my gift for blondie <3 for the Maribat Drabble Exchange. hope you like it!!!
pairing: tim drake x marinette dupain-cheng
warnings: there’s some cursing, mentioned procedures, mentioned kidnapping
AO3 masterlist
“This is just great,” Marinette grumbled, trudging through the hidden assassin base. “Absolutely fabulous. Exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday. Sneaking through a cave from a freaking assassin base because they decided to kidnap me for the Miraculous.” Plagg cackled.
“I don’t know what you mean, Bug. This is the best way to spend a Saturday!” Marinette shot him a deadpan look.
“Don’t even, Plagg.” Plagg laughed harder, almost falling out of the air. Marinette smirked. “Serves you right.”
Before Plagg could tease her any more, they came upon the end of the hallway. Signaling for Plagg to be quiet, Marinette inched closer, straining her ears to hear the echoing words. She didn’t understand what they were talking about, something about a “hero” getting ambushed in the desert, a missing spleen, and . . . spiders? Sharing a look with Plagg, Marinette listened as multiple footsteps retreated. She called for Trixx and cast an illusion over herself.
Marinette peeked past the hallway wall and saw the hero laying down on a stone slab, muttering to himself. Taking a step closer, she was able to make out his words.
“Man, this is just great, just fucking fabulous. Fucking League of Assassins and their enemies wanting me dead. I don’t even like any of these assholes, but of course I’m the one stuck with this stupid mission where I lose my fucking spleen. Thanks a lot, B.” Unable to hold back her giggle, Marinette gave away her position. Tensing, the hero spun around, falling into a combat position despite his obvious injuries.
Marinette could at least appreciate his form.
“Who’s there?” he demanded in English, eyes roaming around the cavern only to come up empty. Marinette stayed silent, trusting Trixx’s magic to keep her hidden. “I know you’re there. Come out.” Marinette stayed silent a moment longer before dropping the illusion and stepping out, trusting her intuition. Making sure Trixx and Plagg were hidden, she spoke.
“You’re not one of the assassins, are you?” The hero, which Marinette identified as male, immediately spun towards her, fists raised. He studied her critically.
“No,” he stated, avoiding looking into her eyes, instead studying her body language. “Neither are you.” Marinette shook her head.
“No, I’m not. They kidnapped me. I was escaping when I ran into you.” Now, the male looks at her skeptically.
“Then why did you stop? You could have easily gone past me and been free.” Marinette hesitated, wondering the same thing herself.
“I’m . . . not really sure. I just had a gut feeling, you know? I’ve learned by now that it’s better to trust it than not.” He nodded, scanning her for any sign of dishonesty when he suddenly stepped back, staring at something on her stomach.
“What?” She glanced down towards where he was looking, seeing her soulmark exposed through a cut in her shirt. She immediately twisted her shirt in a futile attempt to hide the tattoo. “What about it?”
Still unable to speak, he silently moved the bandage around his waist to the side, exposing his soul tattoo.
A soul tattoo that matches hers.
“My soulmate . . .” Marinette whispers, staring at the tattoo in awe. She was now even more glad that she decided to learn English. “I—”
“SHE’S GONE!” Both Marinette and her soulmate tense, sharing a look. “THE GRAND GUARDIAN HAS ESCAPED!”
“That’s my cue to leave,” Marinette said, scanning the room for an exit.
“Wait, why did they kidnap you?” he asked, pulling her one way. “Also, I’m pretty sure the exit’s this way.” Marinette skeptically glanced at him, but at the kwami’s insistence (as shown by their tapping), she decided to trust him.
“I’ll tell you that another time. Right now, we need to leave.” Her soulmate nodded, glancing back at her.
“By the way, my name’s Tim. Tim Drake.” Marinette smiled.
“Nice to meet you, Tim Drake. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
“Are you telling me that you seriously jumped into a T-Rex’s mouth?” Tim exclaimed, looking at her incredulously. The kwamis giggle as Marinette huffs, crossing her arms and looking away from her soulmate.
“It was a perfectly safe plan! You blackmailed Batman into becoming his sidekick!” Tim sputtered.
“Hey! He needed a Robin!” Marinette giggled, and Tim soon joined in. The laughter stopped, however, when Tim winced, holding his stomach.
“How’re you doing?” He shrugged.
“About as well as I can be considering I had an impromptu surgery in the middle of the desert.” Marinette winced.
“Yeah . . .” Marinette looked down. Tim noticed, immediately bumping his shoulder against hers.
“Hey, it’s not all bad. I mean, without that impromptu desert surgery I may not have met you for a long time.” He winked and gave her his biggest smile. She smiled back.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” She smiled before looking around. “Come on, we need to find shelter.” However, before she could step forward, Tim interrupts her.
“Hey, bean?”
“Yeah?”
“Didn’t you say you had a Miraculous that can teleport?” Marinette paused, eyes widening.
“I’m so dumb. Literally the dumbest person to ever walk the planet. I’ve reached a new level of stupid.” Tim poked her in the side.
“Hey, no you’re not. Don’t you have, like twenty of them with all different abilities?” Marinette nodded. “And you were just kidnapped and met your soulmate. It’s perfectly reasonable to have forgotten. You remembered now, so let’s get out of here.” Marinette smiled.
“Where should we go?” Tim tilted his head before smirking evilly.
“How would you like to meet my family?”
Stepping out of the portal and into the Batcave, Tim took a long sip of his iced coffee, ignoring the incredulous stares of his family. Instead, he turned back to the portal and held out his hand, smiling as Marinette took it.
"Uh, whatcha got there, Red?" Jason asked, staring from his brother to the girl with his. Staring into Jason's eyes, Tim took another long sip of his coffee.
"Iced coffee." As they all stared at her soulmate, Marinette took a sip of her own iced coffee, eyes going from one person to the next like a tennis match. Tim stared defiantly at his family, still drinking his coffee.
"Red Robin," Batman sighed, rubbing a hand down his face, "who is this?" Marinette smiled.
"This is Ladybug, I met her in the desert." Everyone once again stared.
"Father, I think the lack of sleep finally corroded his brain," Robin declared, glaring at the teens. They both stared at him and, in perfect sync, sipped their coffees. Batman let out another long-suffering sigh.
"And why did you bring her to the Cave?" Tim shrugged.
"She's my soulmate. And she knows, like, my whole life story." The entire room was silent. "Plus, she was kidnapped by the League of Assassins because she's the guardian of a bunch of tiny gods."
Once again, Jason was the one to break the silence.
"What, and I cannot stress this enough, the actual fu—"
Happy Valentine’s Day @m3owww! Hope you enjoy it Phi!
Thanks to @eat0crow for organizing this exchange and Panda for helping me with the title!
Yes, I know I went overboard...
--
AO3
Marinette remembered the first time she got something from her soulmate.
It was a battery, or so she found out when she showed it to her parents.
“Maman, what’s this?” She asked her mother as she showed her the black box-like battery.
“Where did you get this?” Sabine asked, taking it and examining, wondering where her 10 year old daughter got it. After all, she didn’t recall them buying it.
“I didn’t get it from anywhere. It just...appeared on my desk.” Marinette explained, watching as Sabine showed the box to her father.
“This looks like a camera battery.” Tom gave the battery back to Marinette, then looked at Sabine, watching as she connected the dots. “Seems like your soulmate might be into photography.”
“Soulmate?” Marinette asked, staring at the battery.
Soulmates. Only five percent of the world’s population had one or rather, the ability to find theirs. They came in various forms and at different ages, so it was always hard to know if you had a soulmate link, bond or mark.
As for the Dupain-Chengs, it seems like Tom and Sabine belonged to that five percent. Sabine and Tom found out they had soulmates when they met at a flea market in Paris. The two had noticed that the timer ticking on their wrist was edging closer to 0, causing them to panic. For the two believed that it was a timer that marked the death of their soulmate.
As the two dashed to find a place to possibly cry at, the two crashed into each other, Tom catching Sabine by her wrist to prevent her from falling. As the two apologized, it was then that they found out that they were soulmates and that the timer was counting down to when they were going to meet. Upon realizing this, they both began to laugh.
Marinette asked them why her soulmate link wasn’t like theirs, Sabine explaining that each soulmate pair had a different bond. As for Marinette, it seemed to be a lost and found link.
If either of them lost anything, say a pencil, then the other will find it.
Sabine noticed that Marinette seemed skeptical of it.
“Try throwing out the battery out the window.”
“What? No!”
“Trust me.” And so Marinette did, after preparing herself for 10 minutes. When she went outside to look for it, it was gone.
Seeing as it was true, Marinette began to purposely lose items frequently, hoping that her soulmate would get the message that she knew about him. That she was eager to meet him. But despite her hard efforts, her items never went over to her soulmate, the items landing or staying in the spot Marinette had thrown at.
Because of this, whenever Marinette would try and show her friends her bond, they half-believed her. Only one straight up thought she made up the story to get attention: Chloe.
But then again, Chloe didn’t like anyone, so Marinette kept telling her friends of her various attempts, eagerly telling them how she couldn’t wait to meet them.
--
Soulmates…as much as Tim wanted to ask his parents about it, he chose not to.
Tim looked at the tiny medallion in his hand, his fingers running over the three letters engraved on it, quickly putting it away when he heard his mother’s footsteps, quickly burying himself into his homework, pretending to flip between pages when he heard the doorknob of his room turn.
Janet walked in, Tim pretending to figure out a calculation out, quickly scribbling some nonsense onto his paper.
“I see that you’re working hard.”
“Mr.Sommers said that the next exam will cover factorization, so I thought I would do a few for practice.” Tim easily lied, adding a final number before looking up to acknowledge his mother.
She had that look again. “How long would you be out for this trip?” Janet jumped a bit. “You talked about it with Mrs.Romanov just yesterday, when you found her at the bookstore to buy some books for the flight. When we were at the storefront, remember?”
Another lie. Yes, his mother had gone to the bookstore with Tim, but the thing was that Janet had sent Tim off while she told Mrs.Romanov about her next exertion. How she told Mrs.Romanov if she knew of any nannies to take care of Tim while she was going to be out for the next two months.
Despite knowing Tim was capable of maintaining himself, she didn’t want the school to bother her again for not leaving him behind with adult supervision. It was starting to get on her nerves.
“Oh that’s right. How did I forget?” His mother recalled, not once doubting his retelling. “We’re excavating in Riqqeh, Egypt for a month.” Tim watched as his mother let out a sigh. “Probably more cemeteries, but then again, you never know until you dig.”
“I see.” Tim said, burying himself back into his homework. “Hope you find something more interesting than skeletons then.”
“I promise to bring back a souvenir, okay?” His mother walked to him, placing a cold kiss on his forehead, Tim noticing his father’s name etched on her collar bone. “Make sure to go straight to sleep after you finish that page, understood?” A nod. “Good night, Timothy.”
“Good night.” He simply said back, watching as she closed the door.
Taking out the medallion, Tim stared at it.
He had a soulmate somewhere out there...a soulmate he dreaded to meet...and yet hoped that perhaps they wouldn’t end up like his parents…
Tim opened a secret compartment in his pencil case and placed the medallion there, thinking about it until he went to sleep.
—
Soulmates. Everyone is always eager to meet them, but no one ever tells you how to keep that same enthusiasm after you meet them…
Tim’s parents met when Janet had tagged along with one of her friend’s excavation trips, meeting Jack in Berlin.
The minute the two saw each other, their world turned more colorful, the two becoming infatuated with one other when they found out they were soulmates. After showing each other’s names etched onto their collarbones, the two quickly planned their marriage.
Marrying in Gotham was a dream come true for Janet...but that dream lasted a mere months before the world went back to being its bland self. With each having their own dreams, careers and goals, Janet and Jack started to stray from each other. Meetings and trips took time away from one another. And the time they would see each other, they would simply talk about work, work and nothing else. Not even a single ‘want to take a break?’ or ‘how about we go out for dinner tonight?’
It was like being at another board meeting, being professional with each other.
They only drew close to one another when Janet found out she was pregnant with Timothy, Jack taking some time off work to make sure Janet had various maids checking on her before returning back to work.
On the day Timothy was to be born, Jack was there, holding Janet’s handing during the delivery. He held his son once before handing him over to Janet and leaving, mentioning about having to go back to work.
Jack would then go on to see Timothy at home, being lulled to sleep by the handmaid, telling Jack of Janet’s meeting with the board about an upcoming visit to Mexico.
There were few times Tim actually remembered going out as a family and while from the outside it looked like any other family outing, Tim knew why they were out in the first place: rumors.
“Have you heard? Drake’s little boy was seen walking home by himself! What parent lets their child go home by themselves? ”
“Timothy? But he’s only six!”
“Heard they plan on sending him to a boarding school. Poor thing.”
While the family outings were influenced by rumors, Tim found joy in them because it was the few times he was able to go to places he had desired to go before. Like the circus....even if that one ended in a tragedy.
But even good things had to come to an end. Years went by and Timothy grew to be very independent. That was when all the maids and servants were shooed off, leaving Tim all alone.
It didn’t help that they did indeed end up sending him to boarding school.
But Tim managed to get used to being alone, and has been for the past two years.
--
Years passed and Marinette no longer kept trying to lose her items. Despite her various attempts, she couldn’t manage to send them over to her soulmate, finding it disheartening it.
But as of these days, Marinette didn’t have the time to try it again. Or rather, she could no longer afford to lose her belongings or let them out of her sight.
While she had gotten used to getting her things taken away from her thanks to her friends borrowing them or Chloe playing a “prank” on her, getting bullied by two people at the same time was starting to take a toll on her and the brand she was trying to set for herself at the age of 15.
If she dared to let her eyes wander, then they would either fall into the hands of Chloe or of Lila’s. When Lila transferred to Dupont, Marinette didn’t honestly care about her lying, after all, they were nothing but white lies. So she never bothered to actually make friends with the girl. But even with the lack of communication, Marinette apparently did something to Lila because one day she was cornered in the bathroom and was threatened.
Marinette was kind but she knew when enough was enough.
“I would like to see you try.” She practically spat into Lila’s face before leaving the bathroom those weeks ago.
So here she was, being bullied by both her bully since l'école primaire and her new found one in lycee.
But between the two, Marinette preferred her personal things end up in Chloe’s hands than Lila’s. Chloe at least gave them back, but Lila? They never returned in one piece or even worse, they didn’t come back at all.
“Marinette? Where is your-”
“Mme Bustier...I promise you I did do it. I had it.” Marinette stabilized her voice from erupting into panic as she failed to find her assignment that she swore she had in her bag. “You can even ask Alya. She saw it.”
“That’s true Mme Bustier!” Alya quickly defended, although she wondered what happened to the paper as she saw Marinette safely tuck it away. Yes, Marinette could be clumsy, but unorganized and scattered brain? That she was not. She was meticulous, precise and always punctual. So how did that paper leave its place?
“Regardless, it’s not in my hands.” Mme Bustier sighed. “You’ll have to stay after class.” That caused Marinette to panic. She couldn’t afford to stay after school. She had a meeting with a client as soon as school ended.
“But Mme Bustier!”
“I’m sorry Marinette, but-”
“I can’t afford to stay after class! I have a very important-”
“Marinette.” Mme Bustier sternly stated. “Rules are rules. You’ll have to come after school, whether you have a very important appointment or not.”
Marinette managed to not scream as the bell rang, watching as everyone filed out, Alya lingering behind.
“Marinette, I could-” she shook her head.
“Alya, I’ll be alright.” She gave her friend a sheepish smile. “And go on without me. Perhaps my client will understand when I explain it to them via text.” Despite Marinette’s reassurance, Alya nodded and left the classroom hesitantly.
Bracing herself for her punishment, Mme Bustier got a phone call from the main office, looking at Marinette and turning her attention back to the phone. With a few ‘oui’ and ‘be right there,’ Bustier turned to Marinette.
“They need me for a few minutes downstairs, but that doesn’t mean you are free to go. Stay here while I check what they need from me.” Mme Bustier ordered, Marinette burying her face into her hands as she slammed herself into her desk.
She lifted her head once again, sending a quick text to her client about running late. Once that was over, Marinette took out her sketchbook to look over her designs, taking out a red pen to add some additional revisions.
She didn’t know how long she had been like that, but the moment she heard the door open, her head snapped upwards, a frown on her face when she saw Lila and not Mme Bustier.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing much.” Lila said, dragging her fingers on the desk Marinette sat at. “Just this!” She exclaimed, snatching the sketchbook from under Marinette’s hand.
“Give it back!” Marinette screamed, quickly chasing after Lila around the class.
“Oh come one Marinette! I just want to-”
“They’re very important commision designs for a client-” Marinette attempted to reason, almost grabbing it back from Lila.
“Is that so?” Lila hummed, quickly opening the sketchbook and looking at the designs. “Wow. You weren’t kidding!” A grin made its way to her face. “It’d be too bad if something bad happened to it.”
Marinette’s eyes widened and the next thing she knew, she had managed to grab the sketchbook from Lila.
“There’s no way in hell I would let you.” Marinette said in a low voice.
“Oh? Then let’s see you try!” Lila yelled, attempting to grab the sketchbook from Marinette.
The two waltzed away from one another as Marinette kept her sketchbook away from Lila’s grasp. The two were on each other’s toes until Marinette had to run around the classroom, having to knock over Mme Bustier’s chair to keep Lila away from her when she got too close to comfort.
“Come on Marinette! I just want to see-”
“No way in hell Lila!” Marinette screamed, feeling as Lila dug her nails into her shoulder when she ended up cornering her by the windows, Marinette trying her best to not wince at the pain.
The two girls kept clawing at one another until Marinette couldn’t keep Lila at bay anymore, trying to find a way to keep her sketchbook safe from Lila. As Lila kept pushing her, Marinette’s hand hit the window, almost knocking down the metal rod that was used to pull down the shades. That’s when it hit her.
Taking in a deep breath, Marinette kicked Lila away from her, ingraining Lila’s expression of surprise into her memory. As Lila goy up and charged to grab the designer’s sketchbook, Marinette flung it behind her head, silently praying for its safety.
After all, everytime she had tried to lose an item, it never worked. But this time, just this one time, she hoped it would work.
Meanwhile, Lila watched as the sketchbook flew out the window, watching as it fell down to the ground, only to disappear before it hit the grass outside.
Lila stepped back, her eyes darting from the missing book to the panting Marinette who glared at her with daggers for eyes.
“Not this time Lila. Not this time.” The classroom door opened, causing both girls to look at the doorway.
“What is going on here?” Mme Mendeleiev practically shouted, causing Lila to lose all color in her face.
Crap.
—
Tim watched as his English teacher started to walk down the desk aisle, watching as he started to collect their writing assignment assigned yesterday. Seeing as he was drawing near, Tim reached into his bag, when he felt an unfamiliar texture brush against his knuckles. Peering into his bag, he noticed a leather book with a red strap securing it.
Deciding to check it out later, Tim took out his assignment and handed it in, watching as Mr.Hughes simply nodded as he took it, walking down the other row of desks to take the assignment.
As class progressed, his mind drifted to one thing: the book. Tim pondered at how the leather book had gotten into his bag and who it belonged to.
Was it from someone in his class? Was it part of a prank?
He was snapped from his thoughts once the bell rang, signaling everyone that it was lunch.
Tim scurried to the school’s library, heading up to the second floor and turning a right to where his favorite spot welcomed him. A lone desk at the corner, next to a radiator that warmed him in the winter and a wonderful view of the campus as well.
Ever since the death of his mother around a year ago, Tim was able to convince his father to pull him out of boarding school and to transfer him to Gotham Academy. He told him how it was less costly and better yet, closer to home. He agreed.
Making sure that he was comfortable, Tim took out the leather book, his fingers analyzing the bumpy leather texture. Perhaps he would find the owner’s name inside. If not, he will take it to the lost-n-found in the main office. Carefully, Tim took the red strap off the edge of the book, taken aback at the sketches on the paper.
Light feather markings under layers of darker, bolder strokes of graphite looked back at him in the shape of a dress. Side notes in French in a vibrant shade of black ink were meticulously jotted down, red ink being additional notes to the already long list of critiques.
As he turned the pages, Tim saw one dress design after another, designs for hats, caps, shirts and even leather jackets were in there too. Names of fabrics he had never heard of before racked in his mind as Tim kept admiring each sketch. He also couldn’t help but notice the signature on each page. MDC.
MDC.
As he reveled in the initials, trying to make sense of them, he let out a hiss as he retracted his hand from the book, noticing a small bead of blood emerged from his finger...blood?
Tim looked back at the book, noticing that there was a single needle poking out from the sketchbook’s satin bookmark, a silver medallion-
Medallion?
There was no way.
Tim closed in on the medallion and there it was, the initials, MDC. Just like the one he found written on the rose-gold medallion he found years ago.
But why now? Why now after five years of not losing a single thing?
Time had gone by so quickly that Tim literally jumped when the bell rang for the next class, Tim quickly scrambling to gently put back his soulmate’s things into his bag and head for geometry class.
--
Thanks to the fiasco with Lila, Marientte was held back even more, leading to Marinette having to reschedule her appointment with her client.
Thankfully, the client understood the situation Marinette was just in, even going as far as waiting for Marinette to set the new meeting date. Something about having been there before.
Wrapped in a lavender scented blanket, Marinette stared at her phone screen in front of her that blinked several times before turning black. Then it would turn on again.
On. On. On. On. Off. On…. Off. On... Off...On. On...
Marinette didn’t bother to flip it over either, knowing that the vibration of the incoming calls and unread text messages were going to remind her of the incident with Lila...and how she didn’t have access to her sketchbook anymore.
Her stomach grumbled in annoyance, Marinette only then remembering not having eaten in hours and its been a long time judging form the darken sky outside.
Deciding to actually eat something before she started to feel nauseous from not eating, Marinette was surprised to see a crumpled piece of paper next to the tray of food her mom had brought her. Where did the paper come from?
Opening it up, Marinette felt her heart stop.
I don’t know why, but I have your book…
Thank god she studied a bit of English! Marinette read the next lines.
The designs...are very nice. But guessing from the notes on the last page, you need it back. How exactly do I do that?
That stumped Marinette because to be honest, she didn’t know how. Every time she had tried to before, it never worked. Only this one time where she really needed for the link to work, it worked. But...they managed to easily lose their things…
Grabbing a piece of paper, Marinette wrote back, crumbling it and headed towards her skylight. Opening the hatch a bit, she threw it, going back to her food, hoping it got through.
--
Tim was minding his own business, listening to NIghtwing give the squad a run down of their latest problem when he eyed a crumpled up paper by his foot. Hoping no one would notice it, he quickly placed it under his foot and waited for the debriefing to finish.
Crouching to get it, it seems like he wasn’t as subtle as he had wished to be as Jaime got to it first.
“What you hiding from us, compa’?” Jaime asked Tim as he uncrumpled the paper. “¿Qué diablos es esto? What is this? Can you even read this?” Jaime pointed at the French written on the paper.
“Yes, I can.” Tim said, huffing when Bart leaned onto his shoulder, peering into the note in Tim’s hands.
“Why am I not surprised?” Jaime said. “Not only are you super smart, but now you’re bilingual too? Let me guess, you're actually multilingual?”
“Actually, he is.” Bart chimed in.
“No manches güey. Seriously?”
“If I remember correctly: Spanish, Cantonese, Russian-”
“And German.” Tim finished, quickly picking up his pace. “Now if you excuse me, I have a few things to do.”
“Hey! At least tell us what it says! Andale, no seas malo.” Jaime pleaded but simply got a wave goodbye for an answer. “Fine! But don’t forget about tomorrow’s mission, eh?”
As Tim left Jaime and Bart behind, he headed to the zeta tubes to head back home, thanking Alfred for the lift home, acknowledging his father as he made his way to his room.
He made a beeline for his bag, taking out the sketchbook, scared to even hold it now that he knew who it belonged to and how much it could potentially be worth.
He laid down the wrinkled paper on his desk, rereading the note.
Just lose it. Try to toss it out the window or something. That’s what I did. It’s how our link works after all.
Tim took a deep breath, both relieved that there was a possible way to return the book and nervous it wouldn’t work.
Taking the sketchbook, he opened up his bedroom window, looked down below and took a deep breath. He took a step back and with one swift move, he tossed the sketchbook out the window, wondering if it made its way safely back to its owner.
After what seemed like an hour, Tim found a crumpled piece of paper on his desk, quickly jogging towards it and opening, feeling a wash of relief flow out of him, Tim let himself smile as he looked at the paper.
It worked! Thank you so much! My name is Marinette...what’s yours?
--
Months flew by, Marinette now being in her senior year and grinning from ear to ear as she read Tim’s latest text to her, ignoring Alya’s nagging on packing for their trip.
Ever since the sketchbook incident, Marinette found out the reason as to why she was never able to “lose” anything to give to Tim. Or rather the two reasons why the link wasn’t working.
First off, Marinette had been intentionally losing items and always had her eyes on where it would land, which actually cancelled the link. Second, Tim’s fussing over the soulmate link caused it to weaken over time, which further didn't allow Marinette to send him anything over.
Through various days of aggressively sending each other notes, Tim decided to embrace the link while Marinette assured him that she would try to keep her enthusiasm to a low. Keyword: try.
Getting tired from the constant note throwing, Marinette suggested exchanging contact info. It’s how Marinette learned that Tim was very meticulous, and that was coming from his share of contact info. He had an email, phone number, fax number all carefully labeled with even hours in which Marinette was allowed to contact him.
At first Marinette thought he was a stick in the mud, but then Tim had to explain to her about time zones and how he was still in school and afterschool programs most of the week...oops. How did she forget about time zones and school of all things?
Using Marinette’s phone number and email, Tim was easily able to know where exactly Marinette lived, but that’s all he was able to figure out. It wasn’t exactly easy to figure out more about your soulmate when an enthusiastic Dick hovered around you upon knowing about Tim’s soulmate. It got worse when Tim officially moved into Wayne Manor after his father’s death.
But even with Dick hovering like a hummingbird, Tim found texting with Marinette soothing. To have a friend outside of school, out of the Justice League, to have a friend where he could just be Tim...it was...relaxing. Especially when he heard of Lila’s moving due to her mother’s job.
After all, it’s not like he had something to do with it. Absolutely not.
Of course, there were a few times he almost spilled the details, but he was easily able to catch himself, oftentimes redirecting it towards Marinette’s day or her latest commission.
Sometimes they would even video chat, although rarely thanks to time zones. But the few times they did, they would each ingrain each second they spent with each other, as they never knew when they were actually going to meet one day… even if it came closer than what either of them thought.
--
Tim reread his text for the umpteenth time, his mind still trying to process the message before realizing he hadn’t answered back.
Metropolis? As in, the city where the Man of Steel resides?
She...she was heading to Metropolis? In two days?
Thank Kon for dragging him here!
Marinette: Yup! To think we were able to win Luthor’s scholarship trip! Can you believe it? I can’t wait to see what his program could offer! When I found out that Luthor was holding a scholarship trip for those who would win his Foundation for the Arts’ essay competition, there was no way I was going to let that chance go! Especially when I heard that the trip was extended to the winner’s entire class, regardless of nationality. It would basically be our second senior trip before the first one ^^
Must be very excited then.
You bet I am!
To think...to think he would be able to see her in person… He watched as his happiness wrote for him.
--
Tim: Wanna hear something that would make the trip more exciting?
What would make this trip even more exciting?
Marinette hummed into the palm of her hand as she watched Tim type.
Tim: I’ll get to see you. Face to face. I’ll be in Metropolis for the next week...what are the odds?
Alya never saw Marinette turn red so quickly, watching as Marinette almost fell off her bed.
“Marinette! Oh my god, Nino! Help! She’s on cloud nine!”
--
Marinette fanned herself as she bit her lip, fiddling with the green ribbon she had wrapped around her wrist in case she wanted to tie her hair up.
Today was her second day in Metropolis, Marinette now nervous compared to when she first arrived the day before.
After having a tour of Metropolis University, Bustier’s class was able to have the day to themselves and as if on cue, Tim texted her if she was free even though she had already shared her itinerary with him the moment she recovered from her shock those days ago.
So now here she was, standing in Heroes’ Park, wondering if she looked foolish standing in front of Superman’s statue.
Or perhaps because she looked so out of place. Who wears a sunhat nowadays? Oh wait, she did...why exactly? Because freckles.
Marinette looked at her phone, wondering if she got the time wrong. No. She was literally a whole ten minutes early.
So why-
“You scream tourist you know.” A voice said, snapping Marinette from her thoughts. As she turned to see who it was, she felt her heart skip a beat.
He always seemed short, but...now being faced to face…
“Well, sorry for having freckles. The sun-” Marinette pouted, caught by surprised when Tim cupped her face.
“Freckles? I never knew you had them. Then again, you can’t really see them when they’re so small and through a screen at that.”
Marinette listened as her heart threatened to jump from her chest, more so when Tim realized what he was doing. Pink dusted his face. “Sorry, I-”
“I-It’s alright.” Marinette managed to find herself saying, pulling her hat closer to her face. “I...I also wasn’t expecting you to be taller than me.”
That caused Tim to sputter.
“You thought I was-”
“Hey! In my defense, I only had furniture to get some type of knowledge of how tall you were. Seems like I was wrong.” Marinette confessed.
The two stared at each other before laughing, Marinette attempting to reel in her heart with each laugh Tim let out. She didn’t think they would sound so different to what she was used to listening to through the phone.
When the two managed to compose themselves, Tim and Marinette looked at each other again. Marinette dusted off nonexistent dust off her yellow-canary shorts, readjusting her black purse that crossed her red blouse. Tim cleared his throat.
“Well, let’s start this again.” Marinette nodded, a smile on her face.
“Hey. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She comfortably answered back, clasping her hand with the hand Tim offered. “I’m happy to finally meet you, Timothy.” Tim squeezed her hands, noticing how her hand fit perfectly in his.
Perhaps this was where his parents went wrong. Perhaps this is why their relationship didn’t work...lack of communication...lack of appreciation and affection…
But he won’t let them end but like them, not when he knows how much she means to him.
A valentine’s day gift for @thecaptainhelm lm. (By the way, I love you so much and you’re amazing) I hope YOU have an awesome eventful day filled with lots of love because you’re such an amazing writer and I love you!!!!!!
Also, @eat0crow , who is moderating the gift exchange! Thank you for all you’ve done!
Everyone has a soulmate.
It's not a notable deal. Though it's something many people cherish and look forward to, it's just as much an ordinary fact as primary color mixing: that's just how the world works.
Blue and yellow mix correspond with each other to produce green; soulmate A and soulmate B each have tattoos to correspond with one another, completing either tattoo on the skin of their other half.
Marinette will be damned if she finds anyone to match her tattoo. She'd loved it as a child, sitting through boring classes with a pout and jittery knees so she could rush home and admire the strange tattoo that covered the length of her inner forearm.
But now, she couldn't find a single thing to be more ashamed about.
Even as she moves halfway across the world from taunting bullies and mind-controlling sociopaths, the damage is done.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng does not want a soulmate.
She does not want to disappoint, to never live up to her soulmates expectations, because, "Your soulmate wouldn't like those pigtails, Marinette." and, "How could someone want a bully like you?"
Marinette does not want to relive her lycée experience, covering her mark every chance she could get so that Lila Rossi wouldn't antagonize whoever was on the other end of her soul line.
She’d watch as other people’s—normal—soul marks started to glow, indicating the one thing soulmarks are responsible for. Marinette witnessed on the sidelines as everyone she knew and had learned to love and lose found their other half, and left her in the dark. Watching, seeing, but never to experience what it was like. To find your soulmate.
Her mark. A white rose hanging upside down at the epiphysis of her radius, petals spread wide against each other, some looked as though they were flowing freely in the air, and some looked as though they were stuck to one another.
A deep red liquid spurting out of the center, running down the limp rose and glazing its petals as it oozes from the center bottom and down the sides of her arm, creating for a unique, yet concerning mosaic upon her forearm.
"Is that blood?" They'd asked, some looking curious, and some looking downright disgusted at the mere sight of her mark. Something that was supposed to be naturally celebrated, not hated and sneered upon. They were convinced she'd be a menace to her soulmate, like soulmates were anything other than fate.
Marinette did not know if it was blood, obviously. There was no superior entity whispering to her at night, informing her of every single petal's weight in grams. Instead, it was easier to have a friend pick apart the dubious meaning of such a cryptic mark, unlike so many others, hers was not so simple.
Kagami, especially, had a great eye for these things. The meticulous thought that girl compartmentalizes for the sole topic is unbelievable at first glance. It's only when you see much more of her, do you understand why she even bothers with soulmarks.
"You wouldn't believe the meaning behind such marks, Marinette. It's only when you start to break the first barrier, do you know." Okay, so, Marinette had no such way with words as the world-class fencer, but she was pretty sure the girl was saying that marks represent people the way names represent their spices.
Salt, for example. You can just tell the flavor of salt by it’s damn name.
“You’re the epitome of innocence, Marinette,—“ Marinette begs to differ, she’s read fanfiction. “But it seems you’ve been hurt, aged more than what a white rose will represent for you. That’s where the blood paints over you, like a parasite.” Marinette furrows her eyebrows at Kagami, a reoccurring gesture that will give her wrinkles by the end of the year, she knows, but it’s Kagami.
They’re sitting in their apartment, high above the Gotham smog and litter they’ve learned to acquaint themselves with, and looking out over the city from their ratty second-hand couch.
—Because Marinette wants to live with someone who will break her finger and then call her stupid and put a cast on it for whatever reason, you feel?
Another twig, green leaves still growing out of it—though, probably not since the severance—blows by their window, spurred on by a lone gust and back down to the ground, plummeting to an unfortunately placed puddle on the pavement.
“Stop moping.” Marinette makes a face.
“I was not moping.”
“You were making that sad face you make when you see a puppy walking by itself on the street. You’re moping. Why?” Marinette huffs in annoyance, and turns to look at her friend, who’s already staring with an exasperated quirked eyebrow.
She flounders for words, making exuberant gestures with her hands as she tries not to look Kagami in the eye.
An audible exhale from the woman. “You’re worried about, what, your soulmate, for whatever reason?”
Marinette looks down at her mark, it’s entrancing rose petals glowing brightly against her skin, almost alike to the glittery sheen of highlighter she so often brushes onto her cheekbones.
“It started glowing last night, Kagami.” Marinette worries her lip and continues to stare at the now pulsing, almost obnoxious glow of her rose, the red liquid that spurts from its center taking on a glamorous shine.
“That’s wonderful. Right?” Kagami adds, when she fails to find a response.
It should be. She knows that. She should be joyous right now, jumping ecstatically and rejoicing at the fact that she might find her soulmate sooner than later, but the ever-impending doom of, ‘what if’ continuously pops up in her brain, muddling any chance of happiness she might’ve had.
Marinette’s psyche is aged. She’s been through things. A lot of things that most people haven’t been through. Deaths, loss of loved ones, reoccurring terrorist attacks, and so much more that puts a haunted look in her eye and a deep hunch in her shoulders. She couldn’t bear to see the look on her soulmate’s face.
Kagami seems to read her mind and makes a low noise in the back of her throat. “Let’s go to the zoo.” So spontaneous, it almost makes Marinette do a double take.
“You? Want to go to the zoo?” She stares at Kagami, the latter unwavering with a borderline determined look on her face that says, ‘Nope. No fighting me on this one.’
“Distraction.” Is all she says, and for once, Marinette agrees that, yes, maybe a distraction is in order.
The Gotham City Zoo proves to be a great distraction, in between the hippo exhibit and the jungle-themed building just for showcasing snakes, Marinette finds a rather warmth in her heart.
Marinette grins widely at the crocodiles lounging across various rocks, seemingly not a care in the world is thrown around in between her and the fenced crocodiles, and she harbors a sort of piece standing alone. (Kagami had ditched her at the zebras for the lions.)
Distantly, she hears what sounds like two people fighting—or, bickering.
“—over here, got bit by a crocodile.” An erupt of laughter from two different voices, one distinct with a low raspy laugh, and the other, who starts hacking nastily in the middle of it.
“Those cigarettes do not benefit you, Todd. This is not a laughable event.” A third voice juts in, and she has to turn her head, locate the source of whoever said that.
Three men, one looking younger than the other two, stand slightly to the right of her in front of the crocodile exhibit, the two older men seem to be laughing at the younger’s expense—how do you even get bitten by a crocodile? She decides to not judge. This is Gotham, after all.
And, oh.
The guy they seem to be laughing at has the brightest green eyes she’s ever seen. Ink black hair frames his face beautifully, as he sneers down at the other two. The stranger doesn’t seem to notice her stare, but it’s cut short anyway by the sudden immense throbbing of her forearm.
Marinette winces, and slowly pulls down her sleeve to see her soul mark is—
Finished. It’s glowing, glowing far more than it had been over the course of the past two days, glowing so much she can barely squint to see that buried deep in the middle of her rose, a pristine dagger.
Marinette’s eyes widen, and she can’t help but make an incoherent sound that fights its way up her throat.
A tap on her shoulder, and she turns around to see the boy she was shamelessly staring at is right in front of her, and, woah, he’s tall. Marinette cranes her head up to look at the boy who so quickly grabbed her attention.
He also has the prettiest blush on his face, his eyes darting in between her and his companions, who seem to be laughing even harder, and in the distance, she hears a crude nickname being thrown at him.
“Holy shit, Demon Brat actually has a soulmate—“ a sentence cut off by more wheezing laughter, so she turns her gaze back to the boy in front of her.
“I’m Damian, you’re...soulmate.” The last word comes out wonky, like he couldn’t believe his own words, but she understands. He’s staring at Marinette now, bright green gaze fixed so intently on her, and she can’t help but blush, herself.
“Marinette. I figured, actually, when my arm started to sting like a bitch.” She says, once her mouth finally aligns with her brain and she gets the courage to say something relevant to smart.
Damian cracks a small smile, and she finds herself following the gesture with her eyes. It’s a beautiful movement, one she can tell is foreign to him, a shame.
And she doesn’t feel jittery. More at peace, looking at the equally aged look deep in his eyes, and the mark right in the middle of her forearm, she can guess he’s been through a hell of a lot, maybe more than she has.
Marinette will spend a lifetime learning what lies behind his exterior, looking at him now.
She supposes this soulmate thing won’t be too hard, after all, even as the two men behind them keep bickering and laughing at their predicament in front of the crocodile exhibit.
This is a gift and my giftee is @charme-de-malchan ! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks for organizing this, @eat0crow ! I had a great time!
The Read More is more or less the gift-wrapping paper. Have fun!
Three times Marinette is given a blade or two (and the one time she gives one away)
-
The Court of Owls might brag about their extensive existence but those of the League scoff in the face of such claims. Contrary to popular beliefs that the League of Assassins is but a cult obsessively following Ra’s al Ghul’s ideals, they have developed their own ways of doing things – traditions, one might claim those to be.
For those who were born to the League, there are three instances where they are given a blade – a mark of change.
The first blade they receive is a gift from their parental figure when they start their training – a blessing to their first steps to become an official part of the League. The second blade is bestowed upon them by their mentor should they survive their training to become a full-fledged member – a token of good luck for their upcoming journey into the bigger world. The last one is received during the exchange of blades between lifetime partners – the proof of utter devotion, the promise of unity during the best and worst times.
---
Sabine was born into this life of blood and dirt that stinks of rot. She grew up surrounding by the sound of steel on steel, of bones breaking and flesh torn, hearing the gurgling of those stand at the gate of death, tasting the bitter blood on her tongue.
Tom is different – never has gone hungry, never has his bones broken, never has a blade digging into his flesh, never choking on their own blood, never has their tongue burn by poison. His life is one that Sabine should have considered unremarkable – too calm, too low risk.
And yet she hangs up her sword when she finds out that there is a tiny, little life that is growing inside her. One that is the most precious to both Tom and her.
However, there are enemies – Sabine has made plenty during her run as a mercenary, and later with the League of Assassins and Talia. After all, how could they pass up the chance when the news of her retirement rings out loud and clear in the stygian world that she left behind.
To strike at her is to strike at Talia. And to strike at Talia is to strike at Ra’s al Ghul. And a strike at Ra’s al Ghul is to undermine the League’s reign.
(Marinette’s hands are too small for a knife, much less two. She is too small for everything that Sabine would be sending her into.
But Sabine cannot shelter her forever. One day, she would fall – that is inevitable – and until then, her daughter must learn to fend for herself.
“These have been with me for years and years,” her fingers trail down the sheath of the knives in her daughter’s hands – those that were hers and now, her daughter’s, “They will protect you, just as they had, until now, served as my last line of defense.”
Herr daughter’s face is still soft and chubby, heartbreakingly adorable, as Marinette hangs on to her every words.
“Train well, dear,” she whispers into the silence between them, “Fight and survive and then, we – your father and you and I – will meet again.”
Talia is waiting outside for the apprentice she was promised. Her green eyes widen as they rest on the pair of blades in her daughter's hands.)
---
Sabine was not born into the League. Her family, however, is in a tentative truce with the League. And that is, exactly, where Talia comes in – a political arrangement.
They match each other like well-fitted puzzle pieces – steps for steps and strikes for strikes. Alone, they are formidable enough but together, they can take on even the most impossible missions.
Had Sabine been born with the ability to inseminate, Ra’s al Ghul has lamented many times, she would have been one of the prime choices to reproduce the perfect weapon for the League’s causes.
But reality is harsh and the only child Sabine gave birth to is a girl. Thus, Ra’s settles for the long game and promises Sabine the best teacher for her daughter.
Said teacher comes in the form of his daughter. And Talia has reservations about her father’s plans for her sister-in-arms’ daughter.
(It is during Marinette’s sixteenth year that she completes the basic training for League’s operatives. Three more years under Talia’s guidance and she has graduated from the stumbling layman that was brought to Nanda Parbat for training into one assassin with the skills to rival even the best of the League and the mercy that makes her both cruel and kind and strong and weak in the eyes of others.
“This is my gift to you,” Talia says, pressing in her hand the dagger that she has commissioned from the blacksmith who is responsible for the forging of weapons for the al Ghul house, “May it serve you well until the very end.”
There are tiny emeralds embedding on its sheath, the color resembling that of leaves under the fierce glare of the sun and the water of the Lazarus Pits that the al Ghul house holds a monopoly of.)
---
Jason Todd is a surprise. Two or three apprentices sharing the same mentor is not unheard of but Damian is still Talia’s precocious son and Marinette, her official apprentice while Jason Todd is considered more or less a pet project of hers – one that many deem to be impossible to reap any success.
“He is a valuable ally,” Talia tells her, eyes glue on her near-catatonic charge, “It is important to keep those near you.”
Her words should have been taken as some kind of foreshadowing because that happened not long before Jason took a rather unwilling swim in the Lazarus Pit and suddenly, Talia is pushing a waterproof bag packed with clothes and food and money and a partly conscious Jason at her.
“This is your next mission,” she hisses through the pouring of the rain as she leads them to the cliff, “Be to him what your mother is to me: a partner, a companion – the dagger to his sword.”
And with that, they are plunging into the icy waters.
(They clashes – in their different beliefs and ideals. Unto evil, Jason prefers to pay evil while Marinette always choose benignancy and in the way, they are the opposite of each other: cruel mercy and benevolent retribution.
And yet, opposite attracts in the same strange way that the world works. They are companions – in the way that Talia wants them to be – but their partnership takes on the other aspects that Talia and Sabine’s lack.
“I heard daggers are common gifts in the League,” is what Jason tells her when she comes back to their shared place, hands fidgeting with the hilt of a blade that she has never seen before.
“Do you understand what you are doing?” she asks, quite harshly because-
Marinette has never told him about the importance – the meaning – of giving someone a blade. And from the short time Jason spent in the League, she doubts that he picked that up.
“Yes, I understand,” Jason’s eyes are always so intense but this time, they waver with a strange kind of fragility, “I trust you as much as I can trust a person and I want you, my partner, to have this.”
Her hands might be trembling as she takes the dagger and brushes shaky fingers through the simple sheath – artful decorations sacrificed for elegant pragmatism. Her words of gratitude are lost in the beginning of sobs.)
---
Just as a relationship is a two-way street, one blade must be received and another given away for a partnership to be recognized in the eyes of the League. It is the exchange of trust in the form of blades that is seen as the height of devotion between partners.
The dagger she commissioned from the blacksmith that her mother introduced is based on Jason’s favorite – simple and pragmatic. She had it forged to compliment the one that Jason gifted her – a pair, one could say.
“This dagger is for you,” she announces as Jason sets foot into the kitchen, distantly counting the beat of her own heart, “May it protect you through the harshest nights and bitterest days.”
Her eyes might deceive her but Jason’s eyes are sparkling when he accepts the dagger. The red at the tip of his ears is endearing sight when they settle down for dinner.
Valentines drabble exchange piece for @zorua-adorable you put that you liked soulmate au, meet-cutes, and coffee shop au’s so i kinda did a sort of hybrid of the 3 hope you like it!!
Big thanks to @eat0crow for setting this whole thing up!!
Wordcount:1103
Marinette was running on 2 hours of sleep. Again.
She had a busy schedule okay? Balancing ESMOD classes, commission work, and searching for Lila Rossi aka Hawkmoth 2.0 took up a lot of time. So sometimes she just had to make up the sleep deficit with caffeine.
Ah yes, whether she was knee deep in fabric or dealing with an akuma at 2 am, coffee was always there to help her through. And after pulling such a late night finishing assignments, she needed some desperately.
Too bad her roommate hid all of her coffee.
Adrien had claimed that it was "for her own good" and that he was "saving her from an early grave" like the both of them weren't basically demigods after so many years of miraculous exposure. Well, she had been wanting to try the small café she always passed by anyways. This just the perfect opportunity.
Doesn't mean she's not getting back at Adrien though.
----------
Marinette stepped into the café and took a deep inhale at the pleasant aromas of coffee beans and fresh pastries.
Despite the small shops location and the time of day, coupe du destin was fairly uncrowded. There was a very inviting aura about the place, reminding her of the many days spent at Fu's old tea shop as a teen. While someone had been leaving as she entered, besides that there was only one other customer in the café.
She was thankful that she wouldn't have to deal with the usual morning rush line, especially since there only seemed to be one person working. It was a girl who seemed to be a couple years younger than Marinette with a smile that put the sun to shame, and she was saying that as someone who knew Adrien Agreste.
The young lady at the counter, Felicity according to her name tag, smiled at her.
"Welcome to coupe du destin! What can I get for you today?" She greeted with enthusiasm
After ordering herself a caffe mocha, Marinette watched as the lively barista flew between machines and equipment creating her beverage, she honestly wasn't sure if the girl knew what she was doing, maybe it was her first day? Eventually the barista came back over to the counter with the finished drink.
Of course though that's when things got just a touch odd
After paying for her drink, the barista looked to be analyzing her. Though It was almost as if she was looking through her, straight into Marinette's soul.
Now if she were anyone else, she probably would have been more creeped out by something like that. But she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Guardian of the Miraculi and heroine of Paris. Honestly this didn't even make top three for weird things she's seen this week. It also helped that the girls analytic gaze reminded her of Luka. She still wasn't sure whether or not he was a meta of some sort or if he just like that, but this barista had the same look in her eyes as when Luka would figure out somebody's heartsong.
She could only hope that the girl wasn't about to pull a guitar out from under the counter.
After the peculiar girl had been studying her for a minute she stopped and broke into another wide grin with a newfound gleam in her eye.
Thankfully the barista did not at this point pull out a guitar, instead having grabbed a red pen from a mason jar next to the register and quickly drawing something on something on the cup before handing it to Marinette.
The drawing was of a robin.
After paying, Marinette finally got to try her coffee. Marinette took a sip and... it was the best coffee she had ever had. She was definitely making this her go-to café from now on. And if Adrien kept hiding her home supply, she would likely soon be a regular.
She wouldn't get to finish her heavenly coffee though, apparently being a superhero for nearly a decade had not made her any less accident-prone. As she turned around to leave the shop, she walked right into a man who was getting up from his seat and spilled her coffee all over both of them.
Only one other customer in the café, and she somehow managed to run right into the guy. So much for having the goddess of luck in her purse.
She finally got a good look at the guy. He was about her age, maybe a year or two older, but that could just be how tired he looked, somehow he seemed even more exhausted than her which was quite the feat. Other than looking like he was gonna pass out any minute, he was quite attractive. Like her, he had black hair and blue eyes, Though his eyes were more of a gunmetal than her shade of bluebell. Average height, and very well built. And his suit…
Oh sweet Tikki she was so dead. That suit was designer, it can't have cost less than somewhere in the quadruple digits. And she spilled coffee all over it. She was so screwed.
This guy was probably loaded and she ruined his suit and now he's gonna ruin her. He was gonna sue her for all she's worth and she'll have to fake her death and go live all alone in Tibet and her only company will be Tikki and a hamster named-
"Are you okay?" The man before her asked, with a concerned look that managed to break her out of her catastrophizing. While her spirals had gotten better as she got older (and a therapist), evidently the lack of sleep was bringing them out in full force today.
"I'm so sorry! I should have been paying better attention to where I was going." Her mouth finally caught up with her brain as she began apologizing.
The man began to reassure her "Don't worry about it, it was just as much my fault. I am sorry about your coffee though, could I buy you a new one?"
Oh yeah her coffee, about half the cup was lost in the collision. "Oh no it's fine, if anything I should be offering to pay for your dry cleaning considering I totally ruined your suit."
"Really it's fine, plus I'm getting myself another anyways."
Well if a cute guy was gonna offer her free coffee who was she to refuse?
"You know in that case I might just take you up on that offer…"
"Tim."
"Nice to meet you Tim, my name's Marinette."
Neither of them noticed the ladybug drawn on Tim's empty cup.
Here’s a valentine’s gift for @savagenutella46, whose a lovely person! Here’s my gift of writer love for a fellow maribat enthusiast, hope you have a wonderful day fit for a wonderful person. xoxo uwu [insert heart heart winky face heart eyes rose]
Thanks to the moderator @eat0crow for setting this up so nicely, ily all!
In a small office, one of the many in the college of liberal arts building, two people sat across from one another in an awkward manner. One, a rather tall, tan, and robust young man with a relaxed and loose posture, and the other, a much smaller brown, older gentleman, salt and peppered hair and frown lines around his mouth.
“Mr. Wetherby,” the young man said in greeting.
“Jonathan.” Mr. Wetherby deadpanned in return. There was a slight pause between the two before the older gentleman spoke again.
“Well, how are you progressing with your midterm project Jonathan? You were well ahead of your peers the last I observed. I trust you have maintained this pace?”
Jon grinned at this, rather than being intimidated by the scholarly demeanor of his professor. Many of his classmates were intimidated by Mr. Wetherby if not for his surprisingly deep voice, then for the juxtaposition of his gentle appearance and his strict teaching. He had only ever felt amused.
“Yes sir, everything is going well. I’ve already checked the business’s schedule and set a meeting with the owner to have a short interview. Everything is totally in order.”
Mr. Wetherby stoically gazed at Jon’s silly grin as they conversed and didn’t say anymore. He simply nodded, typed a few phrases in the computer and turned the screen to Jon.
“Very good. With this the meeting is complete and you’ve received full marks for the student-teacher progress report. Have a nice day, Jonathan.”
“Right sir, thank you sir, you too sir,” Jon smiled, bright and goofy, unmoving from his seat.
Mr. Wetherby gained a slight tick near his temple.
“Mr. Kent.” The young man blinked, tilting his head with a look comparable to a puppy dog.
“Yes, Mr. Wetherby?”
“You may leave now,” He spoke through gritted teeth. “Have. A good. Day.”
“Right sir, of course sir!” Jon bounced up and carelessly packed his things away. “Have a good day sir!” He energetically left the room and before the remaining occupant could so much as sigh, Jon popped back in, dark hair flopping into his eyes.
“Oh yeah, are we still on for patrol or are you going to call in--”
“Beat it, Corncob!”
“Hahaha!” Jon cackled and dashed away to complete his assignment. Anyone who saw him would do a double take. It seemed as though he was gliding on air, though he wasn’t moving particularly fast. People shrugged and moved about their day, too busy to really care.
Jon Kent was just strange like that.
Sometime later in the evening, the tall and somewhat awkwardly bulky Jon Kent nervously shuffled his way through Metropolis, carefully moving around busy pedestrians and apologizing in a fluster when he didn’t move carefully enough. He knocked into one final person and sheepishly grinned at the irate grunt before arriving at his target location. La Bonne Fée.
The building was sizable, enough space for a backroom, restrooms, a cozy kitchen facility, counter, and booths for people to sit and relax, with enough space left over to not feel compact. The furnishings were all warm, comfortable and the decorations had a slight vintage feel from a bygone era of classy etiquette and manners. Through the door he could clearly hear the music of an old school juke-box, playing a Jagged Stone album.
Jon had come to such a café to ask the owner for an interview for the school financial magazine’s new column dedicated to new and upcoming businesses.
Some would ask if Jon lost his touch, others if he was touched in the head. Why would he interview a brand new café, one not even a part of a chain, when they were practically all over the city selling the same thing as their competitors.
Jon swallowed hard, and knocked on the softwood door. He picked up a jumping pulse and saw though the window a head of dark hair quickly poke out from behind the counter. His palms had become sweaty and his own heart jumped in his chest when soft footsteps quickly paced to the door and was pulled open with a silent, breathless smile.
“Jon, hey!” Marinette Dupain-Cheng looked up at him with bright grey eyes, almost silver under the city lights and his heart really kicked into high gear then, only slightly less embarrassing when he heard her heart doing the same.
“Glad you could make it,” She nervously fixed the hem of her sweater and pulled her apron on straight.
“Me too,” He smiled at her and was fine getting lost on her eyes before she cleared her throat and held the door wider.
“Would you like to, um if you would--?”
“Oh right, yeah, yeah, yes please, um,” Jon gulped and grinned strangely. He walked in with small quick steps through the door, taking extra care to not bump into her and send the smaller woman three inches through the flooring. God, he wouldn’t ever live that down if that actually happened.
“Well, I’ll grab some refreshments while you set everything up. Be back in a bit,” Marinette grinned as she led him to a booth near the front, out of view of the windows and moved to the counter with a stiff gait. He sat, pulling out his notebook, his voice recorder, pencils and two copies of the agreed upon interview questions. He fiddled with the materials, trying to distract himself from Marinette’s sounds, her heartbeat, her slight hitches in breath as she moved, the sound her petite fingers made when rubbing against the foam cups, all to no avail.
Yes, that’s a suspicious amount of attention to a single, pretty young woman in the city, but he couldn’t help it. He pressed down on the indentation of his index finger, reveling in the simultaneous sensations of hearing and feeling her heartbeat in person.
He couldn’t help it because she was his soulmate.
Jon’s soulmate mark was one he had from birth, thought to be a deformity but what was actually a touch based soul mark. Pressing it would allow him to feel the pulse and heartbeat of his soulmate, so long as they were alive in this life. The doctors had actually thought there might be a twin or a second heart while he was in the womb, but an x-ray via Superman showed that he was a lone healthy baby.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a small, triracial young woman, with delicate features, a barely noticeable spread of freckles across a small nose and round grey eyes that turned into happy crescents when she beamed wide and unrestrained. This was all he knew about her, from their brief interactions while they set up the interview, all skin deep and superficial knowledge that he wanted to get past.
This was his soulmate and he knew he shouldn’t rush, but there were so many things that she would have to know about him, things he shouldn’t and couldn’t hide from her, at least not forever, but how was he going to bring up being a superhero? No, wait, how was he going to bring up being half extraterrestrial?! She’d freak!
He tried to relax. He only found out the Marinette was his soulmate when he asked if she would let him interview her and couldn’t help but compare her heart rate to the one on his finger, further panicking when he saw her press her fingertips together in glee and saw the imprint of his finger upon her own. From there he saw that her index finger would snugly fit the imprint on his and he knew it, beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was his soulmate, that special person the universe found matched perfectly to him in every way that counted. He’d studied and pressed and listened to this heartbeat, wanting to press his head against her back to study and listen in the flesh for years, all before he knew who she was and that she was his and he was hers.
He pressed on it as she walked back to their booth, watching and smiling as she relaxed somewhat, lightly stroking her thumb along her finger as she set the tray of cookies and coffea, the cafe’s specialty fusion drink.
“Sorry for the wait,” She neatly placed the cookies between them after setting down their drinks. He watched the quick and graceful way she tucked the tray into her seat beside her before sending him a dazzling grin that briefly scrambled his brain.
He gaped before managing to stutter out a lame “no trouble” and Marinette merely grinned, cheeks pink. He could dually understand her heart at this time and couldn’t help becoming more flustered. His dumb brain was making him think Marinette had a crush on him, when she was probably just nervous and excited for the interview.
Yeah, that’s all there is to it, nothing more to it at all, he told himself while watching her cheeks darken.
It wasn’t anything more.
“Well, here’s to a good interview?” Marinette nervously giggled as she raised her cup and Jon did the same without a second thought, only realizing his mistake when she saw his soulmark and paled, honing in like a bat out of hell. He tensed trying to think of an excuse or a lie or something to say but he was stuck. Hope clogged his throat and desire pressed down his tongue.
“You have a soulmark?” She asked after a lengthy pause.
“Y-yes, I do.” His voice cracked from bad nerves and excitement.
“I do too. Touch based.” Her eyes pierced through his soul and pinned him on the spot. He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.
“Cool. Super cool! I have one too, touch based like yours, yep! Cool!” Jon bobbed his head fervently, searching her gaze and found that she seemed to have the same idea as him. Her hand stretched to the middle of the table and waited for him to meet her in the middle. When he reached, slow and steady, it exposed the subtle quaking of his hand, revealing his inner feelings. He was comforted by the fact that her hand was shaking across from him too. It was a relief she felt the same.
Finally, the fingers touched, a small pale finger tapping two knuckles against the back of his. His shoulders tensed, Marinette mirroring him beat for beat as shoulder collapsed in devastation.
If Jon had thought that feeling Marinette’s heartbeat secondhand was an amazing feeling, then all the wonders of the accumulated sensation were nothing compared to this one touch. The pure physical sensation of another being pulsed through him, the echoing din that had been with him unnoticed all this time becoming known as he melted into himself, feeling it destroy him gently and lovingly.
“Wow,” Marinette breathed shakily. “Wow, I’ve, I never thought,”--an incredulous laugh-- “That was…”
She trailed off taking in his enraptured expression.
“Yeah, me too.” He grinned in wonder. His eyes bored into her own, falling deeper into her spell.
They stared at each other before Marinette finally broke the silence.
“Bonsoir.” She extended her other hand, unwilling to break contact.
“Hi.” He firmly grasped it, giving a strong shake. “Jonathan Kent, miss. Pleased to meet you.”
Marinette smiled beatifically. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The pleasure is all mine, Jon.”
