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starwarsmum · 30 days ago

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Introducing: Mousinette chapter 30 (2 days late)

Marinette let out a breath as the plane landed in Paris, smiling nervously at Damian when he sent her a questioning look. It was the 24th of December, and they had been flying for eight straight hours. She had tried to sleep, but the nervous energy of seeing all of her old friends kept her awake.

It wasn't until a couple of hours later that she stood in front of her parents’ bakery, trying to work up the courage to take Damian inside. She wasn't worried that they wouldn't like him; they knew she was dating someone and that she was happy. But she hadn't seen her parents in person since just after her birthday, and they had always been firmly rooting for Adrien.

“Starling, we should stop blocking the entrance and go inside,” Damian said, breaking her from her internal spiral. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open, bracing herself for the din of people trying to get their Christmas Eve orders. Her parents had hired help a while ago, a young man called Phillipe that Marinette greeted on her way past the till.

“Maman, Papa, I'm home!” She called, stepping into the bakery kitchen. Immediately, she was engulfed in her Papa's arms, laughing as he twirled her around. “Papa, put me down! You know it's not safe in the kitchen,” she scolded, although it was undercut by her giggles.

“Nonsense, ma petite chou! Sabine, Marinette is home, and,” he eyed Damian appraisingly, “she has brought her young man! A pleasure to meet you at last, Damian, come here.”

Marinette laughed again as Damian was swept into a hug as well, seeing his startled face. She made no move to free him, knowing she had warned Damian that this would happen. It was his own fault he hadn't listened to her and now he would suffer the consequences.

“Tom, put the boy down,” her mother said as she came into the kitchen. She gave Marinette a warm hug herself, kissing her on the cheek. “Marinette, it's so good to see you! You look healthy, I take it you've been eating well? But tired, didn't you sleep on the flight, love? Goodness, you look so much older, has it really only been five months?”

“Maman, take a breath,” Marinette laughed, not missing the way Damian looked at her completely deadpan. She pouted back at him before answering Sabine. “Yes, I'm eating fine, no I didn't sleep because I never do and it's actually been maybe a week over five months.”

After a little more chatting, Sabine ushered the other two upstairs, promising that they would be ready when they got back from lunch with Marinette's friends. Marinette moved Damian’s suitcase into her room, showing him around the flat.

“We have over an hour before we need to leave to meet your friends,” Damian said, pulling her to the sofa in the living area. She grumbled but complied, resting her head on his lap as he threaded his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp lightly. “Sleep, I shall wake you with enough time to get ready.”

And he did. When she awoke, she didn't feel fully rested, but she did feel much better. Running around, pulling numerous gifts out of her luggage, she felt unusually prepared. Shrugging into their coats, scarves, gloves and hats, Marinette led Damian back through the bakery, shouting goodbye to her parents as they went.

They strolled along, Damian holding most of the bags after arguing back and forth for several minutes. She held onto his hand, stealing glances at his face only to find him doing the same thing. She grinned at him, a warmth spreading through her chest.

As they approached the Grand Paris Hotel, they were joined by Luka and Kagami, who called out to Marinette as they went. Luka gave Damian a once over before smiling at him in his usual gentle manner. Kagami gave Damian a brisk nod before pulling Marinette into a quick hug.

“Chloe is waiting for us in the conference room,” Kagami confirmed, divesting Marinette of her remaining few bags. “She is anxious to see you, she has been having Marinette withdrawals, so we should head straight to her.”

The room had been done up for a party, a DJ booth in the back. There were tables of food, as well as an open bar and a dance floor. The room was already full of people, most hovering around Alya and Lila. Nino was at the DJ booth, unsurprisingly, and Nathaniel was hanging around the other members of Kitty Section. Luka broke away from them to see his sister and friends.

“Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe shouted, above the hubbub of all of their old classmates. The noise calmed almost immediately, everyone spinning to see Marinette arriving. She was quickly engulfed in Chloe's arms, laughing as she swayed slightly. “How dare you wait until Christmas Eve to come back to town. Ridiculous-”

“Utterly ridiculous,” Marinette and Kagami chimed in, giggling at Chloe's annoyed look. Marinette reintroduced Damian when he returned from dropping the presents off with the wait staff, and Chloe teased her again for attracting another rich kid.

“Tt, Marinette attracts many different types of people, those of us with money are just more capable of making ourselves seen by her,” Damian said, making Marinette blush again. “Starling, you have been turning down admirers since you arrived in Gotham, I dread to think how many suitors you have had to reject in Paris.”

“Oh, you wouldn't believe how popular our Mari is,” came an amused voice, and Alya appeared, dragging Lila and Adrien along with her. “Hey girl, who's your friend? I didn't know you were bringing someone!”

“Als, I told you I was inviting my boyfriend,” Marinette replied, trying to sound amused rather than annoyed. By the eye roll the other girl gave Lila, she hadn't succeeded. Damian tensed beside her and she tried to smooth it over. “Alya, this is Damian. We go to GU together, but I met him through my friend Babs. You remember, the one who sent me the bouquet last Valentine's Day? Damian, this is my friend Alya, Jon met her in October.”

“Ah, the reporter,” Damian said, nodding sharply towards her. He didn't make any move to greet her further, snaking an arm around Marinette's waist instead. He turned to Adrien instead, giving a brief nod and slight glower. “Agreste, I hope you have been well.”

“Fine,” was the clipped response from Adrien and Marinette winced, looking down. His voice seemed to soften slightly before continuing. “Mari, you look great. We should try and catch up while we're both in town.”

“Sounds good,” she said, smiling tentatively. She knew he was still upset with her, but she was glad he seemed to be doing better. “I'm only here until the 30th, Damian invited me to his family's new year's party. Since he came here for Christmas, it seems fair.”

“Oh, that's so cute!” Lila cooed, although Marinette could hear a false note in her voice. “That sounds nice and low-key for you, Marinette. I've had an invitation from my good friends in Gotham and I would invite you both to join me, but the party is very exclusive. I could maybe swing one extra invite, but two would be rude.”

“Tt, I doubt my brothers will allow the party to end at a reasonable time. I have already told Marinette that I would rather spend New Year's Eve in a quieter space, but Grayson would not hear of it.”

“It's your own fault for thinking they wouldn't be mad at you for skipping out on Christmas,” Marinette chided, giggling when he squeezed her hip. “But next year we'll swap; Christmas with your family and new year's over here.”

“Wow, already making plans for next year,” Alya remarked, an eyebrow raised sceptically. “Marinette, you should come with me to see Nino! Don't worry, I'm sure Damian will still be here when you get back.”

Alya didn't allow for any protests, pulling Marinette away from the group. She shot Damian a reassuring look when he made to follow her and he settled back, looking disgruntled. When they were out of earshot, Alya started talking again.

“Marinette, you know you didn't need to ask a guy to come with you just to try and make Adrien jealous, right? It's not fair on either guy and it won't help you get over him,” Alya said, sounding disappointed. Marinette made a noise of protest but was quickly spoken over. “No, I know you and you wouldn't be able to get a word out around this guy if you were as into him as you're making out.”

“Alya, I'm not trying to make anyone jealous, and I don't want Adrien back,” Marinette said through gritted teeth. She was hurt and frustrated with her friend. “I told you I was dating Damian back in October, you just didn't believe me apparently. It doesn't seem to matter that Jon backed me up, or that I literally brought Damian with me. I really, truly want to be with him and we're working things out as we go. For Christ's sake, Adrien met him in early September.”

“Whatever you say, girl. But I also think it's a pretty big coincidence that you just so happen to have met another ‘Damian’, just like Lila. I know you don't like the girl but you should stop trying to prove she's a liar when she isn't. Like, I love you, Mari, but this needs to stop.”

“Alya, I don't know why you won't believe me that I'm not doing anything to try and prove Lila a liar right now. I'm literally just trying to introduce my boyfriend to my friends and visit for Christmas. Not everything is about her,” Marinette said heatedly, pulling her arm out of Alya's grasp. “You keep saying you love me but then you call me jealous, or crazy, or suspicious. You don't even try to see things differently, which is not how you want to go into journalism. But I'm done trying to explain things to you if you won't listen. Hey Nino, love the tunes! I'm going to go back to the others now.”

“Mari, wait,” Alya said, fumbling to catch up with her. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come down on you like that. I'm just worried about you, because you have a tendency to go at things like a dog with a bone. And Lila is something that you've never tried to accept, even though you have no reason to be suspicious. And you say that you're not jealous over Adrien, but you kept messaging him even after you broke up.”

“And he messaged back, because we decided to stay friends!” Marinette was trying to keep her temper but her voice was rising, drawing the attention of Kitty Section nearby. Luka looked concerned, stepping forward to come and settle things but Marinette pressed forward. “Alya, I haven't been jealous of Lila since that first day, when she lied about things that I couldn't prove, just to get the attention of the boy I liked at the time.

“You seem to forget that I have my own connections to people, that I am perfectly capable of being friends with my exes, like Luka and Adrien, even if things had ended badly, which they didn't! You're making me out to be some obsessed fan of Adrien, even though I don't feel like that about him anymore,” Marinette finished, taking a shuddering breath. She span on her heel, shooting away from everyone and making a break for the bathroom.

_ _ _

When Marinette went with her friend, Damian watched her make her way across the room. She looked tense, something that happened often when she did not like what she was going to be doing. He was interrupted from his analysis of her posture when Agreste snorted sarcastically.

“She’s not going to vanish into thin air,” he said grouchily, meeting Damian’s glare with one of his own. “Hey, I'm just trying to give you a friendly warning, Mari can fight her own battles. I thought she was making you aware of that the last time I saw her?”

“I am well aware that she is capable of keeping herself safe,” Damian agreed, a haughty tone in his voice. “She is brilliant mentally, and physically she is capable of taking down people twice her size. That does not mean my worry for her is unwarranted, it merely means that I will let her deal with things until she cannot.”

“You know you can bring down the whole protective warrior bullshit, she's not even here. Not that I care, but things won't last if you can't get over yourself, Mari hates it when people hover over her.”

“Tt, I do not hover,” Damian retorted, eyes still following Marinette's progress. He could see her arguing, hands starting to fly agitatedly as she made a point. “And one would think that you were rooting for her to end things, given your own attachment to my girlfriend.”

“It's so strange to see people get riled up over little old Marinette,” Rossi tittered suddenly, reminding Damian that Agreste was not the only enemy in the vicinity. “Adrien, you know she was only with you because of your father, isn't that why she ended things as soon as he was no longer available?”

“Lila, you really need to learn to read a room,” Bourgeois said, cackling. “Besides, Dupain-Cheng has connections coming out of her petite rear end that you couldn't dream of. One day, and I feel like it's going to be soon, your little kingdom is going to come crumbling down.”

“Chloe, I don't know what you're talking about! I just worry about the boys Marinette manages to hoodwink into thinking she's interested in more than their connections. I mean, how else would such a young lady from humble beginnings have so many connections?”

“Tt, Marinette is talented, intelligent, compassionate and beautiful. She hardly needs to lie to gain admiration from those around her,” Damian said coldly. He glared openly at the young woman, hostility rampaging through him. “Bourgeois is correct, you do need to learn to read a room, because you will not turn me against her with the pitiful lies you are attempting.”

A wounded look fabricated on Rossi's face, and he was sure she would say more but the ruckus from across the room distracted them all. Damian was just in time to see Marinette escape from the room. He disregarded the group he was with and followed her, catching up to her just outside of the room.

“Marinette, love, wait,” he said, catching her up into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, shaking but not yet crying. “What happened, Starling?” He whispered, pulling back to look her in the face. He cupped her face with one hand, tilting her chin so he could look her in the eyes.

“It's nothing, I'm sorry,” she said, voice catching as she apologised. “I just- why doesn't she ever listen to me? And why can't I just let it go, if I could just stop trying to prove that I'm right-”

“You do it because you care,” Damian interrupted, loosening his hold on her slightly. “You are wonderful and you want your friends to listen to you because you are right. They would rather listen to a fanciful tale than the truth, and that will hurt them in the future. You are merely trying to save them that pain, which is commendable.”

“Alright, put her down, loverboy,” Bourgeois said, appearing behind them. Marinette jumped guiltily, blushing and apologising again. “Can it, Dupain-Cheng, you're long overdue a freakout. And they shouldn't keep pushing you to accept the liar just because they want what she says to be true. Now, go clean yourself up, I'll take your boy back to the party to smooth things over.”

Tsurugi stepped forward and escorted Marinette to the restrooms, smiling at Bourgeois encouragingly as she went. Once they were gone, the blonde woman blew out a noisy breath before shooing Damian back to the party.

“Alright, listen up losers,” she said imperiously, managing to quiet the room. “Dupain-Cheng is tired and overwhelmed right now, I've managed to get her to stay but let's get something straight: everyone needs to lay off the whole Lila/Adrien thing. Seriously, she hasn't been interested in Adrien for, like, two years. Sorry Adri-kins, I know you wanted things to work out, but she's happy with her new guy.

“Cesaire, that means you need to get a hold of yourself. You're in love with Rossi, we get it, but stop trying to force it down her throat. She's not hurting anyone by not believing her, but you're ruining your friendship. And that's coming from me, you know I'm not exactly great at-”

“Oh, I shouldn't have come,” Rossi interrupted, making Bourgeois bristle visibly. “I'm causing problems, I should have accepted the invitation to spend Christmas with my friends Tim and Damian, I just really wanted to see you all before I went there for new year's eve!”

“Tim Drake and Damian Wayne, I presume you are talking about?” Damian said, an almost bored feeling stealing over him. He was so laser focused on the liar that he didn't notice Marinette and Tsurugi re-entering the room. When Rossi nodded tearfully, he scoffed. “I would appreciate it if you would stop lying about knowing me and my family, Miss Rossi.”

“What?” Cesaire’s head whipped over to Marinette, looking for confirmation, or discomfort at a lie. Bourgeois let out a bark of laughter and Agreste seemed to be agitated. “Are you trying to say that you are Damian Wayne? Yeah, right, sure thing. You realise you just proved my point about Marinette trying to prove Lila a liar, even though she has no proof?”

“Why would I lie about something so easy to prove?” Damian said, glaring at the woman. He pulled up photos he had saved of articles about his older brothers. The first one was of Grayson, a picture of him next to their father at a gala, and he flashed it to the crowd. “This is my eldest brother, Richard Grayson. Whilst I do not have photographs of myself at these events, due to my age and reluctance to be in the spotlight, Grayson is well documented.

“And here is a more recent video, sent to my own phone from Marinette's,” he continued, flipping the phone back around to show a video of Grayson and Damian arguing over an inconsequential board game at their last family game night. He could hear Marinette's giggle as the two argued over whether you had to pay if the person missed it during Monopoly. “If that is not sufficient, I assume you would not object to searching for Timothy Drake-Wayne’s picture on the Wayne Enterprises website?”

Cesaire immediately whipped her phone out, finding a picture of Drake fairly quickly. When she confirmed that she had it, Damian initiated a video call, waiting for him to answer. They had discussed this as a possibility so he was not worried about the call not connecting.

“What do you want, Demon?” Came the annoyed voice from Damian's phone. He was in his home office, brightly lit and he could be seen clearly by everyone who had crowded around the phone. “You do realise it's 7am here, right? Where's Marinette? She would have reminded you not to make calls home at such an unreasonable time.”

“Tt, Marinette is busy due to the things we discussed before I left,” he said, scowling as he indicated their audience. “I am trying to contain the Rossi issue before there are any further negative consequences.”

“Fine, you get three questions, and I promise to answer honestly,” Drake said, as they had discussed before Damian had come to Paris. “But you owe me, big time.”

“Fine, do you recognise anyone in this room?” Damian asked, flipping the camera and slowly moving across the crowd. He didn't hold on anyone in particular, although he was surprised to see Marinette standing in the doorway.

“I can see Adrien Agreste, who visited in September, Marinette who, for some unfathomable reason, is dating you and also works in our fashion department, and isn't that Kagami Tsurugi? That fencer you basically stalked on the internet a couple of years ago?”

“Tt, that is Tsurugi, although I did not stalk her.” Damian's face felt warm and his scowl deepened. “But there is nobody else in the room that you know? No family friends that you failed to inform me of?”

“I already said no, stop wasting my time, D. I have a lot of work to do, not all of us get to take off to France for a week of smooching our partners.”

“I will forgive your tone as I know you likely did not bother to sleep last night,” Damian sniped, still scowling. “Fine, that leaves two questions, would anyone like to ask something?”

“I will,” Bourgeois said, glee written across her features. “You recently hired a famous French designer, sometime in July. Could you tell us something about them? It doesn't have to be personal, anything you can think of would be fine.”

“Oh, MDC, right. Well, she was a family friend before we hired her, although that's not why we did. Hmmm, what can I tell you without compromising her privacy?” While he was thinking, Damian saw Cesaire's eyes go wide, darting a look at Rossi who was looking increasingly grey. “Oh, I guess this one isn't very well known but still isn't enough to identify her - she's a bit of an insomniac, tends to work herself into the ground if we don't make her take breaks. Creative types, you know?”

“Did you just say ‘she’? MDC’s a woman?” Cesaire's voice was slightly hushed, as though she wasn't sure she wanted to be heard. “But- Lila said-” her eyes sought out the young woman who was watching her kingdom crumble in front of her. “You said you could get me an interview with ‘him’.”

“Oh, I suppose I already gave away a little more than I was meant to. Whoops?” Drake's eyes darted guiltily to Marinette, but the others in the room were staring at Rossi and Cesaire so didn't make the connection. “Um, that leaves one more question, I guess.”

“I've got one,” Agreste said, and Damian bristled again, watching the blond man closely. “A confirmation really - you said Marinette works at Wayne Enterprises, could you just confirm the department again? In case anyone missed it.”

“The fashion department, obviously,” Drake said, looking confused for a moment before shaking it away. “Alright, I've already been on this call longer than I wanted to be. Demon, don't bother me again unless it's life or death. Mari, you can call tomorrow if you want, so you can say ‘Merry Christmas’ to everyone. I'm pretty sure Dick would be devastated if you didn't.”

And then the call was finished and silence spread through the room. Marinette shook herself, looking around at her old school friends. Alya looked almost murderous, her confusion giving way to anger. Lila was looking anywhere but at Alya, probably hoping an escape would become evident.

“Was anything you ever told us true? God, what am I saying, of course it wasn't. That's why Mari has always hated being around you, isn't it? None of the jealousy bullshit that you fed us, she knew you were lying and refused to go along with you. I cannot believe how stupid I am, I could have ruined my life! As it is, I'm going to have to work twice as hard to get anywhere, because now I have to go and retract at least half of my blogging history!”

Damian materialised at Marinette's side, looking smug. She raised an eyebrow at him, sighing in exasperation when he only shrugged back. The noise around them raised significantly when Lila tried to defend herself; apparently the others were not going to let this slide.

“Merry Christmas, Starling,” Damian murmured in her ear, pulling her back against his chest. His lips brushed just behind her ear, making her shiver pleasantly. “I know you did not wish to expose her yourself, but I hope you are not offended that I took the liberty of revealing the truth.”

“I think I'll live,” she snorted, turning to face him. He looked at her tenderly, making her breath catch and heart race. “But it wouldn't hurt for you to garner some goodwill, handsome,” she said, pulling him down for a kiss.

_ _ _

Chloe prided herself on being calm and ruthless for her loved ones. She also knew that most of the others from her old class thought she was still the immature, bratty piece of work who had vanished to New York for a couple of years. She didn't overly care, Kagami knew she was a better person and loved her in spite of her flaws.

And Marinette had forgiven her, which often made Chloe want to cry. She had been horrific towards the girl, taking her own insecurities and shortcomings out on her. The friendship that had grown between the pair was tense to begin with, before blossoming into something Chloe would fight tooth and nail for.

So when Damian freaking Wayne, Marinette's latest boyfriend who seemed like he was going to actually go the distance, called her up to ask for her help taking down the liar that was making Marinette's life hell? She didn't so much as blink before swearing she would do almost anything to help.

So whilst Damian was eviscerating Lila Rossi by way of phone call, Chloe was setting up the projector with the slideshow she had created with the different evidence Damian and his family had sent to her. The moment he had slunk over to Marinette to get the praise he, rightly in Chloe's mind, deserved, she blasted a short foghorn recording through the room, making people turn to glare at her.

“Well, now that I have your attention,” she said snootily, giving them all a little finger wave. “Wayne isn't the only one with a little show and tell to do. Gather round peasants while Queen Chloe reminds you just how utterly ridiculous you've been in believing some of the outrageous claims made by one Liar Rossi.”

First, she cued the video of Jagged and Penny, who were positively vibrating with rage. It was shot almost immediately after the phone call with Barbara Gordon, Marinette's other mysterious American friend that Chloe had only discovered by accident.

“Is it already rolling, Pen? Right, first up, let's make one thing clear, mates: I don't know a bloody Lila whatever and I've never had a child save any pets for me. Also, a kitten? Not since I was a kid, and even then it was really my folks’ cat. Second, I've never introduced my designer to anyone because she doesn't want anyone to know who she bloody is! It really pisses me off that people think I don't have integrity - very un-rock and roll.”

“Yes, so we'll be putting in a formal request for the removal of a slanderous video from the Ladyblog in the new year, as well as posting our own counter video to explain our side of the story. Please let this serve as a reminder of the importance of fact checking - especially as this was easily proven from multiple sources close to you,” Penny added severely.

Chloe enjoyed watching the flush that spread across Alya's face, a vicious pleasure at knocking the hack down a peg. Marinette might not think her friends were bad people for being horrendously gullible, but Chloe was glad that the reporter was feeling the weight of her own actions.

“Well, that puts one lie to rest, shall we move on?” Chloe said smugly into the silence, allowing the room to turn and glare at the liar before continuing. One by one, she worked down the surprisingly thorough list of lies that had been disproven, watching Rose get tearful when Prince Ali denied working with anyone on environmental charities and Max look dismayed when they disproved her connections to big tech companies.

And when she saw Marinette look brighter and brighter with every slide, she felt satisfied, almost proud, of all that she had helped achieve.

#maribat #mlb x dc #daminette #damianette #marinette x damian #damian x marinette #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #dc x mlb #ao3 #introducing: mousinette #chapter 30

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starwarsmum · 25 days ago

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Introducing Mousinette Chapter 31: A Liar Gets Her Just Desserts

Thanks again to @apileofashandember for the prompt!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58529116/chapters/149111395

Snow was falling on Wayne manor grounds, and Marinette was curled up on a sofa with a mug of coffee as she watched through a large window. She had landed back in the country with Damian the night before and managed to fall asleep without too much effort. She had awoken to find the bed empty but she had been awake enough to enjoy the calm before getting out of it herself.

She was sketching a new idea when someone came into the room behind her. They didn't interrupt, allowing her to finish the quick design before she turned to them. Her smile widened as she spotted Cass lurking by the door unobtrusively and she beckoned her over.

“Come tell me what you think,” she said brightly, gesturing at the page before going into some detail. Years of spending time with people who didn't understand fashion meant that she could simplify terms and keep it interesting for them.

“I like the hidden compartments,” Cass said slowly, pointing at the pockets hidden in the poofy skirt Marinette had designed. It made her beam that Cass was comfortable enough to talk about something she didn't know much about.

“Thank you! I'm used to trying to add extra pockets to things because of my Kwami, Tikki, but it'll likely come in more useful for other defensive weapons now that I'm living in Gotham. But I don't want to compromise the elegance of things when I do them, especially if I'm going to more galas.”

“Hmmm,” Cass agreed, settling into the sofa more comfortably. She was carrying a mug of tea and Marinette took that as her cue to continue with what she was doing before the other woman intruded. They sat there in agreeable silence, only broken by the scratching of Marinette's pencil against paper.

The next interruption came in the form of a phone call to Marinette's phone. She frowned, wondering who could possibly be calling her so early in the day, before throwing an apologetic glance towards Cass and answering.

“Hey, Chloe,” she said brightly, wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder. Now that she remembered, Chloe had said she would call this morning to chat before lines got too busy closer to midnight for either of them.

“Dupain-Cheng, I'm a little surprised you're awake,” came Chloe's immediate response. Marinette huffed, betrayed, but didn't say anything. Chloe's laugh filled the line, much more carefree and kind than anything she had done in her younger years. “Anyway, I just wanted to wish you a happy new year in advance, since when it ticks over here it'll be around when your fancy party starts and I will curse you with bad hair for the next year if you try to call me at 6am.”

“Happy new year for tonight, Chloe,” she replied with good humour. “How're things going at your end? No issues with Lila, right?”

“Right,” Chloe said, obviously amused and not even trying to hide it. “I can't believe she tried to save face after I annihilated her.”

Marinette snorted, thinking back to the chaos that had erupted in the wake of Damian and Chloe's reveals.

~...........~

“I can't believe you've been lying this entire time!” Alya shouted at Lila, Nino stepping in to hold her back when she crowded too close. “Why would you even do that? Do you have any idea how much damage you've done to our careers? Why would you think this was okay?”

“Y-you don't understand!” Lila wailed suddenly, sobbing into her hands. “It's a disability, I can't help it! And M-Marinette has known about it all this time and just won't h-help me!”

“What the hell do you mean a ‘disability’?” Alya screeched back, clearly even angrier at the slight against Marinette. But Marinette decided she would step in before it turned into a form of mob justice.

“After I was almost expelled in lycée,” she began, feeling a twinge of regret at the suddenly stricken faces of her friends. “You know, when Lila accused me of pushing her down the stairs, I was only let back in because she retracted her statement to principal Damocles. She said she had a ‘lying disease’ which meant she occasionally told fibs. Madame Bustier and principal Damocles said that she was really brave for telling them about it.”

“A lying disease?” Nino said, frowning at all it implied. “So…everything you say could be a lie and you wouldn't even know it?”

“It-it’s unfortunate but y-yes,” Lila sniffed, apparently sensing a way out. She was wrong, and Alya looked like she was going to blow a fuse. “And Marinette knew about this and never tried to help me. I've tried to tell you but it's so h-hard!”

“You manipulative-” Alya seethed but Adrien stepped in as well, trying to keep the peace.

“Hey, listen, I know this is a lot all at once,” he said soothingly, trying to placate Alya. “But it's not like anyone is irreparably hurt by all of this. I'm sorry I didn't say anything-”

“Wait, you knew about this?” Alix piped up, looking angry. Marinette winced as Adrien realised the hole he had dug for himself and tried to backtrack. Alix didn't let him. “No, seriously, what is that all about? How long have you known? And how much have you known?”

“I…well, I mean I knew Lila had a…complicated history with the truth,” he admitted, glancing at Marinette for help. But she wanted to hear what he had to say too, given that he had never withdrawn the advice to take the high road. “Ladybug told me she'd never met Lila, back when Lila first transferred into our class.”

“So, like, one of her very first lies,” Alya said, shocked. “And one that's been up on my freaking blog, which you knew and let happen because…what? You thought it didn't hurt anything?”

“Lila just wanted to make friends! She's, well, not harmless, clearly, but she was just a kid who needed some time to get used to things. And by the time I realised she wasn't going to change, everything had settled down and there didn't seem like a good time to discuss it-”

“Of course there wasn't a good time!” Alya screamed at him, looking more and more angry, enough so that Marinette worried she was going to have an aneurysm. “But maybe you could have called out even one of her lies? Because then, maybe, we could have prevented this entire thing-”

“Oh, because you all listened to Dupain-Cheng when she said the little witch was a liar,” Chloe interjected, looking furious. Alya had the good grace to look ashamed, but didn't look towards Marinette. “And she tried plenty of times. What was your excuse for not listening to her again? Oh, right, she was jealous.”

“I- look, Marinette admitted to me she definitely was jealous of Lila, at least in the beginning,” Alya muttered defensively, finally looking at Marinette furtively. Chloe snorted again and Damian, who had stepped forward with Marinette to keep an arm around her waist, tensed further.

“Tt, perhaps you should have considered the facts. Or been the reporter you claim to be and verify your sources. As close friends of someone whose parents are reporters, your integrity is your own responsibility,” Damian growled at Alya, although his glare reduced when Marinette gently squeezed his hand.

Alya looked at Marinette fully then, tears brimming in her eyes before she flung her arms around the shorter woman. Damian released Marinette reluctantly, although he hovered close to her and reinserted himself when Alya finally let go.

“I'm so, so sorry, Mari,” she sobbed, letting Nino support her. “I've been the worst friend ever, I sh-should’ve listened to you! I can't believe you even stayed friends with us after everything that's happened.”

Damian scowled but didn't say anything, which was very uncharacteristic of him, though Marinette appreciated it.

~........~

“Yeah, it was pretty intense. I'm just glad Alya calmed down enough that we could all just enjoy what was left of that party,” Marinette said, giggling a little at the dejected way Lila had slunk away. She knew it was petty, but Lila had caused her enough trouble that she didn't regret the way everything had fallen.

“Ugh, Cesaire is utterly ridiculous for choosing Lila over you anyway,” Chloe sniffed, making Marinette giggle again. “Anyway, I need to spend the afternoon preparing for Gami’s evening plans so I'll talk to you in the new year.”

The line disconnected swiftly after Marinette said goodbye and she grinned at the phone for a moment or two. She knew that, whilst she would be facing some challenges in the next year, her friends wouldn't be one of those challenges anymore.

Marinette sketched until lunchtime, which is when someone finally came to find her. Cass had long since gone to find something else to do so the past few hours had been peaceful and productive. Steph grinned at her from the doorway, saying that lunch was being dished up.

“Just so you know, we girls are planning to start getting ready after lunch,” Steph said, almost casually if not for the wicked gleam in her eye. “You're welcome to join us, but it means you won't see Damian until the gala as it's no boys allowed.”

“Obviously I'll come get ready with you,” Marinette said, laughing at the almost sinister glee Steph took in stealing her away for the afternoon. “Besides, Damian got me to himself for a week in Paris, I'd like to spend some time with the rest of you before tonight.”

Even though that was true, Marinette was disappointed when he wasn't at lunch. She didn't exactly know where he had gone, but wasn't worried. Someone else would have told her if he was out doing something she needed to worry about and he was likely preparing something for that evening.

So she let herself get dragged around to get ready for the gala, the other women cooing over the dresses she had made as part of her work at Wayne Enterprises. And for her own dress, she had created a pink skater dress, the bottom of it puffed out with a deep red, tulle underskirt. There were shimmering red beads creating intricate swirls across the skirt, and embroidered swirls in the same colour along the bodice. It was sleeveless with an open back, and she enjoyed the cool air along her skin.

“You look amazing, Mari,” Barbara said, her own dress safely secured around her. She had placed herself behind the designer, twirling hair into an elaborate bun for her. Once she was done, Steph took over with some shimmering makeup, tastefully done so that she sparkled when she moved.

Cass gave her a nod of approval and Marinette grinned when she looked in the mirror. She felt like a princess, her dress falling just past her knee. If she had been with Chloe, she was sure there would even be a tiara affixed to her head. As it was, she thought she looked pretty amazing and not out of place.

She was the first one ready so she headed down to the atrium to wait with anyone else who was. She felt even more princess-like as she descended the wide open stairs, not unlike Halloween. But this time, Damian wasn't waiting with the others, which made her pout a little.

“Hey Pix, these monkey suits are alright!” Jason said enthusiastically, deciding to show her the full range of motion he had with his arms, which he hadn't been accustomed to before Marinette had become their head designer. “I have no idea how you made it comfortable, but I love it.”

“Practice,” she said, grinning. Tim and Dick also turned to thank her for making the suits but stopped to compliment her outfit first. She blushed at their praise but agreed that it was some of her best work. They carried on chatting amiably until the rest of the family joined them. Damian was the first one to enter after her and she let her gaze roam over him.

“Careful, Starling, or we'll have to miss the party,” he said in a low tone when he kissed her cheek. She flushed a deep red, smacking his arm when he chuckled and ducked away. “You look stunning, love.”

“And you look incredible, but you probably already knew that,” she said back, keeping her tone light. She knew he had been joking about skipping the gala but the suit she'd made fit him perfectly and did absolutely nothing to hide his physique. If he seriously suggested staying home, she would probably drag him to the room and lock the door.

“Alright you two, break it up,” Jason said, dragging Damian back. She was pleased to see the fabric she had used really did minimise wrinkling because she knew that it was something Tim and Bruce had wanted in case they had to do some intense activity unexpectedly.

They finally made it to the gala and Marinette stuck closely to Damian again. She knew it was unlikely that a rogue would strike when she was separated from him, but she didn't want to risk it. But thankfully the evening passed without incident, and before she knew it people were heading onto the large balcony to countdown to the new year.

She and Damian decided to stay in the ballroom dancing slowly to the music that had quietened considerably. He kept her close, barely moving as they swayed gently. She felt at peace in his arms and scarcely noticed the babbling crowds outside. All of her attention was in the man she had realised she loved a couple of months ago.

“I am glad it has been a relatively peaceful evening,” he mused, glancing around the room. Marinette followed suit and realised that everyone else had exited to watch the fireworks. “But I am even more glad that we plan to be in Paris next new year. This gala has always been one of my least favourites.”

“Why's that?” She asked, curious as to what made this particular one worse than any others. He mumbles something and she was immediately suspicious. “Dami, you can't say something like that and then refuse to tell me. I promise not to make fun of you.”

“Tt, I do not know if it is a tradition in France, but here in the states, people enjoy marking the new year with their significant others. Those who do not have significant others tend to find themselves…harangued by other single parties to complete the tradition.”

“Oh,” Marinette said, flushing slightly. “Hm, yes, that is a tradition in France as well, but you know us Europeans: any excuse.” A silence spread between them, although they didn't stop swaying.

“Well, I suppose I will be less opposed to the tradition if I am with you,” he said sweetly, caressing her cheek and turning her face up towards his own. She blushed again as she heard the revellers outside begin the countdown. When they reached zero, she pulled him down to her, fitting her lips to his.

#maribat #mlb x dc #daminette #damianette #marinette x damian #damian x marinette #ao3 fanfic #ao3 #dc x mlb #fanfic #introducing: mousinette #chapter 31 #final chapter #its over

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