#platonic sibling jasonette

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (13) (The End)

[Masterlist]

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12)

----- I finally did it! I finished something. After nearly three years, this little plot fic has come to an end that I am satisfied with. Thanking for sticking to the end of this journey.

----

TIKKI. PLAGG. EXPLAIN.

They demanded.

“Marinette does not deserve the sentence.” Tikki stated furiously.

YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO INTERFERE ON WHAT WE DECIDE.

“We know. However, we will try to change it anyway.” Plagg joined Tikki. “The soul of Marinette Dupain-Cheng may be Marked but she has not done anything that makes her deserving of having the fate of one.”

SOMEONE HAS TO PAY THE PRICE. SHE WAS MARKED.

“Ya ya…. I know. The rules. Fuck them. You guys made them to maintain balance or whatever. However, what you are doing right now is not fair. Where is the justice?” Plagg demanded

THIS IS JUSTICE.

“This isn’t justice. This is another sentence. She did what you asked of her. She has given enough of herself for the sake of Balance. The sinners are punished. The kwamis are all released. What more do you want for her?”

SHE IS MARKED SO SHE HAS TO BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES.

“Fucked the Marked bullshit. Marinette doesn’t deserve that fate. She is wonderful and kind and every good thing this world has to offer. She was backstabbed. Pratically sacrifice for someone’s happiness. The one who claimed to love her moved on from her pretty quick. The only reason he is regretting losing her is because of the karma he is facing. Karma that he rightly deserved. I argue that the Mark is invalid. It doesn’t count-” Plagg ranted and yelled at Them.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Tikki hugged each other.

“Tikki, what’s going to happen to me?” Marinette asked in a small voice. One that Tikki had rarely heard ever since Marinette met the Waynes.

“Plagg and I are going to do our best to protect you. Nothing bad will happen to you.”

“I feel so empty.”

“I know. I am sorry. I am going to make sure you don’t feel that way anymore.” Tikki hugged what remained of the piece that made up Marinette Dupain-Cheng a bit tighter.

—

WHY DOES IT MATTER TO YOU TWO THAT THIS MORTAL DOESN’T HAVE TO GIVE HERSELF UP? IT IS IN THE NAME OF BALANCE. A WORTHY CAUSE TO ####### FOR. TIKKI AND PLAGG AS BEINGS ONCE PART OF US. YOU KNOW WHY WE HAVE TO DO THIS. AND IT WILL BE A QUICK AND PAINLESS. SHE WILL NOT FEEL A THING.

THEY were starting to sound fed up with arguing with Plagg.

“THIS ISN’T ABOUT BALANCE ANYMORE, YOU FUCKERS!! THIS IS BECAUSE YOU WERE MAD YOU GOT CHEATED OUT OF A DEAL AND THIS GIRL IS JUST ANOTHER LOOSE END FOR YOU TO TIE UP!” Plagg lost his shit, finally after hours or what passes for hours in a place where time doesn’t function normally.

Tikki chose that moment to finally say her piece.

“My holder went through a lot for the sake of your balance. She fixed Gotham. She punished the one who made the wish so they would pay the price for trying to change someone else’s fate. She made sure we were freed. She doesn’t need to do more. She had given up nearly everything to accomplish what you demanded of her. Don’t take away what is left of her.”

SHE ALSO HAD GOTTEN EVERYTHING SHE WANTED WITH THE SECOND CHANCE WE GAVE HER. SHE GOT HER REVENGE, SHE ACHIEVED HER DREAMS, SHE HAD THE FAMILY SHE WANTED. 

“Is it really fair if she had to give those up too?”

WHY DO YOU OPPOSE THIS DECISION ON HER BEHALF?

The voices sound almost baffled by Tikki and Plagg’s opposition.

“Marinette is more than just my holder and our Guardian. She is our friend. She placed our safety and well-being above her own. She deserves more than being tossed aside once her usefulness is up.” Tikki stated.

Then, she looked down and she continued,

“And we have shamelessly let her continue on her path, knowing how it would end. Because we were too afraid to acknowledge that we were using her like a pawn for our own selfishness. Until the end she was selfless. She forgave us for what we did to her. SO I IMPLORE YOU. Please let Marinette live a long life where she would never ever be used by someone else for their own selfish desires. She will live a path free of thorns and people who wish to cause her harm.” Tikki pleaded with the Universe.

The voices were quiet for a long time.

Tikki and Plagg looked at each other with worry at the silence.

WE HAVE COME TO A CONCLUSION. MARINETTE, GUARDIAN OF THE MIRACULOUS, HOLDER OF THE LADYBUG AND PROTECTOR OF GOTHAM AND PARIS, IS FREE FROM HER FATE OF BEING MARKED. 

“But?”

HOWEVER, DUE TO LAWS OF CASUALTY WE CANNOT SIMPLY REVIVED HER FROM THE DEAD.

“And Marinette had closed down all of the Lazarus Pits.” Plagg added, their only option for a resurrection was gone.

THERE IS STILL ANOTHER OPTION.

=====

Jason opened the door of his apartment and Dick was there mid-knock.

“What do you want?” Jason asked.

Dick tried to give him a smile. “Just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Jason rubbed his face as he groaned. “For the last time. I am fine.”

“It’s fine to miss her, you know. Especially since…”

‘It has been a year since she died’ rests unspoken in the air.

Today was the exact day Maria had given up her own life to make sure that Gabriel Agreste gets punished for his crimes.

“Just leave me alone, Dickhead.” Jason walked away.

“Jason.”

“I just- I am coping. As much as I can without getting violent.”

Jason felt Dick hugging him from behind.

“We miss her too. You know that if there was another way, she would have done everything to stay.”

“It’s unfair, you know.” Jason turned around and mumbled into Dick’s shoulder. He hugged his brother.

“After everything, the asshole is still alive and kicking. His son is facing little consequences for what he has done. They should be the ones dead instead of Marinette. Instead, we are never going to see her graduate college, get a job, kick our asses and drive Ra’s mad with her pranks.”

His voice cracked with grief.

“I know, Jay. I know.” Dick hugged Jason tighter and rubbed his back. “I wish for that too.”

Tears ran down Jason’s face as he sobbed.

Ten minutes later,

They both sat around the kitchen island counter.

“So why did you come here?” Jason asked as he set down two cups of tea.

“Oh. Alfred was thinking about doing a little memorial dinner in her honour. Just close friends and family. It would be great if you came.”

“Sounds great. Tell me the details and I will be there.”

Dick smiled, “I will let Alfred know that you’re coming.”

The brothers talked about patrol and stuff.

Then, Dick left.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door again.

Jason sighed.

He opened the door to give Dick an earful about being forgetful when he saw no one there.

He looked around and saw nothing where a noise from below caught his attention.

It was a baby in a basket with a note addressed to him.

“Dear Jason,

Please take care of my dear Guardian

-Tikki”

In disbelief, he carefully picked up the bundle in the basket. Jason couldn’t believe it. It felt like a miracle that he didn’t dare believe.

The baby yawned and opened her eyes. Showing a familiar pair of bluebell eyes.

It was truly Marinette. As a baby but it was still Marinette nonetheless.

“Pixie. I don’t know how but thank you. Thank you for coming back to me.” Jason whispered and kissed her forehead.

That evening, the Waynes welcomed back a new member of the family.

Marinette Todd-Wayne finally came home.

—-

Technically, after this, there could be more adventures but I am not up to writing it. This is where I will end this story.

And to answer some questions you might have.

Does Marinette remember her past life? Not at first. She is still a baby right now but around the age of four or five years old, she would start to remember bits and pieces. She would probably remember everything by age 13.

Does Lila meet her end? Lila never stopped lying. The ghosts tormented her because of that  but no one ever believed her. In the end, the doctors diagnosed her with schizophrenia and moved her to a mental facility where the ghosts would haunt her until the end of her days.

Gabriel died in jail. He thought that he had the last laugh, having killed Ladybug. But upon seeing the news about the welcome of the newest Wayne member on TV, he realised that his enemy had won in the end. She was going to live again, free from him and anything miraculous related.

Adrien and Emilie spent the rest of their lives in London away with Amelie and Felix.

Adrien had tried to approach baby Marinette but the overprotective Batfamily made sure that he never got within 10 feet of her.

When Marinette regained her memories, Adrien was remorseful of how everything turned out. He knew that the spell was just to make him tell the truth and in turn make him show his true colours to everyone so he went to therapy and worked on trying to be less of an asshole.

-

“M’lady.”

Marinette looked up and saw a man in his thirties with blond hair and green eyes that once were her world.

“Agreste.” Marinette nodded in acknowledgement. Under the table, she texted to the family group chat the code for small emergencies.

Adrien frowned with hurt but it wiped away quickly off his face.

“I deserve that.” He replied calmly. Marinette saw that Adrien had grown up and accepted that he had done wrong.

“So.. how can I help you, Agreste ?”

“Cut the shit. I know that you remember, Marinette.”

Marinette looked at him in surprise.

“How?”

“I was once your partner, you know. I can tell.” Adrien answered.

Marinette frowned.

Adrien continued. “Look, I know I messed up really badly. I managed to lift the curse you put on me. I went to your grave and apologised. I know that sorry cannot take back what I did but I still did it because you deserve at least that from me. I have been trying to make up for what I did.”

“Is that why you approached me?” she asked.

“No. It was just a coincidence. I’m not like stalking you or anything.” Adrien clarified. “Your new dad is terrifying.”

Marinette chuckled about Jason, her brother turned dad figure. “He is.”

“I am glad to know that you are happy.” Adrien said. “And for what it’s worth, I want to apologise to you again. I know that I already did it to your grave and all that but you deserve to hear it directly from me. So here it goes… Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

It had been a while since anyone called her that.

“I’m sorry for everything I did as Chat Noir, harassing you to date me, throwing temper tantrums during akuma fights, greatly hindering  you with my selfishness and finally, betraying you for the sake of my father. I never should have listened to him. Even if it was to get my mother back. I should have told you the truth. And I am sorry for the hurt I had caused you as Adrien Agreste. I should have done something about Lila from the beginning. I should have supported you instead of telling you to suck it up. I should have let her lies get too far that it hurt you. In fact, I should never let it get that far in the first place. I am sorry I never did all of that.”

Marinette clapped. “Thank you, Adrien.”

Adrien nodded. At least she accepted his apologies. It was too much to hope for her forgiveness.

“Marinette, I..” Adrien didn’t know how to bring it up.

“There’s more?”

“Alya sorta brought it up when we had a class reunion. That… you had a crush on me. How much you did for me and I never noticed.” Adrien blushed in embarrassment. “Not that I want to do that with you, I mean, I maybe had a few fantasies about that when I was fifteen but not like now because it’s weird and you are like half my age now and I am seeing someone.”

Adrien rambled.

Marinette laughed.

Adrien had a flashback to that sweet girl from his youth.

“What I am trying to say is that. I am sorry I never knew and if I hurt you because I was tactless.”

“You did a lot but I never held that fact against you. Honestly, I let go of my feelings for you because.. Of Lila.”

“I get it. I was a huge dick.”

“Another thing is that I wasn’t my best when it comes to you. I did a lot of stupid things to get your attention.”

“Alya may have talked about that. I am flattered but it was also worrying. But Chat Noir wasn't any better so I can’t talk.”

They both smiled at each other.

Adrien saw that in a different world, Ladybug and Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, would have ended up together. He shook his head to get rid of that thought, he knew better now. He had made sure that would never happen. Even if his father didn’t kill Maria/Marinette, and she had lived on, Adrien wouldn’t get her love ever again.

“Marinette, can we be friends?” Adrien asked before he could lose his courage. Even if he couldn’t love her, he hoped to stay by her side as her friend.

Marinette lost her smile.

“We can’t, can we?” Adrien ruefully answered his own question.

“Adrien, I know that you have changed for the better. You are a great person now. It’s just… we have a lot of history. History I can’t easily erase with a blank slate. I am still trying to sort through everything and try to move on. It’s been hard.” Marinette confessed. “I have been to therapy but they don’t exactly know how to help someone who experienced and remember all the awful things that happened in their past life.”

Marinette looked up. “I’m sorry.”

Adrien moved to hold her hand for comfort before reconsidering his action.

“Look, Marinette, I am not mad. I am a bit disappointed we can’t be friends but I kinda get it. I hurt you badly so you don’t feel like you can trust me ever again. That’s my fault. I knew it wasn’t a possibility when I asked but I had to try.”

“Oh, Adrien.”

“Marinette, at the very least, are friendly acquaintances okay?” He asked.

“I guess.”

Adrien smiled. “You don’t have to try to be friends with me, Marinette. I swear I will be okay. This won’t break my heart. I have someone who will take care of it.”

Marinette asked, curious. “Who are you dating anyways?”

Adrien blushed. “His name is Jaime. Jaime Reyes. I still can’t believe he likes me even after I told him about what I did.”

Marinette choked.

“Marinette, are you okay?” Adrien rushed forward and rubbed her back. 

At the same time, Jason arrived, having annoyed Roy Harper to break several traffic laws to get to Gotham from all the way from Metropolis.

Upon seeing Adrien, he growled. “Get the fuck away from Marinette. What did you do to her, you fucker?!”

He grabbed Adrien and slammed him towards the nearest wall.

Marinette quickly interfered. “Jason, it’s okay. We were just talking. Then, I got caught off guard by something he said.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Well, I was just surprised to learn that he was dating a guy. Nothing big. Just several things that finally made sense now that I thought about it.”

Adrien gaped at her. “I have been out as bi for a decade now. How do you not know that I like guys?”

Marinette scowled, “It’s not like I keep up with celebrity gossip. I don’t look for news with your name like I used to do.”

“So you are good, kid?”

“Yes, Jason. Please let him go. We were still talking.”

Jason did so.

Adrien rubbed his neck and turned to Marinette. “As much as I want to keep talking, I think I should leave. I have to go and meet up with Jaime anyways. He had to run an errand here for a friend of his.”

Marinette nodded.  “Be safe.”

—

After Adrien left, Jason gave a questioning look to Marinette.

“Why did you lie? We all know that you kept an eye on your old classmates so you already knew that he dated guys.”

“What I didn’t know was that Adrien is dating Blue Beetle.”

“The same Blue Beetle Bruce called to deal with those aliens who are trafficking humans?”

“Yes. Now let’s go to Metropolis so I can avoid doing the responsible thing and tell Adrien the truth.”

—-

What about the rest of the class… Well, they all led relatively normal lives. They all drifted apart and only met again at the class union that Adrien had mentioned.

They all faced different challenges and achieved success like any other normal people. Some turned out great despite what happened. Some moderately successful. Some not so great but still managed fine. A few unhappy with their life.

The ones who were marked by Marinette in her ‘ghost’ rampage had a few bad days more than an average person but other than that they had normal lives.

When they see Maria’s brand Afterlife or Marinette Todd-Wayne in a magazine, their heart aches at the thought of their once dear friend.

Now you will ask what happened to her parents.

Well, they moved away from their old building to a different part of Paris and opened a bakery under a different name.

They moved on as best as they could and filled with regrets for losing their daughter twice.

They knew in their hearts that Marinette had lived on as Maria. It hurt them again knowing that she was gone forever once more.

When they saw the news about Marinette Todd-Wayne. They knew it was their daughter reincarnated.

As much as they wanted to see her again, they knew that they would never be able to.

To try to honour the daughter they had, they fostered many troubled kids. Helping them and giving them the support that they should have given Marinette.

They learned from their mistakes from Marinette and did their best to not repeat them with the other kids.

Life moves on and Everyone continues on.

—-

This is the end. Thank you for reading and being on this amazing journey with me.

-----

Taglist: @local-witch-of-mn, @ladyqnoirr, @lolieg, @istoleyourcookies, @pale-lady-dreamer, @ichigorose, @meow-now, @demonicbusiness, @unoriginalmess, @the-drokainian, @joejosyxd,@questionableboi, @talia-scar123, @boredteen19, @geminis93

[marauderundercover]

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For: @lifeexperience hope you enjoy!

Marinette was a simple child of parents who loved her, but not each other. Some of her friends at school had parents just like that, but they were divorced. But her parents never actually married, so they didn’t get a cool word. But really, all it meant was that she had to split her time between her Maman and her Dad. Unfortunately for her, her parents had decided to live a whole ocean apart. So she couldn’t just visit on weekends like her friend Max could. But it was finally summer again, and she was finally back in Gotham. Glancing around, Marinette grins widely the second she spots Alfred. 

“Alfie!” She cheers, running around the other people in the baggage claim area. Alfred’s lips twitch up into a small smile. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Miss Marinette.” He says. Marinette grins widely, pointing to the new gap in her teeth. 

“Look! I lost another tooth.” She says. Alfred raises an eyebrow. 

“Have you already received a visit from the tooth fairy?” He asks. She nods, holding Alfred’s hand as they walk through the parking lot. 

“Where’s dad?” She asks, swinging their arms. 

“Do you remember Mr. Kent?” Alfred asks. Marinette nods. He came to the manor a lot more than her dad liked, but she didn’t mind cause he usually brought his son Jon with him. “He and your father are in the middle of a meeting, and he couldn’t step away.” Alfred explains. Marinette resists the urge to ask if Jon was there too. Hopefully it was just a super quick meeting and then her dad could hang out with her. She knew that he was always super busy. He worked at a really big company, and he had a bunch of kids, and he was Batman. But he was still a good dad, and she knew he tried. 

“Is Cass home?” She asks, buckling herself into her booster seat (Alfred insisted, even though she tried to convince him that ten was plenty old enough to use a normal seat; apparently she was too short). 

“I’m afraid Miss Cass won’t be home for another week or so. Your brothers should all be there, though Master Duke and Master Tim won’t be staying for long. They’re going on a weekend trip with a few friends.” He explains. Marinette hums in surprise. It was really rare for Tim to leave Gotham for something not hero related. She’d have to make a bet with Damian to see what the odds were that Tim and Duke were actually going on a secret mission that they hadn’t told anybody about. It seemed much more likely. Marinette zones out on the rest of the car ride, just watching as her favorite city passes by. She liked Paris and spending time with her Maman, but Gotham had always felt more like her home. Gotham was where her dad and brothers and Alfred were. It was her home. As the manor appears out the window, Marinette grins at the sight of her dad waiting for her outside. The second the car stops, Marinette is out and running to her dad. She launches herself at him and sighs happily as he picks her up and wraps her in a big hug. 

“I missed you too.” He says softly, giving her one last squeeze before setting her down. “How was the last week of school?” Marinette sighs dramatically, grinning when she sees the moment her dad spots her new missing tooth. 

“I lost another tooth! And Alix didn’t even pull this one out for me.” She says happily. Her dad sighs, but she can tell he really wants to laugh. 

“You two are going to cause so much trouble one day, aren’t you?” He asks. Marinette shrugs. 

“Depends on if it’s fun or not. Where’re the boys?” She asks, leaning slightly to look past him. 

“Tim and Duke are packing, and Jason’s in the library. Last I checked, Dick was also in the library attempting to convince Jason to go do something else.” Her dad says with a small smile, the same smile he always got when he mentioned Jason. The memories weren’t super clear, but she did have some memories of when Jason died. She probably purposefully blocked out most of it, though. (Or that’s what Max thought, when she’d talked to him about it once; he was super smart). That was a rough summer. Tim hadn’t come around yet, and her dad and Dick were both really, really sad. And angry. As much as they’d both tried to hide it from her, she heard them yelling. And she saw the reports of what Batman was doing, even if the news only had stories and never any actual pictures of what Batman had become. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t get her dad back to who he was before Jason died. She spent most of that summer baking with Alfred and drawing in the library on the couch where Jason used to read her stories. By the time she came home for Thanksgiving (a holiday she knew her dad didn’t care about, but one he celebrated so that she could have an excuse to come to Gotham more) Tim was there. 

Snapping out of her thoughts, Marinette frowns when she realizes there was a brother missing. 

“What about Damian?” She asks. Her dad frowns as Mr. Kent smiles, and that’s when Marinette remembers Damian talking about his new friend, Kent. Her eyes widen. “Is Jon here?” She asks, resisting the urge to just run towards the manor. Her dad opens his mouth to respond, but Mr. Kent cuts him off. 

“They’re in the game room closest to the living room.” He says. Marinette squeals out a thanks before rushing off. Time to see Jon!

---

Bruce’s eyes narrow as he looks at one of his oldest friends. Clark just laughs, shaking his head. 

“You know she would’ve found them eventually, Bruce.” He says. Bruce huffs. 

“That doesn’t mean you had to just send her off to him.” He argues. Clark raises an eyebrow, the amusement clear on his face. 

“They’re kids, Bruce. It’s not like they’re going to get married tomorrow-” Clark starts to say, but Bruce cuts him off. 

“Or ever.”

“That’s not what Jon said.” 

“Clark-”

“Bruce, breathe. Last time they talked, Marinette apparently told Jon that she was going to marry him one day. It was very matter-of-fact and, need I remind you, they’re children. Plenty of kids have crushes that never amount to anything. And besides that, they’re friends, Bruce. Neither of them have many friends that know about everything. You really gonna take that away from either of them?” Clark asks, crossing his arms. Bruce sighs. 

“Fine. But we will revisit this conversation in a few years.” He says. Clark chuckles, but agrees. Bruce, who knows how determined his daughter can be, doesn’t laugh. 

---

“Jon!” Marinette squeals, running into the room. Jon turns around and grins, opening his arms. Before Marinette can throw herself into the hug, Damian steps between them, frowning. Marinette skids to a stop, raising an eyebrow at her older brother. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Damian asks, looking between them. Marinette huffs. 

“I was trying to hug my friend.” She says, arms crossed. Damian raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms too. 

“Kent is my friend, Marinette.” He says firmly. Marinette’s eyes narrow. 

“He was my friend first!” She counters. Damian turns to Jon. 

“Well, are you going to say anything?” He asks. Jon’s eyes widen. 

“Well, uh, I-” He stammers over his words. 

“Leave him out of this! Can’t you see you’re stressing him out!” Marinette yells at her older brother. He scoffs. 

“Oh, I’m stressing him out?” He asks. “What about you? Rushing in here and trying to hug him with no prior warning?”

“Jon happens to like my hugs.” Marinette says firmly. Damian snorts humorlessly. 

“Are you sure he isn’t just being nice?” He asks. Marinette feels her cheeks turn red. 

“Actually-” Jon starts. 

“Stay out of this, Kent.” Damian warns. Marinette rolls her eyes. 

“Why are you such a know it all, all the time?” She asks, trying hard not to scream. 

“Why are you such a little baby?” Damian taunts. 

“That’s it!” Marinette shrieks before letting out a battle cry. She rushes towards her brother, fists flying. Every time he dodges, she shrieks. She wasn’t trained like he was. It wasn’t fair! Suddenly, arms are around her, lifting her away from Damian just as Damian is restrained by Dick. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is going on in here?” He asks, looking between them. Marinette glances back, stopping kicking when she realizes Jason is the one holding her back. He was officially her favorite brother at the moment. 

“Marinette is acting like a child simply because Kent is now my friend.” Damian tuts, tilting his nose up. Marinette’s eyes widen and she immediately starts thrashing around again in an attempt to go kick the heck out of her brother. 

“You are the worst! That’s not what happened at all!” She argues. 

“Cool it, kiddo.” Jason says quietly. Marinette shakes her head. 

“No! He’s being mean, and I’m gonna beat him up for it!” She insists. Damian snorts, but immediately stops at the look Dick gives him. 

“Alright. You two clearly need some time apart right now. Jason.” Dick nods towards the door and Marinette’s eyes widen. 

“This isn’t fair! Why does Damian get to hang out with Jon? He’s probably hung out with him all day! He’s my friend too!” She complains, going limp in Jason’s hold. Jason sighs, taking her out of the game room and towards the library. 

“Just breathe, Mari. I’m sure you’ll get to hang out with Jon a ton this summer. He’s over here all the time now.” Jason says. Marinette’s face falls into a frown. Before Damian came, Jon never wanted to hang out at the manor all the time. Even when Marinette was in town. Did he….was he really her friend? Or was Damian right. “Okay kid, if I set you down, do you promise not to go beat the shit out of the Gremlin?” Jason asks. Marinette nods. 

“I uh, I think I’m really tired, Jay. I’m gonna go take a nap, okay?” She’s trying really hard not to cry. Jason frowns, but nods. 

“If you’re sure. Hey, you know you can talk to me, right?” He asks. Marinette nods, and gives Jason a half hearted smile before she heads upstairs. Was Jon really her friend?

---

An hour later, Marinette’s door creaks open slightly. She glances over and waves half-heartedly at Jason. He frowns. 

“Hey kid, are you okay? I thought you were gonna take a nap.” He says. Marinette shrugs. 

“Not tired anymore.” She says. Jason’s eyebrows scrunch together. 

“I was gonna head home,” He starts, and Marinette feels her shoulders slump even more. “But, if you want, you could tag along. I was gonna make spaghetti for dinner.” He adds. Marinette perks up immediately. Damian may want to hog Jon (who may or may not be her friend), but Jason was always there for her. 

“Can we watch Little Women? The one with Winona Ryder?” She asks, Jason grins and nods. 

“Sure thing, kid. Grab a bag and let Bruce know. I’ll wait outside.” He says. Marinette nods and quickly packs up a backpack, then hesitates. It was only her first night back home. If she asked her dad, she ran the risk of him saying no. And then she’d have to eat dinner with Damian. And Jon. Nope. No, siree, she wasn’t going to risk that. Grabbing a piece of paper from her desk, she scribbles out a little note. It’d be fine, and if he was mad at her…well, he probably wouldn’t be mad. She was leaving a note! Just in case, she hurries down the back stairs and out the side door. No need to risk running into her dad. She’d talk to him tomorrow. 

---

Bruce lets his shoulders relax as he walks in and sits down for dinner. Clark had left just after Marinette arrived, but he’d had League business that couldn’t wait. Which meant dinner was the first time he’d be able to actually sit and talk to his daughter since her visit at Easter. Looking around the table, he frowns. 

“Has anyone seen Marinette?” he asks. Tim glances around, then shakes his head. 

“Uh, no. Actually, I haven’t seen her all day. Wasn’t she coming home today?” He asks. Bruce nods, trying to push down the worry welling up. 

“Little D?” Dick says, and Bruce glances at Damian, narrowing his eyes. 

“Damian. Care to explain?” Bruce asks. Damian purses his lips and tilts his chin up. A move he got from his mother. 

“She was acting like a child. We argued and Todd removed her from the game room.” Damian says simply. Bruce sighs, pinching his nose. 

“What was it this time?” He asks, shaking his head. It never seemed to fail. Every time Marinette came to stay, she and Damian found something new to fight about. It never lasted for long, but he’d come to accept it as an undeniable truth. The sky was blue. Grass was green. Damian and Marinette argued. Simple. 

“I hardly see how that-”

“They were fighting over me.” Jon blurts out. Bruce raises an eyebrow. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Well, I’m friends with Damian now, too. And so he was mad when Mari was trying to hug me, and then she yelled back at him since we were friends first and I tried to stop them but they kept fighting so Jason and Dick made them split up and then I didn’t get to say anything else to Mari and so she probably hates me now.” Jon rambles, eyes wide as his lower lip trembles. Bruce resists the urge to groan. Of course they were fighting over Jon. 

“Shall I go get Miss Marinette from her room?” Alfred asks. 

“No, I’ll get her. Damian, tomorrow we’re going to have a talk about friends. And the fact that multiple people can be friends with the same person.” Bruce says firmly, heading towards his youngest daughter’s room. He knocks. 

“Mari? Sweetie, it’s time for dinner.” Bruce says. He frowns when she doesn’t answer. “Mari?” He calls, knocking again. Bruce purses his lips. Perhaps she fell asleep? He knocks one more time before gently pushing the door open. He doesn’t panic at the empty room. He’s completely calm and collected. The paper that catches his eye on her desk, the letter letting him know that she’d be back the next day and not to worry- that’s what makes him panic. Flashbacks of five years ago. An empty bedroom. A note. A crumpled form in the middle of an explosion. Steadying his breath, he rushes downstairs. He wouldn’t go through that again. He couldn’t. 

“Master Bruce-”

“Marinette’s gone.” He says, clutching the note like a lifeline. 

“What?” Jon squeaks out, his eyes wide. Bruce turns to Dick. 

“We have to find her. Dick, will you call Jason? The rest of us will head to the cave. Everyone needs to be on comms and suited up in twenty minutes.” Bruce instructs. And not even the familiar feeling of directing a mission can bring him calm. Not while his daughter is missing. 

---

Marinette sips her chocolate milk, shaking her head at the tv. 

“You know, sometimes I wonder how Jo and Amy are able to like each other again after all the times they kinda suck and are kinda awful towards each other.” She says. Jason raises an eyebrow. 

“Yeah?” He asks. She nods. 

“Yeah. But then I remember all the times that we all fight, and I kinda get it.” She sighs. Jason snorts, shaking his head. The landline rings and Jason reaches over and grabs it. 

“Hello.” He says simply. Marinette looks away from the movie, instead watching her brother’s face as shock quickly covers it. “What? No- I- Dick, shut the hell up and breathe. She’s fine. No, she is. She’s with me. Well- I- I thought B knew. Yeah. Mmhmm. Call the calvary back, she’s fine. She’ll be back tomorrow morning after breakfast. Because I promised I’d make pancakes. No, not for you Dickhead. Uh huh. Bye.” Marinette quickly turns her attention back to the movie, hoping he doesn’t try to talk to her about it. 

“I wonder if I could wear a dress like that to the next gala.” Marinette muses, hoping it’ll be enough to change the subject. Instead, the movie pauses and Marinette sighs. 

“So. Are we going to talk about this? Or am I just going to give you a little lecture?” Jason asks. Marinette pouts. 

“Why do we have to do either? Why can’t we just finish watching the movie?” She asks. Jason lets out a long breath. 

“Do you remember when I died?” He asks bluntly. Marinette flinches back, looking at her older brother with wide eyes. He winces. “Sorry, kid. But I promise it’s important.” Marinette frowns, eyebrows scrunching together. 

“Well. Yeah, I- I kind of remember it. It’s not super clear, but…I remember.” She says, pushing down the wave of sadness that wells up inside her. It was one of the hardest times of her entire life. 

“I don’t know how much you remember of that time, but I ran away first. I was determined to figure out who my birth mom was, so I left. And do you know what I did?” He asks. Marinette shakes her head. “I left a note. I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving, not even Alfred. I just left a note. And we both know how that ended up.” He says. Marinette’s eyes widen. 

“That’s what I did to dad. I just left a note- I thought- I didn’t want him to tell me I couldn’t go. I didn’t think it would-” She stops, trying hard to stop her tears. Jason opens his arms and she throws herself at him, crying. “I’m sorry.” She says. 

“It’s fine, kiddo. I know the whole Jon and Damian thing really upset you. But- and I’m gonna sound like a fu-freaking hypocrite here- but you’ve gotta communicate.” Jason says. Marinette sniffles, and leans back. 

“Do you think dad’s gonna be really mad at me?” She asks timidly. Jason shakes his head. 

“No, kid, I don’t think he will. I think he’ll be too relieved to be mad.” He says. Marinette starts to respond, but a tap on the window makes her jump instead. Jason immediately leaps off the couch and heads for the window. “Of freaking course.” He huffs before throwing the window open. Marinette frowns, until a familiar person steps in and her eyes widen. 

“Mari!” Jon calls, running over and giving her a big hug. Marinette blinks a few times, before she relaxes and returns the hug. 

“What’re you doing here?” She asks once he pulls away. 

“Yeah. I’d also like to know.” Jason says, walking over and crossing his arms. Jon laughs awkwardly before reaching back and scratching the back of his neck. 

“I uh, I was worried about you.” He says. Marinette feels a smile creep onto her face. 

“Really?” She asks. He nods. 

“Course I was. You’re one of my best friends.” He says. She raises her eyebrows. “Yeah, uh, I already told Damian that people can have more than one best friend. I think your dad’s gonna talk to him more about it tomorrow, but I didn’t wanna stop being your friend.” He says. 

“Still best friends forever?” She asks, holding out a pinky. Jon grins and links his pinky with hers. 

“Forever and ever.” He says simply. And he was right. 

When Marinette and Jon get married fifteen years later, it surprises no one.

Tag list: @maribat-secret-santa

Permanent tag list: @stainedglassm  @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess @crazylittlemunchkin @buttercupsbitch @toodaloo-kangaroo @kking13

[ghostdoodlen]

Marinette passed out and Jason is trying his best.

Platonic or romantic, it's up to you. I'm more platonic.

Chaos siblings ✨

[lily-drake]

Peter and His Pixie

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me, And Lost Boys like me are free

Previous

After a year of collecting money he was almost able to afford the private investigator that was highly recommended by Gotham’s middle class, he just needed a bit more.  He’d find his Pixie no matter what, she was his Pixie after all.  He looked around for a good car to steal parts from when he saw the jackpot.  The Batmobile.  It looked like it had just gotten new tires, but the hubcaps hadn’t been replaced yet.  Surely he wouldn’t mind if he took those old things, it was for a good cause after all, and Batman was known for his “good causes”.  Looking around he didn’t see anyone so he quickly got to work.  After years of doing this, he was able to remove and hide the first three tires.  He was headed back for the forth when he heard a deep voice say,

“Coming back to finish?”

He jumped and held his tire-iron out in defense when his eyes landed on the big bat himself.  He turned to run, but wasn’t able to get far as the dark figure lured over him and grabbed the hood of worn out red hoodie.  He wasn’t afraid though, he couldn’t afford to be afraid, he needed to find his sister d*it!

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Tightening his grip on his weapon he grit his teeth.  He wasn’t going to get out of this, and it would do more harm than good to attack him. He would just have to find a few more different cars to steal from.  With a sigh he said,

“I’ll put ‘em back.”

Batman raised a brow and stepped aside and released his hood, but still kept close enough to grab him if he tried to run again.  He got the tires out of their hiding places and quickly reattached them.  Once he was done he tried to leave but the stupid bat grabbed him once more.

“Come with me.”

Oh no.  He had to get away now .

“Like h***.  I put ‘em back now, leave me alone.”

It seemed he didn’t have a choice though as he was thrown into the Batmobile and the hatch closed when the Bat was in too which meant that he no longer had a way of escape.  The next thing he knew was the car was speeding off at nearly impossible speed and soon after he was in a dark cave.  The hatch opened, but Jason didn’t dare get out now.  He only dared to peek out slightly where he saw an old nicely dressed man standing and waiting there for them.  

“Oh goody, company.”

The old man said with a heavy British accent.  He stayed on guard, he doubted that any good could come from being taken by The Batman.

“Please do follow me.”

The man said again, as he turned to walk away.  Jason turned and saw Batman staring at him, he quickly followed the old guy not wanting to be near Batman in case he got any other ideas.  He followed him to some stairs and stayed a few feet behind him as he followed to make sure there weren’t any traps.  He was led to a hall that looked extremely fancy.  He felt out of place in his torn up hoodie and torn jeans.  He was led to a room where the man opened a large door and walked inside first, as if to demonstrate that there was not a trap there.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor young master.  My name is Alfred Pennyworth and I am at your service.  I will try to find some suitable clothes while you go wash.  I will also provide a warm meal, please ask if you need anything.”

After that he walked away.  Wait.  Did he say Wayne Manor?!  As in playboy Bruce Wayne’s manor?!  He hesitated before he cautiously went into the room as there was still a chance that there was some type trap set in place for when he entered.  The room was big, too big for comfort.  It was cold, then again he’s always been cold since he lost his Pixie Dust.  Some stupid Captain Hook took her from him.  He needed to save his Pixie back!  He looked around the room looking for any  recording devices.  When he found none, he went to the bathroom and did the same thing before he dared to even touch his hoodie.  When he was done looking and concluded that there was indeed nothing there, he stared at the large bathtub/shower.  It was big, fancy, and filled with bathing supplies.  Maybe a bath wouldn’t hurt, he honestly didn’t remember the last time he took one.  

He closed and locked the door, checking multiple times that it was really and truly locked, he stripped and stepped into the warm water of the shower.  He washed his hair multiple times until brown and gray stopped coming out from his hair.  It felt nice to be clean again, he would have stayed in the warm water for the rest of his life if he were able.  But the thought that somewhere out there, his sister could potentially be being beaten, dead, or worse…raped, filled his mind and all he wanted to do was get out and go back to searching for her.  He needed to get back to his safehouse where he kept all of his cash.  He just a little more then he could find her!  He could nick something from the manor here, he doubted the man would miss it, and that would be more than enough to pay for the investigator!  But, that’s not what ended up happening in the end.

________ He lived with Bruce for about a year and became his Robin a few months after he took him in that fateful night.  It was August when he felt small aches and pain in random places.  He was used to it as he sometimes felt them before he got adopted by Bruce, but they felt more frequent now.  He often felt uneasy, but it wasn’t the manor, it was something else.  He just didn’t know what yet.

________ He didn’t fully trust Bruce yet, even after a year of being with him.  He didn’t want to tell him about his sister, but he must have known about her by now.  He highly doubted they hadn’t checked his background, yet Bruce had never mentioned anything about her.  He did all his research for her at the library, he refused to risk it.  He didn’t want his sister roped into his new crazed life if he did find her.  He knew she’d try to get herself involved if she knew.  He was able to narrow down his search, but he still hadn’t found her!  He hired the investigator, a better one than the guy he was going to use from before, but he hadn’t been much help yet.

________ Gotham Academy was …interesting.  He hated the uniforms, but he was just happy that he was able to go back to school.  Unfortunately it was very uptight, and everyone there were snobs that looked on him even though he currently had the highest marks in almost all of his classes.  He knew he didn’t belong there, he knew he was just a street kid who got lucky, but dang it if he wasn’t going to take advantage of everything he could get before Bruce finally saw that and kicked him back out onto the streets.  He hoped beyond all belief that his sister was ok, that may be she too was at least receiving a good education wherever she was.  He hoped she got lucky and was able to escape if she was put into a horrible place like his thoughts often imagined.  She would probably fit in here.  She always had this magical way of attracting people to her.

________ Bruce just didn’t seem to understand.  These people were ruining Gotham!  It was best to take them out before they do any more harm to the city because he knew that they wouldn’t be prosecuted.  The system was too corrupt!  He’s not saying they need to kill them, just make sure that they can’t hurt anyone else by giving them a permanent injury or two.  Gotham will never get better if they keep breaking out of the revolving door that is Arkham and Blackgate just to continue to hurt more and more people.  As he was looking through some information on the Batcomputer he noticed a file off to the side.  It was information he had gathered from Jason’s search for his sister.  Bruce had been going through his information even when he wasn’t using any of his personal things to do his own search for her.  There was a message from the investigator he had hired that stated that it appeared that she had been taken to Ethiopia.  Why would Bruce hide this from him?  There were notes next to the message saying how it might not be true, but he didn’t want to risk it.  He didn’t have time to waste, he didn’t have time to ask Bruce to take him there, and didn't want to risk him saying “no” when she was so close!  So he left, he was going to bring her back to him even if it was the last thing he did.

________ It turns out what he did was a terrible decision.  He didn’t think that the man would trick him so that he would run right into the Joker of all people.  Now here he was beaten to a pulp by the Joker by a crow bar about to die in an empty warehouse with the only thought being that he needed to escape so that he could find his sister.  He didn’t want her to find out that he died if she ever returned.  He just wanted to see her smile one last time.  The bomb slowly ticked down as memory after memory played through his mind as he wiggled the locked handle that lead to the outside world.  Tears slipped down his cheek as he chanted over and over in his mind,

“Sorry Pix, I wasn’t able to find you, I’m so sorry.  Please be safe, please be alive, keep going for me.”

3…

2…

1….

Batman was moments too late.  The bomb exploded and with it Jason.  

________ Marinette was now 23-years-old and aching in the invisible grief that devoured her life.  She just wanted to go home.  There was nothing left for her anymore in Paris.  She had taken the black cat, butterfly, and peacock miraculi back and made sure that Gabriel and Natalie were placed behind bars for their crimes.  Now that she and her class were adults she no longer had anyone to protect.  So with the money she saved from commissions she bought a ticket and flew back to Gotham, back to her home.  She had to see if her brother, her Peter that made her want to fly away, was still there, still looking for her.  She was bouncing in anticipation, she couldn’t wait to see him after so many long and painful years.  She just knew she’d recognize him if they crossed paths, she just hoped he’d recognize her.

It was night, which was a terrible time to be out.  She didn’t mean to leave this late, but she was held back at the grocery store line.  As she walked back to her apartment, pepper spray clenched tightly in hand, she listened for even the smallest of sounds as she continued her walk past the alleys.  When she began to hear footsteps behind her she turned a corner and waited for the person foolish enough to think they could trick her.  Never again she told herself.  Never again would she fall victim to another person’s schemes to use her for their own personal gain.

The sound of footsteps stopped at the mouth of the alley and when she saw the figure turn she sprayed the pepper spray in the person’s eyes.  She heard the giant man scream in pain as she kicked him in the groin and kicked his temple successfully knocking him out.  She knew how to play dirty, she knew playing dirty was the only way to survive in this place.  She looked up and saw a figure on the roof above her.  She looked up the vigilantes here to see what she had missed, there had been three new Robins since she had been taken, and one of them went missing, many theorized he was killed.  The original moved on and became Nightwing.  But the one on the roof was definitely not the current Robin.  This one was big and had a hideous red helmet covering his head.

“Hey, are ya gonna come help?”

She called.  He had been watching her for a bit, and she didn’t know why.  When the figure landed beside her she studied him closely still on guard.  It seemed he was watching her just as intently.

“New here?”

He asked, the helmet distorting his voice to sound more cold and mechanical, yet he still sounded almost familiar.

“No, I lived here for the first eleven years of my life.  Was taken and shipped to Paris while on the streets.”

He also felt familiar.  Something in the back of her mind said that she could trust him, and she had learned early on in her time as Lady Beetle to never ignore her instincts.

He lifted his hands to touch his helmet in certain places at the back of his head as if to take it off.  She got ready in a battle stance and prepared herself.  But she wasn’t prepared.  No.  She wasn’t prepared at all.  There he stood.  She didn’t need to see his eyes to know who he was.  He had his face, there were even a few scars on his face where she had patched him up.  She knew this man in front of her, she had known her for all of her life before she had been stolen from him.

“Peter?”

“Pixie Dust?”

She broke.  She ran into his arms and sobbed.  He held her tightly to him as well, gently swaying them side to side for a bit before he leaned down and whispered,

“Can I take you back to my safe house?  We can talk there.”

All Marinette could do was nod against his chest.  Goodness he had gotten so tall!  With that confirmation he quickly lifted her in a backward piggyback hold and ran back to his safe house, to their safe house.  

“I d-didn’t mean t-to be taken.  I t-tried to fight.  I-I…”

“Shhhh…. It’s ok Pix.  It’s ok now.  I’ve got you.  I know for a fact it wasn’t your fault.”

Tears fell down both the siblings' cheeks as they were finally reunited.  

“I’m s-so glad I f-found you.”

“Me too Pix.  I never stopped lookin’.  I swear it.”

“I know.”

Now, Red Hood had plans that night.  He was going to stake out a warehouse near Crime Alley where people thought that they could bend his rules then plot a course of action to teach the morons a lesson on why you follow the Red Hood’s rules; but when he saw familiar dark hair, when he saw those blue eyes in the dark, when he saw her take down the man with moves that he had taught his sister, he just had to be 100% sure.  He needed to check to make sure it was really true.  So when he talked to her, listened to her voice, saw the freckles on her face, the familiar scars from when they were on the streets, he knew that whatever his plans for the night were, they were not important anymore, in fact he could always deal with the fools tomorrow.  He had his sister back and she had her brother back, and if Marinette had any say in what would happen next he knew that they would rule the Underground together.  She had been just as intricately involved as he had when they were on the streets.  She knew what the drug trade was like, what criminals were like when they thought they could do whatever they wanted with no consequence.  They both lived through the consequences of those exact actions. If the bags under her eyes and the aged look of a warrior returned from battle had anything to say, she’s seen more than they ever should have while she was away.  For now though, for now they could simply exist together.  Brother and sister reunited after so many years of loss.

Jason hummed a gentle song to his sister, as he continued to rock her as she cried deeply into his chest.  He ran his fingers through her hair, she used to love the feeling whenever he did it before, and placed gentle kisses on the crown of her head every so often.

“I missed you.”

She would whisper.

“Me too.  I’m so glad you’re back.”

He would whisper back.

“I love you Peter.”

“I love you to my Pixie Dust.”

And it would repeat until the early hours where they both fell asleep desperately clinging to the other as both prayed that this wasn’t a dream and that they were indeed reunited at last.

~End~

Taglist:

@mystery-5-5 @aespades @adrestar @astrynyx @doll246@queenz-z @toodaloo-kangaroo@crazylittlemunchkin@seraphichana @miraculous-ninja @dorkus-minimus@mysticsoulgirl @ritacrow-blog @snow-leopard-777@fidget-eep@sometandomstuff333 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @shreeing @achaoticmess1 @liquid-luck-00@buginetye @stainedglassm@prettylittlebutterflie@laurcad123 @iloontjeboontje@heartsong18@raeuberprinzessin @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jennifer-rose123 @moon5608 @corporeal-terrestrial @skitarii-alpha-c6-555@saltysugarysembei @phantom120@kking13@depressed-bitchy-demon

[lazy-alex]

@maribat-calendar-events

"Quick nap"

| Jasonette July 2022 | Day 4 | thighs | very short one-shot

[Masterpost]

Marinette likes Jason's thighs.

Not only that he can beat up assholes with it, his thighs are a really good place to nap on!

His thick, muscle-ly thighs are perfect.

Sure it can crush a watermelon but, she knew her brother would never hurt her! So, she took every opportunity to take a nap at his thighs!

Its not her fault that she can't find any place to sleep but there. Especially on nights out. Or long sleep nights. It is the best place to take a nap after an exhausting fight. Even their siblings agree too!

Its the BEST natural pillow she can find!

So its not her fault why Jason couldn't stand up right now. Blame it on his thighs.

Its also not her fault why all of her siblings joined her in the couch. Blame it on the thighs.

-

I didn't expect to get sick for two days lol

This one is cute and fluffy

Unlike the next one MUWAHAHAHHAHA

[mochinek0]

Do you have a list for all your other mari bat works

I only have 3 right now. I am working on other Maribat one shots. Dickinette, Jasonette, Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne, Platonic Daminette, sibling Maribat, and Felinette incoming.

Dinner with Destiny

The Al Ghul Family

I Could be a Better Boyfriend

[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

[ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole]

Bros - Wolf Alice

Song Fic Saturday

Tag Team Tournament 2022

Day 7 (and all the others day prompts in one)

Platonic Jasonette

Masterlist

………………………….

Shake your hair, have some fun

Forget our mothers and past lovers, forget everyone

Oh, I'm so lucky, you are my best friend

Oh, there's no one, there's no one who knows me like you do

Jason smiled as he watched his friend dance, losing herself to the music that blasted out the DJs speakers. The stress from earlier melting out of her frame as she moved about the dancefloor without care, without worry. He had made a promise months ago, that he'd alway be there for her and he was making sure that he kept it. Watch Marinette being carefree filled Jason with warmth that he gave her that security. That she trusted him, even now knowing he was Red Hood.

Seeing her grin at him waving at him to join her Jason downed the remainder of his drink, placed it on the bar and went to greet her. He allowed himself to share her happiness as they danced and giggled around the room. Forgetting the darkness and pressures of the outside world for a brief moment in time.

Are your lights on?

Are your lights still on?

I'll keep you safe

You keep me strong

Marinette found out about her friend being a crime lord in an unexpected manner. She was coming home from placing misma eating charms around Gotham and heard a noise in an alley next to her apartment block. Having carefully investigated it, she found nothing but a few stains of recent blood.

It was when she entered her apartment she heard crashing sounds coming from her bathroom. Taking the Glock Jason had given her, Marinette crept towards the darkened noisy room. Shoving the door open and switching on the lights Marinette found herself aiming at the bleeding Crime Lord slowly shuffling through her hefty med kit.

"That looks like it hurts."

Came blurting out her mouth as she stared at the man, gun still aimed at him. He started to move his hands towards his helmet and Marinette unclicked the safety causing a robotic "Pixie" to escape the mask causing her to pause. That pause was enough time for Jason to appear behind the mask of the feared crime lord. Flipping the safety back on, Marinette's focus shifted towards the medical kit.

"What do you need? What happened? What's the most important injury that needs attention first?"

The quick fire questions seemed to get Jason to re-focus on why he chose to use the nearest 'safe house' he knew and not go to one of his, his siblings or the manor. Awkward stab wounds and losing blood aside, the outcome was perfect. Marinette's cool detached practical medical approach was exactly what was required then. Emotions could come later.

Apparently (according to Jason afterwards when they finally talked) Marinette acted with an icy coolness of a vengeful angel, that he was so proud of her, before shouting at her for being an idiot next time not put herself at risk and just call him. He'd protect her. He promised to always to protect her.

There friendship was cemented when Marinette said she didn't care about his destructive methods for clearing up Gotham. He had his way, she had hers and she was staying right here. With him.

Remember when we cut our hair?

We both looked like boys but we didn't care

Stick it out together like we always do

Oh, there's no one, there's no one quite like you

Jason always says his friendship with Marinette was founded on mistake identities and chaos. Then betrayal from his own non-flesh and non-blood.

Marinette's hair was growing out from a pixie cut at the time, she was reading something on her phone drinking coffee at the dive bar he frequently went to. Her slouch and oversized Jagged Stone t-shirt added to the illusion of being his stalkerish younger brother.

Annoyed that Bruce had sent a spy to observe him, Jason stormed up and loomed, his hulking presence casting a shadow over the dark haired person. Jason was about to make his displeasure known, only to pause when a doe eyed woman blinked up at him in surprise rather than his grouchy sleep deprived sibling. The surprise on her face melted into an angry glare ready to battle him with as much force as he was about to too.

Jason's festering anger and brooding faded fast into confusion.

The whole confusion was an interesting ice breaker. Which led to a conversation. Which in turn led onto frequent meetings which developed into a friendship with pranks set to confuse the hell out of his siblings.

They became thick as thieves in plotting together.

The pair were often deliberately sighted together around Gotham, causing the papers to report on Wayne Sibling days out. It occurred so often that Tim started to question his own sanity as the others queried whether it was hallucinations.

Jason blames that he was cursed when Tim 'uncovered' Marinette. Marinette laughed at him as Tim smirks in the background.

"So you thought your brother, who you know looks like me, was me. You saw him queuing despite us agreeing to meet here not at a coffee shop… so kissed him and then you.."

"Ran away."

Jason pouts as his friend cackles at his misfortune. Tim was smart enough to chase Jason and find out where he was hiding and watch his emotional take down occur. Jason didn't like the looks Tim sent to his friend but unlike his brother, Marinette's whole attention was on him

"Cheer up Jay, just means we have another ideal candidate to help us prank the rest."

Are your lights on?

Are your lights still on?

I'll keep you safe

You keep me strong

Bruce and the rest found out about Marinette when Black Mask thought he had the perfect opportunity to kidnap an heir to Bruce's not so small fortune. Unfortunately for everyone, Tim was sitting in the same room as Bruce when it occurred, along with Jason.

The way Jason stood up and instantly headed towards the cave told everyone he knew something. The way Tim tensed and fretted with his lip suggested he knew more about it than when. Bruce ended up playing along until Red Hood's guns were blasting in the background.

On Hood's confirmation that the victim was rescued, did Bruce hang up and look directly at Tim who was trying to escape the room.

"Did you know about this? This 'victim' that Jason seems to know."

Tim realised he was trapped under Bruce's observant eyes. That Jason had sold him to the wolves some could hide with Marinette. Oh well, it was easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. Plus Jason owed him for the attempts on his life and all, so sold him out back.

As Bruce went off to hunt for his wayward son, Tim ran to his civilian motorbike. Based on the limited information that Marinette had given him of the time getting to know her, Tim could guess where Jason was heading.

Tim ended up bursting into the right apartment.

"I was on my way to buy you flowers as a get well gift and warn you.."

Tim shouted out as Jason finally lowered the gun only to raise it as Batman entered to room via the window.

"... B is on his way…"

"Nice heads up Replacement."

Tim snorted at Marinette, who cuffed Jason and frowned with distaste at him.

"Explain!!!"

Ohhh

Jump that 43

Are you wild like me?

Raised by wolves and other beasts

I tell you all the time

I'm not mad

You tell me all the time

I got plans

Jason and Marinette eyes darted between each other as they held a silent conversation. The subtle gesturing between them left Bruce and Tim semi baffled. The conclusion though, was that secrets were spilt.

Jason gave a brief covering of how they met, how they helped each other. How Marinette patched him up and like Tim, and anyone who had half a brain, figured the rest out.

Marinette in turn spilled her own secrets. Of the trials of Paris, and how it burned. How God-like sprits came into her possession. How she saved Paris, the world in a way. How she grew up around hero's, guardians of a thankless city learning on the job.

She smiled as she explained why she came to Gotham, and about the misma. About how Jason balanced her, his wildness to her planning. The shared trauma of stolen youth.

Ohhh

Jump that 43

Are you wild like me?

Raised by wolves and other beasts

I tell you all the time

I'm not mad

You tell me all the time

I got plans

Bruce's post explanation interrogation was stressful. But evidence all pointed to it being true. Which is why Jason took Marinette out to dance.

She needed to let the trauma and anxiety go. Let her hair down and have some fun.

To ignore the past.

To forget everyone.

Just to be free, happy and with someone who understood it all.

Jason was glad Marinette chose him to be her best friend.

Me and you, me and you, me and you

We could do better, I'm quite sure

Me and you, me and you, me and you

We could do better, I'm quite sure

Me, me, me, me, me and you

Me, me, me, me, me and you

[abyssal-ali]

Ranking of maribat ships (again, only my opinion/preference, no hate)

All can be either romantic or platonic but I usually prefer romantic (with side platonics, optional)

Jasonette

Daminette

Jasonette with sibling Daminette/ Daminette with sibling Jasonette or Timinette

Timari/Timinette

Brucinette

Dickinette

Alfred x Marinette (I've never read an Alfred x Mari fanfic but I wrote a drabble once.) [I think the ship name should be NetteWorth]

[peterxwade24]

Safety Found in Red Sleeves Shorts

Her Little Glowstick

This is a short about Thana and Duke (featuring Uncle Ozzy because he just kind of snuck his way in there). I hope you enjoy this.

Enjoy ~

Thana was being followed, which wasn’t unusual in a city like Gotham, but the person doing the following seemed too small to be on his own. She led him through a series of back alleys and tunnels which would lead them to one of her hidey-holes. She knew that he would be able to fit through all of the tight spaces, unlike Jay-Jay.

She glanced over her shoulder and recognized the bright safety yellow hoodie he wore. “Hello, Little Glowstick. What’re you doing out so late?” She refocused on the ground in front of her and slowed down to let him catch up.

“Could ask you the same thing.” He reached out and grabbed the hem of her hoodie. “‘Sides, it’s not like anyone’ll miss me. Ma and Pa are running errands and none of the rest of the adults’re really all that keen on havin’ me ‘round.”

“Well, you can stay with me for a while. I don’t mind.”

---

Thana draped a red hoodie over top of Duke’s ridiculously bright hoodie and ushered him into the Iceberg Lounge. “Uncle Ozzy!”

“Oh, my little Chick. You get bigger every day, maybe someday you’ll be as big as me.” Oswald smiled at Thana and glanced behind her at the boy whose hand seemed to have a vice-like grip on her hoodie. “And you must be this new boy she’s been spotted with. Oswald Cobblepot, most people call me Oswald.”

“Duke, uh, Duke Thomas. She calls me Little Glowstick.”

“Uncle Ozzy, play nice. Where’re Pere and Gale?” Thana searched every face she could see for her uncle's righthand women.

“They’re out right now, on a liquor run. Should be back soon. Why don’t I take you both on back to the VIP area?”

Thana seemed to brighten at the idea. “Is Aunt Lina back from her trip?”

“Selina is in fact. She’s back there with Edward and Jonathan now.”

“C’mon Little Glowstick.” Thana reached back, grabbed Duke’s hand, and started pulling him back to the VIP area. “You’ve gotta meet Aunt Lina, Uncle Jon, and Uncle Ed.”

Oswald chuckled as Thana dragged the boy through the club, bobbing and weaving around the patrons. He knew he’d do anything for his niece, even if all he could do was provide a safe place for her to retreat to when she needs to get away from things.

---

Duke dropped in on Thana often, nearly every day for weeks. The duo was seen in the Iceberg Lounge every few days, occasionally they were at Pam’s garden, but mostly they were just seen around the city. They grew close and most nights would find Duke tucked against Thana’s side as she whispered old stories to him.

His favorites were always the ones about her and Jason, and how their meeting wasn’t the best.

---

Duke burst through the doors of the Iceberg Lounge, one of Thana’s red sweaters pulled over the top of his obnoxiously bright yellow hoodie, and fell into Oswald’s arms. “She’s gone.” Duke’s voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears.

“Who’s gone?” Oswald whispered and he stroked Duke’s back. “Peri, Gale, can you watch over this lot while I go to my office?” He received a single nod and turned away from the masses.

Duke buried his face in Oswald’s chest and sobbed his heart out. The last month had been hard on him, first losing his parents to the Joker and his Joker Gas, and now this. He felt like his whole world was crashing down around him.

“Hey, Kingfisher,” Oswald knelt down to Duke’s level and wiped his tears away, “can you tell me what’s wrong? Who’s gone?”

The tears returned and he crumbled to his knees. “Thana, she’s, they, the fuzz, they, she’s gone. The fuzz got her.”

Oswald held Duke close, promising that he’d look after Thana’s Little Glowstick in her absence. “Hey, Kingfisher, calm down. It’ll be okay. You’ll be okay. I’ll still let you in here in your yellow.”

Duke grinned a little at that. “Thought red was the only colour you let kids in wearing.”

“You’re not kids, you’re Kingfisher, you’re my Chick’s chick.” Oswald brushed away the tears on Duke’s cheeks and offered him a smile. “That makes you my nephew, and family is always welcome in my club.”

---

Duke frequented the Iceberg Lounge, spent many nights camped out on the couches in both the VIP area and in Oswald’s office, he grew close with several of Thana’s aunts and uncles over the years. Thana was never far from Duke’s thoughts, because in all the time they’d spent together, Thana treated him like he was her little brother or if he were to be so bold he would say that she treated him much like his mother did before she lost her mind. Duke was, after all, Thana’s Little Glowstick.

Taglist:

@amigotasbien @maribat-is-lifeblood @mystery-5-5 @our-preciousss @mochegato @chocolatecatstheron @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @2confused-2doanything @wannajointhecrabcult @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmymind @moonlightstar64 @justafanwarrior @mialuvscats @pheony1882 @pepelachanel @moongoddesskiana @abrx2002 @ladybug-182 @greatcatblaze @thatonecroc @vixen-uchiha @superbwhispersconnoisseur @sauseyyy @susiej1118 @bluesimani @thatonecroc

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (12)

[Masterlist]

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Here)  (Part 13: The END)

-----

Gabriel sat and stared at the white walls of the interrogation room as the French police investigated the murder of one Maria Todd-Wayne.

MT’s personal assistant, Tam Fox, had received a distress signal from her employer that she had on her since she was from Gotham and had experience various dangerous situation.

Tam went to see what the situation was only to find a bloodied Gabriel Agreste laughing over Maria’s corpse.

According to the Police, evidence and the cameras in the mansion (although the footage was a little finicky like something else was interfering with it.) had shown Gabriel panicking after accidentally pushing his assistant, Natalie Sancouer down the stairs where she had hit her head hard and fell unconscious.

Maria, who had scheduled a meeting with Gabriel to negotiate selling his company to her (which he remembered turning it down after she revealed who she was), walked in on the man while he was trying to move the body elsewhere. He attacked her, thinking she witnessed the fall and to silence her so she wouldn’t report him.

Natalie is currently in a hospital but doctors are baffled and unable to wake her up from her coma.

Although he no longer has a team of lawyers working for him, he managed to hire one of them with what little fortune he had left who had straight out told him that pleading guilty would be the best option.

He had killed Maria Todd-Wayne, MT, one of the world’s greatest and beloved designers since Edna Mode, and one of Bruce Wayne’s children. She also had a lot of celebrity friends like Luka Couffaine, Jagged Stone, Kagami Tsurgi, Felix Culpa and a few superheros like the Bat clan of Gotham, Wonder Woman, Superman.

All of them were calling for his head on a pike, none more so than the Wayne family who were using every resource at their disposal to drag the Gabriel name through mud and destroy whatever is left of what he had dedicated his entire life to built.

So even if by some totally impossible miracle he manages to get off his sentence (through bribery), there will be mobs out for his blood. Jail is the safest option.

—---

It was not the end of it. The entirety of Paris rear its head when the police uncovered evidence of his time moonlighting as Hawkmoth.

(When in reality, Tim and Barbara dug up many deleted files of his activity as Hawkmoth and left many tracks for the police to follow. There was a few planted physical evidence that Nooroo helped make it look as authentic as possible. Everything Gabriel had tried to cover up, the Bats made sure every dirty laundry of his was there for everyone to see. They are the night. They are vengeance and all that.)

Someone leaked the fake ‘journals’ Gabriel had apparently kept to keep track of akumas and their progress against the heroes. The last page had a paragraph where ‘Hawkmoth’ revealed Ladybug’s identity as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of Adrien’s classmates.

(No one ever managed to figure out who had leaked it. Meanwhile, a rich blonde who smiled at her phone before muttering to herself about how ridiculous and utterly ridiculous that she had no black dress that was appropriate for a funeral.)

Paris was horrified to find out that Gabriel had managed to turn Chat Noir against Ladybug and kill her and later, making her death to be a suicide and covering up her death by bribing some officers so the truth wouldn’t be revealed.

The city of Love mourned for their fallen heroine, who fought for them and was finally receiving the justice she deserved a few years too late. But better late than never.

There were memorials for Marinette Dupain-Cheng and lots of people visit her grave to leave flowers and gifts.

Nobody seemed to connect the dots on how similar the long dead Marinette Dupain-Cheng and the recently deceased Maria Todd looked.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a salt fic if Lila and everyone else get dragged along for fun. In HM’s journals, he mentioned getting the help of Lila Rossi (lots of emphasis on the name and many details so there is no doubt that he is talking about another Lila Rossi) for his plan to akumatise Miss Dupain-Cheng which many people now know was Ladybug.

Gina decides it was a good time to drop (a pre-approved) ‘Diary of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Everyday Ladybug’ containing entries from Marinette’s diaries with a few things redacted for her privacy (plus Miraculous secrets). And all proceeds from the sales of the books going to the Marinette Foundation to help teens in need (set up with help from Wayne Enterprises).

People paled in fear at how close their heroine nearly succumbed to akumatisation many times as she was bullied and isolated.

The book showed how Ladybug was, under her mask, just human. A normal girl with dreams and a crush who wanted to do good for the world. A girl who was also severely bullied and isolated and received no help from the adult figures in her life and only had a few friends who tried their best to support her.

Lila and the akuma class were glared at and everyone whispered of every horrible thing each of them did.

The akuma class’s parents cried and yelled about how their kids turned out like this, and that they had taught them how to be better as they waved Marinette’s book in their hands.

Lila was last seen by everyone to be dragged out of the school by police officers and to be put on trial for aiding Hawkmoth as an accomplice.

Francoise Dupont was investigated and authorities were horrified at how deep the corruption was. Caline Bustier was fired without question and same with M. Damocles. The entire school was reformed and policies were implemented so nothing like what Ladybug had gone through would happen again.

The Dupain-Cheng bakery shut down and moved away from Paris after how many people tried to ask them insensitive questions about Marinette forcefully or vandalising the place for how they had mistreated Marinette.

The lawyer Gabriel had hired quit, regardless of how much Gabriel offered. Which was not very much to be honest. He had nothing now.

Gabriel was charged with a lot of things, his actions as Hawkmoth were at the top of the list and the murder of Maria Todd was second.

He was sentenced to serving a lifetime in a maximum security prison, somewhere cold and where he would have to do a lot of labour.

Natalie will never again wake up from the coma but she was also charged with being an accomplice.

Meanwhile, Emilie moved to London to be closer to her sister after hiding in the States with Adrien as she waited for Gabriel to meet his doom. (Gotham was considered but dropped in favour of the less gloomy Metropolis.)

Adrien gets some backlash for his actions as Chat Noir and his inaction as Adrien to stop Lila from bullying her. If he ever steps into Paris again, people threaten to hunt him down with pitchforks.

A few wanted Emilie to also get arrested but many were sympathetic towards her as she was mostly unaware of how she became cured and she later revealed that she was trying to get away from Gabriel once she found out that he was Hawkmoth.

Chloe did get some haters for her bullying but most of Paris forgave her due to her redemption arc and being friends with Marinette near the end of her life.

It helped that she also had the many charities and non-profit organisations she set up over the years with a few of them in honour of Marinette.

—---

Across the globe, the Waynes buried another family in the Manor plot.

Jason had insisted on holding off burying the body for a month in case she gets resurrected again and with magic you can never tell so the rest of them complied with his request.

After the one month period ended, they finally held the funeral that Maria had planned.

Jason for a long time stood in front of the grave, desperately hoping for his little sister to dig herself off like she did many years ago when they first met.

After hours had passed and nothing happened, he finally let go and mourned.

The following week, Gotham noticed Red Hood being more violent than usual and that none of the other Bats restrained him.

—---

Someplace far away, where it is nowhere and everywhere, where the laws of the universe were made and none of them apply, Marinette opened her eyes.

—----

In Tibet, Guardians tend to their business when an unsettling feeling enters everyone.

Days ago, the Order had come knocking in Gotham for the Miraculouses under Maria’s care. The Bats had handed them over without much resistance except Batman warning them that they would take them back if they were ever found used for evil.

Su-Han went to check on the Miracle Box.

Kwamis’ powers were usually unpredictable especially when they are emotional, with Tikki’s chosen recently deceased, she had retreated into a shell of herself as she grieved. Many other kwamis were in a similar state but Tikki was understandably hit the hardest.

As soon as he got within a few feet of the Box however, it opened and a huge beam of light came out. From within, nineteen balls of lights in different colours emerged and took on an almost humanoid shape with their respective animal characteristics.

The Kwamis were freed.

Soon after, other Boxes in the Temple and all over the world opened with all of the kwamis being freed. Most of them didn’t hesitate to vanish into their home realm where they were from.

Back in the temple, after other kwamis had vanished, only Tikki and Plagg had remained.

“Guardian.” Plagg said the title with mockery. The only Guardian who was ever worthy of that title was Marinette and she had earned it with her kindness. “I think you are wondering what the hell is happening.”

“I demand that you tell me what you are doing right this instant.”

For the first time in a while, Tikki finally spoke.

She told them about how Marinette before she died had managed to find out about the origins of the Miraculous and how Kwamis were not meant to be tied down to the physical plane for this long. 

This was the other imbalance that the Universe brought her back to fix. She had performed the ritual using her blood and soul to slowly destroy the binds tying the kwamis to their Miraculous.

It also meant that Marinette gave up her chance at paradise or reincarnation to give the kwamis their freedom.

“Do not retaliate by attacking the Bats and their chosen city. They didn’t know nor took any part in it. Marinette made sure of that. There will be consequences if you touch them.”

With that, Tikki and Plagg left the mortal plane.

“Sugarcube, just to check. The ritual protection spell we set for Gotham is still in place, right? The one which we changed one of the conditions to as long as they set foot with no intent of harm.”

“Of course, Stinky Sock.”

“Cool, just checking. Because you conveniently left that part out.”

“I gave them a warning. It’s their wish if they choose to ignore it.”

“I think I am rubbing off on you.” Plagg cackled, just thinking about the chaos that would be unleashed if the Order tried to get to the Bats.

Tikki ignored him and instead went faster.

Plagg easily caught up to her, “Looks like someone is eager to see Pigtails again.” He tried to lighten up the tense atmosphere Tikki was giving off.

“It’s not that. I have a feeling that They have more plans for her.” Tikki replied worriedly.

“Pigtails can’t catch a break and such is the fate of the Marked. If it wasn’t for that ‘man’, ” Plagg spat the word out like it was a curse, “this would have never happened.”

“The ones with the Mark are bound to serve Them. Those are the rules. I can only hope that I can give her the peace she deserved with my testimony.”

“And mine too. It is partly my fault that she ended up this way. I should have done better.”

“Plagg, it’s not your fault. You know that.”

“If I had reined in my holder-”

“The blame lies on the man who chose our holders and the man who chose to abuse Nooroo for his selfish desire.”

—---

Marinette looked around her surroundings. Everything was dark but somehow she could still see.

And she sensed many presences surrounding her.

“Who are you?” She asked.

WE ARE THE ONES WHO GAVE YOU THE TASK OF RIGHTING THE WRONG.

The voice was disembodied like many voices speaking over each other and yet somewhat in harmony. It sounded like wind chimes and also the loudest roar of thunder. The voice did not speak nor was it heard. Instead it was like the words washed over her like an ocean wave.

“Okay. So what now?”

YOU WILL BE SENTENCE-

“Stop.” Two figures appeared in front of Marinette. Both of them shielded Marinette from the other presences. “We demand a re-trial.”

There was a slight familiarity from them. One was a tall woman who was all red, from her hair to her clothes to her skin. They were all a varying shade of red with black spots dotting her body. She also had translucent wings on her back which fluttered.

The other figure was of a man who was all black like the woman from his body to his clothes. Marinette could make out cat ears on the top of his head and a tail lazily poked out from his back. The only colour he had other than black was two neon green eyes that held a mischievous glint.

“Tikki? Plagg?” Marinette asked.

“Hiya, Pigtails.”

------

(Part 13: The END)

Note: This story is nearing its end. Thank you to everyone for being patient. I will try my best to give a satisfactory sent-off.

Taglist: @local-witch-of-mn, @ladyqnoirr, @lolieg, @istoleyourcookies, @pale-lady-dreamer, @ichigorose, @meow-now, @demonicbusiness, @unoriginalmess, @the-drokainian, @joejosyxd, @questionableboi

[ali-kitkat]

Marinette, talking to Jason: I feel safe around you.

Jason, not wanting to ruin his reputation of being an asshole: You take that back!

[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

[ms-starflower]

Young Survivors — Part 6 — Maribat

<Previous | First | Next > AO3

Guys, guys, guys. This is it. This is what I've been waiting for since almost the very beginning of this story. Jason and Marinette have a conversation, with each other!

Ngl, I was lost on what to do with myself after I finished this chapter… But! I’m back on track, no worries!

Big shout out to @emistar0 for giving me this fantastic idea for the reunion! You’re fantastic, it has lived rent free in my head since our conversation, and I really, really hope I did it justice!

And the greatest of thank you to @buterflies-and-ladybugs (AO3) for beta-reading this chapter and saving it from unwanted French words and weird phrasing!! I’m very, very grateful!

Credit to @1rosebyanyothername (AO3) for Jason’s Raawr joke, I’m so glad I could insert it in the story!

Also, man, there is more feels in this than I had originally anticipated. And it continues in the next chapter soooo…..

Be ready, people.

Taglist:

@frieddonutsweets @imarivers8 @queenz-z @emistar0 @jayjayspixiepop @waffleyunsure @bigpicklebananatree @kking13 @redbullgivescaswings @ritacrow-blog @marvel--unsolved @redgemsposts @alexizlazy @toodaloo-kangaroo @gajer-1226 @adrestar @noisydeputyturkeybear @unoriginalmess @achaoticmess1

A dreary room appeared on the screen as the video started. An attempt at making it kid-friendly could be seen, but it was obviously a room from a police station, or some other kind of government-funded institution.

A little girl of Asian descent was sitting on a chair facing the camera. Almost out of frame, and a little underneath the camera, a man and a woman could be seen sitting, facing her.

“Come on, kid,” the man started with a soft voice, in heavily accented English, before leaning slightly forward. “Can you tell us your name, at least?”

The little girl didn’t react, beside a narrowing of her eyes.

“Alright kid, what about that? If you tell us your name,” he continued, one of his hands searching for something in his jacket. He took out a lollipop and presented it to her. “I will give you this—”

The girl cut him off with a scream. She screeched loudly, eyes closed shut and voice full of terror, quickly putting as much space between her and the lollipop as humanly possible. The man stood up, panic obvious in his movements.

The woman rushed to the kid, trying to calm her down and failing. The man made a move to follow her, only to bump into the table in his way. The kid, Marinette — Mei, opened her eyes at the sound, and screeched even louder when she saw the man trying to get closer to her.

“Okay, Mark, get out,” the woman said in French, turning toward her colleague.

“Quoi?” The newly identified Mark asked, freezing in place.

“You are stressing her out! We are not going to get anywhere if you stay here!” She hissed, turning to glare at him. “Get out!”

Mark’s shoulder slumped, but he turned around and got out of the room. The woman didn’t say anything until they heard the sound of the door closing.

“Alright honey,” she said in English, her French accent almost unnoticeable. “I got him out, he is not here anymore. See?”

Marinette nodded shakily, eyes staring unblinkingly in the door’s direction.

“My name is Laure,” the woman said slowly, still trying to get a name out of the girl, sitting down more comfortably on the floor. When she saw she wouldn't get an answer, she continued. “Can you tell me what about Mark scared you?”

Marinette turned her stare toward Laure for a moment, and when they were starting to think she was not going to answer when she opened her mouth.

“It’s not good when strangers give you candy,” she said softly, her tone making clear that she thought Laure wasn’t very bright, if she needed an explanation. “Because if they do, then they take you out of your home.”

“Gotham, right?” Laure asked, and Marinette’s eyes widened in surprise. “It was in the files we found with you. They knew where you came from, but not your name.”

“They didn’t ask for a name,” Marinette said flatly.

“Can you tell me your name?” Laure tried again, a little smile on her face.

“No,” Marinette stated, causing Laure’s smile to turn a little strained.

“Ah, okay,” Laure said slowly, obviously at a loss of what to say. “What can you tell me about the people who took you?”

“They had candy,” she responded without hesitation. “When can I go back home?”

“Well, it will depend on when we find you a home,” Laure said with a smile. “The child psych–”

“Just put me in one of Gotham’s children’s halls,” Marinette said with narrowed eyes. “Which one doesn’t really matter.”

“Sweetie,” Laure said with a grimace. “You’re not going back to Gotham.”

“What?!” Marinette exclaimed loudly, getting up from her position on the floor. “You can’t keep me from Gotham!”

“Sweetie–”

“Don’t ‘sweetie’ me!” Marinette cut in with a shrill voice. “I have to go back to Gotham! Annie is in Gotham!”

“Who is Annie?”

“Family,” Marinette hissed, trying to walk around Laure to run out of the room.

“Then tell us your name!” Laure exclaimed, grabbing Marinette around the waist. “We can find your family with your name, then we will send you back to them.”

Marinette stayed silent, glaring down at the floor.

“We — I can’t help you if you don’t give us your name, honey,” Laure tried again with a tired sigh. “Help me find Ann—”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What are you watching?” Bruce's voice cut in from behind them, and Duke saw Barbara push the spacebar to put the video on pause.

The three of them turned around to stare at him intensely, and Bruce’s head jerked back in surprise at what he saw on their faces.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s file on the Batcomputer,” Duke told him, wanting to see his reaction. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t for Bruce to shake his head in amusement.

“Tim already asked for your help? He gave up earlier than I thought,” he said with a chuckle.

“What does Tim have to do with anything?” Duke asked, confusion clear on his face and voice. He really didn’t know how Bruce came to this conclusion.

“What do you mean?” Bruce asked with a frown. “If not because of Tim, why are you looking at Miss Dupain-Cheng’s file?”

“Why is Tim looking into her?” Barbara asked, instead of answering, turning her wheelchair completely around to face Bruce.

“Don’t change the subject,” he told her with a frown. “What are you not telling me?”

“Why do you have a file on Dupain-Cheng in the Batcomputer?”

“Barbara, what are you not telling me?” He asked in his I’m-not-joking-around tone. She stared at him for a moment, before rolling her eyes with a sigh.

“Do you know her name? The one she had before being found in Paris?” She asked him slowly, and all three of them studied Bruce’s face carefully.

“No,” he said with a frown, his eyes moving to the paused video on the screen. “Mrs Perreault tried to get it out of her for another twenty minute in this video, but she barely even said another word. And if she told her family or friends after that, there is no mention of it anywhere. Why?”

“We do,” Barbara said slowly, her fingers tapping a rhythm on the arm of her wheelchair. “She was in the Riddler’s attack at the school, and it came up in the conversation between her, Dad, and Duke.”

“Alright,” he said, and Duke could tell that he was apprehending their next words. Bruce looked at him before continuing. “And what is it?”

“It’s…” Duke started, shooting a look at Barbara, who only looked encouragingly at him. The traitor just didn’t want to be the one to tell Bruce. He took a deep breath, before looking back at Bruce. “She said it’s Mei Leyton.”

Every muscle in Bruce's body visibly froze at this, all emotions were wiped out of his face, and he stared at Duke intensely. He then turned toward Barbara, silently asking her to confirm.

“It looks like it checks out. We don’t have pictures of Mei after her seven’s birthday, and she changed a lot between then and when the French police found her but,” Barbara started, turning her wheelchair back toward the monitor and bringing things up on the screen as she talked. “I put it in facial reconnaissance software and it’s a match.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Mei Leyton,” Bruce stated more than asked with a quiet voice. He walked forward until he was standing just beside Barbara, looking at the screen with so much intensity, Duke was afraid it would catch fire. “The same Mei Leyton I’ve been looking for, for eight years now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were still looking?” Barbara asked with a tone of reproach, and Duke could say that she was pissed. “You told me that she was most probably dead, that I should stop looking. You forced me to stop looking, and then you go and look for her?”

“You were using the search for Mei as a way to cope with Jason’s death,” Bruce told her, not unkindly. “It wasn’t good for you, I couldn’t let you continue.”

“But it was good for you?” She shot back with a glare. “Don’t tell me looking for her wasn’t a coping mechanism for you, too!”

“It was different.”

“It was not!”

“Barbara,” Bruce said with a sigh, before seemingly deciding to let the subject drop. “Did you tell Jason?”

“Not yet,” Duke said when Barbara stayed silent, only continuing to glare at Bruce. “We found her file on the Batcomputer, as Marinette, and we wanted to know why you had it before talking with Jason.”

“It didn’t have anything to do with Mei’s search,” Bruce said, instantly understanding what Duke wasn't saying. “I wouldn’t have kept it from Jason if it had.”

“We just needed to be—”

“Then what is it?” Barbara cut him off, still staring at Bruce. “Why do you have a file on her?”

“For another reason,” he just said.

“We want to know this reason, Father,” Damian intervened for the first time, and Duke had almost forgotten he was even there, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Bruce.

“This is not something that I’m at liberty to discuss with any of you,” he replied, with his you-won’t-make-me-change-my-mind tone.

“No,” Barbara breathed out, and Duke looked at her to see her jerk back in surprise, eyes wide.

“Barbara,” Bruce said with a warning tone.

“I’m right, aren’t I? She is… You can’t keep that from Jason, Bruce,” she told him, with the same voice she used on Dick to make him stop using so much puns on patrol.

The tone she uses when she already knows the battle is lost.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss this with anyone, Barbara,” Bruce said again, more forcefully, and Duke knew the subject was closed. And that Damian and him wouldn’t be privy of the information Barbara obviously deduced. “You should call Jason, the earlier we tell him, the better.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why is she splitting up with her class?”

“How should I know? You’re the one with a crush, Timbo, work it out.”

“It’s not a crush—”

“No names in the field, Hood.”

“You sounded just like B, Nightwing.”

“Har, har. Hilarious. Also, totally a crush, Red.”

“It’s not! She made B react! And she acted weird at lunch—”

“You took her out already? Wow, you’re working faster than you were with Ladybug, congrats Red!”

“Ah, I don’t know about that. She knew you were there, at lunch, or were you just spying on her?”

“Oh my god, can you both shut up! B all but confirmed there was something going on with her, I just want to know what!”

“So you’re gonna follow her?”

“Yes! Nightwing, can you take over the class for me, please?”

“...Fine. But don’t be creepy with her, Red, okay?”

“Seriously?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking through Gotham’s bleary streets as an adult was so different from living in them as a kid; Marinette couldn’t help but be amazed. And maybe it was weird, but it really was an amazing experience. She did tell Alya that Gotham had changed a lot in ten years, but she hadn’t really realized how much until now.

She honestly hadn’t thought her teachers would still let her go on her own, what with the Riddler’s attack, but they didn’t even protest a little. Apparently, the paperworks and waivers she and her parents signed that allowed her to roam free after school hours, were more than enough for them.

Now, she just needed to lose her tail.

She didn’t know why one of Gotham’s vigilantes — she couldn’t see them well enough to identify which one — was following her, but it was probably because of how she took care of the Riddler situation. And, honestly, she would have let them tail her, she could understand why they would be wary of her in their city, but not today. Not for what she wanted to do.

And maybe shaking a tail from one of the Batclan wasn’t a smart move to make them forget her, but…

She didn’t need, or want, spectators for when she was going to visit the closest thing her mother had to a grave.

So she worked her magic.

She walked straight into a dense group of passerby walking in the other direction, and started walking with them. She took off Ashley’s jacket, putting it in her bag, before untying her hair, taking out the cap and sunglasses she had in her bag and putting them on.

When her group merged slightly with a group going into the opposite direction, the one she was taking originally, she slipped in with them, losing the cap then. She changed groups again, putting Ashley’s jacket on backward and losing the glasses.

She did it a couple of times more, before she was totally sure she did shake them off. It was a detour, making her route longer than anticipated but, on the bright side, she was now in front of a cute little flower shop. Hopefully, they would have some Iris, they always were her mother’s favourites.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I lost her.”

“What?!”

“What do you mean, you lost her?!”

“I mean that I lost her tail! I’m not speaking Spanish Hood!”

“I speak Spanish, I would have unders—”

“That’s not the point and you—”

“Cut it out, guys. Can we go back to the fact that Red Robin just lost a target?”

“Yeah, Red, aren’t you like, the best stalker in this city? How the hell did a high schooler spot and escape you?!”

“I don’t know if she knew I–”

“She lost you, Timbo, of fucking course she knew you were following her.”

“Hood, no na—”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist. Where was she when you lost her, raawr?”

“...”

“...”

“What was that sound at the end, Hood?”

“What? Raawr?”

“Yeah, that. Are you having a stroke?”

“Har har. No, but Nightwing is insisting on codenames only.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s his codename.”

“No it’s not. I’m pretty sure I would know if my codename was… Raawwrr.”

“No, not raawwrr, Raawr.”

“That was the exact same sound…”

“No it was not. The first is the sound you make when you’re having a stroke. The second is how you pronounce the double R.”

“Are you serious right now? Seriously? Can’t you just call me Red? Or Red Robin?”

“No, I’m not like other girls, Raawr.”

“What the hell, Ja—”

“Tututut, Nightwing said no name on the field Raawr.”

“And I’m now begging you to stop this torture, Hood.”

“You brought this upon yourself, Nightie.”

“No. Hood don’t—”

“Anyway! Raawr, her location?”

“...”

“Just tell him, Red. He will not stop, no matter what we say.”

“You betcha I won't.”

“...Fuck you. She was a little past the 4th, going south, I think. Why do you even want to know?”

“And she went there by passing through Main or Schnapp Avenue?”

“Schnapp Avenue.”

“And you said she was originally from Gotham?”

“Yeah… She said she was adopted at ten, but her Mom died at seven. She didn’t mention anything in between.”

“...What was she wearing today?”

“What? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I think I know where she is going, I just want to be sure.”

“And her clothes would help…how?”

“Just answer his question Ra–Red.”

“Ugh, alright. She was wearing a dress, blue and white, with black embroidery, some sort of flower I couldn’t really see, because she had a Gotham Academy’s jacket. I don’t think the jacket was hers, obviously.”

“I think it was a camellia. I know where she is going.”

“How?!”

“...”

“Hood, how do you know where she is going just through Red’s description of her clothes? For that matter, how do you know what flower— Oh.”

“Yeah, she is going to visit the Fallen’s Memorial, on Camellia Street.”

“What memorial?”

“Do you know how long the morgue keeps bodies, after the case is classed, Raawr?”

“A year in Gotham. Too much murder, not enough places in the morgue.”

“And do you know what they do if nobody reclame the body? If, say, they don’t have family left, or their family doesn't have the money to bury them?”

“They… Yeah, they incinerate them…”

“Yeah, and the people in Camellia are the most touched by that. Do you know how many workers are killed there every year? Too much. And do you know how many bodies end up buried every year?”

“...”

“One, maybe two. And only if they had a rich and generous regular… Not something that happens a whole lot. So they put up a memorial, it’s the closest those people have to a grave.”

“And you think she is going there?”

“Going by the directions Raawr gave me? It’s the most likely option.”

“Yeah, he could be right. And… The flower did look like a camellia, from what I could see.”

“I’m not far from there, I will try to pick up the trail again, see if she notices me as fast as she noticed Raawr.”

“She didn’t—”

“Sorry! I can’t hear you! I’m going dark, bye Raawr! Bye Nightie!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey Mom,” she started slowly, putting down the flowers, a couple of beautiful white Irises, in between all the other ones.

The Memorial wasn’t much, only names painted on a wall, but it was all they could afford to remember all the people who couldn’t be buried.

It took her a minute to retrieve her mother's names, taking the time to pass a hand on all the names that were added since the last time she was here. Jason had made it a point to take her here every couple of weeks, and even more regularly at the beginning.

She had missed coming here.

“I sincerely hope you and Jason are well, Mom. Although, you better be taking care of each other, alright?!” She told the wall, a sad smile on her lips.

She had talked to her mother while away from home, of course, in the dead of the night, or when she was in the middle of a crisis. But being here… It made her feel so much closer to her mother.

“You probably already know, but my life has been a mess for a while,” she said softly. “But it’s finally getting better! And I’m gonna be home, permanently, soon. I got admitted to Gotham U, for a double major in design and business.”

She put her hands in the pocket of her dress — one of the wonders of making her own clothes — and started to sway slightly on her feet.

“I met two of Jason’s brothers in the last two days. I don’t know if they knew him or not, I just…” She sighed, shoulders slumping a little. “I don’t know where he is buried. I know it’s not important to be there to talk to him but… I already let him down in life, I wouldn’t forgive myself if I never get to see him. If I don’t ask him to forgive me face to face. But I didn’t have the strength to ask them for the location. I’m not even sure they would have given it anyway but…

“Tell him I’m sorry, Mom. Please, tell him I tried to come back. Tell him I didn’t want—” She cut herself when she heard steps behind her, turning her head slightly to see what was happening.

She thought it would be another mourner, or maybe the vigilante picking up her trail again, but the smug smile on the man's face was not something a mourner would wear here. And he definitely wasn’t a Bat.

“Well, what a cutie like you is doing out there,” he said slowly, his words a bit slurred.

“Don’t you know where we are?” She asked, eyes narrowed. If she had known how much this trip would grate on her nerves, she would probably have made that deal with Lila, back at the library. “Don’t you have any respect?”

“What? Are you here to pay your respect, maybe?” He said with a small mocking laugh. “With how dolled up you’re? I don't think so.”

“How dare you—”

“Come on, babe, just give me a price,” he continued over her, as if she didn’t even open her mouth.

“I wouldn’t take you as a client even if you were to pay me with Bruce Wayne’s fortune,” Marinette snapped at him, letting go of her bag and taking a menacing step toward him.

But, of course, he didn’t take her seriously.

“Then I’ll just take what I want,” he said, stretching out an arm to grab her, and his smile turned vicious.

She grabbed his forearm before he could, turning him around with it and pushing him. She locked it in his back, pushing the pig’s face first in the wall opposite the Memorial, not without taking notice of the sound of someone landing behind her. When whoever landed there didn’t make a move, she put them on the back burner and focused back on the pig.

“Listen, you asshole,” she hissed in his ear, locking his arm higher. “I’m having a very bad week, and it started only two days ago, and now you’re trying to be the biggest salopard ever, when I’m at my Mom’s grave for the first time in years? You are lucky your nose is the only thing that I’m going to break tonight, shithead.”

He opened his mouth, probably to spew more bullshit, and Marinette grabbed his hair with her free hand, and made good on her promise. It had the fortunate side effect of getting him unconscious. Which was a plus in her book.

Satisfied, she turned around, only to find herself face to helmet with Red Hood.

“Oh. You are Red Hood,” she said dumbly, blinking up at him.

“That I am,” he replied, and despite the voice changer, Marinette could hear amusement in his tone. He looked down at the pig’s unconscious body.

“I’m not usually that violent,” she felt obligated to mention, tone a bit bashful.

“Hell, don’t feel bad about it, he had it coming,” Red Hood told her, his head slightly tilted, like he was studying her.

“Well… It was fun meeting you, I will let you take care of him,” Marinette said, pointing a thumb toward the pig. “I’m a big fan of your work, by the way.”

“Of my work?” He asked, tone incredulous, head jerking back in surprise. “You mean, Batman—”

“No. Well, yes, but at the moment I was talking about yours,” she said, walking back toward her mother’s name. “He did a lot for Gotham, but you, you changed things in Crime Alley more than he ever did.”

He stayed silent for a moment, and she could tell he was staring at her intensely. She ignored him, passing a hand over her Mom’s name.

“Bye Mom,” she said softly. She ignored Red Hood’s sharp inhale of breath behind her, used to this reaction when people learned about her mother. “I will come back before I leave, I promise.”

She turned around to grab her bag and leave, only to find Red Hood way closer than he had been a second ago. He was staring at her, there was no way he was not, fist closed tight by his sides. She couldn’t see them, not with his gloves, but she was sure his knuckles were white. She didn’t have the time to be surprised, because he said something she wasn’t expecting to hear.

“Sandy?” His voice was low, his tone broken, and the word was mostly choked out, but she knew what she heard. She tensed up, her features twisting with anger.

She was at the end of her rope, everything since the start of this trip kept piling up, but that? That was just too much.

“Where did you hear that name?! How do you know anything about that name?!”

She took a menacing step, even if she didn’t expect him to feel threatened by her, ready to keep questioning him nonetheless. But…

He took a step back, putting his right hand in front of him, the thumb of his left hand cracking his middle finger, and let out a nervous chuckle. And she… She paused.

Because it was impossible. Unbelievable. But…

“What name? I didn’t say any names, did I? I was just,” He said nervously, still laughing awkwardly.

It was right there. In front of her. Hitting her in the face like a brick. After all, she had seen weirder before, hadn’t she?

“Asking when you leave! Sunday! I said Sunday!” He added, almost crowning in victory.

And how many times did she see this reaction before? The position, the crack of his finger, the name. It was him. It could only be him. (She would break if she was wrong, she knew she would but… She couldn’t be wrong.)

“Because you probably leave on Sunday don’t y—”

“Annie,” she choked out, barely a whisper, but it shut him off. And that was the only confirmation she needed. Tears started flowing down her cheeks, the dam she put on years ago breaking off. She whimpered again, painfully this time, her breath staying stuck in her throat. Choking on her own words, she forgot how to breathe. “Annie.”

He stayed silent for a moment too long, and Marinette broke harder than if she had been wrong. He was here. He was alive, somehow, but… He hated her. And she knew why; she left him after all. He was right to hate her, he had all the reasons to.

And there were not a lot of things she could tell him to make him forgive her.

But she could try.

“I—” She started, only to be cut off by her own sobbing. She extended her right hand toward him, only to stop herself, bracing it against her chest with her left hand. She didn’t have the right to touch him, not when he so obviously hated her for what she did. “I’m so sorry. I know you hate me, I know— You probably think I choose to leave, but I swear, I didn’t— I tried to come back to you, I really did but they wouldn’t—

“And I know that doesn’t change anything about what I did. I know I still left you, and you probably can’t forgive me for that but— I know I have no right to ask you that, but please, just listen to me. Let me explain why—”

The pig she had beaten unconscious made a sound, reminding her of where they were, and what Jason was wearing. Because of course her brother would come back from the dead and become a vigilante with a side of crime lord.

“I can’t force you to listen to me,” she said, forcing herself into Ladybug mode — again, she hadn’t done it two time in a day since Hawkmoth. “But if you can give me a chance to explain myself, please, come find me. I’m staying at the Belle Monico, room 317.”

She turned toward the pig, but he was still out of it.

“Please, Jason,” she added quietly, and he jerked in surprise. She only called him Jason when she was feeling down.

Then, like the courageous woman and superhero she was, she turned around and fled the place.

She couldn’t stay to hear him say no. Hear him say that what she did was unforgivable, that no matter what she would say, nothing could convince him to forgive her.

That he hated her more than he had ever hated his father.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was frozen. Locked in place, his muscles refusing to listen to him. She was here. In front of him. She was not lost to him anymore. She wasn’t dead. She was talking to him, alive, breathing, healthy, crying. He could understand why, though. He was crying too. She was alive. His little sister was alive.

“I can’t force you to listen to me but, if you can give me a chance to explain myself, please, come find me. I’m staying at the Belle Monico, room 317,” she said, looking back toward the asshole — who had just tried to hurt his little sister. “Please, Jason.”

He jerked back, because what? She wasn’t supposed to be sad. They just found each other again, it was a happy occasion! Then, the words she had been saying to him finally registered. Explain herself? Forgive her? She wasn’t responsible!

He knew she didn’t leave him on purpose, that something else, something out of her control, happened to her. He never believed otherwise, not even for a second. How could she doubt that?

By the time he understood what was happening, she was already turning the corner. He was about to follow her, even if having Red Hood run behind her would be far from convenient. He didn’t really care at the moment.

But, before he even got one foot off the floor, he was cut off by Red Robin barging in with his bike.

“Turn on your comm Hood, that’s urgent!”

He closed his eyes, sighing. The timing was shitty, but the interruption made him rethink his project to corner Mei in his Red Hood get up.

“Take care of that asshole, Red Robin.”

Tim looked taken aback, by the sharp tone or the complet codename, Jason didn’t know, and didn’t care. He turned around, making his way back toward his bike. He really didn’t care what Bruce wanted him to do in tonight’s patrol, he had better things to do.

Still, to let him know he would have to turn on his earpiece.

He sighed, but reluctantly did it. Already opening his mouth to talk, but cut off by Oracle’s voice.

“—tter pick up, Hood. Seriously, what sort of idiot goes dark at the start of patrol?! If he is not on in two seconds, I will virtually end—”

“Calm down a notch, Oracle, would ya? I was busy,” he cut her off, not wanting to know what she would have done to him. She could be vicious.

“Hood! Great! Come back to the Batcave,” she told him, going directly to business. Fuck, that meant that, whatever it was, it was serious. “We got knew informations about Dupain-Cheng and—”

“You mean; that she is Mei?” Jason said, cutting her off again — not something he would have done, if he wasn’t a total wreck at the moment. He heard a couple of gasps, letting him know that this information had already been shared in the family. “Yeah, guess what. You're late to the party.”

“Jason, you need to come to the Cave,” Oracle said, and that actually made him pause. Barbara was almost as uptight as Bruce when it concerned codenames. That she would call him Jason in the suit…

Then he remembered why he had been tailling Mei in the first place. Bruce. What had he known, exactly?

“I’ll be there in twelve minutes,” he told her, voice dark.

“From your position it would be twenty,” she replied, and he knew she was frowning.

“Twelve minutes, Oracle,” he repeated, before turning his earpiece off. Despite knowing that it would definitely piss her off.

If Bruce had known that Marinette was Mei…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took him eleven minutes to reach the Cave, and Barbara was impressed despite herself. She would never tell him, of course, or he would never shut up about it. Once he calmed down, at least.

“Jason, it’s not as serious as it seems,” she started, rolling her wheelchair to cut off his path. “He didn’t know.”

“He knows something,” Jason said, taking off his helmet and setting it on the seat of his bike. And Barbara very carefully didn’t stare at the tear track on his cheeks. Ignoring her, he walked around her and straight to Bruce. “You know something, and I want to know what.”

“Jason,” Bruce started, trying to stall him, but Jason didn’t let him have any words in.

“No. You know something, and it concerns Mei, I want to know what. Even if you thought her name was different, she is still my little sister.”

“I can’t share this information, Jason,” Bruce said tiredly, pressing on his eyes with his hand.

“Why not? She is my little sister—”

“You keep saying that,” Damian broke in, a confused frown on his face as he stared at the Batcomputer. “Yet, she didn’t ask for you.”

“What?” Jason choked off, eyes wide with surprise. And Barbara could see the disbelief there, too. He thought there was no way she didn’t ask for him.

“Here,” Damian said, putting the interview’s video on the screen.

~~~~

“You can’t keep me from Gotham!”

“Sweetie–”

“Don’t ‘sweetie’ me! I have to go back to Gotham! Annie is in Gotham!”

“Who is Annie?”

“Family.”

“Then tell us your name! We can find your family with your name, then we wi—”

~~~~

“Beside asking for this Annie from time to time, she didn’t say anything else for the next twenty minutes,” Damian continued, looking sincerely confused, while Jason was staring at the screen, in a daze. “She never asked for you.”

“She did,” Jason said softly, making them all look at him in surprise. He laughed softly, and Barbara couldn’t help but stare at him in amazement. She hasn't heard him laugh like that since… It’s been a long time. “I’m Annie.”

“What?” Damian looked only more confused, and she couldn’t even blame the poor kid, she wasn’t sure to follow Jason either.

Nobody acknowledged Dick and Tim’s arrival, who had probably been listening to everything through the comms anyway, waiting for Jason to continue.

“She called me Annie, growing up,” he said with a soft, amused smile, obviously thinking about this period of his life. “And I would call her Sandy.”

“Annie and Sandy? Seriously?” Tim exclaimed, just as he finished taking off his mask. He winced when everyone beside Jason turned to glare at him. He mouthed ‘what?’ at them, pouting, but Barbara could see that he already regretted his interruption.

“Yeah,” Jason said, thankfully not taking the remark badly. “Though, believe it or not, she called me that because she thought there was no way it would happen to any of us.”

“And Sandy?” Dick asked, seeing as Jason was in a surprisingly chatty mood.

“She did follow me around like a puppy,” Jason said with a smile and a shrug.

“How does that explain anything?” Damian said, making Barbara sharply remember how he was raised.

“It’s an old movie,” she told him simply, with a smile, not wanting him to think that she pitied him, or thought that he was an idiot for not knowing. “It’s really old, so I’m surprised Tim even saw it—”

“I saw the remake,” Tim cut off with half his mouth up in an insolent smile. Barbara only rolled her eyes.

“And it’s about an orphan girl, Annie, and her dog, Sandy,” she continued, as if Tim hadn't said anything. “Who is adopted by a rich man. Well, the girl is adopted, the dog really just follows along.”

“And she called you Annie because she thought it would never happen,” he said, turning toward Jason with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a little more complicated but, essentially, yes,” he told him with a roll of his eyes. He opened his mouth to say more, but was cut off by a phone ringing loudly in the Cave.

Everyone turned slowly toward the sound, staring at Bruce. The man closed his eyes with a sigh, probably cursing his phone for putting him back in the spotlight, before taking out the offending object.

“It’s Gordon,” he said slowly, and he left nothing show on his voice or face, but Barbara knew he was feeling apprehensive.

“Then you better answer quickly, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, making everyone jump up in surprise. She shared a wide eyed look with Duke and Dick, but neither seemed to know when Alfred joined them, either.

“I—” Bruce said, trying very hard, and failing, to not let his own surprise show on his face. He sighed, and answered the phone. Looking up to see them all stare at him, he rolled his eyes and put the phone on speaker. “Hello Commissioner Gordon, how can I help you?”

“She is alive,” her dad said, not bothering with small talk. “You probably already know that, of course. I didn’t have a damn minute before now to call you.”

“I’m not sure to follow, Commissioner, I’m sorry,” Bruce said, and Barbara rolled her eyes. Her father was a good cop and he, at the very least, knew that Bruce worked closely with Batman.

“Batman knew you were looking for her too, Wayne, don’t take me for an idiot. There is now way Signal’s discovery didn’t reach your ears yet,” he told him, his tone sharp. “Mei Leyton is fucking alive. We’ve been looking for her for eight years, Wayne, and I found her by accident. Can you believe that?”

“It also took me by surprise,” Bruce said, looking at his phone and skillfully ignoring the surprised stare Jason was giving him. “I’m glad we finally have our answers.”

“Yeah,” her dad said softly, and Barbara winced at the words she knew would follow. “I’m sorry the kid is not here to see it, Wayne.”

“Me too, Commissioner, me too,” Bruce said after a short pause, eyes closed.

“I have to go now, Wayne, but, please, don’t crowd the kid,” her dad said after a minute of silence, he paused again, before adding softly. “I think she would appreciate it, if you took her to his grave.”

“I will be careful with her, Gordon,” Bruce said with a voice softer than she would expect from him. Then, he looked up, looking at Jason for the first time since the start of this conversation. “And I will let her know that she could visit Jason whenever she wants to.”

The conversation was wrapped up with a couple of goodbyes, Bruce not moving his eyes from Jason the entire time. They all stayed silent for a moment after Bruce hung up, at a loss of what to say.

“You looked for her,” Jason stated more than asked. “All this time, even after I died, you looked for Mei.”

“Of course I did,” Bruce said tiredly, sadly, sitting down on a chair, shoulder slumping slightly. It was the most emotion she had seen in him in a long while. Maybe even back before Dick left for Blüdhaven. “She was the only family you had left, I owed it to you to make sure she was safe.”

“Thank you,” Jason said softly, turning back to look at the screen.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, letting all those emotions settle, before Jason suddenly coughed nervously.

“Ah, I should probably let you know that Mei recognized me as Red Hood,” he said bashfully, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“What?!” Everyone, beside Alfred, exclaimed with different levels of shock and loudness.

[blackroserelina]

The Lost One

Marinette is Bruce's bio child that was kidnap when she was three.

Her mom died in childbirth.

Batman was able to find her kidnapper but he was died and Mari was no where to be found. Half way across the world Mari is found by a baker couple while she was wondering around Pairs looking for daddy.

The Parisienne police force were not able to find out who her parents were caz she didn't know her dad's name and they never thought of looking at the missing person reports outside of France and Bruce lost all trace of her after she was took out of the state, but he never stopped looking hoping someday he would find her again.

The only thing Mari has form her farther is a one of a kind locket that has "My most beloved daughter M.W. daddy loves you always." carved inside of it.

The rest of the bats never knew much about her caz Bruce would never talk about her or use her name and she was took before he took anyone in. they only knew what Alfred would tell them about her and he would only refer to her as “the young Miss” and they never saw a pic of her. The only pic of her that Bruce hasn’t hidden away is the one he cares on his person.

So the rest of family end up meeting her before Bruce and they all adopt her as their sister before they even find out that she is their lost sister.

They end up meeting her when she is on a class trip to Gotham with her class. She meets Tim first at a coffee shop after she finds out the hotels coffee pot is broken and her class left her behind at the hotel and they end up ordering the exact same coffee.

They end up talking while waiting on there coffee and Tim finds out how her class has left her behind and how she in a hurry to get to them put she really need a cup of coffee so stopped here since it is on the was to were she is going. When he finds out she is from the class that he and Dick is suppose to be giving a tour of Wayne Enterprise he offers to escort his knew coffee sibling there

The next the batboys she meets is Dick who is worried caz this teacher left a student her in Gotham and is not even worried about her. Not only that he can also hear everything her class is calling her and the teacher is doing nothing to stop the obvious bullying that is happening to this student even if said student is not here. So he decides to call Tim and hope he is still in the area of their hotel and can swing by to hopefully see if she is still there. When Tim picks up and Dick tells him what going on he ends up telling him he already found her and how he found her and tells him that they’re on their way and they be there soon before hanging up. Dick was relived that the girl was alright and on her way with his brother.

When Dick first saw her when she walked in to the room the first think he noticed was how here smile lit up the whole room, but as soon as she saw her class her smile was gone as she shrunk into her try to make herself smaller as she shuffled slightly behind Tim like she was trying to hide. The two brother exchanged glances at that and they both agreed something was wrong with this class and they were going to find out what and if they just happen to adopt Mari as their new sister by the end of the tour no one need to know.

The next she meets is Jason as Red Hood after her class left her behind again but this time at the restaurant they went to for dinner. It was already getting dark and she was lost caz her phone die during dinner and end up cornered in an allay by two men and after she took them down she felt someone touch her shoulder and out of instinct she graded the offending hand and flipped the person over her shoulder. Once she realized who it was she was horrified with what she did and keep apologizing for what she did. Hood literally had to cover her mouth just so he could get a word in to tell her its fine and to find out why she was out so late. An when he found out what happen he was not happy and takes her to her hotel if he just happen to adopt her to after he told the family what happen and then heard Dick’s and Tim’s account of what happen with the class earlier that day no one needed to know. And if Bruce’s heart shatter when he heard that name again no one need to know caz he knew it couldn’t be her and if he told Damian watch out for the girl the next day when the class is visiting his school without saying her name and left without letting anyone say anything else no one need to know why.

The next she meet is Damian when the class is visiting Gotham Academy to see how American schools are like and each of the French students end up paired with a student of the Academy to fallow around for the day and if Marinette just so happens to end up paired with Damian no one needs to know why. Thought out the day she somehow is able to slide into his cold heart and becomes someone he believes is acceptable person he is willing to let in and protect no one needs to know.

During the second half of the Wayne Enterprise tour after the class has visited Gotham Academy, Dick and Tim leads the class into a room caz Bruce was wanting to talk to them about the dangers of Gotham and how no one should be left on their and about the other stuff he has heard about the class. But someone trips Marinette on her way in the room and she ends up falling on the floor but during her fall her necklaces falls off and ends up bouncing up to Bruce's feet and opening up. Bruce seeing this but was not able to see who tripped her or get a get a good look at the girl who was tripped before she fell goes to pick up the necklaces but when he gets a good look at it he freezes because there is only one necklaces like this in the world and he could only hope that she was who he hoped beyond hope she was. So with an almost unnoticed trembling hands he picked up the necklaces and walkover to the girl who was now sitting on the floor while her face was still facing away form him. When he final reached her he can tell she is starting to panic when she realizes that her necklaces around her neck anymore. So he deices to call out a soft miss to her and when she turned around and he finally got a good look at her face it took every bit of self-control he had not to break down right there. Because he new that face even if it was older and he hasn't seen it in person in many years he would never forget it. There right in front of him was his little girl.

When she first hears his voice she could help but think she knows that voice but she doesn't quite remember where she has heard it from. So she turns around with an confused expression and sees a pair of black slacks that she follows up to a suit jacket and then when she finally reached he man's face the first thing she noticed was his eyes; she knew those eyes. They're the same eyes she sees every morning in the mirror staring back at her. Those eyes still haunt her dreams. Those are the eyes she only remember seeing in one other person and she never thought to see again. Those are the eyes of her farther and that meant that this was her dad. The man that she remembered was always their for her and always tried to show he loved her even though he didn't show it like most people did. She could feel tiers start to form in her eyes as she looked at him as she whispered an all most inaudible “daddy.” But she could tell he hear her when she saw his mask cracked and eyes started to over joy and gain a slight shin to them.

Bruce barley caught what she said but when he registered what she called him he could not stop the absolute ecstasy that over came him. She remembered him she was so young when she was took but she still remembered him. but when he saw tires starting to form in her eye he could not and would not hold back damn the people around them this is his little girl and she needed him. So he got down on one knee and put her into his firm embraced while still keeping a firm hold on the necklaces in his hand and let her cry in his arms for the first time in what felt like forever while he tried to keep himself from breaking down. He could tell that his sons Dick and Tim were confused as they tried to clearing everyone out the room they were in, but he didn't pay them any mind his whole focused was on his little girl in his arms as he tried reassure himself this is not a dream and she is real.

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 11: Blast from the Past (Siblings)

AO3

Prev

Swinging side by side with her father was an amazing experience. Marinette tried hard to stifle her laughter, figuring Batman wouldn’t appreciate it if word got around that the newest vigilante was a giggler. He swings to the next roof and pauses, Marinette frowning as he listens to something on his comm.

“Alright. All hands on deck. Robin, you’ll stay on the roof with Ladybird.” He instructs, Marinette frowns. Was he really sticking her younger brother on babysitting duty? And why couldn’t she go wherever it is he’s going?

“What’s happening?” She asks, crossing her arms.

“There are several crates of weapons and a few dozen armed men in a warehouse a mile out from here. You and Robin are going to stay on the roof to make sure no one leaves before the police arrive.” He instructs before turning and grappling away. Marinette frowns, but follows behind him. Does he really not think that she can handle herself? And she knows this is going to cause problems with Damian. He already doesn’t like her and now he has to stay with her. She watches as he swoops down into the warehouse and she lands silently on the roof.

“I do not appreciate this.” Robin says, stepping out of the shadows with crossed arms. Although she can’t see his eyes behind his mask, Marinette knows he’s glaring at her. She just rolls her eyes.

“I don’t either. I don’t need someone watching me 24/7. I can take care of myself.” She says, and with a sudden jolt, she realizes this is the first time he’s willingly speaking to her. The first time they’re talking and it’s to argue. Lovely.

“If you had simply stayed away, then I would have been allowed to follow Father. Instead, I am being punished for your insolence.” He adds. Is he going to lecture her the entire time Batman and the others are fighting in the warehouse, she thinks, raising an eyebrow. She starts to snark back, but a shadow moving behind him pulls her attention instead. Narrowing her eyes, she watches as a figure steps out of the shadow, a gun raised at her.

“Well well well. What do we have here?” The man asks, a smirk on his face. Marinette glances at Robin, trying to see if he recognizes the voice. She doesn’t see any recognition, so she immediately catalogues the man as an unknown threat. Chances were that he was involved with the group currently fighting in the warehouse and not an actual Batman level villain. But he still had a gun, so she wouldn’t underestimate him. Robin turns to face the man and he immediately takes the gun off Marinette, pointing it instead at Robin’s head. Marinette narrows her eyes. She may not know him very well, but he was still her little brother. And she wasn’t about to let some stupid goon threaten him. Flicking her wrist, she aims her yoyo at the man’s gun, smirking as she manages to yank it from his grasp. She catches the gun as it flies back with her yoyo, holding it carefully and trying to ignore the internal panic. She’d never held a gun before, never wanted to or had a reason to. And she really didn’t want to hold it now, but she didn’t want the man to know that she was scared of the gun, because that would give him an advantage. She just grins at the dumbfounded look on the man’s face, his shock enough so that Robin was able to knock him down without a fight. He pulls a zip tie out of his utility belt and ties the man’s hands together.

“Well that was disappointing. I was hoping for more of a fight.” Marinette teases, hoping that the tension between her and Robin would break. She watches as his lips purse slightly, not sure what the expression meant.

“I hardly think one buffoon with a gun would be much of a fight for either of us.” He finally says, and her eyes light up. Success!

“But if it was the right foe, they could surely take you down.” A new voice says, and this time Marinette can practically feel the tension rolling off of Robin.

“Slade.” He says, obviously tensing for a fight.

“Damian. I wasn’t aware you were in possession of a Miraculous.” The man, Slade, says, turning towards her. Marinette stiffens, uncomfortable by both his words and the fact that she can’t see the man’s face because of his costume.

“I’m not in possession of anything.” He says, his jaw clenched. Marinette shifts into a defensive position, desperately wishing that she had a comm. Surely the rest of the family had heard this man’s intrusion through Robin. But she wished she could hear them. Whether it was giving information about the man or reassurance that the rest of them would be there soon, she wanted to hear them.

“Tell me, little girl, how did you stumble upon one of the most powerful pieces of magic in the universe? And why haven’t I met you before?” He asks, stepping towards them. Glaring at the man, Marinette steps forward so that she’s standing in line with Robin, unwilling to cower behind her brother.

“I don’t think we run in the same circles. And I assure you, I didn’t stumble across anything. I was chosen to wield this Miraculous.” She says, shoving false confidence in her tone when all she wanted was to grab Robin and run. Slade oozed a sense of wrongness and danger. Not a combination she wanted anywhere near her or her family.

“Mmm. Perhaps not. But we’ll never know, will we. I’m going to have to ask you for that Miraculous now, dear.” He says, her eyes narrow.

“I’m not sure if that’s worked for you in the past, but it’s not going to work today. You’re not the first creep in a mask asking for my Miraculous.” She snarks, hand twitching as she analyzes him and tries to come up with a plan. Without any warning, he lunges towards them, a sword suddenly in his grasp. Marinette jumps back, going on the defense as Robin lunges forward with his own katana. Marinette flits around both of them, throwing her yoyo at Slade every time he got too close to Robin. It was obvious the man was well trained, and it was also obvious that he had little patience for the two.

“You’ve improved, but you’re still not good enough.” He hisses, lunging towards Robin, his sword aimed at the boy’s chest. Marinette lunges towards them, shoving Robin out of the way. She shrieks in pain as Slade slides his sword into her shoulder. She can’t see the man’s face, but she can just imagine his smirk. He puts his other hand on his sword, and she just knows he’s going to twist. She can’t let that happen. So instead, she jerks back, screaming as she pulls herself off the sword. Robin launches himself at Slade once again, furiously slashing at the man. Slade lifts his sword up and Marinette flicks out her yoyo, grunting in pain as she irritates her shoulder. But she’s able to wrap her yoyo around the man’s wrist. Smirking, she tugs roughly, pulling the man off balance enough so that Robin can disarm him. Just as she lets her shoulders relax, Slade yanks his arm, tugging her to him. She yelps in pain as he wraps her into a chokehold. Staring at Robin, she tries not to panic. They’re gonna come for them, right? The rest of her family? Surely they’ve beaten those goons by now. They definitely heard the problem on the roof through Robin’s comm, right?

“Unhand her.” Robin says, shifting his position now that he has two swords.

“I don’t think I will. Not for free, anyway. You want her alive for some reason.” Slade says, tightening his hold. Marinette lets out a choked breath, desperately trying to pull in enough oxygen.

“What do you want?” Robin asks, Marinette tries to shake her head, already guessing what the man wants. She’d rather die than give some psycho the power of Tikki. Not only could he destroy the world, but Paris would also be lost without the Miraculous Cure.

“Her earrings. Let me take them, and I’ll let her live….this time.” He says.

“No….don’t...not..worth it.” Marinette manages to say, just barely able to shake her head. She gags as Slade tightens his grip again, black spots dotting her vision.

“Ladybird-” Robin says, and Marinette is certain she’s hallucinating now. Because he almost sounds pained.

“Don’t.” She begs, fighting to stay conscious. As she watches him, she sees a smirk make its way onto his face. That’s good. Good. Smirking brother means….what does it mean? She’s not sure. All she knows is that suddenly, the pressure on her neck is gone. She falls to her knees, gasping for breath and wincing at the burning in her shoulder. Too much. Too much all at once. A hand on her good shoulder shakes her from her thoughts and she weakly hits at it.

“Ladybird, it’s me.” A voice says. She blinks, opening her eyes, wincing at the pain enveloping her. Looking closer at the figure, she sighs in relief, letting herself slump down. She’s safe. Arms pick her up gently and she smiles softly, tiredness hitting her as the adrenaline finally fades. Curling in closer, she mumbles into Batman’s chest.

“Thanks dad.”

---

Bruce Wayne was pissed. And the only person who could piss him off so much was himself. He’d left Damian and Marinette on the roof alone because he thought they’d be safer. He didn’t think the two would be able to get into any trouble up there. Of course he would be wrong. Of course Slade Wilson would choose tonight to come after Damian. And of course the man just had to know about the Miraculous.

Hearing his daughter’s pained screams over his son’s comm would haunt his nightmares. It’d likely become the unholy symphony over the images of Jason’s broken body and Damian’s limp form. Images that’d haunted him for years and would continue to do so until he dies. When he was young, his nightmares were just of his parents. But he had seen things much worse since becoming a father. And now he’d heard much worse. Shaking his head, he tries hard to hold onto the one bright part of the evening.

Marinette had called him dad.

It was the first time she’d called him anything other than ‘Mr. Wayne’. His heart warmed at the thought, but everything came crashing down again when he remembered. Slade Wilson was gone. He’d managed to get away while his focus was on Marinette’s wellbeing. Which means his daughter was now in even more danger. Damian had informed him of the man’s obsession with the Miraculous. It was something they’d need to talk about, but not tonight. After she passed out in his arms, he brought her back to the manor. Alfred stitched her shoulder, and Bruce brought her to her room. It wasn’t decorated yet, but he’d made sure to pick out a room for her after finding out about her. Even if she didn’t want anything to do with them after this, she’d always have a room here.

Sighing, Bruce sticks his head into Marinette’s room, just to reassure himself that she was there. That she was safe. It was something he did with each of his kids, every time they were injured. Every time he was afraid that he would lose them. The sight in front of him makes him pause and pull out his phone to take a picture. They might be mad at him for it later, but he’d curse himself forever if he let this moment slip away. All of his children were piled in Marinette’s room. The girl herself was on the bed, curled into a ball despite her injured shoulder. At the foot of her bed was Damian, his face peaceful for once. Jason, Dick and Tim were all in a pile on the floor, pillows and blankets scattered both beneath them and on top of them. They were an impossibly tangled pile of limbs, guarding their youngest sister. He smiles softly, eyes finally falling on Cass curled up in an armchair that she must’ve pulled next to Marinette’s bed. Satisfied that all were well, Bruce shuts the door gently, not wanting to risk waking any of them.

His children were together, and safe. For now.

Next

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