#Supermari may

[mochegato]

Mistakes Were Made

Jon pursed his lips as he studied the list in front of him, his brow furrowing deeper the longer he stared at it.  There was a pattern there.  He knew there was.  Something linking the names on the list.  Something he hadn’t managed to figure out even after endless hours staring at the company names, running down investors, calling ex-employees, scouring the internet for scandals.  It was getting damned frustrating.

Jay hadn’t had any more luck with the list than he’d had, and Jay had been working on the story a lot longer than Jon had been.  Weeks.  Weeks of focused investigation had yielded a lot of results, but nothing conclusive.  Nothing they could splash across the front page of the Daily Planet.  Nothing that would lead to the convictions that he knew were forthcoming.  If they could figure out the pattern.

It was there… somewhere.

He was shocked out of his focus by his phone and answered before the first ring had completed.  “This is Jon,” he intoned mindlessly, still staring at the list.

The responding snort finally brought his attention away from the list for the first time in so long, his vision was starting to cross.  “I guess I called the right number then,” she chuckled.

“Hey, Starlight,” he sighed and instantly returned his attention to the list.  It wasn’t investors.  It wasn’t ex-employees.  It had to be…

“Hey, Mon rêve,” she cooed.  “Where are you?  It’s getting pretty late.”

“Hm?  Is it?  I hadn’t noticed,” he answered absently.  “I’m still here with Jay.”

“Wait.  Really?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded, cocking his head to the side to stare at the list.  Maybe that would give him a new perspective.  He was pretty sure if he stared any harder than he had before, his laser vision would activate.  “Jay has been following a lead for a few days and asked this morning if I could help.  We are doing some research to hopefully get a direction.”

“So…” she started, her tone was careful, measured.  If Jon had been a bit more aware of anything outside of the list, it would have set the hairs on the back of his neck on edge, especially contrasted with the adoring tone microseconds before.  “…you're staying there.  You're not going to join me?  You're going to stay there... with Jay.”

“Yeah, sorry, can't join you tonight.”  He paused to look over their desks full of documents, binders of reports, and endless Post It notes marking random thoughts in their glaring color.  It should be overwhelming, but it just excited him.  This story wasn’t just important, it could make a major difference, to Metropolis and him.  “I think this could really be something,” he gushed almost breathlessly.  She was silent for a few beats too long; long enough Jon noticed she hadn't responded yet.  “Mari?”

It was another few beats of loaded silence before she responded.  “Yeah, I thought it could really be something too.”

He frowned at the phone.  “Hey, you okay?  You sound a bit off.”

The silence was more concerning than any response she could give.  If it took that long to respond, there clearly was something wrong.  He almost waved Jay off when he jutted his laptop in front of his eyes, but the insistent look in Jay’s eyes made him reconsider.  “I just thought we could spend time together today celebrating,” she finally answered.

“Oh? Celebrating what?” he asked distractedly, flicking his fingers through the document Jay had just found; property listings.

She let out a mirthless huff of a laugh.  “Nothing.  It doesn't matter.”

“No, I'm sure it does,” he insisted instantly, though it was clear in his voice his attention was still elsewhere.  “I'll see you tonight and we can talk.”

“I wanted to dig up property records for the rest of the organizations,” Jay piped up.  “If we can get a listing tonight, we can look into their ownership history tomorrow.  Maybe make some inquiries.”

“Oh!  That’s a good plan.  Yeah.”  He looked at the list again and let out a breath at the length.  “This is going to take a while.”  It wasn’t until he had reached for his laptop that he remembered he was still holding a phone and supposed to be talking to Marinette.  “Sorry!  Tomorrow,” he promised quickly.  “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Right,” Marinette scoffed.

He paused and turned away from Jay to give himself a bit of privacy.  “Are you upset I'm hanging out with Jay?  Mari, you know we just work together.  There's nothing to worry about.”

“Right,” she repeated.

This time, Jon took note of her tone.  It wasn’t one he associated with her.  He wasn’t even sure if he’d ever heard her speak that way before.  It was hollow, defeated, and so very wrong.  “Don’t be like that, Starlight.  You're being ridiculous.”  He shook his head, exasperated at her reaction.  They needed to talk about this, clearly, but he didn’t have time tonight.  “Look, I have to go.  We'll talk about this later, okay?  Love you.”

She hung up without responding, leaving him staring at the phone in confusion.  He let out a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut.  She was upset.  Clearly.  But this was time sensitive.  They needed to get this research done tonight so they could jump on City Hall tomorrow.

Would he have loved to spend the night with her?  Of course he would!  He would spend every night… and day with her if he could.  But this was the life of a reporter, not to mention a hero.  He needed to be able to spend a night in the office with a coworker from time to time.  When he was working on a story, it might even be days.  Hell, his mom had slept on her office couch every night for a week before.

And, he huffed mentally, Marinette didn’t really have standing to complain.  She regularly got caught up in design dazes and would end up in her studio for the entire night.  More than once, he had to track her down to her studio and drag her home.  She had no right to be mad at him for doing the same thing she did constantly.

It was particularly strange because he had worked late into the night on stories, or been away unexpectedly for a mission, and she had been extremely understanding.  But this time…

“Hey, I think I found something!” Jay called, drawing Jon out of his spiral.

Jon was at Jay’s side looking over his shoulder in a microsecond.  This was it!  This was the link they’d been looking for all day.  He could feel it.

They got lost in digging up all the information they could, so focused, he’d completely lost track of time.  Gun to his head, not that it would do anything, but it’s the sentiment that counts, he couldn’t tell you how much time had passed since he’d spoken to Marinette when his phone rang again, but it was at least long enough for them to have gathered the bulk of the property listings for the names on the list.  And at some point Jay had drifted off to the break room to get them yet another cup of godawful black coffee.

They hadn’t done a deep dive yet, looking for the hidden assets, but there was a lot of night left… maybe.  He really needed to check a clock.

He checked the ID and furrowed his brow in confusion for just a second before answering.  If he knew her, and he did, she would just keep calling until he answered.  “Hey, Kara.  I’m a bit busy right now.  Can I call you back another time?”

“Yeah, I know how busy you apparently are, dumbass,” she growled into the phone. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

He jerked back in surprise.  “What?  What did I do now?”  It took a few moments for his mind to register the situation and recall his previous conversation.  “Oh, did Mari call you?”  He sighed and rubbed his forehead.  “Is she that upset I'm working with Jay.  This is insane.  She's best friends with Adrien and regularly hangs out with Luka and Vic and I can't even work with Jay?  I can't believe...”

“What day is it?” she cut in, saccharine sweet in a way she had never actually embodied.

The tone caught him off guard.  It was, quite frankly, a bit creepy coming from her.  “What?”

“What day is it?” she repeated, the sweetness bleeding from her tone.

It was a trap, he knew it was, he just for the life of him couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to trap him into or why she was laying it.  Working late one day didn’t warrant the effort at entrapment.  Nothing made sense.  “Thursday,” he answered slowly.  It felt like it wasn’t the answer she was looking for, but it was the correct answer.

“The date, you dimwitted pudding socket!” she hissed.  All pretenses of sweetness were completely gone.  Her hostility was fully out.

“Dimwitted… what the heck, Kara?”

“What. Is. The. Date,” she repeated, carefully enunciating each word, punctuating the final syllable like they were weapons.

He could hear her teeth gritting through the phone without even having to use his super hearing.  But more than that, he could hear the disappointment, which again, didn’t make sense.  It was one night.  “It's May...” he trailed off as the realization hit and Marinette and Kara’s reactions finally made sense.  “Oh...”

“Yeah,” she concurred bitterly, “oh.”

“Oh, fuck.”  If anything, Marinette’s reaction was subdued.  She should have yelled.  She should have screamed.  She should have raked him over the coals for forgetting their anniversary.

“Yep,” she agreed popping the p.

“Oh no,” he lamented, running his hand through his hair and tugging painfully on it.  “No, no, no.  No, fuck.  Is she still at the restaurant?”  The question was essentially perfunctory, he was moving before she responded.  But her response stopped him in his tracks, yet again driving home the level of fuckupary.

“Is she still at the restaurant you had a reservation for hours ago and you left her sitting alone waiting for you?” she scoffed.

“No!  What time is it?”  He whipped his head around looking for the damned clock that he should have checked when he talked with Marinette.  His heart dropped at the sight.  It was in fact hours after he was supposed to meet her.  Hours!  And he hadn’t talked to her.  Hours for her to stew and spiral and start thinking the worst of the situation.  “Fuck!  Where is she?”

There was a pause before she spoke, and Jon could picture her narrowing her eyes, leaning back, and cocking her hip as she prepared to answer.  “She is somewhere she doesn't want you to find her.”

“Fuck!  No, Kara,” he pleaded.  “No, I need to talk to her.  I need to fix this.  I need to...”

“That's a lot of I's for someone who is just fucked up so royally,” she chided harshly.  “It isn't about what you need right now, is it?”

He groaned and ran his hand through his hair again.  He needed to do something he couldn’t… he couldn’t lose Marinette.  The very idea of not being able to go home to her gutted him.  But the idea of Marinette thinking that he blew her off, that he didn’t love her with his entire soul, felt like a kryptonite knife to the heart.  “Fuck!  Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he agonized.  “How do I fix this if she won't talk to me, Kara.  What do I do?”

“I would suggest massive groveling,” she offered, her false sweetness back though not quite to the level it had been before.  “Flowers and fabric aren’t going to fix this.”

“I need to apologize to her face,” he announced as much to himself as her.  He stood up straight as determination flowed through him.  He was going to find her and talk to her, beg her, plead for her to understand.  He was an idiot, but he was a devoted, utterly lovesick idiot.  “Where is she?”

“No.”  Flat but solid.  She used no emotion, just raw steel.

“Kara, where is my girlfriend?” he growled.

“Gone.  And you need to consider what you're going to do to make sure it isn't permanent,” she snarled before hanging up.

“Kara?  Kara!” Frustration inundated his voice.  “How do I make sure it isn’t permanent if I can’t talk to her?” he screamed into the void.  “I know you can hear me!”

He immediately called Marinette, which in retrospect, he acknowledged, he should have done as soon as he realized he’d missed the date.  He clenched his hand into a bouncing fist as he waited for her to answer, pacing a tight circle, and he almost started apologizing when he heard her voice.  It took a few seconds to realize it was the start of her voicemail, not her.

But he wasn’t going to be deterred so easily.  She was angry, frustrated.  She didn’t like to answer the phone when she was frustrated with someone.  He knew that.  He should have anticipated it.  Instead, he sent off a few anxious texts, not able to wait more than a few seconds before sending the next text.  When she didn’t answer those after a full minute, he couldn’t force himself to wait any longer and tried calling again, but it went straight to voicemail.  Meaning she was either instantly rejecting the call or she’d blocked him.

“Son of a bitch!” he yelled, fighting the urge to throw his phone.  If he allowed his anger to overtake him now, he would lose his only means of communication if she did decide to respond… and he’d probably tear a hole through the wall and possibly the next… and all the walls in the next building.

Jay came careening around the corner, the coffee mugs in his hands sloshing over the rims and spilling onto his shirt unnoticed.  “What?  Did something happen?  What’s wrong?” he questioned frantically.

“I… fuck!” Jon yelled again.  He kicked an exposed steel support beam that at this point luckily was merely decorative, because it crumpled instantly.

“Woah, hey, you have to take a breath,” Jay urged.  He set the coffee down and approached Jon cautiously.  “You’re going to destroy the building.  What is going on?”

“I…” he moved toward something else to hit but Jay stepped in front of it with a concerned but firm look and Jon deflated entirely.  He collapsed onto the floor, head in hands.  “It’s our anniversary.  I… I missed our anniversary.  We had a night planned.  I… she waited at the restaurant for me.”

Jay crouched down next to him in an instant.  “What?” he gasped.  “It’s your… What are you doing here!”

“I forgot,” he moaned.  “I got caught up and…”

“Jon…” he cut in his voice firm again.  “Why are you still here?  Go fix it!”

Jon shook his head despondently.  “She doesn’t want to see me.  She has made that abundantly clear.”

Jay scoffed.  “She’s mad.  Justifiably.  You forgot a really important date for your relationship to hang out with an ex.  Fucked up doesn’t even begin to cover it.  But, what?  You’re just going to slink away, tail between your legs?  You’re not going to fight?  Beg?  Fly up to the moon and bring it back for her?”

Jon glanced up at him, his eyes welling as he did.  “If she wanted.  I’d give her anything she wanted.  And what she wants is space.”

“Is it?” Jay demanded.  He wasn’t giving any space for self-pitying.  It was time to act, not wallow.  “I don’t know man, if you aren’t even willing to fight for her, I don’t know if you deserve her.  She’s hurting right now.  You’re going to let her do it alone?”

“No!  Never,” Jon exclaimed, affronted by the very suggestion that he would ever, ever leave Marinette to suffer alone.

“So…” Jay prompted.  He grinned as a determined look came over Jon.  “I’ll continue on my own.  We can pick this up on Monday… or Tuesday.  The evidence isn’t going anywhere.  You go get your woman and fix your future.”

Finding her wasn’t as difficult as Kara made it out to be.  After he excluded their place and Kara’s place, she was in the next place he looked, which would have been the first, but Kara’s comment had thrown his instincts off.  So, either she wasn’t as adamant that she didn’t want him to find her as Kara had indicated or Marinette just was too upset to think logically and was thinking emotionally instead.

Jon took a deep breath to fortify himself before knocking on the door.  The night was going to be rough, and it was completely his fault.  He had done this to them.  He’d stood her up and forgotten their anniversary.  She’d even prompted him to remember they were supposed to be celebrating and he blew her off.  God, she must think he didn’t care about her at all.

He was so lost in his self-deprecation; he missed the sounds of someone approaching the door until it had already been opened, an imposing, hostile figure glowering at him.  “What do you want?” Adrien snarled.

Jon flinched at the venomous tone from the normally friendly, gregarious man.  He steeled himself and met Adrien’s eyes.  “To talk to my girlfriend.”

“Oh, she’s worthy of your attention now, is she?” he sneered.

“Of course she is.  She always is.”  Jon took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  He wanted to argue with Adrien, to point out all the times she’d been the center of his attention, all the times he’d put her needs and interests above his own because he knew she did the same.  But it wasn’t the right time for that argument.  He needed to speak with Marinette, to make her feel his devotion, not waste time arguing with her best friend.  And if it meant letting Adrien take out his protective wrath on him uncontested, that’s what he would do.  “Look, I screwed up, I know that.  Please let me fix this,” he begged.

Adrien stared him down for a few long moments, not breaking his intense eye contact, clearly enjoying the way it made Jon squirm.  But finally he grumbled something that might have been a word, or just a sound to make known his extreme discontent, and let him in grudgingly.  Just as Jon was about to pass him, he held his arm up to stop him.  “You get this one chance.  You screw this up, I won’t need kryptonite to end you, but you’ll wish I had.”

Jon met his eyes again, letting an understanding pass between them and nodded.  “Noted.”

He thought he couldn’t feel any guiltier or worse about himself, but the moment he saw Marinette, he knew he was wrong.  He could feel so, so much worse.  She was slumped on the couch, empty tumbler in her hand, staring absently at nothing.  Her eyes were red and puffy and even from his distance and without using enhanced vision, he could see the still wet tear tracks, her ruined mascara highlighting their trail.

Desperate not to make her feel worse, he approached her cautiously, slowly.  While in the past, he’d enjoyed ambushing her by appearing in front of her in the blink of her eye, surprising her and possibly shocking her into a violent reaction was the last thing he wanted to do at that moment.  He could tell the moment she noticed him.  She didn’t acknowledge him outright, but he could hear the way her breathing changed and the way her body tensed just before she sat up and refilled her glass.

The liquid slopped out of the bottle, splashing as much on the coffee table as in the glass and Jon rushed forward to steady her hand.  It was instinct.  He saw her in need of assistance, and he acted.  It wasn’t until she flinched away that he realized his assistance may not be welcome in that moment and perhaps he was the very reason she was in need of assistance.  His heart squeezed painfully at the realization, tearing the breath from his lungs.

“Hey Starlight, what are you doing?” he asked gently.  He sat next to her, close but still giving her space, and angled his body so he could face her.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, not quite willing to grace him with her gaze, and took a long drink before answering.  “You forgot about our anniversary,” she answered her voice forlorn.

 “I know,” he admitted guiltily.  “I…”

“I wanted to too,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

He could have sworn he didn’t have any more air left in his lungs, but her tone and the agonized look in her eyes, made his chest feel like it was in a vise forcing all air out in a rush.  “No, baby…” he begged miserably.

“I’m not your baby anymore,” she shrugged, still not meeting his gaze, her eyes returning to the blank spot in the distance.

“Baby, Starlight,” he pleaded.  He moved a step closer to give him better access to wipe away her tears and caress her face.  The need to touch her was visceral.  He needed to feel her and make her feel his love, look at him.  But at the last second Kara’s words rung in his head.  It wasn’t about him.  He redirected before making contact and instead laid his hands on either side of her knees.  “You will always be mine.”

Sloppily, she shook her head.  “I’m not.  You don’t love me anymore.”

It was said with such certainty that he could feel it in his soul.  “Starlight, I love you more than anything…”

“I’m not important to you.  You can’t love someone you don’t think is important.  You don’t put in effort.  You don’t care.”  Any emotion that had crept into her eyes when he first approached her, drained completely, giving the impression of a haunted house, empty and seemingly abandoned, but with hidden secrets fiercely protected.  “You forgot,” she finished desolately.

It was over.  He could see it.  She was done for the night.  Nothing he or anyone else said would make it through to her.  Nothing but time and rest and a whole lot of sobering would make a difference.  He would just have to hope she got that overnight and then pray to whatever deities that might listen, that in the morning, she would let him apologize.  “Marinette,” he started earnestly, tenderly, “you are by far the most important person in the world to me.  Let’s get you to bed and we can talk in the morning, okay?”

She shrugged, or at least gave a rough, loose approximation of a shrug.  “I don’t believe you,” she mumbled, almost incoherently.  “I want to.”  She glanced over at him with watery eyes.  “I want to, so much.  But I don’t.”

What was left of his heart shattered into neutron sized pieces.  He couldn’t believe how badly he had messed it up.  He didn’t know what he was going to have to do to fix it, but whatever it took he would do.  Whatever she needed… tomorrow.  He reached up and gently cupped her face, his thumbs softly wiped away her tears.  His heart mended slightly when she nuzzled into his hands.  “I will do everything I can to change that, I swear that to you.  But let’s get you to bed and sleep.”

“Okay,” she slurred, but made no sign of moving other than to lift her now empty glass to her lips then frown at it, after a few beats.

He sighed and looked over to Adrien.  He would fly her home but at this point, he was worried there was no way she’d make it without feeling absolutely terrible and likely throwing up… a few times.  “Can she stay here tonight?”

Adrien scoffed and headed over to her.  “You don’t even have to ask.”

Before Adrien could make it over to them, Jon had already picked her up as gently as possible so as not to shake her and cause her head to spin or nausea.  “But I do have to ask if I can stay,” he pointed out tentatively.  “I can take the couch,” he added quickly.  “I just… really want to be here when she wakes up.”

Adrien sighed and softly stroked Marinette’s hair as Jon carried her past.  His eyes never left Marinette as he responded, “You don’t have to either.  You two come as a package.”

Jon breathed out a sigh of relief.  “God, I really hope we still are.”  He gave Adrien a nod at his shoulder pat and carried her back to the guest room they’d stayed in together many times before.  It felt strange knowing this time he wouldn’t be welcome.  They’d always stayed together, squeezed together pleasantly in the entirely too small bed.

Her even and rhythmic breathing seemed to reverberate through the unwelcome room as he laid her down and tucked the comforter around her as tenderly as he could so as not to wake her up.  He hadn’t made it a full step away before he heard her voice.  “Stay?”  She turned her mournful eyes to him.  “Give me one last night?”

She had turned away from him as soon as he started removing his shoes, getting ready for him to slip into his familiar position, which he did with ease.  He stroked her hair as she slept, more for himself than her, relishing what might be the last time he was allowed to be so close.  “Starlight, I want to give you my every night.”

It took quite a while for him to finally fall asleep, constantly afraid she would disappear on him if he did.  When he finally fell asleep, it was fitful.  He constantly jolted awake to make sure she was still there, and chastised himself each time because with the way he was wrapped around her, their legs intertwined and his hand splayed against her abdomen holding her tight against him, every time he jolted, she whined and shifted.

It was no surprise then that when she awoke quite a few hours later, he was already awake to catch her getting restless until her eyes started to flutter and finally open to take in the room, quickly scrunching in confusion.  “Morning, Starlight,” he murmured, his voice scratchy from disuse and the little bit of sleep he’d managed.

“Morning, Mon rêve,” she responded instinctively, but he could see the moment memories of the night before flooded back.  Her soft expression became wary and she edged away from him.  “What are you doing here?”

He stared intently into her eyes and took a bit of pride in the way she didn’t shy away from him reaching out to wind his hand into her hair and brush her cheek with his thumb.  She wasn’t angry or hurt enough to refuse to let him feel her, that was something, definitely better than he thought he would be.  “There’s nowhere else I wanted to be.”

“Jon…” she started, her voice tired and her eyes gleaming with hurt.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” he cut in.  He’d wanted to ease into it.  He’d wanted to feel out how she was feeling then go from there.  He’d wanted to be tactful.  But as soon as he saw the pain in her eyes, he couldn’t hold back.  “I’m so, so very sorry that I forgot, but more than that, I’m sorry I made you feel like you’re anything less than the center of my entire universe.”

She looked away as she sat up, tearing herself away from the comforting feel of his hand.  “I understand being a reporter you’re going to have to work late.  Probably a lot.  But… It was our anniversary,” she lamented, another set of tears trailing down her cheeks.

Jon jumped out of bed to kneel in front of her again.  He ducked his head to try to catch her gaze, but she deftly avoided it.  It hurt, but he needed to get through to her, so he took her hands in his, squeezing them gently.  “I know, Starlight.  I know.”

She finally lifted her eyes, but it was worse.  The pain in them had increased into something desperate.  “It was our anniversary, and you were too busy for me.  For us.  You didn’t even remember.”

He shook his head vehemently.  “I forgot the date, yes.  But I didn’t forget the anniversary.  I swear I didn’t.  I’ve had your present wrapped at home for weeks.”

She shook her head as well, but while his had shaken like he could make her misperception evaporate, hers shook like her heart had lost the strength to do anything else.  “You’ve been working so much lately… for weeks.  And it’s been building up for months.  Months of not making it to our plans and working late.  It’s like you’re looking for a reason to stay away,” she murmured in a voice so fragile it seemed like a simple word could break her.

“I want to marry you,” he blurted out.

“What!” she exclaimed, shock evident on her face, but quickly faded to exasperation.  “Jon, it isn’t that bad.  You don’t need to propose to get over the fight.”

“What? No!  That’s not…”  He took a deep breath and let it out with a loud groan.  He ran his hand down his face roughly, letting it rest over his mouth for a few moments as he let the words settle into the right order in his head.  “I’ve been working harder the past few months to earn money and force my break.  I want to be able to support us when we get married, when we decide to start a family.  I wanted to buy you a nice ring.  It won’t be as amazing as you deserve, because I don’t think I’ll ever make enough to buy you what you deserve, but still a really nice ring.”

“Jon,” she murmured and with that one word, his heart started rebuilding.  Her tone had completely shifted from broken to compassionate, her eyes shifted from pain to adoration.  “My friend proposed to his girlfriend with a tiny shell on a string, because that’s what he could afford, and it was possibly the single most romantic gesture I’ve ever seen.”  She cupped his face and stroked his cheek gently, her thumb making a quiet rasping noise against his stubble.  “I don’t need a fancy ring.  I just need you.”

Jon grinned as he laid his hands over hers.  “Does that mean I should take the ring back?  I can still find a shell somewhere and keep the money,” he teased.

“Don’t you dare,” she gasped and smacked him in the chest.

He chuckled at the swipe before pulling her into a long, tight hug, one he wasn’t sure he was going to get again just a few minutes ago, making it all the sweeter.  “Are we okay?” he asked softly, still holding her tight, but too afraid to make eye contact just yet.  A fear Marinette clearly did not share as she pulled back to meet his eyes.

“Yeah, I think so.  I think we just need to make sure we communicate better.  You shouldn’t have made such a big change in priorities without talking to me and I should have let you know how it made me feel.”  She ran her fingers through his hair and along his face, her eyes trailing behind her fingers.  “I love you.  I want to spend my life with you.  I shouldn’t have just let things fester.”

“I shouldn’t have pulled away,” he agreed.  “I wanted to surprise you, but not the way I clearly did.  I’ll do better.”

“So will I,” she promised.

“Our first big fight.”  He grinned and leaned in conspiratorially.  “Does that mean our first make up sex?”

Marinette groaned and pushed him away, watching as he fell to the floor dramatically.  She watched him for a few seconds before finally answering.  “Not here, no.”  She chuckled as he shot up in front of her before she could comprehend he’d even moved, hope blazing in his eyes.  “Take me home, Flyboy,” she cooed.

His grin turned excited as he picked her up in a bridal carry.  “Yes, ma’am,” he agreed and had them home before she’d finished laughing

[ggomos-maribat]

It's Just Me, You, and the Cosmos

A small piece for SuperMari May, cross posted from AO3

Nothing else rang in his head except the harsh words uttered by Damian, and a replay of their latest mission which he apparently nearly steered to failure. Immature. Impulsive. Reckless. As much as he wanted to deny those descriptors, he only fell more disheartened. Sure he strayed away from the plan at times, but he understood the consequences of what he was doing. The rest of the team didn't see that.

The final blow was delivered when they mentioned his father.

Jon had flown out of their base as fast he could, withholding the tears pooling at his eyes. He knew he wasn't the glorified Superman, the symbol of hope and founder of the Justice League. He wasn't his father who had saved countless lives, who knew exactly what to do each time. He knew his own shortcomings more than anyone else and to have his insecurities thrown at him was like a kryptonite-infused slap in the face.

And that was how Superboy found himself hovering past the earth's atmosphere, in the vast space littered with stars. He had carefully avoided the Watchtower and its line of sight, propelling himself near the sun. He swallowed thickly. They can get by a few hours without me.

His friend lashing out wasn't a rare occurrence and he was certainly used to it, but it was one of the times he needed to take a step back. There was an anxious thought at the back of his head saying that he didn't actually deserve to be a hero, that he was dead weight if not a liability even with his powers.

Jon ran his hand through his head. That's not true. And yet the thought persisted as he thought back to their missions.

He suddenly felt a tap on his hand, startling him a little.

Floating alongside him was a girl, clad in a suit with a brown-red palette and black spots. A translucent visor covered her face, but he could see a mask surrounding her eyes. Matching the bluish tinge of her hair was a pair of sturdy wings on her back.

Jon tilted his head in confusion. Who . . .? For a second, he wondered if she belonged outside of earth but his gut told him otherwise.

The stranger seemed as surprised as he stared at her in scrutiny. She fished out a device from her side (a yoyo?) and plucked out a black circular object from it to offer to him. Co-mmu-ni-ca-tor, she mouthed.

Confusion unwavering, Jon accepted it.

"Who are you?" he immediately asked after fitting the comm in his ear. "What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?" she bounced the question back. Jon noted how her voice was light. Melodious.

"Uhh---err, Superboy?" He internally winced at his awkwardness.

Her mouth popped into an 'o' as a light blush covered her cheeks. "Ahh, sorry, I'm not familiar with all the heroes." She fidgeted before clearing her throat. "I am Ladybug---or Cosmobug?---heroine of Paris. Nice to meet you."

"Paris? I didn't know Paris had heroes."

Her figure shifted to more anxious movements. "Yes, um, Paris does but can you . . . maybe keep this a secret from other heroes?"

Jon only nodded, already making a plan to research it later. It wasn't like he didn't believe her, but as far he knew, Paris didn't have local heroes nor villains. If there was Ladybug-themed hero anywhere, he would've heard of them.

"So . . ." he trailed off, "If you're from Paris, what are you doing in space?"

Ladybug laughed nervously, her gaze averting. "I just needed to get away for a moment. It has something to do with our villain. I hope I didn't bother you?"

Jon blinked. It was now clear that she'd traveled to space to shake off some stress like him. And she's worried that she bothered me?

"I can go somewhere else but I'm afraid the Watchtower will see me and the Justice League will try to capture and interrogate me. Which is a bad, bad idea because they can't---shouldn't---know about Paris and it's dangerous if they find out anything," she continued rambling. "And it's ah, um, a potentially world-ending outcome---"

"Hey, hey, it's okay, you can stay here." Jon cut her off to keep her from spiraling. "I think it's better that I have a distraction anyway. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you."

She took a deep breath. "Really?"

"Promise." He smiled. "If it makes you feel better, I can keep you company."

Ladybug put a hand on her chest. "Thank you very much. What are you doing here by the way?" She looked around them. "Is there trouble in space?"

"No, I also came here to blow off steam actually," he admitted.

"What happened?"

Jon hesitated on telling her but he found himself unable to resist those wide curious eyes. A part of him was saying 'why not?' while he mulled over it.

But now the things upsetting him seemed pale---shallow---in comparison. This girl had to travel to outer space to get away from her city's villain. "It's not a big deal," he began, "We, the Titans, had a mission and I screwed the plan over when I attacked the enemy first because I realized they were going to kill the hostages before we made a move. My, um, friend got mad and it escalated from there."

"I get what I did wrong, I really do, and I was ready to apologize." His fists clenched subconsciously. "But I just . . . I felt so defenseless, like what he said was all true. Then there's this insane pressure being Superman's son and . . ."

If what she was going through was actually a thousand times worse than his situation, he was going to feel terrible.

He expected her to relay empty 'sympathy'. To give him a pat on the back, saying that 'it's going to be okay'. Instead, she nodded. "I get that. Sometimes, I just straight up sacrifice myself if nothing's going according to plan and my partner hates it when I do. But it's not like I'm mindlessly putting myself in harm's way. It's just the . . . best thing to do if we're out of options."

Her hand rubbed her arm, expression turning pensive. "And carrying a mantle? It's horrible. An important responsibility was passed on to me very suddenly and I keep worrying about having to fulfill that role because the city's fate rests on my shoulders."

Jon was awestruck. And at the same time concerned over the fact she seemed to be alone in her heroic burden.

He bit his lip. "Your life sounds . . . wow. Sorry, my rant was childish. Sometimes I think I don't see eye-to-eye with my teammates because I grew up 'normal'. I haven't seen the worst of everything."

As if she couldn't surprise him any more, she floated closer and put a warm hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's not childish and it's good to air out things that upset you. Take it from someone who always doesn't have that luxury. You're still figuring things out for yourself, I think, and just because your teammates have different experiences, it doesn't mean they can say mean stuff."

He wanted to ask why she 'always didn't have the luxury' but kept his mouth shut.

"Actually, I'm . . . I was just an average Paris citizen before I became a hero," she chuckled. "The learning curve was seriously steep."

"Thank you." It seemed like all the tension had dissipated from him. "I probably can't ask many questions but I'm sorry about your villain?"

"To be honest space is already too far for him to get to me, but I wanted to be sure." Her cheeks were set aflame again. "Talking to you helped me too, so thanks for that. I wish I could tell you more, though."

"It's okay. That's your business and it looks like you're better off handling it without other heroes interfering, right?"

"Mon dieu, yes, thank goodness you understand." Ladybug's lips stretched into a grin. "If I met any other hero, they would've been nosy."

"But is there any way I can help?" he asked. "I know I can't be too involved, but . . . actually do you have something I can write on?"

She thought for a moment before taking out her yoyo and handing it to him. There was a digital screen on one half of it and a digital keypad on the other. Jon hastily typed on it. "This is my personal number. If you need some sort of backup for an emergency, you can reach out to me."

Giving her his number was a gateway to revealing his civilian identity, but he didn't mind. If there was a way to ease off this sweet stranger's troubles, he wanted to be that support just for her.

"Thank you so much," Ladybug breathed out. "You're trusting me too much."

Will we see each other again? Jon wanted to ask. He fiddled with his fingers before he said, "And if you want to talk again . . . about anything, give me a call, okay? I'll meet you anywhere."

"You're really nice," she said quietly.

A light on her yoyo flashed with a ping and the smile on her face was slowly replaced with a frown when she looked at it. "Sorry, I think I have to go," she apologized, taking out a pair of goggles from her yoyo. "I'll contact you, I promise."

Those mere words warmed Jon's chest. He watched her put on the goggles, summon a portal out of nowhere, and disappear into it. 

[abyssal-ali]

Marinette "Valkyrie" Wayne

Masterlist Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Valkyrie's suit ao3 link (completed)

Pairing: Marijon, but the first bit's just family-oriented.

Rating: G

WC: 1.7k

A/N: I wrote this a couple years ago and decided to edit a bit for MariJon Week 2023/SuperMari May 2023. Fills prompts from day 1, 2, 4, and 7 for Marijon Week.

Marinette and Jon are 17-ish here and Damian is (I believe) a year older than Jon, making him 18.

The other Bats are in their early to mid-twenties and live at the Manor for plot convenience.

Also, when I wrote this a couple years ago I did not know a ton about Kon, so he's not part of this fic. I do love him, though; he wasn't excluded out of hate.

Summary: Marinette is adopted by Bruce Wayne after her parents died in a car crash. She figures out her new family are the Bats, but she also has a secret.

Meanwhile, Bruce is looking for Ladybug, who retired and disappeared into thin air.

Disclaimer: I do not know anything about the American/French fostering/adoption systems; we'll just pretend everything works out fast because it's Bruce Wayne. If there's anything in here that's confusing, drop a comment!

Please ignore any and all plot holes such as why a random American billionaire was ahead of her grandparents, Chinese side of the family, or even Jagged and Penny o adopt her. 🙂

Beta'd by the wonderful @sarcasticbambi. Enjoy!

1007 Mountain Drive was in a tizzy.

Why?

Well, Bruce “Serial Adopter” Wayne was bringing home yet another black-haired, blue-eyed child with a traumatic past.

Fostering with intent to adopt: Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Age: 16.75 years. Orphan; Tom Dupain & Sabine Cheng died in a car crash 15 months ago.

Marinette had been to a couple foster homes, but her foster parents claimed she kept sneaking out at odd times and acted very coldly to everyone, only warming up to animals. Marinette’s peers told stories upon stories of Marinette’s cruel actions toward them, specifically one Lila Rossi.

Her social worker, Genevieve Lemieux, dug a little and found some proof of Lila’s lies, but Marinette wouldn’t talk and wouldn’t explain her absences. Finally, Genevieve decided that the girl needed a new perspective, and called her college best friend’s brother– a policeman, if she remembered correctly.

“Oh, Genevieve Lemieux! Yes, I know someone who would love to foster her, I’m sure. Does she have blue eyes and/or black hair, by any chance?”

“As a matter of fact, she has both. Why?”

“I just wondered. I’ll talk to Bruce right away and get back to you.”

“Merci beaucoup, James.” (A/N: Jim Gordon)

“No problem, ‘Eve. Talk to you soon.”

“Au revoir.”

He called back a little later, saying the family would love to have Marinette come. Several of the other children were adopted, so they knew the process well. Bruce was currently in Paris doing business, actually. He could bring Marinette back with him if the paperwork went through quickly and smoothly.

Thus, Marinette landed in Gotham in the Waynes’ private jet. It was gray, drizzly, and gloomy, the antithesis of Paris.

She smiled inwardly.

Perfect.

~~~~~

Bruce Wayne eyed the dark-haired girl beside him. She appeared quiet and withdrawn when Genevieve Lemieux introduced them, didn’t startle or appear impressed or scheming at his name, though Mme. Lemieux was a little awed.

She appeared indifferent to the luxurious accommodations on the flight back to the States, plopping in her seat, fastening the safety belt, putting her earbuds in, and drifting off.

[She stopped the music whenever Bruce spoke so she could eavesdrop better. She also eyed him through her lashes, appraising his body language.]

All of her things fit in one large suitcase and a duffle bag. Her polished black nails were filed short and her hair was in a pixie cut with a crimson streak running through it. She was shorter, appeared fit and maybe even muscular, and walked with a distinctive tread. Faded lines were around her eyes and mouth, suggesting that she used to laugh and smile regularly. She didn’t seem cold like Mme. Lemieux had warned, though she did display some of every foster child’s apprehension on new people and situations.

Now she was dozing, almost curled into him, though the seats didn’t really allow that. He figured she wouldn’t like waking up like that, so he moved to the opposite seat and pulled out some documents that needed reviewing and signing.

When they landed, she headed straight for the Rolls, though several other cars were nearby.

Bruce frowned. How did she know which car to approach?

Alfred politely introduced himself as he loaded her baggage, then drove to Wayne Manor.

Inside, five people were waiting to meet the new arrival: Cass, Steph, Dick, Tim, and Damian.

Jason was who-knows-where and Babs was at her own house.Marinette nodded briefly at each introduction, then Alfred showed her to her room.

Everything was white, except for where bare wood showed through.

~~~~~

Marinette carefully and neatly unpacked her things, then pulled out her phone and took pictures so she could compare if anything was disturbed. She also set several quick safeguards in place (e.g. a strand of hair across the door) and portalled to outside her room. S

he walked noiselessly downstairs to Bruce’s study, where she found everyone gathered.

Well, Mr. Wayne had passed test #1. Onto #2.

“Will you tell her about the family business?” Dick asked. Mari paused just outside the door.

“Not yet, we don’t know her well enough. Her school friends say she is a bully, a liar, and a troublemaker. Previous foster families say she is cold and a sneak. Her social worker thinks there is some reason for the other’s statements, but she isn’t sure. For now, we act normally and say nothing suspicious. Please try and actually keep this a secret,” Bruce pleaded.

He suddenly sounded like an exhausted parent tired of corralling a pack of wild toddlers.

“She has a tread like this,” Bruce crossed the room in a demonstration, “so no giveaways if you hear her.”

Marinette tiptoed back down the hall, then walked to the study in her faked stride and knocked.

“Come in,” someone called.

Cass smiled at her, Damian glared [stared normally], Tim and Dick assessed her, and Steph continued texting someone.

“We have a few house rules I’d like to go over,” Bruce stated, and she nodded.

“No weapons, specifically at the dinner table; no alcohol, drugs, or smoking allowed if you’re underage; respect each other’s boundaries; if you’re going out, tell someone the general area and expected return time in case of a Rogue attack or kidnapping; tell Alfred ahead of time if someone is staying the night or for a meal; and take care of yourself.”

This last item seemed to be directed at Tim, who shrugged and slurped from a mug of coffee.

“Monday nights are alternating game nights or movie nights with the family. Sunday evening is family dinner.”

“Got it.”

“Do you have any allergies or sensitivities to anything?”

“No. I have a friend in New York. Do you think I could see her sometime?”

“Of course. In the fall, Gotham Academy–”

“I already graduated,” Marinette cut in. “I skipped Grade 3 and did 11 & 12 in one year.”

“Oh. Okay, then. Do you have an idea of what secondary school you’d like to attend?”

“I’m working on a course online. I’m good, thanks.”

Everyone stared at her. “Uh, Mme. Lemieux said you like animals. Damian has several you can meet later.”

“Thank you. Is there anything else?”

“No. Thank you for your time, Marinette. Dinner will be at six-fifteen. Cass can give you a tour of the manor later if you’d like.”

Marinette nodded at Cass. “Okay.”

After dinner, Cass gave Marinette a tour of the main rooms in the manor. They both preferred body language and signs to communicate over words.

She also met Titus, Alfred the Cat, Jerry the Turkey, and Batcow. They all liked her, and she was thrilled to meet all of them. She told Cass she used to want a hamster, but now she was thinking about a dog.

Cass told Marinette that she could personalize her room how she wanted, and Steph would love to take her shopping. Marinette said she’d think about that too.

~

Steph ended up spending the whole day at the mall with Marinette and Bruce’s credit cards.

Marinette thanked her and Bruce, then retreated to her room with her arms full of bags.

No one had seen the inside of her room since she arrived except Alfred once when he called her for breakfast. He said it was clean and orderly, and Bruce was satisfied with that.

When a social worker came to check up on Marinette, the family saw the setup for the first time in the month that she’d been there.

The walls stayed white, but everything else was different. The queen bed had a red and black poofy duvet, the sheets were white, and the throw pillows were black & grey and red & white. The curtains were black, the rug grey and white, the fluffy chair was white, and the pillow navy. The desk was white, the chair was red, the row of jars was red glass.

A gold Eiffel Tower lamp matched the strings of lights crisscrossing the ceiling. Two picture frames were on the nightstands. The black bookcase opposite the bed was full of various book genres.

The worker approved it and everyone left.

Marinette kept a close eye on the worker and the Waynes.

After the worker left, she turned to her foster family. “I know you’re hiding something, and I’ve almost figured out what it is. Would you like to simply tell me?”

Bruce crossed his arms and raised a brow.

“Suppose I call your bluff. What have you almost figured out, with what evidence?”

“Well, when I heard I was going to be fostered with intent for adoption, I hacked the orphanage’s database and found your name. When I looked you up, I discovered you adopt a black-haired, blue-eyed child every few years. I hacked into your family’s file, but to my surprise, it was very hard to access. It wasn't easy to crack like other files -- only people with something to hide would make their files so difficult to get at. But when I got in, there was really nothing to see. So I watched the video clips and noticed some trimming and cropping of some places in the Manor. In real life, there doesn’t appear to be anything there, either. A clock, a piano… nothing unusual.

“When I came to your office the first day, I overheard your warning to not let me know about the ‘family business’. And why is the first rule 'no weapons'?! So I hacked into your financial records, but apparently, everything is aboveboard there, too. You do spend a lot of money on the Justice League, though. Mr. Queen doesn’t spend nearly that much. I do have a question about that, though: why does Green Lantern #2 break so much stuff?”

The Wayne children burst into laughter at the question (Bruce blamed a lot of stuff on Hal Jordan.).

“He’s a clumsy, egotistical member with no sense of professionalism or appropriateness,” grumbled Bruce.

“A-ha! You're Batman! Only Batman dislikes GL#2 that much!”

“...”

“Oh come on, just admit it.” She strolled to the piano. “What's the tune Dick’s always humming?”

She played the first couple of bars.

“No-” everyone gasped.

Too late, the secret passage opened.

"Hah!” Marinette crowed. “I said I’d find out.”

~

Babs adopted the new hacker into the fold; Marinette became known as Delphi.

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

(Mari learned hacking from Max.)

[marauderundercover]

Stars Shine

AO3

Prev

Clark Kent didn’t often take days off. He enjoyed both of his jobs (being a journalist was something he liked almost as much as being a hero), and didn’t really see a need to stay at home alone. And then, his niece was born. And suddenly, days off were important. Because days off meant time he got to spend with his adorable niece. Someone who was growing and learning more and more every time he saw her. Like now. His older brother and Sabine had a convention in DC, which meant Marinette was staying with him in Metropolis for a week. Which meant, he was supposed to be off duty for the week.

“Bruce, I don’t exactly have an Alfred. What was I supposed to do with her? You’re the one who sent the emergency call even though you knew I had her this week.” He asks, trying not to let his tone suggest how frustrated he was. No need to upset Marinette (who was currently going back and forth between looking out the windows of the Watchtower and looking at him). Bruce’s jaw clenches slightly, his lips pursed.

“Bringing a child here was-” Bruce starts, but Marinette cuts him off with a squeal.

“Étoiles! Oncle Clark, étoiles!” She says, grinning from ear to ear, pointing out the window. Clark nods, smiling back at her.

“Yes they are. Can you say, star?” He asks, adjusting his hold to point back out the window.

“Oui! Star!” She says, before clapping. Bruce’s face falls slack as he sighs.

“I’ll have Robin stay here with her. But we need you.” He says. Clark nods. Robin was eleven, that’s old enough to babysit, right?

—-

Dick did not sign up for this when he put on the cape and became Robin. He wanted to avenge his parents and fight alongside Bruce. He didn’t want to babysit a toddler! He was totally whelmed.

“Brille, brille petite étoile dans la nuit qui se dévoile. Tout là-haut au firmament, tu scintilles comme un diamant. Brille, brille petite étoile, veille sur ceux qui dorment en bas.” The little girl, Marinette, sings again. She’d been singing it pretty much nonstop. And while it was cute the first couple of times, there were only so many times he could listen to ‘twinkle twinkle’ before he lost his mind.

“So, your Uncle said you’ve been working on English, too. That’s cool.” Dick says, because what else do you say to a random toddler that just so happens to be Superman’s niece?

“Cool!” She says, grinning. Dick grins back, unable to keep it in. Okay, maybe this wasn’t so bad.

“Wanna see a cool trick?” He asks. She nods. Dick jumps to his feet and does a couple of cartwheels before moving into a back handspring. Landing it, he looks over to the kid. He grins immediately when he sees the awed expression on her face as she claps excitedly.

“Again! Encore!” She giggles. Dick does, adding in a couple more flourishes with it just to make the kid giggle more. “Robin teach?” She asks, eyebrows scrunched in concentration. Dick frowns, thinking of something he could teach her. She was really little-

“Okay, but we have to be very, very careful, okay?” He asks. She nods, grinning.

“Okay!” Somersaults were easy enough for toddlers, right? He couldn’t remember what he’d learned by the time he was her age. He just knew he started learning tricks young. But how hard could it be to teach a two year old somersaults?

—-

Walking back into the Watchtower, Clark immediately zeroes in his hearing for his niece. Ignoring Bruce’s calls (probably reminding him to fill out his reports), he follows the sound of Marinette giggling. Walking into one of the gyms, he’s slightly shocked to see Dick helping her do a cartwheel on one of the mats. It was rough, but the second she was on her feet again, she cheered.

“Again, oiseau! Again!” She exclaims, clapping her hands. Dick laughs.

“Why don’t we try the somersault again instead?” He suggests. Marinette pouts.

“Non. Cartwheel please!” She says, moving into a position to attempt it again. Clark can see the moment she spots him. Her eyes widen and she runs to him, arms outstretched. Clark grins and picks her up, tossing her in the air gently. She giggles before landing back in his arms, hugging him tightly. Clark relaxes, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding as he hugs her close. It’s not that he doubted Dick’s ability to babysit, but he had realized after leaving that the boy was an only child and had likely never spent time with such a young child before.

“Did you have fun with Robin?” He asks her, and she nods, grinning.

“Oui. Robin is my friend.” She says matter-of-factly. Clark glances at Dick, grinning at the shocked look on the boy’s face.

“Looks like you have a new friend, Robin.” He says. The boy grins, snapping out of his shock.

“I guess so. If you ever wanna learn more tricks, kid, you know where I am.” He says, and Marinette grins.

“Cool!” She says. Dick laughs and nods.

“Oh yeah kid, the coolest.” He says. Clark grins.

“Thank you for watching her, Robin.” He says. Dick grins.

“Any time. She’s a pretty cool kid.” He says. Clark laughs.

“That she is. Ready to go home, Sunshine?” He asks. Marinette shakes her head.

“No.” She says, turning around so that she can reach towards Dick. He reaches back towards her and she immediately latches onto him, giving him a tight hug. “Love you!” She says, hugging him close. Clark sneakily brings up his phone, snapping a quick picture of the two. He’d make sure to send it to Bruce later.

“Love you too kiddo.” Dick says, his voice quiet. Marinette leans back and reaches for Clark again. Once she’s settled in his arms, she waves at Dick.

“Bye bye!” She says. Clark grins.

“Bye Robin.” He says lightly, heading towards the Zeta tubes. Maybe he could arrange for Dick to babysit again. They both seemed to enjoy it. And if Marinette kept up with gymnastics, Dick would really be able to help her. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt for either of them to spend time with actual kids. Maybe they’d even grow up to be friends.

Next

Tag list: @maribat-calendar-events  @stainedglassm @kittenmywaythrulife @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess @kking13  @toodaloo-kangaroo  @crazylittlemunchkin @buttercupsbitch @jayjayspixiepop @iloontjeboontje

[khneltea]

Day 3 - Original

So...About That Jacket...

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

Marinette was going to kill him. She was going to murder Adrien "Radiant Carefree Dreamy" Agreste. Say goodbye, world, to the blond sunshine. He was not long for this world, and it was inevitable for it to be shortened because of his actions. She could handle the drama. She could handle the daddy and mommy issues. She could even handle the goddamn leather cat suit.

But this? This was where she drew the line.

"What," she growled, pinning her brother down with her glare and the mop she found in the kitchen, "did you do to the jacket?"

Adrien was cornered. He had nowhere to go. All possible exits were blocked by Marinette, Plagg was preoccupied with two whole wheels of Camembert, and Marinette had that look in her eye. The one promising pain and torture and his anime collection finding itself on eBay before he could even say "spaghetti". What's worse was that Marinette knew she had him on the ropes.

He gulped. "I can explain?"

"Start talking." She leveled the handle to his neck, and his eyes grew frantic. "If you talk fast enough, I might cancel the auction for your PreCure action figure in time."

"You don't mean..." He gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. "Not Cure Twinkle, Go! Princess Precure limited edition! Anyone but her! Take Cure Flora, or Scarlet, but not Twinkle!"

"Then, you better start talking, Agreste."

He cried like a baby after that.

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

"You what?"

"I'm so sorry, Mari! I thought it was one of my jackets."

"It was on my bed. It was in my room. You don't just take stuff out of my room—"

"But we had movie night in your room, and I was in a rush! You know how my professor treats students who are late, even if it was just once!"

"That doesn't mean you get to give the jacket to a random stranger in the street who looked cute!"

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

Marinette flopped on the couch, grabbing onto a discarded throw pillow. "What am I going to do?"

"Can't you just buy him a new jacket?" Adrien suggested, then held up a throw pillow in front of his face. The amount of times a heavy object was hurled at his head by a grumpy or catastrophizing Marinette was enough for him to be fearful of her moods.

She mumbled gibberish into the throw pillow. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that again for me, Mari?"

"I can't." She lifted her head off the pillow to give him a self-loathing glare. "His grandmother made it for him. He told me when we went on that study date."

"Oh." Adrien deflated, not even noticing she called it a date like he had been telling her it was. An idea hit him. "Well, why don't you make one for him? An MDC original, handmade by MDC herself, has got to be worth something, right?"

Marinette opened her mouth to refute it, and closed it, thinking. If she could make it exactly how it was when she got it...

She jumped up, rushing to her bedroom. She needed to research where the hell could she buy flannel from Kansas fast.

As soon as she left the room, Adrien collapsed on the couch. He congratulated himself. He wasn't going to die today. Maybe.

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

Two days and one sleepless night later, she regretted all her decisions. Thank Kwami it was a weekend.

Somehow, she had convinced Kaalki to transport her to a small haberdashery in rural Kansas. The isolated town of Smallville was quaint with its little shops and smiling folks. Vintage cars and retro shops lined the streets, and they even had an old school general store near the center of town. It looked like a place she could imagine herself growing old in, and she would have loved to explore the place more, maybe get one of those famous apple pies Jon kept telling her about, if she hadn't seen the boy himself sitting in the back of an old blue pickup truck the moment she stepped out of the haberdashery.

So, you might ask, what did she do?

Simple. She ducked in between the haberdashery and the laundromat, summoned Kaalki, and portalled out of there in five seconds flat.

That wasn't even the least of her troubles. When she came back to class on Monday, Jon sat next to her like usual. It would have been fine until he mentioned her visit to Smallville. She didn't even realise that he'd seen her.

"Uh— yeah Smallville went— I mean, I went to your Smallville— wait, no that's not right, I wanted to jacket—" She lit up bright red and shoved the box she carried into class at him.

"Oomph!" Jon held the box and furrowed his eyebrows. "What's this?"

She took a deep breath. "So you remember that jacket you lent me when we first met? The flannel one that your grandma made you? Well, my roommate slash brother kinda took it without me knowing and somehow gave it to a stranger, so I made you a new one and it's made of the same materials that your grandma used, at least I think they're made of the same material and I couldn't find the correct buttons so I picked the closest one to it and I'm sosorryagainit'sallmyfault—"

She didn't even know her eyes were closed until she was shocked by a weight falling on her shoulders. The surprise made her jump, hitting Jon on the forehead.

"OUCH!"

They looked at each other, and they laughed at the red forming on their heads. They were a pair of blue-eyed clumsy idiots. But, they were a pair of blue-eyed clumsy idiots together in the same economics course.

Grinning, Jon opened the box, took out the jacket, and put it on, showing off the back to Marinette. "How do I look?"

The MDC original signature fluttered on the collar as he spun around.

"It's perfect." She beamed, clutching her hands close to her heart.

---------

Bloopers:

Adrien nudged her as she ran to the car waiting in front of the campus. "Hey, hey, hey—"

"What do you want?" She hissed, resisting the urge to yank him by the ear. Damn tall genes.

"You might want a stop staring at his neck like that." He wiggled his eyebrows. "He's gonna start thinking you're a vampire, or maybe you've got a neck kink—"

"START WALKING, AGRESTE!"

so i've rewritten this author note at least four times now, so I'm just gonna leave it at the regular greetings. like, reblog, and comment! thanks for @maribat-calendar-events for the wonderful prompts, and everyone have a good day

tag list: (OPEN TAG LIST)

@verymuchimmortalcat @wolfy-kat @jumpingjoy82 @couffeeine

[tinybriewrites]

A Soul’s Glow - 1

Marinette had always known that her soul bond was a little out of the ordinary. Her soul guide, an adorable golden retriever she calls Soleil, would have its irises turn ice blue or fire red or grass green, among other colors, from time to time. She had thought that they only had a stronger soul connection, which manifested into an additional emotions bond. It was rare, but not unheard of. She thought wrong.

Just last night, Marinette had finally succeeded at tapping into the truest creation magic humanly possible - pure soul magic. More specifically, its first level, the Windows to the Soul. It was a power held by only the most in-tune Ladybugs. It allowed them to see the essence of the soul of any living thing around them, with or without the mask. The connection brought an intense burst of magic that promptly caused her to pass out.

Which was why she was now panicking in a flurry all over her hotel room the morning after. Marinette just can't believe what she's seeing.

"Tikki, I think I'm still dreaming." Her soul guide was surrounded by a gem-like glow that she knew instinctively signaled something non-human.

"Well, at least, he's still partially human..?" was Tikki's very unsuccessful attempt to stop Marinette's panic.

"But that still means he's part non-human! What if he hates me for just being human? Oh no, or worse, what if he hates magic? I can't give up my responsibilities as the Guardian, and what if h-"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Marinette, we'll be late!" came a voice from across the door.

Marinette and Mireille Caquet rushed into a bus in front of the hotel. Mireille had introduced her to the Ten Youths Taking on the World essay challenge released by the Martha Wayne Foundation. Marinette had become fast friends with the students from the class next door after most of Mme. Bustier's class cut off any amicable relationship with her. Mireille and she were two of the ten finalists of the contest. The winners were to be interviewed today by the Foundation's partner newspaper, The Daily Planet, for a feature article.

"Hi, I'm Claude and this is Allegra," said a tall slender blonde with a fennec fox in his lap. "We're a prima ballerina and danseur soulmate pair from a dance company based in England."

"Hello, I'm Mireille, a weather forecaster for the local news."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Marinette, aspiring fashion designer."

"Both of your dresses look lovely," said Allegra, another willowy blonde with a hummingbird resting on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Marinette made both of our outfits herself!"

"Woah, you're very talented. Makes sense since you won, but just, wow. It looks so professional, especially for someone probably in sixth form."

"Says the youngest principal dancer ever."

"Shut up."

And just like that, the ride to the Daily Planet passed by in a blink for Marinette in between the bickering of her new acquaintances.

Stepping off the bus, Marinette marveled at the towering building topped by a giant bronze planet.

"Impressive, isn't it?" said a bespectacled man next to a pacing lion. "Welcome to the Daily Planet! I'm Clark Kent, I'll be interviewing each of you later today. But for now, we'll have a tour around the premises."

For the next two hours, the reporter brought the ten teens around the bustling newspaper company. Marinette was enjoying the trip, but of course, that meant the universe had to interrupt it somehow. For all her luck as Ladybug, she had equal misfortune as Marinette.

"BRRRIIING. BRRRIIING. AKUMA ALERT. AKUMA ALERT." loudly chimed from the phones of the two Parisians in the middle of the lunch break at the cafeteria. Everyone turned to look at them, the source of the jarring blare.

"I'm really sorry, everyone! I'll go outside to watch the live stream, Mir," Marinette shouted in a panic as she rushed off with Soleil right at her heels.

"Sorry! Paris alert, we forgot to switch on the abroad option." Mireille apologized. "We're understandably a little jittery from the Level 4 announcement mode."

"Level 4?" Clark asked the remaining Parisian in the room.

"It's a new classification the Akuma App introduced last week. Level 1 for low-danger repeat akumas. 2A for property hazard and 2B for injury hazard, evacuate from surrounding areas. 3 for new akuma, remain indoors. 4 for deadly, prepare for the worst."

"Deadly? Aren't you worried?" Allegra asked.

"Worrying is useless; it only makes you a target for Hawkmoth. No damage is permanent, in any case," she said while nuzzling her palm civet soul guide.

After four years of continuous emotional terrorism, Parisians were quite hardcore.

---

Okay so in this AU, everyone has a piece of their soul (the truest part of themselves) expressed as an animal, called their soul split. This animal doesn't stay with them. Instead, it stays with their soulmate (in which they're called soul guide) until the moment the pair physically touch wherein the soul splits will then stay with their original soul instead of the soulmate. So basically, people gradually fall in love (romantically/platonically) with their soulmate before they even meet, which would explain the easy trust between soulmates even if it seems quick.

---

@maribat-calendar-events

Also on AO3!

Next

[silverwhiteraven]

Heard some of yall like my Krypto-Mari fics. Here, have 10k words worth of one.

@maribat-calendar-events

[verymuchimmortalcat]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU, Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Jonathan Samuel Kent Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Background & Cameo Characters Additional Tags: Supermari May 2022, Bruce Wayne is Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug's Biological Parent Series: Part 4 of Supermari May Summary:

Jon meets Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Wayne for the first time when she happens to be baking enough pastries to feed a small village.

Supermari Day 5: Powers/ Baking

[attempting-writer]

Supernette 3: Allergies

In which Supermari gets an allergic reaction

So I started asking myself what Marinette would be like with a miraculous. This is taking the Kryptonian weakness to magic into account.

·         So during the Evillustrator incident, Marinette, on her date with Nathaniel, gets a magic necklace that he drew

·         After a few minutes, he notices that she keeps rubbing at where the necklace was put on her

·         He asks to see why she was doing that and removes it to find a rash along her skin where the necklace was, he freaks out as it wasn’t something that could have an allergic reaction to and asks if she’s feeling okay

·         She admits that the artificial moonlight was making her a bit uncomfortable, not quite “red sun” uncomfortable as much as “too close to the space heater” uncomfortable

·         She figures that at that point she may have an allergy to magic

·         So, one day, Pixiebug, that’s what I’m calling Ladybug!Rose, and Chat noir, as they are growing together as close friends and practically siblings, even teasing  to the public that they are siblings to protect their identities, -Chat even once shouted “Wonder-Twin powers activate!”- Tikki and  Plagg say that they are ready to meet Fu and the do so individually, out of costume before meeting up somewhere together.

·         Fu tells them about the miraculous and lets them judge for themselves who the temp miraculous holder should be.

·         They simultaneously say “Marinette!”

·         Fu’s surprised, but goes with it.

·         They take the mouse miraculous and go rushing to Marinette’s balcony, where she is designing a better suit for herself.

·         She asks if there’s an akuma, but they say no and offer her the miraculous, as a chance to test out what her powers would be and patrol with them.

·         Hello darkness my old friend ~Marinette’s brain

·         She accepts, and goes on patrol with them.

·         As she transforms she immediately notices that her supersenses are fading,

·         No xray, no super-hearing, no flight,

·         She learns the flight thing the hard way as she tries to take off and jumps right into a wall at some point

·         Cue: Chat high key joke-flirting and Mousinette low key reciprocating and Pixiebug very high key silent shipping

·         They meet up with Robin and the four of them patrol together,

·         After like ten minutes Marinette is wheezing and coughing, straight up not having a good time right now.

·         She tries to hide it for a few minutes, but Robin notices and calls it out right away, she admits that she thinks she’s allergic to magic, calling back upon the Evillustrator incident,

·         Pixiebug and Chat apologize profusely and the three take her home and she transforms back on the way, falling from her jump, into Robin’s grasp.

·         Chat high key jealous.

·         They leave her at her place, tell her to get some rest and Robin lectures them about endangering her

·         They all decide to not give her a miraculous again,

·         The next two days she’s called in sick to school by her parents.

·         People are shocked because Mari never gets sick, Rose and Adrien are avoiding the topic because guilt.

·         She spends the entire two days on her balcony, sunbathing.

·         At night she keeps working on her designs and the day after those two days, Marinette comes back refreshed and Supernette comes back with a few new outfits

·         Supernette apologizes for her absence as she was communicating with her uncle about getting some new suits. Not technically a lie considering that she did at some point ask Clark if he could get her some sturdy materials to make her designs from.

@virgil-is-a-cutie @vixen-uchiha

[mochegato]

Words Are Hard

Marinette stared at the newly added contact in her phone wondering if it was too soon to text him.  Last night had been amazing.  She’d never felt like that with anyone; connected so instantly and deeply.  The connection was crazy.  Their conversations were fun; light yet giving hints into deeper thought processes and values.  Their banter had been sharp and witty.  And the way he’d looked at her… those blue eyes warm yet mischievous, and entirely focused on her, like she was the only person in his world.  It sent tingles throughout her entire body every time his eyes met hers… which was quite often throughout the night.

They hadn’t even drunk that much.  They’d sat at the bar for at least 4 hours and had talked so much they hadn’t had the chance to get more than a drink or two.  And when the bar had closed, they still weren’t ready to stop talking.  But with everything closed and neither of them from Gotham, they didn’t have anywhere to go but her hotel room, so perhaps it wasn’t surprising that it ended in her first ever one-night stand.

And now, in the light of day, looking back with a clearer head, all she wanted was to talk to him again.  But, seeing as the night before had been her first one-night stand, she wasn’t exactly sure what the etiquette was.  If she was honest though, she was really hopeful it wouldn’t actually be just a one-night stand.  It could be more.  She wanted it to be so much more.

Surely thirty minutes was too early though, right?  That would scare him off.  She should wait at least until after the wedding to text him.  Focus on Adrien and the wedding and then her boy.  This weekend was about Adrien’s love life, not hers.

Right. That's what she'd do… after a gigantic cup of coffee.  She nodded to herself determinedly and passed into the coffee shop’s patio, almost immediately tripping.  She watched the culprits with an amused sigh that turned into overwhelming giggles when they jumped up on her trying to lick her face and get as many good-boy pats as they could, to which she gladly acquiesced, or at least tried to.  She couldn’t give them all the pats they deserved, because they deserved all of them.

Entirely too quickly, she started to carefully extricate herself from their leashes, which had wrapped around her when they jumped all over each other, and around her, to urge her to pet them further.  With her luck, and clumsiness, she was highly likely to trip and knock herself unconscious and miss the wedding.  Or, worse, hit her face on the railing or a table and give herself a huge gash on her face just before the wedding, which would be a huge distraction from Adrien’s moment.  He would insist she still keep her place as his Maid of Honor, but she would feel terrible about it.

With one more pat for each of them, she shot into the café before she could let herself pet them longer and got in line to order.  She looked back at the dogs wondering if he liked dogs.  Would he want to get one?  He didn’t have one.  He’d said he didn’t have pets, but maybe he’d want to get one?  One like the dogs outside, still straining to get to her.  She could definitely see him with a dog.

She ordered politely and went back to watching the dogs while she waited.  It wouldn’t be so bad to send him a picture of the dogs, right?  It would only be a small violation of her resolve to wait to contact him.  She wasn’t asking him anything… just showing him something.  She could even make a cute comment about someone else trying to kiss her, but she guesses she’ll allow it in this case and then he’d send back a comment about how he wished it was him and they should see each other again that night, meet up and talk… maybe more.  She’d agree because she wanted more time with him before she returned to Metropolis.

One night was not enough and her dress for the wedding was stunning on her.  She’d designed it after all, along with Adrien’s tuxedo.  She’d barely had time to finish it with how quickly the wedding got planned and was happening, but it flattered her in every way.  It was sleek and sexy, a bit more than she would normally go for a wedding, but it fit their theme and vibe, and Adrien had been extremely encouraging.  It would be a shame not to show it off to her boy and let him appreciate it in person.

She picked up her drink and rushed out to get a picture of the dogs and enact her perfect plan.  The dogs were almost as excited to see her as she was to start her plan, immediately jumping toward her with such fervor the leashes were straining.  She set her coffee down, away from the chaos, where the good boys couldn’t knock it over in their excitement, because that would truly ruin her morning.

She crouched down and pulled out her phone to take the picture but had to readjust out of the walkway so a customer who was just approaching would be able to get by, but froze when she heard a familiar voice.  “Man, it was crazy!  I absolutely did not expect it when I first started talking to her but it was all night long.  Yeah, so desperate after just one night of a bit of sweet talk.  And it was so easy, like no effort at all involved.”

She knew who it was without having to look up.  She’d heard his deep, smooth voice in conversations all evening and then telling her, what she had thought were, genuine praises all night.  Clearly, he had not felt the same.  While she was picturing their future together and fighting the need to get back to him as quickly as possible, he had gotten what he wanted and moved on.  While she’d savored their deep, instant, genuine connection, he’d just been talking her up for a quick night.

She shot up and spun to face him with hurt in her wide eyes to see horror in his.  The dogs, oblivious to the events around them, yapped at her to return her attention to them.  When she proved too frozen to give them what they wanted, they turned their attention to her partner from the night before, their jumps just as eager as they had been with her, though not quite reaching as high on him as they did on her, but what they lacked in height, they made up for in enthusiasm.  Despite their best efforts, he was completely unmoved, frozen in place.

“Uh oh…” he muttered out.  He turned off his phone and reached for her.  “Marinette…” he started, but that was enough to shock her out of her freeze.

She brushed by him, just out of his arm’s length, and yet it felt like she was being drawn back to him.  She fought the draw and pushed on like she didn’t hear him, rushing away with such speed she was almost flying.  She had to move as quickly as she could and put as much distance between them as possible before he freed himself from the leashes.  The dogs had done a fantastic job of wrapping him up, but it wouldn’t hold him for long.  They definitely deserved far more good-boy pats than they’d gotten.  She could tell he was calling after her, but the blood was pounding too loudly in her ears, it was all she heard, not traffic, not the multitude of conversations around her, not the construction the street over, and certainly not him, just static.

She’d been played.  So.  Damn.  Hard.  And she’d completely fallen for it.  Hook.  Line.  And sinker.  She’d reveled in each duplicitous tingle and relished each honeyed lie and held them close to her heart so she could savor them like they meant something when she was the only one who believed them.  She was so stupid.  God, he probably wasn’t even from out of town.  He probably lived in town but just didn’t want to take her back to his place.  Had anything he’d said been real?

She felt even stupider for even asking and all she wanted to do was go back home to Metropolis and drown in a bottle of something strong that tasted terrible.  She didn’t deserve something that tasted good.  That was for people who didn’t let themselves act like brainless fools for every fuckboy who crossed their paths.

But she couldn’t.  She didn’t have time to slowly drown in her misery like she wanted.  She had to get to the hotel everyone was staying at, splash water on her face, and paste a massive, fake smile on her face.  Heartbreak didn’t have any place in Adrien’s wedding weekend.  She’d put too much effort into his wedding for it to get dragged down and Adrien deserved happiness too much for her to ruin it, damn it.  And it would ruin it because Adrien would be too concerned about her and let it interfere with his mood.  He’d stop everything to just focus on her, further proving her point that he deserved everything good and to luxuriate in ridiculously perfect happiness.

So, forget that guy.  Forget the night before.  Forget the scheming tingles.  She was never going to have to see him again anyway and now she knew better.  Lesson learned.  About the world and about herself.  And she would be better armed for the next time.  Like Master Fu told her, if you keep looking back, you’ll end up running into a lamp post.  Okay, maybe that was Plagg, but it was still valid advice… one of his few.  She had to focus on the future.  And hers was going to be delightfully free of that man.

><><><><><><>< 

Marinette threw herself into the wedding, making sure every detail for the rehearsal and ceremony were meticulously cared for, particularly getting their friends cared for, all with a plastic smile.  Thankfully, her friends knew were so familiar with her anxiety when working on a project they all wrote her mood off as planning stress.  Later she would tell Alya everything, well after Adrien had left for his honeymoon and it wouldn’t take away from his day.  Alya could focus on Adrien like she should instead of trying to comfort Marinette.

She went to Wayne Manor ahead of the rest of the group, trusting Alya and Luka to get everyone there without her, so she could check the ceremony site before the rehearsal.  Not that she didn’t trust Alfred to have watched over it, in fact during the conversations they’d had about the ceremony along with the planner, she’d come to trust him more than most of the people she knew, but she needed to check on it herself.  As soon as she saw the site, she knew she was right to have trusted Alfred.  The ceremony space was beautiful.  The flowers had been arranged like they’d discussed, sleek and contemporary with a touch of old-world sophistication.  It was perfect for them.

“Meet your standards?” a familiar voice inquired, significantly closer than she had anticipated anyone being able to get without her notice.

Marinette squeaked and whirled around on him with a light slap to his chest.  “Mon Dieu, Adrien!  You just about gave me a heart attack!”  He didn’t even have the decency to look properly chastised or even sheepish.  Instead, his grin widened and his eyes sparkled playfully.  She sighed helplessly and pushed up to give him a tight hug and kiss on the cheek.  “It doesn’t matter what I think.”  She ignored his scoff and continued, “What do you think?”

“I think it’s absolutely gorgeous, just like you,” he winked.  “But honestly, I’d be just as happy in a warehouse as long as it ends the same.  It’s not about your conditions, it’s about your partner.”

She smiled at his response, such a completely Adrien answer to give, sappy and sweet and utterly devoted to the people he loved.  She gave him another long, tight hug.  He was getting married to the love of his life.  He was going to be a married man and likely start a family after not too long.  It was all coming together for him, and she couldn’t be happier for him.  She wiped at her eye before a mirthful tear could escape.  “Speaking of which, where is your partner?”

Before he could answer a voice carried over from behind a hedge.  “I’m here.”  Moments later, a figure appeared around the hedge, bright smile, sparkling eyes, and clothes rumpled but presentable.

“Tim!” Marinette screeched and launched herself at him.

“Mari!” Tim called back, jogging to her with just as much energy culminating in an ebullient hug that swung her in a circle.  He set her down with a brilliant smile on both their faces.

“I missed you!” she lamented with faux devastation.

“I missed you,” he concurred in the same tone.  “A month is too long.  You have no idea how hard it is dealing with him day in and day out all by myself.”

Marinette chuckled at his over-the-top delivery.  “I do, actually.  That’s why he’s not my problem anymore.”

“He’s right here you know… and feeling a bit left out,” Adrien pouted dramatically as he sauntered up to them, hands in pockets and lips twitching to curl back up.  “Where was my welcome like that?”

“You got a kiss,” Mari scoffed.  “Plus, he didn’t scare me.”

“He got…” he motioned wildly toward them, “that.  You’re my Maid of Honor and best friend.  I feel like there are some questions about that here.”

“He got a kiss?” Tim pouted ignoring his fiancé’s insinuation.  He was well aware of how happy Adrien was that he and Marinette got along so well.  It was absolutely the best-case situation for him that his life partner and pseudo-sister were almost best friends themselves.

“I got you babe,” Mari cooed and gave him a matching pink lip print.  Movement just over his shoulder, back at the hedge Tim had appeared at, drew her attention as she was just making contact.  It was so shocking she almost missed his cheek despite only being millimeters away because standing there was her lamentable one-night stand.  She blinked at him for just a second then focused entirely back on Tim.  If she’d kept her eyes on him for a few more seconds she would have seen the shock on his face as well.

“Awww.  I feel loved,” Tim cooed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders to pull her against him so he could lean his head onto hers.

“I don’t,” the man grumbled.  He slowly made his way to the trio, his eyes darting between the three of them like he was trying to place the pieces together.

“You got plenty last night,” Adrien chuckled and shoved his shoulder playfully.

“Oh?” Tim asked.

“Uh… yeah,” he acknowledged awkwardly, trying to shy away from Marinette’s glare behind Adrien and Tim’s backs.  “Last night was…” he paused like he was looking for the right word.

“All shy now,” Adrien chided.  “He was going on and on this morning.”  Marinette felt like she was going to be sick and if Adrien ever knew it was her, she knew he would too.  Of all the people he could have called up to brag about his conquest, it had to be Adrien!  Adrien?  Not that it would have been okay in the first place but Adrien!  Really?  The only possible worse person would have been her dad.

“Why were you telling Adrien and not me?” Tim chastised but instantly pivoted.  He stepped between her and the man.  “Actually, it’s not important right now.  I haven’t even introduced you guys officially yet.  Marinette, this is my best friend and best man, Conner Kent.  Conner, this is Adrien’s best friend and Maid of Honor, not to mention unofficial wedding planner and possibly Alfred’s new favorite family member, Marinette.”

He sucked in a breath and stepped forward to offer his hand.  “Uh… my friends call me Kon.  It’s really nice to meet you.”  He said it with such sincerity, she absolutely would have fallen for it if she hadn’t heard him on the phone just that morning.

Marinette shot him a tight smile as she shook his hand.  “Conner, hi.  I’ve heard lots about you,” she enthused, saccharine sweet but yanked her hand back after one shake.

Conner winced like he was thinking through all the things Tim and Adrien would have told her about him.  He rubbed the back of his neck with the abandoned hand.  His chuckles were awkward enough that both Adrien and Tim eyed him curiously.  “Yeah… the rumors of my…” he looked around frantically as though he might be able to spot an appropriate word, “history have been greatly exaggerated.”

Tim snorted.  “If anything, I’ve under sold it.  You are the flirtiest flirt I’ve ever met.  Even Dick tames it down more.”  He shook his head and returned his focus to Marinette missing the glare Kon aimed at the back of his head, but Adrien didn’t, inciting a raised critical eyebrow.  “Come on, Mari.  I want to finally introduce you to Alfred.  Do you need any lunch or coffee?  He’s in the kitchen so we’ll be right there.”

Marinette kept her eyes Tim, determinedly not looking at Kon.  “Thanks, that would be great.  I had to abandon my coffee this morning when some lowlife accosted me before I could drink it.”

“Are you okay?” Tim asked instantly.  He pulled back to look her over as he said the words.  “Sorry, I should have just had you stay with us.  Gotham can get pretty grimy.  In fact, that’s what’s happening.  I’ll send someone over to get all your stuff.  You’re staying with us.”

“Yeah,” Adrien agreed coming up on her other side and pulling her into a side hug.  “You can stay with me.  We’ll have a last single night party, just us.  Face masks and mimosas and stuff.”

><><><><><><>< 

Marinette had been excited about the idea of staying in the manor with Adrien thinking it meant less opportunities for her mind to wander until she discovered Kon was staying at the manor as well… with Tim… in the next room over from theirs.  There was no escape.  Everywhere she went, he was there and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out his game.  He’d gotten what he wanted.  There was nothing left.

The only thing she could think was he didn’t want her to tell Adrien or Tim and make things awkward, but that was the last thing she wanted too, and she had no intention of letting him corner him and try to gaslight her into thinking what had happened was anything other than what it was.

But he was persistently insistent.  He kept trying to make ‘meaningful’ eye contact with her throughout the rehearsal no matter how much she staunchly avoided his eyes.  He’d tried to sidle up to her during the rehearsal dinner, but she made sure she was never without at least one friend, if not more, aided unintentionally by Adrien who seemed more clingy than he had been for quite a while.  By the end of the torturous party Luka had been plastered to her side, sensing something was wrong, but not quite knowing what.  Or more likely, he did but didn’t say anything, knowing she wasn’t ready for it.  He was good like that.

When it was time to leave, she saw him leave just before her in the same direction as Adrien’s room, so she invited Alya and Nino to spend the night as well so the four of them could have a last night together like old times… just without the crushes and with a baby on the way in Alya’s case.  She could almost hear his groan as they passed the corner he was waiting at and Adrien cut in to pull them down to his room before he could step forward.  She grinned to herself.  Good.  Let him suffer a fraction of the amount he’d made her suffer.

The next morning she actually thought she should send him a thank you.  The night had been amazing for her and exactly what Adrien needed.  He was so bright-eyed and excited the next morning waking up with his best friends next to him, she almost cried again for him, but then it turned to crying for herself and she had to turn it around right quick.  She excused herself to the bathroom when she heard a knock at the bedroom door and silently cried harder when she heard his voice in the bedroom saying something to Adrien who seemed more than eager to get him out of his room.  Her tears quieted when she felt something on her back, almost like someone trying to comfort her but when she looked around, there was nobody there.

She just had to get through the wedding ceremony and the reception.  She could do that.  Luka would be more than happy to help her.  His significant other would understand and honestly, they would probably help her as well.  Just a few more hours and avoiding him would be significantly easier.  He thought he could corner her, but he clearly didn’t know her and the lengths she would go to not to be noticed or put on the spot.  If it were literally anybody but Adrien at the altar, it would be flawless, as it was, there were a few vulnerabilities that she would just have to prepare for.

The first was the ceremony itself.  Avoiding his eyes as she walked down the aisle with Adrien to give him away should have been easy, but she found her eyes drawn to him like the black hole he was, and cursed him for it.  He looked impeccable in his suit.  It hugged his body like it was made for him, and considering what she knew of him from what Adrien had said, it probably was.  He looked as roguishly beautiful in a suit as a leather jacket, the bastard.

But it was his eyes that really made her want to march up and kiss… SLAP!  That made her want to march up to him and k… slap him.  He looked absolutely stupefied as he watched her walk down the aisle, like a faint breeze could have knocked him over.  Like he was remembering the night they’d had.  Like he wanted nothing more in the world than to do it again.

After the ceremony, he held his arm out for her to take as they walked down the aisle behind the happy couple and it should have been safe.  She knew that.  He couldn’t say anything as they walked surrounded by so many people, but she wasn’t willing to take the chance.  She reached out for his arm but smoothly redirected to give a guest on her side a hug.  When he waited for her rather than moving forward, she hugged the next person down and continued to shake hands and hug guests like they were best friends she hadn’t seen them in years until Adrien called to him to encourage him to come for pictures, so he had no choice but to move on.

She’d managed to keep her avoidant streak right up until the Wedding Party dance.  There was no escaping him during the dance.  And because they were the Maid of Honor and the Best Man, they had the entire song together… alone… face to face, or more accurately body to body.  There was no escape.  There was no distraction.  Just her and him and the awkward tension that had been building the entire day and those damn treacherous tingles that dared to come back the moment he took her hand.

She tried to keep her eyes busy, bouncing from subject to subject, what the subjects were had no rhyme or reason other than they weren’t him.  But Kon was clearly done letting her avoid him and was not going to stand for it any longer.  “Can we talk, please?” he begged, his eyes when she finally met them grudgingly, were pleading.

Her eyes narrowed and any warmth that had been in them from the ceremony rapidly drained from them.  “I think you’ve talked quite enough, don’t you?” she hissed.

His shoulders dropped but he kept his eyes determinedly locked with hers.  “Look, I know what you think you heard, but I didn't call to brag…” he started desperately, but interrupted himself, “well no, I did call to brag but not about the sex… No, I think… I mean…”  She scoffed and looked away again, but thankfully for him, the song wasn’t over yet and she would never do anything to purposefully disrupt Adrien and Tim’s wedding, so she hadn’t pulled away from him.

He took the opportunity to pull her a little closer, trying to communicate his feelings through his touch.  He might not be able to get his words to work right, but he was always more physical than intellectual, and if there was any way he could make it through this without using words, crush a mountain and present her with its heart?  Done.  Drill to the center of the Earth and bring her back a sample of Earth’s Core?  Tell him the day.  Hike to the remotest regions of the world and bring back a flower.  What color?  But he couldn’t.  He just had to power through as best he could.

“I did brag about the sex, but it wasn’t… I mean the sex was amazing, so it was deserving of bragging, but…” he trailed off at Marinette’s expression which had become increasingly pinched the longer he talked.  Instead of making it better, he was just making it so much worse.  He groaned and threw his head back.  “Damnit!  When did I lose the ability to talk?”

Marinette's face morphed into a look of mock pity. "Aww poor baby. Did I screw your brains out?"

“Yes!”  He threw his head back in exasperation, accidentally pulling her closer as his whole body lurched back in the movement, but he froze as soon as the words came out and looked back at her wide eyed.  “No, wait…”  He narrowed his eyes in a newfound determination.  “Okay, you know what?  Yes, yes you did.  But if I’m being honest, I was already a brainless lump before that, the moment I met you, really,” he corrected softly.

She stared at him incredulously and would have pulled away from him this time, but it felt like there was something wrapped around her, like a blanket, keeping her close to him, she could establish space, but she’d have to put effort into it.  “You better give more context before I assume you mean that's the only way you'd end up with me.  Or, better yet, I was so terrible to be around, you had to turn your brain off to deal with me.”

His eyes bugged out, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline instantly and his arms instinctively pulling her closer.  “What!? No!  That is absolutely not…”

What it wasn’t got cut off by Adrien cutting into their dance before the song even ended.  “What the hell, Adrien,” he protested under his breath.

Adrien kept a smile on his face for the crowd but it was a harsh, sharp smile with none of the warmth that normally embodied everything about him.  “Back off,” he hissed as he pulled Marinette away playing it off like he was pulling her into a friendly hug.  “I've seen the way you've been looking at her all during the rehearsal and wedding and I'm here to tell you that it absolutely positively is not going to fucking happen!  After all the babbling you did this morning about the girl you met last night and how she was the one for you.  Going on and on about how amazing your connection was.  It was all so easy to talk to her and you didn’t even have to try to force the conversation.  And it was magical and there was just something about her.  I absolutely refuse to allow you to use Mari like this.”

Marinette blinked a few times trying to let the words register in her head.  That wasn’t what he’d said… or at least that wasn’t what she’d heard.  She studied Kon who was looking mortified and exposed.  “What exactly did he say,” she asked cautiously.

Adrien took her tentative, timid tone as hurt and intensified his glare at Kon.  “He was saying how he wasn’t expecting it, but he knew from the moment they started talking that they were going to be together, and she was the one and… and damn man she's got me contemplating marriage is half an hour too early to text?  Does that make me look desperate?  More desperate than I already am after one day,” he mocked.  “And now, I am absolutely not going to let you start hitting on my best friend just because that other woman ghosted you.”

Marinette turned her guarded gaze to Kon.  “You said that?”

He sighed but met her eyes, his eyes a window to his despair as he searched hers for a sign of what she was thinking.  “I did, yes,” he admitted.  “Words are easier when you're not looking into the eyes of your future wife who you want to give you a second chance.”

Adrien looked between the two of them and opened his mouth then shut it again.  “Oh… Oh!”  He started edging away.  “Right then, so sorry for interrupting.  I’m just going to… return to my new husband.  But I just wanted to say before I take my leave, that was a really fucking smooth line.  Like holy shit, man, that…” he stopped midsentence and snapped his mouth shut again.  “Right, I’m not needed here.”

He wandered away at some point, but they didn’t notice too engaged in staring at each other, surrounded by other couples dancing around them doing a terrible job of pretending like they weren’t trying to see or hear what was happening, before Marinette spoke up.  She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear to give her hands something to do other than twisting together or touching him.  “I thought there was a connection too.  I… I’ve never felt that strong that quick.”

Kon let out an anxious breath and grinned tentatively.  “Yeah?”

She pulled a lip between her teeth and nodded shyly, but then she finally broke eye contact to lower her eyes.  “I was so devastated when I thought…”

His arms were around her before she could finish her thought, pulling her into his chest like he’d been desperate to do since the morning before, especially when he’d heard her crying in the bathroom earlier in the day but couldn’t physically get to her.  It had taken everything in him not to burst through the door and hold her until all her tears had dried.  “I’m so sorry, Marinette.  I didn’t…”

“No, I know now,” she interrupted.  “I should have given you a chance to explain.  I was just so…”

“I know,” he interrupted softly.  He pulled away from her just enough to meet her eyes but kept her locked against him.  “Can we start over?”

She slid her hands from his chest, up his neck, and settled them along his jaw.  “No, not over, I don’t want to forget…” she looked down to hide the way her cheeks flared up in embarrassment, “… um…”

Kon grinned brilliantly.  “Our connection?” he offered, voice dripping with inuendo.

She glared at him without heat.  “Yes, that,” she agreed begrudgingly.  “But I mostly meant the connection,” she stressed stripping it of the suggestive nature.

“Oh, yeah, that,” he settled his hands on her hips then slid them around to circle her waist, his smile somehow getting cockier. “That was pretty good too.”  He continued to stare into her eyes for a few long moments, now swaying with her to the music long enough several songs had come and gone.

“You know,” he started quietly, showing more vulnerability than she’d seen in him to that point, “As much as I joke, I meant everything I told Adrien.  I’ve never felt anything like this before, like just knowing you’re close is enough to make my heart race and my brain calm at the same time and knowing I might get to see you soon makes my whole day better.”

She grinned up at him.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.  He pressed his lips to her forehead.  They lingered there for a few beats like he couldn’t stomach the idea of not being that close to her.  “Stay with me tonight?” he whispered against her skin, but almost instantly pulled away to meet her eyes again.  “Not… not like… to talk!” he exclaimed frantically.  “I…”  He groaned and dropped his head in defeat.  “I still can’t say it right.”

Marinette pressed a finger under his chin to urge his head up again.  “Yes.”

“Yes?” Hope and excitement had made their way back into his eyes, which just moments ago had gone flat, and she took more than a bit of pride in that fact.

She hummed in affirmation.  “Yes.  We can change after the wedding and go somewhere to talk… and just be close.”

He tightened his arms around her and brought her into his puffed out chest again.  “Yeah, I like that.”  He waited a few beats before looking around them surreptitiously.  “Do you think they’d notice if we did that now?”

Marinette chuckled and shook her head.  “I think they might.”  Just then she caught sight of Adrien and Tim watching them very closely, a look of utter glee on their faces.  “Or not…” she snorted.

Kon followed her gaze and chuckled.  “That’s a not.  Come on,” he encouraged, pulling her hand toward the gardens.  “Let’s get out of here.  I promise to have us back in time for the cake.”  He took a step but stopped and looked back at her questioningly.  “Do you trust me?”

Marinette didn’t have to think about it.  The answer she’d been fighting all day burst out.  “Yes.  Yes, I do.”

He grinned and pulled her to him with a kiss.  “I’m going to get you to say that again someday,” he promised.  He took advantage of her blushy sputtering to pull her out to the garden and all to himself.

“I can’t say the right thing.  Words are hard,” she mocked.  “You’ve had some of the smoothest lines I’ve ever heard.”

He grinned back at her.  “Just for you, Sapphire.  Just for you.”

[magical-mistral]

Merry Christmas! May the new year be full of happiness for you, may you have the strength to get through it and don’t forget that sometimes all you can do is laugh your way through problems. This year was spectacular in so many ways - especially because of all the amazing people I had the pleasure of meeting. I love all of you!

@n3rdlif343va – fluff of my life! How can i ever put in words just how much happiness you've brought me this year? You inspire me every day and I owe you so much. Whenever I feel down you always lift me up. You deserve all the sunshine, rainbows and positivity – if I can contribute only a little bit to that I will be the happiest little hamster. Thank you so much, for everything! I'm not good with words – that's your job – but I will do anything in my power to show you how grateful I am that you found your way into my life. Love you, my fluff! <3

@daysinrussiavictuuri – Nugget!! Can you believe it's already been a year since we stumbled over each other through the magic that is the yoi fandom? I cannot thank you enough for all the cheeriness you've brought me over the course of that year and it's been an honour walking down artist improvement road together with you!

@atelerixe – You started out so quietly, always supporting my art even back when it really wasn't that good yet. You always saw something unique in every picture and I know that when I get the thumbs up from you, then I did my job right! Your enthusiasm and excitement are so precious to see, and you never cease to be amazing, even when life puts stones on your path. I really admire you, thank you for being my friend! @eclair – Sweet eclair!! Ever since I stumbled over your art for the first time I couldn't stop looking at it. You have such a distinguished style and such an amazing personality – I'm so happy that we met through this fandom!! Now I just wish we lived closer so that I could stop by the next time you have a table at a con and buy all your amazing stuff...! ;)

@d2diamond – Thank you so much for listening to my morning rambles and a special thank you for calming me down when I was stressing out about my cat's diabetes diagnosis. You are such a sweet and supporting character, thank you for existing, Daiya!

@worldofcopperwings – My fellow artist buddy! Well, at least I refer to you in my head like this. I've been following you for a long time now and it's been such an amazing experience to see how you improve with every single picture. You've developed a really cute and unique style and I always know it's your artwork when I see it on my dash. I don't even ship Otayuri, but your art of them is just so cute??

@dramaticmari – Cute little Mari...! I am honoured and glad I know you now – because I am convinced that in a few years you will be either a really famous artist or an even more famous fashion designer. And then I will be able to say „yup, I've known her from the beginning!“. With every little step you get closer to be Supermari all the time – even without coffee!

@rikichie – We don't talk that often, but knowing you I get the feeling of a person you can 100% rely on. You just have a...sort of vibe I guess – even if we haven't spoken in a while I know that without fail, if I need somebody to listen, you'll be there. Plus, you make Nerd so incredibly happy and I couldn't be more grateful for it!

@phaytesworld – At first I only knew you because you won my giveaway, but I'm glad we've kept talking after that! You are incredible – such a hard-working personality and a brain overflowing with ideas. Thank you for always saying nice things about my art. Also happy belated birthday!

@saniika – I owe you so much! Thank you so much for reaching out to me when I was frustrated with my drawing program and just...couldn't get it to work the way I wanted. I've tried to incorporate your advice into every digital piece I do ever since, and it helps so much. You are such a kind soul – thank you for encouraging me...!

@spainsasscheeks puts on star shaped glasses finger guns at you hell yeah! Where would I be without you? You were the one who introduced me to SAI and showed me the basics when I was totally overwhelmed with how digital art works. I mean it still confuses me, but without you I probably would have never even dared to venture into that unknown territory that is digital art. Thank you so much!!

@stokrot – When I see your nickname I always think of the first art I saw from you. It was for Seungchuchuweek and I immediately thought what a cute style it was! And I was so impressed that you managed to do something for every single day! Thank you so much for always talking to me and showing me your latest works!!

And then there's so many more of you! We might not talk that often or haven’t known each other for long, but I still am grateful that YOI brought you into my life. I hope you are all doing well – thank you for all the kind words you ever said and your encouragement!

@seththeshallow @detective-ryugazaki @slightlystalesushirolls @outoffcks @katsudonforthesoul @gaykatsudononice @nayru37 @rainsdollies @kamisartvonkunst  @catsudon-purrozhki And last but not least a big THANK YOU to those I cannot tag – all the sweet anons you kept sending me messages over the course of this year. Those of you who sent me requests, those who sent me nice asks when I was down, those of you who inquired after my cat's health – I cherish every single one of you! (If I forgot someone I am terribly sorry and it wasn’t on purpose....!!) I hope you are seeing this even though I cannot tag you. Thank you so so much for everything!

[abyssal-ali]

Marinette "Valkyrie" Wayne

Masterlist

Pairing: Marijon

Rating: G

WC: ~9.6k

Part 1 (~1.7k)

Part 2 (~0.8k)

Part 3 (~1.5k)

Part 4 (~0.9k)

Part 5 (~2.1k, where the prompts mostly lie)

Part 6 (~1.3k)

Part 7 (~1.0k)

Valkyrie's suit

ao3 link (completed)

Written years ago but edited and includes the prompts for Days 1, 2, 4, and 7 from the MariJon Week 2023. Could technically include Days 9 and 22's prompts from SuperMari May 2023's calendar, as well.

Taglist (open): @maribat-calendar-events @jennifer-rose123 @questioning-blob-of-fog

[mochegato]

Don’t Let Me Down

Marinette didn’t need Klarion’s help, no matter how hard he tried to convince her otherwise.  She had a team behind her, and they may not be the miraculous team, as Klarion took great pleasure in pointing out, but they could still help, would still help, with miraculous matters.  Not that she even needed them or planned to bother them with this.  It would be an easy mission.  It wasn’t even a mission, really.  It was more like an excursion, a jaunty little stroll through the ruins of a sacred temple currently being temporarily inhabited by low level thieves.

As long as she got the stolen miraculous quickly, it would be easy.  In and out. The thieves wouldn’t even know they’d been infiltrated before she was gone with the miraculous.  By all accounts… well, Klarion’s account, they were such low-level thieves, they barely warranted the name, though she seriously doubted she and he had the same threshold for the term.  They wouldn’t know to have a decent guard up and couldn’t defend themselves if they did.  They didn’t even know what they had; they’d just lucked into stealing the right thing in the right place at the right time.

But again, that relied on Klarion telling the truth, which was a losing bet.  Klarion didn’t always lie.  If it was to his advantage, he would use the truth.  But if there was a choice between lying and telling the truth, all else being equal, he would definitely choose to lie.  Ideally, she’d be able to take a day to investigate and plan, verify Klarion’s info, or not, and plan accordingly.

However, if the thieves figured out what they had before she could recover the miraculous, things would get exponentially worse the longer they waited.  She’d seen how bad things could get when someone who shouldn’t have a miraculous got it, even those who weren’t raging megalomaniacs bent on rewriting the very fabric of reality.  She wasn’t about to risk it again.  Not if she could just jump in quickly and stop it.  So she had to take Klarion’s word at face value and hope she had good enough backup to cover her if she was wrong.

A loud groan reverberated through the entry way to Young Justice headquarters as the realization set in.  She slammed the door behind her.  She was going to have to jump in and create a plan on the fly, the very thing she’d been unsuccessfully begging her teammates to stop doing since she started. It always worked out for them, and to be fair, that had been her approach throughout almost her entire time fighting against Shadow Moth, but when she could plan, she did.  Now it was her choice, her mission, and she was choosing the seat of your pants strategy as well.  The irony was not appreciated.

The only thing she had time to plan was who would go with her, well… no, that wasn’t exactly true.  The choice wasn’t so much who she got to ask so much as if she was going to ask, because the who was decided for her already.  The whole team wasn’t needed for Young Justice’s latest mission so two of them had stayed home.  While Kon wouldn’t be her first choice, he would be perfect to watch her back.  Because while he may not trust her, she trusted him. And maybe while they were doing it, he would realize that she was competent, that she was a good hero too, just as good as the rest of the team.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, she knew that with absolute certainty.  When they weren’t on a mission, they got along frighteningly well.  Well enough that she occasionally thought it might be more, or maybe it was just that she hoped that’s what his smiles and casual touches meant.  She loved spending time with him and they did, a lot.

And it wasn’t just her prompting them spending time together.  He’d seek her out as often as she sought him out.  He would drop down next to her while she was designing and just hang out as she worked or he’d invite her to a gaming competition against him or he’d ask her to show him how to bake something she’d mentioned liking.  Despite Tim being like the big brother she never wanted, well, she had wanted one, just a less annoying one; it was Kon who could talk her through her anxiety spirals.  Everyone would try, with varying degrees of success, but it was Kon who succeeded.

It was just in the field that he shut her down, held her back, watched over her like a disappointed mentor, questioned her every move. And she couldn’t even blame it on distrust of new team members because he hadn’t started like that.  When she’d first joined, he’d been excited to work with her.  It wasn’t until she messed up that he started doubting her.  She’d rushed in, Tim had followed her, and they’d both gotten hurt. They’d recovered the item, thwarted the villains, but Tim had been in the infirmary for weeks.  And that was the ultimate transgression for Kon; anything that hurt Tim.

But right at the current moment in time, she needed him. She needed him to put that all behind them and have a little faith.  She needed to go and there was no way Kon would let her go on her own.  He wouldn’t let her down.  He wouldn’t like it, he would question every decision, he’d probably try to take over, but he wouldn’t say no.

><><><><><><><><>< 

“No.”

Marinette blinked at him.  “What?”

“No,” Kon repeated with a curt shake of his head.  “That’s crazy.”

Marinette stared at him dumbfounded.  The possibility of him saying no had honestly never occurred to her.  They’d done more dangerous things in the past, with less information, and he hadn’t questioned it.  But this? This he questioned?  This he found issue with?  He’d blindly follow after Tim or Bart or Cassie, but not inconvenience himself for her?  This wasn’t even half as crazy as most of Tim’s plans, if you could even call them that. And they always marched right in, no looking back.  No questions.  “I kind of thought crazy was our business,” Marinette clipped back.

Kon narrowed his eyes at her.  “Cute.  Funny. I’ll let Bart know you’re stealing his lines.  We,” he motioned harshly between the two of them, “don’t do crazy.  We do smart.  We do planned.  We do strategy.”

Marinette stared at him again.  The massive inaccuracy of the statement stealing her words and ability to process thoughts.  She finally shook her head to restart her thoughts again and glowered at him.  “When? When have we ever done that.  I beg you guys for a plan, but you just jump in. I follow.  I help.  Despite not agreeing with it, I do it.  Now that I want jump in, you say no?”

“It is not worth the risk.  We never go in without a plan unless we have no other option,” he insisted firmly.

Marinette scoffed.  “Right.  Unless you want to piss off Lex, or unless you want to prove a point, or unless Tim has some stupid idea, or unless one of you guys gets bored,” she growled, her voice getting louder and more aggravated with each word.  “Then you’re more than willing to go along.”

“’Willing’ is pretty fucking generous,” he grunted. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his puffed-out chest, easing into leader mode and making it perfectly clear he was not inviting argument on this.

“It really isn’t,” she argued, narrowing her eyes right back at him.  “Regardless, you do it.  You do whatever Tim asks.  Without a plan.”

He groaned; his arms thrown out and head tossed back in frustration.  “Okay, fine. No, we don’t always have a plan, but we always have the team, which we don’t have now until they get back.”

“You and Tim go out on your own all the time!” she shouted indignantly.

“That’s not… that’s… that’s different,” he sputtered. He realized he’d said the wrong thing instantly when her heart rate plummeted.  He didn’t even have to look at her expression to know what he was going to see and he scrambled to find the words to fix it, to wipe that hurt look off her face.  “Tim and I have been… it’s complicated,” he huffed harshly and glared at the wall, consciously forcing his eyes not to switch to laser vision.

He waited to speak until he was calm enough to not have to focus on accidentally blowing holes in things.  This was all going wrong, and he needed to get it back on track.  “But that has nothing to do with this,” he finally continued calmly.  “This is about this mission.  Not you.” He turned his eyes to her, hoping his heartfelt sincerity shone through his eyes.  “You’re relying on information from Klarion.  Klarion!  Any time Klarion is involved, we need caution.  You know that.  We need to ask questions.  Like why isn’t he getting it himself?  Why didn’t he get one of his lackeys to get it?  He didn’t come to you purely out of the goodness of his heart.”

She looked away to allow herself to calm down to Kon’s level, taking several deep breaths and holding them for a few seconds until her heart rate had slowed.  If he was going to give her a chance to discuss this rationally, she was going to take it.  It was the only way she was going to get him on her side, and she really did need someone on her side.  He wasn’t wrong about Klarion, which was the entire reason she was here asking him for help in the first place.

When she looked back, her eyes had lost their hardness. “I know this could be dangerous and it would be better to plan.  I know I can’t trust Klarion.  I’m not stupid, Kon, no matter what you think of me.”  He made a noise, but she continued before he could vocalize his agreement.  “I’ve thought through those questions too.  He can’t get it because they’re holed up on holy land, land that blocks him and his powers. And he didn’t use one of his lackeys because he doesn’t want them to try to use the power.  He knows I won’t.  I know he isn’t doing it because he wants me to have it, he just doesn’t want them to have it more, and he thinks he can easily take it from me.  But, he’s wrong.

“But it doesn’t matter.  None of it matters.  Because he’s right.  I need to do it.  I don’t have time to wait.  If I don’t act now, I run the risk, the very strong risk, that they could unleash the miraculous.  If that happens…” her eyes grew wide and haunted contemplating the possibilities, remembering history.  She shook her head and looked back at him.  “I can’t wait. I have to go now.”

She took a step closer until she was close enough he could have felt her body heat even without his enhanced senses.  Her eyes were wide and earnest, their brilliant blue drawing him in.  “But you’re right, it would be better with someone watching my back, someone I can trust. That’s why I came to you.  It would be better with you.  I need you.  I want to do this with you.  There’s nobody I trust more.  And I need you to trust me that I need to move now.”

Kon almost gave in, almost got lost in her eyes. Her words struck through him, melting his resolve until it had almost disappeared.  But he wouldn’t let it.  He couldn’t.  “No.”

“No…” Marinette repeated cautiously, her voice tight, teetering on the brink of something.

“No.  We need more information before we do something,” he insisted again.  “Or just not do anything at all.  We don’t have to do anything,” he offered, his voice raising in hopeful tones.

She pursed her lips and slammed a cool façade in place. “You’re right.  We…” she motioned between them as she took a purposeful step back, establishing a visible distance between them, “… don’t need to do anything.  You don’t need to do anything.  This isn’t your problem.  It’s mine.”

Kon flinched at the tone of her voice.  The previously soft, enticing tones were gone, replaced with a sharp, coldness with which he was completely unfamiliar.  Worse were her eyes.  Where they’d drawn him in mere moments before, they now shut him out, left out in the cold… alone.  “Mari, that isn’t…” he let out a long groan and ran his hand through his hair a few times in quick, erratic movements.  “That’s not what I meant.  I meant we don’t have to act now.  We can wait until we have more information.  We can wait for the rest of the team.”

“Right.”  She nodded curtly but her eyes never softened.  Kon tried to search them, tried to find his way back in, but she turned away before he could, moving with steady, determined steps toward her room.

“Mari…” he called weakly after her, desperation edging into his voice.  He reached for her, despite her being too far away reach.  “Just let me check when the team will be back, and we can reassess.”

“Do whatever you want, Superboy,” she snapped over her shoulder.  

The detached, cold epithet stung.  She hadn’t called him ‘Superboy’ outside of the field since shortly after they first met.  His hand dropped and a deep sigh broke through when she turned the corner.  “Damn it,” he swore, kicking the wall in frustration, immediately cringing at the hole he put through the brick wall.  Tim was going to kill him.  Although if Marinette didn’t forgive him for his hesitance, he might just invite Tim’s wrath.

He refused to back off though.  He wasn’t wrong.  Dealings with Klarion never ended well.  They always had to be on heightened alert when Klarion was involved. That went doubly so since Marinette had joined the team.  Klarion had a disturbingly intense interest in her as another magic user.  And now he was seeking her out for secret missions, a fact which disturbed Kon on more levels and to a greater depth than he cared to examine.

They needed more information and more people before they even thought about engaging with Klarion.  If he moved fast enough, he might just be able to get everything ready by the time the rest of the team got back, and Marinette calmed down. However, he was going to disable all the vehicles before that just in case Marinette decided to go ahead without him, which was the absolute last thing he wanted to happen.

><><><><><><><><>< 

At the very least, she could state with all sincerity that she had been right about everything.  Klarion had not lied, for once.  The thieves were utterly unprepared for someone to come for their haul. They had set up no defenses other than a guard dog who was easily distracted and loved playing with kwami, while they napped in a separate part of the temple.  She’d met purse snatchers who were better prepared.  They never even knew she had been there before she was out.  It was a quick in and out.

It was after the out part that proved she had also been absolutely correct that she could not trust Klarion.  He’d waited until she passed through the boundaries of the temple to attack.  That had been her miscalculation, not that he would attack, that she’d anticipated, it’s why the ‘Marinette’ that exited the temple appeared to be wearing the Ladybug miraculous, not the Horse, Fox, and Turtle miraculous the real Marinette wore.

No, the miscalculation was that without the real her there to deflect the magical energy pulse, the only place for it to go was straight through ‘her’ and into the walls of the temple, behind which she had taken refuge so she could watch from an, apparently not so safe, distance.

The scream of frustration Klarion let out at the realization he had been tricked had almost made her current situation worth it… almost.  Because her current situation was underneath potentially a few tons of rubble with only the green glow of her shelter providing light and protection, and without her glasses which had been blown off her face and currently were somewhere in the rubble.

She looked around again, gently prodding the boundaries of the shelter to see where the vulnerabilities were and how difficult it would be to move them by hand.  The answer was damned hard.  Without a view to the outside, she had no way of knowing how many meters of rubble was above her.  It could be just a thin layer with dust covering the spaces to make it look thicker, or it could be several meters.  It couldn’t be too many meters, there wasn’t enough wall to bury her too deeply, but the walls were heavy stone, and she was very small and easily crushed. Even with the miraculous suit protecting her, she could still be flattened if there was too much.  It wasn’t a risk she relished taking.

She looked around one more time before whimpering and pushing her bottom lip out in a childish pout.  She was going to need to ask for help.  It was one of the last things she wanted to do; admit that this mission she’d refused help on had defeated her, that she couldn’t do this simple task on her own, that she needed help.  But the truth was, she did.  She would just have to withstand the embarrassment.  They’d tease her, especially Tim, for a few weeks, but it was that or specifically ask Kon for his help… again.  And that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do, other than die.

She took a breath and let it out in a harsh exhale before tapping her com.  “Young Justice, come in.”  She waited a few minutes before trying again with the same results.  She wasn’t concerned until she’d pulled out the com and saw the distinct lack of a power light on the internal portion.  Ice flooded her veins.  The com was broken.  She had no way to contact her team.

She took a breath, held it for a count of four and let it out slowly.  She needed to think.  She couldn’t dig herself out without bringing down the shield and without knowing what was above her, that was a no go.  She couldn’t send the kwami out for help without knowing if Klarion was still around. She couldn’t very well just start screaming for help either.  The thieves might not be competent, but that didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous.  With her weakened, she would be at their mercy.

She was running out of options.  In fact, with Jon too young to take on Klarion and Clark off world, she only had one.  One extremely undesirable option; Kon.  It was going to prove everything he thought about her correct, and maybe it was, maybe she was as incompetent as he thought, because she shouldn’t be in this situation.  She should have foreseen it and avoided it.  She should be better than this.

She lowered her eyes until she closed them and braced herself for the disappointed look and the reproachful lecture.  “Kon,” she said weakly but clearly.  “Kon, I need your help.”  She eased onto the ground, bringing her knees up to her chest as she waited.  The time ticked away, how much, she wasn’t sure, but the way her butt was now aching, it must have been a while, long enough for Kon to have gotten to her.

She scrunched her brow.  “Kon?” she tried again, significantly louder this time.  Something wasn’t right.  She shouldn’t need to be louder.  She’d seen him hear someone further away and deeper than she could have possibly been.  “Kon, I need you… please,” she added weakly, but just as loudly, concern starting to edge into her tone.

This time, as the moments ticked away, she paid far closer attention.  Every shift in the stone matrix around her drew her attention with a snap of her head until her neck was strained from the movements.  He still wasn’t answering.  He still wasn’t there.  He could hear her in his sleep.  Where was he! He was supposed to be her friend. At the very least, they were teammates! Where was he?

Was he really so angry with her, he was willing to just let her sit here, alone, buried alive.  Until she what?  Apologized? Begged?  Quit?  She didn’t know.  What she did know was fuck that.  “Kon!” she yelled.  “Kon, get your super annoying ass here now.  I’m running out of air asshole.”

She glared at the roof of her protective bubble waiting for his cocky, self-satisfied smile to appear with some asinine comment about her needing him.  She huffed in frustration and dropped to the floor of her bubble, arms crossed over her chest, every muscle in her body strained until they were ready to snap at the first sign of a super fucker.

But again, the time ticked away with no sign of salvation. By the time her butt started to hurt again, her anger had dissipated replaced by dejection.  He wasn’t coming. It didn’t make sense.  Kon wasn’t vindictive like that.  He could want her dead and still wouldn’t just let her suffocate.  Something else had to be going on but it was getting harder to think clearly, figure out why.  She was starting to get panicked and lightheaded, an absolutely terrible combination.

“Kon,” she tried again, more earnest, pleading.  “I need you right now and I need you to hurry up. I’m running out of air, Kon.  I’m out of time.  I’m sorry, okay?  I’m sorry. Please.”

Tears started flowing down her cheeks.  He wasn’t coming.  It was the first time he’d let her down.  The first time she had needed him, and he wasn’t by her side.  She always thought he would be.  It never occurred to her that he might not be.  In every eventuality, in every possible future she saw, he’d always been there, one way or another.  But he wasn’t.

She swallowed thickly and wiped away her tears. It was up to her.  She was going to have to save herself.  It wasn’t the first time.  It wouldn’t be the last.  She breathed in for a count of four and exhaled for a count of five, immediately calming after her familiar routine.  Her only hope now was that the rubble ceiling wasn’t too thick, and that it would have found some kind of equilibrium so when she lowered the shield it wouldn’t immediately fall on her.

She went through her breathing routine again and nodded to herself.  It was time. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself before she called off the shelter.  She kept her eyes scrunched for a few moments before opening one eye to look around her. A chuckle burst from her, but she immediately covered her mouth.  She was okay. The matrix had held.  The first part was done.  Now she just needed to dig out without brining the matrix down on herself in the process.

The sound of another voice almost made her jump into the matrix roof.  “Master,” Wayzz greeted her.  “This seems like a less than optimal situation.”

Marinette grinned.  “Wayzz!  I’m so glad to see you.  Can you phase through the top and tell me how thick the rubble is?”

“Of course, Master,” he agreed readily.

“Remember not to touch anything.  Phase through,” she reminded him, anxiety bleeding through.

“Any modifications may cause the tentative equilibrium to shift and collapse,” he noted, nodding his head in understanding.

“Exactly!  Thank you so much, Wayzz.  I really…” before she could finish a creaking sounded on the other side of the matrix. Marinette turned warily toward the sound, each millisecond feeling like a century until time sped up to superspeed and the matrix collapsed faster than she could register.  She barely had time to cover her head before she was covered.

She kept her eyes closed at first, trying to register any clues she could on her situation.  What did the air taste like?  Were there any sounds she could identify?  Could she hear the outside?  She tried to feel if there were areas of her body where the stones were heavier, but it was all heavy.  It weighed her down, pinning her between the layers until she couldn’t move her legs or chest.  Even her head was wedged stuck fast in its place.  The only part that seemed to have some freedom was her left arm.  The suit was keeping most of the weight at bay, but the pressure was slowly becoming overwhelming, driving all rational thought from her head.  She was losing feeling in her chest.  She had already lost feeling in her left leg.

She forced her eyes open despite every nerve in her body fighting for her to keep them clamped closed.  It was as dark as she expected.  She almost succumbed to her body’s urges and closed them again but just before they fluttered shut, she saw a pinhole of light.  It wasn’t too far away, maybe a meter or a meter and a half. If she pushed hard enough, she might be able to reach it.

She shifted to reach for it and immediately let out a scream of pain as the matrix shifted again and a large rock slipped onto her arm. The light started to become fuzzy until she wasn’t sure if she had imagined the whole thing, everything took on a dreamlike, blurry quality.  She couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer.  She was going to die.  Alone. “I, Marinette Dupain Cheng, pass guardians… pass guardiansh…ip t…” she murmured as she lost consciousness, missing the pinpoint of light bursting into bright sunlight.

><><><><><><><><>< 

The light was blinding.  Even with her eyes closed, it felt like everything was too bright. Going back to sleep seemed so much more appealing than enduring that damned light.  But before she could drift back to the peaceful oblivion, a sound brought her back to the light; a voice, deep and enticing, drawing her to it, making the harsh light transform into an embracing and warm glow.

“I know you’re awake, I can hear the change in your heart rate.  Can you open up those beautiful eyes for me… please?” the voice urged her gently.  “I miss your eyes.  You have the most enchanting eyes, I’m a bit lost without them to follow.  Come on, Starlight, open them for me.”  She knew that voice.  She’d heard that voice before, a lot.  But the voice didn’t sound right.  This voice was tight and sharp.  It should be lighter, more teasing.  It should be playful not pained.

She had opened her eyes before she even registered the impulse, wincing from the light.  Kon was looking up at her from a seat next to her bed, his grin widening with each passing moment until it was so wide and bright it almost made her have to close her eyes again.  “There they are,” he cooed.  He picked up her hand with a delicate reverence and gently ran his thumb over her knuckles bringing her hand close to her face as though the proximity comforted him. “Welcome back.”

She blinked a few times to clear her vision.  “Kon?” she mumbled; her voice gruff with disuse. She had to be dreaming.  Maybe she was dead.  She looked around sloppily, her head dropping to the side.  But she was in a hospital.  She was pretty sure neither her Heaven nor Hell would take place in a hospital.  So, she wasn’t dead… probably.

“Yeah, Starlight.  I’m here.  You’re safe,” he assured her, scooching closer to her so he could pull her hand to his lips without straining it, but redirected at the last moment to his chest.

She bobbed her head back to face him, letting her unsteady head fall back to her pillow.  His words didn’t make sense.  None of it made sense.  When did he get there?  When did she? “What are you doing here?” she uttered fuzzily.

“Is that any way to speak to your savior?” he joked, but the tension underlying it and his tightening grip on her hand betrayed his worry.

Marinette pulled her hand back and furrowed her brows as she shook her head slowly.  That wasn’t right.  That wasn’t what she remembered.  She remembered trying to dig herself out from being buried alive.  She remembered being alone.  She remembered being abandoned.  “No.  You weren’t there.  You left me.”

His eyes flashed with pain.  “Mari…”

“No.  I called you.,” she started slowly.  She shook her head faster as the memories flooded back to her.  “I called you and you didn't come.  I was stuck under that rubble and you just… you weren’t there. I needed you and you weren’t there.”

The pain that had flashed in his eyes before returned and settled in like it had taken residence in them.  He shook his head, moving closer to her again.  “No, that’s not true!  I was there.  I was the one that found you and brought you home.  I got there as quickly as I could.”

He bobbed his head down to catch her eyes, make sure she saw him, could see his sincerity, his regret.  “I just couldn’t find you.  There was some kind of barrier around you for a while.  I couldn’t hear you, your voice, your heartbeat, nothing!  Until finally the barrier fell or broke or something and I could finally hear you.  It was like a revelation.  I took off faster than I ever had before.  I moved faster than I’d ever moved before.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and hooked his finger under her chin, urging her to look up at him and delicately wiped her tears away with his thumbs, letting his hands rest on her jaw, cupping her face.  “I never abandoned you.  I would never abandon you,” he vowed fiercely.  “Mari, Starlight, you mean everything to me.  I love you.  I will never abandon you.”

She blinked, her brow pinching in confusion.  “You don’t even like me.”

“What?” he exclaimed, dropping his hands in surprise. “What do you… why would you… What?”

“You… no, that’s not the right word.  I can’t…” she motioned vaguely toward her head.  “I know you like me.”  She closed her eyes to focus on how to put what she was thinking into words, missing the way Kon relaxed slightly at her admission.  “I know you like me… off of the field.  But you don’t trust me.  You don’t…” she huffed in frustration as she searched for the right word, “… think I’m a good hero.  You don’t trust me to have your back.”

“That is categorically untrue!” he insisted indignantly.

She scoffed.  “You never want me in the field.  I screwed up once and Tim got hurt and since then, you haven’t trusted me on missions.”

“That is not what happened,” he groaned.

“It is,” she insisted.  This was something she knew.  This is something she’d thought about, brooded about, more nights than she cared to admit.  “You don’t want me on missions.  You watch me constantly in the field.  And it’s not a matter of watching over your teammates, because you don’t do that with anyone else.  Just me.  It’s just me you don’t have any faith in.”

“I don’t do that!” he objected, not quite yelling, but close.  He threw his hands out at her skeptically raised eyebrow.  “Fine!  Yes, I do. I try to keep you out of the field. I prefer it when you cover the coms from the base,” he admitted.  He stood up and started to pace the room in an attempt to work out his energy some way other than smashing something or lasering through the wall.

Instead of appreciating his confirmation, the admission cut through her like a blunt spoon.  His acknowledgement that he didn’t think she was skilled enough to be in the field, that she didn’t measure up in his eyes, hurt worse than the cave in.

“But it’s not because I have more faith in them than I do in you,” he continued without realizing her spiral.  “It’s not because I trust them more.  It’s not because I think they’re better.  It’s because I’m not as worried about them.”  He stalked back to Marinette’s side to continue but immediately stopped at seeing the devastated look in her eyes.  “Not because I think they’re better!” he clarified quickly, louder than he meant to.

“I know you’re an amazing hero.  Fuck, Marinette, I think you might be the best hero I’ve ever met.  The best I haven’t met.”  She scoffed and looked away petulantly, but Kon wouldn’t let her continue to think he didn’t realize how amazing she was.

He sat on the bed again and tried to crane his neck to catch her eye.  When she refused to look over, he kept his neck craned in the ridiculously uncomfortable position and continued speaking in a soft voice.  “You’re wrong you know.”  That got her attention.  She flicked her eyes over to him, but kept her face turned away.  “It wasn’t because Tim got hurt.  It was because you did.”  That finally got her to face back to him and he could finally settle his head into a more comfortable position.

“Because the idea of you getting hurt terrifies me in a way I’ve never felt before.  I watch you because I second guess every move, mine and everyone else’s, to see how it will affect you.  I’m not just watching what’s going on around me and calculating for myself, I’m doing it for you too.  I don’t think I realized until that very moment how I felt about you.”

He caressed her jaw, his fingers feather light against her skin, each touch like worshipful.  “I always want you out of the field because I’m afraid of what I would do if anything happened to you.  Because Tim is my best friend.  He’s like a brother.  But, if Tim miscalculated and got hurt, I’d be worried, I’d be frantic until he was okay. And if he wasn’t, I’d be devastated.” He cradled her head in his hands, letting his thumbs tenderly graze her cheeks.  “But if you got hurt… I’d destroy the world.  Not even kryptonite would be able to stop me.”

“Kon…” she started, unsure how to respond to that. Her eyes softened as they searched his, finding only awed reverence.

“I love you, Marinette.  I have since, God, I don’t even know how long.  I don’t even know when it happened, I just realized one day that the best part of my day was when you were there with me.  That I couldn’t stop thinking about you and every time I did, I’d smile like a damned fool and I didn’t care, I wanted to.  That making you laugh had somehow become my subconscious goal whenever I saw you.  

“I realized whenever you were sad or upset or hurt, it hurt me too and I would do whatever I had to in order to keep you safe, take every blow, handle every loss, face every evil if it meant you didn’t have to.  So, I tried to keep you safe, out of the danger zone, but I never meant to make you feel like I didn’t trust you.  I just… I needed you to be safe.”

She placed one hand on his wrist, keeping his hand on her cheek, with the other she gently brushed his bangs from his face, letting her fingers linger and fall ever so slowly, tracing the edges of his face until she wound it behind his head and pulled him closer to her.  Her eyes fluttered closed, attempting to keep the tears from overflowing, as she brought his forehead to hers.  A contented sigh escaped her lips when he leaned into the embrace.  She reveled in the feeling for a few moments before opening her eyes and gazing adoringly into his.  “That is… the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she choked out through a half-suppressed sob.

Kon reared back like she’d punched him, but she kept her hold on his hand so he couldn’t go too far.  “What?”

“I can handle most of the same hits you can take, and I’m not vulnerable to kryptonite,” she pointed out wryly.  She pulled gently on his wrist to pull him back to her side and cupped his face with a gentle smile.  “You can’t wrap me in bubble wrap, Kon.  I’ll suffocate.”

He blinked a few times as he processed her words and tone, finally relaxing into her hand.  “What if I poke holes in it?” he asked with a tentatively teasing smirk.

Marinette grinned back for just a moment before quickly schooling her expression.  “No.  There’s no way to make bubble wrap flattering.”

“Uh huh, uh huh.  I see,” he nodded in mock solemnity and stroked his nonexistent beard.  “Yes, we can’t have the world’s next leading name in fashion looking unflattering.”

“Exactly!”  She met his eyes, allowing herself to get lost in them for a few moments before forcing herself to look away.  Her eyes darted back to his for just a moment but settled on her hand as she traced his hand, turning it over in hers to run her fingers over his and enjoying the softer texture of his fingers.  “I had my shield up,” she threw out.  Her eyes darted to him again so quickly her eyes were back on their intertwined hands before her mouth had closed.  

Kon jerked slightly at the non sequitur, mind racing to make sense of her words.  Emotionally? She had her emotional shields up? Did that mean she was taking them down for him?  Did that mean she shared his feelings?  “What?”

“Shelter,” she clarified.  “That’s why you couldn’t hear me.  I called on Shelter as soon as I got there.  My own personal little impenetrable, mobile fortress.”

He opened his mouth but snapped it shut.  Every time she spoke, she made less sense. “Why did you call it off?  You were safe!”

She chuckled at his gaping mouth.  “I was safe from the rubble, but I was suffocating.  I was so safe, I was dying from the inside,” she gave him a pointed look.

“Yeah, but instead you almost died from the outside!” he exclaimed.

“But I didn’t, because I let the shield down,” she pointed out with a slight smirk.

He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t like this analogy.”

“Good.  Then it worked.”  Her grin was blinding and contagious.  Kon couldn’t stop himself from returning it no matter how hard he tried to keep his scowl. She smiled wider at his lost battle. After a few moments, her brow settled into a scowl.  “What I don’t like is someone trying to make decisions for me.  Someone letting their fears dictate my actions.”

Kon’s smile slowly dropped at her words turning grim. He nodded in understanding, eyes lowered in contrition.  “You’re right.  I fucked up. It wasn’t my place.  I shouldn’t have…” he sighed heavily.  “I’m so sorry.  I know you’re strong and powerful and talented.  I didn’t mean to try to control you.  I don’t think I realized what I was doing.”

His voice sounded so heavy and broken, her heart ached. Her hand was on his face, her thumb tracing his lower lip before she realized it had moved.  “But what I do like,” she whispered, “is you.”

His eyes jumped to hers, hope peeking through and lighting them up.  “Yeah?”

She nodded with a soft smile.  “Yeah,” she whispered.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he moved closer to her.  He paused for a moment, centimeters from her lips to give her a chance to object.  Instead, she wrapped her hand behind his neck to pull him to her, letting their lips finally touch in a soft, chaste kiss.  He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, his lips stretching into a wide, dazzling smile to match hers.  The kiss was short, but perfect.  It was a beginning, the start to many, many more.

“I’d hope so.  I’d hate to think you do that with people you don’t like,” he teased, breath hot against her lips.

Marinette rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, but her lips quirked up into a playful smirk.  “You should see what I do with the people I love.”

Kon’s eyes lost their devilish glint suddenly becoming uncharacteristically serious.  “I would very much like to see that one day,” he declared.

Marinette’s breath caught in her chest.  She searched his eyes for any hint of teasing. Finding none, she licked her lips slowly.  “How about a sneak peek?” she asked before pulling him down for another, longer, more passionate kiss.

She pulled away suddenly.  “Kaalki!” she exclaimed.  Her eyes widened in fear.  “I left Kaalki in the ruins!”

She threw the blanket off and moved to get up, but Kon stopped her before she stood, his hand on her chest to hold her in place.  “Woah, slow down there, Starlight.  You just woke up.”

“I need to rescue Kaalki, Kon, and I need to get him before anyone else does!” she exclaimed, brushing his hand to the side.

He sighed heavily but nodded.  “Okay.  But you take it easy and let me do the heavy lifting until you’re fully recovered, please?”

She paused and looked back at him questioningly, a small smile emerging on her lips.  “You want to come with me?”

He smiled and shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  “Of course I do.  I won’t let you down again."  He kissed her quickly before extending his hand for her to take.  "Come on, let’s go.”

[marauderundercover]

Baby’s First Hero

AO3

Prev

Clark’s eyebrows shoot up as his jaw drops. When Batman had said he wanted to tell Clark who he was under the mask, Clark had not been expecting…this.

“You seem shocked.” Batman- no, Bruce freaking Wayne, says. Clark swears the other man’s lips twitch slightly, as if he’s suppressing a smile. Clark scoffs.

“Well of course I’m shocked. You’re- Bruce Wayne is- you’re smart.” He says, stumbling over his words. Bruce quirks an eyebrow up.

“Yes. I am.” He says simply. Clark huffs.

“I can’t believe you’re a freaking billionaire.” He grumbles. He should have at least suspected it, but as far as he knew, none of the other heroes in the League were rich. Which, again, he should’ve guessed that at least one of his teammates had some money. Another thought hits him and his eyes go wide.

“What?” Bruce asks, obviously hesitant.

“You’re a dad. Robin isn’t just a sidekick, you’re- wow.” He says. Bruce winces slightly and Clark suddenly remembers the articles about Dick Grayson. About the boy whose parents died tragically and the billionaire playboy who adopted him. “That’s really awesome, Bruce.” He adds, not missing the tension that had appeared in Bruce’s shoulders. Before he can say anything else, his phone rings. Smiling apologetically, Clark pulls it out and hits the answer button.

“Clark! How’re you doing, little brother?” Tom asks, immediately making Clark smile.

“I’m fine. How’re you guys doing? How’s the baby?” He asks. Tom chuckles.

“We’re all fine. Sabine and I were actually invited to a baking competition in DC. And we were wondering if you would want to watch Marinette for a couple of days.” He offers. Clark blinks.

“Really? Me? Like, by myself?” He asks.

“If you’re up for it. If not, I’m sure I could get my mom to watch her. But I know you aren’t able to come to Paris as much as you want, so I wanted to give you the option.” Tom says. Clark doesn’t even think about the logistics. Like the fact that his niece, who isn’t even a year old, will need around the clock supervision. Something that would be difficult for a superhero journalist to provide. He doesn’t think of any of that though. Instead, he just says:

“I’d love to watch her.”

---

“You really didn’t have to come with me to pick her up.” Clark says, arms crossed as he stands next to Bruce outside of the terminal. Bruce shrugs.

“You seemed panicked at the idea of taking her home in a cab. I have plenty of cars, and Dick’s at a friend’s house today.” He says, keeping his head slightly down. The man had sunglasses and a hat on in addition to an outfit that was far more casual than he’d ever seen ‘Brucie Wayne’ wear in public before. Clark wasn’t sure if the man’s disguise was obvious to everyone, or if Clark just thought it was obvious because he knew the man was trying to hide. Either way…

“Clark!” A familiar voice calls, making Clark glance up and grin widely. He walks towards his brother quickly, immediately hugging the man before giving Sabine a smaller side hug (since she was holding Marinette and he didn’t want to crush her).

“How was your flight?” He asks, and Sabine smiles.

“Surprisingly, quiet. Marinette slept almost the entire time. Though I’m afraid that means her schedule may be a bit off for you.” She says apologetically. Clark just grins.

“It’s fine. I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” He says, before glancing back at Bruce who was standing awkwardly where he’d left him. Clark nods towards his brother and sister in law, and Bruce hesitates slightly before walking over.

“Hi.” He says quietly. Clark rolls his eyes, grinning.

“Tom, Sabine, this is my friend Bruce. Bruce, this is my brother and his wife.” Clark introduces the three, grinning at Bruce’s awkward attempt at a smile. He’d quickly discovered, after the reveal that Bruce Wayne was Batman, that ‘Brucie Wayne’ was very much an act. And that the man in question was actually very awkward, especially around strangers. How he had managed to pull off the ‘airhead socialite who loves parties’ for so many years was beyond Clark.

“Nice to meet you.” Bruce says. Tom smiles.

“You too. I’m glad Clark has some good friends up here. I know Martha and Jonathan were worried about him living in such a big city.” He says before glancing down at his watch and wincing. “We’ll have to catch up more when we pick Marinette up. I don’t wanna miss our next flight.” He says apologetically. Clark just waves it off, taking Marinette gently as Bruce takes the bag that Tom held out.

“Don’t worry about it. Let me know when you guys land safely, okay?” He asks. Tom nods, giving one last wave before he and Sabine walk away. Clark turns to Bruce, a thought suddenly entering his head.

“Uh, Bruce?” He says. Bruce raises an eyebrow. “Did you think to bring a carseat?”

---

It turns out that although Bruce didn’t think of a carseat, Alfred had. Apparently Alfred Pennyworth was Bruce’s butler/father figure/caretaker/advisor. He was a man who wore many hats. Lucky for them, because he would not have wanted to wait at the airport with Marinette while Bruce went out to try and find a carseat that would work for her. Setting Marinette down on a blanket with a few toys, Clark smiles and takes a step back.

“Thank you, for everything.” He says. Bruce nods.

“It was no problem. I do have one more thing, though, before I leave.” He says. Clark raises an eyebrow.

“What is it?” He asks. Bruce sighs, raising a finger up.

“I left the bag in the car. I’ll be right back.” He says, before slipping out of the apartment. Clark shrugs, plopping down on the ground next to Marinette, who simply giggled at him.

“Hey Sunshine, are you excited to spend time with your Uncle?” He asks, laughing as she coos and babbles back at him, crawling towards him. Just as Clark is beginning to think Bruce jumped in his car and drove away, he walks in.

“Sorry about that. Dick called to remind me about the onesies.” He says. Clark frowns.

“Onesies?” He asks. Bruce nods.

“When I told him that your niece is a baby, he insisted that we buy a onesie with my symbol on it, a onesie with your symbol on it, and a onesie with Diana’s symbol on it. So that she could decide on the best hero.” He says. Unable to stop himself, Clark laughs, shaking his head.

“That’s amazing. How do we do it?” He asks. Bruce’s lips twitch, a small smile forming on his face.

“According to Dick, we have to set them out next to each other and then let her crawl to them. Whichever one she picks will have the ‘honor of best hero’ until there’s a new baby to pick.” Bruce says. Clark snorts.

“Is he hinting that he wants a younger sibling?” He asks. Bruce shrugs, laying the onesies out on the floor.

“We can’t sit by them or the results would be biased.” He says. Clark nods in agreement, setting Marinette back a couple of feet from the onesies before moving to stand by Bruce and the door. Marinette glances up at them, giggling before crawling forward.

“What do we do if she picks Diana?” Clark asks. Bruce hums lightly.

“I suppose we have to tell her. Dick certainly would, and I don’t think either of us could actually lie to her.” He says. Clark snorts. His friend definitely had a point. Watching his niece head immediately towards the blue onesie with his symbol on it, Clark tries not to smile too widely. His smile falls as she pauses, tilting her head as she starts to change direction and head towards the Bat symbol. Glancing at Bruce, Clark doesn’t miss the smile on his friend’s face. He definitely doesn’t miss as the smile starts to fall, making him look back at his niece. She’d completely stopped just in front of the onesies. Clark holds his breath as she grins before lunging forward and grabbing the red onesie, giggling.

“Do we have to tell her?” Clark asks with a sigh. Bruce just nods.

“Unfortunately.” He says. Clark sighs again, but can’t stay upset. Not with his adorable niece giggling like a madman as she cuddles the red onesie. Maybe he could convince Diana to come meet her at some point.

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[marauderundercover]

Goodbye, Stars

AO3

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Marinette didn’t realize anything was wrong until the day after she first wore the ladybug Miraculous. And then she reached out for her Uncle and her cousins (well, brothers in her eyes). Something that had become second nature for her sent her into a sudden panic. Because she couldn’t feel them. Any of them. They were unreachable, untouchable and she was scared. Because the last time she couldn’t feel one of them, it was Conner. And he was gone. Immediately lunging for her phone, she called Conner, ignoring Tikki completely. The little kwami had only been with her one day, it’s not like they’d understand what she was going through.

“Hello?” Conner says after a few moments, his voice groggy. Marinette immediately sobs in relief. “Mars? Hey, kiddo, you okay?” Marinette takes a breath, ignoring the shaking in her hands as she tries to calm her breathing. Finally breathing a little easier, she frowns.

“Sorry Kon. I just- um, bad dream.” She lies, grateful that whatever it was that let her brothers and Uncle be human lie detectors didn’t work over the phone.

“Really? I thought they were better.” He says, the concern clear in his voice. Marinette gives a short, tense laugh.

“Yeah, yeah I uh, guess it was just a fluke or something. Are Jon and Uncle Clark okay?” She adds, frantically reaching out and trying to find any hint of what her family was feeling.

“They should be. But gimme a minute and I’ll check on them, okay?” He says softly. Marinette tries to say that it would be okay, especially since a glance at her clock reminds her that the Kent side of the family should definitely be asleep right now. Not awake because the strange part of Marinette was suddenly broken. But Conner was already away from the phone. After a couple of minutes of silence, Marinette hears shuffling on her older brother’s side.

“So?” She says softly.

“They’re both fine. So is Lois. Did you need to talk about it?” Conner asks. Marinette immediately shakes her head, then remembers he can’t see her.

“No, I’ll be okay.” She says.

“Are you sure, Mars?” He asks gently.

“Yeah. I’m sure. I’ll call you Thursday.” She promises.

“Fine. But if you need me sooner-”

“I’ll call you. Thanks Conner.” Marinette says, working hard to shove down the panic as she hangs up the phone.

“Marinette? What’s wrong?” Tikki asks softly. Marinette lets out a shaky breath before glancing up at the sky. The stars weren’t visible, but that had never mattered before. She could still hear them, still feel them, if they wanted her to. Staring as hard as she can at the sky, she tries to listen. To hear the stars that were her first friends, her first confidants. The first beings that told her everything, and that she talked to in return. But there was nothing.

“I can’t hear them.” She says quietly, tilting her head as she tries, even harder, to feel something. Anything. “I can’t feel them.” She breathes out, her voice breaking as the tears stream down her face. Her connection to the stars was gone.

---

Marinette frowns at the kwami, trying and failing to understand everything they were saying to her.

“Okay, hold on. Hold on. Because of something that I didn’t even want, I’ve lost something that was extremely important to me?” She asks bitterly. Tikki winces.

“It could come back.” They say timidly. Marinette scowls.

“When? When I’m not doing superhero stuff anymore? What if it’s too late? I’ve already lost Conner once. What if something happens and I don’t know and I can’t help them?” Marinette rambles, trying hard to ignore the panic welling in her chest. “And the stars, they’ve always- I don’t want them to be quiet.” She says. Tikki frowns, and Marinette can feel her heart break even more.

“I don’t know how to fix this for you, Marinette. But I’m almost certain that while you have the ladybug Miraculous, you won’t be able to feel emotions. Or talk to the stars.” Tikki says, their voice soft, probably waiting for Marinette to snap at them again. But she couldn’t bring herself to. All she could focus on was the pain in her chest as she grieved. Some people may think she was silly, grieving the stars. But they’d been her friends for so long. Before she had friends at school, when she had to switch classes and had no friends in her new one, when she was scared to start collège- they’d been there through everything. And now they wouldn’t be. Not in the same way. It hurt. And there was nothing she could do to fix it. Because the only thing that could, potentially, fix it, would be to give up the Miraculous. And as much as she didn’t want to be a hero, didn’t want that pressure on her shoulders, she’d made a promise. To all of Paris. And Marinette always kept her promises.

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