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Dick had done his best to stay out of Crime Alley. He’d desperately needed the truce to work. Fighting Jason had been almost as painful as losing him the first time. And Dick couldn’t stand to see Tim hurt again or anyone else. Especially not by another member of the family. So Dick stayed away physically but kept a close eye on the situation.
It was hard not being able to see or spend time with Jason when he was so close. Dick couldn’t count how many times he’d wished for just one more hug or conversation after Jason’s death. Having his Little Wing so close but so far hurt bad.
Things hadn’t been all bad though. Dick had been able to reconnect with Roy. One of his best friends dating his little brother took some getting used to but there were worse things. Plus they seemed genuinely happy from what he could tell. It didn’t escape Dick or the rest of the family’s attention that Jason stopped killing about the time Roy arrived in Gotham. No one said as much but they all knew it.
Things were getting better. Jason rescued Tim from the mob and even returned to the Batcave. Granted he stayed for a whole of five minutes once Dick got there but it was a big deal. Then Jason had called Bruce for help when Ollie showed up being a jackass. Bruce had even been allowed to visit Jason and Roy’s house briefly. To hear Bruce tell it that was mostly Roy’s doing. Still, it was a hell of a milestone. Things were improving and Dick had decided to potentially put that at risk.
Superboy was living in The Alley. He was living with Jason and Roy. The son/clone of Superman had, seemingly of his own free will, moved to one of the worst neighborhoods in Gotham. It was Babs who picked Kon up on some footage of a rouge attack. Him being in the city wasn’t totally unexpected. Dick was very aware he and Tim were dating in secret. But Kon hadn’t been with Tim, he’d been with Roy. That raised more than enough questions for Dick to investigate.
It didn’t take long to see things didn’t add up. The Titans were under the impression Kon was living with Superman. The few Justice League members Dick talked to had been told the kid was staying with Ma and Pa Kent in Kansas. After a week of tracking Kon’s flying via satellite, Dick knew he was going to neither place. Which raised even more questions. Namely why the hell was Clark doing letting the kid run wild. The only two places Kon visited consistently were Titian’s Tower and Crime Alley.
There were quite a few people Dick could have gone to about the issue but there were only two he knew wouldn’t lie to him or make a possibly bad situation worse. Jason might tell him to fuck off or even shoot at him but he wouldn’t lie. Roy at worst would refuse to talk about it.
In the interest of starting off on the right foot, Dick called ahead as opposed to just dropping in. The three of them met on a rooftop in the Bowery. Rooftop talks were something of a family tradition. Usually, they involved masks and cowls but the three were meeting as civilians.
“What do you want Dickhead?” was Jason’s version of hello.
“Good to see you too, Little Wing,” Dick greeted with full cheer.
Roy just rolled his eyes at Jason before hugging Dick.
“Yeah, yeah, I doubt you called us out here just to say hi. What’s up?”
Dick released Roy and moved closer to Jason so they could talk quietly. “I need to know what’s going on with your new house guest.”
Jason scowled. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“Jay,” Roy scolded.
“He’s a Titian and I’m one of the mentors.” Not that he’d been particularly active in that role since Jason’s return. “If one of them suddenly uproots to live with someone they have no obvious connection to I’m going to look into it.”
Of course, it was more than that. Kon was involved with Tim which meant Tim was involved with whatever was going on. Because Tim always seemed to be involved. Usually in a way that seemed very smart at the beginning and ended very poorly for him. Kon moving in with Jason was likely Tim’s idea. It just didn’t seem the sort of thing Kon would come up with. Or Jason for that matter. Roy maybe but that still seemed unlikely.
“So still worrying about everyone else?”
It was Dick’s turn to roll his eyes. “He’s a kid. Twice over actually.”
“We’re looking after him,” Roy said stepping in. “Pretty sure no one else was. At least not for a while. He hasn’t told us much but he barely had clothes that weren’t his hero suites when he moved in. Plus he’s really sensitive about anything having to do with Clark.”
“Can’t even have the news going if ol’ suppy’s on it,” Jason added.
An anxious shiver ran through Dick. All of this going back to Clark was the most likely conclusion. Dick really didn’t want that to be the case. Clark had basically been family since Dick’s early days as Robin. The idea of him doing something that harmed a kid, intentional or not, made Dick feel a little sick.
“Last anyone knew Kon was staying with Ma and Pa out in Kansas. But obviously, that hasn’t been true for at least, what two weeks now?”
“About that long,” Roy confirmed.
“Probably longer though. I doubt we were his first choice,” Jason muttered. “He has a room at the tower. Did he start staying there more often at some point?”
In fact, he had. Dick and Babs had combed through the tower’s security logs and found that three months before Kon had started spending more nights than not. That wasn’t super unusual for newer team members but coupled with the other information wasn’t a good sign. Dick told them as much.
“But now he barely spends the night since he moved in with you two,” Dick said as he finished explaining.
A pleased look came over Jason. He tried to hide but Dick caught it easily enough. That eased a little of his apprehension about the situation. Despite everything that had happened with Red Hood, Dick had hoped Jason was still the caring person he’d been before. The person who was better at comforting victims, especially kids, than Dick ever was. The kind of person who would take in a teenager that needed help and quickly become attached to them.
“Dick, does Bruce know he’s here?” Roy asked.
“Not to my knowledge. Babs and I know but we haven’t told him. Tim knows too I’m assuming. ” Both Jason and Roy tensed. “Guys I know they’re dating, have for months. I’ve been trying to let him know the family will support and love him no matter what but so far nothing.”
Jason snorted. “Maybe you should try coming out yourself.”
“Jay,” Roy hissed.
“And end Wally’s long suffering while you’re at it,” Jason continued. “Just throwing it out there.”
Dick clenched his fists. He really didn’t want to have that conversation. They had already had it once before Jason died. When he had walked in on Dick and Wally in the manor. Jason hadn’t accepted his reasons for staying in the closet then and that clearly hadn’t changed his mind.
“That’s not what we’re here to talk about.”
“There’s nothing else to talk about,” Jason snapped. “Kon is happy living with us. He’s still getting used to things but he’ll talk about whatever happened when he’s ready.”
That sounded oddly naïve of Jason. “Bruce will find out eventually. When he does he’ll almost certainly get Clark involved. If Clark said or did something that hurt Kon things would likely get worse. Even if this is just Kon striking out more on his own...”
“That’s not what this is,” Roy cut him off. “The kid is affection and touch starved. He practically glues himself to Tim anytime they’re together at the house. And not in the normal teenager in a new relationship way. Kid lights up at even the slightest praise even if he tries to act cool about it. And he puts on the rebellious arrogant front but is so eager to please.”
“Shit, so he probably wasn’t getting what he needed from Clark or the Kents.”
Roy shrugged. “From Clark probably but he has mentioned Ma and Pa a few times. It sounds like he cares about them. So I’m not sure what happened there.”
“Just living in a normal household might have been enough to scare him away,” Jason said. “I tried to run away from the manor a few times because it was so different from living on the street. Didn’t matter that it was better, all the rules, structure, and even affection freaked me out. And Kon can literally fly away from a situation if he wants to.”
Dick sighed. “Add that to the fact that Kon would have maybe been a year old when he moved it and had been living under fucking Luthor of all people before then.”
“Recipe for failure,” Roy agreed.
They were reaching conclusions on limited evidence, Dick knew that, but it was all highly plausible. Dick rubbed his temple as he tried to think.
“What a mess,” he sighed.
“Yeah but it's being dealt with,” Jason said. “We’ve got Kon. If B finds out we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. You should keep an eye on Tim though. He seems like the kind of person who would burn himself out taking care of someone else.”
“Please, that’s a Robin prerequisite,” Roy huffed, which quickly earned him two death glares. “Oh, tell me I’m wrong!”
As much as he wanted to Dick didn’t tell Jason that he had been keeping a very close eye on Tim. Had ever since Jason attacked him. But bringing that up would accomplish nothing. Besides if Tim felt comfortable enough to hang around Jason and trusted him with Kon then the kid had clearly forgiven Jason or at least moved on. Which meant however Dick might feel about it, that wasn’t for him to start a fight over.
“Just let me know if anything changes and I’ll do the same.”
“Of course, man,” Roy flashed him a smile.
Dick nodded. “Thank you for meeting me tonight. I appreciate...”
“Oh no, we’re not wrapping this up just yet.”
Jason took a step forward so that he and Dick were even closer together. It took a fair amount of control for Dick not to step back. What Jason was doing didn’t feel threatening but Dick had a pretty good idea where things were headed.
“I don’t want to do this, Jay.”
“Tough shit, you called us up here to talk about what you wanted and now I get to say what I want.”
With another step, Jason was into Dick’s space and then his arms were being raised. Dick started to brace for a hit when he realized that wasn’t what was happening. Jason’s arms wrapped around him tight enough to pin Dick’s arms to his side. So I can’t hug him back, Dick thought, brat. Then it hit him that Jason was hugging him. Dick made eye contact with Roy who looked equal parts surprised and thrilled.
“I’m sorry people still say awful shit about you. You don’t deserve it but they’re always going to be like that.” Dick winced thinking about all the tabloids that talked about his dating life and loved to call him a slut and man-whore. Starting back when he’d only been sixteen. Coming out as Pan would only add gas to that fire. “But at least you can be with someone who makes you happy while that’s happening.”
“Jay,” Dick started to say but he lacked words. Finally, he just said, “Thanks.”
After a slight squeeze Jason released him and took a big step away. Dick wanted to go in for another hug but the shy and uncomfortable look on Jason’s face stopped him. There would be other chances, Dick told himself, because his brother was back and they both still cared about each other.
They parted then with Roy not so subtly dropping the hint that Wally wasn’t seeing anyone. Dick spent the rest of the night staring at his phone before ultimately deciding to give himself a few days to think things over.
Those days were mostly spent at Titian’s Tower when he wasn’t patrolling Bludhaven. He really had been letting his mentoring duties slip. And if things were good with Jason he didn’t need to be spending so much time in Gotham. A few days out of his usual element also gave him some time to think. Mostly about Wally.
Wally had been his first, pretty much everything. They had spent most of their teenage years sneaking around together when they were both singles at the same time. That had long been his most closely guarded secret. Only Jason knew the truth because the kid had been shit at knocking before entering a room. Roy knew and Dick assumed that had been Jason’s doing. That didn’t freak Dick out nearly as much as he thought it would.
At some point in their early twenties, they had both found themselves in long term relationships. Even when they were both single again they had stuck to being only friends. Dick had assumed that was the end of whatever feelings Wally had for him. It had seemed reasonable after he’d strung the speedster along for so many years. Wally had always understood Dick’s reason for not telling anyone but no one could be expected to go on as they had forever.
But Jason and Roy were suggesting some things were very different from what he had assumed. He and Wally never had actually talked about how they felt and Dick wondered if they finally should. If nothing else to clear the air. Of course, Dick would have been lying if he said he didn’t hope for more.
Before he was able to do that though Tim cornered him at the tower. His youngest brother looked deeply concerned.
“Dick is everything alright? You’ve been acting weird and spacing out a lot the last few days.”
He nearly gave his reflexive answer and claimed he was fine. But Jason’s comments had hit hard. How could Dick expect Tim to be honest with him if he couldn’t do the same?
“I’ve had some stuff on my mind. Do you think maybe we could talk?”
In truth, Dick probably scared Tim with how vague he was being. But he took him for ice cream before they talked so that hopefully made things a little better. It certainly helped Dick because his stomach managed to twist itself in knots as they left the tower and the distraction of food was nice. Tim just kept watching him waiting for the conversation to start.
“Um, so a couple of people know about this but I’ve never actually told anyone,” Dick couldn’t stop his leg from bouncing. “But I’m, uh, pansexual, I guess.”
“Oh,” Tim said quietly, clearly surprised but then he smiled. “That’s awesome, thanks for telling me.”
Dick smiled too and was finally able to get his leg to still. “Of course, Baby Bird. But B and Alfred don’t know yet. Actually you, Jason, Roy, and Wally are the only ones who know.”
“Are you planning on telling the rest of the family?” Tim asked suddenly looking a little bashful.
“If I’m being honest I never planned on telling anyone. But our resident crime boss gave me a bit of a lecture the other day and I’ve been rethinking a lot of things.” Dick chuckled. “Jerk gets himself his first boyfriend and thinks he knows everything. But he did make some good points.”
“Like what?”
“Just the usual, screw what other people think and let yourself be happy. But it felt more genuine from him. Maybe because he doesn’t talk about feelings much or something.”
When Dick looked back at Tim he could tell the kid is lost in thought. The way his lips were pressed thin and his eyes trained on a single spot, almost unblinking. After a minute Tim drew in a deep breath and glanced over.
“I’m Bi,” he said it barely louder than a whisper dropping his head as he spoke
Dick was up and around the table before he even really thought about it. He wrapped Tim in a tight hug needing to make sure there was no doubt in his little brother’s mind that Dick loved and supported him.
“I’m proud of you kiddo and I love you. We all do.”
“I love you too,” Tim said returning the hug.
There was no talk of Kon or Wally. Neither do they say anything more about telling the rest of the family. For the moment just the two of them knowing was enough.
Eventually, Dick decided what he needed to do. Even if it scared the hell out of him.
Dick went to Wally’s house in Central City. Going to him seems to be the very least Dick could do. He didn’t give a real reason for the visit. Unable to phrase it in a way that wouldn’t be super vague or alarming. Just a ‘haven’t seen you in forever let’s meet up’ thing as far as Wally knew. That doesn’t make Dick feel great but he wasn’t sure of another way to go about it.
The second he saw Wally, Dick was smiling. Wally returned the smile before pulling Dick into a hug. They end up on the living room couch with the TV playing but paying it no attention.
“So how are things going in Gotham?”
“Good, I think. Weird for sure but what else is new? I had a talk with Jason a few days ago, face to face even.”
“Oh shit, dude. How’d that go?”
A soft easy smile came to Dick. “Really good, he even hugged me. If you can believe that.”
“A little hard to but that’s awesome. I’m happy for you.” Wally gave his shoulder a squeeze and Dick smiled more. “He and Roy still together?”
“Yeah, and it's still weird.”
Wally laughed brightly. “Very weird but if it works for them I’m glad.”
“Me too,” Dick agreed, “and they seem happy together. Since I talked with Jason I’ve been thinking about some stuff.”
He glanced over at Wally. An anxious knot squeezed in Dick’s chest but under that was a warm comfort that he always got around his best friend. There were no true constants in his life but Wally came the closest. Even if he didn’t want a romantic relationship they would still be friends. Knowing that to be true was what gave Dick the courage to keep speaking.
“I came out to Tim yesterday and I was thinking of telling the family the next time we’re together for dinner.” Wally moved at superspeed to wrap Dick in a hug. “Thanks, Walls. I... also wanted to talk to you about... us.”
Wally pulled away but kept his hands on Dick’s biceps. “Yeah? What about?”
Something unreadable flickered across Wally’s face. That didn’t help his nerves but Dick took a breath knowing he needed to do this.
“After the last time we were together, things just stopped and we never talked about it. I’ve just been thinking about it and maybe it isn’t fair to ask but I wanted to know how you felt about me. Also maybe what the future might look like for us.”
“Oh, I mean,” Wally’s face went almost impossibly red, “I guess I just couldn’t do the secrets and the seeking around anymore. When you didn’t bring it up I figured you were just done with that phase of your life. Not that I’m saying it was a phase!” pausing Wally took a deep breath. “I love you, Dick. I have for I don’t know how long and still do.”
There was more to what he said but Dick didn’t catch it. There was a roaring in his ears that drowned everything else out. Wally said he loved him. Something electric pulsed through Dick’s body as his heart started to race. Wally loved him and he...
“I love you too,” Dick said cutting Wally off.
The words weren’t so much spoken as they just tumbled forward. But there were out there. It had taken him far too many years but Dick had finally said it. In front of him, Wally vibrated slightly. Dick could feel it where Wally was still holding on to his arms. It was something that happened when Wally got overly nervous or excited. Judging by the massive grin suddenly on Wally’s face it was the latter.
“You do?”
Dick nodded stupidly. “I do.”
Wally surged forward until his and Dick’s lips crashed together. The suddenness stunned Dick for just a moment before his brain could catch up. Once it did he kissed back. Wally’s arms wrapped themselves loosely around Dick pulling the two of them close. A shiver ran down Dick’s spine.
For a second it feels like they’re teenagers again. Sneaking a kiss when no one was around or holding up in their room at the tower to do more. Except they’re older and know each other far better. Dick ran his finger in Wally’s hair along the back of his head and grabbed a hand full. He felt Wally’s breath hitch before he let out a quiet groan.
Despite everything he wanted to do at that moment Dicks broke away and pressed his forehead to Wally’s.
“If I’m reading things correctly, I want to do things right this time,” he said more than a little out of breath.
A small laugh came from Wally. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean no keeping us a secret from people. We don’t have to scream it from the rooftops or anything but telling friends and family at least. I want to take you on real dates and all of that.”
“Sounds good to me.” Wally leaned in and kissed him again, deeper and slower this time, hands going down to his hips. “Shit, we should have had this talk forever ago.”
“We really should have but we can always make up for lost time,” Dick said with a growl at the end.
Then Wally was pushing him backwards onto the couch. Laughing Dick offered no resistance. For a brief second, Dick thought about what a smug bastard Jason was going to be when he found out. But that was a problem for future him.