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[fingerstripes]

Voicemail

"You know what to do."


Friendr

	Friendr
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	» Age: 23 » Seeking: Friends, running partners, anyone interested in getting out and seeing the world. » Preferences: any » Interests: trapeze, martial arts, breakfast foods » Bio: Let’s get to know each other. See what we might have in common.
	base code by photosynthesis
	Dick Grayson
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Comments

text; @fromTV

[spellslots]

[A couple days after Clark has left, Taako sits down with Jon and asks him who, exactly, he knows in this place, and which of them are actually responsible adults. Because while he's more than happy to crash at the Kent household for a few days, to make sure Jon is fed and safe and off to school each day, he isn't any kind of parental figure and he knows that.

And Jon had mentioned Dick, so this is Taako, trying to do right by this dumb kid he's more fond of than he should be.]

Is this Dick Grayson?

Text; un: dgrayson

[fingerstripes]

[ He's seen this username before, and he's connected it to that guy he'd run across and promptly embarrassed himself in front of while he'd been seething with disproportionate firefly-induced rage. He'd been a friend of Clark's. He is a friend of Jon's. And it counts for a lot, that he'd seemingly been mostly wiling to let the issue drop after the fact. Dick doesn't hesitate. ]

Yeah. It's Taako, right?

[ So sorry for the delay, I was buried in work :c ]

no worries!!

[spellslots]

The one and only.

I'm gonna assume you're not like, stupid and that you know this is about Jon. I've been chilling wit him for the past couple days but I am not a parent and should never be a parent, there's probably a law against it somewhere.

But I don't wanna leave him alone. What's your status, vis-a-vis availability to keep tabs on a ten year old?

<3

[fingerstripes]

[ That anyone, let alone a near total stranger, would think "potential parental figure" and land on him at all is more than a little daunting. But he admires that self-analysis, and it hits him how much Taako must care about Jon to even ask. How much he must care about Clark. ]

I appreciate the thought.

Jon's welcome with us anytime. His dad and I go way back. But I know how these things can mess with a kid's sense of perspective. I don't want to push for a step he's not ready for.

[ He remembers well how it had felt to be taken by force from the only home he'd ever known. As much as he loves Bruce, it's a hurt that's never left him. A hurt that had only compounded the loss of his parents. Jon's been through it twice now. He hesitates. ]

You getting a sense from him that he might want to make the change now?

[ He'd been hoping to coax him out Clark's house with time. ]

[spellslots]

Putting my cards on the table here: we ran away from home at like eleven and never gave a shit about family so I don't like, get it, you know?

[He can kind of understand why a parent would play an important role, but he's bad at empathizing most of the time, and having any kind of positive relationship with an adult is so outside his realm of experience.]

But I think he wants to stay in that house.

Are you aware of anyone else who... knows?

[Captital K Knows, really, but he's trying to be subtle.]

[fingerstripes]

I can't say I really relate to that, but I get it. I lost my parents at around that age.

[ Which is... actually a lot more than he typically just spells out for a stranger.

But both of them care about Jon. It won't help Jon if he can't do his part in taking an offered hand. Building a bridge. ]

I know Clark had others. But what matters to me more right now is who Jon trusts.

I can crash with him for a little while if

[ Well. He doesn't know. ]

I'd like to if that would help.

[spellslots]

[Ah.]

Way I see it, you're gonna have a lot easier time helping than I am.

[It's not that he's trying to avoid the responsibility, he's just... pretty self aware, enough to know that none of the emotional shit is stuff he can help with.]

[fingerstripes]

I think you've already helped a lot. [ He's kept Jon safe. Protected Clark's secret.

Dick hesitates. Makes himself think of Jon and not himself, and crushes that reflexive flutter of fear in his chest. ]

So I don't know how much he told you about... anything. But there's parts of my life that aren't easy to talk about. Things Jon's not necessarily ready to see. [ God he hopes he'll get where he's going with that. ]

What I'm saying is don't feel like you have to be a stranger.

[ Jon needs friends who can live without masks. ]

[spellslots]

[At the end of the day, Taako won't ever really get the secret identities. He's worked for a secret organisation, sure, but that was to keep everyone and their mother from going after the relics.

But then, he's never loved someone who wasn't more powerful than him, so he's never had anyone he needed to protect.]

I get you, pumpkin.

[He suspected that maybe this guy was from that part of Clark's life, but it's not something that Taako needs to know.]

There's not a whole lot anyone could do to keep me away, you don't gotta worry about that.

[fingerstripes]

I'm glad. [ More than he can say, honestly. ]

So how did you and Clark meet, if you don't mind me asking?

[spellslots]

Gods, there's a question 🤔🤔🤔

I think the first festival when I arrived? Whatever the fuck it was called. He thought his baking could outdo mine and I was his arch nemesis from that day forward.

[fingerstripes]

You must have caught him at an interesting time. He's not usually an easy guy to goad into a contest.

[spellslots]

It was all in good fun.

But I am also super pretty, so maybe that had something to do with it!

[It didn't.]

[fingerstripes]

Sounds like him.

He always was a sucker for the ones he couldn't phase.

[ He's taking a guess there, but Taako leaves that impression. ]

[spellslots]

Is that what it was? I thought he just liked me for my charm and excellent cookies.

[fingerstripes]

I'm sure that was part of it.

So I'm not the master chef Clark was, but if you feel like swinging by in time for dinner sometime I can probably promise something edible.

[ That's a big maybe tbh. ]

You don't even have to bring cookies.

[spellslots]

[Oh no Jon what has he done.]

I appreciate the sentiment there, it has not gone unnoticed. But let's flip that and reverse it cause I am a master chef and I feed half the dipshits in this place anyway, so - I'll swing by early sometimes, whip you guys up something more than just edible and I'll leave you in charge of the cookies.

[fingerstripes]

Sounds like a fair trade. :)

Thanks, Taako.

[spellslots]

Nah, thank you. I'm glad Jon's got people looking out for him.