GOTHAM: BEYOND EVIL || Damienette

9 - Anger And Understanding

"The gym? What a great idea." I spoke out, grinning widely, to which Tim jokingly shuddered in response. The ravenette laughs out loud at my antics. "Go down that hall and take a left." He said, smiling.

"How would I know which room the gym is?" I questioned, confused. After all, the doors of every room in this house looked the same, with the exception of a few. Tim sipped his coffee violently before responding.

"You'll know."

The cryptic response was all I got from him, before he walked past me and into another corridor beside the stairs. I rolled my eyes, walking towards where Tim came from. I walked through the lone corridors, lit up with lights even in the morning.

Soon, I reached the gym.

The doors were humongous, with clear windows on both sides, through which you could see the gym equipment inside. The whole room was covered with lights, not leaving a single spot in the shadows. One side of the wall was completely made of mirrors.

I opened the door and pushed it open, cold air from the automatic air-conditioner hitting my face. I gaped at the room in shock. Well damn, at least I understood why Tim said I would 'know' when I reach.

The equipment itself looked like it had never been used since it was bought, but I knew that wasn't true. If not, how would everyone in this family be so ripped? Even Stephanie had amazing muscles.

Shutting the door behind me, I removed my heels and jacket, dropping it next to the door. Rolling a bandage around my fists, I got up. I found the sandbag Tim mentioned, easily hooking it up and punching the shit out of it. I started slowly at first, getting used to the sensation.

Slowly, I increased my speed and strength. Imagining that the sandbag in front of me was Damian, I punched stronger and harder. Sometime later, the bag probably got annoyed at me, and flew off its hook, slamming into the wall behind it.

You wouldn't know how thankful I was that there was a wall behind the bag, and not a mirror. I can't imagine how much it would cost to repair a mirror in Wayne Manor. I let out a sigh, plopping onto a sofa.

It hadn't even been 20 minutes since I had come here, but I was already tired. Not physically, but mentally. All the anger I had toward Damian had dissipated, leaving me with only confusion and understanding.

I understood why he felt what he did, considering his background. But I was confused. Why was he kind towards me? Why was he so understanding towards me that he had to blame it on being a spell?

If we just sort this out, maybe we could be friends.

I put my hands on my face, leaning back to lie on the sofa. I just want to go back to sleep again. Preferably in Damian's bed; it was just too comfortable. But after today's fight, it would take months before he would even let me in his room again.

"Hey Blueberry." says Dick, opening the door and coming inside. "What's got you so depressed early in the morning?" he asks, sitting down next to me. "Damian." I say out loud, although by mistake.

My hands fly from my face to cover my mouth, realizing what I had just revealed. "Him? What did he do?" Dick asks again, confused. "Nothing. He did nothing." I say, awkwardly smiling at him.

The ravenette simply stared at my face, giving me a look which said he didn't believe me. "Marinette, don't take what Damian says to heart. He isn't used to talking and opening up to strangers and can't express his feelings openly. He was just... raised that way."

I sit up straight to listen to what Dick had said. "I know." I say, absentmindedly. "You do?" asked Dick, shocked. "I mean-" Ugh, why did I keep slipping up today? I panicked, trying to think of an excuse.

"I knew Damian was hesitant to express his feelings. I could see that when I met him. But can't he understand that he might just hurt other people's feelings?" I wondered out loud.

"So that's what happened." Dick said, somehow understanding what I was trying to say. "Don't worry about it. I'll talk to him and make him apologize." he said again. "No, it's okay, really." I reply.

"I think it might have been my fault after all, Dick."

I looked at Dick, smiling. "Oh no. Don't think that way." he says, panicking. "Huh?" I ask, confused. "If you get into a fight with Damian, just remember. It's always his fault." says Dick, seriously, before breaking out into a grin.

I laughed out loud at his comment. "You're siblings after all." I say. Dick slowly stands up, his hand stretched out to me. "Now come on, breakfast is ready." he says, smiling down at me.

.......

"Dick! You're finally back. What took you so long?"

Jason's voice rang out when me and Dick entered the dining hall. "Well, I got lost on the way and Dick had to come find me." I lied smoothly, without batting an eyelash. "Yeah." he said, glancing at me as if to show that he was impressed.

"Bacon." came a voice from behind me, making me jump in shock. I looked back to see Tim standing there, looking even more dead than he was earlier. "Tim! I told you to stop creeping up on me like that!" screeched Dick, just like I had before.

I'm guessing it was a daily occurrence.

"The second time today..." I muttered, taking a seat next to Jason, who laughed at my comment. "Where's your girlfriend, anyway? I want to meet her." I told Jason, watching how his face turned slightly red at my comment.

"She's coming later in the evening. A certain someone pissed her off." said Stephanie, eyeing Jason, who sat in front of her. "Oh, come on! How was I supposed to know that the guy was her cousin?" Jason said, trying to defend himself.

"They have the same hair color, Jason." deadpanned Stephanie. "For all you know, he could have dyed it to match hers." Jason said, raising his eyebrows. "That doesn't mean you had to punch him in the face." replied the blonde.

Oh. My. God.

I finally understood what was going on.

"You did what?!" I shouted, laughing my ass off while Jason pouted. "Broke the poor bloke's nose." Stephanie added, making everyone at the table laugh out loud. "Bruce offered to pay for the hospital bills, but damn, Barbara was pissed." said Tim.

"This shows why I am the blood son."

A voice rang out from near the door, making everyone look towards the noise. There stood Damian, the boy I had fought with barely 30 minutes ago, leaning against the door without a care in the world.

The three other boys in the room scoffed in sync at his comment. The brunette smirks, walking towards the table and taking a seat. Right in front of me. He glares at me, and this time, I glared back in return.

"Where is father?" he asked, searching for, presumably, the only other person in this house he considered worthy of his time. "He went to work early." replied Dick, scarfing down some bacon and eggs.

"I'm here." said Bruce, walking into the room and scaring everyone half to death. "Bruce, I thought you left for work." said Dick, confused. "Ah, no. Not yet. I simply went to drop Selena at her place." he replied.

"Whipped." muttered Jason, earning a shove from Damian. Jason glared at the brunette, shoving him back in return. This slowly started a small scuffle, one which was quickly resolved when Alfred came in to serve Bruce food, and gave them a look in return.

"Marinette, you're wearing the same dress you wore yesterday. Do you not have any other clothes?" asks Stephanie, looking at me. "All my luggage is at the hotel, so yeah, I don't have any other clothes." I reply.

"You can borrow mine if you like." she said. "I think we're the same height." Stephanie said again. "I would like that very much. Thank you." I say, smiling at her. Damian watched our exchange keenly and shared his very unwanted opinion.

"So, you are a gold digger now?"

.......

[Q.] Does Marinette deserve Damian's suspicion?