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


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Chapter 17: Father's Day || Dick & Conner & Wally.

Superboy ran into the mountain with Wolf at his heels, parting ways only when Wolf went to his water bowl while Conner entered the empty kitchen and took a water bottle from the fridge.

It was strange not to find M'gann in here. She tended to spend all her time in the kitchen or the lounge watching TV when they weren't training or busy with missions.

Conner could use his super hearing to search for her, but he was trying to do a better job at respecting other people's privacy, so he didn't. Even if it would be a lot quicker to find her that way and nobody would know he used his powers anyway.

A wet nose touched his hand, making him look at Wolf standing at his side one more time. Conner knelt down to stroke his soft fur with a smile.

"Hey. That was pretty fun, right?" He laughed when Wolf licked his face. "Why don't you rest for a bit now? We can go play outside again later."

Wolf's amber eyes watched him, so he gave him one more pat before standing up. "Go."

Conner watched as the large creature ran away before turning to look back at the empty kitchen one more time. He followed the path Wolf used, planning to go find M'gann.

A few minutes into the search a pair of familiar voices pulled his attention away from his task.

"-Whatever, Rob." That was Kid Flash talking. "So, you got everything ready to knock Bats' socks off with your gift this year?"

A gift. Was Batman's birthday today? And what do socks had to do with it? He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop on other people's conversations but Robin spoke before he could make his presence known.

"I'm offended you even have to ask, Walls. Bats wouldn't even know what hit him!"

Why would Robin hit Batman if it was his birthday? Was that another way Batman and Robin's relationship was different? Conner frowned. He hated not understanding things when others clearly know what they were talking about.

"What about you?" Robin asked. "You got the tickets?"

"Yup! Aunt Iris helped me get them, so they're great seats. Dad's gonna love 'em!"

"Sweet!"

Today was the birthday of Kid Flash's dad too? Conner was even more confused now.

"Father's Day is gonna be asterous this year!"

Oh. He knew what Father's Day was and that it was celebrated the third Sunday in June, which happened to be three days from now. But wait. Why would-

"Hey, Supey. Didn't see you there," Robin greeted him with a smile as he and Kid Flash walked out of the locker room, both wearing civilian clothes.

"Batman is not your father," Conner blunted out, ignoring the other boy's words.

Wally and Dick exchanged a puzzled look.

"What?"

Conner looked at the speedster briefly before turning his attention back to Robin. "Batman is not your father. You told me that."

"I did," Dick agreed, no less perplex by the non sequitur. He had been trying to make Conner feel better when he shared that, and certainly hadn't expected to have it thrown back in his face like this.

"If Batman isn't your dad then why are you hitting him with a present on Father's Day?" Conner accused, brows furrowed and arms crossed across his chest.

"He's what now?!"

Dick blinked several times behind his sunglasses. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Supey."

Superboy huffed, frustration growing. "You told him Batman wouldn't know what hit him."

Wally and Dick looked at each other for a beat before they burst out laughing.

"Stop it!" Conner shouted, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

"Sorry, Supey. It's just- we weren't talking about actually hitting Batman. Saying that 'someone wouldn't know what hit them' is just a phrase used when a person is going to be taken by surprise by something or someone. That's all."

Conner's frown deepened as he thought it over. "So Batman wouldn't know what hit him because he's going to be surprised by the present you're going to give him?"

"Yup."

That didn't make much sense for Conner, but that wasn't all. "But he isn't your dad."

Dick gave him a tiny smile, knowing Conner wasn't trying to make him feel bad or anything. He was just curious. "He's not, but Father's Day isn't just for dads. It's also about celebrating men who look after you, teach you stuff, and are there for you when you need them. Like a mentor. Right, Walls?"

The speedster nodded fast. "Totally! Like, I'm getting Uncle- um, the Flash a gift and another for my dad so it's not just Rob."

Dick hoped Conner wasn't going to bring up Superman now. He loved Big Blue, he really did, and while Clark was doing better after what happened with Savage things between him and Conner weren't all that great yet. Dick didn't think he would react well if Conner gave him a Father's Day gift. Not that he deserved it anyway.

And he really, really hoped Conner wasn't going to bring up Luthor either. What could Dick even tell him if he did?

"Do I have to get something for Batman too?"

That was- Okay. That was unexpected. Batman wasn't the first person most people would think of when it came to father figures or anything like that. Of course, that was only because they didn't know him.

Dick wondered if maybe he saw Canary as his mom. It kinda made sense, in the same way Batman as his kind-of-dad made sense.

B wasn't really Dick's dad either, except he kinda was, and he wasn't sure how he felt about Connor thinking that way about Batman too. It was probably a good thing he had someone to look up to in that way given how his actual dads treated him, but it was Batman- Bruce and Bruce was his. That meant Dick would be sharing B with Conner.

He pushed that thought away. There were more important things to focus on right now. He could think about that later. But wait-

What would Bruce even think if he knew Conner saw him that way? No. Wait wait wait. A better question was, what would Uncle Clark and Luthor say if they knew?

"You want to give Batman a Father's day gift?" Wally asked, wide green eyes watching Conner.

"I shouldn't?"

"This isn't about should do's, but rather about wanting to show your appreciation for someone by giving them something," Dick explained before Wally said anything else. They needed to handle this carefully. "So, really, the question is if you want to give Batman something or not."

Conner took a moment to think about that. He knew Batman wasn't his father. Clones didn't have fathers, only donors. Still, Batman had helped him in ways no one else had helped him- except Canary, but she wasn't a man. Batman was like his mentor, and if Robin and Kid Flash were giving their mentors presents then maybe he should too.

Batman agreed to train him even when he could have said no like Superman, and while he was scary and demanding when they worked, he was kind of nice to him the rest of the time. He had never ignored him or tried to make him do things he didn't want to. He asked questions and actually listened to his answers too.

"Wouldn't he get mad? If I give him something?"

"Absolutely no! I can one hundred percent assure you B wouldn't be mad if you do that. At all."

"And what should I give him?"

"Ah, ah, ah. The first rule about Father's Day is that it has to be your decision and only your decision what to get them. Besides, the gift isn't the important thing, but rather what you say with it."

That response only served to confuse Connor even more.

Dick looked back at Wally for help, but the speedster looked far too entertained to be of any help, so he rolled his eyes at him.

"The first thing I gave B was a super crappy wooden picture frame I made at school. I didn't work hard enough so it looked pretty bad. B loved it anyway, and he still has it around." Dick didn't mention that even after a year of his parents' death, he had been too heartbroken to care about a gift his dad would never receive.

Giving it to Bruce had been a last minute decision, and one Dick had never regretted, even if he did feel guilty at the time. And still did, a tiny bit.

"Should I give him a wooden picture frame, then?" Conner didn't know how to make that, but if Batman liked them he would learn and make one as well.

"What?! No! That's not-" Dick shot Wally a murderous look from behind his sunglasses when he heard his muffled laugh. "I was just saying that even if your gift isn't the greatest ever B will like it anyway."

The reassurance did nothing to help Conner, who still had no idea what one could give Batman as a present.

"Why don't I help you with that? If you want to give him something, that is." Superboy nodded in reply. "Excellent! I can give you a few ideas and tips and then you can pick whatever you want to give him. How does that sound?"

"I guess." Conner frowned a second later. "But I don't have any money."

"Don't you worry about it. I can help you out with that too." Dick turned to his best friend with a mischievous grin. "You up for some last minute shopping, Walls?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Okay, okay. I think we can do it right now. I just need to ask Agent A, but I'm pretty sure he'll say yes."

Conner watched Robin as he moved away to talk with the mysterious Agent A. He turned to the speedster at his side a moment later.

"Do you think I should give Batman something?"

"I don't think it's a bad idea, but you should do what you wanna do," Wally said with a shrug. "It's not like Bats will be angry if you don't give him a gift or anything like that, so you can decide what to do."

Robin moved closer again before Conner had time to think that over.

"Alright! I got the all clear from Agent A. We can go now ... if you're sure?" Dick added gently.

Conner nodded, brow furrowed but expression determined.

"Great! We have a couple of hours to hunt for the perfect gift, so let's go people."


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a/n: I hope you enjoyed this slightly early Father's Day fic! And if you have any ideas about what Conner could give Batman feel free to share them. I would love to read what you come up with!

Tthank you as always for reading and your reviews!