Cygnus (Young Justice Fanfiction)

Late

-Dick-

When I left the Iceberg Lounge, I hopped on my motorcycle speeding off towards home. I rode all the way back to Wayne Manor and parked in the multiple car garage. I jumped off and ran to the grandfather clock where the entrance to the Batcave was hidden. I slipped in through the opening and rushed down the stairs. I quietly got to the bottom, but then the lights flicked on. Damn. 

"You're late," Bruce stated. 

I don't call him Dad; it doesn't feel right yet. I just stick with Bruce and call it a day. He was leaning against the wall right next to the light switch. He still wore his Matches Malone disguise, but he took off the fake mustache. 

"I-I got held up."

My voice betrayed me. Bruce took one look at me and saw right through me. Knowing Bruce, he wasn't just going to call me out on it. He is going to question me until he could guilt the truth out of me. The real truth is that Bruce learned the art of interrogation by being a parent, not by being Batman.

"What exactly were you doing that took so long?" he questioned while raising an eyebrow.

"I got stuck in traffic. The rainstorm outside is really bad and the highways were slow," I lied through my teeth.

"Okay, now let's get to work, Thorne is having an important shipment come in at 12:40 on the west docks," he stated abruptly as he walked to the Bat-computer. He started searching the database for all shipments coming in at 12:40 like nothing ever happened. Bruce knew I was lying; why did he stop questioning me? 

"Bruce, are you feeling alright?" I asked worriedly.

"What makes you say that?" he stopped typing and turned to face me. Sometimes, I really believe I was adopted by a robot.

"You didn't question me on why I was late."

"Are you telling me that you didn't get stuck in traffic? Is there another reason you were late?" he inquired knowingly.

I'll admit it; I fell right into that one. I hate his stupid interrogation tricks. He used my honest concern for his health against me; now that's just cold. Why can't he be a normal parent? There was no way I was getting out of this one. What would I even tell him? I lost track of time talking to a random waitress; even though, I need to be on my A-game if I'm going to be fighting crime. This is just going to give Bruce another reason why I shouldn't be Robin. Apparently, I haven't been Robin long enough to prove to him that I am more than capable. I'm more than just his trusty sidekick; I need to make him see that.

"Is there something you would like to tell me, Dick, or do you want me to guess?" Bruce gave me a mysterious smile. I internally shuddered. It was all downhill from here. The only way I was going to stop rolling was to land on my face, and we both knew it.

"Don't we have a shipment to search for?" I changed the subject while furiously typing on the keyboard. Bruce gave me a small smile and chuckled, but no longer questioned me. I don't know if that meant I'm-going-to-punish-you-later or I'll-let-it-go-because-your-a-kid, but the latter was just foolish hope.

"There is nothing scheduled to come in at 12:40 making it an illegal shipment. What a surprise" The jazz-hands were already in the air before fully realized what I was doing.

"I think we should just wait and see what the shipment is. Whatever it is it can't be good; in that case, we should just destroy the shipment. We need to be prepared for anything. We don't know what is in that shipment and that's the greatest obstacle we face." Bruce explained. Your average Joe would have just said "our biggest problem," but I've already accepted that Bruce will never be anywhere close to average. Between fighting as Batman and flirting as Bruce, "mediocre" isn't exactly part of his vocabulary.

"We can check what's inside, but I bet you a slice of Alfred's chocolate cake that it's more drugs the mobs are trying to get their hands on. Blow it up; problem solved!" 

I know things have changed since Batman joined the Justice League and I joined The Team. Batman has been busy lately, but he always makes time to fight crime in Gotham with me. Just the two of us on patrol and kicking butt! The Dynamic Duo on the hunt for evil. I know nothing about our relationship is ordinary or normal or average or mediocre, but I wouldn't want it any other way. It's ours, so I'm going to enjoy every ounce of it.

"You might be right, but we still need to be prepared for anything," Bruce said uneasily.

Classic Bruce, always prepared for the worst. I can't blame him for being so worried, not after his parents' death. I would give everything to know the Bruce before the tragic event, happy and worry-free. He helped me through the death of my parents; I wish I could return the favor somehow. I try to crack a joke here-and-there just to see him smile. He has done so much for me, emotionally and physically. 

If he hadn't adopted me I would have ended up at some orphanage alone and scared. If he hadn't taken me in I would have never gotten over my parents' death and ended up like, well, him. I wish I was there to tell him that he could get through it; he could push through. Now, those scars are harder to heal since so much time has passed, but that isn't going to stop me from trying at every chance I get.

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