Chapter Text
We all had that one person who kept you company at school, someone you spent sunny summer days with, someone who was your partner in crime, the one who always hugged you on birthdays, and with whom you shared unforgettable childhood moments.
That person is usually called a "best friend," and Damian's is Jonathan Samuel Kent.
There wasn't a single moment in Damian's childhood where Jon wasn't present and vice versa; they were always a dynamic duo.
Fire and Water.
The Yin and the Yang.
Night and Day.
That kind of stuff. They were opposites and complemented of each other.
It all started at a charity gala at Wayne Manor, where a couple of up-and-coming journalists had the opportunity to interview Gotham's most famous CEO, billionare and playboy. So, Bruce Wayne put six-year-old Damian down from his arms, suggesting with a smile to his kid that he go and play with the Kent's son, which the little Wayne reluctantly accepted.
Damian wasn't very sociable, but he and Jon hit it off right away. Well, sort of.
They came from very different worlds. Jonathan was from a cheerful farm in the beautiful Smallville, and Damian from a lonely mansion in the gloomiest city of all.
But that little farm boy proved to be one in a million. That night he did something that very few had managed to do in Damian short life: make him smile. And I'm referring to a genuine smile, along with an authentic laugh—one that even Damian himself didn't know he was capable of—that Jon managed to elicit simply with his wit and kindness.
Unlike others, Jonathan wasn't interested in Damian's family fortune, nor did he treat him differently because of it; he was also not intimidated by little Wayne's initial cold attitude, which many disliked or made them uncomfortable.
Jon accepted Damian as he was, seeing beyond the image of rich boy imposed by the media and the shell of coldness and sarcasm created by Damian himself, knowing the kind, cute side that the youngest Wayne didn't usually show.
They became inseparable; were always seen at each other's home during the summer or on holidays, with their respective families more than used to their presences.
But things can't stay the same forever.
There were changes, like growing up, the Kents' move to Metropolis because of Lois and Clark's rise as reporters and their internships at the Daily Planet, the start of Damian's homeschooling, and, of course, the fact that he no longer saw Jon just as his best friend.
He had developed an affection for Jonathan that wasn't entirely brotherly, but something more special, a romantic interest.
At the age of thirteen Damian discovered he had a crush on his best friend. That's a secret he has kept ever since and which he had no intention of sharing with anyone because he was terrified.
He'd seen plenty of people in his city repulsed by gay people, insulting and mistreating them. That only fueled Damian's fear of rejection, his fear that Jon might turn out to be one of those homophobic haters. He didn't believe it, but preferred not to find out.
Just imagining Jon's disgusted face when he tell him his preferences and his feelings for him, seeing his best friend walk away, made Damian's heart ache a lot, sometimes making him want to cry.
So, if talking about his feelings means losing Jon, being rejected, being maltreated, being harmed...
Then he was sure he'll take his secret to his grave.
.....
Damian stood in front of Metropolis Public High School, watching the students walk calmly through the gates. Some were alone, others were with friends.
Many would say he was an ordinary guy —sure, if anyone could wear expensive designer clothes like his black denim jacket, or that soft, bright red sweatshirt, his pristine dark jeans, or that coveted Jordan sneakers, then he'd be ordinary—
Damian seemed indifferent, but if you knew him well enough, you could detect small signs such as his slightly tense posture, the nail of his thumb lightly brushing the strap of his backpack on his shoulder, and his eyes subtly scrutinized everything.
All of this indicated that he was nervous, and of course, Jonathan detected all the signs.
“There's no reason to be nervous, Dami.” The taller one whispered as he reached Damian, waving to a couple of classmates who were passing by.
“I'm not nervous.” Damian blurted out, making Jon raise an eyebrow before snorted.
“Everything's gonna be okay. It's just another day at school.” The blue-eyed boy smiled, making Damian sighed and bite his lips. Jon knew him too well and couldn't fool him about this.
“Tt, easy for you to say.” He muttered. “You weren't homeschooled until ten, nor were you expelled when finally attended school.”
Jon observed Damian's hand squeezed the strap of his backpack, betraying his insecurity, so he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and felt the tension ease slightly immediately.
“But now you have me with you, remeber?”
They exchanged a look. Damian focused on breathing deeply and silently a moment before starting to walk into the school, followed by Jon.
It wasn't normal for Damian to be so nervous, but he couldn't help it. It had been quite some time since he had last been at school, and the week he'd miraculously survived with Jon's help certainly hadn't been enough time to adjust.
The walk to their lockers, which thankfully were next to each other, was incredibly arduous and noisy, filled with raucous laughter, shouting, tasteless jokes, slamming lockers, and backpacks bumping into them.
That was one of the many things Damian hated about school, being surrounded by so many people, especially teenagers.
He couldn't understand how this could be easy or how to get used to it, like Dick said, much less get involved. He wasn't good at starting conversations, at making jokes, and definitely wasn't good at ignoring provocations. That got him expelled from middle school some years ago.
Damian could easily say that most of the students in his grade either hated him or were afraid of him.
But he had promised his father and Pennyworth that he would try it.
In fact, it was the butler's idea to enroll him in the same school as Jon to avoid any problems and so Damian would feel more comfortable.
He was trying to be polite, sometimes kind if possible, he didn't correct the teachers too much, and was doing his best to control his temper and don't get into trouble, no fights.
However, as soon as Jay Nakamura appears, everything gets much more complicated.
Damian scowled automatically, and could barely hide the snort of anger as he watched Jon cheerfully greet the pink-haired boy.
“Hi, Jay.” Jon grinned, making an obvious effort not to go and hug him.
Nakamura didn't stop walking alongside his disgustingly popular friends from the football team. He just nodded at Jon indifferently while letting out a cutting "Kent."
Nothing more than that.
'As always.' Damian thought, clenching his teeth while still staring at the asian guy before forcing himself to calm down. But it was almost impossible for him not to feel rage and the urge to punch Jay Nakamura when he saw him.
That idiot Jon's boyfriend.
Jay obviously wasn't someone Damian liked at all. Not only because Nakamura was with the guy he'd been in love with for three years, but also because the bastard barely acknowledged Jonathan in public, damn, he couldn't even look Jon in the eye, pretending not to know him and being too busy with her popular and overly masculine friends.
“Jay!”
A freckled, red-haired girl enthusiastically greeted Nakamura, who immediately approached her with a radiant smile.
She was Sally Jones, the class president and, unfortunately, also the cover Jay used at school.
"It's just an act. That way no one will suspect about us." That was what Jon said to himself, even though his face reflected sadness when he saw how gallant Jay behaved with Sally.
And today was no exception.
They both watched from a distance as the couple walked away, with Jay putting his arm around Sally's shoulders to go to class, while a part of Jon's heart silently broke, but comforted himself by saying the same thing: "It's just an act. That way no one will suspect about us."
Damian wanted to say so many things about it. That Nakamura was a bastard, that he didn't deserve the wonderful person Jon was, that Jon himself shouldn't have to put up with all these bullshit. That he would never hurt him.
But, as always, he said nothing, just clenched his fists until his nails dug into his skin, until the sound of Jon's locker closing caught his attention.
“We should leave or we'll be late.” Jon said, adjusting his glasses, more than ready to go to his classroom. “And Mrs. Perry won't like that at all, she already hates you.”
Damian knew Jon was trying to be funny, to ease the sadness and sorrow in his heart, but he still gave him that look that was a silent question: "Are you alright?"
And Jon always seemed to answer with a gentle, almost insignificant smile.
“Hurry up, Dami.”
They walked together. Jon was half a step ahead, talking again, exaggerating his enthusiasm, as if none of what had happened had seriously hurt him. Just another crack in his heart. One of many.