We have a Discord now and some wonderful people are helping setting things up but we still need a lot of help with the musical itself.
So if you want to help then you can fill in the forms below!
Things to keep in mind:
All help is appreciated, even if you don’t think you could help with something specifically like drawing or writing you can still sign up to help in general
You can sign up for multiple roles, but depending on how many people we have for each role, we may have to ask you to just work on one thing
We ask that you upload some of your work if you sign up for any role (other than helper) if you pick several roles then please upload something for each
Finally, this is a big project so just know that it’s going to be a lot of work and you are going to have to work with other people.
Marinette ignored the harsh glow of the screen on her eyes as she scrolled through her laptop, looking at websites that would probably get her arrested.
In her defence, she was doing it for a good reason. Which usually meant it was for the safety of the miraculous.
But no one needed to know that.
“Marinette,” Tikki said, floating by her owner. “I’m sure whatever you’re searching for can wait for a few hours, while you sleep.”
The fashion designer groaned, running her stiff fingers through her hair that was sticking out in various directions.
“No, Tikki, it can’t because if it goes too far,” Marinette said, closing a tab furiously. “It’s going to destroy our planet as we know it.”
Tikki stared at her, completely unfazed. “Well then take a break. I’m sure the world is not going to end in the next few seconds.”
Marinette paused her blindingly fast typing, considering Tikki’s offer.
Her answer was an immediate and resounding no.
The other kwamis who had come to support Tikki’s point sighed in annoyance.
“Really, Guardian,” said Wayzz, floating next to Tikki, “I would very much like it if you listened to Tikki; what you are doing is nothealthy. Also, Master Fu once told me, if you take a break, sometimes what you’re looking for appears right after.”
Thatmade Marinette pause. And her rumbling stomach, but we’re just going to ignore that for now.
“Well,” Marinette stretched the word out, her eyes flicking from kwami to kwami. “I supposeI could take a few minutes break.”
The cheers of the kwami echoed around the penthouse.
Marinette sighed in bliss as she took a sip of her coffee, feeling a little less tired than before.
“Coffee,” she announced, carefully sitting on her couch. “Is god’s gift to Earth.”
“Nah, Pigtails,” Plagg said, floating in front of her. “It’s cheese. Always and forever.”
He groaned in delight as he gobbled up a large piece of cheese.
Giving him the stink-eye, Marinette turned back to her laptop, continuing her search.
“If I could just find the name…” Marinette took another sip of her coffee before typing furiously again.
“If I may ask,” said Nooroo, blinking his large eyes. “What exactlyare you looking for?”
Marinette stretched her back, cringing at the loud crackit let out. “I’m looking for an alien. His name is Thanos. Or something like that.”
“Then I suppose we can help each other.”
Marinette froze as the familiar, smooth and silky voice of Damian Al-Ghul rung in her ears.
She turned around slowly, cringing at her state, slipping her confident mask on.
“Al-Ghul,” she said coolly, straightening her back. By now, all of the kwamis had flown into their respective hiding places, knowing who Damian was. “What are you doing here?”
Currently, Damian was perched upon her windowsill, which, for your reference, was quite high up in the sky.
“First,” he asked smoothly, deep voice rippling. “May I come in?”
At her suspicious look, he held his hands up, leaving him in a precarious position. “I don’t have any weapons. I have not come here, intending to fight with you.”
At Marinette’s signal from behind her back, Plagg and Wayzz flew around Damian, scanning him for any weapons.
Plagg flew in front of her after a few seconds, casually saying, “He’s clear, Pigtails.”
Toocasually.
Marinette saw the look in his eyes and mentally pinched her nose because it meant that Plagg wanted to tell her something.
It could wait.
“All right,” Marinette said, suddenly aware of her hair and how it must be looking. “Come in.”
Before she had even finished her sentence, Damian was already leaping inside, like a cat.
Oh kwami, Marinette thought, suddenly having an inkling of what Plagg wanted to tell her.
She really hoped she was wrong.
Once Damian was standing in front of her, Marinette stalked towards him, eyes cold as ice. “Now answer my question from before, Al-Ghul. Why are you here?”
Damian gave her that infuriating smirk, the one she still remembered from when he kidnapped her two weeks ago.
“I assume we are both looking for the same…alien,” he said, looking slightly annoyed at the thought. “Thanos.”
Marinette raised her eyebrows, unwilling to believe him. “I suppose we are. Provided you are telling the truth.”
“I am,” Damian said, looking more annoyed now. “Some of my assassins are going off track, assassinating people who they shouldn’t be. I have been forced to dispose of them, their actions drawing too much attention to the League. I did my research a week ago and came across the same name you did, as well as the word ‘miraculous.’ I suppose that explains your involvement as well.”
Marinette was intrigued now, Wayzz’s confirmation that Damian was telling the truth reassuring her. “Well, did you come across the term infinity stones?”
“I did.” Damian looked and soundedcompletely confused, proving to Marinette that this was something out of their world, something that none of them knew.
“Well,” Marinette knew she was making a terrible decision and she should probably stop herself but two minds were better than one right?
“How about working together to figure this out?”
Marinette would remember Damian’s expression for the rest of her life because it was thatpriceless.
Marinette was processing what had happened in the last few, eventfulminutes in a private corner of her own, because a, she was trying to run away from her so-called old friends and b, she reallyneeded the time to process this or she was going to explode.
Unfortunately, her seclusion didn’t last long because, in a few seconds, Nino and Kim were rushing up to her, begging for her forgiveness.
“Marinette,” Kim yelled, as he came to a stop in front of her. “Marinette, I’m so, sosorry, words can’t express how sorry I am, pleaseMarinette-”
On top of his voice, Nino was alsovoicing his apologies, “Mari, how can I make this up to you? I swear to always believe in you; I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad friend-”
All in all, it was sounding like a mess, and Marinette was beginning to back away from Nino and Kim.
Marinette laughed nervously, which, surprisingly shut the two of them up (she was expecting some more drastic measures to be taken). “So, um, I don’t really know what to say, because you know, I’ve made my feelings pretty clear before. We’re not friends anymore.”
Nino and Kim looked at her with devastated eyes that did nothingto sway her decision.
An awkward silence descended on the trio of the once childhood friends.
Marinette looked around furtively, looking for an exit.
Spotting the hallway behind her, Marinette took the opportunity to escape. “So, because things got really awkward here, I’m just going to pretend I got a superimportant text and go somewhere that’s not here, so…bye!”
The last word echoed lightly off the walls as Marinette raced down the hallway.
Looking behind her every now and then to make sure they weren’t following her (you could never be toocareful), Marinette didn’t notice the orange girl until she practically barreled into her, the two of them stumbling.
Marinette opened her mouth to apologize profusely, but when she saw whoshe bumped into, she closed her mouth with an irritated snap.
What a lovelytime to run into her oneenemy that probably wants her deadby now.
Lila Rossi felt her anger burn beyond its limitations as she set her gaze on the baneof her existence.
Marinette Dupain-fucking-Cheng.
As Lila’s gaze rested on the ‘innocent’ girl, every second made her anger burn brighterand more insane.
By this point, Lila was practically snarlingin anger and the urge to just endMarinette’s miserable existence was naggingLila painfully.
“You,” she hissed poisonously, her eyes flashing with hatred. “You little bitc-”
“Idon’thave time for this.”
Dupain-Cheng’s voice was icy and emotionless, and it made Lila feel a thousand times smaller, though she tried to hide it.
Feeling her anger spark even more, Lila resorted to more..physicalmeans,attemptingto shove Marinette back.
“I’ll make you pay, you little home-wrecker,” Lila pulled her arms back to shove Marinette.
She even wouldhave, had Marinette’s own hands not gripped her arms to the point of pain.
This time, when Lila looked at Marinette’s face, she was properlyintimidated.
“Listen up here, Rossi,” Marinette hissed, her nails digging into Lila’s skin. “Let me make this clear. Against me, you are nothing. Believe me, in your time at our school, I could have killed you a hundredtimes over, so be gratefulthat you’re even alive.”
“You’re lying,” Lila said, although the tremor in her voice bellied her true feelings.
“I can assure you,” a frosty voice said, one that Lila recognized very well, having been the one to expose her, “That she is very much telling the truth. I have seen her do it herself. Do not underestimate her, as you did before, Ms. Rossi.”
Damian Wayne looked at Lila with nothing but disdain and anger in his eyes, and suddenly, Lila felt like shrinking and falling into the ground because goddamn it, these two were scary.
“Now,” Damian said clearly, gently prying Marinette’s hands from Lila’s now-crushed sleeves. “Let me be perfectly clear. You will notlie from this second forward about me, Marinette or anyother member of my family. If you do so, Wayne Enterprises will sue you for your entire worth - which is quite meagre by the way - multiplied by a hundred. By the end of it, your life will be ruined permanently and you’ll be spending the rest of it rotting in a jail cell.”
Safe to say, Lila was terrified of Damian now.
But maybe she could salvage the situation? Damian said only the Wayne family…
“And,” Damian continued. “I dosuggest not lying about any celebrity, because, Ms. Rossi, currently, I believe you are 'trending’ and your parents are being floodedwith lawsuits.”
Lila’s jaw dropped open in shock.
“Do what you will with that,” Damian smirked at her one more time before grabbing Marinette’s hand and walking away dramatically.
Lila stood there in silence for what felt like hours, until her sharp ringtone cut into her subconscious.
serendipity | +3.9k | lila salt, adrien salt, alya salt
summary: the last time damian al-ghul saw marinette was when they were twelve. he didn’t think he would see her again. so, it’s a huge surprise when he stumbles upon her in WE while exposing the liar of the class from France.
the confrontation | +0.8k | lila salt, mild class salt [part 2 to ‘serendipity’]
summary: what a lovelytime to run into her enemy that probably wants her deadby now.
soulmate au | +1.8k | lila salt, adrien salt, alya salt
summary: tradition says that your soulmate will have another tattoo, something that relates to you. when they meet you, it is said that the tattoos start glowing a bright gold.
summary: he was a handsome man, she would give him that, but according to her father - the one of the most important lords of the kingdom - he was extremely stand-offish and cold. she didn’t know if she would get along with him.
summary: damian glared at her fiercely and she shrunk back. “i can assure you, lila rossi is most definitely not my soulmate. perhaps you should check everything she has said on google. it does exist you know.”
summary: tim and marinette attend marinette’s class reunion.
the recording | +1.5k | little angst, fluff, salt; [part 2 to ‘an…interesting reunion’]
summary: the recording (can be read as a stand-alone)
the gala | +1.6k | lila salt, adrien salt, alya salt, class salt [platonic]
summary: timothy drake-wayne was not happy. he had to lead the (according to dick at least, and he was inclined to believe him because he had never seen dick so unhappy) class of dimwits from france because it was his turn. He had put it off all week and now he had to do it as the CEO of WE.
summary: “you really should have sat down,” sighed anarka. “lad, your father is bruce wayne.”
no pairing
oneshots:
the exposé | +5.3k | lila salt, adrien salt, alya salt, class salt
summary: lila was having the time of her life at WE. the class was fawning over her, ready to do her bidding whenever she wanted, however she wanted. she could spout out a ridiculous lie and they’d believe it; they were completely and irreversibly under her spell. but then, of course, things hadto go wrong.
summary: marinette wakes up in a hospital, paralyzed.
what a liar! | +1k | lila salt, class sugar, fix-it fic
summary: lila rossi mentally prepared her plethora of lies as she entered her new class. the only thing was, she wasn’t aware they possessed brain cells.
summary: “i mean,” marinette says frustratedly, ready to tear her hair out - you will never believe the number of rants she has told chloe and kagami and the nights she has spent obsessing over it, “i’m in love with both of you!”
“Habibti, I need to ask you a few questions,” said Damian.
Marinette, his new girlfriend, tilted her head curiously. “Of course, Dami.”
Before I go and let you in
“Do you think you’ll be fine with the press once we release our relationship?” Damian asked nervously. It wouldn’t be the first time one of his girlfriends had run off because she couldn’t deal with it.
And he wasn’t willing to go through the heartbreak again.
Don’t wanna be irrational
Marinette giggled lightly. “Yes, I will be.”
“Really?” Damian wasn’t really convinced.
“Really,” Marinette confirmed. “You know, as Jagged Stone’s designer and Adrien Agreste’s girlfriend, I thought you wouldn’t be too worried about that.”
And make the same mistakes again
Damian’s lips tugged up into a smile when he remembered. How could he have forgotten?
“I don’t want to make the same mistake again,” he said honestly.
Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed for a second and then they shot up when she realized what he meant. “You mean…your girlfriends have broken up with you because of that?”
Nodding, Damian elaborated. “Because they let the fame get to their heads. After some time,” he shook his head defeatedly. “They just…stop seeing me for who I am-”
He was cut off when he felt Marinette wrap her arms around him. “I won’t ever let that happen.”
Looking into her eyes, Damian believed her.
Would you be there
Alfred was surprised to see Master Damian’s girlfriend at the door. So early, too, he thought.
Nevertheless, he smiled at her. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, this is an unexpected surprise. What are you doing here so early? On a weekend, too?”
5 AM on a weekend?
She looked surprised, as if she hadn’t realized that.
Blushing when she realized it was 5 in the morning, she apologized. “Sorry, Alfred. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“Not at all, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” Alfred said, not sure where this was going. “I was already awake.”
Waving her hand casually, she said, “Call me Marinette. And to answer your earlier question, I’m here for Dami’s birthday!”
She visibly brightened at the thought and Alfred couldn’t help but smile fondly at her. “Of course, come in.”
“So, I was thinking of making Damian’s favorite cake because I’m a baker and I want this to be one of Damian’s favorite birthdays-” she rambled and then came to a stop. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”
Chuckling, Alfred gestured to the kitchen. “Yes, you were. Would you like to make the cake in the kitchen?”
**
A truly delightful girl, Alfred couldn’t help but think as he watched her bake with enthusiasm.
Through the thick and the thin
“Justleave me alone!”
Damian regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.
He never should have taken his anger out on Marinette. It wasn’t fair to her.
He expected Marinette to glare at him, yell at him, leave, break up with him.
But what Damian didn’texpect was her eyes to soften and then wrap him into a warm hug.
Almost immediately, the underlying tension crawling beneath his skin (driving him crazy) evaporated and transformed into comfort.
Realizing he should apologize to her, he said, “I’m sorry, I never should have said that-”
“It’s alright, Dami,” Marinette soothed him, rubbing his back with her small palms. “You just need to let it all out.”
How did he manage to land with such an amazinggirlfriend?
Never second-guessing with you
“Are you sure?” Damian asked nervously. He had never told any of his girlfriends of his nightly activities.
If she told someone – Damian didn’t want to think about it.
With confidence Damian had grown to love, Marinette nodded. “Yes.”
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened them again. “I’m Robin.”
Marinette’s eyebrows shot up. “As in the Robin from the Bats?”
Hesitantly (out of character for Damian), he nodded.
Suddenly she grinned, “Oh, that’s nice. Because I think it’s time I told you, I’m Ladybug. Superheroine of Paris.”
Eh?
Choosing to ignore that part, Damian asked, “You’re okay with me being Robin?”
Giving him an odd look, she said, “Yes. Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”
Tension he didn’t even know Damian was feeling slithered out of his body.
Pulling Marinette into a heated kiss, it lasted for several minutes.
They pulled apart when someone cleared their throat. “From the scene in front of me,” Todd smirked, “I assume she took it well?”
Glaring, Damian kicked him out of the room. The idiot already knew the answer.
Turning to what was becoming one of the best things in his life, Damian raised an eyebrow at Marinette. “You were saying about superheroes and Paris?”
Don’t wanna wake up
Marinette couldn’t help but smile as she battled against Damian’s unwillingness to get out of bed. “Dami,” she whined. “Let me go – we’re going to be late for ‘family breakfast’.”
Family breakfast was a new tradition at Wayne Manor. It was basically what the name suggested – breakfast with the entire family.
“We don’t needto go, Habibti,” Damian mumbled into her neck.
Huffing as she tried to untangle their limbs, Marinette said, “Yes, we do, because I want to ask Barb and Steph something,”
After 5 minutes of constant badgering, Damian finally gave in – grumbling, of course.
“Finally,” Marinette missed Damian’s warmth almost immediately. She was smart enough not to sayso of course, otherwise they’d never get out of bed.
She yelped when she felt Damian’s arms wrap around her waist, pulling her to the bathroom. “We’regoing to shower,” he growled into her ear.
**
It was dirty little winks and smirks, the two of them received when they arrived 1 hour late to Family Breakfast with clothes covering their necks.
Wishing I never gave love
The time after she and Adrien broke up, Marinette thought she would never be able to fall in love again. After all, if she wasn’t able to keep a relationship with her so-called soulmate, how would she ever date again?
But it was times like this – when Damian organized everyone for a party in honor of a promotion she received – that made her thank Tikki and any other god in existence that they didn’t let her give up on love.
“SURPRISE!” Everyone yelled as they jumped out of their hiding places.
Marinette stumbled from where she was standing – right into Damian’s arms. “What’s this?” she asked stupidly.
“A party,” Damian said quietly. “A party for your promotion.”
And suddenly, Marinette’s heart warmed in a way it had never before. All of these people – Damian, Bruce, Dick, Barbara, Stephanie, Tim, Jason, everyone– had come here to celebrate.
For her.
And the fact that they invited her parents made it so much sweeter.
So, she kissed Damian like she never had before.
And when they pulled apart, wolf-whistles were being blown everywhere.
Wishing I never gave trust
Marinette hesitated. Should she, or shouldn’t she?
“Damian, I want to show you, my friend. Tikki,” she said determinedly.
Damian looked at her, eyebrows raised. “The one who helped you when you were Ladybug?”
Nodding, Marinette let Tikki come out.
“Hello, Damian!” she said in typical Tikki-fashion. “I’m Tikki.”
Her boyfriend, for his part, didn’t seem too surprised and Marinette couldn’t help but smile as the two of them formed a bond not unlike hers and Tikki’s.
**
“He’s a keeper,” Dusuu whispered into her ear gleefully. “I can feelthe love.”
Blushing, Marinette couldn’t help but agree with her.
Knowing it wasn’t true
Marinette’s voice was raw from all the screaming she had done. Her cheeks were wet with tear stains and her sheets were torn with her nails clawing at them.
Scrabbling for her phone, Marinette felt a weight in her chest lift when she heard Damian’s voice on the other end of the line. “Habibti?”
“Dami,” her throat itched with pain. “Can you please come right now?”
Sounds of movement were coming from the other end. “I’m coming. Right now.”
**
“Shh,” Damian whispered as he ran his hand soothingly over Marinette’s back. “It’s all right.”
She sobbed quietly into his Robin suit – not that he gave a damn.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked carefully.
Marinette hiccuped and nodded. “I-it was terrible. Paris w-was in r-ruins again a-and I was s-stuck. I couldn’t d-do a-anythin-” her voice trailed off into sobs again.
Damian felt his heart clench at her unhappiness. “Shh, Habibti. All is fine. It wasn’t real. It was a nightmare, that’s it.”
If I was your hero, would you be mine?
Damian sighed fondly as he watched his wife work on her design. “Habibti,” he called.
She didn’t respond. Thatshowed how deep she was in ‘the zone’ as she called it.
Walking forward, Damian tapped her lightly on the shoulder and couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.
“Dami!” she yelled, flinging her arms around him. “What are you doing here?”
Damian shook his head when he saw the number of coffee cups by her side. “I’m here to make sure you take care of yourself.”
He lifted her up into his arms, bridal style. “By first, making you eat.”
Marinette gasped when she saw her favorite meals on the table. “All for me?”
“All for you,” Damian agreed.
He savored the kiss she gave him.
Once she pulled away, she giggled and ran a hand through his hair. “My hero.”
I know this ain’t a fairytale, this is real life
Marinette smiled sleepily as she and Damian half-registered the movie they were watching.
“What are you thinking, Habibti?” asked her husband, somehow always knowing what she was feeling.
Marinette hummed, thinking about what to say. Finally, she settled on, “Just thinking how lucky I am to have you,”
Damian’s chest rumbled against her ear. “I do too. Sometimes, I think this is a fairytale. That one day, I’ll wake up and find that you aren’t real – just a dream.”
Tipping her head upwards, Marinette captured Damian’s lips with her own. “Still not real enough?” she asked playfully.
Growling, Damian pushed her onto the sofa. “Perhaps you could help me?”
But if I were to save you, would you do the same?
Bruce watched, horrified, as his daughter-in-law was kicked hardin the stomach.
Doubling down almost immediately, her opponent took the chance to kick her.
Straight off the building.
As she fell, he heard everyone scream in pain, anger, he couldn’t tell.
But faster than Bruce had ever seen, Damian ran to the next building and caught her.
Caught her in his arms and set her aside gently.
Bruce shuddered in fear.
He highly doubted Marinette’s opponent was going to survive.
And catch me if I’m fallin’, fallin’, fallin’, fallin’?
Damian felt his eyes fill up with tears as he saw his newborn child. Amelia, they had decided to name her.
As her green eyes, not unlike his, danced with laughter, Damian kissed her forehead as he had done to Marinette and made a solemn promise to himself.
A promise to protect her till he couldn’t anymore.
summary: damian glared at her fiercely and she shrunk back. “i can assure you, lila rossi is most definitely not my soulmate. perhaps you should check everything she has said on google. it does exist you know.”
Said girl stirred a little, mumbling, “5 more minutes, maman.”
“Marinette!”
Yet she did not respond, rolling over to cover her ears with the pillow next to her.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, if you do notwake up right now you are going to miss your flight to New York!”
Sabine Cheng stifled a laugh at her daughter’s high-pitched shriek.
**
Marinette grumbled as she picked herself up from the ground.
Amazing start to the day, rolling off your bed and falling down.
“Cheer up, Marinette!” Tikki said, unfailingly happy in the morning (as always). “You’re going to go on your America tour today!”
Her chosen brushed her teeth faster, while simultaneously trying to make sure she had everything ready. “Tikki, am I missing anything?” she asked frantically.
While looking at the list Marinette made, Tikki smiled fondly at her chosen, hoping that the Rossi girl and Marinette’s ex-friends didn’t ruin the trip Marinette had worked so hard to organize.
Since Bustier couldn’t be bothered to, it fell onto Marinette to plan the senior trip. It was supposed to be educational and fun, in a way, since they would be required to write an essay about their trip. It counted for more than 50% of their grade.
With help from her friends (Alix, Kim, Max and Chloe), in no time, Marinette had developed an outline of what places they could visit.
Theoriginalplan (before it was presented to the class) was to go to New York, Metropolis, LA and then finally California.
But nooo, Lila Rossi just hadto see her so-called soulmate, Damian Wayne (“Marinette, how could you?” “How could I what?” “How could you just exclude Gotham because I want to see my soulmate?”), billionaire Bruce Wayne’s son.
Despite Marinette’s warnings, Mdm. Bustier forced her to change the itenary so that Lila could see her ‘soulmate’ (“Marinette, please change the locations.” “But Mdm. Bustier, Gotham is one of the most crime-ridden-” “I will not stand for your petty grievances, Marinette. Change it at once.”) and so the list had become:
California, New York, Metropolis and thenGotham.
Nevertheless, Marinette beamed as she waved to her parents, feeling excited.
“You can stop waving now,” Chloe remarked dryly, filing her nails. “They’re out of sight.”
**
You might be wondering, what happened to elicit such a changebetween their relationship.
Lila.
That was one thing Marinette had to thank her for. She showed Marinette who her realfriends were, a.k.a Chloe, Alix, Kim and Max.
Chloe didn’t believe Lila from the start (“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Does she expect meto believe that Jagged Stone, the one who lives in my hotel every monthowns a cat? Everyone knows he’s allergic to them!”) but Max was disillusioned when some of the things Lila said didn’t line up – “I got tinnitus from saving Jagged Stone’s cat from an airplane!” “You would’ve become deaf. Not suffer from tinnitus.” “Don’t be silly, Max!” – case in point.
Kim and Alix, on the other hand, came to know when Lila mixed her names up (“I know Michael Phelps – he’s such an amazing skater, Alix. I could give you some tips from him!” “Michael Phelps? Isn’t he a swimmer?”) and (Marinette snorted when she heard that) said Michael Phelps was a skater.
That certainly didn’t earn her any points with thosetwo.
In the end, Marinette could say she would take her life right nowthan the one before because until Lila came, she never really noticed how whinythe class was.
She shuddered when she remembered the never-ending requests they had – and they expected herto do it for free.
Thank god she got away from them.
**
In response to Chloe’s statement from earlier, Marinette mock-glared at her. “I know,Chloe. I was about to stop.”
“Sure, Mari,” sniffed her best friend.
Marinette protested feebly. “Really!”
“Uh-huh,” Chloe continued to file her nails, completely uninterested.
Before Marinette could retort, the door burst open and two balls of chaos rolled into the car with one poor Max.
“Ha! I won, Kim, you owe me 30 Euros!” Alix crowed triumphantly.
Kim, as expected, disagreed. “No way, pipsqueak! Iwon.”
“I did.”
“No, I did.”
“I did.”
“Can you both pleasesit properly?” Chloe pushed them with a surprising amount of strength. “You’re wrinklingthe car leather.”
In response, the two of them stuck their tongues out.
Marinette snickered at the expression on Chloe’s face – exasperation, pureexasperation.
Maxfinallyup righting himself, stood up unsteadily as he walked to the only empty seat next to Marinette.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Kim said, pulling Max onto his lap.
Max squeaked, his cheeks turning a fiery shade of red.
Alix cackled, “Poor Max. Kim, you reallyshouldn’t do that. You’re going to give the poor boy a heart attack.”
Marinette sighed happily for her friends. She was honestly elated that Kim and Max had found their soulmate in each other. They were just adorable!
She fairly beamed when Marinette saw the love-sick smile on Chloe’s face. It meant she was talking to Kagami.
Alix hadn’t found hers yet and according to the girl herself, she wasn’t really bothered by it either because she was ace.
Marinette just wished she could find hersoulmate.
Soulmate bonds – in their world – came in different types. For example, Chloe and Kagami’s bond was the word bond. Each had a word or a phrase written circling their wrists (“Excuse me, you dropped your phone.” “Thank you”) and whoever said those words was their soulmate.
Kim and Max had the string-bond – one of the strongest bonds in existence. The bond only surfaced when it decided whether the two people were readyto become lovers.
Marinette had the aura bond – one of the most difficultbonds to find your soulmate with. Basically, her aura and her soulmate’s aura – when they meet – would touch each other and glow.
It was extremely rare to witnesssuch a bonding and even rarerfor someone to find their soulmate with it.
She often wondered whether she would ever findher soulmate. At first, she thought her soulmate was Chat Noir, after all, wasn’t he her other half?
But their auras did not connect when they met.
“Marinette?” She snapped out of her thoughts when Chloe shook her arm. “Come on! We’re at the airport!”
**
After checking in – and successfully avoiding Lila’s attempts at sabotage (“Oh my gosh, Marinette! Your ticket is ripped to shreds, you can’t come!” “Well, it’s a good thing I made two copies then, isn’t it? Just in case I lost mine.”) – Marinette sighed and resigned herself to listening to Lila’s bullshit for the next few hours.
Unfortunately, she and Alix had gotten the seats rightbehind her and Alya.
“-and then Prince Ali took me out on a date!” Lila was babbling.
Alya gasped theatrically, right on cue. “Oh my gosh, girl! How did it go?”
“Well-”
Marinette groaned and resisted the urge to throw herself out of the window. “Kill me now,” she said tiredly, “Please.”
Alix didn’t look like she was faring any better and glared at the idiots in front of them. “Why did we have to get stuck with them?”
“I don’t know,” Marinette banged her head on the table in front of her. “But what I doknow is that the next few hours are going to be torture.”
**
By the time the plane landed, Alix was eyeing the knife in her hand murderously, clearly plotting Lila and Alya’s murder, and Marinette had scribbled uselessly on 2 clean pages of paper because Lila’s voice was interrupting her inspiration.
“FINALLY!” Alix screamed, running around like a maniac. “FINALLY, WE GET TO LEAVE THOSE-” Yelling some extreme profanities, she continued, “BEHIND!”
Even though the attendants were eyeing the two of them like they were crazy, Marinette didn’t care because finally.
How did anyone believe Lila anyway?
**
The next day, Marinette argued with Chloe the better color for her new sketchbook at one of the gift shops near the Statue of Liberty. “Red it better because it’s so bright but not toobright. That way, if I don’t know where it is, I can just look. For. RED!”
Snatching the yellow one off the shelves, Chloe held it in front of Marinette’s eyes. “NO! Yellow! Red would just mergeinto your room because it’s pink, while yellow would be more obvious!”
“But yellow is too brightfor the night!”
Offended, Chloe gasped. “How dare you-”
Seeing as they were dragging the attention of other customers, Alix snatched both the books from their hands and put it on the counter. “Both of them, please.”
As they walked out of the stationary shop (Chloe and Marinette still arguing) the three of them spotted Lila, Alya, Mylene and Rose walking out of a boutique loaded with bags.
“I can’t believe they’re going shoppingwhen we’re supposed to be taking notes for the essay.” Alix muttered glaring at them with disgust.
Chloe smirked icily. “It doesn’t matter because when they fail the essay, it’ll be theirfault.”
Marinette and Chloe agreed to disagree in favor of scorning Lila and her cronies.
**
California was the funpart of the trip. With its beaches and just right weather, Marinette and crew set up their site somewhere on the beach.
They spent most of their days running around, playing games and in Marinette’s case being completely oblivious to the boys flirting with her.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t help wonder whyHawkmoth wasn’t striking. It had been 3 days now and yet there was no akuma. Perhaps he was giving hera break since Chat Noir didn’t show up to half the fights anyway.
It certainly wasn’t because Gabriel Agreste was frantically planning for his spring line of which the developments got delayed due to his…terrorizing activities.
They were in Metropolis now and Marinette was currently stuck inside a sideways bus.
How, you ask?
She saved a young girl from being the hostage of the villain. Unfortunately, because she wasn’t Ladybug then her reflexes weren’t as fast and now Marinette was stuck inside the bus being the villain’s hostage.
Just a regular day for her.
Along with Chloe, Alix was yelling, “Mari, what is wrong with you?”
“Marinette, is her name?” asked the terribly-dressed villain (seriously, was he color blind or something?), “Alrighty then! Superman!” he bellowed suddenly.
Superman appeared almost immediately and distracted the villain.
While,Superboypulled Marinette out and set her beside her friends where she was promptly pulled into a bone-crushing hug.
“Guys,” she gasped, exaggerating only slightly(read:a lot), “Can’t….breathe…need…to…breathe!”
Finally, they let her go and just before Superboy was about to take off, Marinette called out, “Thank you!”
In reponse, he merely tipped an imaginary hat.
**
Marinette muttered angrily while Kim and Alix rough-housed with each other blow some steam.
How could they? She fumed. How f*cking could they?
Their ‘class’ had left them behind in Gotham Park. And Mdm. Bustier (someteacher) hadn’t even bothered to do attendance to check if everyone was there.
Marinette would even go as far as to bet that Lilawas the one to engineer this.
“Look OUT!”
Yelping, Marinette tumbled down laughing when a Great Dane came jumping on her, licking her face.
Giggling, she ran her hands through his fur making no move to get up.
“Marinette!” Chloe gasped, running to her, “Are you okay?”
Still playing with the unnamed dog, Marinette giggled out a “Yes,”.
“Ms, I am sosorry,” a masculine voice gasped, evidently from running. “Titus, no. Bad-”
Marinette sat up slowly. “It’s fine, your dog – Titus, is it? – is really very cute.”
“Cute?” Surprise laced his tone. “Most people describe Titus as scary. I haven’t seen him take to someone so fast.”
Standing up with Chloe’s help, Marinette brushed her outfit and made eye contact with the man.
Her breath suddenly whooshedout of her chest.
And slowly, slowly but steadily, her pinkish red aura reached out and merged with his dark emerald one.
As Marinette watched in wonder, the two of them slowly formed a beautiful, breath-taking gold turning brighter and brighterand then it was gone.
The only sign it had been there was a little heart made out of a puff smoke – one side red, the other green.
“Oh my god, Mari,” Chloe breathed. “I think that’s your soulmate!”
You think?
◇─◇──◇─◇
When Damian went to walk Titus that afternoon, he expected it to go normally.
He certainly didn’t expect Titus to run off and then meet his soulmate all in one go.
Nevertheless, he swallowed thickly and introduced himself, “My name is Damian Wayne.”
His soulmate’s friends looked at him in shock but his soulmate didn’t have any such reaction. If she was surprised, she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
“Marinette,” her glasses friend said, “Don’t you know who that is?”
She turned to him curiously. “He’s my soulmate, Max.”
The girl – familiar from somewhere, he thinks – slaps her forehead and pulls Marinette to her side while whispering something in her ear.
“Oh!” Marinette’s cheeks suddenly colored and she said, “I didn’t know you were theDamian Wayne, I just-”
Suddenly feeling nervous, Damian interrupted her. “It’s fine,” he said slightly harshly. “It was actually kind of refreshing to meet someone who didn’t know who I was.”
She started blushing all over again and he distantly thinks, it’s cute.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” Damian moved forward to try and dispel the awkward silence that had descended upon them. “I’ve never seen you here.”
“Well,” Marinette stutters, “We were actually on a school trip, but our teacher acci-”
“Since Mari’s too nice to tell you it objectively,” Her blonde friend interrupts, “I will. We were left behind by our teacher. Chloe Bourgeois.”
Chloe holds out her hand, eyes threatening and Damian takes it, equally cold.
Somehow sensing the tension between them, Marinette continues, “And we were supposed to go to WE but because they left us behind-”
“-we’re stuck here,” finished a pink-haired girl. “Alix Kubdel.”
Nodding towards her (she certainly seemed better than Chloe), Damian sends a small smile to his soulmate (his heart beat faster at the thought that he found his soulmate). “I can take you to WE if you want. But how did your teacher just forgetyou existed?”
Exchanging looks with her tall friend, Marinette gestures towards him and says, “Kim will tell you.”
**
By the time they have reached WE, Damian is fumingresisting the urge to go and murder this Lila Rossi and Adrien Agreste and the rest of their idiot classmates.
Whotells someone letting a pathological liar, lie and lie is taking the ‘high road’?
What kind of friends ditch someone who did so muchfor them just like that?
And the liar. Damian seethed at the thought of her. How dare she, how dare she targethissoulmate.
“Woah, Damian, man,” said Kim – the tall one, “You might want to calm down. You’re scaring the people.”
Breathe Damian. Breathe.
Inhaling with great difficulty, Damian said, “I am going to murderyour class and teacher. And I won’t even make it look like an accident.”
Chloe finally looked at him with something other than wariness as she murderously said, “I’ll help you.”
Marinette panicked looking at their serious expressions. “No! You guys can’t do that!”
“Watch me,” Damian snarled.
◇─◇──◇─◇
Richard Grayson considered himself to be a good person.
So,whothought he deserved this?
This being a class (and teacher) without braincells because they believe every damn word out of a patheticliar’s mouth. Seriously, hadn’t they heard of something called Google?
Oh, and as if thatwasn’t enough, the teacher had forgotten about 5 students and stated, “They are troublemakers anyway, we can start without them,”
Was she insane?
She was a goddamnteacher! Didn’t she know it was her jobto make sure they straightened out?
Gritting his teeth, he said with a patience did notfeel, “Mdm. Bustier, we cannotstart the tour without your missing students. You will have to findthem and get them here.”
So, here he was.
Waiting for the idiot of the teacher to try and get her students to WE.
Needless to say, he was elatedwhen the WE doors slammed open and Damian came striding in (even though he looked like he was about to murder someone).
“Lil’ D!” Dick yelled, hoping Damian saw the pleading in his eyes, “Come meet the class we’re touring today!”
Growling, Damian walked right passed him and glared icily at the class. “Which one of you is the liar?” he hissed, glaring at everyone.
When no one responded, Dick volunteered himself, “That one.”
Damian shot him a slightly thankful look and advanced to her. “You,” he spat. “Lie about my soulmate one more time and I’ll end you.”
Turning her nose up at him, she sniffled theatrically. “How dare you say that to me? My soulmate is Damian Wayne and he’ll have the Wayne lawyers on you in seconds.”
By now, everyone (employees included) had frozen, watching the drama eagerly. But when Lie-la said that.
Most people burst out laughing immediately, and Dick would have too, had she not said Damianwas her soulmate. “What do you mean, Mdm. Rossi, that Damian is your soulmate?”
Smirking triumphantly, her olive-green eyes sparkled maliciously as she said, “Damian Wayne is my soulmate.”
Woah.Shereallyhadn’t done her research. “Mdm. Rossi,” Dick said coldly. “Damian is not your soulmate.”
“And how would you know that?” An ombre-haired, glasses-wearing girl glared at him.
“Because,” he said coolly, “I am his brother andyou do realize that Damianwas the one to tell you to stay away from his soulmate?”
Lila paled and Dick felt satisfaction course through him.
But then he registered what Damian said. He had found his soulmate.
“Wait, Damian,” Dick asked turning to him, “Just whois your soulmate?”
“I am,” a female voice said. A short blue-haired girl with pale skin walked next to Damian and held out her hand. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,”
Dick smiled at the girl and shook it firmly. “Dick Grayson.”
“But that’s not possible,” cried out the glasses-wearing girl, Alya. “Lilais Damian’s soulmate!”
Damian glared at her fiercely and she shrunk back. “I can assure you, Lila Rossi is most definitely notmy soulmate. Perhaps you should check everything she has said on Google. It doesexist you know.”
Alya quickly pulled out her phone and was probably searching up everything Lila told her.
The rest of her class watched her in tense silence and then backed away slowly as they saw the unbridled fury grow in her eyes. “You.” Alya hissed. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!”
◇─◇──◇─◇
Marinette jumped when she felt a hand touch her elbow.
It was Adrien. “Marinette,” he hissed, “What are you doing? Why are you exposing Lila?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Adrien,” she said loudly, drawing the attention of Damian. “Maybe it’s because she’s been lying about me?”
“But she wasn’t-”
“Hurting anyone?” Marinette glared at him coldly. “She was, Adrien. Me.And you and your ‘high road’ bullshit can go and rot in hell for all I care.”
“Wait,” asked Nino, hurt evident in his expression. “Adrien knewall this time?”
Chloe smiled icily. “Yes. He didn’t wantto expose Lie-la because she wasn’t ‘hurting anyone’,”
And then suddenly, the entire class was rounding on Adrien, who was frantically trying to explain his actions.
In the chaos, no one noticed Lila advance closer and closer to Marinette.
She jumped onto her and screeched, “MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG,I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”
Lilaattemptedto try and choke Marinette but said girl was quicker, stronger and smarter.
Marinette quickly backed away and flipped her onto her back, pinning Lila’s wrists together.
“Let me go!”Lila was thrashing around trying to get out of Marinette’s hold.
“Mdm. Rossi, you are under arrest for assault and attempted murder,” came the cool voice of an unfamiliar officer.
As one of his men handcuffed Lila, Damian wrapped Marinette into a warm hug. He opened his mouth to say something but Alya interrupted him.
“Marinette!” she called. “I’m so sorry! Can you give me an interview with theDamian Wayne?”
Marinette goggled at her, unable to process what she said. Turning to Chloe, she asked, “Did she actually just saythat?”
“Well?” Alya tapped her foot impatiently and Marinette glared at her.
“No,Alya, I will notgive you an interview with Damian,” she hissed.
Alya looked gobsmacked. “But…why? I’m your best friend!”
“Best friend?” Marinette laughed. “Best friends don’t leave each other when the next shiny thing comes around. Best friends don’t ditch other. Best friends don’t believe a liar over each other. And besides,” she added sweetly. “Youare not my best friend. Chloeis.”
Chloe beamed at her.
“Alright,” Dick clapped. “I know this must be a nasty shock-”
Damian Al-Ghul eyes the assassin in front of him. “Are you sure?” he asks with no semblance of emotion.
The assassin bows his head. “Yes. The Great Guardian of the Miraculous is currently in New York City.”
“And what does the Guardian do?”
“The Guardian has a business she owns – designing for various…celebrities,” The assassin displays disgust at the word, but Damian ignores it.
“And her name?” he asks.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
Pursing his lips, Damian motions for him to leave. “Leave. And permit no one to enter.”
Bowing once again, the assassin leaves the room and shuts it behind him.
Damian rubs his temple, wondering just howhe could kidnap the Great Guardian of the Miraculous. She had the most powerful miraculous in her hands, and if he was not stealthy enough, the Guardian would detect him.
Yes,him.
Damianwas going to go and kidnap her for the miraculous. But the plan would have to be flawless and well executed.
So far, no one knew of his idea and Damian planned to keep it that way.
Now, back to the plan…
◇─◇──◇─◇
A few weeks later…
Marinette smiles brightly (and fakely) feeling her cheeks hurt with how hardshe was smiling.
Once she walked into her office, she slams the door shut and slides against it.
Her shaking shoulders and telltale sting in her eyes tell her that she’s about to start crying again.
“Why?” Marinette whispers to the room. “Why did he have to do it now?”
‘He’ was Adrien Agreste, her ex-fiancé.
The previous night, he had broken off their engagement for reasons Marinette couldn’t fathom to understand.
**
Smiling stiffly, Marinette smiles for the cameras outside the restaurant.
“That’s right,” Adrien whispers into her ears, also waving for the paparazzi. “You’re doing great!”
Marinette says nothing, somewhat annoyed at him for ruining what was supposed to be a privatedinner.
After 10 minutes of constant smiling, she finally relaxes into the limo. “Done,” she groans.
Adrien looks at her with an odd look in his eye. Then, Marinette didn’t realize what it meant.
As the car glides to her apartment, Marinette discusses her latest designs for her business. “-And if I finish it, it would be a huge boost!” she finishes excitedly.
“A boost you wouldn’t needif you joined Gabriel.” Adrien points out – for the millionth time – and Marinette sighs.
“Adrien,” she says, “We’ve discussed this. I am notgoing to be joining Gabriel as one of the designers. I have my own dreams to fulfill.”
And later, as Marinette reflects, this is what made him snap.
He stiffens up and they sit in uncomfortable silence for the rest of the ride.
Once they reach her apartment, Adrien asks her, “Marinette, would you mind if I came to drop you off?”
“No, of course not,” she says, oblivious to what comes next.
Inside her apartment, Adrien looks at her. “Marinette,” he begins in the patronizing tone she hates. “I’m giving you a choice.”
She stares at him. “What choice?”
He breathes in. “Either, you join Gabriel and we can continue our relationship or…”
“Or what?” Marinette asks, still not completely sure what’s happening.
“Or it’s the end.” Adrien finishes, looking at her with those hopeful green eyes as he was expecting her to choose the first option.
As if he was thinking she would give up her dreams, something she spent yearsmaking true, just for him.
“What are you doing, kid?” Plagg flies out of Adrien’s pocket and glares at him.
Adrien looks at Plagg as is he’s the one being stupid. “I’m giving Marinette a choice.”
“A choice between youand her job?What’swrongwith you kid?” Plagg asks bluntly.
Apparently, his owner is unwilling to listen and snaps, “Shut up, Plagg.”
As Plagg opens his mouth to speak, Adrien says it again. “Plagg. I order you to shut up.”
The kwami’s mouth snaps shut.
Marinette’s jaw drops open and Tikki and the other kwami’s fly out in indignation.
“Adrien,” Marinette asks sternly, “Whatare you doing?”
“Marinette,” Adrien says as if that will excuse what he’s done, “I gave you a choice. You pick.”
Seething now, Marinette glares at him. “I pick-”
“Me right?” Adrien asks excitedly, as if she would actuallydo that after what he’s done in the last past 5 minutes.
“No,” Marinette hisses. “Ipick my business.”
Now it’s Adrien’s turn to be shocked. “What?” he gasps. “But what about us-”
Practically fuming now, Marinette advances on him. “I wasn’t the one who gave the ultimatum Adrien. You were. And you can take it back how much you want. But Iwon’t be coming back.”
She snatches the ring on her finger and slams it onto her table, feeling spiteful satisfaction when it shatters to pieces.
An analogy of their relationship really.
“Nowget out.” Marinette dares him to try and fight her.
Still shocked, Adrien walks backwards, towards the door. “Come on, Plagg.”
Plagg tries to say something, but all that comes out is a muffled noise.
Enraged, Marinette snaps her fingers and he can speak again.
“You wish, kid,” Plagg hisses flying to the rest of the kwamis.
Adrien glares at him – as if he ownsPlagg, “Plagg, I orderyou to come with me!”
But nothing happens because Marinette has snatched the ring from Adrien’s hand. “Out.”
“But my miracu-” he stutters, looking at her with betrayal.
Later on, she will laugh bitterly at the irony.
“OUT!” Marinette yells, but yetAdrien still tries.
“Marinette-”
And for the first time in Marinette’s entire time, she’s had the Ladybug Miraculous, Tikki yells.
Boy, does she yell.
“GET OUT OF HER HOUSE!” Tikki screeches. “GET OUT NOWADRIEN AGRESTE OR I SWEAR I WILL MURDERYOU,RIGHT NOW!”
Adrien hightails out.
And hours after he has left, Marinette is sobbing with the kwamis trying to comfort her.
**
Coming back to the present, Marinette wishes she hadn’t left Tikki behind today. For two reasons really, 1) she could reallyuse her support and 2) Marinette felt like she was being watched.
Instead, Marinette tries to think about what Tikki would have said. He isn’t worth your tears, Marinette, she would say fiercely, you deserve so much better than him.
Yes, Marinette thinks, standing up and smoothing her clothes out, Tikki would say that.
Walking to her desk, Marinette opens up her laptop and while waiting she organizes her desk.
She pauses when she sees a dark shape behind her.
What in the kwam-
Spinning around, Marinette gives her attacker a solid punch in the jaw, smirking triumphantly when she hears himcurse loudly.
But it was far too soon, because later, to the smell of chloroform, Marinette falls into the waiting arms of unconsciousness.
◇─◇──◇─◇
Damian rubs the ice pack over his jaw thoughtfully, while assessing the short woman tied to the chair.
She is stronger than she looks, he thinks thoughtfully.
He smiles wryly, remembering the solid, surprise punch to the jaw she gave him.
When she starts to stir, Damian immediately makes his face blank and sets the ice pack down.
“Where am I?” she mumbles and he is momentarily thrown off by the innocence in her voice. For some reason, it appealsto him.
Clearing his throat, Damian waits for her to open her eyes before addressing her. “You,” he says coldly, “Are in the lair of the League of the Assassins.”
She stiffens up immediately and her eyes (beautiful ones) become glaciers. “Why?” she hisses. “The Order has done nothing to you.”
“Exactly,” Damian says walking closer to her. “Nothing.Zero. Zip. Nada. I wish to know why.”
She glares at him, subtly (but not subtle enough) trying to loosen her bonds. “And so, you kidnappedme?”
“Yes,” Damian says casually. “And I also want the Miracle Box.”
Her back straightens defiantly. “What makes you think Ihave it?”
Laughing softly, Damian looks at her. “You don’t think I would have done my research, Marinette Duoain-Cheng, Ladybug, former superheroine of Paris?”
She doesn’t look to surprised at the use of her name and alias. “I was hoping,” she admitted, “Damian Al-Ghul.”
And Damian can safely say he is shockedshe managed to get his real name. He made sure to keep it a secret.
“Interesting,” he says, walking around her. “Bit you still didn’t answer my question. Whereis the Miracle Box?”
Marinette tips her head back and gives him a cocky smirk (and for some reason Damian wants to kiss it of her lips). “What makes you think Ihave it? After all, if you know I was Ladybug, then you mustknow I had a partner too?”
He doesn’t miss the emphasis on ‘had’. Damian wonders if it has something to do with the momentary weakness she displayed once she was in her office.
His expression shifts uncomfortably, feeling like he wanted to murder the one who made her so…weak.
It disappears in a flash.
Replying as cockily as her, Damian smirks. “Unlikely because Wang Fu trusted you much more than your partner and fiancé, Adrien Agreste also known as Chat Noir.”
“Ex-fiancé,” she says almost angrily and then Marinette snaps her mouth shut as if she hadn’t meant to say that.
Quirking an eyebrow at her, Damian says, “This must be recent development because otherwise it would be all over the news.”
She rolls her eyes at that. “Yeah, because Adrien just hadto make us look good for the press,” she mumbles, apparently unaware he can hear her.
Ignoring the ugly feeling in his stomach, Damian eyes her thoughtfully. Perhaps if he opened her up more, she would give him more information about the Box.
(Definitely not because he wanted to know more about her)
Thisbeing opening up to Damian Al-Ghul, her quite literally arch enemy.
But here she was, telling him all about her issues with Adrien and how they broke up.
“-And then, he gave mean ultimatum – either I join Gabrielor we break up! And then when P-”
Marinette pauses abruptly. Shit. How could she have fallen for this trick?
He must have noticed the tear tracks on her face, she thinks.
“And then?” Damian looks at her with interest – interest that is faked, she tells herself firmly.
Realizing she should probably continue so as to not arouse his suspicion, Marinette says, “He did something I couldn’t forgive. So, I broke off the engagement.”
“There’s more to the story,” Damian says, no demands.
Marinette shrugs – or as much as she could in her bonds. “That’s all I’m willing to tell you.”
Damian presses his lips together and it draws her attention to them.
They look soft, she thinks longingly and almost immediately snaps out of it.
“Fine,” Damian snaps. “I’ll let you go.”
Marinette gapes at him as he rummages around his desk for a knife.
Quickly, he pulls one out and she stiffens. What if he’s going to kill her?
But that would defeat his purpose, she reasons. But isn’t letting her go alsodefeating his purpose?
She waits, her heart thumping, and Marinette feels her muscles become slack with shock when he actuallycuts her loose.
Unsure, why he is doing this, warily Marinette gets up and promptly tumbles into his chest.
“Mmph,” she says and she feels her cheeks color in a way they haven’t since Adrien.
Damian’s arms are wrapped around her and she can smell the scent of the cologne he uses.
Backing off, Marinette winces as she rubs her wrists. “Why are you doing this?” she misses Damian’s eyes tracking her wrists and then him cringing at her wince.
“Because I want to,” he says brusquely.
Glaring at him defiantly, she replies, “That’s no answer.”
“No, it’s not,” Damian agrees. “But if you want to escape, now’s the time.” He gestures to the door.
Marinette wastes no time, launching herself out and then taking off into the streets of New York.
Thank Kwami Damian took her somewhere familiar, she thinks as Marinette runs through the streets zigzagging for the benefit of any followers.
Taking the longer route to her apartment, Marinette stares at the Kwamis wide-eyed. “You will neverbelieve what happened to me.”
**
That night, as Marinette lay in bed, she wonders why Damian Al-Ghul of all people let her go.
Little does she know, said man is wondering the same thing himself.
“Mr. Way-” someone began, but he silenced them by putting his hand up.
“I would like an explanation as to why you all have decided to accuse my wife of having an affair and accosting us, as we were headed out for lunch. Everyone will stay silent unless I call on you. Understood?” he demanded. The reporters nodded.
With a sigh, he pointed to the gentleman in a teal button up shirt.
“There is an article circulating online, saying that Marinette is carrying the Agreste heir.” the reporter stated.
“A-Are you sure darling? The boys tend to be a bit, on the destructive side. They might actually destroy half the mansion in less then five minutes, trust me, I’ve seen and been there first hand.” Marinette placed her hands on her hips and gave a confident smile.
“I‘ve babysat before, and trust me, I KNOW how bad they can get, but with enough experience under my belt, I assure you that I can handle it, though if I’m going to do this, I’m going to need to know who I’m to babysit and what do they like?” And with a simple nod, Selina told Alfred the plan. The butler reluctantly agreed.
Marinette had been startled to find out that her school and a school in America were collaborating to do a pen pal assignment. To be fair, the assignment was suppose to help the students with the grammar of the language they were learning. Marinette pulled a random name out of the box. She hoped Damian wrote good French and that she could write well enough English.
Damian Wayne really needs to get his brothers good Christmas presents or else he may be sent off to the Teen Titans because apparently his people skills “leave much to be desired”. Succeeding where his brothers failed, he manages to find out the true identity of their favorite French fashion designer, MDC. Getting her to make their gifts would certainly cement his ability to say. The only problem? Those nonexistent people skills might prove detrimental as his email makes himself an enemy that’s quite near her breaking point.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng has had a hard two years to put it lightly. There are no more good days for her, just ones that aren’t as bad. The email threatening to expose her, potentially making her already awful situation even more unbearable, comes on one of the worst. Could her reply be the first hint in years of the fire that has been nearly snuffed by her classmates? They both might be surprised to find how much life can change with some well constructed sentences and a couple terribly made aliases.
Marinette wanted to believe that today was going to be a good day.
Tumblr Prompt: K k so prompt mari is already in a relationship with Damian shes happy hes happy its adorable but dun dun dun Adrien finds out she’s ladybug and tries to win her over it doesn’t work but most of the class are rooting for him. Chloe is not she thinks he should respect that Marinette is happy with someone else and move on
When Kitty Noire makes an appearance in Gotham, she finds herself drawn to a certain little bird whose brothers are far too entertained by this turn of events
(So sorry for not doing day 16 but I haven’t read the books nor watched the movies so I have no idea what to write for the Hogwarts AU)
Marinette grew up baking and it was something that she enjoyed to do second to designing and making clothes.
Damian in an attempt to do something romantic had asked advice from Dick and was told to make her something and suggested he bake her something.
So with a recipe from Alfred with step by step instructions. He began the creation of his gift.
After a few painstakingly attempts a decent looking sweet came out. Then came the attempts of decoration. After a few mistakes some of the icing came out delicious and perfectly cut fruit was done.
After a few hours of frosting and neat placement of fruits a wonder arrangement of cake and cupcakes were made.
Once Marinette got home from her business of fashion designing she came into the manner she asked if anyone was home. Damian replied in the kitchen when she arrived she came upon a flour and frosting stained Damian. When she turned her head she caught sight of the creation he had made. When he turned her head back to Damian she caught his smug face. He gestured torward the desserts and she grabbed a cupcake and took a bit. She turns to him and says it wasn’t half bad and that it was a great surprise and with that they drew into a kiss.
If only they had listened. Maybe they would still be friends. But were they friends?
Damian. The name of the person who had opened her eyes. Who showed her that her classmates’ words didn’t matter. That she didn’t need to bend over backward for everyone and especially for those who were fake friends. With much convincing from him and his family, she left that school and was now in online classes that allowed her to graduate high school easily. With classes being online and on her time she could now leave for Akuma attacks without trouble or excuses.
She wonders sometimes at night of what could have happened. If only he hadn’t appeared, what would have happened to her? Would she still be feeling an emptiness in her heart that was now full to the brim with love and acceptance? Would she still be listening to her classmates’ demands instead of working her way up into the world with her business that she started from the ground up?
Damian was the person who made life okay again. After the surprise reveal of the bat family’s identity and that of her own to each other, they were even closer. Now that they knew each other’s life there were no secrets between them
If only she hadn’t met him and his family, would her archnemesis still be around? It was due to Damian and his family’s detective work that they found out about Gabriel and Natalie being villains. Batman even got them to admit to having accomplices aka Chole and Lila.
With Damian in her life, all seemed to go well. The what could have been did not matter because he was there and had changed what had been a nightmare into a dream. Because of him being in her life, she now had an amazing boyfriend, a great business taking off, and all of her enemies were getting their just due. She was able to escape her old classmates and even graduate early and spend more time on fashion and relaxing be it just getting more sleep or spending more time with her family or her boyfriend and his. @bluerosette23@daminette-december2019
It all started with an argument which then created a bet. Who had the tougher job? So they decided to switch being Robin and Ladybug for a week and see the results when they met up again.
Damianhad thought that this was gonna be an easy job compared to his time as Robin. Then came the first Akuma. A baby. His first Akuma was A BABY!! So not only did he have to deal with have to fight a child that fought with pure whim and randomness but also had to deal with this mangy cat that was no help what’s so every and only seemed to hinder his efforts to break the akumas object. He then had to fight on a limit or else his identity was at risk. Finally able to break the akumatized object and capture said akuma, was he able to cast Miraculous cure and leave the mangh cat. Being Robin was easier her thought.
Marinette thought that this was gonna be a piece of cake. Then came the first night of patrol. Ivy that night had decided to break out of Arkham prison and cause a riot. Though she now had a competent team behind her, getting high without a magic suit tends to leave huge bruises and possible fractures or breaks in her bones. By the time they capture Ivy and finished patrols, it was already the next day. This was gonna be a long week for her.
By the time the week was over they both agreed that they rather liked their own jobs better. So when they met up both said “You win.” Marinette replies first, “ I win? I dont think so your job is so hard and you do it all without magic be it in my suit or in the abilities I gain. Not only that you have to see the deaths of many with being able to cast the miraculous cure and not fix anything. Worse of all your villains are villains because they want to not because there’s a mad man who can use negative emotions to transform them. Your job is worse.” Damian replies “Tch. At least I know the people I punch or harm deserve it. He akumatized a baby. A BABY. That was the first akuma I had to fight. Not to mention as Robin I at least have someone competent to have my back like Father or Grayson but no you have this mangy alley cat that only complains and pouts and throws tantrums everywhere to get his way. He only gets in the way. I rather be Robin who I can be for however long any day than being ladybug who has a limit once her power is used. ”
Time and time again, Adrien would try and win Ladybug’s heart by being Chat Noir, knowing she already had someone in mind but to him it was only a crush. They were fated to be, he would tell him self. Then came a day when he realised that his lady’s heart had already been captured.
It came to be when Sandboy had been akumatized once again and in his wake came the nightmares of others. His lady and he fought together trying avoiding the nightmare sand and defeat the akumatized victim. In his rush to end the fight he made a mistake which lead to Ladybug getting the nightmare sand allover her.
As the dust clear up came to life her nightmare. Before them lied Robin, partner to Batman, in all his glory before a sword was plunged into by a woman he didn’t know(Talia). Ladybug’s anguished screams could be heard all over Paris. Though she knew it was a fake it all seemed too real the smell of blood and the taste of iron in the air. The sound of the sword being plunged through flesh with her beloved’s grunts of pains being heard. She could not help the tears that came from her bluebell eyes.
It was when Chat was hit into a building that she came back to her senses and went to defeat Sandboy. With a swing of her yoyo and the lucky charm of scissors was she able to cut the pillow which housed the akuma. With the akuma out she capture it and purified the butterfly. Next she threw up the luck charm and casted her miraculous cure that reversed the damage and removed the nightmares that had come to life.
As chat came to he asked the one question that came to his and everyone’s mind that had watched Alya’s live cast. She turned to the camera and to chat and said “That is my Robin, the one that has captured my heart and is one of the reasons you and I will never be Chat.” With that she threw her yoyo and swung away.
On a balcony above a bakery, sat a girl red eyed from crying tears of grief looking at a laptop waiting for a video call to connect. When it did she started to cry tears of relief and joy to see the face of a boy with her black hair and emerald green eyes. That whole night they talked about what happened and the realization that the girl came to see.
The next day at Dupont high school around lunch came a black car that no one recognized. As the car slowed out came a handsome teenage boy around their age that had a stern face. His emerald eyes started hard at all that he look at he turned and took something from the car.
What no one expected was for Marinette the recent outcast to run up to the boy. Once he caught sight of her did his stare softened up and his frown loosen up to a slight smile like smirk. He then pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the cheek causing her to light up a fierce red. She took the little box that he pulled from the car and smiled softly at him. She then made a gesture and one could see him help put a necklace on her.
The out came the liar and her little band of mindless sheep. Lila says how this must be ploy to make Adrien jealous and wondered how far she would go to get the boy to be with her, she probably paid him she whispered. The glare that came from Damian scared them. He the says “I have all the money in the world no one can pay me to do anything and she wouldn’t have to anyways she already has my heart as I do her.” Marinette pitches in and says “ Yeah, we only started dating yesterday but I’ve known him for a while now but if was only yesterday when I was hit by Akuma did I see what my feelings for him really were. Because I just couldn’t bare with the thought that he died and wouldn’t be in my life and if was then I saw that I wanted a life with him. So you can have the spineless guy named Adrien while I have a wonderful knight by my side.” The two then walked away hand in hand smiling.
That night Robin and Ladybug could be seen flogging high together playing tagged and laughing the whole time. They could see ladybug tie up Robin and kiss him. As she release him, he went and kissed her again before the game resumed and more laughter could be heard. Chat’s lady had already had someone capture her heart and it was due to the realistic showing of the death of Robin was she able to see her feeling and can now call Robin her boyfriend.
So what if there was there was an akuma that showed creates an animal when hit but the twist is the better the person they are the prettier and better the animal is and the worst the person is the worst their animal looks. So when marinette gets hit her spirt animal turns out to be this glamorous and well behaved lion who was the figure of a leader. Damian got a matching lion that had a wild and majestic mane that stood proud and protective in front of the female lioness. When the class heard marinette was hit and got an animal they expected some ugly and weak beast but instead saw this magical creature and everyone in her class was like if the bullycould get such a beautiful creature theirs must be better and when they were hit there were ugly and deformed animals ranging from snakes to foxes to rats. Damian and Marinette walk out like royalty followed by these amazing creatures. Soon later Ladybug is seen with a beautiful lion that helped her defeat the akuma while chat noirs is seen with a small cute but weak looking kitten. @bluerosette23@daminette-december2019
Marinette was dressed to go on her ice skating date. What she didn’t know was that same day the rest of the class had decided to go ice skating without her. She and Damian had went together and were in their own little world dancing and twirling together. The class arrived during the moment of marinette getting picked off the ground and spun around.
All throught the building Marinetts giggles and joyful laughter could be heard as she was placed on the ground and held tightly. Lila not liking that all the attention was on Marinette cleared her voice and started saying she couldn’t believe Marinette was crashing their day out. The class started yelling across the room throwing accusations and so Marinette and damian did the cool skater stop move where when they come to a stop and the ice gets thrown. As the stop they create enough ice to cover the whole class and then they skate away saying their on a date and can’t be bothered by some liar and her mindless servants.
Dick remembered the day of Damian’s sixteenth birthday. Dick remembered the look of disappointment on his brother’s face when he came downstairs for breakfast after waking up in his own bed. The probability was split 50-50 so it wasn’t a surprise, but Dick could tell that Damian had been holding out hope that he would be the younger of the Soulmate pair so that he could meet his Soulmate a little earlier. It was always easier for the younger, to not have to go through the nerve-wracking wait of waiting for your younger Soulmate to turn sixteen, without any clue how far in the future that would be. For his brother’s sake, Dick hoped that Damian wouldn’t have to wait long.
Five months later, on an ordinary Tuesday morning, Dick felt his phone buzz on the counter of the Batcave. He ignored it. Halfway through a workout, hanging with his feet a foot off the ground on the calisthenic rings, Dick wasn’t going to stop his workout unless it was actually an emergency. However, when his phone started blowing up with texts a moment later, Dick was reconsidering whether this was an emergency or not. He let himself drop to the ground and padded over to his phone, scrolling through the backlog of messages to find out what started it all.
Damian: My Soulmate has arrived at the Manor. Please behave yourselves around her. I will not be forgiving of any indiscretions. No discussion of our vigilante business, lest you wish for your tongue to be removed from your throat.
Dick cheered internally as he scrolled down through the excited messages from the rest of his family.
Tim: What’s her name? Is she a civilian or is she in the superhero business? Have you done a background check yet?
Jason: You’d better bring her down to breakfast. I want to meet the poor soul who ended up with you as a Soulmate
Babs: CONGRATULATIONS! But also, give us details before I go looking for them on my own!
Steph: We’ll be on our best behavior ;)
Damian: You will meet Marinette at breakfast. She will answer your questions to her own level of comfort. I will not reveal any information that she is not comfortable with you knowing. Please do not overwhelm her. Furthermore, I have seen your best behavior, and I am not impressed. I expect better than best.
Dick snorted out a laugh. Damian was right - even on their best behavior, the Wayne family was a chaotic mess.
Dick: We’ll try our best but no promises!! Also, I’m so happy for you!!
Dick typed in a stream of celebratory emojis as he walked over to the showers. His workout was getting cut short because there was no way he was going to miss his first family meal with his little brother’s Soulmate.
By 9 AM the whole Wayne extended family was gathered in the dining room, waiting for Damian to arrive with his Soulmate. Dick fidgeted in his seat, conspiratorially whispering to Tim about the probability of Damian’s Soulmate being in the vigilante business.
“Of course, the odds are slim that any single person out of billions has a connection to the hero community. However, Marinette isn’t just ‘any single person’. She’s Damian’s Soulmate, which raises the odds a little. I would say that even if she isn’t already superhero-adjacent, she’ll be a regular in the Batcave by next week.”
Stephanie shook her head. “No way that Damian will approve of her getting involved in Bat business. That kid has got a protective streak a mile wide when it comes to people he really cares about.”
“Shush, I think I can hear them coming,” Tim hissed. The whole table quieted, and Dick could hear the sound of a girl’s giggle echoing down the hallway.
Dick wouldn’t have believed that Marinette was sixteen, if not for the fact that it was literally impossible for her to be any other age, given that she Soulmate shifted into his brother’s bed. She was just too small, standing at approximately 5'0", over a foot shorter than Damian, and built light, like her bones were hollow and she was designed to fly. From his years of experience, Dick knew that she had the exact right body type to get up on the trapeze (and personally, he couldn’t wait to finally get one of his family members to follow in his footsteps). She was cute, too, her big blue eyes looking out at the table in wonderment. “How are you all so tall?” she asked, looking miffed. “Why am I always the shortest person in the room?”
“Perhaps it is because you are the same height as a twelve-year-old?” suggested Damian, a teasing smile on his face. Dick was amazed by the transformation in his brother. After six years in the Wayne household, Damian had made remarkable progress. However, that progress was slow and tedious, filled with painstakingly minute changes in his brother that eventually led to his growth from murderous ten-year-old to relatively well-adjusted sixteen-year-old. That was why it was so incredible that meeting his Soulmate seemed to have lightened Damian so quickly.
Marinette glowered at the comment, though Dick could tell that she was more amused than annoyed. “You might want to ease up on the short jokes, Soulmate. Don’t forget that I’m the one who decides when I go home. As soon as I decide to sleep in a bed other than yours, I’ll be right back in my own room. And keep in mind, I haven’t had any coffee yet today, so I could fall asleep any moment now.”
Not even Marinette’s threat could erase the happiness on Damian’s face. “Of course, Marinette. I understand that, though it is a tall order, I’ll have to be the biggerperson.”
“Jerk,” Marinette snorted, her teasing accusation on the edge of laughter.
Dick realized - amazed - that his younger brother had just made a pun. Two puns. But before Dick could make a comment about the change in his brother, Jason beat him to the punch.
“Was that a pun I heard? Out of the mouth of Damian Wayne?”
Dick chimed in, “I thought that puns were - and I quote - immature attempts at humor, only appreciated by lesser minds.”
Damian shrugged off the comment. “My words referred your puns, Grayson, not the form of humor as a whole. My puns are simply a level above your own.”
Marinette bumped into his shoulder, playfully exclaiming, “Hypocrite! You just wanted to make fun of my height.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny.”
Marinette smiled. “Anyways, I think it’s time for introductions. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m French, if you couldn’t tell from my accent, and a native Parisian. Today is my sixteenth birthday and this one-” Marinette nudged up against Damian again, “Is my Soulmate.”
“I’m Bruce, Damian’s father. Welcome to the Wayne family,” said Bruce, his normally guarded voice filled with happiness. “We’re all very happy to meet you.”
“Ditto. Damian needed someone to pull the stick out of his-” Jason was cut off by Bab’s elbow landing right between his ribs. “Ow, rude. I’m Jason, anyways.”
“Cass,” said Cass. Gesturing between Damian and Marinette, she spoke, “Soulmates,” then pointed to herself, “Happy.”
“Thank you, Cass,” said Marinette, a tentative smile on her face.
“I’m Steph.”
“Tim.”
“I’m Babs.”
Finally, it was Dick’s turn to introduce himself. “Dick. Short for Richard,” he added as she wrinkled her nose upon hearing his name.
“It’s so nice to meet you all.” Marinette took the seat between Dick and Damian, though she only had eyes for Damian.
Breakfast was a pleasant affair, with the Wayne family curbing the worst of their argumentative tendencies. Instead, they engaged in playful feasting and lively debate, doing their best to keep Marinette a part of the conversation. Marinette herself was a personable girl, and Dick could tell that his family was already smitten by her wit and charm.
As breakfast wrapped up, Dick decided to broach the idea of learning trapeze to Marinette, eager to start bonding with his new little sister. None of his family members had any passion for trapeze, so if he could only convince Marinette to give it a chance then it could be a perfect bonding activity.
“May I ask you a weird question, Marinette.”
Marinette gave Dick an apprehensive look. “You may ask, but I won’t guarantee that I’m going to answer you.”
“That’s fair. I just wanted to know whether or not you’re afraid of heights.”
Apprehension turned to confusion as Marinette shook her head. “No, it’s the opposite, really. I’m what you Americans might call an 'adrenaline junkie’. I love getting up somewhere high and feeling the wind in my face.”
Dick grinned. That was just the answer that he was hoping for. In fact, it sounded like Marinette would enjoy getting up on the trapeze just as much as him. It also sounded like she would enjoy the vigilante lifestyle, with the grappling guns and adrenaline rushes. “Might I interest you in trapeze lessons, then? We have a fully functioning trapeze set up in our gym.”
Marinette’s eyes sparked with interest. “I’ve done gymnastics for a couple of years but I’ve never found a studio that also teaches trapeze. Are you up for teaching me?”
Dick nodded, growing more and more fond of Damian’s Soulmate by the minute. “Are you up for learning?”
“Can you please give me twenty-four hours before you try to steal my Soulmate?” asked Damian, with a long-suffering sigh.
Marinette giggled, wrapping her arms around Damian’s neck. “Dami is right. I think I’ll spend today getting to know my Soulmate. Maybe tomorrow, Richard.”
“Call me Dick.”
Marinette smirked. “Unlikely.”
Damian and Marinette walked off, hand-in-hand, towards the garden. Titus dogged at their heels, trying to catch Marinette’s attention, which was glued to Damian, as he talked about the Wayne gardens.
Dick left the pair to their own devices. Instead, he ended up in the kitchen. Half of his motivations were to help Alfred clean up, the other half to gossip with his grandfather-figure.
“"I was worried about young master Damian,” commented Alfred. “Unlike his father, hiding his emotions are not one of his talents. I could tell that he was worried about his Soulmate, about how they would reflect him.”
Dick shook his head. “It’s nature versus nurture, and Damian’s homicidal tendencies are all from nurture, from Talia and Ra’s. His nature, on the other hand, that’s what makes him and Marinette a perfect pair.”
“She is a sweet girl.” Alfred bustled around the kitchen, and Dick noticed him start up the coffeemaker. “I shall get a cup of coffee for Miss Marinette. I wouldn’t want her to get tired, I think the whole family wants her to stay awhile.”
Notes: Oops! Forgot to post this on tumblr after posting it on ao3 a few days ago. Enjoy the long awaited Warmth sequel!
By Tim’s calculations, there was an 87% certain that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the Parisian former hero Ladybug. However, 87% was not 100%, so Bruce required further investigation. Damian was stuck with the job.
Except, Damian knew that stuck wasn’t exactly the right word. Stuck implied that he was displeased with the situation. Damian wasn’t displeased. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the most pleasant person in all of Gotham Academy. If Damian had to choose anyone to be forced to spend time with, he would choose Marinette. Though he grumbled about being forced to spend time with plebeians (for the benefit of his brothers, who would mercilessly tease Damian if they even suspected that he had a crush), Damian was quite pleased by the assignment.
Given that Marinette was in his history class, it was quite easy to arrange a situation in which they were forced to be in each others’ proximities. When their teacher announced that there would be an upcoming group project with randomly assigned partnerships, it was simple for Damian to break into her office and switch around some of the names. When the partnerships were announced and Marinette and Damian were paired together, Damian made his move.
“Dupain-Cheng, if you would like to work on the project over the weekend, we can do so at my house.”
“Sounds good, Wayne, but you know, you can just call me Marinette,” said Marinette with a smile.
Damian felt flustered, which was a very bad sign. He never felt anything less than perfectly composed. “Then you may call me Damian.”
Marinette’s smile got even bigger. There was a feeling in his chest that, had it been caused by anyone else, Damian would have suspected it to be a complication of the broken ribs from Joker’s last attack. “Let me give you my number, and we can plan a meeting this weekend. Would Saturday work for you?”
Damian nodded as he handed Marinette his phone. “My schedule is free on Saturday.”
“Great!” chirped Marinette. She plugged in her number, then posed for a picture, explaining that it was, “For the contact photo.”
And if in the privacy of his bedroom, Damian stared at that contact photo for twenty-minutes straight, it was just for research purposes. Just to compare Marinette’s facial structure to that of Ladybug. Completely normal investigative business.
The next morning, Damian found his way to the bedroom of his most tolerable brother. “Grayson. Can I confide in you without any of the information getting to anyone else?”
Richard glanced up from his laptop. “Sure thing, Baby Bird.” He patted a spot on the bed next to him,
“Don’t call me that. I despise nicknames,” grumbled Damian. He took a seat, staring at the wall in front of him, still weighing the risk versus reward of talking to Richard. If his brother had some technique for extinguishing romantic interest it would solve Damian’s problem. However, if either Drake or Todd got word of Damian’s crush there was no doubt in Damian’s mind that they would never let him hear the end of it.
“So what’s on your mind?”
“It pertains to the girl in my who Drake suspects to be Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She has become difficult to investigate. I have found myself unable to observe her objectively.”
Richard frowned. “I’m not sure I know what you mean. Is it something that she did that’s bothering you?”
Damian searched for the right words to explain the situation. He was not usually so tongue-tied, but the proper words seemed to escape him at every turn. “Dupain-Cheng is not what I expected. I assumed that it would be a simple task, to observe her and determine whether she has any connection to the Parisian superhero. However, I have found it difficult to concentrate on my mission when I am around her.”
“You find it difficult to concentrate when you’re around her. How so?”
Damian gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to spell out his crush so obviously, but Richard seemed incapable of looking between the lines. “I have found myself preoccupied with trivial things like getting to know her personality, rather than investigating her background. She makes me feel… flustered.”
Damian could see the moment that Richard made the connection. His brother’s face lit up as he exclaimed, “You have a crush on her?!”
“Quiet!” snapped Damian. “This does not leave this room. I need to learn how to get rid of it, so I can get back to completing the mission.”
Richard was grinning ear to ear. “That’s not how crushes work. You can’t just snap your fingers and have them disappear. The only thing that can get rid of a crush is time. Or sometimes if they get a haircut that kills the feeling. But mostly it just takes time.”
“I cannot afford to wait for these feelings to fade. I’ll look into scheduling her a haircut.” Damian stood up, resolved to get rid of his crush before Marinette came over later that day to work on their project.
“No wait,” Richard grabbed Damian’s arm. “I doubt that your attraction to her is so shallow that a haircut would destroy the feelings you have for her. This is something that you’ll have to talk to her about.”
Damian frowned. “Perhaps I should give the mission to someone else. Jon could transfer to Gotham Academy for the semester. His detective skills are lacking but his judgment would be less clouded than mine. If I ignore her for long enough I’m sure that I can evade talking about my feelings.”
“Why don’t you just ignore the mission for a few weeks while you get to know her.”
Damian fixed Richard with a death glare. “I cannot ignore this mission. Father gave it to me personally.”
“How about twenty-four hours? You spend the next twenty-four hours in getting-to-know-her mode rather than background-check mode and at the end of it, we can regroup and decide what to do next. If you actually get to know her, you’ll better understand the depths of your feelings. Once you have that understanding, you’ll be able to see if waiting out your crush is a viable option or if you need to pass on the responsibilities to someone else.”
It wasn’t the perfect solution, but it was better than anything Damian had come up with. Anything that could potentially alleviate Damian’s inability to focus on the investigation was worth trying. “Fine,” Damian replied curtly. “Thank you for your assistance.”
“No problem,” said Richard. “You know, I would love to get to meet Marinette sometime.”
“Don’t push your luck,” grumbled Damian, ignoring Richard’s laughter as he stood up and left the room. There would be no way to hide the fact that Marinette was coming over to the Manor from his family. There was also no way that his family wouldn’t intrude upon Damian and Marinette as they worked. However, if he explained everything beforehand and phrased everything in precisely the right way, he might be able to pass off his odd behavior towards Marinette as a part of his investigation. Damian pulled out his phone and composed a text to send to the family groupchat.
Damian: Dupain-Cheng is coming to the Manor at approximately 22:00 to work on a history project. I will be covertly conducting my investigation. From what I have gathered, she would respond better to subtle questioning, rather than a straightforward interrogation.
Tim: wait does subtle interrogation mean that you’ll be flirting with her???
Jason: I need to see this
Steph: I’m willing to bet money that his flirting offends Marinette so much she storms out of the Manor before Damian can finish the mission
Dick: No way. I’ll bet 20 dollars that his flirting works too well
Steph:done
Damian huffed, half tempted to call off his meeting with Marinette. His siblings were insufferable.
Damian: Please refrain from intervening. Confirming that Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug is a vital first step in determining whether the Justice League needs to interfere in the affairs of the Order of the Miraculous.
Bruce: Damian is correct. No one will bother him while he is working with Marinette.
Damian smirked as he turned his phone off. His plan wasn’t foolproof, of course, but a direct order from Bruce to not interfere would force his siblings to be more subtle about spying on him and Marinette. The chance of him being interrupted was significantly decreased.
Damian got everything set up in the den, which was only ever used on family movie night. It was perfectly situated for the task at hand - a room small enough to be classed as cozy but big enough to not feel cramped. It was out of the way, surrounded by other equally unused rooms, so his siblings would have no excuse for lurking in the hallway outside. Damian brought in snacks, chargers, and a few books from the Wayne Manor library on Renaissance Art, the topic of their project.
Marinette arrived promptly at 2 in the afternoon, holding a Tupperware container full of gingerbread cookies, with a smile on her face. “Hi, Damian. I brought cookies.”
None of his planning accounted for this moment, for first laying eyes on Marinette. Damian froze up, desperate to put the right words in the right order. “Welcome to Wayne Manor, Marinette. I have everything set up in the den if you’ll just follow me.”
“Sure.” Marinette toed off her black boots and arranged them on the shoe tray next to the door. She was left in sage green cat-print socks that matched the rest of her outfit, a pine green sweater and black jeans. Damian couldn’t help but wonder if she knit the sweater herself - Marinette’s talent for designing was well-known throughout Gotham Academy, as it was what got her accepted into the prestigious high school in the first place.
Marinette followed Damian through the Manor, complimenting little details that Damian had never noticed before - the pattern of the curtains, the bay window in a sitting room that Damian had never bothered to enter, the family pictures that lined the wall in the hallway. Marinette made it seem so obvious to pay attention to those little details. Damian wished that he could see the Manor for the first time through her eyes and feel the same amazement that she felt as she oohed and awed over the decadence that Damian had considered banal.
Damian was so captivated by Marinette that he almost missed the fact that Drake and Brown were lurking in the study across the hall from the den. A text to his father about the gravity of his mission would be enough to get them sent away on some inconsequential but time-consuming task. Damian would have to find an inconspicuous time to pull out his phone during their work on the project to let his father know about their intrusion.
“Now I know why you call it Wayne Manor. This place is huge.” Marinette shrugged off her backpack and set it down on the coffee table next to her container of cookies.
“Its size is entirely unnecessary for ordinary life,” agreed Damian. “However, it makes for very challenging games of hide-and-seek.”
Marinette giggled. “That sounds like fun. You’ll have to invite me next time you play.”
“I’ll make sure of it.” Damian smiled, surprised to find that his happiness wasn’t forced. He rarely engaged in childish behavior, and even more rarely did he find any enjoyment in it. Yet the mental image of playing a child’s game with Marinette was pleasant to him. The feelings he had for her were deeper than Damian anticipated.
The pair got to work on their project. Damian sent out the text to his father as soon as he opened his laptop, leaving Marinette under the impression that he was researching sources. A series of irritable texts in the family groupchat confirmed the fact that Drake and Brown had been removed from their hiding spot.
“Do you want to try a cookie?” asked Marinette, pushing the Tupperware towards Damian.
“Thank you.” Damian took one, just to be polite. Growing up in the League of Assassins, he never really had a taste for sweets. Alfred’s baking was the extent of what he would tolerate. He took a bite - small, to back up his claim that he already ate if it turned out to be inedible. Surprisingly, it was nearly as good as Alfred’s gingerbread cookies, and those were tailer made to Damian’s taste. The cookies were heavy on the ginger and cloves, just as Damian liked. “These are delicious,” Damian professed.
Marinette blushed. “Thanks. I know they taste a little different than store-bought gingerbread. My parents make them with a lot of ginger.”
“These are much superior to store-bought cookies.”
“Thanks. You know, you’re a lot nicer outside of school. You always seemed kind of grumpy in class.”
“I’m not a fan of the state-mandated curriculum.”
Marinette nodded. “I get what you mean. I barely have any room in my schedule for my design classes, with all the mandatory classes that Gotham Academy makes us take. I’m lucky that I have my internship, otherwise, I think I would go crazy, taking so many classes that I don’t care about.”
“Your internship is with Audrey Bourgeoise, isn’t it?”
Marinette nodded. “I was friends with her daughter, back in Paris. Originally it was going to be a four-year internship in New York City, but I renegotiated some of the terms so that I could do the first two years in Paris, then the last two in Gotham, while she established the new branch of her company.”
“You renegotiated the terms of a prestigious internship at the age of fourteen? Weren’t you afraid of losing it if you pushed too hard?”
Marinette shrugged, nonchalant as if it were normal for an intern to make such a bold move. “I didn’t want to leave Paris. My whole life was there. I wasn’t ready to just pick up and move to a new country.”
“What changed that you were able to come to Gotham?”
“There were a lot of reasons. Hawkmoth was the biggest one. I felt nervous about leaving my family and friends behind when he was terrorizing the city. After he was defeated I felt a lot more comfortable leaving.”
That aligned with the theory that Marinette was Ladybug. “What were the other reasons?”
“My age was one. I didn’t feel ready to leave home at fourteen and my parents didn’t like the idea of me leaving home that young either. Another big one was the fact that I didn’t have a good handle on my personal style. I was worried that designing full-time in Audrey Bourgeoise’s office would cause me to lose my originality. The worst thing I could imagine was watering down my designs to appeal to the rest of the fashion industry.”
“Your conviction is impressive. Most in your position would not worry about selling out to obtain such a highly coveted position.”
“Audrey said the same thing, though when she said it, she spoke it with annoyance, not admiration. I’ve never been highly motivated by wide-spread success. I don’t need to be a household name to feel content with life. I just want to design clothes that I’m proud of.”
The fluttering feeling in Damian’s chest returned with full force, alongside a tendril of anger at the unfairness of the situation. Here was the most perfect person Damian had ever laid his eyes on, and he was forced to pick her apart piece by piece to figure out her deepest darkest secrets. Damian didn’t know much about relationships, but this didn’t seem like the way they were supposed to go.
“You look upset,” Marinette’s observation was tinged by the worry in her voice.
“I’m not upset,” he assured her. “I was just wondering how I never noticed how interesting you are.”
Marinette flushed, her cheeks turning pink. “What does that mean?”
Damian shrugged. While his nonchalant attitude was all a bluff, his admiration of her accomplishments was all real. “Most of our classmates feel accomplished with the most conventional of achievements. Yet you secured an internship at the side of one of the most renowned fashion critics in the world and you still stay humble about it. You weren’t blind-sighted by the incredible opportunity. You fought to maintain your values, no matter if it meant losing something priceless.”
Marinette’s blush deepened. “That’s just who I am. It’s not special, it’s me.”
“It is you,” agreed Damian. “And it is special.”
Marinette gave him a wide-eyed look, shocked by the emotion in his words. “We should get back to work,” she said, self-consciously rubbing one cheek with the sleeve of her green wool sweater.
“Of course,” Damian amicably agreed. He had pushed far enough for intel and had managed to get to know her a little better in the process. His flirting wasn’t as blatant as it could have been, but it got the job done. Richard had said that once he knew the depths of his feelings he would know what to do. Richard was right. Damian’s feelings were seemingly endless, a maze of all the things he liked about Marinette, in which every corner he turned was a new quirk that he couldn’t un-notice. Yet Damian didn’t want to pass on the responsibility of investigating Marinette to anyone else. He wanted a reason to spend time with her.
It wasn’t the best situation. Damian wished that he could get to know her organically. However, Damian wasn’t the type to dwell on the could-have-been. He had an opportunity to get to know Marinette right in front of him and he wasn’t going to let it go.
Hours later, after Marinette went home, Richard stopped him in the hallway. “So what did you learn?”
“My investigation has proven inconclusive. I need to further get to know Marinette Dupain-Cheng if I want to uncover her identity. For research purposes, of course.”
Gotham wasn’t Marinette’s first choice for the location of their class trip. In fact, the grim American city hadn’t even made her top ten list. Marinette wanted to go to Amsterdam, a city rich with history and culture. But when Mm. Bustier announced that a vote for the class trip location would be held, the class voted almost unanimously. After all, Lila’s long-distance boyfriend, Damian Wayne, lived in Gotham. Wouldn’t it be great for Lila to be reunited with him? And Lila traveled so frequently that she had already visited all of the other cities Mm. Bustier suggested. Would it be fair to make her go visit a city she had already been to? Marinette scoffed as she overheard the class discussion. She knew that this was just another one of Lila’s lies, perfectly designed to manipulate the people around her into doing what she wanted.
Marinette kept her mouth shut while her classmates all decided to vote for Gotham. But that didn’t stop her from putting her checkmark next to Amsterdam on the ballots Mm. Bustier passed out. Maybe that would have been the end of Marinette’s bitterness if Lila hadn’t “accidentally” glanced at the ballots on Mm. Bustier’s desk she was leaving the classroom. Marinette could still remember Lila’s sickeningly sweet voice, feigning concern for Marinette, asking why Marinette wanted to go to Amsterdam so badly.
As Marinette scrambled for an answer, Alya turned to her with cruelty in her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re trying to sabotage Lila and Damian’s reunion. You’re so selfish, Marinette.”
Marinette didn’t bother replying - it never helped. As she left the classroom that day, she could see the disappointment in Adrien’s eyes. Her crush on the blonde model had long since faded, and alongside it went the rose-colored glasses she used to see him through, back when they were both thirteen. Now, four years later, all she saw was a selfish boy who cared more about avoiding conflict than actually solving problems.
Four months later, the plane landed in Gotham just as the sun began to rise. As her class walked from the airport to the hotel, Marinette felt herself zone out. Even though it wasn’t her first choice, Marinette could still appreciate the sight that was the Gotham skyline. Looming silver skyscrapers were framed by the gray, cloudy sky. As Marinette took in her surroundings, she began to wish that she could stop and get her sketchbook out. Ideas for a Gotham-themed fashion line popped up in her mind like weeds, and she needed to stop and pick them before she could properly zone back in. Gray was a color she had never properly worked with, which would make incorporating the color a nice way to challenge herself. In her mind, shades of gray instinctively started organizing themselves into the different ways she could pair them together.
“Wait!” A hand grabbed Marinette’s arm, pulling her back. Marinette gasped as she realized that she was about to walk onto the street, straight into traffic. She whipped around to face her savior.
The first thing Marinette noticed was his height. She was used to feeling short, at 5′2″, most people were taller than her. But he seemed to dwarf her. She figured he was 6′0″ at least. The second thing she noticed was the look of concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?” He asked.
Marinette nodded jerkily, trying to control her breathing. Having a panic attack alone in the middle of downtown Gotham would be just about the worst thing for her to do. She was supposed to be Ladybug, the savior of Paris, yet she was so unaware of her surroundings in a completely foreign city that she almost got killed in traffic. “I’m okay, I was just daydreaming,” she babbled, “Usually I’d be more aware of my surroundings, but I just got off of the plane and I’m not used to jetlag.”
The stranger had a bemused smile on his face as he walked her talk. Marinette blushed as she realized how dumb she must look to the handsome stranger. “Your accent, is it French?”
Marinette nodded. “I just got here from Paris. I’m on a class trip.”
“Where’s the rest of your class?”
Marinette looked around, trying to figure out which way her class went, but they were already gone, out of sight. “I’m not sure…” She trailed off. “But I have the address for the hotel on my phone, so I’ll be able to catch up with them there.”
“Gotham is known for being difficult to navigate. I can take you there if you’d like.”
“Sure,” said Marinette, pulling her phone out to check the address. “It’s called the Gotham Grand Hotel. It’s on the corner of 7th Avenue and 22nd Street.”
“That’s about twelve blocks away. It’s pretty far. Are you sure you’re up for the walk?”
Marinette nodded. “I’m sure I can make it.“
His smile returned as he introduced himself. “I’m Damian, by the way.”
“I’m Marinette,” Marinette introduced herself as Damian led the way.
A moment later, Damian’s phone started to ring. He answered it while still walking. "Hello.”
A brief pause, then. “I’m on 4th Avenue, by the Starbucks.” Another pause as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone conversation. “I’m not free right this moment, but I will be in a few minutes.” Another pause. “I’m helping someone get around the city. She got a little lost on her school trip, and you and I both know that the city isn’t exactly safe when you don’t know your way around it.”
Marinette was beginning to wonder who exactly Damian was talking to, but she didn’t want to be rude and interrupt. Instead, she got her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick text to Alya, telling her that she would be a little late because she got disoriented on the hectic Gotham streets.
“I’ll be free until five tonight. Father’s insisting that I come and have dinner with the family, and I have my internship afterward, from seven to nine.” Another pause, this one longer. “I suppose that would work. I was planning on going out to eat at some point, anyway. I’ll just have to ask Marinette if she’s okay with it.”
Damian put the phone down and turned to face Marinette. “My boyfriend, Jon, offered to pick us both up and drop you off at your hotel on our way to get brunch. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, I understand.”
“Oh, it’s perfectly fine,” Marinette assured him.
Damian frowned slightly before replying to his boyfriend. Marinette knew that Damian probably thought she wasn’t being cautious enough, but she didn’t care. After four years as Ladybug, Marinette was confident that she was capable of taking care of herself.
A minute later, a car pulled up beside them. “This is Jon’s car,” said Damian as he grabbed the door for her.
“Thank you,” Marinette smiled in return as she pulled her suitcase in after her. “Hello, Jon. I’m Marinette.”
“Welcome to Gotham, Marinette.” Jon leaned past the driver’s seat to shake her hand. Marinette noticed that he had a very friendly face: a nice smile and kind eyes. “How are you enjoying the city?”
“It’s nicer than I expected, I suppose, but I didn’t exactly have high expectations. Gotham has a reputation in Europe for being the worst tourist destination in America.”
Damian nodded. “That sounds like Gotham. It’ll grow on you, though.”
“Like a fungus,” added Jon.
“If you say so.” Marinette cast a distasteful look out the window of the car at the gray streets.
“Do you have any plans for lunch?” asked Jon.
Marinette shook her head. “Not really. The hotel has a restaurant on the ground floor, but their lunch menu is pretty limited. I’m vegetarian, so my only option is a salad.”
“Would you like to come to brunch with us?” offered Jon.
“Are you sure you want me there?” Marinette didn’t want to be a third wheel if brunch was supposed to be a date between Jon and Damian.
“Of course,” said Damian.
“Alright. I don’t think I’ll be missing anything if I go with you. Our itinerary keeps us pretty busy at the beginning of the trip, but we were given today to rest up, to help get rid of the jetlag. I switched my sleep schedule a week ago, though, so my body is already running on Gotham time.”
Damian nodded thoughtfully. “Do you want to check the itinerary, just to be sure?”
Marinette shrugged. “It can’t hurt to check it one more time.” She pulled the paper out of her suitcase. “Our class doesn’t have anything planned until tonight. We have dinner at a restaurant called…” Marinette consulted her itinerary, “The Coast, and then we’re seeing Wicked at one of the theaters downtown.”
“I’ve been to The Coast before with my family. They have very good vegetarian options. It is very expensive for a high school class trip,” Damian noted.
“I go to an accelerated school. The school has a very large budget, due to the amount of tuition, and the number of alumni who give back to the school.” Marinette shrugged, a nervous tick. She didn’t like talking about how much her tuition cost. Even with her 50% scholarship to Francois Dupont, tuition was still a struggle sometimes. Her parents didn’t make that much money from the bakery, and compared to the elite professions of some of her classmates’ parents, Marinette was often considered to be poor. It left her feeling out of place, guilty every time she felt embarrassed by her working-class parents.
“That sounds-“
Marinette continued to babble. “I’m grateful for the opportunities that François Dupont gives me. Much more grateful than a lot of my classmates, anyway. Some of them only read the itinerary for the first time on the plane ride to Gotham. One of my classmates, Chloé, threw a fit because she believed that the entire trip would be a shopping spree through Gotham. Other students got mad for other reasons. One of my classmates made some promises that she had no business making - telling everyone that we would be getting way more free time than we were actually given. It’s a shame. I used to love being a part of Mme. Bustier’s class, but everything fell apart after…”
Marinette stopped half-way through her sentence and stared down at her hands as she realized that tears had sprung to her eyes. She felt the red flush of embarrassment begin to overtake her face. "I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. It sounds like you have a lot going on with your class at the moment.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” said Marinette. “It’s been… difficult, to say the least.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Jon.
Marinette shook her head. “Not really. Even if Gotham wasn’t my first choice for our class trip, I still want to at least try to have a good time.”
“What was your first choice?” asked Damian, a hint of curiosity to his voice.
“Amsterdam,” said Marinette longingly. “But Lila wanted to visit her boyfriend in Gotham, Damian Wayne, so the whole class ignored the fact that Gotham is the most crime-ridden city in America, all so that Lila could visit her boyfriend.”
Damian looked shocked. “Did she say her boyfriend is Damian Wayne?“
Marinette nodded. “Uh, yeah.”
Jon snorted. “I know that you like girls too, Damian, but I figured you would tell me before adding a third to our relationship.”
Damian rolled his eyes, quipping back something just as clever. Marinette was too stunned to listen, as she realized that the rich and powerful Damian Wayne whom Lila claimed to be dating was the same Damian who helped Marinette on the streets of Gotham. Marinette stuttered out, “I didn’t- I didn’t realize that you- you’re Damian Wayne.”
Damian chuckled. “I can tell. I have to admit, I’m not used to not being recognized. I’m pretty famous around Gotham.”
“The Billionaire Bisexual Ice Prince of Gotham,” quoted Jon with a grin on his face. “The tabloids love Damian.”
“It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. The tabloids obsess over everything even slightly unconventional, and to them, the bisexual bastard son of billionaire Bruce Wayne is the perfect target. Even more so when he started dating another man.” Damian’s voice was smooth, but there was an undercurrent of bitterness to it. Marinette got the sense that he didn’t often open up about his relationship, for fear that the media would not be kind about it. Marinette sympathized. Françoise Dupont had been a progressive school: they had a GSA and a no-tolerance policy (not that the policy was ever upheld). She hadn’t been bullied, per se, for being bisexual, but she had experienced the all too familiar feeling of being othered for who she happened to love.
“Nice use of alliteration,” said Jon. His words would have lightened the mood if it wasn’t for the slight strain to his voice.
It was obvious to Marinette that this was a sore subject between the boys. “So how long have you two been dating?” asked Marinette, hoping to lighten the mood.
“Two years, but we’ve been friends since middle school,” answered Jon. “Damian was the world’s most uptight twelve-year-old, so I took it upon myself to get him to loosen up. We became friends and everything since then just sort of fell into place.”
“An apt recounting, even if it omitted some pertinent details.” Damian conceded.
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that I was the one to ask you on a date, and you were so shocked that I had figured out that you were bisexual that you dropped the glass in your hand, shattering it,” teased Damian.
“I thought I was being subtle about it,” Jon defended.
Marinette giggled. If she could just spend all of her time with Jon and Damian, rather than her class, she might just have fun on her class trip.
Damian turned to Marinette. “He had a pride pin on his jacket and listened to Carly Rae Jepsen. Subtlety is not, and has never been one of Jon’s string suits.”
Marinette noted that she had a pride pin of her own attached to the front strap of her backpack. Most people never took any note of it - Marinette had quite a few pins on her backpack - but Marinette got the feeling that Damian was aware of it.
“We’re here,” said Jon, parking the car in front of a little café.
“Café Carlisle has good vegetarian options,” Damian assured her as he opened up her car door and helped her out. “They make a superb gourmet grilled cheese sandwich and tomato basil soup. I would recommend it to anyone.”
“That’s pretty high praise. I get the sense you don’t give false compliments.”
“I don’t.” It was a simple answer. Marinette was beginning to get a clearer picture of Damian, who didn’t waste unnecessary words but was never afraid to speak his mind.
“Then it had better live up for expectations,” teased Marinette.
Damian smiled at her as he held open the door to the restaurant. “It will.”
As Damian led Marinette to a booth in the back of the restaurant Marinette caught sight of the reflection of her little group in one of the windows. There was a look on Jon’s face that Marinette wasn’t sure how to interpret. He had a smile on his face, but it wasn’t the joking smile Marinette saw a lot of in the car. It was more of an indulgent smile, giving Marinette the sensation that Jon knew something that she didn’t. Marinette wanted to turn around and ask him what it meant, but part of her brain begged her not to ruin this budding friendship before it had even begun.
Marinette had only known Damian and Jon for twenty minutes but already had the strangest feeling that there was a connection between them, some sort of relationship that needed nothing more than a little bit of shown vulnerability to create a deep bond. The only thing Marinette could think to liken it to was love at first sight, but it was beyond that. This wasn’t infatuation or obsession (both of which Marinette knew well from her days of crushing over Adrien). This was deeper. This was the knowledge that Damian and Jon had seen her vulnerability and had embraced it, showing vulnerability in their own way. Neither boy had said it out loud, but given that they had both closed themselves off from physical affection as soon as they were in public, Marinette made the assumption that any sort of public display of affection was off-limits to them anywhere that the tabloids could see. It put the fact that they had been incredibly open about their relationship in a new light. It reassured Marinette that she wasn’t just imagining their connection. Damian and Jon must have felt similarly about her to be able to talk to her about their relationship.
“Marinette?” Damian spoke her name, snapping Marinette out of her thoughts.
Marinette blushed. “Sorry, I tend to daydream a lot.”
Damian smirked. “I’m aware. You almost wandered right into traffic the last time I caught you daydreaming.”
Jon stifled a laugh. “What could you possibly be thinking of that would make you so focused that you managed to ignore the traffic right in front of you?”
Marinette launched herself into a spiel about her newest design inspiration, explaining as she went that she was incredibly passionate about fashion and designs and that her designs often had her zoning out for hours at a time. Jon and Damian looked so interested in her explanation that Marinette blushed, not used to having anyone’s undivided attention.
Marinette wasn’t yet certain where she stood with Damian and Jon in terms of the relationship between the three of them, but she couldn’t wait to find out.
marinette’s never met her soulmate but she has Superman’s symbol engraved on the small of her back
(having superhero’s symbols as a soulmark isn’t too uncommon. superhero fans’ soulmates might bare their mark if the hero is important enough to them so this wasn’t particularly suspicious or concerning to marinette)
damian, on the other hand, has no soul mark
when he was old enough to realize what this meant he thanked all the gods he could think of — that was one burden that he would never have to carry
(things never ended well for soulmates of league members. damian may have been a trained assassin (and a damn good one) but he wasn’t heartless)
now that he was older and out of his mothers clutches, his heart aches to think about his future
he has no desire for a romantic partner
(most soulmates were romantic. you were more likely to not have a soulmate than to have a platonic partner. (though damian was convinced those numbers were off — he thought the reason there were more romantic pairs than platonic pairs was because some soulmate pairs only dated due to societal pressure and not because of a true romantic interest. love can be so confusing sometimes))
long story short: damian and marinette meet when marinette moves to gotham for college
gotham is actually a great place for beginner designers to start out. the citizens absolutely love crazy and out-of-the-box fashion and will support just about any designer who’s not afraid to break the rules. and marinette loves breaking the rules
they slowly start to fall in love
*insert obligatory pining and heartache over falling in love with two people at the same time here
(marinette/ladybug (hawkmoth may be defeated but she’s still a hero, dammit and the JL asked for her help to patrol gotham while batman takes on a job out of town) and damian/robin)
and of course, the obligatory identity reveal where marinette’s friends/the batfam promptly freak out because they’ve been listening to their friend/brother pine over two different people WHO ARE ACTUALLY THE SAME PERSON for literal MONTHS now when they could have just been dating already
and of course (of course!) jon happens to be there and while the group is celebrating he gives damian and marinette a big celebratory hug (he just found out his best friend actually has a chance!! he’s excited okay)
when marinette and jon’s bare skin touch for the first time they realize they’re soulmates
(which honestly they should have realized sooner. jon’s soulmark is ladybug’s symbol. but they’re not that smart)
*insert obligatory freak out here
marinette and damian’s relationship gets rocky for a little bit
while their friends and family know that they have mutual feelings for one another, they never actually got the chance to confess
jon and marinette grow closer and eventually start to see each other as almost-siblings
damian, blinded by his feelings, sees them growing closer and thinks that they have romantic feelings for one another and slowly starts to attempt to withdraw from their lives
him being there was making things complicated. they were destined to be together. who was he to get in the way of that?
of course jon and marinette are having none of this
damian is an important figure in both of their lives and they are NOT letting him go. no matter what.
marinette eventually goes to confront him which leads to a very emotional conversation in damian’s room at the manor (he still lives there most of the time despite all of the times he’s threatened to move out, but if you bring it up he’ll legitimately throw a chair at you. ask jason. he’s found out the hard way a few too many times)
“Sometimes, I wish I had a soulmate,” he chuckles humorously, “I never used to think like that before I met you.” Marinette shifts in her seat, “Damian-” “I guess I didn’t really want a soulmate. I just wanted you. I wish it was you.” Marinette cups her hands around his cheeks, gently turning his head until she can gaze directly into his beautiful green eyes. She smiles softly, “Damian, you already have me.”
finally (finally), they get together (yayyyy!!) everyone celebrates!! a few years later damian and marinette get into a fight over who gets to have jon be their best man (marinette wins)
Summary: Too bad her dreams had no chance to become real, because she managed to ruin her relationship with a guy before she even got to really know him.
Of course, her inflamed libido was not the main problem in this situation. More importantly, it would be harder to get Robin to train her now…
If only she could start all over again, she thought with a sigh.
And while using Fluff to do this might not have been considered a personal goal, the occasion seemed too small to her for the potential consequences that timeline games could bring.
Little did Marinette know that the opportunity to start all over would soon be presented to her without using the Miraculous of Time. ~ He wasn’t one of those who think in the subjunctive mood or want to turn back time, but if today it was proposed to Damian, so that he could start their acquaintance from the beginning, perhaps he would make an exception for her.
Marinette, who was sitting across the aisle from him, seemed to feel his eyes on her and turned her head towards Damian, and he immediately turned away, feigning stern detachment.
He didn’t know that the opportunity to start all over again would be given to him without any need to turn back time.
*** Chapters 1-3 are available with EARLY ACCESS on patreon.com/san_fics
Adrien gave him an understanding look, but what could he really understand in Damian’s situation?! He is now officially dating Cass, and Damian has lost his perfect match!..
Bonus chapter
In The Right Bed! AdriCass
Summary:
Cass woke up to find a young blond man in her bed, sleeping soundly.
She sat up in bed and looked at him with surprise, not feeling any fear or even anxiety though.
There was no way this man could be a danger to her. He was clearly not armed, and besides, she had already seen at least fifteen options for how she could kill him in the event of his surprise attack, depending on What type of martial art he mastered…
Chat Noir suddenly stopped and opened his eyes wide. “But wouldn’t that mean that we…” He didn’t have time to finish, because his figure began to melt in the air. *
p.12/12 preview:
Damian was horrified to see Cass enter the living room with the blond boy from Marinette’s poster, holding his hand…
available onpatreon.com/san_fics *
In The Right Bed!
(Bonus chapter to In The Wrong Bed?) AdriCass
Summary:
Cass woke up to find a young blond man in her bed, sleeping soundly.
She sat up in bed and looked at him with surprise, not feeling any fear or even anxiety though.
There was no way this man could be a danger to her. He was clearly not armed, and besides, she had already seen at least fifteen options for how she could kill him in the event of his surprise attack, depending on What type of martial art he mastered…
