Young Justice

Downtime:

"Batman and Robin"

Summary: Batman spends some downtime with Robin.

Author's Note: This will be a companion series to my 'Bonding' series.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just wrote this story for fun.

YJ~YJ~YJ~YJ~YJ~YJ~YJ

Robin leapt up, grabbed the bar, swung around three times, and then propelled to the second bar.

He repeated the process, swinging to the third bar, but this time swung around five times before letting go.

He somersaulted, flipped in mid-air, and made a perfect three-point landing on the mat.

He smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow.

He always enjoyed working out and training, but to simply have some fun with his acrobatics?

That was something he had not done in a while…

Since it was a long weekend, he and the others had decided they'd go home and get some downtime.

Being part of Young Justice was great and all, but Gotham—and Wayne Manor—would always be his true home.

"It's nice to see you haven't lost your touch," a voice behind him spoke, causing him to jump slightly.

Spinning around, he found Bat—uh, Bruce standing there.

Dressed in a black t-shirt, blues jeans, and sneakers, he looked like he was on his way to a baseball game rather than a board meeting.

Taking off his mask, Dick Grayson frowned at his adopted father.

"Alfred told me you had a meeting," he told him, confused.

"I did," Bruce told him, seriously. "It ended earlier than expected."

"Don't you have 'other' business?" Dick asked, curiously.

'Other' business referred to his 'night job' as Batman—who was also the current leader of the Justice League.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at him.

"Want me out of the house, huh?" he asked, a slight grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "Planning a wild party?"

Dick smiled at that.

Despite his grim and dark persona, Bruce really did have a wry sense of humor.

"Yeah, right," he told him, smirking. "You'd kill me if I did!"

"Ground you 'til your thirty, maybe," Bruce told him, smirking. "Have Alfred give you a few nasty chores to do around here, possibly. Extra training and rigorous exercise, definitely. C'mon, Dick, why is my being here so weird?"

"I just thought you were going to be busy," Dick told him, shrugging. "You usually are…"

"Yes, usually," Bruce reminded him, nodding. "But so are you these days—between school and Young Justice, you're almost as busy as I am."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Dick said, sighing. He picked up a towel and wiped his face with it.

"Tired?" Bruce asked him, curiously.

"Nah," Dick said, smiling. "I was just getting warmed up."

Bruce smirked at that. Other than Alfred, this boy was the one true bright spot in his life.

"Then how about a friendly match?" he asked, nodding toward where they kept the fencing gear.

Dick smiled brightly. "You're serious?" he asked, hopefully.

He and Bruce hadn't had a decent fencing match in…well, a really, really long time!

"Of course," Bruce told him, going and taking down the gear. "I'm always serious, or don't you ever listen to Kid Flash?"

"Wally's just full of hot air," Dick told him, grinning.

"Barry, too," Bruce told him, handing him his gear to put on. He then swished his foil, testing it.

Dick quickly put on the padded jacket and breeches, as well as the protective helmet.

He also swished his foil, testing it.

"Ready whenever you are," he told his adopted father, smiling.

Bruce nodded, lowering the helmet in place. He got into an 'en guard' position.

Dick did the same, smiling behind his screened-off helmet. This was going to totally rock!

"En guard!" They said in unison, bringing their fencing foils up to their faces and swishing them downward.

Bruce made the first move, which Dick easily countered.

Strike…defend…parry…block…stab…score!

Bruce's foil tagged Dick's chest, earning him a point.

"Lucky shot!" Dick taunted, grinning behind his mask.

"Uh huh," Bruce said, also smiling. "C'mon, chum, let's see what you got…"

Dick attacked this time, but Bruce's skill and experience didn't allow him to get a single hit in.

In fact, he overstepped his balance and Bruce brought his foil down across his padded posterior with a sharp swish!

"Hey!" Dick exclaimed, indignantly.

"Don't let you guard down," Bruce told him, shrugging. "Care to try again?"

Dick smiled and then attacked again.

They continued and Dick did manage to score a point, but Bruce ultimately won.

"That was a good match," Bruce told him, removing his helmet. "You've improved."

Dick smiled, swelling with pride at the compliment. "You mean it?"

"Of course," Bruce told him, seriously. "I never say anything I don't mean."

"Excuse me, Sirs," Alfred's voice called over the intercom. "Lunch is ready to be served."

Bruce grinned. "Hungry?"

Dick's stomach answered for him. "You bet!"

"C'mon," Bruce said, draping an arm over his shoulders. "What do you say to a round of chess afterwards?"

"You're on!" Dick exclaimed, excitedly.

Bruce laughed, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Dick smiled up at his adopted father.

At that moment, he sure did feel like the luckiest boy in the world!

The End.