mind over mask

twenty-four

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Damian's POV

Our short trip to Gotham didn't last, and we returned back to Paris. Alfred loaded us up with his treats, a little taste of home, and Drake kept his promise to me.

Life in Paris, felt slow, but the year was going to end in almost two months. And we had accomplished next to nothing with Hawkmoth or the Black Mask. They hadn't shown their hand yet.

"Damian?" Marinette nudged me as we were supposed to be working on our essays. We were already finished, and Marinette was sketching another dress to create.

On the other hand, Jon was sending me a stream of texts that would not stop, asking me why I wasn't at the Manor. Superman had brought Jon alone while "the adults" talked, only to find, I was gone.

Curse his X-ray vision.

There were only so many times Father could use an extended mission overseas as an excuse.

The Justice League didn't know about me and Grayson's disappearance nor our mission. Our time was limited, we couldn't stay hidden forever.

I look up from my phone, and question, "Yes?"

"Do you wanna hang out after school?" She asks a bit timidly.

"What do you mean? We always do that." I say, confused.

Mari groans at herself, "No, I mean, do you wanna hang out and do something, like outside."

"Sure. Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know." She shrugs, her hair falling from her ear, hiding her face.

I nudged her, and she looked me straight in the eye. "Mari, if you think I'd be ashamed of hanging out with you, then you are wrong. I'm honored to be one of your friends."

She holds my eye contact, whispering, "Thank you Damian." She gives me a small smile, and I return it. Her eyes tinge pink, and she returns back to her sketch book.

The bell rings, and Agreste and Borgeouis both say goodbye to me, and I nod in response. I didn't like them, but for Marinette, I could be civil.

Marinette and I drop our backpacks off at the bakery, and she drags me outside.

Her eyes sparkle in the sunlight, as she takes a deep breath of air.

"So, what do you want to do?" I ask her, as we begin walking on the sidewalk.

Marinette chews the inside of her cheek, deep in thought. She replies, "We could walk around, and see where that takes us. How much have you seen of Paris since you've been here?"

"I've seen all the tourist attractions, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and things like that." I answered.

We turned the corner, and Marinette was on the outside of us, right next to the street. I moved to the other side of her, carefully moving her with my hands, so I would be next to the car filled streets.

"Oh! We should go get ice cream!" She suddenly shouted, getting super excited.

However, I reveal to her, "I don't really like ice cream."

"YOU DONT LIKE ICE CREAM? WHO DOESNT LIKE ICE CREAM!" She exclaims. "No, no, no, this won't do. André's ice cream is life changing."

I roll my eyes, "Tt. I doubt that."

"I'm going to prove you wrong." She grins, grabbing my hand and me along with her.

We're holding hands.