Gotham's Lucky Charm (Daminette)

Ch 12 - Worried

It was rare for Damian Wayne to lose his cool.

He had been raised by assassins and vigilantes. Losing yourself to doubt and worry increased the chances of losing your life. He had been trained to stay calm in dangerous situations. It ran in his family; it ran in his blood.

That is why Damian couldn't fathom why he was so worried about Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He paced back and forth across the street. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. He was sure that the soles of his school uniform shoes had worn thin.

The anxiety inside him was so strong that he had an urge to start pulling at the black strands of his perfectly styled hair.

Where was she?

Damian glanced at his phone screen. He had already contacted his family about Marinette's disappearance and requested their assistance. Should he call Jon as backup?

No.

That would be disastrous. Not to mention that his best friend's uncontrollable curiosity would certainly lead him to ask about Marinette. Jon would most likely pester Damian with annoying text messages until he was permitted to meet Marinette in person.

But only if Marinette was still alive by the time that Jon learned about her.

WHERE WAS SHE?

Damian's feet froze next to one of the police vehicles. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cool, blue-painted steel body.

Two hours.

It had been two hours since Marinette had left to retrieve her vitamins from the backpack in her locker. But they hadn't found Marinette by her locker, or in the hallway, or anywhere in the school building.

If they didn't locate her within the next five minutes, he was resolved to change into his Robin suit and search the streets of Gotham himself. But then he remembered he couldn't do that. His father had instructed him to stay at Gotham Academy in case a villain was holding Marinette hostage after seeing her speaking to Bruce Wayne's son. It was times like these when Damian hated the wealth and fame associated with his family name. What else could he do-

A finger poked his shoulder.

Damian's eyes snapped open. He shoved himself away from the police vehicle and spun around.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng flinched from his quick movement. "Uhhh...hi?"

Damian stood still. He blinked once. He blinked again.

Was that really her? Was she really standing in front of him? Alive? Unharmed?

"Damian?" Marinette's foot fidgeted, the toe of her uniform shoe tapping against the concrete street. "Sorry I took so long. I hope that I didn't make you too worried-"

Damian grabbed Marinette by the sleeves of her school uniform and pulled her close.

Marinette stumbled. Her face fell into the center of his chest. When she almost jumped back in surprise, Damian hooked his arm around her waist and hugged her tighter.

"D-D-Damian!" Marinette squeaked.

Damian bent his head and pressed his nose against her neck. She smelled like apples and sugar cookies. So sweet. Marinette's sweetness was driving him crazy.

"What happened?" Damian demanded. "Where were you?"

"I-I-I got lost!" Marinette's warm breath tickled his ear.

"Lost?" Damian hand clutched a fistful of her uniform fabric. "Impossible. We searched the entire school campus. Someone would have found you within those 2 hours if you were simply lost. I WOULD HAVE FOUND YOU."