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#oh this damian give me whiplash
bruciemilf · 1 year
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Bruce who has no idea how terrifying he actually is.
Tim one day decides that his boredom overrides his siblings' need for peace and quiet. So, like the little agent of chaos he is, he brings up the dreaded question.
"In your unbiased opinion, who's the strongest in the family?"
Immediately all of them go, "Cass." She's smiling shyly about it, but there's a silver of assured confidence in there.n
Tim sighs. Fine. Too easy. " Okay, maybe that narrows it down. Who's most dangerous? I vote Dick."
Dick doesn't even need to think about it. "Aw, thanks, Timmy! I think I'm gonna go with Ja--" Damian's holding a dangerously sharp pencil to his windpipe. "Dami. Of course it's Damian."
Jason scoffs, "Clearly, it's me. That's like, my whole thing remember? I'm the violent robin--"
"Todd, we all know you gave stickers and cartoon bandages to every Rogue you had to arrest. You had gumball smoke bombs." Jason's 100% turning red and Tim is so gonna tease later.
"Besides, both you and Grayson are wrong."
Damian? Giving someone else credit? That, they have to hear. "Who is it, then?"
"It's Baba, obviously."
Jason breaks in a fit of laughter, alongside them. "Oh come on! Bruce? Bruce, who bakes awful vegan cupcakes for the PTA? He literally starts crying everytime we watch Toy Story 3."
"Because the unethical treatment within prison complexes and unfair labor laws forced upon inamtes parallels gets to him! Nevertheless. Baba could defeat mother. What makes you think he'd have a hard time with you?"
Dick snorts, " I think you're being a bit biased,--"
Damian throws a batarang at Bruce, slicing through the air with a quickness.
Their dad is reading reports, but not only does he evade it, sends it back with venomous speed. Right next to Damian's cheek. A purposeful missed shot.
Later, after they recovered from that whiplash, they ask Bruce the same question, and he of course goes with the most logical answer, " Alfred. But I think any of you could defeat me easily."
That doesn't make them feel better at all.
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aingeal98 · 10 months
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I think considering she goes by Orphan (el oh el) and her new 52 backstory being probably easier to summarise for a lighthearted webtoon, David Cain talking to Cass in her wfa backstory makes sense. It did give me whiplash though like I'm way too used to batgirl 2000 and the running theme of language and what it means to Cass.
I still love this wfa two parter like give me all the Damian and Cass sibling bonding please and thank you.
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The latest chapter of SPYxFAMILY really out here dropping some of the REALEST quotes. Wanna share some of my favourite panels so spoilers under the cut! (the chp can be read here)
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My psych student brain: 👀
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Franky😓
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CHILLS (Just the silhouette and the words. Oh and maybe a representation of his black-and-white thinking? Probably reaching though)
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I still can't get over how this accurate description of the world came from an onion
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Loid thinking of Damian and Anya's friendship past just the mission (ㅠ_ㅠ) doesn't want his little girl to go through the same thing he did🥺
(oof watching the anime and then reading this is giving me emotional whiplash😂)
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huilian · 3 years
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Batman (1940), Annual 26
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redhead-batgal · 3 years
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Type: One-shot
Pairing: Fem! and Vigilante! Reader x Damian Wayne/Robin
Content: Some angst and lots of Fluff, some cursing, violence and an oblivious reader. Aged up Damian, 15/16yrs old.
Y/N: Your Name, L/N: Last Name, V/N: Vigilante Name
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a moment when you realize that you love some one, there is also a moment when you realize you hate someone. However, it's the moment realizing that someone loves you that usually hits the hardest. Unfortunately, this was not the moment for you. Instead it was the moment you realized that Damian Wayne hated you.
And honestly it pissed you off. You had done nothing to warrant his hate, in fact the two of you had been friends until he decided to be a pompous ass. Your opinion might be a little bit jaded considering you were hopelessly in love with him... but that didn't mean he had any right to be a dick to you.
It had started with avoiding you, he would see you walk into a room and he would turn and leave it. Sometimes you would be walking towards him and he would turn around and begin heading in the opposite direction. It extended into ignoring you, you would try and talk to him and he would ignore you and walk away.
Once, he was having a conversation with Tim, Tim mentioned how you would be able to help out much better then he could. Damian looked to you for a moment and you raised an eyebrow almost in question. Then he shook his head before leaving the room muttering something about how he didn't really need the answer.
It was infuriating. Maddening really, being ignored and avoided. But you knew it was best to let Damian do what ever the hell he wanted and he'd regret it later. However, when he asked to be paired with someone else on patrol when you didn't even have to speak to each other, to say you nearly lost it was an understatement.
It was the reason you nearly got shot, your mind was clouded with violent thoughts, anger at Damian and at yourself for being so hurt at the rejection.
You and Red Hood were paired together for patrol. You were supposed to be watching the turf of a gang called the Scarlet Soldiers. Word was that a war was brewing between The Scarlet Soldiers and The Unseen Devils. While your mind was off arguing with itself and shouting curses at Damian, The Devils made their move.
You didn't even realize what exactly had happened, you remember Red Hood shouting at you to get moving then everything was a blur. The next thing you remember it a feeling like fire slicing your side, gun shots were ringing around you and you felt another slice across your cheek and left arm. Someone shouted for you to get down and you dropped to the ground almost in a trance.
It wasn't until the gunfire stopped and the slices felt like they were a blaze did you come out of the trance. Someone was yanking you to your feet, however it felt as though everything was muddled and distant. Someone began to shake you and suddenly your hearing cleared and you found yourself face to face with Robin.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
He seemed concerned but you wrote that off as the adrenaline pumping through your veins due to being shot at and the fact that you had gotten grazed at least three times.
Rolling your eyes you shoved him away.
"Oh fuck off," You snapped.
He did not in fact fuck off.
Instead, he grabbed onto your right arm, forcing you to face him once again. You shot him a glare but he returned you one that rivaled your own.
"You," He began almost as if he was restraining himself, "could have gotten yourself killed, V/N."
You couldn't believe it, was he seriously acting like he cared? That he was worried about you when you both knew that was the farthest from the truth.
Pressing a hand to your forehead you shook your head and weakly laughed, "Please don't start this shit with me right now."
He blinked in slight confusion and looked at you the confusion overtaking the apparent anger he had previously had.
"Excuse me?"
"Your bullshit," You began shooting him an irritated look, "already has a body count you don't need to add more to it."
That only seemed to confuse him more. He did not let go of your arm, instead he took a step closer to you, "What?"
"This- this fuckary about 'caring'."
You threw your hands up as you shook your head and effectively slipped from his grip. But it didn't matter, he was close. Close enough you could see a slight hitch in his breathing.
" I do care-" Robin began but you cut him off shaking your head.
"Don't you dare, don't even try saying that you give a fuck about me because we both know that's a damned lie." The words slipped off your tongue and you felt your heart raging in your chest.
You had unintentionally let your feelings, the ones you'd been trying your hardest to push back, to beat into nonexistence, shove themselves forwards. The pain you had felt, not only at the rejection he kept seeming to shove your way but because of your stupid love for him. No matter how hard you tried it seemed your dumb heart was saving all it's love for him.
It wasn't until you saw the shock on his face you realized that he, luckily, didn't see all that you felt. His face hardened and he took another step forwards. If he got any closer the two of you would be touching.
"What in the hell made you think that?" His voice was low, you could see him clenching his fists and you had a feeling was he not wearing his mask, his eyes would be blazing. You had made him angry.
Great. This was just perfect.
However you couldn't stop yourself from replying. You had gotten all your pain out on the table, why not throw the anger out there as well?
"YOU! You and your pompous assery! Avoiding me, ignoring me! Of course you don't care, it was obvious... why would you?" You found yourself nearly shouting as you lurched forwards, your voice cracking at the end.
He blinked a few times, the anger slowly leaving him. You could tell because his body began to relax and his fists unclenched. This made you even angrier. Taking in a breath to stop yourself from breaking the boy wonder's nose you realized how close the two of you were.
Well shit.
He was close enough you could make out the pattern on his mask and uniform. You could hear him breathing and had the sneaking suspicion if you were to let out a breath, he would be able to feel it. You could practically hear him in you head scolding you for ruining his outfit.
"Don't even breathe on it," He had told you when you first saw it, "it's very expensive."
"How much?" You had asked in curiosity.
He shot you a look then rolled his eyes and replied, "It's worth far more then you are."
The sight of him moving his hand brought you back to the present. Looking at him you found him studying you. Suddenly he sighed and shook his head. Your noses were almost brushing when he said,
"Well, I never said I didn't care, So don't go thinking that."
Before you could reply someone called your name causing the both of you to look in their direction. Nightwing was making his way towards you a concerned look on his face.
"V/N, are you alright?" He asked moving forwards, hands out as if to examine your wounds.
You noticed how Robin took a few not so subtle steps away from you and you waved a hand at Nightwing.
"Honestly I'm fine, it's just a couple of nicks. I'll be okay."
Robin snorted as if he disagreed and you shot him a slight glare. Turning back towards Nightwing you noticed how he gave Robin a worried look before meeting your gaze.
"Just to be safe, let's get you back to bat cave and let Agent A take a look."
Reluctantly you nodded and let Nightwing begin to drag you away, a strange feeling burning in your chest. You hadn't fully realized what Robin had said until then.
I never said I didn't care. So don't go thinking that
What on earth did he mean by that? You were thoroughly confused. He acted like he didn't care, then said things like this. You hoped you didn't get whiplash from this sudden personality change, however you knew that it was more likely that you were going to just end up getting hurt. Your heart had begun to sing a little song almost as soon as it heard his words.
I never said I didn't care
That must mean he does care, your heart cheered. Your feelings were confusing... very confusing. On one hand you were angry, on the other hand you heart seemed to be making you feel a bit fluttery.
The sharp sting of rubbing alcohol on your cuts yanked you out of your thoughts. Alfred stood in front of you gently cleaning the minor wounds you gained earlier. Meanwhile, Tim seemed to be explaining something he invented to Duke.
"What do you mean it might explode?" Duke asked still wearing at least half of his vigilante outfit.
Tim shrugged as he deposited another coffee cup into the overflowing trashcan near the bat computer.
"I'm like eighty-five percent sure it won't."
"Eighty-Five percent?!"
"Uh, Well more like seventy-seven."
"WHAT?!"
You knew under other circumstances you would have laughed an such an interaction. However after what happened you were lacking your usual humor and it didn't go unnoticed.
"Is everything alright Miss. Y/N?"
You blinked and look at Alfred. He was tending to the wound on your arm and gave you a expecting look.
"Oh, I- uh yeah. I mean it's not alright but nothing is really wrong." You explained with a shrug not wanting to get into it.
"Is that why Master Damian hasn't stopped staring at you?"
"Yea-Wait, what?"
You looked up and found, nearly on the other side of the bat cave stood Damian, clearly watching the progress of you being taken care. Three words popped into your head.
Overbearing Mother Hen.
This was nearly exactly like how things had been before Damian decided to turn into a dick... well more like a prick.
He would worry about any injuries you got, of course you felt the same about him, but it was strange to see him back up to his old ways... it made your heart do the weird fluttery thing again and you really didn't like it.
A stinging on your cheek caused you to wince. And you blinked once again back into reality.
"Apologizes Miss. Y/N."
You shrugged at Alfred, now deciding to focus on him... well for at least the moment.
"It's fine, it's the least I deserve for being an idiot."
Alfred raised an eyebrow as he pulled the cloth away, but other then that he didn’t react to your comment. Looking for a bandage in the first aid-kit, Alfred let out a slight hum. After a minute's search he pulled out a old looking band-aid.
"Unfortunately, Miss. Y/N this is the last band-aid we have."
In his hands Alfred had a pink hello kitty band-aid, it had tiny little hearts and hello kitty's face adorning it's surface. You didn't really mind, a band-aid is a band-aid after all.
Alfred place the band-aid on your face and you waggled your eyebrows remarking,
"It's alright, I don't mind, I think it give me a punk edge. What do you think?"
He replied without missing a beat as he began to clean up the area, "I think you should go and talk to Master Damian."
Of course he did, he probably had heard about your argument from someone or heard parts of it over the comms, the possibilities of him hearing about were endless after all.
Shaking your head you sighed, "Alright, alright, fine."
Hopping down off of the counter, you began to walk towards Damian. As you went you passed by Steph and Cass, who both shot you looks as you headed towards him.
"Nice band-aid!" Steph remarked as she shot you a wink.
You rolled your eyes smiling as you fought off a laugh. Giving her a thumbs up you continued to walk. Stopping in front of him you notice how he's giving you a strange look.
After a few moments of awkward silence and rolling from the ball of your foot to your heel you nodded and decided to break it.
"You are being really creepy you know, you should stop."
Damian blinked in surprise and his brooding look dropped as he gave you a confused one.
"How so?"
You didn't understand how he couldn't see that he was being weird, weird and creepy. Staring at someone relentlessly and not turning away when they look back at you is fairly weird.
"Just standing there staring," You explained waving a hand, "it's weird. Stop it."
Damian's face stiffed for a moment and his entire body tensed. You didn't know exactly what you did, but something you said clearly had upset him.
"Why am I scaring you?" He asked fairly curtly.
He- he thought that he could scare you? Something was clear wrong with him because he must have forgotten who you were and what you've seen.
You rolled your eyes and shook your head as you crossed your arms. Letting out a scoff you looked him dead in the eyes and gave him a tight smile.
"Do you really think you could scare me? Sweetheart, I've met babies that are scarier then you."
It occurred to you, after you said it that you called him sweetheart. For a few seconds panic began to ensue in your mind until you saw his natural scowl and the rolling of his eyes. He didn't take it as flirting as you feared, instead he took it as a taunt... or at least that's what it seemed like.
The scowl slips away from his face and instead he looks at you frustrated and he opened his mouth only to close it. Clearly he wanted to say something, what scared you was how much you wanted to know what it was.
You fiddled with your hands for a moment before he finally cleared his throat and spoke.
"I- I wanted.... I wanted to apologize for my behavior."
Initially shock came over you, was Damian Wayne... the Damian Wayne apologizing? It sure as hell was what he said and as far as you could tell it wasn't a joke. Then again you don't exactly know what he's apologizing for.
Pushing your surprise back you raised an eyebrow and inquired, "And why is that?"
He fidgeted for a moment before looking you in the eyes, he seemed upset- a look you knew meant he was not upset with you, but himself.
"Because I was not right to treat you the way I did."
Pardon? You were astounded. Not only was he actually apologizing, he was admitting he was wrong... well not even admitting it. He was saying it, you hadn't really told him his behavior was wrong more as told him it pissed you off. For half a second you felt the fluttery feeling but you shoved it back.
What exactly was he expecting to get from this apology? Did he expect you to instantly forgive him and for everything to go back to the way it was? Or did he expect you for forgive him and then you apologize for something? You didn't know and frankly were irritated at any of the possibilities.
"Okay and?"
He swallowed and you swear you could see his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
"You are a very dear... friend of mine and I would hate to loose that friendship because of a fault on my part."
Your jaw nearly dropped, did he just call you a dear friend? Tonight was full of miracles. Your heart began fluttering again and you were to shocked to even try and stop it.
We're friends... dear friends, your heart began singing. But you cut it off before it could get any further. No, no you couldn't keep playing this game with yourself, with your heart and feelings. For your own sake you were going to force your heart to find someone else to love. No more saving all your love for him. You were going to find someone.... someone less of ass. However that didn't mean the two of you couldn't be friends.
He seemed genuine enough and seeing the kicked puppy dog expression on his face was seriously starting to wear you down.
"Ugh, fine." You sighed giving him a irritated look, "Just don't do it again alright? I really don't like pompous you, jackass you is much better."
Relief quickly appeared on Damian's face and he seemed to be fighting off a smile suddenly.
"Thank you... I'm assuming jackass me is the version you deem normal?"
Despite yourself you snorted, rolling your eyes you smiled and gave him a long look. He was an idiot and sometimes weird, but other times he could be kinda cute... alright more then kinda... wait did what he just said about being dear friends- was that an emotional speech? You couldn't help but tease him about it.
"Yup. By the way, I didn't know you were the emotional speech kind of guy."
He blinked and then his eyes narrowed and he leaned in towards you, his arms behind his back a strange look on his face.
"Well special circumstances call for special responses however if anyone ever finds out about this there won't be a body left for them to find." He muttered to you.
For some reason, you found this hysterically funny. You smiled at him and he gave you a confused look. Laughing you rolled your eyes.
"Okay, then."
A temptation washed over you and you gave Damian a look, he raised his eyebrows in confusion. You leaned in a bit more and for a moment you relished the surprised look in his eyes. Leaning in even more you quickly pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, then you pulled away smiling.
His eyes widened and it was hard not to laugh at his expression.
"Did-did you just kiss me?" He asked clearly in shock
Laughing you shook your head in disbelief, it wasn't that shocking was it?
"It was only on the cheek, geeze. You do know that friends sometimes kiss each other like that right?"
He blinked twice and then he nodded and turned away from you his face turning all different shades of pink and red.
".... I do now." He replied nearly whispering.
It suddenly occurred to you that you had completely and totally flustered him. You tried to stop yourself but you really couldn't. A snort escaped you and you pressed a hand to your mouth to push back your giggles. Damian blinked a few times and your entire body shook.
"Oh no!" Jason shouted, "I think the demon spawn killed Y/N."
That did it, you burst into a fit of laughter. Your entire body shook and you nearly collapsed in on yourself.
"Oh my gosh," You said in between your laughing fits.
After a few seconds of you cackling and everyone staring at you in confusion, you were able to calm down... well it was more like a few minutes but that's besides the point. Wiping away imaginary tears you let out a sigh and smiled brightly at Damian. His face softens and he sighs slightly before straightening out.
"I hope you fully recover from your injuries L/N." He says in a strange tone, turning to leave.
"They were just scrapes." You reply, waving a hand as if to brush off.
He pauses for a moment and turns back to you. Tilting his head he looks you over.
"Regardless, I dislike seeing you hurt..." He softly says, he then blinked a few times as if he just realized what he said and he got an embarrassed look on his face. " Well goodnight."
In that instance it was almost like cupid shot an arrow straight at your mind, not your heart. Mainly because your heart was already certain about what it felt, your mind on the other hand was causing all the trouble. A warm feeling rushed over you and softly both in unison your heart and your mind began to sing.
It was then that you realized, at least for now, there wasn't really anyone else you could find yourself loving. Or at least feel the same way you do about him.
Damn it.
Sighing in defeat you watched him walk across the bat cave and slowly up the stairs. Shaking your head you watch him go and find yourself muttering under your breath.
"Looks like I'm saving all my love for you."
Fuck.
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Into The Unknown, Part 10
First
Previous
Grocery store trips were weird. Tim had never taken them before, and now here he was buying food for the three of them regularly. He’d thought it would be harder, for some reason. But, no, it was just boring.
Tim rolled his eyes as Damian pointed to the nearest brightly colored object -- a bag of Not Cheetos… holy shit they were called Fritos this wasn’t allowed he has never been so vehemently against anything in his life.
He sighed as the baby yelled at him for the bag. This was his fault. He shouldn’t have gone in the chip aisle.
He looked down at the kid in front of him with an apologetic smile.
“No, kiddo. See, I would love to get that for you but, unfortunately, Mari said I can’t buy you any more random sweets. Blame her, not me.”
Damian was, apparently, too smart for his tricks because he banged his fist on the front of the cart and babbled at him angrily.
Tim sighed and leaned forward until his forehead touched the cool metal of the cart, thinking.
And then he got back up and handed the kid the bag of chips. Damian didn't know that it was food, Tim was pretty sure, and he had nothing against… ‘Fritos’ (outside of their name, obviously). So, why not? He could eat them. It was better than dealing with a tantrum in the middle of a store, at least.
Damian lit up and hugged the bag to his chest as if it was a soft stuffed animal and not a plastic bag filled with air and maybe a few chips.
Tim smiled faintly and pressed a kiss to the top of his head and then continued on his way, scanning over the list idly.
Oh. Marinette had added something. He squinted down at her messy scrawl, bringing it close to his face as if he could will the words to make sense.
And it worked. Ha. Take that everyone who didn’t believe in him.
Okay. So, she needed ‘pads’.
Sure. No problem.
He walked over to the aisle.
Hm. Okay. There might be a tiny little problem.
Why were there so many different brands? And sizes?
He stared around at them all helplessly. Sure, he had glimpsed the box a few times but he certainly hadn’t paid it much mind -- it wasn’t for him, why would he?! But now he was standing in an entire aisle full of products and there were way too many of them. And why did they all look the same? Shit!
He looked at Damian, who was biting the edge of the chip bag and giggling about the crinkling noises it made. But, once Tim turned his gaze on him, he looked up at him with wide eyes, attentive.
“Any chance you know what type Mari uses?” Tim joked softly.
Damian popped off the chip bag so he could babble at him. It was very helpful.
He considered, very briefly, just standing there in the aisle with the same helpless expression until some kind-hearted person took pity on him and he could avoid the embarrassment of calling Marinette at work to ask what types of pads she used… but, no, the idea of asking some random person for help was way worse. He had to just suck it up and do it.
He pulled out his phone and called Marinette. He was pretty sure it was lunchtime for her, anyways.
She picked up within a few rings, voice slightly muffled as she answered with a simple: “Problem?”
Tim didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or amused that her first thought when he called her was that something was wrong.
But he quickly alleviated her fears: “No, everything’s fine.”
He could hear the phone shift slightly as she assumedly went back to eating. “Right, then what is it?”
“Nothing bad, really…” Tim started awkwardly. His face reddened without his permission. “Just wanted to know what brand you used for, um, hygiene products.”
“... hyg --? Oh.” He heard her laugh at him and his face only reddened further. “What, the world's greatest detective couldn’t figure it out?”
“That’s my dad!” He mumbled a little huffily.
She snickered a little longer before finally saying: “I think the brand is called ‘Forever’ here.”
“See! You don’t even know!” He said even as he pulled down a box with the word written across it in elegant script.
“That’s because the name changed when --...” She seemed to remember she was at work -- or, at least, that there were other people around -- because she cut herself off suddenly before she could admit to being a dimension hopper in a world that likely wouldn’t even believe in the multiverse. “When… I switched brands! Yeah. Heh.”
(Tim swore he heard her mumble ‘technically not even a lie’ but he wasn’t quite sure.)
He started to put it in the basket but then he paused.
“There’s a lot of sizes.”
“Um… I think a four?”
“Yeah, no, they have letters here.”
“Fuck, right, hate that, um… D, I guess.”
He switched out the Cs he had gotten and smiled as Damian reached for him. He clearly wanted out of the cart -- Tim wondered, vaguely, if it was uncomfortable -- but that wasn’t going to happen so he decided to distract him:
“Want to talk to Mari, kiddo?”
The kid blinked up at him a few times before lighting up. “Mar-ree!”
He pressed the phone to Damian’s ear with one hand until the kid took it himself and then motioned for him to go ahead. “Takalam maeaha.”
“... marhaba?” Damian said, giving Tim a look that seemed to scream ‘you’re weird for making me talk into a box’.
Marinette must have said something back, because the kid’s eyes went wide. Damian looked around wildly for a few moments, clearly trying to figure out where Marinette was, before he realized that her voice was coming from the box. He gasped a little and pressed the phone against his ear even harder and started to ‘talk’ to her. It was a weird mix of Arabic and a few English syllables thrown together haphazardly, Tim was just glad he was learning.
Tim started on his way through the store again, sure he wasn’t going to get his phone back anytime soon.
He’d gotten all the necessities and they had money left in the weekly budget...
He headed to the kid’s aisle, head tipping from side to side as he considered what to get. Maybe a new book? Damian had taken a liking to them, though Tim was pretty sure that was more because he thought the English language sounded kind of funny rather than any real passion for stories.
He picked up a book about letters and looked down at Damian. He sounded annoyed now.
He looked at Tim with an annoyed expression and shook Tim’s poor phones a few times. “Mar-ree!”
Ah. She must have hung up because her break was over.
How was he supposed to explain how phones worked to a baby? Especially since he knew phones so intimately thanks to his time working on the model he was using.
He gently pulled the phone from the kid’s hands. “Mari’s at work. You can see her later.”
“Bu…” Damian pouted.
Damn it. How dare the kid be cute? Tim was about five seconds away from walking to Marinette’s job so the kid would smile again.
He hesitated before reaching behind himself and grabbing the first soft thing his hands landed on. He pulled it out and squinted at the stuffed cat. It was cute, he supposed, but he didn’t know why it was rainbow-colored.
Whatever.
He offered the plush to Damian and the kid seemed to instantly forget about the phone.
(And the chips. But the kid had put it in his mouth so it looked like Tim was buying that anyway.)
He pressed a kid to the top of his head and then continued on his way.
… and that was when he heard it:
Haha, someone got called a DILF.
… wait a minute… he was the only person with a kid around here…
His head whipped around so fast he would have gotten whiplash if he was old -- which he wasn’t -- to see two girls in their mid teens. And they were definitely looking at him. They even tried to hide behind the next aisle in order to avoid his gaze once they realized he had heard them.
Tim didn’t know what to do about this. Someone had actually called him...
He was 19! He couldn’t be that yet! How?! No!
And, sure, the logical part of him knew they were technically right. He was attractive (he hoped) and, when it came to the ‘dad’ thing… if Damian never got his memories back, then Tim would pretty much be the only dad that he had ever known. He would be a dad.
But, again, he was 19-years-old, he didn’t want to think about this.
So, to ward off the impending crisis, he looked around the aisle he was in wildly for some kind of ‘kid’ thing.
He found some marshmallow guns and grabbed two. Then he got some marshmallows because those weren’t included for some reason. Whatever.
He looked down at the basket, aware that he was now over budget, and eventually decided to put back the book. Who needs to learn?
(Besides, if Damian really wanted to just hear people talk, Tim could totally do that. He had so many random facts in his head thanks to random rabbit holes he had gone down while sleep-deprived, he could just rant about those if the kid wanted.)
So, he checked out, loaded up with all the bags and the baby, and started walking home.
… he was totally going to learn to drive. Even if Gotham streets were safer -- especially when he had a baby on him -- it was a pain to carry all the groceries even the few blocks to their apartment. Literally. The bags dug into his skin. He swore he could taste blood.
But he had an end goal in sight, so he went faster than usual that day.
He set up the guns, leaving Marinette’s on the kitchen table and then took a seat on the couch with Damian. They spent the few remaining hours playing games (Tim was pretty sure, he had absolutely no clue what Damian was saying but the kid seemed to have fun and that was all that mattered) and watching TV.
Tim heard his door click and looked up.
He quickly reached for the marshmallow gun and turned to point it at the door.
Damian watched him in silence, perfectly still as if he understood that this was something that they needed to be quiet for.
Usually, this kind of worried Tim. They always gave Damian to Kaalki and Tikki when they sparred, but Damian had always been… shockingly well-behaved? Not in the good way, either, he was far too still and quiet. Tim was starting to suspect that, at the very least, the kid remembered the first year of his life in the League. He hoped that the trauma would fade away with time. Kids forget things that they experienced as babies when they grew older, Tim himself couldn’t remember anything from before he was three, so hopefully this would be the same.
… but he really wanted to get Marinette with a marshmallow gun. So, he swallowed down the slight bit of anxiety rising in his chest and looked through the scope as Marinette finally managed to open the finicky door.
Damian’s eyes widened and he made a quiet ‘ah!’ sound.
Tim jumped at the sudden sound and pulled the trigger. The marshmallow gun made a fmpf sound as it fired off the shot.
The marshmallow bounced off of Marinette’s forehead harmlessly. Because, y’know, it was a marshmallow.
She blinked a few times and then knelt down to pick up the fallen marshmallow. She scanned it over a few times, eyes narrowed.
Tim hardly paid attention to her, looking over at Damian. The kid looked very confused, eyes darting between the gun and Marinette and the marshmallow on the floor repeatedly as if he wasn’t sure what he was seeing.
And then he flopped back on the sofa with a quiet whimpering sound.
Marinette and Tim frowned at each other. He could see confusion and concern knitting her eyebrows together, meanwhile all he had was dread coiling itself in his gut. Because… what if Damian did remember his first year with the League? Or, even worse, what if he would slowly regain all his memories? No kid deserved that...
Tim felt something hit the side of his head, snapping him out of his daze. Oh. Marinette had grabbed the other gun and promptly gotten her revenge.
Damian didn’t see this, at least, just staring at the ceiling with wide eyes.
Marinette sat on Damian’s other side, gently picking him up and nuzzling her nose against his cheek. Then, she sat him back down between them, sidling close so the kid could curl into her side. Tim, after a few seconds, scooted closer as well.
“Want some marshmallows? They’re yummy,” she tried hesitantly.
She shot one into her hand and, after tearing it in half just in case, handed it to Damian.
The kid took a hesitant bite, still looking a little put out, but then he gasped a little. He happily chewed away at the marshmallow, the event easily wiped from his mind in favor of the yummy thing in his hand.
Tim sighed in relief, reaching behind himself for the marshmallow bag so they wouldn’t have to shoot any more. Just in case.
“Quick thinking,” he said, which was kind of a compliment if you squinted.
She smiled and leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek. “It’s what I’m known for.”
There was a few seconds before she sighed just a little, gently combing her fingers through Damian’s hair. The kid reached out and gripped Tim’s shirt in his hand, surely getting it messed up thanks to the marshmallow on his hands but whatever, and tried to tug him closer. He obliged. Marinette rested her head on his shoulder absently.
“What would I do without you?” He mused.
“Probably starve on the streets,” she said bluntly.
He scoffed a little. “The minute this kid goes to sleep I’m going to shoot another marshmallow at you.”
“You can try. Only reason you even got me last time was ‘cause I didn’t know you were going to do it.”
“The element of surprise is a totally valid tactic!” He pretended to whine.
She grinned at him. “But it won’t work again.”
He wrapped an arm around her lazily. “We’ll see.”
~~~~~
Next
@unoriginalmess @hammalammadamdam @astrynyx @laurcad123 @927roses-and-stuff
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batarangsoundsdumb · 3 years
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guess fucking what? my inbox is so fucking full right now i'm unloading all of this shit in one post.
For the 11th gotham memes: gothamites react to bruce being jacked in a tiktok he made with kids, like super yoked, ripped as hell
fucking hilarious thanks. i think i did it in one meme post, but i genuinely don't remember which one
i dunno which of the batfam would do this but one time i was sleeping over at a friends house and ended up on the floor bc the bed was so very small and i just stayed there because the rug was soft
that's a drunk jason move i don't know what to tell you
tim and jason are "i listen to pop punk" solidarity. whenever jason highjacks the batmobile theyll go on long ass car rides blaring mcr and paramore and then never talk about it again
as they should!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tim: no jason it's my turn using the aux cord i gotta put on my jams jason: don't you dare put on weird shit tim: don't worry, you're gonna love this *plays fearless (taylor's version)
hear me out hear me out, red hood stans 🤝 nightwing stans t h i g h s
holy shit yes.
SNL au: Bruce breaks character when pretending to superman and says something like "I'm not superman! You've seen his gps!! It's from 2001!!!" @sabeanybabe
superman flies past the snl building the next day just to say 'actually it's from 2005, i'm not a heathen'
does your back hurt from carrying the batfam fandom
it hurts more from the exotic rock collection i keep in my backpack, but thanks for the concern.
I love your posts by why would you always leave the best parts in the tags?
as a treat for the people that check the tags ;) (and also because i'm committed to the short post aesthetic)
somehow your playlist was everything i never knew i needed. i mean it. this is my new favorite playlist.
and don't you dare get a new favourite playlist!
babe ur stoner tim playlist is exactly too perfect, earth is literally blessed by ur existence
babe thanks so much! i love my stoner tim playlist because it's just my usual playlist but people think it's an artistic choice that i put taylor swift and britney spears in there, when it's just what i unironically like listening to
JANDKSKDK BILLY RAY CYRUS ON THE STONER TIM PLAYLIST I LOVE IT IT
again it's not even an ironic choice, i know every single word and i genuinely like the song
The last chapter of Fundamentals of Casework has me crying at work. Thanks I love it @dudelookitsalesbian
oh babe, i'm sorry, but also, not sorry i love chapter 4 so much it's my lovechild with the 'mental illness' tag
soooo....stumbled on your tumblr by some stroke of fate??? read your DC fanfic first. which is PHENOMENAL btw. then found all the batmemes; the funniest thing EVER bc everyone forgets about regular old gothamites. kept scrolling and your blog pops up as recommended. clicked on the ao3 for shits and giggles and waddaya know?!?!? it's YOU!!! you're LEGEND!!!! ever seen that meme? it's a video of a cat that got into a baseball field and the two announcers get really invested in his escape attempt and start giving a play by play of the cat instead of the game. memeable moment: "GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!"
i seriously think about this ask every single day and it's so fucking funny to me that i've never seen the meme you're referencing, but i still find myself going 'GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!' whenever i see something funny. but wow i'm glad you liked this steaming pile of garbage
Fav dc character overall? And fav batfamily character?
don't ask me to pick between the loves of my life, but i can tell you i've cried about every single batfamily member and also wally west (my beloved)
What's your opinion on fans having a problem with batfam being "too big"? And some even claim that batfam is just "Bruce Alfred Dick Damian" and the rest of them are just "friends and allies" (source: reddit) Personally, I like batfam because of this reason but idk
stupid. a family can never be too big. i'm not that big a fan of like huge batfam stuff with everybody from every single universe, because as much as it's funny for bruce to have like 30 kids, it just feels a little too OOC for me.
This is the best tag I've seen involving the batfam, thanks for thinking of it
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This is canon now @nctxrejects
lmao yeah i think at that point alfred has had to sit through like at least a dozen coming out talks and just has a pride flag collection in the attic that he pulls out whenever a kid comes out
idk why batfam hits different as compared to any other superhero family
bc it's found family and usually the other superhero families are almost all genetically related in one way or another
I don't know if you watch the umbrella academy but I saw your last post about batcest and saw the similarities. But the thing is (although I think it's weird) in TUA, they addressed it by saying "they were raised as weapons, not siblings" or something along those lines, which is simply not the case with batfam.
yeah i watched tua but i also thought it was ridiculous and they still treated each other as siblings so i didn't like the luthor/allison thing, and am glad they stopped doing that shit bc it fucking sucked.
Hot take: Batcest shippers are the same people who believe adopted siblings are not actual siblings
smoking hot take: batcest shippers are the people who watch 'my sister got stuck in the washing machine' porn
Duke was adopted by Bruce?
not technically no, but do i, tumblr user batarangsoundsdumb, look like i care?
True story but I had to change my freaking name because it used to be "Damien" and most people would go "OH LIKE DAMIAN WAYNE" like please I'm just tryna live
true story, but i don't actually think of damian when i hear the name damian, literally the first thing that pops up is damian darkh like bruh what?
apparently dc comics company supported comic stores by giving out new titles and stuff during the beginning of the pandemic to help them run and I just think that's wholesome
ah yeah that's so fucking cool, still don't like dc, the company, because this world is a capitalist hellhole and we're all owned by warner brothers or disney with no in between.
ayo looking at tumblr head canons and finding out bruce is actually a terrible father is a punch in the gut
lmao yes, in like 50% of comics bruce is a terrible father and it gives me whiplash
oooh I just saw the jason todd vs winter soldier post and the real question is: batman vs iron man
while iron man has like hundreds of cases of armor, batman could throw out an emp and have the guy dropping out of the sky in 2 seconds.
dickfast = fastdick = quickdick = quickie
magnum hot take
hey bata(?) just thought I'd let you know I have copied the obnoxious emoji and Billy Ray post for use on simping men going forth
thank you 😘🌷 (@spacebarsidecar)
why would you do that to your followers???? i get why i did it, but why would you???
what is scarecrow made the nightwing funko pop himself, like those diy-ers that paint over other ones
oh god no, horrible take, horrible take, that's a disgusting thought oh no
I see your HC that Bruce and Oliver fucked and raise you this: Dick and Roy ALSO fucked
yes they did and it was a horrible moment for jason to find out dick has fucked both of his best friends
"at this rate bruce adds like 1 child to his family every decade or so" Duke is introduced in 2013, Damian as Damian, not as an unnamed child, in 2006. And he is already 14 years old, Robins rarely remain Robins after 16 😬 It looks like a new Robin and Batkid will appear in a couple of years
i mean i can't wait? but somebody will probably die first tho, we're due for another major character death. my money's on either cass or duke this time.
BRO you're so right all of your Bruce's ex headcanons are amazing but they aren't ships, that's kinda wild. Like I don't want any peeks into how their relationship was I just want to see everyone make fun of them
lmao YES it's just i love bruce being a slut, like good for him.
I am in love with your posts your honour thank you
omg thanks are we like,, gonna kiss now?
The justice league needs to have a meeting to discuss how many of their members/partners have slept with bruce. Because through a combination of cannon & fannon (if DC wasn’t homophobic) we have AT LEAST: 1) clark 2) lois 3) oliver 4) dinah 5) john
Thats not counting villains or random civilians @dudelookitsalesbian
yes yes yes, they'll have a yearly meeting about how many of their collective exes could be out for revenge and batman's list just keeps getting longer.
tim was like "i'm drake now" and everyone was like ahh so your fursona is a dragon and tim was like pffffft no. ducks.
and what about it?
when steph's fighting livewire and she zaps her with lighting and nothing happens and then they both just. stand there awkwardly for a second and talk. yeah i couldn't stop laughing at that batgirl steph is the BEST
oh yeah that was fucking hilarious and i think it would be so cool and sexy of dc to give steph a little comic series,,, as a treat
Hi I absolutely adore all of yours "Bruce and Oliver very badly pretending they didn't fuck each other" memes
lmao i do too
I need you to know that “Bruce Wayne had frosted tips” is one of my favorite Bruce takes of all time it’s so galaxy brained. you’re right and you should say it
he also painted his hair blonde once when he was travelling and in conclusion, this is why he's being blackmailed by the gotham gazette.
you know my thing about gordon being branded as the only good cop in gotham is its a load of shit like arguably he's a good person and not working to screw people over or anything but the fact that he also works w. batman makes him a shit cop. like yea batman is better than the mob but its still illegal its still an abuse of power he just not making bank
babe, all cops are bad cops. (but yeah youre absolutely right, working with vigilantes makes you a shit cop, but also working against vigilantes just makes you an asshole cop yanno?)
ruh roh i think i’m about to add “so not yeehaw” every time i don’t like something
that's a very good vocabulary upgrade
somehow i feel like steph already knew. like babs obviously knew but i feel like bruce got high/drunk in front of steph and started telling his boarding school stories and steph was just like “oh you fucked up i’m never gonna forget this”
steph and bruce have weird uncle/rebellious niece dynamic and they just hang out sometimes and bruce will be like 'i once broke my arm when i tripped over a hedge when i was drunk so oliver drove me to the hospital on an electric scooter' and steph will just have to sit there with that knowledge in her head.
Hello I just wanted to tell you you are So right in all your steph opinions bc she is, in fact amazing and I think that's very sexy of you. Ps. Your Bruce/Oliver fic is hilarious
babe, thank you so much and yes steph is amazing and i love her and she deserves the world and she's the best member of the batfam hands down. also thanks
In Supersons we see a couple of kids that are implied to be Damian and Jon's children and the boy has laser eyes and can fly, so I asume he's not adopted. The girl, who calls Bruce grandpa, can also fly, btw. So it's canon (probably by accident) that Jon can have kids and he must have married one of Bruce's kids. (I'm hoping for Damian, mostly because any other of his children would be waaaaaaaaaaaaay too old.) @artemisa97
lmao that was probably an accident seeing as jon is a 17 year old superhero in the year 3000 (by the jonas brothers)
You know, I'm a die hard fan of your memes, but I gotta say one thing: if Gothamites actually took gas mask everywhere with them, then the Scarecrow would just be a weird dude in a weird costume, and not a villain oh so scary. DC really should just takes notes from you.
bold of you to assume there's no gothamite anti-maskers
How does it feel being the funniest person on this app?
horrible, next question.
I can't listen to Green Day or Billy Joel without thinking of your post about how Bruce got arrested at a Billy Joel concert @nightwings-kid
yeah that's your mistake, i on the other hand can't enjoy billy joel without thinking about the glee rendition of 'uptown girl'
I've FINALLY been watching the Batman animated series and I gotta say, after watching "the gray ghost" I am CONVINCED that Batman is a closeted super hero geek who was 100% freaking out the first time he met Superman and is just REALLY good at hiding it.
superman: so what do you do in your free time? batman, thinking about the superman fanfiction he's writing on the batcomputer: i have no free time
bruce and oliver be like boyfriends to co-workers 401k (do the justice leagues get 401ks??? not that bruce and ollie would need them, but-)
lmao yes just 400 thousand words of bruce realising 'oh dip oliver is such a fucking dumbass' (also i don't know what a 401 k is but i assume they don't?)
Gothamites would totally boo superman as he saves Gotham while batman is out. @meenje
he's like 'okay think about that next time you want to be saved from an alien octopus'
I just took long break from dc comics and I come back to see ric grayson ??
i think it's very cool and sexy of dc to see dick and just think 'you know what? let's just give him a traumatic brain injury' and then didn't develop his character in any real way
SPEAKING OF RIC GRAYSON, gothamites making confused memes out of ric grayson is much needed
'dick grayson is my taxi driver? can anyone explain what the fuck happened he looks like an italian plumber?'
i hate to say it but batfam are def "marvel characters" in that sense they are characters who are human but become superheroes unlike most dc characters who are gods trying to be human maybe this is why I like batfam
fair enough
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raz-b-rose · 4 years
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The Secrets we Keep
This was my first Daminette fic, and by far my longest right now. I am posting the whole thing here but I’ll include a link.
 It is 15490 words, hope you enjoy. 
https://archiveofourown.org/works/21737908/chapters/51857641
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Damian isn't sure how his life had come to this. If you had asked him 2 years ago; heck even just 6 months ago, he would have denied ever wanting to be this close to another person. Alas here he is sitting across from a beautiful woman, dinner picked away at as they talk into the night. Yes Damian Wayne never thought that he would want to in the company of Marinette Dupain-Chang especially after their initial meeting.
She had come to class late, fashionably so, and he had swore at the time the professor was trying to make his life a living hell by assigning her as his partner. She was clumsy, easily flustered and chaos walking. He thought that there was no way she was going to contribute anything productive to this project. Her English was impeccable, however, so perhaps she had some discipline.
They agreed to meet for coffee later that week to go over each others notes and make a plan. Damian had made everything that week, wanting to just cut out the middleman and waiting to see what she contributed. He arrived to the coffee shop 5 minutes early, expecting to have to wait on her again, but she was already set up in the corner, 2 cups of coffee on the table in front of her. 
Her hair was down today, the midnight color almost looking blue in the sunlight. She held herself with confidence as she took a folder out of her bag, separating the contents into two piles. Not wanting to be caught observing the approaches the table. 
“Ms. Dupain-Chang. I wasn’t expecting you to be here early.” Damian wasn't sure what to make of the situation. 
“Marinette.” She gives him that disapproving look that women seem to have mastered. He just stared at her in confusion. 
“What?” He sounds as coherent as Todd. 
“My name is Marinette, and just because I was late the first day doesn't mean i’m always late.” The way she says the last part leads him to believe that she was stretching the truth a little and was in fact, late often. He doesn’t call her on it however.  
“My apologies. May I sit down?” 
“Of course!” She giggles, her smile reaching all the way to her eyes. As Damian take his seat, Marinette hands him one of the cups. “You didn’t strike me as a coffee drinker, so I got you some green tea.” She becomes flustered once again, almost embarrassed. She doesn't quite meet my gaze. 
“Lucky for you, your intuition was correct.” That forces her eyes to mine, and all he sees in those sky blue eyes is triumph. Almost like she is having a small ah ha moment. 
“So I was thinking that we could split the work into five different sections for each of us, breaking it down further to one section a week so we still get it done by the time its due without it, what's the word,” She pauses her tirade trying to remember her English. Marinette was becoming very nervous. She hoped this man wouldn't think she was bossy or overbearing.
“Ah yes impending! Impending our other assignments.” 
Damian can't help but feel the whiplash of his initial assessment of Marinette. She was beyond organized, and her work ethic rivaled that of Drakes. Which was saying something. 
“Damian?” She looks at him in concern, going so far as to grab his hand. That shocks him into action. 
“I feel that I must apologize. Due to your chaotic nature earlier this week, I did not take you for a reliable partner and completed the project.” Damian watches as her eyes widen, her mouth open in a cute o shape. Then she laughed. Not a cute giggle, but a full belly laugh. 
“Then I must apologize as well. Due to your standoffish nature, I did not take you as a reliable partner and also finished the project already.” She gasps when she is able to breathe again. Damian feels like he is being mocked.
But he can't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all. “This meeting was nothing more than to humor each other then.”
“I have a proposition,” She has a mischievous glint to her eyes, Damian can't help but be influenced by the sight, He leans forward, elbows on the table. 
“What would that be Marinette?”
“We do the project together, scrapping what we already did.”
“Why would we do that?”
“Uh a clean slate obviously,” She seems nervous again, her earlier show of intensity gone. He can't help but feel confused and frustrated at her constant change in demeanor. 
“A clean slate?”
“Yeah like, we get to know each other properly. No assumptions.” Damian pretends to think a moment, watching her from his peripheral. She starts to squirm in her seat. She pulls on the sleeves of her sweater, then she plays with her hair, then she rubs her hands together. 
“Ok” He decided she had suffered enough. She perks up instantly, and Damian questions his own sanity at agreeing. She quickly hands him a packet, explaining every last detail. He contributes to the planning as well, their drinks soon empty then time for his next class approaching. 
“Same time next week?” She asks hopefully.
“Yes. See you in class.” Damian leaves the coffee shop feeling content and confident. Marinette would be a valuable partner. 
They continued to meet for the next five weeks at the same coffee shop, on their last meet up until the project was to be presented later that week, Damian couldn't help but feel disappointed that their weekly meetups were coming to an end. Marinette's presence was a breath of fresh air compared to his nightly activities and the drone of the other occupants of the college campus. 
She had found ways to make him laugh more than once, a feat in and of itself, and she never seemed turned off by his abrasive or abrupt nature. Rather she encouraged him to speak his mind, and in doing so Damian learned how to curb his words for the appropriate situations. 
He would find himself fixing his appearance before leaving for each meetup. He would tell himself and anyone else that it was not to get a compliment from her, but rather because he is Wayne, and a Wayne is to be presentable at all times. 
Even now he runs gel through his hair, satisfied when it stands at an appropriate angle. He turns his face inspecting for any missed spots from shaving. His green eyes stare back at him in satisfaction. An appropriate look for a Wayne he thinks to himself. 
Unbeknownst to either of them, Marinette is doing the same thing on campus in one of the bathrooms. She fixes her hair for what feels like the hundredth time, and inspects her makeup for any blemishes. She cant help the girlish squeal that escapes her lips, bouncing on her toes a little. Marinette twirls in her dress, satisfied with the finished product and hurries to the coffee shop. 
Damian enters last like normal, Marinette determined to fix her tardy image. Damian sits down across from her, taking the tea she already bought before he can speak she has already barreled into the last minute details of the project. Damian is content and listen to her passionately plan and finalize. 
“Want to get lunch tomorrow?” She stops her tirade in shock, blue eyes searching green ones. Damian now just wants to smash his head into a wall, why did he say such a thing? He may not have seen Brown or Grayson for a few months now, but they must have rubbed off on him for him to thoroughly shove his foot into his mouth in such a way. 
“That sounds like fun.  Where and when?” She smiles that smile that even Superman would combust under. 
“Uh, I don’t know, it was a spontaneous idea.” He mumbled, embarrassed at even using the word. 
“Oh spontaneous huh? That's not like you Damian.” Her teasing increasing alongside Damian’s reddening face. “You’re always such a planner.”
“Yeah, yeah. Where would you like to go?” He tried to wave of his embarrassment, staring at a stain on the ceiling. 
“How about I think about it and give you a text?” She dropped her teasing tone, turning her attention away from Damian and back to the papers, littering the table. If he hadn't been so flustered himself, he would have seen her hands tremble. 
“Sounds like a reasonable plan. 12 o’clock?” 
“Sounds perfect, I’m out of class by 11:30.”
“Is everything set for the presentation?” Damian tries to bring the conversation back to the reason for their sitting in the coffee shop to being with. 
“Yes,” She giggles, “here you go,” 
“Thank you, Marinette.” Damian offers her one of his rare smiles. She swears her heart stops then and there. Damian was good looking, but he increased his attractiveness by a hundred when he smiled. 
How she managed to keep it together while in the coffee shop she’ll never know. All her years as Ladybug maybe? She waves to Damian outside the shop before squatting to the ground. She grips her face, her cold hands a welcomed relief to her very, very warm face. She doesn't care that she's in public, she squeals in excitement, the rush intoxicating. Damian had asked her to lunch, a date? She sure hoped so. 
“Damian?” He jumps out of his thoughts. Marinette smirking at him, “Where did you go silly?” He narrows his eyes at her. He was not silly, the farthest thing from it. 
“I was simply thinking about how I actually tolerate your company.” He tries to sound disinterested, but Marinette knows him well enough by now that such tricks wont work on her. 
“Is that so? What about my company is so enjoyable?” 
“I didn’t use that word.”
“No but it's what you meant.” She grins cheekily back at him, thankfully the check comes at that moment, leaving her to focus on gathering her things. He noticed her trying to slip bills to the waitress, however Damian gets the bills back and slips them back into her purse. 
The walk back to her apartment is quiet and tranquil, like the snow falling around them. She is hugging his arm, trying to steal what little warmth he has to offer. If Damian learned anything about Marinette these last few months, its that she did not handle the cold well, and that she did not pick a good city to move to. It was winter almost nine months out of the year. 
They stop outside her apartment, Damian waiting patiently for her to enter safely before leaving. She lingers outside with him, taking his hands on her own. Damian looks at her in confusion, watching as she looks up at him. Snowflakes dust her hair and eyes lashes. The lamp light making her eyes look darker than normal. She searches his eyes, licking her lips. He tilts his head, trying to read her thoughts through her expressions. 
She slowly raises herself up onto her tip toes and gently touches her lips to his own. His eyes widen in surprise, mouth opening slightly. She stiffens, eyes opening in horror, falling back she takes in his face. He looks horrified at her kiss. He isn't, just caught off guard, but she doesn't know that. 
“I sorry,” she starts to stammer, her accent growing heavy with panic, “Mine think brain, no, I thought, au revoir!” Marinette is then making a mad dash to the door, almost slipping in the process, but in a true Marinete fashion manages to catch herself and continue to escape with Marinette patented moves. 
Damian reaches out for her, but she is already dashing up the stairs, out of site. Not really sure what he himself feels, and not wanting to make things worse, he leaves. He elects not to go on patrol that night, after all his head wasn't where is need to be safe. He doesn’t sleep much that night. 
After all, what did Damian feel for the young woman? She was beautiful, that much is certain, he may have never been seeking out a relationship before, but he wasn't blind. She was passionate and fiery. She sought the good in everyone, giving more than she takes. She never put Damian down for his behavior, especially when he himself was in the wrong. She was patient and kind, talking him through everything. She made him actually feel proud to be Damian Wayne; That even though he was deeply flawed, she still wanted to be around him. She wanted to kiss him. 
Kissing meant, love, or at least a deep care and like for another person. That is what everyone had told him since he came to live with Bruce. Marinette did not seem like the person to not follow through with that thinking. And on that note, Damian finds himself desiring to see her and kiss her again. He did after all enjoy Marinette's company, immensely.
The next day he doesn't see her around campus, or in their only shared class. He worries, but also thinks of Cass, and how she would do this when she got emotional too. Damian is sure he will see her again tomorrow and they can talk about them and move past this awkward mess. 
She does not show up the next day. She has yet to respond to any calls or texts. By day three Damian has had enough and marches out of class, the stares doing nothing to him. He realizes when he gets to her apartment, he doesn't have a plan. She could not be home for all he knows. 
Knocking he waits for her to open the door, he can hear shuffling on the other side, relieved to find that she is home. She opens to door in a daze, Damian smiles at her. She looked like crap. Her hair was a rats nest, she’d obviously had been crying and hasn't been sleeping well. She looked absolutely beautiful. Normal. 
She tries to slam the door in his face, however, Damian is faster, the hand and foot keeping the door open. “Damian I could have hurt you!” of course that is the first thing she says to him. 
“I have had worse. Please stop hiding from me. I enjoy your company too much to go without it this long.” He hopes she gets what he's trying to say, because Damian Wayne is not a love sick sap. She gives him a hopeful look, stepping aside to let him into the apartment. 
“You enjoy my company huh?” She tries to act coy, but nerves are coming off her in waves suffocate her intentions. Damian steps right next to her, cupping her face in his hand. 
“Yeah. You Are addicting.” She snorts at him. 
“I’m sorry” She whispers, looking at him the same way she did three nights ago. 
“What for?” he whispered back.
“Kissing you.”
“That's not the apology I was expecting.” Damian then gives Marinette a look she has never seen before, it is one of hurt. Rejection. 
“I’m sorry for ignoring you,” She steps closer, hand gripping his jacket. “I was embarrassed and thought you hated me. I thought I ruined everything.” His stare is intense, she feels as though her soul is out for Damian to see. 
“Don’t ignore me again please.” His tone is gentle, something that anyone who knew Damian had never heard before. He rubs his thumb under her eyes as more tears start to fall. “I’m not mad, I just missed you and hate being ignored.”
“I won't do that ever again.”
“Good. Now promise me just one more thing.” He waits for her eyes to open, head leaning into his touch.
“Yes?”
“Let me kiss you when ever I feel like it?” He meant it to me an order, but it came out as a question. Her laugh sounds broken but healed at the same time. 
“Damian. Is that your way of asking me out?” she's back to whispering again as she once more raises herself up onto her tiptoes. 
“I guess it is.” He whispers back, his second kiss returned in full this time. She removes her death grip on his jacket, wrapping her arms around his neck. His moves his arms to her waist, lifting her off the ground, spinning them in victory. 
“I really do like you Marinette. I’m sorry that my reaction wasn’t what you were expecting.” His forehead his against hers, taking in her presence in his arms. 
“I misread the mood,” She groans, clearly still embarrassed.
“How would you feel if I told you that was my first kiss?” He chuckles as she only groans some more. 
“Unfortunate that your first kiss is with me,” He can’t tell if she is joking your not. He sets her down, lifting her chin up to meet her eyes, searching them, trying to find a hint of a joke. There is none. He kisses her once more before speaking.
“I don’t feel like that and neither should you. I like your kisses.”
“How can you know that I kiss well, after all, I’m the only person you’ve kissed.” She pouts.
“I just know.” He says pulling her in for another kiss. They both melt into that one, no longer tense or uncertain. Content in each other's presence, relaxed and happy. 
They had been dating for over a year when disaster struck. His family found out about Marinette. His very intrusive, needs the answers to everything, the definition of privacy is unknown, family. 
They had just finished a nice dinner date after a performance at the theater, when the worst of all of his family happened upon them. Jason Todd. And no, Damien does not mean the worst because of his methods. No the worst possible person because Todd does not know when to keep his mouth shut. 
See Jason had noticed them leaving the theater, and out of ‘spite’ decided not to call out to Damian, but rather follow them back to Marinette's place. Jason waited outside for almost two hours before Damian exited the building, preparing himself for a night of crime fighting. 
“Hey Demion. Who’s the chick?” Damian froze, slowly meeting Jason's gaze across the street. He looked like a toddler that had been caught stealing from the cookie jar. 
Jason pushes himself off the wall, meeting Damian on the other side, both of them walking to Wayne Tower together. Jason was not patient so he refused to wait for Damians answer.
“Com’on, tell me. Who is she?”
“She is none of your concern.”
“Is she your girlfriend?” Damian tries not to show a reaction to the word, but his fist clenches and his shoulders straighten. “When were you going to tell us?” 
“She is none of your concern.” He repeats, hoping that just this once, Jason will give up. He does not.
“How did you meet? Is she nice or a demon like you? Wait why did I ask that, why would a nice girl ever go out with you.” Jason laughs loudly, but doesnt miss Damians growl or the death glare he sends his way. 
“Oh protective already are we,” Jason tsks, “Careful, girls these days don't like the whole ‘night in shining armor’ thing”
“Will you just shut up?”
“Nope. I have questions for days.”
Damian’s scowl from when he was ten slowly starts to morph back into place, the look more terrifying now that his baby fat has thinned out and his features are much sharper now. It does nothing against Jason however.
“She’s tiny,must be cute when you guys kiss. Ya’know, with how tall you are.” His scowl only deepens. “Oh I bet she not very experienced huh?” Jason suggests with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY?” Damian's face is beat red, his fists fully clenched now. However Jason is only getting started, this is the most entertained he’s been for months.
“A girl that cute must have a cute name right? Let me guess, Jessica. No, Hannah. Oh wait I got it, Lily.”
“Her name is Marinette! She’s French!” Jason just grins in victory. After all anyone knows if you annoy Demion long enough, he will tell you exactly what you want to know. 
“Ah French uh? But she looks Asian.”
“Are you serious Todd?” Damian sounds disgusted, “You of all people should know not to judge a person's nation by how they look.” 
"My bad, you’re right.” 
“Of course I’m right.”
“You’re not right in keeping her a secret.” Jason drops all annoying brother pretenses, getting serious. “When were you going to tell us? How long have you been seeing her?”
“Not long. And I didn’t want to tell you guys yet for this very reason.”
“We were all going to react the way I did no matter when you told us.” Damian begrudgingly agrees that Todd has a point. His family was annoying like that after all.
“You should bring her for dinner this weekend, everyone will be at the Manor,” Jason holds open the lobby doors for Damian, both waving to the receptionist, before heading to the private elevator. 
“I will ask her Todd, but that's it.”
“Good enough for me, after all she won't refuse.”
“Who won't refuse?” Damian groans as the elevator doors open to the secret basement. Tim finishing suiting up, 3 cups of coffee already empty on the table beside him. 
Damian tries to say ‘no one’, but Jason is already slapping his hand over his mouth ensuring his silence long enough. 
“Demion here has a girlfriend that he didn't tell anyone about. He said he would bring her to dinner this weekend.”
Bruce walks in as Jason finishes speaking, his face showing obvious surprise at his youngest not only being in a relationship, but willing to bring her to the manor. 
“I said I would ask her, there is no guarantee!” Damian shouts, pushing Jason aside, angrily getting suited up for the night. 
“Please inform me as soon as you can Master Damian so I can make the appropriate accommodations.” Alfred speaks up from the giant monitor on the wall. Damian just grips the table in defeat, head hanging low. 
“So what's she like Damian?” Tim finally speaks again, hovering on his left. “Is she smart? Talented? Oh I know you must find the damsel in distress trope attractive.” 
“Drake you have two seconds to back away from me before I put a hole through your face,” 
“That's a hard no,” Tim mutters backing away, “What can you tell us?”
“That she is not your concern,” Damian groans for the third time that night. 
“Of course she is our concern, we have to make sure she checks out. Safe for the family.” The ‘safe for you’ hang in the air between them. 
“Her name is Marinette and she is French. That's all the information I got.”
“That's a good amount to work with” Tim excitedly stars tapping away, obviously working on building a profile. 
“Don’t you dare run a background check on her.” Bruce has silently been watching his sons interact, finally stepping in at Damian's order.
“Why not Damian?”
“Because it is not necessary, and I value her privacy, like all of you should,” He looks into Tim's eyes the longest. “I know enough without a background check.” 
“How long have you known her,” Tim snips, perturb at being stopped at investigating. It's what he is good at and it's what he enjoys. 
“Long enough, leave it be. You all know about her now. That should be enough.”
“But its not-”
“Just be a normal family for once!” All the men stop at Damian's outburst, “Get to know her like normal people. No background checks, no staking out, just leave her alone.” With that He marches over to the street exit, leaving his Father and Brother standing in shock. 
The following morning, Damian meets Marinette outside her apartment, silence filling the air as they walk to class. He glances down at her, smiling a soft bittersweet smile. It was nice while it lasted, having her all to himself. 
“My family found out about us.” She doesn’t find this news as troublesome as he did.
“I didn't know they were unaware.” Marinette chooses her words carefully, after all she is unsure how she feels about being a secret girlfriend. A secret girlfriend for a year. 
“It’s not that I wanted to keep you a secret,” Damian noticed her rise in emotion, “It’s that my family does not understand the definition of privacy very well, and I didn't want you to be overwhelmed with their overeager nature. 
She finds the notion that Damians family was nothing like him a hilarious concept. On the other hand, she finds it hard to laugh in the moment. If they invaded privacy the way he says, she has too many secrets that were not hers to share at this moment. Concerning indeed. 
“Well, if it is ok with you,” she pulls them to a stop, taking a deep breath before continuing, “I am not comfortable to meet your family. Yet.” Unable to stop himself, Damian kisses her dizzy, falling more in love with this woman by the second.
“You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that.” He gasps out
“Oh, I think I have an idea,” She chuckles, “I will let you know when I am ready. Deal?”
“The best deal I have ever made in my life,” He deadpans. She laughs while pulling them back to walking, both hearts lighter. Damians with not having to share her yet. Marinettes with the extended time to get her affairs in order. She reaches up to her earrings, rubbing them in concern. 
Damian all but struts into wayne tower later that night, gleeful to break the news that Marinette didn't want to meet them. 
Jason and Tim were talking to Dick on the monitor when Damian entered, obviously arguing about Damian and his love life. 
"Let Damian have this you two. He deserves the respect." 
"But-" Tim starts only to be cut off with Damian clapping him on the shoulder. 
"Listen to Grayson." 
"Hey Damian. Congrats on the girl, nice to see you finally living like a normal human being" he jests
“Thank you Grayson. It's nice to see someone respecting privacy around here.” 
“You just gotta wait until this weekend Timmy, a chance to practice your patience” Grayson tries to placate the quickly growing in agitation Tim. 
“Actually, She isn't ready to meet you guys, so she won't be coming this weekend.” Damian feels smug watching their faces morph from confusion into hurt. 
And with that Damian moves to get ready, leaving them to process the reality of not getting to meet Marinette. 
"I know where she lives, let's go Tim" Jason starts to the elevator, forgetting his already in costume. 
"Jason. Tim. Stop." Bruce enters, her Batman glare on. "If Damian is serious about Marinette, and she about him, then we need to respect their wishes. She could be a part of our family and we do not need to give her the wrong idea" 
"Thank you Father. Now let's go, there was chatter yesterday that Penguin is up to something." 
The boys begrudgingly get ready, each leaving the basement on their own time. Tim and Jason exchange a look. They won't meet her yet, but they are totally going to research her. 
Everything came to a head for Damian and Marinette however a few weeks later. They were enjoying a relaxing afternoon class free in her apartment. Damian was reading on her couch while she hemmed a dress on the floor in the corner.
Her phone rang from the counter top, Marinette scrambling to get to it in time. "Maman!" She exclaims in French, giving Damian a smile, before focusing on her call. 
"Oh no no." She laughs, “I have been a good girl.” Damian can’t help but smile at listening to her. 
“How are you Maman?” 
“Well I hope the delivery gets finished on time.” Marinette’s stomach turns as she watches the back of Damians head. She now leans against the counter.  
“Hows Papa?” Damian notices her pause, glancing behind him to see her face twisted in worry. He sets his book down, getting up to see whats wrong. Marinette just holds a finger up to him. ‘One moment’ she mouths. 
“Huh uh. What?” Her brows furrow further. “Ok Maman, I’ll be there soon.” 
“What's wrong Habibti?” Instead of going to Damian she runs to her bedroom, blindly packing a bag. 
“My Grandfather is not doing well. The doctors says he doesn't have long. I have to fly home. I don't know how long I will be gone.” She glances at Damian sadly, “Sorry I have to cancel all our plans.”
“Hey don’t say that, your family needs you. This is out of your control.”
“Thank you Chéri,” She kisses him softly before closing her bag.
“Would you like me to take you to the airport?” Damian follows her out of the apartment, holding her bag while she locks the door. 
“No I’ll be ok. I would like time to prepare myself.” 
“Please call me when you land, I need to know you’re safe.” He helps her flag down a cab. 
“Of course Chéri,” They share one last kiss before Marinette climbs into the back seat. “See you soon.”
“See you soon.” Damian watched as the cab pulled away from the curb, the emotion of worry overtaking him. He had felt concern for his own well being before, but never for another person this personally. Especially Marinette's grandfather. It was an odd experience. 
Damian decided he might as well go get some training in with the free afternoon he has. AS soon as he entered the Manor, his phone rang, caller ID informing him it was Drake. 
“Yes Drake?”
“I found something troubling, I need you at the manor,” Tim hesitates before adding, “Please.”
“Lucky for you I am already here.” Damian hangs up before heading to the cave entrance. 
He is surprised to see Drake and Todd in the cave, along with Grayson. Damian narrows his eyes at each of them before finally noticing what they had pulled up on the computer. It was a complete profile on Marinette. Damian felt his blood pressure rise. 
“What did I tell you guys about-!” 
“We know but just stop and listen, you will be thanking us in a few minutes.” Jason places a hand on his shoulder. 
“What do you mean I will be thanking you?” Damian all but snarls, “What did you do?”
“Just listen to this,” Tim starts pulling up an audio file, “It’s a good thing you haven’t been dating this girl for very long.” Before Damian can get another word in Tim presses play. 
“Maman!” Marinette's voice exclaims, the sound normally music to his ears, but now he just feels dread.
“Are you alone Ladybug?” The voice does not belong to Marinette's mother, or rather can’t, Damian has never talked to the woman. This voice is young, strong and serious. 
“Oh no,no” Marinette's voice laughs, “I have been a good girl.” Dread sets in further. 
“Understood.”
“How are you Maman?”
“It’s time Ladybug.”
“Well I hope the delivery gets finished on time”
“We are waiting at the temple. The situation is dire.”
“How’s Papa?”
“We have purchased tickets for you already. Chat Noir will meet you in the UK. You will then take a flight to Tibet.”
“Huh uh. What?” Her voice now takes on a more serious note. He had been sitting across from her while she had this coded conversation. Damian felt like a fool. 
“Viperion will then meet you in the village Dangquka to escort you the rest of the way.”
“Ok Maman, I'll be there soon” 
Dick watches as Damian starts to lose his balance, quickly moving a chair behind him to collapse into. Damian just stares at the computer screen, gripping his face this one hand, his other fist clenched.
“I knew something was up every time she declined to meet us so I started investigating. Her background check came back clean, so I bugged her phone.”
“Just stop talking Drake.” Damian all but whispers, that stops Tim in his tracks.
“Wow she had you whipped, and you guys didn't know each other that long.” Jason mutters 
“I think knowing her for almost two years is quite a long time Todd.” Damian didn't have the energy to even get loud. 
“Wha? Two years? But how?” Tim’s voice starts to tremble. He feels terrible. He didn't know they had been together that long. 
“You guys just assumed because you only found out about us a few weeks ago, that must have been we started dating. I never told you how long we had been together.”
“Damian are you ok?” Dick finally spoke, his tone gentle and quiet. No judgment, just concern. 
“Am I ok?” Damian laughs, “AM I OK?” Damian had finally processed everything, he jumps out of the chair marching up to Tim.
“Whoa Damian calm down!” Dick springs into action.
“No! Do you realize what you took from me Drake. DO YOU?” He points his finger into his face.  
“Damian I didn't know-”
“No you just couldn't mind your own business!” Damian takes a deep breath, “She is my normal. She treats me like a normal person and with respect. She is kind to everyone she meets, and is the most patient person I have ever met. 
Damian glances at her picture still plastered on the monitor. Her eyes reflect everything he just said about her. Just from this picture you can see how much joy she brings to the world. She is so beautiful and Damian for the life of him can’t imagine her being some sort of spy. Or assassin his mind supplies, remembering how the caller had mentioned a temple. 
“Would you rather have been kept in the dark if it meant keeping that sense of normalcy.” Todd speaks, his eyes narrowed, “We were only trying to help.”
“If you really want to help then you two are going with me to get to the bottom of this.” Damian marches past the three men, and out of the cave, ignoring the question. 
“You two suck.” Dick says quietly. “You’re lucky I'm in town to cover for you.” With that he also makes his exit, leaving the last two to only stare at the ground. 
Dick finds Damian in the sparring room, obliterating dummies with his sword. He patiently waits for him to acknowledge his presence. Damian pauses, using his shirt to wipe the first drops of sweat from his face. 
“What do you want?”
“Want to spar?” Damian is bewildered, but he doesn't dwell on it. He has to let out his aggression somehow. 
“You had nothing to do with this mess.”
“So, you need a sparring partner.” Dick takes off his shirt and shoes, meeting Damian on the mat. “Plus sparing has always helped clear your head.”
Dick doesn't wait but goes straight for the attack, kicking high. Damian easily evades, spinning around with a kick of his own. They continue to exchange blows in quick succession, slowly only between pieces of conversation. 
“She was the first person who really saw me.” Damian grunts as he throws Dick over his shoulder, “And the first girl I have ever liked.” 
Dick spins himself back into a standing position, hands at the ready for the next attack. “Do you love her?” The question doesn't catch Damian off guard like he thought it would.
“Yes.”
“Have you ever lied to her about Robin activities.” Dick jabs quickly at Damian's shoulders. 
“Never, I just have never told her details.” He dances away from the punches, swinging out with a roundhouse kick. “Told her I have a night job. That I help Father with work and that I workout often.”
“What did you tell her when you got shot three months ago?”Grayson manages to get a hold on Damians shift, pinning him to the ground. But his does not hold him, after all Damian needs to keep moving to sort through everything.
“I didn’t tell her that. I didn’t want to worry her.”
“Impressive.” Damian gets a choke hold on Dick, tangling their legs together. “Let me ask you this. What if she does the same thing and that's why she lied to you?”
That causes Damian to pause long enough with his choke hold for Grayson to throw him over his shoulder. He lays on the mat, staring at the ceiling, working through that thinking.
“That would be the best outcome to all this.”
“And the worst?”
“She is the opposite and I got played like a fool.” Damian picks himself up, walking to the end of the mat signaling the end of the sparring match.
“Are you going to follow her or wait until she gets back?”
“Follow. What reason would she have to tell me the truth the second time?” he bends to gather his things.
“Do you fully distrust her now?”
Damian pauses, “Maybe, I don’t know. I just don't want to be caught off guard this time. Plus I already told them they are taking me.”
“Better get a move on if you want to beat her there.” He rubs Damian's head affectionately. Damian grins at Dick. 
“Thank you Dick, I really needed that.” 
“Go get her Tiger” With that Dick smacks his back before leaving the gym, calling for Alfred. Yes Damian thought, time to go find out what is really going on. 
And so Jason and Tim had the most uncomfortable flight of their life, not looking forward to the flight back should things turn out even worse than they are now. Damian stayed silent the whole way, only staring out the window or flipping through his phone. 
To say Bruce was unhappy with all three boys needing to leave the city was an understatement. Thankfully Dick was there to lighten the load and the blow. The sound of a ringing phone pulled Damian from whatever he was thinking about. He felt like he was going to break his phone he was gripping it so hard. He answers on the last ring.
“Marinette.” It’s all he can bring himself to say. 
“Damian! I thought I was going to miss you,” She laughs, “It must be pretty late there.”
“Oh yea totally. How was your flight?” 
“It was smooth, here safe and sound.”
“Paris right?” He asks, even though he knows that she isn't there, Damian is wondering to see how far she will go to lie to him.
“That's where my parents are,” she laughs again. It wasn't a direct answer. It wasn't an answer at all. Damian wasn't sure what to make of the misleading statement. It was almost like she didn't want to outright lie to him. 
“I gotta go Chéri, I'll let you know when my flight back is so you can pick me up. I probably won't be close to my phone this week but I’ll text when I can ok?”
“Of course Habibti.” Damian pauses but figures he should go for it and say it at least once before this come to an end. “Love you, see you soon.” He quickly hangs up, not waiting for a response. He doesn't want to hear it back if she doesn't really mean it. He goes back to staring out the window, ignoring the boys staring at him. 
Meanwhile Marinette stares at her phone in shock, the blush overcoming her face matched with a beating heart. With a shaky smile she turns to Adrian behind her, waiting to board the next plane with her. 
“What's with that look?” He teases, looking over her shoulder at her phone. “Oh who's that, he's quite the looker.”
“That would be my boyfriend,” She giggles walking to board the plane. “You know that silly.”
“Yes, but I have never seen a picture. What's got you all gooey inside anyway?”
“He said ‘I love you’,” Marinette mumbles, throwing her bag into an overhead. 
“Ohh serious then.”
“It will be when I get back, after all I’ll finally be able to tell him everything. I hate lying.”
“I know bug, and I’m sorry this is a bittersweet moment.” He takes her hand
“Me too. I wish it didn't have to happen this way.” 
On the other plane the reds exchange a look before closing off the back of the plane, giving themselves a physical wall between them and Damian. 
“He said ‘I love you’” Tim groans, “I really messed this up.”
“Yes but your heart was in the right place. We will find out the truth soon enough.” 
“I hope I was wrong about her.”
“What else could the truth be. She’s obviously apart of something shady. It’s just a matter of what and how bad” 
“Why would you think that? What evidence is there that its something bad?”
“Don't be ignorant Tim. No one takes phone calls like that when they don't have something to hide.”
“Yeah but-”
“You feel guilty, I get it, but don’t let that cloud your logic. Something is going on and we are going to find out what.”
Tim sits silently the rest of the way, electing to focus on flying and not let his emotional thoughts distract him. After all, this was just another investigation. Only this time it was Damian's girlfriend. Too late, he was emotionally involved. He had to make this right or better somehow. 
“We’re here” Jason starts to land the plane in a clearing a few miles outside the village Marinette was due to arrive in a few hours time. Opening the divider, they find Damian asleep, a picture of Marinette pulled up on his phone. 
“Let's pretend we didn't see anything. Follow his lead and get some sleep too. How long until she lands?”
“Ten more hours,” Tim answers glancing up from his device. 
“Eight hours it is, night” Jason plops down into a chair, pulling his hood over his eyes. 
“Night.” Tim goes back to the cockpit, trying to get sleep but as always, it doesn't come easy. Deciding not to waste precious hours on staring at the ceiling, he pulls up his report on Marinette looking for anything that could clue them into what she's into. 
She wasn’t a model student but she wasn’t a delinquent either. Her attendance record improved as she grew up. She was involved in many different design contests and has had high profile clients requesting commissions. She was class representative for three years, zealously completing all projects and activities for her class with perfection. 
She was a busy girl but never without time for her friends, family, and her neighborhood. Everything this girl did didn’t reflect the contents of the phone call at all. She had also never been to Tibet before. At least not that Tim had found. She had never been outside France before entering Gotham University. 
So what was she doing all the way out here? And with who. The mysterious caller had mentioned two individuals besides herself. No amount of searching through aliases had Tim found anything on a Chat Noir, Viperion or even Marinette's code name, Ladybug.
“Time to go.” Tim jumps at Damian's voice, glancing behind him only to watch his retreating back out of the jet. Jason stands waiting for him at the end of the ramp, both hurrying to catch up with Damian. 
The village of Dangquka was small, only taking up a small portion of the valley. The place almost looked sad, filled with sparse beige grass and barren mountains. The boys settled themselves into a cliffside, queuing up their binocular setting in their respective masks, watching for the girls' arrival. 
“She’s almost here,” Tim says, his phone showing Marinette location as it travels quickly towards the town. They watch as an off road jeep pulls into the village, all the villagers gathering around. Marinette climbs out, a blond man following after from the driver's seat. She starts to greet all the villagers, obviously familiar with them. Damian zones in on a man that doesn't look like he belongs in the village. 
His hair is dyed and his look screams rocker, even of his attire is more appropriate for the setting he’s in. Damian's hand obliterates the rock he's using to support himself as he watches the man pull Marinette into a hug, going so far as to bend his head into her neck. They stay that was for a minute before the blond man pulls them apart, motioning to the jeep. Marinette nods, taking the second boys hand and pulling him towards the jeep, climbing into the back seat with him. 
She’s not just lying to me. She’s a femme fatale. Using me for some sick game, before she returns to her real boyfriend. Boyfriends? It doesn't matter. Damian's thoughts start to spiral before Jason picks him up with his collar. 
“Come on lover boy, we have to follow them up the mountain.” And so they do, for eight hours. The sun had long since set, when they climb over a ridge and all gape at the temple settled at the base of a mountain, at the edge of a cliff. Damian is the first to pull himself together, quickly zoning in on the entrance. At the top of the stairs stand three women and one lone man, surrounded by what look like male and female monks. 
Marinette climbs out of the vehicle, all the monks dropping to a bow at her appearance. The boys stand behind her on either side as she ascends the stairs. For the sake of tradition, Marinette does not shy away from the attention, but holds her head high. She has a duty to perform. 
At the top she pulls the three women in for a hug, relishing the contact. She pulls back to take the hand of the man. He smiles at her, giving her hand a tight squeeze before an older man steps forward, bowing to escort her inside. 
“Drake.”
“Already on it, we will have sound and video in five.”
“How does no one know about this place?” Jason grumbles
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Right then the sound from the temple kicks in, all silencing to hear everything. Tim holds the tablet out, everyone's eyes glued to the screen. 
“It’s a blessing you made it when you did Marinette, he only has a few minutes left, the Kwami have done all they could.”
“That is good to hear, I will see him now.” Marinette enters a large chamber, quickly approaching the bed in the center, an older man struggling to breath lying upon it. He is surrounded by what look like many animal themed faires.
“Master Fu, I’m here.”
“Marinette, I am so thankful I got to see you one last time, especially to bestow the title upon you in person.”
“I know we have talked about this before Master but please reconsider. There is still time to choose one of the monks instead.”
Fu only breathes deeply, too tired to shake his head. 
“I met someone. Please Master, just this once let me have this.”
“I am sorry Marinette but my choice is made.” Marinette starts to cry, her grip on his hand tightening. 
“I do not want this curse,” She whispers. 
“Do not call such an honor a curse Marinette. You were chosen for this and I ask that you humor this old man and accept your duty.” Fu tries to sound harsh.
“It is a curse, you are just lucky you do not have to go long without your memories.” Marinette then looks ashamed. “I apologize Master, that was harsh of me.”
“Do not apologize for stating a truth Marinette,” Fu chuckles, “I do not have long left to live.”
“Does not make what I said any less insensitive.” She adjusts her weight, tucking her legs under her. She waits patiently with a bowed head as the man gathers the last of his strength. 
“I, Supreme Guardian Fu, relinquish my title to Marinette Dupain-Chang. That she will be the next Guardian of the Miracle Box until she passes the title onto another.” When Fu finishes speaking there is a bright flash of light and all the fairy like creatures disappear. They watch as Marinette reaches up to her ears. That's when Damian notices that the earrings that Marinette never took off were gone. 
“Hello young lady, why are you crying?” The boys watch in horror as the man no longer recognized Marinette. She just smiled kindly, brushing her hand across his face. 
“No reason, you must be tired, why don’t you rest?”
“Yes that sounds nice,” And with that the man passed away. Marinette wipes the last of her tears away before standing and exiting the room. Outside wait the three women from earlier as well as two young female monks.
“Come Mistress, we must get you ready for the ceremony.” The monks take her hands, leading her further down the hall. 
“How are you Marinette?” The first girl to speak is a brunette, her hair wavy and short, the orange dye blending well with her skin tone.
“I am doing well Alya, you?”
“Great. My magazine just took off in Paris. Sales are good so far.”
“That’s wonderful to hear.” She smiles her trademark smile, before sitting down for the younger girls to start her makeup and hair. 
“I hear you are doing more than well,” The second woman speaks. She is a blonde, clothes obviously designer. “What's this I hear about a boyfriend?”
“Chloe” Marinette whines in embarrassment.
“What it's not my fault you didn't tell me. So what's his name? Do you have a picture?” Marinette just rolls her eyes before gesturing to her purse, leaving the girl to grab her phone. She whistles when she sees Damien's picture. The boy flushing as his brother snicker. 
“His name is Damian.”
“How long?” The final girl joins in, her Japanese features beautiful and holding herself with confidence.
“Over a year of dating and almost two and knowing each other.” The girls a coo at that, even the Japanese girl. The other girls look almost uncomfortable at the relaxed atmosphere. Marinette notices, reaching up to stop the girls from working. 
“Loosen up girls, no need to be so formal.” 
“But tradition says that we are to be respectful to you Mistress.”
“Yes and to not speak out of turn. You are Supreme Guardian now” 
“Please call me Marinette, and I don’t like these stuffy traditions. So don’t stress yourselves on my account.”
“Ok” They both sound slightly more relaxed but do not join in the the friends chatter. 
“So why didn’t you bring Damian with you?” Alya asks, casually eating a platter of fruit.
“Because he doesn’t know.” All the girls look at her in shock. 
“What” They all but yell. Damien narrows his eyes, focusing heavily on the conversation. 
“Even if I had been allowed, how do you bring up this!?” She waves to the room around her, obviously meaning the temple as a whole. Damian's breath catches. She didn't have a choice in lying to him.
“Easy,” the Japanese girl starts, “You just say ‘Babe I’m being raised to be a leader of a super ancient and secret organization that guards magical jewelry.” 
“Wow Kagami I didn’t know you had been hanging out with Adrian again” Marinette says dryly. 
Damian falls back on his butt, shaking in relief. The truth wasn't even in the ballpark of what his mind was thinking. Magic. Of course he wouldn't have considered such a possibility due to his limited contact with it. 
“It's the truth though,” Chloe chimes in, it can’t be that hard. She glances at the girls working on Marinette, electing to enact her new found tact and not to speak ill of the dead. After all, it was clear that Fu had forbidden Marinette from telling anymore people about the Order. Instead she says, “Now that you’re in charge are you going to tell him?”
“Yes. As soon as I get back. I don’t like lying.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That my grandfather was passing in Paris,” She sounds so ashamed, One of the girls smacking her hand as she tried to touch her face. 
“Well I think the only thing you lied about was where you are if that makes you feel better-”
“It doesn’t,” 
“-And technically Fu was like a grandfather to you. He had been training you since you were a child.” Chole continued as though she had never been interrupted. 
She just pouts, closing her eyes for the girl to finish applying her makeup. She sighs in relief moving quickly to apply the red eye shadow and make the elaborate eyeliner wings.  
“Well going back to Damian, how serious is it?”
“Uh-” Damian holds his breath, “I like to think serious, after all he did say-” She grows quiet at the end, raising her shoulders to hide herself. 
"What was that?" Alya and Chloe grin mischievously leaning in close.
"He told me he loved me when I called him earlier" Marinette manages to get out, unable to hide the joy on her face.
"Please hold still, I'm almost done" the girl tries to sound respectful but she's obviously frustrated. 
"Sorry" 
"You said you think it's serious. That means you love him back yes?" Kagami asks. Marinette only sighs happily, doing her best to let the girls finish working on her. 
"Well you both have great genes, your kids will look killer" It takes all Marinette's self control to not react to Chloe's teasing. You can tell how embarrassed she is by the statement from her shaking hands and red face. 
"Done, time to change clothes." Marinette stands up and starts to undress. Damian's hand shoots out, slamming the tablet down against the rock face. 
"What never seen her naked before" Jason teases.
"Whether or not I have is not your business and you two heathens don't need to watch a girl change without her knowledge you perverts" 
"Ya' know Tim, I don't think he's ever seen her naked." Jason grins leaning down on Damian.
"I think you're right. Baby steps though, she his his first girlfriend" 
"it's been long enough though that he should have by now" 
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Damian swats Jason off him, listening to see when he could bring visuals back up. 
Marinette moved when needed as the girls put layer upon layer on her kimono, the lightweight fabric quickly weighing more together.
"Done ready to see yourself," Alya and Kagami pull her up to a mirror, standing beside her as she took in her appearance. 
Her red eye shadow spread out to make it look like she was wearing a mask, the eye liner dramatic and making her eyes look more serious then she felt. Her lips were a pale red except for the center, which was a solid red line. The blue of her eyes, oddly not clashing with her makeup or clothes. The kimono was varying shades of red, black, dark purple, and dark blue. He hair was decorated with ornaments and beaded intricately, her braid cascading down her back. 
"Wow, impressive guys. I don't even look like the same person" 
"Mistress, it is time for everyone to gather." Each girl gives her a hug before leaving the room. Marinette takes a deep breath, stealing herself before marching out of the room. 
She is escorted by the young woman before they leave her side to join the crowd gathered in the great hall. The boys turn the tablet right side up again, right as she walks in, past a large group of people. 
Tim squints at the screen and starts mumbling to himself. Damian just glares at him before watching Marinette take a seat on not a throne but a very large cushion. Her back is straight as she bows her head and in return the room bows to her. Four people step forward, each holding a cup. 
"Supreme Guardian. I offer this potion of health, that you may stay strong for the Order." 
"Thank you. I gladly accept." She drinks before bowing again, the man retaking his place in the crowd. 
"Supreme Guardian, I offer this potion of wisdom, that you may lead us with confidence. 
"Thank you. I gladly accept" 
"Supreme Guardian, I offer this potion of fortitude, that you may protect the Order."
"Thank you. I gladly accept" her gaze hardens as the final man steps forward. 
"Supreme Guardian, I offer this potion of longevity, that you may lead the Order for many years to come." Marinette pauses as she takes hold of the cup, murmurs stirring as she does not accept or drink. 
"Thank you, but I will decline the potion of longevity. For now." The murmurs turned to outrage, Marinette patiently waiting for the room to quiet. 
"Ah ha! Star Wars." Tim exclaims, the boys looking at him in confusion. "Her outfit, she looks like she's Queen Amidala" 
Jason just nods in agreement while Damian turns back to the commotion building within the temple. Damian watched at Marinette's friends exchange looks of amusement and concern. The younger monks gently quiet down the older ones, whispering to listen and hear what she has to say. Finally the room quieted enough for Mariniette to be heard.
“I mean no disrespect. I understand the importance of tradition. However I am not on my own, the decision of extended life is a serious one and one I plan to discuss with my boyfriend.” The angry muttering starts to return at the mention of Damian. 
“Boyfriend!?” A man yells, “How dare the this Supreme Guardian trample our traditions. Did Fu teach you nothing?” Marinette only narrows her eyes. Her lips are but a thin line now. 
“You should revoke the title, Fu must have been confused to have chosen you.” A woman spoke this time. Damian feels his own blood start to boil, he can only imagine how Marinette must be feeling at this moment. If what he heard was correct, Marinette had been coming here most of her life. These people must be like family. But then Damian remembers what family truly means, and it's not only blood. He glanced to the men beside him, thankful for their presence in his youth and now. But he wasn't about to tell them that.  
Marinette stands, hands folded in front of her and she stood in front of the man first. She bowed deeply, he takes a step back in shock. “I apologize but I did not want this position. I begged Fu to reconsider many times, but he would not.” She stands, meeting his gaze head on, “But my memories are too important to me to revoke the title.” She then walks to the woman who spoke up. She takes her hands in her own, gently squeezing. 
“Fu was a wise man, just stubborn in his ways, much like many of you,” Her face his kind, but her words are hard like steel, “I will not allow you to speak ill of him.” She retakes her seat, “After all we both partook of the potion of wisdom, so perhaps I am not as foolish as you all believe.” She quips, looking satisfied with herself. 
The room was dead silent except for the blonde man and woman struggling not to laugh alongside the redhead. Slowly everyone looked very proud of their new Supreme Guardian. “I am not out to destroy tradition, but to renew it and bring it into a new season. Change is good for the soul, and makes things stronger.” Marinette smiles gently at everyone, her warmth overtaking the room. 
Damian can’t help but let his mouth hang open watching his girl tackle the room in a much stronger way than he would have. “You sure can pick em” Jason whispers next to him, almost like he’s afraid to break the spell. Damian can only nod, still in awe of this woman who decided to be his partner. 
“Now tradition also says that as Supreme Guardian, I am to protect the identities of any holders of the Miraculous. With my goal to bring the Order into the new age, I feel it's important to function more as a collective than as a -” Marinette pauses to choose her words carefully, “group only lead by me, or a Supreme Guardian in general.”
“What do you mean?”
“Secrecy is still important, and magic protects us against a lot of things, but I feel as though we could be doing more for the world. That we shouldnt hide in the shadows as much. The world needs help, and if our magic can provide that then I think we should.”
“I wonder what their magic is? Do you think it has anything to do with those fairy things earlier?”
“I think Marinette is about to show us.” They watch as a hexagonal box is brought before Marinette. It is solid, there are no cracks along it to allude to any opening at all. It is painted with Chinese symbols in a deep red. With a wave of her hand the box spins, a new compartment opening with each spin until the top disappears altogether revealing what the boys could only assume was the magical jewelry. She takes a pair of spotted earrings from the top, after the last one is put in there was a flash of pink light revealing a small red creature. 
“Hello again Tikki.” The creature, Tikki, flies up to Marinette's face, careful of her make up as she gives her the best hug she can. 
“You look beautiful Marinette!” 
“Thank you Tikki,” Marinette can’t help but laugh, “Shall we continue?”
“Yes my Guardian.” Tikki does her own little bow before floating over Marinette left shoulder, sending a small wave to the occupants of the room. Next Marinette grabs the ring that had sat in the box next to the earrings. 
“Adrien Agreste. Please come forward.” The blonde man walks to her, bowing before her. 
“In the past you were the holder of the Cat Miraculous. You were given responsibility over destruction. Do you desire to continue your responsibility of this miraculous? In doing so you swear your loyalty to me and will uphold your duty as the Cat.”
“Supreme Guardian, I decline your offer to hold the cat miraculous.” Marinette only smiles kindly at him. 
“I thank you for your service and wish you well on your journey.” Adrian turns to walk away, but Marinette stops him. “Would you like one last goodbye?” Adrian doesn't look surprised at her kindness but takes the ring. In a flash of green light a small black creature that resembles a cat appears. 
“Thank you for everything Plagg, I hope to see you again someday.” Plagg only sniff, obviously trying to appear unbothered with the goodbye. 
“Knowing sweet cheeks over here, you only need to ask to say hello.” Adrian chuckles
“I will keep that in mind, so long Plagg.” and with that he removes the ring, Plagg disappearing once again. Adrian walks away feeling confident in his decision, he enjoyed his time with Plagg but he had other desires for the future, and being a superhero isn't one of them. 
Marinette replaces the ring before taking out a necklace that looks like a fox tail. “Alya Césaire. Please come forward.” Alya also bows before Marinette, sending her a nervous smile. 
“In the past you were the holder of the Fox Miraculous. You were given responsibility over illusion. Do you desire to continue your responsibility of this miraculous? In doing so you swear your loyalty to me and will uphold your duty as the Fox.”
“I must decline, Supreme Guardian,” she rushes to add, mentally scolding herself for messing up, “your offer to hold the fox miraculous again.”
“I thank you for your service and wish you well on your journey. Would you like to say goodbye?”
“Trixx and I said our goodbyes long ago, I thank you for the offer though.” Alay struggles to speak so formally, after all this is the same girl who once wondered if a pan was hot and touched it with her bare hand. 
“Very well.” Marinette places the necklace back and pulls out a comb with a bee along the top. Before she can speak, Chloe is already standing in front of her, someone coughs behind her and with an exaggerated sigh she bows quickly to Marinette, holding out her hand. Marinette's lips quirk upward, the laugh barely contained. 
“Chloe Bourgeois, in the past you were the holder of the Bee Miraculous. You were given responsibility over Subjection. Do you desire to continue your position of this miraculous? In doing so you swear your loyalty to me and will uphold your duty as the Bee.”
“Obviously, now let me see Pollen,” Chloe shrinks under Marinette's stare, but only a little, “please” Marinette relents, handing her the comb. Chloe puts the comb in her hair, at the base of her ponytail. With a flash of yellow light a creature resembling a bee appears, her large black eyes alight with laughter. 
“My Queen, I know you are eager but you must be respectful.”
“Yeah yeah,” Pollen hugs her face much like Tikki did Marinettes. With a flick of her fingers over the comb Chloe is enveloped in a bright light. When the light clears, Chloe is now sporting a mostly black outfit with narrow dark yellow stripes throughout. She has long translucent wings along her back and antenna atop her head. Her mask is all black and what look like enforced gloves with spikes along the knuckles on her hands. She walks to stand behind Marinette. 
“Nino Lahiffe. Please come forward.” The young man comes forward, but not before giving Alya’s hand a squeeze. 
“In the past you were the holder of the Turtle Miraculous. You were given responsibility over protection. Do you desire to continue your responsibility of this miraculous? In doing so you swear your loyalty to me and will uphold your duty as the Turtle.”
“I’m sorry my- huh Supreme Guardian Ma’am, I decline the offer of yours, and Wayzz and I are, like, totally good.” Nino stumbles through his response, but very little embarrassed the laid back man anymore. Marinette can’t keep a small giggle from escaping. 
“I thank you for your service and wish you well on your journey.” 
“That was a train wreck,” Tim and Jason mutter at the same time. 
“Kagami Tsurugi. Please come forward.” Kagami commands the most respect by far as she marches forward, bowing deeply before standing at attention in front of Marinette. 
“In the past you were the holder of the Dragon Miraculous. You were given responsibility over Elements. Do you desire to continue your responsibility of this miraculous? In doing so you swear your loyalty to me and will uphold your duty as the Dragon.”
“I humbly accept your offer Supreme Guardian.” Kagami bows once more before taking the choker necklace. This time the flash of light is red, leading to the appearance of Longg the Dragon. There are no exchanges of pleasantries as she fastens the choker. Running her fingers along the bead in the center she also transforms. 
She is wearing what looks like a red, black and gold bodysuit, the design flowing all over her body. The top she is wearing looks like a kimono, the hem just above her knees. On her hip rests a katana, her mask red and black trimmed with gold, blending with the horns that now adorn her head. She joins Chole behind Marinette. 
“Luka Couffaine. Please come forward.” The final man steps forward, the one from the village. Damian can’t help but glare in distaste. 
“In the past you were the holder of the Snake Miraculous. You were given responsibility over time. Do you desire to continue your responsibility of this miraculous? In doing so you swear your loyalty to me and will uphold your duty as the Snake.”
“I gladly accept Supreme Guardian.” He takes a bangle that looks like a coiled snake. With a flash of teal light, the snake creature appears.
“Welcome back young wielder.” he slithers as he bows to Luka and Marinette. The same as the girls, Luka runs his fingers over the bangle, and is left transformed in a teal light. He now has a hood that melds with his loose fitting suit, the pattern of a snakes head on top. He has a whip resting on his hip, attached to a belt. The dark teal of his clothes melding well with his black boots and mask. His eyes took on a more snake like appearance. 
“Now that we have selected holders for tonight, I will call an end to the ceremony. I will be leaving in the morning.” The crowd grows restless again. “I have a life outside the temple, but I will continue to follow through on my duties from afar. I will take Kaalki with me for emergencies and will stay in contact with the holders.”
“And the box?” Someone shouts from the crowd. 
“Will stay in your capable hands, as you are all guardians. I look forward to our next meeting” She takes a pair of glasses from the box before waving over it, sealing it once more. She stands once again to bow before leaving the room, her three protectors following. Tikki sits neatly in her hair, enjoying being close to her once again. Damian watches and Tim recalls the drone, leaving the occupants unaware of the intruders for now. He is unsure if Marinette will tell all of them. 
“We better get a move on if you want to be back in Gotham to pick her up from the airport.” Tim starts working his way back down the mountain before stopping and looking back at the boys. “Could we just call the jet here?”
“And risk them hearing or seeing it? No, get a move on, we have a long hike ahead of us.” Jason laughs, pulling ahead of Tim, who grumbles but accepts his fate. And a long hike it was, when they finally get back to the jet, all of them are ready to drop from exhaustion. 
“Who wants to start flying so we can use autopilot?” Jason groans, dropping into a seat. 
“I will, I have a lot of thinking to do anyway.” Damian marches into the cockpit and closing it off from the rest of the plane. 
“I haven't had coffee in almost 48 hours, this sucks?” Tim all but collapsed on the floor of the jet. 
“Get sleep like a normal person then” Jason quips, throwing a pillow from the overhead at Tim before turning in himself. Tim stayed on the floor, grabbing the pillow and curling in on himself, it brain finally crashing. 
Damian starts the plane, taking them back to Gotham. Once he reaches the proper altitude for autopilot a call comes in from the Batcave, revealing one Nightwing. “Hey there kid, I see you’re on your way back. How did it go?” Damian just gives a tired sigh, Dicks concern sky rockets.
“She is now a leader of a secret organization the protects magical jewelry, and the last leader forbade her from telling me about it and that's why she stretched the truth. My normal isn’t so normal after all” Dick can only whistle in disbelief. 
“That's tough, obviously you’re going to tell her everything?”
“I have too. This whole mess started with secrets, I’m not leaving anything out.” Dick smiles at Damian. He is so proud of his growth and maturity. 
“She is lucky to have you.”
“I'll be lucky to still have her after this is all over.” He groans rubbing his face in exhaustion. “I have to tell her everything.” Damian gives his a pointed look, Dick can only nod in agreement. 
“Bruce will understand. If she’s the leaders of something that secret even we didn’t know about it, she knows how to keep a secret. After all the whole family knows her secret too, only fair.” 
Damian sits quietly for a moment, glancing behind him before continuing, “I’m scared Dick. I’m so scared of losing her. I feel like I really messed up.”
“I really wish I could be certain for you, but I can’t. Just tell her everything and the pieces will fall into place. Every couple goes through a rough patch. Yours is just crazy.” 
“I’m going to try and get some sleep now. See you in a few hours.” Dick gives a wave before signing off. Back in the cave, Bruce steps out of the shadows, still in his gear as well. 
“He has grown so much.” 
“He sure has,” Dick turns to face him, “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“You seem certain that she isn’t going to kill him.” Bruce looks grim. His youngest is very serious about this girl, and the last thing he wants is for them to end it. Damian has worked so hard and deserves happiness. 
“Call it my great intuition when it comes to romance” Dick winks at Bruce before walking back up to the manor. Bruce just grunts, still thinking about Damian. He really hoped that it does all work out, but the pessimist in him can’t help but think the worse.
Marinette wakes up in the morning, watching the sunrise over the Tibetan mountains. The sight leaves her feeling excited and refreshed. A new day, a new journey, and new goals. She hoped Damian understood and didn’t leave her for keeping all this a secret. She sighed thinking of the man back home, waiting for her to return believing she was in Paris, not Tibet. She hugged herself against the sudden chill from the mountains. 
Damian was everything she wanted. He was straightforward and level headed. He always had something interesting to say and she loved listening to him talk about a variety of subjects. His sense of humor was quiet like himself, and she just felt so balanced when she was around him. He grounded her, keeping her thoughts from spiraling into crazy town. 
Tikki came into her field of vision, smiling at her holder. She may not have wanted to be Supreme Guardian, but she will do great things for the Order, she just knew it. “What are you thinking about Marinette?”
“Damian. How much I love him. I am so scared that when I finally tell him, he won't be able to take it.” Her smile slides off her face being replaced with worry.
“Just tell him everything. I don’t believe he will leave you!” Tikki squeaks, flying around the room. Marinette laughs at her optimism, moving to get dressed for the day. “You guys are a great match”
“I don’t doubt you Tikki.” Marinette pulls her sweater over her head before putting the rose gold glasses on, Kaalki joining Tikki in the air. “Damien has helped with my spiralling, and normally I would be thinking the worst possible scenarios right now.” Marineete laughs before moving to finish packing her bag, “But no more of that! Only positive thoughts now!” 
Exiting the room, Marinette waves to others walking through the halls, like she always has, but now they hesitantly wave back. The air thick with apprehension, and it frustrated Marinette to no end. By the time she reached the front steps, she was put out and ready to be back in Gotham, where no one knew her as ‘Supreme Guardian’. Where she was just Marinette. 
Alya, Adrien, and Nino were waiting for her on the steps, Chole, Kagami and Luka waiting by the door for their orders. Marinette smiled and chirped good morning, each of them returning the sentiment. She turns to her three holders, smiling while performing her business for the day. 
“Kagami, I have worked with you on the running's of the temple, are you able to stay for the next few months to ensure everything gets up and running?”
“Yes Mari, it won't be a problem.” 
“Thank you Mi,” Marinette's spirits lift at the nickname, thankful that nothing has changed with her friends. She turns to Luka next. 
“Luka I am tasking you with establishing relations between ourselves and the Justice League,” His eyes widen in surprise, “It is time they knew and perhaps we can offer assistance while working within the UN’s laws.” 
“That is a very important job Mari, are you sure I am the right person for the job?”
“You have a level head on your shoulders Luka, and you have always been the most diplomatic out of all of us.” Luka smiles at the compliment.
“Very well, I will come visit when I have an update. I want to meet Damian as well.” Marinette scowls in embarrassment before returning Luka's smile. 
“What do you need from me Mari?” Chole is practically vibrating, her eyes alight with desire and eagerness. 
“Chloe, I need you find worthy holders for the temple. It is time to expand. I trust your judgment and for you to train them.”
“Me?” Chole stammers, tears gathering in her eyes. Chole had done a lot of growing up over the years, and she wished she had been quick to leave behind her childish and immoral attitude but change did take time. Everyone had been nothing but supportive and encouraging throughout her transformation. 
And Marinette wanted her to handle such a delicate task. What is she chose wrong? What is she was the reason for the temple's destruction? What if, what if? Marineete quickly pulls her into a hug, whispering encouragement in her ear, Chole is quick to grab onto her sweater, the tears coming faster now. 
“I could really screw this up Mari-”
“I don’t believe that for a second, I know you are the perfect one for this job.”
“But what if I-”
“Chole.” Marinette pulls back to smile at the woman, their eyes searching each other, before both becoming a matching hard gaze of determination. 
“Of course Mari, I will visit with a report as well.” She gives a little salute, enticing a giggle from everyone present, before whipping her tears. 
“I’ll see you all later, and good luck.” With that Mari descends the staircase, the three turning into the temple, the heavy doors closing behind them. The start of a new era, Marinette thinks fondly to herself, ready to be home. “Let's get to Paris everyone.” With a flick of her fingers, she transforms, and opens the portal, Nino and Adrien ribbing each other as they walked through, Alya only rolling her eyes before following, Marinette looks back one last time at the majestic temple, before stepping through herself, finally glad to actually be in Paris as she said she was.
Damian finds himself anxiously waiting for Marinette to tell him when she would be coming home. He missed her desperately, and really needed to have this conversation with her. But right now he just really missed having her in his arms, her laugh, her kisses, their cuddle sessions on her couch. He really missed his Habibti. 
His phone started to ring, with trembling hands his goes to pick it up, only to almost drop it multiple times, finally answer on the last ring.
“There you go again, making me think I was going to miss you,” Her voice was refreshing, a drink for a dying man. Damian now feels the nerves of seeing her again, he can feel his heart pounding and the flows of adrenaline starting. Damian scowls, this isn't a battle, just a simple phone call with his girlfriend.
“I was so excited to hear your voice I almost dropped my phone.” Damian had started being more honest with his feelings a few months in, Marinette affect on him an unknown welcomed change. 
“Awe, well lucky for you I am boarding the plane now, I’ll be home in eight hours.”
“I’ll be waiting”
“See you soon.” She pauses on the line, “I love you Damian” She breathes out, the sound making Damians heart goes wild, and the guilt in his gut come back with a vengeance. 
“I love you too” With that Damian hangs up, and drops his head into his hands. Eight hours alone with his thoughts, and emotions. He starts to cry, fear over taking him. Damian could face down Killer Croc, he could jump from skyscraper to skyscraper without flinching. He knew the consequences if anything went wrong in those situations. A respectful fear of the known.
But this. Telling Marinette how he didn't trust her, followed her and betrayed her in such a way. That scared him like never before. He couldn’t even begin to plan how this would go, how she would react, how his life would be afterwards. He felt sick to his stomach, all his muscles clenching around his organs, pulling his spiraling mind into the mess.
Dick knocked on his door, entering quietly, finding a red eyed Damian staring at the wall, his hands clenched tightly in front of his face. He simply sat beside him, offering an encouraging pat on the back, patiently waiting for him to initiate. He didn’t have anywhere to be, Kori understood the importance of him staying in Gotham awhile longer. 
“I have never felt this kind of fear before.” Damian whispers, he unclenches his hands, trembling however his eyes do not move from the wall. “I can’t lose her Dick. Look at me now, how could I survive without her.” He chokes up, the thought of her leaving and hating him too much. 
“Tell me the qualities you like about her.” All tension leaves Damian, his eyes losing the frantic fear and taking on a soft love. 
“She is fierce and strong. She brings so much joy and beauty to this world. Her mind is like no other, always thinking and planning. She takes any opportunity presented to care for others.” 
“Does she seem like the kind of person to just walk out without resolving issues?”
“No, but she did hide from me one time after a misunderstanding.”
“But you guys were able to talk it out?”
“Yea she said she would never ignore me again.”
“Is she someone who goes back on her word?”
“Never.” Damian is angry at Dick for suggesting such a thing. Dick only smiles at Damian and pats him on the back, standing to leave. 
“Then trust what you know about her, what you value in her. Everything will be fine Damian.” He only nodes, back to staring at the wall, but less tense then he when Dick first entered the room. Everything would be fine. 
Damian now stand in the airport, he stands perfectly still despite the bundle of nerves racking his insides. He sees her before she sees him, her attention is on her phone, a small frown pulling at her lips, the new glasses on her face making her only cuter. 
He quickly walks to her, she looks up at him surprised when he immediately pulls her close. She melts into the hug, his strong arms resulting to her. She giggles as he refuses to let go for another two minutes, her protest finally being headed when he steps back, taking her bag in one hand and her small hand in the other. 
“Missed you too dork.” Marinette giggles, she glances at him, but his doesn’t look at her. He only gives her a strained smile, leading them back to his car. Marinette doesn’t think anything of it until the car ride is al silent as the walk through the airport. 
“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” Marinette's heart freezes for a moment when Damian tenses, hands tightening around the steering wheel. She starts to feel like something is wrong, Damian was hiding something. 
“Huh, not really.” He mumbles, eyes never leaving the road. Marinette starts to panic, his behavior setting her on edge. Now Marinette, I’m sure it’s nothing bad. No spiraling. She takes a deep breath. You’re imagining things, nothing is wrong. 
The car ride continues in silence, Marinette staring out the window, trying to get a grip on her emotions and keeping herself from coming up with outlandish theories for Damian's attitude. She glances at him, the wrinkles in his face showing how truly on edge he was. No, Marinette tells herself, something is wrong. 
“What's wrong Damian?” Again he stiffens, she watches as he swallowed thickly, adams apple betraying his nerves. She narrows her eyes, watching as he starts to sweat. He opens and closes his mouth multiple times before speaking. 
“I made a mistake.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he pulls over, Marinette's apartment building looming in front of them. “We can talk inside.” He quickly gets out of the car, Marinette scrambling to catch up.
Ok so he made a mistake. It probably isn't that bad. He probably spilled something on my sketchbook, or he messed up the dress I was working on, or he met someone and- nope don't finish that thought Marinette. This is Damain we are talking about. Whatever his mistake was, it's not that bad. 
She catches up to Damian as he is unlocking the door, dropping her bag right away and taking a seat on her couch. She joins him, staring out the large windows, enjoying the view while she waits for him to start speaking. Or at least she was trying to. Her hands are trembling as she plays with the fingers, trying to remain calm. 
“You don’t deserve me” Is all he says, and those simple words break open the dam holding back Marinette's irrational emotional state. The tears start small, before they are quickly falling off her chin and into her hands. She couldn’t believe he would do such a thing, it was the only explanation to everything. Damian cheated on her. 
The sudden I love you, the jittery behavior, unable to meet her eyes. Guilt radiated off him in waves, the awareness of the emotion suffocating her now. It all makes sense. She was in shock, she was only gone a week. Was their relationship that fragile, it's a good thing she hadn’t told him anything yet. She feels her heart harden. She will not trust so easy again. 
“This is all Tim’s fault, just so you know. I-” He glanced at her now, dread filling him as he sees her crying, Damian had never seen her cry before now. He was not sure what to do. 
“How is Tim at fault for you cheating on me?” She chokes out, now looking angry and confused. Damian joins in on the confusion.
“What are you talking about Marinette? I have never cheated on you” Now he's panicked. Where had she gotten such an idea?
“But you said,” She starts, her sentences breaking up with her shuddering breaths, “that you made a mistake, that I don’t deserve you. You are giving off so much guilt!” She stands, Damian leaning back from the angry woman in front of him. “Explain what the hell is going on right now!
“Tim bugged your phone because he was suspicious of you. We followed you to Tibet and we saw everything at the temple.” Damian spits everything out as quickly as he can, seeing Marinette angry at him for the first time scaring him. 
Her face morphs between confusion, anger, shock, and understand before she settles on shock. She retakes her seat on the couch, Damian scoots closer taking her hand in his own. “He did what to my phone?”
“He bugged it. They were trying to protect me, stupidly, and when they played the recording of your call I didn’t know what to think. I thought you were like an assassin or something.” She snorts at that. If only she knew.
“How did Tim do that?” Damian looks deep into her eyes, he finds himself getting lost but finally knows how to answer her. His family deserved this after the breach of privacy they did to Marinette.
“He is Red Robin. I told him to not do a background check on you, but he did anyway and needed to find the reason you didn’t want to meet the family. You could say paranoia is a family trait.” Marinette smiles softly, taking Damian's face in her hand.
“Ironic that two people with important secrets find each other.” The looks she gives him is one of understanding and love. She is taking this too well.
“Why aren’t you angry with me?” He chokes out, “Why are you taking my lack of trust in you so well?” 
“You thought I was an assassin Damian,” He scowls at her teasing grin, “and I was going to tell you anyway.”
“But-”
“Nope, I forgive you. After all I did lie to you. I should be the one apologizing.”
“You weren’t allowed to tell me, I can’t hold that against you.” Her eyes widen in surprise, her mouth making a cute o shape. 
“How did you know that?”
“We had a drone enter the temple so we could see and hear what was going on.” Damian hesitates a moment but continued, “I was afraid to see what was going on. I didn't want it to be like the temple I crew up in.” He shouldn’t have said that. 
“What temple Damian?” 
“Please understand why I haven’t told you this before,” He can’t back down now. He hasn’t lied to her yet, and he isn’t going to start now. 
“It can’t be that bad Damian.” She sounds so understanding and reassuring, squeezing his hands before smiling at him.
“You would probably wish I had cheated on you.” She looks more apprehensive now, but stays firm. “I was raised by the league of assassins,” understanding shines in her eyes.
“At the age of eight, as a right of passage of sorts I had to complete a mission.” Damian starts to feel sick, telling her this. Surely she will run for the hills once he tells her this. “I was assigned to assasinate, murder, a man. I didn’t know his name, or why the league needed him dead. Just that I had to do it, and I didn’t want to disappoint my Mother and Grandfather.”
Damian avoided looking at her, resigning himself for her to leave and never talk to him again. She takes her hands out of his, the action hurting but Damian Understands, he wouldn’t want to touch a murder either. Once again Marinette surprises him, by climbing into his lap. She takes his face in her hands, staring deeply into his eyes, using her thumbs to wipe away his tears.  
“I love you Damian Wayne. Skeletons and all.” She kisses him firmly, trying to put all her emotions into the kiss, trying to make him understand the love she has for him. She smiles into the kiss as he wraps his arms around her slim frame. He deepens the kiss, accepting all her love, relieved to be blessed by Marinette’s beautiful soul. An Afreet such as himself didn’t deserve the touch of one as pure and genuine as her. 
“I don’t deserve you.” Damian whispers, his words thick with emotion as he tried not to cry. 
“If anyone deserves love and kindness its you Damian. And I’m never going to stop giving you that.” Damian holds her tighter, head resting on her shoulder while hers on his head. This moment right here, He wanted it to continue forever. She didn’t run and He wasn’t going to lose her now. 
“Marry me.” She pushes back on his shoulders, giving herself a clear view of his face. “Marry me and stay by my side forever. Let me return all your kindness for the rest of my life. Let me love you and cherish you. Let me be your husband Marinette, Habibti.”
She starts to cry again, but Damian doesn’t panic this time because there is a bright Marinette smile accompanying the tears. “Yes. Marry me and let me shower you with the love you deserve. I am going to never let you go.” She squeals as Damian stands, spinning her around the room, kissing her face and neck as they dance with each other around the apartment. 
“I like that promise.” They kissed once more, lost in each other's devotion. Both content with no more secrets, and the love found in each other. Damian cherishing a love he had never known and Marinette cherishing freedom in following her heart. Both making decisions for themselves for what feels like the first time. A decision to be happy. 
Part Two
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akimmito · 4 years
Text
Heroes are made by the path they choose
Previous | AO3 | Next
___________
Chapter 7
Marinette returns to battle having merged Longg and Plagg. She confronts the Akuma, whose name is unknown, and invokes the power of the Lightning Dragon, the AT field is activated again, but manages to crack enough so that she, using the sword, pierces the shield (perhaps she used a bit magic to enhance the impact force). Chloe jumps behind her and the two fall on the Akuma, just then the chirp sounds again and more mist appears, this time surrounding them all.
They hear voices, they can't see anything and, although for some it's almost heartbreaking to hear, they can't be distracted. Paris depends on them, they may not all be useful at the time, but they never know what could happen.
"Cataclysm!"Marinette wastes no time and, accustomed to Talia's voice, does not stop from her main mission.
Soon, the bark cracks and begins to light up as it seems to expand... there is no butterfly anywhere.
By the time he realizes it, the crust has exploded, staining everything twenty kilometers away from a liquid that looks like blood.
And where the golden diamond was, now there is a kind of worm floating above the Luxembourg Palace.
____________
Just Robert @PoorButterflies
What the fuck?
#WTFParis
Ladybug come back @ LadybugHero_89
PEOPLE! THE ANGEL EXPLODED! It was quite a scene from NGE, will the heroes be okay?
Little Little Sun @ ErasmusLS_564
My sister sent me a video of the exact moment the Akuma exploded, how shocking.
[Attached Video]
#AngelInParis #WTFParis
_____________
Felix feels numb, the scarlet liquid completely covering them. The big problem is that due to the strong smell of metal, he knows it's blood, but that is only part of the matter, what makes him annoying is that it was hot and it's making him sick, not in the sense of feeling disgusted, it's as if the blood was poisonous.
"Guys?"He barely recognizes Luka's voice before falling to his knee as he tries to make his limbs listen to him.
It's a moment of stupor, but the next thing he registers is that a whiplash sends him and Red Fox flying from the building where he was (destroying the construction on the way). It crashes into one of the statues at the University of Paris, La Sorbonne, and then falls to the ground. Nathaniel suffers the same fate, but ends up knocking down the spire of the dome and falling to the other end, within the grounds of the university.
He feels stupid, if he had anticipated it, he could have put the shell on at least the two of them and not seem like a pathetic hero attempt. It feels like an amateur, it's a shame. How could anyone think it would explode?
"If it wasn't so terrible, I'd be excited to fight an angel. Luka, the second chance. "
Return.
Felix watches Marinette and Chloe jump over the Akuma when the AT field falls. At those times, communications sound.
"Kagami, go to Felix's side, now. Felix, put on a shell! The Akuma is going to explode. "Kagami obeys immediately trusting Luka's words, he must have used the second chance. As soon as the girl is by her side, he activate the shell, just in time.
"Cataclysm!"
And the Akuma, in effect, explodes bathing everything in a blood red liquid, inside the shell it's seen how it seems to boil and evaporate, but Felix notes that it considerably weakened the protection of his shield. If they had been hit directly by the liquid, it would have caused a lot of damage.
He look in the direction of the Akuma, there is no longer the rhombus, there are no signs of Chloe or Marinette either, but he doubts that they have exploded, perhaps they were only thrown away. Take note of the Akuma's new look and the interesting metal plate on what he imagines is the head. Not that he finds much shape in what looks like a giant silver-colored noodle, although he understands that it may be a worm.
"He will attack in your direction, separate."
Felix deactivates the shield and the three jump in different directions, just in time to avoid a whiplash from the Akuma's tail.
"Rakkīgāru, we will cover you. "Nathaniel speaks the moment he activates his power. "Mirage. "
Kagami pulls away a little, allowing the two boys to fight. Between the three of them they should be able to take down Akuma, correct?
"Lucky Charm!"  When activating her power, a tight suit with a very curious design falls into her hands, she has no idea how a suit would help them defeat the Akuma. What would Marinette do? She turns to battle, ready to cope. They must reach the alleged akumatized object.
"A suit? "Felix questions, looking at him curiously. Is it really a suit will give them victory?"
"It's a Plug suit... what? I didn't watch the series, but I do know about the suits because I wore them for inspiration. "Red Fox jumps as the illusion fades and the Akuma's tail slams in his direction. "Well, the illusions don't seem to work much. "
"Anything to mention about the suit?" Felix leaps at the worm and hurls the shield directly at the metal plate, only to find another AT field. "Really? "He growls annoyed when he sees his shield bounce off and it's lost in the sea of fog.
"Those suits have instruments for monitoring the health condition, and it also allows for increased synchronization with the Eva... which we don't have. "
"Well, let's be creative."What else can that suit do?"
"I think it can inflate, I saw that it looked round in an image of a red-haired girl."
Felix only listens to them without really understanding. The whole situation is simply disastrous.
____________
Héctor de Troya @EpicAdveturerHector
Hello? Can someone explain what is happening at the Luxembourg Palace? There is a giant worm!
Adrien A. @AdrienAgreste
We were arriving home from the airport when the police owed us to an Akuma shelter just as it explodes. Since when is the butterfly active?
Shinji @AllOrNothing_
@AdrienAgreste The new Hawkmoth seems to hate fashion, he almost didn't send his first Akuma at the opening of fashion week.
Just me @LonelyA_loveless
Apocalyptic scene, blood littered the entrance to the Akuma refuge in Saint-Sulpice. Let's hope the heroes finish quickly.
____________
Miraculously, as they talk about the properties of the suit while avoiding attacks and watch the Akuma destroy the Luxembourg Garden, they come up with a plan to traverse the new AT field. That includes distracting him with the blissful ball-shaped suit (they figured out how to turn it into that) while Ateliade uses her powers to drive the Akuma's powers insane, hopefully, being something so harmless, he doesn't consider it a threat, especially since monkey powers are not such a common knowledge.
Ateliade falls onto one of the shattered ceilings with her already summoned power, her evil smile only telling her that she's excited to join saving all of their butts. Normally the strategies are made by Marinette, but the Akuma had very specific abilities from a very specific program that only Pegase had seen.
However, this has given them a much clearer idea that this new butterfly user is much more committed to destroying them. In addition to their victims not shouting that they want the prodigies, they seem willing to tear them apart and then take the jewelry. If Felix is honest with himself, he only talks a lot about how his uncle like villain was so nefarious
If this works out, Felix will pay everyone's drinks and give Damian a Great Dane, all because he has no faith in the blissful plan, but it's the only thing they could think of where they could wear the suit.
Five minutes later, the suit by itself would have been a fiasco, but Nathaniel decides to use his power again (thus activating the timer) to simulate that the suit was one of them, that generated the perfect distraction for Ateliade to launch what it seems a plush bunny that, without being a real surprise, collides with the AT field, but, by the nature of the monkey's powers, it makes the shield go crazy.
Now, they have to really figure out how to get through that without being cut in half by the crazy AT field.
Atelaide is crazy enough to do it, using her stick to propel herself using the craziness of the shield. She manages to fall on the worm's head and, while he twists to get rid of she, she summons her power again (the previous one fell into the mist), this time it looks like a plush ball and only drops it.
This time the Akuma writhes, the butterfly mask appears as the worm crashes into the Luxembourg Palace. After several more movements and leaving the building reduced to heaps of rubble, a purple butterfly flutters out.
Felix takes that as a sign that as soon as everything is fixed he will order the best liqueurs and distribute them to everyone on the team. Now where can he get a Great Dane?
___________
Shinji @AllOrNothing_
He threw a stuffed animal at him and the AT field went crazy! What the hell with her powers? It's great!
#EpicVictory
Rayn @TheGreatestWorld
Oh lord, bless the Lord. The cure was launched.
Ladybug come back @ LadybugHero_89
Everything is fine, the heroes are leaving. I don't blame them, they managed to defeat the Akuma who was a fucking Angel from Evangelion. Have you seen the series? Not? Whatever, fucking Akuma.
____________
Luka is not feeling well, not until Marinette is on the MT and the first thing he does is hug her. He also hugs Chloe, although the blonde is more reluctant to accept the show of affection. Knowing they were left in the bloody blast twice, leaves him messed up.
"We are fine, thanks to you." Marinette smiles at her best friend, Luka became her support and, when she decided to form the MT, she already knew that she wanted him back in the team with Kagami. They were the first ones he sought out and began to explain the plan.
"Mother." Damian approaches her, is not wearing the mask and has removed his gloves. He's confused, he woke up a few moments ago, but until he heard voices he didn't move.
"Damian!" He's not prepared for the strong hug in which his mother catches him, but he accepts it stunned. All the others leave the room immediately, especially when they see that the child seems about to break.
Damian leans against her after overcoming his initial surprise, letting her hug him as much as she wants. He closes his eyes and just lets himself feel strange when he perceives his face getting wet. She releases him, but keeps him by the shoulders; she also sheds a few tears.
Marinette was aware that the cure would heal him, but seeing him barely alive was shocking, worse still when she heard Talia's voice again.
"I'm happy that you're fine." She smiles and wipes the tears that are running down her son's cheeks. This time, he embraces her again and leans against her to take him in her arms, h'es no longer of age, but he doesn't want to get away to her.
"Let's go home, mother."
"We will, I just have to talk to Felix." She adjusts him in her arms, adjusting him to look for Felix.
She doesn't have to walk much, Félix is returning to the room. They both had the same idea, he smirks.
"It seems that we resume activities tomorrow, may I suggest you take one of the computers of here? That way you don't have to come every day, you can focus on your work. "
"Marc to stay in charge of communications while the others divide the work. I trust you… And thank you, Felix. ”She places a hand on his shoulder and then goes looking for Max to return them home.
Felix only sees her disappear down the hall making a little eye contact with the boy, noting the disturbance in his eyes.
__________________
Chloe B. @BourgeoisQueen
Two Akuma in one week, do you want a medal, butterfly gross?
Marc @MarcAC_twt
Can Hideaki Anno please sue our villain?
Alix @TheLostHeroBunnix
@MarcAC_twt He must take responsibility for art theft!
Marie @MarieLenoir
I hope everyone caught up in the fog will be encouraged to receive mental health care, anyone who comes to @AgapeClinicParis will have a free consultation and if you decide to follow regular sessions I will pay for the first three months.
Polaris Vermilion @Elgato_Solaris
Did you see Paris will soon be @MarieLenoir. Trembles @BruceWayneOfficial, you have competition!
Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson
Who is @MarieLenoir and why is she mentioned so much with B?
Tim Drake @TimDrakeW_
@TheFlyingGrayson You damn heathen, how can you not know when I mention she three times a day?
Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson
@TimDrakeW_ Isn't what you mention Lady Black?
Roy @RoyHarperQ
@TheFlyingGrayson @TimDrakeW_ She's the owner. Marie Lenoir, Oliver has two of his exclusive outfits. He says they mention them a lot together because last year she adopted a nine-year-old boy and racks up philanthropic projects at the same rate as Bruce.
Tim Drake @TimDrakeW_
@TheFlyingGrayson @RoyHarperQ And she has black hair and blue eyes, I wouldn't be surprised if the kid had any of those characteristics.
Roy @RoyHarperQ
@TheFlyingGrayson @TimDrakeW_ Rumors say that his eyes are green.
Jason @IAmYisus_XD
@TheFlyingGrayson @TimDrakeW_ @RoyHarperQ Gossipers.
58 notes · View notes
aliynavenus · 4 years
Text
‘A Little Adjustment’                                          a damirae fanfic
|| 4K+ || CHAPTER 1 ||
click to read the prologue
A year didn’t seem long at all since he left, yet here he was in Jon’s car who unexpectedly showed up to pick him up from the airport and insisted Damian to sleep over. And for some reason he agreed not wanting the first thing he heard were the scorching voices of his brothers at the manor. 
Though he had to say, the city looked the same. To say it almost felt nostalgic passing through the city at sunset. The modern colored skyscrapers towering over one after the other, watching the citizens go on with their normal lives as if nothing bad can happen. Hell, even banners of heroes and his father’s business were still plastered at every corner of the street. It was all the same. They even passed the academy, yet Damian didn’t feel reluctant towards it, knowing ever since he attended there he’s been wanting to get the hell out. Except the last day, where he felt hesitant to leave, because of her. 
After informing Jon about Raven’s powers and their encounter prior from his departure, that was the last time he ever spoke about her, to anyone really so he could forget her
Damian turned his forearm that was covered by his long black sleeve shirt, he never made any improvement of what the hell the writing is considering it’s in a language not existing to this world. Not just the writing but something else
After he got to Tokyo, he felt like something in his head--no his mind was raiding him. It felt like his mindset could sense something. He couldn’t put it into words; it was distant and vague but it was like feeling doubt or contentment in the back of his mind that he knew wasn’t his. It was odd to say what it was. But it felt familiar. 
“Holy shit I can’t believe you’re finally back. It's been so boring without you dude. But before we talk about anything, we need to talk about the important part first, the girls!” Yup everything was the same even Jon. “What were Tokyo girls like? Are they really as cute as they say they are in person,” Jon scrambled not even paying attention to the road, “Oh, please tell me you had sex at least, and don’t gimme that ‘I’m Damian Wayne I don’t have hormones bullshit.” he mocked in Damian’s deep tone voice that sounded nothing like him. 
Damian scoffed, he had to admit after the countless calls Jon gave him every night back in Tokyo. He did miss his best friend and his enthusiastic personality.“First of all I sound nothing like that. Second, that is not your business to know.” 
“So you’re really going to let me believe that you’re still a virgin after the 17 brooding years of your life.” Jon eyed him slyly.
Got him there. “I did have….a few encounters with the women there.” 
“No way!” Jon hit the brakes so hard as they entered his driveway that Damian could feel the whiplash breaking his head, “The Damian Wayne actually was a playboy in Tokyo. And here I thought you’d never get to experience the making of love.” Jon playfully lightened his voice like he was speaking about heaven itself. 
Love? Now there was a ridiculous word, Damian never thought about especially in sex, “Relax Jon, I’m not an animal like you. Nonetheless I wouldn't even call it ‘making love.’ They were merely assets to please my own needs. Don’t act like I don’t have my own desires to fulfill.” his words snapped perfectly as he closed the trunk of Jon’s car to get his luggage out. 
Although it was true, it wasn’t like he was an animal feasting off any girl that he came across but he did wants that needed to be pleased. Of course he felt nothing for those women, they all just looked at the surface of him, attractive features, countless bags of money attached to his name, he almost felt shameful sleeping with those women, it made him feel like Jason. Gross. 
“Dude! You were basically Bruce Wayne over there then, you do realize that. ” Jon laughed hysterically, sliding his finger under his eye, pretending like he was wiping away a tear. 
Tsk it was a crowl of bitterness being referred to his father’s poor masked persona to the public. Jon was right before though, Damian could get any woman he desired, all except one. Her. Sure he had to forget her but every dip and curve she had on her body especially those amethyst gems, gods they left a mark on his mind that he couldn’t erase.
Before Jon could even open the door he turned around to Damian placing a hand up, “Wait before you come in there’s someone in there I didn’t tell you about.” 
“What? It is one of your weird Midwestern cousins.” 
“Hey they’re not weird! But no, I've kept it hidden since you always say I’m bad at keeping secrets, so I kept this hidden for a few months now,” Jon snapped his fingers with a cheery grin, “So Ha! Who’s the best secret keeper now.” 
Damian snorted, rolling his eyes, reaching for the door knob, unpleased by Jon’s unimportance accomplishments, “Oh yea, and what’s this big surprise that you kept.” he said, entering Jon’s-- replica of a farmhouse home. Damn Kents with their midwestern taste. 
‘Well do you remember Rav--”
“Jon, are you home? Lois and Clark said they’ll be home late so we can order food--oh, I thought I heard someone else.” 
Holy shit. This had to be a dream, of course that was the only explanation. Right?
“Surprise!” Jon interrupted, jumping estactly in front of Damian, “I got a step sister! You remember Raven, right Damian? She transferred before you left.” 
Oh he remembered. He remembered well. He also remembered a beating Jon was going to get for keeping this hidden from him. 
Raven Roth, the only woman that left his mind a mess. Damian was trying to wrap his thoughts around that Raven was here. Here in front of his eyes, her hair has gotten longer passing her shoulders resting right above her breasts. Her chromatic eyes that were still breathtaking at the sight. And yet she looked somewhat vibrant. Seeing her in a beige straight mini skirt combined with a dark red sweater. She looked sinless. Gods this was like a whole new version of Raven that his eyes were feasting off from. It was like a painting that was displaced in front of him that was meant to be admired.
He felt rather awkward now appealing that he was just staring at her appearance not yet having said a word. 
“Right. I remember you, Raven. It’s been some time, you look different” different? Out of all his vocabulary he chose that one, the most typical one. He was making a fool out of himself. Urging to change the subject just as quick to avoid his embarrassment. “So I presume the Kents adopted you then. Jon made no input in that. How did this happen.” 
Raven glanced towards Jon like she was waiting for him to answer for her but he only nudged his head towards Damian. “You can trust him Raven, believe me nothing will break him.” Damian watched her play with her fingertips looking like she was trying to find the proper words, and fuck did she look precious doing that.
“After the Bane attack last year Jon came up to me saying Clark knew people that can help me control my powers. Superman and Constantine helped me surpass my father's demands and helped me trap my father in this sacred crystal that makes him less powerful.” She grasped her necklace lifting it to his view, “And along the way I became very fond of this family that Clark wanted to take me in or adopt like Jon says.” Raven’s eyes lit up as if this was her favorite thing in the world to talk about. 
Who would have thought being adopted by The Kents would ever please anyone. Not only has the most intriguing woman he’s ever met is one of the most powerful sorcerers who’s half demon but is now dreadfully part of the Kent Family. It was like chills were sent through his spine comprehending that.  
“It must have been appealing to you knowing that Clark is super--” 
Before another word could come out, Jon’s palm covered Damian’s mouth that it made a loud smack. “A super epic reporter! That’s how he has all these amazing inside stories about superman! Right Damian!” 
The hell is he doing? “Well Raven if you could go back upstairs. Me and Dami here have so much to talk about. You can talk to him later. Now go and meditate or read one of those weird things.” 
"Books Jon, they're called books.” She sounded like she was tired of Jon but yet who can blame her. As they watched her go back upstairs hearing the small shut of the door. Jon exhales, releasing his hand away from Damian’s mouth. “What was that for--”
“I gotta explain fast, look long story short, Raven doesn’t know who the “The Kents” actually are.” Jon gave a look to Damian like it was supposed to tell the whole story. Yet that only made him more puzzled about this situation, “Raven doesn’t know Clark Kent is Superman neither does she know that I’m superboy or that your robin. She has no idea who we actually are even though she’s an empath she can control her powers now. She trusts us, so not once has she ever had to feel our emotions. To her she thinks we’re just a normal family who have no sort of connection to metas or any type of weird shit that can’t be explained.” 
Damian had to admit not a lot of things shocked him but this -- this was like a sitcom from a damn show that was brought into reality. “Your saying she’s completely oblivious that she’s living in a house full of kryptonians, wouldn't it be better if she did know.”
“My dad was going to tell her everything right away but Raven felt so happy that she finally met people who were ‘normal.’ She said that all her life she felt like a freak. She loved knowing that a “regular” family took her in and actually took the time to help her. My dad thought if she were to find out who we actually are she’ll feel overwhelmed that the only people who wanted to take her in, were people that can’t be explained just like her. He said she’s going to feel like a freak all over again, so we all agreed that we try our best to make her feel like a regular teenager and not a spawn to her dad.” 
It did make sense. No average family would ever give in to take care of a powerful half demon knowing the consequences. If she did find out it’ll only appeal to her as freaks taking in a freak, but she wasn't one. It felt a blade in his chest knowing she considers herself like that. If anything he was the strange one. Despite their similar backgrounds he felt filthy compared to her. She was pure, something so fragile that he didn’t want to bathe her in his dirty, damaging past.
“Okay look, I can go along with this charade but I need answers to this writing and to these damn things I’m sensing from my head after she healed me.” 
Jon’s eyes widen, “You still haven’t found out what the hell it is?!” 
“No!” Damian's strident voice hollered, slapping the back of Jon’s head causing him to wince, “In case you haven’t noticed whatever the hell it is, isn’t from earth. So of course this planet wouldn’t have an idea of what it is,” 
“You know that really hurt.” Jon whimpered as if he never has gotten hit by a plane before, which he has. “Well, we can’t tell her that you're Robin.” 
Oh gods, if Jon was going to continue giving him dead ends he was going to end his kryptonian life right then and there. “I know that, Jon. I need to think how to ask her without revealing anything.” 
“I might have an idea.” a sly smirk appeared on his lips as he leaned back on his heels, “Raven!” he yelled “I called the Tai place you like, they said they don’t do deliveries today! Wouldn’t want Damian to feel hungry or lonely if I go!” 
At this point Damian really should’ve just considered staying at Dick’s place afterall.
Steps were heard bouncing off the floor, watching that damn skirt inch up from Raven's thighs, her skin looked like silk that he wanted to--no..! What was he thinking? 
 “You don’t have to scream you know. I’ll go get it,” Raven’s heel turned towards Damian having their eyes meet, “Besides you’re the guest at the house. It’s the least I can do. I hope Tai is okay. It's no fancy dinner though since you’re probably used to those kinds of things.” a timid chuckle cautiously escaped her lips, as if hoping her little joke wasn’t too much. 
What did she have to be nervous about? If anything it felt like she had him under some kind of spell making him vulnerable whenever she was close to him. 
He cleared his throat trying to ignore whatever he was feeling, “I assure you, it’s one of my favorites, thank you.” cutting back a curse, hating how his voice was masked with the typical Damian Wayne business tone, his father had him adjust to when attending business meetings. This made him feel like a utter fool
Though she didn’t seem fazed by it and simply nodded with a small smile, “I’ll be back, then.” 
Damian jerked his head towards Jon after she shut the door behind her, almost forgetting he was still here, “Now what about this plan.” 
“Get your suit.” 
-----------------------
Raven had no idea he was coming back. Jon was always overly excited talking about Damian’s arrival to her, he just never mentioned it was going to be today. It made her feel nervous when she spoke to him, knowing all the spiraled rumors. It felt like everyday she always heard about him, not just from Jon but from every person at the academy. The son of a rich billionaire playboy who got everyone's attention with his attractive features and mysterious persona yet decided to play the outcast. She had to say she did notice him every once in a while back then, it wasn’t hard considering the countless rumors that would come through her ears. 
Damian Wayne was known to be arrogant, egocentric, a heart breaker even. Rumors flooded about how he would leave every girl crying after going on a date with them. Yet that was Jon’s best friend. Though she trusted Jon and if Damian was worthy to know about her powers then so be it. In fact he didn’t even look fazed when he found she had powers, it was strange, but warming. 
It was grim walking home in dim lighted streets after picking up the Tai food for them. The streets were empty, the sounds of crickets chirping echoing in the vast narrow night. It all seemed calming though it was quiet, too quiet even. Something felt off--no something felt familiar. It couldn’t be, could it? 
“You know young girls shouldn’t be walking at night alone. But you’re not like the other girls are you, Rachel or should I say Raven.” 
It was familiar. It was Robin. She hadn’t seen him for almost a year now, after she healed him she tried looking for him. To explain what she did. Now he was here, here in the alley being dimly streaked with the light from the light pole as he wore the darkness of the shadows in the alley. Her breath felt cut looking at him, he looked different, a good different, he looked sculptural in a way that whatever he did in that year really paid off. But why did he come to her now? 
“You really know how to make an entrance. It’s been a year and now you come to me? I’ve tried looking for you, you’re not the easiest person to find.” 
A soft chuckle came from his lips, “I’ve had a busy schedule.” she watched as he narrowed his masked eyes at her, “Listen Raven, I didn’t just drop by to hello. I came to get answers.” 
Raven knew what he was referring to but she didn’t know if he knew all that he was referring to. She wondered if he knew all of it, everything that she’s mistakenly done.
“If it’s what I think you’re referring to I can explain.” Raven stepped forward hearing her voice soften.
“Then explain, explain everything Raven. The writing on my arm that appeared after you healed me and these things I sense in my mind. Explain it all.” They were merely feet away but she could hear his frustration clearly through his masked voice.  
This was it, she had to explain every mistake she did, every little thing she connected them with. 
She felt her heart become heavy as she chewed at her lower lip, uncomfortably shifting as what she was about to expose what her powers really did that day. Or more so what it unleashed, “For starters, the writing…..it’s a connection to lust.” 
“What?” He sounded bewildered at her answer. Oh gods, he really didn’t know what she did. 
Damian wasn’t sure what came over him after she spoke, feeling a turmoil of emotions of confusion yet desire swirled into one. Why did she always look so damn desirous to him? Why now? Watching her beige skirt hike up her thighs as he pressed his body forward causing her to lean against the cool brick wall in the alley as he placed his hands on either side of her head. Her face seemed stunned at his actions yet that only made him feel sensuous as he noticed a flush of red across her cheeks. He couldn’t dare look away from her amethyst eyes, it felt they were burning right through his mask. He hasn’t even placed one finger on her yet he felt his body aching to touch her skin. She looked too damn irresistible. What the hell was his body doing?
“What the hell did you do?”
Instantly Raven felt her throat feel dry, feeling her heart pick up speed at his words. She hoped he couldn’t hear it as it beat loudly against her ears. Swallowing between her small breaths trying to regain confidence continuing to look at his masked eyes that held so much mystery.
“When I healed you I wasn’t in full control of my powers I accidentally connected us, our entire bodies to one of the 7 deadly sins, lust. Meaning we can feel when one of us,” she looks away avoiding his hard stare, “is having sex” Every word that came out made her feel like she could fall apart right under him. They were so close that the fabric of her sweater seemed to cling to his suit, it felt like a rush of heat was being consumed within her. She was sure he saw how tense her body was under him. 
Silence stretched between them, as if this wasn’t torture enough for her having to explain this, “When one of us has sex we feel the guilty pleasure from it but the other will feel the consequences of the sin, overwhelming agonizing pleasurable pain rush into our skin...It’s not as pleasant as it sounds,” Her words were low at the end, seemingly remembering that pain, that agony she would get randomly during the past year. That agony was the consequences of Robin having sex. 
Robin's expression changed, clearly taken aback, who could blame him not like he ever felt this pain before considering she never felt that pleasure. Though she was sensing something, something hazy but she could feel it, regretment. Why did he feel that? If anything he’s living his life more than she is. 
All at once Raven felt Robin press his head against hers. That touch was a simple thing that was gentle yet felt so burning in her flesh. “You were in pain whenever I had intimacy?” 
Her eyes trailed off, hoping to regain control of her breaths, “Yes.” pause, “I’m assuming that reason you had many intimacy moments was because of the sin. The sin is a bittersweet thing that leaves you aching for more.” gods she really was pathetic with her words.
“You seem as if this connection to lust had no desires to raid your body.” 
“Lust seems to have a stronger advantage when it’s involved in males. And since I can control my powers now, I can also control how I feel towards those sins better than you can.”
Robin shook his head slowly biting the inside of his cheek giving a distraught smile that had no humor behind it, “So your declaring this lustful sin only affects me.”  
“I’m not quite sure, this sin could explain if you ever feel sexually frustrated.” Raven winced at herself at her lame excuse of this situation she put them in. Though it could be the reason he was acting like this towards her right now. Why else would this tension he put them in be happening. Right?
“What about these damn things I’m sensing in my mind.” 
This was killing her, she hasn’t even explained that part to him yet. 
“The things you’re sensing,” Raven took a moment as if she was nervous to speak, “they’re my emotions. You can feel them as I can for you, only when we’re feeling strongly about something, like right now you’re feeling frustrated.” 
He growled, gnashing his teeth like an animal, “You’re saying you can feel my emotions. You set-- whatever the hell it is pry into my mind to feast information on me this whole damn time!”
Raven blinked at his rash tone. He wasn’t just angry, he was furious. Something told her, he didn’t like sharing his emotions. 
Instantly she felt her throat feel dry, “I didn’t mean to do this on purpose, any of it!” Her words felt like it could break at how wobbly they were, “When I healed you, your wound was so close to your mind I accidentally created a mind-link. None of this should’ve happened. I don’t know why it did.” She should have known better if she knew healing him a year would've caused this much trouble. It was questionable why her powers did this all on their own, especially to them. 
He looked away slightly, mumbling something in another language that she didn’t know but he scoffed when he brought his vision back to her. “Then you must know who I really am behind this mask if we’re linked.” Her breath hitched feeling his fingertips just barely touch her cheek, they felt almost uncertain as if he was hesitant. 
Though all she managed to do was shake her head lightly, “This mind link is still a confusing thing, but since I set it as you being “Robin.” I can only sense those emotions, think of it as I can only sense half of you. Since I don't know who you are behind the mask I can’t sense any emotions if I’m ever around your real identity. So there’s the bright side, your secret is still safe.” she felt lame at how she was trying to at least lighten this subject. Though she saw his fingers lift away from her cheek, falling back to his side. “But since you know my real identity and my earth persona you can feel all of me--my emotions I mean” her voice rose abruptly embarrassed at her poor choice of words. 
For a second it looks like he was about to pull away, but he just lifted his body ever so slightly to come into full view of her, “Tsk. How do we get rid of this? All of this” 
“I’m not quite sure.” 
He grinded his teeth together. “You set these things, can’t you take these damn things away.” 
Gods, he really needed to control his temper like she said before she didn’t plan this, “Setting all these things that I mistakenly did is something I didn’t even know I was able to do.” Raven chewed on her lower lip, “But let me help, at least help figure out how we can get rid of all of it. I won’t make another mistake again, please Robin. I want to help.”
The moment between them after she spoke was filled with the chirps of crickets, it was making her eager to know if he was going to allow her request. Soon after a breath came from him who looked like he was gathering his thoughts, and finally he lifted his hands away from the brick wall that were beside her head. She heard a low curse before he spoke, “Fine, just do whatever you need to do to erase everything. I don’t want to keep feeling like this.” 
Raven didn’t quite know if he was referring to the deadly sin or the mind link part, it was all too much that she did. Either way he probably wanted both. “I’ll try to find as much information as I can by this week.” 
He didn’t respond to her, and just turned away, annihilated his grappling hook to the top of the building leaving her isolated in the dim shadows.
Hearing the plastic of the bag against the wind, gods she completely forgot he stopped her from a food errand, the food must’ve gotten cold already. Jon and Damian must be wondering where the hell she was. 
---------------------------
if you made it to here lemme just say omg finally this was the hardest thing I’ve ever written because i was trying hard to explain this whole situation without them having to be too yk. cuz hellooo it is only the first chapter but ik this chapter a little like ehhh idk if it is or not but I had to shove like everything that needed to get out of the way first, so we can finally be introduced to the fluff and angst and soon smut in the upcoming chapters. so ya hope this chap was somewhat enjoyable 
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vln-vibes · 4 years
Text
Watchtower Woes
Week 1 Day 4 of Maribat March
Special thanks to @little-kitty-kanny , @ethelphantom and @the-navistar-carol  for beta-ing for me
It was a normal day at the Watchtower, well as normal as a space station for superheroes could be. The Watchtower looked down upon their home planet, making it seem so big yet so small amongst the sea of stars surrounding them. Today it was just Wonder Woman, Black Bat and Ladybug on monitor duty.
“Sister.” 
Ladybug, otherwise known as Marinette Drake nee Dupain-Cheng (the 23-year old designer behind the Lady Luck designs by MDC company), turned to see Wonder Woman looking at her with concern. She and Diana were rather close as the Amazonian princess had practically taken her as blood sisters when she learned of a new Ladybug; seeing as her mother had once worn the mantle as well.  Diana had also been her business partner when her company first began to take off.
“Are you feeling alright? You seem to be under the weather”
“She’s right,” Cassandra Cain-Wayne added in “Your center is off, you seem uncomfortable.”
“I’m fine. It's been a little stressful with the upcoming line with Wayne Enterprises,” Ladybug sighed, finding herself massaging her temple, feeling a headache already developing. “That and the team has been acting strange lately, I’ve been trying to investigate the cause, but the Miracle Book isn’t saying much, and I can’t exactly ask Master Fu anymore”
“How so, Ladybug?” Diana asked, taking a seat next to her while Cass took charge of looking through the security footage for them, still focused on the conversation.
“Well, most of them have gotten dangerously overprotective of me. Just yesterday Roi Singe took a hit for me against Hawkmoth 2.0’s latest creation. I asked him about it afterwards, and he just said that nothing could harm me? It was rather strange, especially seeing as Ryuuko and Abeille got more ruthless afterward. Chat was also hissing at people who approached me,” she explained with a troubled look.
“Even as civilians, Viperion, Monarch, and Paon were coddling me: Mari are you warm enough? Have you eaten today? No, Mari, let me get you a natural juice instead of coffee. It’s been so frustrating having to deal with their constant  babying.”
“It’s honorable for your team to care for your well being” Diana commented, heavens knew  how the JL got  whenever one of their members was  ill or was unable to perform their duties. Ladybug’s eyes just seemed to water at the implication, wiping the tears before they even fell.
“B-But that could just mean they don’t trust my abilities… what if they think I’m not worthy of being leader or even worse… of being Ladybug?” 
Diana did her best to console the younger woman while Cass looked at her skeptically.
She had seen the sudden change in emotion Ladybug had gone through like whiplash, from tired to content to worried to saddened. As Diana combed through Marinette’s pixie cut, Cass continued to think of the things happening these past few weeks.
Tim had once asked Barbara if there was anything that could help with back pains, stating that Marinette had been experiencing some rather hard period symptoms.
She recalled Adrien purring along with Alfred the Cat when they had gone to Wayne Manor last week along with Tim and Conner. Even Ace and Titus were acting like her personal bodyguards, not too different from normal, though Damian admitted that it was a bit more overkill.
Just last month for the Wayne Charity Gala, during the ladies’ final fitting, she had complained to Steph that her own dress felt a little tighter than she expected... though not unbearably so, so she had just decided to leave her own dress as is.
Had it really been so obvious?
She needed to recheck whether Tim deserved the title of Detective after this. Cass stepped out of the room momentarily to make what was potentially a life changing call.
“Robin and Superboy, do you read?” she knew her baby brother, almost eighteen years old, would be hanging out at the Titans Tower in the east coast with Superboy, now sixteen, but seeing as it was a quiet day and the other Titans: Green Lantern (Milagro Reyes), Nightstar (Mar’i Grayson), Scarlet Flash and Kid Speed (Dawn and Don Allen), and Speedy(Lian Harper) would be on standby.
“Is something the matter Black Bat?” Damian responded almost immediately.
All Bats were rather keen on making sure their comms were on in case of emergencies, even when silenced, they’d have the notifications on to see who was trying to contact them.
“Do you mind coming to the Watchtower with Superboy, there’s something concerning Ladybug𑁋”
“Is she alright?” she almost giggled at how concerned her brother was before keeping her cool and responding.
“I believe she’s alright but perhaps not aware of her condition”
“We’ll be there in a minute”
Not even a full minute after stepping back in with a much calmer Ladybug, did she hear the announcement of Robin and Superboy’s arrival before the two skid into the communications room with the three heroines.
“Robin and Superboy? I wasn’t aware you boys would be passing by today,” Diana asked curiously as Damian just puffed up.
“Black Bat called about checking Ladybug’s condition” he said eyeing the scarlet hero to see if anything was amiss; other than her red rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks he found nothing unusual.
“My condition? Cass what are you talking about?” Ladybug asked confused and a bit protective.
“Superboy,” Jon perked at his name before turning to Cass “Can you hear the heartbeats in this room?”
“Uh sure…” to say he was confused was an understatement. He was rather familiar with their heartbeats, having known them for years at this point. He could hear Diana and Damian’s rather war drum like beat, Cass’ steady and rhythmic beats, Marinette’s calm and slightly faster than usual heart and then there was𑁋
Wait, what?
“That’s weird” he whispered to himself before focusing again. Sure enough it was still there a soft echoe of duhn-duhn… duhn-dun as the fifth heartbeat. But he had never heard it before… and it was coming from…
Oh duh!
“Holy schmoly! Congrats Ladybug.” He flew up to her and gave her a huge hug, conscious of his strength now more than ever. Ladybug seemed confused while Cass smiled at her.
“You’re expecting!”
Suddenly everything made more sense, Marinette thought in that moment of realization, as she felt Diana give her her own congratulations along with Damian, who wished to both brag and inform the rest of the family.
This was really happening.
“Can— can we see Doctor Mid-Nite or Doctor Thompkins, please?” she heard herself whisper. The group looked at each other, Diana contacting the Watchtower’s doctor while Damian called for Tim and the rest of the Bat Family to come as soon as they could; was that overkill? Perhaps, but no one that was even associated with the Bats could be anything less than dramatic. Jon was the one who called Conner who called Adrien to go meet them at the Watchtower as well.
Half an hour passed and Ladybug found herself lying on one of the Med Bay beds with Doctor Thompkins, the woman having to be pulled until they mentioned Marinette requesting her assistance, making the last few configurations to the ultrasound machine.
“Are you ready, dear?” the kind doctor asked.
 Ladybug lifted her uniform, which she learned she could do at that moment, nearly squirming at the cold gel spreading at her softening abdomen.
“As ready as I’ll ever be” she laughed nervously before taking a deep breath. She couldn’t help but close her eyes, unsure if she wanted it to be true or not, before hearing the curtain open. Tim looked disheveled, most likely having come out of a W.E business meeting he had mentioned yesterday evening.
“Mari, what’s wrong!?”
Duhn-duhn…. Duhn-duhn… duhn-duhn
Marinette had never heard such a life-altering sound, feeling the tears swell in her eyes as her husband looked dumbfounded.
“Is— is that?” Marinette could only nod before being enveloped in a hug by him. He whispered sweet nothings and reassurances to her as the beautiful sound echoed in their heads.
“God, we’re going to be parents, sunshine”
“So it would seem, moonlight”
“M’Lady what’s—!” Chat Noir had sprinted from the zeta entrance having heard the far too soft heartbeat coming from the monitor, the Bats not far behind him. Suffice to say that the Watchtowers usual quiet was interrupted for the rest of that evening as cheers and congratulations went around the Med-Bay.
They would later learn that she had been nearly three months pregnant by the time they found out, explaining her team’s odd behavior due to the animal characteristics of the Miraculous. However, the worst news was to come a week later on one faithful morning.
“Oh kwami, get that away from me!” Marinette exclaimed as soon as she came out of their room in their studio apartment in Gotham. The scarlet hero having to rely on Pegasus for travel to and from Paris for the time being. Not that her team even wanted her on the field in the first place at the time but she was anything if not stubborn, a necessity for the Wayne family.
That was how the coffee obsessed duo discovered that Marinette and baby were disgusted by the mere smell of coffee. Truly, it was the hardest part of the pregnancy.
Six months later, when Thomas Louis Drake-D.C was born, his aunts and uncle would continuously call him the ‘Second Coming of Christ’ for doing the impossible and getting his parents to cut off their caffeine addiction, much to their annoyance. 
For now they were just a family of three, looking at the infinite stars of their baby’s eyes.
My AO3
Ko-Fi
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ranger-jedi-knight · 4 years
Text
Angel Wings Darken Chap 3
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26286832/chapters/64015168 ok so here is part 3 of @chocolate1721 prompt!! I hope you guys enjoy!
First up, the reactions of Paris after watching that live stream!!!
When news of a live stream coming from the Ladyblog came up, naturally everyone clicked on it to watch.
Why wouldn’t they?
The creator of the site, Alya Cesaire, told everyone she was going to America with her friends for a class trip. So they were curious what she would be live streaming. Gotham had its own villains. So they were curious.
But oh.
Oh.
They were not prepared for what they saw.
Ladybug in front of everyone dressed differently. Wearing a suit like Joker who was in the background fighting Batman. Deep red combat boots, a black dress shirt tucked into black pants, covered by a tux vest that was red with black polka-dots, her gloves were black with red fingers. Her hair was longer in higher-up pigtails, the tips dyed red and purple respectively. The only thing that remained of Ladybug was her mask.
But that just showed her ice-cold eyes.
It was like they were frozen over as they looked over the class in front of her.
Only warming up to that familiar warmth when they landed on a couple of people, the mayor's daughter Chloe and Bruce Wayne’s son Damian. They were the only two to get that warmth.
Everyone could only watch, shocked, as she-Bug she’s going by Bug now- slapped and kicked Adrien. It practically gave the people of Paris whiplash. She went from being gentle, kissing Damian’s cheeks as she spoke, to being harsh and violent by hitting Adrien.
The cackle leaving her lips had a chill going down their spines.
Sabine and Tom could barely breath as they watched the screen in their bakery.
Every time Bug yelled, it froze every Parisians veins. They have never heard her so angry before. And that was something. They’ve all seen her angry and annoyed. How could they not? Some Akuma battles were annoying or frustrating. Especially when they realized Chat wasn’t doing much work to help. He was sexually harassing Ladybug.
Everyone could see that.
Well, almost everyone.
That class Ladybug was yelling at didn’t seem to understand as they stanned the LadyNoir ship. But everyone else?
They could tell.
They could also tell that Ladybug was young.
And shouldn’t have to deal with it.
Everyone jerked when the saw her stalk toward Alya and rip the phone from her grasp to speak to the live stream.
“Hello, Paris. As you may have seen, it’s me, Ladybug,” she spat the name out. “But I've changed. I now go by Bug. And since they know, you get to know as well. In my civilian life, you know me as Marinette Dupain-Cheng and know Chat Noir as Adrien Agreste. these three people,” she turned the camera to Lila’s bowed form, Alya’s scared face, and Adrien’s red-hand shaped blotched face, “have been making my life hell. But oh, they had help,” she said panning the camera out to the rest of the class. “Those lovely sheep followed the Liar called Lila Rossi’s every word, never checking a single thing she spewed. You can thank them for turning me into this new me. I go by Bug now. I’m helping Joker. and Hawkmoth, Mayura, if you know what's good for you, leave your miraculous at my balcony unless you want to see what a protege of Joker can do,” she gave the camera a sinister smirk as she shoved the phone back into Alya’s grip.
The rest of the live-stream went by, but Paris barely paid any attention.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug.
AND HER CLASS DROVE HER INTO WORKING WITH JOKER.
Fear gripped everyone's hearts as they watched what happened on screen, not even listening anymore.
But no one had more fear in their hearts than Gabriel and Nathelie.
Well, maybe Tom and Sabine were close.
They just learned their daughter was Ladybug, and that they’ve been believing a stinking little liar instead of her. When the live-stream ended, chaos erupted.
Every news station was doing a piece on it and the French Government was scrutinizing Collège Françoise Dupont. The school board was close behind them, wondering what on earth was going on over there that allowed the Star Student to be bullied so hard she joined Joker.
They were also calling everyone they could in Gotham to get those students back and deal with them. They would leave Chloe there thou.
They couldn’t force Marinette back into France. So, they could only hope Chloe would help calm her down.
So the mayor texted his daughter and got the confirmation that she would do what she could to help Marinette but that there weren't any promises.
Within the day, the class was scheduled to come back to Paris.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Police escorted the class to the airport, wanting them out of the country quickly. Adrien  was walking fine, he just groaned softly when he breathed. Alya had her arm in a sling so that her shoulder could heal and not get agitated. Lila wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. Just stared at her feet as her nose throbbed. The lady manning the desk scoffed when she saw Lila, causing her to curl into herself.
They were seated in the back of the plane, many rows before them empty. Only the first class seats and a couple rows behind first class had anyone on them. One row halfway between the two had two officers seated, making sure no one tried anything. Adrien was sitting by himself, rubbing his ring finger which was burned and wrapped. His miraculous revoked, leaving a mark as a permanent reminder that he could never be Chat Noir again nor could he wield any other miraculous.
Alya was in a similar position. Nino thou…
Nino was hurt, but he knew, he understood. And he would do everything in his power to make it right. Unknown to them, Alix was also like that. She was fuming. The watch she had been given was taken from her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bug sneered at the group as they stood outside the airport. The class jerked at seeing her land in front of them. She smirked at that. Her cold gaze going over them, lingering on Adrien, Alya, Nino, and Alix. As Bug stood there not doing anything, people got out their phones to record, wondering what was going to happen after what happened the first time.
“Oh, you thought I was about to let you keep your miraculous, Agreste?” Bug said with a cackle. Adrien flinched, gripping the ring with his other hand as Plagg flew out of his pocket and went over to her.
“Plagg!” he shouted betrayed and the kwami just shrugged.
“Sorry kid. I gave you enough chances,” Plagg said before looking at Bug once more. “I’m sorry I let it get this bad, Bug. I tried, but I couldn’t get him to change,” Plagg continued sadly. Bug just cooed softly to the kwami.
“It’s ok, Plagg. I know. You tried. Agreste isn’t worthy, he doesn’t show the capacity to change,” she said looking Adrien in the eyes. “Adrien Agreste, as the Guardian of the Miraculous, I hereby renounce you as Chat Noir. You are no longer worthy of wielding Plagg and you shall never wield another miraculous,” She said, her voice seemingly multiplying as she looked down at Adrien when her head tilted back. A faint glow emanated from Bug’s eyes as she spoke.
Adrien cried out as the ring around his finger started burning. Everyone watched scared as Adrien scrambled to remove the ring but it wouldn’t move. But then after a bit, the ring flew off Adrien’s finger and Bug caught it with ease, a sneer on her lips as she watched Adrien on the ground curling around his branded finger. That brand will be a reminder and make sure he never touches another miraculous. She then looked to the other class members.
“Nino, Alya, Alix, step forward,” she commanded and the three couldn’t stop themselves as they stepped forward, Bug’s many voices ringing around them. She looked at the ex-couple with contempt, she only felt slightly bad for Nino, the boy was only following his girlfriend but paid for it when he asked about a couple lies that didn’t make sense. Alya broke up with him soon after. But he didn’t apologize to Mari or try helping her. So she didn’t feel too bad about what she was about to do.
“Wha-what do you want?” Alya asked, her voice trembling.
“Alya Cesaire, as the Guardian of the Miraculous-” she started and Alya interrupted her with a sob.
“No-no please-!” she sobbed out but Bug continued on like she hadn’t been interrupted.
“-I hereby renounce you as a Rene Rouge. You are no longer worthy and will never be worthy of wielding a miraculous,” she said and Alya gasped and sobbed as right were the fox necklace usually rested, a brand was marking itself. Bug then turned to Nino who bowed his head, his fists clenched as he waited.
With a wobbly voice he said, “I am so sorry Marinette. I deserve everything you dish out to me. Ii failed you as a friend and as Carapace. I’m sorry for being a failure. Please tell Wayzz I’m sorry for not being a good hero.” Bug watched as tears fell down Nino’s cheeks. Her face softened a bit, knowing how sincere Nino was being.
“Nino Lahiffe, you have let me and Paris down. As the Guardian of the Miraculous, I hereby give you this warning, if you are truly sincere in your remorse, you are being given one chance to make it up. Prove to me that you deserve to wield a miraculous again. Only when you have proven yourself worthy will you be able to wield a miraculous,” Bug said and Nino gasped as a mark in the form of a turtle-the same shape as the miraculous he wore oh so long ago- formed on his wrist. It didn’t hurt much, like what he imagined getting a tattoo would feel like really. He just gripped over the spot and took deep breaths, only wincing occasionally.
Bug then turned to Alix who had taken a step back in shock, trying to escape but unable to move. The other three were able to move back, being helped by their classmates as a medical personnel looked over the brands. Only Nino didn’t need anything besides some soothing lotion.
“Alix Kubdel,” Bug started going closer to the girl and circling her. By then, Batman was there standing back since he didn’t know how to proceed since she wasn’t exactly doing anything bad. Just marking them to never wield the sacred jewels ever again. “Your family was entrusted with the bunny miraculous. But with it passing to you, a grave mistake has been made. But it was always a mistake, for two bunny miraculouses have been in this time for too long. It’s time to remedy that,” she said reaching a hand out and the pocket watch flew from Alix’s pocket into Bug’s hand. “I cannot trust you to hold this without abusing its power to change history. It shall merge with it’s counter to become whole. But you shall never have it back nor wield any other miraculous,” she said and Alix gripped her hip as it burned. She then looked over the cowering class and scoffed. “None of you will ever wield a miraculous again if you ever did,” she said knowing a few others had used a miraculous but only once. While Alix hadn’t she wasn’t going to risk Fluff. She didn’t say anything while giving them a disgusted look before swinging away, flipping throu the air as she disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paris got to watch that happen from the many people that recorded it. Some live streamed it on Youtube, some put it onto Twitter, others Tumblr, and a few sprinkled onto other social media platforms. It was a shock to watch it. Mr. Kubel was especially pissed off. He just learned that he held a miraculous all this time and instead of handing it over to Ladybug, he gave it to his daughter who was a hot-head. But he couldn’t have known.
But he still felt horrible.
He should have known.
By the time the plane landed, Damocles was gone from office, a worker for the Board was waiting at the gate to give Bustier her pink slip, and several officers and lawyers were waiting beside them to take Lila Rossi, Alya Cesaire, and Adrien Agreste into custody.
Lila has done so many despicable things that are currently being broadcasted to the world. Alya harassed and assaulted Marinette and enabled Lila and Adrien and slandered many peoples names. Adrien, he sexually harassed Marinette, enabled Alya and Lila, and endangered citizens by negligence.
When they exited, the three were taken into custody and walked to a cruiser. Their parents-excluding Gabriel since the man barely ever left and they couldn’t blame him if he was embarrassed by his son-followed after the police. They watched as they got into two cruisers. Lila and Alya both had quite a few lawyers go to them while Adrien only had two.
After that, the parents got into their own cars and followed after the cruisers, calling for lawyers as they drove to the station. Parisians all sneered at the passing police cars throwing what they held at the backseats.
The occupants flinched every time when one hit.
But oh.
Lila was also pissed.
Everything was crumbling from underneath her. Her kingdom, gone. And it was all HER fault. She snarled and looked around hoping to see a glimpse of an Akuma. But she couldn’t find any, a soft growl leaving her throat as Alya looked at her scared. When they arrived at the station, Lila had to be held down by two guards and marched inside. She kept squirming and fighting, wanting to make a break for it and get what she deserves. She was going to get revenge.
She couldn’t stand losing to Marinette. She was afraid at the moment Bug appeared. But.
The next time she saw Bug, she was going to attack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next time Lila saw Bug was in court. Somehow, Chloe and Damian got Marinette to go to Paris. Marinette had the most chilling expression on her face as she entered the courtroom and walked up to the witness’s seat. She held open disdain for Lila and the others sitting waiting to be called guilty. The lawyer for them didn’t try hard to get them free or even a plea or deal. He was going throu the motions hoping they’ll get guilty and the worst punishment possible.
Lila snapped when she saw Marinette. With a snarl she shot up and threw her hands out to attack Marinette. Marinette smirked as Lila came at her.
Within seconds Lila was tied up in a yo-yo, face pushed against the tiles with Marinette standing above her with a smirk, pushing her down into the tile. Leaving Lila raving against the tiles, frustrated tears leaving her. “You bitch! I should have killed you in Gotham! Hawkmoth should have let me kill you, you little bitch! You won’t get away with this!” she shouted out and no one in the court dared breath at that.
“Hawkmoth is no more, Lie-la. Before I came down here I picked up his and Mayura’s miraculouses off my balcony. Your partner has abandoned you. He knew what was good for his health,” Marinette said with a smirk and Lila froze as she glimpsed their miraculouses in Marinette’s hands.
Marinette smirked as she watched the officers jerk Lila up and handcuff her hands and feet to keep her from fleeing. With a nod from the judge she’s cuffed to the seat so that they could continue the trial.
Lila just doomed herself to never see the outside again from her prison cell in Italy.
Ok, so here it is!! Paris’s reaction(and the parents to some degree) about what happened! The next chap will focus on Gab n Mari’s parents! So until next time!! -Love Wila<3<3<3
P.S. there MAY be another dark mari fic coming ur way~~
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marvinswriting · 4 years
Text
some secrets are harder to hide
prompt: KEVIN AND/OR GRETCHEN MEETING DAMIAN- bear hell yeah, more borrower au. Gretchen POV? mhmmm. Gretchen is very aware of the reader and she just insults Janis a lot, I think you can TELL how much fun i had writing this one
I'm not stupid. A pushover? Sure. A kiss-up? You bet. A follower? Please, I invented the term. But stupid? No. 
I know Janis didn't fight off a cat by herself and manage to find food. But I'm also not one to complain when a solid food supply gets handed to me.
So I didn't question it. 
Until now.
We have a borrowing schedule. Kevin on Sunday, Janis goes Tuesday, I go Thursday and we all go Saturday for more of a lookout rather than for food. 
The schedule isn't set in stone, if we really need food, we all go together. If somebody is sick, someone else will take their day. 
Which is what was going on right now.
"Janis, you aren't actually thinking of leaving." Kevin deadpans. Its Tuesday, and I look up from where I'm sharpening my tools.
Janis was gathering her supplies, swaying on her feet. "I've got a job to do."
"And a fever. You also have a fever." I add.
Janis shrugs. "Never stopped me before."
"It was never this bad before." Kevin counters.
Janis was an unhealthy pale, to the point where she looked a little green.
"We need the food." Janis wasn't the one to budge in our roommate dynamic. Kevin thought reasonably, I was practical, and Janis was stubborn. It was not always a bad thing, but not a good thing right now as she was about to pass out. 
"Janis," Kevin took the borrowing tools away from her. "No."
 "I'm fine." Janis insisted. "I know my own limits."
"Then," I stood up grabbing my own bag. "I'm coming with you."
"No necessary Gretchen," Janis says, yanking her bag back from Kevin. Or she tries too. It's unuseful and she stumbles back a bit, the bag still securely in Kevin's grip. It didn't even look like he was holding that tightly. 
I exchange glances with Kevin, and he reluctantly hands the bag to Janis. "Gretchen is going with you."
Janis scoffs but doesn't fight him. "Whatever, just don't slow me down."
"I get the feeling that it might be the other way around," I say, following Janis to the floor exit. 
"Stay safe." Kevin warns as we leave. 
It's hot in the walls, but the house has AC. Janis shivers, pulling her hand-sewn jacket closer around her. 
Its night, but we still stick by the walls, carefully making our way to the kitchen. 
Janis tries to muffle a cough with her jacket sleeve. Its summer, so it was odd to have such a bad cold. It was also hot out so to see Janis under so many layers was odd in itself. 
"Janis, are you sure you're okay?" I ask as Janis prepares to climb. Her cheeks are red and she's breathing heavily from just walking.
"Mhmm." She says.
"I'm serious." I turn her so she's facing me. She's so out of it she doesn't even notice what bad shape she's in. Janis giggles a bit.
"Why are you so stressed, Gretchen?"
"I don't think you can climb up without falling."
"I've done it before."
"Not in this shape."
"What do you mean, I'm in great shape." Janis strikes a pose with a crooked grin.
Yeah, no. Like hell am I letting Janis borrow tonight.
She's gonna get herself killed, or even worse- caught.
I groan, placing my head in my hands. "Let's go the other way."
I gotta get Janis back to her room without her suspicion. "We can take the route up to the counter directly." I lie.
"But we just got here!" Janis whined. I grab her wrist and drag her back to the wall. 
"It's for your safety."
We reach the living room and I shove Janis towards Kevin, who glances at us, confused. 
"She needs to go to bed. I'll go borrowing myself."
"Hey, Gretchen! You tricked me!" Janis tried to step forward, but Kevin grabs her shoulders, holding her next to him.
"And it wasn't hard. Go to bed, Janis. You'll thank me when you feel better."
"But-" Her protest was interrupted by a yawn. "Okay. Say hi to Damian for me."
"What?!"
"Huh?"
Kevin and I stare at her wide-eyed and it takes Janis a few moments before her own brain can process what she said. 
"Ohhhhh." Janis ran her fingers through her hair. "Forgot I didn't tell you that."
"Tell us what, Janis." Kevin sits her at one of the makeshift bottle cap chairs we have, pulling up two more for him and me. 
Janis shrugged. "I may or may not have been caught."
"And you're calm about this, why?" I ask.
"It's only Damian." 
I sigh. Janis clearly is too sick to see the issue and that a simple 'it's just Damian' won't make us understand anymore. 
"When did you get caught, Janis?" Kevin asks.
The girl yawns. "Remember when the cat almost killed me?"
"Janis. That was nearly four weeks ago!" Kevin cried out.
Janis shrugged again. "So? I'm not dead."
Even in her fever-induced whacked-out state, Janis made a point. A weak one, but a point. 
"Yet." Kevin countered.
And Kevin made a good point too....
I was receiving whiplash from how this conversation was going. Yeah, Janis isn't dead, but do we really know Damian? No. Every time Janis spoke, I found myself on her side. But then Kevin objects and I'm back with him again. Frankly, it's giving me a headache. 
"Guys," I lift my hand in defense, trying to defuse the argument going on. "What if we all just went tonight. Kevin and I can meet Damian and come to our own conclusions."
Janis nodded, her eyelids drooping. "Let's make it fast though. I think I might be getting sick."
"No, really?"
Kevin shakes his head. "I think this is a bad idea. He knows Janis and that's risky enough."
"Damian isn't a bad person," Janis said sitting up straighter. 
"That's for us to decide," Kevin says. "Get up, our main mission tonight is food and water, not Damian."
Janis mumbled an okay as we grabbed our bags. We actually did take the other route this time, because I wasn't kidding when I said Janis was in no climbing shape. I went in front of her with Kevin in the back as we made our way up. 
This route was in no way easier, but it was harder to fall and we were less exposed.
Janis, against all odds, made it to the exit with minimal issue. She was still swaying with each step, but Kevin pushed her along, making sure she was far away from the edge. 
 I'm not saying I doubt Janis's judgment but, I definitely doubt her judgment. I mean, Janis wasn't the sweetest little angel there was. For a human to see her snarky personality and not want to kill her probably meant they were good news. But I'm not taking her word for it. I'll see it for myself.  
Kevin pushes open the outlet and Janis tumbles out onto the counter. Literally. 
There's a bit of a jump from the outlet to the counter, small enough that we can hoist ourselves back into the walls, but far enough that you cant simply step out.
Janis lands on the marble with a soft thump and a laugh. 
She is out of it. 
Kevin and I follow Janis out, more gracefully. 
"You good?" I whisper.
She grins, wobbling up. "I might pass out."
"You sound way to gleeful to be serious." Kevin deadpans.
"No, I'm dead serious," Janis said, bringing her hand up to hold her head. "But isn't this fun!"
"No." I deadpan, watching Janis sway dangerously. "I'm no doctor but you may be dying."
"Don't listen to Gretchen." Kevin groans. "It's just a fever."
"Can you die from bad fevers?" I ask.
"I dunno." Kevin shrugs. "If Janis keeps this up we may find out."
"For science!" Janis yells excitedly. Kevin and I shush her immediately. 
"If you don't keep quiet, I swear to god, Janis-" Kevin goes off in a ramble of threats he definitely won't follow through with.
A door opens from somewhere in the house and my hand is instantly covering Kevin's mouth. We're still pretty hidden and close enough to the outlet that we're in no real danger if somebody walks into the kitchen but we don't want to get caught, regardless.
"He's arrived!" Janis sings loudly.
Oh right. 
I guess we kinda do wanna get caught.
"Janis if you don't shut the fuck up-" Kevin pushes my hand away from him. 
Janis runs out from where we're in hiding- or more of ungracefully jogs, to the center of the counter.
"Janis-" Kevin calls out as I rush out after her, Kev following.
To be honest, I wasn't thinking of 'oh she's gonna go meet her giant friend, its no big deal' I was more thinking 'this fucking idiots body is gonna shut down on her at any moment and she's just chilling in plain sight'.
Which, to be fair, both were going to happen. I just wasn't ready for the first one. I freeze as a human enters the kitchen, Kevin running into me.  
I knew that we were gonna meet Damian tonight, but that didn't make me mentally prepared. 
"Janis, is that you?" The lights the kitchen flick on, and I cringe at the intrusion of brightness. 
"Damian!" Janis grinned pushing away from me and walks to the edge of the counter. 
"Are these-" Damian glances at Kevin and I. "Are these your roommates?"
"Yup!" Janis says throwing up jazz hands. "Meet Kevin and Gretchen!"
We both wave shyly under the gaze of Damian. Unlike Janis, we cared about our lives and you're not gonna catch me trusting a human right of the bat.
"Hi." Kevin says tentatively, stepping further out from the shadows, pushing me along with him.
"Hello, I'm Damian."
I'm sure Damiana already knew that we know that, but hey, at least he's polite. 
"Okay, cute, you guys all know each other. I need to get home." Janis said.
"Are you okay?" Damian stepped closer to the counter.
"No, she's not." I cut off whatever Janis was going to say. "She should be home sleeping off a bad fever, but shes instant."
Damian nodded. "I could have told you that last part."
Janis hugged her jacket closer to herself, mumbling something none of us could pick up. She was looking at the counter below her- standing unnervingly close to the edge. 
"Okay, seriously." Kevin stepped past me. "Hate to cut this short, nice to meet you, Damian. We're gonna get this one home."
Before he could reach Janis, she swayed slightly, knees buckling.
The idiot passed out.
To be fair, I told her she needed to stay home.
But nooo.
Oh! And remember how I said Janis was standing on the edge of the counter? Yeah well, when she passed out she fell off the counter.
Kevin rushed forward as I gasped. So helpful, I know. 
Damian's hand instantly shoots out, catching Janis.
"Oh my god." Kevin says softly.
"I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner." I mumble.
Janis's head shoots up from behind Damian's fingers. "What the fuck?"
"You passed out. Told you it'd happen." I call out.
"Gretchen. Not right now." Kevin says. 
Damian looks shaken up and I guess I can't blame him. Kevin and I have been betting on when Janis's body will say no more, he only just got here.
"Jesus Christ, Jan."
"I'm fine!" She protests.
"You literally just fell off the counter." 
Kevin and I watch dumbfounded at the duo in front of us begin to argue over Janis's safety. Damian seemed just as worried about Janis's health as us, maybe more so.
"So," Kevin whispers. "Damian seems trustworthy?"
"We've officially known him for like three minutes, Kev."
"And in those three minutes?"
"Yeah. He's good."
We turn out attention back to an argument Janis seems to be loosing. 
"Damian I'm-"
"Say you're fine I dare you."
"Tired. I'm tired." Janis said, admitting defeat.
Damian carefully lowered the girl onto the table. "Get her home safe. Maybe we can all talk later when Janis isn't burning up by the second."
Kevin and I nodded as I wrapped my arm around Janis, guiding her to the outlet.
"Bye, Damian. Nice meeting you." I called out behind me as Kevin helped Janis back into the wall.
I'll get double food when it's my turn to borrow.
tag list!!! @realmisspolarbear @musicallygt @smallsoysauce @sourishlemons
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cannebady · 4 years
Text
Prompt: Aziraphale and Crowley reading reviews for the bookshop
Thank you for the prompt @captainclickycat!
In hindsight, Crowley isn't sure why he set the blasted thing up to begin with. It was, more than likely (read: most definitely), the result of quite an extraordinary amount of alcohol, because all of his best (read: worst) ideas have always started that way and why would this one be any different?
This one, evidently, was him setting up an official Yelp account for A.Z. Fell & Co., Antiquarian and Unusual Books located singularly in one London, Soho. He's sure that it'd seemed like it'd be a laugh riot at the time, though he's not entirely sure why, and he's sure that his sloshed self had been perfectly positive that Aziraphale would never even find the page so honestly what did it matter?
What his sozzled brain hadn't counted on was that, for all of his long and storied existence, he'd been the architect of his own irritations and, like the best of cosmic jokes, it seems that he would continue to be for the rest of bloody eternity.
First of all, he'd truly never thought that Aziraphale would acquire, much less actually use, a mobile phone. But, here in the after of the world that shouldn't have been, it seems that stranger things have truly happened. Of course it didn't help that he'd kept suggesting that Aziraphale get one and then, had gone so far as to actually present the angel with one, fully loaded. He just hadn't counted on the angel taking the blasted thing with his bright, shiny, sea-foam eyes, to which Crowley had no functional defenses, and then take to using it like a fish to water.
The second thing, that came on the tails of learning to use his mobile, was that Aziraphale discovered that he could look up restaurants wherever they were and didn't have to count on Crowley to do so. Additionally, there were reviews he could look at that were just, "So helpful Crowley! Look at these humans, inventing something so useful. They always have been wonderfully creative." Each word was imbued with absolutely heinous amounts of love and good will and Crowley was really just the worst demon there ever was, because he was so damn charmed by Aziraphale being charmed that he didn't put two-and-two together before it stuck him upside the head like a two-by-four.
---
"Crowley", Aziraphale whispered intently while Crowley was quite comfortably napping on the back room sofa.
Crowley tried to ignore it, he really did. He was so wonderfully comfortable and it really would be a shame to wake up. However, it's been established that he has fuck-all in terms of ability to deny Aziraphale anything, so of course he took the bait.
"Yes angel?", he replied, trying to infuse demonic levels of annoyance of nonchalance (read: sleepy, part-yawn, part-soft demon noises) into his tone.
"There are reviews, for the bookshop, on the Yelp!"
It takes Crowley a minute to catch up, because he's still not used to Aziraphale having internet access or knowing what something like Yelp is. He's about to wonder aloud what customer would actually be satisfied enough with Aziraphale's customer service skills to go so far as to write a review about it, before he realizes that he's the one who set up the account in the first place and promptly forgot.
"Wha, erm, what're they saying angel?" he asks, just a bit concerned that this might all be traced back to him.
Aziraphale scrolls down to the first review and Crowley comes up to read over his shoulder.
Marci S.
Soho, London, United Kingdom
2 Stars - 25/1/2020
"I've lived in Soho for years and finally decided to go in. The shop is in complete disarray, but the selection is great. I was satisfied until I actually tried to buy a book. The shopkeeper was icy, difficult, and downright combative. I left empty-handed. Not worth it."
Crowley cringes for a second, before Aziraphale huffs.
"Well, honestly, what did she expect? Hefting a first edition Austen around like that. Am I supposed to sell that to just anyone?" And Crowley wishes he wasn't so fucking impressed by Aziraphale's lack of propriety in these situations, but here he is, smiling like a loon.
"Oh, well of course. Why would she think she could buy a book in a book shop?" He gives a patented shit-eating grin which Aziraphale returns with an eye roll so well rehearsed it'd put Liz Lemon to shame.
"What else, angel?" Crowley asks because he's a glutton for punishment and he just loves that he still gets to rile Aziraphale up. That there's still a world where he can.
"Well, ah, here's another one." Aziraphale scrolls and lands on the next review which is, somehow worse.
Peter W.
Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom
1 Star - 22/12/2019
"Ponce of a shop owner wouldn't let me look at any of the rarer books. Been looking for a first edition Wilde for my son but the pansy wouldn't even let me near, real bastard he was."
Crowley can't help himself. Aziraphale is radiating righteous anger and looking more indignant by the second and it's just too good. Crowley's practical jokes never work out this well and he didn't even need to manufacture the reviews! A.Z. Fell & Co. has a 1.7 rating overall and he knows, he just knows, that every single one of those reviews are 100% honest.
Horribly, once he starts laughing, he can't quite stop. It takes the angel a second to realize that Crowley's breathy sounds aren't commiserating sounds of support but are rather poorly held back guffaws and he pulls out his best thin lipped glare and that's it, that's the end of Crowley's self control. He starts laughing in earnest, nearly bent over at the waist and feeling tears line his eyes, when he hears a truly irritated squawk leave Aziraphale's mouth.
He tries to speak through his bouts of laughter, "Oh, hah, angel, you-," he breaks off again, "you really are a bastard though." To which he receives a thunderous look, laced with millennia of angelic righteousness, a scathing, “Do shut up”, and a fussy turn that would've been a hair flip had Aziraphale had the hair to do so.
Aziraphale is manically scrolling before he stops and the air changes. If Crowley had been less filled with mirth, or had been less self-confident, he would've felt the change in tension. He would've realized that the specific change meant that Aziraphale had found exactly what he needed and that he was about to hand Crowley's arse to him for the 99 millionth time in their very long lives. But, as it was, Crowley was feeling far too chuffed for anything so fleeting as self-awareness.
When he finally looks back to the angel, planning a bit more gloating, he sees a carefully serene, calm smile reaching back, and his blood runs ice cold. This can't possibly be good.
"Well, how about this one, then?", he says and gestures for Crowley to read what's on the screen.
Naya L.
Lambeth, London, United Kingdom
4 Stars - 13/10/2019
"Mr. Fell is actually quite nice, if a bit fussy once you get to know him. He really knows his stuff. He let me use some of his original texts for my thesis. A bit odd, though, every time I went to do a bit more work or look at a new text, there was a man completely asleep, snoring, on the sofa. Weird look about him, sunglasses while indoors (even while sleeping?) and lots of black leather, definitely dyes his hair red. Looked a bit like a washed up rock star. Maybe a friend of Mr. Fell's? Either way, the selection is fantastic even if it smells a bit odd and seems a bit dingy."
Crowley's not laughing now. It takes a moment for him to register that the "indignant squawk" he heard was actually from his own mouth rather than the angel's.
"How dare she-, a washed up-, these are Valentino!"  He yells gesturing wildly towards his own face and the sunglasses that aren’t actually there at the moment, creating more of a chaotic flapping than any recognizable gesture. And now it's the angel's turn to stifle a giggle behind a well-manicured hand. "And I do not dye my hair! It's just like this! I'm a demon, remember?"
At this, Aziraphale starts making a sound that Crowley will respectfully refer to as cackling.  Of course, this was going just too well. And he clearly needed to stop kipping on the sofa as often as he did or it'd do awful things to his carefully crafted reputation.
"Oh, my dear, that's just divine” the angel says wiping an ancient handkerchief primly under his eyes. Crowley wants to be annoyed, and he is to some extent (he'll find bloody Naya L. and give her a piece of his mind, he will), but Aziraphale is just so happy and he's a true sucker for that laugh and that smile.
"M'not washed up, m'just retired."  Through the haze of exasperation, he realizes, perhaps for the first time, that he really is. Retired, a retired demon. That’s what he is. Aziraphale seems to realize it too, because his smile morphs from snide and down right bastardly to warm so quickly it gives Crowley emotional whiplash.
"Yes, I suppose we are, dear." The angel puts down the phone and herds Crowley toward the sofa where they can get comfortable; Aziraphale seated on the far end and Crowley's head comfortably pillowed in his lap, angelic fingers carding through his (definitely, absolutely not, dyed) hair.
Were either of them to look at Aziraphale's phone screen, they'd see the review just below Naya L., which read simply:
Damian R.
Soho, London, United Kingdom
5 Stars - 10/10/2019
"Can’t remember why I went in there in the first place but there was a huge snake. Just a real big snake, all black and red and gigantic. Just sitting in the bookshop, not sure why. Nice lookin snake overall tho. Would probably go back." 
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fanghuas · 5 years
Note
"I, too, love panicking at the neon disco" with whoever you want? You said send prompts so here I am to support :D
You’re the real MVP, friend. Sorry this took so long and also if you were expecting anything like…quality?? I don’t know what happened here.
The manor’s ballroom had not seen much use in recent years. The amount of galas and fundraisers and functions and what have yous that Bruce Wayne threw on a yearly basis was not negligible, but rarely did they take place in his own home. Intellectually, Bruce knew that the chances of someone wandering off and finding the entrance to the Batcave were low, but no risk was always better than a little risk.
Besides, his home was not for public consumption. Once upon a time, it had been almost like a haunted house to him, but his children had remedied that, filling it with life and laughter and yes, the unmistakable sound of fighting and priceless china shattering. He wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even if most of them didn’t live in the manor anymore, even if at times one or more of them refused to step foot inside for months on end, it belonged to all of them. Gotham’s high society had no place there.
Initially, Bruce had fought to keep the house untouched by time, more mausoleum than home, but all of that had gone out of the window the moment Dick Grayson had come into his life. First it was just Dick’s room, transformed from a neutral guest room to something as vibrant and full of personality as Dick himself, then a framed picture of Dick and Bruce in the study, then the little Batman magnet Dick bought and stuck on the fridge.
And it didn’t stop. More change came along with Jason, with Tim, with Damian and Cass and Duke. Even Stephanie and Barbara had left their mark, despite never having lived in the manor. Pictures in the hallways, books moved around in the library and new ones added to the collection, a drawing room slowly turned into a home cinema, pets and all the equipment that came with them, socks left in the most incredible places.
Bruce was wary of change, but that was one development he could live with.
It was on a late evening when Bruce – after a particularly rough night of patrol and an early morning WE meeting – had just woken up and stumbled into the kitchen for a cup of coffee that he heard it. Faintly, from across the manor, a sound he couldn’t quite identify but that immediately put him on alert. In his half-asleep state, he was at once convinced that it was intruders. None of the kids werehome today besides Duke and Damian, and at this hour the two of them could usually be found in the cave, sparring. Then the mysterious noise couldn’t have come from them. Bruce changed course and took off towards the source of the sound in a sprint.
As he drew closer, he realized that it was music, loud, pumping music, but his mind hadn’t quite registered the implications of that by the time he threw open the ballroom door and barrelled inside. The sight that greeted him was incomprehensible. He stood at the doorway, panting, all of his kids plus Barbara and Stephanie staring at him in varying degrees of concerned amusement.
Fighting to smooth out his expression, Bruce ground out, “Why does the ballroom look like a neon disco?”
It was truly a sight to behold. A bright pink disco ball had been attached to the ceiling. The long, rectangular table that usually adorned the unused dining room had been dragged to one corner of the ballroom, every inch covered in plates and glasses, a pair of glowing lava lamps on each side, Tim’s laptop – the source of the music – balancing precariously in one end. Bruce idly noted that the song now playing was Fly, Robin Fly.
Dick was wearing his old, affectionately dubbed discowing suit. The rest were clad in bell bottoms and spandex jumpsuits and patterned or nylon shirts, paired with platform boots and mismatched jewelry. Even Damian was wearing something that could vaguely pass as a disco outfit. The various styles at play clashed enough to give someone whiplash and the large room with its polished marble floor, high ceiling and tall glass windows made for a rather strange discotheque.
“Oh my god, you should have seen your face,” Jason said, delighted. “Looked like you were having an aneurysm.”
Dick elbowed him in the ribs.
“I was not –”
“It’s alright, Bruce,” Tim cut him off with a snicker. “I, too, love panicking at the neon disco.”
Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I was not panicking.”
“You burst in here like caveman spongebob,” Duke informed him, matter-of-fact.
Bruce really hated it when his kids ganged up on him. “I don’t know what that means.”
Cue another round of snickers. God, Bruce was not awake enough for this. He was starting to think the imaginary intruders might have been easier to deal with.
“Ballroom,” he repeated flatly. “Disco. Why.”
Barbara spoke up, taking pity on him, “Cass wanted to know what the disco was like. Some people decided this meant we ought to throw a party.”
“And we were so right,” Stephanie declared, bumping her fist with Dick’s.
The explanation somehow did not make any of this easier to take in. He felt foolish and wrong-footed after the way he’d reacted, mind instantly going into fight mode. He was used to his kids causing a ruckus around the manor, but he was even more accustomed to danger awaiting in every turn, and coupled with his disorientation, it had been easy for instinct to take over.
“You could have mentioned it beforehand,” Bruce grumbled.
Damian snorted. “We informed you of our plans twice this week, father.”
Bruce squinted. That didn’t seem right. Cassandra had mentioned something about dancing, but disco was not the first thing that had come to his mind, and now that he thought about it Damian might have talked about a possible family gathering later in the week, but –
“I’ve told you guys,” Dick said, exasperated. “You’ve got to tell him once, as soon as you come up with a plan, and then again at most two days before it goes down. He’s old, he forgets things.”
“He probably was around when disco became popular,” Jason said.
“I was not,” Bruce said with great dignity.
Disco was the child of the late sixties and seventies. He was born in 1982. There was a respectable gap there. All of them looked at him with great skepticism. Stephanie disguised a giggle as a cough. Bruce was surrounded by family, and yet he stood among traitors.
“Join the party, Bruce,” Dick urged him with laughter in his voice. Bruce knew something was coming. “…You’re never too old to boogie.”
Bruce turned the full force of his glare on him. Betrayed. Utterly betrayed.
“Oh my god,” Barbara wheezed, throwing her head back with a laugh. “Dick, please never say ‘boogie’ again in your life.”
Bruce’s lips twitched. As perplexed as he had been to wake up to this, he had to admit that it was nice. All the kids together, messing around and having fun. No screaming matches, no brawls. The most dangerous thing in the room was a glitter marker that Stephanie was wielding, Tim and Damian already sporting smears of glitter along their face.
“I’ll stay for a bit,” he said, stepping farther into the room. Then, in a deadpan, “If you’re sure you can tolerate having an old man in your midst, that is.”
(Send me prompts!)
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fancyfade · 5 years
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001: dc, 002: tank/jorgan, 003: hawkgirl >:3 (kendra saunders) oo4: dc/ swtor
from this ask list (link)
001
Favorite character: All time favorite is Jaime Reyes, but lately I’ve been reading mostly Damian Wayne and Cass Cain stuff
Least Favorite character:. I guess Guy Gardner, in that he’s one of the characters who, whenever he shows up, makes me think “Oh my god, not this fucker again”. Or the joker. I have similar opinions on the joker.
5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):
 DickBabs (OTP)
 Anissa/Grace (OTP)
 Jaime/Traci (they’re just cute together),
honorable mention to John Stewart/Hawkgirl from DCAU since that was my OTP as a kid.
 And I can actually only think of 4, unless I count any couple I have any positive feelings towards even if they’re very minute. I’m not a huge shipper in DC verse I guess.
Character I find most attractive: Probably Grace Choi, Barbara Gordon, or Talia Al Ghul
Character I would marry: I can’t marry any of the people on my attractive list, they’re already involved in my OTPs or working with the league of assassins!
Character I would be best friends with: Jaime Reyes or Cass Cain. They would both be great friends.
a random thought: Blue Beetle is one of the power houses of DC universe fight me
An unpopular opinion: I was wondering if this opinion was too unpopular but then realized that meant it probably belonged here if so: I just find Tim Drake really uninteresting.
my canon OTP: DickBabs or Anissa/Grace I cannot pick just 1
Non-canon OTP: I actually don’t think I have one… yet
most badass character: Cass Cain or Jaime Reyes.
pairing I am not a fan of: Spitfire god its just awful.
character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): there are too many to list. Cass (retconning her out of being batgirl, dark cass  saga), Barbara (magicuring her), Damian (that weird prison thing, that ian and whitewashing thing that looks awful ), Talia (whiplash between morally grey and villain ball depending on whose writing her)
favourite friendship: Jaime/Brenda/Paco they are the best.
character I want to adopt or be adopted by: I’d adopt Damian or be adopted by Jaime’s parents (Berto and Bianca), since they are some of the most well-adjusted, reasonable good parents I’ve seen in DC
002 (tank and jorgan - jorgan being a SWTOR NPC and Tank being my SWTOR republic trooper OC)
when of if I started shipping it: Some time after Tank gets the dialogue option to gently rib Jorgan.
my thoughts: They are both obviously autistic. I mean Tank is my OC so I can make her as autistic as I want. But Jorgan is too.
What makes me happy about them: that they’re both autistic :P that you can have a dynamic where the female character is more teasing of the male character (where usually it is the opposite). That there’s a dynamic where the male character isn’t super overprotective of the female character. That they like sparring 2gether and its super charming. Many things.
What makes me sad about them: 5 years they spend apart between Rise of the Emperor and Kotfe
things done in fanfic that annoys me: I havne’t read many in a very long time so I can’t remember.
things I look for in fanfic: ditto
My kinks: I never know how to answer this part.
Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: IDK tbh. Tank can end up with ltos of people because she has great rapport and tension with a lot of people. I know when I ran an alternate universe bounty hunter Tank, she was in a relationship with Torian and Theron (not like… canonically at the same time none of this is canonical it was just who she was a) allowed to flirt with according to the video game and b) hit it off with) Jorgan’s harder to read. I put him as BFFs w/ Dorne, but not like… romantically involved. 
My happily ever after for them: they retire and spend rest of their days just chilling or training people but not getting shot at any more or having the responsibility of the galaxy on their heads anymore. Kids: Optional but not required
003 kendra saunders
How I feel about this character: I like her. I think she’s pretty cool but not one of the characters I go out of my way to read a ton.
All the people I ship romantically with this character: no one. Sorry carter (her canon ship at least in new earth). Haven’t really seen enough of her interactions to have the non canon ship yet
My non-romantic OTP for this character: I liked her interaction with John in Justice League so far
My unpopular opinion about this character: hopefully not unpopular but: The hawkman series 4 just is terrible writing to her. Treats her like shit. She has some strong characterization tied into one arc and then once it’s over they drop it ASAP and give her character traits that seem to be mostly just “the girlfriend”
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: they should have explored more her anger and the ND stuff They also should let her kick as much ass as hawkman.
my het ship: DNA
my fem/slash ship: DNA
my OTP: DNA
my OT3: DNA
my cross over ship: DNA
my kink: DNA
a head cannon fact: I actually headcanon hawkgirl as a slightly better fighter than hawkman - because he remembers most of the memory stuff in new earth, and she remembers the spaceship skills, I headcanon that she remembers all the skills better - including fighting
004 Oh man I have no clue. DC/SWTOR have any compatible characters?
I guess one I can see:
Elara Dorne/Cass Cain They were both raised by bad guys (Elara - the imps, Cass - Cain). They both left not because someone asked them to or because they were forced to but because they realized that what they were doing/being asked to do was wrong. They’re both obviously autistic. They both don’t socialize like everyone else - Elara is very formal and precise in most of her speech and adheres to rules and regulations because a) it helps her understand what is expected of people and b) they are used to enforce doing the right thing (remembering her saying that the sith discarded any rules any time they felt like it and killed whoever they wanted). Cass is obviously a little overprotective of her friends at time (remember when she knocked Steph out to keep her out of a dangerous fight?) and seems like some people read her as intimidating because of her past or difficulty with words (Tim said he was avoiding her because of her past at first).
Even if they weren’t romantically involved, they would get along great. I think they would both be able to appreciate chilling without pretenses or putting on social conditioning you don’t have. And they’d be able to share their hobbies w/ each other. And since Elara is a soldier, she could spar Cass! Obviously not w/ Cass’s talent in hand-2-hand but w/e
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