Lilly: 21
Conner: 21
Best Friends
I was having a nice quiet afternoon, Bruce had gone to visit Jason across town, Dick and Barb were out to lunch, and Timmy and Wally had locked themselves in the cave for 'science'. I didn't ask any more about the last one, if they were going to blow stuff up in the cave I didn't want to be involved. Left to occupy myself for the afternoon, I decided to treat myself to a relaxing swim in the indoor pool. I was making laps around the pool, via backstroke, my eyes were closed and I was started by a deep voice growling by the side of the pool.
"Can we talk?" After rescuing myself from near drowning, I kicked my way to the side of the pool where Conner stood frowning.
"How did you..."
"Alfred let me in." He explained. "So can we talk?"
"Uh sure," I nodded as I gripped the tile siding, "Everything ok?" I asked, lifting myself out of the water. Conner handed me a warm towel , I dried off while I waited for his answer.
"It's M'gann."
"Oh."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "So you've already talk to her then?"
"No," I shook my head, sending water droplets flying. "I'm just surprised. What happened?"
"Well first we were fighting about how she uses her powers. I just said that I thought she might be taking advantage of them, you know using them inappropriately, she got all offended and stormed off. I thought that would be the end of it, like maybe she'd be mad for awhile but I thought we could work it out. Then she tried to use her powers, the very thing we were just arguing about, she tried to use them to make me forget that I was ever angry with her! Do you believe that?"
"To be honest I've noticed something's changed in M'gann, but I never thought she'd use them on you like that." I said thoughtfully. "then again girls don't always act rationally when it comes to dating. Speaking of which wouldn't you rather talk to Wally or Dick or Kal about this? Is it...I dunno awkward talking to me?"
"You were the first person I thought of." Conner shrugged. "I know that you are friends with M'gann too, I can leave if it makes you feel awkward." He turned away from me.
"Hey wait!" I said putting my hand on his arm causing him to turn back. "Trust me, when your brother and best friend are in an on-again-off-again relationship, you get pretty good at navigating the awkward dating minefield. So what do you feel you should do?" I said sitting down near the edge of the pool so that my feet were dangling in the water. Conner toed off his shoes, pulled off his socks, rolled up the legs of his jeans before sitting next to me.
"I told her we were through." Connor said, swirling his feet in the water.
"I think that might have been for the best, Conner." I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You should be with someone who makes you comfortable all the time. If what M'gann's been doing with her powers makes you feel uncomfortable, then you shouldn't feel obligated to stay with her."
"What about Wally? You're always saying that part of loving someone is loving their faults. Or Jason, you told me that part of loving Jason meant seeing him through good times and bad."
"Wally and Jason are different than M'gann. Just like you or I are different than Kaldur, Atemis or Kara. Love means something different for every person and between each person. And there are all different kinds. Yes, I say all of the time that part of Wally's charm is his...inappropriate behavior, but the things that Wally does are never intentionally hurtful or disrespectful. When M'gann invaded your mind and tried to force you to forget your fight, she not only betrayed your trust, she also invaded a private piece of yourself. Now going back to Jason. My little brother is probably the exact definition of Hurtful and disrespectful, but no one in the family tolerates him when he acts that way. You'll always care for M'gann, but if she can't respect your privacy you can't have a healthy relationship."
"See this is why I came to you." Conner half-smiled. "Wally would have made jokes, which might have made me feel better, but probably a lot worse too. Kaldur would have said that I shouldn't give up on love no matter what, that eventually M'gann would come around. And Dick would have probably insisted on talking to M'gann himself and forced us into some awkward make-up." The small trace of a smile faded as Conner seemed to remember something far off. "You know you were the first person I ever told about my feelings for M'gann."
"I remember that. The weekend I spend at Uncle Clarks after The Team first started. Everyone had just been calling you 'Superboy' before that..."
"But you asked me if I like being called Superboy all of the time. You told me I was lucky because I could have any name I wanted, then you dragged my down the hall and insist Clark choose a name for me. It was the first time anyone had made me feel...well human. That's why I decided to tell you that I had feelings for M'gann. Maybe that's why I came to talk to you today. You've always been very understanding."
"I know I don't talk about it much, but my life wasn't always sitting pretty here at Wayne Manor. Not too many people know this Conner, but my mom was Catwoman, and until I was eight years old, Bruce Wayne didn't even know I existed. Life with my mom was very different, we were poor, probably poorer than poor...hard to imagine since she was a world class jewel thief...I've no idea what she did with the cash she earned from all those heist...when my mother died, she left me a letter saying that Bruce Wayne was my father. All I had to my name once she was gone were the clothes on my back and a letter to Bruce. I walked most of the way here from Crime Alley. I got into the crime fighting business much younger than everyone else, but I also grew up a lot faster than most too, I've learned to be observant, pay attention to things that most people miss."
"I never knew that about you. I guess I always thought you lived with Bruce and Alfred...Does Clark...?"
"Uncle Clark, Uncle Barry, Wally, and my brothers are the only ones who know the whole story. Barbara and her parents know my mom's name and that we were very poor, but they don't know that Selina Kyle was also Catwoman."
"I won't tell anyone any of this."
"I know you won't Conner, that's why I'm telling you." I moved my hand off his shoulder and leaned my head onto it instead. "What I think I'm trying to say, Conner, is I've seen some pretty bad situations in my life, with my experiences, both my parents, each of my brothers, I'm always going to be here for you. Whether it's dating advice or anything. What else are friends for?"
"Thank you Lil. I think you're the best friend I have."