#just in front of marinette being slightly stupid

[verfound]

MINIFIC: Oct. 23: Day 22: Giant (MLB, Lukanette, DLM AU)

For @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers October Minific Challenge 2023.

Read on Ao3

To Feel Alive Again: Ch22: Giant

By the time Marinette had finished her shift, tracked down her reap, and made it back to Luka’s front door, she was pissed.

She didn’t regret leaving the night before.  She knew it had been for the best, that if she had stayed it would just be something they would both regret in the morning.  Still, even knowing that, the decision had been hard.  She had barely slept the night before, and if not for the fact that she had told Luka…had promised him she’d pick him up for breakfast and nothing would change between them…she would have happily chickened out and proceeded to avoid him like the coward she was.

Except he hadn’t answered once she’d arrived, not even after ten minutes of knocking and shouting at him through the door.  His neighbor, a woman slightly older than her who worked the night shift somewhere, had come out and asked her to keep it the fuck down, some of us are trying to sleep.  She had apologized, and the woman had told her Luka wasn’t home.  She wasn’t sure where he was, but she knew he had left pretty early in the morning.  He’d been walking out of the building as she’d been walking in.

…which had led Marinette to wonder if Luka was avoiding her.

He hadn’t been at breakfast, either.  Mendeleiev had simply said he was still in a Mood, didn’t feel like being social, and had collected his post-it and left.  She wouldn’t tell her where he was headed after that, and Marinette had spent the rest of breakfast sulking as she pushed undercooked scrambled eggs around her plate.

She’d had work that day, and her reap shortly after, and that had left too much time to stew.  Because honestly!  Where the fuck did he get off?  If anything, she should be the one avoiding him!  She was the one who had tried to take things too far!  He was hurting, and…and drunk, and not in his right mind, and how horrible was she that she was willing to take advantage of that because…what?  She’d spent a little too long lately staring at his mouth and wondering what it would feel like on hers?

…she was dead.  She was horny.  And he was dead and depressed, and all of that meant she had done the right thing leaving when she did.  How dare he avoid her like she was the bad guy here?

…unless…unless he remembered and felt like he was the bad guy.  If he felt he had been forcing himself on her, taking advantage of her kindness, and had been too ashamed of that to face her.

Which was stupid, because it was Luka.  Luke was…he was…it was ridiculous, she decided, because she suspected that Luka’s biggest flaw might be that he cared too deeply about people, but she knew that it was also that he had closed himself off because of that.  He was prickly because he didn’t want to get close to people anymore, and that was totally fair, except they had been making progress.  She liked to think they were friends now.  And, dammit, he wasn’t allowed to be an asshole to her, not anymore, just because…what?  She had tried to get drunk and kiss him?

…maybe she wasn’t mad.  Maybe she was just…concerned.  Worried.  A little hurt.  And maybe that was pissing her off, too.

Which meant that, either way, when she arrived at his flat shortly before dinnertime, she was pissed.  And she was going to make sure he knew it, she thought as she banged on the door.

“Luka Whatever-The-Fuck-Your-Middle-Name-Is Couffaine, open the damn door right this minute!” she shouted above the banging, even going so far as to kick the door for good measure.  “Just talk to me, you asshole!”

She paused when she heard a shuffling, a crash, and a yelp.  Luka’s muffled voice came from the other side, and then a bigger thump against the door.  And…rattling?  Like metal.  Chains?  What…what was that?

The door cracked open a moment later, and Luka poked his head out.  He was reaching behind him, and she watched as he slumped down for a moment like he was trying to hold something back.

“…it’s Llewellyn,” he said.  She blinked at him, confused.

“Wh…what?” she asked.  He slipped again and cursed, then dipped his head towards her.

“Whatever-The-Fuck-Your-Middle-Name-Is,” he grunted.  “It’s ‘Llewellyn’.”

“…Luka Llewellyn Couffaine?” Marinette asked, her eyebrows lifting.  Her tongue tripped over the Ls a little, and she frowned.  She wasn’t sure if she liked it.  “That’s…a mouthful.”

“So is – shit,” he grunted, and she gasped as his legs seemed to give out from under him and he toppled back.  The next thing she knew, his door was opening and the biggest dog she had ever seen was jumping onto his chest, kicking off with a low woof, and jumping at her.

“Oh my G-!” she cried, the words leaving her as the dog knocked her to the ground and the wind left her in a rush.  She screamed, more out of shock than fear, but then the big lug was already licking her face and she was laughing as she tried to shove him off.  Sure, he was adorable, but he was heavy as fuck and lying on her chest and she couldn’t breathe.  “L-Luka!  What the fuck?”

She tried to sound angry – she really did – but the dog was tickling her face with its tongue and the question came out on a laugh.  She finally pushed the dog away enough that it settled its big head on her chest, his hot breath snuffling at her neck, and tried to look over the mountain of fluff sitting on her to see if Luka was all right.

“Bach, no!” Luka called, and then he was there and grabbing massive fistfuls of fluff and tugging the dog back.  Bach, he called it?  Bach whined and gave a tug, and Marinette saw Luka stumble again before falling on his but with a wince and a curse.  “Fuck!”

“Luka, are you – easy, sweetheart, ok, get off now,” she said, shoving at the dog.  It – he? – finally sat back on her legs, his tongue lolled out and panting as he looked at her with the stupidest expression she’d ever seen on a dog.  He was looking between her and Luka, and if she didn’t know any better she’d swear he was smiling at them.  She looked back at Luka, trying not to smile herself.  “Are you…are you ok?  And what the heck?”

“I’m fine,” he huffed, but he was wincing as he rubbed his hip.  He looked up and saw her staring at the gesture, and he sighed.  “I got hit by a car.”

“You what?!” she gasped.  He waved her off and stood.  Bach gave another low woof, and she watched as Luka held up a palm to the oaf.  “Luka!  That’s not…are you hurt?  Clearly you’re hurt, of course you’d be hurt, but you…oh my God, Luka!”

“I’m fine,” he said, stressing the words again, but when he walked over to them he was limping, and that didn’t seem like fine in Marinette’s book.  She opened her mouth to say so, but she stopped when he shot her a look.  “I’m fine.  It barely clipped me.  Bach’s owner wasn’t so lucky, though, and he almost…he’s gonna be staying with me for a bit now, aren’t you, buddy?”

The dog panted as Luka scratched at his neck, looking up like he didn’t realize Luka was even talking about him.  Marinette reached out to scratch at his ears, and he jumped and whined, whipping around to see her.  He let out a low bark, and Marinette frowned.

“Easy,” Luka said.  “He’s deaf.  You just startled him is all.”

“…so you do have a dog,” she said, looking up at him with a smile.  He rolled his eyes and nodded, still scratching Bach.

“I guess I do now, yeah,” he said.  He glanced back at her and sighed.  He wasn’t smiling anymore.  “Why are you here, Marinette?”

And there it was.

“…you weren’t here this morning,” she said, her shoulders slumping as she looked away.  She could feel him watching her, and she swallowed against the lump in her throat.  He was going to make her say it.  He was…  “You…I was…we got pretty drunk last night, and –”

“We can’t…” he started, but he cut off abruptly when she lifted her eyes to him.  She bit her lip and waited for his refusal, all while mentally pleading with him to let it go, to let her be right.  To pretend with her that it had all been too much alcohol and a mistake that neither could remember.  To let them go back to normal, whatever their ‘normal’ actually was anymore.  She saw his throat bob as he swallowed, and then he looked back to Bach.  His hand moved up to his ear and scritched.  “…yeah.  I think I blacked out at some point.  Did you…I don’t remember you leaving.  Did you get home ok?”

Like nothing had happened.

She had promised him they’d be ok.  They’d still be them.

…like she didn’t know what his kiss tasted like now.  Like she wasn’t still wondering if it would be the same right now, without the alcohol and the grief and…

“Y-yeah,” she said, nodding.  “My head was killing me this morning.  I came by to walk you to breakfast, but…”

“Woke up early,” he said, nodding.  “Couldn’t get back to sleep.  I…look.  I was trying to get Bach’s dinner together when you knocked, and…did you…I mean…”

He huffed out a breath, and then Bach was licking his face and he was rolling his eyes as Marinette giggled.  He glanced over at her with a defeated sort of smile, and nothing had changed.

…even if, maybe, everything had.

“Do you want to come in?” he asked, nodding back towards his still-open door.  She smiled and pushed herself up.  She dusted off her skirt before she offered a hand to help him up, too.

“I would love to.”

#miraculous ladybug #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #bach the dog #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #ml fic #ver fic #lbsc october minifics 2023 #to feel alive again #dlm lukanette au #dead like me au #friendly reminder that luka was in a car accident a few hours ago #bach you can't just step on papa like that #luka needs a nice long bath after the day he's had #maybe a massage and some snuggles #mari are you listening 👀

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Bound, Part 7

Previous part

Marinette didn’t know what to think of the person in front of her.

He was clearly blessed by a kwami, too. It wasn’t like powers were super common in their world, especially not ones as powerful as his.

Chat Noir. Blessed by the kwami of destruction, Plagg.

He said he was her partner.

Considering her kwami was the one of creation, she had very few doubts about it.

Speaking of… she pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath before closing her eyes to concentrate.

The aching in her limbs disappeared. A deep gash that had been torn into her arm by the concrete mended itself. The buildings around her were swept up by the wind and fitted back into place, the atoms knitting back together seamlessly.

The city seemed to give a collective sigh of relief.

She opened her eyes again.

There was no hint of the destruction Stoneheart had wrought over the city. Nothing except for the cameras that had captured every moment of the monster’s rampage, and the black and purple butterfly that was crumbling to ash in Chat Noir’s hand.

Chat Noir grinned, dusting his faux leather gloves of the substance so he could rest his hands on his hips. “Man, your blessing is way better than mine. Think we can trade?”

She rolled her eyes just slightly behind the white lenses of her mask. “Are your ears even pierced?”

“Mhmm!” He chirped, brushing some hair behind his ear to reveal that, yes, his ear was pierced.

“Nice. Still gonna be a no, though. Knowing me, I’d trip at the wrong time and end up turning myself into dust.”

“Dang.” He snapped his fingers. “Maybe next time.”

She snickered before catching herself. Really? Was this all it took for her to forget to be wary of people? One fight together and a disarmingly pretty smile and she was already joking and laughing with the guy?

He was nice, sure, but how long was that going to last?

Her stiffening clearly didn’t go unnoticed, because his eyes narrowed just slightly.

Slitted eyes glanced to the side, towards the camera crew that was watching them interact with bated breath. His smile lessened just slightly before returning full-force, sunshine-bright in a way that was almost blinding, and he walked over. He looped an arm around her shoulders and dragged her away from the camera.

His shoulders relaxed when they slipped into an alley. No one followed them in, Chat Noir had given a pretty clear signal to leave them alone and it would be stupid to risk upsetting one of the two people in Paris that were willing and able to help them fight against Hawkmoth – especially since he was the only one that could touch and destroy the butterflies safely.

He let her go in favor of leaning back against the alley wall, smiling faintly.

“I guess it’s wrong to say that I can’t wait for this all to happen again?”

Her eyes widened. “Dude. We almost died.”

“That’s being dramatic,” he said lightly, though there was some truth to it. The reason her arm had been scraped up in the first place was because she had been trying to catch herself before she fell off a building.

She raised her eyebrows.

He huffed. “What? I don’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun.”

“You need to find better hobbies.”

He laughed. “Maybe. I don’t suppose you have any recommendations?”

“Well, if this is your idea of fun… I don’t know. Martial arts? Fencing? Laser tag? Paintball?”

He failed to conceal a wince. “Yeah, no, I was honestly hoping for something that I could do at home. Outside of video games and reading. Trust me. I’ve done everything I want to do when it comes to those.”

She tipped her head to the side. “Baking, then.”

He smiled. “I guess that’ll do. Thanks.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, anyways, figure out a name for yourself yet?”

She allowed the change in subject: “Coccinelle, I guess.”

He snickered. “Creative, I see.”

She huffed lightly. “You literally called yourself Chat Noir.”

“Yeah, but mine is infinitely cooler.”

“Oh?”

“Mhmm! Because it’s me and I’m cool.”

“Oh, totally, I can tell.”

He gave her a sharp grin.

And then he glanced up. At the sun, framed perfectly between the two roofs. It was nearing noon.

He sighed lightly, his smile lessening. “As fun as talking to you is, I should be getting home. If I don’t get back soon…” He trailed off. Seemed to reconsider what he wanted to say. “... my dad will freak if he realizes I’m missing.”

There was something bitter in his tone. Things were beginning to mesh together to paint a terrible picture. She wanted to ask about it, but she didn’t. They were coworkers, people that hardly knew each other. And if he wasn’t going to pry about the way that her red string sat on her neck – about the way that it dug into her skin and left deep indentations that forced her to wear turtlenecks for fear of being questioned on something even she didn’t fully understand – then she wasn’t going to pry about his home life.

She nodded, smiling lightly. “I’ll be seeing you, then.”

“No need to be so formal, M’ladybug. If we’re gonna be working together until we find where Hawkmoth has hidden Nooroo, then we might as well be friends.”

He offered his hand to shake.

She crossed her arms, still smiling that polite smile.

“I look forward to working together in the future,” she intoned.

~

Ever since that day that he had been pulled out of his chair by an unseen force, he had started getting phantom aches and pains relatively consistently.

Not in the way he had used to, he had long-since learned how to deal with his soulmate’s bouts of clumsiness.

No, this was distinctly different. He would be thrown backwards at seemingly random times. Back hitting surfaces that didn’t exist, body taking blows that were not aimed for him, mottled purples and greens and reds littering his skin…

Only for it all to disappear within an hour. Maybe two hours, if he was particularly unlucky.

When given the chance, he would stare at himself in the mirror. Look over the bruises that should have been lingering beneath his skin, at the scrapes that should have littered every little surface.

But his skin would be perfectly blank outside of the injuries that he had earned himself.

Sometimes, he wondered if he had started imagining things. If he had gone crazy.

The wary, watchful eyes of his trainers said otherwise.

Thankfully, Bruce wasn’t around. He had sent Tim off to get trained on his own with masters from all over the world (some part of Tim finally understood why his parents had always spent so much time away now. Why would someone choose to be with him when there was tons of interesting stuff just outside of the country?) and Tim was, for the first time, strangely happy that his new mentor figure was trying to keep him at a distance.

It still pulled at that old, festering ache in his chest that didn’t care to take into account that the man was grieving and that Tim’s existence was surely bringing back memories – good and bad memories alike, but the nature of them didn’t matter when any reminder was surely painful – because all that it cared about was that he was alone.

But he would be even more alone if Bruce realized he had a soulmate.

He needed to learn to get everything under control.

He started by calling Bruce to tell him he wanted to modify the Robin suit. He wasn’t going to change it entirely, the colors, while maybe a little impractical, were iconic… but he was going to add pants and sleeves. Bruce accepted his excuse that he just wanted to be better protected without saying a word, but Tim could tell even over the line that the man was suspicious.

He probably thought Tim was being abused.

(Ha. As if his parents even cared enough to bother with that.)

Tim wasn’t going to argue, though.

It got rid of the major problem: Bruce seeing proof of his soulmate’s existence.

As for the pain… well, training was helping with that. He hardly even blinked anymore when he felt a fist connect with his face, or a knife find a makeshift sheath in his thigh, or a rib crack under a particularly high kick.

He would learn to deal with all of the aching and hurting that seemed to never end.

Most of the problem was that Tim never knew when to expect to get hurt through his soulbond. He could brace himself for hits during training, but constantly being tense on the off-chance that he might get hurt simply wasn’t healthy.

He just wished that he could know when it would happen. He would even be happy with a guesstimated time at this point.

And, well, his wish was granted.

He had been waiting for the shower to warm up one day after a particularly awful training session that was sure to leave him hurting for a while considering this particular trainer wasn’t letting him use painkillers (“so as not to fog the mind” the woman had said… he would have preferred she just admit she was a bit of a sadist). At least he would be able to sleep right after this.

The only warning he got was a sudden burst of anxiety just a millisecond before there was a jerking in his hands, sending pain flaring up his arms in a way that told him that his soulmate’s wrists had been dislocated, and he yelped a curse.

Something connected with his side and he stumbled only slightly, fighting instincts that weren’t necessary flaring up, and then he felt himself go crashing into asphalt.

He pulled up the side of the shirt and sighed at the irritated red line there. His soulmate had been shoved into a pole, maybe, or hit by a staff.

He ignored the way concrete scraped the skin of his hands, sending more pain burning its way up his arms, as he turned off the shower – he wouldn’t be using it anytime soon.

Something long and thin hit the back of his neck and stars danced behind his eyes. A tiny tremor ran under his skin and he could only cringe at the newfound exhaustion lingering in his limbs. Everything felt like it weighed thousands of pounds and he gave in, allowing himself to stumble back until he could lean against the wall.

Tim grimaced at the unfortunately familiar feeling of a foot on his chest, forcing him further into the thing pressing against the back of his shoulders and neck. He could tell it was wood, now, could feel the uneven ridges and faint swirls against his skin.

Something built behind his fingernails, his wrists aching at all of the movement, desperation balling in his throat like the plea that was desperate to escape him. But it would have gone unheard.

He felt the ghost of something sharp press against the front of his neck, just a faint tingle that drew his eyes to his reflection. To the tiny line of red on his adams apple. Fear made his throat bob beneath the red, but he wasn’t sure whether the fear was his own.

Surely not –.

Pain blinded him and he crumpled, his mind going blank. In that moment there was nothing, no room, no him, just pain. Just the feeling of every cell crying out as one, of every nerve in his body screaming for release.

And then it was given to them.

The pain was gone.

A shiver ran through him.

He had never felt better.

He had never felt worse.

Bile rose in his throat.

He planted his hands on either side of the sink, pushed himself up with trembling arms onto shaky feet.

He looked up at his own face. It was horrifically pale. He wasn’t sure if that was because of his own terror or because of the deep red line that encircled his neck.

He gave in and unloaded his stomach.

~

Marinette sat up with a jolt of fear, scrambling and struggling against the confines of a blanket. And she might have thought this was normal, just another time her soulmate’s nightmares woke her up, if she were not propped up against a wall, if the blanket that trapped her were not millions of times softer than her sheets…

If she did not remember staring into the eyes of an akuma as they pressed an ax to her neck.

Her eyes flew open and, instantly, everything felt wrong. The alley she had been set in was too dim, the colors that constantly lingered in her vision had faded, her breath refused to fog in the summer heat.

Chat Noir stood in front of her, his face turned away, his hand outstretched.

She didn’t want to admit, even to herself, that the sight of him was relieving. It had been a little under a year since they had started working together and, despite herself, she had found herself growing somewhat fond of him. She told herself that it was only natural, that you can only fight side by side – that you can only save someone’s life and get saved in return – so many times before you grow to care.

But she knew that wasn’t entirely it. That she wouldn’t have grown quite this attached if it were someone else.

That it had to do with the way that Chat Noir was nothing and everything like her.

He was always so bright and willing to do anything where she was terrified of anything that deviated from the norm even when the outcome was objectively good.

He was just as lonely as she was.

She looked down at the set of earrings in his grasp and shivered.

That was why she wasn’t dead. That was why she could no longer see the red that always clung to her like a second skin.

She snatched them up, ignoring the way his fingers curled just slightly as if he was hesitant to let go quite yet, and set them back in her ears.

Instantly, the world returned to what she now considered normal. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was difficult through the string wrapped around her neck.

She still felt terribly anxious, but at least things were normal again. She would take the win.

Chat Noir sighed when he heard her mumble to transform and some of the tension in his shoulders disappeared. He waited for a couple seconds before turning to look at her, and a tiny smile edged across his face.

“Hey,” she croaked.

Whatever facade he had had crumbled in an instant and he threw himself at her, a sob escaping him.

She whimpered as arms wrapped around her tightly and a face was buried in her shoulder, struggling to find the words to soothe him around the tightness in her throat.

A tightness that felt strangely like –.

She broke, a sob escaping her lips, and her arms flew up to wrap around him as well. To return the hug. To sink into the feeling of being held so tightly, as if she were going to disappear if he dared to let her go. Clawed fingers just barely dug into her skin in their desperation. She buried her nose in his hair, breathing in the citrus scent that was so different from the nothingness she had endured for what had felt like years.

They were shivering through their sobs. She wasn’t sure if it was her that was trembling, or him, or both. But the pair were just barely shaking. Unable to let go. Unwilling to open their eyes and face reality.

There was still ash on his hands.

She could still feel the ghost of a blade against her skin.

“I’m g-oing t-o teach yo-u to fight,” he breathed, his voice cracking.

They were just kids.

She could only nod.

~

Four hours.

Tim had been waiting for four hours.

It never lasted longer than two.

The water against his skin had long-since gone cold, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the shower.

If he did, he wouldn’t have an excuse as to why there were water droplets sliding down his cheeks.

If he did, he might catch sight of the red line in the mirror.

He shivered. He wasn’t sure if it was the cold or not.

And then he felt a tiny pinch. Ten tiny pinpricks digging into his skin. Fingernails, probably, though he wasn’t sure why they were quite so sharp.

It was like the day that he had been beaten half to death by Two Face, with nails digging into his skin, and yet it was so terribly different.

He forced himself up onto trembling legs as he half-stumbled out of the shower. He didn’t even bother with a towel as he rushed to look in the mirror.

There was no hint of the line.

Relief.

They were alive.

And then anger.

They were alive.

He reached into his clothes and grabbed the dagger that he had been instructed to keep on himself at all times. A horrible part of him wanted to carve into the flesh of his leg. To write out the words ‘What the fuck’ in deep red and wait for a response. To let his anger be known outside of a vague feeling that his soulmate might just mistake for their own.

He had been terrified.

Sure, he put himself in danger just as much as his soulmate did, but he had never died.

The anger faded.

They had died.

He felt bile rise in his throat once again, though he knew that he had nothing else left in his stomach to vomit up.

Disgust that he wasn’t completely sure was his own bubbled up in his chest and tangled with the imaginary rope that always seemed to tug at his heart at the most inopportune of times.

It wasn’t right to be mad.

They had died. He doubted it had been intentional, based on the desperation and fear he had felt in his soulmate’s last moments (could he even call those their last moments if they had come back?).

He wasn’t even really angry, really.

It was just far easier to feel anger than it was to sit down and face the horror of knowing that someone around his age had died so gruesomely. To think about the lack of pain from his soulmate and the way that had made him feel – cold and empty and so alone. To deal with the fear that came with the knowledge that this was likely to happen again.

He grabbed his towel and wrapped it around himself. Like the cape he was going to wear once he started working for Batman officially, or maybe like the almost painfully tight hug he was receiving from a person that he didn’t know and couldn’t see.

All he could see was the dagger in his hand and the skin of his thigh.

He pulled his phone out of his clothes and stared at the screen.

He could still take a knife to his skin. Could write his number in red and see if anything happened.

But, as he worried his lip, he knew he wouldn’t do that. Because what if nothing happened?

He wasn’t sure how he would feel if his soulmate outright rejected talking to him.

It would be justified, he had put their bodies through hell over the past few years.

Tim still didn’t think he would be able to cope with it if they simply ignored him.

Not them, too.

He tossed the dagger aside with a sigh and forced numb fingers to open up his phone.

At least he knew where his soulmate was, now. And why everything sucked for a couple hours a day only for it all to disappear without a trace.

He had been debating between the League of Assassins and Paris… but it couldn’t be the League, for their waters could not bring someone back from the dead.

So. A Parisian.

He quietly downloaded BugOut, an app that Parisians used to keep track of akumas. That way, he would know when to brace himself.

And then, after some thought, he downloaded Duolingo, too.

~~~~~

Next part

@laurcad123

#plot progression? in MY fanfic? #it's more likely than you think #and more likely than i think #oh my god the beginning of this fic is so much longer than i thought it would be #*shakes self* THIS IS JUST THE SETUP WHAT ARE YOU DOING #bound #maribat #ladybug #tim drake #red robin #marinette dupain cheng

[lily-drake]

Here's an idea you can do if you want. Marinette is Tim's younger sister that goes missing before he became robin. She somehow ends up in Paris with almost no memories. Only a few of her brother. Years later she is in Gotham (maybe a class trip or something. I will let you decide why she is there. When I think of this I imagine she is still in school.) and she ends up in an attack and gets seriously injured. You can then decided how Tim finds out.

Stay With Me Now

It never made the news.  He was stupid to believe that his parents really had when he told them.  It was as if she never existed.  His parents said that she was traveling with grandparents. Tim didn’t even know if they actually existed.  Said she was at boarding school.  Said she was on a humanitarian trip.  She was always somewhere else far away from Gotham.  And Tim knew that everything his parents said was a lie.  The rest of the world may have forgotten Marianne Drake, but Tim wouldn’t.  That was his little sister, and he would do everything he could to bring her back.

_________ When she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that the whole room was white.  There was a beeping noise next to her.  And her head hurt.  

“Tom, she's awake!”

A gentle voice said from the edge of wherever she was.  

“Hello Marinette, we’re so happy you’re awake.”

The voice said.  Was that her name, she couldn’t remember.  It must be if the voice is calling her that though.

“Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright.  We were so worried about you after that car hit you, but the doctors said you were going to be okay.”

Marinette—that didn’t feel right, but her head hurt when she tried to think why that was, so she’d let it be for now— turned her head to side slightly and cracked her eyes open ever so slightly to look at the two people next to her.  There was a lady with short black hair and gray eyes, her skin was pale and looked very smooth.  Next to her was a man with chestnut brown hair and mustache, his face had more curves than the woman’s and was not as smooth looking.

“Sorry, who are you?”

The woman looked almost heartbroken, but she didn’t understand why.

“The doctors said this might happen.  Mon amor, do you remember what happened before you woke up here?”

The woman asked so softly.  Marinette shook her head slightly, but that was a mistake as everything began to spin slightly from the small movement making her feel a little queasy.  The woman nodded sadly.

“I see, it’s worse than I thought.  Marinette darling, on your way to school, you were hit by a car causing you to hit your head on the road.  The head injury was pretty bad, the doctors said that there was a possibility you might have amnesia, but we didn’t want to believe that it would happen to you.  Marinette darling, I’m your mother, Sabine, and this is your father, Tom.”

Marinette didn’t turn to look at them again, her head was still spinning a little and she didn’t want to risk throwing up.  A shudder went down her spine of even the thought of doing so in front of others, but she didn’t know why.

A few days later she was released from the hospital and went back to the bakery/apartment where apparently her and her family lived.  The place felt completely unfamiliar to her, just like her…parents.  But everytime she tried to understand why that was, her head began to hurt so badly that she would need to lay down for the rest of the day to make the pounding stop.  So, in order to stop the constant pain, she stopped trying to understand why her head was saying that everything around her was wrong.  She went along with everything, did what others said, kept busy in order to halt even the temptation to understand on a deeper level why nothing was right and why she was missing something very important.  When she did this, Tom and Sabine were much happier, her classmates would stay around her longer, and they would even invite her to events as long as she helped them with something!  That was familiar, that felt right!  Being left alone except when someone asked her to help them felt familiar and her head was singing at the normality of the actions.  Was that bad?  She didn’t dwell on it, in fact she just stayed on that path and let everything continue its course.

Often though her mind would wander anyways and she would remember bright blue eyes that looked like hers, but were more steely.  She would draw a young man with untidy black hair and a bright smile.  She would draw an outline of an unfamiliar city with a boy and mini her next to him taking pictures of dark shadows hidden in the background.  She even drew a big garden with the boy dangling upside down from a tree.  She giggled when she was done with that one, a feeling of childish glee running through her for reasons she didn’t fully understand.  She didn’t know who this boy was, but she felt so drawn to him.  So she kept drawing him in a bunch of different positions that made her laugh and smile.  Sometimes though, he would be sad or scared.  A few times when she drew him in a nice suit he would be stoic, and that made her feel weird and sad, so she stopped drawing him suits.  He looked nicer in comfortable clothing and nerdy t-shirts anyways.

Things rarely ever felt right in this city no matter how much she tries to convince herself otherwise.  Tom and Sabine were nice and were always very warm, but everytime she said they were her parents her brain felt all weird.  But at least she had the boy in her drawings, the one thing that could make everything feel right in her mind.

_________ Five years later

Marinette knew this wasn’t a good idea!  She shouldn’t have believed them!  Ever since Lila had come all she has done is make her life miserable, and she hadn’t even done anything to her!  She tried to make peace with the girl, she had even made her own dress for goodness sake!  But no, that wasn’t good enough because even after that she wouldn’t stop spreading lies about her.  And worst of all she threatened to lie about Tom’s and Sabine’s bakery!

Currently they were visiting Gotham for US and France friendship day because even though there were so many cons to coming here, Lila “knew the Wayne’s”, so they “had to”become here to the “Crime Capital of the World”.  

They had been eating at a small dinner quite a bit away from their hotel, and when Marinette left to use the bathroom a bit before they were supposed to leave, they got up and left her.  She didn’t know exactly where she was, but from her surroundings she knew to keep her phone away and to make sure the taser she had bought at the airport here was clutched tightly in her hand.

Constantly she looked around her to make sure nobody was following her and looked into alleyways before she got too close to them.  This felt familiar, it felt right, and everything about this strange city didn’t feel so strange after all.  Unfortunately, despite her attempts at being cautious, she still wasn’t able to escape from the multiple pairs of hands that pulled her into one of the alleyways.  So tried to scream for help, but they covered her mouth and took the taser away from her before she could do anything.  The next thing she knew she was being slammed harshly against a wall with three filthy faces leering at her from above.  The scent of alcohol and cigarettes filled her senses and it took everything in her to keep the cough that was itching at her throat from escaping.

“Lookin Wha’ we go’ ‘ere.”

The man right in front of her drawled out.  There was a dark twinkle in his eye that made her shudder.  Not to mention that she couldn’t escape his breath which made her want to gag.  Her eyes darted side to side looking for an opening of some kind that she could use to escape.

“She’s pretty small.  Whatcha’ doin’ all by yourself girlie?”

The man on her right asked while taking a lock of her hair into his hands only to begin to fiddle with it.  Marinette glared up at the men and kicked the man in front of her in the shin.  He let go of her and while the others were in shock she tried to run for it.  She got only a few feet before she was hit in the head by something hard.  Her body hit the dirty pavement hard and her head began to throb in time with her racing heart.

“Tha’ wasn’ very nice little lady.”

The man she had kicked growled.  She tried to push herself up, but then there was a sharp stinging in her abdomen where one of the other men had just kicked her.  She tried to gasp for breath but all she could hear was her own heart and the clicking of metal against metal.  Tears poured down her cheeks and her head hurt.  She didn’t even notice when everything went silent, too silent.  All she could think about was bright blue eyes, a large mansion, a bright city on the rooftops, shadows, empty halls, cold parents, a flight, walking across the street, a car, it didn’t stop!  It was the people she saw earlier who were driving, they lived in the big manner with the boy, she lived with the boy!  Her head felt like it was going to explode!

“Miss!  Miss it’s okay.  They can’t hurt you ever again.”

There was a small reprieve from the pain where she could hear a gentle voice speak.  They were about a foot away and keeping their distance.  She appreciated that.  She opened her eyes—when had she closed them—and saw a man in red and black armor.  He had black hair with a streak of white and a red domino mask.  

“Robin?”

Because she remembered looking at that face with her brother, SHE HAD A BROTHER!  Then the pain was back with full force.  She clutched her head hoping it would make the pain go away or at least lessen it, but no!  It got worse and worse and though she couldn’t hear herself doing it, she knew she was sobbing.  Something warm and solid was holding her and she quickly leaned against it because maybe that would take the pain away?!  But it never faded, never lessened.  She wanted her brother back!  Tim, where’s?  She hadn’t seen him in what…five years?  She wanted to go home, why wasn’t she home?  At some point she lost consciousness, the pain in her head too unbearable for her to process while awake.  But all she could think about was a boy with steely blue eyes and a goofy smile.

_________ Jason didn’t know what to do.  He had stopped three scumbags from hurting a girl who couldn’t be older than maybe 14, and then she’s screaming and clutching her head in pain.  He had noticed that there was a cut on her head she was bleeding from, but it didn’t look bad enough for this type of reaction.  He tried to comfort her from a distance but that didn’t seem to be doing much.  Then when he heard her whisper,

“Robin.”

He was silent himself and slightly in shock.  But then she started crying almost hysterically again and he had to do something.  He slowly approached her and carefully picked her up.  He was glad when she leaned into his chest and not away from it, but she wouldn’t stop crying.  Then she began to mumble,

“Tim-Tam….where’s Tim?  M-mother……F-Father, why?!  WHY?!  Home!  Tim, where’s b-big brother Tim!”

She was clutching at her head so tightly he had to remove and restrain her hands to keep her from hurting herself.  He felt a burn of rage at the mention of his replacement's name.  He doubted it was him though, she had an accent that wasn’t Bristol or Gothamite, more…French.  He was relieved when he finally reached his location.  He looked down and was both relieved and filled with anxiety when he saw the girl seemed to be unconscious.

“Leslie!  She needs some help.”

He called out as he entered through the back of the small clinic near Crime Alley.  Dr. Leslie quickly came in and examined the young girl in his arms with a nod.  

“Follow me.”

Was all she said before she turned and headed towards one of the private rooms.  He quickly laid the girl on the gurney and gave his report of how he found her.  Leslie just nodded along as she began to clean and wrap the wound on her head and the scrapes on her hands.

“Thank you Red Hood.  She’ll be fine now,  she won’t be able to answer any questions till she’s awake.  I’ll let you know when that is.”

Jason gave a small nod and with one last glance at the sleeping girl he left back into the night.  

As Jason ran across the rooftops his mind wandered back to the girl and the constant murder of “Tim”.  There was no way it could be true, afterall Timothy Drake was an only child…but then his mind wandered back to the galas.  He had seen at least once before, and now that he thought about it there was a small girl that followed the boy.  Then there was the whispering of how one of the children was always gone, doing something else, they never visited Gotham once even though they were very young.  

He paused atop one of the taller apartments in Crime Alley and glared out into the night.  There are millions of Tim’s around the world, so why was he so set on believing she was talking about the stinking Replacement?!  Whatever, Leslie will let him know more about whatever happened later.  For now, he had a city to protect.

_________ When Marinette woke up, her head still throbbed slightly, but not as much as last night which was a reprieve.  She looked around the small white room that smelled like chemicals.  There was a soft beeping on her right and her throat felt scratchy.  Everything felt a little dizzy, and goodness this felt like déja vu.  The next thing she knew when she didn’t see Tom and Sabine sitting next to her was that someone had opened the door.  She was a rather tall lady with greying hair and wrinkled with age and stress, but she still held a soft bright smile.

“Hello, how are you feeling right now?”

She asked as she slowly approached Marinette and began to check her bandages and vitals.

“I’m feeling okay.  My head still hurts, but other than that.”

She nodded then asked,

“Do you remember what happened last night?”

Marinette was about to shake her head no, but stopped as everything began to flood her brain once more and all of the memories she lost filled her mind.  She sat up quickly only to fall back against the gurney as the world started to spin around her.  Thankfully Leslie had already prepared and placed a trash can in her lap and Marinette Marianne began to throw up.

“You need to be careful, you have a concussion.”

Leslie stated once she was done emptying her stomach that was practically empty already.  She handed Marianne a cup of water and once she finished asked,

“Now you don’t have to, but can you tell me your name and what happened last night?”

“My name is Marianne Janet Drake.  Last night I was walking back to the hotel my class was staying at after they had left me at the diner we were staying at and was attacked by three men.  I tried to get away, but they took my taser and pinned me to a wall.  When I found an opening I kicked the man in the center in the shin and made a run for it, but they caught up to me and hit me in the back of the head with…I think it was the back of my taser.  I fell and hit my head against the pavement and before I could move one of the others kicked me in the stomach.  I blacked out a bit after that because my head was hurting so badly at the time with memories, and the next thing I knew was Robin was there in a different outfit and he saved me.  Then the pain came back and the next thing I know is I woke up here.”

The woman just stared at her with a neutral face.  She looked back down at her clipboard and finished writing something before looking back at her.

“What do you mean memories came rushing back?”

“I travelled to Paris, France with my parents, and got hit by a car.  I’ve been an amnesiac for five years now.”

She nodded.

“How old are you?”

“14.”

“Do you have any other relatives?”

“Janet and Jack Drake, Timothy Drake, and I honestly don’t know if I have any other relatives.”

“Alright.  Thank you Marianne, I’ll be back soon.”

And with that Leslie left the room.  She needed to make a phone call.  Marianne laid back against the bed and stared at the ceiling trying to reorganize her thoughts and memories as she tried to sort out why Tom and Sabine had lied to her all of this time and why her real parents would hit her in the first place.

_________ About two hours later the door to Marianne’s room burst open and Marianne quickly sat up to come face-to-face with steel blue eyes that held a deep familiar worry in them.  They stared at each other for a long time, neither knowing how much time actually passed when he whispered,

“Bean?”

“Tim-Tam?”

She said just as quietly, tears forming in the siblings' eyes.  He raced towards her and scooped her into his arms as he kissed the top of her head.

“I’ve missed you so much.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to leave again.  I’ve got you, I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”

Marianne sobbed against his chest as she clutched into her older brother.  He should be 16 now, he’s grown a little too.  He carefully maneuvered them so that he was laying against the bed and she was curled up atop him, the two siblings holding onto each other as they cried.

“Robin saved me.”

She whispered, 

“He brought me here which led me to you.”

Tim placed another kiss to the back of her head and whispered,

“Really?  That’s so amazing.  I’ll have to thank him the next time I see him.  I owe him a favor for this wonderful miracle he’s brought me.”

Marianne giggled softly through her tears and rested her head under his chin, just like when they were younger.

“I missed you!  I mi-missed you so much Tim-Tam.  I couldn’t forget you, I couldn’t stop drawing you.”

Tim smiled gently as more tears fell like a waterfall down his cheeks,

“Good.  Because I never stopped looking for you.  Now you’re back, and you don’t ever have to leave again.  You can stay with me now.”

“I’d like that.”

She whispered as her eyes began to slowly close and exhaustion took hold and she fell asleep in the safety of her brother's hold.

Taglist:

@aespades @adrestar @astrynyx @doll246@queenz-z @toodaloo-kangaroo@crazylittlemunchkin @seraphichana @miraculous-ninja @dorkus-minimus @mysticsoulgirl @ritacrow-blog @snow-leopard-777 @fidget-eep@sometandomstuff333 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @shreeing @achaoticmess1 @liquid-luck-00@buginetye @stainedglassm @prettylittlebutterflie@laurcad123 @iloontjeboontje @heartsong18@raeuberprinzessin @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jennifer-rose123 @moon5608 @corporeal-terrestrial @skitarii-alpha-c6-555@saltysugarysembei @phantom120 @kking13@depressed-bitchy-demon

#maribat #ask #dc x mlb #mlb x batman #mlb x dc #fluff #marinette dupain cheng #cute #angst #marianne drake #sibling timinette #jason todd #tim is robin #Jack’ and Janet’s C+ parenting #Class trip #amnesia #car “accident” #tim drake

[itsnothappening]

purpose | jasonette

word count: 1.3k

summary: marinette smiled sadly at him, the pads of her thumb wiping each tear away. "it wasn't by choice, darling. i never wanted to leave you. i had no choice."

a/n: i did it. i didn't think i would but i did!! i had loads of fun writing this month. thank you so much for reading my (sub-par) work, and for supporting me. love you lots!

ao3 | wattpad | series masterlist | masterlist | prompts

part 1

If Jason had been a little more sound of mind, he would have stopped for a second to consider the fact that maybe things weren't as they seemed, but the pure, unadulterated joy and happiness he felt at the thought of seeing Marinette again outweighed any remaining sense of his cautiousness. 

His slow descent into an unstable state of mind had been rapid after Marinette died—recklessly fighting with the criminals, not caring if he got killed; spending infinite days and nights looking for ways to bring Marinette back, often looking for solace at the bottom of a bottle of beer—Jason's lifestyle hadn't been healthy for a long time. 

Obviously, his family had tried—and failed—to provide him with comfort, comfort that he refused to accept because of course there was a way to bring Marinette back, don't be stupid. 

And now here it was. The precious, invaluable lace glove in front of him fluttered delicately in the dry breeze of the barren village Jason was in. Beads of sweat were just visible on his forehead and Jason's exhaustion was palpable, having not eaten for days, but none of it mattered as he followed the magic-induced glove into what he hoped—and knew—was his salvation. 

Leading him into a dense, far cooler forest, Jason was jogging now, trying to keep up with the tiny glove that was flying faster and faster now. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were probably getting closer to Jason's goal.

His heart pounding loudly in his ears, Jason nearly dropped off the face of the planet when the lace glove came to an abrupt stop at the very edge of a jagged cliff. Bits of rock crumbled beneath Jason's boots, falling into the unnatural inky blackness below his feet. 

Jason backed away from the edge slightly, still sane enough to value his existence to some extent. "What the hell?" he murmured, sounding a lot less surprised than he actually was. Why had the glove brought him here? Where was Marinette?

Suddenly, the sky seemed a lot darker than it was a few minutes ago, clouds gathering across the setting sun and blocking its rays. It was like Jason was in some alternate world, where things were a lot more depressing than in his world. 

He stepped backwards when he saw fog begin to rise from the depths of the never-ending fall beneath his feet. What the hell was happening? Was he hallucinating or something?

If he strained his ears hard enough, Jason could hear millions—billions—of whispers, hissing all around him, words that he wasn't able to identify. Vaguely, Jason wondered whether he had finally cracked—was this his limit?

In his surprise and slight panic at the sudden change in his surroundings, it took Jason more than a few seconds to realise that the glove that had guided him here was beginning to glow, brighter and brighter, until it was a shining ball of light in the darkness that was choking Jason. 

Walking to it like a moth to a flame, in a trance, Jason felt his breathing come a little quicker as he forced himself not to panic. He was here for one reason and one reason only—Marinette, his wife, the light of his life. 

"Jason."

He jumped as he heard his voice being hissed out from somewhere, heart pounding out of his chest as the familiar dulcet tones of the love of his life ran over him. 

"Marinette?" he asked shakily, his voice cracking. "Are you here? Where are you?"

There was no answer, only the rustling of the leaves in the suddenly chilly breeze sweeping through. 

"Jason," Marinette's voice said again, haunting him. "Ma cherie."

Jason whirled around, tears filling his eyes as he looked for his wife, frantically searching for her through the dense vegetation. "Marinette, please, I don't—"

A sudden bright light engulfed the side of Jason's vision, blinding him for a few seconds before he was able to regain his sight. 

Sight blurry with tears, it took Jason a few dumbfounded moments to realise that there was a figure standing in front of him—one that he had been longing for months. 

"Jason," Marinette said, giving him that same soft smile Jason always craved. "You found me."

"I found you," he breathed, a single, lone tear trailing down his cheek as he walked to Marinette, putting a hand on her cheek gently. "You're here."

Marinette frowned at that slightly, eyes darkening. "I'm not. I'm dead Jason, and it is imperative you understand that."

Jason stumbled back as if she had slapped him. "What? How are you here then? Am I imagining you—"

"Non, my love, you are not insane," Marinette said immediately, rushing up to him, that familiar concern in her eyes. "I am just not corporeal."

"You're a ghost," Jason looked at his dead-not-dead wife with wonder in his eyes, eyes that were still unclear because of the tears. "How long—how long can you stay?"

"Not long," Marinette said, stepping closer. "I'll be see-through in the next few seconds, and in a few minutes, I'll be gone. We don't have much time."

"Why?" Jason whispered tears that were long overdue finally breaking over his cheeks. "Why did you leave me?"

Marinette smiled sadly at him, the pads of her thumb wiping each tear away. "It wasn't by choice, darling. I never wanted to leave you. I had no choice."

Jason only sobbed, tears falling hard and fast now.

"But you need to listen to me now," Marinette said, looking behind her as if someone was urging her. "You need to live Jason. You can't spend the rest of your life mourning me."

Jason looked at her with his bloodshot eyes. "But I don't want to live without you," he said, sounding much like the lost boy Marinette had met years ago. "I want you."

"But I am not the only person in your life," Marinette said gently, moving to cup his cheeks until her hands went right through him. "Merde. Jason, there are others in your life. Your brothers, your sister, your father—you have a family. One that loves you more than anything."

Jason sniffed as unbidden, memories of Dick, Tim and Damian came flying back at him. His heart clenched as he tried to remember the last time he had spoken to them—months ago. "I didn't mean to—" he said feebly, looking at Marinette for all the answers to his problems. "I just wanted you."

"And now you have me," Marinette said gently. "But now you need to let go, ma cherie. You have your entire life to live. I can't be the end of that, and you know it."

Deep down, Jason did know it. He knew his life wasn't tied to Marinette's, he knew he had so much to live for, he just... didn't want to let go. 

Marinette was becoming more and more transparent as the moments went by, and she was forcing the words out of herself faster and faster now. "Jason, you need to find a new purpose in life. Go back to your family, find someone else, just live your life."

"I—" Jason wasn't able to even get a word out before Marinette was talking again. 

"I can't stay anymore," she said, barely visible now, but her voice as clear as ever. "I love you, always and forever, ma cherie."

And then she was gone. 

Abruptly, the scene changed, clouds disappearing and the rays of the setting sun hitting Jason once more. Jason open and closed his mouth as he finally settled on whispering, "I love you too."

Behind him, the lace glove that led him here, that led him to his salvation, fluttered to the leafy ground below, lying down, white material a little worse for the wear, but still there. 

#jasonette july 2022 #jasonette #jason x marinette #marinette x jason #jason todd #marinette dupain cheng #maribat #mlb x dc #dc x mlb #angst #the tiniest bit of comfort

[the-coffee-fandom]

Inspired by @miraculousmelodies and absolutely not based off of me

Happy birthday to Tim Drake! Have a short drabble in celebration.

Tim sighed annoyed as he walked into the room. Marinette looked up over the rim of her mug with a raised brow.

"What are you sighing about?" She asked before taking another sip of her caffeinated beverage.

He looked at her, she could have sworn she saw a glint of suspicion in his eyes before it was gone, and told her, "My favorite hoodie is gone. My red one."

Marinette set her cup down as she saw the disappointment on his face. She grabbed the extra cup of coffee she had made before the break room had run out of coffee grounds and held it out for him silently. Tim looked at her and a small smile crossed his features. She couldn't help but smile back slightly as he took it and took a sip.

"I'll find it eventually. Thanks Mari."

She gave him a nod and a wide smile. He walked behind her and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and a soft hand to her shoulder before he left to go to his own office.

-----------

"Tt stop complaining."

That was the first thing Marinette heard when she entered her boyfriends house. She closed the door and peaked into the living room to see Damian sitting annoyed in the couch, leaning back with his arms crossed with a scowl while Tim was pacing the opposite side of the room looking as if he had run his hands through his hair multiple times out of stress.

"But this has to be more then coincidence!"

"Of course it is don't be stupid. They'll show up again. They always do."

"What's going on?" Marinette asked as she stepped in the room, slightly hesitant to do so.

Both heads snapped toward her, immediately relaxing when they saw her.

"Drake is being insufferable."

"AM NOT!" Tim yelled defensively, "Damian lost his only pair of fluffy socks. And it wasn't Titus or Alfred. Alfred said he hasn't seen them in the wash either."

"Huh."

"Its not a big deal," Damian rolled his eyes as he stood up, "its not like I wear them often. Just a slight inconvenience."

Marinette nodded as Damian walked past her out of the room. She walked over to her boyfriend. He looked down at her and gave her a pleasing look.

"I'm not crazy you know."

Marinette gave him a sweet smile and brushed the loose wisps of his hair that he'd let grow out a lot behind his ear, "of course not."

He gave her a relieved smile and embraced her.

-----------

"Hey have any of you seen my bracelets?" Dick inquired as he popped his head into the room.

Jason looked at him incredulously, "you wear bracelets?"

Dick shrugged and gave a grin, "something wrong with that?"

Marinette giggled from besides Jason, "Absolutely not. You wear what you want."

Dick gave her a big smile before his face grew a bit more serious, "anyway, any of you see it?"

Jason and Marinette looked to each other before turning back to him and shaking their heads in negative affirmation. Dick sighed.

"Ok thanks anyway."

He walked away leaving them once again to their reading. Jason immediately had his nose back in his book so Marinette followed suit. It was a while later that Jason said something again.

"If you see a pair of my suspenders, give them to me, yeah?"

-----------

Marinette huffed annoyed as Bruce stood in front of the tv. She just wanted to cuddle up with her boyfriend and watch a movie.

"Have either of you seen my tie?"

"No? Why would we have?"

Bruce's eye brows creased together, "Clothing just seems to be going missing a lot."

Tim nodded thoughtfully as he added his two cents, "I recently lost my suit jacket and my favorite pair of sweat pants still haven't returned from the wash."

Bruce nodded silently, as if lost in thought, and walked out the room with nothing else said.

"Hopefully it will all turn up soon," Marinette sighed, cuddling back into her boyfriends side.

"Yeah. Hopefully."

-----------

Marinette opened her closet. Today was an easy day. Tim was out, she didn't have to go to work, no one needed her. She just wanted to slip on something comfy and bake some treats.

She picked through her clothes and didn't see anything she wanted. Her foot hit something soft and she looked down to see a pile of clothes sitting at the bottom of her closet. She bent down and picket up a suit jacket, rubbing the fabric between her fingers as her eye brows creased together wondering how it got there.

"Wait...do I steal clothes?" She asked herself.

She dropped the jacket back into the pile of random clothes; bracelet, tie, suspenders, multiple hoodies, socks, and more. She stared at it for a moment more.

"...nah," She said as she closed the closet doors, grabbing a red hoodie that was lying on the floor and slipped it over her head and left the room for baking.

#drabble #tim drake #marinette dupain cheng × tim drake #maribat #fanfiction #mlb x dc #Happy Birthday Tim Drake! #no its not late #absolutly not #shut up #clothing stealing

[sturchling]

Listen Instead of Lie

This is based off a prompt by @miraculousfanworks that I was tagged in by @vixen-uchiha a while back. Sorry it took so long for me to get to it! Hope this was worth the wait!

What happens if Lila tries to lie about MDC, when the class already knows who MDC is? The end of the liar's reign happens.

Marinette had been making quite the name for herself in the fashion world. Ever since she made the sunglasses for Jagged, he kept asking her for more pieces every few months. He also made sure to brag on Marinette every chance he got, using her pseudonym, MDC. Soon other major celebrities had commissioned her work and were also raving about the talented young designer. She was quickly becoming a household name, or at least her pseudonym was. Marinette wanted to stay relatively anonymous for now, for a few reasons, Lila being chief among them. She worried that if the liar knew about her success, she would try to destroy it. She also didn't want to be hounded for her work for now. So she resolved to use the name MDC until she graduated at least.

As the whole world was talking about her designs, no one knew who MDC actually was. That is, except for her class. Marinette had been using MDC for all of her designs for years, ever since they had known her. So naturally, they all knew who this 'mysterious new designer' was. They were very happy for their friend and her success. While they didn't get why Marinette didn't tell the world who she was (after all, who wouldn't want to have this kind of spotlight), they did respect her wishes, and made sure not to slip up and mention her actual name in public. However, when it was just the class, they would gush about Marinette and her latest designs, always impressed with their friend's work. Maybe if Lila had listened to her friends talk, instead of always make the conversation about her lies, then maybe she wouldn't have made such a stupid mistake.

MDC was now a major player in the fashion industry and was even going to be featured at the next Paris Fashion Week and the class couldn't be happier for their friend. The class decided that they wanted to throw Marinette a small party, nothing too crazy, but they wanted to congratulate her. The next morning, they arrived at school and when they went in the classroom, they saw Lila walking from the back of the classroom where Marinette was sitting towards the front to her desk. Lila went to greet the class with a sweet smile plastered on her face, but the class just continued towards Marinette. Lila hated the class even looking at Marinette. And she would put a stop to it. As Lila approached the group, she heard Alya say, "Marinette! We saw the latest news about MDC and we wanted to tell you-" But before Alya could finish her thought, Lila jumped in. If she had listened to what Alya was saying, she may have thought again about what she was going to say. But she was so focused on getting the attention off Marinette and back on to her, that she went to her usual plan. Lie. But this time that was the worst thing she could have done.

"Oh Alya! You all are talking about MDC?" Alya turned back to Lila with a smile, slightly irritated though that she had been interrupted. "Oh yeah, we were just going to tell Marinette-" Lila cut her off again. "Oh MDC is such a sweetheart. We actually met at the Milan Fashion Week, before she used MDC as her name. MDC are the initials of her mother who got her into fashion. Its her way of honoring her mother. I was so happy to hear she will be at the Paris Fashion Week, maybe I could introduce you all and get us tickets to her show? And Marinette, maybe she could give you some pointers on how to break into the fashion world?" Lila put on her best shy smile and waited for the class to gush about how awesome that would be, and how sweet Lila is. But that never came. Instead the class was staring at her in shock and anger.

"Lila? What are you talking about? Why are you lying?" Alya asked, hoping maybe she had misunderstood Lila, though she didn't see how she could have. "What are you talking about? I'm not lying! I've known MDC for years, we are very good friends." Lila immediately got defensive. Nino spoke up, saying "That isn't possible." Lila, forgetting to appear sweet and nice, snapped at Nino. "And why is that Nino?" Marinette stood up from her desk. "Because I am MDC." Lila scoffed. "Do you guys actually believe her? She is obviously lying for attention since her fashion business isn't doing as well. You should be ashamed Marinette, taking credit from a hard working designer! I thought you were better than that!" Lila expected the class to drop the conversation. They always did when this happened, if only to keep the peace. But they just doubled down. Alya walked towards Lila, furious that this girl had been lying to them, likely since she joined the class. "Marinette isn't lying. She is MDC. And if you hadn't interrupted me earlier, and listened, you would have heard us congratulate her for her success. She has used those initials for years for her fashion. MDC stands for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You haven't been friends with her for years, and you certainly haven't been friends since you got here!" Lila was backed into a corner. She had no way out of this.

The class started yelling as they realized that not only did Lila try to lie about Marinette as MDC, but had likely been lying to them the whole time. Lila couldn't lie her way out of this one. So she ran. She ran out of the school and all the way home. The class continued with the celebration, congratulating Marinette and then treating her to a picnic in the park after school to celebrate. They had a great time, and went their separate ways that night, glad to not only have congratulated their friend, but defended her from a liar.

Later that night, Lila would convince her mother to send her back to Italy, saying that she was scared of the akumas and didn't want to stay in Paris. Lila wished she didn't have to leave Paris, but her mother wouldn't just let her transfer to another school in Paris. And she couldn't risk transferring to a new school in the city and then Mrs. Bustier's class spreading the word that she is a liar. Lila knew that if she just asked her mom to transfer because she didn't like her school, her mom would say to tough it out and not let her transfer. But if she was too scared to stay in Paris entirely? Her mother would listen. So, Lila reluctantly left Paris behind and returned to Italy. She would be living with her grandparents until a new school, likely a boarding school since her grandparents couldn't care for her long term, could be found. Lila sat on the plane to Italy, lamenting her mistakes in Mrs. Bustier's class. If only she had listened more than she lied.

#ml #ml fic #ml fanfic #ml salt #ml salt fic #ml salt fanfic #lila rossi #lila rossi salt #lila exposed #lila exposed fic #lila exposed fanfic #lila salt #lila salt fanfic #lila salt fic #lila gets exposed #ml class sugar #class sugar #ml class #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fic #miraculous fanfic #miraculous salt #miraculous salt fic #miraculous salt fanfci

[nxrthmizu]

kill em’ with kindness

fandom | miraculous ladybug 

genre | lila salt, so much salt 

summary | marinette takes the high road to a better life. 

w.c | 8.1k 

author’s note | had this idea for a few days after i wrote victory tastes bitter, which really blew up on ao3 (thanks for all the support <3). always wondered what it would be like if marinette just. played nice. so here she is, being an absolute badass. 

author’s note.2 | okay so since i did not write this in one sitting, i get that the story probably doesn’t flow as properly as it should. will edit if i ever find the will to do it. 

Marinette was done. They wanted her to be a model student? Fine. They wanted her to stop being mean? Fine. They wanted her to be friends with Lila? Fine.

Luckily for Hawkmoth, no akuma plagued the sky of the previous night, or she would rain hell on him. There was no more tolerance left inside her to spare, and she certainly wouldn’t go out of her way to make some for the manipulative pest problem Paris has had for way too long.

She looked up into the mirror, having exchanged her pigtails for a low ponytail, strands curled to frame her face. Bluebell eyes glistened with a fire that burned brighter than hope— Hope that her ‘friends’ would see sense. Hope that Adrien would be there for her. Hope that the good guy would always get the happy ending. No more being patient, no more being passive, no more putting up with things she didn’t have to.

If Lila Rossi wanted a battle, then fine, a battle she would get. Marinette was lowering her white flag, replacing it with a battle emblem that scorched red, redder than blood and redder than the anger her friends would feel when she was finished. No more peace negotiations. Rossi wanted a fight, Rossi wanted a challenge. Who was Marinette to deny her from what she wanted?

They didn’t know what was coming for them.

The power of makeup was truly one that reigned apex among the world. A few touches of her makeup brush was all it took to erase her dark eyes from existence, give her skin a more radiant glow (She promised that she’d take time to give it a natural glow after she was done being nice), and ease a cherry-pink blush onto her cheeks, making her freckles stand out more in contrast. Marinette Dupain-Cheng meant business, and when she meant business—

“Good morning, Marinette! You look great today!” The head of the student council, a sensible, down-to-Earth blonde by the name of Noelle smiled, speeding up slightly to catch the bluenette on the steps of Francois Dupont. “Love the new look.”

Ah yes. The new look— A royal blue blazer, detailed with golden embroidery of cherry blossoms bursting at the sleeves and the collar, accompanied by a classy-looking silk blouse tapered with a soft, black felt. The pleated black skirt (Made from heavy cloth so that it wouldn’t flap about in the wind) was lined with a beautiful scarlet at all the edges to complete the look. Knee-high black socks trailed all the way into the slight heels that Marinette had added flower adornments on, just so she could tap a little of her own touch on it.

“Thank you,” Responded the bluenette with a smile.

“Woah! Someone looks like they got a good night of rest.” Madeline, the president of the Art Club teased, flocking to the other side of the girl. “That mascara looks sharp enough to kill, girl!”

Sharp enough to kill?

Oh, that wouldn’t be necessary, Marinette mused to herself, sending out thanks to those who had complimented her on her way to class. Nothing sharp was going to be required for the liar’s downfall— No, no. That would just be too messy, and she wouldn’t even think of staining her new outfit. Of course, the ensemble was crafted from her own hands, as stated by the classic MDC that graced the inside of her blazer, the collar of her blouse, and one of the pleats of her skirt. Besides… Lila wasn’t worth getting her hands dirty.

She was going to do things the right way.

The kind way.

“Good morning, everyone.” She greeted, walking into the classroom, garnering their attention with her punctuality. Every set of eyes in the room were attracted to her, like iron fillings to magnets. Some of the gazes were malicious, hateful; Some were doubtful, wary; One was pleading, as if spelling out ‘Please keep taking the high road!’— And then there was Chloe, who was entirely uninterested.

Good, Lila was already present.

“I’d just like to take a minute of your time. Won’t be too long, I promise.” She took a deep breath, ignoring the imploring gaze that dug at her side, courtesy of a blonde that sat in the front row (And no, it wasn’t Chloe she was referring to). “I’d just like to say…”

The class watched with bated breath.

“I’m sorry.”

Alya blinked. So did everyone else in the room. Stunned faces greeted Marinette’s apologetic one, including Lila’s— She didn’t even have to fake her reaction. What on Earth was Marinette trying to pull off? What kind of stunt was this?

“I realise that I’ve not really been the best version of me lately,” She admitted sorrowfully. I haven’t been the best version of me because I was being boycotted and isolated, “It wasn’t fair to put you all through this,” It wasn’t fair that you idiots had to lose all your reputations because of the words of one liar, “And people got hurt as a consequence,” Me. I was the one who got hurt. “I realise that things haven’t been all smooth-sailing in our class lately, so I’d like to apologise to everyone.” I’d like to apologise for not being able to save you from a liar who only sees her own personal gain.

A practiced breath escaped Marinette’s throat as she waited for her cue— The school bell— And set her bag on the teacher’s desk. Good, everything was unfolding right on time. Not quite far away, there was a distinct clack-clack-clack of someone’s heels— An auburn teacher, perhaps? Marinette reached into her backpack and drew out a package she had meticulously wrapped in brown paper and tied in golden ribbon. Sitting passively on top of the package was a small note, decorated in hand-drawn flowers and a hummingbird in the corner.

“Here,” Marinette strode up the steps of the class, stopping right in front of her former seat— Now Lila’s— Internally taking pleasure in the first time she’d seen the Italian’s true expression. “For you, as a token of my apology. I understand if you don’t want to forgive me,” Marinette swallowed painfully, biting her lip, as if she was trying not to cry, “But I just want to make things right.”

Lila blinked.

What the hell was happening?

The silence was broken by a quiet sob, one that did not originate from Marinette. Instead, Mlle. Caline Bustier stood in the doorway of the class, clutching her books and notes for the day’s lesson, wiping away a tear that dropped from her eye. “Oh, Marinette,” The teacher sobbed, “I’m so proud of you.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Marinette.” Rose sniffed, wiping away a few tears of her own that had started dripping during the bluenette’s speech. Juleka patted her girlfriend’s back, trying to calm the emotional blonde before she cried out a tsunami on top of her textbooks, giving Marinette a thumbs up to show her approval.

Alya beamed, seemingly proud of her former best friend, who had (In her opinion) finally started to see sense. “I’m so proud of you, girl!”

(Adrien was too shocked to form any words.)

“Could you… Open it?” Marinette asked hopefully, ignoring the teacher for the favour of the liar who ruined her life. “I… Just want to know if you like it.”

The Italian could do nothing more than grit her teeth when Alya urged her to open it. What kind of trick was Mari-Brat up to? Never mind— She’d just spin it into something stupid and the class would take to it like starved animals. With no other choice, she tore apart the brown paper, discarding the golden ribbon on her desk. The class gasped, oohs and aahs echoing all around as the package unfolded to reveal a pretty, beige-coloured cardigan, hand-stitched with murals of foxes, jumping livelily among berry bushes.

Stitched into the inside of the cardigan in pastel blue were the words ‘Lila Rossi’, done in an exquisite cursive that could no doubt only come from Marinette’s hand.

“I made it for you myself,” Marinette sniffed humbly. “I know you’re a really great model and you’ve probably seen clothes that are much better than this one, but I poured all my feelings into it. I spent every night of last week working on it, and—” She hiccuped rather loudly, instantly covering her mouth with her hand in embarrassment. “I just hope you like it.”

“I…” Lila was at a loss for words. She had an itinerary full of the lies and stories she would spin that day (“Marinette texted me mean things last night,” she would weep tearfully to Alya, sniffing and wiping away tears on Alya’s shirt sleeve, “I just want to be friends but she just keeps… Attacking me!”) but no matter. A smirk danced along the Italian’s lips. “Did you design this yourself?” 

Judging by the smirk that Marinette could practically hear in the other girl’s tone, the liar already had a trick up her sleeve. If Marinette had to guess... 

Something along the lines of she stole this design from [random designer], who just coincidentally had the time to be Lila’s friend. Or maybe the friend of Lila’s grandmother. Whichever didn’t matter much, because Marinette was prepared. 

Marinette crossed the room in mere seconds, returning back to Lila’s seat with a sketchbook that she’d pulled from her bag. “Here!” She chirped, flipping open the page with an exercised movement, not even having to shuffle through the pages to find the correct sketch. “I brought the original sketch, just in case you wanted to see it so you could get a professional to redo it for you.” 

Lila opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish out of water. Beside her, Alya’s eyes sparkled, envy still glowing in her eyes at the sight of the intricate foxes, coloured in hazel, gold, and orange threads. 

“Thank you, Marinette.” Lila gritted through her teeth, basically seething at the thought of having to thank the girl in front of her, who was smiling like an innocent sunshine child. 

The bluenette then turned her attention to her homeroom teacher. “Sorry for interrupting and taking up class time, Mlle. Bustier.” 

“It’s not a problem, Marinette,” Mlle. Bustier wiped at her eyes, slightly embarrassed now that the whole class was watching her cry at the sight of her ‘model student’ correcting her wrongs. “E— Excuse me.” She mumbled, clearing her throat. “Let’s pick off from where we stopped yesterday. Open your textbooks to page 63, please.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

The rest of the day went along smoothly. Marinette sat at the back of class, as usual, sighing in boredom as class was derailed off course, whisked off by another one of Lila’s tall tales. Honestly, they were already weeks off schedule— How the hell were they expected to sit for the final exam, at this rate? 

She huffed quietly to herself, watching Bustier trying (and failing) to act like she wasn’t interested in Lila’s story. The woman— An actual adult— Fell for Lila’s usual tricks like a fool, taking in every single word in drunken thirst. Did Mlle. Bustier really have nothing better to do than get absorbed in a teenage girl’s wild fantasies (in a way it was like that). At that thought, Marinette sat up straighter in her chair, an idea going off like a lightbulb above her brain. 

Was it...? 

After further thought, Marinette settled back into her chair, humming thoughtfully as she drummed her fingers against her table quietly. Yes... Yes, perhaps. 

Perhaps it was possible. 

The rest of the lesson passed in wasted time as the class took a major detour to go on a warped journey through Lila’s lies, and before Bustier knew it, the lunch bell had rung. Students chattered animatedly as everyone got up, Mlle. Bustier’s announcement of ‘please go home and study this chapter by yourselves, everyone’ was pathetically drowned out by the rest of the noise. 

Marinette collected her things quickly, needing her exit from the classroom to go off without a hitch, exactly the way she planned it. “I’ve got to go back to my parents’ bakery for lunch,” She said shyly, shrinking into herself as her classmates turned to look at her. “I... Was thinking of bringing some macarons back later. Before I go, though... Lila, is there anything you’re allergic to?” 

“What?” The girl being asked snapped back as a reply, the words leaving her mouth too fast for her to register. Before she knew it, the whole class was staring at her, mouths agape. “I... I mean.” Clearing her throat, the liar plastered on a sweet smile. “What was it, Marinette?” 

“I wanted to bring some macarons back for everyone.” Shyly, the bluenette repeated her plans. “And... Since I’ve been in class with everyone else here for a while, I know their allergies, but not yours. Is there anything you’re allergic to that could be in baked goods?” 

The Italian cursed under her breath— Mari-Brat really wasn’t letting up. The bluenette had made sure to cover any ground that the Italian could use and turn back against her. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m not allergic to anything.” 

Brightening visibly, Marinette nodded, shooting the Italian a smile. “I know things between us aren’t going to get better immediately, but I promise to do my best in fixing things! See you guys after lunch.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

Lila was getting really, really fed up. For the whole morning, she wasn’t able to come up with any reason to blame Marinette. If things kept going at the rate that they were, the class would be fully convinced that the bluenette was a changed woman, and that couldn’t happen. There was, in the end, a downside to having such a gullible bunch of classmates— Sure, they swayed easily to her side, but that meant that they swayed back to Marinette’s just as easily. 

Hissing under her breath, Lila looked up to catch Alya and Nino’s concerned looks. 

No. 

She was Lila Rossi. She was resourceful. She had Gabriel Agreste behind her back. She was powerful. She was not going to let Mari-Brat halt her plans in their tracks ever again. 

“I’m going to go use the bathroom real quick,” She said, excusing herself from the lunch table. Perfect! Now all she had to do was come back in tears, saying that Marinette confronted and mocked her in the bathroom, and the class would be all hers, once again. 

Little did she know that Dupain-Cheng was one teensy step ahead. 

As soon as Lila rounded the corner of the cafeteria, Marinette appeared, having just had a lovely chat with Rose (And Juleka, although it was Rose who did most of the talking). The two were at the front steps of Francois Dupont, having a lovely couple moment that Marinette hated to interrupt— But she needed to have at least a word with them. 

“Rose, Juleka!” Marinette greeted, box of macarons held carefully in her arms, as if it were a box of important jewelry instead of just a box of pastries. “Oh— Rose, is that a new watch? I’ve never seen you wear it before!” 

“Yep, it is!” Rose beamed, delighted that someone (Besides Juleka) had finally noticed it. “Isn’t it pretty?” Indeed it was. The watch in question was a pretty, intricate-looking thing done in rose-gold metal, with a pastel pink leather strap holding it down. The background of the watch face was a white background with a thin film of rose-gold metal, cut to resemble a wall of precious rose vines. 

“It is!” Agreeing wholeheartedly, Marinette offered her classmate a smile. “Oh by the way, what time is it?” 

Rose peered at the watchface, returning the answer with an equally-bright smile. “11.47.” 

“Thank you.” Marinette thanked, continuing her way through the school until she reached the cafeteria. Just before she fell into line of sight, though, she hid behind a wall, peering over the corner until she spotted the table she was looking for. 

Perfect— Lila just walked away. Marinette thanked the gods for all the luck that she was having— Okay, maybe she thanked one god in particular more than the others. Gently, she patted the secret pocket that was sewn into the lining of her blazer— Tikki, who had magic powers, managed to create a miniature ‘room’ inside the secret pocket, with the pocket itself acting as a portal of sorts to the room. After a few seconds, she felt the pocket tap back, managing a small smile of gratitude for her kwami’s constant love and support. 

“Hey, Alya, Nino.” Marinette greeted shyly, box of macarons propped up against her hip. “Where’s... Lila?” She hesitated slightly with her question, acting as if it was a little out-of-place to ask about the Italian girl. 

“She went to the bathroom.” Nino provided, mouth still full of unchewed food. This gifted him with a smack from his girlfriend (“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” she scolded,). 

“Oh, I see.” I definitely see. I know what she’s going to try and pull later— I have to time this properly. Timing is everything. 

Marinette continued to make small talk with the two, whom she had not talked to for a very long time. Much to her surprise, they were very warm and accepting, quite unlike the people who slung slurs and accused her baselessly a few days ago. One morning made all the difference to people who believed anything, she supposed. 

All of a sudden, something in her chest buzzed, as if it were a fire alarm, vibrating in warning— She had to go. “It was nice talking to you guys again.” She admitted, having briefly dipped into a pool of what their friendship used to be like. “But I have to go. I promised Kagami I’d meet her for a few minutes before lunch ended.”

Alya’s eyebrows jumped up comically in surprise. “I didn’t know you still talked to her. I thought you two were… Love rivals.”

“So what if we were love rivals?” Marinette shrugged with a simple smile. “Adrien is… As much as it’s odd to admit, he’s just a boy. Neither of us let him get in between us. He’s just a boy, and it’d be stupid for us to not get along just because we like the same boy. It doesn’t bother Kagami that we used to like the same boy, so why should I let it bother me? Besides,” Marinette tilted her head slightly. “It’d be stupid to give up a great friendship just because of a boy.”

With her last words still hanging in the air, Marinette turned tail and left, walking faster than usual. She had little time left— As she neared the wall that would shield her from the view of the cafeteria, she sped up her footsteps, practically half-sprinting just so she could get out of sight before Lila Rossi returned, looking like someone just killed a puppy in front of her very eyes.

“Oh my god, what’s wrong?” Alya jumped to her feet instantly, reaching out to comfort her best friend, who was moments away from having tears stream down her cheeks.

“I… I thought she’d changed.” Lila sniffled, biting her lip to appear as if she was desperately trying not to cry.

Alya frowned. “Who?”

“Marinette.” Lila stated as if it were obvious, faltering for a moment— Why had Alya bothered to ask? Shouldn’t it come pretty obvious? The liar dismissed the thoughts and continued in her performance. “She threatened me in the bathroom. She… She confronted me and mocked me, saying… Saying that all of you… All of you are idiots for believing that she’s changed. She… She said everything was an act to turn you all against me.”

Nino’s jaw dropped so far that it touched the floor. “Uh… Dudette, are you sure it was Marinette?”

“Yes!” Lila spun to look at him so fast that it was a wonder she didn’t break her neck. “Are… Are you doubting me? Oh my god, it’s working. She’s turning you guys against me. I just want to have friends, I don’t get why she hates me so—”

“You’re… Absolutely sure it was Marinette? You saw her face?” Alya repeated her boyfriend’s words, emphasising each and everyone of them as she looked Lila in the eyes.

“Alya, not you too.” Lila sniffled, tears basically dropping out of her eyes like big, fat droplets of salt water. “It was her— I saw her blazer, it had MDC stitched onto it.”

An uncomfortable silence settled in between the girl and her boyfriend, neither quite knowing what to say. “Oh. I… I see.” Alya said at last, turning back to her food. “Well… Lunch is almost over. Let’s… Let’s get back to class.”

“Marinette just threatened me in the bathroom!” Lila puffed up, clearly upset now. “She mocked me! She called you guys stupid for believing her act!”

“Dudette.” Nino shattered the ice-cold silence at their lunch table, swallowing heavily. “Marinette was with us the whole time you were in the bathroom.”

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

The tension inside the room was so thick that Adrien could cut it with his bare hands. God, what had happened? The day had started off so well— Marinette agreed to be friends with Lila, god bless the girl— But as it turned out, one hurdle folded over only to be towered over by a taller one. 

“Alya—” Lila began tearfully, her pitiful look attracting the sympathy of those who still didn’t know what was going on. 

“You claimed that Marinette threatened you in the bathroom.” Alya interrupted. “While she was with us the whole time in the cafeteria.” 

Faltering, the Italian struggled to find a way to squeeze herself out of the tight spot. “M— Maybe it was someone else.” Reluctantly, she backed out one trap into another one. 

“You said that you were sure! You said that she was wearing a blazer with MDC stitched on it. Marinette was wearing that blazer during lunch!” The reporter shot back, Nino at her side, trying to extinguish the conflicted fire blazing inside Alya’s heart. 

The seeds of doubt had been sewn, and Lila was going to have a tough time weeding them out. “I... I’m sorry!” She burst out into tears, sobbing pitifully in front of the class, most of which were already in attendance. “My lying disease is acting up again. I... I can’t help it. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone!” 

“Uh... Is this a bad time to ask if anyone wants macarons?” Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly, standing at the front of the room. Her royal blue blazer had been shed, and it now hung over her arm, properly folded into half. Earlier, she had asked Rose for the time to make sure that she had a witness in case Lila tried to pull another act— But as it seemed, the Italian was determined to dig her own grave and all the work had been done. 

The students of Mlle. Bustier’s class shared looks. 

“I’ll... I’ll have one.” Mylene cleared her throat, hoping that it would diffuse the situation. 

“Me too.” Kim followed, not missing the way Marinette flinched slightly at his words. Most of the words he had said to her of late had not been nice at all— But he justified that with the fact that she was being a bully to Lila, like Chloe had been to Marinette herself. 

“Great!” Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly, slapping on a strained smile. She passed the box to the front row, where Sabrina and Chloe were, gesturing for them to pass the box along until everyone got their fill. 

Internally, Lila seethed, anger burning like a wildfire that tore down every lush sign of life in her path. The girl had never felt that livid in her entire life— Who did Dupain-Cheng think she was, having a change of heart out of nowhere, pretending to play along with those oh-so-innocent eyes of hers? 

“I... I think I know why my disease acted up again,” Lila sniffled, loud enough to gather attention again. Unsure glances passed around like an object that no one wanted, carried from hand to hand forcefully as no one wanted to hold onto it for too long. “It... It must’ve been because of... Of the cardigan that Marinette made me! You must’ve known that...” The Italian squinted at the cardigan on her desk, “... Cotton triggers my lying disease!” 

The bluenette, still passing around macarons, stopped in her tracks. Inside her mind, Marinette was shaking her head, an amused smile on her cheeks. She had to give Lila credit for that one— She would’ve never anticipated that lie from her nemesis. “That’s terrible!” She sucked in a breath, putting on a dismayed look. “I’m really sorry, Lila! I know it seems like I did this on purpose, but I promise I didn’t! To make it up to you, I’ll make you another one.” 

Is she serious right now? Lila scoffed mentally. How long does she plan to keep this going? No matter— She’ll eventually drain herself out and I won’t even have to meddle in this matter. 

Marinette sniffled, collecting the cardigan pitifully from Lila’s desk. “But to prevent future incidents, Lila, I just want you to know that this isn’t made of cotton... It’s made from the highest-quality of star silk, which is incredibly difficult to produce and is rather expensive. It’s such a pity... I thought that only the best of materials would be deserving to be used to make an apology present... I guess you can’t wear it. I’ll just make another copy of the cardigan with some normal-range silk.” Sighing, the bluenette pretended to mull in sadness for a few seconds before an idea struck her. “Alya! You aren’t allergic to star silk, right?” 

The flow of conversation redirected suddenly, with the reporter snapping to attention and nodding eagerly as she realised what was about to happen. 

“Then... Since I’ve spent so long on this, I don’t want it to go to waste... Why don’t you have it, instead?” Offered Marinette with a sweet, shy smile on her face. 

Lila, still caught up in shock by the reveal of the material— Was then slammed with a wall of flaming anger as Alya squealed, coddling the soft, fluffy material that made the cardigan the exquisite product it was. 

“Marinette’s right,” Adrien chipped in with his own two cents, “Father can rarely get his hands on that material— It costs a fortune, and if hand-made... It takes forever.” 

“Oh, I wove the silk by myself,” Marinette added shyly after Adrien’s contribution, “So I apologise if it’s not up to the quality of industry-level star silk.” 

The reporter gushed, still cooing and running her hands over the gorgeous threads of fabric that made up the cloud-like base of the cardigan, eyes sparkling and the details of the embroidery. 

Marinette smiled, returning to her seat without a fuss. The rest of the class continued to pass the pastries around, the perfect description of ‘ignorance is bliss’ as they pretended as if they couldn’t see the way Lila was shaking in anger. Alya, on the other hand, could see nothing but the garment in her hands, her ‘best friend’ having become invisible for the time being. 

Just as well that it turned out this way, Marinette hummed, twirling her pen in hand, Let that be my departing gift to Rena Rouge. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

Tomorrow arrived like clockwork, never late and always on time. The crowd of students clamouring by the front of Francois Dupont hushed to silence as they parted for two dark-haired women, both of which were giving off waves of confidence. Simple conversation flowed between the two, who were perfect examples of elegance and grace, their traditional-inspired attire complementing the royal-like aura they had. 

“This dress is really lovely, Marinette,” Kagami smiled gently, admiring the way the fabric flowed around her. The designer had gifted her friend with a maroon-coloured hanfu-inspired dress, complete with hand-sewn embroidery of a golden dragon curled around Kagami’s waist and neck. The dress was completed with a pleated skirt that went all the way to the heels. At first, the fencer was reluctant about the skirt due to the limited maneuverability, but then Marinette revealed that the skirt was very simple to take off as it was just tied around the waist. 

“You look gorgeous in it. It suits you.” Marinette replied, dressed in a similar looking dress. Her hanfu-inspired dress was light pink in colour, with silver threads depicting cranes flying about freely. The pleated skirt was grey in colour, lined with a soft circle of white. 

Kagami blushed slightly. “Thank you.” Briefly, the Japanese girl wondered why on Earth Marinette would go and embroider a dragon onto her dress— Was it purely a coincidence, or...? 

“I’m really glad you decided to transfer here,” Marinette smiled softly, her dark blue bangs framing her face as the rest of it was gathered into a braid that Kagami had helped weave. “It’s going to be nice! I’ll get to see you a lot more often.” 

“We’re in different classes, though.” Frowning, Kagami wondered if she should request a change of homeroom. 

“For now.” The designer winked playfully. “Oh, I have to get to class. See you during lunch?” 

Without waiting for a reply, the blue-eyed girl moved away gracefully, leaving Kagami in confusion. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Good morning,” Marinette greeted gracefully, sweeping into the classroom with her bag over her shoulder and a package in her hands. This package was clearly not as exquisitely-wrapped as the one from the day before, as it was just brown paper and some rough string. 

Alya brightened at the sight of her friend, shrinking away slightly whenever Lila tried to say anything. Sure, the reporter did shake off the initial reaction and respond to whatever her ‘best friend’ said, but the damage had been done. 

“Here’s your new cardigan. It’s made from the same material as your shirt,” Marinette smiled warmly, placing the package on Lila’s table. “It’s a little different from the one I brought yesterday, but I still poured in all my emotions when I made it, so I hope you’ll accept it.” 

Through a gritted smile, the Italian thanked the designer, clenching her fists under the table. That was the second time in two days she had to thank Mari-brat! She swore that if she had to do it again a third time, she was going to slap someone. 

“Oh, Marinette!” Alya called out excitedly, wearing the cardigan that was originally supposed to be Lila’s. “This cardigan is so soft! It’s really amazing to wear! As expected of you, girl!” 

The bluenette stared back at the reporter, wavering for a bit. She had a feeling that Alya wanted something from her... 

“So... I was wondering...” The reporter’s expression turned sheepish, with Marinette’s internal thought-train going ah, there it comes— “Could you remove this and put my name instead?” Alya picked up the corner of the cardigan, pointing to the inside of the garment, where ‘Lila Rossi’ was embroidered on. 

“Ah...” Marinette didn’t even have to fake her nervousness. We already agreed on this, She told herself, No more doing free stuff for people. No more. “Sorry, Alya. My parents need a lot of help in the bakery recently,.. You know how it is! Family always comes first. I’ve already taken out a lot of time to make the cardigan for Lila... And I promised Kagami I’d go out with her this weekend. I’m afraid I don’t have time...” 

There was no missing the way Alya’s face fell instantly. “Couldn’t you put off Kagami for me? Aren’t we best friends?” 

“I thought Lila was your best friend,” Feigning an expression of innocence, Marinette tilted her head slightly. “You shouldn’t go around saying things like that, Alya. You might hurt Lila’s feelings. Besides, a promise is a promise. I wouldn’t want to hurt Kagami’s feelings either. Not to mention— I gave you that cardigan for free. That was two weeks’ worth of hard work. I’m afraid I don’t have the ability to take time out to alter it for free either. If you really want to get it done, you could ask an external tailor to do it for you. I know a few who can do really good embroidery.” 

Alya faltered. “But... We used to be best friends...” 

Snorting mentally, Marinette continued to hold her calm composure. “Like I said, you really shouldn’t say that, Alya. Lila might get upset and we don’t want to hurt her feelings— Right, Adrien?” 

The blonde jumped when the conversation turned to him out of nowhere. All of a sudden, every eye in the classroom was fixed on him. “R— Right, of course.” He said, forcing out each word. 

Satisfied, Marinette nodded, still wearing her ever-so-kind smile. “Exactly.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Hey, why don’t we all go out and have a picnic outside during lunch?” Alya suggested loudly, jumping up as soon as the lunch bell rang. “Marinette, you can come along too!” Something inside the reporter’s chest was stirring, and with the events of the past few days, Alya felt like she just had to quench that unsettling feeling— And the first step to that was to mend things with Marinette, even though it was the bluenette’s fault for always having been biased to Lila. Alya smiled, proud of herself. She would be the bigger person, she would forgive Marinette, she would integrate the designer back into the class again. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Marinette replied just as quickly, “We don’t know what Lila might be allergic to— She could easily trigger a reaction if we go out, especially since it’s spring.” 

A collective choir of groans rounded the class. 

“Well, I’m going to go back to the hotel to have a first-class meal,” Chloe turned her nose up at her classmates. “... Dupain-Cheng, would you like to come?” 

Shock painted the faces of the whole classroom. Did Chloe just... Ask Marinette something... Politely? 

“I’d love to take that offer, Chloe.” Responded the bluenette, graceful and flawless as ever. “Perhaps tomorrow?” 

“Suit yourself. They’re serving lobster today.” Chloe huffed. “If you’re really that busy, then fine. We can discuss...” The Mayor’s daughter trailed off as she blushed. 

The bluenette giggled knowingly. “You’d like to commission a dress from me, right?” 

“... No.” 

“...” 

“... Maybe.” 

“Alright.” Marinette nodded. “Then maybe it’ll be more convenient if I head over to the hotel after school. I’ll need to take your measurements and we can discuss the prices after.” 

“Whatever.” Chloe waved her away haughtily, a poor effort to cover up her embarrassment. “Sabrina. Let’s go.” 

“Chloe?” Alya guffawed. “Why are you commissioning something from Marinette?” 

Rolling her eyes as if Alya had just asked the stupidest question ever, Chloe answered plainly. “Because she’s one of the up-and-rising designers in the industry? Have you seen what Dupain-Cheng is wearing today? Celebrities are already fighting for spots in her commission list. Even my mother and Gabriel Agreste acknowledge her talent. I’m not dumb, Cesaire. I can recognise a future fashion queen when I see one.” 

Wow, Marinette breathed, looking at the stunned faces around the room, Chloe sure knows how to create an impression. 

“W— Well.” Stuttered the reporter after Chloe made her big exit. “Then... What about going to the bakery for lunch?” 

“Didn’t Lila say she saw a rat in the bakery the last time she visited it?” Marinette pointed out. “The health officer checked the surveillance and the claim was dismissed, of course, because my parents make sure the bakery is as hygienic as possible— But I’m sure Lila is traumatised from that incident. I wouldn’t want to force her to come along to the bakery— And we wouldn’t want to leave her out either, right?” 

This elicited another round of groans. 

Oh, I am enjoying myself way too much, Marinette chuckled mentally. 

“Then— Then...” Alya struggled visibly before she was put out of her misery. 

“It’s fine, Alya.” The designer reassured her. “I wouldn’t want to bother Lila. I’m sure she’s still upset at me. You guys go ahead. I have to go back to the bakery to help my parents out. See you guys after!” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

Slam! 

Lila fumed, hand still pressed on her locker door. What. The. Hell. Was Mari-brat trying to do? She didn’t miss the way some of her classmates sent her unsatisfactory looks after that pre-lunch stunt that Marinette had pulled. 

And what was the thing about high-and-mighty Chloe commissioning from Marinette? 

Sure, Lila would admit that the cardigan that the designer made was indeed gorgeous, and the fabric was smooth and velvety, a quality unlike any of the clothing that Lila had ever had the privilege to touch— But surely a lowly brat like Dupain-Cheng couldn’t be that popular... Right? 

Dammit, hissed the Italian girl, Maybe I should’ve tried being friends with Mari-brat instead of Cesaire. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Is that... Marinette and Kagami?” Nino gaped, prompting Alya to turn around. It was true— Walking up the steps of Francois Dupont together were the two blue-haired girls, a gentle smile dancing on Kagami’s lips as Marinette talked animatedly, her hands waving around quickly to further elaborate her point. 

Students lounging around the entrance for lunch couldn’t tear their eyes off the two and their matching dresses. Sure, the two girls had walked into school the same way that morning— But now that the afternoon sun was high up in the sky, the golden and silver embroidery was glinting luminously, revealing the true caliber of Marinette’s craft. 

“But... They’re rivals.” Stuttered Alya. She just couldn’t understand... Weren’t they supposed to hate each other? 

“They both like Adrien but they can still get along,” Nino remarked thoughtfully, taking a bite from his sandwich. “So Marinette wasn’t lying about going to meet Kagami yesterday.” 

Alya was silent. 

“Alya? What’s wrong?” Worried, Nino put a hand around his girlfriend’s shoulder, care and concern shining through his honest eyes. 

“If... If Marinette doesn’t get jealous or biased over someone who also likes Adrien...” Alya started quietly, eyes still fixed on the two girls, “Then why was she so against Lila?” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Mlle. Bustier?” The teacher looked up at the voice of her favourite student. Fondly, she smiled. Marinette had finally seen the light and changed her ways, becoming the helpful, generous, kind Marinette that served as a great example for her peers. “May I make an announcement before class ends?” 

“Of course, dear.” Mlle. Bustier gave permission instantly— Marinette was taking up the reins of leadership again! The teacher couldn’t help but do a happy dance internally. 

“I have an announcement to make, so if everyone could listen, I’d be really thankful.” Marinette started, her clear blue eyes meeting those of her classmates. 

She took a deep breath. This is it. I’ve done what I needed to do, now it’s time to finish the job. 

“These past two days... Have been great,” Marinette started wistfully. “I really missed hanging around everyone, just like we did before,” Before you all turned your backs on me and stabbed me when I wasn’t looking, “But I can’t deny— And neither can you— That the things that have happened... They had a really deep impact. And I’ve realised that I can’t just ignore that damage that has been done.” The damage that has been done to me. “So, for the better of everyone— I’ve decided that I... Will transfer classes.” 

It was as if an explosion had gone off in Mlle. Bustier’s classroom. 

“Girl! You can’t do that!” Alya exclaimed in dismay, “We can fix things! Everything has been going well these few days, haven’t they?” 

“Dudette! Honestly, we forgive you.” Nino sighed, “Things just aren’t the same if you’re not here anymore.” 

Adrien didn’t say a word, but the imploring gaze he wore said enough. Please don’t leave me here alone. We promised we’d fight together, right? As long as both of us know... 

Marinette held her hand up to silence them, and the classroom, just as swiftly, became the deadly silence that followed post-disaster. “I understand. But once again, this is for the better,” — Of my mental health, “I’ve talked to Mlle. Mendeliev, and she’s agreed to take me in. I believe that once the changes have taken place, we can all grow more freely without restrictions.” 

In the corner, Mlle. Bustier was tearing up and dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. 

“Mlle. Bustier,” Marinette turned to her teacher, no malice in her eyes. “I’ll be under Mlle. Mendeliev’s care now.” 

“Marinette...” The teacher sobbed quietly, with Chloe shooting her a look of disgust from the front row. 

“It’s not going to be easy for any of us,” Marinette turned back to the class, “But with time, I’m sure we will all prosper. Especially since you will now be under the care of our one and only Lila Rossi.” 

Adrien looked like someone had just killed a puppy in front of him. 

“Since I am the current class president, I thought I’d pass on the duties onto the most capable person in our class.” Marinette explained warmly, never moving her gaze away from the bewildered Lila. “Lila has the most connections in our class out of all of us, and she’s met so many CEOs and entrepreneurs that she must know a lot about organising and planning. I’m sure you can do it, Lila, but...” She paused. “You can handle it, right?” 

“Y— Yeah. Of course.” Lila stuttered. 

“You promised the class that you’d get BTS to perform for the year-end fundraiser since you were supposed to be in an arranged marriage with their youngest member, Jungkook.” Marinette continued, God I am enjoying myself too much honestly, but I ain’t going to stop now, “And you said you could convince your godfather, Bruce Wayne, to allow the class to go to Wayne Enterprises for this year’s class trip.” 

“She said she could convince Tony Hawk to give me an internship, too!” Alix chipped in. 

“And that she’d bring me along the next time Prince Ali asks for her help for a charity cause!” Rose smiled. 

“She said she’d introduce me to the CEO of Graham Films!” Nino’s eyes shone at the idea. 

The class continued to talk all over one another until Marinette silenced them once more. “Now, now. Let’s not overwhelm Lila. We wouldn’t want her to be overworked or to feel like the expectations are set too high, right?” 

The class agreed, nodding along. 

Marinette made eye contact with Lila, offering her a sweet smile as she did so. Lila, on the other hand, had no taste for such politeness. Instead, she straight-out glared at the former class president. 

This is your problem now. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Marinette! I was hoping to catch you before you went home,” Alya panted, having been able to find the bluenette in the locker room before the designer slipped out of her reach. “You... You’re really serious about leaving?” 

“Yeah.” Smiled Marinette, organising her textbooks into her bag, dusting down her skirt. Noticing Alya’s crestfallen expression, she took the initiative to continue the conversation. “Is there anything else, Alya?” 

“Did you... Did you really hate Lila because she liked Adrien, too?” The reporter asked somewhat timidly. 

Marinette giggled. Normally, when the girl giggled, you could hear a gentle tinkling of wind chimes— But at that moment, Alya heard the freezing winds on Mount Everest instead. “Don’t be silly, Alya. All this over a boy? Besides, I’m over him.” 

“Then...” Alya swallowed difficulty. “Lila... Really was lying this whole time?” 

The gaze that swept across the reporter was stone cold, and it made Alya feel as if she was dangling over a valley of jagged rocks. “What do you think, Alya?” Even so, the bluenette maintained a sweet smile. 

“She was. She was lying the whole time.” Alya suddenly felt as if she had a shortness of air. “This whole time—” 

“Oh, good for you. You finally learned how to see further than one feet in front of you.” Marinette hummed. “I’m proud of you, really. But I’m afraid that I don’t have the time to listen to you slowly come to conclusions after I’ve tried making you see sense for the past half a year. I tried to stop you from ruining your futures, but I guess determination was always one of your good traits.” 

Alya slipped to the floor, having lost the feeling in her legs. She placed one hand against the lockers for support as she shook, weakly looking up at the girl who she was once so proud to call her ‘best friend’. 

“Marinette?” Kagami’s voice rang through the room, indicating that the girl was waiting at the doorway. “You said you were heading to Bourgeois’s hotel after school— Would you like a ride?” 

“That’d be nice, Kagami. A moment.” The designer looked down at her friend and smiled, albeit a little sadly this time— And then she lowered her voice. 

“Determination was always one of your good traits.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Marinette,” Adrien perked up at the sight of the bluenette leaving the school doors— Side by side with Kagami, who looked ready to draw a sword and start a duel then and there. 

“This’ll just take a minute, ‘Gami.” Marinette reassured, gently patting her friend’s arm. “Why don’t you get in the car first? It looks like it’s going to rain.” 

Reluctantly, Kagami nodded. “Alright.” Warily, the fencer stepped down the stairs and into the car— But even as she sat in the vehicle, she watched over her fellow bluenette like a hawk, ready to jump out and challenge the blonde if the situation called for it. 

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say. Luckily for him, the designer decided to start the conversation. 

“I just wanted to say thank you.” Marinette smiled softly. A few months ago, when she looked at Adrien, she would see the kind, generous, pure-hearted boy with the finest golden hair and the brightest green eyes. Now? All she saw was a spineless, sheltered, passive child that was afraid of confrontations. 

“For what?” Adrien looked at Marinette, and no longer did he see the cute, pigtail-adorning girl that would blush fiercely everytime he tried to talk to her. Instead, he saw a beautiful, young woman, a rock that had pulled through all the odds to become a vibrant, iridescent diamond. 

Marinette was glowing with confidence, her presence diffusing into the air around her and triggering eyes to look up every time she walked by. There was something about the way she held herself that just made the woman demand awe and respect from those that crossed her path. The old ‘Clumsinette’ had been shed like an old snake skin to reveal a treasure, a better version of the bluenette that had always been waiting for her time to come. 

Bluebell eyes met green ones just as rain began to patter down onto the streets of Paris. Marinette glanced up slightly, not at all bothered as she smoothly retrieved an umbrella from her bag, holding it out for the blonde to take. A flush of deja vu burst through Adrien’s veins and through his skin as he took it with a mumbled thanks, eyes blown wide as Marinette let loose her hair from her ponytail, pulling her blazer over her head to avoid getting her head wet. 

Adrien could only gape as Marinette uttered familiar words back to him, a knowing smile dancing across her lips as she ran off into the rain as if an invisible weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The bluenette looked lighter, brighter, ready to take flight and soar towards the success that her crops of hard work had finally started to bear. Before the blonde model knew it, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had slipped out of his grip, already spreading her multi-coloured wings to land among the stars. 

“Thank you for telling me to take the high road.”  

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

this was both satisfying and tiring to write... 

#ml salt #ml saltfic #saltfic #lila salt #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien salt #miraculous ladybug #alya salt #[ris writes]—✧

[ravennm84]

Of Moldy Bread and Cockroaches

I’ve seen a few fics where Lila reports the bakery to the health department and then plants bad pastries and pests just as the inspector arrives and gets the bakery shut down. I started wondering, what would happen if she got caught doing that? Warm-Fuzzies and please enjoy!!

Lila kept watch as she waited for the health inspector to finally arrive. She had made multiple fake reports about the bakery over the past week to get someone to come out, but no one had come yet. And she had found the perfect spot to make sure she saw the man arrive, too! She was in disguise in the park, on a bench that had a clear view of the bakery entrance, the side entrance that went to the Dupain-Cheng home, and still let her stay hidden. She didn’t have to worry about school at the moment since her stupid class and teacher thought she was visiting the royal family in Spain, and her gullible mother thought school was out for another akuma attack. Both of which gave her an alibi so no one would suspect her when Maribrat and her goody-goody parents were humiliated and lose everything.

She was almost too distracted by her daydream of Marinette crying and homeless to see a very professional looking man step out of a taxi in front of the bakery. He looked at the display with a very critical eye before writing some things down on his tablet. That had to be the health inspector she had been waiting for. Once she saw him entering the front, Lila hot footed it to the side entrance to sneak in. 

The door was locked, but she had come prepared with a lockpick set she had gotten a couple years ago. It was really too easy to get inside. In fact, it had been much harder to get the fake evidence she would need to shut the place down. She discovered while going through the dumpster for old pastries that the bakery didn’t throw away much of anything. They sold out most of the time, and the things that didn’t were donated to a local homeless shelter. It took three days of dumpster diving to find anything, which ended up being a single batch of croissants that had burned in the oven. Heck, collecting some cockroaches from a restaurant dumpster down the street had been easier; albet, a lot more disgusting.

Once inside, Lila crept towards the door as she heard Mme. Cheng speaking to the man. He was, in fact, the health inspector. A malicious grin stretched across her face as she put the first moldy croissant on the counter next to the-

“What are you doing here?” A deep voice growled behind her.

Lila froze for a moment, suddenly realizing that she had heard Mme. Cheng speaking with the inspector, but not M. Dupain. She couldn’t let herself get caught! She was facing away from him and he hadn’t seen her face yet, so there was still a chance. Grabbing the first thing she could, she didn’t even look to see what it was, she swung it around at the towering man before trying to run past him. 

Despite hearing him curse in pain, Lila didn’t make it two steps before the man grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and lifted her off of the ground. She swung her object at him again, only for the enraged man to grab her wrist and twist, forcing her to drop it with a shout as it clanged to the floor. 

The noise drew Sabine and the inspector to the back where they say Tom holding Lila off the ground. Furious and still trying to escape, she tried kicking at him only for him to release her wrist, grab her ankle, and then release her jacket so she was hanging upside down. More items hit the floor as her hat fell off, a couple of croissants and the tupperware container of cockroaches fell from her pockets, and landed next to a bloody knife…

Uh-oh.

Looking up, she saw that his right arm was bleeding from where she had slashed him with the knife, which had her fingerprints all over it. She was going to be in so much trouble unless she could think of a way out of this!

“What happened, Tom?” Sabine asked, worried when she saw her husband’s bleeding arm and was slightly confused by the girl hanging upside-down in their kitchen. It took a moment before she seemed to recognize Lila as the girl that had gotten her daughter expelled a few weeks before.

“I was coming down to meet Inspector LaStare with you and caught this girl putting bad pastries with the others.” 

“That’s not it!” Lila yelled in a panic and she wiggled in his grip, resembling a fish on a hook. “I-I-I was- I was getting rid of them! I was taking them off the counter to throw them away!”

“And your container of cockroaches?” Asked Sabine, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring dubiously at the girl.

“Those aren’t mine! I swear! If you would just let me explain-”

“I’ve already heard enough to recognize your voice, young lady,” the inspector snapped as he stepped closer to glare at Lila. “I bet you weren’t paying attention when you called the health department all those times and the recording told you that your call would be monitored and recorded. And when a single business gets over twenty complaints in less than a week, it gets some attention. But when we listen to the recordings and hear the same voice for every message, we figure it’s someone with a vendetta against the establishment. Still, we do our do-diligence and inspect the establishment, but I had no idea how stupid a person would be to attempt to plant fake evidence while I was here, in full view of the security cameras.”

She couldn’t help her surprised gasp as she, while still hanging upside down in the hulking baker’s grip, looked around the kitchen ceiling until her eyes landed on the cameras. One pointed at the side door she had picked open and the other pointed at the counter where she had put the moldy pastry.

Sabine leaned in close, glaring straight into Lila’s upside-down eyes. “Young lady, what is your mother’s phone number?” It was clear that it was more of a demand than a question, but she was still trying to think of a way out of trouble before Sabine grabbed her face and forced Lila to look at her. “You can either tell me her number now, or you can tell the police so she can go pick you up at the station while they tell her all the crimes you’re being charged with.”

Angry at being caught and forced to call her mother, Lila thought of what she could do as she tried to look and sound pitiful as she recited her mother’s number. Not difficult since she was red-faced from hanging upside-down for so long. She might not be able to get out of trouble, but she’d be damned if they didn’t pay for humiliating her.

After Sabine stepped into the front of the bakery to make the call, Lila tearfully looked up at Tom. “Can you please put me down? I’m getting really dizzy.”

She could tell that the man was tempted to drop her on her head, but he was too much of a goody-goody like his daughter and he eased her gently to the floor. As soon as he let go of her ankle, Lila’s uninjured hand snapped out and grabbed the tupperware of cockroaches, ripped off the lid, and flung the insects across the floor. 

Tom and Inspector LaStare yelled in surprise and disgust as Lila attempted to escape, this time running for the front of the bakery. She actually made it out of the kitchen, but ended up face to face with Sabine. Without a word, the woman grabbed Lila’s by the arm, flipped her over her shoulder to the floor, and twisted her arm to where she couldn’t move.

“Are you okay, Tom?” Sabine called, her voice eerily calm to Lila’s ears.

“She flung those cockroaches across the kitchen! They’re everywhere!” Tom yelled as he and the inspector scrambled to try and kill or capture the insects.

“I’ve already called her mother and the police, they’ll be here any minute.”

Lila’s struggles doubled when she heard that. “You said you wouldn’t call the police if I gave you my mom’s number!”

Sabine merely twisted the girl’s arm a little more, halting her struggles rather than letting her arm break. “I said no such thing. I only said you could choose whether to talk to your mother here or at the police station. And I promise you, young lady, your mother is going to hear everything you’ve been up to. Including what you’ve been doing Marinette.”

~oOo~

The fallout had been epic after the police and Lila’s mother arrived at the bakery. 

Greta Rossi had been in denial at first, not wanting to think that her daughter was capable of such terrible behavior. But it was hard to argue with the video evidence and eyewitness accounts of Lila attempting to plant moldy pastries, vindictively releasing the cockroaches in the kitchen, or attacking Tom Dupain with a knife, which would require stitches. 

It got even worse when school let out for lunch and the majority of Lila’s classmates came rushing over when they saw the police and ambulance at the bakery. Mme. Rossi had asked them why they were all out when there was an akuma on the loose. The class asked her why they were back in Paris since she was supposed to be in a meeting with the royal family of Spain. It became apparent after a few more minutes of back and forth that Lila had been lying for the entire time they’d been in France and Greta would have to meet with M. Damocles and Mme. Bustier soon about her daughter’s absences and failure to contact her.

When the police were placing handcuffs on Lila, she started shrieking. “You can’t do this to me! I have diplomatic immunity! Let me go or I’ll get you fired and Italy will invade France for what you’re doing to me!”

“Wrong!” Greta spoke over Lila as she approached her daughter. “I’m a secretary at the embassy, not a diplomat. Only I have immunity, you don’t. I was lucky to even be able to bring you on assignment rather than leave you with your Zio and Zia in Italy. But I see that was a mistake, and now both of us will have to pay for that mistake!”

Lila continued to shriek and curse as she was forced into the back of the police cruiser and taken to the police station. 

In the end; Lila was charged with corporate sabotage, breaking and entering, assault with a deadly weapon, and slander by Tom and Sabine. She was also charged for truancy, forgery, bullying, slander, and cyber bullying for what she’d done to Marinette at school. Lila’s mother was forced to pay for an exterminator to take care of the cockroaches, as well as all of the supplies and pastries that had been at the bakery and had to be thrown out due to the infestation that Lila had attempted to cause. But the worst was having to pay restitution for the time the bakery was closed. Turns out, Tom and Sabine’s bakery really was the top bakery in Paris and had the receipts to prove it.

There had been some worry that the temporary shutdown would hurt the bakery’s reputation, but Inspector LaStare, with the help of Nadja Chamack, had seen to it that none of the problems would blow back on the Dupain-Chengs. Inspector LaStare had gone on record stating that it was a rare occasion where an establishment was completely innocent of the accusations brought against it, but this was one of those times. He then showed footage of Lila planting the moldy pastry, assaulting Tom with the knife, and flinging the bugs into the kitchen before attempting to escape. He also stated that he was personally working with the Dupain-Chengs to make sure that the bakery was up to code and open as soon as possible so all of Paris could get back to enjoying their favorite pastries.

Viewers all over Paris were appalled at the actions of the teenage girl,discovering her vendetta was against Marinette since she knew about Lila’s lies. While laughing at her as they watched Tom hold her upside-down by her leg and Sabine flip the fleeing girl over her shoulder via security footage. The footage ended up being shared by people all over YouTube and gained millions of views, showing their support for the Dupain-Chengs and humiliating Lila on a now global level.

There was also sympathy towards Marinette and outrage towards the Francois Dupont administration when Nadja reported how Lila had also been bullying Marinette without receiving any help from the school. This would result in both Damocles and Bustier being suspended from their jobs until they completed training in regards to handling bullies.

With all the publicity against Lila Rossi, Gabriel Agreste had been left in a difficult position since Lila had only recently been named a new spokesmodel for his brand. Adrien, however, offered a solution to save face and help the brand in the future. So, when Nadja was doing a followup on the story the following week, Gabriel did a video interview where he very publicly announced Lila’s termination from the company for her actions and announced that he had offered Marinette an internship and a scholarship to the fashion university of her choice, so long as she was accepted. This caused a slew of universities to scout Marinette themselves, as it wasn’t every day a fashion mogul does a public shout out to a girl in college. And just like that, sales and public opinion of the Agreste brand went up.

Lila watched all of this unfold from her prison cell outside of Paris. She had been tried as an adult and was caught committing perjury during her trial, which prompted the judge to give her the maximum sentence for her crimes. She couldn’t even enjoy the pleasure of being akumatized anymore since she was so far out of the city. All she could do was sit in her cell eating moldy bread with cockroaches as her only friends as she sulked on the fact that she had failed, and the entire world was laughing at her.

Taglist:

@2confused-2doanything @7-sage-7 @aadnrsstar @abrx2002 @awkwardromances @bayball @babylovebug18 @botanicalfoxx @back-cats-and-broken-mirrors @caffeinetheory @cheshire5210 @chocolateherringtacofan @city-of-all-tunas @classycollectorreviewworld  @corabeth11 @chocolatechipcookiesandcamembert @darkened-flame @delightfulcookiesrecipespizza @fandom-trapped-03 @ghostmaster @iamblinkmarvelarmy @interobanginyourmom @izang @jesussavedevenme @kazedancer @kitten12113 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @lilypotter2018 @lunataravler @ladylupuscrow @maskedpainter @miraculouslydumb @nerd-nowandforever @ola-is-dead @pandacatxd @plushbookworm @plz-excuse-my-inner-ravenclaw @pheonix-biach @pandora-fucking-box @raiderofthelostbooks @ramos123 @rowanrouge @rowanyx @ren121 @seesea22 @seraphichana @sashakoi @shypeacekitten @tazer6787 @that-girl-sakea @thecrazyfantrollshasmoved @the-smallest-kittenz @tishwinchesterannabethjackson @t1dwarrior-of-earth @ulmban @with-forward-motion @wonderbat91939 @zoiechance

#lila lies #lila karma #lila salt #lila gets exposed #marinette dupain cheng #tom dupain #sabine cheng #badass parents #mlbjustice #ml fic #ml prompt

[marauderundercover]

Crashed Dates (Day 2: Scarecrow)

Marinette grins at her boyfriend, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth as they walk around the pumpkin farm. It was so nice, finally being able to go on cute dates like this. They’d first started dating while he was in Paris on business, around a year ago. Sure, he’d made trips to Paris and she’d made a few to Metropolis, but it was different now that she had moved to Gotham. Now they were able to go on random, unplanned dates, instead of dates that had been planned for weeks. He was definitely worried when she first told him she was moving to Gotham, but she had reassured him that it would be fine. (Not that she had a choice in the matter, Tikki had informed her on her last trip to Metropolis that Gotham was sick, that it was calling out for help and that as the Guardian, it was her job to help it). Gotham was….interesting, but she’d settled in just fine in the two weeks she’d been there.

And so, when he had called her out of the blue to tell her he found a place he thought she’d love, she made sure she had enough layers and jumped at the chance for a day with him. So far, the day had been absolutely perfect. They’d drank hot apple cider, ate warm donuts, taken a trip around the farm on the hayride- everything was great. But for some reason, her amazingly stubborn boyfriend didn’t want to go into the corn maze. 

“Please! You’ll be my favorite person in the whole world.” She begs again, her grin quickly switching into a pout. She keeps pouting, leaning against his arm, until he sighs.

“Fine, we can do the maze.” He says and she cheers, standing on her toes and tugging him down slightly to give him a quick kiss. 

“You are the best!” She says, over enunciating every word. He just grins, giving her another soft kiss. 

“If we get lost, I’m calling the Demon Spawn to come get us out. Pretty sure he has a tracker on my phone.” Jason says, letting her tug him along towards the maze. She just rolls her eyes, grinning. 

“You know you’re secretly touched that he cares enough to track you.” She teases as they near the entrance of the maze.

“Yeah, yeah.” He grumbles, glaring at the scarecrow situated at the entrance of the maze. Marinette raises an eyebrow. 

“You have a problem with men made of straw?” She asks, legitimately confused by his reaction. 

“Geeze M, I knew you were new to Gotham but I forget how new.” He says, pulling her closer. She melts into him, still confused by his reaction, but happy to be close. As they walk through the maze, frustratingly running into deadends, Jason explains Scarecrow. Marinette decides that he’s number two on the list of villains she never wants to meet. Joker is number one. (Joker is also number one on the list of villains she wants to meet, but that’s because she’s always wondered what it would look like to cataclysm a psychotic clown). She’s just about to suggest they call Damian and utilize the tracker that was, undoubtedly on Jason’s phone, when the screaming begins. 

“There isn’t a haunted house here, is there.” Marinette says, her face pale. She wasn’t ready to be a hero again. She’d only defeated Hawkmoth a year ago. Just before meeting Jason. She didn’t want that part of her life again, not now. 

“No, no there’s not.” Jason says, eyes glancing around wildly. Marinette’s heart breaks at the panic on his face. She knew that, despite his tough guy appearance, he struggled. A lot. He had nightmares, constantly, mostly of the time Joker had kidnapped him (hence the whole, cataclysm Joker thing). Pushing down her own fear and doubt, she tightens her grip on his hand and squares her shoulders. 

“Come on.” She instructs, tugging him behind her as she darts through the maze, determined to get out. She stumbles over a rock and lets go of Jason’s hand in time for her to fall into a larger clearing. She curses as she falls, her palms stinging. 

“What have we here?” A voice says. Marinette sits up, staring up at a man in a scarecrow costume and suddenly, Jason’s fear, or rather, dislike, of scarecrows makes more sense. So much more sense. She glances around and lets out a sigh of relief. She’d let go of Jason quick enough. He wasn’t caught up in this. Hopefully, he could call his father. She wasn’t sure if the rumors about Bruce Wayne and Batman dating were true, but Batman was always quick to interfere if it was a Wayne or Wayne adjacent involved. 

“A girl who’s a little pissed that you crashed her date.” She retorts, standing up and brushing her stinging palms off on her jeans. She’d have to get the blood out later, which would be a pain. Better than having the blood on her palms mix with the dirt that also now covered her hands. 

“You’re either very brave or very stupid, little girl. Let’s see how you deal with my newest strain of fear toxin.” He says, and she lunges towards the man, not willing to go down without a fight. Almost immediately, a sharp pinch on her neck has her stumbling back away from the man as she tries to take in her new surroundings. 

She was back in Paris, but it wasn’t the Paris she had left. The city that was healing. Instead this Paris was underwater. Buildings were toppled over, and the moon was in pieces in the sky. She was back there. A place she hadn’t seen in person since she was fourteen, a place that had haunted her nightmares for ten years. She inhales sharply when she sees him. Chat Blanc. But instead of fear, she’s just angry. This isn’t real. It can’t be. Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. And Adrien was….turning, she realizes that she can almost see him. Out of the corner of her eye, she can almost see Scarecrow, watching her. Waiting for her to react. Anger coursing through her, she charges the man, tackling him all the way to the ground. She pulls back her fist and punches him, repeatedly. 

“How dare you! How dare you use his face like that! You son of a bitch!” She screams as she hits, the roaring in her ears blocking out all other sounds. She keeps her focus on feeling the man she’s hitting, because the second she lets her focus wander, she gets sucked into her surroundings again. The way the sky just looks wrong. The odd haze over everything. And now, the corpses floating in the water closest to her. Adrien. Maman. Papa. She’s not scared, she’s pissed. Sure, those were her biggest fears and that’s definitely why she was seeing them all like that, but she’d already seen it. She’s lived it. They were gone, not coming back. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to fall down and break about it. Not when some asshole with fear toxin was running around randomly injecting people. Suddenly, something is wrapped around her and she’s pulled up. She kicks frantically, trying to get out of the steel grip she’s trapped in. She had to- what did she have to do? Another sharp pinch in her neck makes her eyes droop sleepily. She struggles again, barely able to hear the voice calling her name as she succumbs to the darkness.

---

Jason Todd feels like a major prick. He watched his girlfriend trip and instead of helping her up, he uses it as a distraction to try and call B. How the fuck was he supposed to know she tripped right into the Scarecrow? He’s cursing himself mentally as he rushes towards the ambulance. Replacement had texted him. 

Marinette was injected. At ambulances near front of farm

And Jason felt like shit. She’d never forgive him, not that he deserved it. He’d left her with one of Gotham’s biggest villains. His heart sinks when he sees the blood on her, and the oxygen mask attached to her face. Fuck. He’s almost to her, when one of the asshole cops stops him. 

“Excuse me, sir, you can’t go over there.” He says and Jason scowls. 

“Like hell I can’t. She’s my girlfriend, let me through.” He says, and the man shakes his head. 

“Family only.” He states. Jason’s about to argue, when a hand lands on his shoulder. 

“I still need to get a statement from Mr. Todd, if you’ll excuse us.” Replacement says, leading him away from the cop. 

“I left her.” He says, the second they’re far enough away. Tim frowns.

“What do you-”

“I mean, I left her. She tripped and instead of checking on her, I was a complete and total asshole and left her so I could call B to get his ass over here and solve the goddamn problem.” Jason says, feeling like even more of an asshole now that he’s said it out loud. 

“Did you see Scarecrow?” Replacement asks. Jason scoffs. 

“Of course not! You really think I would’ve left if I had?” He asks with a glare. 

“No, I don’t. So stop blaming yourself. I literally peeled her off of Scarecrow, she was beating the crap out of him. She’s gonna be tired and scared and confused when she wakes up. Just be there-”

“Jason!” Her terrified voice echoes out and Jason turns, sprinting for the cot he’d seen her on a minute ago. She had ripped the oxygen mask off her face and was looking around while arguing with the paramedic. 

“Ma’am please-” “Marinette!” Jason calls, and her face relaxes as she leaps off the cot and launches herself into his arms. He holds her as she shakes, sobs wracking her body. 

“I saw them.” She mumbles once she calms down a little. He frowns. 

“Saw who?” He asks. 

“My parents. Adrien. Their bodies.” She says, and suddenly, Jason has another name to add to his kill list. Being a complete asshole to all of Gotham, sure. Making his girlfriend see the bodies of those she’d lost? Nope. Now the bastard better hope he didn’t meet Red Hood in an alley. 

“God, Mari, I am so sorry. I’m so sorry I left.” He apologizes, his heart aching when she pushes him away. She frowns up at him and he winces, certain she’s about to break up with him. 

“Left?” She asks and he nods. 

“When you tripped, I swear, I didn’t know Scarecrow was there.” He says. 

“But you got Batman here.” She says and he jerks back. How the hell had she figured it out? When did she- “I know Bruce said he isn’t dating Batman, but honestly, I think he’s just in denial.” She adds. 

“I- what?” 

“Batman always comes when anyone in the Wayne family is in danger. Like, so quickly. And I know that Bruce says it’s just a bunch of rumors, like the whole ‘the butts match’ thing? But I also think that Batman is head over heels for Bruce, and your dad is just kinda clueless.” She rambles. Jason just laughs before pulling her into a deep kiss. She was okay. They were okay. He pulls back and grins at her, until he notices the blood again. 

“Shit, that’s a lot of blood.” He says, taking her hand in his to try and find the source. He glances at her face and raises an eyebrow at the blush that had taken over her face. 

“Oh, um, it’s not mine.” She mumbles. 

“Then who-” “Apparently I beat the hell out of Scarecrow. In my defense, that fear toxin sucked. And I was kinda pissed.” She says, frowning down at the blood on her hands. Jason takes one of his hands and gently tilts her chin up so that she’s looking at him again. He grins at her, giving her a short, soft kiss before pulling back. 

“I love you.” He says, and if the kiss she gave him in return meant anything, she felt the same way.

Next

Permanent tag list (open): @maribat-october-rarepairs @stainedglassm @kittenmywaythrulife @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth

#maribat #maribat fanfiction #maribathalloween21 #maribat jason todd #jasonette #maribat marinette dupain cheng #marinette ships bruce and batman #i dont make the rules #major character death #mentioned character death #maribat oneshot

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 19

Thank you guys for your patience!  I took a week of vacation to focus on relaxing and catching up on this fic but I’m a wife and a mom so that’s the exact opposite of what happened.  But I’m back now.  I still won’t have daily updates, but it shouldn’t be weeks in between anymore.

Chapter 1     Chapter 18

Marinette looked up at the Wayne Enterprises building, craning her neck in an attempt to see all the way up.  This was only her second time seeing the building up close and it was no less intimidating the second time around.  There was nothing inherently intimidating about the building. It was large and imposing, but that was the only characteristic that would be considered intimidating.

It was more a feeling, an aura, she got from the name, the history, the expectations and obligations that hit her every time she saw the building.  Like something was weighing down on her for just being in its presence.  Something pushing her away and pulling her in at the same time. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her eyes never once leaving the building’s façade.

She almost jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  “You sure you’re okay with this?” Max asked quietly.  “We don’t have to do this today.”

Marinette shook her head, her eyes still pinned to the building.  “Yes we do. I’ve pushed it off too long already. At this point, I’m getting favoritism by not getting lectured for it.”

Max looked around to make sure nobody was listening.  “If it helps, I don’t think M. Wayne is the type to confront you at work.”

Marinette scoffed and gave him a pointed look. “That is exactly the type of man he is. Confront in a public place where it is likely to create a scene if I say ‘no’ and ask me to speak with him in a more private venue.”

Max gave her a small sympathetic smile.  “Bad time to mention that you appear to have similar approaches to confronting people who are avoiding you?”

Marinette glowered at him, but only slightly.  He wasn’t wrong.  She was usually the one doing the avoiding, but if she had to confront someone who was proving elusive, such as when she had approached M. Fox the first time, it was an approach she would take.  Didn’t mean she liked it.  Either the tactic or the similarity in thinking process… or maybe she did like the similarity.  It was a link to him.  A subconscious, constant, unchanging connection to her biological father.

“I just mean to point out that if you do think alike, then you can anticipate his next moves and plan accordingly.  You can use it to your advantage.  You’re Harry Potter to his Voldemort,” Max offered with a supportive smile.

Marinette blinked a few times before turning to him wide eyed.  “Did you just compare your boss, my biological father, to Voldemort?”

Max’s eyes widened in realization.  “I… no… I… what I meant…”  

He was cut off by Marinette’s laughter.  It took several minutes for the laughter, loud enough to draw the attention and gawking of employees passing them by as they made their way into work, to die down enough for her to eke out words.  “First a snake, now Voldemort.  The man cannot get a break.”  She wiped away the laughing tears from her eyes.  “At least nobody’s compared him to Umbridge yet, so there’s that.”

She finally settled enough to pat Max on the back, her expression still amused, a wide smile on her lips.  “Thank you, Max.  I’ll consider that.”  She turned back to the building and her bright smile dulled until it disappeared.

Max frowned at the change.  He was very familiar with Marinette’s anxiety, it was an integral part of who she was.  It had been since he first met her.  But he had yet to figure out how to get her out of it.  Alya and Adrien were always so good at getting her out of her head. What would they do?  Max stared at her while he tried to remember how Adrien and Alya responded to Marinette’s anxiety spirals.

They had already reached the front steps before he decided however they would respond that wasn’t him.  He pointed out facts then let people make their decisions based on the information. Then they might, or if it were Kim definitely would, make a stupid choice, but at least they had the information beforehand.  “If it helps, M. Wayne used to walk through the department twice a day.  But the last few days he’s only seen him in the afternoon, so I don’t think he will be there this morning.”

Marinette looked down, tapping her fingers together, avoiding his eyes.  She closed her eyes and mentally berated herself.  Why was she still such a coward?  Avoiding her problems as though that had ever made things better for her. Avoiding Luka after they broke up just made him feel terrible and made her feel like a horrible person.  And here she was doing the same thing, like she hadn’t learned a damn thing.  She needed to talk to M. Wayne eventually, she knew that, she just didn’t know what to say or how to make it better yet.

She finally looked up guiltily at Max.  “I’m sorry.  I’m just not ready to see him yet, I haven’t figured out what I want to say, so that does help, knowing I still have time.”  She let out a deep breath and squared her shoulders before making her way to the front door.

They slowly made their way to the elevator, focusing on each other and their path to the elevators, pretending like they didn’t see the people staring at her and whispering to each other.  Once they were alone on the elevator, nobody to overhear their conversation, Max spoke up.  “Maybe,” Max started quietly, “maybe, you don’t need to know what you want to say.  Maybe you should let him say what he wants to say and go from there.”

He looked up at Marinette, a slight furrow in his brow.  “From what you and Adrien said, it sounds like he may have some questions or may want to apologize.  You had the last word, perhaps it would be most appropriate and in spirit of the rules of conversation to allow him the first in the next conversation.”

Marinette nodded at his reasoning.  He was right.  M. Wayne likely had a lot of questions and she hadn’t exactly let him have a say in their last conversation, perhaps it was only fair to allow him to have his say this time.  She gave him a resolute nod and stood up straighter.  “You’re right, Max.  I should let him decide the next steps.  I decided the last ones.”

Max turned and shook his head.  “No.  That is not what I am saying.”  He looked her in the eyes for a moment before looking away and fixing his glasses.  “What I meant to insinuate is it doesn’t have to all be on you.  You don’t have to take responsibility for everything.  There are two people in the conversation, in the relationship.  You don’t have to take responsibility for moving either forward. He is responsible as well.  You shouldn’t take it all on your shoulders.”

Marinette opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly, not entirely sure what she wanted to say to that.  She was saved from having to respond by the elevator doors opening.  She stepped off and turned to Max with a plastered on smile.  “Ready?”

Max looked down into his bag and raised his eyebrows at Markov as he stepped off the elevator.  Markov displayed down-turned eyes and a frown.  “Right, well,” Max started, much too loudly.  He stood up tall and adjusted his glasses as Markov flew up next to him.  “I promised to show you around the department.  Come on, they’ve made some great progress.  You should see the plans.  You might have insights on the different directions we’ve been considering.”

The tour was short, it wasn’t a large department, but extremely enlightening.  They were already making great progress.  There was a mountain of failed prototypes with in depth analytic reports on their development and why they failed, ways to change it for the next attempt.  There weren’t many employees in the department and they all smiled at Max and Markov as they passed and gave friendly nods. It seemed like nobody was upset that their former head of the department had been ousted and had welcomed Max with open arms.

“Ms. Dupain Cheng,” Lucius called out, making his way off the elevator and toward her and Max.  He smiled warmly at Marinette and clasped her hand between his to shake it.  “It’s been too long.”

Marinette chuckled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “It’s been like three days since we talked.”

Lucius grinned.  His eyes gleamed with a mischievous glint that reminded her of the sweet older men who would come into the bakery and “flirt” innocently with her maman and her when she was older but then wax poetic about their wives, their entire faces brightening when their wives joined them. “Like I said, too long.” He chuckled along with Marinette and backed up a step.  “Thank you for meeting me here.  I trust Mr. Kante and Markov showed you around the department and pointed out your office.”

“They have,” Marinette looked at Max and Markov with a smile.  “It looks like they’re in good hands.  I don’t think I’ve seen Max this giddy since he got a tour of CERN.”

“That is great to hear.  And did he run over the different options we’ve been discussing?” Lucius motioned toward the white board and neatly stacked piles of reports on the tables next to the board.

“He did,” Marinette assured him, her face turning serious as she looked at the piles of reports.

“Very briefly,” Max added.

Marinette kept her eyes focused on the whiteboard, looking over the bullet points of their conversations.  “They are very ambitious plans.  It will certainly be a challenge for designing and a lot to consider.”

“In any way in particular?” Lucius prompted.

Marinette considered his question for a few moments and looked between Max and Lucius.  Max nodded to her.  She nodded back.  “If you're talking about changing the rigidity of the fabric, then I’ll need to consider how that will affect the shape.  If I have it molded to a person's body when it's soft, when it gets stiff it won’t bend the same way, so it’ll lose that shape. I’d have to figure out how to make it still work.  

“We should really discuss intentions for the clothes so I can design appropriately and we can make sure there is a market for the clothes.”  Lucius looked at her curiously.  “How large of a difference are you thinking?  Because the larger the difference, the more difficult to design, but also to wear.  Unless you have some way that you're keeping it in shape regardless of how rigid it is. So you need to figure out if that is an important issue for you or not.  Also, thread.”

“Thread?”  Max blinked a few times

“Thread,” Marinette repeated with a curt nod.  “The thread I use on say silk is a lot more delicate than the thread I use on jeans or leather.  Those materials are stiffer and harder and need thicker thread to hold them.  But I can't use thicker thread on things like silk because it weighs the fabric down too much and ruins the shape, so you need to think about the thread.  It needs to be something that can work with delicate fabric but will still hold without breaking when the fabric changes.

“Also color.  If you are going to change the fabric color, then the thread will likely have to change as well.”  She looked between the two men.  Max was staring toward the white board with the algorithms on it in contemplation. Lucius pursed his lips as he looked at the desk.  Marinette rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.  “But that’s just off the top of my head.  I can come up with more insightful once I’ve had more time to think.”

“That is quite a lot to consider,” Lucius nodded, finally looking back at her.  “Those are important points we hadn’t yet considered but will have to be incorporated immediately.  Thank you. I would very much like to discuss this further, but with more of the project involved and give you time to review some materials.  Would you be available on Monday?  That should give us and you time to prepare to discuss the options.”

Marinette frowned and pulled out her phone to see her calendar.  “That should work.”  She scoffed and waved her phone helplessly.  “I pull this out like I’ve been putting anything in my calendar on it.  We’re in Metropolis this weekend.  I should be back by Monday.”

“Monday it is,” Lucius agreed.  “Now that that is settled, I’d like to talk about logistics, setup, and ask a few questions up in my office.”  

Marinette’s smile immediately dropped.  She froze, her eyes widening.  “Oh… um…  That sounds…”

Lucius looked around the room to see who was looking their way and who might be listening in.  He lowered his voice until only she and Markov could her and leaned slightly closer.  “Mr. Wayne hasn’t been in before noon the last few days.  I happen to know he has asked his PA to reschedule his morning appointments for today as well.”  He shrugged and leaned back, keeping his voice low.  “No real importance to that information just that there’s nobody up there with whom I can drink tea and it is about tea time for me.”

Marinette let out a small breath and gave him a grateful smile.  “Thank you. I’d love tea.”

Lucius motioned toward the elevators.  “Shall we?”  He fell into step beside her.  “We assume you won’t spend much time in your office, but it is fully equipped in case you would like to use it or split your time.”

“Thank you,” Marinette nodded lightly.  “I haven’t decided what I want to do yet.” She looked up at him uncertainly. “Or what the contract would allow.”

Lucius grinned as he walked off the elevator on the executive floor.  “It is a partnership with a designer, not employment.  You are working with us, not for us.  As long as we can contact you and get the fabric to you, we will allow whatever you need, Ms. Dupain Cheng.”  He nodded to Bruce’s PA.

“Mr. Fox,” Bruce’s PA called out.  “I wanted to double check that the new time works for your meeting today with Mr. Wayne.”

“Yes, Mr. Cortland.  The new time is fine.  I’ll be in my office for a bit.  Can you send someone to bring in some tea for us please?”  Mr. Cortland nodded and sat back down, picking up the phone to make the arrangements.  Lucius opened his office door and motioned for Marinette to enter.  After she had taken a seat at the small conference room Lucius watched her with a concerned look for a few seconds.  “So is the trip to Metropolis for business or pleasure?”

“A bit of both,” she smiled at him.  “Metropolis is one of the places we’re considering moving to so we want to look around and see if it’s some place we would like to live. Really, it’s just touring around the city.”

“You’re still deciding on where you want to live then,” he noted.

Marinette started to respond but paused when a man came in with a tray with a tea kettle and cups.  She thanked him and waited until he’d left before speaking more about her plans.  “We’re still thinking, yes.  We’re not extremely excited to live in New York.  Honestly, I think if we like Metropolis well enough this weekend, we might make the decision.  Assuming Adrien gets offered the position he applied for, which I am.”

Lucius nodded as he took a sip of tea.  He quirked his head to the side as he considered her answer.  “Metropolis is certainly more manageable than other options, workwise, I mean.  We could still have some in person meetings. Getting fabric to you would definitely be easier than say Paris, but we can push off making a decision on the logistics on that.  Until then, let’s make sure you have access to the network.  We’ll talk to Mr. Cortland about it when we’re done with our tea.”

Marinette smiled at him and took a sip of her tea. Lucius watched her for a moment, drinking more of his tea as well.  “You know,” he started slowly, “Metropolis is close enough, you could choose to live between there and Gotham and be close enough for both of you to commute, him to Metropolis and you to Gotham… if you wanted to base your company here.”

Marinette froze momentarily, her lips perched on the edge of her teacup.  She set the cup back down without taking a drink.  She stared at drink for a few seconds before shaking her head.  “I don’t think basing my operation in Gotham is a good idea,” she said quietly.  She looked up at him with a smile and immediately looked away.  The smile was supposed to be confident, quirky, not shaky. She took a moment to breathe and refocus.

“I’m trying to build my own brand without depending on M. Wayne.  I’m going to face enough criticism and skepticism as it is without setting up my company ten feet from his.”  She looked back at Lucius with a steely resolve.  “I’ll finish my contract to the best of my ability.  I’ll work with you in the future, not doing so would be business suicide, but I think a little bit of space might be good… for us both.”

Lucius gave her an understanding look.  He knew something had happened.  There was a reason Bruce was no longer coming in in the mornings and looked like Tim after a research bender when he finally did come in, like he had been up all night protecting someone.  But he had also seen Tim’s reactions to him, the disappointed, frustrated, annoyed looks and passive aggressive comments about communication. All of which means Bruce was brooding and not talking to Marinette about it.

He swirled the tea in his cup.  “You know, Bruce takes protecting those around him very seriously.  He’s lost so much and is terrified of losing more.  He’d give everything he has, everything he is, to protect someone he loves. But he also takes on all the guilt when he failed.”

Marinette sighed deeply and looked away, her eyes suddenly desolate.  “He told you about dinner,” she said quietly.

Lucius frowned at the implications of her statement. He’d guessed Bruce had started brooding because of the Riddler incident, but clearly there was something more going on. “No.  I didn’t know about dinner, I just know Bruce.  I know his guilty brooding.  I also know Tim and his disappointed anger at Bruce.”  He leaned in closer toward her conspiratorially despite her not looking at him, hoping it would still get a smile out of her.  “I’ve seen it a lot.”

He leaned back with a gentle smile.  “So I don’t know what happened, but I know Bruce feels like he failed you.  Which means he’s afraid of saying or doing something to make it worse, so he’s probably avoiding you, which is probably making it worse.”  He faced her with a frown.  “Because the worst thing in his mind is hurting you.”

Marinette continued staring at the cityscape outside the window and took a long sip of her tea.  “That’s an awfully proper and long winded way to say ‘he had a reason for being an asshole and you should excuse him for it.’”

“Well, I do strive to be proper,” Lucius chuckled mirthlessly.  “But I never said you should excuse him for it.  I suppose it's something that the rest of us have learned to accept about him.  We put up with it, but that doesn't mean you have to.”

“The problem is…” she quirked her lips as she sought the words to properly express her thoughts, “everyone keeps explaining why he acts the way he does as though that makes it okay, as though there’s some obligation on me because of it.  Like understanding it means I have to build a great relationship despite it.  But… there has to be trust somewhere in there too, doesn’t there?  Understanding, compassion, those are supposed to go both ways, aren’t they?  Everyone’s asking me to be more understanding, more forgiving, but nobody’s asking the same of him.  It isn’t supposed to be the job of the child to do all the work.”

“He does get asked to do that.  You don’t see it, but he is getting asked.  I assure you his other children are making their positions clear,” Lucius assured her softly.  “And I assure you he knows he isn’t doing what he should, but he is trying.”

Marinette scoffed.  “He’s shit at it.”  She took a long sip and watched some birds flying outside the window.

“I don’t disagree.”  Lucius fought keeping the amused tone out of his voice, but it was a hard fight.  “This whole situation is filled with everyone trying to do the right thing but failing… constantly, talking past each other, working past each other, sacrificing parts of yourselves thinking it will help, but it really just hurting everyone. It’s a comedy of errors.”

“Except it’s real life, and in real life it isn’t so funny,” Marinette whispered.  She stood up and moved to the window, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

“No, it isn’t,” Lucius agreed softly.  He quietly rose up and stood next to her at the window, keeping his gaze focused outside the building.  “Real life is work.  Real life is hard.  Real life hurts.  Real life is less than ideal almost always.  This situation isn’t ideal, but it doesn’t have to be abysmal either. You can choose to make the best of it.”

“But what’s the best that this situation can be?” Her voice was so quiet Lucius almost didn’t hear it.

“That is up to you and Bruce to decide.”

“It’s not just us though, is it?” she noted quietly.

“This part is,” Lucius assured her.  “This part is just between you two.  Your relationship with your siblings is separate and you can work that part out with them.  One doesn’t have to affect the other.”  He chuckled lightly, his eyes unfocusing slightly as he remembered something.  “The other children have proved that well enough.”

She looked out to the skyline again, letting his words settle in, considering what they meant and if she believed them.  “How do you forget?  How do you move on?”

Lucius shook his head gently.  “Moving on isn’t about forgetting.  It’s about learning and adapting.”

Marinette finally looked over at him, her eyes pleading, looking more lost than he had seen her look before.  “But what’s my lesson?  What is it I’m supposed to learn here?”

Lucius’ lips turned up into a sympathetic smile. He laid a hand on her shoulder.  “I can’t answer that.”

She shook her head and looked out the window again. “Because the only thing I see so far is that I shouldn’t trust M. Wayne.  That I’m never going to be…” she sighed heavily and looked down.  She took another deep breath and looked back up.  “Weren’t there setup issues we had to resolve?”

Lucius stared at her for a few seconds, compassion shining in his eyes.  “Yes we do,” he nodded lightly allowing her to change the subject.  He patted her on the back and encouraged her toward the door. “Let’s get you in the system so you have access to the building and a secure email.  We’ll order a laptop for you too so you can access the documents on the network.”

“Mr. Cortland,” he called out.  “Can you get Ms. Dupain Cheng set up with a secure laptop with access to the network and the basic programs installed, please?  And request an email for her.”

“Of course, sir,” David nodded to Lucius and started typing.

“Did you say Dupain Cheng,” a new voice spoke up. Marinette picked up on the excitement and interest in his voice with extreme apprehension.  Marinette whipped around to the new voice.  She looked over to Lucius to see how he responded.  Her shoulders relaxed when she saw his easy smile.

“Mr. Dowd,” he held his hand out to him, “it’s good to see you again.”

“Yeah,” Mr. Dowd gave him a bright smile. Marinette stared at him curiously. He was about her age and was too excited and happy to be an employee.  Not that the Wayne Enterprises employees she’d come across so far hadn’t seemed happy or excited about their projects, but they had a professional demeanor that Mr. Dowd didn’t seem to share.  “It’s always good to see you.  How’s Luke?”  He looked between the two of them though his eyes lingered on Marinette as if waiting until it was polite to start talking with her.

Lucius chuckled.  “He’s doing well.  He is supposed to come visit next weekend.  I’d like to say it’s because of me, but I believe he has a date or two planned with Ms. Gordon.  But let me introduce you to Ms. Dupain Cheng.”  He motioned to Marinette.  “Mr. Dowd, this is Ms. Dupain Cheng.  Ms. Dupain Cheng, this is Mr. Dowd.”

Bernard rolled his eyes.  “Please call me Bernard.  I’m Tim’s boyfriend.  It’s really nice to meet you.  I’ve heard a lot of great things about you.”  He held his hand out to her.

Marinette immediately relaxed and shook it.  That explained the excitement and interest. It wasn’t a random person wanting a scoop on the Wayne family, it was someone wanting to get to know his boyfriend’s family.  “It’s really nice to meet you.  I didn’t even know Tim was dating.”  Her eyes widened immediately.  “Not that he doesn’t talk about you!  I just haven’t had the chance to really talk to him yet.”

Bernard smiled at her for a few seconds.  He shifted back and forth on his feet awkwardly. Marinette opened her mouth to tell him she had to get back to work when Bernard spoke up.  “Hey, Tim and I were going to get lunch in his office.  Want to join us?  We were just ordering from the cafeteria because he has a meeting scheduled in like an hour.  We can add something for you.”

Marinette looked over to Lucius anxiously.  Lucius smiled at her and nodded in understanding. “We don’t have much more to finish, just waiting for the laptop to arrive.  There’s no reason for you to sit around and wait.  Go ahead.”

Marinette’s eyes widened.  That wasn’t what she wanted him to understand!  That wasn’t what she was trying to communicate to him. She hadn’t had really talked to Tim and every time they were close he froze up or got so tense she swore he was going to give himself a headache.  Spending time with him and his boyfriend while he acted like everything was okay wasn’t going to end well for either one of them.  She narrowed her eyes at Lucius.  She honestly wasn’t sure if he misunderstood the source of her anxiety or if he knew what it was from the start and decided to ignore it.

Marinette turned to Bernard with a forced smile but it relaxed into a soft smile when she saw how excited he was to spend time with her. “That sounds really nice.  Thank you, Bernard.  Please call me Marinette.”

“Awesome, Marinette,” Bernard’s grin was a brilliant as Adrien’s and Marinette couldn’t suppress the giggle that came out.  He led her toward Tim’s office.  “By the end of the day, I’m going to get you to let me call you Mari.  That’s the new goal for the day.”

Marinette tried unsuccessfully to suppress a snort. “And what was the old goal?”

“Prove the Miraculous team in France are actually fae,” he answered with conviction.  He looked over at her, his face somehow becoming even brighter.  “Hey, you’re from Paris, right?  Maybe you can help answer some questions for me.  This is perfect.”

Marinette stared at him wide eyed, frozen in place until Bernard looped his arm around hers and gently pulled her toward Tim’s office. Marinette chuckled and shook her head. She needed to record this conversation. Alya was going to die laughing.

Chapter 20

Tags:

@maribat-bdbwm @jayjayspixiepop @redscarlet95 @alice-hazelwood @deathssilentapproach-blog @unoriginalmess @alyssadeliv @emotionalsupportginger @frieddonutsweets @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @toodaloo-kangaroo @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @iloontjeboontje @wolf-for-life @maribatserver @aespades @prettylittlebutterflie @imarivers8  @ certainmuffinbagelcalzone @ritacrow-blog @unoriginalmess @demonicbusiness @kking13 @lady-bee-fechin @blur-of-colours @kittenmywaythrulife @kashlyn @loysydark @nerd-nowandforever

#maribat #bio!dad bruce #bio dad bruce wayne #roynette #mbdbwm2021 #Even the Losers #prompt - Consolation/Advice

[jinx-jade]

I've long since forgotten how to feel: ch 6

The designer only had to stand in front of the closed door for a few moments. The door was opened with the quietest click from the handle, revealing one, Alfred Pennyworth, standing behind it, doorknob still in hand.

“Welcome back, My lady.” The former miraculous user greeted with a bow of his head, opening the door wider as an invitation for Marinette to enter.

She stepped in through the doorway, but not before waving the former magic user off.

“Ah- Marinette is fine- No need for titles- especially with the company you keep.” Marinette informed him with a smile.

When Alfred raised a brow at her in questioning, her smile turned awkward and sheepish, realizing her slip of the tongue. She silently curssed herself for making such a stupid mistake.

“Something just tells me that the use of any out of place titles would cause the Waynes to-... thoroughly investigate me… more than they already are.”

The butler nodded his head in understanding.

“I suppose so...Miss.” And while Alfred didn’t use the title of 'my lady', Marinette couldn’t help but huff at the use of any title at all.

Even just the title of 'Miss' made her feel out of place, but she ignored the feeling in exchange of being amused by the way Alfred's face scrunched ever so slightly, soul swirling in barely noticeable discomfort.

“Well, I suppose we should head inside. Mistress Selina is expecting you.” The former miraculous user suggested, gesturing towards the door.

Marinette offered a sheepish smile, nodding her head in agreement before following the butler into the manor. She was led through the maze of halls only to stop in her tracks, gaining the attention of the former miraculous wielder when he noticed her pause.

"Oh! Before I forget- could you return this to Miss Brown?" The designer asked, reaching into her bag and pulling out the borrowed gown.

The old English man took the dress with a nod of his head.

"Is that all?" He asked when she hadn’t begun to walk again.

Marinette tilted her head, thinking over something but deciding not to voice it. A few moments later, she gives a nod of her head.

"For now."

Alfred raised a brow but didn't question her further. He gave a nod of his own before resuming the walk, leading her down the hall to a closed door. He reached up, knocking sharply against the wood, and a few seconds later the call of “Come in.” was heard from inside. Marinette scrunched her brows at the answering call, the voice clearly coming from a male, not a female.

Alfred opened the door, standing off to the side to let the magic user into what appears to be a study or office. And there laid Selina, draped over the couch as if she really was the cat her soul seemed to portray. She perked up once she caught sight of the magic user, smiling sweetly as she sat up, patting the cushion next to herself.

“Hello little kitten, I’m so glad you could make it.” The woman purred in greeting, pulling Marinette into a side hug.

Marinette hummed in response, leaning into the touch, just as she used to before she had disappeared on her mentor, content with the contact.

“Did you bring that little sketch book of your’s, kitten?” The fellow thief questioned.

The young woman in question nodded her head.

“Mhm. It’s in my bag if you want to look through it.” Marinette informed her, tugging her bag into her lap and opening it.

Selina hummed in response, grabbing the mentioned sketch book with a smile. She gave the magic user a quick squeeze before standing up, ruffling Marinette’s hair, and making her way over to the desk where Bruce Wayne, Selina’s husband, sat quietly, acting as though he wasn’t paying them any mind. Marinette did the same for the man that she only knows by association of her pseudo aunt, ignoring him as if he wasn’t even in the room while also being hyper aware of him.

The fellow thief handed the sketch book over to her husband to look through. The man in question took it, seemingly without much thought, and began to look through it.

“These are quite impressive designs.” The man states, but Marinette simply shrugs, not really caring what the man thinks, replying with an absent minded “thank you.”

“Are these all based on jewelry you’ve seen? Like the one mentioned previously?” The man questioned, Selina leaning onto his shoulders to look at the designs herself, as if she hadn’t already seen half of them.

They’re both looking at her. One looking for an answer while the other is gauging her response. Marinette laughs, a light and airy thing. Her mentor was looking for a show, and who was she not to give it?

“An artist can’t solely have one place of inspiration, Mr. Wayne. If I was solely inspired by jewels then people would get bored of my work rather quickly. Given how cut throat the fashion industry is and all.” The magic user explains as if it should be obvious, and it should be for someone like the Waynes.

The man chuckles, an awkward note playing through the air, noticeable to someone with a trained ear.

“I suppose you’re correct, Marinette, was it?” The mentioned designer only smiled sweetly and nodded along.

“That’s right. I do apologize however, while I did bring along my sketch book for you to look at, it was more my intention to hand it off to you and leave to play catch up with Selina.” Marinette informed him with a slight frown, the beginnings of a pout.

The man offers a slightly strained smile, nodding his head in faux understanding. His wife pressed her lips together as if attempting not to smile or laugh.

“Of course. I must apologize as well then, for taking up your time. Do you mind if I hang onto the sketch book, just until you leave of course, to look through it some more.”

“Feel free to look though it as long as you like. It’s an old sketch book anyway, so it’s not needed to be returned right away.” Marinette claims with a nod of her head, Standing up as Selina makes her way over.

“Why don’t we go out shopping, Kitten?” Her mentor asked as they walked out of the office, a smile playing at the edge of a smirk resting gently on her lips.

"I don't see why not." Marinette said in place of an agreement, shrugging her shoulders with a smile tugging at her own lips.

#maribat #timari #mgicivilwar2022 #timinette

[tsuki-chibi]

Post-Reveal Revelry Day 23: Rest

Read them all on AO3

—-

“I am so tired. I never want to move again. You can just bury me right here,” Nino announced, flopping over backwards into the grass. He laid there for a long moment, arms and legs outstretched like a starfish, feeling fatigue settle over every inch of his body like a heavy blanket.

“No way. I am way too tired to bury you,” Alya said, taking a seat on the grass beside him. She rested her arm on her bent knee, other leg stretched out in front of her, looking as tired as Nino felt.

“Then I guess I’ll just die,” Nino said somberly, which at least got a tired huff out of Alya.

“Alya! Come play with us!” one of her sisters yelled.

Alya flinched ever so slightly before lifting her head with a fake smile. “No, no. Nino and I need a bit of a rest. You and Ella keep playing, okay?” she called back.

“I envy Adrien and Marinette right now,” Nino muttered. “They don’t have little sisters or brothers. They don’t know what it’s like…” He thought about how blissful that sort of existence must be. No leisurely Saturday mornings ruined by your parents dashing out, leaving you in charge.

He knew that Marinette still baby-sat for Manon once in a while, but that was totally different. For one thing, Marinette got paid a pretty good rate to baby-sit. For another, it was entirely Marinette’s choice when she wanted to do it. If Nino had his way, he and Alya would’ve been at the movies right now. Not baby-sitting three little high-energy monsters.

“Chris is trying to climb up the slide,” Alya said suddenly, and Nino groaned and hauled himself up. His brother thought he was too old for playgrounds and it showed, even though Nino thought that Chris could have a lot of fun if he’d just let himself go. He reluctantly peeled himself off the ground and jogged over to Chris.

By the time he’d convinced Chris to give the playground equipment a genuine try – ice cream bribery was magic, seriously – and Alya had intervened to put a stop to a fight between Ella and Etta, Nino was even more exhausted than before. He resumed his place on the ground, this time rolled over on his side so that he could at least keep an eye on the kids rather than leave it all to Alya.

“How is it that three kids can be more tiring than an akuma?” Nino wondered as Alya returned.

“I don’t know, but I’m over it,” Alya said, stretching her legs out in front of her again. “Mom said she’d be back by two. What about you?”

“They didn’t say. I guess I’ll take Chris home around the same time and hope someone’s back,” Nino said. His dad had rushed out after an emergency call at work, so there had been no time to ask questions.

Alya turned to him. “If they are, do you wanna go see a movie tonight or something?”

Somehow, despite his tiredness, Nino felt a little bit more energy at the prospect of a date with Alya. “Sure. That sounds great.”

“Should we invite Marinette and Adrien?” Alya asked, fingers hovering over her pocket where she kept her phone.

“Can’t. Adrien’s busy tonight. Some stupid party.” Nino made a face as he spoke. It was super unfair how many demands Adrien’s dad put on him. Between that and being Chat Noir, sometimes Adrien didn’t even have time to breathe much less have time for fun.

“That sucks,” Alya said, making a similar face. “What about Marinette?”

Nino sat up, putting him close enough to reach out and wrap an arm around her shoulders. “I’m not opposed to inviting her, but I would like to point out that if we do… we won’t be alone.” He leaned in to lightly brush his lips over the curve of her jaw.

“Umm… you make a good point,” Alya said with a sly smile. She opened her mouth to say something else.

“Alya!” one of the twins shrieked.

Alya’s expression dropped. “Ugh, we are never having kids. Got it?”

Nino grimaced as the twin who had screamed started to loudly cry and nodded. “Deal.”

#miraculous ladybug #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #djwifi #post-reveal #postreveal2022 #post-reveal revelry

[verymuchimmortalcat]

Bonding With The Bat(girl)s

For Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month Day 4: Bonding

ao3

@maribat-bdbwm

Marinette had just entered the bakery when there were suddenly two girls standing in front of her. The blonde girl waves excitedly, “hi! I’m Stephanie Brown,” she points to her friend, “that’s Cass.”

Marinette recognizes their names, Spoiler and Batgirl. Tim’s mentioned them several times when he calls.

She smiles, “I’m Marinette, but I’m guessing you already knew that.”

“Yup! Tim mentioned you during one of our conversations and me and Cass realised that even though we knew of you, we didn’t know you. So, we came to visit.”

“And you were just able to find me? It sounds highly unlikely that B just handed you my address.”

Cass grins, “he doesn’t know we’re here, but we did have help.”

“huh?”

Stephanie points towards the tables. There’s a familiar red headed woman at one of the tables.

“Babs!” she exclaims running to her and hugging her.

“Hi Marinette. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”

“Haven’t been to Gotham since Tim started as Robin. How is Gotham by the way?”

“Gloomy as always.”

Marinette laughs.

Cass and Stephanie join them at the table with several boxes of pastries from her papa, setting the boxes down Steph asks, “do you have any plans for the day? We were thinking we could hang out, get to know each other?”

“I’d love that. Give me two minutes to leave my bag in my room and we can head out.”

The two of them cheer and Marinette smiles.

She runs up to her room, leaves her bag on her desk, makes sure Tikki is in her purse and runs back down. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t excited.

She’s handed even more food as she leaves the bakery. The three of them are waiting outside the bakery for her. Joining them, she asks, “so, any ideas on what you’d like to do?”

“We didn’t think that far ahead,” Stephanie admits sheepishly.

“That’s fine! I’ll take you to some of my favourite places.”

 .oOo.

 She, Stephanie and Cass take chances carrying the basket of food as Babs goes ahead of them with her phone in hand having solved the clue to André’s ice cream almost immediately.

Stephanie suddenly asks, “what’s with the weird clue for the ice cream?”

“I don’t know why either but it’s fun and André makes nice ice cream. One of the charms of Paris, I guess.”

“Sounds nice,” Stephanie replies and Cass hums in agreement.

They walk in silence after that and Marinette doesn’t know what to say. She’s usually good at making friends but she isn’t particularly sure what they could talk about. She knows Babs is only going ahead so she can get to know the other two but so far they haven’t really spoken much.

 .oOo.

 They’re all sitting on the banks having ice cream and munching on pastries when the akuma alert sounds on her phone. All three of them are looking at her curiously. She sighs and gets up, “akuma attack, I need to go. The three of you should find somewhere safe.”

There’s a crash to her left, she turns to see baby August bringing down buildings. Hawkmoth really needs to stop akumatising the poor child.

“I really need to go. Get somewhere safe,” she yells running off.

 .oOo.

 She lands on the rooftop where her yoyo showed Chat Noir’s beacon. He’s waiting for her when she lands and gives her a quick recap, “just got August’s mother out of the way, she says his toy was damaged and that the akuma’s in the bracelet, again.”

She nods in acknowledgement. She hears a thud behind her and turns to find Spoiler and Batgirl. Marinette stares at them, she told them to get somewhere safe not change and join the fight. Next to her Chat Noir looks just as confused, though she doubts he’s annoyed by this, “did Gigantitan suddenly have the power to teleport other heroes to Paris?”

“Nope, we came here on our own. So, what’s the plan?”

She scans the situation. There are too many people around to not hurt anyone. Even though the Miraculous Ladybug fixes everything it unfortunately doesn’t erase memories. And while she’s used to it by now, she’d prefer causing minimal psychological damage to the citizens of Paris.

“Spoiler, Batgirl distract August and get him to move towards the closest large empty space.”

They nod and grapple off onto the street before she can continue.

“Do they even know where the nearest open space is?” 

No, they do not. But Marinette’s certain Babs’ is on comms with them, they’ll be fine. She only voices out the last bit, Chat doesn’t know who Oracle is, and he definitely doesn’t know that they’re actually her family. She and Chat leap down from the building to join the two of them.

She can hear Spoiler calling out to him, Batgirl seems to be holding something large and shiny. Marinette doesn’t question it, it’ll go back after she casts her Miraculous Ladybug.

She’s only slightly worried about the two of them. Gotham villains and Paris’ akumas are very different. But it is quite impressive to see Cass evade Gigantitan trying to grab at her. She mentally notes to ask Cass to teach her that later. It’ll be so much fun!

She and Chat focus on making sure no one dies; minimal trauma is optimal.

 .oOo.

 They end up at the stadium. From there on it’s easy. She calls for her lucky charm, which they use to get off his bracelet, Chat cataclysms it and she purifies the akuma and uses the cure.

The four of them watch as the tiny ladybugs fly over the city. Their silence is broken by their miraculi beeping, Stephanie and Cass turn to them curiously.

“Timers,” she explains, “we’ve got to go.”

Their miraculi beep once more.

“We really need to leave,” Chat starts, “would you two mind joining us for patrol later?”

The two of them look confused but agree when she continues to stare at them pointedly. She knows he has questions and she would too if she didn’t know them.

 .oOo.

 Once she detransforms and the two of them are back in civvies the three of them head back to the bakery, Steph said she’d meet up with them there once they were done.

“Are all your villains this strange?” Steph asks.

“Technically Hawkmoth is the only villain but the akumas usually vary on levels of strangeness. August is somewhere in the mid-range. You should see M. Pigeon. He’s been akumatised nearly 70 times.”

“That sounds stupid,” Cass points out.

“Well, the Hawkguy doesn’t seem to have realised that.”

Marinette laughs at that. Steph is painfully right. But laughing is the better of her two options, the other being crying.

Steph grins back.

Marinette turns to Cass, “would you mind helping me with my training, you’re really good and I’ve learnt only a minimal amount from B. I can teleport to Gotham.”

Steph chimes in, “That would be fun! We can both be students of the Batgirl. Also more people to hang out with after spars.”

Cass grins at the two of them, “I’m still going to win all the spars.”

 .oOo.

 Babs looks up at them and smiles when the three of them enter the bakery, laughing.

“Let me guess you bonded over crime fighting.”

“It runs in the family?”

#maribat #bio dad bruce wayne #mbdbwm2021 #my writing

[themaribatpit]

Jasonette July Day 15: Night

Written by: The Maribat Pit  @jasonette-july-event Prompt: Night Rated: T 

A/N: A continuation "Game On” and “Pixie” Marinette had been in Gotham for a little over a year now, having left behind her life in Paris to attend Gotham University.  It all started when she got involved with Catwoman, who saved her one night when she was in trouble.  Then she got roped into a little game between Catwoman and Batman, and that was how she met Jason and Roy, Red Hood and Arsenal respectively. While with Jason and Roy, they had their ups and downs. Initially she felt that the two were overprotective, but they were able to reconcile after a fateful encounter in the Iceberg Lounge.  Ever since that fateful encounter, what started as a harmless little crush began to grow over time.  For once, she got to know people who understood both the real her and her superheroine persona.  They knew her as a quick thinker in battle, and a civilian with a tendency to catastrophize things.  While she was sitting in the car with Jason and Roy, driving back from Star City.  The only sounds that could be heard were the scratching of pencil on paper, and the hum of the engine as they drove.  She tried to throw herself into her upcoming design assignments that weren’t due for another few weeks, doing anything to avoid thinking about Jason sleeping peacefully in the front seat of the car.  Tikki was nestled in her bag nibbling on a cookie and only Roy seemed to notice how quiet the drive back to Gotham was.  She had developed a close friendship with the three of them, one which wasn’t complicated by secret and civilian identities.  They had each other’s backs in combat, and they worked well as a team together.  Marinette cursed herself, for the first time in a long time, she had relationships that weren’t complicated by secrets and secret identities.   Now she was going to ruin everything just because she could not keep her heart and her feelings under control, it was pathetic.  It was easier to think that Jason was a stubborn, sarcastic brute who couldn’t possibly understand her.  He could still be stubborn and sarcastic at times, but then he had to go and have another side to him.  A side of him that cared deeply for those close to him, a group of people that now included Marinette.  It wasn’t fair.  Marinette shook her head and turned her attention back to her design work,  these patterns weren’t going to sketch themselves. It was also one of the few times she got to work with more delicate fabrics. Jason was pretending to be asleep on the drive from Star City back to Gotham, not unlike the one that happened a few months ago. It seemed like yesterday they first heard about a new superheroine who managed to take on two of his younger brothers.  Marinette was certainly a girl with many contradictions, even when they first met her on that rooftop that fateful night.  She could be very creative with her magic yo-yo, and in a fight she was usually a level-headed and quick thinker.  That much was clear to anyone who saw her in action, which was probably for the best, given that Jason had a very short fuse and a tendency to brute force his way through situations.  By the same token, the same person was prone to flying off the handle in much more mundane situations.   One time she woke up early for a test that wasn’t for another two days, and flew into a panicked stream of consciousness that made it sound like she was going to be shipped back to her home city in a matchbox if she was late.  Jason didn’t dare turn around to look at her in the backseat, but he could just about imagine what she looked like.  The scratching of pencil on paper told him that she was probably designing something that had more in common with a ball gown than body armour.  Her skills as a seamstress came in handy when their body armour needed upgrades or adjustments, not everyone could be gifted with the power of a magic body suit.  Even Hal Jordan was a test pilot long before he became a Green Lantern, Marinette was just a teenager when she got given magic jewelry. Secret identities and personas aside, at her core Marinette was still the same person.  She was kind, forgiving, but most of all she trusted him, something very few people did.  At first he wrote it off as all of them having each other’s backs in a fight. While that was true it wasn’t the whole  story, he knew because he could say the same thing about Roy.  He considered maybe it was because she managed to calm his pit madness, but that was because she had the very creatures who created them by her side.  Jason still called her “Pixie '' from time to time, really out of affection more than anything.  He only used her name when he was being absolutely dead serious.  It was a lot more than that and he knew it, he knew that she was worming her way past all the walls he had put up, seemingly without even trying.  He convinced himself that it was dangerous for all involved, that it would just leave him vulnerable in the end.  She was getting closer and closer to his heart, at which point he would be completely and utterly vulnerable.  He wanted to hold her close to him, but was afraid that she would hold his heart in her tiny delicate hands and squeeze.  

Roy was exhausted, not just from the mission, but from being caught right in the middle of two of his friends pining after each other. In the car ride back to Gotham, he could easily tell that Marinette was busying herself with design work while Jason was pretending to be asleep.  It would be cute if it wasn’t a sign that these two were actively avoiding talking to each other. Possibly because they were worried they might slip up and reveal their very obvious feelings for the other person.  He overheard Marinette confiding in the Kwamis late one night, when she thought both of them were out.   Jason by contrast was a little less expressive, but Roy could still tell that he was also pining after her, in his own little way.   He had tried to gently coax it out of them, and even though they refused to admit it Roy could tell.   Marinette was an open book whenever he even suggested the idea that she might be slightly attracted to Jason. At the slightest suggestion that there was something between her and Jason, her face would go tomato red and she would deny it.  Jason was a much tougher nut to crack, but Roy already knew that from the get-go. If Marinette wore her heart on her sleeve, then Jason kept his heart guarded with steel and lead.  He tried to ask him about it on a mission, when Marinette was out of earshot.   Instead he took a leaf out of Dick’s book and asked if it was really the time and place for a “man chat”.  The three of them could be compared to The Three Musketeers, but Jason and Marinette were more like Beatrice and Benedict from Much Ado About Nothing.  He was cursing Jason’s detective training, because it meant he would see right past a forged love note, while making things worse for Marinette.  If Roy was still drinking, he would have probably told them that they should just screw and get it over with.  He was starting to understand why Lian would smush her doll’s faces together and get them to ‘kiss’.  That gave him an idea...

Marinette and Jason were calmly watching TV together one night.  It was Valentine's Day, but neither of them really had any plans with anyone.  Staying in and waiting for chocolate prices to crater seemed like a much better idea.  Tikki was perched on Marinette’s shoulder, while Plagg was about to inhale a very large piece of camembert. The two of them were a comfortable distance apart, neither of them were willing to make the first move.  Suddenly, Roy busts in through the front door. Dressed up as Arsenal with a few extra accessories, a tutu and a pair of fairy wings he likely borrowed from Lian. He came in wide grin, wielding his bow with an odd heart shaped arrow. 

 “Happy Valentine's Day bitches!” he yelled out, taking aim at Marinette and Jason. The grappling arrow wrapping around the two, tightly binding them together on the sofa. Just as Marinette and Jason realise what just happened, Roy runs back out the door, slamming it on his way out.

An awkward silence hung in the air as Jason and Marinette were tied together, their faces mere inches apart. Marinette blushing a storm, while Jason tried to keep his composure and looked away from her.  That said, he could feel her deep blue eyes watching him, and he was fairly certain she could hear the sound of his heart beating in his chest.  Their arms were clamped firmly to their sides, and both of them thought that Roy had done this as a stupid prank.  “Did Roy tell you he was going to…” Marinette began. “...put on a tutu and fairy wings and tie us up on the couch?” Jason finished, he swallowed, she already looked embarrassed by the whole situation.  “No, did he tell you?” he asked. Marinette shook her head, “No, but he seems to have got it into his head that you’re interested in me.” she said as she tried to wriggle free, “as if that would ever happen.” “I mean...” the conversations he wrote off as late night man-chats were starting to make sense to him.  “...is that really so hard to believe?” he asked quietly.  There was no keeping her at arm’s length at that moment, physically or otherwise.  He noticed that she had stopped trying to wriggle free of the cord wrapped tightly around him. “A little,” she said, “It just seemed too good to be true,” she muttered.  “You’re one of the few people who knows about both Marinette and Ladybug, you know that they’re the same person.”  she explained, “the idea that you would be interested in me on top of all that just felt like it was too good to be true, like something will do horribly wrong sooner or later. Like there was no way the universe was going to let me be that happy.” Jason was surprised to hear that, but also he understood what she meant.  It was funny how on paper, they were two completely different people, and in some way they were.  It was moments like these that reminded them there were still similarities that kept them together.  For the first time since Roy had tied them up, he looked at her. “Marinette, take it from someone who’s a literal dead man walking. Trust me, that is not the most impossible thing out there, not even close.” he tried to say, Marinette looked up at him, trying to make sense of the meaning in his words.  “If anyone’s going to get slapped around by the universe, and feel as if they don’t deserve to have someone who’s seen different sides of them and still cares about them, it’s probably me,” he explained. 

Both of them finally knew what Roy was trying to do,  after all he had been painfully obvious. Jason himself tries to get a sharp batarang from his pocket, he assures Marinette, “Don’t worry Pixie, I’ll get us out of here and we can forget this ever happened.” 

 Marinette remains silent as Jason struggles against the wire tying them together, Tikki floats to her side and whispers into her ear. “Marinette, it's now or never.” Marinette looks back to see all the Plagg cheering her with a grunt. If lifting the piece of camembert with little enthusiasm counts as cheering. 

 Marinette takes a deep breath, and gathers her courage. “Jason?” she asks, and Jason pauses to look back at her.  Her face had a rosy pink glow as she leaned forward to give Jason a kiss. Jason pauses in shock at first before, and slowly melts to return the kiss. As the two kiss, Tikki helps untie the two. Just as Tikki finishes untying, Marinette and Jason hold each other in a tight embrace, eagerly savouring their newfound relationship. 

 Roy peeked his head through the window watching Marinette and Jason finally confess to each other. “About time you two got together” he cheered from the fire escape, giving the two a thumbs up and a big grin. This breaks Marinette and Jason from their affectionate moment together, embarrassing Marinette and annoying Jason. 

 Jason stomps over to the fire escape, Roy nervously greets Jason “Hey buddy, how’s it going?”

 Jason grabs Roy by the ankle, dangling him off the edge of the fire escape. “Pixie, why don't you give him a taste of his own medicine?” Marinete nods and walks over with the grappling arrow Roy shot at the two. 

 Roy pleaded, “Come guys, you two had it bad for each other it was obvious.” Marinette begins to tie Roy to the fire escape with the grappling wire. Roy attempts to struggle but Jason holds him down. 

 As Marinette progresses further in tying Roy up, his pleas become more and more desperate. 

 “I did you two a favour.” Roy begs, “Come on, is this how you two repay me? Help! Somebody! Batman! BATMAAAN!” Roy wailed. 

 Marinette and Jason ignore Roy’s begging. Once they were finished they both left, hand in hand, leaving Roy tied upside down to do some self-reflection. 

 BONUS 

Cupid: What's this I hear about you playing Cupid? 

Roy: Sorry, it was for two people who were actually in love. 

Cupid: Why you little- 

Roy: Cupid, it's been YEARS, you're a very attractive woman. It can't be that hard to find someone who loves you back, someone who doesn’t have a goatee.

#jasonette #jasonettejuly2021 #ml x dc #maribat

[marauderundercover]

Day 6: Party

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE 

Continuation of days two and three

Marinette grins at her reflection in the mirror. The costume was perfect- close enough to the original that you could tell who she was, but also with her own touch so that she didn’t hate looking at the costume. She’d even curled her hair slightly. The knock at the front door makes her squeal in excitement, knowing exactly who it is. 

“Cass!” She cheers, opening the door and grinning widely at her best friend. Sure, Cass didn’t talk a lot (she was like Luka in that way), but she always seemed to know when Marinette needed help out of her own head. And she was eternally grateful for that. She was even more grateful that Cass had agreed to do a duo costume with her since Jason apparently didn’t want to dress up. He was ‘too old’ or something. Well, Marinette wanted to have fun and wear a damn costume. 

“The suit is amazing! I’m not sure the cowl I made will be good enough for it.” Marinette says worriedly, examining the stitches on Cass’ costume. “Where’d you say you got this?” She asks, frowning. It was definitely higher quality than the Halloween store downtown. Cass just smiles, the one that basically says ‘not telling’. Mari just grins, used to it by now. She passes the cowl to Cass and grabs her own domino mask, sliding it on. Posing next to Cass in the full length mirror, Marinette takes a picture and sends it to the group chat that Jason had recently added her to. Dropping her phone into her purse and grabbing her keys, she turns to Cass. 

“Ready?” She asks. 

“Ready.” Cass says. Marinette grins. Look out, Gotham, Batman and Robin are out on the town. 

---

Dick squeals as the picture comes through on the groupchat. He was beyond relieved that Jagged had scheduled his Halloween party two weeks before the actual holiday. It meant that he, and the rest of his brothers, could actually go instead of being on the extra patrols they always had to schedule around the holiday. Grinning, he opens twitter. 

@flyingrayson

Look at my little sisters! Aren’t they the cutest?! #halloween #Waynefam #jaggedstone

[image description: One girl stands with a hand on her hip, dressed in what is obviously a spin on a Robin costume, including: a domino mask, black tights, dark red tunic with a Robin logo, gold belt, knee high emerald boots, and a dual sided cape black on the outside and gold on the inside. Another girl stands next to her with her arms crossed over her chest, dressed in what is obviously a Batman costume, including: black catsuit, yellow utility belt, black cape, and a redesigned black cowl.]

---

Marinette pecks Jason’s cheek and grins. 

“What, not a Robin fan?” She asks teasingly at his frown. He huffs. 

“Not really. More of a...Red Hood guy.” He says, and she snorts. 

“Of course you’d like the one with guns.” She says, shaking her head with a smile. “His costume is actually probably one of my favorites. Well, besides the whole helmet thing.” Jason grins, pulling her in and giving her a sweet kiss before he glances behind her and groans. 

“My brothers just walked in.” He says and she smiles. 

“Go say hi, I’ve gotta go ask Uncle Jagged a question really quick. I’ll be right back and Cass and I can show your brothers our awesome costumes in person.” She says, pecking his cheek before walking away. She looks around for Jagged, but frowns when she doesn’t see him in the main room. Pulling out her phone, she sends him a quick text asking where he is. 

In the garden with Fang!!!!!!!

She shakes her head fondly. Of course he skipped out on his own party to spend time with his crocodile. Smiling, she heads out to the garden to try and get to him. She’d wanted to see if the man planned on being in the US around Thanksgiving. Bruce had already invited her (probably to get Jason to show up) and said she could invite any of her family as well. Since her parents and superhero partner were both dead and her grandparents didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, she decided she’d really love Jagged and Penny to come instead. As she walks outside, she’s shocked that Fang doesn’t immediately run up to her. 

“Uncle Jagged?” She calls, frowning. Where was he? And why was it so dark out here? Fang was scared of the dark. Jagged never would have brought him outside without more lights on, he was too protective of him. She tenses when she notices a slumped figure next to the bench Jagged had put in the gardens for when she visits. It was one of her favorite places to sit and design. 

“Hello?” She calls, watching the figure for any movement. Seeing none, she steps closer and her stomach drops. Immediately she runs over and checks her Uncle for a pulse. She sighs in relief when she feels it, but the gash on his head is worrisome. How-

“Hello, Birdie!” An amused voice rings behind her, making her blood run cold. She whirls around and manages to catch a glimpse of the man’s pale face before a thick piece of metal flies at her head and the world goes black. 

---

“Jaybird! Where’s Mari and Cass? They’re blowing up on twitter, even MDC liked my tweet!” Dick says happily, making Jason scowl. 

“Did you seriously post my girlfriend all over your twitter?” He asks grumpily. Dick nods. 

“Oh yeah. Her and Cass looked too cute to keep it to ourselves. Where are they anyway?” Dick asks, scanning the room. 

“M said she needed to go talk to her Uncle about something. Personally, I think she was just avoiding you guys. You all crowd her every time you see her.” Jason reprimands, crossing his arms. Replacement rolls his eyes. 

“It’s ‘cause she’s so much cooler than you. And she’s not an asshole like you are.” He says. 

“Something’s wrong.” Cass says, suddenly appearing at Jason’s side. He jumps slightly, but then frowns at her. 

“What?” He asks, surprised to see the deep scowl form on her face. 

“Don’t know.” She huffs. 

“Well if Cassandra believes that something is wrong, we should investigate.” Damian says, looking relieved that he wouldn’t be asked to socialize with anyone. A startled scream from outside makes the five vigilantes tense before running towards the noise. Jason curses when he realizes it’s Penny Rolling, Jagged Stone’s….something. She’s kneeling by a slumped figure, shaking it until a groan escapes it. Jason feels his blood run cold when the figure’s hair catches the light. It’s Jagged. Then where-

“Where’s she? Where’s she at?” Jagged slurs out, blinking wildly. 

“Who?” Penny asks, gently holding the man’s face. Jason frowns at the gash. 

“M. He wanted ‘er.” He says, and though the man is looking around crazily and slurring his words, Jason can tell he’s completely serious. And M-

“Do you mean Marinette?” Jason asks, stepping forward. Jagged frowns, but nods. 

“Crazy clown.” He adds before turning and throwing up in the grass. Jason growls and turns on his heel, ready to go hunt the damned clown down. Out of everyone in this damned city that he could’ve targeted, why did he choose her?

“Jason, wait.” Dick says, grabbing his wrist. “We need to have a plan. Come on. You can’t just go out like this.” He reminds him lowly, Jason’s eyes narrow but he follows anyway. Might as well use the good tools. That fucking clown won’t make it to morning. 

---

Ice cold water falls over her and Marinette sits up, gasping in shock at the sudden temperature change. 

“Little cold, Birdie?” A voice asks before walking around and standing in front of her- a huge smile on his face and a thick piece of metal in his hands.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Marinette says, trying not to let her voice shake. This was the villain. The one she never wanted to meet. The one that gave her boyfriend nightmares that he couldn’t explain to her. And now she was alone with him. 

“If you’re sure, we could have some...fun before Batsy arrives.” He laughs. 

“Why would Batman show up?” She asks. “You do realize this is just a Halloween costume, right?” She flinches as the piece of metal- a crowbar, she thinks shakily- stops inches in front of her face.

“How stupid do you think I am? Of course it’s a costume. A costume posted by one Dick Grayson. You’re a Wayne, somehow. And Batsy always shows up when a Wayne is involved.” Joker says, his twisted grin making her sick to her stomach. 

“I’m not a Wayne! Batman isn’t going to come for me.” She argues, cursing her decision to not wear her earrings today. Some days were harder than others, especially leaving in a mask. Even if the mask was a costume. Every time she tried to put on her earrings today, she shook and started to panic. Granted, it was probably for the best. Because she would definitely be tempted to transform and she did not want to give Joker that kind of knowledge. 

“Wayne or not, one of the bats will come. You have friends in very high places, Birdie.” Joker tuts, twirling the crowbar in his hand. She flinches as it nears her face, making Joker laugh. “If I wanted to hit you, I would.” He says. She doesn’t even have time to figure out what he means because her shoulder explodes in pain. The pain is blinding and she wants to scream but no sound will come out of her mouth as she gasps for breath. 

“That’s no good. A silent bird is a dead bird. So sing, Birdie.” Joker demands, and he aims slightly lower this time, shattering her left arm. And she screams. The pain tearing at her throat nothing compared to the pain in her arm, her shoulder. She sobs, the shaking making the pain worse, but she was unable to stop. It hurt. 

“S-stop!” She manages to yell, nearly biting her tongue when Joker grabs her chin and forces her to look up at him. 

“Hmm. You’re right! The internet should definitely see this.” He laughs, pulling a phone out. She shakes her head, flinching as he whacks the crowbar against the floor near her chair. He points the phone at her, and she knows he’s recording. The bastard. 

“Hello Gotham! Look at this little Birdie. I’m afraid she flew too far, and now we have to clip her wings.” He says, sighing as if he’s actually apologetic. He sets his phone up on the table and stalks over to her before turning and waving at the camera. She watches him move the crowbar around warily, her breathing shaky. God, she hoped Jason wasn’t watching this. Hoped he was somewhere safe, not trying to go do something stupid. She winces as Joker acts like he’s about to hit her, only to stop before the crowbar actually connects with her good arm.

“I told you, I’d only hit you if I wanted to.” He chuckles. 

“Go to hell.” She spits out, ignoring the voice in her head (that sounded suspiciously like Tikki) telling her to shut up. To not antagonize the crazy man with the crowbar. 

“Gladly.” He says with a grin, rearing back and swinging the crowbar out to hit her in the ribs. Her scream echoes around the room and she has no time to catch her breath before he’s attacking her ribs again. Tears stream down her face, but she can’t scream, she can’t even catch her breath. I’m going to die, she thinks, and the thought is terrifying. She didn’t want to die, she wanted to live. 

---

“Do we have a fucking location or am I about to go shoot up every goddamned warehouse in this city?” Jason growls as he zips through the streets on his bike. He knew Babs and Alfred were back at the cave, watching the livestream and working to locate Marinette. And even though he couldn’t see the video, the audio playing through the comms was enough to make his stomach churn. 

He didn’t give one singular fuck what Bruce said. He was going to kill that goddamned clown the minute he saw him. 

---

Marinette glares at the Joker, barely able to keep her head up. For some unknown reason, he’d decided to use his fists on her face instead of the crowbar. Not that she was complaining. She wouldn’t have survived multiple hits to the head. Not with the force he had. She watches him, and she knows he’s saying something, but she can’t tell what it is. She’s too tired, too hurt, to care what he’s saying anyway. Unless it’s some magical cure to stop her from feeling like she’s broken into a million pieces, she doesn’t want to hear it. 

Eyes wandering behind him, she’s relieved when she notices the costumed figure. The cowl, the cape- Batman did come. How strange. Though, she had assumed that Joker was live streaming. So that could definitely explain that one. Deciding she was out of immediate danger, she lets her eyes droop shut, reveling in the darkness that surrounds her. She let’s it stay, and she can feel things slipping away, some of the pain lessening. It’s nice, until someone is poking her and talking much too close to her. She lets out a whine as the person forces her eyes open. 

“‘m tired.” She mumbles, wincing at the pain that comes with breathing, with talking. 

“I know, kid, god I know. Just keep your eyes open.” A voice says. She blinks, the blue marks on the suit in front of her helping her to identify the vigilante. 

“Couldn’t fight.” She spits out, tears springing to her eyes as her attempt at conversation makes her chest ache. 

“But you’re fighting now, you’re staying awake. You’re doing such a good job, I’m proud of you. Stay awake kiddo.” Nightwing says quietly. She vaguely feels the ropes slide off her wrists and ankles. Fighting to stay sitting up, because slumping will hurt more than she’s willing to allow, she sighs. 

“Jason’s gonna worry.” She mumbles, and Nightwing hums. 

“Ambulance is almost here, kid, just stay awake.” He says instead of asking about Jason. She hopes Jason is okay. Hopes he isn’t mad at himself for letting her go talk to Jagged alone. Suddenly, sirens are close and she lets the world finally slip away.

---

The pain is the first thing that clues her in. She isn’t dead. Which is a relief. But the way her entire body aches, is not a relief. Forcing her eyes open, she sighs at Jason’s slumped form in a chair next to her bed. She wished she knew how long she’d been in the hospital so she could scold him. Because he was still wearing the outfit he had on at the party. Which meant he hadn’t given himself a break. Just as she’s trying to decide how to ask the nurses for pain medicine, Jason’s eyes open. 

“Marinette!” He gasps, starting to lunge forward, then stopping himself. “I thought, god, M, I thought-”

“‘m okay.” She says softly, and he frowns. 

“Okay? You were nearly beaten to death with a goddamned crowbar. You’re not okay.” He argues. She sighs. 

“I’m alive, and I’m with you. I’m okay.” She insists, wincing. He looks like he still wants to argue, but stops himself. He scoots closer and holds her hand, kissing the back of it softly. 

“I’ll never leave you.” He promises. She smiles softly, before falling back asleep, finally safe.

Tag list:  @maribat-october-rarepairs @stainedglassm @kittenmywaythrulife @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess 

#angst #maribat #maribat oneshot #jasonette #maribat marinette dupain cheng #maribat jason todd #maribat joker #maribathalloween21 #maribat dick grayson #maribat tim drake #maribat batman #maribat damian wayne