Robin one shot part 3!

Mess with him and you mess with me

"What have I got to apologize for? Connor is a violation of my rights and if I'm uncomfortable with that, it's well within my rights to be."

"And he had no hand in that," Dick argued back. "He is a victim just as much as you are. All that he asks is for some fucking guidance!"

"I can't help it if he makes me uncomfortable."

"You called my friend a mistake!" he shouted. "I respect you as a hero but my respect is damn well wavering for you as a person. You may be bigger than me and stronger than me but I can destroy your world."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that was a threat."

"Then maybe there might be something in that head of yours."

"Richard-"

"You're going to apologise and you're gonna show him how to master at least one of his powers or I will make your life hell."

"You wouldn't dare." There was a hum, offhanded and calm, and then Dick shrugged before sitting back down. He dipped his fingertips in the water, watching it ripple with an unreadable expression.

"Look at your phone." The super quirked an eyebrow but curiosity had him pulling out his phone anyway. Immediately, he knew something was wrong. A picture of a girl who worked in the cubicle next to him had replaced his usual background. It was painfully intimate despite it only being a picture of her posing in the mirror. A boyfriend would have this picture so why the hell was it on his phone? He looked at Dick for answers. "Check your messages with Lois." He did so and found a message had been already sent talking about meeting family that weekend. It wasn't something you would look twice at if it wasn't for the name it signed off with. The name of the girl in the cubicle next to him. "She has you blocked currently. I think she'll unblock you by tomorrow after a wonderful message from her best friend reminding her of how lovely you've been prior and assuring her that it was simply a case of texting the wrong person. Yet when she sees that, she might change her mind about your second chance." Clark sighed and sat down beside the teen. 

"He means a lot to you then," he stated, running a hand through his hair.

"He does. He's a little brother to me. The whole team is family and believe me when I say, I wouldn't do this without good reason. You mean a lot too."

"What do you like about him?" he asked.

"You'd know if you actually tried."

"Enlighten me."

"He's sweet and passionate. If you spoke to him, he'd listen patiently. He likes to watch static. He's got some anger issues but wouldn't you have them too if you were treated the way he was? Created in the manner he was?" He hated that he shrugged. "When we saved Connor that night, I promised myself I'd lookout for the guy. It's been amazing seeing him grow but seeing you beat the kid when he's down already is like a kick to the gut because I know you're a good guy and that he's a good guy too. No one can help how they're born and all you've done is blame him for something he couldn't control." 

"That's why you keep him safe? Did all these things that made my week awful?" Dick nodded with pride. "I'll apologise. Maybe talk to him."

"You will talk to him."

"I'll talk to him," Clark amended.

"Then we've come to an understanding." He took Clark's phone and swiftly deleted the message and reset the background, removing any trace of them being there. "I regret every fight I had with my dad. No matter how small it was or how young I was, I regret every part of it. If something ever happened to Connor, I can guarantee that you'd be the same and you'd be spending the rest of your life kicking yourself for it. If anything happened to you, I want him to at least remember something good rather than you going out of your way to hurt him."

"I hope he knows how much you mean to him."

"He doesn't and that's for good reason. That goes for the rest of the team so don't tell them about the family comment." Clark nodded. "What Connor's gonna see is a change of heart and you'll be smart enough to keep it up without me forcing it." Dick handed him back the phone. "I protect my family, Clark. I'm not afraid to sever ties with others in order to do so." That seemed like the end of the conversation as he got up and went back inside.

A day later, Connor received his seemingly unprompted apology and accepted it happily, eager to get close to the man he idolised. Two weeks later, Clark took Connor on a day out and said he'd make up for everything. He filled the day up with things he'd obviously gotten from top ten lists on google but the effort was appreciated and it put Connor in a good mood. "It's so weird," the clone said. "Now he really likes me and tries to get into my interests."

"I told you he was just redirecting his anger at the wrong person," M'gann told him with a smile. 

"You tell us if he goes back to his old ways though," Robin told him. There was some weight to his voice that meant to tell him specifically but they couldn't figure out why. The change was unprompted to them. Still, Connor nodded. For some reason he couldn't explain, having Robin there for him made him feel safe. Protected maybe. That was rather silly given how tiny and human Robin was but feelings were often irrational.