[Connor/Kyle] Young Love In An Old Ford (reposted from summer_flinging)
Title: Young Love In An Old Ford
Rating: PG
Words: 2000
Fandom: DC comics
Pairing: Connor Hawke/Kyle Rayner
Summary: A little bit of bonding time. With a truck.
Disclaimer: The title comes from the Kenny Chesney song "Summertime", which has no other relevance to this story. Connor, Kyle, and all the other characters belong to DC.
Part One: California
"The last road trip we took," Kyle said, "turned out to be kind of a disaster. Not to say that was your fault, because it wasn't, but I don't want to end up fighting with you, encountering evil parents, or shooting down satellites."
"You won't," Connor assured him. "At least, I don't see any reason why you would. But dad's kicking me out for the summer, and he's got this idea that I should see some of the country, and I don't want to go alone."
Kyle sighed. "Take Mia. Or Roy, for that matter."
"Mia has summer school, to make up for all the hospital-time she missed. Roy has Lian, and he's not about to leave her to hang around with me." Connor looked pleadingly at Kyle. "You're not Green Lantern right now, and I'm not Green Arrow for the foreseeable future. What else have you got to do?"
Kyle sighed. Connor thumped him on the back. "Look at it this way," he said kindly. "You're just drawing. You can draw anywhere. We have no timetable. You want to stop and paint a flower, we'll stop."
"Okay," Kyle said, giving in to the inevitable. "Okay, I'll go. Just let me get my stuff."
Part Two: Nevada
The first thing Kyle remembered about driving with Connor was that Connor didn't drive. "Seriously, Con," he said, "You're going to have to learn sometime, and it might as well be now."
They were in the Nevada desert, with miles of nearly-deserted roadway, and Kyle pulled the truck that Ollie had loaned them onto the shoulder and opened the door. "Switch places," he said, and Connor shot him an anxious glance but slid obediently across the seat while Kyle came around the truck.
Kyle settled into the passenger seat with a sigh. "That's better," he said. "I know you don't seriously believe you could invite me along on a road trip and have me do all the hard work."
The look on Connor's face suggested that he would be just as happy to have that be the case, but Kyle was determined-- license or no license, Connor would be sharing the driving responsibilities. Two hours later, it was determined that Connor had mastered the basics, although the disheveled state of Kyle's hair suggested that it had been a difficult two hours.
Reclaiming the driver's seat, he remarked, in a tone of mingled envy and horror, "I can't believe Roy let you drive his car."
Part Three: Arizona
"Ever seen the Grand Canyon?"
Connor kept his eyes determinedly on the road. "Yeah, a group of us came from the ashram one time. You?"
"Never. Would you mind seeing it again?"
"Definitely not. It was really beautiful; I'd love to go again." Connor jerked the steering wheel, sending the truck into the exit lane suddenly enough to make Kyle stomp an imaginary brake.
By midnight, Connor was sitting on the rocky ground of Toroweap Overlook, watching Kyle sketch-- scribble, pause, look, scribble. Kyle's eyes came off the paper, but instead of gazing out at the canyon, he caught Connor's eye and smiled. "This is the happiest I've been all year, Con," he said softly. "I'm so glad you brought me."
Connor smiled back. "It wouldn't have been right, doing this without you. And not just because of... tradition. You really are my best friend, you know."
Kyle's smile grew bigger. "Right back at you."
They sat silently for a minute before Kyle turned back to his sketchbook. Connor watched, letting his breathing match the rhythm Kyle set. He was conscious of the stars above, and the beautiful gaping emptiness below, and when his eyes drifted shut in meditation, it was the most peaceful he'd been in months.
Part Four: Colorado
"I'm telling you," Connor insisted, "roller coasters just aren't my thing. You go ride it, and I'll wait here for you."
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm beginning to see what Ollie meant about this trip."
Connor's head jerked up. "What did my dad say about me?"
"Oh, shit. Look, Con, it wasn't anything."
"Obviously it was something."
Kyle sighed. "It really wasn't anything, Con. He just told me to make sure you actually did some things that might be considered 'fun' by people under forty. I didn't mean anything by it, and I don't think Ollie did either."
"Yes," Connor said softly, "he meant it." He turned and walked away, moving deliberately into the line for the ferris wheel.
After they were settled in a car, Kyle pressed, "You want to tell me what that was about?"
Connor shrugged, and Kyle shook him, gently. "Hey, don't give me that. This is about why we're on the road right now, isn't it?"
The look in Connor's eyes was close to desperate, and the words spilled out fast: "I don't think Ollie likes me. Or approves of me. Or something. I'm not good enough for him."
"Hey," Kyle breathed. "Con, no. He loves you."
Connor shook his head. "He's making me go to college. He says I have to be Connor Hawke and not Green Arrow. He took his name away from me, Kyle! Why else would he do that?"
Kyle shook his head. "No way. Now listen, Ollie loves you so much. I think what he wants more than anything is for you to be a normal kid for awhile. This hero business, Con, it ages us. All of us. You've got a chance to be normal that almost nobody else does, and nobody wants to see you waste it." He paused. "Except maybe Batman. Anyway." He wrapped an arm around Connor's shoulders. "It's not about Ollie. It's about you, and wanting the best for you. Okay?"
Connor nodded, sliding out of Kyle's loose embrace, and Kyle grinned at him. "Okay, now one more question. If you don't like roller coasters and thrill rides, why'd you agree to come here?"
Connor shrugged. "You wanted to come. And I like amusement park food."
"And if I said that I want you to come on the Boneshaker with me?" Kyle teased as they exited the ferris wheel.
Connor darted ahead of him, grinning broadly. "In that case," he called back, "I'd definitely promise to think about it!"
Part Five: Idaho
"You'll love my grandfather," Connor promised. "Seriously, I really think he'll like you."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I think you're more nervous than I am," he remarked, but then they were pulling up to a dusty farmhouse. Connor threw the truck into park and scrambled out to hug the man Kyle assumed must be Nathan Hawke.
"Grampa," Connor said, beaming, as Kyle joined them on the porch, "this is Kyle. Kyle, this is my grandfather, Nathan Hawke."
"Hi, Kyle," Nathan said, shaking hands. "I hope you'll call me Nathan and set an example for Connor here."
He started back into the house. "Grab your bags, boys. Connor, you know where the guest rooms are, so show Kyle. By the time you take your things upstairs, I'll have supper on the table."
Later that night, after dinner, Nathan looked up from his paper. "Connor tells me you're an artist, boy," he said. "Any chance you'll show me some of your work?"
"Sure thing," Kyle said, grinning. "Let me run upstairs for my sketchbook." He returned holding a thick volume, which he handed to Nathan. "This is the one I've been using to chronicle this trip."
Nathan thumbed through the book, stopping once or twice to linger over certain drawings. "These are very good," he said. "But then, you don't need me to tell you that."
"No," Kyle admitted, "but I don't mind hearing it."
"Connor," Nathan said, changing the subject, "why don't you go slice up the pie on the far counter? Make sure you put some ice cream on mine, you hear?"
As soon as they were alone, he passed the book back to Kyle, open to a sketch of Connor asleep under a starry desert sky. "I'm not blind, son," he said. "It's plain as day how you feel about him, so don't you play dense with me. Connor needs somebody, and of all the people he talks about, you're the only one he's brought up here to meet me."
Kyle, instantly wary, closed the book. "Connor's not gay," he said, softly but firmly.
Nathan snorted. "Never said he was. What I'm saying is, he loves you. And I think you love him. So you should do something about that."
Connor came back then, three plates of pie balanced precariously in his hands. Nathan began talking about the improvements he was making to the ranch, but he kept an eye on Kyle. Yes, he thought, he'd been right to say something.
Part Six: Utah
The summer seemed too short to drive very far to the east, and Connor had decided that he liked the desert better than the mountains, so the route home involved as much desert as possible. It was one night in Utah, under another starry sky, that Kyle made his move.
"You haven't asked to see my sketches," he said. "Aren't you interested?"
Connor blinked at him in the light from their fire. "Of course I am," he said. "I just thought maybe you wouldn't want me asking to see all the time, and I didn't want to not ask."
"I think," Kyle said, trying to hide the shake in his voice, "maybe you should see these." He passed Connor a sheaf of paper.
Connor studied each image carefully before he spoke. "They're all of me."
Kyle nodded.
"They're all... really beautiful."
He nodded again.
"Is that how you see me?"
"Yes," Kyle said. "Because that's what you are. There's one more picture, by the way." Slowly, he handed over a single sheet.
Connor looked at it, then back at Kyle. Carefully he set the papers down, using their flashlight as a paperweight. Then he circled around to Kyle's side of the fire, knelt down beside him, and kissed him.
Part Seven: California
The last night before they reached Star City was spent in San Francisco, where they stayed in Connor's mother's vacant house, in sleeping bags on the empty floors. Connor had been quiet all day, letting Kyle drive in the California traffic while he stared pensively out the window.
"Something wrong?" Kyle asked over dinner, and earned a soft smile in return.
"I'm just thinking," Connor answered, and resumed his silence.
When the time came to sleep, however, Kyle left the bathroom to find that Connor had zipped the sleeping bags together.
"You were just thinking, huh?" He slid inside the bag and hugged Connor to his chest. "Must've been some pretty deep thoughts."
Connor shook his head. "Not really," he said. "I decided that I want to be close to you, like this. But I don't want to have sex tonight."
"No problem," Kyle said, "but do you mind if I ask why not?"
Connor groaned. "I figured you would. No, it's just-- I think dad was hoping I'd lose my virginity this summer. I was starting to make him feel guilty. And I really don't want to give him that much control over my sex life."
They laughed, off and on, until they fell asleep.
Part Eight: Home
When they pulled into the parking lot behind the youth center, a small group of kids came running up to meet them, Mia panting behind them. Kyle hung back while Connor exchanged high-fives and hellos. "Summer school finished?" he asked Mia, who came over to stand beside him.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Why is that the first thing anyone asks me? Yes, and I made As in everything except trig." She leaned back against the truck. "Connor's good with the kids, isn't he?"
"The best," Kyle agreed, smiling as Connor came over to them with Lian riding piggy-back, trailed by the rest of the kids.
Mia laughed. "Don't know if I'd go that far, but yeah. Come inside, guys. Ollie and Roy are waiting. And I want to hear about everything-- I can't believe you got to go all over the country when I've been stuck here all summer!"
They followed her into the building, handed over the kids to a teenaged volunteer, and sat down around the kitchen table with Ollie, Roy, and Mia. Then they hesitated, unsure where to begin.
Finally Connor said simply, "Well, I had fun."
And after Ollie stopped laughing, they told the rest of the story.
Rating: PG
Words: 2000
Fandom: DC comics
Pairing: Connor Hawke/Kyle Rayner
Summary: A little bit of bonding time. With a truck.
Disclaimer: The title comes from the Kenny Chesney song "Summertime", which has no other relevance to this story. Connor, Kyle, and all the other characters belong to DC.
Part One: California
"The last road trip we took," Kyle said, "turned out to be kind of a disaster. Not to say that was your fault, because it wasn't, but I don't want to end up fighting with you, encountering evil parents, or shooting down satellites."
"You won't," Connor assured him. "At least, I don't see any reason why you would. But dad's kicking me out for the summer, and he's got this idea that I should see some of the country, and I don't want to go alone."
Kyle sighed. "Take Mia. Or Roy, for that matter."
"Mia has summer school, to make up for all the hospital-time she missed. Roy has Lian, and he's not about to leave her to hang around with me." Connor looked pleadingly at Kyle. "You're not Green Lantern right now, and I'm not Green Arrow for the foreseeable future. What else have you got to do?"
Kyle sighed. Connor thumped him on the back. "Look at it this way," he said kindly. "You're just drawing. You can draw anywhere. We have no timetable. You want to stop and paint a flower, we'll stop."
"Okay," Kyle said, giving in to the inevitable. "Okay, I'll go. Just let me get my stuff."
Part Two: Nevada
The first thing Kyle remembered about driving with Connor was that Connor didn't drive. "Seriously, Con," he said, "You're going to have to learn sometime, and it might as well be now."
They were in the Nevada desert, with miles of nearly-deserted roadway, and Kyle pulled the truck that Ollie had loaned them onto the shoulder and opened the door. "Switch places," he said, and Connor shot him an anxious glance but slid obediently across the seat while Kyle came around the truck.
Kyle settled into the passenger seat with a sigh. "That's better," he said. "I know you don't seriously believe you could invite me along on a road trip and have me do all the hard work."
The look on Connor's face suggested that he would be just as happy to have that be the case, but Kyle was determined-- license or no license, Connor would be sharing the driving responsibilities. Two hours later, it was determined that Connor had mastered the basics, although the disheveled state of Kyle's hair suggested that it had been a difficult two hours.
Reclaiming the driver's seat, he remarked, in a tone of mingled envy and horror, "I can't believe Roy let you drive his car."
Part Three: Arizona
"Ever seen the Grand Canyon?"
Connor kept his eyes determinedly on the road. "Yeah, a group of us came from the ashram one time. You?"
"Never. Would you mind seeing it again?"
"Definitely not. It was really beautiful; I'd love to go again." Connor jerked the steering wheel, sending the truck into the exit lane suddenly enough to make Kyle stomp an imaginary brake.
By midnight, Connor was sitting on the rocky ground of Toroweap Overlook, watching Kyle sketch-- scribble, pause, look, scribble. Kyle's eyes came off the paper, but instead of gazing out at the canyon, he caught Connor's eye and smiled. "This is the happiest I've been all year, Con," he said softly. "I'm so glad you brought me."
Connor smiled back. "It wouldn't have been right, doing this without you. And not just because of... tradition. You really are my best friend, you know."
Kyle's smile grew bigger. "Right back at you."
They sat silently for a minute before Kyle turned back to his sketchbook. Connor watched, letting his breathing match the rhythm Kyle set. He was conscious of the stars above, and the beautiful gaping emptiness below, and when his eyes drifted shut in meditation, it was the most peaceful he'd been in months.
Part Four: Colorado
"I'm telling you," Connor insisted, "roller coasters just aren't my thing. You go ride it, and I'll wait here for you."
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm beginning to see what Ollie meant about this trip."
Connor's head jerked up. "What did my dad say about me?"
"Oh, shit. Look, Con, it wasn't anything."
"Obviously it was something."
Kyle sighed. "It really wasn't anything, Con. He just told me to make sure you actually did some things that might be considered 'fun' by people under forty. I didn't mean anything by it, and I don't think Ollie did either."
"Yes," Connor said softly, "he meant it." He turned and walked away, moving deliberately into the line for the ferris wheel.
After they were settled in a car, Kyle pressed, "You want to tell me what that was about?"
Connor shrugged, and Kyle shook him, gently. "Hey, don't give me that. This is about why we're on the road right now, isn't it?"
The look in Connor's eyes was close to desperate, and the words spilled out fast: "I don't think Ollie likes me. Or approves of me. Or something. I'm not good enough for him."
"Hey," Kyle breathed. "Con, no. He loves you."
Connor shook his head. "He's making me go to college. He says I have to be Connor Hawke and not Green Arrow. He took his name away from me, Kyle! Why else would he do that?"
Kyle shook his head. "No way. Now listen, Ollie loves you so much. I think what he wants more than anything is for you to be a normal kid for awhile. This hero business, Con, it ages us. All of us. You've got a chance to be normal that almost nobody else does, and nobody wants to see you waste it." He paused. "Except maybe Batman. Anyway." He wrapped an arm around Connor's shoulders. "It's not about Ollie. It's about you, and wanting the best for you. Okay?"
Connor nodded, sliding out of Kyle's loose embrace, and Kyle grinned at him. "Okay, now one more question. If you don't like roller coasters and thrill rides, why'd you agree to come here?"
Connor shrugged. "You wanted to come. And I like amusement park food."
"And if I said that I want you to come on the Boneshaker with me?" Kyle teased as they exited the ferris wheel.
Connor darted ahead of him, grinning broadly. "In that case," he called back, "I'd definitely promise to think about it!"
Part Five: Idaho
"You'll love my grandfather," Connor promised. "Seriously, I really think he'll like you."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I think you're more nervous than I am," he remarked, but then they were pulling up to a dusty farmhouse. Connor threw the truck into park and scrambled out to hug the man Kyle assumed must be Nathan Hawke.
"Grampa," Connor said, beaming, as Kyle joined them on the porch, "this is Kyle. Kyle, this is my grandfather, Nathan Hawke."
"Hi, Kyle," Nathan said, shaking hands. "I hope you'll call me Nathan and set an example for Connor here."
He started back into the house. "Grab your bags, boys. Connor, you know where the guest rooms are, so show Kyle. By the time you take your things upstairs, I'll have supper on the table."
Later that night, after dinner, Nathan looked up from his paper. "Connor tells me you're an artist, boy," he said. "Any chance you'll show me some of your work?"
"Sure thing," Kyle said, grinning. "Let me run upstairs for my sketchbook." He returned holding a thick volume, which he handed to Nathan. "This is the one I've been using to chronicle this trip."
Nathan thumbed through the book, stopping once or twice to linger over certain drawings. "These are very good," he said. "But then, you don't need me to tell you that."
"No," Kyle admitted, "but I don't mind hearing it."
"Connor," Nathan said, changing the subject, "why don't you go slice up the pie on the far counter? Make sure you put some ice cream on mine, you hear?"
As soon as they were alone, he passed the book back to Kyle, open to a sketch of Connor asleep under a starry desert sky. "I'm not blind, son," he said. "It's plain as day how you feel about him, so don't you play dense with me. Connor needs somebody, and of all the people he talks about, you're the only one he's brought up here to meet me."
Kyle, instantly wary, closed the book. "Connor's not gay," he said, softly but firmly.
Nathan snorted. "Never said he was. What I'm saying is, he loves you. And I think you love him. So you should do something about that."
Connor came back then, three plates of pie balanced precariously in his hands. Nathan began talking about the improvements he was making to the ranch, but he kept an eye on Kyle. Yes, he thought, he'd been right to say something.
Part Six: Utah
The summer seemed too short to drive very far to the east, and Connor had decided that he liked the desert better than the mountains, so the route home involved as much desert as possible. It was one night in Utah, under another starry sky, that Kyle made his move.
"You haven't asked to see my sketches," he said. "Aren't you interested?"
Connor blinked at him in the light from their fire. "Of course I am," he said. "I just thought maybe you wouldn't want me asking to see all the time, and I didn't want to not ask."
"I think," Kyle said, trying to hide the shake in his voice, "maybe you should see these." He passed Connor a sheaf of paper.
Connor studied each image carefully before he spoke. "They're all of me."
Kyle nodded.
"They're all... really beautiful."
He nodded again.
"Is that how you see me?"
"Yes," Kyle said. "Because that's what you are. There's one more picture, by the way." Slowly, he handed over a single sheet.
Connor looked at it, then back at Kyle. Carefully he set the papers down, using their flashlight as a paperweight. Then he circled around to Kyle's side of the fire, knelt down beside him, and kissed him.
Part Seven: California
The last night before they reached Star City was spent in San Francisco, where they stayed in Connor's mother's vacant house, in sleeping bags on the empty floors. Connor had been quiet all day, letting Kyle drive in the California traffic while he stared pensively out the window.
"Something wrong?" Kyle asked over dinner, and earned a soft smile in return.
"I'm just thinking," Connor answered, and resumed his silence.
When the time came to sleep, however, Kyle left the bathroom to find that Connor had zipped the sleeping bags together.
"You were just thinking, huh?" He slid inside the bag and hugged Connor to his chest. "Must've been some pretty deep thoughts."
Connor shook his head. "Not really," he said. "I decided that I want to be close to you, like this. But I don't want to have sex tonight."
"No problem," Kyle said, "but do you mind if I ask why not?"
Connor groaned. "I figured you would. No, it's just-- I think dad was hoping I'd lose my virginity this summer. I was starting to make him feel guilty. And I really don't want to give him that much control over my sex life."
They laughed, off and on, until they fell asleep.
Part Eight: Home
When they pulled into the parking lot behind the youth center, a small group of kids came running up to meet them, Mia panting behind them. Kyle hung back while Connor exchanged high-fives and hellos. "Summer school finished?" he asked Mia, who came over to stand beside him.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Why is that the first thing anyone asks me? Yes, and I made As in everything except trig." She leaned back against the truck. "Connor's good with the kids, isn't he?"
"The best," Kyle agreed, smiling as Connor came over to them with Lian riding piggy-back, trailed by the rest of the kids.
Mia laughed. "Don't know if I'd go that far, but yeah. Come inside, guys. Ollie and Roy are waiting. And I want to hear about everything-- I can't believe you got to go all over the country when I've been stuck here all summer!"
They followed her into the building, handed over the kids to a teenaged volunteer, and sat down around the kitchen table with Ollie, Roy, and Mia. Then they hesitated, unsure where to begin.
Finally Connor said simply, "Well, I had fun."
And after Ollie stopped laughing, they told the rest of the story.