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Wally thought this whole situation was immensely hilarious. It really shouldn’t be though. No mission was funny - not even the ones where they were fighting robot monkeys or when they went to the circus - but he couldn’t help but laugh internally. It wasn’t every day they got a mission in Gotham - he wasn’t the biggest fan of the place, personally. But the one member of The Team that knew the city like the back of their hand wasn’t on this mission. Or at least, wasn’t in the first part of it.
He replayed the briefing in his mind and couldn’t help but chuckle. The look on Robin’s face when Batman said that he would have to sit this one out until nightfall was priceless! The way his jaw dropped and eyes bugged out! Oh, Wally should’ve taken a picture! (It was odd that Wally was the only one that found it funny, but hey, they were best friends for a reason. And what is a best friend if not to laugh at their misery?)
“Wow, that sucks, Rob! Maybe next time,” he snickered.
“Psh, yeah like that’s gonna happen anytime soon,” the vigilante said with a slump. “I mean, I’m probably gonna be in the area anyway! Why can’t I go?!”
Wally laughed.
Yeah, that was funny.
Wally hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder as he walked in tandem with The Team. A few of the students at Gotham Academy shot them curious looks but they knew that would happen. Artemis wasn’t with them either but that was part of the plan. Wally did his best to look a bit lost and confused because that’s what was expected of new kids.
The whispers of the students were off-putting - Wally could tell that they were snottily judging them. What, were his shoes not polished enough? Was his hair too unkempt and not slicked down with dumb gel? Did he not have too long of a stick up his ass like everyone else? Ugh, he was not used to the rich kid types. But he had to shake it off - he couldn’t let the unsaid words get too much in his head.
As he was chastising his brain, a familiar swish of blond hair caught his attention.
“Hey there! Welcome to Gotham Academy!” Artemis greeted like she didn’t leave the safe house at the same time they did.
“Hello,” Kaldur said politely, “Um, we are new here and -”
“Ah, say no more! I’m your new student liaison, Artemis.” Wally heard Zatanna giggle next to him. “I heard you all are only going to be here for a few days?”
“Oh yes!” M’gann jumped in, “We were selected from the Wayne ‘Education First’ Foundation scholarship. This feels more like a field trip than a transfer though. Oh, I’m Megan by the way.”
Wally looked around at the students’ reactions. M’gann spoke loud enough for folks to hear and that seemed to quell some of their curiosity. It was a good cover that Batman gave them - where he got the idea was beyond him though.
He tuned them out and stole glances around to make sure everyone bought the lie. M’gann’s enthusiasm was very convincing. No one even questioned that maybe Kaldur and Raquel looked too old to be in high school. No one seemed to double-check that they got the scholarship. No one even checked to see if the scholarship was real. Good.
As his eyes scanned the crowd, they turned away - satisfied with the information M’gann shared - except one person seemed to look their way. Wally froze. The guy’s mouth moved, conversing with the girl next to him, but his eyes were locked on Wally’s. He did his best not to flinch at the sudden eye contact and found that he couldn’t look away.
He was beautiful. The guy was so attractive that Wally’s first thought was, Oh, that’s just not fair. His hair was perfect. Those eyes were alluring. He had a great build. It almost made him mad how attractive this guy was. Mystery Man smiled as he talked and the longer Wally stared the wider the smile became. He had dimples that peaked onto his face under his brilliantly blue eyes.
Wally was fucked and he didn’t even know the guy’s name.
Mystery Man finally looked away and said something to the girl he was talking to. She glanced over at their group and that’s when Wally had the decency to finally look away. He wasn’t staring that long was he? It was just a few seconds! Was it normal to make eye contact with a stranger for that long? Did he think Wally was weird? What was he telling that girl?
“-and this is a pretty big group.” Wally heard Artemis say, finally tuning back into the conversation. “It might be tricky to escort you all… hm… oh, hey Dick.”
Wally flinched. He glared at Artemis, about to tell her off - name-calling was beneath them. He turned but the words died in his throat.
Oh shit, it was the hot guy!
He walked up to their group, hand on his hip, and greeted, “Hey, Artemis! Big group of transfers you got here.”
“Yeah, I was just saying that. Would you be a dear and help me show them around?”
Mystery Man smiled. It wasn’t the same smile he gave that other girl but one you would give a friend if you shared an inside joke. “Oh, it would be my pleasure!” He turned to The Team and greeted with an outstretched hand, “I’m Dick, by the way -”
“And I’m Wally! Hey, how’re you?” Wally said as he zipped (at a completely normal-ish speed) over to Dick. (Oh, Artemis wasn’t calling him a dick she was calling his name. An interesting one, but who was he to judge.) Wally slotted his hand into Dick’s and gave it a firm shake.
Dick was physically taken aback but the stun didn’t last long as he smiled easily and shook Wally’s hand. “Wally. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, Beautiful.”
Dick’s eyes widened and Wally saw Artemis stifle a laugh over his shoulder. Neither paid her any mind. “‘Beautiful’, huh?” he said with a blossoming blush, “You always this forward?”
“Only to you, Gorgeous,” Wally said with a wink.
Bringing his other hand to his mouth to cover his giggle, Dick shook his hand in earnest. “Well, I’m flattered.”
Wally let go of Dick’s hand and slung his arm over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, and that’s Megan, Conner, Raquel, Kaldur, and Zatanna, but you were going to show us around, right? This place is huge and, honestly, the only place I really need to know is the cafeteria and anywhere else you’d be.”
Dick laughed as he was being guided away from The Team by the persistent speedster.
They ended up taking the back of the group as Artemis was really the one to show them around the school. She was showing them particular areas she knew that pertained to the mission - guised by giving interesting cultural facts about the student body. The child trafficking within the walls was concerning enough, but someone also reported an intruder walking the halls at night - they suspected it to be an assassin of some sort. But for what reason? That was their mission. Not something to take lightly.
But it was just something Wally couldn’t focus on when his attention was solely on making Dick laugh.
“It was traumatic, and here you are laughing at me!” Wally said in not so hushed tones.
Dick giggled into his hand. “I’m sorry but was I not supposed to find that funny?”
“Oh, it’s objectively funny, Beautiful, but you still wound me by laughing at my pain.”
Dick tried his best to conceal his laughter as it bounced off the far too tall walls. The giggles slipped through his fingers though and hearing that laugh only made Wally’s heart soar. He mentally made it his mission to hear that laugh as much as he could before this trip was over. He almost didn’t want the mission to end! What mission?
“And that’s all the important stuff!” Artemis announced concluding the tour - not that the speedster was paying attention.
“Hey, Artemis, can you show me where my homeroom is? This place is kind of confusing,” Zatanna asked with a small chuckle in her voice.
Artemis smirked. “Of course.”
The rest of The Team was about to part ways - Artemis would guide Zatanna to a concealed area where she could cast a scrying spell to see if the infiltrators were still in the building. But Wally didn’t care too much about that. He nudged Dick and asked, “What’s your schedule?”
Wally thanked the speed force as Dick told him they were in many of the same classes. Dick rambled on about the courses he was taking - Wally completely enraptured by his smile - when he heard a voice.
“Kid Flash,” they said in the speedster’s mind. He flinched and the smile he was shooting Dick diminished. He looked over his shoulder towards Kaldur and their leader continued through the telepathic link, “Remember to stay on task.”
“I know, Aqualad!” he said.
“You lookin’ pretty distracted to me,” Raquel teased as she started to walk down the hall towards her class.
“Hey, I can multitask!”
Wally rolled his eyes at his team and turned his attention back to Dick. “So you’re in AP Chem?”
Dick, completely unaware of the short mental conversation, shrugged as they walked. “I’m a quick learner.”
“I’m bettin’ you’re brilliant and you’re just bein' modest.”
Dick shrugged, not denying the claim. “I guess you’ll have to test my skills then.”
“You think I’m qualified enough to test you? Aw, you have so much faith in me.”
The sputtered laugh that came out of Dick was unexpected but still welcomed. He laughed like he was covering up a cough. He laughed like they shared an inside joke that no one else was supposed to hear. He laughed like he wanted to say something more.
Wally didn’t know how to think about that but added it to his mental tally as he launched into his next joke regardless as they walked down the halls.
---
“Watch it!” Wally giggled as Dick nudged his elbow. He readjusted his hands around his tray of food - making sure not to drop a single morsel.
“It’s what you get for insulting my dearest Jesse McCartney! He’s great! Objectively! Voice of an angel!” Dick jokingly defended.
“Yeah, maybe twenty years ago!” Wally teased. Dick laughed and tried to knock his tray again. The speedster barely dodged the attack with a chuckle.
“Hey, Wally! Hey, Dick!”
He turned his head at the call of his name and saw The Team taking up one of the many cafeteria tables. The smile Artemis shot them was kind but her eyes were not. Everyone eyed them, eyed Dick specifically. Like he wasn’t supposed to be there.
Shit, Wally thought, We were supposed to do a briefing at lunch!
“Hey!” Dick greeted as he took a seat next to Kaldur.
“Um, Dick?” Wally started, awkwardly still standing.
He was panicking. He couldn’t believe he let his emotions stray him away from the mission - granted he completely forgot he was on a mission to begin with until he saw the disapproving glares of his teammates, but that’s beside the point! They were supposed to let each other know if they found any suspicious activity - and clue Robin in on what was going on - so that right after school, when the sun went down, they could get right to work. It was supposed to just be a mental conversation but how weird would that be now that there was a civilian here? Stupid stupid stupid!
“Uh,” Wally stammered.
“What?” Dick asked, giving him the most innocent smile.
Ugh, this was going to be awkward, but it was for the sake of the mission!
“It’s just - I know we’ve been hanging out all day, and I don’t want to steal you away from your other friends -”
“Oh, don’t worry, Walls,” the Gothamite interjected, much to the speedster's despair, “You’re not dragging me away from anyone. I’ve wanted to talk to all your friends anyway.”
Wally sighed. He wouldn’t fight it anymore - it would seem too suspicious and if he was being honest he still wanted to hang out with Dick. Trying his best to stay in character, he took a seat next to Dick and began to dig into the far too great meal. (This was still a high school, right? Why was the food so damn good?) He would accept the repercussions he would inevitably receive after for bringing an outsider to their mission briefing.
“I’ve actually heard some pretty interesting gossip,” Dick continued, “I know you don’t know her - well, Arty you might - but my friend Barbra heard some interesting stuff.”
Artemis smirked and practically sang. “Go on.”
“She ran into Macy Lorens in the hallway, a total chatterbox and a bit of an airhead but her mother is the head of a large tech company, and Macy was talkin’ to her and Barb figured out she was getting into some of the bad stuff,” Dick smirked and mimed what looked like a joint to his lips.
“You don’t say,” Zatanna urged as she placed a hand under her chin.
“Yeah, apparently there’s gonna be a bit of a swapsy during her… afterschool activities,. If you know what I mean.”
“Interesting,” Conner chimed in, “I heard that there was going to be a teacher or campus police to… intervene. It was supposed to be right outside of the chemistry labs. At least that’s what I heard.”
Dick hummed as he leaned his chin on his knuckles. “Huh. That is interesting. I hope nothing bad happens to Macy…”
“Well, I haven’t heard any new gossip,” Kaldur said. “Has anyone heard anything else… interesting?”
Wally looked between his teammates and Dick. They all shared this look. They were all talking weird! Was Wally missing something?! What were they talking about?! Why did any of them care about some high school gossip for a place none of them were going to stay for longer than a few days? He could understand why the girls would be interested to hear it, but it was just bizzar that Conner and Kaldur would participate in it. And did he mention that they were talking weirdly? The emphasis on certain words clearly indicated that there was something else they were talking about. Wally could tell that they were speaking in a way that if others overheard them they would mistake it for a normal conversation. But why? Why were they doing that? And why were they doing that with a seemingly random civilian?
Wally was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize when the period was over. As his teammates started to get up, moving to their next class, he shoveled the rest of his meal into his mouth (maybe tapping into the speed force to do so).
“I have an independent study next and I promised Barb I would help with her calculus homework, but I’ll catch you in gym!” Dick said to Wally with a wink. Before the speedster could even respond, the Gothamite was lost to the crowd of bodies.
Wally scrubbed his hand down his face. He was so confused. Everyone from the table was almost all out of earshot but Wally had to confirm at least something.
“Wait!” he called before The Team scattered, “The briefing? We can still do it…” He then tried to subtly point to his head. “I mean, Rob doesn’t even know what going on.”
Kaldur smirked and he swore he saw M’gann duck her head to laugh. “I think he knows.” Was all his leader had to say before The Team dispersed.
What does that even mean?! What are you talking about?! Wally mentally screamed.
---
“Shh!” Robin scolded as Kid Flash got a bit too animated.
“Sorry!” the speedster unapologetically apologized. “But I just can’t get over him, dude.”
Wally couldn’t see it, but he could feel Robin rolling his eyes as he deactivated the security system to the academy. With a confirming beep from his gauntlets, Robin pushed open the window and the two heroes slipped into the classroom.
Doors are open, the vigilante relayed through the mental link.
“But seriously, dude,” Wally continued. Robin groaned. “Rob, you’re my best friend. You’re, like, obligated to hear me gush about hot guys I meet.”
“And I will. But do you think now is the best time?” he countered as he gestured to the dark abandoned classroom they were currently sneaking into.
“Alright fine!” Wally conceded as he followed the vigilante inside. They both settled in to the room without a sound. The chairs were up off the freshly cleaned floors casting eerie thin shadows along the ground and climbing up the walls. Even though he only had limited time within these rooms, they were never this quiet. The silence made Wally’s skin itch.
Robin padded over to the door and began to pick the lock. The rapid tapping of Wally’s hands should have been a giveaway to his next outburst. “But dude, this guy is so hot!”
“Uuugh!” Robin sighed as his shoulders slumped.
“I mean, it’s a godsend that we have most of our classes together ‘cause he’s not just hot. He’s smart and funny and athletic and holy cow does he have the prettiest eyes. I swear you gotta meet him! And you might, ‘cause not gonna lie, I was thinking about asking him on a date when this is all over.”
Robin’s hands stalled for a moment, but a moment Wally’s speedy eyes caught. It could hardly be considered a moment for his hands never stopped moving. “Really? You’re going to ask out a civilian?”
Wally then noticed how red his friend’s ears were. Huh, must be that chilly Gotham weather.
“I don’t see why not? He’s seriously great. He’s smart and funny -”
“You said all that already.”
“But it’s true -”
“Dude, we should really focus on the mission,” Robin said as he jerked his hands and the lock clicked open.
“Okay okay!” he said in defeat. Staying low to the ground, Robin peaked his head out into the hall. Empty. For now. Wally leaned over him to double-check. He listened for any signs of life, but the emptiness swallowed the silence. Still no one.
“You know he has a great ass too.”
“Oh, will you please-” Robin nearly yelled, face reddening, but bit his tongue as they both heard a loud bang of a door opening.
They were silent as they listened to gruff voices followed by a muffled shriek.
Baddies over here guys! Wally said through the mental link as he pulled his goggles down and sped towards the noise. He more of felt more than heard Robin right on his heels.
Before Wally rounded the corner, he heard one of the goons go down. Superboy might’ve gotten to them first - he did hear where the drop was going to happen so it made sense if he was already in the area. Before Wally joined the battle, he sputtered his steps and halted behind a row of lockers. He froze as he watched the henchmen get thrown from wall to wall.
Robin quickly joined him with an irritated, “What?”
Wally’s eyes were focused on the fight. His brows furrowed further and further into confusion. He wordlessly pointed beyond the lockers.
Robin followed his gaze and realized Wally’s hesitance.
That wasn’t Superboy.
The three goons were surrounding a tall figure. They were all lanky limbs hidden underneath a black suit with golden accents. The most striking feature was the mask-like goggles that sat on the eyes that gave a striking image of a bird. By pure body structure, the guy in the middle should have been tossed around like a ragdoll next to the brutish henchmen. But as one goon threw a punch, they bent their body in a seemingly unnatural way, caught their arm, and tossed them against the walls with a shuddering clang. The fight continued similarly. The guy in black threw around the henchmen like they weighed nothing. The one note that Wally couldn't help but notice was how quiet they were. Usually when they fought - when anyone fought - they would grunt with effort or pain. As the figure dipped and dodged, as they kicked and swung, they were silent. Their steps were just as quiet as their voice - nonexistent. It was eerie. It was unnatural.
Wally and Robin were mesmerized by the fight. The boy wonder only snapped out of it when the mysterious figure pulled out a knife and plunged it into the shoulder of one of them.
“No!” Robin yelled as he sprang into the fight.
“Rob, wait! We don’t even know - ugh!” Wally tried to call but the vigilante was already throwing a birdarang at the knife wielder's hand.
The weapon fell from their grasp and Robin was on them in an instant with an aimed kick to the chest. Wally readjusted his goggles and joined the fray - he wouldn’t let his best friend upstage him.
He zipped in and made quick work of the goons - they weren't a challenge really. Fists flew but he was tying them up in nice pretty bows in no time.
Robin was still fighting the, assumed, assassin. Wally could see shallow cuts along his arms and a deep one on his face as he dodged attacks. He pulled out a set of escrima sticks and tried to land a hit on the guy, but he moved like water. He swayed out of the way of every strike before he lunged forward with a clawed hand. (The guy had claws too? Wild!)
Wally turned towards the unconscious girl the goons tried to kidnap - confident that Rob could handle his own (even if he wasn’t doing too good at the moment). Her eyes were rolled to the back of her head with a rag tied over her mouth. Her limbs were also sloppily tied behind her as she lay on her side. Wally did a quick body check making she wasn’t externally hurt before he scooped her up in his arm.
Civilian down, heading to the nearest hospital to get her taken care of, Wally said through the link.
There’s a place 7 blocks northeast of here - oomph! Robin thought before he got kicked in the chest.
Go, Kid. Robin we are on our way, Kaldur commanded before he rushed out of the school.
The girl was light in his arms as he ran and dodged traffic. The lights passed by overhead and cars beeped at his intrusion. Regardless, he did his best to keep his eyes where he was running and down at the motionless girl. She didn’t even stir when they were going at super speed. Wally bit his lip in worry. He hoped she was okay and not too drugged up.
The drop-off was quick and required very little communication between him and the hospital staff. He simply laid her down on a cot, gave a two-finger salute, and zipped back to help his friend fight. It was almost sad how he didn’t need to explain the situation.
By the time he skidded back into the hallway, Wally ran into a wall of smoke. He heard his team coughing within but no other signs of fighting. He rotated his arms in quick circles to create a draft that blew the smoke away. The Team was alone - no black-figured assassin in sight. He sighed.
Aw, did I miss all the action? Wally said trying to lighten the mood. At least we got them…
Kaldur ignored the comment and turned towards the three men tied up leaning against the lockers that were slowly regaining consciousness. “Yes, at least we got them.”
---
The Team wasn’t satisfied with last night. No one was taken and no one was seriously hurt, but they weren’t successful. Not their best night, but not the worst.
The girl, Macy, woke up and thought it all was a bad drug trip. Her vitals were normal when she woke. She was fine.
The goons went down kicking and screaming but unknowingly spilled that there would be another trafficked student pick-up the next night with a different extraction team. They were handed over to the GCPD.
The worst news was about the assassin.
Robin informed them that he and Batman were currently working on a case involving something called The Court of Owls. He said they were never close to catching or even seeing them - only seeing their wake of death. The society had assassins at their disposal, called Talons, but this was the first time Robin has encountered them. None of them had a clue what they were doing at Gotham Academy but Robin was willing to bet they would return the next night too.
Which meant they were not only dealing with drug trafficking but also Gotham’s Illuminati… great.
Wally rubbed at the bruise at his side where one of the goons hit him hard, but he figured it would be gone by nightfall.
He really wasn’t in the mood to sit through classes - his mind still reeling over all the information they gathered last night. But there was one saving grace to this heavy morning…
“Hey, Wally!” Dick greeted as he sat next to him, dropping the large stack of books onto his desk.
“Hey, Beautiful,” the speedster said easily. A small blush crept onto Dick’s face. Wally’s smile dimmed as he looked at the Gothamite. “What happened to your face?”
Okay, maybe there was a better way to word that, but he only noticed the large bandage on his cheek because it was obstructing that adorable blush.
“Huh?” Dick said with a quirk of his head. “Oh! This? Uh… I had a training accident.” He rubbed at the band-aid absentmindedly not looking Wally in the eye. Aw, was he embarrassed?
“Oh, what training?” Wally asked.
“Just some… gymnastics stuff. It’s kinda embarrassing!”
Heh, he called it.
“Aw, don’t be embarrassed! Accidents happen, Gorgeous.”
Dick smiled and moved his hand from his face. He had a bit of a mischievous glint in his eye and something else he couldn’t quite place. Disappointment? Awe? He couldn’t tell but all Wally wanted was to make his own shitty mood feel better by making Dick smile as much as possible today. And hopefully smiles that weren’t laced with that bit of confusion.
“Also, how have you not mentioned that you were in gymnastics until now?”
Dick scoffed. “I don’t know how you didn’t know that, West. I’m pretty good. Got a case full of medals in hall ‘n stuff.”
“Well, I gotta go to one of your competitions! I’m sure you’re amazing!”
With a shrug, Dick shot Wally a soft look. “Not as amazing as you.”
Wally froze.
He thought he was going to die. That was such a cute and hot face - holy wow!
“Man, have I ever mentioned how attractive you are?” Wally said before he could think about it.
Dick’s eyes grew wide as he threw his head back in laughter. His face was bright red and it was amazing. Wally ticked another mark on his mental Dick-laughter count.
The two talked like that the rest of the day - got in trouble for it a few times too. The subtle flirting turned into full-on advances. The nudges turned to touches. Wally was on cloud nine. He didn’t even care that his teammates gave him looks as he made heart eyes at Dick. He couldn’t help it. Not only was Dick just charming as all hell, but it already felt deeper than that. He talked to Dick like he already knew him. Like they were friends for years. Wally felt it a bit yesterday, but it really hit him how well they got along. How easy conversation was. It was fascinating and Wally just wanted to talk and learn more about the Gothamite.
Dick finished laughing at another corny joke Wally was assaulting him with when he then said, “I’ll be right back.” He got up from his desk and the teacher let him out of the room.
Wally didn’t think much of it. He finally got the assignment done while Dick was gone - so the teacher could finally get off his back - but then Dick didn’t come back. With his assignment done, he fiddled with his phone for a bit when he realized that a lot of time had passed. Like a concerning amount of time. What was wrong? Was Dick not feeling well? He seemed pretty normal up until he left.
He shook his head. He was sure Dick was fine. He was just being too paranoid and anxious.
He was fine.
Glancing up at the clock, Wally gnawed on his lower lip.
Where was he?
Right when Wally was about to get up to check on Dick, the communicator in Wally’s ear rang to life making him flinch.
“M’gann! Link! Now-” Robin’s voice yelled.
Wally’s hand jumped to his ear before he could think of being discrete. He pushed on the communicator to hear his best friend’s voice but only static followed.
A sharp pinch pierced Wally’s mind. With the familiar feeling of the mental link established, Robin’s voice came in again, 2370…
What? Robin! What’s wrong?! M’gann cried through the link.
2370? What did that mean? What was Robin trying to say? That wasn’t one of their usual codes, right? Was it a vigilante-specific thing? Was it a Gothamite-specific thing? What was Robin trying to say? 2370? That almost sounded like… A room number? A room number! It had to be! Wally was in room 2360. He was close!
Wally didn’t ask to be excused before he took off toward his best friend. Tapping into the speed force, he was out of the room in a blink with no one even twitching at his absence.
I’m coming, Rob! he mentally said as he stepped foot into the hallway.
He didn’t even round the corner before he heard the sounds of a scuffle. The tell-tale grunts and banging confirmed the fight that was nearby. Wally sped into the fray and saw a pile of bodies with one standing over them. The one upright was on shaking bent over legs. As they straightened up, they swayed and threatened to fall over.
On instinct, Wally sped over and caught the shaky figure. Their eyes were already half closed and rolling towards the back of their head by the time Wally secured them. Even though Wally could barely see the irises with how blown his pupils were, he recognized that striking blue anywhere. The black hair fell over their face, but Wally recognized it in an instant.
“Dick!” he cried as he secured the civilian in his arms.
“He’s… they… up…” Dick tried to say but his tongue sounded swollen and his voice no louder than a whisper.
“It-it’s alright, Dick. You’re okay! They-ey… they won’t hurt… you?” Wally’s voice trailed off as he looked at the scene around him.
Three burly men in dark clothing lay on the ground around them, unconscious. Wally looked down at Dick and couldn’t stop any new injuries. How did… did Dick take them out? How? What? The clothing of the men indicated that they were the trafficking goons - if the similar outfits were anything to go by. Were they trying to take Dick? Did Dick fend them off? Did they drug him? And where was Robin? Wally ran into this fight expecting to aid his vigilante friend, not his new civilian crush.
Wally heard a soft clank next to him. As he looked down, he saw two escrima sticks falling out of Dick’s lax grip.
What?
His pulse quickened - which really felt like it would implode with how fast it was going. His mind raced as he put the puzzle pieces together. His eyes darted to the bandage on his cheek. He replayed interactions from the past 24 hours. He replayed conversations from even longer ago. No. No! That wasn’t right. Was it? Was he really…? Was Dick…
He didn’t have time to process the new information when he felt the hair on his arms begin to stand on end. His head whipped around them. They were still alone. But he could’ve sworn he felt -
Remembering Dick’s final words before passing out, Wally looked up and was met with black and gold.
Wally yelped and scooped Dick in his arms and sped a good distance away from the Talon before they could drop on him. He held Dick close to his chest. He widened his stance ready to run or fight.
The Talon fell from the ceiling in a heap. They slowly straightened, eyes never leaving the speedsters.
Wally’s raged breath bounced off the walls. They both stood still waiting for the other’s next move. The Talon dropped their head towards the fallen henchmen, then crept back to up Wally. They jerkily tilted their head as they continued to stare. Wally almost mirrored the movement but chose to turn his body so his shoulder was in between the Talon and Dick.
“Richard… Grayson…” the Talon spoke. Wally winced. It sounded like their voice was going through a woodchipper. “Bruce… Wayne… Potential…”
“Wh…what?” Wally intelligently said.
“Potential… can’t… kill.”
His eyes widened. “Uh, ye-yeah! Don’t … don’t kill!”
The Talon jerked their head to the other side. They stared at each other. Wally was tempted to say something else but didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Was that thing contemplating killing Dick? Did that thing want to kill the henchmen? Did it want to kill him? He bit his tongue and continued to eye the Talon.
After what felt like an eternity, the Talon sprung up into the air. Wally flinched and a spark of speed force raced down his spine ready to activate his power. His eyes followed the assassin right into a vent and disappear into the dusty darkness.
Wally had half a mind to follow them. He should’ve. Robin said the Talons were dangerous, mindless beings that brought nothing but death.
But he didn’t.
Robin would be mad at him for letting the Talon get away. But as he looked down at the civilian in his arms, he had a feeling that Robin would get over it.
---
Wally was picking at his nails by the time Dick woke up. His head snapped up as blue eyes scrunched up and eventually fluttered open with a groan.
Dick’s eyes wandered around the room. They were first drawn to the stark white of the walls, then the TV softly playing the news in the background. They looked to the steady drip of the IV bag that connected to his arm before they settled on Wally, who was patiently sitting next to him. A loose smile spread on his lips and he spoke in a soft voice, “Oh…hey Wally. Wow, that’s so sweet of you to be he-here when I wake up even though we’ve known each other for…what…two days?”
Wally didn’t return Dick’s smile. He just leaned closer and said with his brows furrowed.
“Hey… Rob...”
Dick’s eyes widened. Time felt like it stopped. Dick’s hand twitched but he didn’t dare make a move. He scanned Wally’s face but he stared at Dick with narrowed eyes.
“Pfft!” Dick scoffed before he threw his head back and full-on cackled. That familiar cackle Wally would hear bouncing off the cavernous walls of the mountain.
“Dude, what the hell?!” Wally yelled as Dick clutched his stomach as he continued to howl.
“Oh my… oh my god! HAHAHAHA! IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH, KF!” Dick laughed.
“‘Took me long enough’? What do you mean? And stop laughing!”
Dick wiped a stray tear from his eye. “Holy shit, dude! This is the best day ever!”
“Rob, what are you talking about!?” the speedster demanded, his patience running thin.
Dick’s cackle turned to a giggle as he explained. “I can mark it down in my calendar that today is the day my best friend learned my secret identity! Best day ever! God, you should see your face right now! Priceless!”
“You’re a dick…”
“Oh, I know!”
“Ugh, shut up!”
Dick cackled again and Wally mentally slapped himself in the face. How did he not see it sooner? Or rather hear it. That laugh was exactly the same - just more maniacal.
“God, I’m stupid. How did I not see it earlier?” Wally groaned as he dragged his hands down his face.
“I really don’t know, dude. You were the last one on The Team to figure it out.”
“I’m WHAT?! Wait, everyone else knew! You told everyone else on The Team but me?!”
Dick rolled his eyes. “I’m not allowed to tell anyone. B’s orders.” Wally groaned at the mention of Batman. Of course it was one of his rules. “Everyone sort of just figured it out on their own,” he said with a shrug.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me - how?!”
Dick smiled. “Well, Kaldur was the first. Before The Team, we were on a mission with Aquaman and Kaldur. A villain dragged me underwater and my mask sorta popped off. He saw my ID and made the connections pretty quickly.”
“Okay, that’s fair… kinda…”
“Artemis figured it out ‘cause, well, we go to the same school together! I do actually go to Gotham Academy and so does she. I think it was because B called me to an emergency during a class and she saw? Or maybe she figured it out ‘cause we are always deploying from the same Zeta tube near the school. I can’t remember.”
“Well, if I went to school with you long enough I would’ve figured it out… and I did!”
Dick scoffed, “Yeah, it only took a literal beat down until you did.”
“Ugh, whatever! How did everyone else figure it out?”
“M’gann found out in Bialya.”
“Which time?”
“When we got our memories wiped by Simon. She restored them and dug a bit too deep into mine.”
“Oh, that’s cheating! She literally read your mind!”
Dick just shrugged with a smirk. “She still figured it out. And then Conner overheard me and Artemis talking about school stuff and she said my name, and I guess Conner just put two and two together. But I honestly think he just got help from M’gann.”
“She outed you?”
“Yeah, but she didn’t realize it was supposed to stay a secret once she found out. But she’s been tight-lipped ever since.”
“Hm, I say that one’s cheating too, but go on!”
Dick chuckled. “Okay… then it was Roy -”
“What?! ROY knows?! He’s not even on The Team!”
“Well, yeah, but he figured it out later when we saw each other at some of the Gala’s B and Oliver go to. He noticed that Dick was growing his hair out and so was Robin.”
“He figured it out just from that?!”
“So he says,” the Gothamite said with a shrug.
“I call bull…” Wally grumbled.
Dick giggled but continued, “Raquel said she figured it out when she was actually at her house. She had the news on in the background and she thought she heard Robin’s voice coming through the comms, but it was an interview with Dick Grayson.”
Wally pondered that one for a moment. “Okay, that’s the smartest way someone found out so far.”
“Right?! I was so proud!”
“What about Zatanna?”
“Ugh,” Dick groaned and threw his hands in the air, “I don’t know! She won’t tell me!”
Wally chuckled. “That’s funny.”
“It’s not funny! It’s annoying!” he chuckled as he pushed the speedster’s shoulder.
Wally laughed again but the action died in his throat with a thought. He buried his head in his hands. He felt his face redden and was glad he was hiding it from his best friend.
“No wonder everyone was laughing and acting so weird around you.”
“Hehehe, yeah, sorry bud!”
That was embarrassing. That was seriously embarrassing. The way they talked to each other made sense now. They knew exactly who they were talking to. It made sense why Batman said Robin couldn’t be on the mission - because Dick would be there already. It made sense why they didn’t need to relay the lunch room briefings with Robin - because he was already in them.
But the main reason Wally’s face resembled a strawberry was because of what he said. He wasn’t ashamed of his flirting. Everyone was used to that by now. He was a chronic flirt and he would hit on anything with a pretty face. No. It was the fact that he flirted with his best friend and then proceeded to gush about his crush on him to him. God, that’s so embarrassing! Wally was repeating the conversations in his head and he cringed at himself.
Dick patted Wally on the shoulder a few times sympathetically. “Don’t worry, Wall. It’s not that big a deal! Hey, at least you know now. No need to feel embarrassed.”
“It’s not that…” he said between his fingers.
“Then what is it?” Dick asked with a light chuckle on his lips.
“I… god I said Dick was hot when you were Robin!” he muttered, refusing to look at his best friend.
“Uh… hehe…” he awkwardly laughed as he rubbed at his neck. “That you did. But don’t worry about it -”
“God, man, I said you had a great ass!” Wally exclaimed. Dick’s eyes widened and his face became just as red as Wally’s. “And I gushed about how hot you were and that you were really funny and smart - which you are in either identity - and I told you how I wanted to ask you out and I’m so sorry because that must’ve been so awkward for you I mean how must it feel to hear your friend indirectly talk about how attractive you are and say nothing about it no wonder you wanted me to concentrate on the mission and shut up you should’ve just duct taped my mouth shut oh my god -”
“Jesus, Wally, breathe!” Dick interrupted.
With the word vomit out of his mouth, Wally inhaled deeply and sighed, slumping over Dick’s bed. “Sorry…”
“No… no it’s fine. But… um… I actually didn’t mind?” Dick said in a small voice.
Wally’s head shot up and looked at his best friend with wide eyes. “What?”
“Well, I mean hearing you talk about me was kinda awkward. But…” Dick shook his head and frowned. “I gotta ask, Walls. Do you mind?”
He began to feel bad for repeating himself but, he reiterated, “What?”
“Do you… mind that I’m… me? You’re not disappointed it’s me? Are you? Like, would you still want to ask me out even though I’m… Robin?”
Wally’s eyes widened. He saw Dick pick at his fingernails in worry. He recognized the nervous tick from the countless times they waited on stakeouts or when Batman or Red Tornado gave them mission briefings. Dick looked anywhere but Wally, and he really just wanted the attention of those beautiful baby blues.
“I’ll be honest,” Wally started gaining Dick’s gaze, “I was pissed off that you didn’t tell me.”
The vigilante looked down at his fidgeting hands - frown spreading.
Wally placed his own over Dick’s, making him look back up at Wally. “But I would 100% still ask you out. Mask or no.”
With that, Dick took a breath Wally was sure he was holding. A small smile spread onto his face. “Really?”
He shrugged. “I’m honestly not seeing any downsides to this situation. I mean, my best friend has always been hot. Mask or no!”
It was a beat of silence before Dick burst out laughing again.
“But the real question is,” Wally said in the midst of Dick’s laughter, “are you gonna say yes?”
Wally didn’t realize his hand was still on top of Dick’s until Dick flipped his hands over and clasped Wally’s clammy hand in his own. A giggle still on his breath and eyes lidded, Dick whispered, “Of course.”
Like a gravitational pull he couldn't resist, Wally leaned closer and said dreamily, “Cool.”
Dick giggled again as he leaned closer too. They were in a comfortable range but Wally could only see that brilliant smile and that dazzling blue. Those blue eyes gazed into his before darting over his shoulder to something behind him.
He scoffed with a shake of his head and muttered, “Should we let them in?”
“What?”
“Everyone’s been poking their head through the window every, like 30 seconds.”
Wally rolled his eyes and shot a look over his shoulder just in time to see a set of eyes dart away from the window. “What - is privacy just not a thing anymore, guys?!” he yelled.
From behind the door came a muffled, “Hey, in my defense, y’all are quiet!” He recognized Raquel’s voice and chuckled.
“Yeah, we mainly just heard you screaming and laughing!” Zatanna’s muffled voice sounded next.
“I heard all of it,” Conner said.
“Of course he did,” Wally muttered rubbing at his eyes.
Dick threw his head back and laughed. Even though it was embarrassing for his friends to have heard Wally’s blunders and (sort of) confession, hearing that laugh made his heart soar.
That was another tally Wally mentally added.