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038 Bruce's sidekick?
EDIT: Now spell checked and hopefully not as cringe worthy.

oh god. It took two weeks and it sucks.
But it's late and I will not spell check it.

Aloha.

So. This AU I could actually call 'my baby'
I have 20 pages of the actual fanfic written down,
and from what I can see in my notes, there was a plan for 16 chapters + a couple of oneshots.
I gave up on it fairly quickly (seeing as it sucks) but it makes for a pretty decent AU I think!

Also yugirl requested an 'What if Wally was Robin' AU so, I guess this is as close as I can get~

___
Everything started with Batman trying to stop the Joker.
He had caught the clown in the middle of preparing one of his big jokes,
so it all was over fairly quickly, with the goons knocked out and the crazy man deciding to make his escape.
Unfortunately he ran straight into one of the more run down Gotham's Orphanages.
Following the muddy trail of footprints, Batman came into the room with about 5 sleeping children.
Two beds were empty, and Joker stood there, by the window, with a blond haired girl in his grasp, a knife pointed at her throat.
His threats were whispered, as if he actually cared about not waking the rest of the kids.
Batman couldn't really do anything in the current situation, with the girl's life at stake, but he stood, ready to strike at the first given oportunity.
It thankfuly came not soon after.
The clown suddenly gasped in pain and dropped her, allowing her to run out the room and go for help.
There was a boy behind him, with some sort of pipe or maybe a baseball bat in his hands, partially hidden in the shadows.
Batman jumped forward at the same time that the crazy man attacked, and he managed to grab the Clown, but not before he took a swipe at the kid.
The boy ducked at the last second and the knife aimed at his heart ended making a shallow cut on his arm.
After the crazy man got knocked out, Batman quickly sent a signal for the police, before he reached toward the boy to check his arm.
The kid flinched away.
He was very short and scrawny, with sickly pale skin and fire red hair. his nose was covered in freckles.

He kneeled down and tried a more calm approach. He asked what his name was.
Wally.
It took some reassuring, but the boy finally let him treat his injury.
Batman noticed the various spots on the kid's arm, where the skin was lighter. Scars. He didn't comment.
The read head was watching him warily all this time, as if he was afraid he's going to get attacked.

Batman stood back, and grabbed Joker.
It was not safe for the clown - knocked out, weaponless and cuffed- to be in the same room as sleeping children.

When he was leaving through the window, he barely caught the whispered 'thank you' from the boy.

He stood on a nearby rooftop, to make sure that the police took care of the Joker and took all needed precautions.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the two kids were treated in the ambulance.

The blonde girl - luckily unharmed - clung to one of the nurses, and took comfort in the presence of people around her.
The red head - Wally - seemed really uncomfortable and flinched every time someone got too close.
The doctor double checked his arm to clean the cut, but seemed satisfied with the binding that Batman had done.
After everything was over Batman left to the cave.
Out of his costume, Bruce returned home.
He couldn't stop thinking about Wally.

He had troubles sleeping that night. His dreams once again plagued with dark caves, bats, and a lone boy, crying in the middle of it.

Next morning, the story was all over the news.
The girl was being interviewed, she looked a little nervous. Hopefully not too traumatized.
The boy was not there. The woman working at the orphanade said that the kid refused to answer any questions or show his face to the public.
He already gave his testimony to the police, and he vaguely told the woman about what happened.
He did not give off any information concerning Batman, much to the reporters’ disappointment.
Bruce Wayne was there too, of course. Right in the middle of the commotion, giving the orphanage a couple thousand dollars, watching as the cheque dissapeared in the manager's greedy hands.
__
It didn't take him long to hack the Orphanage's computer.

He actually read Wally's file.
He was born in Blue Valley in Nebrasca, January 16th almost 7 years ago. Wallace Rudolph West.
His biological mother was mentally unstable, and that caused her husband to take out his frustrations on the boy physically.
When Wally was four years old, Rudolph West was put to jail, and Mary was send to therapy. Wally placed in Central City’s Orphanage.
He was put under wardship seven times after that.
How could one kid be so unlucky, when it came to foster families?
His first foster father was a drunk, and after a short while, Wally was sent back to Central City Orphanage.
After that he was taken in by a Christian pair, but they decided to get a divorce, and Wally was given to Star City Orphanage.
His Third ‘adoption’ was very short, just after three weeks his new parents brought him back, saying that Wally wasn’t kid for them.
Fourth foster father turned abusive. Wally was sent to Metropolis Orphanage.
Fifth surrogate mother decided that kid such as Wally was too much of a burden.
Sixth foster parents divorced.
Seventh ‘adoptive’ mother was alcoholic, got put to jail just few weeks ago, for child abuse.
Wally was in Gotham City Orphanage for a month now.
Every file was accompanied by a series of photos.
Half of them had a list of injuries added to it.
Photos were always with Wally, without his shirt and his head titled down, with various bruises and cuts all over the small body.
The kid was almost 7 years old, and with a past like that, there was a small chance for him to get adopted.

So Bruce decided to take him in.
The decision was rushed and Bruce never rushed anything anymore. So it would probably turn out to be a mistake later.

It was a mistake.
He easily got the wardship over Wally, seeing as the Orphanage's owner was a greedy man and didn't really care about the children's well being.
There was only one worker - a middle aged woman - who thoroughly interrogated Bruce, until she deemed him fit of taking Wally in.
Wally himself did not really comment on the whole situation. He sat quietly and let them talk about him as if he wasn't there.
Bruce did all he could, to walk in and out of the Orphanage unnoticed, so him taking on a ward could stay quiet for as long as possible.
It would be obvious that Joker would want revenge on the boy, so they had to do everything they could to convince the world, that Wally was not the misterious kid that actually took the clown by surprize.
And Bruce didn't think that the kid was ready.

Wally knew he was Batman.

He actually had the suspicion since Wally saw him as Bruce Wayne for the first time.
He had that look of recognision in his eyes. Not the 'You are a celebrity' look that everyone else in Gotham had, though. He knew
And Wally knew that Bruce knew that he recognized him.
The kid didn't bring it up once, though. Bruce was fine with ignoring it too. He did not trust the boy fully.

But then again he didn't trust anyone.

Bruce knew that he was nowhere near being ready to take care of a child, and Wally knew that the billionaire regretted taking him in.
None of them brought it up. They could live in denial for as long as they wanted to.

Alfred and Bruce started teaching Wally.
He was an incredibly fast learner and he was an incredibly good actor.
When they decided to finally intoduce him to the world, on one of Gotham's galas,
Wally West-Wayne - Not really a ‘Wayne’ but that’s the name medias posted for him to be more recognizable - strolled in, oozing confidence and good manners.
He easily became the newest sensation.
No one linked him with the faceless, scared, shy kid who foiled Joker's plans from before.

When everything was over and they were safe and sound back at the manor, his shoulders slumped, all fake confidence and smiles left him, and all that was left was a nervous, broken boy.

Clark Kent visited Bruce a few weeks after Wally moved in, with some weird excuse of needing to interview him.
The moment the huge, bulky man stumbled into the kitchen, Wally sent Bruce a disbelieving look and muttered 'He really thinks that glasses are a good enough disguise?'
He then flinched at his own words and apologized, looking pointedly down and not at the gaping reporter.
Turned out that Superman needed help with a case, so Bruce took both him and Wally down to the cave.
Long story short, Wally wasted no time in pointing out the chemical compound responsible for the whole situation.

It ended with Clark reminding Bruce that he promised to spent the Thanksgiving with him, J'ohn, and his parents in Smallville, seeing as Alfred would be out of town.
Seeing Bruce’s lack of enthusiasm, Wally said that he would be fine to stay on his own when Bruce went out, and he promised not to break anything.
This in turn caused Clark to let out a booming laugh, that had the redhead jump up in fear and hide behind Bruce's legs.
Superman actually apologized, after hearing the boy's hammering heartbeat, and invited him to the Thanksgiving dinner too.
He quickly left after that, being scared away by both Bruce's glare and his shame that he scared a kid, as the man tried to calm Wally down.

Wally was shaking when he apologized for acting the way he does.
Bruce said it was okay.
Him and Wally shared their first, albeit tense, hug.

Over the course of next months, Wally met Oliver and Roy.
He was also assigned a therapist, Dinah Lance - apparently, Roy's favorite person in the whole world - and he also got accepted to Gotham's Academy.
To people from the outside, he was an adorable, cocky, young boy, with a bright smile and even brighter hair.

Even Bruce was surprized by the kid's acting skills.

He was incredibly inteligent and hungry for more knowledge, and once he picked up a book, he would have read it almost non stop, until he finished it.
He ate close to nothing. Not because he was a picky eater, but because he couldn't bring himself to eat normal portions.
He refused to look at himself in the mirror, and hoped that Bruce didn't notice.
He did.

The only thing he ever asked for - he refused to ask for anything ever, but this was important - was a self defence lesson.
Bruce complied.
Wally liked playing piano and violin and other instruments that were 'catching dust' in the unused music room in the mansion.
He got his own room, with red curtains and wine colored walls, and furniture of dark wood.
He slept around 5 hours a day, going to bed early and then sitting in his room and reading until the morning.
He sometimes ran into Bruce on his way to the kitchen, for a glass of water, when the man came back from patrol as Batman.

They didn't really talk and it was fine with Wally.
Not talking with Bruce gave a bigger chance of not annoying the man.
Wally didn't want to be abandoned again.

When Bruce and Alfred knocked on his door, on January 16th, worried that he didn't show up for breakfast, they found him hidden under the covers, shaking like a leaf and staring blanky ahead with tears in his eyes.
When Alfred tried to put a hand on the boy's shoulder, he flinched heavily and his breath hitched and he closed his eyes, pleading to be left alone.
Bruce spent that day sitting in the chair by the bed, watching over the kid.
The red head didn't move, didn't eat, didn't speak for the remainder of the day.
Next morning - the day after his birthday - he seemed more or less okay, even if a little shaky.
They didn't bring it up again.

On the anniversary of his parent's death, Bruce took a day off work, left two roses in the alley, then came back home and sat by their graves for the whole day.
Wally was right by him, sitting a little distance away, but still there, accompaning him silently, until he was ready to head back.

It took Wally a very long time to stop calling them 'Mister Pennyworth' and 'Mister Wayne'.
Him and Bruce didn't actually become close. But they spent time in each other's company, and even found it enjoyable most of the time.
Bruce found himself leaning against the doorframe to Wally's room one stormy evening, watching the boy work on one of his science projects.
He barely seen the kid without a book at his side, even since he took him in, almost a year ago.
This time was no different, as he stood in front of his desk, double checking the chemicals with one of his favorite books in hand.
From what Bruce could see, it was written by Raymond Palmer.
“What are you working on?” He asked softly, carefull not to spook the kid.
The red head turned his head towards him, just as lightning struck outside, and he sent Bruce a small smile.
He was halfway through explaining the speed enhancement formula he was working on when another lightning struck, even closer.
He hoped to make a medicine out of it one day, that would hopefully help in healing various injuries, shortening the needed rehability time.

Before Bruce could answer, the whole room lit up in light, and then he could hear glass shattering and a booming thunder sound that actually shook the entire mansion.
Wally was laying on the floor, rigid from pain as electricity ran through his convulsing body.
His muschels tensed and he could not open his mouth as his muscles twitched in pain and his skin burned.
It lasted hours to him. He was not sure what happened after that.

Barry was in the middle of monitor duty, when Batman called and ordered his presence in the batcave. Asap.
The blond had to raise an eyebrow at that. Before he could say something sarcastic, or even make fun of the man, he heard something that made him pause.

"In civilian clothes.”
Something sounded off for half a second, and no one else present probably noticed, but Barry, being a speedster caught in right away.
He decided not to waste time for once, and moved towards the teleport bay.

It was his second time in the batcave, ever.
And he was actually surprized by seeing Bruce, out of costume, with bandages covering his hands, waiting for him.
Upon closer inspection, Barry noted the barely noticable worry shining in the man's eyes.
"Upstairs.” Was the only thing he said, and led him into the manor and into one of the rooms closest to the cave.

He knew that Bruce had a kid, mostly from news. He seemed like a happy little ball of sunshine.
Barry often wondered what did a kid like that was even doing, being stuck with a grump like Bruce.
When the blond walked through the door though, he thought the kid laying in bed was a corpse.
The only indicator that the boy was in fact, alive and breathing was the silent beeping of a machine that he was hooked to.
The kid was covered, head to toe in third deegree burns, his skin melted and covered in blisters and bleeding from various places where it actually broke.
The covers that he laid under, looked specially made, so they didn't stuck to the skin and inflicted worse injuries.
If Barry had to guess, the kid was suffering for days, stuck like that.

Then Bruce handed him a clipboard.

There was a name there - Wally - along with the list of injuries that were caused by lightning strike and chemical burns.
Below that, were listed all chemicals that spilled on the boy.
He read through them at light speed, his mind quickly processing the information, eyes widening as he recognized the complex formula.
Then he saw the date written on the page.

"It says here that he was injuried 8 hours ago” Barry said, glancing at Bruce, who was watching him the whole time.
His voice disturbed the silence and he heard the boy waking up.
His eyes softened in sympathy and worry for the kid, when he let out one pained breath and his left eye slowly opened.
“I just needed to make sure.” Explained Bruce, under his breath, not really explaining anything.
He felt uncomfortable with the boy's piercing gaze on him. Barry could see few patches of black burned hair on the kid's head.
“How are you feeling?” He jumped at the question and turned toward Bruce again. It was unusual to actually hear the worry in the man's voice.
Not that they thought he didn't worry. He was just good at not showing it.
He saw the kid - Wally - give him a small, pained smile.
"M'fine” he rasped out, and the blonde actually winced a little at how painfull it must have been to talk for the boy.

He then mumbled something about Barry being his favourite hero, back when he was around 4 years old, which left Barry confused.

Years passed.
Wally was 11 now, and he actually was a speedster.
He was training under Barry’s and Bruce's wings to control his speed.
Everything was going good, except for few hiccups along the way.

“You do not know how does it feel to see your parents die right in front of you!
You don't know how it is to loose someone you love!”

“I had 7 pairs of parents. And I loved every SINGLE one of them. And I also lost every SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
The only difference between you and me is that YOUR parents loved you back.”

Another thing that happened recenlty, was that Wally got kidnapped.
Not the first time that happened, after all his guardian wass a famous billionaire.
But in his opinion, being kidnapped and tortured by the Joker, should count as something worth mentioning.
Thanks to Batman's quick intervention and his own quick healing, he was left ‘only’ with a badly broken leg, sprained ankle, dislocated shoulder and cracked ribs.
He was stuck in a wheelchair, not being able to stand up or even move around on his own.
Bruce tried to keep his mind off things by taking him to the circus.
Wally had to say that he actually enjoyed himself, watching the performers.
Until the very last show. The Flying Graysons.

And their downfall.

Dick just stood there, staring at his parents’ graves, his mind jumbled and his heart broken.
He felt the cold rain fall on his head, and mix with the warm tears streaming down his cheeks.

He closed his eyes.

He was alone.

The rain stopped. But he could still hear it falling. He glanced up and saw an umbrella.
He blinked at it, surprized, and when he turned he saw a boy.
Wally West-Wayne, leaning on a crutch, with Bruce Wayne standing right behind him, and holding said umbrella up.
He just looked at him. There was no pity in his eyes. Dick could only see compassion and understanding.

"You are not alone" was all Wally had said.
The 8 year old found himself clinging to the older boy, quietly sobbing.
He felt the redhead embrace him carefully, and at the same time, Bruce walk over next to them, putting his arms around them as well.

It will not be alright. Not for a long time.
But maybe he wasn't alone through it.

Dick is 9 years old when he becomes Robin. The first sidekick.

And Wally is right there with him, when he becomes Kid Flash.

More on dA:
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More on tumblr:
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Description

038 Bruce's sidekick?
EDIT: Now spell checked and hopefully not as cringe worthy.

oh god. It took two weeks and it sucks.
But it's late and I will not spell check it.

Aloha.

So. This AU I could actually call 'my baby'
I have 20 pages of the actual fanfic written down,
and from what I can see in my notes, there was a plan for 16 chapters + a couple of oneshots.
I gave up on it fairly quickly (seeing as it sucks) but it makes for a pretty decent AU I think!

Also yugirl requested an 'What if Wally was Robin' AU so, I guess this is as close as I can get~

___
Everything started with Batman trying to stop the Joker.
He had caught the clown in the middle of preparing one of his big jokes,
so it all was over fairly quickly, with the goons knocked out and the crazy man deciding to make his escape.
Unfortunately he ran straight into one of the more run down Gotham's Orphanages.
Following the muddy trail of footprints, Batman came into the room with about 5 sleeping children.
Two beds were empty, and Joker stood there, by the window, with a blond haired girl in his grasp, a knife pointed at her throat.
His threats were whispered, as if he actually cared about not waking the rest of the kids.
Batman couldn't really do anything in the current situation, with the girl's life at stake, but he stood, ready to strike at the first given oportunity.
It thankfuly came not soon after.
The clown suddenly gasped in pain and dropped her, allowing her to run out the room and go for help.
There was a boy behind him, with some sort of pipe or maybe a baseball bat in his hands, partially hidden in the shadows.
Batman jumped forward at the same time that the crazy man attacked, and he managed to grab the Clown, but not before he took a swipe at the kid.
The boy ducked at the last second and the knife aimed at his heart ended making a shallow cut on his arm.
After the crazy man got knocked out, Batman quickly sent a signal for the police, before he reached toward the boy to check his arm.
The kid flinched away.
He was very short and scrawny, with sickly pale skin and fire red hair. his nose was covered in freckles.

He kneeled down and tried a more calm approach. He asked what his name was.
Wally.
It took some reassuring, but the boy finally let him treat his injury.
Batman noticed the various spots on the kid's arm, where the skin was lighter. Scars. He didn't comment.
The read head was watching him warily all this time, as if he was afraid he's going to get attacked.

Batman stood back, and grabbed Joker.
It was not safe for the clown - knocked out, weaponless and cuffed- to be in the same room as sleeping children.

When he was leaving through the window, he barely caught the whispered 'thank you' from the boy.

He stood on a nearby rooftop, to make sure that the police took care of the Joker and took all needed precautions.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the two kids were treated in the ambulance.

The blonde girl - luckily unharmed - clung to one of the nurses, and took comfort in the presence of people around her.
The red head - Wally - seemed really uncomfortable and flinched every time someone got too close.
The doctor double checked his arm to clean the cut, but seemed satisfied with the binding that Batman had done.
After everything was over Batman left to the cave.
Out of his costume, Bruce returned home.
He couldn't stop thinking about Wally.

He had troubles sleeping that night. His dreams once again plagued with dark caves, bats, and a lone boy, crying in the middle of it.

Next morning, the story was all over the news.
The girl was being interviewed, she looked a little nervous. Hopefully not too traumatized.
The boy was not there. The woman working at the orphanade said that the kid refused to answer any questions or show his face to the public.
He already gave his testimony to the police, and he vaguely told the woman about what happened.
He did not give off any information concerning Batman, much to the reporters’ disappointment.
Bruce Wayne was there too, of course. Right in the middle of the commotion, giving the orphanage a couple thousand dollars, watching as the cheque dissapeared in the manager's greedy hands.
__
It didn't take him long to hack the Orphanage's computer.

He actually read Wally's file.
He was born in Blue Valley in Nebrasca, January 16th almost 7 years ago. Wallace Rudolph West.
His biological mother was mentally unstable, and that caused her husband to take out his frustrations on the boy physically.
When Wally was four years old, Rudolph West was put to jail, and Mary was send to therapy. Wally placed in Central City’s Orphanage.
He was put under wardship seven times after that.
How could one kid be so unlucky, when it came to foster families?
His first foster father was a drunk, and after a short while, Wally was sent back to Central City Orphanage.
After that he was taken in by a Christian pair, but they decided to get a divorce, and Wally was given to Star City Orphanage.
His Third ‘adoption’ was very short, just after three weeks his new parents brought him back, saying that Wally wasn’t kid for them.
Fourth foster father turned abusive. Wally was sent to Metropolis Orphanage.
Fifth surrogate mother decided that kid such as Wally was too much of a burden.
Sixth foster parents divorced.
Seventh ‘adoptive’ mother was alcoholic, got put to jail just few weeks ago, for child abuse.
Wally was in Gotham City Orphanage for a month now.
Every file was accompanied by a series of photos.
Half of them had a list of injuries added to it.
Photos were always with Wally, without his shirt and his head titled down, with various bruises and cuts all over the small body.
The kid was almost 7 years old, and with a past like that, there was a small chance for him to get adopted.

So Bruce decided to take him in.
The decision was rushed and Bruce never rushed anything anymore. So it would probably turn out to be a mistake later.

It was a mistake.
He easily got the wardship over Wally, seeing as the Orphanage's owner was a greedy man and didn't really care about the children's well being.
There was only one worker - a middle aged woman - who thoroughly interrogated Bruce, until she deemed him fit of taking Wally in.
Wally himself did not really comment on the whole situation. He sat quietly and let them talk about him as if he wasn't there.
Bruce did all he could, to walk in and out of the Orphanage unnoticed, so him taking on a ward could stay quiet for as long as possible.
It would be obvious that Joker would want revenge on the boy, so they had to do everything they could to convince the world, that Wally was not the misterious kid that actually took the clown by surprize.
And Bruce didn't think that the kid was ready.

Wally knew he was Batman.

He actually had the suspicion since Wally saw him as Bruce Wayne for the first time.
He had that look of recognision in his eyes. Not the 'You are a celebrity' look that everyone else in Gotham had, though. He knew
And Wally knew that Bruce knew that he recognized him.
The kid didn't bring it up once, though. Bruce was fine with ignoring it too. He did not trust the boy fully.

But then again he didn't trust anyone.

Bruce knew that he was nowhere near being ready to take care of a child, and Wally knew that the billionaire regretted taking him in.
None of them brought it up. They could live in denial for as long as they wanted to.

Alfred and Bruce started teaching Wally.
He was an incredibly fast learner and he was an incredibly good actor.
When they decided to finally intoduce him to the world, on one of Gotham's galas,
Wally West-Wayne - Not really a ‘Wayne’ but that’s the name medias posted for him to be more recognizable - strolled in, oozing confidence and good manners.
He easily became the newest sensation.
No one linked him with the faceless, scared, shy kid who foiled Joker's plans from before.

When everything was over and they were safe and sound back at the manor, his shoulders slumped, all fake confidence and smiles left him, and all that was left was a nervous, broken boy.

Clark Kent visited Bruce a few weeks after Wally moved in, with some weird excuse of needing to interview him.
The moment the huge, bulky man stumbled into the kitchen, Wally sent Bruce a disbelieving look and muttered 'He really thinks that glasses are a good enough disguise?'
He then flinched at his own words and apologized, looking pointedly down and not at the gaping reporter.
Turned out that Superman needed help with a case, so Bruce took both him and Wally down to the cave.
Long story short, Wally wasted no time in pointing out the chemical compound responsible for the whole situation.

It ended with Clark reminding Bruce that he promised to spent the Thanksgiving with him, J'ohn, and his parents in Smallville, seeing as Alfred would be out of town.
Seeing Bruce’s lack of enthusiasm, Wally said that he would be fine to stay on his own when Bruce went out, and he promised not to break anything.
This in turn caused Clark to let out a booming laugh, that had the redhead jump up in fear and hide behind Bruce's legs.
Superman actually apologized, after hearing the boy's hammering heartbeat, and invited him to the Thanksgiving dinner too.
He quickly left after that, being scared away by both Bruce's glare and his shame that he scared a kid, as the man tried to calm Wally down.

Wally was shaking when he apologized for acting the way he does.
Bruce said it was okay.
Him and Wally shared their first, albeit tense, hug.

Over the course of next months, Wally met Oliver and Roy.
He was also assigned a therapist, Dinah Lance - apparently, Roy's favorite person in the whole world - and he also got accepted to Gotham's Academy.
To people from the outside, he was an adorable, cocky, young boy, with a bright smile and even brighter hair.

Even Bruce was surprized by the kid's acting skills.

He was incredibly inteligent and hungry for more knowledge, and once he picked up a book, he would have read it almost non stop, until he finished it.
He ate close to nothing. Not because he was a picky eater, but because he couldn't bring himself to eat normal portions.
He refused to look at himself in the mirror, and hoped that Bruce didn't notice.
He did.

The only thing he ever asked for - he refused to ask for anything ever, but this was important - was a self defence lesson.
Bruce complied.
Wally liked playing piano and violin and other instruments that were 'catching dust' in the unused music room in the mansion.
He got his own room, with red curtains and wine colored walls, and furniture of dark wood.
He slept around 5 hours a day, going to bed early and then sitting in his room and reading until the morning.
He sometimes ran into Bruce on his way to the kitchen, for a glass of water, when the man came back from patrol as Batman.

They didn't really talk and it was fine with Wally.
Not talking with Bruce gave a bigger chance of not annoying the man.
Wally didn't want to be abandoned again.

When Bruce and Alfred knocked on his door, on January 16th, worried that he didn't show up for breakfast, they found him hidden under the covers, shaking like a leaf and staring blanky ahead with tears in his eyes.
When Alfred tried to put a hand on the boy's shoulder, he flinched heavily and his breath hitched and he closed his eyes, pleading to be left alone.
Bruce spent that day sitting in the chair by the bed, watching over the kid.
The red head didn't move, didn't eat, didn't speak for the remainder of the day.
Next morning - the day after his birthday - he seemed more or less okay, even if a little shaky.
They didn't bring it up again.

On the anniversary of his parent's death, Bruce took a day off work, left two roses in the alley, then came back home and sat by their graves for the whole day.
Wally was right by him, sitting a little distance away, but still there, accompaning him silently, until he was ready to head back.

It took Wally a very long time to stop calling them 'Mister Pennyworth' and 'Mister Wayne'.
Him and Bruce didn't actually become close. But they spent time in each other's company, and even found it enjoyable most of the time.
Bruce found himself leaning against the doorframe to Wally's room one stormy evening, watching the boy work on one of his science projects.
He barely seen the kid without a book at his side, even since he took him in, almost a year ago.
This time was no different, as he stood in front of his desk, double checking the chemicals with one of his favorite books in hand.
From what Bruce could see, it was written by Raymond Palmer.
“What are you working on?” He asked softly, carefull not to spook the kid.
The red head turned his head towards him, just as lightning struck outside, and he sent Bruce a small smile.
He was halfway through explaining the speed enhancement formula he was working on when another lightning struck, even closer.
He hoped to make a medicine out of it one day, that would hopefully help in healing various injuries, shortening the needed rehability time.

Before Bruce could answer, the whole room lit up in light, and then he could hear glass shattering and a booming thunder sound that actually shook the entire mansion.
Wally was laying on the floor, rigid from pain as electricity ran through his convulsing body.
His muschels tensed and he could not open his mouth as his muscles twitched in pain and his skin burned.
It lasted hours to him. He was not sure what happened after that.

Barry was in the middle of monitor duty, when Batman called and ordered his presence in the batcave. Asap.
The blond had to raise an eyebrow at that. Before he could say something sarcastic, or even make fun of the man, he heard something that made him pause.

"In civilian clothes.”
Something sounded off for half a second, and no one else present probably noticed, but Barry, being a speedster caught in right away.
He decided not to waste time for once, and moved towards the teleport bay.

It was his second time in the batcave, ever.
And he was actually surprized by seeing Bruce, out of costume, with bandages covering his hands, waiting for him.
Upon closer inspection, Barry noted the barely noticable worry shining in the man's eyes.
"Upstairs.” Was the only thing he said, and led him into the manor and into one of the rooms closest to the cave.

He knew that Bruce had a kid, mostly from news. He seemed like a happy little ball of sunshine.
Barry often wondered what did a kid like that was even doing, being stuck with a grump like Bruce.
When the blond walked through the door though, he thought the kid laying in bed was a corpse.
The only indicator that the boy was in fact, alive and breathing was the silent beeping of a machine that he was hooked to.
The kid was covered, head to toe in third deegree burns, his skin melted and covered in blisters and bleeding from various places where it actually broke.
The covers that he laid under, looked specially made, so they didn't stuck to the skin and inflicted worse injuries.
If Barry had to guess, the kid was suffering for days, stuck like that.

Then Bruce handed him a clipboard.

There was a name there - Wally - along with the list of injuries that were caused by lightning strike and chemical burns.
Below that, were listed all chemicals that spilled on the boy.
He read through them at light speed, his mind quickly processing the information, eyes widening as he recognized the complex formula.
Then he saw the date written on the page.

"It says here that he was injuried 8 hours ago” Barry said, glancing at Bruce, who was watching him the whole time.
His voice disturbed the silence and he heard the boy waking up.
His eyes softened in sympathy and worry for the kid, when he let out one pained breath and his left eye slowly opened.
“I just needed to make sure.” Explained Bruce, under his breath, not really explaining anything.
He felt uncomfortable with the boy's piercing gaze on him. Barry could see few patches of black burned hair on the kid's head.
“How are you feeling?” He jumped at the question and turned toward Bruce again. It was unusual to actually hear the worry in the man's voice.
Not that they thought he didn't worry. He was just good at not showing it.
He saw the kid - Wally - give him a small, pained smile.
"M'fine” he rasped out, and the blonde actually winced a little at how painfull it must have been to talk for the boy.

He then mumbled something about Barry being his favourite hero, back when he was around 4 years old, which left Barry confused.

Years passed.
Wally was 11 now, and he actually was a speedster.
He was training under Barry’s and Bruce's wings to control his speed.
Everything was going good, except for few hiccups along the way.

“You do not know how does it feel to see your parents die right in front of you!
You don't know how it is to loose someone you love!”

“I had 7 pairs of parents. And I loved every SINGLE one of them. And I also lost every SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
The only difference between you and me is that YOUR parents loved you back.”

Another thing that happened recenlty, was that Wally got kidnapped.
Not the first time that happened, after all his guardian wass a famous billionaire.
But in his opinion, being kidnapped and tortured by the Joker, should count as something worth mentioning.
Thanks to Batman's quick intervention and his own quick healing, he was left ‘only’ with a badly broken leg, sprained ankle, dislocated shoulder and cracked ribs.
He was stuck in a wheelchair, not being able to stand up or even move around on his own.
Bruce tried to keep his mind off things by taking him to the circus.
Wally had to say that he actually enjoyed himself, watching the performers.
Until the very last show. The Flying Graysons.

And their downfall.

Dick just stood there, staring at his parents’ graves, his mind jumbled and his heart broken.
He felt the cold rain fall on his head, and mix with the warm tears streaming down his cheeks.

He closed his eyes.

He was alone.

The rain stopped. But he could still hear it falling. He glanced up and saw an umbrella.
He blinked at it, surprized, and when he turned he saw a boy.
Wally West-Wayne, leaning on a crutch, with Bruce Wayne standing right behind him, and holding said umbrella up.
He just looked at him. There was no pity in his eyes. Dick could only see compassion and understanding.

"You are not alone" was all Wally had said.
The 8 year old found himself clinging to the older boy, quietly sobbing.
He felt the redhead embrace him carefully, and at the same time, Bruce walk over next to them, putting his arms around them as well.

It will not be alright. Not for a long time.
But maybe he wasn't alone through it.

Dick is 9 years old when he becomes Robin. The first sidekick.

And Wally is right there with him, when he becomes Kid Flash.

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