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

Happy New Year Everybody! Have a belated Christmas one-shot with our favorite duo. Enjoy!

Also, I know the YJ team was busy with the Haly's Circus case at this date, but please let's just ignore that fact for the sake of the story ;)

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Chapter 16: Family || Bruce & Dick.

A long and deep sigh made Bruce look up from the book he was attempting to read now that he had the time. It was the third sigh he heard in the last five minutes, so he looked to where Dick was sitting at the back of the jet looking out the window.

The boy had spent the first twenty minutes of the flight texting on his phone while he had his headphones on, but Bruce saw out of the corner of his eyes as Dick pushed both items away maybe ten minutes ago. Now he was sitting with his knees drawn close to his chest and his eyes glued to the blue sky outside.

"What is it."

Dick turned, blinking at him a couple of times before shrugging and turning his attention back to the window.

It was Bruce's turn to sigh as he put his book down and got up from his seat. He moved slowly to Dick's side and slid into the seat opposite, studying him.

"I thought you wanted to go to the farm."

They were currently on their way to Smallville to celebrate Christmas with the Kents. Clark made sure to extend the invitation while Dick was within earshot, and while the boy's puppy dog eyes and begging were certainly part of the reason he gave in, he had to admit what finally made him agree was the call from Clark's mother a couple of days later.

Bruce was simply unable to say no to Martha Kent, and he couldn't even say he minded all that much.

He liked the Kents and could appreciate the pace and quiet of the farm from time to time. That and being out of the Manor gave Alfred the opportunity to take some well-deserved vacation and travel to London to visit his other family, so there was truly no reason to decline the invitation.

"I do! I just-" Dick shrugged again. "You know how else should be there too."

Bruce resisted the urge to let out yet another sigh as he leaned back in his seat. This was about Superboy, of course. He should have expected the matter to come up sooner rather than later.

"You said Conner would spend Christmas at Wally's."

"Yeah, but Ma and Pa Kent are his family too. He should be able to meet them and spend time with them." Dick frowned. "It's not fair."

"It isn't," Bruce agreed. "But Superboy doesn't have Clark's trust yet."

"He would if Uncle Clark stopped avoiding him," Dick muttered.

He arched an eyebrow, but say nothing as Dick looked up and gave him a tiny, sheepish smile.

"It's not that simple and you know it," He chided gently. "Clark's parents are the most important people in his life, and he would never do anything that could put them at risk."

The frown was back on Dick's face. "Do you think Conner would hurt them?"

"I don't." And it was the truth. Superboy may need further work to fully learn to control his temper and his powers, but Bruce didn't believe even for a second that he would intentionally hurt someone, and that was exactly the crux of the matter. "But the little information we have about him isn't enough to rule out the possibility he could be used against Superman or the League."

Dick watched him with narrowed eyes. "You agree with him, don't you? About keeping Conner away from the farm."

"I do," Bruce admitted. "I know you don't like it, but the truth is we can't trust Superboy completely yet-"

"Conner. His name is Conner."

He inclined his head in concession. "Trust is something that needs to be earned, and while I can acknowledge Conner has proved his willingness to work to earn ours, that does not justify ignoring the possible risks he presents."

Bruce didn't feel comfortable speaking that way about someone who had done nothing to deserve it, but he couldn't afford to let his guard down. The cost would be too great if he was wrong.

"Do you think Clark, or any of us, even Conner would forgive ourselves if Luthor could use him somehow, even just to gather information. Luthor would never hesitate to use anything or anyone as long as it helped him beat Superman."

Dick turned wide eyes his way, obviously understanding what B didn't say.

"I know this isn't fair to him, but we're doing the best we can," Bruce explained gently. "Even allowing him in the mountain is a risk, but we decided to take it because we believe that, regardless of why or how he was created, Conner should have the freedom to carve his own path."

Bruce wasn't sure how many times he had told Dick the same thing, but he couldn't blame him for needing to hear it again. Even Bruce had to remind himself of it sometimes.

Dick turned his attention away, so it was now Bruce's turn to look out the window, at the endless expanse of blue.

"Do you think they know?" Dick asked eventually.

"They don't. And we're not going to interfere," Bruce added as soon as he saw Dick open his mouth.

"But why not?"

Bruce gave him a look.

"Spoilsport," Dick accused with a pout.

He rolled his eyes, even if he was grateful for the lighter mood. It would never cease to amaze him Dick's ability to bounce back from negative emotions, even if they didn't simply disappear. It was something Bruce was still working on all these years later, and he was grateful Dick didn't have to struggle with it.

"Oh! I was gonna ask you if it's okay for Wally to come pick me up tomorrow." Bruce arched an eyebrow at him. "We were chatting about it, and we thought that since Conner can't spend the Holidays with family, maybe it would be good if he could spend time with his friends."

"Who else is invited."

"Uh, Artemis and Zatanna are going to be there. I'm not sure about Kal yet and M'gann will be still with her uncle so that's it."

Bruce nodded, but couldn't resist making Dick sweat a little before giving him an answer. "Alright, you can go, but only for a couple of hours. Remember the Kents invited us both to spend time on the farm."

"Of course," Dick agreed quickly, a large smile on his face.

A smile pulled at the corner of Bruce's lips as Dick pulled out his phone,

Dick was busy with his phone again, surely texting Wally to share the good news, so Bruce turned his attention back to the window.

He wished not for the first time that things with Superboy didn't have to be so complicated. They shouldn't have to be wary of a teenager boy- a child, really, but Luthor's involvement made it impossible. The man's obsession with Superman wasn't something that could be easily dismissed, and his wealth and sharp mind only served to make him more dangerous.

Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the distance Clark was purposely keeping with Superboy may be a positive thing. If this was somehow just a trap from Luthor, then he would have nothing to use against Superman when it all came to light.

It wasn't a pleasant thought, and he hated himself for it every time, but his pragmatic side made it impossible to refute the logic of it. But even the possible advantage wasn't enough to stop him from hoping Clark would change his attitude towards Conner soon.

"B?"

He hummed absently without taking his eyes away from the window.

"You okay?"

Bruce blinked, turning his head to meet Dick's eyes. "Fine. Just thinking."

The boy's frown deepened. "We're on vacations. You're not supposed to do that while we're on vacations."

"I'm not allowed to think?"

"No. I hereby decree you're forbidden from thinking any and all stuff that makes you all frowny and sad while we're on vacations."

"Is that so?" Bruce inquired with a tiny quirk of his lips.

Dick nodded vehemently in response. He had no idea what brought this on, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let B slip into one of his funky moods. "Oh! I just remembered there's a video I wanted to show you."

He watched fondly as Dick reached for his phone again, waiting patiently as the boy searched for whatever silly video he was planning to use to lighten his mood.

Bruce took Dick in after his parents' death because he wanted to help him, but moments like this made him realize he would never be able to help Dick as much as he was helping him.

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a/n: Sorry for the lack of Superboy yet again. I hope to bring him back for the next shot.

I wish Bruce would just take Conner to the Manor and adopt him, but my brain just wouldn't shut up about how that's totally out of character (at least this early), and no matter how big his soft spot for kids is, he would never do something that could put Dick or Alfred in danger, and so this chapter was born. That, I wanted to show Bruce actually understand Clark's side and supports him to some extent.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I hope to have something else up soon.