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It was another boring day at Gotham City High School. Well, any day that doesn’t have something new is boring. Dick couldn’t wait for the day to go by faster, cheer tryouts being the only thing he was looking forward to. Still, he didn’t want to fail classes so he got out his notebook and pencil, preparing to copy whatever the teacher would write on the board. Then near the end of class, he could make some adjustments to his cheer routine.
“Alright class listen up! This is completely last minute, so I apologize for that. No need to have notebooks out right now,” Dick sighed and put his materials away. “We’re gonna be doing a project, which will be due next week at midnight. All the information has already been sent to you via email. You’re also going to have an assigned partner, which I will start reading off now.”
As the teacher trailed off and began calling out the pairs, Dick’s attention gravitated towards Wally West. The boy caught his gaze and eagerly waved at him. Dick waved back and smiled at him. His heart did not skip a beat when Wally smiled back and he definitely did not have a crush on him.
“Richard Grayson and Wallace West!”
The two shared a knowing look and Dick grabbed his backpack and made his way over to sit next to Wally. They both got out their laptops, looking for the email the teacher sent them. Dick saw something familiar on Wally’s screen and leaned over to look, an excited smile on his face when his suspicions were confirmed. “Is that the new volume of Hunter x Hunter?”
“You like Hunter x Hunter too? Dude! We should’ve started talking ages ago!” Wally beamed at him and Dick had to look away for a second. He definitely did not have a crush on him.
The two quickly forgot about the assignment, saying that they could work on it later, instead choosing the period to get to know each other. Dick decided that suddenly this day wasn’t boring anymore and that it was now his favorite day.
After that, they were practically inseparable. Always seen hanging out around school and always spending the afternoons hanging out arcades or at the manor. Each time they spent time at the manor, Wally would always have to sneak in through the window. The first time they came in through the front door and Bruce went on about how Wally was a bad influence on Dick. Yeah, they didn’t have time to listen to Bruce each time they wanted to hang out.
Dick didn’t know at what point the time he spent together with Wally made him both want to see him everyday and avoid him.
Wally made his day a lot brighter, but he also made Dick want to go into hiding.
Lately, small touches between them would leave him with his heart racing, and did Wally always look this good? Seriously, what was up with him recently?
When Wally smiled at him, it made his heart skip a beat. When their skin brushed, his face would turn beet red. He played it off by saying he just wasn’t feeling well. He had to pretend everything was still normal.
Dick couldn’t deny it anymore. This wasn’t a platonic kind of love anymore. It definitely couldn’t be when the butterflies filled his stomach each time their eyes met and he had to look away; fearing he’d get lost in them. It wasn’t platonic when jealousy creeped its way inside him each time he saw Artemis with him.
He spotted the two talking by the lockers and he could already feel the pain starting up in his heart.
“Someone jealous?”
“I’m not jealous.” Dick huffed and turned to look at Barbara who had a teasing smile on her face. “You’re glaring daggers at the poor girl.” She pointed out.
“I’m just overreacting, Babs.” He sighed and slumped his shoulders. He really was overreacting. He knew that they were just friends, never seeing either one get flustered around each other. Still, he couldn’t get rid of the way his heart ached at the sight of them together. Maybe it was their past history that was making him feel like that.
“Dick, if you really do love him, you’ve got to tell him at some point.” Her voice turned serious. “Besides, aren’t you friends with Artemis? You could ask her if they’re dating.” She suggested.
“Um, kind of. We talk every now and then, she’s pretty cool, but I’m just—” He groaned and rubbed at his temples.
Barbara sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to give him some kind of comfort. “Love’s confusing, boy wonder.”
He would really have to give Barbara a gift later. She always helped him with his problems, especially now that he was always ranting about Wally.
Dick Grayson was in love with Wally West and he had to pretend that his best friend definitely did not make him feel like he was in some type of romance movie. That’s why when Wally asked him if wanted to go see the sunset he agreed, despite the way he felt like he was burning up. He would really have to tell him at some point, because this was just killing him.
“I feel like we don’t see sunsets that much anymore, cuz the sky gets all gloomy.”
“Yeah, this is nice.” The way the light reflected on Wally’s hair made it look like a gorgeous fire, the way his eyes brightened with glee made his heart swell. Sure, the sunset is pretty, painting the sky in warm swirls, but Wally would always be a more beautiful sight.
“Dick? Is there something on my face?”
A smile formed on Dick’s face. Wally would always be perfect in his eyes. The redhead got closer, waving a hand back and forth a few inches away from his face. Was Wally waving at someone? No, if he was he wouldn’t be right up in Dick’s face. Still in a daze the raven-haired boy brought his hand up, intertwining it with Wally’s. Dick’s smile grew deeper, eyes closing for a second, basking in the newfound warmth. Then the next second that comfortable warmth was gone and a resounding clap shook the boy out of his trance.
They were so close, it made his heart start flip-flopping around like a fish out of the water. Dick could just lean and kiss hi— okay yeah nope, he mentally slapped himself for that one. He scooted away to put some distance between them. Gosh, he was a disaster.
“So, you okay Dickie?”
Was Wally blushing? No, there wasn’t any reason for that. The colors of the sky probably just made it seem like the red dusting his cheeks was natural. Yeah, that had to be it.
“Yup, totally, just a bit tired is all.”
Okay, he would confess to him when he came over tomorrow Yup, he could definitely do that.
Dick set the controller down on the bed and looked over at Wally with a conflicted expression, “Wally, I have to tell you something…” He looked away the second Wally met his gaze.
“What’s up?” A concerned look made its way onto his face. The intent to play another round was now long gone and the repeating, “game over” was just like any other background noise. Dick couldn’t take it when Wally looked at him like he was the most important thing in the world. It filled him with warmth; love. No, it wasn’t love. Wally was just concerned about him, just being a good friend. Then it dawned on him. What if Wally didn’t like him back? What if he became disgusted by him? He couldn’t deal with that. The heartbreak would hurt far too much. Dick decided he wouldn’t tell Wally. He didn’t want to risk their friendship.
“It’s— it’s nothing.. Let’s just play another round, yeah?”
“If there’s something you want to say, then say it. It must be pretty important if it has the Boy Wonder wound up.”
“No! Seriously, it’s not that important Walls.” Dick flashed the redhead a smile, which ended up looking more like a grimace.
Wally raised a brow, clearly not convinced that Dick was really fine. He let out a sigh and picked up the once discarded controller. A few clicks of the controller and a new game was set. “Another round it is.” His eyes darted back towards the raven-haired boy every now and then. The light pitter-patter of the rain outside and the game being the only sound in the room. Typically, silence between them was comfortable and welcome. Now it was the exact opposite. The tension was so thick, even the sharpest knife in the world wouldn’t be able to cut it.
“Okay,” He let out a puff of air he didn’t know he was holding in, “something’s clearly up with you, so just talk to me when you’re ready.” Wally quickly got up, making the controller fall to the ground, a loud clank in the otherwise silent room.
“Walls c’mon! It’s nothing really!” Dick shot up from where he was sitting and made his way to block Wally’s exit, receiving crossed arms and a pointed look. “Look,” He looked away, not wanting to see Wally’s disapproving face, already feeling the pang in his heart. “It’s really not that important!”
“Huh,” Wally’s face was mixed with disbelief and concern, “You look like you’re about to break down. Just talk to me when you’re ready.”
“Wally! Wai—” He was cut off by the boy dashing out of his room.
This was a disaster. Dick stood still, almost wanting to believe that Wally would come back. After a few seconds he realized his fantasy just wouldn’t happen, so he made his way over to the window and let his body slump against the windowsill. He caught the sight of red hair just before it vanished around the corner. Tears welled up in his eyes and quickly began running down his face like a broken dam.
“Way to screw things up, Dick.”
Not long after the gentle showers turned into an angry storm. Lightning brightening up the gloomy skies every few minutes. The heavy rain coming down from the sky with thunder that seemed to shake the world.
“You’re sad too?” His voice fainter than a whisper as he stared up at the grey clouds. He hoped Wally made it home before it started raining heavily. He let out a pained sound and buried his head against his arms. Dick’s body began racking with sobs. It hurt his heart to watch him leave, to be the reason for him leaving.
A choked sound escaped his lips as he tried to stop his crying. Deep breaths in, hold, exhale, repeat. He repeated that process for several minutes until he decided he was calm enough. By the end of it, Dick was still visibly shaking, but at least he didn’t hurt as much and could breathe properly.
Then he heard a knock at his door. He stood up on wobbly legs and made his way to his bed and sat down, his gaze made its way over to the controller Wally used. He grabbed a pillow and threw it on top, not wanting to remember right now. “Come in!” He called to whoever was at the door. Surprised he was heard when the knob twisted open and soft footsteps sounded closer.
“Boy problems, Master Richard?” He turned around to see the butler holding a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows that were practically falling over.
Dick offered the man a small smile, grabbing the mug with shaky hands, and thanking him. “Something like that,” his gaze dropped to the hot chocolate, feeling ashamed, “I think he’s mad at me, Alf.”
“Well, Master Richard, I’m not one to pressure you, but your feelings cannot stay hidden forever. You’ve ought to tell that boy at some point. For now, just take it easy.”
He let the words sink in and nodded. “I know Alf, I know it’s just…” His free hand grabbed at the bedsheets, “I can’t— I don’t know how.”
“All will come in due time.”
“I guess so.” A little more talk and then Alfred headed out of his room, quietly shutting the door behind. Dick quickly finished up the hot chocolate and then crawled under the covers, attempting to try and sleep.
The rumbling thunder kept him up for a few hours, and for the next when the heavy rain subsided, all he could think of was Wally, and that disappointed look. Needless to say, he didn’t get any sleep.
When morning came Dick’s body was on autopilot, going through each task he normally does, but he wasn’t all there. When he got to school he could tell people were trying to talk to him, but all their faces blurred together. When he got to class nothing stuck with him, only rhythmically tapping to look like he was at least doing something, when all he could think about was how he was going to tell Wally.
A few classes later Dick spotted Barbara at her locker during passing period. He let out a sigh and walked up to her, “Hey, Babs.”
“Oh, hi, Dick, how are y—” Her words died in her mouth once she turned to look at him. “What happened?” She gave him a concerned look and shut her locker.
“I messed up and now Wally’s mad at me.” His throat felt awfully scratchy. Did he even drink water today? He shook his head slightly as if it would get rid of his thoughts. He looked around seeing the halls filled to the brim with people trying to get to class. “Let’s talk somewhere more private.” Barbara nodded and gently grabbed him by the wrist, walking through the groups of people they made their way to a classroom.
“This room hasn’t been in use for a while, and it’s always locked so I doubt people will come in.” Barbara gave him a soft smile. Then she got a hairpin out of her hair and used it to lockpick the door. After a few moments the click of the door was heard and they made their way in, letting it close behind them.
“So, what happened between you two? Normally you’re talking about him as if he were your sun, but now…” Her thoughts trailed off as she looked at him, the concern only growing.
“I can’t stop thinking about it, Babs, I screwed up big time.” His arms wrapped around his knees, hiding his face between his knees. Voice fragile, seeming like if he spoke louder it would just break. “Alf said I should confess when the time is right, but what if it’s never right? What if he hates me after I tell him that I love him? I mean look at me now,” He let out a laugh, “I can’t even function properly and it was just a fight, what will happen to me if he actually starts hating me?”
“Woah, slow down there.” She wrapped her arms around him, sensing the boy needed comfort. “I don’t think Wally could ever hate you. His eyes brighten up when he’s around you, Dick. A confession won’t make him hate you. I’m sure it won’t.” She pulled away “Honestly, I think you should tell him sooner than later, and be blunt about it. That boy’s oblivious and won’t understand if you dance around it.” That got a small laugh out of Dick.
“Thanks Babs, seriously, you’re the best.” He hugged her tightly and she hugged him back “Anytime, Boy Wonder.” A warm smile formed on her lips.
They spent a few minutes in each other’s embrace, until the bell rang signaling all the students to head to their next class.
“I have to go now,” Barbara reluctantly pulled away from the embrace and headed for the door, “Good luck with Wally!” and then she was gone.
Dick stayed in the empty classroom until passing period was over then started heading home, ignoring the people at the office who were asking him where he was going.
As he was arriving to the manor, he snuck around the back and used his acrobatic skills to make his way to his window. Then he opened it up and made his way into his room, flopping down on the bed. He took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, stopping at Wally’s.
He quickly sent a text to Wally, asking if they could meet somewhere. He ignored the way his heart started racing.
Dick’s phone vibrated and he quickly checked who sent it; it was Wally, saying they should meet at the park near the manor, at sunset. A lopsided smile formed on his face and then it disappeared. No point in getting excited when he was going to get rejected soon. He sent a thumbs up in response. Now all he had to do was wait.
Sunset came slower than usual. Maybe it was because he was dreading the talk and the world decided to take pity on him. It didn’t matter now that he had to leave the manor and meet up with Wally, or else the boy would think he stood him up.
Dick sneaked out through the window and started speed-walking towards the park. The sound of leaves crunching under his shoes was surprisingly soothing, but the chilly weather made him regret not bringing a jacket as goosebumps started forming on his skin.
A few minutes later he finally arrived at the park and spotted Wally leaning against a tree. His heart skipped a beat and he had to stop for a second to control his breathing. He walked closer to the boy.
“Hey.” His voice was gravelly and he made a mental note to drink some water later.
Wally looked up at him and their eyes met. Dick had to look away for a second to mentally prepare himself.
“So, you’re finally ready to talk to me?” Wally didn’t sound much better. He sounded like he spent the entire time crying, his voice deprived of any of its usual upbeat tone. He didn’t look any better than he sounded either. His skin was a lot paler and dark circles filled his under eyes. It made Dick feel like a total asshole. Wally shouldn’t have to be suffering because of his mistake. Dick decided that he could deal with potential heartbreak if it made Wally his happy self again.
Dick took a deep breath and exhaled, swallowing down the lump in his throat. Beads of sweat started forming and it suddenly felt like the world rose it’s temperature by 20 degrees. “Wally, I love you.” He looked away, toying with the hems of his sleeves, waiting for the inevitable rejection.
“I love you too, buddy, but what did you want to tell me?” Wally offered Dick a tired smile, seeing how worked up the boy looked.
Dick’s eyes widened like saucers, trying to process what just came out of the redhead’s mouth. “Wally! You—” Giving up on talking, he let out an exasperated noise, hands coming up to tug at his hair. Realizing his outburst, he started taking in a few deep breaths to calm his nerves down, letting his hands fall from his hair.
“Dick? Buddy, you okay?” Wally attempted to come a little closer, trying to help in some way, but was stopped by Dick disapprovingly wagging a finger at him.
“No I’m not okay Walls, I’ve been trying to tell you that I love you! More than a friend even and then you just go and say that!” The silence that followed made Dick want to run away and disappear for the rest of eternity.
Dick glared at Wally, who was standing still with a shocked expression on his face. “If you’re gonna reject me, just do it now.” He looked away, not wanting to see the boy he had grown to love during the past months. Not now when Wally would tell him he didn’t feel the same way. Not now when their friendship would end, and it would all be Dick’s fault. “It’ll hurt less if you say it now, Walls.”
He was expecting Wally to tell him he wasn’t interested, what he wasn’t expecting was the warmth enveloping his lips. His heart started beating so fast he thought it’d leap out of his body if it could. Within a second that pleasant warmth was gone, and he was already longing for it again.
“Does that answer your question?” Wally gave him a cheeky grin and he just couldn’t help but smile fondly at him.
“There wasn’t a question, but yeah, I guess it does.” Dick let out a soft laugh and leaned in closer. Their lips connected once more and even though there weren’t any sparks like in the movies, he’d never get tired of it. It was a different type of magical feeling having the boy he loved like him back, he was completely over the moon. Only parting the kiss to catch his breath.
“So, does this mean we’re like boyfriends now?” Wally asked breathlessly.
“Well yeah. I think I’d feel like a kicked puppy if you rejected me after we just shared a kiss.” Dick pouted before bursting out into laughter. “This still feels surreal, I was so ready for you to say you didn’t like me back.” He wiped a tear from his eye. Then Wally hugged him and he practically melted into the touch, it felt so warm and made him never want to let go. He let out a pleased sigh, “This feels nice.” He hugged the boy back and nestled his head in the crook of his shoulder. For a moment it felt like it was just the two of them in the world.
“I thought you liked Artemis for the longest time.” Dick broke into laughter and pulled away from the hug
“Me and Artemis? No way dude, we’re just friends.” Wally joined in his laughter, his laugh as melodic as ever. “Wanna go skating or watch a horror movie? I can hold you if you get scared.” A teasing grin formed on his face.
Dick huffed, “As if! You’d be the one pissing your pants, don't lie, Walls.” He smirked, “Though I’d go with skating.”
“I’m gonna let that slide only because we’re newlyweds.”
“Newlyweds?!” Dick’s voice rose an octave and his face grew beet red. “You wanna get married already?”
“I— I meant it like— well, what do you even call people who just started a relationship? Cuz all that comes to mind is ‘newlyweds’.” Wally’s face was flushed red, clearly embarrassed, but he went on, “Besides, I wouldn’t mind marrying you.” Then he gently grabbed Dick’s chin with his index finger and thumb, tilting the boy’s head up and leaned in to kiss him once more, before pulling away and grabbing him by the hand. “Anyways, skating it is!”
Dick gripped onto the border of the skating rink, his legs not wanting to cooperate at the moment. He envisioned the moment he let go he would suddenly become like one of those olympic skaters, but the second he actually let go of the border he lost control of his legs again and fell on the ice. Within a second Wally was at his side, helping him up and making sure he was steady on his feet. When he pulled away, Dick was instantly about to fall again so he opted to just hold onto him.
“Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I totally thought you were gonna be amazing at this.” Wally gave him a lopsided smile. “I can try to teach you though.” Dick reluctantly agreed. He wanted to figure it out on his own, but when Wally offered to help he just couldn’t say no.
After a few minutes of Wally attempting to teach him how to skate, Dick gave up. “I’m a lost cause, Walls.” He sighed in disappointment. “We can try this another day.”
“So, what now?” Wally asked, with a smile on his face.
“I heard there was going to be a festival today. Wanna go to it?” Dick had a hopeful expression on his face and it only brightened when Wally eagerly nodded.
They placed the equipment back and left the rink, heading towards the festival. By the time they left the sky that was once a pale blue, was now tinted orange and purple. It was getting dark.
By the time they reached the festival, the sky was a dark blue, stars surprisingly shining in the distance. With all the pollution in Gotham it’s usually very hard to see them.
They first went to some of the food vendors, since Wally’s appetite was as insatiable as ever.
“Geez, Walls, that’s like your sixth chili dog” Dick stifled his laughter, not wanting to choke on the milkshake he was drinking.
“Yup!” Wally took another bite and quickly chewed and swallowed, “All the running I do makes me super hungry.” He quickly finished eating and then grabbed Dick by the hand, leading him into a corn maze.
“Wait… which way did we go already? Was it left or right?” Dick looked up at Wally with a confused expression.
“I think it was left!” The two went to the left and were met with a dead end.
“Walls, I don’t think it was left.” Dick was dying of laughter at this point, holding onto Wally so he wouldn’t fall on the floor.
They spent another 10 minutes trying to look for the exit, and both let out a sigh of relief once they found it.
“Now I’m curious as to what would’ve happened if we didn’t find the exit.” Wally looked back at the maze with a thoughtful expression.
“I would’ve just climbed over and taken you with me at that point.”
“No, but, what if the cornfield came to life and then we had to survive their evilness or something.” Dick tilted his head and raised a brow at him, then brought a hand to his mouth, trying to not break into laughter again.
Afterwards, the couple went on a bunch of other rides, attempting to try each one at least once. Then Wally spotted the ferris wheel, glowing brightly with all its shining lights.
“Oooh! Let’s get on the ferris wheel. We can get super romantic once we reach the top.” Wally waggled his eyebrows at Dick, a grin forming on his face.
Once they reached the top, they looked at the view of Gotham lit by the moonlight and several street lights.
“How romantic, Walls.” Dick snickered at Wally, who had a pout formed on his face.
“So no kissy, Dickie?”
Dick let out a humming noise and placed his thumb and index finger on his chin, looking up at the sky in fake thoughtfulness. Then a second later he leaned in closer and laid a soft peck on Wally’s lips, a cheeky smile plastered on his face. Wally was about to go in for another kiss, but stumbled when the ferris wheel started moving again. Dick’s laughter filled the passenger-car.
By the time they reached the bottom, it was getting pretty late. The two boys had already spent a few hours at the festival.
“What now?” Dick asked Wally once they got out of the passenger-cars.
“Let’s try to win prizes for each other, meet back here in 30 minutes?” Wally suggested, making sure Dick agreed before dashing off to win his boyfriend a prize, because what’s the point of going to a festival as a couple if not to win each other prizes?
The 30 minutes passed by quickly and soon the two arrived at the meeting spot. Wally holding a giant plush robin in his arms with a proud smile on his face.
“Dickie, I won you this! It reminded me of you.” Wally was beaming with joy.
“A robin?” Dick asked softly, taking the plush into his arms with a fond smile. “I got you a bracelet with a lightning bolt on it. Y’know because you’re the track star and obsessed with that story Barry keeps telling you about.” He handed it over to Wally who immediately put it on.
The two left the festival after that and decided to go stargazing since the sky was clear, and that was a rare sight to see in Gotham.
They laid side by side looking up at the starry night sky. Both just enjoying each other’s presence. Dick spoke up first, “Any romantic constellations, science-whiz?” He said it in a joking tone, but still got an excited “Mhm!” from the redhead.
“That one over there that looks like a harp, that one’s called Vega. There’s one further down, but it’s a bit hard to see, that one’s Altair.” Wally pointed to where the constellations were, looking back at Dick to make sure he was following.
“Vega was a celestial princess and due to her immortality she feared she would live the rest of her life alone. Then Altair, a mortal caught her eye and she went down to Earth to meet him. The two fell deeply in love and promised they would always be together in the heavens. However, Vega’s father was outraged when he found out and granted her promise. Vega and Altair were turned into stars in the sky, but despite both being in the heavens they were not able to be together.”
“I sure hope that doesn’t become us. Bruce and be a bit overbearing sometimes even though he means well.” Dick’s gaze stayed glued to the constellations feeling a twinge of sadness for them.
“Hey, Dick?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. Like a lot, you’re pretty oblivious too considering you didn’t even notice.” He flicked his forehead causing Dick to let out an annoyed noise. “We’re not gonna be like them, because now that we’re together I’m not gonna let anything part us away from each other.” The way he looked at Dick was full of love. Okay, he was definitely feeling the aster now.
“Guess that means I’m an idiot too.” He turned over to look at Wally, who looked absolutely ethereal with the moonlight shining down on him. He laughed softly before leaning in to share a kiss. This time there were sparks. This time it felt magical, it was like a feeling he could get lost in. And one thing was for certain: he never wanted this moment to end. Being with Wally was all he could ever ask for.