Work Text
No one was surprised when Jon and Damian walked into the cave holding hands. There was excitement over the new development, relief that they’d finally gotten their shit together, and a few exchanges of money, but not surprise. Pretty much the entire hero community had watched the two dance around each other for almost a year, pining their hearts out, they all knew the pair would get together eventually it was just a question of when. Well, almost everyone. Batman was engrossed in his newest case he didn’t hear the commotion around him, he had learned a long time ago how to tune out his surroundings and unless the voices turned hostile with each other he wasn’t listening. A few minutes later he turned around to see all his children wearing a mix of knowing looks and bright smiles. When his eyes settled on his youngest he noticed his hand was intertwined with Superboy’s.
He nodded at them, “I’m glad you two finally got over your rivalry.” Everyone instantly stops what they were doing and turn to look at him. Confusion was written clearly on all their faces.
“Uh Bruce” Duke spoke up, “They’re-” he was quickly cut off by a hand over his mouth. Steph’s eye shined with mischief as she looked at Bruce, who just shook his head and turned away. Whatever his kids were up to it was better if he didn’t get involved. As he started out of the cave he noticed Jason trying very hard not to laugh. He definitely didn’t want to be dragged into whatever this was. Once back in the manor Bruce could have sworn he heard faint laughter coming from the cave, which shouldn’t have been possible with the soundproofing. When he relayed the whole thing to Alfred later the butler just raised his eyebrows, then shook his head and didn’t comment.
------
A phone went off at the Kent house. “That's mine!” Jon called then ran into the room.
“No superspeed in the house.” Lois scolded, but she couldn’t muster up much fire behind the words. After all, she knew what it was like to be in a new relationship. Kon just sent his little brother a knowing look before stepping out of the room.
He gave her an apologetic smile before picking up the phone, “Hi Dami!” Jon’s voice was full of sunshine when he spoke, it made both his parent smile. He began babbling about random things to Damian, enjoying every second of the call. Clark quickly turned his attention away from his son and refocused his hearing so he wouldn’t accidentally eavesdrop. After nearly 20 minutes he caught the end of the call, “By Dami! I love you!”
Clark smiled, “It’s really nice the two of you are so close. Having good friends is important.” Jon stared at his dad, a blush creeping onto his face. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something but decided against it.
Later Jon talked with Lois. “Should we tell them? I don’t want to lie.”
Lois snorted, “Trust me, you two aren’t lying or hiding anything. They’re just dense. I agree with the others, it’ll be funny to see how long it takes them to get it.”
Jon giggled, it was kind of funny.
------
Everyone was getting ready to leave for patrol, it was loud and rowdy. Jason’s shout of “Happy one month baby bat,” was almost lost in the commotion.
Damian blushed and mumbled out something about minding your own business, but the small smile he was trying to hide was telling. Cass ruffled his hair. Before anyone else could say something Batman called them to over to go over patrol routes for the night and what to look out for.
Once he was done everyone started to leave expect Damian, “Father I have something to ask you.”
The small amount of anxiety in his son’s voice caught him off guard, but he didn’t show it, “What is it?”
“I would like to go on a trip to Japan with Jon. We would be gone for the next four days.”
Bruce blinked, normally Damian would just run off and shout he’d be back on his way out the door as an afterthought. This was different, but not unwelcome. “You may go, just make sure to tell us if something goes wrong. Thank you for asking.” Damian nodded then headed out.
As Bruce went to leave too, he noticed a number of his children staring at him. Jason looked baffled, “You’re gonna let him go just like that? No extra rules or supervision?”
“Why would they need it? Jon and Damian have gone on missions together without supervision plenty of times. They’ve had their own ‘secret’ base for years. I see no problem with them being on their own for a few days. Besides, it’s good to gain experience in foreign environments.”
He heard a strangled sound to his left and turned to see Tim gaping at him gesturing wildly. “You…..but…...they…...how!” The shock seemed to take away his ability to form full sentences. He took a few deep breaths to regain control of himself. Then fixed Bruce with a pointed look, “The title of ‘World’s Greatest Detective’ has now been officially transferred to me. You’ve lost your right to it.” Then left without another word.
By the exit of the cave, Cass turned to her youngest brother and signed ‘Why Japan?’
Damian blushed, looking at the floor, “Jon likes the video games from there.” Cass smiled.
------
Clark left the kitchen and began to set the table. Usually, the rule was someone other than the person who cooked set the table, but Lois was working on an article, Kon was in space, and Jon had Damian over. The two hadn’t seen each other all week so Clark thought he’d give them some extra time to catch up.
A few minutes later as he walked to get the rest of his family Clark let his thoughts wander. He hoped Lois liked dinner, he’d found the recipe online and it sounded like something she’d enjoy. He’d also had to make a few adjustments because of Damian’s dietary restrictions. His mind was still on if he’d cooked the tofu correctly when he opened the door to his son’s room.
“Hey, dinners read-oh!” the scene that greeted him was not what he was expecting. Damian had Jon pinned to the floor and they were both looking at him with a deer in the headlights sort of expression. They were breathing heavily, their hair a mess, clothes disheveled, and a deep flush on both of their faces. “What are you two doing?”
“Uh,” Jon answered scrambling out from under Damian, “Sparring! We were sparing.”
Normally he could hear people’s heartbeat speed up when they lied, but both of their hearts were racing and had been since he walked up there. So he didn’t notice. Clark sighed, “You two know you're not supposed to spar in the house. You could break something.”
Damian looked away, more from embarrassment than shame, “We’re sorry I was just…..testing to make sure Jon to make sure he didn’t let his guard down.”
“Just don’t do it again, dinner’s ready.” Clark the room and saw Lois standing at the end of the hall, watching the proceedings with a pained expression.
“Clark, honey.”
“What is it Lois?”
She shook her head and sighed, “Nothing, I’ll meet you in the dining room after I talk with the boys about ah sparing in the house real quick.”
He nodded as she stepped into the room. Lois looked at the two boys, now standing on opposite sides of the room avoiding eye contact and still completely red. “Really? Sparring? I thought you didn’t want to lie?”
Jon looked up at his mom, “I don’t! I want him to figure it out as much as you do just…..not like that, and you can’t tell him! Please?”
“Oh I won’t,” Lois agreed, “But I will be telling Damian’s siblings.” and just like that the relief that had filled the two was murdered, dumped into a river, and replaced by pure dread.
After dinner and dishes, Lois said she had to make a phone call before she got back to work. Jon sat at the foot of his bed. Damian was lying face down in a pillow.
“It coulda been worse,” Jon said, “It coulda been your dad who walked in on us.”
Damian didn’t move and his voice was slightly muffled by the pillow, “With his track record so far, he would have corrected my form then tried to teach you how to get out of a pin.” Jon couldn’t deny that.
------
Everyone had been in a frenzy since Superboy failed to check in after his solo mission two hours ago. Any hero who wasn’t either mid-battle or caught up in some other mission was helping look. They checked every lead they could, followed every trail, they pulled every resource they had and didn’t know what to expect when they found him. One thing they weren’t expecting though, was for Jon to show up on the Bat Cave’s doorstep with Talia Al Ghul right behind him. Batman and Nightwing were the only ones there at the time, going over any clues to where Superboy might have been while everyone else either patroled or helped search. When they saw the two both were in a defensive stance in less than a second. Jon shifted awkwardly on his feet and Talia rolled her eyes, “If I wanted to attack either of you, you wouldn’t see me coming.”
“Hand Superboy over Talia,” Bruce growled out. Usually, the voice he was using would cause even the most hardened criminals to break down in tears, Talia just snorted.
“That’s what I’m trying to do but your hostility is giving me second thoughts.” Bruce grits his teeth and forced himself to relax his stance. She smiled, “Was that so hard?”
Bruce tore his attention away from Talia to assess Jon’s well being. Nightwing was happy to fill the role of Glaring Bat in the meantime. Jon looked mostly unharmed, he was visibly tired and worn out, probably from being exposed to kryptonite. There were abrasions on his wrists from being tied up but other than that and a few scratches, Jon was fine.
“You took him.” it was a statement, not a question.
“Of course I took him. Who else has the resources to hide a half Kryptonian from the entire superhero community for 3 hours?”
Bruce resisted the urge to start listing off candidates, “Why?”
“Why?” Talia’s voice was like acid, “Did you seriously just ask me why I did this?”
The lack of response is all Talia needs to know his answer, she scoffs “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t care? I am Damian’s mother whether any of you like it or not and I am going to make sure my son is treated well!”
“You expect me to believe that’s why you went after superboy?”
“Of course! He’s Damian’s-” Talia’s eyes caught movement behind Bruce. Nightwing was gesturing frantically for her attention then mouthed out a message, she got a general idea, “Superboy is Damian’s closest friend and ally. I only wanted to ensure he is worthy of my son.”
“Leave Talia.”
She shook her head, “You do not get to order me around.” She took a step toward Jon and both vigilantes tensed, but Talia simply leaned over and whispered something to the boy.
Jon nodded, “I will ma’am.”
A small smile formed on Talia's lips, and for a second Bruce swears there was fondness in her eyes. Then she shot one more glare at him and disappeared into the shadows.
Bruce rushed forward to Jon, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah I’m good, she didn’t really hurt me.”
He had already figured that but hearing it from Jon made it more real, “Nightwing, call Superman.”
“Already on it!” Dick was typing on the batcomputer and a second later he heard his friends voice through the speaker.
Bruce turned back to Jon, “Just now, what did she ask you?”
Jon’s face turned slightly pink and he kept opening and closing his mouth like he was trying to figure out how to answer. After a minute he responded in a quiet voice, “She asked me to help Damian find happiness.”
That…was not what Bruce was expecting. He gave a simple nod to hide his shock.
About an hour later after the supers had reunited and Jon had been given the all-clear. Nightwing met on the roof of a warehouse with the Demon’s Daughter.
“He truly doesn’t know?” Nightwing gave her an amused nod, “How is that possible? I was on the other side of the planet and I knew!” She couldn't wrap her head around it. “And neither does the alien?”
“Nope,” Nightwing responded, popping the p, “At first it was really funny so we decided to see how long it would take them to figure it out. Now it’s just frustrating.”
“Why not just tell them?”
“We’re in too deep, it’s pretty late in the game to just tell them. Besides,” he smirked, “It’s a lot less gratifying than seeing how everything plays out.” Talia conceded that much was true.
Nightwing looked at her, the teasing edge in his voice gone. “He’s a good kid.”
“I know,” Talia responded.
“If you wanted to meet him you could have just asked, we’d understand.”
It was Talia’s turn to smirk, “Now where’s the fun in that? Besides, I have a reputation to uphold.”
“Do you mean the reputation of a dangerous assassin or of a terrifying mother?”
“Can’t it be both?” A moment of silence passed between the two. “He’ll be good for Robin.”
Nightwing laughed, “Trust me he already is.”
Talia smiled again, “Although I must say, I was rather surprised when Superboy understood the orders I was giving the others in Arabic.”
Another laugh, “I can imagine. Robin started teaching him a few years ago.”
“Did he learn kryptonese in return?”
“They learned that one together.”
------
The deal was if Jon got all his homework done Friday night he could spend Saturday at the Watchtower. Jon loved the Watchtower, the sense of amazement that came with being in space never faded for him. Plus he got to see the rest of the Justice League who were like family to him. It only took him half an hour to finish everything, super speed had its benefits, (if he only spent four minutes on that essay due next Wednesday, well no one needed to know that, it wasn’t due for another five days after all.)
The next day Superboy flew into the watchtower common room to see Hal, Barry, and Dinah playing poker while Diana watched. “Hi y’all!”
“Hey Jon!” Barry answered back, it was always nice having the kid around. He made everything brighter. “Want us to deal you in?”
Jon shook his head, “I’ve been told I’m no good at poker.”
“One of the bats tell you that?” Hal asked, “I’m sure you're aware of their unusually high standards.”
“Actually it was my friend Kathy, she says I have the worst poker face she’s ever seen and that trying to play every hand is a bad strategy.” everyone let out a laugh.
Dinah ruffled his hair, “She wouldn’t be wrong.”
Jon joined Diana in watching them play. He was telling her about a cute dog Damian had introduced him to when Clark came in.
“How is Robin?” asked Dinah as she won another hand, “We haven’t seen him around recently.”
Jon’s smile widened a bit more, “He’s doing good! He discovered this smuggling ring that deals with exotic pets and poached goods, so he and Nobody have been dismantling it.” There was a small amount of pride in his voice as he talked about his partner’s adventures.
Hal smirked, “You’re going on a month and a half now right?” Jon turned red and stammered out a yes.
All the adults in the room glanced at Clark, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Diana sighed before turning to Jon and putting her hand on his shoulder, “We are all very happy for you.” He grinned and hugged her.
“What are you talking about?” Clark asked.
Dinah shook her head, “For a man with a hundred different types of vision, you’re blind as hell.” Barry snorted and Hal gave her a high five. ”Alright, you two fools want to play another hand or have I taken enough of your money?”
------
Damian had reached his breaking point. Ever since he turned sixteen it was like a switch had been flipped. The socialites, who previously would pinch his cheek and comment on what a nice young man he was, realized what a valuable opportunity he was. Damian was the biological son of the richest man in Gotham, that position alone made him a huge target for people trying to marry into wealth or prestige. Occasionally, it was some girl around his age trying to flirt her way to money, but more often than not it was someone from an upper-class family trying to set him up with their daughter, niece, or younger sister. Those were always the worst, they didn’t see their female relatives as anything more than things to bargain with to gain more power. It got worse as he got older but Damian did his best to politely decline, he’d gotten a lot better at dealing with rich jerks than when he first came to live with his father. It was something all his siblings had put up with. They still had the video of Cass hitting a douchebag that wouldn’t stop hitting on her in the throat.
It was the first gala he’d needed to attend since they started dating. Jon hadn’t been able to come because of some school thing, Maya was out of the country at the moment, and Colin was busy with some volunteer work that he had already agreed to do and was conveniently the same day as the gala. So his only allies tonight against the hoard of Gotham’s elite were Dick, Tim, Duke, and his father. Jason, Cass, and Steph were either working a case or on patrol. Damian would give anything to trade spots with them. They were only an hour and a half into the gala and he’d been introduced to six girls. The phrase ‘you’d make such a cute couple’ might be permanently seared into his memory. It was annoying and uncomfortable. He'd never been interested in a relationship with any of them and sometimes the socialites wouldn't leave him alone even after he'd told them that, repeatedly. Besides, none of his potential suitors could even dream of living up to Jon so they might as well…..Jon. An idea started to form in Damian’s head. While many don’t respect a person’s desire to simply be left alone, they do respect when someone is in a relationship and will stop trying to flirt with them or set them up. A backwards way of thinking, but one he can use to his advantage.
Across the floor, Duke leaned over to Tim, “In about 80 seconds Damian is going to say something that will send the room into chaos.”
Tim nods dutifully and pulls out his phone, “Who do I film?”
“I think other people will be filming Damian so cover Bruce, whatever happens, his reaction is gonna be gold.”
Damian walked over to the podium that had been set up before the gala and stepped on. “May I have everyone’s attention for a moment, I have something I’d like to say.”
People turned towards the podium. A number of reporters stopped mid-interview to watch, a few pointing their cameras at him as well. It wasn’t entirely unusual for one of the Wayne kids to make some sort of announcement or talk about a social issue at one of these events. Either way, it was important to cover. To the left of the podium, Bruce felt his anxiety levels rising.
Damian leaned into the mic, “Many people have tried to set me up on dates, I’d like for that to stop. I have a boyfriend,” and then walked away.
Bruce felt his brain short circuit. It was split between the thoughts of ‘
What the hell was Damian thinking? You can’t just say stuff like that with no explanation, especially not to a bunch of reporters!
’ and ‘
Damian has a boyfriend?????
’ Bruce knew his youngest wouldn’t make something like that up for the simple reason of wanting to be left alone. It was far more likely that Damian was using existing circumstances to his advantage. The only thing that allowed him to recover from his shock faster than the rest of the room were years of training. He was already stepping onto the platform, moving completely on autopilot, when the reporters started clamoring for answers. The scene reminded him of sharks in freshly chummed water. A strained smile made its way across his face, “We will not be taking questions at this time.”
“Who is Damian dating?”
‘
I’d love to know!’
”We won’t be disclosing any information about the boy in order to respect their privacy.” As Bruce tried to regain control of the room his mind was racing, trying to figure out who his son was in a relationship with and when it started. As far as he knew Damian hadn’t met anyone new recently. Colin hadn’t been coming over any more frequently than usual, neither had Billy. He ran through every option he could think of until he finally got to Jon, and then it became glaringly obvious. There were so many signs how had he not seen them? The longer he thought about it the more strained his smile became. Across the floor, he could see Tim laughing hysterically, Duke with a shocked expression frozen on his face, and Dick cleaning up shards from the glass he dropped while trying to suppress a smile. Bruce had the sneaking suspicion they weren’t as out of the loop as he was.
Half an hour later, Bruce had finally gotten everything settled down enough to leave. He found Damian hanging out in a back room reading a book, “I’m guessing we’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“That is a
major
understatement.”
“Do you know who I’m dating?”
“Please, do have some faith in me.”
Damian smirked, “Just making sure, considering you didn’t notice for two months.” Bruce glared and Damian looked down at his shoes, “Should I call the Kents?”
“Tomorrow, first, you are going to review everything we have about how to handle the press, and I am going to get some sleep”
------
Saturday morning, the Kents were going about their daily routine when Clark’s phone went off. It was a link to an article that Bruce sent him. The title “Wayne Heir Has Secret Boyfriend” with a picture of Damian on a podium. After quickly skimming the article it was clear this wasn’t just gossip some magazine made up to sell more copies. He turned to his son who was putting away dishes from breakfast, “Hey Jon did you know Damian was dating someone?”
The only thing that saved the dishes in Jon’s hand from smashing on the ground was Kon’s superspeed. “What was that?”
“Did you know Damian was dating someone?”
“Uh, yes,” Jon responded, completely red and very confused, “I am aware.”
Across the kitchen, while putting the dishes away Kon muttered, “I should hope so, we can only afford one dumbass in the family.” Lois swatted his arm.
“Oh good! Do you know who he’s dating?” Clark asked innocently.
Jon just gaped at him with a befuddled look on his face. He had no idea how to respond to that. After about thirty seconds Lois decided to take mercy on them. “Oh dear
God
Clark it’s him! He’s Damian's boyfriend! Now save your shock for later I’m guessing Bruce wants to have a talk with Jon that he’ll want us all present for.”
------
"Two months!" Bruce cried, Jon and Damian looked mildly guilty while the rest of the bat kids just looked amused, "You were dating for over two months and didn't think to tell us!"
“Were you worried we wouldn’t accept you?”
Lois put a hand on her husband’s shoulder, “Considering none of Damian’s siblings are straight, I don’t think that was a concern.”
"In their defense," Dick chimed in, "It's not like they were hiding it."
Kon raised his hand, the expression he wore was one of a soldier recalling traumatic memories, "I can attest the fact that they weren't hiding anything."
Steph snorted, “Hell yes to that,” and gave him a high five.
“Really you two are just dense.” Jason looked like he was enjoying this a little too much.
Cass rolled her eyes, ‘It was our idea not to tell you, we wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out.’
“It took a lot longer than we thought it would,” added Duke.
“Which reminds me,” Tim commented, “Queen owes me fifty dollars.”
Bruce blinked, “You bet that it would take two months for us to find out?”
“No, he bet that you would eventually figure it out. I bet that someone would have to tell you.”
Steph thought for a moment, “I think it was Diana who had the closest bet for how long it would take.”
“Aunt Diana bet on this?” Jon sounded aghast.
“Everyone in the hero community bet on this,” Kon said.
Damian put his face in his hands, “I hate all of you so much right now.”
Dick ruffled his little brother's hair, “Both of you did agree to let this play out instead of telling them.”
“I didn’t know you’d turn the whole situation into an economic opportunity!”
“You really should have,” interjected Jason, “I mean really, do you know how much Cass made on when you and sunshine over there would get together?”
Her smile suggested it was a lot.