Dick walks up the long driveway, pouting, listening to the lanyard on his bag swing back and forth. They'd forgotten his birthday. His birthday! Bruce had barely given him a nod that morning, and Alfred said nothing the whole way to school, and back!
Dick was angry, but he was mostly disappointed. They'd been his family for 7 years now! He's 15 now! The least they could have done was a cake.....
He trudges inside, tossing his bag, and going down to the cave to blow off some steam.
An hour later, Dick is slamming his fists into his punching bag, over and over, taking out his rage on the stiff material.
Until, a water balloon hits him in the back. He turns around to see no one. "hm......" Dick suspiciously turns around to hit the bag again, and- Splash. "Hey! Stop it!"
Again, he turns around, and before he can even touch the punching bag.... Splash, splash!
Frustrated, Dick throws his gloves off and marches up the stairs. "What's the big ide-.... Whoa....."
Around him, the kitchen, common room, and dining table are covered completely in festive supplies, cupcakes, and balloons. Bruce and Clark stand in the center, holding handfuls of water balloons.
"You remembered!!" Dick runs forward, jumping up to latch onto Bruce's chest.
"Of course I did..." the man smiles. "What could ever make you think I'd forget?"
He shrugs and nuzzles his face into his mentor's chest. "Love you..." Bruce hugs back, and pets his son's hair back. "Go get ready. We're going somewhere."
Confused, Dick looks Bruce in the face, then decides to shrug it off and head up to his room.
An hour later, Dick, Bruce, and Clark are in the back of the car, as Alfred drives them to their destination.
Arriving at a hotel, Dick emerges from the car, running to pounce on the back of his best friend. Wally falls forward with a yelp, that he'd never admit, and the two boys erupt into a fit of giggles. "Happy B-day, Rob."
"Thanks. How long have you been waiting here?"
"Uhh..... 20 minutes?"
"So, like three 'real people' minutes..."
"Oh ha ha. Let's go inside. I may have a surprise for you..."
"May?"
"Do. Now go."
The two make their way inside, and Dick is immediately bombarded by balloons, streamers, gifts, friends, and the smell of an AMAZING red velvet cake.
"Oh... my... god, B, everything is perfect!!" The birthday boy jumps up and down before pouncing on his mentor for a hug.
"Of course. Nothing less than perfect for you..... Now please let go, you're wrinkling the suit..."
"Nah, I like it here."the boy hangs on, swinging his legs from side to side.
Bruce rolls his eyes and slowly unlatches his son to place him on the ground. "Go have fun"
And despite every other instance, the boy listens for once. He, and his Team run around, having the time of their lives, throwing water balloons at each other, laughing, playing, and just having fun together.
A couple of hours pass before they're finally ready to settle down and open Dick's gifts.
Dick and Wally are the first two to the table, covered head to toe with boxes and bags, packed on top of each other. Dick grabs the first one once Bruce reaches them, checks the name tag, and opens it.
The first few gifts are simple things any kid would get. Some clothes,a hat, some new games, and a set of toy cars from Alfred, though he'd never admit that even though he'd grown too old for them, they'd keep a place in his heart.
Time passed, and Dick had gotten through all of the presents before realizing that there wasn't a single one from the boy sitting next to him.
"Hey, Walls?"
The red-head looks up with a knowing grin and crosses his arms. "Hm? Problem, D?"
"There was not a single thing on this table from you."
"Whaaat?" the speedster's smirk grows "I'm all the present you need! I'm here, aren't I?"
"That's not good enough and you know it."
"You are one spoiled, greedy little child, you know that?" Wally stands, now only a mere two inches over the Boy Wonder's head, rather than his previous six.
Dick crosses his arms and looks up just enough to stare his friend in the eye. "C'mon, Rudolph, I'm waiting."
"Pfft! Oh you did not! You want your present, you're gonna have to reach it now." He holds his hand, and a little box, high above his head, taunting the 15 year old.
Being short for your age had it's advantages, but sadly, this was not one of them. No later than the second he got on his toes, soft lips collided with his own, sending a spark of electricity through his body. His feet immediately reach the ground again and Dick holds his fingers lightly to his lips.
"W-.... Walls?"
By now, both boys had faces the colour of beets, reaching from the bottoms of their chins, to the tips of their ears.
"Yeah, uh.... I-... I um- I figured, ya know-"
His words are cut short when Dick kisses again, harder this time, crushing their lips together with enough force to leave bruises. "I liked that gift...." Dick pulls away out of breath, not taking his eyes off of Wally's, and never wanting to.
It takes a few more moments of their trance before they realize that the crowd around them is cheering. Artemis claps Dick on the back with a warm smile. "Congrats, Boy Wonder. You managed to snag the most idiotic guy on our team."
"Hey!" Wally cries defensively. Dick rubs calming circles into his back "It's okay, ya dork. I love you anyway, no matter how dumb you are."
"Hey!!" he whines this time, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout.
"Okay okay! Sorry!
The two boys continue their verbal assaults on each other for what seems like forever, and Clark is becoming disinterested. He looks around to find that Bruce is nowhere to be seen. The alien focuses his hearing, zoning on on Bruce's heart rate to find him. Somewhere to the left... He quickly uses his x-ray vision to locate him... standing in the restroom, staring at himself in the mirror?
Confused, Clark weaves his way through the crowd and slips into the bathroom. "Bruce?" he says quietly.
Bruce turns around, seemingly unfazed. "Clark..."
"Bruce, what are you doing in here? Dick and Wally just-"
"I know," Bruce cuts him off. "I saw."
Clark rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, what are you doing? You're missing the party."
The billionaire rubs his eyes and moves away from the mirror slowly, walking over to his lover. "Clark..." he begins to unbutton his shirt.
"Whoa, now?! Really??"
"Clark." he says, more sternly. "Look. What's wrong with this." Bruce pulls the collar of his blouse down over the left side of his chest, exposing it.
"I-... um... I guess there's a bruise? What am I supposed to be seeing?"
"Clark look at me...."
The Kryptonian shifts his gaze back up to Bruce's face. It looks... sullen. Upset. Scared maybe? No, that can't be it.
"You know that I love you.... And I love Dick..."
"What?? Yes, Bruce of course. Are you alright?"
"Clark... I went to see Leslie a few days ago......"
Moments pass. It's like he's trying his damnedest not to let it come out.
"Clark... I have cancer."
~~(A/N)~~
No regrets.
