[ catchall for april/may ]

[supersweet]

who: Jonathan Kent, Communal Housing; Floor 6 + You
what: Fireflies, meeting the neighbours, other catchall events
when: Late April/Early May
where: Prompt-dependent
warnings: None. Prose is fine but I'll be responding in action brackets. Other prompts may be added later!


[ CLOSED to denizens of Floor Six ]

[ The Kents didn't have much in the way of neighbours. Hamilton was a quiet town and they preferred it that way. And while Jon enjoys Hamilton County, he often daydreams of having friends close by or even playing team sports together. Kathy was great (and it helped that she knew his secret and kept it for him), but it never felt like it was enough.

So having neighbours around was both terrifying and exhilarating. After settling himself, Jon decided to visit each of his floor mates with a large bag of sour candies. After all, it's not like he can buy beer (adults drink beer right??) for them. When he runs into someone, his grin is casual. ]

Hi! I'm Jon. I'm your neighbour. Person.

[ Around the city ]

[ Like his father, Jon's hearing was sensitive. Thankfully, the intensity of the sounds tends to waver from loud to the normal range of a human being. Clapping his hands on his ears as Jon heads back home, he wishes it would remain in the normal range a little longer. He was not used to living in the city and he had only made a few trips to Metropolis when he was younger, none of them long enough to be memorable or familiar to him.

And right now, the city was deafening.

He runs right into anyone standing in his way, bowling them over completely. His expression is unfocused and glazed before clarity sinks in. ]

S-Sorry.

[ Jon claps his hands back over his ears with a wince. ] I'm sorry!

[ Fireflies ]

[ Jon had wanted to see the fireflies, watching the colours weave in and out. He hadn't thought it merited telling anyone he had gone out. After all, it was only fireflies. But then they drifted closer and Jon started to feel nervous.

One yellow firefly stung him on his neck and a flood of repressed feelings come rushing to the surface. Of other realities and forgotten memories. Of fading away. Jon hurriedly wipes away the tears that were starting to spill from his face. He needed to — Where was his dad? Why hadn't he come? He promised Jon. He promised he wouldn't let go. With a hiccup, Jon sits down, trying to wipe away his fears and regain his composure. All the while, hearing the laughter of Mr. Mxyzptlk in the back of his mind. ]

[ Mission, CLOSED to Steve Rogers (MCU) ]

[ Normally, Jon isn't all that keen when it comes to hanging out with grownups. They're boring and they hang over him, trying to keep an eye on him and be responsible. It's no fun and it gets tiring very quickly. But Steve had been nice and had reminded him of his own dad back home. The idea of doing a mission, a real mission meant he could be a real hero.

Plus Steve offered ice-cream, a sure-fire way into Jon's heart. After checking with Miss Jones and his parents, Jon takes part of his allowance and heads over to the ice-cream shop where they were supposed to meet. He climbs onto the stool with a jump in his gait. ]

Hey Mr. Rogers!

Comments

[fingerstripes]

[ Nightwing is always prepared, so Dick delves into one of his handy compartments for a clean tissue, which he'll offer to Jon.

Dick leads him towards the housing building, intending to take him straight to the floor where Dick assumes he still lives. Somewhere reasonably familiar, where he (Dick hopes) feels relatively safe. The mask is a problem should any of Jon's roommates be around, but he trusts Jon to be discreet, and anyway he can deal until he either gets ahold of Clark or manages to calm the poor kid down himself. This is more important than maintaining a reserved mystique for the greater population of Riverview. ]

I don't know that you're the only one having a bad night. [ He remarks as they trudge up the stairs. ]

Something's been going around.

[supersweet]

Like a virus?

[ At least his tears have dried up and Jon conscientiously deposits the tissue into a trashbin. He still feels . . . unnerved. Like he wants to jump at every shadow. There's very little that scares Jon, but this feeling has dug into the one fear he has experienced and it has shaken him. ]

So . . . he won't come?

[fingerstripes]

Or something like that.

[ And Jon safely escorted into the apartment, Dick heads into the kitchen, looking for... what? Tea, maybe? Alfred always dried his childhood tears (and sometimes his adult ones) over a warm cup. There has to be something the kid will drink. ]

Why don't we start with who you think is after you.

[supersweet]

[ Jon shakes his head. ]

I can't say his name. That'll summon him.

[ Those were the rules. He purses his lips. There's no rule that says Jon couldn't describe him though. He hops off the bed to grab a piece of paper and the superman pencil his dad got him and quickly sketched a picture of a tiny dwarfish man with a bowler hat. Then Jon holds it up. ]

Do you think this guy?

[fingerstripes]

Oh. [ He's not quite fast enough to school it away entirely, but the flash of real concern in his face is gone a moment later. ]

Does- your dad...

Did he figure out what was going on?

[supersweet]

[ Jon pockets the drawing away. ]

Yeah. It wasn't easy. Reality kind of broke and they forgot who I was. But we got some help and their memories came back.

[ He swings his legs on the bed, looking down. ]

But sometimes, I'm just scared he'll come back. He wanted to take me away. He made everything disappear, even me. I shouldn't have to feel scared like this.

[fingerstripes]

You're right. It's not fair. [ Jon's only a boy. A kid who'd known nothing about this world until recently. No wonder he's so far out of his depth. Dick is quiet for a moment. ]

...One thing Batman taught me a while ago is that nobody's a bad guy by chance. They all want something, when they're taking something away from you.

If you had to wager a guess, what would you say Mr. Fashion Disaster was really after that day?

[supersweet]

[ That was easy. Jon already knew the answer. ]

He felt betrayed. He felt alone. That's why he wanted to hurt my dad and take me.

[fingerstripes]

Yeah. [ It's astute for a ten year old. Dick hesitates for a moment. ]

So how do you fight that? What do you have that he probably already knows deep down he can't ever take away?

[supersweet]

[ He visibly struggles, his fingers fidgeting with the bed cover before he carefully parses an answer. ]

My . . . feelings?

[fingerstripes]

Not just that. [ He gives Jon's shoulder a light little chuck. ]

You wanted to stick around, right? And whatever he did to reality, he couldn't change that. So you were going to make a come back.

There's a limit to everyone's power. And you already figured out where his hits bottom.

[supersweet]

Yeah . . . I fought it as hard as I could and it worked.

[ Some of the paranoia was starting to fade away. ]

I guess even Mr. Ruppletat couldn't change everything.

[fingerstripes]

He can't change you. [ He reaches out to put a hand on the boy's shoulder. ]

I'm not saying it- that it's not still scary as hell. But you're stronger that that. And you don't ever have to wonder if you're up to that task.

[ The kettle is going off. Dick... hesitates before getting up to retrieve it. ]

Your dad isn't even the only one who'd fight to get you back in a pinch.

[supersweet]

[ Jon blinks, at a loss. His mom? . . . Who else is there? Jon's world is small. Sheltered. Riverview was the biggest thing that happened to him. He gets to meet people, gets to know them. He's not squirreled away on a farm. ]

He isn't?

[fingerstripes]

Well that is kind of how this superhero thing works. [ Though the grin he flashes Jon is unjudging. It's probably a good thing for him to lack much of a grasp on the world his father lives in. Whatever world that is.

Not mine, he promises himself again. Not without Tim.

He returns with... well. It's tea in a mug. It's warm, but there's not really much to it other than that. ]

Here. Try to drink that, if you can. [ He sets it on the table beside Jon, then runs an awkward hand through his hair. He doesn't know if he's helping, really. He's used to teenagers. A little brotherly teasing and fast motorcycle rides are really all it takes to impress Tim. ]

I don't know if you've actually met Alfred yet, but he used to make this for me when I was a kid.

[supersweet]

I've met Alfred. He's nice. He made me a smoothie.

[ He thought Jon had good manners. And what had Alfred called Damian and Jon once? Supersons? Hopefully, that'll never catch on. Jon carefully takes the mug, blowing on it cautiously before taking a sip. ]

I'm not really part of the superhero thing. I mean. I met Wonder Woman and Batman, but my dad doesn't let do any crime fighting.

[fingerstripes]

Well, speaking as the poster child for getting a way early start, I don't think that's such a bad thing.

[ He'll never regret his choices. He'll never regret Batman and Robin. But the costs were steep. The responsibility a heavy, heavy weight. And he sees that now in a way he hadn't as an angry, grief-stricken nine year old.

His circumstances were different. So were Tim's and Jason's. It wouldn't be right to put another child in the line of fire. A child with other options. The chance for a normal life. He doesn't blame Clark for wanting his kid kept out of it.

To Jon he says: ]

There's something to be said for not taking on all the problems of the world.

[ At, you know, ten. ]

[supersweet]

Which is?

[ Jon isn't rushing to be a hero, but he's still struggling to keep his head above water. To figure out who he is and who he wants to be. As encouraging as his parents are, they can't give him the answers. Cocooned in a world away from things like the Eradicator and the Justice League, the world Jon is inevitably a part of, doesn't do him any favors.

His expression is quiet, not sullen. He's not an idiot. He's not reckless. But Jon always feels hopelessly lost. He only has his parents. He's never had anyone else. ]

[fingerstripes]

Hard to step out of that world, once you leave this one behind.

[ He'd missed the chance for ball games and school trips. The easy friendships of childhood. He'll never carry on the legacy of the family he was born into, other than through Robin.

And in return he'd gotten Bruce. Tim. Alfred. A mission he loves, a purpose he believes in. On most days, it's enough. ]

I mean, it's just kind of what I do now. And I honestly wouldn't trade it for anything.

But it does limit a lot of the choices you can make.

[supersweet]

[ Jon shakes his head. ]

Except . . . I'm not really part of either world. I have to lie to everyone all the time. We had two different names before we could be the Kents again. I'm not part of that world.

It just seems like I'm not part of any world.

[fingerstripes]

...Yeah. The lying part...[ His face definitely falls a little there. He looks down at his folded, gloved hands. ]

I wish I could say it gets easier. [ He can't... really trivialize that by telling Jon it doesn't matter. It does. It wrenches at Dick more than ever now, with the danger in Riverview so hard to see. Where living the lie feels so much more present in a limited circle. Jon must feel it too. Only he'd never had any choice at all. ]

But for what it's worth I think there's gonna come a time when you'll be able to make a choice about that.

And something tells me you'll make the right one.

[supersweet]

[ Jon doesn't know. He's heard all of this before but none of it seems to fill him with confidence. And the strange sense of fear was buzzing in his head, making it hard to think. The warmth of the cup helps as Jon forces himself to listen and believe. ]

Thanks. I . . . just need time right?

[ That's what everyone says. When he's older, he'll make the right decisions. He tilts his head up to give a weak but promising smile. ]

[fingerstripes]

Yeah. [ He kind of gets that that's an unsatisfying answer. ]

...It’s not easy stuff. But you shouldn’t be afraid to take your time getting there.
 
[ And Jon gets a Trademark Grayson smile with that. He likes this kid a lot. ]
 
I’m always here you know, if you need someone to talk to.

[supersweet]

Thanks Mr. Grayson.

[ His smile is a little more firmer around the edges, Jon's natural strength coming through for him. ]

You're definitely the nicest person from Gotham.

[fingerstripes]

[ Aww, Jon. He beams a little, flattered. ]

You obviously haven't met enough Gothamites.

[ He's not nicer than Alfred!! ]