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"So you tellin' me you were headin' to the library when you heard a child crying in a small alley and decided to bring it home?"
Wally bit his lip nervously, green eyes avoiding eye contact for an instant as he pondered his options.
His companion was sitting on one of the modest chairs of the kitchen, an old newspaper exposing various news on the table. Wally's roommate - which was what they referred themselves as to avoid getting a noose put around their necks - looked at him with the same flabbergasting expression Wally had himself given to Dick when he had brought home a stray dog.
Almost shy, Wally broke the uncomfortable silence. "I couldn't just leave it there." His gaze rested upon the baby he had wrapped in his worn jacket. Wally guessed she was about five months old, if not a little younger. "It's supposed to be a cold night; she would've frozen to death."
Dick sighed exasperatedly. "You know we can't save them all, and we have barely enough food to sustain us both an' old Wyatt." His hand gestured toward the shaggy dog sleeping on the floor, the mutt was deaf as a post and wasn't very active most of the days. The two men often wondered if Wyatt had died and they wrongly thought he was asleep, but the old bugger always showed up when it was time for dinner to prove the theory wrong.
"Yeah? Well, maybe it's time for Wyatt to pay us back for our hospitality." While Wally was throwing the idea of cooking the dog, Dick knew full well he was joking. Still, the younger man always looked outraged, which amused the redhead greatly.
Wally pushed the chair next to his friend and sat down close to him. "Listen, I know our situation won't allow us to keep her. I just want to try and find her parents." Deep down, Wally was aware that the chances to locate the kid's father or mother were quite unlikely. "If we don't find them, then I will take her to the orphanage."
Dick leaned against his shoulder, a subtle way to replace a hug so no one would raise questions. The younger man looked at the little girl; her face was plump and slightly rosy. "She's cute." He let out under his breath. "I'll help you find a lead t'morrow. She can stay as long as you want." The couple exchanged a look, one surprised and the other smiling fondly. "Doesn't mean you get to cook my dog though." There was a shared chuckle, and at the time their lips touched, neither of them worried about the possible curious eyes watching them.
As expected, they didn't obtain any leads on who the baby's parents might be. In such a big city, they could have been anyone. She could have been born to an already too big family, or she could have been an unwanted child. She could have been born as the result of an affair. The possibilities were endless.
On her own, the child was as good as any five months old could be. She appeared healthy; her appetite was good though her meals were mostly made of mashed food and mil, she didn't seem to mind. Dick enjoyed watching her babble and grabbing small tuff of Wyatt's fur, which appeared to have found some energy back during the last couple days since the baby had joined their home. She was pretty cute, that child, with her big brown eyes and dirty blond hair. She already had quite the personality and had even surprised Dick and Wally by rolling on her belly.
The truth was, neither of them knew much about young children.
Wally had been raised as an only child, and Dick had been placed in an overly crowded orphanage after his parents died when he turned eight. Both left to live on their own at the young age of fourteen; Dick spent many days and evenings performing in the streets and running from the police while Wally, who had learned to write and read in his childhood, helped small businesses by transcribing their words into letters. The two met one night when Dick was attempting a quadruple summersault in front of a crowd in awe. It didn't take long for the two young men to grow fond of each other, and before they could even realize it, they ended living together as secret lovers.
A few days passed since Wally had brought the little girl home, and there was still no signs of her parents anywhere. The couple had pretty much given up in their hopes to find her family, and it appeared as both dreaded the day where one of them would mention bringing her to the Nuns again. They had made sure to follow the rule of not naming her to a T, until one night where the three of them were laying down in the small shared bed. The baby was sleeping peacefully between the two grown men who were quietly watching her, all that could be heard were the snores coming from the old mutt that had a special spot at the foot of the bed.
"Y'know," Dick started, "it's been almost a week, and no one seems to know her. I don't think her parents will claim her."
"Yeah." Wally licked his lips. He didn't like where this conversation was coming. "Look, tomorrow we--"
"I think we should give her a name." Dick cut him off. "I'm getting tired of trying to find new ways to call her. This little lady deserves a proper name." Dick's blue eyes met Wally's greens; there were some unspoken words, an unsaid proposition.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Wally asked reluctantly. "You know if we give her a name we won't be able to go back." Wally watched as Dick seemed to think of his words carefully.
"I know, but I've grown quite attached to this little lady. And you can't say you haven't, I've seen how happy you are when you play with her." Dick smiled. "If we agree to tighten our belts a little, we should be able to afford to feed a new mouth." He gently stroked the baby's cheek with the back of his finger. "You could teach her to read and write. Maybe we could even send her to school someday."
There was a small pause.
Wally's hand met Dick's, their fingers intertwined, and they looked at each other.
"It's not like we don't have a lot of love to give."