-I unpublished a few early chapters, but this is technically chapter 69, so NICE-
-So in the YJ companion comics, Clark and M'gann have a conversation about how Clark wants to get to know Conner, but is too scared, and I used that as a jumping off point for some wholesome Kent brothers bonding-
Today was Conner's first formal introduction to Superman. Clark had finally come around somewhat after the new year's eve incident, and had agreed to meet Superboy at Bibbo's.
Conner was in shambles.
"It's okay, baby." Dinah cooed tiredly. She'd received a desperate call from M'gann around five am, begging her to return to the mountain. She'd found Conner awake, having trashed the Livingroom and now pacing circles in the floor. "He's not going to--"
"He'll hate me!" The boy exclaimed, covering his eyes
"He won't hate you." She said, but it fell on deaf ears.
Conner was shaking like an aspen. "He hates me."
"If he hates you, why did he invite you for lunch?"
"So he can hate me more!" Conner exclaimed as if it were obvious. "He's waiting for me to mess up, and then he'll yell at me-- and he'll kill me--"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dinah stood up. "Nobody will be killing anybody." She said firmly. "you're spiraling."
"I'm not!"
"Deep breaths." She reminded. "In... out... slowly, remember?"
Conner looked up at her with those big blue eyes. "Then what will he do?"
"I don't know." She admitted. "But I promise it won't be as bad as you imagine."
Conner thought a moment, and then perked up, grabbing her by the shoulder. "You can come with me!" He pleaded.
She wanted to cry at his innocence. "Oh, sweetie no, I can't come with you."
"Why not?"
"I have work." She gently took his hand off her shoulder, gripping his palm securely. "But I can meet you as soon as you're done. I'll want to hear all about it."
Conner turned to the hallway. "Can you come?"
M'gann, who'd been hovering in silence and concern let out a little noise. "Sure-- I mean... there is a cheer rehearsal today..."
"Conner will be fine." Canary said. "I think Superman wants him to go alone."
"Why?" Conner asked.
"I don't know. So he can get to know you I guess. It might be awkward if M'gann is there too."
"Why?" He asked again.
"Conner, it's a little early for all this. How about I make you two some cocoa, you can sit down, watch tv, and just..." She gestured. "Calm down a bit."
Reluctantly Conner righted the sofa he'd flipped, and the two kids settled down, looking up at her with comical dependance. They were juts kids after all, annoying and frustrating as they could be.
She made some hot chocolate.
"Clark, you can't cancel now."
"But," His sigh rattled over the line. "Bruce, he hates me."
"He doesn't hate you." The bat replied tiredly. "He admires you-- at least he used to before--"
"I know, I know." Clark admitted. "But don't you think, after that, I shouldn't force myself on him?"
"You've gotten his hopes up, you can't cancel your plans now." Bruce replied. "Do you know how many times I've thought Dick hated me? They're young, they have tempers, but they come around."
"This isn't a temper, Bruce it's... cataclysmic. If one thing goes wrong..."
"If one thing goes wrong, who's to blame for him being mad at you?"
"I know." Clark sighed. "I just... I want things to be better. I want to get to know him, it's just... how?"
"I'll leave that up to the man of steel."
"You've got this." M'gann encouraged, fussing over him. She wanted today to be perfect for Conner, so she'd washed his hair and dressed him in a button up they'd thrifted for the occasion. She liked having someone to dress up like a doll, it was fun.
"What if--"
"No more questions," Kaldur, who'd arrived around seven, assured. "You'll just worry yourself."
"No I won't."
"Yes you will!" M'gann laughed, brushing her friend's hair.
"I won't!" Conner exclaimed. "I just want to know what to do if he yells at me."
"He isn't going to yell at you."
"But what if he does?"
Kaldur let out a long and careful breath. "If that happens, then you are within your right to stand up and walkout of the diner."
"Okay."
"You're going to do great." M'gann promised.
Clark waited outside the diner. It was five past twelve. The kid was late. Oh god, what if he wasn't coming? How long should he wait?
Just as he thought this, the man spotted a short-ish figure weaving his was down the sidewalk. He was shorter than Clark remembered, barely 5'7, for some reason Clark had assumed he was more physically imposing.
"Hi." He said.
"Hi." The kid said.
The two kryptonians stood uncomfortably.
"Should we... should we go in?" Clark asked. It wasn't an order, it wasn't even a suggestion really.
"I guess." The boy frowned. "Isn't that what we're supposed to do?"
"I guess so." He lead the way inside and helped himself to a booth, gesturing for the kid to sit too. "So..." He looked for a topic. "How's school? Are you in school?"
"Fine and yes." The kid replied curtly. Well, he shut that line of conversation down quickly. Clark searched for something else to ask, but the kid beat him to it. "What do I call you?"
"huh?"
"I can't call you superman in public."
"Oh." Clark felt a little sheepish. "Uh, Clark is fine."
"Okay."
"and yourself?"
"What do you mean?"
"What's your name?" Clark supposed he had to have a name if he was in school.
"Conner."
He forced an awkward smile. "Nice to meet you, Conner." He held out his hand. The kid stared at his hand a second, as if considering biting it, then hesitantly reached out and shook it. "So, have you ever been here?"
"Once. With the team." He replied. "But we didn't eat anything. We were working."
Clark nodded. "How is the team?"
"Fine." He said. "M'gann and Kaldur helped me get ready."
He assumed M'gann was the martian kid. She was nice from the few conversations they'd had.
Clark considered his following words carefully. He knew it would cause trouble, but he needed to say it. He braced himself for yelling. "Conner, I'm not... ready for the whole father-figure thing."
"I know."
Oh. That was somehow worse than if he's been mad. The resigned tone in his usually stiff voice was tragically prepared.
"But... but We can still be friends." Clark said quickly. "Family, even, just not... I can't father you."
"I know."
Clark fumbled for something-- anything-- that could stop the boy's lethargic tone and dreary appearance. He hated seeing kids sad. "Do you... do you want to be my brother?"
The boy looked up rom the table. "What?"
"My-- my brother." The words felt frightening, but... right? A scary compromise, but one that fit both of them. "I can't say I'll always be there, but--"
"Yes!" The boy lit up. "Yes!"
"Oh." Clark fumbled. "Are you sure? I know I've been..."
"Yes." Conner said finally.
"Oh, alright then." Clark almost smiled in relief. "Brothers."
"Brothers." The boy parroted.
Clark felt the ebbing and flow of anxiety; he'd have to introduce the kid to his parents, to Lois, he'd have to rewrite the past as if he'd always had a baby brother... He tried to push it all away for now. He just wanted to focus on this moment first. "Where'd you get that bruise?"
"Huh?" The boy-- his brother-- followed his finger to a nasty purple welt on his elbow. "Oh. Mission." He fidgeted uncomfortably. "Clark, I need to tell you something."
"Oh?" His heart sank prematurely.
"I'm not like you." The boy admitted. "I'm actually... I'm... I'm part human."
"Oh." Whatever Clark had expected, it wasn't that."
"The first attempt at cloning me-- Match-- he was unstable. They needed to put human DNA in me to keep me stable."
"Oh." He said yet again. "I, I mean if it means your safer than that's fine. You're already a... y'know."
"It's not just that." The boy swallowed hard. "My other donor is... it's Lex Luthor."
Well he was two for two on leaving Clark speechless. "Oh." He said. "Oh, Conner."
"I understand." The boy stood, making to exit.
"Wait!" Clark grabbed his wrist. The boy flinched. oh no, he shouldn't have raised his voice. "Conner, it's okay."
"No, it's not."
"It is!" Clark insisted, a little too enthusiastically. He didn't want Conner to be upset. "I'm not mad."
"You aren't?"
He was, he was upset Luthor had stolen his genetics and forced their DNA together into some lovechild. He was angry that Lex had forced this child into life, he was upset that he now had a responsibility that he wouldn't have had before. However, he wasn't mad at Conner.
Clark shook his head, sitting the boy down again. "I don't... I don't take back anything I said. We can still be," He hesitated a second, the sentence seeping into his flesh. "We can still be family."
"Really?"
"Yes." Clark shook the menu at him. "Now, what do you want?"