Summary: Tim adopts a pup and moves to a small rural town to hide her from her violent parents. To hide his omega scent and keep them safe, he pretends to be a beta who works in a flower shop. Kon eventually discovers his secret. At first, Tim is hesitant to trust an alpha like Kon but he can’t ignore the growing attraction between them.
Part 1 // [Part 2] // Part 3
“No, I don’t wanna go to bed! Not tired and wanna play with Papa.” Marina cried and ran away from Tim as though distance would allow her to escape a curfew. He groaned and followed her to the far corner of the room where she ducked behind the couch. With the small crawl space between the chair and wall, it was impossible for him to follow. He knew that it would be difficult to catch her too. If he went to the other side of the couch, she would merely crawl to the opposite end again.
“Marina, it’s time for bed. Growing pups need to sleep or else they’ll never be tall and strong. You can spend time with Conner in the morning, I promise. Wouldn’t it be better to have the energy to play?” He knelt at one opening and tried to reason with the child. Her response was a stubborn frown and a shake of her head. Marina had always been a reserved child so he didn’t know what he should do with her tantrum. He didn’t want to yell at her when they were both stressed with the move and the night’s revelations.
“Uncle Dick said that life is hard but good people will be rewarded, even if it takes years. I was brave and the world let Mama find me. I continued to be good and Papa can live with us now!” She explained. In a child’s mind, Dick’s encouragement was a promise from the world. Tim was reminded of everything she went through and how she had to hold onto the little hope she could. Sympathy and love almost swayed him to allow her to stay up late and play with her chosen father.
In the corner of his eyes, he saw a hand reach past him. Tim instinctively moved to block the opening and protect Marina. Kon was faster. He pressed his hand against the couch’s back and then swept it off the ground. Both Tim and Marina had to stare in shock at his strength. He grinned down at them as he set the couch away from the wall so she could no longer use it to hide. However, any thought of hiding disappeared in Marina’s mind as her attention was on Kon now.
“Can you pick up the couch while I’m on it? It’ll be like a magic carpet!” Her eyes shone with awe and wonder as she made the request. Before Marina was able to climb onto the couch, Kon lifted her away and set her on the ground. Her face crumpled at his assumed refusal. Then, he smiled at her softly and ruffled her thick hair.
“Don’t you want your toys and dolls to enjoy the ride as well? You can go get them. I’ll wait here. We got nothing but time, Kid.” Kon settled onto the couch. Seeing that he intended to stay and play with her, her grin returned and she dashed down the hall to her room. Every few steps she took, she looked over her shoulder to him as though she was afraid he would disappear.
Tim crossed his arms and moved in front of him. Though alphas were known for being the protective members of the pack, Kon was certain that Tim was prepared to bare his fangs at him. Kon tilted a friendly smile at him so he wouldn’t see him as a threat. He appeared to be far from swayed though. He whispered harshly: “We need to talk and I don’t want my daughter to overhear us.”
“If you try to put her to sleep your way, she would just sneak out of bed and eavesdrop on us. Trust me, I know how to handle kids. I have young siblings and I’m their favourite babysitter for a reason.”
“Because you let them stay up past midnight?” He shot back. The sarcasm in his voice didn’t appear to bother him as he merely laughed back. Kon’s posture only changed when Tim whispered: “Are you a meta?”
The suspicion was reasonable since he was able to lift the sofa without much effort. Tim knew that he should be more tactful with his question but they were beyond that. He needed to protect Marina and information was his best weapon. Kon thought for a moment before he answered. “Something like that. You probably want to ask about Cadmus too. I’ll tell you everything but only after Marina is asleep and she can’t hear us.”
Marina returned and forced their conversation to a standstill. She was oblivious to the tension in the room as she set a small army of stuffed animals onto the couch. The armful of toys were only a small portion of her collection so she needed to run back to gather the rest. Bruce was worried about Marina feeling lonely in a new town so he bought her a trove of plushies and dolls.
She finally had her friends gathered on the couch by the fourth trip. Marina climbed up to join them but her movements were much slower now. Then, surrounded by soft plushies, she promptly fell asleep. Kon draped his jacket over the small girl. His jacket acted as a blanket and blocked the candlelight to not wake her. “Pups have a lot of energy but they’re out like a light after playing. I noticed she had a lot of toys and it would take a while to bring them all here.”
Tim knelt next to Marina and carefully lifted the jacket to check that she wasn’t pretending to sleep again. Her soft snoring and relaxed expression reassured him that she was fast asleep. He briefly weighed whether he should carry her to bed against the risk that would wake her again. In the end, he lightly kissed her cheek and set the warm jacket back over her.
“Now that she’s asleep, let’s talk. We should do that in my flower shop downstairs just in case she wakes up. I don’t want her to overhear anything.” Tim waited for Kon to stand before he did the same. He led him to the staircase leading to the main storefront.
They stopped in the center of the shop where they were surrounded by flowers. Tim had drawn the curtains when closing the stores earlier so the only evidence of the flowers was the mixture of scents circling them. He looked through the shadows to Kon standing in front of him. Most would light a candle and provide a little clarity for their conversation. The darkness gave Tim a sense of safety.
They stared at each other for a few minutes. Both were observing the other and trying to decide whether they could give their trust to a stranger. They both held a secret: Kon was a Cadmus experiment and Tim was Red Robin. The situation was far more complicated for Tim because he needed to think of Marina. If she knew that Cadmus was looking for her, she would doubt the sense of safety he worked hard to build for her. The trust they developed over a year would be shattered in a night.
“There’s not a place that Cadmus can take Marina that you won’t find? I wish that I had someone like that at her age.” Kon repeated Tim’s threat from earlier that night. He had to chuckle at the irony. “You asked if I’m a meta. I was born human but then Cadmus… It’s not something I like to remember. I’m free now and that’s all that matters. I don’t know your story with Cadmus but Smallville is the best place to hide. You’re both safe here, I promise.”
Tim let out the breath that he was holding. Throughout the past hour, he had been terrified and prepared to flee the town with Marina. He finally allowed himself to let down his guard with Kon. If they were both hiding from Cadmus, they could protect each other. He leaned back against a display table and felt petals against his back. Since the vase didn’t fall, he continued to rest on the spot.
“Marina is a cute pup. Based on the little I overheard and your reaction to Cadmus, she was an experiment like me. I thought that they gave up on playing with people’s DNA. I should give them a little visit and remind them why the experiments should’ve ended with me.” Tim immediately shook his head. The reaction surprised Kon since he had been so protective of his daughter earlier. He assumed he would’ve wanted to take down Cadmus.
“I rescued Marina a year ago and Cadmus has been searching for her ever since. I can’t risk provoking them or drawing attention to us. That’s why I left the city. My family doesn’t know about Cadmus or my vigilante life. They think I came to Smallville to give Marina a simple life.” He added the lie to protect his family. While they had a mutual enemy in Cadmus, he didn’t know whether that was enough to trust him with Red Robin’s secrets.
Luckily, Kon didn’t question his claim. He held up his pinky and gave him a boyish smile. “I’ll keep your secret, Wonder Boy.”
“That’s not what I’m most concerned about right now.” Tim swallowed and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind since Kon appeared outside his window. “Marina has nightmares. Will she ever be able to forget the needles and experiments?”
The way Kon laughed so easily gave Tim hope that his daughter wouldn’t always be haunted by her time in Cadmus. Each time she woke up crying from a nightmare, he would hold and comfort her. He wished that there was more he could do though. Tim knew better than most about how trauma didn’t have an instant cure. Nevertheless, he still felt useless when her nightmares returned. He vowed to give her a bright future when he adopted her.
“I wish that I could say that I don’t think about Cadmus everyday. But it’s easier to focus on other things with a little time and distance.” Kon’s smile wavered for only a moment but Tim caught the change. “Marina seems like a strong and willful pup. She’ll be able to overcome any nightmare. Has she developed any super powers?”
“No, they were still in the early stages of the serum injection.” The concern in Kon’s expression didn’t leave even with his answer. Tim could read his thoughts. He must’ve had the same worry he did. A year had passed but he still needed to be wary of lingering effects from the experiments. “This might surprise you but Marina isn’t usually like that. I don’t know what I’ll do if she adds superstrength to that tantrum.”
“In one night, your well behaved pup became a tornado. I never thought I was that bad an influence.” Kon joked, expecting Tim to scowl at him. Most parents would prefer a child who was quiet and well behaved.
To his surprise, a relieved chuckle left Tim’s lips. He was confused by the response but he allowed the sound to settle between them. The way his face softened when he spoke about his daughter gave Kon the answer. “She’s finally being a kid. Even in Gotham with my big family, she was withdrawn. I was worried it could become worse after moving to Smallville. Meeting you helped her.”
He knew the reason for Marina’s newfound confidence was because Kon was the parent who she had truly been waiting for. That left Tim questioning his place as her mother. Tim had always worried whether he could be the parent a pup needed. He loved Marina as though he had given birth to her. However, he hadn’t been prepared for parenthood nor did he have the best people to imitate for the role.
He would push aside any doubts when she called him ‘Mama’. Now, he had to question so much. Did she only see him as a placeholder and wouldn’t need him after finding Kon? Would he be a better parent than Tim since he understood her pain more? No matter the answers to those questions, Marina was his daughter and he would protect her.
“It’s late. You can sleep on the couch.” Tim offered. “Marina will be upset when she wakes up and can’t find her father. We should talk to her about that in the morning. Most alphas don’t want a child pushed on them. I’ve been raising Marina as a single beta for a year and we’ve gotten by fine. You don’t need to feel obligated to help us. I just need your vow to protect us from Cadmus. I’ll do the same for you.”
“And if I want to stay and help?” The question came out before Kon could think better. He had sensed how guarded Tim had been since they fought in the alley. Even if he decided to trust him, he wouldn’t let someone into their family easily. He had to ask though. Marina reminded him of himself when he first escaped. “If the serum does give her powers, I can help her. I know what she’s going through.”
“What kind of powers should I watch for? I have a few friends with superpowers whom I can go to for advice. Of course, that’s if Marina develops them at all.”
Kon stepped forward and lifted his hands. Still cautious, Tim instinctively moved backwards to evade his hand and possible attack. The display table blocked his path and scraped against the floor with his movement. He quickly recovered though. He set his hands on the ledge and used it as an anchor to lift himself higher. Tim set a foot on Kon’s shoulder, prepared to kick him away.
Then, Tim felt the vase behind him tip and fall. He tried to catch the flowers but he only lost his balance in the process. He knew that he couldn’t save the vase or himself so he braced himself for the crash. His body tensed for a fall that lingered longer than it should’ve. He realized that he was suspended mid-fall with the flowers circling him.
“Have you ever heard of tactile telekinesis, Red Robin?” The smirk in his voice should’ve irritated Tim but there was a honey drawl to his voice that softened the taunt. Kon placed his hand on his leg and a subtle pressure surrounded them. He didn’t need to say anything further for him to realize that it was his telekinetic field. The hand, gentle yet firm, was more concerning to Tim. He was distinctly aware of the position they were in.
Even if his opponent was a meta, Tim refused to give in so easily. He grabbed Kon’s collar and pulled himself up again. He moved so quickly that he couldn’t react until their faces were a breath apart and there was a batarang against his cheek. “You have a natural field around yourself that allows you to project your will over objects. The further you stretch that field, the weaker it is. Hence, being limited to touch and tactile telekinese.”
“You can explain the concept but will you be able to teach it to a kid? I’ve been in Marina’s shoes. I wished that I had someone who cared like you. I also wanted someone who told me that my abilities weren’t scary. Look, Tim, I understand that you want to protect your daughter. That’s what I want as well. Let me help you. I can even watch Marina at night while you go out as Red Robin.”
He found it difficult to argue. He looked into his keep blue eyes and searched for a hint of malice or lies. They weren’t related but Marina’s appearance was similar to Kon. Tim had seen her afraid even as she forced a brave smile. Did Kon do the same? If so, he would be the best person to help her. Marina already trusted him and she had so few people.
He slowly lowered his knife from his cheek and then slipped it back into his sleeve. In turn, his TTK field eased around them and the flowers fell harmlessly to the ground. He let go of his leg and Tim eased himself back into a less guarded position on the table. Each move was a silent exchange between them. Kon held up his hand, cautious that he had another batarang. Warm fingers brushed over his temple before he plucked a petal from his hair.
Tim tilted his head back and studied Kon’s face. For the first time that night, it wasn’t as Red Robin studying a potential threat. He had to admit that Kon was handsome. He should be wary of an alpha so much taller than him yet he had a calming presence. Was that enough to trust him? Then, Tim remembered how he protected Marina in the alleyway.
“Are you going to kiss?” The question startled both of them. They followed the voice to the staircase where Marina was watching. Tim’s face became bright red. He wanted to turn away and hide but he was trapped between Kon and the table. The young girl didn’t notice how flustered he was and continued: “Auntie Steph said only people who love each other kiss. If someone I don’t like tries to kiss me, I must tell her. Does Mama and Papa love each other? Do I need to tell Auntie?”
“Conner and I were just talking!” Tim was grateful when Kon stepped back for him to slip off the table.
He went to Marina and knelt in front of her. He intended to tell her to usher back to bed but the words were caught in his throat. Ghosts of tears were on her face and he realized that she must’ve been frightened after waking up alone. Gently, he kissed her cheek. “We came down to check on the flowers. The roses are tucked in their blankets and you should be too.”
This time, she didn’t argue or fuss as he scooped her into his arms. Her eyes were already partially closed, heavy from the late hour, so he knew she would fall back asleep with a little rocking. Marina looked over Tim’s shoulder and waved to Kon. “Can Mama and Papa sleep with me tonight?”
“I don’t think your bed is big enough for all three of us. How about just Mama tonight and then Papa next time?” Tim suggested the compromise but she frowned in answer. He hugged her tighter and looked towards Kon. He decided to take a leap and hoped he wouldn’t regret it. “All three of us can share Mama’s bed. Conner, get all the toys from the couch so they can join as well. I’m going to get Marina settled first.
“As you wish.” Kon nodded. He followed behind Tim but there was a slight hesitation in his steps. He looked from him to the petal that he had picked from his hair. They had been standing so close that it was impossible not to notice Tim’s scent. He had claimed to be a beta and that his sweet scent was from working in a flowershop. However, he smelled closer to vanilla and cinnamon rather than something floral. A beta shouldn’t have a scent at all.
If Tim was an omega pretending to be a beta to protect his pup, Kon would keep his secret and protect the family.
“Krypto, how many times do I need to tell you that this bed is for humans? I don’t need fur everywhere.” Kon groaned when he felt the mattress constantly dip and rise as though someone was jumping next to him. Not lifting his face from his pillow, he held up his hand to pet his dog. He was confused by the small hand against his cheek instead of a paw.
He opened his eyes and found Marina. She grinned at him and patted his cheek. He was confused by why she continued to poke him as though she wanted to wake him even though she could see his eyes were open. Kon sat up and looked around the unfamiliar room. His eyes fell onto the picture next to the bed. Framed in silver was Tim holding Marina. They both had soft smiles and he could tell that it wasn’t forced for the camera.
He didn’t need to see the picture to know how much Tim loved his adoptive daughter. While he invited Kon into his bed after Marina’s request, he had ordered him to the far corner. He also slept with a wall of pillows and toys between them like a barrier. Kon understood that he was being protective of his pup. He liked the fierce strength Tim showed.
Marina poked his cheek again and pulled him out of his thoughts. She stood on his knee to reach his cheek. “Papa is growing whiskers?”
“That’s just stubble, Kid. I’ll go home and shave.”
“Can’t shave here?” She asked and gripped his sleeve. Her tiny fist was surprisingly strong for a child. Marina looked up at him as though she was afraid that he would leave and never return. Kon could easily read her thoughts and patted her head to comfort her.
“My razor is at my house. I’ll just go home to clean up, grab Krypto and then come back. Oh, Krypto is my dog and he’s great with kids. Do you want to play with the largest puppy in the world?”
“My uncle has a dragon bat. Uncle Damian lets me ride it even though Mama threatens to cook his cow if I fall and get hurt.” For a second, Kon struggled with how to respond to her statement. Pups could create outlandish stories so he didn’t know whether it was the truth. “Mama is making breakfast. Can you eat with us before picking up Krypto?”
“Depends, is Mama cooking the dragon bat or the cow?”
“Pancakes!”
“Then, I’ll stay forever.” No answer could make Marina happier. She launched herself into his chest and hugged him tightly. Kon cradled her in one arm as he stood and made his way to the kitchen. He looked down at the little girl in his arms. He first offered to help because he saw himself in her. Now, seeing how small she was in his arms, a fatherly instinct rose in him.
