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Sleepovers at Wally’s house had kind of become a thing. Early on in their friendship, he’d made sure Robin knew that he would always be there if he felt lonely, that he was always welcome in his house no matter what. His aunt Iris had told him so the first time Robin had come to visit, and since then, the younger boy was at Wally’s house more often than not. It was an unspoken rule that as long as it wasn’t a school night, Wally’s house would become Robin’s house, and it had gotten to the point where his aunt Iris and uncle Barry wouldn’t even bat an eye when he came in uninvited, either through the front door with his own house keys, or for when he felt dramatic, through Wally’s window in the middle of the night.
This is how the two boys found themselves where they were now, in the living room on a very early Saturday morning, huddled against each other and surrounded by pillows and blankets. The television was the only light in the room, its soft glow lighting up their faces as they talked in hushed voices, both falling asleep but trying their hardest to stay up.
“Do you ever stop to think about the fact that aliens are actually real? And like, we know them personally?”
“Wally it’s four in the morning.”
“Yeah but still,” Wally leaned back against the couch and yawned softly, stretching his arms above his head. His best friend sat next to him, clad in Superman pajamas, with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his hair a fluffy mess. The only thing out of place was the domino mask, settled on his face softly. Robin’s lips were curled up slightly, in a barely there smile that Wally had basically trained himself over the years to catch. And so he had to continue, because making Robin smile was one of his favourite things, and they were watching Cosmos, so it really wasn’t like his comment came out of nowhere. “Sometimes I wonder what Neil Degrasse Tyson’s reaction was, you know, when Superman became a thing.”
A pillow was thrown.
“We’re watching a cinematic masterpiece, and here you are, talking about Superman? Gosh Wally you’re such a dork, ” and you could tell, though his eyes were behind a mask, that Robin was rolling his eyes so hard they’d probably fall out of his head. Wally’s face felt as if it might split in two from the wide grin he was sporting, Robin’s mock offense fading away until he had a similar, small grin on his face.
“Y- You’re literally wearing Superman pajamas!” Wally shoved him playfully, the small giggle escaping Robin’s lips giving him enough to continue on with his teasing. “Superman is on your pajamas, Rob. In my own house .”
“I can’t help it Superman is my favourite superhero,” Robin huffed out, leaning back against the speedster’s chest as if he hadn’t just been pushed away two seconds ago. “Besides, it’d be kinda weird if I wore my own symbol on my body to bed,” a yawn, “that’s kinda extra.”
Wally wrapped his arms around his best friend, settling his chin overtop his messy, midnight black hair and pouting. “Coming from you, mister won’t tell my best friend of two years my real name.” He ran his thumb over the edge of the domino, right above where his eyebrows should be, and sighed. “I’m sorry,” he began to smooth out the now furrowed brows, closing his eyes and burrowing his nose in his hair, “I have no filter when I’m tired.”
Robin tensed, hand twitching upwards with the urge to yank Wally’s off his forehead, reprimand him and remind him that these were Batman’s rules, not his. That he wished he could tell him but Batman would kill him. Something Wally had heard before, over and over again and in every tone imaginable.
Instead, he closed his eyes and let out a breath. As he reached up towards his mask slowly, nervously, Robin briefly worried his heart was beating too fast for it to be healthy. He dug his fingers into the blanket with his other hand as he peeled off the mask, the air cold against his eyes as he blinked, adjusting his eyes.
“When Batman finds out about this and kills you, don’t blame me.”
And Wally slowly lifted his head, inhaling sharply as he felt around the younger boy’s face and there was nothing. “Dude,” he whispered, tracing his thumb over his eyebrow as his heart sped up, “ dude.” And holy shit batman, Wally had never felt so excited and terrified in his entire life. Robin was still facing away from him, eyes trained on the television in front of them with his body tensing more and more the longer Wally stayed silent.
But what was Wally even supposed to say when something like this happened? He wasn’t prepared. He couldn’t even see his face unless Robin actually turned around and looked at him. His brain had only begun to process what had happened when Robin lifted his head, looking up at him and giving him a shy smile.
“Bird’s got your tongue?” He muttered, the bluest eyes Wally had ever seen twinkling up at him, beautiful and deep, and the speedster hadn’t really realized what getting lost in someone’s eyes meant until he saw Robin’s.
He breathed, Robin’s grin widened.
“Rob?” Wally said, voice uncertain.
“Dick,” Robin replied.
Wally’s face contorted, switching so fast from shock to offense that even uncle Barry would be proud. “ Rude, ” he pouted, glaring into his best friend’s eyes- and he would panic over that later too because he was actually looking into Robin’s eyes. “This is like the best moment of my life and you decide to insult me? That hurts.”
And Robin full out cackled then, his eyes wrinkling and his nose scrunching so adorably that Wally was ready to die right there and then.
“It’s my name you dork ,” Robin laughed, shooting a toothy grin up at him as he reached around the couch, finally finding his hand and patting it softly; his version of a lazy handshake. “Dick Grayson at your service . Dick as in the name, by the way. Not the insult.”
“So that’s why you’re so pretty,” Wally mused, too hyped up to acknowledge what he’d said to be embarrassed. “Does this mean Bruce Wayne is Batman? Oh my god did the butts match all along and this has just been a reality we were all too afraid to admit was a thing.”
“ Pretty?” Dick choked out, his cheeks dusted a light pink as he looked at the redhead incredulously. “What you got from this is that I’m pretty and that the butts match,” he ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head slightly, “I honestly can’t believe this is my life.”
Wally grinned, adjusting his grip and leaning against the pillows, fitting Dick against his chest so that he would be comfortable, but still have his face visible. “Believe it, Dick. You’re stuck with me.”
Brushing the smooth, dark hair off of Dick’s forehead eased the teasing frown off of said boy’s face, and the speedster continued, “It’s not my fault I happen to have the prettiest boy of all of Gotham as my best friend. I need to marvel at your beauty, Dick. ”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, West,” Dick huffed, small smile on his lips as his eyes slipped closed, the feeling of Wally’s fingers through his hair easing all the tension from his body. He feels sleepy now, like he should feel, like he’s not a teenage vigilante who never sleeps. Like he’s just a normal kid, who is loved and cared for, who actually sleeps at 4am.
“I don’t know, Grayson. I definitely feel like I’m getting somewhere,” he snuggled closer, yawning loudly, his thoughts jumbling all together in a happy, warm mess as his mind became fuzzy with sleep. “I got to see your eyes, Rob-” he breathed, voice barely a murmur, “I always wondered what they looked like... They’re so pretty.”
“Thanks,” Dick muttered, cheeks red in embarrassment, “yours are uh- pretty neat too.” He blinked blearily at the television screen then, and frowned at the too bright light it was emitting for a total of two seconds before turning around in the speedster’s arms and burying his face in his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he began to drift, too.
“Too bright,” he explained to an already sleeping Wally, “and you’re warm,” he snuggled closer, Wally’s arms tightening around his smaller body instinctively, “and I’m cold.”
Wally’s fingers threaded their way through his hair, pushing him closer and closer to sleep, and Dick sighed in contentment, “that- that's all.”