Devastating

Chapter 29

"I don't know, I just never thought people would like me like that. I grew up surrounded by the same people, I couldn't imagine any of my childhood friends liking me in a romantic way. It never really crossed my mind until Lycee."

"What happened in Lycee?"

"I got a crush on a boy, he saw me as a friend and I never confessed. Honestly, I think I dodged a bullet. They changed a lot. But now here we are, so I can't say I regret much." Marinette said making Damian cough slightly trying to hide his blush, she laughed. He pulled into a parking space and killed the engine.

"You know, I just realized that you could drive. I never learned, when did you?" Marinette asked as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"I was a capable driver by the age of five, though that was with my mother. I didn't really know it was against the law, she saw it as perfectly normal." Marinette laughed at the thought of a five-year-old grumpy Damian driving a car.

"What's so funny?"

"You, tiny, grumpy, and scowling, driving a car." She laughed again, he would need something to reach the petals.

"tt, I was more than capable." Damian defended before exiting the car and opening the door for Marinette.

"Merci, Damiboo." Marinette said before breaking into a fit of giggles.

"What?" He'd never heard such an awful nickname, of course, it sounded good when she said it. But there was no way in hell he would let his brothers near Marinette if she insisted on calling him that, he'd never hear the end of it.

"What's so funny?" Damian asked for a second time.

"D-damiboo!" She broke into another fit of giggles he rolled his eyes and waited for her to finish so she could explain.

"One of my classmates, Lila, remember the one that said she was your girlfriend? Anyways she calls you 'Damiboo'. It's hilarious, there's no way you would actually let someone call you that!"

"You can call me anything you want, Angel."

"Boyfriend?" She stated simply and he flushed to the point that she was worried about his health.

"Relax, Damian. I was only teasing." Marinette tried to snap him out of it but her eyes couldn't hide her disappointment. Damn it, how did she not see that all he wanted was that title? The honor of being her boyfriend, it seemed unreal.

"Well, I had planned to ask you later on but now's as good a time as any." Marinette looked up from begging the ground to swallow her, she looked confused.

"Marinette, would you give me the honor of courting you? I-in more modern terms, Would you allow me the privilege of being your boyfriend?" Marinette's eyes went wide and shined with happiness, her face flushed a brilliant scarlet, she smiled brightly. And then she attacked him with a hug.

"Of course, Mon Étoile." She said still hugging him tightly, she pulled back still blushing but radiating happiness and excitement. Damian, of course, didn't miss a beat immediately hugged back, offering his hand as he guided her into the restaurant to enjoy his date with his girlfriend.

They were kindly seated in one of the more private tables surrounded on one side by the beautiful potted plants and the other the back wall of the restaurant. Their seating was private but not claustrophobic.

They quietly looked at the menu, Damian read over the diner options but he could apparently multitask because as he went over the food options his mind was racing a mile a minute.

'She said yes. She said yes. She said yes. She said yes. She said yes. She said yes. She said yes. The eggplant here isn't the best. Wait, what now? Okay, new plan. Perhaps the mushroom ravioli? A new plan... what would be a good thing to do right now? ARCADE! Le Chien mentioned it, but so did Marinette- they went earlier that day. She said yes. She said yes. She said yes. Okay, no arcade, movies are too predictable, walk the fashion district? Maybe? but it's so far and there could be a robbery, that would not help. It isn't like I can still walk her down the pier, wait. I could do that. A relaxing walk down the pier, if the vendors are still there we could get a dessert. He'd just have to be careful with where they walk but he already had the route planned. The vegetable wrap sounds good, Selina had it once and seemed to enjoy it. So stick to the plan, perhaps a kiss, she's probably expecting one. We've kissed before, it would make sense to do so after a date. Perhaps where the carnival used to be? The moon should be more than visible by the sea. She'd look wonderful illuminated by the moonlight, the breeze in her hair... So the vegetable wrap, no onions since they might be raw and a walk on the pier. Perfect.
Oh My God.
She said yes.'

"What are you thinking of getting, Jamila?" Damian asked, his mind more at ease now that he had a plan.

"Probably the veggie wrap, it seems good. Have you had it before?"

"No, Selina has and seemed to enjoy it. I was thinking of getting the same thing." The waiter soon came and they ordered both asking for the vegetable wrap with no onions and a glass of water or in Marinette's case a lemonade. Their drinks were brought first and he watched as Marinette took a sip of her sugary drink.

"I don't see how you could drink something so full of sugar."

"You do realize that three macrons have almost the same amount of sugar right?" Damian's eyes widened slightly, he didn't understand how such little desserts could have so much sugar, but based on his research, after noticing how much Grayson drank (definitely not because he was worried about him), some lemonade recipes have a sixth of a cup of sugar for a single glass.

"Macarons are meringue-based desserts, meringue is a mixture of egg whites and... sugar." Marinette explained as if she were talking to a two-year-old. Damian rolled his eyes at her antics.

Their food arrived shortly after, luckily there weren't many guests when they arrived , the other patrons arrived shortly after so no one had taken notice of the, now, couple. They ate, the occasional comment or question coming up, Marinette had just finished animatedly describing why she loved Jagged Stone so much and how his outrageous attitude is an important part of his message.

She eloquently ended her argument by saying:

"He helps those who aren't exactly normal feel more accepted because if Jagged can run around in a sequined jacket with a crocodile then they can paint their nails black or dye their hair or whatever they wanted to do. He leads by example and gives people permission to say they don't need other people's approval and pushes them to be who they are." Damian was impressed by the amount of thought she put into her answer and had to promise to play a few of his songs in the car.

The waiter soon came for their plates and Marinette asked for the check, trying to fulfill her promise of paying next time but when they ordered, Damian managed to write a note without her looking and put it into the waiter's pocket with more than enough money, the note read, "For the check, keep the change as a tip. Thank you."

Marinette saw how the waiter was amused by the situation when they said it had been paid. Marinette looked angrily at the boy in front of her, she clearly didn't know how but he somehow paid before her.

They left, Damian guiding her with his right hand on the small of her back, he asked the moment the door closed behind them.

"I hope it was alright that I placed my hand on your back, if not I apologize."

"You need to relax, Mon Étoile. You don't have to ask for silly things like holding my hand or walking me out with your hand on my back. I let you, and since we're t-together, " She said it blushing furiously, "I think that should b-be enough in terms of consent." She made a good point,

"Alright, that makes sense. Though we do have something else to discuss." Damian said as he opened the door for Marinette,

"What would that be?" Marinette asked, curious. Damian cleared his throat as he entered the car and buckled his seat belt.

"Public displays of affection." Damian stated trying to stop his traitorous body from blushing. He started the car. He refused to meet Marinette's eyes, staring at the road ahead of him.

"W-well I wouldn't want to u-um hold on, I need to h what's the word?! Oh yes, do anything too intimate like uh hold on, the kissing that lasts a long time, I forgot what it's called in English." Damian blushed,

"I know what you mean, and I agree."

"Subtle is always good though." Marinette added.

"I can do subtle." Damian said with a slight smirk as he took his right hand off the wheel and took Marinette's hand before bringing it up and kissing it gently. Marinette blushed again, Damian doubted that he would ever get used to how beautiful she looks when flustered.

Damian released her hand for a moment to play the Jagged Stone album Grayson insisted on adding into his car's memory. They listened to Jagged Stone holding hands as they made their way toward the ocean.