Title: Matters of the Heart
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Tim Drake/Kon El
Categories: Mystery, adventure, romance
Length: Epic (51,000)
Warnings: Murder scenes, minor fight damage

Author on AO3: dragonmist310

Summary:
With Clark off-world as an ambassador to Earth, Conner has to watch over Metropolis. Though it should be straightforward, there appears to be something amiss with seemingly random crimes happening around the city. Conner has a hunch that they’re connected and calls in his best friend to help. But as the two of them spend time together working the case, Conner realizes that his feelings for Tim might not be what he had thought.

Review:
I've been enjoying watching this story unfurl. There is an ingenious, in-genre mystery to solve, and perhaps Connor calls in Tim a bit early, but it fits with other story elements. The villains aren't stupid, either, and make the World's Finest juniors work for their victory. Most of all, there is a consistent, well voiced viewpoint to watch it through.

The Connor of this story sometimes comes off as a bit young. That's actually OK in my book; he is dealing with multiple murders here unlike the relatively bloodless supercrimes he normally has to stop, and it's understandable that he takes it to heart more than usual. Lois's observations of how similar Connor and Clark are spot on in this regard, and its good to see how Connor matures a little as things progress.

The romantic elements didn't convince me quite as much as the crime drama, but then it is a good crime drama. The romance still works, and everything that is pointed out about the ways the boys have behaved around each other is perfectly valid, it just doesn't sit quite as easily in the narrative as the mystery. That's not an excuse to skip a nicely done story, though.

Go. Read.

Matters of the Heart