by pebble/scifipony
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters: Damian Wayne, Jonathan Samuel Kent
Words: 1,190
Tags: Friendship, Fluff, Future Fic, Aroace Damian
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: n/a
Jonathan Kent leaned back in his seat, resting against the vinyl seat of the booth. He smiled pleasantly at the waitress as she set his mug down in front of him.
“Anything else for you tonight?” she asked.
Jon shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m expecting my friend here any minute.”
The waitress smiled sympathetically. “That’s what you said an hour ago. Looks like they got held up somewhere.”
“He’ll be here,” Jon said. “It’s a sort of… tradition of ours. He won’t miss it.”
After the waitress walked away, Jon turned his attention out the large glass window of the cafe. He took a sip of his warm cocoa, shivering at the rainy atmosphere outside. There was something about Gotham during autumn that always felt so sad and withdrawn. Not that it was a particularly cheery place any other time of the year, but the changing seasons and wet weather somehow made it feel even more gloomy than usual. Jon would be happy to get back to Metropolis.
The bell above the door jingled, announcing the very late arrival of his friend. Jon turned in his seat to get a better look at the young man he hadn’t seen in almost a year.
Having finally grown to his full height, Damian now stood over six feet like his father. The chiseled features, naturally styled black hair, and cold green eyes were also clearly inherited from his parents. He looked the perfect combination of Talia’s and Bruce’s genetics. The only difference was the heart that lay beneath.
Jon smiled as Damian took a seat across from him. “Wasn’t sure you were going to show up today.”
The younger man shrugged, slipping off his dark raincoat, which looked more expensive than Jon’s house. “I got held up at the office. Timothy is attempting to implement a new software he developed, and we needed to be sure we had backed up all the data before the transfer. You would not believe how difficult it is to move an entire company’s database — especially one with as many encrypted files as ours.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Jon laughed. “As long as you got here, that’s what matters. How are things here in Gotham?”
“Quiet,” Damian said, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. “Too quiet. I had a feeling the Eastside gang wasn’t really giving up after their boss’s arrest last month. They definitely have something planned.”
“I was actually talking about you and your family. How is everyone?”
“Oh. They're well. Timothy is being a pain at WayneTech lately, but that’s nothing new. Richard and Barbara are expecting again. Titus II has finally stopped chewing the furniture every time I leave the manor. Everyone else is fine, last I heard.” He paused, reaching over to steal Jon’s cinnamon roll. “And how is the Metropolis side of things? As boringly normal as ever, I assume.”
“We’re doing fine, thanks,” Jon said, placing a protective hand over his cocoa mug. “We drove out to the farm last weekend to visit Kon and Cassie. Can you believe their oldest is already in high school? It’s crazy how quickly the time goes by.”
Damian hummed thoughtfully as he munched down the last of the pastry. “I would highly recommend against them letting their offspring participate in sports this year,” he commented. “Considering both their Kryptonian and Amazon heritage, those kids are going to draw attention the first time they throw a ball too hard.”
“Yeah,” Jon sighed, “I don’t like how unfair it is to the kids, but Kon said they already had that discussion. At least the newest Young Justice team gives them all a chance to safely use their powers without worrying about hurting people. It’s just too bad they can’t all live normal childhoods.”
“We didn’t have the most normal childhood, either,” Damian pointed out. “And we turned out fine.”
Jon glanced at him disbelievingly. “You live in a creepy old mansion with three dogs and a cow, and patrol the city at night dressed as a bat. Not quite what I would consider fine.”
“Should I take this angsty reflection as a sign that you’re considering letting your daughter join Young Justice soon as well?”
“We’re considering it,” Jon admitted. “She’s still so young, though. We’re worried about her.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Damian said, brushing the crumbs off his hands. “But weren’t you ten years old when you started doing the whole superhero thing?”
“Exactly! And look how much trouble we got into. You think I want to let my daughter get involved in that sort of thing?”
“Jon, she’s a Kent. She’ll find a way to be a superhero whether you make it easy for her or not. Perhaps offering her a path of least resistance is the best course of action here. At least then you'll be keeping the engagement on your own terms.”
“We’re talking about child raising, not warfare.”
“And right now I'm even more glad I never have to worry about this sort of thing.”
“Damian. I'm being serious. I just want to make sure she's okay.”
Damian shrugged, tossing his napkin into a nearby trash bin. “She’ll be fine. I think the whole bullet-proof skin thing pretty much guarantees that.” He stood up and grabbed his raincoat. “Now, are we doing this tonight or not? This is your asinine tradition after all.”
Jon grinned as he tossed down a tip for the waitress and grabbed his own jacket. “Admit it. You like doing this just as much as I do.”
The younger man sniffed disapprovingly. “No comment.”
~~~~~
The moon was partially hidden by the rain clouds overhead, casting the city under even heavier shadows than usual. Plenty of places for Gotham’s criminal element to hide.
Perched high on the roof of WayneTech, two caped figures watched the darkening city. Locals were used to the sight by now. They all knew that every year on the same night, Batman and Superman would patrol the streets of both Gotham then Metropolis together.
What the locals didn’t know was the reason for this odd tradition. Every year, the night of this little reunion would be on the anniversary of their first time patrolling together.
“Three blocks east,” Jon said, tuning his hearing to that direction. “They’re moving north along the alley.”
“Headed for the docks,” his partner commented. “We can catch them at the traffic circle.” He glanced over, a slight smile looking out of place on the dark knight’s face. “You ready to punch some bad guys?”
Jon smiled back. “I'll race you. Last one there gets monitor duty at the Watchtower for a week,” he replied, before shooting off into the night sky.
Damian shook his head and launched a grappling hook at the next nearest building. “Don’t forget, I still have kryptonite in the vault at home,” he muttered, knowing his best friend would hear him.
The duo disappeared over the rooftops of Gotham, heading out to once again protect their cities.
The codenames and costumes might have changed in the twenty year interim, but thankfully some things would always be the same.