wintermelonbear

[wintermelonbear]

Maybe Meant to Be

Pairings: Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste

Summary: Adrien finds out about his soulmates entire secret life, and realizes maybe he doesn't know as much about her as he thought

“GET IN THE CAR!” Adrien’s arm was yanked towards a sleek black SUV by the spotted heroine. He quickly jerks his head to the side to see his parents and Madame and Monsieur Dupain-Cheng being ushered into the car by a boy not much older than him clad in grey and red.

Before he’s even buckled in the car starts off with a loud screech against the pavement. He can hear his father’s shoulder as it hits the side of the car. “With all due respect Ladybug and Robin, what business does our family have with the Teen Titans?” 

“Where is our daughter?!” Sabine is basically in tears at this point and whips out her phone to check for any messages from Marinette. Swiftly, Adrien whips out his phone as well to see if there are any missed calls from his soulmate while he was stuck in his most recent photoshoot. 

A slight look of panic crosses Ladybug’s face until she gives them some reassurance, “Marinette is safe, there’s no need to panic, I promise!” Strange promise to make given their behavior a mere minute ago insisting the Agrestes and Dupain-Chengs drop everything and flee. 

The dark-haired teen boy chimes into the conversation with the click of his tongue and gives a quick glance to the rear-view mirror “Tt, we cannot discuss anything in detail here it could jeopardize the safety of Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng and your own safety.” He tears his gaze from the mirror and puts it back onto the long stretch of road as Ladybug’s elbow digs into his side. Ladybug lets out a hiss, and most likely with the intent of keeping it a secret from the inhabitants of the car she bites out “Robin! Why would you say that, they are going to freak out and worry. What’s wrong with you, you heartless bastard.”

“Oh? I am heartless now? You certainly did not feel that way last night when–” a hand clamps over his mouth before he can complete his thought. “That’s enough. You know what you did and why this is happening.” Touching a comm in her ear Ladybug switches straight into a commanding tone “Titan B1 and B2 reporting to OG can you get us permission for the west warp gate at coordinates….” She turns to the center console of the car and flicks a switch unveiling a panel of controls that rivaled every sci-fi fantasy movie Adrien had ever seen. “Alright everyone buckled in? Get ready to hold on the ride can be a bit bumpy. Also, you may want to close your eyes because it gets quite bright.” True to her words, once they entered the tunnel in front of them instead of being met by darkness it was like they had walked into the sun itself. By the time Adrien opened his eyes again he was in front of a large building that melded into the surrounding storm.

With a grunt, Robin pulled the car into park and swiftly unbuckled himself. After going around the car to open the door for Ladybug and then Marinette’s parents he finally decided to speak up again “Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude, please follow us.” “It’s not as scary or depressing as it sounds, I swear.” Ladybug cheerfully chirped. “This next part you’ll have to close your eyes, here I have blindfolds for everyone. Oh, and put on these cloaks, it's cold.”

Adrien understands that Ladybug is known to be a friendly hero, but the overfamiliar way she was touching all of them felt oddly reminiscent of a certain girl in his life. So much so he struggles to not lean into her touch as she drapes the last cloak around him. 

From this point on for the next 15 minutes all the civilians could sense were the beeps of machinery and mild arguing between the teen heroes as they worked through security clearance. After one last heavy door slamming behind them Ladybug begins to remove their blindfolds. “Take your time opening your eyes, they’ll need to adjust to the lighting in here.” Peeking through his lashes Adrien could see Ladybug nervously glancing at Robin as he gives her a stern look with his arms crossed. 

“I think it’s time you tell them.” This voice is unfamiliar enough that Adrien fully opens his eyes to see the statement came from an older hero, Nightwing. Looking around the room he sees that it is set up like a living room with a large couch in the center, a dining table to the side, and a kitchenette with counter seating in the far back.

“We just got here we should let them get comfortable first!” 

“You’ll just keep pushing it and we don’t know how much time we have until Blue Beetle gets here with his family and we have to do this all over again.” Robin gives Ladybug a pointed look. 

Jabbing Robin’s chest Ladybug chastizes him. “Well, we never would have been in this situation if you weren’t an untrusting jerkwad to begin with!” Robin begins to straighten up his posture to look down on Ladybug and he opens his mouth to retort- 

“WOAH! OKAY THERE! Let’s calm down.” Approaching them with his hands in front of his chest Nightwing positions himself between them. Wrapping an arm around the black-haired teen he  “Robin, let’s give Marinette some time with her family.” 

With her eyes wide open Ladybug growls out “You’re really living up to your name right now.”

With one last glance back Robin bites out “And keep your morals away from me. I don’t care about being nice and friendly like you do. Tt.” With that last remark he quickly turns his head and leaves the room with Dick. 

Fuming, Marinette nearly forgets her identity being outed until she is met with the shell-shocked faces of her parents, her soulmate, and her soulmate’s parents. With a nervous chuckle, Marinette whispers, “well…haha funny story…I can explain?” A light envelops Ladybug and as the illusion cast by the Miraculous’ glamor falls, and a sheepish Marinette is all that is left standing. Seeing Adrien’s disbelief written across his face with his mouth agape she lifts a glove-covered hand to his face to close it and brings her hand back to chest level to peel off the black kevlar glove donning the hand and reveals a mark Adrien has known front, back, and sideways since he first got it at the age of eight. “Well, I’m not sure who is going to collapse first because my dad looks like he has just seen a ghost and you’re questioning everything right now so how about we sit down.” Marinette guides them to a plush couch in the middle of the room. “Let me get you guys some refreshments. Give you time to think about this, I’m sure you all have a lot of questions.” 

By the time Marinette returns with a tray of tea and some prepackaged sweets Adrien is the only one left upright. Gabriel had his head in his hands with Emilie leaning over to rub his back, and Tom was folded into the arms of Sabine as she comforted him. 

“How long?” Adrien’s sudden inquiry nearly has Marinette dropping a glass onto the sterile floors of the fortress. 

“Oh okay straight into it. We’re 17 now so about…one, two,....five years?” 

Adrien’s eyes immediately flooded with hurt.

Immediately, Marinette knelt in front of him and took his hands in her so that their soul marks made contact. “Hey, listen to me for a second okay, and this goes for everyone on this couch right now. It’s not like I left you guys in the dark because I don’t trust you or because I don’t love you.” Looking around she makes eye contact with everyone so she knows they’re tuned into her words, “There’s so many reasons why, honestly, I never wanted you guys to find out about my secret identity. It’s not safe for you guys to know and I don’t want you to feel any worry when I have to be out there fighting.” 

“How did this even happen? When could this have started? How did you get powers?” With his hands holding a fistful of his own hair each, Gabriel can’t help but let out rapid-fire questions. 

“I CAN ANSWER THAT!” Tikki flies out from where she was hiding in Marinette’s zip-up jacket. 

“AAHHH!!! BUG-MOUSE THING?? WHAT IS THAT?” 

“That is so rude. I am not a that. I am a god, a Kwami to be more exact! Why do you humans always react like that.”

“Guys this is Tikki, the kwami of the Ladybug miraculous, she represents creation itself and through my earrings, she grants me powers. I have been in her care for the last five years. She is my best friend and closest ally.”

“I love Marinette! I would never let something bad happen to her.” Tikki exclaims as she flies up to hug Marinette’s cheek. 

“When I was 12 I met a man, the one you would know as Fu, at the time was guarding the Miraculous, a set of jewelry that much like my earrings can grant people power beyond what's normally possible for humans. He said the stars had told him I was to be the next guardian. It was written in my soul.” Marinette takes a deep breath before continuing her tale. “Honestly it took some convincing until he pulled out a slab that detailed what my life would be like as a hero. From then on he began to train me to take over as grand guardian and when I turned 16 he officially handed the role down. That's why you guys haven't seen him in a little over a year. Every time, for the last year at least, that I was “at Grandpa Fu’s” I was actually going on missions or training with the Teen Titans.” Breathing out, Marinette continues, “The reason why you’re here is because someone broke into the Hall of Justice last night, we’re not entirely sure who yet, or what information they obtained. The only thing we do know is that the Teen Titan’s folder was breached and because,” She begins to grit her teeth “Batman and his spawn –you know him as Robin– are nosy little pricks the folders included information about our members’ families and close associate. So we grabbed you guys in case they were able to obtain that level of information and wanted to use your safety as leverage.” Puffing out her cheeks she mumbles, “I know they could probably figure out my family without the listing, and I know he didn’t do it maliciously…but I am still mad at Robin. Even though he’s my best friend…”

At this point, a calmer Robin has re-entered the room nursing a mug and a volume of manga titled “I Chose You.” Adrien recognizes that story, while the content made him mildly queasy it was extremely well written with a moving story. The only thing that he didn't sit well with was the main theme of the story itself. The story follows a young woman Mako, her soulmate Ryo, and a young man Akito. The story is comprised of a love triangle between the three main characters until Mako defies fate and chooses Akito as her partner, hence the title. While it has won many accolades it continues to be a controversial title to many romance readers as very few people in real life choose to go against fate and be with someone who isn't their soulmate. Adrien himself can't imagine a life without Marinette by his side.

Without acknowledging the civilians Robin plops himself right next to Marinette and continues reading his book. Adrien makes a few attempts at conversation only to be met with silence and Marinette's reassurance that it's not his fault.

After a bit more chatting Nightwing jogs in, “Hey guys sorry to bother you, but Jaime is going to need this room next.”

------------------------------------------

As they walk down the barren hallways hovering over Ladybug’'s shoulder Adrien whispers into her ear, “So, who is he exactly? I know he’s Robin, but…” 

“Who am I? I'm simply the better option.” Robin looks back at Adrien with a gaze sharp enough to cut steel. The better option for what? Marinette? Adrien is literally her soulmate. It's written in the stars for them to be together.

“Oh hush.” Marinette chides Robin before turning back to them. “We got into a fight the other night so I may have been harsh with him, but despite his asshole exterior and mainly asshole interior, he’s actually quite the decent guy once he starts to care about you. Very much giving the grinch who stole Christmas.”

“DAMIANNNNN!” A voice booms from a distance as Robin and Ladybug facepalm. A flash of blue and red tackles Robin as Robin brings his fist onto the head of what looks like Superboy. 

“Identities you dunce! This is her civilian family.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose Marinette sighs.

------------------------------------------

A few hours later the Agrestes and the Dupain-Chengs are sitting across from the Reyes family who just learned about Jaime’s superabilities and double life. The Agrestes act as translators for the Dupain-Chengs who have much weaker English skills. They talk about the shock they’re under and concerns for their children’s safety. 

Nightwing tries to reassure them. “Your children are in safe hands I would never let them get hurt if it is in my control. Being a part of the Teen Titans gives powerful young adults the chance to use their powers for the greater good and train for when they’ll be needed in larger-scale attacks. I know you are concerned, but your children are extremely capable heroes.” 

“Got it.” With those words Damian projects the CCTV footage he's been analyzing onto the wall and continues typing away on his computer. On the wall is a clip of a group of ten individuals clad in all black running down a white pristine hall and then the footage cuts to those same individuals in a control room. 

The teen heroes in the room clamor around the projection. “So then what are we waiting for, why aren't we leaving now?!” The Blue Beetle is clearly worked up, most likely because of the endangerment of his family.

“Well normally we would need to figure out who these people are who breached, but considering Robin’s personality I’m sure he already has an answer,” Marinette answers with an air of confidence, an attitude Adrien has not seen her carry since Lila entered their school. 

Adrien tunes out some of the conversation from here as he realizes the exact reason why Marinette 

seemed somewhat unbothered when he told her that the reason their friends don’t invite her to hang out anymore is because she can’t get along with Lila. She had friends here, not just friends, an entire life he didn’t know about. 

“...the Scarlet Toad Society.” By the time Adrien tunes back into the conversation Marinette is staring intensely at an enhanced image of a wrist from the CCTV footage. “Every member of their society wears that bracelet. They’re mainly active in South-East Asia. It is weird that they made the trip to North America to infiltrate the Hall of Justice. Which means–”

“They have a target in mind. The Teen Titan folder would not be the easiest one to grab. They were looking for it.” Robin cuts her off. “But they have yet to visit Jaime’s family nor yours or the Agrestes. None of the traps in the Titan Tower have gone off either. Does anyone have contacts in South-East Asia we should be worried about?” Ravager and Superboy shake their heads.

“Wouldn’t you already know?” Jaime coldly asks Robin. 

Robin opens up his mouth to retort, but before he can Marinette steps in between them and covers his mouth with the back of her hand. “He knows that this isn’t entirely your fault, but his family is potentially in danger let him have this.” Silently fuming Damian scowls before turning back to the monitor in front of him. Clearing her throat Marinette continues, “I can’t think of any contacts I have there, but I can ask The Order to keep an eye on the happenings there, you may want to do the same with any shadows you can contact. For now, I think the best thing we can do is wait. I would offer to go in undercover, but I think we’ll be needing more information first.”

Marinette turns Damian’s chair around so that he is facing everyone and wraps her arms around his neck from behind to calm him. With this action, Adrien feels his heart drop down to his stomach. “Jaime, Ravager, Superboy how about you show our guests to their sleeping quarters? Dames and I–” Damian cuts her off with a glare, “Hey, Superboy over there already outed your first name, as long as they don’t find out the rest I don’t see why we can’t call you Dames. Anyway, we will work on getting some dinner settled, you can come back here in an hour or so after getting settled. Sound good?” 

“Aye Aye Captain!” Shouted Ravager and Superboy in a mock salute, and with that Damian and Marinette headed back in the direction of the kitchen while the civilians and remaining heroes shuffled into yet another hallway. 

From the distance Adrien can hear Marinette shout, “Take good care of my family Superboy!”

“I’ve got Mari’s family, you can go with Jaime Rav!” Shouts Superboy. After the short tour of their assigned space, he asks them if they have any questions. 

“This uh, it may sound silly, but could I ask… what’s Mari’s relationship with Robin? They seem pretty close. I think I might’ve even heard her call him her best friend.” Adrien feels ridiculous for even asking, but the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach just won’t go away.

Jon dramatically gasps, “She said that?? He’s supposed to be my best friend! They’re more like– more like– Ah! I got it! A bickering elderly couple!” 

“A-Are they–” Adrien stutters out in disbelief. Marinette would tell him if she was in a relationship right? They’re soulmates, they’re supposed to tell each other everything! But…but…Adrien realizes they haven’t been telling each other everything. Marinette has been hiding being a superhero for over 5 years. Maybe he doesn’t know her as well as he thought he did. 

“O-Oh! Oh gosh, I am so sorry I forgot you’re her soulmate. It’s not that they are an elderly bickering couple, they just act like it! But also maybe they…well I’m not sure if it’s my place to tell you I wouldn’t be a very good best friend if I did.” Jon looks extremely conflicted, but tries to figure out what to say so that Marinette won’t kill him on site the next time they meet. “Well you know I think if anything she would tell you! Marinette is a good person! Oh would you look at the time, we should head back, dinner could be any moment now!”

At dinner that night all Adrien could taste was the bitter realization that maybe he didn’t know Marinette as well as he thought he did.

[wintermelonbear]

Just Another Picture to Burn

Summary: Just a cute little friendship between Jon, Damian, and Marinette. Can be read platonically or with some romantic inclination. Just two friends who want the best for each other and will celebrate each other’s milestones 

Sidenote: I haven’t written anything in years, but dragged my butt to write this for the MGI civil war so proceed with caution.

Sharp green eyes open up to the world moments before the buzz of a phone alarm signals the need to get up. Out of an abundance of caution stemming from his tumultuous upbringing the young teen scans the room for any signs of an intruder, most days this is a fruitless endeavor, but Damian could never find himself to drop this habit. He notes an envelope on his desk and reaches for the compressed bo staff under his pillow. As he approached the desk the only sound that could be heard was the light creak of the manor’s floorboards and low mumblings coming from the kitchen. A sigh of relief breaks this silence as Damian recognizes the gentle script sprawled across the front of the pale pink envelope spelling out “To Dami”. 

Cautiously he flips the envelope checking for signs of tampering. While the sentiment is nice, the choice to send a handwritten letter rather than a text was out of left field from his companion. He notes with a slight grin that she had used the wax seal he gifted her after the defeat of Hawkmoth. Sliding a batarang out from the underside of his desk he slices open the top of the envelope to reveal a piece of thick cardstock. At this Damian’s brow moves into a sharp arch, what could have been so important, yet so minimal that she had to portal over to his place in the middle of the night. Pulling out a piece of pristine white paper, he reads, "You, me & Jon. 7 pm CET. I already checked with your dad, so no excuses. Love, Mari”

Picking up his phone –the latest from Wayne Tech– he taps out a message to his top contact, “Spotted Menace”. A bright blue message populates the screen reading out, “An invite? To what exactly?” For emphasis, he adds in a raised eyebrow emoji then after some contemplation adds in a thinking emoji. Following that text, he quickly snaps a picture of the note to Marinette to confirm he received her letter before preparing for the day. 

Before leaving his room he picks up the envelope again, this time to admire her handiwork instead of ascertaining its threat level. Turning to the back of the envelope his chest puffs out a bit as he dons a victorious smile he takes in his handiwork. She had used the wax seal stamp he had gifted her on her 16th birthday. He hand-carved the image of a ladybug resting on a branch of plum blossoms, to signify her new beginning as a hero by choice and not by necessity after the defeat of Hawkmoth.

As Damian slipped into the driver’s seat of his sleek sedan he mused that 12-year-old Damian would be utterly baffled by the person he is today –apart from being the stronger member of the new generation of heroes, that has always been a given (Somewhere Jon is rolling his eyes). Honestly, when Damian first met Marinette he found her pathetic. She was just a worthless little girl who was gifted powers beyond her capability to wield, and he never hid his disdain for her. Thus, to young pre-teen Marinette the youngest Robin was just a massive dickhead who had no feelings apart from his superiority complex. He was an embodiment of torment; the worst parts of Felix and Chloe combined. Not to say that Damian is perfect now, but at the time he lacked the perspective he gained from his travels to and return from Lazarus Island. Now he has spent more time learning from others’ experiences, has gone through his first heartbreak after Flatline decided that time spent with him was distracting her from her personal goals, and all of that has taught him to care and have some level of empathy. He may not be like Marinette and Jon, ready to do what is right solely because they blindly believe in the goodness of others, but he understands that even if he may not find value in someone, that does not mean their life is worthless. 

The first time Robin acknowledged that despite Ladybug’s lack of technical combat skills, she had plenty of other skills that other heroes would be envious of, Nightwing attempted to give him a “bear hug” and Superboy nearly fell from the sky. What Robin to this day doesn’t know about that night is that his comm was connected to Ladybug’s and the reason she fell off the roof was not the attacker’s sharp jab to her ribs, but rather the shock of Robin giving her any form of praise. From then on Marinette decided maybe Robin was capable of growing a heart, and while it may have started as one-sided conversations with her rambling on about herself and basic topics of conversation – how’s the weather in the Gotham? It’s been warm in Paris! Did you see the new Mecha Strike game launch? What’s your favorite dessert? –  eventually, Damian started warming up to her. 

By the time the youngest Wayne snaps out of his reverie, the bell has rung signaling the dismissal of his second-period and the start of the school’s 20-minute break. Fishing through his pockets, and quickly unlocking his phone he finds several missed messages from Marinette, Jon, and their group chat “Talk Shit Get Hit”. After skimming through their private messages, Damian bites the bullet and opens up “Talk Shit Get Hit” to begin tackling the growing number of messages. Scrolling to the top of the chain of unread messages he sends Jon spamming the chat with unintelligible keyboard smashes followed by “MARI HOW DID YOU GET US OUT OF LIZZIE-SITTING DUTIES???”, Damian swears that the capslock on Jon’s keyboards must be worn down with his overusage. He reacts to the message with a set of eye emojis because there are very few people Diana trusts with her fussy toddler and he knows for a fact that she’s in the midst of an investigation into a rapidly expanding crime syndicate. As he scrolls further he is dismayed to find out Marinette cashed in this free day in exchange for a date night babysitting gig in addition to normal babysitting duties. Damian loves Lizzie like a younger sister and of course, wants her to be in the care of someone befitting of her status. Still, he has been yelled at one too many times for taking her on patrol with him, and sometimes bringing a 3-foot-tall sidekick with a tutu (courtesy of Marinette) kills his intimidation factor. Once he makes it past a wall of crying emojis and gifs of betrayal from Jon, the chat goes back to its normal contents, filled with reels shared between Jon and Mari, and complaints about their teachers. Jon eventually asks Marinette what she has planned for tonight that is worth the extra babysitting duties, but Marinette declines to answer and instead tells him to be patient.

After school Damian carefully considers his outfit but sticks with his classic black turtleneck and a pair of khakis, Marinette will call him boring but what does she know? She used to have a crush on a guy who exclusively wore a striped shirt with an open button-up and bright orange Converses. Once they became comfortable with one another Marinette made it VERY well-known that while she wished his civilian wear had more diversity and color, she found his original Robin suit to be a “crime against fashion and most people’s eyeballs”. Stating that only traffic lights would appreciate sharing a color palette with him. Damian argued that it’s tradition, while Marinette replied with “It’s fugly and you know it. Y o u! ditched the design in the first place”. Rolling his eyes, he heads to the window and yells out “Jon! I am ready!” and with a flash of blue and red Jon shows up at his window clad in a red hoodie and blue jeans. The Super family really needs to consider their civilian “disguises”. 

Swooping Damian up into his arm Jon bolts out the window and into the sky towards Paris until they reach a familiar flowered rooftop. After two taps to the trap door beneath them, the door abruptly gave way and Damian was met with a loud POP and confetti raining down onto him. Quickly Marinette busted out the door cake in hand and in unison started singing with Jon. While it was not a rare occurrence for Marinette to provide them with sweets at her residence, what was on the cake was the strange part. It was a picture of one of his earlier Robin outfits? One that after many earfuls from Marinette knew to be her least favorite, why would she put it on a cake?? 

“Happy outfit death to you! Happy outfit death to you! You no longer look like a traffic light! Happy outfit death to you!” Out of seemingly thin air, Marinette pulled out a lighter and lit the top layer on fire revealing a picture of his new outfit underneath. “You do not know how relieved I am that I do not have to be with someone whose color palette matches a kindergarten classroom rug, and not a cute one”.

Damian with a puzzled expression questions her, “Is this something to be celebrated? Besides that I changed outfits months ago”. Marinette looked at him mouth agape. “Close your mouth you will catch flies at this rate”.

Almost as if rehearsed Jon and Marinette reply in unison “What are you my maman/ma”?

After clearing her throat Marinette went to explain, “There are plenty of things to celebrate for your outfit change! You’re finding out the type of Robin you’re going to be, and I personally believe that is a worthy cause for celebration. Besides, after Monarch’s downfall, I was really struggling to figure out what to do myself. My whole world felt like it splintered into pieces, but you and Jon were there to help me figure things out when the consequences of my actions™ struck. I want you to feel empowered too, even if you don’t need it the same way I did”. With a smile Marinette brought out some forks, “Now let’s dig in”! If it made him uncomfortable how quickly his friends stabbed his frosting face with their forks, he didn’t let it show.

[wintermelonbear]

To Love Again

Pairings:

Daminette Past/Referenced Adrinette

Past/Referenced DamiRae

Minor RaeGar

Team: Damian Dominance

Type: One-Shot

Prompt: Soulmates Word Count: 3484

Summary:

Written for the MGI Civil War 2022! In which Marinette moves to Gotham and in the aftermath of their own respective break-ups Damian and Marinette learn that sometimes love is not enough.

… represents a narrative shift

To Love Again

When Marinette was 18 she needed to reset her whole life. Her parents were gone, an unfortunate car accident. Her partner, her former lover, her soulmate designated by the miraculous, her star in the night sky, Adrien was gone. His choice to leave was necessary; she entirely understood his choice. They brought out both the best and the worst of each other, a painful consequence of their disposition towards the miracle of creation and destruction. He needed to heal on his own, on his own two feet alongside his newly revived mother.

Seeing the city of love pass by her day by day on her own created a hollow space in her heart, and she needed out. Even she was not entirely sure why she chose Gotham, USA of all places. Jagged Stone had warned her of the dangers that lurked around every street corner. It would prove to be a place where her heart could finally heal, love, and be loved.

She was not expecting to find any romantic love in Gotham when all of her endeavors failed in the city of love itself, but the more she spoke to Robin the lighter her worries felt and harder she fell. Watching him fall in love with an unnamed civilian was a torturous pleasure.

Damian would meet Ladybug at her first official meeting with Justice League America (JLA) after her transfer from Justice League Europe (JLE) just a handful of weeks from when he met Marinette. Months down the road, at times he would wonder if he had met her first, if he could have loved her back.

Marinette had met Robin as Ladybug a few weeks into her Gotham centered life, and boy had she fallen fast. To her he was everything she was not and more. Robin was calm, confident, and collected; a natural born leader. To her Robin was much like herself as Ladybug, but unlike her Marinette side she figured out of the mask he was much more put together than herself.

They slowly got closer as she joined his team on more and more missions. Their conversations slowly shifted from battle techniques to memories of their favorite moves, and eventually towards their personal lives. They obscured as much as they could, redacting names, locations, and specific details for the sake of privacy. As he spoke about this girl from his university who held his heart in the palm of her hand, she could not help but envy the girl who put the look of utter admiration on his face.

Robin once asked her about Chat Noir; why he was no longer in her life. At that time the always strong Ladybug couldn’t help but to breakdown into tears as Robin held her in his arms, platonically Ladybug would ruefully note.

Between sobs Ladybug noted, “It’s too difficult to talk about without revealing his civilian identity, but it was a lot of things. There were definitely more impactful events that brought us to a full stop, but we could not be together. No matter what it felt like us being together would be the end of the world itself.”

Robin’s brows furrow together beneath the domino mask. He didn’t quite understand how she could come to that conclusion. “Isn’t love supposed to be good? Isn’t it supposed to save?”

Ladybug let out a soft sigh as her breathing evened out, “Sometimes Robin, sometimes love just isn’t enough. You loved Raven right? But your love wasn’t enough for her.”

Robin winced, his face morphing into a slight grimace at the thought of Raven galavanting about with Beast Boy on parole. “That was different, and besides…my love wasn’t enough for her, but maybe it will be for someone else.” His lips couldn’t help but softly quirk up at the thought of his budding relationship with Marinette. “Though I can’t imagine your love not being enough for someone, Ladybug. You are a hero who loves with your whole chest, you are Ladybug the savior of the city of love itself. I’m a boy who lurks in the shadows of his parents.” “You are so much more than that Robin!” Her eyes flooded with tears quickly met the white mech of his domino mask. She held back a sob and sniffled. “But you’re right we’re both great and we are both capable of great love. We just need people who will recognize that.” Ladybug wishes she could be that person for Robin, but she knows he already has another in his heart. He is just another person she cannot have.

…

Unbeknownst to many Damian Wayne was capable of love. He had loved Rachel Roth, and unbeknownst to Damian he would love Marinette even more.

It all began the day she walked through that lecture hall door; Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Paris, France. The blue-eyed blue-haired captor of Damian Al-Ghul Wayne’s heart. From the start she was beautiful to him, Damian may be stubborn, but not blind. Looks are not enough for love, but he would soon learn there was much more to her.

The day he met Marinette was like a whirlwind. He was fresh off a break-up with the girl he thought he would marry, a woman who was now in another man’s arms. Walking out of the lecture hall, having already forgotten about the mildly cute French student he had to witness Rachel walking around with Garfield Logan draped around her. Disgusting.

“I know that look. Heartbreak huh?” The bluenette from earlier inquired from next to Damian.

“Are you mocking me?” He was startled and agitated. Where had the girl even come from?

“Nope, just commiserating.” Damian quirked his brow unamused by her response. “I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a fellow heartbroken student” she said with a slight crooked smile on her face.

He simply offered his name in passing to get with only the slightest glance ever going Marinette’s way. “Damian.” “No last name?” Marinette scrunched her brows together because of his curtness.

“You don’t know? Stop fucking around.” His voice was filled with an agitation that Marinette could not understand the source of.

“I have no idea who hurt you to respond in that way, but why would I know your last name from your first? Merde, you Americans can be so self centered.”

Damian was taken aback, it appeared that she genuinely did not know about Damian Wayne of Gotham, the son of Bruce Wayne the millionaire philanthropist himself. He was intrigued enough to retort back. “Well then, Dupain-Cheng, you’ll have to earn the right to know.”

“You might have to give me a reason to.” Marinette was no longer sure if she shared the same curiosities. With one last glance she turned the corner to head to her next class.

…

Damian was surprised that she had, in fact, earned the right to know his last name. She proved herself to be a trustworthy and reliable companion overtime. Despite Marinette’s apprehension from their initial interaction she had decided that her Ladybug instincts rarely steer her wrong, and if she was initially drawn to him perhaps there was a greater reason. So she gave him another chance and totally not because she was the new loner from France.

She was a bit surprised at the realization that he was the son of Bruce Wayne, how was she supposed to know that he was that Damian Wayne! Her face paled a bit at the realization that she had offended, and still frequently teases the son of a man who has the power to ruin her livelihood anywhere in the world. Upon seeing her reaction, as if reading her mind, Damian’s furrowed brows quickly relaxed as he let out a sigh and a quick eye roll crossed his face. “No you don’t have to treat me any differently than you have. My father isn’t going to ruin your life if his son could not handle some teasing from a girl who doesn’t even reach my shoulders.”

Marinette’s pale face quickly reddened as she smacked his side. “Hey I thought we agreed not to talk about our height difference. I already know I look like a garden gnome next to you.” “I believe Todd would say you look more like a Pixie.”

…

Their conversations started off quite mundane from topics like the weather and coffee to conversations about their coursework, and eventually to matters of the heart. Damian found it surprisingly easy to open up with her, perhaps because of how open she was with her own life minus her life as a hero but he doesn’t know that yet, constantly rambling about even the smallest details. He found that he actually didn’t even mind her constant chatter. Despite how different it was from the time he had spent in comfortable silence with Rachel, he found Marinette’s rambling to be pleasant in it’s own way.

He was taken aback when his initial background check for her had shown her connection to the villain Hawkmoth of Paris. He wasn’t sure how to bring it up to her, but he knew it was something he would have to do if he was ever going to make her a larger part of his life. He definitely never quite got a villainess vibe from her, but one could never be too sure and he would never endanger his family by bringing in someone with possibly terrible intentions into their manor.

Eventually Damian had lucked out, Marinette had brought it up on her own while they were having lunch at Pamela Isley’s garden. “Do you still love her, Rachel?” Damian was a bit caught off guard, and tried his best to not choke on the flatbread in his mouth. He pushed the bread around a bit, gaze shifting around, and finally landing on Marinette whose gaze was on a fashion design assignment on her tablet. If he was uncertain of his feelings before seeing the way the sunlight illuminated her skin and brought out her freckles really did push him over the edge. “Actually..I don’t think I do anymore. At least, not in the same way. Do you still love him? Your ex.”

“Yeah, I think I still might. I met someone recently, but it will never be the same. Not in the way that I don’t think I could love again, or that no love will ever be greater, but I am not sure if I will ever stop loving him.” Damian wouldn’t care to admit it at this point in time, but his heart sank a little at her admission that she still loved him. Another part of his heart was elated at the possibility of him being her recent acquaintance.

He couldn’t get too caught up in his emotions; this was his chance to push further and appease his curiosities. “If you loved him, then why aren’t you with him? Did he leave you? You never did tell me even though you already know about how Rachel left me because she realized her love for Logan.”

“Sometimes love is not enough. Nowhere near enough actually. He didn’t quite end it, but neither did I. It was a natural consequence of a lot of things. Do you know about the Akuma attacks in Paris from the last few years? The ones that were just resolved a year or two ago?” “Of course I do, it was international news. Supernatural crime in France isn’t as common as in America. I think you’ve also mentioned it before in your tales about your former classmates.” It may have been a small lie, but Damian had seen some smaller news outlets cover it and had seen the reports on her classmates and connected the dots on his own. Marinette could be forgetful so he wasn’t too worried about her figuring out his bluff.

“Oh have I? Well anyways that makes it easier. My boyfri- no sorry my ex’s name is Adrien Agreste, the son of Hawkmoth. Of course I didn’t know this, nor did he, but the outcome of his actions that fractured us. We just…” she trailed off for a bit, “weren’t quite the same afterwards. I wanted to be there for him, but he needed time. Seeing me reminded him of all the destruction his father caused.” She wished that she could tell Damian about her double life as Ladybug and how everytime Adrien saw her he couldn’t help but think about his dad and what they had to do for the sake of the world, and how every time she looked at a ring or even smelled the scent of camembert she wanted to burst into tears.

Damian’s eyes narrowed. “Why did seeing you remind him of his father’s actions?” Damian didn’t want to question her goodness, but this statement was a bit fishy. What was she hiding? Was she an associate of Hawkmoth that went undetected? He doubted those possibilities, but it was best to leave no stones unturned. Seeing Marinette’s slight flinch he tacked on a quick “if you don’t mind sharing that with me” out of politeness. Of course he would strongly prefer it if she would confirm or deny any involvement with Hawkmoth, but he would understand if it was still too difficult to talk about.

It had taken over 5 months for Marinette to get Damian to open up more about Rachel. Anything she had learned about them prior to that was merely from her observational skills, something Damian noted was also above average, but he attributed that from her years of working with the upper class in her commission work. One had to understand how to read others in order to survive in high society, especially in Gotham.

“It's not that I directly remind him.” Marinette quickly swallowed this bitter lie. “It’s more like I remind him of that time period. He tends to avoid a lot of people from our lycee.” This was more so out of shame, but Damian didn’t need to know that. Damian nodded along. It was an acceptable answer. He should stop now, he knows this, but he can’t help himself, “do you think you would still be with him if he didn’t choose to leave you?” “Perhaps…maybe in another world where villains are just that and not people we love, where our heroes are just that, heroes.” and not kids being forced into a war Marinette mentally added. With that Damian reached across the table they were sitting at and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you Marinette. I know that was hard to share.” It was a small comfort she has offered him before, and he was determined to return the favor. At that Marinette released a gentle sob that quickly turned into a river of tears as Damian rubs her knuckles and shoulders. It was a cry she could not afford after the initial fall out; feeling too guilty over her direct involvement over Gabriel’s arrest despite Adrien insisting, mostly convincingly, that it was no one’s fault other than his father and Nathalie.

That day Damian fell a bit more in love with this strong, yet vulnerable girl.

However, the closer Damian and Marinette got, the more Damian realized he was in love, and the more Marinette was convinced that she could never love him. Their circumstances and him as a whole were too similar to Adrien. She would not let herself get hurt once more.

…

The day their identities were revealed to one another was a day of emotional turmoil and utter chaos. It had been mid-battle against the crime syndicate of America. While Damian had gone toe-to-toe with some of the villains, this was an entirely new set of adversaries for Marinette. Unaccustomed to Ultraman’s lasers, she had gotten too comfortable fighting long-distance with him and was too slow to dodge the incoming lasers. While the other members of the JLA, and associated teams like the Teen Titans covered for her, Robin quickly swept in and evacuated her into a nearby standby jet that was acting as a makeshift medical wing.

As he laid Ladybug onto a medical cot, she quickly gripped his arm. “I need you to do me a favor” she let out a groan and grimaced “please.” Robin quickly grabbed both her arms and scolded her “Stay still I know you’re not used to injuries like this, but any sudden movements could mean the end of your life here. I need you to calm down.”

“I’ll be fine if you do this one thing for me.” “Now is not the time to ask for a favor, Ladybug. There is a battle out there and I need to treat you so I can go back and you can rest without dying here.” “I will be fine if you just check in my locker. The combo is 04 10 00 ,there is a bag in there and in that bag is a tablet. If you bring me the tablet I have a spell I can use to heal myself, and another spell I can use to boost everyone’s powers.”

Without another grumble Damian quickly set off to the side of the jet, making haste to ensure Ladybug would not bleed to death in the time it took to grab her bag. As he pulled out the tablet his face paled. He would know those handmade stickers, and minor dents and scratches from his favorite clumsy girl anywhere. “M-Marinette..no no…no she can’t be.” His mind was racing. She can’t be here, it's dangerous. She couldn’t have been fighting alongside him all this time. Marinette was supposed to be safe in her apartment away from the chaos and destruction, not in the heart of it all. Yet here she was, possibly bleeding to death in his family’s jet. He didn’t have time to be distracted by his thoughts. Quickly, he ran back to her. He knew he was making a big mistake, but he couldn’t let her not know, and risk facing her anger in the aftermath. He needed to let her know that he knew about her identity. Growing up in the league of shadows Damian had developed a few…unique skills. Amongst them, voice mimicry. In order to obscure his identity, he had developed a set of tones and speaking patterns for when he suited up unique from his own as Damian. He let all of that drop in hopes that this one word would let her know all that she needed to. “Marinette.” Her eyes shot wide open as her head snapped to him. “No..you can’t be. Damian? Is that really you?” When he nodded in response she couldn’t help but groan out, “Oh god not another love square!”

“A what?”

“I’ll explain later we have a fight to win, but the fact that I was in two of them? Outrageous?”

…

Marinette would not lie; knowing Damian was Robin made her love life somehow much more complicated. Sure now she knew that the guy she was enamored with held her in the same regard, but this situation was too familiar for her liking. Now she sat across from him on a jet heading back home having to make decisions.

“He was my other half Damian, but because of that we brought out the best and the worst of each other, Damian, and I’m scared. You are so much like him. What if we hurt each other? Can either of us handle becoming any more fractured?” Damian was a bit shaken at seeing this side of Marinette. To him she has always been the more emotionally open one of the two, always so brave with her emotions, wearing them on her sleeve like a badge of honor. Now here she is in near tears, running away from those emotions.

“Marinette. To be hurt by you would be an honor. While it's cliche you had once told me as I mourned my relationship with Raven that it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved before. We have already begun to love so we might as well see it through. It could hurt, I know that, but I think we are worth any possible hurt.”

…

Marinette would find that love didn’t have to hurt, and that finding your other half could mean finding someone who balanced your flaws rather than amplifying them. It turns out that Damian was exactly who she was looking for. Adrien would always be a part of her past, and hopefully part of her future once he heals from their traumatic past, but they could not be together like she is with Damian. Damian is someone who could help her stand on her two feet instead of teetering around unbalanced. Around him she could cry unabashedly, but also be a positive force in his life. Instead of feeling like one half of a pair; she felt like a complete person.

Damian learned that it was true, sometimes love wasn’t enough, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t enough. He would realize Raven didn’t leave him because she didn’t love him as a person, and that loving someone else more didn’t invalidate how she had felt about him. He now had Marinette, who not only loved him, but took the time and effort to show that love. She showed Damian that it was possible to love another, but still choose to be with him. She chose his love; she chose Damian, and that was all he could ever ask for.

[wintermelonbear]

Into the Lion's Den

Team: Damian Dominance

Type: Fic Outline

Word count: 1827

Summary:

“Fu had warned me,

Su Han had warned me,

and yet here I am standing in the lion’s den”

A/N: Hello hello here’s an outline of a daminette fic I would love to write if I had the time or talent Obligatory Note: written for MGI Civil War 2022!

Intro:

There were three types of people to Damian wayne: the fearful, the ignorant, and the loyal.

The fearful consists of those intimidated by his wealth, power, and physique; those who averted their gaze in the hallways. To the fearful Damian was less Damian and more of a frightening Wayne, one unafraid of using his leverage in Gotham society to shut down the woefully ignorant. This group knows not to cross him, and for this reason Damian much prefers this group over the ignorant.

The ignorant constantly clung to Damian, trying to become someone to a man they knew nothing about. The girls who cling to his arm at any chance and the boys who try to start small talk with him see neither Damian nor Wayne in him. They see a prize to be won. They acknowledge his wealth and status, but in a way where it has become all consuming, overcasting any hint of Damian’s personality in the process. Growing up a tool to the league, seen as an heir and not a person, Damian has had enough of being an object.

Those loyal to him shaped Damian into the man he is today. He is not the same boy he was at 10, attempting to kill Grayson, rather now he would kill for Grayson even if his father forbids. Damian has grown to love and understand the meaning of being a part of a team and a family. From being saved mid mission gone awry by Jon or even Tim –no matter how much Damian still struggles to admit needing help to his extended family– to babysitting young Mar’i or Helena. He has learned how to cherish and be cherished by those around him. This is not to say Damian has become easy to love or agreeable even. While he has learned to let people in overtime his walls are still as high as Notre Dame itself.

Marinette’s world was much more black and white than Damian’s. To her everyone was either an enemy or ally, a toxic trait only reinforced by her role as a hero. Sure people could change, but change is not easy. It is a long and treacherous role from enemy to ally.

At 12 she had been chosen to be Ladybug, super heroine of Paris. In the following months she would be reunited with a man who apparently did know how to cross the streets.

At 14 she became the guardian of 19 small gods, almost entirely unprepared. She then learns she is not the only young guardian after becoming acquainted with others like Fei and Jessica.

At 15 after a year of struggle The Temple of the Miraculous, renamed as The Order, sends her some guidance in the form of Su-Han. They struggle to understand each other at first, but they acknowledge that the other will do anything to protect the miraculous from the hands of evil.

Master Fu and Su-Han had vastly different teaching styles. Fu encouraged Marinette to dive head first and be experimental with her role as Ladybug and Celestial Guardian of The Order. Su-Han was much more rigid in his teachings, focusing on the fundamentals, discipline, and tradition. As a guardian Marinette was somewhere in the midpoint between the two. She understood the importance of learning the basics, but sometimes rules need to be broken, and as a soul of creation her desire for innovation was never ending.

One thing Fu and Su-Han shared in their teaching was their fear of The League of Shadows. Between the temple and the league prior to Feast there was an on-going feud for control of the miraculi. In a way Fu’s mistakes were a blessing to The Order as The League, for all they knew, were still under the belief that the majority of the miraculi were gone.

From the age of 12, under the influence of these men, Marinette was taught that any members of the league were her enemies.

At 17 she had won against Hawkmoth, but lost her partner in the struggle. He now lies comatose alongside his mother in the annex of The Temple.

At 18 she meets Damian Al-Ghul Wayne and unexpectedly he turns her life on its side.

Her loyalty to the Miraculous would send her to Gotham, New Jersey for a couple of years. Gotham, the home of four league affiliates, including the demon head’s heir himself, Damian Al-Ghul Wayne. In this city and the others in surrounding states lay dormant miraculi put on display in Museums. The Order had tasked her to uproot herself and recover the Miraculi in America in a bid for grand guardianship.

She convinces her parents to let her move to the most dangerous city in America for Gotham University’s mixed business and fashion design program. Her parents insist on helping her with the move, but Marinette convinces them to stay and man the bakery, insisting that she has learned to be vigilant in the years that Paris was plagued by Hawkmoth’s reign of terror.

Their first interactions:

Damian and Marinette first cross paths at the botanical garden run by Dr.Pamela Isley herself. There is an attack, a cloud of toxins hangs in the air, and conditioned from years of vigilantism Damian wraps his hand around Marinette’s mouth in an attempt to protect a civilian, from his viewpoint most likely a tourist, from the toxins. Marinette, who has been raised to avoid any member of the League, is confused and panicked, emotions that are only intensified by the paralytic toxin she has inhaled.

Damian is unable to speak with his other hand around his own mouth and he tries to signal to Marinette that they need to get out of the area, and quickly. Marinette, unable to think clearly under the effects of the toxins, believes that Al-Ghul has sent his heir to kidnap her and begins to thrash against him. Despite her resistance Damian knows his father would never forgive him for letting a civilian throw themselves into danger and he quickly makes a mad dash towards the exit with her in his arms and quickly delivers her to a nearby ambulance before dashing off to join his siblings in the fight against Poison Ivy.

At the hospital following the attack Marinette, not wanting to seem suspicious for fighting a millionaire’s son for seemingly no reason, and also because of her guilt, ends up searching for Damian in order to apologize. He accepts her apology because he assumes it was from the influence of the Poison Ivy’s toxins.

The relationship building phase:

The second time they crossed paths was in their introductory business course. Where Damian and Marinette are partnered together. Overtime Damian notices her hesitance around topics concerning him, his father, and his older siblings Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain. At first he brushes it off as her being amongst the fearful, but then he begins to observe her actions around those considered traditionally scary, and notices her lack of fear. This confuses him further when he sees her caught up in villain attacks remaining remarkably calm.

He wants to get to know her better mainly because of his unresolved trauma of being seen like a monster in his earlier years instead of being seen as a kid.

Group Project Sub-Arc:

Fu had warned her, Su-Han had warned her, and yet here she is standing in the lion’s den itself, the Wayne manor’s living room.

She had been invited to the manor for their group project and could not find a way to worm her way out because all other coworking spaces like the cafeteria, local cafes, and library were closed early due to covid protocols, and her apartment had 19 or so little gods roaming around at all times. She runs into Jason and mildly freaks out. Jason is surprised by how scared she was of him considering her interactions with Dick, Tim, and Alfred moments early. He also has a moment of considering whether or not the Lazurus pits are still guiding him towards the path of being a monster.

Ladybug and Robin meet:

Since Marinette knows that Bruce Wayne is associated with the league of shadows she also knows that he is Batman. That means she knows that Damian Wayne is Robin. At this point she knows Damian a bit better and is a bit apprehensive about whether or not he is actually evil, and so she’s extremely cautious around Robin, but she is also professional.

As Ladybug and Robin they are work colleagues, occasionally fighting crime together with polite, curt conversation.

As the guardian, Marinette stands against Batman’s team as she steals the miraculous from various history and art exhibits as well as from private collections. They have a dynamic similar to Cat Woman and Batman.

The aftermath: At some point Marinette realizes that Damian Al-Ghul Wayne can’t be that evil, nor is most of his family, and what is that oh fuck she’s in love. She has known him from various sides: as a fellow hero, as a civilian, and as a villain.

She got to know him more and his struggles with his maternal family. Eventually she patches things up with him and they get together in their civilian lives. Damian still doesn’t know that she is Ladybug and the guardian. He also doesn’t know that she knows he is Robin.

The Reveal:

As the guardian Marinette is running from the batfam after her latest heist. In order to escape she decides to jeopardize her role as the hero Ladybug, and transform into Ladybug to escape. This is a failure and they still manage to capture her. After some time her transformation gives out, unveiling Marinette, a girl the family thought they knew well, was not only Ladybug, but also the mysterious guardian.

There is initially a lot of yelling especially between members of the batfam who are split between whether she is evil or good. Damian, personally, is a bit overwhelmed by this and can’t make a decision on either stance. Marinette eventually convinces them to give her the chance to explain and she walks through her entire journey as a hero from her recruitment at the age of 12, something the older members of the batfam wince at, to her current role as guardian. This opens a new can of worms as Marinette admits to them that she knows about their involvement with the league and that was why she was wary of them. At first those who were formerly associated were taken aback, but they understood. She couldn’t have known how they currently felt about the league without knowing them personally.

Bruce helps Marinette legally obtain the remaining miraculous using the influence of his money, Diana Prince’s role as a historian, and a couple of pseudonyms, and for once in her life Marinette has a bit of peace and normality, well minus the near weekly villains, but that was essentially her new normal.

[wintermelonbear]

Pairing: Damian Wayne x Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Word Count: 440

Prompt: Balloons and Rainbows

Summary:

An AU where Damian gets a more normal childhood without assassin training, but he is still the son of Batman and an ass. Marinette meets Damian for the first time and decides to dedicate an entry to that day in her picture diary.

This is pre-miraculous!Marinette and pre-Robin!Damian.

Dear Diary,

Today I turned 5 years old!! Nonna Gina took me to the local carnival today and gave me lots of my favorite candy. She didn’t use her motorcycle today because she brought a friend for me to play with!! He didn’t introduce himself, but Nonna said I could call him Dami. He didn’t seem very happy about that, but he still wouldn’t introduce himself. Nonna said Dami is from America. Maybe he doesn’t speak French well? He wasn’t very nice at first. He wouldn’t talk to me when I made suggestions, but he would tag along and complain :(( It wasn’t very fun at first. He seemed to think all the rides I liked were for babies and I am not a baby. I'm going to be 6 soon and that means I’ll have to use two hands to count my age!! I realized he wasn’t too bad when we went into the petting zoo. He seems to really like animals, and everyone knows if you like animals you cannot be mean. It’s just science diary, trust me.

I hope we get to hang out again soon. Maybe next time I meet him I’ll be able to tell whether or not he’s really nice. I still need to convince him that my hamsters are cooler than his cat, and that superheroes are cooler than that big word he used. Veejallandtees? He said they’re people who uphold justice against all odds. I think superheroes do the same, but he doesn’t.

P.S. Diary don’t tell anyone, but he was kind of cute 😣

A/N: Hi guys, it's been a while. I hope everyone is doing well! I tried to use simple word choices and sentence structures, since she is five here, but I still wanted it to be readable. I hope it worked out alright; thanks for reading!

[wintermelonbear]

You've all heard of "Batman accidentally uses his suave playboy voice instead of his intimidating growly one while interrogating a thug" but now I present you: BATMAN ACCIDENTALLY USES HIS TIRED DAD™ VOICE.

I-been-working-on-this-case-for-76-hours-straight-Batman: *sigh* what did you do

Suddenly-guilty-feeling-Riddler: I can explain

[wintermelonbear]

I edited my previous drawings so they’re standing together. Also the opposite sides soulmark thing was not intentional, cause I hadn’t planned on editing these drawings together, but they ended up looking that way anyway. I guess Mari will be left handed here (Pov right) and Damian will be right handed (Pov left) just to go with the theme of reflections here. I also find it funny that Damian, grumpy Boi that he is, has *sparkles* on his back.

[wintermelonbear]

The Damian but soulmark

Surprisingly even though this only took 3 hours it still looks good, ah the mysteries of art

[wintermelonbear]

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone

---

Thanks again @hawks27 for letting me use your post. Thought it was hilarious.

☆ ～('▽^人)

---

Hope you have good one everybody

☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

[02.14.21]

[wintermelonbear]

Ok, ok. Hear me out.

The Waynes are visiting Paris.

Marinette and Adrien are hanging out on this one fine day, ok? Yes, this isn't a salt fic. And then Adrien jokingly decides that he wants to summon a demon. His reason? None needed! Why did he even need one?

So, yeah. They try summoning a demon. It's a joke, of course, so imagine their surprise when it works!

They summon a demon!

Only thing is, the 'demon' they summoned, is not a demon.

It's a kid. A kid with green eyes and black spiky hair and a face that looks very much like the face of Bruce Wayne's biological son, Damian Wayne.

But the duo don't know that! And all they can do?

Collectively lose their shit.

Adrien: Oh my cheese, Mari! I've sold my fucking soul-

Marinette: It doesn't even look like a demon, what the f-

While, Damian on the other hand, has to take a minute to ground himself because he has no idea how he got here-

And out of no where, he pulls out a sword and points it at them, ready to threaten answers out of them before he kills knocks them out.

Adrien: Holy shit! It has a fucking sword-

Damian: I dislike the foul words that you speak. I command you to stop!

Adrien: It fucking speaks-

Damian: I told you to stop-

Adrien: It's so tiny, holy shit.

Damian: I will call Grayson on you-

While Adrien unknowingly distracts the tiny demon, Marinette quickly disarms him and pins him down.

Marinette: Listen here, demon-

Damian: Demon? Who?

Adrien: WhAt-

Damian looks around, like really looks around, and sees all these demon summoning books and that weird looking drawing on the floor, and realises something.

They were summoning a demon.

And he had somehow been summoned.

Damian: What the fuck am I-

Plagg cackles. Yes, Plagg. Because, of course he'd be the one to pull off something like this!

Our superhero duo groan at this realization, look at this kid and give each other a look.

Marinette: So we're going to be temporarily adopting him, right?

Adrien: What? No! He has a goddamn sword-

Marinette convinces him to adopt him for the time being with her croissants and now Damian has no choice but to follow them around. Without attacking them every other minute.

The duo learns of Damian's identity and find a way to send a message to Bruce Wayne about the whereabouts of his son. They still call Damian 'demon' though.

Anyway.

The two Parisians take him everywhere. And surprisingly, Damian has a really good time and actually grows a little attached to the both of them and will now protect them at all costs-

Note that this is post Hawkmoth’s defeat. So, yeah, no akuma shenanigans! Even if an akuma had come at them, the akuma would've been sliced in half anyway.

The batfam finally arrive, most looking wary and tired.

Dick tackles Damian in a hug and might be crying. Bruce joins them and his face is bruised as though someone Dick had punched him. Jason is somehow in the hug too, don't ask. So is Tim, but for some reason, Damian didn't care.

Well, for like, a minute. He pushes them away and asks them what took so long and that Grayson should stop sobbing so much.

Mari and Adrien are off to the side awkwardly staring during the heartwarming hug scene.

Adrien: Do we...join the hug?

Marinette: No? Maybe? We should be running away??

They're sure that questions are going to be thrown and they can't really answer them. Because secret identities are still a thing. So they do what seems to be the best choice.

They run away while they can.

And when Damian is bombarded by questions and looks for the two, he finds no one there.

Damian does not like this. He doesn't want those two idiots out of his life. He doesn't admit it, just uses the excuse of never getting answers. Pretty stubborn on that reason (´-ι_-｀) .

And that's the story of how Marinette and Adrien are being hunted down by crazy bat people. And keep escaping every time-

Edit: Made a sequel, forgot to link it. Oops. Here ya go, part two.

[wintermelonbear]

[wintermelonbear]

Readers at fanfic writers:

Fanfic writers:

(Remember to support fanfic writers!! A review can go a long way!)

[wintermelonbear]

Departure

a companion to yesterdays work of childhood friends daminette

Marinette was grateful that she hadn’t managed to put away all of her weapons yet, not that she was going tell that to Damian, especially while they were racing down hallways. She could hear sounds of fighting, swords clanging and gunshots ringing out from all around. Something big was happening and whatever it was wasn’t good. 

They had just reached a balcony when they heard a scream coming from above. Both of their heads snapped up. A burning body was falling from above them. She watched as it hurtled downwards, a glint of metal catching her eye. A paldron. That was the Demon’s Head falling.

She let out a gasp and heard Damian whisper, “Grandfather.”

She turned to face Damian, he was already looking at her, and saw the resolve in his eyes, she nodded her head in agreement and they took off. 

Keep reading

[wintermelonbear]

Artistry

Pairing: Damian Al-Ghul Wayne/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Trope/s: Childhood Friends, No Powers AU

Summary: A story in which two seemingly dissimilar eight-year-olds build bonds through their love for martial arts. Written for the MGI Trope Tussle 2021.

Words: 4808

Damian and Marinette first met when they were 8 at his mother’s Wushu studio. At first glance they were an unlikely duo, before meeting in martial arts class their social circles ran entirely parallel with one another with Damian attending a private school that was a feeder for Gotham academy and Marinette attending a public elementary local to her, but they truly brought out the best in each other.

Damian had grown up inside his mother’s studio, working day in and day out from the tender age of 3 to improve his weaponry and martial arts skill. His mother and father, divorced but trying their best to co-parent for his sake, each preached to him about the importance of self-discipline and concentration. When his mother and her father, Ras himself a master martial artist, had competed in Wushu they were national champions. As a third-generation practitioner of Wushu, Damian had a lot riding on his shoulders.

Marinette’s mother had practiced Wushu as a child in China. When she first arrived in France she found herself disappointed that there were no local Chinese martial arts centers, let alone Wushu training centers. Sabine always thought it would be a passion she could pass down to her future child, but there was only so much she could teach on her own. However, as fate would have it, after a falling out with Tom’s father Roland the Dupain-Chengs found themselves in a city not too far from Gotham, New Jersey. Sabine was pleasantly surprised to find that the martial arts scene was much more alive there than it had been in Paris. However, between the bakery and her young daughter Sabine had little time to spend practicing martial arts. It wasn’t until Marinette’s kindergarten teacher suggested that Marinette be enrolled in a sport to better her hand-eye coordination that Sabine finally put her daughter into formal martial arts courses.

At first, everything was fine until it became apparent that Marinette was progressing much faster than her peers, despite her typical clumsiness she was surprisingly adept at martial arts. Sabine wasn’t entirely surprised as while Wushu was difficult to teach within the confined space they had at home, she still took the time to practice Tai Chi with her daughter on the weekends, providing Marinette with martial arts fundamentals and self-discipline. With Marinette’s slight inclination for martial arts paired with her hard work she was outperforming her classmates and even some of the older kids at the studio she went to. Eventually, Marinette found herself ostracized by her peers, but her teachers at the studio refused to advance her because they had an in-house rule where children could not be advanced more than two years past their age group. Tom and Sabine knew that pulling Marinette out of the sport entirely was off the table, the pure joy that spread across her face every time she mastered a new trick was proof enough that she was in love with the sport. So they set off to find a new studio to train at, where Marinette’s needs as a budding martial artist would be met. After looking around for a while, they decided to give Talia’s Wushu academy a try despite it being a little over a 30-minute drive from their house.

In regards to the first year of their friendship, Marinette would describe it as very professional, and almost nothing more. It took a while for Damian to become more cordial with her. When asked, Marinette would say “Damian didn’t like me, but he tolerated me enough as a partner because there was only so much practice he could have done alone.”

At first, Damian did not like Marinette at all, in fact, maybe he even hated her. When he first met her, Damian thought she was like every other “talented” kid that came into his mother’s studio, only to realize talent alone would get you nowhere in the sport of Wushu. On her first day, she immediately took up the spot next to him at the front and center of the class and offered him a warm smile, “Hello my name is Marinette, I’m new here.” Damian returned her greeting with a harsh tut of his tongue and the turn of his head, he was there to train, not to make friends. Marinette’s expression was aghast, but she quickly recovered and mumbled a soft “okay not talkative then…this is going great….” Damian suppressed an eye roll, simply because he knew his mother would not tolerate that in her classroom.

Against every one of Damian’s expectations, Marinette proved herself to be a hard-working individual. Eventually, after seeing her work on her technique and tricks after class during open gym hours, seeing that she wasn’t relying purely on natural ability and truly was putting in the effort to become a better martial artist, he began to tolerate her. The first time he returned her daily “Hello” with the nod of his head Marinette’s facial expression went from neutral to shocked to absolutely beaming. Damian simply raised his eyebrow and continued with his pre-class warmup.

Over time Marinette had grown a deep respect for Damian; she wished he was a bit friendlier, but despite their rough start Marinette realized early on that, while gruff and unfriendly, Damian was kind in his own way. He always pointed out when someone’s technique was wrong so that they wouldn’t hurt themselves, he always helped bandage someone up when they were hurt, and he always stayed after class to help his mom clean up. Most people would think he did it out of obligation or his mother’s demands, but Marinette loves people watching, and even after just a few months Marinette has observed that Talia would rather Damian use the time to better himself and will insist that she, or one of their workers, handle the menial tasks.

It was not until Damian saw Marinette work through her struggles that he gained respect for her. While Wushu is a largely performative sport where everyone’s moves are choreographed, Talia wanted to ensure everyone was also learning basic self-defense resulting in regularly held sparring sessions at the end of class. Marinette was a great performer, she was highly expressive and could easily recall choreography, but she had minimal exposure to actual sparring and her reflexes were not as sharp and trained like the others. She managed to win against her opponents in the first few classes by utilizing her creativity, but eventually, her lack of experience caught up with her and in her third month at the studio, she began her losing streak. Looking at her lose to her opponents time and time again he couldn’t help but wonder to himself, “will you still be here tomorrow?” Growing up in the studio, Damian knew that most of the people who were considered to be “gifted” had a tendency to drop out the moment things no longer came naturally to them, they grew frustrated with themselves and then with the sport. At this point, he figured he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, the stage was set for her to become the most prevalent figure in his life.

Despite being in the same classes for over 3 months Damian and Marinette had never sparred. It was actually quite odd that they hadn’t yet sparred, the pairings for the most part were random. Talia reasoned that with the right circumstances even someone who seems weak could win; it was important to never underestimate an opponent and lower your guard. After bowing to one another their eyes met. If you asked them as adults they would unabashedly say that they love the other’s eyes, it was like staring at the calm before a storm. Their eyes were clear, fierce, and piercing. Despite being clearly disadvantaged Marinette showed no fear. She met his first few strikes blow for blow and even managed to evade a few of his strikes with a few unique tumbling passes – something Damian noted that she excelled in. He could tell she has been studying him, observing his strike patterns from his previous matches. Rather than reacting to his strikes, she was anticipating them – a smart move considering her reflexes were lacking. Unfortunately for Marinette, this meant that one unanticipated fake was all it took to defeat her.

That night during open gym hours Marinette approached Damian on her own for the first time. “There is only so much I can practice on my own, please train with me.”

“Why would I do that?” Damian held his face firm, his mouth in a thin line and his eyebrow slightly quirked.

Marinette’s eyes steeled over with conviction. “Did you know that every time you get up from xie bu you duck your chin down in your struggle to regain balance? It’s obvious you’re trying to shift your center of gravity. Instead, try leaning on your front leg from the beginning. The first few times you try this method, you should put a ball between your chin and neck to keep your head held up until you get used to it.”

“How did you–?”

“Notice? I love observing others, I can help you. There’s only so much we can practice on our own. I need help with my reflexes and you need someone who can review your performances. We can’t do this alone. You don’t have to like me, you just have to work with me. What do you say? Deal?”

“Tch. Deal.”

At first, their conversations mainly consisted of Marinette’s one-sided chatter during their warm-up, breaks, and cool-down stretches. It took a while for Marinette to get Damian to open up, but once she found the right topics she found that he was strongly opinionated about almost everything and shared quite a few hobbies with her. While Wushu was the common interest that brought them together, they were much more alike than they thought. They both enjoyed art, video games, and superhero shows to name a few common interests. Damian would say he would want to be a hero without any powers, someone who relies on their own skill to punish evil-doers. Marinette on the other hand would love to be a magical girl who could save others without causing too much damage. After hotly debating the topic of normal heroes and powered heroes, Damian and Marinette came to an agreement that both sides had their own set of struggles and perks.

Damian and Marinette found themselves spending more time with each other both inside and outside of the studio. After arguing over which type of paint was superior, Marinette was team watercolor because of its varied use, relative cheapness to oil paints, and blendability where Damian was a more traditional artist who believed that the blending capabilities of oil paint were just as good, if not better, and their longevity was worth the cost, the two decided to settle it with a paint off. Art sessions quickly became a biweekly tradition between the two, whenever the Gotham botanical garden would have a new exhibit Marinette would insist they go to sketch the flora. Damian quickly found that Marinette was almost as passionate about plants as he was about animals, with the way she flitted about the garden he couldn’t help but wonder if she had been something like a ladybug in her past life. There were also plenty of weekends spent sketching Damian’s pets, though Marinette would note that no drawings could capture what good boys Titus, Alfred the Cat, Jerry the Turkey, and Bat Cow were.

Together they found new ways to integrate Wushu into their hobbies, Marinette had plenty of friends at school who loved art and plenty of friends who did Wushu at the same center, but Damian was the only one she shared nearly all her passions with.

With their art, they began making flyers and posters for the studio, and banners to cheer on their classmates at competitions – Damian would argue he only did this because it would increase morale, which in turn would produce better results for the studio. Marinette struggled with the posters at first as a lot of proposed designs incorporated traditional Chinese characters, she couldn’t even write in Pinyin! Tom and Sabine had prioritized teaching Marinette about her French roots, in the event that one day they decided to move back to France, and neglected teaching her much about Chinese heritage. Marinette still learned basic conversational phrases: yes, no, please, thank you, and familial titles, but she was nowhere near conversational or fluent. After realizing Marinette did not know how to speak Mandarin Damian made it his personal goal to make her at least conversational before they would begin to travel internationally for competitions. Many of the major Wushu competitions took place in China and if Marinette was going to be his partner in the couples division he was going to make sure she was able to converse with any interviewers they may meet, and that if she were to end up lost – he swears Marinette was born without a sense of direction – that she could find her way back to him or their hotel. He hoped that while working on the banners he could work in a few lessons on traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters so that Marinette could at least read signs. Apart from art, reenacting scenes from video game cutscenes and superhero movies became one of their favorite activities, it became a way to train while still having plenty of fun. Sometimes after mastering a new move-in Ultimate Mecha Strike, they would break out the crash mats to test if the moves in the game were actually physically possible.

Even the hobbies Damian didn’t share with Marinette he was willing to partake in, and the fact that he was trying meant the world to Marinette. Damian was rarely physically affectionate in the first few years of their friendship, and it was even rarer for him to vocalize his emotions, and so Marinette quickly learned that Damian had a tendency to express himself through his actions. A lot of people failed to see how warm and loving Damian truly was, but Marinette saw it in how he interacted with everyone. For example, when Damian’s eldest brother opened up an acrobatics and gymnastics center Damian immediately volunteered to design and paint a mural on the outside that would more easily catch attention, Marinette watched him alter the design day and night and sort through hundreds of color palettes to ensure the pairing was just right. She saw his kindness through his interactions with his family and hers, the painting of her mom and dad baking, a gift from Damian for their 20th anniversary, hung up in the living room was more physical proof of it. When Marinette began sewing he proudly wore her designs and when she began to take commissions, he always kept her business card on his body in the event someone asked about his apparel.

One of Marinette’s fondest memories with Damian was when they decided to host a bake sale to offset the cost of international travel for the competition team. It was near the Mid-Autumn festival so Marinette and her parents decided to make mooncakes. Damian had some experience in the kitchen helping his mother make baozi and baklava, but he definitely wasn’t as experienced as Marinette who grew up in a bakery, yet he still came over to help them with the first few test batches and to help design packaging. Watching him carefully weigh out the ingredients her parents listed and chat about his favorite flavors with her parents in French filled her with so much warmth. The kitchen was filled with banter as a discourse between traditional baked mooncakes and skin mooncakes arose. Marinette and Sabine preferred snow skin mooncakes, the chewiness pairs well with pastes like red bean and taro, where Damian and Tom were strongly on the side of the more traditionally baked mooncake, arguing that the crumble of the pastry paired with fillings like salted egg and lotus paste was clearly superior. Marinette was unsurprised that Damian was strongly advocating for traditional flavors, but her father? The same man who made mustard macarons? It wasn’t until Marinette suggested thousand-layer mooncakes were simply croissants with a pasty filling that everyone else was willing to set aside their different preferences to unite against her. While the thousand layer mooncakes and traditional mooncakes baked, and the snow skin mooncakes steamed Marinette and Damian got to work on the packaging. In order to reduce cost, they had ordered plain packaging and planned to carve potato stamps with Mid-Autumn festival motifs: the moon, rabbits, flowers, fans, and lanterns. Despite having seen how proficient Damian was with a blade in training, Marinette was pleasantly surprised, if not downright awed, by Damian’s precision with a knife. By the time Marinette had finished carving out one flower Damian had finished three lantern carvings. After finishing stamping the final package Marinette daringly pressed the still paint-laden potato stamp onto Damian’s cheek which quickly devolved into a paint fight. The picture of Damian and Marinette covered head to two in paint was proudly pinned at the top of her corkboard, Marinette would never forget the sound of the kitchen filled with laughter that day.

Damian’s parents were extremely supportive of this arrangement. Talia thought it was a great opportunity, open gym hours were busy and she couldn’t give all her attention to Damian, having a training partner could really help him grow. If they got along well they could even enter paired events together! Bruce was enthralled that his son found someone to spend time with other than his friend Clark’s son, Jon. Jon and Damian were great friends, but Jon lived in Metropolis and so the boys rarely saw each other outside of business galas and Skype calls. It was nice knowing his son had someone he could spend time with in person, Bruce was concerned that Damian’s interpersonal growth would be stunted by his lack of interaction with his classmates at school. To see his son being a kid, laughing freely, filled him with great joy, he knew that being the son of a billionaire and a top-notch martial artist had put a lot of pressure on Damian’s shoulders, but he never knew what he could do to help his son. Seeing the walls in Damian’s room at the manor fill up with pictures of him and Marinette smiling, Damian smiling, made Bruce figure that everything was going to be okay.

Sabine and Tom grew to love Damian like their own son with the more time he spent at each other’s houses. At first, they were a bit skeptical, they didn’t quite understand what their daughter saw in the boy, but they trusted her judgment and boy are they glad they did. Damian was like a missing piece of their family, despite his hard exterior, the boy was extremely loyal and caring, they could always count on him to have Marinette’s back. Sabine especially had a soft spot for him after watching him correct Marinette’s brush strokes on the banners, teaching her the differences between what she wrote and what he was writing. The two watched their daughter give herself wholly to this boy, and in return, he gave himself back to her and that was all they could’ve ever wanted for Marinette, to love and be loved.

As they grew older they shared more than just common interests: their dreams, their fears, and the pressure they faced from their families. Marinette knew what she wanted for herself – something Damian was envious of. When they were 11 to offset the competition costs, Marinette’s mother began designing and sewing their competition outfits. Once Marinette saw what her mother was doing she wanted to help, and she ended up falling in love with fashion design. From the age of 13 and onward Marinette designed all of her own stage wear, as well as Damian’s. Sabine would joke that with such a talented daughter it’s a shame they didn’t stay in Paris. Damian wouldn’t admit it – Marinette would – but the thought of possibly never meeting Marinette made him feel uncomfortably empty; he wonders how he bore with that feeling before becoming close with Marinette. Damian wasn’t sure what he wanted for himself, he would love to take over his mother’s Wushu studio, maybe even expand it, but he was always raised with the expectation that one day he would inherit his father’s corporation. Despite loving both options, loving both his parents, there was also a part of him that wanted something that was completely Damian, he had already spent so much of his life living in the shadow of his parents. It wasn’t until high school that Damian opened up to Marinette about this, as the time to make decisions grew closer Damian naturally grew more anxious about his future. Marinette rarely gets the chance to comfort Damian, oftentimes he bottles his emotions up until they’re ready to burst, and even then Marinette has to slowly coax him into talking about them, even if it is with his brothers and not her, she just wants him to feel safe with his own emotions. The first time Damian opened up to her about the pressure he felt as his parent’s only biological son she immediately swept him into her arms, stroking his hair she began to tell him about how loved he was. She told him “Damian I love you, your family loves you, my family loves you. I just want you to know how loved you are. I speak not only for myself, but for everyone who loves you when I say this, do what makes you happy. Your parents will be happy as long as you are, they trust that they raised you to make good decisions for yourself. Even if you don’t know what it is that makes you happy yet, don’t be afraid to explore your options; I’ll be right here by your side and I’m going to support you no matter what. You’ve told me before that even if you inherit the studio Maya would co-own it with you, or even if you inherit your father’s business you would be working alongside your brothers. You are not alone, the world is not riding on solely your shoulders.” Damian was completely silent, if not for the wetness on her shoulder and his grip tightening around her, Marinette would figure he was unphased. Marinette has known that she loves this boy, far past the platonic love she just expressed, but for Damian, it was at this moment that he realized that not only was he loved, but he was in love with Marinette.

“WELCOME TO THE WORLD WUSHU CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019 LIVE FROM GOTHAM, NEW JERSEY” roared overhead on the speakers.

Damian and Marinette were standing in a hall away from the main room where other contestants were preparing themselves both appearance-wise and physically. Marinette herself was fixing the crown braid in her hair. The women’s event would take place in the morning to late afternoon, where the men’s event in the evening giving Damian ample time before he needs to warm up to support Marinette. He gave Marinette’s ensemble a once over and with his cheeks tinged red he muttered “I like your costume, you look really cute”, quickly averting his gaze.

Marinette immediately flushed, almost as red as the silken top that adorned her torso, and brought the hands that were adjusting her braids down to her hips and leaned forward, exclaiming in a hushed shout as to not disturb the other competitors warming up, “Damian Al-Ghul Wayne, are you making fun of me? I just want to make sure that any pictures taken do not make me look like a hot mess. Could you imagine what could happen if Audrey Bourgeois sees pictures of me completely frumpled looking and cancels my apprenticeship?? Oh my God and then Parson’s will find out and rescind me and then I won’t be able to visit you at NYU!” Marinette’s hands now rested on her cheeks smearing away her perfectly placed blush. How Marinette managed to go from disgruntled to spiraling in less than a minute is still a mystery that still eludes Damian after years of friendship, but it was his duty to calm her down. He understands her nerves, they had spent the last few years dominating the juniors division and as they entered the senior division there was a lot of pressure for them to win there too. Unfortunately, for every person who wanted them to win, another five were praying for them to slip up, but now is not the time to be overcome by nerves, her turn would come soon and she cannot afford to be overwhelmed by nerves.

Damian fully grasped her wrists pulling her hands away from her face, “Marinette, genuinely you look stunning”. After that comment, Damian noted to himself that it seems like there was no more need for the blush she applied anyways. With the soft tut of his tongue, he smoothed out the harsh lines of her smeared blush using the pad of his thumb. He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, “Don’t worry too much about your hair and makeup, the most important thing is your form”. Marinette leaned into his touch and gave a small nod, calming down from her spiraling thoughts, he always knew how to ground her.

“Contestant number 54 you’re up next!”

“That’s you; you might want to fix up your makeup real quick, but everything is going to be fine.” He handed her a bag with her cosmetics and a wipe and quickly clapped his hands around her shoulders to guide her to the main stage so she could focus on herself.

Fixing her makeup Marinette shot him a cheeky grin, “wish me luck?”

“You don’t need luck. Marinette you have the skill, you know that.”

“Next up is Marinette Dupain-Cheng from New Jersey, USA! She is definitely a fan favorite to win today on the Women’s Taolu floor. She is internationally known for competing not only in the women’s division but also in the couples’ scene. She’s been training for the individual event from the age of six and for the partner event from the age of nine with her studio mate Damian Al-Ghul Wayne, who is predicted to win the Men’s Taolu event. While we do not have a couples’ Wushu competition here, since turning 18 they have been dominating the senior international couples’ Wushu scene and have gone undefeated.”

Taking off her team jacket, with a quick nod to her parents, Talia, and of course, Damian Marinette strode to the center stage. Damian would never grow sick of watching her transform on stage, it was strikingly similar to the magical girl shows she had been obsessed with as a child. The moment Marinette stepped onto the mat her whole demeanor changed. Her back straightened up, her head would be held high, and most of all, the look in her eyes was filled with inextinguishable fire.

By the end of the event after getting changed Marinette and Damian were making their way to his car. Once Damian turned 16 and got his license, it became a tradition for them to go out for a celebratory meal together without their parents. “Marinette!” Damian heard a voice call out, Agreste he noted in his head. Marinette had met Agreste and Tsurugi while vacationing in Paris. While they weren’t the worst, in fact, Tsurugi was typically pleasant company, Damian was in no mood to socialize after the several rounds of interviews he had to endure after winning first place in Men’s Taolu. Many of the interviewers failed to understand that while yes, he had more opportunities to train as he is a third-generation Wushu champion, it was his hard work that got him to where he was, not his genetics.

Seeing Damian continue on to his car, not wanting to keep him waiting, Marinette quickly bid them farewell with a promise to see them tomorrow. “Hey wait for me!” Marinette called out, running after Damian. Despite his pride usually preventing him from heeding to his peers’ commands, Damian stopped in his tracks, his breath shallow and wondering why Marinette’s voice still makes his heartthrob despite having heard it call out to him for over 10 years. Feeling her hands latch around his arm gave him a sense of comfort. Her grip was strong and steady, yet still gentle. He couldn’t help but envision his hand in hers instead of his arm. The bouquet and hand-painted card in his car were waiting to see if she felt the same.

[wintermelonbear]

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You can't change my mind.

[wintermelonbear]

Came across this ship and its cute～

don't comment any ship hate thxʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

[wintermelonbear]

Damian: I think Marinette is secretly poisoning me.

Dick: What. Why??

Damian: Whenever I see her, my heart rate picks up and I start to sweat.

Dick: Oh.

Dick: No she’s not poisoning you. That just means you like her.

Damian:

Damian: That bitch.