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For as long as they'd been friends, Jon has tried his best to find activities he and Damian can enjoy together when they aren't fighting crime. Half the time he suggests something fun, Damian objects or finds a way out of it. This time, though, Jon thinks he might finally have something great in mind.
When he shows up at Wayne Manor and finds Damian sitting in the library, Jon feels hopeful that Damian won't turn down what he has in mind.
Damian perks up when Jon enters the room. He'd made a spot for himself on one of the seats with Titus curled up right next to him. "I was wondering when you would show up?" He notices that Jon has his hands behind his back, hiding whatever he's holding just out of view. Not only that, but he looks impossibly excited, which isn't abnormal for him. It's just that he seems even more chipper than usual, and Damian didn't think that was even possible.
"I would have been here earlier, but my chores took a little longer than I thought they would," Jon apologizes. "But, I brought something we can do while I'm here."
"Is this another one of your dumb board games?"
"Hey, you liked Candy Land and Monopoly. And, no. I mean...kinda." Jon brings his hand out from behind his back. In his hands is a big Lego set, a giant grin on his face as Damian eyes the box curiously.
"What is it?" Damian asks.
"Legos."
"Yes, I know what Legos are. I mean, what is that...thing you want me to make with them?"
Jon can't believe he still hasn't made Damian watch Star Wars. Of course he wouldn't know yet. "It's the Millennium Falcon," he explains. "I know you like more hands-on things sometimes, so I just thought it might be fun."
For a few moments, he's afraid Damian might not want to build the set with him. Of course, he won't be hurt if that is the case. Jon really doesn't mind doing something Damian finds fun, but he was hopeful he might have finally found a compromise between the two of them.
"Fine, I'm willing to give it a try," Damian finally says. "But I can't promise I'll enjoy it."
Honestly, that was good enough for Jon. He sighs in relief and follows Damian to his room where they can set up. On their way, though, Dick asks what they're up to. It's as Jon is showing him the Millennium Falcon set that he mentions he hasn't made Damian watch Star Wars just yet.
"Oh! I have all the movies if you guys wanna watch it while you build," Dick offers. It's perfect, and neither of them give Damian enough time to object before Dick runs off to grab the movies.
Just to go the extra mile, they get Alfred to make some popcorn. As soon as they're set up in Damian's room, Jon pulls out the instructions while Damian starts the first movie.
"So you just have to put all the pieces together like the instructions tell you. It's pretty simple," Jon explains as Damian sits near him. "I set up all the bags in groups to make it a little easier."
Damian nods as he peeks at the instruction book. So far, he seems to be on board, or at least he hasn't protested much yet. The movie playing in the background serves more as background noise as they start building. It turns into Jon rambling and explaining the movie while Damian seems more content to listen and build than actually watch. It's not that he doesn't like the movie, because he actually finds that it's not as bad as he expected. He never knows what to make of the things that Jon likes, but the parts he does pay attention to are surprisingly fascinating.
With as many pieces as there are, they realize this is going to take them a few hours at best, but that gives them time to get through a few of the movies. Halfway through the first movie, Jon calls his parents and asks if he can stay the night since they're likely to work on it all through the afternoon, maybe even the night.
Thankfully, it's the weekend, or he'd be fresh out of luck.
Jon ends up eating most of the popcorn himself, and Damian quickly gets lost in building the ship. It was always nice seeing him enjoy something like a kid, which Jon didn't see too often. The more they hung out, the more he saw Damian act his age. He made a mental note to bring another set the next time he gets one.
By the time they get through the beginning of Return of the Jedi , Jon starts to rub his eyes tiredly as he struggles to stay awake. Damian, however, is still holding strong as he works on the Millennium Falcon. Jon's not surprised since Damian's used to staying up late for patrols, but he can't say the same for himself.
Despite his best efforts to stay awake just a bit longer, Jon ends up passed out on the floor. Amazingly, Damian doesn't notice for a minute. Not until he realizes Jon's usual rambling has ceased. That's when he realizes how late it is, though he knows he won't sleep for a while. He's not sure he can.
After a moment's hesitation, Damian finds a blanket to throw over Jon and puts a pillow under his head before he continues building. He's determined to finish before he gets too tired.
Damian isn't sure when he finishes, but it must be far after midnight. By the time the ship is completely built, he can barely keep his eyes open, and he's not sure when he falls asleep.
What wakes Damian up is the faint sound of lightsabers clashing, and he immediately knows Jon must have started another movie while he was sleeping.
Groaning, he sits up to find Jon sitting on his bed watching Star Wars, as he expected.
"Oh, hey. Sorry if I woke you up," Jon says. "I saw you finished building the ship last night."
Damian doesn't answer right away as he stretches and fights off the urge to go back to sleep. "Well, I'll admit. This wasn't a bad idea, Kent." He actually really liked messing with the Legos, and found that listening to Jon in the background of their building was much nicer than he'd like to admit.
"I'll bring some more Legos next time, if you'd like." Jon seems rather proud of himself, and Damian has half a mind to make sure it doesn't go to his head. He supposed Jon can have this one victory for himself.
Damian tosses aside the blanket he's sure Alfred through over him at some point during his sleep. "I guess it wouldn't be all that bad if you did," he agrees.
In fact, once Jon leaves at the time he agreed on with his parents, Damian finds his father in his study to ask him if buying some more Lego sets for himself and Jon to build again is too much to ask for. Bruce, who just seems glad his son is getting along with his friend and acting like a kid, is all too happy to let him buy a few for next time.