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Language:
English
Series:
Part 2 of Kent Family Fluff
Stats:
Published:
2022-10-05
Completed:
2023-06-08
Words:
15,245
Chapters:
7/7
Comments:
37
Kudos:
121
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14
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3,136

Near-Sighted

Summary:

After facing world ending problems, Lois and Clark are surprised to find new crisis much closer to home when Jonathan begins complaining of headaches, blurry vision and having trouble seeing the board at school.

 

New Chapter 4/5!!

Notes:

Hey all,

Here's another story for my Kent Family Fluff series. This was an idea I had that stems from the fact that I like to take concepts and ideas and mess with them. We have all kind of accepted that Jordan will probably wear fake glasses one day if he follows in Clark's footsteps. But what happens when Jon experiences real problems with his sight???

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment below. I love reading your feedback!

Chapter 1: It Started With a Bad Grade

Chapter Text

Jonathan Kent had a headache. Again.

 

Not a bad one or anything, but just enough to be annoying. And his American history teacher, Mr. Franklin, droning on and on about the Civil War didn’t help. It seemed like if Jon got a headache at school, it was during that class.

 

Mr. Franklin was like 60 years old, and always wrote his notes on the chalkboard in his tiny, cursive handwriting. Luckily, the rest of Jon’s teacher’s were aware that it was in fact the 21st century and either printed out the notes or used a projector to make it easy for the students to see.

 

But not stubborn Mr. Franklin, who insisted on teaching the exact same way he had since the 80’s. And since he taught history, there were about a thousand names and dates to keep track of, meaning his class could be a nightmare.

 

Not that Jon was opposed to working hard, it was just tough when Mr. Franklin wrote so small because the notes were almost impossible to see. If he squinted really hard Jon could make out most of the names, but it was a flawed system. So over time, Jon found that he could get more accurate notes if he listened to the names and dates and wrote them down, instead of trying to read the fuzzy scribbles on the board. That way, at least he was getting the information.

 

It wasn’t a perfect game plan. Usually, Jon had to spend time in the evenings fact checking information on the internet since it was hard to get everything exactly right. Actually, if he was being honest, he hadn’t been quite as diligent with double checking his notes lately. That’s what happened when you were the son of Superman. Sometimes other things just got in the way and Jon barely had enough time to get his actual homework done.

 

But he was doing his best.

 

Part of being in a ‘super family’ as his mom had once called it, was fighting through the pain and through challenging situations. So Jon endured his headache and took notes as best as he could, despite not really being able to see the board.

 

When the bell finally rang, Jon quickly put his things in his bag, anxious to get to lunch. 

 

“Jonathan, could I see you for a moment,” Mr. Franklin asked, stepping behind his desk. A few kids snickered on the way out.

 

“Sure, Mr. Franklin,” Jon answered, trying not to let the teacher’s stern look intimidate him. He approached the teacher’s desk. Mr. Franklin respected Jon’s privacy enough to wait until the other students left before he began the conversation.

 

“You got a D on the last quiz,” Mr. Franklin said, getting right to the point. He placed the paper on the desk so the offending red marks were obvious. “Any idea how that happened?”

 

“I don’t know,” Jon said quietly, immediately embarrassed and ashamed by his performance in the class.

 

“You don’t know,” Mr. Franklin echoed, not quite believing his student. His glasses were perched low on his nose and he managed to look down at Jon with disappointment.

 

“No sir, I guess I just got a few of the dates confused.”

 

Mr. Franklin scoffed. “You got more than a few dates wrong.” He picked up the paper and handed it to Jon. “Your parents need to sign the quiz and I want you to bring it back tomorrow.”

 

Jon’s heart dropped. His parents were going to be so pissed. He nodded and started toward the door.

 

“Oh and Mr. Kent,” the teacher said, drawing Jon’s attention one more time. He turned back to face the disappointed educator again. “Maybe next time, try studying.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Jon said, exiting the room. He wished he had a better explanation for the poor quiz grade. Normally he was a great student and had no problem getting his homework done on time. But with his history class, looking at all those names and dates tended to make his head hurt. Also, when he looked at the paper too long, the tiny words just got blurry, which was another challenge. Jon was sure his parents wouldn’t understand. When things started to get busy they made it clear that family and school came first, which meant there would be hell to pay after he told his parents later that night.

 

Jon had just arrived at his locker, still bummed about the quiz, when Jordan walked up. “Hey bro, you ready for lunch?”

 

“Yeah sure.” Jon put the books from his earlier classes in his locker and shut it. He had already grabbed the materials he needed for his afternoon classes. Jordan of course, had a smile on his face, as he always did these days. 

 

“What’s the matter with you,” Jordan asked, immediately picking up on Jon’s foul mood.

 

“Nothing,” Jon answered, rolling his eyes. Most of the time, having a twin was great, but when he was trying to keep something to himself, it sucked. Jordan could always see through his best defenses and noticed right away when Jon was having a problem. Being the good brother he was, Jordan liked to address the issues immediately, even if Jon wasn’t quite ready.

 

“Come on, man, it’s me. What’s up?” Jordan persisted.

 

“I told you, nothing!” Why couldn’t Jordan just leave it alone? “Look, why don’t you just go to lunch without me. I’ll get something from the vending machine. I should go to the library and catch up on some homework. I’ll see you later.”

 

Watching Jonathan storm off, his brother could tell immediately that his initial hunch was right; something was definitely wrong. Jordan’s theory was only further confirmed when he stopped by the library after lunch to check on Jon. His twin was hunched over, with his face too close to the computer. He was squinting at the screen diligently copying notes. Every thirty seconds or so he would wince and rub his temple, like he was fighting a headache.

 

A big part of Jordan wanted to go to his brother, but he knew that based on the way Jon was acting, he needed some alone time right now. With a sigh, Jordan left the library, hoping he would get a chance to talk to his brother soon.

 

But Jon was really good at keeping things to himself. Due to his work schedule, different classes, and just other things that came up and Jordan didn’t really see his brother the rest of the day. 

 

Despite their crazy lives, Lois and Clark tried to make it a priority to have family dinner together as often as they could. At first when they got together that night, things seemed normal. Everybody gave an update on their day, Clark made a few lame jokes and Jordan once again pestered his dad to go out on more missions, and was promptly denied. It became clear that something was a bit off with their normal family dynamic. Clark picked up on it first.

 

“Jonathan, are you alright,” he asked, noticing how quiet his normally chatty son was.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I just have to tell you guys something.”

 

“What happened,” Lois asked, immediately on guard, turning towards her pensive son.

 

Jon always hated when his mom got like this, because she could be downright scary when she got mad. “It’s really not that big of a deal or anything,” Jonathan said, nervously running his fingers through his hair. “I just got a bad grade on a quiz and I need you guys to sign it.”

 

Lois and Clark exchanged a look. “A bad grade on a quiz,” Lois asked, making sure she heard him right. Jon nodded, looking down at his plate.

 

“Can we see it?”

 

“Sure, Dad.” Jonathan went over to his book bag, which was still downstairs. Sometimes he preferred to do his homework at the table where he could spread all his books around. He unzipped the front pouch, and pulled out the quiz.

 

Feeling like he was on trial, Jon walked back over to his parents holding the paper. He placed it in his mom’s outstretched hand. She glanced at the grade, disapproval evident on her face.

 

“A D, Jonathan? That’s not like you. What happened?” Lois was trying her best to remain patient and hear the whole story before she got mad.

 

“I don’t know,” Jon replied, not meeting his parents’ eyes.

 

“That’s not an answer,” retorted Lois.

 

“Did you just not study enough, not understand the material maybe,” Clark asked gently, sensing Jon was upset about the grade. He preferred a softer touch when it came to parenting.

 

“I don’t know,” Jon repeated softly. “Can you just sign it and punish me so I can go upstairs, please?”

 

“Jonathan, we’re not gonna punish you,” Clark said, surprised that his son had immediately jumped to that conclusion.

 

“Wait, you aren’t? But I got a really bad grade.”

 

“Yeah, one bad grade. That sounds more like a fluke than a problem, to me,” said Clark. “I think we should focus more on keeping it from happening again than punishment.”

 

“That seems fair,” Lois agreed, appreciating her husband’s voice of reason and level head. “So, Jonathan, what do you think happened with this quiz?”

 

“I told you, I don’t know,” Jonathan exploded, jumping out of his chair. “I’m going upstairs to work on homework, since apparently I’m too dumb to get good grades.”

 

“Jonathan!”

 

“Just leave me alone,” he yelled back, stomping up the stairs.

 

The rest of the Kent family sat there in shock as they processed what happened. The display was so far from Jonathan’s normal behavior that it was downright shocking. He was normally so collected and rational that this change in behavior just didn’t make sense. “What was that all about,” Clark finally asked, expressing the question that the rest of them wanted the answer to.

 

“I don’t know, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Lois said. She stood up and looked toward the stairs, making her intentions clear.

 

“Wait Mom, before you go after him, I think there’s something deeper going on,” Jordan said, stopping his mom simply with the blatant concern in his voice.

 

“What do you mean Jordan?”

 

Jordan quickly explained what had happened between two boys at school earlier that day and Jon’s strange attitude. “And then,” Jordan continued, “I checked on him in the library and he was leaning really close to the screen and squinting a lot, like it was really tough for him. But guys, he was just taking notes, like it shouldn’t have been challenging at all. And he was acting like his head hurt too. I’m telling you, the whole thing was weird, and not like him at all.”

 

Lois began pacing, considering everything Jordan had just said and the way she had seen Jon act, trying to put the pieces together. 

 

“Babe?” Clark stood up too. “What are you thinking?”

 

Being one of the best investigative reporters of her generation, it did not take Lois long to come up with a plausible theory. She stopped and looked over at her family members. “I think Jonathan might be having vision problems.