(Untitled)

[not_the_s]

Kon hadn't been sleeping very well lately. The thing was that he didn't understand why Tim was so upset. It was just a game. There had always been games or shows or comics and maybe if it had been one of the ones that was real, he would have understood. If it had been their exact life, he would have understood why Tim had freaked out so much.

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[liestobatman]

He hates himself a little, for the spike of adrenaline his name elicits, for the fact that his first instinct is to leave because he never quite knows the difference between an ambush and a situation--a conversation he wasn't ready to have.

He should be ready, even if he didn't expect to have it out here, with his hair still dripping down the back of his neck and his skin freshly chilled by a swim. It's not like he hasn't been waiting for it.

Instead of leaving, he calmly retrieves the towel he'd brought out from a branch and starts drying his hair. "Kon," he answers diplomatically, pulling the now-damp towel around his shoulders like a pale imitation of his cape.

[not_the_s]

Kon winces again at the not-quite flat tone to Tim's voice. It shouldn't be like this. It should be different...better...and he hates that it's not. He hates himself because it's all his fault. He's just not sure exactly why.

He gets out of the water and doesn't bother with a towel. He can air dry. Instead, he watches Tim for a moment, half-afraid he'll leave after the next few words. Finally, he opens his mouth and comes out with an, "I'm sorry." He'd only been half sure that he was going to be able to say it.

[liestobatman]

Tim sighs and touches his face, pushes at it to hide the beginning of a smile that is all--exasperation, weariness. He's not weary, not too weary to work on this. "Do you know what you're apologizing for," he asks, because he's sorry too, but he'd talked to Jason and Cassie, and he can't just let this go.

[not_the_s]

Kon takes a deep breath. "I...wasn't thinking? I'm used to it. Hell, not a week before Bart was playing some kind of Superman game and that should have clued me in. And not just because it's this stupid island. I'm just used to having Superman video games or Superboy comics."

He'd had, after all, a publicist in the form of Rex Leech.

"I should have thought it would bother you and I didn't and that's why I'm sorry, but..." He shakes his head. "But I don't know why you left. I just wanted to talk. To find out why you were so upset."

He rubs his shoulder without thinking.