(no subject)
Tim paused for a moment, trying to choose the right words to say. But when he finally opened his mouth, everything just came tumbling out. This was a fight that had been building for a long time.
‘The clone’? He’s more than just ‘the clone,’ Bruce, he’s a person,” Tim said, forcing himself to concentrate as he pulled the apple juice out of the fridge. The irony was not lost on him; he could dodge bullets without thinking twice, but he was so upset that he could barely pour himself a glass of juice.
“You used to do this with Dick and Kory too, always calling her ‘the alien’. You’re one to talk.”
Bruce frowned. “She is an alien. And he is a clone. I’m just stating a fact. And my… involvement with Clark has nothing to do with it. That’s over now.”
“Well, listen to this fact: Kon is my boyfriend, Bruce, whether you like it or not. Just because we got into an argument doesn’t mean we’re going to break up, or that we should.”
Tim’s blue eyes blazed as he grabbed a plate from the cabinet.
“When it comes to fighting crime you know almost everything. But when it comes to people… you just don’t get it.”
Bruce stared at him in stony silence, but he didn’t leave and he didn’t interrupt.
“When I went to the future with the Titans, I saw myself… as Batman. I was cold and brutal and terrible. I was a monster,” Tim said, forcing himself to take a deep breath before he continued.
“I don’t ever want to be like that. But the thing is… sometimes it’s not so much that I’m afraid that I’ll become that. Sometimes I’m afraid that you’ll become that.”
Bruce remained unresponsive.
“But with Kon… he makes me believe that I don’t have to, that I won’t ever be like that. And I’m not going to throw that away just because we had a fight, or even because he’s a clone.”
Tim paused, wondering if he should just stop here and quit while he was ahead. But there was one more thing he wanted to say.
“And you shouldn’t throw things away with Clark just because he’s an alien or because you’re… afraid of someone actually getting to know you.”
Tim felt himself exhale as the adrenaline rushed through him. He had never spoken to Batman like this before. It was terrifying… and exhilarating. Quickly, he put a few scoops of the casserole on his plate.
“I’m going to eat in my room. I’ll see you for patrol.”
Smallville
Conner Kent was upstairs in his bedroom, sprawled across the bed, thinking. Clark
was downstairs, talking to Ma and Pa Kent. He always came back to Smallville when he was upset about something. This time was no exception, and it sounded like it had something to do with Bruce.
Kon used his super-hearing to pick up some snatches of the conversation. Yeah, it was definitely about Bruce.
As he half-listened, he could glean that Bruce and Clark had had a serious fight, and it sounded an awful lot like the fight he’d had with Tim.
Yeah, he thought, leave it to the Bats to be total control freaks.
He’d been so steamed that he hadn’t spoken to Tim since the fight. The whole thing was ridiculous, really. And how could his logical, methodical Tim even think that he’d be interested in Kory?
But over the past few days, most of Kon’s initial anger had dissipated and he had to admit that he missed Tim. A lot. Missed seeing him smile, wrapping his arms around him.
Sure, sometimes Tim could be intense, but after all, he was a Bat. And although Kon may not have liked being told what to do, there was a reason that the members of the Batclan were known for leading teams or taking charge of a situation : they were usually right.
Tim was a Bat, but he was a lot of other things too. He was kind and loyal and brave. He was goodhearted. He was the best friend Kon had ever had.
And he was one hell of a good kisser.
But then again, the Bats never did anything half-assed now did they?
Kon sighed. He was tired of this fight, tired of the silence and the distance between them. He had to fix things, and soon. Maybe he could just fly to Gotham. But then again, Batman didn’t like metas in his city, and the Bat was definitely someone you did not want to have angry at you. Judging from the conversation
downstairs, even Superman could vouch for that.
Kon stood up and stared out the window, wishing he could see all the way to Gotham. Slowly, he took off his glasses, and a smile began to form on his face.
He tore off his white button-down shirt to reveal a bright red “S” surrounded by black.
He was willing to face the wrath of the Bat; Tim was worth it.
He walked downstairs to the kitchen to tell Aunt Martha and Uncle Jonathan that he needed to make a quick trip to Gotham. If he left without telling them, they would be worried.
When he reached the kitchen he saw that the Kents had gone outside to check on some of the crops. Instead, their adopted son was sitting alone and dejected at the kitchen table.
Clark looked up to see Kon with his Superboy uniform on.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking off his glasses and beginning to remove his shirt.
“Wait, Clark, there’s no worldwide catastrophe or anything. I’m just going to Gotham for a little while.”
Clark said, glad that Kon had stopped him before he ruined (yet another) perfectly good shirt. “Going to see Tim?”
“Yeah. We kind of had a fight this weekend. I want to make things right again.”
“Young love,” Clark said with a wistful smile.
Kon rolled his eyes, although he was grateful that Clark hadn’t prefaced that with “Gosh” or “Golly”. Clark was a great guy, but he could be such a sap sometimes. Like when Kon had been having a hard time adjusting to life in Smallville and Clark had given him Krypto (because what could be more heartwarming than a boy and his dog?). Whenever Kon was around Clark Kent, it was hard to believe that the shy Kansas farmboy was really the most powerful being on Earth.
But then again, Clark was always trying to reach out to him, to help him find his way. Maybe now it was his chance to return the favor.
“Hey Clark… maybe you should come to Gotham too. You know, talk to Bruce.”
Clark sighed and shook his head. “No…I…I think it’s really over this time.”
In that moment, Clark looked sadder than Kon had ever seen him. Like the spark in him had died.
“It doesn’t have to be…”
“I don’t know, Conner. It’s impossible. He’s impossible.”
Clark pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes.
“But I don’t want to hold you up here,” he continued, with a forced smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Go on and see Tim. I know how much you care about him, I’m sure you’ll be able to work things out.”
Kon nodded, wishing that Clark would take his own advice. He turned to go, but stopped himself in the doorway.
“Clark…”
Sad blue eyes looked up. “Yes?”
“You’re Superman. Nothing is impossible.”
Gotham - Wayne Manor
Tim sat at his desk, staring blankly at his computer screen. His fight with Bruce still had his mind reeling. But having to defend his relationship with Kon had made him realize just how much he’d missed him over the past few days. He wanted to apologize for his part in their fight, to make things right between them again.
But honestly, he didn’t know where to begin.
So he’d sat down at his computer. Maybe a letter was a good idea. But he’d been staring at the blank word processor page for a half an hour and the letter still refused to write itself.
Sighing, Tim leaned back into the desk chair, when he heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he said, hoping that it wasn’t Bruce. Their conversation before dinner had taken a lot out of him. He wasn’t quite ready to face his mentor again.
To his relief, the door opened to reveal Alfred, who had recently returned from his errands.
“Master Tim,” the butler said, “I believe you have a visitor.”
Alfred moved aside to reveal Kon-El, who stood there with a nervous grin on his face.
“Kon…I… you’re here,” he said, with a smile of his own. It looked like that letter wouldn’t be necessary after all.
Kon entered the room, his gaze never leaving Tim’s.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it then,” Alfred said with a smirk as he closed the door.
“Tim,” Kon began, “I’m really sorry. You were leading that mission and I should have listened to you. You’re right, it is serious out there, and not everyone on our team is invulnerable. If anything ever happened to one of the other Titans, if anything ever happened to you….”
Tim opened his mouth to speak, but Kon cut him off.
“Wait, just one more thing. I’m sorry I called you Batman. That future that we saw… that wasn’t really you, Tim. It’ll never be you. I won’t let it.”
“I know. It’s okay, Kon,” Tim said, standing up and walking towards his boyfriend, “And I’m sorry too. I… I know how much you care about me. I’m sorry for being all intense, and then all weird and jealous.”
“Yeah, um,” Kon started, looking away nervously, “about that jealousy thing. Well, I do kinda look at Kory’s… you know whats… sometimes.”
Tim’s brow furrowed.
“No! But it’s not like that. It’s just… I mean, have you seen what she wears? Everyone looks, it’s impossible not to. But it doesn’t mean anything, I swear. I only have eyes for you, Wonder Boy.”
Tim’s expression softened and then he smiled. Kon felt his heart melting, his knees turning to jelly. Just like they did every time Tim smiled at him like that.
“I guess I can forgive you,” Tim said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Kon.
“Really?” Kon replied with a wicked smile. Finally, he pulled his Robin into a deep, passionate kiss.
Being cloned from the World’s Greatest Hero and the World’s Greatest Villain, Kon had always felt lost, never sure of where he fit in, where he belonged. But standing there, kissing Tim, he felt like he was home.
Reluctantly, Kon pulled away from the kiss.
He looked at Tim, looking at him not as a clone or as a weapon to manipulate, but as a person. A person worthy of his love. Through Tim’s eyes, Kon could see his own humanity.
“Hey,” Kon began, “you've got a while before patrol. Why don’t we get out of here, go have some fun?”
Tim paused for a moment.
“Okay,” he smiled at Kon, “are you ‘driving’ or am I?”
“You drive. You can show me all the cool places in Gotham before Batman realizes there’s a meta in his city and totally flips out on us.”
Tim laughed for the first time in days. It felt good.
“Come on,” he said, taking Kon’s hand. “What Batman doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
They started to walk downstairs when Tim stopped.
“Oh and Kon? That thing about Kory?” he said, his tone deadly serious.
“Yeah…” Kon said nervously. He had hoped that whole thing had died.
“I promise I won’t tell Nightwing,” Tim said, a wicked smile forming on his face.
“Hey!” Kon said, punching Tim lightly in the arm.
Both smiling, they continued walking down the Manor’s opulent staircase.
“I doubt we’ll run into Bruce,” Tim said. “He’s probably down in the Cave already.”
“For what? His early evening brooding session?”
They both laughed as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Alfred!” Tim called out as he and Kon stepped into the kitchen, hand in hand. “I’m going out for a little - “
But it wasn’t Alfred in the kitchen.
“Oh…Bruce. I’m going out with Kon, I’ll be back for patrol.”
Bruce looked up from the newspaper he was reading, his expression inscrutable.
Tim and Kon exchanged a look.
“Well…bye,” Tim said, and with that they headed to the front door. They were outside and halfway down the long walkway when the door opened and a deep voice called out.
“Tim!”
Both boys turned to see Bruce standing in the front doorway.
“Have fun with… Conner.”
Tim’s eyes met Bruce’s and an unspoken understanding passed through them. Tim nodded, smiling slightly. It looked like things between them were going to be all right after all.
Suddenly Bruce’s expression changed to one of surprise and his gaze moved beyond the two boys.
Tim and Kon turned around again and there stood Superman, in all his red and blue glory.
“Come on,” said Kon, smiling at the Man of Steel as he and Tim passed by style="">, “let’s get out of here. I’m sure they have a lot to talk about.”
Clark walked forward until he was standing directly before Bruce.
“Clark-”
“Bruce -”
They both spoke at the same time.
Clark laughed a little and Bruce smirked.
“Look, I -” Clark began, but Bruce cut him off with a searing kiss. As their tongues dueled, Clark firmly wrapped his arms around Bruce, completely giving in to the kiss.
“What was that for?” Clark asked when they finally pulled away.
“For not giving up on me. On us.”
Bruce reached out and stroked Clark’s face softly.
“A wise young man told me today that I shouldn’t just throw this away because I’m… scared of someone getting too close.”
“Really? Because another wise young man gave me some good advice today too. He said that nothing is impossible.”
“Even with a stubborn bastard like me?” Bruce said with a half-smile.
“Yeah, even then,” Clark replied, returning Bruce’s smile with one of his own.
They turned to face the walkway, watching the retreating figures of the two young men who had reminded them of just how much they meant to each other.
There was still much to talk about, so many issues that still needed to be worked out. But standing there together, for the first time in a long time, they were both confident that everything was going to
be fine.
Bruce reached down and took Clark’s hand.
“Come on, let’s go inside.”
.