[DC] [Seru] This is that other lifetime.
Title: This is that other lifetime.
Summary: Kon dies, and wakes up to a chance to make things right. [Tim/Kon]
Rating: K+
Notes: Written with IU@LJ’s WC #48 prompt, 1. memories. AU stemming from Kon’s death during Infinite Crisis. With a companion Tim fic which I can hopefully come out with before the deadline. Posting straight here because ugh too lazy to x-post.
This is that other lifetime.
(prologue:
Kon saves the world, and thinks, this is the only thing worth missing our goodbye for.)
part one:
-
So Kon wakes up in a different lifetime.
The awareness dawns on him heavily, figuratively and literally. The difference between his bodies are too extreme. This one has a hangover, and needs too much effort to move. He tries to sit up, and when he finally succeeds, he feels something sticky on his stomach. Then, he remembers.
The body next to him stirs, and for a moment, Kon is terrified.
It’s the first time in this life that he’s meeting Tim.
Sober, at least.
“… good morning?” Tim murmurs, disoriented as he tries to get used to the sunlight. He gets a displeased expression ofn his face the moment he sees Kon’s eyes, like he’s tasted something sour. He looks away and mutters, “Damn.”
The terror turns into a mix of nausea and vertigo, and Kon throws up.
Tim groans, and goes out of bed.
-
Embarrassed, he watches Tim from his seat in the dining room. He’s at Tim’s apartment, apparently, and they had what threatened to be one-night stand. He’s forgotten most of what’s happened the night before, but it was something of a celebration. Kon just turned 21, and this was his first time with another guy.
Tim seems used to this. Although he looked annoyed, he had politely showed Kon to the bathroom, and afterwards, cleaned up his floor. During the time Kon took a shower, he had also put on some clothes, and had toast started.
“Um,” Kon begins, “sorry about your floor.”
“It’s fine,” Tim bristles at the memory. “It happens.” He turns to the table, with two mugs of coffee. One of which he sets in front of Kon, before he, too, takes the empty seat in front of him. “Tim, by the way. In case you don’t remember.”
“I-I remember,” Kon says, although in this life, he doesn’t. What he remembers, though, is that time in Gotham, when Batman told him to listen. “Tim Drake.”
Tim seems a little pleased at this, his cheeks getting a tint of pink. He lowers his head, so his bangs cover his eyes partially.
“And Conner Kent, right?” Tim asks, all conscious and shy while not wanting to be. “I remember, too.” He sips his coffee, and Kon - Conner, in this life - smiles at the realization that it’s an excuse to stop talking.
They eat the toast in silence.
-
“I don’t think,” Tim says, “I’m ready to date. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Conner replies, smiling, unflinching at the rejection. He looks into Tim’s eyes, and sees in it his face, and he knows that he can’t have a life without Tim in it. And he knows that he can’t afford to pull any punches, if he wanted this lifetime to be one that actually works out.
“I want to be friends.”
They end the morning by moving from a one-night-stand to an I-want-to-see-you-again.
part two:
Conner learns that as the days pass, his memories of his previous life decrease.
There are a few things that remain now, mostly memories of him with Superman, the Teen Titans, Cass and with Robin. All fading away slowly, but evidently. He tries to hold onto them, but there’s something about him that passively accepts the disappearance of the memories. It lets him make way for something new.
Conner finds himself slipping into his new life perfectly. He wonders about the last few years he’s been alive and realizing that this space he now fills used to be empty. While he lived as Superboy, this body had gone around a life. There was a time when this body - this life - wasn’t his.
People seem to notice the same thing. They say he looks better. Happier. Wonders if he did something with his hair.
“Don’t ask me,” Tim says, laughing. It’s a couple of months after that day. “We just met.”
“But why me?” Conner asks. “Out of all people?”
“I don’t know,” the other boy admits, leaning back. “But that night, when I looked at you, it made me feel really sad.” Tim looks afraid for a moment, but he shakes it off and punches Conner lightly on the shoulder. “Let’s go. Movie’s starting.”
Conner smiles and follows. He reaches out as they walked, and gently slips his hand around Tim’s. Tim stiffens for a while, and Conner sees the tips of his ears and the back of his neck go red. He doesn’t pull away.
Maybe, he thinks, I was waiting for this.
part three:
By the time they say ‘I love you’, Kon is gone completely, save for that occasional tug at the back of his head that this life, this thing he has with Tim is a second chance. He doesn’t quite remember what for, but he lets the nagging feeling settle in with other vague, nagging feelings, categorizing them as something he’ll deal with when he has a chance. Because right now, he’s terrified and exhausted and happy and so goddamn hopeful.
They’re in front of Tim’s apartment, standing in front of each other, breathing heavy and coming out in small clouds, the perfect picture of so close yet so far, with so many years’ plus a forgotten lifetime’s worth of want hanging between them.
“What happens now?” Tim asks softly, when Conner tells him ‘I love you’ for the first time. Both in this life, and the one he’s forgotten.
“You tell me,” Conner breathes, “that you love me, too.”
Tim breaches the space, breaks the want and turns it to have and reaches up for a kiss. It ends only when Tim whispers something like ‘Kon’ into his mouth and for a moment, for a second, Conner remembers a little, a little of that goodbye he hasn’t made. He chokes a sob, and he thinks, I’m home, Tim.
Almost instantly, he forgets, at the same moment Tim buries his face into the crook of Conner’s neck.
“I love you, too.”
(epilogue:
Conner saves another world in this lifetime. This time, he doesn't miss anything.)
x
Summary: Kon dies, and wakes up to a chance to make things right. [Tim/Kon]
Rating: K+
Notes: Written with IU@LJ’s WC #48 prompt, 1. memories. AU stemming from Kon’s death during Infinite Crisis. With a companion Tim fic which I can hopefully come out with before the deadline. Posting straight here because ugh too lazy to x-post.
This is that other lifetime.
(prologue:
Kon saves the world, and thinks, this is the only thing worth missing our goodbye for.)
part one:
-
So Kon wakes up in a different lifetime.
The awareness dawns on him heavily, figuratively and literally. The difference between his bodies are too extreme. This one has a hangover, and needs too much effort to move. He tries to sit up, and when he finally succeeds, he feels something sticky on his stomach. Then, he remembers.
The body next to him stirs, and for a moment, Kon is terrified.
It’s the first time in this life that he’s meeting Tim.
Sober, at least.
“… good morning?” Tim murmurs, disoriented as he tries to get used to the sunlight. He gets a displeased expression ofn his face the moment he sees Kon’s eyes, like he’s tasted something sour. He looks away and mutters, “Damn.”
The terror turns into a mix of nausea and vertigo, and Kon throws up.
Tim groans, and goes out of bed.
-
Embarrassed, he watches Tim from his seat in the dining room. He’s at Tim’s apartment, apparently, and they had what threatened to be one-night stand. He’s forgotten most of what’s happened the night before, but it was something of a celebration. Kon just turned 21, and this was his first time with another guy.
Tim seems used to this. Although he looked annoyed, he had politely showed Kon to the bathroom, and afterwards, cleaned up his floor. During the time Kon took a shower, he had also put on some clothes, and had toast started.
“Um,” Kon begins, “sorry about your floor.”
“It’s fine,” Tim bristles at the memory. “It happens.” He turns to the table, with two mugs of coffee. One of which he sets in front of Kon, before he, too, takes the empty seat in front of him. “Tim, by the way. In case you don’t remember.”
“I-I remember,” Kon says, although in this life, he doesn’t. What he remembers, though, is that time in Gotham, when Batman told him to listen. “Tim Drake.”
Tim seems a little pleased at this, his cheeks getting a tint of pink. He lowers his head, so his bangs cover his eyes partially.
“And Conner Kent, right?” Tim asks, all conscious and shy while not wanting to be. “I remember, too.” He sips his coffee, and Kon - Conner, in this life - smiles at the realization that it’s an excuse to stop talking.
They eat the toast in silence.
-
“I don’t think,” Tim says, “I’m ready to date. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Conner replies, smiling, unflinching at the rejection. He looks into Tim’s eyes, and sees in it his face, and he knows that he can’t have a life without Tim in it. And he knows that he can’t afford to pull any punches, if he wanted this lifetime to be one that actually works out.
“I want to be friends.”
They end the morning by moving from a one-night-stand to an I-want-to-see-you-again.
part two:
Conner learns that as the days pass, his memories of his previous life decrease.
There are a few things that remain now, mostly memories of him with Superman, the Teen Titans, Cass and with Robin. All fading away slowly, but evidently. He tries to hold onto them, but there’s something about him that passively accepts the disappearance of the memories. It lets him make way for something new.
Conner finds himself slipping into his new life perfectly. He wonders about the last few years he’s been alive and realizing that this space he now fills used to be empty. While he lived as Superboy, this body had gone around a life. There was a time when this body - this life - wasn’t his.
People seem to notice the same thing. They say he looks better. Happier. Wonders if he did something with his hair.
“Don’t ask me,” Tim says, laughing. It’s a couple of months after that day. “We just met.”
“But why me?” Conner asks. “Out of all people?”
“I don’t know,” the other boy admits, leaning back. “But that night, when I looked at you, it made me feel really sad.” Tim looks afraid for a moment, but he shakes it off and punches Conner lightly on the shoulder. “Let’s go. Movie’s starting.”
Conner smiles and follows. He reaches out as they walked, and gently slips his hand around Tim’s. Tim stiffens for a while, and Conner sees the tips of his ears and the back of his neck go red. He doesn’t pull away.
Maybe, he thinks, I was waiting for this.
part three:
By the time they say ‘I love you’, Kon is gone completely, save for that occasional tug at the back of his head that this life, this thing he has with Tim is a second chance. He doesn’t quite remember what for, but he lets the nagging feeling settle in with other vague, nagging feelings, categorizing them as something he’ll deal with when he has a chance. Because right now, he’s terrified and exhausted and happy and so goddamn hopeful.
They’re in front of Tim’s apartment, standing in front of each other, breathing heavy and coming out in small clouds, the perfect picture of so close yet so far, with so many years’ plus a forgotten lifetime’s worth of want hanging between them.
“What happens now?” Tim asks softly, when Conner tells him ‘I love you’ for the first time. Both in this life, and the one he’s forgotten.
“You tell me,” Conner breathes, “that you love me, too.”
Tim breaches the space, breaks the want and turns it to have and reaches up for a kiss. It ends only when Tim whispers something like ‘Kon’ into his mouth and for a moment, for a second, Conner remembers a little, a little of that goodbye he hasn’t made. He chokes a sob, and he thinks, I’m home, Tim.
Almost instantly, he forgets, at the same moment Tim buries his face into the crook of Conner’s neck.
“I love you, too.”
(epilogue:
Conner saves another world in this lifetime. This time, he doesn't miss anything.)
x