Title: Promise

Prompt: A graphic made by kg1507 on tumblr

Characters: Conner Kent, Garfield Logan

Words: 680

A/N: Ahh! Sorry I haven't updated these in a while - but I've got a few drabbles lingering around my tumblr, so tonight's the night for a mass uploading.

Here's a small drabble of one of my other brotps. It makes me sad that Gar has been missing in the last few episodes, especially with big things happening that are relevant to him - like, you know - his sister being kidnapped. But yes - I was bitter and this happened.

~o~

The shift of the curtain is slight; tentative. He would almost have missed the movement if it weren't for the soft sniff that accompanied it. Conner freezes and listens, hearing the sound of something brushing on the ground in a rhythmic movement. Something almost like a…

"Gar?"

The curtain shuffles again and Gar's nervous expression pokes in to face him. "Are…are you busy?" he asks, his voice uncharacteristically soft. Conner shakes his head and gestures for the younger boy to come in, and Gar slips past the curtain partition that now separates each of the beds in their 'warehome' and seats himself on the end of the bed next to the clone.

"What's up, kid?" Conner asks, rubbing a hand over his face while Gar pulls his feet up so his knees are tucked up underneath his chin. In all honesty, Conner is ready to just lay down on his bed and try to run through the enormity of everything he has found out today. Dick told both him and La'gaan to keep the information of both Artemis and Kaldur being undercover quiet for the moment, but Conner doesn't understand how it's even going to be possible to keep it quiet for much longer.

Especially now with M'gann's 'kidnapping' and half the team ready to burst in to get her after being told sketchy details of the incident by Nightwing.

"Do you think they're gonna kill her?" The abruptness of Gar's question snaps Conner back to reality, and he jerks his head to look at the boy in astonishment. Gar's looking up at him steadily, waiting for an answer with eyes of both fear and pleading.

"I-" His face scrunches up as he tries to think of what to say. "Gar…"

"Do you? Do you think that's why they took her? 'Cause…" The younger boy chews on his bottom lip. "Because I was there when she took down Aqualad, and…and I don't know what was going on in their heads, but they might have taken her because they wanted to get payback. And-…and."

"Gar." Before he know is, Conner's hands are squeezing the younger boy's shoulders and he's brought his head down to be level with Gar's. "Stop. She's going to be fine. Come on. You know there's no way your sister would let anyone…hurt her that easily."

Gar doesn't meet his eyes. "She'd never let anyone kidnap her that easily, either."

Conner freezes, and when he doesn't reply, Gar lifts his head to stare at him. "There's something else, isn't there? There's something else that's going on that you won't tell me."

For a moment, Conner has to do a double-take and try and figure out: when in the past few months did Gar manage to get so small, yet years wiser than his age? And how is it that Conner, or anyone else, didn't notice before now?

When was it, that the little, enthusiastic boy that liked to swing off and around his shoulders, was forced to grow up so suddenly?

Conner can feel his throat going dry as he opens his mouth to try and answer Gar. Gar, obviously noticing his discomfort, shrugs and digs his chin back into his knees and stares at the floor. "You don't have to tell me what it is," he mutters, "but I know there's something."

He sniffs. "Just…promise me something?"

"Sure, Gar."

"Promise me we're going to get her back, and that she's going to be okay?" He turns towards Conner and the older boy notes the tears that have begun to spill out from his eyes. "Promise me. I ca-…Conner, I cant…I can't lose M'gann too."

Conner doesn't need to even think about it. His arm moves around the back of Gar's shoulders and pulls the younger boy to him, letting him bury his face into his shirt. He moves his thumb in slow circles on Gar's arm, trying to mimic the movement that he has seen M'gann do countless times before, replies to Gar in a soft voice.

"You wont. I promise."