Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any of its characters. Really, I don't.

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Chapter 15: Wolf || Bruce & Dick.

Bruce leaned back on his chair with a loud sigh. He kept glaring down at the papers spread across his desk before begrudgingly acknowledging doing that wasn't going to help him finish his work faster and giving it up. He really should consider giving Lucius a raise for dealing with this kind of thing on a regular basis.

With one last look at the paperwork, he got up from his chair, feeling the urge to take a moment to stretch his legs and get away from this even if it was just for a few minutes. He could always go to the kitchen to bother Alfred a little, he thought as a tired smile tugged at the corner of his lip. Maybe get a snack and some coffee.

He was walking down the long hallway when the sound of Dick's voice coming from the den made him pause.

"-are such a good boy, aren't you?"

He frowned, finding no sight of Dick as he took a step into the room. It wasn't until he came to stand behind the large sofa that he found his ward sitting on the rug. He wasn't alone, though. Bruce tensed as soon as he saw the large animal lying half on top of the boy.

"What is that?" Bruce asked, barely resisting the urge to attack and get the creature away from Dick. It probably wouldn't have ended well for him if he had.

The boy jumped a little in surprise, but recovered quickly and started working on calming the animal as it started growling. "Duh. It's a wolf."

Bruce gave him a look, which of course had no effect on Dick whatsoever. He resisted the urge to sigh. "What is a wolf doing here?"

"Conner asked me to take care of him."

"Superboy asked you to take care of a wolf," Bruce repeated, just to be sure. Dick was obviously comfortable with the wolf, but he still kept an eye on it as the animal sat at Dick's side, watching him back.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because he and M'gann were going out today and he didn't want to leave him alone at the mountain."

"Conner is keeping a wolf at Mount Justice." He was Batman. He was one of the mentors of the team. He should know when there was any kind of development within the team. And having a wolf living there was definitely a development.

"Conner lives there, so yeah. He was one of the animals being controlled and enhanced with the Kobra-Venom by Brain," Dick explained as he went back to petting the wolf. "This guy didn't leave Conner's side after, so we kinda figured he saw Superboy as his new alpha after he defeated him or something. So, we brought him back with us."

Bruce pitched the bridge of his nose. "The mountain is a place for you and the team to meet and train, not a place to house dangerous animals."

"He isn't dangerous! Besides, Conner asked Canary and she told him that as long as he took care of him he could keep him."

He frowned. He was going to have a word with Dinah about this.

"You're not going to kick him out, are you?" Dick asked worriedly. "Connor really cares about him and I really think it will help him. He could use someone he can talk to about anything and someone who can be there for him when no one else is. Having him around makes him happy."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Is this about the dog you asked for?"

"Maybe. A little bit," He admitted sheepishly. "But I do think this is good for Conner. It's the first connection he makes outside the team."

Bruce inclined his head in acknowledgment but didn't say anything.

"What are you going to do?"

"I need to speak with Dinah about this, and I will make my decision after I do."

Dick nodded, seemingly content with that answer.

Bruce walked closer then, keeping his eyes trained on the animal as the wolf did the same. It was when he reached the sofa that the wolf started growling again.

"It's okay, Wolf," Dick soothed him with a pat.

"Wolf?"

"Yeah. Conner named him," Dick said with a smile.

Of course, Bruce thought dryly. He crossed the short distance to sit down on the sofa, close to where Dick and Superboy's pet were on the floor but made no attempt to touch it. Not yet.

The animal was impressive, really. Not only in size but in beauty; with its hair white as snow and amber eyes. The fact it was just sitting there letting Dick pet it like a dog was almost enthralling. He was itching to touch it too.

"Did you ask Alfred before bringing it here?"

"Of course I did! I would never risk Alfie's wrath like that."

"You didn't tell me." Bruce accused with a frown.

Dick bit his lip, eyes averted. "You weren't supposed to see him."

"What."

He sighed before looking up at him, speaking louder this time. "You were going to be in the office all day today, so you weren't going to know he was here."

"Is that so,"

Dick wasn't looking at him as he kept petting the wolf. "I'm sorry. I know it's not an excuse, but I was afraid you were going to say no and I really wanted to have him here at the Manor."

"You still should have told me."

"I know."

Bruce nodded before holding out his hand for the wolf to sniff. It took a couple of seconds, but the animal closed the short distance and did just that. Bruce waited patiently while the wolf relaxed again and only then moved slowly to touch him, putting a hand on the soft white fur.

"You're not mad?"

He scratched the wolf's ear, watching it close its eyes. It really was just like a dog. "No. I'm not mad."

"And you're going to let him stay here, right?"

It had been a while since Bruce was at the receiving end of Dick's puppy dog eyes, but he was amused to see they still had an effect on him. "It can stay, but I expect you not to hide things from me again."

"I wouldn't!" Dick promised with a blinding smile.

Bruce turned his attention back to the wolf as the animal basked in the attention he was receiving, going as far as leaning into his touch. He could feel a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

It looked like he had found his distraction from work after all.

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a/n: I can't be the only one curious about Batman's reaction to a wolf living in the mountain. Right?

And I cannot believe this fic now has more than 300 favorites and more than 180 reviews. You guys rock! Thank you so much for reading, favoriting, and especially for leaving reviews! I live for reviews! ＼(^o^)／