A/N: I've got to stop taking baths. They only lead to niggling plot bunnies. And fanfiction did not want me to upload anything on Christmas. Sadly. Happy holidays everyone!

Umbrella

In retrospect, Dick should have been used to being protected.

His parents had always made sure that there was a safety net beneath him when he took his first flying leaps under a large red and white striped tent, he was never allowed to play with the tigers unless a trainer was with him, and even up until that tragic night when his parents were taken from him they were still a warm barrier that surrounded him. With a gentle smile that Dick would never forget, his mother had gently nudged him behind her and his father as they stood on the platform hundreds of feet above the circus ring.

"So you know what to do when the time comes." She had winked at him before turning to wave at the crowd with a big smile on her face.

Then came the protectiveness that came with having Bruce Wayne as his adoptive father, not to mention the excessive protectiveness of the man's alter ego. Even when Dick let his guard down after escaping the indestructible bubble that Bruce placed around him, he would inevitably stumble into the equally formidable protective force that was Alfred.

Wally, however, was a shock that hit Dick from his blind spot. For his entire life, the only people who had shown the desire to protect Dick from outside harm had been the adults in his life, and yet here was a boy just a couple of years older than him who seemed to have a protective streak in him that could rival the adults'. Friends, during the time that Dick has come to fondly dub as 'pre-Wally', had been nice to have around to laugh around with, poke fun and joke with, and be silly with. Friends, at that time, were not meant to be shown deep, emotional scars that should have only been seen on much older people.

After only knowing each other for a mere couple of months, it was obvious that the two of them were going to be best friends for a long time. They had hit it off immediately, seemingly able to read each other's minds and get up to all kinds of mischief without anyone finding out. They could laugh for minutes on end at the stupidest things and spend hours trying to best each other at whichever video game that they could get their hands on. It also didn't hurt that they could talk to each other about the double lives that they were leading.

Dick quickly began to consider Wally as the closest friend he'd ever had, but at that time he still hadn't anticipated it going any deeper than any of his other friendships had. He was forced to reconstruct that notion the day that Wally called him up to hang out and he'd had to casually decline through gritted teeth. The bullies that had plagued him at school had chosen that day to beat the living daylights out of him after school, and he was in no shape to let anyone see him with dark bruises blossoming rampantly all over his body.

He had thought that his tone was normal enough to not arouse any suspicion when he gave a quickly thought up excuse of far too much homework and an upcoming test, but half an hour later there was a ringing of the doorbell and Alfred poking his head into Dick's room. Confused as to who could possibly be paying him a call when his friends at his new school were nonexistent, Dick had made his slow way down the stairs while trying not to upset his sore body only to be met with a gangly redhead rocking leisurely back and forth just inside of the front door.

Wally's eyes had widened as he took in the bruises that Dick's baggy T-shirt and sweats failed to hide. Feeling awkward and at a loss for words, Dick just stood there in front of his friend as he absently picked at the hem of his pants. Maybe if he stayed silent for long enough Wally would somehow disappear and Dick could pretend that the humiliation that he was now feeling had only been a bad dream.

Instead of disappearing, however, Wally gently took Dick by the hand, carelessly slipped his dirty old sneakers off onto the polished floor, and then cheerfully led the way to the multimedia room. Wondering what kind of dimensional warp he had walked through, Dick let himself be dragged along and plopped, not at all roughly, onto the sofa in front of the television.

"I thought that you were sick and just didn't want to tell me, so I came over with ice-cream and a Band-Aid to make you feel better." Wally managed to bring Dick's attention from staring at him in perplexity to the plastic bag that had previously gone unnoticed.

"I'm…I'm not sick." Dick mumbled, still trying to grapple in his mind for the appropriate thing to say in this situation.

"Doesn't matter." Wally shrugged as he turned to the drawers in the television cabinet where the movies were kept. "We can still eat the ice-cream to make you feel better, and I'll even watch a Disney movie with you and not make fun." He shot Dick a cheeky tongue over his shoulder before picking out a movie and popping it in.

"You don't have to." Dick was beyond feeling awkward at the thoughtfulness that his friend was presenting him with, but he did make himself comfortable on the cushions as he reached for the ice-cream tub.

For once, their time together didn't consist of any adrenaline inducing activities, but Dick would swear it was hands down the best night he'd spent with his best friend. They made their way through the tub of chocolate ice-cream in no time and then settled under a shared blanket that Alfred had brought in to watch Cinderella. True to his word, Wally didn't once poke fun at how much Dick still loved Disney movies and instead simply enjoyed it.

Before leaving that night, Wally had stuck a plastic Band-Aid with red Flash symbols all over it to Dick's left cheek. When he was met with a questioning look, especially since Dick's face was the one part of his body that wasn't bruised, Wally simply smiled and bid his good-byes.

Nights like that one would happen again and again, and every time Wally wouldn't pry, wouldn't say a word, but he'd be there. When Dick started sniffling halfway through the movie over something that had nothing to do with the movie, Wally would just hug his friend close and let him cry. After their movie was over and it was time for Wally to leave, he never failed to stick a bright Band-Aid to Dick's cheek before saying good-bye.

Dick never knew why.

Bad nights didn't end when Young Justice was formed, far from it. If anything, they increased in number, only this time due to bullies much more serious than the ones that used to slam Dick into lockers and call him names. There were nights when the team would come out of a mission bloodied and dragging, with nothing on their minds beyond crawling into bed for sleep and mindless oblivion. Most of the team would do just that, but Robin never did.

No matter how tired he was or how battered and broken his body felt, Robin refused to sleep. Sleep only brought bad dreams, bad memories, and ultimately hours of lying awake with sleep dancing just beyond reach. So he would force his body into the kitchen of their headquarters, pull out a chair while wincing at the scraping sound it made, and then plop himself down.

The light may or may not be on, depending on how exhausted Robin felt, and Robin really didn't care one way or the other. Once seated, he'd take a moment to breathe, in and out, in and out, and nothing else. Sometimes all he needed was to breathe…just breathe…in and out…and slowly assure himself that he was still alive. If he could still feel his arms after his breathing returned to a normal rhythm, Robin would close his eyes and go by memory of touch to remove his cape and unbuckle his gloves.

The almost silent sound of his gear hitting the floor would then be eclipsed by the sound of footsteps that Robin would recognize anywhere, even on a busy street filled with hundreds of footsteps mingling together. Without opening his eyes or lifting his head from the table (even if he could never quite remember how his forehead and the table made contact), Robin would sense Kid Flash wordlessly taking a seat across from him.

Words weren't used much as the two young superheroes came down from the mission high, but the silence of each other's presence was always soothing to the other in a way that words could never be.

It was on these nights that hushed emotions were spoken, whether they be related to the mission, school, or life. Nights like these brought the two friends closer than any other as they shared everything in the sanctum that they had crafted for themselves. Robin would reveal his feelings of sadness and loss if his parents were on his mind, fear of the unknown if the mission had been rough, or feelings of frustration when nothing he did ever seemed good enough for Batman. Robin would open himself up in a way that he had never dared to before, always having been content to hide himself away from people until the vulnerability passed. With Kid Flash it was different, as it should be. They were best friends after all.

Eventually, the siren call of their beds would pull them from the kitchen and towards their rooms. If they could manage it, a hug and half-asleep mumbled good nights were exchanged before they closed their respective doors for the night. Robin had never and would never say it out loud, but on the nights that he stayed up until nearly dawn just talking with his best friend his sleep was always the most peaceful.

Robin could never quite put his finger on why that could be.

Poker nights were fun. When there was nothing to do and no missions or screaming hostages to worry about, it was fun to lean back and try to make a few bucks off of teammates. Sometimes Roy even stopped by for poker nights to catch up with the team and try his luck at the cards.

On this night it just happened to be a muggy, humid summer evening that promised rain as dark clouds rolled in at a steady pace. The players were in the midst of the fifth hand of the night, and Wally was on a winning streak. Judging by the hand he was currently holding, he was going to be racking it in tonight. If he weren't so consciously focusing on keeping his face blank, he'd be grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Just as Aqualad folded his hand with a heavy sigh, a loud rumble echoed from the skies just beyond the windows as the clouds covered any bit of clear sky that had been there. Glancing up from his cards, all thoughts of the game suddenly fled Wally's mind as his brows furrowed.

"Fold." Wally set his cards down and pushed all of his chips to the middle of the table before standing up and leaving the kitchen table. "I'm heading out." He called over his shoulder before disappearing.

"What was that about?" Artemis wondered aloud as she took a peek at Wally's hand, only to have her eyes widen in shock at the hand he'd thrown away.

"It's starting to rain." Conner shrugged as if it was obvious as he tossed a couple of chips into the pot. Seeing several confused looks leveled upon him the clone elaborated. "Robin hates rain."

"What does boy wonder have to do with it? He's been on watch in Gotham for the past two hours." Artemis was still confused, but Superboy didn't feel the need to spell it out.

Sitting on the rooftop of the Gotham library while the rain poured down on him, Robin was one miserable little bird. He hated rain, it had rained the day that his parents were buried and it had rained nearly every day that he'd get picked on at school. Rain brought nothing good with it.

Melancholy thoughts swirled around the young vigilante like a thick mist as he rested his chin heavily on his knees. Nights like this when he was alone with nothing to occupy him but his thoughts brought out all of the dark little demons that he usually kept locked away in his head. More often than not, nights alone on watch ended with him rehashing every morbid thought or failure he'd ever had. Add rain on top of that and you get a thoroughly depressed Robin.

The unrelenting thrumming of raindrops on his body suddenly stopped, and Robin looked up to see a large black umbrella sheltering him from the storm's wrath. Turning his attention to his side, Robin was not very surprised to see a grinning Kid Flash sitting beside him and holding aforementioned umbrella.

"Thought you could use some company." Kid Flash handed Robin a thermos which, after uncapping and taking a cautious sip from, Robin found to be filled with deliciously hot coffee made just the way he liked it. Two creams and one sugar.

Nestling himself against his best friend's side with his gloved hands gratefully curled around the warm thermos, Robin let out a little sigh of contentment as his eyes slipped closed for a moment. All of a sudden the doubts and dark thoughts that had wrapped their claws around him dissipated, leaving behind nothing but a profound sense of peace.

"I love the rain." Robin murmured, opening his eyes again to smile out into the dreary world beyond the umbrella that Kid Flash had sheltered them under.

"Nah, you just love me." Kid Flash joked, laughing for a moment before launching into a tirade about his latest frustrations in Halo, as all conversations on nights like this seemed to go.

With Kid Flash's words resounding in his head and awakening a previously unnamed emotion, Robin realized that he finally understood why.