Gotham's Lucky Charm (Daminette)

Ch 12 - Worried

"W-w-well I also got kidnapped while I was trying to find my way back to the classroom."

"KIDNAPPED!" Damian lifted his head so that he could look Marinette directly in her beautiful blue eyes. "WHO? DESCRIBE THE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF THIS PERSON WHO DARED TO-"

Then Damian remembered Marinette's shoulder: the injury that she had received from the pocketknife when Red Hood had failed to do the one job that Damian had asked of him.

"My apologies," Damian said as he quickly released Marinette from his arms. "I forgot to be mindful of your shoulder. Does it hurt?"

"C'est bon, it's okay!" Marinette's face blushed as she stared down at their shoes. "But my shoulder is completely fine. Why would you think that it's injured?"

"Uhhh...." He had forgotten that Damian Wayne was not supposed to be aware of the scuffle that had occurred last night. Damian's chest ached with a strange pain. Why was she hiding her injury from him? "My mistake-"

"Cough, cough. Excuse me?" Someone standing behind Damian cleared his throat.

Damian turned his head towards the man in the Gotham police force detective uniform.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," said Dick Grayson, "but I just wanted to confirm that you're Marinette Dupain-Cheng: the girl that several police squads are frantically searching the streets of Gotham for."

"Several POLICE SQUADS are looking for me?" Marinette asked in a panicked voice.

"Thought I recognized you," Dick said with a smile. He lifted his hand up to his ear and turned on his comm. "Call off the search parties. We found her."

"Je suis désolé! I'm sorry! I didn't know that so many people were looking for me!"

"Well...that's partly thanks to Little D over here," Dick laughed. "I've never seen Damian get so worked up over a missing person before! We were all freaked out by how worried he was."

"Really?" Marinette stared at Damian. "I'm sorry for making you worry so much!"

"Tt, it's fine, he is exaggerating." Damian felt embarrassed by how warm his face was growing. "Besides, it was not your fault that you were kidnapped."

"Someone kidnapped you?!" Dick shifted his full attention towards Marinette. "How did you escape? If you can give us a description, we can start the process of searching for them."

"Uhh...I can't really say what he looked like because his face was covered by a black hoodie and ski mask," said Marinette. "B-b-but I was able to escape after I freed myself from the ropes and gave the guy a couple good kicks in the shin!"

Damian crossed his arms and anxiously tapped his finger against his elbow. What if the Joker had hired the man to kidnap Marinette while he was locked up in Arkham Asylum? Damian hated the way that the green-haired clown had looked at her yesterday morning. He had definitely taken an interest in Marinette's smile.

"Well, I'm glad you're safe now," said Dick. "We'll do our best to find the guy, but it'll be hard without a good description. For now, be extra aware of your surroundings and try to avoid walking alone. But I suppose you have Damian watching out for you now. My little brother is the best security you can get."

"Wait, you're Damian's brother?" Marinette's gaze flicked between Damian and Dick. "Je suis désolé, what's your name? Sorry I forgot to ask."

"Dick Grayson, detective for Gotham's police force and Bruce Wayne's eldest adopted son." Dick shook Marinette's hand and gave her a business card with his phone number. "Give me a call if you ever need anything...or if you need help keeping Damian under control."

"GRAYSON-"

"Oh would you look at the time?" Dick glanced at the watch on his wrist. "I should get back to work. And I'm guessing that you two need to get back to class?"

"Yes," said Marinette.

"No," said Damian.

"No?" Marinette looked at Damian with a confused expression.

"I'm taking you to the hospital so that you can be fully examined for injuries." And it would also be an excellent opportunity for Damian to confirm the severity of her shoulder injury.

"But I'm fine!" Marinette protested. "You don't need to take me to the hospital, I wasn't hurt anywhere. I swear!"

"Tt, then I'll take you back to your apartment." Damian grabbed Marinette's hand. "You need to rest after such a tumultuous experience."

[Ch 12 - 1,286 words]

This chapter was certainly interesting~ Hope you enjoyed it! And thanks for reading!

Marinette: "But Damian! What about school?!"

Damian: "It is quite clear that Gotham Academy is lacking in the security measures that are needed to protect you. I'll have a security camera installed in every room and hallway this afternoon. And I'll need to hire a team of ex-military personnel to act as bodyguards. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to also build a barbed wire fence around the school grounds."

Marinette: "Wait...you're serious? Your brother wasn't joking when he said that you would be the best security for me. But don't you think that this is going a little overboard?"

Damian: "No. Going overboard would be to hide you away on a fortified private island while I hunt the streets of Gotham for the man who attempted to kidnap you and eventually succeed in ending his pitiful life."

Marinette: "..."

Damian: "..."

Marinette: "Uhhhhh...what do you call something that's more extreme than overboard?"