Chapter Text
Kon was not okay
Tim stared at his phone with a frown. He had been doing homework with Steph and Damian in one of the many lounges in Wayne Manor while Cass hovered around them, trying to read their papers.
“No phones during homework time Timothy” Steph said, not looking up from her stats homework. Tim glared at her.
“Father won’t let you on patrol if you don’t finish” Damian added, as if Tim wasn’t the reason that rule was invented. The 8 year old was currently working on a fractions worksheet, lazily answering the problems since he easily could do higher level problems.
“Sorry it’s important,” Tim said, looking back at his phone.
young JUST us (the Sillies)
iKonic: EHO
iKonic: pls
BeepBeepBart: k I’ll grb cassi
iKonic: srry
BeepBeepBart: igrab t or u
iKonic: ill grab tim
prettierthanKon: where we meeting
iKonic: theres this diner i like i send the address
iKonic: we can do hw there 2
nepobaby^2: let me get changed
I’ll be good to go
Kon sent the address and Tim put his phone away. He grabbed the AP Lang homework he had been doing and put it back in his backpack.
Kon never called for an EHO, preferring to wallow in silence than ask his friends for help. But they had been nagging him to start opening up to them more (he had called them hypocrites but Tim didn’t believe that).
An EHO was an Emergency Hangout.
“You’re leaving?” Cass asked from where she sat trying to read Damian’s reading homework.
“Yeah, I’m going to Metropolis to hang out with my friends. I’ll be back and have my homework finished before patrol” Tim said as he grabbed his backpack.
“How are you getting there?” Steph asked, still working on her stats homework.
“Kon’s coming to get me,” Tim told her.
“Kon!” Cass cheered.
“I’ll tell him you said hi” Tim said before making his way upstairs to his room. He quickly changed out of his Gotham Academy uniform and when he left his closet he saw Kon waiting for him on his balcony.
Kon was wearing a black Nirvana shirt and dark jeans with holes in them. He had his hands on his head as he paced across Tim balcony, causing his cropped shirt to ride up to his naval and reveal a part of his stomach but Tim tried not to focus on that. He was wearing his shades, so Tim couldn’t see his eyes.
Tim shouldered his bag before opening the balcony door, causing Kon to jump in surprise. Kon spun on his heel and grinned at him.
“Air Kon is here! Are you ready to go!” Kon asked, hands in his hips.
“Yeah. Cass said hi by the way” Tim told him. Kon grinned.
“Aw my favorite bat!” Kon said happily as he grabbed a messenger bag off of the chair on Tim’s balcony. Tim hadn’t seen it before and didn’t know Kon even owned a messenger bag.
“I’m not your favorite bat?” Tim asked as Kon shouldered his messenger bag and walked over.
“She’s my favorite bat, you’re my favorite person . Now let’s go” Kon said, wrapping an arm around Tim’s waist and shooting off into the sky.
The flight to Metropolis was super short and Kon landed them in an empty alleyway. He let go of Tim and sighed loudly as he pulled a glasses case from his bag. He swapped his shades for his glasses before putting the case away and turning to Tim. Tim had to fight to keep his face neutral.
Kon’s eyes were red and swollen. That- that was not a good sign but Tim was not going to mention that. Instead he looped his arm through Kon’s and smiled at him.
“Lead the way” Tim told him and they exited the alley way. They crossed the street to the diner, and Tim saw Cassie and Bart already sitting in a booth in the window. They started waving wildly when they saw Tim and Kon.
The boys entered the diner and made their way over to the table. When they got close enough, Tim saw Cassie’s eyes widened for a second when she saw Kon but she quickly threw on a grin. Bart looked concerned and opened his mouth to say something, but Cassie threw her arms out and “accidentally” hit him in the face.
“Kon! I told you the rash on your face would go away” Cassie said happily as she gave him a hug. Bart hugged Kon right after and held on for a little too long. Tim had to kick him so that he would let go.
Oh Bart.
Cassie was in her school uniform, a plaid red skirt and green sweater vest over a white button up and red tie. Cassie had fought tooth and nail not to have to wear that skirt, but she had wanted to go to school with Cissie so badly that she let it slide. Bart wore light colored jeans and a black shirt that said “What have you done to deserve your legs” in red writing.
“Sorry about this guys. Hopefully you weren’t doing anything too important” Kon laughed as they all sat down. Bart and Cassie sat across from each other by the window, Kon sat next to Cassie and Tim sat across from Kon and next to Bart.
“Homework” Bart and Tim said at the same time.
“Yeah Cissie and I were doing homework at her house” Cassie said. Kon winced.
“Sorry” he apologized. Cassie waved him off.
“Don’t worry about it. But-“ Cassie got a look in her eye, “if you really want to make it up to me-“.
“I’ll do your French homework,” Kon said, holding his hand out. Cassie laughed triumphantly and unzipped her back pack, pulling out a Wonder Woman themed folder after digging through it for a couple of seconds. She handed Kon a piece of paper.
“Cassie you're in French three you shouldn’t be struggling with this” Kon laughed as he read the paper over.
“Shut up” Cassie said, lightly slapping him on the shoulder. At that moment a girl who was probably a little older than them approached the table.
“Hi I’m Katie, I'll be your server today” she said passing out menus. Tim only glanced at his menu for a second.
“Do you have any allergen menus?” Tim asked her.
“Of course! What are you allergic to” she asked him.
“Oh not me. He’s allergic to Strawberries” Tim said, gesturing to Kon. Kon’s face went bright red.
“And peanuts! He’s allergic to peanuts” Bart said happily. Kon hid behind his menu.
“I’ll be right back with an allergen menu then” Katie said before leaving.
“Sorry Kon, but it’s important. You should mention it to all your servers when you go out to eat” Tim said. Kon groaned and put his menu down.
“I know ! Dad gave me a whole list of things I have to do now! Which by the way ” Kon said, grabbing his messenger bag and putting it on the table. He opened up a side pocket and revealed two epipens. “He said I have to tell whoever I’m with where my epipens are”.
Tim didn’t mention the epipen he had in his backpack.
“Oh and also!” Kon continued as he zipped the pocket back up and put his bag down. “My stupid strawberry allergy? Yeah it’s fucking hereditary ”!
“Wait actually? From which side” Bart asked excitedly. Kon gave him a look.
“ Take a guess”.
Tim had to physically slam a hand over his mouth to keep himself from speaking. Kon looked at him and sighed.
“Just say it”.
“ Fuck Lex Luthor”!
“That sounded personal, Tim” Cassie laughed. Tim‘s face heated up.
“Shut up Cassie”!
“Here’s your allergy menu. It’s one for peanuts but I circled anything with Strawberries” Katie said as she came back and handed the menu to Kon, who immediately thanked her as he took it. “Can I start your guys with something to drink”?
They all asked for different sodas and Katie left to go get them. Tim plucked the allergy menu from Kon’s hand and snapped a picture of it before handing it back.
“I wanna get a pic too!” Bart said, reaching for the menu.
“I sent the pic in the group chat,” Tim informed. Cassie and Bart pulled out their phones and started looking at the menu.
“You guys can look at the regular menus you know. My allergy isn’t airborne” Kon said, giving them a weird look.
“Why’d you pick this place?” Bart asked instead. Kon frowned at the topic change but didn’t mention it.
“Good price, good food, and” Kon sang, “the best shakes in Metropolis”!
They all gave Kon a look as Tim internally wanted to scream just from hearing the word.
“Come on guys! I really like shakes! Plus these are themed!” Kon said excitedly, his eyes lighting up. Tim immediately decided that he wasn’t going to complain about the shakes.
“ Themed you say” Cassie said. Kon nodded eagerly.
“Yep! The owner hunted down Superman and Supergirl and had them create shake flavors! And recently they did the same for Steel and Superboy ” Kon explained as he grabbed the shake menu. “I’ve been here twice before, but not with the new shakes!“!
“Oh oh! What did they pick” Bart said excitedly. Kon grinned at his enthusiasm and read off the menu.
“I didn’t know about the themes before so I’m learning with you guys. Supergirl’s is like a vanilla one with different chocolate candies. Steel’s is like chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. And Superman-“ Kon stopped talking, frowning deeply. “ Oh ”.
“Kon?” Tim asked. Kon jerked his head up and grinned at him.
“If this all had happened before this Summer there would be nothing you could say to convince me he didn’t hate me” Kon laughed. “Superman’s flavor is strawberry peanut butter”.
“No fucking way” Bart said, grabbing the shake menu from Kon. He read it, and his eyes widened. “Oh shit it is”.
Tim frowned deeply at that. It was a good thing that Kon and Clark were able to sort out the misunderstanding that was straining their relationship, because before that would have upset Kon.
“What’s Superboy’s flavor?” Tim asked instead.
“Cookie Monster with caramel,” Kon told them excitedly.
“I guess I’ll have to get that one, even though the Steel looks way better,” Bart said. Cassie grinned.
“I was thinking the same thing Bart” Cassie said and Kon looked so, so excited. Tim felt so bad.
“I’ll- can I try from you guys?” Tim asked weakly. He couldn’t stomach a shake so soon. He hoped he wouldn’t let Kon down.
But Kon smiled like the sun as all three of them nodded.
“Here are your drinks” Katie said, setting down their drinks in front of them before taking their orders. All four of them ordered burgers, and Cassie, Kon and Bart ordered the Superboy milkshake.
“Good choice! The Superboy shake is really popular” Katie said as she took the menus and Kon preened .
Katie left and Cassie gave Tim a look. Tim knew Cassie was right and that this conversation was going to have to happen, but he didn’t want to take the joy from Kon. He nodded at her.
“Kon?” Cassie asked softly and Kon turned to her immediately, his face telling Tim that he knew where this conversation was going. “Is everything okay”?
Kon sighed and leaned back heavily in his seat.
“I had my meeting today. With my school and Clark and Lois” he said eventually. “It didn’t go the way I wanted. Actually, I think it’s almost the worst it could’ve been”.
“I’m sorry Kon” Cassie said. Kon said nothing for a moment before he pulled out a piece of lined paper and a pen from his messenger bag. He started writing on it as he continued.
“It’s just so frustrating, ya know? Like, I’m just so angry . Got into a fight with Dad about it” Kon explained.
“Your Dad’s not being supportive? Should I talk to him?” Tim asked immediately. Kon shook his head as he wrote.
“No, that's the problem, everyone is so supportive and I just feel bad about it! Like it shouldn’t be like this! I should be able to-“ Kon stopped abruptly, letting his pen clatter on the table and put his head in his hands.
Cassie immediately pulled him into her arms and Bart and Tim stretched their hands out across towards him. Kon took a couple of slow deep breaths, and Tim was about to get up and sit on his other side when Kon spoke again.
“ I just feel like I’m being set up to fail ” he said softly, head still in his hands. “I’m better than this! Why is it so hard ? I wish I was still homeschooled! It was so much easier”!
“I get how you feel,” Bart said softly. Tim turned to him to see he was looking out the window. “I did online school the first year I was here but then last school year I went to in person school and it was so bad . There were so many people and everyone thought I was weird. My teachers sucked! I missed the days where I would just take my laptop to Max’s house to do school. But then it got better. I met Preston and Carol and I adapted” Bart said. “I know it’s rough at first. But it’ll get better”.
Kon looked up, eyes wide and Bart turned to him and smiled.
“It’s gonna be okay Kon” Bart said, smiling warmly. Kon took his hand from across the table.
“Maybe you can switch schools or go back to home schooling if not,” Cassie said. Tim knew that Cassie had been bounced around to plenty of schools before ending up at St. Elias. Kon shook his head.
“Dad said no. I can’t just give up every time something doesn’t go my way, and I need to learn how to interact with other kids my age while I “get my education”. And he’s right I guess” Kon said sadly. Bart squeezed his hand.
While Tim felt that was a little harsh, he knew that Kon’s Dad would’ve pulled him if he didn’t feel like Kon was ready. Or if he felt like it wouldn’t benefit Kon.
“You know if you need any help or just wanna vent you can always ask us” Tim said. Kon sighed.
“I wish you could help me with this but, thanks guys” Kon said as he continued writing.
“What are you even doing?” Bart asked, leaning forward to try to look at the paper.
“Cassie’s French homework” Kon said, writing down one more thing before handing the lined paper and the worksheet to Cassie. “Just copy that down”.
“Fuck yeah! Thanks Kon! I’ll have to send a picture to Cissie” Cassie said as she put the papers away.
Katie came with their food, assuring Kon that his food was prepared separately on the side and that she would be back with the shakes. They thanked her and started eating while getting their homework out.
Cassie seemed to be working on an Algebra 2 worksheet while Bart did one for AP chemistry. Tim was pretty sure Bart was half assing all of his answers though. Tim wanted to do the same thing for his AP Calculus class but instead decided to finish his AP Lang work. Kon was doing something on a tablet that he wouldn’t let anyone see.
Katie came back with three milkshakes. They were blue with pieces of cookie dough and Oreos in them. Caramel sauce was drizzled on the top and throughout the sides of the shake.
“Moment of truth” Bart said, sticking a straw on his and taking a sip. Cassie also took a sip as Kon’s eyes darted frantically between them.
“It’s actually really good. Superboy has taste” Cassie said brightly and Kon grinned.
“It is good! Could use some more chocolate though. Superboy needed to have good taste in something because fashion is not it for him” Bart said and Kon cried out, deeply offended. Cassie and Tim laughed.
Kon took a sip out of his own shake before humming happily. He offered his cup to Tim, shaking it at him.
“Try it!” Kon said, and Tim immediately took a sip. It was actually really good quality. It was sweet, something Tim knew Kon really enjoyed.
“It’s really good! Might be my new favorite” Tim told him and Kon laughed triumphantly.
They ate and finished their homework. Tim had asked Kon at one point if he wanted any help with his homework and was immediately shot down with a glare so he did not try that again. Baby steps. At one point, Bart helped Cassie with her math homework while he avoided doing his.
They finished and said their goodbyes, Cassie and Bart squeezing Kon extra tight, before Kon took Tim back to Gotham.
“Thanks for coming, Tim” Kon said as they landed on the balcony of Tim’s room.
“Anything for you Kon” Tim said and Kon went bright red, probably rolling his eyes under his shades that he had put back on before they left Metropolis. “I mean it Kon”.
“Right back at you” Kon said with a soft smile. Tim stared at him for a minute, trying to get his courage up. It was probably a minute too long because Kon pulled his sunglasses down a bit so that Tim could feel the full power of the weird look he was getting.
“Timmy you go-“?
“I’m so sorry for making you try that milkshake on Friday,” Tim blurted out. Kon frowned.
“This again? Tim-“.
“No! I pressured you into drinking it” Tim cut him off. He was still so haunted by his own words. He was so st-
“Timothy, I’m a big boy. I can say no. Trust me, and if not, my Dad can vouch” Kon said jokingly, but Tim shook his head.
“But if I hadn’t you wouldn’t have tried it right?” Tim asked. Kon frowned.
“Tim-“.
“ Right ” Tim repeated with more force. Kon sighed.
“No, I wouldn't have drank it” Kon answered. Tim swallowed the lump in his throat. He was going to say something else but was cut off by Kon taking off his shades and staring into Tim’s souls with serious pale blue eyes.
“But what would’ve happened if I had eaten a strawberry at school. Or alone on patrol? Or on the farm with just my grandparents. What would I do ? You saved me Tim-“
“No i didn't-“
“ Yes you did Tim ! Whether you like it or not you saved me! If I was alone or with people who couldn’t handle it, I would’ve died ” Kon snapped. Tim actually took a step back at how intense Kon was being. “At least, that’s what my Dad said”.
Kon swayed a bit, fiddling with his hands. Tim just stood there, wide eyed.
“Thank you Tim,” Kon finally said. “For saving my life”.
Tim immediately wrapped his arms around Kon, who hugged him back just as tight. They stood there for a second, Tim just listening to Kon’s heart beat, until Kon’s phone went off.
“Oh shit ! That’s probably my Mom! I gotta go” Kon said, breaking the hug. “If you blame yourself for this again I’m gonna kick your ass”.
Tim laughed as Kon flew away. He felt lighter than before.
Kon was gonna be okay. They were all gonna be okay.