#DC is for December Event!

[hanasnx]

need bruce wayne to fuck me in the mating press position. like he just thinks i need an attitude adjustment and a good fucking will most definitely do the trick. and because he’s so big there’s nowhere for me to go. i’m crying because of how hard he’s fucking me and he’s just like “is this not what you wanted? 🥰

MINORS DNI 18+

NOTES: DC is for December Event! — request DC characters.

“Relax,” the deep reverb of BRUCE WAYNE’s command sends a shiver down your spine. You clutch onto his rotator cuff a little tighter, and a tremor of effort shakes your thighs from the base. Two large hands keep your knees pinned to your ears. A brutal pace is interrupted, leisurely rolling his hips into you while you catch your breath.

“I can’t…” you begin, defeated, “I can’t do any more,”

“You can.” his tone leaves no room for argument even if it’s encouraging, “Take deep breaths.” As he instructs, he sheaths fully. An indomitable length is reintroduced to your walls, filling them to the brim and knocking the wind right out of you. As he rears his hips, you inhale like he said to. Gradually, he picks up the pace, adjusting your body for you accordingly while your hands slide to his chest. Perfectly sculpted and chiseled, you explore it to give new sensation to focus on while a thick cock makes a mess of your insides. “You’re not trying to quit on me, are you?” It’s a playfully coy comment, pricking his brow down at you while you chew on your bottom lip. “Where’s my big strong girl now?”

“I said I was sorry!” You hadn’t. Your pitiful plea only makes him snicker, a rumbling noise. A poor attitude from earlier didn’t follow you into the bedroom, laying on your back for him while you whimper at his body piling onto yours, quite literally drilling into you while you’re pinned.

[cocosparkel]

Daminette December 2024 Day 8: Truth Serum

ROOFTOP CONFESSIONS

When Robin is injected with a peculiar truth serum to reveal his identity, Ladybird comes to the rescue.The serum was quite potent, and he felt compelled to reveal his thoughts, his secrets. Will Robin be able to hold his tongue long enough, or will he reveal his heart's desire ?

The air was unusually thick and Ladybird was finding it hard to concentrate. She jumped inside the warehouse through the broken window, landing with a soft thud. “Oracle, where is his exact location ?” she asked.Her com crackled to life, “Give me a minute Ladybird , I'm working on it.”

Ladybird crept near the door to her left, which was left ajar. Her heart was beating in her ears, anticipating the worst when she pushed open the door and- Nothing.

The room was empty, except for a few wooden crates in the far corner. “Ladybird , I can't find Robin. I think his tracker has been destroyed. I tried pulling up the security feed, and the only thing I could find was that they have been inhabiting the 4th floor for the past two weeks. Robin might be there.” Oracle said.

“Thanks, Oracle, I'll take it from here.” Ladybird replied.

“Do you need any backup ?” Oracle asked, concerned.

"No, I can handle it, don't worry” Ladybird said, not at all ready to handle it.

The floors creaked above her, alerting her. Darting out of the room, she quickly found the stairs, and climbed up silently.

The door at the end of the corridor was wide open, yellow light spilling out of it, illuminating the dark corridor. She crept to the door, her heartbeat quickening.

Just a few feet away from the door, she strained to hear any movement inside the room. Sensing nothing, she entered the room cautiously, in a defensive stance.

To no one's surprise, Robin was there. He was tied up to a chair, his mouth taped; his right arm was bleeding.

Upon seeing blood, she rushed towards him, and gently cupped the wound. Using her Ladybug magic, she manages to heal his arm.

At that moment, three men enter. One of them pointed his gun at her. “Not so fast.” he snarled.

Unfazed,she kicked the gun out of his hand and quickly disarmed him. She dodges the kick from the man, and punches him in the face. He staggered and collapsed in a corner.

Furious, the second man attacks Ladybird, but he is no match for her. Within seconds, she knocked him out. When she turned back to Robin, she found the third man sitting next to him, a syringe in his hand.

Before she can do anything, he injected Robin. Ladybird quickly pulled the third man away from Robin.

“What was that?”She asked, fear evident in her voice.

The man gives her a crooked smile, “It doesn't matter, it's done” he said, cackling.

“You'll pay for this” she said, pushing the man to the ground, and tying him up. Turning around, she realises that the man she had punched escaped, but the other man was still there.

Ladybird turned back to Robin, who was starting to stir.

“Robin ?” She called softly, untying him. She gently removes the tape from his mouth.

"Ladybird ?” Robin mumbles.“Yes, it's me.” she said, relieved.

He whispers,“They planned to inject me with a truth serum, to find out our identities.”

Ladybird’s eyes widened. “They just injected you with it now.

“Shit - that's - that's bad; it's dangerous, it's the worst possible scenario I-” Robin clamps his hand over his mouth to prevent him from talking.

"Wow,” she said, “That's a very effective serum…”

Robin just nods. He stands up quickly and says,”We should get out now.” before shutting his mouth.

Before she could say anything else, Robin said, “We should avoid talking, I can't control what I say right now.”

Ladybird's heart clenched painfully.

He didn't trust her… Masking her pain, she said, “ You're right. Do you have any injuries I should know about ?”He shakes his head. She closed her eyes.

"Okay then. I'll just call backup, they can take you back to the cave.”

“Why ?” He blurts “Where are you going to go ?

“I- I need to report back to the court.” She lied, “It's for the better. That way, you won't have to worry about telling me something I shouldn't know.”

As she was about to leave, he held her hand, preventing her from leaving.Her heart skipped a beat, and her face was on fire.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you,” Robin says, "I- I trust you a lot.. the thing is…. The thing is..” he takes a deep breath before saying, " I need to tell you something… I wished it was under different circumstances…”

Ladybird just stood staring at him in shock, her heart racing. “What.. What is it ?” she chokes out.“

"Ilikeyou” he says quickly.

Ladybird couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“I like you..” he says again, slowly, “a lot…and I wish you found out about this in a different way.”

Mistaking her shocked silence for rejection, he looked away and said “I understand if you don't feel the same.”

That broke Ladybird out of her stupor. “No, no !”

Robin looked at her, hurt.

"No I meant, Yes ! I- I like you too..” She said, her face red.

Robin’s face broke into one of his rare smiles “That's the answer I wanted," he said, moving close to her.

Before she knew it, he was in front of her, his hand cupping her cheeks.

"Can I kiss you ?” he whispers.

Instead of replying, Ladybird pulled him close and kissed him.

It was the best thing that she had ever experienced.

“I think they are doing just fine.” a familiar robotic voice said, from behind them, causing them to break the kiss and move away from each other.

A blushing Ladybird hid behind an annoyed Robin, as Red Hood laughed at the couple.

"Oh my god - you just had to ruin the moment didn't you.” Spoiler said, exasperated.

"I'm going to kill you Hood.” Robin threatened, not letting go of Ladybird .

"Sure.” Red Hood said, before taking off.

Spoiler smiled at them and said, “Oracle said that you might need some backup, but as everything is fine, my work here is done. I'll leave you two love birds to it.”

Laughing, she too jumped away.

Robin turned to Ladybird and said with a devious smirk, “Do you want to get a little revenge ?”

“I thought you'd never ask,” she said, with a smirk which could rival his own.

______________________________________________________________

@maribat-calendar-events

[starwarsmum]

Global Crisis for day 5 ❤️ buckle up for the long fic folks

@maribat-calendar-events

Chat Noir hadn't meant to find out Ladybug's identity. No, really, he was trying to follow her rules, even if he didn't agree with them but…when he had been trying to retrieve baby August’s pacifier from Ladybug, he had seen the pink glow on Marinette's balcony. He had frozen, not wanting her to see him as he peeked through the railing and he was confronted with the fact that the love of his life was his very good friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

So, yeah, he was a little bit confused, and a lot conflicted about what to do next. He was sure Ladybug and he were soulmates, but he wasn't even sure what Marinette was really like. She behaved so differently around him than she did their friends, and then there was the whole third different behaviour as Ladybug.

But he had sworn that he would love the girl behind the mask, no matter what, so he was going to do his best to woo his good friend soulmate. The first thing he would have to do was talk to Alya and Nino, get them on board with any plans moving forward. Then he would have to start distancing himself from Kagami so that his lady didn't think he was unavailable.

_ _ _ 

Marinette was stressing out. The girls had been haranguing her about Adrien's fifth name’s day for a few weeks and it was now approaching fast. She had stopped writing down every little thing about him, had stopped pre-making presents that would never be given, and she was trying to take training with Master Fu seriously. But every time she thought she'd escaped it, she was pulled back in.

��Lil M!” Marinette jumped when Jagged came into the apartment, trailed by Penny who seemed to be on the phone again. “Hey Rockette, I have a favour to ask from you, but I've gotta say upfront that it's totally rock n roll if you say no.”

“Oh, hey Uncle J,” she said weakly, putting down the rolling pin from her stress baking. “You know I'm usually good for a favour, what do you need? A new album cover, a new jacket…”

“Well, my old friend Bruce is in town and his kids are pretty big fans of mine. A couple of them are obsessed with meeting you, and asked if I could convince you to come to dinner at their hotel?” He had big round eyes trained on her, almost pouting in his bid to get her to say yes.

“Sure thing Jagged,” she said easily, resuming the highly therapeutic mission of rolling out the pie crust. She hummed along agreeably as he told her the details for that evening, as well as piling compliments onto her. She was beginning to get suspicious that the family she was being introduced to was not going to be as delightful as he was making it seem.

When she was done baking - which took even longer because now she had to make macarons for the meal that night - she went upstairs to change into different clothes. She surveyed her wardrobe, pulling and discarding everything until she came across a couple of dresses that she had made when she found out that Jagged was from Gotham, AKA the crime and vigilante capital of the US.

She pulled out a dress inspired by Batgirl, purple with striking yellow details, and one designed after Robin, with muted and complimentary colours as opposed to the train wreck the actual vigilante wore. She debated for several long minutes before deciding that purple was Jagged's colour, so she should wear the red, yellow and green one. 

She checked the time, realised that she was on time for once and grabbed her things. She let Tikki slide into a clutch bag she had made (black with tiny bat symbols embroidered across it), grabbed the cookie boxes and headed out of the door.

_ _ _

Damian was bored. His father had dragged both him and Tim to Paris so that they could do some ‘family bonding’. It was absurd, and he wanted nothing more than to sulk in the room he had been given at the Grand Paris Hotel. Unfortunately, Bruce had already made plans for them that evening with an old schoolmate of his. 

Tim had been pathetically excited that his idol, Jagged Stone, was going to be coming to dinner. The sleep deprived buffoon had immediately started word vomiting about how amazing his music was, and about the designer that Jagged often promoted as the only one allowed to design for him any more.

“Damian, I know that you're not looking forward to this meal,” Bruce sighed, leaning against the door frame just outside of the room. Damian snorted in response, glaring at the suit jacket Tim was insisting he had to wear to impress a world famous designer. “Please, I just want you both to get along this evening. Jagged is an old friend, and his designer is apparently very dear to him. I would like to get to know her and catch up with my friend.”

“Tt, I shall behave myself, father,” Damian grumbled, snatching up the jacket and artfully mussing his hair until it was perfectly nonchalant. “I am going to scout the restaurant and ensure that there are no nasty surprises waiting for us.”

And he was out of the suite before Bruce could protest. He was full of energy, having used the flight to rest adequately, in direct opposition to Tim who had decided that eight hour flights were designed so that he could work uninterrupted by other employees. As he descended the staircase to the main atrium, his eyes snagged on a blonde girl who appeared to be shouting at a smaller Asian girl with black hair.

Knowing that negative emotions could mean an attack from the local villain - see, Drake, he could pay attention - he was about to step in when he eyed what the smaller girl was wearing - and almost stumbled down the stairs. The dress was predominately black, but sheer colored fabric had been used to subtly imbue it with a shimmer of colour. The skirt flared out, catching the light and turning a deep emerald green, the bodice a gorgeous blood red with black embroidered ‘R’s across it. 

To complete the look, she was wearing a hooded jacket that had a yellow lining, not unlike his cape. But the yellow was much subtler than the canary yellow that was traditional for Robin. She was wearing (presumably) thigh high boots that disappeared into the skirt and his heart hammered in his chest painfully. When he finally got a look at her face, which was scrunched into a pretty scowl, he saw that she had done artfully messy, dark makeup, emulating a domino mask whilst still being classy.

He didn't move closer to the girl until the blonde one - Chloé Bourgeois, his mind supplied helpfully - stalked away and the girl with the Robin dress smirked after her. He approached her as she fiddled with the pastry box she was carrying, and tried not to let it show that he was nervous.

“Good evening,” he said smoothly, wondering if he would be fortunate enough to get her name. She hardly glanced at him, pulling out her phone to send a message. He had the feeling that she was using it as an excuse so that she could deter him without having to say anything. “Apologies for the intrusion, but I could not help noticing that you are wearing a dress inspired by Robin, the Gotham vigilante.”

“You recognise it?” She demanded gleefully, abandoning the pretense that she was invested in whatever reply she was awaiting. Her eyes were a startling blue that practically glowed from within the smokey eye makeup, and he had to work extremely hard not to let his breathing stop and give away just how affected he was by this girl.

“Tt, I am from Gotham, Robin is one of the vigilantes there so I would be remiss if I did not recognise his suit,” he replied, praying she didn't think he was insulting her. He didn't know how to do this, he had never wanted to show an interest in another person before. “I did not think that people in Paris were particularly interested in vigilantes, given they have their own heroes.”

“Oh, yeah, I mean generally that's true, I guess? But my uncle is from Gotham so when I found out, I just had to look up more about them. My favourites are Robin, obviously, and Batgirl. But for the colour scheme, I have to say I prefer the original Batgirl’s costume - purple and yellow is so iconic!”

Damian was stunned momentarily, unsure how to take the conversation forward. As it was, he was very close to blushing, which would be extremely odd. But she seemed content to chatter away, gesturing to different parts of the outfit. Sadly, they were interrupted by a man dressed in black and yellow, with purple hair, who launched himself upon the girl.

“Jagged, stop!” The girl whined, a giggle ruining the playful annoyance in her voice. “It was very nice to meet you, monsieur, I'm sorry for talking your ear off about clothes. As my uncle here can attest, I can get a little carried away.”

“Tt, you hardly need apologise, I enjoyed hearing about the stitching technique you used to connect the skirt to the top of your outfit,” Damian said, gaining him an appraising look from the other man. The girl beamed at him, the smile making his insides feel mushy.

“Rock on, Lil M, you already found one of our dinner mates! You are one of Brucie's bunch, right?” The man, apparently Jagged Stone, asked. Damian nodded, realising that the girl he had been speaking to must be the designer that Tim was so obsessed with. “So, which one are you?”

“Damian,” he said, holding his hand out to Jagged to greet him properly. “It is a pleasure to meet you both. My brother, Timothy, is a fan of both of your works.”

“I’m Marinette, it's nice to meet you too,” the girl, Marinette, said when he turned to greet her as well. She ignored his hand in favour of kissing his cheek with une bise, and he felt warmth flood his face. “How lucky that you came over to say hello! I wasn't sure how punctual any friends of Jagged's would be,” she said pointedly, quirking an eyebrow at the man in question.

“Hey, be fair! I'm earlier than Bruce and the rest of his bunch,” Jagged replied, holding a hand to his chest in mock aggravation. “Speaking of which, I'm going to see if I can surprise him in his room, where will I find him, kid?”

Damian recited the room number, amused that Bruce's friend was so exuberant. He turned back to Marinette, fully intending on getting to know her better before the others joined them.

Meanwhile, Marinette was trying to squash the butterflies that were erupting in her stomach. When the boy, Damian, had first approached her she had groaned internally, not wanting to have to politely tell him to leave. But then he had asked about her dress and she couldn't help herself - she had practically bombarded him with everything she was proud of in this particular piece. Which usually has the same outcome as politely telling a guy to get lost, but then Jagged had interrupted and he had said something that sounded like he had been listening.

Pretty boys with green eyes were already a weakness for her, she knew that. But a pretty boy with green eyes and he indulged her rambling about fashion? She had the horrible feeling that she was already a goner. It didn't help that she had been falling out of love with Adrien ever since his dumb high road advice.

“So you design for Jagged Stone,” Damian said, clearly attempting to restart a conversation. She nodded enthusiastically, giving him a brief history of her work with the eccentric musician. He asked intelligent questions and she felt herself losing the battle not to like him.

She had all but forgotten that they were supposed to be getting dinner with other people when Jagged came back over with two other men, dressed impeccably in black suit jackets. The older of the two was wearing a very traditional slim tie and shirt but the younger had coupled his suit jacket with a band tee that she recognised as the one matching the album she had designed.

“Good evening, I'm so sorry we kept you waiting,” the older man, Bruce, said, stepping forward smoothly to offer her his hand. He was a little further away, so she had to step away from Damian to do so, after which the younger man, Timothy, stepped into the space to introduce himself as well. “Damian, I just needed to speak with you about something, could we step aside before dinner?”

Damian grimaced internally, although externally he merely nodded and excused himself quietly. He had the suspicion that his father was offering him an escape from having to deal with a stranger and didn't know how to explain that he was fine without embarrassing himself.

“I'm sorry, Damian, Jagged has always been notoriously late before so I didn't think anything of it until he came up to our room and said he'd left you alone with his designer,” Bruce said apologetically, giving him a quick once over. 

“It was fine, father, Jagged Stone's designer was explaining some of the techniques she had used to complete her outfit,” Damian replied, making sure to school his features into casual boredom. Until he knew what she thought of him, he would keep his interest in the girl to himself. “We are keeping your guests waiting, should we not rejoin them?”

Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and strode back over to the other three. To his dismay, Tim was engaging Marinette in an animated conversation about her best works and was much better versed in fashion terminology than Damian. His stomach dropped when she gave a laugh that sounded like bells chiming and touched Tim's arm.

“Rock on, are we ready to get some food? I'm famished,” Jagged said, throwing an arm over Marinette's shoulder. “Besides, I haven't seen any of you in ages, I've gotta tell you all about the crazy stuff that's happened. Especially you, Bruce - if you thought Gotham had crazy villains, you should hear about Hawkmoth.”

“Uncle J, I don't think your guests want to hear about how crazy it is in Paris. Besides, Damian already mentioned Paris’ heroes so they probably already know about Hawkmoth,” Marinette said, glancing at Damian with a small smile.

“You talked about the heroes?” Tim asked, and Damian assumed he was alarmed, thinking that Damian had betrayed their interest in the situation as vigilantes. Scowling, Damian gave a brief nod but said nothing. He found himself unable to sit next to Marinette but instead was placed in the seat opposite her.

“Oh, it was my fault,” Marinette said with good humour. She gestured to her dress before removing her jacket and sitting down. “He recognised the vigilante I styled my outfit after. As soon as I found out where Jagged was from I checked out the city protectors and fell in love!”

“That's very interesting,” Bruce said, amusement lacing his tone as he gave Damian a look. Tim was choking on the water he had sipped, but waved off Marinette's concern. “But yes, we are aware of the Parisian heroes. We didn't want to come to a city without being prepared, an unfortunate side effect from living in Gotham.”

“Ah, that's a shame! Marinette here is part of what we like to call the Akuma class, she's probably got some crazy stories from the front line. Hell, remember when I came to do that show in your bakery, M? Poor Penny completely trashed the place after Alec blasted those pictures of-”

“Okay, yes, thank you, Jagged! I very much doubt anyone here needs to know about my embarrassing collection of magazine covers,” Marinette said, glancing at Damian and flushing slightly. His heart thudded painfully again, although his stomach removed itself from the region of his feet. “Anyway, we were moving on from crazy supervillains as a topic, right?”

“Yeah, alright,” Jagged said, although he sent a sharp look Damian’s way, which said he wasn't as air-headed as he had seemed. “Hey, did you know that there's a soup named after Marinette here? It used to be called celestial soup, but her great uncle renamed it after she helped him with a competition.”

Marinette felt like she was sitting with her Papa, Jagged was bragging about her accomplishments so much. She tried to sneak glances at Damian without being noticed, but every time she looked at him his gaze found hers, and she felt a familiar swoop in her stomach. By the end of the meal, she was so embarrassed she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. 

“Well, as fun as this has been, Lil M here has school tomorrow, so she should probably head on home. Do you want me to call you a cab or anything?” 

“I'll be fine, Jagged,” Marinette said, rolling her eyes and shrugging back into her jacket. The lining felt cool on her skin, which helped the anxious nerves settle. Jagged nodded, giving her a hug before sitting back down and chatting with Bruce about how different Paris was to Gotham.

She was surprised but pleased when Damian stood as well, offering to see her out of the hotel. She didn't miss the concerned looks that Tim and Bruce exchanged but decided to ignore them. They walked slowly through the much quieter lobby, Marinette wanting to extend her time with him as much as possible.

“It has been a pleasant evening in your company, Marinette,” Damian said as they slowed to a stop just shy of the doors. She beamed as she blushed again, nodding enthusiastically. “And…I hope it is not too forward of me, but I would like to see you again whilst I am still in Paris.”

“I would love that,” she squeaked, nearly dropping her phone as she pulled it from the clutch she was carrying. She offered it to him and he reciprocated by handing her his. Joy bubbled in her veins as she went to take a selfie to put as her contact picture, but he stopped her.

“May I take a picture of you in your outfit?” He asked, a light flush across his cheekbones the only sign that he was affected by her. She nodded dumbly, trying not to smile manically as she posed for a photo. Her half smile was on his face as he showed it to her, setting it as the picture for her profile. “I wish you did not have to go, but I understand the need to attend school. Will you inform me when you reach your home safely?”

Marinette promised she would, giggling happily as she walked away from the hotel.

_ _ _

Bruce was nervous about Damian following Marinette out of the room, but couldn't do anything without alerting Jagged to this concern. Tim was almost asleep now that the excitement of meeting Jagged and his designer had faded, so he couldn't subtly suggest that he check on them either. 

The minutes dragged torturously, the acceptable amount of time for a polite farewell coming and going. He glanced at his watch apprehensively, and Jagged laughed aloud, making Tim jerk out of the light doze he had fallen into.

“Something on your mind, Brucie?” The musician asked, propping his head up on his hand. Bruce gave him a tight smile, wondering what to say that wouldn't alarm his old friend. He was saved from having to when Jagged chuckled again. “Look, I know they're kids, but Marinette's got a good head on her shoulders. She's not going to seduce the little guy and corrupt him, promise.”

Tim gave a shocked giggle, stuffing his knuckles into his mouth to stifle them. Jagged looked at him, amused, before turning back to a Bruce who just looked tired. Before Bruce could reply in any capacity Damian finally returned, and Tim gave up the fight against his laughter, curling up and wheezing.

“Is Drake having some sort of episode?” Damian said, brow furrowed. Tim gasped for air and pointed at him, which only made him scowl uncertainly. “Father, when was the last time he slept? And how much caffeine has he consumed since then?”

“N- no, sorry, I'm sorry,” Tim gasped, finally managing to pull himself out of his laughing fit just long enough to choke the words out. But then he looked at Damian again and dissolved once more. “C- corrupt…s-s-seduce…”

“It isn't important, Damian,” Bruce said decisively, which made Jagged bark out a laugh as well. Damian took his seat, looking irritated and unamused. Bruce sighed, not wanting to get into the full conversation with Damian until Jagged was gone, but knowing that his son would be a grouchy mess until it was addressed. “Jagged was just saying that Marinette is a good kid, and that I shouldn't be worried about you spending time with her.”

“Ah hell, M’s so much more than just a good kid! She's practically an angel! I mean, she's designed for me, but she babysits too, she helps her parents with the bakery, she's top of her class…like, the list goes on but I digress. Pretty sure my kid has a thing for her, but I haven't talked to them about it.”

“Tt, whilst I appreciate your concern, father, I am capable of choosing who I will spend time with by myself,” Damian said, unruffled by the conversation topic. “Now, it is late and I would like to rest before we tour the buildings tomorrow, may I be excused?”

As soon as Bruce agreed, Damian bid them all goodnight and headed to his room. He prepared for bed, checking his phone periodically even though he had set it to loud while waiting for Marinette to inform him that she was home safe. It wasn't until he was settled on his bed with a book that the notification of a new message sounded.

Hey Damian, this is Marinette! Just letting you know that I'm home safe :-) let me know when you're free and we'll hang, okay? Xoxo

A rare grin lit his face for a moment, before he messaged her back with the plans for his week in Paris. He would have free time every afternoon, and Marinette said that Wednesdays were a half-day at school, so she would be more than happy to spend time with him then. He bid her goodnight and she sent back a heart emoji, effectively ending their brief exchange.

_ _ _

When Marinette had agreed to make the costumes and help with the set for Kitty Section, she had been determined to help them win first place in the contest. So she had worked tirelessly to ensure the costumes were perfect, fitting and re-fitting the whole band countless times.

On the weekend of filming, Damian was on his last day in Paris and asked if he could see her before he went. She wanted to - their kind of date on Wednesday had been amazing, and they'd only done a walking tour of the city - but she'd made the commitment to her friends. She decided to call him and explain the situation, because she didn't want him to think she was blowing him off.

“Marinette?” He said when he picked up, his voice low and tinged with concern. “Is everything alright?”

“Hey Dami, I'm fine,” she said, hauling the trunk of costumes out of the bakery and taking a break before walking it to the boat on the Seine. “Sorry for calling instead of texting, I just have my hands a little full. I have plans already for today; I'm helping my friends’ band with a music video they're making for a competition.”

“You need not apologise, Marinette, we have not known each other long and I have already been fortunate enough to see you several times this week,” he assured her. Warmth spread through her, partially from the heavy chest, but mostly from how straightforward he was with her. “I will not lie to you, I would have liked to see you again before I go home, but it is hardly like I will not see you again.”

“What time are you flying out?” She asked wistfully, stopping on the shore next to the houseboat. She sighed when he told her that he was leaving for the airport at midday, and said that she would have to try video calling him when time allowed. “But at least we can message each other any time.”

“Indeed. Now, enjoy your time with your friends and I shall speak to you again soon.” Sighing again, she called out to the band, hugging Mylene and Rose when they came out to her. Luka smiled at her, but stayed on the stage strumming.

When they finished recording and editing, Marinette saw that it was 11:30. Shouting quick goodbyes to everyone, she raced over to the hotel. She was breathless when she arrived at 11:45, but it meant that she should have at least ten minutes to say goodbye to Damian.

Rushing over to the front desk, she asked if they could send a message up to the American visitor Damian (why hadn't she asked for his surname?) and sent a text as well, just to be safe. It took a few minutes but then he appeared in the lobby and shot her a crooked smile. 

“I am very glad that you completed your tasks early, Marinette,” he said, brushing some flyaway hairs out of her eyes. Her heart hammered, refusing to slow down even though she had been standing still for several minutes. “May I kiss you?”

“God yes,” she whimpered, grabbing onto his lapels and pulling him down. He kissed back earnestly, cupping her cheek with one hand as she wound her arms around his neck. She tentatively pushed her hands into his hair and was rewarded when he made a soft noise of contentment. 

They stood like that for several minutes before slowing and separating. The same crooked smile he had given her when he had seen her a few minutes ago lit up his face and she smiled goofily up at him. They murmured gently to each other, promising to stay in touch and see each other as often as possible.

“I know it's kind of extremely early to ask this, but will you be my boyfriend?” Marinette asked when he begrudgingly reminded her that he had only a few minutes until his father and brother would be joining him to return home. She was relieved when his crooked smile transformed into a full blown grin.

“I would love to be your boyfriend, Marinette. I would much prefer to remain here with you in Paris, but I must return home and to my responsibilities,” he said regretfully. She sighed and buried her face in his chest, holding him tightly.

“Damian, are you ready to go?” Bruce had arrived and Damian reluctantly released her. She blushed at the man, stammering a greeting and farewell and he smiled at her. “It's been a pleasure to meet you Marinette. If you ever come to Gotham, feel free to come to Wayne Enterprises and we can give you a tour.”

“...Wayne Enterprises as in, Wayne Fashion?” She said eventually, turning to stare at Damian. Bruce watched as his son flushed pink and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. He had to fight back his own astonishment that the girl apparently hadn't known who she was having dinner with a few nights ago.

“Why would I have known?” She squeaked when he voiced the thought. “Jagged just said his friend from school was coming to visit and he wanted to introduce me! I- this is going to take me a minute,” she confessed, darting and apologetic glance at Damian.

To Bruce's surprise, Damian looked worried, his face filled with tight lines. He had never seen his son hesitate before, or worry that his name would change the opinion someone had of him, but that was clearly what was happening. Marinette's crisis was cut short when Tim joined them and the car for the airport pulled up.

Damian pulled Marinette away from his family while they put the luggage in the car, wanting to ensure that things were alright between them. She had already calmed down considerably which was a positive sign.

“Marinette, I am sorry I did not tell you sooner. I assumed you were already aware of our family name. I hope that this does not change-” he was cut off abruptly when Marinette grabbed him in a tight embrace.

“It doesn't change anything,” she swore confidently, pulling back from the hug and gripping his hand. “If you're fine with dating a daughter of two bakers, I think I can find it in me to date the son of a millionaire.”

“Tt, billionaire,” he corrected automatically, flushing when she gave a strangled giggle. Tim gave a warning shout that they needed to leave and he glared in the direction of the car. “May I call you when I am safely home?”

“Damian, as my boyfriend you can call me whenever you want,” she said, before letting him walk over to the car. He felt a little hollow and disappointed that this was goodbye for now, but his duties as Robin had to come first. 

_ _ _

Marinette spent the next few days fuelled by the joy of knowing Damian felt the same way she did. They had messaged back and forth several times, even occasionally calling. They talked about anything and everything, Marinette finding him to be practical but compassionate about her problems.

On the Wednesday after they had submitted the competition video, Marinette was hanging out with Kitty Section on the houseboat when Ivan called for everyone's attention. In numb outrage, they watched XY’s new music video - a direct copy of their submission.

Taking their complaint to the filming studio, Marinette and Luka snuck inside while the rest of Kitty Section caused a distraction. Once inside, Bob Roth proceeded to tear into the pair, threatening their futures and, specifically, Marinette's future as a designer. She didn't notice Luka getting angry until he was enveloped in harsh purple light, transforming into Silencer.

He stole XY's voice and turned to Marinette, promising to help her stay safe and protect her artistic integrity. Then he told her, “You’re an extraordinary girl, Marinette. As clear as a musical note, and as sincere as a melody.” She blushed for a few moments before shaking it off and going to transform. 

The battle against Silencer was difficult, and only made harder by Bob Roth. She did eventually defeat him, but all it meant was that she was back in the same position she had been before the akumatisation. Unless…

Her usual quick thinking and the assistance of Luka resulted in Bob being forced to admit that he had tried to steal their ideas. Transforming back, Marinette rushed back to Luka and cheered happily that they had won. She had decided that she would ignore what Luka had said under the influence of the akuma, given that she didn't want anything more than friendship with him.

But then as they were separating, he said the same thing again, and it left her uncomfortable. She didn't manage to say anything back, but he didn't seem to be expecting an answer. She immediately messaged Damian, wanting to let him know what Luka had said.

She was comforted by his no nonsense view on the matter, seeming more concerned that she had been caught up in an akuma attack. She assured him that she was fine, and that Ladybug had saved the day as usual. He asked a few questions about how she had done it, and Marinette had to carefully dodge any potential pitfalls that would show she knew too much.

Damian ended the call feeling even more determined to help end the threat of Hawkmoth. He had wanted to help as soon as he found out that there was an emotional terrorist causing havoc in Paris, but now that he knew Marinette…it was imperative that the Justice League meet with the heroes and offer whatever help they could.

Striding into his father's office, he waited patiently to be seen. He tried to structure his concerns in a way that wouldn't immediately make his father suspicious. He did not want his family to pry into his relationship with Marinette, especially as they did not think he was capable of one.

“What can I do for you, Damian?” Bruce eventually said, looking up from his work. Damian steeled himself and launched into his speech about helping the Parisian heroes. Bruce listened without interrupting, nodding along until Damian ran out of things to say. Finally, Bruce steepled his fingers and gazed thoughtfully at the young vigilante. “I see, and who would you suggest I send to Paris?”

“Drake has an analytical mind that would likely be the biggest benefit as both Ladybug and Chat Noir seem to be competent enough in battle. Training would not go amiss, however, so someone should go with him.” He stopped himself from volunteering immediately even though he was sure his father would know that was the only reason he would be talking about it.

“Alright, so given what we know about Hawkmoth's abilities anyone too volatile is out of the question. So Jason will have to sit out a long-term placement in Paris. Dick has his family to think about, which would only make him moody to be separated from them. Steph and Tim have a history that makes me hesitant to send her with him to a city besieged by an emotional terrorist.”

“Cain has responsibilities in Hong Kong, she would be too distracted to train them sufficiently,” Damian added, warming to the task of shutting down the possibilities of someone other than him going. “You are essential to the welfare of Gotham, so that is out of the question, as is anyone with powers such as any of the Kents.”

“But Duke’s powers are actually potentially helpful,” Bruce countered, looking thoughtful. Damian tried not to freeze or scowl. He thought desperately for a rebuttal, a reason that Duke would have to sit it out and came up blank. 

“Thomas is…an adequate choice,” Damian admitted at last, trying to avoid glaring but only half succeeding. “It would be beneficial to all involved if we verified that his powers would be useful before he uproots his life in Gotham, however. Perhaps he and Drake could visit as their alternative selves via zeta tube and make contact with the duo?”

“That sounds reasonable,” Bruce replied, nodding to himself. Damian held himself stiff and waited to be dismissed. “Of course, there is this akuma class that Jagged and Marinette mentioned, it could be useful to have someone in the classroom itself to investigate…do you think Duke could pass as a fifteen-year-old?”

“Tt, that hardly seems necessary,” Damian said, working to calm his now racing heart. If he played this correctly, he would be able to go to Paris regardless of whether Duke went as well. “I am in that curricular age bracket and I am more than competent enough to investigate.”

“And what of the emotionally stable requirement?” If this were a less important conversation, Damian would have been offended. As it was, he gave the question as much clinical consideration as was possible. 

“I am capable of managing my emotions, I have grown plenty since Mother allowed me to stay in Gotham,” he said eventually, pleased that his voice was level. “It would also be a good test of my own capacity. In addition, I have already spent a week in Paris and went without Akumatisation the entire time, despite spending ample time with Drake.”

“But not around children your own age,” Bruce countered again, forcing Damian to swallow a growl. “You're not best known for dealing well with people who approach you because of your name, and that could cause an akumatisation of someone else.”

“Then send me under an assumed name, ostensibly so that I am protected whilst away from you,” Damian said immediately, pleased with his own quick thinking. At Bruce's raised eyebrows he soldiered on. “The only person with any knowledge of my identity is Marinette who would likely not give that information away if we requested it in advance.”

Bruce stayed silent for several minutes, clearly mulling all of this over. When he finally nodded, Damian allowed a small smirk to flit across his features, before schooling his expression back into solemnity.

“Very well, a team of three. I like the idea of sending you through the Zeta tubes first, and we may well do that for several nights in a row to give the illusion that you're all still in Gotham as civilians. And then a couple of nights of no activity at that end when you arrive as Damian but Robin back in Gotham would cement it quite nicely. Okay, yes let's tell the team.”

_ _ _

Adrien walked into collége with a spring in his step. So far, he hadn't had time to wow Marinette with his charm and wit - he had researched so many non-cat puns - but he was confident that he would be able to get Alya and Nino on his side. He had vague recollections of Alya forcing him to dance with Marinette at Chloé's disastrous party, so he was pretty confident that she wanted them to double date.

But when he arrived in their classroom, Alya and Nino were talking in hushed tones. Marinette still hadn't appeared, but that wasn't unusual, so Adrien made his way to his desk and turned to talk to the pair.

“I'm telling you, Marinette's been smiling at her phone and she's practically glued to it these days! And Juleka said that he confessed to her during the whole Silencer debacle,” Alya insisted, showing a picture of Marinette gazing lovingly at her phone.

“Who confessed to Marinette?” Adrien asked, suddenly apprehensive. He felt even more worried when Alya and Nino exchanged a look.

“Dude, you remember Juleka’s brother, Luka? Apparently he told Marinette he was into her when he was akumatised into Silencer,” Nino said, shrugging uncomfortably. “And Mari’s been acting kind of strange lately, haven't you noticed? She looks at her phone all the time, and someone's messaging her loads.”

“Yeah, and my girl definitely thought he was cute, I remember when she met him. She was blushy and stammered a bunch,” Alya added, although she shut up as Marinette rushed in. “Hey Marinette!”

“Hey Alya! I can't believe how late I was running today,” Marinette groaned, laying her head down on the desk. “And before you say it, yes I know it's my own fault for staying up late.”

“Hey dudette,” Nino said, but Madame Bustier appeared before Adrien could give his own greeting. He turned to face the front uneasily, wondering if he had already missed his chance to woo Ladybug's civilian identity.

The day dragged on, and when he returned after lunch he spotted Marinette smiling at her phone and decided he had to know. Strolling casually towards her, he leaned down to talk to her.

“Hey Mari,” he said cheerily, trying to get a sneaky glance at her phone but she squeaked and pulled it out of sight too quickly. “You looked happy, were you messaging Luka?”

“Luka? Why would I be messaging Luka?” Marinette looked guilty and Adrien's stomach clenched. He forced a smile onto his face, trying to look like he wasn't panicking.

“Oh, Alya just mentioned that you were maybe dating him…”

“No, I- I'm not dating Luka,” she said slightly hesitantly. She bit her lip and Adrien wondered if she wished she was.

“Okay, well that's…that's great,” he said, smiling a little more naturally. “So I was wondering if maybe-”

He was interrupted by the bell and he frowned at the sudden bustle behind him. Marinette’s phone buzzed again but she didn't open whatever message it was in front of him. Instead, she suggested that they head into class, only pulling her phone out stealthily once they were seated.

Adrien frowned and all but ignored the lesson. If he couldn't find time to bring it up as Adrien, he would just have to work harder to convince her as Ladybug.

_ _ _

Robin stood on the threshold of the Watchtower Zeta tube with anticipation pooling in his stomach. He was determined to impress the Parisian heroes and prove Jason's ominous prediction, that he would be akumatised within the hour and decimate the Parisian team, wrong

“Okay, so remember, this is a pretty simple recon mission and to extend the olive branch and our offer of aid to Ladybug and Chat Noir. If they decline, we're out and no arguing. The last thing they need is for one of us to get akumatised because we can't take no for an answer,” Red Robin reminded them for the third time.

“We get it, Red,” Signal said, shaking his head in exasperation. Robin worked on not adding his own vocal frustration and was rewarded by Red Robin nodding and stepping through to Paris. 

Standing in an alley, they got their bearings and shot off to find the local heroes. It was late evening and Robin managed to glimpse Marinette's balcony as they grappled past. The lights were on and he could see the flicker of movement as she did something. He thought he saw a shift of her curtain before they completely passed but couldn't justify stopping.

They settled on the Eiffel Tower and ended up only waiting for around ten minutes before a red and black blur flipped and landed in front of them. She eyed them suspiciously for a moment but then confusion crossed her face.

“Um, hello,” she said hesitantly, giving Robin a look that made him sure she recognised him. Sometimes it was worth being dressed in…how had Marinette said it?...oh, yes, traffic stoppingly bright colours. “To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting some of Gotham's heroes?”

“We're here to offer our assistance,” Red Robin said, smiling at the girl. “I'm sorry it's taken so long for us to come, we weren't really aware that there was anything amiss to begin with. And then Batman wanted to check things out before we reached out.”

“Wow, seriously? I would love some help! I've been trying to track down Hawkmoth but it's been- God, it's freaking sucked. It's messing with my civilian life and I kind of have a lot on my plate, so any help you can give would be incredible.”

“Of course,” Red Robin said, smiling at the French heroine. “I'm Red Robin, this is Signal and this is-”

“Robin, yes,” she interrupted nodding. “I recognised the, ah, interestingly bright colours. They are not exactly subtle shades.”

“Tt, the colours are a tradition,” Robin said, grumbling slightly. It felt strange to discuss the colours of his suit with someone who also wore a shockingly bright suit. But he kept to his word and avoided sniping back an insult.

“Yeah, my fr- boyfriend is from Gotham and explained it to me,” she said, blushing lightly and smiling softly. Something inside Damian felt like it had received an electric shock. It could be a coincidence that this dark-haired, blue-eyed hero had a boyfriend in Gotham but… “I still think that you could do something slightly different with it though. There are other shades of yellow, red, and green that don't stop traffic.”

The rest of the encounter felt like white noise to Damian. He found himself watching Ladybug intently, noting small tics that he had noticed in Marinette during their brief time together so far. She was expressive with her hands. She twirled her pigtail around a finger when thinking. 

How had he managed to travel across the world, meet someone and they turned out to be a hero? In some ways it was baffling, but in others made complete sense. Of course his girlfriend was a selfless, heroic girl who spent what very little spare time she had battling the forces of evil. He could only be interested in the very best.

Fortunately, nobody seemed to notice his distraction and Ladybug thanked them before zipping away - in the direction of Marinette's home. Hm, it appears he would need to speak with her about obscuring her destination.

_ _ _

The next week passed fairly quickly, but Damian was also exhausted by the end of it. Between traveling back and forth to Paris via Zeta tube, organising all paperwork to transfer to Francois DuPont, and plotting how to tell Marinette her secret was out, he scarcely had time to sleep.

It was a relief to land in Paris on a Saturday evening and head straight to the apartment that Bruce had procured for the three of them. He immediately set down his suitcase and pulled out his phone to let Marinette know that he had arrived. He received a dozen or so heart emojis in return, making him smile.

He sent a follow up text asking if she would join him the following day to collect his French phone, ready for school first thing on Monday, which she also agreed to enthusiastically. He tucked the phone away as he prepared to meet with Ladybug again, wishing he could tell her who he was and that he knew who she was.

The trip to the Eiffel Tower was uneventful and they set up the laptop and paper notes about their investigation so that they could do a further deep dive. Since they had discovered that Signal could only see an energy signature when Ladybug used her lucky charm, they couldn't use him to quickly locate Hawkmoth when he was powered up but not actively evilising a butterfly.

“...a chance, Bugaboo!” The sound of Chat Noir’s voice carried over to them from nearby and three heads turned towards it. “I think we would make a purr-fect couple, M'lady, but it won't happen if you keep pretending you're not even curious.”

“Chat, I told you that there was another boy,” Robin's fist unclenched from his katana’s hilt but he glared in the direction of the voices as Chat made a dismissive noise. “No, Chat, I'm serious, there's this boy-”

“Yes yes, that you like, but you shouldn't be closing off your options like that! I'm just saying that you should consider me as well,” Chat said, fairly condescendingly as far as Robin was concerned. Unsheathing his katana, he jumped across to where they were standing.

“If Ladybug said no, she would have meant it,” he said in clipped tones. He noted Ladybug's - Marinette's - shoulders relaxed when he arrived and had to wrestle back his anger. The last thing they needed was for Robin to get akumatised. “We have been waiting for you to arrive to debrief and discuss next steps.”

“Sorry, Robin, we're coming,” Ladybug said immediately, following him back to the other side of the Tower. She flitted to stand between Red Robin and Signal who both gave Chat Noir disapproving looks. “So, the list of suspects is ready?”

“Yes, we have been cross-referencing the different affluent men in Paris who have the time and resources to spend time as Hawkmoth,” Robin said, staying beside Chat even though he would have rather been beside Ladybug.

It was nearly an hour later that they all agreed they had done as much as they could. Dutifully, Red Robin reminded the duo that the team would be traveling back to Gotham the next day for a few days but then would be back in Paris to really get stuck in.

Ladybug thanked them all before shooting off to get home. Damian noted that she went off in a different direction this time, and wondered if she changed which way she went each time to help confuse anyone watching.

_ _ _

Marinette waited on a bench in the park outside her home, picking at her fingers. She hadn't seen Damian in person since he had left Paris to go home and she was worried he would change his mind once he saw her again. She had agonized over her outfit before deciding to wear the new shirt she had designed and created specifically so she could show it to him.

“Marinette, apologies for my lateness.” Damian appeared beside her silently, and she squealed before her phone went flying. With reflexes she couldn't have guessed he possessed, Damian caught her phone and placed it gently back into her hands. It had fallen to her other side so he was fully in her personal space, looking down into her eyes as she stammered a thank you.

There was a moment where neither of them moved, simply breathing the same air. And then her hands found their way to his collar and his lips crashed into hers. He kissed her hungrily, wrapping his arm around her waist to secure her against him. 

They kissed for several long moments, and Marinette got lost in running her fingers into his hair. It was reluctantly that she pulled away from him, grinning up at him. His eyes were gleaming and she giggled when he tried to straighten his hair. 

“We should go and get your phone,” she said at last, letting her hand trace his jaw. He shivered and Marinette felt a thrill at the simple fact that she affected her boyfriend. He hesitated for a moment before nodding and helping her stand.

Collecting his phone was an easy task and they chatted about him starting school with her the next day. He had already told her that he would be attending under a different surname, so she made sure she knew his cover name. 

As the day slipped into early evening, Marinette dragged him back to the Pont des Arts bridge to watch the sunset. She turned to look at him and paused. His eyes were hooded and his profile when he turned to look at her made her breath catch. She felt like she was unraveling a string, starting with the way he had approached her before dinner to talk about her Robin themed dress, to the verbal tic that he shared with said vigilante.

“Is everything alright?” He asked, his eyes full of concern. She stood on her tiptoes, pushing her hands back into his hair. He gave a crooked smile and leaned down to kiss her again, but she held him back slightly as she restyled his hair.

“Um, so I think I worked out something I wasn't supposed to,” she said in a hushed whisper, shooting him an apologetic wince. He froze but didn't say anything. His hand came up and pressed gently into the base of her spine. His fingers circled firmly, making her shudder and step even closer.

“I suppose that makes us even,” he replied, sounding amused more than angry. Then it was Marinette's turn to freeze, panic racing through her. “Marinette, breathe. I had intended to tell you shortly, but it is imperative that you do not allow yourself to panic.”

She breathed in shallowly but the panic simmered under the surface. Cursing lowly, Damian pulled her into a rough kiss and she felt like her nerve endings were completely fried. Her panic was swiftly replaced with a fluttering and she leaned into the kiss whole-heartedly.

When they broke apart this time, they were both breathing heavily. The panic Marinette had been feeling was muted, and she leaned her head against his shoulder as she tried to rein in her runaway thoughts.

“How long have you known?” She asked, tracing her fingers around one of his jacket buttons. She frowned lightly as he explained but didn't free-fall into panic this time. “This is going to take some time to get my head around.”

“Do you want me to…leave?” Damian asked, clearly reluctant, and she shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone with her thoughts. His whole body relaxed and the arm wrapped around her pressed her even closer. 

They didn't talk much more, choosing instead to just hold each other. 

_ _ _

The following day at school, Marinette pushed down the nervous excitement that made her stomach bubble. She knew that Damian would be on time, so she had made sure to wake up early and was already standing on the front steps. She hadn't even seen Max yet, and he was usually first through the doors.

She perked up when a car that she didn't recognise rolled up and was rewarded with the early morning sight of Damian in relaxed clothes. One of the conversations they had had the day prior was to say that he would be trying to distance his image from the public one of Damian Wayne so that he was less likely to be recognised.

“Good morning, Marinette,” he said as he approached her, giving her la bise on both cheeks. They had agreed to downplay their relationship for now to avoid awkward questions about how they had met, and she had never been more glad to have the excuse to kiss his cheeks.

“Morning, Damian,” she said back, beaming as he waited for Duke to park and rejoin him so that they could head to see Principal Damocles. When Duke arrived he gave Marinette a confused look but only greeted her cheerfully. “Good morning, Duke, right?”

“Yes, that's right,” he said and his eyes passed over her, focusing momentarily on the small pink bag by her hip. “And you must be Marinette, Tim mentioned you to us. I, uh, hope this isn't rude but are you aware that Damian is-”

“That this is Damian Thomas?” She interrupted, beaming up at him when he relaxed. “Yes, Damian made me aware and I agree that it's a smart move. I'm the class president of the class Damian will be in, so there should be no issue with him just sticking with me for the foreseeable future. Now, are you ready to meet Principal Damocles?”

They followed her into the building, Marinette chattering and pointing out the different classrooms on the next floor as they passed. Several students that had been milling around spotted the trio and an excited buzz kicked up, though Marinette dutifully ignored it.

“Mr Damocles, the new student and his guardian are here,” she said cheerfully when they were given permission to enter the office. 

“Wonderful, thank you, Marinette,” he said, dismissing her with a nod of his head. She backed out of the office, her hand giving Damian's a discreet squeeze on her way past.

When she entered the classroom, she was immediately bombarded with questions about Damian. Lila sat at the back, quiet for a change and Marinette avoided looking in her direction. When Adrien arrived, he seemed excited to hear that there would be a new student, and piped up that it was probably time to change seats again.

Marinette paused and thought it over, nodding along as she decided that it was the easiest way to let her sit next to Damian. There was a flurry of motion as everyone clamored to explain where they wanted to sit.

“You know, I know Lila said her tinnitus cleared up because of the miraculous cure, but I think it's more likely that she became accustomed to the noise,” she said aloud, feigning concern. Lila narrowed her eyes at her but she ignored it. “It would make sense for us to go with the original plan you all came up with, and then I can help the new kid, as class president.”

Everybody agreed enthusiastically, except for Adrien who looked disappointed. But then Madame Bustier had arrived and they were forced to settle into their new seats.

Meanwhile, Damian was being forced to listen to Principal Damocles drone on about how much the school valued teamwork and a cohesive student body. He danced around the subject of Hawkmoth which made Damian decide that he was weak-willed.

“Look, Damian, I know this is going to be difficult,” Duke said as they made their way to the classroom. “If it's easier for you to be your usual self, don't force yourself to be super friendly. It's normal for a kid that changed countries to be slightly closed off anyway.”

“Tt, I know what I am doing, Tho- Duke,” Damian said, grimacing slightly at using the man's given name. But it would be too suspicious if he was overheard given that they were supposed to have the same surname. 

“Another thing, I don't know what Marinette's got in her bag, but it's giving off insane amounts of energy. There might be more to her than meets the eye,” Duke said, checking his watch. He missed Damian's pause and the boy was back to behaving normally by the time he looked back. “Listen, I'll walk you in but then I've gotta jet.”

Standing in front of the class, Damian used his vantage point to remind himself of all who were in his new class. His eyes snagged on Marinette, who was sitting alone in the back of the classroom with the only available seat next to her.

“Welcome to our classroom, Damian!” Madame Bustier said in an almost unnaturally sweet voice. Forcing himself not to wince, he nodded and projected a cool but nervous aura. “Perhaps you could introduce yourself to the class, tell us a little about Damian Thomas?”

“... good morning, I am Damian. I will say now that I do not like nicknames, and as such will not respond to anything other than ‘Damian’. I am from New Jersey and elected to study abroad when my brother, Duke, was assigned here. I have already been acquainted with Marinette as she is the class representative and would ask that the rest of you give me space to adjust to the new class.”

The class all nodded, although the one sitting next to the blond model Agreste - Lila Rossi, Damian thought her name was - looked disappointed. Duke stayed until Damian was told to take his seat but then slipped away.

In the back of the classroom, Damian and Marinette sat quietly together exchanging notes and speaking softly. To anyone that asked, Damian said that Marinette was helping him adjust to the class and generally making the transition into the school as smooth as possible.

In reality, Damian was letting Marinette know that Duke had sensed a powerful being in her bag, presumably Tikki. If this was the case, then they were in a better position than they had originally believed, because Duke could investigate their various suspects and find the Kwami when they weren't suited up.

_ _ _

Adrien was irritated with the new kid. He knew that Marinette had responsibilities as class representative, but it grated on him that this Damian kid was monopolising his lady's time. And even though the boy was practically shunning the rest of the class, he didn't seem to be staying out of her space.

He grit his teeth when Damian leaned over Marinette during morning break and she flushed. He could see that Marinette was clearly uncomfortable, but he wouldn't get out of her space! Adrien decided that it was time for her knight in shining leather to make an appearance.

“Mari! I feel like we haven't spent enough time together in ages,” Adrien said, dropping into the seat on the other side of her. “Hi, I'm Adrien Agreste, one of Marinette's closest friends.”

“...a pleasure to meet you,” Damian responded stiffly, hand resting on the back of Marinette's chair as he leaned back. Marinette's blush receded almost immediately and Adrien patted himself on the back for saving her so quickly. “Marinette has been telling me about the various extra curriculars available at this school. She mentioned that you fence?”

“Aw, talking about me? I'm flattered,” Adrien replied, leaning towards Marinette. She didn't blush, making him feel smug that she wasn't uncomfortable around him. “Marinette did say that she was a fan before, I shouldn't be surprised that she would tell you all about me.”

“I was actually just mentioning it because Damian expressed an interest in swords,” Marinette interjected, flashing a look Adrien couldn't decipher at Damian. 

Just then Lila, Alya and Nino came over to the table as well. Lila automatically latched onto Adrien's arm, gripping him tightly. He had enough control not to grimace and instead plastered one of his model smiles across his face.

“It's so nice that we can all spend time together, isn't it Adrien?” Lila cooed before turning her eyes onto Damian. “I don't think I had the chance to introduce myself yet, I'm Lila Rossi! It's so lucky that I wasn't away with my mother and doing charity work, I would have hated to miss meeting you with everyone else.”

Adrien shot Marinette a look when hers soured, trying to remind her to take the high road, but she didn't look his way. Instead Damian stood abruptly, making Marinette look up at him, startled. 

“Apologies, I am still adjusting to the new school and this is too overwhelming,” he said, although his tone was flat rather than agitated. Marinette shot up as well, grabbing her bag and leading Damian away.

Adrien slumped a little, pouting at the fact that even though Damian had said he was overwhelmed Marinette had gone with the other boy.

_ _ _

“The problem is,” Marinette said, worrying her lip between her teeth, “that if I tell Duke what he saw so that he can find Hawkmoth, I reveal my identity. And you are literally one of two people who knows, which already feels pretty risky.”

“Then it is a case of whether the benefits outweigh the risks,” Damian murmured. It was lunchtime and they had secluded themselves in the library. With no prying eyes, Damian had pulled her close and buried his face in her neck.

In the short time he and Marinette had been spending time together, it had surprised him how much he enjoyed touching her casually. It had started as wanting to hold her hand and spiraled to wrapping his arms around her as much as he could.

“I know, I know,” she muttered back, frowning at her phone. “It's just…I've spent so long keeping my identity to myself, even from my partner. Having my boyfriend know is wildly different to telling other vigilantes.”

“But Th- Duke would be instrumental in taking action against Hawkmoth,” Damian pointed out. “And should we wish to continue this relationship, they will need to know at some point.”

“You’re right,” Marinette sighed, twisting her hands before running her hands along his arms. He pressed even closer to her, humming lightly as he pressed a kiss against her neck. “But if you don't want to blow your cover, we should probably get on with doing work here instead of cuddling.”

“I do not see why it should matter if people know I am enthralled by you,” Damian grumbled halfheartedly, though he did pull away. They spent the remainder of their lunch talking about their plans and how they would approach his brothers.

Their last lesson of the day went quickly and Marinette waited outside with Damian for Duke to collect them. She waved goodbye to everyone that walked past them but didn't move towards anyone else. 

When Duke saw him standing close to Marinette, he seemed to do a double take but he didn't say anything when Marinette climbed into the backseat besides ‘hello’.

“Duke, Marinette is going to come to our apartment and we shall explain things once we have more privacy,” Damian said with no preamble. He then refused to elaborate regardless of any questions that Duke had.

“Yo, Tim, we've got company,” Duke shouted when they stepped over the threshold of their temporary home. Marinette moved to grip Damian's hand as soon as the door shut behind them and he squeezed back reassuringly.

Marinette took a deep breath as they moved to the kitchen to have the following discussion. She knew it was necessary but she was terrified - she'd never told someone her secret identity but she was willing if it ended the threat hanging over her head.

“Oh, hey Marinette, what are you doing here? Not that you're not welcome! But we weren't expecting you,” Tim said as he came to join them. She exchanged a glance with Damian and he nodded ever so slightly. 

“Um, well, I actually came to talk to you about something that couldn't wait. Otherwise I would've held off until I saw you tonight for our regularly scheduled get together,” she said, hands fidgeting. “God, this is weird. Okay, so this morning, I met Duke out of my suit for the first time, and he noticed my Kwami hiding in my bag.”

“... You're Ladybug?” Tim sounded dumbstruck, staring at her in astonishment. She nodded shyly, opening her bag and letting Tikki out. She floated over to Duke first, who blinked at her but didn't make any other sign of surprise.

“Tt, I feel like that is stating the obvious,” Damian said, placing a comforting hand on her back. She gave him a grateful smile, leaning into him. “You have met her both in the suit and out, Drake, you should have deduced it.”

“Be fair, Damian, it's not like I've spent all that much time with Tim,” Marinette said softly. “And really, there's a bunch of magic that's supposed to get in the way.”

“Wait, are you telling me you worked out it was her?” Duke piped up, looking at Marinette and Damian with suspicion. Apparently whatever he saw confirmed what he was thinking because his eyes widened. “Holy hell, are you two dating?”

“Pft, yeah, sure they are,” Tim said, dismissing it out of hand before pausing and looking at how closely Marinette stood to Damian. “No, wait a minute. You said ‘boyfriend’ the other night, didn't you?”

“Tt, Duke is correct, we are in a relationship and have been since we visited Paris for our initial assessment of the situation. It is ridiculous that none of you noticed the change in my habits, but you can be rather obtuse.”

Both Duke and Tim stared at him like he had grown an extra head but he refused to indulge their curiosity any further. Marinette decided that they had gone off topic for long enough, clearing her throat delicately to get their attention back.

“Right, so, back to this morning? Duke could see Tikki, who was in my purse. Which means he could probably find Nooroo, wherever he is, which would tell us who Hawkmoth is.”

“Yeah, the energy signature is pretty unique. But how do we know that the butterfly Kwami will have the same signature? Don't they all have different powers? What if that changes the signature?”

“Oh, I hadn't thought of that,” Marinette said, biting her lip thoughtfully. She glanced at Tikki, having a conversation with no words and the tiny god dipped her head slightly. “Okay, so I can probably get another Kwami to do the check with, but not until tomorrow.”

“You just…have a stash of tiny gods you can borrow?” Duke said, looking at her like she was crazy. She blushed and Damian scowled at Duke. “What? That's a reasonable thing to question, Damian! Also, I can't believe you found the local hero and decided to date her.”

“Do not be preposterous, I did not know she was the local hero until we returned to Paris. We have been dating since our meal with her uncle,” Damian corrected him, and Marinette felt a giddy rush of joy flood through her.

After that, they chatted for thirty minutes, Tim demanding answers to all of his questions before saying that he would be telling the rest of the family. Damian accepted this with his usual grouchy demeanour, ending the Q&A by saying he would get Marinette home.

_ _ _

Adrien was itching to go and visit Marinette. He wanted to do it as Chat Noir but he had been working very hard on wooing her in their suits, so the direction change might tip his hand that he knew more than he should.

But his movements were so restricted as Adrien! Every time he thought he had slipped away from the Gorilla, or Lila, or his father, Marinette had the new Gotham student practically hanging off her arm! He knew it couldn't be true, but people were even speculating that Marinette liked Damian.

Sure, the dark haired, aggressively reclusive boy clearly liked Marinette - who wouldn't, she was Ladybug - but there was no way she liked him back. Marinette had told him well before this that she had feelings for another boy. If she was going to move on from the mystery boy, Chat Noir was the obvious choice, so he was annoyed that Damian was so constantly in her space.

There had been several akumas since the bat family had descended upon Paris and they said they were making progress, but they hadn't shared it yet. Ladybug had asked about it after the akuma Party Crasher and they had claimed they were narrowing the pool of suspects down but didn't want to share their suspicions until after they had checked the last few out.

Ladybug had accepted this without argument, but Adrien had been annoyed, and vocal about it. When they had parted, Ladybug had stayed behind, assumedly to smooth any ruffled feathers, which had annoyed him even more. What was with Marinette's sudden closeness with Gotham boys?

So now, he was heading to the Grévin wax museum to redo a hand cast for his wax statue. He invited Marinette, Alya and Nino and got enthusiastic responses from two of them. Marinette seemed to be babysitting, but he sent a message saying that he was sure whoever she was with would enjoy all of the statues, and she was welcome to bring them along.

He regretted it immensely when Marinette arrived in the company, not only of an excitable preschooler, but of Damian Thomas. They were fairly glued together, Adrien struggling to get in between them, and then he was pulled away to get his hand recast.

He spent the entire time with the sculptor riddled with anxious energy and wanting to return to the others. He spotted Nino and Alya playing hide and seek with Manon and went past without stopping. He almost missed seeing Marinette and Damian because they were wedged into a corner, having what looked to be a serious conversation.

Before he could get any closer there was a loud bang and several akumatised wax statues burst out of the door from the Ladybug and Chat Noir exhibit. Instinctively, Adrien ducked out of sight but not before he saw Lady WiFi shoot a pause button at Damian that froze him in the act of cornering Marinette.

Adrien grinned with satisfaction before calling for his transformation and scampering away to help take down the akuma.

_ _ _

Marinette called for Miraculous Ladybug and sighed in relief. She made sure Manon made it back to Alya and Nino safely before detransforming and rushing to find Damian. Fortunately he was standing in almost exactly the same place she had been forced to leave him.

“Damian! Are you okay?” She asked, gripping the front of his jacket as she skidded to a stop in front of him. He gave her an amused look but allowed her to hang off of his front without complaint. “Come on, we should rejoin the others, we'll have to talk about what Tim was saying later.”

When they rejoined the group, Manon burst into tears and threw herself at Marinette. The older girl consoled her, rubbing her back and saying reassuring nonsense. Once she was calmer, she was set back on the floor and turned to Damian.

“I'm sorry,” she said in a small voice, and Marinette's heart ached. It didn't matter how much she, as Ladybug or Marinette, told people that they weren't to blame for their actions as akumas, she imagined the guilt must be horrific.

Damian dropped to one knee so he could be on her eye level before speaking. “Manon, it is not your fault. I am sorry that you felt ignored, I should not have taken Marinette's attention away from you while she was babysitting. If it is alright with you, perhaps we may look through the statues together, all three of us?”

Manon squealed and gave him a tight hug that made Marinette smile softly. She knew Damian could be soft when he wanted to, but it was still heartwarming to see him interact with kids.

When they finished walking around the exhibits, Marinette said goodbye to her friends and went with Damian to return Manon to her mother. The reporter gave her a knowing smile when she introduced Damian and Marinette flushed with embarrassment.

As they walked back to Damian's apartment Marinette felt at ease, something she had taken for granted before becoming a superheroine. She basked in the calm, optimistic that she would soon be free of Hawkmoth.

_ _ _

Adrien was determined to talk to Marinette and he was at his limit. Every time he tried to talk to her, Damian was lurking. It was like the other boy didn't understand that he was monopolising Marinette's time, not to mention that he had to be making her uncomfortable. 

So when he overheard Damian saying that he had to speak with some family members that still lived in New Jersey and would be busy that afternoon? Adrien jumped at the opportunity to speak with Marinette without him. 

He took care to arrange his day so that he had free time as soon as school was over. Once he got to the car, he informed the Gorilla that he needed to speak with a classmate. He waited eagerly for Marinette to come out of the building but was dismayed when she still left with Damian.

To make matters worse, she didn't go home! Instead, she followed along with the dark haired boy and disappeared around a corner quickly. Cursing inwardly, he found himself trapped when Lila came over to talk to him, so he couldn't follow after the pair.

Delayed but not defeated, he asked Gorilla to drive in the direction he had seen Marinette and Damian going. Using SnapChat he was able to pinpoint the building Marinette was in (it wasn't creepy and weird, it was resourceful). But then it took nearly an hour for her to emerge, and somehow she did so with Damian again.

He felt his fists clench and he exited the car. The pair strolled casually along the street, not quite touching but not giving an awful lot of space. He waited for them to separate, for Marinette to tell Damian that she had to go home or something.

It felt like he had been hit in the stomach when the other boy pulled his lady to a stop in a quiet area. Marinette turned to Damian with a bright smile before pulling him down and kissing him. 

Turning away, Adrien ran blindly until he was back at the car.

_ _ _

Damian had been dreading this day ever since he had decided to pursue Marinette. She had laughed at his reluctance but he knew that this was going to be the most irritating and pointless thing he had ever done. But Marinette had agreed to meet the rest of his family by video chat and so he was stuck with it.

“Dami, it's going to be fine,” Marinette said soothingly. He grumbled and she giggled a little; they were walking down the street, her hand in his now that they were far enough away from the school. “You do realise that I need to meet them if we're going to keep dating, right?”

“I simply do not see why it is necessary that you meet all of them now. Surely meeting my father would suffice,” Damian said, practically growling in frustration. “Richard is going to be unbearable, and Jason insufferable.”

Marinette was quiet for several moments before speaking. “Do you think they won't like me?” She asked in a soft voice, and Damian felt awful for making her think it.

“Marinette, they are going to adore you,” he said firmly. “Father already thought you were delightful when he first met you and Timothy has been telling all of them about your wonderful qualities. This is purely their curiosity, which is why I deem it unnecessary.”

“I would like to meet them,” she said softly, and Damian couldn't think of any further arguments. 

When they arrived at the apartment they could hear Tim already giving a debrief of their current progress.

“...meeting with Agreste in an hour. With any luck, we'll either confirm that he's our culprit or strike him off our list.”

“Excellent work, thank you,” Bruce said, eyes flicking to the pair that had just entered the apartment. “Hello, Damian, I trust school is going well? And Marinette, lovely to see you again.”

“Tt, it is fine,” Damian said grouchily. But before Marinette could say her own greeting, Bruce was being pushed out of the screen in favour of another black haired, blue-eyed man. Given the squeal that came out of him, Marinette assumed that this must be Richard Grayson.

“Oh my gosh, you're so small! And cute! Jay, Jay, isn't she so small?” 

“Jesus, she's not just small, she's adorable,” another, bigger man chimed in. Marinette blinked as she saw yet another blue-eyed, black hair combo. “How're you doing, sweetheart?”

“I'm okay,” she squeaked, stepping closer to Damian as they scrutinised her. Giving her hand a squeeze, Damian turned a glower on his brothers.

“Oh my god, she even sounds adorable! It's so nice to meet you, Marinette, I'm Dick and this is Jason. We're Damian's two oldest brothers,” Dick said excitedly.

“This is trippy, are we sure she's not there under duress?” Jason joked, eyeing the closeness of the pair and the protective way Damian stood in front of her. “But seriously, good job Demon Spawn, she's way out of your league.”

“That's not-”

“Tt, I am well aware of that, thank you Todd,” Damian snapped, making Marinette flush. “You have met her now, I trust you will respect her privacy and leave us alone?”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Jason snorted, giving him a look that Marinette interpreted as ‘I’ll do whatever I want’. “You do realise that if it doesn't work out, she is literally adoption bait?”

“Jay, don't say things like that-” Dick jumped straight in and the two began to bicker, with Bruce sighing in the background as he tried to moderate. Eventually Tim and Duke announced that they had to leave for their meeting and to ‘have fun’.

Once they were gone, Bruce finally managed to end the argument between his two eldest children. He turned back to Damian and Marinette and asked if they had anything new to add in regards to the investigation into Hawkmoth.

“No, but I'm taking Damian to meet my mentor today, hopefully he can add some further insight just in case Gabriel isn't our problem,” Marinette said, channeling her Ladybug persona as she thought about Master Fu. “And I want to see if there are any Miraculous that Damian would work well with.”

They chatted for a while longer, flipping between hero work and school life before Damian said that it was fine he got Marinette home. Jason made kissing noises which made Marinette blush and Damian scowl, but Dick smacked him before saying goodbye to the pair. 

“You should give a call to Cass when you get the chance, Damian,” Bruce added before the call ended. “She has been very interested in finding out more about your girlfriend.”

“Tt, very well. At least Cassandra is better than this pair,” Damian said as they ended the video. Marinette breathed out a sigh of relief when she was certain they were no longer in the meeting. “That was every bit as bad as I feared they would be, are you alright?”

“I'm fine, but if we want to get to Fu’s, we should hurry,” Marinette said, heading for the door. They walked down the streets, not touching but not straying too far from one another. 

Damian felt on edge as soon as they exited the apartment building. He usually felt like he was being watched but it had intensified. But when he looked around, he couldn't see anyone out of place. There was a parked town car and several harried looking individuals hurrying along, so he tried to set it out of his mind. 

It didn't help that he had been on edge about Marinette meeting his other two brothers, and he wondered if that was contributing to his unsettled feeling. They walked at an unhurried pace until the street became more secluded. 

Deciding it would be worth stopping to look around again, Damian put a hand on Marinette's arm. He was about to tell her that he felt watched when she gave him a broad smile before pulling him into a kiss. He pressed into her, hand almost unconsciously burying itself in her hair.

When they broke apart a minute or two later, the feeling of being watched was gone and the thoughts melted away.

_ _ _

Adrien muttered to himself almost the entire way home. He was so full of anger and feelings so betrayed that he was amazed that he hadn't been akumatised. Or at least, he would have been if he could think past the hurt of seeing Marinette kissing someone else.

His father was apparently in a meeting with an American CEO and Nathalie informed him that he would be eating dinner alone again. Still grumbling and generally in a bad temper, Adrien thanked her stiffly before heading to his room.

Once he was in his room, he slumped at his desk, pushing his mouse to activate the screen. He gave a dejected sigh as he stared at his Ladybug background until Plagg made a disgusted noise and loudly demanded to know where his camembert was.

“Plagg, now isn't a great time,” Adrien said, although he pulled a fresh wheel out and tossed a piece to his Kwami. He glared moodily at the desktop, not bothering to start any of his homework or extracurriculars. After he had finished his camembert, Plagg came over to talk to him.

“Plagg, why did she choose him?” Adrien asked, ignoring the distinct whine to his voice. “They barely know each other! And how could she want to date someone who's less than her? She's a superhero, and he's just some American.”

“This is why I always say cheese is better than romance!” Plagg said cheerfully, settling onto Adrien's shoulder. “Forget about her, you still have Kagami!”

“Plagg, it's Ladybug and Chat Noir, not Chat Noir and Kagami,” Adrien half-shouted, annoyed. He heard a knock at the door a moment later and shooed Plagg before calling out to Nathalie.

“Adrien, your father needs to speak with you,” she answered, stepping into the room. She looked both concerned and pitying, uncomfortable like Adrien had never seen before.

“Sure,” he replied, following her down. He saw the Americans being shown out of the building and recognition tickled his brain. What was Damian Thomas's brother doing with a CEO? 

After he was shown into his father's office, what happened next took on a nightmare-like quality. It happened in a blur, starting with his father telling him he needed to show him something, and ending in seeing his dead mother's body in a glass coffin. 

After that, things were on double speed, transforming into Chat Noir, getting smacked across the city until he was fighting his father-as-Hawkmoth near the Eiffel Tower.

_ _ _

Marinette and Damian were chatting seriously with Fu about the different Miraculous available for Damian when both of their phones began to ring. Damian's turned out to be his brothers and Marinette's was an alert that Hawkmoth had been spotted fighting Chat Noir.

They looked at each other before Marinette let her intuition guide her. She grabbed the turtle Miraculous and slid it onto Damian's wrist as he talked on the phone. He nodded at her as he spoke and ended the call quickly.

“We were correct, Gabriel is Hawkmoth. Apparently Chat Noir discovered this as well and confronted the man without us because Duke and Tim saw him being forcefully ejected from the Agreste mansion. They are trying to follow them but it is proving difficult.”

“Then there's no time to lose. This is Wayzz, he is the Kwami for the Miraculous of protection. To activate, say Wayzz, shell on. Your power activates when you say ‘Shelter’ and will form a protective orb around the item of your choosing. It often goes around the shield that comes with your suit.”

Once he was ready, they hurried to leave Fu's store front, finding an alley to transform in before they rushed to the battle. Marinette jumped and swung frantically, not wanting her partner to be injured, or have his Miraculous removed.

“Watch out!” Damian shouted, leaping for her as Hawkmoth was sent flying into the building she landed on. It began to crumble and he leapt expertly to catch her and roll them safely to the next building. He cradled her head and grunted as they landed, but they were both standing within the next moment.

“No!” Chat howled from a nearby rooftop, but he wasn't looking at Hawkmoth. He appeared to be looking in Marinette's direction, and she worried that he was noting the way Damian hovered protectively. But, surely, he couldn't guess that there was a more romantic aspect to her relationship with a brand new hero?

But Hawkmoth seemed to be ready to take advantage of Chat's anger and a purple butterfly landed on his bell. She sucked in a horrified gasp of air as the sickly violet aura overtook him and left behind an almost exact copy of her kitty - but pure white, with blue eyes.

She watched with mounting horror as Chat seemed to fight with himself, building a cataclysm that he pointed at Hawkmoth and her alternately. He looked to be unable to decide and the cataclysm continued to grow until it became clear that he couldn't control it. Damian gasped as a rush of energy began to spread from where the akumatised Chat Noir stood.

Damian gripped her tightly around the waist with one arm as he screamed out ‘Shelter’, his other arm holding the shield high and praying that it was enough. Marinette willed all of her power to flow into the shield he was creating, countering the destruction barreling towards them. 

She gripped the arm around her middle so hard she thought her fingers would break. As the final waves of Chat’s power echoed and faded, the power of Shelter flickered and died. Damian's breathing faltered and he slid to the floor, and Marinette was too shocked to hold him up.

She gave a panicked gasp and dropped to her knees beside him, hands fluttering to his throat to find a pulse. For a heart-stopping moment she couldn't find anything, couldn't see any sign of life and she felt her anxiety morph into a wordless, nameless anguish. But then she saw his chest rise ever so slightly and she thanked every deity she could name that he wasn't dead.

She dragged him to safety, placing him at the very top level of the mangled Eiffel Tower as water started flooding the streets. She kissed him softly on the lips, vowing silently that she would fix things. Steeling herself, she stepped away, looking for her other half, the balance of destruction to her creation.

He was standing on nearby building wreckage, searching frantically for something. She took a hard swallow as she realised that she was what he was searching for. She stared at the destruction he had wreaked, pushing away the mounting horror as she looked up to the now split moon and braced herself.

“Chaton, what's going on?” She called out, her voice only wavering slightly. He turned towards her and she froze as she took in the white suit and bright blue eyes. He landed in front of her and she swallowed again, trying not to show how nervous she was. “Chat Noir?”

“It's Chat Blanc now, m'lady!” There was a slightly manic gleam in his eyes and he was eyeing her earrings almost hungrily. “And if you had been paying more attention to me - as you should - instead of fooling around with that new brat, you would know what was happening, Marinette.”

“You…when did you find out?” She breathed, keeping herself out of his reach as he stalked towards her. He growled slightly when his reaching hands remained empty. “Chaton, this is serious! You've been akumatised and we need to fix this, because you've destroyed everything.”

He hissed and pounced at her then, his eyes narrowed to slits. She rolled out of the way, wondering how she could defeat him so she could fix everything. They fought like that for several minutes, Chat aiming for her earrings and Marinette rolling out of the way and reach for his akumatised object. 

“M'lady, if you give me the earrings I can fix all of this,” he hissed, clearly frustrated. It was so unlike her kitty that it made her fumble momentarily. He caught her wrist and pinned it to her waist.

“Or you give me the akuma and I use Miraculous Ladybug to restore everything,” she countered, slamming her elbow towards his face. He hissed again and dropped her hand so she swung her yo-yo in a wide arc to get herself some space.

“But if you ‘restore’ things, we won't be together, Maribug,” Chat said, straightening up and raising a single hand. A bright ball of something crackled and he aimed towards her. She flipped out of harm's way just in time, watching as the building remnants behind her were reduced to complete rubble. “It's a mistake of cosmic proportions that we aren't together, and only something of cosmic proportions, like a wish, can fix that.”

Marinette flung herself behind a piece of wreckage and called for her lucky charm. A picture frame landed in her hands and her breath caught at the picture of their statue. The statue, to her at least, showed the first piece of art that displayed them as a team.

“Found you,” Chat hissed, pouncing onto her and knocking her feet out from under her. She held the picture up to his face, willing him to see what she did.

“See, even Tikki agrees, it's you and me against the world,” Marinette said desperately, trying not to look at the additional destruction and devastation around them. “Just because it's not romantic doesn't mean that's changed. You're my partner, Kitty, please, don't let it end like this.”

He hesitated and she whipped her hand to the bell at his throat. He yowled angrily, but she had hold of it and squeezed, putting all of her frustration and hurt into it. The bell snapped and the butterfly flapped out, almost lazily. Kicking Chat off of her, she flung out her yo-yo to capture it.

As the akumatisation bubbled away, Marinette was left staring at her partner, who looked around confusedly. He turned his eyes - green again, thankfully - back to her and they lit up momentarily. Then he seemed to take in her expression and faltered.

“Hey M’lady, what happened here?” He obviously didn't remember anything which made what Marinette had to say that much harder. 

“You know who I am,” she said, not bothering to ask the question. When he froze, she saw the quick mental maths that pushed him to realise that he must have been akumatised. She swallowed and hardened her tone to make it clear that she was angry with him. “And you decided you didn't like my boyfriend.”

“I…” he was at a loss for words and hung his head ashamedly. “I didn't mean for this to happen, I was just so…”

“You just decided you were entitled to me romantically,” Marinette said, making him wince. She hated that this was hurting him but, equally, he had killed everyone except them because he couldn't take the answer ‘no’ at face value. “Chaton, you're my partner, my best friend. For better or worse, we have a future together that the universe depends on for balance.

“But that doesn't mean we have to be together romantically. We work together as friends. You ended the world because you thought you were entitled to my time. That's…that's not healthy, Chat. Take it from me, being obsessed with someone to the point that you feel you have to be with them when they clearly don't feel the same ends up hurting you.”

“I'm so sorry,” he whispered, hanging his head in his hands. “It wasn't…it wasn't just you, M'lady. My father…he's Hawkmoth.”

“...Adrien?” He looked up at her with wide, desperate eyes and she felt her heart split in two. “Oh minou, I…look, we have a plan. The bats have a plan, it's a good, solid plan, and it can be done as soon as I fix everything. But if he knows your identity…”

“He has my mother,” Chat- Adrien whispered, voice trembling. Marinette's heart broke for him, her mind racing as she tried to think of how to take Hawkmoth down. She called for her Lucky Charm and received only a teapot, meaning she would need more Miraculous.

“Okay, what we’ll need to do first…” Marinette gave him a detailed rundown of what she expected to happen in the next couple of hours. And then she swallowed as she held her hand out for the ring. “I'm going to ask you to wear a different Miraculous for this fight, chaton.”

“But…okay,” Adrien said, sounding defeated. Once she had the ring in hand, she threw the teapot in the air, calling for Miraculous Ladybug. Everything righted in a swarm of ladybugs and Hawkmoth was lost from sight.

“Ladybug!” 

The pair turned towards the turtle hero who was launching towards them. He crashed into Ladybug and did a quick check over her, hands skimming her limbs one at a time before coming to cup her face.

“I'm alright,” she said gently, even as her timer started to beep. “But we need to move. I need to get Adrien somewhere safe and then get in touch with the Bats so that we can launch our counter-attack.”

_ _ _

They all agreed to meet up on the Eiffel Tower. Marinette and Damian had headed straight back to Master Fu's, and grabbed several Miraculi before meeting up with Tim and Duke. They had put in the request for aid from the Justice League and anticipated help from one or two of the more positive members of the team.

“You will like Superboy, I think,” Damian said as he let them into the apartment. They could hear Tim and Duke bustling around as they got their gear together and the animated sounds of someone zipping at unnatural speeds through the space. “Kid Flash is…unique.”

“Hey kids!” The yellow blur stopped in front of them, making the others look up and greet them before carrying on. “I'm going to be heading out in a second to visit the police station, just to give them a heads up on what we're doing.”

“Thank you, Kid Flash,” Marinette said warmly. She felt slightly exposed, standing in front of other heroes without her mask, but she hadn't wanted to draw attention to the apartment by coming as Ladybug. 

Throwing her a salute, Kid Flash zoomed away. Damian muttered something that sounded like ‘annoying speedster’ but Marinette ignored it. The pressure was beginning to mount and she could feel the buzz of nerves cutting into her stomach.

“It will all be over soon, Marinette,” Damian murmured, his arms wrapping around her comfortingly. She knew that it needed to end, now that she finally had proof that Gabriel was Hawkmoth, but she was also a little scared. 

It felt like no time at all before they were rushing away to the Eiffel Tower. She had transformed and swung by the bakery to collect Adrien, whom she had stashed in her room. She handed him the horse Miraculous and he transformed before they jumped into action.

On top of the Eiffel Tower were Kid Flash, Superboy, Signal, Robin and a new bee hero, also known as Red Robin. The plan was simple, but effective. Signal had written his testimony for the police and Red had compiled the other evidence that had led to the conclusion of Gabriel being Hawkmoth. In addition to this, Signal would be carrying a video camera that would allow him to capture the moment that they removed the Miraculous from the villain.

“So, Equestria here will open a portal into his father's lair as he's been there before. If Gabriel isn't there at the time, I'll need someone to check over Emilie Agreste and see if she can be saved or if he is, in fact, harbouring his wife's body in the hopes that he can reanimate it,” Ladybug said, wincing apologetically at Equestria as she said it.

“If he is there, I'll need both Kid Flash and Superboy to be ready to superspeed and grab his Miraculous if the plan with, um-”

“Hornet,” the bee hero supplied helpfully.

“Right, if the plan with Hornet fails and we can't just freeze him. If Mayura, who we assume is his assistant, is there, you'll be able to use your venom twice as you're an adult and freeze both of them but, again, having speedsters means that we have a contingency in place.

“I'm going to be there more as a final failsafe and recognisable Parisian heroine so that when we broadcast our non-fight people can be assured that it's real. And, if you're willing, Robin, I ask that you use the Miraculous of the black cat so that we can unbalance Gabriel even further.”

Everyone agreed and everything flowed smoothly from that point forward. It went exactly to plan, Ladybug mostly there to stand imperiously as the Justice League members did the brunt of the work. It was almost too easy, Mayura being frozen almost instantaneously before Superboy managed to subdue Hawkmoth.

The video of Gabriel being unmasked could have been choreographed with how much he wriggled, and snarled, demanding to know where his son was. Ladybug coldly informed him that Adrien had bravely stepped forward with the information he held and was being kept in a safe place until the Miraculi had been retrieved.

And just like that, months of fighting ended. Marinette would have said it was anticlimactic if it hadn't come on the heels of a world-ending catastrophic event. She handed Gabriel and Nathalie off to the police before collecting the bee Miraculous from Red Robin.

Then she, Damian and Adrien slipped away to visit Master Fu with the remaining Miraculous. They handed everything back to the older gentleman, who promised that he would be returning the box to Tibet before going in search of Marianne so that they could spend the rest of their lives together.

After a couple of very teary goodbyes, Marinette and Adrien said farewell to the Kwamis of destruction and creation. They left the massage parlour and Marinette felt the burden melt away from her shoulders. She gave a carefree laugh as she hugged Damian tightly, pushing away the thoughts that she still needed to work with Adrien to make sure his aunt could take him in.

Depositing Adrien back at the bakery, Marinette gave a brief and extremely sanitised explanation for why he couldn't go home. She neatly span the truth so that they didn't give away just how involved the pair had been in taking down the supervillains.

Damian had waited outside the bakery for her and didn't say anything when she reappeared, simply taking her hand and walking with her towards his temporary residence. He seemed to grow more contemplative the closer they got, and Marinette assumed he was thinking about how soon he would need to go home.

He pulled her to a stop a street away from their destination and wrapped her in his arms. 

“I wish I could stay,” he murmured, pressing her against his chest. She felt tears welling in her eyes and blinked them away as she gripped the back of his jacket tightly. The day was fading into evening and Marinette realised that her night time meetings with vigilantes on top of the Eiffel Tower were over. “But the most I will be able to convince my father of is a week.”

“I understand,” she said, voice muffled. It was going to be unspeakably hard to be without him, but she knew that Gotham was his home.

“But the Zeta tube will remain, so perhaps I shall be able to…persuade my father that regular visits are necessary,” he added, a small smile obvious in his voice. “We would need to stay out of sight to avoid suspicion, but I imagine we could find ways to occupy the time.”

[nerds-yearbook]

Iconic Teen Titan villian Deathstroke the Terminator along with W.R. Wintergreen and Trigon were introduced in The New Teen Titans 2#, cover date December, 1980. They were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. The issue also marked the final appearance of Ravager (death) and Carol Sladky. ("Today... the Terminator", The New Teen Titans 2#, DC Comic Event)

[worldofmetahumans]

The Christmas season has started! And it did on https://worldofmetahumans.com/ too. Will you come and check out our Christmas theme? Or maybe even join in on our new event?

[yearoftheotpevent]

hello fan creators!

Year of the OTP is officially back for 2025 with a new set of prompts!

we've switched some of the prompt categories around in an effort to make the event more inclusive of all kinds of fanworks. we've also included song prompts this year! the playlist is on spotify here.

we want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the last event - it grew so much larger than we ever expected and it's truly amazing how you all took our last set of prompts and made so many wonderful things. keep it up!

a couple housekeeping notes: we will not be reblogging every entry this year. mods will keep an eye on the blog if you have any questions, but the reblogs were too much last time. thank you for your understanding!

we will be closing the 2023 collection on December 31. thank you for your continued participation, but it's time to look forward!

the link for the new collection will be posted here January 1.

we're looking forward to seeing what you create this year!

alt text below the cut.

Year of the OTP 2025

The Rules: the Ao3 collection accepts any /-ship works inspired by a prompt from this sheet The Challenge: make 12 works for one ship in one year, using prompts from each month

*you do not need to do the challenge to post to the AO3 collection, as long as you follow the rules*

January first kiss ♦ “may I have this dance” ♦ sharing clothes ♦ BDSM AU ♦ stockholm syndrome ♦ Strong – One Direction

February Valentine’s Day ♦ “it made me think of you” ♦ bed sharing ♦ multiple penetration ♦ mind control/mind break ♦ Like Real People Do – Hozier

March fresh starts ♦ “what are you doing with that”♦ florist/tattoo artist ♦ phone sex ♦ major character death ♦ Take Care – Drake

April pranks ♦ “right in front of my salad” ♦ running away together ♦ dom bottom/sub top ♦ raised to be a killer ♦ Drops of Jupiter – Train

May hanahaki ♦ “we’re dating? since when?” ♦ body swap ♦ magical sex toys ♦ stalking ♦ Paper Rings – Taylor Swift

June pride ♦ “I can’t get you out of my mind” ♦ relationship reveal ♦ unconventional sex positions ♦ paying a debt with your body ♦ Good Looking – Dixon Dallas

July vacation together ♦ “I like my _ how I like my coffee” ♦ kidfic ♦ mutual masturbation ♦ dehumanization ♦ You May Be Right – Billy Joel

August Sports AU ♦ “you’re thinking too much”♦ cooking together ♦ object insertion/ penetration ♦ becoming a monster ♦ You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC

September high school/college sweethearts ♦ “come here” ♦ date night gone wrong ♦ semi-public sex ♦ abduction ♦ Thinking Bout You – Frank Ocean

October costumes ♦ “boo” ♦ online dating ♦ shibari ♦ mutual non-con ♦ Mr. Brightside – The Killers

November camping ♦ “are you sure” ♦ touch-starved ♦ cockwarming ♦ abusive relationship ♦ A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

December holiday traditions ♦ “where are you taking me” ♦ bathing together ♦ food play ♦ tortured for information ♦ Everything Is Alright – Laura Shigihara

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jason Wilson at The Guardian:

In a December 2023 speech, JD Vance defended a notorious white nationalist convicted over 2016 election disinformation, canvassed the possibility of breaking up tech companies, attacked diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and talked about a social media “censorship regime” that “came from the deep state on some level”.

The senator’s speech was given at the launch of a “counterrevolutionary” book – praised by the now Republican vice-presidential candidate as “great” – which was edited and mostly written by employees of the far-right Claremont Institute. In the book, Up from Conservatism, the authors advocate for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act, for politicians to conduct “deep investigations into what the gay lifestyle actually does to people”, that college and childcare be defunded and that rightwing governments “promote male-dominated industries” in order to discourage female participation in the workplace. Vance’s endorsement of the book may raise further questions about his extremism, and that of his networks. The Guardian emailed Vance’s Senate staff and the Trump and Vance campaign with detailed questions about his appearance at the launch, but received no response.

‘Congratulations on such a great book’

Vance’s speech was given in the Capitol visitor center in Washington DC last 11 December, according to a version of C-Span’s subsequent broadcast of the event that is preserved at the Internet Archive. The occasion was the launch of Up from Conservatism, an essay collection edited by Arthur Milikh, the executive director of the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life. In his introductory remarks on the day, Milikh said the book “maps out the right’s errors over the last generation … on immigration, on universities, on the administrative state”.

The book, however, appears more directed towards supplanting an old right – seen as too accommodating – with a “new right” focused on destroying its perceived enemies on the left.

In the book’s introduction, Milikh writes: “The New Right recognizes the Left as an enemy, not merely an opposing movement, because the Left today promotes a tyrannical conception of justice that is irreconcilable with the American idea of justice … the New Right is a counterrevolutionary and restorative force.” Also in that piece, Milikh offers a vision of the new right’s triumph, which has an authoritarian ring: “We like to say that one must learn to govern, but a truer expression is that one must learn to rule.” In his speech, Vance first offered “congratulations on such a great book, and thanks for getting such a good crew together”, and then warmed to themes similar to Milikh’s. “Republicans, conservatives, we’re still terrified of wielding power, of actually doing the job that the people sent us here to do,” Vance said, later adding: “Isn’t it just common sense that when we’re given power, we should actually do something with it?”

Brad Onishi, author of Preparing for War, a critical account of Christian nationalism and the host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast, said: “Vance, many Claremont people, including some folks in this volume, and especially the ‘post-liberal’ conservative Catholics that he hangs out with, have advocated for a form of big government that will wield its power in order to set the country right.” He added: “And you may think, well, OK, that doesn’t sound so bad. But here the common good is rooting out queer people, making sure non-Christians don’t immigrate to the country and outlawing things like pornography that are currently a matter of personal choice. “You end up with this conservatism that promotes an invasive government conservatism rather than a small government.”

[...]

‘Free our minds … from the fear of being called racists’

In the book, commended by Vance, a series of authors take reactionary – or “counterrevolutionary” – positions on a number of social and economic issues. In one chapter, John Fonte writes of disrupting narratives of civil rights progress: “The great meaning of America, we are told, comes from liberating so-called oppressed groups and taming the power of privileged groups. Thus, our history is one of liberation: first of Blacks, then of women, then of gays, and now of the transgendered.” Fonte retorts: “Not only is this narrative false; it will take us further down the path of national self-destruction … On the questions of slavery, American Indians, and racial discrimination, the progressive narrative is not a historically accurate project designed to address past wrongs, but a weaponized movement to deconstruct and replace American civilization.”

Like other authors in the collection, Fonte offers policy recommendations. He proposes heavy-handed federal intervention into education: “[T]he US Congress should prohibit any federal funds in education to support projects … that promote DEI (“diversity, equity and inclusion”) and divisive concepts such as the idea that America is ‘systemically racist.’” In his chapter, David Azerrad tells readers: “We need to free our minds once and for all from the fear of being called racists.” The assistant professor and research fellow at rightwing Hillsdale College, and former Heritage Foundation director and Claremont Institute fellow, also claims that conservatives have been too conciliatory on race: “For too many conservatives, the goal is to outdo progressives in displays of compassion for blacks … yet blacks continue to vote monolithically for the Democratic Party and progressives have only ramped up their hysterical accusations of racism.”

Azerrad continues with white nationalist talking points on race, crime and IQ, writing: “It is not racist to notice that blacks commit the majority of violent crimes in America, no more than it is to incarcerate convicted black criminals … There is no reason to expect equal outcomes between the races … In some elite and highly technical sectors in which there are almost no qualified blacks, color-blindness will mean no blacks.” Elsewhere, Azerrad writes: “[C]onservatives will need to root out from their souls the pathological pity for blacks, masquerading as compassion, that is the norm in contemporary America … This is most obvious in the widespread embrace of affirmative action (the lowering of standards to advance blacks) and the general reluctance to speak certain blunt but necessary truths about the pathologies plaguing black America – in particular, violent crime, fatherlessness, low academic achievement, nihilistic alienation, and the cult of victimhood.”

[...]

‘Do not subsidize childcare’

Helen Andrews, meanwhile, offers “three things we could do right now that would put a big dent in the multiplying lies that have come from feminists for the last forty years about women and careers”. Her first proposal is to “stop subsidizing college so much”, since, according to Andrews, in the 22-29 age group, “there are four women with college degrees … for every three men. That is going to lead to a lot of women with college degrees who do not end up getting married.” “Second,” Andrews continues, “the Right can do more to promote male-dominated industries. Reviving American manufacturing and cracking down on China’s unfair trade practices isn’t just an economic and national security issue; it’s a gender issue.” Her third proposal is “do not subsidize childcare” – since the fact that “many working moms are struggling” with childcare costs “might actually be good information the economy is trying to tell you”. Andrews is the print editor of the paleoconservative magazine the American Conservative and has previously written sympathetically about white supremacist minority regimes in Rhodesia – renamed Zimbabwe after white rule ended – and South Africa.

Scott Yenor claims in his chapter that before the 1960s, America lived under a “Straight Constitution, which honored enduring, monogamous, man-woman, and hence procreative marriage. It also stigmatized alternatives”. Yenor is a political science professor at Boise State University and a fellow at the Claremont Institute. He then claims: “We currently live under the Queer Constitution”, which “honors all manner of sex”, and under which “laws restricting contraception, sodomy, and fornication are, by its lights, unconstitutional”. Yenor claims: “These changes in law are but the first part of an effort to normalize and then celebrate premarital sex, recreational sex, men who have sex with men, childhood immodesty, masturbation, lesbianism, and all conceptions of transgenderism.”

Yenor says the state should intervene in citizens’ sex lives: “In the states, new obscenity laws for a more obscene world should be adopted. Pornography companies and websites should be investigated for their myriad public ills like sex trafficking, addictions, and ruined lives. The justice of anti-discrimination must be revisited.” In a separate essay co-written with Milikh, the editor, Yenor advocates in effect destroying the current education system and starting again. The essay includes a recommendation for school curriculums: “Students could start building obstacle courses at an early age, learning how to construct a wall and how to adapt the wall for climbing … Students could learn to build and shoot guns as part of a normal course of action in schools and learn how to grow crops and prepare them for meals.”

The Guardian reports that Trump VP pick and Ohio Senator JD Vance promoted far-right extremist views from Arthur Milkh’s Up From Conservatism essay book.

[usnatarchives]

Mary Church Terrell

As we celebrate Black History Month, it’s a perfect time to honor the legacy of Mary Church Terrell, a pioneering civil rights and women’s rights activist. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1863, Terrell was among the first African American women to earn a college degree, graduating from Oberlin College. She dedicated her life to fighting for equality and justice, making significant contributions to the suffrage movement and the fight against racial discrimination.

Terell’s commitment to civil rights and women’s suffrage was deeply intertwined with her work in the Black Women’s Club Movement. She served as the first president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), which advocated for voting rights and equal rights under the motto “lifting as we climb.” Terrell also played a crucial role in the founding of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and the National Association for the Advancment of Colored People (NAACP).

One of Terrell’s most notable achievements was her involvement in a successful lawsuit in 1950 that led to the desegregation of restaurants in the Washington, DC, area. Terrell’s writings, including “A Colored Woman in a White World,” and “What it means to be Colored in the Capital of the United States,” have left a lasting impact on the struggle for racial and gender equality.

To explore more about Mary Church Terrell’s remarkable life and contributions, the National Archives offers additional resources here:

A Portrait of Mary Church Terrell: A glimpse into the grace and determination of the iconic figure https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/mary-church-terrell

Blogs related to Mary Church Terrell: Delve into detailed articles that explore various aspects of her life and legacy Rediscovering Black History Blog. https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/

Unceasing Militant: The Life of Mary Church Terrell with Alison M. Parker: A recorded event that sheds light on Terrell’s multifaceted activism, held on December 17, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQYQRKKBr0A&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archives.gov%2Fresearch%2Fafrican-americans%2Findividuals%2Fmary-church-terrell&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archives.gov&feature=emb_title

External: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/labor-love-restoration-ledroit-parks-mary-church-ee8xe/?trackingId=V7zIYQZE9YI5JgfRfOS4xg%3D%3D

[hanasnx]

For your december event could you do roleplay with dick grayson? Maybe trying on some different cliché outfits (nurse, cop, whatever) and getting his reaction?

MINORS DNI 18+

NOTES: DC is for December Event! — request DC characters.

“Dick? Can you come in here, please?” you call in song, and you hear the familiar shuffling of DICK GRAYSON removing his headphones and putting down his controller to abandon his PC to join you in the other room. Under the impression you’d need his help with something, his expression is a little blindsided when his eyes lay on your little gift. Lounging on your shared bed, your body is exquisitely arranged to show off your curves.

The gears in his head turn, slow to react. His countenance melts into his pleasant surprise, brows raise and knit together, lips part, speechless at the sight of your smirk in your gear. “Uh…” is all his throat can seem to push out, watching you intently as you swiftly sweep your legs off the edge of the bed, one at a time. Impossibly tall heels click against the floor as they land, and your skin-tight suit has just enough shine that accentuates your figure in the candlelight. He slumps against the doorway as you approach him, patient in your ascent, and out of sheer instinct his pants get a little tight. Your whip slithers against the floor out behind you, but his eyes aren’t on that. As if to clear some of the brain fog, he shakes his head. “Er, what’s the… occasion?” he inquires uneasily, voice raspy from awed reticence and dried mouth.

A single claw from your glove comes up to point into his chin, closing his mouth for him with an obedient clatter from his teeth. “Just felt like surprising you, is all.” you reply innocently, shrugging your shoulders in an outfit practically painted on. You can tell his gaze is scanning the low dip in your neckline, showing off more than half your chest. A lofty sigh escapes your mouth, putting on a little act as your wrap your hand over the meat of your whip, gathering enough to hook and loop it around his neck, tugging him closer to you.

It snaps him out of the trance, and he keeps his hands to himself—for now. A fire lights in his eyes, advancing on you, herding you with his big body while you start to get the teeniest bit nervous. He reaches behind him as he lumbers toward you, shutting the door with a curt slam as he does.

The backs of your knees hit the bed, and when you take your gaze off him for a second to glance behind you, he puts your attention right back on him. He stoops, arms encircling you to press you into him, cupping his body around you as his lips find the leather over your neck. You’re trapped.

“But Catwoman? Really?” he questions, and you swear you can feel that handsome dimpled grin stretch against you.

“Didn’t you tell me she was your first crush?” you ask innocently.

[spooky-fm]

DP x DC fic: Delivery Ghost

This has been consuming my brain for weeks. Based on this post by @gummybearstastelikesadness:

Danny wakes up in the new world and, not feeling responsible for its villains (unlike the ghost attacks where he is the one who turned on the portal) decides to take a break and have a vacation. As a pizza delivery person, he brings orders to the recipients within the specified timeframe, no matter what. Certain citizens of this world are suspicious when the app lets them order to a town 2 hours away from the location ... and the delivery boy is there in under 10 minutes.

If only Danny cared about their feelings.

Part 1.

Waking up sore and confused in the middle of a random field with only vague memories of last night's events wasn't that weird for Danny Fenton. He had been Amity Park's resident hero for several years and had lived through much stranger awakenings. His list started with Vlad Plasmius's spooky basement inside a cloning tube and his parents' lab strapped to the vivisection table, and ended with places like the middle of nowhere in the Ghost Zone after an ecto-storm or a hundered-year-old abandoned maze of secret tunnels under the Masons' house after a particularly exciting date with Sam. Next to those, an ordinary-looking meadow was a welcome change. Despite that, something felt not quite right, but Danny couldn't quite focus on the feeling in his drowsy state.

Careful inspection of his body revealed that he had all of his limbs attached where they should be attached and functioning as normal. Aside from mild discomfort after lying on the cold ground for a significant amount of time he was perfectly healthy, despite splotches of dried ectoplasm and blood indicating recent injuries.

Deciding that he did not care enough to remember what those splotches were from just yet, Danny shrugged and continued his inspection. He looked around the field, trying to find any clues, tracks, or signs of civilization, and, failing to locate any, he transformed into his ghost form.

The transformation was enough of a jolt to wake him up from his morning sleepiness, forcing Danny to remember the fight with an unfamilliar ghost that appeared just as he finished fixing reindeer antlers to the top of the head of his freshly-made one-foot-tall snowman made from the first snow in the season. He had been so concerned with taking the fight away from his new porch guardian that he hadn't taken it seriously enough. Between exchanging blows and trying to find out the name of the intruder into his neighbourhood, he ended up too distracted to notice that they were not alone and got blasted with a dark-purple beam from behind.

As much as he would have liked to know more, the memory tastefully faded to black and refused to provide any further details.

'Never mind the why's and how's then,' - Danny thought, unconcerned. 'Time to consider the where's and the when's.'

Having thought that, he suddenly realised what had been bothering him from the moment he woke up. He was so busy taking stock of his physical state that he forgot to question the gentle warmth of the ground he had slept on and the decidedly non-December greenery around him.

Wide-eyed, Danny quickly flew up, searching for anything that could point him towards Amity or any other nearby town.

The vegetation did not seem too different from what he was used to, so he concluded that he probably wasn't anywhere Southern enough to be this warm in December. That suggested Clockwork shenanigans, which did not fill Danny with too much confidence.

He turned invisible, picked a random direction, and flew at a leisurely speed fully intending to enjoy the idyllic weather.

A couple of hours later, he finally came across a large enough town where he decided he would not be instantly noticed in the morning crowd. He easily found the local library and got permission to use a computer from the librarian that barely glanced at him in the dimly lit lobby. He made his way towards the two ancient computers ready to learn the local date and hopefully figure out how he ended up in this situation.

Danny wasn't truly surprised when the calendar showed a date a couple months in the past according to his personal timeline. He had spent enough time (ha!) with Clockwork to not be put off by a bit of minor time-travel. What surprised him, however, was his inability to find even a single mention of Amity Park on the internet.

Familiar forums, social media account of his friends, Amity news sources, even his personal blog that he posted blurry pictures of blob ghosts to were missing. Maps, both regular and satellite, showed a familiar but slightly different landscape where his home town should have been with a completely different name written over it.

Danny stared at the monitor with unfocused eyes. If he really had travelled in time, he would have been able to find some trace of Amity, or his friends. Searching for their names gave unhelpful results, and trying to look up ghosts and ghost attacks only led him down the rabbit hole of superheroes and something called 'The Justice League' that just gave him a headache. This led to the natural conclusion that instead of a minor instance of short time-travel he got tangled in a major instance of timeline-hopping.

He shuddered a little, remembering Dan. At least it seemed that Danny didn't exist at all in this timeline, in any shape. That turned out to be a slightly disturbing thought and Danny decided to ignore it with the practiced ease of someone who was used to rolling with the punches for the sake of his mental stability.

He wondered briefly when this world and his started to differ, but his limited knowledge of human history was not enough to give him much of a hint. He figured it was at least a couple hundred years in the past, but that was the extent of his detective abilities.

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

It was a relief to finally exit the stuffy library building and let the rays of sunshine fall on his face after several hours of researching the new world he found himself in. Despite failing to get any closer to the mystery of his appearance there, he didn't feel that upset at the change of scenery.

While walking leisurely along the tidy street, Danny contemplated the heroes and villains of this timeline. It seemed that the Justice League was the top dog when it came to the forces of good. He wasn't sure how to approach them without raising suspicion that a person suddenly coming into existence would certainly cause.

Suddenly, he was struck by a thought so alien to him that he stopped in his tracks and stared blankly ahead.

He didn't have to do anything!

There were no ghost attacks in the news, and thus probably no portal to the Ghost Zone. He hadn't opened a doorway between the Infinite Realms and Earth, and there was nobody who needed help that couldn't be given by any of the local heroes.

Danny realised that didn't feel any pressing need to protect this world. That little part of his core that was always anxious about Amity, about Sam and Tucker, and about the rest of the world was now blissfully quiet. Danny smiled at that, shaking his head and continuing his walk towards what seemed to be a small river.

He also began to notice the stares people around were directing at him and tried to get lost in the crowd - with little luck. It almost seemed that having drawn the attention of the locals, he was standing out as an obvious outsider.

He was starting to get annoyed at the constant attention, when he noticed his ragged sleeve and recalled that he was in fact still covered in suspiciously blood-looking greenish blots. He considered the fact that it was actually blood from his already-healed small scratches was irrelevant. 

Cursing quietly, Danny quickly turned into a shady-looking alleyway and made his escape from the public eye by going invisible.

He decided to continue on his course towards the riverside in this way, while mulling over the earlier revelation. The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that it was a great idea to take a break and get some rest from ghostly affairs. And if he really wanted to go back, he could always find a way to open a portal into the Ghost Zone and find Clockwork. His sort-of mentor, sort-of father figure wouldn't mind helping him with a little nudge towards the right timeline, would he? Besides, the guy probably knew all about Danny's little jaunt across realities. Since there was no sign of him or his cryptic advice, it was entirely reasonable that he approved of the whole thing.

So it was decided: Danny Fenton was going on vacation.

He flipped in the air in excitement and started flying away from the town. Giggling a little at the fact that he still didn't know the name of the first town he visited in this timeline, he froze in place as something occured to him: He had no money, no possessions and didn't know where to go.

Despite not technically needing food or shelter as a ghost, he didn't want to spend his vacation hiding away under his invisibility. And what sort of vacation would it be if he had no money to spend on fun things like videogames and hot dogs?

He figured the solution was simple: He'll just have to find a job.

[starwarsmum]

Day 2 of Daminette December: Forced Proximity

@maribat-calendar-events

How did Marinette get into these situations? Her finger jabbed the ‘door open’ button uselessly, the power completely cut. She growled and mentally cursed her best friend soundly. She should have known he was up to something when he had convinced her to enter the elevator first, but she had been distracted by the absurdly attractive boy who had entered first. 

The boy, Damian, was part of the class that hers was shadowing for their trip to Gotham and he had fascinated her from the moment she had seen him. He had been coldly haughty to everyone she had seen him interact with, even the tall boy he called his friend, but he didn't go out of his way to insult other people.

But what had intrigued her most was something she had seen by accident. During one of their lunch breaks, she had been looking for a quiet place to get away from Lila and stumbled across him. He had been sitting alone, a sketchbook in front of him and a tray of portable watercolours next to him. He was painting something from memory and she was awed by the confident brush strokes and obvious thought going into the painting.

Since that non-interaction, she had been drawn to the enigmatic boy. She had done her best to curb the attraction she felt for him, but it was fighting a losing battle. He had all but refused to interact with her class unless a teacher forced him but it didn't seem to deter her growing crush.

“Tt, this is absurd,” Damian said, his gorgeous green eyes glaring balefully at the number pad on the side of the elevator. He plucked his phone out of his pocket and sent a message to someone before turning towards her. “I have alerted my brother to our predicament but he will likely take some time to arrive.”

“Oh, you're fine- that's fine,” she yelped, correcting herself as fast as she could, mortified at her awkwardness. “I mean, you're fine too, but it's- the situation is what I meant, I've been in worse and- not that this is bad! You seem like a really great guy, from what I've seen and gorge- great, I mean, just great.”

Someone put her out of her misery, she was dead. Her face was burning and his eyebrows rose with every fumble she made. He looked almost amused, leaning nonchalantly against a mirrored wall. She forced herself to stop, swallowing hard and mentally writing her will.

“You are amusing,” was all he said, looking away from her at last. Any hope she had of coming out of this encounter with a positive impression was shredded beyond repair. If she got out of here without combusting, she was going to murder Adrien and frame Chloé for it. She was sure the blonde girl had a hand in this, the childhood friends had been suspicious all day.

“What should we do while we wait?” She blurted out at last, freezing momentarily when he looked back at her. He shrugged elegantly and she forced back a groan at how badly she was doing at this. “I mean, if we're stuck here anyway, maybe we could do something to pass the time?”

“I suppose it would not hurt,” he responded in a cautious voice. He seemed to be debating something before sighing and sitting down. She followed suit immediately, not wanting to be looming over him. Whilst the power seemed to have been cut to the button panel, the lights were still on which meant at least they weren't sitting in the dark. “Perhaps we could play a game? I understand ‘twenty questions’ is often used to alleviate the stress of an uncomfortable situation.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” she said, trying not to visibly deflate at the word ‘uncomfortable’. She knew he wouldn't be thrilled to be trapped in an elevator, but she had hoped he wouldn't have minded being trapped with her in particular. “You should go first since it was your idea.”

“Alright. My first question is about the Parisian heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir. Have you ever met them?” Marinette stared at him, her confusion at the direction this had taken leaving her speechless for a moment.

“I mean, yeah, most of our class has met them,” she hedged cautiously, trying to think why he would want to know this. “Hell, most of the class were akumatised at least once during Hawkmoth's reign, so it was kind of impossible not to meet them.”

“Hm, interesting,” he said, and she could almost see him cataloguing her answer for later review. He nodded once before gesturing at her. “Alright, you may ask me your first question.”

“Right, sure, okay, um…” she wracked her brain for a question that would make her seem interested but not invasive. She settled on something she assumed was a safe topic as he had already mentioned it himself. “You said you have a brother, what's that like? I'm an only child,” she added as an explanation when he frowned at her.

“Grayson is singularly the most annoying and most supportive person I know,” Damian said after a few moments' consideration. “He is an adopted brother and I did not meet him until I was ten and came to live with my father. You said that most of your class has been akumatised, is there anyone who has not been?”

“Oh, um, just…just me,” she said meekly, blushing as he appraised her again. As he had been thorough with his own answer, she decided to go into more detail. “I mean, there were a couple of close calls but it never actually happened. And, I think Adrien said that he was only akumatised in an alternate timeline? Or that's what Ladybug told him.”

“I see,” he replied, fingers twitching a little as though he were typing something, or would if he had access to a keyboard. “That sounds like it was a stressful time. My understanding of the situation is that akumatisation occurred when negative emotions overtook an individual, making them susceptible to the supervillain.”

“Oh, yeah, that's a pretty good summary,” Marinette said, feeling inordinately pleased by the slightly smug look on his face at her compliment. “Okay, so, my second question is: do you have any pets?”

“I do. Currently, I house a cat, a dog, a cow, and a turkey, although I do some volunteer work with an animal shelter and will occasionally foster an animal.” He said all of this as though it was completely normal to have a cow as a pet. She must have made him a little uncomfortable because he coughed and looked away before continuing. “I find animals to be better company than most people. You mentioned your friend, Adrien Agreste. Is your relationship with him of an intimate nature?”

“What?” Marinette shrieked, clapping her hands to her cheeks in embarrassment. When he remained coolly detached, she forced herself to calm down and swallow the bitter taste of disappointment. For a second there, she thought he was asking because he was interested in her. But if he was, he was very good at hiding it. She sighed slightly before answering, as honestly as she was able without giving up secret identities. “I mean, we're just best friends. Maybe when we were younger it could've happened but it would just be strange now, I think.”

“But you would not have been opposed to a romantic entanglement with him,” Damian said, his tone going slightly flat. She looked at him curiously, because he hadn't asked a question, per se, but he had said something so she needed to respond.

“When we were fifteen and I had a crush on him, sure,” she said, shrugging. She heard him exhale softly and continued tentatively. “But we know each other a lot better now, so I think we're better off as friends.”

Before she could continue, or work out why his eyes were suddenly completely unreadable to her, the lights finally flickered out and plunged them into darkness. She squeaked and moved a little closer to him involuntarily. Even though she wasn't scared of the dark, the surprise made her grab automatically for his hand.

What surprised her was that he didn't pull away at the contact, his hand flipping so that he could hold hers too. Her stomach erupted in butterflies and she was glad he couldn't see the blush that flared to life across her face. 

“It is your turn to ask a question, Marinette,” Damian murmured, leaning closer to her. She could feel how close he was and her brain malfunctioned completely, leaving her trying to discern his features with wide eyes.

“Ah, right,” she said, her voice squeaky from the stress. Quick, think of a question, her mind screamed at her uselessly, trying to function. “Uh, so, are you dating anyone?” She eventually blurted out, cringing at herself and wishing the elevator would just drop suddenly. Honestly, death seemed preferable to the awkward pause that followed.

“I am not currently dating anyone,” he said at last, leaning back and she almost sobbed with disappointment at the cool air that rushed in from his absence. She cursed her stupidity, wishing she could take the words back. “You mentioned Agreste had spoken with Ladybug previously, is he in contact with her?”

“Um, well, his dad was kind of the supervillain, Hawkmoth, so he spoke with her more than anyone else,” she said, again carefully choosing what to tell him without lying. “My turn! What's your favourite art medium and why?”

“I was not aware you knew of my artistic inclinations,” he said, his tone warmer again. “I think I prefer oil paints as I find it relaxing to sit with a canvas and brush. I often try to find time and space on the manor grounds with my pets and paint.”

“Manor, huh?” She said, wondering how she kept meeting rich kids. He tensed slightly and she tried to put him at ease. “I guessed you came from a wealthy family, since you go to Gotham Academy. It's fine, most of my friends come from the upper crust of Paris,” she joked, smiling reassuringly even though he likely couldn't see her.

“Tt, and I suppose you have heard many rumours about my family,” he said grouchily. Marinette was bewildered for a moment, trying to work out how on Earth she could have heard rumours about his family. When the pause spread, he coughed awkwardly and pulled his hand away from hers. “You said you were friends with wealthy individuals, what of your own family?”

“Well, my parents run a pretty successful patisserie,” she replied, curling her arms around her knees to hide how hurt she was by his withdrawal. She decided she wasn't enjoying the game so much any more and tried to think of a question that wouldn't offend him further. “What's your favourite subject at school?”

“...I enjoy mathematics,” he said, a puzzled tone entering his voice. She made a non-committal noise but didn't press for further information. He was prevented from asking another question when his phone lit up. She looked away as his face was illuminated, not wanting him to see that she was upset. “It appears Grayson has arrived and is working to release us.”

“That's great,” she said dully, inspecting the hem of her skirt in the sudden light. She could feel his eyes on her but didn't look back at him. The phone mercifully darkened and they were in darkness once more. “If you still want to play while we wait, it's your question.”

“I do not-” he was cut short when they heard shouting and thudding coming from above them. He glanced up and Marinette decided it was time to stand again, stretching as she did so. The emergency hatch opened above them and light flooded from it.

“Lil D, you okay in there?” A cheerful voice rang out, tinged with a touch of concern. “We're gonna have you out any second, it looks like there's a little corrosion on the elevator wire, so we're being real careful. But if you could get ready to climb up- oh, hi.”

“Hi,” Marinette said awkwardly, waving as the handsome older man looked at her in surprise. So apparently Damian hadn't said there was someone else in the elevator - whatever hope she had that he was just shy or something shriveled into a hard lump. “Thank you for coming to get us.”

“Uh, no problem, sweetheart,” Grayson said, smiling at her bemusedly. She mustered up a smile that vanished as soon as he ducked out of view. She and Damian stood awkwardly, much further apart than they had been five minutes before. He was staring intently at her but she kept her gaze fixed on her hands. 

“Okay, I'm going to pull Damian out first because he's heavier, okay Miss?” Grayson said, dangling further into the elevator with a harness around his torso. She gave a soft okay, cupping her elbows with her hands. Through her peripherals, she saw Damian hesitate before reaching for his brother's hands and allowing himself to be pulled out.

She could hear the vague sounds of whoever was supporting Grayson as they took on the burden of removing Damian. Before too long, Grayson lowered himself back and offered her his hands. She grasped them tightly, pulling herself up with practiced ease, before the crew started pulling them out of the space.

The bright lights of the mall made her squint when she exited the elevator shaft and she was immediately engulfed in Adrien and Chloé’s arms. She glanced at Damian and Grayson, who were standing to the side of everything and speaking in low voices. 

She flushed again when Damian looked over at her, and pointedly looked away, furious that he had caught her watching him. Adrien looked at her curiously, but she could also see a flash of guilt which told her the elevator hadn't been malfunctioning naturally. 

“You are in so much trouble,” she hissed, glaring up at him. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, muttering sorry as she huffed. “Also, you probably ruined any chance I had of getting to know him normally, so thanks for that.”

“Miss, I hope you're okay, we have paramedics that can check you over if you would like,” Grayson said, having approached them. Damian hung back, still watching her, but she made no move towards either of them. “Damian said you kept really calm in there, so you did a great job.”

“Thank you, but I'm fine,” she answered, offering him a smile again. “There wasn't really anything for me to worry about, and Damian told me he had asked for you to come and rescue us. I'm sorry you had to take time out of your day to help.”

“Anything for Lil D, and his friends,” he responded jovially, and Damian made a strange noise that made Marinette ache again. It shouldn't hurt that he didn't think of her as a friend, because they weren't, but that didn't lessen the sting.

“That's very kind of you, Grayson, but I'm just one of the French exchange class,” she muttered, glaring at the floor. She missed the curious look he sent towards his brother, but carried on regardless. “Thank you for your time, Damian, I hope the rest of your day is pleasant. Adrien, Chloé, we should rejoin our class.”

Damian watched her stalk away, confused and frustrated. Marinette had been one of the few students from the Parisian class that hadn't annoyed him with questions and power-hungry looks. She had intrigued him with her generally pleasant demeanour and the cordial way she spoke to everyone she met. 

So when the elevator malfunctioned he had thought the game would be a good way to get information about Paris’ heroes without generating suspicion. But he had surprised himself when he asked about her relationship with Agreste, slightly unnerved by his own burning curiosity and the anxiety he felt while waiting for her answer. He had also been fascinated by her responses, charmed in spite of himself when she blushed and stammered.

And then she had asked about his own status and he had immediately been wary. Often, young women, and men, expressed an interest in whether he was single and immediately proceeded to ingratiate themselves so that they could work their way into his family.

And when she had tried to backtrack, his heart had sunk, convinced that she had overplayed her hand. But then she had deviated from his experience by giving a short, probably understated view of her family's standing. And she had withdrawn completely from the game, showing no interest in the final question she had been able to ask.

“She was cute, did you get her number?” Grayson asked slyly, a mischievous smirk on his face. Damian gave him an unamused glare, not wanting to admit that he seemed to have offended her. “Oh come on, D, I'm joking. I'm just impressed she came out of there without any broken bones, you hate being stuck with random girls.”

“Tt, she is not random, she is one of the students here for the French exchange trip,” Damian said, annoyed by Grayson's immediate interest. “Regardless, I have not caused injury to any of my peers in quite some time. Additionally, she was able to give me some insight into the Parisian heroes, causing an injury would have been counterproductive.”

“Oh, it was part of the mission then.” Grayson had the gall to sound as disappointed as Damian felt, and it grated on him. “Well, I hope she didn't make you too uncomfortable in the process. Maybe you can ask someone else about anything you didn't get?”

Damian was saved from this excruciating conversation by Kent jogging over to them. He looked far too happy, and it irritated Damian more given his own emotional state. Grayson greeted him warmly but Kent was grinning at Damian in a way that made him wary. He had the sudden suspicion that his conversation with Marinette was not as private as he would have liked.

“So you got stuck in an elevator with Marinette, huh.” Damian’s suspicions were confirmed by the way Kent stressed her name, and he growled a warning to the half-Kryptonian. “You know, you're very grumpy now that you're out of the elevator, what's wrong, did Dick interrupt?”

“Kent, I would advise you to shut your mouth,” he snarled, a blush spreading up his neck when Grayson stared at him. “Tt, there was nothing to interrupt, as I have already explained to Grayson that I was gathering information on the Parisian heroes.”

“Oh? And the relevance of asking about whether she was dating her model friend?” Damian was going to murder him. He hissed as much to his now ex-best friend, acutely aware that Grayson was far too interested in the exchange. “Besides, I don't think I've ever heard you talk about your art with anyone before.”

“I was gaining her trust,” he ground out, before turning to glare at Grayson. “Do you not have somewhere else to be?”

“Oh, I think I can spare a few more minutes,” his traitorous brother said, grinning more widely than Damian had ever seen before. “I can't wait to tell Tim and Jay about this. You sure you didn't get her number, little bro?”

Kent snorted and any hope that Damian had of keeping the disaster the rest of the conversation had been disintegrated. He looked away, glaring into the distance as Kent proceeded. “He offended her; apparently he's allowed to ask her invasive questions about her ‘romantic entanglements’ but she can't ask if he's single.”

“She asked if you were single?” Grayson squealed, whipping around to see if he could see her still. He looked disappointed when it became clear that she was out of sight. “Dames, I can't believe you weren't going to tell me any of this! I could've helped!”

“There is every chance that she was only enquiring to further her own ambitions,” he said grumpily, glaring at Kent when he sighed exasperatedly. “What is the problem, Kent? You are perfectly aware that most everyone who approaches me is interested only in my father's money. It is not as though I have a winning personality that bids them to approach me.”

Neither Kent nor Grayson had anything to say to that, and Damian felt vindicated, if a little hollow. Of course she was only interested in the Wayne fortune, and if even overly optimistic Grayson could not argue the point, it was practically fact. He had hoped, when she had asked about pets and his art, that he could explore the strange attraction he felt for her, but it was a risk he dared not take.

The remainder of Marinette's day was overshadowed by the frustration that she had already blown her chance of getting to know Damian better.

_ _ _

Adrien was nervous. He knew he had taken a risk when he had let Plagg mess with the elevator to force Marinette to spend time with Damian. She had been mooning over the youngest Wayne for the past week and a half and they only had a few days before they returned to Paris.

But apparently it had backfired, and now Marinette was angry and disappointed - not to mention slightly heartbroken. She had locked herself in her room at the hotel they were staying at, courtesy of the Gotham Academy exchange program, only coming out for dinner. Her eyes had been a little puffy and she had made a point of talking to everyone else during the meal.

And when they had gone back to the school the following day, she had made herself small and unobtrusive, barely talking to any of the Parisian students. And whenever she was in the same room as Damian, she had completely shut herself off, buried in her schoolwork or, if she was on break, her sketchbook. 

He wasn't blind, he saw the young billionaire’s son watching his lady, and wondered how true it was that he had ruined any chance she had. It had looked like he was going to approach her several times, but each time she had mysteriously become busy and vanished. A sour look was common on Damian's face, but even his usual glower had nothing on today.

As they approached the last lesson of the day, Damian's tall friend made his way over to her. She looked up at him, a brittle, bright smile fixed on her lips. The smile faded as he spoke, a concerned frown taking its place. She stood, abandoning her work and nodding to the boy before following him out.

Marinette followed Jon to an empty classroom, wondering what he needed to talk to her about. He had said it was urgent, and all but begged her to come with him so she had relented. But she couldn't think what he possibly had to say to her. Was he going to warn her to stay away from Damian? Because, if so, he would likely be surprised by how quickly he'd get her agreement.

“Sorry to drag you away from your work,” he said sincerely, and she nodded confusedly. “I just wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday. Damian hasn't said much but he's been pretty grumpy ever since.”

“Oh.” Her throat tightened and she felt a hot prickle of tears in her eyes. Even though she had figured this was how it was going, she didn't know what to say. ‘Sorry, I made your friend uncomfortable and he hates me, which is a bummer because I have a crazy crush on him’? Yeah, not likely. “I mean, it was- bad luck, really. It sort of follows me around sometimes, but my best friend was the one who pushed me into the elevator with Damian.”

“Adrien, right? Why'd he do that?” Jon looked earnest, and she felt her will to keep quiet crumble away slightly. She mumbled something incoherent, not wanting him to think she was completely insane. He waited patiently, cocking his head to the side.

“Look, my friend thought that, if I was forced to spend some time with your friend, I'd get over my nerves and tell him I think he's cute,” she said eventually. She was rapidly losing her desire to keep it to herself in the face of telling someone who knew Damian well enough to put her mind at rest. “But I blew it because I have precisely zero chill and rushed into asking him if he was seeing anyone and now he hates me.”

“Whoa, hang on, you think he's cute?” Jon looked like Christmas had just come early, bouncing onto the balls of his feet. “Sorry, sorry, I just- Damian thought you were asking because you wanted to get close to his family, since that's how these things usually go.”

“Why would I be interested in his family?” Marinette was bewildered, her mind turning over their interactions and picking at them. In none of their conversations had he ever mentioned who his family were, and she had been so overwhelmed on the first day that she'd only caught people's first names. “I mean, I get it, I know enough people with money that I've seen the kinds of people that do that sort of thing. But he's the one who mentioned Grayson when we were talking.”

“Kent, you are supposed to be speaking with Mr-” Damian strode into the room and froze when he saw Marinette. She squeaked and turned away, apologising for intruding before racing out of the room. She didn't make it far before someone caught her arm. She pulled out of the hold automatically, turning to face whoever it was. 

“Apologies, I did not want to shout and cause a scene,” Damian said stiffly, arm slowly lowering. She blushed again, trying to look at anything other than him but only succeeding about twenty percent of the time. “I did not mean to interrupt you and Kent, you should go and continue your conversation.”

“No, no, it's fine,” she said breathlessly, trying not to let him see how panicked she felt. She got the impression that she was failing, abysmally. “He just- he wanted to make sure I didn't do anything in the elevator yesterday, I think. But I was rambling and I think I just confused him, so I think it would be better if I-”

“Marinette, calm down,” Damian instructed, stepping closer to her. She stopped breathing as she looked up at him with wide eyes. The only thing she could see was his steady green eyes and she felt dizzy. “Marinette, take a breath for me, I am concerned that you will faint otherwise.”

She gasped suddenly, and something like relief shone in his eyes. “Why do you think I'm only after your family?” She blurted abruptly, flushing when he jerked back from her. “I mean- Jon said you thought I was only interested in you because of your family, but I don't even know who your family are. Obviously I'd like to meet them some time but it's not like we're even dating, so that's kind of a moot point.”

“...you are interested in me?” He said quietly, stepping closer. She blushed harder, stepping back and looking away. He stepped back into her space, and she retreated once more, continuing until she was against the corridor wall. He used a surprisingly gentle hand to turn her face towards him searching for an answer.

“Obviously,” she whispered, her hands somehow gripping his lapels. He didn't seem to care, the hand on her chin moving to brush a loose strand of her hair out of the way. She licked her lips, a quick darting motion that he tracked, which made the butterflies return in force. 

“Then I should probably tell you that I find you attractive,” he murmured, his head lowering towards hers. His breath fanned over her face, but he stopped short of actually kissing her. They stood, suspended in that moment for several seconds before they moved.

Marinette could not swear to what happened next. All she knew was that she felt the pressure of his lips on hers and she thought she had died and gone to heaven. It lasted for the briefest moment before someone else came into the hall, and Damian jerked back again, cheeks adorably flushed.

“Oh, I'm so sorry to interrupt,” came a sickly sweet voice that made Marinette close her eyes in anger. She turned to glare at Lila, hands falling away from Damian’s shirt. “Adrien was just saying that he hadn't seen you for a while, and with class starting soon we should come and find you. I didn't realise you were…busy.”

Before Marinette could retort, she skipped away, flashing a smirk at Marinette over her shoulder. She looked back at Damian, who was eyeing the retreating vixen with suspicion and resentment. He glanced back at Marinette, a warmth coming back to his eyes.

“I apologise for my forwardness, Marinette,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing gently. She grinned at him, flushing as she thought about just how forward they had both been. “But…if it is alright, perhaps we could spend some time together this evening?”

“I'd love to,” she said, practically buzzing with excitement when he gave her a crooked smile. She excused herself to go and get her things from the lunchroom, after giving him her number so they could find each other at the end of the day.

When she got back to her bag, she found Adrien sitting guard over it. He smiled tentatively at her, clearly hoping he had been forgiven for the previous day. She gave him a mock glare, but the heat that had been behind it that morning had dissipated.

She still planned on getting him back for putting her and Damian in danger, just because he thought she needed a push, but she could let him have a false sense of security for now.

As the last class of the day ended, Marinette received a short text from Damian, letting her know where to find him. She said goodbye to Adrien and Chloé excitedly before shooting off to inform the teachers that she would be spending time with one of the Gotham Academy students. 

When she approached their meeting place, she slowed when she spotted Jon practically hovering behind Damian, an excited spark in his eyes. He waved exuberantly at her and she gave a small one back but smiled brightly at Damian.

Damian had been dealing with Kent's smug behaviour for the final hour of the day and he was irritated that the super had decided to stalk him to his meeting with Marinette. He was convinced that his meddling had resulted in the resolution of Damian and Marinette's conflict and it made him unbearable.

When she finally appeared, she seemed reluctant to approach whilst Kent was with him, making him even more annoyed. But she gave him a smile so lovely he forgot his bad mood momentarily, smiling back at her. She stopped within touching distance, gripping the strap of her bag tightly. 

“Apologies, Marinette, Kent insisted on accompanying me to this meeting, but he will leave in a moment,” he said, turning sternly on his friend. Who proceeded to ignore him in favour of the girl he was attempting to woo. Damian seethed quietly, swearing he would find a way to get back at Kent. 

“It's fine, my friends have been trying to butt in since yesterday,” she assured him, giving Kent a stern and disappointed look. Damian smirked at the wounded look on the other boy's face, relieved that Marinette was not deterred by his presence. “But would you like to get going? I have to be back at the hotel by 7pm and I'd like to get to know you better.”

“Of course,” he said immediately, offering her his arm which she took without hesitation. “I'm keen to learn more about this famous patisserie your parents are responsible for.”

“Besides, we can always plan how we're going to get revenge over coffee,” she said sweetly, shooting Kent a wolfish smile. Damian laughed aloud in surprise when Kent squawked. Marinette was certainly far more interesting than anyone else who had approached him and, if she truly did not know who his family were, she could not possibly be angling for the Wayne heir specifically.

(Now with Part 2)

[nerds-yearbook]

After 478 issues, DC canceled the anthology Adventure Comics with a cover date of December, 1980. However, DC reversed their decision and three months later continued the series with issue 479, dropping Aquaman from the series. ("Aquaman: Grand Illusion", "Starman: And Death's Icy Touch", "Plastic Man: A Night in the Nut House", Adventure Comics 478#, DC Comic Event)

[jaystephevents]

JaySteph Winter Solstice

December 21, 2024

Happy fall, JaySteph Nation!

As we celebrate Spooky Season, it’s time to start thinking about our next JaySteph Event - JaySteph Winter Solstice! This is a one-day event with prompts encompassing winter and all December holidays. BUT, your work doesn’t have to be specifically about winter or a holiday as long as it fits the prompt!!

Our prompts this year are SONG TITLES - whatever title you pick is the TITLE OF YOUR FIC or ART! You just need to craft your work to fit the title - even if, as we said, it doesn’t relate specifically to a holiday.

For example, we picked One Love as our Kwanzaa song prompt to represent the first principle of Umoja (Unity), but your work doesn’t have to be about Kwanzaa if you don’t want.

Deck the Halls could be about a literal crime busting fight! What Child is This? Do I hear accidental baby acquisition, anyone? Or kid fic? Deaging? Silent Night = horror fic? Stakeout ? Hiding together in a closet from baddies?

The Longest Night of the Year is our Winter Solstice song prompt, but maybe the night just FEELS long because ….. ??? They’re stuck at a gala? Jason’s bleeding out and Steph doesn’t know if he’s gonna make it? It’s up to you!

Please reblog to help spread the word!

Read more for all the Event nitty gritty and text version of prompts.

As always, your work must be brand new and JaySteph-centric. Your JaySteph can be platonic, romantic, or NSFW, but their relationship with each other should be the central focus of the fic. We don’t allow JaySteph-poly ships so we can keep the focus solely on JaySteph, but side poly ships are fine. Or, if they’re dating other people and it’s a platonic JaySteph fic, that’s fine too, as long as the main focus of the fic is the JaySteph platonic relationship.

This is a ship-friendly, censorship-free event open to all. Tags will be added to event reblogs for #Batship and #Dark so people can filter those works out if needed. We want this event to be accessible to everyone, regardless of triggers.

Send us an Ask with any questions!

❤️💜Text-version of Prompts💜❤️

One Love

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel

The Longest Night of the Year

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

What Child is This?

Silent Night

Deck the Halls

Ding Dong Merrily On High

Santa Baby

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Blue Christmas

All I Want for Christmas is You

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Auld Lang Syne

Please reblog to help spread the word!!

@jaysteph-server @fuckyeahjaysteph @dc-fandom-events

Thanks so much to @skylarkblue for our awesome event banner and prompts graphic!!

[serafilms]

serafilms’ spotify wrapped 2024 event is now live!

welcome one and welcome all to 2024’s spotify wrapped drabble event! my signature move, my baby, my homage to spotify and my wonderful year of listening. happy december and happy spotify wrapped! requests are open now, but i won’t start until spotify wrapped is out (dec 4)

event masterlist

how it works: pair a number 1-100 with a character from any of the fandoms below, and i will write a drabble with the song that the number corresponds to in my top songs of 2024!

see last year’s event for more!

example: ‘hi, can i please request 27 with jake from enhypen?’

list of fandoms: jjk, txt, enhypen, pjo/hoo, haikyuu, nct dream, zb1, boynextdoor, grishaverse, harry potter/marauders, genshin, honkai star rail, dc, voltron, atla

available numbers: all except 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 29, 33, 45, 50, 77

[fourthworldweek]

We are happy to announce Fourth World Week! Fourth World Week is an event celebrating characters that are tied to DC's Fourth World. Fourth World Week will run from December 8 to December 14, 2024.

Stay tuned for the prompts!

[dpxdc-events]

DPxDC Artist Event: New Dimension, New Me

New Dimension, New Me is a DPxDC Artist Event running from December 31 to January 7 that focuses on “But what if x character(s) as [insert setting/au here]?! Sounds neat!”

Each day of the event gives you two themed challenges to choose from, as well as the optional bonus challenges, for you to redesign your beloved DC and Danny Phantom characters. Submissions for this event should be tagged “#new dimension new me2023” so we can reblog all those who wish to participate.

Text descriptions below along with Hex codes for the color palette

December 31st: Headcanons/Character Profile  Bonus Challenge: Character Color Palette Inversion or Stealth/undercover Mission

January 1st: Hazmat or/and Astronaut Bonus Challenge: Include Martian Manhunter or Valerie

January 2nd: Medieval or/and Futuristic  Bonus Challenge: Pixel Art or Shipping Art

January 3rd: Fantasy or/and Steampunk Bonus Challenge: Include Wonder Woman or Skulker

January 4th: Royalty or/and Peasantry Bonus Challenge: Lineless art or Rivalry/ Enemy art 

January 5th: Alternate Dimension or Bad Timeline Bonus Challenge: Include Tim Drake or Young Blood

January 6th: Occult or/and Academia Bonus Challenge: Include any Robin or Any Everlasting Trio Member

January 7th: Boss Battle -  Mix and Match, Try to draw as much as you can or want to

Hex codes:

Palette #1: b8336a, c490d1, acacde, abdafc, e5fcff

Palette #2: ad343e, 474747, f2af29, 000000, e0e0ce

Palette #3: 1e3231, f6c0d0, 6fd08c, 7b9ea8, 78586f

Palette #4: ffe74c, ff5964, ffffff, 6bf178, 35a7ff

Palette #5: fe5f55, f0b67f, 43aa8b, 725d68, 4b4a67

Palette #6 : f7f9f9, bed8d4, 78d5d7, 63d2ff, 2081c3

Palette #7: 052f5f, 005377, 06a77d, d5c67a, f1a208

Palette #8: 04e762, f5b700, dc0073, 008bf8, 89fc00

Palette #9: ab96d9, 0a122a, 764131, ad8350, fde74c