Title: Admitting you have a problem Fandom: DCU (OYL) Summary: Once upon a time, he was Impulse, and longer ago, Dick was Robin. Pairing: Dick/Bart Rating: All ages Note: For Glossing. The first thing Dick thinks when he opens the door is, "Wally?" It makes his heart clench. "Hey," Bart says, "can I come in?" Dick says, "Sure, what's up?" and the kid-not-a-kid comes in. Once upon a time, he was Impulse, and longer ago, Dick was Robin. So. "I wanted to talk to somebody who knows about, um, growing into other people's IDs." Bart talks too fast. Dick shakes his head. "You want Jason Todd's phone number?" Bart's eyes widen and he shakes his head. "No -- no." He's there, not-quite-instantly, in Dick's space. Taller than him. "Tim always talks about you, and --" The kiss he's not expecting is over before he's sure that's what it is, and Bart's across the room. Still Impulse, then. Dick takes a deep breath and remembers that in subjective time, he's making the -- Bart wait for ages. "Did you want advice, or sympathy, or -- what?" He's blurring at the edges. Wally used to do that sometimes, when he got fidgety. "Some kind of direction." Bart's smile isn't Wally's at all. "I've read 332,642 books this year and none of them talk about what to do when your mentor disappears and suddenly you're a grownup." The Batman uniform weighs about thirty pounds, altogether. The Nightwing one is just six, with boots. "Okay," Dick says, and he vaults over the back of the couch and sits on it. "There's Zesti in the fridge and half a pizza. Grab it if you want --" Bart's next to him with a six-pack and a slice in his hand before he finishes saying the T. "So what do I do first?" "You realize you're never in a million years going to be the guy whose place you're taking." Dick takes a soda and pops it open. "And you start dealing with that." "And figuring out how to be better?" Bart asks. "As much as you can be." Dick pats his shoulder. "This should be easier for you. I mean, Wally wasn't the first, either." Bart raises his eyebrows. "That just means Jay's watching me, too. And -- and everybody in the Speed Force. Sometimes." There's a lump in Dick's throat, suddenly. He's on the verge of quoting Yoda, but -- no. Not when Bart really needs advice. "So he can help, too." He elbows Bart gently, making himself grin to cover the ache of missing Wally again. "At least you don't have Tim keeping an eye on you, right?" "I think he might help," Bart says, finishing the last slice of pizza and putting the box on the floor. "He always knows what the right thing is to do." He shrugs. "And I just kind of try everything -- not as much as I used to -- but it's a good thing I've got plenty of time for the trial-and-error method. Maybe if I had him to give me advice, I'd be doing all right." "He's good at that," Dick agrees. And maybe, if a thousand things hadn't gone wrong, he'd be better at being the den mom, or the twelve-step leader, or whatever he used to be for the Titans -- except it was always really Donna's job. If he lets himself think about Donna, he's going to be completely at a loss for words. So -- it's easier to kiss Bart, who tastes like grape soda and oregano, and at least give him something vaguely like comfort. It's been too long since he got a speedster-hug. He's forgotten how warm they can be.
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