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

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Chapter 5.

Dick closed the book between his hands carefully, smiling softly down at the mop of dark hair nestled against his shoulder.

It had taken perhaps ten minutes into the lecture for Bruce to start sliding closer little by little. Too mesmerized by the cadence of the story to care or notice, or just instinctively being drawn to the warm body by his side. It had taken a bit, but the light weight of the boy's head resting on his shoulder had made Dick smile widely.

Bruce hadn't gone to sleep so easily, though. Because of course he hadn't. Dick had had to stop himself from giggling out loud several times when he noticed out of the corner of his eye the small boy blinking furiously, struggling to stay awake.

Even as he looked away with a smile still on his face, Dick didn't move. He should take advantage now that Bruce was out cold and go look for Alfred; find out if the older man had found something, or simply talk without the risk of being overheard by the bright boy at his side. Still, he chose to stay where he was, at least for a while longer.

This was very nice.

For a moment, he was reminded of the circus and all the other kids in there. Reminded of Raya and Zane and Raymond, his friends from the circus, and all the shenanigans they got themselves into all the time. Falling asleep together close to the animals and sneaking away from the adults. In a lot of ways, the four of them had been like brothers growing up together. Even so, Dick had always wanted a real brother or sister to play with and look after, and so he had asked his parents on more than one occasion.

It went the same way every time: His dad ruffled his hair with a laugh and his mom smiled softly, caressing his cheek or hugging him. They always told him what a great big brother he would be.

Dick swallowed hard. Eyes closed, he lifted his hand and, after a moment of hesitation, ran his fingers through Bruce's hair slowly.

All too soon, his sense of responsibility came back at full force. Bruce was obviously in no shape to solve things like he always did, so it was up to him -and Alfred- to take care of everything. And he was going to bring Bruce- his Bruce back.

Robin wasn't going to disappoint Batman. And Dick wasn't going to disappoint Bruce either.

With a determined nod, Dick slipped away carefully, holding Bruce's weight with both hands as he slowly maneuvered the little boy to lay on the sofa. He scrunched up his face in a rather adorable way and moved a little, but didn't open his eyes.

He stood there, looking down at Bruce for a moment to make sure he really wasn't going to wake up before walking toward the door on silent feet.

Dick was just stepping out of the library when Alfred found him.

"Master Dick."

"Oh, hey Alfie. I was about to go look for you."

Alfred looked past Dick and into the still open door, a flicker of consternation in his eyes. "Is everything alright, young sir?"

"Yeah. Totally whelming," The teenager reassured him with a smile. "Bruce fell asleep when we were about to finish the chapter, so I was just going to the den to bring a blanket for him before going to look for you."

The butler nodded promptly. "There is no need for that, Master Dick. I shall go fetch it for you."

"It's okay, I'll go. You can watch him for a little bit, right?" Dick asked with a playful grin.

"I believe I can do that, sir," Alfred replied dryly, an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Okay. Be right back."

Dick walked quickly to the den -no running in the Manor, remember?- pushing the door open and going straight to the sofa with the blue blanket neatly folded in the corner.

When he returned to the library Dick came to a stop at the doorway, a smile curling his lips upward. Alfred was standing before the sofa, looking down at the sleeping boy with a fond smile on his face. He was bending forward with one arm stretched out, probably touching Bruce's face or his hair.

Dick would have turned back the way he had come from to give Alfred more time with Bruce, but the older man had already seen him. He promptly withdrew his hand and was once again standing upright in a blink, so that wasn't an option. He walked further into the room and handed him the blanket without a word.

"Thank you, Master Dick." Alfred murmured as he unfolded the blanket and proceeded to cover the sleeping boy carefully with it. They both heard the small sigh that escaped his mouth as he snuggled further into the warm cloth.

Dick opened his mouth to talk, but closed it again when Alfred motioned for them to step out of the room.

"Is it wrong that I kind of would like to keep him like that for a while?" Dick asked as soon as Alfred pulled the door, leaving it slightly open. "I mean, I love big Bruce, and I want to have him back, but, well, I really like this mini version of him too. It's- it's nice."

Alfred smiled kindly down at him. "I don't believe there is anything wrong with that, Master Dick. I must admit seeing Master Bruce like this was quite a pleasant surprise."

"Yeah," Dick replied with a smile. He shook his head, the smile gone from his face. "Did you find anything?"

"I'm afraid I did not," Alfred admitted with a small sigh. "I read through Master Bruce's report thoughtfully and found no mention of any strange event. After that, I review the footage of the cowl, but I obtained the same result."

That last part wasn't particularly surprising. The cowl showed what Bruce saw, so if he didn't see anything, it was because there was nothing to see.

"I also called Mr. Kent."

Dick perked up at that. "What did he say?"

"After I explained briefly the situation, he confirmed that Mr. Blood and Mr. Zatara are currently out of the planet, but he was kind enough to contact the Watchtower and ask Mr. J'onzz to relay a message to ask them to contact him as soon as possible."

Dick nodded. There were several other magic users in the League they could turn to, but asking for their help would mean they had to reveal Batman's identity, which couldn't be taken lightly. Bruce had trained under both Jason Blood and Giovanni Zatara tutelage when he had been traveling abroad before becoming Batman, so they already know how he was.

"Did he say anything else?"

The butler sent him a knowing look. "Yes. He mentioned he was busy with his work in the Daily Planet, but said he would fly by later today."

"Of course he did," Dick said with a snort. There was no way he was going to miss the chance to see Bruce like this. Not that Dick blamed him, but still.

"Yes, well. I should go to the attic to look for some of the things Master Bruce will need until this situation is fixed."

Dick had explored the attic on a few occasions, so he had seen some of Bruce's childhood things up there. "You want some help with that?"

"As much as I appreciate the offer, Master Dick, I believe you should stay with Master Bruce." The butler replied promptly.

"You sure?"

Alfred arched a reproachful eyebrow at the wording. "Of course. I will merely search for them and wait for Mr Kent's arrival to ask for his assistance in getting them down from there and into one of the guest rooms."

"Okay." Dick agreed quietly. He watched Alfred walk away with a furrowed brow. Was he imagining it or Alfred was trying very subtly to be around Bruce as little as possible?

Nah, he was probably just imagining things.

...

a/n: I did promise fluff, didn't I? And I even added a little dash of angst too. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thank you for all the comments, favorites and follows!