#could be read as pre-daminette

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Damian the Dog

Inspired by Grumpy Cat, written by @adrestar

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So what if Marinette moved to Gotham Academy, probably because of Lila bullshit or Guardian Duties.

She is mostly alone so she get a dog who she named Damian.

I actually look up on what type of dog she would have because I don't have a lot of knowledge on dogs. I wanted a small cute black dog. I am going with a Pomeranian or a Scottish Terrier.

It's all fine and going dandy. When one day, Damian overhears the new girl talking about him.

Marinette of course has zero interest in celebrities so she has no clue she is in the same class as Damian Wayne. Her classmates asked if she had any pets so she starts talking about her cute little Dami and showing off pictures of him.

"Look at my Dami. Isn't he adorable?" Marinette cooed, "I just love running my hands through those thick black luscious hair."

Damian gets the idea that Marinette is a stalker or a fangirl who is deluded herself into thinking she is dating him but brushes her off as mostly harmless. He can correct her at any time she steps out of the line.

Let the misunderstandings commence!

Fast forward the next few days, where Marinette keeps talking about her dog and no one has clued her in on the fact that there is a human with the same name as her dog going to classes with her.

Human Damian thinks she has very active imagination, going as far as to fake bite marks on her arms after a supposed passionate embrace.

(Damian the Dog is still being trained. Idk abt raising dogs so I hope I am right.)

The weekend arrive and Damian is at the dog park with Titus. Then he heard the insufferable voice calling out for him,

"Damian. Where are you? Come out. Damian. Dami."

He hid himself for a while, hoping she will give up sooner or later. But no, she keeps coming closer to the spot where he was hiding and calling out his name. Then, Titus blew his cover by coming back with the ball he was sent to fetch.

Thinking he had no choice but to reveal himself, he burst out of the bushes, scaring Marinette.

Meanwhile, Marinette was at the dog park to let Damian out of the apartment and get some exercise. She was kept an eye on him as he ran around but after a phone call from Jagged Stone for a new jacket, she had lost sight of her dog.

Then, while she looked for Damian the dog, someone jumped out of the bushes, giving her a scarce.

She realised that he was a boy from her classes and before she could ask if he had seen her dog, he began yelling at her.

"Listen up, harlot. Get out of your delusional fantasies of dating me and leave me alone." He yelled at a very confused Marinette. Human Damian continued to threaten her with lawsuits on the grounds of stalking, defamation and false claims.

Marinette gets fucking pissed at what the rude guy was yelling at her for no reasons but before she could retort, he stomped away with his dog trailing behind him.

"Come on, Titus. We don't have spend more time with this waste of space."

Marinette is so furious that if she was in Paris, she would have been akumatised for sure. She decided to calm down and go look for Damian, not the human. Arriving at home, she found a lawyer waiting for her and they handed her a thick files of all the charges she was being sued for. It was official she had met someone worse than the Chloe Bourgeosis.

So Marinette decides to stress bake about the problem. Ultimately, she made too much and decided to give away some to her next door neighbour, Jason.

Marinette had been living in Gotham for about a month and Jason knows about her habit to stress bake. They first met when Jason accidentally snuck up on her and she judo-flipped him who was 3 times bigger than her. Jason is impressed and Marinette is mortified. They became friends. Jason cooks her meals sometimes and she bake him desserts. It was a fair trade.

Anyway, Jason asks about her problem and Marinette starts a rant about this rich entitled dick she met who was from her class and she had coincidentally met him at the dog park while looking for Damian. Then, he called her a bunch of insults and names, accused her of stalking him and he had sent lawsuits to her address. Which was bad because she had her business as MDC to consider and this will affect her income.

While ranting, Marinette saw Jason's law degree which he had displayed, partially for his cover as a normal civi but mostly to brag to his siblings about being the only one who graduated from college and law school and rub it in Bruce's face. (We all seen the Jason became a lawyer to get Joker a death sentence post right? So Joker is dead here.)

"Can you be my lawyer? Or can you recommend me one? I promise I can pay you."

Jason patted her head, "Pixie, I will do this for free. I don't know which prick decided to mess with you but I will make him pay. Besides, I can't stand guys like that. You are actually doing me a bit of a favor to knock someone like that down a few pegs. Legally."

Marinette insisted to pay him but Jason compromised to get a cake for an entire month instead for taking the job.

When Jason looked through the papers, he noticed it was from the Wayne Family Lawyers so he decided to go to the Manor to get to the bottom of it. Jason arrived in the middle of Damian on a warpath.

He asked Tim who was the closest and furiously typing on his laptop about what is going on with Damian.

Tim answered, "Apparently there's this girl who is stalking Damian. She claimed to be dating him at school and she showed up while he was out with Titus, looking for him. Right now, I am just checking if she is just delusional and harmless or someone dangerous."

Jason connects the dots between Dog Damian and Human Damian and he tried not to burst out laughing right then and there. "That's good to hear. Anyways, I came here because I forgot something. I am going to see Alfred before I go. Have fun with the lawsuits."

Jason spent the rest of the way home, cackling and the funniest way to win the case.

On the day of the court date,

The rest of the Waynes are surprised to see Jason there in a suit. Dick was understandable, Tim was just there to make sure it goes smoothly, Bruce is also reasonable, Damian is the 'victim'.

"Todd, why are you here?"

"You'll see."

Then, they started telling people to enter before they could get more answers. They soon found out that Jason was the lawyer for the other side.

"Todd, you traitor. How dare you work for the opposition!"

Marinette had arrived with a pet carrier with a dog which Damian claimed was to appeal to his animal lover side.

blah blah blah. Legal procession. I don't know how it goes.

Anyways, it is time for Marinette's defense.

"Your honor, I would like to present evidence which proved that my cilent is innocent in all the charges the plaintiff has accused her of."

"Proceed."

Jason brought out the pet carrier and took out Dog Damian.

"Your honor, this is my client's dog. She was gifted this dog before she moved here to Gotham. I have the receipts to prove this."

"What is the point of this?"

Jason dramatically held up the adorable fluffy black dog which looked like a doll in his hands, "Your honor, the dog's name is Damian." Jason claimed while staring straight at Human Damian.

Dog Damian woofed at the sound of his name. There was a shocked silence that followed.

Jason proceed to give more evidence that yes, the dog name is actually Damian like giving commands using his name and adoption certificate to get rid of any doubt.

"He claimed to have heard her talking about her dating but what were the actual words you heard her say?"

"That I am adorable and she likes running her fingers through my soft dark hair."

"Your honor, my cilent was actually bragging about how cute her dog is and how she likes petting Damian the dog's obviously black fur. And you also claimed that she stalked you to the dog park and called out your name several time. She was there by coincidence because the park is the closest to her apartment and she was calling his name because she had lost sight of Damian. Dog Damian I mean. It was Human Damian's fault for assuming she was calling out for him."

Jason continued to explained how each claim was Damian's own misunderstanding of the situation and there are statements from his classmates who confirmed that Marinette was talking about her pet dog. They didn't told her about Human Damian because they found it funny that her dog had the same name.

"In addition, my cilent had no idea who Damian Wayne was. Only knowing him as her classmate. "

Tim is right now filming and having the best time of his life as he watched Damian wished that the ground would swallow him whole. Dick is trying so hard not to laugh while Bruce's lips were twitching.

Jason decides to make a counter-law suit for the emotional damage and potential financial damage Human Damian had caused Marinette by suing her for millions when she was just a struggling student, getting by on her own income in a foreign country.

Marinette stopped him, "Jason, this is enough. I am fine with a hand-written apology."

"The amount I am asking for is just a drop of water of an ocean for them. They are that filthy rich. Besides, you can get that motorcycle side-car for Damian you had been eyeing a while ago. You can also use the money to buy dog stuff that you couldn't before because of your budget."

Marinette hesitated and agreed. The case ended with it in Marinette's favor.

Tim approached them as they exited with Marinette hugging Damian (the dog) and Jason grinning in glee over his victory and simultaneously humiliated Damian (the human) in the process. Tim high-fived Jason.

Tim offered a job to Marinette because he had done a background check on her due to the potential threat she posed and found out about MDC. He does it because he liked her talent and it would look great to have Wayne Enterprise on her resume. Also the best dirt on Damian.

Marinette told him that she would think about it and he gave her a card.

Damian wrote the apology letter, very embarrassed by the entire trial. His pride wouldn't recover for a while and he took it out on Jason who knew about it the entire time and didn't tried to stop and clear up the misunderstanding.

The next day at school, Marinette went to Damian's seat and said, "Good morning, Human Damian."

"Why are you calling me like that?"

"I am sorry. I thought you would appreciate the clarification of which Damian I am referring to. I wouldn't want to end up in court again after being branded as a delusional fangirl of yours because I was just talking about my adorable Dami. I meant to say My adorable dog, Dami. Human Damian."

For the next few months, everyone keeps referring to Damian as Human Damian.

#maribat #ml x dc #mlb x dc #platonic! jasonette #could be read as pre-daminette #enemies to lovers #I really should watch legal drama or read up on court proceedings #Alfred in 'has the same name as a pet' club: *sips tea* welcome to the club Master Human Damian. #this can apply to the suits #Human Robin do you copy #Meanwhile Marinette be going around Gotham with Damian in the side car to get him a cute new outfit #Damian the Dog i mean #I had fun writing this

[anjuschiffer]

No Point In Lying

I should’ve been working on WIPs...oops...

Note: This is pre-daminette...and while Damian does not appear, I’m still tagging this as Maribat as it part of a Maribat au...

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Tags: @theatreandcomicfreak @genshin-and-fanfics-are-my-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan @vixen-uchiha @nathleigh

--

AO3

Lila pinched her skin as she stood outside the classroom room, waiting for her new teacher Mlle Bustier to introduce her.

She always hated introducing herself. What was the point of it when all the friends she would end up making will forget about her months later? They always promised to keep in touch and yet, they never do.

Thanks to her mother being a diplomat, Lila always found herself changing school every school year and while travel stories always captured people’s attention, it was only temporary. When she would run out of stories to tell, one by one, they would leave, disappointed in knowing that Lila had nothing else to offer.

A temporary entertainment in their eyes…

Looking at her reddened wrist covered in nail marks, Lila let out a long heavy sigh when she heard someone climbing up the stairs. 

Quickly turning, Lila was surprised to see a student running up the stairs, the boy dashing straight towards her!

“Watch out!”

Lila quickly stepped to the side, watching as the boy skidded towards the door, only to fall face flat onto the ground. Panicking, Lila helped him out, watching as the boy towered her by a whole foot. “Thank you! Can’t believe I was almost late for- say.” The boy looked at her from top to bottom. 

Lila watched as he was about to grab her hair, only to stop. “May I?” While Lila would never let anyone touch her hair, she somehow found herself saying yes. “Thanks.”

She felt as he ruffled her bangs a bit, remaining still as she let the boy fix her hair, feeling as he gently pushed strands of hairs away from her face and placed back the silver hairband she had chosen to wear that day. “And finished.” The boy proudly announced, taking out his phone and showing Lila her reflection using the front camera. “Your hairband was a bit out of place and I-”

“Thank you.” Lila cut off, giving the boy back his phone. “I didn’t think much about-” The boy let out a small gasp.

“You can’t just not worry about your hair! It looks very pretty and that shine! You already take lots of good care for it already! But doing these small-”

“I see you’ve met out new student Marcel.” Mlle Bustier interrupted, “and you’re late...again,” causing Marcel to let out a nervous laugh.

“Apologies, Mlle Bustier. I’ll try not to be late.” Marcel gave a small bow, heading into the classroom, Lila following him as he sat in the front of the classroom, next to a boy with glasses. 

“That’s Marcel Dupain-Cheng.” Mlle Bustier snapped Lila from her trance, Lila feeling the tips of her ears burning. “He’s the class president. During lunch today, he’ll be showing you around the school. But for now, let’s head inside. It’s time for you to introduce yourself to the rest of the class.”

Lila could only nod, feeling her stomach jitter for the first time in ages. 

--

Before she could even approach Marcel to ask him about the tour around the school, Lila was ambushed by her fellow classmates, one in particular shoving a phone in her face.

“Hi! I’m Alya! I was wondering if you would be willing to say- hey Marcel! I’m- hey!” Lila watched as Marcel frowned as he took Alya’s phone and raised it above his head, Lila watching as Alya struggled to take it back.

“Alya, we already talked about this. Ask people before recording them.” Marcel pocketed the phone. “You won’t be getting it until you apologize to Lila.” After an apology, Alya got her phone back and put it away. Just as she was about to ask Lila about her travels, Marcel grabbed Lila by her wrist and dragged her outside the classroom, Lila wondering what exactly was happening.

“Marcel...I don’t think she’s following us.” Lila spoke up, watching as Marcel got flustered, instantly, but clumsily, letting go of her.

“S-Sorry about that! It’s just that I know how energetic Alya can get when she gets like that and thought that-”

“Thank you.” Lila smiled, clasping her hands behind her back. “Really. Thank you.” Smiling, Marcel returned the smile, quickly going onto the promised tour, Lila absorbing his every word. 

--

Just a month into school and Lila already fitted in with the rest of the class, already having a best friend in the form of Alya. Even after running out of stories to tell them, Lila found herself invited to every girl’s outing, after school events, club meetings and evern shopping out on weekends.

Today, the girls were out having a picnic, trying to catch Lila up on the different events that happened in the school year so far.

“-but of course! We only had one guy who was willing to go with our ridiculous plan.” Alya retold, looking at all the girls before signaling them.

“Marcel!” The girls said in unison, Lila watching as Mylene, Alix and Alya laughed while Rose and Juleka simply smiled at the memory. 

“He’s just like Ivan.” Mylene added, a soft smile on her face. “He may look intimidating at first, but the moment he speaks, you can tell he’s a big softie!”

“Doesn’t help that he’s so tall.” Alix raised her hands above her head. “Guy’s a giant!”

“You’re just jealous because he’s so tall.” Alya poked.

“Have you seen his dad?” Alix almost screamed, honestly wondering if anyone has seen Marcel’s father, or was she the only one?

“I remember when I first met him,” Juleka spoke up, making Lila jump. Can you blame her though? This was the first time she’s ever heard her talk! “I was busy helping tune my brother’s guitars, sitting on the Liberty’s deck when I saw him, staring back at me. One minute he was on the grass and the next, on the Liberty’s deck, asking me to model for him.”

Now that was surprising.

“Wait, is that how he actually asked you to model for you?” Alix screeched before going into a laughing fit, Lila watching as the others soon joined in, leaving Lila confused.

“Oh,” a snort. “That’s right! How did we forget to tell you!” Alya managed to say, gesturing Rose to fill in Lila while she continued to laugh.

“Marcel runs his own fashion line: MDC! He designs and sews all of the clothing, hats, bags and accessories in his fashion line. Juleka,” Rose gestured to her blushing girlfriend, “is Marcel’s main model.”

“Main model?” Lila asks, looking at the rest of the girls. “Do you guys help model for him too?”

“Sometimes.” Mylene shyly states. “But he mainly asks Juleka, Aurore and Rose to model for him. Aurore is another girl in the school!” She quickly adds when she saw Lila panic.

“Oh? What’s this?” Alya smirked, Lila feeling a shiver down her spine. “Could Lila...have a crush on Marcel?”

“W-What?! NO! No!” lila squeaked, knowing her face contradicted her feelings. “I barely speak to him! How would I have a crush on him when the only time I speak to him is during class and that’s it?”

Apparently that wasn’t convincing enough, Alya wrapping an arm around Lila, a cheshire smile plastered onto her face. 

“Oh Lila, you can’t fool us that easily. Not that you should be shy about it. Almost everyone in the class has had a crush on the designer.” Alya confessed, Lila watching as Mylene looked away while Rose hid her face into her hands.

“Had?” Lila dared to ask. “Does-”

“Yup.” Alix quickly answered, a grin plastered on her face. “Nathaniel, Chloe and Sabrina? They’ve fallen victim to Marcel’s spell. Oh! But of course, Chloe would never admit to falling in love with the baker’s son.” Alix quickly wrapped up, noticing Lila’s pale face. Uh-oh. “W-Well, despite-”

“Despite there being many people who’ve had a crush on Marcel,” Alya picked up, hitting Alix’s shoulder, “Marcel never showed any interest in them, something about none of them appealing to him. No offense!” Alya quickly said as she looked at Mylene and Rose. “And to be quite honest, I think you have a good chance of getting Marcel’s attention.” 

“What?” Lila squeaked, feeling her cheeks burn. 

“You’re literally the first person Marcel has ever went “designer mode” the minute he laid eyes on you.” Alix clarified. “Never done it to anyone else but you.” Alya squealed.

“If you do capture Marcel’s attention- imagine it! The two of you would be the cutest couple in school! No! In all of Paris! You and Marcel, posing together-”

Lila let out a screech, feeling her face on fire as she buried it into her hands.

“No way, now way, no way!” Lila denied. “Marcel’s just someone who I admire! He’s the first person I met who welcomed me to Dupont, so of course I’m going to-”

“Alright, alright.” Alya sighed, patting Lila’s shoulder. “So you don’t have a crush on Marcel...so that means you’ll be alright with him getting your measurements and being face-to-face with him, right?” Lila’s head snapped up.

“What?” Alya showed Lila her phone, Lila reading the message. 

“Marcel needs a model right now since Aurore might not make it to his photo shoot in an hour, so of course, I told him you’re okay with filling in for her.” Lila sputtered to come up with an answer, only being able to watch as the girls dragged her to Marcel’s studio…

Or rather bedroom.

There he was, wearing nothing but a tank top and a pair of sweats, his toned arms exposed. Did he work out?

Trying to not gulp loudly, Lila could hear the snickering and whispers of good luck as the girls left them alone, Marcel giving Lila an apologetic smile.

“Sorry for making you-”

“No!” Lila accidentally squeaked out. “Help being fine- mean.” She cleared her throat, hoping her heart would stop beating so loudly in her ears. “I’m glad to be able to help a friend out.” Lila answered, hoping she didn’t cross a line by claiming Marcel to be her friend.

Judging by Marcel’s smile, she didn’t cross it, causing her heart to flutter.

“Thanks Lila, you’re truly a life saver! Now all that I need to do is-” Lila simply smiled and nodded, her breath hitching when Marcel’s fingers grazed her shoulder as he started to take her measurements.

Being so close to him, she could smell the sweet aroma of bread, a small hint of-

Oh no…

There was no hiding it anymore, no point in lying about it, because...they were right...Marcel wasn’t just a friend…

He definitely was a crush...and a huge one at that.

#maribat #maribat male!marinette #marcel dupain-cheng #anju writes

[dydra]

MEMORIES (CHAT BLANC)

Previous

A couple of hours later, Marinette and Alya were talking in front of the school

"It's a miracle! You are early today!"

"Yeah, my mom gave me this weird Chinese tea and I slept like a baby" I even cried like one! She thought

A familiar car interrupted their conversation

"Oh, Hi Adrien! How was your weekend?" The annoying liar said as soon as the blonde stepped outside the car. She noticed what he was wearing and an idea came to her mind. She was skipping some points of her plan, but she wouldn't let that opportunity go "I see that you're wearing the scarf I made!"

"What?" Two voices said in unison, one more scandalized than the other.

The girl put both of her hands on her mouth and looked at him with false regret.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was supposed to be a secret!" She looked at him guilty

Adrien sighed

"What secret, Lila? " he said with tiredness hoping that as soon as she finished, she would leave him alone

"Oh! Am..." she played with her fingers trying to look nervous "I was actually the one who made the scarf... I told your father that it would be a nice present for you for your birthday and, ah– we both agreed that he would say that it was from him. He was really busy that week because of a fashion show so I thought–" She stopped shyly.  Yeah, it was the perfect lie, everyone knew that she worked Grabriel Agreste in some photoshoots

Friday night after the so called superheroes 'saved' her because she was possessed by an akuma (she was mad about it. She couldn't managed to even get close to the stupid girl's house when the defeated her), Lila made some research and was ready to be the center of attention again, special of the model's, at all costs. "I'm so sorry! I didn't meant to tell you the truth! Would you forgive me?"

Really? Adrien thought. That was one of the worst lies she'd ever told him. He was more than sure that his father had made that present. Besides, not in a million years Lila would ever convince his father of something like that.

"And why would I believe you?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Great job Agreste, now the conversation got even longer!

Lila opened her eyes surpised without having expected it, but she quickly recovered.

"You know, don't tell anybody, but... I've won some of the Grabiel Agreste's contests in the past. The thing is that I signed up anonymously 'cause I didn't want to be in the spotlight at such young age. You understand that, right?"  She said loudly enough for all the students around to hear it. She pretended not to notice and put on her already well known innocent face.

Alya's mouth couldn't be more open. She was shocked, was her hearing okay? She wasn't sure anymore. Why was LILA, of all people, lying about something special for someone? Why was she lying about the contents? Alya knew exactly who won!  Why was Lila lying at all? It didn't make any sense. The worse thing was that the brunette was trying to get the credit of something her BESTFRIEND made.

On the other hand, Marinette barely heard her verbal vomit in the back of her mind, she was more focused on the cold blue feline eyes staring at her from across the street. Cat ears and suit so white that it stood out from all the people who passed by.

Marinette panicked.  What is he doing here? she asked herself. She shook her head. There was no time to think.

She needed to find a place to transform.

She needed to protect her Miraculous.

She needed to protect her friends.

She needed to get ready to fight

...Why wasn't he attacking her?  Why wasn't he claiming her miraculous? 

He already knew her secret identity, he had the perfect opportunity, she was kn her civilian form.

And she knew what he wanted, right? There was no need to make any pre-fight drama

People passed in front of him as if it were something so common that they did not care, as if the sunlight did not make him stand out even more, as if he was not really there.

Am I hallucinating? Am I so traumatized?

While she was in her mental mess, Chat blanc watched her completely calm, crossed his arms and leaning against the wall near an alley. Suddenly, he straightened completely, began to walk towards it without haste and just before entering the dark and lonely place, he turned his head to look at her for a moment, smiled, and then disappeared.  As if he knew she was going to follow him.

Marinette couldn't make more than three steps when Alya stopped her by taking her arm.

"Where are you going? Aren't you gonna tell Adrien the truth about the scarf? About everything she's saying?" Her friend said incredulous.  She was expecting that at least Marinette would even be outraged that someone was using her kind gift for their own benefit.  Especially if her long-time crush was involved!

"I'm sure Adrien doesn't believe her. He's not dumb" She didn't turned her head to talk to her

"But–!"

"I'll talk to him later if that's what you want" the bluenette cut her "I need to check something. See you in class." without waiting an answer, Marinette ran towards the alley hoping he was still there... even if it was just some illusion of her broken mind

I was supposed to post this along with the previous part, but I was blocked and I got stressed, so I just split it up in two parts.

Also I haven't written anything about the gods au cause I'm still block about that. Same with the Dimensions (but at least I have something about this one).

And I have a new Idea (of course I do🤦🏽‍♀️) inspired in an Au I read somewhere. (I obviously will change some things) but I'm not sure if I'm going to post it 'cause I'm not planning on writing about it, just Origins and what would be the end of it🤷🏽‍♀️

PS: Did you know is Daminette December? I didn't until this morning. I don't ship them, but if any of you do, can you explain me... why? I mean I'm not against it, I'm just curious

#miraculous ladybug #ml #ml ladybug #ladynoir #marichat #adrien agreste #chat noir #ml chat noir #mlb #ml chat blanc #chat blanc #marinette x chat noir #mariblanc #akumatized chat noir #chat noir x marinette #akuma #memories au

[magic-miraculous]

Daminette December-- So Close (And Yet So Far), Chapter Two “Blind Date”

———————————————————————————————————– Marinette absolutely adored Gotham University. She felt free there, away from the responsibilities and drama that she’d been sucked into in Paris. Ever since the defeat of Hawkmoth a few months before, Mari had found that the only tie she had to the city was her parents. Luka was touring with Jagged as an intern, Kagami had gone to Japan for pre-Olympic training and University, and Chloe was planning to move to New York with her mother after her father lost his job as Paris’s mayor. She had no contact with anyone else in the class, but she did hear what some of them were up to through Luka, who was told from Juleka. Apparently, Lila and Adrien had started dating a few weeks into the summer (Marinette had left for Gotham just a few days after graduation, staying at the university for a summer program specifically for foreign students; where she met Damian, actually, even though he wasn’t a foreign student of course), and Alya and Nino had broken up yet again soon after. They got together for the first time during their last year in college, but the relationship had always been rocky. Alya was under Lila’s command, and Nino didn’t appreciate that. Luka said that this might be the real end for them, though. Nathaniel got into a prestigious art program at the Sorbonne, and Sabrina became one of Lila’s new cronies. The rest of the class didn’t do anything that Marinette or Luka found noteworthy. As much as thinking about her old class angered her, she felt comfort in the fact that she was able to escape and find such amazing friends.

Chloe, Luka, Kagami, Allegra, Felix, Allan, Claude. And now Damian, too, as difficult as it was for him to admit.

Marinette really appreciated Damian’s sobering and serious presence. He brought her back down when she spiraled, and he actually listened to her, which she really appreciated. He wasn’t the type of person Marinette ever expected to be friends with, but she’d found their personalities really complemented each other. Tikki even thought he reminded her of a black cat, and Mari agreed.

The duo was quiet on their walk, as Mari expected they would be. Mari waved as people she knew passed by, but Damian kept walking. She had to take quicker steps to keep up with his brisk pace, but with her extra endurance she wasn’t out of breath.

It was outside one of the academic buildings that a club had set up a table covered in newspaper-wrapped books. The sign in front of the table said “BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK: $2.00”

“Oh, look!” Mari said, pointing at the table. “Let’s go over!” She grabbed Damian’s hand, an act that he surprisingly didn’t recoil from as he would have if it was anyone else who’d done it, and headed over to the table.

“Hi! Want a book?” a boy sitting behind the table asked. “Some general info is written on the front, just so you have a general idea of what you’re getting into, but all the titles are hidden.”

Marinette picked up a thin book, reading the notes on the cover. “SUPERHEROES, BIRDS, WITTY BANTER”

“Can I take this one, please?”

“It’s all yours! Just two dollars, please.”

Marinette fished through her bag and frowned. “Any chance you would take euros? I need to convert some more cash…”

“I’ve got it, Mari,” Damian said, pulling out some money from his wallet.

“No, it’s--”

“It’s only two dollars,” he replied. “No big deal.”

“I’ll pay you back,” she said, making it clear that she wasn’t going to let him get away with that.

“If you say so. Want to keep walking?”

“Yeah!”

As they walked, Marinette started to unwrap the book. “Superheroes, birds, witty banter,” she told Damian. “Any guesses?”

“Comic book?” he suggested.

“Right you are!” She held up a copy of “Batman and Robin: Bad Blood.”

Damian scoffed. So it was one of the fake stories. There was no ‘bad blood’ between him and his father, and even when Dick was acting as Batman he was sure to keep things professional.

“--are so cool!” Mari said, flipping through the pages. Damian watched to make sure she didn’t trip over anything on the ground. “Who’s your favorite?”

Damian’s favorite hero? He couldn’t say Robin; that would be conceited, and on the slight chance she ever found out his alter ego she would think he was a raging narcissist. Definitely not Todd, and he would rather die than have Grayson find out he said something nice about the eldest brother. That only left--

“I guess Red Robin is pretty cool,” he replied calmly. “What about you?”

“I really like Robin,” Mari said. “Even though he has terrible fashion sense and his costume could use a serious update.”

Damian felt an unnatural blush forming from her first comment, but her second one sobered his thoughts. “What do you mean, ‘bad fashion sense’? His costume is tasteful, and timeless!”

“More like ‘lost in time,’” Mari told him, flipping to a page in the comic that had his full outfit on display. “The cape is old-fashioned and a bit too long, and the color blocking just gives you a headache, you know? The colors work, but they’re also very bright and… violent, maybe? I can’t find the right word, but you know what I mean, right?”

“Sure,” he muttered, staring at the page. He never really thought about any of the things she said, but now those critiques were all he could see. He’d have to talk to Alfred or one of his brothers about potentially changing it.

Wait, why did he care so much what she thought of his alter ego’s outfit? For some reason, he now craved her approval. He didn’t like that feeling at all. At least she looked happy, though. He always saw a light in her eyes when she talked about fashion, and this was just the distraction she needed to get over the stress of getting so many unsolicited calls.

Damian found himself wishing he could stare at that smile forever.

———————————————————————————————————–

BONUS #1:

“So, could you find out who the number belongs to?”

“Yeah, it’s a guy named Adrien Agreste. Age eighteen. Son of Gabriel Agreste; big fashion guy. Kid’s a model, currently living in London and attending University there. Business school, of course.”

“Any chance you can make it so his number can’t call this one?” Damian asked, handing Tim a piece of paper with Marinette’s number on it. “But you aren’t allowed to look up the holder of this number. You have to promise me.”

“Yeah, sure,” Tim replied, already typing away. “Okay, so now whenever he tries to call this number he’ll get one of those ‘why are you harassing women?’ messages. That good?”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

Tim blinked. “Did you… did you just thank me for something?”

“I take it back.”

“Too late! I’m going to cherish this moment forever, Demon Spawn. I hope you know that.”

“I’ll stab you, Drake. So help me, I’ll do it right now.”

“So that is a knife in your sock! Isn’t that uncomfortable?”

“Not as uncomfortable as it would be to be stabbed by it.”

“Touche.”

———————————————————————————————————–

BONUS #2:

In the Batcave:

Damian: Do you guys think my suit is outdated?

Dick: It’s a classic!

Damian: That’s what I thought too, but recently someone I know from school said that it was ‘lost to time,’ and that the colors were blocky and too bright and I’m starting to see it.

Tim: Is it the same person whose number you gave me to block from that creep?

Jason: What person? What creep?

Damian: Drake, I swear to all that you hold dear, I will stab you.

Tim: Do it. I’m calling your bluff.

Bruce: No stabbing anyone! We’ve talked about this!

Damian (mouthing to Tim): Watch your back!

Bruce: But yeah, the outfit can be a bit much sometimes.

Dick: *indignant noises*

Damian: Alfred, can we make some changes?

Alfred: Of course, Master Damian. I’ll have some new sketches ready in the next few days.

Jason: Hope your mystery friend likes it!

Damian: *scowls at Jason* You’re next.

———————————————————————————————————–

Hope you enjoy the bonuses! They're my favorite parts that I've written so far. Also I was planning to post this earlier but I’m dumb and accidentally deleted ALL of my tabs I had up and had to reorganize everything which took a WHILE so yeah.

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All of the prompts are available to see on @daminette-december2019 on Tumblr, and that might give you a general idea of how this fic is going to go (but there will definitely be some twists, I promise you that!)

COMING UP NEXT-- Chapter 3 "Decorating"

#daminette #daminette december #daminette december blind date #daminette au #maribat #maribat au #marinette x damian #marinette dupain cheng #marinette x batfam #miraculous #miraculous au #blind date #chapter 2 #chapter 2 blind date #Ao3 #wip #so close (and yet so far) #sarah does a thing