"You are unbelievable," Clark said, "I can't believe you walked all the way home. Do you have any idea how dangerous Gotham is at night?"

"It's fine Clark."

"I mean I know Lex can be difficult but this is-"

"It was my fault, I stormed off."

Clark's eyes softened. They sat at the rickety table at the end of the kitchen and Clark piled more bacon onto Conner plate.

"I wish you had called me."

"I didn't think you'd be up."

Clark heaved a huge sigh. "Teenagers. Unbelievable."

"You said that already."

Clark hummed good naturedly and picked at his own breakfast. "And how was your weekend, anyways?"

Conner shrugged. "Terrible."

"Lex was behaving though?"

Conner could read the question in between the lines. 'He isn't taking you back, is he?'. Conner already knew that, no matter what happened, he would be protecting Clark from all of the bullshit. He'd have happily kept Clark in the dark about his entire trip if it had been possible. The man looked like he was already running on empty, with unkempt hair, and crooked glasses. He didn't want to pile more worry onto that. He thought of the note Lois left, that he had stuffed in the bottom of his bag.

"It was fine. More of a meet and greet thing, really." Conner hesitated on his next question because, though he didn't want Clark involved, something had been bothering him. "I met Bruce Wayne. He said you were good friends."

To Conner's surprise, Clark blushed. "I...may have gotten a bit drunk at the last Wayne party."

That was new information.

"Don't you need to go to school?"

"Fuck."

"Language!"

Conner was already out the door.

Conner did not arrive at school in time to review for English. Instead he barely arrived in time to avoid getting a late slip, and skidded into his class, wild eyed and frantic. The tweed adorned Mrs. Bruner did not look amused.

"You can take your seat, Mr. Kent." Mrs. Bruner said over her bifocals.

Conner hunched in on himself and slithered between the desks towards the utterly beaming faces of Cassie, Bart, and Stephanie.

"Welcome back, Mr. Kent," Bart said, golden eyes glowing with amusement, "your return to the land of rain and gargoyles was much anticipated."

"How was Metropolis?" Cassie asked, leaning forward and ignoring Bart.

Conner slid into his seat and offered the trio his best "nothing's wrong" smile. "Good. I hear you guys had quite a Saturday."

From the way everyone traded looks and Stephanie turned pink Conner knew he would be getting an earful at lunch.

"Everyone, if I could have your attention!" Mrs. Bruner said at the front of the room, holding up a hardcover copy of Heart of Darkness. "Pop quiz."

Conner considered the chances of survival if he threw himself out the window, but doing so would have required jumping over some hapless no-name and explaining to Clark why he felt the need to go and get hurt again. The image of Clark's sad sap face gave him the strength to resist as he was handed a copy of the quiz which he was sure to fail.

Gotham had been nice while it lasted.

The thing that amazed Conner most about being back in Gotham was how easily he slipped right back into the spot he had left behind.

Somehow he had expected resistance. That he would return to find he no longer had a place at the lunch table, or that since the dance Stephanie or Bart would be acting differently. They didn't. If Bart and Jaime had had some kind of...incident...nothing in how they behaved around each other indicated it. And Stephanie had practically dragged Conner to their lunch table to ensure that he would sit next to her.

It was nice, and made Conner feel like maybe he had missed out his freshman and sophomore years back when he had been more concerned with causing trouble than making friends his age.

"You're going to have to tell us about the big city," Stephanie said as they slid into their seats.

Conner rolled his eyes. "You live in a big city."

"It's not the same," Bart said from beside Jaime. "Being from Gotham is like...yeah it's a city. But like, a Gothamite wears boots and wants to fight you all the time."

"Less a city, more of a crime den."

"Like if instead of having an inner city, the entire city is an inner city."

As Conner's friends started to devolve into one upmanship over how terrible Gotham was, Conner turned around to see if he could find a familiar set of raven haired collectible children.

Jason waved from where his family had stepped into the cafeteria. Even from across the room Conner could see a deep black bruise under his eye. It did nothing to stop his shit eating grin as steel toed boots bounded towards them.

"Conner! How was Metropolis? You missed the real party."

Jason didn't pause to make niceties or ask if he was invited. He pulled up a chair with a resounded screech across the aluminum floor, and sat with his chin resting on the back. Blue eyes gazed up at Conner imploringly.

"It was so boring without you Conner."

It did not escape Conner's notice that quite a number of people in the area were staring. Jason had brought along Duke, Cass, and Tim, and all three looked uncomfortable at the sudden change in routine. Conner had to remind himself that despite Jason's attitude, he was, technically, a minor celebrity, and this was a very public high school.

"I promise I'll make it to the next one," Conner said, hoping to send Jason off and avoid anymore attention seeking.

"So you'll come with me to prom?"

Conner spluttered, and behind Jason, Tim coughed so hard Cass had to slap him on the back. It wasn't the question, so much as the timing that threw Conner off, and he nodded.

"I...I guess?"

"Great. So what are you up to now that you're back?"

Conner turned to the rest of the table to see if his so called friends would offer him aid in his time of need. Stephanie just snickered into her apple juice while Greta and Cassie pointedly looked anywhere BUT Conner. He wasn't dumb enough to ask Bart for help, and so at last his eyes landed on Jaime.

Jaime, bless his soul, seemed two parts intimidated by Jason, one part panicked, and quickly blurted out. "We're going to- we've been planning to study?"

Clearly Jaime was not so well versed in speaking to the Waynes. Jason's eyes took on a predatory glint as he turned to Conner. He leaned forward in his chair, "Yeah? Whatchya studying for? Still English?"

"Yeah...definitely bombed a quiz earlier."

"You know ," and the way Jason dragged the last part of the word out made Conner tense, "Tim is good at English. You guys are in the same grade. And he needs tutoring hours for the National Honor Society isn't that right Tim?"

Tim stood stiff as a rod, and his eyes darted between his brother and Conner at record speeds.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I do."

"Great!" Jason said, "Conner give me your phone."

Conner was so far beyond fighting this anymore. He handed over his phone without question. Jason took it, tapped out something away from Conner's eyesite, and handed it back.

"We'll text you." And with that Jason jumped up and the Waynes made their procession back to their usual table. As they went, Jason leaned over to whisper something in Tim's ear, and the younger boy practically hit him before storming off.

Conner looked down at his phone. Jason had added himself under Loverboy Jason. He noticed that Tim's number hadn't been added, and suspected that would lead to trouble, but instead of questioning it he pocketed the device and turned back to his tater tots and soggy chicken.

"Dude," Bart said.

"What?"

"I think Jason Wayne asked you to prom."

It shouldn't have surprised Conner that the anticipation before chem class was brutal. He found himself counting the minutes to the bell even as Stephanie tried to tell him about her plans with Cass.

When lunch finally did end, Conner had to hold himself back. It wasn't excitement. If anything he wanted to find the point farthest from the classroom and hide there until the day was over. But the idea of failing in yet another class haunted him, and he shuffled after Bart on his way to class and resolved to not bother Tim to the best of his ability.

Not that Tim had earned it, but Conner felt...tired. And worn. And like maybe it was a bit unfair that world repeatedly seemed to be pushing him around. He didn't ask for much and he didn't want much. And why did school matter so much anyways? What would Lex care if he fell off the face of the planet and became a hobo?

To Conner's ever growing surprise Tim managed to be nothing but civil as he took his seat. Ms. Isley assigned them book work for the day, promising to review homework and lecture tomorrow. Conner felt grateful for the break. He hadn't gotten much sleep on the train back to Gotham and he couldn't guarantee a lab wouldn't end in the school on fire.

He went a whole twenty minutes thinking that everything in class was going absolutely swimmingly when-

"That's wrong."

Tim had, at some point that Conner's sleep deprived brain hadn't noticed, leaned over so far his face nearly jabbed into Conner's pencil.

"Can I help you?" he asked the nosy, intrusive, no good-

"That's wrong," Tim said again, voice flat. "So's number eight."

"I don't remember asking you."

Without a word Tim took his own pen and scribbled over Conner's work.

"Hey!"

"I'm trying to help-!"

"Boys." One warning look from Ms. Isley was enough to make them both freeze. "I'd hate to give you both demerits. Conner you already have one from the broken beaker last week."

Quietly, Conner scooted away from Tim's nosy self. He stuck out his tongue and Tim frowned.

When Ms. Isley seemed sufficiently distracted Tim leaned over and whispered. "I was trying to help."

"I don't need you to tell me I'm stupid ok?"

"That's not what I said- "

"Demerits. Mr. Wayne. Mr. Kent. Don't make me tell you again."

Conner groaned and put his head down on his desk to better avoid having to have any kind of interaction with Tim. Stupid probably-a-vampire asshole.

Tim shook him awake, and when Conner raised his head, he found himself staring into ruby red eyes. For a long, painfully aware moment, Conner could swear he could hear his heartbeat. Tim smiled.

"Something the matter, Conner?"

He opened his mouth and no words came out. He tried again, only to realize it wasn't that he wasn't speaking, but that the sound vanished before it could leave his throat, like the room ate up his voice. Conner flailed a little, trying to get Tim to understand.

"Don't worry," Tim cooed, and he grinned, white fangs jutting out over his lips delicately, "It won't be long now."

"-Conner?"

Conner jolted awake. Bart looked at him, then back at the door where the rest of the class hurried to squeeze out of the room before Ms. Isely could assign homework.

"You got a demerit." Bart said. "Lunch detention Friday."

"Great."

Conner packed his books and notebook away.

"Are you ok?" Bart asked.

Conner tried for any easygoing smile. He failed, if Bart's wince was anything to go by.

In gym Conner's focus was all over the place. The coach had declared it a free day, and set up dodgeball. He apparently thought this was supposed to be a great thing, but besides Bart everyone seemed to mostly agree dodge ball was a terrible ordeal. The girls lined the gym walls, gossiping, while the one or two jocks in class made a game of hurling the rubber balls at each other as hard as they could.

Still feeling out of it, Conner drifted over to the coach, who seemed to be filling out paperwork.

Conner had never paid much attention to his gym teacher. Coach Scott looked like former military, and despite being a football coach, never went too hard on his PE classes. He had once joined them all in a basketball scrimmage, but otherwise Conner knew next to nothing about him. He approached the man cautiously, leaving Bart to fend for himself on the floor.

"Uh, Coach Scott?"

"What can I do for you Conner?" The middle aged man looked up from the clipboard, pen hovering.

At least he seemed to give Conner the time of day, which was more than he could say for his other teachers.

"I was wondering. How would I try out for the football team? If I was interested, I mean."

At that, Coach Scott gave a truly perplexed look. He capped his pen and hung his clipboard from a hook on the wall by the door.

"You planning on trying out?" He asked. He didn't sound incredulous or accusatory, so Conner risked nodding.

Coach Scott looked him up and down, like he was sizing him up. "Mind if I ask why? You got a real passion for the sport or something?"

"Ah. Not really sir." When Coach Scott made no move to speak Conner felt the need to justify himself slightly. "It's just, I never tried team sports, and my dad keeps saying I might be good at it so I thought...is this a bad idea?"

It wasn't a total lie, and Coach Scott seemed to be seriously considering his words. "Tell you what. We have practice Monday through Thursday from the final bell till 5PM. Can you make that practice time?"

"Yes?"

"Come by then. Can't put you on the team, exactly, but if it's something you really want to learn, you've certainly got the build for it. And you participate in class, and you don't give me a hard time. If I can do something for you, I will, alright? But don't expect anything. Certainly nothing more than JV."

"Of course!" Conner nodded his head, kinda numb. Somehow he'd thought that would have been more difficult.

Lex would be proud.

As the final bell rang and Conner made the trek from school to the bus stop, his usual routine was interrupted by none other than Stephanie Brown, who spotted him outside the front gates of the school, and ducked away from the group of unfamiliar girls she had been talking to.

"Hey! Kent!"

Conner slowed down and waited for her to catch up.

"Taking the bus?" She asked.

"I think I'll walk today, if you're planning to come."

Stephanie grinned at him. "Well now that you mention it, sure I'd love to come over."

"I didn't invite you over-"

"Dinner too? Why Mr. Kent you spoil me."

Conner grumbled but couldn't hide his grin, and the two quickly let the school disappear behind them into the Gotham jungle.

"Any reason you're inviting yourself over today, or am I just lucky?"

"You are blessed, Conner Kent," Stephanie paused to make a face as they passed streets piled with trash and turned a corner. "But actually, I wanted to make sure you were ok. You seem out of it."

Conner chewed his lip and tried to figure out where on the spectrum of liar he wanted to fall today. Before he could damn himself, however, Stephanie turned to look at him.

"So were you visiting Lex?"

Welp. There was no lying now . "That obvious?"

"I mean, no offense but, you're a bad liar, you're loaded, and-" she made a sort of grabby motion in the air while her face twisted up in the picture of frustration. Her thumbs stuck through holes in her worn out hoodie and she grimmaced. "-I guess as silly and stupid and fairytale like the idea of you being...well. Call me stupid but I'm inclined to believe you."

"Stupid."

She thwapped him on the arm. "What would your dad say, he saw you treating a girl like that?"

"Which one?"

She cackled. "Alright so tell me, Mr. Luthor, what's the deal with that? Is Lex Clark's surgar daddy?"

For a horrifying, heart stopping moment, Conner had a clear image of Clark and Lex and one of those crazy horrible sugar daddy apps. Then the concept of Clark calling Lex 'daddy' crossed his mind and it broke him entirely.

"If you ever say something like that again this friendship is over."

"Touchy," Stephanie said, looking miffed, "You don't have to tell me, I was just asking."

Conner was going to have to dunk his head in bleach at home. He sighed, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and studied the lines of the pavement as they walked. It was always easier to say these things when he wasn't forced to face someone's eyes.

"As far as I know, Clark had me in high school. Accident or whatever. And Lex offered to adopt and pay off all the doctors and the girl's family or whatever. I don't know the details but Clark hates talking about it. Said it was needlessly messy. I never knew my mother, I just know she's from Smallville."

"All my life, the only family I remember is Lex and Clark. When I was really young Clark used to be around all the time. Him and Lex were super close. I think everything might have been good. But it was a long time ago. Clark…"

"Clark wanted a different life. I guess. Lex is difficult and he didn't make raising me easy. I didn't go to public school till I was twelve. I used to have to do a bunch of weird like, private lessons and stuff. I didn't know a kid my age until I was much older. Actually you guys are my first high school friends."

"Really?" Stephanie asked. "I'm honored."

Conner grinned. "Yeah well. Lex Luthor sucks."

"Down with the rich?"

"Come on, revolutionary, we're here."

Conner lead Stephanie up the rickety stairs to his second floor apartment. His neighbors started a screaming match as he closed the door behind them.

Stephanie took a look around the squarish living room, with a kitchen table shoved up between the couch and the kitchen counter so you couldn't squeeze past, the ceiling that sloped so that Clark always had to duck on his way by the TV, and the dark hallway that lead to the bedroom, the giant closet that passed for Conner's room, and the pantry that passed for the bathroom.

"That TV looks ancient."

"Clark is a dinosaur."

Stephanie dropped her backpack and took a running leap at the couch. She hit the old, faded monster causing it to skid across the old wood floors.

"Hey!" a muffled voice from below shouted, "Keep it the fuck down."

Stephanie laughed. "I love it."

"Good," Conner said, taking his seat beside her much more carefully, "Now, tell me about this date with Cassandra Wayne."

Clark was predictably delighted to have Stephanie over for dinner. He made her stay while he made a homemade egg and cabbage soup, and spent the entire time pleasantly asking her questions.

Stephanie gushed about her date Friday with Cass, and Clark offered to give her and Cass a ride to Freddy's. Conner watched Stephanie visibly fall more in love with Clark.

By the time it was dark outside, Clark was offering to take her home and sending Conner to his room.

"You need your sleep young man. You were up far too late last night."

Conner begrudgingly said his goodbyes and trudged to his room. He showered, feeling oddly relaxed as he let the hot water spray work knots out of his back. Slipping into flannel PJs (he was turning into Clark by the day and it horrified him) he turned on the desk lamp in his room and dug his overnight bag out from under his bed.

It took him a minute to find it, and for a heart stopping second he thought he lost it, but he pulled out the letter Lois had given him at the gala and turned it over in his hands.

At least he assumed it was a letter. The neat white envelope had Lois' curly script on the front.

'Clark'.

Conner hesitated.

He checked his phone. He still had time before Clark got back.

He opened the letter, carefully. He'd never be able to reseal it, of course, and he knew perhaps it was wrong but-

He freed a couple pages of printer paper from the envelope, and a stray photo floated to the ground. He turned over the papers in his hand quickly. It was a typed out letter, addressed to Clark, and too many paragraphs for Conner to scan it quickly.

He grabbed the fallen photo from off the floor and froze.

Staring up at him was a boy in a soccer uniform. He had gapped tooth grin, and stared up at the camera with big, baby blue eyes. He couldn't be older than ten.

He was a spitting image of Clark.

Conner felt his heart stop.

A quick scan of the letter revealed the boy was named Jonathan. He was 9. Lois was very sorry for not telling him but she felt it was for the best…

Conner balled up the letter, took the photo, and placed it in the back of his copy of Heart of Darkness just as he heard the door open. He clicked off the light, and listened as Clark's footsteps passed by. He paused by Conner's door.

"Conner?"

"I'm trying to sleep Clark."

Clark chuckled. "All right. I'll see you in the morning."

Conner waited until he heard Clark's bedroom door close before he truly started to panic.

When did this shit start getting complicated?

OUTTAKE:

As they walked away from the nerd table, Jason leaned over to whisper into Tim's ear.

"Don't ever say I didn't do anything for you."