⭐️ Eternal Shadow 🌙 Damian wayne ~~~~complete

Chapter 20: Shadows And Steel

Damian lay back, one arm draped over his face, his chest rising and falling in steady, practised breaths. The tension between them had shifted — no longer sharp and defensive, but quieter, heavier.

Marceline tilted her head against the wall behind her and closed her eyes momentarily. The ache in her muscles was sharp and satisfying, the sting of every hit and fall still fresh on her skin.

"Five months," she murmured.

Damian didn't look at her, but she felt the shift in the air between them.

"You've changed," he said quietly.

"You sound surprised."

"I'm not."

Another long silence. The soft swell of music from somewhere in the Tower drifted through the walls — calm, wordless piano notes, accompanied by the faint chirp of birds in the evening light outside.

And then, without turning to him, Mars spoke again — her voice low, but steadier this time.
"I'm done with half-answers, Damian. If you're gonna stand by me... then I want the truth. No more cover stories. No 'because it was my duty' or 'you're part of the team.' I want the real reason."

His jaw clenched. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers twitched like he wanted to grip something — a weapon, maybe, or his own self-control.

"It's complicated."

She huffed a quiet, exhausted laugh.
"Everything about us is."

A beat.

And then, Damian turned to face her, green eyes darker than usual, stormy and raw.

"Because losing you once was the worst mistake I ever made," he said, voice rough around the edges. "And it damn near broke me."

Her breath caught.

"I don't get to fix a lot of the things I've ruined, Mars," Damian went on, softer now. "But I can make sure you never go through that alone again."

The words settled between them, heavier than any blow either of them had landed that night.

Marceline didn't respond right away. Instead, she shifted closer, their shoulders brushing, and let herself exhale for what felt like the first time in weeks.

The music hummed around them, the wind outside teasing through the edges of the open window. Her head tilted against his shoulder, and for once, he didn't tense.

"I'll stay," he murmured, voice low enough that only she would hear. "Not going anywhere."

Her eyelids fluttered shut, the exhaustion wrapping around her like a worn, familiar blanket.

And just as sleep claimed her, Damian's voice broke through the quiet one last time — hoarse, cracked at the edges.

"I won't leave you again, Marceline. Even if you run, I'll be there."

And this time, she believed him.

The hallway outside the sparring room was dim, the last colours of dusk spilling in through the high glass windows. Marceline was still inside, passed out in a tangle of shadow and sweat-soaked hair, Damian seated quietly by her side.

Dick stood a few feet down the hall, pacing, jaw clenched so tight it ached. He didn't hear Kory approach until her hand rested lightly on his arm.

"She's okay," she said gently.

"That's not what this is about."

Kory sighed. "It's always about more than what we say it is."

Footsteps echoed softly, and Gar appeared next, leaning casually against the wall but with a tension in his shoulders that betrayed the calm mask.