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Kon was lounging on the couch, half-watching TV, when Bart zipped in, practically vibrating as he babbled on about a barbecue hosted by the West-Allen family.
"And you want me to go with you?" Kon raised a brow as Bart nodded, plopping down onto the couch beside him. "You sure I can go?"
"Ofcourse you can!" Bart exclaimed, letting his feet rest on Kon. "Imean Wally's friends are gonna be there I'm prettysure."
"Pretty sure?" Kon asked, narrowing his eyes in skepticism.
"It doesn't matter!" Bart waved his hand dismissively. "So, do you want to come with me?"
"Not bringing anyone else?" Kon tilted his head.
Bart shook his head. "I asked. Tim is going out with his boyfriend, Cassie's with Cissie."
Kon hummed in consideration, nodding as he leaned back into the couch. "Sure, when is it?"
Bart's grin stretched wider as he grabbed Kon. "Right now!"
"Wait what? Bart—"
Before Kon could finish, a gust of wind rushed past him, and the next thing he knew, Ma and Pa's living room had vanished. He blinked, disoriented, he looked up to see he was now outside the West family's house.
"I didn't even get to change." Kon huffed, looking down at his clothes.
Bart let him down, patting his back. "Don't sweat it, you look great in plaid."
Kon smirked. "Damn right, I do."
A bark broke through their conversation. Kon's head turned as a dog came bounding toward them from the backyard.
"Foxy!" Bart lit up, crouching to ruffle the dog's fur. "Hey, boy!"
"Aww, what a cutie." Kon chuckled, kneeling down to let the dog lick and sniff him.
"Bart!"
Both of them turned at the familiar voice, Iris approached them with a warm smile.
"Grandma!" Bart shot to his feet and sprinted over to hug her. She returned the embrace, then extended her hand to Kon when Bart finally let her go.
"Hello, Kon. It's been a while. Or is it Conner?"
Kon stood and shook her hand. "Kon is fine."
Iris turned her gaze back to Bart. "Didn't invite anyone else?"
Bart shook his head, locking his arms with Kon. "Nah, just us."
"Well, I'm glad you're both here." Iris smiled. "I'm happy for you two." With a final nod, she turned and headed back to the backyard.
Bart blinked, tilting his head. "Thanks?"
Bart looked back at Kon, tugging his hand eagerly. "C'mon!"
"Yeah, yeah." Kon chuckled, letting Bart drag him toward the backyard, only to crash right into someone.
"Grife-" Bart groaned as Kon pulled him up to his feet. He glanced at the people they had bumped into and broke into a grin. "Oh, hey Jai! And this is?"
"This is Tai!" Jai introduced, pointing to the Asian kid beside him. "He's the Green Lantern of our team!"
Tai greeted them, giving them a small wave. Bart frowned, confusion evident on his face. "I thought Green Lanterns didn't choose kids?"
"There's Keli," Kon pointed out, casually slinging an arm over Bart's shoulders.
Bart rolled his eyes, leaning closer to Kon. "Yeah, but Keli reprogrammed her stuff. She didn't get chosen by a ring!"
"Details, details."
Before Bart could argue further, a voice cut through the conversation.
"Bart! Hey, Bart! Hi!"
They turned to see Irey running toward them, pulling a curly-haired ginger along behind her.
"Hey, Irey! Hey, Maxine!"
"Maxine?" Kon mumbled under his breath.
"Animal Girl," Bart whispered, leaning in. "Irey's best friend."
Kon's eyes flicked toward the two girls. They were standing close, almost inseparable. His super-hearing picked up on Irey's heartbeat. It was quick, more so than the other speedsters. And Maxine? She wasn't even a speedster, but with how easily she kept up, you'd think she was.
A small smile tugged at Kon's lips. Best friends, huh?
The two girls looked at Bart and Kon, then back at each other, breaking out into small giggles.
The younger kids looked behind them as two more dashed over, breathless and frustrated.
"Superspeed is so unfair for tag!" A black kid shouted, throwing up his hands in frustration.
Irey grinned as she grabbed Maxine and made a run for it. "Sorry, PJ!"
"C'mon! This is cheating!" Raghu yelled as he chased after them.
Jai snickered as he took the opportunity to bolt in the opposite direction, while Tai sprinted off in another. "That's why both of you are it, Raghu!" Jai called over his shoulder, his laughter echoing as they scattered around the backyard.
Bart led Kon toward the food table, weaving between the kids with ease. But Kon wasn't paying attention. His gaze flickered over to the side, catching someone that froze him in place.
"Holy, shit- Is that Inertia?"
Bart turned to look where Kon was staring, and sure enough, Thaddeus was sitting in the corner. He picked at his food, looking down at it. However, he wasn't alone, an older man sat next to him, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh, hey! It's Owen."
"Owen?" Kon frowned, glancing over at Bart.
He shrugged. "My half-brother."
"Your what?"
Before Kon could process that information, Bart's face lit up as he saw who joined the other two. "Jenni!"
At Bart's excited shout, three heads turned to him. Jenni grinned, launching herself into Bart's arms, squeezing him tight. Thaddeus seemed to shrink further into himself, his uncomfortability evident. Owen just gave a simple wave to Bart's direction.
The two launched into a rapid-fire conversation, their words too fast for Kon to follow, he stood awkwardly to the side. He was pretty sure they had slipped into Interlac at some point because before he could make out at least one word.
Kon stepped closer, and Bart paused to pull him closer, arm around his waist. "This is Kon!"
"Kon..." Jenni repeated thoughtfully, her eyes flickered in recognition. "Oh! Superboy! I've seen him on the holovids!"
Kon smiled awkwardly as he greeted her. She didn't have the best pronunciation ever, but it was good enough for him to understand.
"I dunno if you should be talking about all this stuff while I'm around," Owen muttered, "I'm literally a villain."
"But we know you won't do anything to us." Bart grinned, and Owen rolled his eyes.
Thad, who had been silently watching, narrowed his eyes at Bart and Kon as if he were piecing something together.
"Gross," he muttered, "I knew you two were close but I should've seen this coming."
Jenni's face brightened at the implication as she looked between her cousin and Kon. "You mean? Oh, that's so great! I'm happy for you!" She hugged Bart, spinning him around. "I mean I knew it was just a matter of time-"
Kon blinked, feeling more lost by the second. He could sense he was missing something, something pretty important.
They said their goodbyes and started to leave, but as they passed by a nearby group, Bart and Kon both stopped dead in their tracks.
"Greta‽" Bart and Kon exclaimed in unison, turning to walk backward.
"Bart! Kon!" Greta beamed at them, her face lighting up with the biggest smile Kon had ever seen. She had her powers back. How? Kon doesn't know. She looked around, tilting her head. "Did you bring anyone else?"
Bart shook his head. "Just us."
"Why are you here, Greta?" Kon asked, still bewildered.
"Oh, Judy invited me!" she explains, pointing over to a brown-haired girl standing nearby. "She was just gonna invite Courtney, but since she found out we knew each other, she invited me too!"
"Wait, how do you know each other?" Bart asked, tilting his head. "Judy was kidnapped and stuck on an island."
Kon bit his tongue.
Greta just kept smiling. "I was stuck there too!"
Rao, he would make such a good Lantern with the amount of willpower it took to not ask about that.
"Hey, Greta!" Judy called out, walking with Courtney, Wallace and Emiko following them close behind.
"Hey, Wallace." Kon grinned, giving the speedster a wave.
"Hey, man," Wallace responded with a smile, but his eyes shifted between Kon and Bart. "Are you two... Together?"
Bart nodded as he leaned closer to Kon. "Yeah, wecame here together."
Wallace's eyes widened slightly, and Emiko let out a small "Oh!". Courtney and Judy exchanged glances while Greta smiled impossibly wider.
"Did you come here with Emiko?"
Wallace nodded, his cheeks darkening in color. "Yeah, I did. Y'know, girlfriend and all that."
"I wasn't aware you and Kon..." Greta muttered. "But I guess it makes sense. Do the others know?"
Kon didn't even know how to respond to that as Judy tackle-hugged Bart. "Oh, I'm so happy! That's so cool!"
"Ah, thanks?" Bart replied, looking over at Kon. Kon shrugged, obviously not understanding either.
"Oh, hey! Is that Bart?"
The duo turned around and Kon's brain basically bluescreens, screeching to a halt when he sees who one of them is.
"Kenan ‽ "
"Kon ‽ "
The two teens stared at each other, mouths hanging open in shock, both frozen in their place.
Kong raised a brow, trying to recover his cool. "Why are you here?"
Kon blinked, finally snapping out of it. "Bart invited me," he responded, causing both Avery and Kong to exchange looks. "What about you?"
"Uh-" Kong hesitated, his hand motioning awkwardly. "I'm here with Avery."
"Oh," Kon's voice dropped to a whisper so only their super-hearing could pick it up. "Is this the girl?—"
"Yes. This is the girl." Kong responded, crossing his arms.
Avery's eyes were still wide with shock as she continued to stare at the two. She turned to Wallace who just nodded. She then stood up straight, pushing both Kon and Bart away.
"Well! Don't let us keep you!" Avery exclaimed, putting on a bright, slightly forced smile. "I'm sure you two have much more fun things to do."
Kon took Bart's hand as they walked away. Kon turned back to see the group behind them. Their heads bent close in hushed whispers. They were all on their phones, glancing between him and Bart, grins plastered on their face.
Whatever they were talking about, it was clearly about them.
They wove through the backyard, narrowly dodging Mas y Menos, who had somehow joined the chaotic game of tag still raging on from earlier.
Kon's eyes gloss over the people here. There are plenty of people here he doesn't recognize, but he can name a few he does: another fucking Inertia, Roy and his daughter, Donna Troy, Michael Holt, Kyle Rayner, Connor Hawke, and Hal Jordan.
With the amount of Arrows here, he's surprised the Green Arrow himself wasn't here.
"Oh, hey Wally!" Bart called out, his voice breaking Kon's focus as they approached a redheaded man. He stopped, pausing to examine the man. "Wait. Walter?"
Kon doesn't even know who Walter is. He's gonna assume long-lost twin or clone.
The man smiled as he greeted Bart, eyes locking on Kon for a split second. "You bring him with you?"
Bart nodded, looking over to the woman next to Walter. "OhmyHera, Angela?"
She offered a small wave and a smile, amused by Bart's enthusiastic greeting. Kon stood off awkwardly to the side. He doesn't know these people, he doesn't know what to say. He feels like he's intruding on a family reunion. Instinctively, he pulled Bart a little closer.
Walter's gaze lingered on Kon for a moment longer before he turned back to Bart. "Does your Wally know?" he asked, nodding in Kon's direction.
Bart blinked, confusion crossing over his face. "About?"
Before Walter could respond, another voice cut through the air. "Hey! What's going on over here?"
Wally approached them with Linda by his side. Bart's face lit up, and he dashed forward to hug them both.
"Where's Wade?" Bart asked, scanning the yard.
Linda smiled, pointing to the far corner of the field where an older man in a ridiculously oversized hat was holding a baby. "Over there. Older Wade's got him."
Older what?
"Surprised you didn't bring the rest of your friends," Wally said, raising an eyebrow as he glanced around the yard. "Is it really just you two? I have a hard time believing you actually listened."
Listened?
"Yeah, it's just us," Bart said, stepping closer to Kon so he could hold him.
Wally's eyes flickered down to where Kon's arm was now wrapped around Bart. It was a small movement, but Kon could also feel Linda studying them. The weight of their gaze was enough to make him shift uncomfortably.
Kon instinctively intertwined his hand with Bar's.
"Oh," Wally muttered softly.
Bart's eyes were elsewhere, locking onto someone else. "Holysprock, is that Bar and hisgirlfriend?" Bart suddenly blurted, pointing to the other side of the yard. "I thought they were still in future jail. I'm gonna go say hi, hold on. Inevergot to meetthem!"
Before Kon could blink, Bart was gone, leaving Kon standing awkwardly in front of Wally and Linda. He cleared his throat, unsure of what to say next.
Wally's gaze hardened as he turned to face Kon. "Listen," he started, "I trust you because I know how close you and Bart are—"
"Wally..." Linda began, crossing her arms.
"—but if you hurt him, I swear on the Speed Force itself, I will hunt you down. Got that?"
Kon blinked in surprise, not having expected that from Wally. Regardless, he could tell Wally was serious and while he didn't understand why he had told that to Kon, he nodded anyway.
Linda glared at Wally making him smile sheepishly as he looked back at Kon. "Sorry, I'm happy for you two, really. I know how happy you make him."
"... Thanks?"
Wally laughed lightly, patting Kon on the shoulder. "You take care of yourself too, I know he can be a bit much."
Bart walked back over, pulling Kon with him. "C'mon, I'm starving," he muttered, practically dragging Kon toward the food table.
As they left the group behind, Jesse approached, a wide smile spreading across her face. "Bart!" She wrapped him in a quick hug, her voice bubbling with excitement. "I'm so happy for you!"
Bart blinked in confusion but smiled anyway, watching as she hurried off to join Jay and Joan.
"That was so weird..." Bart muttered, stopping at the table and scanning the spread.
Kon looked over at the other three as he heard his name mentioned in their conversation, but the conversation delved into another subject just as quickly.
"Hey."
Kon looked up to see someone who he didn't recognize, a redheaded woman next to them.
"Hi?" He replied awkwardly.
"Oh, hi Jess!" Bart grinned before turning to nod at the other. "Andy. Nice to meet you too."
"Heard you two were part of the club now." Jess smiled.
"Uh, what club?" Bart asked, confusion written on his face.
"Y'know," Another voice cut in. Kon turned to see a man he didn't recognize. "The queer club."
"Hey, Jules!" Bart greeted almost as soon as he had walked over but stalled at Jules' answer.
Somewhere off to the side, Kon caught the faint sound of Pied Piper's voice (he was pretty sure his name was Hartley), mentioning that it was nice to not be the only male couple here.
Kon's eyes widened in realization, and slowly pieced together why everyone had been acting so weird around them.
Rao, he was such an idiot.
"I-" Bart frowned. You guys know?"
Kon frowned at Bart's reply. Maybe he isn't as big of an idiot as he thought he was. Were they talking about something else?
Jess shrugged. "News travels fast. Y'know how it is."
"But I didn't..." Bart narrowed his eyes as if he was thinking about something.
"Bart!" Eyes snapped onto Barry. He turned back briefly, apologizing to the people he'd been talking to. "Sorry, August. Sorry, Meena. We'll finish this later—just don't start fighting while I'm gone, alright?"
Barry made his way toward them, and the other three tactfully stepped back, giving the family a bit of space.
"Grandpa!" Bart's face lit up as he rushed forward, practically throwing himself into Barry's arms.
Barry chuckled, wrapping his arms around Bart and ruffling his hair. "You know I'll always accept you for who you are, right?"
Bart blinked, his brow furrowed as he looked up at his grandfather, a hint of confusion creeping into his eyes. "Of course I do!"
"Good." Barry gave Bart one last tight squeeze. "I just want you to know that I'm really happy for you, kid."
Bart's bright smile returned, full force, but this time with a realization in his eyes. He nodded anyway.
As Barry released him, he glanced over at Kon. He gave a slight nod toward the exit, a gesture that only Kon seemed to catch.
***
"Theythinkwe'redating," Bart said. Kon looked over to him, raising a brow. Bart shook his head. "Wait, let me try again."
Kon laughed softly. "Go ahead."
"So," Bart started, leaning back on his hands, "I found out from Bar that technically we were only supposed to bring one guest each. Y'know, so it wouldn't be too crowded. Most people brought their partners, so when I showed up with just you..."
"They thought we were dating," Kon finished for him. "Yeah, I kinda pieced that together. But didn't that girl uh- Judy bring over two people?"
"Well, Judy's new to." Bart gestured to the hrass. "All this. So no one expects her to have a date already."
"Well, I'm glad she brought Greta over. I haven't seen her in years," Kon muttered before looking over at Bart. "It... Also probably didn't help with how we were always hugging or something."
Bart scoffed, rolling his eyes. "It's not just you! I do it with a lot of people! Carol, Preston, Tim, Cassie... Everyone!"
"Yeah, well they're stupid and can't comprehend that just because two guys are affectionate with each other doesn't mean that they're dating."
"Right‽"
"You know, I think your cousin gave me a whole shovel talk," Kon added.
"OhmyHera-" Bart groaned. "That is so embarrassing."
"Did you pick that up from Cassie? I heard you say that earlier."
"Oh, like you don't pick up stuff from is either. I've heard you say grife before!"
"Like, once!" Kon chuckled before descending into silence.
The two sat awkwardly on the grass. Kon could hear Bart's heartbeat jump twice its normal speed, but it slowed back down when he started tapping his foot at a quick pace. Kon wouldn't have been able to tell if not for the vibrations it left.
"Well, we should probably tell them this was all a misunderstanding."
"Yeah. Yeah we should." Kon shifted awkwardly in his place. Suddenly aware of his own heartbeat. He shook his head, focusing on Bart. "It's just..."
"Just what?"
"You keep tapping your foot, and I know when you move you don't think about stuff. So..." He gently pressed his hand down on Bart's foot, stopping it from moving. "What are you trying not to think about?"
Bart flushed slightly, lying back down on the grass. "I dunno! It's just everyone's comments have been getting to me and now I'm suddenly aware of how much I'm attracted to you!"
"Oh, wow."
"Shutup." Bart pushed Kon off him. "Rao, this is embarrassing. Tim and Cassie probably think we're dating by now."
"I mean," Kon started. "It could be true."
Bart stilled, glancing sideways at him. His heart rate—already elevated—kicked up a notch, something Kon didn't miss.
And he didn't miss his own heartbeat quicken in speed.
"Mr. El," Bart said dramatically, his lips curling into a teasing smile, "are you asking me out? How scandalous!"
Kon rolled his eyes, lying down beside him. "Okay, I take it back. Our non-relationship is officially over."
"I'm hurt."
They both lay there quietly for a while, and after a few moments, Bart's hand slowly inched toward Kon's, brushing against his.
"I wouldn't mind dating you," Kon muttered, his voice softer now.
"Me neither."
Kon turned his head to face Bart, eyes locking together. "Is that a yes?"
Bart smiled. "Well, it's not a no."
"I think this is the weirdest way I've started a relationship."
Bart chuckled. "I think my family accidentally manifested this."
"Well, tell your family I said thanks."
"Y'know we're just falling victim to guys-can't-show-affection-to-friends-without-being-gay, right?"
"What do you want to do? Invite Cassie and make it a polycule?"
Bart shook his head, chuckling. "Nah, just us is fine."
Just then, a car pulled up in the driveway. Max and Helen stepped out, spotting the two on the grass. The newly official couple let go of each other's hands, sitting up as they approached.
"So, it's true, huh?" Max grinned. "Can't believe I've gained a Kryptonian son-in-law."
"Maaax!"
Helen frowned lightly. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? Were you worried we wouldn't accept you?
"Nono!" Bart quickly shook his head, glancing over at Kon with a smirk tugging at his lips. "It's just... A recent development."
"Is that so?" Max chuckled. "Well, I'm happy for you."
"Everyone's been saying that today."
"Because it's true!" Helen smiled.
Bart smiled as he stood up, pulling the two of them into a hug.
"Now can we go get food? I haven't eaten anything since I've got here!"
Max chuckled. "Well, what are you waiting for? We're not stopping you."
Bart grinned, immediately grabbing Kon's hand and sprinting toward the house. Kon smiled, leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Bart's cheek as they ran inside
"Just us, huh?"