here is an OC of mine, her name is Mairielle, but you can call her Meringue! I'm currently borrowing her face for a dnd campaign were she is a simp for selune. sorry for the wip
part two of fear me pretty please? 🥺🥺🥺 i’ll give my spleen for it 🥺👉🏽👈🏽
Fear Me Pt. 2
Previous
Marinette glared up at the open window at the top of Agreste Manor where a purple butterfly flew out of. The only reason she was here was to do a stupid project with the kid. She was not here for this. She was tired, on her 8th cup of coffee in the last 2 hours, and Lila had spun the bathroom incident into some big story; so the school was currently at her throat. Marinette took a sip of her 8-shot coffee and let out a small pained groan. First she was going to finish this project, then she was going to take a LONG nap, then she was going to kill Gabriel Agreste. Well, maybe not kill, but brutally maim. So ignoring the chaos that was going to occur in the next 10 minutes when the Akuma latched onto the person she made her way into the stupid mansion.
It took her 18 hours after finding out Hawkmoth’s identity to prepare for the final battle. She refused to let Chat Noir join this fight. She had a feeling that if she let him come things would end very badly.
It was easy to sneak into the mansion, she had had to sneak through way worse or more convoluted security than this. Finding the lair was a bit harder, but when she focused on where the magic was most concentrated she discovered the jewels on the nightstand right next to where Gabriel lay asleep. There was another source of magic from somewhere else in the mansion as well, she’d have to check it in a bit. Quietly she walked towards the dresser and snatched the miraculi. It wasn’t some grand battle, it wasn’t anything bloody, but she was about to make it that way.
Casting a spell that would keep Gabriel asleep she began her work of carving the curse wounds into his skin. He would never be able to use or touch a miraculous again, and everyone would know who he was and that he was a cursed being. This was revenge for both Nooroo and Duusuu. When she was done she snapped her fingers and watched as he woke in excruciating agony as the ruins burned and seated into his skin. He turned his head and looked up at her as she stared down at him, a cruel smirk playing at her lips. She turned and saw Adrien in the doorway, he must have woken up to his father’s screams.
She could feel miraculous magic wafting off of him now that she was really focusing on him. She looked down at his finger and saw the cat miraculous on his finger. Swiftly she moved towards him and took the ring before he could even blink. And before he could turn around to call out to her, she was gone. The sound of police sirens filled the air and thus concluded the end of Hawkmoth’s reign.
Mrs. Agreste’s body was found in the basement and given a proper funeral. She was now allowed to rest in peace and Adrien was finally able to truly mourn his mother.
————
4 months later
Marinette was back at the Temple of Order. Her mission was completed, it was her duty to return to her people. When she returned she had been told of the fall of her sister tribe. A sudden spike of fear and dread filled her at the thought of her beloved falling with it, but she was relieved when she was told that was indeed alive and living with his father. She was to leave to find him in 1 week. Master Fu was soon to pass from this world, and he was going to make her the next guardian any day now.
When Marinette was called to her master’s bedroom she knew what was about to happen. No matter how much she tried to prepare herself, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the man who had raised and taught her. Kneeling at his bedside, silent tears slipped down her cheeks.
“Ah, Marinette, Wǒ xīn'ài de nǚ'ér. Are you ready?”
“No,”
Marinette sobbed,
“I’m not ready, Master.”
“No one is my dear, but it must happen. I Wang Fu relinquish my title as Guardian of the Miracle box of Balance and gift it to my apprentice and daughter, Marinette Chunhua Fu.”
Marinette could feel the energy change in the room as the magic transferred and moved around them. Marinette gripped Fu’s hand in her own as it slowly became cold. When all was said and done Marinette looked upon her master’s face. His eyes were closed and a small smile graced his lips as he fell into eternal slumber. The burial ceremony hit her hard, but when it was over she was given a bag filled with all of her neccaties and all of the things that Fu had passed onto her. Then she left her home and left towards where she was told her beloved would be. Gotham City, New Jersey.
————
Standing in front of the manor doors Marinette blinked at the door tiredly. It had been a very long flight and walk. Her feet hurt and she had had to fight if more than a few assailants on her walk here. Finally she knocked on the door and waited. A few moments later the large door was opened by an older gentleman.
“Hello miss, how may I help you?”
He said with a heavy British accent.
“Hello, may I come in, I’m looking for someone.”
“Of course, please come right on in.”
“Thank you.”
Marinette said with a breath of relief. Instead of waiting in the foyer like she expected, she was brought to a sitting room with soft plush couches, an unlit fireplace, and a small coffee table in the middle of the room.
“You my set your things down and take a seat while I gather everyone.”
“Thank you, and could you please just grab Damian?”
A soft smile graced the older man’s lips and he nodded.
“Of course miss.”
He said with a small hint of joy in his voice.
“Thank you sir.”
“Alfred is just fine.”
“Only if you call me Marinette.”
Marinette retorted with a small smirk.
“As you wish, Miss Marinette.”
And with that he disappeared. Marinette sat down and nearly melted at the warmth and softness that surrounded her. Suddenly all of the exhaustion hit her full force and despite her attempts to stay awake to see her love after so many years, blackness consumed her vision and she fell asleep.
Damian rushed into the room, running faster than he had for anything causing him to almost run into different things multiple times. When Alfred had told him that Marinette was waiting for him in one of the main rooms he didn’t even realize he had gotten up until maybe a minute after Alfred told him. A few of his siblings had been with him and were very confused at his reaction and had tried to follow him.
Once Damian saw her he quickly ran up to her and grabbed her hands. She didn’t respond which immediately sent panic through his system until he realized that she was just asleep. She must have been up for a very long time as he stared at the bags under her eyes. Letting out a breath of relief he gently moved some hair behind her ears and placed a gentle kiss to her temple.
“I missed you Angel.”
He whispered as he carefully lifted her into his arms letting her head lean against his shoulder. Marinette stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open just a crack.
“Mon Demon?”
She mumbles quietly. Damian smiled gently and leaned his head against her own.
“I’ve got you my Angel.”
With the Marinette snuggled deeper into her shoulder going completely lax in his hold with a peaceful smile on her lips. When he turned around he saw the shocked looks on his siblings' faces. Going back into his neutral facade he cleared his throat,
“I will explain later.”
And with that he turned away heading towards his room with his beloved once again in his arms. As he walked the lights gleamed off of something in her hair and he was delighted to see her still wearing the clip he had gifted to her, and later had engraved. Sadly he could no longer wear the bracelet as his wrist was now too large, but he always kept it with him in some way.
Carefully he pulled back his covers before placing her down on the bed. He placed the blankets all the way up to her neck and chuckled softly as she snuggled deeper into them. He quietly walked around the bed and sat right next to her and began his meditation. He would protect and stay with her. Nothing would ever separate them again.
Prompt for you (feel free to adjust this if you like)! Based on Princess Diana’s interview in 1995:
Marinette was interviewed by Lois Lane on live television about her past relationship with her former friends, bullying and harassment as well as abuse from her classmates. With Chloe, Marc, Nathaniel, Sabrina, Kagami and Luka as her only friends. Her mental health struggles including Marinette’s suicidal thoughts because Lila lied and falsely claimed about her, the toxic environment at her school and the reasons for her, Chloe, Marc, Nathaniel, and Sabrina to transfer to another school.
After the interview, it became number 1 trendy on Twitter and a national topic around the world. Bustier and Damocles were immediately fired from their jobs and had their license taken away, the class became pariahs from their peers in school and was excluded from any school activities and events. Their parents lost their jobs because of their kids' actions and nobody wants a bully parents to work for them. Lila and Alya were also sued by multiple celebrities for libel and defamation. Adrien was then stripped from his miraculous ring by Ladybug and his father sent him away to a very strict and harsh boarding school that his cousin Felix attended in London.
Hello! Thank you for the request!! I hope you like it, I tried to stay true to your original prompt, thank you again!!
TW: Swearing, Mentions of Past Abuse, Mentions of Violence, Bullying, Mentions of suicide, heavy angst
If you or someone you might know are struggling, please, please, PLEASE know that there are resources and people willing to help. It doesn't matter who you are, YOU ARE deserving of love and support!
There is a second message for this that was part two of the original request but I have no idea how to link the two.
~~~~
Marinette knew this was coming. She knew the second she decided to wear that dress to Fashion Week. She could feel everyone's eyes on the scars that ran up and down her body. She was covered in them, and almost all of them were inflicted by people she once considered friends. "This is a step towards healing," she remembered her therapist saying. "We may not like the past, but the more we try to run from it the faster it chases us," she remembered Luka humming as she ran her idea through him. "Your scars are not a sign of weakness," Kagami told her as they sparred, "A lion who has won many battles has many scars, and no one doubts its strength. Your scars are the mark of your strength." She took a deep breath and continued to walk forward. She could hear the paparazzi's cameras clicking as they took her picture. She would surely end up on the news, but Marinette decided, to let them talk. Let them talk about her scars and wonder where they came from, let them talk about who could have inflicted them on the designer. Let them talk until they finally decided to approach Marinette and ask. Despite her nerves telling her to curl up in a ball and hide, she kept her head high and walked down the red carpet like a queen walking to her throne. As soon as she was inside her phone buzzed, a message from Lois Lane. "Hi, honey. I saw the live feed from Fashion Week, are you going to be okay?" Marinette smiled as she read the message, Lois may be a reporter with a supernatural ability to detect a good story, but she was a mother first and was going to make sure her son's friend was alright. "I'll be okay. It was very scary because I knew everyone was staring," Marinette replied, she watched those little dots appear, and then Lois responded, "Do you want to talk about it? Off the record of course." It gave her a warm feeling to know that one of the greatest journalists was willing to let such a big story go to prioritize her comfort. She thought about it and replied, "Yeah, I would like to talk about it, but I'd like to talk about it on the record. Do you have some time in your schedule?" Lois's reply was almost instant, "Everything else can wait." Marinette typed out, "Perfect. I'll be in Metropolis in a week."
The first thing Marinette saw when she got off the plane was her friend Jon, followed by the airport's ceiling as she was quickly tackled into a hug. The two friends made small talk as she got her luggage and Jon decided to get her lunch. As they ate their conversation eventually turned to the reason for her trip. "Mari if you're uncomfortable at any time just say the word and mom will stop the interview. She's not like that one lady in Paris, she's not gonna push you into sharing anything you're uncomfortable with." Marinette sighed and picked at her food, "I know. That's why I want it to be Lois. She's the only one I can trust to let me tell my truth and not try to put some narrative on it or dig into more... private things," Jon nodded. His mother immediately figured out that Marinette was a hero. He remembered having to help his mom calm down the panicking girl and promising that if anyone could keep a secret identity a secret, it was Superman's wife. "If you don't mind, what made you decide to finally talk about all this?" Marinette's face contorted as she felt rage boiling in her stomach, "Damocles and Bustier still have their jobs," Jon gasped and Marinette continued, "It never would have gotten as bad if it did if they'd stepped in, but they refused! They refused to help me, and I bet they'll refuse to help others. I can't stand by and do nothing! I have proof of everything that was done to me, physical proof not just my word. I need to make sure they can't hurt anyone else," It felt so good to let out her anger without the fear of being akumatized for it. Taking a minute to calm down, Marinette continued, "I've also decided I'll be immigrating to Gotham. As much as I love my parents, I need to get out of Paris. So, this is also kind of one big last 'Fuck you' to the people who hurt me," Jon laughed, happy to see Marinette was still as feisty as ever. "Now what can I say to convince you to ditch Gotham and stay in Metropolis?" Marinette laughed, "Get my fiancé to move here, and then you've got a deal."
Lois really knew how to wrap the media around her finger and make a subconscious narrative, Marinette thought as she sat down on the porch of the Kent Family Farm. Mama and Papa Kent were more than happy to let Lois use it as a set for the interview, and when she asked Lois why the woman explained, "When people talk about something tough, or in our case hear you talk about something tough, they prefer to be in a safe environment. The farm has a very calming atmosphere, there's gentle background noise, and it's warm enough that we can be outside. Plus, it helps make you more sympathetic than an expensive set or a pricey hotel would. Most importantly, if it gets too overwhelming there are plenty of cute animals here to take your mind off things!" Marinette was a little concerned with just how well Lois understood how to paint a narrative but decided to roll with it. The two were in casual clothing as well, instead of the professional attire they were used to. Eventually, they were a couple minutes out from the camera feed going live, so Lois decided to give Marinette a rundown on how the process would work. "Ok honey, here's what's going to happen. I'll start off with an introduction explaining who you are and why we're here, and I'll ask you some basic small talk questions. After that, I'll ask about the scars, and it's your choice how much detail you wanna give. I'll base the rest of my questions off of what you tell me, so it will be like you and I just having a normal conversation. If at any time you need to stop, let me know and we'll cut the feed immediately. We've got a statement ready and everything, hell if you need me to I'll send the Super Boy Scouts to fetch Damian. Speaking of which you owe me an interview explaining how the hell you managed to charm that demon!" The two women laughed as they were told to take their places. The camera's light turned on, letting both women know they were now being broadcasted live to the entire world.
"Hello everyone! Thank you for joining us at such short notice. I'm Lois Lane and this gorgeous woman next to me is the marvelous designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Marinette waved at the camera, trying to ignore the nerves in the pit of her stomach. "Mari started designing at only eight years old, and by the time she was fourteen, she had already started her own company and won multiple design competitions. She's one of those rare people with a special kind of spark. We first met when she attended a business conference that my son and his friend, her fiancé, by the way, happened to be at. I love this girl like a daughter, so Damian Wayne if you're listening, I'll kill you if you hurt her." Marinette laughed, she could practically hear the sound coming from Damian, a mix of indignation and shock that such a thing would ever be suggested. "I really could spend the whole interview just gushing about you Marinette, but then we'd have wasted your time and two plane tickets. As you know dear, the media has been speculating about you particularly intensely since Fashion Week. I'm not going to pull my punches, Mari," Lois said, the tone shifting to a more serious one as the older woman reached over to gently hold her hands, "What happened? Where did those scars come from?" Marinette took a deep breath; it was now or never. "For starters, they did NOT come from Chloe. Ever since she apologized and we worked on becoming friends, she has always been open and honest about how she bullied me in school. That stopped when I was fourteen and even at her worst she never physically hurt me. She's never denied what she did when we were young, and I want to make sure the message is clear." Lois nodded. The businesswoman had always been honest about how bitchy she was as a child, and as a result, created multiple organizations to deal with bullying. "I also want to be clear that these did NOT come from my parents. My Papa wouldn't hurt a fly and my Maman would only ever hurt someone who hurts her family." 'Smart move,' Lois thought. If she didn't clear it up, tabloids would certainly spread rumors that she was abused by her parents, and they didn't want that for Tom and Sabine.
"If I may, who did they come from? Or is it a bit more complicated than that?" "It's a bit more complicated. It was kind of like the perfect storm. I didn't realize it at the time, but my old school was a very toxic environment. My teacher was more concerned about preaching unconditional forgiveness and pushing problems under the rug. For example, I had paint poured on me right before our class photo, and instead of punishing the people who did it, she made me THANK them for "adding their creative touch" because I had designed my dress and obviously this was just them wanting to help." A screen behind them was showing the incident in question. Marinette managed to get the surveillance footage and audio of many examples of her bullying. Many of her tormentors had gone on to be successful, and if she didn't have proof she could be sued for defamation. "Chloe can back me up on this, but the principal wasn't much better. If you had money or power, he was at your beck and call. As a baker's daughter, I didn't have the resources a fashion heir, Mayor's daughter, and Diplomat's daughter did. So even in situations like the paint one, I was always in the wrong because if their children were in trouble, it would upset the money." Lois nodded, "It sounds like a lot of what happened to you was ignored. What about the school board?" "I tried to contact them, but they either never got my messages or ignored them. Either way, I had no adults I could trust, and anything I tried to make it stop only ended up backfiring." Marinette honestly had no idea why the school board never intervened. She called, emailed, and wrote letters, hell she was about to resort to telegraph.
"So, was it one person who bullied you, or was it, multiple people?" Lois asked. Her heart hurt for the young girl across from her. "It was everyone in my class except Chloe, Sabrina, and Nathaniel, my other friends, Kagami, Luka, and Marc weren't in my class. One girl led everything. Lila Rossi transferred to our class right before summer when I was thirteen. She was a liar, she claimed to know all these celebrities, go to all these countries, and do all these charities. Most of my class believed her right away, but I was always suspicious of her because I actually knew some of the people she lied about. I tried to call her out on it, and while a couple of my classmates like Nathaniel put the pieces together and realized she was full of bullshit, one classmate, Adrien Agreste, basically told me to shut up and take it. 'Take the high road,' he kept telling me even as he helped them shove me into lockers, shred my sketchbooks, and steal my stuff. He never physically hurt me, but he would cover for the others when they would. They would shove me down the stairs and I'd break an arm, and he would tell them that 'Typical clumsy Marinette tripped and feel.' They would cut me, cut my hair, and slice me with scissors," Marinette gestured to the many scars on her arm, "And he would tell any teachers that I was just not paying attention. They'd burn me with chemicals in the lab, and he would say I was goofing off. Thankfully Mrs. Mendeleev never believed that, and she had me come to her every time something happened so she could document it. It was all she could do with the principal being less than competent, and thanks to her I actually have a timeline of what happened and when," Marinette turned to face the camera, she had started crying a while ago but was still able to speak clearly, "Love ya, Mrs. M!"
"If you feel comfortable talking about it, how did their abuse, and let's be honest it was more like torture, affect you?" Marinette sighed and rubbed her wrists as she could feel herself sinking back into that feeling of dread she had dealt with each day. "I won't lie, it got to me, it really did. I struggled to sleep and was so scared to go to school that I'd get physically sick in the mornings. I completely shut myself off from the world for a while, it felt like I was on autopilot and just... doing what I had to do to survive." She took a couple of deep breaths and continued, "It didn't take long for me to believe what they were saying about me. My mental health was already screwed up thanks to Bustier, I had a martyr complex the size of Jupiter. I was taught to always be the peacemaker, always do things for others, and always take every burden. I would get in trouble if I asked for help or tried to decline to do something. I would get yelled at for asking to be paid back the thousands of dollars of costs I was taking on trying to please everyone else. So, when Lila, my classmates, and even Adrien began telling me that I was worthless, that they would be happier if I was gone, and that nobody would miss me if I died..." Marinette choked back a sob, but still tried to continue, "I spent many nights contemplating if I should take their advice and end it. I never did, primarily because I didn't want the people I loved to have to deal with the aftermath. Then, and to this day I don't know how she did it, but Lila got me blacklisted from Gabriel. She claimed to anyone who'd listen that I was an awful bully, I stole my designs, and that I only liked Adrien because I was a gold-digging whore. I had a crush on him at one time, but after what he did to me... He's dead to me. They all are. Anyways, it felt like my whole world shattered. I cried for days and stopped eating. Even though I've gotten better, I still struggle with my self-esteem. They told me I would never amount to anything, and I still struggle with trying not to believe them."
"How long were you in this awful situation?" Lois asked. She seriously considered signaling to the person controlling the TV that was set up behind them to cut the feed. Some of the injuries Marinette and Mrs. Mendeleev had taken photos of were truly awful, and the security camera feeds were tough to watch. But the world needed to know what had happened and needed to know that it wasn't okay. "I put up with it for two years, until I just... snapped. I couldn't take it anymore and broke down to my parents. I begged them not to send me there, I didn't care where they sent me to school, as long as it wasn't Dupont. I had kept so much from them because I was so scared they wouldn't believe me, that they'd be disappointed, that they'd tell me it was my fault," Marinette dabbed at her tears. Lois had told her to wear waterproof mascara and she was very grateful for it, "I never should have doubted them, Maman and Papa believed me, and had me switched to Luka and Kagami's school within the week. Marc, Chloe, Sabrina, and Nathaniel joined me shortly afterward. They told me that without the class punching bag infighting began, Lila apparently began a witch hunt of sorts. She began accusing anyone who even looked at her funny of bullying. They left before it could get much worse. It was a bit tough to adjust to my new school, I had my friends there, but I was still pretty quiet and kept to myself. My new classmates were so kind and patient with me, I think they understood that something really bad had happened to me. They never pushed me to tell them what happened, and while there were a couple of meaner students it was NOTHING compared to my old school. Because of them, and because I was in a healthier environment I was able to bounce back!"
Lois couldn't help the rush of pride she felt looking at the young woman. She remembered when she first met Marinette, who seemed rather shy and overwhelmed at that conference. She had offhandedly mentioned having to go get a dress for a press event and watching as a roaring fire was lit within Marinette's eyes. The girl had explained she was an aspiring fashion designer, and seemingly out of thin air she pulled out a sketchbook and pencil and began working. Lois swore the pencil was smoking with how fast the designer was working. She had been handed a sketch (and list of colors and materials) of the most beautiful dress she had seen. At said event, she was dubbed the best dressed and was quick to tell everyone she met about the talented teenager that had designed it. "One last question Mari, it's been a long day and I think you need TLC more than anyone right now. If you could face your tormenters today, what would you say to them?" Marinette took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "Well, I would like to say a few different things to a few people. To Lila, I want to say: I hope you're happy. You got everything you wanted and yet I'm still standing. I won't ask you why because I know why you did it: You could, plain and simple. To my classmates: I feel so sorry for you all, that you were so easily manipulated, that you were so quick to resort to violence on word of mouth alone. I feel sorry because you all were also victims of Mrs. Bustier, but in a different way than I was. You all were taught to expect someone to always carry the brunt of the load, and your bad behavior was encouraged. To Adrien: I know you're going to try and reach out to me and tell me to release a statement saying I made it up for attention. I can practically hear Nathalie typing it out now. I will not stand down, go ahead, and try to sue me, I have the evidence on my side. You were the only one who reached out to me after I changed schools, only to tell me to come back and that the problems the class had after I left were my fault. Leave me alone Adrien. I don't need you in my life and I don't want you in it. Stay the hell away from me." After she said this, a notification from Twitter pinged on everyone's phone. The tweet was from Damian Wayne and was quickly displayed on the screen behind the two women, 'On behalf of my Fiancée, legal action is being taken against her former tormenters, the people, and institutions that allowed this to happen and go on as long as it did. Don't bother harassing Marinette, this is completely out of her hands. If anyone decides to ignore her warnings or mine, a restraining order will be filed.'
The interview set off quite the explosion on the internet. May students of Dupont came out and confirmed Marinette's claims. It was trending for weeks and sparked international conversations about bullying. What shocked everyone was the severity of what Marinette endured, and it posed the question, "If she went through all that, who else could be going through similar things?" Suddenly the schoolboard had finally heard about what had happened to Marinette, and quickly fired Damocles and Bustier, primarily due to the public outrage that the two had flown under the radar. Investigations into their conduct revealed that Dupont did not just have a high akumatization rate, it also had a high suicide rate. Mrs. Mendeleev was revealed to have stayed primarily to try and help students escape such a bad environment and received a lot of praise. The school board finally released its statement, "We were greatly disturbed to hear of the abuse Mrs. Dupain-Cheng suffered at Collège Françoise Dupont and that educators under our employ did nothing to aid her. We were alarmed to hear that Mrs. Dupain-Cheng and her family tried to report her abuse and were unable to reach us. We are currently investigating this along with the many failures that led to Mrs. Dupain-Cheng's suffering. The two educators who were most responsible were let go and will no longer be in teaching positions. We sincerely apologize to Mrs. Dupain-Cheng and any others who have suffered due to oversights by the school board." The statement did not have the effect the school board had hoped for. The public largely found it unacceptable, and while they were happy Bustier and Damocles could no longer cause any damage, they were still infuriated and disturbed by the sheer ignorance (willful or not) of everything that went on within Dupont. An unexpected side effect of Marinette's interview was the scrutiny the parents of her bullies faced. People questioned how they could be so unaware of just what their children were doing and becoming, especially with Marinette making them so many things that obviously required time and money to make. Alya’s parents were criticized more harshly than the rest, primarily due to how many videos of the class's abuse were posted to the Ladyblog. The main question on everyone's mind was, 'How did this not get noticed sooner?'
Marinette's former classmates felt like their lives were imploding. They were served by the Wayne Lawyers, and it was made very clear to them that Damian Wayne was spearheading the fight against them, not Marinette. Adrien talked to his family lawyers about how they could get the suits dropped, and they told him, "Hell will freeze over before a Wayne backs down." Lila and Alya were hit with additional lawsuits from various others as well. Alya had posted Lila's many false claims about various celebrities on the Ladyblog, and their reputations had taken a hit. People began to wonder why so many famous people associated with Lila when all of her actions were revealed, and many PR teams had to work overtime to reassure the public that they had never met the girl in question. An investigation revealed that Lila had charged many of the class's shopping trips and expensive dinners to various celebrities' accounts, so she was also facing criminal charges as well. She had been effectively excommunicated from the class. After her lies came out and their actions were revealed they quickly cut contact. They were at a loss, their excuse for why they teased (They still refused to see it as anything more severe than light teasing) Marinette was because she was bullying Lila. Now that that was proven to be false, they searched for any reason to justify their actions. They can't really say that they were completely oblivious to Lila's lies, Marinette had tried to tell them multiple times and they had brushed her off thinking she was jealous that another girl was close to Adrien. Speaking of the blond, he had arranged a meeting at the Agreste Manor, and he looked like he hadn't slept since the interview. He wished he still had the Cat Miraculous, so he could escape this nightmare. He didn't want to admit it but the evidence of what he did and helped cover up was pretty damning, and it made the last words Ladybug had said to him the night she took his Miraculous all those years ago make sense, "Your actions as a civilian and in costume have proven that you are too irresponsible and immature to wield a Miraculous." He froze, Ladybug knew what he did. Ladybug, the love of his life, knew he helped make Marinette's life hell. His classmates looked at him as he was stuck in his mental turmoil, and they realized this was probably the first seriously negative press the Agreste Heir had ever gotten.
His image as Paris's Sunshine, a perfect gentleman who could do no wrong was ruined. All of their careers were, but they still held on to hope that they could save it. They didn't want to apologize, they didn't think they should have to, they were deceived by Lila after all. Adrien had hired a PR team to figure out what they should do, he had also asked privately what he should do. They had suggested a public apology and then disappearing from the public eye for a while. Thankfully his aunt and cousin agreed to let him stay with them, although he knew that Felix was never gonna let him live this down. His cousin called the second the interview finished and ripped into him. It had been incredibly hard for him to watch, and his classmates said the same. Seeing all those scars on Marinette, watching her breakdown, seeing the injuries he had helped cause, and watching the security footage of what they did... He had run to the bathroom and thrown up. Were they really that bad? Come to think of it, he remembered Marinette switching to long sleeves after they pushed her down the stairs and broke her... He was going to be sick again. His father was managing his own crisis, with his blacklisting of Marinette without solid evidence being put on blast. People were boycotting Gabriel, and it seemed like everything he did to try and fix the situation made it worse. He was brought back to the present by the cough of the man from the PR company. "Alright, now that I have everyone's attention, this is by far one of the most difficult cases I've seen in my career," Alya cut in, "We weren't that bad! Besides, it was so long ago, and I'd hardly call what we did bullying-" "Mrs. Césaire what you all did to Mrs. Dupain-Cheng is considered torture! Thank your lucky stars the statute of limitations is up, and you were children at the time, people have gone to prison for a long time for doing much less than what you all did!" To emphasize his point, he began playing the parts of the interview that showed the extent of Marinette's injuries. No one could bring themselves to look at the screen, a couple started to cry, and Adrien felt bile rise in his throat. The PR expert continued, "This goes far beyond simple bullying, you all are lucky Mrs. Dupain-Cheng did not make an attempt on her life. You are especially lucky that she said you were victims of Mrs. Bustier's utterly abysmal failings as an educator. But-" He cut Alya off before she could start,"-That does not mean you're completely Scott-free. You all still made the conscious choice to do what you did to Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, and that cannot be excused by being misled or having an enabler for a teacher. The best you can do is apologize and admit what you have done was wrong. You'll have to pray that Mrs. Dupain-Cheng decides to throw you a bone, and you WILL NOT contact her to try and force her to forgive you. That is absolutely the worst thing you can do because it will come off as if you haven't changed at all. The best thing you can do is apologize, admit you were in the wrong, and leave. Her. Alone. I will arrange an interview of our own so you can publicly apologize, a script will be written, and you'd better not deviate from it."
Nadja Chamack was the only journalist willing to interview them. It was decided that they would use the same format Marinette did and that Adrien would do most of the talking. After a brief introduction, their apology interview began. "What brings you all here today, especially after the shocking revelations that have come out," Nadja asked. She hated that she had to stick to a script, if she had it her way she would be asking the REAL questions, 'Why do you think Marinette is speaking about this now? Do you think she has something to gain? Isn't it a little fishy that she has the Wayne legal team suing you all and not her own? Do you think she's hiding something, or is she trying to get revenge?' Her producers stressed that she had to stick to the script because they would not hesitate to fire her if she began making such allegations. Adrien spoke, trying to keep himself composed, "We're here because we saw Marinette's interview, we saw how our actions hurt her, and we wanted to publicly apologize to her. We know what we did was wrong, and we were assholes. We wanted to explain our side, we know it won't fix anything or make things right, but we owe Marinette an explanation." He was doing exactly what his PR team told him to do, sounding sincere and referring to Marinette by her first name to establish a connection. Nadja nodded for him to continue, so he did, "When Lila came to school and began telling us about all the things she did and people she knew, it wasn't that hard to believe. I'm a model, Alya ran the Ladyblog, Rose knew Prince Ali, and Marinette had all these amazing connections. We weren't surprised that a diplomat's daughter knew all these people, and it wasn't exactly out of the norm for a class like ours. Somehow Marinette found out she was lying, and we refused to believe her." It was Alya's turn to speak, and the importance of staying on the script was highlighted to her, "Marinette had a massive crush on Adrien at the time, and she had gotten jealous of other girls before, so we figured this was just another one of those episodes. We also wanted to believe the best in Lila and give her the benefit of the doubt, it was what Mrs. Bustier had taught us."
Nadja couldn't help herself, she had to ask, "Adrien, when did you find out about Marinette's crush on you? How did you feel about it?" "I found out a few weeks before she transferred, and at the time I was shocked. It explained so much, about why she was so shy around me, why she was willing to listen to my awful advice. I was fully wrapped up in Lila's web then, and couldn't see past my massive crush on Ladybug so I tried to convince myself that she was a bully, and her crush was weird, but now? Now I wish I hadn't been such a coward. I wish I had seen that such an amazing girl was in front of me, if I could go back and do it differently I would. I would have stood up for her, I would have had her back for real. My biggest regret is that I didn't help her when she needed me and that I didn't reach out sooner to apologize and fix things. I lost the most amazing woman to Damian Wayne, and I’ll always regret that.” A small part of him hoped that Marinette still held a small flame for him and that he’d have a chance. He did some thinking and realized that Marinette was likely (he wasn’t 100% sure) Ladybug. If he could win her back, then he had a chance to convince his Lady to return his Miraculous, and that they were meant to be. Ladybug had no reason to be active, she defeated Hawkmoth and Mayura by herself, and had gone around the world gathering the remaining Miraculous. Part of his theory that the two were one and the same was that Marinette’s Fiancé and his family are in Gotham and are most likely providing funding for the Bat Family, and a new hero called Lady Miracle had been spotted patrolling with them, and she was reported to have multiple powers. These powers lined up with the Miraculous and her costume changed as she used them, so the two women were either one and the same or working together. Had Adrien developed these logical deduction skills earlier he would have recalled Marinette’s declaration that he was dead to her. Both the producer and PR rep were signaling to get back on the script or else their interview would be cut short. Nadja went on to the next question, “Okay, I can understand falling for someone whose life sounded similar to yours, but what I can’t understand is why you decided to pick on Marinette?”
Adrien took a deep breath, “Well Nadja, just like Marinette said in her interview with Mrs. Lane, it was a really complicated situation. What we believe now is that Marinette never bullied Lila, we know it was the other way around,” Rose cut in, going off script, “Mari didn’t have a mean bone in her body!” She sobbed into her hands, “I don’t know why we believed that, that witch over her.” “She told us what we wanted to hear,” Max sighed, “Lila promised us that she could introduce us to her important friends who could advance our careers and whether we consciously realized it or not we were willing to do almost anything to stay in her good graces.” Adrien shot them a look and continued, “My theory is that Lila gave Marinette an ultimatum, play along or she’d make Mari’s life hell. Not long after Lila began modeling for my father’s company, she began claiming Marinette was doing various things like stealing answer sheets, stealing from her, and pushing her down the stairs. Marinette was expelled without an investigation, and because we were kids, we trusted that the adults in charge were following procedures. She was reinstated, and Lila began claiming Marinette was tormenting her again. Like Max said, we were worried that if Lila didn’t believe we supported her then she would refuse to help us, but it mostly comes down to the fact that Lila lied well, and we were scared. She would claim Marinette beat her up after school and would come into school the next day with bruises. We suspect now that she was using makeup. Lila never outright said to hurt Marinette, but she was great at implying it. She said that she wished Marinette knew what the hurt she caused felt like and that If it happened to Marinette, she might quit being a bully. I think it was a case of falling into groupthink and fear. Everyone else around us seemed to believe Lila so fully, and anyone who didn’t was outcasted and treated terribly. We were afraid to challenge her, afraid to challenge the group, and we genuinely didn’t realize just how far we had escalated. I swear we never intended to hurt Marinette so badly, we sort of mindlessly followed along with what Lila suggested. When she and a couple of our other classmates transferred, Lila’s control snapped, and it was like waking up from a bad dream. She began to see her control slipping and began accusing others of doing the same things she accused Marinette of doing. It got to the point where she accused all of us of bullying her, and we realized she was full of shit. We realized what kind of person she was, and what we had become and decided to go our separate ways.” Nadja frowned. They had literally been spotted hanging out with Lila the week before Marinette was at Fashion Week and this whole thing began. If they had known Lila was a lying sociopath back in school, why the hell were they still hanging out with her? What about Marinette’s evidence? She had phone calls from Adrien demanding she returns to fix Lila’s mess, and evidence that he had known the whole time that Lila was lying. She may not be at Lois Lane’s level of reporting, but she could smell bullshit when it was in front of her, and judging by the look on her producer’s face, he’d caught on as well. Their PR agent nodded along, which told her that this was the narrative they created. They weren’t telling the truth, at least not the full truth, they were trying to slip out of trouble like they always did. Nadja remembered Marinette’s drastic change when she came to babysit Manon and listening to what these young adults were trying to spin confirmed that her earlier questions about Marinette’s interview were unfounded. Then she saw it: The signal from her producer, she could go off the script!
“Now Adrien,” She started in a tone she usually saved for when Manon was being challenging, “I’m not sure we were watching the same interview. I clearly remember some evidence Marinette presented showing that you all had fun tormenting her. I also remember that she had recordings of you demanding she comes back and fixes Lila’s mess. You called her a punching bag and said that the class needed its punching bag back otherwise they would begin ‘taking things out on each other.’ That’s not exactly what you’re telling me here. You all were spotting spending time with Lila before fashion week, and you seemed to be thick as thieves with her. So let me ask you this: Why are you lying to me?”
Adrien looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and so did his PR agent. They hadn’t expected Nadja to question their story, “I… We might have remembered some events differently. Most importantly, we want Marinette to know how sorry we are for everything that happened and what we did. We know that what Mrs. Bustier taught us is wrong, we are not owed her forgiveness, but we hope that she can find it in her heart to forgive us. Hopefully, we can work on rebuilding our friendship, but we understand that wounds like the ones we caused take time to heal. Mari, when you’re ready, please reach out to us. We’d love to apologize in person as well.” Nadja rolled her eyes. Looking at this bunch, it was obvious the sincerity wasn’t there. They acted like children getting caught sneaking an extra cookie when Nadja brought up Marinette’s evidence proving they weren’t as remorseful as they claimed to be. The fact that they only recently cut off Lila proved that they were lying and had planned to use her as a scapegoat. Nadja decided to make one last attack, “When she’s ready? She made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with you all. Why do you all think she owes you her attention and friendship after everything you did? You hurt her, yet here you all are acting like you’re the injured party!” “We are the injured party! Marinette’s little pity party ‘poor me’ attention whore act cost us our careers! She’s being overdramatic like she always is and now WE’RE suffering because she couldn’t take a little teasing,” Alya yelled with her classmates voicing their agreement. Everyone in the studio froze. The PR representative was shaking his head, while everyone else was in shock. The former Dupont students realized their mistake and quickly tried to backtrack only to be cut off by Nadja, “We are done. I will not let you use my coworkers or me to harass that girl anymore! You clearly cannot see the error of your ways and blame her for the misfortune you brought on yourselves. I may not be at Lois Lane’s level of journalism, but I am not a fool, and I will not be a puppet for you to spread your pitiful self-gratifying apology. Let’s be honest, you all clearly don’t care about the hurt you caused Marinette, you just care about the damage the truth did to your reputations. Get out of my studio! Get out of this building!” And with that, the interview was cut.
Their interview was trending, but it wasn’t for the reasons they had hoped. If they had done anything, it was throwing gas onto the fire. People almost couldn’t believe how heartless and totally unaware they were, that was clear from the various social media posts. “WOW. You guys are making grey sweatshirt Influencer apology videos look more sincere.” “Ew. Just. Ew. I used to like Adrien Agreste but now? No way. Watch out Damian Wayne he’s coming to steal his punching bag back.” “Teasing? Teasing doesn’t leave MULTIPLE SCARS.” “That was so self-serving. I gotta admit I feel terrible for whoever they hired for PR. Talk about letting the true colors out.” “I gotta give Nadja Chamack some credit! I was not expecting that level of journalism and take-no-bullshit out of her!” Twitter was having a field day with the live interview, and the statement released by Marinette’s former tormenters apologizing for their behavior during the interview and to Marinette didn’t fair much better. It was safe to say they had lost whatever little goodwill they had with the public. Lila had taken a slightly different approach. She did her own interview claiming that she never wanted Marinette to be hurt physically and that it was their former classmates that took things way too far. She cried that she was so, so sorry and that all she had wanted was to impress her classmates who had much more exciting lives than she did. Lila revealed that she had a crush on Adrien as well and was jealous of Marinette whom she saw as a threat. She explained that she spread rumors about Marinette hoping that Adrien would believe them and think Marinette was a bully, but their classmates took it too far. Lila claimed that she wanted to reveal that she’d made it all up, but she was scared that their classmates would turn on her and hurt her. She expressed shock that her friends would throw her under the bus for their wrongdoings and had her own apology for Marinette. Her interview was met with a bit more sympathy until someone (We all know it was Tim) released the recordings of Lila threatening Marinette and expressing to her victim the delight she took in watching Marinette being hurt by their classmates. Suddenly Lila’s image of the ‘Girl who made a few bad choices trying to impress her classmates and crush’ was shattered, and on top of all the lawsuits her public lies on the Ladyblog brought her, she was shunned as well. Gabriel, trying to cut his losses, fired Lila, and released a statement claiming that she was the one giving him false information on Marinette. However, Lila was determined to go down fighting and revealed her ace: Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth, and his assistant was Mayura. She had somehow collected evidence linking him to it while she worked for him as a model and as an Akuma provider.
The outrage was gigantic, with Ladybug having to return to explain that she had tried to go to the police, but they had not believed her or the proof she had. Ladybug had hung onto that proof, such as the gigantic map she had of where all the Akumatizations happened, and where the purified butterflies returned to. The French Federal Government decided to investigate how the Parisian Government had handled Hawkmoth, and they also decided to investigate Ladybug. They had found a young woman (whose identity they kept anonymous) who had been forced into the role by chance but had thankfully turned out to be incredibly competent. They found that she had worked within the law and had tried on multiple occasions to work with the police, but they had rejected her. Once she had discovered who Hawkmoth was she went to them, only to get laughed out of the police station. Why she wasn’t believed was something that was still unknown to the Investigators, but they had found Ladybug to be a superb hero. She was cleared, and given full permission to operate in France, should she ever choose to return. Chat Noir did not fare as well and was thoroughly raked over the coals by the report that was released. He had started out alright, but as time went on he quickly began to act out. He prioritized flirting and trying to win Ladybug’s affection and would refuse to help or even show up when she didn’t humor him. The report also revealed that he had been harassing civilians, such as one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The designer had to explain that she had met Chat during an Akuma attack, and they’d become friends before his behavior worsened. Then after that, he’d harassed her on behalf of his other friend, Adrien Agreste. Twitter was on fire after this revelation, and #GiveMariABreak was trending.
No one knew who leaked Chat Noir’s identity, but theories were abundant. Some believed one of the investigators had loved ones who had suffered from Akuma attacks and Chat Noir’s behavior, and another group thought that the Waynes were behind it. They said that the Waynes were so enraged by the treatment their youngest’s fiancée had received at the hands of people who would have otherwise escaped punishment, that they decided to completely destroy her former tormentors. Considering Damian brought out the Wayne legal team, and Tim leaked the Lila Files, it was definitely possible that both theories could be true. What everyone did know, is that this outrage would go down in history. Adrien was still catching a lot of heat from the horrendous interview, which certainly did not help his case. It was quickly cleared up that he had no idea his father was Hawkmoth, and while officially on the report it said there was no evidence that he’d helped his father, the public speculation could not be stopped. In the chaos, photos were released of Ladybug landing on Marinette’s balcony and entering her room. These were brushed off as nothing surprising, surely the two women that were constantly harassed by the same man (even if they didn’t realize it) would find each other and start a support group. Adrien made a public plea for Ladybug to back him up and explain that he was a good hero, but it would seem that the Heroine of Paris had disappeared into hiding. It was clear that she had turned her back on him, just like he had turned on her all those years ago. He narrowly escaped getting charged along with Gabriel and Nathalie, but that didn’t stop the barrage of civil lawsuits he got hit with. The year ended with many trials, and the Wayne legal team proved why they were not to be messed with. Shortly after, a documentary was announced, to permanently document the fall of so many powerful people.
The documentary was a hit and contained all of the interviews that had taken place in the saga. The documentary was released at a party hosted by Bruce Wayne to celebrate his new Daughter-in-Law’s success, and it was met with rave reviews. But where was Marinette during the outcome of her interview? The designer had decided to step back from the spotlight until the mess had been resolved and hadn’t been seen in public since the initial interview. She was currently standing in the Wayne Manor with her husband, preparing to walk into the ballroom for her first public appearance as a Wayne. She was nervous. What if people began claiming that she’d only done this to take down a business rival? What if people accused her of making all of it up? She was brought back to reality by her husband, who pulled her into his arms. Damian gently kissed her forehead and whispered, “What’s bothering you, My Love?” Marinette had told him what had happened to her a year after the two became friends, and her bullies were lucky Bruce stopped him from going on a rampage. When he was watching his Darling’s interview with Lois at the Manor with the rest of his family, he could feel that fury reignite. It was also the first time his family learned about the abuse Marinette had endured (and suddenly his protectiveness made sense), so when he asked his father for the contacts for the Wayne legal team, Bruce had happily given them to him. Marinette took a deep breath, “I guess I’m just nervous, this is my first time being in public since everything came out and…” “And you’re worried that you’ll be walking into a den of lions.” Mari nodded, still amazed that he always seemed to know exactly what was wrong.Damian took a small step back and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, “My Jewel, you’ll be fine, I promise. The world believed you when you told them, you had strong evidence to support you, it’s illogical for them to turn on you now. Besides,” He gently poked her cheek, “Lila exposed Gabriel Agreste as Hawkmoth in a last-ditch effort to save herself. Think about it this way,” he gently twirled her around, admiring as the crystals she had hand sown into the stunning train on her dress sparkled. It was a tradition for every new member of the Wayne Family to debut in an all-black outfit, and Marinette had designed the most stunning dress in the Family’s history. “We attend the party, which is your debut as my gorgeous wife and I want to brag, and afterward we can go home, order some takeout, and binge-watch whatever you want on the couch with the Kwamii and the cats.” Damian would gladly and proudly admit that his wife brought out a side in him that he didn’t know he had, and Marinette was the only person he was regularly affectionate with. She was his star, and he wanted everyone to know how amazing she was. Marinette laughed, “Well I suppose we could do that; you drive quite the hard bargain Mr. Wayne.” The couple laughed, and all of Marinette’s worries evaporated as they entered the ballroom.
The young couple was met with hushed awe as they walked in, the wind from the open balcony doors catching parts of Marinette’s train. She looked ethereal in her gown, a stunning black dress with a long train that sparkled like stars in the void. The dress was form-fitting, with a galaxy of crystals wrapping around her body, coming to frame the neckline of her dress. It was an off-the-shoulder gown with a low V-neck. Marinette’s hair was done in an elegant bun, and the only jewelry she wore was her Miraculous, disguised as a pair of diamond earrings. The only other color she wore was blood-red lipstick. She looked like a goddess, elegant and regal, and held herself as if she was one. Despite the scars that littered her body, she stood proud, they were a part of her and would always be. The crowd began to murmur as the two youngest Waynes joined the rest of their family, “Is that Marinette? She looks spectacular!” “I heard she based parts of her dress off Princess Diana's Revenge Dress.” “I definitely believe that! She certainly looks like royalty!” “I’m surprised she’s showing her scars.” “Why wouldn’t she? The world should know what happened to her, and there’s no shame in being a survivor.” Kagami was right, no one doubts a victor’s scars. Cameras flashed, capturing her image from every angle as she talked with her parents and in-laws, and soon she was quickly whisked away by Damian to dance and mingle. She had to fight back a laugh, he loved letting everyone know that he had married this fantastic woman, despite the fact that the two bickered like cats and dogs when they were younger. He also knew that her old classmates were watching from their homes and wanted them to see the phoenix that had risen from the ashes. Damian wanted to drive the point home that while they had attempted to break Marinette, she was stronger. As the two danced and talked, the media had already begun crafting tomorrow’s newspapers. By the time the two had said their goodbyes and left the party for the night, the first article was out. ‘The Revenge Dress has a Successor: Marinette Wayne’s Revenge Look.’
Damian sat at his desk and briefly scanned the files of the new departments he was overlooking. One of them was the art department, which he was greatful for. The only thing that bothered him was the fashion department. He didn't agree that it was art. It was business. Clothing was a necessity, not a luxury. Clothes could be sold in stores. Art was meant to be displayed and shared. The Wayne heir scanned the file again.
'Head of fashion department was listed as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm sure I can get rid of her and move the department. Nothing will get in Damian Al Ghul-Wayne's way.'
The Wayne heir approached the fashion department. He saw the office door open and observed the inside. There was a small woman with blue hair drawing on a tablet. He could see a gown forming under the movement of her stylus. Damian stood tall as he knocked on the open office door, but she never turned around.
'Brat.'
"Miss Dupain-Cheng!" he shouted.
To his surprise, the designer slammed her hand down on her desk and glared at him.
"You made me mess up." she snarled, "Who the fuck so you think you are to come in here and bother me?"
This wasn't the type of meeting he had been expecting at all.
"Damian Wayne." he answered, not use to people glaring at him, "I wanted to inform you that I will personally be keeping an eye on the department and see if it's truly necessary."
"Fine." Marinette snapped, "There's the door. I'm busy; you can show yourself out."
Marinette turned back to her tablet and began ignoring him, again. Damian couldn't believe that she didn't get scared by his name. She talked back to him! Damian walked out and slammed the office door.
'What a horrible person. I'm not just gonna get rid of her; I'm gonna fire her entire department! I'll just exploit her weaknesses and show that she's incompitent at her job.'
Marinette had noticed that Damian taking to lurking around her department. He had inserted himself into meetings and questioned everything: Is what you're buying necessary? How could it help Wayne Enterprise? Why did you choose this fabric? Why this shade? Why not vermouth?
It had been six months and she was ready to punch him. Mari had heard rumors that he was starting to neglect other departments he was covering. She couldn't understand his fascination and distaste for hers. After another grueling meeting, everything came to a head.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I highly suggest rereading the code of conduct." Damian stated, in front of the entire department.
Marinette could feel everyone's eyes on her, "And what have I done now, Mr. Wayne? I don't believe 'bow down' is a rule."
"Your behavior and attire are innapropriate in the work place." Damian commented, irked that she still went against his authority.
"Excuse me?" Mari shouted, "I am completely professional!"
Damian snorted, "You regularly seduce your staff."
"I wish." someone whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Mr. Wayne," Marinette spoke, "please, tell me how my business attire is innapropriate so that I may correct it."
Marinette knew she had him this time. She still made all her own clothing and inspected them the day before for any rip or loose seams. She wore button up blouses with short sleeves and a blazer. She made sure to wear pants as she didn't want to kneel in a skirt. Was this about her heels? Sure she didn't wear four inches like everyone else; she preferred something that was easy to move in. Especially if something had gone wrong and she needed to hurry to the other sde of Wayne Enterprise.
Damian's eyes roamed over Marinette. Her clothes were the same as they had been for the last six months, they hugged her curves. When she took off her blazer, he could see how her neck curved, especially when her hair was puled up in a messy bun or ponytail. He had seen her hair that way, too many times, when she was busy designing. Not to mention how her pants accentuated her when she yelled at an employee for ordering the wrong fabric. Those stupid tops that she crossed her arms under her chest when someone contradicted her.
"Well, Mr. Wayne." Marinette called out, "I'm waiting. Tell me which part of my outfit is the problem, right now. I'm buttoned up and tucked in. My pants go all the way down to my ankles or are my ankles distracting someone? I certainly can't be distracting someone with a foot fetish, as I don't wear anything open-toed. There are many more employees, here at Wayne Enterprise, that dress provocative."
"Are you sure?" the Wayne heir questioned.
"I can name five ladies on this floor alone!" Marinette growled, "Two are wearing corsets with a blazer. Another is in a mini skirt and if she sits, you can see the garter straps. Another is wearing the same outfit as yesterday and reeks of cigarettes, sweat, nd bad cologne. The last one is wearing last seasons Belmere cocktail dress with tulle bishop sleeves! Thy are sewing a collection and if that sleeve gets caught, we have to destroy that fabric and her sleeves will be ripped off. I am not losing product because someone decided to be stupid this morning, Carol!"
Marinette glared at Damian Wayne, "So, tell me how innapropriate I am or you can fuck off!"
"The clothes you wear demean you and suggest you are welcoming others to join you for a night." Damian stated.
Marinette felt all the rage bubble over and she punched him in the face, sending him across the floor.
"I quit!" she snarled.
Damian looked on as Marinette walked away.
'I won.'
What he didn't expect were the not so hushed whispers of the fashion department.
"I think Mr. Wayne had a crush on her."
"I wish she would seduce me."
"You and me both."
"Apparently, she was very popular in Paris with both genders."
"Wait, what?"
"Really?"
"I heard she dated Jagged Stone's only son."
"Wasn't Adrien Agreste trying to date her?"
"So was Zoe Lee."
"The actress!"
"Mmhmm and she's the second daughter of Style Queen."
"Damn! Why is she here then?"
"She could have gone with one of them and likely inherited a fashion label!"
"Marinette always yells at us when we dress innapropriate."
"Carol."
"I pushed my sleeves up, okay!"
"I think she wrote this years dress code herself."
"I wish that I could see what Mr. Wayne saw."
"Why?"
"Are you kidding me? Stuck up Dupain-Cheng as some sexy thing and not yelling a us? Talk about a perfect fantasy!"
Damian sat there blushing as the employees talked amongst themselves.
'Did no one really see what I saw? They hadn't seen the way her clothes accentuated her? They didn't see the way her body called out to others? Was I the only one who wanted to pin her down to gain control?'
Damian stood up, admitting defeat. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the person who irked him for months, hadn't been at war with him or seducing him; he liked her. He couldn't tell until the evidence was stacked against him. As the other employees said, she didn't even need to be there. She could marry into money, likely immediately, and run a corporation against them.
'She's not going to get away from me that easily.'
By the time Damian found Marinette, Tim was already on his knees begging her to stay and his father was apologizing about his attitude.
"I can personally guarantee that Damian will be moved departments and you never have to see him again." his own father pleaded.
Tim noticed Damian out of the corner of his eye and stood up.
"You!" Tim shouted, stalking over to his younger brother, "What the hell? Marinette is dressed perfectly fine for her job!"
"Please reconsider, Miss Dupain-Cheng." Bruce spoke.
"I will work from my own home." Mari stated, "I will come to the office only for meetings; everything else will be paper trailed through emails and run by one of you."
"That is perfectly doable." Bruce answered, "We can send any equipment you need and-"
"I have everything already."
Damian looked on confused. He had never known them to suck up this badly, not even to board members.
"You don't even know who she is; do you?" Tim exclaimed.
"An employee by the name of Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Damian answered.
Bruce sighed. Apparently his son had never read her file and background information as to why she was the head of her own department.
"She is Jagged Stone's personal and exclusive designer." Tim snarled, "She designs for many different celebrities world wide. She is known throughout Paris! You can obviously see why we wanted her here."
Damian had no clue that the she was that well known or that his family was that desperate to have her.
"What can we get you to continue to work here?" Bruce questioned, "We can pay you how ever much you want."
"I'll bump your salary to $65,000 a design." Tim offered.
Marinette shook her head, "I only want one thing and I want Damian Wayne to apologize to me."
"80,000 a design!" Tim quickly shouted.
Damian could clearly see his family was horrified. They had zero faith he would apologize or admit his mistake. Damian swallowed his pride and bowed down, as he would to his mother.
"My apologies for making my own personal assumptions." He began, "They were baseless and you truly did nothing wrong. It was my own assumption that you were attempting to seduce me that caused this."
Marinette's cheeks turned red as she listened to his in shock.
"My parents did not conceive me naturally. My mother drugged Father. I was raised and taught by her, from an early age, that women will use any means necessary to seduce who they value as someone of interest; even wear revealing clothes. They will cling to those they desire. They will feign innocence when confronted." Damian continued, "I only observed what I was told, but my family is alos correct. Your clothing is appropriate for the work place. You have never touched me inappropriately. You also have never tried to suede me. You treated me as everyone else in your department and yet-"
Damian was smacked upside the head by Tim. Damian turned to glare at him, but when he looked up, she saw Marinette covering her face with her hands and her ears were bright red.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng?" Damian spoke softly.
Marinette looked between her fingers at him, nervously.
"Miss Duapin-Cheng?" Bruce questioned, cautiously.
"I-I don't understand how-how you can like me." She stammered.
"Well, for one thing, you have a killer right hook." Damian stated.
Out of all the things, he could have answered, that was not one of them. Marinette began laughing and her hands fell away from her blushing face.
The Wayne heir smirked, "I'm also not use to people telling me to 'fuck off'."
Marinette snorted as she thought back to the first day they met. Bruce and Tim nodded as they slowly made their way away from the young adults.
"Everyone back to work." Bruce commanded, "If I see this online, I'll personally make sure whoever posted it, is fired."
The fashion department was quick to get back to work, leaving Damian Wayne to confess to their blushing designer.
Marinette had moved to Gotham. She had opened up a small shop that had a house in the second story. She would be a seamstress, while making her own comissions on the side. The newest addition to her move, was a puppy. He was still in training. She had heard how dangerous Gotham was and decided to get a guard dog. She had named him Damian.
"Damian!" she cried out, "Damian! Damian, where are you?"
Damian Wayne was annoyed. He was in the park with Titus and somoene kept calling out his name. Titus was starting to bark in response, likely calling attention to him. Damian stood up and decided it was better to confront the person causing a scene.
Damian opened his mouth to shout at them to stop calling his name when an Akita ran up to the girl. She kneel down and hugged it.
"Damian, you're back!" She smiled.
Damian blushed, watched the girl rub the dog's fluffy mane. Her smile shone brightly. Her eyes sparkled with happiness. Most of the time, he saw people with animals, but they're eyes seemed bored. Their pet had become a chore to them. The girl, in front of him, seemed to really care about him. The girl extended her hand, holding out a treat. Damian cleared his throat, drawing her attention.
"You shouldn't give him a treat after." he spoke.
Marinette turned to see a guy standing a few steps away from her. She looked at him confused.
'Was he talking to me?'
"He ran away?" He asked, "Correct?"
Mari nodded, closing the her fingers over the treat, before her dog could get it.
"Giving him a treat will teach him it is okay to run away from you." the boy declared.
"Oh." She replied, frowning, "Sorry. I'm still learning. It's my first time having a pet and I thought I was making progress training him."
'I need to read those training books more when the store gets slow.'
Mari noticed her dog, jumping excitedly, wagging his tail, waiting for his treat. Standing next to the boy was a black dog, remaining still.
'I guess he knows what he's talking about.'
"What exactly are you training him for?" he asked.
"Guard dog." she answered.
"Why?" he questioned.
"Let's just say.....people don't really like me." Marinette spoke, "They will, at first, then they all turn on me. Damian will be my protector."
"So Damian the Dog is-" he began.
"It's just Damian." Mari replied, glaring at him.
He chuckled, "So am I. I thought someone was calling my name, earlier."
"Oh!" she replied, shocked, "I'm so sorry."
"It is quite alright." He stated, "I named my cat after my grandfather. He is called Alfred the Cat. I suppose correcting you was a habit." making her giggle.
"I trained my own dog." Damian declared, "Perhaps I may be of some service."
"Really?" She smiled, "I'd like that a lot. Thank you, Damian the Human."
Marinette turned to her dog, Damian, hiding her blush.
'He's so cute. Why do I keep falling for guys with green eyes that sparkle? Damn, this weakness!'
"Let us exchange numbers." Damian the Human called out, "We need to set a schedule to meet up."
They exchanged numbers. Marinette listed him as Damian the Human.
"Marinette." he poke.
She looked up at him.
"Just testing it out." he smirked, walking away.
Mari flushed and made sure her dog's leash was properly attached before leading him away.
"Sorry, Alya, but I'm more of a dog person." Adrien heard Marinette say.
'Marinette likes dogs? I thought she liked cats.'
"Wait." Alya spoke, "I thought you wanted a hamster. What happened to that dream?"
'She wanted a hamster? What changed her mind? Hamsters are amazing and so cute!'
"All animals are cute, but I recently found out I prefer dogs." Mari admitted.
"Why?" the reporter asked.
'Yeah. Why?'
"Dogs are good boys." Mari simply smiled.
Adrien was confused throughout the day. Marinette said dogs were good boys, but something must have happened to change her mind so drastically.
'Is it just that she likes to call dogs good boys? What id the dog was a girl. Wouldn't be called a good girl?'
Adrien was hoping to find out more, but he never heard Alya or Marinette brought up the topic of animals again. Not even at lunch. He had hoped that was his chance to learn more. Even Alya had seemed shocked by the change in their designer friend.
At the end of the day, the topic still hadn't been brought up.
'It wouldn't hurt to randomly ask; right?'
Before he could ask, Marinette rushed away and ran up to someone he had enver seen before and their dog. Mari began to rub the black dog's ears as she cooed and called him 'Good Boy' and 'Good Dog'. He could only assume she knew them as the owner never scolded his dog or Mari. The dog even licked her face.
Mari giggled, "You take after your master." as she looked up to the guy.
He watched as the guy's cheeks tinged pink.
'Does he like Mari?'
"Angel." he spoke.
'Angel? Is he calling Marinette an angel? He's not wrong but why?'
"Hmmm?" Marinette questioned, standing up.
"What is it you desire?" the guy asked.
"N-Nothing." Marinette stammered.
'Uh oh.'
The guy sighed, "I know you better than that."
'He does?'
Mari sighed, "Fine. I need a model for next week."
"Did you not ask Agreste?" he questioned.
'She was going to ask me to be her model? I would have said yes.'
"No." Marinette answered, "Adrien models enough as it is and I know he hates it. I tried asking other guys-"
'What other guys?'
"I'll do it." the guy stated, lifting her chin to meet his gaze, "I belong to you; do I not?"
'He belongs to Mari? What does he mean by that?'
Marinette simply nodded.
"Then you shouldn't ask other guys." he stated.
Mari smiled, "You're just like Titus."
"How so?" Damian questioned.
"You're territorial, Habibi." she answered.
'Habi-what?'
Damian leaned down and kissed his girlfriend.
'He-oh!'
"Very." he whispered.
Marinette smiled, happily.
Adrien watched as Marinette walked away with her assumed boyfriend and his dog. Marinette had her sketch book out and was showing him some designs as he led her to a car.
'I guess that solves why she's more of a dog person. I wonder what happened to cats. Is it because Chat Noir rejected her? She at least seemed happy.'
"Welcome back to 'The Mystery Box'." Marinette declared, "I'm Ladybug."
"Robin." Damian stated.
"Now, last week we were going over The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Afterwards, there was a list of recommended books posted.
1.)The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni
2.)The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
3.)Bullet Train and 4.)Three Assassins, both written by Kotaro Isaka and translated by Sam Malissa
5.)The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
And for the more adventurous, 6.)Helter Skelter: the True Story of the Mason Murders by Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry
You were also free to recommend your own favorite tastes for mysteries and crime. Today, we have special case in 'The Mystery Box' and I have a feeling everyone will like this one." she smiled.
Robin sighed, "That's what I'm afraid of."
"We know that many people have already left or are heading home for the holidays." Ladybug began, "So we thought of something-"
Robin sneered, "You thought of something."
"Don't get your feather's in a twist, Bird Boy." Ladybug cooed, "We wanted something everyone could enjoy; no matter how far. Today the mystery is: Ladybug and Robin! You are allowed to send in your questions, but if we feel something is too personal or close to giving away who we are, the question will be thrown out."
"Let the questions flow in." Robin commented.
Question one: Is there anyone you don't want to see during the holidays? There's always that one family member.
Ladybug smiled, "From the comments, I can see that lots of people agree with you; whether an uncle or aunt, a parent or a sibling. I'm afraid there's no one in my family I want to avoid, but there are old friends who turned out to be assholes. Those people I could go without."
"My family." Robin stated, "There was a reason I moved out, but I'm expected to be home because of my grandfather. I'm....excited to see my pets, though."
Question two: Are you going home for the holidays?
"Unfortunately." Robin sighed, "The show will be on hold until the break is over."
"No." Ladybug spoke.
"You're staying?" Robin shouted, "Why is this the first I'm hearing it?"
"My parents will be out of the country." Ladybug replied, ignoring her partner, "A relative is sick and they're leaving soon to help I've been looking up single holiday recipes to try this year."
"Lucky." Robin pouted.
"Robin, you can't cook." Ladybug retorted, "You'd end up burning the school down."
Robin should stay!
Robin, don't leave us!
Robin, what are you making for dinner tonight?
Robin, I'll teach you how to cook!
We can go out to eat!
Shut up! Let the bad bird burn down the school!
Birb
"Should we be concerned how many people want you to burn the school down?" Marinette questioned.
"I assume it has to due with finals." Damian smirked, "Also, I'm not doing it. I don't want to move back. I like my dorm."
Boooooo!
No!
Stay with us!
I got a C-, okay!
I failed -_-'
I don't want to retake that stupid class next year!!!
Need the evidence gone!!!!
Ladybug giggled, "Well, I can certainly say, it's no mystery how much our followers have faith in your cooking skills."
"Ha-ha." Robin spoke, rolling his eyes, "Besides, I can always order out."
"That would require you talking to people." Ladybug rebuffed.
"Not if I do it online." Damian answered, "Like you're one to talk; you're more introverted than I am. I know you have classes in person because there was no other option."
Question three: Are you dating? If so, why not invite her over?
"Not dating." Robin stated.
Ladybug declares, "Robin is my friend and he respects my boundaries."
"I'm Bi and lean more towards guys." he responds, "Girls are too clingy."
Ladybug scoffs, "Chat Noir was clingy."
"No." Robin declares, "Your mental ex-partner was obsessive and should be given a restraining order, should he ever find out who you are."
"Not arguing with you there." Ladybug replied.
Question four: You know each other? What makes Robin different from Chat Noir?
Ladybug rolls her eyes, "Yes; Robin and I know each other, personally. As many of you know, Chat Noir and I did not. To the people who aren't aware, I use to have my own podcast. Chat Noir is someone who reached out to me for a collab. We became known as the 'Bug and Cat Team'. We mostly spoke about the problems at school and social events surrounding the area."
"You don't have to say anything you don't want to." Robin spoke.
"I've talked about it before and several times after the incident; I'm fine talking about it now." Ladybug replied, "A topic came up during a podcast. Someone felt pestered by another individual; they claimed the person wanted to date them and had already rejected them. The person got more insistent and 'tried hard to win them over'."
"They harassed them." Robin sneered, "Just say it like it is."
Ladybug cleared her throat, "During that podcast, Chat Noir sided with the harasser and I didn't. I shouted at him and declared that I couldn't work with someone who thought harassing people was the right way to form a relationship. I shut down my side of the cast and blocked him. Suffice to say, the collab failed and I quit speaking my mind for awhile. Many people blamed me for the way the podcast ended. Some said Chat Noir was only joking. Others declared me the 'School's Voice of Reason'. Robin was the one to figure out who I was and reach out to me. He is the reason I'm back."
Question five: Do you think you two ever will date?
"I don't know." Robin explained, "I'd have to test her, first, if we ever got feelings for each other."
Ladybug smiled, "Oh, you're gonna test me? Is this part of the test, right now?"
"I prefer to get cheap food on the first few dates." Robin declared.
"Oh Kwami!" She laughed, "That reminds me of that stupid list we found: 'List of restaurants/places women refuse to go on a first date. Have you seen that list?"
Yes!
No!
What is it?
Who doesn't like pancakes?
Someone doesn't like pancakes?
They must live under a rock!
"I saved that list. It is now my go-to list for dates." Robin spoke, "Again, bye Ladies."
Ladybug laughs, "That list was so stupid! I would eat at any of them! The mystery is what ladies did that person talk to and why do they hate those places so much?"
"It was probably written by the same people who wants a six-figure working guy." Robin shrugged, "Sugar Daddies and Mommies."
"People!" Ladybug cried, "College people are broke! We are still broke when we finish! We got to pay back those stupid loans!"
"We don't have the money for some five-star Michelin resturant because you got a $2000 dress on clearance for $300 and you want to feel special!" Robin declared.
"You don't want fast food or some homecooked meal someone spent the day on? You don't want a family resturant? Guess what? You're gone! We don't want you either!" Ladybug shouted, "I don't know who told you that's the only way you're getting someone good for the rest of your life. Why do you think so many are invested in celebrity gossip? There's always someone cheating or divorcing; some scandal. Being rich doesn't mean you're happy and you're life is perfect!"
"I agree with Ladybug." he spoke, "If I desperately wanted a homecooked meal, I could just ask Ladybug to make me dinner and I would owe her a favor."
"How about a two star resturant in return?" she commented.
"Deal." Robin responded.
They both laughed.
"You can bring your boyfriend, if he wants to come; a friendly dinner." Ladybug continued.
Robin nodded, "I'll let him know."
Question six: I hear clicking sometimes. What is that?
"Oops!" Ladybug spoke, "Sorry; that's me! ADHD kicks in and I'm usually messing with a pen or a figit toy. I didn't realize the noise was getting picked up."
Relatable
Pen clicker here
I tap my nails on my desk
Leg bouncer!
They have tiny figit cubes!
Marinette smiled, "I'm so glad you all understand. I see a lot of links to....what look like toys. I'll look through them over the holiday."
Question seven: major?
"Uh, that's too personal." Ladybug commented.
"Agreed." Robin added.
Question eight: what made you start a podcast?
"I was bullied a lot." Ladybug answered, "Not everyone listened to me, even when I was right. Slowly, I stopped trying to speak up and just watched and waited for everything to fail. I decided I wanted my voice heard, even if a single person was listening."
"I prefer the illusion." Robin declared, "There's too many people in my life and sometimes, I'm not heard."
Question nine: Who is taller?
Robin began to snicker, causing Ladybug to glare.
"I am!" Robin stated, "Ladybug is....what is that term?"
"Don't you-" she began to scream.
"Fun-sized!" he finished.
"Fuck you!" Ladybug shouted, making him laugh.
"I'm not that short!" Ladybug yelled, "You're just taller and like to pick on me!"
How cute!
Tiny bug?
Tall bug?
Robin lying?
Smol
Sibling vibes
Question ten: Ladybug, what recipes are you looking at for the holidays?
"Oh, a bit of everything!" she commented, "I saw a charcuterie board and some chips and dip. Maybe some soup? I don't want to make anything to complicated. Honestly, it all sounds good. Cookies are definetly being made on Christmas Eve. Usually, I would make chocolate chip or shortbread, but I want to try something different this year. Any recommendations?"
Peppermint Mocha
Hot Chocolate
Snowballs
Lemon Cups
Christmas Kitchen Sink
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Gingerbread
White chocolate with candycane pieces
Red velvet
Pinwheels
"I'm sure Ladybug will look through all of your recommendations and will let you know which ones she chose, when we return after the holidays." Robin spoke, "I will try and come back earlier, but don't hold your breath. We don't need a campus mystery."
"Remember to think out of the box" Ladybug cheered, "and Happy Holidays!"
"Ugh, " Marinette groaned, "I can't believe my knitting needles were being picked up but the mic."
"I'll see if Barbara or Drake are free to look over the audio and maybe find a way to tweak it." Damian stated, "I'll walk you to your dorm, Miss Staying-For-the-Holidays."
"Well, Mr.-No-Five-Star." Mari teased, earning an eye roll, "Want me to cook you dinner?"
"Only if you promise to come over for Christmas." he answered.
"Think Jon's jealous?" Marinette questioned.
"Of me eating your cooking?" he spoke, "Always. He told me if it wasn't for my martial arts training and swordsmanship, he'd be fighting me to date you."
Marinette rolled her eyes and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.
"You know." Mari spoke, as she cuddled into her boyfriend's arm, "You could have just said I think my girlfriend should meet my family. I would have said yes."
"Still think it was better to keep our lives separate?" Damian asked.
"You mean our personas on the box away from who we really are?" she questioned.
He nodded in return.
"Yes; I do." she answered, confidently, "To many people, I'm soft-spoke or clumsy. I'm not someone people listened to. I don't regret starting my podcast on the side. I am glad you found me. You didn't let one person ruin me and who I was turning into."
"Well, I'd like to see Ladybug come more into play." Damian whispered, "I know she's in there and I like her just as much as I do Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
Marinette looked around her pent house in Paris. She had everything she wanted as a teenager. Well, almost everything. She was a well-known fashion designer, to the people that were aware of her. She kept her business a secret and used an alias. Her clients all came from judgement on her other clients. Others designers knew her as 'Passion' after her store's brand. Very few knew her as Marinette Dupain-Cheng: Gabriel Agreste, Audrey Bourgeois, and Jagged Stone.
Marinette had enough money to pay her rent, her fabric, all of her equipment, anything a business woman could need. Marinette herself, not so much. She missed being able to walk out and go sit at a café for a bit. When she saw Wayne Enterprise opened a section in Paris, she came up with an idea.
'Wayne Enterprises is a place that usually pays big. Even a part time job should be fine. A little play money couldn't hurt. A few extra euros so I could eat out, get some comfy clothes so I'm not rushing between orders and messing up wouldn't hurt.'
Damian Wayne sat at his desk, looking through potential applicants. Many of them were attached to big names or had one of their own. As he rang background checks, he could see they were all connected to each other in one way or another. He smirked at his idea.
'Let's put on a show. I want to see what kind of people these applicants are around each other. Would they out themselves?'
Mari was escorted to a waiting room as Damian Wayne got through other interviews. When the door opened, the last thing she expected was to see some familiar faces: Chloe, Adrien, and Lila.
"I don't know why you're even here, Dupain-Cheng." Chloe snarled, after the door was closed, "This is a big company that would love to work with our families. You have nothing going for you."
Marinette sat down and smiled, "Is that right? I guess I must have sent the wrong order to your mother and that's why she wore my design down the red carpet at the MET Gala."
Chloe tensed up and refused to meet her gaze. She could tell Adrien and Lila were surprised as well.
Chloe cleared her throat, "You're lying."
"Call your mother and ask." Marinette shrugged, "Oh, that's right! She doesn't like you; she prefers your half sister, who can actually work and living on her own, instead of leeching off of her Daddy."
"This isn't you, Dupain-Cheng." Chloe declared.
"No. This is me." Marinette shrugged off the concerned looks, "I'm just not being forced to coddle you to make Caline Bustier's life easier. 'Oh, just show Chloe some love, so she'll know what it's like and she'll get better eventually. You'll see.' Even she knew you were a horrible person. She basically thought you were The Grinch. That with enough love, your heart would grow three sizes and you wouldn't be such a bitch anymore."
Everyone was speechless at Marinette's attitude. This wasn't the Marinette that they grew up with.
"Chloe Bourgeois." a security voice called.
Chloe held her head high as she walked into the office.
"Damian Wayne." Chloe stated.
"Sit!" he demanded.
Chloe was shocked by his attitude.
'Doesn't he know who I am?'
"Do you know who I am?" she shouted.
"A spoiled brat; Ive read the articles on the internet." Damian stated, "You are known for crying for your father when you don't get what you want. Even though you are the oldest, your half-sister is who your mother relies on to bring customers for Style Queen in New York."
"My father-" Chloe snarled.
"Isn't the mayor anymore. He hasn't been the mayor in three years." the Wayne heir spoke, "If you're thinking of blackmailing me, you chose the wrong person. Spread whatever lies you want or cry to your father, the hotel owner. I could make one post about how horrid his hotel is and he would go out of business. Could you live with that?"
Chloe stood there, speechless. The only person who talked to her like this was her mother.
"I'm in charge, here, and if it came down to it, your job would be scrubbing toilets all day." Damian declared.
Tears formed in Chloe's eyes.
'He's glaring at me, just like Mommy. He doesn't look happy. He looks at me like he wishes I was gone or someone else.'
"We're done here." Damian stated.
Chloe quickly rushed out of the office. The three saw her rushing away, crying.
'I knew she wouldn't last.'
"Marinette, I can't understand why you're like this." Lila spoke, as she took her seat.
'He made that Daddy's Girl cry. I better go at this carefully.'
"Oh, shove it, Lila." Marinette sighed, "All three of us, here, know you're a lying manipulative bitch. You don't have to fake it."
"I don't know-" Lila continued.
"Adrien already told me years ago that he made a deal with you. He made one with me, too. Did he ever tell you that?" Mari questioned.
Lila glanced towards Adrien, who kept his head down.
"Oh, he didn't." she giggled, "You see, I was already designing for Jagged Stone when you arrived to our school. Adrien even had me autograph things I designed for him."
The model had turned towards Adrien and was now glaring at him.
"I could have made your whole 'tinnitus-kitten bullshit' story go up in flames since day one." Mari smiled, "I could have video called him and you would have been labeled as delusional."
"I took all our friends away!" Lila cried out, in victory.
"No." Mari answered, "You took away people, who were finally talking to me. Chleo ensured that for seven years, I had no friends. Those 'friends' just went back to not talking to me. You didn't actually do anything. If anything, you helped me. You took away the class president duties from me and I had more free time. You turned Alya and Nino away, so I couldn't babysit. I designed more clothes and got more clients. You didn't make my life worse, Lila, you made it better."
Lila fumed. Adrien had played peace maker between the both of them. From what Marinette was saying, she could have won the war in an instant! She thought she had chased Marinette Duapin-Cheng out of school all those years ago and here she was smiling, practially laughing at her, saying it wasn't true. She had thanked her and said she made her life better.
'I need this job so I can rub it in her face! I need to win against her!'
"I do hope you at least did some research into Damian Wayne." Marinette stated.
"I've known Damian Wayne since we were children!" Lila announced.
"Is that what it told you, you should say when you looked up how rich his family is?" Mari inquired.
Lila stood up, in rage.
'How dare she!'
"Lila Rossi." security called out.
Lila smirked, "I'm coming."
"She really should have done her research." Marinette spoke out loud.
"Why do you say that?" Adrine asked.
"Lila likes to play off her tears and looks." Mari declared, "Damian Wayne hates going to galas because of girls that try to attach themselves to him."
"And?" Adrien questioned.
"He broke an Italian model's arm two months ago, for lying to him." the designer stated.
Adrien paled at her words. Marinette merely smiled and pulled out her phone and dialed emergency services.
"Hello, what is your emergency?" the voice asked.
"I think we need an ambulance at Wayne Enterprise." Marinette stated, "I think someone's arm is broken."
"Are you with this person?" the voice questioned.
"No." the designer answered.
"I have sent medical to your location." the voice declared, before hanging up.
"That was pretty extreme, Marinette. I have faith in Lila!" Adrien shouted, "I don't think he would do that! The Waynes have an imagine to uphold!"
"Maybe, you should have done your research." Mari shrugged, "You still have time. Maybe five minutes."
Lila sauntered her way into the office.
"Hello, Mr. Wayne." She spoke, calmly.
"Sit." He demanded, not looking up.
Lila waved off his decleration. She moved past the chair in front of his desk and walked her way to his side.
"Can I sit on your lap?" She asked, "You see, I have tinnitus and-"
"There is nothing in here that would activate your tinnitus. Tinnitus is when you can't here anything for a brief amount of time, but a loud ringing. It's usually followed after hearing an extremely loud sound. I should know; I went to medical school." Damian stated.
'Shit. My usual tactics won't work here.'
Lila nodded and made her way back to the seat.
"Why shoud I hire you?" The Wayne heir questioned.
Lila fluttered her lashes, "I'm a model for Gabriel Agreste."
"Former model." Damian interjected, "You now model on Instagram and Only Fans."
Lila turned red. She didn't expect them to aware of her new lifestyle.
"Now, Miss Lerouch-" he continued.
Lila paled, "Wh-What did you call me?"
"Cerise Lerouch." Damian stated, "Did you think I would not delve into your background? I have to know who I am working with."
Cerise quickly leaped up from her seat and rushed around the desk.
"Don't touch me." Damian demanded.
"I'll do anything." Cerise cried out, grabbing onto his arm.
The Wayne heir growled, "Let go."
"I can help you relieve stress in other ways, you know." Cerise pleaded.
Damian grabbed her wrist and twisted it behind her back, harshly. Cerise screamed in pain.
"I have no need for whores." Damian spoke.
He grabbed the back of her shirt, arm still twisted, and walked her to his office door. He grabbed the knob and threw her out, in front of his security team.
"Drag this whore out by the hair, if you have too, but I want her off Wayne Enterprise grounds and blacklisted!" Damian shouted.
"Yes, Mr. Wayne." they spoke simultaneously, as he slammed his door shut.
"Shit, I think her arm is broken." the one on the left declared.
"She would call an ambulance?" the one on the right asked.
"Please, help me! It hurts so much!" Cerise begged, cradling her arm.
"You shouldn't have pissed him off." the one on the right declared, "Damian Wayne isn't one to mess around."
A man rushed towards them with medical workers.
"Did you guys call for an ambulance and someone with a broken arm?" the new guy asked.
"No, but perfect timing." the one on the left stated, "Girl with broken arm right here."
Cerise was walked by the waiting room. Inside, she could see Adrien looked horrified before turning to Marinette. She was smiling at her. Then, the baker's daughter flipped her off.
'She knew! That bitch knew how this would end!'
Cerise burst into tears as she was carted off.
"I guess that just leaves you and me, Agreste." Marinette stated.
Adrien began to feel uncomfortable.
"I do hope you do better than they did." She spoke, "For your Father's sake."
"Huh?" Adrien asked, confused.
"Damian Wayne isn't one to back down, not even to his father. He can make his father bow down to him. You have no idea how......attractive that is to a woman, Adrien." Mari smiled, "A man with a spine."
The model gulped, watching Marinette lick her lips.
"You should grow a spine." she declared, "Maybe then your father won't force you to model for him. I' sure that's why Kagami chose Felix over you. Your cousin has a spine. It looks good on him. Maybe, that's why Kagami didn't take my advice on how to get back with you after the break up."
Adrien only looked at her in shocked.
"Alya told me you broke up and I went to see her." Marinette continued, "I tried to help, but she didn't want to. She said it was better that way and well, Felix and you did look alike as teens. The same face with a spine; kind of hard to resist. They're so happy and their twins are adorable."
"Adrien Agreste, Mr. Wayne will see you now." the voice spoke over the intercom.
The model looked over at the designer. She waved at him, but said nothing. Adrien stood up and stood tall.
Adrien walked into Damian's office. It was intimidating; Marinette was right. He was scarier than his father.
"Why should I hire you, Adrien Agreste?" Damian questioned.
"I hate modeling. I prefer computers and science. I want to break free of Gabriel." Adiren admitted, "You don't have to worry about me telling him anything because I never learned anything about fashion. I couldn't even tell you the names of two different shades of fabric. If anyting, you should hire Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette has always been an amazing designer. She was recognized by Father and Style Queen when she was only thirteen. She's the one who would know everything about fashion."
Damian hid his smirk behind his hand and looked down at the papers about Adrien again.
'What a miracle worker you are, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Agreste grew a spine.'
"We may have an internship available in our science department." Damian spoke, "Do you still live with your father?"
"Yes." Adrien spoke.
"We have a company home we prefer our interns reside in." Damian continued.
He noticed Adrien seemed relieved about that.
"The internship isn't a guarantee." The Wayne heir continued, "We need to see you commitment and dedication first hand. If you can't keep up, we'll put you in a different department. If you keep failing to meet our expectations, you'll have no choice but to keep modeling for your father."
"Tell him we'll work with him for one year, as a test." Damian continued, "You have one year to get your affairs in order. You'll need to move in one month from now and if not, consider the contract cancelled. I will inform them you are expected."
"Thank you." Adrien smiled.
Damian waved him off and Adrine walked out of the office, happy.
Marinette stood up when her name was called. As she walked towards the office, she saw Adrien smiling at a paper. She entered the office and closed the door.
"Please sit Miss Dupain-Cheng." Damian ordered.
Marinette immediately took a seat in front of him.
"Why should I hire you?" He questioned.
Mari shrugged, "You don't really have to."
"Oh?" Damian pushed.
"I'm only here for a part time job." the designer answered, "You know, helping out on the floor, coffee grabber, secretary gig. That sort of thing."
"Excuse me?" he asked, shocked, " Aren't you a fashion designer."
"With my own clients and I can pay for my own things." She smiled.
"Then why are you here?" Damian questioned.
Marinette sat back further in the chair and got comfortable, "Play money. I spend my own on my deisgns, fabrics, equipment, rent. Why not have a little extra to treat myself to a night out or a night in, for once?"
That was not the answer he had been expecting.
Damian laughed, "What if I decide to keep you?"
"Keep me as in?" Marinette pushed.
"I decide I want to become one of your clients." he offered.
"Are you offering?" the designer asked, "I've seen some of those suits you wear to galas and it doesn't bring you out to your full potential."
"And that would be?" he asked.
"You're outshined by your father, your older brothers, and the company." She spoke, "You can stand out, but maybe you want to fade into the back, less people to grope you."
Damian chuckled and stood up from his seat. He made his way around the desk and rested on it.
"What would you dress me in, right now?" Damian questioned.
"Depends." Marinette smiled, "Do you always wear a suit to work or are you interested in a change?"
"Tell me about this hypothetical change." He demanded.
"Ever heard of quick change wear?" She asked.
"No." he replied.
"It mainly takes woman into factor. Clothes that can go from working at the office to going out on a date or partying." Mari answered, "Just a few adjustments and possibly a new shade of makeup and usually people tend to think they took all day to get ready."
Damian took what she said into account, "And for men?"
"Most don't really have the option." Marinette shrugged, "Shame, but on you.....your figure. Well, there's nothing sluttier than a man wearing a sleeveless turtleneck."
The Wayne heir couldn't help but think of his old League of Assassin's outfits.
"No one at work would know if you have a blazer on and buttoned." She continued, "It is your office so you can always install a closet here and keep an extra pair of clothes. Jeans, if you prefer. Who is to say that this whole time, you weren't wearing sweatpants and just dressed from the waist up."
He chuckled ather way of thinking.
'Effective, but true not the less. I could kick out anyone who entered my office, should I choose to dress comfortably, and there was a closet hidden behind the cabinets.'
"Another thing most people tend to do is incorporate their culture into their clothing, as well." Marinette spoke, "Personally, I use apple blossoms in most of my designs for myself."
"Miss Dupain-Cheng, you are not what I was expecting." Damian declared, "I like to expect everything."
Mari smiled, "I've been known to be...unpredictable."
"You want to work part time in the fashion section." The Wayne heir stated, "Even if it's just grabbing coffee or lunch for others."
"Correct." she answered.
"Fine." Damian spoke, "You can work here, part time, at least three days a week. I f you have a big comission, I want to know about it. You can keep the details to yourself, but I want a time frame."
Marinette nodded, happily.
"I also want you to make me something to relax in the office that could pass for office wear." he suggested, "I'll pay for fabric of course. I can send you the details of my heritage via email, later."
Marinette stood up, "I'll start on that and bring it by Friday."
Damian grabbed her hand and kissed it, "I'll see you Monday morning, at 9AM, for work. We can go over your schedule then."
Marinette felt her face flush as his lips connected with her hand. His gaze was piercing.
"Yes, Mr. Wayne." She answered, flustered.
Damian waved his hand, dismissing her, but he still followed her to the door.
"You know, Miss Dupain-Cheng." He whispered, pressing himself to her back, "They may not be able to see it, but I see what lurks in the shadows. I can see what you hide there. I can wait a bit longer for the side of you that wants to come out and play."
"Is that so?" Marinette whispered back.
"I'll enjoy getting to know you, in the future." Damian spoke, before opening the door.
Marinette took a breath before she walked out the door.
"Marinette, did you get the job?" Adrien asked.
"Yes." she answered.
The model sighed in relief, "I told him you were good. I told him about Father and Audrey."
"Did you think I wouldn't be able to get it on my own?" Mari questioned.
"That's not what I meant!" Adrien cried, surprised at the question.
"Then, don't belittle me and my work." Marinette declared, "He already knew who I was. The Wayne keep a check on everyone and everything. Did you seriously not expect him to know about our families? He was probably listening to us in the waiting room."
Adrien gulped in response.
"Besides, I wasn't apart of whatever you three were fighting over." Marinette smiled, walking away.
'What did she mean by that?'
Adrien turned to see Damian Wayne leaning against the door, wearing a smirk on his face. Damian took notice of the model and hardened his gaze. Adrien gulped as Damian stood tall and closed his door again.
'What was he staring at?'
Adrien turned his head back down the corridor and saw Marinette speaking to the receptionist.
'He was after Marinette the whole time!'
'He already knew who I was.'
'He was probably listening to us in the waiting room.'
'Besides, I wasn't apart of whatever you three were fighting over.'
Damian had heard the whispers and rumors when he first moved to Paris. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the baker's daughter and fashion designer had been head over heels for Adrien Agreste, the model. That had been years ago. Some of their friends refused to believe she moved on from her gigantic crush. He had heard the whispers of how she babbled and froze with just a glance. How she had memorized his schedule and planned their future together. He had heard how she had fallen for him with a simple gesture of giving her his umbrella in the rain. The only thing that had ever stopped them from getting together was how blind Adrien was. He never saw Marinette was anything more than a friend and everyone knew it. That might have been true; all of it. Damian knew that Marinette no longer felt like that, if it had ever been true.
From what he observed, Adrien was the one now persuing the baker's daughter. If any of it had been true, Marinette had long moved on. Adrien was constantly trying to get her attention and would search the halls for her. If anything, the roles had reversed. Adrien Agreste now stalked Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Adrien Agreste was still 'blind' in his book. The model took zero notice how Marinette reacted to being around him. He noticed the subtle flinches when Adrien called her name from down the hall. He noticed the terror in her eyes, before putting a smile on her face to greet a friend.
Damian froze the moment he saw her.
'Marinette? What is she doing here? I thought she couldn't have a pet in the bakery. Why is she in the pet store?'
His eyes followed her as she moved away from the front and towards the middle. She was almost hidden by the shelves.
'Hamsters?'
"Marinette!" Adrien shouted, "Do you like hamsters, too?"
"Uh, sort of." she answered, weakly.
"They're amazing!" he cried back, getting closer to her and the hamsters.
Even from where Damian stood, he could see Marinette's eyes were searching for a way out; an exit. He quickly put down the giant bag of dog food and rushed over.
"There you are Marinette." he spoke, pulling her towards him.
"Damian!" Mari exclaimed, surprised.
"Did you get lost?" he asked, "I apologize for getting so busy."
"You work here?" Adrien asked, "Why?"
"I volunteer." Damian answered, "I donate to several animal charities nd I like to make sure all the equipment is up to date."
"We can go see the puppies on files now." The Wayne heir suggested, "You said you were looking for a guard dog?"
Marinette lit up quickly, realizing Damian was giving her a way out.
"I'm so glad you remembered." she smiled.
"A dog?" Adrien asked, confused, "What about the hamster?"
"Oh." Mari spoke, "Well, I do think hamsters are cute, but with how scattered brain I get, I might forget instantly. I could forget to feed it or accidentally kill it with a giant roll of fabric." causing the model to wince.
"A dog is better." Marinette stated, "Their routine would be my routine."
"But why a guard dog?" he questioned.
"Why do you have a bodyguard?" Damian asked.
"Huh?" confusing the model.
"Guard dogs keep their owners safe." the Wayne heir answered, "They are loyal to a fault and will attack, if necessary." pulling Marinette closer to him.
Marinette blushed at the closeness. She quickly placed a hand on his chest to get his attention.
"We should go look at those files." She suggested, "You mentioned....training and I wan to make sure they are trained before university."
"Of course." Damian replied, leading Marinette to the back room and away from Adrien's prying eyes.
Damian picked up a radio to give the other workers a warning about Agreste. On the security cameras, he watched as the blonde model turned away and walk out the store.
'Seemed Marinette was his only goal here.'
Marinette sighed in relief as Damian placed the radio down.
"Thank you, Damian." Marinette spoke.
He nodded his head in understanding.
"But how did you know?" Mari asked.
"You are uncomfortable with him." Damian stated.
Marinette nodded her head.
"You look scared when you hear him call out your name in school." Damian spoke, "Sometimes, you turn pale. Doesn't seem like he notices."
"I thought no one noticed." Marinette answered, with a smile, "Thank you so much."
Damian chuckled, "Now, would you actually like a guard dog?"
"I would love one," Mari sighed, "but since I still live with my parents-"
"The bakery." The Wayne heir concluded.
She nodded her head and gave a shrug. Damian went over to a drawer and pulled out some files for an adoption event taking place soon. Marinette looked at him confused.
"It would not matter if I brought another dog home. At this point, it's expected. You would just have to wait." Damian stated.
Marinette smiled happily, "Really?"
"Only if you do not mind coing over to bond with your dog." he declared.
Marinette hugged him and quickly felt him flinch.
"Sorry!" she cried, pulling away from him, "Um, I'll just look at these."
Marinette browsed over the files he had handed her. Damian could tell she was seriously considering the guard dog idea. She started by ruling out the smaller dogs, he expected someone like her to own. By the end of her selection, she had five folders left.
"What do you think, Damian?" Mari asked, "Is there any of them I should rule out?"
Damian looked over the folders. There was a Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepard, Doberman, and an Akita.
"Two of these would make great pets, but not guard dogs." He spoke, "I believe you should look online and learn more about them before deciding. You need to make sure you can take care of them. I don't just mean their diet and health. There are many people who return animals because they have gotten bored or because they didn't expect how much time they would have to use to train it."
Marinette smiled, "Thank you. I can tell you really care about these animals. I can let you know by the end of the week."
Mari stood up, ready to leave. She bit her lip in hesitation.
"Are you alright?" He questioned.
"Um." She began, "Nevermind. It's stupid."
"What is it?" Damian asked, "You clearly think it is important. Why do you hesitate?"
Marinette blushed, "Do you think, until I get a guard dog- Can you be my guard dog? Bodyguard! I meant bodyguard; not guard dog! At school! Keep Adrien away from me?"
Damian chuckled, "I wouldn't mind at all."
Mari lit up at his response, "Oh! I can bring you breakfast! Are there any pastries you prefer?"
"I prefer savory over sweets." he answered.
"I can make savory tarts for you." She replied.
With a nod, Marinette left the back room and quickly left the store.
'Guard dog, huh?'
Adrien looked around and spotted Marinette already at school. He couldn't wait to see her and talk to her more about hamsters. As he made his way towards her, he watched as she made her way over to Damian. To his surprise, and likely everyone's surprise, Marinette latched onto his arm. Damian didn't seem to mind and led her away.
Damian smirked as Marinette latched onto his arm. He had seen Adrien arrive and watched as Marinette quickly made her way over to him. He hadn't expected the physical contact, but after he initiated it yesterday, she likely expected it. Damian quickly led her away from prying eyes and hushed whispers. As they walked away, he leaned down to her ear.
"Woof." he barked.
He hadn't expected her to squeak, let alone blush. He chuckled as Marinette puffed up her cheeks and let go of his arm. Cheeks still flushed, she hurried into the school. Damian turned back and caught Adrien staring at them in shock. Damian sent a glare his way before following after Marinette.
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