#supermari may 2022

[marauderundercover]

Stars Shine

AO3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Bye bye!” She says. Clark grins.

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

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

[khneltea]

Day 3 - Original

So...About That Jacket...

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

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

But this? This was where she drew the line.

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

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

He gulped. "I can explain?"

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

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

"Then, you better start talking, Agreste."

He cried like a baby after that.

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

"You what?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, you might ask, what did she do?

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

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

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

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

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

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

"OUCH!"

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

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

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

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

---------

Bloopers:

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

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

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

"START WALKING, AGRESTE!"

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

tag list: (OPEN TAG LIST)

@verymuchimmortalcat @wolfy-kat @jumpingjoy82 @couffeeine

[tinybriewrites]

A Soul’s Glow - 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knock! Knock! Knock!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Says the youngest principal dancer ever."

"Shut up."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

---

@maribat-calendar-events

Also on AO3!

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[silverwhiteraven]

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

@maribat-calendar-events

[verymuchimmortalcat]

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

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

Supermari Day 5: Powers/ Baking

[boldlyanxious]

Kon, Baby

Masterlist

Marinette finds a child named Kon running away but rather than finding where he came from she decides to help him get away. She soon realizes that he is not a normal child and that she made the right decision.

Experimentation by Cadmus had forced Kon to be a child. He still remembers everything but is struggling against the childish tendencies. His best option is to find Superman to help him but instead he meets Marinette.

Supermari May: growing up

Marinette looked down at her phone to check again that she was going the right way. The brightness of the city and the careful organization of the streets in Metropolis were not enough to keep her from getting lost. She pushed the button to cross and waited. She tried not to turn at the odd noises coming up behind her. She hated the looks she got for being too aware of her surroundings but too much of her teen years were dictated by living with the constant threat of akumas. It seemed that back then, every sound of rustling and fast movement turned out to be an akuma. She couldn’t help reacting to the sounds. In this case, rather than transforming to face down an akuma, she reached out and grabbed the small child running headlong into the street without looking. Just in time as several more cars zoomed past.

The child struggled against her grip but she kept it firm on him, looking around for any sign of someone missing a child. He pulled out of her grip when the walk signal displayed. She looked around nervously. He looked about the size of a 4 year old so definitely too young to be running around on his own. She also noticed his clothing seemed odd. It was similar to a prison jumpsuit and had numbers on it. Some of the American fashion was very odd but even still, she usually recognized the styles even if it wasn’t her preferred style. She moved more quickly, trying to catch up to him. He seemed to realize she was following him right away and turned and grinned at her. He kept walking but he reached out for her hand, slowing just enough for her to catch up to him.

“Hello, my name is Marinette,” she said. “Can I help you get somewhere?”

“My name is Kon,” he said. “And I have to get away.”

She tugged at his hand slightly and he paused, looking back at her questioningly. It was then that she saw a mark on his neck with a bruise and possible marks on his arms. It looked as if he had been restrained and had struggled against it. She couldn’t imagine who would do that to such a small child. That paired with his odd clothing helped her decide she would stay with him. If he were found, she would want one hell of an explanation before she allowed someone to just take him with them. She had heard that there were sometimes awful medical experiments. She had always just hoped that it was people volunteering even out of desperation, but to use a child was too reprehensible.

“Did you have a destination in mind? I was planning on getting some lunch.”

His response was instantaneous. His eyes lit up and his stomach growled loudly. He glanced down at the sound so he didn’t see her eyes flare in anger at the thought of them not feeding him while they were doing whatever they had done to him. She kept walking on towards the place she had decided to eat for lunch today. He skipped along beside her watching the sidewalk and playing some sort of jumping game with the cracks below. She laughed along with him, lifting his arm to help him make the big jumps, even though she couldn't figure out how to play.

"There it is," Marinette said, pointing across the street.

"Yes!" Kon pumped his fist. "I'm going to eat one of everything except the desserts. I'll get 2 of those."

Marinette really hoped he was joking. She might not be able to afford all of that. She didn't tell him. She would discuss limiting how much to order at once when they were seated the table was small so that should help. When the server came around with the offerings she let Kon choose several but cautioned when the table was filling that they could choose more later if they still needed. She hadn’t had dim sum in a very long time. It reminded her of her mother’s favorite place in Paris. They had gone there for lunch every year on her mother’s birthday. They might gather with friends for treats in the evening but for lunch that day it was just her and Marinette. She missed her today. She called her for her birthday but it just wasn’t the same. She would have to find a way to get her mother to visit and bring her here. She had been planning to go home soon but the trip was delayed. That made everything feel a little more poignant.

Kon was bouncing around after his first few minutes of eating. She called the server over a third time to pick some plates for him. He only chose 2 more so Marinette was relieved. She asked to see the desserts next. He would definitely make room for dessert. She let him finish the last ones on his own so she could have a sweet one herself. She was definitely starting to feel full. She suspected he was as well. He was eating much more slowly now. At the beginning, she was certain that he hadn’t tasted anything but now he was savoring more. His eyes got really big when the sweets arrived though. He grabbed one and she did as well, as the server was moving away, he reached over to take one more. She smiled but pretended not to see him sneaking.

—-

Now, she wanted to find him some different clothes. They couldn’t be comfortable but she decided it could wait when he found a playground and seemed so excited to run around and play. She sat nearby and pulled out her pocket sketch pad to make some cute little boy designs. She was checking regularly and he seemed to be having a great time. He was climbing up to the top and sliding down. She almost had a heart attack when he climbed up the top of the tall twisty tube slide. He made it to the top and then leapt over it startling a smaller child who then laughed and watched him in awe as he ran around ignoring any concern for his own safety.

Marinette could have sworn that he was growing before her eyes. She had been certain that the other child would be the same size as Kon, but he was definitely bigger. It was probably too far away for her to get a good view. She waved as he looked back over to make sure she was watching him. He was delighted by everything. He joined a group of boys a few years older and ran off with them to play ball. She couldn’t see as well but he was still having fun. She didn’t worry again until they ran for a large tree. But she was left with no time to react as he quickly moved from the ground to the high branches. The other kids couldn’t even keep up. One girl who was a bit shorter and lighter seemed to do pretty well. Eventually they all climbed down and the crowd started to dwindle.

Kon ran up to Marinette after telling all his new friends bye. She tried not to let him see her frown but he definitely seemed taller. Not just taller. He was filled out. The jumpsuit was practically tight and the bottom left his ankles visible. His face still looked like a small child but if she tilted her head, she could see the older boy becoming visible. She tried to remember how he had looked before. She had heard children grow like weeds but she could not imagine that a child could visibly change very much over an hour. He grabbed her hand and dragged her along, he was definitely stronger too.

“Let’s get ice cream,” he exclaimed.

“How can you still be hungry?” she laughed, but pointed to a stand set up nearby.

“How tall do you think they can stack the scoops? I could probably eat 7.”

“I don’t know about 7. How about 3 and then we can find you some better fitting clothes.”

He frowned but then raced forward as the line moved. They made their order and he begged for a huge swirl of whipped cream on his. Even with all that he was finishing the last of his cone before Marinette finished her single scoop. She dug through her bag and found a granola bar to hand him before he could suggest she offer up the rest of her ice cream. It he was that hungry, they might have to get him food again soon but clothes were more pressing. She could swear that they were getting tighter and shorter by the minute.

She actually didn’t know any of the clothing shops for children. She usually made her own clothes and supplemented them with a few signature pieces to give a little flair if she needed. But they lucked out and passed by one. It looked like cute clothes but she made sure to get them a bit loose and stretchy. She thought she might have been imagining it at first, but he was halfway to her shoulders by the time they arrived at the shop. She was certain that it had to do with the testing that had been done on him. She was thinking back to when they originally met and he had definitely been acting like a young child. Now when they walked out he wasn’t playing the jumping game on the sidewalk. He walked beside her and complained about wanting food. But at least his clothes fit.

She was trying to decide if she should ask him more about what he knew about the research place but she didn’t want to upset him. She was lost in her head and not really listen to him talking about all the foods he could eat right now. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky and she mostly wanted to find some place cooler. But she was distracted by something in the window and she stopped to stare. It was a stunning dress that looked like a glittering night sky. Definitely the type of piece that she would pay for if she didn’t want to spend countless hours making a dress for herself. She was lost in thinking about it, she even had a formal event coming up that it would be useful for.

“You have to try that on. I will sit still and not complain," he promised.

“I really shouldn’t. I am not sure it is the best idea right now.”

“You will never know if you don’t try it on,” he said, pushing her towards the door. “Please, I want to see it.”

Marinette didn’t want to say no to his pleading eyes and she really liked the dress so she gave in rather easily. She had never been to this particular boutique before but she wondered if she might talk to them at some point about offering her designs. Much of her work would definitely fit with the range of products they offered. Kon made himself at home and laid out of the cushioned bench while the attendant brought her the dress in the right size. When she put it on, she wished that she hadn’t. It was absolutely perfect but she had already asked about the price. It was definitely more than she should pay right now, especially not knowing what would be happening with the child she had at least temporarily acquired who seemed to be able to eat endlessly.

“How long does it take?” he pounded on the door. “You have to show me too.”

She stepped outside and he gasped. “You have to get that right. It looks so good on you.”

“I’m not sure. It’s nice but I could probably make something to suit my needs.”

“If I had money, I would buy it for you,” he said. “You look like a princess. You are so pretty.”

She reached out and ruffled his hair. She smiled, covering her embarrassment. “You are sweet. I’m sure I can always come back if I change my mind.”

“You would have to do that soon,” the attendant said. “I think we will be out of this one by the end of the week. It’s a limited run.”

“I will check the dressing expectations of the event this evening. I hadn’t even intended to shop today but I passed by the window and there it was.”

“But you can save it, right?” the boy asked. “Maybe just one, through tomorrow?”

“I’ll misplace it in the back, just in case,” she winked conspiratorially at Kon.

—

Marinette sighed but gave in, completely ignoring her budget for a typical day out. She ordered the family platter of tacos but she expected that Kon would eat most of that. There was definitely something happening. He was back to speed eating again. She laughed at him as he crammed an entire taco in his mouth and ended up dumping hers down the front of her shirt. She was impressed that he managed not to spit his out as much as he was laughing at her. This was her own fault for taking in a child. Of course when she had done so he seemed more like a toddler but now he looked ready to borrow the car for a night out with friends. She huffed and moved towards the bathroom to clean up. She hoped there would be food left when she got back.

She stopped at the counter when she saw that they had a few shirts available. They sold merchandise for the local heroes. She didn’t know whether it was just part of the business model or if the heroes had helped out here but she got the Superboy one in her size. She always liked the red and black since she had worn the colors as a teen hero. It always made her a bit nostalgic even though she couldn’t claim to miss her time lying to everyone so she could fight evil with magic. She did what she could for her other shirt and then headed back out to the table where there was a man in a suit and glasses talking to Kon.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Marinette asked, forcing herself between the man and Kon as a barrier.

“No, I was just checking on Kon. I haven’t heard from him in a few weeks but I see he is here with you,” the man said.

His eyes dropped up and down over Marinette but she got the sense that rather than appreciating her as a woman that he was checking her to see if she was a risk. She glanced back at Kon. He could no longer be called a child. Even the clothes bought very loose were becoming tight again. She had been right about the food. It was all gone. The sun was shining in the window and it was like she was seeing him for the first time. And she was. At least up close. She had definitely seen pictures of him before. The man reached out his hand.

“I’m Clark Kent,” he said.

“I’m Marinette,” she responded.

“He is a good guy Marinette. He would have been my first choice to have found me if it hadn’t been you.”

“So something did happen to you?” Clark asked.

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure it was Cadmus, but we shouldn’t talk about that here.”

Clark nodded and walked away. Marinette could see him waiting outside. She took a moment to look at the man sitting before her.

“You aren’t a child then? You never were, at least not today.” she asked. “You are actually an adult with some sort of magical effects?”

“Not really magical. Scientific experiments to control me. But it could be magical, seeing a peek of what our children might look like in the future.”

“You’re Superboy,” she said. “That probably makes sense. I didn’t recognize you when you looked like you were 4.”

“Took a lot for them to make me a boy.” he lifted his hand and pushed the hair back from her face. “You are definitely super. Not many would help a child escape what would probably have looked like loving parents.”

“I had a feeling about you. That you needed help,” she said softly. “So what now?”

“Now you give me your number so I can find you again after I update those on my team about the situation.” He placed a kiss on her cheek and whispered next to her ear. “But I am definitely never going to get the image of you wearing my merch out of my head.”

Marenette looked down as she blushed and held out her unlocked phone to him so he could put his number in. “I’ll text you right away so you can let me know when things are wrapped up. I look forward to seeing you again.”

He nodded and walked out to give Clark an update about all he knew about their experiments. He would explain how they had used the flaws in his cloning to make him young rather than just incapacitate him. But first he wanted to go buy a dress.

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[marauderundercover]

Baby’s First Hero

AO3

Prev

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

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

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

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

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

“What?” Bruce asks, obviously hesitant.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’d love to watch her.”

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Onesies?” He asks. Bruce nods.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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[marauderundercover]

Goodbye, Stars

AO3

Prev

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

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

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

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

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

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

“So?” She says softly.

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

“No, I’ll be okay.” She says.

“Are you sure, Mars?” He asks gently.

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

“Fine. But if you need me sooner-”

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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[marauderundercover]

Wonder Woman: Star Babysitter

AO3

Prev

“She chose me, my friend. It only makes sense that I take her with me to Themyscira so that she can grow and train with other warriors.” Diana says, arms crossed. Clark runs a hand down his face, trying not to get too upset. Apparently, babies could sense when people were upset. And often started crying because of it. And it’s not that he hated when his niece cried, but he really didn’t like it. She was usually a little ball of sunshine, and he hated when she was upset.

“Diana, I know she chose the onesie with your symbol on it, but that doesn’t really mean anything. Please don’t steal my niece.” He says, regretting agreeing with Bruce. If they had just kept their mouths shut, he wouldn’t currently have Wonder Woman in his living room trying to take his niece away.

“I apologize for any confusion this has caused.” Bruce pipes up from his spot next to Marinette. His friend had followed Diana over, since he’d been the one to tell her about the whole ‘onesie situation’. He was supposed to be helping the situation, but instead he’d been handing cheerios to Marinette. His niece was in her bouncing walker thing, giggling as she played with the toys attached to it.

“I really don’t see the problem, Clark. I’m not saying that I won’t bring her back for visits. I’m just saying that she has potential that would be wasted here.” Diana says. Clark sighs.

“I understand you feel that way, Diana, but Marinette isn’t even my daughter. She’s my niece, and my brother and his wife will be back for her in a few days-”

“Perfect. I’ll speak to them about it then.”

“Diana, no!” Clark snaps, taking a steadying breath when he realizes the entire room had went silent. “I’m sorry for yelling. My brother and his wife, they don’t know I’m Superman.” He says. Diana frowns.

“How were you able to hide your powers from your brother? Your parents are aware, are they not?” She asks. He nods.

“I lived with my parents full time. Tom- my brother- we aren’t related by blood. Well, obviously, but he’s from Paris. My parents are friends with his mom, and Tom and I have always just referred to each other as brothers. He’s been my big brother my entire life, but he doesn’t know I have powers. I couldn’t- I didn’t want to put him in danger. I didn’t have the option with my parents, but I have the option with him. And with Marinette.” He says. Diana frowns, but nods slowly.

“I think you underestimate your brother and niece, but I will respect your wishes. However, if I am not allowed to take the young one to Themyscira, then I would like to assist you and Bruce in babysitting.” She says firmly. Clark blinks, glancing at Bruce and raising an eyebrow.

“Were you planning on staying for a while?” He asks. Bruce shrugs, but nods.

“Dick ended up asking to stay the night at his friend’s house. I was told that I can’t pick him up until noon tomorrow.” He says. Clark snorts, shaking his head, but grinning. Diana and Bruce were two of his best friends. While he was sure he was going to regret letting them help babysit, he couldn’t tell them no. After all, it would be fun, right?

---

“Diana, I swear-” Bruce starts, his voice frazzled while his hair was a complete and total mess. Diana quirks an eyebrow.

“What did I do?” She asks, chin jutted out. Bruce’s eyes narrow.

“You know what you did.” He growls. Clark moves between the two, trying hard to ignore the baby food covering Bruce’s shirt.

“Diana, how about you stop giving Marinette new foods?” He suggests. She rolls her eyes.

“It is not as if he cannot clean his shirt! And the little warrior has impeccable aim.” She says. Bruce huffs.

“Marinette’s not aiming, Diana. She’s just excited and throwing it everywhere she can.” He argues. Diana smirks.

“Really? Then why is your shirt the only one that’s covered?” She asks.

“Okay, guys, please. Let’s not fight right now. Especially not in front of you know who.” Clark says, holding up his hands pleadingly. The trio turns towards Marinette, who was still trapped in her high chair. She giggles, patting the puddle of sweet potato mush on her tray.

“Very good, my little warrior. You will strike fear into every enemy.” Diana praises, clapping her hands. Clark winces when Marinette joins in the clapping, sweet potato mush going everywhere.

“Diana-” Bruce starts, but she cuts him off.

“She is happy, Bruce. And that is all you can ask of one so small. Let her have this.” She says. Bruce sighs, but nods.

“Do you have any wipes, Clark? I have a feeling we’re going to need quite a few.” He says, turning to him. Clark nods, smiling at his friend. Okay, so maybe the three of them wouldn’t be opening a daycare any time soon. It was still fun to at least try to watch Marinette together. Even if it let him know that Diana and Bruce definitely did not have the same philosophy when it came to kids.

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[marauderundercover]

Coping with Anger

AO3

Prev

Marinette was angry. She’d been a hero for almost an entire year. Almost an entire year of putting her life on the line nearly every day with absolutely no training. Sure, she’d asked her Maman if she could sign up for gymnastics and self defense classes right after Hawkmoth showed up, but she still didn’t feel like it was enough. She was no closer to figuring out the villain situation than she was a year ago. Instead, she was just angry. Because for almost an entire year, she’d tried to contact the Justice League. And for almost an entire year, they had ignored her. Now, even though she was currently on a plane to her favorite place in the world (she’d recently met the Guardian of the Miraculous, who insisted he had a plan to make sure there were no attacks while she was gone for a week), she couldn’t shake off the residual anger. It was frustrating. She was hardly ever angry, especially this angry. This anger had lasted for days, and it was starting to grate on her nerves. She hoped that spending some time at the farm would help. She was certain she’d go crazy if it didn’t. 

---

Conner was worried. Marinette was much quieter than she usually was. And he could see the tension in her shoulders. It had been there ever since they arrived, which wasn’t like her. Usually he could see the tension and worry literally melt off his little sister. But now…

“What’s wrong with M?” Jon asks, the missing front teeth giving him a slight lisp. Conner shrugs. 

“I’m not sure yet. What did you notice?” He asks. Jon sighs. 

“She doesn’t wanna go to the treehouse. And she keeps grinding her teeth. It sounds like it hurts.” His little brother says, the concern clear on his face. Conner nods. 

“I’m gonna try to talk to her. I’ll send you in if it doesn’t go well.” He says. Jon’s jaw drops. 

“Wait, why me?” He asks. Conner shrugs, grinning. 

“Marinette could never be mad at you.” He says. Jon huffs, but grins. Conner ruffles his little brother’s hair before beginning his search for his little sister. It doesn’t take long to find her hiding in the barn, her knees pulled up to her chest with her face buried in her knees. 

“Who is it?” She grumbles, not bothering to look up. 

“Conner, but wouldn’t you have felt bad if it was Jon?” He asks, gently nudging her foot with his. She huffs. 

“As if Jon could walk that quietly.” She says, making Conner snort. She had a point. Shaking his head, he sits next to her, leaving enough space between them so that they weren’t touching. 

“Wanna tell me what’s been bothering you?” He asks, jumping straight to the point. She huffs, making herself even smaller. 

“Nothing.” She mumbles. 

“Bullshit. You’ve been tense as hell since you guys got here yesterday.” He says. Marinette snaps her gaze up to him, and he recognizes some of the emotions on her face and in her eyes. Hurt, anger, frustration, tiredness. “Look, you don’t have to tell me what’s wrong. But bottling it up like this and letting yourself get so tense- it’s not healthy.” 

“Then what am I supposed to do? Really? Because at this point, I’ll take any suggestions.” She says, shaking her head. Conner glances around the barn, almost immediately spotting the punching bag in the corner. Clark had put it up a couple years ago when Conner was still struggling really badly with his anger.

“Hit something.” He says, standing up and holding a hand out. Marinette flinches back. 

“I’m not going to hit you, Conner.” She says. Conner snorts. 

“I don’t mean me, Mari. I mean the punching bag.” He says, nodding towards it. She perks up slightly, taking his hand and letting him help her up. “A couple years ago, Clark put it up for me. Back when I was really angry all the time. I don’t know if it’ll help you, but it always helped me. Got the tension and anger out without me snapping at someone.” He says, leading her towards it. He pulls out the tape and gauze. 

“What’s that for?” She asks as he takes her hands and begins wrapping them. 

“It’s to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. Trust me, I’ve seen plenty of people bust their knuckles on punching bags before.” He says, thinking back to the time he’d walked in on Dick, his knuckles covered in blood shortly after Jason had died- well. He understood it, but it also wasn’t the healthy way to go at a punching bag. And he certainly wasn’t going to let his little sister get hurt like that. He’d be mad at himself, and he didn’t even want to think about how mad everyone else would be at him, too. 

“Is there a certain way to do this?” She asks, shifting her weight to stand in a position that was almost perfect. Conner grins before launching into an explanation. Hopefully, this would help. 

---

After an hour of punching the heck out of the punching bag, Marinette finally felt like she could breathe. The anger that had seeped into every fiber of her being had dissolved almost completely, instead leaving her with a (bitter) resolve. She would stop trying to contact the Justice League. It was obvious they weren’t going to be any help to her, so she didn’t need to continue wasting her time. Not when there were other things that she could put her energy towards. 

“Tag! You’re it!” Jon giggles, before running away from her. Marinette grins, focusing back on the game of tag she was playing with her whole family. Her cousins and Uncle were definitely going slow, but that was probably because her parents were also playing. But that worked for her- meant she actually had a chance. 

“You better run, Jon, or I’m gonna get you!” She teases, sprinting after him as he giggles wildly. Things were better. Things were good. 

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[marauderundercover]

Sibling Annoyance

AO3

Prev

In her adventures with babysitting, Marinette had discovered something that she hated more than anything. Well, something that annoyed her more than anything else that the kids could do. It was called ‘interrupting cow’. Manon had been the first to introduce her to it. And then Nino’s brother. And then the twins. It annoyed her more than anything else. And she kind of thought all of the kids in the entire world knew it. So she was shocked when her little brother told her that he had never heard of it before.

“Is it a video game?” Jon asks. Marinette’s eyes widen.

“Hold on, you’ve never heard of it?” She asks. He shakes his head. “You’re like, ten! How have you never heard of it?” He shrugs.

“Most of the kids at school don’t really…I don’t fit in with most of them. I only really hang out with Damian, and he’s…different.” Jon says, shrinking in on himself slightly. Marinette’s heart clenches. She hated how mean kids were. Jon was one of the sweetest, funniest, most honest kids she knew. And people were mean to him because of it. Reaching up and squeezing his shoulder gently, Marinette grins at him.

“Don’t worry about it, petit frère.” She says, softly. Ignoring how much she was going to hate it, she adds: “I’ll teach you.”

---

Eyes narrowing in on their next victim, Marinette grins. Not that her family knew, but she would be much closer to them this school year, since she’d been accepted as an exchange student at Gotham Academy. Which means she’d get to annoy them (and them, her) much more. She was excited for it, and had maybe decided to be a bit of a nuisance because of it. It was hard to turn down the opportunity to pick on her older brother. And that was their next victim.

“Are you sure Kon doesn’t know about this?” Jon asks quietly. Marinette nods, before holding a finger up to her lips. She wasn’t sure how they did it, but the Kent side of the family was always really good at hearing literally everything. And she didn’t want to give away the joke before they did it. Marinette strolls into the family room, Jon following her with a grin. Conner spots them and raises an eyebrow.

“What did you two do?” He asks. Marinette’s jaw drops.

“Us? Your adorable little siblings? We have never done anything wrong in our lives. Ever.” She says. Jon snorts and Conner’s eyebrow raises impossibly higher.

“Really? What about that time we made cupcakes? Or the time you ruined the surprise of Clark and Lois’ proposal by telling Lois about the ring? Or how about-“

“Okay!” Marinette cuts him off, frowning. “Okay, I have made the occasional mistake. But our darling little brother? He’s an angel.” Conner just blinks at her.

“His best friend is literally Damian Wayne.” He says. Marinette shrugs.

“That means nothing to me. Anyway, he told me a really funny joke earlier and you have to hear it.” She says. Conner sighs, obviously sensing that they were up to something, but no way to prove it.

“Fine. Let’s hear it, kid.” He says, turning to Jon. Jon, who had been silent up to that point, grins widely.

“Knock knock.” He says.

“Who’s there?” Conner asks tiredly.

“Interrupting cow.” Jon says, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Interrupting cow-”

“MOO!” Jon yells, cutting Conner off. Conner blinks, then shakes his head, snorting lightly.

“Okay, kid, that was-”

“MOO!” Jon yells again. Marinette does her best to not let her eye twitch. She would not let this annoy her like it did when the kids she babysat did. Then again, she had heard this most of the day as she followed Jon around to each of his victims.

“Very funny, Jon. Now-”

“MOO!” Jon says again, giggling like a mad man. Conner shoots a glare at Marinette and she snorts at the clear exasperation on his face.

“I’m guessing Marinette taught-”

“MOO!” Conner’s eye twitches and Jon slumps, pouting. “How are you so good at guessing people’s breaking points?” He asks Marinette. Marinette shrugs, smirking.

“It’s a talent that I’ve procured after years of practice.” She says. Conner’s eyes narrow.

“Are you telling me you made a bet about me getting upset?” He asks. Jon holds his hand up, tilting it side to side.

“Kind of. We actually both guessed how many ‘moos’ it would take to make everyone’s eyes twitch. I thought you’d last at least six. Marinette guessed four.” He says. Conner huffs.

“Have you already got everyone else?” He asks. Marinette nods, grinning sharply. “Who broke first?”

“Aunt Lois. Only took two moos before she pulled out the full name.” Marinette says. Conner snorts, shaking his head.

“Doesn’t surprise me.” He says. Lois, while usually okay with their pranks and jokes, was always no-nonsense when she was working on a story. And despite it being their vacation, she’d been working on a story the whole day.

“Uncle Tom never broke. He laughed every time.” Jon says, grinning widely. Conner huffs out a laugh.

“That also doesn’t surprise me. How many did you try on him?” He asks.

“Jon made it to twenty four before Maman suggested we come bother you.” Marinette says. Conner frowns.

“Betrayed by Sabine? I didn’t expect that one.” He says.

“There are no sides with interrupting cow.” Her Maman says, walking into the room with a small smile. “Only those being interrupted, and those hiding.” She teases, giving Jon a small hug. He just grins.

“Sorry, Auntie Sabine.” He says. Her Maman shakes her head.

“You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart. Marinette, on the other hand.” She says, giving her a look. Marinette’s jaw drops.

“Me?” She asks, holding a hand against her chest. “I’m hurt, Maman! I’m an angel-”

“Don’t even.” She says, laughing and shaking her head. “I have sixteen years worth of stories to tell to your future spouse one day. And I will.” Marinette huffs, pouting.

“You teach your little brother one, tiny, annoying joke-”

“MOO!” Jon calls, laughing as Marinette’s eye (finally) twitches. The rest of the room joins in the laughs, and Marinette shakes her head before laughing too. Their family was never dull.

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[marauderundercover]

Waffles and War Stories

AO3

Prev

Note, this takes place immediately after ch. 12 of “A Guide to Love and Coffee in the City of Crime which can be found here on AO3 or here on Tumblr. You don’t need to read that to understand this chapter. Just know that identities are still secret, but the League now knows about the ‘Paris Situation’. 

---

Marinette walks into the diner, grinning when she spots her cousins, Aunt and Uncle already waiting for her.

“Hey guys!” She says cheerily, not missing the way her Uncle scans over her as if assessing for injuries. Once he seems satisfied that she wasn’t currently hurt, he smiles back at her.

“Hey Sunshine.” He says, his smile unwavering as she slides into the booth. Glancing between each of her family members, she sighs before slumping slightly.

“Who told you?” She asks. Uncle Clark raises an eyebrow.

“Pardon?” He says. She sighs again, straightening.

“Who told you about the Paris situation? Was it Tim? Or maybe Nadja? Oh. I guess maybe Jimmy found out somehow-” She starts to ramble before Conner cuts her off.

“Mars, what are you talking about?” He asks, his confusion clear. Marinette frowns.

“The situation in Paris?” She says, and immediately the boys all stiffen. “So you do know.”

“What gave us away?” Her Uncle asks. She shrugs, then grins.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it was the dozens of missed calls from the boys once I could get to my phone again. Or the texts. Or the call from you.” She lists off, putting down a finger for each one. “Or maybe it’s how you looked at me like you expected me to be injured when I walked in.” Her Uncle sighs.

“Are you- mad at us?” He asks. She snorts, then shakes her head.

“Why would I be mad that you found out about Paris? Like, yes, I originally didn’t want you to know because you can be super overprotective, but now? It’s not like you can just suddenly get to Paris. Plus this way, Maman, Papa and I don’t have to hide it anymore. And we can talk about all of the funny akuma stories, though there’s not really many of those anymore.” Marinette rambles. Her family just stares at her for a moment. Completely silent. And then Aunt Lois starts laughing.

“Honestly, I don’t know what I thought your reaction would be, but I should’ve guessed you’d want to look at the bright side. Or the funny side. You are just like your Uncle.” She says fondly, shaking her head. Marinette grins.

“Why, thank you.” She says. Aunt Lois snorts again, before letting out a long sigh.

“Okay kid. We have several years worth of stories to listen to about the whole ‘Hawkmoth’ and ‘akuma’ situation, and we have a ton of breakfast food to eat. Where do you wanna start?”

—-

Clark was doing his best to keep an easy smile on his face while Marinette told stories, smiling and laughing as she relayed her stories to the boys and Lois. Her stories of being a civilian caught in the middle of a magical war that the Justice League had done nothing to stop. And although he was smiling, Clark was screaming internally. He’d never thought to x-ray his niece before for no reason. After all, why would he? Every time she’d fallen down or off of something, he’d x-rayed her, but she hadn’t been clumsy like that since before she was twelve. And now here she was, sixteen years old, with bones that looked like they’d been shattered and re-healed dozens upon dozens of times. Because according to the Parisian heroes, all physical damage was fixed by their powers. So her bones were no longer broken. Her spine no longer snapped, her skull no longer crushed, her neck- physically she was fine. But how was she mentally? How much of the horrors did his poor niece remember? He’d seen a video of a particularly bad akuma. Syren, they’d called her. Paris had been flooded beyond recognition, with only around four hundred survivors left on the rooftops. Did she remember it? Was she one of the lucky ones? Or did she drown, slowly losing the ability to breathe before taking in that last gasp- the water that would fill her lungs and ease her out of her suffering as she numbed to everything. It made him sick to think about, and that wasn’t even adding in his older brother to the equation. He couldn’t think about him, or his sister in law. The sheer number of terrors they’d seen and lived through- and he’d been against Marinette moving to Gotham? Well, he still was, but at least he understood where she was coming from a little better now.

“Right? Oh, and then there was my first date.” She’s saying, and Clark tunes back in, quirking an eyebrow.

“Your first date?” He asks. Marinette nods, grinning sheepishly.

“It may or may not have been with an akumatized individual.” She says. Clark blinks at her.

“I- am at a loss for words.” He finally says. She snorts, shrugging.

“Yeah, that’s fair. We were already friends before that whole situation, and we’re still friends now so it’s not like it mattered that much.” Marinette says flippantly.

“So you dated a villain?” Conner asks, obviously trying to figure out what she was saying. Marinette’s expression darkens slightly, and she shakes her head.

“No. Akumatized people are almost never villains. They don’t, for the most part, choose to be akumatized. They’re victims, normal people whose bad day is taken advantage of.” She says, and her shoulders slump as she folds in on herself. “There are some akumas that I won’t talk about. I just- I can’t. They were…scary. And heart breaking. Just know, Hawkmoth started out targeting negative emotions that were surface level. Like being embarrassed from having a crush outed, or being sent to the principal’s office despite doing nothing wrong. But he’s evolved. Now, our akumas are much darker. A grieving mother, an abused child, someone who is ready for everything to just end.” Marinette pauses, swiping furiously at her tears before letting out a soft breath. “None of them are villains. The only villain is Hawkmoth.”

“Oh, Mars.” Conner says softly, immediately moving towards her to wrap her in a hug. Marinette immediately buries her face in his chest, crying softly as Conner holds her close. Clark’s heart breaks at the sight, and in that moment he makes a promise. Hawkmoth was going down. And soon.

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[marauderundercover]

I Can Hear the Bells

AO3

Prev

“Does Auntie Lois finally live here?” Marinette asks, walking out of the bathroom, her tiny face scrunched up. Clark blinks back at her before shaking his head slowly.

“Uh, well, no? She still has her apartment.” He says, not telling her that the two were definitely moving towards that place. That Lois now spent more time at his apartment than her own. Marinette’s shoulders immediately slump and she frowns.

“But then why does she have a tooth brush here?” She asks. Clark’s eyes widen. He knew his niece was smart, but he didn’t realize she was so…observant. It had been a few months since he last got to see her in person, and he’d forgotten that despite only being four and a half, she was very mature for her age. And, apparently, observant.

“Well uh, sometimes, Aunt Lois stays…here.” He says, unsure how to explain it to her. Marinette frowns.

“If she stays here sometimes, then why isn’t she here now?” She asks. Clark smiles softly.

“Because you’re here this week, sweetie. And-” He starts to say, but she cuts him off, eyes wide.

“Does Auntie Lois not love me anymore?” She asks, her lower lip trembling. Clark’s eyes widen and he shakes his head rapidly.

“No, Sunshine, no that’s not- that’s not at all- she um.” Clark stumbles over his words, panicking as he sees the tears well up in his niece’s eyes.

“So she still loves me?” She asks with a small sniffle. Clark nods.

“Oh yes, honey. Of course. She still loves you very, very much.” He says. “In fact, why don’t we call her and she can tell you herself?” He suggests. Marinette nods slowly, the hesitance still clear on her face. Clark immediately finds his phone and dials Lois’ number, crossing his fingers that his girlfriend would pick up.

“Hello?” She says and he sighs, putting her on speaker phone.

“Hey Lois.” He says.

“Clark? Is everything okay? You sound…off.” She says, immediately catching on that something was wrong. It was one of the things he loved about her.

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry. Marinette uh, she found your toothbrush. And she’s wondering why you aren’t here if you stay here sometimes. She’s worried you don’t love her anymore.” He says, and Marinette sniffles slightly.

“Oh, honey. Of course I love you, Marinette. You’re my only niece afterall.” She says, and Marinette huffs.

“If you love me, why did you leave?” She asks.

“I didn’t wanna interrupt your family time with your Uncle, sweetheart.” Lois says gently. Marinette frowns.

“But you’re my family too. And if you live here sometimes, you should be here too.” She says, as if that was the most obvious logic in the world.

“It’s up to your Uncle.” Lois says, and Clark’s eyes widen. Marinette immediately turns to him, her eyes wide and pleading. Clark tries to ignore the way his heart tries to pound out of his chest. Sure, he was already planning on asking Lois to marry him, but this felt like a big step. Watching over his niece together? Like an actual family? That was- it was huge.

“We’d love to have you here.” Clark says, unable to stop the smile from bursting onto his face as Marinette does a little happy dance.

“I’ll be there in an hour.” Lois says, and Clark feels like he’s floating.

---

Marinette stifles her giggles, trying not to be found in her hiding spot. Uncle Clark was a hider too, cause no one else ever won if he was seeker. But Auntie Lois wasn’t bad at it either. Finally, Marinette hears her Uncle sigh.

“How do you do that?” He asks with a laugh, and Marinette knows she’s won.

“You’re just not as good at hiding as Marinette is.” Auntie Lois says matter-of-factly. Marinette grins and shimmies out of her hiding spot, running up to her aunt with her arms raised. She immediately picks her up and hugs her close.

“You are an amazing hider, little miss.” She says, and Marinette giggles.

“I gotta be!” She says, before turning and giving her Uncle a look. “If I wasn’t, the game would end way too soon.” Uncle Clark lets out a huffy laugh before holding his arms out to her. Reaching back for her Uncle, Marinette grabs onto him and hugs him back.

“Sorry about that, kiddo.” He says, but she just grins.

“It’s fine! I just gotta hide even better.” She says, and her Uncle laughs.

“Sure thing, Mari.” He says. Marinette looks between her Aunt and her Uncle before frowning. “What’s wrong?” He asks.

“Are you married?” She asks. Her Uncle’s eyes widen immediately and his face turns bright red. Like a cherry. Turning back to her Aunt, she’s surprised to see that she’s also pink. But more like a flower than a fruit.

“Well, um-” Her Uncle starts, but Marinette cuts him off.

“Auntie Lois is the best aunt ever. And she lives here sometimes and you love her a lot, so you’re married, right?” She asks. It just made sense. Maman and Papa were married. And they lived together. And they were the bestest parents ever. And they loved each other.

“Mari, honey, it’s a little more than just that.” Her Uncle says, and she frowns.

“What do you mean?” Marinette asks.

“Well first I’d have to ask her.” He says. Marinette shrugs.

“Then ask her now.” She says. Her Uncle’s eyes widen.

“What? Mari- honey, you have to use a ring. And um, it’s usually in a special place and something is planned for it.” He says. She scrunches her nose up.

“But you have a ring.” Marinette points out, ignoring the low gasp from her Auntie Lois. “And there’s lots of special places. So why didn’t you do it yet?”

“I was waiting for the right time.” Uncle Clark says, his face a weird color. It was like all the red and tan (from summer on the farm) had melted away. He looked like paper.

“Well why can’t this be the right time?” Marinette asks. It didn’t make sense. He had the ring and he loved Auntie Lois. So why didn’t he just ask her? Marinette frowns at her Uncle as he puts her down on the ground.

“Wanna go grab that ring?” He asks, whispering in her ear. Marinette gasps and nods, running and finding the ring quickly. She walks a little slower going back to the living room, cause she could hear her Uncle talking. When she gets back to the living room, her Uncle was on one knee and her Aunt was crying. But she also looked happy.

"So?” Her Uncle says, and Auntie Lois nods really fast.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you!” She says. Marinette cheers as her Uncle jumps up and picks her Aunt up, spinning her around. Both grown ups laugh happily before they kiss. Marinette wrinkles her nose a bit at the kiss, but rushes over to them the second they stop.

“I got the ring!” She says, holding it out for her Uncle. He grins at her and picks her up, giving her a quick hug.

“You sure did, kiddo.” He says, hugging her and her Aunt close to him. Marinette smiles, proud of herself for getting her Aunt and Uncle married. Maman and Papa would be so proud!

Next

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[marauderundercover]

Revelations and Help

AO3

Prev

One thing that Clark Kent hated about being Superman, was the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t save everyone. It was something that had weighed heavily on him during the entirety of his hero career. It was something that he was sure would continue to weigh heavily on him for the rest of his life. When you have powers, when you can do more than the average person, the pain of failure hurts even more. Because you should be better than that. He should be better than that. Days like these easily let him fall away into his thoughts; the negativity a never ending spiral that threatened to suffocate him if he stayed in their depths for too long. Especially with no one waiting back at his empty apartment. No one there to remind him that he’s only one man. That it’s okay to lose a fight, to fail a little. That it didn’t make him any less of a hero. Slumping down onto his couch, Clark lets his face fall into his hands, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the tears away. The shrill ringing of his phone brings him back, but he still just blinks at it. It didn’t matter. He could talk to them later. Whoever it was. Before he can disappear within his own head again, the phone rings again, this time a FaceTime request. Glancing at the caller, he can’t help the way his lip twitches up at the sight. Quickly wiping his eyes, he hits answer.

“Bonjour, Oncle Clark!” Marinette says, grinning widely. Clark grins back at his niece. She had recently turned four and, according to his brother, now thought she was very mature.

“Bonjour, Mari. How’d you get your dad’s phone, kid?” He asks with a grin. Marinette giggles.

“Papa and Maman are working. They thought I was sleeping, but you needed me.” She says. Clark blinks, raising an eyebrow.

“What?” He asks. She shrugs, huffing a bit.

“I don’t know! But you needed me.” She says again. Then, in a smaller voice, she says: “you were very sad.” Clark inhales sharply. Okay, so his niece somehow had a strong enough bond with him that she knew he was upset from an ocean away. Sure. He was going to file that away in the ‘weird things about my family’ list he had going on. A mental list, but a list nonetheless. Not that it mattered how she knew he was sad. It just meant she was different.

“Well, you were right. But I’m feeling better already.” He says gently. She grins, the tension melting away from her tiny shoulders.

“Oh, good! I watched the stars yesterday.” She says, getting a far away look on her face. He was pretty sure she remembered the short trip to the Watchtower that she’d taken when she was two. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to set up anything with Bruce and Dick again so the little budding friendship between the two had fizzled out. He did have hopes that one day, the two could meet again. Marinette could use a big brother in her life to watch out for her. The world was a big, scary place after all.

“Were they bright last night?” Clark asks. Sometimes, the lights in Paris were too bright for his niece to clearly watch the stars; which was something she complained about often. Marinette frowns.

“Non. They were…worried.” She says, tilting her head to the side as she thinks. Clark raises an eyebrow. Stars? Worried?

“How do- why do you think they were worried?” He asks. Her lower lip trembles slightly, and Clark’s afraid she’s going to start crying. Instead, she lets out a heavy breath, looking far too tired for four.

“I don’t know. But they’re worried about the man and the woman.” She says. Clark sits up a little straighter. Some people would just pass right over what she was saying. After all, she’s four. And she couldn’t have been awake for long, judging by the bed head and Disney princess pajamas she was still wearing. But- but Clark had proof that she could feel things she shouldn’t be able to. She knew he was sad, knew that talking to her would help. From an ocean away, his niece knew that. So if she said the stars were worried about a man and woman- well, Clark was inclined to believe her.

“Do you think you’re in danger?” He asks, trying hard to keep his tone light. No need to scare her, but if she thought there was danger…Clark was Superman. And although deep down he knew that he couldn’t save everyone, no matter how hard he tried, he’d be damned if his family was on the list of people he couldn’t save. He’d rather walk into hell itself than let anything happen to his family. The tired look on his niece’s face instantly morphs into confusion.

“No? I’m home!” She says. Clark does his best to smile, despite the tension he could feel restricting his body.

“I meant the stars, Mari. Do- do they think you’re in danger?” He asks. She hums, tilting her head towards something unseen. A window, maybe?

“I- I don’t think so. They’re worried, but they’re also waiting. It’s up to them.” She says firmly. Clark quirks an eyebrow.

“Up to who?” He asks. She shrugs.

“The man and woman.” Clark makes a mental promise to continue checking in on the situation. If he didn’t? If he missed something? And his family got hurt because of it? He would never forgive himself.

—-

Years later, after hearing about a man in Paris with the power of a god at his fingertips, Clark Kent couldn’t stop himself from being sick. At the thought of his family being hurt. At the long forgotten memory that was dredged up from the pit of his mind. A phone call with a little girl who said the stars were worried- a forgotten promise to check on the situation. A situation which had clearly surpassed anything that he could have imagined. And as Clark washes the bile out of his mouth, all he can think is: was it preventable? Could he have stopped this?

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[marauderundercover]

What Super Strength Can’t Fix

Prev

AO3

Marinette was super excited! She gets to spend a whole five days with her Uncle in Metropolis! Her parents were in a baking competition up in New York, so Uncle Clark had said she could stay with him. 

“Are you excited?” Her Uncle asks, grinning at her as they walk towards the Daily Planet building. She nods rapidly, barely able to keep herself from jumping up and down. 

“Is Auntie Lois gonna be there?” She asks. Her Uncle’s face turns pink. 

“I uh, I don’t know if- why do you insist on calling her Auntie?” He asks, stumbling over his words. Marinette shrugs, smiling. 

“She told me to. Plus she’s awesome.” She says. He opens and closes his mouth several times before just laughing and shaking his head. 

“Okay then. C’mere kiddo.” He says, leaning down and picking her up. Marinette giggles when he tosses her up in the air before setting her on his shoulders. He walks into the Daily Planet and Marinette grins, glancing all around the room. It was one of her favorite places in the whole world. She loved all of the people and noises. And the smell of ink and warm paper. 

“Hey! There’s my favorite kid!” Jimmy calls, walking over to her and her Uncle. Marinette gasps, clambering down and reaching for Jimmy. He laughs and takes her, giving her a hug. “You’re getting so tall! How old are you now? Twenty?” He asks. Marinette giggles. 

“I’m four!” She says, holding up four fingers. Jimmy gasps.

“Wow! How long are you here for?” He asks, glancing back at her Uncle. 

“She’s here til Sunday. I was gonna take the rest of the week off, but she insisted on coming in to see everybody.” Uncle Clark laughs. Jimmy grins. 

“Well I’d hope so! I know a certain someone would’ve been upset if she knew her favorite lady was in town and didn’t stop to say hi.” Jimmy says. Marinette’s eyes widen. 

“Is Auntie Lois here?” She asks. Jimmy nods and she jumps out of his arms. Immediately, she starts to run, ignoring her Uncle calling for her and running behind her. She knew right where Auntie Lois’ office was, and she was determined to get there before her Uncle could stop her. Turning the corner, she grins and runs even faster, latching herself onto her Aunt’s legs. 

“Oomph.” Auntie Lois grunts, stumbling slightly. Marinette grins up at her, giggling when the woman picks her up and hugs her close. “If it isn’t my favorite niece! Did you come here all by yourself?” She asks. 

“I remembered where your office was!” Marinette says, grinning cheekily. Auntie Lois laughs, shaking her head. 

“You’re very smart. Where’s your Uncle?” She asks. 

“Right here.” Uncle Clark says, his cheeks pink. Marinette turns around in her Aunt’s hold, reaching for her Uncle. He sighs, but smiles and reaches for her. Easily taking her, he helps her back onto his shoulders. “Jimmy spilled the beans that you were here. Neither of us could keep up with the kid after that.” He says with a grin. Auntie Lois snorts. 

“Of course not. I am her favorite, after all.” She says. Uncle Clark gasps. 

“Is that true, Mari?” He asks. She nods her head. 

“Auntie Lois is my favorite aunt and you’re my favorite Uncle.” She says. Uncle Clark laughs. 

“Of course, how silly of me.” He says. Marinette just grins. This was going to be the best day ever. 

—-

Clark settles back onto his couch, letting out a sigh. It’d been a long (but fun) day. Marinette had insisted she didn’t have a bed time, even though he knew she did. He did let her stay up just a little bit, but she’d finally gotten to bed an hour ago. It’d been relatively quiet on the hero side of things something he hoped would last, but had plans for if it didn’t. Just as he starts to doze off, a shrill scream echoes throughout his apartment. 

“Marinette.” He says, eyes wide as he immediately rushes to her room. He’s there and holding her in seconds, cradling his sobbing niece to his chest. He hums softly, rocking her back and forth. He continues to sing quietly to her until her sobs fall into soft sniffles. 

“I’m sorry.” She says, her voice breaking slightly. Clark frowns. 

“You don’t have to apologize, Sunshine. Are you- are you okay?” He asks. She shrugs, clinging to him tighter. 

“I’m fine.” She says. He purses his lips. 

“Are you sure?” He asks. Her lower lip trembles. 

“I had a nightmare again.” She says, her voice barely audible. Clark’s heart breaks as he holds her tighter. 

“How often do you have nightmares, Mari?” He asks. She shrugs. 

“All the time.” She says simply. Clark mentally makes a note to tell Tom and Sabine. Or to at least ask them if they knew about it. “I know they can’t hurt me, but it’s still really scary.” She mutters. Clark winces, feeling suddenly helpless. He was one of the strongest beings on Earth. He could fight almost any villain easily. But he couldn’t keep the nightmares away. He didn’t have a way to help his niece, and it made him feel awful. 

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” He says softly, hugging her gently. Marinette sniffles. 

“Can you please stay? Just til I fall asleep again?” She asks in a small voice. Clark nods, playing with her hair. He couldn’t fix the nightmare problem, but maybe he could help keep them from coming back. Tonight at least.

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[marauderundercover]

Nightmares and Tea Parties

AO3

Prev

Conner froze the second he walked into the living room of Lois and Clark’s. He’d been expecting his mentor or his mentor’s wife. What he hadn’t expected, was the small child he’d met over the summer who claimed she was his little sister (but that was a story for another time). He starts to back up. Maybe she hadn’t noticed him? Maybe he could sneak ou-

“Conner!” She chirps, her previous scowl immediately replaced by a wide grin. He nods at her.

“Hi Marinette. Where’s Clark? Or Lois?” He asks. She sighs, slumping back on the couch.

“Auntie Lois is on a call in her office and Uncle Clark got called away for work.” She pouts. Conner blinks.

“Oh. And they just left you in here?” He asks. She huffs.

“Duh. I’m five, I can watch a movie alone.” She says. He glances at the tv (it was off) before looking back at her.

“Right.” He says, glancing over her again. She was much angrier than she’d been when he’d seen her last. “Are you okay?” He asks.

“No. Well, yes, but no. Maman and Papa won’t let me get a dog.” She says. Conner raises an eyebrow. He hadn’t thought the kid was a brat before, but-

“Why do you need a dog?” He asks. He understood, to a point. He had Wolf, and would feel pretty lost without him. But to act like this? Over a dog? It was-

“Mme. Camille says it’ll help with the nightmares.” She says, her voice hollow and quiet. Conner jerks back slightly, as if he’d been slapped. Marinette had curled in on herself, obviously trying to make herself smaller. The nightmares? Marinette sighs, tugging her knees closer. “I have really bad nightmares. All the time. Maman and Papa took me to Mme. Camille to try to help. It doesn’t work. And since we can’t have a dog, they’re gonna make me take medicine.” Conner drops onto the armchair closest to the couch.

“I- I’m sorry, kiddo.” He says. She shrugs.

“Not your fault. ‘m just tired. But I’m too scared to sleep.” She says, and Conner can hear the exhaustion in her voice. Exhaustion that shouldn’t be present in such a young kid.

“Is there- can I do anything?” He asks. She shakes her head.

“No.”

“Do you wanna talk about the dreams?” He asks. She hesitates, eyebrows scrunching together.

“Sometimes, Paris is on fire. And sometimes the whole world is underwater. Because- because the stars are scared. And they’re really loud when they’re scared. And then I can’t stop thinking about the scary stuff that they’re worried about.” She explains, her voice barely audible. Conner just stares at her. That was- not what he was expecting. Weren’t kids supposed to have nightmares about clowns? And monsters under their bed? Not fires and floods. Before he can think too hard, Marinette begins to sniffle. Crap. Eyes wide, he moves so that he’s sitting next to her.

“Want a hug?” He asks softly. She doesn’t hesitate before throwing herself forward, wrapping her tiny arms around him. Conner, despite having super strength, is still caught off guard how strong the little girl is. “It’s okay, kiddo, I got you.” He says softly, gently petting her hair. He wasn’t exactly sure how to help her, but he could at least hug her. Maybe remind her she wasn’t alone.

“I’m sorry.” She sniffles after a few minutes.

“You don’t have to apologize, Marinette.” Conner says softly. “It’s okay.” AFter a minute, a thought comes to him. “Do you have a phone?” He asks. She pulls away from the hug, her eyebrows raised.

“I’m only five.” She says. Conner winces slightly. Right.

“Do you have a house phone?” He asks. She nods. “Can you use it?” Another nod. “Okay. How about I write down my phone number for you so that next time you have a nightmare, you can call me.” He suggests. She frowns.

“But Maman says the times are different and we can’t call all the time.” She says. Conner nods.

“Your maman is very smart, Marinette, but I’m saying it’s okay to call me if you have a nightmare or you’re scared. I’ll talk to your maman about it, too.” He says. Her eyes fill with unshed tears, and for a moment, he’s afraid he messed up.

“You’ll really help me?” She asks. He nods, pulling her back into a hug.

“I’ll always help you, kid.”

---

Letting out a long sigh, Clark puts the key into the door. Lois had apparently left for an emergency at the Daily Planet, but had assured him that Conner was a perfectly fine babysitter and that he could finish his League meeting before coming home. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t tired…or worried. Gently pushing the door open, he immediately raises an eyebrow at the sight. Conner and Marinette were sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, but that wasn’t the part that shocked him. The crown on his niece’s head and the tea set on the table also weren’t shocking. What was shocking was the feather boa around Conner’s neck. That and the floppy hat on the boy’s head.

“Lord Conner, you must remember to keep your pinky up.” Marinette chastises the boy as he picks up the tea cup. Conner nods, the twinkle of amusement in his eyes a contrast to the serious expression on his face.

“But of course, Princess Mari.” He says, before sticking his pinky out. Clark quickly snaps a picture with his phone before clearing his throat. Conner’s eyes widen slightly, before he grins lopsidedly.

“Having fun, kids?” Clark asks. Marinette nods rapidly.

“Conner’s the best!” She exclaims with a toothy grin. Conner’s grin becomes impossibly wider at the little girl’s statement.

“It’s my first tea party.” He says, shrugging. Clark ignores the slight twinge of anger in his chest. Not at Conner, of course. At the shit hand the boy had been dealt. The childhood that had been withheld from him. Even Clark had had a tea party when he was younger. Ma, Gina and Tom were all tea party fanatics. It hadn’t really occurred to him that it was an experience Conner might enjoy, too.

“Well I’m glad you guys have had fun. What do ya say we order a pizza for dinner?” He asks. Marinette cheers, and Conner nods. Clark grins at the two of them. Their family was odd, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Next

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