She's Sunshine, She's Grace, She'll Punch You in the Face

Chapter 8: Meeting Damian Wayne

"Good to see you back, Marinette." Dick said just as Bruce walked out of sight. "I was just telling the rest of your class here that today I have a shadow." He pointed to a handsome young man to the left of him.

Marinette's bluebell eyes locked onto his emerald green. She couldn't help but to remember the feeling she once had in the rain on the front steps of her school a long time ago, only this time much more intense. She noticed his hard features begin to soften the longer they stared. His midnight back hair was perfectly groomed and his long-sleeved button up shirt seemed to accentuate his every muscle.

Remembering where she was and what she was doing, she breaks out of her trance to smile at him before snapping her eyes to her shoes. Chloe watches her best friend closely before smiling to herself.

Dick notices this interaction and saves this information for later. "This here is my younger brother, Damian. He will be joining the company soon so he is here to observe and learn. If you want, you can just pretend he's not here. I do." He jokes as Damian walks to the back of the class and scoffs. "Let's begin where we left off yesterday."
-----------------------
As the tour continues, Chloe slowly drags Marinette to the back of the group and whispers "Thank me later." with a wink before saying in a louder voice "Hey, Alix! Wait up. I have to tell you something." As she runs off ahead of her.

Marinette is confused for a moment before realizing that Chloe just left her standing right next to Dick's brother, Damian. 'What am I supposed to do now?' she thinks to herself in a panic. 'Why would Chloe do this to me? She knows how awkward I can be around cute boys.' She takes a few deep breaths before turning to face him.

"Hi, I'm..."

"Hey, I..." They both speak at the same time.

"Sorry." Marinette laughs at their awkwardness while Damian gives her a sideways smile. "You go first."

"I was just going to introduce myself." He sticks his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Damian."

She timidly takes his hand to shake and she can't help but notice how calloused they are. "I know. Your brother told us." She gives him a warm smile. "I'm Marinette. It's nice to meet you."

"So, how are you liking the tour so far? Has Grayson been boring you to death?" He jokes.

"You mean Dick?" Damian rolled his eyes before nodding. "I've actually very much enjoyed it. Dick seems to know how to make even the most boring part of Wayne Inc. even a little bit interesting."

"Yes." Damian sighs. "I've been told that people think Grayson is very charismatic. I just find him annoying."

Marinette giggles. "That's just because he's your brother. You are supposed to think that. Or at least that's what I am told. I don't have any siblings."

"You're lucky then. They are no fun at all, trust me. I have way too many of them."

"I guess people just want what they don't have. I know you would miss them if they where gone." She smiles up at him.

"I think you underestimate my distaste for them." He smiles back.

"You're funny, Damian. So, what do you do for fun? You know, besides bad mouthing your brother?"

"Hmm..." He thinks about it for a moment. "I like to spend time with my pets." Marinette nods in encouragement. "Also, in my free time I do like to paint."

Marinette lights up at that statement. "That's awesome! What do you like to paint?"

"Mainly realism. I paint what I see in front of me, like landscapes and portraits of my cat."

"I would love to see it. I draw a little too, but only to remember my ideas." She pulls out her sketch book. "I make clothes. These are some of my designs." She opens to a random page and hands the book to Damian.

He flips through a few pages then looks over at the young girl. "You drew these?" She nods. "This is very detailed. And you actually made some these?"

"I did. I think on the fourth or fifth page you will see a leather jacket. Let's see if you can spot it."

Damian flips back to the fourth page and sees a red leather jacket with white detailing. Looking around the room, he catches sight of the same jacket on a tall, athletic Asian boy with a group of her friends. "Him?" He points to the boy. "You hand made that? That's impeccable quality."

Her face goes red before sheepishly nodding. "Yeah, but its faux leather. I'm not a huge fan of working with the real stuff." She shrugs.

"Glad to hear it, Angel. I have a cow at home and I think he would be a little angry with you if you did."

Marinette stopped right in her tracks. 'Angel?' If she was blushing before, now her entire body was red from head to toe. 'Marinette.exe has stopped working.'
"Hey, are you okay?" Damian asked.

"You called me Angel." She whispered.

"It seemed fitting. Do you not want me to call you that?" He looked worried.

"No... No, it's fine." She started to walk again. "I just wasn't prepared for it is all." She smiled back at him. "So, you have a cat and a cow, huh?"

"And a dog." He let out a breath he was holding, relieved he didn't offend her. "I even feed a few stray ducks around my house."

"So, you're an animal lover." Marinette looks excitedly at him. "I've always wanted a pet but I live in a bakery. My parents never let me have any because it's against health code or something."

Damian was just about to respond when his train of thought was cut off by a couple of teenage girls laughing a few feet in front of him.

"Yeah, Bruce is such a jokester." Lila said in an overly cheerful voice. "Of course, he actually knows me. He just has to keep it professional while at work."

"Oh, that makes sense Lila." Alya replied. "So, you think I can still get that interview with him?"

"Not sure. I still have to ask him. I'm going on a date with my Damiboo tonight. I'll ask him afterwards." She batted her eyes at her friends.

"You don't actually believe her, do you?" Marinette seemed nervous for his answer. "That she is dating Damian Wayne?"

"No. She's clearly an idiot though. I would never go on a date with a two-faced harlot like her."

Marinette was confused for a moment before gasping. "You're Damian Wayne?" She whispered. "Ha!" The bluenette snorted. "This is gold. Now she is lying about the person with the person in the same room as her and she doesn't even know it."

"You aren't freaked out to know who I really am?"

"No." She looked at him confused, "Why would I?"

"Most people act differently around me when they find out who I am. Like they are scared of me, which I'm okay with, or they want something from me."

"I have a friend that has to deal with something similar and all he ever wants is to be treated like a normal person. When I first found out who he was, I even treated him differently. Now I realize that people are just people. Heroes are people. Villains are people. And yes, the sons of billionaires are just people." She gives him her signature Marinette smile.

He stares at her with amazement for a while before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "You know, you're kind of amazing, Angel." He watches her blush. 'I could get used to that look' he thinks.

"Alright." Dick claps his hands to get everyone's attention. "It's lunchtime. Same rules as yesterday. Let's just hope luck is on our side today and no villains crash our party." He winks at his adopted brother.