Archive of Our Own

1.   Iris

As with a lot of things, this one started with Mario Kart. Specifically, Rainbow Road in Mario Kart: Double Dash. On the GameCube, not a GameCube emulator, because Wally liked to be authentic like that (and he just really liked his GameCube, okay?). 

Wally had a running score of one win to Rob’s three, on Rainbow Road in particular, and seven games were neither of them had first place (but five of those where Rob ranked closer to first). And – yes – Wally was counting. 

“I don’t know how, but you’re cheating,” Wally said. 

“Well, you’re trying to cheat,” Rob grinned over at him. 

It was true, but clearly Wally was doing something wrong if he couldn’t win  a racing game  using the  Speed Force.  I mean— 

Come on. 

Wally stuck his tongue out at Rob, who laughed and leaned closer to kiss him on the cheek. “It’s okay, you couldn’t possibly have known that us Bats – B occasionally included – have massive Rainbow Road competitions. I’ve literally trained for this.” 

Wally snorted. “How many are there of you, anyway?” 

Rob tilted his head. “Um. A lot.” 

“Oof, big family.” 

“You already knew that,” Rob laughed, then tossed his controller beside him, on the bed. “And you an only child,” he teased. “It’s no wonder you’re not used to the sibling competitiveness Rainbow Road inspires, man.” 

“I think you just like to showboat,” Wally navigated back to the main menu, then set his own controller aside, too. “Tired of this?” 

“I wouldn’t say that, no,” Rob turned and straddled Wally’s lap, hand on either of Wally’s shoulders. “I just thought of something better we could do. Besides. I do kinda want you to be willing to play Mario Kart with me again, sometime. Can’t have you getting too tired of losing.” 

Wally made an offended noise, even as he placed steadying hands on either of Rob’s hips. “I didn’t lose all of the matches.” 

“Just most of them,” Rob agreed. 

“You’re so mean to me!” Wally tilted his head back and laughed. 

Rob made himself comfortable in Wally’s lap, then set a light, lingering kiss just under Wally’s ear, where the corner of Wally’s jaw met his neck. Wally let his head loll to the side a bit, giving Rob room to work, but Rob curled his fingers into the hair at the nape of Wally’s neck and guided his head back up, instead, then kissed the corner of Wally’s mouth. 

“Something better, huh?” Wally teased. 

“You know me,” Rob grinned. “Can’t keep my hands to myself for long, can I?” 

Usually that meant sitting close or holding hands. Maybe a cuddle. But Wally also wasn’t a stranger to Rob’s other forms of affections, be they kisses or random gifts. Mostly kisses. Which were Wally’s favourite, anyway. The only shame was that they didn’t usually have a lot of time to make the most out of. You know. Time with each other. They were both busy, a lot. And had so many people around them, always ready to interrupt – accidentally or on purpose. 

But hey. Opportunity was knocking, it seemed. 

Wally let his hands drift a bit lower, giving Rob a cheeky grin, which earned him a warm kiss. Then a warmer one. Then a  hot  one which didn’t end so much as heat further, until it seared an imprint of itself on Wally’s soul, where he wanted to keep it, forever. 

They got maybe a little too involved in their making out, sure. But it was Wally’s  bedroom . Surely that was a safe enough place as any to make out with your boyfriend, right...? Well. So long as you didn’t have a history of being interrupted in the middle of things. Particularly when those things either were or looked intimate. Or involved hot guys in your bed. Or your lap. 

So, anyway. 

There is this absolute sense of whiplash when your extremely attractive boyfriend is straddling your lap one minute (in the middle of some very enjoyable making out) and your aunt is popping her head into your room, to ask if you wanted snacks, the next minute. 

“Aunt Ie!” Wally squeaked. He was red enough to hide his freckles, under her scrutiny, and he could  feel  how much of a wreck his hair was. Oh my god. Paradoxically, instead of trying to look all innocent or something, Wally tightened his hold on Rob and pulled him closer. 

Then again, if Wally, like, pushed Rob away, there were other (possibly more embarrassing) things that could end up at the wrong end of Aunt Iris’s attention. Look! Wally was into it! And his boyfriend! And he’s not actually sorry if that means he’s also physiologically into it, okay?! Okay. 

(He wanted the ground to swallow him whole.) 

(Actually, he wanted something else to “swallow him whole,” but he was  not  going to have that kind of thought in front of his  Aunt , oh my god.  (Oh my god!))  

Rob, the absolute  dick,  made himself comfortable in Wally’s lap and grinned over at Iris. “Snacks sound nice,” he said. Somehow, he wasn’t red in the face or utterly breathless like Wally. His damn hair wasn’t even a mess! It wasn’t fair! 

They weren’t necessarily doing anything bad. Mostly. Just some heavier making out. But that didn’t mean Iris walking in was any less mortifying! 

Wally dropped his head forward, onto Rob’s shoulder, and made a tiny whimpering noise. 

Rob adjusted his position in Wally’s lap just to make Wally bite back another, very different whimper. “Asshole,” Wally muttered. 

Rob laughed. “You love me,” he said, much louder. 

Wally huffed out, amused. “Yeah. I do.” 

Iris was still in the door, mildly shellshocked. But like. Also amused. “You could just lock the door,” she said, motioning unnecessarily to the doorknob lock, then up to the latch that Wally also had, because Iris and Barry knew that it made Wally comfortable to know he could control his space that way (and that the latch couldn’t be undone from the outside). 

Back before living with Iris and Barry (and then Iris, Barry, and Hal), Wally hadn’t had a locking bedroom door. Like. He did? But he also didn’t. It was some janky lock that undid itself if you jiggled the handle a few times. And, towards the end of Wally’s time under Rudy West’s roof, Wally hadn’t even had that. 

(Towards the end of that before-living-with-Iris time, Rudy’d found out that Wally was bi. Yeah... it wasn’t a good scene.) 

So, uh. Not good times. 

“You’re not a kid, kiddo,” Iris said. “If you wanna get handsy with your boyfriend, that’s your prerogative. But if you don’t want someone walking in on you—” 

Wally groaned into Rob’s shoulder. Who was laughing, of course. The bastard. 

“Or you could put a sock on the door!” Hal said as he walked past. Because of course he did. It was like he’d never left that college frat boy mentality, or something. Except that, ya know, he was an actual decent person. 

“Or you could put a sock on the door,” Iris sighed. 

“Can you just...” Wally peeked at her. Nope, he was still blisteringly, awfully embarrassed. He hid his face again, whining. “Please go! Oh my god!” 

Iris laughed. “I’m sorry, kiddo,” she said. Admittedly, while Wally knew she actually meant it, it came across a bit patronising and very, very amused. It wasn’t like this was the first time Iris had walked in on Wally with someone. Nor was it the first time Iris had walked in on Wally with a boy. It was, however, the first time she had walked in on Wally and  Rob  and that just straight-up sucked. 

But it had to happen sometime, given Wally’s famously bad luck. 

The door clicked closed, Iris’s laugh fading down the hall. 

“Man, if that had been my dad, we’d be on the receiving end of a sex safety PowerPoint, by now,” Rob said. “And, knowing him, he’d know we both know the basics of sex safety – it would purely be his way of torturing us for putting him through the trauma of walking in on us.” 

“That sounds awful,” Wally muttered. 

“Yeah? It’s also accurate. I watched him do basically that, a few weeks ago, to my little brother, after he caught RR and Superboy canoodling.” 

Wally leaned back to look Rob in the eye. “Did you just say ‘canoodling’?” 

“Maybe.” 

“You talk like an old guy, jeez.” 

“Maybe,” Rob repeated. “Does that make you want to canoodle with me less?” he waggled his eyebrows, like the nerd he not-so-secretly was. 

Wally snorted, then bucked up and dislodged Rob from his lap. He turned them over and trapped Rob against the mattress. “Man, I wish it did. But I’m just too gone for you, dude,” he said. He peppered Rob’s jawline with kisses, to the tune of Rob’s laughter. 

It took them maybe a little longer than they meant to, to get down to the snack. 

Hey! Sometimes a guy just wants to canoodle with his boyfriend, okay? 

And maybe act like horny teenagers! Or horny young adults, whatever. 

2.   Hal

Barry and Iris were at work. Hal was off planet. It should have been safe. 

But then again, they were in the living room, watching Blade Runner (Director's Cut, of course), when they'd gotten the bright idea to start making out like teenagers. Dumb teenagers. Who the hell stopped watching Blade Runner, halfway through? And to what, swap spit? If Wally had an inner movie snob, it would be horrified. 

Granted, Rob was more than distracting enough for Wally, thanks. 

Wally was pressed back against the arm of the couch, comfortably bracketed in by his boyfriend’s arms. Rob’s arms were draped almost lazily over the edge of the couch arm while he propped himself up on his elbows. Rob himself had dropped himself right into Wally’s lap, He seemed to enjoy being on top of Wally, which was of definite interest to—erm. To Little Wally. 

(Granted, Little Wally was pretty easy to please—) 

“Fuck,” Wally muttered. He had his arms wrapped around Rob, hands on a shoulder and the middle of Rob’s back, which held Rob in place. 

Rob hummed agreeably and let his kisses wander away from Wally’s mouth, along his jaw. 

Distantly, Wally registered the front door opening and closing, but was willing to put off an investigation. Except that, as a small part of his brain not occupied with Rob tried to point out, the front door opened right into the space behind the couch. 

Hal’s wolf whistle was enough to break the spell, though. 

Wally straightened quickly, pushing Rob back a bit so that they were less plastered together, and looked over at Hal. In his periphery, Wally caught sight of Rob pouting for all of a second before his camera-ready smile was back in place.  

It was nice to know that Wally wasn’t alone in feeling put out about the interruption. 

“Uncle Hal!” Wally squeaked. 

“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” Hal tossed a bag just inside the front door, “I’m just here to grab a change and I’m back out, again. No rest for the wicked, and all that.” 

Wally buried his face in his hands. 

Rob hadn’t moved any further than Wally’s pushed him, content (as always) to let Wally weather his embarrassment, then probably to try and pick up where they left off. Wally didn’t mind it very much, but it didn’t help his embarrassment that Rob was seated patiently on his thighs. Straddling his thighs, rather. 

“Hi, Hal,” Rob said. 

“Sup, Rob?” Hal passed by, headed for the stairs. 

Wally felt a little bad for all the times he’d made fun of Barry for situations not much unlike his own. Not least because he was starting to see the similarities between Hal’s blasé attitude and Rob’s equally nonchalant attitude. 

Rob crept in close again. 

“He’s still here!” Wally squeaked. 

Rob laughed and curled up against Wally’s chest, eyes turned toward the television set. ”I know. I just want to cuddle, cross my heart.” Which he said while managing to get a hand on Wally’s ass. 

“Sure,” Wally said, disbelieving. All the same, he curled an arm around Rob in return and tried to get his attention back on the movie. 

“Where’d all your chill go?” Rob teased. 

“I don’t like being walked in on!” 

“Oh, it could be worse,” Rob dismissed. 

“I don’t see how!” Wally hissed. 

“Well,” Hal said, ever the helpful interloper. “One time, I was walked in on in the middle of getting some amazing head. It took me months to live it down.” 

Wally gave him a dirty look. “I know you’re talking about that time Grampa Joe walked in on you and Barry and I told you I never wanted to hear about that again.” 

“Well, then you obviously know how it could have been worse,” Hal said, somehow magnanimous even though he hadn’t done a single helpful thing. “Because, lemme tell you, there’s not much worse you can get than being walked in on by your boyfriend’s father-in-law.” 

Rob laughed. “Sure it could be worse. You could be walked in on by The Batman.” 

Hal shuddered all over. “Been there, done that. Fucking... workplace conduct PowerPoint still gives me nightmares.” 

“What the fuck is it with your dad and PowerPoints!” Wally threw up his free hand. 

“I have no idea, honestly.” 

Hal snorted. “Okay, well. See you around, lovebirds. Try not to get any bodily fluids on the couch, kay?”    

“Hal!  Jesus H. Christ,” Wally tried to smother himself, one-handed. It wasn’t very effective. 

Rob, being the absolute dick that he was, saluted Hal. 

“I hate it here,” Wally muttered. 

“What does the H even stand for?” 

“Humiliation!” Wally said. 

Rob laughed again, then kissed Wally. Maybe the first kiss wasn’t enough to make Wally forget his humiliation, but somewhere between the fifth and fiftieth, Wally managed to forget he was embarrassed enough to properly reengage with the previous activities he had been engaged in, with Rob. 

3.   Iris (Again)

Barry and Hal were on some League mission, in another  galaxy  for some reason, and Iris was on a story three towns over (some human-interest piece that Wally honestly didn’t pay that much attention to). Being that the house was  supposed  to be empty for the next four days, Wally had shot off a text giving Rob and open invite to pop in, whenever. 

What could he say? He was a sucker for alone-time with Rob. 

And Rob very happily cashed in on that open invite two days into the four-day period that Wally had the house to himself for. Like the absolutely perfect boyfriend he occasionally pretended to be (when not being his own nerdy self, which was – frankly – even more appealing), Rob brought one of those huge-ass insulated cooler-bags, absolutely filled with everything from his local Batburger. 

Wally really wanted a Flashburger or something, after finding out about Batburgers. C’mon, it was only fair! Speedster, fast food? It was a perfect marriage of ideas, honestly. 

But yeah. Big-ass bag of Batburger shit. There had to be at least two of every non-drink menu item tucked into that stupid bag. Upon seeing exactly that, Wally feigned a swoon. “If you hadn’t already won me over, that woulda done it,” he said. 

Rob laughed and plucked a frankly sad-looking Caesar salad out of the cacophony of fast food items. “Way to a man’s heart and all that, right?” 

“As if your whole... you-ness didn’t do that, already,” Wally gave him a sappy smile. 

“Quintessence,” Rob suggested. Almost as if to show off that he did, in fact, have a vocabulary hidden in there somewhere, behind all the butchered English he bandied around. Quintessence. Who even used words like that? Fanfiction writers? 

The Author used Self-Roast. It was Very Effective. 

“You-ness,” Wally reiterated. “If you get shit like ‘whelmed’ and ‘chalant,’ I get ‘you-ness.’” 

“I’m past that phase, I swear!” Rob laughed. 

“You said ‘whelmed’ literally yesterday,” Wally picked up one of the eponymous Batburgers and used it to point at Rob. “And ‘turbed’ in a text, the day before that. You’re a fucking liar, Redmayne.” 

“Did you just quote an interview?” 

“I think I did,” Wally paused for a moment and looked down at his Batburger. “I’m questioning so many of my life choices, right now, man.” 

Rob laughed and set his salad aside. It still looked sad, but with an extra dose of pathetic now that Wally could see it from a slightly different angle. “Not dating me, I hope?” 

“As if,” Wally scoffed. 

Which was about when he got an armful of acrobat. “Well, good, because – by my count – this house is still empty for, like, two days. That’s something to take advantage of.” Rob wrapped his arms loosely around Wally’s neck, grinning. 

“The food’ll get cold,” Wally grinned stupidly up at him. 

Rob reached back to flip the insulated bag closed. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Then he took the burger still in Wally’s hand and tossed it next to his salad, “Missed you.” 

Wally’s stupid grin turned stupidly soft. “I missed you, too.” It had barely been a week since they’d seen each other, and they still texted at all hours. Wally figured Rob meant it in a more intimate sense. He also knew that, for himself, he just straight up missed Rob as soon as Rob was no longer in sight. 

The first kiss was sweet bordering on innocent. But when you put two young, overeager guys together, you also got overeager making out, which was exactly what it turned into – food completely forgotten. 

The two of them ended up on the dining room/foyer floor (not everyone had separate dining rooms, man, don’t judge), next to the food bag. Rob was on top of Wally, which was honestly a great place to have him. Wally had his hands practically tangled in Rob’s hair, pleased to immediately dismiss the hair-tie and make a mess of the tidy ponytail it had been in. Rob had one knee, and the opposite elbow, keeping him propped over Wally, the other hand on Wally’s face and the other knee in a—uh—relatively pleasant place, all things considered. 

No complaints from Wally. Like, at all. 

It  mmmmight  have gone further, too. Maybe. 

But apparently no one in the damn house knew how to keep to their own schedules because Iris came barging in the front door shouting, “Freedom!” She dropped her bag just inside the door and stretched her hands out like she was trying to embrace the entire house. 

Rob and Wally both sighed, then Rob rolled off of him. 

“Aunt Ie,” Wally greeted, sitting up. He didn’t mean it to sound so resigned, but— I mean, come on! It was like Wally was cursed, what with how often he got interrupted in trying to get cozy with his boyfriend. 

Iris blinked at him a few times. “Why are you behind the dining room table?” 

“Well,” Wally puffed out his cheeks. 

Rob, however, hopped to his feet and immediately started tugging Wally up, too. “Two days!” he scoffed. He, however, was smiling. As if it was funny. And maybe it  was  a little funny. But, like, not in the moment. 

“I know!” Wally let himself be tugged up. 

“Oh. Oh!” Iris covered her mouth to try and muffle her laughter. Her eyes had that  light  in it. The excited, dangerous light that usually meant she’d caught an interviewee in a lie. Usually.  “Were you two—” 

“No, shut up!” Wally ran a hand down his face. 

“On the floor?” Iris’s laugh came out shaky with amusement. 

“You said Thursday!  Thursday!  It’s Tuesday, Aunt Ie!” Wally said, even as Rob tugged him toward the stairs.  

“I finished early!” Iris gave an exaggerated ‘what can you do’ shrug. 

“The paper paid for your room!” 

“I got to keep the cash for the other two days,” Iris said. 

“I hate it here!” Wally called over his shoulder. 

“Remember to be safe!” Iris called back. 

Wally gave a louder, more aggressive groan. Rob just laughed. Of course. At least someone was amused by their chronic bad luck. Because Wally really wasn’t. 

4.   Barry

“Jesus, Mary, and Markus!” Wally put a hand over his heart. “Where the fuck did you—” 

“Markus?” Rob asked. 

“—Did you climb through the window? Why would you do that? The back door’s never—” 

“Why Markus? What happened to Joseph?” 

“—You did, didn’t you? You just wanted to make me jump, didn’t you, asshole?” 

Wally and Rob both stopped, smiling at each other stupidly. “Yeah,” Rob said, “I did – climb in through the window, I mean. It’s just funny, ya know? You always jump.” 

“Asshole,” Wally repeated fondly. 

Rob shrugged and stepped back, put his hands on the counter, and hopped up to sit on it. “So, what about this Markus development? Poor Joseph, being left out like that,” he tutted. “Have you been talking with Tim again? I could have sworn I’ve heard him say the same thing, like, a day or two ago.” 

“Maybe,” Wally shrugged and leaned up against his counter, too. “I mean. Maybe that’s where it came from? I don’t know. I didn’t—yeah, I don’t know where it came from. But I have been talking to RR again. Name slip, by the way.” 

“Oops,” Rob shrugged. 

“At this point, it’s like—why not just tell me your name,” Wally teased, albeit without heat. His smile was soft and amused, rather than frustrated about the situation. He was just. Chill. (Wally didn’t know it, but most of Dick’s family thought Wally was altogether too chill, honestly. Like, there had to be something wrong with him for him to take everything as it came, accept it, and move on.) 

“I don’t say my own name a lot!” Rob laughed, head tilted back against a cabinet. “It’s easier to not slip up on who  I  am. My family? B’s just lucky I call him B so much, probably. Otherwise I would have slipped up, like, day one.” 

“How do you have a secret identity?” Wally snorted. 

“I mean, I don’t usually spend so much time with people, you know? Let alone talking to people about myself and my family. It’s not usually this difficult. Hell, the only other person I talk to a lot is, like, Roy. And we know each other from,” he drew a circle in the air with his pointer finger, “both circles. Hero sphere and civilian.” 

“I knew it,” Wally pointed. “I totally knew he knew.” 

“Yeah, you’re smart,” Rob gave another small, fond smile. Wally found it extremely inviting – magnetic even – so, he moved across the space separating them and wrapped his arms around Rob, around his waist, depositing himself firmly in his boyfriend’s personal space. “If you really wanted to know,” Rob shrugged. “You probably would know. I mean. I don’t mean you don’t want to know! That’s. No. I mean—I mean that—” 

“I’m waiting for you to tell me,” Wally nodded. He stood between Rob’s knees, looking up at him. 

“You respect that I can’t.” 

“Or don’t want to. I don’t care about your reasons, though I’m sure you have them,” Wally nodded. “I just care that you have reasons, and I respect that. I want to respect that.” 

“I scored a real gentleman,” Rob hummed. 

“Damn straight!” 

“Oh please. You’re straight as a rubber band.” 

Wally snorted. “Oh my god. You dick! Stop making everything into a pun!” 

Rob laughed. Harder than he had a reason to, actually, but Wally just drank the sound in. Drank Rob’s glittering eyes in. “I can’t,” Rob managed. “It’s my superpower, Walls.” 

“Worst superpower ever,” Wally grinned up at him. Well, he was already grinning. But his grin took a turn for the sappy and smitten. “So dumb.” 

Rob’s laughter died down into soft chuckles. He set one hand on the side of Wally’s face. His own eyes were just as soft and smitten. “So. Markus?” 

“RR sends text rants at four in the morning about Detroit: Become Human,” Wally shrugged. “Mostly about how he ‘accidentally checked the roof’ and now has to start the game over? I guess? Or, like, he started the level over a bunch and the roof is just? A no? I guess?” 

“That’s a lot of question marks.” Rob’s thumb swiped gently across Wally’s lower lip. 

Wally leaned into Rob’s touch. “I have no idea why he’s texting  me  about it! I don’t know anything about Detroit! Or Detroit: Become Human. Oh! Actually, I know where to get a really great pizza in Detroit... but that’s it!” 

“Of course you do.” Rob bent to set a tiny kiss on the tip Wally’s nose. 

Wally’s eyelashes fluttered. “You’re really distracting,” he said. 

“I know.” 

Wally laughed. “But yeah. I think the rest of you just don’t respond to his late-night rant texts. He’s always surprised when I text back, anyway.” 

“Mmhm?” 

“Yeah.” 

“I mean, you text him back? Even though you don’t know what he’s talking about?” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Wally tilted his head to the side, expression becoming quizzical. “He’s your brother. I don’t need to know the game to know that I care about his opinions and stuff. I mean. He’s your  brother.”   

“Wow.” Rob tilted his head to the side, too. 

“Wow what?” 

“I just,” Rob’s eyes were almost confused, but also deeply affectionate. Wally couldn’t figure out why he was confused, but the affection made him feel extra melty inside. And then Rob bent to give him a proper kiss. A bit too short for Wally, honestly, but so full of soft, vibrant affection that Wally could feel it all the way down his spine. “You care because he’s my family,” Rob said, into the shared air between them. “I just—here I thought you couldn’t get any more unreal, dude.” 

“Dude,” Wally echoed. He could feel his smile turning stupid. He pushed himself up to steal another kiss. 

Which became another. 

And another. 

Rob made one of those noises that always drove Wally up a wall. He couldn’t actually get any closer, but that didn’t stop him from tightening his hold on Rob’s waist and pressing a harder kiss to Rob’s mouth. Desire was a warm blanket over all his thoughts. 

A yelp from behind them tore Wally away. Only about an inch, though. He sighed. 

“Sorry!” Barry said. 

Wally turned to see that Barry was in the doorway to the living room, hand slapped over his eyes. He’d definitely walked in on worse, though, which made the reaction more than a little amusing. But not amusing enough to stave off Wally’s irritation. 

“Uncle Barry,” Wally sighed. 

“I didn’t know Rob was over!” Barry said, more defensive than was absolutely necessary. He peeked between his fingers. 

Rob, being the gremlin he was, draped himself over Wally and grinned at Barry. 

Barry covered his eyes again. 

“Oh my god, Uncle Barry. Hal!” Wally shouted. 

Hal, being at least twice as punctual as any speedster in the family, popped up behind Barry after only a moment or two. “I heard my name! Hi, Rob.” 

“Hi, Hal,” Rob returned. 

“Can you take Uncle Barry, please? He’s being embarrassing.” 

“Sure thing, kid. C’mon, Bear, let’s go get those groceries you forgot while you were out, yesterday. Iris really wanted to do some baking, which means we actually need that milk, for once. And flour. I’m pretty sure flour that’s been in the back of the cupboard for more than three years is flour you should be throwing out—” 

Hal managed to steer Barry out of the doorway. 

“I hate it here,” Wally muttered. 

“I mean, that one’s on us,” Rob shrugged. “Kitchen? When everyone’s home? Of course someone’s gonna walk in at some point.” He stole another kiss, then hopped off the counter. “Let’s go to your room and play Mario Party or something.” 

“Mario Party,” Wally snorted. But he followed when Rob took his hand.  Mario Party  more or less meant “making out with a few rounds of Mario Party minigames in between,” anyway. But Wally always found it funny how they’d just hole up in his room, with the GameCube, and play dumb old games. It was silly and, for them, perfect. Like they’d known each other forever and could just be content with each other – the latter of which was true, of course. 

“Unless you want to try your hand on Rainbow Road again.” 

“Oh, absolutely not. I’ve learned my lesson,” Wally snorted. 

5.   Iris (Again (Again))

It was one of those speedster get-togethers. 

The initial intent had been a picnic, but the skies had gone all dreary-grey and there’d been a steady drizzle of rain from the morning into the afternoon. So, instead, Iris declared that it was going to be an indoor event. Food, movies, snacks, games, and more food. 

Dick (and it was “Dick” by then, if only to Wally, so far) had been invited over, as it was a “speedsters and significant others” sort of event. Including Jaime, Bart’s bestie-turned-boyfriend. And Alan Scott, who wasn’t  exactly  Jay’s boyfriend, or anything, but shared a very close relationship with the Garricks, regardless. (Maybe he was Jay’s boyfriend – Wally was never sure what was going on between his honourary Uncle Jay and the Prototype Green Lantern.) 

Dick had told Wally not to get his hopes up, because he wasn’t sure if he’d make it, but Wally was a sucker for punishment, sometimes, and did exactly that. Luckily, though, his hopes were rewarded by a doorbell, partway through the occasion. 

Iris got the door and greeted the late guest with a fond, “Rob! I’m glad you could make it!” 

Wally migrated toward the door and, as soon as Dick and Iris were done exchanging niceties, Dick flung himself at Wally, hugging him around the neck and winding his long legs around Wally’s waist. They kissed – a short, polite-for-company kiss – and then Dick smiled and unwound himself from Wally. They laughed into their shared oxygen. 

“Insufferable,” Max muttered. 

“Kids, right?” Jay laughed and clapped a hand to Max’s shoulder. 

“Insufferably cute, maybe,” Joan laughed. She turned from her husband, Jay, and Max to include Alan in her amusement. “Young love. I remember the crushes and moping you and Jay had, back in the day. Before you two figured things out.” 

(Huh. Maybe Jay and Mr. Scott were...?) 

Alan rolled his eyes, albeit fondly. 

Bart popped up at Wally’s elbow to coo at Wally and Wally’s boyfriend. 

Dick reached over to ruffle Bart’s hair. “Hey! You’re Double R’s friend!” Dick grinned. 

“You’re Red’s big brother!” Bart returned, looking up at Dick with stars in his eyes. “Are you a Titan, now, too? That’d be soooo crash!” 

“Probationary membership,” Dick said. 

“Crash,” Bart repeated. He turned to grin at Jaime, who’d wandered over to stand beside him. Poor kid. He looked a bit lost, really, in a house full of strangers. No wonder he wanted to stick close to Bart. “He’s gonna be a Titan!” 

Jaime smiled at him, then at Dick and Wally. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said. 

“Blue Beetle,” Dick reached over and shook Jaime’s hand. “Double R’s told me a bit about you. You do good work, kid.” 

Jaime looked caught between flustered and pleased to be recognized and complimented like that, but his handshake was firm and his smile was honest. Wally already knew he liked Jaime, given how Jaime and Bart got along, but he could see the moment that Dick decided that  he  liked Jaime, too. 

Introductions aside, the little party was pretty straightforward. Food was a constant (and all of it was good food, made primarily by Joan and Iris and Hal), as were board and card games. Hal had the Fast and Furious movies playing in the background, swapping each movie out with its successor once they hit end credits. 

At some point, the noise – familial and friendly though it was – got to be a bit much for Dick. 

And yeah, Dick loved people, but Wally knew better than to assume that Dick was an extrovert just because he liked and was good with people. In fact, Dick was more or less an introvert disguised (primarily through his own odd ADHD quirks) as an extrovert. Wally was somewhere in the middle of introversion and extroversion (ambivert, as the term went). 

Anyway, the gathering got to be a bit much for Dick and, while he could tough it out (was used to toughing it out, even), he’d been told time and again – by Wally especially, but also by Iris – that he didn’t  need  to tough it out. He could take a break. And that’s what he was probably intending to do when he slipped out the sliding back door, into the back yard. 

Wally waited a beat or so, mostly to see if Dick was just popping out for a second or not, then followed Dick outside. He found Dick leaned up beside the back door, eyes on the drizzle. The eaves protected him from most of the drizzle business, luckily, though stray droplets splashed back at him from the patio bricks, every so often. 

“You good?” Wally leaned up against the siding beside Dick and offered him a quirked smile. 

“Yeah, of course,” Dick smiled over at him. “Just not used to it.” 

“Which part?” 

Dick hummed and shrugged. “We’re not a very emotionally open family, back home. Most of our communicating is done through, like, spars. Fights. We don’t talk. We don’t reminisce. We’re... closed off, almost.” 

Wally winced. That didn’t sound like the kind of place Dick would thrive in, honestly. 

“Oh, we’re not too bad, I don’t think. But it overwhelms me, sometimes. Just. The sheer amount of emotion other families show each other,” Dick offered Wally his own crooked smile. “I don’t not like it, you know? It’s just. Different.” 

“Sorry.” 

Dick laughed. “Don’t be, you goose,” he punched Wally in the shoulder, then leaned up against him. “I love it here. I love feeling like a part of your family. I just... need a moment to process, sometimes.” 

“If you say so. Do you want me to leave you to it, then?” 

“No,” Dick glanced up at him. It wasn’t a huge height difference, but Wally’s stomach did a cheerful little flip whenever he noticed the height difference between them, anyway. Dick curled his fingers into Wally’s collar. “I like when you follow me to see if I’m okay.” 

“Well, I’m glad you don’t think it’s annoying.” 

Dick snorted, then pulled Wally down to kiss him. Just once. Soft, sweet, and unexpectant. Wally returned the gesture with one of his own, then pressed a kiss to the side of Dick’s face. Dick folded himself into Wally’s arms and hummed, pleased. “You’re warm,” he said. 

“Speedsters,” Wally agreed. 

“How long you think until someone comes looking for us?” 

Wally gave the question a thoughtful hum. “Dunno. Why?” 

Dick, in lieu of a response, pulled Wally into another kiss. No less sweet, but more lingering. 

“Oh,” Wally said. “Well. Long enough, probably.” 

Dick laughed and tugged Wally closer, until Wally was between him and the drizzle and Wally’s arms bracketed him, against the siding. The kissed, long and leisurely. Unhurried. 

It wasn’t even a surprise when the back door slid open. They’d been caught in more compromising positions in less expected places, by then. 

They allowed themselves a last, lingering kiss, then turned to the interloper. 

Iris smiled back at them, then seemed to remember she was interrupting their moment. “Dessert’s out,” she said. “I mean. If you want any.” She motioned behind herself, into the house. Lingering conversations spilled out the open sliding door. Home and  family  beckoned from inside. 

“We’ll be right in,” Dick promised. 

Iris nodded and slipped back inside, closing the door behind her. 

Dick and Wally turned their attention back to each other. “So. Dessert?” Dick raised an eyebrow. 

“Aunt Ie made a bunch of dirt pudding and ambrosia salad,” Wally said. “And Joan brought a bunch of pies. And-and there’s a shit-ton of ice creams...” 

“Sounds nice,” Dick said. His smile was soft and warm. “Maybe we should grab dessert, then see if Bart and Jaime want to play a game upstairs or something. Mario Kart?” Even as he spoke, though, he leaned up into Wally and stole another kiss. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Wally agreed. 

+1.  

It was Wally’s first time – his very first time – at Wayne Manor. 

He’d been there for dinner. And it was a slightly strained, nerve-wracking affair, to be honest. But getting through it was a real achievement, and made Wally’s relationship with Dick feel that much more Real. 

Yeah, there was a bit of sibling-ribbing going on. And yeah, maybe Wally was on the receiving end of a few more of those shovel-talk like threats. But it was honestly kind of nice, just sitting at a table full of his boyfriend’s family. Just. Being in their house, seeing Dick in his own home. Well, the home Dick grew up in. 

It was. Nice. 

And, afterward, Dick took Wally upstairs to look at the room Dick had spent almost a decade of his life in. And, no, maybe that wasn’t a lot in terms of how long childhood bedrooms usually experienced use, but it was the time Dick lived in the Manor, after his parents fell and Bruce took him in, right up until Dick moved out in the middle of a rough patch he’d had with Bruce. 

The room wasn’t some shrine to childhood, though. 

Dick still spent a lot of time at the Manor. As such, the room had neither stagnated in time, nor had it been cleared out and made impersonable. 

The books on the shelves were a mix of things he read in the present and books he would have been reading in, like, high school. The bed was made up with whatever Alfred decided belonged on the mattress (it was all shades of blue, though, which was kind of adorable). The desk had a mix of day-to-day knickknacks and older game systems and toys that had survived Dick’s childhood and teen years. The shelves were much the same, though with the addition of pictures and small pieces of art that seemed to document the progression of years, if a bit loosely. The walls had framed circus posters on them. The ceiling had honest-to-god glow-in-the-dark stars on it. The closet, which stood open, had a bunch of clothes that looked like Dick’s size (and current style, or lack thereof). 

It was as much a childhood bedroom as it was the room Dick stayed in whenever he was at the Manor. 

The bed looked very soft. When Dick sat on the bed and beckoned for Wally to sit with him, Wally was able to confirm for himself that, yes, it was as soft as it looked. Dick grinned at him and motioned around him, at the room. “What do you think?” 

What Wally thought was that it was weirdly intimate, being in Dick’s childhood room. “I like your posters,” was what he said, though. 

“Vintage circus posters,” Dick nodded. 

Wally didn’t miss that some of them said  The Flying Graysons,  but the moment was too light and giddy to bring up the possibly painful memories that might be associated with those particular posters, so Wally bit back those questions. Instead, he dropped back onto the mattress to look up and get a better look at the glow-in-the-dark stars. “Doesn’t really fit the theme,” he said, motioning at them. 

Dick dropped against the mattress next to him. “No, they don’t,” he agreed. He grinned brightly up at them, which Wally could see out the corner of his eye. “I managed to get them up there by jumping on the bed, when I was ten.” 

Wally snorted. 

Dick laughed in response. “I know, right? All this—” he motioned around, trying to encompass the Manor as a whole, “and ten-year-old me was like ‘hey, you know what my room needs? glow-in-the-dark stars.’” 

“And they stayed?” 

“They stayed,” Dick agreed. “I actually put a few more up there, at some point. I think I was fourteen? I don’t know. I think it was a rebelling thing, though.” 

“Rebellion via glow-in-the-dark stars. I love it,” Wally chuckled. 

Dick laughed with him. 

As the amusement between them died down, though, Dick glanced sideways at Wally, still smiling and soft and so very happy. Wally turned to smile back. 

Dick moved closer and pressed a soft, light kiss on Wally’s mouth, then drew back to smile wider. “You know, we’ve messed around in your room, before,” he started. 

“But not yours,” Wally laughed. 

“That’s a shame,” Dick sat up, but pushed Wally back down when Wally tried to follow him into seated position. “We should do something about that.” So saying, Dick turned and swung a leg over Wally’s lap, straddling him, and leaned down to kiss Wally again, a hand on Wally’s jaw and an elbow propping him up over Wally. 

Wally hummed agreeably and curled loose fingers into Dick’s hair. His other hand found its place on Dick’s hip, where the pad of Wally’s thumb could rub gentle circles into the skin just over Dick’s waistband. 

The kiss started relatively innocent, warm and unexpectant. 

Warmer and still unexpectant. 

Warmer  and deeper and anticipating. 

The lazy, warm kisses grew longer and deeper, though the sense of expectation didn’t show up. Anticipation clouded Wally’s mind a bit, but not expectation. 

But then Dick pressed himself into Wally a bit more and pressed Wally into the mattress. He hummed into the kiss, which was the only warning Wally got before Dick rolled his hips against Wally’s. God, he was bad for Wally’s health sometimes. 

Wally laughed and tugged him back a bit, by the hand caught in Dick’s hair. “Dude, your whole family is home,” he said. 

“And?” Dick raised an eyebrow at him. 

Wally retaliated with a soft tug at Dick’s hair, though that only sent Dick’s eyelashes fluttering and ended in another luxurious press of Dick’s hips to Wally’s. Wally bit off a small noise and tugged Dick back down into a kiss. 

Dick laughed, clearly thinking he’d won. 

Wally debated flipping them over, just to show Dick that, no, he hadn’t won. But, really, Wally liked the position he was already in. He liked having Dick hovering above him. I mean, clearly. 

Dick kissed him deeply and Wally’s hand crept higher under Dick’s shirt. 

Wally groaned into their shared oxygen, in the briefest moment between kisses. Dick swallowed the groan and answered with one of his own, breathy and pleased and everything that tended to send Wally’s brain on vacation, really. And, you know, send blood rushing south. 

Naturally, that was when the door slammed open. 

“Dickface! Dessert’s in five!” 

Jason’s voice froze Dick and Wally and the next groan they shared was an annoyed, if slightly amused, one as Dick drew back from Wally as Wally dropped his hands from Dick’s hair and skin, onto the comforter beneath him. 

“Oh.  Oh,”  Jason said. 

Dick turned to glare at him. “Seriously?” 

Wally propped himself up on his elbows and looked at Jason, too. Not nearly as upset as Dick was (and also vaguely amused, because  of course  Wally’s luck was going to extend to his boyfriend’s family interrupting them). 

Jason had a shit-eating grin on his face. 

“What? Too busy for dessert?” Jason asked. 

As Wally watched, horror finally beginning to set in, Tim’s face popped into the doorframe, too. “Who would turn down Alfred’s tiramisu—oh. Oh.” Tim went red enough for the rest of them, combined, but also didn’t disappear. 

Dick dropped his head back and groaned. “Guys. Please.” 

“No, no, I get it,” Jason continued to grin like a shark. “I get it. You were planning on a different kind of dessert.” 

Tim gave a startled squeak at the implication and looked up at Jason like he’d been betrayed. 

“Jay!” Dick picked up a pillow and wound up to throw it at Jason. 

Wally snorted and got the pillow to his face, instead. 

“It’s not funny!” Dick said, though he was grinning because, no, actually, it  was  kind of funny. 

“What are you peasants doing?” Damian demanded. 

Wally got the pillow out of his face in time to see Damian’s face turn an interesting shade of red before Cass was herding him away from the scene. God, Cass was a gift. 

“Could you guys...?” Wally tried for sheepish, but he was still laughing a bit, at the whole thing. “Oh my god.” 

At least it wasn’t Bruce. That would have— 

Been exactly what the universe planned next, apparently, as Bruce glanced into the room as he passed by Jason and Tim. His footsteps stuttered to a pause, then Bruce continued on his way in the clearest nonverbal “nope” that Wally had ever witnessed. And, yeah, to be fair to Bruce, his eldest son was still straddling his boyfriend’s lap, in his childhood bedroom. 

(Which was for the best, since there were consequences to... you know. Embarrassing consequences.) 

“Should we let you two lovebirds alone?” Jason asked sweetly. He had his phone out, though, and seemed to have snapped a shot for blackmail material. 

“Please!” Dick said. 

Tim squeaked, apparently startled out of whatever stupor he’d fallen into. He turned even more red and disappeared from view and could be heard padding away from the room, double-time, down the long hallway. 

“Don’t take too long or you’ll miss out on dessert,” Jason said. He trailed after Tim, clearly texting someone, but he didn’t have the decency to shut the door behind himself. 

Dick cursed under his breath. 

Wally, though, managed to regain use of his brain long enough to flip their positions, tap into the Speed Force long enough to zip over to, shut, and lock the door, and return to Dick. “I can’t believe this,” Wally laughed. 

“I should have expected it!” Dick disagreed. “Bunch of fucking stalkers and spoilsports...” 

Wally kissed him deeply. “Yeah, well,” he peppered kisses against Dick’s cheek, temple, and jaw, “we just have that kind of luck.” 

Dick huffed out, trying for unamused but only sounding close to laughter. He settled his hands on Wally’s hips, then arched up into him. “I guess so.” 

Wally made a tiny, strangled noise. “Are you sure you want to—” 

“Definitely,” Dick bucked at Wally to put him off-balance, then turned them back over. “It’s locked now, right?” 

Wally laughed and pulled Dick down into a kiss. 

They were a little late for dessert, but Alfred had set dessert aside for them, like the god among men that he was.