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It was a sunny afternoon on a weekday. Normally, students would be in their classrooms doing the usual: studying, taking notes, listening to lectures, and maybe passing notes or discreetly whispering to their seatmates on occasions the lesson got too boring. However, here he was, running in a ridiculous leather suit along with an equally ridiculous girl sporting a spotted latex outfit across the roofs of Berlint in search of a rouge akuma.
It was a sunny afternoon on a weekday. Normally, students would be in their classrooms doing the usual: studying, taking notes, listening to lectures, and maybe passing notes or discreetly whispering to their seatmates on occasions the lesson got too boring. However, here he was, running in a ridiculous leather suit along with an equally ridiculous girl sporting a spotted latex outfit across the roofs of Berlint in search of a rouge akuma.
But he wasn’t alone. He had a partner. That was the only comfort he could take in this because, in his humble opinion, saving the city was too much for a fourteen-year-old to handle on his own.
Although, his partner wasn’t someone he’d call ideal. His counterpart wasn’t bad per se, but she was, for the lack of a better word, a bit special. And it shows in the most inconvenient situations which infuriate him at times. You’d think that the cat is the one to most likely misbehave, but no, it was the bug.
That didn’t mean they didn’t work well together. It was quite the opposite actually. He couldn’t tell if it was the magic guiding them or if they actually had real chemistry but in the heat of the battle, they fought together so seamlessly. Where she hit, he would protect. Where he struck, she would shield. It was a habit that they naturally fell into. You would think it was due to years and years of being partners. But no, they’ve only known each other for roughly five months.
However… outside of combat, well- Damian thinks that their relationship was as smooth as a rusted door hinge.
It’s only because she’s too thoughtless, he fumed inwardly. Starbug, or so she declared her hero name be, was an absolute airhead. It was like she sometimes forgets that they’re in the middle of important business ( which is literally saving the city from destruction, for christ's sake! ) with how she tends to burst into jokes and get side-tracked by the littlest things. And get this, she also has the audacity to flirt with him. Entirely unashamed. Damian couldn’t discern whether it was romantically flirting or if it was platonic, but two things were certain: Starbug insists on doing it all the time and it absolutely drives him up the wall.
She was reckless, irresponsible, and brash. Damian disliked this about her. Her behaviour is often the cause of his ire, naturally sparking the fuse of his bad temper. (It was something Starbug shared with someone else he knew. She and that girl, they knew how to push his buttons.) It sometimes lead to conflict and arguments between them which was hard to amend since the both of them seemed to be certain levels of prideful and petty. At times, when their feelings got ahead of themselves, it jeopardizes their duty. That was why they agreed to always prioritize the akuma before anything else.
He hears Starbug's telltale sound of zipping, and he readies his staff to launch himself off of the tower and onto the next. He feels the motion propel him forward. His hair blows against the wind. He feels like he’s about to fall, but he doesn’t. His feet catch onto solid ground. And just like that, he’s back to movement, his partner just in front of him.
Despite their differences, he also acknowledged it. The fact that Starbug was undeniably a girl with a heart of a hero. It didn’t matter how much she strayed, or how much she can be immature and childish because as reckless as she was, she was also a thousand times determined.
She was reckless, irresponsible, and brash but she was also strong, brave, and compassionate. These were the traits Damian admired about her the most. It showed in how she was always looking forward with her chin up high. Even when she was being dragged down by hopelessness. It showed in how fiercely she fought to protect their city while also showing sympathy to those whose negative emotions were only manipulated and twisted into maliciousness.
She was a shining star and all of Berlint could see it. That’s why out of the two, it was Starbug who became the face of the new superhero duo. Because the city gravitated to the heart of gold who had the power to mend all that was broken. (It tugged at Damian’s heart, but he was always good at being the shadow so that’s where he’ll stick too. He reminds himself that it wasn’t about who the city favoured the most, but it was about saving the city from peril.)
He sees green eyes staring, big and wide. It reminded him of how behind the mask, there was a girl. A girl that was as young as him. (The shade of green was familiar. It stirred him up, but also gave him a sense of comfort.)
“Lune?” Starbug called out, tilting her head slightly in confusion. “Everything okay?”
Lune. That was what he called himself. The moon who was overlooked in favour of the stellas dotting the heavens. (He couldn’t blame them. He favoured the stars too.)
“Yeah.” Damian answers, short and curt. He didn’t even notice, but somewhere along the way, he had stopped in his tracks. He berates himself for the oversight. He shouldn’t dwell on his thoughts nor his feelings - especially not when they were in the middle of a mission. “Sorry. I slowed us down.”
Starbug looked doubtful. Concern brewed in her green eyes, but she knew that Lune wasn’t the type who was open with his emotions. “It’s alright, Liebling.” She winked. The best thing she can do was distract him. “Just try to catch up, or do I to come over there and pull you by the tail?”
Damian bristled, just like a cat. “There’s no need, bug. And between the two of us, it’s you who needs to be leashed the most, don’t you think?”
Starbug’s mouth tilts into a lighthearted smile. “Yeah?! Well, this bug is going to reach Bradenburg Gate first if you don’t hurry up. Last one there is a rotten egg, you hear me?”
A rotten egg.
In favour of the mission, Damian swallowed his emotions.
He tells himself to lighten up. Heaving in a breath, he steels himself once more and chases after his partner clad in red.