Wally wakes to the sound of someone knocking. He gets up, opens the door without even thinking, and when nothing greets him, he realizes the person, whoever it may be, is knocking on the window.Something twist in his stomach and he's too sleepy to pretend it's not a hint of fear. Wally rationally knows he shouldn't be scared, because he's a superhero, he has superspeed, and he lives with The Flash. But the thought of danger following him homeis terrifying. So he's terrified for half a second until he remembers he's best friend with boy - I don't need doors, I'm an acrobat with freaking ninja training - wonder.

He turns around and sees Robin waving at him from outside of his window, standing over a tree branch like it's the easiest thing in the world. Maybe to him it is. Wally rushes to his side and opens the window to let him in.

"Dude. What are you doing? It's..." His hand automatically goes for his cell phone on the table by the bed, and feels very stupid when he remembers he broke it earlier today. He looks over to the clock on the wall, but it's too dark to see anything. "It's late."

"You weren't answering your phone." Robin replies, poker face on and Wally realizes he's in uniform.

"Phone's dead. I'm sorry, but again, why are you Robin right now? Were you patrolling? Dude, school's in... It's probably in a few hours."

"You weren't answering your phone." Robin says again, but his face softens. "Anything could have happened to you and I couldn't risk it. Better be safe than sorry, right?"

"Batman's paranoia's rubbing off on you, Rob. I'm fine." Wally smiles and tries to shrug it off.

"Are you really?" Robin turns his head just so and Wally can feel his stare from behind the mask. He suddenly feels very aware of the fact that he's in his flash PJs, his hair's a mess, and Robin can probably see it all because he's Batman's sidekick. Batman must have found a way to add night vision to the lens or something. "You didn't sound very traughtearlier."

Wally runs a hand over his hair, trying his best to force it into submission, and looks over to the floor. He doesn't know what he can possibly say to that. On one hand, he doesn't want to lie to his best friend and he can'tlie to his best friend, because he sucks at lying and Dick would most definitely be able to tell. On the other hand, it's stupid, the way he freaked out before, it's really stupid. He doesn't want to worry Dick with his stupid things and he doesn't want to talk about his dad. Ever.

"I was worried about you." Dick's the one who breaks the silence. He takes the mask off and Wally feels better already. His eyes had already adjusted to the lack of light and he's able to see the outline of his friend's face.

"I'm sorry." The speedster says, but looks away again.

"No, Wally." Dick stops for a moment, and so does Wally's heart. What does he mean by 'no'? He's not accepting Wally's apology? He's mad and he'll probably leave and... "I'm the one who's sorry." He adds, and Wally releases the air he didn't realize he was holding.

"What are you sorry for, dude?"

"For the fake boyfriends idea. It was stupid. I mean, I don't want to force you into anything that makes you uncomfortable or upset. We don't have to do it."

"Yeah, I know, we don't have to, but we could." Wally tries on a smile.

"Wally." Dick starts, but the redhead stops him with a raised hand.

"It's cool. The idea kind of freaked me out at first and, sorry about that, that's twice I've freaked out on you over nothing." Wally can see his best friend openning his mouth to tell him it's not nothing, so he talks over him. "But I'm okay now."

Robin narrows his eyes and he's giving the redhead the look.The one that says Wallace Rudolph West, if you're lying to me right now I'll make sure you'll never eat Alfred's deserts again in your life.But the thing is, Wally isn't lying, or, at least he thinks he's not. He does feel better.

"And it's going to be super fun to watch everyone react to us being a couple, right?" Wally tries another smile, but it soon falters. He can tell by the way Dick bites on his lower lip that his friend is still on suspicious mode. It's sickening the way he can almost see the wheels turning in his best friend's head.

Dick isn't dumb, he didn't buy the "phone's down" excuse. He's angry for an entire second because Wally, his best friend, his teammate, his... Wally lied to him, but then he just lets it go.

The boy wonder could push him, could force it out of him, he really could. This is how he deals with criminals, when he's looking for information. But he's not dealing with criminals now, he's dealing with his best friend, and said best friend, judging by how nervous and awkward he's acting, obviously regrets it and feels like crap.

He'll tell me when he's ready.There's a bunch of reasons why one lies or keeps a secret from the people they love; the majority of the reasons are bad, evil reasons, but not all of them. Truth be told, Dick took a long time to tell Wally his secret identity, and he only did when the speedster stopped asking for it. He only felt comfortable enough to share it when Wally assured him that a name wasn't important, and that they would remain friends no matter what.

Maybe that's his turn to make Wally feel safe.

"Yeah, I guess." Dick grabs Wally's hands and squeezes them. "And I'm up for anything, bro. It's your call."

Wally's heart races. It's so loud he's afraid Dick will hear it. He closes his eyes and tries not to think about the fact that they're holding hands. He tries not to think about how holding the hand of your male best friend's gay.He fights the impulse to pull his hands back because maybe it is gay, but it can also be okay. It could be both.

Uncle B and aunt I say it's okay, that it's normal. Wally wants/needs/tries to believe them, but It's still a lot confusing. He doesn't know if he likes girl or boys, or girls and boys, but whatever the verdict is, Barry and Iris won't be mad at him. They'll be proud and happy, and that's everything Wally ever wanted to make them. He still doesn't understand how they can be okay with it, but the support and trust he gets from both of them makes him bold.

"So, babe."He's feeling bold, so he goes for it. He knows Dick was excited to prank everyone into thinking they were dating and he doesn't want to be a spoil sport. Maybe it's going to be fun. Maybe it won't change anything, and it's going to end up being just another funny story, - like that one time they exchanged Artemis's arrows for Roy's, - and they'll laugh about it later, while they're playing videogames or having snacks. Or maybe, it will change things. Hopefully for the better. He may even find out something about himself in the process. "Where are you taking me on our first date?"

By the sound of Dick's laughter, he wasn't expecting the petname. Wally mentally high-fives himself, because surprising the other is something he rarely gets to do. Dick's the one who keeps surprising him with the exceptional ninja training, and with how much the kid trusts him with his identity, his story, his life. Also, making Dick laugh is one of this favorite things to do, so, double-win.

There's no tension between them anymore, no suspicion or lies. There's just them and it's amazing.

"How come this is on me?" Dick lets go of Wally's hands and takes his to his heart in a dramatic gesture. "I'll be the one paying for everything too, ain't I?"

"Of course you are. Dude, I'm only dating you for your money, isn't it obvious?"

Dick laughs again, and it's so pretty Wally can't help but think that pretending to be in love with him won't be so hard.

xxx

Wally had spent night after night awake, trying to come up with answers to the questions he was sure the team would ask, and he practised quite a few in front of the mirror. But it all turned out to be in vain because everyone on the team was incredibly understanding and supportive and not really surprised by this turn of events. M'Gann even said she shippedthem, and Wally's curious about what it means, but Robin forbids him from ever googling that expression. He trusts Rob's judgement on this so he lets it go.

He was the one surprised because dating Robin isn't hard at all, it's a lot like being best friends with him. They soon fall back into a routine; they arrive at the Mountain together, call each other stupid petnames, and take their usual playful banter to a whole other level with giggling and touching. They've always leaned on each other, being around the same age and the firsts sidekicks to league members, they've trusted and supported one another; now the leaning's physical, the once-accidental touches have become not-so-accidental-anymore, but it comes to them just as easily.

Their one-on-one training exercises turn into tickles fights. Movie nights turn into sleepovers, and sleepovers turn into cuddle fests. Robin falls asleep, head on his lap or just plainly on top of himafter long exhausting patrols. Even when no one's around, because in Robin's own words, he's too tired to care. Wally never has the heart to refuse or to wake him because, come on, the kid's Batman's sidekick, he's lucky if he gets a five hours sleep in between patrols, the team and being a mathlete. Instead Wally pets his hair and it's all very easy.

Having to deal with the press is another matter entirely. There are people talking about them on the news, on talk shows, and on gossip colums at the most prestigious newspapers. Everybody has an opinion, and a lot of people have the same opinion as his dad. There are mean comments and facebook pages demanding they retire because they're not being a good example for children, and thisis hard. It's so hard he actually considers doing it. Before remembering that it's all just a prank, that it's fake and he isn't really gay, - or is he, - Before Barry and Iris force him out of bed with breakfast food, hugs, and "we love you"s.

But the hardest thing he has ever had to do since they started fake dating is, by far, to control his impulse to run ten laps around the world when Dick coughs and says:

"So. Bruce called me today."

"Cool." He takes a deep breath. "Should I kill myself now or wait til he gets here?"

"Chill, dude." Robin laughs at him. They're alone at Mount Justice, so they can talk without fear of being overheard. "He was surprisingly okay with it. I mean, he wants to talk to you as soon as he gets back, but we can rehearse what to say to him. Don't worry."

Killing himself now has definitely some perks. He won't need to rehearse, he won't need to see Bruce or talk to Bruce or get killedby Bruce.

Dick sees the eye roll and goes:

"I'm serious, KF. He really was okay and, according to his own words, not at all surprised by this predicament. Sure, he expressed concern about us being in a relationship and working together on the team. And he thinks I'm too young to be in a relationship, which is absurd because you know, I am the one who gets to decide when I'm ready to date, not him, but that's not the point." Dick shrugs and looks away. "The point is: we fooled him. Dude, we fooled Batman."

"Wow." Wally doesn't know what to say to that. "That's very... traught." Is he using it right? Or is this more of a 'whelming' situation?

"Yeah." Dick looks away and Wally wonders why they aren't as happy as they should be. They fooled the team, they fooled uncle Barry and Aunt Iris. They even fooled Batman, It doesn't get better than this and yet they're not. "So, what do you think about rehearsing what we're going to say to him when he gets back? We need to coordinate out stories."

Wally doesn't want to do this.

"Okay."

"I'll be Bruce and you be you." Dick laughs at him, but then clears his throat and adjusts an imaginary tie. "Wally. How long have you and Dick been... an item?"

Wally really doesn't want to do this.

"Well, it's, hum, been a while, but not too long. I'm sure Dick wouldn't keep such an important thing from you for long, and you can trust me on this because, you see, I'd never lie to you, sir, because, one, I'm a terrible liar and two, I'm really terrified right now."

Dick's fighting against the urge to laugh at Wally's pathetic attempts because he's determined not to break character.

"So was it a spur of the moment thing?"

"Hmmm, I think it would be correct to say that it was, kind of...Well, yes." Wally mumbles and looks over to Dick, to find the boy wonder shaking his head from side to side. "I mean no." He quickly corrects himself. "It definitely wasn't a spur of the moment thing because, you see, I... I always had... feelings for him." He glances at Dick again, but gets no reaction this time. His best friend's face has gone blank. "And it took me a while to sort out these feelings because, well, I'm an idiot. And because my dad's a dick." The words are coming out and he can't stop himself. "So, this whole time I was trying not to have feelings for him because I didn't want dad to be angry at me, I, I wanted to make him proud, but I just. I couldn't help myself. " Wally can feel his eyes tearing up, but forces himself to keep going. "Robin's smart and brave and loyal and he makes the nerdiest, funniest jokes ever. He can always make me smile, no matter how shitty the day's been. Just talking to him, makes it all better. I mean, he inspires me, as a hero and as a person, because I got to meet Dick Grayson too and Dick's surprise, surprise, also really amazing. He's honest and caring and he's a mathlete because being smart and a really cool hacker wasn't enough for him, he had to go and be a genius too. And that's really unfair to me because, you know, I'm a loser and I thought I couldn't love him more than I already did, but..." Wally stops his ranting to finally breathe and then realizes what he's just said. He gets up from the sofa and is ready to run, but finds Dick's blocking his way to the zeta tubes.

"Wally." Dick says and takes a step closer. The redhead takes two large steps back but stops as his back meets the wall. Their eyes meet and when did he take his sunglasses off? "Wally, can I kiss you?"

"Yeah." He answers, before he can think about it.

Dick takes another step closer and their lips meet. The kiss is gentle and reluctant and stupidbecause Wally's kissed people before. He knows how to do this and yet, he's frozen in place, all his muscles tense and itching to run.

Dick's hands are hanging on the air between them, in an awkward 'what do I do with my arms' desperation and Wally hates everything about it. He hates how uncomfortable the whole situation is because it was never supposed to be this way between them. And he especially hates how he's just making it worse by not moving. He's ruining everything because he can't get over himself, he can't get over the fact that he's kissing a boy.

"Wally." Dick calls, voice small. He takes a step back, ending the contact, and Wally suddenly realizes that he's not kissing a boy, he's kissing Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson, his best friend since always,and it gets easier.

His hands find the boy wonder's neck and pulls him closer, ending the horrible, terrible gap between them. Wally sees Dick's blues eyes fall to the speedster's lips for a moment before he closes them.

Wally kisses him. Kisses him again and again, until Dick's lips part just soand he's kissing him back with the same want. Dick's tongue tastes sweet, it tastes like getting home after a night of insane trick or treating with a bag full of his favorite candy, it tastes like Christmas mornings and, no, scratch that. It tastes better,it beats everything on his favorite things list. It tastes so good Wally will never get enough of it.

Dick's just found out what to do with his hands and uses them to touch Wally everywhere.His fingers are blindly searching for every inch of skin they can find because they're kissing again. Wally takes pity on him and moves his body, pressing it tightly to the other's; the movement's tender, but precise and the redhead thinks he has everything under control until Dick moans against his ear and he just fucking melts into the other's tight embrace.

"Oh, for God's sake!" There's suddenly a third voice in the room and they break apart quickly, Wally shielding Dick so he can put his sunglasses back on. "Just get a room!" Artemis rolls her eyes and storms off.

They were so caught up on the moment they didn't even hear her being announced on Mt. Justice. It's embarrassing.

"So." Dick waits for her to leave and tries on a smile. "This is awkward."

"Yeah, but did you see her face? Priceless!" Wally tries to reciprocate, but the smile tastes wrong and he tells himself that he's not going to cry. "So funny. I mean, that's why we're doing this whole act, isn't it? Yeah, that was great, kudos on us for being amazing actors. " Oh, god, he's beggining to cry, he needs to get out. Now. "See you later, Rob." He could have taken the zeta tubes, but he chooses to run instead.

He runs until he can't anymore.

xxx

The Flash meets him in Monterrey.

If the situation were any different, the redhead would expect a mild scolding about running to another country alone and without any supliments or money, followed by an amused smile and a high five because [i] wow Kid, congratulations on your first international run, just please give me a heads up next time, will ya? [/i]

But Barry just hands him a packpack full of clothes and sits next to him in the alley where he was hiding from civilians. He doesn't say a word and Wally's grateful. They change into their civies behind a dumbster, and Barry takes him around the corner to have dinner.

"Isn't aunt Iris waiting for us to go home?" Wally questions him.

"It's okay, Kid, I told her we'd run late." Barry goes to an empty table and gestures for Wally to sit. "Geez, my spanish's really bad, but, lucky for you, I learned how to ask for everything on the menu in every language there is to know. I even learned a few alien ones because, space happens when you're best friend with a grenn lantern, you know."

Wally can't help the smile that's threatening to take over his entire face. Barry never fails as his hero.

"Now, do I have to tell you again about the danger of taking off without having any food on you?"

"No, uncle B. I promise it's not going to happen again." Wally replies and Barry lets it go. He moves on.

"Do you want to talk about whatever made you take off without having any food on you, then?"

"Oh, god, no. I'd rather you yell at me."

"I'm not your dad, kid." Barry says, and it feels like a knife to the heart. Until Wally realizes that this isn't what Barry means. "You can talk to me about everything. I'll always be there for you."

I really wish you were.Wally thinks, but what he says, instead is: "I had a fight with Dick. It was really stupid."

"Did you guys break up?"

Wally pauses and wonders what is he supposed to say to that. They can't break up because they're not really dating, but he can't just tell uncle B the truth because... Wait, why can't he?

"Oh, god, I need ice cream to have this conversation."

Barry's hand is suddenly up in the air to call for a waiter and when he arrives, Barry tries to order ice cream with only gestures and it's the most ridiculous, embarrassing thing Wally has ever seen. Wally throws his head back and laughs, his entire body shaking, but eventually composes himself just enough to google the spanish word on his phone and help the poor confused waiter.

By the time the ice cream arrives, Wally feels better already and the story comes out easily, in a rush of words. Barry's a good listener and waits patienly for his nephew to finish.

"You need to talk to him, tell him about your feelings."

"Are you kidding me? I can never face him again!" Wally groans and looks away. "And I wouldn't even know what to say to him! I don't know if I'm gay or bi, or pansexual, or... People on the internet say there's, like, a million more sexual orientations I've never even heard about. How can I know what I am if I don't even what I'm feeling."

"Hey, you're young, and nobody expects you to have every little thing figured out. You don't need to label yourself right now, and if you do, you don't need to stick to it for the rest of your life. It's okay to be confused, it's okay to change your mind and then change it back how many times you want." Barry sees that the kid's about to respond, and stops him. "Besides, you just told me what you're feeling, kid. You like him.

"I..." Wally closes his eyes and thinks about Dick's blue eyes, thinks about the soft pressure of Dick's lips brushing against his. He thinks about Dick's arms around him and the feeling of belonging fills him with utter, amazing, gigglyhappiness. "Yeah, I do." And then it's gone. "But it's all fake. I mean, it's just a prank. He doesn't like me back."

"Wally." Barry takes his hand and squeezes. "He likes you."

"No." Wally takes the hand back. "You can't know that."

"I am 120% sure he likes you and do you want to know why?" Barry doesn't wait for a confirmation. "Because he called me the minute you ran away to tell me you took off without suplements. Because he worries about you, he cares. Wally, the kid defied Batman's order and told you his name and backstory. He trusts you. He may not have romantic feelings for you, but you're his best friend. He definitely likes you."

Wally's heart is beating so loudly he can't even hear himself ask: "He was the one who called you?"

"Yes, and he helped me track you down, but that's not important, Kid. He likes you, he would never do anything to hurt you, never, in a million years, and you know this. He's going to accept you, no matter what, but first you need to accept yourself and, here, I think I can help with that." Barry searches his pockets and finds a carefully folded paper.

"What's this?" Wally quickly takes the paper and asks because anything's preferable than talking about Dick right now.

"It's just a little something someone posted on the Flash fanclub and I printed it."

Wally drops the paper as if it had burned him.

"I'm not at the mood right now to deal with mean anons."

"You need to read it."

"I know I need to learn how to deal with people like that and rise above it because I'm a hero, but can I just not do that today? Please, uncle Barry."

"Kid, I promise it's nothing bad. Just do it, come on, for me?"

Low. Blow.

"Fine." Wally picks the piece of paper up, unfolds it and begins reading it.

I don't actually know how to do this. I know everything that there's to know about cars, but computers scare me so I've kept my distance for as long as I could. But this is for a good cause so I'll make an exception. I really hope I'm sending this message to the right place and that it will eventually reach Kid Flash. My name's Jesse Mills, I've lived in Central City all my life and I have a ten years old son. He's very young and he doesn't really understand the words 'gay' or 'straight', but he can already tell he's different from other boys his age. It's been hard for him and for me. He's being bullied at school and I talked to the principal at his school, but, apart from that, I didn't know what else to do. I'm a single dad and I feared I couldn't connect to my own son. The whole thing changed when the news about Kid Flash and Robin went out. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy. He came home from school glowing because Kid Flash was dating a boy, because Kid Flash was just like him and because how cool was that? I've heard some pretty horrible things people are saying about Kid Flash and it makes me sick to my stomach. Fuck all these people. Kid Flash is a hero and it's not only because he fights crime, but because he stands for what is right. It's because he gives my son hope, it's because he makes my Johnny smile and laugh and feel like he belongs. So, thank you, Kid Flash, for your courage and for being you. I would stop now but Johnny wants me to tell you to pretty please never stop being super amazing, kicking butt and dating Robin because Robin is really cute. Also, Flash, if you're reading this, you're cool too.

"Wait, isn't Jesse Mills the mechanic who helped fix aunt I's car this year? Her car broke down on the road to Keystone so she called him and he went to her even though it was raining pretty bad, right?" Wally asks and then speedreads the message six more times because he just can't believe what he's just read. "He arrived even before you did."

"Just because I was busy having my ass handed to me by Grodd at the time." Barry scoffs. "But, yup. That's him. So, Kid, what do you feel about skipping practice and paying Jesse and Johnny a little visit tomorrow after lunch?

"Are you serious?" Wally gapes at him and feels tears swelling up in his eyes, but he doesn't cry. He's too busy smiling and hugging his uncle to do so. "Oh my god, uncle B, I'd love to, this is actually perfect... I... Thank you so much!

xxx

Recognized Kid Flash, B03.

Robin clentches his fists the moment he hears his best friend being announced on Mount Justice. Flash had texted him that he had found Wally, that they would take a day off but, hey, don't worry, Wally's uninjured and he's not mad at you or anything, he just needs some time.Robin wasn't expecting him back so soon so he's half relieved and half terrified, because he wants/needs/will do anything in his power to fix things between them, but he has no idea how to do that.

"Hey, Wally, how are you?" M'Gann turns to geet him with a big smile, but suddenly freezes on her spot.

"What?" Kid Flash gets worried when he sees Zatanna elbow Artemis on the arm and both giggle. He looks around the room and everyone seems to be staring back at him with looks that vary from confusion to amusement to whatever's happening on Robin's face because Wally's definitely not looking at him. "WHAT?"

"Forgive us for our reaction, my friend." Kaldur steps foward and tries to explain it. "It's just very unusual for you to show up in..."

"You're wearing lipstick." Superboy cuts him off. "Red lipstick."

"Oh." Wally's cheeks are on fire and he's tempted to run away from them the fastest he can, but he doesn't. "I was visiting this kid today. His dad send a message to the Flash fanclub thanking me for, you know, coming out and for being a role model to Johnny. So we stopped by to say hello and they're both really great. I gave Johnny a pigback ride and we played with his superhero toys, but then we found his late mom's make up and we just... played with it? I didn't even realized I still had this on and the Flash didn't wan me about it. Oh my god, this is why he was laughing all the way to the zeta tube, wasn't it?"

"It's nice." Robin suddenly says and all eyes turns to him. Even Wally's. "You look handsome."

Wally's first reaction is to think Robin's mocking him, and he's terrified for the eternity of a second before he realizes that Dick would never do that to him.

"Dude." He takes a deep breath. "I really like you." Dick trusted him with his identity and it's only fair that Wally trusts him with his own big secret too, but as soon as he says it, he feels bad. It feels petty and small compared to what Dick confided on him, but he then shakes these thoughts off. He's not going to make little of his feelings anymore because that's what his father wanted him to do. His dad wanted him to get over it in favor of fitting his own sick standarts of what being normal is, and Wally refuses to do it anymore. "So, do you want to date me for real? Because I want to date you for real." He's telling Dick this because he trusts him. He trusts Dick not to run away and hate him forever, he trusts Dick with his feelings and his happiness and, in some sense, with his life. He feels safe.

"Yes." Dick's answer comes quick because he doesn't need to think about it. He already thought about it, he hasn't stopped thinking about it since the media outed them.

Wally's smile is so big it hurts the side of his cheeks, but he just can't stop because Dick wants to date him.Before he can go to his totally not fake anymoreboyfriend and kiss him to death, Zatanna coughs to call his attention, and he remembers they're at Mount Justice, and that they're not alone.

"Wait? Weren't you guys dating for real? What's happening?"

"Well, we weren't really dating. The media got it wrong and we went along with it. We pretended to be boyfriends as a prank, to mess around with you guys, but in the end it wasn't really fun, was it?" Dick shrugs.

"No." Wally answers before any of the others can. "This prank sucked, man. You were a terrible fake boyfriend and you better take me somewhere really nice on our first real date if you have any hopes of being forgiven."

"Considering any place with food reaches your expectations of somewhere niceI think I'll be okay." Robin laughs, holds his hands and then says. "We'll be okay."

And Wally believes him.

xxx

A/N: yes, I have a kink. And that kink is all about wally west crossdressing. Just imagining him wearing lipstick makes me weak on my knees. And I bet Dick feels the same way ;)

Hope you enjoyed the fic, anyways. Feel free to drop by my askbox on tumblr anytime if you wat to chat about birdflash.