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

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Chapter 4.

A sense of déjà vu overcame Dick as he followed after Bruce, the small boy guiding him on their way to the library.

The Manor had seemed so big and scary when he first came to live here. Completely different from the small trailers he was used to from the circus. His awe at the immense size of the place was still there, but it had stopped being scary a long time ago.

Right now, this little walk reminded him too much of his first official tour of the Manor, only a couple of days after his arrival and with Bruce's still new but somewhat secure presence at his side as he stepped into the huge, majestic rooms of the old Manor, each more opulent than the last. With its high ceilings and shiny marble floors, and the antique rugs and expensive vases.

Bruce didn't show him every room then, just the ones he was more likely to use, even if he was given full reign of the Manor as long as he let Alfred know where he was going to be. He had been overwhelmed by what he saw anyway, so it had taken him a couple of days to, little by little, adventure further.

His expeditions were reserved for when Bruce had to leave to go to the office or somewhere else, and he was left to entertain himself. He spent the time doing cartwheels and other stuns in the gardens, or curiously exploring behind huge closed doors - the doors that weren't locked at least -. Sometimes, he just lay on the floor on one of the many rooms with Elinore at his side or with a book between his hands. Or both of them.

In quiet moments such as those, he sometimes wondered what it must have been like to grow up in such a big, empty house. Because even before the death of Bruce's parents, it was just the four of them (and yes, he was counting Alfie because he was part of the family back then too) and maybe a handful of staff members to keep the Manor impeccable.

As he walked through the endless corridors and stepped into empty rooms, it was hard to imagine a little boy growing up in there. He wondered if Bruce had friends that come over to play with him, or if he was always all alone. What he did to pass the time when his parents weren't home or were busy with something else.

He hadn't liked the thought of a lonely kid Bruce back then, and he liked it even less now that he got to meet him. There was nothing he could do about the past, but what he could do was make sure Bruce had fun now that he was a kid again, for as long as it lasted.

"This is the library," Bruce announced proudly, pulling the door open.

Standing at his side, Dick took a moment to look around the library; the familiar dark bookshelves lining the walls, the large windows, and huge fireplace. The warm feeling that filled him the first time he saw the room was back again. "It's wonderful."

The breathed words made Bruce look up at him, little dark brows furrowed slightly when he saw the strange look on his face. His blue eyes were very bright as they looked all around the library from where they stood at the door. As if feeling him watching, Dick looked down at him with a small smile.

"Why don't you pick what we're going to read?"

The small boy nodded slowly, dutifully walking away and toward one of the shelves.

Dick let out a sigh as he saw him walk away. Bruce was obviously very perceptive, even as a kid, so he needed to be more careful about his reactions. Shaking his head, he moved further into the room. He eyed the comfy armchairs before steering toward the sofa and flopping down on it.

Bruce was standing before one of the large bookcases, the tip of his fingers touching the spine of the books in one of the lowers shelves. While his mother had given permission to come to the library on his own, she had done so only after he promised to take only the books on the lowers shelves. Not only because his mother didn't want him to use the rolling ladder, but because the other books were for grown up.

He bit his lip as he looked at the books before finally reaching to take one of them. Once the book was secured, hugged to his chest, Bruce walked back slowly.

"Hey," Dick called as soon as he saw him. "Find a nice book to read?"

The dark-haired boy nodded, hesitating once he reached the other boy's side before handing him the book he picked.

Dick looked down at the cover of The Three Musketeers on his hand -an illustrated, kid-friendly edition of The Three Musketeers- a smile spreading on his face. "The Three Musketeers, huh? It's been a while since I read this."

"You've read it before?" Bruce asked; thrilled because they had chosen the same book, and sad because Dick may not want to read it again.

"Yeah."

"I can pick another book."

"Nah, it's okay. It'll be nice to read it again. Besides, I remember how much I loved the pictures. They're very pretty."

Bruce nodded gratefully, climbing on the sofa and settling on the other end, eager to start the story. He only hoped Dick would turn the book so he could see the pictures too.

"Why are you so far away? Come here," Dick called, patting the empty space at his side. "You should sit closer so you can follow along as I read."

The small boy needed no further prompting than that, sliding closer to Dick's side quickly, even if he still left a small gap between them. Dick pouted a little but made no comment about it. As much as he wanted to be cuddling up with Bruce while he read to him, he didn't want to push him. Little Bruce needed time to get used to his presence and to trust him. He didn't like it, but he could be patient.

Dick only hoped Bruce would stay like this long enough for that to happen.

"What is it?" He asked as soon as he noticed the lowered eyes and lip caught between small teeth. "Come on, it's okay. You can tell me."

"Can I-" Bruce bit his lip again, hands resting on his crossed legs. "Is it okay if I ask you if I don't know what a word means?"

"Of course you can! And even if I don't know either we can just look it up together, right?" Dick replied, trying to put him at ease. By his reaction when he asked him if he knew how to read, Dick could tell he wasn't comfortable admitting he didn't know something, even if most kids his age didn't know it either.

Typical Bruce. Always wanting to go five steps ahead of everyone else, even as a kid.

"We could just ask Alfred," Bruce offered brightly. "He knows everything."

"Sure, we can do that too." They were definitely not doing that, Dick thought as he gave him a smile, pulling the book open.

As he started reading a moment later, Dick was careful to keep the book close to his lap so Bruce could see it too.

...

a/n: Happy New Year everyone! And I'm sorry for making you wait for this update a bit. The good news is, I've been working on this story these past few months (just in bits and pieces of several other chapters rather than in this one). And something I should have mentioned before is that this is set early on season 1, so there wouldn't be any other Batkids showing up, sorry. Also, to make things simpler for me -mostly technologically-wise and to make any changes around the Manor less drastic- this will be set in 2016 rather than in 2010 like the show, so Bruce would have been born in 1984 (he's supposed to have 32 in season 1). I hope it's not too bothersome or confusing for you, but if it is, please let me know and I will reconsider it.

Thank you for reading, and all the comments and favoriting too :D