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Kon didn’t want to seem impatient. He didn’t want to seem like he was bad at understanding the world. He just didn’t know how Tim didn’t know that he liked him. Everyone else — literally everyone else — knew that Kon had a crush on Tim. But Tim himself? Completely oblivious. And Kon thought that was okay.
But then he heard Tim mention he was Bi. Kon flew over immediately. He saw a blond at the same table as Tim, but that didn’t matter. He needed to clarify what he heard.
“So, you’re bi?”
Tim looked confused, before he said, “Oh, you heard that.” Kon nodded. “Yeah. I, uh, I am. I like more than just one gender. Romantically, that is.”
Kon hummed. He knew it sounded like a whine. “I like boys too,” he blurted without thinking.
Tim’s eyes widened, his cheeks tinted with color. “That’s great. I’m happy for you, Kon.”
“You too, uh, I mean. I’m proud of you too,” said an awkward clone boy.
“Yeah, so. I’m studying right now, but—”
“I’ll get out of your hair,” assured Kon. He was freaking out. I have a chance. I have a chance. I have a chance.
He left as quickly as he came. A part of him didn’t want to screw up what they had. Their friendship was amazing. It wasn’t messy and there was no drama except for what Tim was willing to do in order to save people. Sometimes he went too far, like taking a hit from an unknown ray gun that made his snot purple for a week.
A month later, he heard that Tim and Bernard officially started dating. Bernard, being the blond that Kon didn’t think much of. Kon cursed himself. He should have asked Tim out right then and there.
Then Tim asked if Bernard could hang out with their group. A lunch meet-up or something. Introducing the boyfriend to the friends.
Cassie and Bart immediately signed on. Kon, however, was more hesitant. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he was jealous of what Bernard and Tim had.
Bart helpfully said, “Dude, I’ll be there to be a buffer. Cassie too. We know you two value your friendship. We won’t let you guys ruin it.”
Bart was a great friend. It’s why Kon ended up agreeing to the lunch meeting. Plus, he kind of thought Bernard was nice-looking. Blond, blue-eyed, physically fit, and just as insane as Tim. It was adorable how two smart people combined to be so chaotic.
Oh shit.
Kon was in trouble. He was just doing research. Yeah, research. To make sure that Bernard wasn’t a dud. It was Tim’s first official relationship (that he knew of) so he wanted to check the guy’s history. Bernard came back with green lights. He was cunning, ambitious, creative, and great at marketing himself. Kon had watched his Youtube videos for hours. Cassie got so upset that she threw him out a window after he didn’t leave his room for 4 days. The videos were addictive to stream.
Maybe Kon was looking too deep into all of this. He didn’t have feelings for someone he hadn’t officially met in-person… right?
When the date of the lunch meet-up approached, Kon became anxious. He kept hearing Tim’s voice, even when he was in Gotham. Tim knew he listened in. Tim okayed it. Said that if Kon ever needed something to focus on if he was overstimulated, then Tim would try to help. Then, it just became a thing. If Tim ever said anything bizarre or worrying, Kon would send him a text.
It was their thing. It was normal. It wasn’t weird.
Kon was beginning to think that Tim was uber-dense about feelings. Like, Stephanie met Kon once, said to keep away from her baby brother unless he was serious about it, then walked away. Kon couldn’t form a sentence for half an hour until Cissie asked him what was wrong. If Stephanie was able to clock his crush in 3 minutes, why couldn’t Tim over the years they’ve known one another?
The lunch meet-up was at a place just outside of Gotham’s county line. Technically, Batman couldn’t get mad at metas if they weren’t officially inside of his territory. At least, that’s what Kon hoped. Tim was reasonably confident about it over the phone, so they followed his lead.
The restaurant was a fish and chip place. When Kon, Cassie, and Bart arrived, Tim was ordering their food at the stand-up line and Bernard was getting their drinks. Tim, the control freak he was, asked what they wanted beforehand so he could pay for it without arguments.
Did this count as a date?
Bart practically skipped over to Bernard. The blond looked up in surprise. After a few moments of realization, he said, “Oh, hi. You’re Bart, right?” Bart nodded his head quickly, a wide smile forming on his face. “I’m Bernard.” They shook hands just in time for Cassie to pull up.
“I’m Cassandra, call me Cassie.”
“Conner.”
“It’s great to meet you all,” said Bernard, his eyes kind and sincere. He glanced back to where Tim was paying at the counter. “You're his best friends, if I’m correct.”
Cassie stood up straighter at the title. “We’d like to think so.”
Bart, the charming boy he was, said, “I heard you’re into conspiracies. What are your favorites?”
Bernard talked about the Loch Ness Monster for at least 10 entire minutes before their food arrived, causing the topics to switch up. Kon was confused. Tim didn’t even look annoyed. He just sat there with his big blue eyes looking all in love and shit. It was adorable how fond Tim was of the civilian, but surely Tim could do better.
Kon may have been thinking that he was the better option. Maybe.
Then, Tim casually mentioned, “He’s okay with out-of-the-norm relationships.”
Kon said, “Is this about the polycule thing with your parents?” Jack, Janet, and Dana were a thing. Kon had never heard of 3 people being in a loving committed relationship until Tim brought up his parents.
Bernard hummed. “I do know about them. It’s pretty cool. Having 4 parents sounds fun.”
Tim gave him a strange look. “4?”
Bernard raised an eyebrow. “Are you not counting Bruce as a parent?” Tim tilted his head, then nodded. “Yeah. You have 4 parents, Tim. That’s double the amount than most people.”
Cassie laughed at that, then dipped her breaded cod in tartar sauce. “You’re great, Bernard. Don’t let Tim scare you off. You’ll see through his general weirdness and learn to love it.”
Bernard scoffed. “We’ve known one another since freshman year. I think I know almost all of Tim’s weird quirks.” He turned to Tim, his pointy finger pointing at him. “Speaking of that; Tim, why do you like artichokes on your pizza?”
Before Tim could defend himself, Cassie said, “Right!? He likes weird combinations. It’s bizarre.” Bernard nodded along with her.
They were bonding.
Kon felt betrayed. He thought Cassie and Bart were on his side. They would try to get along with Tim’s civilian boyfriend, but they would also root for Kon to win him over.
To put simply, Kon hated every waking moment he was at the lunch meet-up.
Aside from the way Tim smiled. Or the look Bernard shared with Kon, as if they were in on a joke.
The next few weeks didn’t get any better. Every time Kon listened in on Tim, he was usually talking to Bernard. Or, he was on patrol. Which wasn’t very fun to listen in on. Usually, it was grunting from fights. Or the sound of Tim’s increased heartbeat during a more difficult fight. Apparently, the League of Assassins started to infiltrate Gotham again, much to the Batclan’s annoyance.
But then Tim started to invite Kon over for movie nights. With Bernard. And they were happy during it. Kon was very confused. He didn’t mind hanging out with them. They were actually pretty cool about it. Tim sat in the middle, with Kon and Bernard on either side.
They were watching Up, when Tim got up to make popcorn. Bernard paused it, saying that Up deserved respect.
Then Bernard said to Kon, “So, do you know why we keep inviting you?”
Kon honestly didn’t. He half expected Anita or Greta to walk through the door to watch the movie too.
“Okay, so…” Bernard’s eyes flickered, clearly mulling things over. “Tim likes you. And I don’t mind sharing.”
…. What?
Bernard continued, “He doesn’t want to admit it, but I know you like him too. If I wasn’t around, I’m sure you two would have been dating by now.”
Kon seriously doubted that. Tim didn’t seem to pick up on any of Kon’s flirting.
The blond said, “Apparently, he tries to not read-in on things too much. He mentioned something about not having the right memories or something. It was weird. He was cagey about it. But, he did say that he purposely didn’t think of any gestures as romantic because he didn’t want to assume.”
Kon paused. That seemed correct. Tim was very careful about how he interacted with people. He showed affection easily, but there was no tension there. His Batclan members, for one, were always hugging him, patting his head, or cuddling with him.
Kon slowly realized that he wasn’t being obvious enough.
“I’ve literally said to him, ‘hey, do you wanna go out?’ Tim said ‘yeah’ and then he showed up with Cass and Steph because he thought it was a stake-out,” said Kon.
Bernard nodded his head. He looked like he understood Kon’s pain.
“He didn’t know we were on a date until I asked if he was having a good time.”
Kon covered his face with his hands. He sighed out, “Does Tim know I like him?”
“You should ask him out.”
Kon side-eyed Bernard. “Without you?”
The blond paused. “Did you want me too?”
“... I wouldn’t mind it. I mean, I don’t know you very well but—”
Bernard said, “I like you so far. We’d have to work out things later, of course. But, just knowing you over the past few weeks, I’m not inclined to hate you.” He winked. The mother fucker winked. “You’re pretty nice on the eyes. And you seem to have a heart of gold.”
Kon was speechless. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t normal. He knew because Cadmus programmed him to be a certain way. Filled his head with what a marriage was supposed to be. But… but it sounded amazing. Having Tim and Bernard.
Then, Tim walked back in with a bowl of popcorn. He greeted, “You can play the movie now.” He sat down between them, holding the tub of popcorn with a small smile.
Bernard said in a serious tone, “I can’t do that yet.”
Tim paused, his eyes full of confusion. “Why not?”
Bernard was staring at him. Kon sucked in a deep breath. Tim turned to him, still confused. Kon blurted, “I love you.”
Tim’s cheeks, chest, and ears went red. Bernard cooed at it while Kon tried to tone his own blush.
Tim squeaked out, “What was that?”
“I love you,” he repeated, more confident this time. “And since Bernard doesn't mind, I’d like to date you too. And Bernard.”
Bernard chimed in helpfully, “A throuple. It’ll be hot.”
Kon knew what he wanted. Bernard was vocal about what he was okay with.
All they needed was Tim's answer.
Tim closed his eyes. Kon glanced at Bernard. They both knew that face. Tim was processing what was going on around him, and weighing what option was best.
“Okay,” uttered Tim. He used his right hand to grab Kon’s hand, then his left hand to grab Bernard’s hand. “I do love you both. So I guess… Yeah. This is nice.”
Kon couldn’t hear anything but Tim’s words as they repeated in his head.
Bernard unpaused the television. Up started to play again.
All Kon could do was stare at his hand, clasped into Tim’s. Then, he looked above Tim’s head. Bernard was staring right back, a wicked smile on his face.
Did I just acquire two boyfriends?