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"This next piece contrasts greatly in style from the previous piece, as you can tell."
"Yeah. It looks a lot darker...?"
Damian and Jon had arrived at the art museum nearly an hour ago, yet were only just arriving at the third work of the exhibit. Damian had stopped at each drawing, painstakingly explaining every detail of each work. Jon enthusiastically nodded along, though frankly couldn't really notice the intricacies that Damian claimed to be present, despite his best efforts.
"A simplistic understanding, but yes. Rather than the bold, rough strokes of the previous artist's work we viewed, you can see this artist uses lighter, more refined strokes to achieve a softer effect."
Jon couldn't complain. It had been his suggestion to spend their New Year's Eve at this event, a private showing of a visiting collection of drawings by up-and-coming pencil artists. Guests were given time to view the work in the collection, then near midnight, would reconvene for a small reception and share a toast to the new year. It was a bit high-class for Jon's taste and wouldn't have been his first choice to spend the evening, but he knew that Damian would be interested, as he too preferred pencils as his medium of choice.
Jon subtly turned his eyes to Damian, who was still in the middle of explaining the differences between this pencil and that one and how the pressure affects the thickness of the lines... When they were younger, Jon may have found Damian's hyper focus on his own interests selfish and annoying, but as they spent more time together, he had come to find it endearing; it was rare that the usually closed-off Damian would let his guard down and really let his pure passion and joy shine through. Jon smiled as he noticed the twinkle in Damian's eyes.
"... you tell the difference in the emotion conveyed between this piece and the last based on ... You're not listening to me."
"Of course I'm listening. This one seems a lot calmer than the last one, right? Like, more friendly somehow. Because the lines are lighter."
Damian turned his face back to Jon, narrowing his eyes. "Hn. You know, it's a wonder I can tolerate you as much as I do."
Jon rolled his eyes and scoffed. Okay, maybe he still did find some of Damian's moods a bit frustrating. Jon put his hand in his pocket once more to remind himself why he was putting up with Damian's attitude, but before he could open his mouth to make a retort, he felt a distinctive lack of the small box that was his reason for being here. Namely, tonight was the night that Jon was going to ask Damian to spend the rest of their lives together, and the ring he had been regularly confirming the presence of in his pocket was no longer on his person.
He panicked. He glanced around frantically, not seeing the green velvet box anywhere around them.
"I need to go to the bathroom."
A look of surprise briefly flashed on Damian's face before he brought it back under control. His look of impatience morphed into a look of disappointment.
"Really, Jon? Why did you ask me to come here if you have no interest? You know, I thought you had suggested this because you wanted to learn more about the kind of art that I make, but maybe that was presumptuous of me."
Jon's heart sank. His plan to set up what he thought would be the perfect proposal had backfired, Damian's mood having tanked.
"I'm a fool to have gone along with this. You spend the rest of your evening however you want. I'll come back on my own time to appreciate the exhibit alone."
With that, Damian turned away and briskly walked back towards the entrance of the exhibit.
"Damian, wait!"
Jon didn't know what to do. Once Damian had set his mind on something, he would not let go. Another trait that Jon found endearing, but at this moment, was not serving him.
Jon broke out of his thoughts, scrambling after Damian and grabbing his wrist. "Just listen to me," he urged. Damian made a point of ignoring Jon, and tried to tug his wrist out of Jon's grasp, but Jon didn't release it. He tried to recall the elaborate proposal he had prepared, but in his panic he came up blank. He gave up and instead opted for the mess tumbling around in his head.
"Listen, I'm sorry, I screwed this up. It's just... I have a lot on my mind. The reason I wanted to come tonight is to show you that I really do care, that I do enjoy spending time with you, doing the things you love, and I... want to continue to spend time with you, for a long time. If that's something you want, too."
Jon released Damian's wrist and put his hands on his shoulders. Damian had stopped trying to pull away, but was still avoiding eye contact.
"What I'm trying to say is, I love you, Damian. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
For a moment, Damian's eyes widened, his mouth opening slightly. He looked up at Jon, his expression softening.
"So... will you? You know... marry me?"
Damian opened his mouth to answer, but before he could get a word out, they were distracted by the noise of several confetti poppers from the lobby of the museum, followed by a distant chorus of "happy new year!" They had missed the signal that the reception was starting, and now, it had rolled over into the new year.
Once the noise had subsided, they turned back to each other, silently making eye contact. Jon contemplated Damian for a moment before moving his hands to the sides of Damian's face, pulling him in closer.
Jon's lips connected with Damian's. Damian froze for a moment, but closed his eyes and softened into the kiss. The last bits of lingering animosity faded away, and for a moment there was nothing besides each other.
They both opened their eyes and pulled away. Jon shyly smiled at Damian.
"Happy new year."
Damian huffed, and a rare smile appeared on his face.
"Of course I will... but you know, you didn't need to set this elaborate situation up. You could have just asked."
The nervousness Jon had been feeling subsided. It may not have been how he wanted the evening to go, but in the end, he had achieved what he had set out to do. (and no, he would not have just asked. Jon would make a romantic out of Damian, yet.)
.
"Well, it seems I'll have to come back to the exhibit, anyway. I suppose I'll let you come with me, as long as you promise to actually pay attention this time."
Jon wrapped his hand around Damian's smaller one, and motioned for the exit. He put his other hand in his pocket.
He stopped as he felt the small box he had lost. In his other pocket. He pulled it out and stared at it for a moment.
A deadpan look crossed Damian's face. "... Seriously, Jon?"
Jon was not going to lose his opportunity to salvage this and do it right. He pulled his hand away from Damian's, kneeled in front of him, and opened the box for Damian to see.
"Damian Wayne, will you marry me?"
Damian crossed his arms affectionately.
"You're ridiculous."