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Damian was a pretty weird dude but Marinette liked it that way. They met in the woods (which just happens to be where Marinette’s met all the weird people in her life – not that there are many). Marinette had ventured from her forest home so that she could walk the 15 minutes to the nearby lake so she could read by the water as she always did on exceptionally good weathered days. She had only just arrived at the lake's edge when she heard a loud horse whinny and a bout of cursing. He had fallen off his horse. What an idiot.
Marinette had rushed to his aide and he was angry and cursing up a storm but Marinette invited him into her little cottage anyways. She knew Tikki would lecture at her for hours later but he was so handsome and she hadn’t spoken to another human in ages . Damian wasn’t the most socially adept but neither was she. Marinette’s awkwardness stemmed from her lack of human interaction but she had a feeling Damian’s asshole-ish behavior was because he was just that – an ass. They made quick friends.
Marinette was right – Tikki wasn’t happy. Neither were the rest of the kwamis. Okay, so it probably was technically a security risk to bring Damian to her Very Secure cottage that was Magically Protected but it’s really not her fault! It gets lonely out in the woods with only tiny mythical beings to keep you company.
Growing up she had complained. All of the characters she read about in her books had friends they could play with and parents to take care of them. It took 6 runaway attempts and a month-long tantrum before Tikki finally sat her down and explained everything. Marinette was born to two of the kindest people the kwamis had ever met and it just so happened that they were the King and Queen of the most powerful kingdom on the continent. As was the tradition in her kingdom, on her first birthday, kwamis and humans alike came to celebrate and bestow gifts upon her.
It began normally. She was blessed with beauty and good fortune and other grand things. Then Hawkmoth arrived. He was the King of a neighboring kingdom – one with fewer crops and a colder, more unforgiving climate. Hawkmoth is the type of man who will do anything to gain power. For years he had tried to form an alliance with Marinette’s kingdom. He offered her parents his finest silks and his most impressive dresses and robes but her parents weren’t interested. They knew the type of man he was.
When he heard of Marinette’s birth he was ecstatic. He traveled to the palace and demanded an audience with her parents and, once finally before them, made a proposal to unite the two kingdoms: when Marinette turned 18, she would marry his son. But Tom and Sabine weren’t interested. They sent him on his way and refused to host him for the night – an incredibly rude gesture in the eyes of the nobility. But they were determined to let their only daughter marry for love.
But Gabriel wanted power, and if the Dupain-Chengs wouldn’t give it to him he would just take it for himself. He searched far and wide until he finally found the answer to his prayers: a kwami. Kwamis are powerful creatures – practically gods. They travel throughout the Seven Kingdoms granting wishes and spreading good fortune. But there is an ancient spell, one long forbidden, that can capture a kwami and grant their magical ability to their captor. It’s dark magic. But Gabriel is not a man afraid to break the rules.
When he arrived at Marinette’s birthday celebration he was not there to bestow a gift upon her – he was there to bestow a curse.
“If she will not marry my son then she will marry no one!” he announced, “On her 18th birthday, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a slumber so deep she will never wake up,” he looked back at Marinette’s parents, “You should have accepted my offer.”
But Hawkmoth had arrived too early. Tikki had not yet made her wish.
Marinette’s parents begged for her help, “Please, Tikki! Help us save our daughter.”
“I will do my best,” she swore. A kwami’s spell may be irreversible, but Tikki’s smart and with a swift kiss to the forehead Marinette is bestowed with her final gift: if ever she is placed under a curse or dark spell there will always be one way to reverse it -- an act of true love.
Damian visited Marinette at her cottage once a week. Some days they stay inside and baked together. On others, Damian would help Marinette hop up onto his horse and take them to the lake where they would sit on the sand and read. Damian introduced Marinette to all of his favorite books – many of which Marinette had never even heard of (they had a limited collection back at the cottage).
Finally, a year before Marinette’s 18th birthday she told Damian about her curse.
“So I guess we just need to find you someone to love, huh?”
“Yeah,” she scoffs, “I guess so.” She didn’t know how to explain to him that she already loved someone. She was doomed to fall into an eternal slumber because the man in front of her was too dense to realize that she’s been in love with him for years and he would never love her back. Not in time to save her.
On the day of her 18th birthday, Tikki had done her best to convince Marinette to stay in the cottage but it was her birthday, dammit, and she wanted to read a book by the lake. So when Tikki had her back turned Marinette snuck out. The journey to the lake was a quick one and by the time she arrived, Damian was already sitting on the sand.
“What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you the same question,” Damian replied, “Didn’t you promise Tikki that you wouldn’t leave the house?”
“Well if today’s really my last day being awake I want to enjoy it.”
Damian tensed, “It won’t be your last. I promise.”
“I’m not sure there’s much to be done.”
He thumbs the sword that’s laid out on the sand next to him, “Marinette, I swear to you, I will not let Hawkmoth win. No matter what happens, you will wake tomorrow. I swear it.”
Marinette sighs, “Just stay with me, okay?”
“Okay.”
She lays her head on his shoulder and takes his hand in her own and together they watch as the sun begins to set over the water.
Marinette wakes up alone and the worst part is that she doesn’t even remember falling asleep. One moment she’s holding hands with Damian at the lake and the next she’s waking up on the forest floor, head pounding. A spinning wheel lies ominously against a nearby tree.
She hears someone running through the trees and jumps to her feet.
“Marinette!” Damian breaks through the trees, “You’re awake! Thank the gods it worked.” He sweeps her into his arms and holds her tight. He buries his face into the crook of her neck.
“Damian? What are you doing here? What happened?” she notices his appearance. His clothing is torn and he’s covered in scrapes and dried blood. His sword is stained red, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” He stares at her, drinking her in, “And it’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. How are you feeling? Are you tired? Thirsty?” He sounds breathless.
“I’m fine. Tell me what happened.”
“Marinette-”
“Now, Damian. Tell me what happened.”
He sighs, “What’s the last thing you remember.”
“The lake.”
Damian winces, “I’m not really sure what happened to be honest. One moment you were with me and the next you were standing up and heading towards the woods. Nothing I did could stop you and once you reached the trees it was like you disappeared. I searched for hours until I found you but by then it was already too late. You were asleep.”
“And then what happened?”
He avoids meeting her eye, “I tracked Hawkmoth down. I knew he would be nearby. He wouldn’t want to miss this. He wasn’t hard to find – he may be an asshole but he’s a predictable asshole.”
“And what? You fought him?”
Damian nods.
“And you won!?”
“No!” he exclaims, “No, of course not. He’s 40 years my senior and has a kwami on his side. Of course I didn’t win.”
“Then how am I awake? What happened?”
“I- I made a confession.”
“A confession?” she furrows her brow, “What confession did you make?”
He stares at her, “What type of confession- A love confession, Marinette! What other confession would I be making?”
She tilts her head, “You confessed your love to Hawkmoth?”
“I’m actually going to kill you.”
“Can you just tell me what happened please?”
He sighs, “I fought Hawkmoth and demanded that he free you from the curse. He refused and we fought. I lost but before he delivered the final blow he asked me a question.”
“What did he ask?”
“He asked me why you were worth my life.”
Her grip on his shoulder tightens, “And what did you tell him? Damian?”
He finally meets her eye, “I think you already know.”
“They said only an act of true love could break the curse.” Say it , she begs, Please, say it.
He cups her face in his hands and holds her gently, like she’s something precious, “Marinette, I’ve loved you since the very first day we met.”