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When Love Finds Its Way To Your Heart

Summary:

When Talia Al Ghul decided she needed a heir rapidly, she forged a plan.
Her mission was simple; find a way for Damian to have a child.

The leader of the League of Assassins, found the perfect mother for her grandson, in Paris: Ladybug.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text

The sounds of the woman’s footsteps were the only sound in the League of Assassin’s fortress. Talia had been pacing for the last hour, trying to find a solution to her biggest problem: the League didn’t have an heir. All the assassins were silent, having Lady Talia in that mood never ended well, they all knew to stay away and do their chores as fast as possible to avoid her wrath.

She was not getting younger and she, has the leader, had to train, to make sure the future ruler would be great. She had almost succeed with Damian, but the young man had made it clear to her that he wasn’t coming back. She couldn’t just clone him, like with Heretic, and she wouldn’t be able to find a decent man, other than Bruce, at her age.

The leader of the League had to find a way to made sure the Al Ghul blood would be the one succeeding her in the future, and she wanted it to be hers, not Nyssa, so she had to be quick. She was waiting for the best scientist they could find, and she what were her last options, hoping he would have something.

At the same moment, two guards escorted a middle-aged man in the throne room. They stopped in front of Talia, who sat in said throne and left the scientist alone with her. He stayed silent, not knowing what to do or where he was.

“I’ll go right to the point. I need you to find a way, for me to have a heir, with my bloodline.”

“I am sorry, Miss, but I’m not sure I understand what you want from me…” he was trying his best not to let his fear be visible to the woman in front of him. With all the weapons and the aggressivity he witnessed from his kidnappers, he knew his life was on the line and he couldn’t afford it.

“Doctor, I had a child nineteen years ago, but he decided not to be part of our organization. I tried to create a clone of him, to train and take my place, but my son’s father made sure he wouldn’t survive.

“Now I not getting younger, and I need to have an heir and to prepare him to lead and be the best. You are going to find a way to create that being. They must be male, have strong genes and be created at least from the same bloodline has myself or my son. Do I make myself clear?” she was now a couple of inches in front of him. The Doctor could only nod, not trusting his voice, because of how scared he was.

“Great! Now, you will be shown the laboratory and your room, from the next couple of months. I want ideas by the end of the week, so we can start working on it,” she said leaving the room, letting the guards enter to escort him to a gigantic room, with the newest and finest medical and biological technology.

By the end of the month, the cards were played, and they were ready to create the heir of the League of Assassins. They only needed the last compound: a mother and a father.

Chapter 2: Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Damian dropped his computer bag on the desk and fell on the bed. The flight from Gotham to Paris had been a nightmare for him. Even if he was in first class, a couple was up grated, with their newborn and this baby had cried five hours.

The silence in the room was the best thing for him at the moment, that was until his cell phone started to ring. Seeing it was his brother, he ignored it, but by the fifth call he knew that Tim wouldn’t stop until he spoke to him.

“Hey Damian! How was your flight?” asked the co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises.

“The worst. What do you want Drake?”

“Ok, so I sent you all the information about the customer you are meeting tomorrow and a background check. I believe it would be best if we don’t offer a permanent contract and give them the impression they have an out.”

“I know how to do my job Drake. I’ll look at the documents you sent and meet the client. Now I’m going to sleep,” he didn’t wait for an answer and hung up.

Damian didn’t even bother to change, only closing the lights and taking off his shoes, before going straight to bed.

The next morning came and the young man got ready for his day. His meeting was only in the evening in the hotel’s restaurant, so he had all day to study the client’s business and plan his proposition. He when for a run around la Seine and stopped at a small bakery to get breakfast. That’s when he met the last person he wanted to see.

“Dear son! It is nice to meet you in Paris! What are you doing here?”

“Mother, what do you want?”

“Nothing son, I was only on a little vacation, and I heard this bakery was the best in Paris and I had to pass by,” but the tone she used was one Damian knew too well. His mother always had plans and they were never meant to be good news.

“Damian let’s grab a coffee, so we can catch up. It’s been three years, since the last time I saw you,” she ordered to cups and some pastries. Sabine, behind the counter smiled and when to prepare the order.

Talia and Damian sat a small table, the latter on his guard. The conversation was light, and the mother took her time and seemed really interested in her son’s newest projects and his new role in his father’s company. After an hour together, the young man left his mother with a weird feeling, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

He pushed it away, deciding to concentrate on the meeting he had later that day. He showered and dressed up, before getting to work and by the number of emails his brother had sent, he was in for long hours of planning. Even having finish his business degree, he had to work under his father and Tim, until Bruce decides to step down and leave his seat on the board to Damian.

It was the best way for the youngest Wayne to learn, in Bruce’s opinion and not wanting to step on his father’s legacy, Damian had worked in every department and passed time learning every position in the company. It was for him to know and be aware of the workload of the employees.

Now after two years, he was finally sent on this trip to seal a partnership with this French company. It was his chance to prove himself to his father and the board of Wayne Enterprises and he wasn’t going to stop until he succeeded.

Chapter 3: Chapter 2

Notes:

Hi guys,

Sorry, to all of you who've been waiting on news chapters from all my ongoing fanfics.
I'm now officially on vacation and more chapters are already done.

Working for a school board definitly pauses your life twice a year. In my department: end and start of school year, which both go from March to July and August to October...
So making up for this long time since I last posted, you'll get multiple chapters update really soon, for all my fics

JK

Chapter Text

Marinette woke up at the sound of the kwamis playing tag in her bedroom. She took her pillow and shoved it on her head, hoping to block the sound, but she only made Plagg laugh harder. It was good to know all the small gods were living in the apartment, and having Alix and Alya has roommates, you could probably count Nino as well, with all the time he spent at their place, made it possible for them to be free.
She had two years left of university, before she could start working full time on building her company and designing. It was also a relief for her not to have to worried about the akumas and Monarch anymore.
A year before, with the help of her team, Ladybug had defeated Monarch, after getting back each Miraculous, one by one, they had done it. She was happy and they all had an identity reveal, to her amusement, until they found out who was Chat Noir.
When Adrien had dropped his transformation, the silence and the tension in the room had been hard on everyone, but mostly on the original duo. The two superheroes had talked about seeing each other outside the mask, once their war with Paris’ supervillain was over, but the knowledge had stopped Ladybug from revealing her own identity. The team mostly understood, but with Chat Noir it was another story, their relationship only went down hills afterwards.
It didn’t take long, even with the help of his friends, for Adrien to start rebelling and do everything he thought his father would have dislike. He rapidly enrolled in university, only to skip all his classes and party every night, waking up each morning, with a new girl in his bed. Marinette, Nino and Alya had tried to make him stop and to help him, but nothing could heal the betrayal and the anger he felt against Gabriel and Ladybug. The model’s reputation was now all over the medias, he had pass from the lovely teenager to the sexy and desirable young adult and now her was the Playboy of Paris, but he didn’t care, he was enjoying himself and it was the only he wanted.
Marinette eventually woke up and got ready, today she had to go to the bakery to help her parents, she did so twice a week. It allowed her to have go times and keep herself busy, not that she really needed it. After graduation, two years ago, she had bought a small studio near the bakery, where she worked on the creation of her designs, she had help for her friend to set everything up at the time. Alya and Max had even worked on her website and were the ones keeping track of the technological site of the business. Chloe, Juleka and Kim were her main models, with the participation of all her friends when she created pieces for them, Nino being her photograph. Sabrina and her mother had helped with the accounting par of the studio, showing her how to work her incomes and her outcomes, they were really a big help.
She was excited to finish school and to be able to work full time on her projects. Audrey had even decided to mentor her. She was keeping her distance to let her thrive on her own, but once a month they would have a ‘Mentoring Day’, which Marinette loved.
Alix, Nino and Alya were helping with the superhero responsibilities she had, and they had come up with a patrolling schedule. Keeping the team ready for action, reassuring the citizens and assuring the protection of Paris was the main reasons, the Miraculous hadn’t disappear when Monarch had. Only now Lady Noire and Ladybug exchange their nights out, making sure to keep the balance of the two Miraculous. Plagg’s ring now on Marinette at all times, since she took it from Adrien, when his behavior became dangerous for the kwami, its holder and the others.
After feeding the 19 gods in her care, the guardian made her way to Tom and Sabine boulangerie patisserie, to work. Today she was making the cake order for Mylene and Ivan’s engagement party at Le Grand Paris, the same night. She was really excited to see her friends and to celebrate the love of the couple, she had help on her first-time being Ladybug brought her great joy and hope in love.

Chapter 4: Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Marinette looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, she was wearing a new dress she had made a couple of weeks ago, a small black off shoulders skater dress. At the bottom of the skirt, you could see red ladybugs, some flying and some resting, small and big ones. She had put her hair in a long braid and finished her normal and natural makeup with a bright red lipstick. Of course, even after Alya and Chloe had tried to convince her to wear high heels, she opted for her black flats. Plagg and Tikki joining her in her purse, with their snacks of course.
She really felt good in this dress, almost has if she was fearless and courageous Ladybug tonight, not the shy and clumsy Marinette. She could rule the world of she wanted, but not tonight, this party was for her friends, and she would make sure Mylene and Ivan shinned this evening.
Nino picked up the three girls at the apartment so they could make it to the hotel. The last floor had been decorated by Chloe and Sabrina, with the help of Juleka and Rose, it was beautiful. They didn’t when overboard this time, knowing the couple was simple and liked it better when events were organized with the environment in mind. So, a couple of balloon, streamer and flowers made the job, Alya’s mother had helped with the buffet and Marinette’s parents had make pastries to go with the cake the designer at baked earlier. Nino oversaw the music, and Max and Alix had the sound and lights system in place for the party.
The whole Akuma class was present, including Miss Bustier and some other friends and family members. Even Adrien had made it, to the surprise of all, but he got drunk pretty fast and they had to call his bodyguard, who was waiting in the parking area of the hotel, to get the model home. Other than that incident, the evening was perfect!
Around eleven, Marinette stepped out of the room to breathe a little. She went to the bathroom to freshen up when everything went black.

* * *

His day wasn’t going as well as he hoped.
First his mother, next was the jacket of his suit that got stock in his door, has he was about step out to meet his client. Lucky for him, Alfred had made sure he brought two, so he changed quickly and make it just in time for his appointment.
The meeting in itself went well and both parties were pleased by the business offers put on the table. Dinner was really good, and Damian was surprised by the vegetarian choices on the menu. At the end of the meal, the young man shook hands with his client and waited for the addition, that’s when someone bumped into his table and his glass of water felt on him, wetting his pants. Frustrated he paid and when straight to his room, he just wanted to go to bed and have this day over as soon as possible.
Exiting the escalator, he sighed finally he could have some peace and quiet for the next two days, before going back to Gotham. Taking his key card out of his jacket’s inside pocket, he unlocked the door, but never made it inside.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, the last he could remember was unlocking his hotel room door. Now he was in bed, and he didn’t understand. His phone rang and without looking at his caller ID answered.
“Hello?”
“Damian! Thank God! Where are you? What’s going on?” Dick’s voice was frantic, and it only confused his brother even more.
“Woah, slow down Grayson. What are you talking about, I’m still in Paris. I was just sleeping.”
“Damian… We’ve been trying to reach you for two days, you never showed up at the airport this morning for you flight. Not to mention, we lost you trackers the same night you were meeting with the new client. We were worried sick, Bruce was about to call Clark, to have Jon or Connor check on you,” the answer his older brother gave him, was not the one he was expecting.
He looked at his phone to see, the two hundred unread messages, fifty missed calls and the notifications for his flight. Two days, he had slept two days and he didn’t remember anything. What was going on?

* * *

She could feel her heart pulsing in her head. The lights in the room were too bright and the only noise being the beep, once in a while told her she was not home. When she finally decided to open her eyes, she didn’t recognize the room right away. She saw Nino sitting on a couch near her bed and Alya sleeping, her head on his laps.
When the young man lifted his eyes from his phone, he smiled at her and shook his girlfriend slowly to wake her up. Alya was about to scold him when she saw Marinette and ran to hug her.
“Girl, what happened? You scared us to death! Are you okay?” she received a small nod, and she helped her best friend to sit in the bed.
“I’m find Als, just a headache. Why am I in the hospital?” she was confused, but not as much as her friends, who looked at each other, before the young journalist took her hand and sat next to her in the bed, facing her.
“Mari, the night of the engagement party, you left, and we looked for you everywhere, only to find you unconscious in a bathroom… You’ve been out for two days, girl,” shocked the designer didn’t know what to do, she didn’t remembered anything.

Chapter 5: Chapter 4

Chapter Text

3 weeks later
“Rena, Carapace you take North and West, Bunnyx you’re doing South and I’ll e patrolling the East. Meet back at the Eiffel Tower in two hours and we stay in touch if anything happens,” the three heroes nodded to their leader’s directions and went out the patio door, after making sure no one could see them.
It was a beautiful night, and it wasn’t too cold either, despite being at the start of November. Ladybug was swinging around the roof tops looking out for anything suspicious or out of place. She waved at Manon and Nadja, when she saw them leaving the park to go home, making the girl really happy. She smiled at the memory of a younger girl running in the bakery with her dolls.
The evening went without any major incidents: she helped a kid get back home, got a cat down from a tree and bandaged a teen’s broken leg and brought him to the hospital. When the time to meet her friends, she called them before making her way to the meeting spot. But it didn’t take five minutes, before she felt a presence following her and she stopped to see who or what it was.
She was startle by the individual who jumped out of the shadows, sword in hand charging at her, dressed in a black tunic and with their mouth and nose hidden by a mask, she wasn’t able to recognize the person in front of her. Ladybug grabbed her yoyo and tried to stop the blows of the blade, but they were too fast for her to understand what was going on. All her concentration on her attacker, the young guardian didn’t see or heard the footsteps of the second person until it was too late. She was hit on the back of the head, and she felt a sharp pain on her neck, before everything around her when black.

* * *

Tonight was his night off, but that didn’t stopped him from working on some cases in the Batcave for a couple of hours. Around 1am, Damian decided to go to bed, he had a feeling the next day would be quite eventful. Taking a shower and getting ready didn’t take long, he was rapidly in bed, with Alfred the cat at his feet and Titus not far from his bed. The only sound in the room was the low purring of the cat, which helped the young man drift away to dreamland.
At some point in the night, Titus got up and barked, waking his master up ready to attack, but he didn’t see anything. Damian went to pat his dog’s head and tried getting him back on his cousin, but the door opened wide revealing Jason, gun in hand, and Bruce with a baseball bat.
“Damian! Is everything alright?” asked his father lowering his weapon, when he saw his son wasn’t in danger.
“Yes, father. It seems Titus was scared of something, but I didn’t see anything,” he was still trying to reassure his dog, but he was really on edge. Jason made his way into the room to clear every inch of it, making sure nobody or nothing was hiding in a corner or a closet.
“It’s all clear, Demon Spawn. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back to sleep. Night B!”
“Good night, Jason. We should all go back to bed. Good night, Damian,” Damian nod, acknowledging his father has he left, closing the door behind him.
After petting Titus for a couple of minutes, Damian went back to bed exhausted. He had a long and the schedule for the next one was not better. It didn’t take long for him to drift back to sleep, once again to the sound of his cat purrs.
The sound and violence of the window shattering woke him up and the vigilante tried to take his dagger, hiding under his pillow, but before he could grab it, he was struck at the back of the neck by a sharp object. His vision was fuzzy and blurry, unable to get up or fight against his attacker. The last thing he registered was Titus barking and growling at the two foreign figures in his room, before he blacked out.

Chapter 6: Chapter 5

Chapter Text

White. The only thing he could see was white. He had tried to move, but every single part of his body was hurting to the point he sincerely thought he would pass out. When he was finally able to turn his head, he looked around to see monitors, IVs, and different medical equipment. What brought his attention though was the young woman laying in a hospital bed next to him, she looked so peaceful. Her dark hair, with a bluish tone, her porcelain skin, with delicate features and her pink lips slightly opened.
Damian forgot where he was, only looking at the girl for several minutes. He was feeling good and light, but it confused him, he had never felt it before, and it was so foreign for him, that he decided to shove it aside and concentrate on his situation. During all of his internal dilemma, he didn’t noticed the woman who had entered the room: his mother.
Talia didn’t directly looked neither of them, ready attentively the medical reports, two of them had names, where the third was only entitle ‘Baby-H’. The girl lying in the bed next to him started to wake up, she seemed as confused as he was, confirming that his mother was planning something.
When Marinette realized she was not in her room and noticed the unknown people with her, her first reflex was to look for her earrings. The Miraculous was missing, they were not their and Tikki wasn’t either, that’s when she when into her powerful Ladybug/Guardian mode. She stood up as best as she could, but she felt a heavy pain in her lower abdomen, making her disoriented. Not wanting to show weaknesses she got into position, ready to fight for the safety of the jewels.
“Where are they?” she said with a strong and steady voice, which honestly surprised her.
“Hello young Guardian. Did you really think we would leave them on you? We know how powerful you are and that’s why you are here,” the woman opened a hand, showing Marinette the Ladybug Miraculous.
“We will give them back to you, when this…” she motioned a hand, showing the room they were in, “… is all over.”
“Who are you? And What do you want?” she asked again.
“Will get to that in time, dear. For now get back to bed, you don’t want to pop your stitches, don’t you?” Marinette didn’t quite registered what the woman had said. It mostly didn’t make any sense to her, she wasn’t injured, so why would she have stitches? And where?
When she tried to walk in protest, she was struck by a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, making her bend in half. Damian got out of bed and rushed to the young woman’s side to help. He never was a big fan of physical contacts, but seeing her in distress, he acted like he would has Robin, with the children during missions. He directed her back to bed and after she gave him a small nod, he lifted the lower part of her shirt, placing it so he wouldn’t see anything to make her comfortable.
He was surprised to see a small incision, that was in fact stitched, the placement of it made him question how she could have been doing to get this cut. This train of thoughts was stopped by Marinette uneven breathing and when he looked up at her, he saw the panic in her eyes and understood, she didn’t know either. She was having a panic attack and Damian needed to help her calm down.
“Hey! It’s okay, look at me!” the girl wasn’t hearing him, so he took her face in his hands and helped her focus on his. When she finally noticed him, he started talking again. “Breath with me, in… and out…, in… and out… Nice now we keep breathing, everything will be fine. You’re safe, I know it doesn’t look it, but you’re safe, with me. My name his Damian.”
“Mari… Marinette,” she said looking deep into his eyes, has if she was in trance. She looked back at her abdomen, she was calmer, but still very confused, still not knowing what happened.
“It’s a beautiful name, but right now is not the time. Damian, dear, please go back to bed, lunch will arrive shortly. In the meantime, we could talk a little,” Talia had entered the room in silence, observing them both closely. A smirk slowly caressed her lips, and she sat down in the armchair not far from the beds, before talking.
“So let me explain some things to you two. A long time ago, the Order of the Miraculous and the League of Assassins were created, they were not allies, but neither were they enemies. The League was filled with warriors highly trained, where the Order trained its guardians to use the Miraculous and hold their powers. One day, my father, Ra’s Al Ghul, decided to attack the temple of the Order to get the jewels, not thinking about the implications and the powers of the kwamis and their holders, because that night, before midnight, when he tried to steal the miraculous, he was cursed.
“Only an heir with a good heart would be able to pursue the family bloodline and legacy. Meaning that after the curse Ra’s was not able to procreate, but lucky for him my sister and I were already born.”
The two young adults exchanged a look, Talia was making them really uncomfortable, they didn’t really want to know anything about the former head of the League’s sexual life.
“Mother, what are you talking about? How could I be born, if the Al Ghul bloodline couldn’t continue?” Marinette’s eyes widened and went from the man to the woman in the room with her. Now knowing, she could tell that they were related. Damian had his mother’s eyes and dark skin tone, but if she wasn’t aware of the relationship, she wouldn’t have been able to make the link between the two.
“She’s your mother!?” looking at the ground Damian simply nodded.
“Son, you were created in our lab and grew in an artificial womb. This way was easier to assure an heir and the only variable we didn’t have a say was if you would be a boy.”
“Are you insane!? No, don’t answer that. You are clearly insane,” said Marinette. She didn’t know if she was sad or pained for Damian, but she knew she was livid. This woman created a son in a lab, only to train him and make him the leader of a deadly organization.
“Mother, what do you want? Why are we here?” Damian’s tone was full of hatred, but the authority he was displaying was one of a leader, a prince, if Marinette could say so.
“You see Damian. Since you left the League to live your life has Robin, I now need a new heir and I wanted to give the child your DNA, the Al Ghul blood. I wanted to make them my biggest pride, to have them replace you. And to my surprise, I learned that the Miraculous were back, so I sent a spy to Paris, and they found Ladybug. I was so happy, having the wielder of creation to be the mother of your child was the best option possible, but even better when she happens to be the Grand Guardian of the Miraculous.
“With your child, we could stop this war between the Order and the League, and we could have access to the Miraculous now,” she was met with two confused people.
“I’m not having a child. I’m sorry, but I don’t even know your son, it’s insane,” exclaimed Marinette.
“Oh, but darling you already are bearing his child.”
“WHAT!?” the sound of the Marinette and Damian echoing through the fortress.

Chapter 7: Chapter 6

Chapter Text

“What do you mean? I’m not pregnant!” said Marinette looking at Talia.
“Oh, but you are. You see a couple of weeks ago, we were able to get some of your eggs and some of Damian’s sperms and we created a baby, just like I did with Damian, and set it in an artificial womb. The baby is growing strong and healthy, it’s about 3 weeks along.
“Unfortunately, last week, we found out it’s a girl and I have no use for it, so knowing my son and after observing you Guardian, I decided not to kill it, this time. Instead, our doctor, was able to perform a procedure to implant the foetus inside your womb.
“So congratulations, your pregnant, sweety! If you want to keep it, we will be monitoring you until we are sure you and the baby are healthy and out of danger. I’ll leave you two to discuss and you young lady need to rest.” With those words said, Talia left the room.
Silence was only thing that could be heard in the room at that moment, neither Damian nor Marinette knew what to do or say. This was not some news you ever thought of hearing in your life, but the whole pile of information Talia had just dropped on them was too much. Marinette started laughing uncontrollably, totally in shock, until tears felled up her eyes and she was crying at the same time.
When he was looking at her, Damian couldn’t explain why he felt at ease beside her, especially knowing she was hero, he was still observing and being suspicious like every time he met someone new. He was trained and grew up with the League of Assassins, where not being cautious could get you killed and when he was in Gotham, he still had to stay aware of her surroundings, with all the Rogues and being Robin, he had that responsibility and he needed to make sure civilians made it out alive as much as possible. However this girl made him do some things he wouldn’t usually do.
The sound of Marinette’s laughter brought him back to reality. He hadn’t said a word since his mother had dropped the bomb on them: the beautiful young woman next to him was pregnant and the child was his, what on earth was going on!?
“Sorry… I think I’m in shock right now…” said Marinette, while trying to get her laughter under control. But when she met Damian’s eyes, they both broke out, laughing so hard they had trouble breathing.

* * *

“So what are we gonna do?” asked Marinette when they finally had calmed down.
“I have no idea…” for the first time in his life, Damian didn’t know what to do. The situation he found himself in at this exact moment was one you only heard of in movie or fairy tales.
Marinette took a deep breath, before looking at him, trying to lay everything on the table right away. It was not the time to play games, their lives and their baby’s life was on the line.
“Look Damian, I don’t know you, but you seem to be a logical and reasonable person. So believe me when I say that you don’t need to be part of this decision. I have a good support system and enough money to give a good life to this baby. But you can not ask me to get rid of it, I won’t do it.” The young man looked at her with wide eyes, not expecting her to give him an out. He took a serious expression to make sure she would understand his intentions correctly.
“Marinette, I will be very honest with you. I never saw myself with children nor with a woman. The only relationship that I tried was not successful if I can say so. The only child I know is my brother’s daughter and she only comes to visit. I was raised to be an heir, to lead, whether it was the League of Assassins or my father’s company.
“So I have no idea what is coming with his baby, but I believe in family, and I will not leave you alone. I can not leave you. I can not leave my child,” he barely whispered the last part, but Marinette heard it and smiled.
The young woman was relieved. She knew that her support system was strong and tight, but she didn’t want to have to raise a child alone and leaning on Alya, Nino and Alix, would be too much for her. She also knew her parents would be really happy and would take the child right away, but again she didn’t want to have to burden them with this. This baby was hers, even if she was not present for the conception and didn’t know the father and had never met him before today, but fate had decided to put a child and this man on her route, and she believed fate had its reasons.
The young Guardian looked back at Damian and smiled. He seemed so lost in his head and yet concentration could be read all over his face. His darker skin tone and black hair contrasted so much with his piercing green eyes, so mysterious and captivating than she forgot for a minute, or two, that she was staring at him. When he turned to look at her too, she jumped back and shifted her position in the bed.
“So… We’re having a baby girl…” her voice was trembling, almost like a vibrato.
“And we are going to make it work. We will find a solution that is best for the three of us.”

* * *

From that day forward, the two young adults spent most of their time together, using this time to get to know one another. Every day, Marinette was seen by the doctor, to make sure le baby was doing fine, while Damian trained in the room next door, not wanting to overstep her boundaries.
They talked a lot, during their tome together, Damian even explaining his relation to the League of Assassins and being Robin, the son of Batman. That statement made Marinette laugh, confusing the young man, until she calmed down and explained her teenage years has Ladybug and her role has the Grand Guardian of the Miraculous, to her surprise he had some basic knowledge of the jewels, from his time with his mother, which made it easier for them.
Learning he was three years older than her, had finished University and had a good and stable job, mostly because he was the son of the CEO of an international company, reassured Marinette about the finances, for the child she was now sure, she was carrying. He could even transfer to the Parisian office as soon as they went back into the outside world and he would get them an apartment, so she wouldn’t be alone during her pregnancy and once the baby was born.
With those plans, Marinette could even finish her university in two years, without worrying about the money or the help she would need to raise their child. The twenty years old designer, happy to know Damian wanted to be involved this much, in their little girl’s life and with all the attention he was putting into those plans and contingencies, it was not long before she started to have a small crush on him, not that she could help it. She observed him every chance she got and within two weeks, she knew he would be a good father.
This routine continued for a whole month; they didn’t know when Talia would decide to send them back out in the normal world. They got closer every day and their relationship rapidly evolved into a partnership, a preparation of parenting, but also a friendship, knowing each other’s secret and not having to hide anything, made it easier for the both of them.
Damian understood rapidly that he had certain romantic feelings towards Marinette, but with the pregnancy hormones and the situation they were in, he didn’t want to make a move that would make the young woman uncomfortable. If he did, she could decide to leave and he would never get to see his daughter or the somewhat relationship they had could be ruined in a second, so he decided to wait. He wanted to be sure, wanted her to be sure and perhaps the League of Assassins was not the best place to ask someone out on a date.
He made plans and contingencies during the first week and was happy to see she was okay with them. The only thing they would have to discuss was the fact that eventually he would need to go back to Gotham and someday take the mantle of Batman and co-CEO of WE, when his father would retire. He knew none of his brothers wanted to leave in the Wayne Manor, so he was confident they could move in the family estate without a problem, but he would still need to convince Marinette to come with him.
They both got accustomed to their routine in the League, until the morning they woke up in their respective beds, in Paris and Gotham.