Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     Now there were a lot of things to be scared of when it came to dealing with the Batman. Wally knew this even before he had ever met the Gotham vigilante or knew his secret.

     To start with there was his very dark and very unnerving presence that caused the ginger hairs on the back of his neck to stand up and sent shivers down the young speedster’s spine.

     That was accompanied by the knowledge that this man could destroy you in a second without breaking a sweat or leaving a trace that you had even existed.

     Then there was of course the legendary ‘Batglare’. The single look that could make villains pee themselves and could sometimes even make other leaguers feel uneasy.

     All of these things, along with many others. were absolutely terrifying, but none of them even compared to the pure terror that was induced by what Wally called ‘The Daddy Batglare’/ Now this glare was much like the original batglare, but it was amplified because of the fact that it was being used out of concern for the Dark Knight’s sidekick, Robin.

     Wally knew first hand how terrifying this glare was because he had been on the receiving end of it for probably the past hour straight, and considering his speedster nature, that 60 minutes was beginning to feel like an eternity.

     This all started when Wally had found out that his mentor/uncle was going to Gotham to discuss some league business with the Dark Knight himself. Seeing an opportunity presenting itself the ginger boy had literally begged his uncle to let him come with him so that Wally could meet Robin, the original sidekick. The kid was a legend, he trained beside Batman and became the first ever sidekick when he was only nine. He had paved the way for Wally to become Kid Flash. So now the redhead was dying to meet him so that he could befriend him. Not only to be able to know he was friends with Robin the Boy Wonder, but also so he had a friend that knew about this part of his life. Someone who he could really be himself with.

     So after an entire day of pleading and his uncle getting permission from Batman, Wally was stepping into a Zetatube on his way to Gotham. His Uncle Barry had told him that they would need to Zeta directly into the Batcave so that Wally did not learn the location of it, saying that it would give away the identities (which the Flash already knew) of the two Gotham heroes.

     By the time the two speedsters stepped into the infamous Batcave (which was true to its name considering the bats Wally could hear flapping around that only weirded him out slightly) the redhead was literally vibrating with excitement.

     The freckled teen was also nervous, he fidgeted with the goggles perched on his head and adjusted his cowl as he contemplated on whether or not the Boy Wonder would like him. After all, this kid had been fighting crime for over a year, Wally had only been doing it for about a month.

     As Kid Flash emerged into that secret lair his eyes were immediately drawn to the famous Dynamic Duo, who were standing in front of the Zeta platform, having been expecting the two Central City speedsters.

     Batman was standing closest to the platform intimidatingly, the original batglare plastered on his face, extremely effective even with the dark cowl that hid his face. His protege stood only a few inches behind and next to him, in a much similar stance and with a glare that, though it looked somewhat strange coming from such a small face, was still extremely effective. The boy was shorter than Wally by about six inches, as was to be expected from someone who was two years younger. He wore dark, form-fitting pants and a tight red and black long sleeved top that had a yellow R on the left breast. The black sleeves of his shirt disappeared into black gloves with compartments on the wrists. He had a cape that was yellow on the inside and black on the outside as well as black shoes and a yellow utility belt wrapped around his small waist. The boy was tiny overall, but had very clearly defined muscles on his legs and arms.  He had messy, pitch black hair and a domino mask that covered the top half of his face with white lenses to hide his eyes.

     As Wally observed the younger sidekick, the dark haired boy was doing the same. Seemingly deciding whether or not he was going to attack the redhead or ask him to play with him. Clearly it was the latter as the boy suddenly smiled before jumping and disappearing into the cave.

     The speedsters both looked around as a small cackle echoed through the the cave, Wally jumped when the Boy Wonder suddenly appeared behind him. Robin poked the redhead in the face before disappearing again.

     This time, the cackle that echoed within the cave were accompanied by three words.

     “Tag, you’re it.” Barry burst out laughing and Wally could practically feel the exasperated sigh and eyeroll from the Dark Knight.

     A huge grin erupted across the runner’s face as he gave chase after the stealthy boy.

     “You’re on! Challenging a speedster to a game of tag? You must be crazy Boy Blunder!” The Dark Knight stepped forward to end the nonsense until he was stopped by a red-gloved hand on his shoulder stopped him.

     “Let them be kids for a while Bruce.” The speeding leaguer said quietly. Batman sighed and looked at the boy he had come to love as a son run around and laugh with the smaller speedster. He supposed that Robin would need a friend in this difficult hero life.

     “I suppose you’re right Allen.”

     And just like that, a friendship was born.

     The two sidekicks looked a bit silly running and jumping around the batcave as Flash and Batman discussed important league business, though the scarlet speedster did it with barely contained laughter as the brooding leaguer’s glare followed the yellow-clad speedster and his young partner run around his cave.

     The boys continued their game for about an hour with intermittent conversations held between rounds. Robin had just dropped down from one of the higher levels of the cave, tagging the ginger boy in the shoulder before calling a timeout.

     “Well, that’s 13 for me and 10 for you KF.” the dark haired boy laughed.

     The older boy almost didn’t even think about it before he pulled the goggles and cowl off of his head and replied,

     “Wally. My name is Wally, well it’s actually Wallace but that’s kinda lame, so you can call me Wally. Wally West. It’s cool if you can’t tell me your name because of bat rules and stuff, but I just wanted to tell you because I feel like we’re gonna be best friends.” The words came out in a rush of words that should have been impossible for anyone but a speedster to be able to understand. But the Boy Wonder just smiled before taking off his right gauntlet glove and extended his hand to the freckled boy.

     “My father always told me that there should never be anything between honest handshakes….. So, best friends?” the Gotham hero questioned. Wally nodded before removing his own right glove and reaching out to shake Robin’s hand.

     “Best frie-” but before he could even finish the word, Robin froze. His entire body stiffened and Wally could tell that his eyes had widened beneath his domino mask. Then a soft smile broke over the smaller boys face.

     “You’re it.”

     Robin’s voice was calm, like he was stating a simple fact. The most obvious thing in the world.

     The redhead raised an eyebrow.

     “I’m it? Well yeah, I kinda figured that when you tagged me in the shoulder a minute ago…” but the ebony haired boy just continued to stare at Wally.

     “You’re it.” The smile on his face grew wider into a full toothy grin as he continued excitedly,

     “You’re it!” He released the redhead’s hand and pulled him into a tight embrace. wrapping arms around the older boy and nuzzling his face into his chest, continuing his chant of “You’re it, you’re it, you’re it!”

     Eventually he released the redhead from his grip and stepped back, reaching up to his own face, removing the domino mask. He looked up at the ginger speedster with the brightest blue eyes that Wally had ever seen and a smile that made the entire room seem dull.

     Wally’s own green eyes widened in shock as he realized what had just happened….

     “I’m Richard. Richard Grayson, but my friends call me Dick. And we are definitely going to be best friends.”

Chapter Text

     Wally’s own green eyes widened in shock as he realized what had just happened….

     “I’m Richard. Richard Grayson, but my friends call me Dick. And we are definitely going to be best friends.”

     This was the part where Wally began to really feel that uneasy terror that came with being on the receiving end of the daddy batglare. Batman had seen what was going on and that his young partner had just revealed their secret identities. Now that the speedster knew that Robin was Dick Grayson, it wasn’t a very far leap to realize that Batman had to be Bruce Wayne.

     “ROBIN! What are you doing? You know the rules! We are going to have a very serious talk about this and you are currently suspen-” At this point Batman paused in pulling the Boy Wonder away from the older sidekick upon seeing the look on his face.

     The dark haired boy looked up at his mentor with that same glowing expression.

     “Bruce, it’s him! I found him! He’s the one!”

     The brunet was practically jumping up and down with excitement before he wrapped his arms around his still glaring mentor. Bruce took a few steps away with Robin and leaned down to ask him something. Wally couldn’t tell what they were saying and he glanced over to his uncle nervously. The older speedster just shrugged and mouthed,

     “You’ll be fine.” But as soon as he did so, Batman turned to deliver another brutal glare to the smaller speedster.

     As Robin continued to excitedly speak to Bruce, the Dark Knight’s features began to soften some.

     Wally was able to see the older Gothamite ask,

     “Are you sure?” and he saw his new friend nod vigorously.

     Then Wally figured he must have been going crazy because he swore he saw Batman give his protege a small smile before placing a hand on his shoulder and walking him back over to the two speedsters.

     The moment of kind smiles disappeared as soon as the man turned back to Wally and it was immediately replaced with the same daddy bat glare.

     By the time the two Gotham heroes were standing back in front of the Central City Speedsters, the Boy Wonder had an even bigger smile on his face than before (if that was even possible) and it was directed at the ginger boy himself, which served to counteract the glare he was still receiving from the dark haired man. Wally liked seeing that smile on the younger boys face, it made him smile too.

     The ebony haired boy smiled and walked to stand next to his new ginger friend as Batman spoke.

     “Barry, Wally, if you’ll follow me upstairs. We have a lot to discuss and I believe it will be much easier if we did so in the manor.” And with that, the Dark Knight turned and headed up the stairs with a flourish of his cape.

     The older speedster followed directly after Batman while Robin and Wally followed a few paces behind them.

     The ginger looked to his darker haired friend with pleading eyes,

     “What’s going on? Is Bats gonna use some weird bat torture technique to kill me slowly? Or is he just gonna keep using the glare, ‘cause that’s pretty effective as well.” Robin laughed and shook his head.

     “No, I promise, you’ll be fine and he won’t hurt you. But I should probably give you a quick rundown of what’s about to happen so you’re not taken completely by surprise. Sound good?” When Wally nodded the younger boy smiled.

     “Okay, so long story short; Bruce and I are vampires. Every vampire has a mate, and when they touch each other for the first time, it becomes very obvious to the vampire and they automatically know. That’s what just happened. When you shook my hand, my vampire side alerted me to the fact that you are my mate. That means that we basically complete each other. So we’re gonna be best friends forever. Batman got all protective and stuff because it’s very rare that a vampire ever finds their mate and he was hesitant to believe that I had found mine so early. But there’s no question. I am one hundred percent positive that you are my mate. It’s an instinctual reaction that couldn’t have been mistaken for anything else. So obviously when I realized you were my soul mate I had to tell you who I was because my parents always told me that there should never be any secrets between soul mates. So now we’re going up to the manor so Batman can explain everything in more detail to you and your Uncle Barry.”

     When the Boy Wonder finished, Wally was left with his mouth wide open in shock as he deftly followed him through the manor to the large dining room. He was so baffled at the explanation of it all he didn’t even notice that they were walking through a clock in a wall that opened into a very large study that at any other time he would have thought was totally cool. No, instead the speedster’s brain was working a mile a minute, attempting to comprehend the information he had been given.

     Wally was a very science-oriented person. He believed that everything could be explained by using science, but all of this vampire and soul mate stuff. Wait, he was Robin’s soul mate? What did that mean? Did that mean they were going to get married? While the thought didn’t really bother him, Wally was only 12 and as of right now, he was pretty sure he liked girls. But they were soul mates, and wait, that was because Robin was a vampire. Robin is Dick Grayson and Dick Grayson is a vampire. The redhead wasn’t really sure how he was processing all of this information. Did this mean that Dick drank people’s blood? All of this was so confusing and completely unbelievable but as Wally glanced at the younger boy out of the corner of his eye, he felt calm. All of this new information seemed impossible, but he couldn’t help but believe that Dick was telling the truth. And if he was telling the truth, which Wally was positive he was, then that meant that they really were soul mates. They would be best friends forever. Wally thought he could live with that. Dick seemed like a pretty cool dude. And since they knew each other’s identities, they wouldn’t have to hide things. That sounded pretty cool.

     Then before Wally had even noticed, they were sitting down at a large dining table, with Barry at the end, Wally sitting next to him on the right and Dick taking the seat to Wally’s right. Then Batman, who was still slightly glaring at the freckled speedster was sitting directly across from him on his Uncle Barry’s left.

     The contents of Wally’s stomach suddenly felt like they were about to make an appearance (even though there wasn’t anything in there since the speedster had burned through his energy during their game and was beginning to feel quite hungry), but then he felt a hand grasp his from under the table and squeeze it tightly. And when the older boy glance to his supposed soul mate he calmed. His stomach settled and his nerves disappeared and he knew that everything would be okay.

     He squeezed the hand back.

Chapter Text

     The contents of Wally’s stomach suddenly felt like they were about to make an appearance (even though there wasn’t anything in there since the speedster had burned through his energy during their game and was beginning to feel quite hungry), but then he felt a hand grasp his from under the table and squeeze it tightly. And when the older boy glance to his supposed soul mate he calmed. His stomach settled and his nerves disappeared and he knew that everything would be okay.

     He squeezed the hand back.

     It had seemed like Batman was just about to speak when an gray-haired man in a fancy suit walked into the dining room. Everyone turned to look at him, Dick with a smile and Bruce with a huff.

     “Master Bruce, I was not aware that we were expecting company in the Manor tonight sir.” The man spoke with a British accent and a way that almost made the billionaire sigh. Wally could get to like this guy.

     Dick leaned over to whisper to the redhead,

     “That’s Alfred, he’s our butler, but he’s more like family. I like to think of him as a cool grandpa.” Wally nodded as he continued to watch the exchange between the unmasked vigilante and the butler.

     “We weren’t. But it seems that Dick has found his mate in Kid Flash.” Bruce deadpanned.

     The older man’s eyes widened for only a brief moment before he smiled towards the youngest at the table.

     “Well then I believe that congratulations are in order Master Richard. Shall I make some chocolate chip cookies to celebrate? I will of course make a dinner as well to satisfy our guests appetites.”

     “Thank you Alfred. And I believe some food would be much appreciated. I’ve been listening to Wally’s stomach growl for the last twenty minutes.” The speedster felt a blush cover his cheeks but smiled to his new friend anyways, placing a hand over his chest.

     “Wow , you really know the way to a speedster’s heart Dick, his stomach!” The ginger felt it was already easy to joke with Dick. Something just felt right about it, it felt easy and natural.

     Robin grinned back at the redhead. “Really? I thought I could do that by kicking their butts at tag.” The glare on Wally’s face only lasted a brief moment before both boys were laughing.

     “Very well Master Richard. I shall begin the preparations.” And with that the butler walked out of the room, leaving the still giggling boys alone with their mentors.

     “Boys, we have much to discuss, to if you’ll please pay attention. Especially you Wally, Dick already knows this stuff and Barry knows a few details, but considering this directly affects you, you should be listening to every word that comes out of my mouth.” The billionaire stated tersely, still glaring. The speedster in question nodded, finding his friends hand under the table again as Bruce began his speech.

     “As you know from what Dick has told you, we are both vampires. Your uncle knows this already seeing as it is common knowledge amongst the League. We do not drink blood from humans, we only drink from blood bags. As you also know, you are Dick’s mate. This means that out of every single person in the world, you are meant to be with him. That is probably why you felt you could trust him upon first meeting him as well. Your soul already knew that it could trust him. So that being said, you will always be there for eachother and your bond will grow stronger over time. You will be bound together for the rest of your lives, which could be quite a while. Since Dick is a born vampire, he will age like a normal human until he reaches physical maturity, probably between the ages of 18 and 20, then he will stop. He will live until something interferes, meaning death. You Wally, since you have been found by your mate, and after you have been fully bound, will do the same. Then you will live as long as Richard. If Dick should die before you, you will begin aging again at a normal human pace and continue your life as a human. If you die before Dick, he will still be immortal, though having lost his mate will probably not be able to go on.” At this, the speedster felt Dick grip his had a bit more tightly.

     “And what exactly do you mean when Wally is bound?” Barry spoke for the first time. Bruce looked to the scarlet speedster who had been otherwise quiet throughout his explanation.

     “As it is now, Wally is still considered to be Dick’s mate and will always continue to be just that and starting now, a bond will begin to form and grow between the two of them, but if they don't...finalize it, then their connection will not be as strong as it could be nor will Wally stop aging when he reaches physical maturity. The binding process is relatively simple but will be performed when both boys feel they are ready.”

     “And what is the binding process?” Wally asked, he had been taking the information in slowly, clinging to each word and committing it to memory. Dick was the one who answered him.

     “It’s when we drink each other’s blood at the same time.” Wally blanched slightly at that.

     “Why? I’m not a vampire?” Bruce sighed before answering the redhead.

     “No, but vampire blood has healing properties, and when it’s drank in large quantities from a mate while the vampire is connected to the human at the same time, it can link a person to the vampire.”

     “Speaking of blood, what about the whole blood drinking thing, does this mean that Dick is always going to be drinking my blood? And if we’re bound together and we’re ‘soul mates’ does that mean that we’re gonna get married?” The questions swarming in the speedster’s brain seemed infinite.

     “Yes and no to the blood drinking. While your blood will have the ability to make Dick stronger than anyone else’s blood, it is not mandatory. As it is right now, since Dick is still so young, he doesn’t require as much blood as an adult vampire, he only needs to feed once every two or three weeks depending on if he’s sustained any injuries. So it will be completely up to you two whether you wish to be Dick’s main source of sustenance. You’re accelerated healing would help in that case, while mates will always be able to replenish their blood to accommodate their vampiric mates needs, yours will replenish at a much quicker rate, almost immediately if I have done the calculations correct, which I have. It would take mere minutes for your blood level to return to normal after a feeding. Though that would only apply if Dick was the one taking the blood, if you suffered a blood loss in any other occasion, it would only be replenished at your body’s normal accelerated rate. And as for the marriage question, that also depends on you two. The soul mate bond is merely Fate’s way of saying that you should always be there for each other. About a third of all documented soul mates are together platonically, content in remaining friends for the entirety of their existence. Everything depends on you two. You can make this bond whatever you want it to be.” Bruce looked at the boy who was still attempting to absorb all of the new information with a newly fixed glare. “And Wally, you have to understand that this is no light matter. The control you have over Dick is great. There are very few things a vampire would not do for their mate, and usually vice versa. But there have been times when the human has been all too happy to take advantage of the control they have, choosing to ask horrible things of their mate and making them suffer. A vampire who never finds their mate will never feel complete, but will be able to live on having never know the feeling of wholeness. But a vampire whose mate has rejected them has never been known to last very long.” Dick’s fingers went limp in the older boy’s hand as he thought of the possibility of Wally rejecting him, but the redhead simply tightened his grip. There was no way that Wally would ever hurt him. They were going to be best friends forever, and best friends didn’t hurt each other.

     Wally looked up into Bruce’s eyes, only to see that the usual batglare had been replaced with the daddy batglare,

     “If you ever hurt my son Wally, just know that you won’t be around long enough to even beg for my forgiveness.” The redhead glanced to his uncle who seemed to be glaring at the Batman in return. Glares were not something he saw on his uncle’s face very often and he had to admit, it was a little scary.

     “Bruce, as much as I hate to think Dick getting hurt, I won’t allow any harm to come of my nephew, soul mate bond or not.” Wally took this chance to voice his opinions to the two older men in the room.

     “I won’t hurt him.” All eyes turned to him as he continued. “I may have just met Dick, but he’s already my best friend. We’re always gonna be best friends, I can tell. And best friends don’t hurt each other, isn’t that right Dick?” Wally turned to the smaller boy sitting next to him with a large grin uplifting his freckled cheeks. Dick’s blue eyes met green and the brunette smiled in return.

     “That’s right! We’re gonna be best bros forever!” Dick held out a fist in front of the ginger speedster. Wally returned the gesture in the form of a fist bump and he could almost physically feel the tension in the air lift as the confirmation was made.

     “Very well, I’ll leave the rest to Dick, I’m sure he would be happy to answer any other questions you might have about vampires at another time.” Just as the vigilante finished, Alfred walked in wheeling a large cart filled with food.

     Wally eyed the food as it was placed on the table and grinned when he saw his favorite food being placed on a plate in front of him.

     “Pizza with pineapple and ham! No way dude, this is literally my favorite food ever!” Dick laughed and looked at Wally again with surprise in his eyes.

     “No way! Mine too! Bruce hates it and thinks it’s weird but Alfred always makes it for me on special occasions! This is so trocious dude!” Wally looked a bit confused at that as he raised a ginger eyebrow.

     “Trocious?”

     “Yeah, well it’s not a-trocious, that means horrible! So if a-trocious means horrible then trocious must mean great!” Wally stared at the boy for a second before replying.

     “DUDE! That makes perfect sense! Why didn’t I think of that before?”

     The exasperated sigh that escaped from Batman’s mouth as he shuffled food around his plate was heard only by the older speedster.

     “Well would you look at that Batsy! Looks like we’re gonna be in-laws!”

     The Dark Knight shuddered at the thought and looked almost fearfully at the two boys talking animatedly about the butchering of the English language through mouthfuls of Hawaiian style pizza. Dear God, how was he going to survive?

     His only solace in the situation was the knowledge that his son would finally be complete and happy.