[ CLOSED ]

[supersweet]

who: Jon's CR + anyone who knew Clark Kent
what: Reaction to Clark's departure
when: 10th of August
where: The Superfam House
warnings: sads?? sads.


[ Jon didn't know what to do. Every action feels robotic. He sent out what texts he could about his father's departure from his phone and checking his father's contacts. He didn't bother checking for the replies. It buzzed quietly in a corner and it wall he could do to melt it down. He must have cried for hours when he found his father's letter, holding onto Annora until she protested his strong grip. After the sadness, the fear had finally sunken in. He was alone. There were no contingency plans, no promises he could follow. He didn't know what to do.

What about the house? Was Jon meant to protect it? Would Miss Jones take it away now that his father had left? He didn't want to leave. He couldn't leave. He curls up tighter with his blanket, trying to block out all the fears and doubts that plague his mind. Everything was so uncertain and Jon . . . Jon was scared. He didn't know how to stop. ]

Comments

not like i was writing this while we were talking or anything

[unmakeme]

Natasha hears about Clark being gone from his son, a short text, a statement of fact that doesn’t ask for a reply. The son she knows he has, but has never met, because children are… complicated. Not even in the way most of her life is complicated. In unique and mind-bending ways. She and Clark weren’t close enough for it to be strange that she didn’t meet his son. Not by a long shot. The most casual of casual friends. There was never any reason to meet Jon. His father took exceptional care of him, she was sure, and it wasn’t her business or concern.

Except now Clark is gone, and logic tells her that a guy like Clark has plenty of friends, that some of them will know his son, know him well, and take care of him. Logic, however, is rarely as helpful as one would like it to be. The moment her thoughts begin to wander, turn to Cooper or Lila alone in a strange place without their parents, it’s decided for her.

Which is how she ends up standing in front of a cute little house, the address pulled from the database at work, to see a kid she’s never met who just happens to be currently muddling through the loss of a parent. Perfect. She knocks, though, because the only thing worse than this situation would be turning away from it.

[supersweet]

[ The knock on the door startles him. Jon must have been in a deeper fugue than he realized if he could not pick out the heartbeat and the quiet footfalls. Concentrating on his hearing, Jon realizes who it is. He waffles, wanting to be alone and knowing that being alone was too much to bear.

Finally, Jon gets up from his bed and heads down to open the door. Just a little. He peeks through uncertainly. ]

Hey, Miss Nat. Uhm.

[ He flounders, the grip of the door slack and uneasy. ]

Dad's not here so . . . so . . .

[unmakeme]

Well, that's interesting. Not the slightest hesitation or question. Natasha very much doubts that Clark talked about her, and she would be floored to hear that he did so often enough for his son to just know her immediately. There is absolutely no chance she is the only one he texted. Is there? No. That's ridiculous.

"I know. I got your text. I'm sorry." And she really is, though now she's also incredibly curious. Which, all right, it's not a noble reason for having her interest in this boy increased exponentially, but noble is highly overrated. "Is anyone else here with you?"

[supersweet]

[ Normally, Jon would notice the slip almost immediately, but his head is heavy from all the crying and he looks exhausted, even for a boy with super strength. Shaking his head slowly, Jon glances at her quietly. ]

I'll be okay. It's not so bad.

[spellslots]

[Taako knows before he gets the text from Jon; he tried to call Clark earlier about something stupid and unrelated, the ping back from the device telling him everything he needed to know. Things are tricky with his own family right now, but that doesn't matter, he just tosses a bunch of stuff into an overnight bag and heads off.

A combination of locate person and teleport means he shows up only a few feet from Jon.]

Hey, bubbale.

[He doesn't know what to say. He's bad at this.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon barely starts. Even the use of magic doesn't elicit a carefree grin. Instead he starts bawling as he runs up to Taako, wrapping his arms around his waist. Jon thought he was done crying, but already he's sobbing away, trying to stem the flow of tears. ]

[spellslots]

[Carefully, Taako eases Jon away just for long enough that he can kneel down for a proper hug, figuring it's the kind of thing that Clark would do.]

I got you.

[It's not enough, it won't even be enough with Clark gone, but it's the best he can offer right now.]

[supersweet]

[ He nods weakly. Whether Jon believes it or not is debatable. His head is full of cotton wool, trying to assuage the deep sorrow that wells up in him. ]

M'sorry.

[smokedout]

[Damn it... he'd thought this would happen eventually, with people disappearing every so often, but when it does he just happens to not be able to leave the house. He's pretty sure Reaper is out and can't supervise him, too. So he's stuck sending a phone call to Jon.]

Hey, are you okay?

[He knows he isn't, but... out of compassion he's giving him the chance to pretend he is.]

[supersweet]

[ There's a quiet hiccup on the end of the line as Jon struggles to muster up a response. ]

Wanna go home.

[smokedout]

[Yep. Yeah. That's the voice of a kid that is far from okay... Dodger lets out a nervous little noise under his breath before speaking.]

I know, kid, I know... listen, let's get you outta the house, okay? You can come here and... I don't know, we can talk. Or watch a movie. Or... raid the kitchen, I don't know- whatever you want.

[He can't pretend he knows how to handle this... he just doesn't want to feel like he isn't doing anything to help.]

[supersweet]

. . . I don't want to leave the house. What if they take it away?

[ The nebulous they. The people who manage Riverview. Jon doesn't believe they're bad people, but he knows they'll never let him keep his house on his own. ]

[nikolaievich]

Illya doesn’t take long to be knocking on his door.

He knows he’s not the best at this kind of comfort. Or… any kind of comfort, really. He’s good at being there, at listening because that’s what he always does but that’s the extent of it. And that’s probably not what a child who’s just been left behind by both his parents needs. But he can’t not help, he can’t stand on the side. And Jon isn’t answering his texts, so.

Going directly to his house is it.

"Jon? It's me, Alexei."

[supersweet]

[ Alexei. Jon was fond of Alexei. He didn't treat Jon like he was dumb and listened to what he said. He even agreed from time to time. So the door opens fully instead of the half-shut approach Jon was utilizing earlier. Still, Jon didn't want to seem weak or a crybaby in front of him, so he valiantly attempts to square his shoulders and look tough. ]

You didn't have to come.

[nikolaievich]

I know.

[He shows him a small travel chess set he brought.] But I thought we could play some. We can play something else, if you would like, but chess is a good game for your mind.

[And this is... Illya trying. He'll try to get Jon to talk once he's inside, but first he wants to test the water. This is what happens when your family befriends an emotionally constipated spy.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon perks up a little at the chance to do something new. After a few seconds of careful deliberation, he steps back to let Alexei in. ]

Did you play chess with my dad?

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ When Jason got the text, he had been reading at the bar like he does every night. Holding the phone silently a few minutes. Torn, he had promised to see the boy, and now Clark was gone. He knew that pain, Clark wasn't Willis, Catherine or Bruce, Clark was better. Jay sighed paying his tab throwing his book in his back and walked out of the bar.

Of course he knew where the house was, how? He's Jason. He has his ways. He had already made up his mind that if his brother's were there he would turn and leave, god knows they were better equip for something like this. Still, Jay knocked on the front door, checking his phone. His instincts said he should have just slipped in through a window, but logic knew better in this moment. ]

[supersweet]

[ After the first couple of visits, Jon has stopped crying though he's still morose and moody. Having family nearby and suddenly having none was still jarring. But Jason, at least, merited some trust from Jon so he doesn't try to look like he's holding himself up, even as he locks his shoulders in place, trying to look braver than he is. ]

Hey . . . Uhm. You don't have to be here if you don't want to.

[ Jon certainly wouldn't blame him. People have better things to do than to look after one sad kid. ]

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ To be fair he expected Jon to be crying. So when that's not what he saw he was relieved. He gave him a sympathetic look before shaking his head.]

No kid, I'm where I need to be. I don't like the idea of you being here alone. Is anyone coming to stay with you?

[ He asked in a calmer less gruff tone than he normally used with people.]

[bestrobin]

( After learning about Clark Kent's departure, Damian was surprised when he realized his first reaction was anger at Superman for leaving Jon. Of all the reasons he could have been angry, Jon was at the center of it all. The person who could do the most for Jon was suddenly gone, and while it might not have been any fault of Superman's own, Damian felt a bone-deep rage at knowing Jon had been left alone.

It hit close to home especially when he considered his issues with his own parents. His mother had willingly abandoned him, and the anger and sadness he felt when it happened was still deep in the heart of his being. But he knew how to move past such things.

Jon was nothing like him.

Jon was a bright light that hadn't started to dim in the way most heroes did. He was sure the other boy would take the loss badly. A part of him wondered if he might spiral into something unrecognizable. Damian was determined to keep that from happening.

He'd made his way to Jon's home as soon as he could. He slipped inside, didn't bother to announce himself in any way. Instead, he sought out Jon quietly - nothing more than a shadow across the walls during his search. When he found him curled up with his blanket, Damian only watched for a few seconds in an attempt to come up with a proper way to help the other boy cope. Nothing seemed right. He wasn't sure what to do. Comforting people, being a friend was out of his realm of expertise.

But after a moment, he finally moved. He was quiet still, just a rustle of the blanket beside Jon. Carefully, Damian shifted, doing his best to curve his body against Jon's as he wrapped one arm around the other without saying a word. )

[supersweet]

[ Jon could hear him, obviously. He was tuned into the heartbeats of everyone in Riverview. Even now, he can pick them out from a distance and see what they might be doing, what feelings drove him about their daily business. So Jon doesn't reply as Damian watches, but he shifts as he feels Damian's weight dip the bed. He turns his body to quietly wrap his arms around Damian with a silent sob.

Damian was all he knew of his world now. There was no one else. ]

[bestrobin]

( Damian stiffened as Jon turned on the bed and wrapped his arms around him. It took a few seconds and a couple of deep breaths before he relaxed and let his arms properly close around the other boy in return.

He didn't know what he was doing here. )

I'm still here, Jon. ( He offered quietly in an attempt to provide Jon with... something. Comfort, reassurance, who knew what else. Just something he wish he could have had too many times in his life when he was growing up, a comfort his mother had never been able to provide. ) I won't leave.

[advanced]

[Bucky sees the text and promptly throws his phone against a nearby wall in frustration and grief. It takes him a while to even get around to checking on Jon, he has to go to city hall first and make sure the records really do say that Clark has gone, and then he has to spend a while fuming to himself.

He feels betrayed. It's stupid, but he does, and that makes him withdraw into himself.

It's late evening by the time he makes it to the house Clark shared with Jon and knocks on the door sharply, not sure if he's expecting anyone to answer or not.]

[supersweet]

[ For a long few minutes, it seems like no one's home. Jon certainly is rather done opening the door and dealing with awkward well-wishers and helpers. He appreciates where they're coming from and what they're trying to accomplish, he was tired and hurting. But he recognizes Bucky's heartbeat and his father had advocated for Bucky strongly. Jon had let Bucky know things he hasn't told anyone else.

So he came down and wordlessly opens the door. He even steps back to let Bucky in if he wants to. ]

[advanced]

[Bucky probably doesn't look like the most welcome of houseguests, he's scowling deeply and limping ever so slightly as he stalks into the room.]

Did he tell you why?

[Why he left.]