runningstart | MASK OR MENACE IC INBOX

...dude. [Wally surveys the damage with a critical eye and slowly sets the back of groceries on the counter. He meanders over to the sink and gingerly picks out a ruined cake pan, probably beyond salvaging. It should just be thrown away.]

I was gonna laugh when I came in, like I was all ready for it. [Not sure he should be laughing now. Maybe if Dick looked more embarrassed than he did depressed, sure, laughing at your best friend when he's humiliated is part of the gig. This is different though.]

You can still laugh. It's pretty bad.

[ He'd kind of thought cake pans were indestructible. Lessons were learned today. ]

Nah. [Wally picks the worst of the pans out of the sink and tosses them into the garbage.] So, is there a reason for this destruction, or...?

[ He shrugs stiffly, hopping down off the counter and shoving his hands in his pockets. This had all sounded better in his head, back when he'd thought he'd have an actual finished product to present, instead of chocolate flavored carnage.

He steels himself. ]

It was supposed to be for you. Which— yeah, I know. Like I said, you can laugh.

You...were baking a cake. For me. [Wally slowly removes the groceries from the bag, giving Dick a befuddled look over the counter.] Should I ask why you wanted to bake me a cake, or should I ask why you didn't just buy me one instead?

[ Something about the suggestion rubs him the wrong way — like the fact that he spent all day trying to get this right didn't tip Wally off that maybe, just maybe there was something about this that was bigger than a storebought cake. And maybe being annoyed is easier than being anything else right now. ]

Seriously? Buy you a cake? Right. Sure. Hey, Wally, I know you're my best friend, and we've saved each other's lives like two dozen times, and you spent all weekend freaking out and wondering if I was dead or kidnapped, so here, I spent twenty bucks on a cake. Because you're worth it.

[ He deflates a little. ]

... But... I guess then you'd actually have a cake.

[Wally's mouth clicks shut. His expression goes from befuddled to outright bewildered.]

You...tried to bake me an apology cake.

[okay dick his his best friend but sometimes HOW DOES HIS BRAIN EVEN WORK]

Dude it's not your fault you vanished. I'm okay. Is this because I freaked out on you when you got back?

[ Dick folds his arms defensively across his chest, leaning back against the counter. ]

Maybe. Kind of. I don't know. It's about a lot of things.

Well, dude, I'm all ears. Extrapolate away. [Wally heads over to the oven to peer inside at the...cake. Thing. He winces; that one is already puffed up and burning along the edges while still remaining completely molten in the center. And not like lava cake.]

Look, it's dumb. And it doesn't matter anyway, because it clearly didn't work, so— so whatever.

[ But he's peering at Wally, still hoping against hope that somehow he'll say this one looks okay. ]

[It...it looks awful.]

Dick, look, um. [Wally closes the oven and leans back against the counter.

...he sighs. Rubs the back of his neck. Half-sits on the counter and crosses his ankles.] I've...noticed some stuff. And it's not like it's uncool or a problem, but like- I don't even know if you know you're doing it, and it's kind of...I mean.

You know you've been, like...buying all the snacks I like, and whenever you come see me in my room you bring me food and now this cake thing. It kind of- I'm not saying you're doing it on purpose or at all, but it sorta feels like you're trying to...I dunno. Keep me happy.

Or keep me around. [Like a bribe. Or some kind of gift, or some attempt to keep Wally happy and placated enough to, he doesn't even know, not leave or something.] You know you don't have to do that stuff. Right?

[ Dick's brow furrows. He's quiet for a long moment. Wally's right, but the thing is, he hadn't even noticed he'd been doing any of that. He feels a flush up the back of his neck, and he has to look at the floor. ]

... Well. I mean. I do want that stuff. [ The words come out like he's forcing them, which he guesses he kind of is, and then they're suddenly all coming out at once. ]

But it wasn't on purpose or anything. I just... I'm really glad you're here, because no one else gets me like you do, not even Bruce, and I know I can be a real jerk sometimes and I don't always tell you stuff when I should and I'm really bad at talking, like this, right now, and— and I wanted to make you feel the way you make me feel, or whatever. So... I thought... cake.

... I sound completely insane, don't I?

[Kid's brain trips over that 'the way you make me feel' line before it falls into a tumble and continues onward. Robin's just very awkward with his words when it comes to expressing himself, Wally knows that.

Hell, he's awkward with feelings in general. As evidenced by the current conversation.]

You don't sound insane but you kind of make it sound like there's no reason why I'd wanna be your friend. I know you've been having a hard time stuck here with no leads but dude, you're kinda doin' that thing you do. With the clamming up and the stressing yourself out and stuff.

You don't have to do that. [Wally hops up to sit completely on the counter.] And yeah, you're right, I do get you. So even if you don't make me a cake or whatever, I still get you. I know you're probably feeling guilty that I freaked out, even though it's totally not your fault and you know it, and I know all the other crap you don't say so you don't have to say it.

I mean, that's what I'm here for, isn't it?

I'm not... trying to bribe you to be my friend or whatever this looks like. At least not on purpose. I know you already are, and I don't think that'll ever change. I just—

[ His fingers flex where they're balled into fists, and he leans harder against the counter. Maybe even he's not sure what he's trying to get at. ]

I know I'm not a normal teenager, and that's okay. I mean, I actually like it most of the time. I'm really, really lucky. But I wanted to do something nice for you, not with money and not with super-anything, but just... like a regular person would. And I wish— ... I wish it wasn't weird that I'd try.

[Wally tilts his head a little bit, looking at Robin.] ...okay.

[He slides down off the counter and opens the oven, grabbing a dishtowel to take out the pan. The cake, like the others, is ruined. Wally sticks it on top of the stove to cool before they toss it and jabs the towel in Robin's direction.] If you tell anybody what I am about to share with you, then I'm gonna tinfoil your entire utility belt. But, uh, I'm actually kind of good at baking. It's just chemistry.

So I'll teach you, and then you make me a cake. Like, one every day please, I have needs.

... Dude. Back up. Seriously, you can bake?

It's chemistry! [HUFF.] When I was little my mom would ask me to help, and I liked seeing how ingredients reacted when mixed together and she'd explain the science to me to get me interested. None of the stuff I make comes out looking all pretty, but it tastes good so yeah, I can bake.

And like I said, don't tell anybody! This is a West family secret that I am revealing to you. Nobody must know about my true powers.

Edited 2014-06-30 17:33 (UTC)

I'm not gonna make fun of you, calm down. I mean— [ He gestures widely at the mess he's made of the kitchen. ] I spent who knows how many hours in the kitchen with nothing to show for it. I kind of have a newfound appreciation for this.

... But your secret's safe with me. I'll take it to my grave.

[baking is not cool or tough or manly and directly contrasts wally's idealized vision of what a hero is so yeah

Of course a lot of his childhood consists of direct contradictions to what he think a hero is so there's that. PROBABLY WHY HE BLEW HIMSELF UP ehhehheh. Heh.]

It's really not that tough, it's just easy to make mistakes. You gotta use like five ingredients that look exactly alike and if you get the measurements wrong then it's a chemical disaster. C'mere. [Wally pulls over the book Robin was using and takes out a pair of clean bowls.] Oh dude, you were doing it from scratch? Are you a masochist?

[ Well, Alfred is the most heroic person Dick knows, so.

He heads over to Wally's side, thumbs hooked through his belt loops so he fidgets less. Gotta recover at least a little tiny bit of his dignity. ]

I started with a box, but... that didn't go so well. And then I just kinda worked with what I had left. And that didn't go so well either.

[A miracle occurs and Wally wisely manages not to ask Robin how a person screws up cake from a box. That would just be...yeah.

Instead he makes Robin do all of it himself but stands over him and stops him if he's about to make a mistake. Wally wanders, half-heartedly cleans up a little, fetches an apple from the fridge and sits up on the island as Robin combines the wet and dry ingredients.] Hey, did you taste any of the batter before you put the cakes in the oven?

[ He does a lot better with careful instructions, and it might be in part because he's not psyching himself out over what a cake means for his relationship with his best friend and his sense of self-worth. (Batman really did a number on this kid.) ]

I didn't. Should I?

Hell yeah; always double-check your work, mathlete. [Wally slides off the counter and sticks a finger right into the batter before sucking it.] That's good. You can always tell if there's way too much baking soda or salt or whatever if you taste it.

[ Dick snorts at the mathlete comment, but does the same, scraping batter off the inner side of the bowl and sucking his finger. ]

Hmm. It tastes edible, at least. I mean, I wouldn't torture someone with it.

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