No wonder Barry always hated the Justice League retreats. He always thought it was a free vacation, but nope. It’s a torturous exercise in forced bonding mixed with an odd sense of corporate stuffiness.
Supposedly this “camp” for young heroes is meant to build community. So far the only thing that’s building is tension, sexual and otherwise. Especially between him and a certain other sidekick turned solo hero. Who decided a bunch of super-powered teens would be good candidates for a stay in cabins?
Apparently Batman. Well, the Justice League in general, but Batman is Wally’s least favorite member so he’s going to blame him. Speaking of things he blames Batman on, he’s been put in the Titans’ cabin. They’ve improved in cleanliness over the years, thank god, but it’s still hard to sleep on his bunk bed when all he hears is snoring and mechanical whirring.
On the second of three nights, he can’t take more of the noise. He has to go outside and clear his head. So he gets out of his bed, puts on his hard soled slippers, and slips into the night. He can’t get over the silence of nights here. There’s no buzzing, just crickets. No wind. It feels wrong.
Too dry, too quiet, too many stars. He sits on the porch. A line of ants pass by him on their way into a tiny hole in the wood walls. He watches them, all in a line trying to find something. Who knows if they’ll ever reach it. The cabin doesn’t seem to have an infestation.
The forest here is dense, untouched in a way he hasn’t seen before. The campgrounds are the only dent made in this area. How did they even get here? The hill this cabin sits on makes it easy to see the area, but the exit is still unknown. He can never get over how different California is, even after living here off and on for a while.
The rusty screen door creaks open and the crickets go silent. He looks up only to see Robin. In a pair of pajama shorts and an old t-shirt, they’re basically matching except for Robin’s lack of shoes. He’s somehow still wearing his mask, even in the mushy hours of the night.
“Wassup?” Wally says, fully not prepared to speak.
“Checking up on ya,” Robin mumbles. He doesn’t seem ready either. He sits down right next to Kid, closer to the porch’s support pole. Leaving the ants to crawl. Kid can’t stop watching them, even as a hand graces his waist. He leans into a hard shoulder and a wave of exhaustion covers him.
“How do you sleep with them?”
“Pills, mostly. But that’s how I sleep in general,” Robin graces him with a low chuckle, voice less shrill and more raspy in the tired night. It fills his heart with an odd warmth, spreading to his cold fingers.
“That’ll do it,” he says, quietly laughing along with him. “Thank god neither of us have to sleep in the same room as them 24/7. I’ve gotten my fill of it.”
“Tell me about it. We don’t go on road trips for a reason.” He says, hand gently massaging Wally’s waist.
“Mhm. Any other reasons?”
“Like you’re above that,”
Robin giggles in response. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard it. Not like this. There’s nothing to impede it, nothing that makes him hold it back. A short, joyful, tinkling giggle. It’s wonderful.
“Okay, you’re right, but still. Just not a good idea. You should join the team. We’d like to have you,”
Wally turns to look at the other man’s face.
“We? Do you mean I?” He says with a sly smirk.
“Maybe I. Maybe we. Who am I to decide?” Robin replies before pressing a kiss to Kid’s temple. His lips are warm. The cool air nipping at his face is no match for them. A small smile graces his face, unburdened for the first time in this trip.
“I think you’re the main guy to decide, mister leader.” Wally replies before yawning. He hears Robin chuckle next to him. “Hey, I’m allowed to be tired…”
“And I’m allowed to laugh,”
“Sounds like a plan.” He says with another laugh. That’s the most he’s ever heard in a row. What’s gotten into him?
“You don’t seem to mind.”
“I’m not a genie, Kid,” he says, looking down the hill. “But I sure can try.”
“You don’t need to try just yet. Wait until the morning.” Kid mumbles, leaning into Robin’s chest. It’s softer than his shoulders, but still feels less like a person and more like the cabin walls.
“I’ll wait until morning,” Robin whispers as Wally’s eyes finally close.
He wakes up in his bed, somehow. The morning sun drifts through the transparent curtains, shining into his eyes with the wrath of a mad dog. He pulls the covers over his face. Regardless, a finger taps his shoulder. He groans and lifts his head just enough to see over the comforter.
He’s met with a smiling tanned face framed by bright pink hair.
“It is the morning! You must awake, or miss the breakfast.” Starfire chirps, clearly not as tired as him. She’s already in her suit, for gods sake. He mumbles unintelligible mush at her, and she just giggles.
“Please come, friend Kid Flash. It will be the delicious. Today is pancakes!”
“My one weakness…” He says with a yawn as he gets out of bed. He puts on flip-flops this time, making his way out the door and down the hill to the dining hall with her. Out of all the Titans, she may be his favorite. Her eternal smile soaks up the light and dark equally like a black hole. Starfire has never felt real, never mean or selfish in the way of others. Maybe it’s the way of her people, maybe it’s just her.
He doesn’t want it to change either way. The grass crunches under his feet. The longer blades scratch at his toes, hard and grey from a lack of rain. The clouds have started to cover the sky. Maybe the grass will turn green again.
The lights in the dining hall have always been too bright. He remembers when he was still a sidekick and he came here for some Justice League thing. Robin wasn’t there that time. He’d already broken things off with Batman. He’s here now, sitting in the middle of all the Titans. There’s two open seats: one across from him and one next to him.
He’s barely got two feet in the door before Star beelines for the seat across from Robin. Noticing their entrance, he pats the seat next to him. There’s already pancakes on his plate. He smiles to himself as he walks to their table.
When Wally sits down, a hand softly places itself on his thigh. He feels the blood rush to his cheeks. Robin continues talking to everyone, so he acts like nothing happened and begins eating. The pancakes aren’t bad, but they aren’t really good either. They taste like cardboard and butter while being just fluffy enough to not feel like rubber. Leave it to the League to fuck up pancakes.
They get shoveled into his mouth regardless. He has to eat to keep up with the speed his body runs at, after all. He can’t afford to skip meals. When he tries to get seconds, he finds his plate taken out of his hands. Looking up, he sees a pair of green gloves holding it.
“Whatever you think is good for a guy that has 5 meals a day,” Kid answers with a hint of a laugh.
Watching him walk up to the buffet makes the rest of the table’s conversation disappear.
The third day is just breakfast and getting out of there. So when Robin asks him to help get their stuff to the car while the Titans mingle, he can’t say no.
Walking down, he notices that Robin put his hair in a small ponytail instead of spiking it. How did Wally miss that? Now that he’s seen it, though, he’s gonna use it to his advantage. He flicks it with a finger when Robin spends too much time looking at the trees and not enough looking at him.
“Attention,” He replies with a smirk.
All his blood goes to his face. Maybe he does. The handles he’s holding feel slippery all of the sudden, and everything is heavier. He doesn’t look at Robin until they get to the car.
The drive back is so uneventful that his heart aches. Cyborg drives, Beast Boy controls the music, and the rest sit in various seats. Nobody takes the middle this time. Instead, Robin sits in the very back with him, taking the opportunity to gently squeeze his thigh again.
It’s almost mean the way he caresses Wally. The way he seems to love him wordlessly. It’s the work of a higher power out to get him, he’s sure of it. They can’t talk, not here. The most they can discuss is the weather. Not them, not last night, not the walk to car. Maybe it’s for the best.
Once again, he falls asleep on Robin’s shoulder.
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