Chapter Text
There wasn't much that caught Damian by surprise most days but seeing his old business grad acquaintance, read as a begrudging friend, slumped over a bar counter counted as one of them. He waved off Jason "Go, I'll meet you back in the room."
"You sure? I don't mind going another round of drinks if you want," Jason shrugged on his bomber jacket and patted himself down to make sure he had everything. "Dealing with Constantine certainly calls for it."
"No, I just spotted someone that I thought went missing." Damian looked back over his shoulder to see his older brother giving him a curious look. "School life, nothing more."
"Alright, If anything changes give me a buzz." He gave a salute knowing that Damian could be left alone without anything going wrong nowadays.
Damian let out a sigh as he watched him go before turning to see that his old friend was nursing a new drink. He walked over cautiously in order to not spook her, once close enough he spoke gently and curiously "Marinette?"
Her immediate reaction was to stiffen as she turned slowly to the one that used her old name. She did a slow blink as she took the person in, not quite believing it. "Damian?"
He tilted his head towards the spare stool next to her in a silent question of being allowed to join her. He relaxed a little when she nodded and slid onto the stool being careful not to touch the sticky countertop with his hands.
She slightly snorted at his visible disgust and tossed him some wet wipes she had beside her. Despite the little turned up lip of a smile the tone was melancholy "Good to see some things never change."
"Nothing wrong with basic cleanliness." His nose was scrunched as he wiped at the table in circular motions.
"What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." She directed her drink towards him in a cheering motion before tilting her head back as she downed it in an oner. She slammed it down without care as she sighed. Then gave him a defeated look once his attention was fully on her again. "Before we continue, I should let you know I don't go by Marinette anymore. Or Dupain-Cheng for that matter."
Damian waited for her to supply a name to use but the silence started to grow as did the redness of her ears. "So... what should I refer to you as?"
"I erm..." Marinette looked every which way as she got redder and redder in embarrassment. She pressed her hands against her cheeks as she groaned. "I haven't used a proper name in three years... He just called me poppet."
Damian raised an eyebrow at the name. It didn't really sit well for him. "Who?"
"Constantine..." She swiped her hands away from her face as she looked around for her keeper of the past three years. "Where is the fu..."
"Miss?" The bartender came over a bit disgruntled as they presented a note to the pair. "Note from the trenchcoat guy."
Momentarily distraction caused Marinette to default to politeness as she smiled at the bartender and took the note. "Oh! Thank you."
As she looked over the note, she didn't catch Damian paying and closing her tab for the night.
"This bitc..." She fumed as she looked the note over before stuffing it into her purse harshly. It wouldn't be the first time the almost always drunkard tried to help in fixing things but what annoyed her more would be that he brought in someone that she knew personally. Her cheeks were puffed in annoyance as she turned back to Damian curiously watching her. It reignited shivers that she had long forgotten about during their time in shared classes. "Look Damian, I don't know what Constantine told you but I don't want to drag you down into this mess."
"Bold of you to assume that you can drag me into something that I didn't want to be dragged into in the first place." He shook his head at the ridiculous notion. He crossed his arms and tilted his head as he look at questioningly. "I however haven't talked about anything related to you when it concerns Constantine. I wasn't even aware that you two knew each other."
"You... You really didn't come over here because of him?"
"None at all. My brother and I came here to talk to Constantine about other matters, I happened to see you over here. The last time we saw each other you were talking about your big fashion business. So seeing you here, bummed out, as they say, I wanted to check to see if you were alright."
She simply Oed to herself as she nervously rubbed her hands over her bare arms to give herself some comfort. "Thank you for caring..."
"M," Damian called her out before she could spiral into her mind. He had seen it a few times before and knew it would leave her in a slump for days on end if someone wasn't there to catch her in time. It felt natural to him to slip into their old routine of him calling out to her and her responding to him in kind. This case didn't seem to be any different when she looked at him dejection evident in her eyes. "I know we were amicable during our education years. Dare I say that we would have been considered friends if we were to put a fine print on it. So with that in mind and what you know of me from back then, truly know that I mean it when I say that I will listen to what you have to say if there is something that you need to get off of your chest."
She nodded at that knowing it to be true. He was a rare ear to those that really needed it back then. When she hadn't the solution to a problem, he had been there giving an alternative, a grounding presence in her hectic life that she didn't expect. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she focused on his wrist which had her frowning. She continued the exercise a few more times till her curiosity got the better of her when she recognized the item. "You... still wear it?"
He glanced down to where she was looking to see that his sleeve had rolled up to expose his wrist. A neatly braided rope bracelet with a hidden knife within the clasp was sitting innocently wrapped around his skin. Made from generosity by the women sitting across from him. "It is aesthetically pleasing to myself as well as practical, Why would I not?"
"I... Hmm... Nevermind." She smiled at his matter of fact tone. Time away from each other didn't appear to affect their so-called friendship. With another deep breath, she decided to take the plunge and follow what the note said. Her voice was quiet so that it would reach only Damian. "I do have something but I can't tell you that here... Is there somewhere we can go? I've been pretty much abandoned to your care."
"Of course he has..." Damian scowled at what Constantine had done behind their backs once again. He made sure to soften his features once he got up from the stool to address Marinette. "There's a hotel nearby that we can go to and get a room for privacy."
"That will do..." Her cheeks flamed at the implication and it wasn't helped that the bartender winked at her when they heard the statement. She went to pay but they waved her off as they pointed toward Damian. She scrunched her face at him and he merely raised his brow and smirked. "I could have paid for it you know."
"I'm fully aware that you could have," Damian spoke with a light chuckle to his voice as he reached out to help her put on her jacket and then slid his hand down to hold her pinky with his. That was something new for both of them. He wasn't one for touch and she was very aware of that. "But I had done so for old time's sake."
"Are... are you sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable." Marinette stared at their interlocked pinkies knowing that it was a very big thing for Damian to instigate touch like that.
"As I said earlier. I do as I want and you're not pushing me to do so." He paraphrased what he had said before with a smile and dragged her out of the bar before she could question him further on the matter. As he wasn't too sure why he had done either. He loathed touch and rarely allowed it unless he was familiar with the person. Even his family had only recently come to terms with it and they've known him for sixteen years now.
Despite having been linked at the pinky finger, she made sure to keep a comfortable space between them to ensure he wouldn't be overwhelmed by the closeness. Though she let out a surprised giggle when Damian twirled her unexpectedly. The move was smooth enough that it didn't seem like he let go of her finger. She smiled brightly at him. "What was that for?"
"Hmm brooding is more my thing and smiling is more your thing." He stated it like it was obvious as he redid the twirl move which caused more giggles to erupt.
Her voice was light and airy from laughter "So I'm to stay away from your schtick, gotcha."
"Now you're getting it." Damian pulled her closer to him as they passed another couple on the pavement. He returned a polite nod when they gave thanks. He turned to Marinette. "How are you feeling now?"
"Little anxious, little tipsy..." She clipped her heels together causing her to trip and momentarily land against him. "And still madly... Madly clumsy"
He appreciated when she didn't take advantage of her trip to linger against him as she leant away almost instantly once she was steady again. "Wouldn't say madly. You just have a higher probability than others to trip over yourself."
"Oh hush yourself." She glared with no real heat as they continued their walk to the hotel. Their conversation was light and playful but mostly one-sided as Marinette tried to get him to talk as he took the hushing up literally. She knew that he was enjoying himself though if the slight upturn of his lips was anything to go by.
Once at the hotel, Damian was quick to get them a queen room and paid for it before Marinette could get a word in inch ways about it. He signed his name and hers and accepted the keys with thanks. He did all this without even letting go still, not until they were in the elevator alone together and even then it was just so that he could insert the card key and push the number to their floor level. He sighed as he leaned against the mirrored wall and took in that she was looking at him curiously. "Something wrong?"
She shook her head and raised her hand to wave her pinky finger. "I'm just surprised is all. It's a nice surprise don't get me wrong... Just a surprise. I'm glad you found something you are comfortable with."
"Yes... You have my niece and little sister to thank for that. They have certainly built up my tolerance." Damian mumbled something else before pulling out his phone from his coat as the elevator dinged and allowed her to walk out first as he picked up the card key again. He handed her the card key as he glanced at the text he had received. He scowled as he typed a response and followed Marinette into the room without looking up.
"Something the matter?" She placed the card key into the holder on the wall to activate the lights and went about checking the room out. She glanced back when he didn't respond. "Damian?"
"Apologies." His voice came out as a growl before he checked himself and restated it in a calmer tone. "Apologies. Jason had been notified that I checked into a different room. You remember Jason?"
She had to think for a moment tell an image flashed in her mind. "Motorbike? Helmet hair? Scars?"
"That's the one."
"Then yeah I kind of remember him. I think we talked mostly about bikes and travelling when we bumped into each other." She took off her jacket and placed it on the chair by the table before she took Damian's disgruntled face as she sat on the bed. "Did he want you back?"
"I wouldn't be annoyed at that if that was the case..." He frowned as he followed her previous actions and then joined her on the bed at a comfortable talking distance. "He was just stating... some inappropriate things. Selectively forgetting what has been stated many times before that I don't do intimate actions in the way they do. I was just reminding him."
"That's gotta be rough. Are they all like that?" She allowed herself to lay back on the bed suddenly feeling the effects of the day weighing in on her. She was just glad that hadn't drunk anything that would give her a major headache later.
"Not all. I'm not a walking advertisement of my sexuality so I don't quite blame them for forgetting at times. I just jab them with a knife the next time I see them." He finished his text and sent it off before turning his phone off and tossing it to the head of the bed.
She giggled lightly at that as he shifted to lay down beside her that she rolled onto her side to see him face to face. Her eyes were alight with mischief with a smile too much. "Petty, I like it."
He gave her a completely dumbfounded look as he turned also. "Justified and don't think this gets you out of what you were going to tell me."
"I know... Just... A little longer... Please?" She wet her lips as she gave him the same defeated look she had when the first started talking at the bar. "This is something that I've had drilled into me to not let anyone else know."
So they went on to talk about inconsequential things and Damian took it as an opportunity to observe her more. Six years was a long enough time to forget people but Marinette had left an impression on him and it didn't appear to have changed much. Maintained proper eye contact when talking unless embarrassed or nervous that she ended up looking away. Tiny crow's feet would appear when she smiled or laughed which she then would cover her mouth with her hand or turn into her shoulder. He smiled when he caught her off guard with a passing comment that she tilted her old head back in laughter and her whole body quaked from the giggles as she tried to contain herself.
He also took note that when he talked about his animals or art that she would give him her full attention. Her smile would be easy not at all forced like others were when bored about certain subjects he found interesting. He was even glad to know that she still drew and they went over their likes and dislikes of certain art mediums.
It even went as far as Marinette pulling out her phone and showing a few of her art pieces. One was from the view of the Effiel Tower's spire. Her voice was a soft whisper since their heads were as close together to see her phone screen. "This one was a little tricky to capture but luckily Chat Noir was able to keep a steady hold of me as I took the photo for this piece."
"Didn't realise you were close to the cat hero during his tenure." Damian had heard of the hero and the retirement of him and his partner. It had irked him at the time that they had to stay out of it when they had first received the knowledge of Hawkmoth. It didn't dwell with him, seeing Marinette panic whenever an Akuma alert toned from her phone during their first year of business, left his stomach twisted when she left the classroom to call her parents. He was glad to see how relaxed she had become during their second year when Hawkmoth's terror ended but she was never quite the same afterwards. Like something was missing. "Were you acquainted with Ladybug too?"
"More intimately than most..." Her words came across as sorrowful as she pulled her phone closer to herself to find something she hadn't shown anyone. Not even Constantine when she had broken down to him all those years ago seeking sanctuary from the world. She found what she was looking for deeply hidden within her phone, she tapped her secret and handed the phone over to Damian. "I was her..."
It had thrown him off the use of the word intimately but he understood when she continued and showed him the image. The only ones that knew themselves intimately could paint their emotions so vividly. He held the phone gently as he looked it over. The confident brush strokes and blended colours made Ladybug stand out strikingly, looking up and out from the canvas, nothing could stand in her way. Whilst beside her were sloppy dollops of paint that made up Marinette, defeated and weighed down by the world's expectations looking down and away from the onlooker. He breathed deeply as a familiar ache from his back when raised within him once more. "No wonder you always looked so panicked when the alarm went off on your phone..."
"I was lucky that people were aware of the situation. I don't think I could have lied enough to cover up all of those emergencies... It was a lot." Her voice was watery the more she continued to speak and she was surprised once more when Damian touched her. He was holding her pinky with his again and was lightly tracing away the tears on her face with his thumb with his free hand. Her breathing hitched as she tried to stop the tears as she stared at him wondering what would happen next.
"The world has been unnecessarily cruel to you." He spoke gently, the kindest she had ever heard him speak before. "Allow me to rectify that."
She allowed herself to quietly cry at that, to allow the hurt out as Damian gently guided her head to press against his forehead. His ministrations were gentle as ran his fingers over the side of her face sometimes even through her hair. She couldn't help but let out small watery laughs whenever he found a tingle spot and by the time she was settled down not feeling the need to cry anymore. She asked hopefully for the first time in years "Will you help me fly again?"
"I'll help you soar." He said confidently. If anyone deserved to fly in the skies it was the kindhearted soul in front of him. For she was an important person to him.