Jonathan Samuel Kent was a strange boy for numerous reasons. For one thing, he was half-Kryptonian with developing superpowers. For another, his dad and all his aunts and uncles had two names, and two ways the world saw them; sometimes dad was Clark Kent, sometimes he was Superman.

Ignoring all of that, Jon could tell that his peers at school saw him as an odd little nerd. He had long and untidy hair, he wore braces and was the only kid at school to not come from a wealthy family. His Uncle Bruce had got him a place there so that he could be closer to his best friend and superhero trainer, Damian Wayne.

But the reason little Jon Kent thought of himself as strange wasn’t his unusual friends, educational circumstances, growing super strength or his family’s odd fashion choices. No, it was something deeper… something wrong that his young mind couldn’t put a finger on just yet.

He tried to explain it to Damian, during one of their weekly training sessions in the Batcave.

“Damian!” Jon cried out, dodge rolling out of the path of an incoming shuriken, “Could we stop the training for two minutesth!” (His braces gave him a slight lisp when he was nervous or excited).

“Not on your life, Kent.” The small smug boy said, preparing more projectiles, “You can’t choose when an enemy might attack! You must always think on your feet! Be prepared for anything!” Damian Wayne, the newest Robin, had been tasked to train the young child of Krypton and took the job seriously, like most things in life. He quickly threw four more blades in a low and tight formation. Jon would have to think fast and jump over them to avoid the collision.

With his mind occupied however, Jon wasn’t nearly fast enough. He cried out and covered his face, bracing for an impact… and felt hard rubber hit him in the chest and bounce off. It still hit with enough force to sting but he was surprised to not be bleeding. “I… what?” He looked at the other three missiles that had harmlessly hit and bounced off the wall to his back. He picked one up and tested the soft edge, “They’re not real?”

“Of course they’re not real!” Damian sounded offended, rushing over to help his friend off the ground, “You don’t have your invulnerability yet! Did you really think I would throw knives at my friend if I thought I’d hurt you? Tt!” He tutted, disapprovingly (it being his catchphrase).

Jon sighed, feeling a little sheepish, as he pushed his long black bangs out of his eyes, “Considering your trust fall exercise last week, I can never be sure.”

“I said I was sorry! Baba distracted me right as you fell.” said Damian (his use of the word “Baba” in place of “Dad”, highlighting his slight Arabic accent). “Besides it wasn’t a total waste. You did fly a bit on the way down…”

“All the same… could we do a less intense training today, Damian? I have a lot on my mind.” Jon said, sitting down with his back to the wall.

“Is everything ok, Jon?” Damian asked, squatting down to his friend’s level, though being short for his age (slightly shorter than Jon who was 3 years younger than him.) , he didn’t need to squat very far.

“Yes… no… maybe?” Jon let out a sigh “Something just doesn’t… feel right… I haven’t been feeling good… I can’t explain it.”

Damian took a stab at an explanation with so little information to go on, “Maybe your freeze breath is starting to kick in? I bet that would make you feel strange inside.”

“Not like that Damian… Something deeper…” his hands clutched at his forearms.

Damian thought for a moment. He had no advice for his friend on something like this… but he still might know a way to help, or at least get Jon’s mind off his problems. “You… said you wanted a different kind of training, right? How’d you like to fight how I do? Fast, fluid and agile?”

Jon sat up and smiled “Actually yeah… Yeah that would be a big help. Then our sparring matches won’t be so one sided.” He stood up, getting some energy back, “So you’re going to teach me martial arts?”

The young Wayne smiled, taking out his phone and sending a quick text, “Not exactly.” He put his phone away and gestured for his friend to follow him out of the training room. He was led up and out of the deep cavern where Uncle Bruce kept his most dangerous toys and up into the manor. Jon always loved using the secret door in the old library clock. They walked past Damian’s brother Tim reading in an armchair and Jon waved happily.

Jon loved the huge Wayne family. So many brothers and sisters! Not to mention a dad, two moms and Mr. Alfred! Sure, Jon had Mom, Dad, Kara and Conner, but they didn’t all live together.

They continued walking into the main hall of the mansion and entered a small side door Jon hadn’t noticed before, leading into, not a gym or a dojo, but a dance studio.

At the center of the room, a tall slender girl with long dark hair, clad in a pretty pink tutu, was twirling and leaping with perfect grace. No music played with the dance, but it didn’t need it. This girl's movement spoke on its own.

Jon couldn’t quite explain why, but seeing the girl’s beautiful camisole and tutu, both pretty pink, gave him a sense of… longing. As if the outfit was calling out to him.

Damian smiled and gestured for Jon to stay quiet. He would never interrupt his sister Cassandra in her rehearsal, for he knew what the dancing meant to her.

When she finished her dance with a final bow and a flourish of her hands, Damian and Jon both began to applaud. Cassandra finally turned to the boys and gave a little curtsey, laughing to herself. “Thank you.” She said simply, and a little quiet for someone that had just moved with so much passion.

“Amazing as always, Cass.” Damian was beaming and turned to his friend as if telling a secret, “Cassandra is the best dancer I’ve ever seen. She taught me everything I know!”

Cassandra smiled at her little brother. “Damian’s a good student. Better than Dick. He just liked the outfits.” She turned to look at Jon. “You want to dance?”

Uuhhh?” Jon asked, feeling an odd spike of excitement inside him. He’d never been interested in ballet before, but it suddenly seemed like such a fun idea. “I thought you were teaching me to fight.”

“And this will do tons to help!” Damian insisted, a gleam in his eyes. “Foot work, flexibility, core strength, leg muscles, acrobatics! Ballet is amazing for training! Tell him Cass!”

“It’s true,” she said. She had a certain look about her that made her seem remarkably clever, even when saying so little. When she spoke, Jon could tell it was wise to listen.

“Tt, Told you.” said Damian, feeling Cassandra had more than helped win his argument. “Of course, since you are a beginner, I’ll be giving you your first lessons. You can work with Cass when you’ve got the basics.”

Jon was about to ask another question when the door behind them opened again. Standing there was a tall boy about Damian’s age with baggy clothes and red hair. “Hey hun! Got your message” said the boy.

“Colin!” said Damian, happily. As if infected with a need to dance, Damian executed a graceful leap at the red head. This was clearly a normal thing for the boys to do because Colin quickly got in a perfect pose and caught the smaller boy, spinning him around over his head, before pulling him down to kiss him all over.

Jon found himself blushing a fair bit, and Cassandra smiled “So extra.” She made her way to the exit, leaving the kids to themselves. “Damian. Don’t forget. Book time tonight.”

The door closed behind Cassandra as she left, and Jon was left with Damian and Colin who broke apart after a few seconds when they realised that the younger boy was staring.

"Ahem!" Damian cleared his throat as Colin set him back down on the ground, slightly flustered. "Introductions are in order. Jon Kent, I'd like you to meet Colin Wilkes." The redhead, blushing slightly, extended a hand for Jon to shake.

"Uh, hi!" Jon said, as he took the older boy's hand, "You must be…?"

"Dami's awesome boyfriend? Yep! I'd be surprised if Dami hasn't mentioned me before." Colin stated as he grinned at Damian, who smiled back warmly. “You must’ve heard of me!” laughed Colin, “Tall, handsome, trans guy? Great hugger? Ringing any bells?”

Jon looked perplexed. Damian noticed and turned to Colin. "I think you might need to clarify, beloved!" He chuckled, gazing up at his noticeably taller boyfriend, "I'm not sure if Jon knows what "trans" means."

“Oh.... Oh! hmm…” Colin said as he thought of the best way to explain this to Jon. “Well, it means that when I was born, people thought I was a girl. As I got older, I realized I was a boy.”

Jon was speechless. His jaw dropped open as his brain tried to process this information. “You can do that?” He spoke in an awed voice, like he had just been shown the inner workings of a great magic.

“Yep.” Colin said simply. Damian was laughing a bit at his friend’s comical reaction, but Colin only smiled softly, almost nostalgically, like he was familiar with the feeling Jon was displaying. “It works the other way too. Some people are born boys and later realize they’re girls.”

It wasn’t a feeling as sudden as flipping a switch, but this new information started to get wheels turning in Jon’s head. The unrecognizable feeling inside him was starting to grow clearer…

Damian snapped his fingers to get the boys’ attention, “Jon! Habibi¹Habibi: Arabic word meaning "my love", "my darling", or "beloved".! I’m sorry to interrupt, but I only have about an hour to train before I help Cassandra with her reading lessons.

“Reading lesson?” Jon repeated.

“That’s right.” said Damian. “My sister had a troubled childhood, to put it lightly. She still sometimes struggles with communication and language, so I’ve been giving her reading lessons. In return, she teaches me ballet. It’s a mutually-beneficial exchange. Shall we continue?”

“Yeah… yeah sure.” Jon followed his friend, though he clearly had more questions.

“We can talk later." Said Colin. "I apologize for Dami. He’s very enthusiastic about ballet. You should have seen what happened at the Gotham Youth Dance School last year.” Colin smiled at the memory, walking with the short boys into the changing room, lined with tutus on one side and men’s tights on the other.

“Oh? What happened?” Jon asked. If he was honest, he didn’t really care, but talking would keep him from starting at the pretty tutus for too long.

“Well he joined the group because his dad wanted him to socialize with more kids his own age… to put it plainly, it was a rough start.”

“It was a travesty!” Damian called, joining the conversation from his position, picking out dance shoes of the right sizes for the three of them. “They were trying to do Swan Lake with no black swan or death scene! And not just that but they dumbed down the moves so much! They were treating us like children!”

“We are “children”, Dami.” Replied Colin.
“That’s no excuse!" Exclaimed Damian, as he handed out ballet shoes. "I demanded to be taken seriously as an artist!”
“By screaming, "That’s not how Swan Lake works!", in the director's face?” Colin asked dryly.
“And demanded a chance to prove myself!” Continued Damian, ignoring his boyfriend.
“Hun, you stole the lead girl’s costume and performed the entire act by yourself.”
“And I was perfect!”
Colin couldn’t help but laugh at this, “Yes you were Dami. I can’t disagree with that.”

“What happened then?” Jon asked, now genuinely interested in the drama.

Damian shrugged, “Oh what you’d expect. I was given the lead female role, several angry philistine stage mothers made their daughters quit rather than have a boy outshine them, and my dear Colin helped me give an amazing performance!” Damian and smiled up at Colin, who blushed slightly. “I didn’t end up making the new friends Baba wanted me to, but it was still good times!”

They all laughed at this, but Jon couldn’t help but focus on one detail, “So… you wore a girl’s outfit for the performance?”

“Of course!" Said Damian. "Baba, Richard, Drake, even Todd and I have all worn femenine clothes before. Be it for undercover missions, costume parties or just for fun.”

Damian gestured to the many skirts, dresses and tutus in his size. “I sometimes wear these when dancing if I feel like it.” He remarked “Personally, I don’t think any clothes should belong to only one gender.”

“Really…?” Jon’s gaze went back to the tutus and the skirts. It was clear he wanted to ask something but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Colin recognized the look and smiled, “Do you wanna try dancing in a tutu, Jon?”

“I… well… if it’s ok…” Jon couldn’t help but blush as he stuttered out his response.

“Of course it’s ok Jon! No judgment here.” Damian led his friend over to the girls side. Getting an idea, Damian grabbed a black dress for himself to dance in. With face bright red and hands shaking, Jon reached out and chose a soft pink outfit with silk leggings.

“A very cute choice.” Colin said, watching Jon, while choosing a red men’s outfit for himself. He wasn’t surprised to watch Jon smile and give a small shudder of joy. For some reason the first few affirmations always give you a pleasant tingle through your body. “With hair your length you might want to put it up in a bun.”

“Good idea!” Damian agreed, still completely oblivious to anything going on. “Don’t want it getting in the way. Would you please help him, beloved, while I get changed?” The tiny boy was already off to the changing room.

“Dami might be a little clueless for a genius, but I think I know what you are going through.” Colin said, grabbing a pink ribbon from a basket.

“I… I think you might be right…” Jon said, taking a deep breath. “What you said before… it explained a lot of feelings I’ve been having.”

Gently, the large red head grabbed and shaped the long black hair and tied it up in a small tight top knot. “We can talk all you want after this. But for now, I recommend just enjoying this moment. It’ll mean a lot to you.” He put a comforting hand on Jon’s shoulder and went to change into his own outfit, leaving Jon to do his own.

A few minutes later and Colin was the first one out. “Jon?” He called through the curtain “You ok in there?” After a moment, he poked his head in and found the young Kent looking at himself in the mirror with tears of joy in his eyes.

The outfit suited Jon perfectly. He (or rather, she) looked like a pretty ballerina one would see in a music box. Colin recognized the look in Jon's eyes. It was a look of euphoria.

Suddenly, Jon looked up and noticed Colin. She (for that was how, she now saw herself) wiped her eyes and smiled at the tall boy.

"Do you need a moment?" asked Colin.

“No, I… I just didn’t know I could feel so pretty!” Jon wiped more tears from the corners of her eyes.

“You look really pretty, Jon.” Colin said, smiling with brotherly pride at the pure joy on the young girl’s face. There was no doubt to either of them that was the solution to Jon’s problem. She didn’t feel right because she knew, she had never been a boy.

Jon beamed back at Colin and threw her arms around him, pulling him into a warm hug. Colin smiled and softley patted the young girl’s head. This almost caused the tears of joy to start again.

“ARE YOU TWO NEARLY READY?” came Damian’s voice from the studio. Colin and Jon grinned sheepishly at each other. “You ready?” Colin asked. “No idea!” giggled Jon. Colin offered Jon a hand. “Shall we?” He grinned. “Thank you!” Squeaked Jon as she blushed. They began to make their way out into the studio.

Jon remembered what Cass had said about Damian being “extra”. She could definitely see what she had meant. He was not only wearing the black dress, but tights, long gloves, a ruby-encrusted tiara and perfect make up. “Oh wow…” Colin breathed out, cheeks flushing, “Beautiful as always, Dami!”

Jon was starting in disbelief “How did you do all that by yourself so quick!?”

“Years of practice!” He said proudly, striking a pose.

"Seeing how you're wearing a girl's outfit, I decided that you'd want to dance like one too" Damian remarked as he began stretching his arms and legs as some kind of warm up, encouraging Jon and Colin to do the same. "So it makes sense for me to also wear a girl's outfit as well, so you can see how a professional ballerina would dance."

Damian began examining Jon's appearance. “I must say, you do look very pretty Jon. Of course, no one is allowed to be prettier than me.” Colin laughed at this but Jon wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. “Enough stalling now boys! Ready to begin?”

Jon felt her spirits dip a little to be called a boy; more proof that she had never been one. “I’ll do my best….”

The lesson finally began. Simple moves and simple music. It was much harder than Jon would have thought, and there were times her friends had to help her get out of a tough pose, and yet it was such amazing fun!

Damian was a hard teacher, but Jon was a fast learner. That being said, Jon probably would've learned faster, had she not been constantly distracted by her own appearance. When Jon discovered how amazing and pretty she felt every time she did a little twirl or skip, it became hard to focus on anything else.

"Focus, Kent!" Sighed Damian, as Jon became distracted for what felt like the millionth time. "Honestly! I would have hoped that we could do more than basic pointe technique!"

"Thorry!" Jon giggled, as her excitement made her lisp. She didn't even care that Damian was being bossy. That was his normal attitude anyway. Everything just felt so wonderful. She wanted to stay in that moment forever now that she'd finally discovered her true self.

"You look pretty." Came a voice from the back of the studio. Jon froze, when she noticed that Cassandra had returned. She was now wearing a hoodie and jeans while carrying a pile of books. Jon felt herself turning bright red.

Cass simply smiled at her, and turned to look at Damian. “Book time?” She asked. “Ah, yes!” said Damian “Jon! Colin! We can continue this lesson another time.”

Jon, who was still frozen with embarrassment from Cass’s sudden arrival, suddenly found herself being led out into the changing rooms by Colin.

“Okay, Hun!” Replied Colin. “We’ll wait up for you! Maybe after you’re finished, we can fly Jon back to Metropolis!”

“Wonderful!” smiled Damian. “I look forward to it, Habibi!”
The two boys blew kisses at each other before Damian sat down with Cass in the corner, and Colin pulled Jon into the dressing rooms, closing the door behind them.

“Fly me back?” asked Jon “Like, in the… helicopter?” She had almost said the Bat-Wing but didn’t know if Colin was in on the family secret.

“You’ll see” smiled Colin “Let's get changed. You look really cute, but it's probably not a good idea to wander around the manor dressed like that. Not just yet anyway."

Jon looked down and sighed "Yeah. You're probably right."

She felt Colin put his arm around her. "Hey." He said "It's okay. Damian's gonna be occupied for the next half-hour. That gives us plenty of time to talk."

Artwork by Marzennya

SkirtsnScribbles

Author's note:
we will be publishing a chapter every week on friday until the publishing schedule matches with our AO3 schedule (once every 2 weeks). If you can't wait for the rest of the story, you can find it out on AO3 by clicking here: AO3 link !