#damianxcolin

[aquariusrunes]

The Superfriends AU (part 14)

It had only been five days since she’d left Paris. 

Six days ago she had a solid plan to prove Lila was working with Hawkmoth, to take down the Italian girl and cause a major blow to her worst enemy. She had a timeline for the issue of her and Chat’s identities. She was blissfully unaware of Chloé’s vast amount of knowledge, the blonde seemingly having deduced the identity of every person Marinette had ever asked to wield a miraculous. And she and her cousin had been on fabulous terms. 

Oh how quickly the world came crashing down around her. It was like Atlas had decided to stop doing his job, quite literally dropping the ball and throwing Marinette’s life into turmoil and chaos.

Though perhaps, things weren’t as bad as she was making them out to be. After all, no one in school trusted Lila anymore, save for Sabrina, weirdly, so that was something. She now knew for sure that Adrien and Chat were one in the same. And yes she was still trying to fuse them together in her head but it was still nice to know. Plus, she and Chloé were...friends now? A weird thought but not one she disliked. 

And yet she felt like complete and utter shit. 

She sat outside of Edna’s office, leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees. Gaze intently focused on the painting hug on the wall in front of her. It was a rectangular canvas with an abstract college of red and black paint splotches coating the linen material. Flecks of silver and gold metallic paint outlining oblong shapes that Marinette could swear were almost humanoid. The whole thing was tucked into a gaudy golden frame with swirls and diamonds studded into it. 

She had been up for hours after Chloé had left her. The blonde having been properly introduced to Tikki before dropping the bombshell that she’d managed to guess the identity of practically everyone who wielded a miraculous. Viperion being the only exception. Once the blonde was gone Tikki set in on Marinette. Erupting in her stern motherly way about the rules, lecturing her like it was the bluenette’s fault Chloé had figured next to all of them out. 

The heroine had barely gotten any sleep. Once the tiney god was done with her, the Parisian girl’s subconscious took over the tourture. Replying to the events of the photoshoot over and over for hours in her head.

Because it had been her fault.

She was the one who used Rose. She knew how the petite girl would explode once she knew the truth. And yeah, she felt a little satisfied seeing Lila runoff in what she knew were fake tears. And on some level, she knew her partner wouldn’t approve, not with how he preached the high road to her. But she still did it, and now she felt like shit because of how disappointed Adrien looked when he had watched the video Nino had sent him.

It felt like someone had stabbed her in the gut and every gaze the partners traded was a twist of the knife. 

And Damian had been worried. 

Of course he had been worried. He was very intune to the emotions of the people he cared about. He had tried to help, and when he knew he couldn’t he thought Adrien could. It was her fault, because she shut him down so quickly. He knew something was off between them, probably thought Adrien had done something to hurt her. 

And that’s why it was her fault. No matter how badly she wanted it not to be. How quick she was to blame her cousin. No, this was on her. So, she felt like shit and couldn’t even begin to work out in her mind how to make the situation right.

And on top of it all she had gotten maybe twenty minutes of sleep before Violet came knocking on her door, telling her Edna wanted to speak with her. So, there she sat, in front of Edna’s office at seven in the morning trying to dissect the damn painting in front of her, while also trying not to simultaneously pass out and vomit. 

“She’s ready for you Marinette.” Her bluebell eyes snapped up to Violet’s thin form. The girl gave her a sympathetic smile as she offered her a small styrofoam cup. 

Marinette took it as she stood, peering into the drink. Coke with crushed ice. So she must look like shit too. “Thank you.” she whispered, taking a small sip of the fizzy beverage as she walked towards the large red doors. She was unsteady on her feet and her head hurt, she definitely was not prepared to deal with her eccentric aunt this early in the morning. 

Marinette softly shut the door behind her, eyes going to the back of Edna’s large office chair. It was turned so the small woman was facing the wall of windows taking up the largest portion of her office wall space. “Good morning dahling!” She chimed, chair swiveling around so that she could look at her niece. Edna’s large smile fell instantly. “My god you look like shit.”

She silently wondered if she got her blunt charm from the Mode side of her family.

Marinette gave a weak salty smile and an eye roll as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Edna’s desk. “Didn’t sleep well.” The Parisian supplied, taking a large gulp of her drink. God she missed coffee.

“Obviously.” Edna’s faze was scrutinizing as she drank in Marinette’s appearance. “What was keeping you up dahling?”

Marineette thought for a moment. She could just unload on her aunt, maybe get some good advice out of the woman. But most likely she'd just get lectured for a couple more hours. Or, she could lie, get through whatever Edna wanted to talk about as quickly as possible and go back to her room to pass out, leaving all of her problems for Future Marinette to deal with. 

“Just home sick I think.” Option two it was.

“Hmm.” Edna looked her up and down, obviously trying to decide if she believed her or not. Hopefully she’d just let it go. “Well, we can unpack that later. For now I have some important things to discuss with you. Then maybe you can get a nap in before getting ready for dinner.” 

“Dinner?” She blinked owlishly at her aunt. 

“Yes,” She folded her hands together. “Tonight you and Damian will be going to dinner with a pair of models from a rival brand.” 

“We will?” She blinked a few more times.

“You will.” Edna shot her niece a look. “I need you and Damian to size the two up, feel them out and most importantly, collect as much intell on them as possible. The two just appeared on the scene a while back and no one knows much about them save for what is on their social medias.” Edna’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “And yet they agreed to have dinner with the two of you tonight.” 

“Well, Aunt E.” Marinette’s gaze fell to her lap. “Things are a little…strained between Damian and I right now. I don’t know how well we’ll work together-” 

“Now I’ll hear none of that.” Edna cut her off, silencing her with a raised palm. “I have a meeting with your cousin scheduled for later today. Mainly to make sure the Agrestes don’t pull out of the collection. I will deal with Damian then.” She crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. “This dinner is very important, so you two will just have to suck it up and act like adults.” 

“Y-yes ma’am.” So much for not getting lectured. 

“Now, onto other business.” Edna’s chair turned slightly as she reached for something on the far end of her desk. “How are things in Paris?” 

Marinette stared at her aunt for a long moment, trying to find the hidden meaning behind her question, certain she was stepping into some sort of trap. “Paris is…fine…” 

“And Hawkmoth?”

“Still a menace.” She replied, leaning forward to place her drink on her aunt’s desk. “My plans have recently been derailed a little but once I’m back I’m sure I’ll be able to get things back on track.” 

“So, you think you’ll have the butterfly miraculous back soon?” Edna asked. 

“I...um, am not sure.” 

“And he has the Peacock Miraculous too, correct?” Edna’s eyebrow raised. 

“Well, we think. He’s working with the wielder of the Peacock Miraculous but the nature of their relationship is still unknown.” Marinette’s eyes traveled back to her lap. “Lots of questions today.” She whispered.

“Just checking in Dahling.” Edna smiled. “I like to keep up with superhero events around the globe. Bruce calls to check in at least once a month with Justice League matters.” 

Marinette simply nodded. She hated when Edna would call to ‘check in’ on the situation in Paris. She hated when her cousins or uncle did the same. She was handling Paris just fine, at least Tikki told her she was. Or she had, up until the Mayor’s daughter somehow figured out everyone’s identities save for Hawkmoth and Viperion. 

“Any issues with young Adrien?” 

Marientte’s eyebrow raised. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, he’s your friend isn’t he?” Edna asked. “And he had a traumatic encounter yesterday. You seemed very concerned, but I couldn’t help but notice you also seemed to be avoiding him.” 

“It’s fine.” Marinette glanced around the room. “I’m working on it. We’re fine.” 

“I’m sure.” Edna said flatly. “It’s important that the two of you remain on good terms, you know…we wouldn’t want anything to sabotage your relationship.” Edna gave her niece a soft smile, despite the girl not looking at her. “I’d hate for you to regret something in the future that you could easily fix now.”

“What?” Marinette asked, eyes going back to her aunt. “What do you mean by that?”

“Oh nothing dear, just that I’d hate for you to lose your partner over something dumb.” Edna’s gaze fell onto a picture on her desk. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to lose people that are important to you. How easily strong bonds are broken.”

“Actually I don’t think I would.” A sting ran through Marinette’s heart as she thought back to her friends in Paris, one person from her class in particular sticking out in her mind. “Aunt Edna could I ask your opinion on a situation I’m in?”

“Of course,” Edna leaned back in her chair, hands folded in her lap. 

“I have a friend, a best friend, and well, some stuff happened between us.” Marientte worried her lip between her teeth, trying to sort out the phrasing of her next few sentences in her head. “She took someone else’s word over mine, or well, she trusted someone else over me.” Marientte’s eyebrows furrowed. “See, this girl, she’s sneaky and manipulative and a liar. And my friend, best friend, trusted her, and listened to her, over me.”

Edna nodded, waiting for her niece to continue. 

“And I tried to give her proof, but she just brushed me off as being jealous. And it hurt. Auntie it hurt like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I cried myself to sleep some nights because of how much it hurt. But then she was faced with evidence she couldn’t dismiss.” 

“So she believes you know?” Edna asked. 

“Yes.” She whispered. “But only because she found something out that she can’t twist around into me being jealous.” Marinette quickly pointed out. “And now she’s helping me with some stuff…”

“But?”

“But I still feel weird about it.” Marinette rubbed at her arms. “Like for the time being I have to trust her, I just have to. But, I’m not sure if I would choose to trust her if given an option, does that make sense?” The bluenette asked, looking up at her aunt through her bangs.

“You didn’t choose to trust her.” Edna supplied.

“Yeah.” Marinette’s gaze dropped again. “And I just don’t know if given an option I would trust her with everything that she knows now, I guess...is what I’m trying to say?” 

“Yes dear, you said that.” Edna gave her an understanding nod. 

“I just don’t know if I really do trust her.” Marinette folded her hands together, fingers sliding together into a tight lock. “I mean, I just don’t feel good about it? I guess. Like, I was happy at first but the longer the information’s set with me the more it has started to upset me…I guess.” 

“You guess?” Edna’s eyebrow quirked up.

“Everything is just a mess right now.” She whispered. “And she’s so eager to prove herself to me but I can’t tell if it’s because she’s sorry that she hurt my feelings and took Lila’s word over mine or if,” Marientte bit her lip. 

“If?” Enda asked. 

Marinette’s teeth plunged into the soft flesh of her lip as hard as they could. A spark of heat shooting up her spine as her anxiety took over. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have, with anyone, and especially not with Edna. But she wasn’t going to get out of this office until she told her everything. With the look her aunt was currently giving her she doubted she could come up with a lie convincing enough to get out of here without coming clean.

“She found out.” 

“Found out?” Edna’s eyebrow somehow raised higher. “Found what out?”

Marinette swallowed hard. 

“My identity.” 

Edna’s eyes widened as she leaned forward. 

“Your secret identity?” 

Her head snapped down in shame. “Yes ma’am.” She whispered, voice tight and high. Edna immediately fell back in her chair, exasperated expression overtaking her face as she let out a deep breath. 

“Good god.” She mumbled. “How?” She jutted forward. “How did this happen? Marinette, you are so careful!” Edna threw her hands up. “Your cousin is Batman for gods sake and he’s not even as careful about is identity as you are!” 

“I know! I know!” Mariette raked her hands through her hair, pulling at the braids she had earlier styled her blue locks into. “I just-well, I was so overworked and it was cold and I hadn’t slept in like three days-”

“So you just slurred your identity out to the first person you recognized?!” Edna scolded. 

“No!” Marinette squeezed her eyes shut. “No! No! That isn’t what happened!” She shook her head violently. “I just-well-well…” She bit her lip, giving her aunt a pathetic look. “I had gotten sick and Hawkmoth kept sending out midnight akumas and well…” 

“Stop saying well.” Edna demanded, eyes narrowing as she folded her arms over her chest. 

“I guess I passed out?” 

“Is that a question?” 

“It’s what-” Marinette bit her lip once again, slightly fearing that she was going to draw blood. She had avoided mentioning the kawamis to her family. As far as they knew the earrings were magic, full stop. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell any of them about Tikki just yet. “It’s what she told me.” 

“She?”

“My friend.” Marinette quickly supplied. “Best friend.” She corrected. “I guess I passed out mid-yoyo swing. She said that I fell and landed in a dumpster, and that if someone hadn’t of recently thrown some pillows away I could have seriously broken something.” 

“Ladybug luck I suppose.” Edna mused, eyes sliding away from her niece. 

“She saw me fall and went to check on me because Ladybug’s her hero you know? And then I detransformed and…” Marinette shrugged. “She got me home and wel-I don’t know if she believes me now because we were friends or because I’m Ladybug.” 

“What did your Kawami say about the situation?” Marinette’s breath hitched as she stared blankly at her aunt. 

“What?” 

“Your Kawami, the goddess of creation?” Edna’s eyebrow raised. “What did she have to say about this disaster?” 

“I uh.” She blinked a few more times, face twisting in confusion. “She-uh, actually is the one who explained everything to my friend while I was passed out. I guess.”

“Stop saying I guess as well. It makes you sound stupid.” Edna barked. “And you are not a stupid girl, Marinette. Perhaps a little misguided at the moment but not stupid.” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

Edna shook her head, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it through her nose. “Past out mid-yoyo swing?” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

Her aunt’s gaze softened slightly. “I really do think you should tell one of your parents dahling. If something were to happen-” 

“I’ll think about it.” Marinette whispered. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot actually. I just don’t want to worry them.” She rubbed at her arms. 

“They will be more worried if something happens to the Heroine of Paris and no one has seen or heard from their daughter.” Edna moved to adjust a photo on her desk. “Trust me dahling, I know these things.” 

Marinette only nodded, stomach still knotted from their conversation. 

“Have you spoken to young Adrien about your friend?” Edna asked, a bit of concern in her voice. 

“No ma’am.” Marinette’s eyes stayed lowered. “Tikki’s the only one I’ve talked to about it. Oh, and the guardian. I briefed him on the situation after it happened. Well, as soon as I was well again, which took a few days.” 

The small Japanese woman nodded, seeming to take a few minutes to process the information, either that or she needed to buy herself time to come up with a good response for her niece. “I think you should tell him.” She finally said, “Partners shouldn’t keep secrets from one another. And now that your identities are out of the way, I think keeping something like this from him could cause serious problems down the line.” 

The bluenette nodded. Her aunt was right. She did need to come clean with Adrien, about everything. She always considered Chat in her plans, but never considered consulting him. He was always just a factor or variable. Something to manipulate to her advantage. She valued him of course, but she didn’t always listen to him in the heat of the moment. And now that she could talk to him, literally whenever she wanted, maybe it was time to bring him in on her master plan. Her master plan that still needed a serious overhaul thanks to Lila’s meltdown. But she definitely needed to come clean about Alya. And talk to him about Chloé. She should probably tell him about Edna too, and maybe her cousins, as soon as she could figure out a way to explain why they knew her identity without outing all of theirs. 

She had a lot to talk to him about. 

Marinette let out a sigh, looking up at her aunt with a tired smile. “I’ll talk to him.” She promised with a nod of her head. “After I take a nap.” 

“And dinner.” Edna quickly added.

“And dinner.” Marinette smiled a little brighter. While she didn’t really discuss any of her current problems with her aunt, she did feel a little better. Hopefully this was a good sign, like a turning point for all her problems. She just had to believe that things would start going up from here. Who knows, maybe a little positive thinking would kick start her ladybug luck. 

… 

Damian Wayne was designed to be perfect, in every single way. Abilities, speech, posture, looks. God, did he have perfect looks. Though he didn’t always have them, he most definitely had to grow into the designer genes his mother had specifically picked out for him. Talia al Ghul may be a sociopathic murderer, trained assassin and seductress, but damn did she know what she was doing.

Colin could picture a ten year old Damian in his head so clearly. The square skull with tufts of black hair sticking up towards the sky, usually dowsed in sweet or on occasion gel. Back before the boy’s nose went crooked, it only happened after one too many breaks, in fact Colin used to compare Damian’s nose to that of a pig. He held his chin so high when they were young, it was hard not to. Back when his eyes were a much darker green, splotches of brown in them hinting at his Arabic and Chinese heritage. The glowing Lazarus green color only appeared after the boy’s resurrection. Colin was still confused about where the color had come from, seeing as the pit had nothing to do with Damian’s second life.

It happened so suddenly, almost overnight really. One day he wasn’t as stocky as he used to be, his limbs had become longer, lither, his muscles becoming tightly fit to his body. He grew taller, was still growing taller. Colin having the current advantage, but was convinced by their twenties Damian would be taller than him. His cheekbones became more prominent, chin thinning into a point. And that damn crooked nose, probably Colin’s favorite thing on Damian’s face. His cute little crooked nose, ending in a point that Colin had kissed on many occasions.

Damian became beautiful overnight and it was probably the only thing he’d ever said was unfair. He never went through an awkward phase, never had acne or braces like Colin. He developed a style in an hour, with his form fitting jeans and slacks, closet full of blazers and tight V-neck tees. He started styling his hair like Bruce’s. He grew up before Colin’s eyes and it wasn’t fair. Colin still hadn’t developed at style, he still broke out often, he’d had braces for two years, his gangly limbs took years to start absorbing the venom and bulk up.

And yet Damian had this habit of looking at Colin like he hung the moon.

He called him Beloved. Because he thought him precious, because he loved him. Because it was the only term of endearment he’d ever heard his mother use and it struck a chord with him. That word was the only way Damian could identify love when he was growing up and he chose to give that word to Colin. And in return Colin called him more casual things, making their love common, less breakable like he knew the boy feared it was. Sometimes, when alone, he called him Angel. Something rare and ethereal and good. Because Damian was good, no matter how hard it was for the boy to see.

Dating the former assassin had always been frustratingly difficult. It took time and Colin had to be patient and cautious. It was like they started over and were barely even friends again. He had to re-earn Damian’s trust and affection. And it was so fragile, so very fragile. Because one slip up and Damian would close himself off, their friendship was like that too but somehow it was easier before Colin’s heart got involved. Because sure when they’d fight Colin would feel guilty about it but he didn’t lay awake at night thinking of how to make it right, how to lessen Damian’s hurt. His heart never ached in pain before. If he reached out to Damian and the boy pulled away, it would shatter his heart, and that had never been a problem before. 

That’s why he never let them go long without talking. Especially after a fight. He never wanted to sleep with a broken heart and he never wanted Damian to go too long thinking Colin didn’t love him as fiercely as Damian loved him.

He’d messed up.

He had been exhausted.

Colin was a very smart boy, the nuns told him so all the time. So much so that they would give him advanced books and encourage him to take college courses through his high school, classes typically reserved for seniors. But Colin loved to learn, particularly about psychology. He was pretty sure he wanted to do something with psychology, maybe social work but he was also playing with the idea of becoming a therapist.

Last night he had been a therapist, had played therapist to one Adrien Agreste for hours. Damian and Jon were both nowhere to be found, and Chloé had dragged Marinette away as soon as they both had their food, leaving just Colin and the blonde model. They had sat together and made idle small talk for a while, and then they were suddenly on the topic of childhood trauma. And it was like they had been friends for years, Colin told Adrien what his life was like growing up in Gotham and Adrien opened up about his own childhood, about losing his mother about his father’s coldness. They discussed anxieties and pet peeves, worst fears.

Colin had literally never bonded with someone so quickly. It was alarming. But also, fun. At one point they were just tossing depression jokes back and forth for a solid thirty minutes. Adrien talked about Lila Rossi, about how hard his father was pushing for her and Adrien to be friends and how uncomfortable he was around her. Colin did his best to advise him, having minimal experience with Damian and the Wayne Fangirls. Adrien talked about his friends, a girl named Kagami came up quite frequently, Adrien telling Colin how much Damian reminds him of her. And eventually, they started discussing love.

They talked about the big questions, soulmates and love at first sight. What their own beliefs were. Colin told Adrien his insecurities about dating someone like Damian, someone made to be perfect. Though Adrien thought a lot of what Colin said were metaphors. He did his best to explain Damian to Adrien. His boyfriend had so many quirks that most found scary or unflattering. He tried apologizing for the photoshoot but Adrien had told him that there was nothing to forgive. It was an accident, that’s what Adrien had said. And for some reason those words put a pit in Colin’s stomach.

Adrien then opened up about his feelings for Marinette. How scared they made him. He discussed how he’d never felt so strongly for someone before, that it terrified him. And even more he thought that sharing them could cause him to lose her. He discussed how strongly he used to come on and how he’s become more docile as their friendships progressed. How unattainable she’s always felt, how unworthy he’s always felt. Colin did his best to convince the blonde otherwise. After all, he’d heard a bit about Marinette’s feelings from Damian, not much, just complaints about how much the girl talked about her model crush. 

Eventually the two were just brainstorming romantic scenarios for each of them and the people who held their hearts. They talked till the lights in the Mode Cafeteria shut off, which is when they both noticed it was well past one in the morning. They’d ridden the elevator up to their rooms in silence, said a quick goodnight and went their separate ways.

Colin’s plan was simple. Change into his pajamas and then go talk to Damian, wake him up if necessary. But he’d already gone too long without talking to his boyfriend. They needed to reconcile after how things were left at the photoshoot. Colin got half way undressed before falling face first on his bed and passing out cold. 

He rarely slept well. Normally the redhead ping ponged between sleeping too heavily or too lightly. Either waking up at every little sound or falling asleep in an awkward position, dead to the word, till morning when he woke to shooting pain running high speed throughout his body. Last night had been one of those dead sleeps. He slept shirtless, face smashed into his comforter, and above all the blankets. He hadn’t even taken his shoes off. 

Colin had intended on talking to him. 

He really had. 

And when the redhead’s eyes opened slowly, neck aching from how his head turned to the side in the midst of the night, fear shot through him as the daunting realization set in. He’d fallen asleep and there was now sunlight streaming in through his window. He wasn’t even sure how long it’d been since the shoot incident. But he’d left Damian alone to deal with whatever complex and wild emotions he was currently trying to bottle away. 

He felt queasy as he sat up, hands trembling. He needed to talk to his boyfriend immediately. He almost ran out of his room before slipping a shirt on, but thought better of himself. Quick to brush his teeth and his hair. 

By the time he exited his room Jon was waiting for him, coffee in hand and smile plastered on his face. The half kryptonian looked off though, Colin could tell immediately. The boy’s smile was too tight and his arm muscles were strained, like it was harder than it should have been to keep from smashing the styrofoam cup in his hand. 

“I need to catch you up on some stuff.” 

And that had been that.

… 

He’s never felt such a strong urge to slit his own throat. If anything, he just wanted the shock value, wanted the look on his aunt’s face and the blood splatter that would ruin Gabriel Agreste’s designer suit. Adrien would be unfortunate collateral damage, but he was a superhero, surely he’d seen worst.

“He could have killed my son!” Gabriel shouted, reiterating the fact for the seventh time. If he brought it up once more Damian would be shooting a different Agreste, no voices necessary.   

“It was an accident father.” And again the young blonde came to the former assassin's defence. Adrien seemed to be more actively defending him then Edna at this point. Everytime his father said a damning word against the Gothamite, Adrien was quick to come to his aid. “And I wasn’t even hurt.”

“Your cheek-”

“It was just a scratch Gabriel.” Edna interrupted. “It’s not like the boy gouged your son’s eyes out.” Arguably an easier task then knocking the arrow off target had been. “You can’t even see it.” 

“But it’s there.”

God, Damian was going to kill this man. He wouldn’t be able to hold himself back much longer. It wouldn’t even be the voices fault this time, no it would be all Damian. The beast laying dormant inside him could only hold itself back so long, and Gabriel’s voice was like nails grating against a chalkboard. 

He needed this meeting to be over. He needed out of this room before something ugly burst from his chest and ripped the man’s intestines out. It wouldn’t be his most graceful kill, doubt anything about it would be beautiful, but he didn’t care about beauty or justice. He just wanted the man to shut the hell up. Which meant Damian had to do something drastic. 

With a heavy sigh the dark haired boy leaned forward in his chair. “Mr. Agreste,” He began, his next words already heavy in his throat as he choked the beast back. “I can not begin to express the regret I harbor for my actions. Please know, I never meant your son any harm.” Damn, he was getting better at this. It was actually sounding quite sincere. “Nor can I ever a-polo-ahem,” He quickly cleared his throat, silently cursing himself. “Pardon me.” He took a quick moment to collect himself before continuing, swallowing the horrid taste in his mouth. “I cannot apologize enough.” He let out a deep breath. “It was a very unfortunate accident. One that will not happen again.”

Edna gestured to Damian while looking at Gabriel. “See, the boy is sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“It would be guaranteed not to happen again if I pulled my son out of this shoot and took him back to Paris this afternoon.” 

Well that was a red flag. Damian thought to himself. If Gabriel pulled Adrien out of the shoot he’d never hear the end of it form Edna. Her wrath was legendary and feared by gods, literally. 

“But father, we signed a contract-” A very good point, Catboy. Damian’s brain began to whirl a plan forming as he scooted his whole body forward in the chair, sitting on the edge of his seat as his eyes fell from Gabriel, slowly moving to his aunt. He needed to get Edna’s attention for this. 

“Yes.” He spoke, voice low. “And wouldn’t it be unfortunate if word got out that the Gabriel brand had no qualms about breaking contracts.” 

“We would be releasing an official statement,” Gabriel was quick to counter. “Telling the whole story of how the Mode Brand had no qualms with endangering Adrien.” 

Too late. Damian had to force back his smirk as Edna caught his gaze, seeming to instantaneously understand his plan.

“We’d release our statement first.” Edna said, voice low and dangerous like Damian’s had been. “About the outrageous demands and the blackmail threats made.”

“Excuse me-”

“My troubled childhood is well known, while the details have always been kept secret...” Damian’s eyes traveled to the young blonde in the chair on the other side of Gabriel’s form. Again, for Marinette’s sake he hated that the model had to be caught in the cross fires, but collateral damage was always a part of battle. “Perhaps Adrien and I struck up a friendship and I confided in him.”

“And he took that information to his father.” Edna continued her nephew's story. “Who thought he could use it to get a bigger piece of the pie.” 

“There were witnesses!” Gabriel screamed, a vein in his neck beginning to throb. 

“All on my payroll.” Edna leaned forward, elbows propped on the table as she laced her fingers together. “And they all know how highly I value loyalty.”

Gabriel’s brow set in a glare focused on the small woman. “The Great Edna Mode.” He spat in mockery. 

“The one and only dahling.” She smirked.

Gabriel huffed turning his back on them and headed for the door. “Come Adrien.” He shouted, voice filled with rage. Damian felt a small twinge of pity as he watched the nervous expression on the young blonde’s face, looking at his father’s back. Slowly his eyes shifted across the room to the small smirking woman behind her desk. Her face quickly shifted to give the boy a reassuring smile and tiney nod. 

“Yes Father.”

Damian watched the two go before turning back to his aunt. “Well,” He rested back in his chair as he heard the door to her office slam shut. “That went better than I thought it would.”

“Agreed.” Edna too fell backwards into her oversized black office chair. 

“Think he’ll stay?”

“After that little double team?” Edna cocked an eyebrow. “Gabriel is a coward who let’s his reputation run his life. He wouldn’t dare misstep now.” Her eyes lost their focus on him, instead she seemed preoccupied with some sort of smudge on the lenses of her large glasses. “That was quick thinking, the contract.”

“You would have thought of it.” His eyes slowly lowered to the surface of her desk top. He heard her deep sigh. 

“Just take the compliment Damian.” 

He stayed silent, eyes focusing on one of the pictures in front of him on Edna’s desk. It was of her as a young girl, probably around the time of her first collection launch. She was with three men, all of them much older than her. One he recognized as his father’s grandfather, Bruce Kane, with salt and pepper hair and the jawline of Batman. The other two he didn’t physically recognize but he still knew their names. The other caucation man in the photo had to be Marinette’s great grandfather. He was slightly more robust with the height of his Uncle Tom, a balding head and strangely, Edna’s large circular glasses. The last man was Japanese, shorter than the other men and possibly the eldest out of all of them. Obviously he was Edna’s biological father, but Damian couldn’t remember his name.

He knew all three of them were dead now, but wondered if this photo was taken the last time Edna saw them. What was that conversation like?

“We need to talk about what happened.” Edna said, glasses now back on her face, like she’d decided to live with the smudge that had consumed her focus. 

“I’d rather not.” Damian hummed, eyes still focused on the picture. “Agreste isn’t going anywhere, problem solved. End of conversation.” What was his damn name? It started with an O, he was almost positive of that. 

“Your father seems certain that you wouldn’t lie about the incident being an accident.” 

“I woul-didn’t. It was.” Damian’s fist clenched as his eyes bore into the glass covered ones of his great grandfather. He looked alarmingly like Bruce. He’d always assumed his father took after the Waynes, from the photos he saw. Obviously he hadn’t seen enough of the Kane side. 

“Explain what happened to me.” His eyes flickered back to Edna’s biological father. His name resting on the precipice of Damian’s mind. 

“I’m tired of explaining it.” He growled. “Tired of having to explain myself to everyone.”

’ CLACK ‘

Ootori. His name was Eiji Ootori, or rather Ootori Eiji. 

Damian blinked hard as Edna slammed the picture down on her desk. His eyes trailed up to her. “What’s going on Damian?”

“Lex Luthor was released from prison, our witness is dead. Marinette’s upset about something, something that isn’t me shooting an arrow at chat noir, but she’s mad about that too. My boyfriend hasn’t talked to me since yesterday, when he yelled at me for shooting that dumb blonde, so who knows where we stand right now. Oh, and the voices in my head have come back.”

Why it happened, he wasn’t sure. Why he just vomited all of his problems out in one quick go, but he did. It was like a dam broke and he couldn’t hold back the raging waters. Perhaps the night alone had put more distress on him than he originally thought. In any case, he couldn’t take back what he said, Edna wouldn’t let him talk his way out of any of it now. 

Slowly Edna leaned back in her chair, sighing as she went. Reaching up she plucked her glasses from her face, the smudge apparently getting to be too much. Damian watched as she opened a drawer from her desk and pulled out a small grey cloth, bringing it up to clean the large circular frames. 

He was left to stare in silence as she dutifully rubbed at her glasses. It felt like hours, but in actuality it was only a few minutes. He knew because of the loud ticks of several clocks placed decoratively around the office. Perhaps it wasn’t the smudge that got to her, but rather she needed to buy herself time to think of a response. 

“Okay,” Se finally said, gently placing the frames on her nose, using her free hand to push them back into place. “Well, I can’t resurrect your witness, nor can I rearrest Mr. Luthor. But I can offer my support, whatever that looks like, as well as promise that no harm will come to Mr. Kent while he is in my care.”

“Which he won’t be forever.” Damian throughout. “He’s far too rambunctious to be watched twenty-four-seven.” Damain’s eyes fell. “And he’s much too trusting to be able to protect himself.”

“I think you underestimate the boy.” Edna spoke quietly. “You are worried, of course you are worried. But I think you forget all too often just what the boy is capable of.” 

Damian didn’t respond to that, he just kept his eyes firm on his lap.

“As for your cousin, she won’t stay upset forever. We both know when it comes to family she can’t stay mad long. And once she is no longer angry with you, you can get her to open up about what is bothering her.” 

Damian rolled his eyes at how easy she was making it sound. 

“In fact,” Edna began. “The two of you will be going out to dinner tonight.” Damian’s gaze shot up. “I need the two of you to meet with a few up and coming models from another brand. Get to know the competition and what not.” 

“But Edna-”

“Eh eh eh, no buts.” She wagged her finger. “This will be your way of making up for shooting my model, accident or no.” 

“That’s bullshit.” Damian didn’t mean for the outburst to be so loud or forcrefull, but he couldn’t take it back now.

“And manure is a wonderfully useful resource.”  She retorted. “You’ll do this favor for me Damian.” She said, voice a little softer. “I need good intell. No one sizes up the competition like you and she.” 

Damian kept his eyes down. Of course he would do it, to make up for what he did, accident or no, like she had said. But also, hopefully this would jump start Marinette forgiving him. He just wasn’t going to be happy about it, and Edna was going to know that.

“As for the young Mr. Wilkes-” Oh god, why had he opened his mouth? “Well we both know I am not well equipped to give relationship advice. But I’m sure if you just sat down and talked to him, things would work themselves out.” Edna gave a small smile. “He’s a sweet boy, and seems to really care about you.” 

“I know.” And he did, but still...he couldn’t explain just yet why it hurt so much. He wasn’t ready to talk to Colin yet. He needed time, especially if he was going to have to sit through dinner with a couple of airhead models, he couldn't be analyzing he and Colin’s conversation all evening long. 

“Now,” Edna’s loud voice quickly pulled Damian out of his thoughts. “Let’s talk about these voices.” 

_______________________________________________________________________

(part 1)  (part 2)  (part 2.5)  (part 3)  (part 4)  (part 5)  (part 6) (part 7) (part 8)  (part 9)  (part 10)  (part 11) (part 12) (part 13) (part 14) - here (part 15) - soon

Y'all 2020 has been a wild ride and were barely even started. I hope to god now that I am back in the swing of things updates will be coming more frequently. All I ask is that you please bear with me while I try to navigate the next few months. There will be more updates though! They just may take longer then I would like. Please let me know what you guys think of this part and let me know if you have any thoughts for what might happen in future parts! As always if you have any questions about the story or AU feel free to ask, I love getting them and will happily answer any question you got (even if it’s not about this AU)! And if you want to be tagged let me know! 

@graduatedmelon @northernbluetongue​ @violatiger8​ @bamagirl513​ @vixen-uchiha​ @beaversuenightly​ @tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff​ @todaylillypads​ @laurakinneylance​ @vgirl-10123​ @wellcrud-blog-blog​ @silvergold-swirl​ @crazylittlemunchkin​ @an-ahez​ @queencommonsense​ @ladybug-182​ @meganemily231​ @driftingmoonlitpetals​ @kand-roo​ @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry​ @theatreandcomicfreak​ @paradoxal-occurance​ @miraculousl4dybug @thanks-captain-obvious​ @sassydepression​ @multishipper1needshalp @wegan97​  @redscarlet95 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @synnesstra @fandomkitty8 @tired-yeetling @saluteswifties @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @dast218 @naclychilli @royalchaoticfangirl @panda3506 @nataladriana9 @shreky-boi @my-name-is-michell @dawnwave16  @thethirdwheelfriend @quiet-oracle @heaven428 @dabub167 @kris-pines04 @severelyenchantedwonderland @urbanpineapplefarmer @goblinwhoships @fertileleaf @almstreet @bluefyoto94 @sassakitty @mermaidreject @thestressmademedoit @pirats-pizzacanninibles @vgirl-10123

[stillthere4me]

colin and damian as disney channel original movie stars. -Kingchips

"We're soaring, flying, there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach!"

"I told you Colin," Damian threw the towel he'd been using to dry his hair at his costar's head. "I don't want to hear that crap off of set any more than I already have to!"

"But I heard you humming it in the shower..."

[nerdy-bird]

I wrote a Damian/Colin fanfiction! =o

You can read it here.

[aquariusrunes]

The Superfriends AU (part 2.5)

It had been a long day. 

That was Nino’s only thought as he laid along one of the benches in the boys locker room. His arms dangling off the side as he stared at the ceiling tiles. 

The day started out with him waking up to a text from his best friend informing him that he would not be in school for the next week and a half. Apparently Adrien’s old man had been in deep talks with some sort of fashion god from America, and now Adrien was going to be one of her star models in her next collection. 

The deal closed last night and the Agreste crew was on a jet at five in the morning to get to Steel City USA as quickly as possible. Gabriel had apparently decided it was fine to not even tell his son about it. Adrien’s text had explained that he learned he would be going to America roughly twenty minutes before they left for the airfield. 

Nino, of course, told Adrien to have a good time, keep him updated, and that he would email Adrien every assignment and all the notes he missed. And because he was a good friend like that, Adrien promised him lots of photos and a cool souvenir. 

But Nino hadn’t been prepared for class without Adrien. 

Going to class in general he rarely felt prepared for anymore. It was a full on warzone the minute the seats were filled. With Marinette and her crew taking up the back of the far side of the classroom and Lila and her girls sitting towards the front on Nino’s side. Adiren and he still have their original seats though, as did Chloé. But today, Nino was the only one in the front row. 

No one really commented on Chloé’s absence, the girl’s appearances were getting fewer and farther between as the year went on. He suspected she might be working on a transfer of some kind, seeing as how she and Lila didn’t get on well and the blonde would rather die before joining Marinette’s side. Of course everyone asked were Adrien was, and Nino happily informed any who asked. 

But then he made a mistake. 

Nino had mentioned how Adrian was going to be doing this new collection with Damian Wayne. And as expected, Lila went off. 

Apparently, Lila and Damian were childhood best friends. Her parents had known Bruce forever and the two couldn’t wait to set up their children on playdates whenever they could. In fact, Lila was practically an honorary Wayne. Bruce called her his future daughter-in-law because she and Damian were practically engaged. Though Lila wasn’t sure if she had romantic feelings for the notoriously stoic boy, he was very much in love with her. Damian had been chasing after her for years, apparently. 

Nino was so done. 

He then mentioned the campaign was for one Edna Mode. Now, Nino knew very little about fashion, he would admit this to anyone who asked. He would never pretend to know about fashion. But he did know that Edna Mode was the biggest name their was. Not only did she design the highest end clothing, she also designed superhero costumes! And she was well known as some kind of god to all in the fashion world. 

Cue Lila mentioning how she, of course, new Edna. They’d met during Milan Fashion Week several years ago. Apparently Edna drew immediate inspiration from the Italian girl. Lila had been Edna’s personal muse ever since. Edna would fly her to fashion shows all over the world. Lila would be Edna’s star model, the face of Mode, if her mother hadn’t thought Lila too young when they first met. Also, Edna liked to send her cloths, you know, Mode exclusives that literally coast more than all of Paris!

Apparently, Edna was like a grandmother to the girl.

The worst part of Nino’s day so far had to be the fact that, while Marinette’s crew tried to immediately disprove Lila’s statements, Marinette herself wasn’t in class. Nino still wasn’t sure where the girl was. He hadn’t seen her all day, and he was honestly a little worried. He texted her a few times but his messages didn’t go through. His mind was racing with possibilities of what Lila could have done. 

And now, he was sitting in the boys locker room. Alya, Rose, Mylène, Juleka and Sabrina were out in the cafeteria, hanging on every word of Lila’s story. It was about how she saved Ace, Bruce Wayne’s personal therapy dog, from oncoming traffic in Gotham City two summers ago. Nino had needed a break. And the boys locker room was perfect, seeing as all the boys Nino knew, and thus would interact with him, didn’t believe a word that came out of Lila’s mouth.  

“You look rough bud.” Nino’s head lifted slightly, seeing Kim leaning against the set of lockers to his right.

“Feel rough dude.” 

Kim laughed before sitting down next to his friend. “Needed a little break from the rat queen and her pack?” He asked. 

“Yeah…” Nino closed his eyes. “Please do not call my girlfriend a rat.” 

“Sorry.” 

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Kim was the first person, after Marinette, to find out that Nino was working undercover for the girl. He’d even changed Nino’s contact name in his phone to The MoleTM. And the two had rekindled their childhood friendship rather quickly. Kim was the person Nino had known second longest out of everyone in Bustier’s class, the first being Marinette. 

Kim also took the liberty of informing the rest of Mari’s crew where Nino’s true loyalty lied. It was nice having his old friends back, especially because he missed hanging out with the boys. Still sucked that they had to keep up an act anywhere Lila could possibly be though.

“DC texted me last night.” Kim said. “Asked me to spread the word. She’s gonna be out of town for a little while.” 

Nino slowly sat up, removing his hat as it began to fall and placing it in his lap. “Out of town?” He asked. “Where’d she go?”

“America.” 

“Dang.” 

“Yeah,” Kim scratched the back of his head. “She said that she had totally spaced about letting anyone know. Apparently she’s got a Great Aunt who lives overseas and she’s gonna go spend some time with her. She’s also gonna get to see one of her cousins. She sounded really pumped.” 

“Why didn’t she just text everyone?” Nino asked. 

“Mari said that when she hit my contact, she thought she was texting in the groupchat. She only realized after she sent it, so she quickly asked me to spread the news. Apparently she was texting from the plane before they took off. She left real late last night.” He shrugged. “Anyway, she doesn’t have international coverage, so it’s gonna be radio silence for the next ten or so days.” 

“Ten days?” Nino questioned. 

“Hey, she got permission from her parents, and all the work she’ll miss from teachers.” Kim twisted to be facing Nino directly. “More importantly, I overheard that sunshine’s gone too.” 

Nino nodded slowly, unsure of where this was now heading. 

“Adrien, despite taking a stance as Switzerland, is one of Lila’s biggest buffers. Still not sure what the kid’s got on her, but whatever it is, it keeps her a least a little in check. And with DC gone, who knows what she’ll do.” 

Nino nodded, suddenly aware of just how serious this could get. Of course if Lila said anything Mari’s crew would come to her defense, but rumors involving Marinette always seemed more potent and to have a harsher affect when the girl wasn’t around to directly defend herself. This would be a very dangerous week. 

“I’m on guard.” Nino said sternly. “Everything I hear, no matter who it’s from, is going straight to you guys.” 

Kim gave a sad half smile. “Remember when school didn’t feel like some sort of secret war?” He asked. “When all we had to worry about was if Chloé would accidently akumatize someone and if whatever they were serving in the caf was edible that day.” 

Nino responded with his own half hearted smile. “Ah the good ol days, may they return to us at some point.” 

Kim stood, patting Nino’s shoulder. “Keep us posted my dude, you’re our only life line in these trying times.” He watched his friend walk out of the locker room. He’d give it a few more minutes before he left and returned to that most cursed lunch table. 

This week was going to be hell. And something absolutely awful would happen before it was up, he could feel it in his gut. And despite what most people thought of him upon first glance, his gut was never wrong. 

He pondered briefly about what would have happened had he listened to it when the Liar first showed up. Oh how different things could have been. 

… 

His knee bounced rapidly, foot tapping against the carpeted floor of the Wayne Enterprise Jet. His fingers rhythmically pounding against the small table set between his seat and the two across from him. His green eyes glaring back at him in the reflection of the window. It wasn’t that he hated flying, or that it really even bothered him, he just enjoyed it more when he was the one in control of the plane.

He had asked, of course, but his father had said no. Even though he knew how, and his father was perfectly aware of how good of a pilot Damian was.

Yes, he didn’t like this pilot. The flight to Smallville had been fine, he supposed, they only hit a minor patch of turbulence that he was sure they would have avoided if he had been piloting, but it was fine. They had gone to Smallville to pick up Jon who was helping his grandmother with some big event happening at the Kent Farm. All the supers were there though, so when Bruce had called and asked Clark if Jon could tag along this week, his father agreed. He was already out of school anyway. 

Now they were flying to Steel City so he could be forced to model with some famous Parisian and his lovely cousin and some other girl who’s name he’d already forgotten. Damian never really modeled before, but Edna seemed confident in him. It was also an excuse to see his cousin. He hadn’t seen her in person for a long time. 

The knot in his stomach tightened and the rhythm of his fingers increased. 

Finally his ears popped, just as a hand softly rested over his own. His fingers flattened out against the table as Damian slowly glanced to his side. Sitting next to him was a sixteen year old boy who was rarely pegged for his age.

Colin Wilkes looked almost nothing like his ten-year-old self that Damian had met six years ago. The venom coursing through him had long since began to alter the boy’s body, making him function as a better host. He was very muscular, with a physique that rivaled that of a professional football player. He had also gotten taller, coming just an inch or so above Damian’s new height. Colin’s face was the one thing that never seemed to change, still round and doughy with stubborn baby fat persistently clinging to his cheeks. His tan skin coated in freckles, the number of which would very depending on the season. His scraggly bright orange hair still hung in his eyes, the bright hazel irises were currently searching Damian for something, some sort of chink in his armor. 

Colin’s eyes were very good at finding chinks in his armor. That is, after all, how they got into this whole mess.

“Everything okay Damian?” His voice was soft, it didn’t sound like it belonged in his body, but Damian knew just how low and threatening it could become. 

“Course.” Damian tried to break eye contact but found himself failing. Colin’s own eyes squinted as he pushed his bangs out of his face. He knew Damian was lying, he was good at that, he just hoped the boy wouldn’t push it. 

With a sigh the red head removed his hand. “Okay,” He breathed, standing from his seat next to the darker skinned teen. “We can talk about it later.” Damian’s eyes remained trained on him as he raised his hands above his head and stretched before saying “I’m going to run to the restroom.” 

Damian watched as Colin walked back to the jet’s small bathroom. Once the door was closed, he turned back around, immediately locking with a set of wide crystal blue eyes. “You alright Damian?” 

Why was everyone asking him that today?

“‘m fine, Jon.” He looked away from the half Kryptonian, back out the window. After many years of knowing the boy he’d discovered that Jon’s lie detector only worked when he was making eye contact with his target.

“Colin sure didn’t seem to think so.” The boy murmured. “Are you upset that I tagged along?” He asked, eyes downcast.

“Jon I invited you,” Damian scoffed out. “Why would I be upset that you are here when it was my idea?” He crossed his arms instead of going back to tapping his fingers.

“I don’t know, maybe you wanted to be alone with Colin…” 

Damian and Jon had a very unique relationship. While Colin had been the first friend Damian ever made, Jon was his second, and more importantly he was the son of Superman. Damian and Jon shared a legacy, a duty to their neighboring cities. They were both very much like their fathers, and very much stuck in the mens’ shadows. Ever since they met though, Damian found that they only ever help to pull one another out of those dark casts. 

Clark and Bruce were friends, of course, but not like Damian and Jon were. Jon, like Marinette, felt very much like the other side of Damian’s internal coin. They balanced one another so nicely. He was also one of the few people Damian actually cared for, let alone trusted. Jon was the third person he ever came out to, the first being Tim and the second being Marinette. 

Jon was also the one who encouraged Damian to pursue his feelings for Colin. That had been almost three years ago. Now the two boys were rapidly approaching their three year anniversary, and Jon was still their biggest supporter. 

The knot in Damian’s stomach tightened again.  

“I just,” He sighed leaning his head back. “You’ll be meeting my cousin.” Damian began, pausing to check and see if the boy was listening. Jon’s eyes were wide and attentive, as they typically were when Damian spoke. “She’s, very, how do I put this?” 

“Is she mean?”

“No.” 

“Hard to get along with?” 

“Hardly,” he laughed. “I’d say she’s the easiest person in our family to get along with. Easier than Grayson, and that’s really saying something.” Damian undid his arms. “She’s just got this sixth sense, she can read people. It’s eerie sometimes.”

“What do you mean?” Jon’s head tilted slightly. No matter how old they got, the half Kryptonian always had this look, it was that of a lost puppy. Tim often mentioned that it was the reason Damian decided to be Jon’s friend, because he reminded him of his animals. Jon had also filled out the older they got, taking on the more traditional physique of the super family. His face was chiseled and square, like his father’s with a softer nose resembling his mother’s. He adopted the traditional Kent glasses and was even currently wearing a red flannel, but the one thing that helped him stand out from the rest of the family was how he gelled his hair up into spikes Damian found the hair choice a tad ridiculous but often opted not to comment on it. 

“The last time I saw Marinette in person she happened to meet one of Grayson’s girlfriends. Her name was Kattie something, I don’t really remember. But I do remember how much Grayson liked her, even thought he loved her.” Damian recalled the day in his mind. “She met her for ten seconds, tops. Shook her hand, they introduced themselves, Grayson and Kattie left.” Damian’s eyes moved downwards, focusing on the table between him and his friend. “After they were gone, Marinette turned to me and told me that Kattie was cruel and would break his heart before the month was up.” 

“And?” 

“Two weeks later Grayson woke up and she was gone, along with all the money in his wallet and his credit cards. All of the watches Bruce had bought him over the years were gone too. She also took his car.” Damian shrugged. “Course, it didn’t take us long to track the bitch down, but still. Grayson was heart broken.” 

Jon nodded slowly. “You’re afraid Marinette isn’t going to like Colin.” It wasn’t a question. Another reason why Damian thought their friendship was so strong, Jon had learned how to read him. 

“It’s not that I think she won’t like him, I mean it’s Colin.” Damian’s hands pulled at the bottom of his jacket. “But, I don’t know, she’s predicted at least four breakups in my family and she didn’t even meet those people! It was just based off my brothers describing them. Hell, she even predicted Stephanie and Tim’s break up.” 

“What has she said when you’ve talked to her about Colin in the past?” Jon asked leaning heavily on the table. 

“I, well, I have talked to her about him before but, briefly. It’s not like I’ve gone into long exaggerating details about him. I’m not exactly a gusher, Jon.” 

“Well I know that.” Jon’s head tilted again. “She knows you have a boyfriend though, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“And that it’s Colin?” 

“Yes.” 

“What else?” Jon sat back in his seat, Damian could see Lois Lane in his eyes. 

“She knows how we met, that he’s a meta, and that he’s a redhead.” Damian tried thinking back to whenever he had mentioned the boy. “She knows that he doesn’t have any family ties, that I like him, and that we do vigilante stuff together.” Damian’s eyes raised to see an unimpressed look on Jon’s face. 

“You got to get better at expressing yourself Dami.” He said flatly. 

“Something I’ve been telling him for years.” They both looked up as Colin retook his seat, quickly taking Damian’s right hand in his left. “What are we talking about?”

“Noth-”

“Damian’s worried that his cousin isn’t going to like you.” Jon said, voice mostly flat but slightly amused. 

“Kent, are you aware of what my family does to snitches?” Damian asked, eyes narrowing as he felt Colin squeeze his hand.

Both of the other boys laughed. “I only ever snitch to Colin though! And that’s Colin! Usually it’s fine! And only the important stuff, I know when not to repeat you to him.” Jon’s laugh grew, catching the attention of Bruce who was sitting on the opposite side of the jet. 

“I appreciate it Jon. Your information is always good.” Collin mused. “And Dames, you don’t need to worry. If your cousin doesn’t like me, then she doesn’t like me, not a big deal.” He shrugged. “But, since it is obviously important to you, I will be on my best behavior.” Colin leaned over and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “Everything will be fine, you’ll see.” 

“Famous last words.” Damian grumbled out, face quickly returning to the window. While his friends laughed and began a new conversation Damian’s grip on his boyfriend’s hand tightened. The knot in his stomach felt like it was going to explode.

_______________________________________________________________________

(part 1)  (part 2)  (part 2.5) - Here (part 3)

If you have any questions about the story / AU feel free to ask! And if you want to be tagged, let me know! I have no set posting schedule I just upload whenever I get something done, I doubt updates will come this fast in the future, but it helps when I see everyone’s interest in it! Makes me really excited to write and keeps my mind flowing with ideas! Also, I know not everyone is a fan of Damian and Colin as a ship, and if that is not your thing that’s totally fine, but please do not be rude or send hate about it just because it isn’t your personal preference. 

Also this is part 2.5 because it still involves the key players for this au getting to where the story is actually taking place and I wanted to wait for Part 3 to be when they all start actually interacting with one another.

@graduatedmelon @northernbluetongue @violatiger8 @bamagirl513​ @vixen-uchiha @beaversuenightly @tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff @todaylillypads @laurakinneylance @vgirl-10123