#so i took matters into my own hands AND MADE IT BIRDFLASH BECAUSE I CAN H A H

[detectiveforfree]

nice 🏳️‍🌈☕ mug

[justfangirlthings2003]

Birdflash Teacher AU

NOTE: I live in UK so I know nothing about the American school system

The Physical Education teacher in the school where Physics teacher, Wally West, has left at the end of the previous academic year so Wally was prepared to find a new hire on the first day of the new term.

What he wasn’t prepared for was to walk into the staff room to find a literal angel shaking hands with Jason Todd, the English Literature teacher, with the brightest smile he had ever seen in his life.

When the mystery man turned to face him, Wally nearly combusted at the sight of a petite tanned young man with the fluffiest black hair and completely captivating blue eyes greeted him, bouncing on his heels and everything.

(“Hey there, I’m Dick Grayson. The new PE teacher.”

“H-hi I-I’m Wally. Physics. And occasionally Chemistry. It’s nice to meet you”

“Likewise,” Dick replied with a grin that made his eyes glow brighter)

It only took one and a half days for the entire school to absolutely adore the new addition to the teaching staff - even the biggest troublemakers would greet him politely when they saw him passing.

But it only took one and a half hours for Wally to be completely and utterly smitten with him.

Dick took to teaching like a fish to water: he was able to memorise his students' names on the first lesson (and what a feat that was), he was kind, funny and was clearly genuinely interested in the kids.

And Wally, being the lovesick idiot gentleman he is, offered to show him around the campus.

Whilst they were walking around, the two men started to get to know each other really well, trading stories and facts about themselves and it was only till the end of their tour that Wally realised that Dick already knew everything about the school.

(“Wait, didn’t Principal Wayne or Vice Principal Kent show you around when you were hired.”

Dick gave a sheepish grin, a beautiful red hue spreading across his already idiotically pretty face as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah they did. I guess I just wanted to spend time with you.”)

And thus began their beautiful friendship.

They would often meet each other outside of school, mostly at each other’s apartments where they would sit in silence eating takeout as they graded work or came up with lesson plans before watching a movie or playing board games or whatever.

Dick would stand in the audience and cheer the loudest every time the school’s science team would enter a competition no matter what score they got.

Also Wally totally runs the Academic Decathlon team (I saw this in Spider-Man: Homecoming, it’s a thing that actually exists right?)

And Wally attends every sports competition that Dick applies to.

One time Wally entered the gymnasium to meet Dick at the end of the period to find him doing all sorts of acrobatics and gymnastics that the human body should not be capable of.

(“He-ey, wha-what’s going on here?”

Dick leaped from his handstand on the uneven parallel bars, did a few mid-air flips and landed right on his feet in front of the gaping redhead

“Oh, I promised my students that I’d show them a few moves. I guess I got a bit carried away.”

The sight of Dick’s slightly flushed face only made his own furious blush grow darker)

The teachers immediately realised that (*Ms Potts from Beauty and the Beast voice*) there may be something there. 

Most of them try to get them together

(“Hey Dick, two of my students were fighting during class today so I need to oversee their detention. Any chance you could do Cafeteria duty today. I swear I’ll do yours tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, Roy. I hope your partner isn’t too disappointed.”

“I think Wally would prefer your company over mine to be honest.”)

Even the students start shipping them.

(“So you only apply Fleming’s left hand rule to current carrying conductors in a magnetic field. Any questions about today’s lesson?

“Sir?”

“Yes, Pamela.”

“Is it true that you want to get into Mr Grayson’s pants?”

“.... everyone turn to page 190 and answer all of the questions. Also Pamela, detention”)

I just want to point out that Dick would just be an awesome teacher: he spends the mornings before class as well as breaks playing soccer or basketball with the students, he goes above and beyond because he can see greatness and potential in everyone and if anyone acts up he sits them down later and just speaks with them in a very respectful way, he’s always enthusiastic and helps all of the departments as much as he can. Oh and his office stationery and furniture are all elephant themed.

So Sports Day happens. No one was more pumped up than Dick Grayson. He’s spent weeks - weeks - getting ready. He’s bought face paint, helped the kids make banners for the different houses, and has even purchased air horns.

And Wally just looks at this beautiful man just cheering himself hoarse, laughing until his face goes red and clapping until his hands sting and just knows that this is the guy that he wants to be with.

So when Dick announces that the teachers will be taking part in races, he immediately offers to partner up for the three legged race.

They win and Dick gives him a congratulatory hug and wow - his hugs are amazing.

And after the festivities, Wally is helping Dick clear up and shyly asks him out. Dick accepts.

One thing led to another and they become a couple

The entire school finds out within a week.

Bets were won and lost. High fives were given.

Two years later, when both men come back from winter break wearing matching rings, well, you can imagine the chaos

BONUS

So in my school, we have a senior prank day where the leaving students in Year 13 get one day where they get to prank every teacher without any repercussions as long as they don’t go too far (and boy do I have stories) so I imagine that Dick is like the teacher that helps them by doing work on the inside. (like staying late one day so that the entire class can sneak into the staff room and use the printer to print out pictures of Nick Cage to replace photographs with)

One year in my school they made a poster that shipped two male teachers in my school and pasted them all around the sixth form building, that was done to Dick and Wally.

[turnupswritessometimes]

Birdflash - Hypothetically (Pt2)

Title: ‘Hypothetically’

Part: 2/2

Description:  Usually, Dick Grayson dreaded the Wayne Charity Balls. Usually, it meant that he was skipping a mission. Swapping leaping across buildings and kicking criminals in the spleen for prosecco and small talk. It meant avoiding the dance floor and the gaggle of girls swooning over him as opposed to avoiding bullets and lasers. But this night was different. This night there had been a threat from The Light, which meant the whole team had been added to the guest list, in civilian disguise of course. And there's someone that Dick's just dying to flirt with.

Word Count: 4,551

PUBLISHED ON A03 UNDER THE SAME NAME BUT TAGS MAKE POSTS NOT APPEAR IN TAGS SO..

Dick’s head was pounding. It felt like there was a spaceship in his head, humming and buzzing away against his skull.

He cracked open his eyes and groaned at the bright light in the room.

Then froze when he heard an answering groan.

Last night hit him like a brick to the back of his head. His eyes snapped open, protesting against the daylight, but he had to check –

Wally’s arm was draped across him. Wally’s head was on his chest. His bare chest.

A naked Wally West was sleeping, basically on top of him, on the leather sofa. Someone had tossed a blanket over them to cover their modesty. That wasn’t good. That meant that someone knew.

Dick pressed the palm of his hand into his eyes, closing them and taking a deep breath. Shit. He hadn’t meant any of this to go this far.

There was a knock at the door. Sharp and precise. He knew that knock and he knew that whatever he said, they would come in anyway.

Double shit. Double shit with chocolate sprinkles on top. Chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream and a cherry.

He pushed his hair from his forehead and wiggled out from under Wally. Just enough so that he could rest on his elbows and see over the top of the sofa. Wally’s arm still hung across him like he was a teddy bear. He still felt dizzy – unbelievably dizzy and clumsy. It was like his head was separated from the rest of his body, floating away on a string.

Bruce Wayne sat at the bar, fully dressed in a suit, his stool spun around so that he met Dick’s eyes with an impassive stare. He had thought he was getting better at reading his facial expressions. Now he realised Bruce was had just been going easy on him. He couldn’t begin to guess what was going through his head.

It was too bright. His head was pounding like he’d been hit with a sledgehammer.

But Bruce Wayne was sat right there. He swallowed, but his mouth remained dry.

“Bruce,” he said.

“Alfred found a broken glass this morning,” Bruce said. He had a glass set out next to him, and poured gin into it, his dark eyes not moving from Dick’s.

“Sorry. Drunk.”

“He said you had company. I thought I’d check in on you.”

Dick groaned, pushing his hand back against his face.

“Did you have to?” he sounded awful.

“I think we need to talk, Dick.”

“He’s still asleep,” Dick mumbled.

“I can be quiet if you don’t want to leave him,” the pronoun fell from Bruce’s tongue as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

“I made a mistake.”

Bruce paused then, just enough for Dick to try to swallow and fail. “You don’t think you’re-“

No – he wasn’t listening to Bruce Wayne say that word.

“That wasn’t the mistake part,” Dick said quickly. Maybe a little loudly. Wally stirred and mumbled something. “It wasn’t – it’s Wally, Bruce. Wally West.”

“Oh.”

He peered through his fingers just in time to see Bruce’s mouth quirked upwards slightly. He covered his face again and frowned against his fingertips.

“Hair of the dog?” Bruce said.

Just the smell of the gin in the air made Dick’s stomach turn.

“I’ll pass,” he groaned.

“So what happened, Dick?” Bruce asked. Dick shook his head vigorously and groaned at the effort. “Talk to me, Richard.”

He only called Dick ‘Richard’ when he meant it. It usually scared him, or guilted him into talking. Now he was concentrating on not being sick too much to be intimidated.

“Not now.”

“Yes, now. Whilst you’re not going anywhere.”

Dick sighed. He felt Wally sigh against him in his sleep.

“I just wanted to flirt – just a little bit, since he didn’t know,” he said. It hurt to talk. His lips were swollen and he could still taste the alcohol in his mouth. “It was just a little tease – but then, I don’t know – I started drinking and he started drinking-“

“Neither of you should have been drinking. It was a mission.”

“I saw you drinking,” Dick said.

“I didn’t wake up with someone else in my bed.”

“That’s a first,” Dick muttered.

“I heard that,” there was a long pause. Bruce’s voice was soft when he spoke again. “You could have told me, you know.”

“No, I couldn’t. Like – I could have, I guess. It’s not that simple, okay? It’s not that simple to go up to you and have this conversation. I don’t – where would I even start? How would I even have the courage to start?”

“Am I not approachable?”

“No – I don’t – you are, I guess. I – what if you had to come out to Alfred? Do you think it’d be easy?” Dick finally pulled his hand away from his face. It landed against Wally’s arm and his stomach stirred all over again.

“No,” Bruce’s glass was at his mouth. “But I wouldn’t want it to be hard for you, Dick.”

“It just is – that’s just how it is,” Dick’s gaze dropped to Wally’s face. He hadn’t noticed that Wally’s eyelashes were pale too, hardly casting shadows on his cheeks. His mouth was swollen, slightly parted as he slept. “Okay,” he took a breath and met Bruce’s gaze. This wasn’t how he imagined coming out, but he guessed it was as good a time as any. “I have something to tell you, Bruce.”

“What is it?”

“I’m gay.”

“Thank you for telling me. I will always love and support you no matter what,” Bruce said. Dick was surprised at the relief he felt flowing through him. He had always known it would be okay – but he still felt so relieved that it was. Even if sarcasm was creeping into both of their voices – how else would Dick Grayson come out to Bruce Wayne?  “Were you safe?”

“Bruce – oh my God,” Dick buried his face in his hands again.

“It’s a question any parent would ask. Did you use protection?”

Dick stayed silent. His heart hammered against his ribs. He didn’t want to say it. He really didn’t want to have to say it – not to Bruce.

“One in my back pocket.”

“Good boy,” Bruce was smirking, he knew he was. It was his tip. He was the one who always said it to Dick. And, shit, it had worked.

“Bruce – he,” Dick swallowed. “He doesn’t know.”

“It’s safer that way.”

“You don’t understand. That was why he – he called me Robin,” Dick looked up at Bruce. His mouth was set in a firm line. He was quiet, studying Dick.

“What do you want to do?”

“You’d let me tell him?”

“If it would make the two of you happy,” Bruce put his glass back down on the side. “But it may be too late.”

“I know,” Dick twisted his hands on the blanket. He couldn’t imagine telling Wally now – not after keeping it for a secret for so long and not after last night. Not when Wally guessed – when Wally knew and Dick didn’t tell him.

He’d probably ruined it. Last night really would be their only chance. He couldn’t imagine Wally ever trusting him again if he told him now.

Bruce ruffled his hair, leaving it in a spiky mess.

“You’ll figure it out,” Bruce muttered, leaving the room. He shut the door with a definite click. That was that he supposed. It had been too heavy a conversation at whatever time it was in the morning. And Dick’s head was still spinning like a top, so he sighed and slipped back under the blanket. He turned into Wally’s arm, nudging his head under Wally’s chin and closing his eyes again. He wasn’t sleeping. His head was pounding like there was a goblin inside it desperate to come out, but he didn’t want to fall asleep again. He wanted to pretend that he’d been asleep all this time and not think about whether or not to tell Wally the truth.

Wally groaned against Dick’s forehead, his arms tightening around Dick. He could pinpoint the moment the other boy woke, because his breath hitched and he whispered, “fuck.”

Dick had been planning to pretend he was asleep. He had resolved to either let Wally wake him up, or let Wally slip out on his own, but the resolve broke almost instantly.

“Yeah, that’s about where I am too,” he whispered.

Wally let out another small groan. “How long have you been awake?”

Dick sighed against Wally’s shoulder. “Long enough to have to come out to Bruce.”

“Fuck!” Wally’s fingers curled on Dick’s back and he opened his eyes to see the look of absolute horror on Wally’s face. He felt his lips quirk upwards in a smile. “Bruce Wayne knows that we – oh God – I’m in Bruce Wayne’s mansion with Dick Grayson and Dick Grayson is naked.”

“You’re naked too, you know,” Dick murmured, pushing his leg inbetween Wally’s.

“Fuck,” Wally was pulling away slightly, his hands retracting to Dick’s shoulders as he stared at him. “Was he – okay with-?”

“I think,” Dick said. “It’s hard to tell. He didn’t care that you-“ Dick paused, enjoying the cringe that passed across Wally’s face. “Stayed the night. He seemed – okay, yeah.”

“I can’t believe I’m naked on Bruce Wayne’s couch,” Wally muttered.

Dick shrugged. He was still tired, his head was still pounding – he buried himself into Wally’s shoulder.

But Wally didn’t move.

“Wally?” Dick whispered.

“I think I should – go,” Wally still sounded horrified, he sat up, letting Dick’s arms fall like dead weight onto the sofa.

“Was it really that bad?” Dick asked, propping himself back up on his elbows.

Wally looked back at him – a very naked Wally, with all of those abs glistening in the sunlight. His eyes, looking almost fluorescent, scanned down Dick’s body very quickly, then away.

“It wasn’t that – it’s not you,” Wally was wiggling into boxers and trousers. “It’s – this isn’t me. I don’t do this. Not – this. And I don’t think – I think it would be best if I go now.”

“Alfred’s probably going to make pancakes for breakfast,” Dick muttered. He covered his face with his arm so that Wally couldn’t read his expression. So that Wally couldn’t see the disappointment in his face. “Pancakes with whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries – bacon, probably even chocolate ice cream.”

There was a pause. Dick had known there would be.

“Did you say chocolate ice cream?”

“Mmm,” Dick chanced a peek under his arm. Wally was still topless, staring at Dick. His mouth quirked into a smile.

“How did you know that’s my favourite pancake topping?”

“Is it? That’s weird,” Dick mostly faked a yawn and stretched. “Of course, you were going, so-”

“The team’s probably worried about me,” Wally was murmuring. He sat back on the sofa, by Dick’s feet. “Hell, Uncle Barry’s probably worried about me. And Robin – Nightwing – what do I tell him? That I pretended – no, it’s cringy to say out loud sober.”

“You’re overthinking it,” Dick said, because hearing his superhero names had made his stomach lurch more than the smell of gin did. “Stay for breakfast, don’t tell Robin – tell everyone that you met a friend from school and ended up going back to his hotel room and chatting most of the night.”

“Did you come up with that just now?” Wally raised an eyebrow at Dick. He smiled and shrugged, the smile dropping when Wally sighed. “I can’t just not tell him. We tell each other everything.”

Everything excluding that you’re bi, Dick thought. Everything excluding your past. Everything excluding my past. Everything excluding my name.

“He might take it as a compliment.”

“You think?”

Dick just shrugged again, swinging his legs off the couch. It was then he noticed that his was sore. The throbbing that had been background noise was suddenly there and wince inducing.

Wally caught the wince – because of course he did.

“Shit – are you okay? Oh God, this is-“

“I’m fine,” Dick kept the blanket over his lap as he kicked his clothes up. He wasn’t looking at Wally, it had suddenly got a lot harder to meet his eyes.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dick wiggled into his clothes. He fully intended to hide from the world until the ache had died down. That was the last thing he needed anyone seeing.

He paused, his shirt still unbuttoned, when he noticed that Wally was still sat at the end of the couch, his face still buried in his fingers. It made him feel a little better about his own reaction not half an hour ago.

Dick sat and gathered his confidence. He felt like his mouth was shaking. Then he took Wally’s wrists, pulling them away from his cheeks.

“Hey,” he muttered. “I told you not to worry.”

“Is this normal for you?” the words were rushing out of Wally and this time he didn’t pick up the wince. “I mean, how many times have you-“

“I don’t do this. Not a lot. Not ever.”

“So what about me…” Wally trailed off, his eyes searching Dick’s. Dick found himself frozen under that stare. Something was going on. Wally was figuring something out. He knew it in his gut and a large part of him wanted Wally to figure it out. “It’s so weird - I remember you sounding just like…”

He trailed off again, and this time he was frowning. It was the frown that spurred Dick into action, made him link his fingers with Wally’s and pull him from the sofa. “Come on, let’s get breakfast.”

*

Dick hoped he was walking normally by the time he headed back to Mount Justice. It was the evening – he hoped he was over it by now. The buzz of voices was still too much for his cotton-wool head and he found himself pouring a large coffee automatically.

“-So weird – we didn’t see you at all!” Zatanna was saying.

He just smiled and shrugged, and let Jason say “well, we were trained by Batman.”

Kid Flash was at Dick’s side in the next second, his hood pushed down from his face so that the mask hung like a decapitated head from his neck.

“Pour me a cup of that, Rob – Nightwing?” He wasn’t meeting Dick’s eyes.

“Speaking of people we didn’t see all evening,” Artemis was smiling, sat on the edge of the kitchen table with her legs resting on the back of Zatanna’s chair.

“Yeah, Wally – what happened to you?”

“They tried to make us all stay behind and look for you.” Connor muttered. He was leaning against the doorway, his eyes half closed. Dick wondered if it was his first hangover.

“Oh, I was just – there was a friend I used to go to middle school with,” Wally was saying. He took the mug from Dick without looking. “I bumped into him and we got talking and next thing you know, it’s three o’clock and we’re still sat in his hotel room laughing it up.”

“What was his name?” he didn’t know why he asked. Maybe it was in an effort to cover his tracks, maybe he wanted to see how thought out Wally’s story was.

No, he wanted to see if Wally would admit it. There was a small part of him that wanted Wally to turn around and com clean.

“Hm?” his hair was a ruffled mess, like a bright orange bird’s nest on his head.

“Your friend,” Dick said. “What’s his name?”

“Fred-die,” Wally said slowly. “Merc – Mercury-“ there was a beat. “-Is what we used to call him, when we were at school, because he – sung. He sung songs. A lot.”

There was a long silence in the room. Dick could tell that no one quite believed Wally, but no one quite had the heart to push him.

“Are you sure his name wasn’t Richard?”

Jason sipped from his coffee – who even let that kid drink coffee? Had Dick drunk coffee that young? – and smirked slightly. His dark eyes flickered up to meet Wally’s. No doubt he was remembering them shuffling past him into the dining room, heavy eyed and miserable. He had been smirking at Dick all day, at one point sweetly asking if he was ever going to come out to his little brother. Dick had flipped him off.

There was an awkward silence in the kitchen. Wally was staring at Jason like he’d just taken the cat outside and shot it in the head. Dick was glaring at him, but Jason didn’t seem to care. He had learnt to hold his poker face very quickly in Wayne Manor.

“Robin, I think you stayed up a little too late last night,” Dick said, fixing his own sweet smile on his face.

“Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing.”

“Maybe you should catch up on your sleep?” there was an edge in his voice now. The ‘I’m older than you, so you better listen to me’ edge. It made Jason pause and it knocked the smirk from his face.

“You’re not Batman,” he muttered, but he took his coffee cup up and slinked out of the room.

Artemis was the one who was picking up on the tension. Her eyes had been flickering between Jason to Dick to Wally like she was watching a three-way tennis match. They were narrowed and Dick had a feeling that she had a hunch at what the situation was.

“Nightwing has a good point,” she said, coolly. “I’m going to head home.”

She gave Zatanna a meaningful glance. They held each other’s gaze for a moment, further proving Dick’s hypothesis that girls had a psychic connection to each other.

“Same,” Zatanna stood, a small smile on her face. “We’ll see you boys later,” she paused at the doorway, then nudged Connor’s arm and said meaningfully. “Let’s get something to help with your head.”

And just like that, as though it had been planned out completely, Wally and Dick were alone in the kitchen at Mount Justice. There was a long, awkward silence where they avoided each other’s eyes. Wally didn’t seem to make a move. He didn’t seem about to come clean about it.

“Maybe I should check on Jason,” Dick said, taking a large gulp of coffee.

“Wait,” Wally sighed, lowering his mug from his mouth so that he was cradling it in his hands. He still wasn’t looking at Dick. “Look, there was – I did spent the night with someone called Richard.”

“Wally-“ his stomach was suddenly turning. He wasn’t sure if he wanted this. He did, but he didn’t. It was just like coming out – it was the fear of the unknown that was making him feel sick.

“I was with Dick Grayson,” the words were falling out of Wally’s mouth so quickly that they threatened to merge into each other. “I swear, I didn’t mean to – it was just, we were just talking and then suddenly we were-“

“Why are you talking like you were cheating on me?” Dick’s voice sounded way too soft – way too calm when his heart felt like a rollercoaster track. He couldn’t even tell why he asked – he knew all the answers. It suddenly didn’t seem such a liberating thing. Suddenly he wished this was the first time he had learnt about it.

“Because…” Wally frowned at the floor. His mouth made movements as though it had the words to explain, but no sound came out.

He could just laugh it off and walk away. But his stomach had leapt and dived so sickeningly whenever he thought of facing Wally all day. It was swooping up and down like an eagle now, just standing next to him, not saying anything. He wouldn’t be able to keep going on like this. Wally would probably hate him when he came clean, but it was better than feeling like he was being eaten from the inside out. If everything was on the table, then at least they could try and sort out the mess.

“Look, KF, I – I knew about it,” Dick said, he felt Wally’s eyes on his face but kept staring into his coffee. He had been holding it for so long that the milk had started to separate, floating on the surface like limescale. “God, how do I say this without sounding like a complete asshole?” he took another breath, feeling the air press against every one of his ribs. Wally didn’t give him an answer – how could he? He had started this now – it was better to just take a dive. A dive was what started all of this. “I knew about it – because, I was there.”

Wally was silent. The silence rang like a warning bell in Dick’s ears. Finally, after what seemed like an age of listening to non-existent ringing, Wally spoke, slowly. “I am very hungover. You’re going to have to explain.”

“Do you really think there’s another person on this planet that says ‘whelmed?’” Dick asked. He chanced a glance upwards, just in time to see Wally’s eyes widen and his chest stop moving. Wally was staring at him like he was a stranger. Like he’d just been slapped in the face. It drove Dick on – to what he really needed to say. “You never told me about your dad.”

Wally was quiet. Then he leant against the fridge, his elbow just knocking against Dick’s.

“You never told me about your parents,” he said, his voice low, like it hurt to speak.

“You never said you were bi-“

“You never said you were gay!” Wally pushed off of the fridge, coffee spilling from his mug in a wave. He stared at Dick for a moment, his eyes alight, then slammed his fist against the side of the fridge. The sound should have made Dick jump, but he barely even blinked. He felt like he was stuck in a nightmare – frozen in place and unable to say anything. “Fuck, you never even told me your first name! What – now – now because you’ve fucked me you’re allowed to tell me? Is that Batman’s rule? You can’t tell your best friend, but a one night stand-“

“I never meant for you to be a one night stand!” there was his voice. The button that Wally had to press, because none of the others got to him anymore. There was a sore ball sitting in his throat. He swallowed it down, trying to force his breathing back to normal. “Christ, Wally, I just wanted to flirt with you a bit because I was out of costume and it was easier than being in them. Because I was just a guy hitting on you at a party, not your best friend.”

“It’s easier to talk to me as a random stranger than as your best friend?” Wally was still shouting. His fist was still on the fridge.

“It’s a hell of a lot easier to tell you that I like you, yeah!” Dick yelled back. It was easy to yell. It was easy to be mad at Wally even though it was all his fault. If he wasn’t mad, he would break down.

Anger was written on every part of Wally’s face as he glared at Dick.

"Take off the mask,” he said, suddenly. He was so confident that Dick almost did it by instinct.

Almost.

“What?” it had thrown him off. He had been expecting a right hook, the way Wally was looking at him.

“Take off the mask, Dick,” Wally repeated, his voice steady for the first time in five minutes. The anger had subsided, slightly. There was something else on his face now. Fear? Hurt?

If taking off the mask helped, then so be it. Dick closed his eyes, his fingers fumbling on the knots at the back of his domino. His fingers were shaking and the knots were too tight, but Wally was patient. He waited until the mask fell to the ground, fluttering slightly. It lay on the tiled kitchen like a skinny, black snake.

Dick let himself take his time to look back up at Wally. He needed to work his way up to those bright green eyes. Cat’s eyes. Scared – he was sure that he looked scared. He was sure that Wally would be able to see his heart beating in his mouth. He couldn’t swallow it back down.

Wally was staring – of course he was. He was tracing Dick’s features with his eyes, matching them up to the boy he saw last night. Making sure that that was still Nightwing’s jaw and mouth and eyes on Dick Grayson’s face. What was going through his head? Was he relieved – just a little bit? Or was he deciding to separate the two back into each other and never mention this again?

He stepped forward, his feet either side of Dick’s, still staring at him. Staring at him like he was a mythical creature who had just wandered into the living room. Like he was a puzzle Wally was still trying to figure out.

Dick stayed still – very still, as Wally’s hands approached his face. He could only watch and try to breathe as Wally pushed his hair back. Pushed the stray dark hairs into the hairstyle he was wearing last night. His hands felt the same – of course they did – but Dick wasn’t expecting to be teleported back to that cupboard, reliving Wally pressed against him in the dark.

“My favourite pancake topping is chocolate ice cream,” Wally murmured. His eyes flickered between Dick’s, waiting for a reaction.

“I know,” Dick whispered. His hands were hovering over Wally’s waist – like he was something hot that he couldn’t touch without being burned.

“You knew. All night,” Wally’s voice was still a hoarse whisper.

Dick swallowed. This was the inevitable.

“...yeah,” he said.

“I should really hate you,” Wally’s fingers slipped on Dick’s hair. Stray strands fell back over his eyes, like the image was breaking up. “I should really hate you for this.”

“I know.”

“Why don’t I hate you?” Wally’s forehead bumped against Dick’s – hard enough to make him wince, but not hard enough for him to pull away. His eyes were just a sea of green in Dick’s vision. He let himself be lost in them.

“I’m so, so sorry, Wally,” it was the only thing that was going through Dick’s head.

“You should be. But, you don’t need to be,” Wally’s hands dropped suddenly. He gave a shaky laugh, his forehead bumping against Dick’s. “This can’t be real – it’s ridiculous! This is something from a cartoon or a kid’s show – the guy I like is – of course, he’s the guy who flirted with me at a boring party. Things shouldn’t work out this cleanly.”

Dick stayed silent. He was still waiting. He didn’t know what he was waiting for.

Wally’s head dropped, falling to Dick’s shoulder. He tentatively put his arms around him, like he was scared Dick was going to disappear in a puff of smoke.

“Are you okay?” Dick asked. “I mean – are we, is this all okay?”

“I don’t know. I guess – it’s,” Wally sighed. “Hypothetically. Once I get my head around it.”

Dick could live with that.