BRUCE!

Story based off of head canon #151 from the Young Justice Head Canons Tumblr page.

Disclaimer: Young Justice isn't mine and all that jazz.

A/N at the end.

"…and as you can see from this chart," Lex Luthor continued, pointing at yet another chart involving inflation on the SmartBoard. "If WayneTech and Luthor Corp develop a partnership and share our research material, the overall advancement in technology will skyrocket and…"

Once again, Bruce tuned him out. Luthor had been blabbing on and on about allying himself with different branches of Wayne Enterprises for so long his head was starting to throb. He steepled his fingers and tried as hard as he could to make himself look interested. Truthfully, it was taking all his self-control not to punch Luthor square in the face. He knew the history that he and Clark Kent shared; he knew about all his illegal activities. Batman knew all this of this. Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne was not supposed to and also unlike his alter ego, he could not just go around punching people in the face.

Keeping his face neutral, he forced himself to continue to hold the front that he was carefully considering his offer, though he knew long before Luthor had set foot inside his office, inside this building, inside Gotham that there was no possible way Wayne Enterprises and Luthor Corp would establish a partnership.

A gasp and a shout echoed down the hall. Luthor stopped speaking abruptly and turned to face the door. Bruce snapped back into reality, letting the images of him beating the crap out of Luthor fly away like paper in the wind. He glared at the door. Luther looked at him, puzzlement clear on his face. "What on Earth was that?"

A noise was getting closer, a low rumble that slowly filled the room as it approached. Cautiously, Luthor opened the door. Bruce stood from his chair stood behind Luthor, peering out into the hall. As the sound grows increasingly louder, Bruce realizes that someone was saying a name.

Suddenly, Dick Grayson, Bruce's adopted ward of seven months, came rolling down the hallway. Not running—rolling. Only eight years old, he's seated on one of the rolling desk chairs, undoubtedly swiped from some unsuspecting office worker. He was propelled by a fire extinguisher, the foam following his path through the building. Now his yelling is clear: "BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, whipping past the doorway. How he had managed to get the extinguisher to propel him so quickly was beyond Bruce's comprehension.

Luthor slowly turned to stare Bruce straight in the eye. "Was-was that your new ward?"

Bruce forced himself to nod as he broke out into a fit of laughter, barely containing the urge to collapse on the floor. Luthor looked appalled at both his and Dick's behaviour, but Bruce couldn't help himself. Tears sprung to his eyes. God, he couldn't remember laughing that hard in years. Dick had done something to him alright. He had completely changed his life. Luthor mumbled something about coming back another time and dismisses himself from the room. Bruce continued to laugh.

Now Bruce was completely and utterly sure of something he had been thinking about for a long time. That one moment in time was the TSN turning point in this game. He was certain now like he hadn't been certain of anything in a long time:

He loved Dick like a son.

A/N: Nakama no otaku kon'nichiwa! Hello fellow geeks. I know it's a little bit short but I really liked the idea in this head canon and I wanted to write a fic about it. This is also another one of my fics (along with 'A Chance To Think' and 'Thunderstorms') that I will be submitting for the youngjusticeheadcanons Tumblr fanfiction contest. I don't know if voting is involved (I'll update on my profile when I find out if you can or not) but if there is voting would be appreciated! My Tumblr username is otakuextrodinaire. Feel free to look me up! Wow I ramble a lot! As always, please review! They're always appreciated! Happy reading and stay asterous! ;)

Also, thanks to Glimare, Xx A Shock of Nava xX and JakeFL for pointing out that I mentioned Superboy even though Dick's only eight. Oops! That has been fixed! Thanks again!