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Dick collapsed onto the common area couch, not even bothering to start peeling off his honestly disgusting mask.
“I don’t say this often, considering the mess that is Gotham, but honestly fuck that guy. Next time that asshole decides to cause chaos, don’t bother to wake me up. I swear Alfred is going to kill me for getting another suit stained so close to a condiment king run-in.”
Donna threw herself down on the couch next to him. Between the two of
“Tell me about it, it’s going to take me ages to get all this paint out of my hair, and I only washed it this morning.”
“So real, it’s missions like these where I understand why Barry wears a full cowl.” Wally chimed in, his head buried in one of the cupboards. Where Dick and Donna had immediately thrown themselves on the couch in exhaustion, and the rest of the Titans had filtered out to go shower in hopes of getting what seemed to be some sort of paint-like substance off before it had time to dry, Wally had immediately made his way into the kitchen to dig for something to eat.
They had been called out to help at about 4 that morning, to what should by all accounts have been a relatively simply situation. Some guy had gotten fired from his job at a local hardware store for filming paint mixing videos on company time (which honestly Dick could understand where he was coming from being upset about that, guy was being paid minimum wage and his actions weren’t interfering with actually doing his job or compromising on customer privacy), and he’d taken to attacking civilians what seemed like paint. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been quite as straightforward as that, considering the paint had fought back as they tried to apprehend the jilted employee. In all the whole ordeal had taken nearly 5 hours to wrap up neatly and hand over to local authorities to finish sorting out.
Safe to say, the entire team was wiped and covered in paint.
Dick knew that Wally hadn’t had the chance to eat before they headed out and also hadn’t had the chance to restock on his usual supply of high calorie protein bars since their last mission. It would have been fine had the mission actually taken an hour or so max. Wally might have gotten a bit hangry on the way back, but he’d have been able to cope.
As it was, he’d gotten through an entire pack of granola bars they’d had to stop at a gas station to buy, and Dick knew his best friend had to be practically starving.
Dick enjoyed the view as Wally continued rummaging through the team kitchen, gathering everything to make high-protein pancakes. Even covered in paint Wally looked good. If he was being honest, Wally always looked good if you asked Dick.
Dick couldn’t keep his eyes off Wally, always stealing glances at his friend whenever the two were in the same room. If you asked, Dick could describe the way Wally’s hair fell forward while it was still wet after a shower, wax poetic about the way the muscles in his claves would flex when he stood on his tiptoes to reach something on a high shelf, and positively gush about the way he’d pout if someone else ate the last cookie (in fact, if you asked any of his family, Dick had done all of those things and more on multiple occasions). Safe to say, Dick might perhaps have a teensy tiny little crush on his best friend.
“So, Dickie, any other plans for the day?” Donna poked him in his side, pulling Dick back to the present.
“For once, nothing. The rest of the fam have Gotham covered, and I got Steph to cover Blüd for me in terms of patrol for the rest of the week. So, for once, I get to lie here and just take a well-deserved nap.”
“Hmm, seems like a plan.” Donna responded, before pushing herself up off the couch “Since you’re going to stick around a bit then, I’m going to go shower. And I demand a sleepover Grayson; you owe me so much gossip.”
And with that she headed off towards a shower as well, leaving Dick and Wally behind alone.
“Gossip huh? Donna usually doesn’t poke about that unless you’ve got love-life drama going on.” Wally said after a few moments. “Anything you want to share Rob?”
To anyone else, it would sound like Wally was teasing, the words light and a smirk on his face when he glanced up from his pancake making to catch Dick’s eye. But Dick knew Wally, knew his best friend.
“Why Walls? Jealous?”
Wally flushed and Dick knew he’d hit the nail on the head. Dick burst out laughing. He didn’t let himself think about why Wally would be jealous of his love life- couldn’t let himself go there. But his heart didn’t care if he stopped his train of thought right there, it kept going.
“Fuck off Rob.”
Dick caught the apple Wally threw at his head, and took a bite, and pushed up off the couch.
“You know Walls,” he took another bite off the apple as he sauntered into the kitchen, “in Ancient Greece the apple was associated with Aphrodite. Trying to tell me something?”
His heart was in his throat, blood rushing in his ears as he leant against the island counter across from Wally.
“I - Rob, no. Yes. Gah” Wally’s face had quickly gone as red as his hair. He looked cute, with his half-cowl pushed back behind him like a hood, his hair all disheveled from the running, and a fleck of green paint on his nose.
“Wally, what would you do if there wasn’t anyone? If it was you?” He moved around the island until he was stood next to Wally.
“Rob?” Wally turned to face him and took a step closer, “if you’re joking, tell me now.”
“About this, Walls? Never.” Dick could feel Wally’s breath, smell a faint hint of oat and honey on his breath from the granola bars.
He didn’t know which of the two of them closed the distance, it didn’t matter. Who made that final move was irrelevant because Wally’s lips were on his, he was kissing the Wally West. They were both still covered in paint, Wally hadn’t eaten yet, and some part in the back of Dick’s mind was aware the pancakes were probably going to start burning any moment, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.
All that mattered in that moment was the way Wally was kissing him. It wasn’t technically perfect, their noses were squished between their faces, the angle not quite right yet, but it was theirs and it was right in all the ways that mattered. It was right in the way Wally’s lips were slightly chapped, right in the way that Dick could run his hand through the short hairs at the nape of Wally’s neck, right in the way Wally gently cradled Dick’s cheek. Anything else, anything perfected, that could come later- because this moment was theirs. And Dick wouldn’t trade it for all the perfection in the world.