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ali-annals · 3 months

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I Knew You'd Come Back To Me

Cardigan AU Part 1 Master Masterlist Extra 1

Jasonette, Chapter 2/2, ~6k?

I Knew You’d Come Back To Me

Two nights after defeating the Untitled, Jason showed up in front of Marinette’s door.

“Hi.” She poked her head through the doorway.

“Hey, Marinette. Can we talk?”

She considered his words momentarily, then opened the door wider in silent invitation. He followed her to her living room, where she curled up in the fluffy recliner and picked up her tea mug.

Jason sat nervously on her loveseat, noting her clear boundaries in the choice of seating.

“Would you believe me if I gave you a good reason for my odd actions?”

“I’ll decide ‘good reasons,'” she interjected. “Let’s hear them.”

“I’m Red Hood. I was on Bat and Hood business when I left all those times. I would have told you sooner, but I saw how hurt you were after you told me about Multimouse and I knew I couldn’t drag you into that again, so I just… kept quiet. I figured out you’re Onyx from the things you said and I saw how capable you are and… I had to… At least tell you why I did those things. I know I broke your trust and I am very sorry for that. I was trying not to hurt you, but in doing so I still hurt you in a way I promised myself I never would, and I am so sorry for that.”

Marinette sat in silence and Jason focused on his breathing so he wouldn’t panic while she considered his words.

“You’re the Red Hood…and you know I’m Onyx,” she finally said slowly.

Jason nodded.

“Why tell me now? We broke up. We could’ve avoided each other. Do you feel guilty that you figured my identity out, so you’re giving me equal footing?”

“Well, I do feel guilty, but mostly because I didn’t trust you enough to tell you sooner and let you make your own decisions about it. I did know you kept in contact with your hero friends, and I should’ve given you the choice of what to do with my information, at least. That is what I feel guilty about.”

Marinette put her mug down on the coaster and leaned forwards a teeny bit. “So was anything else a lie?”

“No, I never lied to you about anything except my night job, I promise, Pi- Marinette.”

“I need time to think about this, Jay. I’ll text you when I’m ready, okay?”

Jason nodded and left.

He wasn’t happy, but he was relieved that she had listened and was thinking it over. She’d also addressed him as Jay, not Jason, so that was a good sign. At least she didn’t seem to hate him completely.

He just hoped she knew how sorry he was, even if he never saw her again.

•○•○•○•

Marinette was back at school, but they avoided each other like the plague and barely saw even a glimpse of each other’s hoodie when they weren’t in the same classes.

Nine days later, Jason’s phone buzzed with the specific tone he had set for Marinette’s contact.

Pixie: Can we talk tonight?

Yes!

Me: Yours, mine, neutral ground?

Pixie: Mine is okay. Can you bring supper from your secret Chinese supplier?

Me: Absolutely. Usual order?

Pixie: Yes, please.

Pixie: Can you make it for 5:45?

Me: I’ll be there.

The three dots of typing ceased and Jason flung his phone onto his couch and commenced panicking.

What was he going to face?

What should he wear? Dress up nicely to show her he was making an effort, or his usual tee and sweats or jeans to keep it casual?

What was he gonna say? He should definitely keep apologising, but he didn’t want to sound like a broken record and seem like he was pressuring her into getting back together or forgiving him.

Oh, did his freezer have enough ice cream to last future-him’s depression if she said she hated him and would never talk to him again?

Finally, he slapped himself out of the spiral of anxiety and made himself think logically.

She wanted to talk, and she wanted him to bring them both dinner, so clearly she wasn’t going to yell and then kick him out. She didn’t completely hate him, because she wanted food, and she still trusted him to bring their dinner. Plus, it was one of “their” things to go on dates or study dates and then come back and have Chinese at hers and watch a movie or hang out; so she still wanted their tradition.

So far, she was giving positive signs.

Okay. He could work with that.

•○•○•○•

At 5:45 on the dot he knocked on her door and was let in.

His brain short-circuited momentarily as Marinette appeared in his her Wonder Woman tee and jeans, and then nervous anxiety set in as she took the bag of food with a slight smile and headed to the kitchen to set it out. He’d finally decided on toeing the line between formal and casual, wearing jeans and a green button-down instead of his usual tee and/or hoodie, but it appeared Marinette went for straight casual.

What if she felt underdressed? He didn’t want to make her feel even more uncomfortable (the tension in her body language was very obvious).

He finally got his feet to move and followed her to the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves as he went. It was a little breezy outside, but rather warm in her apartment. No wonder she hauled out the tees, even though it was only March.

•○•○•○•

Marinette impatiently yanked the door open for Jason, unsurprised by his punctuality and waiting nervously.

While she’d stress-baked and stress-cleaned she’d tried to nail down the wording she wanted, but kept getting distracted and more stressed. Now, she hastily combed her memories for her explanation while she had a moment alone since Jason was staying in the foyer, for some reason.

Oh dear, had she made him feel unwelcome?

Was this a sign of his reluctance to associate with her anymore? What if he wanted to stay broken up? He deserved someone who wouldn’t drag him down with their own traumas-

She heard him finally follow her and turned to smile welcomingly at him. He was focused on rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and oh, he knew what he was doing, maybe he did still want them to be together.

That was illegal, surely, or unethical at the very least, giving her health problems this early on in life.

Reminding herself to breathe, she got out two pairs of chopsticks (her own, not the small bamboo ones the restaurant provided) and tried to act unaffected by his blatant show of forearm.

“I thought we could talk in the living room and watch the sunset while we have supper,” she waved at the penthouse’s wide scenic view of Gotham’s Diamond District and the faint line of ocean blue on the horizon peeking through the skyscrapers.

•○•○•○•

“Sounds good.” He nervously flipped the knife in his pocket around his fingers.

Why was she still so tense? Maybe she was overthinking it too; that sounded like Marinette.

They settled by the window with their food, on opposite ends of the couch, and ate quietly for several minutes.

Finally, Marinette spoke up. “I have many conflicting feelings about everything, but I’ve simplified them and worked them out; the bottom line is, I forgive you. I know the struggle of wondering how much to say and worrying if those you care about will be in more danger if you tell them, so I know how hard that must have been.”

She sighed and chewed a piece of broccoli slowly. “It’s not easy being a hero.”

A spring roll later, she continued, “I won’t deny that I was hurt by your lack of trust, and I am still hurt, but I don’t hold it against you. I considered telling you that I was the Guardian, myself, but decided against it. I do appreciate you attempting not to hurt me, even if it didn’t work out.”

Marinette inhaled deeply and Jason almost fell off the couch in tense anticipation of her next utterance.

“If… You are still willing…I’d like to continue our relationship, but with mutual trust in each other this time.”

“You really want to? I know I really hurt you, Mari, I-”

“Yes, Jason. I’ve thought it over and weighed our relationship carefully, and I want to continue. No relationship is easy, and I must confess I was waiting for the other shoe to drop part of the time, even when I ignored the suspicion of your…activities. Now that we know where the other stands — we do know, right?” she looked at him suddenly, a little panicked.

“I think so, but we should go over them once you’re done talking, just to make sure,” he replied. “We know where each other stands now, so…?”

“…we can have a more trusting relationship and we’ll likely be a lot happier not hiding all the hero secrets?”

Jason smiled happily at her. “I’d like nothing better, Marinette.”

He was about to ask to clarify where each other stood when she burst out.

“Now that that’s settled, will you please stop calling me Marinette?”

“…uh… What else am I supposed to call you?”

“You always call me Pixie or Pix, except when you’re super serious, and I missed it,” She pouted.

“I thought you didn’t like that I called you tiny?” He grinned.

“…I liked your nickname, though,” she mumbled.

“Okay, Pixie. Now, where do we stand with each other?”

“We have no more secrets to hide, right?”

“I don’t think I’ve forgotten any…” he mused.

“Good. We know the other is a hero-slash-vigilante, we want to be together without any secrets, and if we need to go hero-ing, we’ll let the other know first. Did I miss anything?”

“I don’t think so. If we think of something, we can always bring it up at a later time.”

“That sounds fair,” she agreed. “Now that all the details are hashed out, can I have a hug? I missed you.”

Be still my heart.

“Of course, Pix, you don’t need to ask.” He held his arms out in invitation.

She moved their dishes to the coffee table and scooched over to snuggle beside him, his arm wrapped around her.

“Cozy, Pixie?”

She nodded. “Quite. I’m so glad we worked that out, I missed you so much. Even when I didn’t know you were a hero, I felt that you understood me better than most.”

“I’m sorry I never told you anything.”

She wiggled around to face him. “I forgive you, you can stop apologising now. We both kept secrets and that hurt us. We’ve learned from this, hopefully, and we’re planning on doing better in the future. We don’t need to keep rehashing an already finished subject…unless you think it’s necessary?”

“No, I just…you’re the best thing I have, right now, Pix, and I’m infinitely sorry that I hurt you. I guess I just need to forgive myself.”

“…If you’re sure that’s all, then. Try not to beat yourself up too much over it or I’ll be sad, okay?”

“Whatever my Pixie commands,” he pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

•○•○•○•

"Hey, Jay.”

Jason opened his eyes and looked at Marinette, curled up and leaning on his chest.

“Yeah?”

“I know it’s a sensitive subject, but how’s it going with your family?”

He sighed. “Not great. When we broke up I was really mad at B because I was always leaving you to help him and kinda blamed him for our breakup. I didn’t tell him about you, because then he would’ve gotten all nosy and you don’t deserve that, but I yelled at him for a lot of stuff. I probably set our progress back a few months.”

“I thought you were doing Bat or Hood business when you ran off?”

“…Wait, did I not tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Uh, Batman is my dad…and the rest are my siblings.”

Marinette was quiet for a worryingly long time. “I should have put that together,” she said at last.

“Yeah, it’s a…thing. It’s not really broadcast, because Hood is still on iffy terms with the Bats and it would be suspicious if Red Hood suddenly reconciled with them at the same time Jason Todd’s death was repealed. There are enough scarily accurate theories about the Waynes being the Bats, we don’t need to give them more information to prove their hunch.”

“The Waynes — the Waynes are the Bats?!” Marinette yelped, sitting upright and muttering in French under her breath.

“I didn’t tell you that either? I’m sorry, I thought you knew and were just being polite and ignoring the elephant in the room.”

“I ignore the news, especially about celebrities. It’s usually gossip or dramatically inflated rumours, so I never take it as a reliable source on any of them if I do see 'reports’.”

“I wish everyone had your maturity,” he half-joked. “Yeah, the Waynes are the vigilante protectors of Gotham — the Batfamily, as they are called by some — confirmed. More with Red Hood at 9. I’m Vicki Vale, Gotham Gazette,” he mocked. “You got the first-hand report.”

“That makes a lot of sense actually…” Marinette mused. “So that’s why you were so popular in the beginning of the school year?”

“Yep. It always pays to be in the Waynes’ favour, or at least not their disfavour. It’s actually part of what made me notice you, how you ignored me and challenged me instead of trying to grovel or be friends. That and how quiet you were with everyone else. You were new, too, but you seemed happy that you weren’t getting as much attention as me.”

“I just wanted a drama-free final year,” she mourned. “No boyfriend, no hero-ing, just school…look at me — a boyfriend, a breakup, defeating the Untitled after my Miraculous, being the translator for the Parisian class — what happened to my quiet year?”

“I’m sorry, Pix.”

“It’s fine. I got one fewer enemy after me and I got a wonderful boyfriend out of it! It’s not a bad trade-off, in my opinion.”

○○○○○○○

A Friend to All is a Friend to None A couple months later

“The Parisian class arrives today.” Marinette nervously picked at the hem of her skirt.

“It’ll be fine, Pix, I promise. I’ll be right here beside you all day. This is your turf and you’re fighting for it, remember? And you have a Wayne backing you, so the school will definitely not hold back if anyone tries anything.”

“Thanks, mon chére, you’re right; though I hope we won’t need to use your father’s name.”

“Don’t worry about me, Pix. And you know what I think? You’ve told me so much about how selectively dumb they are, that they probably won’t recognize you with your new style and last name.”

“You have a point. Honestly, they probably wouldn’t notice me even if I only grew my hair out,” she rolled her eyes and pulled him into the school. “Let’s get it over with.”

No one batted an eye at her blatant manhandling (emphasis on the man), since the past few weeks they’d acted much closer than before, likely from meeting to practise their French and go over the details of their volunteering. (Mrs. Perez’s Marison-shipping-heart was well-fed lately, and she took credit for forcing them to work together in the first place months ago.)

“Channel your inner Ladybug and your outer Marinette Stone confidence, Pix. You got this!” Jason whispered as they walked over to Mr. Patel, who was preparing for the welcoming speech and reiterating the rules for the host and visiting classes.

Thankfully, the speech was fairly short and their introductions brief.

Principal Luther introduced Jason and Marinette as the class’s hosts and translators, ‘Mr. Todd’ and 'Ms. Stone’.

Then everyone was dismissed and Marinette and Jason decided how to divide the class.

Once everyone was seated and introduced to their temporary classmates, Marinette quickly ran through the introductory notes she’d prepared.

“Good morning, I am one of your temporary translators, Marinette Stone. My partner, Jason, and I have already completed the content you will be learning, so we can help explain as needed. If you need help, just raise your hand and we’ll translate as you need. Please respect the fact that there are only two of us, so it may take a minute to reach you. Your teacher, Ms. Lee, also speaks some French, so she may be able to help as well. I hope you enjoy your time here.”

From the back of the room, Jason gave her a sneaky thumbs-up, telling her that his recording of her was complete. If her ex-classmates recognized her and tried something, he’d have video proof of everything.

She smirked back and headed to her seat beside him, which had a lovely vantage point of the whole classroom.

"So, you have Juleka, Chloe, Rose, Ivan, Mylene, Marc, and Alix?”

“Yep. I’m good with that, as long as you have Lila, Alya, Adrien, Kim, and Sabrina,” Marinette responded. “They’ll be the ones asking for the most help.”

“Chloe and Juleka know who you are, right?” Jason whispered.

"Yeah. No one knows C and I made up because I left fairly soon after, and Jules and I made up when Uncle Jagged talked to her. They’ll be fine.”

•○•○•○•

For the next two weeks, the exchange program went fairly smoothly - Ms. Lee wouldn’t buy Lila & Co™’s excuses/lies, Lila couldn’t flirt with Jason too much because he loudly announced that he had a girlfriend and she was making him uncomfortable, and the class didn’t visibly recognize Marinette with her new style and name change.

On the final day of the exchange, Jason and Marinette rode in on his motorcycle (that no one was allowed to touch).

The curious GA students were buzzing over the latest gossip — was this year’s most popular ship actually coming true?!

Money was to be made on this, after all, many students had secret betting pools on what stage the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers arc was exactly at.

One of Marinette’s kind-of friends bravely walked up was pushed forward by everyone else in the betting pool she was part of to ask about their relationship status.

Jason and Marinette laughed in their faces and said they’d been dating for months.

The news spread quickly among the gossip mills but was quickly silenced when over the intercom, their names were called and their presence requested at the front office.

The couple shrugged at each other and walked leisurely hand-in-hand to the office.

•○•○•○•

Caline Bustier, Lila Rossi, and Principal Luther were waiting.

Marinette sighed. “What?” she asked sharply.

“Mlle. Rossi here says you are a missing person from Paris and a con artist. You dated her boyfriend, M. Agreste, until his father’s company went broke, and then came here to trick the Waynes, she claims. She also says you were unprofessional and ignored her all the time when she requested help in class.” Thankfully, Principal Luther looked sceptical of Lila’s charges.

“Right. Well, Mlle. Rossi here also claims to have saved Uncle Jagged kitten from being run over by an aeroplane, and that she has tinnitus from that event, and later became Uncle Jagged’s muse,” Marinette stated flatly.

Principal Luther looked like she was repressing a smile. “I see. But how is this pertinent to the allegations against you?”

“It’s proof that she claims ridiculous things. You can call Uncle Jagged if — actually, his daughter, Juleka, is in Lila’s class. You can confirm with her about Lila’s stories, and prove that she is lying about them. I did date Adrien Agreste, but I broke up with him because he was cheating on me with Lila. It was just after we split that Gabriel went under, but that was because of his acts of terrorism. And I actually didn’t know Jason was a Wayne until a few weeks ago when he told me. He goes by Jason Todd, and I don’t pay attention to celebrity news, so I had no way of knowing he was a Wayne.

“Also, I came here because it’s Uncle Jagged’s hometown and he helped me escape Paris, which wasn’t helping with my PTSD - which is also partly caused by Mlle. Rossi bullying me. I did not ignore her in class, Jason and I already agreed on how to divide our translating responsibilities. I did not purposely not help her. If you want proof, Jason and I have texts detailing our dividing.”

Principal Luther scrutinised Marinette and Lila, then turned to Jason. “Mr. Todd, any comments?”

“Marinette isn’t a gold-digger. She didn’t know I was a Wayne ‘til I told her, and my family ran a background check on her — she’s clean. And Marinette isn’t a missing person or a runaway — her godfather Jagged had her parent’s blessing to help her move to Gotham, and her parents are working on closing their bakery and moving here to be with her. Her friends, Chloé Bourgeois, and Juleka and Luka Couffaine, knew she was here. Also, no missing person report was filed for her. I’ve been with Marinette for several months now, and I’m sure that she isn’t faking the repercussions of her PTSD and Li- Mlle. Rossi’s bullying.”

“Juleka Couffaine to head office, please.”

Juleka arrived a minute later and confirmed Marinette’s story. She also called Jagged and he immediately jumped to Marinette and Juleka’s defence.

“Thank you, Mlle. Couffaine. Please return to class. Miss Stone and Mr. Todd, I think it’s alright if I give you a pass. You can have the day off. Before you go, could I have a word with Miss Stone in my office?”

Marinette followed Principal Luther into her tiny, cramped office behind the larger antechamber where she’d been pleading her case.

“I’m sorry for the way they treated you, Miss Stone. If you knew it was your class, though, why didn’t you turn down the volunteer role? I assure you we wouldn’t have held it against you.”

“Um… I guess I was just used to my old school in Paris, and how they supported Lila, so it didn’t really occur to me. And I thought I’d like to see my friends, at least. Jason dealt with the ones who were the meanest to me or needed the most help, so I didn’t have to interact with them that much…..Plus, I was kind of planning my revenge. I wanted to get records of them to turn in to the proper authorities so they could be punished.”

Principal Luther sighed. “Marinette… alright. Is your mental health okay? Will you need another couple of days off?”

“No, I should be okay. Thank you, though. Jason has really helped me with my mental health, and I’m seeing a therapist.”

“Okay… Don’t worry about translating at the goodbye party tonight. I’ll find someone else to do it. Thank you for your help these past two weeks.”

“You’re welcome! Have a good day. I don’t envy you dealing with the class,” she sympathised.

She left the small office, completely ignoring Lila and Mme. Bustier’s mean faces, striding quickly to the door, where Jason awaited.

“Hey, Pix. Are you good?”

“Yeah, she wanted to thank us for our work and apologise for making me translate. We don’t have to translate tonight either.”

“Sweet! What do you want to do, then?”

“Go home and watch a movie?”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

Jason took her hand and they escaped to his bike.

○○○○○○○

Giving me Your Weekends

The next morning Jason got Marinette to visit the Manor for Saturday brunch. They pulled up at ten to eight, and Jason warned Marinette once again of the craziness and suspicion that was sure to barrage her.

“Jay, I’ll be fine. I’ll take their suspicion as a sign that they care for you, because they want to make sure I’m not going to hurt you.”

He smiled at her. “You’re so optimistic. But you’re right, that’s a good way to look at it. Thanks, Pix.”

He kissed her head and led her into the chaos.

Damian was chasing Tim downstairs with his katana. Dick was on the chandelier shouting for both of them to slow down with sharp objects and Steph was stealing a waffle from the stack Alfred had made, choking on its texture. Babs, Bruce, Cass, and Alfred were nowhere to be seen.

The chandelier spun as Dick wiggled on it and he caught sight of the newcomers. The shouting and chaos ceased immediately.

“Jay! You’re here for breakfast!” Dick flipped off the chandelier. “And you brought a guest, welcome,” he smiled charmingly at Marinette, but she could see the cloud of questions in his eyes.

Alfred materialised and gave Damian the 'put-your-katana-away’ stare.

“Master Jason, you came for brunch today? I’m so glad to see you, my boy. And who is this?” he smiled warmly at Marinette, who thrust a plate of homemade waffles at him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Alfred! I’m Marinette. I made some waffles for breakfast, and couldn’t just show up empty-handed. Hope that’s okay!” her voice was higher-pitched in her anxiousness to have Alfred like her, but he just took the plate and handed it to Tim with a stern glance.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Marinette. Brunch is almost ready, and these look lovely. I’m afraid mine will never turn out as good, although I tried a new recipe today…” he saw Steph’s frozen face of revolt and sighed.

“Ah. This didn’t work either. I’m sure Stephanie would love to be your critic. Please sit down, everyone will be here momentarily.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at everyone, suddenly nervous, and Jason put his arm supportingly around her waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Ignore them, Pix, they’ll warm up to you soon enough.”

The present Batfamily members sat down at the table somewhat robotically, sizing Marinette (and Jason) up.

“So, you’re Marinette? I’m Dick Grayson, Jason’s older brother. I assume you’re his girlfriend?”

She smiled, ��You are correct.”

“So… how’d you meet Jay?”

“Um, at school. A teacher paired us up on a project, and we got to know each other and liked what we saw.”

Bruce and Babs came in, discussing a new update to their filing system, and paused when they saw the visitors.

Jason stood up. “Cass, I know you’re here somewhere, so since we’re all here I’m only going to say this once: This is Marinette, my girlfriend. I expect nothing, but I hope you’ll be polite since she’s the reason we’re even here in the first place.”

The family eyed Marinette after Jason’s declaration until Steph broke the silence.

“These waffles are so good, Marinette! You said you made them yourself?”

“I did, Jason told me you all liked waffles. He helped, of course.”

“They’re amazing. Do you bake a lot?”

“I stress bake, and I grew up in a bakery, so I know how to make a lot of baked goods.”

“Welcome, Marinette. I’m Jason’s father, Bruce. It’s nice to meet you,” Bruce smiled at her but she could see him calculating. “Do I detect a French accent?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, monsieur. And yes, you do. I’m from Paris. I moved here last summer for my final school year.”

Switching the focus from her, she casually asked as she took a sausage from the plate Cass handed her, “Jay hasn’t told me much about his family, beyond you being loud and crazy, so I’m looking forward to getting to know you all. What sort of hobbies do you have?”

Dick cleared his throat. “I’m an acrobat, and I teach gymnastics and aerial skills at a gym in Bludhaven some days. I also like solving puzzles, like most of the rest of us. Timmy is pretty good at computer games and stuff like that,” he nudged his brother jovially.

“Oh, do you know UMSIII?” Marinette leaned forwards eagerly to face Tim.

“Jay refuses to play with me anymore.”

“You don’t even leave me a chance, Pix,” he grumbled under his breath and she smiled sweetly at him.

“I’ve heard of it,” Tim acknowledged. “I take it you play? We mostly have MarioKart marathons in this house.”

“Oh, nice!” Marinette turned to Alfred. “Your French Toast is delicious, Monsieur Alfred.”

“Thank you, Miss Marinette. Perhaps we could exchange some recipes later?”

“I’d love to!” she grinned at him and looked at Damian, who was clearly eyeing her for nefarious intentions. “And I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet, I’m Marinette.”

“Damian,” he grunted, sounding like a mini-Bruce. “Do you like animals?”

“I do! Unfortunately, I never got a pet because I lived above a bakery, so for health and hygiene reasons it wasn’t feasible, but I love playing with them when I can.”

“I will introduce you to Titus, Alfred the Cat, and Batcow after brunch if you desire,” he said stiffly.

“I’d love to meet your pets, thank you for offering!”

“So you attend GA with Jason?” Babs asked, finally speaking up now that most of the Bats had their mouths full of food.

“Yes. We were both the only new transfer students this year, so we had some camaraderie. We have most of the same classes together, which is nice.”

The inquisition calmed after that and normal conversation flowed, but all in all, it was the most subdued family meal the Wayne table had seen in a while.

After breakfast, Alfred requested Jason’s help with the dishes, presumably to interrogate him, and Damian kidnapped Marinette to meet his pets.

Titus absolutely loved her and became her new best friend. Damian was surprised at his Great Dane’s reaction since Titus was normally wary of strangers until he okayed them.

Even Alfred the Cat warmed up to her quickly, possibly smelling the Camembert on her from when she’d fed Plagg before coming for brunch.

“What are your intentions with my brother?” Damian inquired as he led Marinette to Batcow’s stable out back.

She smiled slightly at his protectiveness and replied, “I have no intentions with him beyond making him happy. I hope that means we stay together for a very long time, maybe eventually marry, but if we agree that he’s better off without me…then I’ll go. I don’t think that will happen, though.“

“I approve of your commitment. Father also wants to talk with you, I believe. Once Batcow has sufficient pets, I shall escort you to Father’s office.”

“Thank you, Damian. Oh, hello, Batcow! Aren’t you gorgeous, petit vache,” she cooed.

•○•○•○•

Damian showed Marinette the way to Bruce’s office, and she stepped inside when he bid her enter.

“I must admit I was quite surprised when Jason showed up for family brunch this morning, and even brought a guest,” Bruce started as soon as she sat in the comfy leather chair before his desk.

“Jason hasn’t been…very active with our family, lately. I believe I have you to thank for encouraging his visit?”

“Yes, M. Wayne. He hasn’t spoken to me about much of you – I didn’t even know his family were the Waynes until a couple months ago–but I did want to meet all of you, since you are all important to him.”

“Thank you for the encouragement, Mlle. Stone. I had wondered if I had driven him away for good, after the last fight we had. Looking back on it now, I think it was because of you that he was so angry with me. He certainly acted more strangely than normal, like he was protecting someone or something, with all his warnings not to spy on him.”

“He told me he was quite angry with you for constantly calling him away on our dates, and he worried he’d set your progress back months. I do hope that’s not the case.”

Bruce noticed a cold edge to Marinette’s previously polite, warm tone.

“Of course not, I was merely confused at his sudden anger. I didn’t know he was dating anyone. I can give you my word that it certainly wasn’t a targeted attack against him or your relationship.”

“Good. I think we should all get on well, then. Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?”

“…No. Thank you for your time, and for coming for brunch with Jason. I’m quite pleased to have met you.”

“You as well, M. Wayne.”

Marinette left the office and walked into an eavesdropping Jason.

“Hey, Jay. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just waiting for you. The others want to interrogate you now, but we don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to…” he nodded at Bruce’s now-closed office door.

"I’m fine, Bruce just wanted to thank me for coming and bringing you. I’ll go be questioned by the rest of your siblings now.”

“Yeah, they’re all hanging out in the family sitting room,” he took her hand and they walked side-by-side, following the increasingly louder noises of all his siblings in one room.

“Dami didn’t scare you away?” asked Dick as soon as they entered the room.

Marinette shook her head. “He was quite polite, and I really enjoyed my time with him. So, what do you guys do for fun around here? All Jay has said is that it’s loud and chaotic and you take things to extremes.”

“Regular games are too boring, so we spice them up with house rules or dares, stuff like that,” said Tim, slurping something out of a 42-oz mug.

Steph grinned sharply. “How about some icebreakers? Truth or Dare, perhaps?”

“I’m in,” Marinette said immediately, to Jason’s horror but not his surprise.

She plopped on the couch between Babs and Cass and motioned for Jason to join, which he did reluctantly.

Babs was usually the mediator/emcee/referee, so she explained Bat-Truth or Dare quickly and the game began.

They had cards specially made that said ‘truth’ or ‘dare’ on them, which removed any bias for one choice over the other. The second deck of cards, which were blank and only coloured in to match the ‘truth’ and ‘dare’ cards, were dealt as in Uno, though only 5 cards were dispersed, not seven; a separate, communal stack of the ‘truth’ and ‘dare’ cards was shuffled by Babs and placed in the middle of the table.

The first person to play a card of corresponding colour then won the right to give a dare or ask a question to the original card player.

Jason began and played a green ‘truth’ card.

Dick slapped the matching green card in his hand down and asked excitedly, “When did you first meet Marinette? Was it love at first sight?”

Jason groaned. “One question, Dick. This is all gonna be about our relationship, isn’t it?” he added to Marinette, who nodded sympathetically at him.

“I first saw her when we passed each other in the street. A couple days later, I officially met her at school, ‘cause we were both transfers and in the same class.”

It was Marinette’s turn and she picked up a pink dare card. Steph immediately played her matching card with a victorious crow and turned to her future sister-in-law.

“I dare you to let Tim post something on one of your social media accounts.”

Marinette made eye contact with Jason and they immediately knew what each other was thinking.

She handed her phone over to Tim, open to Janette@pothamcrack on Twitter.

He typed for a few moments, then tossed her phone back.

She caught it and read the tweet. “'I’m secretly a celebrity but I bet none of you will guess who’,” she giggled. “Oh really? Jay, I’m famous, too!”

She turned from her boyfriend to his brother. “Which celebrity am I?”

“Wonder Woman, of course,” Jason interrupted. “Because you’re just that wonderful.”

Damian physically cringed at the cheesiness, though the rest of the players cheered at it, and Marinette blushed only a shade darker than Jason, who realised he just said that in front of his family.

“MOVING ON,” Marinette announced loudly, as Cass leaned forwards for her card.

The game went fairly smoothly after that, though as Jason predicted, they were mostly encouraged to spill things about their relationship.

“Okay, final round,” announced Babs, seeing Marinette pick up the final card, which was a truth.

Jason played his card and asked, “What’s one thing you haven’t told anyone before?”

“Uh…I hope next time we play this it’s as the Bats so we can do even more unhinged dares!”

With that shocking revelation, she grabbed Jason’s hand and they sprinted to his bike before they could be detained for even more questioning.

They sped out of the Manor property and headed to Marinette’s apartment, making sure to take detours to drop the trackers in random places and lose their tail.

Marinette unlocked her door and they entered her apartment, giggling at the hoax they’d successfully pulled off.

They kicked off their shoes and Marinette headed to the kitchen to wash her waffle-making dishes, which she’d left to soak while they had brunch, and froze.

“Hello, Jason,” said an unfamiliar voice from her living room, soft but deadly.

#jasonette #fic #ali writes #cardigan au #dcxmlb #maribat

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abyssal-ali · 1 year

Text

Stars Around My Scars

Part 2 Cardigan AU Masterlist Part 1

Pairing: Jasonette

Rating: T

Word Count: ~6.2k

For @mochegato. I hope this is fluffy enough for you!

Thank you so much to my very helpful, supportive beta reader @sarcasticbambi 💜

Many thanks also to the inspiring @boldlyanxious, who gave me feedback on the making up scene💜

I Knew You'd Come Back To Me

Two nights after defeating the Untitled, Jason showed up in front of Marinette's door.

“Hi.” She poked her head through the doorway.

“Hey, Marinette. Can we talk?”

She considered his words momentarily, then opened the door wider in silent invitation. He followed her to her living room, where she curled up in the fluffy recliner and picked up her tea mug.

Jason sat nervously on her loveseat, noting her clear boundaries in the choice of seating.

“Would you believe me if I gave you a good reason for my odd actions?”

“I'll decide 'good reasons,'” she interjected. “Let's hear them.”

“I'm Red Hood. I was on Bat and Hood business when I left all those times. I would have told you sooner, but I saw how hurt you were after you told me about Multimouse and I knew I couldn't drag you into that again, so I just… kept quiet. I figured out you're Onyx from the things you said and I saw how capable you are and… I had to… At least tell you why I did those things. I know I broke your trust and I am very sorry for that. I was trying not to hurt you, but in doing so I still hurt you in a way I promised myself I never would, and I am so sorry for that.”

Marinette sat in silence and Jason focused on his breathing so he wouldn't panic while she considered his words.

“You're the Red Hood...and you know I'm Onyx,” she finally said slowly.

Jason nodded.

“Why tell me now? We broke up. We could've avoided each other. Do you feel guilty that you figured my identity out, so you're giving me equal footing?”

“Well, I do feel guilty, but mostly because I didn't trust you enough to tell you sooner and let you make your own decisions about it. I did know you kept in contact with your hero friends, and I should've given you the choice of what to do with my information, at least. That is what I feel guilty about.”

Marinette put her mug down on the coaster and leaned forwards a teeny bit. “So was anything else a lie?”

“No, I never lied to you about anything except my night job, I promise, Pi- Marinette.”

“I need time to think about this, Jay. I'll text you when I'm ready, okay?”

Jason nodded and left.

He wasn't happy, but he was relieved that she had listened and was thinking it over. She'd also addressed him as Jay, not Jason, so that was a good sign. At least she didn't seem to hate him completely.

He just hoped she knew how sorry he was, even if he never saw her again.

•○•○•○•

Marinette was back at school, but they avoided each other like the plague and barely saw even a glimpse of each other's hoodie when they weren't in the same classes.

Nine days later, Jason's phone buzzed with the specific tone he had set for Marinette's contact.

Pixie: Can we talk tonight?

Yes!

Me: Yours, mine, neutral ground?

Pixie: Mine is okay. Can you bring supper from your secret Chinese supplier?

Me: Absolutely. Usual order?

Pixie: Yes, please.

Pixie: Can you make it for 5:45?

Me: I'll be there.

The three dots of typing ceased and Jason flung his phone onto his couch and commenced panicking.

What was he going to face?

What should he wear? Dress up nicely to show her he was making an effort, or his usual tee and sweats or jeans to keep it casual?

What was he gonna say? He should definitely keep apologising, but he didn't want to sound like a broken record and seem like he was pressuring her into getting back together or forgiving him.

Oh, did his freezer have enough ice cream to last future-him's depression if she said she hated him and would never talk to him again?

Finally, he slapped himself out of the spiral of anxiety and made himself think logically.

She wanted to talk, and she wanted him to bring them both dinner, so clearly she wasn't going to yell and then kick him out. She didn't completely hate him, because she wanted food, and she still trusted him to bring their dinner. Plus, it was one of “their” things to go on dates or study dates and then come back and have Chinese at hers and watch a movie or hang out; so she still wanted their tradition.

So far, she was giving positive signs.

Okay. He could work with that.

•○•○•○•

At 5:45 on the dot he knocked on her door and was let in.

His brain short-circuited momentarily as Marinette appeared in his her Wonder Woman tee and jeans, and then nervous anxiety set in as she took the bag of food with a slight smile and headed to the kitchen to set it out. He'd finally decided on toeing the line between formal and casual, wearing jeans and a green button-down instead of his usual tee and/or hoodie, but it appeared Marinette went for straight casual.

What if she felt underdressed? He didn't want to make her feel even more uncomfortable (the tension in her body language was very obvious).

•○•○•○•

Marinette impatiently yanked the door open for Jason, unsurprised by his punctuality and waiting nervously.

While she'd stress-baked and stress-cleaned she'd tried to nail down the wording she wanted, but kept getting distracted and more stressed. Now, she hastily combed her memories for her explanation while she had a moment alone since Jason was staying in the foyer, for some reason.

Oh dear, had she made him feel unwelcome?

Was this a sign of his reluctance to associate with her anymore? What if he wanted to stay broken up? He deserved someone who wouldn't drag him down with their own traumas-

That was illegal, surely, or unethical at the very least, giving her health problems this early on in life.

Reminding herself to breathe, she got out two pairs of chopsticks (her own, not the small bamboo ones the restaurant provided) and tried to act unaffected by his blatant show of forearm.

“I thought we could talk in the living room and watch the sunset while we have supper,” she waved at the penthouse's wide scenic view of Gotham's Diamond District and the faint line of ocean blue on the horizon peeking through the skyscrapers.

•○•○•○•

“Sounds good.” He nervously flipped the knife in his pocket around his fingers.

Why was she still so tense? Maybe she was overthinking it too; that sounded like Marinette.

They settled by the window with their food, on opposite ends of the couch, and ate quietly for several minutes.

Finally, Marinette spoke up. “I have many conflicting feelings about everything, but I've simplified them and worked them out; the bottom line is, I forgive you. I know the struggle of wondering how much to say and worrying if those you care about will be in more danger if you tell them, so I know how hard that must have been.”

She sighed and chewed a piece of broccoli slowly. “It's not easy being a hero.”

A spring roll later, she continued, “I won't deny that I was hurt by your lack of trust, and I am still hurt, but I don't hold it against you. I considered telling you that I was the Guardian, myself, but decided against it. I do appreciate you attempting not to hurt me, even if it didn't work out.”

Marinette inhaled deeply and Jason almost fell off the couch in tense anticipation of her next utterance.

“If… You are still willing...I'd like to continue our relationship, but with mutual trust in each other this time.”

“You really want to? I know I really hurt you, Mari, I-”

“Yes, Jason. I've thought it over and weighed our relationship carefully, and I want to continue. No relationship is easy, and I must confess I was waiting for the other shoe to drop part of the time, even when I ignored the suspicion of your...activities. Now that we know where the other stands — we do know, right?” she looked at him suddenly, a little panicked.

"I think so, but we should go over them once you're done talking, just to make sure,” he replied. “We know where each other stands now, so...?”

“...we can have a more trusting relationship and we'll likely be a lot happier not hiding all the hero secrets?”

Jason smiled happily at her. “I'd like nothing better, Marinette.”

He was about to ask to clarify where each other stood when she burst out.

“Now that that's settled, will you please stop calling me Marinette?”

“...uh… What else am I supposed to call you?”

“You always call me Pixie or Pix, except when you're super serious, and I missed it,” She pouted.

“I thought you didn't like that I called you tiny?” He grinned.

“...I liked your nickname, though,” she mumbled.

“Okay, Pixie. Now, where do we stand with each other?”

“We have no more secrets to hide, right?”

“I don't think I've forgotten any...” he mused.

“Good. We know the other is a hero-slash-vigilante, we want to be together without any secrets, and if we need to go hero-ing, we'll let the other know first. Did I miss anything?”

“I don't think so. If we think of something, we can always bring it up at a later time.”

“That sounds fair,” she agreed. “Now that all the details are hashed out, can I have a hug? I missed you.”

Be still my heart.

“Of course, Pix, you don't need to ask.” He held his arms out in invitation.

She moved their dishes to the coffee table and scooched over to snuggle beside him, his arm wrapped around her.

“Cozy, Pixie?”

She nodded. “Quite. I'm so glad we worked that out, I missed you so much. Even when I didn't know you were a hero, I felt that you understood me better than most.”

“I'm sorry I never told you anything.”

She wiggled around to face him. “I forgive you, you can stop apologising now. We both kept secrets and that hurt us. We've learned from this, hopefully, and we're planning on doing better in the future. We don't need to keep rehashing an already finished subject...unless you think it's necessary?”

“No, I just...you're the best thing I have, right now, Pix, and I'm infinitely sorry that I hurt you. I guess I just need to forgive myself.”

“...If you're sure that's all, then. Try not to beat yourself up too much over it or I'll be sad, okay?”

“Whatever my Pixie commands,” he pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

•○•○•○•

"Hey, Jay.”

Jason opened his eyes and looked at Marinette, curled up and leaning on his chest.

“Yeah?”

“I know it's a sensitive subject, but how's it going with your family?”

He sighed. “Not great. When we broke up I was really mad at B because I was always leaving you to help him and kinda blamed him for our breakup. I didn't tell him about you, because then he would've gotten all nosy and you don't deserve that, but I yelled at him for a lot of stuff. I probably set our progress back a few months.”

“I thought you were doing Bat or Hood business when you ran off?”

“...Wait, did I not tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Uh, Batman is my dad...and the rest are my siblings.”

Marinette was quiet for a worryingly long time. “I should have put that together,” she said at last.

“Yeah, it's a...thing. It's not really broadcast, because Hood is still on iffy terms with the Bats and it would be suspicious if Red Hood suddenly reconciled with them at the same time Jason Todd's death was repealed. There are enough scarily accurate theories about the Waynes being the Bats, we don't need to give them more information to prove their hunch.”

“The Waynes — the Waynes are the Bats?!” Marinette yelped, sitting upright and muttering in French under her breath.

“I didn't tell you that either? I'm sorry, I thought you knew and were just being polite and ignoring the elephant in the room.”

“I ignore the news, especially about celebrities. It's usually gossip or dramatically inflated rumours, so I never take it as a reliable source on any of them if I do see 'reports'.”

“I wish everyone had your maturity,” he half-joked. “Yeah, the Waynes are the vigilante protectors of Gotham — the Batfamily, as they are called by some — confirmed. More with Red Hood at 9. I'm Vicki Vale, Gotham Gazette,” he mocked. “You got the first-hand report.”

“That makes a lot of sense actually...” Marinette mused. “So that's why you were so popular in the beginning of the school year?”

“Yep. It always pays to be in the Waynes’ favour, or at least not their disfavour. It's actually part of what made me notice you, how you ignored me and challenged me instead of trying to grovel or be friends. That and how quiet you were with everyone else. You were new, too, but you seemed happy that you weren't getting as much attention as me.”

“I just wanted a drama-free final year,” she mourned. “No boyfriend, no hero-ing, just school...look at me — a boyfriend, a breakup, defeating the Untitled after my Miraculous, being the translator for the Parisian class — what happened to my quiet year?”

“I'm sorry, Pix.”

“It's fine. I got one fewer enemy after me and I got a wonderful boyfriend out of it! It's not a bad trade-off, in my opinion.”

○○○○○○○

A Friend to All is a Friend to None A couple months later

“The Parisian class arrives today.” Marinette nervously picked at the hem of her skirt.

“It'll be fine, Pix, I promise. I'll be right here beside you all day. This is your turf and you're fighting for it, remember? And you have a Wayne backing you, so the school will definitely not hold back if anyone tries anything.”

“Thanks, mon chére, you're right; though I hope we won't need to use your father's name.”

“Don't worry about me, Pix. And you know what I think? You've told me so much about how selectively dumb they are, that they probably won't recognize you with your new style and last name.”

“You have a point. Honestly, they probably wouldn't notice me even if I only grew my hair out,” she rolled her eyes and pulled him into the school. “Let's get it over with.”

No one batted an eye at her blatant manhandling (emphasis on the man), since the past few weeks they'd acted much closer than before, likely from meeting to practise their French and go over the details of their volunteering. (Mrs. Perez's Marison-shipping-heart was well-fed lately, and she took credit for forcing them to work together in the first place months ago.)

Thankfully, the speech was fairly short and their introductions brief.

Principal Luther introduced Jason and Marinette as the class's hosts and translators, ‘Mr. Todd' and 'Ms. Stone’.

Then everyone was dismissed and Marinette and Jason decided how to divide the class.

Once everyone was seated and introduced to their temporary classmates, Marinette quickly ran through the introductory notes she'd prepared.

“Good morning, I am one of your temporary translators, Marinette Stone. My partner, Jason, and I have already completed the content you will be learning, so we can help explain as needed. If you need help, just raise your hand and we'll translate as you need. Please respect the fact that there are only two of us, so it may take a minute to reach you. Your teacher, Ms. Lee, also speaks some French, so she may be able to help as well. I hope you enjoy your time here.”

From the back of the room, Jason gave her a sneaky thumbs-up, telling her that his recording of her was complete. If her ex-classmates recognized her and tried something, he'd have video proof of everything.

She smirked back and headed to her seat beside him, which had a lovely vantage point of the whole classroom.

"So, you have Juleka, Chloe, Rose, Ivan, Mylene, Marc, and Alix?”

“Yep. I'm good with that, as long as you have Lila, Alya, Adrien, Kim, and Sabrina,” Marinette responded. “They'll be the ones asking for the most help.”

“Chloe and Juleka know who you are, right?” Jason whispered.

"Yeah. No one knows C and I made up because I left fairly soon after, and Jules and I made up when Uncle Jagged talked to her. They'll be fine."

•○•○•○•

For the next two weeks, the exchange program went fairly smoothly - Ms. Lee wouldn't buy Lila & Co™'s excuses/lies, Lila couldn't flirt with Jason too much because he loudly announced that he had a girlfriend and she was making him uncomfortable, and the class didn't visibly recognize Marinette with her new style and name change.

On the final day of the exchange, Jason and Marinette rode in on his motorcycle (that no one was allowed to touch).

The curious GA students were buzzing over the latest gossip — was this year's most popular ship actually coming true?!

Money was to be made on this, after all, many students had secret betting pools on what stage the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers arc was exactly at.

One of Marinette's kind-of friends bravely walked up was pushed forward by everyone else in the betting pool she was part of to ask about their relationship status.

Jason and Marinette laughed in their faces and said they'd been dating for months.

The news spread quickly among the gossip mills but was quickly silenced when over the intercom, their names were called and their presence requested at the front office.

The couple shrugged at each other and walked leisurely hand-in-hand to the office.

•○•○•○•

Caline Bustier, Lila Rossi, and Principal Luther were waiting.

Marinette sighed. “What?” she asked sharply.

“Mlle. Rossi here says you are a missing person from Paris and a con artist. You dated her boyfriend, M. Agreste, until his father's company went broke, and then came here to trick the Waynes, she claims. She also says you were unprofessional and ignored her all the time when she requested help in class.” Thankfully, Principal Luther looked sceptical of Lila's charges.

Principal Luther looked like she was repressing a smile. "I see. But how is this pertinent to the allegations against you?”

“It's proof that she claims ridiculous things. You can call Uncle Jagged if — actually, his daughter, Juleka, is in Lila's class. You can confirm with her about Lila's stories, and prove that she is lying about them. I did date Adrien Agreste, but I broke up with him because he was cheating on me with Lila. It was just after we split that Gabriel went under, but that was because of his acts of terrorism. And I actually didn't know Jason was a Wayne until a few weeks ago when he told me. He goes by Jason Todd, and I don't pay attention to celebrity news, so I had no way of knowing he was a Wayne.

“Also, I came here because it's Uncle Jagged's hometown and he helped me escape Paris, which wasn't helping with my PTSD - which is also partly caused by Mlle. Rossi bullying me. I did not ignore her in class, Jason and I already agreed on how to divide our translating responsibilities. I did not purposely not help her. If you want proof, Jason and I have texts detailing our dividing.”

Principal Luther scrutinised Marinette and Lila, then turned to Jason. “Mr. Todd, any comments?”

“Marinette isn't a gold-digger. She didn't know I was a Wayne ‘til I told her, and my family ran a background check on her — she's clean. And Marinette isn't a missing person or a runaway — her godfather Jagged had her parent's blessing to help her move to Gotham, and her parents are working on closing their bakery and moving here to be with her. Her friends, Chloé Bourgeois, and Juleka and Luka Couffaine, knew she was here. Also, no missing person report was filed for her. I've been with Marinette for several months now, and I'm sure that she isn't faking the repercussions of her PTSD and Li- Mlle. Rossi's bullying."

“Juleka Couffaine to head office, please.”

Juleka arrived a minute later and confirmed Marinette's story. She also called Jagged and he immediately jumped to Marinette and Juleka's defence.

“Thank you, Mlle. Couffaine. Please return to class. Miss Stone and Mr. Todd, I think it's alright if I give you a pass. You can have the day off. Before you go, could I have a word with Miss Stone in my office?”

Marinette followed Principal Luther into her tiny, cramped office behind the larger antechamber where she'd been pleading her case.

“I'm sorry for the way they treated you, Miss Stone. If you knew it was your class, though, why didn't you turn down the volunteer role? I assure you we wouldn't have held it against you.”

“Um… I guess I was just used to my old school in Paris, and how they supported Lila, so it didn't really occur to me. And I thought I'd like to see my friends, at least. Jason dealt with the ones who were the meanest to me or needed the most help, so I didn't have to interact with them that much.....Plus, I was kind of planning my revenge. I wanted to get records of them to turn in to the proper authorities so they could be punished.”

Principal Luther sighed. “Marinette… alright. Is your mental health okay? Will you need another couple of days off?”

“No, I should be okay. Thank you, though. Jason has really helped me with my mental health, and I'm seeing a therapist.”

“Okay… Don't worry about translating at the goodbye party tonight. I'll find someone else to do it. Thank you for your help these past two weeks.”

“You're welcome! Have a good day. I don't envy you dealing with the class,” she sympathised.

She left the small office, completely ignoring Lila and Mme. Bustier's mean faces, striding quickly to the door, where Jason awaited.

“Hey, Pix. Are you good?”

“Yeah, she wanted to thank us for our work and apologise for making me translate. We don't have to translate tonight either.”

“Sweet! What do you want to do, then?”

“Go home and watch a movie?”

“Sure. Let's go.”

Jason took her hand and they escaped to his bike.

○○○○○○○

Giving me Your Weekends

“Jay, I'll be fine. I'll take their suspicion as a sign that they care for you, because they want to make sure I'm not going to hurt you.”

He smiled at her. “You're so optimistic. But you're right, that's a good way to look at it. Thanks, Pix.”

He kissed her head and led her into the chaos.

The chandelier spun as Dick wiggled on it and he caught sight of the newcomers. The shouting and chaos ceased immediately.

“Jay! You're here for breakfast!” Dick flipped off the chandelier. “And you brought a guest, welcome,” he smiled charmingly at Marinette, but she could see the cloud of questions in his eyes.

Alfred materialised and gave Damian the 'put-your-katana-away' stare.

“Master Jason, you came for brunch today? I'm so glad to see you, my boy. And who is this?” he smiled warmly at Marinette, who thrust a plate of homemade waffles at him.

“It's nice to meet you, Alfred! I'm Marinette. I made some waffles for breakfast, and couldn't just show up empty-handed. Hope that's okay!” her voice was higher-pitched in her anxiousness to have Alfred like her, but he just took the plate and handed it to Tim with a stern glance.

“It's wonderful to meet you, Marinette. Brunch is almost ready, and these look lovely. I'm afraid mine will never turn out as good, although I tried a new recipe today...” he saw Steph's frozen face of revolt and sighed.

“Ah. This didn't work either. I'm sure Stephanie would love to be your critic. Please sit down, everyone will be here momentarily.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at everyone, suddenly nervous, and Jason put his arm supportingly around her waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Ignore them, Pix, they'll warm up to you soon enough.”

The present Batfamily members sat down at the table somewhat robotically, sizing Marinette (and Jason) up.

"So, you're Marinette? I'm Dick Grayson, Jason's older brother. I assume you're his girlfriend?”

She smiled, “You are correct.”

“So… how'd you meet Jay?”

“Um, at school. A teacher paired us up on a project, and we got to know each other and liked what we saw.”

Bruce and Babs came in, discussing a new update to their filing system, and paused when they saw the visitors.

Jason stood up. “Cass, I know you're here somewhere, so since we're all here I'm only going to say this once: This is Marinette, my girlfriend. I expect nothing, but I hope you'll be polite since she's the reason we're even here in the first place.”

The family eyed Marinette after Jason's declaration until Steph broke the silence.

“These waffles are so good, Marinette! You said you made them yourself?”

“I did, Jason told me you all liked waffles. He helped, of course.”

“They're amazing. Do you bake a lot?”

“I stress bake, and I grew up in a bakery, so I know how to make a lot of baked goods.”

“Welcome, Marinette. I'm Jason's father, Bruce. It's nice to meet you,” Bruce smiled at her but she could see him calculating. “Do I detect a French accent?”

“It's a pleasure to meet you as well, monsieur. And yes, you do. I'm from Paris. I moved here last summer for my final school year.”

Switching the focus from her, she casually asked as she took a sausage from the plate Cass handed her, “Jay hasn't told me much about his family, beyond you being loud and crazy, so I'm looking forward to getting to know you all. What sort of hobbies do you have?”

Dick cleared his throat. “I'm an acrobat, and I teach gymnastics and aerial skills at a gym in Bludhaven some days. I also like solving puzzles, like most of the rest of us. Timmy is pretty good at computer games and stuff like that,” he nudged his brother jovially.

“Oh, do you know UMSIII?” Marinette leaned forwards eagerly to face Tim.

“Jay refuses to play with me anymore.”

“You don't even leave me a chance, Pix,” he grumbled under his breath and she smiled sweetly at him.

“I've heard of it,” Tim acknowledged. “I take it you play? We mostly have MarioKart marathons in this house.”

“Oh, nice!” Marinette turned to Alfred. “Your French Toast is delicious, Monsieur Alfred.”

“Thank you, Miss Marinette. Perhaps we could exchange some recipes later?”

“I'd love to!” she grinned at him and looked at Damian, who was clearly eyeing her for nefarious intentions. “And I don't believe we've been introduced yet, I'm Marinette.”

“Damian,” he grunted, sounding like a mini-Bruce. “Do you like animals?”

“I do! Unfortunately, I never got a pet because I lived above a bakery, so for health and hygiene reasons it wasn't feasible, but I love playing with them when I can."

“I will introduce you to Titus, Alfred the Cat, and Batcow after brunch if you desire,” he said stiffly.

“I'd love to meet your pets, thank you for offering!”

“So you attend GA with Jason?” Babs asked, finally speaking up now that most of the Bats had their mouths full of food.

“Yes. We were both the only new transfer students this year, so we had some camaraderie. We have most of the same classes together, which is nice.”

The inquisition calmed after that and normal conversation flowed, but all in all, it was the most subdued family meal the Wayne table had seen in a while.

After breakfast, Alfred requested Jason's help with the dishes, presumably to interrogate him, and Damian kidnapped Marinette to meet his pets.

Titus absolutely loved her and became her new best friend. Damian was surprised at his Great Dane's reaction since Titus was normally wary of strangers until he okayed them.

Even Alfred the Cat warmed up to her quickly, possibly smelling the Camembert on her from when she'd fed Plagg before coming for brunch.

“What are your intentions with my brother?” Damian inquired as he led Marinette to Batcow's stable out back.

She smiled slightly at his protectiveness and replied, “I have no intentions with him beyond making him happy. I hope that means we stay together for a very long time, maybe eventually marry, but if we agree that he's better off without me...then I'll go. I don't think that will happen, though."

“I approve of your commitment. Father also wants to talk with you, I believe. Once Batcow has sufficient pets, I shall escort you to Father’s office.”

“Thank you, Damian. Oh, hello, Batcow! Aren’t you gorgeous, petit vache,” she cooed.

•○•○•○•

Damian showed Marinette the way to Bruce’s office, and she stepped inside when he bid her enter.

“I must admit I was quite surprised when Jason showed up for family brunch this morning, and even brought a guest,” Bruce started as soon as she sat in the comfy leather chair before his desk.

“Jason hasn’t been…very active with our family, lately. I believe I have you to thank for encouraging his visit?”

“He told me he was quite angry with you for constantly calling him away on our dates, and he worried he’d set your progress back months. I do hope that’s not the case.”

Bruce noticed a cold edge to Marinette’s previously polite, warm tone.

“Of course not, I was merely confused at his sudden anger. I didn't know he was dating anyone. I can give you my word that it certainly wasn’t a targeted attack against him or your relationship.”

“Good. I think we should all get on well, then. Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?”

“...No. Thank you for your time, and for coming for brunch with Jason. I’m quite pleased to have met you.”