Chapter Text
Dick had always been good at flirting with girls, he'd been doing it since he was thirteen and he started going to galas and parties with Bruce. Saying pretty things to pretty girls, the daughters of important businessmen that Bruce needed to impress.
And he was good at it, he knew how to smile and whisper sweet things to them so they blushed and giggled. He'd learned by watching Bruce, as he leaned in to talk to models and society ladies, watched his body language, and it turned out that Dick was a fast learner.
But more than that, he enjoyed it, he liked how the girls held his arm as they laughed at his jokes and as he got older, it turned into sneaking away to kiss in alcoves where no one could find them. And Dick enjoyed that too.
Then when he was fifteen, he met Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon of GCPD, and for the first time, Dick Grayson fell in love. They stayed together for over a year before Dick moved to San Francisco to start the Titans. So yeah, Dick reckoned he was very good at flirting with girls. Had it down to an art form really.
Boys however, were another matter entirely. Dick Grayson could not talk to boys if his life depended on it.
When he was fourteen, one of the handsome waiters at the Martha Wayne Charity Gala winked at him and Dick blushed and spilt an entire glass of lemonade down his front. That was when he began to seriously consider the possibility that he wasn’t only interested in girls.
But boys made Dick nervous, he didn’t know how to talk to them without sounding like a complete idiot without any grasp of the English language or like an over enthusiastic frat boy. Those were literally the only two ways it could go. So he gave up on the idea of dating boys, and that was absolutely fine by him. That was, until at the age of seventeen, Wally West came careering into his life and ruined everything.
San Francisco
He really hadn’t been expecting it, he’d been complaining to Raven,Gar and Donna for ages that they needed someone else on their team, they were great, sure but they could do with somebody else.
‘So call Bruce…’ Donna said one afternoon as she sat cross legged on the floor in front of the couch, poring over a book.
Dick wrinkled his nose in confusion as he paced back and forth.
‘Why would I call Bruce?’
‘He knows people, Boy Wonder.’ she replied, putting her book face down on the carpet. ‘And those people have sidekicks, maybe one of them wants to get out on their own for a bit. Can’t hurt right?’
Dick did not want to call Bruce, mainly because every time he did, it turned into a blazing row with one or other of them slamming the phone down before they could get anywhere with whatever issue they were trying to resolve.
‘No way.’ he said firmly. ‘I am not calling Batman about this.’
Donna folded her arms and scowled at him, the disapproval practically radiating off her.
She opened her mouth to say something but Dick held up his hands in surrender.
‘Fine, fine.’ he said. ‘I’ll call him, I don’t know what good it’ll do though.’
Half an hour later, and Dick strode back into the sitting room where the others were curled up on the couch watching TV.
‘Well…’ Raven demanded, snatching the remote control out of Gar’s hand and muting the show they were watching. ‘What did he say, are we getting somebody else?’
Dick hesitated and then nodded.
‘Bruce said that Barry, y’know, Flash? He’s got this sidekick, Wally. His nephew or something I think. Anyway, he’s got the Speed Force and Barry wants to see how he’ll work as part of a team.’
The other three looked impressed, Gar let out a low whistle.
‘Is he coming?’ Donna asked. ‘When?’
‘Next week.’ Dick replied. ‘He’s got some stuff to sort out at home then he’ll come join us. I’ve not met him before but Bruce says he’s a good kid, I think he’ll fit in just fine.’
One week later
'Dick!' Gar yelled over from where he was watching the camera feeds. 'There's someone outside, you expecting anyone?'
Dick looked up from the bowl of cereal he was eating at the dining table and frowned. Then he remembered. How could he have forgotten? Wally West was arriving today, their new team member.
'Wally's here.' he explained to Gar. 'Can you get the girls? I'll let him in.'
Gar nodded and vacated his seat so Dick could peer at the computer screen and see who was at the front door. The feed was only in black and white but he could make out a figure with messy hair wearing a hoodie and jeans who was shifting his weight from foot to foot nervously.
Dick pressed the button for the intercom and spoke into the microphone.
'Hello? Wally?'
The figure on the screen jumped and then nodded.
'Yeah hi! Could I come up?'
His voice was warm and enthusiastic and Dick felt himself smiling. He pressed the button that opened the front door.
'Just hop in the elevator and press the button for the fifteenth floor, it'll bring you out here.'
Dick blinked because the figure had already disappeared and he could see the panel lighting up that showed the elevator was on the way up to them.
Shaking his head in bemusement, Dick headed back into the sitting room to find the others gathered by the sofa, peering out into the entrance hall.
'He's here then?' Raven asked, her chin resting on Gar's shoulder.
'Yeah,' Dick replied, 'He's just on his way up now, elevator panel lit up. He'll be here in a second.'
At the end of the entrance hall, Dick heard the elevator ping and the doors slid open. He headed out into the corridor to go and greet their new team member but instead he was hit hard by something very fast and very solid. He yelped as he was engulfed in a warm hug that he completely wasn't expecting.
'Oh shit.' said a voice as Dick was released from the hug. 'I'm so sorry!!'
Dick blinked and found himself looking at a boy, a little bit shorter than himself with a shock of red hair, green eyes and a smattering of freckles across his nose. He beamed at Dick, the smile lighting up his face.
'Hi!' he said enthusiastically. 'I'm Wally. Sorry about that, I forgot not everyone likes super speed hugs.'
Dick knew logically that he needed to answer, that Wally expected a reply. But his brain seemed to have short circuited because this guy was cute and he couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence.
Luckily for him, the others seemed to have their wits about them still.
'Hi Wally.' Donna said, coming to stand beside him. 'I'm Donna, this absolute idiot is Dick Grayson. Welcome to Titans Tower.'
'I'm Gar!' Gar said from the other side of Dick 'And that's Raven. Come in!'
Dick managed to pull himself together enough to follow the others back into the sitting room.
Wally instantly fell into step beside him, that infectious grin still on his face and Dick couldn't help but smile back at him.
'It's really nice to finally meet you.' he said excitedly. 'Barry told me so much about you.'
Dick forced his brain to formulate an answer, hoping the words would come out in a coherent order.
'You too.' he said as they entered the kitchen where the others were gathered around the coffee machine. 'Do you want a coffee?'
'No thanks. Don't do caffeine.' Wally replied, dumping his duffle bag onto the floor and sitting down at the table. 'I'll have tea if you've got it.'
'Tea. Sure.'
Dick could do that, tea was easy. Wally kept up a steady stream of chatter whilst he made the tea and Donna made coffee for the others.
'Dick says you're a speedster.' Gar interrupted. 'How fast can you go?'
'Fast.' Wally said with a cheeky wink that made Dick nearly drop the mug of tea in his hand. 'I don't know exactly.'
Raven grinned from where she was sitting cross legged on the table and blew on her coffee.
'Is Wally your real name?' she asked with interest. 'It's fine if it's not, we're big into nicknames here.'
Wally shook his head.
'Wallace.' he said, cringing. 'But nobody calls me that.'
'Wally it is then.' Donna said, dropping into a seat next to Gar. 'You done with that tea Dick?'
Dick blinked and realised he'd been staring at the two cups of tea in front of him and not doing anything about them.
'Oh yeah, sure.' he grabbed the two mugs and came to join the others at the table, sitting down opposite Wally. He pushed the Wonder Woman mug across the table towards him. 'There you go.'
'Thanks.' Wally said, with that thousand watt smile that made Dick's stomach flip. 'So is this all of us? Anyone else I should meet?'
'Just us at the moment.' Dick explained, taking a sip of tea. 'There's Starfire too, but she's off-planet at the moment. Gone back to Tamaran.'
'Cool.' he said. 'Think I can cope with that, I'm not great with names. So tell me about Titans.'
They sat around the table with their drinks, laying out everything Wally needed to know about being a Titan. And honestly, Dick was impressed. He listened carefully to everything they had to say, asked lots of questions and even volunteered some ideas of his own.
'Okay I think you're gonna fit in just fine.' Dick said, after half an hour of intense discussion. 'Gar, could you show Wally his room? Let him get settled in.'
Gar stood up and gestured for Wally to follow him, the two of them chatting excitedly as they walked.
'You're in the room next to mine.'' Dick heard Gar say as they disappeared down the corridor. 'So come and play video games with me any time…'
As they vanished out of sight and their voices faded, Donna turned to Dick, an amused look on her face. Dick braced himself for the inevitable third degree he was about to get.
'What was that all about?' she asked, her eyes sparkling with glee. 'Never seen you so quiet Dickie. Could it possibly be something to do with our new arrival?'
Dick felt himself blushing again and tried to cover his embarrassment with a coughing fit. Even Raven had put her book down and was watching him curiously from where she was now levitating a couple of feet in the air.
'Oh my god.' Donna said, clapping her hands together. 'Robin's got a crush.'
'Shut up.' Dick muttered, studying the table instead of looking at the girls. 'It's not like that…'
'I don't blame you.' Raven interjected thoughtfully. 'He's cute, not my type but I can see why you like him.'
Dick was about ready to bang his head against the table instead of having this conversation with his teammates. He'd told himself he wouldn't try and date guys anymore and this was precisely why, he just made a fool of himself.
'Hey, are you alright?' Donna's voice said, slightly concerned. 'I'm just teasing you, it's okay.'
Dick finally looked up at them both, they were watching him with soft knowing smiles.
'I don't date boys.' Dick said. 'Because I can't talk to them, I just freak out and say something stupid. Plus Wally probably isn't even interested, I mean he's probably straight anyway so what's the point?'
'What's the point in what?' came Gar's voice as he reappeared in the kitchen. 'Wally's just unpacking, said he won't be long. What are you guys talking about?'
'It's nothing Gar.' Raven replied. 'Dick's just having a bi panic, it's fine.'
'About Wally?' Gar said, 'Do you want me to do some sleuthing, subtly find out if you might have a chance with him?'
'Absolutely not.' Dick replied, alarmed. 'I love you Gar but you're about as subtle as a brick.'
'Suit yourself.' Gar said with a shrug. 'Don't say I didn't offer though.'