Sequel to 'DISTRESS'
Chat Noir watched as Marinette and Damian left the bakery, bundled up and with a thermos. He wasn't sure what to do. He had finally found Ladybug in the form of his Princess, but she had just accepted a date from another guy. He wanted to race home and curl up in his bed, but he needed to see if this went well. With slight hesitation, he jumped down onto her balcony and watched as they crossed into the park.
"Hey, Marinette!" Manon came running up to them.
"Hello, Manon." Mari smiled, "Is your mother around?"
Suddenly, Marinette was pelted with snowballs from behind. Damian turned and threw a glare at who had pelted her, but noticed a group of children freeze. He exhaled the breath he had been holding.
'How can he glare at children? They were just playing!
"Manon; that wasn't very nice!" Marinette chided, frowning at the girl.
"I'm sorry, Marinette." Manon apologized, keeping her head down.
"It's only fair," Marinette wiped some of the snow off of herself and dumped it on Manon's head, "if I know I'm playing too."
Chat watched as Damian pulled Marinette away from the oncoming barrage. Marinette smiled at him as they left the battlegrounds of the next snowball fight. He would normally join in on the fun, but Ladybug was depending on him to protect her and followed.
"You seem to have a way with children." Damian smirked.
Marinette blushed, "I babysit, a lot. My parents know her mother so it just became a thing. It's becoming harder to do now."
Damian opened the thermos and poured some into the lid for her to sip on.
"Explains why you can handle my brother's chaos so well. I'm assuming you're a little cold from being pelted." he spoke as he handed her the lid.
Marinette smiled, "Just a little."
As they made their way inwards, he passed by the pop up ice rink. Chat saw many of his classmates and smiled. With that many people they both knew, getting up close wouldn't be an issue.
"Did you want to go to the ice rink, Marinette?" Damian asked.
"No." she stated, gripping his arm tighter, "Get me out of here."
Damian wrapped his arm around her and pulled her away towards the main street. As they walked around, Damian noticed the sparkle in her eye as they neared a fabric shop.
"Do you want to go in?" he asked.
"Yes! No! We're on a date and-" Marinette tried to explain.
Damian chuckled as he dragged her in.
"You're a creative person, Mari. I won't fault you for that." he stated.
Marinette smiled, brightly, before looking around the shop. He followed her at a distance, giving her space to flutter between fabric on both sides of the aisle. He watched as she ran her hand over a fabric and brighten. He could see her mind going a million miles a minute, until she looked at the price. Marinette sighed and placed the roll down and walked away to one farther down the way.
Damian peeked at the price of the roll. He was well aware that Marinette usually bought her own fabric, but this one was more expensive on a babysitter's salary. He walked towards the desk and motioned the lady to lean in.
"I wanted to buy a roll of fabric. I'll pay right now for it, but can we pick it up before closing. We're on a date right now." Damian asked.
The lady nodded. He informed her which bolt he wanted and she rang it up for him quickly.
"Did you find anything?" He asked Marinette as she made her way to the front.
"A couple things. I need to save a bit more." Mari answered.
Damian nodded and saw the lady take the bolt off the rack.
Chat Noir scowled as he watched them head to the Festival of Lights. He watched from up high as Damian kept Marinette close, keeping his arm around her shoulder.
'If it had been me, I would have put my arm around her waist.'
Marinette suddenly felt a tug on her purse. She turned towards the attacker and held on to her bag with all her might. Chat smirked as he was ready to prove how much of a hero he really was and jump in to protect her.
"That doesn't belong to you!" Damian roared as he punched the thief in the face, knocking them unconscious.
Police rushed onto the scene. Damian quickly explained that the thief had tried to steal from his date. The police searched the thief and found some of the stolen merchandise that had gone missing. They thanked him for his help and took the thief towards their vehicle.
'I could have done that.'
A person at a nearby stall called them over and gave them a gingerbread man, as a thank you for helping the vendors out.
'And they got treats!'
"Thank you!" Marinette smiled, as she took the cookies.
As she handed one to Damian, she noticed his look of confusion.
"Damian?" she called.
"I don't understand why you would create something in the shape of a person and then consume it. Does it not promote cannibalism?" He questioned.
Marinette hid her smirk before waving her cookie at him and biting off the head.
"I'm reconsidering your status as an angel." Damian quipped.
Marinette giggled as she finished her piece.
"It's not super sweet, Damian. It's more spice." Mari stated, noticing his frown.
Damian sighed before taking a bite of the gingerbread man's leg.
"Why his leg?" Marinette asked.
"He won't run away as I go for the killing blow." Damian answered, biting off the head, "Adequate."
Marinette smiled as she grabbed his arm and placed it back around her shoulder.
'That should be me.'
As they made their way back towards her house, Damian stopped them in front of the fabric store.
"Damian?" Marinette asked, wondering why they had stopped.
"Wait here for a moment." he spoke and went inside.
When he came back out, he was carrying the whole bolt of fabric she was looking at earlier.
"Damian!" She cried, "You didn't!"
'I would need the suit to carry that! Who is this guy?'
"I saw you looking at it earlier and figured you could use your money to get some other fabric you have been wanting." he replied.
"But that's expensive!" Mari shouted.
"You seem under the impression that I care." Damian spoke.
"I care!" Marinette shrieked.
'Shouldn't have pissed off M'Lady. You just failed the date. See ya around, Pal.'
"I don't need that much!" Marinette groaned.
"And how many things did you fantasize in mere seconds while looking at this bolt?" Damian asked.
Marinette opened her mouth and closed it, looking away.
"It's no problem, Mari." he spoke, "You should have seen the look on Jon's face when I got him the latest console for Christmas a couple years ago."
"Oh?" she asked, her interest piqued.
"He usually runs head first into things. I figured it would help him to use that brain of his and create some strategies." He explained.
"Oh, you want strategies?" Mari teased, leaning towards him.
"What you go?" he asked.
"UMS3." Marinette spoke, happily.
"Deal." Damian spoke, smiling that the issue with the fabric had been dropped.
"Just so you know, Papa might join in." Marinette stated, leading the way home.
"Sounds like a plan, Habibiti." he smiled.
"What's that?" Mari asked.
"Maybe I'll tell you someday." he grinned, "How are you at DDR?"
"Clumsy." she stated with a pout.
"I'll send you a pad and game so you can practice for when you visit during the summer." Damian stated.
"You're so on!" Marinette glared before smiling and turning away.
As they got to the bakery, Marinette stopped them.
"Marinette?" Damian spoke, wondering why they had stopped.
"If I don't do this now, I know I probably won't." Marinette spoke.
"What?" he asked, but was quickly silenced when Marinette placed a kiss on his cheek.
'She kissed him!'
"I had fun today, Damian. I know it's not ending here, but I'd like to do it again." She smiled.
'Did she just ask him out?'
"As would I, Angel." he replied.
Marinette opened the side door and allowed him entrance. Chat peered into the window and saw the bolt in her room. He watched from the house across the street as they turned on the system and sat next to each other. He was overjoyed when Tom sat down next to them and claimed he was playing the winner. Sabine wasn't that far behind with drinks and treats.
Chat was too busy watching Marinette's family, wishing it had been him that he was startled when the shut off the lights.
'What happened? I didn't see him leave!'
Chat bound over and peered in. On the couch was Marinette and Damian cuddled up on the couch. They were covered up by a blanket that hadn't been there before. He frowned as Marinette cuddled closer to Damian with a smile on her face.
Chat Noir raced back home, knowing that the new found couple slept happily in each other's arms.
'Maybe I should have just stayed home today.'