#jasonette fluff

[mochegato]

Absolutely Smitten

Jason was beginning to regret his decisions.  Not just the ones that led him to his current predicament, but all of them.  Because only a massively dysfunctional historic pattern of decision making could result in this catastrophic situation from which there was no escape, at least not one he had found.  And he had been looking.  Don’t think a quick death hadn’t been considered, preferred even.  But at this point, quick was out of the question.

He dropped his head into his hand as they came to an abrupt stop, wishing the floorboard of the car would disappear and take him with so he wouldn’t have to face any more loathsome glares.  Glares to which there were no barrier because he’d allowed Dick to convince him they should take the convertible.  ‘It’s safer in Metropolis,’ he’d argued.  ‘How often do we get to do this?”  Clearly, too often.

Yet somehow, the glares seemed to have absolutely no effect on anybody else in the car.  And he absolutely refused to threaten to turn the car around again.  Dick was the geezer not him, damn it.  But he was not above begging.  “Will you please shut up for the love of all that is holy.”

“We are on our way to a Jagged Stone concert and you have a problem with his songs?” Dick teased, taking a short break for his own overdramatic interpretation of ‘You Are the Donut of my Life’ on order to torment his brother.

Jason had to lean forward to dodge away from Dick’s hands coming for his face, but he ended up leaning closer to Roy in the passenger seat who took the opportunity to pull him into a side hug, or rather pull him down and mess with his hair.  He shoved him away with a grunt and stepped on the accelerator at the green light.  “Not his songs.  Your caterwauling.  You’re tormenting half of Metropolis.”  He shot a pointed look to Duke in the rearview mirror.  “I expected better of you.”

“Don’t know why,” he snorted just before joining Roy and Dick in belting out the final lyrics.

Jason sighed and stepped on the gas.  The quicker he got to the arena, the quicker he could end this and pretend like he didn’t know them in the mosh pit.  His sigh turned into a groan when he was immediately with another red light.  What was worse was another car had now pulled up to their left, a car with a few guys, girls, and one gorgeous stunner in the passenger seat.

He breathed out a sigh of relief at the silence and shot her a dashing smile, a smile which widened at the blush that dusted her cheeks and the shy smile that graced her lips.  He opened his mouth to say something but before he could get the words out the opening chords of Trocaderock suddenly echoed down the street.  His smile strained as his treacherous passengers started singing again.  Not just singing, full on serenading the car next to them, wild gestures, reaching for them, impassioned inflections, and all.  He watched as the woman’s face morphed from shy to surprise to amusement.

“I’m sorry about them,” he called to her trying to be heard over them.  “I wish I could say sorry, they’re just drunk, but they’re not.  That’s just… them.”

Her smile brightened, the giggle she let out loud enough to be heard over the yowling right up until her friends joined in at which point her giggles turned into full blown laughter, lighting up her entire face as her eyes crinkled at the edges.  She took a moment to settle, but the smile continued to grace her lips.  “Same with mine.  But it makes life more fun,” she shrugged.

“Yeah, fun.  Sure,” he grumbled but eyed the rest of his car dramatically until she laughed again.

“You don’t sing?” she asked innocently.

He grimaced and shook his head.  “Like an angel.  It’s too powerful.  It would blow everyone away.”  He preened at the brilliant smile she responded with.

He kept eye contact as he accelerated slowly, making sure to keep pace with their car, until he had to return his eyes to the road, mostly because she pointed ahead of him and mouthed the word ‘road’ with a bemused smile, a smile, he would like to note, that was still there every single one of the many times he glanced over at her.

“Hey,” Dick called across to them.  “You guys going to the concert?”

“Yeah,” the woman in orange tips and glasses called back.  “You?”

“Us too.  We’re in the pit right in front of the stage.  You?” Roy yelled, not at all subtly looking between Jason and the woman with a sly grin.

“Us too!” a blonde man called back from the driver’s seat, a matching grin on his face as he looked pointedly at the woman.  “Guess we’ll see you there,” he promised before peeling off to the left.

“This concert is about to be a lot more interesting,” Duke smirked.

As promised, when they got through security, got their drinks, and made their way to the pit area, the occupants of the other car were already there, but Jason frowned as he approached them.  Not that they didn’t seem like fine people, but the only person he was really interested in seeing from their car wasn’t there.

He craned his neck to search the area with almost singular purpose, but aware enough to shove Dick away by the head for snickering at him and almost smacked Duke upside the head for nudging him with that smug smirk of his until he saw what Duke was pointing at, the woman trying to push her way through the crowd to get to her friends.  However, she was having a bit of difficulty due to her size.  Instead of the slap he had been anticipating, he patted Duke on the chest and pushed his way over to her.

“Need an assist,” he asked with his most roguish smile.

“Hey, Handsome Stranger” she grinned.  The expression on her face when she saw him, not just relief but excitement, made his chest puff out to accommodate his swelling heart.

“Hey, Pretty Lady” he grinned back.  “Come on, your friends are this way.  I’m Jason by the way.”  He didn’t even have to push through the crowd to get them back, the people parted as soon as they saw him coming.

“Ahh, so I should call you Jason instead of ‘my hero’?”  Her voice was cheeky and cheerful and it somehow made his already wide smile even wider.

He hadn’t smiled this much in years.  He ushered her ahead of him by the small of her back, his fingers tingling from the contact and his brain buzzing from the fact that she was not only letting him, but leaning into it.  “Oh, you can call me anything you want, Pixie Pop, just as long as you call me.”

She squeaked and hid her face in her hand, only removing it to wave to her friends as they approached, but her blush was so prevalent, it ran all the way down to the collar of her shirt.  “There you are, Marinette!” her friend with pink hair cheered.  She looked Jason over, her eyes lingering on the placement of his hand with a knowing smirk.  “And you come bearing gifts.”  She waggled her eyebrows at the two of them, very clearly enjoying embarrassing her friend.

“How did it go?” her blonde friend asked.  “Everything fine?”

“Yep, crisis averted,” she nodded.

“You good?” Jason asked carefully.  His eyes wandered over her thoroughly but efficiently.

“Not my crisis,” she assured him.  “Not a crisis at all, actually, just a drama king.”

“Awww look how smitten he is,” he heard Duke coo somewhere behind them.

Jason nodded to Marinette.  “Good to hear it.  Give me just a sec.”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the only thing he had in that pocket, a handful of coins, throwing it at Duke without breaking eye contact with her.

Marinette giggled at his move but turned away when the backup band took the stage.  Jason took the opportunity to step up behind her and lean down close enough for her to hear him among the din of the crowd.  “So, you going to sing this time?  You never did say if you like to sing.”

She grinned and leaned a bit closer to him without taking her eyes off the stage.  “I sing all the time... and very off key, but my dancing... that is also bad.  But I have never let that stop me from having fun.”  She finally turned her face to meet him with a teasing smirk over her shoulder.  “What about your dancing?  Do you also dance like an angel?”

He hummed and let his eyes roam her face.  “No, there’s nothing angelic about the way I dance and rarely in public.”

Her blush raged across her face again, but she refused to break eye contact.  “You just going to stand there stoically then?”

“Might be persuaded.”  His voice dipped down, as did his eyes to her lips for just a moment before lifting back up to her eyes.

They kept eye contact until the area around them shook with the reverberations of the guitar flowing through the arena and drew all eyes to the stage, some more slowly than others.

Marinette proved herself to be honest though not terribly coordinated over the next several songs as she sang and danced with her friends along with Jagged Stone, though to be fair, nobody was really dancing so much as jumping around just like her.  She didn’t take a break until he played one of his slower songs.  But no matter how high she lifted herself up onto her tip toes craning her neck to see the stage, she couldn’t make herself tall enough to see over the crowd and after a few moments, she gave up the hope of seeing anything until the song changed and she could start jumping again.

“Need another assist?” Jason whispered into her ear.

She blinked at the words.  It took her brain a few moments to get past the feeling of his chest against her back and his breath on her neck and ear, and process what he had said.  “What?”  She was going to need a few more moments.

She absolutely had not expected Jason to pick her up and set her on his shoulders like lifting a pillow.  “Better, Pixie Pop?” he asked, but the lilt to his voice made it clear he was teasing her.

“Yes,” she acknowledged shyly.  After a moment she cleared her throat and smirked down at him.  “Glad to see you’re living up to the hero moniker.”

He wrapped his hand around her thighs, ostensibly to secure her position, but really more to feel her bare skin under his hands.  He grinned at the yelp she let out and slight jump.  “I just want to make sure you’re enjoying the show.”

“Oh, um, yep, en… enjoying the show.”  It took a few moments before she eased her muscles again and began swaying to the beat of the song.  It didn’t take much longer before Jason followed her lead rocking to the music as well.  “So, you do dance,” she teased.

He immediately stopped and tightened his laxed grip on her thighs.  “I'm not dancing,” he insisted.  “Your dancing is shifting my balance.  Just trying to keep you safe.”

She took a few seconds to respond, during which time, Jason could almost feel the incredulous look he knew she was shooting him.  “Huh, it's a very rhythmic shift.  Almost like it's a pattern of smooth movements.”

“So, you think I'm smooth?” he asked overly sweetly as he adjusted his hands and let his thumbs rub circles on the outside of her thighs.

She shook her head.  “Oh, I know you are,” she whispered breathily.

The music shifted tempo again and Jason carefully lifted her off his shoulders and set her down gently.  She turned and met his eyes as everyone around them started bouncing and singing loudly to the song, all of it melding into the background as their gazes intensified until Marinette suddenly got bumped into Jason.  His arms started to circle around her until her friend with the orange tips almost tackled Marinette from the side.  “It’s Mirockulous!” she yelled and pulled Marinette closer to the stage.

Unfortunately, between her friends pulling her in different directions and Jason trying to figure out if Jagged Stone really was staring at him suspiciously from the stage or if he was making it up in his head, they stayed separated until the end of the concert.  But the moment it ended, he intended to search for her, but as it had turned out, he hadn’t needed to because Marinette almost instantly appeared in front of him having pushed her way through the crowd to get to him.  He grinned brilliantly.  “Hey there, Pretty Lady.  Missed you.”

She took the last few steps to him, stopping just short of touching him.  Her arms twitched, almost like she wanted to reach for him, and he really, really wanted her to, almost to the point of reaching for her himself.  “Hey, Handsome Stranger,” she grinned back.  “The last part wasn’t nearly as fun without you.”

Dick popped up next to Jason, slinging his arm over his shoulder to smile at her and her friends who had wandered over to them.  “We were going to find somewhere to get some grub.  You guys up for it?”

Marinette met Jason’s eyes; her eyebrow raised in question.  “How about a trade?” he offered without breaking eye contact.  “You can give the one making eyes at your friend a ride,” he shoved Duke toward Marinette’s blonde friend, “and we can give Marinette a ride?”  Jason didn’t wait for the others to respond, at Marinette’s nod, he grinned and took her hand leading her out of the venue.  He silently congratulated himself.  Clearly, his decisions lately had been the best decisions of his life.

[lily-drake]

Master List Part 1

I finally have my own laptop so now I can officially do this!

Master List Part 2

Timari

BioSibling!Timari:

Siblings Don't Shake Hands...: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Stay With Me Now

Romantic!Timari:

Happy Birthday Tim!

Hiding in the Blue

Let's Play a Game

Red is My Favorite Color

Escapé

Hide and Seek: Part 1 Part 2 Bargain: Part 1 Part 2

Ditched and Hitched: Part 1 Part 2

Platonic!Timari

The Bird's Baby Bug: Part 1 Part 2

Mistake?

Jasonette

Biosibling!Jasonette:

Happy Birthday Jason!

You Think We're WHAT?!

Peter and His Pixie: Part 1 Part 2

Platonic!Jasonette:

Unexpected Discoveries Lead to...: Part 1 Part 2

It's a Learned Trait

Romantic!Jasonette:

Stars

One of Us Has to Die

Daminette

Romantic!Daminette:

The Floor is Out to Get Me

Kiss the gir-NO!

The Blessed and Cursed

Who Do You Think You Are?!

Robin Hood and His Treasure

Found Family

Forced

Fear Me: Part 1 Part 2

Betrothed: Part 1 Part 2 (What-if ending [non-canon])

The Demon's Queen: Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25

BioDad!Daminette:

Mommy, Daddy Look! BioFamily!Daminette:

Cousin

Grumpy Cat/Fairytale

Stab or be Stabbed

Photograph

Why Can't Bats Rest in Peace? Part 1 Part 2 Surface Pressure: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Trust Must be Earned: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 LettersPart 8 Part 9

[official-timari-server]

Welcome to the Timari Servers first Live Event

Shutterbug Station

There are two teams, Angst v. Fluff, and only you all can decide who shall be the true victor.

On each day a prompt will be revealed that corresponds with either Angst or Fluff depending on the day. Your goal is to create something that fulfills the prompt!

Trauma Train Tuesdays are dedicated to Angst prompts while Fluff Freight Fridays are for Fluff with some bonus prompts sprinkled in!

We’re aware full calendars can be daunting and too much for people so this gives people a chance at a break while also keeping them on their feet when the day arrives for their prompt to be revealed and gives them time to complete their prompts.

Choose which team you wish to support (you are allowed to join both), make content for them, and post! If you post it on the day their prompt is revealed, you’ll get an additional 5 points.

Guidelines:

• You do not have to sign up to join

• To be counted, all works must be submitted with links in the provided form X

• You do not need to be in the server to participate! Just tag correctly, add fics to the ao3 collection, and be sure to submit the link in the form for it to be counted

• While we are a Timari Server and would love more Timari content, we are aware of the constraints of that and absolutely support other pairing submissions

• Any creative works are accepted

• Label your works correctly

• Follow the prompts, but each person is given 10 free cards (10 things can be submitted that do not use the prompts)

• You can join at any time!

Rules, Guidelines, and Scoring can be found here (X)

Ao3 Collection can be found here (X)

Live Tracker can be found here (X)

Submission Form can be found here (X)

Server Link can be found here (X)

Tags:

Ao3 : #Shutterbug Station 2024  #MSS2024

Tumblr :  #MSS2024 #Shutterbug Station 2024

Insta :  #ShutterbugStation2024

(M for Maribat)

@official-timari-server for reblogging!

Contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns!

[freedom-shamrock]

I’ve finally posted the first chapter of that Jasonette piece I’ve been playing with.  I’ve got a couple more written, and I’m hoping being ahead of the game will mean I can get it finished without leaving you hanging.

Chapters: 1/6 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug, Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Jason Todd, Jonathan Samuel Kent/Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jonathan Samuel Kent Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Damian Wayne, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Luka Couffaine Additional Tags: Neighbors to Friends, Found Family, Healing, Eventual Romance, Guardian of the Miraculous Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Miraculous Magic Marinette, Lazarus Pit Side Effects (DCU), Lazarus Pit Madness (DCU), PTSD, Identity Reveal, Jasonette Summary:

Marinette is in her early 20s and has moved to Gotham to study business and design. Hawkmoth had been defeated a few years earlier and she's embraced her opportunities to heal herself and others. Her neighbors Jon and Damian have become more of found family. Who doesn't love swing dance, cookies, and a little bit of pit madness?

[paintball-writes]

Masterlist

I've been meaning to make one, and I finally had the motivation today.

Last Updated - [23-11-2024]

All of my fics are posted only on ao3, and I'm only including the fics that are currenltly ongoing/completed. There are several fics that I've written, but I'm going to rewrite them someday. And until that say comes, they won't be on this list jsksjks.

Oneshots will be on top of every section.

DCU

Love doesn't require memories

Timbern, Temporary Amnesia, Thirsty Tim Drake

“You’ve been hit with magic.” He says, in a typical bruce fashion, with a deep voice but also some underlying worry in his voice. “Oh,” Tim says nonchalantly, “Do you know which spell?” “Not exactly.” Bruce says, and crosses his arms and watches as Tim struggles to get up from the stretcher. He throws his father a dirty look when he hears muffled chuckles upon another failed attempt. “It’s some sort of amnesia spell,” Bruce says, “Since you clearly remember me and haven’t freaked out about being in a dark cave yet, I’m going to assume you have not completely forgotten everything. Zatanna says it was some sort of selective amnesia, but she’s not sure. We’ll just need to wait and see.” Alternatively, Tim Drake forgets Bernards because of a magic spell, and immediately decides to thirst over him.

[oneshot] [4,914 words]

Maribat

The Silver Lining (Series)

based on my other fic Commissioner Gordon To The Rescue!

Behind the Enemy Lines

Siblings Jasonette (not until the later chapters), Angst

“Hawkmoth’s creativity needs some serious help,” Queen Bee grumbled as she landed on the Eiffel Tower. Viperion snickered quietly at her complaint. Raising an eyebrow at her, he asked, “How so?” Queen Bee rolled her eyes and gestured wildly as if it was obvious, “Well for starters, those names that old geezer comes up with are just ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, along with the eyesores he calls their ‘villain’ costumes. Seriously, they look absolutely disgusting. Plus his actual creativity strikes at the worst times.” Groaning, Chat Noir slumped against the railing as he muttered, “I know right? I was looking forward to getting some actual sleep tonight.” --- Heroes of Paris need help, and luckily, Marinette knows someone that knows Batman. It goes about as well as you expect it.

[6/?] [16,837 words]

Timari

Brews and Blues

Timari, Coffee Shop AU, Fluff & Angst

“Do you think I could trick him to sleep?” She asks Noelle as soon as Tim is out of the earshot. “You could,” Noelle responds slowly, “I’m sure we’ve got Chamomile somewhere around here.” As Marinette starts brewing the tea, Noelle slowly starts with a sly grin, “So,” she says, grin growing larger, “Drugging your crush on the first day? Isn’t that cruel?” - Tim Drake is in Paris on behalf of Batman to investigate Supernatural activities. Marinette is an aspiring fashion designer who is working at Coccinelle Brews. One faithful evening in a small cafe on the corner of some block, Marinette decides to trick Tim to sleep and it just goes downhill from there.

[3/?] [5,973 words]

O Merciless Beloved Of Mine

Unrequited Lukanette, Timari, Angst, Hanahaki

Love hurts because it’s like walking through fires, but doing it willingly again and again, even if it’s burning every shred of skin in your body. Like a part of your soul has been ripped away, leaving a void that echoes with their absence. Love hurts because it’s like reaching for the stars, knowing that they’ll just be out of your grasp. Love hurts because the person you love is in love with someone else. It’s like standing in the pouring rain, watching them dance in the sunlight with someone else. You feel every drop of pain, every pang of jealousy, as they bask in the warmth of another’s affection. You try to shield yourself from the storm, but the rain seeps through, drenching you in sorrow. Yet, you stay rooted in place, unable to tear your eyes away from the sight of their happiness. Love hurts because it’s not always reciprocated, leaving you stranded in a downpour of unfulfilled desires and unspoken longings.

[oneshot] [20,324 words]

The Love that he deserves

Timari, Soulmate AU, lots of Angst

You fall a lot. The marks are ugly.   Tim is nine, when he first spots the dark splotches on his arm. He can barely make them out as a nine year old, the words scribbled on his arm. He first thought they were more bruises, but their placement urge him to look again.  He recognizes the letters, but he cannot make out the words. He can read them, but the words don’t make sense to him. It was like he was reading an entirely different language.  Words were too uneven, it couldn't have been written by anyone in his class.That's when he realized it was a message, a message from somewhere else.  Someone else. 

[oneshot] [29,227 words]

Dickinette

Marinette's guide on How to get a (Fake) date

Dickinette, Fake Dating

Marinette loves Dick, Dick loves Marinette. Marinette takes things in her hands.

[oneshot] [1,644 words]

It’s not real (Maybe it is)

Dickinette, Angst

Marinette stared at the note that sat on her desk, innocently, with a rose on top of it. It had to be for someone else. Not for her. Someone like her didn't deserve the beautiful words written in the note. Whoever it was meant for, was gonna love it.

[oneshot] [1,601 words]

Bludhaven's Guardian Angel

Dickinette

Marinette is sweet, Marinette is kind. Their first meeting goes something like Dick bleeding out in her apartment. Dick learns a total of three things from this encounter: One, she's abolutely freaking gorgeous. Two, she's really kind, considering she helped out a bleeding vigilante laying in her house. And three, she might actually be harbouring one of the most dangerous secrets known to mankind. From there, it kinda just spirals from one thing to another, not that Dick's complaining. He's actually very happy and grateful.

[1/?] [2,630 words]

Daminette

Ghosts of the Past

Daminette

With a deep breath to steady her nerves, Marinette met Damian's gaze head-on, her own frustration simmering beneath the surface. "We used to live together," Damian's words echoed in her mind, stirring up memories of their shared past. But those memories were overshadowed by the complexities of their present circumstances. "Are you telling me that staying the night in the same place is too close a proximity for us to share?" Damian's tone was tinged with irritation, his impatience evident. Marinette fought to keep her composure, her resolve hardening as she squared her shoulders. "Yes," she wanted to say.

[3/?] [5,051 words]

Adrien/Batboy

Free flowers paid off

Adrien/Damian, Fluff

"No money again today?" Adrien asks, peering curiously at them. "Nope!" Surprisingly, it's Helena that happily answers Adrien. "Sorry," Mar'i mumbles. Looks like it's time to pay for another bouquet. At this point, he'd be thoroughly surprised if the kids ever managed to actually pay for the bouquets they keep buying for their babysitter. [In which Adrien's a florist who keeps paying for the bouquets the cute children keep buying for their babysitter. And then he meets the babysitter, and it's very much love at first sight for Adrien.]

[oneshot] [4,689 words]

Home is where the heart is

Tim/Adrien, Angst, Neglectful Batfam

Tam's voice hardened, "Tim, Did you triy to jump?" Tim ducked his head and continued, “They wouldn’t care if I died, they wouldn’t.” “That’s not true,” she whispered as if she didn’t believe her own words, and honestly, Tim couldn’t blame her. “Tim, where are you?” She asked again, “I’m coming to get you.” “...You can’t,” he whispered, “ You can’t come to get me. ‘m in Paris.” Prompt: You promised the world and I fell for it. Tim ends up in Paris with nothing left, and when an Akuma pushes him, he breaks.

[9/?] [13,408 words]

[mae-dwrites]

Events

Featured: Jasonette July • Shutterbug Station • Mayday • Malachite Milestones

Links under the cut <3

Jasonette July 2022 (Ao3)

Aim

Target

Strike

Jasonette July 2024 (Ao3)

Misbehavin’ - D2 - R

Protector - D3 - R

Unsteady - D4 - P

One Thing Right - D10 - P

Home - D21 - R

From The Grave - D28 - P

Shutterbug Station 2024

Bonus Day 1: Meme - Chloé/Jason

Angst Day 1: Meme - Chloé/Jason

Angst Day 3: Meme - Chloé/Jason

Fluff Day 3: Meme - Alley Cat

Final Bonus Day: Fanfiction - Angst - Tim Drake & Zoé Lee

Final Angst Day: Fanfiction - Tim Drake & Zoé Lee

1 of 10 no prompt: Fanfiction - Angst - Zoé Lee/Jon Kent, Chloé Bourgeois, Damian Wayne

Mayday 2024 (Ao3)

Poem 1: Meet an Eclipse

Poem 2: Coffee Haven

Poem 3: More than a bump

Poem 4: Follow, My Life

Poem 5: The Night We Met

Malachite Milestones Event (Mae’s Version) 2024 (Ao3) (Wattpad)

Ring

Scratchy

Could we?

Shutterbug Scoops 2024 | Note: Cross-Submitted with the Malachite Milestones Event | (Ao3) (Wattpad)

Ring

Scratchy

Could we?

Summerween Special 2024 | (Ao3) (Wattpad)

B5 - Chapter 1 of Coffee Stains and Leaky Pens

C2 - Chapter 2 of Coffee Stains and Leaky Pens

Adribat October 2024 | (Ao3) (Wattpad)

Day 5 - Jack O’ Lanterns - fanart

Day 26 - Hot Beverages. - fanart

The Birds & The Bees March 2025 | Week 9th - 15th | Note: Links to be added soon following posting

Sunday, March 9th:

Blood Bee | Chloé Bourgeois / Damian Wayne

Mood Board

Chapter 1 of Words Sweet as Honey, Eyes Sharp as a Blade. | Also for prompt “Sweet as Honey”

Robin

Chapter 1 of Fighting Without Oxygen - A Zoé Lee, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne centric fic, following Bruce’s Death.

Monday, March 10th:

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Tuesday, March 11th:

Hanahaki / Flowers

Mood Board - Zoé Lee / Conner Kent

Raven

Zoé Lee / Rachel “Raven” Roth - One-Shot

One-Shot Loading...

Wednesday, March 12th:

“Beauty is in the Eye of the Beeholder”

Mood Board - Chloé Bourgeois / Jon Kent

Thursday, March 13th:

Wonder Wasp | Zoé Lee / Cassie Sandsmark

Mood Board

Friday, March 14th:

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Saturday, March 15th:

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[maribat-media]

Maribat Media Poll Sunday Tuesday! #3/4

Can we just act like it's Sunday? No one will notice...

@dcmiracles is the blog putting on this event and they plan on doing others in the future! Give them a follow! They are open for any questions surrounding the event!

Feel free to leave questions here as well!

Reblog Challenge: Mention wherever you feel comfortable (tags or reblog message) the things that excite you about this event! Try to go further than just mentioning which days you like the most. Hype up each other!

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Paris' Protector

by Nory_Gail Jason was expecting more when Bruce and him went to Paris for a mission! Crepes, kicking butt, no school... but he's gotten none of it so far! At least his classmates are nice, most of them at least.   Jasonette July Day 3: Protector Words: 3279, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 45 of Maribat Multitude Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, Batman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Jason Todd, Lila Rossi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Bruce Wayne, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Caline Bustier Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Jason Todd Additional Tags: Jason Todd is Robin, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Paris (City), Mentioned Caline Bustier's Class, Post-Episode: s01 Le Dessinateur | The Evillustrator, Jason Todd-centric, Jason Todd is Bad at Feelings, High School, Budding Love, Crushes, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush, Unrequited Crush, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Has a Crush, Requited Love, Love Triangles, Prompt Fic, Fluff, Some Plot, Lila Rossi Lies, Evil Lila Rossi via https://ift.tt/NyVDjRh

[velveteenshadow]

Writing Patterns Game!

I saw the lovely @abyssal-ali throw out the at to anyone who wants to so I figured why not!

These are all Maribat fics!

10: Lackluster Apologies (Gen)

"How was I supposed to know, Adrien?"

9: We Didn't Start The Dumpster Fire (Timari)

Marinette points her head up as she sniffs the air, instantly regretting it.

8: The Phoenix Five (Gen {at least thus far})

To say the waters were calm, would be the farthest lie one could conjure.

7: Secrets of the Shutterbug (Timari)

Tim slowly backtracks when he sees Bart and Jason laughing with a laptop open.

6: Prodigious Denial Defying Diary (Bio-Mom)

Dear Diary,    Today marks my first writing in hopes that these words reach her.

5: Speedy Rebound From Uncertainty (Found Family)

What would his siblings say if he told them the truth?

4: A Bittersweet Prelude (Gen {Ship in Pt 2})

‘Nothing can beat the strike of a sword.

3: Split Second Chance of a Freeze Frame (Rare Pair, Lukabara aka Luka Couffaine x Barbara Gordon)

Life has the worst ways of showing you what you never thought would happen in any of the multitude of universes out there.

2: You Can Ring My Bell (Timari)

“Gettin' deep…” (I swear this one is Family Friendly)

1: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (Platonic Timari with OC character focus)

Now, there were plenty of things that Scarlet Morningstar has experienced.

Hmm... it's interesting to see how all my starting lines have a nice punch to them in some way, shape or form.

Bonus Below!

Here are the 6 starting lines of my poems thus far for the Shutterbug Station Event!

(They are in order of posting)

1: Red Robin's Rapture (Rare Pair, Tim/Adrien)

"Stay with me a little longer" Tim cried out as the lights dim in his eyes.

2: Anything For My Lady (Gen, Adrien & Mari)

Solitary Confinement can the worst. Too much time with nothing to do.

3: Windy Wonders (Rare Pair, Jay/Adrien aka Alley Cat)

Strawberry Blonde Tall, Handsome, Mysterious

4: Time Passes On (Rare Pair, Bart/Adrien)

Silence Ticking of a clock

5: Marinette's Hidden Talent (Jasonette)

In the depths,

Can one really find one missing out?

6: Lonesome Moonlight Waiting For The Clouds To Clear (Rare Pairs, Tim/Adrien and Bart/Adrien)

Stay with me a little longer Tim I cannot help myself Loving you is all I need

All of the above include the prompt, "Stay With Me A Little Longer" while 5 and 6 include the prompt, "I Can't Say I'm Sorry" as well!

If you are curious about where the prompts came from, check out the Shutterbug Station event and consider joining us on the Timari Discord where we have been hyping it up! It's a great place for Timari lovers and those who are following the Angst V Fluff event!

https://discord.gg/mDmTHPNKyj

[mochegato]

Sugar Baby Blues

“Where is she,” Zoe wondered aloud for what had to be the fifth time in the last five minutes.

Marinette giggled and clasped her hand to ground her.  “Zoe, she’s only a few minutes late.  She said she’d be here any second.”

“Yeah, but that was like ten minutes ago, and honestly with Sandy,” she rolled her eyes, “she’s worse than you used to be and I’m hungry,” she teased.

Marinette gasped in mock offense and swiped playfully at her.  “I am much better, thank you very much!”

“I know,” she crowed, “that’s why I said ‘used to be’ not currently are.”  They glared at each other, trying to stare the other into submission, but both broke down into giggles after just a few moments.  They were laughing so hard, they completely missed the limo that pulled up in front of them.

“Zoe!” a blonde-haired woman, who Marinette had to assume was Sandy, squealed as she launched herself out of the limo and into Zoe’s arms.

“Sandy!” Zoe squealed, matching Sandy’s excitement.  They both made the same noise as they hugged, jumping around in a circle in their excitement.  “I missed you so much!  It’s so good to see you!  You look amazing!”  Zoe gushed all of it out in less than 10 seconds and at a decibel that Marinette had a hard time hearing.

“Oh my God!  I missed you too.  You have to tell me everything about Paris and your life there!  You look so good too!  But I have to give credit to my Daddy for my look,” she preened and fluffed her hair as she posed for Zoe.  “He buys me the best things.”

“Your dad?” Zoe asked.  Her eyes shot to Marinette in confusion.  “But I thought you didn’t talk to…”

“No,” Sandy waved her off like the very idea disturbed her inner peace, “not my dad, my Daddy.  My Sugar Daddy.  Come on, he’s in the car.  I’m dying for you to meet him.”  She started pulling Zoe toward the car but froze after a step and turned to Marinette.  “Oh!  Oh my God!  I’m so rude.  I’m sorry!  You must be Marinette.  Zoe has told me so much about you.”

Marinette smiled and waved awkwardly.  “Yep, that’s me.”  Her eyes flicked to Zoe who suddenly looked uncertain, but she took a breath and turned back to Sandy again.  “Zoe’s told me a lot about you too,” she offered kindly.  “It’s really nice to meet you.”

“Sandy,” Zoe started carefully, her eyes shot to Marinette for reassurance before continuing, “I thought it was just going to be us at lunch and after.”

“Oh, don’t worry!  Gary’s just joining us for lunch!” she reassured Zoe quickly, her voice full of excitement.  “He’ll drop us off at Times Square after lunch and he promised to let me use his credit card for our shopping.  But he knows the nicest places to eat so when I asked him where we should go and said I wanted to take some girlfriends out, he volunteered to go with us.”

“Oh, that was… nice,” Zoe faltered, finally able to settle on a neutral way to end the sentence.

“I know right!” Sandy gushed.  There was no indication she’d caught onto Zoe’s anxiousness.  “He’s the best Daddy ever.  Come on,” she motioned them toward the door.  “We don’t want to be late.  Daddy doesn’t like being late.”

“Right,” Zoe nodded.  She shot Marinette an apologetic glance before following Sandy into the car.  Marinette sighed and followed Zoe into the limo.

Once she got in, it became clear Sandy had left out a few significant details and Marinette instantly wished they’d decided not to get in, because not only was Gary there, who she assumed was the man in the main seat Sandy had cuddled up to, but there were four other men in the car as well.  All five of the men were in dark, poorly tailored suits, which she could tell without looking very hard, hid guns in shoulder holsters.  The four men’s expressions matched their dour suits.  Their eyes had a hard, emotionless set to them, and their mouths fixed into neutral flat lines.

She turned to Zoe with wide eyes, hoping she was picking up the same thing as Marinette, but Zoe was watching the way her friend and Gary interacted with poorly disguised distaste.  Marinette had no choice but to grin and push past the four men, sitting two by two on the side benches, to get the seat facing backward.  She looked past the partition to see the chauffeur, accidentally catching his eyes in the rear-view mirror.

To her surprise, his eyes were not devoid of emotion like the other men’s were.  Instead, his vibrantly blue eyes looked almost confused at seeing her there until one eyebrow rose into something like a question.  She gave a crooked smile back and shrugged.  The question he was trying to ask was still a mystery to her but whatever it was, a shrug felt like the right answer.  It was the answer to so many questions someone could ask right then.

Somehow, that small interaction made her feel significantly more confident about the situation.  She could handle this.  This was nothing.  It was a lunch and then she wouldn’t have to see any of these men again.  She could do that.  She’d had dinner with Adrien’s dad… and his mom, not to mention Zoe’s mom.  If she could survive them, this would be a breeze.

Her resolve was shaken the moment she looked up and had the unfortunate experience of meeting Gary’s eyes.  He looked her and Zoe over like a predator, actually licking his lips at one point.  His lips curled up into a wolfish smile.  “So, who’re your… friends, Baby?”

“Oh!”  Sandy brightened up and pulled away enough to motion toward Zoe and Marinette.  “This is my old friend Zoe.  We went to school together.  We haven’t seen each other in forever, but we were best friends.”  Marinette silently thanked the gods that Sandy had enough sense not to mention Zoe’s status, or rather her parents’ status.  There was no way that wouldn’t be dangerous information for a man like him to know.  “And this is her friend Marinette.  She’s visiting from Paris.”

“Ahh, the City of Love,” he leered.  He leaned forward and waggled his eyebrow.  “Maybe we can help you find love here.”

Marinette subconsciously leaned away, but her eyes widened at the offer, which the man apparently took as interest instead of the repulsion she actually felt as his grin widened.  “I’m actually hoping for more corporate pursuits for now,” she said tightly.

“Maybe we can help you with both,” he offered.  He shimmied forward in his seat, still too far away from her to actually make contact, but he very much looked like he wanted to.

Marinette almost shifted further into the corner but before she could, the car took a turn unnecessarily sharply, knocking him back into his seat.  “Hey!  Watch the turns, incompetent jackass.”  He leaned closer to one of the goons to whisper under his breath, “Never hire this guy as a fill-in again.  In fact, never use that agency again.”

Marinette gave the driver a grateful smile while Gary settled himself again.  “I’m good, thank you,” she stated firmly.  “I’m going to do it on my own.”

“It never hurts to have friends,” he chided.  He had the audacity to pout like she was hurting his feelings.

Her eyes moved from him to his goons slowly, uncomfortably before returning to him.  “It depends on the friend,” she said carefully.

Zoe grabbed her arm and edged closer.  “Marinette,” she warned, her voice was low enough for just Marinette to hear it.

“I can be very friendly,” he cooed.  His voice was so sickeningly sweet, it made her nauseous.  Combined with the utter disrespect he was showing Sandy, who clearly was not happy with the situation, Marinette couldn’t wait to get out of the car and breathe uncontaminated air.

She wanted to tell the creep that she was well familiar with the benefits of having the right friends because she had a friend who insisted on putting any new friends their group made through a thorough, slightly illegal… depending on the country, highly illegal in most countries, background check after the miraculous situation had blown up and they all discovered half of the parents and friends of parents were involved.  So he was welcome to become a friend and be exposed to that kind of check, but somehow, she didn’t think that would end well for her while she was contained in the small car with five hostiles.

She was saved from having to say anything by Sandy’s shrill squeak as she pulled a jewelry box out of Gary’s chest pocket and showed it to him.  “Is that for me, Daddy?”

He grabbed the box back and gave her a smarmy smile, though his eyes flicked to Marinette for a second.  “Of course, Baby,” he crooned in that same saccharine tone.  He held it out for her but pulled it away at the last second when she tried to grab it.  She giggled and reached for it again only to have it pulled away again.  They repeated the cycle a few times, Sandy giggling like it was a surprise each time.  Marinette shot Zoe an unimpressed look that Zoe returned, hers with a significantly more uncomfortable inflection at seeing her old friend behave that way.

When Sandy finally grasped the box, she had it open in a matter of seconds and gasped loudly, clutching it to her chest as she gave Gary a kiss on the cheek. “It’s beautiful, Daddy!  I love it!”  she gushed as she did a little dance in her seat.  She held the ostentatious diamond necklace out to show Zoe and Marinette.  “Isn’t it beautiful?  Thank you so much, Daddy.  Will you put it on me?”

“Of course, Baby,” he cooed.  He looked at Marinette and Zoe the entire time he was latching the clasp.  “It’s what I do for my friends.”

Marinette couldn’t stop herself from reacting that time.  She looked away and closed her eyes, forcing herself to take several long deep breaths as she edged closer to Zoe, trying to angle herself so she was almost in front of her, but Zoe wouldn’t let her do it.  She kept her right by her side but clasped her hand to make sure Marinette knew they were in it together.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to sit there long.  They arrived at the restaurant almost immediately after that.  If she hadn’t known better, she would have said the chauffeur had been speeding to get them there faster.  Someone opened the door from the outside and the four men on the sides filed out first, followed by Gary, then Sandy.  Zoe gave Marinette a significant look and a nod before following her out.

Marinette, however, hesitated before moving.  She needed a few seconds to calm herself down and build up her defenses before she could brave another extended period with Gary.  She let out a few long, deep breaths, counting to five on the inhale and five on the exhale.  “What have we gotten into this time?” she muttered to herself.

“You sure you want to go in there?”

Marinette jumped away from the partition, her hands flying to her chest.  She’d forgotten about the chauffer, which said something about how unthreatening she found him despite what she was positive were bulging muscles under his suit based off the way it settled against him.  Sometime while she was doing her breathing exercises, he’d turned around and settled his elbow on the partition to check on her.

When she met his eyes, she saw the concern but there was something else there, something surreptitious that should scare her, especially considering the kind of man he worked for, but didn’t.  His roguish smile didn’t hurt either.  It softened the sharp lines of his face, making him seem gentler than his scars indicated.  “No, but I’m not sure I have much of a choice,” she admitted, more honestly than she’d meant to be.

The charming grin dropped from his face and his eyes darted to the door and back to her in a microsecond.  “I can take you out of here,” he offered, his voice light in direct contrast to the weighted look he was giving her.

Marinette’s eyes traced the same path, to the door and him, but much slower than his did.  “I can’t do that,” she shook her head doubtfully.

“You don’t need to worry about him,” he assured her.  His hand rested gently on her arm and his eyes were steely, a reassurance that he meant what he said.  “I can get you out of here before he notices.”

She smiled softly at him and rested her hand on his but shook her head.  “I can’t leave my friend.  We’ll just try to get through this as quickly as possible and get out.  Won’t be our first dinner with a criminal.”

“You make a habit of dining with villains, do you?” he teased, but she could hear the edge of curiosity in her voice.

She huffed out a mirthless laugh but then let out a long-suffering breath.  “More than I care to remember.”

“If I can’t convince you otherwise, then just be careful,” he said, all teasing long gone.  There’s an exit through the kitchen, just past the bathrooms, a perfect cover if you want to get you and your friend out, and of course there’s the door in front.  The back is easier though, less men guarding it and they won’t give a few women a second glance, especially if you’re giggling.  Giggling women always get ignored.”  He squeezed her arm just enough to let her know he was serious about his concern, but it was the worried look in his eyes that made her breath catch in her chest.  “Get out, get to the far side of the alley, and start walking.  Don’t stop until you’re at your hotel or safe.”

His words struck completely through Marinette, setting her on edge.  There was something off in them.  It wasn’t a normal warning.  It was far too specific.  Either the man she was dining with had a history of violent meals or something was going to happen during this meal, and he knew.  She was just about to ask him about it when one of Gene’s men stuck his head into the car.  “Boss says to get into the restaurant.”

Marinette’s eyes instantly narrowed and her back stiffened rod straight.  “Excuse me?  I don’t work for your boss.  He can’t order me around.”

The chauffeur snorted lightly, just barely loud enough for Marinette to hear.  She wanted to shoot a glare at him, but the goon was her more immediate concern and she didn’t want to take her eyes off of him.  The goon glowered deeply at her and reached in to pull her out by force, but the chauffeur jumped into action, letting the limo jut forward just enough to throw the goon off balance.  “You sure about this?” the chauffeur asked under his breath.

She nodded determinedly.  “More than ever.  I can’t leave Zoe with men like that.”

He nodded but kept his eyes on the goon still trying to get up.  “Good luck then.  You better go before he sends more goons.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly and gave him one more timid smile before exiting the car.

><><><><><><><>< 

Dinner proceeded with little fanfare.  Dinners with the Agrestes and Zoe’s mom had actually set Marinette and Zoe up pretty well for dealing with Gary.  It was miserable, but manageable and since he’d apparently rented out the entire room, they didn’t have to suffer in front of anyone.  Of course, that also meant there was nobody there to appeal to if anything happened.  They just had to hope that nothing happened to make it worse than it already was.

The entire meal was filled with self-congratulatory, pompous pontificating.  The only time he asked them a question was to get their opinion of something he’d done, and even then, he started talking before they could answer.  And the only break from the egotistical monologue was to overtly flirt, more with Zoe and Marinette than Sandy, who had clearly noticed and did not appear to appreciate the slight in the least.

Marinette and Zoe had strategically seated themselves as far from Gary as they could.  Luckily, he’d chosen a massive table, so they were able to sit far away from him.  Unluckily, that position also put them in direct eyeline for him, meaning he could casually ogle them throughout the entire meal, which he seemed to take great pleasure in doing.

By the time the dinner was over, Marinette and Zoe were praying nobody ordered dessert so they could end their misery, but Sandy of all people, destroyed that hope ordering the chocolate entremet.  Marinette had to tighten her muscles to keep herself from throwing her head back with a groan.  However, her body’s already rigid posture straightened even further at Gary’s next comment.

“That’s a lot of chocolate, isn’t it, baby?  You sure you should get that?  You’re not going to fit into that new dress I just got you,” he chided.

She pouted dramatically at him and shoved her chest out as she positioned herself to look up at him through her lashes.  “But, Daddy, I love chocolate.  And I thought we could share.  I was going to eat off of your spoon,” she implored in a poor imitation of a baby voice.  “I was going to lick it clean.”

His eyes flashed and moved to Zoe and Marinette, his lips widening into that same predatory smile from earlier, but before he could voice what was obviously on his mind, the door slammed open.  Marinette jumped, her arm immediately reaching for Zoe, to pull her closer while she tried to assess the situation, but the only thing she could ascertain was that the bad thing the chauffeur had warned her about, had arrived.

“Girls, eat your dessert at the bar,” Gary barked at them, his eyes staring intently at the man who had just entered, only flicking away to note the men he’d brought with him and were spreading out throughout the room.

“But, Daddy, we were going to share our dessert,” Sandy pouted.

“I said leave!” he shouted at her and shoved her away.

Sandy was barely able to catch herself before she stumbled to the ground.  Zoe helped her up and rushed her over to the bar with Marinette.  Marinette eyed the door to the bathroom, but there was a man stationed at the door.  She motioned for the two women to follow her and took a breath before walking up to him.  “Excuse me, we’d like to use the restroom.”

The man looked over her shoulder to his boss before turning back to her with a shake of his head.  “Hold it until we’re done,” he grunted.

Marinette glared at him, but let Zoe guide her back over to the bar while they waited to see what was going to happen.  She didn’t listen to the words, focusing more on the men, what weapons they appeared to have, where they were positioning themselves, how much attention they were paying to the events around them, how confident they seemed.  All of it fed into her planning, so when the first gun was pulled out, she was able to react instantly, pulling the other two women behind the bar and pushing them onto the floor, but making sure she had a good view of the exit at the back, which now had two men defending it.

If they could just get the men to move, then she could get Zoe and Sandy through the door and out the back.  There was no way to tell if there were more men waiting for them at the door to the alleyway, but as the chauffeur had said, they likely wouldn’t think anything of a group of women.  They were probably keeping their eyes out for the men working for whoever the enemy was and wouldn’t think twice about some women, especially vapid, weak women, which it shouldn’t be hard to convince men like that, that they were.

She stayed there, hidden, just listening to the sounds of bullets and punches flying, her eyes never straying from the back door, until one of the men stationed at the back door started toward them, a slightly deranged look in his eyes.  Marinette patted Zoe’s shoulder to get her to look up.  She could feel the moment she saw the same thing Marinette did, her entire body tensing, but she moved into position instantly, ready to defend themselves.

However, it had been quite a few years since they’d had to fight and as became crystal clear as soon as they started fighting, they were far out of practice.  Zoe attacked him first, throwing punches and kicking him in the knee to force him down, but he seemed to not feel her hits at all, moving smoothly past her and bucking her off into the wall of bottles.  She crashed down onto the floor with a soundless groan.

Marinette stared from Zoe to the wall of bottles behind her critically for a split second before making a decision and backing out of his way.  The man leered condescendingly at her; confident he’d scared her into submission.  She backed away from the man, close to Zoe to let the man pass before jumping into action.  She grabbed the thickest bottle she could find, which had happened to be right next to where Zoe fell and swung it into the back of his head as hard as she could.

He fell instantly, his head smacking into the ground, but the sound muted by the cushioning matt for bartenders.  Blood trickled from the back of his head, but not enough that Marinette was concerned.  Zoe knelt to check his pulse, giving Marinette a breathless nod.  Marinette nodded back and turned her attention back to the fight, seeing the damage for the first time.  Several bodies were sprawled on the ground, but for the most part, the men appeared to still be fighting.  There were several groups sequestered around the room, hiding behind inadequate barriers.  Until two new players joined the fight with a loud bang of some kind of smoke bomb.

Marinette squeaked and ducked back behind the bar.  She eyed the back door again disappointed to discover the second man was still there and clearly on the defense, his eyes darting around the room as he took it all in.  She peeked around the corner of the bar which exposed her to the man at the door, but she was confident he wasn’t a threat to them, he was far too focused on the people with weapons.

Smoke had filled the room limiting her vision.  All she could make out were vague shapes of punches being thrown, men falling against tables, and the occasional arrow, which actually confused her more than anything else she was seeing.  Zoe popped up next to her, also scrunching her face to try to see better.

Finally, the smoke cleared enough she could see people’s faces and gasped.  The chauffeur and another man who hadn’t been there before were in the thick of the fight; punching men, blocking them from shooting each other and the other man was shooting arrows that did all kinds of different things, at the goons.

“Is that… who is that?” Zoe whispered.

“I’m not actually sure,” Marinette answered blankly.

She was awed for a moment at their skillful, graceful movements but then a movement caught her eye.  Two of the goons were creeping up on the men.  Marinette moved before she could fully think through her plan.  She grabbed two of the full bottles that looked like they had the thickest glass and deftly threw them at the men, both hitting their mark easily.  She cheered at her success but squeaked and ducked back down when the remaining men in the room turned their attention to her.

She stayed ducked behind the bar until the sounds of the fighting were done, even then, not popping her head up without knowing who had won and whether Zoe and Sandy were safe.  There was little to no cover behind the bar if someone bothered to come around the side, so Marinette tried to push Sandy and Zoe as far out of the way as possible, but Zoe wouldn’t let her leave, pulling her into hiding as well.

From her new position, she could barely see the entrance to the bar area, but she was able to see someone moving past the bar and into the back passageway.  She heard a voice that sounded like the chauffeur’s, but she couldn’t be sure, calling across the room.  “Hey moron, where’d you go?”

There was a pause before he laughed loudly.  Marinette looked pointedly at Zoe, communicating an entire conversation with just a few looks.  Finally Zoe huffed and rolled her eyes with a nod.  Marinette smiled and crawled over to the entrance to the bar area just in time to see the chauffeur’s partner wheeling a large linen basket into the room with two goons knocked out inside.  “Ahh, just taking out the trash then,” her chauffeur chuckled.

She took a second to take in the scene now that the fight appeared to be finished.  Men were laying on the floor all around the room, some bleeding, some handcuffed, some tied up, some in nets for some reason, and at least one strapped to the wall with some kind of restraints tied to arrows.  She ducked back behind the bar and shook her head in shock.  Very little of the sight made sense and she’d seen plenty of fight aftermaths before.

She didn’t even notice when the chauffeur approached them, getting close enough to rest against the end of the bar and watch her, his eyebrow raised in what Marinette assumed was amusement.  She smiled sheepishly at him with a shrug.  He chuckled and shook his head as he held out his hand to help her up.  As soon as she was up and standing on her own, he gently brushed the glass and dirt off of her.  “I thought I said to go out the back,” he chided lightly.  “Not hunker down and fight.”

She raised an unamused eyebrow at him.  “Was there a secret passage we didn’t know about,” she asked sharper than she meant to use with the men who’d saved them.  “Because the exit you told me about was well guarded for the entire fight.  So, unless you have an invisibility cloak you meant for us to use, we didn’t have an option.”

He bobbed his head to the side in acquiescence and slightly sheepishly.  “Well, it’s done now, let’s get you ladies out of here.”

Sandy whimpered and hid her face in Zoe’s chest, who wrapped her up in her arms and hid her eyes.  “It’s okay, don’t look, Sandy.  It’s okay.  We’re okay,” she reassured her, speaking slowly and confidently even as she looked to Marinette for reassurance.  Marinette nodded to her and let the chauffeur take her hand to guide her through the back passage out of the restaurant back to where the car was waiting for them.

Zoe took a long, cleansing breath as soon as they got outside.  It took a few seconds before she could process everything again.  “Sandy,” she shook her head exasperated, “I know I asked for a blast of a visit, but this is not what I meant.”

Sandy looked around them, edging further into Zoe’s arms and away the trash and the men who had been knocked out, and whimpered.

The sound of sirens broke through the silence.  He whipped his head toward the sound and cocked his head, listening quietly for a few seconds.  He turned back toward them and jerked his head toward the street.  “That would be the police.  I’d say they’re about four to five blocks away.”  He opened the door of the limo as his friend pumped into the driver’s seat.  “Would you ladies care for a ride?”

“Before the police get here?” Zoe asked suspiciously.

“I don't think you want to be involved in a police investigation, do you?” he asked pointedly.

“No, we do not!” Sandy agreed instantly and jumped into the limo faster than she had earlier.  “Come on Zoe.  Marinette.”  Zoe bobbed her head to the side in agreement and crawled in with a sigh.

Marinette started toward the door but froze before getting in.  “Our fingerprints are everywhere though,” she pointed out.  “They’re going to know we were there and left.”

“We'll take care of it,” he assured her hurriedly.  “Now, get in, we only have about 30 seconds.”  He said it like a suggestion but shoved her into the car and followed after her.  Marinette didn’t even have a chance to brace herself before the limo peeled out and just in time, they turned the corner down the block just as the police turned onto the block in front of the restaurant.

Marinette climbed onto the seat and rubbed her head.  She studied the two men closely, trying to glean any clues to their role in what had just happened.  They clearly weren’t with the authorities, but they also weren’t with the gangsters.  But that didn’t mean they were safe.  And with all Sandy’s attention on her hands as she processed what just happened, and all Zoe’s attention on comforting Sandy, it was left to Marinette to make sure they were safe, or at the very least safer than they had been before.  “Who are you guys?” she finally broke the silence to ask.

“We're the good guys,” the original chauffeur grinned.  The red headed new chauffeur made a noise that didn’t really seem indicate agreement or denial to Marinette, but it seemed to mean something to the original chauffeur.  “We're the goodish guys,” he amended with a shrug to which Marinette hummed unconvinced entirely, but enough to not push it.

They arrived at the hotel in no time, again she was positive the new chauffeur had far exceeded the speed limit to get the back as quickly as possible.  As soon as they eased to a stop, the dark-haired, original chauffeur got out and opened the door for them.  “Don't forget, you ladies were never there.  You were together shopping and drinking all day,” he reminded them pointedly.

“No, we weren’t,” Sandy choked like she was insulted by the insinuation.

“Yes, we were,” Zoe insisted pointedly.  She turned Sandy by her shoulders to lead her into the hotel.  “Remember?  You must have had too much to drink.  We were drinking and shopping but didn’t find anything we wanted.”

Sandy blinked at her but let her lead her into the hotel.  “We did,” she asked carefully.

“Yep, we did,” Zoe reassured her.  She glanced back over her shoulder to catch Marinette’s eye, raising an eyebrow once she did.

Marinette nodded back furtively.  She waited until the door had closed behind them before turning to the man.  “You knew something was going down today.”  It was a statement not a question.

“We did,” he confirmed.  “The shooting was a surprise though.  It was just supposed to be a business deal that we were going to get on camera then steal the goods after,” he shrugged, “…to return it to its rightful owner,” he added quickly at seeing her raised eyebrow.  “I did offer to get you out,” he pointed out and put his hands out in innocence.

“Couldn't leave my friend,” she shrugged.  “Someone had to watch out for them.”

“That was very...” he looked away into the distance as if searching for the right word, “…stupid,” he finished.  She gasped and punched him in his unfairly firm pectoral.  She had to bite down the whimper at the pain that shot through her hand, refusing to let him know how it had affected her.  She hadn’t even hit him that hard!  But judging by the loud bark of laughter that echoed off the buildings in the street, she hadn’t been too successful.  “But noble too,” he admitted, his voice softer, more intimate.

“Here,” he handed her a card with a number scrawled on it.  “If you have any trouble with the police or that guys’ goons, or have questions, or you need a tour guide, here or Metropolis, or you get bored, or don't get bored, give me a call.”

She took his card and looked up at him through her lashes.  “And who would I be calling?

“Me,” he grinned back.

She rolled her eyes but smiled at the joke.  “And you are?”

“Jason.  Jason Todd.”  He held his hand out to her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jason.  I'm Marinette.  Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Marinette.”  He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to it.  He backed away, still keeping his eyes on her.  He maintained his eye contact until he’d reached the passenger door.  He gave her one more roguish smile before opening the door.  “Use the card,” he called as he slid into the seat.

“I'll think about it,” she quipped, but her warm smile betrayed her interest.

“Think hard.”  His annoyingly enticing voice carried to her even as the car pulled away.

She watched the car until it turned at the next block, only then whispering, “I don't have to.”  She was already planning to text as soon as Zoe and Sandy had calmed down and they were sure the police weren’t going to question them.

@maribatserver

[abyssal-ali]

I need dopamine and compliments fast, so which short oneshot fic should I post?

[official-timari-server]

Shutterbug Station Team Poll

[ali-annals]

Fluff Drabble #1

Pairing: Jasonette

Rating: G

WC: 0.25k

“Why, are you worried about me?” Mari’s blue eyes sparkled up at his.

She swung her foot over the seat and leaned over the handlebars to nuzzle his nose with hers.

“What if I am?” he straightened and crossed his arms.

“Then I’ll remind you that I got my American motorcycle license and will take this opportunity to remind you that my nonna has taken me riding with her since I was a toddler. I am quite used to bikes and would wager that I am at least as good as you are.”

He reminded himself that he was overreacting and grinned impishly at her. “Oh yeah? Really wanna take those odds?”

She smirked. “I’m quite sure, I’ve been told I’m very lucky by some–not that I’ll need luck to beat you since I have the skills as well, son.”

She revved her engine and he hurried over to his bike, kickstarting it and nudging it to the same starting line as hers.

She grabbed the nearest helmet–Steph’s– and plopped it on, flipping the visor down.

“Eat my dust, Todd.”

They sped off and Jason hung back, simply watching as Mari sped ahead, staying on her tail.

“I’m just worried about you because I love you,” he said softly, knowing the road noise would cover it up.

Mari swerved and slowed down. “You know the helmets’ comms are still connected from you and Steph patrolling last night, right?”

Aw, fudgenuggets.

[vyngfj]

Give me damianette fluff or jasonette fluff with a song

A/N: Hello, all! I am back! This is a very late answer, which I'm sorry for @rebecarojas07. But, it's here now! I went a little off from the prompt and it's a little angsty in the beginning, but it gets better! Also, constructive criticism is welcome, since its been a while. Also, no beta, we die like Jason Todd. I wrote 1800 words just now and I am hoping they mesh well together.

Warnings: Some cursing, slight angst, cheating, hand holding, and kissing

Song: PUBLIC - Make You Mine

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Marinette cried as she sat on the rooftop while Tikki hugged her.

She was here in Gotham as Ladybug in order to deal with a crisis involving a missing miraculous with Zatanna and Batman, along with several other American heroes she had gotten to know. The mission had taken her a month and she had needed to go undercover for a large portion of the mission, severing contact with her boyfriend, Adrien Agreste. It should all have been fine, they trusted each other.

Now he’s a former boyfriend.

Alya Cesaire was a rock in Marinette’s life, and she was always there for her. If it hadn’t been for Alya Cesaire, her most reliable confidante, the break up might have never happened so soon and she would have stayed oblivious. If it hadn’t been for Alya’s pictures, Marinette would probably have never believed it herself. Five pictures of Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi, making out on several different occasions.

She wanted to believe it wasn’t true, but if she was being honest with herself she should have seen it coming. Heck, Tikki had seen it coming. They had been having more arguments as of recently. And the time that she had spent apart from Adrien on a mission had simply driven them further apart from each other. She thought back to the times she had complained to Adrien about how Lila was always so touchy with him during photoshoots, he said that it was all business that he couldn’t avoid because of his father. That she was overreacting and being too clingy. That there was nothing between him and Lila.

But those pictures existed. They were in broad daylight, and both Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi seemed to have no shame, acting in public spaces. She sent one text to Adrien.

We're over.

The message was read, and there was no reply.

That was a month ago. Marinette was getting better, very slowly. Plagg and Tikki stuck with her and supported her, but Marinette still had some nights where she refused to talk to anyone and cried alone. She had set up an arrangement with her parents so she could stay in Gotham, as she needed time away from the city of love. She could never have been more thankful.

Especially when she saw the viral video of someone throwing a bag of flour at Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi during a photoshoot. Marinette had burst out laughing when she saw the video, and she had a feeling her parents were behind it and had gotten away with it.

But still, sometimes there were days where she couldn’t shrug off the tears. They flowed freely as she swung her spotted legs from her seat on the edge of a random rooftop. She had finished patrol, and she had begun to think back to all the nights she used to spend patrolling Paris with Adrien. She felt her heart seize as she gazed out into the grey landscape of Gotham.

Well, I will call you darlin' and everything will be okay

Suddenly, she heard a throat clear behind her and a cough.

Turning around, she found herself staring at the Red Hood. She quickly wiped at her eyes in an attempt to hide that she had been crying. She had heard rumors of the Red Hood, especially of how he often murdered criminals and at some point in the past had been the leader of a criminal empire.

But, Batman trusted him. And she trusted Batman, so she should be able to trust him and this was a completely safe situation. At least, that’s what she told herself.

She heard him clear his throat again, and she realized she must have gotten lost in her thoughts. She focused back on him, albeit it was somewhat warily.

“Hello darlin’, shit wait, that was too cringey. Damn, I’m sorry.”

She felt her lips quirk upwards in a smile.

The Red Hood coughed, before holding out a steaming cup of coffee to her, and in a questioning tone asked, “Let me try again. You’re Ladybug, right? I saw you having a moment here earlier while I was on patrol, so I just wanted to give you this and offer an ear to listen to you rant if you want?”

Marinette felt her heartbeat quicken, and she felt herself blush under her mask as she replied, “Thank you so much. You’re the Red Hood, right? It’s nice to meet you. And yeah, I would like to rant, that would be super nice.”

So he sat down next to her. She doesn’t know what made her do so, but she told him almost everything. How her former boyfriend had cheated on her while she was on a mission, and how she felt so betrayed when she found out. She told him all about the loneliness and the bitter homesickness she constantly felt.

And he listened, without pity. He listened to every word she spoke, nodding at the right moments of her story, reassuring her she was right, and cussing out Adrien Agreste with her.

That was the first time she met Jason Todd, the man underneath the helmet of the Red Hood.

'Cause I know that I am yours and you are mine

Several months passed, and their relationship progressed from there. The two fell into comfortable friendship and eventually revealed their identities.

But, Marinette couldn’t deny that she had caught herself blushing as she stared at Jason during training or patrol, admiring him.

It was a similar situation for Jason. He still curses himself for the time that Marinette had smiled at him as she swung by during patrol, and he had been so caught up with staring at her dazzling smile that he didn’t notice himself walk right off a building. He was fine, his pride bruised more than anything else.

The point was, they fit well together. They bantered and seemed to constantly toe the line between friendship and something more, to the point where others began to take notice. Jason’s siblings teased him, while Alya and Nino would give Marinette suggestive looks over facetime whenever she mentioned Jason.

They got along so well, and everyone could see it. Marinette and Jason were also starting to believe it themselves. Marinette felt that she was his, and Jason knew that he was hers. They had each other wrapped around their fingers, without even realizing.

Doesn't matter anyway

Marinette was on patrol with Jason when she checked her phone and tears of anger welled up in her eyes. It was a message from Adrien.

Lila and I are over now. We should get back together now, I miss what we had.

Jason saw Marinette’s face change, and he felt angry too when Marinette showed him the text. Adrien Agreste was fucking pathetic.

“Who does he think he is? He thinks he can cheat on me and get back together? He doesn’t even have a place in my life anymore. He doesn’t even matter to me anymore.”

“You don’t need that fucker, Marinette, like how dare he act like you guys can get back together after what he did? Honestly, he’s fucking pathetic. I bet he’s sitting all fucking alone in his apartment after breaking up with Lila, thinking he matters to you. What a pretentious shit stain.”

Marinette felt herself move before she could properly think about what she was doing. Jason hadn’t anticipated her action, and he felt himself let out a small laugh of surprise when he felt Marinette hug him, her face pressed into his leather jacket.

He couldn’t help but softly smile when he heard a muffled, “Thank you, Jason, for being here for me.”

In the night, we'll take a walk, it's nothing funny

Marinette heard a knock on her apartment window. She walked over and opened it to find Jason standing on her fire escape, giving her a sheepish smile.

“Jason, it's 2:00 a.m. and it isn’t even a patrol night? God damn it, Jason, I know that I don’t sleep at night, but what could you want right now?”

Jason’s smile grew brighter, “Want to get waffles and coffee?”

Marinette’s mood quickly changed, and she felt her lips quirk, “You want me to go out in the dark, all alone with you, to get waffles and coffee?”

“No funny business, just waffles and coffee.”

Marinette laughed before she quickly threw on a jacket and joined Jason on the fire escape, before descending down with him and beginning their moderate walk to a nearby café.

Just to talk

On the way, they talked about anything and everything. Books, fashion, superhero business, you name it. They were at peace.

Put your hand in mine

As they walked into the café, Jason noticed another man, who looked like he was in his early twenties, eyeing Marinette. He felt jealousy crawl up his spine, and he knew his eyes were flashing green at the moment.

Marinette had noticed, though she pretended not to. She also tried to pretend not to notice when Jason casually slipped his hand into her own, though she knew she was furiously blushing. Jason was flustered too, and she heard him stutter as he gave his order to a waitress.

For the rest of the night, their hands remained clasped. Tikki was giggling quietly from the inside of Marinette's purse.

You know that I want to be with you all the time

Though they never directly spoke about the hand holding, the two of them definitely gradually spent more time with each other.

They frequented various cafes and libraries and stores, in and out of costume. Someone once swore they saw the Red Hood and Ladybug at a movie theater throwing popcorn at each other. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they got together, and several bets were made.

You know that I won't stop until I make you mine

Flash forward a week, and Marinette has asked Jason out on a date. He says yes. They’re both bright red when they enter the café, and this time their hands are clasped from the moment they enter.

The same waitress recognizes them, and she asks who asked the other out. She quickly finds out that Marinette made the first move. When she goes back to her place behind the counter, Marinette and Jason see a coworker slide her twenty bucks. They laugh, and enjoy the rest of their date, content with each other’s serene presence.

Until I make you mine

After they leave the café, a strong gust of wind blows. Marinette slightly shivers under the bite of the wind, before she feels a large warmth envelope her. Jason’s leather jacket is draped over her shoulders, and the man in question is gazing at her lovingly.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” she said before she reached up and pressed a warm kiss to his lips.

The End!

TAG LIST: @theatreandcomicfreak ​@18-fandoms-unite-08 @mochegato @princessanimeangel11 @maribatlife

If you would like to be tagged in other works in the future, please let me know!

[fanfics-and-fangirling]

lazy mornings

I’m in a writing mood but I cannot deal with plot right now, so have this very short Jasonette one-shot I wrote instead of working on the 3-4 other things I should be writing.

---------------------------

Marinette snuggled closer to Jason. Not that she was awake enough to realize it was Jason. All she knew was they were warm, and they made her feel safe.

Tendrils of her deep blue shaded hair fanned around her head, which was resting on his chest. One arm was strewn across his stomach, while the other rested underneath her. 

Jason, who had woken up a few minutes prior, sleepily stared down at her with his electric blue eyes. He smiled softly and tenderly brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

He slowly raised his hand, so he could gently run his fingers through her hair. Marinette gave a content sigh but made no other indications of being awake.

He bent his head down and lightly kissed the crown of her head.

God, Jason loved mornings like these. Mornings where he could just lay in bed with this absolutely ethereal woman and relax. Where could both just soak up each other's presence.

They didn’t get much time to be like this. But when they did, it gave them both hope. Because if they could be together and happy like this, then there was a reason to keep going.

So when Marinette woke up to Jason staring at her with so much love and gratitude and respect, all she could do was smile. Smile and try to tell him how much she had come to love him and care for him.

And if they stayed like that the whole day, wrapped in the others embrace, feeling safe and content and happy after both having lived through so much suffering, neither of them seemed to mind.

[lily-drake]

It’s a Learned Trait

This is my Secret Santa gift to Night_ngale on Ao3! This story is inspired by this photo by @mumblesplash on Tumblr (yes I got permission, and thank you for it!):

For Night_ngale on Ao3:

Marinette had been having a wonderful day with her parents in Gotham, New Jersey.  Her parents had just finished a catering job there and today they had decided to go sightseeing to all of the tourist attractions.  They had taken her to the zoo, to the aquarium, to the museum, and now they were heading to a bo-ton-tanicel-al…. botanical garden!  Both of her parents were holding her hands and smiling brightly at her as they walked the busy streets.  It was such a nice day, absolutely nothing could ruin it for her!

Then an explosion happened, and there was running, and a ringing noise in her ears that just wouldn’t stop, and everything was moving too fast.  

Screams filled the air along with scary high pitched giggling that sent shivers running through her spine.  She clutched tightly to the pair of hands that held onto both of her’s just as tightly, if not tighter, as they fled the crowded streets.  Then they could feel the cool shadow of something big that was coming from up high.  She looked up and felt herself freeze up as a massive piece of concrete broke off of the building they were under and fell faster and faster and faster exactly where she and her parents stood.  She tried to move, she tried to get herself to run away from the danger that she knew even at her age meant that she would no longer be able to wander the Earth; but she couldn’t.  The people kept shoving past her and her parents, keeping them in place as everyone pushed and shoved to get far, far away from the ensuing chaos.  The crowd was too thick, the screams were too loud, the rubble was too fast.  The next thing she knew was two pairs of different sized hands shoved her forward away from the massive pieces of falling debris that was right above them.  She turned to look behind her to see her parents' horrified expressions as they too stared up at the ginormous piece of concrete that was hurtling towards them and so many more people.  People kept almost stepping on her and crowding her vision of her parents and they moved before she could blink.  

Before she could even process what happened next, someone had picked her up and moved her away before quickly covering her eyes.  A few seconds later a loud crash was heard and the ground shook so hard she would have fallen over if the person hadn’t been keeping her upright.  Once the shaking was over the person that had rescued her picked her up, holding tightly onto her as they moved their hand up and the sound of something being shot through the air sounded just above her.

“It’s ok, I’ve gotcha.”

Said a deep gruff voice, though she could barely hear it as the cold wind whipped past her ears biting at her skin.  Her knee length pink dress hugged her legs as her brain refused to function and process the events that had just occurred.  She felt her feet touch solid ground, but her legs didn’t seem to want to hold her as her brain continued to stay offline.  She couldn’t think, couldn’t comprehend, and would the ringing in her ears just stop!  Where were her mama and papa?!  What happened to them?!  

It sounded like someone was trying to talk to her, but she was underwater and she couldn’t hear a thing, she couldn’t even see what was in front of her clearly.  Her entire body felt like it was weighted down, the pressure slowly crushing her.   She couldn’t even think, her brain was just too quiet and the ringing was too loud!  There was too much, too much noise, too much quiet, too much information yet not enough at all!  She kept going down deeper with nothing to ground her fleeting thoughts until she felt something heavy being placed around her shoulders.  Her eyes slowly began to register her surroundings and, after who knew how long, she was met with deep light teal eyes that were filled with worry.  Their face was obscured by a red mask, but she could still make out most of his features.  He had dark black hair with a white streak in it.  She didn’t know why this was important, all she knew was that she had to keep looking at him.  It was like if she looked away from him then everything would get all fuzzy again and she wouldn’t be able to think, and the ringing would take over her again even though it was still there!  Why can’t it stop, just make it stop, she wanted her mama and papa!  Where were they?!

“Hey, things will be ok.”

The masked man gently stated.  He kept eye contact with her, watching her to make sure she didn’t start to hyperventilate and that she wouldn’t go into shock.  He carefully pulled the jacket around her full body, carefully pulling her limp and dysfunctional arms into the jacket’s large sleeves.  He gave her a small reassuring smile while smoothing out the sleeves on the jacket, pressing the warmth of it onto her.  “Can you hold onto this for me?  I’ll be right back, ok?”

She simply nodded her head and held onto the jacket tightly like it was a lifeline.  He slowly grabbed a helmet that was on the ground near his legs and put it on.  “Don’t move ok, you’re safe now.”

He looked back at her then ran and jumped off…., oh, she was on a roof.  When did she get on a roof?  She hadn’t noticed.  She stood completely still, her mind causing the cacophony of noises to fade in and out.  She could hear screams and bangs, then nothing.  She could hear fighting and laughter, then the ringing came back.  The sounds often came close to the roof she was on; the fear of it made her legs so weak she eventually collapsed onto her knees as she clutched the jacket tighter than before.  Eventually her brain finally seemed to grasp the reality around her causing tears to start falling down her cheeks and sobs escaped her lips.  Her parents were dead, she was rescued, but th-they’re d-de-dead!  

Sobs wracked her small frame as the noises continued on for she doesn’t even know how long.  Every time there was a noise louder than the rest she pulled the jacket even tighter around her small body expecting the worst.  She wanted to escape, she wanted to hug her parents, she just wanted to go back home to Paris.  She wanted to go back to the bakery and eat the desserts her parents made, see Nino and Kim and play games with them, she wanted to go to the pretty gardens at the park and lay with the flowers.  

They were supposed to be happy, they were happy when they saw the pretty fishies, they were happy when they saw the amazing artifacts in the museum, papa had held her on his shoulders so she could see the giraffes better when they had taken her to the zoo.  Everything had been so perfect, why did everything change so fast?  Why did her mama and papa have to leave her like this?  Why was there no rain when such a terrible tragedy had just occurred like in the movies?

There was a soft thump that made her wrap the jacket even tighter, if that was even possible.  She didn’t want to get hurt, she just wanted her parents back.  “Hey, thanks for holding onto that for me.”

The man from before said.  She looked up, her eyes watery, making his figure blurry.  She saw him take off the helmet and set it down.  He looked sad and remorseful as he slowly sat next to her, but never reached out to touch her, instead remaining a comfortable presence.  “You from here?”

She slowly shook her head no.  “P-Paris.”

Her voice was cracked and broken.  Her parents had her study English with her French studies because of all of the tourists that came by.  Not to mention Mama said that if she wanted to be famous then she had to know English.  How would she get back to Paris?  Who would take her?  How was she supposed to survive without her mama and papa?!  She couldn’t, she needed them, now they’re gone and she’ll die here because she has nothing without them.  

“Paris is a nice place.  Have any friends there?”

She nodded again, the movement causing the drops on her cheek to drip onto the ground.  He stayed silent, waiting to see if she would do or say anything further.  She was glad he let her take her time, she was tired and her brain was still too loud and fuzzy to really understand his questions immediately.  Dejectedly she replied,  “N-Nino and K-Kim are my friends.  Th-they stand up t-to Chloe f-for me.  Everyo-one else is too scared of her an-and her daddy.”

He reached out to touch her, but quickly pulled back.  He wanted to comfort the small child, but he wasn’t sure how she would respond if he touched her.  She looked so small curled up in his jacket, it would have been cute if it weren’t for the circumstances that led to the scene in front of him.  “Sounds like you’ve got some good people lookin’ out for ya.”

He said, trying to sound reassuring.  She gave a small smile and nodded, “Y-yea.”

“Why don’t we go somewhere safe.  I know someone who will take care of ya for a bit, okay?”  Red Hood asked carefully.  She nodded again and was about to take her arms out of the sleeves of the warm jacket, but before she could fully take it off the man stopped her.  “Keep it, I’ve got a lot of others back home, and this is gonna keep you safe, ok?”

She nodded slowly, letting him adjust and zip it up so the warmth that still lingered in it was all around her.  He slowly stood up, projecting his movements so as to not scare her before he extended his hand for her to take.  She looked at it hesitantly, slowly reaching out and taking hold of his hand as she wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her free arm.  Her hand was so small that when he closed his her entire hand was encompassed by his own. He gently pulled her back onto her feet making sure she was stable before letting go.  “Hop on my back and hold on tight, ‘kay?”

He said softly–just like her mom used to when she was hurt–crouching down with his back facing her so she could climb on.  With a brief moment of hesitation, because what if this was a trap like Mama and Papa had warned her about, she carefully climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and gripped onto his shirt.  It was a bit hard as there seemed to be something hard sewn into parts of it, but it was okay.  He slowly got up and made sure her legs were wrapped tightly around his torso so she wouldn't slip or fall off.  When he was sure she was secure, he grabbed something from one of his pockets, angled it.  There was a loud bang, like the one she had heard when he had first grabbed her, though that memory felt like it was from so many years ago, that startled her accompanied by a whiz as it shot into the air.  He pulled on the device he was using to make sure it was taught and secure, then he ran and jumped off the building.  

Marinette screamed in fear and buried her face into his shoulder, holding him even tighter than before.  She kept her eyes shut, feeling out the rhythm of run, jump, fall, swing.  Eventually she started to feel a little more comfortable swinging through the air, that was until they started to fall again.  She screamed again louder than the time before and heard the noise of the man’s device again before she felt the taut jolt that signified they were soaring through the air once more.  Slowly, she tilted her head up and saw how amazing the city looked with all of its shining lights so high up in the sky with the setting sun sinking behind the tall buildings.  Wasn’t it just past 13:00 though?  She had just eaten lunch with her mama and papa; hadn’t she…?

Suddenly the lights weren’t as amazing as they were before, they were dull and full of sorrow and loss.  She didn’t want to look down just in case she saw them, they wouldn’t look the same.  She didn’t want to look down because then she might fall, and she didn’t want to fall.  Heights have always been scary.  She held onto the man tighter, scared that if she loosened her grip even the smallest amount, she’d fall.

They continued on in that fashion for a few minutes when the man with the red helmet set her down on a balcony.  It was plain with a swirled black metal guard.  The roof was bland and lifeless with nothing decorating it other than the fence, she didn’t like it.  “I’ve got a friend here.  He’ll watch over you for a while, okay?”  She nodded slowly, unsure of whether she should be relieved someone would take her in or scared that this was all some sort of trap.  She watched and listened as the man climbed down a fire escape and began to tap on a window.

Tap

…

Tap tap

…..

Tap tap tap

Then he stepped back and waited.  Another man with red hair opened the window with a small smile, “What’s up Hood?” He asked in a casual voice.

“I need you to watch someone for me.”

The red-haired man raised a brow.

“Her parents didn’t make it in the last battle with Joker.  Lots of debris, and I don’t feel like having serial-adopter-bats see her.”

“Makes sense.  Where are they?” The other man asked with a small nod, looking around the escape.  The man in the helmet held up one finger and climbed back up to her.  

“Can you come with me please?”

Marinette gulped, unsure of what she should do.  But the man has been really nice to her so far, and he’s even letting her keep his jacket.  Slowly she reached out and took his offered hand, letting him help her down the fire escape to the window.

“Hey,”

The other man said in a soft tone,

“What's your name?”

She looked down, anxiously twirling her foot from side to side.  “M-Marinette.”  She replied quietly, voice strained.

“That’s a nice name, how old are you?”  His voice was soft and gentle and it made her feel a little more at ease.

“Nine.”

“Wow, you’re pretty old, huh?  I’m Roy, do you want to come in and eat something?  I just finished making some sandwiches.”  She looked back at the man that had brought her here and saw him give her a small nod.  She nodded back and shyly followed the red haired man into the apartment building.  “Do you want some water?”

She nodded again, standing near the island counter.  She looked back at the window where the man in the helmet had been only seconds before, only to see that he was no longer there.  The man nodded and quickly got a cup from a cupboard and filled it with some tap water before placing it on the counter near her with a small plate that held what looked like BLT.  “I have a roommate, he should come by soon.  Just as a heads up, ok?”

She nodded, carefully climbing up to the barstool and sat down.  Marinette looked at the sandwich and started picking at it.  She really wasn’t that hungry, but it would be rude to not accept her host's hospitality.  Her mama had taught her the importance of respecting people that were trying to help her, especially when she was at her friend’s home.  Tears she thought she had run out of started to resurface as she thought of her mama.  She sniffled and wiped her eyes before more could escape.  

Roy looked at her worriedly.  From what he had read from the text Jason had sent him, her parents were caught by falling debris from one of Joker’s bombs that the bats hadn’t been able to dismantle in time.  He had been able to pull her away, but her parents along with a bunch of other civilians weren’t able to make it out of the way in time.  Jason said that he had managed to cover her eyes and take her away before she could see anything, but he knew that wouldn’t be enough to stop any type of trauma from forming.  

The girl was so small, he could only imagine what must be going through her mind.  Not to mention she was only visiting from Paris, she wasn’t even from Gotham.  Apparently her parents were catering for one of Bruce’s events, and that was the only reason they had even traveled here in the first place.

“Hey, do you want to watch a movie?  I’m sure we could find something you’d like.”  She didn’t respond right away as she processed what he had asked. It didn’t matter though, he’d give her all the time she needed.

“R-Ratatouille?”  Was her small reply.  A smile graced his lips, as he asked,

“Is that your favorite Disney movie?”  She shrunk in on herself and nodded with a small, 

“Mhm.”

“That’s a great movie, let me ask Jason to pick it up when he comes back.  He should be here soon anyways.”

“Okay.”  

Her voice was so quiet, but he could hear the joy in her voice.  He quickly texted Jason to pick up the movie when he was done debriefing with The Bats and started to make another sandwich since she was eating his, not that he minded of course.  

•         •         •

Jason walks in with a bag full of gummy candy, popcorn, a box of different flavored macaroons, and one Disney movie in its unopened case and plastic wrapping.  He was thankful to see that the small girl was sitting at the counter drawing.  He wouldn’t know what to do if she were still crying.  “Hey, heard we’re takin’ care of another kid?  I bet Lian will be happy to have a new friend when she comes back from her sleepover.”

He called out into the apartment as if he had no idea what had happened only a few hours before.  The little girl startled from her seat, quickly turning to look at him with her large bluebell eyes.  He really needed to keep her away from Bruce, she was perfect Wayne material and he refused for her to be tainted by him and the rest of his adopted child army.

“Yea, Red Hood dropped her off due to….”  He glanced at the girl sympathetically, “The incident that happened earlier.”

Marinette shifted uncomfortably and went back to drawing with a furrowed brow.  There was a heavy silence that filled the room until Jason said, “Well, I bought a bunch of snacks and was told to buy a movie, so….”

Marinette looked up again and hopped off the chair nearly tripping.  She quickly stood up embarrassed as both boys stared at her in worry.

“You okay Marinette?”  Roy asked carefully, walking towards her.  Her cheeks turned a slight red as she nodded.

“Y-yes, sorry.  I’m really clumsy.”  Her voice held a French accent that only made the little girl even more adorable.  Jason gave her a wide smile and gently handed her the plastic grocery bag.  

“Here you go.”

She carefully took the bag with a small, “Thank you”, and started to look through it.  Her eyes shined with childlike glee at the macaroons and they shined even brighter when she pulled out the blue-ray disk.  She quickly ran over to Roy and showed him the movie asking if he could put it into whatever he uses.  

It was interesting to see Roy smile and ruffle her hair.  He looked calm and happy, used to the role of caretaker.  Gently he took the disk, removed the plastic before opening it up, and walked over to the TV in the main room next to the kitchen and popped the disk in. 

“Hey, I’ll go grab some blankets.  Do you want to take your shoes off Marinette?”  He asked gently as he moved toward the linen closet.  She nodded and slipped them off with a slightly flushed face.  She watched as Roy sunk down on the couch where he patted at one of the seats.  Cautiously she walked toward the coach sitting in a rocking chair a few feet away from Roy.  You could never be too cautious, at least that’s what her mama used to say.  “Used to”, that felt wrong. 

When Jason walked back into the room he watched as the small girl hugged her legs close to her chest, face hidden behind her arms.  It was a heartbreaking sight, a sight that felt familiar as it pulled against his heartstrings as he remembered doing the same thing around the same age. 

“Thanks Jaybird.”  Roy whispered as he took the blankets from his hands.  He hadn’t even noticed that he was approaching.  He was out of it today, and not in a good way.  The opening narration of Remmy the Rat began to play through the speakers as Roy slowly and carefully wrapped a weighted blanket around the young girl's shoulders.  He watched as Roy talked to her quietly for a few moments, never initiating touch, waiting to see what she would say or do.  It was always interesting to watch Roy act like a father as he treated his kid far differently than either of his dads had treated him.  After a few minutes Roy stepped away, back to his spot on the couch not saying another word as the young girl collected herself before looking up to watch the movie with tear soaked cheeks that stabbed at Jason’s heart.

•         •         •

It was around the middle of the movie that little Mari fell asleep.  She had slowly begun to relax as the movie progressed until she had blinked a few times very slowly, then her eyes fell and stayed shut. She was emotionally exhausted from the day and had simply passed out, poor kid.

Jason watched the kid, but not in a weird way.  He was worried, and he didn’t know what to do.  The kid was stuck here, despite the fact that she’s not a citizen, and from what little information he could find with little time at his disposal, he couldn’t find any family that could take her now that she was an orphan.  Jason wondered if this was how Bruce felt when he had met all of them before he decided to make them his little band of misfit toys.  He often felt this way when he saw Lian, but it was never as strong of an emotion as he felt now for this child he had only met a few hours ago.

“You look constipated; which means you’re trying a failing to show some form of deep emotion.  So spit it out, what’s going on in that thick skull of yours?”

Roy asked quietly, turning his head slightly to give him a side eye before turning back to the movie.  Jason rolled his eyes and let out a long frustrated sigh.  “I don’t know Roy.  There’s just a lot going on, especially after the last attack.”

Roy quickly paused the movie and turned to look Jason in his eyes.  There wasn’t any pity in his gaze, but there was empathy and an openness that showed he wouldn’t judge.

“It was Joker’s fault.  So many people died because of the Joker, her parents,” he firmly gestured to the sleeping girl with tear stained cheeks sleeping on the small chair, whisper yelling so as to not wake her; “are no longer alive because of his actions today and Bruce still won’t get rid of him.”  Jason took in a deep shuddering breath, he needed to control himself, he couldn’t let the green creep in.  That wouldn’t do anything, it wouldn’t do any good for anyone, especially right now.

“I’ve tried to kill him,”  Jason admitted shakily, “I’ve tried, but he always finds a way to stop me.  I don’t understand how he cares for that-that creature more than his own- than me.”  A heavy silence fell between them only broken up by the gentle snores to their right.  

“I don’t want her to feel this way, I don’t want her to go through the same pain I went through at her age.”  Jason continued.  When I was trying to find out any information on her, a potential family member that could take her home I found that her grandmother on her dad’s side died in a motorcycle accident, her grandfather died of a heart attack, on her mom’s side it looks like her mother was disowned for unknown reasons, which means that they probably would not take in her daughter.  That leaves her with Social Services, and despite Bruce’s efforts I still don’t trust it; or as a street kid.”

Roy contemplated everything that Jason had just told him.  They had been through a lot together, in fact Jason and Star were the reasons that he was still alive, the reason he believed that he was doing a good job at being a father, they helped him keep going when everyone else had given up on him.  Roy glanced at the sleeping girl, then back to Jason.  Jason looked at the girl the same way Roy looked at his own daughter, with a sort of protective love.  Roy could tell that Jason cared about the kid; he probably saw himself Marinette.  It only made sense that he would feel extra protective around the girl as no one would want the same trauma that you’ve faced placed onto another.  

“Well, what do you think is the best thing to do Jason?  I know for a fact that you’re not going to be letting Bruce or any of the other bats, besides maybe Oracle, anywhere near her.  If what you say is true, and she really has no family that will willingly take her in, then what’s your plan?”

Another sigh escaped Jason as he leaned his head back so that it was hanging off the couch. “I don’t know Roy, maybe we can drop her off in Metropolis and let her be taken care of there.  They have a better system and I’m sure she would  be adopted by someone that would love her.”

Roy nodded, he could see the good in the plan, but there was something else.  Jason was still frustrated and didn’t like the idea.  “But?”  He prodded.

“‘But’,” Jason said emphasizing the ‘t’, “the thought of doing that makes my skin crawl in all of the wrong ways.”

Roy hummed.  This isn't some easy or light hearted task.  The kid had just lost both of her parents in the most sudden way possible, then she was taken away from the area and to the house of complete strangers, and to top it off she may never be able to return to her home country; but if she does she would be put into the foster system with no stability ot time to heal.  Of course she also had the possibility of being taken in by her grandparents in China, but there was a chance that they would treat her poorly since they had disowned her mother, and they may only take her in because of obligation.  Nothing about this was easy, none of it was simple.  If Jason wanted to somehow become her legal guardian then he would need to earn her trust, he would have to either legally become alive again or find a believable identity that would allow for him to adopt her.  

There were just so many variables, and it was too late for this conversation, yet not late enough.  

“Lian’s coming home tomorrow, we can figure this out while they play.”

Jason nodded, mostly to himself.  “You’re right.  We need to give her more time to process everything, I still need to process today.”

“Did you have a panic attack?” Roy asked worriedly.  Now that he was thinking about it there must have been lots of explosions, even if most of them were disabled.  Then there was the clown and how he just paraded around on the rooftops.  Jason had had a few before when he returned back to the apartment after a Joker breakout, it was horrifying.  Jason just gave him a sad, strained smile.

“No, thankfully.”

“Right,”  Roy said as he slowly stood up, stretching his arms up dramatically. “Well let's move her to Kori’s room tonight.  She’s still visiting Tamaran.”

Jason nodded, following suit.  Slowly he approached the sleeping girl, televising his movements despite the fact that she was still asleep before gently picking the girl up.  Roy watched with a gentle smile as he slowly walked to Kori’s room, trying not to wake her as he brought her to bed.  He had watched Jason do the same thing with Lian, playing the role of older brother perfectly.  Now, it looked like he might be stepping into a new role.  The same role that Roy carried right now.  But who knew what would happen.  As Roy settled in for the night in his own room a sudden thought came to his mind.  Jason was always complaining how Bruce had a “type” or MO for the people he really cared about; and that was that they needed to have black hair and/or blue eyes.  The girl that Jason saved and now is attached to has black hair and…blue eyes.  He quickly turned into his pillow and started laughing his butt of, hoping that no one would be able to hear him.  A couple tears slipped down his cheeks as he thought to himself, ‘so it’s a learned trait after all.’

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