Chapter Text
Damian had thought this project was going to be a nightmare .
He hadn't understood why he was required to take this history class in the first place. Stupid liberal arts requirements! History had nothing to do with his business degree. Damian had already learned all about the ancient civilizations of the world, and he probably knew more than the professor considering his grandfather had lived through several of them.
And to make matters worse, this insipid moron of a professor had forced them to do PARTNER projects.
Damian had been forced to work with another individual (who he had been sure would probably slack off) on a paper and presentation. His partner to be? Was not even present when the assignment was given! His professor had assigned him to work with a student who was currently ill, and who seemed to be sick often.
The professor had scolded him for trying to get a new partner, saying that Miss Dupain-Cheng had a compromised immune system and always did her work on time. She had then told Damian that he was lucky she didn't just let one of the slackers work with him. She had wanted Damian to work with Miss Dupain-Cheng so she wouldn’t have to do all the work by herself.
So, Damian had emailed his partner after class ended. Surprisingly, she had immediately responded to him, asking if researching Ancient Greece would be an acceptable choice to him. They had emailed three times before his partner, Marinette, sent him her phone number. She had told Damian to text her with any questions at any time.
They had decided to go with Ancient Greece, and Damian had made a mental note to talk to Aunt Diana. He had figured she would probably have interesting information to add to their presentation. Damian really hadn't been expecting Marinette to do anything until he opened his email the next morning.
He had been greeted by a whole-ass outline with sources. Marinette had asked him to look at it and edit what he did and didn't want in the paper. She had mentioned the sources were only preliminary ones, and that she'd get to work on more once they'd agreed on the outline.
Damian's experience with having Marinette as a research partner had only gotten better as time passed. He still hadn't met his partner face-to- face, but she was brilliant. Together they'd managed to get a fully formed outline, all their sources, and approval from their professor to go ahead and complete the paper and project a week before the deadline to pick a project.
Marinette was an extremely hard worker for someone he had yet to meet. She never failed to answer her texts or emails within a reasonable amount of time. She always listened to Damian's concerns, and they compromised. She did as much research as he did. Marinette had also offered to do the entire slide show if Damian would speak for most of it.
She was also incredibly intelligent. Her work was as flawless as a human being can get. While he did have to correct a lot of silly errors (as she pointed out, typing at 3 am doesn't always turn out the way you thought it did at the time), Marinette was a talented writer. She incorporated her sources well, and most of her citations were correct. She was determined to get a good grade, and Damian was thankful for it. It made her all that more tolerable as a research partner.
That wasn't the only thing that made Marinette tolerable.
She responded to him with sarcasm, GIFs, and emojis. She poked fun at him. She texted him about random things that happened during her day. She sent him pictures of animals she happened across on her way to grab more tissues/soup/juice/etc (which he half-enjoyed, half-despised because he worried about her until she got back to her dorm). She complained to him about being sick, and her ribs burning from all the coughing she was doing.
Like a normal person does with their normal friends.
Marinette didn't seem phased at all by the fact he was Damian Wayne. Marinette treated him the same way his brothers did. She wasn't trying to impress him. She wasn't afraid to offend him. She wasn't trying to gain anything from him aside from an A on this project (reasonable considering the whole partners thing). Marinette treated him like a friend, good natured ribbing about his resting bitch face and all.
Damian quite enjoyed the fact Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not afraid of him.
Which is why Damian had agreed to speak for most of the presentation and even brought it up to their professor. She'd agreed in order to let the pair have a contingency plan in case Marinette couldn't speak during their presentation. Damian hoped her upper respiratory infection cleared up before then. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't hoping for her speedy recovery so she could be in class with him. In fact, even if she could speak, Damian would probably insist that she remain at home in bed.
He hoped Marinette got better soon mostly because her coughing had caused his chest to ache in sympathy. When he'd called her to clarify some information on a slide, the woman on the other end had barely managed to get words out in between the constant, painful sounding coughs that Damian could guarantee hurt like hell. That's when he learned she'd had strep throat and a sinus infection that led to bronchitis. She'd been to the doctor six times in the past month, but was having a hard time shaking it.
Damian had been fully prepared to do this on his own if it meant she was resting. She'd already put in more work than he'd been expecting (despite being so ill!), and Damian was no longer an impulsive, angry ten year old who would have held her sickness against her. While he really had wanted to meet the charming woman who sent him pictures of puppies she met on her way to the drug store, Damian had also wanted her to take care of herself.
Which was apparently the exact opposite of Marinette's plans.
The day they presented, Damian was greeted by a pale woman wearing a cream wool sweater and black slacks he hadn't seen before. She had an adorable heart-shaped face, cute freckles splashed across her nose, and the biggest grey eyes Damian had ever seen. She had a weak grin on her pale lips and was shivering ever so slightly.
Her black hair was pulled up into a bun, and she was holding tight onto a baggy. A baggy that Damian noticed had cough drops in it. He began piecing the clues together, and his expression darkened. Damian's suspicions were only confirmed after the cute woman gave a painfully wet sounding cough. His sharp green eyes locked onto hers before saying, "Marinette, what are you doing here?"
Marinette smiled weakly at him as she choked that she had to show up or it wouldn't count. She coughed a few times more, each breath sounding painful. Once she’d stopped, Damian immediately sequestered her to the podium, allowing her to operate the computer and lean on something should she feel unsteady. He wasn't about to let her hurt herself just for this stupid assignment. He was about ready to lecture her when the professor walked in and asked if they were volunteering to go first.
Damian said yes, leaving no room for argument on Marinette’s side. As Marinette pulled up their slide show, Damian talked with their professor. He was worried Marinette would pass out if she had to stay after their presentation, but he also didn't want to send her home by herself. He was worried someone would try to get at her or that she'd collapse on the sidewalk on her way home. Damian asked to be excused in order to escort her home after.
Their professor agreed and told him to take care of her.
Marinette did her best (both Damian and the professor would give her credit for that) to speak in between coughing fits and drinks of water. He was just thankful that she didn't pass out nor did she mess up any of her cues. By the end, though, he could tell Marinette was reaching her limit, eyelids and posture beginning to droop. Damian made sure to answer all the Q&As at the end, even if Marinette was directly asked. By the end of it, Damian had both of their backpacks and an arm wrapped around her.
Damian led her out of the classroom once the professor excused them. He kept a tight hold on Marinette, who was swaying a little as she walked.
“Marinette, you know Dr. Lender would have let you reschedule the presentation, right?” he asked, slightly exasperated. “You shouldn’t have come today.”
“My roommate is visiting family, and I got lonely. Besides, there’s no food in my dorm, so I needed to go to the corner store,” she replied, pausing several times to cough.
Damian handed her some tissues from his pocket and winced as she brought up phlegm. He then made an executive decision. He couldn’t let her go to the store alone, and Damian most certainly wasn’t about to leave her alone in her dorm. Since he wasn’t allowed to stay in the girls’ dorms overnight, Damian only had one option left. He could only hope that he wouldn’t regret this decision.
“Nettie, we’re friends...right?” he asked, nervous outside the mask for the first time in a while.
He really hoped she said yes. Damian was actually fond of Marinette. He’d found himself enjoying the past several weeks of communication with her. She was smart, witty, and a hard worker. She’d been a great partner. She was even better to converse with. He would miss her random animal texts...honestly he’d miss her if she decided she no longer wanted to speak with him now that the project was over.
“Yeah! We’re friends, Dami. You’ve been really nice about all of this,” Marinette coughed, flailing her arm weakly to gesture to herself. “I’ve really enjoyed working with you. You’re fun to talk to. I still have to meet your animals too! I’ve never pet a cow before.”
Damian felt the knot in his stomach unravel a little. Good, she did like him. Apparently she really wanted to meet Batcow too. Damian guessed Jon’s stupid nickname of Bessie would actually come in handy. He couldn’t exactly tell Marinette that the cow’s name was Batcow, but he was excited to introduce her to his animals.
“Well, since you’re alone, and since I can’t stay at the girls’ dorms, would you like to come over to my place? We have more than enough food, and you won’t be lonely,” he suggested. “You can meet Bessie, Titus, and Alfred the cat. We can grab your things.”
Marinette smiled brightly and Damian was thankful he drove a car to school that day...
Even if his brothers later bothered him about the young woman napping on their couch with Titus and Alfred the cat. Which of course they did, but thankfully Alfred was there to have his back.
However, Damian did miss the smile on Alfred’s face as he informed the older birds that Miss Marinette was ‘just Damian’s friend’.
Alfred knew. She was just Master Damian’s friend... at least for now.