Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wally hugged his legs closer to him as he listened to the Interpol agents in the other room. He knew he was in trouble. Or at least he thought he was in trouble. 

But it really wasn’t his fault? He didn’t mean for this to happen. He just… the trip was already paid for. His parents had already signed the forms. He already had his passport ready. He’d been looking forward to it for weeks. 

If only Dick hadn’t screwed everything up…

No. That wasn’t fair. Dick had nothing to do with it. Or at least no control over it. And Wally liked dating him. It wasn’t Dick’s fault Wally’s parents had figured it out from their texts.

God. Wally wished he still had his phone. His dad had taken it during their argument, and Wally would give anything to be able to call someone right now. The only numbers he had memorized were his mom’s… and Dick’s, but he wasn’t about to get his 14-year-old boyfriend involved in this mess.

On top of feeling like he was in trouble, he was also confused.

What was this place and why had they taken him here?

And when would they tell him what was going on?

Day 0

“I won’t have a goddamn f****** for a son! You have ten minutes to pack what you want to keep and get out!”

Wally gulped and zipped up the steps. He knew he wasn’t supposed to use his speed in the house, but what did it matter now? He had ten minutes to stuff his life into a suitcase and no phone to call for help.

Thankfully, a good chunk of his clothes were already in his suitcase. His class’s spring break trip to Europe was starting early the next morning.

Wally froze as a thought occurred to him. 

He could still go on the trip… right? 

Maybe it would be enough time for his parents to cool off?

He shook his head. It might be, but it would be best to pack what he cared about regardless.

He slipped all his photos out of their frames and stuffed them in a folder, packing it in his backpack along with as many speedster protein bars as he could fit and his passport and wallet.

His emergency cash stash went in too. He’d been building it a little at a time for almost two years.

Ever since he’d figured out he liked guys as much as he did girls.

His action figures and frivolous merch stayed. He liked it but didn’t need it.

His Kid Flash suit got hidden under the loose floorboard his emergency cash stash had been hidden under. He couldn’t bring it on the trip, and he had a spare at Uncle Barry’s.

He took his suitcase down the stairs just as he hit the ten minute mark.

His dad scowled at him and his mom avoided his eyes.

When he lingered in the doorway, his dad shoved him and his suitcase out and slammed the door.

Wally picked himself up. He guessed a ride to the school was out of the question, so he started his trek.

Hopefully, his parents had forgotten about the trip completely and wouldn’t interfere with this plan.

He arrived at the school around midnight, hid around the corner from where the bus would pick up, set his watch to go off at 5 am, and fell into an uneasy sleep.

He woke just before his alarm and dragged his suitcase over to the front of the school. The teachers soon arrived.

He lied and said his dad had had to go to work really early and dropped him off an hour prior.

By 6:30 am, everyone was there, roll had been called (Wally was relieved his name was still on the list), and the bus was on its way to the airport.

The first half of the two-week trip went well. 

In fact, Wally was having a blast and almost able to forget his newfound struggles at home.

Then, his teacher got a call.

And Wally found himself wishing Mr. Stewart had never picked up the stupid phone.

Chapter Text

Day 3

Robin was worried. 

Wally hadn’t texted him since the night before he left for his trip. 

When he mentioned how his boyfriend hadn’t texted him before leaving the country to Babs, she’d assured him he probably forgot during his excitement and that he’d text him after he landed and got to a spot with wifi.

It had eased his concerns for then, but now it had been three days, and Wally still hadn’t texted him.

He set his backpack down on the couch in Mount Justice, frowning.

“What’s wrong, Robin?” Artemis asked. “Missing Thing 2 while he’s off galavanting in Europe?”

Robin sighed. “He hasn’t texted me once. Or sent me any messages through our online messaging system.”

“He probably hasn’t been able to settle down in a spot with wifi long enough to message. Chin up. I’m sure he’s fine.” Artemis assured him.

Robin frowned deeper and pulled out his laptop. 

“Uh… Robin? What are you doing?”

“Hacking Wally’s phone location.”

“…you’re really worried, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” A ding sounded and then Robin’s brow furrowed. “It says he’s still at his house in Keystone City. That can’t be right, can it?”

“Look. If you’re that worried, just ask Flash. He’d know.”

Robin hummed and nodded, pulling out his phone and calling Flash.

“Hey kiddo. I’m a little busy right now, is it quick?”

Robin made a noise of offense at the nickname. “I just wanted to ask if you’d heard from Wally recently? His phone locator says he’s still in Keystone.”

“That explains a lot. He must have forgotten his phone. But he is on his trip. I can send you the login to the portal where they’re posting pictures if you’d like? Just don’t tell him I sent it to you and please don’t use it for blackmail.”

Robin relaxed. “No promises on the blackmail thing. But if you could send it to me, that would be great.”

“No problem. Anything for my nephew’s ‘best friend.’”

Robin stiffened. “Were those quotation marks in your sentence?”

“Maybe they were. Maybe they weren’t. I gotta go. I’ll send you that info later.” Flash hung up.

“Why do you look like you were called out on something you didn’t want to be?” Artemis asked.

Robin flushed. “No reason.”

Really, he wasn’t against Barry knowing. Or Bruce for that matter. It was more that he’d promised not to tell anyone until Wally was ready.

They’d only been dating for two months. Since Wally had had an existential crisis after breaking up with Artemis and confessed he liked Robin more than he liked Artemis and was that a bad thing because Robin was a boy and guys are supposed to like girls and…

Robin had shut down that line of thinking real fast, and they’d dived down a rabbit hole about queer identities and histories. 

Wally still wasn’t comfortable identifying with a label, but Robin had settled on pan for himself.

He shook away the thoughts and focused on his homework. 

If Flash said there was evidence Wally was on his trip, he trusted him enough to wait for that evidence to be sent to him.

Hopefully Wally was having fun. 

Rudolph West was scheming. 

How dare his son go on that trip, the trip he and Mary had paid for, after they’d made it clear he was no longer welcome in their family?

When he’d found out the day before, he’d been furious. Now, he thought he could take advantage of Wallace’s distance from his allies to teach the teen a lesson.

But how best to go about doing it?

He was pretty sure he knew the best method. 

Rudolph West had a plan.

Chapter Text

Footsteps caused Wally to look up, but the door didn’t open. He sighed and curled up even tighter.

This wasn’t like when he was with the League or team. He couldn’t run to a zeta tube to get home. He was a civilian and had to wait for the authorities to sort things out. 

He wanted to go home.

But… not home as in his parents’ house. He wanted to go home to Keystone and Central. To patrols with Flash and missions with the Team.

He wanted things to go back to what they were before his dad screwed everything up.

Day 8

“Your parents claim you forged their signature to come on this trip.”

“I swear I didn’t! They gave permission! You know they did, Mr. Stewart, please.”

“Your dad just landed at the airport in Rome. He’s furious. You’re to wait for him right here.”

Wally’s blood ran cold. “What?”

There was no way his dad had come all the way to Europe to pick him up after kicking him out of the house. It would be less of a hassle to wait for him to come back and throttle him then.

“So we… we need to wait here? What about the train?”

“No we. You. There’s not enough chaperones for me to catch a later train, Wallace. Sit down right here and don’t move until your dad gets here. Have him call me again when he picks you up.”

“But…!”

“No. You screwed up. Deal with it.” Mr. Stewart turned to one of the hotel attendants. “Sir, can you ensure my student stays here until his father arrives? It should only be an hour or two. Thank you.”

Despite Wally’s attempts at protesting, he was soon left alone with his suitcase and backpack.

He swallowed hard. He would not cry. He wouldn’t.

An hour dragged by. Then two. Then three.

It was coming up on hour six when a cop approached him.

“Ragazzo…”

“I’m sorry! I know he’s not coming! I tried to convince my teacher not to leave, but…”

The cop paused. “Kid, I think I need you to come with me.”

Something wet slipped a trail down his cheek. He wiped it away and realized that, despite his best efforts…

He was crying.

He stood, grabbed his backpack and his suitcase, and followed the cop to her car. 

The suitcase went in the trunk and he kept his backpack in his lap, hugging it to him as the cop drove.

“You are American, correct?” The cop asked.

“Yes.” Wally said. “Am I in trouble?”

“That depends on many factors. What can you tell me about your circumstances? One of the employees at the hotel said your teacher accused you of faking your parents’ signature?”

“I didn’t. They signed the forms weeks ago. They were the ones who paid for the trip and took me to update my passport and… and all that stuff.” He wiped away more tears. “I’d been looking forward to the trip for weeks. I… they never said I couldn’t go.”

“Did anything change?” The cop asked.

Wally swallowed. “They never said I couldn’t go.”

The cop frowned at the clear evasion of the question, but let it slide as she pulled up to a building. “Stay here.”

She stepped out and entered the building. 

About ten minutes later, she returned with another cop, who opened the door for him.

Wally got out, still clutching his backpack.

“What’s your name?” Cop 2 asked.

“Wallace Rudolph West.” Wally said quietly. “Am I in trouble?”

“Hello Wallace. I’m… I believe in the US my title would be the police chief. Call me Officer Bensley. As for if you're in trouble, that depends on which definition you’re using. Have you committed any crimes?”

“No.” Wally said. “I didn’t… I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“Then you’re not in trouble in that sense. We do need to ask you a few more questions though. Please come inside.”

“My stuff…”

“I’ll take care of it.” Cop 1 assured him.

Wally felt uncomfortable leaving his suitcase behind, but nodded and followed the officer. Everything important was in his backpack anyway.

One security scan later and he was sat in an interrogation room with Officer Bensley, a man who introduced himself in Italian as Detective Angrove, and a translator who didn’t introduce herself.

“Can you state your name again for the record?” Officer Bensley asked.

“Wallace Rudolph West.”

“And how old are you, Wallace?”

“I’m sixteen.” Wally shifted uncomfortably on his chair.

More questions came. About who he’d entered the country with, his itinerary, where he’d been so far…

They had Wally share what had happened that afternoon from his perspective.

Then came the dreaded question: “Why do you think your father would have done such a thing?”

Wally froze. He thought about it.

Then, he started crying.

Tearfully, he confessed to his parents finding out about his significant other the night before the trip and disapproving. He’d gone on the trip regardless, hoping they would cool off by the time he got back, but he thought the two matters might be related.

He was careful not to admit his significant other was a boy.

After that, the officers asked him to stay put while they conversed.

Wally hugged his backpack and stared off into space.

He felt ashamed of his display of weakness. What would Dick think?

He didn’t want to think about Dick right now.

Hopefully, the officers would be back soon.

Day 7

Rudolph grunted in frustration. That meddling Justice League was getting in his way. How was he supposed to leak the footage of Wallace if they were so on top of things? 

Maybe if he leaked it in multiple places all at once… there was that schedule send on the burner email he’d set up… and the burner account on Facebook…

But there was still the matter of Wallace finding out and getting somewhere safe. Rudolph needed to isolate him…

Maybe…

Day 8

Rudolph drummed his fingers as the phone rang. The footage was being sent as he sat there. Darn computer being so slow…

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Mr. Stewart? This is Rudolph West, Wallace’s father.” The title felt like ash in his mouth, but he pushed onward. “It seems Wallace forged my wife’s signature to come on your trip. I’m coming to retrieve him. I just landed at the airport in Rome and my train should arrive in Florence in less than an hour and a half.”

“He forged the signature?!”

“Yes. I’m certainly not happy to be having to come all this way to pick him up. Can you ensure he waits at your hotel until I get there? Which hotel was it again?”

He tuned out the answer, assured Mr. Stewart he’d be there soon, that yes it was fine if he couldn’t wait with Wallace, and that he’d call once he picked Wallace up.

A ding alerted him the footage was successfully uploaded and sent once he got off the phone. He smirked and set a timer for an hour and a half, at which point he would call to confirm he’d picked up Wallace.

Hopefully, this would teach Wallace a lesson.

Day 9

Flash paced back and forth. “I need to warn his parents. And Iris. This isn’t good. This… Wally’s in Europe! He forgot his phone! We have no way of warning him! Bats, why weren’t you on top of this?!”

“I’ve been scrubbing the evidence off the web as fast as possible. Unfortunately, that just adds credibility to the claim.” Batman retorted. “Whoever leaked the footage sent it to too many places. I’m working on tracking down the IP address now.”

“Do you have Wally’s teacher’s number?” Wonder Woman asked. “You could call him or her.”

Flash hummed. “I’ll see if I can get it from Rudolph and Mary.”

He pulled out his phone and dialed Mary West.

The call went to voicemail. “Hey Mary, it’s Barry. Do you happen to have Wally’s teacher’s number? I also need to warn you about something but don’t feel comfortable saying over text or voicemail. Please give me a call back as soon as you can. You know my number.”

He was about to try Rudolph when Batman let out a snarl of anger and started typing fast.

“Bats?” Batman didn’t answer and Flash took a step forward. It looked like he was erasing posts of… text messages?! Flash read them over his shoulder and paled. “Is that…? They haven’t even told us about that yet!”

“There are a lot of ways to maim someone without killing them.” Batman grunted. The search for the IP address popped up and Batman stiffened at the information he was reading.

Flash shifted his gaze to the pop up and felt like the blood froze in his veins.

He was suddenly glad he hadn’t tried to call Rudolph.

“M-maybe it’s a mistake?” He stuttered.

Batman shot him a look. A moment later, he had the cell phone information pulled up for one Albert Stewart.

Flash took the hint and dialed the number.

“Hello?”

“This is Barry Allen. I need to speak with my nephew, Wally West. Is he available?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Allen. Wally’s father picked him up from Florence yesterday. He’s not with the group anymore.”

Flash’s eyes narrowed. “Rudolph picked him up from Florence? You’re sure?”

“Yes. We got the call confirming…”

“You didn’t wait with him?!”

A pause. “Rudolph said he’d be there soon and he called later to assure us he’d picked Wally up…”

“Did you happen to talk to Wally during that second call?!”

“Mr. Allen, I’m afraid your ire is quite unnecessary. Wally should be back in the US soon if you’d like to speak with him. After he forged his parents’ signatures…”

Barry bristled. “He did no such thing. I was there when Mary signed the form.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Barry, there are no records of Rudolph leaving the country. He doesn’t even have a passport on record.” Batman interrupted.

Flash scowled. “You said you left him in Florence?” 

“His father picked him up already.”

“He did no such thing. He never left the country. Where did you leave my nephew?”

Another pause. Then, Mr. Stewart hung up.

Flash let out a string of curses. “We need to get in touch with Interpol. Wally was abandoned in Florence. Rudolph tricked the teachers.”

“If we reach out first, we’re basically confirming the leak.” Wonder Woman pointed out.

“What do we do then?” Flash said.

“By this point, Kid Flash will have already been picked up by local authorities. They’ll reach out to the consulate. And he’ll eventually be transferred into Interpol’s custody.” Batman said, back to work scrubbing the leak from the web.

“I already called the teacher. It’s feasible that I know now.” Flash said. 

“Call the Keystone police. Tell them what the teacher said. They’ll start investigating and it’ll be a good look for you.”

Flash nodded and made the call, explaining how he’d called to speak to his nephew and what the teacher had said and how his brother-in-law had never left the country.

When the call was over, he turned anxiously to Batman. “What now? Wally’s alone in a foreign country. In civvies.”

“He’ll be okay. If push comes to shove, he can run.” Wonder Woman assured him.

Flash hummed. “Robin was worried because Wally didn’t text him. When he finds out…”

“You let me handle Robin’s reaction.” Batman grunted.

Flash hummed. “How many people saw the texts?”

“Too many. I’ve got a program scrubbing the posts from the web, but multiple forums are talking about it.”

“Already?! It’s been less than twenty minutes!”

“And it took less than three of those for people to take screenshots and make the connection between Rob and Robin in connection to the identity leak.” Batman scowled. “They’ve also taken note of the post deletions.”

“We need a new plan.” Wonder Woman said. “Deleting the evidence isn’t working. It’s spread too far. Lying isn’t advised either. People will call us out.”

“What do you suggest then?” Flash grit out. His phone rang. “Yes? Iris?”

“Barry! They’re saying Wally is Kid Flash!”

“I know. We’re doing what we can. Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No. But I need to check in with Rudolph and Mary. They must be…”

“Don’t. Bother. He did this.”

“What?”

“B traced the IP Address. It was Rudolph. The real question is ‘Why?’.”

“Do you have any evidence Mary was involved?”

“No. But I don’t recommend going to them right now.”

“I want to ask them why. I won’t go in person. I’ll just call until they pick up.”

“Be safe.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Iris hung up.

“We need to coordinate a way to protect Kid Flash. The information is out there now. His identity’s blown. If we’re not careful, yours is next.” Batman said.

“I don’t care about mine. I…” Flash began.

“There’s also the matter of Robin’s secret identity.” Wonder Woman cut in. “Are there any pictures of him in civvies on Wally’s social media? He’s listed as Rob in Wally’s phone, but if there’s any…”

“If you think I haven’t been on top of that, you don’t know me well. I pulled the pictures and data from Kid Flash’s phone and remotely wiped it as soon as I was done setting a program to wipe the texts off social media. Also, Kid Flash knew better than to post any pictures of Robin on his social media. I saw none when I checked.”

“Rudolph has had that phone in his possession for over a week.” Flash said. “Who’s to say he hasn’t made copies?”

Batman scowled again and turned to the computer. “We need to leave Rudolph’s phone intact as evidence, but I’ll search for any photos or messages beyond the ones he’s already leaked and delete those.”

“There’s a chance he’s already deleted the evidence himself.” Wonder Woman pointed out. “And even if you delete any photos of Robin on Wally’s phone, aren’t there ways to trace that?”

“Let me focus on protecting Robin’s identity.”

“Right. Someone needs to warn him though.”

Batman grunted, already focused back on the digital efforts. “Robin’s not the only one who needs to worry. Kid Flash has gone out in civvies with multiple members of the Team in the past.”

“We should brief the Team. Tell them to gather at Mount Justice.”

“They’re probably already there. It is the weekend.”

Batman hummed. “I can’t leave the computer for long right now in case something else pops up.”

“In case?” An annoyed voice cut in.

They turned to find Robin behind them.

The teen’s gaze took in the room before landing on Batman again, hardening into a glare.

“Robin, I didn’t lie when I said there was an emergency.”

“The world isn’t ending.” Robin argued.

Batman just stared him down until he huffed and crossed his arms.

“What did you need to brief the team about anyway? I heard that much.”

Batman didn’t lift his gaze from Robin’s. “Flash, Wonder Woman, alert me if there are any more leaks. I will be in the next room.”

Flash and Wonder Woman watched as Batman steered his son out of the room.

This wasn’t going to go well at all.

Chapter Text

Day 9

Robin didn’t waste a moment once they were alone. “You promised, B! What kind of emergency is it where you have to blow me off but no one’s attacking?!”

Batman grimaced. “Robin, sit down please.”

Robin shook his head. “No. I’m staying standing right here.”

Batman pursed his lips. He looked like he was debating how to tell Robin really bad news.

Robin took in Batman’s expression and body language. “That bad?”

“Kid Flash’s identity has been leaked.”

Okay. Evidently Batman had chosen ripping off the bandaid method. Also, what?!

“We’ve been trying to counter it, but it’s spread too far.”

“Who?” Robin grit out, struggling to contain his reaction.

Batman grimaced. “According to the IP Address? His father.”

A beat passed. Then, two.

“Robin…”

“I told you something was wrong! I told you! Wally wouldn’t just forget his phone! Have you even managed to reach him?! Does he know his identity’s all over the internet?!”

“Robin…”

“And his father?! There’s no way this is a coincidence!” Robin paused as a thought occurred to him. “Wally! Is he safe?! He’s with his class in Europe! If he doesn’t know yet about the leak…”

“Robin.” The sharp tone cut off Robin’s rambling. “It gets worse. Rudolph tricked the class into leaving Wally behind. The Italian authorities have him by now. We have no way of reaching him.”

“The Zeta…” 

“We don’t know he’s still in Florence. He could have been taken to Rome. He could be anywhere in Italy. We have to wait for the authorities to realize who he is and reach out to us. On top of that, he’s a civilian right now. The League coming for him would confirm the rumors.”

Robin stared at him with wide eyes. 

Batman took a deep breath. “Also, his identity wasn’t the only thing leaked.”

“What else?” Robin dared to breathe out.

“His relationship.”

Robin felt the room tunneling in on him. His knees buckled.

Batman caught him.

“I… I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone. Not before he was ready. Batman, I…”

“Easy. I’m not mad at you.”

“No. I know. Or… okay. But Batman…!”

“You’ll have to be careful going out in public with him, Robin.”

Robin took a shaky breath in and let it out. “Batman…”

“It’s not either of your faults the relationship leaked.”

“How did it leak?”

Batman hesitated.

“Batman, how did they know?!”

“There was a screenshot of text messages. It’ll be easier to disprove if we need to.” He paused. “If you want to.”

“I…”

“You and Kid Flash can discuss what you want to do about the second leak once we get him back. I know you were hiding it for a reason.”

“I’m not ashamed!” Robin blurted out. “I just…” He froze as dots connected. “Do you… could Wally’s dad be homophobic?”

Batman stiffened. “You think that’s why he leaked it?”

“Wally was reluctant to come out to his folks. He was worried it was wrong that he liked me because I was a boy. I… I found a label I identified with, but he was reluctant. I think there was some internalized homophobia going on there. If Wally was feeling that way, it’s possible… it’s possible his dad was the reason.”

“You may be right, in which case we have a motive. Though not one I’m happy about.”

“Is there one you’d be happy about?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

Robin frowned, looking at the ground. “Will Wally be okay?”

“Time will tell. I’ll keep you updated the best I can, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Also, we’ll be discussing your hacking to get to the Watchtower later. Don’t think I’ve forgotten you don’t have free access.”

Robin winced. “Right…”

“Can I trust you to update the team?”

“Can I leave out the part where we’re dating and that that leaked too?”

Batman scowled. “That should never have leaked. They are your friends, Robin. I trust you to share only what you’re comfortable with. Keep in mind, however, that they may find out from elsewhere if they don’t from you.”

“I promised Wally I wouldn’t tell anyone before he was ready.” Robin murmured.

“There is no need for you to tell the Team about your dating life so long as it doesn’t affect team dynamics. You and Kid Flash have always been close. I doubt it will be a problem.” He paused. “Although he can expect to hear from me now that I don’t need to feign ignorance about it.”

Robin huffed. “Of course you already knew.” The words processed. “Wait! He doesn’t need a shovel talk! He’s already scared enough of you!”

“Go brief the Team. I need to get back to countering the leak.”

“B! He doesn’t need a shovel talk!”

Batman left him in the room.

Robin rolled his eyes, but took the hint.

He went back to the Zetas and Zeta’d to Mount Justice.

The Team was already mostly gathered when he got there, just hanging out.

Conner was watching static, Zatanna and M’gann were baking, Raquel was texting someone on her phone, and Artemis and Kaldur were reading.

Robin hesitated in the doorway. How could he best break the bad news?

“Robin, why are you just standing there like you’ve never socialized before in your life?” Artemis asked.

Robin couldn’t help the offended scoff at that. His expression dropped again quickly. “I… um… have some bad news.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Best to rip off the bandaid. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Did you and Wally break up?” Zatanna asked.

He spluttered. “What? No! Where did you even…?!”

“You were looking forlorn. I had to tease.” She shrugged.

Robin glared at her and grit out. “Wally’s identity got leaked.”

His statement was met with dead silence.

He took a deep breath. “I don’t know how much more I can or should say out of respect for Wally, but it’s bad. The League’s working on damage control.”

“He’s in Europe.” Artemis breathed. “What if they stop him from re-entering the country?”

Robin blanched. He hadn’t even thought of that. 

Then he remembered that wouldn’t be a problem because they had the much worse problem of Wally having been abandoned in Italy.

“They wouldn’t do that.” Raquel said. “The Flashes are well-liked. He saved a queen for God’s sake. To stop him from re-entering the country, they’d have to flag him in the system. He’s not a criminal.”

“Of all times for Wally to have forgotten his phone.” Artemis grumbled. “We can’t even warn him.”

Robin shifted uncomfortably. He felt like saying anything about what else Wally’s dad had done, or mentioning Wally’s dad at all, might be betraying Wally’s confidence.

But they might need to know he was abandoned in Italy in case they needed to go look for him.

“There’s more.” Kaldur noted. “Is it worse?”

“Wally got separated from his class in Italy. The authorities have him by now, so he’s probably safe, but…”

“But we can’t get to him.” Conner filled in the blanks. “How did he get separated? Weren’t they doing headcounts?”

“It’s complicated. I know Batman told me everything they know, but I don’t know how much Wally would want us all to know.”

“That is understandable, Robin. Thank you for sharing what you felt comfortable with.” Kaldur said before anyone could protest. “I’m sure Wally appreciates your loyalty.”

Robin nodded and sat down on the couch next to Conner. “There’s nothing we can do right now. Any chance…?”

“One distraction coming right up!” Artemis caught on, sliding a bookmark between the pages of her book and putting it away. “Charades, anyone?”

That got groans all around, but they settled down to play anyway.

Chapter Text

Day 8

Jeanette Stevens didn’t like to admit she had favorite students.

Favoritism was frowned upon in teaching, after all.

But she couldn’t deny Wally West was a delight to teach.

She’d been overjoyed when he told her weeks ago that he was able to come on the trip, but disappointed when he got put in Albert’s group and not hers.

It was due to this favoritism that she quickly realized he was missing while checking on the students on the train.

“Albert, where’s Wally?”

“His father said he was picking him up in Florence.”

Immediately, alarm bells started ringing in Jeanette’s head. “Said he was? Did he?”

“I received the call confirming an hour ago. He had just gotten off the plane in Rome when we left the hotel.”

“Wait. Did you just leave Wally at the hotel?”

“His father was…”

“Albert, you can’t just leave a student behind in a foreign country!” By now, some of the students were unashamedly listening in. Jeanette huffed and pulled him a little further out of their earshot. “Albert, if his father didn’t actually pick him up, you could be arrested.”

“You’re overreacting, Jeanette. The hotel attendants watched him until his father arrived. He’s fine.” Albert walked away.

Jeanette scowled. He wasn’t taking it seriously enough. They could get in serious trouble for this.

There were no bars on her phone. She’d have to wait to call the hotel until they arrived at their destination.

The hours ticked by. Jeanette kept checking for signal. She told the other three teachers what had occurred.

Naturally, they were all just as livid about it as she was.

Finally, she had enough bars to make the call.

The hotel informed her they’d already called the cops, who had picked Wally up twenty minutes prior.

His father had never showed.

Jeanette thanked them for calling the cops and asked if there was any way she could be connected to them.

The hotel told her it was out of their hands now. They really shouldn’t have left the kid behind.

Jeanette felt a couple frustrated tears escape.

Poor Wally. He must be so scared.

Day 10

The students were buzzing that morning as they got onto the bus. 

By contrast, Jeanette was groggy. She’d spent the last two nights tossing and turning. Worrying about Wally after several attempts to reach the Italian authorities in Florence fell through. She’d left a couple messages for the consulate, but she was still itching with anxious energy on behalf of her student.

“Ms. Stevens! Did you hear?! They’re saying Wally West is Kid Flash!” Annie chirped when Jeanette went to take her seat at the front of the bus.

Jeanette froze halfway into her seat. “What?”

“Yeah. There were videos and stuff leaked the other day. Everyone in Central and Keystone is talking about it. Someone’s been trying to delete the evidence.”

“Where is Wally anyway? Wasn’t he on this trip?”

“I think his dad picked him up in Florence. Maybe this is why.”

Jeanette felt like her vision was narrowing in on her as the students gossiped. 

If Wally was Kid Flash, and even if he wasn’t, he had no clue about this leak. He was in police custody and who knew what they’d do once they found out.

Wally’s father hadn’t picked him up. He’d tricked Albert into leaving him behind.

She wished she knew another relative of Wally’s she could reach out to. Someone Wally could trust in light of all this.

As it was, she found herself dialing the US Consulate in Florence again.

Please pick up.

Ugh. Still no answer.

“Ms. Stevens, why do you look like you’re panicking?”

“I…” She caught sight of Albert outside the bus looking very pale. “One moment.” She got off the bus and marched up to her coworker. “Albert, what have you done?!”

“His dad said he picked him up.” The words were weak, as if even he didn’t believe them anymore.

“The cops picked him up! His father never showed. That’s what the hotel said.”

“Jeanette, I…”

“Save it! I need to look up a number.”

“Who are you calling?”

Jeanette didn’t answer. The hotel they’d stayed at was happy to help her get the Justice League’s public inquiry number.

Hopefully this time she’d finally get an answer.

Chapter Text

A loud crash sounded throughout the building.

Wally sat up straight. What was that?

More crashes and shouting.

He itched to see what was happening. To join the fight if there was one.

But no. He was a civilian right now. He couldn’t give away his secret identity.

The door slammed open and Wally shot to his feet.

The silhouette in the doorway wasn’t that of one of the Interpol agents.

“Hello little speedster.” The silhouette grinned.

Wally’s blood ran cold.

Uh-oh.

Day 9-11

The officers were gone for several hours. Excluding when someone brought him food and when they intermittently checked he was still there.

In fact, Wally was certain he fell asleep at one point because the clock said 6 am when they finally returned.

When they entered the room, they had two new people with them. 

“This is Ms. Jenkins from the US Consulate and Agent Colfer from Interpol.” Officer Bensley introduced.

Wally swallowed. “Interpol?”

“Leaving a minor in a foreign country with no food, no money, no way home, and no support is an international crime, kid.” Agent Colfer said. “It’s akin to trafficking.”

Wally tightened his grip on his bag. “My teacher didn’t know.”

“That’s not an excuse. He should have waited with you until you were picked up. Or told your father he’d have to rendezvous with the group when they got back if he couldn’t wait. And then there’s the matter of your father knowingly causing the problem to begin with.”

Wally flinched. He tried to come up with an excuse for his father, but there really wasn’t one.

“I understand this is probably very overwhelming for you. I’m going to need to ask you some more questions. I understand you don’t have your phone?”

“Dad took it from me that night.”

“Is anyone looking for you?”

“I don’t know. Probably not yet. They all know I’m on the trip. By now they’ve probably parsed my phone was left behind. I doubt most of them will really worry until they notice I’m no longer appearing in the trip pictures.”

“Most of them?”

Wally swallowed. “My… significant other is probably already worried simply because my phone was left behind. It’s not like me to leave my phone behind on an international trip like this. And I haven’t been able to text.”

“So your significant other knows you well enough to know something’s wrong, but no one else would have noticed?”

“My aunt and uncle would have checked in with my parents, who… probably would have lied to them. They’ll notice soon enough. My bo-significant other is just very quick on the uptake.”

Agent Colfer raised an eyebrow at the slip, but thankfully didn’t comment on it.

“We’ve filed a report about what happened here in Florence.” Officer Bensley said. “Agent Colfer is going to take you to the nearest Interpol office now. I’ll get your suitcase.”

Wally hunched his shoulders.

The trip to the Interpol office in Rome took several hours. Wally itched to run, but he restrained himself.

Civilian. Not Speedster. Civilian. Not Speedster.

He was shown a small room to stay in. It locked from the outside. He guessed they thought he’d run and cause more problems?

He didn’t want to cause problems. He just wanted to go home.

A couple days passed. Wally quickly learned his case was rather low priority. Other things going on took up more attention.

As sour as he felt being shoved aside, he understood it would take time to safely return him home.

But it was hard. He wasn’t getting enough to eat and he was down to his last two speedster bars, which he wanted to save in case things went south.

Even worse, no one would tell him anything about his case.

Then, three mornings after he was left behind, a new agent entered the room when he was finishing up his breakfast.

“Wallace West?”

“Uh. Yeah. That’s me.”

“Pack your bag back up. Promptly.”

Wally swallowed the last bite of his eggs and hurried to comply. “Um… what’s your name?”

“Agent Faraday. Hurry up.”

Wally frowned. The name was familiar. Wasn’t he the guy who was investigating Haly’s Circus in December?

He stuffed the last couple items he’d taken out back into his bags and straightened.

“Why the urgency? I thought my case was low priority.”

“Things change.” Was the only response he got.

Agent Faraday loaded his stuff into the car, allowing him a brief farewell to Agent Colfer, who looked concerned.

They went from car, to another car, to a private airstrip. By the time they were landing at a private airport in another country, Wally was seriously worried. “Where are we going?”

He didn’t get a response.

When they pulled up to a cabin in the middle of nowhere an hour or two later, Wally was tired from traveling most of the day, but also highly wound up from the uncertainty around his situation.

He didn’t know what was going on or what was happening.

When he was led into an interior bedroom and left alone, he curled up, hugging his backpack tight. 

What was happening?

Chapter Text

Day 11

It took two days for Interpol to reach out to them.

Two days of worrying and fretting while watching the leak spread across the globe despite their best efforts to stop it.

To make matters more complicated, one of Wally’s teachers had called the public inquiry hotline the day before, proving a) the class knew about the identity leak, b) Wally had been picked up by the cops, and c) there was still no guarantee who currently had Wally.

Flash argued the call was enough to contact Interpol as the League. Batman countered that would still be confirming the leak.

Finally, finally, Interpol reached out. They’d figured out they had Wally in their care and wanted to discuss options with the League.

Agent Regulus Thanatos was the current head of Interpol. He met with Batman, Flash, and Wonder Woman via video call.

“I’m getting one of my most trusted to move the kid into witness protection. With his identity leaked all over, it’s the safest option. I figure you want a say in what happens after that though. Has your investigation turned up anything on the leak and abandonment? Our investigation didn’t get very far due to the case being rather low priority up until now, but the initial findings point to the father.”

“Our findings were similar. Robin stumbled across a potential motive…”

“Let me guess, Dad found out his kid was gay and decided that was that?”

Batman grimaced, carefully ignoring Flash’s angry reaction in the background. “Yes. That is his theory. Although it seems Wallace has not put a label on his… sexuality yet. Rudolph leaked video evidence of Wallace’s powers. Our attempts to remedy the situation seem to have made it worse.”

“I figured the post deletion had the League written all over it.”

“All the same, we would appreciate your help in getting Wallace home safe. The League can protect him.”

“I presume home doesn’t mean his parents?”

“We cannot confirm whether or not his mother was involved. As it is, his aunt and uncle are willing and eager to step up. They were outraged when they discovered what happened.”

“Whoever he’s placed with will be assumed to be a member of the Justice League.”

“We’re aware. Flash is willing to take that risk. He’s already discussed it with his wife and they are prioritizing Wally over Flash’s secret identity at this time.”

“That’s a long ranging decision. They can’t take it back.”

“I’m aware.” Flash stepped in. “So is my wife. We’re also aware Kid Flash and I are among the more well-liked heroes. Batman will be upping security around our home. Once the novelty of it all wears off, we’ll be treated similar to most celebrities. Or so we presume.”

“If you are certain, we’re going to keep Wallace hidden until the transfer of custody is finalized. Should anything change in the meantime, the Justice League will be informed. Does that work for you?”

“While we’d prefer to have Wallace in our own custody, that’ll do for now.” Batman said before Flash could object. “Keep us updated. And keep him safe.”

“We will.” Agent Thanatos ended the call.

“Shouldn’t we have argued to have Wally transferred into our care immediately?” Wonder Woman asked.

“It wouldn’t have helped. Interpol has protocols they need to follow. Even in a case such as this. They can’t transfer him into a family member’s custody in the middle of an investigation regarding his father’s misconduct. Not even if that family member’s part of the Justice League.”

“I just want to see him safe.” Flash said. “The custody case is being pushed through faster thanks to your influence, but it’s still slow going. The leak’s been traced to his father as has the abandonment, but they want to charge Rudolph with criminal actions akin to trafficking. And they want to charge the teachers with criminal neglect. Jeannette Stevens’ calls have been used as evidence to clear her, but the other teachers are in hot water and with both cases running simultaneously… it’s going to take some time. The teachers aren’t even back in the US yet. They need them as both witnesses and defendants and want to question some of Wally’s friends that were on the trip.”

“Interpol has Wallace’s safety covered. We can handle the legal side of things.” Batman said.

“So long as nothing changes.” Wonder Woman pointed out.

“So long as nothing changes.” Batman agreed.

Chapter Text

Day 12

Wally was scared. He had no mask. No water. Next to no food. Wrecked sneakers…

And he’d just confirmed his secret identity to a villain when he’d fled at superspeed.

On top of that, he’d run away from Interpol. And probably ended up in a different country in the process. He was going to be in so much trouble.

The Sun had risen long ago, but he was still shivering a little as he stumbled through the underbrush.

Around midday, he stopped to eat his last speedster protein bar. He’d had the second-to-last one just after fleeing to give him a little energy.

He hadn’t stumbled across any towns yet, which felt fishy, but okay. Even if he had, he didn’t know how much cash he had left or if the town would accept US dollars.

Or even if they would speak English there.

Walking on wrecked sneakers wasn’t fun, the soles scorched from superspeed, but it was better than walking barefoot.

Wally squeezed his eyes shut as he willed back the tears. He would get home. He knew he would.

It just might… take a little bit longer.

Day 13

Wally was losing focus. 

He blamed the berries.

So sue him, he was still lost in the wilderness and he hadn’t eaten since that last protein bar the day before.

His backpack felt heavy on his shoulders and he’d ditched the sneakers after the soles burned off escaping a second kidnapping attempt.

At least he thought it had been a kidnapping attempt. The guy had had marbles to trip him up and rope. 

The rope really pointed to attempted kidnapping.

He was exhausted, hungry, and hallucinating.

Three times that day, he’d hallucinated various friends and family encouraging him to keep going.

He stumbled into a clearing and met the masked eyes of a man he didn’t recognize.

“Hello there. You’ve been quite hard to track.”

Wally’s vision swam. His knees buckled. 

The masked man chuckled as he caught him.  “Making it easy for us now, aren’t you?”

Wally’s backpack was pulled off his shoulders. He protested weakly as the masked man dropped it carelessly on the ground.

“Now none of that. You don’t need it where you’re going.”

Wally wanted to cry out, to call for help, but only a quiet whimper escaped his lips.

A sudden force caused the man to drop him.

Wally just barely managed to catch himself. 

He stumbled to his feet, looking around frantically for his backpack.

Then, the ground came up to meet him and everything went black.

Chapter Text

Day 12

“Team, report for mission briefing.” Robin straightened at the urgent tone in Batman’s voice. Something was wrong. He sounded stressed.

“Finally.” Artemis muttered. “A distraction from the whole mess that leak caused.”

Robin glanced at her anxiously and her expression softened.

“Don’t worry, Robin. I’m sure your boy toy is fine.”

But even the light teasing wasn’t enough to distract him. He hurried to change into his uniform and was the first to arrive in the mission briefing area.

When he saw the map, he froze. “Batman…”

Batman knelt next to him. “Robin, breathe.” He pressed Robin’s hand to his sternum and exaggerated his breaths.

Robin hadn’t even realized he was hyperventilating until he did so.

He just barely managed to get a handle on his breathing before the rest of the team arrived.

The rest of the team eyed the map worriedly. It was a portion of Central Europe with a focus on Germany.

The details were sparse. Wally had been taken to a safe house in the middle of nowhere Germany. Someone had attacked the house and he was now missing. Evidence seemed to indicate he had fled. The Justice League was cooperating with Interpol to try and locate him before any other potential kidnappers tried their luck. His powers greatly increased the radius, but he had fled without food or water. The longer it took to find him, the more dire the situation would get.

The Team would be split into pairs and one group of three to cover their assigned areas. They were to head out immediately and take both Sphere and Bioship to cover more ground.

Aqualad assigned the teams on Bioship. Miss Martian and Rocket could both fly, so they would take to the air. Zatanna and Superboy would take Sphere. Artemis, Robin, and himself would take Bioship.

Robin wasn’t ignorant to why he was in the one group of three. He sent a half-hearted glare at Aqualad as they flew towards Germany, but he couldn’t deny his concern for his boyfriend was getting out of hand. He had to focus, or they wouldn’t find Wally in time.

They split up in the middle of their assigned areas. Miss Martian and Rocket took North. Zatanna and Superboy took South. Artemis, Robin, and Aqualad took East.

They searched all day. It was nearing nightfall when Robin told Aqualad to land.

Aqualad obeyed, sending a questioning look his way.

But Robin had spotted something with his binoculars. He raced off Bioship when they landed in camouflage mode, Artemis on his heels.

A groaning masked goon was just starting to catch his bearings when the two reached him. “Oh. Oh shit!”

Robin grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and yanked him up. “What did you do to him?!”

“Nothing!” The goon protested.

Robin motioned to the marbles and burn marks in the area.

“Nothing… successful.”

“Robin, we’re on a time crunch.” Artemis reminded him. “We’re on the right track. We need to keep going.” She pointed towards a path of ruined undergrowth headed Northeast. “We can track him now.”

Robin grunted and threw the wannabe kidnapper to the ground. “What about him?”

Artemis pursed her lips. She raised a hand to her comm and spoke for a few moments to the League on the other end. 

Robin didn’t bother to listen. He tied up the goon with the goon’s own rope.

“I’ll stay with him until the League arrives. You and Aqualad follow the trail. You can catch up to him. Just keep going.”

Robin eyed the trail and hurried back to Bioship.

Following the trail was slow going and they lost it when it got dark.

“We’ll have to continue on foot.” Robin said. “With flashlights and…”

“Robin, Bioship will find the trail again. He’ll need to stop to rest.”

“We’re on a time crunch!”

“I know. But we need to trust Bioship, and Wally.”

Robin swallowed.

Despite their best efforts, they had to course correct when the sun rose. The trail had ended somewhere in the middle of Poland. And it seemed Wally had changed directions a couple times.

“He ran right through three towns where he could have gotten help at superspeed.” Aqualad noted. “Why didn’t he stop?”

“He must not have noticed. It doesn’t fare well for his state of mind. Or body.” Robin released a shuddering breath. “Now we continue on foot?”

“Now we continue on foot. But quickly. We still have a lot of ground to cover. Bioship will still search from the air.”

Day 13

It had taken them most of the day to get anywhere close to Wally.

As it was, it seemed they were right on time.

Robin used a tree branch to flip up and kick the wannabe kidnapper in the face.

The kidnapper dropped Wally, who proceeded to pass out.

Aqualad caught up then and took over the fight, allowing Robin to rush to Wally’s side.

Wally was feverish, skin damp with sweat. His feet were cut up from his run and his stomach was growling loud enough even Robin could hear it.

“I’ve got you, Walls. I’ve got you.” Robin whispered. He lifted a hand to his comm. “Robin to HOJ. Aqualad and I found him. Requesting the medical bay be prepped for arrival.” Aqualad sent him a signal. “Also, sending coordinates of another wannabe kidnapper.”

“Superman to Robin, message received. We’ll prepare the Watchtower med bay for your arrival.”

The implicit instructions were clear. Take him to the Watchtower. We’ll be waiting.

Aqualad fetched a stretcher from the Bioship. As he did so, Robin made sure to shoulder the familiar backpack that had been discarded in a nearby bush. If Wally had brought it with him all that way, whatever was inside had to be important to him.

Together, the two boys lifted their friend onto the stretcher and carried him onto the Bioship. Bioship automatically applied a seatbelt once they laid him down.

“Where?” Aqualad asked.

“Watchtower.” Robin replied, taking the seat closest to Wally and wrapping one limp hand in both of his.

They took off, and Robin squeezed Wally’s hand.

“It’s going to be okay, Walls. It’s going to be okay.”

Chapter Text

Day 14

“We understand your desire to keep him close after our agents failed him, however it’s very much against protocol.”

“We understand, Agent Thanatos, but can you honestly claim you can keep him safe? After what happened in Germany and Poland?”

Agent Thanatos sighed on the other end of the video call. “I hate to admit my organization failed. You are certain no one will get to him where you’ve hidden him?”

“No one but members of the Justice League and trusted doctors. He’s safe with us.”

“Very well. But he will need to testify at the custody hearing tomorrow. At his age, the judge needs to hear from him.”

“We’ll make sure he’s there. Is there anything else?”

“His class arrives back from Europe today. I’ve got men on the ground to speak with them. The applicable parents have been notified their kids will be asked questions.”

“We’d ask you try not to disclose too much of what’s occurred, but I trust your agents can be discreet.”

“They will be. I hope the rest of your day goes well. Take care of the kid.” Agent Thanatos hung up and Batman stood. 

“Robin, get down from the vents. I know you’re there.”

Robin scrambled down from the vents and met Batman’s gaze unrepentantly.

“Why aren’t you with Wallace?”

“I wanted to see what Interpol had to say.”

“Robin.”

Robin grimaced and shuffled a little. “He’s not waking up.”

“He will soon. His fever is down and the nutrients are kicking in. You should be with him when he wakes.”

“Flash is in there.”

“He’ll want you as well.”

“Batman…”

“Robin.” Batman placed a hand on his shoulder. “Avoiding your boyfriend won’t answer any of your questions.”

“What if he doesn’t… you know… anymore?”

“I’m quite certain Wallace’s ordeal hasn’t changed his feelings for you. Now go to him.”

“But…”

“Regardless of what happens, I know you’ll feel better if you’re there when he wakes.”

Robin’s mouth opened and closed a few times. He slumped a little.

Batman sighed. The last thing Robin should be feeling right now was insecure, but emotions weren’t logical.

He guided Robin back to the med bay.

The moment they entered, tired green eyes turned to them.

Robin wasted no time rushing over to his boyfriend and wrapping him in a hug, careful of the wires.

“You’re awake!”

“Mm. What… how’d I get here?” Wallace muttered. “How… how long…?”

“You’ve been out for about 18 hours. You had a fever and were suffering from the effects of poisonous berries alongside Hypoglycemia. Robin and Aqualad found you and brought you here.” Batman filled in. He noted Flash was missing from the room. “Where’s Flash?”

“Dunno. No one was here when I woke up.”

As if on cue, Flash returned to the room. “Kid! Oh thank god. I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I just ran to the bathroom and…”

“It’s okay.” Wallace slurred. He rubbed at his eyes. “Mm okay.”

A moment later, he was out again.

Robin settled him against the sheets and sat back while Flash went to call the doctor.

“Didn’t Agent Thanatos say something about a custody hearing tomorrow?” Robin asked. “You really think he’ll be well enough to testify?”

“Speedsters recover fast. And he’ll have an escort. A wheelchair too if needed.”

“What’s this about a wheelchair?” Flash asked, reentering ahead of the doctor, who moved to check Wallace’s glucose levels.

“Wallace needs to attend the custody hearing tomorrow. You know that.”

Flash grimaced. “I do. Doesn’t mean I like it. He still doesn’t know any of the details.”

“Did Interpol tell him about the leak?” Robin asked suddenly.

Flash winced. “I don’t know if they did. And it was after he was separated from his class. He might not know.”

“We need to tell him.” Robin said.

“Mm. Need to tell me what?” It was a good sign Wallace was already awake again, but not that beneficial concerning oversights in his knowledge.

Robin swallowed and glanced at Batman and Flash. “Wally, we need to tell you something and you’re not going to like it.”

“Oh-kay?” Wallace tried to sit up. The doctor scolded him and pressed the button to raise the bed.

Robin seemed to be trying to come up with the gentlest way to break the news, but Batman figured it wouldn’t be sufficient. He ripped off the bandaid.

“Your father leaked your secret identity to the world.”

Wallace froze. “What?”

“Your father leaked your secret identity to the world.”

“Batman…” Robin interjected, clearly worried about Wallace’s reaction.

But Wallace just stared off into space for a moment and then slumped. “I… I should have seen it coming. He wasn’t happy to find out that I… that I was a…”

“If that derogatory term I know you’re thinking comes out of your mouth, I’m going to slap you.” Robin snapped. “There’s nothing wrong with you. Unless you think there’s something wrong with us.”

Wallace’s eyes widened and he looked wildly at Batman and Flash. “Rob! You promised you wouldn’t…!”

“He didn’t.” Batman said. “Your father leaked that too.”

“Batman!” Robin protested.

Batman just sent him a look, and he wilted.

“Don’t overwhelm him.” The teen simply muttered, looking at his boyfriend with concern.

Wallace did, in fact, look overwhelmed.

Flash sat down next to him. “It’s okay, Wally. We already suspected. We’re not mad. And Robin’s right. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“What happens now?” Wallace whispered. “My dad… he’s not going to take me back. And Mom… she didn’t seem too happy either…”

“There’s… there’s a custody hearing tomorrow. Iris and I… we’re trying to win it. But they want to speak with you. Rudolph has been… difficult. He’s refusing to give up his parenting rights because he doesn’t want you in a better situation. Your mother… she’s already agreed to give us your custody. That’s probably not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. Rudolph won’t win. It’s just a matter of whether you’ll go to us or someone else. I think your maternal grandparents have thrown their hat in the ring as well. And the Garricks are helping. Character witnesses for your aunt and I. Wally, we want you… if you want us.”

“I need some time.”

“We can give you some space.” Flash said, standing. “Batman. Robin.”

“Wait!” Wallace said. “R-Rob can… he can…”

“I can stay?” Robin asked. Batman didn’t miss the relief on his child’s face when Wallace nodded.

“We’ll give you both some space.” Flash amended.

“Don’t talk too long. Kid Flash needs rest.” The doctor interjected. “No more than thirty minutes.”

Robin dipped his head in acknowledgement.

When Batman came back to check on them forty-five minutes later, Robin was on the cot with Wallace.

Both were fast asleep.

Chapter Text

Barry Allen stared at Robin and Robin stared at Barry Allen.

“I know for a fact you were not chosen for the escort, kiddo. Also, don’t you have school?”

“Nope. My turn for Spring Break.”

“Robin…”

“I’m going to find Wally. Don’t let me down.” He slipped away.

Iris snorted beside him. “Is that his way of saying good luck?”

“More like trying to tell us we don’t need luck. I’d prefer a little luck just for anxiety’s sake though.” Barry replied. “Let’s get inside before the public starts putting pieces together about why we’re here.”

Despite the fact Robin did not, in fact, have permission to be there, his presence did actually make things go more smoothly.

Mainly due to the fact he spent the entire time glaring at Rudolph West while visibly holding Wally’s hand.

When the judge took Wally aside to speak with privately, Robin crossed his arms and glared down at Rudolph even more harshly.

“You dare act like this is my fault when you corrupted my son?” Rudolph growled after about five minutes of glaring.

“I know 263 ways to incapacitate you with the items in this room.” Robin said simply.

“Okay. Break it up.” The Court Officer said.

“I didn’t do anything.” Robin shrugged.

Any further comments were prevented by Wally and the judge reentering the room.

Wally looked a little worn out, but wasted no time beelining over to Robin, who took his hand again.

The judge gave custody to Barry and Iris and also issued a restraining order against Rudolph. Robin might’ve looked just a little smug about that.

Of course, then they had to sneak out the back because the public had somehow caught on, but it was worth it!

The next day found Wally staring out the window at his school as Barry sat in the driver’s seat.

“Are you sure you want to go back so soon?” Barry asked.

“I have a calc test. I studied for it in the med bay.”

“Wally…”

Wally sighed. “I just want to get the initial reactions out of the way, okay?”

Barry sighed. “Okay. Someone will be there to pick you up after school, okay? Don’t leave the grounds without your escort.”

“Yes, Uncle Barry.”

The whole day, Barry could barely focus. Then, naturally, an all-league mission got called just before school let out for the day.

Who was going to pick up Wally now?

“Um… thanks, but I’m taken.” Despite all the things he’d been expecting upon returning to school, there were still a couple that caught him off guard.

Case and point, the flirting.

“He said he wasn’t interested. Back off.” Hartley jumped in when another girl who’d already tried her luck earlier came up to them.

At least his friends hadn’t changed too much. They were a little caught off guard to find their science geek friend was Kid Flash, but they’d doubled down over the course of the day.

“There’s media vans out front.” Emilia grimaced. “And by the pick up line. Do you know where your escort is supposed to meet you?”

“No. I don’t even know for sure who I’m meeting. Some Justice League member, I’m guessing.”

Some of the other students around them caught that comment and started swelling closer, much to his distress.

“Back up! Back up!” Wally breathed out in relief at the sound of Ms. Stevens’ voice. “Stop crowding him! Wally, in here.”

Wally dragged Hartley and Emilia into the classroom with him. “Thanks, Ms. Stevens.”

He’d heard how Ms. Stevens had tried to get back to him on the trip. She was the only chaperone who was at school that day. And she’d nearly started crying in relief when she saw he was okay.

“I’ll try to shepherd the others towards the exits.” She said. “I know today’s been a little overwhelming for you. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” Wally said simply. “But any help you could provide is helpful.”

“I’ll see if I can find your chaperone and bring them here.” Ms. Stevens said. “Just wait here, okay?”

“Okay.”

Ms. Stevens left the room.

After a minute or two of silence, Emilia pulled out her homework. “It might be a bit. Physics?”

Wally breathed another sigh of relief. “Yes! I’m fine with being a stereotypical nerd while we wait.”

About twenty minutes passed before the door opened and closed again.

Wally stayed focused on his homework until Hartley said icily. “Can we help you?”

Before Wally could turn around, an arm looped over his shoulder. “Is that Physics homework?”

“Look. Wally’s been harassed by enough kids today so if you could just…”

“I’m sorry. Harassed?” Wally knew by now who was behind him.

“It’s not a big deal. Just, you know, resident celebrity and all that.”

But Robin was already staring down his flabbergasted friends. “Who, exactly, has been harassing him?”

“Um…” Emilia and Hartley looked at each other.

“I’m sorry. I don’t recognize you? Do you even go to this school?” Emilia asked.

“Answer the question.”

“Rob, stop bugging my friends.” Wally said, finally turning around to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. “Also, I find it hard to believe the League sent you to be my escort. Batman’s still mad you snuck into my custody hearing.”

“Someone had to glare that asshole into submission.” Robin huffed.

“Yes. And you did a very good job at it. Does not mean you had permission to be there.”

Robin hopped up onto the desk. “So, in case you’re not as smart as Wally, I’m Robin. You must be Emilia and Hartley.”

“Rob!”

“I kind of pictured you… taller?” Hartley muttered.

“Rude.” Robin retorted.

“Rob, you haven’t even hit five feet yet.”

“Even ruder.” Robin pointed a finger at him accusingly.

“You’re as threatening as a puppy.”

“I have my belt with me.”

“Do not take that out. I take it back. You are much more threatening than a puppy. Back on topic, where’s my League escort?”

“On a mission. Emergency. Full League response.”

“...does Batman even know you’re here?”

“Someone had to pick you up.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hartley lean over and whisper something to Emilia, who snickered.

“Rob, you know Batman wants you to be careful being seen in public with me right now. Someone could try to piece together your secret identity.”

“I have colored contacts in. They’re actually getting kind of itchy. Wanna get moving?” He hopped off the desk.

“I’m supposed to stay here until my escort arrives.”

“I saw a way out with no media. But I can’t guarantee it’ll stay that way for long. Maybe if you move at superspeed…”

“Ugh fine. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He quickly packed up his homework and shouldered his backpack. 

“Bye Wally. Bye Wally’s boyfriend.” Emilia said.

Wally flushed but Robin just smirked.

“Bye. Come on. This way.”

Robin had, in fact, found the one spot free of media. It involved climbing out a window, but once they were outside, it was just a matter of superspeed to get away to the Zeta tube halfway across town.

Wally texted his uncle from Mount Justice that Robin had picked him up.

He got a response thirty minutes later apologizing for the lack of actual escort and informing him Robin was not, in fact, supposed to be there that day.

And also promising an actual escort the next day.

Of course, Robin was just waiting alongside an exasperated Wonder Woman the next day, just inside the doors to the school.

“No blind spots this time.” Robin said cheerfully.

“For god’s sake, Robin. Secret IDs.” Wally protested weakly.

“Emilia said people were flirting with you all day today and yesterday.”

“How did you get Emilia’s number?”

“I’m me.”

“So this is what? You staking your claim?”

“Well that makes me sound possessive.”

“Rob.”

“Do you want them all flirting with you?”

“Well, no, but…”

Robin took his hand. “Out we go.”

“Wha… Rob!”

But Rob was already pulling him straight out into the media storm, Wonder Woman close on their heels.

“Eyes down. Don’t talk to any of the reporters. No comment.” Robin hissed to him.

Keeping his eyes down did, in fact, help him not get blinded by the camera flashes. He felt a little irritated at Robin not believing he could handle it without him, but then again he’d only really faced reporters as Kid Flash before.

“Is that Robin?”

“Kid Flash, how does it feel to…”

“Robin, are you attending Kid Flash’s school now?”

They made it to the car, where Green Lantern was waiting in full uniform, without incident.

Once they’d managed to drive away, Wally turned to Robin. “Did they not see you enter?”

“Of course not. Think about who you’re talking to.”

“Right. How long will it take for this to die down?”

“Catherine Colbert’s preparing a press conference to address this tomorrow. She’s going to ask people stop harassing you and remind everyone you’re a minor who just wants to attend school and be a normal kid when you’re out of uniform.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Might take a couple months to die off completely, but it’ll lower after the conference. Course, might go faster if you give a couple interviews…”

“Interviews?!”

Robin studied him. “I know it feels different giving interviews as Wally rather than Kid Flash, but think about it this way: if you tell them how much of a nerdy geek you are, other nerdy geeks will have someone to look up to.”

“Nerdy geeks?”

“It’s a descriptor. Not an insult.”

“I can’t believe this is who I’m dating.”

“I mean, if you want to break up, I’m pretty sure Batman has something to say about that.”

Wally gulped. Batman had finally gotten around to shovel talking him the night before and it had not been pretty.

“But think of it this way! Science nerd and math nerd! We’re both nerds!”

“As amusing as this is, we’re here.” Wonder Woman interjected.

Wally and Robin thanked them for the ride and scrambled out to enter Iris and Barry’s house.

“Is this gonna be my life for a while?” Wally grumbled when they entered the kitchen to find a note on the fridge asking Wally to pick from a list of networks for a first interview.

“You know… I hear Buzzfeed does a puppy interview.”

Wally spun to look at his boyfriend’s smug face. “If you have more suggestions like that, maybe this won’t be so bad.”

And maybe it wasn’t.