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Chapter Text

After defeating Hawkmoth, Marinette didn't know who to blame for what had happened to her.

She could blame the mad fashion designer who kept his wife's body in his basement, traumatized a city, and probably had his best moment of the day by fighting two teenagers.

She could blame the weird Hawaiian-shirted old man whose best idea to save the world was to give two 13-year-old kids miraculouses of godly power.

She could blame some of her classmates, who bullied her and made her days miserable.

She could blame her friends and family for abandoning her for a liar.

She could blame her partner, who should have been there for her.

But Marinette could also blame herself. If she hadn't been so stupid, she could have ended Hawkmoth's reign much sooner. If she didn't keep screwing things up, Master Fu would still remember. If she had been a little more convincing, her parents might have believed her.

Any way you look at it, Marinette's life hasn't been the best so far.

Then things changed, and exactly three weeks after Hawkmoth's defeat, Marinette left Paris and didn't stop until Gotham. And, let's face it, Gotham is not the best place for healing and optimism.

Fortunately, Marinette's neighbour took her under his wing (literally).

...

She met her neighbour a few days after she moved in.

He was quite tall and had a kind smile. His name was Richard, but he said he wanted her to call him Dick. She couldn't imagine why would anyone be happy to be called that, but Richard, or Dick said she'd get used to it later (she did).

...

The avalanche started with little things.

Dick said hello to her. Sometimes he asked her how her day was. He would start little conversations. Maybe to others it wouldn't have been a big deal, but to Marinette, who was not used to any positive contact with the outside world, it meant the world. She absorbed kindness like a sponge. And Dick, a parent by nature, kept giving her more. He never asked why she lived alone or if she had anything at home. Sure, he was curious, but he left space for Marinette to stay comfortable. And that was all she needed. She began to grow inside, pushing away the old emptiness and sadness.

A month passed and they started to get used to each other. You could say that they developed some kind of routine. They talked, helped each other, sometimes they even went out for cookies together.

As autumn approached, school started for Marinette. She went to some kind of regular high school. She didn't really attend any social activities or make friends, not like anyone cared about it (except Dick).

Life was quiet, but calmer than it had ever been.

...

Until a rainy evening in the early October.

The day actually went well. Dick started reading some romance book that Jason had already read, and being the good brother he was, he started reading it too. Well, it quickly became clear that classic romance books were not his thing. He thought it was really cheesy, but he'd rather die than tell Jason. Still, he really wanted to have a chat with him about it, so he looked for another solution. So, like all not-so-bookish people, he pulled out the movie version and sat down on the couch to watch it with a plate of cookies he and Marinette had bought. Unfortunately, it hasn’t got any better. In fact, the film was worse. It was just torture.

Watch out fear toxin, this movie is more terrifying.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. Normally he wouldn't open the door to random people knocking in the middle of the night (seriously, kids, don't do that!), especially since he was in Gotham, but he quickly got up 'couse all of a sudden he heard a familiar voice.

"Dick," the voice cried, "please open the door! " It was Marinette's voice. It didn't sound good at all. He saw her freak out a few times and hoped she wasn't having another attack on her own.

He rushed to the door, opened it and saw Marinette soaking wet. But what really turned on the sense of danger was the panic in Marinette's eyes. He looked over Marinette's shoulder to make sure no one else was there, then gently put his arm around her and pulled her into his apartment.

"Hey, are you okay? What happened?" he asked. But she just kept sobbing. Dick tried to calm her by rubbing small circles on her back and regulating her breathing. Marinette was shaking from the cold. Why was she out in the rain? Why didn't she dry off before she came here?

"T-They followed me," she finally started to talk, "I didn't know what to do, and I-I just," she took a small pause, "I just came here, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please, I just-" Dick felt his heart break as Marinette looked at him. Who would hurt her?

That evening he heard a knock on the door for the second time. This time, however, he had no doubt that it was they were who followed Marinette. She grabbed him, hoping he’ll ignore the noise. She didn't want Dick to get hurt. "Open the door, girl!" shouted a deep male voice outside. "You can't keep running forever! "

Dick saw red. He knew exactly what they wanted. Not wanting to scare Marinette, he carefully put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll take care of it," he whispered comfortingly, "Don't worry, kid." Then he headed for the door.

He opened it calmly and stared at the two men in front of him. Dick was a little taller, but they were about one and a half times older. The best way to describe the men in front of him is by their appearance. The man on the left had a big belly on their body, Dick suggested that he lived a good lifestyle. His face was also slightly deformed by it. The other one had a rat's face.

Gross.

"Is there a problem?" asked Dick calmly. He knew they will lie.

The rat-faced one smiled oddly and began to speak, "Well, there was a girl here, about this high, " he pointed to his chest with his hand, "She was alone, and we just wanted to talk to her. You know, make sure everything was okay. "

Stay calm.

"Yeah, that's right! " agreed the obese one "Have you seen her?"

How dare he ask him!

Dick's silence made his eyes light up "You know how it is, man," the rat-faced continued, "maybe we should call the cops that you're harboring a young girl, huh?"

"Well," Dick began in a low voice, "lucky for her I'm a cop." And sure enough, he pulled his badge out of his pocket. He could see the realization in their eyes. He saw the fear growing in them. It didn't help that Dick pulled himself up to show his muscles and height. He knew he could take them in a fight. But now he had to stay calm for Marinette.

"And she's not just a girl. She's my kid."

At his words, the rat-faced tried to get away quickly, but Dick grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and lifted him inches from the ground.

"If I ever see you again near her, you won't end up in jail, you'll end up in a fucking graveyard," he promised. "Now get out of my sight."

They didn't have to be told twice.

...

Dick took a deep breath to calm himself and walked back into the apartment, to Marinette. He really hoped she had not heard them. He hated to think how little it all depended on. If she wasn't fast enough, much worse could have happened. If he didn't have his badge in his pocket, they might not have believed him. The possibilities scared him.

As he entered his thoughts were interrupted by a quick movement. Something hit him and almost knocked him over. It took him a moment to realize that Marinette was hugging him.

She hugged him.

Dick hugged a lot. He gave his family many hugs. Even if they told him they don’t need it, he hugged them. He knew that if they didn't interact physically in a positive way outside of the fight, none of them would hold up. Bruce wasn't much of a hugger and unfortunately neither was Alfred. Then who will give the family hugs? Well, Dick did. That was his job.

He hugged Damian when he showed him a drawing of his, Tim so he won’t feel depressed again, he put his arm around Jason every time he was involved in a family activity, he gave the girls welcoming hug whenever they enetered the manor, and he even hugged Bruce and Alfred when he felt they needed it.

But since he always initiated the hugs, he never got the feeling of being hugged randomly.

That was new for him.

He felt her tears wet his shirt but he just stayed there and slowly rubbed circles in her back as before.

"Thank you! " she cried. She kept thanking him. Dick wasn't sure what else to do, so he just gave her the comforting words he could think of. "It's okay," he whispered, "you're safe."

She's safe.

A strange feeling crept up his chest, similar to the one he felt for his brother.

"Come on," he said, "you're soaking wet. Let's find you a towel, okay?" Marinette blushed slightly in embarrassment, but he just smiled at her.

She's safe.

Chapter Text

After the incident, Marinette started spending more time with Dick.

When she had a bad day at school, she would go over and hang out with him. She’d tell him all her problems. He would be a great therapist at this point. Dick even tried to get her to make more friends, but she was pretty against it, so he didn't really push. Putting aside Marinette's anti-socialization, she was absolutely a ray of sunshine. And it was enough for her to shine with him.

When Dick had a difficult day with someone, he asked Marinette what she would do. He knew Marinette had a high emotional intelligence and she often gave good advices. She solved a lot of his problems by looking at the situation from a point of view that Dick hadn't even thought of.  Sometimes she even got involved in one or two police cases, looking for the killer’s reason.

They watched a lot of movies together. Usually they watched some cheesy romantic movie (Dick said he had to watch it to get more talking points with one of his brothers), but every Friday Marinette would pick a movie, possibly one she knew Dick wouldn't like. Revenge was sweet when she saw his face after the death of the main character's lover. Take that, romance.

After a while, Marinette spent more time with Dick than alone.

Sometimes she fell asleep at his place. Obviously never on purpose, but it was unavoidable thanks to their many evening programmes. Poor Marinette was always embarrassed afterwards as she woke up on the couch (he could never bring himself to wake her up), but Dick always calmed her down and stopped her apologies. He suspected it was some kind of trauma reaction, but even if it wasn't he was sure he'd be fine with that. Probably they would have been planning sleepovers if it weren't for the whole age thing.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew it would look pretty bad from the outside with the whole ’hanging out with a guy almost 10 years older than me as a teenage girl’ thing. (Kids, don’t do this!) But Marinette was over that whole shit with the outside world. She didn't really want to associate with people, and it's a miracle that Dick somehow managed to get into her life. (To this day, she still doesn't understand how he did it.) Dick was the one who cared about her. Let’s say, it's hard to ignore someone, when they are the only one. Obviously, they were not the type of people who were romantically interested in each other. That idea was simply disgusting.

There was less to fear on Dick's part, and he was used to a future brother appearing out of the blue from time to time. But there were also new things for him. He began to see that he was behaving differently with Marinette than with Damian. Somehow the way he had wanted Bruce to act as a child.

Although these problems were hanging over their heads, they forgot them when they hung out together.

...

As autumn rolled on, Marinette faced with a new kind of problem. It turned out that her school holds a parent orientation meeting every semester. There had been one at the beginning of the year, but students were allowed to attend, and it was easy for her to explain her parents' absence.

And she really needed that information from the upcoming orientation.

...

Two weeks later, Dick stood outside Marinette's school, prepared for everything.

...

Dick took a deep breath as he entered the school. It couldn't be very complicated, right?

"Welcome to the semester orientation," he heard the receptionist speaking in the distance," Those whose children are about to graduate, to the right, everyone else go to the left, please.”

He's been here once before. Bruce supported this school, and he came to check that everything was going well. He hoped they wouldn't recognise him, despite being famous and having been here before.

Maybe the gods were on his side today.

"Richard Grayson!" he heard. "Welcome here again!"

Or not.

"What brings you here today?" the deputy director stood in front of him. "Want to check the results of your support?"

"Oh, not exactly." Dick had taken on his own Brucie persona. He'd seen Bruce do it a million times, and it was easy to catch. He wasn't here for business today, and he didn't want to deal with them.

"Then, maybe we can expect for an another support?"

Worms.

"Actually, I'm out of the family business," said Dick coldly, "so unfortunately I can't speak about the supports." He could see the confusion in the other’s eyes. Dick turned around to continue on his way to the designated rooms.

"B-But why are you here then?"

"For my kid, obviously,” Dick shouted back over his shoulder. ”It's parents' information day, isn't it?"

He skipped off cheerfully, leaving the stunned deputy director behind.

My kid, huh?

...

The orientation actually went pretty well.

It ended a bit late, so it was night by the time Dick got home. Anyway, Marinette made him promise to let her know what happened as soon as he got back. He knew she wouldn't sleep until he got back, so he went straight to Marinette's apartment. Still, he gave him the chance that Marinette had fallen asleep as it was late, so he knocked quietly instead.

There was no response. Dick had a key to her place for emergencies. Of course, she had one for his, too, and often went in to see if he was home. So he quietly entered with a key to see if Marinette was sleeping okay.

When he entered, he heard a low sniffling. He turned on the light, only to see Marinette curled up on the couch, crying her eyes out. She quickly realised she was no longer alone.

"H-Hi Dick," she tried to pull herself together. "Y-You're early."

"Marinette," he began," it's already past 11."

"Oh."

Dick sat down quietly next to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and slowly Marinette cuddled into his side. They stayed like that, embracing each other.

"Are you hurt? " he asked. She shook her head, indicating no.

Minutes or maybe hours passed in silence. She couldn't tell.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She wanted to say no.

She wanted to leave the whole thing. She'll manage. She didn't need help. She didn't want to get hurt again.

She didn't want to be alone again.

But... this was Dick. And Dick would never.

She knew that.

"...yeah."

And she told him everything.

...

Marinette was not always like this.

Basically the sudden responsibility she was given would've been enough, but she had no support system. She was simply destroyed under it. As the months went by, she became more and more out of control, sunk into depression, and wanted to move forward on a road that wasn’t there.

Marinette was 13 years old when she got the miraculous and became Ladybug. Almost two years later she defeated Hawkmoth. All by herself.

In contrast to popular belief, the final battle did not happen at all.

After finding out who Hawkmoth was, she didn't hurry to fight him. She was tired from all the fighting. Marinette didn't want satisfaction, just an end to the madness. In fact, she just put on the fox miraculous and became invisible. Then, under the cover of night, she stole the miraculouses from the sleeping Gabriel Agreste and his assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur. The next morning when they woke up, they couldn't imagine what had happened. Gabriel was furious.

But what could he do? Sue Ladybug to give him back the magnificent jewel with which he could terrorize Paris?

Things remained quiet. Ladybug took back Adrien's miraculous and forbade him ever to speak of this phase of his life. She informed France by live stream that the danger had gone. The reign of Hawkmoth ended. Ladybug had announced her retirement, but promised to return if she was ever needed.

After that, things did not go uphill for Marinette.

Over the past period, she had fallen into a routine. Get up, run to school, try not to sleep in class, make up for all the class you've spent fighting, study, write class assignments, fight again, try to sleep, then repeat. But now that the cause of all her troubles was gone, Marinette finally got some time to heal and grow.

And just when things were looking up for her, Lila came into her life like a hurricane.

Marinette can't remember exactly what happened. She does remember the paralysed feeling, the depression that crawled back under her skin like a snake, and the feeling of denial. She remembers how Lila managed to convince her parents that she was abusive. The day she was expelled. The shouting of her parents. The buzzing noise in her head that silenced everything else at some point.

After all, Lila kept her promise. It only took her three weeks to destroy Marinette’s life.

Eventually her parents had had enough of her. They sent Marinette here, Gotham. But why Gotham? Well, it was a good place if you wanted to escape. It was also a good place if you wanted to make something disappear. Or someone.

And it just happened that there was an old apartment in Gina’s name that she could move into.

Marinette was sent on her way with no money. She paid taxes and bills from her savings and a part-time job. It was just enough. At least she didn't have to pay for the apartment. Everything else, like gas and water, was at common cost, about the same price in each month.

Until this day, when the bills suddenly went up, and Marinette just collapsed.

...

This is how she ended up crying on the couch.

Sure, she didn't tell Dick about the whole superhero thing, but she said enough for him about her past.

She talked for maybe two hour and he didn't interrupt her. When Marinette finished, Dick hugged her tightly and said reassuring words to her, as he had so often done. And if he teared up a little, no one needs to know.

"You know," he said slowly, "you've got money problems. I've got money. I could help you out."

But Marinette just shook her head. She would not accept the money, they both knew that. So he had to come up with a new solution.

"Okay, how about this?" tried again Dick. "I'm looking for a roommate to watch cheesy romantic movies with. You don't have to pay the bills, but as a payback, you could... I don’t know, maybe keep things clean?" Dick smiled at her. Marinette giggled a little, and he knew he won.

"You're not gonna stop until I say yes, are you?"

"Not a chance."

Marinette finally sighed, breaking the staring match. "Okay, okay," she said, "I'll be your roommate, you idiot."

Dick cried out in joy at his victory.

"Shut up! It's two in the morning!" shouted a voice from beyond the wall. It must be the neighbour on the side.

"Sorry, Mr. Robert!" yelled Dick back. Then they heard a muffled scream, probably Mr. Robert. Who was Mr Robert anyway?

Marinette let out a small laugh. Let's be honest, the situation was pretty funny.

Dick looked at her and smiled.

They'll be fine.

Chapter Text

Christmas came about a month after Marinette moved in.

Dick spent the morning at the Manor, but he wanted to come home to Marinette for the evening. His family was surprisingly understanding about it, and Dick did not ask any questions. In fact, they often went down to see friends during the day, so he thought something like this might be going on. That's one person less to convince to let them go.

Anyway, he figured out the best gift for Marinette.

He knew she had always wanted an animal of some kind. He asked Marinette about it once and she told him that she wanted a hamster when she was a kid, but couldn't have one because of the bakery. But now she doesn't want a hamster. She said it was bad memories. Dick didn't ask her about it.

And once when they were watching late-night animal movies, the question came up whether they liked cats or dogs better. Marinette doesn't like cats, but she has no problems with dogs. She used to get a few dog customers in the bakery and they would always let her pet their dog. They were very friendly with her. And Dick, who lived with Damian, was used to living with all kinds of animals.

So he did some research, planned and visited pet shops to find the perfect dog for Marinette in a dog shelter. It was an Australian Shepherd. It had a rich, light, white and caramel-coloured fur. The fur was not well spread with the colours, it had a slightly spotted effect. The doggy wasn't that big yet, it fit in an arm. He could tell it was young. It seemed calm though, which would be good for Marinette. Its eyes were different colours, blue and light brown.

Dick asked the seller for more details. It turned out that the dog was female and her name was Kiki. Luckily, all major vet procedures (e.g. vaccinations, castration) had been done by her previous owners. Also, she was house-trained. She couldn't form a close bond with her owners, because they died in an accident a few weeks after she was taken in.

And so, Dick happily walked home with Kiki and two big bags with all the important things that came with her.

...

When he got home, Marinette wasn't home yet.

He did not know where she went, most likely to get some ingredients for dinner. They were not far into the afternoon, so he wasn't too worried. Okay, who am I kidding, he was worried, but only after one missed call. Sometimes she forgot to turn on her phone. Maybe that was it.

He stared at the dark screen for a long time, but then a call came in. Without hesitation, he picked it up.

"Hi, why didn't you answer before? I was worried!" he cried.

"Umm, Dick?"

Shit. Well, that wasn't Marinette.

He quickly checked the caller ID. Tim. It was Tim, the best detective in the world, who could figure out in half a minute that this call wasn't for him. He's probably going to jump to the wrong conclusion, maybe that he has a girlfriend.

If he's lucky he doesn't go around the house shouting 'Hey everyone, Dick's got a girlfriend!'.

"I just called because I need you on a case," he began, "Scarecrow had the great idea that Christmas should be spent in fear. Maybe you could come there?"

Maybe he wasn’t conscious enough to notice the slip? Or he just let him get away with it?

"Sure. Where exactly?”

"You know, there's a shopping mall near you, about 10 minutes away," answered Tim. Dick knew the place. Sometimes Marinette took him there to buy things. "There may be a possible hostage situation."

"Okay, on my way."

He quickly dressed in his Nightwing suit. Time was not on his side.

Then, he turned to Kiki.

"Will you be all right on your own?" he asked. Kiki turned her head slightly, but remained still. "Be a good doggy while I'm gone, okay?"

On the way out, he patted her on the head. "If Marinette gets home before me, please take care of her," he said. The dog licked his hand approvingly, making Dick laugh.

He shook his head, distancing himself from his thoughts. He had to hurry.

...

"I'll be there in five minutes. Do you have more details that could help?"

"Hold on a minute!" he growled.

Nightwing jumped to another rooftop.

"And... gotcha!" Tim exclaimed. "Scarecrow's not far from the entrance, and he's got a hostage. Seems to be a teenage girl."

"Got it!"

Nightwing arrived at the mall. He went to one of the upper windows. Then, he broke it silently. This will make easier to get to him.

He climbed through the window, only to see Scarecrow and the hostage. Tim was right. The hostage was a teenage girl with bluish-black hair, about 5'2" tall. Dick's eyes widened.

"Shit. That's my kid."

...

Across the city, Tim spat out his coffee.

These hallucinations are getting worse.

He really needs to sleep.

...

Nightwing was still cursing to himself as he watched them. Of course it had to be Marinette. That's their luck. He looked back at Marinettere to make sure she was all right.

She looked like she was fine as she was yelling at Scarecrow loudly-

Wait... yelling?!

...

Marinette was not having it today.

First of all, she hates Christmas. She hates all the stupid music that is played everywhere. Shitty songs. Then there is the crowd. Marinette doesn't like people. Even at school (which is small, with only two hundred students), she escapes to a toilet cubicle or the library at break times. But at Christmas they are literally everywhere.

Secondly, at Christmas, memories creep into her head. Not the bad ones, but of everything he had lost. It just drives her crazy. She tried to shut it up with everything else, but it's hard enough when everything is screaming in your face that it's Christmas.

And Dick went home. To his real family. Of course, she understands he doesn't have to be home all day, but it would have been nice.

Then she has to go shopping because she is out of paint for Dick's present. And of course the nearest shop where she could buy it is in a shopping center. Marinette bravely fought the crowd and her anxiety attacks. When she'd be happy to leave, idiotic random people were crowded at the entrance, blocking the exit from someone small, like Marinette.

Marinette just suddenly got fed up. There was so much going on around her. Everything was noisy. There were so many people. Too many. Her head was throbbing. Not in a teary way, but like a volcano waiting to erupt. She was annoyed by everything. Even with herself. Her hair didn't look right, her shoes were pressing her feet and her dress felt strangely tight, even though it was two sizes bigger. She was about to shout everyone down just to get home and cry.

And after all of this shit, some idiot scarecrow attacks.

...

"Now you are going to experience your fears," yelled Scarecrow. "This is Christmas everyone!"

Greenish gas filled the space after his words. Fear toxin.

Marinette had heard about this thing before. When it’s inhaled, the victim hallucinates their own worst fears becoming a reality.

Unfortunately for Scarecrow, Marinette had already fought all her fears at some point.

Dealing with deadly akumas? Check!

Walking on dead bodies into battle? Check!

Seeing the death of your supposed partner and being left of your own? Check!

Driven to murder because there was no other option? Check!

Abandoned by all your loved ones? Check!

Fail over and over? Check!

Die? Check!

She could feel the fear toxin getting into her lungs. She wasn't afraid.

She closed her eyes.

And the hallucinations began.

First it was an akuma. There were bodies everywhere, scattered, burned. All she could sense were screams and the smell of death. Everywhere. Marinette didn't move.

The picture changed quickly. It was her parents, arguing with her, as they trashed her stuff. All her drawings, her clothes. She was standing straight all along.

Again, the picture changed. The voices have stopped. Chat Noir was there only. He walked towards her. Out of reflex, she stepped back. Her back hit the wall, and she couldn't go away. He ran his hand over her body. He started kissing her, pushing his tongue down her throat, aggressively. She couldn’t breathe.

She was... scared of Chat Noir?

Yes, the answer came immediately.

But... she was stronger than him. This can't happen because she was stronger. He had already been stripped of his power. He could not harm her even if he wanted to.

 Damn it, she was Ladybug after all.

No.

She is Ladybug.

She pushed the hallucination-Chat Noir away.

As if sensing that this was no longer working, the fear toxin showed her an another vision.

Dick's lifeless body lying on the street.

She wasn't prepared for this. Her hand tightened. How dare he!

She wasn't afraid, she wasn't pissed off, she was angry. Really angry. She had not been this angry for months. It was as if one of her lost pieces had been returned.

With that, she slipped into Ladybug's mentality in a second.

And trust me, every single person knows not to fuck with the angry Ladybug.

...

Her senses began to return normal.

"...whoa!" she heard Scarecrow's cheerful voice. "So far, very few people have not screamed while they were under the influence of the toxin.” She opened her eyes, as he let out a little laugh.

She saw the blood next to her. And a body. Someone- Someone killed themselves out of fear.

”Have you taken any kind of antidote? No, you couldn’t have enough time for that," Scarecrow thought out loud. Then he shook his head and smiled like a mad scientist. "You like being hurt that much, huh?”

"No." She groaned.

"Is that how much you enjoy my fear toxin then?

"I’m not. Neither will you."

"Oh, my! I'm so scared! And exactly how-" He couldn't finish.

Marinette's fist hit him straight in the face in a blink of an eye. It would be an overstatement to say that he flew backwards, but he definitely fell back half a metre.

"I've had enough," she muttered. "I'm sick of you bastards who terrorize people just because you can." Images of the dead floated in front of her eyes.

She looked around and saw a couple of needles. It must be a new development.

"There are not even heroes to fight you properly!" She raised her voice.

Why is there no one here to save them?

"You just enjoy the other’s suffering!”

She picked up the needle.

Why do people like this exist?

"How many people do you kill just because you think you can?!"

How many people died because of Batman's stupid no-killing rule?!

"And guess what. We've all had enough!" She cried loudly.

Wasn’t it enough already?

Her body moved faster than her thoughts. She stuck the needle into Scarecrow's neck.

It's time to know his own poison.

"If nobody does anything...” she laughed hysterically. "I have to do it myself, right?!"

Scarecrow cried out in fear and struggled. He didn't stand a chance against his own invention.

This... wasn't enough.

It could happen at any time. Who will be the next victim of this man?

Why is no one doing anything?!

"I’ll put an end to this."

She must stop him from killing more people.

She slowly took one of the knives off his belt, and lifted it over his body.

"I'm not afraid."

I am Ladybug.

She swung down with the knife-

But a hand caught her arm, stopping her.

"That's not the way, kid."

Marinette blinked. The voice was familiar.

She looked back over her shoulder. Nightwing stood there and held her arm gently.

Could it be...?

"Put that down," he said in a soft voice.

Marinette realised what she had in her hand. How little it was up to. She almost-

She dropped the knife.

She was sick.

Tears left her eyes faster and faster, until Marinette sobbed into Nightwing's arms. She knew these arms. So many times she sobbed in one of these bear hugs.

Marinette cried and wailed, meanwhile Nightwing picked her up and took her to one of the ambulances.

She couldn't listen to the words they said. At some point Nightwing disappeared, but Dick turned up a few minutes later. At first, they were reluctant to let Marinette go with him, but he explained the situation well enough and showed his police ID.

Dick hugged her, then he put her in the car and drove home.

...

They sat together on the couch while Marinette calmed down. They discussed the incident (since Dick was not there officially) so he found out how she felt about it. Of course, they spent most of the evening talking and watching some romantic film together.

Around midnight, Marinette was almost asleep, so Dick suggested they go sleep now.

"Dick," he heard a tired and confused voice. "Why is a dog in my bed?"

"Shit, I forgot about her. Well..." he panicked inside, "you know. Merry Christmas?"

But Marinette just laughed a little, then crawled into bed next to Kiki.

Maybe this wasn't a bad Christmas after all.

Chapter Text

Dick had tea with Marinette as they talked about their day, when they heard a sudden knock on the door.

It was also a kind of habit they developed. After Christmas, Marinette seemed a little more relaxed around him. Dick could only guess why. Almost two months have passed since then, and life went on without any incident. Dick was in the middle of telling the story of how Kiki was chasing the neighbour's cat when they heard the knock.

They looked at each other silently.

"Your turn," he said with his eyes. Marinette gave in to his stare.

In fact, this has happened many times.

Knocking on the door, and then some old lady with a cat or some weirdo trying to sell them something. Usually cat food, drugs or guns. But the gun-drug guys don't come in daylight, so it's probably just going to be another weirdo. These are Marinette's turns.

She got up from the couch to open the door. Strangely, it was not the cat lady. It was some guy standing there. Marinette looked him over quickly. He looked rich.

So it's probably drugs, huh.

"We don't buy anything," she tried to look determined.

Then, she slammed the door in his face.

Was it too harsh?

"No," said her inner Dick, "that's how you treat drug dealers."

She headed back to the middle of the room.

"Who was it?" asked the real Dick from the couch.

"Not the cat lady!" shouted Marinette back. "Just some random rich teen."

"Rich, eh?" He took a sip of his tea, "how do you know he is?"

"Well, you know. He's tall, about this tall," Marinette pointed with her hands above her head, "and you can tell from his clothes that this guy has money." He hummed in response.

"That’s all?"

"Eh, it's hard to tell, but his skin tone was kind of tanned. Is this also a rich thing? Quite attractive, certainly popular. Oh, and he had black, slicked-back hair. He kind of looked like you, though."

Dick spat out his tea.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Dick coughed.

"I said he must be popular," she tried to remember.

"No, after that."

"That he has black hair?" Marinette was getting confused.

"No, not that! I- ugh!" he growled up.

This description fits his someone too perfectly.

Dick rushed to the door. The other had not yet left, maybe her sentence had left him frozen in shock.

As he quickly opened the door, he stared straight into the other's eyes.

"Damian!”

...

Damian's day was worse than usual.

It was just an incident in school with a girl. The girl wanted to hold his hand, but he still had problems with sudden touches. He acted out of reflex and twisted her hand. The school called his father and no one was interested in what Damian had to say. He even ended up being banned from patrolling for a week.

When Damian got home, he decided to prove to Bruce that he was right. To take matters into his own hands and make him listen for once.

Was it childish? Maybe. But he felt his chest ripping apart. "Why did no one listen?" he asked himself. It's always said that communication is what keeps a family together, yet when it comes comes to him, nobody cares.  Just fucking listen! Is that too much to ask?

He's not a mad dog, damn it.

And as embarrassing as it is to say, he needed help to do this. In the end, he chose Dick. First of all, he has one of the biggest effects on Bruce (apart from Alfred) so he's the best strategic option, secondly, Dick will certainly encourage him to achieve his goals (however ridiculous they may sound), and thirdly, he maybe felt closest to Dick.

And once he has made up his mind that he will convince Dick to help him, nothing can stand in his way. Well, maybe there was one thing. Dick hadn't been home lately and no one had asked him where he was. He was not stupid. He knew he couldn't stay with his friends, at least not for that long. Dick must have an apartment, Damian knew that. But why would he want to stay away from them? Maybe he'd got a girlfriend?

Wait, that's possible.

That could be the reason, right? For Dick to start neglecting them. A secret girlfriend, huh? Well, not so secret anymore. Damian would love to get to know his girlfriend.

He just had to find his location.

Damian entered the batcave to investigate Dick's place. As he looked at the computer, a small icon caught his eyes in the left side.

Tim's files.

Tim knew a lot of things. And what about Tim knows, there's a file about it. That's how Damian found out a lot of things in the past. And since no one's here...

He opened the file. He quickly went through the millions of data Tim had stored there.

No, that’s not it, no, no... - found it.

He was right. It looked like Tim already knew about the apartment.

The building was in the middle of the city. It wasn’t a good neighbourhood and the building was not very bright either. It wasn't shabby but it wasn't the best place to move in. It was definitely cheap. Similar to Jason's hideouts. Damian certainly didn't want to be here.

And yet, he was standing in front of Dick's door.

He heard low voices of conversation. Then laughter. Probably a girl's voice. Maybe his girlfriend is here?

Well, it doesn't really matter. After all, he should have found out sooner or later about her. And, well, he was not nicknamed demonspawn for nothing. The woman who can't handle him doesn't deserve to be with his brother. Facts.

He raised his hand and knocked.

A girl, maybe a year or two younger than him, opened the door. She had bluish-black hair and blue eyes. She was about shoulder high. Probably had some Asian genes.

Definitely not a girlfriend.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked over him.

"We don't buy anything."

Then she slammed the door in Damian's face, leaving him completely shocked.

What the hell just happened?

Is Damian's brain a bit... shut down? Yeah, that's a good word for it.

Could it be that he had the wrong address?

While he was still in shock, he heard the sounds of conversation getting louder. How long could he have been standing there? Surely not more than a minute, he thought.

There was the sound of approaching footsteps, and then, with equal vehemence, a man opened the door. Not panic, but disbelief reflected in his eyes.

"Damian!" he shouted.

"Hey Dick."

...

"So let me get this straight," Damian rubbed his face. "You continued father’s weird habit and adopted some random orphan from next door."

"I'm not an orphan, you know," interjected Marinette completely calmly.

"Why are you only denying that?!” And here comes Dick, completely desperate at this point. "I didn't adopt you!"

Damian looked at him in total disbelief.

"I mean, well...,” Dick tried to explain himself, " it was not exactly in the legal way, tho."

Damian just gave him a look again.

"My God... I'm just like B, aren’t I?"

Marinette and Damian giggled a little and patted Dick on the back. "Don't worry," she reassured him, "you will definitely not be so bad."

"What do you mean? The avalanche has already started!"

Well, Dick’s got a point. It wasn't hard to imagine Mother-Dick getting lots of children.

 He looked to each other with Marinette. She seems to have thought the same things.

Then suddenly they both burst out in overwhelming laughter, increasing Dick's panic.

...

They talked for hours. Just sitting on the couch, drinking tea and talking. He really missed his brother. He even forgot his original goal. Patrolling was no longer so important. After all, he's the first to know Dick's big secret (and he doesn't plan to tell anyone). Knowledge is enough for him. He can't wait to see what Bruce's reaction is going to be to Dick adopting a wonderful girl without his knowledge.

Because that is Marinette. A wonderful girl. If Dick didn't take her in, then Bruce would.

Damn it, she’d even fit in the collection.

...

It was the middle of the night when Damian started to leave. Marinette stayed inside while Dick offered to walk with Damian to the front of the building.

They walked down, side by side in silence. It wasn't awkward, it suited the night. It was beautiful, despite the early sunset.

"Does she know?" Damian asked, breaking the silence. "The whole night business?"

Dick sighed. "I didn't tell her. But I wouldn't be surprised if she found out one day. She's smart."

He nodded.

It's a familiar story after all.

"Like Tim?" Damian asked with a small grin.

"No, not completely. She isn't addicted to caffeine yet." He let out a small chuckle as he imagined the caffeine-addicted Marinette. With Tim, they would be unstoppable.

"So... is she your daughter now? Wait, that makes me her uncle, right?"

Dick froze. He didn't even hear Damian's little panic as he was realising the family tree.

Adopting her is one thing, but thinking of her as a daughter is another. Wouldn't that be odd for Marinette? Wouldn't that be weird for him too?

"It depends on her," Dick said finally. "We didn't talk about it much."

"But she's your kid, isn't she?" he pointed out.

Damian knew him too well.

"Yeah," Dick shook his head and smiled, "she's my kid."

Chapter Text

It had been half a year since Dick had accepted the fact that he had adopted Marinette in some way.

A lot has happened since then. In March, Dick's birthday came and went, leaving him with one of the best birthdays ever. Marinette invited Damian over and they threw a surprise party, as much as two people and a dog can. It didn't matter, because the family feeling did. Then spring moved on, bringing warmer weather. They've developed lots of new habits, and their shared apartment is an evidence to that. Sometime in May they did a renovation and he allowed Marinette to paint every corner of the apartment. So now, they have constellations looking down on the ceiling and landscapes or mandala-like patterns on the walls. On the shelves were small frames of their photos together, from trips, selfies, Damian, Kiki, and happy moments.

Dick's favourite picture, currently sitting on his office desk, is also from a road trip. Damian was with them on a hike in the woods, and fell into the stream when Kiki pushed him, soaking them both. Marinette burst out laughing beside him, and -because Damian is still Damian, no matter what soft spot he has for Marinette- pulled her down into the stream, saying "I may be the best uncle ever, but you're not getting away with this!". Dick took a selfie, which shows himself and his soaked family behind him, still in the water. He always smiles at the memory, not that there aren't hundreds more like it.

In July, Marinette turned sixteen. Dick taught her to drive his car. And Damian bought her so many drawing tools that Dick wondered how many shops his brother had emptied. He's been doing it for a while. It seems that Damian has taken it to heart so much that he will be the best uncle, that it has already become an inside joke. Damian really grew on them. He's totally spoiling Marinette (okay, Dick's been doing exactly the same thing, so there's two of them) and they've been spending time even without Dick. He wasn’t jealous, totally not. But when Damian and Marinette finally revealed what they were working on, he almost cried, he was so proud.

As it happened, Marinette loved fashion. She started as a child, but stopped around the age of 14-15. After that, she found it hard to even pick up a pencil for a while (again, Dick attributed it to a trauma reaction, knowing her background quite well). She started painting again around Christmas, and hasn't stopped since. Finally Damian found out and helped Marinette rediscover her passion in fashion. And as the "best uncle ever" (yes, Damian loves to say that) he succeeded, going so far as to open a new business with Marinette. Both under pseudonyms, and their business was blooming.

Marinette's hair has grown slightly. She still liked it short, but now it came down to about her chest. And Dick, as he found out, loved to braid it. Who wouldn't?

Kiki has also grown. When Dick brought her home she wasn't big, but now she is. (Remember, she was able to push a trained assassin into a stream.) They measured Kiki once, and as it tured out she was about 27 inches tall. Then, with the help of the internet, they could safely say that she shouldn't be that big. Maybe Kiki was a mixed breed? Sometimes Marinette even uses her as a pillow, she's so big and fluffy. Damian also noticed that Kiki is a very intelligent dog, more than it would be normal. Not that a dog can't be very intelligent, but without training she shouldn't be. For example, if you ask her to leave the room, she will, or to fetch the newspaper or water bottle, and she can do it without any problem. Like she understands every word. Damian suspects aliens. Marinette suspects magical after-effects. And Dick just enjoys the room-delivered soda.

Meanwhile, Kiki has also picked up a -not so good- habit from her puppyhood. Every time she sees Marinette, and she only does this with Marinette, she stands on two legs and pretends to hug her (jump on her). The problem is, unlike when she was little, Marinette can't take her up anymore. So usually, the two of them fall down. And Dick can’t help, he just laughs at it all the time.

Dick never brought up their 'night business'. He didn't know how to. He thought Marinette might know, but if not, she suspects something at least. It was even harder to sneak away during the summer break. He wasn't out at night every day, but if she caught him or he had to go out during the day, he'd just shoo her away, saying it was a family emergency at home. In fact, he wouldn't really mind if she found out. (Marinette always let him go with his – actually weak - excuses.)

...

It was a year since Dick had met her.

He could hardly imagine his life without her. They'd been through a lot, and whenever anyone asked him about his family, the first thing he involuntarily thought of was Marinette.

Maybe one day they could officially be a family. Maybe.

...

Today the Justice League gains a new member.

People are whispering all sorts of things, and the rumours were getting wilder, since they didn’t know the new member. Not that the rumours were unfounded - after Superman, nothing could surprise mankind.

They have not heard about them. Maybe an alien?

"Was there no condition for joining? Like something about saving at least one person?" the people grumble. "If someone had been rescued by an alien, it would be all over the papers, like always."

But after they calmed down a bit, they all came to the same conclusion; "But then they may have already saved the Earth. We would never know."

Their guesses are a little far off, since the Earth wasn't in need of saving.

Paris was.

...

"I want you to join us."

About two weeks ago, Wonder Woman visited Marinette personally. She knew immediately who the other woman was, because her face was no secret. Marinette sighed. She was on her way home, so at least there was no knock on the door. Then she invited Wonder Woman for coffee.

Those words were also spoken at a secluded table in a café.

Marinette sighed again, and took a sip of her iced coffee. A year has already passed since she defeated Hawkmoth. There are just so many things that don't add up. How did they know about him? Weren't the informations classified so they wouldn't get out of Paris? Why now?

"I'm not a hero anymore," she stated instead of her doubts.

She also knew that in the old days, the Amazons were also guardians, along with other tribes. When there were still many miraculouses, divided between the powers of the world. Marinette thought the other would demand that, not this. It's not as if she'd let her have the Miracle Box. They've already caused enough trouble on their own.

"You still could be."

"Are you seriously recruiting a teenager?" Then Marinette chuckled bitterly, "I'm not even surprised, with all the kids you've got."

"Not ideal, we know. But heroes are heroes, however old they are," Wonder Woman looked her in the eye. "And you're a hero too. Your powers are the kind of what you get, which means that someone has recruited you before, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Marinette thought back to old Master Fu. She wouldn't exactly call what he was doing 'recruiting'. Well, whatever. The past is in the past. It's pointless to think about it now. "By the way, how did you find me?"

"Magic," the other said simply. "You are carrying magic within you."

She's right. Marinette has been experimenting with magic for a few months now. Not with the miraculouses, but with guardian magic. It was hard, but she overcame her trauma. She's been visiting old shrines, temples. Marinette even contacted restored Tibetan guardians who helped her deepen her knowledge. Even if she's not a hero, she still has to protect the box.

Even if the Amazons had a background with the guardians, it is concerning that they could track her. Then they may have sensed the magic of the talismans, still in Marinette. She will definitely have to look into it.

"That’s why you want me to join? Because of my power? Or you just want the miraculouses for your team?"

Wonder Woman answered without hesitation;

"Both."

Hah. At least she doesn't deny it.

"Who else knows?" Marinette needs to assess her options.

"Your identity or your miraculouses?"

Smart woman. Marinette doesn't answer her.

"Only I know who you are. I followed your magic through a ritual. And although I don't even know your name, it wouldn't be difficult to find out," she pauses a little. "For miraculouses it’s a little more complicated. They sank Atlantis, and one of our members happens to be from there. They also have a connection with the Amazons because of me, which you are obviously aware of. But beyond that? I don't think so."

"Good. Keep it that way in both case." Then Wonder Woman agreed, and Marinette relaxed a little. The Amazons do not break their promises. And if Marinette put a little magic in it to make it count as a vow, no one needs to know.

"Here's what's going to happen," Marinette continues. "I'll join you, because obviously you're not going to get off me until I do. But I have a caveat. No one, and I repeat no one among you will wear a miraculous unless I say so. Understood?"

"Yes."

Maybe, just maybe, it won't be so bad to join. She can use them to her advantage, for example with her research. But to be honest - Wonder Woman was right. Deep down Marinette still has the urge to help others.

"My identity also remains a secret. You tend to be quick to jump down each other's throats when things go south, and I want to keep my private life separate from Superman's fights. I don't want you to know my name or anything else about me. You also need to tell this to the others. I don't want anyone after me. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Wonder Woman replied again.

Marinette sighed, more softly this time.

"In that case, greetings. I'm a Ladybug. When do I start?"

...

Has the Justice League always been so... chaotic?

Probably not.

Everything is Batman's fault as the saying goes. Or his children's.

The saying is true.

Because there's no way it was Superman's idea to dress up a fucking pig in a Suparman-costume (read: underwear) and let it run around when she's just finished her tour on the base.

A fucking pig in Superman’s underwear.

Marinette questions her life choices.

It's good that she's alone now, tho. She doesn't know how would she explain to anyone that she's hallucinating this. Or if she's not hallucinating, how the fuck could she explain this happening, since she knows there isn’t a single camera – most likely to avoid hackers.

Not half a moment after Marinette's internal collapse began, more pigs -also in Superman-costumes- came into the hallway. And although she'd seen a lot of strange things, Marinette's mind could only think of one thing; What the fuck.

Now about ten - no, twenty! - pigs ran towards her.

What the actual fuck is happening.

And behind them, as if something is chasing them-

Oh God.

Dick, what the fuck is our Kiki doing in a Batman costume, on the fucking Justice League base, chasing a bunch of pigs in Superman’s underwear?

...

In Dick’s defense, it was all Jason's idea.

It seemed like a good idea. Really.

Tim bought the costumes. He and Damian pretended they'd just borrowed Kiki to avoid suspicion. Even though Marinette wasn’t at home (she often went out to 'gather inspiration'), so they left her a little note that Kiki went on walk with him and Damian, and they will be home around 6 pm. And Jason got a lot of pigs from somewhere, so nobody was questioning Kiki. Then Damian had the perfect idea to do it at the base.

Kiki got a Batman costume, while the piggies got Superman underwear. After dressing all twenty pigs, they almost fainted from exhaustion. Clarification: Tim had already passed out right after he returned with the costumes, due to the lack of caffeine.

The plan was to leave the pigs in a pen next to Kiki for a photo. Wearing their hero costume, of course, as they stand next to Kiki, as Batman.

The problem?

Tim didn't buy Superman costumes. Tim brought them the real Superman's underwear.

And now, Superman was angry.

Dick had never imagined his death this way.

The moment Superman started shooting his laser eye, he jumped into the pen, full of pigs. His brothers ran in a different direction, well except Tim. He stayed there, still unconsciously. He will have a nice funeral. Or, thinking about it, maybe not, since it was all Tim's fault.

Superman continued to fire with his laser eyes, until he accidentally shot the door of the pen.

The pigs have escaped. Chaos breaks loose. Dick ran with the pigs, still in his hero outfit. Kiki, being a herding dog in her blood, easily got ahead of Dick, following the pigs. It looks like Superman didn't follow them, but you never know with aliens. For safety's sake, he ran after his dog.

Dick questions his life decisions.

Again.

So the piggies wearing Superman’s underwear ran down the halls. Kiki still wearing her Batman suit ran after them. Dick after his dog. Like a fucking circus parade.

He took a turn and-

Damn it.

A woman stood there, dressed in red, and directly in the path of the pigs.

"Watch out! " Dick shouted at her.

She pulled up to the wall just in time, letting the piglets run in front of her. She looked like someone who couldn't believe her eyes. Dick didn't blame her; sooner or later, one gets used to it. But... Why isn't she used to it yet? Every week, one of them does something stupid. Wait.

The new member.

God.

Dick almost ran over her with twenty pig!

Well, in the end, she should get used to it anyway. It rarely gets worse than this.

He sighs. It's not a bad idea for him to apologize though. He will blame everything on Tim and Jason. He has nothing to do with it this time. Absolutely nothing.

Just as he was about to move closer, he froze.

In front of him, Kiki ran towards the girl, stood on two legs, and basically jumped on her.

Almost like-

Both of them ended up on the ground, and Kiki happily woofed at her.

Almost like giving a hug.

There’s no way.

The girl looks different, older, taller, and something keeps whispering to Dick not to look at her, but he knows better. He recognizes the magic that surrounds her.

The magic wants him not to look, not to recognize her.

Dick's eyes widen.

It can't be.

His hands tremble, and so does his voice.

"M-Marinette?"

The girl stiffens and slowly pushes his dog, her dog, off of herself, and oh God, it’s as if a veil has been lifted from Dick's eyes. Breath catches in his throat, he can't breathe. Those eyes, that hair, that smile—


"Hi Dick"

...

"So you're telling me you've been a superhero for years?"

"Yeah."

"And you've been hiding little gods in our house the whole time?"

"Uh, kinda,"

"And you knew I was Nightwing all along?"

"Since Christmas, yeah,"

"And our dog, by some miracle, probably picked up some magic from you growing up, and that’s why she was able to recognize you?"

"I still don't understand how-"

"And that means you really do magic?"

"Yeah."

"Like, seriously?"

"Seriously."

Dick just buries his face in his hands with a groan.

...

Later, after it was established that all of his brothers were alive (with minor burns), the animals were relieved of their superhero costumes and after finally Superman got his underwears back, Dick and Marinette happily melted into the comforts of home.

They lay on the couch, lost in thoughts, with Kiki at their feet.

Marinette doesn't know how to feel. On the one hand, she's happy that Dick has found out her secret and can finally talk freely about his. But what if-

But what if he doesn't want me anymore?

Batman is a well-known meta opposition, and then Marinette's dose of chaos.

She wouldn't blame him, really. Even though everything seemed to be fine, but it always started out that way. But she doesn't want to - she can't live with doubt.

"Dick?"

"Hm?" he hummed in reply.

"Do you want me to move out?"

At this, Dick snapped his head up, staring straight at Marinette in deep disbelief.

"WHAT?"

"I mean, it's okay. Just say-"

"NO! Listen, do you want to move out?" he demanded.

"No, I just- Don't you want me to move out?" Marinette slightly panicked.

Dick looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Why would I want you to move?" he asked finally.

"I don’t know! I just-" tears began to sting her eyes. "I'm doing magic. Batman hates magic, even has laws against it, and by being here I've already broken one- And maybe you don’t want me anymore and-"

But she couldn't finish, as Dick hugged her tightly.

"You are my kid and nobody can change that, you hear me? Nobody."

Marinette could only nodd, and oh, tears streamed down her cheeks.

"And as for B, he doesn't hate magic, he just doesn't want it in Gotham. He's got enough villains and he doesn't want more immigrant metas join them. And those laws don't apply to superheroes, so you're not breaking any."

"I-"

"Wait, I'm not finished. I know you've been through a lot. Yes, I'm angry, but not at you- at the person who left a child to struggle alone. At least I had B and Alfred. Not the same. And I deeply admire you for that. You are smart, passionate, kind, and tough, but most importantly, yourself."

Dick pulled Marinette slightly away from the hug so he could look her in the eye.

"I know that what I can promise isn't much, as there will be hard times, battles I don't know if I'll come out of in one piece, and I can't even protect you from heroism, as it turns out," he smiles weakly. "But I can promise you that I won't leave you, and I can't emphasise enough that you're my kid."

He pulled a file folder from behind his back. Marinette doesn't even know when did he put it there.

"To be honest, I've been saving this folder for a while. I've been thinking about it for a long time too. And even though I've only known you for a year, nothing can change how much I want to give this to you."

With that Dick hands it to Marinette.

"Only if you want to, of course," suddenly his voice shakes, his confidence vanishes. "I didn't even ask you about it, damn it. I just thought- I just thought we could make it official. No pressure if you don't want to, really. Just- Just read it."

And when Marinette opens it, all her doubts disappear, and her breath slightly hitches. She just wants to cry and cry from relief, from happiness.

Adoption papers.

"Yes."

"I- What?" Dick hadn't expected such a quick answer. Doesn't she want to think it over?

"Yes!" Marinette just kept nodding.

"R-Really?" He can't believe it.

"Yes!"

And with that, she threw herself into Dick's bear hug and they both just cried uncontrollably.

Marinette Grayson.

Sounds good.

Chapter Text

" ...One hour ago, an attack occurred at Wayne Industries. The attackers were arrested thanks to the quick action of the Bats..."

It should've been a normal day. Marinette doesn't know what went wrong.

"...The criminals have already been identified. Two men and one woman are responsible. They have in common that they worked in construction for Wayne's company at some point in the past year. Their motives are still unknown..."

She doesn't know why any of this happened.

"...Richard Grayson was shot-"

She was unable to breathe.

"-his condition is still unknown..."

With trembling hands, Marinette turned off the TV.

Then she ran.

...

"Jason?"

Jason raised his head. Until now, he has sat silently staring ahead of him. They had been like this for some time, in the hospital, camped outside Dick's room. It was all so fucked up. Sure, the hospital chairs were not comfortable and the antiseptic smell was awful too, but the waiting was the worse thing here. The uncertainty. The doubts.

Apparently Damian seemed to have a hard time with it too.

"Yeah?" he finally asked back. His voice was hoarse, his mouth was dry. He gently puts his arm around Damian's shoulder. Damian did not back down, but leaned in. He rarely allows touching for Jason, perhaps because of what had happened.

He wasn’t crying. Maybe his eyes were a little red, but he wasn't crying.

Neither of them was.

They'll cry when Dick's all right.

"A-Are you sure we can't go in?" His voice cracked at the beginning, he had to put the words together. Damian sounded so broken. Jason hated to see him like that. Damian wasn't even close to being a child anymore, yet now he could only see a child.

He reminded him too much of himself at times like this.

"The doctors told us to wait a little," Tim interrupted. His voice was slow and dry. Like if he had been stuck in another moment. "They'll tell us when we can go in."

The conversation between them died away, leaving them with the noise of the clinic. Just the three of them. The other members of the bat family were out of town. Jason slightly remembered something about Bruce being out of town for some business.  The others just scattered.

He wasn't here. He doesn't know how close one of them is to death.

Typical.

What if Dick-

What would he do if-

So they waited.

And waited. They waited until Jason's brain was flooded with deep green, until the clock on the wall drove them out of their minds and heard nothing but the clicks, until they had nothing else just prayers.

They waited because they couldn't do anything else.

...

Marinette ran.

From street to street, from hospital to hospital.

One time to another, she would get on a bus to go a few stops until running again because she has to go in a different direction. She boarded, checked on her phone the directions and the news to see if anything has been written about him, and let herself rest a little before she started sprinting again.

She couldn't go by car, even though she had learned to drive. Dick had taken the car, and even if by some miracle she managed to find where it was parked in the lot, she still wouldn't have the key to it.

Damian doesn't answering the phone. Every time she stops, she calls. There are more than thirty missed calls waiting on Damian's phone now (Which he broke in the action and hasn't fixed yet, but she couldn't know that.) She tried to call more people, but only company employees answered, who knew nothing.

Marinette thinks exhaustion is the only reason she hasn't gone crazy.

She had no idea where Dick was, which hospital, which street. Gotham had as many clinics as many crimes.

It was getting cold. She didn't bring a coat, and it gets cold fast in the early winter. The cold air burned in her lungs. It's been five months since Dick adopted- Don't think about him now.

Marinette tightened her thin thin autumn jacket over her equally thin knitted cardigan that she’s already worn from home. She was in such a hurry that she just remembered to lock the door and Kiki, but she didn't think about a winter coat.

The attack happened at two in the afternoon, she left at three o'clock, and now it's five pm. In two hours, she visited four different hospitals, in different areas. Two more to go, then it's over.

A lot could have happened in that time. What if-

Don't think.

Just run.

From street to street, from hospital to hospital.

Just run.

She ran because she couldn't do anything else.

...

"Jason?"

Jason hummed softly in response.

"Jason, wake up."

"M’awake..."

"A doctor is coming out of Dick’s room."

Jason's eyes snapped open.

...

Marinette ran.

From street to street, from hospital to hospital.

Run.

...

Jason cried.

...

Raindrops began to appear on the pavement and on her clothes.

Marinette didn't care.

...

"He'll be okay," said the doctor.

Relief washed over the brothers like an avalanche.

"...The shot almost hit an important organ," the doctor continued to inform them. "He should wake up a bit in an hour or two when the sleeping pills have passed. Then he will sleep again, but he will be fine. Until then, stay with him and tell me if anything happens."

The three of them were sitting by Dick's bed, crying.

And waiting again.

...

"What do you mean he's not here?!"

Marinette shouted. The receptionist looked scared, but she couldn't blame her. She was dripping with water, had been running for hours, and must have looked mad. Honestly, she felt mad.

He's not here. This was the last hospital.

She doesn't know what happened. She doesn't know where he is. She definitely has a panic attack inside, but her brain has been in ladybug mode for a long time. That's all that held it together. In a moment, however, when Marinette's panic surfaced with her darkest thoughts, it was as if she had been punched in the stomach. What if he dies?

Or...

What if she just imagined the WHOLE thing? She hasn't had a blackout in over a year, but what if the last year hasn't even happened? That she was at home all along alone and just imagined her lovely neighbour and that she gets what she wants?

"No!" her mind cried. Ladybug? Damian? Someone definite, that's for sure. Marinette wasn't, but her inner voice seemed to be. "Pull yourself together. Feel the jacket on the skin? Remember, Dick bought it for school. It's real. He’s real. And he needs you now. Think!"

Marinette closed her eyes.

This was the last hospital.

Maybe he's somewhere else? But where? Where can-

Oh, fuck.

She was stupid. So stupid.

"Is there a clinic in the city under Bruce Wayne's name? A private hospital?"

Marinette rushed. Her hand slammed down on the receptionist's desk, every bone in her body screaming to hurry.

It would make sense; a hospital that the general public doesn't know about, especially not for criminals to attack. Famous people, but especially for the bats. They were the bats. It would be a typical Bruce Wayne thing to do. If her head had been a little clearer, she would have thought of this sooner. So much time could have been saved.

What if he has been dead for hours? What if she was so dumb that she didn't get there in time, when she could have saved him?!

The receptionist seemed hesitant.

"I have no such information available to-"

"Please!" she shouted, her lungs wheezed.

She didn't care about the eyes that turned towards her. And now everyone was certainly watching Marinette. She hadn't felt this bad in a long time.

"Please." she repeated quietly, unable to hold back the tears.

Then she slid her shaking hands into her pockets, slowly pulling out her ID card. The ID card that had been updated five months ago.

Marinette Grayson's.

"I'm his daughter. If there is a clinic I need to know about it."

It was strange to say it at first but she knew it was true. She was his daughter. Nothing will change that.

The receptionist seemed to hesitate a bit, but she began to speak.

...

"Do you want something to drink?" asked Jason. It had been well over an hour since they had spoken to the doctor. They'd been waiting inside, waiting for him. After the initial relief, time passed really slowly. Sometimes someone would get up and get them something to drink from the vending machine at the entrance - Jason this time.

"No thanks," Tim mumbled, while Damian muttered something about "water."

So Jason did just that; he walked through the corridors, straight to the entrance. It wasn't a big clinic, just two floors. On the ground floor was the emergency area, where they were currently with Dick. And one above are the recovering patients. When Dick gets a little better, they can move him there.

He was quietly looking for coins in his wallet to put in the machine when his ears were filled with shouts.

At first he didn't want to pay attention, it wasn't his problem. Rich people do that sort of crying. Especially in hospitals - there is a lot of drama, like in a soap opera. Or romance novels, he might say. A bitter smile has spread across his lips. It's Dick who can talk about these things with him. He still can't believe he's read those books. In fact, Jason was sure he was just watching the movies. He let out a soft chuckle of the memories.

Then he heard Dick’s name.

He almost didn't notice. He was lost in his memories, and let's be honest, his head was pretty messed up now. And above, he had decided to ignore the shouting.

"D-Richard Grayson! He was shot!"

But the second time, he certainly heard it. Not far from him but he doesn't seem to have been spotted by them.

"Let me through! I've already told you who I am!"

A young girl shouted - well maybe not that young, just short. He didn't even know it was raining outside, but she was soaked. She was wearing a dark blue jacket to match her hair. Two slack braids wrapped into a pony tail, the rest of her hair was let down to the shoulder blades in loose waves, although they were tangled and stretched by the water. (And how did Jason know the technical terms related to hair? From Cass, of course.)

Jason didn't recognize her, but since the news about his brother seemed to be pretty high profile, that's where she might have heard about it. Reporters were not told about the private hospital, so the outside world doesn't even know that his brother is going to be okay. Bruce made sure everyone was signed up to a secrecy agreement, the only exceptions were at other hospitals, because of the ambulance staff.

But then that didn't include anywhere near full protection, so there were security guards inside the hospital. After all, rich people came here in case of incidents.

Now, too, the guards towered high above her. She seems to have run past them straight to the reception. She must have been trying to use her fame as an excuse, judging by the sentence. The girl could not have been just a regular fan. The hospital is private- so she must have connections, he assumed. Jason almost felt sorry for her, as the security gurads stood in her way now, to keep her from getting in. Almost.

His eyes twitched slightly. Jason was not in the right mood to deal with the crazy fascination of a rich teenage girl.

"Let me through!" she yelled again. But the shouting only made the guards more angry, and they reached their hands towards her arm to drag her out.

However, the teenager was quicker; before they could reach her, she swung to the side with a beautiful dodge - Jason couldn't have done better - and started running away from the guards.

When she was sure she had gained a few seconds, she hurriedly looked around. Jason saw her eyes, as she had done many times before. The girl seemed to have found what she was looking for, so he quickly looked for where the other was looking too. He didn't have to read it. He knew exactly what she had found, since he was also standing in that direction.

'Emergency department->'

And she started running again, towards him now.

Oh boy, Jason didn't want to deal with this.

But he can't just let some fangirl come running up to see Dick.

So he sighed to himself and blocked her path.

This made the teenager stop.

She viewed all over Jason, and slowly the realisation dawned on her face. But unlike what Jason had expected, this realization did not bring any alarm that she had been caught.

No, her face looked like she was... relieved?

She was relieved. God, Jason can't believe how delusional and crazy she must be to think he's going to help her find her brother. His lips quirked to a bitter smile, while hers turned into a glad one.

His eye twitched.

"You're Jason, right?" her voice was sweet, still in a hurry, and showing more maturity than he had originally given her. Jason didn't even get a chance to respond. It wasn't really a question, but a formality. "Please can you tell me if he's okay?"

"I'm not answering questions."

...

Her face dropped immediately.

The girl's eyes widened, and now she noticed the red under the other's eyes. His voice was also dry.

He probably cried.

The world stopped for Marinette Grayson.

No no no no no no no NO-

...

Jason was slightly pleased to see her smile disappear. She must be disappointed, but she could sill attend the press conference like everyone else. The guards were coming towards them, they were probably about to take her out. There's really no place for a fan like her here.

(He drew the wrong conclusion.)

"Where-" the girl's voice broke. Fuck, Jason didn't mean to hurt her so badly. "Where is he?"

He swallowed.

"Listen, you want to go in, I get it, but I won't let you. Please leave."

She raised her eyes. Jason felt like he was staring into emptiness.

"I'm going inside." The emptiness only lasted for a moment, it disappeared from her, as suddenly as it came. "Which. Room."

Jason didn't respond.

Her shoulders hunched, her lungs sucked in gulps of air, her arms swinging angrily at her side.

She stepped closer to him. Her eyes reflected deep sorrow and anger now.

"Let me in."

Suddenly she found herself saying it a second time;

"I'm his daughter."

Jason did not laugh. But he could have. She was obviously crazy, this girl. She looked at him with a seriousness and conviction that even Dick might believe. It's not enough she wants to break into her brother's room, but she thinks she's his daughter? And look at her. She looks like any 16 years old. Dick's 29 now, and he certainly didn't have a fucking child as a young teenager.

So, Jason did what he does best- he deflected with sarcasm.

"Sure," he said, "and I'm Santa Claus."

She looked at him like she was disappointed in humanity. Maybe she was, after all.

Anger flared in her eyes, in her body language.

She started to walk towards Jason, no, not towards him, but more alongside him. She tried to pass him, straight towards Dick. Jason would't let that happen. He didn't want to do this.

He grabbed her arm.

To be honest, he hardly saw what happened. The only reason he was aware of what was happening was because he was vigilante.

With his movement, she grabbed his shirt and his other arm - causing Jason to let go of her arm that he had grabbed- and then slid her elbow into his armpit and pulled him forward until he was standing on tiptoe. The girl turned around and stood with her back half turned to him. Jason lost his balance and that's exactly what she wanted. She pulled his arm forward until Jason was almost completely on her back- then threw him over both of her shoulders, till he hit the ground. His face twitched from it.

She fucking judo flipped him.

While Jason was on the ground, she wasted no time. She started running straight away. And now he couldn't stop her.

Damn it.

As quickly as he could he got up off the ground, overcoming his surprise. (He will probably not suit her, if only from the shame of having his trained ass judo flipped by such a short girl. Not to mention the differences in weights. It was only to be laughed at by her brothers. No, thanks. He could never wash it off.)

He ran after her.

This girl was fast. Although she only gained half a minute by turning him over, she was already ahead. And as fast as she is, he won't catch him. He shouted after her, "Hey! Stop!"

Not that she was listening. She just sprinted ahead in the corridors, not sure what she was looking for.

How will she find which room Dick is in?

Then, as if on a divine message, a nurse stepped out of one of the rooms, pulling an empty wheelchair after herself.

The teen almost ran into it, but she still tripped in the wheel.

Jason almost caught up.

"Which room is Richard Grayson in?" she blurted.

The nurse took a step back and then, confused and stammering, she gave the room number.

"Fuck!" Jason cursed, and then he ran off from the now scared nurse too.

The girl lost time. Plus, she has to watch the room numbers.

Jason ran as fast as he could. They are about to reach Dick's room. He'll get her by then. He has to get her.

He almost caught up. Just reaching out his arm-

"Kid?"

Both of them froze instantly.

As if time had stopped.

Jason's eyes widened, and everything went silent. There's no way. For by the wall, there stood his idiot brother, leaning against the wall, in his hospital gown, gauze wrapped around his waist. Jason doesn't believe it. This couldn't be Dick. A few hours ago he was dying, and now he's standing there as if everything is fucking fine. He wanted to hug hit him. It wasn't fine. Jason wasn't fine. How- Why did he- Fuck- Is he okay -

Tears welled in the girl’s eyes.

Her body shook. Then she leaned forward and Jason did not reach for her this time. Then, like she was shaken out of the trap of time, her tears fell. Her voice was wet, broken and old as she spoke.

"D-Dad?"

"Kid."

Then she began to sob heavily and stepped towards Dick. As if a supporting rope had been torn from her body, after the first step she quickly moved towards him. She walked as if she were about to collapse. But Dick rushed towards her as fast as he could, and caught her halfway. The girl fell into his arms, and quickly melted into it. He was crying too.

The girl kept sobbing as she repeated calling 'dad' over and over again.

Jason thinks his heart has broken.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but can somebody tell me who the hell is this girl and why is she calling you Dad?"

Talk about timing, Replacement.

"Shut up Tim," Damian hit him on the head. Although if Jason was honest, he had his own questions too.

She and Dick pulled out of the embrace, still with teary eyes, and he stepped forward to give Jason a quick hug.

Then he smiled weakly as he looked over everyone together.

He was just happy to have his family.

"This is Marinette," Dick chuckled a bit. Then he pulled his family into a big bear hug. "She is my daughter."

...

Hours later, still in the hospital room, Damian was braiding Marinette's hair, which had been previously dried with a borrowed hairdryer. Meanwhile, Marinette, Tim and Jason were playing some sort of guessing game ("What am I? If you throw me up, I'm white, but when I fall down I'm red." "I don't know, what are you Tim?" "Bride." "...You'll die slowly"). Tim and Jason started to warm up to Marinette. Kiki was lying at her feet. Sometime Marinette and Damian went back for Kiki (and her stuff) and she was moved in too. After a while Tim recognized him as the dog who played Batman on the base. It is understandable, after all, that Dick would bring his own dog.

They were waiting for Dick to wake up again. During the hug he sort of fainted, and the doctors scolded them for letting him up. They said it was obviously the painkillers that made him feel he could stand up. They didn't correct the doctors, after all, they didn't had to share about Dick's nightly fights.

At night the doctors tried to discharge them, but Tim gently reminded them who the hospital belonged to, so they were allowed to stay.

They had a good laugh at Jason when they found out that Marinette judo flipped him, after the girl wanted to apologize for the incident. Then the subject turned to movies and Marinette was about to commit homicide, to put it mildly, when she found out that it was Jason's fault that she had to watch bloody cheesy movies every weekend.

They took turns going out for food. After a while they realised that they could order, but they had to be clever, after all, the hospital is a secret. Kiki was also taken for walks many times. (Kiki officially became the best dog in the hospital. She was greeted with smiles from all the nurses and doctors.) They brought clothes, cleaning products and the like from a nearby shop. At some point Tim snuck in his laptop and worked from the hospital.

They shared many stories about themselves, trying to get to know each other. Marinette had heard a lot about them, but Dick and Damian spoke about them rather differently. Damian actually had the easiest job as he already knew everyone.

Two days passed in this way, when he finally regains consciousness. Dick's room became a kind of a camping place by then.

When he wakes up they calmly welcome him and talk. Nothing to do with the panic of two days ago.

They talk for hours, back and forth.

"Hey kid," Dick began when they were alone. Just him and Marinette. His brothers may not have gone out to get food, as they said, or to give them privacy. He doesn't think they have so many social skills to do so, but he's grateful. She smiles back at him.

"My memory is still not the best," he continued, "but I'm pretty sure you called me Dad back there."

Marinette's eyes widen and she flushes. She lowers his head in embarrassment and mumbles something apologetic. She won't look him in the eye.

But Dick just giggles with a warm smile.

"Relax. I just wanted to say it's okay. If you call me Dad. I like it."

Marinette lifts her eyes and Dick sees slight tears in them.

"Really?" she asks.

"Really." he answers.

Now his girl is smiling so beautifully that the sun can hide, and Dick feels something finally falling into the right place inside him. Maybe they will have harder days, maybe at some point Marinette will fly out from under his wings. Maybe one day he won't be so lucky in battle to get to go home. To his family. To his kid. To his daughter.

But still, he thinks they will be fine.

No.

He knows they will be fine.

Together? Always.

Chapter Text

December, (year 2)

When Bruce first meets Marinette, he doesn't notice.

Now you can ask the question 'Bruce? How can you not notice when you meet someone?'

And look, it's not exactly Bruce's fault, okay? He was... tired. Like, really tired. In total, he was awake for 48 hours now, give or take a few. He had a long shift, and he had to work. Twice. And when he gets home this afternoon, he's greeted with a terrible children noise. You'd think they'd outgrow it, but no.

Anyways, his tired mind barely realised his children were playing video games on the sofa. Four of them? Five?

Whatever, a bunch of bluish-black haired kids.

His children froze one by one when they see him coming closer. Did he look that scary? Or that tired? But Alfred reassured him that he wasn't!

There was a stir on the sofa, while Damian (or Jason?) urgently whispered something about hiding someone? Nope, he must have misheard.

But then why throw a blanket over Cass?

Or at least he thought it was Cass. He doesn't think anyone else with black hair was that short and had breasts. Or at least they didn’t got any two days ago.

Finally the girl, who is probably Cass, peeled off the blanket and stepped in front of him.

Gods, what did they do now?

"Hello," she said akwardly. "I'm um... Marinette."

That's weird.

Bruce could have sworn Cass wasn't talking. But if she wants to talk, great! Too bad he's tired now.

And she said she's Narimett? Or was it Marin? Something like that.

Oh he knows what's happening! It's like a coming out! So Cass has chosen a new name for herself? That's great, honestly. Bruce is proud of his kid!

Wait, is she trans now? Marin sounded pretty much like a masculine name. So Cass is now Marin? Bruce understands. He can't be a lame dad, his kids might think he's too old to understand. That's probably why she (or is it a he now?) was so coy about it.

You got this, Bruce. You can't be lame. Remember, some of your coworkers told you about similar experiences. Acceptance is key!

So all he's saying is:

"I'm proud of you for being trans."

He pats Cass's- no Marin's shoulder. He does not notice that the room around him stopped.

Tired, he turns around and goes up to his room to sleep, leaving his stunned child behind. He barely hears the extremely loud burst of laughter behind him before he closes the door. This is good, he thinks. He wasn't lame. Cass- I mean Marin- can now be happily trans. Good job.

With a proud smile on his face, Bruce falls asleep and doesn't wake up for another twelve hours.

...

When Bruce meets Marinette for the second time, he freezes.

He just wanted to get breakfast from the kitchen before he left for work. His head was still a little sleepy. But he was sure there was a strange girl sitting in his kitchen.

Maybe an assasin?

The girl didn't seem to notice that he was standing there frozen. Ahat's when Alfred showed up. He offered her some coffee and then left as fast as he come, leaving Bruce to deal with the situation.

If Alfred thought it was normal for her to be there, she cannot be an assasin. They looked like they knew each other with Alfred.

However, Bruce didn't remember the girl.

...But she has black hair and seems traumatized.

Ah.

He must have adopted her.

The problem was that, he still didn't remember. Hangover? Memory loss? Concussion?

Focus, Bruce.

He needs to pull himself together. If he really adopted her, he can't just kick her out.

"Good morning. Did I adopt you?"

Very smooth.

She froze. (Marinette panicked inside. Something like, "HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING-") Bruce, however, interpreted this as hurting her by not remembering. He needed to correct his mistake now.

"Uh.. It was a joke! I actually remember," he laughed nervously. "Oh yes! I'm glad I adopted you!"

She finally said something like a quiet "Eh?" but Bruce didn't really hear it.

"Well, I have to go to work now, but we'll talk about everything later. Have a good breakfast!"

With that Bruce nervously left the room. He has a new kid.

Again.

This will be a lot of paperwork.

...

At the third time Bruce meets Marinette, Dick is there.

It was an accident; Bruce walked into the living room just as Marinette called Dick "Dad".

Now, the biggest detective's head was spinning. Was his adopted daughter also Dick's daughter?

How old was Dick when he had Marinette?

How did he keep it a secret all these years? Could it be that he only just found out?

God, Bruce knew he was making a mistake by not giving his son THE talk.

"Dick, son. I know we never really talked about it, but if you got a girl pregnant that young-"

Dick turned pale.

A moment later, the paleness turned into glowing red, while his other children were on the floor laughing.

"I adopted her! ADOPTED!" Dick shouted.

Bruce was puzzled. "You're sure?"

"YES."

Oh.

That explains so much.

Then Dick had to argue with Bruce about who adopted her first.

A nightmare, honestly.

Next, the older one, who still refuses to admit that he didn't adopt her first, demanded to see the papers. The dispute ended quickly enough when it turned out that Bruce in fact didn't have any adoption papers about Marinette.

Bruce paled even more when he finally realized that she was his granddaughter.

A bit further on, two uncles were talking.

"It was the third time when he realised she was his granddaughter," said Tim. Damian growled. "You owe me two patrol deputies."

These idiots made a bet, Dick thought, as Damian threw himself at Tim.

...

December, (year 2)

Two weeks passed since the Bruce-incidents, and for the first time in her life Marinette was confronted with so many people at Christmas.

Everyone from the Batfamily (as they called themself) was there, even including the non-regular members. By this time the whole family had heard about Mariner and everyone wanted to meet her. No pressure.

"Relax," Dick reassured her. "You already know most of them anyway."

Gathering all her strength Marinette remained calm, which was a great achievement from her (still-present) anxiety.

And even so, considering that she was about to commit a murder at this time a year ago, it was not difficult to top her performance of the previous year.

In the hall, there was a huge decorated pine tree with presents underneath, sofas and bean bags all around. Marinette also took out from her bag the presents she had prepared at home and placed them neatly under the tree, and sat down on the edge of a couch. Of course, Kiki was brought over too. She was with Alfred the cat, playing on the carpet, near Marinette.

A moment later someone sat down next to her. A girl with short black hair, and similar Asian features to hers. She waved at her. Marinette waved back.

"You're Cass, right?" Marinette asked, and she nodded with a light smile. Dick had already explained his whole family and so she knew Cass wasn't talking.

"I know a little sign language." Marinette finally said, smiling awkwardly and signing with her hand.

'You don't have to sign,' Cass signed kindly.

"Right. Sorry."

'Don't worry about it. You made me happy by understanding sign language.'

Marinette slightly flushed, then they heard Tim's happy scream as he successfully set up a huge monitor on one wall of the room. Slowly, everyone started to crowd onto the sofas there.

'Right. Did the boys tell you the tradition?'

"Yeah," Marinette replied. Dick first, but the other boys mentioned it to her too.

The ultimate family tradition.

The PowerPoint night.

Marinette took her own red-black pendrive out of her pocket, with her PowerPoint presentation on it, and flicked it on her finger. Her smile was what others would call a 'troublemaker's smile'. But maybe that's just how Marinette naturally looked.

'I'm glad you're part of the family,' Cass signed back, smiling more broadly now.

So the PowerPoint night.

The rules are simple:

-              1: No compulsory attendance for Cass, who doesn't speak, and Alfred, who is, well, Alfred. (Bruce has been banned for more than five years, when he gave a presentation on patrol safety). The rest has to do one every two years on a mandatory basis. (The four boys do it every year, since they started the tradition.)

-              2: The performances should be about fifteen minutes long (no one wants to listen to a 50-minute lecture on firearms, Jason).

-              3: The right to eject and immediately stop it is reserved by majority vote, but only if it’s well reasoned.

-              4: The order is decided by drawing lots.

"Okay guys!" Tim called out. "Everyone knows the rules. I wrote the numbers out on paper in a hat because last year I was accused of cheating the computer draw."

"You totally did," Jason growled under his breath, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"No, I didn't! Anyways, back to the lots. Who brought a presentation?"

Slowly hands rose in the air. Damian, Tim, Jason and Dick, of course, then a blonde girl (Steph, Dick told her name Marinette before) and another brown-haired woman in a wheelchair (Barbara, nicknamed Babs), and finally Marinette herself.

Then Tim passed around a hat and everyone pulled a number from one to seven.

Marinette was lucky enough to draw the number 7.

Jason went up first. He connected his flash drive to the monitor, took a deep breath, and then started the night's next hour of hell.

The title slide read 'If we were in the Hunger Games, who would win?'

Three people groaned, but Marinette couldn't tell who.

"So I guess nobody has thought about who would win if we were in the Hunger Games," Jason began. "For simplicity's sake, I'm going to go with the terrain from the first movie, because I don't think everyone has read the book, or saw other arenas. And also, we're gonna look apart from the fact that nobody wants to kill each other obviously."

"Yeah, obviously" coughed Tim.

Jason just gave him a look, before he countinued.

"No offense, but Babs, you'd be the first to go out because of your wheelchair."

"No offense taken," she replied calmly.

"Next would be Steph or Tim-"

"Hey!"

"Then Marinette if nothing else for her baby face-"

Dick snorted and exchanged an amused glance with Marinette. Jason had no idea that 1) Marinette has been a superhero since she was a kid 2) she can do magic and 3) she has mini gods for friends. But sure.

"Are you still mad because she judo flipped you off?" Damian poked with his annoying tone.

Marinette smiled a little at Damian's protectiveness.

"She did what?!" asked Duke, Steph, and Bruce at the same time.

"Yeah, it was awesome. I got the security camera footage," Tim whispered to them.

Jason went on without a pause, "Then Duke, probably starving to death, and B, who was most likely got eaten by an animal at this point."

"This is a stupid death," Bruce declared, almost grumpily.

"That leaves me, Damian, Dick, Cass and Alfie."

"Alfie?" whispered Marinette to Dick sitting next to her.

"Yeah," he whispered back, "you hardly notice him even in the house, plus he raised B and knows a few tricks. He could be scary." Marinette's eyes searched him, and she smiled at the old butler. She knew he was family, not a butler, though even the boys sometimes referred to him that way. So technically he was her great-grandfather.

"Nevertheless, Alfie would die because he doesn't want to kill us." Jason stated.

"Man, you said at the beginning that we'd overlook that..." Steph muttered.

Jason, meanwhile, scrolled through the slides, mostly showing the causes of  their death.

"Next up, Dick would die because he ate a poisonous berry."

Dick looked at him as if he had gone mad.

"Which leaves three of us in the game. Damian and Cass would probably go after each other and both die of their injuries-"

"That's bullshit!" Damian stood up. "I would team up with her against you!"

Jason ignored him.

"Which means that I would win-"

And the chaos began in the form of pillow throwing.

The next presenter was Steph, with a rather funny one called 'Disney Princesses and their Mental Problems', followed by Babs presentation about the 'Weirdest police cases', and then, Damian's 'Reasons why I'm the best uncle' entitled PowerPoint (which caused widespread outrage).

Then it was Dick's turn.

Title: 'Top 5 reaction to Marinette's existence (based on security footage)'

The mentioned daughter buried her face in her hands with a groan.

Dick clicked and the first slide appeared.

"At number 5; Tim sleepily!"

A short video started playing on the slide. Marinette didn't even know it was possible to insert a video to PowerPoint. All you could see on it was Tim, dressed in business clothes, sitting at a desk, in a call with someone. Then Dick's voice came in from the phone: "Got it!..." a pause then, "Shit. That's my kid."

Video-Tim then spitted out his coffee in spectacular fashion and just went to sleep.

The current Tim blushed in embarrassment. Marinette didn't even know about this, but at least she's not the one who's getting roasted here.

"Next up, at number 4: Damian coming to my apartman for the first time," Dick continued the torture.

The video was from a security camera in the corridor. Suddenly Damian appeared, his back to the camera, hesitated for perhaps a second, then knocked. Marinette opened the door, both of them surprised, and measured each other for a second. Then the girl spoke in a cold voice:

"We don't buy anything." And she slammed the door in Damian's face, leaving him completely shocked.

Jason was almost dying of laughter, and Damian decided it was the time to commit fratricide.

"This is not chronologically next, but in 3^rd place: Bruce meets Marinette for the second time."

Duke raised his hand like a schoolboy, "How do you meet someone for the second time?"

"By," Dick replies, "not remembering the first."

Bruce was confused, but the boys just waved him off.

The scene of the video took place in the kitchen. Now Bruce groaned. The boys looked on with interest, as they didn't know about this either. This is gonna be good, Dick thought. He only knew about this because Marinette told him, and just say, he laughed his ass off.

A sleepy Bruce walked in the video, and when he saw Marinette having breakfast, he'd froze for a minute. He just stood there, then Alfred walked in from somewhere, gave her coffee and simply left. Bruce was still frozen. The rest of the family giggled a little. Then the video-Bruce seemed to pull himself together and said smoothly, "Good morning. Did I adopt you?"

That's it. The Batfamily members were practically rolling on the floor, laughing so hard.

"Dad, stop itttt," Marinette whines, but she laughs too.

But the video is not over yet. Marinette froze and Bruce visibly started to panic, making the situation worse. "Uh.. It was a joke! I actually remember," he laughed nervously. "Oh yes! I'm glad I adopted you!" He says something else too but no one could hear it because of the overwhelming laughter, while Bruce on the video literally runs out of the kitchen.

"What the hell B?" Tim asked when he finally caught his breath between to laugh, after the viedo stopped. "How can you not remember that you adopted someone?"

"Yeah, what the fuck," Jason asked too, rubbing his forehead with his hand, still laughing.

"Well, it's good to see you laughing Jason, 'cause you are in the 2^nd place!" Dick clicked on the next slide, and Marinette buried her red face deeper.

Jason froze in a second. This only made Tim and Damian laugh harder.

'What's this about?' asked Cass, signing.

"This is THE famous judo flip," Tim answewd her question.

Now Jason wanted to commit fratricide. For the second time, actually. Or third?

"Dick. Don't you dare. Don't-"

But the video has already started. They were in a hospital that everyone knows from previous visits. "I'm going inside," Marinette said in the video. Her voice rang dangerously and Cass shivered. "Which. Room."

"When was that?" Steph asked.

"When Dick was shot." Tim replied. "Everyone was totally freaked out at the time, but looking back it's pretty damn funny."

"Let me in." Marinette, in the video, spoke again. "I'm his daughter."

Dick couldn't help but look at his kid with pride.

"Sure," Jason said, "and I'm Santa Claus." Marinette's face flushed with emotion, and then she tried to pass him, but he grabbed her arm.

Bad choice, Cass thought. She recognized a warrior here, not a little girl to mess with.

And then Marinette performed the most beautiful judo flip of the century in the video.

"That's my niece!" Damian exclaimed too, like he was watching a football game. Jason threw a pillow over him, but couldn't suppress the nightly cheers that rose from everyone.

"You go girl!" Steph punched her fist in the air.

"Alright, everybody calm down," Dick stopped the cheering and then continued with a dangerous smile. "There's still the last one to go: and in 1^st place is none other than... Bruce!"

"Me?"

"Well, yes. As we said you don't really remember it."

Now Bruce was scared.

What did he even do to end up in first place?

However, this video was recorded by a phone. Tim's, probably, given that Damian, Dick, Jason and Marinette were also in the video. "Quick! B is coming!" Dick whispered. "Hide the girl!" Jason urged too. "How?!" Tim whispered back in the moment of panic. Then, half a second later, Damian threw a blanket over Marinette. Tim muttered something to himself about how glad he was to get this on camera.

Bruce appeared on the screen, but said nothing, just looked at them. Marinette finally took the blanket off and walked in front of Bruce. The mood of the video became serious, and the room quieted down with it.

This was an important moment.

"Hello," she said akwardly. She fixed her hair with her hand, as she was obviously nervous. "I'm um... Marinette." Bruce froze for a moment, but then walked closer to Marinette in the video.

The four boys clasped their hands over their mouths in reality to keep themselves from laughing.

Then in the screen, Bruce patted Marinette on the shoulder as he said,

"I'm proud of you for being trans."

Then he happily walked out of the picture.

Everyone stopped.

Complete disbelief in the room.

"You said WHAT?"

Finally the boys gave up and started laughing so to say in a hyena voice, while Alfred also smiled lightly.

"What the hell," Bruce muttered, "I don't remember saying anything like that."

Dick just patted him on the back, and that's when everyone else started laughing too.

After everyone had managed to finally catch their breath, the next speaker went on. Before Marinette, there was only Tim, whose this year's "Evidence why Santa is a communist" PowerPoint actually made some sense.

("He wears red, brings presents to all the children, watches everyone and records them in a list, knows everything about you, has a secret base somewhere in the north and is known to have a Russian accent-"

"What do you mean he's 'known' to have a Russian accent? He doesn't even exist!"

"Shut up Jason.")

And so, it was Marinett's turn.

She was nervous. It was her first PowerPoint night and she didn't want to mess it up. Relax, she told herself. You just talk about what you love. With a slightly shaky hand, she inserted her red-and-black pendrive into the player, then lifted her chin.

'Worst fashion choices in history ft. by the Batfamily'

Silence.

Okay, look. The funny thing is that Marinette originally wasn't going to do a presentation on this, but then she realized, "shit, I didn't tell them I knew about their vigilante business". Even more hilariously, she realized that Dick didn't tell them anything either. So she watched the guys fool around for a month - Damian for almost year now - making up stupid excuses to get away. She hadn't even told Dick that she was going to do this, she only hoped he won't interfere.

With that, Marinette began the nearly fifteen minutes of torture.

They all listened in silence and shock as the girl, a fashion expert and secretly in the superhero business, dismantled almost every costume they had ever shot on camera.

Marinette spared no one.

And when she realised that they really had no idea that she knew, all the nervousness disappeared from her voice.

Sometimes someone would try to defend their costume, with little or no success. Two sentences, and she refuted the defense with a better solution, and humiliated the costume even more. Sometimes someone giggled at someone else's, but suddenly it came to their turn and they quickly shut up.

The only one she didn't say anything about was Nightwing. She was afraid Dick would interrupt, and tell everone that she knew before she could finish.

(No, she left that to the end.)

Jason stood up the moment Marinette reached Red Hood's current costume.

"Okay, that's it," he raised his hand, "I say enough is enough. Sorry blueberry, but I say we take a vote."

"Okay," replied Marinette casually. "What's your reason?"

"My-uh- my what?"

"Yup. 'Rule number 3: The right to eject and immediately stop it is reserved by majority vote, but only if it’s well reasoned.' So, what's the reason?"

"My- I mean- my reason is...

Jason was stunned when he realised.

-Damn it."

That's what she thought so.

And Marinette happily continued her presentation, while everyone else continued listening in silence and agony.

Finally, when exactly fourteen minutes had passed, the end was reached.

"And in the first place is none other than- "Behind her back, a bunch of pictures of Nightwing's Disco outfit appeared on the slide. "Discowing."

Dick stood up. "You-"

"It looks like a stripper's-"

"You LITTLE-"

And Dick threw himself on Marinette. Or, at least he would have, if she hadn't run away into the labyrinth of sofas. They ran in circles, screaming for who knows how many times. Finally Dick jumped over a couch and grabbed Marinette by the waist.

"Oh really? A stripper? I raised you better than that, young lady, betraying your dad like that-" Dick shed a non-existent tear, and coninued dragging her, but Marinette fought back, smiling. (He wasn't angry, of course not, he even laughed with his daughter. It is important that they are both just joking. And Marinette knows this. No joke is trauma, and Marinette can be scare easily, but she still doesn't because it's Dick, come on.) And Dick laughs too and smiles at his daughter as they are almost sparring now.

A whole freaking family of frightened eyes looks at them.

Suddenly they both froze when they remembered where they were. They quickly pulled themselves together and got up. Dick spoke first.

"What? She knows-" Dick scratched his neck. "- For a year now, but it's been fun watching her tear you apart."

Oh.

Well, shit.

They were so stupid.

Damian is the first to pull himself together. "What did you just say about MY COSTUME-"

"It's still a traffic light-"

Now it's Damian who jumps on Marinette.

...

March, (year 3)

"Hey, Cass, have you seen my eyeliner?"

'No,' she signed back.

Marinette sighted, "Damn it. Then who uses it all the time? Steph?"

"Don't look at me, I don't even like black eyeliner! Babs?"

"Nope. Leave me out of this."

"...I give up."

Twenty metres further down, in the bat cave;

"Hey, demon-swamp, what do you think of my makeup?" Tim asked, who stood in front of the mirror.

"Whatever. I don't think Kent even cares what you wear on that date."

"I'll tell John you said hi."

"Don't you dare."

...

June, (year 3)

"Shit, shit, shit!"

The sound of gunfire came from the communicator.

"Babs- Shit!... We need... help-" Tim's voice.

"Babs, what's happening?" Marinette leaned forward urgently to get a better view of the screen.

It was supposed to be girls' night out when suddenly the alarm went off. They were not even in Wayne manor.

"I don't know! It was supposed to be a regular patrol!" she pulled out her computer and almost in the blink of an eye, she turned on the bat program. Marinette passed her headset to her.

"Guys!" Babs shouted into the microphone. "What's happening?"

"Agh- shit...  DAMIAN!"

Boom.

The comms went silent.

"Guys. Guys!"

Nothing.

"Fuck!" Babs threw down her headphones.

And when Marinette saw the frightened look on the other's face, she understood just how bad the situation was.

Marinette stood up immediately. "I'm going after them."

"What?" Babs froze. "You can't-"

"Yes! I can!"

Babs tried to block her path. "Marinette, you can't go there-"

But there was no time.

Explosion.

Damian.

"Babs! I- Please!"  

Please.

"I can save them."

Please let me.

Babs hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Marinette's eyes was what convinced her. The look in them.

"Two streets east from here. Go."

The younger girl nodded.

And Marinette ran, leaving Babs behind with tears streaming down on her cheeks, cursing her wheelchair in inertia.

It took her about five minutes to get there.

The damage was enormous.

A warehouse had almost completely exploded. Small fire burned on the remaining ruins. From a distance, she could hear the sirens, but she was faster getting there. Fortunately, there were no dead bodies around the buliding, but she had no idea what was in the ruins.

She heard shouting from inside, and God, she recognized it.

They were the boys.

It was her family.

Before she could think twice, she dived into the building.

A few (knocked out? dead?) people were lying on the ground, all in black clothes and in ski masks. Marinette wasted no time on them. If she's right, they're the ones to blame for the explosion. Then she heard someone's voice again and went after it.

She ran into the other storage facility, following the sounds as fast as she could.

Before her, a horrific sight unfolded. Blood on the floor, a body lying in the middle, and four men in costume kneeling around it.

They were shouting to each other, to the man on the ground, and crying.

Damian was lying there.

Her Damian.

The best uncle in the world.

She wanted to vomit.

Save him.

She went closer.

Dick was the first to notice. "Marinette?"

Everyone turned to him. Dick stood up and hurried over, blood on his hands.

"You must not be here." He grabbed her arm, his hand shaking and stained with blood, Damian's blood. His voice was shaking too and hysterical, almost pleading. "I-I don’t want you to see this- Go back-"

"Let me go!" Marinette ripped her arm from Dick's hand and rushed to Damian.

Batman-Bruce also stood up. "Marinette-"

But the girl didn't listen.

She knelt down on the floor next to Tim. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes, but said nothing. His eyes were tearful with despair.

Jason stayed silent, too. But his eyes were dark, with a deeper sorrow and grief-

Marinette wasted no time.

Save him.

You can save him, a whisper told her.

She quickly checked Damian's pulse with her hand. He was still alive, but not for long. If she was just a few minutes late, he might not be alive by then. His injuries were horrific. Half his body was burned and the smell of burnt flesh wafted through the air. There was a fucking hole in his side.

She doesn't know how to save him.

You can save him, something told her again.

The girl closed her eyes.

Marinette felt the magic slide under her skin. She had never reached this deep inside herself before, and she hadn't wanted to try. She had no reason. At this point she had been experimenting with her magic for a year now - her own, as a guardian and as the ladybug holder - so her magic was twice as much as when she was a young teenager.

She put her hand on Damian's body and felt his heart beating so slowly. He might as well be dead.

"What is she doing?"  Marinette thinks she heard Bruce's voice, but she shut him out. She snapped back into concentration.

She remembered reading a Greek mythological story about Clotho. According to the mythology, three sisters decide how long a person lives, the Fates. Clotho was the first, the 'Spinner'. She braided the thread of life and was the goddess of threads.

Master Fu always told her, that if she had a problem with her magic, just try to imagine what she wants to achieve. He was not the best master, but this turned out to be good advice.

Marinette imagined Damian's thread of life, half severed, hanging by a thread.

Not knowing how to do it, the only she could do is trying to somehow repair it. Maybe it needs to be spun.

Slowly, she used her magic to heal, to re-braid the thread. The injuries were slowly beginning to heal on Damian's body. The blood began to flow backwards, even floating around her in the air. She could feel it in her hair, smell it, and sense it because it was Damian's blood.

And then the thread snapped.

Damian's pulse stopped.

She clenched her teeth.

She won't let go of him.

The thread was still knotted by her magic. It didn’t snapped off completely. And so, thread by thread, she wove on.

The magic answered her call. The boy's wounds slowly closed, his skin rebuilt and renewed.  The blood, cleansed, swam back into the body from the air. His damaged organs healed. Even his heart started to beat again. Slowly, but surely.

Marinette opened her eyes.

The world in front of her eyes was completely different. She saw the four bats, but differently. It was like seeing their... souls? It was as if she was torn away from her body, she could even see herself. She didn't know how, as she didn't know many things about magic, but she looked terrifying. Her eyes were wide open, almost glowing white, but there was no pupil or iris in them. Just pure magic. The remaining blood floated around her.

She seemed to be out of this world.

It only took a moment, as fast as this vision came, it went away. Her visions returned to her, her soul to her body. The blood fell to the ground.

And finally, Damian took a breath.

He sat up coughing, clutching his side, almost frightened. His hands gripped his flawless skin, where minutes ago there was nothing. His widly open eyes met Marinette's. She smiled at Damian.

Then everything went black.

...

Dick doesn't know what happened. He's not looking for an explanation, he's not looking for logic.

He thought he had lost another little brother.

And then Marinette somehow saved Damian. He knows she can do magic, but she certainly hadn't been able to do this before. It was a terrifyingly powerful magic, but it saved Damian.

Not that Marinette could ever do anything to make Dick turn away from his kid.

After that, things got murky. Dick took Marinette back in his arms, while Bruce took Damian. Both were rushed to the hospital as quickly as they could - Marinette under the cover as a civilian caught in the blast, Damian's mask still up for the whole time. However, the doctors found no injuries, apart from a couple of scratches on Marinette. They said they both passed out, but theoretically they were fine. They were fine.

Her magic worked.

Afterwards, they were taken back to the Wayne Manor.

"Did you know?" Bruce demanded, his voice strangely sharp.

Dick shook his head slightly, "It's complicated."

"What do you mean it's complicated?" Bruce hissed. Dick couldn't really explain. The words that stuck in his throat were strange to him too.

Jason snapped to his feet. "Bruce. Leave him alone."

The tension was almost palpable.

"Jason-"

Before anyone could get at each other, a cough interrupted them.

Damian woke up.

The family met startled eyes and rushed over. Damian's arms gripped his stomach where there had once been a hole, his expression scared. He was just a litle boy now. Arms wrapped around him almost instantly and Damian couldn't help it, a tear leaked from his eye.

"I'm dead. How? I-I am supposed to be dead." His voice broke. So did Dick's heart.

Jason turned his head in response. Damian followed his gaze and found Marinette lying on a bed next to him. Vague memories flashed before his eyes, but everything was so blurred. He sucked in a sharp breath of air. "She brought me back, didn’t she."

There was no need to confirm.

Marinette woke up two days later.

Dick tried to keep the others from demanding a response, which worked for about twenty minutes.

"What are you?" Bruce finally blurted out. Of course it was Bruce. Dick really wanted to hit him, but had to settle for a sharp look.

Marinette stared questioningly at Dick, who simply said in explanation, "I haven't said anything yet."

He let her do the hard part. Plus, it was not his secret to begin with.

The girl sighed heavily, her head hurt.

Okay, she thought, let's try this the easy way.

"I am Ladybug." As if she were saying a shopping list. "A hero or something. I can do magic. Mini gods gave me this power. Any questions?"

Of course there were questions.

...

July, (year 3)

"I give up, I give up!" Tim hit the floor after sparring with Marinette. She wasn't even wearing her costume.

"Who's next?" Marinette asked, not even sweating.

Jason stood up but Damian just laughed at him. "Are you signing up for another judo flip? Wait, let me record it!"

The result?

A broken phone, and a judo flip.

...

September, (year 3)

Among the mountains stood an old stone temple. The walls were overgrown with ivy and seemed deserted. But appearances can be deceiving. To ordinary people the place was hidden, not that many would go up so high. A couple of climbers wander in occasionally, but the magic sends them on their way.

No one remembers seeing such a temple.

But there is a lot of noise inside the cold walls. Children, teachers, animals and the splashing of water. These people have been living in hiding for a long time, in a self sufficent lifestyle. Years ago, disaster happened, then all of a sudden everything went back to normal. The elders said that the gods wanted it that way. If they had descended from the heights, or if magic hadn't hidden them, they would have realised that a century had passed. But they didn't.

For a long time, a dark-haired girl is the first to climb this height, an ancient and forgotten path.

The magic doesn’t fool her, but welcomes her as its own.

The cold Tibetan air rushes into her hair, catching in the intricate braids. Her appearance reflected the Tibetan way of life, even if her features did not. The clothes were simple, comfortable for climbing, similar to those of a monk.

Although she was brought to Tibet by plane from another continent, the ancient way cannot be shortened. So when the time came, she traded her old clothes and started walking. Her journey was a slow one, as she moved from one place to another on foot or on four-legged animals. She was called a Magician or a Healer, as she cured many sick people in the small villages that she passed by. She refused to take money, so as payment she received a braid or an animal to travel to the next village.

Her reputation preceded her. Sometimes they awaited her arrival with gifts, other times they fearfully shunned her magic. Not that she really care. The girl was just following the ancient path, looking for a temple, a book written in an ancient language showing the way.

It took her a month of travelling to find it.

In the line of clouds, its high walls stood. Her magic resonated with the ancient one, her bag pulled down by the weight of the secret box in it. The great gate opened with a bang, for the first time in a century. She had seen this in her dreams.

This place was called the Guardians' temple for many-many years.

And Marinette entered the gate.