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Memories
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7s_prompts. All characters in this are memories or NPCs.]
6. "The trick is not how much pain you feel - but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live, excuses, excuses, excuses." - Erica Jong
"Thanks for dinner, Aunt Martha," Kon said. He put his napkin on the table and leaned back. "And the apple pie? I think this was your best one ever."
Aunt Martha laughed. "You say that every time, Conner."
"That's cause it's true every time." Kon picked up his plate and Aunt Martha's and brought them to the sink.
"Oh, no, you don't have to do those." Aunt Martha stepped in front of him, deftly pulling the plates out of his hands.
"I wanna help."
"You already did a week's worth of farm chores in an hour. You've done enough. And you've got a long flight ahead of you to get back to school."
Kon grinned. "Worth it, though. How people who can't fly deal with not being able to get home, I'll never know."
Aunt Martha chuckled. "Go see if there's anything you want to bring back with you."
"If you're sure..."
"Go, go!" Aunt Martha shook her head. "Really, it's more than enough that you come to visit me."
Kon grinned and flew upstairs.
He grabbed a bag and shoved a few extra pairs of underwear, some comics, the Wendy season he'd accidentally left at home, some slippers, random stuff. On a whim he looked under his bed.
Martha had kept it pretty clean. He had several shoes lined up neatly and...
A box.
He pulled it out. He knew this box. And he couldn't believe he'd forgotten it. He opened it. It was filled with photos.
He'd never told any of his friends about this box. It wasn't even that they'd make fun of him, more that he just didn't want to share it all. It had lots of old pictures, sure, from when stuffing photos in a box made sense, but he'd kept printing them out once his camera went digital. It wasn't quite a scrapbook and he didn't really go through it that much, but he liked having it.
The stuff at the top was most recent. Bart and Cissie's engagement party. Krypto and Aunt Martha. Kal in his New Krypton garb with Kara and Alura. The Frenzied Spork and crew. Cassie and Kara. Steph and Cass. The Legion. The camping trip.
He rushed a little through the pictures of him and Cassie, him and Tim, Tim and Cassie, the three of them. He didn't feel like he could skip them, but as much as he was making progress on the being over it thing, he didn't need the reminder.
That was all from before he died. Then came a bunch from his years with the Titans. The first one Superboy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Robin making faces at the camera. A green rabbit was sitting on Tim's head. Starfire was glaring at all of them. Cyborg just looked resigned. Raven's face was unreadable. Then a series of pictures Bart had taken when trying to figure out Kon's camera. Kon wasn't sure why he'd kept them, but they were nice. Random walls and cabinets and rooms and hello, Kory's legs. Kon grinned a little.
There were more. Bart with a Green Lantern tattoo. Cassie flying. Tim glaring at the camera. Kon with his arm around Tim making him stand for a picture. Mia sunbathing. Gar in half a dozen forms, only occasionally including his own. A bunch of candid shots. Some posed shots.
Kon grinned. Things had really been happy then. When had life stopped being this fun?
He went on.
The next bunch of photos were a mix of Young Justice and CADMUS labs. Sterling Roquette glaring. A bunch of blurred pictures of Bart until there was one where Kon was clearly holding him still with his TTK. Greta and Anita. Cissie and Tim. Slobo. Kon remembered taking that one. Slobo had broken the camera a minute later because apparently the light was blinking at him funny. Red Tornado and Traya. How had Kon fallen out of contact with them? Snapper and Ray. Another two people he hadn't seen in years. Dubbilex. The Guardian. The Newsboy Legion. Kon flying and goofing around. People clearly mad at him. Still. Good times.
And then at the bottom of the box, even earlier pictures. Roxy and Rex on the beach with the other Krypto, the one Bibbo had given him. Dubbilex and Rex arguing. Some stills from that stupid cartoon. Roxy and Tana talking very intensely about something. Tana flying with Kon. Kissing Tana. Knockout tackling him into the sand. Knockout kissing him during a group photo while Roxy and Tana glared. Roxy training to be a cop. The Ravers. That first meeting with Tim. His stupid fade cut. Getting his ear pierced. That first publicity shot from when he'd first hit the scene. Even a few, very rare, shots with Superman or the Supergirl who'd been around then.
Kon sighed and put the photos back in the box. Then he leaned against his bed and looked up. Things had been so happy and carefree back then. Sunlight, laughter, not a care in the world.
Except.
Tana died. Knockout betrayed him. Tim lost his dad and Steph faked her death. Greta went evil. Traya almost killed her mother. Kon learned who his "other dad" was. Cassie learned who her dad was. Cissie quit. Cissie lost contact. Tim had the clench. Bart lost Max. Kon lost the Guardian. Harm. Kon went evil. Cissie tried to kill someone. Bart watched his scout die. Kon watched Bart's scout die. The world without Young Justice. Old Justice's crusade against Young Justice. Match. Worries about having a soul. Trying to deal with Krypto and his early days of having a secret ID. Superboy: The Event. Ending up drugged as a slave on an island controlled by animals. Black Zero. Almost dying time and time again. Almost watching friends die time and time again.
But he remembered it being fun.
He closed his eyes and tried to think back to now. How would he see the good parts?
He was alive, to start with. That was pretty good. Bart and Cissie were happy. College was less sucky than he'd feared, even if sharing a room with someone who didn't know his secret ID sucked. They were publishing Wendy comics. And that series he'd loved so much that had been canceled way back when they were Young Justice was once again being published. He had family in Aunt Martha and Kara and Krypto, even Kal and Lois to an extent. He was single, but he did enjoy flirting with college girls. He was living in Hawaii again.
He grinned and pushed the box back under his bed. He'd save it for another time that he needed it.
He walked down the stairs with his bag and kissed Aunt Martha's cheek. She smiled at him and handed him a container with extra pie, as well as the leftovers from their meals. "Just in case," she said.
"Thanks." He smiled. "You're the best."
"Oh, you'll make me blush." She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Go. You'll visit again soon?"
"Yeah, this food won't last me forever!" Kon grinned.
Aunt Martha laughed. "Then I'll see you soon."
"Yeah." Kon hugged her. "See you later."
He flew out the door and into the sky. The sun had already set, but if Kon flew fast enough, he could make it home in time to watch it set again in Hawaii.
7s_prompts. All characters in this are memories or NPCs.]6. "The trick is not how much pain you feel - but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live, excuses, excuses, excuses." - Erica Jong
"Thanks for dinner, Aunt Martha," Kon said. He put his napkin on the table and leaned back. "And the apple pie? I think this was your best one ever."
Aunt Martha laughed. "You say that every time, Conner."
"That's cause it's true every time." Kon picked up his plate and Aunt Martha's and brought them to the sink.
"Oh, no, you don't have to do those." Aunt Martha stepped in front of him, deftly pulling the plates out of his hands.
"I wanna help."
"You already did a week's worth of farm chores in an hour. You've done enough. And you've got a long flight ahead of you to get back to school."
Kon grinned. "Worth it, though. How people who can't fly deal with not being able to get home, I'll never know."
Aunt Martha chuckled. "Go see if there's anything you want to bring back with you."
"If you're sure..."
"Go, go!" Aunt Martha shook her head. "Really, it's more than enough that you come to visit me."
Kon grinned and flew upstairs.
He grabbed a bag and shoved a few extra pairs of underwear, some comics, the Wendy season he'd accidentally left at home, some slippers, random stuff. On a whim he looked under his bed.
Martha had kept it pretty clean. He had several shoes lined up neatly and...
A box.
He pulled it out. He knew this box. And he couldn't believe he'd forgotten it. He opened it. It was filled with photos.
He'd never told any of his friends about this box. It wasn't even that they'd make fun of him, more that he just didn't want to share it all. It had lots of old pictures, sure, from when stuffing photos in a box made sense, but he'd kept printing them out once his camera went digital. It wasn't quite a scrapbook and he didn't really go through it that much, but he liked having it.
The stuff at the top was most recent. Bart and Cissie's engagement party. Krypto and Aunt Martha. Kal in his New Krypton garb with Kara and Alura. The Frenzied Spork and crew. Cassie and Kara. Steph and Cass. The Legion. The camping trip.
He rushed a little through the pictures of him and Cassie, him and Tim, Tim and Cassie, the three of them. He didn't feel like he could skip them, but as much as he was making progress on the being over it thing, he didn't need the reminder.
That was all from before he died. Then came a bunch from his years with the Titans. The first one Superboy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Robin making faces at the camera. A green rabbit was sitting on Tim's head. Starfire was glaring at all of them. Cyborg just looked resigned. Raven's face was unreadable. Then a series of pictures Bart had taken when trying to figure out Kon's camera. Kon wasn't sure why he'd kept them, but they were nice. Random walls and cabinets and rooms and hello, Kory's legs. Kon grinned a little.
There were more. Bart with a Green Lantern tattoo. Cassie flying. Tim glaring at the camera. Kon with his arm around Tim making him stand for a picture. Mia sunbathing. Gar in half a dozen forms, only occasionally including his own. A bunch of candid shots. Some posed shots.
Kon grinned. Things had really been happy then. When had life stopped being this fun?
He went on.
The next bunch of photos were a mix of Young Justice and CADMUS labs. Sterling Roquette glaring. A bunch of blurred pictures of Bart until there was one where Kon was clearly holding him still with his TTK. Greta and Anita. Cissie and Tim. Slobo. Kon remembered taking that one. Slobo had broken the camera a minute later because apparently the light was blinking at him funny. Red Tornado and Traya. How had Kon fallen out of contact with them? Snapper and Ray. Another two people he hadn't seen in years. Dubbilex. The Guardian. The Newsboy Legion. Kon flying and goofing around. People clearly mad at him. Still. Good times.
And then at the bottom of the box, even earlier pictures. Roxy and Rex on the beach with the other Krypto, the one Bibbo had given him. Dubbilex and Rex arguing. Some stills from that stupid cartoon. Roxy and Tana talking very intensely about something. Tana flying with Kon. Kissing Tana. Knockout tackling him into the sand. Knockout kissing him during a group photo while Roxy and Tana glared. Roxy training to be a cop. The Ravers. That first meeting with Tim. His stupid fade cut. Getting his ear pierced. That first publicity shot from when he'd first hit the scene. Even a few, very rare, shots with Superman or the Supergirl who'd been around then.
Kon sighed and put the photos back in the box. Then he leaned against his bed and looked up. Things had been so happy and carefree back then. Sunlight, laughter, not a care in the world.
Except.
Tana died. Knockout betrayed him. Tim lost his dad and Steph faked her death. Greta went evil. Traya almost killed her mother. Kon learned who his "other dad" was. Cassie learned who her dad was. Cissie quit. Cissie lost contact. Tim had the clench. Bart lost Max. Kon lost the Guardian. Harm. Kon went evil. Cissie tried to kill someone. Bart watched his scout die. Kon watched Bart's scout die. The world without Young Justice. Old Justice's crusade against Young Justice. Match. Worries about having a soul. Trying to deal with Krypto and his early days of having a secret ID. Superboy: The Event. Ending up drugged as a slave on an island controlled by animals. Black Zero. Almost dying time and time again. Almost watching friends die time and time again.
But he remembered it being fun.
He closed his eyes and tried to think back to now. How would he see the good parts?
He was alive, to start with. That was pretty good. Bart and Cissie were happy. College was less sucky than he'd feared, even if sharing a room with someone who didn't know his secret ID sucked. They were publishing Wendy comics. And that series he'd loved so much that had been canceled way back when they were Young Justice was once again being published. He had family in Aunt Martha and Kara and Krypto, even Kal and Lois to an extent. He was single, but he did enjoy flirting with college girls. He was living in Hawaii again.
He grinned and pushed the box back under his bed. He'd save it for another time that he needed it.
He walked down the stairs with his bag and kissed Aunt Martha's cheek. She smiled at him and handed him a container with extra pie, as well as the leftovers from their meals. "Just in case," she said.
"Thanks." He smiled. "You're the best."
"Oh, you'll make me blush." She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Go. You'll visit again soon?"
"Yeah, this food won't last me forever!" Kon grinned.
Aunt Martha laughed. "Then I'll see you soon."
"Yeah." Kon hugged her. "See you later."
He flew out the door and into the sky. The sun had already set, but if Kon flew fast enough, he could make it home in time to watch it set again in Hawaii.