#sibling!timinette

[starwarsmum]

Day 25 is a return to the Sibling Timinette AU! Peace and Joy

@maribat-calendar-events

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Tim stood at the airport, waiting for Marinette to arrive in Gotham. She had made the decision to move across from Paris several months ago and the entire Batfamily had been thrilled. Damian in particular had spent the past months preparing for her arrival.

He straightened up when a rush of people came through the arrivals gate, trying to spot his little sister. She was at the back of the group, lugging a large suitcase and backpack along. She brightened when she saw him, trotting over to him with a huge smile on her face.

“I am so happy to see you! You didn't have to wait long, I hope?” She dropped her bags to hug him tightly, which he returned with enthusiasm. He shook his head and grabbed the suitcase for her, refusing to let her bring it herself.

The drive back to the manor was relaxed, Marinette dozing slightly in the passenger seat. The streets through Gotham were busy, many people hoping to buy not quite last-minute presents for loved ones. There were Christmas decorations everywhere, lights strung in shop windows and a huge tree near Gotham City Hall.

“I'm surprised you wanted to move here so close to Christmas,” Tim remarked, falling in line with the traffic and strumming his fingers on the wheel absentmindedly. Marinette blinked at him, clearly processing things more slowly.

“Yeah, Dami said he wanted to spend Christmas together and I didn't want to force him away from you all for us to do that,” she said at last, eyes blinking slowly. “Maman and Papa were okay with it, they knew I was going to be moving soon anyway. I bought them a cruise so they could have a different kind of Christmas.”

“That was really nice of you, Mari,” Tim said, lapsing into silence as her head lolled forward a little. He drove in peaceful quiet, the radio on low volume and the traffic moving forward at a crawling pace. 

When they arrived at the manor, Marinette seemed to get a jolt of energy. She threw open the car door and raced to the front door, where Damian was waiting. He caught her up, pressing a kiss to her temple as she buried herself in his arms. Tim hid a grin, not wanting them to see that he liked how happy they both were to see each other.

He retrieved her bags from the boot of the car, pulling them to the front door. He strolled back to the car and took a sneaky photo of the pair for the family chat. Damian had pulled back and was looking down at Marinette with a soft look, his hand cupping her cheek. 

Not wanting to see them making out, Tim drove the car to the garage, his phone blowing up with excited and gushing messages.

_ _ _

Marinette was excited. She had slept for an obscenely long time, baked an unreasonable amount and spent almost every other waking moment with Damian. She had already been overjoyed that she was getting to spend extra time with him but, in addition to that, he had been extra affectionate since she arrived. He would link arms with her when they walked together, or pull her into his lap while they watched TV. 

And now, on Christmas eve, he was curled up on a sofa with her. It was around noon and they were planning to have a games night with everyone else so having the time to relax beforehand was wonderful. They were also planning to walk Titus around the grounds together that afternoon.

When the afternoon finally rolled around, Damian seemed slightly tense and Marinette thought she knew why. He had been trying much harder to get along with everyone in the manor, talking with Tim, sparring with Jason regularly, allowing Dick to drag him on ‘fun adventures’. It was why she had insisted they get more time alone together that day, and Damian hadn't argued.

They bundled up before their walk, Damian wearing a green scarf and gloves that Marinette had made for his most recent birthday. Marinette's own gloves were a lovely red that matched her scarf, again ones she made herself.

Walking slowly through the manor grounds, Titus running ahead and then coming back, Marinette didn't know if she could remember a time she had been happier. They stopped in a beautiful, snow filled alcove ringed by trees and bushes. She gazed around, enjoying the chill of the afternoon air whilst her hand was kept warm by Damian's.

“Marinette, we have been together for two years now and I like to think we are happy, correct?” Damian was running his thumb along the back of her hand, almost as though he was worried she would disappear.

“I think that ‘happy’ is an understatement,” Marinette replied, squeezing his hand in reassurance. Titus was straining at the leash and Damian unclipped it, allowing the hound to race after whatever had his interest. 

“I cannot describe what it means to me that you came to live in Gotham. I never anticipated being as…as joyous with another person but with you it has been as easy as breathing.” Marinette heard Titus bounding back to them and turned automatically to ensure she wouldn't be bowled over. 

When she turned back, Damian was kneeling, removing something from his dog's mouth before looking up at her. His eyes were a blazing green, mouth pressed into a tight line briefly before he took a deep breath. Her heart fluttered as he took hold of her hand without standing.

“Marinette, I could spend an eternity with you and it would not feel like enough. You are the only person I have ever felt like this for and I would not change a thing. I know we are young but I also know I want nothing more than to be yours for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”

She felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. She couldn't make a sound, her throat tight with tears that were already spilling but she nodded fervently. The relief and joy in Damian's eyes made her let out a laugh-sob, giddiness making her hands shake as he removed her glove and placed a ring on her finger.

She caught a flash of black and red but she didn't care what the ring looked like right then. She threw her arms around her fiancé and he lifted her, standing fluidly. And then she was too busy kissing him to notice much of anything.

_ _ _

Something was going on with Demon Spawn and Tim's little sister, Jason was sure of it. Marinette had hit new levels of giddy and hyper during games the night before, something Dick had attributed to the festivities. And this morning she had been up without any fuss, coffee in hand and a fresh croissant that told him she had been baking already.

But, much more tellingly, the not-so-little anymore Demon brat hadn't stopped smiling. His face had to be hurting, the kid never did much of anything except scowl. He had even greeted Jason with a friendly ‘Merry Christmas’ which was downright unnerving.

“Christ, what's going on with Damian?” Steph muttered to Jason as she found a seat near to him. He grunted and shrugged, squinting over at the pair of lovebirds again. Marinette was practically in Damian's lap, cocooned in his arms, that smile still on his face.

“Jesus, can you not with the PDA,” Tim grumbled as he slumped into a seat nearer to the tree. But instead of shooting back a snarky remark, Damian merely rolled his eyes and slid Marinette into the seat beside him. Jason was beginning to worry they'd been invaded by pod people.

Alfred soon came in, pushing a trolley full of coffee, mugs, and baked goods. As he was the last to arrive, the chatter started to die out and Dick immediately dove into the pile of presents. He began calling out names and passing them to whoever was closest to pass along.

They were about halfway through the gifts when Cass froze, noticeably enough that Jason looked at her questioningly. She was holding out a gift to Marinette but hadn't let go of it. Instead, she was staring at Marinette's hand like it was going to do something deadly.

Damian snorted when he noticed, muttering something to Marinette that made her flush and giggle. Cass looked at her little brother questioningly, though Jason couldn't work out what the question could possibly be, and received a sharp nod in return.

Relinquishing the gift, Cass stood and launched herself at Damian. He hugged her back, laughter evident in his eyes. The rest of the room was left in confusion, Steph and Jason eyeing the trio warily. 

Cass refused to say anything but her eyes were bright and she seemed to be brimming with excitement. Alfred was also smiling at them all, though he was also keeping tight-lipped. It wasn't until Dick passed a gift to Marinette and gasped aloud before squealing and barreling in to hug the pair that they got answers.

“How- when- where-” Dick couldn't seem to form a full sentence and Jason finally decided to just ask. Dick looked at him like he was going to cry from joy, pointing at Marinette's hand. There, on her left ring finger was a simple ring, a band of silver adorned with rubies and onyx. It wasn't flashy, subtle enough that hardly anyone had realised it was there.

“Holy hell, you proposed?” Jason yelped, completely halting the festivities as everyone stopped what they were doing to join in with his freak out. Tim looked less perturbed than Jason had thought he would be, but that could have been because he was half asleep. “And you said yes, Pix?”

“Of course I said yes,” Marinette giggled, holding her hand out for Dick to examine the ring more closely. “It was the sweetest thing in the world, I cried!”

“I have the video ready to display after Christmas dinner,” Alfred said, pride showing in his voice. Dick gasped and thanked the elderly gentleman profusely.

“I didn't realise you meant you were going to propose as soon as she moved here,” Tim grumbled at last, making everyone look at him with wide eyes. “But congratulations, I guess.”

“You knew he was planning to propose and you didn't tell me?” Dick gasped, betrayed. It devolved into general bickering from there and Jason eyed the newly engaged couple as they sat back on the sofa together. They were wrapped up in each other again, smiling and leaning towards each other.

There were worse things that could have happened for Christmas, and Jason would never admit it but he was happy for the pair.

[raeuberprinzessin]

Lucky against all odds

Sibling!Timinette, Arranged Marriage!Daminette

Even before Tim learned, thanks to Bruce and his family, that the way his parents had treated him had been neglect, there was one thing, he could never forgive them: When he had been 8 years old, before he even figured out the identities of the local vigilantes, he and his little sister Marinette had been kidnapped. 

Only a week prior to that after Marinette had turned three, his parents had decided that he was old enough to take care of himself and his sister and they didn’t need a nanny anymore, only a housekeeper who would come three days a week. 

When they were kidnapped his parents, who had been on a business trip out of the country, decided to only pay the ransom for him and abandoned Marinette, doubting whether she was alive anymore anyway and they wouldn’t pay for a dead child. To the media they made it look as if Marinette just wasn't given back to them. Whenever he showed how angry he still was with them for this, they would put the blame on him, saying he had been responsible for both of them. 

Years later, when he started as Robin, he told Bruce everything and asked him to open up a case for Marinette. He just had to believe that she was still out there. He used software to let old photos of her age virtually to know how she would look years later and he tried to become the best detective he could be, solving cold cases every chance he got, to hone his skills.

Almost a decade after the kidnapping Damian takes a look at Tim's case files on the bat computer, looking for blackmail material or anything he could use to get under his brother's skin for worrying Alfred and Dick. He finds a case Tim is working on regularly but is still unsolved. When he opens it, he recognises Marinette, the girl his mother brought back from a mission one day, who turned out to be bonded irreversibly to a powerful magic his grandfather coveted for the league. Ra’s and the girl had been locked in a psychological war for days until his mother asked him to use what he learned about influencing others to convince the girl, so she would no longer fight the engagement. It took a few visits and during those he got to know her well enough to feel like it wouldn’t be the worst to have her as a comrade. Finally she agreed to the engagement, which was a form of magical bond the league practices that requires some kind of consent from both.

This is why Damian knows she is alive although he is not sure where she is. Believing Tim had found out and was planning to get involved in things that were not his business he confronts him in front of everyone.

After her kidnapping, Marinette had been given to another group of shady characters and another until she ended up at the last base where she found the miracle box and was chosen by the kwami as the rightful guardian of the box full of gods. Usually they cursed anyone who tried to abuse their powers to suffer, but Marinette had just been curious about the pretty box and never wanted the power of it. Part of this was also, because this was the best way to protect themselves as well.

Not even an hour later Marinette had subdued the people who were still keeping her and wanted to leave, to go back to her brother although the tiny girl didn't really remember much about her home, when Talia came in, to confiscate the miracle box. She didn’t want to use it, she just wanted to prevent her enemies from getting their hands on it. But instead of a group of thugs, she found a little girl giving her a rather impressive glare for one so young and holding the box close to her chest with her scrawny arms. Deciding the girl would be a perfect little playmate for her own glaring hellion, she took the girl and the box and brought both back.

Ra’s liked the idea to bind the guardian permanently to the league by having her be engaged to his heir and was half annoyed and half impressed by her resistance. After all, resisting his will for this long meant that she had a strong spirit which would be an asset. To prevent the girl from breaking eventually, Talia asked Damian to convince her to give in as long as her father was still willing to humor her attitude.

Marinette grew to genuinely like Damian the more she got to know him. She had been at another base when Damian had been sent to live with his father for his own safety. To prevent Deathstroke from finding her, her bodyguard Kagami, the youngest of an old line of high class fighters, had hidden her with the help of an old acquaintance of Talia: Gina Dupain. Since then they have hidden in Paris, until one of the two missing miraculous became active and Ladybug and Ryuko decided to get the butterfly back to the box.

It takes a while until the Justice League learns about the situation and as soon as Damian/Robin hears about the two heroes, he knows who they are and he won’t accept not being there to help them. And neither will Tim, after he had a nap and is capable of putting two and two together.

[starwarsmum]

Maribat Mix & Match Monster Mash master post

I Am Not Supposed To Be The Final Girl

Not a Fan of Surprises

Oh Bite Me

Turn the Lights Off

Has Anyone Told You How Creepy You Are?

I'll Kill You Either Way

I'm Hunting Cryptids

[starwarsmum]

Day 30 of Maribat BioFamily September, taking us back to the one that started it all: Sibling!Timinette for the final prompt: Time Out Together

A huge huge huge thank you to @maribat-calendar-events for getting this put together at the last minute, I couldn't have done this without the prompts

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

“That was unbelievably risky,” Bruce said, not shouting but definitely using his disappointed dad voice. Marinette shifted guiltily in her seat and winced when she knocked a bruise. He gave her a pointed look and she pouted and looked off into the distance. “I'm going to have to bench you both for the next week.”

“What?” Tim sounded outraged and Marinette had to agree. “B, come on! It wasn't that big of a deal, and we're fine. You're fine, right M? See, both fine!”

“Red, if you say ‘fine’ one more time, I'm going to shoot you in the leg,” Jason grumbled from the other side of the room. Tim's face contorted as he went to say something in retort but it was lost when Damian barrelled into the cave and practically flew to Marinette's side.

“I'm f- okay,” she said immediately, glancing at Jason who snorted in amusement. Damian ignored her statement and started to check for himself, hands running briskly over each of her limbs before tilting her head towards the lights so he could check her pupils. “Chérie, I'm really okay, I promise. It's not the first time I've fallen off of a roof, I'm sure it won't be the last.”

“That is not a comforting sentiment,” he grumbled, settling a gloved hand on her cheek. She looked down, suitably chastened and he sighed. “I just do not wish to see you hurt when it could be prevented. But I will go and change while father speaks with you both.”

Bruce remained silent as Damian walked briskly away and Marinette felt exhaustion settle over her like a blanket. She could admit that it was a silly thing to do now that she was back in the cave, but at the time it had seemed hilarious. So when Bruce ordered them to talk him through what they had done, she squirmed before relenting.

*Earlier that evening*

“Hey, Multi, how many of you can you make? Like, if you had to do your maximum, what number would you land on?” 

Marinette pondered Tim's question, thinking back not only on her own experience but on the Malediktator fight which had seen the debut of Polymouse. It was a question she hadn't thought to pose before, but instinct was telling her there wasn't a number.

“I don't know, Red, why do you want to know?” 

“Well, it's just that you said you get smaller the more of you that you make, so theoretically you could be atom sized and smaller. I was just wondering what you'd be able to impact at that size,” Tim mused, fiddling with his grappling hook. “But from a more practical viewpoint, do you know how many of you would make you small enough to get into a grappling hook?”

“You know, I've never really thought about it before,” she said honestly, wondering how she had done it with KwamiBuster. “You're gonna hate this, but it's really just intuitive? Like if I think about how big I need to be then I turn into that many, or if I need a specific number I turn into proportionally sized ones.”

“What if you thought about both?” Tim sounded curious but he also sounded like he hadn't slept in a couple of days. To be fair, Marinette had been fairly swamped with university entrance exams and revision so she wasn't entirely sure when she had last slept either. Which was probably what prompted the next ten minutes.

“Huh, you know, that makes sense. The Miraculous tend to let you make up rules as you go, so it's only logical that I could probably turn into two or three really tiny ones. Hm,” she said, concentrating hard for a second before saying “Multitude!” softly.

When it was finished, she was standing with three separate viewpoints. Tim looked huge, peering down at her with a delighted grin on his face. 

“You know, I think we just opened up a whole bunch of prank possibilities.” Tim's tone was excited and Marinette felt herself getting swept up in his enthusiasm. They quickly devised a scheme to pilfer items from the different batclan members that were out that evening.

“We'll have to start with Hood if we don't want him to catch wind of it before we get the chance,” Marinette mused, thinking about the small bag of ammunition that he had been proudly explaining was special earlier that day. “But then we can head over to Wing before Robin.”

Tim nodded, slightly manically and a less tired Marinette probably would have paused to wonder at the likelihood that this would end badly, but current Marinette thought it was an absolutely fabulous idea. 

It went wrong almost immediately. When Marinette landed on Red Hood’s shoulder, he twitched and swatted at her. She ducked and jumped down to his utility belt, which was apparently the wrong move. His other hand, which was holding his gun, swiped at the change in weight and Marinette barely managed to unclip the bag before she was jumping back from his waving hands.

“Aw hell, team, something just swiped an ammo bag from me and is moving fast.” Marinette panicked, her clones coming together in a rush as she raced for the next rooftop. She morphed back into one person as she leapt and heard Hood curse. “I have eyes on them, they might have been invisible or something, but they're heading east.”

The next five minutes was a frantic chase that ended abruptly when she spotted Tim just a second too late. She collided with him and they went tumbling over the edge of the roof. She managed to wrap her skipping rope and was pulling them both into a swing when her transformation dropped.

They fell the last little distance with a shriek and a curse.

*End flashback*

“...but Hood definitely overreacted,” Tim interjected, drawing Bruce's attention away from Marinette. “If he had been less of a paranoid asshat, nobody would have fallen off the roof and we would all be having a laugh about it.”

“I'm not going to fault Red Hood for being correctly suspicious of something strange happening,” Bruce said in a flat tone. Marinette bit down on a hysterical giggle, the exhaustion that she knew was half of the reason behind her behaviour that evening threatening to swamp her. “And I stand by my previous decision: benched. For a week. You can still be on comms - lord knows Oracle could use a break - but no fieldwork for either of you.”

Marinette nodded, accepting the punishment and disappointed looks with tired reluctance. Now that she wasn't trying to run from Red Hood with his pouch of extra ammo, she was veering closer to the edge of oblivion. She could hardly hear whatever Bruce said next, her head lolling forward.

Her forward momentum was arrested by a warm body that immediately swept her up. The familiar scent of her boyfriend’s shower gel made her relax bonelessly against his chest and she didn't remember anything beyond a murmured promise that he had her.

[starwarsmum]

MM&MMM day 4, Turn The Lights Off & Nightmare ❤️ not super monster themed but the film they're talking about is a French Zombie one, if anyone is interested!

From my Sibling!Timinette AU

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Marinette and Tim were arguing. It wasn't an uncommon scene, but it was giving Bruce a headache and he decided enough was enough. He stomped into the home cinema, fully intending to put an end to the bickering but pulled up short when he practically fell over the pair standing by the door.

“It's a scary movie and this is a home cinema, Tim! The lights have to be off to get the full experience!” Marinette said hotly, her face scrunched up in a scowl.

“What, so you and Demon Spawn can canoodle in the dark? Yeah, no thank you, the lights are staying on,” Tim shot back, scowling at Damian, who was sitting on one of the sofas with his sketchbook. 

“Merde, you are so annoying,” Marinette grumbled, pressing her hands against her eyes. “What, so you want to see us ‘canoodling’? I had not taken you for a voyeur, Timothy.”

“That's- I didn't- you can't-” Tim seemed to be malfunctioning, unable to get the words past his indignation. Bruce gave a quick glance around the cinema and saw that the rest of the family, bar Duke, were watching the exchange with amusement. Steph had even already started eating her popcorn as she watched them.

“Why can't you two ever get along?” Bruce said, startling the pair out of their argument. Marinette shot him a chagrined smile before turning back to Tim and putting a hand on her hip.

“Tim is being unreasonable. We're planning to watch La Nuit A Dévoré Le Monde and he is refusing to let me turn off the lights! It is a horror film and deserves to be watched in the dark. Nobody else has an issue with the lights being off.”

“Timbit, just let them have the lights off so they can smooch,” Jason said loudly. He then gave a loud ‘ow’ as Damian hit him with his ring-bound sketchbook. “Jesus, Demon Spawn, I'm on your side! You could’ve at least hit me with the flat end, Christ.”

“Boys,” Bruce said sternly, before turning back to Marinette and Tim. “Tim, Damian’s sitting on the couch at the front of the room. Even if they did have ulterior motives, they wouldn't be putting themselves in a direct line of sight. Please, can you just let them get the film started?”

“Fine, but I want everyone to know that I'm not happy with it,” Tim said. Bruce gave him a grateful smile which swiftly turned into exasperation as Tim sat down in the middle of the sofa next to Damian.

Bruce sighed and closed the door to the home cinema as Marinette shrieked at her brother, plenty of French curses spilling from her lips. But he smiled as he heard the rest of the family laughing, a sound that happened much more when Marinette was there.

_ _ _

Tim had stubbornly remained on the sofa between Marinette and Damian. It was certainly big enough to comfortably hold the three, but Marinette had muttered darkly for a good half hour of the movie - in French! - about annoying brothers. She likely would have continued but fell asleep, her head lolling onto his shoulder.

When the movie ended she was still asleep, and Tim wondered when she had last slept properly. He knew that she had been working hard on commissions as well as joining them for patrol and balancing her work for her degree. 

Everyone other than Damian saw the sleeping young woman and quietly left to discuss the movie elsewhere. The youngest Wayne merely pulled his sketchbook back towards himself and settled comfortably into the corner of the sofa to draw.

Pulling out his phone, Tim started to work quietly. It was late, and there wasn't much to do but he didn't want to disrupt her if she was actually resting. Hypocritical it may be, but sleep was important.

The second she started thrashing in her sleep, Damian was up and kneeling in front of her. Tim watched in horror as she began to shout, and cry, clearly frightened. He froze, unsure how to handle it, but Damian seemed to have it under control.

Tim watched as he touched her face, speaking softly. It was fascinating to see this side of his younger brother and he had to admit that he would be looking at him slightly differently from then on. 

Marinette gave one more shriek before her hands flailed one more time. Damian appeared to have been anticipating it, ducking smoothly before capturing the hand gently. Tim was not so lucky, jerking to the side as she landed a solid punch to his jaw.

“Oh merde, desolée, Tim,” Marinette said as soon as she was more cognisant. He waved her off, asking what she had been dreaming about. She blushed and glanced at her hands. “One of the akumas I had to face was Zombizou, the film must have triggered the memories of my friends trying to capture me and Chat.”

“Jeez, you lived through a zombie apocalypse and you wanted to watch it in the dark?” Tim asked, incredulous. 

Marinette smirked at him mischievously, and said with absolutely zero remorse, “Yes, well, if the seating arrangements had remained as they should have, I doubt I would have watched much.”

Tim let out an indignant squawk as Damian sighed and went back to sketching as the siblings began their argument anew.

[starwarsmum]

Sibling!Timinette Fic links

AO3 - Series link

Long Lost Sibling

It's a Girl!

Home Visit

Trust Fund

They Started It!

Love Languages

Stabbing

Ransom

We're Hiring

Glitter

Meet My Partner

Shovel Talk

PDA Free Zone

Time Out Together

Turn the Lights Off

Peace and Joy

[starwarsmum]

And we're going into the final ten days of Maribat BioFamily September! The prompt from @maribat-calendar-events today is Meet My Partner

Sibling!Timinette Masterpost

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Marinette was excited for the gala. It was her official introduction to Gotham society and she was ready to mingle. Telling the rest of the Wayne family about dating Damian had gone better than she could have expected, and she was optimistic about the gala.

As soon as she was dressed, she skipped her way along the hall to Damian's room. She knocked lightly and he opened the door almost instantly. She gave him a once over, marveling at how well the suit fit him. She forced herself to be critical for a moment, checking the fit against his shoulders and around his waist.

Damian smirked down at her as she ran a hand firmly along his back and she faltered slightly. She smoothed her hands down his lapels before pulling him down into a kiss. They pulled apart after a few minutes and Marinette felt like she was walking on air as she pulled him along the corridor to meet with the others.

Now that they were officially a couple as far as the others were concerned, she took a lot of pleasure in simply holding his hand, or cuddling with him while watching a movie. The others had accepted it with a lot of grace and now it was time to introduce Damian to the only person who hadn't given his stamp of approval - Adrien.

She had invited him to the gala and he had responded with an enthusiastic yes. She had hardly seen him since defeating Hawkmoth, other than at the trial and she missed him. They had been best friends for so long, and now that she didn't even have the semblance of a crush on him, their camaraderie was easy.

“Alright lovebirds,” Jason said when they finally joined the rest. She rolled her eyes at him but didn't move away from Damian. “Are you ready for tonight? Because it's one thing to find out Tim has a little sister but the minute they sniff out your relationship it'll be a free for all.”

“Surprisingly yes, I'm ready for it,” Marinette said, smiling up at him. “I'm actually just really happy to be going public with it, especially since all of you are cool with it. And it'll be nice to actually wear some of the formal wear I make.”

“With how much Jagged Stone raves about you, I'm surprised he hasn't dragged you to a party like this before now,” Tim mused, pulling at his hair.

“Oh, he tried but he's not exactly discreet? I reckon my identity as MDC would have lasted three minutes total before he blew it. Anyway, it doesn't matter because I'm here for this gala, and we're going to be late if we don't get moving soon.”

“Aw, it's fine Mari,” Dick grinned, pretending that he was going to muss her hair. She slapped his hand down and glared at him with enough ferocity that he held his hands up in surrender. “The party can't kick off properly until we get there, and there's a reason people say ‘fashionably late’.”

After several more minutes they made their way to the cars waiting for them. Marinette was bundled into a car with Damian, Tim, Cass and Dick while everyone else piled into the other.

When it came time to exit the cars at the other end, Marinette felt all of her nerves crash into her at once. She was going to tell the whole world that she was a Drake. And because Tim was adopted by the Waynes, it was going to be huge news.

Stepping out into a crowd of reporters and flashing lights made her flinch, but Damian had a hand on the small of her back and she let the warmth of it strengthen her. He smiled at her encouragingly, a small secret thing and she felt her heart lift. She managed to smile weakly at the crowds, waving a hand to wave before Tim offered her his elbow.

The following hour or so was a blur of meeting people, introducing herself and smiling. She was exhausted by the time she was asked to give a short speech about who she was. And by the time that was over, she was ready to call it a night. 

But the doors opened again and a familiar blond boy stepped into the room. Marinette squealed and rushed over to greet Adrien with Damian trailing slowly after her. They had been inseparable all evening and he didn't seem willing to let her out of his sight. 

“Adrien, I'm so happy to see you!” Marinette cried out as she flung her arms around his middle and squeezed. She only relented when he gave a mock-gasp and gave him a stern look. “Har har, very funny. How are you? How's everything been at home over the summer? Are Amelie and Felix still settling in well? And, mon dieu, who on earth put you in that suit.”

“I'm fine, everything's going well - the gang misses you but they know you're getting to know your brother and his family - Amelie and Felix are the same as ever and I put me in the suit. Given everything my dad put me through, I should be allowed to dress badly if I want.”

“But I'm your best friend! You wouldn't be dressing well for him, you'd be dressing well for me!” Marinette pouted, looking distastefully at the suit Adrien was wearing. “I can't believe you would do this at my own gala.”

“I do not understand,” Damian said, frowning. “He is dressed appropriately; his suit is black, he is wearing a shirt and tie and his shoes are not heinous. Why are you upset with him?”

“Dami, please, I love you, but don't,” Marinette said sternly, continuing to glare at Adrien. The glare got even fiercer when Adrien raised an eyebrow at her. “No, you knew I would hate the suit when you put it on. If you wanted to do a massive middle finger to your dad, why didn't you ask me to design a suit for you?”

“I didn't want to take time away from your new family! But since we're on the subject of clothes, why aren't you matched with your actual brother if you're going to match with Damian here? It gives the wrong message and you should know that.”

“It gives precisely the right message,” Marinette snarked back, slipping her arm into the crook of Damian's elbow. “God, what is it with people thinking I don't know what colour matching means? I live and breathe fashion. If I want to match with my boyfriend, I damn well will.”

“Whoa, hold up, seriously?” Adrien looked stunned, but not unhappy. His eyes moved back and forth between the pair for several seconds before a grin split his face. “Maribug, did you seriously snag your brand new brother's youngest adopted brother as your new beau? Not only that, but the most notoriously difficult to impress teen in Gotham?”

“Oh please, Damian's a sweetheart,” Marinette scoffed. She laughed at Adrien's disbelieving look, snuggling in closer to Damian. “Honestly, you can't believe everything you read in the news, Adrien.”

“Oh yeah? What about the fact that he threatened to stab Chloé when we were thirteen because she dared to greet him with une bise?” Adrien rebutted, face completely deadpan. Marinette blinked at both boys before he continued, “Pretty sure he called her a harlot, too.”

“I mean…” Marinette trailed off, suddenly inspecting her shoes. Adrien let out an exasperated groan and she got defensive. “Oh come on, she was an absolute brat, you know she was horrible to me all the way through collége. I can't fault Damian for being a good judge of character.”

“Mari, that's not being a good judge of character! Ugh, fine, whatever. But as your best friend, I invoke the right to speak with him privately,” he said, motioning his head for Damian to follow him. When nobody moved, he gave another exasperated sigh and looked pointedly at Marinette. “Bugaboo, come on, you know I'm right. Tell him to leave you alone for five minutes so we can talk.”

Sighing and letting go of his arm, Marinette encouraged Damian to follow Adrien to the drinks bar. She smiled at them as they walked away before allowing Adrien to have the privacy he wanted and glancing around the room.

She knew there were more people she had to greet, but she didn't move from her spot. If they wanted to meet her then they were going to have to make their way over to her themselves. Apparently this approach was the right one because a boy around her age broke away from the group he was with and made his way over to her.

“It's so nice to finally meet you!” The tall dark haired boy said, making Marinette squint up at him. He didn't look like the rest of the stuffed-shirt, pompous brats who had approached her so far, looking to rub elbows with her to get in with the Waynes, but she wasn't sure. “I'm Jon, Damian's friend.”

“Jon? Oh! Jonathan Kent, right? I've heard so much about you,” she said warmly, thinking about all the anecdotes that Damian had told her about his best friend. They were often told in a deadpan tone, but Marinette could tell he cared about the other boy. So she was determined to make a good impression on him, so that he wouldn't think she was no good for Damian. “I didn't know you were coming tonight, or I'd have introduced myself sooner.”

“It's no big, I don't think I mentioned to Dames that I was coming, and he never brought it up either. He's been very tight-lipped about Tim's little sister coming to stay with him,” Jon said, giving her a one hundred watt smile. “But because he didn't mention the gala, I wanted to come over when he broke off and introduce myself without him here.”

“Yeah, he's been really sweet, sticking by my side this evening. He knows big crowds make me a little anxious and he's doing his best to keep me calm,” Marinette admitted. “But I'm glad you came over to say hello! Dami said that you've been friends since he was, like, ten?”

“Yeah! Wow, so he actually talks about me?” Jon looked a little starry-eyed and it made Marinette giggle softly. “Sorry, sorry, it's just that he doesn't often admit that we're friends so this feels pretty huge.”

“Tt, I continue to deny any friendship on my part, Kent, particularly when you wait until my back is turned and you decide to insert yourself into my personal business. I was unaware that you were planning to attend this gala.”

Damian and Adrien had returned and Marinette turned and smiled at them both before turning back to Jon. Damian made a point of placing himself between the pair, glaring at his friend mutinously.

“Yeah, well, you've been kind of busy this summer,” Jon said drily. “But dad's here reporting, you really thought I'd miss it? Plus, it beats working on ma and pa Kent's farm for the next couple of days.”

“You're an honest-to-god country boy?” Adrien asked, his face lighting up with enthusiasm. Jon nodded and Adrien grabbed his hand to shake it. “Oh thank god! Not that I haven't enjoyed getting back in touch with everyone I've met in Gotham before but…honestly, it's always tired me out. I'm Adrien, Adrien Agreste.”

“Nice to meet you, Adrien, I'm Jon,” Jon said cheerfully, before his eyes slid back to Marinette. “And I totally get it, galas are filled with some of the absolute worst of Gotham's upper crust. I'm only here because Damian's my best friend and our dads get on.”

“Wow, so you have a friend?” Adrien said, a snarky grin directed at Damian. Jon tensed but Damian merely glared daggers at the blond boy, instead of pulling one of the ones Jon knew had to be hidden on his person somewhere. “At least I won't be third-wheeling all evening then.”

“Third…” Jon's eyes widened and his head whipped around to stare at Damian. “No way. You're telling me that the reason you didn't introduce me to Tim's new sister is because you've been too busy dating her?”

Damian sighed and gave Jon a pointed look. “I knew you would be insufferable the moment you discovered the nature of our relationship. It cannot truly be that shocking that I chose to keep it from you. Besides which, we have only just informed my family of it.”

“Yeah, but I'm your best friend!” Jon said indignantly, pouting. Damian kept a completely straight and unamused face. Eventually Jon made a dramatic sigh and stared off into the distance. “Besides, she's great! It would've been nice to get to know her sooner.”

“Tt, obviously she is wonderful, but I was not prepared to share her attention with you until now.” The tone of his reply was much milder than Jon would have expected, and he hoped that this girl stuck around for Damian because she was clearly a good influence.

[starwarsmum]

Day 2 for Maribat BioFamily September! Up on AO3 now

Trigger warnings for under the cut: Mention of Miscarriage; Breastfeeding. It's non-graphic, but it is mentioned.

@maribat-calendar-events

Master post

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain wanted children. They had always wanted to be parents and share the love they felt for each other with another human. They had picked out names, painted a nursery and done a dozen courses on keeping a baby safe and healthy. The first time Sabine fell pregnant, they had been so excited that they couldn't keep the news to themselves.

But fate was against them, because after multiple miscarriages, and two babies that started growing in her fallopian tubes, Sabine was left unable to have children naturally. The couple grieved, they mourned and then they decided that fate did not get to decide that they could not be parents. The Dupain-Chengs were more than ready and they would find a way.

As a way to find support, Sabine joined a few groups online, filled with individuals like herself and lamented the life she had believed she was going to have. She shared pictures of her babies that had never arrived, of the things that stayed in the attic room because they had never been used.

One day, someone reached out to her from the international group she was a part of. A couple were in desperate need of a loving couple to take care of a baby they could not afford, and they had been moved by her heartfelt messages. Sabine was wary, but her heart leapt at the thought of finally having a baby of her own.

So she messaged the person back and in return received a message explaining that it would be a closed adoption, the parents did not want to be contacted beyond the day the child would be given to them. They also asked that all medical fees be covered, and the biological mother be compensated for carrying the child to term.

Sabine and Tom received a contract that read more like a surrogacy agreement but they were too excited to think about rewording anything and signed happily. And when it came time, the mother came to France and gave birth there, making it a simple matter of taking the child home once they were cleared for release.

Sabine was present for the birth, standing beside the woman, Janet, who asked for an epidural and gave birth three days after her due date. Sabine watched in awe as the baby - her baby - came into the world, giving a loud wail as she was born.

“It's a girl!” The midwife cried, handing the little bundle to Janet to nurse. It had been something they had discussed at length and both had agreed that any nutrients and natural defenses Janet was able to offer the newborn would be for the best. But once she was full and ready for cuddles, Janet immediately handed the baby to Sabine for skin-to-skin contact.

Looking down at the tiny child, Sabine swore that she would do anything for her baby. It didn't matter that she had not given birth herself, this little girl was her baby and she would not allow harm to come to her.

_ _ _

When Sabine went home with Tom and the baby, - Marinette, they had decided to call her Marinette - they fell into an easy routine. Sabine would wrap Marinette in a sling whilst working on the pastries for the day, and Tom often wrapped one around himself when Sabine was working the register.

It felt like no time at all until Marinette was at school and navigating the ins and outs of social life. They had been upfront about the fact that she was brought into their family because they wanted her, that they had waited for her and loved her so much that they had adopted her at birth.

And then, when their baby was fourteen and already struggling with a bully, Hawkmoth had appeared and terrorised the citizens of Paris. They had watched their daughter go from cripplingly shy to confident and they would have been idiots not to guess at the reason.

So when Hawkmoth had been defeated, they had pulled Marinette into a tight hug and explained that they knew she had been Ladybug, had listened to her declarations to the public that it was dangerous for anyone to know the heroes identities and decided to wait to tell her.

And so, they had encouraged her to contact the Justice League and get as much help as possible now that there was no risk of super powered individuals falling prey to Hawkmoth's machinations. They also accepted Adrien to their household immediately, although it was a little disappointing that it clearly wouldn't be as the son-in-law they had thought he would be.

When Marinette received the formal invitation from the Waynes of Gotham to spend time at their estate to get away, they had pushed her to accept. And when she had accepted, they received the bombshell that she did, in fact, have family in Gotham. Her birth parents had been dead for some time, which shocked all three of them, but she had an older brother who wanted to meet her.

Yes, Marinette would get a lot of good from visiting the Waynes, and they would still see her as Ladybug when she was called as a witness for Hawkmoth's trial.