Chapter Text
"Tim? Timothy?! Are you okay?"
Tim Drake was a meticulous planner. He believed that as long as he had contingencies for every possible situation, he’d never be caught unprepared.
But nothing
Nothing, could’ve prepared him for this.
Not after that dark stretch of time. The endless days and sleepless nights locked away in his lab, trying to recreate his lover from scraps of DNA and memory. Ninety-nine failed attempts to bring back the man he loved
The man who’d been his best friend, his fiancé. Conner Kent.
And now, two years later, he was standing right in front of him.
“Hi,” the man said with an easy smile. Even that damn smile stays the same. “I’m Conner Kent. I was told I’d be assigned to this team… Teen Titans, right?”
Tim moved before he could think. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around him. The familiar warmth, the scent, even the steady heartbeat beneath his cheek.
He’d know them anywhere. This was his Kon.
His Kon.
Except the man went stiff in his embrace.
Tim let out a strangled half-laugh, half-sob. “Please let this be real,” he whispered against his shoulder.
A hesitant hand patted his back, slow and awkward. The touch was warm. Real.
“I’m sorry,” Conner said quietly. “Do I….know you?”
That was enough to pull Tim back to earth. His breath hitched. This wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a hallucination. But then-
Why?
A hand touched his arm, gently tugging him back.
“Tim, son.” Bruce’s voice was steady, low.
Right. Bruce was here. Which meant this was real. Bruce had to have an explanation, something that would make sense of all this.
Because the man in front of him looked, sounded, felt exactly like the boy who’d stolen his heart at sixteen. And yet…..everything about him felt foreign.
“The League managed to resurrect Kent,” Bruce said, his tone careful, “using what remained of his DNA. But…”
“But?” Tim’s voice was sharp, almost pleading. His eyes stayed locked on Conner, who shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze.
He’d never really moved on. He’d just buried himself in work. An unhealthy habit he adopted, case after case on his tabs, trying not to think about the fact that his fiancé was gone.
Bruce exhaled softly and squeezed Tim’s shoulder. “But his memories couldn’t be recovered completely.”
Tim’s world seemed to tilt. “You mean…”
“I’m sorry, bud,” Bruce said quietly. “I ran every test I could to see the extent of his memories. But, it looks like he doesn’t remember you.”
-
Great. Great. Just great.
On one hand, he was beyond grateful to see Kon back in his life. To see him breathing, alive. Hell, it was still better than seeing his lifeless body again, pale and cold in his arms.
He glanced down at his own hands. The memory of that weight was hard to shake off. It haunted his days and nights until Bruce finally benched him from patrols altogether.
And now here he was, in the same room as his team again.
Tim studied each of their reactions to Kon’s return. It wasn’t surprising that Bart and Cassie reacted just as emotionally as he did.
Bart especially, his hug lasted longer than usual or maybe it only felt longer because of Bart’s super speed. Maybe he was slowing time down, just to steal one extra second to take it all in.
Kon, meanwhile, looked like he was trying his best to keep up. With his memories gone, he stood in the middle of all that affection looking slightly lost, offering a small smile.
Gentle, comforting, just enough to make the others feel seen.
“Are you okay?”
Kori’s voice came from behind him. She’d come to check on them after hearing about Superboy’s return.
Of course, Kori meant more than just a check-in. She always felt things deeply. She was probably worried about how the team, and Tim especially, would handle this.
“I’m holding up pretty well?” Tim answered, though it came out more like a question than a statement.
Kori raised a perfectly unimpressed eyebrow. “Right….your eyes look distant, and you’ve been fidgeting for a while now while everyone else’s reunited.”
Damn Kori and her uncanny people-reading skills.
“Fine,” Tim sighed. “It’s weird, you know? He’s… he’s my fiancé, in a way. Well, at least until he…” He drew in a shaky breath and gave her a small, sad smile. “….until he died.”
He glanced back toward Kon, who was still surrounded by the team. Cassie looked seconds away from crying, Bart was practically glued to Kon’s side, Raven and Gar were hanging back, quietly giving them space.
“Now, I don’t even know what to make of this,” Tim admitted. “Where our relationship stands, or if it even does anymore.”
It hit him, belatedly, how ironic it was to be spilling his heart out about a lost fiancé to his brother’s wife.
Kori’s expression softened. “It will take time, Tim. But if two hearts are truly connected, if the stars align to your love, you’ll always find your way back to each other. Like me and Richard.”
Tim let out a soft chuckle. Right. Dick and Kori had their on-and-off moments too, but it wasn’t quite the same, was it? They hadn’t had to deal with resurrections or erased memories.
How did someone even begin again after that?
He felt exhaustion settle deep in his bones. He’d been thinking about it non-stop since learning of Kon’s resurrection. What would happen to them now? Could he really work with Kon again, knowing that all their memories, all the little things that made them them were gone?
“Thanks, Kori,” he murmured. “I’ll….figure things out.”
“You always do, Tim,” she said, smiling. “And I’m sure you’ll find the answer to this case too.”
-
Surprisingly, working with Kon wasn’t as burdensome as Tim had feared. He’d been this close to assigning himself to solo cases—anything to avoid being on missions with his once-lover. Because really, how was he supposed to act like all of this was normal?
He and Kon used to drive the team insane by flirting over the comms until Cassie finally forced them onto a private channel. They’d made games out of everything—testing each other’s speed, seeing how many rogues they could take down by the end of a mission, and always finding time for—
Kisses.
Gods the stolen kisses behind aba\ndoned buildings, before they struck a criminal base, kisses mid-air as Kon flew them back from missions, kisses that were soft and warm - just for them to feel each other.
To feel real, there for each other.
But yeah, like he said, all of his worries about it to be inefficient to be on missions with Kon? Completely invalid.
The reason they’d worked so well before was because of their chemistry in the field, and somehow, despite Kon being “new” to all this, that hadn’t changed. He still had the same agility, the same sharp instincts, the same reckless bravery that made him charge headfirst into danger.
“I feel like I’m seeing younger Kon in an adult body,” Cassie mentioned to him once on a mission, chuckling fondly.
It was clear that Cassie was accepting that Kon was back. In fact, she even looked happy by it, her usual gloom finally lifting. Tim was grateful for that. Everyone had their own fall out when a member dies, and for them, for young justice - losing a core member, losing someone you grew up with die on a mission….
Sure, their job scope wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows, they were bound to be hurt after each mission, a few bruises and blood, trauma inflicted through their minds as if it was a natural occurrence but losing Kon.
That had been darkness none of them could prepare for.
"Good work team, round back to the tower, i have pizzas ordered in for us," Tim announced through the comms and the sound of cheering from Gar and Bart made him snort softly.
"Tim"
The voice startled him. He glanced around. Everyone else was still talking, which meant—the private channel. Kon.
He tried to calm his pulse. No big deal. Just his technically fiancé wanting to talk to him alone. Totally fine. “Yeah, Kon? Anything you need? Want me to add something to the pizza order?” he asked, trying his best to sound casual even as he could feel his hands tremble.
A beat of silence went through the lines, just a brief moment but it was enough to have Tim go into a nervous breakdown.
"can we talk later….in private"
shit. SHIT
Why did Kon wanted to talk to him in private? If it was anything about the team, so far, Kon didn't have a problem with expressing his opinions in meetings and to point out any problems situating with the other members.
"Sure, i mean- you can just swing by my room after dinner"
"Great, thanks Tim"
And that was it. They all went back to the tower for the pizza dinner by Tim. Though while everyone was busy eating and debriefing on the messy mission, but Tim’s mind wasn’t there. His thoughts kept circling back to Kon’s words.
Can we talk later… in private?
This was officially the first face to face, one on one conversation between the both of them since Bruce introduced Kon to him again.
He can just wish that he wont mess it up.
Tim was restless.
They sat across from each other in Tim’s room, which was—unfortunately—large enough to expose all his chaos. The coffee table between them was stacked high with unsorted case files, and his desk was littered with energy drink cans. The pinboard on the wall was a mess of notes and red string.
“Sorry for the mess, I—” he started, but his eyes caught on the clutter. Gods, this was embarrassing. Everyone knew his room was always a disaster, but this was Kon—freshly resurrected, memory-wiped Kon. And this was his first impression.
"nah, it's fine. it…it screams you" he joked, and tim didn't knew if he should take it as a good or bad sign.
He took a steadying breath. He could do this. Just a simple conversation. No big deal. Kon seemed calm—too calm, actually—as if this were just another casual hangout. Meanwhile, Tim’s palms were sweating through his gloves.
"Jon told me something the other day," Kon spoke up which made Tim snapped up to look at him.
"Jon, as in Jonathan Kent? Your brother?"
This earned Tim a soft chuckle from Kon and gods it was gorgeous.
"Yeah, i still can't get used to that fact. I have a brother. All this while i just assumed myself as a clone, used as a crime fighting machine or something but that was definitely far off point"
Kon was ranting. Okay, that's good. That meant that he was comfortable enough to share this conversations with him. Damn, this was more than good. Tim adjusted his position, on his chair, feeling more relaxed than before.
Maybe he wasn't screwing this up.
"You're loved Kon, by a lot of people, more than you can imagine," Tim offered a smile, because it was true. Everybody loved Kon. Technically everyone loved the Kents but Kon had a completely different charm.
He was reckless, stubborn and free in all the right ways. If Clark was a symbol of hope then Conner was a symbol of freedom.
But, Kon's reaction didnt quite match with Tim's expectation. A flat smile laid on his lips.
Why?
"Love…" Kon pressed on the words, as if it was a bitter word on the tip of his tongue.
Before Tim could ask, Kon continued, "Well that's exactly why i'm here actually. Jon helped me fill in some of the blanks, few missing memories and stories of mine and well…uh, apparently, you and i…." Kon bit back his words, words catching in his throat.
Tim's heart started pounding. Does he-
"….we're engaged, huh?"
Tim stayed silent. Does he remember now? About them?
Tim was about to open his mouth but before he could say anything further a familiar red velvet box engraved with the bat symbol was placed on the table.
Tim’s chest tightened. It was the engagement ring that he gave Kon. They'd had matching boxes, his was with the Super's symbol.
"Kon,i- i don't understand" Tim blurted out, confusion evident in his voice but can anyone blame him? the dots weren't connecting. Or maybe he just refused to believe what they spelled.
"I'm sorry Tim, i cant accept this" Kon’s tone was gentle, apologetic.
Tim felt as if his world was falling apart all over again.
Tim blinked rapidly as tears blurred his vision. He looked at Kon and kept glancing between him and the box over again.
He understood, logically. Fairly enough. Kon didnt have their memories together. Fairly enough, Kon has every right to reject the ring when he didnt….when he didnt love Tim.
"Hey, dont cry," Kon murmured. "I just- i'm sorry, you're a great guy really but this is just too burdensome for me now, and i think you have every right to hold this for another"
and those words cut deep. Another? did he really think that he was that easy to be replaced?
Tim tried to pull himself together, a bitter smile as he took the box in his hands,clutching it tight.
"It'd be selfish of me to push myself on you…" he said quietly. "Thanks for being honest with me,Kon. You deserve to find your own happiness."
Kon gave a small, pained smile. “And you deserve so much better, Tim.”