44A/N: Sorry for the delay! To make up for it, slightly longer chapter!
ALSO GUYS. The awesome Val-Creative recorded "When Will This Heaven End?" YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GO LISTEN TO IT.
post/4395116813/dont-ask-me-why-i-did-this
ALSO. I looked at my story stats yesterday and this fic had exactly 1337 hits. (I screenied it.) You guys are so leet. I don't even.
Thank you all reviewers and readers! :D
The Second Visit
Wally had a problem. Actually, he had a lot of problems. For one thing, Dick was a guy. For another, apparently there wereno damsels in distress waiting for a knight anywhere in nearby after all (and for a speedster like Wally, "nearby" was quite a range). In addition to that, he couldn't go back to the city without being forced into being Roy's personal slave for a week, which was not cool at all. Not to mention the embarrassment he'd have to face because of his huge screw-up.
Did he mention Dick was a guy?
Yeah. Wally really wasn't ready to go back to civilization yet. In fact, he wasn't planning to return for a good while.
He also wasn't planning on boing back to the tower, but he somehow found himself back there anyways.
In his defense, he was hungry.
And out of money.
So up the tower he went once more.
Dick didn't even look at him when he entered. "Oh," he said flatly. "You came back."
"Uh. Yeah." Wally shifted uncomfortably, wishing Dick would at least look at him instead of stare at his stupid computer screen. "I did."
"Can I help you?"
Was there any tactful way to ask what he wanted to ask? Probably, but Wally wasn't going to bother thinking one up. "Got any food in here?"
"Straight to the point, I see," mused Dick. "Of course I do. Fridge and pantry. Help yourself."
Wally grinned. "Thanks!" He hurried to the kitchen and poked around the refrigerator. There wasn't much in there, but there was a box of pizza, about half the slices gone. Wally picked up the whole box and wandered back to Dick's side before taking a slice and biting into it.
Dick looked at him now, bemused. "There's a microwave, you know."
He shrugged. "It's fine cold."
"Right... So, KF."
It took Wally a second to figure out that KF meant Kid Flash (his mind had automatically jumped to KFC, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken). "Yeah?"
"I don't believe you ever told me your name."
"Oh! Sorry. I'm Wally. Wally West."
Dick nodded slowly, then turned back to his computer. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too. I think. What are you doing, anyways?" Wally asked as he scarfed down the remainder of the pizza slices.
"Stuff," he answered vaguely.
"What kind of stuff?" Wally pestered.
"Forums."
"Like?"
"...none of your business."
"Oh, come on!"
"If you must know, I troll."
"...You troll," Wally repeated, just to make sure he heard right.
"Yes."
"Aren't trolls stupid jerks who hate on other people and go out of their way to point out others' mistakes and make their lives miserable?" Wally asked accusingly.
Dick spun the chair to face Wally, glaring dangerously. Wally actually took a step back in surprise.
"Trolling and flaming are two completely different things, numbskull. I'll admit that I occasionally flame if the other party is a complete idiot and deserves it, but trolling is not flaming. Trolling is an art form."
...That still didn't explain what the hell a "troll" was. "Um. Right. Sorry. Won't make that mistake again," Wally said hesitantly.
"You bet your sorry ass you won't," Dick sneered before turning his chair again.
Geez, what's wrong with this kid? I think I should take my leave now. He echoed this thought out loud. "I think I'd better get going now."
"And don't come back," Dick muttered.
The Third Visit
Two days and a starving Wally later, the speedster cautiously entered the Titan Tower.
"HiDick-Sorryaboutlasttime-Doyouhavesomefood?"
"...What?"
"Uh. Sorry about last time? And do you have some food?" Wally tried again. (Just FYI, his voice did not squeak at the end of either question. Certainly not.)
"Eh, I've already forgiven you for that," Dick said, flapping his hand carelessly.
"Really?" He'd seemed really super pissed. Wally doubted that he would drop it so easily.
"Yeah. Happens all the time. Go ahead and grab something to eat."
"O-okay." Wally walked over to the fridge and yanked the doors open, half-expecting a bat or something to come flying out at him. But nothing came. Obviously he was over-thinking the whole thing. He quickly made himself a sandwich and returned to the main room as Dick stood from his computer.
"Wanna watch a movie or something?" Dick asked.
Wally shrugged. "Sure."
Dick gestured to his collection of DVDs (several of which were Disney), and Wally picked one out at random.
He did not cry watching Bambi, dammit. Dick was obviously hallucinating.
The Fourth Visit
"You should tell me about yourself."
Dick regarded him with an unimpressed look that rivaled Artemis's.
"I mean," Wally continued, "I know, like, nothing about you, besides your name. And that you troll—and that trolling and flaming are two different things." The last didn't really have anything to do with Dick, but he figured he should mention it regardless.
"Yes. And?"
"I dunno. Tell me about yourself. How long have you been here?"
"Mm." Dick narrowed his eyes in thought. "All my life. Or, as long as I can remember, at least."
"Seriously?" asked Wally incredulously.
"Pfft. Don't look so surprised. I mean, my father's Batman, for crying out loud—"
"Wait, hold the phone. Your dad is Batman?"
"Oh. I thought I mentioned this before."
"YOUR DAD IS THE KING OF GOTHAM? AND PRETTY MUCH THE WHOLE WORLD BUT NO ONE WANTS TO ADMIT THAT?" Wally demanded, his voice raised to an unnecessarily loud volume.
"Well. Yeah?" Dick raised an eyebrow.
"Mind. Blown."
"Cool story, bro."
The Fifth Visit
On his fifth visit to the tower, Wally was greeted by an usual sight.
Dick was doing jumps and flips all over the room. When Wally entered, he did a few handsprings until he stood in front of Wally.
"Hi!" he greeted breathlessly, face flushed.
"...Hi. I didn't know you could do that."
"You don't know a lot of things."
Wally decided not to respond to that. "That was pretty cool," he said instead.
"Thanks." Dick turned and cartwheeled into the kitchen, where he got himself a bottle of water. "I practice acrobatics every day. Even though I stay inside twenty-four/seven, it's good to stay in shape."
"You know," said Wally, "you don't have to stay inside. I can get you out."
There was a pause before Dick answered. "Want makes you think I want to get out in the first place?"
Wally was flabbergasted. "Why wouldn't you?" he cried. "You're trapped in here!"
Another pause. "As I said the first time you came, I use the term trapped very loosely. Very loosely. I could get out of this place anytime I wanted. Batman's surprisingly pretty lax about securing the place. Almost as if he wants me to break out." Dick snorted. "Come to think of it, he probably does."
"Then...why don't you?"
"I told you why. I'm just not interested. I mean, it seems like a pretty crappy life out there—war, politics, disease...it's nice here. I can do what I want. I don't have to worry about anything or anyone besides myself."
Wally frowned contemplatively. "But that's boring. Just the same stuff every day?" He shook his head. "You're missing out, man."
"Not on much, I'm sure."
"Whatever," Wally sighed. "I think I'm gonna go now. See the sights. 'Cause there's, y'know, a lot more to the world than just this little tower. I can't spend my whole life hanging around here."
As he made to leave, Dick said, "Wait," and Wally turned back hopefully.
But all the prince said was, "Come back tomorrow?"
Wally hid his disappointment. "...Yeah, sure."
The Twenty...Something or Other-th Visit
Visiting Dick every few days (well, more like every day by this point) had become something of habit. Wally had eventually gone back to an actual city—not Roy's, he still wasn't ready for that yet—but he visited Dick often.
He'd learned a lot about the prince throughout his visits.
Dick spent most of the day trolling. He was brave enough to troll 4chan. And he was pretty corrupted for being thirteen freaking years old. He also liked movies, particularly Disney movies, but he also had the complete Star Wars saga, which Wally had drooled over.
When he wasn't trolling or watching movies, Dick was doing acrobatics. He had a habit of getting from place to place by cartwheeling or doing handsprings or front flips or back flips or tumbles or—come to think of it, Wally hardly ever saw Dick actually walking somewhere (although, he was usually seated at his computer).
He'd also learned about Dick himself, but it would take him weeks to cover everything. Despite living isolated in a tower all his life, the guy certainly had a lot of character. Wally blamed the Internet.
Speaking of living isolated in a tower, Wally was determined to finally convince Dick to step foot outside today (all previous attempts had failed).
"Okay, Princey," said Wally, grinning as he sidled up to Dick's chair, "ready to see the world?"
Dick looked at him blankly and blinked with deliberate slowness. "First, I told you not to call me Princey. Second, I told you countless times I don't want to see the world."
"C'mon, Dick. Don't be such a sourpuss."
"I'm not a sourpuss. I'm just honest. I really don't want to leave."
"And I really want you to leave."
"Your petty wishes cannot influence my actions."
Wally gave a defeated sigh. "Okay, fine. But, just so you know, this is the last time I'm coming here."
Wally would shamelessly admit that he felt a flicker of triumph at the way Dick's eyes widened in alarm—even if he hid it behind a mask of indifference a fraction of a second later.
"You're lying," the prince replied confidently.
"Nope," said Wally, and he really wasn't. "The others in the YJ are waiting for me. I've stayed here way too long. Plus," he coughed, "I'm sorta indebted to someone and he is sooo going to kill me if I don't see him soon."
"You can still visit me," Dick protested.
"I really can't," said Wally apologetically. "Too busy. You're all the way on the other side of the world, after all."
"You can run really, really, really fast."
"So what? It still takes a while to come here."
"Well, guilt trips won't work on me."
"I'm not trying to guilt trip you. It's the truth. I'll miss chatting with you, but I really can't visit again. At least, not as often. Maybe, like, once a month or something." He shrugged.
Dick's mouth twisted into a scowl. "Fine."
"Alternatively, you could—"
"No."
"Why are you so against it?" asked Wally, pouting.
"I've already told you why. The world doesn't seem to be that great a place. Besides," he added softly, as if to himself, "it's not like there's anyone waiting for me out there."
Wally straightened up. "That's not true. I'm waiting. I haven't left yet because I've been waiting."
Dick was wavering. Wally could tell.
"Come on," he urged. "Come with me." He held out a hand.
Still Dick hesitated.
"One day," he said at length. "I'll go with you. I'll leave the tower. But I'm not promising anything longer than one day. If the world you've been dying to show me is any less beautiful and wonderful and amazing as you make it out to be, I'm coming right back."
He strode past Wally and his outstretched hand, pressing the 'down' button on the elevator.
Wally stood dumbly for a minute, then zipped over to Dick's side. "Oh, don't you worry. It'll be even better than what I've told you. Trust me."
Dick rolled his eyes upward. "Right," he muttered disbelievingly. "I'll take your word for it."
A/N: Can you believe this was originally going to be the last chapter? The only difference being a more cooperative Dick Grayson. Lol.
Anyways, I'm not sure when this fic will end now, so, uhh, we'll see!