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“SHE DID WHAT!” Jon screamed.
“Lower your voice Kent!” Damian hissed, glaring at all the people that started looking at them, trying to piece together what the 2 friends were talking about and why Jon had screamed.
“Sorry, but you’re serious? She, one of the smallest out of the class, beat up 2 guys way bigger than her and came out unscathed? With no help?” Jon whispered.
“Yes, I am being completely serious. I witnessed it all last night, and you know I don’t joke about this stuff.” Damian stated.
“It's just kinda hard to believe that she,” Jon tilted his head in the direction of the girl they were talking about, “has the power to take down anybody. Let alone multiple people bigger than her.”
“I think she’s magic or a meta or just not human.” Damian commented.
“What makes you say that?”
“Ever since I saw her beat those guys up I always start feeling weird whenever she’s around. Seeing her secretly use her powers must have alerted me to them.”
“That’s ridiculous. Wouldn’t your dad know if she had powers?”
“Perhaps she was able to disguise them around him like she does us.”
“Maybe, but how do you even feel weird around her?”
“I don’t know how to describe it. It feels like there’s something in my stomach? Whenever she gets near.”
“...like butterflies?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“Damian…do you know what a crush is?”
“Of course I do Kent. But I have no clue why that is relevant to the conversation.”
Jon gave a deep sigh at the obliviousness of his best friend. “You have a crush on her Damian.” When his friend only stared at him in confusion he rolled his eyes before continuing, “You like her. That’s why you feel all weird whenever you’re around her. Seeing her kick ass must have triggered your feelings.”
“Nonsense. You have no idea what you’re talking about Kent.” Damian got up from his seat as the bell that signaled the end of lunch rang. “Now I just have to figure out what her powers are so I can tell them to Father.”
Once Damian was out of view Jon facepalmed and muttered, “He can be such an idiot sometimes.”
-
“Dupain-Cheng.” Damian greeted.
“I don’t know why you keep torturing yourself by saying my last name Wayne.” Marinette turned around and raised an eyebrow at the boy. “I keep telling you to just call me Marinette or at the very least DC.”
Damian ignored the comment, instead focusing on the fact that his stomach was doing it again. Perhaps it was butterflies, whatever Jon meant by that. However Damian Wayne did not get crushes, he didn’t crush on girls and Marinette would be no exception. No matter how hot she looked kicking ass or how pretty she looked right now.
“So what did you need?” The question broke Damian out of his thoughts and he refocused on the girl in front of him.
“I was wondering if-”
“Hey Marinette!” A voice cut Damian off and the owner of said voice received two glares in the process.
“I’m in the middle of a conversation, Adrien. You can’t wait?” Marinette asked, trying her best to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
“It's just that I had something really important I wanted to ask you.” Adrien looked to her, then Damian, and back to her. Staying silent and waiting for her to get the hint. She just raised her eyebrow at him.
“Spit it out Adrien, no need for dramatic silence.” She rolled her eyes.
Adrien leaned in closer to her, not noticing her trying to lean away, and lowered his voice, but Damian could still hear him, “Not here, in private.” She rolled her eyes again.
“It can’t wait?”
“No, now if you could come with me.” He grabbed her wrist and she immediately pulled it away. Neither noticed the way Damian tensed up at the touch or narrowed his eyes at Adrien.
“You don’t need to drag me anywhere I’m coming,” Marinette turned back to Damian, “I’m sorry about this, can we talk later?”
“Of course.” He nodded, doing his best to calm himself down from the weird reaction he just had.
“Great.” She smiled at him before turning to follow Adrien. Damian scowled at nothing and returned to talk to Jon, furiously denying the accusation that he was jealous. Later that day Damian would go down to the cave, and every time he hit the punching bag he imagined it was Adrien’s face. And yet, he still denied he was jealous.
-
It was absolute torture for Jon. Damian was still denying his feelings for Marinette while also trying to get her attention under the guise of ‘investigating her’. Marinette was too distracted by her own horrible love life to notice him and his attempts, which was probably for the best. And Adrien was constantly talking to Marinette which pissed Damian off and made him an oblivious, jealous mess.
He was both dreading and looking forward to the day that the Paris class was going to leave. Which just so happened to be that Friday after school. On the plus side, he was no longer going to have to watch the dramatic soap opera that's his best friend’s love life. However, he was probably gonna have to deal with a mopey Damian. Pros still outweigh the cons in this situation.
“Hopefully we’ll meet again someday.” Jon said as he hugged Marinette goodbye.
“Yeah, it's a shame you don’t have social media.” Marinette replied.
“It’s still a surprise you do, you’re only 12.” Jon retorted.
“Well it’s on private mode so I have nothing to worry about.”
“Hackers.”
“I said I have nothing to worry about Jon.” Marinette repeated, “Anyways where’s your friend? Uh David?” Seeing the look on Jon’s face she instead tried, “Wayne?”
“Oh Damian, I have no clue.” Just as he finished answering Marinette’s teacher called out for the class to finish their goodbyes so they could head out to the airport.
“Tell him I said bye? He may have been weird while I was here but I don’t wanna seem rude.”
“Will do. Have a safe flight!” He called out to her as she started walking away.
“Thanks! Bye Jon!” She shouted back as she made her way onto the bus. Getting a window seat near the back she scanned her eyes for the only good friend she’d made on the trip. Spotting him she kept waving as the bus pulled out onto the main road, only stopping when she could no longer see him. Unfortunately her good mood was stopped when an unwelcome voice spoke to her.
“Hey Marinette can I-”
“No. Go sit next to Lila, Adrien.” Marinette rolled her eyes.
Said boy pouted as he walked over and took a seat next to Nino instead. Marinette sighed, put her earbuds in, and blasted music as loudly as she could without damaging her ear drums. It was going to be a long trip back home.
-
“I don’t see why you’re so upset, you were the one who decided to not say bye to her.” Jon rolled his eyes at his best friend’s pouting.
“I’m not upset. I’m simply confused why she would think I was acting weird while she was here.” Damian responded. But Jon knew that was a big fat lie.
“Well you were acting weird-”
“I was not acting weird!” Damian cut him off.
“Sure,” Jon replied, his voice full of sarcasm, “Anyways I gotta get home before it gets dark. See you later!”
“Goodbye Kent.”
Once Jon was gone Damian thought over what he said. Upset that he didn’t get to say goodbye? That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. He was not upset. Because he didn’t like Marinette and he wouldn’t miss her. Not one bit. He just had to make sure he didn’t dig up information on her to find her for the next few months and the feeling in his stomach would go away.
-
“Hello sir what would you like to-”
“Marinette?”
“Uh yeah, that’s my name.” Marinette furrowed her eyebrows at the strange man, who she was sure she didn’t know, in front of her.
“It’s good to see you again.” He smiled at her, he didn’t seem like a threat but one could never be too sure.
“See you again?” She muttered to herself, her confusion growing even more, “I’m sorry, but am I supposed to know you?”
“I’m Damian,” At her confused look he continued, ““We met during the Gotham field trip a few years ago.””
“Wait, you were on the field trip too?” She became even more confused if that was possible, “But you didn’t go to my school.”
“No, I was a student at Gotham academy who helped show you around when you came to Gotham.”
“Oh I’m sorry again, I still don’t remember you.”
As a last ditch effort he tried, “I’m Jon’s friend.”
“Jon’s friend, Jon’s friend,” She whispered to herself, trying to remember, “Yeah not ringing any bells.”
“Well at least you don’t remember me being an idiot around you.” He said quietly, but not quietly enough since Marinette let out a snort at that, “What time are you done?”
“Done with what?” She asked.
“Your shift.” He clarified.
“Not for a while. Why do you want to know?” She raised her eyebrow at him.
“I was thinking we could hang out for a bit, I could try to jog your memory, see if you’ll remember me.”
“You don’t have plans already?”
“The only plans I currently have are doing whatever my brothers have planned. And this gives me a great excuse to ditch those plans.”
“Well then,” Marinette pulled out her phone and handed it to Damian, “Put your number in there, go explore a little, and I’ll text you to come back here when I’m done with my shift.”
“Thought it wouldn’t be done for a while?” He questioned while he put his number in the contact labeled ‘Damian’.
“My parents own this bakery, I can get off early whenever I want.” Marinette took her phone back and put it back in her pocket.
“Well then I’ll see you when your shift is over.” Damian said as he started for the exit.
“See you then!” Marinette called out to him.
-
“Wait seriously?”
“Yeah I was brat back then. Didn’t really care or bother to get to know those around me.” Damian commented as he walked Marinette back to her house.
“Why did you get to know me then?” Marinette asked.
“I was walking back to the hotel your class was staying in when I heard some commotion in an alley nearby. I went to investigate and I saw these 2 creeps cornering you. Before I could even call the police you had knocked them both out cold without them laying a hand on you.” Damian explained, leaving out the part that he was Robin when this happened and he wasn’t going to call the police, “12 year old me swore that you were suspicious so I tended to hang around you a lot.”
“Was I suspicious?”
“No, I just had a major crush on you and was using that as an excuse.”
Marinette’s cheeks turned a little red at the comment, “You're certainly blunt.”
“That’s one thing that didn’t change after all these years.”
“I suppose that's a good thing,” Marinette hesitated before asking, “Do you still have a major crush on me?”
“Not a major crush, but I am attracted to you.”
Marinette let out a small smile, “The feeling is mutual.”
“Well then, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow?”
“I would like that.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading inside. Waving goodbye through the glass Marinette headed up to her room. Getting ready for bed she paused when she saw a photo of her and Jon on her wall. Taking a closer look she realized that there was another person in the photo being covered by another photo on the wall.
She grabbed the photo off the wall and upon further inspection realized it was a 12 year old Damian. It hit her who this guy was and why he was partially happy she didn’t remember him.
Putting the photo back on the wall she decided it would be a little funny to mess with the boy she thought was strange all those years ago. And now that she knew he used to like her, it all made a little more sense. If only she wasn’t caught up in so much drama she could’ve actually befriended him too. Well better late than never.
Opening up her phone to his contact she changed the name. Instead of just Damian it was now, Damian Wayne. Before she closed her phone she sent Jon a text reading, “Officially met your strange friend. Good news, he's not so strange anymore.”