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Conner Kent definitely felt awkward standing outside the West family house, Ma's famous electric-green jello salad in hand. Still –
You want me to come to the Flash-family Christmas party?
Bart had shrugged. Family is a loose term here. Friends-of-family included. Besides, you're kind of like my family anyway.
Conner had had to tell himself to calm down then. Bart didn't mean it how Kon hoped – that silly, childish crush he couldn't shake perking up in the back of his head.
Here he was though, crush or not, showing up for his best friend at his family's Christmas party. He had died and come back, lost his world and found it again, but still was scared to see what was on the other side of the door. He's not sure who remembers him from the old universe, and how much - it's still a little intimidating having to face the enigma of his existence each time he re-meets people. He doesn't want to feel like a stranger in the West home while the Flash-family gathered for Christmas.
It's not that serious, said the memory of Bart in the back of his head. Gosh, soo-rry for using the word family.
Steeling himself, Conner knocks on the front door. It swings open in a split second, which shouldn't be a surprise considering who all lived at the house, but Conner still steps back at the sight of a pig-tailed girl beaming at him.
"Superboy, right?" She asks with a grin. She bounces on the balls of her feet, the epitome of speedster energy and teenage girl all rolled into one.
"Conner."
"I'm Iris," she says, holding out a hand that Conner shakes.
"Impulse the second," he says somewhat stupidly.
She gives him an unreadable look before beckoning him in. "Food goes on the table. Bart's in the back."
Iris disappears in a zap of speedforce static, leaving Conner to fend for himself. He steps inside, toeing the door shut as he juggles between taking his coat off and holding the food. It's warm inside, a fire crackling softly in the fireplace.
It's not the first time he's been in the West home, but it's different in the warm glow of Christmas lights. Homey but crisp like a page from a home decor magazine. Red and green garland wrap up the staircase banister, and a proud Christmas tree with matching baubles stands in the corner of the room. Rock music can be heard from the back, echoing faintly through the house and over the din of chatting voices.
He finds the kitchen easily. There are a few people he doesn't recognize lingering around, and he forces a cheery smile on his face. A duo of girls giggle behind their hands at him.
The dining table is nearly bending under the amount of food laid out on it, and Conner contemplates his options for a long moment before deciding to leave the jello salad on a clear bit of kitchen counter. Close enough. In a household full of speedsters, it was bound to be found eventually.
Shooting the girls a wink and two finger salute on the way out, Conner makes his way through the house, towards the backyard, where most of the party seems to be gathered. Bart was right, there are more friends than family, though Conner wouldn't be surprised if most of them were part of the caped community.
There's a fire going out here too, and several people are huddled up, trading stories around it. Conner recognizes Garfield Logan amongst them, and feels a flood of relief knowing there was at least one other person he knew here.
He looks around, trying to spot Bart amongst the crowd. Lines of overhead string lights illuminate the length of the yard and, in the back by a blow up snowman, Conner spots a pair of reindeer horns atop a familiar flop of auburn hair.
Predictably, Iris had beat him back there, and as Conner weaves through the crowd he notices a young, dark haired boy with them. Surge, was it? He and Bart are loudly battling tops. It's like some super powered version of beyblade, except instead of a zip-chord, Bart and the other boy seem to be charging their pieces with speedforce before setting them loose against each other.
Bart looks up as Conner approaches, losing focus momentarily, sending the top in his hand tearing across the yard. It leaves a visible scar through the grass, blades smoldering as the toy zips through them. With a yelp, Bart races off after it.
The two young speedsters exchange glances. Iris' grin is ecstatic.
"Hey! You made it!" cheers Bart as he returns a second later. "Merry Christmas!"
Bart spreads his arms wide, and Conner takes in the holiday sweater he's wearing. It's a knit of colors, large embroidered Santa sleigh in the center with silver bells attached to each reindeer. Every time he moves, they jingle softly. He's a mess of noise as he hugs Conner.
"Yeah, merry Christmas." In comparison, Conner had gone with a casual pair of pants and red button up that Ma said made him look smart. He felt plain next to the speedsters, who were each wearing their own ugly Christmas sweater.
Gaudy mess or not, Bart was frustratingly able to look good in almost anything. The flashy clothes highlighted his megawatt smile, and a reindeer horn headband pushed his long hair out of his beaming face. Conner has to look away before that grin sets his heart skittering.
"This is Irey," Bart waves over to the redhead who answered the door earlier, "and Jai," her black-hair twin waves. "I don't know if you've met them. Ace is around here somewhere too, I think. Are you hungry, do you want food? "
"I'm good."
"Coolcoolcool. Wanna battle tops?"
They play for a little while longer. It's surprisingly fun. Though Conner couldn't get his to reach the speed the others could, he does figure out how to add an extra TK kick that had him beating the others for a couple rounds.
For the most part, he let Bart finish his game with the kids. It was nice watching him interact with other speedsters so freely. Conner remembered a time when then only people that could hope to understand Bart refused to meet him at his level. To be so accepted and looked up to now was something Bart deserved.
Conner sits back and watches, feeling a little fond. It makes sense that Bart is good with kids. Bart was still a big kid at times anyway. Conner is glad to have him in this timeline with him, to remind him that it's not all doom and gloom all the time. They could fit in this world easily.
Two more young teens join them as the night passes - friends of the twins, no doubt. Most likely fellow Teen Titans, though the group calling themselves that now seem like infants compared to when Conner was a Titan.
Eventually, Bart steps away and lets the kids have their fun. He pulls Conner with him, taking him by the arm and leading him to the fire pit.
"Phew, my nose is cold!" Bart complains. Conner tries to ignore Bart's chilly fingers wrapped up under his bicep. His heart pounds, and he gives an honest effort at calming it down. Bart had always been a touchy guy, and it certainly wasn't the first time he's taken advantage of Conner's yellow-sun heat. Still, his face has no trouble warming in response to Bart's touch.
"Cute kids," he says instead, nodding back towards where the Teen Titans are shouting over their game. "You playing party babysitter?"
"Nah, hanging out. They're cool. Less stuffy than Wally and his friends."
"They're you're… cousins?"
"Cousins, a couple times removed? Or maybe, like niece and nephew? I don't know, something like that." Conner got it. He had a similar familial-situationship going on with the other Superboy. "Uncle Bart sounds weird though, right? Uncle Bartholomew- Ew!"
They make their way to the fire. Garfield was nowhere to be seen, but Koriand'r was gathered around it with a group of vaguely familiar individuals. The Tamaranean tuts as they approach, and takes it upon herself to fix some hair Bart had caught up in his headband.
"It is good to see you again, Conner Kent." she tells him with a kind smile. "And Bart. Are your classes going well?"
"It's winter break Kori, I'm between semesters."
She hums, but doesn't prod any farther, most likely due to a lack of interest in human college schedules than Bart himself. Bart doesn't need much to go on however, and takes off, chattering away about his plans for the classes he still needed to take. She nods along, petting through Bart's long hair absentmindedly as he talks at her.
Conner startles when Bart slips cold fingers between his, but the other man doesn't seem to be paying attention. His other hand is outstretched towards the heat of the fire, warming up, so Conner curls both his hands around the one in his to gather warmth. He should be a little thankful for the cold, as he gets an excuse to hold Bart's hand.
At least Conner can blame his red face on the fire.
He startles again, as the empty space on his other side is suddenly occupied. From around a mountainous plate of food, Wallace grins at him. Self conscious, Conner drops Bart's hand.
"Hey, man! How's it going? I heard you were coming tonight." Wallace's hands are full, so they bump shoulders amicably.
A girl slides up to them, turning to Wallace with a dramatic pout. "Ace, there is hot chocolate. On top of the microwave. You missed it."
"What, really? Hold'up."
Wallace disappears and his friend slides into his now empty space beside Conner. It's one of the girls from the kitchen earlier.
"Hey there," she says, glancing up at him coyly from under long lashes. She's pretty, with long blonde hair and plush, glossy lips – and Conner has never been one to turn down a pretty face. Unconsciously, he straightens up.
"Hey. Nice party, huh? The Wests' definitely know how to throw a backyard bash."
She smiles coyly from under her lashes. "My name is–"
They're interrupted, as Bart appears between them, looking sour.
"Let's go inside," Bart huffs.
He wraps boney fingers around Conner's wrist, pulling him away. He hides a laugh. If Bart wants his attention, he certainly doesn't mind giving it. He's used to the speedster's kidnappings - at least he's not being picked up and sped off this time - and doesn't even bother giving the girl a second glance back as Bart leads him into the house.
He's caught in the doorway however, as an arm wraps around his neck and pulls him out of Bart's grip.
"Kon!" says an over enthusiastic Kyle Rayner. "Man, you have great timing."
He steers Conner into the kitchen, where several other Titans are hanging out. Bart squawks in offense.
"You gotta back me up. Tell Wally about that chick on Gala."
"Woah! Oh- oh. Her. Seven foot, blue skin, all legs. Absolute babe." Conner slides the old Superboy grin on his face, but Wally West and Donna Troy look unaffected.
In fact, they both give Conner light smiles, and he can see how the expression doesn't quite meet their eyes. He's seen it too many times before. There's a search there, for memory half remembered. Who Conner was and how they knew him.
He should be used to it by now, but the hurt still stings a little.
"And she was actually interested in Kyle," he tacks on.
Donna recovers first, giving them a dramatic roll of her eyes. "See, that's the most unbelievable part of the whole story."
"And then there was that one chick," presses Kyle, ignoring Donna completely. "Remember, with the curly hair? Her tribe gave us a fantastic welcome ceremony."
Conner nods along, but can't shake the look Wally is giving him. Of them all, the Flash probably has the most timelines to keep straight in his mind, Conner reminds himself. He's not offended that Wally doesn't remember, but it does rekindle that anxiety in him, of being a stranger in an old friend's home.
Behind the group, he spots Bart, furiously texting with one hand while shoving food in his mouth with the other. A dollop of whipped cream was smeared high on his cheek. Adorable little black hole.
Wally steels himself, and Conner can practically see the memory slot into place.
"That's right- uh, you guys are off world together a lot, isn't that right… Superboy?" There's more than one question there.
Conner gives him a nod. "That's right."
He's saved from the Flash's inscrutable look thankfully, when Bart tries to slip past.
"Bart!" Wally says, catching his cousin. "Joan and Jay left already. They said they were tired. Don't wake them up when you go home tonight."
"Whatever, Wally. C'mon Kon," Bart grumbles. He pulls Conner away, this time with a firm grip on his arm so Conner couldn't be pulled away again.
More people have congregated inside as the night got chillier. They have to wade through the bodies to get to the Christmas tree. Someone shouts after them, but Bart drags him along determinately, muttering, "Come on, come on. I got you something."
The tree is overflowing with presents. It reminds Conner of the one at Ma and Pa's house - the central tree for the whole family that usually ended up being the fullest. Bart grumbles over this, glancing over the mountain of presents.
"Hold on!" he shouts, then dives beneath. There's the sound of struggle and the tree gives an ominous shake. Conner leaps forward and steadies it as Bart emerges victorious, knocking off a few ornaments in the process. Beaming, Bart presents him with a flat, floppy parcel that was most likely wrapped by Bart himself, considering the crude job. "Merry Christmas!"
Carefully, Conner takes the present and peels back the wrapping, revealing a small stack of comics. Grin blooming on his face, Conner rips away the rest of the wrapping. Wendy the Werewolf Stalker smolders up at him from four different covers.
"The Comic Book Adventures? Hell yeah." Wendy's comic adaptation had a pretty limited run, and weren't easily found at most comic stores. He opens one, pulling it from its protective plastic sleeve and flipping through. They are still in good condition.
"You don't have these ones, I checked," Bart tells him, peering over Conner's shoulder.
"This is awesome, man. Thanks! Oh- hold on, I got you something too."
He fishes around in his pocket, pulling out a small, palm-sized package. It was much better wrapped than Bart's had been, as Ma insisted on doing it right, though the bow on top sustained a little damage from being in his pocket. Bart takes it and tears into the wrapping, shredding it in an instant.
"Oh! Kario Mart Racing. Nice."
"Yeah, remember we used to play that one all the time." Back in Young Justice. Conner had seen it in a window of a backstreet Smallville vintage store, and before he knew what was happening, was inside asking the old lady behind the counter about it.
Bart runs his fingers over the sun-faded picture on the box. Strangely, it reminded Conner very much of their own existence in this world. Stripped of- something by the universe, now more of a rose-tinted memory. Here, but not entirely the same.
"I remember. Hey, that means we can play again now! I bet I can still kick your ass."
Conner rolls his eyes, but finds himself ensnared in Bart's embrace. The bells on he's sweater jingle, and Bart says, with warm breath entirely too close to Conner's ear, "This is really nice. Thank you."
They part, and there's a high flush on Bart's face. Conner has to calm his pounding heart, but the feeling of the other man's lips brushing against his ear lingers.
"There's something else, actually." Bart tells him. He points behind him with a jerk of his thumb, tense suddenly. "It's upstairs."
"Oh…" Conner's eyes trail up the banister, where there was most definitely not another Christmas Tree, and wondered what could possibly be upstairs that couldn't be down here. Away from the party and everyone else. Trepidation fills his stomach. "Okay… Let's go."
Bart takes his hand, holding tight still so they wouldn't be separated, and guides them up the stairs.
He leads them to a room - Irey's if the pictures of boy bands lining the walls were any indication. Conner looks around, taking in the clutter. There are candles littered across the furniture, and a retro-looking iPod playing old fashioned Christmas music crooning out of its docking station. Worn clothes, stuffed animals and various knock knacks could be found precariously stuffed away in every corner, lit softly by a rope of fairy lights strung up around the perimeter. It felt familiar, like Bart's mess back in Titans Tower.
Being here alone with Bart, the soft music, the warm lighting. It's somewhat romantic - a thought Conner swallows down with a flush of shame.
"The kid's room?" Conner jokes, turning back to Bart as the other man closes the bedroom door behing him. "You wanna gossip and braid hair?"
Bart shoots him a tight smile, bouncing on the balls of his feet. The bells on his sweater jingle softly.
"Maybe later. I was actually, uh…"
He takes a couple steps away from the door, towards Conner. His hands fidget and his sweater sounds like a song. Conner's not sure he's ever seen him this nervous before – it activates the flush of anxiety in Conner.
In lieu of words, Bart points at the ceiling, and Conner's gaze trails upwards. There's mistletoe crudely taped there, right above his head.
Conner's heart leaps to his throat.
"Oh." Is all he can say, sounding strangled.
"I was wondering. If you want to kiss. Me, specifically?" Bart asks. Conner blinks, and Bart is right in front of him, face turned up in determination like he hadn't been squirming and nervous a second earlier. "It's mistletoe, and you're supposed to kiss if you get caught under it."
It was less a happy accident that mistletoe was supposed to be, and more an ambush. Conner felt himself reeling, and as Bart leans in for a kiss, he jerks back.
"I like you!" blurts Conner.
Bart freezes, eyes wide and lips puckered like a fish.
"I like you," Conner repeats, calmer this time. It seemed only fair. He didn't- he couldn't just let Bart Kiss him, not knowing it meant something to Conner. It felt like a violation of his best friend's trust.
Bart blinks at him, straightening up. "You don't want to kiss me?"
"I mean. I have feelings for you. I don't think we should go around kissing because… you know."
He waves his hands between them, trying to indicate – something. Bart catches one and brings it to himself.
"I like you!" The speedster gives his hand a squeeze. His eyes are bright, relief loud on his face. "That's why- All this!"
He waves around the room with the hand not clutching Conner's. It clicks. The lighting, the soft music, the mistletoe. It feels romantic because it was supposed to be, not just some hopeful narrative Conner made up in his head.
"It was Irey's idea!" Bart rushes to say, when Conner takes a second too long to respond. "It's stupid. Sorry. I don't know. It's hard asking your best friend of like-forever out. I feel like I've been trying to make it obvious!"
"No- I get it-" god did he get it. "I didn't know what to say, I never knew if I was just reading into anything-"
"Then what are we standing around here talking about it for? Do you want to kiss me or not?!"
"Ye-!" Conner barely gets the words out before Bart grabs him and hauls him in. They meet in a clash of teeth - and Bart pulls away with a hiss, bringing a hand up to his lip.
"Ouch!"
Too quick, poor planning. Their first kiss was entirely Bart. Conner shakes his head and laughs fondly.
This time, he gets a hand around the back of Bart's head, tangling his fingers in the long hair and pulling him in softly.
Their lips touch, a small chaste kiss that sends electricity down Conner's spine.
Bart brings his arms up to wrap around Conner's neck, pulling them together. He sighs into the kiss, sinking into Conner's embrace, and Conner is so happy he feels like he could fly-
He is flying- a couple inches off the ground, arm wrapped around Bart's middle to hold him up.
He lowers them back to the ground, and as soon as his feet have traction, Bart does several quick victory laps around the room. The speedster is brimming with energy and- happiness.
Yeah, happiness
It's such a relief, seeing his own joy reflecting back at him. He catches Bart, pulls him back into his arms, back under the mistletoe. A rain of kisses is peppered upon his face as a result.
"Merry Christmas, Conner Kent," Bart snickers, pulling him in again and again and again.
"Merry Christmas, Bart."