A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, these characters, or the cover picture! I'm just screwing with their fictional lives, and the line art for this belongs to HikariTheAlchemist on deviant art. Her work is really cool, you should go check it out :) This goes along with the comic version of Young Justice where Wally's parents are abusive. There is not much detail, but if this is a trigger for you, I beg you not to read this. There will probably be about three or four chapters to this story. A big thanks to Broken.Bird.Nightingale for reading over this for me, and HikariTheAlchemist for letting me use her picture! I hope you like it! :)
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I sighed as I rolled over to glance at the clock. It's only one o'clock, so I can get another couple hours of sleep in before I have to go to the mountain. I rolled back over and attempted to get back into the dream I'd been having. It was a really good dream for a change. There was something about the circus, though instead of the bad memories, there had been all of the best ones. I burrowed deeper under the covers and tried to remember. I was falling back to sleep when I felt a tentative hand on my shoulder. 'That's strange' I thought. 'Alfred or Bruce would just wake me up. Who else would be here?' I turned to see who the hand belonged to, but stopped dead in my tracks. It was Wally; however, that is not what bothered me. What shocked me were the already fading bruises on his arms and face, and the tears streaming from his eyes. 'What? How could this happen?'
"What happened?" I demanded, moving so he could sit next to me on my bed. He stood there for a second, almost like he was fighting with himself, before giving in and collapsing on the bed.
"M-my parents." he stuttered softly, more tears welling in his eyes. I couldn't believe my ears. 'His parents did this? But he doesn't even live with them anymore!' I could not go after them, not yet at least. I needed to calm Wally down and get the whole story first. Then I could go find Wally's parents. They are way overdue for a nice little chat from Robin. However, my plotting could wait because Wally looked so down trodden that even the Batman's heart would melt within a second.
"Oh, Walls. C'mere." I pulled him closer and wrapped my arms around his shaking shoulders. "What happened? Why wasn't Barry with you?" I asked, trying not to sound half as furious as I really was. 'How could Berry let this happen? He knows how bad Wally's parents are!'
"The-they said they wanted t-to talk." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I went to go meet them, and it was fine. Dad said he stopped drinking, and it really seemed like it. It's been about a week since we reconnected, but today... I don't understand what I did! I said I was s-sorry, but he wouldn't stop yelling. Mom got scared and l-left, and, and..." Wally took a shaky breath, but couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He looked like an abused puppy, and in a way he was. It felt like someone stabbed me in the gut and twisted the knife. 'How can anyone treat their own son like that?'
"Wally. Wally, look at me. Whatever they said, it's not your fault. Okay? Your father has a drinking problem. How on Earth is that your fault? Believe me, I know it sucks to not have your parents, but you have so much more! You know I'm always here. You have the team, the League, Roy, Iris and Barry, and even Bruce. I can bet that your parents are going to meet Batman and Robin real soon." Despite his tears, Wally gave me a weak grin. It was barely noticeable, except for those who have known him for years.
"Thanks, Dick. But I really should head home. Uncle Barry will worry." He went to get up, but I pulled him back down.
"No problem, but you shouldn't go home. You're still bruised, and I know you don't want to tell Iris and Berry what happened." He still looked unconvinced, but I knew he wanted to stay. I knew he was going to have nightmares tonight, and it will help if he has someone with him. "I'll have Bruce tell Barry tomorrow, and I can call Roy and have him stay over, too." He finally looked convinced, and he gave me a grateful, yet pained smile.
"O-okay. Thank you." I grabbed my phone, fingers flying over the keys with the speed of an experienced hacker. I quickly sent the text to Roy, and jumped off of my bead.
"You're welcome. Now, Alfred just went to the store today, and I'm sure you are hungry, like always." I shot Wally a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. It seemed to work because he finally had a real smile on his face, even if it was minuscule.
"Awesome! Did he make any cookies?" He asked as he practically dragged me to the kitchen.
"Chocolate chip and peanut butter ones. And we have left over Chinese food, lasagna, pizza, and chicken. I'm guessing you want all of it?" With his speedster appetite, all of that food will be a pretty small meal.
"No, I don't want to eat all of your food, man." he suddenly looked guilty and I caught a flash of another foreign emotion on his face. It was a mixture of fear and shyness. 'Oh, god. Wally is never shy! What did his parents do to him?'
XXX
أنت تقرأ
Always There (Young Justice)
قصص الهواة"What shocked me were the already fading bruises on his arms and face, and the tears streaming from his eyes. 'What happened?' I demanded, moving so he could sit next to me on my bed. He stood there for a second, almost like he was fighting with him...
