Damian wasn’t one for grand romantic gestures—never had been, never would be. And spiders? He usually couldn’t care less about them either. But this one was different. His Spider-Person was a rare exception to every rule he ever had. So, was he really surprised when, during their friendly race to the riverbank, they ended up crashing into each other? Maybe a little. It was messy, clumsy, and the kind of thing that felt like it belonged in one of Dick’s romance novels—those he’d once caught him reading in secret, tucked away in the quiet corners of the manor.

A very undignified noise escaped Damian’s lips as they tumbled together, the world spinning wildly beneath them. Gravity was not their friend that night. For a moment, all he could register was the desperate, almost instinctive way their arms wrapped around him—clinging like lifelines, fragile and fierce at once. He barely had time to process the warmth of the contact before a sharp tug snapped him back to reality. His wide eyes caught the sudden flash of webbing as it shot from their masked companion’s wrist, slinging them both upward, slicing through the night air with a swift momentum that stole the breath from his lungs.

“H-HEY! Oh sh—” The startled shout slipped out, raw and unfiltered. It was like a slow-motion dance, chaotic yet strangely graceful. They hovered briefly above the city streets, suspended in a breathless moment that stretched out like a fragile thread. Damian’s gaze locked onto those masked eyes, sparkling beneath the moonlight, and his heart betrayed him with an embarrassing flip—quick and unbidden—nestled deep inside his chest.

The initial panic dissolved, replaced by laughter—light, unrestrained, breaking through the tension like sunlight through storm clouds. They fell, they rose, and they swung through Gotham’s dark arteries, the city lights flickering below like scattered fireflies. Above them, the stars winked knowingly, casting a silver glow that could make any hopeless romantic sigh with delight. For once, Damian felt something he wasn’t used to—carefree. He convinced himself it was just the G-forces messing with him, but deep down, he knew this moment was something entirely different.