The Bug, the Bird and the Bats ✔

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A Metallic Aftertaste

Later that day, when everyone's questions were out of the way, Marinette and Damian found each other in the hallway between his, Jason's and Tim's room.

For a few moments, they just stare and blink at each other.

She could see worry, anger and a hint of confusion deep within his eyes and a hidden frown causing a small crease between his eyebrows, and raising a hand to thumb over it broke the dam between them.

He fell against her, melting against her touch with his elbows folding loose around her hips as his face buries between the space between her shoulder and collarbone.

His fingers are tight on the ridge of her shoulder blades, and hers are clenched into the back of his long sleeve.

"It is not my fault, and I know that, but I am still sorry you have gone through all this." Damian murmurs against her skin. "You can confide in me about it now, whether you choose to tell me any more or not. I am here for you, Habibti."

Comfort and a relief so strong causes her breath to rattle out of her chest as she presses herself closer to him, grateful for it and wanting as much of it as possible before he needs to pull away.

Nodding, Marinette responds. "I was -I was going to tell you, before all of this. It's why I was coming over that day-"

The day we were attacked.

"-to tell you. Me and my team talked about it, and they're already beyond convinced that you're trustworthy. So I was going to tell you. And I'll tell you everything, anything you want to know, the thing only me and Adrien know. Please, trust me."

Please trust me, she said and he did.

Damian Wayne trusted Marinette Dupain-Cheng in every aspect of his life.

With his family, his little sister, around his psychotic brothers. With meeting his pets. With his thoughts about romance books. With his League of Villain secrets. With touching him. With making his tea just right. With doing his French work in school. With the fact that he's Robin.

With his death, with his life.

He trusts her.

And it's not shocking -not really. Anyone looking at them and really bothering to pay any sort of attention would guess that the two teenagers trust one another, that it was inevitable, that they were in love, that there was something more between them than school-girl crushes and shared meals.

But it does shock him. Damian has realized this before, and previously thought that he shouldn't, and then thought it was okay only for little things, and then understood that it's just the way it is and he'll just have to trust her until she breaks that trust.

Yet now, that trust comes with something else: being subservient.

He trusted her enough to not only have her around, to do things with her, but to obey her. To be under her command, to blindly trust in the things she says. To immediately believe her.

And that, not the trust, but the subservience to her, that's what was shocking.

Damian Wayne wasn't going to get past this any time soon.

But that didn't matter, because right now Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in his arms, she was cowering into him with guilt, and promises, and the need for comfort and he was there for her, dutifully pressing them together, hands ghosting her sides and giving her exactly what she needs in that moment.

He bites his cheek hard enough to draw blood, and the metallic liquid on his tongue has the aftertaste of desire and obedience.