#mousinette

[sillygoofylittleartist]

Multimouse redesign!

This one was so fun. I thought the original design was good but kinda boring.

I figured that marinette js a fashion designer and while as ladybug she’s all business and very low key with her costume as multimouse she would be able to be a little more expressive and have more fun especially since her plan was to reveal multimouse to be marinette.

With my design I kept the adorable hair style, the jump rope tail, color scheme and leg patterns.

I added more pieces including a skirt with a slit on either side for full range of movement and a little top. I gave her some soles to her shoes and more details to her hands. I also updated the mask.

I wanted her to look super cute, kinda fashionable and to have a design very different from ladybug.

This was really fun and I’m really happy with it. 🐭🐁🌸

[piromina]

just some mousinette to get my mind off of midterms

I just feel like mullo would be the kind of kwami to steal maris phone for fun.

[freedom-shamrock]

She’s soooooo cuuuuuute!

for @/danismilek’s dtiys on instagram 🌸

[clawsoutspotsoff]

she had other things on her mind ok

[starwarsmum]

A new fic? Me? Must be Wednesday 😅 this is based off a prompt for @apileofashandember about Marinette meeting the batfam through Penny ❤️

The rating on this is Mature because it gets a little spicy further down the line! You have been warned 😘

Chapter 1: A Liar Ruins a Website

Marinette sat alone in her room, hands scrunched in her hair as she muffled her screams into her bed. Her laptop sat innocently on her pillow, new comments popping up every few minutes on her now ruined website. 

“Make a website, Jagged said, it'll get your name out there, he said,” she complained to Tikki. The tiny god wisely said nothing, but settled itself into her hair. “How did that liar even find out about it? No, don't answer that,” she added when Tikki took a breath. “If I don't take my website down now, my name will be ruined, and I will never design professionally again.”

One short internet search later, and her heart broke as she changed the code to an out of service message. She would have to email the half a dozen clients that she had secured in the past month or so, and contact Jagged and Penny to let them know. It wasn't fair, she had worked so hard on making her website cute and fun. And now all of that hard work was ruined.

She sighed and opened up her group chat with Jagged and Penny, looking back at the good luck messages she had received from them about the website. It made her miss the early days of her commissions, when Jagged had asked her to make a pair of sunglasses and an album cover.

Nette: hey, just to let you know, I had to take the site down. someone said I stole their work and I got a bunch of hate

Auntie P: what?! who dares? I'm sorry Nette, that's awful

Uncle J: that's not rock n roll! is it that girl you told us about? Leela? Layla? 

Nette: probably, not that I can prove it

Marinette sighed, rubbing her eyes. She fired off the emails to her clients, hoping to get ahead for the night. She had finished her homework, but she still had an hour or two before she crashed for the night so she was hoping to get at least one of the designs finalised.

She got lost in the designing process, fresh pages becoming covered in sketches and annotations. She surfaced from her work after Tikki reminded her that she had school the next morning, so she readied herself for bed. When she checked her messages again before she went to sleep, she saw a new one flashing on the group chat.

Aunt P: if you need a hand rebranding, creating a new website, just let us know. we're proud of you for being so mature with this and we'll help you succeed

Nette: thanks both, I may take you up on that. I just need a couple of days to get over this setback and we'll sort it

It was after a fitful night's sleep that Marinette awoke, late as usual, and ran through her morning rituals. She shoved her hair into a bun, dragged on a semi-respectable outfit and grabbed a croissant on her way through the bakery. Now that she was in lycée, she had to travel further in the mornings. Fortunately, with the motorcycle she had finally passed the test to drive, she didn't need to rely on public transport to get there.

“Girl, are you okay?” Alya raced up to her as she pulled into the lycée car park, throwing her arms around Marinette. “Lila told us your website went down last night, right when she was about to submit a request! What happened?”

“Someone started a rumour that I stole my designs and it meant a bunch of people started trashing the site,” Marinette said, trying to keep her voice even. She couldn't help stressing the first word, as she knew who was likely behind it, but she regretted it when Alya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Not again, Marinette! I know it's been hard for you since you and Adrien didn't work out, and now it looks like he and Lila are going to start dating, but you need to stop with the jealousy! I love you, girl, but you get so into your head about him.”

“Alya, I didn't even say anything!” Marinette protested, weariness settling back onto her like an old, heavy blanket. “Look, whatever, it's not important right now. We're going to be late to class if we don't hustle.”

“I know you, Mari, you always think it was Lila!” Alya sounded exasperated, and it wasn't like Marinette could refute it. They walked along the hallway to their lockers, nodding at their friends as they passed. “And I get it, really, you can't help how you feel, but like I've told you before, you have to look at things objectively to get to the truth!”

Marinette bit her tongue, not wanting to point out that Alya’s blind insistence that Lila would never do such a thing was just as subjective as her believing that she had. She deliberately changed the topic to something else, ignoring the disapproving look her best friend shot her.

When they entered their classroom, Marinette greeted her other friends, sliding easily into her seat. She had chosen to sit at the back of the class so that nobody could say she had to give up her seat to someone else, reducing the upset it caused when Lila started spinning tales. She was fortunate that Lila had been placed in a different class in the previous years, but in her last year of lycée, her luck had finally run out.

“Oh my gosh, Marinette, I heard about your website!” Came the liar's high pitched faux-concerned voice. It grated on her that she would have to play nice with Lila once again, as Lila got her jabs in at Marinette. “It's so scary that someone would start a rumour about your work ethic, with so little evidence! Adrien and I were talking about it last night, he's always saying how you're still such a good friend to him.”

“Yeah, well, actually there's no evidence of me stealing designs because it's one hundred percent untrue,” Marinette said blandly, staring Lila down. She ignored the distressed noises the other girl started to make and waved a hand. “It doesn't matter, I have a few commissions to get through, but then I should take a break from designing to focus on the BAC anyway…”

Everyone around her told her it was such a shame that she wouldn't be able to take on new commissions for a while and she nodded glumly. She had no intention of stopping designing, of course, but this would hopefully give her some breathing room whilst she got herself set up again - anonymously this time. 

Which sadly meant that Max was no longer an option for making a new website. As much as she loved her friends, they really didn't look too hard at Lila's fantastic stories, which meant they would blithely tell the witch when Marinette set up again. This way, she would make a name for herself separately, and claim the brand in a few years once it was fully legitimised.

The lessons that day felt like they dragged on forever, Marinette just wanting to go home and make some progress on her commissions. She had learned to keep her sketchbooks at home - she didn't want to lose her work to people like 14-year-old Chloe - so she focused on trying to get a headstart on her homework whenever she had a free minute.

“Marinette! We were just talking about our Christmas plans, girl, weren't you making a bunch of designs for the local nativity play?” Alya beckoned her over and Marinette hid the grimace that threatened to cross her face. “Wow, that's so cool! Did you volunteer or something?”

“Not really, they saw some of my work and offered me a reasonable price for their main costumes for the play,” Marinette answered, wary of where the conversation would go next. She had stopped doing freebies for her friends, which had upset them until she had explained that she wanted to go to university in America and needed to spend all of her time on paid commissions. 

“Oh, it's so nice for you that you're comfortable taking pay from such an underfunded space, Marinette!” Lila put in, sounding sweet as per usual, but with all of the underhandedness that Marinette was accustomed to. “I was just telling Rose that I'm planning on volunteering my time at a soup kitchen throughout the Christmas period. My friends, Damian and Tim, their family funds a few different charities both here and abroad. Do you think Adrien will be able to help out too?”

“You should probably check with his aunt,” she replied flatly, refusing to be baited into an argument about whether she should be doing the costumes for free. “I need to go and eat, excuse me.” She pushed away from the table, feeling drained again and resolutely ignoring the conversation that picked up about Lila's ‘friends’. Marinette was sure that whoever Lila was claiming to know this time had no clue who she was and she wasn't going to get stuck in that mess.

She toyed with her phone before deciding that she absolutely needed a new website and that Penny's friend was likely her best bet. So she crafted her message, begging Penny to put her in touch with her computer whiz before slogging through her homework and lunch.

_ _ _

Marinette sat nervously at her desk later that evening, waiting for the video call Penny had promised her. They had decided a three-way call was the best way to introduce them both, but as the other two were in America, it was later than Marinette would have liked for a video call.

Tikki was sitting quietly on her shoulder as she sketched anxiously. She knew that whoever Penny was introducing her to would be nice enough, but she was always unsure of meeting new people. She added a few details to her work, and jumped when the laptop began ringing. She hastily accepted the call, twisting in her chair and tapping her fingers.

“Hi, Nette,” came Penny's bright voice. “And hey Babs, thanks for coming on the call to help. Marinette, this is Barbara, an old student of sorts. I worked with her back when I was an aide at Gotham U, she was studying library science with a minor in computer sciences. Babs, this is Marinette, Jagged's personal designer. She's done a ton of his more recent album artwork and designed all of his stage outfits for the last 2 years. She's also our honorary niece.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Marinette!” The woman was leaning towards her screen, scrutinising the teenager. Marinette eyed her as well, seeing a whole mane of red hair and glasses above a broad smile. “Penny mentioned you needed some help with a website, though she didn't mention you were so accomplished already.”

“Ah, yes, I had some recent trouble with my own website and I don't have enough technical know-how to create something secure. I'm planning to go anonymous, to prevent the same thing happening again, but I have no idea where to start,” Marinette explained, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. 

“And how do you plan to get clients if you have no base to start from?” Babs was beginning to type furiously, a gleam in her eyes. “Don't get me wrong, I'm sure your work is wonderful, but if you don't have any endorsements, isn't it really hard to break onto the fashion scene?”

“Oh, well I thought I'd have Jagged do the introduction, if that's okay, Pen? Because I'm under 18, I didn't tell anyone except my maman that I was working with Jagged and she promised to keep it to herself. I figured that way I can sort commissions and won't have a problem with getting new clients.”

“Wicked idea, M!” Came Jagged's voice from off screen, making her giggle. “Babs, let us know when you have her site up and running and I'll rep it on my socials. Rock n roll, girls!”

So they worked out the logistics moving forward, Marinette trading contact info with Barbara and promising one evening a week to go over the website details. It was everything Marinette had hoped for when Penny had offered to connect her with a friend. When the call finally ended, it was closer to midnight in Paris and she was relieved that it was a weekend the following day.

“That went well, Marinette,” Tikki squeaked at her, floating around head height as the girl got herself ready for bed. Marinette agreed before collapsing into bed with a groan. It didn't take long for her to pass out, a slight smile on her face.

[bigfatbreak]

mousinette and feralrat

[generalluxun]

Miraculous Big Bang is coming! I'm lucky enough to participate with these amazing people.

Info- Posting on A03 beginning Jan 2nd 2023

Ship: Adrienette (Adrien & Marinette) 

Side ships: Chonette Platonicly… mostly.

Rating: Teen (for show-setting violence, emotional issues, and abusive parenting)

Fun tags: Canon Divergent (end of Strike Back) Road Trip, Mousinette, Snake!Chloé, Emotional Hurt/comfort, Communication!, Supportive Adrien Agreste, Kwamis, Quantum Masking is a pain, Reveals, Evil Lila Rossi, Unhinged Gabriel Agreste, Original Akumatizations, Dates, Badass Marinette, Chloé Brougeois being Chloé Bourgeois, Chloé redemption

Major Content Warnings For Fic: Suicidal ideation.

Opening Snip:

Flairmidable held the ball of the Dog miraculous up triumphantly and smirked at his uncle. "Fetch."

Nothing happened.

Flairmidable frowned at the ball. "Fetch!" he commanded again. "Fetch!"

Still the ball did not move. Gabriel clenched his fists at his sides. "Another deception, nephew?"

Flairmidable shook his head quickly. "No, I swear to you, Uncle. There is no way she would have detransformed without getting the dog back from me. There is no logical reason this shouldn't work. Fetch!"

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

Marinette hummed to herself as she strolled up the street toward the manor. It was odd that Adrien had missed their rendezvous, but she was in no mood to worry. Adrien and Cat Noir, both by her side. It had been a dream come true. She used the walk to bask in the memory. Life would pile on problems soon enough.

Shout out to all the mods at @mlbigbang for running an amazing event!

[jacquesthepigeon]

Well Adrien knows that Multimouse is Marinette so Multimouse would be his girlfriend. Marinette should use the mouse in daily dating life. "Oh no Adrien I have a lot of deadlines, oh wait let me just divide myself, now one of me can do my chores and the other can be here with you." And then the clones kill each other deciding who should spend time with Adrien.

IM SO USED TO THINKING ABOUT MY GUARDIAN MOUSINETTE AU THAT I FORGOT HE KNOWS HER IDENTITY IN CANON DJDKDHDKHDDBHDKDKDKD

[fragileizywriting]

mousinette absolutely anxiety-filled, running around her bedroom, desperately trying to put together a reasonable portfolio for herself in order to submit. a university.

she's in tears. panic surging in her breath— lolo can't even calm her down— and she can't even think straight. a picture of her latest crochet project? too lame? too basic? how about that leather jacket she made for jagged stone the other day? would she be showing off too much if she posted about her accomplishments with the stony kitten concerts--

"mousey," luka asks. he's crawling up onto her loft— he's so massive, so huge, and can never fit correctly on her mezzanine without having some arrangements— "what's going on?"

"nothing," she whispers. "i'm okay."

"you don't look okay."

"i'm just... stressed out about school."

he grabs for her before she's in tears again. "hey, hey. you're safe, you know that?"

"i don't... i don't know. i don't actually... feel okay."

"no, probably not. i know what you look like when you're anxious— i need you to breathe."

okay.

okay.

breathe.

breathe.

[airi-p4]

Lol there's two sides to the G/t community - the wholesome, cutesy side and the...not so wholesome side (we don't talk much about them 👀)

Your fairy comic (as well as a lot of mousinette/fairy Mari stuff) would do wonderfully on the wholesome, sweetness, cuteness side.

Check out the G/t Fluff tag! Absolutely adorable stuff. You'll get a ***lot*** of followers if you use that tag lmao there's more of us than you might think!

👀

So there's a G/t fluff tag??? Maybe my work could fit there... 👀

But idk, I think I'm going to tag only the guide. I always tag the Au as #Fairy Misunderstood and #Fairy Misunderstood AU, so if anyone from the G/t community wants to follow my work, it's easy to do so.

Thank you for the recommendation, though! 💙

[freedom-shamrock]

So cute! The Mousinettes are adorable!

Here is a commissioned piece from @sweetmeatdale. Thanks for the opportunity to work with you!

“Multimouse Banging Out the Tu—”

“Boop!”

This was originally animated but I posted both formats, depending on your preference. This was my first time making an animation and I have learnt so much. Here is the finished product;

This is peak Tumblr isn’t it - Neil Banging Out the tunes + Booping?

[sidsinning]

The Adventures of Chat Noir Nagging Ladybug to Bring Multimouse Back

[galahadwilder]

Marinette, sitting in the bakery and wearing the Rat Miraculous: I'm a health code violation! :)

[leviaana]

flustered bunhead

[clawsoutspotsoff]

more mousinette hours

[starwarsmum]

Chapter 7 of Introducing: Mousinette 🥰 Moving to Gotham

In spite of having tried to plan a celebration with everyone for their BAC results, Marinette was the only one in their group who had not yet turned eighteen. And so, Lila had convinced the group that the club she had dragged them to would allow Marinette in if she gave her name at the door, regardless of their over-eighteens only policy.

Trying not to get overly worked up, she apologised to the bouncer at the club, messaging Alya to say that she was going to find somewhere to hang out for the next hour or so before heading home. She didn't expect a message back - the club had sounded unreasonably loud and Lila had a way of making Alya think that Marinette was tardier than she ever was these days.

She also pulled up her messages to Chloe and Adrien, venting her frustrations about their friendship group. Chloe messaged back immediately, saying that she was welcome to come to the hotel and spend time with her and Kagami, but Marinette declined. She knew the girls had not been able to go on a proper date in a while and didn't want to crash it.

After ninety minutes with no messages, Marinette paid for another coffee to go, and left the diner she had made camp in. It was a gorgeous evening, the streetlights twinkling along the Seine and various groups of people having fun. She stayed on well lit streets, enjoying the buoyant mood around her as she walked home.

Once home, she crept quietly upstairs, trying not to wake her parents. Sighing in relief when she made it to her room, she switched on her laptop and dropped a message to Barbara. Having cancelled their regular catch up, Marinette didn't expect to get a response, so was pleasantly surprised when a video call lit up her screen.

“Hey Babs,” she said quietly, leaning back in her bed and picking up an embroidery hoop. “I thought you would be busy since I cancelled on you. I was really only messaging to let you know I was home safe after the night flopped.”

“Hey Mari! Well, it's not just me tonight I'm afraid, I have visitors. Dick and Steph both came over to keep me company,” Barbara replied enthusiastically, and the other two popped their faces in to say hi. “But how come you're home so early?”

So Marinette gave a brief recount of her evening, laughing a little at Dick's affronted expression. When she had finished, she felt a little better for having vented, and so was stabbing her embroidery needle slightly less viciously. “But nothing new, I should have seen this coming when Alya suggested somewhere new. And I bet Lila manages to twist this against me somehow.”

“Wow, she sounds like a bitch,” Steph said offhandedly, although she looked annoyed. “Babe, if you need us to bring the smackdown, please just tell us. I will steal Bruce's jet and be there as soon as humanly possible to set people straight. Hell, I'll even bring the Demon with me to hammer it home if I have to.” 

Giggling at the thought, Marinette beamed at the blonde woman. She looked back down and finished a particularly tricky part of the embroidery before looking back at them all. “Oh my God, did I tell you that she lies about being besties with Tim and Damian? I swear she's a compulsive liar, I'm not sure I've ever heard her tell the truth, except for the times she's threatened me,” she added, almost thoughtfully.

“Hold up, she did what?” Dick said, looking even more concerned, if it was possible. He was typing furiously into his phone, typing, Marinette assumed, a message to Tim. “What's this girl's name? I know she can't possibly know Damian, because Damian has exactly one friend, but Tim really needs to shut this down if she's using his name for clout.”

“It's Lila Rossi, but she's not using it for clout per se, she's just using it to make our terrifyingly gullible classmates worship the ground she walks on. I'm not really sure what she gets out of it, other than irritating me and making ‘friends’,” she said, making sure they knew she didn't think they were really friends if she was lying to get them. “But it really doesn't matter, it's the end of June and I move to Gotham mid July. At which point, I don't have to deal with her anymore, plus I get to live some of the lies she tells.”

“It's still not cool, so I'm just giving Tim her name in case it crops up at some point. But she just lies? And nobody calls her out? Hell, I should get Tim to do a French press release just for this, she's clearly a menace to society. Just let us know if we need to do anything for you, we will shut it down,” Dick promised, which made Marinette smile.

“You'd have to get in line behind Jagged,” she admitted ruefully, chuckling at their confused expressions. “That was the first lie, she said she saved Jagged's kitten, as if he's ever had something as tame as a kitten, and she still says she's close with him. It's how she's got them believing half of what she says now. But I really don't want to talk about it any more. If I let her take up space in my brain, she wins.”

The other three begrudgingly accepted this, moving the conversation on to Marinette's impending relocation to the States. The conversation continued, touching briefly on Marinette's birthday plans. Marinette admitted that she didn't plan on doing much, as she would be too busy packing, but her parents were taking her and a few friends to a fancy restaurant to celebrate.

Actually moving from Paris to Gotham was an experience, one Marinette felt she could maybe have lived without. She had found a nice apartment, it had a main bedroom, living area with kitchenette, and a spare room, where she planned on putting her commission work. Moving all of her sewing equipment had been a hassle, and she needed to get extra furniture before she could set it up.

Fortunately, she had gotten herself ahead of her commissions and the space at Wayne Enterprises was all set for her work there. It meant that she could take a day or so to visit thrift stores and find a serviceable workbench or desk, as well as hit the local fabric stores for materials.

But for that night, she wanted to settle into the place, find somewhere secure to store the Miracle Box and sleep. She forced herself to order some takeout and eat it, but then she went through her nightly routine. Her room was at the top of the building, slightly cheaper because you could sometimes hear the vigilantes of Gotham pounding across the roof, but she wasn't really one for waking up to that kind of noise. Tikki would wake her if it was dangerous, but she often slept through most everything.

She found it relatively easy to fall asleep, and Tikki was nestled away on top of the Box. She didn't really remember dreaming at first, but she did jolt awake at 2am, having had a nightmare about Chat Blanc. Even though they were well past the issue, when she was disrupted she found her anxiety liked to bring that particular memory out for a spin.

Sighing and moving quietly, so as not to wake Tikki, and not to annoy her downstairs neighbours, she crept over to her kitchenette. After taking a long drink of cold water from the filter in her refrigerator, she felt the urge to step outside. She listened intently for a moment but couldn't hear footsteps, so she slid the window open and stepped onto the fire escape.

Moving lightly, she slid onto the roof, breathing in the cooler air. It was a warm night and the apartment trapped heat like crazy. She didn't have a trap door to let the heat out, so having access to the roof was nice. Knowing that she was in Gotham, she kept her guard up, which means she wasn't overly surprised when someone stepped out of the shadows on the other side of the roof.

“Bonjour,” she said, smiling up at Robin as he moved towards her. She refused to be intimidated by his silence, and turned back to the skyline view from the edge. 

Damian paused, unsure of how to deal with the sudden reappearance of the woman who had changed his behaviour so much, without even being present. He had been prepared to run into her in the office, even to meet her at the university, but during his time as a vigilante? And out on the rooftops, instead of during a mugging, or worse.

“Are you not sketching tonight?” He cringed internally at his abruptness, but outwardly he was cool and curious. She shrugged lightly, peering at him sideways. He could tell she remembered their previous encounter, and he had often wondered how she saw him. It wasn't often he interacted with civilians in both of his identities, and he found himself wondering how they compared.

They stood together in silence for a few minutes before she stepped over to the fire escape again, without saying a word. He quashed the disappointment that welled within him, watching as her head vanished from sight. He stood, immobile for several moments, and was about to retreat back to his perch when she reappeared.

“I'm afraid I don't have anything homemade today, but I did pick up a pack of cookies on my way here,” she said, apparently in explanation. He cocked his head at her, confused. She blushed a little, turning her back on the city to sit upon the ledge. “In Paris, when we had an active supervillain, the heroes would stop by my balcony on occasion, and I would provide a place to rest. Unfortunately, I do not have a balcony here, and I only moved in this afternoon, so I could not bake anything. But if you plan to be here regularly, I can leave some food out. It has always seemed hungry work, being a hero.”

“Vigilante,” he said automatically, leaning forward onto his forearms against the ledge she perched upon. “And whilst I appreciate the sentiment, I am not fond of sweets, particularly mass produced and packaged.”

“Alright,” she shrugged again, taking one for herself and closing the packet. She didn't say anything more, staying close to him without ever crowding him. As it ticked over to 3am, he excused himself, unmuting his comm and letting the team know that he was returning to base. He could feel her eyes on him as he leapt from building to building.

The next time he returned to the rooftop, he was curious as to whether she would be there. It was sooner than he thought it would be, not even a full week later. The roof was empty and he allowed himself to deliberately scuff his boots to make noise. It was just past midnight, early in his usual patrol but the previous night had seen them bust a particularly heinous trafficking ring. The nights following ones like that were notoriously quiet, so he saw no harm in situating himself on an innocuous rooftop and waiting to respond to any threats.

He saw her head peek over the top of the ledge, and her face brightened into a smile as she spotted him. His comm was already muted, most of the team recovering from minor scrapes and the remainder being in no mood to socialise during their individual patrols. Grayson was patrolling the other side of town, but the comm was silent from his usual prattle.

He eyed the plate in Marinette's hand as she approached him and went to remind her that he did not eat sweets often when she gave him a quiet greeting. He felt wrong footed, as though she were following a script and he hadn't been given any notes. Rather than perch where she had last time, she came over to his own perch and settled onto the roof rather than the ledge.

“I know you don't normally eat sweets, so I made some mini quiches and cheese twists,” she said when she was fully settled. He hesitated again, unsure if he should eat anything. He would never normally accept food from a civilian during patrol, but ordinarily he would not have spoken with her either. 

When he did accept one, she seemed to brighten considerably, and began chattering about her day, how she had gone into her new job’s building and made a great deal of progress on her work. He already knew she was working at Wayne Enterprises, so he didn't make any outward reaction when she mentioned Drake as her boss.

“So you have always helped your city's heroes by providing nourishment?” He wanted to learn more about the Parisian heroes and her relationship with them seemed the easiest way to breach that topic. “Did they not find you suspicious?”

“Do you find me suspicious?” He would have thought her pretending to be coy if he couldn't hear a genuine sort of surprise to the question. When he didn't say anything, she continued. “Huh, well, no, I guess they didn't. It was mostly Chat Noir who visited me, and we met because I was being targeted by one of the akuma…”

As she launched into a description of her experience with someone called the Evillustrator, he watched her, fascinated by how emotive she was to this version of him. He asked questions as she spoke, and she answered eagerly. He wondered if she had spoken to anyone else about her experiences with heroes.

It startled him when Grayson called for help in his sector, and he hastily said goodbye to Marinette before launching into the night, confirming that he was on his way. He wondered, after the threat was dealt with, whether he would see her on the roof again.

_ _ _

She hadn't intended to befriend the vigilante that frequented her rooftop, but that's what had happened. Sometimes she would be up there already, working on designs, sometimes she would wake when he was stationed above and come to join him. Other times, she would be awake when his feet scuffed the rooftop and she would make her way up. She shared a lot about her time in Paris, finding it easier to talk about her old friends, the villains, and Lila, without worrying that he would dismiss her. It also helped having an outside perspective, something she couldn't get from anyone else.

It was a slightly dreary evening at the end of summer when she began to talk about her plans for the coming academic year. She was huddled closer to him than usual, using him to shield herself from the light rain. She felt a rush of affection for him, not dissimilar to how she would feel as Ladybug, interacting with Chat Noir. 

“I just can't believe I have to start classes soon,” she mused, flicking open an app on her phone with her schedule. “I might not be up on the roof as often, but I can leave snacks out in plastic boxes. And I'll try to come out, once a month at least. You're probably the only friend other than Babs that I've made since getting here.”

“What about your employer? I had thought you were on good terms with him,” he said quietly, apparently trying to hide a smile. “And you are sure to make friends in your classes. It is more likely that you will stop coming up here because you have a more filled social calendar, is it not?”

“Hmmm, I don't think so. My understanding is that the first year of university is to be social, but I have already locked myself into a job that will take up so much of my free time, and I have a scholarship to maintain. No, I think it more likely that you will get bored of quiet nights on the roof once the weather changes,” she said ruefully. “And that is a shame, because you are surprisingly good company. When I talk to Babs about the vigilantes,” she missed the panic that flashed across his face, “she says that Nightwing is known to be chatty, Red Robin is some kind of super genius, Red Hood is violent and you are supposedly very prickly.”

“You talk to your friend about these visits?” He sounded confused, maybe a little concerned and she waved her hands emphatically.

“Oh, no, absolutely not. She already worries about me living alone on the top apartment of a complex, I don't want her to know I regularly go onto the roof, alone save for dubiously grouchy vigilantes,” she teased, smiling again. When he nodded, she thought she spotted some relief, which made her wonder if he usually was prickly, but she had somehow earned his friendship.

“Well, perhaps you will befriend more dubiously grouchy people,” he said, sounding amused. She hummed thoughtfully, thinking of another dark haired boy, one who was genuinely grouchy. “Or perhaps you will attract rays of sunshine. Or more people like your unfortunate nemesis, Lila.”

“God, I hope not,” she groaned, looking out at the cityscape again. “If I come across another one of her, I'm calling bull. Did I ever tell you she lies about knowing the upper echelons of Gotham? Claims to be besties with the Waynes, which I know for a fact is a lie, because I asked Tim outright. And if she's friends with Damian, they deserve each other,” she finished sourly.

“You have a problem with the youngest Wayne?” He asked, voice rumbling quietly. She hesitated, wishing she'd minded her tongue - she made an effort not to badmouth any of her acquaintances to him, not knowing who he was or who he knew.

“I wouldn't say I have a problem, per se. He's kind of stuck up, which should be expected, being from money. Like my friend Chloe, she was awful to grow up with and her dad was mayor of Paris. But he's an adult and was just so dismissive of me, right when we first met. Which, fine, I don't need to be friends with everyone, but he's both my boss's little brother and a sort of brother to my friend Babs, so I wanted to get on with him. If I had more time and energy, I might've tried to wear him down, but I'm in a new city, I have work and I have classes.”

“Well, if he was foolish enough to treat you poorly without reason, he will probably give you space. But if you are worried about it for your friends’ sake, perhaps you could extend an olive branch. Perhaps he was having a bad day when you met.”

“The next time I spent one on one time with him, he called me short and childish,” she said flatly, once again missing the contrite look that crossed his face. “He also said that cooking was easy, even though he's never tried it, and that moving out of his manor was beneath him. But forget that, I'm running my mouth when I shouldn't. It happens when I'm nervous, and the idea of starting university in a completely different country is scary.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, and Marinette was relieved she hadn't ruined things by ranting about her not-problems. When she eventually went inside, she went straight to bed, and slept through until morning.