Best Man
Dick didn’t know what to expect when he arrived at the Manor, but it certainly wasn’t a flustered, obviously swooning Damian.
He’d came to check on him after another one of his balls with other royal families. This one being the first to be held in a place called the Infinite Realms with family’s from other dimensions and universes.
It was stressful for everyone, letting the packs youngest omega leave and go to other countries–and now other dimensions–to mingle and chat up princes and princesses like himself.
Unfortunately he would be the only one besides Alfred to talk with Damian when he first gets back. Tim and Bruce were stuck head first into a bombing, Jason was tracking down the guy who killed three of his workers, and the girls were away for a well-deserved vacation.
That left him to walk in and immediately be hit with the scent of maple syrup, sweet and earthy in a way Damian’s scent had never been before. Damian made a beeline for him from where he was sitting, obviously waiting. “Richard!” Damian smiled, “We must speak! At once!”
He let himself be pulled to Damian’s room, his mind turning. What could have happened to make Damian Al Ghul-Wayne smile, let alone flustered? Why was he so happy, because he was obviously, very openly, happy?
Damian pulled him into his room, locked the door, then pushed him onto the bed and began pacing. “I will first explain to you the way I, and by proxy every other heir in attendance of this ball, communicate.” Dick let him speak, knowing he wouldn’t appreciate being interrupted.
“First and foremost, every little thing matters. From the way you position your hands to the tilt of you head, where you look, and even the position of your feet, every little thing means a completely different thing. This means that there are over a million–billion, really–things that you can say and express without a word.”
Damian looked to him for confirmation that he understood, then continued. “Not only that, but in the ballroom setting the order of which you introduce oneself to those in attendance is equally, if not more, important. As one could expect you go from those you deem most important to least. The shape of which you do these introductions also showcases this, moving past one party to another of higher standing.”
Here he paused, flushed again, and began fanning himself. “So, as you can imagine, a straight line means that you are the most important person in the room to this man.” “‘This man’?” He asked, some prices falling into place.
“Yes!” Damian said, turning towards him with a love struck, dazed expression, cupping his face and swooning. “Oh Richard, I met an alpha! The most wonderful, handsome, benevolent alpha in the world!” Dick couldn’t help himself; he squealed and hugged Damian, squeezing tight before setting him down next to him.
“That’s amazing, Dami! Tell me everything—start from the beginning.” His little brother found someone! Someone who made him this happy—It was a miracle! Damian seemed very pleased with his reaction and grabbed his pillow as he began again.
“As I said, a straight line means you are the most important person. But what you do while you cross the room matters as well. Where you look, where you stop, how quickly you go, understand?” At his nod Damian flushed again, squeezing the pillow. “So, a straight line, with no stops, never looking away, and coming to me from the other side of the ballroom in less than a minute?”
“That means your very important to him.” Dick couldn’t help his high tone, Damian’s happiness seemed to be affecting him. Not like he minded; this was the first time one of his sibling came to him practically bursting with excitement about a potential relationship. This was a moment he would cherish forever.
“Yes!” Damian said, his tone matching Dicks own. “But that’s not all! The first meeting is also incredibly important, for so many reasons I don’t have time to name them all. But the first handshake can say a million things just like everything else. And since he was the first person I talked to–and in accordance to his standing-I gave a half bow to show I respected him but that I was also of high standing as an Al Ghul, dipped my head since he is a king and I am a prince and held out my hand waist high as an invitation.”
“And what he did in return?” Damian’s voice dipped into an excited whisper as he clutched the pillow and leaned in. “He did a full bow, bent his right knee and put his right foot behind his left with the heel raised, his left arm behind his back, took my hand with his right and kissed it long and deeply, all while maintaining eye contact!”
Damian pushed his face into the pillow for a second, then looked up. “And the meaning of that? The kiss? The eye contact?” Dick leaned forward, “What dose it mean?” Damian flushed again, his scent growing sweeter. “All of that combined means ‘there are no words in the languages we speak to describe your beauty’.” “Oh. My. God!”
“I know!” Damian voice was muffled as he screamed into his pillow. “And that was only the introduction, Richard! The introduction! Oh, and everything after was a dream.” He raised his head and grinned—a real, genuine smile. It warmed Dicks heart to see his usually stoic brother so happy.
“All while we were talking he wanted to know me. Not the Al Ghul heir, not the son of the bat, me! He asked about my interests, my favorite things—Richard, he called me Damian! You almost always refer to a heir by their last name because that’s what’s important to you. But he called me only Damian! I was important to him!”
Dick couldn’t help but laugh as he asked, “You called him by his name, right? Oh! His name! What’s his name? And you said he was a king, what’s he the king of?” Damian blushed–blushed!–and nodded. “Yes, it was only appropriate. His name is Daniel Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms, the afterlife dimension. Simply put, every afterlife that exists is located in this dimension.”
“Oooo, do you think there’s a queen? If the seats open~” Damian blushed at the implication, pushing his face into his pillow again and taking slow breaths. He was a little concerned about the whole ‘king of the afterlife’ thing–and wait, wasn’t the ball held in the Infinite Realms? Does that mean Damian was in the afterlife?–but if the Percy Jackson books have taught him anything it’s that the specifics matter. King of the afterlife is different from king of the dead or death itself.
“No, there is no queen. Daniel was only recently crowned after defeating Pariah Dark, the previous king and tyrant. Oh, I almost forgot to mention! You remember how the JLD marked Amity Park, Illinois an area of concern and in less that 72 hours lifted the warning without doing anything?” “Yeah, drove B crazy cus’ they wouldn’t say why or how or what happened.” “It was Daniel and Pariah Dark fighting for the throne!”
“What? Back up a bit,” Dick asked, confused. “What do you mean ‘it was him’?” Damian’s eyes shined as he explained. “Apparently, the entirety of Amity Park–Daniels home town–was dragged into the Infinite Realms due to Pariah Dark waking up and attacking! Daniel had to fight Pariah Dark to stop him from continuing his assault of this earth and the surrounding dimensions and universes, which is why he was trapped in the forever sleep.”
Damian swooned again, hugging his pillow as he sighed, “He saved not only earth but the surrounding multiverse, and confined in me that he didn’t even know he would become king! He said that the only thing that mattered to him was keeping everybody safe! Isn’t it heroic?” Dick expressed his agreement, making a mental note to tell all this to Bruce. He’d want to know about a kid Damian’s age who’s saved the multiverse seemingly all by himself.
Which reminded him, “How old is he?” Didn’t want another Midnighter situation. Damian’s advances on his first crush were hell to handle. “He’s one year my elder, and oh Grayson I was not exaggerating when I said he is gorgeous. He—well, hm.”
Damian paused and then pulled out his phone. “Please allow me a moment to acquire the correct knowledge of the colors blue, white, green and black so I can accurately portray to you just how otherworldly beautiful Daniel is.” Dick let him pursue the internet for a while, mentally filling out the start of a report form for Bruce. He returned his attention to Damian when he was ready.
“Now fully educated I can describe him in the detail he deserves. His skin is colored light blue grey and his face, possibly his whole body, is covered in freckles that take the shape of constellations colored passport blue. His hair is a dancing flame pulled back into a ponytail colored Mint cream, a greenish shade of white. His eyes are Lazarus colored, as is his tongue and blood. His teeth are sharp canines, piercing skin easily.”
A little worried how he knew that, but Dick would ask later. “His crown, the Crown of Fire, is a halo of Vantablack ice. The other piece showcasing his status is the Ring of Rage, colored same shade of black with a gemstone colored Carmine red.”
Damian sighed dreamily. “He was dressed elegantly, a Lazarus green suit vest over a vantablack button up and tie. His cape was clasped around his shoulders with a gold chain, pure white on the outside but a galaxy on the inside. It moved, Richard. He told me it changed galaxies and that at the moment it was showing the galaxy of dimension 62V-K.”
“Richard,” Damian said softly, his face flushed and eyes shining. “When he took my hand….I shivered. At first I thought nothing of it, but the longer I stood by his side it became harder and harder to deny it. His scent was….attractive. Like hickory and rain, maple and lightning. He smelled like a rolling thunderstorm, a summer morning.”
“I wanted to be closer, to drown in his scent. But it wasn’t just me.” Dick was certain he was about to die. It wasn’t just him? Oh no. “Were there others?” Dick asked worryingly. Damian blushed more, shaking his head then pushing his face into his pillow. When he raised his head he looked dazed. “It wasn’t just me, Richard. He...My scent…we were in the garden when he brought it up.”
“He’d wanted to show me the animals in the sanctuary, star seals and pomerantulas. We were sitting under a wysteria tree watching them roam. We were….I guess you would call it ‘cuddling’. Just…leaning against and holding each other. His arm was wrapped around my waist while his other held my hand.”
Damian blushed again and pushed his face back into the pillow as Dick ‘aww’ed. He raised his head once more and continued. “He turned to me and told me he couldn’t contain his desire any longer. When I asked what he meant…..” Damian took deep breath.
“He asked to smell my scent gland.” Dick blue screened for a moment. “He WHAT!?” He leaned forward, thinking he had misheard. Asking to smell a scent gland was more than a big deal. It was practically a mini proposal! “Did–what did you say?” Damian smiled again. “I said yes. He pulled my hand and put his lips to my wrist gland. He inhaled deeply and shivered. Richard, he growled.”
“He kissed my gland and told me it was taking all his strength and willpower not to mark me as his mate right that second. I…I didn’t know how to respond, and without thinking I told him he could scent me if I could scent him.” Dick gaped at him. Damian was very particular about physical contact, even more so about scenting. For him to ask an alpha to scent him, to ask if he could scent him—Damian was more than interested.
“He immediately agreed, and then….” Damian paused and Dick thought his head was going to explode from how red it was. “Theeeen??” Dick inquired. “Oh Richard, he pulled me onto his lap and against his chest.” Damian fell back into the bed, still clutching his pillow. “He began scenting and kissing my neck, telling me he wanted me in ways he didn’t know how to describe.”
Damian sighed dreamily. “He told me he wanted to court me, to make me feel like the most special and important person in the multiverse because that’s was I was to him. That he wanted to spread every waking and resting moment with me. Richard, he asked my opinion on children.”
“Oh and scenting him was heaven,” Damian swooned again, “to claim him as my alpha, even in the smallest ways, made my head spin. Richard….I began kissing his neck.” Dicks jaw was so open it was practically in the batcave. “You kissed him?? His scent gland?? Did he like it? What did you say to him???”
Damian nodded, eyes blown wide with a smile on his face. “I told him I accept his advances and that I wanted to mate as soon as possible. I told him I’d never wanted anyone–anything–more than I wanted to be his omega. That I wanted him to be my alpha. And then…. Oh it was so foolish and irresponsible of me to do, but I couldn’t wait any longer.” Damian put a hand over his heart.
“I kissed him.” Dick gasped. “Wh–did he kiss back?” “Yes!” Damian said, sitting up. “He kissed me back! It was so….soft at first, but then—oh it’s embarrassing to say.” Dick clasped his hands together. “ please please pleaseeeeee tell meeeee. You can’t leave me on a cliffhanger!” Damian laughed a little, laughing louder when Dick pulled him into a hug, still pleading.
“Ok, ok, I will tell you!” He giggled, allowing Dick to keep hugging him, which said a lot about how happy he was. “We–well, I don’t really know how, but one moment we were sitting up and the next he had me pinned to the ground.” Dick choked. Damian only laughed again. “Yes, I was surprised as well. He—we were…” Damian cleared his throat.
“….I believe it’s called ‘French kissing.’” Damian his his face in his hands at Dicks scandalized gasp. “It…was so warm. He tasted wonderful, and I wanted it to continue forever. I….I’ve never been more impulsive than I was in that moment. I put my hands in his hair–and I’m surprised it didn’t burn me–but anyways, I pulled him closer to me. But it wasn’t enough.”
Damian laughed a little, peeking through his fingers. “I…ha…I flipped us. So I was–dear lord Richard, I was sitting on his lap! I was straddling him!” Dick gasped again. “My baby brother, straddling someone? Oh pinch me, I think I’m dreaming!” He teased, smiling as Damian pinched him. “It certainly felt like a dream.” Damian sighed.
“Did he like it?” Damian hid his face again. “Yes, very much. I could smell and….feel him, if you understand.” Oh my god. Dick ‘ooo’ed and Damian laughed airily. “He obviously liked it, but did you?” Dick laughed as Damian squeaked, gasping again at his small nod. “Ooohhhh my little brother is growing uuupp,” he cried, hugging him again. “He has a boyfriend, he’s being courted, pretty soon you’ll be mated; it’s too much! Just yesterday you were eight!”
Damian didn’t try to push him away, leaning into him instead. “You are ok with this?” He asked hopefully, “You will allow him to court me?” Dick pulled back so he could look at Damian fully. “Damian, I’ve never seen you more happy than you are now. If this alpha can make you smile and laugh like this just after the first meeting, he has more than my blessing. He should be more worried about what I’ll do to him if he doesn’t court you.”
Damian laughed happily, hugging him. “I am very glad. I was worried you’d be against it, for I know Father will be.” He had a good point. Bruce went over-protectively ballistic when he found out Roy and Kori were courting Jason. When he finds out Daniel is the fucking King of the afterlife? It’ll take every super to hold him back from going to the Infinite Realms and interrogating it’s king.
“After a few minutes of, um….kissing, he pulled back rather quickly, so quickly in fact that I believed I’d done something wrong. Thankfully that was not the case.” Damian said, continuing after a moment. “I’d asked him and he quickly told me that I’d done nothing wrong, and that—that I was perfect. He said that he was having trouble controlling himself, and that if we continued…”
“Oh my god.” Dick whispered. “Damian, show me your neck right now.” Damian gasped and almost shrieked a scandalized ‘RICHARD!’ as Dick pulled at his shirt. Thankfully, there were no marks, some light bruises, but that was normal with kissing. He allowed Damian to smack his arm after. “How irresponsible do you believe me to be?! I tell you I do something without thinking once and suddenly you treat me like a harlot!?” Dick laughed as he apologized, conceding that it had been a little rude. Damian took a moment to collect himself before continuing.
“It is embarrassing to say, but while we were, ahem….busy, his sister appeared to inform us the ball would soon be over and Daniel had to give his closing speech as the host.” Dick laughed at Damian’s expression. He knew the mortifying feeling of a sibling walking in while you were making out with someone, and was glad Damian got to experience it.
“Her name is Jasmine, and I do hope you do not meet. I know your history with tall redheads.” He laughed again at Damians expression. “But more importantly, after Daniels speech he gave me a courting gift.” Dick gasped and watched as Damian quickly went to his dresser and dug under everything to bring out a small black box.
Damian came back and sat down next to him, opening it to reveal a ring. It was a green gemstone with a black band. The band was carved into a blooming flower with the gem in the center with leafs coming out the sides slightly. The gemstone wasn’t one of this world, or dimension most likely. The color changed shades of green depending on the light, the cut changing with it. To the left it was zigzags, to the rights it was a jagged bismuth, and when Damian pulled it back Dick saw it change to liquid.
Damian pulled it out and put it on his left ring finger, and Dick watched as it changed shape to fit his finger. Damian sighed dreamily as he turned his hand this way and that, tracing the gem with his other thumb. “He told me this was his mothers wedding ring, and that she had given her engagement ring to his sister and her wedding ring to him. Apparently his father created this jewel for his mother and carved the band, and he said he’d do the same for my wedding band.”
“Man, Daniel knows how to make a move!” Dick whistled as he took Damian’s hand to see the ring better. “I’ve seen some amazing courting gifts in my day, but his mothers wedding ring as the first gift? You said his dad made this gem for his mom? Does that mean he’s going to make the same gem for you?” Damian blushed as Dick admired the ring.
“I believe so, since according to Daniel this gem is currently the only one in existence, making my wedding ring the second.” Damian stopped for a second, making Dick pause too. Damian was still and silent for about thirty seconds before he exclaimed “My god, it’s a tradition!” Dick blinked. “..what?” “It’s a family tradition! It’s something his father did, he’ll do, and our children will do as well! It’s generational!”
Damian was fanning himself and blushing again, and Dick couldn’t help but laugh. Of course thats what does it. A tradition. And probably also the fact that Daniel was already talking about their wedding. Damian was also going on and on about the wedding, who would be there and what type of flowers and what he would wear.
“Father and Mother will walk me down the aisle, of course, and Jon will be groomsman as well as Colin, Jason, Tim, and Duke.” Dick raised an eyebrow. “What about me?” Damian smiled at him. “You’ll be my best man, of course.”
