Chapter Text
Damian’s hand tapped against his thigh as he made the turn into the apartment complex, a pretty nice area for a college student with a child. He had gone as casual and non threatening as possible, and despite his lengthy experience with children, this was Jon's child and that was infinitely more important than anything else.
He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, a black turtleneck under it. His hair was brushed, but unstyled and free of jel.
He’d forgone makeup and his usual earrings for small sleeper hoops and a stud in each ear, tennis shoes rather than the fancier footwear he’d normally have on.
Overall, he seemed to appear much closer to a college or high school student then the businessman air he’d present when walking around.
The door read the same number the text did, and he breathed in to settle himself before knocking.
It swung open near immediately, Jon’s thousand watt smile shining down on him in barely contained excitement.
“Hi Dami!” He swooped to hug him quickly, before grabbing his hand and leading him in.
Damian took in the apartment, a homey and quaint feeling to it. The decor was minimal but gave a sense of character to the place, all the pictures hung up and little signs.
“We’re watching a movie and coloring in the living room. Hey, princess, I've brought a friend over!”
Damian’s eyes landed on a small mess of curls, hunched over a piece of paper on the coffee table, and Jon pushed him forwards a bit.
”Say hello.” he whispered to him, bouncing on his toes.
Gently, he leaned down grabbing a piece of paper and a nearby crayon. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Laurel said back, sparing him a glance before returning to her art.
“My name is Damian, what’s yours?”
“Laurel. You’re Daddy’s friend.”
Damian chuckled softly, peeking at her paper. “That I am. I like your art.”
“S’not done. It’s a flower. A sunflower. Daddy likes the sun.”
“What do you like?” Damian held a crayon above his paper, waiting for her answer. Laurel’s face scrunched up, before deciding on one thing.
“I like kitties. Fluffy.”
He set to work, sketching out a cartoonish cat with the gray crayon. “That’s cool. I have a cat, he’s very fluffy. His name is Alfred.”
“Funny name.” Laurel remarked. “Good cat?”
He was working out the smaller details now, coloring it in. “Very good cat. He’s a great listener. If I come again, I might bring him sometime so that you can see him. Would you like that?”
She looked up from her art and nodded, and he smiled, gifting her the paper. “Here you go.”
The blue eyes widened, and Damian was sure if they had been in the mangas he’d read when he was a teen, they’d have sparkles pulsating in them.
“Pretty!” She breathed.
They’d both forgotten all about Jon, who made himself known as he prompted her gently.
“What do you say, Princess?”
“Thank you, Damian!” She parroted dutifully, tiny hand running over the art. She set it next to her own drawing and continued on it, Damian standing up to join Jon on the couch.
“Aren’t you going to color with us?” He grinned.
“Nah, i colored already.” Jon looked like he’d been told he won the lottery, knee bouncing as Damian sat.
“I forgot you used to be able to draw so well! You guys are so cute!”
“I was never the cute one.” Damian grumbled. “You were the cute one that all the mothers adored, all respectful and polite, and I was the one who was much too blunt with too many siblings for my father to handle.”
Jon snorted. “You’re not wrong. Once middle school rolled around, you were too busy being an older sibling to really care. And it’s not your fault elementary school Damian wasn’t like, super nice. You were the kid that ruined Santa Claus for everyone though, even in high school I don’t think some people forgave for that.”
Damian laughed aloud, both settling on the couch with a newfound familiarity, a cartoon movie playing in the background as they chatted, Laurel doodling with her set of crayons.
The movie ended and Jon clicked to the next one in the similar movies section. Laurel stood as the beginning credits rolled, two pieces of paper in her hands. She held out the one with a crudely drawn flower on it, quickly identified as a sunflower as both were reminded of her earlier words.
Jon cooed over it appropriately, dropping a kiss on her head. Damian watched them with a soft look on his face that quickly melted into surprise as Laurel turned and wordlessly shoved the other piece of paper in his hand.
It was by no means spectacular and very evidently drawn by a toddler, a small black and white blob with another blob on top, four lines and two triangles on the smaller one.
“Your kitty.” Laurel explained as he looked it over, the soft expression returning. He glanced up, the smile now directed at her.
“Thank you, little one.” He said reverently. “It looks just like him.”
She beamed at him, and he was struck with just how much the simple expression made her look so much like her father, filled with sunshine and sweetness, just a hint of mischievousness hiding underneath.
Innocence, he thought to himself. Innocence in its purest form.
He ruffled her silky curls and with another smile, she turned back to the movie. Damian sat with a fond smile on his face, before yelping as he was pulled to Jon’s chest.
“What’re you doing?” His voice was strained from shock, but after a moment, he relaxed into the warmth, tipping his head back to see the adoring look on his friend’s face.
“I’m hugging you.” Jon responded primly.
“Smartass.” Damian huffed, hands resting on his stomach. “My question is why are you hugging me?”
“Because I can. I’m just…happy.” He said softly. “You two got along so well, besides I used to randomly hug you all the time, I missed it.”
“Sap.” He teased gently, causing Jon to chuckle.
This…whatever it was that they seemed to be settling into, was painless and sweet, and when he thought about it later that night, it no longer hurt like it would have when he was younger.
Maybe this really would work out this time.
Before he had left that day, he’d mentioned that his siblings had been dying to re-meet him, and Jon had immediately demanded a sibling meet-up with whoever could make it.
In about an hour, they had most of Damian’s siblings and Jon’s little brother on board to meet in the next few weeks.
As of the present, Damian had three of his siblings in the apartment, not counting Duke who already lived with him.
“Are you sure about this?” Tim asked for what must have been the fiftieth time, draping himself over the couch. He’d been forced out of his business clothes by Steph, who was pinning up Cass’s short hair.
Damian groaned. “Yes. Who is the oldest one here anyways? I should know by now how to make good assumptions of character.”
“I hate to bring up your senior year-” Several agreeing noises came after, followed by quiet little jeers.
“I raised you, you ungrateful little shits!” Damian exclaimed, waving his hands in the air wildly.
“And what a wonderful job you did,” Steph poked fun at him from across the room, and Damian chucked a pillow at her.
“No violence!” Duke called from the other room. “We just got the carpets cleaned!”
Cass laughed, standing up and grabbing her bag. “We do trust you, big brother. We are just worried for you.”
The room went quiet, solemnity taking over the atmosphere. The reminders of what had happened in the past, after the first run of friendship, weighed heavy on them all, Damian repressing the memories before they threatened to overwhelm him and leave him in a state unfit for getting out.
“Hey, we’ll be late.” Duke came from the other room, pulling Damian and Tim off the couch as the lively air tentatively built itself back up and they clambered into one car, the girls and Tim arguing over who gets shotgun, Duke slipping into the seat as they did so and Damian driving.
“No fair!” Steph called, squished in the small backseat of the car with the three other younger siblings.
“Is too!” Duke called. “Seniority!”
“That just means you’re old!”
The bickering went on, filling the car with screeches and shouts until Damian barked out, “One more word and I will turn this car around!”
”Yes, Mom!” They all chorused.
Damian grumbled to himself. “Close enough.”
They had plans to meet up in the park like a couple of moms with too many children, as Jon was bringing Laurel and Kon and Damian was bringing his horde.
They parked along the street and they filed out of the car, following the eldest like ducklings. Jon was already there, Kon hanging off the monkey bars upside down and Laurel beneath him, shrieking with laughter.
“Kon!” Tim raced towards the playground, the other teen nearly dropping head first into the sand. He swung up onto the bars and both hung upside down, facing each other and giggling like schoolchildren.
“Hey!” Jon waved from his spot on a picnic bench overlooking the area. Laurel had run to him and was now sitting on his lap, looking wide-eyed at the newcomers in hesitant curiosity. Within the few weeks Damian had been introduced to the child, they’d met up enough times with Laurel in tow that she was comfortable enough for Damian to be on standby for babysitting duties.
“Hi!” Damian slid into the bench, chattering with him and accepting Laurel who’d made the universal ‘carry me’ sign at him
His siblings came up behind him, gaping at the scene. Cassandra seemed to be the only one who still had a functioning mind, as she bent down and introduced herself to the child in her soft voice.
“Hello. My name is Cass, what’s yours?”
“Laurel.” The toddler was gnawing on a snack her father had given her, looking at the rest with owlish blue eyes.
“That’s a nice name. I’m Damian’s little sister.”
Laurel nodded. “Daddy told me Dami had lots of brothers and sisters.”
“Dami?” Steph snorted from behind them, her and Duke being joined by Tim and Kon. The two had quieted as they watched the scene unfold, Damian preening at the familiar title the toddler had placed on him.
“Hey, Elle, why don’t you show Damian the swings?” Kon suggested, brushing off the confused look the older man shot him.
“Yay!” She pulled on his sleeve, prompting Damian to carry her down to the playground. Immediately after he left, Jon was crowded by the Wayne kids.
“Jonathan Kent.” Tim was scrolling through his phone, the name rolling off his tongue in a sharp way, speaking of danger
“Tim.” Jon seemed mildly confused, but otherwise perky. “And Cass and Steph and Duke! Gosh, haven’t seen y’all in forever! ‘Course, haven’t seen my baby brother in some time either but you know-”
“Gonna stop you right there, sunshine.” Steph flickered her hand out, silencing him. Jon had vague flashbacks to Damian doing the same when they were kids. “This is no social call.”
“S’not?” Jon’s voice was slightly muffled. Cass shook her head. “No. Warning.”
“You’ve screwed with our big brother before,” Duke continued, shame passing over the other boy’s face. “And sure, maybe you didn’t know, maybe it affected you worse than it did him. But, as his children, we think it's our duty to remind you that if you screw up again, you won’t live to see the light of day.”
“If there is any other emotion than pure joy after an interaction with you, I'll arrange an incident. And trust me, we’ll all have a part of it.” Tim finished up.
Jon nodded vigorously, shuddering. “I feel like I was just shovel-talked by the mafia.”
Maybe it was a good thing he never asked him out in high school.
He turned to Kon with a pout. “Aren’t you supposed to be on my side, here?”
Kon shrugged, grin on his face. “I get Ellie in the incident, so I mean, not really. Can you imagine all the little outfits I could put the little bundle of sunshine in?”
“The Waynes are still terrifying, and my brother loves my daughter more than me. God, what is my life?” Jon moaned, flopping over the table.
“What’s with him?” Damian walked up to the group, balancing the child on his hip. “Having a crisis.” Cass replied.
“Carry on, then.”
The rest of them go to romp around to the playground, taking turns playing with Laurel and exchanging stories. They fall solemn when Jon talks about the things that led up to where they were now, everyone pretending not to notice how Damian slipped his hand into Jon’s once the harsher parts were passing through.
He was quick to revamp the tempo, though, and confirm the numerous repeated questions(“She was actually hit by a bus? Like a real freakin’ bus? Oh my god, Jason’s gonna lose his shit.”) and some more about Laurel, who by the end of the time at the park, had garnered several new aunts and uncles, Duke and Steph cementing their positions as future babysitters.
They traded new phone numbers and pictures, Steph, Tim, and Cass demanding a list of Laurel’s sizes and favorite things, already starting a mini-competition on who could become the favorite quicker.
Damian sent a few pictures to his friends, and was hit with a barrage of demands, asking to create a meeting.
He sighed, waving Jon over as he counted each of his siblings, activating the child lock on the doors as he shut them.
“Thanks for coming, D! It was awesome to see your family again, when’s our next lunch meet?”
He passed Laurel off to Kon, who took her to buckle her in the car seat. Damian looked near exasperated as he said, “You said Kathy wanted to meet me, right?”
Jon nodded, and he continued. “The imbeciles I socialize with would like to crash our lunch, if you’re alright with it.”
“Sounds great!” Damian hadn’t the faintest notion how Jon was still bright and willing to have more human interaction after a day of being out like this,but he supposed that was what had once made them so close.
“Kath will jump at the opportunity, normal time, same place?”
“Yes. See you then!”
They waved, Jon jogging back towards his car and Damian sliding into the driver’s seat. Four pairs of eyes stared at him incredulously.
“When were you going to tell us you guys were back to being friends of that level?” Duke squawked.
“This is a perfectly normal level, I don't see what you mean.” He started the car, heading back to his apartment.
“You guys meet up for lunch weekly , his child loves you, and your chemistry is back in full force.”
“That is a perfectly acceptable level of friendship, I fail to see your point.”
The whole car groaned simultaneously, Damian rolling his eyes in the mirror and continuing the drive.
By the next week, Damian was utterly done with meeting people other than Jon and his siblings because God , how do people put up with this much human interaction without feeling like they slept only four hours in three days.
The afternoon of, he dragged himself out of his car, already feeling the headache coming on. To his surprise, only Jon had arrived with Kathy and laurel, a few tables away from their usual spot.
“Oh, good, I was afraid they’d already burned down the place.” He said, picking up Laurel from where she had made grabby hands to him.
Kathy looked on in barely concealed amusement at the two of them, sticking out a hand. “Kathy Branden. You must be Damian.”
Damian shifted Laurel onto his hip and shook it. “Yeah, that’s me. So glad i could meet with you before the disasters i call friends come to destroy this place.”
She snorted, hand covering the bottom half of her face. “I don’t think they could be that bad, really.”
And she was correct, much to Damian's long-suffering. They and Kathy got on like a house on fire, and speaking of which, he was pretty sure that’s what would be happening in the near future.
“Listen Kath, honey, we put up with so much shit during this period, you don’t even wanna know,” Maya waved a hand, recalling a moment from when the label was just taking off. “Nothing would have gotten fixed if we hadn’t called one of his siblings to drag him home.”
Damian groaned as the table laughed, hiding his face with his sleeves. “I hate this, this was a horrible idea.”
Jon slung his arm around the back of his chair and pulled him a little closer, snickering. “It’s not so bad, you big drama queen.”
The action was met with several surprised glances around the table as the buzzer sounded. Jon perked up.
“Dames, come help me carry stuff for your sanity.”
“At least someone cares about my mental state.” Damian dragged himself up and followed after Jon.
The moment they left, the table erupted into whispers, Laurel watching them carefully from the high-chair.
”Shit, are things happening again?”
Akira hissed.
Colin nodded enthusiastically, “They’re at least back to where they were.” Kathy leaned forward, grinning evilly. “Listen, I know Jon had his bi panic moment seeing Damian again, and I'm willing to bet they’ll be together by the end of the month.”
Maya snorted. “You’ve got too much faith, I give it six.
“I think three.” Skylar said. “I wanna believe in them.”
“Nah, I’m going with Maya’s answer, solid six or seven months at
least
.” Akira crossed their arms. “We watched the pining.”
Colin squinted at all of them. “I’ll go with Maya and Akira because they’re usually right.”
Kathy held out her phone. “Wonderful, we’ll discuss the stakes later,but now I need all of your numbers.”
They were chattering when Jon and Damian returned, falling silent as they set down the food.
“What’d we miss?”
Damian narrowed his eyes at them. “You’ve done something.”
“Nooo, of course not!” “What makes you say that?”
“We’re angels, I promise!”
He’s never trusted his friends less. Oh well, at least they’re all getting along?