Chapter Text
Marinette was excited. Returning from a three-month black-ops mission in another dimension; being isolated from her friends and family, the young Parisian was eager to be reunited with her love.
Upon the operation’s commander’s dismissal, Ladybug took the Watchtower’s teleporter to Titans’ Tower, on Titan Island in Jump City Bay. Marinette, still in her Ladybug persona, skipped to the fifth Robin’s bedroom; gave the closed door a precursory rat-a-tat-tat and twisted the knob on a cheery “Damian, mon amour. C’est moi!” Her cheerfulness was dimmed slightly when she was greeted by an empty room.
I wonder where he could be.
Closing the door, Ladybug walked quickly to the Comms Room by way of the communal lounge. The only lounge occupant was the ever delightful (for Marinette anyway, Damian tolerated the shapeshifter at best) Garfield Logan, a.k.a. Beast Boy, in the midst of battle on the large screen.
“Bonjour, Gar!!! It has been a time, oui?” Ladybug said brightly, as she stretched across the back of the couch to embrace the young hero from behind and kiss the closet green, soft cheek she could reach.
Startled, Gar jumped up, whipped off the headset as he spun round to view the perpetrator of the unexpected kiss. His eyes widened in shock, his breath racing at the adrenaline, Gar spluttered out, “MARINETTE!!!” as he clutched the control and headset to his chest as if they would protect him from harm. “You startled me,” he said chuckling nervously, and sounding a bit shaken as he rubbed the back of his head nervously with the hand clutching the controller.
“Je suis désolé, mon amie. That was not my intention. I thought you heard me coming,” she apologised, clamouring over the couch to embrace the statled hero. He returned her embrace enthusiastically. “Did you miss me?”
“Yeah, but Bart has missed you more – but what he really means is that he missed your pastries,” Beast Boy said with a chuckle as they broke apart. “I take it was a successful mission?”
“Oui. I am thankful it finished before my 21st Birthday party next week. I am sad I missed Robin’s. We had talked prior to my leaving for the mission and we planned something special just for the two of us,” Marinette said, a small smile at the memory softened her face. Lost in her thoughts she missed Beast Boy tensing up.
“Huh…. Marinette? Have you spoken with Damian?” he asked nervously.
“Non. That is why I am here. He was not at the Watchtower. I had hoped someone would have alerted him of the team’s imminent return, but it must have been missed. So, after the initial debrief, I came here.”
“He’s not here, I’m afraid,” Gar replied and began to fidget, looking anywhere but at Marinette. “He went back to Gotham about a week ago,” he admitted, reluctantly.
“Oh, d’accord,” Ladybug said, turning to the comms room. Accessing the computer, she traced Damian to his room at Wayne Manor (Batman always insisted all his loved ones being ‘chipped’). Ladybug felt butterflies (no MLB pun intended) of anticipation in her stomach at the mere moments until she was in his arms again. Reaching for her yoyo she withdrew Kaalki’s glasses. “Tikki, Kaalki, unify.”
Calling a portal, as Lady Swift, Ladybug called to Gar in the next room, “À plus tard, Gar! I’m going to surprise Damian.”
Beast Boy’s far-off frantic “MARINETTE, WAIT!!!” was lost; the portal closed behind the young heroine as she stepped on to her boyfriend’s balcony at Wayne Manor.
🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞
For once, the sun shone down on a pleasant Spring afternoon in Gotham. Ladybug smiled up to the sky, basking in the warm of the star. Damian must be too warm, she thought as she spied the balcony doors open and the curtains blowing gently in the breeze.
Stealthy, Ladybug approached the open doors, a wicked grin lighting up her face at the thought of the prank scare she was about to perform on the cool, collected vigilante. Yet, Ladybug stilled at the sight before her. The bed facing the open balcony doors was occupied by a masculine shape. The muscular, sculpted back rose from beneath the dark grey sheets. The lustrous black hair, that Ladybug herself loved to comb her fingers through, had white, long, lean fingers carding through it. The black head rose up, obviously breaking from a lingering kiss. One pale hand moving to trace along the sinewy, bronze back.
😲😲😲😲😲
Jade eyes staring down into violet ones; so enraptured with each other they failed to notice the paralysed figure in the balcony threshold.
“I love you, Raven,” Damian professed.
“I love you, too, Damian,” came the gentle voice.
Heads moving to the other, lips meeting for another passionate kiss.
💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
Marinette staggered back out of sight, her mouth hanging open in shock, no sound coming from it.
No sound of shock, horror, anger… heartbreak… nothing.
Marinette clawed at her throat wanting the scream trapped there to burst forth. She felt as if fingers were wrapped round her throat, cutting off any possible interruption to the lovers’ little world they hid themselves in.
Marinette could feel her heart racing, her lungs straining to inspire, clutching her pounding head, her eyes welling up with hot tears, the heroine croaked “Voyage… as far away from anyone as possible!”
💔💔💔💔💔💔💔