Warmth
Y’all remember this au? Well, guess what, now I’m using it for bio!dad Bruce month and no one can stop me--
Also warning I did not edit this so oop
@biodad-bruce-month
AO3
Day 1: Meeting for the first time
-_-_-_-
The last fight against Hawkmoth had been a blur. A success, sure, but a success that cost her everything. With the reveal of Hawkmoth being Gabriel Agreste, came the loss of Chat Noir, as he left Plagg and the ring behind, never telling Marinette his identity. She could only guess, though she doubted she was wrong.
At first, Marinette thought that was it, that it was the only loss that she would have to lose that day.
But then she got home.
There was an eery quiet to the bakery as she stepped inside. It wasn't unusual for Marinette's parents to vacate to their apartment during an attack, to get away from glass and whatnot, but they would usually be back in the bakery by now to help stragglers from the attack to a cup of hot cocoa and a croissant.
Worry filled in her gut, a sinking feeling inside of her, like an anchor dragging her down to the bottom of the ocean.
Slowly, she walked up the stairs, dread filling her up every step of the way until she was in front of the door. She stopped, holding her breath as she listened for any sound, any sound at all, coming from the apartment.
Silence.
She opened the door, slowly, the creaking sound squeezing her heart like a hand in her chest, and as she looked inside, finally opened her eyes and looked, she could do nothing but let out a heart-wrenching scream.
And the ending, the true ending, was just as much of a blur as what was the beginning. What she thought would have been the end.
There had been burglars that had used the chaos of the final battle against Hawkmoth, to break into the apartment to try and rob them. Her parents had just been unlucky to be home when it happened.
It became a mess of lawyers and child services after that, trying to figure out where Marinette should go, as she tried to hold herself together with the help of Gods and friends. Still, if there was one thing Marinette remembered clearly, it was the day she was told the truth about her father.
"I'm sure your mother was going to tell you at some point," the family lawyer said, in that voice that sounded like it was meant for a 7-year-old or a scared animal, rather than a teenage girl who risked her life to save the very city they were in, even if he didn't know it. "but... your father is not who you think he is. She wrote down, that if anything were to ever happen to her and Tom, that you were to live with your biological father. I'm sure this comes as a shock to you, so I understand if you need some time to think. We've already contacted him, and he has accepted the responsibility of taking care of you."
It was so much change in so little time, but Marinette supposed that was nothing new.
-
Bruce was at a loss. The last few days had been calm, as calm as they could be in Gotham. He knew something was wrong.
When he got the phone call, his heart had stopped. Sabine, a woman he actually truly cared about, even after their relationship ended abruptly, was gone.
She left him a daughter he didn't even know he had. And he accepted the responsibility of taking care of her, without a trace of doubt or hesitancy in sight.
Marinette, however, was arriving, and he had yet to actually break the news to his family. Heck, he had yet to actually meet the girl himself. Bruce ended up deciding against meeting her at the airport, though. He felt that it was for the best, if not to just keep his family occupied while Alfred got her.
Bruce could tell Tim was suspicious, had been, for the last couple of days, ever since the call. It made sense that Tim would be the first to notice, he had always been the most perceptive. He had yet to actually confront Bruce on the matter though, and that was perhaps for the best because despite having known for a couple of days now that Marinette would be arriving, he still had no idea how to tell his family.
His biggest concern was Damian. He had almost killed Tim over the position of Robin, Bruce didn't know how he would react to his position potentially being contested, though Bruce had no plans of turning Marinette into the next Robin.
Marinette was his blood, his family, and yes, Damian was too, but he was raised by assassins since he was born. Marinette was innocent, and Bruce wanted to protect that. He owed at least that much to Sabine, even if she never told Bruce about Marinette.
In a way, he could understand why Sabine never told him. Even though she never knew he was Batman, she did know he was Bruce Wayne, how he always had a target on his back. Marinette, if she had been with the Wayne name, would have a target just as big, just by association.
Now, Marinette would be leaving her little bubble of safety, of Paris, and come to a town, grittier than she would ever be prepared for.
Bruce supposed he could only do his best to make her feel welcome.
Gathering the boys into the dining room before Alfred arrived with Marinette, Bruce allowed himself to take a deep breath.
"I have something important to tell you, and I need you all to listen to me carefully," Bruce started, leveling a hard gaze at his sons. "A couple of days ago, I got a call, informing how someone very important to me passed away and that... she- left someone very dear to her for me to look after."
Bruce winced at his own wording and wondered for a moment how he had become so bad at telling his family things. Truthfully, he was never really good at it, to begin with.
"Wait, are you telling us you adopted another kid?" Jason asked incredulously, clearly not happy with the news, and by the look on his face, it seemed Damian agreed with the sentiment.
"I didn't adopt Marinette," Bruce said. "I am her father, biologically."
It was ghost-quiet now, as no one dared to utter a word, shock radiating off of them.
And then, there was a knock at the door to the dining room.
-
It was a lonely feeling, arriving into a new city, and be greeted by a butler rather than someone who was supposed to be her dad. Still, Marinette thought, at least Alfred seemed nice.
She stayed silent in the car ride to the manor, letting the sound of rain hitting the window lull her into a fake sense of calm and serenity, as she ignored the incoming storm and thunder. Perhaps she was overreacting, nerves and all, but she wondered what a man like Bruce Wayne expected his child to be like.
Would she be disappointing to him? Would she even matter? He already had a family, wasn't she disrupting his peaceful life? Should she even care?
Dejectedly, she let out a sigh. There was so much she didn't know, and this new city filled her with dread, just as suffocating as Paris. She could feel it, seeping from the ground, and infecting the people. Marinette wondered if this was what Paris would become now.
She was pulled out of her thoughts, however, as the sleek black car pulled to a stop, in front of what she could only describe as a victorian dream house, complete with gargoyles and all. She hardly even noticed Alfred opening the car door, umbrella in hand.
As Marinette walked up the steps, she could only truly wish that this would be a place that she could heal. To take a break from all of the responsibility and let herself mourn and grieve, and as Alfred opened the doors of the manor, she allowed herself to take a deep breath in, straighten her back, and lift her head.
She could hear a voice now, muffled behind doors and walls, and all at once fear gripped Marinette's heart like vines with thorns, cutting and never letting go. She tightened her hands into fists and forced herself to calm down, grabbing her emotions and curling them into a ball, throwing them deep into a far off corner in her mind.
The voice stopped talking, total silence filling the room for a moment, only to be interrupted as Alfred knocks on the door, just as calm and collected as he had been from the moment he picked her up from the airport.
He opened the door, and slowly Marinette walked, seeing four different guys, all of whom she supposed were now her brothers, until her eyes landed on Bruce, her dad. Her actual, biological dad.
Marinette's breath was shaky, but she hid her nerves well, something she was very proud of, as she felt the eyes of them all on her.
"Master Bruce," Alfred started, "may I have the honor to present to you your daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
Marinette's eyes scanned them, reading them in a way they would probably never get, before something finally clicked in her mind, allowing her to breathe, if only slightly. Marinette bowed respectfully to them, rising with a newfound calm centering her.
"It's nice to meet you all," she said, bluebell eyes just shy of calculating.
-_-_-_-