Chapter 3 Decorating - Tumblr Posts

Daminette December-- So Close (And Yet So Far), Chapter Three “Decorating”

Marinette needed to shake things up.

She was falling into routine, and as much as she loved having a schedule she liked, she felt stuck. So, she did the second best thing that she could do in such a situation.

She decided to re-decorate her room.

Even though she got to the university earlier than everyone else in her year, she didn’t get first pick of the rooms. She wanted a single, of course, so she could freely talk to Tikki and be able to transport back to Paris if need be. She ended up in a double with Allegra, who was super kind and introduced her to her new friend group, but sometimes she wanted some alone time with Tikki to just vent and let loose.

Allegra was home for the weekend, so Marinette and Tikki had free reign of the room. It was a good thing, too, because everything was an absolute disaster.

Mari put her headphones on and started blasting Jagged Stone’s music (specifically, his newest album), ready to work. She started with the big stuff— taking everything out of the tiny closet and sweeping the floor, moving everything under the bed, taking everything off her desk and out of the drawers and fixing it up, etc. She got into the swing of things, barely stopping for at least an hour or two. She would’ve kept going, too, if she didn’t feel a hand settle on her shoulder.

Marinette let out a scream and spun around, grabbing the person’s wrist and bending it in a way that would cause a decent amount of pain. The person let out a yelp.

“It’s just me!” Damian cried, a frown on his face. “I’m sorry I startled you! The door was cracked open and I heard you singing so I thought I’d say hi!”

Marinette immediately let go and shrunk back. “Oh, no! I’m so sorry, Damian! It’s become a habit to… you know… defend myself… but god, did I hurt you? Is your hand okay?”

Damian looked down at his hand and winced. “I’ll be fine. You have a strong grip, you know that?”

“It’s the self-defense lessons,” she replied, holding her own wrist and rubbing it as if she too could feel pain. “I’ve been taking them for years.”

“You’ve been taught well.”

“Yeah, I guess I have. But still, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what I can do to help you, though.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he replied, putting his good hand on her shoulder. “It was an accident, and the pain is already starting to go away. There might be a bruise, but I get those all the time so I’m used to them.”

Marinette frowned. “You bruise often?”

Damian paled. He’d walked himself into a rough spot. “Uh… you can’t tell anyone this, but I can be a bit clumsy sometimes. I do my best to hide it when around others, but I often run into things and trip on the sidewalk,” he replied. Hopefully that saved him.

Mari didn’t seem totally convinced, but fortunately for him she didn’t question his story further. “I get that. I’m such a klutz, it isn’t even funny anymore.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Um, I don’t know what you’re up to, but if you want to come with me, I’m going to a gaming club meeting in an hour. It’s in the basement of the science building, and apparently it’s really fun.”

Damian considered this for a minute, but he eventually nodded. “That sounds wonderful, Marinette.”

“Yay! I promise it’ll be worth your time.” Marinette grinned. “And if it isn’t, we can always play on my console some other time.” She motioned to a gaming console on the floor, which she’d taken out to wipe off and check to make sure all the games were in the right cases. “But until it starts you’re welcome to stay here. I just have to clean up a little more, but I don’t think it will take much longer.”

“I’d love to, but I should probably go do some homework before we go,” Damian replied, frowning. “But I will meet you here and we can walk over together, okay?”

Mari nodded. “Sounds great! I’ll see you soon!”

Damian headed to the door, but turned around as he opened it. “Good luck with your cleaning,” he said before giving her a quick wave.

She waved back. “Thanks!”

Damian didn’t say anything else, just stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

Neither of them knew that they both sighed after the door clicked shut. They also didn’t really know why they sighed, either.

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COMING UP NEXT: Chapter 4 “Gaming”