SquidgeWorld Archive

The expression of pure shock on Robin's face should have been funny. And the way his face crumpled, tears of violation pricking those rarely seen eyes behind the mask...priceless. Match should have been cackling mentally at his evil deed, and gloating over how the protégé to the World's Greatest Detective had missed what was right underneath his own masked nose. For some reason, he wasn't, however. And more than the twinge of guilt that plagued his vestigial conscience for performing such a dastardly deed, it was the expression of pure and unbridled anger that followed on the heels of Robin's hurt that kept him silent. "Match," Robin snarled, and he felt himself almost flinch at the complete and utter loathing in the other boy's voice. "What have you done with Superboy?" Robin flinched as he said the name, then he firmed his resolve and demanded, "Where is he?" The barely restrained violence in Robin's small form was enough to keep Match's mostly smugness in check. "He's where you'll never find him," Match said, smiling meanly, and flew off before Robin could pull out the Kryptonite he most likely had hidden in the lead-lined pocket of his utility belt. Consequently, he was too far away to see Robin's knees buckle, causing him to slump to the ground in a sobbing heap. He didn't see Robin cry his eyes dry of tears. He didn't see Robin wipe those self-same tears away and replace his mask just in time for Impulse to show up, babbling about Red Tornado calling an urgent meeting about Kon-El. He didn't see Robin compress every bit of emotion he was feeling, stuff it down deep inside his heart where the hurt festered, and get on with the business of tracking down YJs missing member, Superboy. If he had, maybe Match would have expected Robin to put all of his fierce intelligence behind getting Superboy back - and making Match pay for his betrayal. He was better than Superboy. More than his 'perfect match'; he was smarter, had more control of his powers, and was better trained. He was Superboy's possible potential fulfilled ten times over. But Robin loved Superboy. And as he flew away from the Young Justice resort to report back to the Agenda, for the first time in his short life, Match felt like he wasn't good enough.

"I can't believe that none of you caught on that it wasn't me!" was Kon's favored saying over the few weeks after he'd rescued himself. Bart had gotten tired of hearing it by the third repetition, though he admitted that he could definitely understand Kon's point of view. His attention span just couldn't handle Kon's impression of a broken record. Cassie just blushed and apologized to Kon before avoiding him; she'd idolized him from afar for a long time, but that didn't mean that she knew him all that well. And the fact that she'd told Match some rather secret things wasn't sitting well with her. Robin had been suspiciously silent on the matter. He was never much of a talker, but now, no matter how hard Kon looked, it seemed like he couldn't find Robin anywhere. It wasn't his imagination; even Lobo seemed to notice that Robin was avoiding him. And if that fraggin' bastiche didn't shut up about it, Kon was going to shove him in the Supercycle, and get it to take him to Apokalips and leave him there. He finally managed to track down Rob almost two weeks after he'd gotten back. Kon had used his TTK to close and lock the door to the security room as he entered; he felt sure that Robin would have made a break for it otherwise. Robins till might've, if there'd been a window handy. "We need to talk," Kon said, and saw Robin go rigid. Then he seemed to almost crumple inwards, deflating like a spent balloon, and he nodded. "About what?" Robin asked. Kon sighed. He didn't really know where to start. But... "You do know that you've been avoiding me ever since I got back, right?" He wanted to make sure that Robin wasn't still vacationing in Denial Land; this conversation - which was most probably going to end up an argument, or at the very least a 'discussion' - wouldn't accomplish anything if he was. Robin sort of...rustled...beneath his cape, still stubbornly turned away from him. "I...will admit that I have been evading your attempts to track me down, yes," he said softly. Which was as close to an agreement as Kon was likely to get. Now on to other matters. It was probably best to start with what had been bugging him, then, after they got that out of the way, they could start on what was bugging Robin. "You're...you're my best friend, Robin. I don't understand...how could you not see he wasn't me?" How could he have fallen for a guy who didn't even know him? He'd been created as a replacement for Superman. But he'd always had a life of his own. Friends, a pseudo-family, even a girlfriend at one time. With Tana dead and his best friend unable to look him in the eye, Kon-El now felt as though that life had been taken away from him.

Tim didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to answer Kon. The truth was generally the best option, but in this case, the truth could do more than hurt. It could completely ruin their friendship. Not that him continuing to avoid Kon would do anything less; it would just take longer, instead of being over in one quick stab. But if Batman was the World's Greatest Detective, Dick was the Master of Misdirection. And Tim had been a very good student. "He is...very intelligent, Kon," Tim said. "He didn't act...entirely out of character for you. And in the few instances he did, he...he gave some very...fitting reasons for his actions." Becoming frustrated and angry with following Robin's orders because he was trying to sublimate a crush he had on him did fit with Match's behavior. However, Robin knew that he'd been so eager to accept the explanation and had been blind to what was really going on because he was the one with the crush, and it meant that Kon returned his own feelings. Only...Kon didn't return his feelings. Neither did Match, if the mocking laughter that still haunted his dreams was any indication. Not that he wanted anyone but Kon, but Tim suspected that he wouldn't feel quite so used if Match had actually had any genuine feelings for him beyond contempt. But even now, he couldn't entirely regret what had happened. Kissing Match was likely the closest thing he'd ever have to kissing Kon. Which was like saying that Superboy was the closest that CADMUS could come to cloning Superman. But, it was still all he had. The memories... He was glad of the fact that it hadn't gone any farther than kissing, however. "Okay, so, maybe I can see that..." It was obvious that Kon's instinctive hurt had had time to mostly wear off by now and he was starting to use his head, instead of his heart. That, however, brought entirely new problems, such as: "But why have you been avoiding me?" And Tim, despite having known this was coming, despite having prepared his answer for this question, was still unable to speak. His face alternately paled and flushed as he tried to squeak words out through a throat that wouldn't move. "I... He... I just... He..." Tim could not force himself to deliver his carefully prepared explanation of needing time to adjust to the situation. He should have been able to compartmentalize his feelings better, but he'd never needed to be on guard with his teammates before. His friends. Maybe he should have been. Now Kon looked worried. More than worried, he looked downright sick. "He didn't...hurt you, did he?" he asked anxiously. Robin quickly shook his head. "I don't think you could call it hurt, exactly," came out of his mouth before his could stop himself. Why couldn't his vocal cords have remained on strike for a moment longer? He snapped his mouth closed, and turned away, but not before Kon caught the blush rising in his cheeks. Kon could be dense, but he was by no means stupid. Especially when it came to his friends. "Wait, you...you kissed him? You made out with Match?" Kon asked, clearly horrified. At the flinch that Robin couldn't hide quickly enough, Kon backpedaled. "I mean...it's not that... Just...how could you think he was me?" Tim took several small, calming breaths and prepared himself to have the conversation that he'd been dreading for the past seven months, three weeks, and nine hours, and fearing for the past thirteen days. "It would be more correct to say that I wanted to believe he was you." Actually, he'd been so high on the rush of finally having (who he'd thought was) Kon return his romantic feelings that he hadn't bothered to question the idiosyncrasies of Match's behavior. If Match flirted with Cassie, it was less than Kon had - and he hadn't flirted with the other girls at all - and Tim told himself it was because Kon was going to taper the flirting off so no one would get suspicious, and to avoid hurt feelings. Which was something that he'd think to do - and, apparently, Match - but not something Kon would. It wasn't that he didn't care about people's feelings, it was just that he wasn't subtle, and was only slightly less impulsive that Bart. And he had all the finesse of an overgrown puppy in a glasswares shop. "Why?" Kon asked disbelievingly. Tim felt himself give a gallows laugh. "Why do you think?" Because I didn't think you'd ever want me. "Because he wanted me, and you..." want Cassie, "...don't." Kon was quick on the uptake once he'd put the pieces together. "Man, Rob, I...I didn't know." "I know," Tim said, as inwardly he died inside a little more. "I didn't want you to." But apparently I was...rather more obvious that I thought, if even he could see it. "No, I mean..." Kon sighed and shifted his weight from foot to foot, staring broodingly down at the ground for a moment before turning back to Tim. "I always kinda knew that you had a crush on me, just...I didn't think it was that serious." Tim blinked, stunned. "You...knew?" Exceedingly more obvious. Kon blushed and shuffled his feet. "Well, I knew you liked me, and you...well, I sort of thought that you just had a thing for the super powers. Or...something." "Hero worship," Tim supplied, all the while thinking that Kon wasn't incorrect. He had felt like that about Kon at first, just like had with Dick. And then the feelings towards Kon had grown, like they never had with Dick. "Yeah." So caught up in his thoughts that he'd tuned out everything else, Tim was initially more than a bit startled to suddenly find Kon standing a scant few inches away from. "Tim, do you... I mean, do you still..." Kon nibbled on his lower lip in that habitual nervous gesture that only he ever got to see. "Because if you do, I mean, I do, and..." And Tim must have made some noise of assent, or leaned towards Kon, or something, because Kon was leaning into him, and their lips pressed together, and just as Tim was feeling himself start to hyperventilate, Kon pressed a stabilizing hand on his back. Only it wasn't a hand, it was Kon's TTK, a power that Match either didn't have or didn't use, and Tim felt himself calm a little, even as he leaned into the kiss. He was more than a little wary of trying to pick up the pieces Match had left behind and put them together into something with Superboy. But this was Kon, and Kon was his best friend, and would never hurt him. Kon was...not nearly as brash and rash as he had been even a few months previously, and... Match's kisses had been, while obviously skillful and very physically pleasing, also rather too aggressive. Cold around the heart, and not really...companionable. Caught up in finally, to his mind, having his dreams realized, it was only with the advent of hindsight that Tim could truly tell that Match's kisses had left quite a bit to be desired. Namely, actual emotional involvement beyond the manipulation of base lust. Kon's kisses were...light. Warm, like sunshine. Almost too soft, as if he wasn't sure of his own strength in this one arena. Or as if he was as hesitant as Tim was about embarking on a new relationship, when previous ones had ended so badly. That small sign of vulnerability, one that hid a deeper insecurity that he felt only he could sense inside Kon, told Tim that this was truly real. When the kiss finally ended, Tim found himself yearning for more, until he realized that Kon's arms were wrapped around him, and Kon was looking at him like... Match had never looked at him so...tenderly. Caught up in Kon's hopeful gaze and tentative embrace, Tim couldn't help but think that, for the first time in his life...he'd finally found where he belonged. And it was all the more worth it for the obstacles they'd had to overcome to get there.