mind over mask

forty-one

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Damian's POV

I missed Paris.

I didn't want to admit it, but I did. I started out hating the place, but the more I stayed, the more I appreciated the new environment.

I don't think it was the place, or the people, just a certain person. And I hated that she had that power over me, that she was now a weakness.

If you asked me what my weaknesses were when I first arrived at the Manor, I would kill you, severely maim if I was in a good mood, for even suggesting that. I didn't value life like I should've.

Now, returning to the Manor once more, I know better. My Father, my brothers, both Alfreds, Titus, even Jon... and now Marinette.

I don't know how Marinette and I were going to work out. I had to stay here, in Gotham to be Robin. And Marinette would stay in Paris, trying to make her way in the world by becoming a designer.

I wanted it to work so badly. Marinette had been hurt in the past, by friends and loved ones, and she didn't feel like she deserved love in general. I had to prove to her that she was wrong, because if it was anybody who didn't deserve it, it would be me.

We had both confessed our feelings, but the distance and secrets were holding us back from each other.

I had to find a way to fix it.

The private jet ride back to Gotham was long, to say the least. I would've rather took the Boom Tubes, but there are downsides for keeping a secret identity a secret. And I had to suffer Grayson's suggestive glances towards me the entire time, based on what he witnessed between me and Marinette through the windows of the private jet. At least he didn't see our kiss.

I would've never heard the end of it from my family.

But now, it's far too late.

What happened if Marinette and I grew apart? What if this was just a silly infatuation?

Would Marinette forgive me for lying for so long? About my name, my identity, and my past?

But then I found out that Chat Noir was her friend, Adrien Agreste. Did this mean that Bourgeois was Princess Honey? And that Marinette was Ladybug?

It couldn't be, I physically saw Marinette during an akuma attack running away. While Ladybug and her team were running across the rooftops.

But it made so much sense if Marinette was Ladybug, but I couldn't deny was I saw with my own eyes.

I groaned, things were so much simpler in Gotham. Not simpler, boring.

I dreaded when we were about to land in Gotham, because it would mean our time in Paris was officially over. That it would feel like a fever dream.

And in some ways, it did.

Life in Gotham started right back where we left it off. Grayson and I had returned home just in time for the New Year's Charity Gala later that evening.

Alfred had picked us up from the airport, and he drove us back to the Manor. It was good to see him again, Grayson enveloped him in a hug, while I just have a nod of respect when we greeted him.

When we arrived at the Manor, it was in a state of disarray when we walked into the foyer, everyone was rushing to get ready for the event that night.

Most nights looked like this.

Luckily, it was being held at the Gotham Natural History Museum, instead of at the Manor for once.

Father had gotten tired of villains attacking us at our home, so we held less and less events here.