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When Damian had started considering proposing to Jon, there had been many ideas thrown out. He had an entire new group chat with some of their closest friends, just for ideas for proposal.
There had been dozens, ranging from taking him to the top of the Eiffel tower and proposing with fireworks and petals falling from the sky, all the way to a simple proposal at sunset on their balcony.
Damian had considered vacations, he had considered big grand gestures, he'd thought about just getting down on one knee at breakfast one day. Of course he knew no matter what, Jon would say yes, and that Jon would love whatever he did.
However, he wanted it to be special. He wanted it to be nice and memorable and he wanted it to be something Jon would love, but not suspect.
So then it came down to, what would mean the most to Jon.
Obviously the proposal itself was a big deal, but what would he want from a proposal. So entered Jon's friends. Asking about a proposal was always suspicious, but Jon's friends knew him almost as well as Damian did, and they all knew that he was eager for Damian to propose. Kathy especially knew just the right questions to ask to get him to crack, and ramble to her about what his dream proposal was.
As with all things with Jon, it was nearly impractical, but there were elements from it that Damian was more than happy to steal.
One, Jon would love his family to be there. Jon had always been incredibly family oriented, and still had a really good relationship with his parents.
Two, Jon didn't want it to be a huge staged thing with all their friends or to be at a big gala or anything like that. He still wanted it to be small and calm and private.
Three, Jon didn't want to know it was happening. Harder said then done, when your boyfriend has super hearing and x-ray vision and powers that made him basically a god.
Four, none of that all really mattered because Jon knew he was going to marry Damian and he would say yes no matter what.
So with a few ideas to work through, Damian began the process of figuring out what ring to get. When they first talked about getting married, Damian had made sure they exchanged ring sizes, just to prevent any awkward situations and ruining the surprise.
So he knew that. The problem was, what type of ring do you get for your boyfriend who spends his evenings knocking the lights out of aliens and lifting buildings? It'd have to be a metal strong enough to withstand the hell Jon would put it through, but also look and feel nice. As simple as a man as Jon may be, Damian knew he'd still want something with gems.
So, Damian would likely be making this ring himself, is what he ended up concluding. He was capable of that, he had a lot of talents, and with his father's equipment back at the Cave, he'd be able to work the metal into a ring. He just had to figure out what type of metal, and what design. And also how to inlay gems into it.
It was a slow process, working on ring. There were only a few days he could work on the ring, and never in a row. He and Jon we're almost always together, or if they were separate, it's because they were both gone. Very rarely did he have opportunities to just go to the cave by himself for an evening.
Eventually he figured it out. Spent a while asking his father and Clark and a couple other heroes what metal he should use, getting enough of it to be able to make extras. Then he had to find gems and decide on the pattern. It was, in all, a far more complicated process then just buying one would have been.
Making the ring took him about two months, from the first day he started working with the metal, to when he finally had a smooth, polished, gorgeous ring. He hated it a bit, by the time it was all done, but the important part was that he knew Jon would adore it. So he put it in a small ring box, and left it safely in Alfred's care.
"You were at your dad's pretty late."
Damian looked up as he slid off his coat. Jon was curled up on the sofa, wrapped in a big fluffy blanket, their cat curled up on the top of the sofa next to his head. He had a cup of coco in one hand, his other hand in a bag of trail mix. Damian could hear Singing In The Rain playing in the background.
"I stayed to catch up with Alfred."
This wasn't necessarily a lie. Alfred had helped him with the finishing touches, and they had sat and chatted while they worked.
"Oh. How's he doing?"
"He's been better. Age is finally catching up with him, I think."
Jon hummed softly.
Damian kicked off his shoes by the door, and dropped his keys and wallet in their proper places. He walked over and kissed Jon softly.
"I love you," he murmured, pulling away and kissing his forehead.
"I love you too!"
"I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed."
"Oh, okay! I'll be up in a bit then."
Damian just smiled softly to him, and turned, walking up to their bedroom.
Eventually the proposal plan came to him.
Every year in spring, the entire Kent family went back to Kansas for a few days, to help clean the farm up and get ready for summer. Damian had been going with them since he and Jon had started dating, and this year wouldn't be any exception.
It was the perfect way to get all of Jon's wishes. Family, private, and a surprise, since Jon would be so focused on his work, he wouldn't even think about Damian proposing then. It was easy to convey this idea to Lois and Ma Kent via text, and they were quick to agree that this was an amazing idea and that Jon would love it. It was easy to get Kon and Lois to agree to be ready to take photos, and Clark was brought in to make sure their schedule would allow time on one of the last days for this.
Damian's plan was such. Every year, they had a campfire and barbecue. They always started before sunset, so there would still be plenty of light for photos, but it would be at the end of the day, and it would be easy to surprise a tired Jon. Damian would give the ring to Ma Kent, and wait for an opportune moment to get down and ask the question.
As far as plans involving the Kent family went, this one seemed fool proof. And Damian couldn't be more excited.
It wasn't until May that they went down. Damian had safely gotten the ring transferred from Alfred to Lois, who had thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen and maybe almost cried over it. She promised to bring it, and almost got annoyed at Damian for texting every day up until they left to check that she wouldn't forget it.
They flew down with Lois and Clark, then drove up to the Kent's farm. Ma and Pa Kent were eager to see them all, greeting them with hugs and a hearty lunch. Immediately the boys got to work, while Damian was “conveniently” held back by Lois and Ma Kent to help them with a few inside tasks.
“Oh my. Damian it’s beautiful!”
Damian smiled slightly. Lois had given Ma Kent the ring to look at. It was a silver band, with a small row of white diamonds across what would be considered the top. In the middle of that row was a sapphire. It was truly a work of art, but Damian still felt a small spike of anger every time he saw it.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
Ma Kent gently closed the box and slid it into her pants pocket. “I’ll go put this somewhere safe. Would you and Lois mind going and getting the porch furniture out?”
“We can do that!”
The next few days, Damian was so much more anxious than he’d ever admit. Jon was gracious enough to never say anything, but he didn’t hide the concerned glances he threw towards Damian.
The next few days were filled with manual labor and spending time with family. Damian did have to admit that spending time in Kansas with Jon’s grandparents was one of his favorite times of the year. Hell, he enjoyed any time they had on the farm, but it was especially blissful, just constant manual labor that was designed for livelihood and not saving the world.
He loved it.
In the evenings they played board games or watched movies, or just sat around and talked. Damian never got bored of the Kent grandparents company. They always had such interesting stories to tell.
Saturday evening was the night of the bonfire, and Ma and Pa Kent made sure to keep Jon and Damian busy and separated. Mostly to help Damian hide how nervous he was, and also to prepare for the proposal. He made sure everyone knew their roles. He made sure all the pieces were perfectly in place. And then he worked to keep himself calm and composed.
“Hey, there you are. I wondered if Ma would have you squirreled away all night.”
Damian glanced up from where he was helping prepare their barbeque. Jon walked up, sliding his arms around his waist and kissing his temple.
“Hi cutie,” Jon murmured, pressing their heads together.
“Hey.” Damian smiled, leaning back into him.
No matter what, Jon was always safe and comfortable and Damian always melted into him far too easily.
“Whatcha making?”
“Veggie kebabs.”
“Ooh, those for you?”
Damian hummed in response. Jon reached out and stole a bite of bell pepper, popping it into his mouth.
“Hey!”
“Come and get it.” Jon winked at him and then ducked away, slipping out the back door.
“Ass!”
Damian kept glancing over at Jon all evening. He kept looking at him, knowing the time of them being “boyfriends” was quickly coming to a close. And the closer it got, the more impatient he got, because the more excited he got. He wanted to call Jon his fiance. He wanted to reveal the surprise he’d been working on for months now.
Then the time came. He couldn’t plan it better. Jon had run back up to the house to get more drinks for everyone. Ma Kent quickly passed Damian the ring. Jon came back, chatting happily as he passed out the drinks, and then when he turned to face Damian again, he was already standing.
“You going to the house?” Jon asked, looking confused.
“No. Put down the drinks.”
Jon glanced over at Clark, and then set down the two cups.
“Come here.”
Damian grasped Jon’s hands, pulling him away from the bonfire some.
“Jon. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Damian let go of Jon’s right hand, digging into his pocket. He didn’t get down on one knee or anything like that. He just pulled out the ring box, holding it up so Jon could see.
“Oh,” Jon whispered, eyes going wide. He glanced over at his family quickly, then back at Damian. “Dami-”
“Jonathan Samuel Kent. You have been the best part of my life for over ten years now. You were my rival, my partner, my teammate, my best friend, and my boyfriend. You bring light to so many people's lives, and I am so beyond lucky that you chose my life to be a constant shining sun in.”
Now Damian got down on one knee, opening the box and holding it up.
“Will you marry me?”
“Oh fuck yes.”
Damian laughed as Jon pulled him back up to his feet. He slipped the ring onto Jon’s finger, and was almost immediately pulled into a kiss.
“Oh my god,” Jon whispered out, hugging him tightly.
“Yeah. . . Yeah me too.”
“You’re- I. . . I love you so much.”
Damian chuckled again. “I love you too.”
They pulled away, getting a few pictures quickly taken.
“Damian you wanna tell him?”
“Tell me what?”
“Oh yes.” Damian reached down and picked up Jon’s hand. “This ring I made myself. That is an alloy of some of the strongest, most durable metals on earth, with diamonds and a sapphire. It will withstand a lot, but you probably shouldn’t wear it to your next battle with an interstellar attacker.”
“You made this?!”
“Yes.”
“God. . . Damian it’s gorgeous.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re something else,” Jon murmured, kissing him once more.
“You know you love it, fiance.”
“Fiance. . . now that I could get used to.”