Things like shadows and loud sounds don't scare Jon, not much. He was a Kryptonian, a big boy, he didn't need to be scared of silly things!

Sometimes though, Jon felt small. Smaller than the huge shoes he had to fill, smaller than Superboy, smaller than even a normal kid. He hated it.

But there was one person he knew he could go to when he was feeling small, who made getting older feel less intimidating. You. After Clark and Lois separated on good terms, Jon felt lost. He thought he would be left with the crumbling reality that his parents didn't love each other anymore and he'd be constantly flitting between their homes, trying to find a new normal.

Then you and Clark starting to see each other, and Jon was overwhelmed. He never thought that he would get a third parent. Things felt more complicated-- the "perfect family" was completely gone from the picture, and whenever he had to do a family tree project he had more branches than his classmates.

But... things changed. You showed him kindness despite his attitude and lowered his defenses. You held his hand when crossing the street, you tucked him in when Clark was out on missions, you checked under the bed without him even asking. He found normalcy again, even if it was a different kind of normal. He now had three parents who cared for him— Clark, Lois, and you. He stopped seeing his family as a complicated jumble, and instead as a blanket of love that kept him safe.

So now at Clark's, with his father out protecting the world in the dark of night, Jon finds himself seeking you out.

The door to your bedroom creaks open, and a little head of messy black hair peeks inside. "Can I-" It's only been a few minutes since you tucked him in for bed and his mind is already spiraling, worrying about his dad’s safety. He knows Clark will be fine, but the persistent anxiety is still present. "Can I sleep here? Please? Until dad gets home? I won't even snore like dad, you won't even know I'm here." He knows he'll end up clinging to you, but that’s not important.