A/N: One shot.

Robin didn't like seeing him this way.

His body lying in a dark alley. Red hair splayed against the cobblestone and concrete. Green eyes closed. Mouth shut.

Dead.

No, he wasn't dead.

And Robin banishes the image with a shake of his black locks.

Kid Flash isn't dead. He's just unconscious.

But 60 seconds ago he wasn't. He was chattering to the Boy Wonder with the same fiery intensity he fought criminals with. The same joviality he mocked and teased and joked with friend and foe alike.

Then all his words stopped. The light faded from his eyes.

And he fell.

Dead.

No. He isn't. Stop saying that.

Robin turns with his hand on his hips, cape fluttering. This is probably the longest he's been with Kid Flash like this. Unconscious.

And the thought of it- the memory of doing this- makes his hand automatically slip to the pouch on his belt. He feels the pill instead of seeing it in the dark. He feels how huge it is. He knows it's green.

Like a toxin.

The ebony turns back again. Batman's waiting. He'll want the full status report from himself and KF about the mission. They're supposed to meet him in the Batcave.

Robin's hand clenches.

"Why can't he just accept you?" blue eyes behind the domino begin tearing up. "Why can't h-he...Trust...you?"

Dead.

The word haunts him; hangs over him.

"I can't...keep...doing this. To my best friend," he speaks softly.

Wally trusts me so much...And for what? For me to drug him every time he wants to- HAS to, tonight- visit the cave? He trusts me with his safety, his life...and I can't even give him my identity.

Who I really am.

Sirens are wailing in the distance now, and somewhere in the back of his mind Robin vaguely wonders if it's because of Batman.

Because of him.

And yet...the sirens have no effect on the limp bundle sprawled on the ground. Kid Flash is perfectly still. No movement. Like he doesn't even hear them...

He would never be so quiet and...unanimated. Even if he was unconscious...

The ebony kneels by Kid Flash with shaky hands. One of those trembling limbs reaches out and traces the ultimate symbol of speed- the lightning bolt. It's red.

Red. The color of blood.

Then a horrible thought comes over Robin:

Dead.

And now the tears are threatening to spill out from behind the mask.

KF shouldn't be this- this still!...He should be here, with me. Walking. Talking.

"Say anything. Anything!" Robin shouts it at the body.

A ghost of KF's grin appears in the back of his mind; before...

"Wake UP!" He slams a fist on the ground; hard. The other just presses a little more into the speedster's chest.

Robin shuts his eyes, falling into a dizzying spiral. His breath becomes more ragged. Lights- ropes- trapeze scenes and crowds and a ringleader come alive in his mind. All in dizzying horror and heights...

"P-p-please..."

His hand knots in straggly raven strands of hair. He twists his finger around so hard that it hurts his head.

Falling.

They're falling.

"H-help me..." his heart pounds.

Then the ground shoots out from under him.

Silence.

...

...

...

"Rob?"

Robin opens his eyes to a lightning bolt hanging over him. A red one.

"...Wally?" he murmurs.

And now that symbol means so much more to him than just speed.

"What happened to you? Are you okay?"

With KF's help he is hoisted to a sitting position.

The dark alley returns.

The honking of horns.

A flickering streetlight.

All the things I didn't notice before...because of...

"Dude?"

Robin is turned so he's looking directly into those electric green eyes.

The ebony's lips part halfway. Then he suddenly slings his arms around Kid Flash's broader ones.

The speedster pulls back slightly at first- probably from surprise- before the muscle in his shoulders envelop him into a hug.

"Yes. Everything's fine."

And I feel safe.

"...Sorry. I just...got distracted."

Kid Flash gave a soft frown in return, unseen as it was behind the Boy Wonder's head. Then a nod, as if in understanding.

Batman puts us on a mission every anniversary of his parent's death...since I've met him. And I know it's meant as a distraction, but...

The redhead finally withdrew. He offered up a smile. "Sooooo, no cave tonight?"

..Sometimes I think Rob doesn't need any more distractions. I think he has too many...

Robin smiled then, giving a soft, prepubescent laugh. "Batman will make us go. But- we'll do it a different way this time."

Kid Flash cocked his head to the side before offering a grin, "What way is that?"

...Mostly he just needs comfort.

"Without drugs."

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