#platonic cass and adrien

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Mercy

Summary: Cass sees a pair of mers struggling in a trap, and so she helps them out. The mers see Cass struggling with her dad, and so they return the favor.

Mer au for AU August by @maribat-calendar-events

If nothing else, Cass would like to go on the record saying that she wasn’t stupid.

Normally, you might not have to state things like this but, unfortunately, many of her decisions as of late might suggest otherwise. She wasn’t stupid. She just… yeah…

Anyways.

It was early in the morning, too early for even the sun to think about rising, too early for it to really be considered ‘early’. But it wasn’t late, either, not anymore, really. It was just past three in the morning. That perfect in-between where no one should be up, and they certainly shouldn’t be out.

Cassandra Cain was out.

She knew she shouldn’t be – in the same way that people spot a tiger out in the wild and, even if they have never seen it before, even if they have no clue what it is, they still always, always run. It was dangerous, she could feel it in her bones. Three o’clock was the devil’s hour, and leaving the safety of her bedroom was tempting fate.

She would take her chances, though. Better this than being home, alone, for the next month and a half. The saying goes “the devil you know”, but sometimes people get bored of dealing with the same thing over and over again.

Her feet skipped as they jumped from rock to rock. The waves lapped at the shore. The seashells reflected the light of her flashlight. The beach. It was quite possibly her favorite place to be. Not that she was allowed to go many places, really, so that wasn’t all that impressive, but it still had to count for something, right?

And, besides, the rule was that she wasn’t allowed to talk to people. At night, there were no people, so she technically wasn’t breaking any rules.

It was peaceful.

Until it wasn’t.

She wasn’t quite sure what had piqued her attention first. The sound, maybe? The quiet clicking and hissing and metal scraping against metal and splashing. It was hard to miss.

Or maybe she just knew. Maybe it was the distinct wrongness settling over her the moment she got too close. Some instinctual knowledge that there was something nearby.

Whatever it was, this is where she made her first stupid decision: getting closer.

Which was how she found them.

They had clearly made some kind of effort to hide themselves. Hiding among the rocks and seaweed. The waves pulled at them, trying to tug them in. But they didn’t go, because they couldn’t. One of the two, the one with shaggy blond hair, was caught in what looked to be an old anchor chain, wound around his chest, trapping his legs and one arm to his stomach. The other, with black hair pulled into a delicate bun dotted with seashells, was clearly trying to help, tugging frantically at the bindings, but it only seemed to make things worse.

And Cass would have helped. You don’t have to speak to help someone, it could have been fine.

If the constantly churning waves didn’t draw her gaze. If she didn’t see one mer’s long tail, glimmering in the light. If her flashlight didn’t make them follow the thin beam of brightness back to her. If their pupils didn’t dilate, showing off their lack of irises and yellow sclera.

She made a squeaking noise in the back of her throat. The hand holding her flashlight couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

The one with the tail made a clicking sound in the back of her throat, before smacking her maybe-friend upside the head.

The one with legs gave a surprisingly human expression, pouting and moving his free hand in a way that looked somewhat like sign language, if stilted. Maybe he was used to signing with both hands, maybe the language wasn’t natural to him.

Not that Cass cared at the moment.

Both of them were clearly arguing, their hands waving wildly, clicking occasionally in a sharp way that could only ever be read as angry… which meant that Cass should run.

She took a half-step back. Not daring to look away from the two creatures that she had come across, for fear of them sneaking closer.

This was never a good thing to do when you’re standing on a rock, at the beach, surrounded by seaweed.

She shrieked, going up in a flurry of arms and nightclothes and the damned seaweed that she had slipped on. Her elbows and back screamed their protest as she was scraped over the rocks, and even all of her dad’s stealth training didn’t keep her from nearly smashing her head open. She gave a small hiss of pain, trying not to think about how much blood she could feel running down her back.

It was easy to ignore. Mainly because those strange eyes turned back onto her.

There was a few moments of awkward silence.

“Heeeeeeeyyyy,” the boy tried, going for his best winning smile, waving a webbed hand as if they were just random strangers that had happened to meet on the beach.

Maybe it would have worked if Cass wasn’t reeling from the fact that they could speak human language. But she didn’t get much time to process that at all.

“If you get any closer, I’m going to rip you,” the lady mer said, baring too-sharp teeth. The effect was dampened by the fact that knife-like claws were still scrabbling frantically at the chains, but only slightly.

Cass started to scramble backward on her hands and feet.

This did not please the mer either, as her eyes narrowed. “And if you try to run and get your human friends, I’m going to hit you with a rock.”

Cass was going to stay firmly in place, actually. That seemed like the best plan.

The mer breathed a quiet sigh of relief, and Cass was surprised to find that she didn’t seem all that affected by the fact that she was out of water.

Neither of them seemed all that affected, really. The girl seemed to be more affected, the line of gills on the side of her neck flapping helplessly, but she didn’t show any signs of discomfort, and her lips certainly weren’t turning blue or eliciting desperate gasps for water. The boy didn’t even seem to care, lounging as best one can when sitting on uncomfortable rocks and bound in chains.

Their frustration seemed to only stem from their inability to break the chains. The boy kept saying something, over and over, but he was ignored every time. Instead, the girl tried everything she could think of. Splashing him with water to try and get him wet enough to wriggle out, trying to rip the chains with a mix of sharp claws and even sharper teeth, bashing the chains with a rock…

It was… pitiful, really.

Cass wanted to help.

But Cass also knew she wasn’t supposed to talk to people.

And, just like that, a tiny loophole formed in her mind. She knew the reason for The Rule, knew that it was less about her talking to others, and more about her father’s fear of the unknown, his fear that she would get stolen away by the creatures of the night in the same way her mother had. She knew that he was only fearful of the fact that she would be tricked by someone who only seemed human, at first glance… but, hey. He had only ever told her not to talk to people.

Mers weren’t people.

“There’s…” Cass began, and her voice broke. The sound scraped against the walls of her throat, aching in a way she hated. It was always at its worst when her father was out on his hunts, because then she couldn’t talk to anyone at all, her vocal cords atrophied from disuse, and at that exact moment she wished she hadn’t tried at all. But the two mers’ heads snapped to her, waiting, and she wasn’t going to get out of this based on the cold glare in the female mer’s eyes. “I might have bolt cutters at my house.”

This was a bit of a lie. She had said that she might have bolt cutters, but it really wasn’t a might kind of situation. The trap that the mer had fallen into was her father’s, and he always had a way to get out of those things stored away in his shed.

The mers exchanged somewhat wary glances.

The female mer narrowed her eyes, making a quiet sound that Cass couldn’t even dream of replicating.

The male made a clicking sound, a warning of his own.

She bared her teeth.

He smiled. It showed off a set of wicked fangs, though his were simply long, sharp canines, surrounded by a row of otherwise perfectly normal teeth. One of them was missing.

She made a grunting sound that could only ever be interpreted as frustration, but finally threw her hands up, letting the chains fall from her fingers and clink together again, and motioned for Cass to go.

She made to move.

And then a high-pitched singing started.

Instantly, Cass knew what was happening. She had heard many a time of the mer. Her father had said that they were some of the least dangerous creatures, but only because they usually preferred to stay away from humans. When bothered, they were some of the most deadly. Every single type of mer – because the term was, really, just a broad term made to refer to the creatures of the sea – was deadly in its own way. The sea was unforgiving, and so were its creatures. Sea monsters would capsize vessels that were too noisy with a lazy swipe of their hand before returning to their slumber. The gods of the sea were known to be mercurial at best, changing the waters from perfectly calm to whirlpools if they were particularly bored that day. Sea serpents would crush even boats made of the sturdiest wood, or even just swallow them whole if they didn’t feel like fighting for their meal.

Sirens would sing, and humans would find themselves getting dragged into the water by their own two feet, only able to watch on in horror as they were puppeted around, unable to stop themselves from drowning.

But she didn’t go towards the water at all.

She felt herself tread the familiar path up to her home. Every thought she might have had slipped through her fingers like water. Her gaze flitted past the traps littering the lawn, the familiar harpoons, the array of iron and silver weapons, the wards and runes and –.

Her foot stepped over a specific rune.

Air filled her lungs again. Her stomach churned more than the waves. Her legs collapsed beneath her weight, and wrinkled hands were all that kept her from breaking her nose on the wood floors. It felt as if she keeled over to puke, as she so wanted to do, she would only find salty seawater.

But this wasn’t what made horror wash over her.

No, it was that the spell over her had been broken.

And the mer probably knew.

She wasn’t sure how much time she would have before the mer were gone.

They had tricked her, yes. Forced her to do something against her will.

But they had looked so… scared. And it wasn’t like she didn’t get it. They were right, after all. Her eyes caught on the harpoon hanging above the doorframe. It was a staple in any house near a beach. The pair of mer had been lucky to be found by her, rather than anyone else.

She scrambled along the rocks, hugging the tool to her chest. Later, she would regret this, as she would find herself covered in a myriad of scrapes and bruises and a deep cut on her left leg that oozed yellow, but now she didn’t care.

They were leaving. The girl was wrapped around her friend, her tail looped over him multiple times, dragging them both further into the water with trembling arms. Her gaze was on the horizon, eyes narrowed, quietly mulling over what they could do once they were in the water and she would need her tail. The boy was chittering nervously.

“I HAVE IT,” she yelled, and the sound was both terrible and amazing as it tore itself out of her throat.

The mers’ heads snapped to her. The girl swung herself around her friend, blocking him from sight, baring her teeth and claws.

Cass held up the bolt cutters.

It was… a slow process. Both of them were wary, looking around for anyone she might have brought with her. Neither seemed pleased about the bolt cutters being so close to them, either, shying away every time she approached.

She didn’t mind.

Up close, she got to see much more.

The girl was a traditional siren, unearthly in her beauty. Her tail started relatively high on her body, scales dotting even up to her cheeks, getting more frequent the lower down they went. By the time they got to her chest, there wasn’t anything human about her at all. Instead, there was a gorgeous tail, a mix of red, white, and orange, with the occasional speck of black. A couple of long, spiny fins decorated her body, with the one at the tip of her tail being the largest. With her lips pressed into a thin line and her nails curled into fists, nervous but trying to hide it, only succeeding in hiding her most dangerous traits, the mer didn’t look quite as scary.

The boy… well, Cass wasn’t quite sure what he was. If she hadn’t known better, she would think he was human. If her gaze didn’t keep catching on the webbed hands and toes, on the gills at his neck, on the lack of color in his eyes, on the sharp teeth that bit at his lips every time the bolt cutters neared… she would have been fooled. It wasn’t like those couldn’t be hidden, either. It was strange. She had never encountered anything like him before.

But… she would guess that he was a god. The nearly human appearance, the ethereal beauty hanging around his head in a way that almost haloed his slightly-too-pink face, the pleasant smile, the jewelry hanging from every part of him that he could manage to place it. The way that none of it completely masked the strange coolness of his eyes when he looked at her, just a little too smart, just a little too calculated.

There was no way, though, right? A god would simply break the things binding him. Even a young one would not be trapped by something like this for long.

Which sent her back to the drawing board – but she had forgotten how to hold her pen. How do you categorize something you had never seen?

She didn’t know.

She didn’t even know if they knew their classification. The girl’s English had been stilted, and the boy had only spoken a single word. And, even if they did know a word for themselves, she had her doubts that the term would be anything kind.

So, she kept her mouth shut, and finally managed to release the mer from his bindings.

Both of them seemed… surprised, to say the least. Strange, iris-less eyes stared at her, both of them soundless. Motionless, even as the waves tugged at them insistently, as if trying to drag them back in before the sun could tint the horizon pink.

Slowly, but surely, they both inched away from her, into the sea. She stayed as still as she could, nerves clawing up her throat. As long as real claws didn’t find their way to it, though, she thought that this would be fine.

Slowly, they crept back into the water, until only their heads could be seen.

She glanced back the way she came.

“Thank you,” the boy said, a hand coming out of the water to wave.

Cass waved back, if weakly.

She didn’t need to do more, though, the mer seemed pleased regardless. He shot her a toothy grin before ducking beneath the waves, disappearing off towards… wherever they were from.

The lady mer squinted at Cass for just a moment more, lips drawn into that thin line once again. Not quite as scared this time, just thinking.

After a few moments, she nodded her head in vague acknowledgment of the human back on the shore, and dove under.

Cass stayed there, watching the water, the sun rising on the horizon, casting the world in a pleasant shade of red, for another hour.

Her second mistake was this: she kept going back.

Day after day, night after night, she found herself walking along the rocks, eyes scanning the water, in search of the two strange creatures that she had come across. She might claim that it was habit, that she went out this way all the time. It might even be true. But it wasn’t the main reason.

No, she was simply… curious.

Her dad had always been interested in the creatures of the night, and she supposed that it was inevitable that she would pick it up. At least she wasn’t intent on taking one of those harpoons and driving it through their chests like he would if he found out that a pair of mer had come so close to their house.

No, she just… wanted to know more.

She really wanted to see them again.

It took eight days.

On the ninth, a head finally poked out. It was the girl, her head bobbing, the bottom half of her face hidden beneath the waves, her eyebrows drawn together in what was either frustration or concern. Cass was hoping for concern. Even if the mer interested her, she was still very much wary of the long, clawed fingers and sharp teeth.

“Why do you keep looking?”

Cass blushed. She wanted to say that she didn’t even know herself. But that would be a lie. And a lie would be… bad, considering her reasoning was this:

“Lonely.”

The mers weren’t good company. Especially not this one, who had been so openly hostile. But they were company. Cass’s father wouldn’t be coming back for another month or so, and she wanted oh-so-desperately to have some human contact.

Or inhuman contact. She couldn’t afford to be picky.

The mer seemed to consider this for a long moment.

And then she sighed and, with a couple of languid curls of her tail, came to rest her arms on a rock by Cass’s feet. “No friends?”

Cass shook her head, carefully taking a seat, her legs drawn up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. “Not allowed to talk to people.”

She got a confused look in return. A clawed finger pointed at herself.

“Well, I don’t think you’d tell on me if you saw him.”

Because you’d have bigger problems.

“Might,” the mer said, something like a smirk on her face, her tail curling to splash water over Cass’s feet.

And, despite the fact that some part of her was worried sick about all of this, she couldn’t help but laugh a little.

The girl’s name was Marinette �� or, at least, she explained that it was the name she used when talking with humans. Her real name was a low humming sound, but it was kind of hard for a siren to hum its name in front of a human, as their eyes would instantly begin to glaze over, so she had gone with a pretty name a French sailor had once given her. A cute marine animal, a marinette.

Her English was decent enough, hardly surprising considering sirens did tend to live near the shorelines.

But not because they liked to eat humans, as Marinette quickly explained once she registered that, while Cass was just generally nervous about this whole ordeal, she was also a little bit scared of her.

“The water is calmer here, easier for our children to learn to swim. Don’t worry. Humans don’t taste good.”

While Cass had to admit it was soothing to know she wouldn’t be eaten for the fun of it…

“Why do you know what humans taste like?!”

Marinette gave her a flat look. “Humans don’t like sirens. Can’t just let them hurt us because they want to. Sometimes you have to bite them. Or worse.”

Quietly, Cass wondered whether sirens’ ability to control humans had been there all along, or whether it was an adaptive trait that had developed for their own safety. Or whether that even mattered. If Marinette wasn’t just an exception, and the sirens only used their powers in self-defense (because Cass had been put under the spell and had come out of it without dying, it clearly wasn’t made only for the sake of drowning people like the stories liked to say), then what did that say about everyone else? Did they know?

Did her dad know?

She knew he wasn’t great, but… to be fair, Cass’s mom had been stolen away by the faerie. It was fair to be cautious about anything that wasn’t human since he had already lost one person he cared about to them.

But mer weren’t faerie. They weren’t known for stealing people away for nefarious purposes. So, was having all of those harpoons back home really necessary?

Well, this was all just an awkward line of thought, and even more awkward as a line of conversation, considering just who Cass’s father was and what the person in front of her happened to be. New topic.

Cass cast her eyes around determinedly for something to talk about, and ended up pointing at the bracelet on Marinette’s wrist. “Is that from your friend? He likes jewelry, right? Did he give you this one?”

Marinette looked down. She tipped her head from side to side, neither a yes nor a no, before taking it off.

Cass lifted a hand to take it and examine it more closely, but she was quickly batted away from it.

“No. Only mine,” Marinette said, not quite baring her teeth but certainly coming close. “You may look, though.”

Cass nodded, however hesitantly, and kept her hands firmly behind her back as she leaned forward once again to inspect the golden bracelet.

There were three charms tied onto the gold but, upon closer inspection, they weren’t ‘charms’ at all.

“They’re from my family,” Marinette explained. She pointed to a red scale. “Mom.” A pink one. “Dad.” Something white. “Baby.”

Cass leaned even closer, trying to figure out what the white thing was. It wasn’t a scale. It glimmered in the light, but it shimmered differently than the scales did. It was kind of oddly shaped, too, like –.

“Is that a tooth?!”

“He lost it anyways!” Marinette defended herself as best she could.

And, despite the mild horror at seeing a tooth being proudly displayed on someone’s wrist, she couldn’t help but laugh at Marinette’s expression.

Eventually, upon seeing the boy mer again, once Marinette had decided that she trusted Cass enough to let them within twenty feet of each other, she realized that he was the ‘Baby’. Because he shot her a toothy grin, and she realized once again that there was a gap in it.

She wasn’t, exactly, sure why he was considered a ‘Baby’ when he was about the same age as Cass, and not that much younger than Marinette, but these were mers. Cass couldn’t say she was super knowledgeable about mer family dynamics.

So, she brushed past it in favor of proper introductions.

The boy had made a series of clicking and high screeching sounds when asked for his name. Cass’s vocal cords were not made for that, so she listened to him say his name over and over again until her ears got tricked into hearing a name within the incomprehensible sounds: Adrien.

The boy didn’t speak at all, really, English or otherwise. Apparently, in the same way that Cass’s vocal cords weren’t made for clicking or screeching in a way that helped with echolocation, his vocal cords were almost nonexistent. He was a sea monster, though a young one, and it was common for sea monsters to leave their children to fend for themselves, so there was no reason for their species to be able to ‘speak’ at all. The only reason Adrien had as much of a ‘voice’ as he did was that Marinette had found him one day and decided to adopt him. Sirens were very vocal creatures, and Adrien had been young enough to learn to mimic some of the sounds.

Or, at least, that was what Cass thinks they were trying to say. Again, there were three separate language barriers going on.

“Baby,” she said, curling her tail around Adrien’s waist.

Adrien huffed.

He made a series of sounds, stretching his hands out wide so Cass could get the general idea of what he was saying: he would be big one day.

Marinette looked a little bummed at the reminder, so it was probably true. She squeezed tighter.

“I will keep you small,” she said. “Squeeze you so you can’t grow.”

Adrien tipped his head back and groaned.

“Are you his mom?” Cass teased.

Marinette huffed, amused, making a so-so motion with her hand. Adrien, however, nodded fervently, grinning cheekily in a way that suggested that he, too, was teasing Marinette more than sincerely answering the question.

Marinette retaliated by squeezing him harder, making the boy squeak and start trying to escape her evil, parental clutches.

It turned out that Marinette’s ‘motherlyness’ was not limited to Adrien, either, because a few days later Marinette tossed a fish onto the rocks and told her to “eat”.

Cass stared at her for a long time, unsure what to do about the slimy thing that now lay at her feet.

“What?”

“Tiny,” said Marinette, narrowing her eyes at her. “Need fish.”

Cass sighed. Whatever. Fine. She might as well go with it. “I need to cook it, or else I’ll get sick.”

The two mer looked very confused by this, and Cass realized belatedly that they probably wouldn’t have a concept for cooking. Unless they had happened across some heat vents underwater, which were neither common nor something that cold-blooded creatures were likely to stick around for long, the chances were that they ate all of their food completely raw.

She sighed. “Hold on.”

And this was how Cass found herself sitting cross-legged on a rock, carefully maintaining a fire. Which should have been decently easy, if she wasn’t also tasked with making sure the mers didn’t touch the flames (something that was surprisingly difficult despite the mers’ constant complaints that it was too hot) or accidentally drip water onto it and put it out.

She narrowed her eyes at Adrien, who was the main culprit, still turning her fish around and around over the fire to make sure it heated correctly.

“You must let him learn,” Marinette said. She was, perhaps, a little salty about the tiny burn she had received on the tip of her nose, which was what had started Cass’s new job camping out over the fire to make sure they didn’t hurt themselves further.

“That seems mean,” Cass chided lightly. “Aren’t you kind of his mom? Just tell him not to.”

“It is better for him. His species does not… do families, often. They are supposed to learn.”

There was a moment of hesitation.

“How did you guys even meet? Aren’t sea monsters supposed to… be way out in the water? And I thought sirens stay close to the shore.”

“Know a lot,” said Adrien, not quite suspicious, but perhaps confused.

Cass shrugged to hide some of the way her ears started creeping up to her shoulders. “Everyone near the shore knows a lot about the mer,” she said, which wasn’t exactly a lie, but it certainly wasn’t the truth, either.

Marinette eyed her posture for a moment, her lips pursing, but seemingly dismissed the thought with a tiny shake of her head. She reached over to Adrien and gave a tiny tug at one of the bangles around his wrist. “He likes – uh – shinies – jewelry.”

Adrien huffed a little. Cass thought that, if mer could blush, the boy certainly would have. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at his friend.

She only smiled back at him. “He went into a ship that had…” She made a crashing motion with her hands, and Cass winced a little. “Wanted more. But the ship broke. He got stuck.”

“She helped,” Adrien said.

“Now he’s baby,” she said firmly.

Adrien looked away in clear embarrassment, making a quiet grunting sound of disapproval. But, when Marinette grinned and reached up to his ear, where a single orange scale hung from his earlobe much like an earring, he made no moves to brush her off.

Instead, he made a quick movement to touch the fire. Which he quickly regretted. He sent Cass a look of pure and utter betrayal.

“I told you not to touch it,” she sighed.

Adrien didn’t seem to care, as he pouted for the rest of the night.

Until she offered up some of the cooked fish, and he immediately took a liking to the idea of cooked food.

Well, perhaps not immediately, his expression upon first contact with the warm piece of meat was something akin to disgust. But, at her prodding, he reluctantly put the food in his mouth.

He lit up.

The next day, she found several fish laid across the rocks and a pleading expression.

She groaned a little and turned back around to go get more kindling and a set of flint and steel.

It was as they were all eating later, that they once again expressed interest in the fact that she was human.

Not in the cooking way. Adrien was happily chowing down on his fish, and Marinette had refused the idea of cooked food in favor of tearing open a crustacean with her teeth and claws. They were satisfied with what they knew about human cuisine, at least for now.

No, Cass jumped when she felt a clawed finger prod at her leg, and found Adrien smiling sheepishly.

“Swim?” Adrien croaked. “How?”

“A lot of people can’t,” Cass admitted, shrugging her shoulders. “But I can show you how I do it.”

Adrien nodded eagerly, grinning.

Cass glanced down at her outfit, an old set that had once belonged to her father, and decided that she didn’t care enough to go and find a swimsuit. She had a fire going, anyways, and the stuff to rekindle it it happened to go out while she was in the water. She would dry off quickly, and if the clothes got ruined by the salt then it really wasn’t something she cared about anyways.

So, she toed off her sandals and stepped out into the water.

“Oh, it’s so weird,” Marinette warned him. “Humans have boats because they can’t swim right.”

Cass shot her a glare.

But, she had to admit, she did feel slightly graceless in comparison to the pair of mer. Slow enough that Adrien, too excited to wait, was already bobbing amongst the waves, and Marinette was able to swim in front of her, picking out the best places for her to step. Getting nearly bowled over by the, admittedly small, waves where the mer didn’t even seem to register the push and pull of the water. Constantly bogged down by her clothes and wet hair.

Of course, she understood that, at the very least, Marinette wasn’t exactly graceful on land, either, lugging her tail along with her and occasionally having to duck back under the waves to get some ‘air’.

But, still, sometimes she forgot that she wasn’t really one of them. It was strange, considering just how different the three of them were thanks to their completely different cultures and languages, but she had started to forget that she wasn’t just messing around with anyone she might see in town.

And, so, it was kind of jarring to see the pair in their natural element, where she did not belong.

Especially because Adrien looked genuinely horrified by just how much movement was involved in swimming.

“Gross. Don’t get why you humans don’t just float,” Marinette joked.

Cass couldn’t help but laugh a little. But, hey, if they wanted to see her ‘float’, there was a human version of that. She spread her body out starfish-style and allowed herself to bob in the water. Luckily, the water wasn’t too bad that day, the waves barely buffeted at her and she was at very little risk of it splashing over her face.

“No,” said Adrien, hands coming up to cover his mouth.

A tail came to wind around her waist, and she yelped as she was ‘righted’ in the water, the strange appendage curling itself under her thighs to give her a way to ‘sit’.

It would be remarkably easy to drown her like this.

But they’d had many opportunities over the past few weeks, and the grip the mer had on her was still remarkably gentle, and it reminded her so much of the way Marinette would sometimes squeeze Adrien.

“Being replaced,” Adrien joked, shaking his head with a false pout.

And, despite all of the whispers of warning that echoed in her mind, in a voice that she knew but didn’t really belong to her, she couldn’t help but rest her elbows on the tail and her head in her hands and grin at the pair of them.

“Can’t help that I’m the favorite child, Adrien,” she said, sticking her tongue out.

Adrien huffed and turned his head away.

Marinette giggled and reached up, tugging gently on Adrien’s earring. “Hush.” She squeezed Cass just slightly tighter, but it felt more like a hug than a genuine reprimand. “Both of you.”

She smiled.

Maybe she was one of them after all.

Because why would a pair made up of two completely different species that called each other family care that she had happened to be born on land?

But, of course, all good things must come to an end.

Cass’ father came home.

Without her mother, as always. He always left, and he always came back without her. Her father claimed that he would get her back eventually, that humans would always prevail in the end due to their characteristic persistence, but Cass had always wondered why the man would expect a species known for having eternal life to not also have endless patience.

The man didn’t know as much about the creatures of the night as he claimed.

But he did know some things.

And he noticed that the gravel that usually lined her voice wasn’t there. And he checked the traps and found that one of them had been triggered and subsequently broken.

These two facts could, of course, be completely unrelated. In most people’s minds, they would be.

But not in David Cain’s.

And the man had always been good at reading her body language. He could tell that, when she was confronted about this, she was guilty.

“You’re just like your mother,” he hissed, like it was a curse. “But you won’t be running.”

‘Running’. Not ‘getting stolen’.

A hand came to rest on her shoulder, grip just slightly too tight to be seen as caring. No, this was possessive. “If you won’t stay away, then I guess I’ll have to make sure you have nothing to run away to.”

She sat in her room, metal chains digging into her leg. He had repurposed one of the mer traps, fittingly enough, tying her leg to the end of her bed. The chain was long, she could walk around her room, could even get to the bathroom, and she took full advantage of this. She had never been one to stay cooped up.

Her father had insisted it was temporary.

And it would be. Cass would make sure of that.

She grabbed the bolt cutters out from under her bed.

She’d never bothered to take it back to the shed after that first day meeting the mer, instead opting to keep it close in case they happened to get trapped again.

She didn’t use them yet, wouldn’t dare to do so when her dad was still home, frantically rushing about downstairs, gathering supplies to try and kill the people that had been more family than he had ever been. She could hear him talking to a neighbor –  because he had always insisted that, despite the fact that she wasn’t allowed to talk to strangers, he would be safe – asking for permission to use their boat for the next few days or so. Pages turned and pencils scratched on parchment as he wrote down every rune he might need.

The walls were thin. He would hear the click of the bolt cutters.

But he didn’t pay any mind to the sound of her gathering everything she might need. Clothes, some flint and steel (she only needed one, it would last for quite a while and there was likely a myriad of untouched rocks and minerals on the sea floor that she could ask Marinette and Adrien to get), a small knife to prepare any food that Adrien or Marinette might bring, a swimsuit, a way to filter seawater…

She wasn’t quiet, didn’t bother muffling the sound of drawers opening and closing or her chain clinking with every step. But her dad hardly cared.

Why would he care? The lawn was littered with traps, and they would be left there to suffocate or starve. The house was warded to keep the mer out. If they managed to get past that, then they’d be walking right up to her father, presenting themselves to be slaughtered.

The house was warded to keep things out.

Despite her father’s paranoia, it was not made to keep someone in.

And if her father had wanted her to not run away, perhaps he should have given her a reason to stay.

So, two days later when her father left briefly to greet their neighbor and assure the boat was large enough to hold everything he would need to take on the mer that ‘infested’ their waters, she unclipped herself and snuck out, a blanket filled with her things over her shoulder.

Thanks for the boat, ‘dad’, she thought as she pushed off.

It didn’t take long for them to find her.

Adrien was first, his head poking above the water for just a moment, his eyes wide as he looked at her. He looked her up and down once, and then ducked underwater and started screaming.

Marinette was there within minutes.

Cass was relieved to see they were both perfectly fine.

She could tell they were relieved, too, because they dragged themselves onto the boat to check her over, lamenting her disappearance and how Marinette was pretty sure that she had gotten thinner and Adrien’s mumbling about how she was ‘okayokayokay’.

Once they had confirmed that she wasn’t hurt, and once she had been told several times that they literally couldn’t hide injuries from her seeing as neither of them really wore clothes, the inevitable question was asked:

“What happened?”

Cass leaned back against Marinette. The mer had wrapped around her and Adrien about an hour ago and very clearly would not be letting go until she needed water – maybe, she seemed like she just might drag them both under for the minute she would need to recuperate. Adrien had taken to this position immediately, and she couldn’t find it in herself to complain too much about him resting his head over her heart so he could listen to her heartbeat.

It was comfortable.

She didn’t want to ruin it.

But Adrien drew back just slightly to tilt his head at her and Marinette gave her an expectant look.

She explained everything. Things she had known for ages but had kept from them for fear of their reactions, like her father’s ‘job’ hunting down anything that was more than human. Things she had put together recently, like how her mother had seemingly been ‘taken’ by the fae of her own volition. The things that were hard to even think about, like what had driven her to disappear to sea in the first place.

They listened, perfectly understanding despite it all, but that just made it worse.

Because, if they understood, if they sympathized, that made her dare to hope that this might work.

She didn’t want to be wrong.

But she had to ask.

“Please, take care of me!” Cass said, tears building in her eyes. Her whole plan hinged on this. If they said no, then there was nothing she could do. She would have to go home, have to face a punishment (whatever that may be). Or maybe she would just stay adrift until she inevitably died of malnutrition. She might be able to get some other human family to take care of her, but if these two mer she had seemingly endeared herself to said no then was there any hope of anyone saying yes?

But her fears were unfounded, as they often were with the mer:

“Of course,” Marinette said, squeezing them tighter.

Adrien buried his face in the crook of her neck. “You’re family.”

~~~~~~~~~

End note:

Listen that felt like a good place to end the story. However. I have more ideas so feel free to read if you’re interested

They take Cass to a deserted island with a hidden cenote that they visit her in, and she makes herself a house and place to stay. Mer don’t usually stay in one place for long, they’d really only lingered in an underwater cave by Cass’s house as long as they had because they were curious about her (which turned into a heck of an attachment), so they tend to go off exploring during the day. But they always come home by sunset to curl up in the little cenote to sleep with Cass snoring away just a few feet away.

Adrien goes to land while he’s still tiny and more-or-less human looking and tooooootally doesn’t murder David Cain while he was out getting lunch. Also, Marinette definitely doesn’t drown an entire ship’s worth of sailors to gift the ship to Cass so she can go on adventures with them.

Cass lowkey also becomes a pirate because she gets tired of the taste of fish and, well, she has two very scary family members so why not get some extra supplies from any ships she comes across?

The very scary apple doesn’t fall far from the even scarier tree <3

Speaking of their slightly messed up little family. When Adrien and Cass do sibling fights, Adrien will push her boat around like a kid playing with a toy car. Cass does not appreciate this and has tried to hit him with the anchor several times in retaliation. Marinette is so very tired.

Cass loses her last baby tooth and Mari and Adrien fight for their lives over it. Until she gives up and just asks one of them to knock one of her front teeth out. The knocked-out tooth matches Adrien’s.

Also, obviously, Cass gets a necklace with one of Mari’s scales and one of Adrien’s nails because Adrien didn’t want to stop matching her and this was the only other option.

They all learn to sign to communicate because they all have hands. Good for them.

Oh. Right. For those wondering, Marinette is a squirrelfish and Adrien is an axolotl. Marinette is very old (well over 300) and Adrien is very young (canonically like 3), but reality is whatever I want so Mari is like 30 as a human and Adrien is like 13 like Cass, hence all of the ‘baby’ and ‘mother’ jokes that weren’t really jokes. Marinette’s parents were highkey killed by humans super recently and that was why she mentioned having bitten humans before and was so wary about Cass at first. It’s also why she had originally taken in Adrien, taking care of someone was basically a coping mechanism for her. Taking care of Adrien because she couldn’t save her parents, you know? It works out for Adrien too. Adrien’s obsession with jewelry was really just an obsession with the idea of having a family, because mer use jewelry to tie themselves to their family and he didn’t really have one and he just wanted to belong and –.

Yeah, okay, I’m done.

[queenz-z]

daminette head canons

whenever damian tries to be affectionate, but awkward with mari and she sees him struggling she pretend she doesn’t notice how awkward it is

damian only smiles at pictures and things with mari

damian likes to draw realistic things, but occasionally he’ll draw mari, but doesn’t show her

when mari sleeps he likes to admire her beauty and wonder how he got so lucky in a not creepy way

mari pretends she doesn’t notice when damian awkwardly wraps his arm around her shoulders

mari likes to bake damian cookies whenever he’s upset

damian will force marinette to stop sewing to have at food and water

damian is soft for marinette

sometimes he’ll just hug her by the waist when she’s sewing bc he wants cuddles

marinette thinks damian is the biggest sweetheart while the others just look at her weirdly

damian takes marinette on picnic dates all the time

they spend some of their dates with Titus

damian gets jealous bc alfred the cat likes marinette more

damian almost ran with an emergency kit to marinette’s place bc she said she was bleeding

damian will kill for marinette and he’ll let others know

damians blood pressure raises by 100x whenever marinette goes to the fabric shop at night by herself

marinette always tries to help alfred in the kitchen

damian always tries to stop marinette from becoming a tim

marinette and dick do trapeze together

marinette loves to shoot with jason bc she’s a natural

damian was in awe staring at marinette punching a pervert

marinette helps the little kids in gotham by making clothes and baking food

marinette pouts at every inconvenience and damian thinks it’s cute

damian doesn’t like marinette hanging out with jon bc two sunshines in the same room is deadly also bc he knows she’ll tell jon that he actually sees him as a brother

marinette sees right through superman/clark kent which is why he never x-rays her bc he thinks she knows

marinette tried to go parkouring as a civilian but damian thinks she’ll hurt herself

damian overreacts anytime marinette hurts herself

damian tries to stop marinette from overworking herself

marinette has tiktok and whenever she records videos damian somehow always ends up in the background

damian had to stop marinette from doing a certain tiktok dance

daminette is trending on twitter

cass and mari have a secret connection no one knows about

marinette knows lois lane from her connection to nadja chamack

damian would at first be jealous when marinette calls adrien ‘kitty’ and when adrien would call marinette ‘bugaboo’ (it’s completely platonic dw)

i need jason and marinette sparring and her catching him off guard and damians just watching the whole thing afraid marinette would hurt herself

bruce would want to watch marinette spar one of his sons and damian would just put an end to all of it

alfred would vouch for marinette anytime she needed to transform

one time they were at a coffee shop damian asked a random girl to check the bathroom stalls looking for marinette when she transformed as ladybug and was in a battle

damian always asks beforehand going to mari’s place

damian is always a gentleman

damian always asks “may i?” before doing anything

damian always thinks WWMD (what would marinette do?) before doing anything that involves people’s feelings

*im updating more*

Masterlist

[northernbluetongue]

💙💙💙

Taking Chances Chapter Eight: Family Dinner (Pranks/Dad Jokes)

Prev

AO3

Bruce Wayne was not an emotional man. In fact, his emotional capability had once been compared to that of a teaspoon. He had emotions, obviously, but he didn’t express them. Or rather, he wasn’t sure how to express them. But staring down at the photo album in front of him, it was almost painful having no way to express his emotions. It was the most thoughtful gift he had ever received, and it was one that he would treasure forever. He didn’t have baby pictures of his other children. Dick’s were lost at some point while he was still with Haley’s Circus. Jason’s were lost when he had to live on the street. Tim…well, there were a few pictures of Tim. But they were all highly staged school pictures. And those didn’t start until kindergarten. And Damian….Talia wasn’t ever the type to be sentimental. Which meant there were no baby pictures of him either. But Marinette…her entire life had been catalogued. From sonograms, to her first Christmas and the first competition she won. Everything was laid out in order. Bruce turns back to the start of the book, prepared to close it, when an envelope catches his eye. He wasn’t focused on it when he first opened the book. He glances at Marinette and quirks an eyebrow. She frowns.

“Oh, that. Um, it’s the letter that Bridgette wrote to you. I haven’t actually read it, Maman said she hasn’t either. Your name was on the front and apparently she felt awkward opening a letter not addressed to her even with the situation and-” She stops talking, taking a deep breath before smiling. “Sorry. But, you can read it, if you want. I thought you might want to have it.”

“Thank you, Marinette.” He says, smiling slightly. He tries not to laugh when her face lights up seeing him smile. Note, try and show emotions more around Marinette, he thinks. Sitting back on his chair, he opens the envelope and stares down at the letter he should’ve received fourteen years ago.

Dear Bruce…

—

Keep reading

[anjuschiffer]

Maribat Prompts/Au/Ideas That Live Rent Free in my Head

A while ago, I said I would share a few things that I’ve been wanting to write...

Damigami (platonic)- Damian decides to make a fencing team at Gotham Academy (because he’s bored) but couldn’t make a team with the minimum amount of members to apply to competitions. Damian decides to venture into competitions on his own, going as far as entering the Cadet World Championships (or juniors...I don’t know much about fencing pls bare with me). While waiting for his match, he decides to check the women’s division and sees Kagami utterly defeat her opponent. He wants to approach her to ask if they could have a match of their own, but is called for his own. After winning his own, he sees Kagami and asks for a match. She tells him that she will be up for a match after winning her next and final match. BOth end up winning their final matches and Damian asks her for that match. She agrees. They become good sparring partners and friends.

Jasonette - Jason and Marinette are neighbors, but have never actually met each other. Mari often works during the day at her boutique while Jason is a stay at home dad with two adopted kids nicknamed Xol and Matt. At night, Mari sometimes checks on the kids because she knows that their father works at night. (The kids like Mari a lot, especially her cooking and baking.) One day, while with the kids, their father comes home early and Mari forgets to breathe. Jason wants to scream at the kids for letting someone in but after getting to know her, he’s okay with Mari looking after the kids while he isn’t there. A week later, Jason is asking Mari for help. To pretend to be the kids’ mother for a home-visit from their school (a nosy parent told the school she often saw the kids by themselves). Mari agrees and chaos ensues (because these kids want their favorite people to stop beating around the bush and get together already).

Luka and Cass (platonic) - Luka (as Viperion) finds Cass during patrol one night and discovers she’s in Paris as an undercover agent for Batman and Co™ for the Hawkmoth situation. (They got their distress signal a week late.) Cass is surprised that he got it correct, Luka explaining that her song told him as much. While Cass remains in Paris, the two share each other’s interests with each other

Adrijon - Clark is wandering around the house, cleaning up the place while Lois is off out of the state to get the scoop on the latest national incident. While picking things around, he starts to notice how pricey and how nice these items look, wondering if they were Kon’s. After all, Kon was dating Tim and Tim always paid for whatever caught Kon’s eye. However, Kon doesn’t recognize any of the sweaters, coats, scarves nor trinkets as his own, leaving Jon as Clark’s only answer. As he enters Jon’s room, he’s met with Jon wearing the latest Gabriel piece from that week’s fashion show in Paris. Clark only then finds out that Jon’s boyfriend was yet again another rich boy. What was it with his sons dating millionaires/billionaires?

Wally x Mari x Jinx - The JL is still young, still getting used to getting requests, especially international ones. So when they get an SOS from Paris, the JL want to send the Teen Titans but can’t so they send Wally and Jinx who meet Chat on one of his solo patrols. They get along well but when they meet Ladybug, the couple immediately click with her. The trio often spend time together, Wally and Jinx always there for Ladybug/Mari (Chat always complaining that Wally and Jinx stole his bff from him). Even after the defeat of HM, Wally and Jinx continue to be there for Mari. 

Corpse Bride inspired Au, Damigami - The Tsuguri’s have an arranged marriage with the Agreste's, but Kagami isn’t exactly on board with the idea (sees how uncomfortable Adrien is to marry her) and wanders through the woods to clear her head. While saying her vows (in hopes of trying to find a way to clear her head), she ‘weds’  Corpsebride!Mari. Mari is shocked at first but whole-heartedly accepts Kagami as her groom. Kagami tries to tell Mari it was a mistake, but Mari doesn’t listen. Kagami finds a way to return to the land of the living for help, only to find out her mother is now marrying her to the Wayne heir Damian. Kagami is then found by Mari and Mari confronts her on ‘cheating’ on her. MIsunderstandings and drama later, Kagami is about to marry Mari when Adrien crashes the wedding. Mari confronts Adrien (they were supposed to get married/had eloped) and ends up clearing the misunderstanding (someone had murdered her on her way to the wedding). Adrien drinks the poison to be able to be with Mari, leaving Kagami by herself. Or at least she thinks so. Damian had called off the wedding, and instead told her if it would be okay to just be friends and get to know each other. She agrees. 

No Miraculous Au, BFF Adrijon- Adrien is on a fashion tour and ends up in Metropolis. He meets Jon but as Jon gets to know Adrien, he finds out about his situation. One thing leads to another and with the help of Bruce, the Kents have a new family member. 

Juleka x Rose x Cass (platonic or romantic) - Juleka and Rose meet Cass on one of Prince Ali’s charities in Paris, a charity where Bruce and Oliver are at. Bruce brought Cass while Oliver brought Artemis. Rose quickly tries to befriend the two but Juleka reminds her to tone it a bit when she notices that the two are having trouble trying to handle Rose’s energeticness. But the girls find themselves getting along, especially Cass. Cass is intrigued by Juleka and Rose’s dynamic, how Rose is able to understand both her and Juleka with little to no words. She finds herself accepted by the two, keeping in touch with them and visiting them (with the help of zeta tubes)

Roynette - While visiting Titan Tower, Speedy meets Red Scara, a new teen who recently wanted a change of pace after defeating her villain in her hometown. While at first he didn’t pay much mind to her, he started to like her after being paired up with her on missions. He couldn’t help but enjoy their missions where they would have to go undercover. He gets to see Red Sacara in so many pretty outfits. He always compliments her, but Scara never fully accepts it. When Roy asks why, Scara says it's because she’s nothing like this. Roy calls bs and when Scara reveals her face, reveals her eyes, Roy couldn’t help but fall in love with her even further. “Who doesn’t love eyes as bright as sapphires and stars freckled across such a loving face?”

Big Sister Mari - Flash brings in a child who he found lost in Central City to the JL. Robin (Dick) watches Barry get scolded by Bruce, only for Barry to tell Mari to tell everyone why she was there. Mari shows off the ring she was wearing, that allowed her to transform into Noir. That it was the last magical item from her Earth, as she had used said magical item to destroy the others (after freeing the Kwami). How she used the knowledge as Guardian to move to another Earth to hide the last miraculous and was looking for a place to live. Bruce takes her in, earning Dick an older sister.

Cassette (I blame Phi for making me have a new fav ship) - Cass was looking through Marinette’s scrapped designs, designs that Marinette loved but others didn’t. Seeing her upset, Cass commissions her to make them for her and she adores wearing them. (Cass always shows them off to her brothers and family)

Cassette - Cass teaching Mari ballet just so that she can always catch Mari.

Cassette - Cass wants to bring a date to the gala. She chooses Mari and practically goes around the Gala to show off her very cute date. 

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Betrothal Pt. 2

When Marinette receives Tikki she is freaked out at first but quickly has her explain what she can do as Ladybug, before transforming and taking the Akuma out easily without Chats help.

 She still does the speech to Paris after taking out Hawkmoth's butterfly face thingy.

Alix and Nathaniel are already in her bedroom by the time she gets back, both immediately knowing that Ladybug was their Marinette.

The next day Marinette has Alya claiming they were best friends, she decides to give the girl a chance but doesn't actually bring her into her personal friend group. Plus she really doesnt like that Alya 100% believes that she has a crush on Adrien, all because she had a picture from his recent shoot that she was going to put on her inspiration board.

Alya ignores that and gets all the girls except Alix in on trying to get them together. Marinette continuously tries to get them to stop but after a while she gives up.

Marinette also goes over footage of her fights pointing out to Tikki how under trained Chat Noir is.

"Tikki I'm not doing this because I want a new partner. I'm doing this because I don't want him to die, which he will if we don't train him properly! Stop thinking about this so-called Guardian and think about Chat Noir's life!"

Tikki relents and the next night she and Chat have a heart to heart. She explains to him that she isnt in love with him and won't be, she tells him she's been betrothed since birth. At first Chat points out that the holders are supposed to be soulmates, but Ladybug points out that if anything they are platonic soulmates. She tells him that she wants them to know each other's identities because they are partners and they need to trust each other with their lives. She tells him she'll only allow it if he agrees to begin training with her. Chat Noir agrees and they reveal themselves both a little shocked.

The next day Adrien quits Fencing without telling his father or Nathalie and goes to Marinette's house to begin training with her,  Alix, and Nathaniel.

Adrien realizes after a month that he only thinks of Marinette as a sister. He starts to get annoyed when the boys, except Nathaniel, try pushing him to ask her out.

When it's almost summer Marinette tells Tikki that she is going to Gotham for the summer. Tikki goes to the Guardian and Fu gives her Kaalki in order for Marinette to travel back and forth for attacks.

When the school year ends Marinette's mother is waiting in the car with Marinette's bags on the last day. She kisses Alix Adrien and Nathaniel's cheeks telling them to keep training while she is gone, and promises to be safe. The rest of the class quickly surrounds her asking where she's going and why she isn't spending the summer with them.

"I'm going to Gotham. I go every other year, this is nothing new. I've been doing this for years."

Alya makes a big stink about her 'bestie' leaving and the class tries to convince her to stay. This upsets Alix and Nathaniel, both know the class never cared before, they didn't even help stand up to bullies. Adrien himself wants her to stay but he can see how much she wants to see Damian, so he just kisses her cheeks gently and wishes her a safe trip before opening the door for her. Marinette thanks him as she gets in waving goodbye to her friends before they drive away.

During the school year Damian meets and befriends Jon Kent. At first they dont get along but Damian warms up to him. Damian is proud of Marinette when she becomes a hero, and that their friends are training hard to be ones as well. He even gets permission from Bruce to allow Marinette to train and patrol with them.

Dick and Damian pick Marinette up from the airport and soon everyone in Gotham is talking about Marinette being back. What's even more talked about over the summer is the small dates the two begin to go on.

Halfway through the summer Damian admits to Marinette that he is in love with her and that even if they weren't betrothed he'd still want to marry her. Marinette kisses him softly telling him that she feels exactly the same.

Marinette is excited when she first patrols Gotham with Damian and Dick by her side taking the name Bluebird. 

Bluebird mainly patrols with Nightwing, they both take on Bludhaven side by side. Bluebird patrols  with Robin and Batman every Sunday. Her mandatory night off is on Friday with Robin both of them labeling it their date nights.

Soon after making her debut as Bluebird Marinette discovers Tiktok, and a treasure trove of videos featuring the Wayne family and the Batfamily. She immediately creates two Tiktoks after getting a second phone under a fake identification. This phone is strictly for Bluebird, and so is the Tiktok.

Marinette's favorite Tiktoks are the ones saying that Bruce Wayne is Batman because the butts match. Her Tiktok blows up when her first video is posted.

It starts off with Marinette smiling at the camera with Damian and Bruce standing behind her. When Bruce turns around she gasps opening her eyes widely and whispers to the camera. "Omg...the butts match!"

Marinette continues to make videos of the entire family without any of them noticing, both as Marinette and Bluebird. Both accounts are verified within a week. She posts multiple videos a day all featuring a different member.

The most popular video of Dick is him hanging upside down from a chandelier all smiles while Damian is a few feet away looking up at him.

Damian-It's going to fall.

Dick-No after the first couple times Dad got this one reinforced so it wouldn't.

Tim walked past literally drinking from a coffee pot-No he got the one near the West sitting room reinforced.

Dick looks up when the ceil creaks and a second layer he and the chandelier are falling

Dick-Shi-!!

The video then cuts off.

Jason's most popular video is him blindfolded as he puts a gun back together in seconds not knowing Bruce is behind him.

Jason- Impressive right?

Bruce- I thought I said no guns in the manor

Jason screams before calming down- Oh its you I thought it was Alfred.

Alfred- Master Jason

Jason screams and tries to run with the blindfold still on but runs into a wall.

Tim's popular video is multiple clips of Tim right as he passes out and falls with a loud thump. After three clips people here three voices yelling Timber in the background after he faints. The last video shows Tim knocking over a bookcase only to look at Marinette confused when he hears Timber screamed from three different parts of the manor.

( @daddybats-and-babybirds Hello! So I saw your headcanon a while back and really liked it. If you're seeing this I tried to find you on Tumblr to ask for permission but couldn't. If you don't want me using this please message me and I will remove it immediately! Thank you!)

Cass's popular video is very sweet. It's different clips of her taking care of and spending time with her family. The first clip is her slowly reading aloud curled up next to Bruce, the next is her pushing a chair underneath Dick as he goes to sit down after Jason pulled the other one out without him realizing. Third is her gently cleaning a cut Jason got after falling from a tree. Fourth is her covering Tim with a blanket and moving his work onto the table. Fifth is her painting Stephanie's nails while Barbara does Stephanie's hair for a date. Six is her carefully moving Damian to his room trying not to wake him up. Seven is her helping Alfred during spring cleaning, and eighth is her posing in some of Marinette's clothes as the boys help with lighting and Stephanie takes the pictures.

Bluebird's Tiktok features a lot of videos of her flipping around and laughing wildly as a few older villains run away yelling about the second coming of the first Robin. After every  one of those videos another is posted of Nightwing bent over cackling at what the villains yelled. Everyone in Gotham is thrilled when it's confirmed that Nightwing is actually the first Robin, all recognizing the cackle. A few videos feature the Batfamily arguing through body gestures without saying anything, she'll flip the camera around to show her grinning and writing will pop up saying what they were arguing about. Most of the time is about getting food while on patrol, but one time Red Hood insulted Nightwings butt. The two most popular videos are one where she is a few feet behind Batman and all you see is his cape and head, and she has "Bruce Wayne???" written in. The second is Red Robin sitting in the back of an ambulance with a shock blanket around his shoulders.

Red Robin-  What now? I'm in shock! Look I've got a blanket!

Batman- Red Robin!

Red Robin- And I just delivered twins while stuck in an elevator! Twins Batman!!

Batman turns and walks away silently while Red Robin looks at the paramedic.

Red Robin- Im going to regret that during training tomorrow.

The only time Bluebird makes noise during a Tiktok is when she is laughing wildly. She does this because both her Tiktoks are popular and she doesn't want to take the chance of someone recognizing her voice. She is not worried about the wild laughter because she is calmer as Marinette but as Bluebird she lets herself be wild and carefree. Batman enjoys having Bluebird on patrol with him, her hero persona reminds him of when he and the first Robin started.

Marinette announces that her and Damian are finally dating in a Tiktok showing them on a date at the parks with Barbara and Dick as their 'chaperones'. The video shows her holding his hand walking behind him before she flips the camera and winks at it, in the background walking behind them is Dick pushing Barbara's wheelchair, while looking down at her lovingly.

An hour later Marinette is recording a video where they had been pulled over by Commissioner Gordon himself. Dick is pale as he nods to everything Gordon says while Barbara is groaning refusing to even acknowledge her dad. Before the video cuts out she whispers, 'I forgot a lot of Gotham officers follow me, oops…'

The family also helped Marinette master the art of coming up with excuses and slip out without being noticed, for when she has to rush back to Paris.

The family celebrates their birthday together before having a Gala the night after celebrating it for the cameras. The family shows up wearing Marinette's own designs and she is buzzing with excitement when multiple people ask for the designer's information for commissions, they turn 14.

When summer is coming to an end Marinette really doesn't want to leave but she knows she must. Marinette promises to visit for Christmas.

When she returns she is excited to see Alix, Nathaniel and Adrien at the airport with Gorilla to pick her up. Adrien smiles mischievously, telling her that his father agreed after Adrien mentioned that his friend was a rising Fashion designer, MDC. 

Marinette enjoys her first day back spending it with her friends. The next day she is slightly annoyed when Alya bursts into her room at 7 in the morning demanding details about her trip and if she met anyone famous.

Marinette decided in that moment that she was very thankful she never shared her Insta with Alya and that Alya doesn't know about Tiktok. She does however indulge the girl telling her she had a lot of fun and tells her some of what she did. Alya is quick to tell her all about what the class did together and what she did over the summer. However her tune changes when she sees a few pictures of Adrien pinned to a board, and suddenly she's once again trying to come up with ideas to get them together. At this point Marinette is thankful when her mother comes up, asking Alya to leave so that Marinette can help with chores.

The school year starts the same as always and Marinette decides to run for class president. She is surprised when she wins and names Nathaniel her vice president much to Alya's annoyance.

Marinette also meets Jagged Stone only a month into the school year after designing glasses and an album cover for him. At first Jagged doesn't realize the rockin' girl that made his glasses was MDC until at a party when someone excitedly points out the MDC signature on the side. He begins talking to her more with her parents permission and takes her in as his new niece. Soon he is only wearing clothes that she makes.

Half way through the year Lila shows up. The class sans Mari, Adrien, Alix, Nathaniel, and Chloe are all taken by her immediately. Marinette is not there the day she arrives.Lila attempts to lie her way into Adrien's graces using her Ladybug excuse. But Adrien quickly tells her that he doesn't want to hear it, because there is no way Ladybug would let her defenseless or possibly disabled friends know her Identity out of fear they'd get targeted.

Lila is outraged that her lie failed, but she wants Adrien under her thumb and starts devising a plan for it to happen.

The next day Lila tries to charm Marinette when she is upset over her desk being switched without even asking her. When everyone heads out for lunch she quickly snatches up Marinette apologizing and selling her sob story of Jagged's kitten. She is shocked when Marinette begins to laugh and tells her that it was a nice try but Jagged Stone has a crocodile named Fang because he is allergic to fur. Lila gets even madder and decides to just threaten Marinette telling her that she'd take away all of the class. Marinette just rolls her eyes and tells her good luck with that before walking away to join her friends.

When the four return from lunch they find Lila sitting and crying with the class surrounding her as Alya comforts her.

Lila is quick to claim that Marinette refused to listen to her when she tried to explain the seat switch and that instead she made fun of Lila's disabilities. Alya is upset at Marinette and tells her that she is disappointed that her best friend would act like this and that she needs to give Lila a chance.

Marinette just signs walking back to her new seat and sits down, Adrien follows her up and sits next to her while Alix and Nathaniel take the bench in front of them.

Alya huffs continuing to comfort Lila until she finally stops fake crying, the rest of the class sits down in their seats and starts talking again. However they don't talk to the four

As Lila is there she slowly learns more and more about Adrien and Marinette planning on getting Adrien under her thumb and to take Marinette out. She learns about Marinette's huge crush, Alya's words, on Adrien and that Adrien's dad is so strict that he won't even let him have a birthday party. She begins studying the two of them before making her final plans.

She attempts to get Marinette expelled but fails when the Principal insists that it must be a misunderstanding . Even when she starts crying and claiming Marinette is bullying her, the teachers do nothing. It isn't until Chloe confronts her that she finds out Marinette is the top student in the school and a certified genius. Chloe smirks, informing her that if the school even attempted to claim she was cheating they'd not only come under fire, but they'd lose their funding from having her there.

Lila decides to just make the class hate Marinette while still trying to get Adrien. She is unable to get a foothold even when she manages to get Gabriel's attention claiming  Adrien is hanging with terrible people. However the moment she mentions Marinette's name she is shut out. Gabriel telling her that Marinette has a higher standing than the daughter of an ambassador any day.

Lila's anger gets her akumatized into Volpina, she goes after Marinette determined to hurt the girl in some way. She finds her at the skate park watching Alix practice. She creates an illusion of Adrien and has the illusion walk up to Marinette. The illusion begins to tear into Marinette claiming that she is a terrible person, and doesn't deserve anything that she has, before telling her that they were no longer friends. She gets angrier when Marinette asks the illusion what her nickname for him was and smirks when the illusion doesn't answer. Volpina gets so angry she just attacks Marinette swinging at her with her flute getting angrier when Marinette blocks each hit with her arms barely flinching until Chat Noir tackles Volpina away from her. Marinette is quick to run away, Alix following her. Soon after Ladybug joins them in the fight, once they defeat Volpina. Ladybug turns to find Lila crying claiming that she didn't want to hurt Marinette but the girl had been bullying her. 

Chat Noir growls but Ladybug quickly stops him from doing anything. 

'I know you're lying Lila. I suggest you stop lying, and have that video removed claiming to be my best friends. The only friend I have while in this mask is Chat Noir. You are putting yourself in danger by lying.'

Lila however just stops crying and galres at the heros huffing and storming away.

The next day everyone is talking about Lila taking another trip to Achu to visit Prince Ali. They get annoyed when Marinette asks Rose if she is going to email the Prince asking about her.

Eventually things return to slight normalcy and they only have to listen to Lila's lies when she video chats the class.

A few weeks after she has left Adrien finds the Miraculous grimoire, he immediately brings it to Marinette and shows her. Once Tikki sees it she insists that they bring it to the Guardian so she and Adrien set off together finally meeting Fu. Half way through their conversation Adrien is called back home by Gabriel. Gabriel demands the book back and is deeply upset when Adrien says he lost it. Gabriel dismisses him and he destroys his room before akumatizing himself.

Meanwhile Marinette is tearing into Fu for giving them the Miraculous without any proper training. Soon after she gets a message from Adrien saying that Gabriel had been akumatized. She quickly transforms meeting up with Chat Noir on the way once they defeat The Collector they return to Fu and take pictures of the book. Marinette then heads to the Agreste Mansion with the book in hand. When Gabriel comes to the door she quickly introduces herself before handing the book over. 

"Adrien was really excited to share the book with me today while we had lunch at my home. However he forgot it in my room, sorry it took me so long to get the book here Mr. Agreste!"

Gabriel takes the book and thanks Marinette before questioning her and Adrien's relationship. Marinette laughs softly telling him that Adrien is like a brother to her. He then asks why brother and not best friend. Marinette grabs the ring around her necklace playing with it gently. 

"Because my best friend is my boyfriend and my betrothed."

Gabriel then issues an invite for her to come over more, saying that she is clearly a good influence on Adrien. Marinette thanks him before saying goodbye and leaving.

That night they all meet in their wearhouse to talk about it. Even though Adrien is distressed he agrees that his father is still their biggest suspect.

Marinette pulls Oracle and Batgirl into a video call as they all sort through Gabriel's dealing since Emilie's disappearance. They determine that he wants Tikki and Plagg for a wish relating to Emilie. Marinette pulls Adrien aside and they have a heart to heart.

"Do I want my mom back? Yes, more than anything, but she-My mom would never want this. She'd be so incredibly disappointed in my father for terrorizing the city she loves. She'd be disappointed in me for thinking for even a second to help my dad."

Oracle looks into every dealing Gabriel has had while Batgirl focuses heavily on going through camera footage.

Oracle points out a few months before Hawkmoth started Gabriel paid the city to remove the camera from around his mansion. Batgirl shows them footage of the house before he paid the city off pointing out the window designed like a butterfly. Showing that the small middle section is designed to open. Oracle finds something big from a few months before Emilie disappeared. She found that Gabriel hired multiple workers to come and build an underground garden, paying them off so that they would never mention it. She also found he bought a pod specially designed for those in coma to keep them from dying.

They all start planning on how to take Gabriel down. The only reason they haven't acted is for fear of his company. They don't want it to fall and have millions lose their jobs. They also want more evidence to take to the police. Oracle hires someone to install a camera facing the window in order to get confirmation.

Adrien meets Kagami much the same way except Marinette confirms that she did win. She however gets akumatized when her mother brushes off her success. After being defeated, Adrien extends his friendship to her, and they slowly grow closer. Soon after Marinette meets Luka when he drops something off for Juleka. He helps her pick up the books she dropped and they are quick friends. Marinette can immediately tell that he is a meta and Luka is surprised but tells her that he can hear people's soul songs.

A few weeks later Gorilla is akumatized after Gabriel thinks he is Chat Noir. Ladybug is easily able to save Adrien getting him to safety before defeating Gorizilla she tells Hawkmoth to watch out because they are on to him.

After this Luka invites Marinette to his family's house boat during the music festival, when his mom gets akumatized Luka is quick to help Mari escape. Afterwards he tells her that he knows she was Ladybug and Adrien Chat Noir. Marinette brings him into their fold and when she does Adrien asks to bring Kagami.

Before the school year comes to the end the class meets Clara Nightingale. Clara becomes fast friends with Marinette and tries to get her to be Ladybug in her video. However Chloe has the shoot shut down and she is akumatized into Frightningale. After the fight Marinette encourages her to have everyone in the video wearing masks showing that they are all heros in their own way. Clara agrees and Marinette is very thankful that neither of her masks in her hero persona a black.

Adrien admits to Marinette that he has a slight crush on Kagami so Marinette enlists the help of Luka and together they go ice skating. While Kagami and Adrien are skating Luka and Marinette are calmly talking about the pair. Mari asks about their songs and Luka is silent for a second before smiling softly and telling her that their songs are beautiful together.

Two weeks before the end of the school year Lila returns to school. Once again the class is listening to everything she has to say.

She quickly convinces the class to exclude the four including Chloe from class plans over the summer. She is dumbfounded when the four don't care. Once the school year is over the class only sees the four in passing and every time there is an unknown boy with them.

Lila gets pissed when Gabriel stops having her do photoshoots with Adrien and gets even more pissed when Adrien announces on Twitter that he is dating Kagami.

Halfway through summer the classes are talking excitedly about Fashion week in Paris, excited to see Adrien and Lila modeling. They are surprised when they arrive and Marinette is sitting in the front row with Nathaniel, Alix and four unknown boys and three girls. One of them in a wheelchair. When Audrey arrives she is greatly upset at the seating until Marinette and Cass politely offer her and Chloe their seats. Audrey calms down but is still upset at the slight Gabriel has given her. She accepts the seats and both girls get up, Marinette moves and sits on Damian's lap leaning back against him as he wraps his arms around her waist. Cass goes to sit behind Jason but he gets up giving her his seat before sitting behind her. Marinette greets Chloe politely before introducing her group.

"You already know our classmates Chloe but this is my boyfriend Damian and his brothers and sisters. Richard, Jason, Cass, Tim, and Stephanie."

Chloe is polite in return introducing her mother, Marinette nods politely

"Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Bourgeois, I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Some of my designs are being shown today along with Mr.Agreste's"

Audrey sniffs slightly starring Marinette down before offering a curt greeting. She then attempts to call Gabriel only for her call to go straight to voicemail. She grows more and more angry as she sits in the stands. Half way through the show she gets up and storms out angry that a girl that is unknown got a front seat but not her. When she is akumatized she goes after Marinette, she is unable to fire her because Damian jumps in the way getting turned to gold instead. Marinette is quickly pulled away by Tim who gets her to a safe place encouraging her to transform. Adrien joins them a few minutes later. After they transform Chat Noir agrees to distract Style Queen while Ladybug gets four Miraculouses

Nathaniel- Trixx- Youkai

Alix- Fluff- Bunnyx

Kagami- Longg- Ryuko

Luka- Sass- Viperion

When the fives get back they discover that Chat Noir had to change back, and after he de-transformed Style Queen found him and fired him as a way to get back at Gabriel. They launch into action fighting her. Viperion and Bunnyx sit on the back burner watching the fight. Viperion periodically shifting back using second chance and Bunnyx jumping in to grab one of the others when he tells her. Once she is taken down Gabriel comes and apologizes to Audrey telling her he fired the person that gave her a second row seat. Gabriel then apologizes to Marinette and Damian for this mistake causing her to be attacked. Adrien hurries over quickly hugging the couple telling him that he is happy they're both safe now. Audrey takes note of his clothes and comments that it's far from Gabriel's usual designs.

"Because it's not this outfit that was designed by MDC herself. He and I did a collaboration. She designed all the male outfits and I the female."

Audrey immediately jumps on him, admitting to knowing MDC.

"You know MDC? You know the Wayne family, along with Jagged Stone, and Clara Nightingale's personal designer?"

Gabriel nods gesturing to Marinette who Adrien was still hugging. Tell Audrey that MDC had been standing right next to them along with the Wayne's. Audrey is silent when she realizes she didn't recognize the Wayne family while she was angry. She immediately extends the offer for Marinette to come to New York with her to grow her exceptional talent. She brushes Chloe off when her daughter is upset over her mother never taking her. Marinette however refuses to go before telling Audrey off for telling her own daughter she is not exceptional.

"She may be mean and a bit of a bully but Chloe is exceptional in her own way. I will never work with someone who treats their own family like dirt. Ya know I always thought she was just a mean person, but now that I see who her mother is, I can tell you raised her to act exactly like you."

Marinette then walks away with her friends and the Wayne family following her along with Adrien. The next day Chloe shows up at the bakery and apologizes then thanks Marinette. Tell her that Audrey actually took what she said to heart and decided to stay in Paris to get to know her daughter.This starts a shaky friendship between the two

"Also why haven't you told anyone you're dating a Wayne??."

"Alya is obsessed with famous people, how do you think she'd react to finding out I'm famous in America but also betrothed to the youngest Wayne."

"You have a point but wasn't she your best friend?"

"No she was a friend but honestly she never really listened to me. I mean she thought I was in love with Adrien."

For the rest of the summer Chloe joins the group of friends and even though she is still mean they can tell she does care for them. Much like how Damian acts to the others except Marinette. Damian and Chloe actually enjoy getting into little arguments over different things.

They celebrate their birthdays at Le Grand Pairs at Chloe's place Gabriel even allows Adrien to attend, while Marinette's parents cater the party, they turn 15.

When summer ends the entire group is at the airport saying goodbye to Damian.

The school years start rather calmly with random akumas popping up but none particularly dangerous. It isn't until halfway through the year when Heroes Day comes around and Hawkmoth akumatizes Lila allowing her to create the illusion of an akumatized Ladybug killing Chat Noir.

The fight gets so bad that Fu joins in desperation to help. However at the end of the fight he realizes that his time has been shortened. He proceeds to name Marinette and Adrien Guardians, telling them that he'll shortly lose his memories and a few weeks later die. He tells him that they will not lose theirs unless they recreate the potion he was given.

A few weeks later Marinette is visited by a lawyer, Fu leaves her everything in his will. Marinette has enough money to last a lifetime.

Hawkmoth's akumas are steadily getting stronger and it seems like Lila is getting akumatized every other month. The Miraculous Team begins to think that Lila is working for Hawkmoth, and after hacking her phone Oracle confirms that she has been. 

Before the end of the year Lila convinces the class to kick Marinette as their class president. Marinette steps down without a care however in front of the class she tears apart her notebook that had everything in it for the class's end of the year trip. Telling them to have fun planning another trip, before turning to her friends. 

"Chloe, Alix, Nathaniel, Adrien, you're coming to Gotham with me this year. We'll let Kagami and Luka know when they come over today. You're gonna love it Wayne Manor is beautiful, and we all get to stay there for the whole summer!"

Lila scuffs saying that her Damiboo would never let a bully like her into her house. She then tells the class that she was asked to keep it a secret for a while but her and Damian had been dating for three months.

They are startled when they hear Dick laughing from the doorway.

"My little brother is dating you, good one, especially since my brother has been betrothed since he was born."

Alya immediately jumps to Lila's defense demanding to know who Dick is. Causing him to roll his eyes before turning to Marinette. Telling her that he was taking them to the airport and that they'd be taking the jet to Gotham one their last day. Before he leaves Alya demands to know who he is.

"Richard Grayson-Wayne, now I'd appreciate it if you stopped telling lies about my family. Damian would never go out with you, he has been dating Marinette for almost two years now. Oh and Mari, I'll let dad know your six friends will be coming with us."

The class is stuned and Lila immediately starts crying, telling them that Damian must have lied to her. However Max, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, and Mylene no longer believe her.

When the class ends the group of friends leaving ignoring everyone excitedly talking about their trip.

Once back at Marinette's they all relax talking about what they are going to do while there. The group is upset that Marinette and Batman won't let them patrol Gotham but they don't put up much fuss. Marinette tells them they'll use Kaalki to get back and forth for fights and that while there they'll be finalizing plans to take out Gabriel with the help of Batman.

[purple-goo-writes]

Okay, I dont know if you're taking prompts. But what if Cass was the first person to meet and decide marinette was her person like, idc If its platonic, familial or romantic, just Cass and marinette bonding plus steph going huh, two people who are smol and need to be protected.

This is adorable.

And I love the idea of big sister’s Cass and Steph!

Familial Cassinette and Stephinette! With Surprise big bro Tim!

Cass meets her while Marinette is in Gotham as she went on tour with Jagged to get out of Paris for a little while. (Mari is totally like 15 so right after Belfina?)

They meet most likely at the park while Cass is with Steph and Tim hanging out there after a week full of drama (both hero and regular). They needed to chill for a bit. They dognapped Titus to take him on a walk in the park with them.

Cass is the first to meet her because Titus ran off after the ball and knocked over the tiny girl drawing by the duck pond.

Cass’s first thoughts after meeting Marinette 

So small

Tiny one why are you alone?

Come I will protect you

is then blown away with Marinette shows that she knows ASL and FSL. and uses them to communicate with Cass

This is her little sister now

She like herds Marinette back to her group of humans and just proudly presents her to Tim and Steph with a soft, “Little sister.”

Tim and Steph both warm up to Marinette quickly after they play 20 questions.

Then straight up adopt her into the group when they learn that her class left her alone and she wandered to the park to wait for them as they were supposed to come there after the city tour. (Though her friends Alya and Adrien kept her updated over text and checked in on her regularly like worried mother hens. Alya had almost missed the tour bus when she was looking for Marinette who had been in the bathroom and Adrien wasn’t fully awake yet due to jet lag so he hadn’t noticed til Alya pointed it out. Yet they couldn't get their teacher to turn back and get Mari. Alya had to keep Adrien from jumping out of the moving bus to go find her.)

Tim and Steph

We have only known Marinette for 20 minutes but we are ready to throw hands at God for her.

After Cass of course because Cass probably already has plans for God

[kandoesfanfics-writes]

Maribat Secret Santa 2019

@eve-valution, here’s your gift!!! I really hope you enjoy it! :) 

Warning: There is a scene of physical assault later in the fic.

Marinette could feel her heart thudding against her chest as her anxiety began to claw at her throat. She knew that objectively that she looked perfect. Her dress had no noticeable flaws. Her makeup was on point, including her waterproof mascara and eyeliner. There wasn't a hair out of place. Her mask was flawless. Her hotel mirror didn’t lie. There wasn’t a single thing out of place with her outfit

So why did she feel so on edge?

It couldn't be because of her class.

While it was true that they would be attending the Wayne Christmas Gala, thanks to Bruce Wayne himself, Marinette wouldn’t be going with the class. She was going with Jagged Stone as his special guest and personal designer. No one in the class had seen her dress or her mask (as it was a masquerade theme with a midnight reveal) beforehand, so she should be unrecognizable. She would be able to enjoy the party without having to dodge her would-be tormentors.

"Calm down, Marinette! You look gorgeous. I'm sure you'll have fun at the gala. You're sure to turn heads!" a cheerful voice gently reminded her charge.

The little red and black Kwami was gently patting her cheek, trying not to smear her makeup. Tikki just knew Marinette would have an excellent time at the gala. She couldn't tell exactly why, but the Goddess of Creation learned a long time ago that she could trust her gut. Marinette would have a wonderful time with or without her class. Preferably without...

"Thanks, Tikki," Marinette sighed. "It’s just...tonight’s a big night. Uncle Jagged’s officially introducing me to the world. People will know I’m his designer...and it’s a lot.”

Tikki nodded sagely. She knew what her chosen meant. While Marinette felt very honored, and in Tikki’s opinion had rightfully earned everything, she still felt nervous about facing the rest of the world. Marinette knew there would be critics, there always were, but this was something entirely new. The unknown was frightening, and Tikki felt proud of Marinette for deciding to jump headfirst into this.

Marinette adjusted the silky black gloves on her arms again before looking at her heart. The little pink heart smiled at Marinette before floating over to sit on her shoulder. It was still cracked quite badly, but it had regained some color thanks to her platonic soulmates. She was nervous to have her heart come along with her, but she’d been reassured by Tikki several times that everything would be perfectly fine. Her little heart would be happier staying with Marinette rather than sitting back in the hotel room. Marinette would be happier too.

Tikki knew that humans could be separated from their hearts, but that it wasn’t healthy for them. Their hearts were the representation of their souls. To lock one’s heart away or be separated from it had potentially devastating consequences. While she knew Marinette would be okay away from her heart for a few hours, Marinette’s mood would surely tank the longer she was separated from her heart. Tikki wanted to make sure that Marinette had the best time at this gala.

Marinette looked at the clock before rushing to put on her black heels and grab her black clutch. Jagged and Penny would be there soon. Marinette looked at her phone to see Penny had texted her that they were almost at the hotel and to meet them in the lobby. Marinette’s class wouldn’t be leaving for another hour and were currently at dinner. There should be no one to see her sneak out.

There should have been no one to see her sneak out.

Unfortunately for her, there was one classmate that was not at dinner.

Adrien hadn’t felt like having Lila draped all over him during dinner, so he’d lied to Ms. Bustier. He told the redheaded woman that he wasn’t feeling well, and she’d let him go without a fight. The blond had seen Marinette leaving the hotel, eyes glued to her as long as she was in sight. He felt his heart pound as he wrestled internally.

“I don’t love Marinette! I love Ladybug, and only Ladybug...but Marinette sure looked amazing in that dress. Maybe Kagami was right though… maybe it's time I change my target.”

The blond knew their friendship had been rocky since the whole Lila thing, but if there was one thing Adrien knew, it was that Marinette was the most kind person he'd every ever met. She'd surely forgive him once he explained everything! And who knows… maybe she could be his soulmate. Ladybug was supposed to be his other half, but Adrien knew that there were more than one type of soulmate. Perhaps Ladybug wasn’t his romantic soulmate after all.

Adrien had never touched Marinette's heart before. He had been expressly forbidden by his father to touch other people's hearts because 'it could complicate or sour business relations'. Adrien had broken that rule only a few times.

Chloe and Nino were the only two people aside from his family whose hearts he'd come into contact with. Nino was silver, defining him as a platonic soulmate. Chloe's bond had been a metallic blue, signaling her as a sibling bond. Had because Adrien wasn't sure if it had remained the same. He hadn't touched Chloe's heart since Lila joined their class.

Who knows?

Maybe Marinette was destined to be his golden match. 

If there was one thing Damian Wayne despised, it was these vapid charity galas his father forced him to attend.

There was nothing enjoyable about standing around while rich people faked basic social skills. It happened every year without fail. Bruce would show up with select members of his brood. Ladies would flaunt their jewelry, dresses, and wealth at them, trying to flirt. Women would surround Bruce, and he’d be lost until one of his investors or someone else came to speak with him. Women would also come and gather around the Wayne boys, and if Cass showed up, there would be some men too.

This year Jason and Cass were on patrol along with Stephanie and Kate. Red Hood, Black Bat, Spoiler, and Batwoman would be on the move throughout Gotham. This would leave Bruce, Dick, Tim, and Damian to attend the gala. Dick was going to be the only one safe from the clutches of the rich socialites. He was attending the gala with his wife and husband. No one would DARE hit on Dick while Kor’i and Wally were nearby…well so long as Kor'i was nearby.

Tim was flying solo for now. Time would only tell if Conner would show up to see him. However, Damian also knew that Tim would be more than preoccupied with the investors and other people inquiring about the company. Women would still throw themselves at Tim, but it wouldn’t be the same. Tim would easily be able to divert his attention to the business aspect while he would have to suffer like his father.

Since Damian was only sixteen, and had no real stake in the company just yet, there wasn’t much to talk about aside from his classes at Gotham Academy. The girls wouldn’t care about his schooling, so they would coo and clamor for his attention. They would tell him all about them and ask if he was dating anyone. It made Damian want to vomit.

He looked in irritation at his father before Damian demanded to know if he could go on patrol as well. Bruce shook his head before saying, “You know the deal, Damian. It’s your turn this year. Besides, you might have fun. Jared’s coming with his wife and his new designer. Apparently, his designer is a young lady your age.”

Damian rolled his eyes at that. Sure, he’d have a great time with some snooty designer. He wasn’t expecting her to be any different than the designers he’d met before. He was almost positive she would be full of herself, brag about her many accomplishments, and try to woo her way into the family. Just like all the others before her, this girl would get on Damian’s last nerve. He’d then be in trouble for insulting a lady’s sensitivities, and Bruce would pretend to apologize.

“I saw that, Damian. Jared, or as he’s now known Jagged, doesn’t hang around just anyone. He’s the only one allowed to be a primadonna, so the people around him are usually very down to earth,” Bruce said. “Give her a chance, please? Jagged said she’s never been to an event like this before. Besides, with masks on, no one should know who we are until midnight. Then you only have about an hour or two of the ladies trying to woo you.”

The youngest Wayne gave a deep sigh before telling his father he’d give the girl a chance. If she’d never been to one of these events before, perhaps there was still hope for her yet. Maybe if Damian kept her all to himself, she might be a bearable gala partner. He pulled on his overcoat before walking to the limo with his brothers, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law.

There was no getting around it, so Damian might as well try and have fun. Besides, Bruce had a point. Since this year’s theme was a masquerade, perhaps he could avoid the annoying ladies until the end of the party. He could walk around incognito to everyone but his family, and perhaps he could actually enjoy himself for once.

Well, Damian thought, what could it hurt to hope? ———————————————————————— The second Penny saw her, the pink haired woman cooed over Marinette.

“Oh, my little star! Look how gorgeous you are! I love the design! Jagged, isn’t she just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Jagged smiled widely at Marinette before giving her a thumbs up.

“Rockin’ outfit, Nettie! They’re sure to go wild for it!” Jagged said with a grin. “I’m lovin’ that mask.”

Marinette smiled before looking over Penny and Jagged.

“Everything fits, right? No one had any wardrobe malfunctions?” she asked, tense in her seat.

Penny laughed before telling her everything was perfect. Her mask was white with black around the eyes, decorated with pink lightning bolts made of rhinestones. Her dress was a mermaid style with ombre fabric. It started off at pink at the top that faded into black at the bottom. She was wearing the pink diamond necklace Jagged had gotten her as along with the pink diamond ring when he proposed to her. She had iridescent music notes sewn into her dress with translucent thread.

Jagged’s suit was an ombre as well except for instead of pink, it was purple that faded into black. His suit had similar music note designs. His mask was solid black with flames on it. Jagged wanted him and Penny to have similar designs as this would be the first event they would be attending as husband and wife. He was holding Penny close as he smiled brightly at Marinette.

“When we get there I’ll introduce you to my old pal, Bruce Wayne,” Jagged told her. “We went to school together when we were boys, and he was really the only one who thought me being a musician was a perfect fit for me. I’m positive he’ll commission you the second he sees your amazing work.”

“It’s really-”

“Now, little star,”  Penny began, her tone warning. “We’ve talked about this; no more talking yourself down! You’re brilliant, Marinette. You’ve earned your place here with your amazing designs.”

Their hearts nodded eagerly from their spots on the couple’s shoulder. Jagged’s royal purple heart was holding onto Penny’s raspberry pink heart. Both were smiling at Marinette, reflecting their owners pride and affection for the young lady.

“Okay,” Marinette responded softly. “It is amazing...but do you really think Bruce Wayne will like it?”

“Of course, Nettie! Little star, that man can be surprisingly rock ‘n roll for a bigshot,” Jagged said with a grin. “Besides, you’re way too awesome for him not to like!”

The driver chose then to let them know they had arrived. Marinette looked out at the crowd as her anxiety skyrocketed. That was a lot of people...and a lot of cameras. She felt her heart burrow into the safety of her dress. She touched her face anxiously to make sure that her mask was still firmly in place. Reassured that it was, Marinette followed Jagged and Penny out of the car.

Only for her to be swept away by the lights and cameras. ——————————————————————— The press was there and were making a nuisance of themselves.

Fantastic.

Damian forgot how much he hated the press until there were cameras being shoved in his face. Even with his green cat shaped mask, most of the press immediately parted to let him through. He figured it was what Jason called his ‘murderous aura’ that made people move away from him, even though they had no way of knowing he was Damian Wayne. He had almost reached the door when his heart tugged his hair, making him look to his left. He spotted someone shaking in terror as microphones were shoved in her face.

She looked to be only about five foot, maybe five foot one in her heels. She was wearing a gorgeous sleeveless qipao that reached just above her ankles. It was black with the most intricate embroidery that Damian had ever seen. The bright red thread swirled into delicate flowers...and what appeared to be ladybugs on closer inspection. Her hair was in a bun with two delicate gold hair sticks as her accessory.

Damian could tell she was freezing, clearly not being prepared to be outside with the press for as long as she’d been. She had her arms crossed, rubbing her gloved hands against her bare skin. She was trying to answer one question until another reporter asked her something else, distracting and overwhelming her.

His jade green heart kept tugging aggressively on his hair, eventually flitting down to his sleeve. It tugged and tugged until Damian began walking towards her. His heart flew back under his suit coat the closer he got to the cameras. He took off his coat, strolling over casually to the young woman. He gently draped his coat over her shoulders, before smiling stiffly at the press.

“Enough with your rudeness,” Damian said as politely as possible. “Miss, why don’t I escort you inside? And please, keep the jacket until you warm up.”

The young lady looked up at him in shock, and Damian nearly felt his throat close. True, he couldn’t see half her face, but what he could see were two absolutely breathtaking blue eyes. Her mask was solid black, much like her dress, embroidered with the same red thread and design as her dress. She looked at him timidly as he gently guided her into the building.

“Are you all right, Miss? The press can be animals,” he said, arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. “Are you here with anyone? Maybe I can help you find-”

Damian paused as his heart peeked out from behind his suit jacket. His green eyes widened as his cracked and bruised heart gently pressed against the young lady’s bare cheek. His throat went dry as his heart shimmered gold. He saw her blue eyes go wide as well as she reached up to cradle the heart in her silk covered hands.

“Oh..OH!” she said in clear shock.

Her heart peeked out from inside her clutch, still trembling. Damian figured her heart was probably still stressed from the previous situation with the press. He gently held out his hand and watched as the pale pink heart warily floated into his hand. The moment it touched Damian’s fingers, it shimmered gold as well.

“Hello there,” Damian said softly. “It’s very nice to meet you, my golden match.” —————————————————————— Marinette felt like she was going to panic.

Jagged and Penny were nowhere in sight. They’d gotten separated when the paparazzi started swarming around her. She had cameras shoved in her face as people asked her a million questions at once. She could feel her heart trembling in her clutch as she tried to navigate the cameras and questions.

She could barely hear what they were asking her over the pounding of her heart. How in Kwami’s name was this supposed to be fun?! Marinette was freezing now since she couldn’t get inside. The camera crews were blocking her path, and she was struggling to make her way through. Marinette started to shake as she became overwhelmed and nauseous.

Then she felt a weight on her shoulders and felt warmth surround her. She looked up just in time to watch a handsome young man tell the press off. He had dark black hair that was spiked up and beautiful jade eyes. His mask was a dark green color, cat shaped with pale gold thread making a beautiful looping design on it. He had a strong jaw, and gorgeously tanned skin. He was built, and Marinette felt much safer with his arm around her protectively. He led her into the building without hesitation, taking her away from the flashes of the cameras.

She felt her heartbeat in her throat as the man told her to keep the jacket until she was warm. Marinette couldn’t help but feel touched when the man asked her if she was okay. He genuinely seemed concerned for her and was about to offer his assistance until a gorgeous jade color heart popped out of his suit jacket. Marinette nearly bit the inside of her cheek as she looked at the heart.

It was badly cracked and bruised, much like her own heart. Marinette felt it press gently against her cheek and watched the young man’s green eyes widen. Why were his eyes widening? Unless...unless his heart was reacting to her? Was it? Could they be soulmates?!

Marinette’s eyes widened as she reached up to touch the heart. She looked down at the heart, still a brilliant gold color, resting in her hands.

“Oh...OH!” she said shocked.

She watched her own heart peek out from her clutch. The little pink heart was still trembling, though Marinette couldn’t blame it. She was still rather shaken up after the whole incident with the press. The only thing keeping her grounded was the golden heart in her hands, and the arm that anchored her to the present.

She watched as the man held out his free hand towards her heart. Marinette was surprised to see her heart actually float towards him. It was watching him warily, but the second it touched his fingers, it turned a brilliant gold. She looked up at him, only feel her knees go weak at the expression on his face.

Those green eyes were locked onto her with the gentlest expression Marinette had ever seen. He was smiling at her broadly before saying, “Hello there. It’s nice to meet you, my golden match.”

Marinette flushed a brilliant red color before looking down at her shoes. Why was he looking at her like that?! He didn’t know anything about her! So what if they were romantic soulmates? That didn’t mean she’d fall in love with a complete stranger just like that! She looked back up at him to see he was looking at her with concern.

“I-I-I’m not go-go-going to fal-fall for you just be-be-because we’re golden hearts!” Marinette stammered, her accent coming in thick. “I-I don’t kn-know you!”

She braced herself for the anger that would come with her response. Chat Noir had always gotten angry at Ladybug for telling him that she would not fall in love with him. He would scream at her that they were meant to be and that she did really love him. He would grab her wrists and shake her, telling her to stop being so stubborn and accept fate. Chat had also gotten very cross with her for not letting him see her heart.

She’d told him several times that if she showed him her heart, then he’d be able to figure out her civilian identity. Chat had told her he didn’t care. They were Ladybug and Chat Noir, two halves of a whole, destined to be together for the rest of their lives. Marinette had responded that she barely knew Chat, and she couldn’t fall in love with a stranger.

“...Miss! Miss! Are you okay? You’re shaking,” a voice broke through. “Do you want me to leave?”

Marinette’s world snapped back into focus. She noticed that know her golden heartmate’s hands were resting on her upper arms. He was leaning over to look her in the eye. The worry was clear in his expression. He smiled at her reassuringly before saying, “It’s okay. That’s perfectly understandable. I’m a complete stranger to you, soulmate or not. If you’d be comfortable, would you like to accompany me? We could talk during the party, but if you’re not comfortable, I’ll take my leave.”

Marinette couldn’t help the look of shock that appeared on her face. He...he didn’t mind? He didn’t mind that Marinette wasn’t in love with him on sight? He-he wanted to talk with her? He wanted to get to know her? He would leave if she asked? Was he really that concerned about her comfort?

“I...could...you really aren’t angry?”

She watched her heartmate’s expression shift into shock.

“Red...why would I be angry? We’re both complete strangers to one another. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted me to leave, or at the very least, wanted me to take off my mask so you can see my face,” he said. “You’re my golden match, but if we aren’t meant to be together at this moment, than I can wait a little longer for you. Besides, not all golden soulmates end up together. Some choose to love others outside their bond...just because we’re golden doesn’t mean we’re trapped in a relationship.”

Marinette almost began to cry in relief. Her eyes watered as she realized this guy wasn’t going to be like Chat. He was giving her a choice. He didn’t look like he wanted to leave her, but he was giving her the chance to walk away. If she said she didn’t want to talk to him, he told her he’d leave. For whatever reason, Marinette believed him when he said it too. There was just a strong feeling in her gut that told her he wasn’t lying to her.

“...would...would you mind escorting me around?” Marinette asked timidly. “I lost the people I came with.”

“Of course, Red,” he replied, holding out his arm. “This way.” ———————————————————— Damian was very concerned about his golden heartmate.

She was terrified after telling him that she wasn’t going to fall in love with him just because they were golden heartmates. She had zoned out after that, her blue eyes staring off into empty space. She had gone extremely pale, and her eyes were haunted. She had even begun to tremble, leading him to grip her upper arms and try to get her attention.

She was clearly thinking of something extremely distressing or trapped in an unpleasant memory. He called to her until she came back to him, distress clear in her body language. He tried to smile reassuringly at her while comforting her. Damian reassured her that he didn’t expect her to fall in love with him on the spot, and that if she wanted him too, he’d leave her alone.  

Damian really wanted to get to know his golden heartmate, but clearly she’d been badly hurt by someone. He wouldn’t push her to accompany him around the gala if it was going to hurt her further. He didn’t want to hurt her...not her. He was sorely tempted to grab his katana and run through whoever made her so terrified of establishing boundaries with people.

Just because she was his soulmate didn’t mean she owed him shit! She was her own woman. She was free to do what she wished, with or without him.  Damian would very much like it to be with him, but once again, he didn’t own her. If she didn’t wish to, she didn’t have to be with him.

His heart looked sadly at the girl when she asked Damian if he was angry. Damian looked down at her heart, which was holding itself and looking up at him with such trepidation. It made him sad, and his heart reflected that, looking up at her with such sorrow.

Who had hurt her like this?

Damian told her exactly how he felt about everything. They were strangers. He wasn't expecting her to swoon upon seeing him. He'd wait for her. He'd be willing to give her up should that be what she desired. He didn't own her, soulmate or not, and Damian wanted his soulmate to make the choice to be with him.

He'd called her Red on instinct, feeling it would not be wise to ask her name at the present moment. If they decided to separate now, the odds of them knowing who the other was and finding them again would be slim. As much as it hurt, Damian was prepared to leave in order to show his respect for her feelings.

Then she asked if he would take her around, and Damian felt a spark of hope.

“Of course, Red,” he replied, holding out his arm. “This way.”

Red took his arm timidly, but had a firm grip on him. She was looking around anxiously until they stepped into the ballroom. Then Damian watched as Red's eyes went wide, a smile breaking out on her face. She almost immediately released his arm to pull a small sketchbook out of her clutch.

Damian watched as Red flipped to a blank page, noticing the book was full of clothing designs.

"The architecture is very beautiful," Damian said,  looking around. "The Waynes have their Christmas Gala here every year. It was a tradition Bruce Wayne's parents started."

"I can see why!" Red said enthusiastically. "It's absolutely gorgeous."

"Getting any good ideas, Red?"

"Oh, I'm getting plenty, Green. I apologize, but if I don't at least write the details out, I'll completely forget what I was thinking."

Damian raised an eyebrow at the nickname. Green? Oh well, Damian figured there were worse things she could call him. At least she was talking to him without fear…

And what a beautiful sight it was.

Red was much more animated now. She was smiling brightly as she sketched away in her little book. She even started to talk about herself a little. She mentioned she was a designer here as someone's special guest. She told him that she'd designed their outfits as well as her own… though admitting that seemed to bring back some anxiety.

"You are very talented," Damian said with a gentle tone. "That qipao looks absolutely divine. You did the embroidery by yourself?"

Red flushed beautifully at his words. Her big blue eyes looked at him with surprise before responding that yes, she had done everything herself. She then asked how on earth he knew it was a qipao.

"My mother," Damian replied with a shrug. "I haven't quite found a passion like you have,  Red. I will probably go into business like my father before me."

"Your father's a businessman?" Red asked, slowing her furious pencil strokes.

"Yes, and so is my one brother."

"What about your mother?"

"...we don't talk anymore. She wasn't… she tried, but she wasn't the best mother."

Red looked sad at that before quietly apologizing for asking.

"Red, don't apologize. Believe it or not, that's the nicest way anyone's ever asked about my mother," Damian tried to reassure her.

That seemed to set something off in Red.

"What do you mean? That's the nicest way?! Just what were these people asking?" she demanded, her adorable accent getting thicker.

Damian laughed before quickly trying to change the topic. Red seemed to dislike that until he told her if he gave her an answer, she would be able to figure out who he was easy. Damian pointed out that if she wanted to know the real him, Red would need to talk to him without knowing his name. She seemed confused, so Damian explained.

"Not everyone gets to be themselves in their day to day lives. Celebrities, for example, have an image they need to uphold at all times or it could ruin their careers and damage their reputation. Some people you hear their name and have an immediate idea of who they should be based off their media coverage. Just because that's how you think it should be doesn't make it right."

Red seemed to ponder that for a moment before saying, "No names, no identifying information,  but everything else is fair game."

"Sounds reasonable. What does your family do?" Damian asked.

"My parents are bakers. I think Papa was hoping I'd carry on the family business, and I do love baking, but fashion is where my heart is. I don't have any siblings."

"Want some of mine? I have four officially adopted siblings and a gaggle of people who might as well be my siblings. They're around our house often enough."

Red laughed before saying the house must be busy. Damian rolled his eyes and told her she had no idea. He nearly melted at her genuine laughter, finding her rather adorable when she was smiling.

They continued to ask each other questions, and Damian found himself utterly fascinated by the young lady beside him. She was Chinese-French. She was from Paris, and her class was here on a trip. She was sixteen, and in the French equivalent of high school. She had already won a fashion contest and designed for famous individuals. She was an only child, but babysat frequently. She wanted a hamster for a pet but loved other animals as well. She was very excited when Damian told her he had a pet cow.

He had also learned that she was being bullied. She admitted there was a girl in her class who was constantly lying, and despite that, everyone believed her and liked her. This girl had turned their entire class against Red. She’d almost gotten Red expelled, and that was merely the tip of the iceberg. Red continued to tell him about all the nasty things this girl had done to her, and how only one classmate knew the girl was lying and had done nothing to stop her. Red admitted that it was nice to finally be able to vent about the situation, since her class wouldn’t believe her and told him about Hawkmoth as well.

Damian quietly made a mental note to check the Justice League’s database to see if they’d been aware of the situation. If not, he would quickly rectify this mistake. After all, there was a super villain that needed to be stopped.

In return he told her that he wasn't originally from Gotham, but had been living there for the last six years with his father. He told her he was sixteen as well and attended high school. He told her about his pets, especially Batcow upon seeing her excitement. He told her about his day-to-day life, and they made their way over to the food spread.

Damian took turns eating with Red after asking the other a question. He found himself having fun with the young lady beside him. She was very sweet and funny. She took her time answering his question and asked him very thoughtful ones about himself. Red really seemed to want to get to know him, and she really paid attention to Damian’s answers. The fact she looked adorable in his coat didn’t hurt either. She still had it over her shoulders, occasionally pulling it closed like a security blanket.

Their hearts seemed to be content together as well. They had started the evening on one another’s shoulders, but eventually, Red’s pink heart decided to hold hands with Damian’s own jade heart. Damian secretly hoped that Red’s heart trusting his meant that Red was starting to trust him as well.

They were discussing what they’d like to do for college when someone screamed Red’s name. ———————————————————————— Marinette felt a chill creep down her spine as she heard her name.

"Marinette! Marinette! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Why'd you leave so early?"

Adrien.

How did he know it was her? He shouldn't know. How did he know? He. Shouldn't. Know.  She didn't show anyone else her gown or her mask. She was wearing Green’s coat! How in God’s name did he know it was her?!

Marinette turned around slowly, pulling Green’s coat closed as her heart darted underneath it. She took several deep breaths before turning to look at the blond boy coming up from behind her. He was wearing a mask similar to Green’s. It was a cat-like mask, but in black. The threading on it made a more geometric pattern and was made with silver threading. His green eyes swept over her body, narrowing once he spotted the coat. His expression at first had been friendly, but it quickly turned into something more sour.

Adrien was followed by the majority of their class. Some of them looked confused, as if they didn’t know she was here, while others looked at her with disdain and scorn. Alya, still recognizable even with her cheap looking orange mask, was the next person to come up to her.

“Funny, I thought we left your worthless ass back at the hotel,” Alya hissed. “You shouldn’t have come, Marinette. You’re just going to ruin this for everyone.”

Marinette’s eyes drifted up and down Alya’s form, taking in the cheap taffeta dress she was wearing.  It was a formless dress that really didn’t do her any favors, in Marinette’ opinion, that was a shade of orange. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she was wearing orange flats.

“Funny, I thought your outfit would have ruined the night,” she said calmly. “It really doesn’t look like it belongs in such a fancy party as this.”

“That’s because you refused to make our dresses! You’ve always made our dresses! Just because you don’t like Lila, doesn’t mean you get to be a bitch about it!” Alya snapped.

Several of the other girls nodded, glaring at her. Now that Marinette could see her classmates, it appeared as if they’d all bought their dresses from the same store. They were all wearing cheap-looking taffeta dresses in different colors with matching flats. Their masks were all rather plain looking, clearly made at the last minute. Marinette almost burst out laughing at how terrible they all looked.

The boys faired only slightly better. Their suits were cheap-looking, but not as terrible as the dresses. They had ties and masks that matched their dates (if they had one), but at least all their shoes were black. They looked uncomfortable with everything, not even really looking at Marinette.

The only one that looked fine was Chloe, who wore a beautiful mermaid style dress that was a pastel yellow. She had her blonde hair down for once and was wearing a diamond necklace and bracelet. Her mask was a pale gold color with the gold becoming darker above her eyes. It was edged with intricate black lace. Clearly her father had given her the outfit (or she’d bought it with his money).

Lila looked downright livid upon seeing Marinette. She was wearing the same thing as Alya, just in a darker shade of orange. She tried to grab Adrien’s arm, but he pulled away from her. Her sickly green eyes glared daggers at Marinette as Adrien walked up to her.

“Marinette...who’s this?” he asked, his expression sour. “It’s not safe to hang around strangers. You should come be with your friends. I even wanted to ask you if you’d like to dance. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“This is my friend,” Marinette said flatly. “We were having a good time talking before you showed up. I do not want to dance.”

“As if! You’re just saying that!” Alya sneered. “You’ve been in love with Adrien for years. Tell him Marinette! Tell him how you’re the one who made him all those gifts, like the scarf he thought was from his dad! How it was always you who wanted him to go to stuff. How you were always trying to get together with him!”

Adrien looked shocked as he glanced at Marinette. She had made him that scarf? She was the one who was always trying to arrange things so he could go? She was the one remembering all these important dates? Had Marinette always done things like this, or had he been special? Did she really love him? Did he really have a chance-?

“Not anymore. I used to have a crush on Adrien. It’s true I did a lot for Adrien to get him to notice me. Then I realized that Adrien wasn’t worth it. He was never worth it.”

Marinette had a steely expression as she spoke, holding her head high.

“Lila’s a liar, and Adrien’s been hiding the truth from you. Adrien knows that she lies about things, but he told me not to rock the boat. He told me to ignore Lila in hopes that she’d just go away. When you all told me I was a terrible person, a bully, a freak...when you told me I should...I should just disappear, Adrien did nothing. True friends don’t stand by when their friends need them,” she sighed before holding her hand up to Adrien. “And don’t try to apologize. I won’t accept it. You can have fun with Lila. You two deserve each other.”

Marinette turned back towards Green, not noticing the darkening expression on Adrien’s face.

The boy couldn’t understand why she’d say such terrible things. Why wouldn’t Marinette let him apologize? He wanted to apologize! Adrien felt terrible that Marinette felt so neglected. If she’d just give him a chance, then he could prove himself! He could prove that he could be a good friend to Marinette. He just needed to touch her heart! Surely if he touched her heart, then Marinette would see that they were meant to be together in some way!

Adrien shook off Lila again, grabbing Marinette by the arm.

“Show me your heart!” Adrien demanded, his grip tight despite the coat adding extra cushion. “Show it to me, and I’ll prove to you that we’re meant to be at least friends! I can’t lose you, and Ladybug! Ladybug will never love me, but Marinette could, and I demand to have a chance!”

“No. Let me go!” she hissed. “Let go of my arm, Adrien!”

“Let her go!” Lila pretended to sob. “Adrien, she’s not worth it! Can’t you see that she was just a whore playing with your affections? Please, Adrien! I love you too much to let you go through with this!”

“Yeah, she’s nothing!” Alya joined in. “C’mon, Adrien. It’s almost midnight! That’s when all the masks come off, and Jagged Stone will be unveiling his new designer!”

“Don’t you want to see Jagged’s designer?” Lila said, still pretending to cry. “I worked so hard to help them get there! I need to go see Jagged unveil my creation to the world! Besides, that designer is one of my best friends! I promised I would be there to show my support!”

Adrien just gripped Marinette’s arm harder, causing the black haired girl to let out a whine of pain. Marinette tried freeing herself from his grasp, smacking his arm, and trying to pry his hand off of her. Adrien responded by gripping harder and began to shake her. As Marinette struggled to free herself, Adrien began shouting at her that she needed to let him apologize so they could start over.

When Marinette refused, Adrien swept his leg under hers, causing her to fall to the floor.

They were now drawing attention from the other party-goers, some who rushed to get security and others who watched the whole thing go down.

Adrien tried to get a hold on Marinette again, but got frustrated with her struggling and grabbed her by the hair, ripping her bun out. Marinette struggled to her feet before punching him in the gut. Adrien lashed out, catching Marinette across her right cheek with a loud thud.

Before any of the French teenagers could blink, Adrien was on the floor, his nose profusely bleeding. —————————————————————————————— The punch was the last straw.

Damian didn’t even hesitate before punching the annoying blond in the face, most likely breaking his nose. He had a bad feeling this was who had hurt his soulmate so deeply that she was afraid of Damian’s reaction to her saying she wasn’t in love with him. This pathetic boy had demanded his chance from his golden heartmate as if it was something he was owed! Not only that, but he had hurt Marinette!

Marinette, Damian thought, such a pretty name that fit such a pretty girl.

He thought he’d been pissed off before when the girl, Marinette had called her Alya, was insulting his golden heartmate. The only reason Damian hadn’t stepped in was simply because it appeared like Marinette had had it handled. He didn’t want to fight her battles for her, not when she was clearly able to do so herself. More than likely, Marinette would have just found that insulting as he’d gathered from their talks that she was rather independent.

So, he’d swallowed his rage and allowed her to defend herself. At least until the stupid boy— Adrien— had hit her. Once Adrien was on the floor, he put himself directly in front of Marinette. He glared at the other French teens, daring one of them to try and take him on.

“What the fuck was that for!” Alya screeched. “You broke his nose!”

“He hurt Marinette,” Damian replied, hearing Marinette gasp in shock.

She had probably thought Damian couldn’t understand French One look at her class told him that the others were of a similar mind. They looked at him with shock and fear. Adrien was the only one who didn’t look shocked, just pissed off. The blond got to his feet before snarling, “Who the fuck do you think you are!? Why are you getting in between me and my princess?!”

“Because you brain dead imbecile, Marinette doesn’t belong to you! She doesn’t belong to anyone! Marinette is her own person, and if she doesn’t want to hear your sorry apology, then she doesn’t need to hear it! She doesn’t need to do shit for you!” Damian snarled. “You put your hands on her. You assaulted her. You hurt her. I simply thought it was time for me to step in.”

“So you stepped in after I hit her?” Adrien questioned.

“I stepped in after it was clear that the situation was no longer under control,” Damian responded. “Marinette was handling herself just fine until you hit her. She’s not weak, and she’s most certainly not defenseless. I did not believe she wished for me to fight her battles, so I didn’t.”

Damian could hear security approaching as well as a woman shouting something in French. The red haired woman rushed over to Adrien and began looking over him. She also tried to get the others under control, as they’d all started screaming and yelling at one another. Damian responded to security by yanking his mask off, revealing who he was.

“The blond in the black cat mask with the bloody nose assaulted the young lady behind me,” he said curtly. “I’d like him removed from the gala, and I need to find my father. He’ll be barred from any future Wayne Galas as well.”

“You can’t do that!” Adrien hissed.

“I can,” Damian responded, turning to look at Marinette.

Marinette was shaking again, all the previous courage she had gone. Her mask was off now, having been knocked off during the struggle. Her blue eyes were wide, framed by beautiful black lashes. She had a cute button nose that was splashed with now visible freckles. Her right cheek was already bruising, and her hair was a mess.

Damian knelt down and gently picked up her gold hair sticks from the floor. He held them out to her slowly, not wanting to frighten her, as he stood back up.

“Marinette, do you need my help?” he asked gently.

He waited for the dark haired girl to decide patiently. He knew she probably wasn’t okay, but he also wasn’t sure if she’d want him to touch her. She’d just been assaulted, so perhaps he should find a woman that could be trusted to help Marinette fix herself up. He was relieved when Marinette took the golden sticks from his hands. He was even more relieved when she moved closer to him.

Marinette rested her left cheek on his right shoulder, trying to hide her face in his shoulder. Damian could hear her start to sniffle and wrapped his arms around her. He gently rubbed her back, allowing her to cry while shielding her face. Marinette shook in his arms, and he felt the rage come back...until he felt Marinette’s heart began to nuzzle against his neck and her face, searching for comfort. The rage faded, and Damian focused his thoughts on making sure Adrien couldn’t touch Marinette again.

Damian spotted his father walking towards him, followed by Dick, Kor’i, Wally, and two other people he hadn’t met yet. They were talking with the security guards, and Damian would bet that Tim was probably going over the security footage. His father walked up to him with a serious expression.

“Damian, could you please explain why you punched one of the students from the visiting French class?” he asked sternly.

“He assaulted his classmate,” he said. “He grabbed her and tried to get her to come with him. When she refused, he swept her legs out from under her. He tried to get a grip on her, but got mad and pulled her hair. She got up and punched him in the stomach so he’d let go. Then he punched her, and that’s when I punched him. Show him your face, Marinette.”

Damian gently touched Marinette’s head. She lifted her head up to look at him, and he watched his father’s expression darken. Bruce may have been mad at Damian for possibly starting an international incident, but he knew that his father wouldn’t hold it against him for defending someone else. He noted that several bystanders had come up to defend him, telling Bruce what had transpired before security arrived.

A strange man with black and purple hair rushed over to him, followed by a pink haired woman. Both looked horrified and concerned. The woman actually pulled Marinette from Damian’s hold, but seeing how Marinette immediately latched onto her, he swallowed his displeasure. The woman held Marinette tightly, rocking a little, as she asked what had happened and if Marinette was going to be alright.

Dick chose this time to come in, tapping the man with the purple and black hair on the shoulder.

“Jagged Stone, this is my youngest brother and Bruce’s only biological child, Damian Wayne. Damian, this is Jared “Jagged” Stone. He’s Bruce’s old friend. The woman with the pink hair is his wife, Penny Stone,” Dick said.

“While it’s nice to meet you, Damian, I want to know what the hell happened to Marinette!” Jagged said, glaring at Damian. “We got separated by the paparazzi when we arrived and weren’t able to find her since!”

“She was with me, though I didn’t know who she was,” Damian responded honestly. “I saw her getting harassed by the reporters and stepped in. We’ve spent the last few hours talking to one another until that Adrien boy found us. He tried getting Marinette to come with him, and he didn’t seem too pleased that I was here. He hurt her when she refused to go with him, so I punched him.”

“What?! That little bastard punched my niece! Where is he? I’ll take his damn head off!” Jagged growled, surprising both Dick and Damian with the ferocity behind it. “Penny, watch after our little star! I’ve got a boy to skin.”

“Follow Father. He’ll be the only one with the bloody nose,” Damian supplied helpfully.

Jagged stalked off with Dick behind him as Kor’i and Wally stepped up to the group. Kor’i immediately went to the other two women and asked if Marinette would like to clean up in the bathroom. Penny had looked towards Marinette, and the dark haired girl simply nodded. Kor’i led the way towards the ladies room while Wally stood beside Damian.

“Well this is a mess,” Wally tried to joke.

Damian nodded sullenly. Instead of continuing to try and talk to the boy, Wally settled for watching Bruce and Jagged rip into the boy, his teacher, and the class for trying to defend his actions. Damian felt his anger reach the boiling point when her classmates called her a liar and a bully. He also felt angry when the teacher tried to excuse it away as “teenager stuff”. He almost laughed out loud when Bruce responded that he had raised four teenage boys and that none of them would have thought this was acceptable behavior. Her teacher had almost wilted at that.

But nothing was quite as sweet as when Jagged brought the liar to her knees in front of the class that revered her.

“I can’t believe you people! You’re standing here trying to tell me that my favorite little designer, my little niece is a bully and a liar?! Not rock’n’roll at all! Marinette is the sweetest, most creative little star I’ve ever met. She gets my jagged style, and she’s an extremely hard worker. Marinette didn’t get to be my designer based on lies. She got to be my designer based on her own hard work and skills,” Jagged snapped at the class. “Besides, no one deserves to be assaulted!”

“That’s not true! Lila was the one who set Marinette up with you. If it hadn’t been for Lila, she wouldn’t be your designer at all,” Alya argued. “She was just being an ungrateful bitch!”

“...but Marinette doesn’t like Lila...and Lila said the designer was one of her best friends,” a red haired boy quietly pointed out. “How could Lila have done what she said if Jagged’s telling us that Marinette is his designer?”

“Marinette is my designer! And who is this Lila? Why is she telling lies about my little star?” Jagged demanded to know.

“But Lila saved your kitten! Remember? It was on the runway of the airport! You wrote a song about her too! It’s all over my blog!” Alya asked desperately, not wanting to believe Lila had been lying to her this whole time.

“One, I’ve never owned a cat. Fang’s been my only pet for twenty years. Two, I would never write a song about an underage girl. Three, the only girl I’ve ever written a song for is the superhero known as Ladybug. These are all things any competent reporter would know,” Jagged said.

Damian watched as Alya turned on the brunette with sausage hair and terrible dark orange ensemble. Alya started screaming at her, demanding to know if she was lying about everything else as well. This got Marinette’s whole class involved, as well as Jagged. The class was torn between yelling at Lila and being horrified to find out she was lying. Jagged was busy yelling about how Lila would be hearing from his lawyers for defamation of character.

The Lila girl began crying again, and Damian turned away from them. His instead chose to scan the crowd, waiting for Marinette to return. ————————————————————————————— Marinette was in shock to say the least.

She had expected Adrien to be angry with her. She had expected him to argue with her. She hadn’t been expecting Adrien to put his hands on her though. She honestly never thought that he would hit her like he did. She was frightened to know now that Adrien was not above using force to get what he wanted.

Penny had been fussing over her for since the agent got her hands on Marinette. The beautiful red-headed woman, who led them to the bathroom, stood silently next to the door. She had introduced herself as Kor’i Grayson, wife of Richard and Wally Grayson, and daughter-in-law of Bruce Wayne. She offered to stand guard by the door and ensure that no one else came in while Penny was helping Marinette clean up.

“Marinette, sweetheart, what happened?” Penny asked, gently wiping away the tears from Marinette’s eyes.

“The press...they surrounded me and started asking all these questions. I didn’t even notice you and Uncle Jagged were gone until I looked around. They kept pressing me for answers until Green— I mean Damian— stepped in. He gave me his coat because I was cold and led me inside. He offered to keep me company until I was able to find you and Uncle Jagged,” Marinette began.

“Green?” Kor’i asked with amusement.

“His mask was green. He called me Red first, and then said he wanted to talk to me without names and expectations. He was really nice to me, Penny. I was so scared, but he was nice about it. I didn’t even realize how close to midnight it was, I was having so much fun with him. We were eating when Adrien found us...I don’t know how he knew it was me, Penny. I didn’t  show anyone my dress or my mask, so he shouldn’t have known it was me—”

“Breathe, Marinette. It’s okay. He won’t put another hand on you, I swear it!” Penny said, gently rubbing Marinette’s arm.

Marinette took a few deep breaths before continuing.

“Adrien wanted me to go with him. I think he wanted to apologize to me and ask me on a date,” she said, her voice cracking. “I told him no. I didn’t want to hear his apology, and I’m no longer in love with him. He didn’t like that answer. He grabbed my arm. I fought him. He swept my feet out from under me and grabbed my hair. I managed to get up and punched him in the stomach so he’d let go. That was when he punched me...and then Damian punched him back harder.”

Marinette took a few more deep breaths.

“I thought I had it under control. I thought I could handle him without help. Even when he knocked me over...I wasn’t expecting him to punch me. I’m glad Damian punched him...if Adrien had tried to hit me again, I don’t know if I would have been able to fight him off…”

What she didn’t want to admit was that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to shake off the shock quick enough. Marinette knew that she could fight Adrien. She was Ladybug after all, and Adrien hadn’t been akumatized. That was also the other thing she couldn’t admit— being Ladybug. She could have passed it off as self-defense lessons, but Marinette knew it still would have been suspicious.

Marinette chose to tune out Kor’i and Penny as she fixed her hair. She pulled it back into a bun before putting the golden sticks back into her hair. Marinette allowed Penny to fix her makeup, though not much could be done about the bruising on her cheek. At this point, she was just settling for looking like she hadn’t been crying after being assaulted.

Once she was cleaned up, Marinette hugged Penny tightly before asking if they could postpone her reveal. Penny told her that they would of course postpone her reveal. Kor’i promised not to tell anyone that Marinette was Jagged’s designer, but she did congratulate Marinette on her achievement. Marinette had smiled and thanked her in response.

Oddly enough...Marinette wanted to go back to Damian. He had been polite, kind, and absolutely fun to be around all night. He’d reassured her when she was scared. He’d waited for her to come to him after Adrien attacked. He’d held her while she cried until Penny showed up. Marinette didn’t want to label it as love, especially since they were golden heartmates, but she would admit that she wouldn’t mind going on a date with Damian. Perhaps she might follow fate’s lead and fall in love with Damian.

Only time would tell, and Marinette felt safer establishing boundaries with Damian than she did anyone else. He had not tried to push or argue with her about her boundaries. Instead he had respected them without question, something Marinette was immensely grateful for. Thinking about how he’d acted the whole night, Marinette didn’t think falling in love with him would be such a bad thing.

She was smiling as she left the bathroom with Kor’i and Penny. Marinette continued smiling when she noticed Damian looking for her in the crowd. She felt happy when Damian’s face lit up upon seeing her. She hugged him tightly once she was within reach before looking at the chaos that was her class. She raised an eyebrow before Jagged broke in, demanding to know if Marinette knew that the Lila girl was spreading all sorts of nasty lies about them.

“Cat’s out of the bag,” Damian said smugly. “Now they’re all trying to pick up what little dignity they have left.”

Marinette laughed at that, feeling joy in the fact that Lila had finally been revealed. However, she chose to ignore her classmates arguing and pleas for forgiveness to hold out her hand to Damian.

“Let’s try this again. Hi, my name’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said with a grin. “I had a lot of fun with you, and I would very much like to go on a date so I can get to know my golden heartmate better.”

A wide smile appeared across Damian’s face as he shook her hand.

“Hello, my name is Damian Wayne. I also had a very good time with you and would love to take you on a date,” he responded.

Marinette giggled as his heart darted out to nuzzle her cheek, just barely catching the gasps from the people around her as the heart flashed gold. Her own heart had zipped over to Damian and began nuzzling his cheek as well, also turning gold.

“Would you like to leave now, Marinette?” he asked. “I could have our driver drop you off at your hotel if you’d like. You probably should ice that bruise.”

Marinette looked at both Jagged and Penny to see what they thought. Both of them were smiling at her and nodding, so she turned back towards Damian.

“Thank you, that would be very nice,” she replied.

Damian held out his arm towards her again, and this time, Marinette took it without hesitation. Looking at the handsome, dark haired boy with kind green eyes, she decided there were worse people she could have as her golden heartmate. When he kissed her hand upon dropping her off at the hotel, Marinette made another decision.

She stood on her tiptoes, gently pressing a quick kiss to his lips. Marinette giggled as he flushed, his eyes wide and clearly surprised. Yes, she thought, perhaps having him as a romantic soulmate wouldn’t be the end of the world. Perhaps...perhaps loving him could be the best thing that happened to her.

Little did she know that Damian agreed.

[highonchocolate]

MariBat PlatNov Days 19 & 20: Allergies/Caution, Store/Bags

First   Previous   Next: Nonexistent   Ao3

“Hey Adrien!” Steph turned to face the green-eyed boy, holding up a large feathered boa that was an alarming shade of purple. “Whaddya think of this?”

“Coming Steph, hold on!” He called from across the store where he was conversing with Tim. The two of them had managed to bond over their similar parents and their use of staffs in battle, so now it was virtually impossible to pull them apart. It didn’t help that they were both nerds as well. Tim shook his head, signaling for him to make his way over. He looked it up and down, a small crease appearing between his brows. “Oh, it’s very-” whatever he was going to say next was drowned out by a loud sneeze. Adrien doubled over, eyes screwed up and sneezed three more times into his elbow. “Is that..ah...is that a feather boa?” He managed to get out in between sniffles. “Oh, maybe it is. Lemme check.” She looked over the tag, checking the product materials. “It is real feathers!” She exclaimed “How did you know?” 

“I’m -achoo!-allergic to them” He sneezed again, punctuating his point. “Oh.” She responded, holding back laughter. “It’s okay, really. I’ll just-” he sniffed again, gesturing blindly towards the back of the shop. “I’ll just go back over there.” 

“Yeah, yeah, you do that Cat Boy.” She shooed him away, hiding her grin behind one hand, before whipping out her phone. 

WaffleQueen: Luka! Your boyfriend’s allergic to feathers! Just like a real cat!

GuitarHero: You didn’t know that, Steph?

FashionMaster: It’s a side effect of using the ring.

WaffleQueen: An adorable one!

GuitarHero: What if Cass saw this?

YellowJacket: Don’t be ridiculous, Couffaine.

YellowJacket: She would agree with us.

---

@maribat-platonic-november

[ethelphantom]

perhaps the worst of timings and ideas (but I’ll still do it ‘cause I’ll do it with you)

Uh yeah I know this is day late but it’s still the prompt fill for day 22, wedding because well. It was meant to be a drabble but then seemed to decide that no, it wanted to be an actual, almost 3k oneshot. Maybe you’ll survive. The first almost 1,5k are just some people making Jon and Adrien’s life insufferable.

Ao3

______

So, perhaps they should have thought it through before all… this.

Whether that meant Marinette and Damian or Adrien and Jon, well, no one was sure.

If it was Marinette and Damian, then this would be about how much they regretted agreeing to help with the wedding, that they both promised to be the Best Woman and the Best Man of their respective best friends. The stress the organisation caused was endless, and that on top of their hero work and university was a lot to handle.

But, as it is, talking about how stressed someone is is rather boring, so no. Maybe we should talk about why Jon and Adrien regretted ever asking their best friends to do any of this instead. They should have just asked them to attend the wedding and perhaps do a short speech.

Not that they didn’t do the speeches anyway. Marinette simply didn’t make a short one and Damian, well, Jon was wishing he had explicitly told his best friend to just keep his mouth shut. To make matters worse, the two of them were doing the speech together, because how else.

“Dear everyone here, it’s certainly lovely to see you all here celebrating these two dumbasses who only took three years to ask each other out after mutual pining and our suffering. It’s certainly a little surprising that after seven years of telling them they actually like each other and goddamnit Adrien yes Jon is genuinely in love with you alright, now can you please propose to him so we’ll be done with your worries, we’re finally here at their wedding reception,” Marinette had said at the very beginning of their speech, earning groans from the happy just married couple and laughs from most of the audience. That, and a “moan all you want about how unfair this is, Adrien, but she’s right, we did have to suffer for years!” from Chloé, along with affirmative nods from Kagami who sat next to her.

Yeah, the only ones invited there who were from Paris were Chloé, Kagami, Marinette, Luka and Félix. Everyone else had at last announced out loud they weren’t friends a few years back, and neither Marinette or Adrien had looked back. Alya was definitely going to call them once she heard Lois Lane was at the wedding as well, but neither cared. It wasn’t like they were going to even answer to her.  

“I’m honoured Jon made the mistake of letting me speak at his and Adrien’s wedding,” was how Damian had started. At that point, Jon had already looked like he was ready to run away from his own wedding, or perhaps it would work better if he just threw Damian out.

Not that either of those actually happened.

“As my lovely girlfriend already said, we indeed had to spend years watching these two dance around each other before they even asked one another out. It took us less time to start dating, and we actually met through them — which reminds me, perhaps I should thank you, Jon. If you hadn’t tried to break through my window and hurt yourself at the process when you wanted to moan about how he brought his ‘cute girlfriend’ with him to the States, I might not have ever met the love of my life you at the time thought was dating her very much platonic best friend.”

Dick started laughing (“so that’s why little D asked us to replace his windows with something unbreakable while muttering something about idiot best friends from under his breath”) and couldn’t stop before Kagami threatened to drag him out by his ear to calm down. It was clear the happy couple wanted the Earth to swallow them alive, preferably right that second.

Then the two ended up giving yet another set of shovel talks to their respective best friends’ husbands, and perhaps the only reason they hadn’t been dragged off the stage and away from the microphones one and half minutes into it was probably the fact neither Jon or Adrien were capable of standing up from their embarrassment and both the Paris Crew and the Batfamily and Conner, Clark and Lois were having too much fun listening to it.

Well. If that wasn’t all, once they got out of the main hall they were using as the dining room, the wedding reception started to look more like a chaos than anything. Nothing bad happened, really, but it was bemusing and a little frustrating, the least to say.

One of the main halls was filled with fake rats, as a very confused Clark tried to explain to his son and son-in-law, and by saying “filled”, he really did mean filled — even Mar’i could only barely fit into the room what with all the stuffed toys in there. Dick was absolutely baffled as he dragged his baby brother (“I’m not your baby brother, you dick”, Jason had yelled as he was being pulled by his collar towards the toom) to help him empty the room.

There were supposed to be filled water glasses in the cafeteria area of the mansion ready to just be taken and drunk. Instead, over half of them were upside down — yet filled with water — along with a computer written note “Have fun cleaning up! Or, try to turn them around without spilling any water. Love you!”

Needless to say, the mess that followed was enormous. Adrien wanted to fling himself off a cliff or maybe a window, but Jon stopped him just in time.

Then there was the area just in front of most of the toilets. Filled with plastic cups full of water, all of them.

Adrien buried his head in his hands, resigning to his fate.

Once they did get to the toilets, some of the soaps were coated in dried clear nail polish. The only reason they figured it out was because Chloé was there and she was able to recognise it without missing a beat.

One of the smaller dining rooms was covered with rather embarrassing pictures of Adrien and Jon. Chloé, Luka, Dick and Tim were all immediately able to find some that they had taken in the past years. It threw Bruce completely off because then who was the culprit?

By then Jon was ready to follow Adrien to jump down from the highest room in the mansion.

Alfred sat them both down, gave them two glasses, a bottle of champagne and a box of chocolate and tissues.

Conner found out some of the caramel apples were replaced by caramel onions.

Neither Adrien or Jon were ever told about it to save them from more chaos.

No one knew who to blame for all of this.

By the time they got back to the main dining hall, two of the biggest tables were covered in post-it notes — and it seemed that all the leftover post-it notes had been attached to the windows lazily once the culprit got bored. Cass took one look at it before she turned around and simply left to breathe some fresh air, dragging Stephanie with her.

Turns out, that was rather impossible since all their jackets were taped to the ceiling — which was rather high up there — and only Kagami and Cass could really get them since everyone else that was a superhero or a vigilante had to play normal nothing-to-see-here to the few non-superheroes in the entire celebration.

And finally, in the very back cold room they found a gorgeous wedding cake — more beautiful and definitely bigger than any of them had ever seen — waiting, which Tim approached with high alert. It was suspicious as it was not supposed to be there, but well. It was a cake. Then again, considering everything else that had happened, it was still far too dangerous to go without being careful. There was a note attached to the wall next to it.

Sorry. Maybe this compensates for all the other stuff. No pranks this time, I swear. Just a delicious cake baked by yours truly. Your favourite flavours. Sorry again. We just needed a getaway plan. Love you, and Adrien, do not try to find us or you’ll find your apartment in less than perfect condition once you visit it again~

You two must be baffled by now, but I have to say I do not find myself too apologetic right now. You’ve caused us enough suffering in the past few years, this is merely a simple payback of equal value, is it not? Have a lovely rest of the evening, Jon. You may want to keep your husband from trying to race to wherever we may be in approximately ten seconds, and it would be preferable if you didn’t try to do so as well.

A beat.

Then, a confused whisper full of suspicion echoed in the dark room, “…where are Marinette and Damian?” It was soon followed by two loud, irritated and frustrated screams of “Marinette! Damian! Get back here!” which could be heard throughout the mansion they rented and the forest surrounding them.

⬷۵⤐

“Thanks Kaalki, here are some sugar cubes for you as thanks,” Marinette said smiling tiredly and yawned. Then her eyes landed on the flowers she had taken with her and she laughed.“I wonder how long it will take them before they realise I stole Adrien’s bouquet before he can throw it over his shoulder.”

Marinette leaned against her boyfriend and let him pick her up to carry her to the bedroom. It had been a stressful and tiring few weeks, and considering it was past midnight in Paris already, she decided that it was completely reasonable for them to go sleep already. Even if they had just spent the past two weeks in Gotham and Metropolis and her internal clock should correspond to theirs instead of Paris’.

They had first gone to The Seine to calm down and to breathe for a while. Damian had searched up the exact coordinates of their wanted location before simply taking the Miraculous from Marinette and transforming himself. There was no way he could have let his far too exhausted girlfriend to handle this — there was a good chance they’d end up in The Seine instead of next to it.

After that, Damian had transformed once more to take them to Adrien’s apartment, and the only reason they ended up in front of the building instead of inside it was because Marinette had insisted she wanted to open the door with the keys Adrien had given her the previous summer. Both could have bet he was regretting doing that more than anything right now, but that was fine.

Damian set her gently to the bed before helping her change into her pajamas so that they could just go to sleep. He had plans for the day that his best friend had almost ruined for him by deciding he wanted to get married the day before, and now that Damian had a chance to go through with his plans anyway, there was no way he was going to let his Angel exhaust herself even more. He needed her awake for the morning.

Once he was sure Marinette had fallen asleep, he took both their phones and simply turned them off, knowing that soon enough they would be blown up with messages and he would rather not have his Father or Drake to hack their phones to turn up the volume again. After all, there was a real chance they would do just that. Harder to do it to a phone that’s just simply off.

⬷۵⤐

“Good morning, habibti. I hope you slept well. I made breakfast, please dress and get to the kitchen,” Damian said, waking her up from her peaceful slumber. He kissed her forehead gently before turning around and leaving to give her some space.

Marinette buried her face to her pillow before smelling the amazing scent that came from the kitchen. Damnit. Now she really couldn’t just continue sleeping. Damn her boyfriend for being a sneaky bastard and making sure she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep.

So, Marinette opened one of the luggage, not really caring which one of them owned it, and took the first sweater she could find and pulled it over her head. Then she stood up and walked to the kitchen, following the wonderful scent in favour of ignoring the need to brush her teeth.

“Good morning, mon tresor,” she said, leaning against the door frame and watched her dear boyfriend cook them something to eat. Once he turned around, he simply stopped in his tracks, staring at her. “What is it? Did I dress up in something dirty?”

Damian shook his head and smiled at her. “No, it’s not that. It’s just, I can’t believe you’re actually wearing my clothes,” he replied, taking a few strides across the room to get to her. He swept her up into his arms and squeezed her. “You’re too adorable for your own good,” he told her as blush crept to her cheeks.

When Damian finally returned her back to her feet, she pulled him down by his collar and pressed a kiss on his nose, only then letting him return to whatever it was he had been doing. Marinette rubbed her still sleepy eyes, yawning before she slumped on the chair closest to her. Burying her head to her arms, ready to fall asleep at the table again, she sighed happily as Damian reached out to comb her hair a little. It was nice and comforting. Well, up until he found a tangled area and had to use a little more force to untangle it. Marinette winced and stiffed, only relaxing when Damian kissed her head.

“I apologise, love. I did not mean to cause you pain,” he said, his hands never leaving her hair.

“It’s alright. Just, please, be more careful.”

“I will.”

Damian continued for a short while more before declaring he was done and went to get her a plate full of food. She sighed happily at the delicious smell of it all. Without thinking, Marinette put a forkful of the scrambled eggs in her mouth, only to then realise it was still hot. Damian laughed at her as he went to fetch her a glass of cold water.

As they ate, they talked about the previous day. Marinette wondered why she hadn’t gotten any messages from them — they should have realised she was a part of the scheming, unless they hadn’t found the cake — but then Damian told her it was because he had turned both their phones off. But, perhaps there weren’t that many messages from everyone waiting for them. Hopefully, anyway.

“Isn’t this our third anniversary already?” Marinette suddenly asked. Damian nodded.

“Yes. Isn’t it strange how time flies?”

“Yep, definitely. Especially since it feels like we’ve been together forever. I honestly cannot get over how a few years back I wanted to learn your name and now I’m having breakfast with you in your sweater,” Marinette said chuckling and leaned against her palm. She watched how he stared at her before digging something from his pocket.

Damian walked around to her and cleared his throat. “I understand the sentiment,” he said, playing with a strand of her hair. “Personally, I can not believe how miraculous it is I got the first date and even the first year, let alone these wonderful three years I’ve now had with you.”

Then he dropped on one knee and showed her what he had taken out of his pocket. A beautiful silver ring with a sapphire and a double halo. Marinette gasped and felt tears prickling in her eyes, all of the exhaustion gone from her. “So, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, habibti, my dearest angel, will you do me the honour and stay by my side until death do us part?”

“Yes! A thousand times yes!” she breathed out and launched herself at her boyfriend — fiancé? —, tackling him to the ground as she embraced him.

Damian returned the embrace, squeezing her tight against his chest as she kissed his forehead, hair, eyes, nose, anything she could easily reach.

Her fiancé had a horrible sense of timing, but that was fine with her. So what if they ended up getting engaged the day after their best friends got married? They would live.

A few hours later, they finally turned their phones on to tell their families of their engagement. As they had guessed, they had hundreds of notifications, both worried and frustrated messages. And about three hundred missed calls each. Oops?

If they had hoped telling them of their engagement would have helped them calm down, they were horribly wrong.

The messages that followed that absolutely flooded their phones.

Maybe the akumas could wait a little until Adrien was less done with her, and the villains in the states could wait until Jon was ready to face Damian without wanting to launch him directly at the sun and his family was ready to not start a screaming match about him proposing to her somewhere they could not see it happen.

Perhaps they should stay away from all of them for the next few days… or weeks.

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

__________

@ladysblackcat​ @daminett4life​ @tinyterror333​ @annabellabrookes​ @7-sage-7​ @theyellowfeverexperience​ @thethirdwheelfriend​ @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @kris-pines04​ @daminette-december2019​ @bluerosette23​

[lostinthewinterwood]

Crossworks 2020

Hello friend!

Right, so, ah… sorry this is late.  Got incredibly caught up in other exchange nonsense—I’m sure you know how it is, unless you have reasonable decision-making skills and executive function, in which case can I have some too?

…anyway.

Some of these have way more rambling/commentary than others but I am desirous of them all, don’t worry.

If you’re browsing for people to treat, 1) thank you, you’re awesome; 2) I will gladly accept treats in any medium :D

General DNW

Rape/non/dub-con; non-canonical major character death; heavy angst; hurt no comfort; graphic depictions of deliberate and methodical self-harm*; graphic depictions of suicide; anything E rated; smut; gore; heavy gender dysphoria; grimdark; complete downer endings; character bashing; incest; cringe comedy; a/b/o; mpreg; graphic eye trauma; graphic and/or permanent hand trauma (unless the setting can provide a more-or-less fully functional prosthetic or equivalent); issuefic; unrequested identity headcanons; a focus on unrequested romantic relationships**.

*I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. however, something like cutting would not be appreciated.

**canonical levels of canonical ships are perfectly fine; background non-canon ships that I haven't dnw'd are okay too, unless otherwise specified in a request.

  General Likes/Other General Info

So, since most of my requests are for fusions, I should probably lay out what I tend to consider a fusion—it’s a little broader than the official Crossworks definition, I think, which is “A work in which characters of one canon are treated as if they always belonged in another setting, or their world has always had elements of another canon.”  All of that falls under my personal definition, as do fusions that are basically Characters A playing out the story of Canon B, even if the setting is still mostly that of Canon A.  For the one crossover I’ve requested, as noted in that prompt I really don’t care how that crossover comes about, just that it does.

 Generally—as you could maybe, possibly, tell from the theme of many of my requests—I’m a total sucker for fairytale fusions; I haven’t really elaborated on all of those combos, just know that I adore characters I know and love playing out a fairytale plot; if you’ve matched on that, I don’t really know how you could go too far wrong.

 Other general likes I think are most relevant for this exchange include:

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

  Specific Requests

 Superhero Fairytales

Miraculous Ladybug, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne | East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Fic/Fusion

request-specific dnw: breaking up Rapunzel/Eugene, romantic Rapunzel/Cass, romantic Varian/anyone else from the main cast (unless you age him up/them down)

Would love to see Rapunzel et al as Miraculous holders, or the Miraculous kids with the Sundrop and Moonstone and all that goes with that, or the characters from either series facing the plot of East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

For the comparison of ML and Tangled—there’s a lot to explore, I feel, with the creation/healing vs destruction/decay powers that the series both have going, along with the idea that if united the power becomes much, much greater, and far more dangerous.

 As a side note: I’m very not up to date with ML; the last episode I’ve currently seen is Chameleon. I know some spoilers, and I’m not super concerned about them overall, but if you write a fic that relies on an intimate knowledge of events post-season-two I will be lost.

  Time-Travelling Imposters

Mother of Learning - nobody103, Rigel Black Series (Harry Potter fanfic) - murkybluematter, Tam Lin (Traditional Ballad)

Fic/Fusion

request-specific dnw: romantic Harry/Archie, explicitly breaking up canon ships fandom-specific exception: as long as it doesn't violate another dnw, if you do a Tam Lin fusion, the ship it's for (platonic or romantic or somewhere in between) is up to you.

Mother of Learning/Rigel Black Chronicles: I think it would be interesting to toss the RBC characters into the world/plot of MoL--who's the time traveler? who's the tagalong? The noble/nonnoble distinction in MoL and the Splinter Wars and the Weeping would be very interesting to warp into the RBC setting/plot, I'd expect, what with the pureblood/not!pureblood things and the Fade. (i'm not really requesting this, obviously, it's not in my fandoms, but if you're at loss for the angels--or indeed the faeries for a Tam Lin fusion--i always delight in the Tortallan gods showing up in RBC fic)

RBC/Tam Lin: don’t have too much to say here, but I think that RBC has plenty of relationships that you could fit into the dynamics here.

MoL/Tam Lin: in a weird way, MoL already has its characters in the roles they need to be in for a Tam Lin fusion, though the structure is of course very different--what is Zach if not a sacrifice against Panaxeth's release? What is Zorian if not the one who fights nigh-impossible odds to save him from that fate?

  Fairytale Gamer Kids

Hanging Out with a Gamer Girl (Manga), Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms  

Fic/Fusion

Fandom-specific DNW: sexualization of Kaoru’s crossdressing, full justification of Kaoru’s fears re: Nanami’s dad request-specific note: romantic Kaoru/Nanami is okay here if you want to fuse with a romantic fairytale; I'd equally enjoy such a fairytale being made more platonic or more ambiguous.

So, if you put the kids into the fairytale—who are they?  What fairytale are they in?  Can you work in the initial identity confusion, the ongoing ruse?

  Superhero Gamer Kids

Hanging Out with a Gamer Girl (Manga), Miraculous Ladybug

Fic/Fusion

request-specific DNW: sexualization of Kaoru’s crossdressing (or equivalent character's, if you fuse it the other way), romance between Kaoru and Nanami beyond light shiptease à la canon, full justification of Kaoru’s fears re: Nanami’s dad

 I'd love to see Kaoru and Nanami as Miraculous-holders; Marinette and Adrien as slowly-getting-less-reclusive gamers would also be fun, and there are some interesting parallels you could make with their family lives.

There are so many things you could draw from HOwaGG to make parallels to ML; is it that Ladybug is apparently a boy but Nanami a girl, and Chat Noire apparently a girl but Kaoru a boy—does that help them keep up their façade?

In terms of other parallels, there’s also Nanami and Marinette both being the only children of two loving parents, and Kaoru and Adrien both being the only children of distant/absent fathers and (seemingly) dead—and certainly absent—mothers.

As a side note: I’m very not up to date with ML; the last episode I’ve currently seen is Chameleon. I know some spoilers, and I’m not super concerned about them overall, but if you write a fic that relies on an intimate knowledge of events post-season-two I will be lost.

  Star Wars Fairytale

Star Wars Rebels: Servants of the Empire - Jason Fry, Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne | East of the Sun and West of the Moon  

Fic/Fusion

I don't have anything very specific here, at least not right now, but the idea of the protagonist questing to a near-impossible place to rescue a loved one is a parallel that I think it'd be interesting to draw out—in some ways the situations are utterly dissimilar, but they’re surprisingly alike in other ways.

  Superheroes Galore

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia, Super Powereds - Drew Hayes

Fic/Crossover

fandom-specific dnw: non-canon ships

I'm very interested in the similarities and differences between these two superhero worlds--there's the Powered vs Super distinction in Super Powereds that's absent in bnha with its quirks, the wildly different (but both still formalized and structured) paths to becoming a hero, even just how common powers are in the different worlds. I'm not sure how well trying to wrangle both of them into the same world in the same era would work, but more power to you if you manage that, or maybe it's dimension hopping or time travel shenanigans that bring them into contact with each other--I really don't care on the mechanics here.

Also, the first time I saw Izuku my brain immediately went "hey, it's tiny green Vince!" and I think seeing them meet, at any point in their respective journeys, would be pretty funny and/or interesting.

I'd be into the other characters too—there’s also a comparison to be made, I feel, between Izuku as both powerful and analytic, and Roy and Hershel who are kind of the same but More and also split apart.

  Anyway, that’s probably enough rambling from me for now.  Good luck with the writing!

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Betrothal Side Info

The Batfamily's reaction to Ladybug and Caht Noir.

Bruce- He is the third one to know, because he is Batman. In reality its because three days later he hears Damian and Mari talking about it on the phone. Bruce doesn't like the idea of two 13 year olds fighting by themselves. He has a zeta beam immediately installed in Paris, and has news alerts sent to his phone for when Akuma attack.

Alfred- He is fourth to find out when he finds Bruce pacing back and forth in his office debating what to do. He simply points out that Paris isn't their city, and that until the threat gets bigger or someone contacts the Justice League showing up will be unusual. He is totally chill on the outside and but he is silently cursing the Order of the Guardians. You bet your applesauce that I am making him a former holder.

Dick- When he finds out he is really excited for Marinette to be able to spread her wings. He gets worried after seeing the first couple fights and sees how woefully unprepared Chat Noir is compared to Ladybug. He helps Marinette find a fighting style that would suit Chat Noir. He also turns his news alrets for Paris on.

Jason- Laughs his butt off for 20 minutes straight, Alfred has to get a antidote for Joker's Laughing Gas. Once he calms down he has to stop himself from looking at pictures of them. He literally walks to a corner of the room and just stares at it. When asked why he was laughing he snorted and told them to never let Selina find out about Chat Noir. Before bursting into laughter again mumbling about cats and too much leather.

Tim- He is the first to know about them. He had been awake for 72 hours straight at the point and was living off coffee. He already had news alert set for Paris incase something happened like a bag storm or terrorist attack. He thought he was finally losing it when he got the alert and saw Marinette fighting with a blond and male version of Selina. The entire family was confused when he poured a pot of coffee down the drain. Then sat on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him till sleep finally took him. After he woke up he used one of his fake Identities to buy a unused warehouse in a part of Paris' non tourist areas. He then looped all camera in the area contecting them to a system so that if checked the police will not receive the tapes of Ladybug and Chat Noir leaving the building. He gives the address to Marinette after he has the place decked out with a security system and refunished as her and her teams own version of the cave.

Cass- When she finds out she is quite proud, especially when Ladybug uses a move that she taught her. After watching the first few fights she begins texting with Marinette. She encourages her to ask Damian and Bruce about patroling with them when she is in Gotham next summer. She also helps Marinette pick out her name for when she is in Gotham.

Stephanie- When she finds put she spends hours on the phone talking to Marinette and Tikki. She wants to know everything she can about Ladybug's history and the Miraculous. She also agrees to begin going through all of Paris' cameras to try and find where the butterflies are coming from.

Damian- He is the second to know and is extremely proud of her, however he is not happy that she is partners with Chat Noir. Especially when he sees videos of Chat claiming that they are soulmates. He encourages Marinette to put her foot down with Tikki over Chat Noir's training and is happier when Adrien apologizes to both of them. He is still annoyed when both of them insist they are platonic soulmates. He is definitely jealous of the model and forms a anit-adrinette group with Nathaniel.

Barbara- When she find out she is quick to help Stephanie track the butterflies, and makes sure that Marinette's 'cave' has one of the best computers. She also creates a folder building up more and more evidence on Gabriel Agrests' terrible parenting. She us determined to get Adrien away from him. She decides that if Bruce doesnt adopt him she 100 percent is going to.

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