A big part of a relationship is communication. But with the two people in the relationship being halfway across the world from each other, it was hard to manage. Because of timezone differences, one could be in the middle of the day, while the other could just be waking up. Or one would be about to sleep, while the other could be eating lunch. But just because it was hard to manage, doesn’t mean it was impossible.
Marinette and Damian, though far away from each other, had always managed to find some time to speak to each other. Whether it was for ten minutes, or a couple of hours, there was always a part of their day where they would talk to one another.
Whenever either of them was too busy, to make up for lost time, they would send each other gifts. Though expensive, for one side of the relationship, it was always worth it to see their smile on the next video chat. Though neither of them would admit it, it was nice to see their loved ones happy about something they got them.
Recently, because Damian wasn’t couldn’t talk to his beloved this past week because of school and Robin issues, he had sent her a couple of things to make up for it. The last time he had spoken to her, he had mentioned that he might not be able to talk because something had come up, and although she told him she understood and stuff like that happens, he just had to show his love another way. Hopefully, she wouldn’t look too far into the price of the things he had bought her.
******
“Marinette! A package came in for you!”
It was the first thing she had heard from her parents. Getting out of her bed and going downstairs, Marinette took her package from her parents and went back towards her room. From the glance at the address, it was sent from, it put a smile on her face. Yelling out a thank you, she set the package down.
Taking a pair of scissors from her desk, she cut through the tape that was closing the box and set it back down. Opening the box fully, allowed her to see the different things inside. From what she could see, there were different small boxes, which suspiciously looked like jewelry boxes, and a letter placed on top.
Ignoring the boxes for the moment, she took the letter, opened it, and read what was inside.
Ya Rouhi (يا روحي),
I apologize that these unseen unfortunate events have prevented us from seeing each other. Please enjoy these gifts to make up for the missing time.
Marinette had a lovesick smile on her face. Carefully putting the letter somewhere safe to cherish it, she pulled out the different arrangement of boxes. In total, she counted seven.
Opening them, she gasped at all of them, each beautiful on its own. Three of them were bracelets, two were necklaces, and two were rings. For one of each of them, they had her signature colors, white and pink, incorporated into them, while the other ones had her less known colors, red and black.
Though the one she loved the most was the third bracelet. Though it could seem like a charm bracelet, it had made her love it more. There was a ladybug charm, which had its red and black spots, a robin, which resembled Damian’s suit, and a bow, which was blue and emerald.
Marinette noted that the bow had matched her and Damian’s eye color. She put on that bracelet while putting the rest of the jewelry in a jewelry box she had for every piece of jewelry Damian had given her.
Taking her phone out, she sent a message to Damian and a voice message expressing her love for the gifts and put her phone down. She took her time memorizing the bracelet given to her.
*****
When Marinette went to school the Monday after, she had worn the bracelet she had come to love, and one a necklace that had matched her regular attire for the school day.
For the first time in a very long time, Marinette left for school early, taking some breakfast with her. Walking across the street and into the doors of France Dupont, Marinette walked to her class, knowing that she would make it on time.
When she made it up the stairs and into her class, she waved at the surprised faces of the people in her class. Making it to her seat, she sat down and waved at Alya, giggling at her surprised expression.
Alya had finally got out of her surprised expression when she heard Marinette laughing at her. Ignoring it, she finally said the question that was on everyone’s mind.
“Girl! You’re here early. That’s a first.” Alya exclaimed. Marinette kept a smile on her expression, took out her breakfast, and started to eat it. “Are you the real Marinette? Or are you an akuma? If not, are you trying to see more of you know who?” Alya asked, ending with a smirk.
Though Alya had a certain blonde in mind, Marinette had someone else in mind, who didn’t live anywhere close to Paris, nonetheless France. But albeit, Marinette’s cheeks turned pink.
“No.” She stuttered, turning her head to face the direction of the board.
Alya looked over at her best friend and noticed that Marinette was wearing a necklace. “Marinette, where’d you get the necklace?” Alya’s eyes glanced at the bracelet on her wrist. “And the bracelet?”
“Oh,” Marinette said aloud, not expecting anyone to pay attention to the small details like accessories. “I got it from someone special,” Marinette told her. Alya took that moment to stare at her, believing that she wasn’t telling the full truth. Marinette ignored her in favor of looking at her phone, which had buzzed with a notification.
心肝 (xīn gān)
Have you gotten up yet
Alya had glanced over her shoulder, wanting to be nosey and see who she was texting, but when she saw the screen, she couldn’t understand the name of the person nor could she understand what any of their text messages had said. Marinette didn’t seem to care about that, seeing as she sent him a text back.
********
Marinette, so far, was having an alright day. Sure, many of the girls had asked her about her necklace, and few asked about the bracelet, but it seemed like they were all expecting her to answer. Marinette knew they didn’t know of her relationship with Damian, and she was going to keep it that way. That is until she asked him if he was comfortable with her telling her friends.
But besides that, the day was one of her best. She had gotten to text Damian, sometimes in the middle of class. She was glad it was lunchtime. She had two hours of free time. It would usually be reserved for her to go home and talk to Damian until it was time for either of them to go back to school, but since she didn’t want to bother him, especially since he said he was busy for some time, she took this time to spend it at school.
Of course, this meant her sitting next to the girls and them with their never-ending questions.
“Marinette, I know we’ve been asking all day, but who did you get this jewelry from?” Alya had asked. The other girls chimed in, all agreeing and asking the same question again. Marinette only sighed and ate some of her lunch.
“I’ve already told you guys. I got it from someone special.” Marinette explained.
“But who is this someone special?” Alix asked, leaning in forward, closer to Marinette.
Marinette sighed. “I-” Marinette was going to explain why she couldn’t say who it exactly was, but she had seen someone behind Alix, standing at the doors of the cafeteria. Standing up from her seat, she walked over to them, ignoring her friends.
Standing there was Damian, looking around the cafeteria for her. When Marinette got up to walk towards him, he made eye contact with her, while she just kept on walking towards him. When she got a bit closer, her walk turned into a jog, and she finally made it arm's length close to him.
When she made it to him, the first thing she did was hug him, after not seeing him in person for the first time in a long time. Marinette felt his arms wrap around her. She kept her head in his chest, enjoying being in his arms.
Marinette had taken a moment to relax in his arms, before looking up at him. “I thought you were busy helping your family all week?” Marinette questioned.
“We finished sooner than expected. Plus I wanted to surprise you.” Damian murmured in her ear. Marinette giggled and separated from him and grabbed his hand.
“Maman and Papa would want to see you.” She said, taking him out of the cafeteria and to her bakery, leaving her confused classmates.
It was the beginning of December. The temperatures, though it was late autumn, were either freezing or below freezing, forcing everyone to bundle up to stay warm.
The wind blew the cold air into some faces. With students leaving the school to go out for lunch when the door was open, some people had felt the air and decided against going out. With Gotham already being colder than average, no average person would go out without it being necessary.
“We should stay in today. We can order some delivery since I’m sure we didn’t bring anything.” Marinette said, walking beside her friend. Taking a look into his face, she could tell he had something already planned.
“There’s no need. Alfred has already planned and packed us both a lunch already knowing these turns of events.” Damian said, not taking a peek at her face. If he did, he would have seen her face brighten up.
“Alfred’s cooking is better than delivery,” Marinette said, her smile getting brighter among every word.
It didn’t take long for them to make it to the cafeteria. Stepping through the door, they walked towards their table in the back and sat down. Knowing no one else would sit with them, Damian unpacked the lunches from his backpack and gave Marinette hers.
Marinette thanked him, her smile never leaving her face, and took the lunch from him. Opening it, she found that there was a thermos, filled with what she didn’t know, a plastic container containing a small salad, utensils, and a drink for her to have. Opening the thermos, she found that it had lentil soup inside.
Taking her utensils, she took her spoon and put a spoonful in her mouth. When the warmth and the flavor of the food fell upon her mouth, she moaned.
“Is there a way where I can have Alfred’s cooking every day?” Marinette asked aloud, after swallowing her food. Damian, who had an idea in mind, had his cheeks darken slightly in color. Turning his head in the other direction, he had to wait for his blush to go down before starting to eat his food.
After five minutes of them eating, talking in between bites, someone had walked up to them, more specifically Marinette, and tapped her on the shoulder. Marinette turned around, making sure that there was nothing in her mouth, and saw one of her classmates, Liam, standing in front of her.
“Hi, Marinette. And Damian” He said, muttering the last part. Marinette waved to him, while Damian scowled. “Um. Marinette, as you know, homecoming is coming up and I just wanted to know,” He hesitated. Though Marinette was his main focus, he could see Damian behind her, glaring at him. Marinette, oblivious to what he was about to ask, nodded for him to continue. “I just wanted to know if you could go to homecoming with me?” He asked.
Marinette’s eyes widened at the question. “O-oh.” She stuttered. Taking a breath in to compose herself, she looked him in the eyes. “I’m sorry Liam, but I don’t think I’m the one you should be asking to go to homecoming.” She answered. “Not because you aren’t a good guy, you're a great friend and everything, and I’m sure that someone would like to go with you to homecoming, but I just don’t think it should be me.” Marinette justified.
Liam looked toward the ground and nodded his head. “I understand. Sorry for wasting your time.” He said, looking back up at her. Turning around, he headed somewhere else.
Marinette turned towards Damian, only to find him glaring at Liam’s retreating figure. “Dami! Stop glaring at him.” Marinette exclaimed, which broke him out of whatever trance he was in. He glared at her halfheartedly, but continued to eat his lunch, but not without a frown on his face.
“I don’t know why everyone is scared of you. You’re such a grumpy cat.” Marinette commented aloud. Damian stopped eating and stared at her.
“I am not a feline Angel.” Damian deadpanned.
“But you act like it. You’re nice and soft, but you’re always frowning.” Marinette explained to him.
Damian turned away from her, mid explanation, with a blush forming on his cheeks. Marinette, already knowing the reason why, smiled, but her cheeks got pink too. If she found him attractive when he blushed, no one had to know.
Damian had to wait until the end of his school day until he got an update from Marinette. He had seen the live stream, that was until they dropped the camera and ran for their life, seeing as they finally realized how dangerous it was to stay out.
At around two in his time, eight in hers, she had called him. Damian was in the library, scrolling through Marinette’s Instagram for what seemed like the hundredth time when he got it. With his earphones already in his ears, he just answered the call. “Mari?” Damian questioned.
“Oh hey.” Marinette called out, yawning afterwards. Marinette’s eyes weren’t fully opened, and she kept blinking, like she was trying to blink away her sleep. “Sorry for not calling you sooner. I had fallen asleep and just woke up five minutes ago.” Marinette told him. “Which reminds me, I need to go get my dinner. Be right back.” Marinette told him, before rushing off the screen.
Damian stared at where the girl was previously at. After hearing that she was just napping, he wondered what caused her to fall asleep after an akuma that could have, and may possibly have killed her. After looking at past livestreams, it wasn’t everyday that an akuma could have killed them.
Marinette came back on screen with a plate of food, setting it down off screen. “To put it shortly, there was an akuma that exploded everything in their way. Apparently, their science project blew up in their face, literally, and they exploded everything and anything.” Marinette explained. In between sentences, she would take a bit of food, feeding her upset stomach.
“Mari, how do you just sleep through something life threatening?” Damian asked. A rare sight of emotion, concern, appeared on the teen’s face, generally curious in what she would say to it.
“I don’t know. I was just burned out after school and fell asleep.” Marinette answered. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide. “I didn’t do my homework! Ms. Mendelev is gonna kill me!” Marinette got up from where she was sleeping, any signs of sleep were gone, and she was frantically searching her room for her backpack.
Damian, on his side of the phone, was silently chuckling at the sight of her quickly searching her room. “Found it.” Marinette called out. Seeing the backpack in front of her, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Taking a step forward, she forgot about her clumsiness and tripped over her own food, landing face first on the ground. Damian stopped his chuckling and looked at her.
“I’m alright.” Marinette’s muffled voice answered his unspoken question. Getting up like nothing happened, gracefully, she picked up the piece of paper and sat back down to where she was originally. “Do you know pre-calculus?” After getting a nod in return, she smiled brightly. “Can you help me? I don’t completely understand it?”
********
~One month ago~
Gotham; 8:00, Sunday
Damian knocked on his father’s door, a paper in hand. The paper was something from his school that needed (wanted) signed.
After hearing a gruff ‘come in’, he opened the door, closing it behind him. Sitting down in one of the arm chairs in the office, he gave his father the paper.
There was a moment of silence between the two, with his father reading the sheet of paper. But it was when he finished, he looked at his biological son as if to ask if he was joking.
“Are you aware of the reason why you were put into school?” Bruce asked the teenager. Damian nodded, knowing his father’s response. “Then why did you hand me this?”
“The school thinks I’m better off not wasting my time in the classroom, seeing as I don’t learn anything, and I agree with them for once.” His father gave his signature glare at him, his argument not convincing him. “I also have someone I talk to, seeing as my class assigned me to talk to them. It’s the only reason I’m still in my writing class.” Damian continued.
Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Really.”
“I have no reason to lie father.” Damian answered. “Plus, I find it enjoyable to talk to them.”
Bruce sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll sign it, but I want to meet this friend of yours.”
Damian nodded. He stood up from the seat he was sitting on, and left the office, knowing he would get it back after patrol, signed.
********
His father’s words were repeating in his head. He knew that his father wanted to meet this friend of his, (was she even his friend?) but he didn’t know if Marinette would be up for it. And even if she was, how would she even meet his father? He knew that she was halfway across the world, so his father might be suspicious if he gave him a computer screen to chat with her.
Their call had just ended with him going home, and with her doing whatever she does after their calls. He knows he should have asked her the moment he saw her, but he was more concerned about how she was after the attack that happened. (What was this girl doing to him?)
He was so into his thoughts, that he didn’t notice that they had made it back to manor. When he realized, with Alfred calling his name and telling him, he went straight to his room. He didn’t realize that his brothers, even Todd and Grayson, who all had their own places and normally didn’t stay there, were out there in one of the many living rooms in the big house.
Making it into his room, he shut and locked his door. Damian set his stuff down where they belonged in his room, and sat on his bed. When he noticed that Titus was in the middle of his bed, he sighed and went towards the desk in his room. Turning on the computer, he realized that he didn’t have anything to do, but the only thing that was on his mind was to message or talk to Marinette.
Taking his phone out of his pocket, he went to instagram and went to see if there was anything there that would take his mind off of her, but that failed when it showed that she was online.
Knowing that this was going to be on his mind for the longest time, he decided to avoid the unavoidable and message her, though using his private account so that it was less likely for someone to see.
-----------
When the call ended because Damian had to go back home, Marinette realized that she wasn’t tired, because she had just taken a four hour long nap. The sun was already gone, the moon out and shining, so that eliminates any options to go out at night. Except patrol, but she wasn’t in the right mood for it.
After putting her dish away from her dinner, she went on her computer in her room and went through instagram. She saw the many notifications from her MDC account, so she went to that one and read the many comments she had gotten from it.
‘Did you see her following count go up!’
‘Her and the ice prince are mutuals?’
‘Why is she following Damian Wayne? She doesn’t follow anyone else really?’
Marinette giggled at those, and liked the ones that were related to the fact that her and Damian had followed one another.
‘It’s obvious that she only followed Damian Wayne because she likes him. But he’s already taken by Lila.’
Rolling her eyes, and deleting the comment, she noticed the notification coming from her personal account. Switching the account she was on, she noticed she had gotten a message from Damian. Did he forget to tell her something from the call they were previously on?
thebloodson: My father wishes to meet you.
me: ok
me: u do see the problem with that right
thebloodson: Yes, obviously. I informed you so that we can come up with a way to have my father meet you.
me: we could just video chat
me: or you could just say that i dont live in gotham
thebloodson: Perhaps
——————
Due to him texting Marinette, his brothers were soon off his mind. So he didn’t notice any of their shadows outside of his bedroom door.
“Anyone wanna bet he’s in love?” His eldest brother commented.
Today was the day of her father’s gala in the city of love, Paris. Marinette had put on one of the dresses she deemed worthy and looked at herself in her mirror. She was wearing a red off-the-shoulder ball gown.
Deeming her look appropriate, she exited her room. Stepping into the living room of the place her family was staying at.
For their trip in Paris, only her eldest brother, her friend, who was practically in the family, her younger brother, and herself had come along. When stepping out, it seemed that she was the last one out.
“Mari-hime. You look great.” Her friend/sister, Kagami Tsurugi, told her the moment she stepped out. Marinette’s cheeks dusted pink at the complement.
“Of course she looks acceptable. She’s a Wayne. A Wayne always looks presentable.” Her younger brother, Damian, told her best friend. Marinette rolled her eyes at his words. Normally, she would ruffle his hair, just to annoy him a bit, but decided against it, seeing as she would probably get a sword to the face if she possibly ruined her brother’s punctuality.
“Are you all ready to go?” Dick’s voice rang through the air. The three other people in the room took their attention off of Marinette and looked at him. Nodding, they were making their way out, on their way towards their destination.
————
Inside the gala, side by side with her best friend, they were forced to bear this gala together. Sure, being with the other helped, but it didn’t change the fact that it was a waste of time.
They weren’t even there for ten minutes, when Marinette became bored out of her mind. The only thing that stopped her from huffing and leaving the place was the fact that she had an image to uphold and she promised her father that she would at least be there for half the function.
Excusing herself from Kagami to get a drink, she walked over to the table full of finger food, managing to keep away from the boys that seemed to try and get her attention.
Once she made it to the table, she grabbed an already full glass of whatever drink they were serving. She didn’t bother checking if there was anything in it, seeing as if there was, it would make the night a lot more exciting.
Taking a sip, she glanced over at Kagami. She absentmindedly giggled when she noticed the attention she had gotten. Finishing the drink, she put the finished glass down on one of the passing butler’s silver platter. Glancing around the room for anyone worthwhile, she started to think that her life just seemed to hate her at the moment.
Then, the door opened. Seeing it in the corner of her eye, she caught vision of the most beautiful boy she had ever seen in her whole life. His golden locks were gelled back for the event, his dazzling green eyes, scanning the room for all of its occupants, and he seemed to be well built. Sure, he looked like any guy from America, but he was the first person here who looked like that here.
Suddenly, she was self conscious about what she was wearing. What if her makeup had messed up? Or her dress had somehow ripped? A massive wind gust that would pull her dress up and show her undergarments? Or a small one to show that she wasn’t wearing heels, but flats instead, unlike the other girls there?
Taking a breather, Marinette looked over towards her sister. Walking towards her sister, she walked like a woman on a mission. Maybe this would get his attention? She hoped it would. Wait, where did that come from?
A few seconds later, she was near Kagami’s side. Gaining the courage to talk, she tapped her shoulder, wanting her to listen to only her while talking about this.
“Mari, are you okay? You’re a bit red.” Kagami asked. This question made her flush more.
Marinette opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by some slow music playing. Grabbing Kagami’s arm, she moved the two of them to one of the tables in a corner. When they made it there, she let go of her arm, and used her hand to point to the blond she saw earlier. “I think I like him.” Marinette confessed.
Kagami’s eyes went to where Marinette pointed and analyzed him. Nodding her head, she walked away towards him. Marinette, when she realized what she was doing, widened her eyes, wondering what she was going to do. Watching her carefully, she sees her speak to him for what seemed like five seconds, and grab him by the arm and lead him to the dance floor. Just like every other couple there, they were dancing to the music that was playing aloud.
Marinette, seeing how they were talking to each other, so easily, she thought. Maybe Kagami was taking her chances with him, knowing that Marinette wasn’t brave enough to go talk to him herself. Now she would never get to like him romantically, or get to love him in a different way than the way she loved her family. She was over with.
She kept her glance on the two of them, her eyes starting to fill with sadness. But it had seemed like that night would be a total nightmare. While continuing his conversation with Kagami, he took a confused glance towards her direction. Seeing him look at her, she gave him a bright smile, and waved. He smiled back at her, before looking back at Kagami. Marinette knew right then that she was down bad. She became memorized in his eyes while he was looking at her for a few seconds.
Starting to daydream, she didn’t notice the two of them making their way towards her direction until they were close by. Gaining her composure, she was sure to be ready when she would first talk to him.
When they made their way over to her, she stuck her hand out to the stranger, and started to introduce herself. “Marinette Wayne. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Wayne?” He questioned no one in particular.
“My sister.” Kagami answered.
Nodding, he took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Staring into her eyes, he started to talk to her. “If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it would have been worth it.” Marinette’s face seemed to heat up, once again, at his words. Her heart started to beat faster, and her stomach felt weird. She would ask later if she was sick. She was too entranced in his eyes to look away.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Kagami announced, before walking away. Marinette could only nod, afraid of what would come out of her mouth in front of the beautiful human that was still holding her hand.
“Adrien Agreste.” He told her, without her having to ask.
———
When the gala was over, Marinette had gotten Adrien's number. It wasn’t long before the two began to text each other like their lives depended on it. It was obvious to Marinette’s family that something had her happier, seeing as she would always be in a good mood.
It was a month later that Adrien had figured out his feelings for Marinentte, and two months for him to confess. Two weeks after that, they had started to date.
Three months into their relationship, Adrien came to Gotham to meet the family. They had gotten engaged two years into their relationship, and got married at three. They still had a long way to go, but no matter what, they were happy with the other.
It was time for their senior trip. Plans had been made, the location approved by the school board, and they had been fundraising the whole school year, though some had made/donated more than others.
Marinette had drifted away from her peers, choosing to focus on herself for her last year of school. At first, it was going to be for a month to see if it improved her mood. But when she thought about it, she had done better alone than she did trying to get her friends out of the liar’s grasp. With this, and trying to keep herself busy, she had created a growing brand, MDC, and had been clients since she told Jagged, who told the world immediately after. Each time she had made something and got an insane amount of money back, she had given ten percent of it towards her fundraiser money.
Getting out of her thoughts, Marinette had loaded her stuff onto the bus taking them to the airport. Putting on her backpack, she stepped into the bus, heading straight to the back of it. Seeing as she was the first one of her classmates to get on, it was empty, but it was slowly filling up.
The bus was moving fifteen minutes later. Her classmates were starting to talk, but they were progressively getting louder by the second. Rolling her eyes, she took some headphones out of her backpack, along with her phone, and blasted music to block out the voices. Sure, she got the excitement of being able to travel halfway across the world, but she didn’t think they had to be out right yelling to the person that was right beside them.
‘I just hope it isn’t like this all week.’ Marinette thought to herself.
——————
Ten hours later, two to get through airport security and stuff, and an eight hour flight, they had finally managed to get to Gotham.
Marinette had managed to get through the flight without being beside her classmates. Maybe Tikki had granted her some luck. Either way, she was grateful.
Stepping out the plane, she went to go get her luggage, only to wince when she heard how loud her classmates were. Glancing back, she noticed they had stuck out like sore thumbs. Granted this place was dark and gloomy, her classmates screamed tourists. They were the main source of noise in the environment, and the way they had brightly dressed made it seem like they weren’t from there.
Suddenly, she felt proud of herself for not dressing as brightly as she used to. Being the paranoid person she was, she just had to research Gotham and see just where they were going. Knowing that if she kept to herself, didn’t cause any trouble, and if she wasn’t anywhere near the place they called Crime Alley, she would be alright.
Taking her luggage, she put her things into the bus that was taking her and her class to the hotel they were staying at. When she was down, she turned around to see her classmates doing the same thing, though some were glaring at her, for whatever reason. Ignoring them, she went towards one of her teachers administering the trip.
“Puis-je aller aux toilettes ?”(Can I go to the bathroom?) Marinette asked Ms. Mendelev. After she nodded her head, Marinette turned around and went to go ask around for directions to the restroom. Thank the gods that her Uncle Jagged had encouraged her to add English to the list of languages she was learning to master.
“Bien sûr, je connais des gens ici dans les États d'Alya. Il y a quelqu'un de notre âge qui vit ici que vous connaissez. Il s'appelle Damian. Damian Wayne.” (Of course I know people here in the states Alya. There’s someone our age that lives here you know. His name is Damian. Damian Wayne.) Marinette heard Lila say as she was sent to one of the staff there. Marinette thought that she was lucky that she was speaking in French. She didn’t think people would take too kindly to her speaking about someone who was known for his antisocial behavior.
Ten minutes later she had located and finished her business in the restroom. Going back to where her class was just at, she noticed that no one was there. Looking left and right, she came to the conclusion that they had left her there.
Sighing, she took out her phone. Luckily, earlier in the school year, she had a client that she had lived there that she grew close to. She scrolled past her contacts to look for their name. Once she found it, she pressed their name, which called them. Less than three rings later, they answered the phone.
“Yes Angel?” The person, Damian, said when they picked up.
Marinette let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Hey Dames.” She sighed out. “Are you doing anything right now?”
“Nothing right now.” He answered.
“Great. I just arrived in Gotham for my senior trip, and they left me at the airport alone. I don’t even think they realized I’m not with them. Could you come and give me a ride to the hotel we’re staying at?” Marinette asked him.
“Sure Angel. What airport are you staying at?” Marinette checked her location and told him. “I’ll see you in fifteen minutes. Stay safe.” Was all he said before the call ended.
True to his word, he was there in exactly fifteen minutes. Seeing him in the front, she took the things she had with her, her backpack, and went into the passenger side of the vehicle.
“Where are you staying?” He asked her. Marinette responded with a hotel which was in one of the safe-ish areas of Gotham. Stepping on the gas, he put his left on the steering wheel, while his right arm went on the arm rear in between the two seats. Marinette, in response, brought her left arm over his, only to intertwine their hands together.
—————
When they arrived at the hotel, the only person they saw in the lobby was Ms. Mendelev and the staff that worked there. The lobby, although already quiet, seemed to stop and become silent when a Wayne walked through the door.
Ms. Mendelev, when she saw Marinette, stood up from one of the chairs in the front and walked over to her.
“Dieu merci, tu es d'accord. Tu es arrivé quelque chose ?” ( Thank goodness you’re ok. Did anything happen to you?) She said, looking over her, trying to see if there were any injuries.
“Je vais bien, Madame. Mendelev. J'ai un ami qui m'a aidé à arriver ici.” (I’m fine Ms. Mendelev. I have a friend who helped me get here.) Marinette said, gesturing to Damian, who was standing beside her.
She nodded at her words and handed her a room key. “Malheureusement, vous avez une chambre simple, mais c'est l'une des meilleures chambres, car c'est une seule.” (Unfortunately, you have a single room, but it is one of the best rooms, for it being a single one.)
Marinette took it but looked nervous. Taking a breath in, she looked at her teacher. “Serait-ce bien si Damian reste avec moi un peu ?” (Would it be alright if Damian stays with me for a little bit?)
Ms. Mendelev seemed to think for a moment before nodding. “Seulement si vous appelez ma chambre toutes les heures jusqu'à ce qu'il parte.” (Only if you call my room every hour until he leaves.) Marinette gave her one of her smiles, and nodded her head. Ms. Mendelev told her the room number, and let her go along.
Taking Damian’s hand, she went towards where her luggage was. Taking one suitcase, while Damian took the other one, they made their way to the elevator. Once inside, Marinette told him her room was supposedly on the top floor. He pressed the button, and stood there in a comfortable silence.
The noise of the elevator door opening broke the silence. Stepping out, they moved towards the different rooms, looking for her room. Once it was spotted, she put her keycard to the red light, which turned it green and unlocked her door.
The two moved into the room. When they got inside, Damian closed the door, while they left her suitcases by the door.
Marinette stopped to look in awe, because the hotel room was probably the same size as her home. From where she was standing, she could see a living room, and a kitchenette. There was a hallway towards whatever rooms were there.
“This is huge.” Marinette whispered, not expecting it to be as large as it was.
“Angel, you do realize that my room is bigger than this?” He asked her.
Marinette pouted and crossed her arms, turning towards him. “This is still big compared to where I live. Not everyone is a billionaire.” Marinette informed him.
Damian only bummed in response. Marinette turned her head up to look him in the eye, but she saw that he was already looking at her. Making eye contact, the two got lost in the moment. Damian started to lean down towards her, while Marinette started to stand on her tiptoes. Their eyes began to close slowly, the close they got.
When they weren’t even an inch away, their eyes were closed shut, while Damian closed the space in between them. Kissing slowly, Marinette smiled a bit while in the moment. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad after all.
The penpal assignment had been going on for a month, making them halfway through their journey. For the class, Lila had only managed to change penpals with Alya with her efforts. Throughout classes, Adrien would send Marinette looks so that she would reconsider what she said, though he knew that his attempts were futile. Outside of those three, everyone one else would act how they normally would, though they would harass Marinette to try to get her to switch with Lila, since they were friends and she wanted to speak to someone she knew.
In Damian’s class, there were only two unlucky students. Aside from them, since the two of them had Lila and Alya, who only talked about Lila and her ‘accomplishments,’ everyone else was friendly with theirs since they actually talked about the things they liked to one another.
With Marinette and Damian, the two of them had become closer to each other than with anyone else. Marinette, whenever she was talking to Damian, whether in class or on the phone, she wouldn’t be caught without her cheeks being tinted pink in some way. Damian, only in Marinette’s line of sight, seemed to be a bit red whenever they video chatted.
*******
The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Lila and her posse, like they did everyday, got up and surrounded her. Lila clinged onto Adrien, holding onto his bicep. She was telling her newest tale about how she was really close to the newest rising designer, MDC.
Sharing her tales, they made it to class before the next bell rang. Looking at the door, they noticed a blue haired girl standing outside of the classroom on the phone with someone.
“Can you send me more pictures of him? He's adorable! I would die for him.” Marinette said to the person on the phone. In response to what the person on the phone said, she giggled.
The group could only stare. They knew the Marinette didn’t have any friends, seeing as she was the only one who wouldn’t believe in what Lila said. So who could she have been speaking with?
Lila looked at the girl with a glare. She obviously missed someone. Everyone she cared about was supposed to hate her and love her. She has to think about who she missed. Surely she could find them easily.
Knocking everyone out of whatever thought/conversation they were in, the bell rang once again. Everyone went through their class’s door, heading to their seats. When they sat down, they turned towards Marinette in the back, who was talking in hushed whispers, her cheeks becoming red.
————————
Since Marinette and him had started calling each other, it was routine to either call or video chat during her lunch time and his morning. So if his siblings saw who he was apparently on the phone, they would stop giving him glances, though they had their suspicions.
Usually, they would end their calls before Damian would leave for school, but that day was different. They were so engrossed in their conversation, which was about Damian’s pet, more specifically Titus, that they didn’t hang up like usual.
So on the car ride to school, Damian continued to speak with Marinette on the phone. Since he wasn’t paying attention to the rear view mirror. If he had, he would have seen Alfred smiling at him, before paying attention to the road.
————————
“Can you send me more pictures of him? He’s adorable! I would die for him.” Marinette told him, after he had sent her a picture of Titus.
“I can send you more later. I’m sure he would appreciate your fondness of him.” Damian said, responding back. Looking out the window, he noticed that he was at his school. Schooling his features, he opened the car door, got out, and shut the door.
“I can’t wait for class to be over so I can get more photos. Anyone would love him.” Marinette whispered on the other side of the phone.
Damian had started walking to his class. The people who were scrambling to get to their classes on time had stopped to stare at him. He was on the phone, which must have been important since he took it without leaving for privacy like he normally did. “I have to go. I’m at school.” Damian says, quiet enough just for Marinette to pick up. After saying their goodbyes, though they were about to communicate with one another again in a few minutes, put his phone up, getting to his classroom.
********
“Marinette, who were you on the phone with?” Lila asked, when everyone had nothing to do for the time being. Everyone turned around, only to see her on her phone, most likely texting someone. “Marinette!” Lila cried out.
Marinette turned off her phone, put it up, and gave Lila a bored look. “Could you repeat what you said?” Marinette asked her.
Lila was quick to give her a glare, though it disappeared quickly when she saw the turning heads of her classmates. “I just asked who you were on the phone with.” Lila told her.
“A friend.” Marinette answered, bluntly. She could see Lila quickly getting annoyed by her answer. One look at Adrien and she could tell he wanted her to just tell her so she wouldn’t make a fuss.
“Well who is this friend?” Lila asked, feigning a polite voice. “I might know them.”
Marinette paused for a moment, thinking of what to say. “You wouldn’t know him Lila. He’s,” She thought about what to say. “New to Paris.” She said aloud. In a way, she wasn’t lying. He was new to the things that happened in Paris, which he claimed wasn’t one of the weirdest things he had heard or seen in his life.
“Well then why were you blushing?” LIla said, digging into the situation.
“I was embarrassed.” She answered. Suddenly, a ‘ding’ came from her tablet, which drew her attention. She ignored whatever question Lila had asked her, and saw that her pen pal had responded to her last message. Before she could answer back, the walls to their classroom had crumbled and fell into shambles.
The akuma class all screamed and ran out the class, staying away from the rubble. Marinette, who was glad she sat in the back, wasn’t anywhere near the parts of the wall. The kwamis who were in bag came out.
“Just say the words Marinette.” Tikki told her.
“Tikki, Spots on!” Marinette yelled, getting consumed by a pink light. When she was transformed, she sent a quick text to Damian, letting him know that she wouldn’t respond for a while because of an akuma, and left to go fight it.
—————
Damian was annoyed. He was sure that the akuma would last the rest of the class period, meaning that he wouldn’t have anything to do. But his classmates didn’t know this. So they were just talking, rather loudly, about their theories about why none of them were answering.
Taking his phone, seeing as he was the only one able to, he stuck in his earphones, and pulled up the livestream that was recording the fight.
*********
Ladybug stopped for a moment, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She had been trying to avoid the akuma, seeing as if they pointed to it, it would explode. She had to keep out of their line of vision so she wouldn’t blow up. She had seen it happen to some people walking down the streets, and was terrified for her life.
“Lucky Charm.” Ladybug whispered, when she caught her breath. Catching it, she seemed to have a replica of the fox miraculous, but ladybug patterned. Leaving where she was, she went to her room, which luckily wasn’t destroyed. She got the miracle box from wherever it was hidden and opened up Trixx’s compartment. Taking the necklace, she put it on and Trixx appeared in front of her.
“Marinette, what’s going on?” Trixx asked her. Marinette gave her a tired smile and told her too look outside. While she was doing that, she took out another miraculous and put it on. Trixx came back and looked at her. “Marinette, you know you’re going to use up all of your energy if you do that.” She reprimanded.
“Trixx is right.” Mullo told her.
“I just think that I will need to use Plagg because I don’t think I can just break it without the power of destruction. Especially since they will still have their power until it’s broken. It needs to be broken the moment I touch it.” The kwamis seemed to approve of it, no matter how dangerous it was.
“Tikki, spots off.” Ladybug said. Once Tikki was renounced, Marinette gave her a cookie that was in her bag. Marinette, for her own sake, took a cookie for herself and ate it quickly. “Mullo, get squeaky!”
After her transformation was over, she made two more copies of herself and transformed with ladybug, cat, and fox miraculous.
Using the fox miraculous, she had hid herself, along with the copy of herself using the cat miraculous, while she made the one with the ladybug miraculous taller and look like she normally did.
Going out, the Ladybug went out, taunting the akuma, making sure it stayed in one spot, while the Ladynoir went to the akuma, getting towards them. Calling upon their power, she touched the akumatized item, making purple bubbles wash over the victim.
Ladybug caught the akuma and purified it. Going towards the other parts of her, they merged back into one person. Feeling drained, she called upon her lucky charm and threw it up in the air, whispering miraculous ladybug.
All the buildings that were destroyed came back to how they were before they were knocked over, all the blood that painted whatever was around it was cleaned up, and everyone who died because of the akuma was brought back to life.
With all the strength she could muster, she yoyoed back to her room. She laid herself on the bed, needing to get her strength back. “Trixx, Mullo divide. Plagg, Mullo divide. Tikki, Mullo divide. Mullo, detransform me.” Marinette said, taking away her transformations before going to sleep.
Adrien confesses something he did on the news. It doesn’t end well.
HSML
The fire crackling from the fireplace was the only sound in the room. Lights dimmed, it shined on the only person in the room, who was silently packing her things up. Pictures that were once up were now faced down on the desk in the office, not wanting to see what was once a happy time. Her name plaque was turned to face the opposite direction of her, not wanting to remember her last name.
In the middle of putting things into her bag, the door opened. Coming into the room, a sheepish Adrien Agreste walked through the door. Closing the door behind him, he looked towards her, Marinette, with hopefulness and understanding in his eyes. “Hey Mari.” He said after a moment of silence.
“Don’t.” Marinette said, stopping what she was doing to glare at him. Ignoring him, she goes back to packing her things.
“Marinette.” Adrien says instead. “It seems like you saw what I said on the news.” He said out. “But you have to understand, someone I was working with threatened to tell you and everyone that I was sleeping with Lila. I didn’t give him a thousand euros each day.” Adrien explained. “So I just thought instead of doing that, I could take away his blackmail and admit it to the news station.”
Marinette, who wasn’t listening to his explanation, opened a drawer, which was filled with papers. Taking the stack, she held it in her hand and read the one on top. “I saved every letter you wrote me from the moment I saw you.” Marinette whispered. Adrien just looks confused at what she was talking about. “From the notes we passed in college, to the love letters we gave each other in college, and the notes we took together in university. Whatever we did together, I saved it to cherish it.” Adrien just looks at her. “I knew you were mine. You said you were mine.” Marinette spat the last sentence out bitterly. “I thought you were mine.” Marinette muttered to herself.
The papers in hand, she goes to the fireplace in her office, takes a portion of the papers in her hand and drops it in the fire. The flames become bigger for a moment before taming down, though Adrien flinched all the same. “Do you know what Kagami said when I told her what you’d done?” Though she couldn’t see him, she could take a guess that his eyes widened. When Marinette didn’t hear an answer, she continued talking, though facing the fire instead of him. “She said, ‘you have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun.’” Marinette told him. Though she didn’t know what it meant, she knew he did, with the extra schooling him and Kagami had.
Adrien, for the first time, took a step towards Marinette. Before he could take another, Marinette turned around and faced him, a glare directed at him. “Don’t take another step in my direction. I can’t be trusted around you.” Marinette warned. “Don’t think you can talk your way into my arms.” When she saw that he didn’t move again, she turned back around.
“What are you doing?” Adrien asked in the tense atmosphere.
“I’m burning the letters you wrote me.” Marinette informed him, wanting him to know what she’s doing with the things she had cherished for years. “You can stand over there if you want.” Marinette spat. Adrien didn’t move though.
Marinette, when she had calmed down enough to not do something to him, turned around and placed the papers on the desk. “I don’t even know who you are. I have so much to learn.” She told him, honestly. Before he spoke, she continued. “I’m re-reading your letters and watching them burn. Because clearly, the things you’ve told me over the years have been lies.” Taking another part of the stack, she threw it in the fire, and just like previously, the fire grew bigger.
“Marinette, don’t you think you’re taking things a bit too far?” Adrien asked quietly.
“Adrien,” She said, slamming her hand onto the desk. The room was silent, waiting for her to speak. “You published the messages she wrote you. And the ones you wrote in return! You told the whole world how you brought this girl into our bed.” Marinettte said slowly, but he didn’t seem to get it yet. “In clearing your name, you have ruined our lives.” Marinette told him.
Adrien was about to protest, but Marinette continued. “Heaven forbid someone whisper ‘He’s part of some scheme.’ Your enemy whispers so you have to scream!” Marinette went on. “Just because of you, I will now have to go through people invading my personal space and asking me personal questions just because of something you did! I’m going to have to get one of my friends to do outside things for me because people don’t know how to let someone grieve without reminding them what they should move one from. As for you, the only reason why you’re still not shunned by everyone is because of me. Everyone knows of your father and his deeds and because I told them to give you a chance because you weren’t your father, you go and do this stupid shit.” Marinette all but yells.
“But if they were just whispers, they would eventually become something big and everyone would know. I was just doing it to not lose money and to have it over with.” Adrien tries to defend himself.
“I know about whispers. Do you remember our lycee days where Lila would lie?” Adrien gave her a nod. “No one but our class believed her because they all knew of her falsehood. It wouldn’t have become that big. And you could have admitted to me your misdeeds. Sure I would be upset, but this wouldn’t be worldwide and your reputation wouldn’t be ruined.” Marinette said, calmly.
Adrien, though scared, continued to speak. “At least we know for next time?” He tried.
“There won’t be a next time.” Marinette told him, taking some more of their letters and putting them in the almost burnt out fire. Adrien looked offended at her words.
“Why not? Don’t tell me you’re going to divorce me because of this one mistake?” Adrien asked in disbelief.
“A mistake you made over and over and over again. You clearly don’t learn. And I know you won’t stop because I see the way you look at my sister.” Marinette told him. Adrien, once again, was about to argue with her about his actions, but she wouldn’t let him. “Don’t. I’m not naive. I have seen women around you. Don’t think I don’t see how they fall for your charms.” Marinette said, getting closer and closer to him.
“What are you going to do then?” Adrien asked, moving on from their conversation.
“I’m removing myself from the internet. Let everyone wonder how I reacted when you broke my heart.” Adrien didn’t understand, but he didn’t understand anything they were talking about. Marinette went back to the desk and threw the last pieces of paper into the fire. Taking her bag in hand, she walked towards the door pushing Adrien out of the way.
“Marinette.” Adrien said.
Marinettte opened the closed door and looked back at him, tears finally falling from her face. “It’s Ms. Wayne to you.” She said before slamming the door behind her.”
When the French-American friendship week came by, some schools in America and in France decided to have a penpal assignment. Two students would get each other's basic information, along with a photo of them, and talk to them over letters.France Dupont happened to get Gotham Academy, which led to Marinette and Damian being Penpals. Marinette, after being isolated and hating most people because of their greed, and Damian, not wanting to interact with anyone, both decided that they would do the minimum of the assignment so they could get the grade they wanted and would forget the project in no time. But that changed when they saw a photo of one another. Soon, the two most lonely people finally had someone they could talk to, a friend. {Which would soon turn into something more.}But, will they find out about one another's secret? Will Damian help Marinette with her situation in Paris? Will Tim ever find out why MDC followed his brother? Will the Waynes ever figure out why Damian followed a random French teen on his private account?
“Today is day six of Lila trying to become your penpal.” Marinette said onto the phone after school. “I think she’s finally starting to realize that she can’t switch with me no matter how hard she tries.”
“It would not work, even if she somehow gets your incompetent teacher to attempt to switch with you. The students here are cowards and wouldn’t agree to anything if my name was mentioned in it.” Damian commented.
“Wait.” Marinette pieced something together. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school right now? Why did you accept my call if you’re in class?”
“I’m not in class Mari. My father and the principal agreed that as long as I had finished the assignments that were assigned, I wouldn’t have to be in class but on campus.” Damian answered.
“Wish I had that.” Marinette said, thinking aloud.
“That could be arranged.” Damian told her.
“Moving on. That’s cool. You can do whatever you want for a few hours, and you won't get in trouble.” Marinette said, ignoring what Damian said.
“I suppose so, if you think about it like that.” Damian told her.
“Would that mean that it’s alright if we video chat?” Marinette asked. Damian, instead of answering, ended the call, only to video chat her instead.
———————
Adrien had seen the commotion in which Lila caused. Lila got on his nerves, and the only way he knew to have her stop complaining, even if it was for a little bit, was to give her what she wanted.
Seeing the way she acted when Marinette got her penpal up until now, He knew the only way to get her to stop acting out was to convince Marinette to trade penpals with someone so that they could switch with Lila.
It was one of his free days where he didn’t have to model, so he chose to go to the bakery. Going there, it wasn’t busy, Sabine and Tom were just completing an order that he assumed was delivery.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng.” Adrien called out to get their attention. “Can I go up to see Marinette?”
Sabine and Tom exchanged glances. They had noticed how their daughter’s mood progressively became worse after each day of school. But this past week, she had seemed happier, so maybe something changed in class. “Just text her before going into her room unnoticed.” Sabine told him, to which he nodded.
Adrien, confidently, walked up the stairs that lead to the apartment above the bakery. Getting towards it, he could kind of hear Marinette’s voice. Never getting nervous at all, he went towards the trapdoor and knocked it. Never hearing a word about him not coming in, he opened it.
“-off campus and do whatever and come back in time. They wouldn’t even know!” Marinette exclaimed.
“Marinettte?” Adrien called out.
——————
Marinette and Damian, when they went to video chat, stayed on the topic of Damian not having to be in class. “I mean, unless they keep tabs on you at all times, you could go off campus and do whatever and come back in time. They wouldn’t even know!” Marinette exclaimed.
Before Damian could even respond, an unfamiliar voice, or an annoying one in Marinette’s case, Marinette turned towards it, while Damian could only look at what was on the screen. “Marinette?”
Marinette sighed. “Yes Adrien?”
Adrien remained oblivious to the fact that Marinette was on the phone with someone. “Me and you need to switch penpals. I’m sure I can get mine to agree, and yours might agree if we explain what’s going on with Lila.” Adrien said, getting straight to the point.
“I’m not doing that.” Marinette told him. She hoped Damian muted himself so that Adrien wouldn’t try to persuade him into switching.
“Why not?” Adrien asked. “If we switch, I can give Lila Damian Wayne as a penpal and she would stop lying about you.” He explained. “She would also stop complaining to my father whenever she doesn’t get her way.” He murmured under his breath, but Marinette heard it.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not switching. Just like I told our class, me and Damian were assigned to one another because our teachers thought we would get along. And we do. I am not sure if I would get along with yours. His classmate would know that I’m his penpal, and they wouldn’t want to switch.” Marinette said, letting him know.
Adrien looked defeated, but wouldn’t give up. “But what about-“ Marinette had stopped him.
“Adrien, there is nothing you can do that would make me switch.” Marinette said, cutting to the chase. Adrien, with his head down, left the room with his head down.
“He’s pathetic.” Damian said, breaking the silence. Marinette sighed and looked at him.
“That’s rude. But-“ Marinette cut herself off by giggling. Damian rolled his eyes, though smiled at the girl.
—————————
When it hit noon in Damian’s time, and six in Marinette’s, the two ended the call. Damian had to go to lunch, while Marinette had to start getting ready for her dinner, which was in an hour.
Damian, when the bell rang, got his stuff and headed out the library. Taking his small smile off his face, and putting up his scowl on his face.
Damian went to his locker, putting his bag in and his lunch out, and closed it. Leaving the hallway, on the way to the cafeteria, students cleared the halls to stay away from him. Going to his isolated table, he thought if he should finally use his school’s rule of going out for lunch and coming back in time for the time being.
——————————
When it was dinner time in Marinette’s house, her parents noticed that, even though she was happier than she was in a while, her smile had dimmed.
“Marinette, sweetie.” Marinette had turned to the direction of her Maman. “What happened with Adrien?”
Marinette’s face turned pink. “Well before he came, me and my penpal, Damian, were talking.” As Marinette was talking, her face was progressively getting more red. Then it stopped. “But, Adrien came and asked to switch. Which doesn’t make any sense since mine was assigned to me because they thought I would make a friend with him.” Marinette told him. Before she could say anything else, Tom spoke up.
“Penpal?”
“I forgot to tell you.” Marinette whispered. “A week ago, for the French-American friendship week, our class, along with an American class, was assigned pen pals to one another to make a friend. But, instead of sending letters, we did emails instead, which was faster. So with mine, I had made a friend out of him, But, he’s apparently the son of a billionaire, so Lila keeps trying to make me give her my penpal, which doesn’t work. And Adrien tried to help her just now, but I declined his offer.” Marinette explained.
“It’s great you made a friend, sweetheart.” Sabine said, ignoring the negative parts. “Though it seems like he’s more than that?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Marinette buried her face into her hands, wanting the floor to swallow her. Sabine and Tom laughed at their daughter’s reaction. “Just as long you’re happy, we’ll support you and this new relationship.”
Marinette and Damian had been on a call for half an hour before she had noticed the time.
“It’s one thirty. Don’t you have to be at school in thirty minutes?” Marinette randomly asked. It was right at that moment that Damian had a knock at his door.
“That would be time to go. Talk to you later?” He suggested, to which Marinette nodded. Telling him goodbye, they ended the call.
“Someone seems to be in love?” Tikki asked. Marinette was quick to deny it.
“No Tikki. He’s just a friend.” Marinette answered.
“I’ve heard that phrase before.” Tikki murmured. Marinette, who barely heard it, twisted the ring on her finger, not ready to talk about the elephant in the room. “So, you have half an hour left,” Tikki said, moving on. “What are you going to do until you have to get back to school?” She talked in her normally cheerful voice.
“I don’t know.” Marinette commented. She pushed the chair she was sitting in, to the middle of the room and started spinning. A moment later, she stopped, turning to Tikki. “Can I go out as Ladybug for the time being?”
Tikki nodded, not caring if it was using the miraculous for personal wants. Saying the words, Marinette transformed. Going up to her bed, she came out the trapdoor that connected to the balcony.
Marinette, now Ladybug, grabbed her yoyo that was attached to her waist and swung it out. It attached to a streetlight, which allowed her enough of a grip, when it wrapped around, and allowed her to swing in the air.
It wasn’t long before Ladybug made her way to the Eiffel Tower. Once she was there, she sat down on one of the few parts civilians could reach, though rarely used. Sitting down by the edge, letting her feet hang off, she breathed in some fresh air.
It wasn’t long before she was interrupted by something on her yoyo. Sighing, she opened up her yoyo, only to smile when she saw she had a message from her new friend, seeing how her yoyo was connected to her phone if she transformed with it on her person.
Anyone who passed by at that time, seeing Ladybug relaxed on the Eiffel Tower, smiling brighter than anyone had ever seen her smile, started to wonder what could have had her like that and if they could keep her smile on her face.
—————————
~Gotham; Monday, 7:35~
Making sure that their youngest brother was nowhere in sight, the three older siblings looked at the screen in front of them.
“Who is she?” Jason asked no one in particular. None of them knew the girl in front of them, so how could Damian know them? God forbid that Damian has a friend from school, and none of them were familiar with her and if she was a hero/vigilante.
“Apparently, she’s the daughter of two bakers.” Dick read out. “Though she has many achievements for someone her age, she doesn’t seem like someone Damian would willingly hang out with.”
Jason and Dick went over her file in the batcomputer, only to realize a few minutes later that Tim hadn’t spoken a word. “Replacement, where you at?” Jason asked.
“Just look.” Tim proceeds to pull his phone screen on the computer. Going to instagram and pulling up the chat with him and MDC from earlier.
“Damian is the most antisocial person ever and will let anyone know their place if they don’t show him the respect he claims to deserve. So how could he have been her friend without telling her of him being the blood son to Bruce Wayne?
While in their thinking state, they didn’t notice the teen that came from behind them and into the cave. “That will remain a mystery to you lot.” Damian commented after getting what he wanted. His brothers turned around to their little brother, seeing him with a paper in hand. Damian looked over at the screen and read over it. “So that was her response?” Damian randomly said. Leaving out of the cave, he left his brothers staring at his retreating figure.
*********
Marinette felt like time was going by slower by the second. Lila had taken control over the class, which led Mrs. Bustier to stop teaching mid lesson and pass out the work sheets. Feeling lucky that she took classes online to make up for the fact that her teacher couldn’t teach, she finished the class work within minutes upon getting it.
Without looking at a clock, she knew she had a lot of time left before her last hour of school, which was the time she got to spend her time talking to Damian. Sighing, she took out her notebook, which was designated for her classes, and looked over the work she had for other classes.
Taking out her tablet, she started completing her assignments, even if they weren’t due for another week or more. Giving herself something to do, time went by a lot faster and before anyone knew it, it was three o’clock.
“Ok class.” Mrs. Bustier called out, interrupting Lila’s story. “It’s time to put everything away and start to email your penpal!” She exclaimed. At her words, Marinette seemed to brighten up, while Lila scowled. Which was quickly hidden to keep up her innocent act.
When Mrs. Bustier wasn’t in hearing range, Lila started to talk to Alya. Marinette, not bothering to listen, went to her tablet/computer and typed an email to her newest friend.
“Mrs. Bustier, can Lila switch penpals with someone? Her penpal isn’t being nice to her.” Alya called out.
“She would need to find someone to switch with and both her, her penpal, and whoever she decided to switch with would have to agree.” She answered.
“Marinette, would you do switch with me? I would just want to talk with someone familiar who I know wouldn’t bully me.” Lila asked, gaining the whole class’s attention.
“No.”
“Alright then. I will contact-“ Mrs. Bustier paused and looked at the girl in the back row. “Excuse me?”
“I said no. For one, I’m pretty certain that Damian wouldn’t agree, seeing as he doesn’t know you. Another reason would be that my penpal was assigned to me because of similar interests. What’s to say that I would get along with Lila’s?” Marinette said, going back to emailing Damian.
There were some protests at her first reason, but when she finished, they all had to agree with her. She wouldn't’ get along with anyone else over there and it wouldn’t’ be fair to have them put up with her. Realizing that her plan didn’t work, Lila asked someone else to trade with her.
———————
Damian looked at the sheet in hand. Signed by his father, he was allowed to not be in class for all but two of his classes, those being writing, his first period, and PE. Damian already decided that he would be in the library for the other periods when he didn’t have to head to class.
He hadn’t informed Marinette about it, so it would be amusing to see how she would react.
Heading to class, he once again made it when the bell rang. Getting situated, he took out his computer, logged on, and went to check his email.
Walking into class on time, Marinette looked around and saw that everyone who was there had their attention on Lila, who was spinning a tale about how Damian Wayne had talked to her yesterday and said that he didn’t like his penpal. Lila had seen Marinette come into the room when she started, so she sent her a smirk, feeling like the cat that got the canary. Looking at her other classmates, she saw them glaring at her.
Marinette didn’t falter under it, knowing that she was talking with Damian until it was time for her to go to bed, which was late at night. There wasn’t a chance where she could have talked to him, seeing as for one, she lied about knowing him, and two, he had told her that he had some important matters to attend to with his family.
Marinette walked to her seat in the back of the class. Sabrina, who had been assigned to sit beside her, just tuned into listening to Lila, since she was her servant nowadays, and ignored Marinette. She gave her a glare, after hearing what Lila had said, and went back to listening to Lila and how Damian apparently complained about how terrible of a person she was.
Marinette didn’t pay her any mind. She looked around the room and saw that Mrs. Bustier wasn’t in the room yet for their first class, so she pulled out her phone. Knowing that Damian wasn’t up yet, or shouldn’t be since it was late at night/early morning for him, she went to Instagram.
Pulling up her messages, she saw that Damian’s brother, Tim, on her public account, had messaged her. She saw their older messages from weeks ago, since he commissioned her, but she didn’t focus on that and paid attention to his newer one.
TimDrakeWayne: May I ask how you know my brother?
TimDrakeWayne: And why did you start to follow him?
Marinette giggled at it. Damian had told her, well messaged her, that her brother was a hardcore fan and wanted to know how he had gotten the best designer, who had never followed anyone other than her uncle and his assistant, to follow him. She thought that it was only a matter of time before he messaged her about it.
MDC: Your brother is one of my friends. I followed him because he followed me. The only reason for him being the only person I follow without being my family is because he became acquainted with me before we knew of each other’s social status.
Mrs. Bustier had walked into the room and had gotten their attention. She had told everyone to put their devices away and to pay attention. Marinette put her phone away, and had wondered why he would message her at that time in the morning. Shouldn’t he have been asleep? She didn’t have time to dwell on it, since Sabrina had raised her hand.
“Mrs.,” Sabrina started. “Can I sit somewhere else?” She asked. Mrs. Bustier gave her a nod, and she left Marinette without hesitation. Marinette shrugged and laid out all of her stuff with the extra space.
When Mrs. Bustier started her lessons, Marinette quickly lost interest in the lesson. She was waiting for the end of the day to come, so she knew it was safe to message Damian, whether on her phone or on her tablet. Any time with her talking to him was way better than spending it with her classmates.
************
~Three hours later~
~Gotham; Monday, 6:00~
Damian had awakened to his alarm. He turned it off and got out of bed. Picking up his phone, he went to his bathroom. Damian started to brush his teeth, and checked his phone for notifications to see if he had gotten a message from someone.
When he saw Mari’s name, he clicked on it. Unlocking his phone with his face, he swiped up and saw that she had messaged him regarding Drake.
Mari: ur brother txtd me.
Mari: he got the answer 2 his question
Damian wasn’t surprised that Drake had taken upon himself to message her. He rolled his eyes as he spit the toothpaste in his mouth. Damian finished freshening up before he responded to her message.
Me: What was your response to his question?
Mari: ask him 2 no
Damian rolled his eyes at what she typed, but he had let a small smile appear on his face. When he saw himself in the mirror, he thought it looked…….. well weird. He didn’t see himself smile often, so seeing it was foreign.
Me: Which class are you in?
Mari: lunch
Me: Would you like for me to call you?
Damian didn’t have to wait long, since Mari had called his phone automatically. She must have wanted to call him for a long time.
It was then that Damian realized that he had never heard her voice. Sure, they hadn’t known each other for 24 hours, but he had talked to her more than anyone else he had ever known. If you didn’t include Kent.
Damian answered the call, but had connected some wireless earphones so that no one else could hear their conversation.
“Good morning Damian.” Mari had stated. Damian had stopped his walking, since he was going to get breakfast, and focused on her voice. The voice itself was angelic, and he would be able to hear her talk til the day’s end without getting tired of it. He thought about how her voice suited her.
“Good evening Marinette.” Damian responded back. The line was silent for a moment. They hadn’t known about the other’s voices, so it took a while to settle in, seeing as it might have been the new normal for the two of them.
Damian continued his walk down to the kitchen. When he got there, Marinette had started to talk to him, saying about how her day was with Rossi and her posse.
“No one should have to go through that.” He had said, when she took a pause in her talking. He ignored the stares from his family members that were in the kitchen. He just took his breakfast and sat down at his usual spot at the table.
As Mari continued to talk about how her day was going downhill fast, he sympathized for her, he saw that his family were talking to one another. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they kept looking at each other, at him, then back at each other again. He didn’t pay them any attention, putting his sole focus on Mari.
“-and don’t even get me started on Adrien. I know that he doesn’t believe Lila, seeing as he told me so when Lila first came that he knew she was lying. But he just enables it. Whenever I call out something, we have a chat alone after whatever class we were just previously in, and tells me to stop because she could get akumatized. But he doesn’t seem to stop her whenever she gets the class to yell at me for something I didn’t do. Even if he doesn’t mean to show it, I know he doesn’t care about my feelings.” Mari ranted.
Damian raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word. “Akumatized?” Damian asked, putting his plate in the sink. He walked out of the room, listening to her explanation. He wondered what was going on in Paris.
“How much more time until you have to go back to class?” Damian had asked her.
“I have about an hour and a half left of lunch.” Mari answered, seeing as she had two hours of lunch.
“Would you like to video chat? I don’t have to be at school until you have to be back in class.” Damian asked.
----------------
Marinette had just started eating lunch when she got a text from Damian.
Dami: What was his response to your question?
Marinette wasn’t surprised that he had woken up early in his time. She didn’t question it and just answered him.
Me: ask him 2 no
Dami: Which class are you in?
Me: lunch
Dami: Would you like for me to call you?
Marinette had to read the last text over again. Surely she had read wrong. But when she read it over a million times already, she was sure she wasn’t mistaken.
They had been talking to each other, possibly becoming friends with each other, but she hadn’t heard his voice. Sure, maybe if she went online and looked at one of the videos on his account, she was sure to hear his voice, but she didn’t.
Ignoring what he said about him calling her, she pressed the phone button at the top of the contact and called him. It took about four rings for him to answer her phone call.
“Good morning Damian.” Marinette said, nervously. She had heard him moving, but he had just stopped moving. He had gone silent.
“Good evening Marinette.” He responded back to her. At hearing ‘good’, Marinette felt butterflies in her stomach. She was confused as to why it was happening. It had only happened to her when she had a ‘crush’ on Adrien. But, that wasn’t a crush, in her opinion. It was an obsession; an infatuation. But, for the question now, why would she have a crush on Damian. If anything, they were just becoming friends.
Marinette didn’t realize how quiet both their lines had gone. She was too lost in thought to think about it.
“How was your day so far?” Damian asked her, breaking the silence. Marinette blushed, but started going on.
“Before I start, you will have to stop me when you want me to stop.” Marinette warned. She didn’t hear something that would make it sound like he was going to disagree, so she started.
“So, when I came into class today, Lila had apparently made up a lie about you talking to her last night, and how you said how terrible of a penpal I was. I knew she was lying since you told me that you don’t know her and that I stopped talking to you at two in the morning in my time, and around eight in your time. I know that Lila loves her beauty sleep, so that isn’t possible. “
“So then, everyone glared at me in class, but they couldn’t scare a baby with that. Then, later in the day, Alya had tried to yell at me because Lila told her that I had made fun of her that she didn’t have you as a penpal. She only stopped because the bell signaled us to go to our next class.”
“Everyone, for the whole day kept trying to trip me, so that they could laugh when they succeeded, which they never did. Lila is just trying to be a pain in my ass.”
“No one should have to go through that.” Damian had told her. Marinette paused to take a breath, taking in his words, before starting up again.
“And don’t even get me started on Adrien. I know that he doesn’t believe Lila, seeing as he told me so when Lila first came that he knew she was lying. But he just enables it. Whenever I call out something, we have a chat alone after whatever class we were just previously in, and tells me to stop because she could get akumatized. But he doesn’t seem to stop her whenever she gets the class to yell at me for something I didn’t do. Even if he doesn’t mean to show it, I know he doesn’t care about my feelings.” Marinette stopped, only to take a bite out of her food.
“Akumatized?” She heard Damian ask. She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t know because she always kept the terrorism from spreading around the world.
“Here in France, we have a terrorist who preys on negative emotions. If you’re having a bad day, or just feeling any other emotion aside from happiness, Hawkmoth, our terrorist, will send out a purple butterfly, which is filled with dark energy, and get it onto an object onto that person’s stuff. To prevent them from destroying Paris, we have the superhero Ladybug to capture the akuma, purify it, and fix the damage caused by the akuma.” Marinette quickly explained.
She heard Damian give out a hum, and stopped to eat some more. “How much more time until you have to go back to class?” Damian suddenly asked.
“I have about an hour and a half left of lunch.” She answered.
“Would you like to video chat? I don’t have to be in school until you have to be back in class.” Damian supplied.
Marinette paused. She hadn’t expected that. Hesitantly, she opened her mouth. “Sure.”
--------------
Damian was the one who ended the call, only to video chat her instead. Marinette answered it, not wanting to be in silence for that long.
On Marinette’s screen, she saw a room, which looked as clean as a hotel room, but bigger. There were a few paintings on the wall she could see. One was of a dog, another of a cat. There was another one, but she couldn’t quite see it since it cut off on her screen. Looking at the person who was at the other end, she saw that he looked exactly like the photo she had received of him, but instead of a glare, his eyes looked soft, scowl disappeared. Pink was soon on her cheeks.
On Damian’s screen, he saw her very vibrant pink room. In the background, there was a pink and white chaise. Closer to him, he saw the different designs pinned on her wall. What confused him was that there wasn’t a door in sight.
In front of him, he saw the bluenette in all of her glory. The pigtails that were in the picture he had gotten were out of her head, which instead, she had her hair all down. Her clothes seemed to be the opposite of her room, since she had on a dark blue shirt on, from what he could see.
“Wow.” Marinette whispered. She had hoped that Damian couldn’t hear what she had said, but life doesn’t ever go as planned for her.
“What was that Mari?” Damian asked her, his lips twitching upwards. Marinette just put her head into her hands. Upon doing that, she missed the small bit of red that appeared on his cheeks.
“Shut up.” Marinette whined. She peeked through her hand and saw that he had the smallest of smiles on his face. Ignoring how she had her face in her hands, she put her down and smiled at him, returning it.
Marinette: Hi Damian. May I ask what it is about you that has piqued some of my classmates ' interest. For example, one of them was jealous when she heard that I had gotten you as my penpal.
——————
Damian stared at what he had gotten for a moment before butt going to write back. He knew his family was well known, even across the globe, but he didn’t suspect that the person who he was assigned to work with was one of the few people who hadn’t heard of him or his family.
———————
Damian: My father is a world renowned billionaire. This classmate of yours must want to know about me and gain my family’s connections. Seeing as I don’t allow any tabloids to know about me, anyone would do anything to know about me.
———————
Marinette was in class, refreshing her screen, waiting for a response. When she had seen she had gotten a response, she clicked on it and read what he had told her.
When she got done reading it, she froze for a second, before thinking that it wasn’t that uncommon for her to run onto some type of famous and/or rich person.
Rereading it, she noticed that his French was great. If didn’t know that he was in America, she would have thought that he was living in France. There weren’t any spelling errors or any words out of place. Maybe he was fluent in French.
“Marinette.” Marinette looked up to see who called her name. She saw that it was Mrs. Bustier. “Has your penpal answered back yet?”
Marinette nodded, waiting to see what else she wanted. Instead, she just gave her a small smile and nodded, and went to another classmate of hers. Marinette went to typing what she was going to say next, hoping not to be interrupted.
———————
Marinette: That explains her expression. By the way, your French is great. Are you fluent in the language?
Damian: That would be correct. Do people actually believe this girl? Just a quick research would prove the girl wrong.
Marinette: Unfortunately, yes. You would think that they would at least think about some of them, but they all believe her at face value. One of them believes she’s a reporter, but no one in their right mind would hire her.
Damian: She must be an appalling reporter.
Marinette: You have no idea
———————
The two spent the next two hours, and two class periods, emailing one another. No one, thankfully, had turned towards the back in either of their classes, so none of them had seen the small smile on Marinette’s face, which booty hasn’t been present in Francis Dupont for a while, or how Damain’s eyes appeared to have softened whenever he was reading what his penpal.
The bell, which had rang at both schools interrupted their conversation. It was time for them to stop and go on with either their other classes, or go home.
———————
Marinette: I had a nice time talking, well emailing, you Damian. If you want to talk beyond this, you could email @mdcdesigns and I’ll give my phone number.
———————
Marinette sighed as she sent the message. She closed her tablet before Damian could respond, and packed her things. She left the classroom, going to the bakery. The moment she got to her room, she went on her computer, went to her email and refreshed the page, wanting to know if he would message her.
———————
Damian: I’ll take you up on that offer.
———————
Damian closed his computer and packed it in his bag. His natural scowl was in place, keeping everyone in the room away from him. Putting his bag on his back, he left the classroom.
When he arrived at his next class, math, he sat his stuff down and went on his computer. Since he was only in that class for the credits and finished his work a long time ago, he logged onto his personal account.
Remembering the username, he typed it into the part of the screen that asked for the email. Damian typed in, confirming that it was him, and asked for her number.
********
Marinette had taken a break from refreshing for a moment and got her something to snack on. She came back to her room with a plate of macaroons, some for her and the kwamis in her room, and set it down on her desk. She took one, bit into it, while the kwamis took one for each after her.
Marinette went back to refreshing her screen. She missed it at first, but she saw an email, which was clearly Damian’s, and clicked on it. She read it, responded to it, and wondered why he was messaging her in school.
Not even a moment later, she had gotten a notification on her phone. She powered her computer off, and went directly to her phone.
———————
Me: arent u supposed 2 b in school rn
Dami: I’ve finished all the required work for my classes. I’m only attending them for the credits I need before I graduate.
Me: i wish that was how it worked here
Me: if i finished my work, my teacher would somehow find me more work to do, even if the others wouldn’t have to do it
Dami: Mari, you should contact your school board about that.
Me: i’ll take that into consideration
———————
Marinette, phone in hand, took the empty plate and went downstairs. She put her phone in her pocket on the way down, but once she put her plate in the sink, washed it, and put it away where she found it, she took her phone back out.
————————
Dami: Unless you had asked for the work, she shouldn’t be allowed to do that.
Me: i know
Me: thats why i decided to not give her my work until the day its do. she cant give me more work to do
“Miss, why does the ice prince get to be on his phone? When someone else does it, we get in trouble, but when he does it, it’s fine?” That was the first thing Damian heard when he started to pay attention to his class.
“Well Andrew.” Their teacher, Miss Johnson started. “Mr. Wayne has a 105% percent in this class, finished all the work for the semester, and could teach this class better if he wanted to. When you reach his grade, or any of those accomplishments, then yes. I will allow you on your phone in class.”
Andrew, in response, just rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat. Damian poopy rolled his eyes at his classmate. If it were up to him, he would have people that had more intelligence than most people in his class.
Damian's phone vibrated, signaling a notification on his phone.
MDC: whats up dami
Not a moment later, another one came up. Though this one was for his personal, private account. It had told him that someone had tried to follow him, and he needed to confirm for them to see what he had posted.
Damian unlocked his phone and followed the two accounts, Since the MDC account only followed his public account, he only followed that one there. Ignoring the other messages from his followers, he went to her account.
Damianwayne: What honor do I have to have MDC follow me?
Switching the accounts, he followed Marinette’s private account. He gained access to her photos, and she got access to his. Damian switched apps and went to the app that was meant for texting.
—————————
Me: Are your classmates to blame for you having a private account?
Mari: yup. were no longer friends so i unfriended + made the account private
——————————
Damian had gotten another notification, though this one wasn’t from Marinette. He looked at the name and text, and silenced his texts and calls for the time being.
Drake: why does mdc follow you
Drake: they dont follow anyone but jagged stone and his assistant
“Welcome class!” Mrs. Bustier said at the beginning of the day.
“Good morning Mrs. Bustier.” The class, but one person, said. Mrs. Bustier noticed, but had a smile on her face anyways.
The person, Marinette, instead, just rolled her eyes. It was Monday morning and she didn’t have the energy to deal with another human being at the moment. If someone tried to approach her, which they didn’t nowadays, or if they tried to talk to her at all, she was sure she was going to end up fighting and defeating their akuma form.
“Today,” Mrs. Bustier continued. “We will be doing something special for a whole two months. Since you all know the French-American friendship week is approaching, the school has decided to allow everyone to have a penpal from America.” The whole class broke into whispers and murmurs at the news. “I will be calling you up to the front to come get your person and some information about them. This will help you know more about your penpal.” She said, going to sit down at her desk.
Everyone in the class started to discuss and guess what they thought their penpal was going to be like. We’re they handsome, or beautiful? Were they nice and angelic, like Lila, or were they a bully, like Marinette? Did they have something in common? Did they speak French?
Marinette, who had no one to talk to, just ignored her class and went on her school tablet to read a book online. She only had her ears out to hear her name and the person who she was getting assigned to.
Sooner or later, Mrs. Bustier started off naming people and their pen pals to the class, telling them to come to her desk to get information and a photo of them from her. The order, going from the people in the front row to the back, meant that Marinette was getting hers last.
“Now, Marinette, you will be with Damian Wayne. Come up here and get his interests, disinterests, and a photo of him.” Mrs. Bustier said, looking at the girl.
Marinette got off her tablet and went towards the front. For once, no one was trying to trip her, either stopping at the teacher’s words, or they were too interested in reading about their penpal.
“Mrs. Bustier? Why does Marinette get Damian Wayne? After all, he is the son of the billionaire and I happen to know him. Why couldn’t I get him?” Lila suddenly asked when she heard the name of the billionaire’s heir.
Marinette was already at Mrs. Bustier’s desk, getting the stuff she needed when Mrs. Bustier started to answer.
“Well, me and some teachers at another school gave you people who we thought would be a good friend. Marinette and Damian both share something in common. And after all, this is for you to make a new friend.” She explained.
Lila nodded, a small, fake smile on her face. She watched as Marinette went to the back, paper in hand, with information that no one else knew about. After all, he was the Wayne that no one had known about, or no one had spoken about. Marinette had the information that could get her to actually know him and make her stories come true? Just what was it that they had in common?
Marinette, on the way to her seat, just thought of one thing and one thing only. For this friendship project, honestly, she didn’t want a friend. She already had her heart played with and broken way too many times in a week than anyone ever goes through in a year or two. She didn’t want to face the betrayal she might get if she became friends with this Damian dude. So the plan was simple; only tell enough information so that she could get the grade for the assignment. When it was over, she would never contact them again and forget about the whole assignment.
When she sat down at her seat, she took a look at the page with his information on there. When she read them, she internally told herself that she agreed with some of them. Maybe he wouldn’t be so bad?
“Alright class, this is to practice your English, so this will also be a part of your English class, so, you will write your letter in English and get one back in French. So, let’s get started on writing them.” Mrs. Bustier told the class in the middle of Marinette looking over the page.
Marinette knew she was going to make an easy grade on the assignment. She had, not too long ago, became fluent in the English language, so she knew she would be passing this with flying colors.
Marinette took a look at the picture of the person she was going to be writing to. Marinette’s cheeks had been dusted with pink, making it known that she hadn’t expected what she had been recently looking at.
‘Maybe this won’t be so bad.’ Marinette thought to herself.
She took out a case for the tablet, connected the bluetooth, and put the case on. Once she was finished, she turned the tablet horizontally and made it connect to the keyboard of the case. Going onto her school messages, she read the American’s student’s name and typed it into who she was sending it to.
*******
~Six hours later~
~Monday, April 15th, 2019; 9:00. Gotham~
Damian walked into class exactly when the bell rang and went directly to his seat, not sparing a glance at his peers. He could already tell that something was going to happen in class today, but he wasn’t sure if it would be a good thing or a bad thing yet. It had yet to happen.
When he sat down in his seat for his second period class, the teacher declared that he had an announcement.
“You all will be given an email of someone in France and will be writing to them. You remember writing about the things you liked? Well, that was given to them, along with your school email. You will also be getting some common knowledge about them. You will be doing this for this class and your French class, seeing as it is French-American week. Reasons being as this is a class to help with your writing and it will involve you writing French. This assignment will be going on from now until the end of the school year, seeing as we don’t live in the same time zone as they do. Now, any questions?” The teacher asked.
Only one person raised their hand. The teacher pointed to them and nodded.
“Mr. Johnson, will this be a grade?” The girl asked.
Mr. Johnson nodded as he went to explain it. “I, myself, am fluent in French, so I can grade to see if you have actually sent something to your penpal. The grade is the same for both classes. If you participate in it, you get an automatic 100.” He told them.
After waiting a moment to see if anyone else had any questions, he started to pick up some papers and passed them around the room, telling them the names to their pen pal and to start working on writing back to them, since they had already had this assigned to them hours ago.
When he got to Damian, he told him their name was Marinette and that they had something in common, though he whispered it so no one else would hear it. Once he handed him the two sheets, he went back to the front to go on his computer.
“I feel bad for whoever had gotten the ice prince.” Someone in the front not so silently whispered.
Damian ignored them, in favor of seeing who he had something in common with. He looked over the things that piqued their interest and the things that irritated them, and he could say, for once, that the teacher was correct about them having something in common.
He looked over at the sheet of paper with their name and their email. Once his eyes came across her face, his cheeks had gone pink. But, as soon as the blush came, it was gone sooner. He was grateful that everyone had taken it upon themselves to talk about their penpal than pay him any attention, so him showing something other than his icy nature would still be unknown.
Damian took out his computer and logged onto it. Once going to see any emails sent to him, he saw he had an email from someone who he had just read about.
Double checking to make sure, he could confirm that this was his penpal and not someone who was trying to contact him over his school email. Again. The amount of threats that had been thrown around to the people who had the guts to do that.
He clicked on it and read what she had told him. He complimented her English, seeing as if she was fluent. He started to type his out, and sent it, thinking that he might not have as bad of a time that he originally thought he would.
It’s the last day of school, and someone won’t leave Damiyah alone
Master Master List Previous
Damiyah was in a bad mood the whole school day. Her beloved was arriving in Gotham today, but she couldn’t go visit him when he arrived since she had school. On top of that, some new people in her grade, who didn’t know her, kept trying to get close to her, never noticing how tense the atmosphere was around them.
It was infuriating.
Luckily, it was the last day of the school year, so she wouldn’t have to be back for three months. The end of the school day was coming closer and closer, but it seemed to go by slower and slower.
Damiyah was in her final class, and the teacher was going over their summer assignments they were supposed to be completing. Tuning out the teacher, she focused more on what she would do when she saw her boyfriend.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Students in the class were quick to grab their bags and leave the classroom without a second thought. Damiyah stepped out of her thoughts and grabbed her stuff. Thinking about how foolish her peers were, she left the class.
Walking out the halls of the school, she had one thing on her mind, and she didn’t want anyone else disturbing her on her way to complete the task at hand. But it was never that easy. Someone, so determined to get her number, had stepped in front of her, and started to ask for it.
She was going to kill him. Her father’s rule be damned.
———————
Marin had gotten out of school earlier than Damiyah and had decided to spend his summer break in Gotham with her. He had gotten a plane ticket the day he knew she got out of school, so he could visit her the moment she got out of school.
When he got off the plane, Alfred was there to pick him up. Getting his bags in the back, they were off to the Wayne manor.
When they arrived, Marin put his things in Damiyah’s room, and got changed out of his comfy clothes. Finishing, he, with Bruce’s permission, took one of the cars in the garage and headed to Gotham Academy, seeing as it was almost time for when her school ended.
Fortunately, he arrived at her school on time without any issues driving there. Getting out and locking the car, he left the vehicle. Walking to the front of the school, the bell had rang, bringing students out of their classrooms. Marin stood at the entrance/exit of the school, waiting for his girlfriend to exit her class.
For the time being, people leaving the school stared at him weirdly, having no idea who he was. Though he didn’t miss the ways some girls looked at him.
Not a moment later, Damiyah came out of her class. Seeing her, he focused eyes on her. A lovesick smile would have appeared on his face, if it wasn’t for the fact that someone had gone in front of her. A frown replaced the smile that had yet to appear. Looking closely at her, he saw that she had the same look that she had with his classmates. A look of murder.
He walked towards them, not being oblivious to how the halls had gone silent, and the students had stopped moving to see what was going to happen.
———————
“So, honey, how about I get your number so that I could see more of you over the summer?” The guy asked.
Before Damiyah could respond, arms wrapped around her shoulders, a familiar scent filling up her nose. “Hello Sadiqa.” The voice, Marin, murmured. Everyone around failed to notice how Damiyah seemed to melt into his arms.
“Who even are you? You don’t go here? And what do you think you’re doing with her?” The guy asked them. The glares he received from the two of them was enough for him to realize that his attempts to get closer to her were never going to go anywhere. Flushed from embarrassment, he left them.
Marin, after seeing the guy leave his sight of vision, separated from Damiyah, only to grab her hand and lead her outside to where he parked. Everyone on campus could only watch as the youngest Wayne left with who they presumed was her boyfriend.
Tag List: @alysrose-starchild @northernbluetongue @thecaptainthunder
It’s Marinette’s birthday, and her friend from across the world comes to visit her on this special day.
Master Master List
Marinette stared at the clock. It was eleven fifty nine at night, and she felt like she was going to cry.
Earlier in the week, she invited everyone in her class to sleep over at her house, just so they could celebrate her birthday. Lately, they hadn’t been as close as they usually were, but that didn’t mean they were automatically going to say no.
They all said that they were going to come, but no one did. Her living room was decorated, streamers and balloons filled it up. Her parents' gifts were on the ground, right next to the table.
Tom and Sabine had retired for the night, and went to bed an hour earlier, seeing as they were going to wake up very early in the morning to celebrate her day of birth with her. Marinette had given them kisses on their cheeks and let them go.
Back to the present, she felt her phone buzz. She took it and opened it up, going to her social media. Apparently Alya posted a picture. Looking at it, it seemed everyone was at Lila’s celebrating a lie she told.
A tear fell from her eye. They didn’t even remember their promise to come over for her birthday sleepover. They didn’t even remember it.
An alarm on Marinette’s phone went off, signaling that it was midnight, or her birthday. Marinette turned it off, taking a cupcake available and bit into it.
‘Happy birthday to me.” Marinette thought. Tears had been falling down her face freely, taking away the happiness she thought she had.
Unexpectedly, her phone buzzed again. Marinette, now hesitantly, picked it up, and saw that it was a message. Looking at the contact, it was her new friend, Damian, who had sent her a message.
His message had told her happy birthday, the first person outside of her family who seemed to have remembered. A small smile appeared on her face. Putting the cupcake down, she wiped her tears away.
Her friend, who lived halfway across the world, had made her night better with a text with just three words. It was then that she realized that it didn’t take a lot to make her happy. It was the little things that showed that someone cared that made her smile.
She was going to respond back, but he had called her instead. Marinette was quick to answer it and put her phone against her ear.
“Happy birthday, Mari.” Damian said once the call was answered. Marinette heard nothing on the line, which was weird since the other times he called, at least one of his siblings would be saying something in the background. Though, she could hear a car honking its horn in the background, if she listened hard enough.
“Thank you Dami.” Marinette said, her voice shaky. She opened her mouth to ask something, but Damian beat her to it.
“Would it be too much to ask you to open your bakery doors?” He asked. Marinette, confused, just left her living room, went downstairs to open the door.
When she opened it up, she saw Damian in front of her. She saw that he had bags in his hands, in what she could assume were gifts. He had a backpack on, for what reason, she didn’t know.
Marinette turned her phone off and pocketed it. Running towards him, she gave him a hug. He didn’t lose his balance, only hugged her back. Tears of happiness flowed down Marinette’s face, while put her head in Damian’s chest.
Damian in all of this, did his best to wrap his arms around her, with the bags around his arms. Coming to the realization that she was alone, he was sure going to do something about it later, but for now, he was glad that he could spend some alone time with her. He had a question he had wanted to ask her, but wanted to ask in person.
~Time skip to Monday~
When Marinette walked into class Monday, Alya was the first to come up to her.
Alya had taken a look at her and went first to compliment her, before asking a question. “Ok Mari, I like the new look. Your hair is down and this new outfit totally suits you. Trying to impress someone?” Before Marinette could answer, she continued. “And where were you Friday night? We were having that party for Lila helping the president the Friday before?”
Marinette was going to answer, but Alya caught sight of something on Marinette’s neck. There was a small locket with the number seventeen. Marinette saw where her eyes were, and was quick to cover it. But she had forgotten that she had a bracelet on that went along with it. Alya saw it too and pieced things together.
“It was your birthday.” Alya whispered. Marinette gave a small nod of confirmation. “I’m so sorry Mari. We can celebrate it today. I know, we can go shopping and get you things for your projects you say you have. And we can go out to eat.” Alya said, listing things out.
“Sorry Alya, but I can’t. I’m already hanging out with someone today.” Marinette said, declining her offer.
“With who?” She asked. Maybe she could join them?
“With me.” A voice called out. It drew everyone who was in the class attention. Marinette just pouted at the guy at the door for interrupting her. “Angel, I told you that I was going to take you out today so you didn’t have to go to school.”
“You didn’t specify the time. I just assumed the afternoon, and went to school to learn something.” Marinette retorted back. She then turned to Alya. “Alya, this is my boyfriend Damian.” Marinette was blissfully unaware that she had everyone’s attention and that they were confused as to when she got a boyfriend.
Damian came into the room and grabbed her stuff. Putting her backpack on, he grabbed her hand and led her out of class, leaving her classmates confused.
Minutes later, Adrien and Lila came into the class to find everyone talking about the fact that Marinette had a boyfriend. It left them with completely opposite feelings at the revelation.
