#marikon

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Tim sat up straight, immediately switching to mission mode and scouring the Watchtower’s feed scanning for any crises popping up anywhere in the world.  “What is it?” he demanded, his blood pressure steadily increasing with each negative result.

“No way,” Kon repeated again.  He bolted up off the couch and flew out the door toward the west wing, moving so quickly, it was close to being literal.  Tim rushed after him with absolutely no hope of catching him even if he hadn’t taken a few extra seconds to carefully displace his laptops.

Kon skidded to a stop at the end of the west wing’s hallway barely missing colliding into the two figures that had stopped in the middle of the hallway, the woman clearly didn’t let her significantly smaller stature hold her back as she stood staring up the other man, hands on her hips with a cocky smirk on her lips while the man didn’t look chastened in the least.  The woman eeped and jumped back at the sudden intrusion while the man sighed heavily, the amused uptick to his lips dropping instantly.  “What are you doing here?” he glowered.

“And good to see you too, Damian,” Kon grinned.  He took a step to the side just in time to avoid Tim bowling into him as he rounded the corner but grabbed his arm to help him skid to a stop before running into the other two.

Damian leaned back and crossed his arms as he glowered at their dumbfounded stares.  “Oh good, the peanut gallery.”

Tim and Kon would have responded any other time, heartily dished back the attitude Damian was giving them, but they were too dumbfounded at seeing Damian with a friend other than Jon, a female, non-hero friend, to really register his words.

The woman waited a few beats, looking back and forth between them before deciding to take matters into her own hands.  She grinned at them and held out her hand.  “Hi!  I’m Marinette.”

Tim stared at the hand, still too dumbfounded to register what was going on.  He leaned back closer to Kon, “What the fuck is happening right now?”  He meant to whisper, and technically, he did, but it was still loud enough to travel crystal clear to both Marinette and Damian.

“It’s a hand… you shake it as a greeting,” she explained slowly.

Tim blinked a few times before he reached out and shook her hand woodenly.  He looked over at Damian while still holding her hand, eyes wide in shock.  “You brought someone home.”  He didn’t realize he was still holding her hand until she chortled quietly at his astonished tone, only then letting go of her hand and offering her a sheepish smile.

“Obviously,” Damian retorted.  He pretended to flinch when the woman elbowed him in the ribs and sighed dramatically.  “This is my friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng.  Marinette, this is…”

“She’s a gir…” Kon cut in.  His eyes darted to Damian for just a second before returning to the woman in front of him.  “You're a girl,” Kon stated to her, meeting her eyes with an incredulous stare as though she should understand why that was so problematic to his world view.

She straightened instantly and her eyes hardened.  “Yeah, well spotted.  Good job.  Now do something impressive, like figure out what you are.  I'm guessing cryptid,” she snapped with a coldness he hadn’t anticipated from someone dressed in so many pastels.

He blinked like he was really seeing her for the first time and leaned back to better view her with an assessing once over and raised an amused eyebrow as his lips curled up in a smile, “Nah, that's usually Tim.  He dresses for it and everything,” he motioned toward Tim’s hoodie.  “I’m a different type of legendary beast.”  He waggled his eyebrows at her.  “I’m more one of the tall, sexy creatures that visit maiden’s dreams.”

“No, you aren’t,” Damian declared.

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back, her eyes narrowing.  “Like a Liderc maybe,” she scoffed. 

Kon hummed in mock consideration and took a step closer to her.  “Is a Liric…”

“Liderc,” she corrected.

“… tall and sexy?” he finished leaning closer to her.

She pushed him back with a smirk and a finger to his chest.  “Not exactly… more like a little superhuman…”

“Supernatural,” Damian corrected quickly.  He shook his head curtly for Tim without bothering to look over and see the questioning glance he knew must be on his face.

“…creature,” she continued without acknowledging Damian’s interruption with a nonchalance indicative of well-established prior experience, “hatched out of a pod…”  Her smug expression dropped and her eyes unfocused for just a second before she turned to Damian, missing the way Kon’s face froze, “pod?”

“Egg,” Damian answered.  He waited until she’d turned back to Kon before meeting Tim’s eye this time and curtly shaking his head.  Tim raised his eyebrows higher and bobbed his head incredulously.  Damian subtly shrugged then nodded.  Tim’s face stretched in an impressed glower as he returned his attention to the conversation between Marinette and Kon with a renewed interest.

“…egg…” she continued oblivious to the silent conversation behind her, her smug expression fully back in place.

“Pod was more accurate,” Tim snickered just loudly enough for Kon to hear.  Kon huffed and shoved his head away.

“…that flies around and attaches itself to single women,” she finished.

Tim doubled over, the sound of his roaring laughter echoing down the long hallway.  Even Damian grinned at her description and Kon’s flabbergasted expression.  “I thought…” Tim stopped to gasp for breath and grabbed onto Kon’s shoulder for support, “I thought you hadn’t met her yet.  She seems to know you pretty well.”  Kon scowled and shoved his hand off his shoulder, taking a small measure of enjoyment from Tim almost falling over with the loss of support.

“It also helps form the Hungarian word for nightmare,” Damian added with a smirk.

“See, there you go, she thinks you’ll visit her dreams,” Tim chortled and patted Kon’s chest.  “Sounds like you were right after all.”

Damian’s smirk quickly dropped.  “There will be no dream guest appearance except between us,” Damian insisted.  He tugged Marinette a bit closer and into his side, moving her further away from Kon.  “Let me know when Jon arrives.”  Marinette glared at him pointedly.  “I will not say ‘please’ no matter how hard you stare,” he stated, deftly avoiding her eyes and starting to move them out of the hallway.

“I’m not your assistant,” Tim growled.  Damian stopped and raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.  “You got something to say?” Tim asked sharply.

“Oh, I finally get to meet Jon?” Marinette asked, a bit louder than necessary for their proximity, and moved between the two, directly into Damian’s line of sight.

“Yes,” he confirmed as he finally lowered his eyes from the broken staring contest.  His face softened as he continued moving them out of the hallway again.  “He will be here in a little bit.  He said he had something to do first, then he’ll be over and will stay until the New Year’s party tomorrow.  He was quite excited to meet you as well.”

She quirked her head to the side slightly.  “Will he be here in time to…”

“He will indeed,” he cut in sharply.  He frog marched her away from the bedroom wing and toward the east wing before she could ask anymore questions.

“Wait!  Damian, you haven’t introduced us!” Marinette objected and tried to turn around toward the men but had to settle for vaguely motioning over her shoulder.  “I don’t even know their names.”

“Yes, good observation,” he praised with only a hint of condescension in his voice and a bit more force in his hands.

“Damian!” she tried to twist to smack his chest but his hands were unyielding.  “That’s rude.  I don’t want to start out by being rude to your family.”

“First, they are not both family,” he scoffed.  “Second, you called one of them a Lidrerc and I’m being rude?”

“Yes!  That’s different.  And you know it,” she huffed.

He eyed her skeptically but shook it off.  “Third, I tried and they interrupted.  It is their fault if they did not get a proper introduction.  Fourth, and most importantly, they are a waste of our time and attention, and I assure you they will not think of this as a reflection on you.”

“Damian!” She gasped and succeeded this time in twisting under his arm to confront him.

The only concession Damian was willing to give to indicate how impressed he was with her ability to break free from his grasp was a raised eyebrow.  The rest of his face remained stoic, if a little exasperated.  “I’ve known them for almost 10 years now.  I stand by my evaluation,” he intoned as he turned her around again and continued to push her down the hallway.

“I’m so sorry,” she called over her shoulder as she attempted to give them a parting bright smile and wave.

“I’m not,” Damian called just as loudly but without taking his eyes off the path ahead of him.

Tim scoffed and shook his head at their retreating backs.  “He brought someone home… a girl… and she seems…nice… and normal… and nice,” he murmured incredulously.

“Oh, she seems very nice,” Kon agreed, watching just as intently, but focusing considerably more on one of them in particular.

Tim smacked him in the chest.  “No,” he ordered sternly.

“What?” he asked in mock innocence that he couldn’t have pulled off even fresh out of the pod.

“Damian’s friend… well, friend.  You know, I’m not sure what that is,” he motioned vaguely toward the east wing, “but you will not interfere.  Damian doesn’t make friends.  This is big.”

“I haven’t done anything… yet.”  He winked at Tim and started back toward the living room.

“Kon…” Tim started warningly.

“Come on, I’m not going to intentionally hurt him no matter how much of an ass he usually is.”  He grinned devilishly back at Tim.  “Tell you what, you go start the research on her we both know you’re going to do, and I’ll grab some food from somewhere.  I can tell you what I heard them talking about when I get back and why he brought her.”

Tim sighed and jogged to catch up with him, smacking him upside the head as soon as he did.  “Stop listening in on people’s conversations outside of missions.  It’s creepy.”  They made it all the way back to the living room before he broke.  “But since you heard it already, tell me everything when you get back.”

Kon grinned and shrugged on his jacket.  “I’ll bring back Batburger.  That feels like a spilling the tea kind of food.”

><><><><><><><><>< 

“I know where the art room is, you know.  I don’t need an escort,” Jon pointed out as he followed closely behind Kon and Tim on their way down the east wing’s hallway.

“Oh, we’re not escorting you,” Tim corrected.  He met Jon’s eyes over his shoulder with a look that did not comfort Jon at all.

“We’re tagging along,” Kon clarified, giving Jon the same look, which was considerably more concerning for Jon when coming from Kon.

Jon eyed them suspiciously.  “Why?”

“Curiosity,” Tim answered at the same time Kon said, “Interest.”

Jon’s eyes narrowed further.  “Uh huh.  That’s not fishy at all.  I’m not remotely concerned now,” he grumbled.

“Nah, I researched her,” Tim assured him.  He moved to the side and slowed his pace just a fraction to match Jon’s.  “She’s clean.  Seems like a good kid.  Might even be good for Damian.”

Jon nodded unsure how to respond to Tim’s candor.  “Good, well, that’s… that’s good.”  He started to say more, to compliment Tim on looking out for his brother but before he could figure out how to form the words, Kon snorted.

Tim raised an eyebrow.  “What?”

Kon waved him off like it was nothing, but the tightening of his jaw indicated otherwise.  “Nothing.  She's just complementing the composition and contrasts of his art and how talented,” he spit the word out like it personally offended him,“and he is absolutely preening at it.”

Jon smiled.  “It’s good to know she’s supporting him.  He really likes her, which of course he won’t say, but he talks about her a lot.”

“Really?  I hadn’t heard anything until today,” Tim noted curiously.

“Not too surprising,” Jon shrugged.  “Doesn’t really tell you anything about his life, does he?  Dick maybe, but you…”  He let the sentence trail off.  They both knew what Tim and Damian’s relationship was.

Tim grunted a sound similar to an agreement but suddenly smacked Kon upside the head.  “And stop listening in on other people's conversations.  It's creepy.”  They took a few steps before he leaned slightly toward Kon and lowered his voice as though Jon couldn't still hear him and said, “But let me know if he does anything embarrassing.”

Kon grinned and nodded at him with a wink, but his face quickly dropped into a pout as he scowled at the door just a few steps down from them.  Tim looked from Kon to the door slowly, suspicion permeating his expression as he slowly opened the art room door, fully expecting the worst, which is why the fluffy sight in front of him was such a relief.

Damian and Marinette were standing in front of one of his paintings, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her waist whispering to each other as she pointed to different points in the painting.  Tim looked back at Kon as he stepped into the room and snorted at his deepened scowl at the sweet sight.

The noise knocked the two out of their little bubble, seemingly affecting Damian more than Marinette based on the speed at which he dropped his hand and jumped away from her, causing her to almost fall.  He reached out to push her back into balance but instantly returned his hand behind his back and straightened up to his full height before them.

“Jon, it is good to see you.  Glad you could make it,” Damian welcomed.

“Of course,” Jon said warmly and hugged Damian, which Damian allowed to happen, but didn’t return.  “I’m here for you.”

“We didn’t get that greeting,” Kon chortled.

“No, we did not,” Tim agreed.  “It’s almost like he doesn’t want us here.”

Damian glared at them over Jon’s shoulder.  “It’s not almost like it,” he corrected curtly.  He returned his attention to Jon and continued before they, or Marinette, could respond to or chastise him.  “Jon, this is my friend Marinette.  Marinette, this is my friend Jon.”

Marinette smiled brilliantly, lighting up the entire room, and hugged him.  She backed away just far enough to not share breath.  “It’s so good to meet you!  I feel like I know you already.  Damian talks about you all the time.”

Jon blushed deeply and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking away sheepishly.  “Thanks.  It’s really good to finally meet you, too.  He talks about you all the time, too.  Like non-stop.  I can’t wait to spend time with you and get to know you better.”

Marinette, whose smile couldn’t get any bigger, got warmer instead.  “Absolutely.”  She kept his gaze for a few moments before shifting it over his shoulder to the two figures standing behind him and waved.  “Hey again!  Sorry we didn’t get to meet earlier, because Damian is rude,” she added pointedly with a glare to Damian added in, to which Damian shrugged unashamedly, “and didn’t introduce us.  “I’m Marinette.  I believe I heard your name is Tim?” she asked uncertainly, waiting until he nodded before continuing.  “So, you must be Tim Drake, yes?”

“I am” he grinned and ventured further into Damian’s art room than he had ever been allowed to venture before to shake her hand.  “Nice to meet you… officially.”  As soon as she turned her attention to Kon, he smirked at Damian, fully enjoying the glare Damian was shooting him.

Marinette stepped closer to Kon and held her hand out.  “And based on the leather jacket, that would make you Jason Todd?”

Kon sputtered and Tim burst out laughing.  “Uh… no, not Jason,” Kon corrected.

Marinette’s face dropped almost as fast as her hand.  “I am so sorry.  It is nice to meet you...”

Kon stepped forward with a small smile and opened his mouth but before he could comfort her Damian pulled her back closer to him and tried to physically angle her toward Jon and main part of the room.  “His name is unimportant,” he stated firmly, making no doubt that the conversation was over.

Jon shook his head, exasperation bleeding from his expression and tone.  “It’s the holidays.  Be nice, Dame.”

“I don’t see how the time of year should affect my behavior,” Damian sniffed.

Marinette dropped her head into her hands and let out an exasperated sigh.  “Damian…”

Damian sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.  “Fine.  That is Jon's brother.”  He tried to angle her toward the room again, but Kon took her hand before he could, moving so quickly, it was dangerously close to exposing his identity.

“Kon.  My name is Kon.  And it is really nice to meet you, Marinette.”

She raised her head slightly and looked up at him, causing her to look through her lashes to meet his eyes, unintentionally taking his breath away.  “Nice to meet you, Kon.”

“No, it’s not,” Damian grumbled and pulled her away from Kon, settling her on his other side next to Jon instead.  He turned to face Kon full on standing between him and Marinette.  “We were in the middle of something.”

“We were just about to go play a game,” Marinette added, popping up over his shoulder.

“We were not.”

“I’d love to play a game,” Jon cheered.  Marinette grinned brilliantly at him and clapped like the decision was made.

Damian groaned dramatically and motioned toward the hallway.  “Fine.  The game room is down the hallway.”

Marinette nodded and started toward the hallway but froze mid-step.  “You have a room just for games?”

Kon chuckled, taking more pleasure than he should from the fact that she’d stopped directly in front of him.  “Rich people,” he shrugged.

She nodded contemplatively like that explained everything but suddenly popped up.  “Oh!  I know!  Do you have Candyland?”  She looked back to Tim and Kon with a wicked grin.  “I get the feeling that's a game Damian would absolutely hate.”  She made a noise somewhere between a squeal and exclamation and twirled in excitement at the prospect of Damian playing the game, heading out the door in full confidence he would follow her.

“It's pure luck!” Damian exclaimed following after her as expected.  “There is no skill involved at all!”

“That's the point,” Jon chuckled.  He jogged up to them and slung his arms over both their shoulders.

“What's the point if you can't win through your skills,” Damian grumbled.

“It's just supposed to be for fun,” Marinette chided.

“That does not sound fun,” he huffed petulantly.  “It sounds like a children’s game.”

“It is a children’s game,” Jon laughed.

Damian stared at him incredulously.  “Then why are we playing?”

“Because you’re just a big kid,” Marinette snarked, her smirk only growing in response to Damian’s aghast look.  She turned back toward Tim and Kon who had stayed next to the art room door watching their interactions in wonder.  “Did you guys want to join?

“They are far too busy,” Damian assured her hastily and loudly.

“Nah, we’re completely open,” Kon grinned.  “And I’ve never even heard of Candyland.”

Marinette gasped loud enough Kon didn’t need to use his superhearing to detect it even from down the hall.  She tried to turn back to them but Damian reached around Jon to keep her facing forward.  “Damian, he’s never even heard of it!  We have to let him play now.”

“We do not.”

“Oh, come on, Dame, it will make it more fun,” Jon insisted.  His voice and eyes were filled with an excitement that Marinette seemed to feed off of, her own smile growing at Jon’s response.

Damian looked between them, his petulant frown staying firmly in place, but he let go of Marinette’s arm and continued forward, knowing full well she and Jon would take it as an agreement.  “Including Drake has never made anything more enjoyable.”

“Come on,” Tim snickered.  “Now I have to play.  Plus, I bet she's right about Candyland and I want to see Damian restraining himself from ripping the board in half as he pretends to be normal for her.”

><><><><><><><><>< 

As it turns out, Marinette was, in fact, correct.  Damian absolutely hated the game.  If he had laser vision, the ice cream turrets on the Candy Castle would have been eviscerated.  “This is stupid,” he groused as Marinette’s piece landed on the final rainbow square.  He punctuated his displeasure by crossing his arms and pushing away from the table.  He could have handled Marinette winning once, but three times was uncalled for.

“Cheer up, Damian,” she tried consolingly.  “It’s just for fun.  It has nothing to do with your skills.”

“It’s a game of luck, remember,” Jon chimed in, which was easy for him as his pieces were usually not far behind Marinette’s while Damian kept getting picture cards that inevitably sent him back toward the beginning of the board.

“Yeah,” Damian glared at Kon, “luck.”

Kon looked to the ceiling innocently and mimed whistling.  At the same time, Marinette reached up to touch her earrings guiltily, “and I do tend to be a bit lucky.  Sorry.”

Kon opened his mouth to ask if meeting him was an example of getting lucky, but before he could say the line that would definitely end in him getting hit with kryptonite-laced brass knuckles, Dick bounded into the room.

“There you guys are!”  He smiled at all of them, but his eyes kept darting back to Marinette.  He couldn’t stop moving, shifting from foot to foot and rubbing his hands as he waited exceptionally impatiently for her to be introduced.

Damian finally stepped up for the task, standing tall in front of Dick and motioning toward her.  “Marinette, this is my brother Richard Grayson.  Richard, this is my friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Marinette, it is nice to meet you,” Dick grinned, his grin widening as he looked between her and Damian.  He took her hand with both of his to shake it, pumping it so hard in his excitement he was almost lifting her off the ground.  “Please call me Dick.”

“And you,” she agreed breathlessly.  It took a few moments after she reclaimed her hand before she could speak again.  “He speaks very highly of you.”

Dick’s eyes sparkled as he watched Damian sidle closer to Marinette, dipping his head just slightly to catch her eye, raising an inquisitive eyebrow and only looking away again once she nodded back to him, but made sure to put his arm around her again.  “He speaks of you at all,” Dick grinned, “so I know you must be important to him.”

Marinette blinked and plastered on a smile.  “Thank you.”  She waited until he’d dropped her hand before adding a quiet, “I think.”

Kon joined her on her other side and smirked.  “Don’t worry, when Damian is involved, that’s a compliment.”  Marinette pursed her lips and bobbed her head to the side nodding after a moment in agreement.

“Now, the reason I was really sent in, not that meeting you wasn’t absolutely at the top of my list,” he added to Marinette.  “Dinner is about to be served.  Alfred would like us to start getting seated.”  He glanced over at Kon and eyed him for a second before adding, “you should lose the jacket before Alfred sees it at his table.”

Kon glanced down and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, but finally nodded.  “Right.  Be right back.”

“Take your time,” Dick called as he replaced him by Marinette’s side.

“Don’t worry, I’ll put the game away,” Tim called after them.

“Thank you!” Dick called back to him.  “So, you’ll get to meet almost the entire family.  Cass and Stephanie are living in Hong Kong, but we hope they’ll make it for tomorrow.  Hey!” he called out after a large man shoulder-checked him.  “And that is Jason.”

Jason turned around and did a double take at Damian’s arm around Marinette’s shoulders.  He looked up from the display to look between them.  “What in the fuck knuckles…”

“Dude…” another man mumbled as he shook his head.  He sighed and looked back up with a strained smile.  “Sorry about him.  Hi, I’m Duke.”

Marinette grinned at him and reached out to shake his hand.  “It’s okay.  I’m Marinette and I do like Pink and making pies, so…” she shrugged then snickered at Damian’s bewildered look.  “But there is an important difference,” she met Jason’s eyes pointedly but not unkindly.  “We are just friends.”

Jason raised an eyebrow but nodded and moved to take a seat on the far side of the table.  “Impressed.  Honestly did not think you’d know that one.”

She scoffed.  “I have some pretty depraved friends.”

Jason mock gasped, drawing his hand to his chest to accentuate the scandal of the situation.  “Depraved!  Depraved?  Liking that movie makes you depraved?”

Duke patted him on the shoulder as he took a seat next to him.  “Sounds fair.”

“Oof,” Kon grunted as he walked in.  “Hate to think what that says about me.”

“Probably something pretty accurate,” Damian clipped.  “Marinette, you remember my father.”

Marinette straightened instantly at the figure walking in from the opposite side of the room.  “Of course.  Nice to see you again, M. Wayne.”

“And you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.  Welcome to our home.  I hope your showing went well,” he answered warmly.

“It did, thank you,” she smiled back.

“Are you an artist?” Dick asked as he took his seat next to Duke, to the left of the head of the table.

“A designer, actually,” Marinette offered.

“A brilliant designer,” Bruce corrected.  “I was quite impressed,” he assured Marinette firmly as he took his seat as well.

“I’d love to see it sometime,” Tim smiled.

Marinette blushed brightly but nodded with more confidence than she felt.  “Okay.”

She eyed where Tim had sat, two seats away from M. Wayne, and Kon making his way to sit between him and M. Wayne, and knocked her arm into Damian, looking pointedly at the last seat next to Bruce.  Damian nodded and cut in front of Kon to take the seat.  Kon blinked at him but quickly changed course to sit on the other side.  Jon stepped up next to Marinette and looked between the two remaining seats, one next to Kon and one next to Jason.  He looked at Marinette questioningly.  She shrugged and took the seat closest to her, next to Kon.  Jon nodded and sat next to Jason.

Tim leaned around Kon to verify that was really where Marinette had sat.  He was about to offer to switch spots with her so she could sit next to Damian, but Alfred entered at that moment and started serving the food.  As it turned out, she was fine where she was.  Marinette integrated with the family easily, laughing and joking with all of them.  It may have worked out better that way anyway as it gave her the chance to chat with Jon and Kon about Metropolis and get more information on the city before she decided if she wanted to move there after graduation.

The dinner was going amazingly so naturally it had to get cut short.  Everyone in the family knew something was wrong the moment Alfred entered mid-course.  “Sorry to interrupt, sir.  But there appears to have been an incident at Wayne Enterprises.”  Alfred leaned over and whispered in Bruce’s ear.  Whatever he said must have been really bad because he immediately stiffened, but in the blink of an eye, it was gone.  He gave Dick a pointed look.  He nodded at him, then bumped Duke and nodded to Jason.

Bruce stood up quickly, dabbing his mouth with his napkin, quickly followed by the other three men, although they didn’t bother to wipe their mouths.  “So sorry for the interruption, Marinette.  Please continue your night.  It was very nice to see you again.”  He was gone before Marinette could say goodbye.

Damain stood and moved over to Marinette whispering in her ear too low for anyone but Kon and Jon to hear.  She squealed and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before he straightened up.  Jon rounded the table to clap him on the back as well.  Damian nodded to the two of them then followed the others as they made their way out the door at a considerably slower pace than Bruce.

“You don’t have to come, Dame,” Dick whispered just outside the door.  “We have four people, we’re good.  If we need another, we can call for Tim.  Stay and keep your friend company.”

Damian glanced back into the room.  Marinette was smiling at something Jon was saying, which apparently required him to use both hands in uncoordinated movements.  He snickered at the scene.  “No, she will be okay where she is.  I won’t ignore my duty.”

Duke shook his head.  “We really need to work on your skills, man.”

Damian looked at him affronted.  “My skills are impeccable.  It’s your skills that need honing.”

Duke opened his mouth to respond but shut it and shook his head instead.

><><><><><><><><>< 

The mission had taken considerably longer than the family had anticipated, but seeing as it was a rogue team up, it wasn’t entirely surprising.  The only thing that was surprising, was the fact that Damian wasn’t acting like more of a constipated gremlin.  In fact, he was positively beaming, well, not glowering, which for Damian was roughly the equivalent of beaming.

Nobody knew what to make of it.  The mission had taken him away from his friend for almost the entire night and he seemed… happy about it.  Nobody who had seen them together earlier doubted he cared about her, so the fact that he was so blasé about having left her behind for so long, even to do something he valued so thoroughly, was confusing.  Even now as they walked into the living room, he wasn’t leading the pack to get to her sooner.

Which was a small mercy because it meant he didn’t have to be the first to see what they were seeing.  “What the hell is going on!” Dick roared.

Marinette’s head jerked away from Kon, their lips separating with a pop.  She eeped and tried to jump away from Kon, but he held her tight against him, allowing her to bury her face in his chest to hide her bright crimson cheeks.

“Oh damn,” Duke mumbled, eyes wide in surprise.

Kon kept one arm right around her and waved with the other.  “Hey guys.  You’re back early.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Jason hissed.

Kon scrunched his face slightly and looked to Dick for a clue, but his expression was just as thunderous.  He quickly shifted to Tim who shrugged, just as confused about the reaction as Kon.  “Uh… sorry I didn’t help?” he offered.

“Oh, no, its okay, you were too busy helping yourself,” Dick seethed.

“Helping my…” Kon trailed off.  He gaped at Dick and opened and closed his mouth a few times but before he could formulate how to respond Damian finally came in, his eyes down as he focused on dusting off his shirt, missing the way the entire room had stopped to watch him.

It took several more steps before he finally sensed the hostile atmosphere of the room.  He froze mid-brush and slowly lifted his head to take in the scene, just as slowly panning across the room until it settled on Kon’s arms around Marinette.  He lifted his eyes up, pausing momentarily at her hands on his chest.  His eyes snapped to hers.  “What are you doing!  How could you do this to me?” he yelled.  Marinettes eyes widened in shock and confusion while the rest of the room except Kon moved to comfort Damian.  “That is the wrong brother!”

“Excuse me?” Conner growled.

“Uh… what?” Duke asked uncertainly.

“You were supposed to end up with Jon not him!” he growled, moving in Marinette’s face and motioning harshly toward Kon.

Dick’s hands that were still perched from having been rubbing circles on Damian’s back slowly retracted.  “Wait.  I thought... why would you want that?”

Damian huffed and crossed his arms over his chest again, evoking the image of a child throwing a temper tantrum.  “Because it would be extremely convenient for me if my two best friends were dating.”  Tim had the misfortune of snorting when everyone else in the room had gone frighteningly quiet.  Damian’s eyes shot to him.  He pointed at Tim accusingly.  “She was supposed to end up with my idiot not your idiot.”

“That's why you brought me?”  Marinette asked.  “You said you wanted me to be here to support you while you spoke with your father because I made you feel better.  But you were just trying to pimp me out?”  Kon’s grip on her tightened at the hurt lacing her voice.  Damian’s eyes zeroed in on the movement and Dick had to adjust to holding him back instead of comforting him.

“I was not pimping you out!” Damian objected more annoyed than concerned.  “There was no payment involved and sex was entirely up to you.”

Marinette stared at him incredulously.  “Oh, thank you for that,” she snapped.

“You’re welcome,” he nodded, seemingly satisfied with her gratitude.

“She's not... isn't she here with you?” Jason asked carefully.

“Yes, she is here with me as my friend.  I brought her here so she could meet Jon and start dating him,” Damian gritted out.

“So... you two aren't dating or pre-dating?” Dick asked again, hoping Damians answers this time would somehow make more sense.  He had been so absolutely confident that they were just dancing on the edge of dating.

“Obviously.”

Dick stared at Damian, his answer not making the situation make more sense.  The room was completely still for a few moments before Duke finally broke the silence.  “What is pre-dating?”

Dick blinked at him.  “It’s when… it’s like before you’re dating.”

Duke shot him the flattest look he could manage.  “Yeah, thanks, got that from the ‘pre’ part.  I know how the English language works.”

“It’s when you’re laying the groundwork.  You haven’t actually asked them out yet but you both know it’s just a matter of time,” Dick clarified, his hands waving around in a pattern that seemed to accentuate his point in his mind but seemed completely non-sensical to everyone else.

Duke studied him.  “Do you both have to know?  What if it’s a surprise to the other when the one asks them out?”

“Still counts,” Dick answered at the same time Jason said, “That’s one-sided pining,” and Tim said “That’s just real life.”  They stared at each other in confusion.

“Hold up!” Kon cut in.  “I’m not an idiot.”

Damian scoffed.  “Based on how long it took you to figure out I’d insulted you; you appear to be mistaken.”

“You thought I was dating him?” Marinette asked, finally breaking away from Kon’s chest, though his arms were still resting lightly on his waist to direct the question to the rest of his family.  “We said we were just friends… multiple times.”

“Yeah,” Dick started slowly, “but I thought... right.  No, we knew that,” he finished as casually as he could manage.

She wiggled out of Kon’s embrace, much to his enjoyment, so she could step closer to Damian and smack him on the chest.  “I told you they would think we were dating no matter what we said.”

Damian rolled his eyes.  “And I told you they would figure it out.”  He motioned vaguely toward the rest of the room without taking his eyes off her. “Look at that they have.”

“Hey guys!” Jon greeted everyone as he tucked his phone in his back pocket.  “Welcome back.  Oh hey, you two finally separated.  Nice.  Perfect timing.”

Damian stared at him for a few seconds before rounding on Marinette.  “You've ruined the entire plan,” he growled at her.  “You were supposed to be here not separating from him!”  He motioned toward Jon.

“Well, you didn't tell me the plan, did you?” she hissed back.  “It helps to have collaboration on a plan when you INFORM YOUR COHORTS WHAT THE PLAN IS.”

“Yeah, Damian,” Jon added.  "It wouldn't have worked anyway.  I'm dating someone else."

“What?” Damian exclaimed, rounding on Jon.  “When did that happen?”

“A few weeks ago.  I was going to introduce you at the party tomorrow.  I just got off the phone with him,” he motioned toward his pocket.

“You cannot be dating someone,” Damian scoffed.  “I didn't approve of anyone.  I haven't done research on them.”

Jon and Mari let out matching scoffs.  "I don't need your approval to date someone," Jon reminded him.

"We are not chess pieces you can move around at your will to suit your whims," Marinette chided. Damian glared at her, a calculating look in his eyes.

"She was not issuing a challenge," Jon cut in before Damian could make any plans.

Damian huffed and rolled his eyes.  "You're more like checker pieces anyway.  Maybe even Candyland."

“So... you're not mad about...”  Dick motioned between Mari and Kon.

“Furious,” Damian huffed.

Mari rolled her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.  The fact that he didn’t shrug her off signaled to the rest of the family more about his state of mind than any words either Marinette or Damian had said up until that point.  “But he'll get over it.  Are you guys going to join us for the movie marathon now?”

“You just missed Trading Places,” Jon nodded.

“We missed Trading Places?” Jason gasped.

“I mean, they pretty much did too,” Jon grinned, looking pointedly at Marinette and Kon.

Marinette batted at him, her cheeks blushing profusely, but Kon grinned proudly.  “He’s not wrong.  So, I’m okay with putting it on again.”

“Mon Dieu,” Marinette whimpered.  Kon wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the crown of her head.  But Damian pushed the two apart with a harumph.

“We will get popcorn while you guys get things set up,” he announced as he pulled her out of the room.  Marinette grabbed Jon’s hand and pulled him along with them.

“So... you and Marinette…” Dick started carefully.

“Yeah…” Kon hedged nervously.

“Congrats,” Duke cut in before Dick could say anything.

“She seems like a good kid,” Jason agreed.

“She's our age,” Kon grumbled.

“But Damian's friend, so a kid,” Tim grinned.

“No.  I'm dating her so we won't be calling her a kid.  No matter what Tim says, I’m not creepy, and that would definitely be creepy,” Kon ordered, voice firm.  He looked between Jason and Tim to make sure they heard him then narrowed his eyes at them.  “But what is creepy?  You two agreeing.”

Dick chuckled and popped up between Tim and Jason, throwing his arms over their shoulders.  “Fair.  Now come on, we need to get the room set up.  Jason, get out the blankets.  Duke, you’re on pillows.  Tim, Kon, and I will work on a plan to keep Damian from killing Kon.”

“I appreciate that,” Kon nodded.

“We got your back,” Jason nodded.

“If only to keep Damian from stabbing you in it,” Duke grinned.

Kon’s appreciative gaze turned flat.  “Thanks.”  Duke snickered as he dropped more pillows on the couches and chairs.  “Come on,” Kon implored, “he brought a beautiful, brilliant, creative, kind woman he wasn’t interested in dating home for the holidays.  He should have known something would happen.  You guys don’t bring people home because of that, right?”

Dick scoffed and threw a pillow at Jason who ducked easily under it before dumping his blankets on one of the chairs.  “I just assume he’ll go after them after we’ve broken up.”

“Hey,” Jason objected.  He threw one of the blankets at Dick.  “I only did that once… that you know of,” he added under his breath.

“What was that?” Dick asked, eyes narrowed.

“Nothing,” Jason said innocently.

“I don’t think we have the same taste,” Tim shrugged.

“I don’t bring anyone around for entirely different reasons,” Duke snorted.

“What reason is that?” Jon asked with a knowing grin.

Marinette and Damian followed closely behind carrying trays.  “We come bearing popcorn!” she cheered, holding up her tray with several bowls of popcorn.

“And candy,” Jon joined in, holding up his own tray with bowls of candy.  “And drinks.”  He motioned with his elbow to the tray in Damian’s hands, who grumbled and rolled his eyes rather than holding up his tray.

“Oh, this looks great!” Marinette squealed and started distributing the blankets.  Jon and Damian angled one of the couches toward the television before plopping down on it.  Marinette was slower to move, her eyes darting to Kon who grinned at her attention.  He reached out to pull her over to the couch he and Tim had just angled toward the television as well, but before he could Damian yanked Marinette down onto the couch with him.

Kon huffed but Marinette broke down in giggles.  When she finally stopped, she scooted closer to Damian and looked pointedly at the space next to her she’d just left free, a space just big enough for someone to fit in snugly.  “Let’s get started,” Damian huffed.

“Can’t wait,” Marinette agreed quietly, her attention squarely pointed away from the television and on the man next to her.

Kon grinned and threw his arm over her shoulders.  “Me either,” he agreed.