Daminette December

2021:6-Butterfly Tea

Damian had brought Marinette to the manor, once he found a common interest: art. While he preferred painting and sketching, she had a passion for fashion. She took inspiration from anything and everything. When the snow melted, he thought the best thing to do was to invite her to the gardens behind the manor. They had several flowers that bloomed all year. What he didn't expect was to see her flinch at butterflies fluttering around.

"Marinette?" he questioned, "Do you have a fear of butterflies?"

She let out a nervous chuckle, "I guess you could call it that. When I lived in Paris, there was a villain named Hawkmoth. He turned people temporarily into villains using butterflies; we called them 'akumas'. I noticed later that I freak out around butterflies."

"These akumas?" he began.

"Our heroes defeated him and his partner." Mari replied, "They told the city that with no magical villain, they were no longer a necessity. That Paris could go back to the way it was before, that the police was now in charge of crime."

"How horrible." he growled.

"It wasn't like it was here." she answered, "Paris was peaceful before everything. Some people started claiming to be the heroes themselves. My bully did, too." Marinette began to laugh, "The heroine showed up and called her out for being a Super Liar, again! She said that claiming to have a miraculous was a bad thing." She sighed, "People asked her what she meant. Ladybug let told everyone how before she claimed to be the fox miraculous weilder to a famous boy and that she was better then the heroine, herself. She called her out at that time, too. As a warning, she announced that Hawkmoth, our villain, wasn't the only one after them. Next time, she wouldn't be around to save her. That was when Ladybug declared she heard other people claiming to be weilders for special attention. With her permission, the heroes could reveal their identites. Some chose to and some didn't; I chose not, too."

Damian looked at her in shock. He hadn't expected the shy, new girl from his class to be a former heroine. Suddenly, he could see this signs of PTSD radiating off of her: she kept to herself, she was nervous around people, she ran quickly when a rogue was announced nearby, sometimes she never came back to class.

'Fuck! How did I miss the signs?'

"People changed. They praised the heroes, but the moment they did something wrong, everyone knew." she continued, "One of the heroes use to be my friend. She dedicated herself to figuring out everyone's identity. I left. I didn't want that. I didn't care if I looked suspicious; I didn't want that burden again."

"Do you want to leave the garden?" Damian questioned.

"No." Marinette answered, "I still love nature. It'll take me a while to not flinch at butterflies, but I know they're not bad. It's just a habit I have to break."

"What happened to everyone?" he asked, as she continued her sketch.

"I don't know." she replied, "I kept in contact with maybe five people and I don't ask about the others. Every once in awhile, I'll look into Paris news to see how it's going."

Damian slid his phone out and sent a text to Alfred. Within two minutes, he had his response. He stood up and held out his hand.

"Come with me." he spoke.

"Damian?" Mari questioned, as she took his hand.

He led her back inside the manor and to the kitchen. She noticed there was a tea kettle boiling on the stove. Before she could ask what was going on, he led her to a seat and walked off to the cupboards. Damian reached up and grabbed two double glass mugs. He brought them over to Marinette and went into another cupboard for tea. She watched wordlessly as he grabbed a tin and two stainless steel mesh balls. Curiously, she watched as he spooned loose leaf tea leaves into the mesh, sealed them and set them in the mugs. When the tea kettle whistled, he grabbed the kettle and carefully poured the hot water into the mugs.

'Blue!'

Mari watched the tea, mesmerized, as the water turned a blue hue. She couldn't remember any tea that was blue.

'Blueberry tea?'

As the tea steeped, he went into the fridge, took out a lemon and sliced it. Damian removed the mesh ball and placed the lemon slices in the mug. Marinette watched in wonder as the tea magically began to turn purple.

"This .....is Butterfly Tea." Damian declared.

Marinette looked up at him, but he kept his eyes on the tea.

"You're a lot like this tea." Damian spoke, "There was a lot of negativity in your life and with one change, it's becoming beautiful."

Marinette had no words. She covered her mouth, as tears threatened to fall.

"You can say Paris was your chrysalis, but here in Gotham, you'll shine. I know it." he concluded.

Damian looked from his mug to see Marinette crying.

'Shit.'

Mari jumped out of her seat and hugged him.

"Th-Thank you, Da-Damian." she spoke, into his chest, "That's the best thing anyone has said to me." She pulled back and smiled up at him, tears still falling down her cheeks, "I'll never forget it. Anytime I feel bad, all I have to do from now on is think of you and this tea."

Marinette leaned up and kissed his cheek. With a blush, she went back to her seat. Damian quickly brought his mug up to his lips.

"You're.....welcome." he answered, before sipping his tea.

Mari could see his ears were tipped red, but said nothing. Damian was the closest thing she could call a friend in Gotham. She could feel the heat on her cheeks from her own blush, but sipped her tea in silence. She wouldn't push for more; she'd leave it up to fate and a little bit of luck.