Superboy had thought that he had been taught everything he ever needed to know in the Cadmus pod. He found out that despite getting an education, he actually knew very little about traditions and cultures, and most of all, social interaction.

He was a weapon. The Superboy. Created to destroy Superman should he stray from the light, whatever that truly was. So why would he need to understand other people if his only purpose was fighting?

And yet, slowly, very slowly, he was learning. It was actually fascinating, the rush of information hitting his brain and contorting his facial features. The one most used was anger, and if not that then frustration or hate. At first, it was a constant feeling. But recently… He still felt those a lot, but other emotions came.

When he saw Superman for the first time, a pulsing, rising expression in his chest came, with thoughts that maybe he'd be pleased – hope? For the first time, he had felt something…not dark and compressing. And then he saw the look on his genetic donor's face, and it felt like that precious feeling was stomped on – crushed dreams? Sadness? What's the difference really?

And then… And then being around the other members of Young Justice brought another feeling at times. It took Superboy by surprise. It was such a light feeling, warm and free, and it made the corners of his lips turn up. He saw that people would act similar, and then laugh. He wondered if it was some higher level of happiness. He wanted to laugh one day. It looked…nice.

The one he was most perplexed by was love. He had never had that feeling; in fact, he had no idea what it felt like. Even though he spent most of his time at Mount Justice or on missions, he had gathered that two people that mate seem to be a bit different.

Often, when it was just him and Megan, the girl would ask him to watch a movie with him. He'd always say no and give her an even look, possibly crossing his arms. But then she'd get that sad look on her face and he'd feel another kind of heaviness – guilt? – and agree.

Superboy was bored half to death by Megan's choice in movies. He preferred action, or possibly horror. Anger, hate, fear…those he could understand. But the movies she liked were full of kissing and "I love yous". Love. He didn't get it. Why were those two or more people acting so weird? Not to mention stupid. Why would you want to lie around holding each other? Why risk the spreading of germs by rubbing your tongues together? And why did they look like it was so damn pleasurable? What was he missing?

He remembered asking Megan about it one time. After watching the two leads kiss passionately, he looked at the martian, who had been looking at him with a sort of lazy smile and a dreamy look in her eyes. Once she saw him looking at her, her face turned a little pink.

"What does love feel like?" Superboy asked with that serious look on his face.

Megan blinked, taken aback, and turned even pinker. And then realization hit her. "Hello Megan! You don't know what it feels like, of course! Well, it's this passionate feeling, that takes control of your whole being. You melt and burn with want and desire for someone, to hold them and kiss them."

If Megan's tone and expression was anything to go by, she found love to be wonderful. Superboy thought it sounded weird and possibly painful. Love didn't sound like anything he needed to experience.

With his answer, Superboy was able to forget about love. It really didn't sound that great to him. He was able to push it completely from his mind for nearly a month – until Kid Flash decided to drop a bomb on him.

Black Canary had instructed him to do a one-handed handstand while balancing a bowling ball of all things on each foot and stay like that until she came back, in order to test his patience and balance. So here he was in the training arena, doing as she said for about four hours without moving. He had stopped questioning her instructions when he realized that she was right about fighting. He wanted to move, to do something, but he didn't want to fail the one person willing to mentor him.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as his super hearing picked up on the lightest of footsteps, as if someone was trying to sneak up on him. But why? Surely if it an enemy had gotten in, they'd all know. Then it had to be one of his teammates. But why creep around and not come out into the open? Unless it was a prank?

He discreetly glanced over to where he heard the footsteps. Trying to hide, there was Kid Flash in his civilian clothes, looking at him with a scrutinizing expression. Superboy's hearing picked up on the words he was whispering to himself.

"Well, Supey can be really nice when he's not ticked off at everything. He can actually be fun. Maybe he'll loosen up after a while, too. Haha, Supey as Totally Radical. As if. Still… And I gotta admit, any guy I know would kill for that body. So all in all I guess it makes sense. Who would have thunk it, though?"

Superboy wondered briefly if this was part of the test, to be driven to distraction by Wally's inane talking to himself…ness. He watched the other (older? younger?) male suspiciously, until his temper began to rise.

"Come for a fight?"

The look on Wally's face was the picture of 'oh shit, I forgot he has super hearing.' However, he strolled out as though he hadn't been caught spying.

"Hey Supey!" A wide (cheesy) grin was stretched on his face, completing the annoyingly perky upbeat look to shine upon the Boy of Steel's image of helpless lack of mobility.

His mentor was a cruel woman.

Wally stepped closer, his expression becoming more serious. If he even thought about trying to knock him over, Superboy would jam both bowling balls up his ass.

"Something you want?" he asked, his paranoid nature acting up.

"Uh…no. Nope. Not at all." Wally seemed more than a little uncomfortable.

"…"

Wally gave him a winning smiling.

"…"

A nervous twitch.

"…"

The smile was beginning to look pretty damn strained.

"…Nothing?"

"….Technically yeah. Um there is something, but I probably shouldn't say what that something is, because that something isn't really my something but really nothing and if I told that something it would not only be a big something for me but a double big something for you and him. Although maybe it would be good for him. And you. Man, especially you. And me, because then there'd be her without you because of him and me and her could happen and he and you could happen and it all turn out great, or he and you could not happen, which would suck, and she and I might not happen, which would doubly suck, and you and her could happen, which would triple suck for me and him, and hell, maybe other hes and shes could come into the mix and the suckage couldn't be measured."

Another silence from Superboy, trying to fit all the words that Wally said into something that made sense and was failing. He was more designed for punching the shit out of things, not that he was stupid, per say, but that figuring out stuff was far from his forte.

"Okay, I can see you're getting mad, and when you get mad you get worse than Artemis when it's that time of the month, so I'll make it quick."

Wally took a deep breath. "You've come around since we found you in that glorified shoebox. We'll are pretty good friends now, even with your temper. Sure, you have more issues than a necrophiliac circus clown who's parents are siblings, and you still freak me the hell out when you give me that look that says 'I'm going to rape your soul and kill your family' – you know, that look you're giving me now? Yeah, right there – but still. You're a good guy. Deep, deep, deep, deeeeeeeep down. So I feel alright saying this. I think. You're really not gonna rape my soul and kill my family one day, are you? Because that would be really-"

"Would you get to the point?" Superboy growled.

Wally held his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay, geez. Here goes. It's about Robin."

Superboy's expression changed from agitation to slight curiosity. "What is it?" A touch of concern. "Is he in trouble?"

"Noooot exactly," Wally answered, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well maybe. But you know, he acts really confident and all that, but he actually does have a shy side. He's my best bud, and I had a hunch, so I tricked him into telling me. You better be grateful, because you have no idea how hard it is to get a Bat to spill-"

"Wally."

"Alright, alright. He likes you." The redhead stared at him apprehensively, looking like he was about to face the wrath of a hundred Supermen.

Superboy simply stared. Wasn't he friends with Robin before? If Robin only now liked him, did that mean he disliked him before? That…that was very unsettling. He'd die before his pride would let him admit it, even to himself, but he felt a little hurt.

"…I like him, too. We're…friends, right?"

"Oh good, I thought you'd freak out," Wally said, clearly relieved, only to have his face fall when he realized what Superboy said. "Uh, no. No, dude. No. I mean, he has a crush on you."

There was a long and heavy silence as Superboy's confused mind processed the information before it slowly sank in.

"Wait, what?"

"Robin. You know? Midget with black hair, a blinding costume, and creepy as heck laugh? That Robin. Who. Has. A. Crush. On. You," he finished as though explaining 1+1=2 to a mentally deficient child.

Superboy's eyes widened, completely taking away his attention from his task and thus dropping the two bowling balls. Too shocked to be angry, he merely flipped over to stand up normally.

"Since when is Robin homosexual?"

Wally shrugged. "It's doesn't really surprise me. Robin is kinda girly. Er, not that gay men can't be manly. Like, if you were to go for it, you wouldn't be less manly than you are now. Maybe I ought to just leave it to you to figure out? Yeah. Later, Supey!" And with that he sped out of there faster than Superboy had ever seen him go.

A crush is a level below love, isn't it? Did that mean Robin was feeling a sort of love for him? Seriously. Robin. But there was no way. He didn't remember much of Megan's movies from either zoning out to trying to block them out, but the person with a crush always acted strange, right? So if Robin had a crush on him, why was he acting the same?

Because his mentor is Batman, right. He'd never show something he didn't want to show without a lot of pushing.

Superboy shook his head. He was being crazy. Robin wouldn't have those feelings for him. That would be too weird. They were only friends.

"ARGH!" He picked up the two bowling balls and threw them into the wall. They stayed, looking like two large black eyes. He flipped it off before storming out.

This was a mess.