Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any of its characters. Really, I don't.
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Chapter 7: The Batcave || Bruce & Dick.
"Please, B! Don't be like that."
Sitting cross-legged on the training mats of the cave after his sparring match with Dick, Bruce brushed the sweat-matted hair away from his forehead with a hand and looked up at his charge. Energy was still coursing through Dick's body, even after the strenuous physical activity as was evident by his inability to sit still. He would have smiled at the sight was it not for the topic of conversation Dick had brought up.
"This matter isn't up for discussion, Dick." He brought the water bottle back to his lips, downing the rest of its continent.
"Aww. But it's just for a little bit." Dick was doing a handstand, walking on his hands all around the mats and circling his mentor. "And only the cave! I will be wearing my mask and suit the whole time. I promise."
Bruce gave him a look that clearly showed just how reassured he was with that promise- which was nothing at all.
"Come on! You let KF into the cave before he knew who I am."
"I did. Under a strict set of rules and after the necessary measures were put in place. And I agreed to it only because I've known Barry for a long time, as well as Wally. And," Bruce added a Dick opened his mouth to talk. "Because Kid Flash doesn't have any powers that could compromise our identities or the location of the cave."
Dick stood before him, looking up at him-or was it down? He was still on a handstand so it was kind of confusing-okay, looking at Bruce's face. "So I'll just tell him he's not allowed to peek."
"Superboy is still learning to control his powers, you know that. He could hear or see something without intending to."
"He doesn't have x-ray vision. You know that, right?"
Dropping out of his handstand, Dick sat down in front of Bruce, his small brow furrowed. "So what if he hears Alfred cooking upstairs or dusting around? It's not a big deal! And there's no way he's going to recognize you if you don't talk with your Bat-growl. You could even stay down here, you know. As Batman. I just thought we could hang out for a bit. And I kind of wanted to show him around the cave too."
Bruce pressed his lips together. He had been wary from the beginning not only of the easy way Dick and the rest of the team had accepted Superboy, but of their quick support and trust- even protectiveness toward him. With so many questions about the clone's origin still open, this could be dangerous for all of them.
"I'm not going to change my mind about this, Dick. I'm sorry."
Dick couldn't really say he was surprised by that answer. He had known Bruce for a long time after all. That, of course, didn't mean he hadn't been hoping for a different answer, or that he liked the one he got. Because he didn't. He didn't like it at all.
"Now you're acting like Uncle Clark."
The almost bitter note in his words made Bruce arch an eyebrow. "I thought we agreed to respect Clark's decision."
The boy sighed after a moment, looking down at his hands resting on his lap. "I know. I just ... How can he just reject Superboy like that? Without even taking the time to get to know him? It's not fair."
"Very few things are."
"Dick," Bruce started after a moment of silence, waiting until Dick lifted his head, stormy blue eyes meeting his own before speaking. "Please tell me you understand I'm doing what I can to support Superboy. I agreed to help with his training and allowed him to be part of the team. I even agree to let you be around him, even when I can't be there to protect you if something happens."
"You know I can take care of myself."
The corners of Bruce's lips twitched. He had to admit that among the team, Robin was perhaps the better prepared to deal with Superboy if needed, thanks to the Kryptonite he had forced him to carry in his utility belt. Dick hadn't been happy about that -far from it- but since he had made it a major condition to let him join the team, Dick had grudgingly agreed. But that wasn't enough. There were still so many ways this could go badly for him and the rest of the team.
He said none of that.
"I know you can. That doesn't stop me from worrying about you."
Dick's eyes softened slightly, but the expression on his face didn't waver. "I understand. I really, really do. I just don't like the thought of him staying all alone in the mountain all the time. Especially today when even Miss M isn't there."
"Red Tornado is there."
The young boy cringed slightly. "Well, yeah. And he's great and everything but he's a robot."
Bruce considered that for a second. "If you're concerned about Superboy being alone you can go spend time with him once you finish helping Alfred."
"Yeaaah. I've done that a couple of times before, but it's not the same. I mean, he hasn't been out of the mountain for anything other than a mission since he stayed at Wally's. Besides, he's been kinda down lately with Superman still avoiding him and everything. I think it would be good for him if we show him a bit of trust."
"Allowing Superboy into the cave when even some members of the Justice League hadn't been Invited in yet is more than 'showing a bit of trust.'"
Dick pouted. "You're really going to leave him to stay all alone in Mount Justice."
"I don't trust Superboy. I can't. He has a lot of power and there are many things we still don't know about his creation." Bruce said. "But I'm willing to give him a chance. A chance to prove himself."
"I know. And I'm happy about that, but it's not enough. I think he deserves more than that." Dick looked up at his guardian with a pointed glance. "How is he supposed to be anything other than what CADMUS created him to be if he doesn't even get the chance to get out of the base and interact with people?"
"You're right," Bruce admitted after a pause, feeling foolish for not considering that before.
"You're going to leave him come to the cave then?" Dick hastened to ask, eyes wide.
"No."
"Oh."
"Dick," Bruce sighed softly. "I know you and the rest of the team like and trust him, but you can't expect me to risk our security by allowing him into the cave. But," He added, a hand raised to stop his ward from speaking up. "You can go out with him if you want to."
The acrobat leaned forward, an eager expression on his face. "Out? As in out of the mountain? As in out in the city? Supey and I? Together?"
Bruce gave him a curt nod, evoking a cry of joy from the dark-haired boy before him that almost made his lips twitch. Almost. "You know the rules."
"Sir, yes, sir." Dick brought his hand up to his forehead in a military-style salute. "Uh. You don't need me to list them all, right? I kind of would like to go out while there's still sunlight."
Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Don't make me regret it."
"Okay, okay! I'm shutting up now."
"Good."
Dick threw his arms around his mentor's neck for a quick, sweaty hug and a cheerful 'thank you'. The acrobat jumped to his feet in a blink, flashing him one more bright smile before dashing away from the mats and toward the bank of monitors.
Bruce watched him go, an exasperated fond expression on his face. He rose to his feet, grabbing his now empty water bottle and walked after him at a more sedated pace.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm calling Wally," Dick answered without looking up from his cell phone, sitting on the chair before the monitors.
"I thought you said he was spending the weekend with Barry."
"He is, but I bet Uncle Barry wouldn't mind if I borrowed him for a little bit. Besides, there's no way Wally's gonna want to miss this."
The day was just starting to give way to the night outside when Dick pulled the door of Bruce's study open, poking his head in. "Hey."
Bruce looked up from the papers on his desk, the stern line above his brow relaxing slowly. He invited Dick in with a slight motion of his head, setting his pen down. "Hey. Did you have a good time?"
"It was asterous!" Dick said with a big grin, flopping into the chair at the other side of the desk. "We kinda got kicked out of the theater because Wally didn't shut up, but the movie wasn't that great anyway, so we went for pizza instead.
"Oh! And the girl at the ice cream shop though Supey was cute so she let him try different flavors before ordering. And now I can proudly announce rocky road ice cream is his favorite flavor."
The corner of Bruce's lips curled up minutely at Dick's exuberance. He said nothing -he didn't need to- leaning slightly back in his chair as Dick continued.
"Though Supey really needs a name. You should totally talk with Uncle Clark about that so next time we're out we have a name to call him instead of having to call him Supey all the time. It was kind of weird."
"Next time?" Bruce asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Uh, yeah? I think it would be good for the team if we spend more time together outside missions and training. Strengthen our bonds and help improve team dynamics so we can work better together. We'll invite Miss M and Kaldur next time too."
"We'll see."
Dick grinned widely because that answer was more of a 'yes, but' than a 'no, never' in Wayne-speak. It had taken him some time to learn to decipher such complex language, but now he was an expert, just below Alfred's master grade.
"I wonder if Miss M and Kaldur have ever had ice cream." Dick's eyes were gleaming gleeful as he turned to him. "Do you think there's ice cream in Atlantis? Would it be seaweed flavored or something like that? Yuck! That doesn't sound very yummy."
Bruce snorted softly, watching Dick's face scrunched up with a look of disgust. He knew in that moment that he wouldn't be able to say no to Dick when he asked to go out with the team again.
How could he when it put that smile on his son's face?
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a/n: I think this is actually the longest chapter I've written so far here so ... \o/ There was no Conner, I'm afraid, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! This was my first time writing Dick-Bruce interaction, so any comments would be awesome too! I hope Bruce doesn't sound too repetitive here or like he's trying to highlight what he's done for Superboy. I just feel like that would be the only way he could make Dick understand his point of view.
Thank you so much for all the amazing comments and for sticking around so far. You guys are awesome :D