Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Marinette couldn’t believe it after so many years of Hawkmoth’s reign of terror, they had finally won.

*Flashback*

Her team, consisting of Ryuko, Viperion, and Empress Abeille, had finally managed to locate Hawkmoth’s base and the surprise attack caught Gabriel Agreste untransformed and off guard. Empress Abeille was able to sting him before he could transform and Ladybug was able to remove the Miraculous with ease. As expected, Gabriel was furious and screamed at them that all he wanted to do was heal his wife. Ladybug had demanded to be brought to her and Gabriel sensing something otherworldly about her acquiesced. He opened the secret entrance and when they descended into the cavern, the heroes saw her body that was locked in a cryogenic state. Ladybug asked Gabriel to open her case and once opened, Ladybug began to inspect her. Ladybug began to glow a soft pink and funneled her energy into Emilie. After several long minutes, Emilie opened her eyes.

Gabriel immediately ran to hug and he turned back to the others with tears running down is face. He said, “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. I’m so truly sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused and I realize that now. I was just so distraught about losing her that I knew I couldn’t live without her.”

The heroes looked at each other and Ladybug told Gabriel to give them a second. Once away from the hugging and crying couple, Ryuko states, “I know that look Ladybug and you want to let him go.”

“I want to find a way to make him pay back everything without him having to go to jail. Look at them! Not only would he simply be locked away from everyone, she would also have to suffer by everyone knowing who she was married to” Ladybug cried.

Viperion spoke finally, “She’s right we could make him start and head organizations for the victims that have been traumatized and to volunteer with different programs to help the city of Paris.”

Empress Abeille added haughtily, “We could even have him do a separate foundation for just the children of the attacks.” Ladybug smiled at her remembering little Addi that Queenie had befriended 2 years ago after she was akumatized. Ladybug asked her teamates if they all agreed and at once everyone did thinking he’d finally be able to pay Paris back for all the terror they had lived through.

When they approached Gabriel they overheard him telling his wife that he was going to have go away for a long time, but before Emilie could say anything, Viperion interrupted. “We’ve decided on a separate course of action for you.”

Ladybug further explained, “We would like for you to start some foundations for all the evil you’ve done to help victims through their ordeals and start a separate one just for the children that have been traumatized as well. We also want you to start volunteering at least once a week to any charity you choose to help Paris as much as possible. If you choose not to this or discontinue for any reason, we will turn you into the police to pay for your crimes that way.”

Once again Gabriel and Emilie were both in tears and Gabriel immediately agreed stating he would not fail Paris again and that they can expect him to follow through with his promise as a thank you for not exposing him and especially for saving his wife. As the heroes were leaving, Gabriel stopped them and nervously asked, “Have you heard from Chat Noir?” As the heroes shook their head, he went on to explain, that he found out that his son Adrien was Chat Noir. Since none of the heroes appeared to be shocked by this he continued. “Something’s not been right with him for a while. He’s been angry and argues back at every chance he gets. He disappeared about a week ago and the day he disappeared he kept muttering ‘I’ll have her one way or another’ ‘We’re soulmates and she has to love me’.”

Viperion reached out a hand and placed it on Ladybug’s shoulder when her shoulders dropped slightly, though her face betrayed no emotion. Abeille answered for them, “We’re working on tracking him down, and we will return him when we can.” With that, the heroes left quickly meeting up in their hideout.

*End Flashback*

Their hideout was an old abandoned factory that Ladybug had found a few years back and was perfect to escape in and out of. Once inside, the heroes quickly detransformed. The heroes had shared each other’s identities a few years back when Ladybug stated that they would become closer as a team if they shared their identities as long as they didn’t tell Chat. Over the years Chat had become more and more angry as Ladybug refused his advances. The past few years they really only saw Chat on patrol because he wouldn’t stop trying to flirt and he had had long since stopped showing up for battles. The others had taken to splitting up in pairs on patrol to help keep Ladybug from facing Chat alone on patrol.

Marinette and Chloe both figured out Chat’s identity several years before when Adrien grew angry because Marinette kept insisting to Alya that Ladybug and Chat would never get together. Both saw how furious he got and immediately were reminded of Chat. Alya hadn’t even noticed his anger because she was furious. How dare Marinette contradict what Lila had told her? After all, Lila was Ladybug’s best friend and Ladybug told her everything. After that last argument, Marinette and Alya finally split paths. They had been drifting for a long time, but that was the final straw. Chloe and Marinette had become best friends after that since they had common ground to bond over since Lila’s lies caused everyone to leave them. They were at least able to make it to graduation and after it became much bearable without being in the constant presence of Lila and her squad. Luckily, for Marinette and Chloe, they also found friends in Luka and Kagami and they became inseparable. Even more so when Luka and Kagami started dating. Knowing their identities only brought them closer.

Once they had all detransformed inside the factory, they sat on the couches Chloe had brought in years before. Luka said, “That went a lot better than expected.”

“He had just better keep his promise,” Chloe stated haughtily.

“I think he will. Once she awakened, his song changed and it wasn’t the same darkness it was before,” Luka said mysteriously.

Kagami looked at Marinette and asked, “What about Chat?”

“I don’t know we will have to keep looking for him. Since our greatest threat is now over, this will be our new mission. We have to get the ring away from him at all costs.” Marinette said with a defeated look on her face. She hated to have to take it from him because he was her first partner, but she knew that for a long time he had not acted in a heroic way.

After talking for a while, they decided it was time to go home and get a well-deserved rest. They had agreed Empress Abeille would notify the press tomorrow of Hawkmoth’s defeat by simply saying he ran, but gave the butterfly back before he fled. Chloe stopped Marinette before she left asking if she wanted to come over to stay the night. Marinette told her that she really wished she could, but she had to finish her Uncle Jagged’s latest commission. Marinette told Chloe that once she got it finished that she would come over and she’d bring her and pollen’s favorite Honey Macaroons. They hugged each other before saying goodbye and transforming.

Ladybug was almost home when she saw a shadow in an alley down below her. Deciding to investigate, she landed quietly behind a dumpster where she could keep an eye on the figure. Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her and she felt a sharp sting, before she could turn around, she collapsed. The last thing she saw was a woman walking towards her before she blacked out.

Chapter Text

Marinette slowly opened her eyes. She knew immediately she was not in her room. She quickly looked around any realized she was in some type of poorly lit cell with metal bars and there were no windows so couldn’t see outside. She looked down to see was still wearing her red flats with black capris and her flowing red ladybug spotted tunic and she touched her ears to see if her miraculous was still there, but to her horror they were gone. She collapsed back down on the hard, concrete floor. She was beginning to panic, but a noise to her right distracted her. She moved closer to the bars and realized there was a man about her age tied up in a cell across from her. Unlike her he was bound with rope and had a gag in his mouth. He was staring right at her and she could tell he was furious, but it was so dark she couldn’t see much else. Marinette started shaking the bars trying to get to him, but the bars remained standing and all she could do was collapse once again. Whatever they dosed her with was still making her groggy and she slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

Hearing a loud noise, Marinette slowly awoke and sat up. A woman was standing in front of her with several men behind her. The woman was gorgeous with beautifully tanned skin wearing a skin tight black leather suit that was only zipped up partially so you could see ample cleavage, but Marinette quickly noticed the gun holsters on her side and that the several men behind her were carrying guns as well.

“Welcome Ladybug or should I say Guardian, I’m Talia Al Ghul, Leader of the League of Assassins” Talia stated in English with a slight smirk on her face.

Marinette gasped and became angry and was quickly thankful for all the lessons Uncle Jagged had made her take in English, “Where are my earrings?!”

Talia simply continued smirking and said, “They’ll be returned to you after the ceremony.” She ordered the men behind her to open her cell and take her.

Marinette was confused and began to panic, “What ceremony and where are you taking me?!” Ignoring her one man unlocked her cell and he and another man approached her. Marinette panicked and started fighting. Using her ladybug strength, a quick hard kick to closest one’s head knocking him quickly unconscious, she side stepped the other and quickly kicked his feet out from under him. Two more approached while she readied herself, but before they could reach her, she felt another sting and once again dropped to the ground unconscious.
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Damian Wayne was beyond furious. Not only had he been kidnapped while on patrol in Gotham, but now he was trapped in a cell, bound and gagged so tightly he couldn’t even move, much less escape. When he first awoke, he’d noticed that someone was in the cell across from him, but he wasn’t moving. Once whoever he was awoke, he seemed to look around before collapsing. Damian tried to get his attention and it obviously worked since he stood up and came to the bars to investigate. That’s when Damian realized that he was actually a young woman that was probably close to his own age. She wasn’t bound like he was, so she started to shake the bars and Damian was surprised to see the bars actually vibrate from her strength before she appeared to get dizzy and collapsed again. This time she wasn’t moving even when he tried to get her attention again.

A loud noise drew Damian’s attention away from the girl and he saw his mother walk in with several guards. She only glanced at him and gave him a quick smirk before turning her attention to the girl who had just woke up. He listened as Talia called her Ladybug and he wondered who Ladybug was. He was even more surprised to see the girl take down the two trained assassins so quickly and was getting ready to attack the others before she was shot with a dart that quickly rendered her unconscious.

Talia quickly ordered two of the guards to drag him from his cell. They didn’t even bother to free his feet, so they just carried him. They passed many doorways and went through many halls. When they finally reached their destination, they came to a small room. After the men set Damian down, they retreated to the doorway to block anyone from escaping. They set the girl down next to him and bound her quickly though they left her ungagged. Damian watched as Talia approached her and administered the antidote to revive the girl. The girl slowly looked up and around. She glanced at him before frowning then returned her attention to Talia as she started to speak. “I’ve brought you two here today to partake in ancient custom that could bring all of us much gain. Through your alliance we will be able to bring the world into a new error,” Talia stated while smirking at the two.

“What kind of alliance?” asked Marinette who appeared to be just as confused as he was.

Talia paused and seemed to relish in the two’s confusion before answering with a large smile on her face, “Marriage.”

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Marinette couldn’t believe it. “Are you insane?!” she yelled at Talia. “I’m not marrying him!” She glanced quickly at the man hoping he wasn’t offended, but he nodded his head at her showing he agreed with her.

Talia glared at the girl and said, “You will or I’ll return to Paris. I seem to recall your parents living in a bakery correct? The best in Paris. Well, you would prefer if they live a little longer don’t you? What about your friends? Chloe, Luka, and Kagami I believe were their names correct? If you ever want to receive your miraculous back you will. Will you still refuse?”

Marinette turned deathly pale. She was horrified and she knew she’d do anything to save them all so with tears in her eyes she looked at the floor in front of her and said, “I’ll marry him.”

“Good, now that you’ve agreed, your next.” She smirked at the man as he shook his head no. “You will or I’ll murder the woman beside you, along with her entire family, and we’ll slowly pick off your ‘brothers’, one by one. You know how powerful we are and picking them off one-by-one will be all too easy.” Talia said smirking. The man quickly glanced at her and then looked back at Talia before nodding. “I want to hear you say it,” as she took off his gag.

He glanced at her once more before glaring at the woman before saying, “Yes, Mother.”

Talia was his mother! Marinette was shocked! How could anyone’s mother force their own son into a marriage? Talia nodded to one of the men guarding the door, who bowed and left quickly.

Talia turned her attention back to them and said, “You see, for this particular ceremony we must have both of you enter into it willingly.”

“You’re forcing us this isn’t willingly,” the man spat at the woman.

“Oh, but you’ve both agreed even though I gave you alternatives,” she said with a smile.

The man growled but said nothing else as the guard returned with a woman wearing a purple imperial style dress. The woman entered the room and walked quickly to Talia’s side. The man beside her seemed to have frozen then his face became furious and he started screaming at her in another language that Marinette was unfamiliar with. “What are you doing here and why are you two together?!,” he finally yelled out furiously.

The woman said, “I’m here to assist with the magic part of the ceremony. After all we want this marriage to last right?” she said smirking at him.

“Who are you?" Marinette finally worked up the courage to ask.

“My name is Morgan Le Fay.”

Chapter Text

“Now don’t speak another word until I say so,” Talia said while giving a quick glare to the two. She began to speak in an ancient language that for some reason Marinette seemed to understand. “These two have come together so they can partake in the eternal bondage reserved only for two souls...”

Marinette grew worried; she was having trouble focusing since all she could think about was her friends and family. Were they truly safe once she married this man? She was very thankful her anxiety had gotten better as she got older or else she’d be in even more of a panic.

She was trying desperately to keep thoughts of no longer being able to find love. She believed as long he was a good man that she would come to love him, but if she was being honest with herself, how could any man whose mother was the leader of a group of assassins be good? True, he seemed to be just angry as her about the whole thing, but still. What if he wasn’t good? What if he hurt her? How was she supposed to be married to someone like that? She didn’t even know his name! How can she marry a complete stranger?

She felt a slight jolt as the man beside her did his best while still tied to get her attention. She was dragged from her thoughts to look at Talia. Talia’s eyes narrowed at her, “I repeat, are you willing to enter into this bond and take all responsibilities along with it?”

Marinette was barely able to choke out, “I will,” with thoughts of her family and friends circling her mind. Talia then repeated the same question to the man beside and he spit out a gruff ‘I will’ as well. Talia then motioned for Morgan to come forward and she began to chant in an unknown language. As she was chanting, Marinette and the man started to glow. A bright blue light shone from both of them and Marinette felt something. The only way she could describe it was a pull towards the man. As Morgan finally finished the chant, the blue glow finally diminished. Marinette could still feel the pull, but it was diminished.

Talia clapped her hands evidently delighted as she said, “You two are now married! I will go over more details soon, but we did make a marriage feast in celebration for this alliance. I will untie you and give you a few minutes to get to know each other. However, if you two are not through that door in 5 minutes there will be consequences.” They began to leave the room and as they left, Morgan muttered something and both their ropes came untied and they could move. Marinette quickly tried to rub feeling back into wrist and tried to stand, but after being tied into such an uncomfortable position she nearly stumbled. She was caught by her husband who immediately turned a slight pink when she looked at him. Now that she could properly see him, Marinette couldn’t help but stare. He had the most amazing pair of vibrant green eyes she had ever seen.

He cleared his throat startling her and she immediately blushed and looked away. “I guess I should at least ask what’s your name, I’m Damian.” he asked her.
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Damian could only stare at her once they were untied. He helped steady her and now that he could see her properly, he couldn’t help but look. She was gorgeous. She had the most beautiful pair of big blue eyes he had ever seen! She was at least a head shorter than him and he tried hard not to let his eyes wonder over her beautiful curves. Damian couldn’t help trying to clear his throat so he could at least ask her name. He was Damian Wayne and he didn’t get tripped up by pretty girls! He guessed that it was a little different since this was now his wife. He was finally able to get out his name when she finally looked away from him. She looked back at him and he could see that she was blushing.

“Marinette”, she said with a small smile.

He was awestruck by that small smile and was already wondering how he could get it back “How old are you?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m 19, what about you?” she replied smiling at him.

“20,” he held his hand out to her and quickly began cursing himself because why would she want to hold his hand, he said “We should probably get going.” She immediately grabbed his hand and held it like it was the only anchoring her down.

Once they walked through the door, Talia took immediate notice of their joined hands and let a smile drift across her face. Damian growled in warning and she immediately told them to follow her. Morgan Le Fay had apparently already gone on without her. They followed her down the hall towards a door at the end and they could hear the noise of everyone inside as they drew closer. When the door opened, it grew eerily quiet. Talia then said loud enough for all to hear, “Our time has finally come!” Then immediately everyone started banging their glasses on the table and cheering. Damian took a quick glance at Marinette and saw that she was extremely uncomfortable. He gave her a gentle squeeze and she gave a small one back. They followed his mother to a table towards the front where there were two empty seats.

Once seated, plates were brought for them and Damian stopped Marinette from attempting to pick up the fork. He suspected it was poisoned. Morgan Le Fay who was seated next to Marinette said, “Don’t worry, do you think we would go to all this trouble only to then kill you? Here.” She then took a few bites of Marinette’s food with her fork to prove it. Marinette looked at Damian clearly horrified at the thought she could’ve been poisoned so easily. He slowly gave her a nod before picking up his own fork and started eating. Marinette eyed him for a moment before joining him. He was starving and ate quickly. Once finished he looked over at his new wife and saw that she must have been just as hungry since she was just finishing up too.

Talia quickly gained their attention, “Now that you two have finished, I will uphold my bargain.” She leaned across Damian passing Marinette a pair of earrings. Marinette quickly gathered them with tears in eyes and as fast as she could, she put them on. A bright light appeared and this pink creature was hovering in front of her. As soon as Marinette saw, she burst into tears and the creature rushed to hug her face, both chattering in French so quickly he was only able to catch some of it. It was clear that Marinette knew the creature, but that didn’t stop him from being concerned for her.

He turned to Talia, “Mother, what is that?” He glanced back at Marinette who now at least wasn’t crying, luckily he spoke French so he understood that she was trying to explain everything to it.

“That is a kwami, this one is the goddess of creation. Your wife will probably go into more detail later, but with this kwami your new wife can become one of the most powerful beings in existence.”

This was a lot to take in. He’d been kidnapped, married, and his new wife was apparently one of the most powerful beings on earth. He was done with surprises. “Tell me why we are really here Mother, NOW!”

“I’ll explain all in the morning,” Talia frowned at him.

“No, NOW Mother!”

“If you want to find out, you will wait till morning so the final part is concluded.”

He was confused, “What final part? There’s more?”

Talia nodded to the guard over on the side who brought over a bottle of wine, “You’ll find out then and only then.” She quickly poured two glasses of the wine from the clearly unopened bottle and passed one to the new couple. She raised her own wine glass that she had sitting on the table and yelled, “To our new alliance!” She and everyone in the room quickly took a sip of their drink. She glared at the newlyweds until they took a sip. It was unlike anything he had ever tasted. It was delicious and he didn’t give out that compliment to anyone, not even Alfred! Marinette must have also agreed because they both downed their cups.

Talia quickly drew the feast to a close and she gestured for the newlyweds to follow her. She led them to a room with a large four poster bed. There were still no windows in the room, but it at least had a bathroom attached to it. Talia told them that she’d see them in the morning and quickly shut the door. Damian had been feeling hot and now knowing that his new wife was supposed to sleep in the same room with him wasn’t helping. As sweat arose on his brow, he quickly apologized to Marinette and took off his shirt “I feel like I’m about to pass out, it’s so hot in here.” Not having heard a response from Marinette, he looked over and was surprised by what he saw. She was staring at him and as he watched, her eyes traced over his body and it made his body heat up even more.

He was starting to feel sluggish, but he couldn’t help tracing her body with his eyes and suddenly she moved towards him. They both grabbed each other and started kissing. He wasn’t sure who kissed who, but all he did know was that it was amazing and the heat was only getting worse. When he started kissing her neck, she let out a moan and he picked her up and together they landed on the bed.

Chapter Text

Marinette awoke feeling very groggy. She slowly sat up trying to remember what happened. She was in a stone room with very little in it except some lanterns on the wall and to her right was a door that she could see led to a bathroom. She suddenly jerked wide awake. She remembered awakening in a cell,the sudden marriage, the feast, and her new husband! Hearing a slight noise behind her, Marinette froze. Slowly turning around she saw the man from yesterday, Damian she thought is what he said, begin to wake up. His eyes opened and he froze when he saw her, their eyes meeting. Suddenly, he jumps quickly away from her and out of bed and that’s when Marinette realized he was completely naked. She looked down and quickly grabbed the sheet to cover her own naked body. He quickly found his pants strewn on the floor and shoved them on quickly.

“What happened?!!!!” Marinette shrieked.

“I.. I.. I don’t know! All I remember is eating at the feast and ….. I don’t know!” Damian growled and she could tell he was just as shocked as she was. Neither of them being able to fathom what could have occurred.

Marinette slid off the bed wanting to search for her clothes to put back on when a hiss of pain surprised her causing her to freeze in place. Damian was by her side in a matter of seconds.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly.

Marinette’s shoulders slumped. She didn’t know how to tell him that she knew exactly what happened the previous night. Her body was aching in places that had never been sore before and she knew only one thing that could have her body this sore.

Damian loosely gripped her arms giving her a chance to pull away, “Please, tell me.”

Marinette could only stare at her feet. “I...I’m sore.”

Damian froze. He was quickly trying to think of every possibility of what she meant and why she wouldn’t look at him when it hit him. She was SORE. There was only one explanation for why she’d be sore and refusing to meet his gaze now. He stumbled back away from her until he hit the wall. Marinette could feel the tears falling down her face, but she finally looked up when she heard Damian back away from her. He was staring at her with his mouth wide and a look of horror dawning on his face. All Marinette could do was watch him with wide eyes and tears running down her face when she saw him freeze.

“The wine.” Damian said slowly.

“What wine?” Marinette choked out.

“From the toast, remember? It just tasted too good and Mother knew I’d be suspicious of anything unopened so she brought only us an unopened bottle! Remember? I forgot about that witch. I bet Mother had her spell it!” Damian snarled as he started pacing.

“Bu..But why?! Why would they do that?” Marinette stuttered as tears began to fall faster.

“The League is very explicit when it comes to marriage ceremonies. The only way the union is dismissed is death. They also believe that once a marriage has been consummated then there is no other excuse to separate.” Damian slid down the wall till he was sitting against it with his knees up and his hands gripping his head tightly.

She knew it wasn’t his fault so she did the only thing she could think of to stop his clearly growing panic. She walked up to him with the sheet pulled close around her and wrapped her arms around him tightly. “It is not your fault and I can tell that your about to start blaming yourself. Neither of us asked for this and I can tell by your reaction to everything that you had no say in it, just like me. It was your mother and that other woman. They made us marry and then they drugged us. We did not ask for this and I don’t blame you.” She could feel him began to relax against her, his breathing slowly evening out.

They stood like that for who know how long when Marinette finally pulled away to search for her clothes. She found them scattered all around the room and quickly entered the bathroom and changed clothes. When she exited, she saw that Damian sitting on the side of the bed. He’d managed to find all his clothes and had redressed.

“What happens now?” She asked as she sat beside him on the bed.

“I’m not sure. I figure Mother will come and collect us soon to eat and hopefully explain the point to all this.” He couldn’t seem to take his eyes of the wall in front of him.

Looking around the room, Marinette couldn’t find Tiki anywhere. She figured since, he’d already seen her, it couldn’t hurt so she called out, “Tiki, where are you?” She finally saw her when she flew out from under the bed.

“I’m here. Are you ok? I tried to stop you both last night, but neither of you seemed to hear me. Then I figured when you woke up, you both needed to sort everything out. I’m so sorry Marinette.” Tiki blurted out with tears in her eyes and her head drooping slightly as she landed on her knee.

Marinette could feel Damian shifting beside her to watch them. Marinette quickly scooped her up and hugged her to her cheek. “It’s not your fault any more than it’s ours. You said you tried to stop us. I’m just sorry you had to witness it.”

Marinette lowered her hands back down and cupped them so Tiki could sit. “Marinette, there’s something else wrong. I can feel it. It’s like my magic is being suppressed. Can you try and transform us?” Marinette tried and nothing happened. Her eyes widening, she stared at Tiki.

“How are they able to do that? Nothing is supposed to stop us from converging!” Marinette said with growing panic.

“I’m not sure, but don’t worry we’ll figure it out,” the small creature tried to reassure Marinette.

Deciding to try and distract Marinette from panicking, Damian finally asked “What is that creature exactly?”

Marinette turned to him with Tiki still in her hands. “This is Tiki and she’s the Kwami of Creation and Luck. She helps me to transform into Ladybug, a hero in Paris.”

“Mother said something about you becoming the most powerful being in existence. Is that true?”

“Well….” Before Marinette could explain further, a knock on the door interrupted. They both quickly stood as the door started to open and Damian quickly placed himself in front of her so she couldn’t see.

“It’s about time you two woke up it’s after noon,” Talia said while entering the room.

“What do you want Mother?” Damian snarled at her.

“Follow me and I’ll explain,” as she turned and walked out of the room.

Damian glanced back at her and gave her a look as if asking her permission. With a deep breath, Marinette nodded while reaching out and grabbing his hand. He glanced down at their hands before giving her a small smile and leading the way after his mother.

Chapter Text

They followed Talia down a long hall and onto small room. Damian took quick stock of their surroundings before realizing they were probably in his mother’s private chambers. She directed them to have a seat and quickly motioned from one of the guards. He brought over two trays with food. “Eat and then we will talk.” Talia commanded. He noticed Marinette glance at him, so he gave a nod to say it was probably safe and started eating.

After they were finished and a guard took away their plates, Damian glared at his mother. “Why did you do this to us?” he demanded.

“There is only one thing I’ve ever wanted. Power.” Talia calmly stated.

“How does this get you power?” Damian snarled.

“Her.” She said while pointing at Marinette.

Marinette was shocked. “Me?”

Ignoring her, Talia looked at her son and said, “Your new wife has access to some of the most powerful objects that have ever existed and now that she’s married you, this grants me the ability to access some of it as well.”

“NO!” Marinette stood up angrily. “I’ll never let you have any of the miraculous!”

“Silly girl. We’re currently retrieving your box as we speak and there is nothing you can do about it.” As Marinette paled, Talia said, “What? Didn’t think we would be able to find it? If you’re thinking about anyone rescuing you, that hope is gone. I had Morgan magic up a letter in your handwriting addressed to your parents stating you’re Ladybug and since Hawkmoth was now defeated, you are taking a much-needed break and that you’ll write once you arrive somewhere safe. So, I doubt they or any of your friends will be looking for you anytime soon.”

“As for you,” turning to her son, “I know we took you on patrol, but we left just enough incriminating evidence that Bane has captured you. Bane won’t be found anytime soon since Morgan Le Fay hired someone to pay him immensely to go under ground for a few months. None of that family will be expecting you to be here with us.”

Damian couldn’t conceal his fury, he was preparing to attack when he felt ropes bind themselves to his arms and legs preventing him from moving. Quickly looking around, he spotted Morgan who must have entered while Talia was talking.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Morgan said with a smile, but it was hard to miss the underlying threat, “you wouldn’t want anything to happen to your pretty little wife would you? Once we retrieve her dowry, anything could happen to her.”

“If anything were to happen to her, I’d be worrying more about what would happen to you.” Damian spit out.

Marinette couldn’t believe how fast Damian jumped to protect her after only knowing her for a day. She’d never had someone besides her parents throw themselves into danger to protect her. Sure she always had her teammates protect her as Ladybug, but this was a first for just her regular self. First, he shielded her from the unknown person entering their room and now he was swearing vengeance on anyone that would hurt her. Thoughts kept swirling until she was able to focus on one. “Dowry?” she asked.

Talia answered, “Your box, Guardian. We consider it of equal value since we married you to a Wayne. Just think of all his connections you could use to become a fashion designer, as I recall, along with having any resource you could ever want at your beck-and-call.”

Marinette froze. Wayne?! As in the Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises?! She looked over at Damian. He was glaring at his mother. They traded her body to the son of Bruce Wayne for her box of miraculouses. She was beginning to grow just as angry as him.

Before Marinette or Damian could say another word, Talia cut them off. “I’m sure your still tired. You are dismissed to return to your chambers.”

The guards approached and ushered her out of the room after picking up Damian who was still tied. When they arrived back and their room, they shoved her inside and quickly dropped Damian on the ground without bothering to untie him before they left the room. Marinette quickly set to work untying Damian. Once he was loose, he jumped up and ran to the door and slowly tried to turn the knob. To her surprise, the knob turned and Damian opened the door just a crack so he could see. Quickly and quietly closing the door, he motioned for her to follow him to an empty corner of the room.

Talking quietly he said, “There are no guards out and for some reason they left the door unlocked, which is not something my mother will be happy about.”

“Maybe it’s luck.” Marinette said quietly. When Damian raised an eyebrow at her she motioned to Tiki who flew out from hiding under her hair.

“You said she’s the kwami of luck right?” With Marinette’s nod he began to plan. “This is an isolated facility in the mountains, and I remember being here a few times with Mother when I was young. There is an old exit on the ground level that I used to sneak in and out of all the time. No one could ever find it and it frustrated my mother when they would be searching for me and I would miraculously pop back up in my bedroom. If we could make it there, we can escape to a town nearby so I can make a call to my father who should be able to pick us up fairly quickly. But, if we are caught, I don’t know what the consequences are. The decision is yours.”

Marinette weighed their options. “Do you think we have a high chance of making it?”

“I think so especially with your lucky friend helping us out,” he said gesturing to Tiki.

Marinette looked at Tiki to ask her thoughts. “I think we should at least try it Marinette. You have to try and get to the box before they find it.”

Now determined, Marinette looked at Damian and said, “Lead the way.”

Damian slowly opened the door and looked out in the hall and motioned for her to follow. He quickly led them down several halls and up and down many flights of stairs and they finally came to a large room with many crates. There were also several guards here, but they quickly ducked behind some crates near the doorway and were relieved that neither of them had been spotted. Damian continued to lead them down the side of the room which just luckily happened to all have crates stacked close to wall. Marinette made a mental note to thank Tiki later with as many cookies as she could ever want if they were able to make it.

Damian suddenly froze. Marinette quietly crept up behind him to see what was wrong when she heard the voices. A doorway across the room opened and Talia and Morgan came out yelling.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean, you couldn’t find the box?” Talia screamed at Morgan.

“Your men that you claimed knew exactly where it was after spying on her for so long, turned up nothing! We tore apart everything in her room and couldn’t find any evidence that it was ever there.” Morgan said furiously.

Talia started pacing. “We could always ask the girl, but she’s stubborn. I have a feeling she’d let us destroy everyone she loves before giving us the location. Are you able to conjure up something to make her tell us?”

“I’ve recently found an ancient magic potion that makes the drinker talk truthfully. That should work.”

“Excellent, how long should it take?” Talia said gleefully.

“About 3 hours.” Morgan stated with a growing smirk on her face.

“Perfect, that’s about when I had planned on getting them for dinner so we can substitute it for her drink then.” Morgan left quickly to probably prepare the potion, they assumed, and Talia went back in the room shutting the door behind her.

Damian and Marinette shared a quick look before he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her along their path. At the end of the wall behind a large bunch of crates that looked like they hadn’t been touched in ages, was a vent. Damian quickly removed the cover and motioned for her to crawl in first. She crawled in, but she was worried about Damian since he was so much broader than her, she didn’t see how he’d be able to fit. But to her surprise, he climbed in quickly just barely able to fit and pulled the cover back in to place. He quietly urged her down the dark space and after at least fifteen minutes of crawling, it opened up into a small cavern. She was able to drop down into the room and Damian dropped down behind her.

Looking around Marinette realized they were actually in a cave. The cave was very cold and she wondered where exactly they were. She wished she was wearing something warmer, but she knew they were in a hurry so they wouldn’t have been able to find jackets anyway. She just hoped she could make it to the town without hibernating. The longer she stayed bonded, the more her side effects increased and hibernating was the worst one. Luckily, she’d never fully hibernated before and had only fallen asleep until she was warm on a few occasions.

Grabbing her hand again, Damian said, “Quickly, the entrance to the cave is this way and we’ll come out on the other side of the mountain. There’s a town not far, but we’ll have to move fast.”

Damian quickly guided her to the front of the cave and they started to make their way down the side of the mountain. Anytime Marinette stumbled, Damian was there to catch her. She didn’t quite know what to think of him. He seemed distant, but they had just met and married, so she could understand that. But he was so patient with her, especially since she knew how quickly they needed to get to town and she kept tripping on the sharp rocks slowing them down. She had long since moved Tiki from under her hair. She had her cupped in her hand and squished against her chest and shirt in an effort to keep her as warm as possible.

Marinette shivered. She was trying so hard not to so Damian wouldn’t notice, but she was only wearing leggings and a thin sleeveless tunic. Unfortunately, Damian noticed this time and paused. “Are you ok? I know it’s cold, but the faster we can get out of here and somewhere warmer.”

“I’m ok, but Ladybugs tend to hibernate so the faster we get there and I get warm, the less chance I’ll have of hibernating.” Damian stared at her. He started to take his shirt off and Marinette tried to stop him since he really wasn’t much better dressed than she since he was only wearing the traditional league garb. But he insisted and tugged his shirt on her. At least he still had on a thin shirt underneath.
______________________________

They were going to have to get to the town faster than he had expected. His shirt, even though it was long sleeved, was pretty thin and Marinette was starting to turn blue. He didn’t doubt her when she said she might hibernate, after all he had definitely heard of stranger things. They had probably only made it about a mile and he knew they still had at least two to go, but Marinette was already starting to slow down. He could tell she was trying hard not to, but he knew their pace had slowed. He reached back and grabbed her hand. He knew his hand was cold, but her hand felt like ice and he glanced down quickly taking note that her fingertips were also starting to turn blue. He tightened his grip and began pulling her along a little faster just enough to quicken their pace, but not enough to trip her up.

Finally, he could see the outline of town and he quickened their pace. Once they arrived in town, he found an alleyway they could hide in that blocked most of the wind. He kept watch for any people passing by that had a phone that he could swipe from their pocket or her purse. Finally, he spotted a woman who was talking to someone place her phone in her purse, but she missed. She was so busy talking she didn’t notice the phone sliding on the outside of the purse and on the ground. Quickly faking that he dropped something, he picked up the phone and guided Marinette into an alleyway. The woman didn’t even have a lock on her phone making this even easier. He quickly typed in the number to Batman’s secure line. “Almost no one calls this number, so it should be the easiest to reach,” Damian explained to Marinette, temporarily holding off telling her that he was calling Batman.

“Hello?”

Breathing a quick sigh of relief, Damian said, “Father, can you pick me up?”

“Damian?! I’m tracking your location now. Are you ok?!” It was clear his father was trying to remain calm, but his worry was leaking through.

“I’m ok, but you need to hurry. I escaped, so they could come searching any minute. I can meet you exactly one mile southwest of this location to help throw them off.”

“Ok, Nightwing is with me and were loading the plane now. Be careful, Damian.” Batman ended the call. Damian had no doubt they were already on their way. He knew they would say something later about not mentioning Marinette, but he was afraid they would ask too many questions now when they so desperately needed rescuing. Damian walked back to the woman and acted like he was picking her phone up from the ground, before tapping her shoulder to ask if it’s hers since it was on the ground next to her. The woman repeatedly thanked him and put it in her purse. Damian walked back over to Marinette.

Grabbing Marinette’s hand, he said, “They’re on the way, but we need to hurry.” She was barely able to manage a nod. Damian let out a string of curses that she didn’t seem to notice. The cold was starting to affect her too much. He wrapped his arm around and they started to make their way to the meeting site. Damian was very worried now. Even though he didn’t know his new wife very well, he felt drawn to her and he wanted to do everything in his power to keep her safe, but Marinette was slowing down more and more. He didn’t want to think of what could happen if she wasn’t able to get warm. They had been out in the cold so long already that he feared it would kill her.

They made it half a mile when Marinette collapsed.

Chapter Text

Damian picked her up in a bridal style hold and took off for the meeting point once again. They were so close. They only had half a mile until the meeting point. He’d grabbed Tiki and put her in the pocket of the shirt wrapped the extra length of her shirt sleeves around her to provide extra warmth. “Marinette are you still with me?”

“I’m sorry Damian. I tried to make it. Just leave me”

“I won’t!! Marinette, I know you’ve been pushing yourself. We’re not far. My father and brother will be here soon. Just hold on.” He knew he was practically begging, but he was not going to let her die.
Damian glanced down and saw her eyes closed and he began panicking, “Marinette, keep your eyes open please. It’s not much further.” He finally saw her eyes slit open and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Just hang on Marinette. Not much further.”

Finally, Damian saw the plane approaching in the distance and he started moving even faster towards it. They must have spotted him because they moved the plane as close as they dared and landed. He glanced down and saw Marinette had finally fallen asleep. Panicking, Damian took off running as fast he could with Marinette. He looked up and saw Nightwing standing in the door gawking at him. Moving inside quickly, Batman closed the door and took off quickly. Damian set Marinette down gently and quickly started looking for blankets in the supplies.

Nightwing must have picked up on his panic and quickly approached him asking, “Are you looking for blankets?” Damian nodded still digging through the supplies. Nightwing walked over to a box and started pulling out several blankets. Damian ran over to him and grabbed them all before Nightwing could say anything and he started wrapping them around Marinette. Once he had wrapped her up in all the blankets, he pulled Marinette into his lap and wrapped his arms around hoping he would be able provide her more warmth even though he was freezing.

Once he got settled, he looked up from Marinette to spot both his Father and Nightwing staring at him. Nightwing even had his mouth wide open. “What?” Nightwing and Bruce exchanged a quick look before Batman turned back forward.

“Baby Bird…who is that?” Nightwing finally asked.

Damian just sighed. The exhaustion was finally catching up to him. “Can I explain later when everyone is present and she’s awake?” Nightwing gave him another odd look and nodded, but Damian was too tired to try and decipher it. With Marinette asleep in his lap, Damian laid his head back against the wall of the plane and closed his eyes finally being able to relax knowing they were both safe.

Damian was awakened by someone shaking his arm gently. “Baby Bird we’re about to land.” Damian opened his eyes and saw Nightwing leaning over him. Damian tightened his grip on Marinette and quickly looked down. She was still out and he figured she might be for some time. At lease she was no longer as blue as earlier, he sighed with relief.

“We took the liberty of telling everyone not to ask questions until you were ready. We figured you both would need to sleep before being bombarded with questions.” Nightwing said.

Damian gave him a quick nod of thanks. He was exceptionally grateful that it was his oldest brother to accompany his father to pick them up and not one of the others. Todd and Drake were too nosey and loud. They both would have asked a million questions and not let them rest.

Once the plane landed, Nightwing tried to take Marinette from him so he could stand, but he tightened his grip and growled at him. After giving Batman another odd look, Nightwing settled for helping Damian stand with the girl. Once in the Batcave, Todd and Drake came running up but before either could say a word, Batman gave them a look and both quickly shut theirs mouths after glancing at Damian, who was glaring at them. Damian quickly walked past them and headed up the stairs into the house.

Luckily, no one disturbed him and he made it quickly to his room and laid Marinette on the bed after moving the covers out from under her. He moved Tiki from the pocket and placed her on the pillow next to her and used a couple of his clean t-shirts as blankets for her layering them over her. He then moved on to Marinette quickly covering her up with the blankets on the bed along with the additional ones from the plane. He had debated on bringing her to a guest room, but after all they had been through, he was afraid she’d wake up panicking without a familiar face nearby and knew she could use his extra body heat. Grabbing his pajamas, he crossed the bedroom to his bathroom and quickly changed clothes. He climbed into bed next to her. She immediately snuggled up next to him and he wrapped his arms around her before he fell asleep.

______________________________

Jason Todd was very confused. They all just stood there quietly and watched Damian carry a girl wrapped in a bunch of blankets up the stairs. Once he was out of sight, he heard Bruce sigh and remove his cowl.

“Who was that?” Todd demanded.

It was Nightwing that responded. “We have no idea.”

Tim was shocked, “What?!” he practically screamed.

Todd watched as Bruce dragged a hand down his face. “We don’t know. He never once said her name and he asked us to wait to ask questions until they were both awake and everyone together.”

“What the f….?!!” Todd started to say.

“Master Jason.” Alfred scolded as he approached.

“Sorry, but what happened?” Todd demanded.

Nightwing started explaining as Bruce sat down hard in a chair, “As soon as we got there, Damian ran towards and he was carrying her. She was unconscious and he looked like he was ready to drop. I don’t know how long he had been carrying. Even inside the plane, he only set her down for a few minutes to get blankets and wrap around her. He didn’t even use one for himself even though he was shaking so bad from the cold. I don’t even know if he realized he was shaking. He just wrapped her up and pulled her into his lap. He didn’t say anything other than asking us to wait to ask questions and they both slept the whole way here.”

“Then I suggest Young Masters, that you let them sleep and wait till they are ready.” Alfred said while giving Jason and Tim a look.

“I guess,” Jason grumbled.

“Why were they out in the mountains anyway? I know we figured out Bane didn’t really take him, but who took him?” Tim asked.

“I don’t know, I guess we’ll have to wait till they wake up to find out what happened, but neither of them looks like they’ll be up for a while.” Nightwing stated with a shrug.

Bruce looked at Alfred, “Where did you put her so we can keep an eye on her?”

“Master Damian took her to his room.” Alfred stated calmly.

“What?!!” all four shouted!

Chapter Text

Marinette was so groggy. She had just woken up, but she was refusing to move or open her eyes hoping she might be able to fall back asleep. She was just so warm and content. It had been so long since she had felt that way and she wanted to stay exactly as she was. She was almost back asleep when she felt her blankets wrapped around her start to move. Eyes flying open, she jerked her head back to see what was happening, and she sighed with relief. Damian must have just woken up and moved his arm off of her and her reaction startled him. A smirk now rested on his face and Marinette could only roll her eyes with a slight giggle escaping her. She moved towards him and wrapped her arms back around him pressing her face into his chest.

“What are you doing?” Damian asked. Glancing up at him, she could tell she had surprised him once again.

“You’re warm and comfy,” Marinette said as if stating the obvious.

“I’m just glad you’re awake. You really scared me when you dropped like that,” Damian admitted.

Leaning her head back so she could look at him properly she said, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to. Honestly, I made it a lot longer than I thought I would. I think I was just so scared they would catch us that it helped keep me going.”

“I think I freaked everyone out,” Damian admitted chuckling.

“How?”

“Well, I randomly show up with an unconscious girl in the middle of a snowstorm and told them I refused to answer any questions until we had both slept.” He said still chuckling.

“Damian!?” Marinette scolded.

“What? They would have kept pestering me and I wasn’t sure what all I should say. I wanted to be able to talk to you first so we can make sure we’re on the same page.” Damian said growing more serious. Then he sighed, “Plus, I was having a hard time staying awake.”

“Oh… What do you want to tell them?” Marinette said while twisting the sheets around her fingers.

“It’s up to you, but I think we should tell them most of it,” Damian said grabbing her hands.

“I don’t want to tell them abo...about...” Marinette whispered, unable to finish her sentence.

Damian tilted her chin up to look at him since she was refusing to meet his eyes. “It’s ok. We don’t ever have to speak of it again.”

Marinette wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face in his chest trying to hold back her tears. “Thank you,” she managed to choke out as he wrapped his arms around her.

They stayed like that for a while till she was able to calm down. Once she was sure she wouldn’t cry, she leaned back and asked, “Will you tell them I’m Ladybug?”

“Only if you want to. There is something I should tell you. Do you know of Gotham’s vigilantes?”

Giving Damian a confused look she said, “I’ve heard of Batman and that he has several partners.”

“Marinette... I’m Robin. I was on patrol with my family when I was captured. My father is Batman and I called him. That’s how we were able to be rescued so quickly.” Damian said with a squeeze of her hand.

Marinette knew her mouth was hanging open, but she was having trouble processing. Suddenly she let out a loud squeal before tackling him. “This is so exciting!!!” She said happily. “I was looking at going to college in Gotham in the Fall and I can patrol with you if I do!!!”

Damian’s mouth was now hanging wide open. “That was not the reaction I was expecting.”

Marinette could only giggle. “I think we can tell your family I’m Ladybug since they’ll obviously be able to keep a secret.”

Damian could only smile at her obvious excitement. He wrapped his arms back around her while she was still giggling. “Do you want to rest a little longer?”

“No way!!! I want to meet BATMAN!!!!” She said excitedly before jumping out of bed and running into the bathroom to get ready.

“You do know that no else is probably in the house, right?” Damian said while trying not to laugh.

“I know, but I’ll get to meet him later!”

Damian sat in bed chuckling. He looked around the room and noticed some clothes folded by the bedroom door. He got up and grabbed them and noticed there was a toothbrush sitting on top as well. The clothes looked like something Cassandra would wear and knew Alfred must have dropped them by. He approached the bathroom door and knocked, “I’ve got some clean clothes for you and a toothbrush.”

He heard her scrambling to the door. Once it opened, he handed her the clothes, “Towels are under the cabinet if you want to take a shower. You can use my brush and the toothpaste is in the drawer on the right.”

“Thanks!” Marinette said flashing him a wide smile. She was just so grateful. Shutting the door, she quickly turned on the shower and the warm water helped her calm down. Stepping out of the shower, she quickly dressed and finished getting ready after deciding to leave her hair down. She walked out of the bathroom to see Damian had picked out his clothes and was on his phone. Looking up he quickly gathered his things and entered the bathroom.

Marinette walked over to Tiki and noticed she was still curled up asleep. Marinette gently scooped her up and slipped her into the pocket on her loose pants so she wouldn’t wake her up. She sat on the bed and grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to wait for Damian to finish.

When Damian exited the bathroom, she asked “How long did we sleep?”

“About 12 hours since we arrived here. You were out at least 2 hours before that.”

Marinette nodded, “What time is it here?”

“It’s close to 2 in the afternoon, so luckily nobody will be in the house right now except for Alfred so we won’t be bombarded with questions right away. Come on. Let’s get some food. I know you must be as hungry as I am.” Damian guided her out the door and down the hall.

“Who’s Alfred?” She asked curiously.

“He’s our butler, but he raised my father and helped raise us. He’s practically our grandfather.”

As they entered the kitchen, Marinette couldn’t help but stare. She was too busy looking around at everything that she failed to notice the polished elderly gentlemen entering and she jumped when she heard him speak.

“Good afternoon. My name is Alfred. I’ve prepared lunch for you two since I knew you would be hungry once you both finally awoke.”

“Hi! I’m Marinette! I love your kitchen. Would you mind if I bake something for everybody today or tomorrow?” Marinette asked excitedly.

“Of course, and please let me know if I can be of assistance in any way. Have a seat and I’ll bring lunch.” Alfred said trying to hide a smile due to the young woman’s excited nature.

Damian drug her over to the table and Alfred immediately returned with the food.

“You bake?” Damian asked Marinette once they started eating.

Marinette nodded, “My parents run a bakery in Paris and I help them out when I can.”

“What are you planning on making?”

“Probably some macaroons, but I haven’t really decided yet.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a macaroon.” Damian admitted.

“What?! Well that settles it, I’m making macaroons.” Marinette took a large bite of a roll and she could hear Damian start to laugh. She gave him a playful glare and they quickly finished up eating.

Once full, Marinette was starting to get sleepy again. Being cold always makes her drowsy for a few days after. Damian must have noticed and asked if she wanted to go back and take a nap till the others get home. She nodded and tried to pick up her plate to take it back to the kitchen, but Alfred stopped her and told her to go take a nap.

Damian helped her grab a few rolls for Tiki to take back with them for when she woke up. Once she makes cookies, she’ll have her favorite food for her then. She followed Damian back to his room and scooped Tiki, who was still sleeping, out of her pocket and laid her on her pillow and covered her back up with the shirts Damian had used. She quickly climbed into bed.

“How come she hasn’t woken up yet?” Damian asked while climbing in to bed beside her.

“She has an even harder time than me dealing with the cold. She’ll wake up soon.” Marinette said with a yawn. She scooted closer to Damian and draped her arm across his chest. “I really hope you don’t mind, but you’re so warm.”

“It’s fine; after all, you are my wife.” He said with a smirk.

Marinette smiled, “True, but we still just met.”

“It’s fine, really. If it’s ok with you, we can eat then tell them after that way if they ask as many questions as they want.”

“That’s fine I’ll probably need to the extra time to wake up.” She admitted with a large yawn.

“Go to sleep Angel, we can talk more then.” Damian said and wrapped an arm around her. Marinette was so tired that she missed the nickname and she quickly drifted off.

Chapter Text

Damian woke back up before Marinette. He decided to just stay put since he didn’t want to wake her up so he reached over to turn on the tv. He turned the volume down so it wouldn’t wake her. Marinette slept for a few more hours before she started to stir.

“Damian, what time is it?” She said sleepily.

“About 6:30, dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes.”

“Ok good.” She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his chest. “I haven’t really thought of it before, but do you think we’re moving too fast?”

“Maybe… but I like it. It may even have something to do with the spell Morgan did during the ceremony. I’ve felt drawn to you since then, but I think I would have liked you if we would have met before.” He said while tightening his arm around her.

Marinette’s face turned a light pink. Shyly she said, “I think so too. I like being with you. I’ve never felt so comfortable around anyone else before.”

“Me either.” Damian admitted. “One of brothers likes to call me Demon Spawn because I have a hard time getting close to people and being nice to them.”

“Really? That’s actually pretty funny.” Damian glared at her. Marinette started laughing and his glare softened. “Maybe I should start calling you that.”

Damian scoffed, “That’d be something. An angel and her demon.”

Marinette perked up, “Angel?”

“Of course, you’re clearly very thoughtful since you already asked to make a treat for the family and you even talked me out of blaming myself after everything in the mountains.” He thought Marinette couldn’t get any pinker than earlier, but now she was red. He smirked in satisfaction.

“Damian……” Marinette whined.

“What? It’s true,” Damian said. He poked her side causing her to start giggling and poke him back. Her laughter was infectious and he too started laughing as they each repeatedly poked the other. A knock at the door interrupted them. Damian got up and answered the door still chuckling.

Alfred looked on in amazement at the two young adults. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, Master Damian.”

“Ok Alfred, we’ll be down in a few.” Damian closed the door leaving Alfred to return to the kitchen wondering just who was the young lady able to get the young Master to laugh.

“You ready, Angel?”

Marinette hopped off the bed, “Yea, just give me a minute so I can fix my hair.” She quickly walked in the bathroom and started brushing out her hair and pulled it in a high ponytail. She came back out and he noticed her fingers twisting the hem of shirt.

“Is there something wrong Angel?”

Surprised Marinette looked up and said quietly, “What if your family doesn’t like me?”

Damian grabbed her hands, “Marinette, my family is absolutely going to love you.”

“How do you know?”

“They are a lot more outgoing than me so if they see that I like you, then they’re going to love you even more. I’ll probably have to stop my dad and brothers from trying to adopt you.” Damian leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry.”

Marinette smiled at him before her face settled on a look of confusion. “What do you mean adopt me?”

Damian chuckled, “My dad is known for being a serial adopter. I have four older brothers all adopted and I’ve a couple of sisters that he’s practically adopted.”

“Wow, you have a really big family.” Marinette said eyes widening.

“Don’t worry, only my brothers are here. You’ll get to meet the rest later. Now, we best not keep Alfred waiting. He’s very punctual.” Damian kept hold of one hand and he guided her back to the dining room. He could hear his brothers before they arrived and he could tell Marinette was growing more anxious. Pausing outside the door, he turned to her and gave her another kiss on the forehead. “Don’t worry. I promise they will love you. If not, then I promise to stab them,” he said giving her a wicked smirk.

“Damian!” She cried out, but her laughter contradicted the scolding. Damian chuckled and he led her into the dining room.

As they entered, it immediately became quiet as everyone stared at them. Damian squeezed Marinette’s hand and said “This is Marinette. We will explain everything after dinner so please hold off on questions.” He led Marinette over to two chairs side-by-side. When he looked up, he noticed everyone staring more shocked than before. “What?”

“Did Demon Spawn just say please?” Jason said looking around at everyone.

Damian growled at him. Of course Todd’s the one who had to answer, Damian thought to himself, but he was interrupted by the giggling beside him.

He turned to look at her as she said “you weren’t kidding about him calling you Demon Spawn.” Damian glared at her, but she only laughed harder. Rolling his eyes, he stabbed at the food on plate.

“Aww don’t be mad Dami, but I think it’s funny. I think I’m on his side and will have to start calling you that just to keep you on your toes.” She said laughing while giving his side a poke which made him jump. The loud laughter across the table interrupted them.

“I like you Pixie-Pop! He needs someone else to pick on him ‘cause it helps liven him up. I’m Jason Todd.” He said laughing loudly. His introduction seemed to awaken the rest of the family from their surprise and they quickly introduced themselves. He could tell immediately that Marinette had surprised them, and they liked her judging by their exuberant introductions.

Damian glanced over Marinette and he could tell she relaxed a little more.

Marinette excitedly said, “It’s nice to meet you!!” Damian tried to hide a smirk, glad to see his new wife getting along with his family.

His brothers asked her lots of generic questions about how old she was and where she lived. Tim kept asking her about her college applications. Once dinner was finished, the group seemed to grow more serious as they entered the family room.

Chapter Text

They all took a seat with Marinette sitting in a single cushioned chair with Damian standing next to her. All eyes looked to them waiting for them to explain. Damian started pacing, “As I’m sure you figured out, Bane was not the one who took me.” He glanced at them for confirmation and they nodded. “Talia took me and she told me that she’d left clues that would be led to Bane.” Jason growled and even Bruce frowned to show his displeasure.

Tim was, of course, the first to ask, “Ok, that makes sense, but who is she?” as he gestured towards Marinette.

Marinette glanced at Damian and he nodded. “I’m Marinette… I guess Wayne now?” She looked at Damian and he just shrugged his shoulders like he didn’t know either.

Jason let out a string of curse words and turned to Bruce, “Just how many kids did you have with Talia?!” he demanded.

Marinette looked at the others and realized they were all looking at Bruce now who had a look of confusion on his face. Marinette couldn’t help but start laughing. All heads quickly jumped to hers as she looked at Damian, who had been glaring at everyone, and said, “That’s the conclusion your family jumps to by learning I’m now a Wayne?”

“Weird stuff happens here. My mother dropped me off with him when I was ten and he never knew I existed before then,” Damian said with a shrug.

“Well I guess I can relate to weird stuff, but this is still really funny,” Marinette said giving him a smirk. Damian couldn’t help it and let a small, amused smile spread across his face.

“Ok, who are you then and how did you get Demon Spawn to smile?!” Jason demanded.

Damian growled out, “She’s my wife.”

Everyone stared at them and even Alfred was shocked.

“Aww Dami, I think you broke them,” Marinette said teasingly. “Are you really such a Demon that they thought you’d never marry?”

Damian let out a huff of amusement and sat on the edge of Marinette’s chair. “I guess I just needed to meet an Angel,” he teased back.

“OMG!!!” Dick let out with a loud squeal. “They are together!! Damian actually called her an angel.” He rushed forward and scooped Marinette up in a crushing hug. “I’m so excited to meet you little sis!!!”

She heard Damian growl and Marinette laughed. “It’s wonderful to meet you to, but do you think you could put me down?”

“Oh sorry!” Dick set her back down in the chair. He rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry, sometimes I just get so excited,” he said sheepishly.

Marinette smiled brightly at him, “That’s ok. I do too!”

Bruce interrupted them before they could say anything, “Is anyone going to explain to us exactly what happened?” Damian quickly told them everything that happened only omitting what they had discussed earlier.

Tim eyed Marinette suspiciously, “We know why you were taken Damian, but why is she involved? What did they have to gain by marrying you to her?”

Marinette looked at Damian and he gave her a nod of encouragement. “Before I tell you, I must know that this can’t leave this room and that I can trust you.” Each nodded their head in agreement, but before she began, she scrutinized each of them. Since becoming Ladybug, she was able to determine trustworthiness and see through deception a little better. She was able to quickly determine they were trustworthy, but she paused on Jason. She sensed something in him. She could tell Damian and the others were giving her odd looks, but she ignored them. She stood up and walked over to him. “What sort of aura is inside of you?” Every single one of them tensed.

“What do you mean?” Jason said while leaning away from her slightly.

“I can tell your good, but there is something inside that is actively trying to corrupt you,” Marinette poked his chest and she felt it. It scared her. “Tiki, come out I need you!” Her urgency startling the others.

Tiki quickly zoomed out of her pocket, “What’s wrong?!”

Ignoring the strange looks and questions the other were asking, “I touch his chest and I felt it move. What is it?”

Tiki looked at the man who was scaring her holder and she gasped. “This is the Lazarus pit.”

“What’s that?”

“Long ago someone tried to replicate my magic and he accidentally created these pits that could heal and even bring people back to life, but they come at a terrible cost. The pit leaves a madness behind and it changes people to become more violent and angry.”

“Can we help him?” Marinette asked.

“I don’t know. I thought Plagg and I destroyed them all ages ago, but we obviously missed some. It couldn’t hurt to try though.” Tiki said while circling around Jason examining him.

Marinette looked at Jason, “Is it ok if I try?” Jason looked around at everyone before settling on Damian. Damian gave him a nod and Jason looked back up at her and nodded. Marinette took a deep breath and placed her hand on Jason’s chest. She let her healing magic surge forward and into him. She felt it trying to avoid her magic before it latched on. After several minutes, she finally felt a slight give and she allowed her magic to finally ease. She knew she was covered in sweat as was Jason, but she could feel a little less of the madness. She tried to take a step, but nearly collapsed before Damian caught her.

He carried her back over to her chair and set her in it, “Are you ok?”

She looked up and could see how worried he was. She let an exhausted smile slide across her face and assured him, “Don’t worry. I’m just tired and it doesn’t help I’m still exhausted from the cold. Healing magic take a lot of effort especially against something so evil.” She looked over at Jason, who looked at lot better and asked. “Are you ok?”

“I actually feel a little better, not quite so angry. Did you fix it?”

Marinette let out a little chuckle, “No, but I did heal a tiny bit of it. If I can do this several more times, I might be able to fully heal you.”

Damian interrupted them, “Not before you have more rest.”

“Alright. I don’t think I could do that again for another few days anyway,” Marinette admitted leaning into him as Damian sat back down on the chair arm.

“Ok, exactly who are you and what is that?” Tim demanded pointing at Tiki.

Damian spoke up before she could, “Can’t you see she’s exhausted? We can finish this discussion later.”

Marinette laid her hand on his leg and said, “It’s ok. I accidently got side-tracked, so they deserve an explanation.” Marinette smiled tiredly at them. “This is my Kwami, which is a small god. Her name is Tiki and she merges with me to become Ladybug, a hero of Paris.”

Tim scoffed and Bruce frowned at him as Tim said, “There are no heroes in Paris. We would know.”

Marinette sighed as Damian growled. Before he could say anything, she said, “That’s probably my fault as well. One of my powers is to fix all damage. Almost all fights lasted less than a day so there was nothing to ever report outside of Paris.”

“I’m not doubting you, but how long has this been going on? Even if you could fix damages, it must not have been so bad that not many people died since we definitely would have noticed that.” Dick said trying to sound comforting.

Once again Marinette sighed. “When I say I can fix damages, that includes anyone that died in an attack so they will also be fixed.”

Bruce interrupted, “You can bring people back to life?”

Marinette nodded, “I’ve been fighting Hawkmoth so many years and so long that I have brought back to life every person in Paris at least 5 times. I know I've brought some people back to life hundreds of times.” Marinette refused to look up. She could feel every person in the room staring at her. Tiki landed on her shoulder and cuddled her neck to offer as much comfort as possible. Damian reached over and took her hand.

She continued, “Many years ago there was an akuma named Siren. Over 2 million people live in Paris, less than 200 made it to the rooftops. To fight her, we had to swim through so many bodies. Old people, adults, children, and babies all died. A couple of years ago there was an akuma that threw axes. So many people were beheaded and many lost limbs. That battle was hard. I had to fight without an arm and without a leg.” She heard Damian and the others gasp, but she continued. They had to know exactly how powerful and dangerous these akumas were. "A little over a year ago, there was an akuma called Inferno. He burned almost all of Paris before we could defeat him. Throughout the whole fight all we could smell was people burning alive. I watched as two of my own teammates burned to death. At one point I remember being in such pain and thinking the smell changed. When I looked down, most of my body was burning. He was one of the few akumas that took longer to defeat. Paris burned for nearly 36 hours.”

“How did you survive? Why didn’t you call the Justice League?” Dick choked out.

“It was hard, but knowing I was the only one that could purify the akumas helped keep me going. I also came close to calling the Justice League on several occasions, but thankfully logic won out.”

Bruce asked puzzled, “What do you mean?”

“I fought the equivalent of Superman and worse with almost every single akuma. Akumas are gifted with super abilities that would easily defeat Superman and others. These akumas started out as regular humans with no powers. What would have happened if any member of the Justice League would have been akumatized especially any that already had powers? How much stronger would they have been than the regular humans who were transformed into opponents stronger than Superman? We simply could not risk it, so I made the decision to never contact them.”

Jason, "SO you fixed every bit of the damage healed everyone, and fought powerful akumas, all while dealing with it by yourselves?"

"Pretty much. I learned years ago to save my healing till the end. There were a few times, that I was so exhausted that I wasn't able to fully heal everything. Luckily, it only ever affected myself," Marinette admitted.

Damian looked concerned, "What do you mean?"

"I have many scars that should have healed and a few burns. If I wasn't so exhausted, they would have healed to where they never existed." Marinette raised her shirt and showed her side where a large scar from a burn was located along her ribs and the top of her stomach. "I only have so long once an attack ends that I can fix everything, so the faster I cast it the better."

Every single person in the room was dead silent. Marinette still refused to look up and she squeezed Damian’s hand. Damian sighed and scooped her up surprising her. He settled in the chair with her in his lap and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Marinette couldn’t help it, but she was finally away from Paris and she was safe. She started to cry. Damian just hugged her tighter until her tears finally stopped.

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry you had to go through so much,” Dick said. “Is there something we can do to help from here?”

“Actually, we finally defeated Hawkmoth a few days ago and now I have his Miraculous.” Marinette suddenly froze.

Worried, Damian asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Just how long had your mother been watching me? The very night Hawkmoth was defeated, I was captured a few hours later. How long have they been planning this?” Marinette said with growing horror.

Damian froze, “I..I..I don’t know, but obviously long enough to know when you would be able to leave Pairs so no one would be suspicious.”

Tim asked, “Why exactly did Talia and Morgan LeFay want you so bad? We know your powerful, but how could that help them?” Marinette raised her hand for Tikki to land in and silently asked her.

Tikki gave her a smile, “It’s ok Marinette. They are obviously trustworthy, and you discussed moving the box out of Paris once this was all done. This will be an excellent opportunity to move it here where they can help guard it.”

Marinette finally looked up at everyone and they could all see exactly how tired she looked. She was ready to drop, but she drew from her inner strength and said, “I am also the Guardian of the Miraculous. I have been entrusted to guard them and protect them from evil. They were after the box. I am currently wielding one of the most powerful miraculous that exists. I hold the power of Creation and Good Luck The other belongs to Chat Noir who wields the power of Destruction and Bad Luck. In the hands of true holders, we become yin and yang. We can’t be active with out the other because it disrupts the balance of the world. Combined, they can give a wish, but that wish always comes with a price.

Many events in history can be traced back to this wish. The Black Plague was a result from a wish a man made to heal his family from a sickness. An Atlantean king asked for his kingdom to be safe from invaders but the wish caused the whole city to sink. In Pompeii, the winter was very cold that year and many suffered, so someone wished for the city to never be touched by such a winter again; the volcano erupted a few months later. Even the Titanic was a result of a wish. Someone wished to have the best and most world-renowned ship that ever existed. It is true, but at the expense the ship sank and killed more than 1,500 people. While the other miraculouses aren’t that powerful, anyone wielding them will almost be unstoppable.”

Jason asked, “And you guard these miraculouses?” Marinette nodded.

Bruce stood up, “Then you may bring the box here for safe keeping. I’m sure with your input we can build something only you can access. We can even have you moved in this week, if you like.”

Marinette smiled, “Thank you, but my mission isn’t fully over in Paris. As soon as it is completed, I will bring it here. Thank you so much!”

Damian frowned and leaned back so he could see Marinette properly, “What else do you have to do? You said you already defeated Hawkmoth.”

Marinette’s shoulders slumped and she leaned her head back against Damian. “When I first started, my only partner was Chat Noir. My Master lost his memories years ago and died not long after, but he was the one who chose us. He sensed I was the True Ladybug, but he couldn’t find a True Black Cat. He said he couldn’t even sense a true holder in all of Europe, so he had to settle. He found someone pure of heart and hoped for the best. Chat learned not long after that the True Holders were supposed to balance each other out. They were meant to be soulmates, but he refused to listen to us when we tried to explain he wasn’t a True Black Cat.

He started hitting on me. He had always been flirty, but it got worse. He kept demanding we date and started following me trying to find out my identity. He soon stopped showing up for attacks when I kept refusing. I needed help and brought in some temporary heroes and he got angry after he figured out they were staying. Those heroes lost my trust and when they disappeared, he came back. But he still wouldn’t stop pursuing me. I found other trustworthy people and they became full time heroes. Chat really didn’t like that. He would go months without us ever seeing him. He knew me as a civilian and would come late at night and hit on me too as he complained about Ladybug. One night he kept trying to come in my room and I screamed for my parents. After that we had to put extra locks and I wasn’t allowed on the balcony at night anymore.”

Marinette could feel the anger radiating from everyone, but Damian and Jason were worse. She glanced up at Damian and gave him a small smile. “It’s ok, but that’s why I have to return to Paris. I must have the miraculous back. I figured out his identity a while back, but he’s disappeared from home and hasn’t been seen in several weeks.”

Damian growled, “Well I’m coming with you then.”

Bruce stood up, “Dick and I will go too.” He silenced Tim and Jason’s protests with a glare. “I need you both here to cover Gotham and Wayne Enterprises.”

Marinette hugged Damian and then jumped up and hugged Bruce, “Thank you!! We could probably use the extra help since now we don’t have to worry about anyone else being akumatized! How soon can we leave?”

Tikki answered before anyone else, “Marinette, we need to rest. You're about to collapse and a few days won’t hurt. Besides, that will give us time to figure out an explanation to your parents.”

Marinette froze. Damian grabbed her just as she started to sway. He settled her in the chair and squatted down to look at her. Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she looked at him, “Dami, what am I going to say? My parents didn’t even know I was Ladybug until Morgan left the letter. How am I going to explain what happened?”

“It’s ok, we’ll get through it and everything will be fine. Besides, I think that’s one reason my father is going. He can explain Talia better.” Damian leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

Marinette looked to his father for confirmation. He nodded and said, “I can explain some of the things she’s done to me and hopefully that’ll help your parents believe what she is capable of.”

Marinette nodded a little calmer and she let out a wide yawn. Damian chuckled, “I think that’s about as long as you can make it. Come on, you need to sleep.”

Marinette started to stand, but she was so tired that she nearly collapsed. Damian picked her up and started carrying her to his room. She fell asleep before they ever got there and he quickly slid her into bed and covered her up.

Tikki flew up to him and said, “Thank you Damian. I think you may need to go back and answer any more of their questions. I’ll watch out for her and if she starts to wake before you get back, I’ll come and get you.”

Damian watched as Tikki curled up on her pillow under the shirts he left for her blankets. Damian quickly walked back to the living room and heard them discussing everything. He heard Tim say, “I just can’t believe we missed something this bad.”

Damian made him jump when said, “She didn’t even tell us most of it. I figure it’s even worse than she said.” He watched as Bruce sat down and rubbed a hand across his face.
Dick approached him and asked, “What about you Baby Bird? You were captured and forced into a marriage. This should be something we can fix.”

Damian sat back down in the chair Marinette had been sitting in. “I don’t think so. Marriages are finite in the League and she made sure Morgan was present and she did some type of spell. I don’t know if we can leave each other now. We both have this pull towards each other. I’m also worried that if we were to try and separate what that spell would do exactly. I’d rather not risk killing her.”

Dick looked at awed and gleefully said, “You actually like her! I could tell she liked you too.”

Damian knew he was turning red, “Shut up.”

Bruce started laughing, “Unbelievable. You were kidnapped, forced into marriage, and you both actually like each other. I guess it could be much worse.”

Jason started laughing too and Damian glared at him. He knew whatever Todd was about to say was not going to be appropriate. Jason smirked at him, “So can we expect a niece or nephew in the next couple of years?” Damian growled and Jason took off running. Damian dashed after him.

Alfred interrupted them before they could get far, “Unless you want to wake the young lady, I’d advise both of you to stop and quiet down.” Damian slowed to a stop, but he continued glaring at Jason.

Bruce approached them both, “Damian, I know you're still tired so go to bed. The rest of us can handle Gotham tonight. We can talk more in the morning.” Damian nodded and took off for his room. He quickly got ready for bed and climbed in next to Marinette and wrapped his arms around her before drifting off as well.

Chapter Text

Marinette woke to someone talking quietly. Damian growled next to her, “I swear if you wake her up, I will destroy you Todd!”

She heard Jason say, “I just want to make sure she’s ok. She’s been asleep for over 12 hours.”

“Get out Todd!” Damian threatened quietly.

“Fine!” She heard him huff and quietly walk back out the door.

Marinette scooted closer to Damian and wrapped her arm around him tightly. “Good morning.”

“I didn’t know you were awake, did Todd wake you up?” Damian asked as her hugged her.

“No..” Marinette buried her face in his chest hoping he wouldn’t catch her lying.

Damian huffed, “I know he did.”

Marinette started laughing. “It’s ok, really. I feel so much better that I think I was waking up anyway. Can we go make cookies now? They’re Tikki’s favorite and I’d really like to make her some.” Damian agreed and they quickly got ready and headed to the kitchen.

Once her first batch was complete, she set ten aside and told Tikki they were all hers and Marinette had to laugh at the Kwami’s excitement as she sat in the middle delicately eating them. Marinette was almost done with the second batch before Jason found them.

“Hey Pixie Pop! Whatcha making?” Jason picked her up giving her a tight hug.

Laughing, Marinette swatted his arm until he put her down, “We’re making macaroons.”

“You mean Demon Spawn actually helped?” Jason reached out trying to mess up Damian’s hair.

Damian swatted his hand away and frowned, “Of course I did. I can be helpful when people don’t annoy me.”

Marinette giggled, “Does that mean I’m not annoying?” she said with a wide smile.

Damian rolled his eyes and teased, “Maybe…”

Jason and Marinette both laughed. Jason turned back to Marinette and asked, “Why are you making so many?”

“It’s a thank you for everyone for rescuing us and allowing me to stay here to rest.”

Jason eyes grew wide, “You don’t have to thank us.”

“Sure I do, besides I like baking and Tikki needed some cookies as well.” Marinette said putting the finishing touches on the last batch.

Jason swiped a cookie and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. “These are great!” He managed to swipe several more, before Marinette stopped him.

“You have to save some for the others,” she said laughing. She picked up a cookie and handed it to Damian and asked, “What do you think?”

Damian quickly ate it before answering, “This is honestly one of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted.”

“Really?!” Marinette said excitedly. “Do you think Alfred would want one?” Before turning to start looking for him, Alfred entered. “How did he do that," she asked Damian and Jason. Both just shrugged their shoulders.

Alfred approached, “Did you need something Miss. Marinette?

“Yes, would you like to try a macaroon?” She said while bringing him a plate full to him.

“Of course, I’d be delighted.” Alfred took a bite as she went to finish cleaning up the kitchen. “This is delightful! May I get your recipe?”

“Of course! I’m happy you like it. It’s one of my parents’ recipes. They own a bakery,” she said as she put away the last of the dishes.

Jason was practically vibrating as he shouted, “Your parents own a bakery?! I have to go with you!!”

Marinette laughed, “I think your dad asked you stay behind this time, but don’t worry I’ll bring all of you back plenty of treats.”

Jason picked her up again, “I knew you were my favorite. Good job finding the perfect wife, Demon Spawn!”

Marinette face inflamed and she head Damian chuckling at her. She looked over at him and demanded, “What?”

Damian smirked, “You’re cute when your flustered.”

Marinette somehow managed turned turn even redder and started spluttering. Jason and Damian both started laughing, even Alfred was trying to restrain a smile. Marinette groaned.
Damian took her hand still chuckling, “Come on, let’s show you around. The other will be back late this afternoon.”

Marinette looked at Tikki, “Do you want to go with us, or would you like to stay here?”

“I think I’ll stay here that way you can enjoy your date,” Tikki said smiling. Marinette spluttered again and could feel her face heating up. Damian and Jason started laughing again
Damian guided her from the room and began the tour. Marinette followed him all around and was thoroughly impressed. There was so much inspiration here. She asked to borrow Damian’s phone so she could take pictures. She had so many new designs that she wanted to remember them all. Damian obviously saved the best for last as they stepped out into the garden.
Marinette couldn’t help but gasp which caused Damian to chuckle. It was gorgeous. She slowly walked around the garden trying to take it all in. She took so many pictures and had so many new designs in mind that it would take her over a year to complete them all. As they rounded the corner, she saw Alfred approaching with a basket.

“Have you enjoyed the tour, Ms. Marinette?”

“Yes!! Everything is just beautiful!”

“I thought you’d like it and since it’s close to noon, I’d thought you would enjoy a picnic lunch out here.” Alfred said with a smile.

Marinette looked over at Damian, “Can we?”

Damian smiled, “If that is what you wish, then I have no problems with it.”

Marinette beamed at him and she took the basket from Alfred after he declined the invitation to stay. He stated that he other work inside and to enjoy the afternoon before walking back towards the manor.

Damian took the basket from her and asked, “Where would you like to eat?”

“What about in the shade under the tree that way we can still see most of the garden?”

“Sounds good to me.” Marinette pulled out a blanket that Alfred had laid on top and together they spread it out. They pulled everything out and started eating. Once finished, Damian leaned back against the tree gesturing for her to scoot closer. She hesitated before sitting between his legs and laying her head back against his chest.

“When do you think we need to leave?” Damian asked wrapping his arms around her.

“I feel much better now, so we probably need to leave tomorrow. I’m afraid the longer I put it off the more nervous I’m going to be.” Marinette admitted.

“It’ll be ok, don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to help make it easier for you.”

Marinette tilted her head back to look at him, “Thank you Dami. I really can’t tell you how much that means to me.” Marinette leaned back against him resting her head back and she soon fell asleep.

After a short nap, they cleaned up their picnic and put everything back in the basket. Damian carried the basket and took her hand entwining their fingers together. They headed back towards the manor and camped out in the living room with Jason to watch TV till the others got home. By the time dinner was ready, Marinette was so happy. She hadn’t had a day this peaceful since before Hawkmoth appeared and she thoroughly enjoyed the peace and especially enjoyed Jason and Damian threatening back and forth to each other throughout the afternoon.

Once everyone was settled for dinner and had begun eating, Bruce looked over at Marinette and asked, “When would you like to leave for Paris?”

“I think we need to leave tomorrow, if that’s possible,” she sighed, and Damian reached over and took her hand under the table.

Bruce nodded, “I figured, so the plane will be prepped and should be ready to go by 5:00 in the morning and it’s a seven-hour flight so we should be in Paris by 7 that evening.”

“That’s sounds perfect since the bakery will be closed so we can head there right away.” Marinette looked down at her lap. She couldn’t help being nervous about how her parents will react.

Dick spoke up, “Don’t worry, we’ll help explain everything. We won’t leave you alone in this.”

Marinette smiled at him, “Thank you. I’m glad all three of you are going with me.” She picked her fork back up and enjoyed watching the way her new brothers-in-law teased and argued throughout dinner. Bruce’s growing exasperation with them was also just as entertaining like when Jason got mad and threw a roll at Dick, who ducked, and hit Tim in the middle of his forehead.

After dinner, they split off and several went to suit up to get ready for patrol, while her and Damian left for him to get packed for the trip.

Meanwhile in the Batcave…

Everyone was getting suited up when Jason caused them all to freeze. “He laughed and not in the evil ‘someone’s getting maimed’ way. He actually laughed a lot when we were in the kitchen earlier.”

Dick was the first to recover and he sawed in awe, “Maybe she really is an angel.”

Jason snorted, “She’s awesome, but I really liked her. She said she’d bring me and Timmy back some pastries.”

Tim perked up, “Really?!”

“Yeah and you all tasted the macaroons, so we know those are good.”

Dick finished changing and said, “I think she’s exactly what we need, especially Damian. He’s been a lot happier since they met.”

Everyone nodded their agreement and finished getting ready for their patrol.

Chapter Text

On the plane ride over, Marinette asked them not to reveal anything about the Miraculous box. She told them the fewer people that knew, the better, especially since she still needed to verify its location. They also agreed not to say anything about the Waynes’ nightly activity. They arrived in Paris that evening and Marinette went with them as they checked into a hotel first. She ushered them in hoping Chloe wouldn’t find them first. Once the men had dropped off their luggage they quickly left and headed to the bakery, Marinette was able to breathe a sigh of relief. She was thankful they were able to avoid Chloe for now and she could talk to her parents first.

Once they arrived at the bakery, Dick whistled. “Wow, this is amazing!”

Marinette blushed, “Thanks!” She led them to the side and knocked on the door. Her Maman opened the door and once she saw Marinette, her jaw dropped.

“Marinette! Where on earth have you been? You disappeared and only left us a note!” She screeched and quickly enveloped Marinette in a hug.

“I’ll explain once we’re inside.” Sabine finally noticed the rest of her party and quickly ushered them inside. Once everyone was seating, Sabine and Marinette quickly prepared tea and a tray of cookies. Sabine sat on the arm of Tom’s chair and looked straight at Marinette and said, “Explain.”

Marinette, who was sitting on the arm of the couch beside Damian, shared a quick look with him and he gave her a nod of encouragement that neither Tom nor Sabine missed. “I guess I should start with the letter, I was told one was left?”

Sabine shared a confused look with Tom before getting up and returning from the kitchen with the letter. “We thought you wrote it. If you didn’t leave it, who did?”

Marinette quickly perused the letter and handed it over to Damian so they could inspect it. She sighed, “Part of the letter is true. I am Ladybug and we did defeat Hawkmoth a few days ago, but I didn’t leave willingly.” Her parents gasped. “I was captured along with Damian.” She said while gesturing towards him.

Tom angrily said, “Why would anyone kidnap you? How did you escape?”

Marinette deflated and looked at Damian asking for help. Damian took her hand and said, “I guess we should probably introduce ourselves. My name is Damian Wayne. This is my brother Dick…” Dick gave them a wide smile and a wave. “.. and this is my father Bruce Wayne.”

Both Tom and Sabine gasped. Tom said, “Wayne, as in, Wayne Enterprises.” Bruce nodded and quickly stood to shake his hand. “Well, I’m Tom and this is my wife, Sabine.”

“Why were you two kidnapped?” Sabine said clearly confused.

Marinette’s shoulders sagged and she started chewing on her bottom lip. Damian spoke up for her, “My mother is head of an evil organization and she wanted Marinette’s miraculous. She thought if she married us, she would be able to use it.”

Tom’s mouth was wide open and Sabine was close to tears. Sabine was the first to speak, “T..Th..They forced you to marry?” she said clearly horrified. Marinette nodded.

Tom finally spoke, “But why? How could a mother do this?”

Bruce finally spoke up with a quick glance at Damian, “Talia is not a good person. Many years ago she drugged me and forced herself on me. I didn’t even find out till Damian was ten that he even existed. She simply dropped him off and left him with me.” Damian frowned and Marinette took his hand. Bruce continued, “All she wants is power and she is very capable of kidnapping two people to force them together if it would gain her more.”

Dick spoke up to fill in where Bruce left off, “We’re not even sure they can separate without causing pain or death.” Her parents gasped again. “Talia partnered with a sorceress and she performed a spell during the ceremony. Damian and Marinette, both, say it feels like they are connected somehow. The sorceress is the one who came up with the letter and she used magic to make it look like Marinette’s handwriting.” Her parents sat staring at them in shock and horror.

Marinette gave them a small smile, “It’s really not so bad. Damian is very kind and you know I was thinking of going to Gotham in the fall, so now you know that I’ll have someone there.”

Sabine stood up and approached her daughter, “Are you really ok? Did they do anything else to you.”

Marinette smiled and hugged her mother tightly, “I’m really ok. We escaped before they did anything else.”

Tom stood and approached Damian, who gave Marinette an uncertain look and quickly jumped to his feet. “So… you’re my new son-in-law?”

Damian gave Marinette another look of panic. Her father was huge and he didn’t want to have to fight him! Marinette couldn’t help giggling. She knew exactly what her Papa was about to do.

Damian said stiffly, “Yes sir.”

Tom broke out in a large smile and wrapped his arms around him tightly, lifting him off the floor in a hug. “Well, Welcome to the family.” Everyone busted out laughing, while Damian breathed a sigh of relief.

Sabine was able to talk the Waynes into staying for Dinner and they gathered around the table laughing and talking throughout dinner. Once dinner was over and Marinette and Sabine quickly cleared the table. Sabine asked Marinette quietly. “Are you really ok?”

Marinnette smiled, “It was really scary, but luckily they didn’t do anything to us besides the ceremony and like I said earlier Damian is really nice. There is something else. So far we haven’t been separated and we're worried about the effects of the spell. Is it ok if Damian stay here until we can figure out everything? We’re worried about what could happen if we’re separated.”

Sabine nodded, “Of course. We can get to know him better that way” Sabine smirked and Marinette dreaded what was coming. “Of course, you’ll have to leave your door open.”

Marinette flushed, “Maman, we’re not going to do anything,” she whined.

Sabine chuckled, “I know.”

Once Bruce and Dick left after promising the Dupain-Chengs they’d return in the morning for breakfast, Marinette turned to her parents. “They’ve already met Tikki, but since it’s a little quieter, now is perfect.” Marinette pulled Tikki from her pocket and Tikki floated just beside her. “This is Tikki. She helps me become Ladybug.”

Tikki flew forward and said, “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. I love your cookies. They are the absolute best.”

Marinette’s parents beamed at the compliment and Sabine went to the kitchen and returned with a whole tray. “Here you go then,” she said with a smile. Tikki quickly flew up to each of their faces and gave them a hug and said thank you before eating. Marinette smiled fondly at her kwami.

Her parents bid them goodnight and went into their room. Marinette guided Damian upstairs and she had to laugh at his expression as they entered her room.

“There’s a lot of pink,” he finally said.

Marinette laughed. “I like to surround myself with my favorite things and color especially. It helps me design better.”

“Do we need to check on your box?”

Marinette nervously checked around her room and she leaned in closer to Damian, “Do you think they bugged my room?”

“I have Drake checking on it and we should know in a few minutes.”

Marinette nodded. “Can you help me find my phone? I left it here before the attack thinking I’d return right away, but I don’t remember now where I put it. I’m sure it’s dead.” They searched her room quickly and Damian found it under a pillow. She plugged it into her charger and she heard Damian’s ding.

Scrolling through the phone quickly, Damian let out a hum. He strode towards her desk and moved some books out of the way before finding a bug. He crushed it and then moved towards her photos on the wall. He took a few down, before finding another and he crushed it. He did this three more times, before he took all the crushed bugs and went into the bathroom and flushed them. “That should be all, but just in case we should still whisper if it’s something sensitive until Drake checks again.”

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, “Good.” She motioned him closer to her desk where she pulled out a diary box. She leaned in and whispered, “Years ago, I made this box to help keep my diary safe. Once I became the Guardian, I tweaked it and it has a false side. False bottoms are too common.”

Damian looked closer and he couldn’t see anything that would indicate a hidden compartment. Impressed he quietly says, “That’s amazing! I can see how they missed this.”

Marinette beams and quickly opens the compartment and pulls out two miraculous, a pair of glasses and a necklace. She slides them on quickly, “Kaalki, Trixx, Unify!” With a bright flash she is transformed and Damian is left in awe. She grabs his hand and opens a portal which she pulls them through. Once through, the step out into an empty line of lockers. Quickly casting an illusion, she finally says to Damian, “I worried a few years ago about hiding the box in my room and I came up with the idea if hiding it elsewhere, but I leave these two miraculouses hidden in my room so I can get here. I use Kaalki to get here and I use Trixx to hide evidence of anyone being here so anyone passing just sees a row of empty lockers. It’s undiscoverable this way and I’m the only one who knows the location.” She quickly checks the box and finds it’s the same as she left and breathed out a sigh of relief.

When they portal back to her room, Marinette quickly detransforms and hides the miraculouses again after giving the kwamis a snack. They change into pajamas and climb up to her bed.

“That’s really impressive Angel. I would never have thought of it and I’m glad since clearly my mother didn’t either,” Damian said while wrapping his arms around her.

Marinette shifted closer to him and smiled, “Thanks. I was just too worried to leave it here. Thank you for coming with me today. I think my parents are still in shock, but Bruce and Dick explained it in a way that helped explain it.”

“Anytime Angel. I’m glad we could help.” Marinette let out a wide yawn. Damian chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I think you should sleep. Goodnight Angel.”

“Night Dami,” and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Across the street neither of them noticed a pair of neon green eyes slitted in anger and jealousy.

Chapter Text

After everyone met up and ate breakfast the next morning, Marinette decided it was time to find her friends and explain. As her and Damian walked towards the hotel, she filled him in on what to expect. Once they arrived at the hotel, they accidentally ran into Chloe. Marinette inwardly cringed. She had hoped to meet her upstairs in her suite.

“MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Chloe’s shriek caused everyone to turn and stare. As Marinette shrank back, Damian stepped forward and laid a hand on her back which drew Chloe’s attention to him. She stared at him before squinting suspiciously. “Come on, I think we need to talk in private. Want me to message the others?”

Marinette nodded, “Yes, please. I’d rather explain this only one more time.”

Chloe glared at them and huffed. They followed her upstairs to her suite and sat in silence until Luka and Kagami arrived. Both launched into the room engulfing Marinette in hugs. Chloe quickly silenced them and demanded, “Now that everyone is here, I want to know what happened and why are you with Damian Wayne of all people?!”

Damian spoke up first, “You know who I am? How?”

“My mother brought me along to the Wayne Gala last year and I saw you there.” Damian nodded in understanding and Chloe turned to Marinette, “I know you didn’t know him before you disappeared. When I couldn’t reach you on the phone, your parents showed me that letter, but I knew it wasn’t right. I knew you would have told us if you were leaving, but I didn’t say anything to your parents in case it was Ladybug business.”

Marinette gave her a small smile, “Thanks Chloe. It’s a rather long explanation so please don’t interrupt me.” Marinette told them everything except the Waynes secret and of course what happened that one night. By the time she was finished, everyone was shocked speechless, including Chloe.

Luka eyed them both, “There is something different about you. It’s like there is a connection between the two of you. It’s almost like there’s a string drawing you two together.

Marinette and Damian shared a look before Damian answered, “We think that’s part of the spell Morgan Le Fay cast.”

Kagami glared at Damian, “I don’t care if you are connected with her, just know this, if you hurt her I WILL destroy you.”

Damian gave her an approving nod, “I would expect nothing less.” Turning to Marinette he said, “I like her.” Marinette giggled.

Chloe rolled her eyes, “So how did your parents take it?”

Marinette sighed, “They were shocked at first especially since they found out I was Ladybug, but once they understood everything, I think they were ok. They even welcomed Damian into the family,” she said with a laugh. Everyone chuckled except Damian who gave an amused sigh.

Marinette grew serious, “Any updates on Chat?”

“Not yet, but a few people tweeted that they spotted him lurking about yesterday,” Kagami growled.

Marinette sighed, “Now that Hawkmoth is defeated this will have to be our focus. Are all of you ok with keeping your miraculous a little longer? I know we had planned on retiring everyone after Hawkmoth since it’s safer for the miraculouses, but I know I’m going to need the help.”

“I hadn’t planned on leaving on our with Jagged for another couple of months so I can help until them,” Luka said.

Kagami agreed as well, “Since I don’t have any plans other than training until I leave with Luka, that’ll be fine with me as well.”

“You know I was planning on following you wherever you went for college so I’ll be happy to help a little longer,” Chloe said as she cuddled Pollen happily.

Marinette smiled, “Thanks! He appears to be most active at night. I think we should start patrolling for several hours at night. Maybe even split up and do it in shifts.” Everyone agreed and settled in to enjoy the free time and to talk.

Several hours later Damian and Marinette were headed back to the bakery when Marinette asked, “So what did you think?”

“I liked them. They were different from what I’m used to, but I can tell the three of you are really close.”

Marinette smiled and they headed inside the bakery.

Dick and Bruce flew back to Gotham after a week in Paris. They had helped search for Chat and they even set up surveillance throughout the city where the heroes could be notified immediately if Chat Noir passed by them. Marinette and her parents sent them home with so many goodies that she knew Jason and Tim would be satisfied at being left behind. The others soon learned of Damian’s night identity and he was welcomed to the team so he could assist them. They looked everywhere for Chat, but there was no sign of him anywhere. The days started to blend together and soon turned into weeks before they knew it, four weeks had passed with no sign of Chat Noir.

“How is this possible?!” Marinette said angrily, “There are so many cameras all around Paris and we still haven’t been able to find him.”

“It’s ok Marinette, we’ll figure out something.” Luka assured her.

Damian slowly said, “What if we return to Gotham?” Marinette gave him a confused look. “My brother is a computer genius. He might be able to come up with something that we’re missing.”

Marinette slowly nodded, “I guess your right. I think we need some outside help. I can feel that he hasn’t left Paris, but I just don’t know how we haven’t found him. I suppose I could use this as an excuse to look at the University while I’m there as well.”

The others nodded there approval and Chloe said, “Go. We need it. We’ll stay here and keep searching and you can send me lots of pictures of the school so I can see it too since it looks like that’s where we’ll be going,” she added smirking.

Marinette pinked and asked shyley, “Is that ok?”

“Of course! It’s not that far from New York so I’ll be able to see Mom more.”

“Ok that’s settled, I’ll call Father and tell him to expect us tomorrow.” Damian stood and pulled out his phone before dialing a number as he walked off to the side.

The next day arrived in a flurry with Marinette quickly packing after explaining to her parents what was going on. Her parents gave her a huge box of baked goods for her to take and they were able to quickly board the private plane Bruce had sent and soon they were in the air. Marinette and Damian watched movies for most of the flight. Once they arrived in Gotham, Alfred met them at the airport to drive them to the manor.

“Hey Alfred! It’s wonderful to see you again. Thank you for picking us up.” Marinette said once they were seated in the car.

“Of course, Miss Marinette. It’s also a pleasure to see you again. I see you brought back some pastries. The others you sent before were delightful. I must get your recipe for them.” Alfred said smiling at the young woman.

Marinette beamed, “Yes we thought everyone would like more. I’d be happy to give you the recipes!” They talked throughout the ride back to the manor while Damian watched, smiling at her enthusiasm. When they arrived at the manor, Jason, Dick, and Tim came running out of the manor to give her a hug, but they fought over who could hug her first which made Marinette laugh and Damian scowl. She quickly hugged them all and gave Alfred the box of pastries to keep them from eating them all now. Once again she laughed as they pouted at her. “Don’t worry we can eat them after dinner.” They all gathered inside and talked until dinner.

During dinner, Bruce surprised Marinette by asking if she wanted to join them on patrol. She glanced at Damian and he shrugged as if to say it was up to her. She accepted and once dinner was through, she was shown to the Batcave where she wandered around trying to take it all in. The others went to get changed and she was able to look around better. They had mats, weights, and even a trapeze set. They had so much training equipment she was in awe. She heard the others returning and quickly transformed. They all split up on patrol and she was partnered with Damian and they sped off on his motorcycle to their assigned area.

Chapter Text

Ladybug and Robin stood on top of a building and surveying the area. Ladybug couldn’t believe just how beautiful Gotham was at night. So far they’d had a fairly quiet night. Ladybug swayed to the side of the building and subtly glanced back at Robin. Every time they had transformed, she’d noticed him staring at her. Ladybug wasn’t stupid and she knew that as she’d grown older that she’d developed an hourglass figure and thanks to her secret identity, this helped keep her stomach flat. Since her suit hadn’t changed, it only emphasized her curves. She’d always been self-conscious of how big her butt and breasts were, but Robin obviously liked it. She loved that she had this power to distract him like she did now.

After glancing back, she quickly turned so she could hide a smile. He was openly staring at her and she saw his eyes slide across her figure. She resisted the urge to giggle. After a moments decision, she quickly turned to face him so she could tease him. The quick turn startled Robin and he quickly looked up, but once again his gaze landed on her chest. Ladybug approached him and whispered in the ear opposite the communicator, “What’s wrong Robin? Ladybug got your tongue? You are my husband, I’d be more disappointed if I didn’t catch you looking.” She teased.

Robin’s eyes dilated and she could only see black. He pushed her into the shadow of the building and up against the wall. Robin reached up and took out her communicator and flung it, along with his on the ground. “I don’t think you want to tease me,” he growled out.

In the month they’d been together, they hadn’t done more than hold each other’s hand or give each other a quick kiss on the forehead or cheek. After sleeping next to him for a month and with the pull between them, she couldn’t help wanting more. So, she blamed her reaction on this fact. “Maybe I like teasing you,” she said. She leaned forward and started kissing his neck.
Damian growled. An actual deep growl that cause Marinette to shiver. He roughly shoved her back against the wall and practically pounced on her lips. She felt like stars were exploding after finally being able to kiss him. When their tongues finally met, Marinette couldn’t help the moan that escaped her. Damian must have heard her because he started running his hands up and down her body. When he finally reached her breasts, Marinette couldn’t stop the moans of pleasure escaping her.

“Hey why aren’t you guys answeri….. AHHHHH!!!”

Ladybug and Robin quickly jumped apart and looked at the intruder. Nightwing stood covering his eyes and mumbling how he was never going to be able to un-see this.

Damian demanded, “What do you need?”

Still not uncovering his eyes he said, “There’s a large weapons bust we found and we need your help.”

Ladybug stepped up, “We’ll be there in a second.” Nightwing nodded and jumped off the building headed towards the meeting point.

Ladybug looked over at Robin and saw him scrubbing his face with his hands. He said, “At least it was Nightwing. Red Hood or Red Robin would never let us live this down.”

Marinette laughed and walked over to pick up the comms. She handed Robin his, but before he put it on she leaned in and whispered, “At least we can continue after the bust.” She gave him a quick wink before following after Nightwing leaving Robin groaning and rushing to catch up to her.

The weapons bust went smoothly and they found a bunch of drugs. After quickly disarming the men attacking her they were able to tie up all the men involved and she was able to get out of sight before the police arrived. None of them really wanted to explain her presence in Gotham yet.

“We should be able to head back now. Luckily we were able to find them before we all headed in for the night,” Robin said beside her. They quickly retrieved his bike from where it was hidden and took off back towards the cave.

Once they arrived back in the cave they had a quick update meeting on what occurred during the patrols and it seemed it was fairly quiet for everyone. Nightwing was doing everything he could to avoid Robin’s and her gazes. Ladybug tried her best to restrain her amusement. Once the meeting was done, everyone left to change and shower. Marinette caught Damian’s arm and whispered, “I’m heading upstairs to shower if you want to join.” She turned and intentionally caused her hips to sway a little more as she headed upstairs. She heard him growl and she bit back a laugh.

The next morning Marinette awoke happy and sore. Damian was still asleep beside her and she curled up closer to him to watch him. He was just so gorgeous and even though she was kidnapped into marrying him, she couldn’t help but count herself lucky to be married to him. Suddenly she was hit by a wave of nausea. She jumped up and sprinted towards the bathroom and threw up everything in her stomach. She must have woke Damian because she felt him pulling her hair away from her face and rubbing her back. After dry heaving a few more times she stood up and Damian handed over a glass of water. She took a few sips and she was able to hold it down. “I’m sorry I woke you. I guess I just ate something that didn’t settle right.”

Damian looked at her worried, “I don’t care that you woke me. Are you sure you're ok? I can get Alfred in here and he’ll know what to do.”

Marinette smiled, “I’m ok really. I think I just want to go back to bed for a little while.”

Damian nodded and helped her back to bed. Once she was back in his room, she finally noticed they both were still naked and Marinette couldn’t stop the blush from forming. Damian saw her blush and started chuckling, but he didn’t say anything as he climbed into bed beside her. He gave her a kiss as she settled down beside him and she was soon fast asleep.

When Marinette awoke later she felt much better and she smiled up at Damian who had been watching tv while she slept.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Much and now I’m starving!”

Damian laughed, “well let’s get dressed and we’ll go get some breakfast.”

Once they were ready, Marinette practically dragged Damian along behind her as he laughed at her enthusiasm. “Come on Dami, I’m hungry!"

Jason and Alfred were the only ones in the kitchen when they arrived. Marinette practically inhaled the muffins and pancakes that were sitting on the counter waiting for them.

Jason laughed, “Are you hungry Pixie Pop?”

Marinette nodded with her mouth stuffed full with a muffin.

“Once we’re done eating, how about I take you to the campus so you can look around at everything.” Damian said once she’d slowed down on eating.

“That’s sounds great!”

Once finished, she followed Damian to his car and they sped off towards campus with Marinette asking questions on his experience so far.

Marinette absolutely loved the campus and she took a bunch of pictures and sent them to Chloe. Chloe seemed to like it just as much as she did. It was so beautiful and they had so many flower beds that enhanced the beauty of the campus. Once they were finished, Damian took her to the park so they could have a picnic lunch. She absolutely loved getting to eat outside and watch others. Damian picked a spot under a tree that overlooked a playground and she couldn’t help smiling as she watched the children play.

Once they were done eating, they sat back and relaxed as they watched the other people in the park. Marinette kept being drawn to the playground as she watched the cutest little girl play with a bright pink ball. She watched as the little girl tripped and fell. When she started crying, Marinette was ready to jump up and comfort her when the girl’s mother stopped and soothed her cries. When the mother stood up, Marinette noticed she was expecting another child and she smiled. Marinette couldn’t wait for the day she and Damian were expecting their first child. She kept watching them until she froze suddenly.

She couldn’t remember if she’d had her cycle this month and then she remembered throwing up that morning. What if that was morning sickness?! Luckily Damian had fallen asleep so he wouldn’t notice her obvious panic. She forced herself to calm down and she decided to ask Damian to stop at a drug store when they headed home.

When they left the park, Damian thankfully didn’t question her, but when they arrived she had a hard time convincing him to stay in the car. He finally relinquished and she hurried inside. She found a pack of 2 pregnancy tests and bought them quickly. On the way back to the mansion, Damian could tell something was off, but Marinette was too distracted to really notice. She tried to remain calm when they got to the mansion, but she knew she was failing.

Marinette hurried to Damian’s room and locked herself in the bathroom. The minute she spent waiting for the result to come back seemed like hours. When the minute was up, she looked at the test and gasped.

It was positive.

Chapter Text

Marinette stared in shock at the positive stick in her hand. She knew there was always a chance of a false positive, so she decided to wait a few more hours and try again. After hiding the stick with her other toiletries, she left to find Damian to see if he’d play a game with her to try and distract her. They decided to play Ultra Mecha Strike and Damian was decimated after several rounds. She laughed at his frustration.

“How are you so good?!” he demanded.

Marinette smiled, “I used to play against my Papa all the time.”

Tim walked in and looked at them, “What’s wrong?”

“She just destroyed me in every game we played!” Damian flopped on the couch dramatically. Tim stared at her in amazement.

Marinette started snickering and poked him, “Aww poor baby. Do I need to take it easy on you next time?”

Tim and Marinette burst out laughing at Damian’s expression. Since it was drawing close to dinner time, Tim, left to finish some last-minute work and Damian followed Marinette to see if Alfred would like any help. After finding Alfred, he instructed them to set the table. They decided to just hang out in the dining room until dinner was ready once they finished since it was so close to being ready.

The video game was able to fully distract Marinette, but during dinner she kept finding her thoughts drifting to the positive test. Once she was finished, she hurried out of the room and into the bathroom to take the other test. She tried to stop the panicked thoughts, but it seemed like the stick took forever. Finally, when the timer dinged she looked down and once again it said positive. Marinette buried her head in arms and burst into tears.

Damian knew something was bothering Marinette all day, but he knew she’d tell him when ready so he decided not to push. She left dinner so abruptly he decided to follow her once he helped Alfred clear the table. He rushed to his bedroom and heard her in the bathroom sobbing. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. “Marinette! What’s wrong? Can you open the door?!” Marinette couldn’t seem to hear him so he decided to break the door down and ask for forgiveness from Alfred and his Father later. “Marinette, I’m coming in. If you’re in front of the door, you need to move!” He took a step back and kicked the door open. He found her sitting in the floor with Tikki cuddled up on her shoulder trying her best to soothe Marinette. He rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her. “Marinette, please tell me what’s wrong.” He held her for several more minutes before she finally could respond.

“It…it...it’s positive,” she wailed.

Damian was now more confused than before, “What’s positive?” She couldn’t stop sobbing, but she moved and showed him the stick in her hand. Damian stared. He should know what this stick was, but he couldn’t quite remember. Suddenly it slammed into him. It was a pregnancy test and it showed it was positive. Damian’s thoughts were racing. He knew they couldn’t be pregnant from last night so quickly which means they conceived the very first time when they were drugged. Damian was furious and he was already making plans to hunt Talia and Morgan down to murder them, but Marinette interrupted his train of thought.

“Wh...why did they have to force us? We never even got to decide if we were ready for kids and they took that choice away from us,” She wailed.

Damian picked her up and held her close, “I know and I’m sorry I wish this wouldn’t have happened. Don’t worry my love. We will figure it out.” Damian carried her to bed and climbed in beside her. He held her until she cried herself to sleep. He was still furious, but he tried to figure out the best way to help his wife first as he put his plans of murder on hold. He decided to let Alfred know first the thing in the morning since he would know what to do.

When they woke up the next morning, Damian retrieved Alfred from the kitchen telling him they needed to talk and brought him to their room. Marinette was still sitting on the bed and looked close to tears once again. Alfred looked from one to the other before settling on Damian. Damian approached Marinette and wrapped her up in a hug. “We found out last night that Marinette is pregnant. We will explain the story this evening to everyone, but can you help for now?”

Alfred suddenly looked very old and he appeared to compose himself before he said, “I assume she took a pregnancy test.” At Damian’s nod, he continued, “Then I will schedule a doctor’s appointment today just so we can confirm and know what else we need to do.” He walked quickly out of the room to make the arrangements.

Alfred had them an appointment set with Leslie at 10:00 and drove them himself. He told them on the way that he told the others that they were on a date and would be unavailable until dinner so it would hopefully deter the others from searching for them.

The appointment went fairly quickly and Leslie, who was apparently an old friend of the Waynes, confirmed that Marinette was pregnant. She gave them a list of medications and strenuous activities to avoid. She even gave her a list of foods that would be good for the development of the baby and time frames for when she should return for visits. They quietly thanked her and returned to Alfred waiting in the car. Marinette had managed not to cry again until they returned to Damian’s room. Alfred brought them lunch and they ate quietly while watching tv. Neither of them really knew what to say so little was spoken.

Tikki took this opportunity to speak up. She’s been unusually quiet this whole time. “I’m sorry Marinette. I think part of this is my fault.” Marinette and Damian both gave her confused looks.

“What do you mean?” Marinette asked confused.

Tikki looked so sad, “Sometimes some of my holders are gifted with increased fertility because of my creative nature, but it’s happened on so few occasions that I never thought to explain that this might be one of your side-effects.”

Marinette and Damian exchanged looks before Marinette reached out and cuddled her close, “Tikki. This is in no way your fault anymore than it is ours. Like you said you didn’t know, and it wasn’t like I was active before so there was no reason to even bring it up. It’s really ok.”

Tikki sniffled, “I still feel like I should have warned you though.”

Marinette smiled, “It’s ok, really. None of us expected to be captured and forced into this, so even if I would have known, it wouldn’t have changed things. I wasn’t active and wasn’t looking to be anytime soon so I wouldn’t have started taking any protective measures.” Marinette soothed Tikki, but she knew she hadn’t fully convinced her kwami, but hopefully over time she’d realize that none of them would have been able to change anything. They continued eating lunch and Marinette passed Tikki a few more sweets.

Once they finished eating, Marinette quietly said, “I think we need to tell them everything.”

Damian froze, “Are you sure?”

Marinette nodded, “I think they would question us on why I’m so far along and they already know everything else so they might as well know everything that happened.”

Damian agreed. So when dinner arrived, it seemed to drag by. Everyone was giving them questionable looks especially since Alfred kept doting on Marinette. Once dinner was finished, Damian requested a family meeting. They all gathered in the living room. Marinette curled up again in the cushioned armchair, but Damian was too angry to sit so he started pacing.

After several minutes in silence with everyone watching them, Dick finally spoke up, “What’s wrong Baby Bird?” Marinette finally tore her eyes away from Damian to glance at Dick before looking down and bursting into tears.

Jason jumped up and sat on the edge of her chair and wrapped his arms around her before glaring at Damian, “What the f..”

“Master Jason!” Alfred admonished.

Jason amended his statement, “What the heck Demon Spawn? What did you do to her?” Damian shoulders slumped, but he didn’t stop pacing.

“It’s not his fault,” Marinette cried out.

Damian scrubbed his hands across his face and all eyes were on him when he finally spoke, “We didn’t tell you everything from when we were captured.” Marinette’s sobs were finally slowing.

“What do you mean? What else happened?” Bruce demanded.

Damian’s anger was growing and the pacing didn’t seem to be helping, “Remember when they threw us a wedding feast?” He continued without letting anyone have time to answer. “Towards the end Mother did a toast, but she brought us an unopened bottom since I wouldn’t have drunk it otherwise. She must have had Morgan spell it because we found out the next day that it drugged us.”

“Okay, but what’s this about?” Dick asked slowly.

Damian growled, but Marinette finally spoke up and whispered quietly, “I’m pregnant.”

A loud crash broke everyone from their shock. Damian had thrown the table lamp closest to him, “The League views marriages as unbreakable especially once the marriage is consummated so they drugged us and made us.” He growled out before squatting down and scrubbing his head with his hands. Marinette jumped up and kneeled close to him and wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s not your fault Damian. I still mean it as much as I did then.”

“But, I shouldn’t have trusted her just because the bottle wasn’t opened. If I’d been a little more cautious then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.” He sounded so broken.

Alfred piped in, “You should listen to her Master Damian. No one in here believes this is your fault. There was nothing you could have done. Both of you were kidnapped and taken against your wills.”

“Yeah, Demon Spawn, besides if they wanted that so bad, then they probably would have done something else if neither of you drank it.” Damian finally was calming down and looked up at Marinette who still had tears in her eyes.

“It’ll be ok,” she said with a small smile and she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Damian finally stood up and pulled Marinette up with him and they went and sat back in her chair with Jason still leaning against the arm.

Chapter Text

After allowing the news to process for a few more minutes, Damian finally broke the silence. "So what are we going to do now?" He asked while looking at Marinette.

Marinette sighed, "I dont know. I guess we need to return to Paris to tell my parents. We need to try and hurry to find Chat Noir first before I start showing. "

Tim rubbed his face tiredly, "the program still hasn't turned anything up. It's like he's completely off grid. I'd say it's likely he's not even in France anymore since I woden the search parameters to include all of France. It's certainly made this more difficult, but I know we'll find him eventually."

Marinette buried her face in Damian's chest as she struggled to keep from bursting into tears.

Jason reached over and hugged Marinette and Damian tight, "Dont worry pixie pop. Since B and Dick went last time, I'll go with you this time."

Bruce spoke up, "I want Tim to go too since he can set up base more effectively there and hopefully discover where Adrien went." Tim nodded and quickly agreed. Bruce looked at the young couple. Damian had finally calmed down, but now he just looked sad as he tried to comfort his young wife. Marinette was still barely restraining her tears and quietly sniffling every now and then.  Bruce let out a deep sigh drawing everyone's attention. "I know this is definitely unexpected and unplanned, but I want you both to know that we will do everything we can to make this easier on you both." Looking at Marinette directly he said, "We will do everything we can to help you. Neither of you are alone in this." He finished while looking back at his son.

Damian sent a small smile back at Bruce, while Marinette gave a watery smile before bursting into tears again. "Thank you. I'm sorry I think the hormones and stress from everything have caught up to me. Damian just squeezed her tighter as her tears faded.

Dick spoke up, "It's alright. After everything you two have been through, you've earned a little cry. But B is right, we will help you both."

Damian huffed, "It's just frustrating that our choices were taken from us. But at least we've already talked to Leslie who already confirmed everything and explained what we need to do from here."

Dick spoke up, "How far along are you?"

"Six weeks and Leslie said that I need to schedule another appointment about 12 weeks," Marinette said tiredly. "I'm just dreading having to explain to my parents. I know they reacted to our marriage fairly well, but knowing we weren't given a choice in this will upset them. At least Hawkmoth is gone so I don't have to worry about them being akumatized."

Bruce said, "I can have the jet prepped whenever you are ready."

Marinette smiled and thank him. "I should probably go ahead and get it over with so I guess in the next day or two."

Damian was still furious, but he knew they would have had a child eventually. He just knew Marinette would be an amazing mother. He watched her talk to his family as they finalized theirs plans for finding Adrien and flying back to Paris. He glanced down at her still flat stomach and sighed internally. He knew he would love their little one no matter what. He watched as Marinette tried to restrain a yawn. He gave her a small smile and kissed her head, "Come on we can finish talking about this in the morning. We need to get you to bed."

Marinette nodded and Damian picked her up and carried her to their room, while she protested. Damian just smirked as he placed her on their bed as Marinette huffed. They both quickly got ready for bed and cuddled up under the covers. Damian brought Marinette closer and put his forehead against hers. "I know this isn't ideal, but I want you to know that I love you Marinette and I already love our baby. I will keep you both safe."

Marinette smiled brightly at him. "I love you too, my demon. We didn't get a choice in this, but I think we'll be ok."

Damian curled around her as Marinette drifted asleep. "I know we will," he whispered quietly as he closed his eyes and fell asleep beside his pregnant love.

-----------

Two days later, they stepped off the plane in Paris. Marinette had been a nervous wreck the last two days. As they drew closer to the bakery, Marinette only grew more anxious and was twisting her hands so much that both Damian and Jason had to hold a hand so she wouldn't damage them.

Jason spoke up, "It'll be ok Pixie Pop. You've got the three of us, but you need to calm down a little. Remember the stress isn't good for the baby."

Marinette squeezed their hands and took a deep breath. "Thanks Jay. I know I shouldn't, but I just can't help it. They're going to be so upset." Damian leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and sent her a small reassuring smile.

They had arrived after the bakery closed so they could talk without interruptions. Marinette knocked on the side door and her father answered the door. "Marinette! We weren't expecting you back so soon. Come in!" Tom boomed. He quickly gave Marinette and Damian a hug and ushered them in to the loving room where Sabine rushed to meet them. After quickly making tea and setting out some pastries, they finished introductions.

Sabine eyed her daughter with worry. She knew something was bothering Marinette and could tell by the three mens expressions that this wasn't a social visit. After exchanging a quick glance with Tom, she leaned forward and took Marinette's hand in hers. "What's wrong darling?"

Marinette took a deep breath that ended in a sob. Damian and Jason wrapped their arms around her trying to give her comfort and show their support. Marinette leaned back in their arms and squeezed her Maman's hand. "We didn't quite tell you everything about what happened." It took longer than she wanted to her tears and sobs, but with Damian's help they were able to explain the whole story.

Tom and Sabine sat in silence the entire time just staring at the young couple. When the couple finished, Tom and Sabine exchanged tearful glances and both reached out and grabbed Marinette and Damian in tight hugs whispering words of comfort and understanding. They were beyond angry because how could someone's own mother do this to someone, let alone their own child.

Sabine looked at her daughter, "Are you still wanting to move to Gotham to get the Miraculouses out of Paris?" Marinette nodded. Sabine exchange a quick look with Tom who nodded, apparently thinking of the same thing. "Alright, well this makes our decision easier."

Marinette looked at Damian and his brothers for explanation, but they looked just as confused as her. "What decision?"

Sabine smile, "We're moving to Gotham with you. We're going to keep this bakery open, but have someone else manage it for us and we'll open another one in Gotham. That way we can stay close to you and now we'll be near our granchild."

Loud laughter broke Damian and Marinette out of their stupor. Damian glared at Jason, "Why are you laughing?"

Jason just cackled. "You both were so worried only for them to tell you that they'd move closer."

Marinette started laughing as well. "Sorry I tend to catastrophize. But are you guys sure?"

Tom nodded while Sabine said, "Yes, we were already seriously considering it, so this just made our decision easier. We'll be able to help you with the pregnancy and the baby once they're born."

Marinette stood up and hugged them both tightly. "I love you both so much. Thank you."

Tim spoke up, "Have you found a place yet?"

They explained they had found a few places, but haven't narrowed it down yet. Tim pulled out his laptop and they sat around discussing the different properties. There was one that they were all in agreement on and Tim explained that they actually knew the real estate agent for the contact and he personally since him a message for the Dupain-Chengs. By the end of the night, they had a placed reserved and a plan to be in Gotham in six weeks so they all can go back together.

Tim and Jason left for their apartment that Bruce rented for their stay in Paris so they could set up their equipment easier and with privacy. Before Marinette and Damian climbed up the stairs, Sabine pulled Marinette aside. "Are you really ok darling?"

"Yes, Maman. It was definitely a shock, but Damian is a good man and nothing like his mother. He's already promised to take care of us." Sabine smiled and told her she could tell how much they loved each other, but reminded that they would be there to help out as well.

Marinette kissed her mother on the cheek and went to join Damian in bed. They quietly discussed how well everything worked out and Marinette teased Damian that Tikki's luck must have finally rubbed off on them. She looked over at the Kwami sleeping in the middle of an empty tray of cookies.

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

Their six weeks in Paris passed quickly. After letting her friends know of her pregnancy and dealing with subsequent anger (Kagami and Chloe both wanted to storm the Assassin base to kill Talia and Morgan. Surprisingly they even had to calm Luka down from joining them.) They all agreed to work harder to find Adrien. But after six weeks, they hadn't been able to find a trace of him anywhere. It was like he simply vanished.

During their time in Paris, both Chloe and Marinette and received their acceptance letter to Gotham University for the fall. Chloe would be finishing her degree in Business Administration and Marinette would be finishing dual degrees in Business Management and Fashion. Tim and Damian were helping her email her professors to work out details since she would end up missing part of the semester since her baby would be due.

Tom and Sabine were able to work out all the details with their new manager and staff and had everything packed and ready to go. The only thing that had everyone upset was that they still weren't able to find Adrien.

"Don't worry Angel. We'll find him eventually. Noone can hide from us forever." Damian said as he leaned over and kissed Marinette. They were on the flight home and Marinette was upset.

"I know, but I'm already showing and our follow up appointment is tomorrow. I just really wanted to find him so we could relax and enjoy the pregnancy without having to constantly look over our shoulder. I have a really bad feeling about this."

"I know Angel, but we'll find him." Damian also felt the same dread. He just knew Adrien was planning something and the longer they didn't hear from him, the worse it got.

Chapter Text

The appointment turned out perfect and they were told they'd be able to find out the gender in another 6 weeks. As they entered the manor they were bombarded with all of Damian's brothers demanding to know how it went. Marinette giggled as Damian scoffed, but even he had to suppress a small smile as Bruce entered the room and asked as well.

Everyone followed Damian and Marinette into the living room where they informed his family that the baby was perfect and when they would find out the gender.

Jason said, "I hope it's a girl. Can you imagine Demon Spawn meeting her first boyfriend?" Everyone laughed as Damian paled at the thought.

Marinette laid her hand on Damian's and smiled at him. "What do you want it to be?"

Damian squeezed her hand, "I don't really care to be honest. I'm just excited we'll be able to find out then."

Marinette agreed. They excused themselves to their new room. When they got back yesterday Bruce had given them a whole wing in the house. He explained that he understood if they wanted to move out since they were now starting a family. But it was theirs if they wished to live here so they could have plenty of help since they were both still in school. Marinette and Damian discussed it and decided that they would live at Wayne Manor for the time being. They knew it would be easier for their nightly activities and they'd have plenty of room and help for their baby.

They quickly changed and headed to the new Dupain-Cheng bakery. Her parents were having their first family dinner and Marinette couldn't wait to tell them about the doctor visit.  The Dupain-Chengs had been extremely fortunate because they had found a building where they could have the bakery on the 1st floor and a liveable space above it similar to what they had in Paris. They planned on having their grand opening in 2 weeks so there was lots to do. Damian and Marinette's courses had luckily ended already so they'd be able to help out more during the next two weeks.

Over dinner they discussed the appointment and everything they would need to finish before they opened the bakery. Damian and Marinette insisted on working throughout the summer until their classes started back in August. Tom and Sabine tried to refuse but the young couple insisted and Marinette promised she'd work the register so she wouldn't lift anything and it'd be less strenuous so the Dupain-Chengs accepted.

Over the next two weeks, they all worked hard, with the rest of the Wayne's pitching in whenever they were able, and they were able to get the bakery ready. But the whole time Marinette had a feeling that she was being watched and suspected it was Adrien. She admitted her fears to Damian and he had his brothers be extra alert whenever they were near. Bruce and Tim spent extra time on the Batcomputer trying to find Adrien, but no one ever saw anything and the computer surprisingly wasn't able to find anything either.

The baker's grand opening came and passed with remarkable success, but Marinette still felt watched. Thanks to the baby hormones, Damian often spent his evening calming her down. Her stress and nerves were only increasing each day, but to all their frustration they still couldn't find him.

At her next doctor appointment, Marinette's blood pressure was slightly elevated and she admitted she was under extra stress. The doctor gave them strict orders to try and keep her stress to a minimum to try and lower her blood pressure. But finally she pulled up the screen and they excitedly awaited the technician to announce the gender. She smiled at their smiling faces and said, "Congratulations you're having a boy!"

Damian whooped with joy and hugged Marinette as best he could since she was on the exam table. Marinette just laughed at his rare exuberance and wiped her tears away. The tech printed off their photos and the young couple couldn't wait to to tell everyone. They rushed back to Wayne manor where everyone including the Dupain-Chengs were anxiously awaiting the news.

Bruce managed to convince his sons to wait in the living room while Alfred greeted them at the door. Alfred shared an amused smile with Marinette at Damian's awwed expression. As soon as the couple entered the room, they were immediately bombarded with questions.

Marinette laughed while Damian shoved Jason out of his chair so they could sit together. Jason grumbled and cursed under his breath since Alfred was in the room, but he quickly quieted when he saw the look Alfred gave him.

Sabine spoke once everyone finally quieted, " Well? What are you having?"

Damian and Marinette exchanged a smile and said together, "A BOY!!"

Happy exultations were heard all around and everyone approached the expecting couple to give them hugs. Alfred ushered everyone into the dining room and served dinner before he took a seat beside Bruce.

Dick asked, "Have you decided on a name yet?"

Marinette smiled, "Yes Thomas Roland Wayne after your father and mine along with my grandfather that died a few years ago." Bruce, Alfred, and Tom all smiled at them and they knew they made a good choice.

-----------

Chloe soon arrived to Gotham as the start of school rapidly approached. Bruce extended the invitation to stay at Wayne Manor for the year. She was reluctant to accept until Marinette intervened and explained about being watched and then Chloe insisted on staying for extra protection. At first the Wayne's were confused on how she could provide extra protection. As Guardian, Marinette revealed Chloe's identity as Abeille and Chloe soon learned of the Batfamilies identities when she stumbled across some guns and batarangs that Jason had accidently left out. Chloe ended up bonding quickly Jason since he was suspended from patrol for two weeks because of it.

School started uneventfully and the new couple settled into their new routine. It was about mid September when Damian, Marinette, Chloe, Tim, and Jason were gathered in the library studying, reading and doing work when Marinette's phone rang with a familiar riff. Marinette opened it to video without a thought and smiled, "Hey Uncle Jagged! Hey Aunt Penny! How's the tour been?"

"Rockin' kiddo! Me and Penny here just heard you and your folks moved out of Paris!"

"Yes! A lot has happened since we last talked. I... I... ugh... kinda got married?" She tapered off where it sounded more like a question.

"Married!??!" They shouted together and Marinette cringed.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a long story, but you know I was already planning on coming to Gotham and my husband is from here so my parents decided to move here too so they can be close to their grandchild," she hurriedly explained.

"Little M did you just say GRANDCHILD?" We haven't been gone long enough that you could have had a baby," Jagged said confused.

Marinette sighed, "Sorry, I'm due in November."

Penny walked out of view and Jagged turned and yelled, "Dont let me forget Fang's treats."

"Uncle Jagged..." Marinette whined.

"Nope Little M. We're coming to Gotham. I have a few months off of tour and we're going to spend them with you and check out your husband. Ive got a house there anyway since that's where I was born. Besides I'm not going to miss my favorite niece's first baby and you can explain everything."

Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled, "I'm your only niece."

"And don't you forget it! We'll message you when we land. Bye!!"

Marinette huffed and hung up her phone before realizing how quiet the room was. She looked around and saw that Damian was eying her incredulously while Jason and Tim stared at her with their mouths wide open. Chloe sat filing her fingernails and staring at the boys amusedly.

"What?" Marinette asked.

Tim squeaked, "That was Jagged Stone and he called you his niece!!" Jason seemed to finally have processed and started screaming. Dick and Bruce having heard all the commotion rushed in and Dick asked, "What's wrong?"

Chloe chuckled and said exasperatingtly, "Mari, do you mean to tell me you've been married seven months and none of this family has figured out who you are?"

Marinette cringed, "Well honestly it slipped my mind with how hectic it's been and I haven't even had time to design anything in a long time."

Dick was the first to put it together. "OH MY SPARKLES, YOU'RE HIS DESIGNER MDC!!! DAMIAN! YOU'RE MARRIED TO MDC!!!! AHHHH"

Jason and Tim soon followed with their own shouting. Damian and Bruce simply cocked an eyebrow at Marinette and she shrugged. Embarrassed, she said "I honestly wasn't trying to hide it from you, but everything has been so chaotic."

"It's alright Angel. But are you sure you want to tell them everything when they get here?" Damian questioned.

Marinette nodded, "Uncle Jagged and Aunt Penny are very trustworthy. They actually figured out about me being Ladybug a couple years ago. They've stayed on the road a lot since then so they didn't risk getting akumatized to protect my secret. I forgot about him growing up here though and knowing Uncle Jagged, they'll end up moving here." She said with a smile.

Bruce finally spoke, "He'll keep this quiet." Everyone turned and looked at him skeptically. Bruce sighed, "He figured out that I was Batman years ago. We used to go to school together."

Marinette looked at Damian ashamed, "I really wasn't trying to hide it."

"I know Angel and it's ok. We've only known each other seven months. You even told me you designed for some people, but I didn't think to question it further," he leaned over and kissed her briefly.

Jason huffed, "So not only did we find out your Jagged Stone's designer and adopted niece, but we find out B's known him forever. This family is fu..."

"Master Jason." Alfred says warningly as he entered the room.

Jason grumbles, "How do you catch me every single time?!"

"Talent," Alfred says dryly as he leaves the room again.

Jason grumbles again while everyone laughs.

-----------

In typical Jagged fashion, he and Penny arrived the next day and everyone in the manor could hear his loud exclamation, "Brucie!!! Don't tell me my favorite niece married into your brood!!!"

Marinette and Damien had heard the car approach so they were walking down the hall to greet them when they heard Jagged. Marinette face palmed and Damian let out a slight chuckle. Marinette huffed, "I ought to make you explain everything to him." Entering the living room where everyone else had congregated she said with a smirk, "Uncle J I'm your only niece."

"And don't you forget it!!" Jagged laughed. Bruce introduced his children while Marinette quickly hugged her honorary aunt and uncle.

Penny squeezed her tighter, "What is going on?  Why are you married and pregnant? You weren't even seeing anyone 8 months ago when we last spoke about boys."

Marinette settled beside Damian and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Damian gave her shoulder a squeeze and Marinette let out a sigh and explained everything about their kidnapping, forced marriage, and being drugged. When she finished explaining Jagged and Penny were furious, but they couldn't help notice how much the young couple seemed to really love each other.

Jagged and Penny exchanged a quick look before Penny nodded. Jagged smiled, "Well since your planning on staying so are we." Marinette tried to protest, but Jagged interruptions. "Little M, we've been talking of moving back to Gotham for awhile. With the tour ending in the next month, this will be the perfect time to move."

"Besides we'd like to be close to you and your parents so this just works out perfectly since we didn't want to move here with you in Paris," Penny added.

Marinette leaned against Damian, "Well as long as you're sure, but I'd love to have you close."

Jagged clapped Bruce on the back, "Besides I missed Bruce and some of our other friends. We'll finish up the tour in a few weeks and we'll be moved about the middle of October so that'll give us about a month to help out before the little rocker is born."

Alfred brought everyone drinks and snacks and they all sat around talking. Marinette leaned back against Damian and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She smiled at him and they settled in to enjoy the afternoon with her new family and her favorite aunt and uncle.

Chapter Text

The weeks passed quickly and Marinette still felt like she was being watched but there was nothing she could do since there was no sign of Adrien anywhere. Everytime she left the house, she had at least two people with her as a precaution, but Marinette's due date was quickly approaching.

Once Jagged and Penny moved to Gotham, they had everyone over and they were able to finish up the nursery and playroom exactly how Marinette wanted. Marinette finished up her finals and semester projects the first week in November and was very thankful her instructors had allowed her to finish early since she was due November 28.

Her belly had grown so large that she was placed on bedrest the same week she finished her exams so thankfully she had Tikki's luck on her side. While Damian and Chloe were gone for classes. His brothers and Alfred would rotate sitting with her so she would be alone with only the kwamis for company. Between the kwamis and her sitters they were able to keep her entertained.

Damian was sitting in his Monday morning business class when his phone alerted for an incoming text. 'My water broke we're headed for the hospital.'

Chloe, who also was in the same class and insisted on sitting beside Damian in Marinette's absence, had also saw the text. Both quickly threw their stuff in their bags ignoring how loud they were being in their rush.

Professor Howard cocked an eyebrow at the two for the disruption, "Just where do you two think your going?"

Damian didn't even bother to answer as he rushed out the door, but Chloe paused long enough to yell, "My girl's having her baby," as she too left the room. Thankfully Marinette had also been in Professor Howard's class and he nodded his head in recognition and picked up where he left off.

Damian and Chloe made it in record breaking time to Gotham General and Damian was rushed into the delivery room with Marinette and Sabine, while Chloe met up with Alfred, Tom, Jagged, Penny, and Jason in the waiting room. The rest were still on their way.

After hours of agonizing labor and waiting, Thomas Roland entered the world at 10:44pm weighing 8 pounds and 1oz. He was 20 inches long with Damian's green eyes and Marinette's black hair that seemed to shine blue. Marinette smiled lovingly at her son while he latched. Damian leaned over and kissed her gently.

They were able to take Thomas home on the third and when they arrived at the manor they were surprised to see a Welcome Home Party. Chloe had flown Luka and Kagami out so Marinette was ecstatic to see her friends while everyone got to fawn over the little baby.

Damian had emailed his professors about missing for a family emergency but he was able to work it out that he'd return after the Thanksgiving holidays so he was able to spend two weeks with his wife and son.

Those two weeks passed quickly and Damian returned to school. Thankfully finals began the next week so he'd be done and be able to spend a few more weeks home with Marinette and Thomas before their next semester started.

Damian and Chloe passed with straight A's and Marinette set up a celebratory outing where the Waynes, plus Chloe, could enjoy the semester break and she'd be able to get out of the house for the first time in over 5 weeks.

Damian was hesitant at first, but Marinette begged him until he relented. She was so tired of being trapped in the house. They agreed to go to the mall before going out to dinner.

Once they arrived at Gotham Mall, the men enjoyed watching Chloe and Marinette, who held Thomas, as they rushed around the baby stores excitedly finding stuff for the baby. Even Bruce and Damian let out a few chuckles when the girls got overly excited about a cute outfit. After a few stores they decided to get a quick drink before they continued.

As they approached the food court, screaming and people fleeing caught their attention. Joker's maniacal laughter could be heard coming from the center of the chaos. Bruce shouted, "Damian, get Marinette and Thomas out of here. Go the back way. The rest of you spread out and suit up. Chloe go with them as extra protection." Everyone quickly separated.

Marinette clutched Thomas tightly as Damian led them out a side entrance. He cursed under his breath about not being able to bring his katana since it didn't conceal well. The three of them burst out the side doors and took off down the alleyway but were stopped when several large henchman blocked the way. Damian spotted a side alley and directed them towards it while the men gave chase. Damian led the way and Chloe tailed them, while Marinette and Thomas were in the middle.

The alley came into a T shape and Damian saw one way blocked by several men. When the henchman spotted Damian and the girls they started to give chase as well. All three had no choice but to go the other way. Unfortunately they now had 8 men on their tail and they were gaining fast. Chloe stopped, "RUN, I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!"

Marinette faltered, but Damian grabbed her arm and pushed her to run. "Don't worry Chloe activated the panic button so help is on the way, but we can't stop. We've got to get Thomas somewhere safe," he breathed heavily.

They ran hard for another 5 minutes before slowing down. Damian assessed their surroundings uneasily and said, "I think we lost them, but do you feel like we were being herded this way."

Marinette had that same uneasy feeling, "Yes, too many side alleys were blocked once we left Chloe."

"We need to keep moving, but we'll be extra cautious." No sooner had he spoken than the ground underneath him opened up. He was able to shove Marinette back, but lost any chance he had of grabbing onto the ledge. He tumbled into a large metal hole and he managed to hit his Panic button before he hit the bottom.

"DAMIAN!!" Marinette shouted, but she heard a noise and the wall next to her opened showing it was a hidden door. Several large men filed out and Marinette clutched Thomas tightly with her left arm while she positioned into a fighting stance. The men attacked at once and Marinette fought hard, but while she was able to take two quickly out another grabbed her left arm and she ignored the others in favor of attacking the man who tried to touch her baby. She never noticed another attacker sneaking up behind and her head whipped to the side from the blow. Marinette's vision blurred and she collapsed. The last thing she was aware of was her baby being yanked from her arms. She could hear Thomas crying and Damian screaming for her and cursing the attackers below her as she faded into oblivion.

-----------

Damian was furious. No matter how hard he tried, there was nothing to grab hold of to get himself out. The walls were too high and too far away from him to use to get out. He scrambled at the wall desperately trying to get out ignoring his bleeding fingers and hands as he watched his wife take on her attackers. He saw the man sneaking up behind her and tried to call out a warning, but it was too late and Marinette was struck hard. He could tell she was losing consciousness and called out for her as he desperately tried to climb out to no avail. He cursed out the attackers as he saw one take his son and promised them a painful death when he found them. He could hear Thomas screaming as they carried him away.

Damian ignored the tears pouring down his face as he desperately tried to get out as he heard his son's cries fade in the distance. He was terrified for his son and his wife since she still hadn't made a sound. He just prayed she was breathing. Never before had he felt so useless.

It felt like hours, when in reality was only 8 minutes, before he heard Red Hood, "Shit there's Marinette. Where Damian and the baby?"

Damian quickly yelled, "DOWN HERE. BUT FAN OUT.. SEE IF YOU CAN FIND THOMAS FIRST.. THEY TOOK HIM!"

Red Hood took off and Red Robin called out, "We'll be back," before following Hood.

Damian waited another ten minutes before he heard his brothers return, "Did you find him?!"

Red Hood leaned over the hole, "No. We've called it in and everyone is looking." Hood noticed his hands and jumped down beside him. Hood shot his grappling hook up and and grabbed Damian to bring him up, but he noticed the bloodied wall in front of him. He gave his little brother a concerned look beneath the helmet that Damian didn't notice. When they landed, Damian rushed over to where Red Robin was checking on his wife.

Red Robin spoke, "She's breathing, but she's clearly hurt. She's already bruising in several places and she's got a lot of cuts. We need to get her back quickly so we can see the extent. Everyone is meeting back at the cave to see if we can find Thomas using the computer."

Damian quietly picked up his wife and rushed to get her back to the cave. Red Hood and Red Robin exchanged a worried look before following after him. Neither wanted to be the ones to say anything about the blood pouring from his hands and the evident limp from a sprained ankle after falling in the hole, but most importantly they weren't about to say anything to him yet about the tears falling and the most furious expression on his face that they'd ever seen.