Fathers and Sons

by Pervy Fic Girl

They might not have had men on Themyscira, but they did have friends, and Diana can easily tell that one of her friends is hurting. "You're thinking about Van-El, aren't you?" she asks Clark as she comes to stand next to him. Clark looks up in surprise as she approaches, which tells Diana that he must have been even deeper in thought than she'd previously believed. The Watchtower might be a safe haven for them all, but Superman should be on guard regardless of his location. She offers her hand on his shoulder for comfort and he relaxes slightly beneath her fingers. It's an interesting contrast to the man that she usually attempts to console. Diana is certain that she would prefer having her attempts met with the cooperation of Clark than with the resistance of Bruce on a frequent basis, but she stops that thought before it can wander much further. "Is it that obvious?" Clark attempts to joke, trying to lighten the situation. "Only to those who know the situation," she responds with opposing seriousness. That mighty chest rises and falls twice before anything else is said. "I'm happy for John and Shayera. The baby is beautiful, don't you think so, Diana?" "He is," she agrees, not bothering to add the hope that Rex Stewart's presence will force John and Shayera to accept the truthfulness of their relationship. Or that his existence will force Vixen to grow a backbone and stop allowing herself to be used exclusively as a pleasure device of a man whose heart belongs to someone else. Those hopes are extraneous to this conversation. "But everytime I look at him, I can't help but think that my son was beautiful too." "I'm sure he was." "I miss him," Clark says softly. "I miss him so much, and . . . he was never even real." "He was real to you," Diana corrects, trying to focus on Clark's pain instead of the hate she has for the man who caused the illusion in the first place. "And that's all that matters." "He's. . . he's the closest I'll ever get to a son - or a daughter." "You don't know that." Clark laughs, and his usual jovial chuckle is replaced with a bitter sound that doesn't match the costume he's in at all. "Diana, no human woman could ever bear my child. It would kill her." Maybe you shouldn't fall in love with someone who isn't your equal, Diana doesn't say. She also doesn't remind Clark that he meets plenty of non-human women in their line of work every day that could easily bear a half-Kryptonian child. "You have no idea what the future will bring," she says finally. "John and Shayera didn't expect Rex. You might get your wish as well." Clark smiles in a half-hearted way that lets her know that her pep talk wasn't really successful. "Maybe. In the meantime, I can't help but feel envious every time I look at the baby. How horrible does that make me?" "It doesn't make you horrible at all," she admonishes. "It's perfectly understandable." ********** "I can't believe you're being jealous over the time I spend with a baby!" It occurs to Mari that this is the first time she and John have ever really had a fight. She used to take it as a positive sign - everyone in the Watchtower knows about John and Shayera's legendary fights. Mari used to believe that because they didn't fight, their relationship was healthier than the one John and Shayera had. But it occurs to her, in the midst of this fight, their first, that it would have been nice to see John this passionate about something else in their relationship. Something that didn't have Shayera Hol's eyes. "I'm jealous over the baby," she corrects. "I simply thought that since I've been gone for two weeks we could spend the night alone, getting reacquainted." "It's Wednesday night," John answers stubbornly. "It's my night to keep Rex." Mari notes how proud he sounds about that, and she supposes that has something to do with the fact that before she left, the child couldn't stand to be in the same room with John. It really is a pity that had changed. "I'm sorry, John. I just expected that you'd want to spend some adult time with your girlfriend after not having seen her for weeks." "Mari, I do want to spend time with you. There's no reason that we can't get reacquainted while Rex is here." There's a distinct chime of her grandmother's voice in the back of her head, telling her to control her temper. She tries to listen to that voice. She steps closer and tries to close the gap between them. "John, the kid doesn't sleep through the night yet. And, really, what I have in mind isn't something that I want interrupted by the squalling of a baby." She lays her hand on his forearm suggestively, and her grandmother's voice disappears completely as he pulls away. "Dammit, Mari, there are more important things than sex." His admonishment sounds too much like the whispers and innuendos that she's overheard by mistake - mostly by the women of the League - that her temper arises full force. "Such as a child that isn't even really yours?" Mari knows by the look on his face that the words she can never take back are the ones that finally allow him to make the decision he's been postponing ever since Shayera came back to the League. She doesn't wait for him to say it. She picks up her purse and leaves, bumping into Shayera on the way out of the apartment. The redhead is somehow juggling a baby and diaper bag and still managing to look nothing less than a warrior. "Mari," Shayera greets. "Is there something wrong?" "He's all yours," Mari says simply. She ignores the other woman's response. ********** According to Alfred, there's not been any response from Nightwing in reference to Bruce's solicitation to visit The Manor. Bruce isn't surprised, of course. He and Dick haven't been on anything resembling speaking terms for years. Yet, the knowledge that this is personal - that if there was an emergency, Dick would come running as fast as he could - hurts in ways that Bruce won't admit to anyone outside of the bats that share his cave. He spends a lot of time in their company. The Cave has always been where Bruce comes when he misses Dick. It's where the kid grew up, and every inch of it is covered in Dick's memory - his laughter, his corny jokes, his sparring practices. But lately, more often than not, when Bruce is alone in The Cave and his mind wanders to his lost son, he cannot help but remember another version of himself whose painfully unbridged.feud with Nightwing had been obvious by the distinct lack of Dick's presence in his twilight years. "Master Bruce, I might also remind you that Mister West has called you four times to remind you of the Baby Shower to be held next week for your League associates." "Thank you, Alfred." He'll go, of course. It's a ridiculous waste of time, but he'll put in an appearance. He did mean what he said to Clark - that this baby deserves all of them looking out for him, considering what they took away. Still, when someone thrusts little Rex into Bruce's not-quite willing arms and Bruce catches sight of John Stewart's proud expression, it will be all Bruce can do to remind the smug Lantern that not more than a month ago, John was willing to throw away any chance he had at being Rex's father. It doesn't do Bruce any good to be jealous of the fact that John was given the chance to make amends for throwing his chance at fatherhood away, but the feeling is there nonetheless. "And Master Bruce? Mister West requested that I remind you that cash is not an appropriate gift." ***** Carter wonders if his past life had included a personal shopper to purchase presents for his friends. He imagines so - he can't imagine a king ever having to do something so mundane as shop. Which was fortunate, given how much he despised the activity. Though to be fair, his previous life - Carter acknowledges that there has been more than one, but it's only that one that seems to matter - he'd never had to purchase a gift for the child that had bonded his soulmate to the man who had taken her away from him. Yet there's no doubt that the mistakes of that life have contributed to Carter's pain in this life. If he'd only been wise enough to give Shayera the child she'd wanted. . . Such thoughts do not help him decide between the green socks with tiny birds in them and the orange socks without them. He wants to buy the orange out of defiance, and he wants to hate the color green. But he cannot fully hate the color of Shayera's eyes. In the end, he picks the green ones. He'll send the socks in the mail. Though he and John Stewart have worked well together in the past, the addition of a child into their lives makes Carter unsure that he can fully control the hate he has for all that John Stewart has taken from him. Carter hopes the feeling passes. If the rumors are true and the child does not have the full benefits of Thanagarian biology, then the two of them might even have a common link. Rex Stewart may develop the same envy of his mother's wings that Carter has known, without the benefit that memories of having them in a past life provide. Someday, perhaps, Carter Hall may help Rex Stewart fly.