you can always hit my phone. (one on one, o p e n ! !)

Damian blushed as Juniper held his cheek, eyes drifting down to his chest where Damian was tapping out nervous little rhythms in morse code. He could decipher it now that he was paying attention, watching the word sorry play out over and over. He didn't really know if he understood how to be fine anymore, but… it was worth it to try. His eyes flickered up to Juniper's and he leaned forward to kiss him nervously. "Yeah. I… I'm gonna be fine."

juniper gave a soft smile.

"yeah."

after a moment of just admiring damian, he seemingly snapped back into attention. "hey, are you hungry? i nearly forgot that i made food while you were asleep."

Damian flustered slightly under the attention, squirming softly under Juniper's gaze until his face was a delicate shade of pink and he couldn't stand to keep eye contact for more than a few seconds. A soft smile was still playing at his lips though, and he couldn't help but light up when Juniper mentioned food. He nodded enthusiastically, bright and excited. "I'd love that!"

"nice! let me up, love. i'll get it for you."

juniper admired how damian had bloomed under just a small amount of care, getting excited about things. very unlike the outwardly gruff stranger he met at the diner.

Damian had never really been cared for before, but he'd figured out pretty quickly that he liked it and he wanted more. But only from Juniper. Juniper made him feel safe, so it was natural to smile and let loose and feel good in front of him in a way he just couldn't around anyone else.

He sighed mournfully when Juniper asked him to get up, clinging tighter on instinct. "Do you have to go? I'm so comfy right here with you."

"well considering that we're the only two people in the house and i don't possess telekinesis, i have to go. i'll be back in a moment." juniper said, playful exasperation coming through his voice.

It was a dilemma, but eventually Damian's stomach got the best of him and he slid into the crack where the couch cushions met. He winced as they pressed into his back and rolled over onto his tummy. "Come back soon, okay?"

"aye aye." he got up quickly, crossing to the fridge and taking out a bowl covered in saran wrap. he opened a drawer, and after a moment of thought decided to just go with a fork.

"hope you like cultural food, we make everything except american and british here." he sat back down next to damian, handing the bowl of ramen and fork off to him.

Damian looked down at the bowl, feeling vaguely queasy already. If he never looked at another bowl of ramen it'd be too soon. Still, Juniper was kind enough to cook it for him so he tucked into it with enthusiasm, if not eagerness. "It's not like I'm gonna be picky about what you make for me. Thank you."

"never a problem. remember, while the diner may be a front, you learn some things. we could teach you as well if you wanted." he crossed his arms casually, leaning back to take a deep breath.

"today's been wild, huh?"

The idea of self-sufficiency was nice, but the thought of being in a room crowded with strangers all holding knives and pans hot enough to burn left a bad taste in his mouth. Especially if those strangers would be older men, which he already knew they would. "I'm not the biggest fan of learning at the diner, but… I might like some private lessons. Like… just with you and me. And… fuck man, it sure has. I haven't had bandages this nice in forever!"

juniper nodded. "i can do that. and, yeah. when you get hurt as much as we do, you learn what to buy."

Damian smiled, ducking his head to hide the cheery expression and only coming back up once it was muted into a quietly pleased expression. "Yeah, I'd use these more often if I had the money." He fingered the bandages wrapped around his chest thoughtfully. "But… I guess I don't really have to worry about money so much now that I'm living with you instead of pops."

juniper couldn't hold back the smile this time.

"no, no you don't. but hey!" he elbowed damian in the shoulder playfully, careful not to catch him in the chest or back.

"you gotta pull your weight around here, man. after you've healed of course, but. you feel up to working part-time at the diner? real friendly place, 80% of the time only mag and i are in there."

Damian wasn't the biggest fan of the idea, but he'd be a hundred times more uncomfortable freeloading than he would be working the diner. He nodded after a few minutes, finishing his ramen and setting it down on the coffee table with a soft clink. "I'd be fine with that as long as I can scope it out for a bit first."

"absolutely. here, let me get that." he reached for the bowl, and was stopped by a yowl at the door and a muffled "oh fuck off, puff."

juniper looked towards the door, huffing slightly. "dad must be home. our cat always harasses him at the front door."

Damian flinched when he heard the yowl, pressing closer to Juniper instinctively. He calmed down once he got an explanation, even managing to muster up a small smirk. "He sees all that mafia shit and it's the cat that gets him?"

"pssht, the mafia is nothing compared to wild animals. all my respect goes to the people that work with 'em. but yeah. puff manages to scare the shit out of all of us at times."

they heard keys fumbling in the door, and soon magik stumbled through, completely black ball of fluff weaving in between his legs and making a dash for the couch to fall into juniper's lap.

Damian snickered, burying his smile in Juniper's shoulder. He froze against his side as Magik stepped into view, taking forcibly steady breaths until he could pretend the man didn't make him anxious. "Um… hello Mr. Saint-Mora."

magik raised his eyebrows, looking silently at damian for a moment, before cracking into a smile.

"hey, kid. it's just saint. juniper's saint-mora, cause of his mom. how's your back?"

juniper began petting the cat purring loudly in his lap, watching them interact.

Damian pressed closer to Juniper under the look Magik was giving him, looking like he wanted nothing more than to disappear into his shadow. He visibly relaxed when Magik smiled, sagging against Juniper's shoulder. "It's.. fine, Mr. Saint. I feel better than I have in a while."

"great. well, here. got what you asked for, juni. see you kids later, i'm gonna retire for the night."

he dropped an unlabeled shopping bag on the coffee table and crossed to muss up juni's hair. juniper hissed and leaned away from him, but smiled nonetheless. magik smacked him gently on the head before silently going to his bedroom.

Damian finally untensed completely when Magik left the room, not sure if he was nervous about living so close to an adult he didn't know or jealous that Juniper had such a loving home environment. He settled for a healthy mix of both, peering over at Juniper for permission to rifle through the bag before he started poking around.

"feel free to look through it. it's… hospital grade painkillers, if i remember correctly. opioids. as well as naproxen, we were running low on over-the-counter shit anyway."

puff lifted her head to gingerly sniff damian, learning about the new person next to her.

Damian pointedly avoided the opioids- the last thing he needed was an addiction to match his father's- but the fancy painkillers intrigued him. He was quickly distracted by the cat, however, looking into her eyes curiously. "Her name is puff, right?" he asked quietly, reaching forward to let her sniff his hand with slow movements. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. "Is she a good girl?"

"only the best. we like to call her 'soot sprite', because she honestly looks like one." juni ran a hand down her back, and she trilled happily before leaning out to smell damian's hand.
'
"she's kind of wild, though. only likes certain people. looks like she'll like you, though.

Damian smiled, cautiously reaching forward to pet her. His movements were clumsy- he'd never managed to have a pet before- but he made up for it in enthusiasm. He lit up when Puff deigned to give him her attention, a wide wonderstruck smile on his face. "You really think so? I… um… she likes me?"

puff closed her eyes, letting him pet her.

"looks like it, love. here, take one finger and rub the bridge of her nose. she loves that." he demonstrated, getting a loud purr, and rested his hand on her back so damian could try.

Damian did as he was told, watching in awe as she purred. It felt so good to be able to make something else happy instead of pained. Like maybe he could be more than just a weapon for whatever cause though he was worth wielding. "How long have you had her?"

"she found us about two years ago. have you seen those posts where someone comes home to a cat sitting in their house that doesn't live there? that's what happened. she was sitting in the sink."

juniper sat back to let damian pet puff, crossing his arms.