A Yellow Ribbon
Fandom: DC Comics, Young Justice, Flashfam, Superfam
Summary: Conner's been best friends with Bart ever since they met at the carnival when they were children. The problem is that Bart can't remember meeting Conner that night. But Thad does...
Chapters: 12/?
Characters: Clark Kent, Conner Kent, Lois Lane, Bart Allen, Thaddeus Thawne, Don Allen, Meloni Allen, Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Martha Kent, Max Crandall
Relationships: KonBart, KonThad, Clois, MelonixDon, Ma/Pa Kent
Additional Tags: No Powers AU, Mistaken Identity, Possibly Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush, Twins, Lies, Stolen Moments, Unconventional Love Triangles, Misunderstandings, Childhood Friends, Complicated Relationships, Family Dynamics, Family Bonding, Best Friends, Secret Crush, Autistic Bart Allen, Autistic Thad Thawne, Thaddeus Thawne Gets a Hug, Conner Kent-centric, Bisexual Conner Kent, Conner Kent Needs a Hug, Third Person POV, Hurt Clark Kent, Boys in Love, Friendship/Love, Farm/Ranch AU, Farmboy Conner Kent, Grandparents and Grandchildren, Unconventional Families, Unconventional Relationship, Romance, Light Angst, Strangers to Lovers, Cyrano, Jewish Superfam
Chapter Twelve: CRAYDL
Conner looked around the airport until he saw Clark. “Dad!” Conner shouted. Clark ran to him, flashing the employee his ID. Clark embraced Conner and smoothed his hair back.
“Were you scared?” Clark asked as he looked Conner over.
“I cried a little bit when the plane went up in the air… But, it wasn’t so bad,” Conner answered sweetly, shrugging off the last remaining bits of anxiety. Clark crouched near Conner and held him tight before kissing Conner’s forehead.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You must be tuckered out,” Clark whispered. Conner nodded.
He held Clark’s hand and breathed through his nose. “Dad, where’s Mom?” Conner questioned.
“Picking up your surprise,” Clark answered, “Hungry?”
“Uh-huh… Wait… What surprise?” Conner questioned. Clark pointed to Lois holding a familiar little boy’s hand.
Conner looked up at Clark as if asking for permission. “His parents wouldn’t have sent him if it wasn’t okay. Go say hi to your friend,” Clark grinned. Conner released Clark’s hand, running to his friend at full force before picking him up.
“Bart, what are you doing here?” Conner questioned.
Thad swallowed hard as he wrapped his arms around Conner, squeezing him in an unusually intense embrace. “My mom and dad said I could stay with you for a few weeks,” Thad whispered, still unable to let go. Conner smiled, waiting until Thad was ready to let go. “I’ve never had a sleepover before. I’m so excited.”
Conner held Thad’s hand. “Now, we don’t have to stop talking early to log off. We could play until we fall asleep,” Conner beamed. Thad and Conner followed Lois and Clark to the car.
Thad looked out the window at everything. The buildings. The statues. The murals. It was so much on his senses, but he loved every moment of it. “Do you kids wanna get loaded fries and milkshakes?” Lois asked.
“At Do-Si’s?” Conner asked.
“You know it, sweetheart,” Lois answered. Thad chewed his lip as he turned to Conner, and he pulled something out of his bag.
“Can I take a picture?” Thad asked.
“Sure. And can I take one of you after?” Conner questioned in reply. Both boys giggled and made faces at the little camera.
**
At Clark and Lois’ apartment, Conner and Thad lay on the floor together watching TV and drawing pictures. Thad yawned. “Are you sleepy?” Conner asked. Thad shook his head. “Bart, can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Thad replied.
“How’d you get better?” Conner questioned.
Thad sat up, politely crisscrossing his legs as he remembered the grueling process. “Someone donated their stem cells to me,” Thad replied. Conner cocked his head before sitting up to listen better.
“What’s that?” Conner asked. “Does it hurt?”
“Not really… Um, the person who gave me the stem cells had to get a shot every day for five days… And then, after they get their fifth shot, they go and get a needle put in them that takes their blood out and puts it back in, and it does that for a long time. Sometimes that’s uncomfortable. They can’t get up to go to the bathroom or anything the whole time… So, sometimes a nurse has to give them calcium through their blood in a bag, and it makes them feel better,” Thad explained, “But I had to stay in the hospital a little while longer to make sure it worked… And the other person had to stay away from a lot of people too, so they wouldn’t get sick.”
“How come?” Conner asked.
“‘Cause it weakens your immune system. If you don’t have healthy stem cells and someone gets you sick, you could be sick for a long time. And if you give stem cells to somebody else, your body has to take time to get strong again. But we’re both okay now,” Thad reassured Conner after seeing the distress in his eyes.
Conner took a shaky breath before kneeling forward to hug Thad. “I’m glad you’re better. I never forget to pray for you. So, I’m glad it worked. I don’t know what I would do without my best friend,” Conner whispered as he held a startled Thad in his warm embrace. Thad slowly reciprocated, overwhelmed by the amount of affection but not averse to it.
Thad wondered what it would’ve been like had he told the truth the first time. He wondered if Conner would’ve liked him the same. His lips twitched into a smile, but he wanted to cry. Conner released him and brushed his temple with his palm as if he’d forgotten something important. “Oh! Bart, I go to temple with my dad once a week, but you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Mom said she’d take you somewhere fun if you didn’t want to go,” Conner explained.
Thad listened to Conner describe temple shortly after that, and he smiled at Conner’s expression. “Can I come and see?” Thad questioned.
“Sure! I’ll tell my dad,” Conner smiled. Clark entered the room.
“Tell your dad what?” Clark teased as he sat down on the floor.
Conner kneeled and placed his hands on Clark’s shoulder before resting his chin there. “Can Bart come to temple?” Conner asked. Clark nodded. “Is it time to go to bed?”
“‘Fraid so… We’ve got a big day planned tomorrow. And we’re getting donuts first,” Clark whispered, “Brush your teeth, and I’ll be there to turn out the lights and say goodnight in a minute.”
**
Thad woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, and he reached into his bag, looking for his stuffed animal. “No… No, no, no—.” Thad started to panic once he realized Bart had his stuffie at summer camp when they decided to switch places.
Conner stirred, turning on his side as he watched Thad struggle for air, and he sat up once he was lucid enough to realize something was wrong. “Bart? Is something wrong?” Conner asked. Thad hugged his knees, hiding his face as he trembled and gasped for air. Conner climbed out of his bed and rubbed Thad’s back. “Do you feel sick? Is it your stomach?”
Thad shook his head. “It’s embarrassing,” Thad mumbled once he caught his breath.
“You can tell me. I won’t make fun of you. I promise,” Conner whispered. He stopped and squinted in the dark. “Did you wet the bed?”
“No,” Thad whimpered as he started to cry.
Conner climbed into the bed beside him, and he pulled him into a half-hug. “What’s wrong? I won’t laugh at you. I promise,” Conner reassured. Thad looked up at Conner as tears streamed down his cheeks.
“I didn’t bring CRAYDL with me,” Thad confessed.
“What’s a CRAYDL? Maybe my dad could find you another—.”
Thad shook his head. “CRAYDL is my stuffie,” Thad mumbled. Conner softened and nodded.
“I know it’s not the same, but I can sleep in your bed tonight,” Conner offered, “I’m sorry you’re scared.” Thad tried to calm down, so he wouldn’t hurt Conner’s feelings, and Conner climbed under the blankets.
“You won’t be mad to stay here all night?” Thad asked. Conner shook his head.
“It’s okay. Try to close your eyes. I’m not going anywhere, Bart. I promise,” Conner reassured him. He shut his eyes, and patted Thad’s knee until he scrunched down in bed and closed his eyes. Conner lay on his stomach, and Thad lay on his back, letting Conner reach over his chest with a gentle but heavy arm.
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