Work Text:
"Hey! You're here!"
Wally trotted to the bench where the newest recruit was sitting, his blue eyes following the passing of adults and kids alike. Wally would be lying if he said that he wasn't a little disappointed that Robin didn't turn out to be a girl, but that didn't stop him from sporting one of his biggest smiles. "I'm the one who volunteered to show you around. Welcome to the team!" Proudly, the redhead kid pointed his thumb toward his chest. "My name's Wally, AKA KidFlash when I'm in the competitions. I'm almost twelve years old, I love to run obviously, and I also love food!"
Wally waited for a comment that never came, which lead to an awkward silence. "Uhh, well... Enough about me, follow me. I'll introduce you to the other."
The younger boy nodded as Wally led them to the archery range. The targets were arranged so that they were smaller and farther away from where archers stood as you moved to the right. As they walked in, Artemis had just released the tension from her bow, sending an arrow fly to the second farthest target. The arrow successfully hit, but bounced back and fell to the ground. The young girl cursed under her breath and, once her supervisor authorized it, she went to collect her arrows along with the other practicing students.
"The grumpy girl wearing green is Artemis. She's almost as good as Roy when it comes to archery." Wally quickly looked at the other students' faces. "It looks like Roy isn't here today, but I'm sure you'll meet him soon enough. He's the oldest, and the coaches say that he is the most difficult to deal with because he is a teenager." Wally forced on the last word as if he was mentioning something taboo. "He's pretty cool, but sometimes he doesn't like to hang out with us."
Robin just nodded at that, the two of them watching the archers practice as another silence fell between them. Being the hyperactive kind, Wally began bouncing one of his legs to an imaginary fast-paced tempo. Sitting still was never his forte, and he noticed that his guest had lost complete interest in watching the archers.
Following his gaze, Wally noticed that Robin was watching two other kids chatting. He quickly recognized the little couple - though they didn't like being called that. "Ah, the cute girl is Megan. She is really into aliens stuff, and she makes us cookies once in a while." Putting a curved hand next to his mouth, Wally whispered into the other boy's ear. "I would recommend you stay away from them if you have a sensitive stomach, but also don't tell her I told you that."
Robin looked back to Wally, his brows knitting together as curiosity settled in. "Why not?"
There was a nervous smile on Wally's face as if he remembered an unpleasant memory. "She's a pro weight lifter. Trust me; you don't want her to be upset with you." The boy chuckled at the way Robin's eyes widened. "I know, we all got that same reaction when we learned that too." They both looked back at the innocent looking girl; she was blushing and placing a strand of hair behind her ear. "The guy she's talking to is Conner. He's super good at various martial arts, but he participates mostly in judo. He's got some anger issues and has a hard time understanding some concepts sometimes, but he's a nice guy deep down."
Robin watched the two older kids wave goodbye and part ways while Wally secretly wondered what was going on inside the little guy's head. "We should get going. There's one more person you should meet."
As they walked through the long hallway, Wally decided to try and learn a bit more about his future friend. "We heard you were really good at different sports, have you decided which one you'll be specializing in?"
"Gymnastics," Robin replied nonchalantly.
"Oh, cool!" Wally grinned. He wondered if it meant that Robin would be doing lots of rolls, pirouettes and do the crab. "And what's your name?"
The little kid frowned, feeling slightly annoyed at all the questions. "Robin."
The redhead chuckled. "I mean, your real name." He rolled his eyes playfully. "Not the one you use in competition."
"Robin." He replied dryly. The kid wasn't very chatty, and it looked like Wally might be starting to run on his nerves.
"Fine, don't tell me." Wally pouted. "It's not like I want to be your friend or anything."
He should have known this brat was going to be a pain. After all, he was from the prestigious school of Gotham, where all the bratty rich kids walked with their noses high up and above the little people. Why would this one be any different? And yet, Wally had such a good feeling about them at first! He wasn't quite sure as to why - maybe it was his stubbornness speaking - but he felt determined to break the wall that Robin had created around himself and become his friend.
The rest of the walk was silent. The two boys exited the hall and arrived at an outdoor pool where a tall teenager was doing some warm-up stretches.
His grin back on his face, Wally waved a hand and shouted. "Hey, Kaldur!"
Upon noticing them, the boy named Kaldur walked to them. He was tall, taller than Wally and the others Robin had met from a distance. The size difference felt slightly imposing, and to compensate Robin found himself trying to make himself look bigger by sticking out his chest a little more.
"The little pipsqueak here is Robin," Wally commented, "he's the newbie from Gotham." Wally looked at the younger boy and tried hard not to cackle at the way Robin stood. He didn't want their relationship to get worse than it already was by hurting the little bird's pride. "Kaldur is like our team leader. He's super good at swimming; it's almost like he's got webbed fingers and toes!"
At that, Kaldur looked a little embarrassed. "Don't say that, last time you made Megan believe I was part fish for three months and that my stretch marks were secretly fins. I would like to avoid to get another silly rumour about me going around." He then turned his attention to Robin. With a smile, he offered a hand for Robin to shake; which the boy did with the body language of a businessman meeting one of his higher-ups. "It's nice to meet you, Robin."
The youngest nodded. "The feeling is mutual. I am looking forward to participating in the next competition with everyone."
Wally was speechless. Did the brat just talk? Like, full sentence talk? He watched with his mouth slightly agape as the two boys discussed some more until Kaldur had to excuse himself and go back to practicing.
The heavy silence was suddenly back. It was as if Wally's brain had ceased to work; its wheels caught in some loosened piece of metal that wasn't supposed to be there.
Robin watched him impassive. "Can I go now?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Wally clicked his tongue. "Would you stay if I said no?"
Robin shrugged before casually replying "Nope," and left.
Wally watched him go, upset that he had been snubbed by the newest member of their team. He had thought that maybe Robin was the reserved type, and he recalled how the coaches had let the team know that Robin was still learning English. So perhaps, Wally thought, Robin wasn't very fluent at all. But no! He spoke English very well!
Watching the newcomer slowly disappear in the distance, Wally realized that it was going to be a lot more challenging to befriend the little gymnast.