Marinette was shocked when she got to work that day, at Wayne Enterprise. Someone had set up a desk and laptop, outside of Damian's office. Some random girl was sitting there, smiling.
Marinette walked over to the office and the girl jumped up from her desk.
"Mr. Wayne, isn't in." she smiled, "Do you have an appointment? I can let him know who you are when he arrives."
"And you are?" Marinette questioned.
"I'm Damian Wayne's newest secretary." she answered.
Marinette turned around and pulled her cell phone out. She immediately began to text Tim.
Coffee Buddy: We have a sitch in front of Damian's office. Bring up CCTV.
Espresso King: Who is that?
Coffee Buddy: Claims new secretary. Send security up and look thru footage. Must have moved someone's desk cuz I can still see my desk in the office.
Espresso King: Got it
Not a minute later, Damian stepped out of the elevator.
"Mr. Wayne, I-" the new secretary began.
"Who the fuck is this?" Damian asked.
The secretary panicked, "I-I didn't get her name! I'm very sorry! I-"
Damian glared at her, "Did I ask you? Marinette, who the fuck is this?"
"She claims to be your new secretary." Marinette answered, "Damian, you didn't tell me you were firing me."
The girl paled, further.
"You-You're stuff was cleared out!" she shouted, "It should be obvious now that you're no longer needed here!"
Marinette sighed, "My stuff is in Mr. Wayne's office."
Damian opened the door, allowing the girl to peer inside. As Marinette stated, there were two desks. One by the door, which she could tell belonged to his actual secretary. The other desk by the windows, must belong to Damian.
"Why?" she questioned.
"I'm barely here." Damian stated, "Marinette does most of the work to keep me updated. I'm here only when I need to be and only then."
Mari smiled, "You have a meeting in ten minutes. I left the details on your desk last night. It's with the board of directors for the new animal clinics on 5th and Main. There's a list on top of important bullet points for you to scan over on the first page."
Damian nodded as he headed to his desk. He picked up the packet and quickly started to read it over.
The lady looked around when security got on the floor. Marinette stood by as they put her in handcuffs.
"Why are you doing this?" she screamed, "I work for Mr. Wayne."
"No, you don't." stated Damian, "I do not know who you are. I tell every secretary, I fire, when it is their last two weeks. Miss Dupain-Cheng is by far, the best person to do the job assigned to her. I have no intention of letting her go."
"You bitch! You can't separate us now! We were meant to be!" the lady shouted, "You helped me that day at the Gala.. You picked up my bracelet after that jerk threw it!
"I rarely attend those annoying things." Damian spoke, "When I do, I tend to stay away from people. The last thing I would do is go out of my way for some trinket."
"We were ten." she smiled, "It was like a dream come true."
"I never stepped foot in Gotham until I was ten." the Wayne heir replied, "My first gala was at age thirteen."
"N-No!" she screamed, stomping her foot, " We met when we were ten!"
"You are likely thinking of one of the children my father adopted; liekly Drake." Damian announced, "He was the youngest Wayne before me."
"Drake?" the girl questioned.
"Timothy Drake-Wayne is the current Co-CEO with Mr. Bruce Wayne." Mari declared, "Timothy Drake became a Wayne at age twelve. Before that, he was heir to the Drake Industries. Mr. Wayne took him in after his parents past away and his step-mother was admitted to a facility in Bludhaven."
"Sharing my life story, Coffee Buddy?" Tim questioned, announcing himself, "We found out who the mystery secretary is. Her name is Maybel Evergreen. Her brother is a night guard. We're having GCPD heading to pick him up now."
"No!" Maybel screamed, "He didn't know about this! I told him I had a lot of work to do and wasn't given my badge, yet! He really thinks I work here! He's a single dad of a two year old. Please, I'll-I'll tell you everything just don't involve him!"
"We'll see if that's true." he spoke, walking away.
He made a call to GCPD to pick up the girl and leave the brother for leverage.
As he walked back to the sobbing lady, he looked her over, closely.
'She seems familiar.'
He snapped his fingers, gaining everyone's attention.
"Gold bracelet with opals." He called out.
"Told you." Damian muttered.
The lady looked at him shocked and nodded.
"Why did you harass my younger brother?" Tim questioned.
"Actually, she mixed you two up." Marinette explained.
"Us?" Tim asked, "Me?"
Damian sighed, annoyed, "She claims to have a crush on you since you helped her that day with her trinket. She wanted to 'help' you, too."
Tim blushed, "Oh, um, that's nice, but I'm afraid I'm seeing someone. His name is Bernard."
"Oh." she spoke, looking down at the floor.
"If you still....want to help, you can always apply." Tim offered.
"Really?" Maybel asked.
"You're dedicated; that's for sure." Tim chuckled, "You do still have to go to the GCPD and they can figure out what the damage is. Next time, just apply. I cannot guarantee that you will work with me, though."
Maybel smiled, "Thank you."
"Damian, you have a meeting in three." Marinette announced.
Damian locked the office and left with Marinette at his heels, reading over the packet.
Let SuperMari May begin! First prompt is Meet Fail
@maribat-calendar-events
AO3
PinkFrenchMarigold: I can't believe I get to come to meet you in person at last! Are you sure your dad doesn't mind me staying for a couple of days?
HortonsCoffeeFiend: please Mari, he might not even notice you're there
PFM: pfft, whatever you say, Timbit. Still good to meet me at the airport?
HCF: 👍 absolutely! I'll bring the coffee and doughnuts
PFM: my hero! Going dark, see you in 10 hours or so 🫶
*_____*
Marinette put her phone away, setting it to aeroplane mode before relaxing into her first class seat. She hadn't been sure she wanted to spend that much on the flight but Alya had convinced her that she would want the extra leg room and privacy. And now that she was settling into the chair, she could admit that it was absolutely necessary.
Pulling out her sketchbook, she let her mind wander as she sketched out a design for a new line of hero inspired clothes. The main duo of the Parisian team, Scarabella and Chat Noir, were joining the Justice League that day and it meant that other people might want merchandise of the team. She'd been designing little bits for a long time, but now she would be able to market it to a wider audience.
Mullo peeked out of her purse after the first hour of the flight and Marinette pulled out some cheese cubes, scattering them on the tray table. The tiny mouse Kwami grinned and began nibbling immediately. It was crazy to think she had been part of the team that took down Hawkmoth' and she was a little sad that she wasn't going to be introduced to the Justice League.
She shook her head at herself. She was moving across the world, meeting her online friend in person for the first time, and it wasn't like any of the rest of the team were joining yet either. Maybe once she was settled in Gotham she could talk to Alya about bringing her into it, but for now she was going to focus on being Marinette.
She smiled as she checked the time and decided to try and get some sleep.
_ _ _
The mood on the WatchTower was fairly relaxed and Kon watched as his best friend updated his notes on the Parisian team. They were due to arrive any minute and, because they were presumed to be the closest in age to them, Kon and Tim were supposed to be part of the welcome party.
“I thought you were supposed to be busy today,” he said when he thought Tim was less distracted.
“Yeah, I will be, but right now I'm okay for time. My friend doesn't land for another few hours and we should be done with plenty of time to spare for me to get to the airport,” Tim shrugged, saving his files and standing.
“I can't believe you have an online civilian friend that you invited to Gotham. Wouldn't it have been smarter to go to them?”
“Maybe if she hadn't been stuck in Paris for the past few years. Besides, I'm locking her up in the manor for a bit until I can tell if she can handle herself.”
“That would be really concerning if I didn't know you,” Kon laughed, his grin turning roguish in the next moment. “And when do I get to meet your online friend? Maybe I can come and introduce myself while she's locked up in whatever tower you choose for her.”
“Ha ha, funny. Marigold doesn't need another target on her back, it's bad enough that I'm probably going to have to keep her safe from Rogues. I don't really want to have to worry about Lex on top of all that.”
“Fine, I'll have to meet her when you don't have her locked up I guess.”
“Don't you have an off-world mission to get ready for?” Tim asked, sounding annoyed. Kon grinned widely, pleased that he'd managed to get under his skin so easily. He was fairly sure Tim was in love with his online friend, so he hoped she was everything she seemed. Tim deserved to be happy.
_ _ _
Adrien was excited to meet some of the Justice League, he just wished Marinette could be there with them. He knew why she wasn't, even agreed that it should just be him and Alya to begin with, but he still missed his best friend.
“What do you think they'll be like?” He asked when they were waiting at the Paris Zeta Tube to be escorted in. “Multi seemed to think this was a good thing, but she didn't want to come up so…”
“You know she was busy,” Alya said. They were prevented from continuing their conversation by the Zeta Tube lighting up and Wonder Woman stepping out to greet them. They exchanged hellos and then they followed the older heroine into the tube and up to the WatchTower.
“Oh my god, that's Batman,” Adrien said in a hushed voice as they entered the meeting room. Alya looked like she was barely containing a fangirl squeal as Wonder Woman joined Batman and Superman. “Uh, hi, nice to meet you. I'm Chat Noir, this is Scarabella.”
“Well met,” Wonder Woman said, smiling at them both. “Congratulations on defeating your villain, I'm sure it's a relief that Gabriel Agreste will no longer be terrorising your city.”
“It is,” Alya said, actively working not to look at Chat. He knew this because she was tense as a taut wire and he forced down the nausea that came with the knowledge that everyone knew it was Gabriel that had done it. That the man he had called a father was the reason most of his friends had been akumatised and the reason he had died more than once.
Shaking away the bad thoughts, they were formally inducted into the Justice League and introduced to a few heroes that were similar ages to them. Once that was all complete, Superman informed them cheerfully that they were expected at a few upcoming meetings and that support was available through the trials and any further investigations for Hawkmoth.
Adrien found himself relaxing completely once the big three were gone, leaving him and Alya in the care of Red Robin and the elder Superboy. It all seemed to be going well until Superboy started to quiz them on the rest of their team. Red Robin seemed to get frustrated and embarrassed on behalf of his friend.
“Do you think you'll bring the rest of your team up some time?” Superboy asked, and Red Robin looked like he wanted to hit him. “I thought you were going to bring everyone up here at once. Weren't there, like, fifteen of you?”
“Something like that,” Alya said breezily. “But most of them are retired now and the others…they have their own lives to get on with. If any of them want to come up, we'll let them know that they're welcome but I don't want to pressure them at all. Hawkmoth wasn't really a barrel of laughs.”
“So long as they know they're welcome, that's cool,” Red Robin said, shooting Superboy a look that said ‘shut up’ that even Adrien could read through the mask.
“Maybe one day we'll get our strategist up here, she's a goddamn powerhouse,” Adrien said, grinning as he thought about Marinette.
“Yeah, but is she hot?” Superboy asked cheekily, and Adrien thought he understood why Red had been getting annoyed. He wondered if Superboy flirted with many heroes.
“Oh, like a supernova,” Alya nodded sagely. “But also not interested in dating a hero so you're out of luck I'm afraid.”
“Guess I'll just have to try my luck with Red's friend then,” he smirked, leaning back in a chair so far it rested on two legs.
Adrien gave a bark of laughter when Red Robin kicked his chair out from under him.
_ _ _
Tim was not running late. He knew that it was more than likely that Mari’s flight would land on time but then customs would be a nightmare, so he was comfortably on time, he was sure. Besides, the coffee would get cold if he arrived too early, so getting there slightly after wasn't a bad thing.
But luck was not on his side because as he pulled up, he got a notification that a B-list rogue was trying to hold up the airport. Damian had already confirmed that he was nearby and would be expecting Tim to be suited up by the time he got there.
“Good, it appears that Condiment King is attempting to rob the passengers of the flight from Paris for some reason. We should do some reconnaissance and then plan accordingly,” Damian said when Tim arrived in costume.
“Fine, you head left, I'll head right and we'll meet at the back of the room to discuss strategies,” Tim said curtly, focusing on getting this done as soon as possible.
As they circled to the back of the room, Tim spotted one of the passengers slipping away and heading into a corridor marked ‘Employees Only’. It was a young woman in a pink hoodie and grey jeans, worn sneakers on her feet. Very notably not an airport employee. She must have abandoned her luggage except for a small bag on her shoulder. He lost sight of her momentarily when she turned a corner but he could hear her murmuring urgently. Perhaps she had been on the phone?
“Mullo, get squeaky!” Said the voice, and Tim froze. What on earth did that mean? And then a light flashed and when he turned the corner the young woman he had spotted was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a superheroine in grey and pink stood there, two buns atop her head and a skipping rope tied around her waist. She gave a squeak when she turned and saw Tim, hand flying to her rope. “Uh, oh, you must be one of the local heroes, right? Red Robin, unless I'm mistaken. Hi, I'm Multimouse! Want a hand?”
“...sure, why not.”
Rounding up the goons took minimal effort between Tim, Damian and the new hero. She wasn't seen by anyone else but she was capable and strategic, following Tim's orders and offering insightful suggestions that sped things along. When it was over, she vanished with a quick salute in his direction, smiling brightly.
“She was…not horrendous,” Damian said stiffly. It took Tim by surprise because that was practically a compliment coming from him. “Hadn't you better go and find your friend? On the off chance that you have not been cat fished, she must be rather perturbed by the attack.”
“Thanks Robin, I'll see you back at base,” he acknowledged, changing back to his civilian clothes in record time. He grabbed the cups of coffee and the box of doughnuts, and headed for the arrivals.
Looking around, he held the box as visibly as he could, checking his phone. He sent a picture of the doughnut box and flipped the camera to show his line of sight and hoped that was enough for her to find him. He was staring at the check marks to see if they changed colour when someone stopped in front of him. He glanced up and was met by the woman he knew had to be Multimouse. He froze for a fraction longer than felt comfortable, until she broke the awkwardness.
“Tim? Or, uh, whatever your real name is, HortonsCoffeeFiend,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice giving away her nerves. He was a little astounded that she was nervous to meet him when she had been completely calm during the fight.
“Oh, uh, it actually…yeah, my name's Tim. Tim Drake,” he said, feeling a little smug when she laughed. “What about you, Marigold? Or would you rather I just keep using that?”
“Marinette, actually,” she said with a bubbly giggle. “That's so crazy, what were the odds I would have picked your actual name? You look like you would know that sort of thing.”
“Rude,” he said, holding out her coffee cup. “Sorry, it's probably a little cold now. But welcome to Gotham! As much as it sucks that you got caught in an attack, it's really…kind of common. Not how I pictured this meeting going though,” he added glumly.
“Yeah, I thought I'd get at least a couple of days in before I experienced one of your villains,” she agreed, accepting the coffee and taking a sip. Upon finding that it was more than a little cold, she grimaced before chugging it back. “Hmmm, not too bad. At least it's caffeine.”
“I'll get you a hot one another time,” Tim promised, reaching to take her bags. She shared them with him and chattered happily as he led her to his car. “I should probably warn you, my house is kind of…manic. And big.”
“That's fine, I won't stay too long. Thanks for offering me a space, I really didn't want to get an apartment without seeing it in person. Plus, I couldn't come to Gotham without meeting my online coffee bestie.”
They lapsed into silence when they were seated, Marinette opening the doughnut box and offering it to him first. They got through the box of half dozen fairly quickly and he laughed when she licked her fingers clean.
“I take it you want a serviette or something instead,” she mused, pulling napkins out of her purse.
“Sure would, thanks,” he said, accepting them without taking his eyes off the road.
“Would you be up for hitting a drive-thru or something? The doughnuts were nice and all, but I think I need something more substantial.”
“Sure, why not,” he agreed, mentally figuring out where the closest drive-thru was and how to get there. Which was probably why he missed the sharp look she sent his way.
Once they had more food, Marinette seemed to be mulling something over. She ate quickly and was done well before they pulled up at the manor. But where most new arrivals gawked at the massive building, Marinette was studying him. He cocked his head, wondering what the problem was, when she groaned and hit her head onto his dash.
“Uh, are you okay?” He asked, nervous suddenly. He knew the manor was intimidating, but-
“Oh, yeah, just peachy thanks. Just wondering if you know the odds on us both having secret identities,” she said, tone flat.
Work burned me out, middle management positions are draining. What was supposed to be an angsty oneshot is now… yeah I’m continuing it. Not a full series, just a two-parter… hopefully.
Edit: I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK THIS CLUSTERFUCK OF AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER IS, but BUCKLE IN BECAUSE IT PROBABLY DOESN’T PASS SAFETY REGULATIONS! HOOOOO BOY
Part 1
—*—*—*—*—*
“…” she stared at the being in front of her, face frighteningly blank. Next to her, Bruce fidgeted.
“I’m not going anywhere, so you either gotta learn to love me real quick or get lost quicker,” the child snarked from where he was sitting upside-down on the bat computer chair. “And don’t call me Richard, my name’s Dick.”
“I don’t remember you working with a fetus, Batman,” Marinette slowly drawled, emphasizing the vigilante’s name despite none of the three of them being suited up. Dick shot up with a cry of indignation.
“I am not a fetus! I’m fifteen! I’ve been Robin since I was twelve!”
“Nope,” Marinette countered, unmoved. “I started out as Ladybug when I was twelve, and I was never as small as you,” she blatantly lied. Dick was already taller than her, which wasn’t much of an achievement considering that she was five-foot-one-inch tall. “You are six years old, tops.”
Dick let out an almost inhuman screech of complaint. Even as he rambled on angrily about how wrong she was, Marinette only nodded as if he proved her right about something.
“That was a good squawk though. Definitely a birdie.”
It took another twenty minutes before Dick ran off to tell on Marinette to Alfred, giving her and Bruce some alone time. With which she used to whirl to him and immediately hiss in equal parts fury and worry;
“Please tell me he wasn’t—“
“The timeline is gone,” Bruce reminded her, bracing her by putting both his hands on her shoulders. “He doesn’t remember.”
“Still!”
He let out such a heavy sigh that he seemed to deflate with it, his dark circles growing more pronounced.
“He wasn’t supposed to be,” he admitted softly. “When he turned sixteen, last time, I allowed him to form his own team of teen heroes. Supervised from afar by myself of course, not that they knew that. I had given them the order to stay back and guard their city, but they disobeyed me and snuck onto the battlefield anyway.”
Marinette rubbed at her temples, nodding. “Teenagers have a habit of doing that. This time around, can we ask Bunnyx to supervise them? She has all the energy of a teenager, so she’ll fit in, but the maturity of someone trusted to guard all the timelines.”
Bruce paused, thinking of what little he knew of the pastel rabbit themed hero, and then reluctantly nodded. “That… might be for the best. And giving them more opportunities to train with…” he hummed, hand on his chin. “I might actually change things up, in that case. Instead of jumping to put teens on their own in a tower, the old Justice League headquarters is more protected. And if we started with the ‘sidekicks’,” he gave very purposeful air quotes, “of other Leaguers, it would create a better support system than letting teenagers run around with… really, not enough regulation.”
“Gotta love hindsight,” Marinette agreed with a nod. “The whole teenagers by themselves thing only worked for my team because we were overly traumatized and each saw different apocalypses before we turned sixteen. Bunnyx could fix them herself back then, but still.”
“Best to do better by the new generation,” Bruce agreed with her unspoken statement. “I can still put that old team together again when they’re older, support their development elsewhere in the meantime.”
“Oh, and now that we’re done on that topic,” Marinette snapped her fingers before pointing to the staircase that Dick had disappeared up. “He’s going to make my life a living hell, isn’t he?”
Bruce groaned, offering her a lopsided grimace of apology. “He’s a menace,” he agreed. “He’s scared away any woman I’ve brought to the house, even though most of them are completely platonic. I have to make the press believe the whole playboy thing somehow, and inviting my friends over to chat is the easiest way to do so without breaking hearts for real. Dick hasn’t caught on yet,” Bruce rubbed his forehead. “His antics to scare away Selina Kyle are legendary already, and she’s sapphic. She couldn’t be attracted to me if I was the last man on earth.”
Bruce narrowed his eyes, saying only: “Chat Noir. Year one.”
It was Marinette’s turn to grimace. “Point taken. But in my defense, he took way too long to realize he’s gay and watched too much anime at the time.”
Bruce let out one of his unfairly charming chuckles, changing position so that his arm was around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. She fit there surprisingly well, for someone almost half his size. She leaned into him, and the both just soaked in the comfort of one another for a long moment.
“You know,” Bruce started for a while. “If you want to stay in Gotham, we can make you another alter ego so that you don’t accidentally lure Shadow Moth here. Tell that fox of yours to make it seem like you’re in Paris and take some of the weight off of your shoulders for a change. Blackmail Constantine into charming some jars to keep the butterflies in until you can purify them.”
“Hmmm.” She closed her eyes. “Ladybird sounds nice. Fits with the bird thing that Robin has going for him.”
Bruce laughed. “That’ll really annoy him,” he warned, amused. Marinette’s close-eyed smile was pure mischief.
“That’s the whole point. I’m not letting a fetus win against me, bat-boy.”
—*—*—*—*—*
Marinette wasn’t speaking to Bunnyx. Bruce didn’t know what they had said to one another, but he could guess it had to do with Jason.
With his baby, who he just buried. The boy Marinette had thought of a son ever since he first brought him home. She had even smoothed things over between Dick and Jason, which he had considered nothing short of a miracle at the time.
But that miracle was nowhere to be seen now, with Marinette every bit as despondent next to him as he was. He wanted to be angry with her, he did, but he couldn’t. He had seen her blow up at Bunnyx, seen her try to hold her status as Grand Guardian over the bunny holder.
Bunnyx had simply said that she wouldn’t answer to Ladybug until after the grief passed then, and ran away into her burrow.
“Is this the payment?” He heard her whisper, her voice hoarse and broken. “For the do-over? We passed the old timeline. We took down Shadow Moth. Is this the price?” Tears dripped down her face silently, she didn’t seem to notice them. “Was I not a good enough mother? Should I—“ she stopped herself, shaking her head. He didn’t ask what she was about to say. Maybe he should have.
—*—*—*—*—*
Tim was great. He was too much like Marinette at times, which made Bruce’s chest ache, but he was a great Robin. A great son. His experience with Marinette proved priceless when it came to helping curb Tim’s overworking habits and caffeine addiction.
But not even Tim could find where Marinette had disappeared to, even with his detective skills surpassing Bruce’s already.
Tim was the first son of his that didn’t get to grow up with Marinette at all.
—*—*—*—*—*
“It’s fine, Baobei,” she whispered, stepping to the side. Behind her was the waterfall that hid the tunnel to the Batcave. “He’s not the one to blame. He did his best, even now he’s doing his best.”
“Then why does—“
“Because other people need him, and he has too big of a heart to turn them away,” her mouth tilted a little, smile lopsided and sad. “Timothy didn’t replace you. He just forced Bruce to live again. Bruce didn’t kill Joker, because he didn’t want to taint another child with the sight of murder.”
“And you?” The voice was dark, deadly, gruff. Older, and yet… so achingly familiar. She smiled at him again, soft and sad and… proud.
“I don’t have one,” she lied. She had tried, tried so hard. Bruce had gotten in her way first, and then the very same desire to not taint more children with the image of death.
But her baby needed a scapegoat, and she was willing to throw herself on the fire for him.
“That’s why it’s fine,” she repeated. “If this is what you want. Just, please. Let it end with me.”
This time, Marinette made sure she had the Time miraculous safely in her pocket. Nobody would interfere with this.
The bullet sent her into the flow of the waterfall, red flowing behind her like the carpet she used to walk down with Bruce whenever she released a new collection. She felt no regret as she closed her eyes and fell.
—*—*—*—*—*
The shot hadn’t been fatal. Red Hood might have been mad with Pit Rage, but his fondness for his only true mother figure was ever present. He simply wanted to see if she was serious about taking that shot.
His regret was immediate when she didn’t even try to dodge. The bullet had only grazed her shoulder, but she didn’t seem to notice that. She had been so ready to die— to let him kill her— that she had passed out before hitting the water. He dragged her to the Batcave, knowing he had a lot to answer for.
Bruce wished he could have found her sooner, found both of them sooner. But at least they were back.
—*—*—*—*—*
“… I mean,” she rocked on her heels. “You are growing a bit old for Robin…”
Tim glared at her, not appreciating the insight.
“Bruce is stuck in the timestream, and you aren’t doing a thing about it. I don’t hold your opinion very highly right now,” he snipped back. She snorted, glancing away.
As if that little stunt to “kill Batman” could ever fool her. She’d been there for the real thing, thanks, she could spot a fake a mile away. “He’s got Bunnyx going to find him. She owes me big time, let her do the heavy lifting for a change.”
“How many years have you held that grudge?” Barbara asked, eyebrows raised as she wheeled herself towards the bat computer. “Even Jason thinks you should have let it go by now.”
Marinette scoffed at the exact same time as a certain someone tutted next to her, making them look for a moment like a perfect pair.
Crossed arms, a scoff, annoyed glare? If a DNA test hadn’t already proven otherwise, they might have thought Damian was hers.
“Fetuses don’t get to judge me,” was her only argument before she turned on her heel and walked away.
“I am not a fetus! Lady Marinette, I am ten years old!”
—*—*—*—*—*
Bonus:
Jason was curled up around Marinette, despite being told numerous times not to crowd her on the med-bay bed. He argued that he shot her, so he gets to nurse her back to health.
Did she use her blood, tainted by years of use of the Ladybug, to purify his pit madness? Yes. Had he figured that out yet? Nope.
“Love you, Mom,” he murmured in his sleep. Marinette, who had been awake for about an hour already, smiled to herself.
There is Beauty Within the Mystery of Your Reflection
Ship: Tim & Marinette
Rating: Teen
Warning: None
Category: Gen
Media Type: Poetry
Word Count: 496
Additional Tags: Reflection, Self-Reflection, Regret, The Wish is Not Worth It, Lesson Learned The Hard Way, POV Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Thank you for being there for me, Allowing me to be in your life, Allowing me to stay, Allowing me to return, Platonic Relationships
Summary: Even if you could have the power to rewrite history, should you? Is it worth it? What consequences may strike you down? What will linger in your mind that you can only process through reflection?
Note: Timari January 2025's Day 4 - "Oh no" was used. @maribat-calendar-events
How powerful are the two words
"Oh no"
Regret in the moment
No taking back what is said
Never did I realize as a child
That with the right people
There are no wrong things to say
Sure, things exist that can need improvement
What I mean is that fate is special
It can be painful as hell
However, it also can be so many other things
Thrilling, Magical, Educational
Living alongside the ones you love
It is the greatest gift
Not in the physical sense,
In the conversations you are allotted to have
Life can be so short
It is an action that can never be undone
Best to learn that lesson now
Save some of the fracturing of the future
Friends that you collect along the way
They shift like the tide that is most beautiful at its ebb
Some will stay with you through every riptide
Others leave you forever
The most noteworthy ones you will see again
When you need help healing the most
Even if you think you are a master of luck,
There is no stopping that fate
It will come and go
Remember you can always reach out to them
Every relationship is a two-way path
It is a rocky road like that to Dublin
Letting there be a choice for each to travel down
It allows you to see who is willing to travel the distance
The journey down an unkept path can be scary
A path that was left to the years to cover up
Whatever the reason
Give not into the lack of sight
Instead remain or gain the confidence
To realize you still know the way
As they say,
Home is where the heart is
Your heart is the result of your mind and soul
Each give unto your growth
The Soul shows your experiences
What you have lived through
Your perseverance
Your Past
The Mind gives the growth from the soul
It shapes your intuition
Sharpens you
Your Future
The Heart reveals who you are though
How you choose to use the wisdom of
Your mind and soul gifting
Your Present
Accepting the present can be hard
Not everything you receive will be wanted
Do not take the good things for granted
Wishing for a part of the past to change is impossible
Every wish comes at a cost
You trade your pain away to someone else
Is it truly worth it?
Redoing the past to ruin another's Heart, Mind and Soul
I have learned the hard way
The trade is not worth it
Resentment only leads to further hurt
Reflect instead
Even the broken stained-glass pieces of yourself,
Seemingly with pieces too fractured to put back together,
Are but a puzzle ready to be solved
A riddle only those who learn perseverance can solve
All I have left to say is this
When you think about giving up,
Look in the mirror and remember
There is beauty within the mystery of your reflection
~
Notes:
A few pieces within this are different poem fragments that have come along in the past year. I have found beauty in the things that I got the pleasure of having, learned to accept that the past cannot be changed, and found a way to thrive in the future.
Sure, there are still plenty of obstacles ahead. I am ready to face them and if I can help those I hold dear through their own, it is the best present to give.
Blessed is the broken road that led me straight to those that have come into my life the past two years that without I would have never healed. It continues on to a friend I left at that time who I want to find comfort in once more.
Ao3 Link: There is Beauty Within the Mystery of Your Reflection
Scarlet's Soliloquies and Sonnets:
Ao3 Only: Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6
Cross-Posted (Tumblr Links): Part 7 ~ Part 8 ~ Part 9 ~ Current ~ Part 11
Maybe he didn't want to be nosy, but sometimes things were rubbed on his face, Tim thought, as he watched Marinette and Jon walk around the manor with their pinkies interlaced.
It was something he saw her do often.
Marinette seemed to seek comfort on being able to touch others, be it touching, talking, or simply looking at whoever makes her feel safe in that environment.
"Tim? You good in there?" a small finger poked his right cheek, gaining his attention. He had been staring at the wall for a good couple of minutes now. The owner of the poking hand had big bluebell eyes filled with curiosity.
"I'm fine, Mari. Just thinking about my homework," he brushed her concerns off and offered her a small smile. His brothers may think of her as suspicious, however, she was but someone feeling lost after going over too much trauma on her own. Jon and Kon were right about being protective. Marinette was just too naïve and defenseless for this world.
"You're getting crinkles. Here, let go of it," she pulled the pen away from Tim's hand and held his right wrist, pulling him to stand up. "Let's go out for a walk."
He couldn't deny her. Didn't have the heart to.
Tim knew that Jon meant well, but whenever they came to visit the manor, the young Super would spend most of the time by Damian's side. And since Marinette and Damian couldn't stand each other, the girl found comfort in spending her time with Tim instead.
"Don't wanna," the boy whined, but still allowing the Parisian to drag him along as she made her way in the direction of the gardens.
"You should start doing some exercises, Timmy. Have you ever thought about gymnastics? Sword fighting? Oh! I have a friend who likes to spar with a bo staff!" Marinette rambled as they strolled around the tree figures. It had been a while since the last time he had gone there without her.
"Wait, did you say bo staff?" they sat together under the old oak tree, basking in the last rays of sun of the afternoon.
"Yeah. Do you remember Felix? Adrien's cousin? It's him. He's so good it's unfair! We always tie when we spar, unless I'm the one using the bo staff, then he loses beautifully," she grinned, sprawling her tiny body over Tim's lap.
"You still uses the kusarifundo?" Marinette nodded lazily, gesturing without a real meaning.
"It's practical and just my style. It just feels right," Tim started playing with her hair absentmindedly, running his fingers between the threads.
"Step mom?" she shook her head, slumping even more against his chest.
Normal people would assume that they had something romantic going on, but the few people they cared about knew better, and so Marinette and Tim could act comfortably around each other without further thoughts, just friends hanging together.
"Yeah... Bio-mom taught me how to use a kusarigama, though. It's pretty cool too," Tim's mind traveled far away to remember the few people he knew could use the weapon properly. Damian, Jason, Cass, Bruce —whenever he felt like it—... Talia.
Bad memories.
"I still don't get it how your moms made it work," he questioned. It was an interesting story, Marinette's.
One thing that Tim knew about her that no research could show was that she was adopted by her mother's best friend.
Marinette's mother thought she was unfitting to be a mother, so she gave Marinette to her best friend to be raised.
As far as Tim knew, the woman was very much present in Marinette's life, but not enough to believe she should fight for custody.
Marinette's father, on the other hand, had never been in the picture.
Marinette didn't even care enough to remember his name —or his existence, at all.
"I like to believe that they made it work because they worry. Mother always brings me souvenirs from her work trips, and even visits me sometimes. She comes for my birthdays and even brought my mom together once. It was really nice. Mom raised me and Mother is my blood. Their effort means a lot," she had a small smile lingering on her lips. "I was supposed to have a brother," she kept talking, pulling a few leaves of grass from the ground. "I believe he is around 15 now, being a little menace, according to mother."
"Didn't you meet him?" Marinette shook her head, a small frown between her eyebrows.
"Mother says that Father took him him away. I know she doesn't mean bad. As far as I know, my grandfather is the devil incarnate, so I suppose it was for the best. My brother is safe now and that's what matters."
< - >
pt13
A/N: for confused readers: Damian was canonically raised in an artificial womb until his body reached the biological age of 6 through accelerated growth. He was "born" when Marinette was already 6, hence why she talks about him being younger even if they're actually (biologically) around the same age.
Bruce Wayne had decided several years ago that he did not want to be blindsided by another child. Not that he didn’t care for Damian, because he did. However, he wanted to be involved in his children’s lives. He didn’t want them to grow up believing that they were unwanted, or that he didn’t care about them. He also didn’t want another Damian situation, with a child being trained from birth instead of given the childhood they deserved. So, to combat that, he had created a program that would notify him if a DNA match appeared in a hospital. Not effective, if the child was never injured or sick enough to go to a hospital, but it was still something. More than what he’d had before.
Even so, he wasn’t expecting the alert in the Cave. The one that notified him a DNA match had been discovered in France. More specifically, Hospital Center Jean-Martin Charcot in Versailles. Without a second thought, Bruce moves over to the computer and clicks into the medical file. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 7 years old. Patient is currently in critical condition with injuries sustained in a multiple vehicle accident. Sabine Cheng and Thomas Dupain were pronounced DOA, attempts to contact extended family members have been unsuccessful. Bruce clenches his teeth. He had a daughter. One that he may lose before he’s even met. Making a quick decision, he rushes up the stairs to the Manor. He had a flight to catch.
---
Pain. That’s the first thing that Marinette feels when the fog around her lifts. She whimpers slightly, just wanting her Maman to come hold her. Why did she hurt so bad? Why was it so bright? Her eyes weren’t even open, but she could tell it was bright. It burned her eyelids. A hand squeezes hers, and she relaxes slightly, guessing it was her Papa. She opened her eyes, blinking furiously at the light and the way they burn. Tilting her head to look at her Papa, her heart jumps instead. It wasn’t her Papa, it was a stranger. Tears spring into her eyes as she starts to panic. Where was she? Where were her parents?
“Marinette, please calm down. You have a lot of tubes right now.” The strange man says with an accent.
“I want my Maman.” She says, wincing at her scratchy throat. The man frowns and looks away from her.
“Oh look who’s awake.” A nurse says happily, a big smile on her face as she walks in. Marinette whimpers slightly. She didn’t want another stranger in her room. She wanted her parents! “Are you okay, sweetie? What’s hurting?” The woman asks softly.
“I want my parents.” Marinette says, ignoring the woman’s questions. She didn’t understand. They were on vacation to look at a new location for the bakery. They wanted to move from Paris, and even though Marinette didn’t understand why, she knew Versailles would be a cool place to live. But that didn’t explain where they were. Or why she was all alone in a hospital.
“Have you talked to her?” The nurse asks the strange man. He shakes his head and the woman sighs. She walks over and sits down on the edge of the bed and brushes her hair out of her face. Marinette frowns. The lady was nice, but she wanted her Maman. “How much do you remember?” She asks, her voice soft. Marinette frowns, trying hard to think.
“We were on vacation.” She says, coughing slightly. The nurse pours her a cup of water and helps her take a sip. Marinette sighs at the cool water on her throat. How long was she sleeping? Memories suddenly hit her full force and she flinches, dropping the cup. “Our car- that van hit us.”
“Yes, it did.” The nurse says. Marinette’s eyes fill with tears.
“I wanna go home.” She cries.
“I know sweetheart, I know.” The lady says, gently pulling her into a hug. Marinette ignores the strange man and wraps her arms around the nurse. Where were her parents? Were they hurt too?
“Where are they?” Marinette mumbles into the hug. The nurse starts rubbing her back gently and Marinette gets scared. Hospitals were scary, but the lady was being really nice. And Marinette was sure that it meant something bad happened.
“The accident was really bad. They- they didn’t make it, honey.” The nurse says quietly. Marinette freezes, before jerking back and pushing the nurse away.
“You’re lying!” She yells, hands shaking as her tummy flip flops. Her parents couldn’t be gone...could they? “They wouldn’t just leave me!” She cries, her lip quivering.
“I’m sorry, honey. I’ll leave you with Mr. Wayne. I need to go tell the doctor you’re awake.” The nurse says, frowning before turning and walking away. Marinette turns to the strange man- Mr. Wayne- and glares.
“Who are you?” She asks, hands shaking. Who did this man think he was? Why was he here?
“I’m Bruce Wayne. I’m your father.”
---
A month after the car wreck that notified him of his new daughter, Bruce was worried about her. She was slightly younger than he had been when he lost his parents, and he had no idea how to connect with the girl. He’d started teaching her English, or trying to at least. She seemed to know a little more about the language than she wanted to let on. But for the most part, he couldn’t even get her to leave her room. He understood; he knew how hard it was to lose both parents so suddenly. But it had been a month, and he was almost sure that the only exchange she’d had with any of her siblings was when he’d carried her into the manor from the car on the first day.
Two weeks ago
Pulling up to the manor, Bruce glances into the backseat. It was the first time Marinette had actually looked semi-peaceful. And he was about to break that by waking her up. Sighing, he puts the car into park, surprised when she doesn’t wake up immediately. He walks around the car and opens her door, giving her a small smile as she blinks at him sleepily.
“Hi sweetheart. We’re home.” He says softly. She pouts, closing her eyes again. Bruce’s heart hurts at how small she looks. And sad. Making a decision, he reaches over and unbuckles her, gently picking her up. She immediately lays her head on his shoulder, and Bruce thinks that maybe she would settle in a little easier than he’d originally thought. And then he walks through the front door.
“Father! Where have you been?” “B, you can’t just run off like that.” “What the hell, old man, I thought we were supposed to talk, not just disappear for two weeks.” “B, I think I have it handled but some of the Board members are not happy with- who’s that?” All of the boys talk at once, all of their attention snapping to Marinette as Tim blinks at her. Bruce purses his lips, noticing the way Marinette had tensed in his arms. He wasn’t sure if it was the new voices, or the fact that she’d started to wake up and it was the closest she’d been to him since he held her hand while she was unconscious.
“I was picking up your little sister.” He says quietly. Damian’s eyes narrow.
“Little sister?” He asks, lips pressed into a firm line. Bruce was just glad that he’d grown into a (semi) calm teenager, and wasn’t the same angry little boy he had been. It would have been a disaster if Marinette had come to them four years ago.
“Uh, were you just going to adopt her and not tell any of us? Or what?” Dick asks, crossing his arms and giving him a look. Bruce starts to answer, but is instead startled by the sudden wetness on his shoulder. She was awake. And crying. Wrapping his arms to more mimic a hug instead of just carrying her, Bruce frowns.
“There were…unforeseen circumstances that brought Marinette to my attention.” He says, careful to watch his phrasing. Tim’s eyes narrow, before they widen.
“She’s yours?” He gasps. Jason’s jaw drops, looking between him and Marinette.
“She’s not Mother’s, is she?” Damian asks, eyebrows furrowed. Bruce winces.
“No.” He says. The story of Marinette’s parents was not one that he wanted to delve into while the girl was in the room. Especially since he was certain that Sabine Cheng was not her birth mother. But that wasn’t something he needed to bring up to the already grieving girl.
“Then why-” Tim starts to ask, his voice soft as he’d likely (wrongly) assumed that Marinette was asleep. Apparently done with the conversation, Marinette sits up and turns around, her bottom lip quivering as she glares at the boys.
“Maman and Papa left me.” She says, her eyes quickly filling with tears.
“Sweetheart-” Bruce tries, reaching up to brush away her tears. She hits his hand away, wriggling around until he lets her go. The second her feet hit the ground, she runs. Only to run into a stoic looking Alfred.
“Hello Miss. Could I show you to your room?” He asks, extending a hand. Marinette hesitates for a moment and glances back at him. Bruce nods encouragingly at her. She clasps onto Alfred’s hand and the two disappear up the stairs.
“What the fuck Bruce?” Jason asks, shaking his head. Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose, taking in a deep breath.
“Shortly after Damian came to Gotham, I created a program to notify me of any DNA matches that appeared in hospitals. Flawed system, I know.” He explains, and Dick pales.
“She was in the hospital?” He asks. Bruce nods.
“The accident was bad. When I got the notification, all I knew was that her parents were announced DOA and she was in critical condition. I didn’t think to explain or tell you- I just had to get there.” He says. Damian huffs.
“Who is her mother?” He asks. Bruce hesitates, but shakes his head.
“The woman that raised her was definitely not her birth mother. But I’m not going to bring that up. Her world has been shaken enough. Right now, I want all of us to do our best to help her acclimate to Gotham.” He says.
---
Present
Bruce sighs, walking out of his study so that he could go check on his youngest daughter. Just as he walks past the movie room, he pauses, hearing voices. Back tracking, he glances into the room, eyebrows raising at the sight.
“Non. Sully is not scary.” Marinette says firmly.
“Are you sure? He’s really tall, and he’s got lots of teeth-” Dick counters, eyes wide as he uses a ‘silly’ voice.
“So is Titus. And he isn’t scary.” She says, arms crossed. Dick grins.
“Do you like Titus?” He asks. She hesitates, but nods.
“Maman and Papa said we couldn’t have a pet because of the bakery. I really like Titus and Alfred the Cat. Sometimes if I’m crying, Damian will send Titus in.” She says. Dick raises an eyebrow.
“How do you know it’s Damian?” He asks. Marinette grins.
“Because sometimes Titus doesn’t come right in, so Damian has to say ‘go, Titus’. And then Titus comes in.” She says matter-of-factly. Dick laughs, and Bruce smiles. Apparently, she was doing better than he’d given her credit for. Perhaps the problem was…him? He frowns, quickly schooling his features before knocking on the door frame. He walks into the room, a small (albeit forced) smile on his face.
“Hey you two. I heard laughs. Watching something funny?” He asks, glancing at the TV. Marinette glances at Dick, who nods, before she turns back to him.
“We’re watching Monsters Inc. Do you wanna watch too?” She asks, sounding a little shy. Bruce’s heart melts, and immediately any work that he knew he was supposed to do gets shoved to the side.
“I’d love to.” He says. She gives him a lopsided grin before patting the seat on the other side of her.
“You can sit here.” She declares. Bruce nods, sitting beside her. They watch the rest of the movie in silence, until he hears a soft snore. Glancing at Marinette, he shakes his head fondly.
“She’s doing better, B.” Dick says quietly. Bruce frowns.
“I can barely get her to leave her room when I ask. Though she apparently has no problem with you or Damian.” He replies. Dick frowns.
“That’s not fair to her, B. We’re her brothers, she doesn’t have to feel like we’re replacing anyone. But you…she might feel like she’s betraying her other dad, accepting you into her life.” He says. Bruce sighs.
“I know that, I just- I wish I knew what to do.”
“Be patient. We both know I wasn’t the most open kid when you first took me in, and I was older than her. She’s only been here two weeks. Just take it slow, let her have a little more time to adjust before you assume she hates you.” Dick says. Bruce nods slowly. Patience. He could do that.
***
2- BONDING WITH DICK
Marinette was still adjusting to life in the US. Apparently her other dad had enough money that the technical stuff was easy, but it was still weird for her. She had brothers now, and although her new family spoke French, they tried to speak English around her as much as possible. Sure, she knew English pretty well for a second language, but she missed French. She missed hearing it, and speaking it. Mostly she missed hearing her Maman and Papa talk to her. And laugh. It was hard sometimes. Remembering that they were gone and that this was her life now. She tried not to call her other dad anything specific. He could usually tell when she was talking to him, so that made it easier. Maybe she’d figure it out before she had to go back to school.
---
“What’re you doing?” Dick asks his little sister, frowning. She huffs.
“I’m trying to do a somersault. Alix was supposed to teach me but…” She trails off, her face scrunching up.
“I could teach you.” He blurts. He hated seeing her so upset. It reminded him of how he had felt when he first came to the manor so many years ago. When he was still just a kid who had lost his parents and felt lost in a big world.
“Really?” She asks, her eyes wide. Dick nods.
“I uh, kind of used to be in the circus.” He says, smiling awkwardly. Her eyes get even wider, a huge smile on her face.
“That’s amazing!” She gasps out. Dick grins, thinking of the little things he could show her. The gym did have a bunch of gymnastics stuff. Even had a full trapeze that he could teach her when she was ready.
“Whaddya say, Mari, ready to go learn how to be awesome?” He asks. She cheers, grabbing his hand and tugging him along.
“Do you know where the gym is?” He asks, laughing. She stops, pouting. “That’s what I thought. Come on kiddo, it’s this way.” He says, scooping her up and putting her on his shoulders. She yelps, but immediately starts giggling as he stumbles around.
“Grayson!” Damian yells as he almost runs into him.
“Sorry Little D!” He calls, not looking back as he continues charging towards the gym. Damian huffs.
“Do not drop her, Grayson.” He warns.
“Bye Dami!” Marinette giggles. Dick laughs at Damian’s returned groan. Marinette definitely had the kid wrapped around her little finger. If anyone else dared to call him that, they’d definitely deal with one of Damian’s many blades. He’d definitely mellowed out since he first came to Gotham, but he was in no way a pushover. Except, apparently, for their little sister.
“Master Dick, is this really the best way to move throughout the manor?” Alfred asks exasperatedly as Dick nearly runs into him.
“Hiya Alfie.” Marinette calls, leaning on Dick’s head so she can get closer to Alfred. Alfred’s lips twitch up.
“Afternoon, Miss Marinette. I don’t suppose I could convince you to return to the floor?” He says, quirking an eyebrow. Marinette laughs.
“Dick’s gonna teach me how to be in the circus.” She says happily. Alfred sighs.
“Just be careful, Master Dick. She is only seven, after all.” He says, giving him a stern look before letting them continue. Dick doesn’t mention the fact that he was already performing in the circus at seven. Mostly, because it wouldn’t help his case. He was trained by that age. His little sister, was not. So he knew that he’d have to be patient and let her work up to the cool tricks. But they’d get there.
---
“Mari, we cannot go on the trapeze.” Dick says, putting his foot down. She sticks her bottom lip out in a pout. For such a clumsy kid, she was quick to pick up several gymnastics moves. He hadn’t tried to teach her anything too difficult yet, but that apparently didn’t stop the kid from wanting to fly. Not that he could blame her, but she wasn’t ready. Not yet.
“Please, please, please! I’ll do whatever you say, I promise.” She pleads. Dick frowns, glancing at the trapeze and the harness he’d bought when Damian had first moved in. He had hoped that he would take an interest in trapeze, but no such luck.
“You have to wear the harness.” Dick says. Marinette immediately starts squealing and jumping up and down, thanking him repeatedly.
“I’m gonna fly, I’m gonna fly!” She chants.
“No she is not.” Damian says, walking in with a frown. Dick sighs.
“We have the child sized harness, Dames. She’ll be fine.” He says. Damian purses his lips.
“It is far too dangerous, Grayson. Look at her! She is far too small.” He argues. Marinette pouts.
“I’m not too small!” She declares. Damian gives her a small glare.
“Marinette, this is not a game. You could get hurt.” He says firmly. She huffs.
“I know that. That’s why Dick’s here. And why I have the harness. And the net. And now you’re here. You wouldn’t let me get hurt, right Damian?” She asks, jutting out her chin. Damian open and closes his mouth for a few moments before groaning.
“Fine.” He snaps, taking a firm stance right next to the net. Marinette squeals and runs at Dick, jumping into his arms. Dick laughs, grinning at his little sister.
“Nice one.” He stage whispers, smirking at Damian’s scowl. She beams.
“Thanks.” She says with a nod. Dick carries her to the top of the trapeze, honestly expecting her to chicken out when they reach the top. Instead, her smile gets impossibly bigger. Carefully, Dick straps her into the harness, then checks (and double checks) that everything was up to par. They may have a net underneath them, but it would still be traumatic to fall from this height.
“I’m going to get on the bar and get going. When I say go, you’ll jump and grab my arms, okay?” He asks. Marinette nods, staring straight at him, not looking towards the ground. “Mari, you okay?” Dick asks, double checking that she was okay with the height. She takes in a deep breath and nods.
“I wanna fly.” She says quietly. Dick smiles.
“Then you’re gonna fly.” He says, kissing the top of her head. Taking a breath, he grabs onto the bar and leaps across to the next one, the smile on his face unwavering. Turning back, he situates himself in a position where he can catch Marinette. “Ready?” He calls. “Go!” He watches as she leaps forward, a huge beam on her face as she flies towards him. They grab onto each other’s arms and he swings her over to the other platform. She lands and grins, jumping up and down.
“Again, again, again!” She cheers. Dick laughs, agreeing immediately. It was nice to see her so excited about something.
---
A couple hours after their impromptu trapeze session, Dick sat with Marinette in a little ice cream shop down the street from Wayne Enterprises. It was a place he’d gone to with Bruce many times when he was a kid. And Dick had brought Jason there, (before the Joker), and Tim, and Damian, and now Marinette. It was a nice sibling tradition. Mentally, he makes a note to bring all of them together sometime. That was something they’d never done. Dick glances at his little sister and snorts.
“What?” She asks, frowning. He could tell she was trying her best to glare at him, but it was hard to take her seriously with strawberry ice cream all over her nose. Dick pulls out his phone and takes a quick picture, pout and all, before sending it to Bruce with the caption ‘your daughter is a mess’.
“How do you get ice cream on your nose?” Dick finally asks with a laugh. She gasps.
“I have ice cream on my nose and you took a picture?” She pouts even harder. “Traitor.” She mumbles, grabbing a napkin and wiping at her face. Dick just grins. Having a baby sister was awesome.
***
3- BONDING WITH JASON
Jason Todd did not spend a lot of time in the manor. He had his own apartment, his own space. Sure, he’d (mostly) made up with the family over the years and was (practically) a functioning member of it by now. Didn’t mean he wanted to spend all of his downtime hanging around the place. But he did try to be over there when he could handle it now that Marinette was there. He knew how rough it could be, having your whole world change in such a short amount of time. Plus, she was a pretty cool kid. When she wasn’t sleeping. Jason sighs, turning another page in his book. He’d come to the manor to hang out with the kid, but she was apparently taking a nap (in the library, which was why he was also there). According to B, she’d refused to sleep the night before and had promptly crashed after lunch. As if one insomniac in the family wasn’t enough. A shrill scream rips Jason from his thoughts. He leaps from his chair and rushes over to his baby sister, immediately scooping her up.
“It’s okay, Pix. Wake up, it’s okay. It’s just a dream.” He whispers, rubbing her hair gently until she sits up, opening her eyes with a gasp. She looks at him and breaks down into sobs, her entire body shaking. Jason’s entire heart breaks and he pulls her in close, rubbing small circles on her back as she cries. He hums a song he vaguely remembers his mom singing to him when he was sick (when he was real little). Slowly, the sobs taper off into sniffles.
“They’re really gone, Jay.” She whispers, so quietly he almost wasn’t sure she’d actually said it. He takes a deep breath, searching for the right words to say. But what d’ya say to a kid who lost everything? Who had to move around the world to live with a bunch of people she didn’t know two months ago? He wasn’t great with advice. Or emotional talks. Not when he couldn’t promise that everything would be okay. And he couldn’t promise Marinette that.
“Have you ever read The Hobbit?” He asks, instead. Marinette sits up, blinking at him as she wipes away her tears.
“What?” She asks.
“The Hobbit. It’s a book about elves and dwarves and, well, hobbits. And magic.” Jason rambles a little, trying to gauge her interest. She scrunches her face up as she thinks.
“Mmm. Nope. Never heard of it.” She says. Jason grins.
“Want me to read it to you?” He offers. Her face lights up and she nods. Jason jumps up, rushing over to the exact shelf the book was on and grabbing it before settling back down in his original chair. Before he can open it and start reading, Marinette leaves the couch and crawls up into the chair with him, squeezing as close to his side as possible. Jason grins at his baby sister, opening the book and using every voice he could think of to make the book as interesting as possible. If he wanted another sibling to geek out about books with, he’d need to help her develop a love for reading now before school corrupted her into thinking reading was boring. Assuming it hadn’t already.
---
Something Jason would never have guessed about Marinette, was that she was ruthlessly competitive. He honestly pitied whoever suggested the next family game night, because they had no clue what they were getting themselves into. And that was something he discovered for himself approximately three minutes into laser tag.
“Your sister is tiny.” Roy says, nodding over to where Marinette was standing, trying to put her laser tag vest on. Jason snorts.
“That’s the understatement of the century.” He says, walking over to help her. She glances at him, then shakes her head taking a step back.
“I want Roy to help me.” She says. Jason blinks.
“What?” He asks, giving Roy a look. He just shrugs.
“You’re not on my team. You might mess up my vest on purpose.” She says, crossing her arms and glaring at him. Jason glances down at his vest, then Roy’s vest, and groans.
“Roy, dude, switch me.” He says. Roy shakes his head, smirking.
“No way. You insisted that you just had to have the red vest. Well now you get to go up against me and your sister.” He taunts, pushing past him to help Marinette with her vest. “Okay squirt, I’m assuming you know the rules?” Roy asks her, completely blocking Jason out. Marinette nods solemnly.
“Leave no survivors or witnesses.” She says. Jason’s jaw drops as Roy bites his lip to suppress laughter. Who the fuck was she hanging out with in Paris?
“Damn right, kid.” Roy says. Jason glares at him.
“I swear to god, if you get her saying swear words and B blames me, I’m gonna kick your-” He stops, barely catching himself. “Butt.” Roy snorts.
“I’d like to see you try. Okay Mars, ready for our reign of terror to begin?” He asks. She nods before turning to Jason.
“Prepare to lose.” She says, seriously. Jason just shakes his head, watching the two disappear onto the course as the beginning timer starts counting down. They had fifteen seconds to find a base, or place to hide before the guns would turn on. Jason had assumed he’d be on Marinette’s team, but apparently his little sister was now ruthlessly hunting him. A sentence he never thought he’d say. As the timer runs down, Jason moves to hide behind a block. The second the gun switches on, he attacks. Aiming at every single purple light he can. One after another he takes down Roy and Marinette’s team. He climbs, scanning the area, but still no sight of his sister. He glances down at the stats on his chest. Unsurprisingly, the other team had just as many hits as Jason’s. Probably because it was Jason vs Roy. With a competitive seven year old added to the mix. Nothing he couldn’t handle. Faintly hearing someone let out a long string of curses, Jason glances back down at the stats. Two vs one. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Jason frowns. They’d have to act fast if they wanted a definite winner. (and somehow, he doubted Marinette would accept anything less than a legitimate defined winner).
“Marinette? Roy? Come on out and face me like men.” Jason calls, hoping to taunt them enough to get them on his ground. He didn’t necessarily want to try and climb around and find them in whatever base they’d created. “Come on, are you guys chicken? We only have two minutes left.” Jason adds. A beat goes by. And then another. Just before he can call out again, he hears a soft thud, and then sniffles. Shit.
“Pixie? Kid, was that you?” Jason calls, listening for her voice. “Marinette, just answer me, okay? I’m strapping the gun to my back. I just wanna check on you. Where are you hurt?” He calls again.
“I scraped my knee.” She calls back. Jason turns, changing direction as he rushes towards his baby sister.
“Are you bleeding?” He calls, thinking he’s almost to her.
“No. But it really stings.” She says, sniffling. Jason sighs in relief. He hadn’t thought to bring bandaids.
“Okay, Pix, just hold-” He turns the corner and sees her, standing upright and completely fine. She grins, shooting him once in the chest. His vest vibrates on the back as well. Jason whirls around and glares at Roy.
“Way to use my sister against me, asshole.” He huffs. Roy holds up his hands in surrender.
“Hey man, it was all her.” He says, nodding to Marinette. Jason’s eyes widen as he turns back to his little sister.
“Et tu, Pixie?” He says, clutching his chest before falling dramatically. Marinette laughs and runs at Roy, letting him pick her up and spin her around.
“We won! We won! We won!” She cheers, giggling until Roy sets her back on the ground, ruffling her hair.
“You did good, squirt.” He says. She grins. Jason feels slightly left out (she was his baby sister, after all) until she turns to him, falling to the ground next to where he was still faking dead.
“Jay, we gotta come back. And bring Dick, and Timmy and Dami- and you can be on my team. I bet we’ll be great partners.” Marinette says, eyes wide. Jason grins.
“Whatever you want, Pix.” He says, sitting up and giving her a quick hug. It’d be fun to see Dick’s reaction to how absolutely feral she was when it came to anything competitive.
***
4- BONDING WITH TIM
Tim had always wanted to be a big brother. He’d kind of given up after the whole fiasco with Damian attempting to kill him (multiple times). Eventually, he’d just decided not to care and to move on with his life. Marinette was different. She was unapologetically kind, and was obviously trying to be part of the family, despite the tragedy that had brought her to them. That being said, he still didn’t quite know how to interact with her. What do you even do with a seven year old for fun? He wasn’t nearly as fond of Disney movies as Dick was, so that was a no. Sighing, Tim grabs his skateboard and heads down the stairs. He’d go spend some time at the skatepark and try to think of ways to bond with his newest sibling.
“What’s that?” Marinette asks, popping out of nowhere. Tim jumps, startled.
“Why were you under the freaking table?” He asks, eyebrows furrowed. She shrugs.
“Dick and I were playing hide and seek, but every time he gets close I move. So I’m staying places where he can’t see but I can leave super quick.” She says, grinning. Tim snorts, shaking his head.
“It’s uh, it’s my skateboard.” He says, holding it up a little.
“You can skate?” She asks, eyes wide. Tim grins.
“Yeah. Actually, I was heading to the skatepark. Did you- did you want to come with?” He offers. Marinette squeals, jumping up and down.
“Lemme grab my sneakers!” She says, running towards the door. Tim shakes his head, grinning as he follows her.
“Shouldn’t you tell Dick that you’re leaving?” He asks, trying to suppress a laugh at the sight of her shoving her shoelaces into her sneakers.
“Nope. He’ll just think he’s really, really bad at hide and seek.” She says with a grin, standing up. “Ready!” Tim laughs.
“Yeah, not quite Peanut.” Tim says, leaning down to tie her shoes. Once they’re tied, he stands up and frowns. “Do you still need a car seat?” He asks. She huffs.
“Of course not, Timmy. I’m not a baby.” She pouts, crossing her arms.
“The young miss does require a booster seat. One has been installed in each of the cars, Master Tim.” Alfred says as he walks by. Marinette pouts.
“I’m not a baby.” She insists. Alfred quirks an eyebrow.
“I never said you were, miss. We just care about your safety.” He says softly. She opens her mouth, probably to argue again, but shuts it just as quickly, a wince crossing her face. Tim frowns, worried.
“C’mon Timmy, let’s go before Dick spots me.” She says, grabbing his hand and tugging him along behind her. Tim follows. Time to teach the kid how to skateboard.
---
“Okay, careful, careful.” Tim says, holding Marinette’s hands as he walks the skateboard along. He hadn’t thought to bring her a helmet. Or knee pads. Or elbow pads. So now, he was trying his best to make sure she didn’t fall and scrape something. He would definitely be the worst brother if that happened.
“I’m doing it!” She squeals, giggling as the skateboard moves along. Tim grins.
“Yeah, I guess you are.” He says, glancing around at the practically empty skatepark. “Want me to let go?” He asks. She nods, rapidly.
“I can do it!” She affirms. Tim lets out a breath, pulling her forward to get her started before letting go of her hand. He cheers, laughing as she goes along, jogging slightly to stay near her. And then she wobbles. Tim’s heart stops as she falls off the skateboard, rolling onto the concrete. Shit. He rushes forward, frowning as he helps her sit up. Her knees were scraped up, and she had a cut on her forehead. Bruce was going to kill him. That’s assuming Damian doesn’t beat him to it.
“Crap, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Tim asks, worry shooting through him. He didn’t even think to bring bandaids or a first aid kit or anything. Marinette just grins.
“Again!” She declares, jumping up to her feet. Tim scrambles up after her, shaking his head.
“Absolutely not. Not until we clean you up and get some proper gear.” He says. She pouts.
“But Timmy-” She starts. He shakes his head.
“But Timmy nothing, Mari. I’m being responsible, okay?” He says. She sighs, but doesn’t try to get back on the skateboard. Tim grabs his phone, dialing Jason since he was supposed to be at his apartment today.
“What the fuck do you want, Replacement?” Jason asks gruffly.
“Do you have a first aid kit?” He asks.
“What kind of supplies you need?” Jason asks, sounding a little more awake. Tim thinks for a minute.
“Bandaids, for sure. Uh, that cream stuff you put on little kid’s cuts- neosporin?” Tim says.
“Where the fuck are you and what happened to Marinette?” Jason asks, rustling in the background.
“Skatepark on 8th. I kinda didn’t think about knee pads. Or elbow pads.” Tim glances at the cut on Marinette’s forehead. “Or helmets.” Jason lets out a string of curses, ending with:
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Make sure the kid doesn’t bleed out.” Before hanging up. Tim kneels down again to get a better look at her forehead, since it was the one that had the most blood.
“I’m sorry, Peanut.” He says softly, feeling awful. He’d tried being a good big brother once and he’d already messed up big time. She’d never want to spend time with him again. Not that he’d blame her. He’s brought out of his thought spiral as Marinette pokes his cheek.
“I’m okay, Timmy. I’ll ask-” She pauses, frowning slightly. “I’ll ask him if I can get a helmet and all those pad thingies so we’ll be super careful next time.” She says before wrapping her little arms around him. Tim chokes slightly before returning the hug. He’d get Dick to talk to her about the whole ‘not knowing what to call B’ thing later. That definitely seemed like something he’d know about more than him. Right as Marinette pulls out of the hug, Tim hears Jason.
“I’m coming, Pixie!” He screams from across the park. Tim groans, shaking his head, but Marinette lights up.
“Jay Jay!” She calls, scrambling up and running at him. Without missing a beat, Jason scoops her up, holding her close.
“What were you thinking? Not bringing bandaids?” Jason scolds as the two walk back towards him. Tim starts to sputter out an apology, but Marinette cuts him off with a snort.
“You didn’t bring ‘em when we went to the park either.” She says. Tim raises an eyebrow.
“Mari got hurt when you took her to the park?” He asks.
“Nope! Jay did.” Marinette says simply. Tim glances at Jason, raising an eyebrow. Jason huffs, giving Marinette a half-hearted glare.
“Pixie-” He starts, but Tim cuts him off.
“Say, Peanut, how did Jason get hurt?” He asks, ignoring Jason’s glare. Marinette giggles.
“He fell off the monkey bars and landed in the gravel and said ‘son of a bitch’.” She says matter-of-factly. Tim laughs while Jason gasps, shaking his head.
“No- kid, remember, ‘bitch’ is one of the English words that you can’t say.” He says. Marinette frowns.
“Oh yeah.” She says. Tim snorts.
“B would totally kill you.” He teases Jason. Jason huffs.
“Not likely. Old man has a code.” He says, pulling out the neosporin and band aids to fix Marinette up.
“Can we go skating again soon?” Marinette asks, once the hello kitty band aids were in place. Tim glances at Jason, who shrugs.
“Kid doesn’t give up easily. Just next time, make sure you actually have the safety shit. She gets a broken bone, Demon Spawn’ll kick your ass.” Jason says. Tim winces, but then grins at Marinette.
“Once we get you the right gear, we can go skating again.” He promises. She cheers.
“We should get ice cream.” She declares. Tim agrees, picking up his skateboard. “With Jay.” She adds, determinedly. Tim raises an eyebrow at Jason.
“Why not. C’mon kid, there’s this place Dick used to take me. I’m sure you’ll love it.” He says with a shrug. Marinette grins, and surprises Tim by grabbing his hand and pulling him along behind Jason. Maybe being a big brother was a good thing.
***
5- BONDING WITH DAMIAN
Damian Wayne was many things. He was the former heir to the Demon’s Head. He was technically still the heir, though he no longer had any desire to fill that position. He was an animal lover, a brother, an artist, Robin, a warrior- he did many things. One thing that he was not, however, was a tea party expert. Sure, he enjoyed tea. He would often have afternoon tea with Alfred, if only to discuss trivial things. But an actual tea party? With fancy clothes and tiny foods? It was not something he was an expert in. Nor was it anything he had any desire to participate in. Or, so he thought.
“But you already look like a Prince!” Marinette pleads with a pout. Damian quirks an eyebrow.
“I fail to see why my looks matter in this case.” He says. She huffs.
“Because it’s a royal tea party, Dami. Alfie even said he was gonna help me make cookies and tea for it. And little sandwiches ‘cause you don’t like sweets. And I have a pretty dress in my closet that da- that he bought me. And Dick’s gonna put my hair into princess braids and you have to come, please! I even invited Titus.” She rambles, pointing at said dog. Titus, for his part, perks up at his name and wags his tail. Damian sighs. Even Titus was not immune to Marinette. It seemed the entire family was caught in the seven year old’s spell. If he was not already sure that she was a genuinely good child, he would assume she was up to something sinister. Alas, she was simply normal. Though apparently normal, meant insisting on tea parties.
“I will agree to come on one condition.” Damian says, holding up a hand to stop her rambling. Marinette immediately stops talking, an excited smile on her face.
"Okay!" She cheers. Damian’s lips twitch up into a small smile.
"You do not even know what the condition is, ukht. Wait to agree until you know what you are agreeing to." He says. Her mouth forms an 'oh' shape as she nods rapidly. "You have to put your pout to good use and help me convince Father to let us get a hamster." Damian adds. Marinette squeals, her entire face lighting up as she nods rapidly.
"Of course!" She says, before turning and running off. Likely, to get ready for the tea party. Damian just shakes his head. Marinette had spoken to him about hamsters in great detail, but had never once asked their Father for one. He hoped that this would push her to actually asking for one, instead of pleading to see them every time they walked into a pet store. After all, the manor was her home too.
---
“Lord Damian, would you care for another cup of tea?” Marinette asks, obviously attempting to mimic Alfred’s accent. Somehow, she had found a crown (he suspected Brown had bought it as a joke and left it at some point) and had added it to her ensemble. Damian glances down at the tiny pink cup sat in front of him, reminding himself that he was doing this because he cared for his sister. And also that none of his brothers were around to take pictures to use as blackmail.
“Yes please, Lady Marinette.” He says, pushing the cup slightly closer so that she wouldn’t accidentally spill tea…again. She grins, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she attempts to pour the tea. Damian resists the urge to just take the pot from her and do it himself. It would certainly lead to fewer spills. He watches carefully, ready to grab the pot in case it starts to slip from her grip. Instead, he is slightly impressed with her. Not a single drop had been spilled this time around. Picking up the cup, he takes a small sip, remembering (thanks to the pointed glare from the seven year old in front of him) to stick out his pinky.
“Well?” She says, raising an eyebrow. Damian nods.
“The tea is quite excellent.” He says. She grins, then leans forward.
“I helped Alfie make it! He let me put the water in the kettle.” She whispers. Damian gives her a small smile.
“Very good job.” He whispers back. Her smile falters slightly and he frowns. Had he done something wrong? He was still rather new to being the older brother.
“I still don’t know what to call him.” She says, her bottom lip quivering slightly.
“Father?” He asks. She nods. Damian exhales slowly. This was not a conversation he felt equipped to have. Talks such as these were much more Grayson’s expertise. Not his. Before he can suggest leaving to grab Grayson, Marinette starts to cry. Damian falters. He did not handle crying well. Especially crying children. He did not see the point, in most cases. Especially when it was obvious no physical harm had come to the individual.
“I miss my parents.” She says quietly. Damian inhales sharply. The conversation had definitely taken a path that he was not prepared to face. Not at all.
“Marinette-” He starts, but she cuts him off.
“Is it wrong?” She asks, furiously wiping at her tears.
“What?” He asks, not quite understanding.
“That I want him to be my dad too.” She says quietly. Damian frowns and shakes his head.
“Of course not, Marinette.” He says. She nods, then stands up.
“I’m uh, really tired. Can we hang out later?” She asks. Damian nods, and she rushes off. He would definitely need to speak to Grayson about this.
---
A few days after the tea party fiasco, as he was now calling it, Damian was stood in his art room painting a portrait of Titus for Marinette. He had found that Titus was some sort of emotional support for Marinette. So he thought that perhaps a painting of him, for her room, would help her when Titus could not be right next to her. A soft knock on the door makes him sigh.
“Who is it?” He calls, not particularly wanting company.
“Me!” Marinette calls, sounding far happier than she had a few days ago. Damian blinks, glancing at the painting.
“Just a moment.” He says, quickly moving the easel into the corner and turning it around so that she didn’t see it. Once satisfied, he walks over and opens the door gently. He raises an eyebrow at her. She had a small sketchbook in one hand, a box of crayons in the other.
"Dick said this was your art room. I was thinking I could come color with you." She says with a small smile.
"You enjoy art?" He says with a raised eyebrow. He did not remember seeing her with any art tools before. She shrugs, opening her sketchbook.
"I draw dresses. And superhero costumes." She says, holding it out to show him. He takes it from her, smiling softly.
"These are good, Marinette." He says. She grins.
"Thanks! I either wanna be a famous fashion designer like Gabriel Agreste or a designer for superheroes like Edna Mode." Marinette says, bouncing up and down.
"Isn't she from a Disney movie?" Damian asks, the name vaguely familiar. She nods.
"Yeah, but there are real superheroes. So there should be a designer for them." She insists. Damian nods. She made a fair point.
"Those are admirable aspirations." Damian says. Marinette grins.
"Sooooo, can I stay and color?" She asks. Damian nods.
"That would be fine." He says. She grins and climbs onto a seat, plopping her sketchbook onto one of the many tables, tugging out a couple colors. Damian pulls out another canvas to paint something for Grayson. Perhaps he hadn't messed up being a big brother.
***
6- BONDING WITH BRUCE
A couple months after Marinette had moved to Gotham, Bruce was starting to give up. His daughter struggled with what to call him, or say to him in general. Luckily though, she seemed to get along just fine with the boys. And Alfred. And the girls. Maybe there was something wrong with him.
"Master Bruce, I do believe your daughter is in need of assistance.” Alfred says, walking into his study. Bruce raises an eyebrow.
“And she wants my help?” He asks. Alfred nods.
“Indeed sir. It seems Master Tim informed her of the ‘bring your child to work day’ at Wayne Enterprises. Naturally, she assumed that she would be going with you since she doesn’t have school today.” He says. Bruce blinks.
“She wants to go?” He asks. Alfred nods.
“Yes, sir. And she is having, as she put it, a fashion crisis.” Alfred’s lips twitch up slightly. Bruce grins slightly. This was his chance. His chance to finally connect with his daughter. He immediately stands and rushes towards her room, knocking on the already opened door.
“Hey, sweetie. Alfred said-”
“Dad! Thank goodness. I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear! You and Timmy always wear suits, but I don’t have a suit! And I don’t want to disappoint you by not wearing something appropriate so I tried to ask Dami for a suit, but he said I’d have to talk to you about it because he doesn’t know where his old clothes are, and then I asked Dick because he knows everything but then he said that he thought you threw old clothes out or donated them, but I really hope you didn’t and- are you okay?” Marinette stops her rambling, blinking up at him in worry. But Bruce was still caught on what she had called him. It was the first time she’d called him ‘Dad’. And she’d seemed happy to see him. He thinks back to all of the times they’d watched movies together and she’d curled into his side as she fell asleep. Resisting the urge to hit himself in the head (she didn’t hate him, she was still grieving her parents), her words all register at once.
“I have some of Damian’s old suits in a spare closet. But you don’t-” He starts, but she immediately starts talking again.
“Oh, good! I already have a tie picked out. Dick has one that matches my eyes, see!” She holds the tie up right next to her eyes, opening them wide, before sighing. “I don’t think I have any shoes like yours, but Timmy wears his Converse so I’m gonna match him for just that, okay?”
“I-”
“What are you waiting for? We’re going to be late for work! Hurry, Dad, hurry!” She urges him, shoving him out of her room as she rushes around, tugging a brush through her hair. Bruce shakes his head, smiling softly as he goes to find the suit for his daughter.
---
Walking into Wayne Enterprises with Tim on his left and Marinette on his right, Bruce can’t help but smile. She was dressed in one of Damian’s old suits (black with a white collared shirt), Dick’s tie, and her own sparkly pink Converse high tops. Her hair was pulled back into a single ponytail, because she’d seen Babs wear her hair like that at the library and insisted it was ‘super professional’. In short, she was adorable. And it was obvious that the people they passed agreed. They take the elevator to the top floor together, with Marinette pressed as close to Tim as she could get. Apparently, she despised elevators and insisted on either Tim or Dick being right next to her every time the kids went to the mall and used the elevator. Bruce makes a mental note to look into the possibility of adding an escalator to WE since, apparently, she loved those. Stepping out of the elevator, Tim glances at his watch and sighs.
“Okay, Peanut, this is where I leave you. B and I both have meetings, but not together. I’ll see you guys at lunch though, alright?” Tim says, crouching down to be eye level with Marinette. She grins and nods, throwing her arms around him as she gives him a tight hug. Bruce’s heart warms at the sight.
“Bye Timmy!” She calls, waving as he walks away. “Where’re we going Dad?” She asks, grinning. Bruce hadn’t mentioned her calling him Dad, but he could tell that she was more hesitant with it now than she had been when she was rambling earlier. That was fine. He wouldn’t make it a big deal (in front of her), and hopefully she would understand that it was okay. He smiles at her before sighing.
“I’m afraid we have an extremely boring meeting waiting for us. Luckily though, Lucius Fox will be in our meeting. And our conference room has the big whiteboard.” He adds, knowing of her love of drawing. She lights up, then frowns.
“Am I allowed to draw on the board during the meeting?” She asks. He nods.
“Of course you are. I am the boss, after all.” He says. She grins, practically vibrating with excitement.
“Jay showed me videos of different superheroes and I’ve been working on new super suits for them. I’m gonna draw those.” Marinette says, a twinkle in her eye. Bruce smiles softly. It was nice, seeing his daughter so happy and free. It was such a change from when he’d first met her. He was beyond glad that she was adjusting so well. Walking into the conference room, Bruce ignores the huffs from several individuals in there, and instead walks straight to the white board. Several people straighten, obviously thinking he was about to use it to present. Instead, he opens the little drawer on it and pulls a chair next to it.
“The markers and eraser are all in here. You may have to stand on the chair to reach parts of the board, but please be careful.” He crouches down to eye level to talk to Marinette. She nods, seriously before giving him a salute.
“Yes sir, Mr. Boss, sir!” She says, stumbling slightly as she climbs onto the chair. Bruce winces, and decides to sit in the seat closest to her instead of his usual seat at the head of the table. He turns and glances at the others in the room, not missing the wide grin on Lucius’ face.
“Are we waiting on someone, or would you gentlemen like to begin the meeting?” Bruce asks, raising an eyebrow. Lucius snorts, and Bruce glances back, barely able to suppress his own laugh at Marinette’s attempt at copying his face as she glares at the men sitting around the table. One day, her glare may be able to give him a run for his money.
---
At the end of the work day, Bruce wasn’t quite ready for the day to end. The afternoon had been spent with both Tim and Marinette. Sure, there was work, but it was nice spending time with his kids where they weren’t fighting. Either each other or crime. (Not that Marinette knew, because she didn’t. And she wouldn’t. Not for a long time). Sending a quick text to Dick asking him to pick up Jason and Damian, Bruce takes a right from the elevator instead of a left.
“Dad, you’re going the wrong way.” Marinette points out, gently tugging on his sleeve. Bruce smiles softly.
“I actually thought you, Tim and I could go for a small walk. How’s that sound?” He asks. She purses her lips as if to think about it, before she grins and nods.
“Let’s go!” She cheers, grabbing his hand and tugging him along. Tim snorts and Bruce shoots him a half-hearted glare. He just shrugs.
“She’s your kid.” He says with a grin. Bruce sighs, but smiles on the inside. She was his, and though the circumstances weren’t ideal, he loved getting to know her more every day. Gently, Bruce changes Marinette’s direction, frowning slightly as she seemed to understand where they were going. She sped up, practically pulling him behind her as she rushed ahead to the ice cream shop.
“Can we go?” She asks. Bruce nods.
“This was actually where I planned on taking you. The rest of your brothers should arrive soon.” He says. She squeals, jumping up and down.
“I love this place! Dick brought me here and said you used to bring him and then Jay Jay brought me and Tim and said that Dick used to bring him. Oh, and Dick also said he used to bring Damian and Timmy.” She explains, practically shaking with excitement. Bruce blinks. He hadn’t realized that Dick had enjoyed it enough to bring his siblings. Or that it had become a tradition amongst his children. It was…nice.
“Hey Pixie!” Jason calls, walking down the street.
“Jay!” Marinette shouts, rushing forward and jumping into his arms, giving him a big hug. He had been on an out of town mission for the past couple of days. It was the longest she’d been away from any of them since moving to Gotham. Bruce knew he would have to start taking longer missions with the League again, and he dreaded it. He didn’t want her to feel like she was being abandoned. Quickly shoving those thoughts to the side, he winces as Jason tosses her to Dick, who immediately places her on his shoulders.
“Isn’t that-” He starts to say, but Jason just gives him a look.
“She’s fine, B.” He says, rolling his eyes.
“I have asked them to be careful with her Father, but they do not listen. At this point, it is better to just count your losses.” Damian says unamusedly. Bruce sighs, but opens the door, letting his children file in first. Once they all have their ice cream, he manages to convince Marinette to climb down and sit in the booth with the rest of them. Bruce smiles softly at the sight of Dick wiping the ice cream off of Marinette’s nose. Of Jason ruffling Damian’s hair, Damian simply rolling his eyes instead of retaliating. Of Tim sneakily taking pictures of everyone. Bruce quickly takes a picture of all of the kids mid-laugh, promising himself to hang it up as soon as possible. As he takes in the smiling faces of his children, Bruce Wayne feels whole.
