..I'm going to have to stop apologising for long delays, as it seems I'll never be able to manage a consistent update schedule. At least it was less than a month this time..? Like I assume many others on AO3 I have a mentally exhausting job and unfortunately long hours. Makes it hard to write.. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Oh! This story is also officially now my most-followed work on AO3, despite being the newest and a crossover! Feels like something that should be celebrated!

Story suggestion for this chapter is "Crash on the Couch AU" by ew_selfish_art. The ending wasn't the best, but everything else makes up for it!


In the privacy of the mindscape he shared with his soulmate, Damian Wayne scowled - irritated by the way his mind kept wandering back to the one thing he was steadfastly trying to ignore while he waited for Marinette to appear as well.

Objectively he saw the folly in specifically trying not to think about something - the pink elephant paradox came to mind - and yet he was left with little choice. How else was he supposed to react to his siblings' absolutely ludicrous claim that he was, in their words, 'so far beyond smitten we can't even mock you for it'?

...

"So let me get this straight - your earlier errand was buying a birthday gift for your soulmate?" Jason asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Damian nodded.

"Your soulmate, who you have at this stage known for less than a full day..?" Stephanie asked, sounding almost as shocked as Jason.

Damian let out a sigh, but nodded again - if nothing else, this will teach him to never take up another one of Dick's inane wagers, he supposed..

"And this was an actual, normal human-being kind of gift..?!" Dick followed up, and okay, he could kind of see where his eldest brother was coming from - Damian's first birthday gift to him had only been after they'd known each other for two years, and was a simple card stating that Damian would no longer attempt to stab him in his sleep.

Letting out a groan, Damian stared down at the wooden floor and used his thumbs to massage his temples.

"Yes, Grayson, it was a 'normal human-being kind of gift'.. I even followed tradition!" he muttered, thoroughly annoyed with them all at this point.. only to freeze at the sudden quiet.

"Uhh.." came Stephanie's hesitant voice, and Damian narrowed his eyes at the fidgeting blonde sitting beside Tim, "It wasn't from that book me and Cass gave you when you were younger, was it..?"

"Why?" he almost hissed at her, recognising the look of guilt on her expression.. though it was Cass who answered.

'Had book made ourselves,' she signed, and at the shocked looks the four brothers' shot them, she continued:

'Brothers bad at gifts. Stephanie suggested we give you a guide.'

There was a moment of awe-struck silence where the four sons of Bruce Wayne couldn't entirely decide whether to be impressed or annoyed at the audacity of Cassandra and Stephanie.. before pandemonium broke out as Tim grabbed one of the couch pillows to throw at Stephanie.

Once the small scuffle was over - Alfred having passed by with a pointed cough - and Damian, Dick and Jason decided they were reluctantly impressed (though Tim still swore vengeance), Damian felt the need to clear things up and explain it was a tradition from his mother's side of the family.

..Which is something he really should have known better than to mention, as his siblings all became worried for a whole different reason.

"Oh, would you all calm down?" he snapped, "The gift is just jewelry - not a sword, not a dagger, or any of the dozen other inane ideas you have been throwing around as possibilities!"

Raising his hands in an apologetic gesture, Dick said:

"Sorry, Little Bird, we got a bit carried away there. So what did you get her? A bracelet, maybe?"

"Oh! Can we see it before you send it to her? You could always do with a second opinion.. even though I'm sure it's great!" Stephanie said, adding the last part quickly after Jason shot her a meaningful look that Damian was just going to ignore.

Damian pursed his lips.

While he did not regret getting Marinette a birthday gift, and he was sure no one would begrudge him buying her jewelry (buy, commission with extremely particular specifications.. what's the difference really?) the rest of the explanation might be a bit..

Shaking his head to clear out the mild apprehension, Damian looked to Stephanie and responded:

"Unfortunately, that will.. not be possible. I have already sent the gift," he finished in a rush, hoping against hope that no further questions will follow.

Unfortunately, luck did not favour him, and Tim asked him how he was sending it, considering the distance between Paris and Gotham.

"I, uh.. might have asked Jon to deliver it. Not directly - I am choosing to respect Marinette's privacy, though she has mentioned something before which I was able to use to.." he trailed off, noticing the way his siblings were once again staring at him.

Clearing his throat, he muttered 'unimportant' before looking away.

The silence actually lasted several minutes before he heard Jason say:

"The poor kid is so smitten, I don't even feel like I can mock him for it.."

Damian immediately jumped to his feet in indignation.

"I am not smitten!" he snapped out, before a hand suddenly fell to his shoulder, and he turned to see that Dick had somehow come to be next to him.

"I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, Damian.. but you are practically the dictionary definition of smitten," his brother finished, grin seeming entirely too amused in Damian's opinion.

...

Now that had hardly been the first time his siblings had annoyed him - not even the first time annoying him by claiming something that was definitely not true. Damian had simply been planning to treat this particular annoyance the same way he had treated all the others.

Ignoring it, and moving on with his life.

Which he had planned to do, except for one small problem.. he couldn't seem to stop thinking about it.

Despite the fact that his siblings were clearly deluded.

So what if he bought his soulmate a birthday gift?

Now granted, he had known her for less than a day.. and it wasn't just any gift, but a jewelry set he had commissioned to certain exact specifications completely unrelated to the colour of her eyes.. and okay, he had commissioned it from arguably the best jewelers this side of the country, and had paid almost triple the items' value in order to have them both design and finish the set within hours.

Damian grimaced.

'Actually listing everything in order like that does make an unfortunate argument supporting their claim..' he thought to himself with a sigh.

A sigh that turned into a groan when he realised the above argument hadn't even addressed the fact that not only had he, Damian Wayne, asked for someone's help.. he had asked for help from his super-powered best friend so that he could deliver the gift to his soulmate as soon as possible.

A friend who had enough of his father in him to not ask what exactly he was delivering or to whom (say what you would about Superman, but one of the biggest reasons he was poisoned mind-controlled so often was due to him rushing in whenever he saw someone to help), but also had enough of his mother in him that he would absolutely be interrogating Damian like crazy when they next hung out.

Which, to Damian's misfortune, would be tomorrow.

So.. perhaps his siblings weren't entirely wrong. Which wasn't to say that they were right!

It just meant that he appeared smitten.

Not that he was.

It all made perfect sense, once you thought about things slowly and carefully while steadily ignoring the whole 'If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck.. it was probably a duck' argument which would imply that just because he looked smitten and acted like he was smitten..

Which was preposterous.

He had been severely sleep deprived at the time - he had been tired out from a difficult fight, even before whichever of Hawk Moth's Akumas (which reminded him, he must remember to research the villain) triggered his soulbond, and had then followed that exhausting night by staying awake for two days straight.

Damian was not his father - who could go near 80 hours without sleep - he had been exhausted, and thus confused, which likely affected his emotions and his judgement. There was also the fact that Marinette herself was likely acting under the influence of severe relief/adrenaline, finally meeting her soulmate after two days of unexplained absence.

Yes, that makes sense - outside circumstances influencing their behaviour, compounded by Damian's own nature nudging him towards acting as soon as possible once he had determined to follow the tradition of gifting a soulmate symbolic jewelry on their first birthday after the bond was formed.

A series of coincidences lining up just so to make things appear more significant than they were.

Nothing else.

"Damian!" came the excited exclamation, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Turning his head, he was met with the smiling face and large blue eyes of his soulmate, and he felt himself smile back without hesitation.

'..Damn it,' came the unbidden thought, as the simple sight of his Marinette smiling at him had a noticeable effect on his heart rate. It was almost enough to reverse his previous thoughts and consider the possibility of his brothers being right..

'As if,' he thought with a barely suppressed snort.

"Marinette," he responded (if it came out more fond than intended, well - there was only one witness and he kind of wanted her to hear it), before standing and spreading his arm to the side.

A gesture he had been making to simply show her to her seat, but which was obviously interpreted differently by his soulmate - at least, based on the fact that he now stood frozen with her arms thrown around his neck in a surprise hug.

..Damian was having a bit of trouble refocusing his thoughts here.

..he was also standing there like a particularly crooked tree, arm still stiffly extended to the side.

'What exactly was the protocol here?!' he thought, a bit panicky. Even ignoring his family's usual levels of emotional stuntedness, none of them were particularly tactile in their affection..

Feeling Marinette start to tense against him and move to pull away, he finally snapped out of it.

Closing his arms around her waist, he hesitantly hugged her against him - some unbidden feeling coming over him as she tightened her own hold on him in response.

..Damian was still having some trouble focusing. Or rather, he seemed to be focusing too much on just a few details.

The warm feeling of her arms around his neck, the smell of her strawberry and vanilla (?) scented shampoo in his nose, the slow exhale that came as she relaxed against him..

"I'm so glad you're here," she all but whispered, though their proximity meant he heard her loud and clear.

He started to smile, sharing her sentiment before blinking in realisation.

She wasn't happy to see him, she was happy he was here - which may not sound like much of a difference, but considering his avoidance of their bond at the start..

Damian sighed, before loosening his arms and stepping back with more reluctance than anyone could ever make him admit.

Though it did have the benefit of allowing him to see the blushing smile that his soulmate was sporting - a look that was not unattractive on her.

Still, hesitation was against his nature.

"Marinette.. I'm sorry," he said, hoping his tone would convey his sincerity.


Marinette tilted her head, somewhat caught off guard by her soulmate's sudden apology.

She frowned, trying to figure out what he could be apologising for - now granted, she could just ask him, but to be honest, Marinette was eager to take any excuse in order to not dwell on the realisation that her soulmate had not been going for a hug earlier.. something she had only realised a few seconds into said hug, when she noticed he had frozen in response.

Granted he had returned her hug a few moments later, but she really wanted to not focus on that particular fact until she had better control over her blush..

So.

The mystery apology.

She supposed he may have been apologising in some way for the gift he had sent her..? Not that she thought he needed to! She loved both the earrings, and the necklace! The apparent cost (according to Chloé, anyway) was enough to send her stomach into knots, of course.. but if Chloé was right about how well off her soulmate was, then she kind of doubted the many even registered on a mental level.

He could of course be apologising for the way he had sent the gift - the fact that he had done so through a friend of hers that he didn't know, though personally she was really touched by the effort he went through to not try and find her more directly..

Or maybe he was apologising for something he hadn't done yet..? Was he going to tell her he changed his mind, that he wasn't going to show up anymore..? Was he..—

Marinette blinked, an unexpected sound pulling her out of her spiraling thoughts.

Looking towards her soulmate, she noticed he was standing there with a perfectly neutral expression.. except for the slight uptick at the corner of his lips.

"Were you just laughing at me..?" she asked with suspicion.

"Now what reason could I have for laughing at you?" he asked in a tone that was entirely too innocent to be sincere.

Marinette stared at Damian with narrowed eyes.. until his façade cracked, and he let out a small chuckle.

"Sorry, but I could almost see you going through possibilities in your head, and with your head tilted to the side.. it made for an amusing image," her soulmate finished with a grin.

..she could get used to having that grin aimed at her.

"Although, I suppose I could have provided context before apologising out of seemingly nowhere," he continued, before letting out a sigh.

Damian ran his hand through his hair - something she'd wager was less a nervous gesture and more one of frustration. So rather than ask, she remained silent, giving him the time to find his words.

"I am sorry for not being here when this first started. I'm sorry because it was on purpose," he said, and Marinette pursed her lips - sure, she had expected it was, but it also wasn't nice to hear that your soulmate had gone out of their way not to meet you.

"..but most of all," he continued, voice sounding a mixture of frustration and sincerity that she was not unaffected by, "I'm sorry that I can't really tell you why I did it. I'm.. not good at sharing anything personal - I only told my brother minutes before going to sleep that first night. I.. want to, however," he finished, glaring at the floor.. before raising his head to lock eyes with her again.

"That being said - I can promise you that I won't do so again. I won't say I'll never miss an evening again, because my life can be.. chaotic, but if it's in my power, I'll be here. And once we know each other better - once we feel comfortable trusting the other more - I promise I will tell you," he finished.. and despite his words about not knowing the other well enough, she didn't doubt him for a moment.

She also knew she wouldn't be able to hold it against him.

Marinette hated liars - she always had.

Arguably one of the things she hated most about being Ladybug was the amount of lies she had to tell to keep her identity secret.

Which meant she couldn't hold this secret against Damian - not that she was really inclined to, but especially not now that he directly told her that he was keeping a secret, which was more than Marinette could say about her own secret.

A secret that was at least partially responsible for the end of her friendship with Alya.

Realising that her soulmate was staring at her with a hesitant look, she gave him a small smile.

"Then I suppose we just have to get to know each other better," she offered, happy to see her words managed to take him out of his somber mood.

"I suppose you are correct, Marinette.." he started, moving to sit as she took the seat opposite him - tea once again appearing on the table between them - and she hid a smile behind her hand at the momentary glare he shot the tea set.

"So," he started after pouring the both of them a cup, "what would you like to talk about first?"

Marinette opened her mouth to protest that he didn't have to just offer up information about himself, easily able to tell he wanted to make those first two days up to her, before pausing as she was struck by a curiosity about something he mentioned earlier - so she instead asked:

"So, you have a brother? I don't have any siblings myself, though I did sometimes wish.. are the two of you close?"

To her surprise, he froze with the cup of tea halfway raised to his mouth, suddenly staring at her in something approaching disbelief.

"Out of all the questions.." she heard him mumble.

"If you'd rather not talk about your family, that's perfectly underst—" she began, only to be cut off.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just.. Well, believe it or not, but I spoke to my sister just earlier today, and she was quite disappointed that I haven't told you about them yet - and coincidentally, it's the first thing you ask me!" he said, laughter clear in his tone.

'So he has a sister too..' she thought, 'so at least three kids - big family..'

"My family is a bit complicated, so pardon me if I just.. rush through the explanation?" he said in a questioning tone, and Marinette couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that.

'I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that he apparently grew up with his mother, yet now only lives with his father..?' she wondered, but didn't ask - remembering how Chloé's family situation had affected her.

If her soulmate wanted to tell her, he would.

"So - I am an only child," he started in an amused tone - and she was immediately struck by the incongruity between that statement, and his references to both a brother and a sister.

"..though I have three older brothers, an older sister, two soon-to-be sisters-in-law, and one.. well, I'm not really sure how to describe Stephanie, but she's practically family as well," he finished with a shrug, and a small smirk on his face that made it clear he knew exactly how confusing that statement was.

"..care to run that by me again?" she asked, sounding more confused than she was, yet hoping to lure another laugh out of her soulmate - who still seemed too tense in her opinion.

To her delight, it did - his laugh was a quiet, breathy sound - the kind of laugh you could tell surprised the one who made it as much as those who heard it.

Calming down, she grinned at the amused look he shot her, and made a get-on-with-it gesture to encourage him into explaining.

"Where to start.. I suppose, the beginning?" he murmured to himself, getting another snort out of her.

"I think starting at the beginning is usually how normal people would do it.. so maybe not the best idea in your case?" she teased, before letting out a giggle at the aggravated look he wore.

"My father was.. orphaned at a young age," he started, waving off her apologies before she could even make them, "but he grew up raised by Alfred - I've mentioned him before - anyway, when my father was in his twenties he witnessed something similar happen to my eldest brother, Dick Grayson. It reminded him of his own past, and so.."

"..and so he adopted him, didn't he?" Marinette spoke up, feeling like the puzzle pieces were starting to slot together. Or at least she did, until Damian let out a derisive snort.

"You'd think so, but no. My father is one of the most emotionally recalcitrant people I have ever met - and trust me, once you meet the rest of my family, you'll realise just how high of a bar that actually is," he said.

Marinette kind of missed the next few things he said, her mind caught on the casual way he brought up meeting his family.. and then imagining introducing him to her friends and family.

"..my father's ward from the age of 13 until he was 22 years old. Now my father didn't offer to adopt him initially, because he did not want Dick to feel like he was trying to replace his father - and my brother never asked to be adopted, because he worried my father did not care for him that much," Damian finished with a shake of his head, and Marinette could only stare at him in surprise.

Seeing her look, he gave her a half smile, before continuing:

"Oh, it gets worse - see, around.. maybe six-seven years after taking on Dick as his ward, my father was in a.. more dangerous part of the city, and when he returned to his vehicle, he found a teenager in the process of stealing the wheels off of said car.." he trailed off, and Marinette furrowed her brows at the mix of exasperation and something approaching pride that was in his tone.

"My father, starting what friends of our family would come to name his 'serial adoption' problem, decided that he would take this kid in as well.. which is how my second eldest brother, Jason Todd, came to join our family," he finished, and Marinette could only stare at her soulmate with open-mouthed surprise.

"Your father caught someone in the process of stealing the wheels off his car, and he just.. adopted him?" she asked, not quite sure she understood him correctly.

"Oh yes," Damian nodded, "and because Jason was much more.. blunt? Or honest, I suppose a more generous person would say, my father actually adopted him before he adopted Dick - it all turned out well in the end, since that actually pushed my father and Dick to really talk to each other, leading to my father officially adopting him when he was.. 22 years old, I believe?" he said, not sounding entirely certain.

"Oh wow.." Marinette muttered, not entirely certain what to say.. although Damian quickly moved on with his story.

"My last brother's name is Tim Drake - he was actually a neighbour, and he just.. started showing up at the manor after Jason was.." her soulmate trailed off, seeming to lose focus for a bit, before shaking his head and continuing, "Anyway. He just kept hanging around since his own parents were.. Well, they weren't physically abusive, but they were as absent as any parent could be without their child being an orphan. He became something of an honorary family member. He was also the reason Stephanie became part of our lives, but that's a whole other story. His parents actually passed away one after the other in a relatively short period, and while Tim mourned his parents despite hardly knowing them, my father officially adopted him perhaps a year after that.." he trailed off, going still.

Marinette could only stare in open-mouthed surprise.. before pursing her lips as a different thought struck her. She looked her soulmate over carefully, trying to see if he was hiding any negative feelings - something she was unfortunately very good at, considering the bane of her existence since she was thirteen tended to use those emotions to ruin her day.

Not seeing any - he simply seemed lost in thought - she nevertheless worried about crossing some unspoken line.. yet before she could work herself up to asking the question, Damian spoke up again.

"Stephanie.. as I've mentioned, she is technically not a sister - mostly in the sense that Father hasn't adopted her," he said, frowning a bit, before shrugging.

"To be honest none of us are sure why; we are all around 80% certain that Father did offer to adopt her, though I believe she declined.. this despite the fact that she technically has her own apartment while spending the vast majority of her time at the manor. I suppose it does not really matter as everyone considers her part of the family regardless.. though it is a slight mystery," he finished, narrowing his eyes in thought.

Marinette bit her lip to avoid laughing at the expression on her soulmate's face - despite his claim that it 'doesn't really matter' she could easily tell just how much it frustrated him to not know.

"So.. are you actually cool with it, or do you just say that to try and control that curiosity of yours..? I'm just asking because you do, in fact, seem to care quite a bit about it~?" Marinette teased - only to burst into laughter at the near-affronted look he shot her.

"No, the curiosity is just a.. character flaw, I suppose you'd say," he grumbled, turning away - pointedly remaining silent until her laughter faded away. Marinette knew she should probably apologise for teasing him.. but her soulmate looked adorable while he was pouting! She was only human.

Still, she was curious about the sister he had mentioned earlier, and so mimed zipping her lips at her soulmate.

He shot her a half-hearted glare, but continued his family-history anyway - which is exactly what she had wanted.

"Cassandra is both my only adoptive sister, as well as my favourite sibling overall," he said in complete seriousness, and Marinette couldn't help the scandalised cry of 'Damian!' that escaped her.

"What..?" he asked, blinking in genuine confusion about her outburst.

"You shouldn't have a favourite sibling, what would the others think..?" she asked, amused by his deer-in-the-headlights look.

He tilted his head a bit (reminding her of a curious puppy more than anything else), before widening his eyes and nodding solemnly.

"I see the confusion - it doesn't bother anyone, as Cass is everyone's favourite. Even Father took to her with even greater haste than was usual for him - she was adopted within a month of meeting all the rest," he said with a shrug, tone as unbothered as someone explaining the sky is blue.

She opened her mouth to say.. well, she wasn't sure what, but stopped anyway as he finally finished by saying:

"..and I eventually arrived at my father's home six months after that - surprised to learn that while I expected one family member, I instead had four.. and a half, counting Stephanie. So there you have it - my rather unorthodox family unit," he finished with a grin, though there was something a bit uncertain in his tone.

Something that made her think back to the earlier question she had almost asked before he started explaining the apparent sibling-but-not-really that he had.

"That must have been hard for you.." she said softly, deciding to simply ask first and apologise later if he felt she was crossing a line.

She wasn't sure how to interpret the way he froze - was he upset? Or simply caught off guard? Had she just ruined..—

"What.. what do you mean?" and she bit her lip at how tense he sounded.

"Just.. you mentioned that you only went to live with your father when you were ten years old, and on top of that he had adopted a bunch of kids..? At that age I can just imagine what you must have thought.." she trailed off hesitantly, worried about his reaction.

To her surprise, however, he actually seemed to relax at her explanation - and for a moment the part of her mind that helped her use her Miraculous Ladybug Item seemed to almost put something together.. before the thought slipped away.

"Ah.. well, yes - I will freely admit I did not.. react particularly well. On the contrary, the first time I met Dick, I outright attacked him with my sw- kendo stick," he said - and though his expression remained cool, she could see the tell-tale signs of a blush forming on his face.

..it looked adorable.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she said:

"Well.. I'm sure he doesn't hold it against you..? Although I am a bit surprised - I have a friend who went through something comparable, and she was much angrier at her mother than her sibling," and although she didn't outright ask why he wasn't more upset with his father, she could tell he understood the implicit question.

"Well, I couldn't really blame father as.. he only found out about my existence the day my mother dropped me off at his home, ready to move in for the foreseeable future?" he said with an awkward smile, and Marinette had to consciously bite her tongue to keep in all the questions that little reveal brought forth! Still, she could control herself, and based on her soulmate's expression, it clearly wasn't something he wanted to discuss at the moment.. so she went in a different direction.

"Is that why you turned your anger towards your siblings..?" she asked, and he let out an appreciative chuckle at her obvious attempt to avoid the previous reveal.

"I suppose to them it must have appeared to be sincere aggression.. but remember, I was just a child, and I was jealous - not only did these strangers know my father better than I, but to the individual they all had something that irked me beyond belief!" he exclaimed, still sounding more amused than serious.

"..and what exactly would that be?" her curiosity prompted her to ask.

"All my adoptive siblings - Dick, Jason, Tim, and Cassandra all had..—" he started, turning towards her - before he suddenly froze as his eyes met hers.

Suddenly tilting his head and leaning forward to stare at her intently, Marinette felt herself flush at the full force of his attention.. and the way his eyes seemed to be flickering all over her face.

It was reminiscent of the previous evening when they had first seen the other's face.. but somehow much more intense.

"Damian..?" she hesitantly said, not sure how long she would remain calm as her soulmate seemed intent on memorising every contour of her face.

"By the Pit," he said, and Marinette was just as surprised by the odd turn of phrase as she was the mildly panicked tone he said it in, "I can never let you meet my father.."

Marinette could only stare at her soulmate.


As an author writing fanfiction I am morally, ethically, diabolically, and technically obligated to include at least one cliffhanger per story. Whoops? Personally, I don't feel like this is the best chapter I've written - I think it might be a bit disjointed, due to me having to write it piecemeal over several weeks? Damian's family history also took up a large part.. but c'mon, they are not the easiest family unit to explain!

Let me know what you think - your reviews help me adapt parts of the story I'm still not certain on, and fix what needs to be fixed! Next chapter is a follow up to this one, still in their mindscape.. should also be the one where Marinette brings up Damian's gift!