Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You really don’t have to.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I really do want to. And you’re paying me back by sharing your food, we’re both winning here!”

Tim’s sigh gets interrupted by another cough fit, destroying whatever retort he was going to rasp out next. Kon has enough self-preservation to not laugh at his best friend (barely), instead focusing back on the pot of soup he’s reheating for them to eat lest he ruins the only food in Tim’s fridge.

To say Tim almost gave him a heart attack would be the understatement of the year. After the Justice League finally bringing Bruce back thanks to Red Robin’s hard work, and most of them, plus Nightwing, attempting to apologize with various degrees of sincerity and barely receiving any acknowledgment (and no forgiveness), RR had gone almost no contact with the rest of the cape community, mostly working alone and disappearing into the shadows like any good bat when others tried to speak with him, only teaming up in absolute emergencies (and that one time when him and Red Hood blew up an allegedly empty warehouse and refused to explain).

Kon knew better than to go harass his angry friend and had stuck with listening to his heartbeat every now and then and sending memes and checkup texts that were only occasionally answered in short responses and/or emojis. 

But this morning, Tim’s heart started sounding weird, not scarily so but enough for Kon to get worried. He decided to risk Rob’s wrath and called him. “It’s just a cold, if you’re that worried can you bring me some antibiotics?” it’s what Tim said, but once Kon arrived and Tim admitted he’d lost his spleen (“I didn’t lose it, I know who has it”) he decided to take care of his leader for a little bit, despite the protests, to make sure he doesn’t die from a cold of all things (Red Robin’s long list of enemies would be pissed to know nature beat them to the punch).

Looks good enough. The container has Alfred’s name on it so you’d need to be a special type of bad at cooking Ma would never let him be to ruin the soup. He plates two bowls and carefully floats to the couch where Tim is sulking at, not that hard thanks to the tiny apartment they are staying (hiding) in. 

Kon hands his sick friend a bowl before sitting down, and Tim sniffs it now that the food’s close enough for his congested nose.

“…That soup’s supposed to be eaten cold, Kon.” Ma can never know about this.

“Cold soup is for people with spleens, Tim.” He fears for a moment it might have been too soon but Tim’s huff of laughter reassures him.

They eat in silence, trying to ignore the weird flavor, and watching a true crime documentary of a murder Tim solved in his first year as Robin. Kon kept glancing at him, but if the case was bringing back any memories, it wasn’t showing on his face. Not that that meant a lot with the bats. He once again cursed the day Bruce taught his best friend how to hide his emotions.

He waits for both of them to finish their food before addressing the elephant in the room.

“So Bruce is back.” He expects the other boy’s glare.

“He is.”

“And him and Alfred have medical training. I don’t.”

“I didn’t ask you to stay and I have more than enough kryptonite if you try to take me to the Bat-cave.” Defensive much?

“I wasn’t saying that… do you actually have kryptonite here?” Tim’s shrug is not calming in the slightest.

“Dick, Damian and Alfred have clearly shown they don’t want me there, Steph is still sore about our breakup, Cass is in Hon Kong, and I don’t trust Jason as far as i can throw him” Kon waits in silence for a few seconds longer, noticing he’s missing one person. “I’m emancipated and I’m not Robin anymore. Bruce doesn’t need me anymore. The family doesn’t need me anymore.” Kon knows for Tim ‘not needing him’ translates to ‘not wanting him’, whether it’s true or not.

Kon doesn’t really know how to answer that. He stopped trying to understand the bat’s family dynamics a while ago. He just sticks with siding with his Robin on anything and everything, he’s usually right anyway. He rests his head on his friend shoulder, which is answered positively by Tim halfheartedly petting his hair like a dog.

“Well, I have in on good account YJ still wants you. As long as you get rid of that ugly cowl.”

That actually makes Tim laugh, but it’s quickly stopped by more coughs. “Fair enough. Don’t get so close, you’re going to catch something”

“I’m half Kryptonian, I can’t catch your yucky earth bugs. I’m too hot.”

“You mean your body runs too hot, idiot, and you’re still half human, just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it can’t.” Ignoring his own words as he says them, Tim wraps his blanket around him and Kon. Kon doesn’t make a SuperRobin burrito joke only out of fear of ruining the moment.

They keep watching TV in silence, and Kon’s mind begins to wander. If one of us was a girl, we’d totally look like a couple right now. Not that there aren’t already a lot of people who think they’re together, or at least want them to be. He’s never really minded it, that’s just what happens when you’re public figures and best friends. He suddenly huffs out a laugh when he remembers the time Tim and him found out some of the capes had made a betting pool on whether or not they were secretly together. Tim had complained to him for the entire day when he found out Spoiler had $20 on them being secretly married. He’d only sulked harder when he realized Kon had been trying to hold back laughter that entire time, and pretended to be his boyfriend in front of the capes who’d joined the betting pool for the next few days.

Realizing Tim hasn’t questioned him on the random laugh, he turns to look at him. He’s fallen asleep, his eyes closed and his rattling breaths deep and slow. A part of Kon points out how close their faces are to each other but he doesn’t move away, not wanting to wake him up. Of course I don’t mind people thinking I’m with you. You’re smart, and a good leader, and somehow funny and scary simultaneously, and too loyal to your friends and family, and somehow not realize how great you are.

He carefully moves a strand of hair away from the other’s face, his eyes going over and over again over his features. His coal black hair complimenting his pale skin, almost paper white now thanks to his cold, except for his eye bags and his nose that’s turned pink from blowing it. Others have said his blue eyes are scary, but Kon always thought the light blue mixed with entire combo made him look almost otherworldly in a good way. And you’re handsome. If you were a girl I bet you’d be constantly swarmed by modeling agencies and love letters. Kon can’t truthfully say he wouldn’t be contributing to the second bunch. Really, if you were a girl I probably wouldn’t have looked at Cassie twice, you could have saved me a breakup. But I doubt you would have accepted me anyway, right? You’re attentive enough to know I would’ve fucked up the relationship back then. He ignores the other, quieter voice in his head asking ‘and now?’ Steph would disagree, but i bet you’d be an awesome boyfriend. We’d just work better together, y’know? 

He hadn’t noticed his eyelids have been growing heavier until he can’t keep them open anymore. He doesn’t hear himself whispering instead of thinking as sleep overtakes him

“Damn it, now I kinda wish you would have been a girl”

Chapter Text

“I’m half Kryptonian, I can’t catch your yucky earth bugs. I’m too hot.”

Past Kon was a fool. Present, sickly Kon hates past Kon and his arrogance. Yes, if given the choice he’d do everything the exact same way but that’s not the point right now! The point is he is sick for the first time ever and he’s really hoping it’s the last time too. Ma and Pa won’t let him help with the farm because they insist he needs to rest and he’s been with a sick Robin enough times (two) to know how frustrating it is to have a sick person trying to run around when they really shouldn’t.

Either way, the doctor said his inhumanly high body heat should ensure the bug is gone way quicker than with other people, he just needs to ride it out for a couple of days. He can do it. Totally. He just needs to stay in bed and do nothing, that’s basically the average teenage dream, he thinks. And he has Krypto keeping him company, this should be heaven for him, really. But there’s something keeping him from enjoying it.

“Even calling him is enough for me, but he probably won’t pick up” he tells his pup, who seems more worried about getting more head pats than whatever Kon has to say about his other best friend. Realizing Krypto will not be giving him the solution to his problems, he sighs and lets the thoughts he’s been avoiding fill his brain.

Of course he can’t ask Tim to visit, he’s immunocompromised and just got better from last time. Seeing him well enough to kick Kon out of the apartment all by himself is the only reason Kon agreed to leave and come back home. Which was a really good decision because he started getting symptoms almost right after he arrived to the farm.

And like he said, it’s not the 1800s, he could just videocall him and maybe they could watch a movie or play a game together. But Kon doesn’t know what to do with this new friendship dynamic they’ve had since Bruce “died”. He gets it of course, Tim had to deal with a lot and has told him very little about it. Hell, he’d be begging his best friend to go to therapy if he thought he had any chance at getting him to agree to it… but Tim is Tim, and the only thing he can do is adapt to this new thing and maybe, possibly, improve it into something more similar to what it used to be.

‘Or maybe even better?’

And there’s the reason he’d been refusing to think about anything relating to this subject. Ever since that night, and those weird thoughts he had at the end of it, there’s been this little voice in his head saying the weirdest things. It’s not new, actually, but it’s usually reserved for girls he’s trying to get with. And he’s used to listening to it without thinking, which normally gets him a quick hookup and/or a failed relationship, which doesn’t sound appealing at all this time.

‘And why’s that?’

No. No, no, no. He’s not entertaining this train of thought. Because… this is Tim. Tim is his best friend, and his leader, and a man. Just because he’d make a super cool girlfriend hypothetically doesn’t mean he’s not a man here in the real world. It’s not like they can-

…

Huh.

Kon’s hand stops petting Krypto, getting him a confused look from his furry companion. He reaches for his phone and starts googling. It doesn’t take long for him to start getting answers to his questions and questions from said answers. So he could like Tim like that. But only if he was born like that? He thinks? And also if he does like him it means a whole new wave of trouble for some reason? He’d be suddenly illegal in a bunch of countries, which sounds cool to say but it’s pretty bad actually. AND there’s no guarantee Tim would also like men, or that he’d be okay with Kon liking him (Kon doesn’t think for a second Tim would care about what gender Kon is trying to nail now, but he could get uncomfortable with Kon trying to nail him).

Kon stares at his phone for a while, thinking, before chuckling (not anxiously at all) and putting it away. Well, it’s a good thing Kon doesn’t actually like Tim, but at least he got to learn something new! Cool as it’d be to date him as a girl, he ONLY likes girls, so he can’t possibly like Tim. Maybe, at best, his gender-bent imaginary Tim (Timberly? Timberina?) but not the real Tim. The one who probably couldn’t and wouldn’t reciprocate. The one who wouldn’t be able to comfortably kiss in public or get married to or start a family with anyways.

He pretends his eyes feel weird because of the cold and wraps an arm around Krypto before closing them to take a nap. It doesn’t matter anyway.

***

He wakes up to a voice next to him.

“This is Batman speaking. It would seem you have a Bat-call. Better pick up your Bat-Phone soon. Gotham may need you, for crime never sleeps. This is Batman-”

He laughs at his own ringtone (and internally blames the fever frying his brain for it, it’s supposed to be ironic) and picks it up without checking who is calling; if it’s a spam call he can just go back to sleep and let them talk to the mute button. When the call goes through, though, it’s not a Nigerian prince.

“I told you so.” They sound teasing but honest.

“… Wha?” Kon rubs his eyes with his other hand as he sits up, somehow without waking up Krypto.

“Look out your window. But don’t open it.”

Kon groans but his body is listening to the caller before he’s even processed who it is. His demeanor immediately changes when the sight of a smirking Red Robin sitting on the branch closest to his window greets him from the other side of the glass. He’s wearing most of his usual suit, but he’s now wearing a domino mask, noticeably different from the Robin one. Kon automatically smiles back, feeling warmer for reasons other than his symptoms.

“I told you you could get sick, you look like shit” Tim’s tone and smile makes it clear he’s fully back to his healthy, smart-ass self.

“I was trying to make us match but you got rid of the cowl!” Kon is too excited to even slightly pretend to be serious.

“It wasn’t that bad! Not everyone can have a leather jacket and sunglasses as part of their suit” The sound of Tim’s laugh and the compliment makes Kon forget whatever he was going to shoot back. “I’m just here to make sure you haven’t died. Sorry I got you sick and I can’t take care of you back”.

“Ma and Pa wouldn’t have let you, they’re the ones with experience” he shrugs, trying to pretend he wasn’t whining to his dog about missing Tim just a couple of hours ago. “How did you even know I was sick?”

“You’d been tweeting about it all morning, it’d be weirder if I didn’t know by now, drama queen” Tim starts standing up “I have business close by, I just wanted to make sure you’re not dying”. Now that Tim says it, it does make sense he wouldn’t come all the way to Smallville just to see him when they wouldn’t even be able to hang out in the same room. But the fact that he still deviated his path to come see him was plenty enough for Kon. Still…

“You’re going to get me all excited and immediately leave?” Kon presses his hand onto the glass and attempts an impression of Krypto’s sad face, but Tim doesn’t stop climbing off the tree. 

“It’s uncomfortable and cold out here and I’m already running late. But if you’re not tired we can chat until I’m there” His voice gets an unsure undertone, a reminder of the distance they’ve been keeping until very recently, the one that Kon never wants to know of again.

“I’m never too tired for yapping, and we still have a looot of catching up to do”.

“I’m not telling you how I lost my spleen, Kon”.

“Not yet, Rob, not yet”.

True to his word, Tim doesn’t tell him about his spleen or anything that happened while he was away from Gotham, and Kon doesn’t ask. They talk about their lives in the present; Kon’s recent Superboy adventures, Tim’s plans on getting a boathouse (greatly encouraged by Kon purely because it sounds cool), trivial YJ and JL gossip, and anything else they can think of.

And in that time Kon almost manages to drown out the voice in his head, and almost manages to forget about those internet searches and their bitter conclusion, because Tim (the real, male one) is laughing and chatting with Kon and that’s what matters to him. His best friend is back and that’s enough for him.

Chapter Text

Kon spaces out in the middle of his teammates' little war. It’s not uncommon, it’s usually entertaining but he would’ve liked for them to wait for him first. He arrived when the argument had already started, and their other teammates had left for another mission, and he’s not sure what they’re even fighting about right now.

“Well I’m not doing that!” The tone in Cassie’s voice indicates they’ve been arguing for a while now.

“Then do you have a better idea?! It’s a couple’s event, we need at least two people inside if we want this to work!” Bart’s speed is the only thing that saves him from Cassie’s plastic fork hitting him on the face, making him calm down… as much as Bart knows how to. Were they eating lunch and debriefing at the same time? Without him? Kon wants to tell them off but he’s trying to focus on putting together what they’re doing, not particularly interested in interrupting them to ask.

“It’s a stupid plan anyways, I’m not wearing a dumb gala dress! I won’t be able to fight properly if shit goes down!”

A second of silence passes by, where Bart cocks his head to the side like a confused puppy, before understanding paints his face.

“OHHH, you think you’re going to be the infiltrated girlfriend?” he laughs “No, no one would believe you being an elegant, rich girl” Cassie’s warning glare, and the plate she’s holding, makes him backtrack faster than he can run. “Becauseyou’retoobadass! Rich girls are so high and mighty, you’re too cool to pass as one, right Kon?” Kon hadn’t even realized they knew he was here, but he nods anyway, not wanting Bart to die again so quickly.

“Who who would be the girl, then? We’re the only ones available now, and very lovingly, you’d be a really ugly girl, Bart” Cassie has a joking tone know that her style is no longer in danger, but Bart pouts harder than when she was screaming at him.

“I would make a super awesome girlfriend, and I’m blowing you up in my mind as we speak” he stands up like he hadn’t just said that last part, much to Cassie and Kon’s confusion, and clinks his (plastic) cup with his (plastic) fork. “I have an announcement, and I think this the best moment to say it” he pulls out his phone and shows it to them, despite the fact they’re too far away to read the texts on the screen. “Red Rob and I were talking yesterday… Aaaaand heagreedtojoinusforthemission!”

Once Kon and Cassie mentally deciphered the last part Cassie squeals in joy and Kon stands up excited to look at the texts properly, wanting to make sure it was for real.

“Finally, I was starting to think he wouldn’t be back!” she flies over to side hug the two of them “It’ll be just like the good ol’ days!”

Kon smiles at them again before turning to Bart. “But what did that have to do with our problem? We need a girl to be the girlfriend”. He highlights the girl part while pointing at their group.

The speedster shrugs. “I explained to him the mission in a call and he said he had a plan". He turns to Cassie. "Now we just need to give Kon his part”.

Cassie gives him an apologetic smile.“We need you to be the boyfriend”.

“Why me?” Kon frowns. He hates fancy shmancy parties, and specifically having to act like a fancy shmancy Nepo baby. For once he was really hoping to be in Team B.

“If we send two strangers and a bunch of secret files go missing they’ll know exactly who to blame. If we send Lex Luthor’s son and his girlfriend of the week maybe they’ll suspect the girlfriend, and if that happens you can vouch for her being with you the entire night and get them off our asses”. Kon groans. He was probably going to have to talk to Lex to give him a real invitation, they’ll notice if he crashes the party…

But, Tim has pretty good taste in women. If he invited someone to play a nice, rich girl, she’s probably pretty too right? If he multitasks and uses he natural charm, he can probably get a sweet after-party with this mysterious actress. He balances the choices in his head before sighing.

“Fine. But if this doesn’t work I’m blaming both of you”.

***

Damn.

It’s the first thing Kon thinks when he looks at his soon-to-be fake girlfriend. With green eyes, long, blond hair, an even longer red gown with high leg slits showing her tights and red heels. The other two seem surprised as well. Bart probably wishes he’d taken the role now, Kon thinks. He gets it of course, he’s not sure he’s ever seen such a beautiful woman in real life, and the galas Lex occasionally forces him to attend have ensured he has seen a lot of hot women. He smirks at her, floating over to introduce himself.

“I’m Kon, but you can call me your soulmate” he offers his hand. The unnamed girl only raises an eyebrow until Kon puts his hand away, but Kon sees her try to hide a smile. That’s fine, it was one of his worst ones, but he was busy trying not to look as stricken as he felt. He'll have more chances to enamore her tonight. When she opens her (heart-shaped, red, kissable) lips, however, nothing in the universe could stop the surprise he felt from making him almost crash back to the ground.

“You’re hilarious, dude”. Tim pats him on the shoulder, as Kon unstably lands, and walks over to the other two, leaving Kon to his petrified state of confusion. That’s Tim? Tim? His best friend? How did he not recognize him? Well, there was no way through pure looks, Kon knew Red Robin was good at disguising himself but that was beyond good. He looked unrecognizable. He looked…

Really fucking good?

He shakes his head, like that’s going to make his brain stop thinking bullshit, and tries to compose himself. No, it’s still just Tim. Just his dude best friend, his leader, his bro! He’s just dressed up extra nicely today! Men wear skirts and dresses all the time, if Tim started to wear them regularly he wouldn’t freak out at all, this is the exact same, just maybe with extra makeup. He just has to treat him as he always has during missions like this one.

Let’s see if we can keep up that attitude while we’re acting like lovers.

Shit. With the surprise identity Kon almost forgot. Tim is going to be his boyfriend. Well, no, his girlfriend. Point stands. They’re going to have to get all PDA and dance and drink and-

“Are you okay?” Tim’s voice pulls him back to reality, but doesn’t help to calm him down at all.

“Hm? What?” He looks at his teammates’ faces, all a bit concerned, so Kon tries for a smile. “Yeah, I’m cool. Totally. I’m just…” he tries to think of something quick “Lex is going to attend. He wasn’t, and then I asked him if he could get me an invitation, and now suddenly he is. He probably wants to convince me of something weird again” It probably wasn’t a lie, he had no way of knowing that since he didn’t ask, but it sounded like something Lex would do. 

Tim wraps his arm around him, while Kon tries to will his heart to stay in his chest, to lead him back to their circle. “It’s okay, man. I’ll be with you the entire night, right? If he tries anything, I’ll become the most annoying bitch in the history of parties until he leaves you alone, okay?” Kon laughs, now kind of hoping to see what Tim does and nods, trying to calm himself down.

“Yeah, it’s fine, I just needed a second. I’m fine now”. He has to be of he wants to get through this entire party and get the information they want. They didn’t actually tell him what it was for since he arrived late, but it feels embarrassing to ask now.

Tim smiles but doesn’t pull away, and Kon can’t even pretend to be upset about that. “Well, your only job today is to get me inside and make me look as trustworthy as possible, I didn’t have much time to make this identity… legally believable. We’ll just pretend to enjoy the party, I’ll get the stuff while I’m ‘in the bathroom’ and we’ll ditch”. Kon takes a breath. That’s easy, he just has to worry about looking like they’re in love. Not hard at all… for no reason other than his awesome acting skills!

Cassie hugs him from the other side, making him jump a bit. He needs to stop spacing out during the mission. She gives him a look he tries to ignore, they all know how awkward he is about anything relating to Luthor and Clark.“We can have a movie night afterwards, to help you relax?” 

Not the after-party he was hoping for but plan A is definitely not happening now, and he’s more than happy to have a hangout with his favourite teammates and friends. He hugs them both back. “Yeah, alright”.

Without a huff Tim pulls Bart in, who had been busy checking no one was coming while they talked about their plan (oops). He immediately gives in and joins in on the group hug, the group staying silent and mostly still, sans Bart, enjoying being together after their forced break. 

Kon takes a deep breath, totally ignoring Tim’s nice perfume, clearing his mind of his recent worries to appreciate the moment. Weird feelings aside, he’s so unbelievably happy that Cassie never gave up when they were all gone, that Bart was able to come back from the death with him, that his Robin is back, even if changed, and still wants to be in the team. He believes as long as he has his team it’ll be alright.

They pull back after a while, everyone clearly calmer. “Everyone ready, then?” Tim readjusts himself, also to get into character.

Kon loops an arm around him (to get into character too, obviously) and smiles “Mhm, let’s go”.

Chapter Text

Carol laughs and takes another sip of his drink, nailing the act of a girl who doesn’t understand the topic they’re discussing but is still happy to be a part of the conversation. Kon hasn’t been able to stop looking at him after every giggle and gasp, hasn’t tried to stop either since it’s helping their story. Not like them being draped around each other like they’re trying to fuse their bodies together isn’t enough already.

The dude they’re talking to smirks at him after the forced laughter dies out, Kon never bothers to learn his name even though they’ve met in multiple galas now, after all, he only attends these things when he has ulterior motives. The man must think they’re closer than they really are though.“Wow, you’re really liking this one, ay?”

“The band’s pretty alright, maybe the buffet could use more sweets, but it’s not the worst gala I’ve attended”. Not a lie either, he’s found being with Tim made most of the gala pretty enjoyable. Fake flirting with the boy, going to get drinks and snacks together, and shit talking fellow guests they dislike as soon as they’re out of earshot has suddenly made an otherwise forgettable party into the best thing he’s done as Luthor’s son.

But the man laughs (Brady, maybe? Kon just knows he has a white boy’s name) and rolls his eyes. “I guess the gala’s fine. But y’know that’s not what I meant”. He punctuates the last part by wiggling his brows at Tim, who stares back with a face of polite confusion, not entirely fake. “You haven’t left your girl’s side all evening. She’s like your girlfriend girlfriend, no?” 

Kon isn’t shocked this dude would be weirded out by the idea of a couple being close, he’s already seen him ditch his date twice to go flirt with other people with the excuse of getting their glasses refilled, even now the poor girl looked like she just wanted to go home. This was the worst part of these parties, having to hang out with nepo babies who thought Kon was just like them, and having to pretend he was. He passes his huff of annoyance as a laugh, and unclings Tim’s arm with his to drape it over his shoulder instead. “What can I say, dude? Carol is awesome, I couldn’t help but show her off”. He really hates talking about Tim like a cool trinket he got, but he needs to sell his usual character and he knows Tim knows he didn’t really mean it.

Ignoring the phrasing, Tim hugs him and cooes. “You’re so cute, Conner! You know he brought me a huge flower bouquet when he picked me up? I had to leave them at home, but they’re so pretty! Aren’t they, love?” Kon nods, giving an embarrassed smile, and ignoring the jealous look the girl gives them and teasing laughter from the dude. 

“Nah, if you do that she’s going to become spoiled, what you want to do is-” he gets interrupted, which is for the best, in Kon’s opinion, by a suddenly louder and happier tune. 

Tim gasps “Omg this song! C’mon, you’re learning how to dance!” and is already dragging Kon to the dance floor by the time he catches on. Kon hears him grumbling under his breath “That was worse than talking to Luthor”. He can’t fully agree, but it makes him laugh nonetheless, putting his hand on Tim’s hip to start dancing. He actually knows how to dance, he’s really bad at it, but he knows enough to not embarrass Tim (hopefully). Even with the heels he has to look down to see Tim’s face. His smile is almost real this time, slightly lopsided and ten times cuter than the gala smile, and his gaze seems softer then it’s been in a while. He huffs out a laugh when Kon twirls him, and Kon doesn’t think his own smile can get any bigger until the sound reaches his ears. He doesn’t want this to stop. Not the dance, but not the gala either. This is everything he had been wishing for, Tim liking him and no one caring. If he wasn’t too afraid to try, Kon could kiss him right now and Tim would likely kiss back. But as the song reaches a bridge and the music gets calmer, Tim resting his cheek on Kon’s chest since he can’t properly reach his shoulder, Kon has another thought. He kind of prefers normal Tim. He had a lot of fun with Tim as a girl, but it’s nothing compared to a patrol with him, or a weekend with him visiting the farm. Even now he wishes he could run his fingers through short black hair instead of the blonde wing as he does it, and when Tim looks up he wishes he could stare at his blue eyes instead of the fake green.

He sighs when the song ends, upset by the revelation. As much as he doesn’t want the night to end yet, he needs a second. “I have to go to the bathroom”. Tim eyes widen slightly, like Kon was speaking to him in code, he doesn’t correct him. Tim nods and walks with him, taking it as his clue to go to the bathroom too.

Kon bee-lines for the restroom, barely paying attention to the guests that greet them, Tim trailing behind him. 

“Are you okay?” Tim suddenly whispers, not slowing down. Kon can only smile feebly. 

“Yeah, I just want to get this over with, it’s my turn to pick the movie, right?” He winks, and Tim’s expression tells him he didn’t fully believe that, but he nods nonetheless. Kon let’s out a breath, for once hoping their time apart will make it too awkward for Tim to try to have a real conversation with him.

They separate after ensuring no one’s seeing them. If questioned later, Kon must say he entered the bathroom second and left first, ensuring he witnessed his ‘girlfriend’ was truly in the bathroom the entire time. Of course, in reality, Tim sneaks down another hallway to get their objective while Kon goes calm down.

Once inside the fancy bathroom, Kon grips the marble countertop and stares at his reflection in the mirror, God knows for how long. He’s tired of being confused. By now it’d be stupid of him to keep denying his crush. He wants to just grab Tim and tell him the truth - that he’s falling for him, hard and fast. But Kon is scared, and not just of rejection. He’s terrified of admitting a truth he’s never faced before…

When a guests enters too, Kon snaps out of his spiraling thoughts with a whispered breath “Fuck” he pretends to be washing his hands.

Why can’t you just say it?

He tries to mentally make excuses to the voice, his confusion, his research, his past relationships… But he already knew the answer. He wanted to hear it from Tim first. Needed his partner, his best friend, his… to confess first. Kon couldn’t risk their friendship, not for anything. He loved Tim too damn much to risk messing that up. Even if Tim somehow didn’t feel the same way. Kon had to know he would be okay with it at least.

With one last look at the mirror, trying to school his face back into character, he leaves the bathroom. Settling outside, he leans against the wall and watches the people going in out, thankfully most of them are men since too many women would make it obvious ‘Carol’ wasn’t there. He occasionally greets a familiar face or two, when they do first. Maybe one will help with his alibi if they see him obviously waiting for someone outside the girl’s restrooms. The acceptance of his sexuality and his love is slowly, extremely slowly, sinking in while he waits, as he tries to swallow the feelings it’s bringing in. 

Saving him from himself, Tim finally reappears, the smile on his face letting Kon know he was successful. Kon smiles back, at least they’ve finally had one mission where nothing goes horribly wrong. Kon rights himself, preparing to go say their goodbyes and ditch, before Tim stops him by softly touching his shoulder.

“I think I found the boat I want” he’s speaking normally, not making his voice higher, but quiet so no one hears.

“Oh, awesome! Invite me when you move in!”

“Actually, are you free on Sunday? I wanted you to come with me to see it in person”. Kon hearts skips a beat at the idea of hanging out with Tim more privately again. Isn’t looking at houses together a couples thing?

Maybe it’s a date.

No. Obviously not. Future roommates have to look at houses together too and it’s not romantic then. He just wants his best friend’s opinion. But-

“You’re doing it again” When did Tim’s face get closer? And how long has he been poking his cheek? “You keep spacing out. You can say no, dude, I won’t be offended”

“NO!” God, Kon wants to slap himself right now. “I mean- Yes. I’m not busy, and boats are cool. And you’re cool! So it’s cool!”… Maybe he should, can’t make his brain worse than it is.

Tim gives him an analyzing look and Kon internally panics. He’s seen Tim’s detective skills in action, he wouldn’t put it past him to figure out Kon likes him by his micro-expressions or his body language or something like that. Tim can’t yet. Kon needs more time and info. He’s not ready, as much he hates worrying his best friend, he just need a little bit more time.

Kon looks away, hands clenching. “I’m sorry. I’m just… dealing with things. It’s been eventful since I came back. And it’s been a long day”. A long day of realizing he wants to kiss his best friend senseless. A long day of wanting to tell him he’s crazy about him. A long day of being terrified to ruin everything between them.

Tim doesn’t speak, probably thinking of what to say. His face, the costume is perfect but now that Kon knows it’s him it’s impossible to see anyone else, seems almost taunting now, even when it’s painted in worry. Kon doesn’t give him the chance to talk, instead rubs the back of his neck, unable to look at him as he speaks again. “We should get back out there before someone gets suspicious.” He starts walking, barely waiting for Tim to follow. More like before he does something stupid. Something crazy like grabbing him and telling him that he’s in love with him. Something like kissing him. Something like admitting that, no matter what happens, he’s the most important person in the world to him… and that he couldn’t handle it if he didn’t feel the same way.

“Kon, you-” they get interrupted by three loud noises that makes them stop in their tracks and look at each other. Gunshots. Tim can only groan.

“Wouldn’t be a Young Justice mission if it went right, huh?”

Chapter Text

Three gunshots ring out, and the attendees answer with panic. Tim and Kon don’t even need to look at each other before they’re moving. Kon realizes maybe they should have once it becomes obvious they have very different plans.

“Carol” Kon’s tone is pointed, to remind Tim of their current disguises, as he grabs his friend by the arm “We need to go.” 

Tim eyes move quickly between him and the direction of the ruckus, as if trying to choose. Cassie and Bart are outside and Kon has already pressed his emergency beacon, they’re probably just waiting for the right moment to come stop this. This isn’t their job right now, in fact, breaking character is the opposite of their instructions.

Tim doesn’t get to decide, however, before two armed men reach the location, getting between them and the only other exit. The comms in their ears are barking orders only them and Kon can hear. “The security’s been dealt with. Focus on keeping them under control.” The men nod before screaming at them and the rest of the guests unlucky enough to be leaving the bathroom to get on the floor and stay put.

When Tim takes a moment to comply, still evaluating possible solutions, one of them takes a step towards him. Kon tenses, instincts begging him to fight, but he only squeezes Tim’s wrist in warning before grabbing his shoulder and pushing him to the floor with him. Tim must’ve accepted, for now, there’s no way for them to stop the men with their current identities. They aren’t here as heroes. They are civilians, hostages, and they have to play the part to give the other half of the team a chance to handle this smoothly.

Kon hasn’t let go of Tim, kind of scared he’ll run off and put himself in danger. Not that he doesn’t trust him, but he can lose a bit of his self preservation when it comes to saving others.

His skin is really soft

Distracting as ever, the thought makes Kon let go and instead put his hand right next to Tim’s, still close enough to grab him if need be but no longer touching. If Tim doesn’t reciprocate Kon’s feelings (though Kon doesn’t want to think about it) he’d probably be extremely crept out to know his best friend is having such weird thoughts in such an inappropriate situation.

Oh, the situation. Right. Focus, Kon.

Tim’s eyes are glued to the men, a cold calculating gaze that sends shivers down Kon’s spine for no reason. When the comms make noise again, screaming about someone attacking the guys posed outside, Kon doesn’t even have to worry about telling Tim what’s happening, the panic in the men’s faces obvious even if you weren’t a genius, awesome, amazing detective like Tim. Kon makes a mental note to platonically kiss Cassie and Bart after this is over. That and to stop using any adjectives for Tim indefinitely because they’re getting our of control.

Before he can celebrate, because God forgive he gets a single win, Tim starts… bawling his eyes out. From quiet staring to a full breakdown, scream crying louder than all the other guests in the hallway combined, before Kon, the hostages or the men can even process it. He’s saying something in that high pitched tone, though it’s mostly incomprehensible, about this gala sucking and wanting to go home. 

“Carol-” Kon freaks out, not because he’s buying the act but because of look the man closest to them is giving him. They’re under attack, Cassie and Bart already in the building according to the voices, and Tim’s ruckus is only going to attract their attention quicker “Carol, shut up!” Kon knows that’s probably the purpose, but maybe not so close to the damn criminal with a gun, Tim?!

He can’t even feel bad about the tone because in the next second the entire scene changes. Doors fly open once again, the man grabs Tim by the back of his dress (at least it wasn’t the wig?) and turns to the new faces before pressing the gun to the crying boy’s temple. 

Fuck shit crap

Not very eloquent, but true. Everyone freezes, except for Tim who’s still sobbing, and the man who speaks up.

“O-one movement or spark or l-little magic trick and I’m shooting, you hear?!”

It’s probably more the panic of the moment than anything else that keeps all the heroes in place. Tim, with no good way of getting away while he’s Carol and the rest not wanting to risk their Robin’s life. Kon’s stomach twists, willing himself to stay in place, even with every molecule of his body wanting to act. To do anything.

“P-please don’t” Tim’s wobbly voice, however fake, becomes a twisting knife in Kon’s chest. 

Think think think

“You shut up!” the man is clearly starting to lose his cool as the other one, seeing the attention isn’t on him, points the gun at a panicked Impulse, neither him nor Supergirl noticing. 

Then, their eyes meet. Tim, glares at him through his tears and Kon stares back. He isn’t sure if it’s Tim’s intention, or maybe even Kon’s wishful thinking, but he knows Tim in and out of the cape enough to recognize all of his looks. And that look, according to his translation, was Timothese for “Do something, idiot, what are you waiting for?” And how can Superboy ever refuse an order from Red Robin when he puts it like that?

Praying Luthor’s PR team is as good as he claims, Kon gives up the act. The heat vision reaches the gun before anyone can react. The man’s finger moves but the gun is already moving. Kon’s heart drops for a moment when the sound of the shot is followed by a familiar yell of pain. But glancing at Tim, he’s covering his face with his hand, which is bleeding too much to be healthy but too little to be lethal. Thank Zeus or whoever the fuck at least it’s not deep enough to have killed him or even knocked him out. A bullet graze on the head is still really really bad but it’s good enough right now.

The other man shoots but, now that their teammate is relatively safe, Impulse has no trouble dodging and returning the favor by tackling him. Seeing no one else had come in to help the men let Kon assume YJ had already defeated all of them. Now that they were unarmed, Supergirl needs no help finishing up while Bart struggles, but manages, to keep the second one down.

Kon runs to Tim, the rest of the world unimportant now that they were fine and he wasn’t.

“Let me see.”

“It’s fine Kon.”

“It’s NOT fine T-” Just because Kon gave up the act didn’t mean Tim had too “-Carol. You’re hurt, dear. Let me fly you to a doctor.”

“Conner, everyone can hear you!” Tim’s eye, the one not being blinded by blood, keeps glancing between the still scared guests and Kon “Everyone saw you! You idiot…” 

“We’ll deal with that when you’re not bleeding out. Or getting that injury full of germs.” Kon really wants to go kill whoever is responsible for spleenless Tim, all he can think of is how easily an infection could kill him, specially with Tim’s track record taking care of himself.

Tim grumbles but doesn’t retort, Kon takes it as a win while he can and swoops Tim into his arms, bridal style. The inopportune feelings return to the forefront in a flash, but Kon doesn’t have time to squash them down before he’s flying out.

***

Following Tim’s directions, they reach a shabby looking Gotham clinic. Kon has half a mind to turn around and go anywhere other than Crime Alley (he will never get over the name) but he’s honestly more scared of trying to argue with Tim when he’s injured and already stressed out.

When they walk into the empty waiting room a doctor rushes their way, her face all polite professionalism until Tim speaks. In his normal voice.

“Heyyy Leslie” He’s trusting her with his identity? And why does he sound like Jon when he’s caught doing something he’s not supposed to? 

Kon gets his answer before he can ask by the doctor’s change in expression “Of course. I was starting to think you were finally taking care of yourself. Should’ve known better, you’re still a bat.” Wow, her tone is almost worse than Lois and Ma’s combined and Kon really doesn’t envy Tim right now, specially with the grimace of pain deepening at the last part. 

She leads them to a private room, suddenly calmer and more annoyed, and gets to work. After taking off Tim’s wig (“Never dye your hair blonde” “Yes, ma’am”) dousing the wound in desinfectant (“You bats would rather die than tell me when it hurts” “It really doesn’t” “You squint your eyes when you lie, Tim”) and swiftly closing the injury while interrogating Kon about what happened (“Glad to hear all your fancy training going to waste” “I was just-” “Don’t bother, I didn’t ask”) she takes a big breath and declares she’ll be back after checking on her other patients and getting some bat-level pain relievers, leaving the two alone in the room.

They stay silent for longer than Kon can stand and then some. While Tim is using a dirty mirror on the wall to take off the colored contacts, Kon can only stare at him. He’s still wearing the dress, though his makeup got ruined. And there’s Kon’s last evidence, in case he still needed it: he really thinks he looks more attractive now. 

Well, the dress can definitely stay, specially with the way it shows off his legs, but Kon can’t even pretend he’s not happier seeing Tim’s black nest he calls hair again. Would it be weird if he buried his face there later when they were all cuddling during movie time? Probably… Actually, is movie night still happening tonight? He should call Cass and Bart, they’re probably worried. And wow, Tim’s eyes can really be…

How long have they been making eye contact?

Kon looks down, really hoping the earth swallows him so he doesn’t have to explain himself (it’s Gotham, it could happen). Before he can make an excuse however, Tim beats him to the punch

“Sorry”

“… Huh?” 

“Not for what I did, it worked out so I don’t regret it. But I obviously worried you, so, yeah” Tim shrugs and looks at the wall like it personally offended him.

“Oh- uh- yeah, dude, no problem. Just maybe don’t jump straight into self sacrifice next time.” Kon knew those words would fall on deaf ears but you can’t blame a man for trying.

“And” Tim seems way more nervous now, which kind of makes Kon nervous too. His fists shake slightly from how tightly they’re clenched and Kon gets the urge to hold them until he stops.“I don’t know what I did to make you upset at me, but I’m sorry. If you-”

“Wait wait waitwaitwait” Kon’s nervousness turns into confusion. When was he upset at Tim? “What are we talking about?”

“I’m not stupid. You’ve been avoiding touching me, you keep looking at me all weirdly, and you got super anxious when I asked you to hang out with me one-on-one. I know when you lie, your excuses don’t work on me. Am I right?”

Ah, how to tell Tim he actually might be stupid? At least they can have that in common. Kon kind of forgets Tim’s biggest weakness is his own self deprecation. But there’s only one truthful answer to his question and Kon really wasn’t ready to say it today.

Just get it over with.

Yeah, easier said than done. His mouth opens. Then closes. Then opens again, but nothing comes out because how the hell does he even start explaining this?

“I’m not upset. I was never upset.”

“But it seemed like you were.” Tim is looking at him, expectant but obviously bracing himself, like he’s convinced whatever Kon is about to say is going to suck. And Kon hates that. Hates that Tim is always ready for people to be mad at him, to push him away.

So, before he can talk himself out of it, he blurts: “I like you.”

Tim blinks. “…Okay? I like you too, dude, I guess.”

And, okay, maybe that wasn’t the best way to phrase it, because of course Tim would take it at face value. Kon groans, rubs his face with both hands, and tries again. “No, I mean—I like you, Tim. Like, in a way. Like how I like women? Except more than I’ve liked any girl before.”

Tim just stares at him, eyes a little too wide, and Kon starts panicking.

“Oh my God, stop looking at me, I think I’ll puke from stress. Say something.”

“I—” Tim shuts his mouth, swallows, tries to touch his face but accidentally presses his injury, making him flinch. Finally, he breathes in deeply. Then, softer, “You like me?”

Kon groans again, dropping back onto the examination table, throwing his arm over his eyes. “See, this is why I was being weird. This is exactly why. I didn’t want to make things awkward. I’ll take you to Batburger if you pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Tim still hasn’t answered, which is not great for Kon’s rapidly fraying nerves.

“…I didn’t know you liked guys” Tim finally says. It’s so quiet, like he’s afraid of jinxing it.

“I didn’t either!” Kon says, throwing his free arm up. “I didn’t know it was even possible! But then I saw your face a little too much and got weird, and I thought maybe I just liked my imaginary girl Tim but then-”

Kon gets interrupted by a snort. Tim covers his mouth but doesn’t even try to contain his laughter.

Kon peeks at him from under his arm. Tim’s shaking just slightly with more held-in laughter.

“Oh, now he’s making fun of me. At least reject me kindly” Kon grumbles, but his chest feels weirdly warm, weirdly light.

Tim drops his hand and shakes his head, smiling in a way that makes Kon feel like he just won the world’s best bet. “No, it’s just… you’re an idiot.”

Kon scowls and sits up. “Excuse me?”

Tim tilts his head at him, expression unreadable except for the amusement still curling at the corners of his mouth. Then he reaches out and pushes at Kon’s shoulder, which wouldn’t be a big deal except his hand stays there, curled lightly around Kon’s bicep.

“Kon,” he says, like Kon’s the slowest person alive. “I like you too.”

Kon sits up so fast he nearly headbutts Tim. “What?!”

Tim rolls his eyes. “I like you too. Obviously.”

Kon’s brain fully blue screens. “Obviously?!”

“I tried to clone you like a hundred times while you were dead because I couldn’t stand to even imagine a world without you. What else could you get from that?”

“Cassie said you only tried 99 times.”

“Oh, my bad! Then I must be straight! Just best friends being best friends, huh?” Tim punches him in the arm before Kon can answer with something even dumber. His face does something complicated, like he can’t decide what expression to make now. He settles for a smile as he crosses his arms instead of returning his hand to Kon’s shoulder, where it obviously belongs, which is a little disappointing. “I didn’t think you—” He exhales sharply, looking away. “I didn’t think you could ever like me, you know?”

Oh. Oh, okay, Kon really hates that. He doesn’t even know how to convince Tim he’s worthy of love but he’ll be damned if he won’t try anyway. He reaches out, hooks a finger in the sleeve of Tim’s dress, and tugs.

“Hey,” he says, softer. “I do. I’ve been going insane thinking about you. I’ve even been bickering with my own brain. I really, really like you, Tim.”

Tim looks at him, eyes flickering over his face like he’s a case he just can’t solve. Then, carefully, he leans in, resting his forehead against Kon’s shoulder. “Good,” he says, voice almost lost against the fabric of Kon’s suit.

Kon feels like his heart’s about to burst out of his chest, but he keeps it together, tilting his head slightly to rest against Tim’s hair. No need for movie night anymore, he got what he needed. “So, uh. Does that mean I can kiss you?”

Tim huffs, warm breath against Kon’s collarbone. “You have to take me on a date first. The one with Carol didn’t end super well, did it?”

“Oh my God, can we still go to Batburger? You and that place are the only good parts about Gotham” Kon says dramatically, earning a muffled laugh.

They sit like that for a few seconds, Tim still leaning into him, Kon grinning like an idiot. Then, Tim mutters, “So, that whole thing where you imagined I was a girl…”

Kon groans, pulling back just enough to scowl at him. “Do we have talk about it?”

“Yes.” Tim smirks. “Because it’s funny.”

Kon groans louder, hiding his face in his hands. “Look, It was stupid. Okay? I just thought my feelings wouldn’t make sense unless you were a girl.”

Tim tilts his head, looking far too amused. “And now?”

Kon drops his hands and meets Tim’s eyes. And it’s easy, so easy, to smile at him and say, “Now I know for sure I like you more than Timberina.”

Tim huffs out a laugh but his expression softens, something warm and fond flickering across his face. Kon feels the weight of everything between them. Of every missed moment, every misunderstanding, every second spent not knowing they were on the same page, disappearing like it never existed.

Then Tim smirks again, breaking the moment. “So, just to be clear-”

Kon groans, sensing he’s not being self conscious and he’s just trying to hear it again. “Stop.”

Tim presses his fingers to his lips while trying not to laugh, but his eyes are bright. “You really like me? As a guy?”

Kon sighs, exasperated but helplessly fond. If Tim hadn’t been a girl, Kon wouldn’t have had become best friends with him, too busy trying to get laid once they got close enough. They wouldn’t have had those sleepovers in the farm or those all-nighter patrols. It’s thanks to loving him as his best friend that he know loves him as his, well, lover.

He reaches out, hooks an arm around Tim’s waist, and pulls him

in. “Yeah,” he says, pressing their foreheads together. “I’m really glad you are a guy.”