Work Text:
“He hates me.” The younger male muttered, crossing his arms and pouting while leaning forward heavily against the kitchen counter. Wally sighed,
“He doesn’t hate you. He’s just going through some stuff at the moment.”
Jason glared up at the speedster and scoffed,
“Vampire stuff?” he questioned. Wally gave the young teen a small smile, shaking his head slightly,
“No, growing up stuff.” The brunet’s face softened a bit as he continued to stare blankly into the bowl of mac n’ cheese in front of him. He wasn’t hungry anymore.
“He doesn’t like me very much. I just know it.”
The speedster gave the boy a sad smile and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly as he sat down in the empty chair next to him.
“I can guarantee you that he doesn’t.”
“Yeah, how?”
Wally let out a heavy breath and reached out with his mind, searching for and finding the constant presence of his mate. He felt his lips turn slightly upwards when he felt the familiar caress of his friend in response.
“Because I know Dick, better than anyone else in the world. I know everything about him, including how he feels about you.” Jason glanced upwards with a look that asked the older male to continue.
“He doesn’t hate you. Not even a little bit. He already loves you, I can feel it in his mind everytime he sees you. You’re already a little brother to him.”
“But he doesn’t want me to be Robin. ‘Cause he’s Robin.”
“He doesn’t want you to be Robin, but not because he’s jealous. He doesn’t want you to get hurt. It’s a dangerous job, one that’s gotten him in a lot of trouble and caused a lot of pain,” Wally glanced over and found blue eyes watching him, a kind of set determination deep within them that shouldn't have been in a face so young.
“I’m not going to get hurt. I’m Robin! And being Robin gives me magic!” The redhead laughed,
“I’m sure it does, but you’re still going to get hurt. Just like Dick does. But the only difference is, you don’t have vampire healing to save you.” There was a moment of silence as the young boy took in the information, Wally could almost see the gears moving in his head as he processed exactly what Wally was saying.
“I never see Dick super hurt. Maye some cuts and bruises here and there, but nothing serious.”
“That’s because he’s a vampire, he heals much quicker than a human, and then even more with my blood, which he always has…” The speedster paused, debating on how to approach the matter,
“Do you know the story behind the first time Dick bit me?” Jason made a face,
“Ew no, and I don’t want to know. I don’t need to hear the details of your sex life.” Wally chuckled again and shook his head.
“It wasn’t like that. In fact, it was quite the opposite of anything like that. The first reason being that He was only 11 and I was 13….. It was, nothing like we had wanted it to be. You know that we had found each other very young, but we had both agreed to wait until the right moment to move our relationship to the next level. Dick was always very….old, for a 9 year old. He seemed to talk like he was an adult. Now I know it just comes with the instincts for a vampire to do right by their mate. We talked about everything. He’s always been very good at communication. But basically, long story short, Barry and I had been called in to help with a mission, and we were ambushed. I got knocked out, Dick got knocked out and shot.” Jason’s eyes widened at that,
“We woke up blindfolded, bound and locked in an empty room. The thugs took his belt, and I didn’t know it yet, but Dick was in pretty bad shape, concussion and bleeding out quicker than his body could heal. But he kept cool, managed to get us out of the ropes, dislocating his own jaw and shoulder to get me safe.” A small smile graced speedster’s lips at the thought.
“He was very brave…” Jason mumbled. Wally’s eyes hardened,
“No he was very stupid. He almost died.” The ginger took a deep breath to compose himself before continuing, “When we were free I looked around for his belt, for his blood tablets, but nothing. And I couldn’t break the door down by myself. So we did what we had to. I made Dick drink from me to heal himself and get us out of there.” The young teen was watching Wally with weary eyes,
“That’s a neat story and all, but what does this have to do with Dick not liking me being Robin?”
“It has to do with the fact that Dick got shot. He was 11. Dick was 11 years old and got shot, almost died, and he would have if he wasn’t a vampire with me with him at the time.” Wally’s voice was harsh but controlled as he continued.
“And it wasn’t the first time he’d been injured, and it certainly wasn’t the last. He’s only 16 and he’s been shot 5 times, he’s broken more bones than I can possibly count and he’s been kidnapped and held hostage 4 times. Being Robin is a dangerous job Jason...It’s fun, and it’s important but… If Dick wasn’t as careful as he is, and a vampire on top of that. He probably would have been dead a long time ago.” The younger teen was looking away from the speedster, Wally could see the tenseness in the boy’s shoulders before he relaxed, turning back to him with watery eyes.
“So, he doesn’t hate me?” Wally smiled and pulled the teen into a tight hug,
“No he doesn’t hate you. He loves you, so so much already. And he doesn’t want you to get hurt. He knows that you’re gonna be Robin anyways, and that doesn’t bother him. It just bothers him that he knows he can’t stop you from being hurt. And you will be. There’s no denying that. But we’ll be here to help. Always.” Jason raised his arms in a stiff motion, hugging the speedster back.
“I thought he hated me. I don’t want him to hate me.” Wally rubbed the brunet’s back comfortingly.
“Dick could never hate his brother.” Jason pulled away, looking up at Wally with a smile,
“Thanks for helping me understand Wally. I know you didn’t have to.” The speedster ruffled his hair, immediately lightening up the atmosphere, a large, very Wally-ish kind of all teeth grin falling upon his face.
“Of course I did, you’re just as much my little brother now too. And besides, it seems to be Wally West’s job to help Robins.”