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Cradle Of Love	By : Amarin Category: DC Verse Comics > Teen Titans Views: 2376 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Home For The Holidays

The Kent Farm was a rambling, ramshackle old house painted in shades of brown and red. It stood in the midst of a barren field covered with the remnants of three-day-old snow, a few haystacks scattered here and there.
The drive from the airport had taken over an hour, even on near-empty roads, and by the time they reached ‘home’ Robin had fallen asleep. She was completely conked out, snoring gently, and didn’t even awaken when Tim carried her inside. Once they had been bundled inside by Martha and Jonathan – who, despite his advanced age, proved capable of carrying over half of their baggage – introductions were made, and it was just as quickly decided that, being past ten in the evening, after a long and tiring day, they should go to bed and get better acquainted over dinner.
Timmie found herself and Robin were to share the guestroom, a homey-looking space decorated in blue-flowered chintz, with a full-sized bed that would easily fit the both of them. After Timmie got Robin and herself into their nightclothes, she tucked her underneath the covers, wished her hosts goodnight, and fell exhaustedly into bed herself.
Her sleep that night wasn’t full of visions of sugar plums, but rather the knowledge that she and Kon were once again under the same roof.
It was one of the best night’s sleep Tim had had in weeks.

***
The next morning, Robin bounded down the stairs in her Care Bears nightshirt, carrying her stuffed cat by the tail. Timmie plodded tiredly after her, wearing a sky-blue bathrobe and slippers. She yawned and stretched as she reached the living room, smiling sleepily in the predawn light from the front porch. “Morning,” she greeted Kon – for the both of them, since Robin already had her mouth full of French toast dripping with syrup.
Kon grinned. “Morning. Do you want powdered sugar, honey, syrup, chocolate chips, or whipped cream and strawberries on yours?”
Robin’s eyes widened at the litany of different toppings she could have had, had she not just pounced upon the plate placed in front of her, and Tim hid her own grin. “Oh, a little of everything sounds good, but I think I’ll start with the strawberries and cream.”
Kon nodded, a mock thoughtful expression on his face. “Sounds good,” he said, turning from the stove and fixing them both plates.
“Where are your grandparents?” Tim asked as they both dug into their food, pretending not to notice the wide green eyes staring enviously at them – or, rather, their breakfast.
“Pa’s working on the tractor, and Ma’s milking the cows,” Kon told her between bites of dripping-sweet toast.
“I should have gotten up earlier,” Tim said, abashed, thinking that she should be helping her hosts.
Kon snickered. “Believe me, it’ll be easier for everyone involved if you don’t try and help. The trouble I got into when I tried to feed the chickens once…”
“There are chickens?” Tim asked, blinking. “I thought your grandparents only farmed cattle?” She didn’t remember seeing anything but cows around, though there had been mention of the neighbors’ horses the previous night on the ride from the airport, which had piqued Robin’s interest.
Kon flushed as red as the strawberries topping Tim’s plate. “They do now,” he said, and firmly resisted all Timmie’s attempts to get him to explain more.
Robin, meanwhile, was ignoring the grown-ups’ conversation in favor of plotting. She really wanted some of Kon’s chocolate chips. She munched idly on a piece of bacon and stealthily – or so she thought – moved her fork towards a piece of sugar and honey-dusted toast. She might have ‘gotten away’ with it if the weight of the toast plus toppings hadn’t pulled it off her fork to land on the table, chocolate bits scattering across the blue plastic tablecloth.
Grinning disarmingly at her mother and nanny, which had turned to stare at her sternly, Robin offered an, “Oops?” and put on her best, ‘Aren’t I wunnerful little girl?’ smile.
Tim just shook her head at her daughter while Kon forked up the toast and put it on Robin’s plate. “I just wiped down the table this morning; it’s fine,” he dismissed as he mopped up the spilled syrup with his napkin.
Tim offered no complaint, and Robin gleefully cut into her third piece of toast. The chocolate chips were all melty and tasted wonderful over the honey. Though the powdered sugar did stick to her lips, and her chin, and her hands, and…
Robin was glad that she’d gotten to skip her nightly bath, and not just because it was cold. She wondered if the Kents had Mr. Bubbles…

***
After the three Gothamites finished their full farm breakfast (and Robin had had her bath), and they’d all gotten dressed, Kon took them on a short tour of the farm. Robin was entranced by the cows, even though they did nothing more than eye the encroaching humans with bovine placidity, swish their tails, and low occasionally.
Robin kept making ‘Moo’ noises at them, and pouting when they didn’t answer back.
By the time they were all half-frozen, Ma and Pa Kent had gone back snide, and Ma was brewing spiced apple cider. They had the warm drink with simple soup and sandwiches, and once Robin had been put down for her nap, the adults talked among themselves. Martha was especially interested in the attention that Kon paid to Tim – or, as he called her, Timmie.
Jonathan, of course, was oblivious to the undercurrents of romance as all men, but he did notice how fond his grandson seemed of Robin. She was a cute little girl, and very well-behaved for her young age. If her hair had been red instead of blonde, she would have looked just like a miniature version of Martha…
That topic of conversation caused Martha to climb up to the attic to bring down Clark’s baby book, and a photo album full of Conner’s pictures. Timmie had her own arsenal full of snapshots in her purse, and the two women chattered over the ‘cute’ and ‘darling’ and ‘precious’ children for almost an hour while their respective men watched them indulgently and absently listened to the news on the old radio, as snowflakes whirled passed the window.
When Robin awoke from her nap, and saw the snow, she came thundering down the stairs, babbling about going to out to play in it.
There was no way that they would stay inside. So all five of them set out to the nearby snowdrifts. Snowfamilies, snowforts, and snow ball fights inside said forts awaited. Afterwards, they’d hunt down the perfect tree, then tote it back to the farm and start decorating it.
Christmas couldn’t get more perfect, of that, Kon was sure.

***
One Week Later
***
“Christmas is tomorrow,” Kon said as he peeled potatoes for supper. He’d hauled an empty wastebasket next to the kitchen table to throw the scraps in, planning to dump them out into the compost heap after he finished.
Timmie looked amused as she shelled peas into a bowl on the kitchen table. The pods also went into the wastebasket. “Yes.”
“And Robin’s birthday is soon after, right?”
Tim nodded. “The ninth of January.” She smiled a bit in reminiscence, fearing that it looked a bit goofy, but not caring enough to stop. “She’s going to be four.”
“Well, I was thinking about getting Robin something for her birthday,” Kon said.
“That’s nice; I’m sure she’ll be pleased.” Rolling her eyes, Tim added, “Not that she needs more presents.” Half of the ones they’d hauled down to Kansas with them were for her daughter.
Kon chuckled. “Yes, well, I wanted to talk to you about it.”
“You need ideas?” Tim asked, confused. She seemed to recall Kon had brought at least five gifts for Robin.
“No, actually, I have one, but I wanted to get your approval for it.”
Eyes narrowing in thought, Tim said, “If it’s about a computer, she can use my old one for a few more years. It’s not like she does anything but play games on it, anyway.”
“No, nothing like that. I was just… One of the barn cats gave birth a few months ago,” Kon said, laying down his potato peeler and turning to Tim. “The kittens are going to be weaned by next week, and I was thinking of giving Robin one of them.”
Timmie blinked. “A kitten.” She frowned slightly, hands falling to rest in the bowl of pea pods.
“Yeah, because I saw how much she loves that stuffed one she has. You know, the one that kinda looks like a monkey?” It was black and white, had a long torso, and even longer tail, and the ears were almost on the side of the head instead of the top, but it was quite clearly supposed to be a cat. And Robin simply adored the stuffing out of it.
Literally. He’d watched as Timmie put cotton batting inside a tear on its tummy and sewed it back up.
“I know the one,” Tim agreed with a wry smile, cheeks pink. “It was my first and only try at sewing her a toy.”
Kon blinked, then said, voice slightly strangled, “It’s cute,” because it was, and he wasn’t quite sure how to make it clear that the fact the cat looked like a monkey wasn’t an insult.
Thankfully Tim didn’t seem offended. “I’m not sure about a kitten, though.” She frowned as she pondered, “For one thing, how would we get it home?”
Kon had already given his proposition a great deal of thought, so he had a ready answer. “The airline allows pets to travel, as long as you inform them in advance. I figured if we do a little slight of hand I can call Bart once we get back to Gotham and he can pick the cat up and hold onto it for us until Robin’s birthday.”
Tim chewed pensively on her lower lip. “I don’t know…I’m not sure we could take care of a cat. I have to work so much, and Robin will start pre-school next year.”
“I leave my cats home most of the day, and they’re fine as long as I spend a few hours a week with them,” Kon informed her.
Tim blinked. “You have cats? Really?” At Kon’s nod, she asked, “Who’s watching them while we’re here?”
“Two, they’re Siamese cats,” Kon told her. He especially liked Siamese cats because, while they weren’t necessarily more affectionate than other cats (in fact, Timmie reminded him quite a bit of them because of her occasionally arrogant and sarcastic attitude), they did ‘talk’ quite a bit, making Kon feel less lonely in his empty apartment. “And Bart is looking out for them.” That was mostly the reason he’d been reluctant to stay with Bart for so long; Bart liked his cats, but they had been rather an imposition in his one-bedroom apartment.
Tim mulled that information over as they two of them finished up their dinner preparations. It was only once the peas were steaming and the potatoes were mashed and boiling that Tim said, “Okay. But…please make sure it’s a girl, all right? I don’t want it trying to mark territory.”
“No problem,” Kon assured her. He most definitely did not tell Timmie that he thought of her and Robin as ‘his’ territory already. “Once we get back, I’ll give you my vet’s number so you can arrange to have her spayed,” he added.
Lips pursing, Tim thought of the number of stray cats that seemed to congregate everywhere, even in her quiet neighborhood, and said, “Probably a good idea.”
One cat was enough for her little girl. Though a part of Timothea Drake couldn’t help but think that she would like more than one little girl, and maybe a little boy…

***
Kon awoke much too early on Christmas morning to see a pair of wide green eyes staring into his own.
It was only experience with the endless succession of Kent housecats – all of which had at one point decided to wake him in such a manner – that enabled him to keep his shout of surprise internal. “Robin?” he squeaked as his eyes adjusted to the sliver of moonlight from his window.
“Uh-huh.”
Blinking sleep-filled eyes, Kon bit back a groan when he saw that not only was it still dark outside, but the clock read 2:34. “It’s too early to get up, Robin,” he mumbled.
“But Santa came, right?” Robin asked in a hushed whisper.
“Well, probably – he might not have gotten to us yet,” Kon told her, groggy mind still able to come up with the ‘fact’ that Santa went everywhere during Christmas Eve night, so some people had to be first, and some last. “But even if he did, we can’t go downstairs yet.”
Robin pouted. “Why not?”
“Because…um…” Kon thought fast, and then hit upon something he knew would work. “Well, you want your mom to be there when you open your presents, right?”
Giving him a look that questioned his intelligence, Robin said, “A’course.”
“Well, your mother has only gotten a few hours of sleep so far tonight, and she needs quite a few more if she’s going to be awake to watch you open your presents.” Seeing the unhappy lines etched on Robin’s face, Kon added, “And I think you need some more sleep, too, or else you won’t be awake enough to play with your presents.”
Robin wrinkled her nose, but didn’t protest his statement. “Mama’s room is cold,” she complained.
Kon hid a smile. “Well, crawl in with me, then.”
“Okay!” Robin said excitedly, diving under the covers. All she had been waiting for was permission, it seemed.
“‘Night, Kon.”
“Goodnight, Robin.”

***
Despite the anticipation to which it had been looked forward, Christmas morning went by in a blur of wrapping paper, gifts, homemade cinnamon buns and hot chocolate. Robin, having woken up more than just the once the previous night, fell asleep watching the Snoopy Christmas special, arms cuddled around her old stuffed cat and her new stuffed pumpkin (that Kon had carefully hoarded ever since Halloween).
Robin had been the center of attention that morning, receiving many presents from everyone. From her mother, she’d gotten the usual gifts of learn-to-read books and educational toys, plus a few dolls. Kon had given her the stuffed pumpkin, some modeling clay in bright neon colors, and a kit for making plastic flowers.
Tim’s parents had done the typical grandparent spoilage and sent a card revealing that, while Tim and Robin were out of town, they were having a miniature playground installed in Tim’s backyard; a swing set, a slide, and a jungle gym. (Kon was thankful Robin managed to keep her squeals of happiness below the sound barrier.) She’d gotten a record-and-play microphone ‘to practice her singing’ from her Aunt Darla. Tim’s maternal uncle, Ted Kord – “He owns the recording department outright,” Tim told him, “and he’s an amateur entomologist.” – and his life-partner Michael Carter, had sent Robin a stuffed blue bug-type critter with googly eyes and a butterfly coloring book.
Ma and Pa Kent, upon learning that they’d be hosting an almost-four-year-old, had knitted her a matching hat and scarf in rainbow colors, and carved her a toy cat with movable limbs, respectively. She had adored all of her presents, putting on her new hat and scarf over her pajamas and proceeding to tire herself out playing with her two ‘kitties.’
Martha had also been thrilled with her new cookbook (a gift from Tim) and her new paints (Kon) and other art supplies (Jonathan). Jonathan enjoyed Tim’s gift of a miniature herb garden and the iPod with his favorite big band tunes that Kon had spent several hours tracking down. He had also immediately put on the blue and green sweater his wife had knitted him.
Kon had gotten Timmie a Swiss Army knife with a special feature: it had an attached hard drive of over a gigabyte in size. Considering that she was practically attached at the mouse to her computer, Kon thought she would get a lot of use out of it.
Tim smiled and hugged him, and that was better than her gift to him. She’d discovered his love of video games, and had used her connections to get him a copy of the newest version of Halo. Kon couldn’t wait to get back to Gotham so he could try it.
It was tradition that immediate family got new sweaters every year, and all guests. Tim’s was in red and black stripes, Kon’s in a blue and black checkerboard pattern, and Robin’s was overlarge (“With room to grow into,” Ma had said) in a black and white geometric-pattern that would coordinate well with her hat and scarf.
After Robin finished her impromptu nap, they had a light lunch of homemade vegetable soup and got bundled up for the chilly weather outside. Robin kept pestering Kon about where they were going, but he kept telling her to wait.
When Timmie started pouting at him as well, he nearly found himself helpless to resist, but luckily, the town square was only a few miles away by truck. The Smallville city council arranged sleigh rides on Christmas day, either around town or to the lake, where townspeople could rent ice skates and drink hot chocolate and apple cider. The next sleigh was schedule to go for a tour around town in ten minutes, so, while they waited in the chill winter air for the lake-sleigh, Ma and Pa took Robin over and introduced her to the horses.
Kon produced a few lumps of sugar for expressly such a purpose and taught her how to feed them by keeping her mittened hand flat.
By the time the friendly bay mare had finished off her treat, the town-to-pond sleigh had arrived back, and the Kent and Drake families piled in with Nell Potter, her visiting niece Lana, and Lana’s husband Pete.
Kon had always felt a little awkward around Lana, since she’d been Clark’s girlfriend before he’d started dating his mother. Thankfully, she and Pete were expecting their first child, and she spent the trip asking questions of Timmie about what she could expect during the last five months of her pregnancy.
Kon learned way more about swollen feet and itching nipples than he’d ever wanted to know. He found himself extremely glad that Robin had insisted on wearing her Pokémon earmuffs; they would prevent her from hearing her mother’s conversation and asking questions about what breast pumps were.
If she heard anyway, Kon would officially declare those explanations to be Timmie’s to answer, and not part of his job.
The rest of the day passed happily, with a sleigh ride that afternoon towards the town lake for ice skating. Robin was rather wobbly on her rented skates at first, but she held onto Tim and Kon’s hands, and between them she was soon racing around the ice with abandon, giggling all the while.
It was a great day.

***
One Week Later
***
Despite the normal post-holiday let-down feeling that typically followed Christmas day, Kon, Tim and Robin all had oodles of fun in Smallville. So much so that even Timmie was reluctant to go back to work, and, on New Year’s Eve, found herself wishing that time would stop, and she could enjoy this peacefulness just a little whole longer.
It didn’t, of course, but she had until the next morning at nine before they had to leave for the airport. One more night… Robin had begged to be allowed to stay up to watch the party in New York City. Tim had reluctantly said yes, knowing that Robin would be conked out by ten-thirty.
Robin had actually made it until ten forty-two before her eyes had closed for the final time, and was currently snuggled up in bed. Tim, however, was restless, so she decided to make the most of her unusual vigor by curling up on the chair in the den to read the latest Stephen King novel. A warm fire to curl up in front of, cozy cushions and an afghan to curl in, a scary book to read…the perfect way to wile away the night while waiting for the Ball to drop.
Three chapters into her book, Tim was absorbed in trying to figure out who the killer was, when the sound of something scraping across the floor drew her attention. She started, and then scolded herself for being scared; aliens, mutants, and things that went bump in the night didn’t exist in the real world.
Peaking over the edge of the cough, Tim saw Kon standing in the doorway, toeing the ground. “Mm?”
“Hi,” Kon said, a weak smile on his face.
Tim eyed him in bemusement. “Hi.” She resigned herself to putting down her book until Kon spit out whatever was on his mind.
Kon cleared his throat, and once he was sure he had Tim’s attention, smiled a little sheepishly. “So…um, I got you another present.”
Tim blinked. “Oh?”
Kon correctly interpreted her response as a question about why he’d waited. “Well, you see, you can’t really receive a present like this during the day…”
Tim tilted her head to the side quizzically, her eyes narrowing in on Kon’s. “Why is that?”
“I, uh…I think it would be better if I showed you.” Kon motioned towards the door. Tim sighed, and untangled herself from her nest of covers, heading out into the cold winter’s night, Kon following closely behind her as she walked outside onto the porch. He then led her towards the barn and up the stairs to the loft, where he’d set up Clark’s old telescope.
“Here, sit here,” Kon said, gesturing towards a hay bale he’d lugged up there specifically for that purpose.
“Okay,” Tim said, doing so. When almost a minute had passed in tense silence, Tim curled her hands over the edge of the hay bale and looked up at his fidgeting form. “Now what?”
Kon blushed. Then, gently turning her head towards the telescope, he said, “Now, look.”
Bemusedly, Tim did, right eye squinting through the small hole. After a moment, she asked, “What am I looking at?”
“Your star,” Kon told her, voice hushed in the chill of the night. “Timothea Ava Drake.”
Tim stared at him, then started as her sudden movement jolted her face too hard towards the eye of the telescope. Pulling back, she turned to face Kon, and upon seeing his hopeful expression, could not say a word. “My what?” she finally got out.
“Your star,” Kon said, more confident now that she hadn’t…exploded, or whatever he’d been afraid of. “I wanted to show you it earlier, but what with the snow and all, the night sky was cloudy so you couldn’t see it…” Kon said awkwardly, waving one hand around for emphasis.
“No…that’s okay…” Tim said faintly. A star? He…he bought me a star? There was absolutely no way that Kon could have known… Her father used to take her up on the roof of their townhouse and point out all the constellations when she was Robin’s age. From there had hade grown a love of astronomy, and for him to give her her very own star…
It was…more than a romantic gesture. It was…
Timmie was forcibly dragged out of her whirling thoughts by the appearance of a thick white envelope in front of her. Kon was holding it out, only a hint of trepidation in his eyes.
Tim blinked at him. What the…? “What’s this?”
“Open it,” Kon urged her.
She did so, sliding one silver-tinted nail under the sealed flap, delicately tearing it open. Tim upended the contents out into her hands and paused in surprised, pleasant confusion. “Is this…?” It was a certificate, once written in gilded script on blue and purple paper sprinkled with gold stars.
“It’s, um, the stuff that comes with…” Kon wave a hand towards the telescope, the window, and the stars beyond. He picked up the certificate and turned it over. “Here, see, there’s a map on the back with the coordinates, and other information about your star. You can see it from right here and I set up the telescope so you could.”
“Oh.” Timmie felt numb, only capable of monosyllables. She shook it off and looked out the window. “Which one is it?” she asked, examining the coordinates.
Kon peered through the eyepiece of the telescope. “Over on the left, the golden one in the middle of all those bluish ones…” He traded places with Timmie, and after a few moments of looking, found a cluster of bluish stars.
A minute ticked by in silence and Kon grew more tense. “See it?”
Another long pause and then, catching sight of the little gold dot, Tim’s face broke out in a wide grin. “Yes… Oh, Kon, it’s beautiful…” She turned to Kon and found that, unknown to her, he’d taken a seat beside her on the hay bale. There was scarcely room for the both of them, and she reeled inwardly for a moment at his closeness. “Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome…” Kon smiled. “Happy New Year, Timmie,” he murmured, his words barely a puff of breath against her chilled face.
“H-Happy New Year, Kon,” Timmie whispered back, even as their heads tilted towards each other, their lips meeting in a soft, yet urgent kiss.
Neither of them heard the occupants of the Kent house counting down to the midnight, so consumed were they by the fire building between them.
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Cradle Of Love