Roy, talking about Marinette to Jason: So, your sister? Is she single?
Jason:
Jason: Do you have a death wish?
Roy: What? No-
Jason: Because if you even think about my sister. I’ll decorate the wall in my apartment that she thinks look to bland with the modern art that I call your brain shot out of your head.
When Marinette finally started to tune back into the world around her, they were upstairs. When she looked around, she realized that it wasn’t late afternoon anymore, but it was early evening. The lights outside the window glowed in the darkness, and a light rain was falling.
Shaking her head, Marinette forced herself to focus on what was going on in the small sitting room of the apartment. Jason was still next to her, and Nona Gina was perched on the side of the chair opposite them.Her parents were sitting on the couch, looking at her in concern. “I…. what did I miss?”
WhatHer father’s laugh made the embarrassed teen look up.“Oh, little flower.” The fondness in his voice led to Marinette looking up. He made a face at her that she returned before the two started to laugh. Her mother elbowed him, before smiling at her.
“Welcome back, dear. Don’t worry, there weren’t too many stories making their rounds.” The girl flushed before turning back to her brother.
“what did you- “
“Don’t worry, Chrys. I didn’t tell them any of the good stories. I just filled them in. It’s not every day that a strange guy comes in and starts hugging their kid.” She scowled at him before nodding.
“ok.”
“Marinette, why didn’t you ever tell us about Jason? If we had known…” The siblings cringed.
“I… um.” Jason snorted as he glanced at her.
“Tom, do you remember how we were talking earlier? Systems weren’t to be trusted.” Marinette nodded, staring at her feet.
“I didn’t think you would care, at first. No one else had. Then, I had been here for too long, and I didn’t know how to explain why I didn’t say anything. And then, then Jason…” Understanding flashed over her brother’s face. When she glanced around the room, she saw her parents looking at her, sadness obvious in their eyes. But not disappointment. Good. As she look around the room, her brother’s eye caught her own. Even with 11 years of separation, he was able to read the mischief in her eyes. He smirked at her, and Marinette mirrored his grin.
“Marinetta…” Apparently, her grandmother knew what she was thinking as well.
“Nona?” although her tone was innocent, it was clear that she knew exactly what her grandmother was thinking. Her father narrowed his eyes. “I wasn’t going to do anything!”
Jason snorted and bumped her shoulder with his own. “Hey kid, she’s got you there.” the teen huffed as everyone around her laughed again, and finally, the tension broke in the room. As they sat there, her Papa looked over at her, and Marinette froze.
“Papa-”
“So! Jason! Do you have any stories of little Marinette? What kind of trouble did the little flower get into?” Her Nona light up as she realized what Tom was asking.
“Yes! Bambino! Tell us, what trouble did little Marinetta create?” Jason grinned, and Marinette’s eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do.
“well, one time, Marinette tried to sneak on a plane.” Her father choked and whipped around to look at her, Maman narrowed her eyes, and Nona cackled.
“I’m sorry what?” Ah, her papa was the one to finally respond.
“Marinette!”
“HAHA! I knew you had it in you, Marinetta!”
“Jason! Did you have to tell them?” He smiled at her,
“Well, did you expect me to do anything else?” Marinette huffed.
“Nona, how do you know Jason?” her brother shot her an evil eye, obviously keyed into what she was doing.
“no, no, let's go back.” Her papa broke in before Nona Gina could start explaining. “HOW did you sneak on a plane?” Marinette groaned. Her brother laughed as she turned bright red.
“What do you know about airport security?”
“in the United States, isn’t pretty standard?”
“well…yes. But, not in Gotham.” Marinette snorted while Jason tried to explain the Gotham City airport.
“Papa, the Gotham City Airport was shut down 10 years ago. The security protocols there were absolutely horrible. They couldn’t handle normal criminals, not to mention the rouges. I was dared to sneak on the plane. The security is a joke.” The three non-Gothamites gaped. Marinette shrugged at their shock. Finally, her papa shook his head.
“Mari…where did you even LEARN this?”
“Papa, you have to remember how tame Paris is compared to Gotham. I don’t have the need for many of the skills I picked up while I was a kid. Plus,” here the girl sent her brother a side glare again. “I felt safe here.”
“wait, go back. What happened when you tried to sneak on the plane? Did you get caught, Marinetta?” the siblings shared a look.
“there was a Joker attack. I knew better than to get in the way. I took advantage of it, got the proof I needed, and left.”
“what you needed? For what?”
“oh, you know, I had a bet that I needed to win. I got the proof I needed to prove that I got on the Jet and left.” Jason paused suddenly.
“wait. Did you say Jet?” Marinette sniggered. She had never told her brother exactly WHOSE plane she had snuck onto. She shrugged nonchalantly and grinned.
“Yup! Eddie
wanted to see if I could get on Bruce Wayne’s private jet. I figured he wouldn’t miss something if I took something small.” Jason gapped.
“holy shit Chrys.
“what?”
“when he adopted me, Bruce was still holding that grudge.” Both Marinette and here Nona bust out laughing, while her Papa looked horrified.
“Marinette…you. You. You stole from Bruce Wayne?”
“I mean, no? I don’t think that he owns the jet?” Jason snorted.
“oh he does. If it makes you feel better, Chrys, he tried to adopt you. You were just…too good.” The duo traded smiles through the din of the conversation that the five had fallen into. As Jason and Marinette caught up and Gina explained in detail how she met Jason time flew by. Marinette glanced outside, before blinking in surprise before an alarm went off on both Marinette’s and her Maman’s phone.
“Oh! It’s time for dinner!” her Maman turned to her. “I know that today has been a lot but are you still willing to help with dinner?” the girl smiled and bounced up from where she was sitting with her brother.
“of course!”
The two women moved to the kitchen, moving in a rhythm that spoke to how often they spent time together in the room. As they worked, they quietly worked through what had happened over the last few days.
“are you sure that you are alright, Marinette? I know that when you joined us, it was hard on you. I understand if you…if you..” the girl set down the mixing bowl that she had been cleaning to walk across the kitchen and give her mother a hug.
“yes, today has been hectic. Our lives are crazy as it is, and they will be until Hawkmoth is defeated. But I love it here. I love you; I love Papa. I love our crazy eclectic family.” By this point, Sabine had wrapped her hands, still covered in flour, around her daughter's waist. She smiled as the girl continued. “I may have grown up on the streets of Gotham, but I became the person I am because the two of you took your time and cared. You and Papa have taken the success of the bakery, and instead of opening another location, you opened your hearts. You may not be my biological mother, but I don’t need you to be.” Her Maman pulled back to look at her, a smile on her face as she looked at the girl who she had claimed as her daughter.
“oh, Huā, I, you” the small girl simply hugged her mother tighter.
“I don’t need family that I share genetics with. I have all the family I need right here, right now.”
“even if now, you know that you could have been adopted by Bruce Wayne?” the girl snorted.
“Maman, Bruce Wayne let Jason almost get himself killed. I think I am much better off here in Paris.” Both women laughed at that before her Maman looked at her again.
“how do you know that Jason almost died? He told us earlier, but you weren't exactly…”
“Oh!” the teen’s face turned bright red. “I kept an eye on Jason. I have an ongoing hack of the GCPD.” Sabine froze before snapping up to gape at her.
“YOU WHAT.” The look of shock on her face made the girl giggle.
“I figured that if he was getting into trouble I would be able to see what was going on better that way. Of course, there is that other hacker…they keep pushing me out. But it's fine. Whoever they are, they are always a step behind.”
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” the girl smiled innocently. “I am disappointed in you! If you had asked me, I could have helped!” the two laughed together as they separated and moved back to their respective tasks. Marinette hummed, as she moved from the sink to where she has set up.
“They need a new hacker in Gotham. I’ve been hacking whoever it is since I was 8. It’s been back and forth, back and forth. I would love to meet them someday. That hacker, they go by Oracle from what I can tell, has taught me more about hacking than anyone else.” Sabine smiled at her daughter as she rambled on about the hacker.
“Marinette does that mean that you were doing this since before you came to live with us?” the girl flushed.
“I…yes Maman. When I lived in Gotham, there was a girl who spent almost as much time in the library as I did. Before she got a job there, she would teach me how to do all sorts of crazy stuff on the computer. Once…once she told me that if I knew how to work a computer, how to make it sing, that I would always have a way to support myself. She got a job there, at the library, right before everything happened. I hope she’s doing well. I liked Miss. Barbra.” Her Maman chuckled.
“you don’t keep an eye on her?” the teen shrugged.
“I don’t remember her last name. I do know that if I ever meet her again, I want to give her the best hug in the world. She was…she was the angel I needed.” Marinette smiled, as she began to plate dinner, her Maman passing her food to add as they worked.
Soon the two women were moving all the food to the table and calling the others to join them. While Sabine directed the three into seats and gathered drinks, Marinette rose to gather the plates needed for the group. Once everyone was sitting, Nona Gina began asking more about the stunts that Marinette had pulled when she was younger.
“now, Jason, tell me. What else did my little Marinetta do? There must be more stories where the first came from.” The teen blushed while Jason snorted.
“oh, there definitely are Gina. Did you know that she pissed off the bats enough that Robin was scared of her?” all four adults turned to look at the small girl who was hiding in her food and imitating a tomato.
“How exactly did she do that?” her papa was looking at Marinette in shock. As far as he knew, his little girl was a friendly little thing who was insanely smart and had a love for gymnastics.
“The Bats are just wimps,” the girl started. She smiled to herself, as she thought about the vigilantes that had inspired the code she used as Apate. “We’ve been over this.” Her Nona shook her head.
“Marinetta, why was Robin scared of you?” the girl groaned and buried her head in her arms.
“I…may have tricked him into thinking I was a magic-user. It was a DARE! How was I supposed to say no?” Jason laughed at her plight.
“The kid started loudly calling Robin names and when he came to stop her I beat him in a fight. He thought he was fighting a specter.” The older woman studied Jason with a knowing look that confused Marinette. “it is one of the proudest moments of my childhood.” Here, Jason grimaced. Mariette knew that whatever had gone through his mind was something that she would have to pry out of her brother later. “although it’s always a good day when you can mess with the Bats.” When Jason said that Sabine’s face lit up.
“Marinette. I do wish you had mentioned your brother to us. It’s truly a waste that Bruce Wayne got him instead. We would have had so much fun.” When Jason glanced at her, confused, the teen burst out laughing.
“Jason don’t worry too much. Maman just likes to scare people.” As she said it, all three of the bakery’s residents worked to keep the knowledge off their faces. (Although Sabine herself was a wonderful person, her family had ties to the Mob in China. Very strong ties. Sabine herself could be considered a one-woman army. She had moved to France to earn a degree in Paris while setting up operations, fallen in love, and never left. Dupain men had a thing for strong women.) “it’s really Nona’s friends that we have to keep an eye on. Now at least she keeps them out of Paris.” The teen held back a small victory cheer, as her brother’s attention was diverted from her mother. The two traded small smiles as he tore into her Nona about not protecting herself, and therefore her family, when she was traveling. As he was wrapping up, Sabine turned to Marinette.
“Mari, darling. Are you sure we can’t keep him.” the joke was clear in her voice. As the family laughed, Jason looked between them, confused.
“no, Maman. Jason had other things he has to do. He can’t be the new and improved muscle for the bakery.” Her Papa’s offended “hey!” could be heard in the background. “Besides, Jason was the one to teach me to avoid CPS and the GCPD. Everything I know? He knows better. He would be able to escape your clutches before the end of the day.” Sabine made a face at her, and the teen made a face right back. “plus, I bet the only reason Mr. Wayne adopted Jason in the first place was that he did something very stupid..” The older woman huffed from her place across the table. As Jason watched the two, he cleared his throat.
“I…am right here? And... Hey, wait! What do you mean something very stupid?!” the rest of them laughed as Jason looked around in offense. Marinette raised an eyebrow.
“was I wrong?”
“well, no! But-”
“Then don’t complain, brother. I know you. No matter how long we’ve been separated.” Tom laughed at her response.
“well, I’m glad that we have you as our daughter, Marinette. Even if you could have been the
daughter of the likes of Bruce Wayne. You are the greatest blessing in your Mother’s and my life.” The girl ducked her head as she smiled at her father in return.
“I love you too, Papa.”
A/N hey! what do we think? the sibling reunion is almost complete! see ya soon!
At dinner, Gina regaled them with stories of her adventures with Jason. When Tom expressed his surprise at some of the things Jason had tagged along on the Gotamite laughed.
“you do know the only reason Bruce got me was because I was caught stealing the tires off the Batmobile, right?” Marinette choked, snapping to lock eyes with her mother.
“I told you he did something stupid.” The woman laughed in agreement, while Tom studied the young man in front of him.
“who did you say adopted you Bruce Something?” Jason rolled his eyes.
“Bruce Wayne. Gotham’s resident billionaire, and the collector of lost children.” Marinette narrowed her eyes.
“This wouldn’t be the same Bruce Wayne that the entirety of the media has decided I’m either dating the son of or am the newest child of, would it?” Jason laughed.
“yup defiantly the same Bruce. To be fair, he’s been on a quiet kick with the adopting thing. We think he’s planning something. And, in my defense, the only reason I knew what was going on was Tim came into my apartment simmering in anger that the press was stalking him again[Jd1] .” He paused, “oh and I went to pick up one of the tabloids so that I could immortalize his shame and was met with your face.” Here he turned to Marinette. “if they hadn’t run that story, I may never have seen you again.” The watery smile that he was met with made him smile. Gina spluttered.
“Bambino! Do you really think I would have let you go without meeting my family! Honestly!” Marinette giggled, while her mother rolled her eyes.
“let’s go back to the Batmobile for a moment. What were you going to do, just leave a note after taking the tires? Write a quick thanks and leave?” Sabine’s humor quickly lightened the atmosphere as everyone laughed.
“no, actually. I was going to leave a red chrysanthemum.” Jason’s response made Marinette break into giggles.
“you were going to leave my sign? Jason!” the rest of the table looked around, clearly lost. Taking pity on them, Marinette went on to explain. “the red chrysanthemum is my favorite flower. It’s also one that we were able to get ahold of easily in Gotham. Jason always called me his Chrysanthemum because it means hope. He called my Chrys when we were with other kids so that I was harder to track. He literally called me his hope for years. It’s also why,” here she looked her grandmother dead in the eye, “they are the symbol for my brand.” The older woman tossed her head back in a laugh.
“Only you, Marinetta. Only you.” Here, her Nona focused her attention to Jason. “although I’m surprised I didn’t put it together sooner. After all, that is Jason’s favorite flower.” The young adult turned red. “he even has it on his keychain.”
The entire family all turned to smile at Jason.
After dinner, Jason and His sister climbed the ladder to the attic. Jason glanced around as his sister closed the trap door. The grey walls were covered with pictures of who he assumed were her friends. There were designs interspersed, and above the desk, a corkboard was filled with designs. A dress form was next to the desk, a grey dress pinned onto it, partially done. A chaise lounge and a collection of bean bags were over in the corner, and there were lights strung along the walls. His sister moved to lean against a ladder that led to a loft.
Now that they weren’t with the others, Jason could see her mask slipping. Tears started to tumble down her cheeks again, and Jason strode over to the small girl. “I gotcha. I’m here.” His sister clutched his jacket and buried her face in his shirt. Jason simply held his sister as she cried once again. Eventually, she looked up at him, her blue eyes still watery.
“Can we go to the balcony? I…” he squeezed her shoulders.“of course. You lead, and I will follow you. Anywhere.” A small smile was sent over his sister’s shoulder at that, and the girl climbed up the ladder. At the top, she fiddled with something in the roof. Then, there was a shift, and a small hatch above her bed flipped open. She lifted herself out of the hatch and gestured for Jason to follow.
When he poked his head out onto the roof, Jason was met with a sea of lights and the city around them. A moment later, he was leaning against the rail, while his sister curled up on the lounge chair. “I’m sorry.” Jason’s head whipped around to look at her, shocked.
“Why are you sorry, sis? You have nothing to be sorry for.” The small girl shook her head, staring out over the city.
“I…I left you though. I should have tried more to get back. I should have-”
“No. hey, kid.” she continued to stare over the city, fear obvious on her face. It hit Jason like a truck, as he studied her. His sister was scared that he would blame her. She was scared that he would leave her. She was resigning herself to taking the blame for a situation that she had no control. “you were FIVE. You couldn’t control what happened. Hell, even when I was older, I wasn’t able to do anything.” Jason pushed off the railing and squatted in front of his sister. “we were given the short end of the of the fucking stick as kids. Our lives are a mess, but in the end…” the small girl shook her head, blue meeting blue as they locked eyes.
“but…Jason. I don’t. I don’t deserve this. I-I’m just me. I just have…I’ve been given chances and opportunities. But I-” Jason reached out and laid a hand over her clenched hands. She looked down in surprise before releasing her hold on her hands.
“you have always been smart, creative, and kind. Life dealt you a shitty hand, and you have blossomed under the care of Tom and Sabine. You are becoming a strong, beautiful, talented young woman.” She narrowed her eyes, objection clear on her face, when Jason shook his head. “don’t think I didn’t notice the designs in your room. Those aren’t amateur.” His sister shook her head.
“but I left you. I left you and you were all alone. And I know that there’s a police report with your death on it! It was later revised, but it was there! for years. And- and- you were hurt. And I know that if you know Nona, then you weren’t safe when you two met. And it’s all my fault because I wasn’t there.”
Guilt hit Jason like a brick, settling in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His sister blamed herself for something that she shouldn’t even know about.
“how did you know about that?” his sister’s hands started to shake, and she gripped her forearms.
“Are you mad?”
“no…sis, I…that file is buried deep in the GCPD database. The only person who can really access it are the bats. Bruce asked them to literally burry that information.”
“I hacked the GCPD years ago. I wanted to know if you got brought in. And then…one day, that…that file came up. It was horrible. I didn’t tell anyone what happened, and when they asked me later…I just told them that you were dead. I didn’t…didn’t explain.” Jason wrapped his sister in a hug and held her tight.
“you hacked the GCPD?” she tensed.“yes. I promise I-”
“that’s fucking badass, kid. I have a friend who hacks, all the time. She would probably love to see what you’ve done.” She glanced up, surprised.
“really?”
“of course.” She smiled and fidgeted happily for a minute. Then, the smile slid off her face, and she stared down at her hands.
“it’ll never happen though.”
“what? Why do you say that?”
“you hate me.” Jason jolted, staring down at his sister.
“what.”
“you hate me.”
“yeah no. I heard ya, kid. I just don’t know where the fuck you are getting this idea from.”
“Jason. You won’t even say my name! downstairs you did, but now…you won’t even say my name.”
“fucking hell kid. I- that’s not- that is not- of course I don’t hate you.” She snorted her disbelief obvious on her face.
“you don’t have to pretend Jason. There’s only the two of us up here. You don’t need to spare my feelings.”
“no, kid. You don’t- That’s not it. I just…you. Your name changed. I didn’t want to…it’s your name, whichever you choose but. I- I don’t want …I don’t want to call you Chrys if you don’t feel comfortable with it anymore. I don’t want to call you Marinette if that’s not who you are. I just-”
“oh” suddenly, Jason was knocked backward, his arms suddenly full of his sister. “I didn’t. I. thank you.” He held her close, and stayed there, knocked back on his ass, his sister in his arms, and the Paris skyline surrounding them.
His sister shifted eventually, turning her blue eyes on him. “I don’t care what you call me. As long as you don’t leave.” Jason smiled, relief flooding his system.
“never. Never again. I promise.” She smiled and leaned against him. the siblings stayed in their hug, blocking out the outside world for just one more minute. Eventually, Jason could hear Sabine call for them down below. Resignedly, he separated himself from his little sister. As they approached the trap door to return to the house, she turned to him and smiled;
“I do like the name Marinette. It’s given me a new start.” Jason smiled at her.
“of course, M. I think it’s a very pretty name too.”
His sister, Marinette, lit up.
A/N hey! how are we? questions? comments? concerns?
we are catching up with my AO3, so updates may not be as long soon. if you've read the companion pieces, do they make sense with the story?
a rewrite, but expanded. this is the first section. I'm going to try to catch this up with my AO3, so if you head over there, it's up to speed.
my AO3
Marinette was running late to school when she met him. She ran into the boy and stumbled back, flailing to catch herself before she fell. He looked down at her owlishly, before looking around. By the time he had returned his gaze to her, the teen had pulled herself back together. He smiled and nodded at her, before moving to go around. When Marinette had pulled herself together enough to call a short “Sorry!”, He was already gone.
That was three weeks ago. Now, she was looking at a picture of their interaction where it glared at her on the front page of the newspaper that Jagged had sent her.
When Marinette had received the package, she had been confused. Jagged wasn’t supposed to send her another demo for a few weeks. They were still working on singles. When she had opened the box and found five different American publications with her on their front page, the teen designer had shrieked. With shaking hands, she had picked up the top one and studied the headline.
HAS BRUCE WAYNE’S WARD FOUND PARISIAN LOVE?
The bold text was catching, sure, but Marinette was caught on WHO it was placing her with. Someone she had never met. The second one had a picture of her next to Jagged at an event, and a picture of the boy next to a blonde girl. The headline wasn’t much better than the first.
TIMELINE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MDC AND THE HEIR TO WAYNE ENERPRISES.
The teen snorted. She was starting to see the pattern. Putting the tabloid down the girl moved onto the next one. This one had, once again, a zoomed in picture of the five second interaction between her and a stranger. The title, however, was different than the first two.
ALL OF BRUCE WAYNE’S CHILDREN, AND THE INSIDE SCOOP ON HIS NEWEST DAUGHTER
She squinted, laughter bubbling up a little as she observed the piece of fiction. Whoever the Bruce Wayne was, Marinette hopped that he was able to combat this, because she had no intention of letting this fly.
As she stood there, trying to hold back laughter at the absurdity of the headlines, the teen pulled out her phone and started an email to her lawyers. Sure, usually they would spend time helping her with contracts and NDAs, but they had encountered slander before. The last time, it had ended with Lila Rossi paying her quite a bit of money. This time, she was sure that her team would be able to go even further. After all, Lila was small potatoes compared to these tabloid companies, and although her pseudonym was well known, Marinette was a minor.
Just as she sent off the email, the young designer could hear her parents emerging from the bakery below.
Tim and Bruce were staring at the pile of papers in surprise. When Jared had reached out to them in a mild panic, they had been confused. His panic had been explained when the rocker had arrived carrying a stack of tabloid literature a foot thick.
When he had thunk’d the stack down on Bruce’s desk, the businessman’s shock had been more than notable. When Tim had picked up the first few publications the initial look on his face was mirth, but it quickly morphed into shock, then panic. When he handed the top item to Bruce, the older man frowned. When the second pamphlet made its way to his hands, Bruce paused. His next move was to call the Wayne family lawyers. When he turned back to his old friend, all the faces in the room told the same grim tale of what was to come.
When Tim found out that it was Jared’s niece that he had accidentally run into in the brief moment in Paris, he wasn’t sure whether he should be more stressed by it, or if it was by pure luck. When Bruce’s friend went on to explain that the girl would probably already suing the reporters and papers that had published the rumor, the young CEO was impressed. To have a lawyer on hand like that was…surprising, considering that she couldn’t be older than 18.
When he asked the rocker if he thought the girl would let anyone go after her, he laughed. Then, Jared Stone explained that the girl was known in Paris for squishing rumors with surprising efficiency.
That evening, Bruce invited his childhood friend home for dinner, and the star spent the evening telling stories of their capers as children, with Alfred grimacing in agreement with the stories. Partway through dinner, Jared’s phone went off. While the rest of the family tensed, glancing to Alfred, their guest frowned at his phone before rushing to answer. “Hey Little Rocker! How’s Pari- oh. So, Penny was more efficient then I thought she’d be. I- yes I figured that you may want to hear. Do- No! Marinette, what!” here, the man paused, his head cocked to the side, his eyes screwed up in thought. “No luv! Sue them within an inch of their lives! You more than have that right.” Here, the rocker paused before he laughed. “Tell that buzzing bee of yours that she’s a good friend. Alright, Miss Mari. I’ll ring you when I’m back on that side of the Atlantic.” He laughed again, “See you soon, Marinette.” The table stayed quiet, waiting for the man to give an indication on the status of the conversation. “Well, Brucie, expect to hear from my niece in the next few day, or at least, her team of lawyers.” the Wayne patriarch blinked before nodding in hidden surprise.
When the family was talking during patrol that evening, Red Robin grumbled. “I don’t see why we need to continue to talk about this. The press are vultures. Done.” Oracle laughed at him over the coms.
“Red, we love you. We do. But the situations you get yourself in are ridiculous. Your turning into B.”
“O, I hate you all. I really do.”
“No, you don’t.”
“How about we get back on track,” called Spoiler. “I want to hear, from the beginning, what exactly happened.”
“Spoiler, you just want to watch me tell the tale in all its horribleness” across the roof tops, Spoiler turned to Red Robin and smirked.
“You know it, Red.”
“fuck you, Spoiler.”
“hmmmm, no”
“wait what?” Red Hood’s voice broke through the channel. “what did the bird boy do this time?” Red Robin huffed as he used his grapple to move to the next rooftop.
“I’m not telling this again, Hood. Ask B.” Hood snickered over the line.
“aww. Little Red. Did you get into trouble?”
“Hood, can you NOT?” Red Robin landed closer to Spoiler, who was looking over the ledge, watching a collection of teens circle each other.
“O?” Spoiler called, interrupting the banter between the other vigilantes, “can you check into the area near Red and I? I think we have an issue.” Red Robin sighed in relief as his family dropped the topic, although he knew he wouldn’t live it down for quite a while.
Jason cradled his little sister. The small girl was trembling. The couple that she had been working behind the counter with were giving him concerned glances, and Gina was fulling staring at him in surprise. He steadied himself, before clutching her even tighter. It had been years, but he would know those eyes anywhere. He glanced down at the small girl and was met with the far too familiar sight the sight of Chrys clinging to him, hiding her face in his clothes while trying to not cry. With hesitant hands, he began to rub her back. She let out a small, involuntary, sob and clung tighter to his jacket.
The woman who had also been working behind the counter was frowning at him. “how the hell do you know my daughter, young man?” Jason hesitated before answering quietly, “we grew up together. Before…before.” Gina’s eyes narrowed as she registered what Jason trying to say.
“But, Jason, Bambino. You said that your little sister was dead.” He glanced down at her again. Sometime during their conversation, the teen had given up and started to actually cry.
“that’s because as far as I was aware, she was dead.” The woman’s sharp eyes narrowed at him across the counter.
“what” Jason tensed before looking down at his little sister and meeting her wide blue eyes.
“Look, do you have somewhere we can talk?” when his sister shot him a dazed, confused glance he smiled down at her before responding in a whisper. “I’ll take care of it, Chrys”
The small woman nodded and led them past the counter and to a door. Once in there, she opened another door and led them over to a stairwell. Gina began climbing while the man stayed down, and supposedly (?) close the bakery. He didn’t just get the new girl, Kiera, back and tell her that they had a family thing and will be back asap.
Jason guided his little sister up the stairs, her small steps clearly proving that she wasn’t aware of what was going on. Her hand clutched his jacket again, before the young adult simply picked the girl up, and carried her up.
The man that followed the rest up gave him an appraising glance at his action. “so young man,” he began, “why don’t you start explaining how you know my daughter.” Jason winced, before looking down at his sister.
“Chrys and I met when we were little. What do you know about her background? I don’t want to talk about things that she doesn’t want you to know.” Gina pursed her lips at his response.
“Jason, it’s ok to tell them anything. Tom and Sabine, they just want what’s best for Marinetta” Jason considered her words and nodded at his mentor while the other woman, Sabine, narrowed her eyes at him.
“Why do you call my daughter Chrys? That has never been a name she has used here.” He snorted at her question before shaking his head.
“It’s short for Chrysanthemum.” A gasp could be heard from where Gina was sitting off to the side. “I called her that when we were younger. When,” here Jason hesitated, before glancing over at Gina. She gave him a small nod, having connected the name to the stories he had told while they had traveled. “when we were on the streets.” The sharp intake of breath that he heard from Sabine and Tom confirmed his suspicions. Whichever agency that brought her over to France hadn’t known or bothered to include her history in her adoption file. “look, the kid is tough, but when she was small, Chrys didn’t know her birth parents. She ended up in an orphanage and ran away from it. Often. By the time she was four, she spent all of her time on the streets. Neither of us knew when her birthday was, but I know that she got snatched by the wrong people when I was gone. I tried to find her, but I didn’t have the resources I do now. By the time I got adopted, and could do more, every source in Gotham listed her as dead.” Tom hesitated, before clearing his throat.
“We didn’t adopt Marinette until she was seven. She was so small when we first met her. But as long as she’s been with us, Marinette has always been scrappy. But…she’s so creative and has always acted so happy.” Here, he glanced sideways at Sabine, “at least, until lately. She’s been really stressed recently and shut us out. But even when she was younger, Marinette never talked about…any of that. All we knew was that she was from a troubled home in the United States, and she needed a new start. When she was first with us, Marinette was really scared. We thought that there was an abusive home in her past. But she never…she never mentioned it.”
Jason frowned at the description of his sister. Yes, the kid had always been creative, and so smart. She hadn’t trusted strangers easily. That was because she had spent time on the streets. Everyone knew that if you spoke to the wrong person, you would go missing. The problem lay in what her adopted parents weren’t saying.
Jason knew the kid too well, and he knew that although she was way too smart brilliant and scrappy, the real danger lay in the scathing sarcasm the small girl had learned to weaponize. She had been one of the snarkiest kids in Gotham when they were little. Although that portion of her personality may have faded, it shouldn’t have disappeared. Something happened to his little sister, and he needed to know what.
“When you adopted her, how, what-”
“She tried to get back to Gotham.” Jason’s head whipped up.“what.”
“When we first adopted her, Marinette tried to run away. We think that’s why she was sent to us. Before, there were files of three other families that tried to adopt her. All three of them had trouble with her trying to run away.” Jason nodded as he processed what the couple were telling him. His sister tried to run away. Tried to come home. She hadn’t forgotten him.
Sabine gave him a sad smile. “Jason, right?” he nodded. “did something happen six years ago? We came to an agreement. To keep Marinette here. We let her watch the news from Gotham. She was always on the Gotham Gazette and watched the news channel there. Something happened, and we can’t figure it out. we can’t find anything that would have stood out from that time, but Marinette shut down. She wouldn’t come out of her room for a week. After, well,” Tom laid his hand onto of Sabine’s. The duo were wearing the same look of concern and confusion.
“she refused to look at anything about Gotham. If we even mentioned the city, she would leave the room.” Jason took a shaky breath. He had hoped that she wouldn’t pay attention to what was going on in the city. He did the math squinting slightly. Fuck.
“six years ago, I was kidnapped by the Joker.” The couple froze, and Gina snapped to look at him. “there was an explosion in Ethiopia, and I was presumed dead.” All three of the people listening to him were staring, wide-eyed. “I spent a year in a coma. One of Bruce’s exes, a very malicious one, ended up taking care of me after. Bruce didn’t know I was alive.” Jason focused on his hands in an effort to keep his composure. “Gina found me after I ran away from Talia, actually. We got separated, and I went back to Gotham.” Gina was staring at him, her eyes narrowed.
“Jason, Bambino. When I found you, we were in the middle of a desert. In the middle east. You were starving.” The look on Gina’s face was full of concern. “you mean to tell me that you were in that state while living with your father's ex?” Jason cringed. He had forgotten that Gina had wanted to hunt down Talia when she had found him.
“Gina, Talia is a bitch. I hated her, Dick hated her, everyone hated her. She wanted one thing, and she was going to kid it. You haven’t met him, but her kid has had to deal with her machinations for his entire life. No, she isn’t a nice person. She sure as hell isn’t a good person. Yes, she saved my life, but she isn’t worth the effort to respond to.” The elder biker narrowed her eyes before nodding.
“fine. But! If you ever change your mind…”
“no! Gina. I am not hunting her down.” The woman nodded. Before the four could continue, Marinette shifted, and reached up to rub her eyes. “I…. what did I miss?”
A/N hey! so...a few notes. Jason and Mari are Bio Siblings. HOWEVER. they are only half-siblings. and because of that, the poor woman who Willis Todd got pregnant gave her up for adoption in hopes to give her kid a life that wasn't hell. was it a slim chance? yes. did it work? eventually. Jason at this time does not know that M is his half-sibling. if she takes a DNA test though...
ok, so. a little disclaimer before we get into the good stuff. Cannon is in no way whatsoever being followed in this. honestly? im not even sure that i REMEBER cannon at this point. that said, cannon is non applicable. at. all.
moving on. YES, i WILL finish B!DBWM stuff eventually. but uh...not today. i just mentally cant. it. will. come. when. my. brain. can. handle. the. world. that. i. had. tailored. for. it.
ALSO this is going to be kinda sporatic, but the goal (not end all be all but) is to have this wrapped in a pretty little package and finished (at least on my end) by the end of february.
and now....onto the stuff you came here for!
---
Marinette was running late to school when she met him. She ran into the boy and stumbled back, flailing to catch herself before she fell. He looked down at her owlishly, before looking around. By the time he had returned his gaze to her, the teen had pulled herself back together. He smiled and nodded at her, before moving to go around. When Marinette had pulled herself together enough to call a short “sorry!”, He was already gone.
That was three weeks ago. Now, she was looking at a picture of their interaction, where it blared on the front page of the newspaper that Jagged had sent her. When Marinette had received the package, she had been confused. Jagged wasn’t supposed to send her another demo for a few weeks. They were still working on singles. When she had opened the box and found five different American publications with her on their front page, the teen designer had shrieked. With shaking hands, she picked up the top one and studied the headline.
HAS BRUCE WAYNE’S WARD FOUND PARISIAN LOVE?
The bold text was catching, sure, but Marinette was caught on WHO it was placing her with. Someone she had never met. The second one had a picture of her next to Jagged at an event, and a picture of the boy next to a blonde girl. The headline wasn’t much better than the first.
TIMELINE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MDC AND THE HEIR TO WAYNE INERPRISES.
The teen snorted. She was starting to see the pattern. Putting the tabloid down the girl moved onto the next one. This one had, once again, a zoomed in picture of the five second interaction between her and a stranger. The title, however, was different than the first two.
ALL OF BRUCE WAYNE’S CHILDREN, AND THE INSIDE SCOOP ON HIS NEWEST DAUGHTER
She squinted, laughter bubbling up a little as she observed the piece of fiction. Whoever the Bruce Wayne was, Marinette hopped that he was able to combat this, because she had no intention of letting this fly.
Tim and Bruce were staring at the pile of papers in mild shock. When Jared had reached out to them in mild panic, they had been confused. His panic had been explained when the rocker had arrived carrying a stack of tabloid literature a foot thick. When he had thunk’d the stack down on Bruce’s desk, the businessman’s shock had been more than notable. When Tim had picked up the first few publications the initial look on his face was mirth, but it quickly morphed into shock, then panic. When he handed the top item to Bruce, the older man frowned. When the second pamphlet made its way to his hands, Bruce paused. His next move was to call the Wayne family lawyers. when he turned back to his old friend, all the faces in the room told the same grim tale of what was to come.
When Tim found out that it was Jared’s niece that he had accidentally run into in the brief moment in Paris, he wasn’t sure whether he should be more stressed by it, or if it was by pure luck. When Bruce’s friend went on to explain that the girl would probably already suing the reports and papers that had published the rumor, the young CEO was impressed. To have a lawyer on hand like that was…surprising, considering that she couldn’t be older than 18.
When he asked the rocker if he thought the girl would let anyone go after her, he laughed. Then, Jared Stone explained that the girl was known in Paris for squishing rumors with surprising efficiency.
That evening, Bruce invited his childhood friend home for dinner, and the star spent the evening telling stories of their capers as children, with Alfred grimacing in agreement with the stories. Partway through dinner, Jared’s phone went off. While the rest of the family tensed, glancing to Alfred, their guest frowned at his phone before rushing to answering. “Hey Little Rocker! How’s Pari- oh. So, Penny was more efficient then I thought she’d be. I- yes I figured that you may want to hear. Do- No! Marinette, what!” here, the man paused, his head cocked to the side, his eyes screwed up in thought. “No luv! Sue them within an inch of their lives! You more then have that right.” Here, the rocker paused before he laughed. “Tell that buzzing bee of yours that she’s a good friend. Alright, Miss Mari. I’ll ring you when I’m back on that side of the Atlantic.” He laughed again, “See you soon, Marinette.” The table stayed quiet, waiting for the man to give an indication on the status of the conversation. “Well, Brucie, expect to hear from my niece in the next few day, or at least, her team of lawyers.” the Wayne patriarch blinked before nodding in hidden surprise.
When the family was talking during patrol that evening, Tim grumbled. The 18-year-old was still taken aback that the press had even seen the momentary interaction almost a month ago. As his brothers listened in, many of them started to make fun of the teen. When Jason tuned in, he dropped in the middle of tale. At his confusion, Tim sighed and started over, again. While the family was laughing over his run-in with the press, the former Robin shook his head and silenced his family. He had a feeling he wouldn’t live this one down for a while.
Originally, Jason had found Tim’s predicament hilarious. Of course, the kid had to have the worst run-ins with the press. Then, he had picked up one of the many tabloids with the story. When he had seen the pictures, all mirth left the resurrected vigilante. The noirette that was looking up at him from the page? Yeah. He knew her. Better than anyone else, actually. With shaking hands, the young man paged to the story. What he found was…illuminating. So. She had been adopted. In France. In Paris. After forcing his lungs to draw breath, Jason pulled out his phone. He had arrangements to make.
The day after Jagged had sent her the gossip rags that were considered journalism, Marinette strode into school with a scowl so ingrained in in her features that anyone who didn’t know her would think the expression was permanent. When she stalked into the Lycée classroom, Chloé grinned at her from where she had settled in the front row. Marinette nodded at her friend as she slid in next to her. Lila came skipping in moments later, a cruel smile playing on her lips, before falling when she saw the bone quaking scowl resting on her nemesis’ face. “oh Marinette! Did something happen? Did…did you anger your parents? Did they find out about all those men?” the other girl huffed before turning to her. Lila froze as she was met with the iciest glare that she had seen in years.
“oh Lila. That’s so cute. It almost sounds like you still think that your little stories affect me at all. That’s…adorable.” The Italian girl shrunk under the younger girl’s stare. Suddenly, she understood why people had been warning her to leave the teen alone. this girl, she was brutal. “lucky for you, you’re not the one I’m after, this time. My lawyers have bigger fish to fry.” The newer addition to the classroom gulped, her throat suddenly very dry. It occurred to her that maybe Marinette had let her take control of the class. After all, if they turn that easily, why would she want them for friends. The smaller girl nodded as she watched the realization run over Lila’s face. Raising her eyebrows, the Eurasian girl motioned her classmate along, sending a cruel smile after her.
Chloé waited until the little liar was gone before giggling at her friend’s reaction to the girl who had become their daily annoyance. “I’m guessing you saw what’s been running in the American news? I thought it wouldn’t take long for you to respond. Are a plethora of lawsuits on the way?” Marinette giggled slightly as her severe demander giving way to the internal glee that was consuming the teen over the sheer chaos that was to come.
When Jason touched down in Paris, he tensed. The atmosphere in the city was less carefree than he remembered. There was an air that actually reminded him of Gotham. Tense. Waiting or the other shoe to drop. The expectation that your day was going to go wrong set from the moment one woke up. Pulling out his phone, the Gotamite looked up the address to the bakery that he had found when digging online. If today went the way he was hoping it would, the bakery would be his only stop for the day. Of course, he didn’t count on Gina.
When she called him over from where she was standing by her bike, Jason had to smile. The woman was part of the reason that he wasn’t still camping out in Gotham, waiting to kill a certain billionaire. Once the spry biker had latched onto his arm, the young man knew that his mission would have to wait just a bit. After all, he owed Gina almost everything he had.