#carol with meloni

[qulans6ri]

DC EXPLORE THE FACT THAT OWEN MERCER AND BART ALLEN ARE HALF SIBLINGS WITHOUT OOC WRITING AND BEING BOTH OWEN AND BART CENTRIC AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!!!

[blackbatcass]

actually I’m not over it can we talk about how carol knows bart’s mom better than he does. can we talk about how meloni got to care for and look after carol for weeks/months and be an actual mother figure to her which is something bart has never and will never get to have. can we.

[radioactive-earthshine]

Just... spinning things in my mind that Bart's family is so unavailable to him and his friends spent more time with his family in the future than he did. Carol spent more time with his mother than he ever got, and likely knows her far better than he ever will. And Kon spent more time with The Legion, and thus Jenni, than Bart did and probably knows Jenni more than him. 🙃

[spookyprime]

I think it would actually look cool the Dark Tomorrow Bart adapted to your Bart design. And well, at least that Bart returned to live with Meloni.

Oh this is like peak brain rot. Bart and carol.

He has to bend so far down to do anything he's so tall

[pup-pee]

AUGHhAHGHAaaaaAHJKFasocja i have art block :3

dont ask me when i took these ss bc idk

[lemonyinks]

All the ways Bart Allen is loved.

Bart Allen oneshot accompanied by art from the wonderful @bamboozled-and-alone for the @flashfambigbang

6,565 words

or read here instead

1.

Bart trudged inside after Helen, bag dragging along the floor and shoulders slumped. 

It had just been one of those days; the ones where even friendly contact made your skin buzz in a not so pleasant way and simply getting out from under your thick blankets felt like medieval torture. He tried to make it through the day, he really had, but even Carol and Preston could tell that he wasn’t his usual self, being more easily frustrated, shying away from touch, and quick to snapping at the smallest  of things. It was a surprise to no one when he inevitably caved part way through the day. He told his teacher he wasn’t feeling well and then called Max using the phone in the nurse's office.

It was Helen that answered, and she had told him that Max was out but she would gladly come get him. He knew she was a busy person and that this was probably the only free time to herself that she was going to get this week, and he felt bad for taking that away from her, but he was so tired that he all but begged her to come get him. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t just run home. The school wouldn’t release him without a guardian present and just up and leaving would cause more problems than it was worth. Stupid school and its stupid rules.

It felt like hours before her familiar car rolled up to the school and she came inside to sign him out and collect him. Even though Helen was the type of person to blast music when she drove, the ride home had been blissfully silent. Bart was so thankful for it.

He flopped onto the sofa after carelessly throwing his bag down near the hallway entrance. He buried his face in the corner of the cushions and squeezed his eyes shut. He felt wrung out and tense. Maybe he just needed a nap and he would feel better. At least, that is what he was hoping.

“Are you hungry, hun?” Helen asked from the doorway of the kitchen. Bart felt vaguely nauseous but he had to admit that he was a little bit hungry, so he muttered a tired “sure” and listened to the sound of Helen's retreating steps. He closed his eyes and tried to stave off the headache that threatened to expand behind his eyes. Yeah, that nap sounded good right about now.

He unknowingly drifted into a restless sleep and woke to the pink and orange hues of a setting sun in the open window. He rolled over onto his back and admired the pastel clouds as they drifted by. A breeze cooled his skin and caused the curtains to flutter gently. The beauty of the sky was one of the only things VR had never been able to replicate perfectly. He inhaled deeply, taking in the delicious smell of something cooking in the room over. He leaped to his feet and dashed into the kitchen as he recognized the smell as Helen’s Beef Stew.

“You, like, never make this, Helen. What’s the occasion?” He asked, mouth water at the sight and smell as she stirred the large pot on the stove. It was something that was tedious to make in quantities large enough to satisfy the speedster metabolism, making it a rarity in the Mercury household. 

“I just felt like it.” Helen said, ruffling his hair as she headed towards the cupboard to grab one of Max’s big bowls, the ones that looked like oversized mugs with the handles that got too hot to hold. She scooped him several large spoonfuls before handing the bowl off to him and pointing him over to the table. She handed him a bread roll from a bag sitting on the counter that Bart knew hadn’t been there that morning.

“Thank you, Helen.” He said, excitedly dipping his spoon into the heavenly meal and digging in, humming at the as the unbeatable tastes exploded across his taste buds.

“No problem, kiddo.” She said, taking a seat beside him with her own bowl.

I love you

2.

Bart was tired, which wasn’t something that happened to him very often. He was known to have an infuriating inability to grow tired, actually. It was something that drove Max crazy in the beginning, and left Bart feeling restless and agitated. But today, he was well and truly tired.

His shoulders had an exhausted slump to them and he had to shuffle to keep himself awake as he stood behind Max. He gave a tired blink, eyes absently staring up at the starry night sky while he tuned out the boring run down the old man was giving the police officers who had come to collect the small-time villain they had just taken out.

“You look pretty tired there, Bart.” Max said as they finally, finally walked away from the police officer. It felt like they had been standing there for hours! How did Max even find the words to have a conversation so slow?

“Yeah, a little bit, I guess.” Bart said with a yawn. No use in lying about it, really. He was tired, after all.

“Why don’t you go ahead and hop up onto my back then? I'll give you a lift home.” Max suggested, halting their walk. Bart perked up slightly, his eyebrows raising nearly to his hairline,

“Really?” He asked, maybe a touch too excited. He loved piggyback rides, you see.

“Why not?” Max asked rhetorically as he moved to crouched in front of Bart, arms extended back in preparation to hold Bart’s legs. 

He didn’t need to be told twice. He moved at the speed of light, practically throwing himself onto the older man’s back with a newfound energy and wrapping his arms around his neck in an near choke hold. Max choked and teetered forward, almost being thrown off balance before righting himself and standing up straight. He hoisted Bart further up his back, grip firm and secure on the underside of his knees.

“Are you sure I’m not too heavy for your brittle old man bones?” Bart asked, swinging his feet back and forth in an excited manner. He knew his weight was nothing for Max, but he couldn’t resist the urge to rib him whenever he could.

“Don’t make me regret this, Bart.” Max grumbled with a sigh, though there was a smile on his lips.

Bart just laughed and hugged him tighter, resting his head against Max's and letting his eyes slip shut as he started back up their journey home for the night.

I love you

3.

“Bart!” Preston’s voice called out to him from somewhere to his left. 

Bart turned towards the sound and found Preston rushing towards where he was sitting on the bleachers watching Carol run through her cheer routine. His steps were loud and thunderous on the rickety structure. He threw himself down onto the heated metal of the bench beside him, side pressing into Bart’s and elbow digging into his ribs.

“Where’s the fire?” Bart joked, unconsciously leaning into the weight of Preston.

“That is not a funny joke to make when it is well over 102 degrees outside.” Preston said, giving Bart a disapproving look, his face already blotchy and red from the heat.

And he made a fair point, to be honest. It was so hot outside that Bart was convinced he’d managed to sweat off more than two times his body weight by now. He would have surely passed out if not for the constant water breaks the teachers had been begrudgingly allowing them. Even the shorts he’d borrowed from Cissie and the light tank top he stole from Wally weren’t doing very much to help him from overheating in the sweltering August heat.

“My bad,” He laughed, “But seriously, what's the rush?”

If it was even possible, Bart could have sworn that he saw Preston’s face flush even deeper. The heat must really be getting to him, huh?

“I-um-well, I wanted to give you something.” Preston said. He pulled his backpack up into his lap and then rooted around in it before producing a small cassette tape case. It was see-through and without any indication that it was by a specific band so Bart deduced that it must be homemade.

“What’s this?” Bart asked, reaching out to pull it from Preston’s slightly shaky grasp. Upon closer inspection he realized there was a piece of scrap paper with his name written in red pen taped to the cassette itself.

" It's a cassette tape.  I recorded some stuff I thought you might like onto it.” Preston said. His voice was uncharacteristically soft, a small tremble noticeable to it. 

“Oh, wow, thank you.” Bart said. He reached into his own bag, digging around for the walkman that Max and Helen got him for his birthday.

“Are you going to listen to it now?!” Preston asked, sounding almost panicked. Bart turned back to him and raised an eyebrow.

“Am I not supposed to..?” He asked.

“I mean, I’m not stopping you. It’s just- well um, I though that- No, nevermind. Go ahead and listen to it.” Preston stuttered out, turning his bright red face away from Bart, who shrugged in response before finally pulling his walkman out from where it was crushed between several trashed spiral notebooks and borrowed textbooks. He rooted around some more until he found the headphones that went with it, half-heartedly untangling the wire before plugging them in and then poking Preston in the shoulder.

“Listen together?” He questioned, holding the headphones out between them.

Preston pursed his lips and looked between Bart and the device several times before his expression softened into a smile and he said, “Why not.”

Bart twisted the headphones a bit until he was able to press one of the speakers to his ear, cupping his hand over it to keep it in place. Preston did the same. This position forced them to lean into each other, their sweaty shoulder’s stuck together, knuckles brushing against each other, and knees knocking together. Preston leaned back, forcing Bart to follow until they were both leaning against the bleacher bench behind them, heads leaning back against the hot metal and faces upturned to the shimmering sun. Bart closed his eyes and let the lyrics to Some Kind Of Wonderful fill one ear, the sounds of the activity on the field and Preston’s steady breathing in the other.

I love you

4.

The rest of Young Justice dispersed throughout the base as the meeting and debrief came to an end. Bart shoved his chair back and flew to his feet, ready to go tearing back home to Manchester. Those meetings were always soooo boring, and he was more than ready to go running with Max or hang out with Preston and Carol. It was the weekend, so he didn't even have homework to worry about. Well, no homework that he was going to worry about anyway.

He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He paused and turned to make eye contact with Tim. Oh no, what had Bart done? Was he in trouble or-

“Hey, here's a list of all the rogues - active or otherwise -  in your area. Let me know if anything is missing, kay?” Tim said before handing him a laminated piece of paper that he confirmed with a glance was indeed a list of rouges, with both names he recognized and a few he didn't.

What?

“Thank you?” Bart questioned, raising an eyebrow. Tim patted him on the shoulder one more time before walking away without another word.

He didn’t know why Tim felt the need to give this to him, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it. For now, he decided to hand it off to Max and hope to forget about the weird experience.

Execpt Tim did it again. And again. And again. Every weekend like clockwork Tim would bring him a new updated list with more and more information on it each time, and again and again Bart would give him a confused look before going home and handing it off to Max. It was like Tim didn’t think he could do his own job!  The nerve of this guy!

...But that wasn’t it, was it? The more he paid attention, the more he began to realize that it wasn’t just him that Tim did this to. No, he did it with everyone. He even did it with Cassie, who Bart knew Tim had absolute faith in. So it wasn’t done out of a lack of faith in his ability. It was done out of…concern? Or at least something similar to it.

Tim wanted them, wanted Bart, to be prepared for anything. He wanted him to be safe. And honestly, it had been helpful, he wouldn't lie. More than once it had clued him and Max in on some suspicious activity that they would have been otherwise too busy to notice. It was nice, Bart thought, to have someone on the outside help out every once in a while, even if it was from someone weird enough to alphabetize and colour code the information. 

Bart smiled widely at Tim the next time he came to hand him an updated list. Tim smiled back, the lenses of his domino scrunching up and his dimples appearing at the corners of his mouth. He patted Bart on the shoulder like always and left to carry on with his tasks.

I love you

5.

Cassie Sandsmark was an extremely tactile person. This was a well known and inescapable truth that the entirety of Young Justice have come to know over the course of their time together. Whether it be a casual arm around your shoulders or a spine cracking hug lifting you from the ground, Cassie couldn’t go longer than a few minutes without being in contact with one of her friends.

And Bart loved this fact.

He was just as touchy as Cassie, if not more so. Hugs, high fives, pats on the back or shoulder, and even holding hands, you name it and Bart Allen loved it. This simple fact made the two of them the perfect victims to the others' affection.

“Hey, Bart.” Cassie’s voice called from the sitting space as he made his way to the kitchen for a quick snack.

He paused and peaked his head into the doorway. “Yeah?” He called back.

“I’m going to watch Wendy. Want to join?” She called back, unnecessarily loud considering he was only a few feet away from her. He considered her offer and then shrugged. He didn’t have anything else to do, he was just going to go back to his room and play video games.

“Sure, why not. Let me grab a snack real quick.” He said, ducking back into the kitchen.

“Grab me a pop while you’re in there, would you?” She yelled from the other room. He didn’t answer, and instead got to work poking around for something to eat.

He returned to the sitting room a few minutes later with a family sized bag of crisps in one hand and a soda for Cassie in the other. She was laying across the sofa when he got there, one leg lazily hanging over the edge and the other bent at the knee and leaning against the back. Her head was cushioned by the armrest.

He didn’t even consider the other furniture in the room before immediately going to lay himself directly on top of her, setting the drink and the snack on the floor in front of them. He laid his head on her muscular chest and she wrapped her arms around his waist, locking her hands together and setting them on the small of his back. He tucked his hands underneath her, warming them with the heat of her back.

He listened to her heartbeat as they watched the show, his head rising and falling in time with her breath. Eventually she began to run her fingers through his thick hair, and even he had to admit it made him just a little bit sleepy. He felt content to lay there forever.

I love you

6.

Bart leaned back against Anita’s legs behind him, shifting impatiently as she ran a brush through his unruly, static-y locks.

It was getting longer, annoyingly so. It would not stop fall in front of his face unless he was constantly pushing it behind his ear or blowing it out of the way. It drove him crazy. It also seemed to drive Anita crazy, because she had wasted no time in coming up to him after the day's mission was over with a wrist full of hairties and a brush in her hands. He didn’t think twice before following as she wordlessly led him to one of the long couches, allowing himself to be sat on the floor in front of her.

“How is school going?” Anita asked, setting aside the brush to run her skilled fingers through his thick hair.

Bart couldn’t help but snort at the ice breaker. It was something Wally or Barry would awkwardly ask him when they didn’t know how to start a conversation. However, whereas they would say it with this weird, stilted energy, Anita said it casually.

“It’s been good. I joined my school's conservation club recently. It’s really easy to clean up all the waste around the city with my speed, but something about working as a team and slowly making somewhere look nice and clean is really…rewarding I guess.” He replied. Anita hummed.

“Any friends in that club?” She asked, fingers deftly dividing his hair into sections.

“I joined with Rolly and Carol. Preston was going to join too, but then the school started up this film club that runs at the same time, and he couldn’t miss the opportunity.” Bart said, rolling his eyes at the reminder of Preston’s betrayal.

“How are Max and Helen?” Anita asked. 

“They’re doing great actually. They’ve both had more free time than usual recently so we’ve been spending more time together. It is honestly a little painful playing board games with them, though. It feels like it takes them both an eternity to take their turns.” He admitted, frowning at the memory. Behind him, Anita giggled as she tugged the strands of hair into place.

“I understand that. It’s a nightmare when my family plays card games. They’re way too strategic about it, especially with Uno. I swear it takes hours before even a single card is played!” She exclaimed, pulling a laugh from Bart in turn.

“We tried to play Uno once, but Max got so angry he refused to talk to me and Helen for the rest of the night. Poor Matt, he got the cold shoulder for nearly a whole week! All because he hit Max with a draw six.” Bart lamented. Anita gently, but firmly, righted his head when he went to shake it in mock disappointment at  his guardian's petty grudge.

“That sounds about right,” She said, “We had to remove those cards from our deck to get uncle Maad to play.”

“No way!” He laughed incredulously.

“Yes way!” She laughed along, fingers pausing in Bart’s hair for a moment so she wouldn’t pull at it while she tried to calm her giggles.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence a few moments later, cheeks hurting from all the smiling and laughter. Not too long later, Anita slid a yellow hairtie with a star charm on it down her wrist and pulled the end of the braid into it. She gently patted him on the head to let him know she was done and he took it as an invitation to give her a big hug, which she returned.

He thanked her and they went their separate ways, both in a hurry now to get home after the long day. On his way out, Bart caught sight of the beautiful French braid Anita had done for him in the reflection of one of the big glass windows. He stopped to turn his head from side to side, admiring her work with a wide grin. It looked beautiful.

I love you 

7.

One of the Ken’ts cows was due to give birth soon, which meant that Ma Kent was stressed, which meant she was stress baking, which meant lots and lots of baked goods to go around. When she inevitably made too much for the family to finish on their own, it was only natural that she would load up a foil pan to the brim with fresh Brownies and hand them off to Kon on his way to a Young Justice meetup. Being the perpetually hungry teenagers they were, the team swarmed the baked goods like a shiver of hungry sharks that got a whiff of blood in the water. The previously full pan only had a handful of squares remaining in a matter of seconds.

“Kon these are heavenly.” Bart moaned around a mouthful of warm, fudgy brownie. “You’re Ma needs a reward for these or something, I could eat them every day for the rest of my life.”

A bit dramatic, yes; but, hey, they were really good brownies. Kon looked thoughtful at that, a tilt to his head as he studied Bart like a specimen under a microscope. Bart smiled at the attention, uncaring of the mess of brownie that was probably clinging to his teeth as he did so. Kon raised his eyebrow in amusement and slid the rest of the brownies over to him.

Bart didn’t need to be told twice before he was polishing the rest of them off in one go, the foil pan empty in the blink of an eye; literally. Kon laughed at the display while the others all whined in unison, chastising him for not saving any for the rest of them.

Somehow, the stream of sweets didn’t stop, even after the calf had been born (it came out healthy and adorable, for the record). Different sweets and baked goods, all courtesy of Ma Kent, would show up to their meetings and hangouts without fail. Which was awesome. What teenager wouldn't love being brought homemade desserts all the time? However, Bart began to notice something was up. Sometimes the sweets would taste different, too different to be a mishap in the kitchen, and Bart knew Ma Kent was too skilled a baker to make mistakes on a recipe at all. They would also be a little more sloppy, a little misshapen or  varying widely in size. Not that he cared. Sweets are sweets, after all. It was just something he had taken notice of.

He came to the conclusion that Kon had started baking them himself, and so he did the only thing natural in this situation. He brought it up.

“Hey, did you make this one?” Bart asked around a mouthful of blueberry pie. Kon seemed to flush a bright red. Bart had to stop himself from laughing at the mental image of Kon with the head of a tomato.

“Is it that bad?” Kon asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Bart tilted his head to the side questioningly.

“No? It tastes awesome.” He said incredulously. What a stupid thing for Kon to say.

“How could you tell then?” He questioned.

“Well, it just looks a little less…” He thought of his words carefully, “neat? I guess?”

At that, Kon laughed.

“I can’t deny that. I’m still new to all of this. I still haven’t gotten the presentation down to a T just yet. Ma is still worlds better at it than I am.” He admitted. He cut another slice of the pie and put it on Bart’s plate. Bart kept eating as if he didn’t notice.

“How come you started baking? New hobby?” He asked, taking another large bite, licking the blueberry syrup from the fork, something he couldn’t get away with doing around Max, lest he spend the next hour or two getting lectured on table manners.

“Ma is a busy woman and I know you like sweets, so I thought, hey why not give it a shot? I get practice in the kitchen and my best bud gets an endless supply of sweets. Win, win.” Kon explained. He refused to meet Bart’s eyes and his cheeks were still red. For some reason, Bart felt his own face grow warm. Weird.

“Hhm. . . Well, I’m not going to complain. You’re the best!” Bart said before returning his attention to destroying the pie as fast as he could.

I love you 

8.

Bart hated shopping. He could usually do a full sweep of a store four times over and find everything he needed by the time the others were done looking at one rack of clothes. It was so slow and incredibly boring, so he rarely ever tagged along when his friends went to the mall. They understood his reasons and didn’t push him to join, though he could tell that they were sad every time he said no when they still asked to make sure he hadn’t changed his mind. That alone was enough to make him feel warm inside, to be honest, that his presence was missed. It made him feel like he belonged. 

He was currently playing his Gameboy on Cassie’s bed, waiting for the others to return from one such shopping spree. He was technically early - Cassie had invited him to a movie marathon that was planned for when they got home - but her mom had let him in when he knocked so he figured there wasn’t a problem. Cassie probably wouldn’t care anyway.

He didn’t look up as the door opened and his friends all piled into the cramped room, only raising his hand to give a short wave before returning to his game. His high score on Tetris wasn’t going to beat itself.

“Bart! Why are you in my room?” Cassie said, her annoyance all fake and played up.

“Your mom let me in like an hour ago or something.” He answered. He cursed under his breath and set the handheld down as his stack got too high, the Game Over screen flashing mockingly at him only a few clears away from beating his score. He glared at it. Stupid thing.

Kon and Tim were dropping a bunch of bags on the floor as Greta impatiently waited to go through them off to the side. Bart thinks the mall trip might have been for her since she needed new clothes, but he didn’t quite remember. 

“Oh, Bart, hi. I’m glad you’re here.” Cissie said, appearing in the doorway and shouldering past Tim, who halfheartedly grumbled in annoyance as he gave her a playful glare. She stuck her tongue out at him before rooting around in one of the bags hanging off of her arms.

She gave a triumphant yell as she pulled out something small from one of the bags. She made her way over to him and held the object out with a closed fist, hiding it from his view.

“A present? For moi?” Bart asked, batting his eyelashes at her. He sat up properly in Cassie’s bed and held his hand out to receive the gift. Cissie rolled her eyes and dropped it into his ready palm.

“I saw it while we were in line and thought of you.” She explained before going over to where Greta was happily digging through her new clothes and dropping down beside the younger girl with the other bags.

Bart looked down at his open hand and examined the gift. It was a small keychain no bigger than his thumb in the shape of Cherub from After-Life Avenger. Cissie must have seen him reading the comic during one of their hangouts. The sidekick was in his iconic fighting pose. The paint was poorly applied and his smile was wonky, likely from some kind of factory error. It was hideous, and it was perfect.

A wide grin spread across his face, a warmth in his chest. He pocketed the keychain and jumped off the bed to join his friends on the floor, ready to help Greta organize some outfits. 

I love you

9.

“So, do you think you’ll be able to make it?” Carol pestered, shoving the flyer into his hands. “It would really mean a lot to me if you came to this.”

Bart stared down at the poster, the font bond and in his face. “New Hampshire Cheer Competition!! Finals this Saturday 11/15 Don’t miss it! Be there, or be square!” He blinked at it and then looked back up at Carol’s anticipatory face, her eyes shining behind her glasses. 

“Sure, I’ll be there.” He promised.

And that was how Bart found himself pressed in between Preston and Rolly on a set of tiny bleacher benches in the gym of a school two towns over. He had wanted to run here when he heard the distance, but Preston had insisted on carpooling with his dad, so Bart was pressured into sitting through the agonizing hour and a half long drive over here.

He grumbled and elbowed Rolly in the ribs when the other scooted way too close to him in order to make room for an elderly man who was very intent on sitting on the same bench as them. He regretted his choice to wear a thick flannel today. Despite it being cold outside, it was way too hot in this cramped gym. Why did they choose this school to do their competition at? Their gym was way bigger than this one! Stupid…

His sour mood quickly dissipated when Carol and her team walked into the gym, however. He watched his best friend scan the crowd with squinted eyes, a hand shielding her face from the fluorescent lights up above. He decided to make it easier for her to spot them, raising his hand high as it would go and giving a big, dramatic wave. He definitely got way too into Rolly and Preston’s personal space as he did so, but honestly? It was revenge for making him sit in the middle. Take that. 

Carol spotted him immediately, a grin stretching across her face as she waved back just as dramatically, hitting one of her teammates in the head with her elbow in the process. She immediately withdrew her attention from her friends to apologize to the laughing girl, who waved her off before gesturing towards their team, who were leaving both of them behind. Carol gave one more small before moving to join back up with her team.

Bart had to admit, the competition was impressive. He didn’t even know many heroes who could do some of the flips that Carol and her team were doing, and even less who had the communication skills to work so in sync without even uttering a word. 

Carol’s team didn’t win, but they came in third place, which wasn’t too bad. Bart would admit that he did start to zone out at this point, bored to pieces by the long winded award ceremony. He cheered when everyone else did, but counted ceiling tiles with his chin resting on his closed fist in the meantime.

Eventually the competition was over and the crowd began emptying out of the double doors at the back of the gym. Bart followed his group out and to Preston’s dad’s car with his hands in his pockets, idly chatting with Preston and Wade as he went. Suddenly there was one arm thrown around Bart’s shoulder, another around Preston’s, forcing them both to bend over slightly.

“Hey, boys!” Carol’s excited voice shouted into their ears. Her hair was disheveled and frizzy, her face flushed from both the past hours of physical activity and the biting cold weather. Her smile was as bright as the sun, happiness radiating off of her in waves despite the fact that she hadn’t won.

“Carol! Hey! You did amazing out there!” Preston exclaimed, throwing his arm around her waist and giving her a sort of side hug.

“Aw, thanks. You’re sweet. My team did most of the work though.” She said, leaning away from Bart to return the semi-hug.

“Sorry you guys didn’t win,” Bart said, “You really did do awesome.”

“Psh, who cares about winning. I’m just really glad you guys are here.” She said, giving him a similar side hug as Preston. And Bart could tell that she really meant it.

I love you

10 .

Bart felt a little silly if he was being entirely honest. He had been in louder, more crowded situations than this before. Hell, he had been to concerts in the past, performed in them even! This shouldn't be affecting him in the slightest. And yet, for some reason, as he stood in the mosh pit of some concert Cissie had convinced them all to go to with her, he felt more overwhelmed than he had in probably his whole life. Or, at least that is what it felt like.

The pulsing lights, the roaring cheers, the incomprehensible lyrics screamed into a crackling mic, the pressure of a million sweaty bodies crowding up against his own; it was all too much.

In the blink of an eye, he was zipping through the crowd and out of the door of the concert hall. He doesn’t know where he went or how he got there, but he found himself pressed up against a cold, concrete wall, shivering slightly in the chilly air. There was a cold sweat breaking out across his overly warm body, leaving him feeling even more uncomfortable. His breath came out in short pants as it crystalized in front of him. He tried to get control of his rapidly beating heart, pressing a fist firmly into the underside of his ribs and feeling it pound against his sternum like it was trying to burst free.

He took deep breaths through his nose and exhaled out of his mouth, just like Max had taught him. It didn’t seem to be doing much, though. He squeezed his eyes closed and leaned his head against the concrete, uncaring of the way the action pulled on his hair.

He let out a gasp when a frigid hand suddenly slipped into his own. He opened his eyes and found Greta sitting right beside him, her legs pulled up to her chest. One arm was resting on her knees so as to cushion her chin, and the other was pressed between the two of them where she was holding his hand. She was making a point to not look at him.

He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back. She didn’t say a word, but she didn’t have to. Her actions and presence alone were enough to say I'm here for you. She just sat there with him in silence until Bart finally got his breathing under control. Then, she leaned her head against his shoulder and her thumb rubbed circles into his knuckles. Bart took one more deep breath, now comforted by the presence of his friend, and he never felt lighter. He leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes a second time.

I love you

11.

Bart lay on the hood of Cissie’s car with his hands folded over his stomach, Greta on one side of him and Cassie on the other. Greta was fast asleep under a pink and yellow star print blanket, head cushioned by her arms, while Cassie was chatting up a storm with Cissie, who was sitting on the roof above them. Tim was next to her, pointing a camera up at the sky and meticulously taking pictures of the stars. Kon and Slobo were playing with Krypto somewhere off to the side. Anita was watching them from where she sat in one of the car's open doors, her laughter quiet but still loud enough to be heard.

They had come out to watch the stars, but most of them had lost interest in that a long time ago. Now they were just enjoying each other's company. 

Bart lazily blinked up at the cosmos as the drone of his friends talking and laughter filled his ears. He wasn’t tired, really; it was more of a content drowsiness that was washing over him, brought on by a feeling of utter safety and comfort. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to get lost in it.

He didn’t even notice he had begun to shiver a little until something warm and heavy was tossed over his body. He cracked his eyes open just enough to see Slobo standing on the bumper of Cissie’s car, hands planted on his boney hips and a disapproving look on his face as he glared down at Bart's half asleep body. Bart further saw that it was the other teen’s insulated leather jacket that was now draped over Bart like a blanket. 

“Idiot, I told him to bring a fraggin’ coat of his own.” Slobo said to no one in particular, shaking his head in what was clearly meant to be disappointment.

“You know, we had spare blankets in the trunk, Slobo. You could have given him one of those.” Cissie said, amused. 

“That’s too much fraggin’ work, scrounging up one of those. Nah, this is just fine. He can use that for now.” Slobo said before hopping off the bumper to go back to where Kon and Krypto were waiting for him. Bart slipped his eyes shut once more, snuggling into the warmth of the jacket.

I love you

+1  

Bart  had been thinking a lot lately; about love and what it meant. 

He couldn’t claim to know exactly what it meant to love or be loved, but, really, who did? There were a million different ways to say I love you. It was near impossible to even try to comprehend the true extent of the word. 

Love was the heavy weight of a warm meal sitting in your stomach after a hard day. It was fingers weaving beautiful patterns into your hair while you talked and talked about anything and everything. It’s the sticky residue of homemade blueberry pie on your fingers, staining the corner of your mouth as you clean your plate and go in for more. It was a lovingly crafted cassette with wearing tape that you listen to almost everyday, a flush on your cheeks as you absorbed the true intentions behind each carefully selected song. 

Love was a small gift to say “I’m thinking of you”. It was a detailed report looking out for your safety. An invitation to watch someone do what they enjoy so that you may share in their happiness. A cold hand holding your own when your heart won’t seem to slow down. It’s a jacket draped over you like a blanket as you drift off to sleep to the sounds of laughter. 

Love was all of this and so, so much more.

So, while he may never know just what that four letter word meant by definition, he didn’t need to. He was already certain of one thing; he is beyond loved and he is full of it. That simple knowledge was more than enough for him.

[chainsawcorazon]

what if i said bartkon was a love between a god and a mortal. what if bart was always destined to be One with the speed force. what if meloni’s father and max mercury and helen claiborne and carol bucklen and preston lindsay and rollie and wally and linda were all just one big obstacle in the speed force’s journey to reclaiming its favorite soldier. what if those closest to bart were destined to lose him, no matter what. what if yj just led to the inevitable, bc bart was destined for annihilation long before he realized he cared more about others than he did himself.

what if bart’s erasure from existence and going home to the speed force was thwarted only bc his destiny became entangled with someone whose existence is a prison. kon never had a choice in who he would become and succumbed to his fate, only to be snatched and deposited elsewhere. he tried to model the good behaviors he’d learned, and still that left a hole in his heart, because who was he without yj and superman and all the others he was forcibly parted from? who was he without the ppl he’d grown to love after years of suffering?

what if god heard that suffering and couldn’t accept it. what if bart rematerialized after flashpoint bc he couldn’t accept that grief, bc bart allen doesn’t care about himself, only about the people he loves. what if bart allen loves kon el. what if that’s why the speed force let him go, because bart will go home to the speed force eventually, but not before he saves the mortal he loves the most, and the one who tethers him to reality. what if zeus let hades crawl back to the earth’s surface bc persephone was lost. what if bart came back into the sun bc kon was thrust into the darkness and couldn’t find his way back. what if bart and kon reuniting was the only way to restore reality.

[dementedspeedster]

The Thawne family really has such continual issues with love (romantic and familial)/that when it comes to love they continually face issues. It's almost like they're cursed in some way .

A lack of familial love is an issue seen with three Thawnes: Malcom (Cobalt Blue), Eobard (Professor Zoom), and Thad (Inertia). All three of them felt unloved and unappreciated by their own family. And these are three Thawnes of three completely different eras. (Malcolm - 20th/21st Century, Eobard - 25th Century, Thad - 30th/31st Century).

Familial relationships and familial love in the Thawne family also tends to be complicated when you look at Meloni and her relationship with her father, President Thaddeus Thawne. There's clearly a controlling aspect to President Thawne's relationship with his daughter, but it also seems like he does love his daughter.

Also Meloni's relationship with her son, Bart, is also complicated. There's not a lack of love between them as a mother and son, but at the same time the two barely know each other/their complicated situation doesn't exactly allow for them to really have an opportunity to develop their relationship with one another.

Eobard's relationship with his family is bad (he's viewed as a disappointment). He also makes it so his brother Robern never existed.

Romantic relationships/Romantic love for Thawnes don't end up well either considering how Meloni's husband ends up killed. And that in part is due to the fact she fell in love with and Allen.

It might have been a first love/first relationship for Bart, but Carol ending up having to stay in the future after Bart fully realizes his feelings for her is another example of romantic relationship/romantic love not working out for a Thawne.

The same version of Eobard also falls in love, but continual even as he rewrites his life and the life of the women he falls in love with (She starts out with a fiance, Eobard then makes it so her fiance has disappeared, she still doesn't want him, he makes it so she never dated him, she still doesn't want him, he makes it so she has never dated in her entire lief to the point it's like she's cursed (that's the actual word used there), and she still has no interest in him), and he ends rewriting his life to the point he narrates that he has never been in love.

Also to a lesser degree Thad ends up abandoning his first girlfriend and first relationship ever, so chalk up another one to love being complicated for the Thawnes.

There are just so many instances of love not working out for Thawnes. Romantic love and familial love is so complicated and messy for them.

[gretahayes]

I do quite like the lack of focus on traditional family structures in Impulse. Like, originally, Bart only had Max, who was posing as his "uncle", then they moved in with Max's daughter, Helen. That’s not a traditional family structure (there's no clear-cut mom, dad, kid, etc etc), but that wasn’t used as something more to "other" Bart like it could have been. Because Carol doesn’t have a traditional family structure either. Preston did, but then his mom got shut away so now it’s just him and his dad. Evil Eye's got a dad and grandpa but no mom we see yet. It’s interesting how family is portrayed in Impulse and how the different forms it takes are focused on here, like with the visits of Meloni and Jenni, and Jesse's singular issue, and Barry’s looming presence despite his death, and Wally always being in the background in Bart’s mind, being his number one hater.

[alianarepasa]

Little Toy Prince: Chapter Prologue

Summary: After bringing in a wooden Christmas toy Nutcracker, which for some reason, looks like his ex-rival, SMG3 woke up from a noise in the upper floor of his cafe. Little did he know, he will be experiencing the classic Christmas story, without any knowledge of its story.

Tags: Inspired by Barbie in the Nutcracker, Nutcracker Story

Note: Thanks to Olive/lullabycreations for being my proof-reader for the Prologue and Chapter 1, even if they have no knowledge on SMG4

“HUH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE NUTCRACKER?! IT’S ONE OF THE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS STORY SMG3!” said in shocked expression by a dude in a blue sweater with white overall, to his purple sweater with black overall doppelganger ex-rival now friend, SMG3.

SMG3 groans. “SMG4, almost 2 years ago, you said to your friends that I didn’t celebrate Christmas with anyone in my entire life. How in the hell are you shocked that I didn't hear that story before?” He said with an irritated look.

SMG3 never really celebrated Christmas in his whole life during his time as a villain. Yea sure, he knows what the holiday is all about due to seeing a lot of ads, and kept hearing those Christmas songs everywhere, but he never cared and/or had time to celebrate it for all those years. But ever since SMG4 invited him to celebrate it with his friends, he at least had a good time with it. Even if his first Christmas from 2021 causes him too much trouble for being destructive in the Blooperville, while his last year's second Christmas was almost destroyed, while also being saved with the help of everyone in that Christmas dinner by his and SMG4’s avatar, Mario, by accidentally hurting Melony’s axolotl, it is at least a fun time. 

However, he never really has interested, to look up at some Christmas related content, especially those Christmas stories, like “A Christmas Carol”, “The Little Match Girl”, “The Polar Express” or any of those kinds of story, with of course what SMG4 mentioned to SMG3, “The Nutcracker”.

SMG4 then concernedly explained, but not a very loud kind of response to SMG3’s question. “Well, I know that you DON’T celebrate Christmas in the past, but I always thought that you may have heard about the Nutcracker, or any kind of Christmas stories!” “Well surprise! I may know what Christmas is, but it does not mean I know what kind of Christmas story that I read, heard, or heck! Seen before!” SMG3 responds back in a harsh tone, but not in an insulting kind of harsh.

“Even the Barbie version?!” SMG4 exclaimed, questioning SMG3, which caused him to feel even more annoyed at the blue idiot. 

“Yes. Even the Barbie version.” SMG3 then sighed annoyingly. “Look, I don’t know what your obsession is with this kind of question from you right now, but if you keep asking me about these things, I would literally gonna shove a bag of sugar cookies through your mouth!” SMG3 said it as if it was a threat to SMG4, in which it wasn’t.

“Aww man, you literally never celebrated Christmas at all! You may as well get visited soon by the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future if you keep that up~~!” SMG4 teased

“Is that a Christmas story that I will never get a reference from?” SMG3 said in a displeased look

“It is.” SMG4 answered in a smug look. SMG3 responded to him with even more annoyed, yet tired groans, SMG4 chuckled at the reaction of his ex-rival. But then, SMG4 has an idea.

“Oh I know! What if tomorrow’s Christmas Eve Dinner, we should watch Barbie in the Nutcracker with the others!” SMG4 exclaimed

“Are you for real?” SMG3 rebuked.

“Yes, I am for real here!” SMG4 responded excitedly. “This will be fun! Hell, it may as well be your first time getting an exposure to that Christmas story! Yea sure, I could’ve picked a better movie adaption of the Nutcracker, than the one that I suggested, but honestly, I just think watching the Barbie version is more fun to watch!” SMG4 excitedly explained it even more to SMG3

“So… will this be fine enough for you to get into the Christmas story spirit?” He insisted at SMG3.

“Yea, yea, sure! Whatever! I’m only agreeing with this because it’s the only way that will make you stop questioning me about my past choices on not being interested in Christmas shit” SMG3 accepted the offer, annoyingly enough.

“Then that settles it then! I will try and tell everyone if they’re up for it as well. I may also start setting things up for tomorrow. Wanna help out on this one 3?” He asked, which SMG3 just gave him a thumbs up with an annoyed look. SMG4 then smiled. “Alrighty then! Just gonna get some essential stuff for tomorrow’s Christmas Movie Night!”

“Can you set up some rugs in the main lobby?” SMG4 requested. “Sure.” SMG3 responded.

After a few hours of setting things up, the Meme Guardians were finally done with it. SMG4 then explained that he’s going to tell everyone about the Christmas Movie night, and other than that, he let SMG3 go home as there is nothing else he can do now. They said their goodbyes, and SMG3 left the castle. As he is going back into his cafe shop, he is already feeling… conflicted. On one hand, he regrets accepting the offer. I mean, Christmas Movie Night is not a bad idea, but him, SMG4, and the others watching a Barbie movie adaptation of a Christmas classic story about a girl and her nutcracker? That’s just an embarrassment! Knowing that Mario and Bob will be disgusted by it. But on the other hand, if he is being honest to himself here, he wouldn’t even mind watching an animated movie that is adapted by a girl’s doll, even if not everyone joined, he wouldn’t even mind just watching it with SMG4, he just doesn’t want to admit it.

When he’s going through his own thoughts, it gets instantly cut-off. As he was about to reach his cafe, he noticed the box in front of the cafe’s door.

[blackbatcass]

bart and meloni really do something to me man. they said we will make bart a mama’s boy in a way that is so devastating

[bluejaysandblackbats]

It Takes A Village

Fandom: YJ98, Flashfam, DC Comics

Summary: After witnessing Bart murder someone, his friends scramble to cover Bart's tracks and stumble upon an international scandal as a result.

(Minor background: Bart took a gap year, and Conner did two years of community college. This starts shortly after Bart's 19th birthday. So, Conner and Jenni are 20, Bart and Cissie are 19, Tim and Cassie are 18, I made Greta 17 for the sake of the fic, and Judy is 15. I decided to make Owen 22 and Thad 16 for plot reasons. Clark and Conner are brothers in this fic, and Clark is 12 years older for the sake of this fic, so he's 32.)

Chapters: 8/?

Characters: Bart Allen, Conner Kent, Judy Garrick, Jay Garrick, Joan Garrick, Cissie King-Jones, Cassie Sandsmark, Tim Drake, Greta Hayes, Jenni Ognats, Thad Thawne, Owen Mercer, Meloni Thawne, Clark Kent, Wally West, Linda Park, Courtney Whitmore, President Thawne

Relationship(s): KonBart, CissieCassie, WallyLinda

Additional Tags: Serial Killer AU, No Powers AU, Angst, Dark Comedy, Bart Allen Kills in This Fic, Minor Thad Thawne, Separated in Childhood, Some Smut in This

Chapter Eight: Reach The Surface

Bart woke up early and turned on his side to check his phone. He had a few more text messages on top of his ten unanswered ones. He went through, reading each one. 

ROY: checkign in. how’s it goin

HELEN: Bart, I want you to call me when you get some time. I’m worried about you.

TIM: What do you mean you’ve seen the Alabama White Thang???

JOAN: Are you okay, sweetheart? 

PRESTON: who is the mystery guy??? 

CAROL: As your friend, ily but what the hell is a protein freakshake??? Bart, I’ll kill you

JAY: Bart, what is tfw? Judy keeps sending me tfw’s but none of the pictures go together

CONNER: are you ok? do you want me to order you a pizza?

LINDA: Hey, bug. Just wanted you to know I love and miss you so much! Give me a call and lmk when I can kick your ass on MK

GRANDPA: Goodnight, Bart. I love you so so much. I had the loveliest conversation with your brother, Owen. He seems like a nice kid. 

CONNER: super worried about you, omw rn

JUDY: Mom’s a little worried about you. Everything ok?

TIM: Hey, do you mind if I come over next Thursday? 

THAD: Is it okay to text you?

Bart called Thad first. Thad answered immediately. “Good morning,” Thad answered. 

“Good morning… Hey, are you okay? Everyone’s going kind of nuts, huh?” Bart asked. 

“Yeah… I’m okay, though. I didn’t know him. Is it strange to feel detached from it all?” Thad questioned in reply. Bart sat up and played with Conner’s hair, keeping him asleep.

“No… I get it. Do you know I love you?” Bart asked. 

“I—. I like to hear it. I love you, too… But um—. Why’d you call me this morning? Is something wrong?” Thad asked. Bart paused and tried to think of something to say. 

“In the observatory… Do you ever remember seeing cameras?” Bart asked in Interlac. 

“No… But I’m sure there were cameras. Did they make the lights pulse to change your mood?” Thad asked. Bart tried to think about it, but he didn’t remember anything like that. 

“No… I remember sometimes it used to be dark… They’d blindfold me and put these headphones over my ears and—. I think I—. I don’t remember how long they’d do that, but I remember they used to tell me how unsafe the other side of the door was… And they used to leave it cracked after. I used to beg them to shut the door,” Bart explained. Neither of them were emotional when discussing the observatory. Bart couldn’t even be moved to be angry at that moment. 

“Why are you thinking about the observatory? Did Grandpa Thawne—?” 

“No. He hasn’t sent anyone to bring us back. You don’t have to worry about that anymore. Okay? I—. I’m not gonna let anyone take you away ever again. Okay?” Bart reassured him. His heart pumped, almost frightening him. He felt so alive and so intensely passionate about everything. “And you can text me anytime you want. I want you to visit me as soon as you can. You can sleep in my room. I’ll give you a tour of the school. Okay?” 

“Okay,” Thad answered, “Aunt Helen wants to speak to you.” 

“Okay. Give Aunt Helen the phone,” Bart gently commanded. 

“Bart, are you alright? I called you twice last night—.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t feel well, so I went to sleep… And when I woke up, Conner was on his way over, so I didn’t have a lot of time to—.” Bart took a breath. “I’m okay now. You don’t have to worry about me, Helen.” 

“Don’t I, though? Bart, I always worry about you. I worry because I love you,” Helen replied. 

“I appreciate it… But I promise I’m fine. I’m not upset at all,” Bart answered honestly, “Actually, I’m doing really well.” Conner stirred beside him, smiling into Bart’s leg. 

“You’ll call me if things start getting bad… Won’t you?” Helen asked. 

Bart made a soft noise. “Sure, Helen,” Bart replied. A lie. “Hey, I’ve gotta go.” 

“Okay… Be good,” Helen half-joked. 

“I’ll try,” Bart answered before hanging up. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” Bart set his phone aside and rubbed Conner’s back. Conner hummed sweetly. 

“Good morning,” Conner smiled, “Do you wanna brush your teeth with me?” 

Bart chuckled and nodded. “Do you need a toothbrush?” Bart asked. Conner nodded. 

**

After they brushed their teeth, Bart and Conner crept back to Bart’s room. “You’re in a good mood,” Conner whispered as Bart shut the curtains. He gave Conner one of his wireless earbuds and he wore the other one. Bart climbed up the foot of the bed, kissing his way up Conner’s legs until he kissed the front of Conner’s shorts. Conner instinctively lifted his knee, and Bart patted his leg. “Come up here… I wanted to try something, but I’m not sure if you’d be—.”

Bart sat cross legged. “What is it?” Bart asked. 

“Well… I kind of���. It’s a weird mixture of kinks, but I—.” 

“Conner, I’m not gonna laugh at you. I promise,” Bart replied.

“You know how I kind of like you to get a little rough? Well, I wanted to see how that worked with a little praise,” Conner explained while he wrung his hands. Bart sat on Conner’s lap and kissed Conner, parting his lips as his fingers caught in Conner’s curls. Bart pulled back, half out of breath, grinning with an open mouth. 

“If you wanted me to tell you how good you were, all you had to do was ask. I could go on and on about you for hours,” Bart whispered.

“Oh, really? Name one thing you like about me,” Conner teased. 

Bart gave Conner’s hair a little tug, and he felt Conner’s hard-on twitch beneath him. Bart bored down, grinding into it. Then, he leaned in for a kiss only to yank his hair a little harder. Conner moaned and in a panic, he held a finger to Bart’s lips. “I like the way you can’t help but moan when I pull your hair. I think about that a lot. And I think about those pretty lips of yours so much I see them in my dreams,” Bart whispered as he thumbed Conner’s bottom lip. Conner advanced forward for a kiss, and Bart backed away, giggling as he teased him. He climbed off of Conner’s lap and dropped his shorts while he looked for a towel and a condom. Stroking his dick with one hand as he scratched his head with the other. 

“What are you looking for?” Conner asked. 

“A rubber,” Bart answered as he grabbed a towel. Conner looked in the bedside drawer and pulled out a box of condoms and a bottle of cooling lubricant. Bart smiled looking at Conner bent over as he dug through the drawer. He climbed on the bed, creeping closer and closer until he was close enough to slap him on the ass. Conner jumped, and Bart pulled him back on the bed. Bart fell into a fit of laughter. “Boing!” 

“You’re so stupid,” Conner laughed as he lay in Bart’s lap. 

“I want you so bad,” Bart replied. Conner leaned forward to get the lube and condoms before Bart wrapped an arm around his waist, gently humping him, rubbing his dick against the thin fabric of Conner’s boxers. 

“You’re gonna chafe,” Conner giggled. Bart kissed the back of Conner’s neck, almost growling in his ear. 

“You better take your pants down then,” Bart whispered. Conner’s face went flush, and he clutched the front of his shorts. He took a breath and gave Bart the lube and condom from his drawer. “Is this too much?” 

“No,” Conner answered as he pulled his boxers down in the back. Bart took a pillow and threw the towel over it. 

“Are you comfortable like this?” Bart asked. He softened in his demeanor for a moment as he felt along the line of Conner’s right thigh. 

“I’m good,” Conner answered. Bart gave him a comforting pat on the ass as he slipped the condom on and rubbed his dick up and down against Conner’s hole. He jumped when Bart squirted the cooling lube on his ass. “Oh, fuck.”

“Is it too cold?” Bart asked as he slipped the tip in. Conner shook his head, cocking it as he felt it cool his insides. 

“No, I think I like it,” Conner replied. Bart pushed in all the way and stayed in place for a moment, giving Conner a  moment to get accustomed to the feeling. “Oh.” One pump. Slow and gentle. Two… Three. A little faster. The faster the thrusts the more noise Conner made. 

Bart slowed down and pulled Conner’s hair before leaning down to whisper, “You’re gonna wake Cassie and Cissie.” Conner bit his lip as Bart pulled out. 

“Why’d you—?”

Bart patted his back. “I wanna look at you,” Bart whispered.

**

Conner lay on his stomach while Bart lay beside him, rubbing the raven-haired boy’s back. “Are you comfortable?” Bart asked. Conner threw an arm over Bart’s lap. 

“Mhm,” Conner hummed. Bart took a sip of water and nudged Conner to offer him a drink. “No, thanks. I’m good here.”

Bart had so much energy, but he didn’t know what to do with it once Conner settled in. He tossed and turned so much that Conner had to touch his arm. “Hey… Do you wanna kiss for a little bit?” Conner asked. Bart nodded. “You’re so cute. Come here.” 

Bart leaned close, and Conner turned on his side, offering a few lazy kisses. His lips never completely parted with Bart’s in between kisses, but it was enough to keep Bart in a perfectly serene state of mind. “I love you,” Bart whispered, “God, I love you so much.” Conner shushed him.

“I love you too, but we’ve gotta take a breather,” Conner explained. He parted Bart’s bangs with his finger. “Let’s just kiss… Okay?” Bart looked into Conner’s eyes and nodded. They leaned in for another kiss before they were interrupted. 

“Cissie wants to know if—. Jesus Christ!” Cassie screamed before turning her back. 

Conner pulled the blanket over both of them and laughed into Bart’s shoulder out of embarrassment. “Get out! Get the hell out of here!” Bart shouted in Interlac. Cassie stepped outside and shut the door. He nearly jumped out of bed Conner’s smile faded, and he patted Bart’s chest, bringing him back to the present. 

“Hey, she didn’t mean anything by it,” Conner whispered as he kissed Bart’s neck. “It’s alright.” Bart leaned forward and shut his eyes. “Bart?” 

His hands shook as he struggled to distinguish between the past and present. He couldn’t stop thinking about the pictures in the file. Everyone must’ve seen it. The reality of being constantly monitored for twelve years weighed on him. “I’m sorry… I should go apologize,” Bart whispered. Conner grabbed his arm. 

“Let’s talk first. That was scary… What happened?” Conner asked. 

Bart chewed his lip. “I don’t know if I can tell you right now… But I—.” 

“Bart, if it’s something you don’t want anyone to know—. I won’t tell. It’ll be between us two. I just—. Bart, I want to know what that was about… Because that seemed like it came from somewhere else. I think it’s worth talking about,” Conner whispered. Bart nodded. 

“Not now… But we’ll talk soon. I promise,” Bart replied as he climbed out of bed and dug through his closet. He grabbed a pair of overalls and tossed them on the foot of the bed before slipping a pair of boxers on. 

“Where are you going?” Conner asked. 

“I’m gonna apologize,” Bart replied, “And then I’ll take a shower… If you want to come.”

“Okay… I’ll be there in a minute,” Conner answered, “Bart… Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” Bart lied with a smile on his face as he put his pajamas on and carried his clothes out of the room with him. 

“Hey, Cassie? I—. I shouldn’t have yelled,” Bart replied, “I was more embarrassed than anything. I’m sorry.” Cassie couldn’t look him in the eye. 

“I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have flipped out like—. How long has that been going on?” Cassie asked. 

“Not long… What were you asking?” Bart questioned, quickly changing the subject. 

“Oh, we’re going to the beach. Do you wanna come?” Cassie asked. Bart smiled and nodded. 

“Yeah… I’d love to. I’ll ask Conner in a—.” 

Conner came out of the room, holding his clothes. “I packed swim trunks. Are you gonna get in the water this time, Bart?” Conner asked, draping an arm over Bart’s shoulder. 

**

Conner took Bart’s hand and led him toward the water, and Bart’s mind drifted to the boat. So much sky. So much open space. Open water. Iris had to hold him down, wrapping her arms and legs around him to keep him safe and still. He would’ve done anything that night to return to the observatory. Bart dug his heels into the sand, and Conner stopped, nudging Bart’s face with his nose. “What’s the matter?” Conner asked. 

“Sorry, I got distracted,” Bart replied. 

“Do you not know how to swim?” Conner questioned. 

Last summer. Bart stepped into the lake by the Kent farm and—. He dragged himself out of the water, crawling most of the way to the Kents’ property and limping toward the house until he got to Conner’s window. Conner wasn’t dressed. It started coming back, slowly focusing like a camera lens, capturing the moment. Conner was naked when he pulled Bart into the window. Why was Conner naked? Bart mumbled something. He kept mumbling something, and Conner couldn’t hear him. He wanted Conner to hear him. What was it? Why couldn’t he remember? “Why were you naked last summer when I came to your house?” Bart asked. 

“What?” Conner questioned. He wasn’t angry or upset at the question, but it gave him pause. Conner turned to look at Cassie and Cissie, who were preoccupied, and he placed a gentle hand on Bart’s cheek. 

“I limped to the window… I knocked… And you were naked. Why were you naked?” Bart asked. His voice felt a million miles away while he held onto the fragment of a memory. 

“I was asleep… It was hot that night, and I didn’t expect you. You were visiting your grandparents and—. What’s wrong? Do you wanna walk and talk about it?” Conner asked. Bart nodded. “You were super upset, and you were mumbling nonsense. I helped you inside through my window, and you—. You said you wanted me to come with you, but you wouldn’t tell me where, and you didn’t move. I figured you were drunk.”

Conner kissed Bart’s forehead, but Bart was a million miles away. Bart was present mentally, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how good it felt to watch Jacob die. It did something to him. It gave Bart a feeling that he couldn’t attain with drugs or alcohol. Something about it excited Bart. It wasn’t everything, but it was a start. He checked back in, realizing Conner was still speaking, and he grabbed his face, cradling his cheeks in soft palms. “I want you,” Bart whispered. 

Conner touched foreheads with Bart, smiling at the lift in Bart’s mood. “Will you settle for a kiss right now?” Conner asked. Bart leaned in, parting his lips as Conner caught him, pulling him in close. He brushed Conner’s cheek with his thumb as he pulled back for air, his tongue reaching out to meet Conner’s open mouth. Conner stopped, pulling back when he heard Cassie and Cissie hooting and wolf whistling at them. He reached behind Bart’s head, giving him a sweet scratch. “You okay?” 

“I’m alright. Thanks for coming this weekend… And I know I’ve been weird, but I promise it’ll get better,” Bart reassured him. Conner smiled. 

“You can be as weird as you want… As long as you’re happy,” Conner replied, “Come on, let’s get ice cream.” 

“I thought you wanted to go swimming?” Bart teased. 

** 

Conner took a nap on the couch while Bart cooked dinner and called his grandparents. Iris answered first. “Hi, Bart. Are you alright?” Iris asked. “I’m sorry I called Conner, but I figured he’d be able to get you to talk.”

“Grandma, I’m okay. I called Thad this morning. Speaking of Thad… Have you talked to him lately? He wants to hear your voice… I know he does,” Bart whispered. 

“I know… I’m about to hop on a plane to see him right now. That’s what I wanted to tell you,” Iris replied. 

“You are?” Bart questioned. 

“Yes. And you won’t tell him, young man. I’m trying to surprise him. I know I missed his birthday, so I’m taking your grandpa to Manchester to surprise him. Your grandpa’s so excited. He didn’t get any sleep last night. We’ve been planning this for months—.”

“Iris, look! I got you a giant pretzel,” Barry exclaimed on the other line. 

“Honey, do you want to talk to Bart while I eat the giant pretzel?” Iris laughed. 

Bart sliced some fresh oranges while he waited for Barry to take the phone. “Hi, Bart! How are we doing today?” Barry asked. We. Bart always found it funny when Barry said we for one person. 

“I’m good… I’m making ribeye for dinner. Conner’s visiting,” Bart replied, “I heard you’re visiting Thad. Give him a hug for me. Okay?” 

“I will. Wish I was there for some ribeye, though. That sounds good right about now. What are you making on the side?” Barry asked. 

“Salad… And roasted potatoes. Potatoes are in the oven, but I’m about to put the ribeye in right now,” Bart replied. Something spoke over the loudspeaker on the other line. 

“Sorry, we couldn’t chat longer. We gotta go. We love you so much,” Barry replied. 

“Love you, Grandpa. Tell Grandma I lover her, too. Have a safe flight,” Bart smiled as he hung up. Cissie joined Bart in the kitchen and smiled at the spread. 

“Is there anything you can’t do?” Cissie asked. 

“Clean my room… Eat chives. Control how stupid I sound when I talk to Conner,” Bart listed off. Cissie smiled at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Conner and me… I just—. I wanted some time to enjoy it. It wasn’t a secret, I just—. I can’t explain it. I just know I’ve wanted this forever,” Bart whispered. Cissie looked up into his eyes. 

“You don’t owe me an explanation. Besides, I kind of thought something was going on,” Cissie replied, “I’m happy that you’re in love. You’re one of my favorite people in the whole world, and I think you guys are good for each other.” 

[mamawasatesttube]

Since you're a trans Konbart shipper like me and i love your content,if it's okay,i'd like to share an unpopular headcanon i came up with!!Which is that i like to think of Bart as a trans girl♡The context for it is that one scene in 90s Superboy where Kon says 'Some freudian thing that means i secretly think of Impulse as a chick' and a post i found back when i first got into this ship that paralleled them to Peter Pan and Wendy Darling.Also i just think Bart gives of that 'you can read this character as any kind of trans and it still fits' vibe and i love the idea of a trans girl getting gender euphoria because she looks exactly like her mom!!

(Also they're definitely transmasc4transfem to me^)

omg aww that's so sweet, esp about euphoria from looking like meloni omggg!!!! that's such a soft hc i love it 🥺🥺🥺

you're def right about bart reading as a character that's just some flavor of trans. whatever he may be this guy is just not cis!!! my preferred bart hc is agender aroace but specifically wrt gender just like... none of the 21st century terms really match 30th century understandings of gender norms anyway so he's just kinda like yeah no thanks. washing my hands of all of this entirely. 30th century vr games have a whole section of gender sliders in character creation and you're telling me here it's just a binary option? no thanks bro!!! (i do like to think about him confiding in carol about these woes in particular. i think that gets possibly even sweeter if we go the trans girl bart route, like... she can ask carol how to even Be a girl and what it all means in this day and age and carol can hold her hand and go well... i don't know either? and they can be two confused sweet lil teenagers figuring it all out together🥺)

also yesss trans kon. my default kon is dmab genderqueer and nb but all varieties of trans kon are So welcome in this house!!!! (imo tim kon and bart are a "whatever they are, they're not cis" trio djsjdkskd they are a set do not separate!!)

[kidflashimpulse]

saw a post you made a while back answering an ask about YJA Bart's civvie life mirroring the comics, and i realized that comic Bart went straight into high school due to being 14 going on 15 when he came to the past, but YJA Bart was 12 going on 13, so he'd be in middle school for a little over a year first. so! an idea i thought i'd share: people mostly think he's Weird (derogatory) in middle school because that's where he goes through his biggest adjustment period. middle school is frustrating for him, but he manages. then high school happens and suddenly he's Mr Popularity bc 1) he's more used to being in school now, even if he still doesn't like it and high school is a different beast, 2) his West-Allen (and Meloni) related pretty genes have started to properly kick in (underrated Bart fact: he's supposed to be noticeably good-looking. like not just cute, but a Certified Pretty Boy. it gets brought up SO MUCH in his solo it's so funny) and he has a canon big growth spurt between 13 and 15, and 3) there's a ton of new ppl his age who have no established opinions of him the way others do. and like in the comics Bart hates the attention and keeps almost exclusively to his friends (one of my fave running gags is Bart being surrounded by people trying to get his attention and he just keeps doing what he's doing without engaging or even reacting barely at all)

omg anon…. this ask has given me the biggest smile ever because it just brings back so many memories of my first ever (drafted) fic ahhhhhhhh !!! especially because of the way it starts!! in middle school where he’s the certified weirdo!!! not that he minds it at all he’s more concerned with the whole concept of wtf even is school and how’s he supposed to be stuck in a classroom when he has more pressing issues like uh preventing an impending apocalypse?? lmfao but yes that first year/couple months is a huge adjustment period for him, at the very least in terms of school.

the thing is at least in my non-existent fic, i was really motivated to have carol and preston be the first civilians he befriended, which would be in middle school. But then I also want them (and others) to be his classmates throughout high school too! Cause u know, they’re the civilians we know that he interacts with and gets along. I don’t think the chances of that are too off because if they all live within the same district it would be reasonable to assume they’d attend the same high school? Like not the exact same class, but there r bound to be a few familiar faces. But that’s not rlly a problem for the concept that u outlined considering they’re his friends so the whole preconceived notion thing wouldn’t play much of a role in the first place (and if anything more accurately reflect the plot of how Carol befriends him and then at that point worries about popularity getting to him, like the impulse timeline was crazy fast (understandably ig)) . Also like yes, mirroring the comics he accidentally becomes quite popular lmfao but like u said it’s high school so it’s not without its totally dramatised plot issues (i could come up with way too many honestly they’re just so entertaining especially considering like how i mentioned he wants no part in it both intentionally as well as not lol) just like the impulse run!

Certified Pretty Boy huh that’s just as much as a trait to him as it is him having brown hair (which is always! suck it red hair truthers lmfao) but yes totally!! His genes have done him well and it’s obviously the reason why everyone is in love with him (looking at u Preston /j /srs)

basically, thank u for sharing your thoughts with us <3 cause it’s just so entertaining to think about all this!! I’m not even exaggerating i could come up with so many plots about his school experience i think there’s just so much room for potential and fun and it’s pretty amusing to think about. I would love to write a fic o. it specifically (side eye to that first fic lol) but unfortunately i’ve just got one brain and set of hands and can only really focus on one fic at a time 🫠 on the bright side i am planning on covering at least a little bit of his civvie life in the next chapter of AAIT (still in its really early stages so it’ll take a while, sorry) so if anyones interested in that, stay tuned lol

[spookyprime]

Actually I do wanna draw dark tomorrow fanart... meloni is there...I can spin that Bart around in the brain blender all day...carol...

[isfjmel-phleg]

Contrast time! Impulse and Superboy both have issues featuring a surprise birthday party for the protagonist that's his first experience celebrating. But it plays out a bit differently for each.

(Impulse #22)

Most of the issue is Bart dragging Jesse Quick, who is babysitting him, along on a series of misadventures following Max, whom Bart believes is in danger. They arrive back in Manchester to find a surprise party for Bart's birthday waiting.

Max being in danger was a ruse. Iris needed Bart out of the house so she could set up the party, and Max, Jesse, and Wally were all in on it.

This is probably technically Bart's third birthday, although it's his first birthday party. No one was showing him this kind of love while he was running around in VR for two years.

The guests include his family (minus Helen, who wasn't living with Max and Bart yet, and Meloni, who wouldn't show up until #23) and his school friends Carol, Preston, Roland, and some others. (By the way, I am very amused that Roland has no idea that he spent the afternoon teaching video game techniques to the freaking Flash.)

(The Young Justice kids aren't there because the group hadn't formed yet, and the only one of them whom Bart knew at this point was Robin, whom he had recently met. And even if they had been close enough to warrant a party invitation, there's no way Tim would have been allowed to attend a civilian event like this.)

The story as a whole is light-hearted, and the emphasis is on the extent Bart's family is willing to go to to give him a happy birthday. He gets to celebrate surrounded by people who love him. It's very sweet.

(Superboy Annual #2)

Kon's first birthday is eventful. He makes a televised appearance at a charity event (where a grateful mother brings up the uncomfortable issue of his nonexistent parents), returns to Cadmus, comes face to face with the twelve failed clones who preceded him, meets and fights with his gradually deteriorating eldest "brother," finds out that he was cloned from Cadmus director Paul Westfield, and watches Experiment 1 die (and says it's like losing a part of himself). He has just come from a semi-helpful pep talk from Clark, who is too busy to stick around for the "red-letter day," and returns home to a surprise party.

Tana has done the math on how long it's been since Kon escaped from Cadmus and, with the begrudging help of Roxy, puts together a party for her boyfriend's first birthday apparently without once stopping to register how creepy it is that she is dating someone who literally just turned a year old.

The guest list is an interesting mix. Tana, of course. Dubbilex, Rex, Roxy, and Krypto, who live with Kon. FBI agent Sam Makoa, who...tolerates him. A few school friends. A boy in a red shirt and glasses whom the DC wiki identifies as Bart (whom Kon hardly knows at this point, goodness knows how Tana got hold of him). The truant officer who makes Kon's life miserable. Some of Tana's co-workers, I think. Note the guy with the video camera! Tana is having this televised. Of course she is. Just think of the ratings for a heartwarming news story like this!

Quite a few people show up, but note everyone's body language. With the exception of Tana's hug and Makoa doing a stiff hand-on-the-shoulder, no one's getting too close to Kon. These are not people on especially warm, close terms. Cf. Bart's guests above, who are drawn in tighter-knit, more dynamic arrangements. Kon's guests are more distanced and sometimes are just faceless silhouettes in the background.

Part of Clark's advice to Kon on how to deal with the news of a disappointing lineage was "Having a strong family helps." Dubbilex's comment, "For better or worse--for what it's worth--we are your family!"...isn't exactly reassuring.

There are people in Kon's life who care enough to throw him a party, and he's touched by this gesture. But all the same, there's something oddly missing from all this.