. Everything will be fine. Breathe…"

He let out a tired breath and let himself slowly succumb to darkness.

Breathe…

xxx

"Stance tall, feet flat, grip tight." Wally grinned cockily, his hand planted firmly on Robin's back. "And most importantly, don't forget to breathe."

Robin snorted. "Since when are you an expert at the trapeze?"

"Since last night, when I looked it up on the internet." Wally wiggled his eyebrows. He sped to the other side of his best friend, knelt down, and fixed Robin's hips with his hands. The platform was narrow—Wally knew it wasn't meant for two people. So when he crouched as close as he did to Robin, he wasn't surprised to get a knee to the face. "Ow! Hey!"

"You next to my junk is the last thing I want, Kid Doofus."

"Do you want my expertise or do you want to fail?"

"I want your face as far away from my crotch as possible."

"Hey, whoa—" With another nudge from an irate Boy Wonder, Wally nearly fell. He squeaked, the back of his feet shaking at the end of the platform. Robin yanked him by the front of his shirt, and they flanked together. Distressed, Wally flung his arms around Robin's legs with no intention of letting go. "Don't do that!"

"Hahaha!" As annoyed as Robin looked before, it didn't seem to matter now. It was the first laugh Wally'd heard out of his best friend's mouth since before finding out Haly could be in trouble.

Who knew Wally'd miss it so much.

"Dude. The Bioship has been off the ground higher than this." Robin proceeded to point to the netting beneath the trapeze. "Without a safety net."

"Hey, I'm a runner. My feet have a longstanding marital agreement with the ground," Wally retorted. He wiggled his toes for emphasis, which only made their Boy Wonder cackle again. Rolling his eyes, Wally inspected the setup himself. "This is like the love child of the monkey bars and a swing set."

"Nice to know that you're comparing my backstory to playground stuff."

"Please. When it comes to you? You make everything look like playground stuff."

Robin hummed, his eyebrows raised beneath the white and red domino mask. Wally assumed the quip was taken as a compliment rather than an insult.

The trapeze itself wasn't a big one. Wally'd been to the circus before—he knew those were colossal in comparison to the one set up in the small bunker beneath Mount Olympus. Still—it didn't make this one any less intimidating. They were best friends now—who ragged on each other for everything—but Robin had way bigger balls than Wally did and made Wally's inner fanboy tingle with glee.

(Ergh. Scratch that whole metaphor—Wally wasn't partial to comparing ball sizes with his best friend. Or anyone. He didn't want to see what Superboy was packing away, either. Gross.)

"So you go on an unauthorized mission on the other side of the world, get caught by the Caped Crusader himself—and he rewards you by building a trapeze beneath the base?" Wally asked. He slowly unwound himself from Robin's legs.

They weren't doing any actual trapeze work. The team was unwinding from going against Parasite—which Wally was both empathetic and envious of.

(On one hand—cool, a sick villain who could absorb other people's abilities. On the other hand: best friend goes on a throwback mission, leaves him in Happy Harbor and gets inside Robin's head big time. Unfair and not cool.)

Artemis and Roy alternated between getting along and bickering (but apparently it was the good kind of bickering), while M'gann and Supey seemed stronger than ever. It chewed Wally up on the inside. He wished he was there.

Even the part of him that was happy Roy was on the team was bitter. After all—Roy'd thrown the hat on the ground and left. Then he came back and went on a mission that Wally was more than suited for.

Robin shifted subtly on the platform. He shrugged, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable. "Christmas present."

Wally inspected the ground to make sure no one was waiting on them. Zee and Artemis were discussing who-knows-what on a bench, while Kaldur and Roy did the same on the other side of the room. M'gann and Conner were making googly eyes at each other—so lost in thought that Miss M was literally floating off the ground.

"Well he's pretty cool for letting you off the hook," Wally said. "Since it hits close to home and everything."

Again, Robin snorted. "As if. I'm on the hook more than ever now. Batman's got me doing twice the training for the next two months as punishment for going on an unauthorized mission."

"Worth it?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Robin tried to sound tough, but his voice softened. The edge of his lips curled into a smile, and his blue eyes shined beautifully under the white mask. It didn't take the World's Greatest Detective to know Robin was happy.

It made Wally smile a little too.

He cleared his throat and weakly tapped Robin's shin. "You better take me with you next time you go on a life-altering mission."

"That wasn't a life-altering—"

"Seriously. You're my best bud." Wally turned to Robin thoughtfully. He fidgeted with his t-shirt and awkwardly shrugged. "And I've got your back. Always."

Robin stared at him for a moment. Without the dumb shades or the usual uniform mask, Wally knew Rob's demeanor was, You Are So Stupid or I'm Gonna Barf. Instead Robin laughed, more gently this time. He held a hand out. "Appreciate it."

"Duh." Grinning with relief, Wally took the hand and stood up. "It is me you're talking to, after all."

"So—" Robin turned to the chalk bowl beside him and proceeded to coat his hands. He clapped them together and smiled up to the speedster. "You ready to do this?"

Wally's smile faded into panic. He blinked wildly and scratched his head. "Um—this? Like, trapeze work?"

"You climbed the ladder to get up here, didn't you?" Mischief twinkled in Robin's eyes. He took Wally by the hands and helped coat them with chalk, too. After that, he turned his head away, which only made Wally's heart hammer with panic. "M'gann! You ready?"

M'gann tore away from her conversation with Conner. She grinned up to them and flew to the platform on the other end of the trapeze. "Ready Freddy!"

Wally gulped. "Um—I don't—"

With one flick of the wrist, M'gann maneuvered the bar towards them.

"Hey—if a wily Martian can tour across Europe and do it, I think a speedster can pick it up just fine." Dick caught the bar and guided Wally's fingers over it. "Monkey bar and swing set. Right?"

"But—"

"Hey." Robin planted a hand firmly on Wally's back. He chuckled softly under his breath, completely calm per usual. This time, it didn't feel like it was because of countless hours of training with Batman. Robin's chuckle was pure, unadulterated Dick Grayson. "You're my best bud too. I'm not gonna let you fall."

"You two ready?" M'gann called from the other end. She seemed excited.

Not only that, but the three of them now had the eyes of everyone else in the bunker. Great.

"I'm gonna kill you if I die from this." Wally glared at his best friend, but knew he couldn't keep it up.

Robin hummed and shrugged contently.

"Ready, Gorgeous!" Wally's voice cracked as he looked back to M'gann. She grinned at him beautifully—and he decided that his friends better be lucky that they were attractive people. Wally had a hard time saying no to attractive people.

"Ready!" M'gann shouted back.

"On the count the count of three, okay?" Dick said in a low voice. He kept a hand firmly planted on Wally's back—which calmed the latter down a little. "One…"

Wally gulped.

"Two…"

"Wait—on three, or after th—"

"Hup!" With all the freaking force in the world, Robin shoved him.

"Oh my god—" Which was how Wally went falling. Falling—seriously, falling, oh god—

"Heads up!" Supey shouted from below. Out of nowhere, he tossed a barrel upwards beneath Wally. The speedster forced himself to change his center of gravity. He pushed his feet on the barrel like it was a trampoline and—yelped, because he was still falling. Falling—

"I am so killing you for this!" Wally shouted shakily.

"Arms out, West!" Roy shouted from the sidelines.

In hysterics, Wally did what he was told. He felt a sharp tug as M'gann's telekinesis pulled at his body—and she grabbed him by the wrists.

'Gotcha!' she shouted triumphantly in their heads.

What happened after that was practically a blur. Dick was right about one thing—they'd faced superbaddies of all sorts, so it made no sense that this freaked him out—but it did. There was an adrenaline to it that made Wally's blood rush in ways that running never could. He could barely do this in front of his friends, let alone for an audience.

Wally nearly peed himself when they landed on the other platform. "Oh sweet platform—sweet, sweet ground!"

"Was that so bad?" M'gann giggled softly and rubbed circles in his back.

"Yes," Wally replied instantly as he thought of several ways to get back at Rob later.

Who was hugging his ribcage and laughing so hard that he looked like he was going to topple over from hysterics.

"Dude!" Wally seethed. He wasn't even sure why he was shouting—but freaking out at Rob was definitely an instinct by now.

Blue eyes flashed at Wally with glee, lips stretched from flushed cheek-to-flushed cheek. Robin's shoulders tremble with the rest of his body from laughed, and he grinned up at Wally.

"Like we'd let you fall," Dick said between laughter. He looked up to Wally, and the speedster's heart skipped a beat. "You idiot."

"You're a freak," Wally breathed back. He stared at Robin like their youngest teammate had grown a second head.

"He's right, you know," Supey said smugly from below. Obviously he was satisfied with nearly impaling Wally with a barrel. "We'd never let you fall."

"Then you're all weird!" Wally threw his hands up in the air and huffed. "I hate all of you!"

At first, Miss M made a sound of protest, clearly taking offense to that. When she realized the comment was mostly directed towards Robin, she laughed. Wally did too, once he gathered his bearings.

"Admit it!" Robin shouted back, still grinning. "You had fun."

"Did not!" Wally frowned, but it quickly morphed into a smile instead. He tried to be angry—and knew he couldn't.

xxx

"You idiot," Dick murmured under his breath. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

Flash was pacing back and forth in the narrow length of the waiting room, his feet quietly padding the floor. He stopped occasionally to stare at the door, or to rush up to it—then he went back to pacing.

Conner sat beside Dick. He wasn't as fidgety as Barry was—but from the way he was tapping a hand to his arm for the last three hours, Dick knew Conner wanted to blow off some steam.

Not many people were around. The Watchtower had grown in the past few years and expanded its Medical Bay—but it was only used as a last resort when an injury was beyond what a normal hospital could do.

Like super speed.

Dick's jaw tightened. Batgirl had returned to Vlatava with Kaldur, M'gann, and Artemis. His heart ached when Artemis saw Wally for the first time—in hysterics, blubbering and violent, with nothing functioning but his left arm. Dick didn't think Wally even realized how injured he was.

There'd been a large bump on Wally's forehead, followed by another series of bruises down the side of his face. One of Wally's eyes was swollen shut from the input, blood oozing out of his ear. Wally'd tried to speak, but it all came out in a series of broken sounds—most of them asking for Bart.

Bart wasn't as bad as Wally—but lying there, so close to death, just…brought too many flashbacks of Jason's death.

Wiping his face, Dick pushed the images out of his head. He didn't want to go to that place again. It'd taken a lot for Dick to accept Tim after Jason's death. Not because Dick hated Tim.

He loved Tim so much that he was afraid what would happen one night if Timmy went on patrol and never came back.

No one deserved a fate like that.

And Dick didn't like the fact that he might be facing that right now, with his best friend. And his best friend's Tim.

He could only imagine what Flash was going through.

"Barry?" Dick asked a moment later. "How're you holding up?"

His voice felt raw. It'd been four hours since they rushed to the Watchtower with no news. Batman trained him various types of situations—but surgery wasn't one of them. Not like this. He felt like he was standing on the line between teendom and adulthood—young enough that Flash could still ruffle his hair at first greeting, and old enough that he should've known what he was doing.

Barry stopped running, and it felt like he took the room with him. Silence.

Dick knew that he couldn't ask, 'Are you okay?' He spent years asking Batman that—and no matter how stern Bruce's poker face, his eyes always gave it away. Barry had a lot of similarities in that manner. He wore his heart on his sleeve—but to the core, Barry was a good man with a calm demeanor. It wasn't just his eyes that gave it away. Barry's hands shook beside him, body fidgeting with super speed.

Conner softened, too. He leaned forward, his hands furled together in front of him. "I should've told you."

Flash's head fidgeted. He shook it slowly, stance still tight where he was. "No—"

His voice was gruff from hours of disuse, deep and thick. He stopped short in speaking, like he would if he were coming to a halt from running. Barry curled his hands at his sides and plopped onto the bench behind him.

Throwing a look in Conner's direction, Dick and he got up to soothe the older hero.

"They're a lot alike, you know." Flash sat up against the bench and fiddled with his gloves. He sounded worn down and tired—and in all the years Dick knew Barry, he'd never seen Barry like this. "Wally likes food. Bart likes food. They eat their way through the fridge in like two days."

Dick squeezed Barry's shoulder soothingly.

"Wally always wanted to be a hero," Barry murmured softly under his breath. "He begged me, not even a week after being in the hospital. And Bart is fearless. He...came all the way back here as a hero so that everyone else could have a choice. They're my boys."

He slumped against the seat.

"And I can't help them. I couldn't help when Bart was almost killed by Zoom, when Zoom got the twins—" Flash sucked in a breath and made a lack gesture towards Conner. "I wouldn't have even known Zoom took the twins if you didn't tell me, Superboy."

Again, Conner and Dick looked at each other.

"Am I really cut out for this?" Flash rubbed his temples and sucked in a breath. "Wally used to tell me everything that was bothering him before his parents. Before his aunt. And I didn't know he was in pain. He's like a son to me and I didn't know he was in pain. I wasn't there to protect them from Zoom. How can I be a good father when I'm not even a good uncle? Or a granddad?"

Barry exhaled, which sounded nothing short of a sob.

"How can I be a good Flash when I'm no good at anything else?" he muttered under his breath. He shrugged Dick's hand away from his shoulder. "I'm a terrible mentor. Who knows how good I am at being a dad, too."

"Barry," Dick chided softly under his breath. "You are literally everything that a good mentor could be. Bart, Wally, and the twins are lucky to have you."

Like a meager child, Barry shook his head. Dick had never seen a grown man look so distraught. Flash was the polar opposite of either of his kin—Wally'd lashed out angrily and Bart kept to himself.

He could only wonder how the League acted when Barry was down—but Superman had returned to League, just like Team Alpha did with the mission. Life went on whether or not Wally and Bart would be okay in that room or if the Flash didn't want to be the Flash anymore.

"What happened in there wasn't your fault. For whatever reason, Wally wanted to keep it a secret and Bart did too." Conner crossed his arms. "Once STAR Labs arrives, we can get a better reading on the situation."

For whatever reason. Dick bit the inside of his mouth and curled his hands into fists. He knew the gesture didn't go unseen by Conner. Dick had every intention of taking responsibility for the mission if it failed—but that didn't mean he wasn't angry with Wally for compromising it in the first place.

And compromising their friendship with it.

This as more than an engagement ring. Dick could forget that.

His best friend might not even live long enough to get married. Wally would rather die than let anyone know how low he was. And that was not okay.

They—Dick and he—were not okay.

Without warning, Barry's hands fell. He stood up and touched both boys by the shoulder. "Guess I can't put it off any longer. The family needs to know what happened."

"Will the League allow them up here?" Conner frowned.

"The Medical Bay, yes. Any other place will be off limits. Once they see Bart and Wally, I don't think they'll want to leave their sides." Barry's eyebrows furrowed together beneath his cowl. He stood straighter, squeezing both their shoulders firmly. "They're lucky to have friends like you two."

ZIP

And he was gone.

The pair stood in an awkward silence, neither moving. Dick stared at Conner carefully, and Conner stared back, lips set in a firm line.

"Some friends we are," Conner muttered. "Ready to strangle Wally with one hand and hoping he lives in the other."

Dick agreed whole-heartedly.

xxx

"Do Atlanteans celebrate Christmas?" Wally mused. He flopped onto his stomach on the couch and shoved a fistful of popcorn into his mouth. Immediately, a spoon from the kitchen flew over and smacked him upside the head. "Ow!"

"Wally!" M'gann chided. "That's for the Christmas tree!"

"Christmas was two days ago!" Wally retorted. He rubbed his aching head, but could only laugh. Before he could get another spoon to the face, he continued stringing popcorn—while sneaking a few bits of popcorn, of course.

"It's our first Christmas together as a team!" M'gann shot back. "And everyone was busy on the real Christmas, so we're celebrating now!"

On cue, Wally made smarmy eyebrows at his favorite Supey. Everyone had gone home for the holidays—and as a tradition sans three years ago, Flash and he ran around to orphanages near Central City to read to little kids.

(Wally once made a jab at Flash by saying he was a big man in a red suit who could cross the world in one night, and Barry stuck with it. It was both the best and worst decision of his life.)

He'd asked if Supey wanted to spend the holidays with him, but M'gann and Superboy were apparently eager to have the cave to themselves on Christmas.

And now, they were only a few gingerbread men away from holiday hell.

(That was totally a lie. Wally'd streak across Happy Harbor if M'gann asked him to. This was nothing in comparison.)

Supey ignored Wally's happy brows in favor of watching No Signal. Figures.

"We celebrate on the eve of the Winter Solstice and drink to our heart's content," Kaldur explained from his place on the La-Z-Boy. He seemed perfectly content with the clumsily knit scarf Artemis had given him. (Archer? Yes. Seamstress? No.) "Then we feast for an entire week and indulge on several types of foods. Whoever devours the most is then cooked to a crisp and is eaten by all of Atlantis on the eve of the New Year."

Silence.

Wally dropped popcorn from his hands and stared at Kaldur, mouth ajar.

M'gann stopped working, and even Supey turned away from the TV, eyebrow raised.

A tiny smile curled against Kaldur's lips.

"And that," Robin announced as he appeared from behind the couch, "is what we call Atlantean sarcasm."

Yelping, Wally fell off the couch. "Dude!"

"Fastest Teen Alive? Yes. But does he ever see anything coming?" Robin threw his head back and cackled. "No."

"You're a freak of nature on your own." Wally grabbed a fistful of popcorn and threw it at Robin. "You don't count."

"Hahaha!" Robin grinned. He dodged the popcorn, cause it to fly towards Supey and Kaldur instead. Both who rolled their eyes and glared at Wally from a distance. And of course, while Wally was pointing fingers at his best friend, said best friend flipped over the couch, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and shoved it down the back of Wally's hoodie.

"Dude!"

"Wally!" M'gann tutted from the kitchen. She plucked every piece of popcorn via telekinesis and extracted the bowl back to the counter. "No more popcorn for you!"

"But—" Wally sputtered. He guffawed at his best friend while trying digging for popcorn behind him. "But—he—Rob's the one who—"

M'gann shot a piece of popcorn gently at their resident Boy Wonder's head. "You too, Robin! Why don't you help Zatanna and Artemis put up the decorations?"

Wally shot a glare in Robin's direction, but he knew it was no use. Knowing Rob, this was just some master plan to embarrass him later. But—he didn't want to know what Miss Beautiful was like when she was pissed off and didn't want to get on Conner's bad side, so he obliged.

"You are such a pain in the ass," he declared as they walked down the hall. The Christmas tree was placed in the den next to the TV—but when it came to the holidays and Miss M, it was go big or go home.

Robin shrugged. "You were pissing Miss M off anyway."

"It was part of my master plan to win her back."

"Hahaha. You really think you could compete with Superboy?"

"I could. If I had a Kryptonian six pack." Wally made a face and lifted his shirt. He loved his body, but he'd probably love it more if it were bulletproof. "Why do we have to help out the other girls, anyway? Artemis keeps looking at me like she wants to rip my head off."

"Probably because the last time you two went on a mission together, you yelled at her and called her insecure." Robin kept his voice light, but it was clear by his words that he wasn't on Wally's side.

Turning to his best friend, Wally scoffed. "She led Kaldur and me on a wild goose chase because she was insecure about Speed—Red Arrow. That's not my fault."

"She has her reasons," Robin shot back. "Trust me. I know."

Wally wrinkled his nose. It was one thing to get into an argument with Arty of all people, but he didn't like it when his best friend didn't take his side.

Roy had used them as a stepping stone, too. He was only around for a few days, and was soon to be inducted into the League. There was no way Wally was gonna go up to Arty and apologize for being wrong. Hell would have to freeze over first.

"And you expect me to be all gung-ho about it? It's different if you lie, bro—you and I go way back. I know I can trust you." Wally rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "But she's just—some girl—"

"Dude," Robin said. "Seriously not cool."

The redhead stopped short of whatever else he was going to say. His shoulders came to his ears, and he wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, well, neither was lying to me."

"You don't have secrets to keep." Robin nudged him in the shoulder. "It's different."

Knowing he was going to lose this argument, Wally just shrugged. He still frowned, hurt that his best friend would choose a girl they'd both known four months versus their three-year long friendship, but let it go.

"Pluuus everyone in the cave knows you like her. Underneath all of that butthurt I know you don't mean a word you say."

"What—I—what the hell?" Wally's face flushed as red as his hair and he shot a look at a smug Robin. "Well what about you and Zatanna?"

Robin's lips stretched from cheek-to-cheek. His cheeks glowed, and he waved his hand dismissively. "We get each other."

"You get each oth—?"

"Yeah. So don't be so chalant about it."

Wally wrinkled his nose. He deflated, and crossed his arms. "I hate you."

Again, Robin grinned. Wally would've said his best friend had the face of an angel if Rob weren't so twisted. They stopped before reaching Zatanna's room, and Wally made a face.

"Wait here, okay?" he said.

"O—" ZIP! "—kay?"

Sprinting to the souvenir room, Wally took the carefully wrapped box out of its hiding spot—the ice chamber for Queen Perdita's new heart—and rushed back to the scene. He flashed a lopsided grin in Robin's direction. "Merry Xmas, bro."

"A gift." Robin stared at the box, confused. "For me?"

"Don't think much on it." He waved his hand dismissively and extended his hands. The box was a fairly decent size—as big as one of Wally's shoeboxes, at least. And he had big feet. "I love you, you're great—blah blah blah. Sentimental stuff."

"Even if I'm 'a freak'?" The younger teen mused.

"Now how could I insult my friend with petty words?" Wally snorted. "Especially considering everything I say goes in one big ear and out the other?"

Robin arched an eyebrow, and Wally just rolled his eyes.

"Just—open it."

"Okay, but you know that Bats is loaded. We're talking about a guy who…"

The gift wasn't much bigger than the box—a two-figured wooden sculpture of—

"This is me. On a robin." Robin sounded appalled and worried at the same time—and flattered. The grimace on his face overshadowed the other reactions. Not that Wally could blame him. You apparently had to be trained by the World's Greatest Detective to realize what it was.

"You saw that, then? Because my woodshop teacher thought I made a stick figure over a chicken nugget." Wally zipped to his best friend's other side. "Like—here's the cape, and here's the mask. I even painted the bird the right colors and everything and he gave me a C-Minus."

"So you decided to give me your below-average woodshop project for Christmas instead of putting it in your collection of knickknacks at home," Robin mused. "I'm touched."

"Hey—you're a hard person to shop for." Wally nudged his best friend and rolled his eyes. He sucked the inside of his mouth and shrugged. "One shitty sculpture from me is something you can't find on the market. You can't put a price on it—just like our friendship."

The grimace over Robin's lips waned. He stared at the gift thoughtfully, and Wally shrugged.

"So," Wally elbowed him in the arm. "Mister Ward of You Know Who. Did you get me anything?"

Robin snorted. He dug into the front pocket of his jacket and fished out a box no bigger than his hands. (How Robin fit it in there? Who knew—Wally stopped asking questions after seeing Robin pull out a utility belt one too many times.) "Feel free to take your—"

Wally snatched the gift and ripped the wrapping paper in seconds. He blinked when he saw it. "Snowboard Kids?"

The game was beat up and stained yellow—but it looked like whomever had it last tried to clean it up as well as they could. Wally could still see a faded image of Slash, winking smugly in a way that made him think of Dick.

"Our friendship's worth twenty-six bucks," Robin continued. He laughed to himself and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Found a copy on eBay. You said when your aunt and uncle started dating—"

"Uncle Barry won me over by letting me play his old school game console," Wally finished for him. He stared at the game—forward and backwards. "They lost it when they moved in together. Uncle Bee was crushed."

"Don't you mean you?"

"No." Wally snorted. "I mean Barry. Aunt Iris tried to bribe him with Sonic Riders and he moped around the house for a week because it wasn't the same."

Robin wrinkled his nose. The image of the Fastest Man Alive moping around the house wasn't easily conjured. "Well I tested it. The game still works and everything. I hope your uncle still has the game console."

"Dude…I am so whelmed."

"Wha—okay, what are you doing?" Robin tried to wriggle out of Wally's grip, but even the Boy Wonder couldn't escape a bear hug from the Fastest Teen Alive. Wally lifted him off the ground, spun him—and even laughed in his ear.

"I am so in love with you right now, bro!" Wally cackled, holding Robin by the waist and fastening the game behind the small of his best friend's back. His heart fluttered. "I could kiss you!"

From the angle they were clinging to each other, Robin awkwardly patted Wally on the head. "Let me go, or I'm castrating you."

"Fine, fine." Wally grinned behind his chortles and released the other teen. Then proceeded to hug him again. "I love you!"

"You're doing this to piss me off now."

"Totally." Wally let go of Robin once more—this time lacing his free hand with Robin's. "C'mon—I saw a TV in one of the spare rooms."

"What—you seriously think you'd find a Nintendo 64 around here?"

"I'm certain that if any of the Justice League has a funny bone and bought a game console, they haven't updated it since the nineties."

"Fair point." Robin tugged at Wally's arm before they could take off. "What about the girls?"

"Ehh." Wally waved the game around dismissively. A smile quirked against his lips. "Forget them. You're more important."

Robin grinned.

xxx

A hand tapped on Dick's shoulder, startling him awake. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, exhaling a loud breath, and looked up. "Timmy. What're you doing here…?"

"Bart's out of surgery," Tim said instead. He was dressed in his civvies—thick black shades, red jacket, and a pair of normal jeans. His eyebrows furrowed together, and a small smile curled against his lips.

"I fell asleep," Dick assessed. He stretched his limbs and grimaced as his body unfurled with cracks.

Looking around, he saw Jaime sitting in a corner in a quiet conversation with Cassie and La'gaan and Gar sprawled over Conner's lap, asleep. Flash was back—this time with a baby in one hand while he discussed something with the doctor.

"It's 3AM in Gotham now," Tim explained, knowing it was going to be Dick's next question. "Mal informed us what happened and we rushed here as soon as we could."

"Do you know anything about—?"

Tim tapped on Dick's wrist. The holocomp appeared, and the newest Boy Wonder fluttered through it until a livestream of the Vlatavan News. The sun was shining over there, with the local clock reading 10:42AM. Perdita was dressed in beautiful Kaznian robes while Audrey, likewise, was dressed in Vlatavan ones. Tiny bruises littered Perdita's face, her arm held protectively in a sling—and yet she was all smiles next to her fiancée.

Dick could only assume that he slept through the wedding.

"…we understand the consequences of our marriage," said Audrey, "whether they be good or bad. However, one of these 'consequences' is the union of our two countries—just like the union of the two of us."

"There are those who've tried to hurt us, as people. Our peoples, our nations," Perdita said. "But we have come out of it, stronger. And as my beloved Audrey and I have joined together as one—so will our nations. As one people—and as one nation. Stronger, and together."

Perdita and Audrey laced their hands together as a symbol, and raised them towards the sky. The crowds around them erupted in cheers.

"Hard to believe someone so young is capable of ruling their own country," Tim noted. "But can't be any less believable than kids running around in tight spandex and saving the world."

"With bat puns," Dick pointed out.

Tim chuckled softly under his breath, which warmed Dick's chest. A smile curled against his own lips—tired and tight, but still relieved at the sight of his baby brother.

"C'mere," Dick murmured. He stood to his feet, his hand curling over Tim's, and pulled him close into a hug.

"What—"

"I'm just glad you're here." He hugged Tim tighter, and felt his pulse slow just a tad. "And that you're not on the other side of that door."

With a new understanding, Tim relaxed in Dick's grip and even hugged him back. They didn't talk about Jason often—but whenever Dick dwelled on Jason, Tim brought it upon himself to cheer him up.

Funny, Dick thought. He couldn't remember when telling Wally all of his thoughts became telling Tim. Hugging the current Boy Wonder tighter, Dick felt a tiny tingle. He never wanted Tim to be on the other side of that door.

And…knew he couldn't prevent that, if it happened.

"You guys are a good team," Dick continued in a strained voice. His eyes flickered to Conner briefly, knowing that the other veteran member heard him. "Better than we've been."

Judging by the way Tim's eyebrows furrowed together, Dick knew Tim had mixed feelings about that statement. "I don't—"

"Nightwing, Superboy." Flash said out of nowhere. He turned to the said hero expectantly.

"Later," Dick said to Tim. He touched the younger teen's shoulder gently and then wandered to the speedster. "How's Bart doing?"

"Good." Barry let out a terse breath. He massaged the crown of his head and wrinkled his nose. "He's…he's doing good. We'll know more about his condition in the morning."

"Good," Dick echoed. They fell silent.

Barry's feet rocked against the floor, and he made another face. "They couldn't sedate Bart or give him any anesthesia. Manhunter put his mind in a meditative state, like Miss Martian did for Wally."

The baby squirmed, and Barry quickly alternated between arms.

"But he's okay," Conner reiterated. "You said so yourself."

Yeah," Barry breathed. "He's just…so little…"

"And what about Kid Flash?" Dick lowered his voice and tried to switch subjects. It wasn't much of a difference—Barry would be worried out of his mind regardless of which family member it was.

"Still in surgery." Barry fidgeted and slowly shook his head. "There was a lot wrong with him before the explosion, too. They're…uh. Once he's out, they're gonna do a lot of tests. Bart, too, but. Wally's not getting released for a while if he makes it."

"When," Conner and Dick said in unison.

Dick squeezed Flash's shoulder firmly. A tiny smile curled against his lips. "He's gonna make it, Flash. Wally got struck by lightning and made it out alive."

Fortunately, Barry took that into consideration. "You mean slowed his death."

Another silence. Dick's hand diminished from the speedster's shoulder, and Barry ducked his head.

"I'm," he breathed slowly, "gonna go see Bart. You…uh. Wanna come with?"

"You get first dibs." Dick wanted to ask more questions, but Barry seemed ready to speed in there. The rest of the West-Allen Family was nowhere to be seen—but he doubted they were any better off than their Scarlet Speedster.

"Thanks." Barry gave them a grateful look and went running. ZIP!

Jaime didn't spare a moment of silence. "Are Bart and Kid Flash gonna be okay?"

"Impulse is going to be fine." Dick turned his head. "But it's late. You should all get some sleep."

"Nuh-uh. No way—" Cassie stood up and frowned. "Not until we get to see Bart."

"It's going to be a while." Dick doubted Barry wanted a crowded room when he assessed both his grandson and nephew for himself. "I think Flash and the rest of their family needs time to process for themselves."

The younger members looked at each other. It was Tim who shrugged. "Then we'll wait."

They all settled back in their places in the waiting room, like nothing was different. But it felt different. The atmosphere of the room made the hairs on the back of Dick's neck stand up. A wave of nostalgia hit him hard. With everything that'd happened in the past year, he couldn't remember feeling as light-hearted as the newbies did.

"I'm sorry for yelling on you for not telling me—the Team…me. About Wally." Dick lowered his voice so Conner was the only one to hear him. "If there's…anyone that I should be angry at, it should be Wally. I'm just…so—"

"Frustrated?" Conner finished for him. "I think we all heard over the link."

Oh. Oh. Dick groaned softly and covered his face.

"You smelled like him when you came back to the Watchtower a few weeks ago," Conner said helpfully, as if the news was the most normal thing in the world. "I knew."

"Can we…not talk about this?" Dick's ears flushed redder by the second. He didn't know why—but talking to Artemis about it was just a lot easier than having…anyone else acknowledge it.

Conner grunted. A moment later, he added, "I'm not going to apologize for bringing up Artemis. That was stupid on all four of your parts."

"I—"

"M'gann and I are just as vital to the team as any of you are. You, Kaldur, and Wally may've founded the team, but Artemis, M'gann, and I are important, too. We all are." Conner shook his head with disdain. "You were tired of the League treating you like children and keeping secrets. Don't make the same mistake in something you created."

Dick considered those words. Conner stared at him sternly, his eyebrows furrowed together—clearly unwilling to fold on the issue.

"You've had your secrets too," Dick pointed out. "But so did I. So did everyone. But this is different. He's—"

"I know." Conner cut him off. His voice was tight, lips curled into a scowl. He uncharacteristically stuffed his hands in his pockets. "He's dying because of it."

"Yeah."

"How are you going to punish him?"

"He's not officially on the roster, so suspension is just an empty punishment." Dick shook his head. "There's also no way he'll be reinstated."

"Because of his condition."

"Because the team would never let him, either." Dick's hands curled into fists. "Which is another concern. The team isn't going to react well."

"And how are you reacting to it?"

At this point, Dick might as well have collided into a wall. He raised his gaze to meet Conner's eye—who again, seemed genuinely curious of his answer. With a nervous twitch, Dick fixed one of his cuffs and tore away from his teammate. "I don't know."

He wasn't sure there was a right word for, 'I want him to be okay, but I want to kill him.'

xxx

"By the way." Robin sifted through the DVDs nonchalantly. Wally couldn't tell from the angle he was sitting on the couch, but he was almost one hundred percent certain that it was a James Bond movie. "Batman said I could tell you guys my secret-ID. You know, if you want it."

"Really?" Zatanna perked from her spot on the floor. A grin spread over her lips, giddy. "He approved?"

"If the founding members of the Justice League know Bats's ID, then the founding members—plus whoever I deem worthy—should know my ID." Robin stood up, trying to look casual, but anyone could tell he looked as excited as his girlfriend was. He quirked an impish eyebrow and grinned.

Kaldur hummed pleasantly. "We have been a team for a year now."

"Please. Don't remind me." Wally threw his head back with a groan, nearly clinking ears with Artemis. "I have to start on my summer reading list for AP Lit tomorrow."

"You start school in three days." His girlfriend shoved him in the shoulder and rolled her eyes. "You had all summer and put it off to the last minute?"

"I was busy!" Wally retorted.

"Can't you speed read?" Conner arched an eyebrow and waved his hand in Wally's direction. "Since you do everything else fast?"

Artemis bit back a snicker, and her hotheaded boyfriend only pouted.

"Flash can't even do that. No speedster can. Having super speed doesn't automatically give you a photographic memory." Wally crossed his arms. "Which would be cool so I'd finally be able to pass him at something."

"Ahem," Robin cleared his throat. He shot Wally a, 'Trying to Have My Own Moment' look. "Are we done talking about KF's lack of commonsense?"

"I didn't think KF had any commonsense to begin with." Raquel laughed, and both Artemis and she fistbumped. "But go ahead, Boy Wonder. Might as well see what's under those shades."

Robin hummed. He muted the TV behind them and stood straight. Wally couldn't help but think how tall Robin had gotten—they were nearing the same height now. Robin needed to build up muscle to back up his scrawny limbs—but that didn't make him any less attractive. Wally'd kind of liked it.

Slowly, Robin peeled away his glasses. Bright blue eyes stared back at them, twinkling with mischief. He cocked his head to the side so bangs would get out of his face, and shoved the shades into the pockets of his sweatshirt. Dick Grayson scanned the room, looked at Wally, and Wally's heart skipped a beat.

"Aw!" M'gann gushed and nearly floated out of her seat. "You look so cute!"

"You know what? You could pass for Conner's little brother." Zatanna cocked her head to Conner, impressed.

"You're that kid from my first day of school." Artemis huffed and crossed her arms. She didn't sound angry. No more exasperated at Wally and Dick than she usually was, anyway. "Hating you."

Robin gave a cheeky grin.

"So," Zatanna asked with a smile, "what do we call you?"

"Richard. Or Dick." Robin's shoulders slowly relaxed. Wally doubted anyone else noticed—but something about Robin's expression seemed at peace. Most of them had been friends for months or years—so giving a name meant a lot to their resident Boy Wonder. "You can keep calling me Robin if you want."

"I like that." Zee sighed happily and stood to her feet. She reached over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Robin actually flushed pink.

"Yeah, well. I knew first." Wally zipped to the other side of his best friend and threw an arm around him. He didn't know what compelled him to do so—but it felt right. "Best friends, after all."

"Way to steal all the attention for yourself, Waldo." Artemis rolled her eyes, and Wally stuck his tongue at his girlfriend.

"You're just jealous that Dick and I are at an emotional level far beyond your puny mind." Wally flung both arms around his best friend jokingly. He kind of liked being able to say his best friend's name to everyone else—especially with confidence.

"So emotional." Dick threw his head back with a laugh and jokingly nuzzled his head into Wally's shoulder. The elder teen tried not to shiver. "We get each other so well!"

Artemis rolled her eyes. She looked at Zatanna—and they both shrugged.

"For the record," their archer said. "I had my suspicions."

"As if." Wally snorted. He held the team's tactician closer, nearly swooping Robin off his feet. However, the look Artemis gave him made Wally doubtful. "Wait, really?"

"We go to the same school." Artemis stretched her legs over the cushion Wally'd been sitting on. "And Robin's in Gotham. As crowded as it is—there is only one Boy Wonder who gets on my nerves in that whole city."

"I knew too." M'gann meekly raised her hand. "Remember? I scanned everyone's minds last year."

Conner gave one terse nod of agreement. He didn't go further than that—but it made Wally gawk anyway.

"You all knew?" Wally let go of Dick—who didn't look surprised in the slightest—and turned to his best friend. "Way to be a professional, Boy Wonder."

Dick shrugged.

"I knew as well," Kaldur pointed out.

"Yeah, but he told you." Wally scoffed. "Rob, you've violated the sacred grounds of our friendship."

"Oh my god." Artemis groaned and rolled her eyes. "Can we just get to the movie?"

"Hey." Dick threw his head back with a laugh and slapped a hand over Wally's chest so hard that the latter felt his heart throb. He looked directly at the archer, his eyes flickering with more emotions than could possibly be possible behind those sunglasses, and faked a frown. "This is a very dis situation, Arty. All our aster is gone."

"So gone!" Wally repeated with a mocking sob. He leaned over the younger teen slightly, causing the center of gravity between them to shift. Dick stumbled on one foot, but laughed so hard that all he could do was snort.

Everyone else groaned.

"Evom yllaW dna niboR ot eht hcouc."

Out of nowhere, Wally found himself back on the couch next to his girlfriend. Robin, too, was nestled on the floor next to Wally's legs like he was before volunteering to switch out movies. Zee looked at the both of them, expression smug, before walking back to her boyfriend.

"If you two make another peep, you're going to hear what 'atomic wedgie' sounds like backwards, too." She flashed them a sharp look, and high-fived Artemis.

"Good job." Conner grunted with approval. "I would've just thrown them out."

"How would 'atomic wedgie' wound backwards?" Robin laughed pleasantly and laced his fingers with Zatanna's. He leaned back, part of his arm pressed against Wally's leg since the area was so small.

"You really wanna know?" Zee gave her best Dick look, the same devious glimmer in her eyes.

"Whatever, dude." Wally snorted and swiped popcorn out of Artemis's lap. "Magic doesn't exist."

"You just saw Zatanna transport you from the TV stand to the couch." Artemis quickly smacked him in the arm, slowly readjusting so that her legs were resting in his lap.

"Yeah," Wally said. "Doesn't exist."

Everyone else promptly ignored him.

Two hours later, the credits rolled on the screen. Wally tossed his head back with a yawn—only to realize Artemis had dozed off at his side. His heart fluttered in his chest, gaze falling to her hair as it tapered down her shoulder. It was pretty undone. He couldn't count how many times he wanted to run his hand through it and play with it.

Which was something he was never going to share with Rob. Because Rob would make fun of him.

He sucked in a deep breath and kissed her softly on the head. As much as Missy drove him crazy—he loved her. He really did.

Wally yelped when he felt a cold hand on his bare foot. He turned to the perpetrator and huffed. "Dude."

"Sorry." Dick peeled the hand off Wally's foot to cover his mouth as he yawned. He leaned against Wally more comfortably, shoulder touching the speedster's calf, and looked up with a tired smirk.

On the other side of him, Zee had fallen asleep against him. Dick was at an awkward angle where he was holding her hand and trying not to disturb her peace. The position looked uncomfortable—but Dick didn't seem to care.

It was weird just calling Rob Dick in his head. Rob was just Rob. Wally studied those blue eyes carefully, noting that they reflected light from the fixtures in the kitchen. They were pretty.

Rob…Dick was just pretty.

Wally couldn't get the gay club incident out of his head. It wasn't every day that you kissed your best friend. Sure—it'd been for an undercover mission, but it still made his heart soar, like scooping Artemis up in his arms and running as fast as he could so it was just them.

And…that was a confusing thought, too.

"You still mad at me for soiling our friendship garden?" Dick snapped Wally out of his thoughts before he could linger. Mirth twinkled in those eyes.

Snickering quietly, Wally shook his head and was careful not to disturb Artemis. "Only you could say that with a straight face."

"Hahaha. Well my best friend is apparently a big baby who can't stand my secrets getting out to other people."

"I'm your best friend—I get first dibs on you." Wally rolled his eyes, and this time Robin laughed back.

"And only you could say that with a straight face to me."

Wally's lips stretched into a grin. It almost hurt his face. He looked around the living room to check if anyone else was still awake. M'gann and Conner had retired halfway through the movie back to their rooms, and Raquel had an entire loveseat to herself. He didn't know where Kaldur disappeared to—but Wally could was content with being alone.

Turning back to his best friend, Wally caught Robin staring at Zee. Their Boy Wonder had moved his hand off Wally's foot back into his hoodie pockets—where his shades lay.

"You happy you finally got to tell her?" Wally asked softly. It'd been eight months now, after all, since they both got girlfriends. Wally thought it was kind of cool that they got girlfriends at the same time.

"She basically knew." Robin's ears flushed pink. He turned his head slightly, face brushing against Wally's knee was he looked up. "I mean…we make out, and stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Just stuff."

"You dog." Wally laughed and nudged Dick. "You could've been more romantic. Telling everyone at once doesn't exactly equate to candlelit dinner at Gotham's Finest."

"Please. Everyone basically knew."

"You're telling me you let my girlfriend get suspicious of your most guarded secret?"

"Yup."

"So you secretly tricked her so she'd know your secret."

"That's basically it."

Wally rolled his eyes. He'd never accuse the Boy Wonder of slipping, because Robin was just too devious for his own good. But—being careless with his identity wasn't very…Batty. Just…Robin.

"It's only fair," Dick insisted. "The founding members know Batman's identity."

"Whatever you're contracted to do with the Dark Knight is none of my business." Wally shrugged with one-shoulder. "But I knew your secret before Roy or Kaldur, so that's all that matters."

"Yeah, yeah. Best friends, first dibs. Whatever." Dick fell silent. He looked to the ceiling of the cave thoughtfully, then turned. His head brushed against Wally's knee, and the latter shivered. They met gazes, and Dick eyed Wally carefully. He sucked in a breath. "Thanks for keeping it."

Something shifted with his words. Wally felt it, but he couldn't name it. Dick looked to him with soft, tender eyes, with his bangs falling around the contour of his cheeks. With long eyelashes that weren't dainty and feminine like Arty's, but just…Dick. Robin.

It was the kiss from the club all over again—and Wally's heart jumped off a diving board.

"We should probably get some sleep." Dick's voice softened. His elbow brushed against Wally's shin, and he pulled out his phone. 3:17AM. "Red Tornado has a mission for us in, like, six hours."

"I'm fine like this," Wally blabbered without a thought. He shrugged with both shoulders. Artemis grumbled under her breath, but moved until she was sprawled over his lap and laying against the armrest.

Dick looked at him again. Assessed him. A smile curled against his lips, and he sighed contently before leaning a majority of his weight on Wally's leg. "Me too."

Wally couldn't read that smile like the ones earlier in the night.

But this just felt…normal.

He shut his eyes and leaned back against the couch. His neck would kill him in the morning, but a voice in the back of his head told him that it was worth it.

Even from this distance, he caught the scent of Sweet Pea off of his best friend.

Wally wondered if his heart would ever land.

xxx

"Wally's out of surgery."

Dick snapped out of his thoughts. He looked up from his seat—and Flash immediately zipped into his line of vision. Conner raised his head to hear Barry's words. The younger kids, too, snapped out of whatever they were doing and watched the Fastest Man Alive.

"We're allowed to visit him. He's not awake—but we can see him." Barry maneuvered Donny in his arms.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Dick asked.

Flash debated the question. The pause was an eerie one and out of place, like someone had stolen a step from Barry as the speester tried to run. Finally—"As okay as he can be in his situation."

Right. Dick sucked in a breath.

"Do you wanna see him?" Flash asked.

Nightwing turned his head to Conner. His thoughts were still disorganized—and he wasn't sure he could slap a smile on his face when he got into that room.

But…Dick needed to see Wally. Even if he was furious.

"First dibs," Conner murmured back to him. He patted Dick on the shoulder and gestured his head to the doors. "Go."

On the other end of the hall, Tim seemed to agree. He nodded at Dick, looking concerned and relieved at the same time.

"Okay," Dick said. He stood to his feet and trailed after Barry through the doors.

xxx

Author's Note:

Hey guys! It's been a while! Sorry that it's been so long since it's my last update. I hope you guys enjoyed this one, though! I can't guarantee constant updates from here on out, but I can promise you we're going to get to the end!