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

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Chapter 6.

With a book carefully picked between his hands, Dick sat down on the empty space on the sofa where little Bruce was still sleeping soundly. Watching him, he couldn't help but wonder if Bruce falling asleep like that was normal, or if it was caused somehow by older Bruce's crazy sleeping habits.

He shook his head as he settled more comfortably before pulling the book open. His love for books was another thing he shared with Bruce, but that had been instilled in him from an early age by his parents.

He always tried to make time to read something, but he didn't always get the chance to do that, of course. Between school, the Mathletes, playing the charming and polite billionaire's ward, his own small social life, and of course, Robin and all that came with the suit and mask, it was extremely hard to find the time to truly enjoy a good book.

Especially because he hated starting a new book and then having to let days or even weeks pass before finishing it.

By the fourth time Dick had to start the same page again, he let out a resigned sigh and give up on trying to read, closing the book with a muted thud.

He had too many things on his mind to focus on reading. Or really, only one thing was in his mind (Bruce's current situation), but that kind of brought up an array of different thoughts.

Dick still couldn't understand how this had happened in the first place. The most logical answer was magic, of course, but that only brought more questions than answers.

While Gotham's criminals were a very resourceful bunch, magic wasn't something they tend to lean toward, even if some of the things they came up with were even crazier than that. It was so uncommon that he could count on one hand the number of times Batman and Robin had had to deal with magic-related incidents.

So it could either be a new player in the city, or someone desperate enough to try something as risky as magic. That sadly didn't reduce the pool of suspects, like, at all. And then there was perhaps the most important question of all: Why they chose to cast that particular spell. If they -whoever they were- had access to magic, why would they use such a harmless spell? Except-

What if the spell wasn't harmless after all? Sure, it seemed pretty harmless, cute even, but what if that was part of the plan? Lull them into a sense of security and comfort; make the people around the Batman relax their guard at the sight of a small Bat. Distract them with a pretty shiny thing, like a magician?

Dick's eyes darted toward the sleeping boy, looking him over to make sure he was fine. He let out a breath. Okay, he needed to stay whelmed. It was a possibility, yes, but it was just that. There was no use getting ahead of himself when he didn't know anything for sure yet. He could only hope Blood or Zatara could be contacted quickly. They were the only ones who could give an answer.

Bruce's unhealthy tendency to piss off powerful creatures couldn't be ignored either, and this could very well be the result of him having done just that. Again. He hadn't mentioned any run-ins with magic users during his League missions in months, and even if he chose not to say anything, uncle Clark would have brought it up when Alfred told him what was going on. Not to mention powerful being weren't known for their restrain or patience for retaliation, so it was unlikely that one of them would have taken so long to act.

Dick rubbed a hand over his forehead. And, of course, there was also the possibility this Bruce wasn't actually his Bruce.

There was a possibility, slim as it was that his Bruce had been sent to the past while little Bruce was sent to the future. Or perhaps that he came from an alternate universe or something like that. Stranger things had happened, after all. Of course, such activity would have caused an energy signature the League would have picked on, and with Batman's no-meta policy in Gotham, they would have contacted him or the cave to let him know about it.

And just like that, he was back to square one. Dick slumped in his seat, barely holding a groan as he covered his face with both hands. What he wouldn't do to be down in the cave right now, actually working to find out what happened.

A loud, shrill noise made Dick jump, but only a second later he was hastening to pull out the cell phone from his pocket and press the button to ignore the call. Once he silenced it too, for good measure, he looked up to Bruce.

He moved a little, letting Dick caught a glimpse of small dark brows knitted together over closed eyes as he curled even further into himself. Huh. Little Bruce wasn't a light sleeper like his older counterpart then. Good. With a shake of his head, Dick looked down at the cell phone in his hand. A missed call from Wally. Of course.

He hadn't even noticed he had his phone with him until now, but a wide grin spread across his face. Dick jumped to his feet, moving to stand over Bruce as he focused the camera on his phone to the sleeping form curled up under the blanket. Finally, he could get some evidence of this!

Dick took a handful of photos from all possible angles, and even went for a selfie; using his acrobatic skills to hang upside down from the back of the couch with a grin, careful not to wake Bruce.

Full gallery saved, Dick walked toward the door of the library, stepping just outside to call Wally back. He wouldn't put it past the speeder to run all the way to Gotham if he couldn't get in touch with him. Dick rolled his eyes, but there was a fond expression on his face as he did so.

Just as he was about to make the call, he considered running down to the cave for his commlink. The security of his phone was maybe even stronger than the president's with Bruce and him working on the encrypting of their civilian phones, but it never hurt to be extra cautious. Still, he couldn't take the risk of Bruce waking up while he was gone, or worse, Wally getting too impatient and coming here.

He wasn't surprised when Wally picked up on the first ring.

"What's wrong?" The speeder asked without preamble, making Dick blink.

"Hello to you too, Walls."

"Dude! Are you okay?" He asked urgently.

"What? Yes, I'm fine. What's going on?"

"That's what I was going to ask you! You just left it the middle of tra- the game," Good. At least Wally remembered they were talking through an open line and so they couldn't speak openly. "Without saying anything."

"I did say I was coming back home," He pointed out, even when he already knew that answer wasn't going to be enough for the redhead.

"Yeah, but I've been trying to call to your- the other phone and you didn't answer."

"That's because the other phone is downstairs."

There was silence at the other end of the line for a beat, before Wally talked again. "Are you in trouble?"

"What? No! Of course not. Why would I be?"

"Well, I thought maybe Ba-Mr. Wayne had found out about the ba- the car-"

"Shh! He doesn't know about that! We agreed not to speak about that ever, Wallace." Dick had been speaking low from the beginning of the call, but now he was whispering furtively. They swore to never talk about what happened that time with the batmobile. Never.

"I know! I was just worried, okay." For some strange reason, Wally was whispering too, and only years of knowing the speeder allowed Dick to be able to understand him now that he was talking fast and low. "So, what's going on? Why did you have to leave?"

"Oh, you know. B needed my help with something."

"That's kinda vague."

Lip caught between his teeth, Dick looked back at his sleeping mini guardian through the crack of the open door. He wanted to tell Wally. He really, really did, but he knew he couldn't. And not just because they were using their civilian phones right now.

"What's wrong?" Wally asked at his silence.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong. It's just- it's complicated, okay?"

In the silence that followed, Dick had no problem imagining Wally's thinking face. "How bad it is? Can I help?"

"I don't think so, no. And it's not bad, it's-"

"Complicated, right?"

"Yeah." Dick sighed softly. "Look, it's nothing bad or anything, but I really can't talk about it right now. Just, B and Alfie need my help."

"Okay. But you know you can call me if you need anything, right? I can be there in a flash."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Walls," Dick replied with a smile.

"What are best buddies for?"

...

a/n: Sorry for making you wait for this chapter, but to be honest I'm not very happy with the way it came out. I've been coming back and forth with it and after several edits that didn't change my mind, I decided it was best not to make you wait longer. I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you again for all the support!

Also, next chapter we'll have uncle Clark paying them a visit :D