-Mari is MDC and uses gift giving as one of her love languages
- Damian looking for a necklace to give marinette when he asks her to be his girlfriend. Decided not to buy because It didn't feel right to just pick and buy something for someone who puts a lot of thought and love into the gifts they make. No matter how expensive the gift he gives would be.
- handmade > store bought. (Mari wouldn't have minded, because it's the thought that matters)
- so damian decides to make it himself.
- he enrolled himself in jewellery, making lessons. Without telling anyone
- turns his room into a little studio (alfred knows) and got his school to let him keep an unused classroom to himself for his personal use and keep it secret for the duration of his school year. Turns it into his personal jewellery making workshop.
-a month passes of damian practicing before Dick finds out 2nd. 1st is Alfred.
Dick: *knock knock* *opens damis bedroom door*
Dick: It's time for patro-l..... what are you doing?
Damian: *Frozen* *hunched over his desk wearing glasses that look like mini telescope thinggies* *using a soldering iron on tiny metal and jem bits scattered around his desk*
Damian: ....making a necklace
Dick and Damian:........
Dick: *slowly getting all smiley and squeely*
Damian: *pulls dick into the room and shuts the door* Don't you dare
Dick: *Squeely and squeezing damian in a hug* BuT iTs So ROMANTIC~!!! You're going to ask Cupcake (mari) right?! WHEN? HOW? WHERE?!!!
Damian: Put me down before I stab you with the iron.
Dick: Right, sorry *puts him down* but seriously when? And who else knows?
Damian: Alfred know....and I haven't perfected it yet. I've been taking lessons...
Dick: *getting smiley and squeely again*
Damian: Don't you dare.
- Jason finds out next , 2 weeks after Dick
Jason: *stares at Damian from the doorway* for pixi?
Damian:.... yes
Jason: .... Don't fuck this up. * leaves quietly*
Damian: ....what the fuck was that?
Jason: *in his room feeling all smushy and gooey at the idea of what damian is doing for marinette*
-Jason starts slipping Damian jewelry design ideas from movies inspired by his favorite books.
-Tim finds out not long after Jason.
Tim: What are you doing?
Damian: Making a necklace for Angel before I ask her out.
Tim: I thought you already were going out...
Damian: not officially
Tim: *with his coffee leaning on damians desk.* why don't you just buy one? It would be a whole lot faster.
Damian: Because I want to make her something rather than just buy it. Her gifts are always handmade and always have thought and consideration behind them.
Tim: Handmade? Her gifts are ALWAYS handmade? Wait a minute....*Runs to his room and looks for the hoodie gifted to him last christmas* *starts searching for something to see if his theory is true* *HIGH PITCH FANBOY SCREEM!*
Dick, Jason and Bruce: *All barge in with weapons*
Jason: WHAT THE FUCK TIM!!!
Dick and Bruce: What happened?
Tim: *still staring at his hoodie**whispers* she's MDC...
Dick: what?
Tim: she's MDC....she's FUCKING MD FUCKING C!!!!
Jason and Dick: *Jaw dropped*
Bruce: who?
----------------------------------
-Damian completes the necklace and gives it to marinette on a date.
-Damian gifts mari with jewelry for every special occasion.
-and mari makes it her goal to design a dress inspired by every single one of his jewellery design. To wear to gala events.
-Eventually he gets around to designing the engagement ring. Mari designs her wedding dress inspired by the ring. And they design their wedding rings together.
-Damian joins Marinette on her business and they get rebranded to MDW (Marinette and Damian Wayne) *still secret but family and regulars know*
Curiosity killed the cat (but satisfaction brought it back)
Chapter 1
Summary-
When Marinette finds out that she is adopted, she tracks down her Biological aunt. Who happens to live Gotham, the place she swore she wouldn't go. Well, Gotham just gained a new vigilante -Chaos.
next>>
CHAPTER 1: REVELATIONS
The day Marinette found out she was adopted, her life changed completely.
It started like a normal day.
She entered the kitchen. “Maman ?” She asked.
Her mother was crying over a photo. When she noticed Marinette, she quickly wiped her tears and hid the photo under a book.
“Marinette…” she said with a shaky smile.
“Maman, are you okay ?”Marinette asked, stepping into the room “What was in that photo ?”
“Nothing, Marinette, I'm fine.” Sabine abruptly stood up and left the room.
“Okay maman…” Marinette whispered as Sabine was leaving the room, loud enough for her to hear it.
Just as Marinette was about to leave too, confused about the entire thing, something caught her eye. It was another photo, which had fallen on the floor. Hesitating, she eventually picked it up.
The photo was that of a baby.
She had big blue eyes, and black hair, with a beautiful smile.
Flipping the photo, Marinette saw a familiar handwriting at the bottom corner.
Bridgette Liu Dupain-cheng, our precious baby.
Confused, Marinette kept the photo with her, deciding to ask her parents later.
At dinner, Marinette finally asked the one question in her mind.
“Maman, papa, who is this ?” She showed them the photo she had found early.
Sabine dropped her knife and Tom looked stunned.
Snapping out of her reverie, Sabine said “Oh Marinette, we hoped this day would never come….”
Marinette swallowed, losing her appetite immediately.
“We were going to tell you when you were 13, but then Hawkmoth appeared, and we didn't want to overwhelm you, and we just– we love you Marinette, and it doesn't matter if… if you're…if you're…” Sabine looked at Tom, unable to complete her sentence.
But Marinette bet them to it. “ I'm adopted, amn't I ?”
Sabine started sobbing, and Tom put a comforting hand around her.
He sighed,” Marinette, we are your godparents. Our own daughter, Bridgette passed just a year before we adopted you. Your mother was a very close friend of ours, and she left us with you.”
Sabine gave her a watery smile,“We love you, Marinette that will never change.”
Marinette stood “ Thanks for finally telling me the truth Maman, Papa.”
Her parents had given her her original birth certificate that night.
Her name had been Marie Kyle - Draper. Her mother's name was Diane Kyle, and her father's name was Richard Draper.
She looked them up in every possible website, but the only thing she found was an article.
Last saturday night, a young couple who were later identified as Richard and Diane draper were found dead in an alley near Robinson park. Richard had been shot straight on the head,whereas Diane had taken a bullet through her stomach. While it looks like a mugging attempt which led to their demise, the GPD suspect something more sinister. The GPD have promised to get to the bottom of this.
Finding out just what happened to her parents made her uneasy, especially when she realised that the place they died was Gotham, the very place where her grandmother Felicie had been murdered.
Walking into class, Marinette was still in a daze about what had happened the day before. She was so lost in thought, that she didn't notice the glares her classmates were giving her.
"How could you, girl ? We all trusted you so much !” Alya shouted, as Marinette went to sit beside her.
"Alya what do you mean ? I don't get it ?” Marinette asked, confused.
“Look I get that you don't like Lila but that doesn't mean you can insult her when all she's done is be nice to you.” Kim said, as everyone agreed with him.
"What? I still don't understand-’’ M asked looking around. Her eyes fell on Lila who seemed to be crying.
"So you're saying you didn't tell lila that she will never be Adrien’s friend ? Or that Ladybug doesn't really like her ?” Alya snapped.
“I never said that!” Marinette exclaimed, realising what was happening.
“And who would have sent her these messages from your phone ?” Sneered Kim.
“ Those were taken out of context.” Marinette said, shaking her head.
"Sure…” Alya looked at her, and lowered her voice and said, “Look all you have to do is apologise to her… and understand that Adrien may not want to be with you and-”
“Alya what makes you think I still like Adrien” Marinette asked, getting annoyed.
"Come on girl, I'm your best friend.” Alya said rolling her eyes.
“You haven't been my best friend in months! You haven't properly talked to me, insulted me when I forgave Chloe and even ditched me for Lila many times.” Marinette shouted, done with her friends, no ex friends stupidity.
“Marinette, you know it's not like that…” Alya said, in a condescending tone.
"No Alya, I'm done. With all of you.” With that, Marinette stormed to the back of the class, and sat next to a stunned looking Chloe. She had made up her mind about what she was going to do.
Ever since she found out that she was adopted, things had been tense with her parents. She walked into the bakery, determined to put this behind her.
“Marinette ! Could you.. could you help me with making the decorations for this cake ?” Sabine asked hesitantly.
"Sure thing Maman” Marinette said, a small smile on her face.
So what if she was adopted? Her parents still wanted her, still cared for her. She wasn't going to let anything ruin her family life, like the way she let Lila ruin her friendships.
Mary Anne Todd, didn't really have a safe childhood. While her life seemed hopeless, she at least she had her older brother Jason.
Until she didn't.
Getting caught up with the wrong crowd, she loses her memories and ends up in Paris. Will a Class trip to Gotham jog her memories, or will she forever forget what once was ?
<<Previous next>>
Chapter 2: The turning point
She met him again, a month later. This time, he was a civilian, and he didn't have to hide.
They caught up with how their lives had been for the past 1 and a half years.
Jason tried to convince Maria to come with him to the manor, but She refused. She had grown used to the freedom she had in the orphanage, and she didn't know what would happen to Tim. She had to protect him, for Tim had the survival instincts of a wet tissue.
Despite not being able to convince her to come and live with him at the wayne manor, Jason and Maria decided to meet once in a month.
Maria carefully kept Tim and Jason separately, the other not knowing of each other's connection with Maria.
Till that point in her life, everything was going smoothly.
But, trouble always found Maria.
Just 6 months after reuniting with Jason, and almost agreeing to stay at the manor, she was kidnapped.
It happened so suddenly, Maria barely had time to react.As she had been living at the orphanage for almost a year and a half, she had grown used to being.. safe. In a moment of vulnerability, coming back from visiting her mother’s grave, she had been snatched.
The kidnappers dosed her with way too much of sedatives, so when she regained consciousness, she couldn't remember anything.
The psychiatrist in front of her, who had introduced herself as Emma, told her how she had been kidnapped and how she was rescued, and she listened in a daze.
When Emma asked for her name, she went blank. Crying, she told Emma that she had no idea who she was, or where she was from.
“That's fine dear. Just rest a bit now, I'm sure everything will come back to you soon.”
But it didn't The only thing she remembered was that her name had been Maria, but she couldn't pinpoint how she knew that.
Eventually, the couple who had saved her, decided to adopt her.For the third time in her life, not that she knew it now, Maria was renamed as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the daughter of Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng.
“Class, Marinette has some exciting news for us all !” Mdm. Bustier announced cheerfully at the end of her class, smiling at Marinette.
Marinette ignored the looks she got from Lila and her sheep, and cleared her throat, before saying,“Okay so um as I was preparing for our end-of-year trip to Metropolis, I stumbled upon an exciting opportunity for us - an internship program in Wayne enterprises. I signed up for it, and we were one of the 5 classes which were selected!”
At that, everyone in class cheered excitedly, surprisingly, including Lila.
“So, apart from our trip to Metropolis we will also be staying in Gotham, for a month before visiting Metropolis.” she continued, undettered by her classmates whispering.
The class seemed to get even more restless, completely ignoring Marinette, talking loudly to each other.
“So um.. if you want an internship you will have to get your parents to sign a consent form and give it by the end of the week.. also you will have to write a 700 word essay about what you would like to do in the internship. The internship is limited to 12 Students per entry.”
She said loudly, her voice floating over her classmates chaotic chatting.
"Well Marinette, thanks a lot for doing this for our class !” Mdme bustier said, beaming at her.
Saying a quiet ‘You’re welcome’, she made her way to her seat at the back next to Chloe, behind Alix and Max.
“So that is why you wanted us to write that essay !” Max exclaimed as Marinette took her seat, “I can't believe you kept such a thing from us !”
Laughing softly, Marinette replied, “ Well, I couldn't leave you guys out of the internship, of course I submitted our essays first.”
Max grinned at her, and Alix high-fived her. As they both turned front to talk to kim, and Chloe went back to doodling in her book - Chloe already knew about the internship, courtesy of being Marinette's best friend - Marinette closed her eyes, trying to catch some sleep, as Mdme bustier let the remaining of the period free as the class was way too restless to pay attention.
Lately, she had been having trouble sleeping.Every time she fell asleep, she would have strange dreams, of a boy called ‘jay’ and another called ‘detective’. She had talked to her parents about it, and they told her that they were just dreams, and that she really shouldn't worry much about them.
But Marinette couldn't shake off the feeling that it was much more than that.
"Timmy !" She called, walking up a strangely familiar street.
A scrawny boy, with messy black hair, and striking blue eyes was standing there, at the entrance to an alleyway.
Looking at her, he grinned “Annie ! Ready for our adventure?”
“You bet,”she said. “Just wait till I get the best shot.”
The boy, Timmy, laughed, and suddenly, the scene faded away.
Jerking awake, Marinette couldn't help but feel a huge void in her, the kind that made you feel hopeless, the kind that made you desperate.
Shaking without knowing why, she pulled her blanket closer. There was a strange wetness on her cheeks, and when she touched it, she realised she had been crying.
Wiping away her tears, she tried to go back to sleep, ignoring the questions that were swirling in her head.
‘They're just dreams’ she repeated over and over in her mind, ignoring the tiny voice in the back of her head, that it wasn't just a dream, but a memory, from her past.
Curiosity killed the cat(but satisfaction brought it back)
Summary -When Marinette finds out that she is adopted, she tracks down her Biological aunt. Who happens to live Gotham, the place she swore she wouldn't go. Well, Gotham just gained a new vigilante - Chaos.
<<Previous next>>
Chapter 6: A RUDE WELCOME
Word count: 1130
Previously.. Seconds later, a boy with jet black hair burst into the class. He handed a note to the teacher, and made his way.. to her ?
“Move.” He snapped, his green eyes narrowed.
“Wha- What ?” She asked, confused. Gods, she didn't have enough coffee to deal with this shit.
He clicked his tongue, and replied in a condescending tone, “You are in my seat, could you move.”
Marinette bristled, she did not like that tone, nor did she like his order.From the looks of it, it would seem that this boy was just like the old Chloe, a total nuisance.
She was not going to let anyone push her around, not like before. But at the same time, she didn't really want to make enemies on her first day.
So, she replied in the only rational way, “No.”
“What ?” The boy asked, stunned. Apparently no one had told him no before.
“You heard me. I'm not moving.” Marinette said, confidently, though her heart was pounding. The entire class watched the exchange with bated breath, and the boy just glared at her.
Before he could reply, the teacher intervened.“Mr. Wayne, that's our new exchange student, Marinette Draper. She wasn’t aware that you sit in that seat, so please do adjust for the day. Let's give her a warm welcome, and try to be compromising, yes ?”
The boy nodded, somewhat reluctantly,and just sat down in the seat next to her.
“Thank you.” The teacher said, before she turned to the board and started teaching.
<•••••••••••••••••••••••>
After their first class ended, Marinette made a beeline to the exit, and was joined by Leah. “You have a lot of guts, standing up to Damian.” She said, looking at Marinette with awe.
“Well, it's not like he could actually do anything, right ?” Marinette shrugged, completely nonchalant.
Leah stopped midstep, and turned to look at her, “Marinette, you do realise who his father is –”
“His father's Bruce Wayne, I know; but I'm sure Mr. Wayne wouldn't use his influence to protect his son from facing consequences of being a bully.” Marinette cut Leah off, slightly annoyed.
“But-”“But nothing. Honestly, I didn't really do anything.” Marinette said, her tone indicating that she was done with the topic. Leah too, gave up, and the two walked in silence to their next class.
<•••••••••••••••••••••••>
Marinette didn't see the boy, Damian again, till right before lunch. It would seem they had chemistry together too.
This time, she sat far away from him. But fate had its own plans.By some weird coincidence, she ended up being paired with Damian. Not for the day, but for the rest of the term.
“I'm hoping you are somewhat better than the other imbeciles here.” Damian said, sliding into the seat next to her, without even looking at her.Marinette rolled her eyes,
“Certainly, if they are anything like you.” No response From the corner of her eye, she could see Damian, his jaw set, and his eyes glued onto the board.
Hiding her smirk, she looked away, and pulled out her notebook. It would seem she won this round, and had rendered the great Damian Wayne speechless.
<•••••••••••••••••••••••>
During Lunch, Marinette realised just what Leah had meant. The entire cafeteria seemed to be staring at her, and glaring at Leah. Leah shrunk into herself, and quietly stood in line for her turn. Marinette followed her, and observed the students.
It would seem that GA too had a hierarchy. In the centre, a group of girls were seated, each with obnoxious expressions on their faces, as they gossiped as loud as they could. Next to the table, were a group of boys, who seemed to be in a heated discussion.
Based on how these two groups were in the centre, and everyone surrounded them, one would assume that these two were the most popular groups in the school.
After receiving lunch, Marinette continued to follow Leah. Leah quietly made her way to the corner most table, narrowly avoiding tripping over people’s feet. From how unfazed she was, Marinette assumed it was a common occurrence.
That was when she made up her mind. She would help Leah, any way she could.
The two girls indulged in a rather subdued conversation.
That is, until they were joined by two girls,who introduced themselves as Leah's friends. “You must be the new girl who joined today !” The girl with dark hair said,"What's your name ? I’m Mia.”
Marinette answered her question, with a smile on her face. “I’m Marinette. Its nice to meet you guys, I hope we can get along !"
The other girl, introduced her self as ‘Cass’ Mia then explained how Cass had selective mutism, and usually communicated through ASL. Marinette gave Cass an understanding look.
The four girls sat together, and Marinette felt slightly happier. Never had she expected that she would end up making 3 friends on her first day. Maybe GA would be different.
<•••••••••••••••••••••••>
During P.E. Damian finally managed to one up her.
As luck would have it, they were playing dodgeball.
Marinette and Damian were in opposite teams, and they were some of the last ones standing. Towards the end, it became quite obvious that the two only saw each other, as they kept aiming at each other, and not the other few students who were left.
Just before the ball could hit Marinette, The coach blew his whistle, declaring the end of the game.
But, Marinette, who had gotten distracted, still got hit by the ball, at the same time as the whistle was blown.
Because of this minute detail, Damian's team were declared winners, with Damian having hit Marinette.For some reason, this infuriated Marinette.
Damian had tried to approach her after that, but she avoided him completely. His smug smirk right after he hit her, was etched in her memories, refusing to fade.
She spent the remainder of the day sulking, refusing to utter a single word. After school ended, she simply swapped numbers with Leah, and left to the library just a block away, and tried to look for any books about the miraculous.
But Marinette did not notice time passing, till the librarian nearly kicked her out. It was almost 9, and she had multiple missed calls from her aunt. She immediately called her aunt, and apologised. After being scolded by her aunt, Marinette decided to walk home. All she wanted to do right now was sleep. It had been a rather long day.
------------------------
A.N. Want to know when the next chapter is posted ? Let me know and I'll tag you in the next chapter :)
( This chapter was kind of fun to write. We're almost entering act two, where tha action starts ahahahahhaa. Anyway I hoped you liked this one. I'll possibly drop the next chapter in August first week.)
Curiosity killed the cat(but satisfaction brought it back)
Summary -When Marinette finds out that she is adopted, she tracks down her Biological aunt. Who happens to live Gotham, the place she swore she wouldn't go. Well, Gotham just gained a new vigilante - Chaos.
<<Previous next>>
Chapter 5 : A NEW FRIEND AND A NUISANCE
(word count: 88O)
Whispers filled the halls of Gotham Academy, and Marinette knew she was the main subject of their conversations. It had been less than a week since she arrived at Gotham, and in that time, she had reconnected with Selina, and enrolled into Gotham Academy.
Of course, Gotham Academy was a rather prestigious establishment, which would rarely accept students in the second term. But with Bruce Wayne, a freaking multi-millionaire who happened to be her aunt's fiance, pulling some strings, she had started taking classes at the academy with no problems.
Today happened to be her first day, and after taking a 3 day course to ensure she was upto mark with her peers, she was finally attending a class with the other students.
She ignored the students who were staring at her, as if she were just a source of entertainment. She wouldn't invite any trouble, but if any of them dared to cross the line, she wouldn't let them off easily. Marinette was done being a pushover, it was about time she took her life back.
Standing in front of the principal's office, she knocked gently.“Come in !” the Principal's voice sounded from the other side of the door. Marinette entered the room, and was slightly surprised to see another student inside.
The principal, Headmistress Anderson, smiled at her warmly, “Good morning Ms. Kyle. I'm sure you'll fit right in with your classmates. Here is your timetable.”
Gesturing to the student, the Headmistress continued, “This is our student body representative, Leah Watson. She will show you to your class, as you two are in the same class. Now you better be on your way, you wouldn't want to be late for your first class ! Don't hesitate to come to me if you have any further problems.”
Thanking her, Marinette left the office, and Leah soon followed her.
Leah stared at Marinette, before saying, “Well, as you already know, I'm Leah. Soon you will find out that while the teachers like me, the students don't. So, it will be beneficial for you, to not talk to me other than when it's necessary, unless you want to be ostracised along with me.”
With that, Leah turned and left, and Marinette quickly caught up with her.
“ Wait. You didn't wait to hear my response.” Marinette said.
Leah looked at her, shocked, “What ?”
“Look. At my old school, this one girl turned most of my classmates against me. But honestly, I realised that only the few who believed me, were my true friends. So, it doesn't matter if I'm ‘ostracised’, as long as I have a true friend on my side.” Marinette said softly, her eyes never leaving Leah's.
“ I.. see.” Leah said slowly.“
"Well, let's try this again. I'm Marinette Draper-Kyle. And you are ?” Marinette asked, a small smile on her face.
“Leah Watson. It's a pleasure to meet you Marinette. Would you like to be friends?” Leah replied, her eyes shining.
“Certainly !”
“Well, let's head to class then, Marinette. ”
The two girls then head to their class, hand in hand. A sense of satisfaction creeped into Marinette. Maybe this is why she was here. To save others from suffering the same fate as her.
<•••••••••••••••••••••••>
“Class, as of today, we have a new student in our class. Please welcome, Marinette Draper-Kyle.” Their teacher, Ms.Danielle said, a warm smile on her face. Her blue eyes were framed by blonde hair, and she looked like she was a teacher favoured by many.
“Ms. Draper-Kyle, I welcome you to Gotham. I hope you enjoy your stay here in Gotham.” Ms. Danielle said, turning towards Marinette.
"Thank you Ms. Danielle, Marinette replied, slightly shocked that the teacher didn't force her ask her to introduce herself and talk about herself.
Looking around, she noticed there were three empty seats, one next to a girl who was glaring daggers into her, which caught Marinette off guard – there was no way she had already made friends– while the other two seats were near the window.
Surprisingly, the best seats were empty.
But Marinette wasn't one to question her luck, and so she made a beeline to the seat right next to the window.
This seemed to have an effect on the entire class. They all exchanged looks, and Leah gave her a look that said, ‘You're dead.’
In any other circumstance, Marinette might have tried to change her seat, but she was too tired to even think of it. Seconds later, a boy with jet black hair burst into the class. He handed a note to the teacher, and made his way.. to her ?
“Move.” He snapped, his green eyes narrowed.
“Wha- What ?” She asked, confused.
Gods, she didn't have enough coffee to deal with this shit.
He clicked his tongue, and replied in a condescending tone, “You are in my seat, could you move ?"
Marinette bristled, she did not like that tone, nor did she like his order. From the looks of it, it would seem that this boy was just like the old Chloe, a total nuisance.
She was not going to let anyone push her around, not like before. But at the same time, she didn't really want to make enemies on her first day.
A.N. Want to know when the next chapter is posted ? Let me know and I'll tag you in the next chapter :)
( I love this chapter, as we're finally finally starting the main plot ! I hope I can make the updates much quicker in the near future but let's see what ends up happening. Hopefully, the next update will be in July 1st week)
Alya stared into wonder, as Marinette crossed the room of the Wayne Gala.
'What the fuck is she doing here?'
She had tried inviting Lila, but she had said she was too busy.
'Did she know that Mari would be here?'
Alya froze as she watch Marinette talk to Lois Lane and Clark Kent with such familiarity. Even Jon had gone up and hugged her! Alya watched as a guy came up from behind them and put his arm around her waist.
'What is going on?'
Alya ran up to Jon, after watching Marinette walk to the other side of the room with the mysterious guy.
"Hey, Jon." She spoke, trying to keep an eye out.
"Alba?" He questioned.
She winced, "A-Alya."
"Sorry." Jon apologized, "What-Did you have a question?"
"Um, I did actually." Alya answered, "How do you know Marinette?"
"You know Mari, too?" He shouted, excitedly, "We have so much to talk about!"
"Yeah." She smiled, awkwardly, " I didn't realize you knew her."
"Oh, yeah!" He stated, "I met Mari in university, after my best friend, Damian started dating her. Actually, I don't remember seeing you at the wedding."
'Marinette's married?'
"Busy." She replied, quickly, trying to keep the shock off of her face.
"Oh yeah. Ma and Pa are always busy, too." Jon spoke.
"It makes sense that your parents know your best friend, after all." Alya commented.
"Of course!" He smiled, "The Wayne family own the Daily Planet, after all."
'Huh?'
"Pa and Bruce are old friends and Damian had been my best friend for years." Jon continued, "Mari has changed him so much...in a good way."
Jon leaned in and whispered, "If you ask his brothers, off record, they'll say he was much more violent before her. Like Beauty and the Beast."
'Marinette married into the Wayne family and they own the Daily Planet. Marinette is my boss!'
"You wanna go talk to them?" Jon questioned.
"Another time." Alya smiled, "The Waynes are busy and I don't want to hog her attention."
As she walked away, she swallowed a very hard pill. She had been moments away from going to yell at Marinette, but Marinette held the power to fire her. It wasn't worth losing her dream job, especially when she wasn't even a journalist yet.
Alya held a zoom meeting with some of the others in Paris. Others had drifted apart in University and barely spoke to them now. They had been shocked to learn that Mari had gotten married.
"Who did she marry?" asked Nathaniel.
"Yeah, what's he like?" questioned Kim.
"Damian Wayne." Alya spoke.
"Are you sure?" Alix asked, confused.
"Yes." Alya answered.
"Alya are you 100%, no, 1000% sure?" Max pressed.
"Yeah. I talked to my boss' kid. The whole family knows them." She declared, "I was about to march over to Mari and call her a bitch for everything and then I found out the Waynes own my work. Mari is my boss. I can't say anything to her, without risking my job."
"Alya." Alix spoke up, "Lila has been telling us that her new boyfriend is Damian Wayne. She told us they went out last Friday."
"Last Friday?" She questioned, "That was the night of the gala and he was there with Marinette. He barely left her side."
The call fell silent.
"Did we make a mistake?" Nathaniel asked.
"Are you sure that's what she said?" Alya shot back.
"Yeah!" Kim cried out.
After a few moments of silence, Alya spoke, "I'll.....I'll talk to Jon first."
"Babe." Nino called.
"If....If anyone knows something, he would. " she answered, "He's Damian's best friend and he seemed to really like Mari. The whole family does."
"Alya." Nino spoke.
"Bruce was-He got around with woman at this age. Damian didn't give the impression that he would." Alya continued, "Bruce isn't even married."
"Babe." Nino called out again.
"I need some air." She declared and turned off the call.
Alya decided to pour her research abilities into Damian Wayne.
'Jon wasn't kidding when he said he was violent before.'
Damian was introduced as Bruce Wayne's biological child at the age of eleven. Bruce explained how he had been living with his mother, all that time, and he was as shocked as any of them. Many commented how Damian looked exactly like Bruce at that age. He was a vegetarian and an animal activist.
There were a few articles of Damian being suspended for injuring a student or teach. His only statement was he 'disliked being touched'. He even hit a journalist for attempting to ask him questions. Damian had labeled it 'harassment'. He was called Gotham's own Ice Prince.
It was a shock to Gotham when Marinette and Damian announced they were officially dating. The city called them 'Daminette'. Damian was viewed as 'softer', but very protective of Mari. She had been kidnapped for ransom by Scarecrow. When GCPD found him, he was screaming for Damian to get away from him. He was found beaten and bruised. When the young Wayne was questioned about his actions he boldly claimed 'He wasn't afraid of the rouges. If Marinette was hurt again, he was willing to go to jail for the murder of a rouge.' Marinette was quickly listed as 'off limits' and dubbed 'Gotham's Sunshine Princess'.
There were dozens of articles of them at charity events. There were even pictures of Jagged Stone with Damian and Fang.
'I saved Jagged Stone's pet kitten.'
'Why are you lying? Jagged Stone doesn't have a pet kitten, Lila. He hatched a crocodile egg and named him Fang.'
'Maybe he was holding it for a friend? He just seemed so grateful!'
'Marinette, hey, um, can you sign my cd?'
'Gah! Uh, su-sure , Adrien. Go here. I-I mean here ya go, Buddy.'
Actually, now that she thought about it, more, Mari designed his Eiffel Tower glasses, too. Alya took a deep breath and looked up Marinette, instead.
Marinette was a very sought out designer. Jagged Stone had announced her as his designer when she was eighteen. He mentioned how she had been working with him since she was fourteen, but had been under an NDA contract.
There were even pictures of her with Luka and Juleka.
'When did I last talk to Juleka...or Rose?'
Marinette's designs were on runways at fashion week. She traveled a lot: Milan, London, Shanghai, New York, LA. She had her own label, not affiliated with the Wayne family.
It had taken Alya two weeks to process everything.
"Jon, do you mind if I ask you a question?" She asked him, at work.
"Sure." He answered.
"Do you know a Lila Rossi?" She asked.
Jon made a face, "You mean that liar?"
"Huh?" She spoke.
Jon sighed, "You heard about how she was claiming to be dating Damian, too, right?"
Alya simply nodded.
"Damian already served her with a defamation lawsuit." He replied.
"What?" She answered.
"Yeah." He continued, ignoring her shock, "Adrien heard it and told me, so I told Damian. He doesn't like his name being slandered."
"Oh, that's good." Alya smiled, trying to hide her panic, "I....I heard about it from a friend , back home, and it didn't make sense. I told them Damian was married."
"Hey, you did good." Jon replied, putting his arm around her shoulder, "You told them the truth and you had the facts to back it up."
Alya nodded, quickly.
"Oh and don't worry about a story." He spoke, removing his arm.
"St-story?" She questioned.
Jon pulled out his phone and stated, "Damian said 'That gold digger is as pathetic as the rest. Her name does not deserve to make it to the front page'. Adrien told him how she likes the attention. That she use to try to keep getting with him, too, and it took him coming out, as gay, for her to leave him alone."
Jon suddenly started laughing, recalling something, "A-He said she tried to rub on him so he shoved her off, sat of Jagged Stone's son's lap and made out with him. She hasn't bothered him since."
Alya remained silent. She hadn't even known that Adrien was gay.
"I better not see this in a story." He stated, any trace of laughter was gone, "It would be hearsay."
"No! " she answered, quickly.
He continued, "Good. You're learning. You can't take the word of one person and believe it. Someone else may recall something else, differently. Journalism is about finding the truth. Lies don't belong in a story. That's tabloid gossip and for bloggers, even fanfiction writers."
"With this Lila, she will learn the hard way that lying is wrong. She is going to have to explain to a jury: why she lied and what made her claim to be in a relationship with a married man. If she still claims to be his affair partner, she will have to show evidence: dates, hotel names, locations. All of which, Damian can disprove with his own bank statements. If money was taken out, it would show. There are cameras everywhere, especially owned by Wayne Enterprises. They make sure to aid the GCPD with rogue attacks, so they can see every angle." Jon spoke.
"Same with trips out of the states. Damian can disprove he didn't go to visit her and he didn't pay for her to be flown to Gotham or met up in some fantasy place. Not to mention her own passport. " He concluded, "I know Adrien said she likes to lie about celebrities. Hopefully, this is her only lie, out there, because if there's more, celebrities might come out of the woodworks just to sue her. I'm sure you know about limitations and how people can be convicted like ten years later for something they did."
Alya smiled and nodded.
"You should studying law books in your free time. Especially ,what a journalist can and can't do or say." Jon recommended.
"I will." Alya replied, "Thank you."
Alya was in a sour mood, all day after that conversation/information dump. At lunch, she looked up Lila and tried to cross it with her blog. She couldn't find any evidence of past stories to them. There was no dedicated song. Prince Ali worked in children's hospitals, not the environment. Alya looked her up as a model and only saw the Gabriel brand. Lila had been fired at eighteen.
When Alya looked up Adrien Agreste, she saw he had come out as gay, but was in a long distance relationship with his boyfriend, while he finished his studies. He admitted, he planned to leave Paris and move in with him, later. Alya sent a group text for a meeting after work, labeled ASAP. She then spent her lunch inside of her car, bawling.
Alya got home and quickly pulled up the group zoom chat.
"Alya, why-" began Alix.
"Damian Wayne is suing Lila." Alya announced.
"What?" Asked Kim.
"No way!" Exclaimed Nathaniel.
Alya took a deep breath, "His exact comment was 'The pathetic gold digger doesn't deserve her name on the front page."
"Lila isn't like that!" Proposed Mylene.
"Adrien corroborate his story." The journalist declared.
Ivan gasped, "What?"
"But they dated!" Kim shouted.
Alya shook her head, "Adrien's gay and has a boyfriend."
"What about in Bustier's class?" pressed Alix.
"Yeah!" cried out Mylene, "They were always together!"
"Adrien broke up with Kagami during that time." Nino admitted, "She didn't like how Lila clung to him, in the photoshoots, but she also felt like Adrien had a crush on Marinette."
"What?"
"Adrien liked Mari?"
"Did they date?"
"Is that why she called Lila a liar?"
"As far as I know of...no." the DJ answered, "I asked and he said she was more like a little sister to him and he was protective of her."
"He-" began Max.
"He did try to tell me and Alya that Lila was lying, but we thought he was just taking Mari's side." He continued to confess, "It was suspicious since he had just barely started to get closer to her."
He could tell everyone was shocked.
"Marinette knows Jagged Stone." Alya spoke.
"What?" Ivan declared.
"She's been his designer since Bustier's class. She made his Eiffel Tower glasses." Alya sniffled, "She goes with him to charity events. Luka and Juleka call her their 'unofficial cousin'."
"Alya." Alix whispered.
"I looked up a lot when I was at lunch." She sniffled, "I found out from Jon, Damian's best friend. I-I deleted my blog."
"What?" shouted Nino.
"Why would you do that?" Mylene questioned.
"Lila lied about.....everything! I-I couldn't find anything to prove she wasn't lying." Alya sobbed, "Jon said that evidence could be used, even years later. If another person wanted to sue her, they could just use my blog. I'd be a laughing stock! I could lose my job!"
"Alya." Nino spoke, sympathetically.
"We believed a fucking gold digger and lost Mari! I lost my best friend for some cheap imitation!" She started to scream, "Why didn't I listen? Why did I believe Lila so much more than Mari?"
They could see that Alya was taking this information the hardest. One by one, they left the call and texted Lila.
'We know that Damian Wayne suing you.'
'Alya works at the Daily Planet, under his family.'
'His best friend laughed at her and your audacity for going after a married man.'
'Even Adrien is ready to testify, against you, on how much of a liar and gold digger you are.'
'Marinette is married to Damian Wayne, but I guess you didn't know that.'
'I cant believe we believed you.'
'We were idiots.'
'We were kids!'
Lila looked at her phone, as the comments continued to roll in. She had finally been outted as a liar. She had lost Adrien early on and never recovered from his betrayal.
Lila had run away the moment she saw him kissing Luka. He had messed up her plan, all her hard work! It wasn't until later in the year that she realized she had actually fallen for Adrien; he was no longer a ploy to make her famous. Adrien Agreste was who made her happy and who she could be herself around. He had known she was a liar but he tried to make everything better. Now he was forever out of her reach.
Lila had tried to date, but none of them were as good looking. All of them listened to her lies and believed her. None of them were right. In the end, she kept with the same stupid friends, hoping to hear that Adrien had only been going through a phase. Then he had to mess it up again and tell the world he had a boyfriend and was moving in with him soon.
She had cried for days. She told herself that she needed to look like she still had it together so she had made the decision to look up 'wealthy men my age' and chose Damian Wayne. When she found out she was getting sued, Lila had finally realized Adrien hadn't felt threatened by her antics in the slightest. He had never taken her seriously. Lila was slapped with a lawsuit and a restraining order by the Wayne family. If she persisted with false accusations, they recommend a psychological evaluation to be done.
She never expected Alya to turn on her; she had told everyone she was a liar. Adrien had called her a liar. It felt like a slap in the face when they mentioned Marinette. Lila hadn't thought about her in years. Marinette still won the battle, she thought she had victory over years ago.
Pictures started filling her phone of Damian and Marinette announcing their first child. There was even a picture of Adrien smiling wearing a dorky shirt that read "I'm an Uncle!". The next picture was worse. It was an announcement of Adrien moving to Metropolis to be with his boyfriend, Jon Kent; Marinette's look alike.
She dropped her phone and laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
'Is it really that hard to find a rich man when some nobodies did it with ease? Guess I better find a job tomorrow. Maybe I'll find a rich guy that way; they did.'
You have a brother, right? by StarWarsMum ( @starwarsmum )
Its SOOOOO funny lmao
Inconveniences, cultists, and the warehouse of rejected toys by Apathetic_Witch ( @unsupervised-meatsuit )
Long but so so worth the time
the paris problem - newdog14 ( @newdog14 )
not usually a fan of damianxmarinette but this fic made me rethink that
Siri. How do I legally adopt my employee? by TerressaWinner ( @terressawinner )
Perfect in every way. I wish I could tell the author how much I love it
Non-Anon recommendations:
StarWarsMum recommends Even the Losers by Mochegato ( @mochegato )
This was a recent find during a Roynette binge and it is *addictive* to read! In the past month I've read it three times. It's full of family drama, action and romance and I love it!
The meet cute moment / rune translation scene in Borgin and Burkes from Blood and Gold by @obsidianpen!
Another from the sketchbook archives. Went ahead and cleaned up and colored this one.
Guys, I’m a whole five layers into procrastinating right now. Procrastinating my schoolwork with Alternate Ending, Alternate Ending with Miraculous TikTok, Miraculous TikTok with house chores, and house chores with this… it’s like when you do something long enough in a game and you level up at it except instead of getting really good at jumping I’m extremely productive in the worst ways
As always! TWs for this chapter! religious trauma, body modification, self-harm, and suicidal tendencies for religious reasons, as usual. Also as usual, possessive behavior, stockholm syndrome (?), and obsession. And just general horror elements, too. :D
Previous part
Trixx smiled as she dragged the girl to her feet. With a wave of her hand, the girl was cleaned up, the wound on her arm sewn shut. This didn’t stop her from trembling. The pallor must have been fear, then, rather than blood loss.
She took the girl’s face in her hands, smiling when she flinched, trying to avoid the sharp fingernails that brushed over her cheeks, worryingly close to her eyes.
“Well then. I guess I should protect what’s mine,” she said.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Tikki, sitting in the trees. One leg crossed over another primly, as if that could hide the nasty glare they were sending Trixx’s way.
Trixx smirked and turned the girl in her arms, hugging her close to her chest, her chin placed delicately atop her head.
Marinette was surprisingly pliant. She may not know why, exactly, Trixx was doing this, she couldn’t see Tikki, couldn’t know that she was being presented. But she was still being respectful by ragdoll-ing, allowing herself to be played with, perfectly obedient.
Trixx could definitely see why Tikki liked her.
She hugged the girl tighter, almost laughing when Marinette gave a small hiss of pain, the wings on her back bending at awkward angles.
Tikki narrowed their eyes.
And then they were gone.
Marinette… still had wings.
Trixx actually did laugh, now. The girl stiffened, but Trixx ignored that as she drew back to inspect the wings. Glassy, pretty things, not unlike those you might find on an insect. Wasn’t that an interesting punishment? A permanent reminder of what Tikki had done for her just moments before she’d been scorned?
Not to mention the very real chance that the wings would end up pinned to some collector’s wall one day, like a prize.
Trixx smiled, tugging on one, watching the skin of Marinette’s back pull along with it, hearing the girl’s aborted cry.
Ah, Trixx could always count on Tikki to be interesting for her.
She couldn’t wait to see how this story played out.
Speaking of…
She sat Marinette down on the altar. The girl visibly cringed as blood threatened to stain the edges of her skirt. But she didn’t move away.
Tim was finally allowed to see the clearing. He had been circling them for ages now. He knew the area well enough by now not to be tricked by the terrain twisting to keep him out, was smart enough to know that that meant Trixx was privately meeting with someone, and what that might entail.
It wasn’t even a full minute before he was stumbling into the clearing. He was in his ‘human’ form, his clothes bloodied and ripped. She suspected this might be an attempt to get on her good side, a way to show his devotion and gratitude. She knew that he hated being in his human form when he was upset – for humans cried, and that was something that dragons didn’t really do. It made him uncomfortable.
Yet here he was, sobbing openly, and not just because he had gotten a little banged up while running after Marinette.
Trixx fought the urge to roll her eyes. After all this time, the boy should know that the gods didn’t feel pity.
Marinette pressed her hands over her mouth, looking like she might be sick again.
“Do you – do you know where she is?” Tim asked. She was sure he already knew, she hadn’t bothered to hide the blood on the altar from his view, only Marinette. But he still had to ask, he didn’t want to come across as rude, not now.
Trixx hummed. “Maybe.”
“Could you tell me?”
Trixx took a moment to mull this over. “I can’t do anything without an Offering.”
Tim gave her a look that bordered on wary. Still, he brought his left arm to his mouth and tore into the old scar.
Despite Marinette’s efforts to keep quiet for fear that the illusion was merely visual, she still gave a disgusted little gasp when his blood splattered over her lap.
Tim, of course, didn’t hear. Trixx’s tricks would never be so easy to divert.
Marinette only seemed mildly relieved by this fact. Probably because there was blood on her.
Trixx smiled. “I’m not sure that I can help you today. I’m not Kaalki, you know, Information is hardly one of my fortes.”
Tim looked like he doubted this. Which was fair. Trixx absolutely could tell him that Marinette was right in front of him, that if he reached forward just a few more centimeters his claws would catch in the fabric of her shirt. Nothing was stopping her. Not even the deal with Marinette held enough power to keep her from telling all.
But that would be boring.
“She offered me something I couldn’t refuse,” Trixx said, lifting her hands in a nonchalant shrug. “And, unfortunately, Tim, you don’t have anything of equivalent value.”
He looked at her for a solid minute. He wasn’t praying to her outright, so she couldn’t quite hear him, but that didn’t mean that Trixx couldn’t practically see the blasphemous words bouncing around in his head. His hands fell to his sides, curling into fists so tight that even more blood started to spill into the grass below. For a moment, she wondered if he was actually going to try and attack her. Now, that would be interesting.
But then Tim sighed and purposefully relaxed his body, part by part, until he could send her a strained kind of smile. “Thank you for appearing,” he said, tipping his head forward in a respectful bow.
And then he speed walked out of the clearing. When she pricked her ears, she was delighted to hear him curse loudly and kick a tree just out of view.
Trixx turned her attention back onto Marinette. The girl had leaned forward slightly to watch Tim leave, suspicion and curiosity lingering in her gaze. But then she realized that she had moved and quickly straightened back up into the position Trixx had left her in.
Trixx’s eyes narrowed in a smile.
“You’ll be invisible for as long as you want to be,” Trixx said, smiling as she took the girl’s chin in her hand. “But once you no longer wish it, it will be gone.”
A faint shiver ran through Marinette. “... no one will be able to see me?”
“Nope. Won’t be able to see you, hear you, feel you…” Trixx tipped her head to the side, trying for an innocent expression, but she had never quite managed to pull off that trick. Perhaps because she didn’t know what her face actually did when she was innocent – after all, she never was. “It’s what you wanted, right? To be hidden?”
Marinette bit her tongue.
Trixx smiled, ruffling her hair. “Good luck!”
And then she left the girl alone.
The next time she was pulled in Marinette’s direction, only a few days later, she wasn’t shocked to find her before someone else’s altar.
Tikki’s temple was, even in the dead of night, grand – all spotless marble and gold.
Well, it would be spotless, if Marinette hadn’t been determined to bleed herself dry over the stones.
Trixx lazed in a nearby alcove, watching the girl sob openly. Her pleas for forgiveness should have echoed around the empty hall, but no sound could be heard.
She felt Tikki come to sit next to her, watching Marinette with the same dull kind of interest in their eyes.
“You going to let her bleed out?” Trixx asked.
Tikki smiled. Usually, they looked rather human, like the kind of person you would pass on the street and never look at twice (Trixx had always thought that was ironic, that the most ‘human’ god was the one humans never saw for themselves, but Tikki always had been a stickler for rules). Right now, though, their eyes glimmered like black beetles beneath their bangs.
“I’m thinking about it,” they said. “Which do you think would upset her more? You’ve always been good at this sort of thing.”
Trixx thought this over. Well, it would be more tragic if Tim were to find Marinette dead – or if he searched for her forever to no avail. However, this wouldn’t convince Tikki…
“Let her know she’s so worthless to you now that you won’t even care if she dies for you.”
They hummed thoughtfully.
Magic wound itself around Marinette’s forearm, sealing the cut seamlessly. Even the years-old scar faded into nothing.
It was hard to tell who was more offended by this – Trixx or Marinette.
They both stared at the now-healed arm in shock.
Marinette had stopped crying. Now, she sniffled, trying to wipe her tears away so she could see better. Blood smeared over her cheek, and she grimaced at the reminder.
Not that this seemed to be her main concern. Her eyes stayed locked on her arm.
She inhaled, and then exhaled. Over and over again. For a moment, Trixx wondered if Marinette was suffering from blood loss, and was currently unable to fully process the full gravity of being forsaken by the Patron she truly looked up to.
And then Marinette screamed.
“Tikki!” she said, pushing herself up onto shaky feet, her eyes wild. Searching the room for gods who would never show themselves to her. “Please! I couldn’t go to your altar when I was with him! It was the only way to get back to you!” She ran a hand through her hair, a few strands pulling out of her perfectly made bun. “I – I didn’t want it to go this way! Please, I’ll – I’ll find a way out of this deal, I promise! Okay?! Just, please, take me back!”
“Looks like your new follower isn’t all that loyal to you,” Tikki said, stepping off of the alcove and making their way over to Marinette, circling the girl who was none the wiser. “It’s a shame. You never do seem to attract the right sorts, do you, Trixx?”
Trixx smiled, shrugging, entirely unconcerned.
Marinette sunk to her knees, her carefully controlled breathing slipping from her grip. “Just tell me what I can do! I’ll do anything!”
Tikki knelt in front of her.
“Without you, I’m a god with one less follower. Who are you without me?”
Marinette’s head jerked up, as if she was trying to meet the eyes of someone she couldn’t see, but then quickly averted her gaze to the floor, her shoulders trembling.
“I’m nothing without you. Please, take me back,” Marinette said. “I want to be yours again.”
Tikki scoffed, openly. “If you’re nothing, then why would I want to keep you?”
Marinette was sobbing, again. Deep, wretched things that seemed to physically tear their way out of her throat. She was still speaking, pleading, but the words themselves were entirely incoherent.
Tikki rolled their eyes and turned back to Trixx. “Good luck with her, she’s going to be a handful.”
“I hope so!” Trixx said, brightly, clapping her hands together. “And, if you’re the one wishing me luck, then I’m sure to get it.”
Tikki’s nose crinkled in disgust. And then they disappeared.
Leaving Trixx with her human.
It was true, what Tikki had said: the devotees she got as the god of trickery were always indisputably terrible in some way.
Save for one, it seemed.
Though she was a little annoyed that Tikki had ignored her advice and saved Marinette, she was also, strangely, slightly grateful. Marinette was a rarity in her collection, after all. It would be a shame if her new favorite toy broke.
She cleaned the girl up. The only ‘people’ that would be able to see her now were the gods. But the other gods were exactly who Trixx was showing off to. So, Trixx made all of the blood and tears and other gross human things disappear, gave her a clean change of clothes, fixed her hair…
There, a nice and shiny jewel.
Not that Marinette had appreciated this kindness. She simply sat there, on the floor, for a good long while.
For several days, even. Trixx had started to wonder whether she would ever move again. If Marinette had somehow expired without her notice.
But something did get the girl moving again, eventually:
It had been a seemingly normal day, right up until a dragon flew over town. The gods, either prone to following a favored few or simply out of a vague sense of curiosity, followed suit.
Trixx couldn’t help but watch on with interest as the dragon settled in the middle of town. It was dangerous, of course, for Tim to leave himself so open to attack. The shock was unlikely to last long, and it was likely that at least one of the people in the gathering crowd had a weapon on them.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Marinette drift closer, the same kind of curiosity pursing her lips.
Trixx smiled.
“Hello,” Tim said. “I am willing to strike a deal with this town. Bring me Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I will leave you all alone.”
Just like that, he was gone once again.
Leaving the townsfolk in stunned silence.
Marinette pressed her hands over her mouth, temporarily forgetting that no one could hear her.
She couldn’t be seen by the townsfolk, but that wasn’t the problem. She could stay invisible for as long as she wanted.
The problem was… how long would she continue to want that?
How long could she go without being able to speak to anyone?
Humans are social creatures, after all.
Marinette had, probably, been hoping to seek shelter somewhere once things died down. Maybe not with her parents, who shared her name and therefore likely would be monitored by Tim, but with a friend, or even a temple. Now, though, that wouldn’t be an option.
Trixx smiled.
Over the next few weeks, Trixx got to watch Marinette’s resolve crumble. Bit by bit. The girl was reasonably self-sufficient, which was expected considering she had been a guard up until recently, and even when she wasn’t able to scrounge up food in the woods her invisibility made swiping things rather easy. But, between getting recently forsaken by Tikki and the inability to talk to a single person, she was clearly having a tough time coping.
So, she went to visit her parents. Trixx wasn’t sure whether she was planning to show herself to them, that day, consequences be damned. She would never know.
The innocent visit hadn’t gone as planned.
For Marinette had stepped into her family bakery, only to find Tim kneading dough at the counter.
He glanced up when the bell above the door chimed, smiling a polite little customer service smile.
Only to blink when he found no one there.
Marinette froze, the doorknob still in hand.
And then Tim hopped the counter and lunged for her.
His hands, of course, sailed right through Marinette.
Marinette ran away, leaving Tim to stare at his hands, visibly frustrated.
… or, at least, Marinette ran away for a while.
She found her way back after a little over a week. Perhaps out of paranoia. A need to make sure that Tim wasn’t hurting her parents in any way.
But it didn’t stay that way.
No, as time wore on, and Marinette kept going back, it was clear that she was going back for Tim.
For the way his eyes lit up when, at the end of every shift, her parents provided him with something to eat. The delight shown openly on his face as he tried out different foods. Even when he hated the taste, which happened relatively often, he still seemed to simply enjoy trying them.
For the way he would casually leave aside any goods that ended up ‘defective’ in some way (this usually just meant that they weren’t physically appealing), then turn around and ‘lose track’ of the items. Sometimes, he had messed up on purpose, just so she would never have to go hungry.
For the way that he would hold doors open for her even if he couldn’t see her. For the way he beamed whenever the floorboards creaked beneath her feet. For the way he would talk aloud, about his day or what he needed to remember or whatever inane thing he had been wondering about as of late, just so she wouldn’t get bored.
For the way that he knew she was there. Even if she couldn’t interact with him directly, not like this, there was still an acknowledgment of her presence. For her, for now, that seemed to be more than enough.
Tim couldn’t touch her. Couldn’t possess her in the way he wanted. And, while it clearly frustrated the boy, whose hand always twitched in her direction when he figured out her exact position, he seemed to be mostly content with simply having her around all the time.
(And, perhaps, this, too, was a possession of sorts. After all, if Marinette couldn’t really interact with anyone else, didn’t that kind of make her his? If Marinette had considered this, she didn’t acknowledge it aloud.)
Now, Trixx watched Tim and Marinette make their way through the streets, in search of an orange or two, since the bakery was a little short.
Marinette clung to Tim’s shirtsleeve to avoid losing him in the crowd.
It seemed that she had realized that, if she could touch things such as food and water, she must be able to touch other nonliving materials. Like clothing, if she so wished. It wasn’t quite the same as touching a human being directly, of course, but she had immediately begun clinging to Tim, the only person who wouldn’t freak out at the ‘ghost’ touching them.
Tim seemed pleased with himself. Trixx suspected this wasn’t, entirely, because they had successfully located a person selling oranges.
They really had settled into things as of late.
They were happy, but how long would it last?
Eventually, the small victories would not be enough to tide over either of them. Marinette still couldn’t talk, Trixx had stolen her ability to take pen to paper the first time she’d tried (that would make it too easy). And Tim still couldn’t touch her, couldn’t see her, couldn’t take her away to become part of his hoard like he so desperately wanted to do.
Eventually, the strain would be too much for them to bear.
But, for now, they were happy, and Trixx thought that she was content to let that be.
The best tragedies aren’t sad all the time, after all! If they’re never happy, it doesn’t hit as hard when they’re sad!
Her eyes drifted away from Tim and Marinette.
She watched the humans go about their days. She had always found it funny, how their eyes never lingered on slight oddities, the few particular people amongst them who were wearing their clothes in ways that didn’t match the weather. For example, the boy with sharp teeth, hidden behind the scarf which really didn’t fit with the otherwise thin clothes he was wearing. Or the man whose feet were forced to shuffle along the ground with every step, lest his shoes fall off and reveal that he didn’t have feet at all, but instead cloven hooves. Or the woman wearing thick gloves, who didn't seem to have a pinky finger.
Well, Trixx supposed that it wasn’t entirely true to say that no humans could recognize the signs, there were certainly some people who could.
Unfortunately, these people were exactly the kind of people they needed to hide from.
Trixx felt a faint pull behind her eyes, the whispers of a headache. She closed her eyes, briefly, and then opened them.
A man stood at one of her altars, his clothes prim and proper. His glasses sitting neatly on his nose. He no longer looked up when she made it known that she was listening, no longer tried to sense where her gaze was coming from (it would not work, for there was hardly ever a time where she bothered to congeal herself into one single form).
“Trixx,” the man prayed aloud, his head bowed forward. “I come seeking your guidance once again.”
She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. He wanted her to find something – someone.
She could think of two particular oddities that he might like to know more about.
The only question was… what would the man do if he found Marinette or Tim?
Her eyes flicked to a boy hidden in the shadows of the temple. A blond person of approximately 15 years, dressed in fine clothes that almost made the silver collar around his neck fit in. If it were not for the sheer amount of malevolence dancing behind its eyes, it would be hard to tell that this was not a human child.
It was a useful creature to have around, sure, but not a species you would ever want to get on the bad side of.
Trixx thought the man was stupid and arrogant, for trying to keep a faerie as a pet.
He would end up dead soon enough.
So, why not speed up the process? And disrupt the status quo a little, too, just as a bonus.
Sure, she had said that she was going to leave Marinette and Tim to self-destruct on their own, not that long ago, but this seemed like it would be way more interesting.
Trixx giggled, leaning a mouth close to Gabriel Agreste’s ears.
“Listen well, Gabriel Agreste. I will not repeat myself.”
Daminette AU where Damian is determined to be the Best Soulmate Ever purely because his siblings teased him a little too much about being a bad one. He is going to get a good grade in soulmate if it kills him, but it may just kill Marinette, who is about to spontaneously combust if he keeps these dramatic gestures up
The first time he saw her, seated at a table outside his preferred cafe, she wore a red ribbon in her hair. His initial thought was that the style was childish, but then–like a scene right out of one of those stupid romantic comedies Richard insisted on making him watch–the sun broke through the clouds like a spotlight meant just for her.
Damian realized too late that he’d been staring, trying to commit to memory the image of her bathed in the golden sunset. His eyes met hers, and though she raised an eyebrow at him, he was happy to note a pleasing blush rising on her cheeks.
He wondered what it would take to make her smile.
In that moment, when Damian realized his heartbeat had picked up and he’d taken a step towards her, he knew that he wanted to be someone she liked.
Exactly one year later, he was on his way to meet her at that same cafe, determined to ask her to be his girlfriend. They’ve already been out a few times, and he could say with confidence that she liked him too. He was sure she would agree. If he was lucky, she would let him kiss her.
He’d wanted to kiss her since the first time he made her laugh.
He opened the cafe door and looked around for her. She was fidgeting near a table in the window, just as ethereal as that first day, except for the look of panic suddenly flashing across her face. He rushed over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She was staring off into space, so he called her name and reached down to grab one of her hands and squeezed.
The first time she saw him, she snuck glances at him as he stood in line, hiding her smile behind her hair when she heard him order hot chocolate with marshmallows. Focusing back on her sketchbook, she imagined him holding that hot chocolate on a snowy winter day, nose and cheeks a little pink from the cold. Her fingers flew across the page in practiced movements until she was looking down at an elegant winter coat.
When she looked up again, he was staring at her and not even trying to hide it.
At that moment, Marinette knew exactly what color to make the coat.
Now, a year later, she was waiting for him at their cafe, hot chocolates already waiting on the table as she bounced on her toes in anticipation.
Today was the day. She was going to declare her feelings, and ask Damian on an actual date. They’d spent plenty of time together, sure, but nothing that felt like it leaned particularly towards romance.
She was mostly sure he felt the same way, if she wasn’t misreading the look in his every time their hands touched accidentally, and if she wasn’t totally wrong that he seemed to find excuses to make those little touches happen, and then there was the fact that he never seemed to shy away from her touch in the first place, like he did with everyone else. And he said once that he wanted her to like him and boy did those words make her feel woozy. But there was still the chance she could be wrong, and oh gosh, what if she is wrong and she’s totally misread the situation and asking him out completely ruins their friendship and he leaves Paris forever and–
“Marinette!”
She jumped, flailing her hands and narrowly missing the cups on the table. Maybe she shouldn’t have had that triple espresso.
“Marinette, are you alright?”
“Haha, yeah, of course I’m fine,” she babbled, chewing on her bottom lip. “Are you alright?”
“Tt. I called your name several times before you answered, and you were bouncing like a child on a sugar high.” One fine eyebrow went up. “I am perfectly calm.”
“Right, right, no, I’m ok, but also possibly feeling the effects of a large amount of caffeine.”
Damian rolled his eyes and took his hot chocolate from the table.
“Agreste was an idiot for giving you that espresso machine. You’re a menace on a regular day.”
“Hey!” she laughed. “Be nice or I won’t make Papa’s special cocoa for you anymore.”
He rolled his eyes again, then gestured to the door.
“Shall we go?”
They walked out together, heading to a park where they both enjoyed drawing. Normally when they spent time together, silences were comfortable, but this time Marinette was so keyed up that she was still bouncing. Just when she started to say what she wanted to say, he also spoke up.
“Damian, I don’t want to be just friends anymore–”
“Marinette, will you be my girlfriend–”
They both stopped and stared at each other, until Marinette burst out laughing. She grabbed him by the highest part of his arms she could reach and shook him.
“Shut up, I’m trying to tell you how much I like you, and you’re ruining it! I had a plan–EEP!”
He put a finger over her lips.
“Marinette, will you be my girlfriend?”
She nodded her head and was rewarded with his small but beautiful, genuine smile.
“Can I kiss you?”
She was going to melt into a puddle.
“Yes,” she said.
He pulled her close to him, and she leaned up on her toes so he could gently press his lips to hers.
@maribatserver
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