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Jon loved Damian. He loved him more than anything. More than Ma's apple pie, more than warm sunny days, more than flying. More than life itself.
Rationally, Jon could see how that might be a problem for his parents. They got married thinking they would have to adopt if they ever wanted children; human and Kryptonian genes were just too incompatible to conceive a child. The fact that Jon existed at all was a miracle, one that he knew his parents had tried and failed to replicate.
But Jon couldn’t help it. Damian was everything to him. Damian was the reason he got out of bed in the morning, the reason he was able to face each and every day with a smile. He was the reason Jon became Superboy. Damian was his whole world.
You've only known him for a couple of months.
You're too young to know what real love is.
He's your first real friend, you're just a little overexcited.
Just some of the things his parents had said to him when Jon had told them his feelings for Damian. They thought it was a phase.
Until The Hunter showed up.
One of the many assassins Ra's al Ghul periodically sent after his grandson, the Hunter was meticulous. Vicious. Once he set his sights on his prey there was nothing on earth that could make him give up the hunt.
The day the Hunter caught Damian was one of the worst of Jon’s life. Seeing his love strung up by his wrists like a piece of meat ready to be devoured was an image that would haunt him to his dying day.
What wouldn't haunt him, however, was the feeling of satisfaction he got as he looked into The Hunter's terrified eyes while plunging his fist through his stomach, pulverizing his insides.
His father and Uncle Bruce had been the ones to find them after the fact. With Damian still unconscious and held protectively in Jon's blood-soaked embrace. They never did find The Hunter's body.
Needless to say, they didn't think his feelings for Damian were 'just a phase' after that.
His parents blamed Damian for Jon's behavior, saying he was dangerous and a bad influence. Uncle Bruce himself begrudgingly agreed though he argued that Damian simply wasn't adjusted to 'normal life' yet.
It infuriated Jon. How dare they? Damian was perfect. Jon was more than old enough to make his own decisions. And the decision to kill The Hunter was his and his alone. Damian hadn’t even been conscious for the confrontation for crying out loud!
Jon made sure to inform his parents of this fact. He wanted to make them understand that Damian was not some evil corrupter. Jon would have killed to protect anyone he loved. With Damian, he was just a little more brutal.
That conversation landed his butt firmly in therapy.
Obsessive, his therapist, Ms. Tate called him. Codependent. Overly attached. Unhealthily fixated.
Jon remained bitter and agitated during their sessions. Refusing to give an inch. Jon didn’t see what was so wrong with protecting Damian. Damian was his. And Jon would do whatever it took to keep him safe. Ms. Tate did not seem to like this answer.
Apparently, Ms. Tate had suggested that his parents keep Jon separated from Damian for a while. That some time apart might help Jon find balance in his everyday life.
It did the exact opposite.
His parents hadn't explicitly told him that he wasn't allowed to see Damian. Being a whole city away from him meant they couldn't spend as much time together as they liked anyway. And his phone and computer privileges had been revoked, on account of the, well, murder. So, not seeing Damian hadn't been a surprise. It wasn't pleasant, especially after what Damian had gone through, but he figured it would be temporary.
Two weeks after the incident his parents revealed that they had no intention of letting him see Damian at all.
To be honest, Jon doesn't really remember what happened. One minute he was arguing with his parents, the next he was waking up strapped to a bed in one of the Watchtower's containment cells, red sun lamps glaring down on him.
His parents watched him through the observation window as he struggled against his restraints. How could they betray them like this? They were his parents! They were supposed to love him! Why were they hurting him?
For weeks they kept Jon in that cell. Strapped down and bathed in the red glow of the lamps. After the first few days, his anger had died down, leaving him feeling hollow. Numb.
His parents came and went, never entering the room. Only observing him through the window. He was pretty sure he saw Uncle Bruce once or twice, with his deeply set frown and stiff shoulders. And he had a vague sense that Kon had tried to fight his way into the cell to see him, though ended up being convinced by the Justice League to go back to Titan Tower. He may have been dreaming that last part up, though. It was hard to tell.
Jon just wanted to see Damian. He wanted to hear his voice. See one of his rare but heart-stopping smiles. To feel his calloused fingers thread through his as they held hands. That's all he wanted. Damian was all he ever wanted.
But that was looking more and more like it would never happen.
Until one night, Jon was abruptly awoken by a hand jostling his shoulder.
"Jon."
"Jon!"
"Come on, Hayseed. Wake up!"
Hayseed? Only Damian called him Hayseed…
Jon bolted up in bed as far as his restraints would let him.
"Damian!?"
Damian was dressed head to toe in black with a mask covering the bottom half of his face.
"Who else, Jon?"
Jon stared at him in wonder, even with half of his face covered, Damian was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"You came for me…."
Damian slowly raised his hand to rest on Jon's cheek.
"Of course, Beloved. I would never abandon you."
Tears of love and gratitude pooled in Jon's eyes.
"I love you, Dami."
Damian’s eyes softened.
"And I, you."