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wintermelonbear · 3 years

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Artistry

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

Trope/s: Childhood Friends, No Powers AU

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

Words: 4808

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“How did you–?”

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

“Tch. Deal.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Contestant number 54 you’re up next!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Maribat #MGI Trope Tussle 2021 #Daminette #Damian x Marinette #please send help idk how to write #if by any chance Issa is reading this ILY #Team Childhood Friends

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nightlychaotic · 2 years

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I posted 3,091 times in 2021

101 posts created (3%)

2990 posts reblogged (97%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 29.6 posts.

I added 226 tags in 2021

#maribat - 62 posts

#dickinette - 37 posts

#enemies to lovers - 23 posts

#mgi trope tussle - 19 posts

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#no beta this is tussle - 17 posts

#no beta this is war - 15 posts

#mgi civil war - 14 posts

#civil war ~ dick justice - 12 posts

#team dick for the win - 10 posts

Longest Tag: 106 characters

#i'm in the civil war but everyone's doing amazing and i am absolutely loving all the content being created

My Top Posts in 2021

Plus One

Marinette studied the man across the table from her, taking a sip of her coffee to help her swallow her pride. “Will you be my plus one to a wedding?”

The spluttering sounds from the other side of the table brought a small smile to her face.

“I’m sorry what?”

“I want you to be my plus one to a wedding. Preferable pretending to be my boyfriend.”

“I’m not saying I won’t do it, but why are you coming to me about this? I thought you hated me.”

“And the feeling is mutual I assume, Dick,” she shot back, exhaling. “All my other friends are either, a: taken, or b: already have a plus one, and I told Alya that I had a boyfriend, so she would stop trying to set me up with people, so that throws everyone she knows out the window.”

Dick laughed. “So you came to your rival to ask for help?”

Marinette pinched her nose and sighed. “I’ll design your suit, free of charge, something many would kill for, and I’ll be covering airfare. All you have to do is show up and pretend we’re in a relationship for the weekend. You don’t have to like me, you just need to pretend you do.”

“I’ll do it. When is it?”

“Two weeks. I’ll need to be there next week. You’re welcome to come with me or later in the week, but I will need your measurements by the weekend to make sure I can get the fabric and get it made in time. We can do the final fitting in Paris but the brunt of it should be done before we leave. My dress and the rest of the bridesmaid’s dresses should be done by Saturday, giving me Sunday to pack, and I’ll be flying out Monday,” she said, beginning to ramble as she thought about what needed to be done before she left. Dick’s chuckle broke her train of thought as she gave him a sharp look. “When are you free today or tomorrow?”

“I’m free all day today.”

Marinette nodded, finishing off her coffee. “Ready to go when you are then.”

Dick chugged the remainder of his coffee and grinned. “Lead the way.”

Marinette led the way out of the coffee shop, starting the couple block walk to her studio, the two of them walking in silence, until Dick began to whistle. She bit back a groan, she was asking a large favor of him, she wasn’t about to snap at him for whistling, lest he change his mind.

She unlocked the backdoor, and ushered him in, turning on the lights.

“I’m going to need you to take off your jacket,” she said, pulling out a post-it note, pen, and tape measure, before quickly taking his measurements, jotting them down as she worked, only giving soft instructions when needed.

“Great. So when do you want to fly out?”

“When are you?”

“Monday at 10.”

“That works for me.”

“Great. Meet here Monday at 6 so we have enough time to get to the airport and get through security and find our gate,” she told him scribbling her number down on a separate post-it note and handing it to him as she ushered him out of her studio. “See you then.”

“See you then, Marinette.”

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

They landed at the airport and collected their bags before heading out.

“Do we need to rent a car?” Dick asked looking over at her.

“No need,” Marinette replied. “My friend’s coming to pick us up. We’re going to be staying at his house while we’re here, since he has more space for me to work and my parents are busy at the moment preparing to cater as well as the usual bakery rush.”

Dick was about to respond, when a limo pulled up and Marinette, grabbed her bags and strode towards it as the back door opened, and a tall, blonde model of a man rushed over to give Marinette a hug, lifting her off the ground. Dick shook her head at the slight tightening in his chest.

“M’Lady!”

“Kitty, not now, please,” she replied with a laugh.

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247 notes • Posted 2021-05-18 07:51:36 GMT

I Like You a Latte

“Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so caramel me maybe?”

The barista, Marinette her name tag read, stared at him, a small smirk forming.

“Nice try, Romeo. What can I get you?”

“Surprise me,” Dick grinned as she put something into the monitor next to her.

“For here or to-go?”

“To-go. Name?”

“Dick.”

She smiled, and directed her attention to the next customer, as Dick moved to the side to wait.

“Caramel Macchiato for Romeo!” got called out. Dick looked over to see the barista grinning at him, cup in hand. She gestured it out towards him. He chuckled as he moved to grab it. “Come again soon,” she told him as she handed him the cup. Dick grinned as he left the shop.

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

“What can I get you?”

Dick leaned onto the counter, and smiled at the barista. “Are you on the menu?”

“Not today,” she replied with a grin, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Anything else catching your interest?”

“Not nearly as much as you do, but I suppose I’ll take whatever you think and a black coffee.”

“On it. For here or to go today?”

“Here.”

“On it.”

Dick sat at a window seat, glancing out looking at the dreary day as he waited for Tim to arrive. He needed a break from work, so Dick decided to drag him to a coffee shop. Wouldn’t get him to sleep but would get him away for work for a while. A decent compromise.

“Hey,” Tim greeted sitting down across from him.

“Took you long enough,” Dick greeted. Before Tim could respond he heard Marinette call out.

“Flat White and Black Coffee for Romeo!”

Dick went to grab their coffees and came back to Tim’s unimpressed face.

“You’ve been flirting with the barista.”

“Whatever gives you that idea?”

“How’s it working out for you Romeo?”

“Well she gave me a cookie, so.”

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

“I've been thinking about you a latte.”

“Oh have you now?”

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268 notes • Posted 2021-04-22 22:43:02 GMT

It's a Date

Marinette took a deep breath before sliding into the seat across from Damian at lunch.

“What do you want, Dupain-Cheng?” he spoke up, not looking away from his book.

“I know we don’t like each other, and I’m not asking for you to start, but your family is going to Jagged Stone’s wedding, correct?”

“I don’t know how you know that information but you are correct. Why?”

“I thought you could be my date.”

“What gave you that impression?” Damian asked looking over at her.

“From what I’ve seen your brothers are always one your back trying to get you to lighten up and socialise. This will get them off your back. Besides, you are already invited and if I don’t show up with a date, Jagged will be peacocking me around simultaneously singing my praises while trying to play matchmaker. I do not need to go through that torture again. As much as I love him, I can’t. Not after that fiasco,” she said, shaking her head at the memory.

He sat there for a moment before nodding. “Fine.”

“Great. I’ll design and make your suit of course-”

“Pardon me. I have a suit already.”

“Sure, but you’re getting a new one.”

“Tt. I will not. I have no need for one.”

“I don’t care. As the official designer for the wedding, I’ll be damned if my date isn’t wearing one of my creations,” she snapped.

This got Damian to put his book down all the way as he studied her. “You’re the wedding designer?” he asked. She nodded with a proud smile.

“I am. I’m meeting with the wedding party on Saturday, your father is the best man if I’m recalling correctly. If you can tag along with him that would be great. Otherwise we can arrange for a separate meeting time.”

“Saturday will be fine.”

“Great. I’ll see you then. Thank you for agreeing to do this,” she said, slipping out of her seat and moving to her usual table.

“What was that about?” someone asked as she sat down.

“What?”

“What were you talking to Damian Wayne about?”

“That, is none of your business. Besides, it’s a bit of a secret project. You’ll just have to find out with everyone else.”

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

Damian found himself in Jagged Stone’s penthouse, standing closer to the door watching the chaos unfold. Grayson was playing with the crocodile scratching its belly. Jagged Stone was in a corner gesturing wildly as he spoke to Dupain-Cheng who was nodding along, cutting him off from time to time adding her own contributions as she furiously scribbled in her sketchbook, glancing up every once in a while to scan the room. Penny Rolling, the fiancée, played hostess, providing some snacks and drinks for the wedding party, glancing towards the corner.

Damian raised a brow as he witnessed the silent conversation between the bride and designer, the latter giving her an apologetic smile and head nod, turning back to face Jagged, who had now looped his father into whatever conversation they were having, haven stolen the sketchbook and flipping through it showing the content to his father. Dupain-Cheng nodded taking one final look around the room, grabbing the sketch book back, flipping through several pages scribbling a small note one each page separately before shutting it and towing Jagged and his father over to the main area and sitting them down on the couch, before getting everyone else to as well.

“I’m going to take the bride’s half of the party’s measurement first and do a quick consultation with them before moving onto the groom’s half. I will need to keep the best man and maid of honor a bit longer with the couple afterwards. Mr. Wayne I trust you can keep somewhat of an eye on things out here?”

Damian watched her as she moved quickly taking measurements, navigating around Jagged as he talked, somehow managing to get and write measurements as he moved, keeping with him and avoiding his arms as he gestured.

“Bruce! You should commission Marinette for your next gala. I showed you some of her sketches earlier, they’re even rock n’ roll in person! C’mon let me show you some-” taking his father and starting to walk away until Dupain-Cheng lunged after him, grabbing Jagged.

“Not so fast! Not until after I take his measurements. Then you can steal him away for a minute while I take Damian’s measurements. It’ll only take a minute.”

She pulled Bruce into the middle of her small area and quickly began to measure him,

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289 notes • Posted 2021-05-20 21:37:16 GMT

The Cat That Caught the Canary

Marinette walked through the museum, trying to keep her footsteps soft as Plagg floated alongside her.

“You sure that it’s here, Plagg?” Marinette whispered.

“Trust me Pigtails. It’s here. And you need to get it before we have another Hawkmoth incident,” Plagg said. Marinette winced slightly. Yep. Did not want a repeat of Hawkmoth anytime soon.

“And the reason you didn’t want Tikki or any of the others to know?”

“It’s a surprise!”

Marinette looked at him.

“...And Tikki wouldn’t let us go if she knew we were stealing from a museum and the other kwamii can’t keep a secret from her to save their lives. But I swear. There’s a Miraculous here. It’s not the first time you know.”

“I know. I know. And we don’t need a repeat of that incident either,” she muttered under her breath. “Are we close?”

“It’s just over here. Sheesh, patience Pigtails.”

She rolled her eyes slightly at him as he led her to an exhibition case.

“Care to do the honors?”

Plagg flew into the case unlocking it. Marinette gently opened the case and pulled out the belt that laid inside, tucking it away, before closing the lid.

“Plagg can you relock it?”

“On it.”

“That’s it right? We can leave now?”

“Yep. Unless there’s anything else you want to steal while we’re at it. A little souvenir or two”

“No. We’re not taking souvenirs, Plagg,” Marinette told the mini god without turning around to face him.

“Why not? It’ll be fun.”

Marinette turned around to face him. Eyes widening as she looked at him.

“Plagg No,” she whispered yelled at the kwamii who had draped himself in a couple priceless necklaces and wearing a bracelet around his middle.

“Plagg Yes,” he cackled with glee. Marinette sighed running a hand through her head.

“Plagg. Put them back. We don’t have time for this.”

“Aw come on. Live a little.”

“No. Hurry up and put those back. I’m not trying to get caught by GCPD or worse one of the Bats. Now, Plagg.”

“Can’t I at least keep-”

“NO.”

“Fiiiiiine.”

Marinette watched him as he put the stolen jewelry back in its case, muttering under her breath about ‘chaotic mini god of destruction giving me headaches every time I turn around’ and “God Tikki is going to kill us when we get back, why did I let him talk me into this, oh right because it’s “my duty” to.

“You know the museum doesn’t allow visitors for a few more hours.”

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342 notes • Posted 2021-04-19 16:33:57 GMT

The Reason The Angel Fell From The Sky (I Knocked Her Over)

“Come on, Ice Prince of Gotham here probably wouldn’t be able to be romantic if his life depended on it.”

“I am positive that, if I wanted to, I could be romantic.”

“No, he’s got a point, Damian. You do tend to be a bit cold and icy to everyone.”

“Tt. I could, Todd, if need be.”

“Oh really? You’re going to have to prove it,” Jason replied, shoving Damian. Hard. Into a girl.

The girl, unfortunately, had turned around and taken a couple steps right at that moment, arms full carrying several bolts of fabric. She hadn’t noticed him, and Damian couldn’t stop his momentum. The two collided, knocking the other down, fabric flying. Damian glared at his brothers as he collected himself, before trying to help the girl collect her belongings, grabbing the bolts of fabric and shoving them at his brothers for them to carry. He turned to offer the girl a hand up.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to knock you down. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You have no need to apologize. It was my idiotic brothers’ fault. Are you alright?”

“Oh I’m fine, I do more damage when I trip myself than that small fall. I’m Marinette by the way.”

Damian gave a small bow, taking her hand, slowly raising it to place a kiss on the back of it, never breaking eye contact.

“Damian.”

The two stood there for a moment, a small smirk gracing Damian’s face while Marinette’s cheeks flushed as they stared at each other.

“Not going to introduce us, Damian? How rude. I’m Dick and this is Jason” Dick chimed in, grinning as he broke the small moment.

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Marinette said, as she moved to take her fabric back from Dick and Jason. They stepped back and held the bolts away from her.

“Give me my fabric back, please.”

“Nope. We’re carrying these, little lady. It’s the least we can do after knocking you down.”

“Any way I can convince you guys otherwise?” she asked once more trying to grab the bolts.

“Nope,” Jason grinned.

“No way. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do,” Dick agreed, as Marinette rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Fine, but I’m paying you back for this.”

“You don’t need t-”

“Nope. If you insist, I insist. Come on. Those get heavy fast and we got a bit of a way to walk.”

“I apologize for my brothers,” Damian said, as Marinette led the way. She laughed and smiled at him in return.

“It’s fine. I’ve dealt with worse than those two in the past. I’m not ruining any of your plans am I?”

“No. Not at all. We were simply exploring the city when my brothers pushed me into you.”

“Oh! Where are you from originally?”

“Gotham City, New Jersey.”

“That’s the city with umm… Batman right? My friend Alya went on about them all the time before Hawkmoth showed up.”

“Hawkmoth? Those videos are real?” Dick chimed in from behind.

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400 notes • Posted 2021-04-16 05:49:36 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#why is like you a latte in my top 5 #ah-#I don't know so here #Fic coming soon?#idfk anymore

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