Lost in the Void, Found in the Stars | Damian Wayne Oneshots

Beach Episode | Suren Darga

I feel so bad that Suren always gets left out in fics, like literally no one else cares about him but me. I miss him so much, that's my baby boy.

Summary: Suren and Damian relaxes on a beach, then it leads to a confession.

.・。.・゜✭・»»--⍟--««.・✫・゜・。.

Suren squinted into the horizon, where the deep blue ocean met the sky, and then glanced at Damian, who seemed perfectly at ease lounging on the beach next to him. But Suren knew better. Damian might look relaxed, his dark hair falling across his forehead and his body draped across a sun chair, but Suren could see the tension in his shoulders, the subtle way his eyes scanned the shoreline every few moments. Damian was always aware, always calculating, even here on this peaceful stretch of beach miles away from Gotham.

They had come here to escape the chaos—Damian's idea, actually. Suren was skeptical at first, thinking it might just be another training exercise in disguise. But after a particularly grueling month in Gotham, the offer of sun and sand didn't sound so bad. Besides, spending time with Damian outside of missions, outside of that rigid, disciplined environment, was a rare chance. Not that Damian was easy to read even then.

Suren sighed, stretching out on his towel. "This is nice, isn't it?" he said, attempting to keep the conversation casual. Damian gave a small nod but didn't respond.

Suren wasn't sure what he expected. Damian was always a bit difficult to talk to, not in the sense that he wasn't open—well, actually, no, that was exactly it. He wasn't open. Damian was...distracting. He was all sharp edges and fierce determination, but there was something soft beneath the surface too, something that Suren found himself drawn to even if he couldn't quite figure out why. It didn't help that Damian seemed completely unaware of the effect he had on people.

"Don't tell me you brought me here just to sit in silence," Suren prodded, leaning closer to Damian, trying to catch his eye.

Damian finally glanced over, his face unreadable as usual. "What would you like to discuss?" His voice was flat, almost too formal for the setting.

Suren groaned, rolling his eyes. "I don't know, how about...anything? How are you feeling? What's going on in that head of yours?"

Damian's brow furrowed slightly, as if the concept of feelings was foreign to him. "I feel fine."

"Wow, riveting," Suren muttered under his breath, turning away to stare at the ocean. For a guy who was supposed to be a genius, Damian could be incredibly dense. Did he really not get it? Did he not notice the way Suren lingered near him more than necessary, the way he tried to start conversations that went nowhere because Damian would shut them down with his perfectly composed demeanor?

Suren felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, ignoring the group chat filled with teasing messages from the others. Of course, everyone else had figured it out. Everyone but Damian.

"You're restless," Damian observed suddenly, startling Suren. He sat up, his green eyes locking onto Suren with a focus that was almost unnerving. "Something is bothering you."

Suren blinked, caught off guard. "No, I'm just..."

"I thought this was what you wanted," Damian continued, his voice still calm but laced with confusion. "Time away from Gotham. To relax."

Suren bit his lip, trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind without sounding completely ridiculous. "I wanted time with you, not just...sitting here watching the waves."

Damian tilted his head slightly, studying him. "We're together now, aren't we?"

Suren huffed, exasperated. "That's not what I mean." He stared down at the sand, his heart pounding a little faster than he liked to admit. "I just...I've been trying to show you something, and you've been missing it."

There was a long pause. Damian's silence hung between them like a thick fog, and Suren wondered if he'd gone too far. Then, after what felt like an eternity, Damian finally spoke.

"What have I been missing?"

Suren's chest tightened. He could feel his pulse racing. He hadn't meant to let it slip like this, not in the middle of nowhere on a beach, but here they were. "I've been trying to...to show you that I like you, Damian."

Damian blinked once, twice, his expression unchanged. "I like you too."

Suren wanted to bash his head into the sand. "No, not like that. I mean, I like you. Romantically."

There was another pause, longer this time. Suren could practically see the gears turning in Damian's head as he processed the information. Finally, Damian's eyes widened, just a fraction, and Suren knew that he'd finally gotten it.

"Oh," Damian said softly, like he was realizing it for the first time. "I didn't...know."

Suren let out a frustrated laugh. "Yeah, I figured. It's not exactly subtle. The others have been teasing me about it for weeks."

Damian looked away, his cheeks tinged with a faint pink. "I...see."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Suren could feel the tension building up again. He hadn't expected Damian to respond right away, hadn't expected anything, really, but now that it was out there, he couldn't take it back.

Damian shifted slightly, his gaze returning to Suren's. "I'm not...good at this," he admitted quietly.

Suren smiled, a small, genuine smile. "Yeah, I know. But I guess that's what makes you interesting."

Damian's lips quirked up in a rare, almost imperceptible smile. "Interesting...?"

They sat in silence again, but this time it was different. The air between them felt lighter. Suren could feel Damian's presence next to him, warm and steady, and for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel the need to push.

"You're still in high alert, aren't you?" Suren asked after a while, breaking the silence.

Damian chuckled softly. "Always."

Suren sighed, but it was a content sigh this time. "Of course you are."

End