#first glance

“This is!” Marinette argued, looking down at herself and reassessing. She had chosen to wear a sweater and skirt combo, slightly thicker leggings tucked into sturdy boots. The fabric of the skirt was stretchier than it looked and, best of all, it was cute.

“Great, and it looks good so you'll sweep him off his feet in no time,” Alya said sagely before breaking down into giggles. “Honestly, I don't get why you're so excited for this, he seemed kind of stuck up.”

Marinette was saved answering by a knock on the door. Alya wiggled her eyebrows as Marinette went to answer, only for the latter to stiffen.

“Awww, Marinette you look so sweet! I heard you were going out with one of the boys from the Gotham class,” Lila said, voice pitched to the saccharine levels she always used when she had an audience other than Marinette. 

“What can we help you with?” She asked, working to keep her tone even. If she got into a fight before Damian arrived she was going to ruin her outfit, so she had a vested interest in keeping her temper in check.

“Oh, I don't want to make you late,” she simpered, making it clear (to Marinette) that that was her aim. “It's just…one of my necklaces has gone missing again. I know we had that misunderstanding all that time ago so I wanted to see if it had mistakenly been put with your things at some point.”

“As class representative, I do get handed lost items,” she nodded, refusing to allow her to insinuate anything. “But I haven't been given anything and I haven't seen anything out of place in my luggage.”

“Oh, but maybe I could-”

“Apologies, is now a bad time, Marinette?”

Even if she didn't want to just because, she could have kissed Damian for his timing. She felt her heart do a little flop in her chest at how gorgeous he looked even in casual wear. She knew students at Gotham Academy had money but he clearly knew how to dress to showcase his body.

“Not at all! I was just answering a question for another student,” she said, shooting Lila a sharp smile. “I hope you find your belongings. I will have to ask you to wait until I return to check anything in my room. As you said, there have been problems before and I would need to be present for any bag checks. But I should be back this evening, so we'll get this settled then.”

She said goodbye to Alya and shut the door firmly, sidestepping Lila to approach Damian. A flash of anger crossed the Italian girl's face but it was buried quickly as she also turned to Damian, a calculative look on her face.

“I'm so glad you feel comfortable going out in Gotham with someone you only met this week, Marinette,” she said with a small smirk. “Really, my friend that lives here says you can never be too careful, but as long as you're sure you'll be safe…”

“I think we'll be fine,” Marinette said flatly. Damian looked between the pair but didn't say anything as Marinette took hold of his elbow and steered him away. “Ugh, I hope she doesn't make a nuisance of herself today.”

“Does she have a history of troubling behaviour?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. It was unfairly attractive and she had to concentrate to stay on topic. The last thing she wanted to do when she had time alone with a hot guy was talk about Lila.

“Only if you find pathological lying troublesome,” she said with a grimace. “She has a tendency to name drop without the connections to back it up. Fortunately your school is filled with similarly connected people so she isn't getting much traction. Not that she isn't trying to set groundwork.”

“Groundwork?” Damian was curious about this girl that Marinette didn't seem to like. The only person she had been openly disagreeable with had been antagonising her so it was fascinating to see her have a hidden animosity. 

“Mmm, she's been dropping hints all week about a family friend that she knows,” Marinette nodded, her face adorably scrunched. He had the sudden urge to pull her to a stop and kiss the wrinkles away but he tried to kill the impulse. “I imagine that next week will be the big reveal to anyone she's managed to hook. I guarantee she's aiming to fake a connection to that old Gotham family…the Wilsons? The Wrights? I don't remember, it starts with a W.”

“And people will believe her?” He asked carefully, glad that she didn't notice the way he stiffened at the assumed mention of his family. 

“Usually,” she grumbled before shaking it off. She smiled up at him prettily and he had to remind himself to keep walking. “Anyway, I think I would rather get to know you than talk about the horrific amount of narcissism displayed by certain members of my class.”

Damian laughed quietly and they turned their conversation to common interests and hobbies. He was intrigued when she mentioned that she had grown up in a bakery and felt a smug glee when she mentioned liking animals. He had decided to keep their destination a surprise and it was gratifying to find out that it was likely to pay off. 

He was also impressed when they started discussing their creative pursuits and she mentioned her passion for design. He was pleasantly surprised when she told him shyly that she had made the outfit she was wearing and he complimented her execution and technique.

Her eyes positively sparkled when they arrived at the animal shelter he volunteered at most Saturdays and he couldn't suppress a laugh when she dragged him inside. She somehow looked even more beautiful surrounded by the dingy lighting, and animals seemed to reach for her as she moved through the rooms. 

As the time passed, he couldn't help but watch her, which surprised him. It wasn't like he hadn't known pretty girls before. And if his first impression had been his only one, he might have ignored her as he had the rest of the idiots who came for the event. Instead, she had shown her preparedness and thoughtfulness when a student at Gotham Academy had started her period unexpectedly. She had been quick to offer products and help her with her clothes, even as other students just started gossiping.

“I didn't think anyone at Gotham Academy knew what charity work was,” Marinette said playfully, scratching behind the ears of the dog that had settled in her lap. He snorted softly and inspected the next animal, carefully marking down characteristics and any potential issues. 

“Yes, well most would think this kind of work beneath them. Kent is an exception given his father grew up on a farm,” Damian said easily, moving along to the animal in her lap. She held still as his close proximity made her cheeks flush but he seemed oblivious to the effect he had on her.

“And what makes you so different?” She asked quietly, making his eyes flick to hers. He gave a smirk and returned to his work.

“My father is a believer in working to make our society a better place. He was born and raised in Gotham and he wants to help everyone improve their lives,” he explained, patting the dog's head as he finished his assessment. “I am…better suited to work with animals than with people. Animals only have instincts to protect themselves and survive, unlike humans who have great capacity for cruelty.”

“We have a lot of capacity for good, too,” she countered, lifting the animal to put him back in his crate. Damian gave a thoughtful hum but didn't disagree. She didn't know why she wanted to change his view on this, but she did. “You're here, aren't you?”

“My work with animals will never outweigh my crimes,” he said, quickly enough that it could have been a joke. But something told her he was using a cover of humour for something that was very sensitive for him.

“Another great thing about animals is that they don't judge you on your past,” she offered, triumph flashing through her when the corner of his mouth tilted up. “But this conversation feels a little heavy for a first date.”

“Date?” 

Oh. Oh no. She had massively misread the situation, hadn't she? Maybe Tikki could get Plagg to cataclysm her, or she could create a black hole and end this painful existence. What had she been thinking? Why on earth would this have been a date? He'd never used the word and he- he was taking hold of her hand?

“You’re right, perhaps we should wait until the second date to have conversations about the inherent good and evil of humanity,” he mused, interlocking their fingers. Giddy relief and elation replaced the horror and she squeezed his hand.

“A second date sounds wonderful. But for today, would you like to get dinner with me?” She asked hopefully. The day had vanished surprisingly quickly and the thought of going back to the hotel and being pounced upon by her friends was almost too much to bear.

_ _ _

Damian returned to the manor after successfully seeing Marinette safely back to her hotel. He had brushed a kiss to her cheek before leaving and was gratified by the way she had blushed and stuttered when saying goodbye.

“Hey, Demon Spawn,” Jason said as he made his way into the kitchen. He gave a hum and nod in greeting and the older man's eyebrows raised. “Wow, I take it your not-really-a-date went well?”

“Tt, our date went very well,” he said, a warm glow still in the pit of his stomach. If it was possible, Jason's eyebrows raised even further and he gave a low whistle.

“How did you manage to convince a girl that your charity work was a date?” He asked, sounding amused.

“I'll have you know that she described it as a date first,” Damian sniffed, frowning when Jason barked out a laugh. He didn't particularly want to discuss this with Jason anyway so he decided to change the subject. “How would you handle someone lying about our name to further themselves?”

“Oh, is your girlfriend not as sweet as she seems?”

“Don't be ridiculous, Todd, Marinette is perfectly charming. One of her classmates apparently has a proclivity for lying about celebrities and she may have set her sights on our family.”

“Hmmm, well, I'd say Replacement is your best bet for advice like that. I would say you should just shoot them, but then Alfred might not let me have his cookies.”

Damian smirked but nodded before heading to his room. As much as he enjoyed bantering with his family, he wanted to bask in the successful execution of his and Marinette's first date.