Archive of Our Own ^beta

Damian Wayne is the respected son of the one and only Bruce Wayne. Referred to by all as Gotham’s Ice Prince, he lives up to his nickname sake by ignoring all who get in his way or even breathe wrong around him. There’s not a single soul in the entire city of Gotham who does not know of his character (?) and all of them avoid getting on his bad side.

So, imagine how much of a surprise when it was revealed that he and Marinette “Sunshine” DuPain-Cheng were in a long relationship. And by all means, it seemed to have been that way for long before it was revealed by one Vicky Vale.

No one knows how it happened and can't even begin to fathom who took the first step, both of them with such contrasting personalities that no one would think they’d ever even look in the other’s direction.

But it happened, and they seemed genuinely happy - some would even say Damian looked in love if they didn't fear having their tongues cut for claiming such blasphemy. What no one knew, however, was that Damian would proudly announce to the world his infatuation with the young designer for it was the one thing that the public would talk about that was true.

Their relationship came as a slow burn with little coffee shop and corner bookstore coincidental meetups that eventually became a regular part of their routine sometimes they’d talk about various topics ranging from academics - him about his marketing and her about her design, with both bonding even more over the shared business management part of their degree.

Sometimes they’d sit in companionable silence and just do their thing, be it drawing, designing, or studying, ever so often asking for the other’s opinion on a matter before being covered by the quiet blanket again.

Eventually, Marinette took the deciding step in their relationship and asked Damian for a date, being also the first one to propose going out. Neither expected Damian to take “she fell first, but he fell harder” literally and being so smitten with her, always being by her and supporting her through and through. She could make the most ridiculous of requests and he’d bend over just to make her happy.

Little by little, their bond grew stronger and stronger, and with communication being such a big deal for the both of them, there was little that could faze or even shake them.

Once, they were having a movie night date because the storm announced to take over Gotham for the next couple of days and Damian seemed stiffer than usual. 

With his “stoic, don’t touch me” act, he tended to be stiff in public or around people he didn't truly trust, but that was never a thing around Marinette. He didn't become a cuddly person per se, but he was definitely more accepting of certain shows of physical affection with her than with other people - his family included.

(After a while of dating, Marinette managed to catch on to his habits and reactions and was able to match them with proper responses that wouldn't offend her boyfriend. She understood that Damian, like everyone else, had baggage and boundaries and she was more than willing to respect everything that came with dating Damian Wayne.)

So, imagine her surprise when he didn’t seem to be fully comfortable on their shared couch, but when she tried moving away, thinking he needed space, he didn’t budge, if anything, he seemed to pull her closer to him.

She decided to drop the thought, maybe he just had too much on his mind and couldn’t fully relax.  But, turned out, it wasn't a one-time thing. No, it happened a couple more times before Marinette caught on to what was bothering her boyfriend. The only thing in common on all those occasions was a raging storm outside. Of course, he could still be troubled by his own thoughts, but he learned with her that there were better ways to deal with his troubles than shoving them in a box to never be touched again like his father and b r others so there was little that Damian didn't share with Marinette when it came to his struggles.

Once Marinette caught on to the storm factor, she started planning. Whenever a storm was announced on a date that coincided with their date nights, she’d pull out the warmest and thickest blankets, not for the heat, but for comfort.

She’d prepare a kettle of hot water and some of his favorite teas along with some mini pound cakes that she’d make especially for him.

If he ever caught on to her actions, he never said anything. But there was a considerable difference in the way he acted on stormy nights. The hugs were still tighter than usual, but he seemed calmer and more relaxed, as if at peace with the raging sounds outside the windows.

Marinette finally learned of the full extent of Damian’s aversion, she decided to deem it a fear, because there was no way his reactions were anything but. And there was one person and one person only that she’d place the full blame on, and that was his own mother, Tahlia AlGhul.

One night, when the worst storm in decades was passing by Gotham, Marinette decided to sleep over as comfortable company for Damian, doubting any of his family (other than Alfred, he knew everything) knew of his aversion to the weather. That night was the worst Marinette had ever seen Damian act. It came to a point when she had to address it.

“Damian, I've seen how you act whenever there’s a storm, I understand that you’re… uncomfortable with them, but this is worse than any other storm that has hit Gotham since I moved here, and I can clearly see how it's affecting you, and I need you to tell me what to do in order to be able to help you!”

Damian didn’t utter a word, but he took her extended hand and hugged her tightly to himself. He kept murmuring in Arabic, but her small understanding of the language was not enough to keep up with him. Only catching apologies, pleads, and  “I won't..”. It was when he said “Mother” that broke her out of it and she finally started putting the pieces together.

At some point in their relationship, they revealed their hero personas to each other to avoid misunderstandings, and, shortly after, Damian confided in her about his past as the heir to the League of Assassins and his extensive training to match his position.

He mentioned all sorts of training and tests he’d been submitted to from a very early age.

Some of them bordered on inhumane, and Marinette decided early on that she hated the League, not only as enemies of the Order of Guardians but also as the people who put Damian through so much suffering early on. Even more than the League, she hated his mother for not only allowing this to keep going but also being the one to choose most of them. Regardless of how strong she wanted her son to become, the way she acted and made choices when it came to his safety and teachings, were not those one would expect of a mother.

Damian would talk about how she also had her issues on the League that were only solved with his birth and training methods, and how she’d sometimes embrace him and comfort him, but to Marinette, those sounded like excuses and the moments were very few and too far from each other to actually count.

That's also how she learned to understand his reluctance towards physical touch and displays of affection, public and private alike.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette finally calmed herself down enough to be more present for her boyfriend, and right as he began talking.

“Remember when I talked about how there were several tests through the years that verified if I was indeed keeping up with the expectations set for me.”

“Hmm”

“One of them when I was around 5, was about verifying my resistance, and survival and memorization skills”

Marinette could already tell she didn't like this.

“We went as a group for a hunting expedition in the mountains during high winter where we’d sleep the night and return at dawn the next day. We set down at a clearing and had people standing guard during the night while the rest slept.”

“Did you have to stand guard as well?”

“No.”

“...” she tried feeling relief from that, but she knew that whatever was coming was worse than having a 5-year-old stand guard for grown people in the terrible conditions that happened in Nanda Parbat during winter.

“They left me.”

“What?”

“They drugged my meal and abandoned me during the night. I was left with only the clothes and weapons I had on me and a bag with a water flask and the prepped meals.”

“Damian…”

“It was to see if I had been indeed studying the maps surrounding our location, along with resistance to the weather and survival skills to fend and feed myself. The passing factor was how many days it’d take me to get back to the base.”

He took a deep breath, tightening his hold on her even more.

“There was a terrible storm during that winter. The snow piled up in heaps and the rain was freezing. They didn't even leave me a sleeping bag.”

Marinette was frozen and speechless. She couldn't formulate words no matter how much she begged her voice to allow her to say even the smallest words. She couldn’t fathom how terrifying and certainly traumatising such an experience was and decided to just tighten the hold she had on him. She tried everything she could to let him know that she was there for him even if the words refused to come out.

“It took me a week to return, and apparently that was not enough since I was punished for the delay. After that, they’d take me back every year to test, always changing locations and bases so I wouldn't cheat by memorising my way out.”

“Punished? For taking a week to survive in the wild as a 5yo??”

“Yes, Malak. The punishments started light with no meals for certain periods of time, to intensive training with people of a higher level of skill and, also…”

“Damian? You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to, you know that right?”

“I know, but I also know how much you’ve dedicated yourself to helping me with storms and I feel like the least I could do is help you understand the reason”

“As long as you don't push yourself..”

Marinette held his hand and brought it to her lips, lightly kissing the back of it.

“Sometimes they used corporeal abuse as a form of punishment for taking too long to return..”

Marinette was starting to feel sick. There was nothing she could do for her boyfriend other than hold him and show him her support. The past had already happened and, even if she did have the power of the time miraculous, she couldn’t go back and fix it so that he wouldn’t have to heal with such traumatic incidents.

“I am so sorry you had to go through all that mon coeur”

“Don't be. You're not the one who needs to apologize. And half of the people who made me go through it are dead, either by my hands, my family, or others.”

“Is that enough to give you closure on their actions and the ways you were treated?”

“No, it isn't. But I have you by my side now and that's all I’ll ever need. I won't bother letting them fill my mind when I can keep my thoughts focused on you. On us.”

Marinette decided she agreed with his words. As much as she hated Talia and the League and wished for their demise, she also wished the best for Damian at all times and this was one of those times. So she got up, grabbed two mugs for the serving cart, and started preparing one of the few sweets that Damian allowed himself to have: hot chocolate (recipe courtesy of Alfred of course). Setting back on the bed, Marinette propped herself against the headboard, ready to continue cuddling and watching the Barbie movie they’d selected for the session.