Chapter 12
Cassie Jordan had a lot of problems.
She was impulsive. She was stubborn. She had a bad habit of overthinking everything, and a worse habit of pretending she didn’t care when she did.
But right now?
Right now, none of it mattered.
Because Damian Wayne was holding her hand.
And she was letting him.
After dragging her out of Stella’s room, Damian had wordlessly led her down the halls of Wayne Manor, out onto one of the many balconies that overlooked Gotham.
Now, they stood in comfortable silence, the city lights flickering below them.
Cassie felt... weirdly calm.
Like she was finally sure about something.
Damian’s thumb brushed over her knuckles absently, his grip steady but gentle.
Cassie smirked. "You gonna keep holding my hand all night, Wayne?"
Damian didn’t even glance at her. "Yes."
Cassie’s stomach flipped.
She covered it up with a teasing grin. "Wow. You must really like me, huh?"
Damian huffed, but his grip didn’t loosen.
"Tt. You are insufferable."
Cassie bumped his shoulder playfully. "And yet, here you are."
Damian finally turned to look at her, sharp green eyes studying her face like she was the only thing worth looking at.
"Indeed."
Cassie’s teasing smirk faltered slightly.
Because God, he looked so serious.
So unshakably certain.
She was used to Damian being sure of himself—but she wasn’t used to him being this sure about her.
Cassie inhaled, shifting a little.
"So... what happens now?" she asked softly.
Damian tilted his head. "What do you want to happen?"
Cassie bit her lip, suddenly feeling shy for the first time in her life.
"I don’t know. I mean—this is kind of new territory for me, you know? I’ve never really done the whole... relationship thing before."
Damian’s grip on her hand tightened slightly.
"Neither have I," he admitted. "But I know I do not wish to waste time pretending I do not want this."
Cassie’s breath hitched.
"Oh."
Damian’s lips tugged slightly.
"You say that often when you are flustered."
Cassie gasped. "I do not—"
"You do."
Cassie scowled. "Ugh. I hate you."
"No, you don’t."
Cassie sighed dramatically, leaning against the railing. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Damian watched her for a moment before stepping closer, his body just barely brushing against hers.
"Cassiopeia."
Cassie’s stomach fluttered at the way he said her name.
"Yeah?"
Damian reached up, fingers brushing her cheek gently, tilting her chin up until their eyes met.
His voice was soft, but there was no hesitation in it.
"You are more than enough."
Cassie swore her heart stopped.
Because those words?
Those words meant everything.
She blinked rapidly, trying to hide the warmth spreading across her face.
"That—That was really unfair, Wayne." Her voice came out a little wobbly.
Damian smirked. "Tt. Do you wish for me to take it back?"
Cassie scowled. "Don’t you dare."
And then, before she could overthink it, she grabbed his face and kissed him.
Damian didn’t hesitate.
His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him, deepening the kiss without hesitation.
Cassie felt herself melt, fingers tangling into his hair, her heartbeat racing but steady.
Because for the first time in a long time—
She wasn’t thinking too much.
She was just feeling.
And it felt so damn right.