Chapter Text
It was everything Marinette had ever dreamed of back when she thought she was only a ‘normal girl.’ A midnight stroll through the city of Paris with a man who loved her endlessly. Where the city became a background instead of the center of her attention. The moment in the film where the audience gets to be brought into the characters world and get to see that they are more than in love.
Of course, Marinette turned out to not be a ‘normal girl.’ Was forced to deal with responsibilities not meant for kids her age. Left to deal with friendships that were crumbling due to neglect that was no fault of her own. Reminded again and again that sometimes those who are meant to love you will abandon you based on half-truths and complete lies. It had left her realizing that she would never know what it means to find unconditional love.
Yet, as she strolled through the city, whispering goodbyes to the various monuments, cafés, and memories that she would leave behind, she did so with the man of her dreams. Turned out that Marinette’s prophecy for her own love life was false and she couldn’t be happier to be wrong.
Their stroll from the party started what felt like hours ago and while the clock would show that it was well past two in the morning, Marinette was not tired. Not even as her body should be tired from the long final school day nor when the effects of the alcohol she consumed waned.
Damian coming to Paris was unexpected, they had all agreed that the Bats should remain in Gotham in case Raven or Deathstroke appeared. She was thankful none the less. It was not lost on her that Kaelyn had in a sense manipulated encouraged them into coming, which was unsettling as it likely meant that Marinette would not be leaving peacefully. But she hoped that at least tonight she could say a final goodbye to the place that she grew up and for many years fought to protect.
For that Marinette was thankful for Damian’s presence. As they walked through the many places that Marinette had hung with her friends, fought akuma’s and walked with her parents, she gave her silent goodbye. The most recent memories of many of these places were not the most positive considering most contained a fight with Hawkmoth or one of his many minions, she still felt slightly pained at the thought she would not see them any more by simply walking out her front door or grappling from her roof. Every time she felt the thought might overwhelm her she would feel the strong presence of her Demon by her side. A single look in his direction would remind her that in her future she would say goodbye to things but never him.
In the end that was enough to leave the past behind her.
The cave was quiet as it had been since the day Marinette and Adrien left to return to Paris. Since their departure the team had split in hopes of finding a trail that would lead them to either Deathstroke or Raven. Nightwing and Starfire were given Raven’s usual haunts to search. Batman was at the Justice League headquarters attempting to organize the search for Raven from there. The girls left town in hopes of being able to use their various contacts to track any leads on Deathstroke. Leaving Tim in the cave researching his contributions towards the efforts.
Fortunately, Kaelyn was able to convince Jason into taking her and Kelvin with the moody teens to Paris, giving the manor’s single resident a break. How Jason ended up on babysitting duty was a mystery, but he surprisingly did well with the two kids and even Damian seemed a little more at ease when he was around.
The clicks of his keyboard reverberated through the cave, on the screen came up the few contacts that Raven was known to associate with. Like Damian, Rachel was more of a loner, keeping to herself and not branching out from the Teen Titans for the most part. Yet despite the hours he had sat combing through the list of known associates of the part-demon, it was pointing to nothing.
Raven having a psychotic break just didn’t feel right to Tim, yet there was no other explanation other than overwhelming jealousy. Unfortunately, a psychotic break meant that her movements were equally unpredictable. He minimized the folder that had all his research on Raven and instead pulled up the folder on Deathstroke. While his motivations were also unknown, Tim was having a little bit easier of a time determining the man’s movements before he came to Gotham.
As Slade had attacked Damian as a civilian and Robin, they had concluded that Damian was likely his target, as according to Marinette no one, other than them, knew of her secret identity. If Tim could back track Wilson’s movements he was sure that he would be able to determine who’d hired him and hopefully their motivation for attacking Damian.
Tim suspected that it had something to do with the League of Assassins. Perhaps Deathstroke was merely finishing what he started eight years ago when he killed Damian’s grandfather. Either way, he was just as much of a risk as Raven. While he did not have a miraculous like her, the fact was if he were working in some capacity for, or even against the League of Assassins, he put the Miraculous at risk. With Damian and Marinette’s relationship now public, Marinette would soon become a target if he figured out that Marinette and Ladybug where one in the same and the Grand Guardian.
It was a scary thought that someone as morally corrupt as Slade Wilson might have such information, especially considering just how happy he might be to sell it to the highest bidder. Marinette was convinced she would be able to wipe the knowledge from his mind, but in order to do that, she needed to be able to get a hold of him first.
Tim tried his hardest to concentrate on some footage from an airport in Germany that showed Slade boarding a plane to New York City. He was busy rewinding the footage when his attention was disrupted. Unsure what had caused it and not hearing or seeing anything to blame, he returned to the footage. He watched as Slade walked backwards out of the airport doors into a waiting taxi. Taking note of the black taxi’s number, Tim typed it into the Berlin taxi’s database pulling up the footage from that time to determine Slade’s origin. He had once again found Slade in the footage before his attention was captured by something in the cave.
Listening closely, he heard nothing as he turned away from the computer to look out. None of his sensors had captured anything and his naked eye didn’t even see a water droplet fall out of place. Quietly he turned back to his work, but couldn’t refocus on what was in front of him.
At the beginning of the sound this time, he spun quickly around in the direction he had identified. Again, there was nothing in the shadows that appeared to be moving or out of place, but he refused to return to his work until he was certain. Rising slowly from his seat he gazed out at the direction he suspected the sound originated.
Nothing moved in front of him, but Tim knew that there was someone or something hiding among the shadows. At some point the mystery person would be forced to reveal themselves and he would not be caught unaware.
It felt like many minutes had past before a figure shifted. Tim immediately locked onto it and tossed a single batarang as swiftly as possible. Obviously expecting the move, the shadow deflected the metal object with a sword. The batarang clanged as it fell into the empty cavern below before the figure jumped down from their perch and out of the shadows.
Through his time with both his mother and father, Damian had been in Paris many times. Yet, the Eiffel Tower had never looked as beautiful as it did with Marinette at his side. Whether it be from their position now on the street or from the top looking out into the night, the view was nothing less than magnifique.
Beside him, Marinette leaned into his hold, her chest rising before she released her breath with a loud sigh. “This is probably one of the few places I will think of often when I leave. Despite everything, this holds so many special memories in my heart. The place where I first confronted Hawkmoth, where Chat and I ended our patrols. Not to mention the things you and I did on the highest floor…”
“You don’t have to leave Paris forever Angel. We can always visit and make more memories with different landmarks. Father has business interest here all the time.” Damian placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
“It won’t be the same,” she whispered. Pulling away from his grip she turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting to her toes to kiss him for a few seconds before pulling back, “and that’s okay. I don’t want it to be. I have some happy memories here with Adrien and my other friends, but I know that I’ll get to make even more with you and Jon, elsewhere. I know that they will become my best memories, I’m sure of it.”
Once again she closed the distance between their lips and transformed their slow caress into a hungered devouring.
The streets of Paris where empty due to the late night and Damian had no issue pushing her body forward into a nearby alley to pin her against a wall as he returned her fervor with his own.
An almost inhuman growl left his body as she responded to him with muffled moans lost in his mouth. It left his body humming with need that needed to be instantly fulfilled.
The desire was instantly killed when a bullet whizzed past their heads. With a sense of déjà vu, any leftover buzz from the alcohol and their bodies want, were forgotten as both superheroes took in their surroundings to determine the threat.
Around them gunfire began to explode from multiple directions.
Damian immediately covered Marinette’s body with his own. In their current position transforming was out of the question without risking their identities. He was unsure if they were the target, but the fact that despite multiple bullets raining around them and they both had yet to be hit, he felt it safe to say that the current tactic was intimidation and not actual harm.
Their position in the alley had them cornered regardless. Behind them was a brick wall that both could likely scale even in their civilian form, but they risked open exposure to the raining bullets. The mouth of the alley was where most of the bullets seemed to be coming from and the location of most of the shooters.
Damian hit at the wall of the dumpster that both he and Marinette had been able to crawl towards to take shelter. They were not in a good position and at this point there was little chance of them surviving or escaping unless that was what the shooters wanted or...
“Should we just transform?” Marinette whispered over the loud gunfire, reflecting his own thoughts. “They likely know who we are, as I can’t imagine Damian and Marinette attracting such a warm reception?”
Damian had to agree with her assessment, but it begged the question: who it was and how had they been able to figure out who they were? “At this point, I believe you are right. It is likely the only way to change the outcome of this confrontation.”
Marinette nodded her head with newfound confidence, “right. Tikki-”
Her call for her transformation was cut short, as the gunfire that had suddenly descended upon them, just as suddenly stopped. Not trusting the attack to be over, Damian slowly leaned around the dumpster to look at the mouth of the alley.
There was only a little light provided by the store at the front, but luckily Plagg’s soul piece offered him night vision even untransformed. A lone figure came to stand before them, Damian was able to see the figure as clear as day, but it was not a man that he knew.