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Five times Damian witnessed a marriage proposal, and one time he attends a wedding.
1.
Damian was 11; Jon 8, sporting a scraped knee that Damian was diligently bandaging and tear streaks staining his face. He'd stopped crying only a minute earlier, which Damian was thankful for, and only small sniffles could be heard.When Damian finished with Jon's knee, he lightly tapped his best friend's thigh, offering a small smile as he spoke, "all better." Jon returned the smile shakily, moving to stand up. Damian helped him, steadying him when he almost fell over."Thank you." Jon's reply was whispered, but Damian caught it nonetheless. He pet Jon's back comfortingly, which made him smile brighter."No problem. It was a nasty scrape."Jon nodded, looking triumphant at having made it through the injury. Damian thought it was cute."We should get married. Then I can look after your injuries too!" Jon still had that golden smile on his face during the proclamation. Damian snickered, causing Jon's smile to falter slightly. "Why are you laughing?"Damian shook his head. "We can look after each other without being married."Jon seemed to consider this for a moment - as much as an eight-year-old could. "Yeah, but being married sounds cool." Damian laughed again. Jon tipped his head, questioning."Okay, sure," Damian said, holding out his pinky finger. "Let's get married."Jon beamed, and connected their pinkies.
2.
His father was going to propose. To Selina Kyle.It wasn't that Damian minded - he was glad to see his father this happy - or that he didn't like Selina. It was just - why did he have to be there to witness it?Sure, it was a monumental moment in Bruce's life, getting married for the first time, but Damian was barely thirteen and his best friend had just moved away, and he was sad, okay? The last thing he needed was to fake happy for someone else's benefit.But, just because he didn't want or need it didn't mean he wouldn't. Plastering the smile on his face, he clapped when his father pulled out the ring and Selina gasped. Damian was sure he heard Dick sob somewhere.As cheesy as it was, it was beautiful, he could admit. Selina was laughing. Bruce was smiling. They were hugging, and someone covered his eyes when they started kissing. He's sure their wedding would be beautiful, too.Swatting the hands over his eyes away, he turned and walked off to find a glass of water. If it was always going to be this sappy; if he was always going to be treated as a child at these events; he hoped witnessing proposals wouldn't become a tradition.
3.
Not even a year later, Dick told Damian of his plans to propose to Barbara. As soon as the words, "I want you to be there," were out of Dick's mouth, Damian was pushing away from the table and walking off, the memories from Bruce and Selina's engagement (and wedding) playing through his mind.This is the opposite of what he wanted. But, he supposed, if Dick wanted him to...he could. Damian told him exactly that when Dick tracked him down.When the planned day arrived, they all - the Waynes, sans Jason, and Barbara - sat comfortably in the living room of Wayne manor, Dick's head rested on Barbara's lap as she read a book of some description. Damian was about to walk off in search of something more entertaining to do when he felt a pair of eyes on him and looked over, only to see Dick glaring at him. Damian sat back down, whispering a small, "oh."And a few minutes later, Dick was down on one knee, proposing to a surprisingly-uncomfortable-looking Barbara. She told Dick that she wasn't ready - didn't want that type of commitment, didn't know if she ever did. Dick smiled, still, and put the ring away. He told her it was okay and that he'd wait. Barbara looked relieved, and kissed him, which is when Damian really decided to leave.They didn't last. Damian had to comfort Dick that night, after Barbara left. He had to comfort him again, months later, when she broke up with him, claiming she could never give him what he needed.Damian didn't want to witness another proposal - not after this. He vowed to avoid any and all mentions of marriage while rubbing comforting circles into his brother's back.
4.
Jason came back from three years in god-knows-where with Timothy Drake against his side. Jason doesn't even greet anyone properly when he first walks into the manor - except Alfred, who probably would have murdered him otherwise - only yelling out a loud, "guess who's back."Damian hears a small slap and reprimand of "Jason" from where he's sitting at the top of the staircase. Damian couldn't deal with this news right now - not when he was seeing Jon, properly, for the first time 5 years in half an hour. Both families had been too busy to do more than skype and phone calls throughout the years, but they were both finally free. He was even dressed nicely for the occasion. Stupid brother of his.Walking down the staircase, he hears Bruce grilling Jason about where he's been, why he didn't say anything and why the hell is Timothy Jackson Drake here in their house?The answers are simple: anywhere and everywhere, he didn't feel like it, and he wanted to introduce his boyfriend to his family. The whole house fell dead silent at the last answer. Jason smirked as Tim blushed and tried to diffuse the growing tension."You disappear for three years, not telling anyone, and come back with a boyfriend?" Bruce asked, teeth clenching. Jason whistled innocently."Pretty much. And I told Alfred, so you knew I wasn't dead. I...called," Jason responded. Damian knows he called. He was the only one there when he had, back when Jason first left, and he hadn't called again. They'd spoken, and it was that small conversation that led to text chains of checking up on each other, making sure Jason hadn't died in the middle of nowhere. Although, all through those check-ins, he'd scarcely heard mention of his road-trip partner, so he was as surprised as his father at the news.The tension between Jason and his father was high. Jason was stiff, uneasy, and Bruce was unmoving. Just when he thought punches would be thrown, Bruce pulls both Jason and Tim into a bone-crushing hug. He hears Tim squeak in surprise and smirks.The moment was interrupted by the doorbell ringing, and Damian bolted to the door before anyone else could think to, and opened it. Upon seeing that the person standing on the other side was, in fact, Jonathan Kent, Damian brought him into a tight hug. He missed his best friend.-Jon and Damian were re-exploring the manor when they heard soft whispers coming from the library. They were two teenage boys - of course they'd be curious - so they cracked open the door the slightest, and saw Jason and Tim locked in an embrace. They were talking soft, but loud enough for the boys to hear something along the lines of "you're fine", and "they like you, don't worry."All Damian really cared about, though, was the soft glint he saw in one of Jason's pockets. Oh no.He turned to Jon, wide-eyed, but the younger was too engrossed in the events unfolding.Jason pulled out the ring. Damian couldn't hear what they were saying at first, but Tim was crying, cupping his face, before he smiled wide and pounced on Jason, yelling "yes!" at a volume that ensured the rest of the house should have heard, so he could hazard a guess.When Jason slipped the ring on Tim's finger, Damian couldn't help but yell, "are you kidding?"The look on Jason's face was almost worth being chased all throughout the manor grounds.
5.
Dick was dating his best friend and Damian hadn't even known. And, okay, Damian wasn't as "in-tune" with Dick's life as he had been before Jon moved back to Gotham for university two years prior. Sue him - he had his best friend back, and it's not like Dick said anything!So it's not his fault that when - to everyone's surprise, alright, cut him some slack - Wally West got down on one knee in the middle of one of Bruce's galas and produced a ring, he yelled a shrill "not again!" He was a little traumatised, perhaps. He wanted the best for Dick, of course, but how could he be so sure this one wouldn't end like the one with Barbara? And how come he had to see it?Everyone ignored him, except for Jon, who was holding back laughter behind his hand. Jon had gotten gorgeous in his twenty years, and Damian was almost ashamed of how beautiful he thought his best friend to be."Y'know," Jon started when he calmed down and everyone was paying attention to the newly-engaged couple. "We still haven't gotten married, even after twelve years." There was a chuckle, and Damian swallowed."It could be arranged," he spoke, trying to ignore the way Jon smiled bright. "If you take me on a date first.""Deal!" Jon saluted him, and Damian laughed.They attended Dick and Wally's wedding as a couple.
+ 1.
"It's been almost 20 years, Damian," Jon spoke softly, swaying to the music with his husband."It's been sixteen, Jonathan," Damian corrected, though he smiled fondly. "Still a ways off."Jon pouted, and Damian kissed him softly, because he could. He heard a whistle off to the side, and he pulled away to find Jason wiggling eyebrows at them, Tim glaring at his husband. Damian sighed, turning his attention back to Jon."It's payback for you yelling 'are you kidding' after they'd just gotten engaged," Jon told him matter-of-factly. Damian scowled. "Besides, you embarrassed Jason plenty at his wedding. Let him have this, you meanie."Damian sighed, but relented."Y'know, as much as I hated being forced to see everyone's proposals," Jon raised an eyebrow, "I'm glad we saw Dick's. With the whole - it's been twelve years, you dork.""You like it."Jon smiled, and kissed Damian again.