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Jason posted a secret to the Secrets board. Kon proceeded to get so pissed off he ended up punching trees into kindling down by the Forbidden Forest. Luckily for the forest (and probably certain people) Adam is very, very good at getting through very thick skulls and is just lovable in general.

Kon smashed his fist into another tree-- he'd lost count as to how many he'd completely smashed. He vaguely remembered some angry forest creature approaching him about the destruction he was wrecking. But he was pretty sure the thing had gotten his message when a large chuck of tree was hurled at what passed for its head. Kon was barely paying attention to his surroundings, didn't even notice that his knuckles were actually getting BRUISED, he'd been doing this for so long. Trying to forget how much he hated Tim for making him feel this way, and Jason for make Tim feel THAT way, and himself for hating Tim...

Adam hurried down to the forest. He'd got an intense feeling that he needed to be there, so he dropped his books and hurried off. He could have just known, of course, but that felt wrong, so he just allowed himself a little sensitiveness. Arriving at the forest, he saw who'd called him and he looked in bad shape. "Kon?" he called. "Are you okay? It's me, Adam."

Kon whipped around, looking wild-eyed, and about ready to pummel any intruder into dust. His gaze landed on Adam, and for a moment, he tensed, fist flying towards Adam before his vision and sense snapped back into focus. "A-- Oh. Oh SHIT." Kon's hand stopped mere inches from Adam's face. He sumbled back, sucking in a deep breath-- Kon was shaking from the adrenaline. And from other things he was very much trying not the think about.

Adam blinked. His eyes went from the fist in front of him and past it to Kon's eyes. "You look, uhm, upset. Is there anythin' I can help with?"

"A-ah, sorry," Kon stammered, rubbing his knuckles. "I wasn't-- I, aw, fuck." He dropped to the ground, half leaning against one of the broken tree trunk. "Wasn't really paying attention. Tim. It's Tim's fault."

Putting an arm around Kon's shoulder, Adam leaned over as well and contracted his aura to surround them with a soothing energy. "What's Tim's fault?" he asked calmly.

Adam could probably feel the tremors shaking Kon's body-- and given that the boy (yes, boy. He hadn't even NOTICED yet) was one of those big, immovable types, that was saying a lot. "He likes Jason. He said it was complicated. The bastard beat him six ways to Hell, broke Tim's arm while in MY body, and Tim thinks his relationship is complicated. It's not-- it shouldn't be!" Kon's voice rose a few notches-- all that whirlwind emotion was being channeled into anger. For the moment, anyway.

Adam had actually noticed that Kon was a boy again, but it simply didn't matter to him. He tended to see people's auras more than their bodies, because bodies were clearly mutable while souls and personalities stayed the same, even if they grew. He noticed the tremors, too, and hugged him tighter. "I dunno about Tim," Adam began slowly, "he makes his own decisions, but I'm not sure that punchin' down every tree in the forest is gonna help you..."

Kon wasn't normally very touchy, but he was relaxing a bit, staring sightlessly at his hands, clenching and unclenching them. "I have to do SOMETHING! I can't-- Jason was saying things about Tim. Tim's not a WHORE!" he burst out. "But Ryuuji wouldn't let me do anything, and Tim... Tim doesn't even CARE." That wasn't precisely true. But Kon still hadn't quite analyzed this impulses yet. 2 and 2 added up to 'Kon's in love.'

Smiling faintly as he rubbed soft circles into Kon's back, Adam said, "Well you know he's not a whore, so what do you care what Jason says? And I'm sure Tim does care. He's prob'ly just real confused. It's not every day that someone's best friend says he might like him as more than just friends." Though it seems to happen rather a lot around here, he thought. As always, he was inadvertently admitting that he knew more than what he was told, but hopefully Kon wouldn't mind. "You do get to have control over what you do about it, though. No matter what anyone else says, you get to pick, right now, whatever you want to do next about it and no one can have a say in that. It comes down to a real simple choice. Do you think the chance of bein' more than friends with him is worth the risk or are you content to stay as you are and see him with other people? Includin' maybe Jason?"

Kon froze, considering the qestion. Before now he'd been utterly content to not question the ocasional hot knife of jealousy, or , at least, pawn it off as being that Tim was dating someone hot. Now, though. Ever since they'd gotten to this school, and people had started showing interest in Tim-- ESPECIALLY Jason, Kon had started to see red. "Not Jason," he mumbled. "I won't let him be with Jason." Maybe it was self-sacrificing in a weird way.

Adam looked at him sadly. "I don't really know what to tell you, Kon, but I'm afraid that you don't get to choose. If he really wanted to be with Jason and you tried to stop him just 'cause you don't like him, that'd be a pretty mean thing to do to a friend. Why would Tim bein' with Jason bother you so much anyway?"

Kon jerked his head up-- he'd forgotten for a moment that not everyone knew Tim and Jason's history. His vision blurred red in anger again, but he fought it back, although his voice rose sharply, anger curling the edges of his words. "Jason beat the living hell out of Tim, and tried to kill Tim's boss. When he got here, he had sex with Tim, borrowed my body, killed a few people, broke Tim's arm, and had sex with Tim again. And then started calling Tim a WHORE. Why do you THINK it bothers me?" His lips curled back in a snarl. "Somehow stopping Tim from having a relationship with the guy doesn't seem so bad to me."

In some recess of his mind, Adam knew this was all true, but he also understood human nature very well. He chose his words carefully. "I can see why you'd be upset about Jason beatin' up Tim, breakin' his arm, callin' him names, and killin' people, 'cause Tim's your friend and you want to protect him. But Jason didn't mean to borrow your body. And if Tim wanted to have sex with Jason even after all that, it's his business, I guess. We can't control the people that we love. We've just gotta help as best we can and hope they make the right decision."

Kon opened his mouth to say something. And deflated, wilting under the force of Adam's logic. "I want him to make the right choice! He should make the right choice. Jason isn't..." Kon felt his throat close up. "It shouldn't be complicated." And he shouldn't feel like someone just shoved a kryptonite dagger in his heart.

"I know," said Adam quietly, hugging the other boy close again. "We all want and say should and shouldn't and it's real hard, 'cause that's not always how it works out. But if Jason's not the the right choice, who is? Who would you allow Tim to be with?"

"He was with Steph," Kon said, almost sulking, and leaned a little closer towards Adam. It was nice to know someone wouldn't just shut him down. "He's just... he's too good for Jason." He wasn't too good for Kon-- mostly. Kon was trying not to to think about it. Except that every time he imagined Tim and Jason together that kryptonite dagger twisted again. Jason was bad, and Terry was too much like Batman, and...

"Who is Steph?" asked Adam interestedly. "And why aren't they together any more?" He didn't say anything about the 'good' comment. In his experience, good and evil were just names for sides. One wasn't necessarily better than the other.

"Cause Steph's dead." Kon rolled his shoulders, remembering how badly THAT had screwed Tim up. Tim needed someone who wasn't going to hurt him. Who wasn't going to LEAVE him. "She was Robin for a while, and she got killed. Tim's barely got anyone left now." Except Kon. "I don't want him to be alone."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Adam looked at the ground and sighed. He might have to try being slightly less subtle. "And you can't think of anyone to be with Tim that wouldn't hurt him or leave him. Someone that maybe already cares for him a great deal?"

"I'm the onl--" Kon blurted the words out and bit his tongue a moment later. "Uhm." He really WAS the first person that came to mind. And the only one that didn't make him feel queasy-- because the only other people like that were Nightwing and Batman, who were Tim's FAMILY. "I don't know."

"That's not what you were gonna say," Adam said gently. "What was your first answer? And be honest with yourself. It's okay."

Kon turned to stare off in the distance, most decidedly NOT looking at Adam. "I like girls. They're, well, they're girls. They have curves and all that neat stuff. I like tham a lot. So Tim isn't... I mean, I'm not normally..." He didn't usually like boys. It was just Tim that made Kon feel weird. He wasn't used to trying to articulate that.

Adam spoke quietly, looking off in the same direction as Kon. "I like girls, too. I'm never gonna have the chance to be with anybody, but if I did, I'd be with a girl, I expect. Nothin's certain in this world, though. If I felt strongly about someone, boy or girl, I wouldn't worry too much about their shape but focus on the more important stuff."

"Why can't you?" That was a sure sign that Kon's mope had been broken and but good. he was actually acknowledging someone and something outside his own pain. "I mean, I... I don't know. I REALLY like girls. But Tim's always there. He's different. If you find someone... someone who makes you feel like that..." Like your heart is being ripped out, and makes you want to kiss him senseless anyway. Because Kon was only NOW realizing that that was what that urge had been.

"I... just can't. Because of who I am. It's difficult to explain, but I prob'ly shouldn't focus that much on one person." Adam frowned. "But it's okay, 'cause I've never felt the way you do about anyone, so I don't think I'm missin' out on anythin'. Love can hurt you more than anythin' else in the world, but it's the best thing in the world at the same time. And if an angel and a demon can fall in love, I don't see why anyone else couldn't."

"An..." Kon turned to look at Adam with a confused expression. THAT one went straight over his head. "You'll find someone, probably. Maybe not like... yeah. Well." Kon stumbled over his words again and dropped his gaze. "I don't know. This is weird. I've never had to deal with this." He could just pull the macho act with girls. He had no idea how to handle these new revelations about Tim.

"No, I won't," said Adam. "But you can, and that's what's so wonderful. It doesn't matter if you know what to do. Just trust yourself. Sometimes people's heads get in the way of their hearts. But if you listen to what you're trying to tell yourself, you'll be okay." Turning to Kon, Adam gave him a friendly hug. He really was a touchy feely young man. Maybe it was because he'd never have a lover of his own.

Kon wasn't really that touchy. Superstrong boys didn't really hug a lot. Especially when they were grown in a lab. But Kon was definately grateful for Adam's sympathetic ear, and turned to reciprocate. "This is twice you've helped me out, man. If there's anything I can do for you." Because what Kon was going to do when he next saw Tim... just don't think. Act.

Adam grinned. "Anytime. If I can. And I'll let you know if I need your help. That's what friends do, right? And as a friend, I'll give you one last bit of advice. Trust yourself but also trust him and don't jump to conclusions, okay?"

"I... yeah, thanks." Kon offered Adam half smile and pulled himself to his feet, dusting himself off before offering Adam a hand up.

Adam took his hand and stood. "I'll see you later, Kon. Good luck!" Happy, hopeful, and worried, he made his way back to the castle.

Kon nodded and headed back to make his own way back into the castle-- if not happy, then at least plenty calmer than he had been before. And maybe when he next saw Tim...