#I was unsure about like. everything with this Tim design until I went a bit off the sketch during the lineart

[alyssadeliv]

The Forgotten One

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Chapter 12

They were going to the zoo. Richard had decided that after two months of her living in the Manor it was time to have some family bonding time. It didn’t matter that most of her time in the last months was used to get to know her new extended family or get reacquainted with her old one. 

He was adamant that she needed the full Gothamite experience, so here they were on a Friday afternoon on a crowded metro, listening as the oldest one tried and explained how Metro’s worked to her. He was so happy, gesticulating and smiling, that she didn’t have the heart to tell him that she indeed knew how the metro worked, having lived in Paris for almost two full years.

After Damian, Richard was her favorite sibling, mostly because she had always seen him as a role model, as part of her training had been inspired by him and his trapeze maneuvers, but she did enjoy the warmth that she tended to feel when he was around. He was patient and had no problem explaining pop culture references to her. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with her other siblings, it was just that Richard went out of his way to make her feel accepted.

Tim was a very busy person, and their interactions were reserved to 3 a.m. coffee hunts. He wasn’t bad, just closed off, and a little wary of her after his first experience with Damian. Not that she could blame him. But she was a bit closer to his girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, who would come to have dinner at the Manor every week. 

And there was Jason. She refused to address him as her brother, that would just be plain weird. After the initial shock of finding each other again had worn out, it had taken a few weeks for them to finally address the elephant in the room. She could tell that he had struggled with the news that she was Bruce’s biological daughter.

“Dick, maybe speed the lecture a bit so we can still get to the zoo before it closes.” Jason was leaning casually against a wall, finding this whole situation funny. He was wearing jeans and his red leather jacket, nothing special, but if she was honest he looked rather handsome. 

“It’s fine Jaybird, I was just wrapping it up!” He says with a smile, just in time for them to catch the next wagon. Because they spent at least 25 minutes listening to Richard’s lesson, the metro had emptied a bit so they were able to find seats. It was just the three of them, the others would meet them there, after being picked up by Alfred, Damian after school, and Timothy after a meeting. 

“So… I know Bruce said not to ask, but I’ve been dying to know…” Richard starts unsure, afraid to cross a line. They were lucky to score seats in the same section, she was seated with Jason by her side, with Richard in front of him facing them both. “But how exactly did you two meet, I mean it was obviously at… Tibet-'' He caught himself before he could out them as members of the League, you never knew who could be listening in their conversation, so better safe than sorry. “- but why do you know Jason, but Damian didn’t?” 

With a glance to the side, she was more than happy to allow Jason to explain that part. In the two months she lived at the Manor she saw how much they wanted to ask about their relationship, but kept their distance. Aside from Damian, they didn’t feel the need to inform the family about their past. 

“Well, Pixie Pop here was the one to train me for the duration of my time in the Temple. Kicked my ass more times than I can count.” He says with a smirk, while casually butting an arm on the back of her seat. “She taught me most of what I know”

“Most of it?” She was indignant, but the smile on her face betrayed her true emotions.

“To be fair B didn’t totally suck as a parent.” She knew that he and Father didn’t have the best relationship after he came back from his time at the League, but according to Damian, it used to be way worse, not that she would know. Richard seems content with their explanation and didn't demand more information, even if he desperately wanted to. He respects their boundaries, and that only makes her like him more.

When they got to the zoo, Damian and Timothy were already there, but surprisingly Stephanie had tagged along, so now she wasn’t the only female in the group anymore, not that she cared, but she liked her brother’s girlfriend so the surprise was appreciated. 

She had never been to the zoo before, just to see the attractions. The times she went to fight an Akuma did not count. It was a bit sad seeing all these animals stuck in a cage, and she could tell her brother felt the same. Damian always had a soft spot for animals, and would not tolerate if they were being mistreated. Not surprisingly, the Waynes made annual donations to the zoo to ensure that all the animals were well taken care of. When she first heard about that she was glad that Father cared about Damian’s interests enough to pay to support every zoo and animal shelter in the city. It helped ease her guilt for abandoning him for two years knowing that now she was not the only one who cared for him.

They spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the animals. And Dick was glad he chose to go to the zoo as a family bonding experience. When Damian first came into the family he had taken him there, after discovering that his younger brother absolutely adored animals and he was happy to see that Marianne liked it as well.  

Efficient as always, Alfred was already there waiting for them the minute they crossed the exit of the building. As she came to know, the men seemed to have a six sense when it came to all of them. Just by his aura, she could tell he wasn’t someone you wanted to cross, but she could see how much he loved each one of his grandchildren (because she could never kid herself to think of him any less than a Grandfather).

“I assume that today's activities were enjoyable.” The butler asks as he opens the back door of the limo for them. Richard enters first thanking the men.

“It was acceptable” Damian voices, as he too enters the vehicle.  

It was a bit of a ride, seeing that the Manor was almost outside of Gotham, but she didn’t mind. Seated between Richard and Damian she spent most of the journey chatting with everyone. But by the time they arrived at the house everyone was a bit tired, so dinner was a relatively small affair. But not uneventful, because as revenge for Bruce bailing on family day, the boys started sharing with her all the shenanigans of her father’s public persona, Brucie Wayne. It was amusing to see this new side to her father, always so reserved and serious. 

“If you are all finished sharing Master Bruce's embarrassing moments, I believe it is time for patrol.”  Alfred as always came to defuse the situation before it could implode. 

Because she spent most of the last two years fighting almost every single day, she decided that she needed some rest from her hero lifestyle. Even after her father asked if she would like to accompany them on patrols, she decided to turn it down for now. So while her family directed themselves to the cave, she made her way into her suite. 

It was a beautiful room. Although the color scheme wasn’t something she would have picked herself, it fit with the furniture rather nicely, and her artist side appreciated that. The room itself was simple, but the red colors and the dark wood made the room seem cozier than it was. With a double bed with a canopy, two bedside tables, a vanity with a mirror, and a wardrobe, it had everything she needed. Her Father had encouraged her to decorate her room the way she wanted, and she had been tempted to do so, but ultimately decided to wait until she settled into her role as a family member before she went and added more change to the mix. What she had been very close to doing was adding a desk so she could draw and design, but after she discovered that there was a big one in the library just a few doors from her room, she dismissed the idea.  

Quickly she showered and changed into something more comfortable than her street attire, before exiting the room and making her way into the library. It wasn’t as big as the one downstairs, but it had a big balcony that overlooked the gardens, so she liked to just sit in a shadow and sketch away. Damian had been kind enough to spare one of his unused sketchbooks and some pencils, knowing that she liked to draw just as much as he did. She leaned forward into the railing resting her arms and head, but still looking upwards.

The sun had already set, and she was glad that they were far enough away from the city that she could see some stars in the sky. Having lived in Paris, she had really missed all the stars she could see at night from her home on the League. One of her studies had been about the Astros, so she spent a lot of time as a kid contemplating the skies. 

“It’s going to rain soon” A voice comes from behind her. Without having to turn around she knew who it was. A smile appears on her face.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for patrol?” She asks, straightening her body, but still not turning around. She could feel the person getting closer to her until she felt a presence at her side. 

“That’s the whole point. It's gonna rain.” He carries a hint of humor in his tone “And besides I prefer to keep you company, Pretty Girl. Besides, I believe Red Hood deserves one night off. The guy has been working hard.” He jokes.

With a smile she finally faces him. He had showered and changed, and without his red jacket, he looked so relaxed. It reminded her of their time in the League. Like that he looked so much like the angry boy she helped train. So young and while broken, so full of life and fight in him. He smirks at her but turns his face upwards to look at the night. 

“You always did love the stars.” He commented, not looking at her. “It’s sad that here you can't see them as much.” 

“It’s not that bad. In Paris, you couldn't see any. It was sad, but to be fair the whole city more than compensated for that. It’s beautiful there.” She recalled all the times she went on a midnight stroll around the city, just enjoying the architecture. “I could spend eternity drawing all the details in the buildings.” 

“Do you miss it?” He asks, looking at her. His tone is neutral, but by his body language, she can tell he’s anxious for her answer. She had always been good at reading him, and she was glad that their time apart had not changed that. 

“In a way…” 

She sighs.

“I liked the city, but I spent most of my time there fighting and training. Not much different from before. It was like everything changed but was still the same. To be completely honest… I miss our time at the League the most.” She confesses but hurriedly continues. “Don’t get me wrong, it was hard! But still… at the same time…”

“I get it.” He interrupts her. He has a small side smile, and the dimples on his face make her want to freeze this moment and draw him so she could eternalize him. Instead, she gets closer to him, seeking comfort in his presence at her side. He embraces her. Securing her in his arms, her body pressed against his, her head buried in his chest.

It was funny to think that the most capable woman to take care of herself he knew, chose to be vulnerable around him. It made him feel loved.

“I miss it too.” He whispered in her ear. She raises her head, just enough that she can see his face without removing herself from his arms. Staying like this reminds her of all the nights he used to sneak into her chambers. And they would talk and hold each other for hours. It felt like it was just yesterday the first time he got the better of her.

“Focus!” She yelled while landing a kick at his unprotected left side. “You are unbalanced- in three moves I could have you on the ground again” She punched him to his right, but he was able to block her and tried to deliver a punch of his own. His knuckles were bloodied, and he knew that in the morning his ribs would hurt. But at this moment he was high on adrenaline. She dodged. 

They were training for what felt like hours. But both were too stubborn to ask for the fight to end. 

But just as promised, in three more moves he was on the ground. He tried to get back on his feet to continue with the fight but was stopped by a foot on his torso.

“That’s enough.” She helps him to get on his feet. “You were great! You could have overpowered me so many times! I left you so many openings!” She laughs. This was routine for them. After a fight, Marianne was usually so pumped with adrenaline that she spoke at a mile per hour. “We really need to work on your tactics this week. Oh! You also need to improve your stance, you’ve been favoring your right side too much. I know your ribs hurt but you still need to protect your body as a whole.” She comments only stopping to take a large sip of water. “Well, I am spent.”

“You’re spent? I’m the one that has been eating dirt for the whole hour!” He complains indignantly. She tossed a water bottle in his direction, which he grabs and happily finishes in a single gulp.

“Just another reason you need to study more!” She grins. And turns to exit the room, and while walking to the door turns to him again. 

“See you in a bit” She winks. 

When they meet again they are in her room. She’s seated on the bed sketching some view, while Jason sits on the floor sharpening his knife. They chat casually for some time, but ultimately end speaking about their training session earlier. 

“That move would have totally worked!” He exclaims, knife long forgotten he now kneels facing her bed. 

“There’s where you are wrong, you need strength on your fist on both sides to push my torso, otherwise I would easily be able to doge only one. You need two punches at different sides in succession for you to distract your opponent!” She explains in a hurry. Her thoughts jumped around her head. 

“No way! If it’s strong enough, only one is needed!” He argues.

Worked up she threw her notebook to the side, forgotten. In a second she was up, signaling for him to do the same.

“There is no way. Stand there, pretend to be in stance.” She directs, and without a second thought, he complies. “Okay, so I come for your right side first, you are stronger there.” 

Her movements are slowed, as she demonstrates the move. “That’s going to distract you, and keep you focused on your stronger side, leaving your weaker one unprotected.” She shows him where he left an opening for her. “So all I need to do now is strike again, focusing more strength now. Either a punch or a kick would do the trick.” As she goes to demonstrate her point, he grabs the incoming slow punch and pulls her into his body. 

Unprepared she loses her balance, falling into his chest. In a second he secures her with his other arm, keeping her in his embrace. She feels her face burning with embarrassment. He caught her by surprise, and she felt ashamed.

“Hey that wasn't fai-” But he silences her, bringing his face closer to hers and giving her a heated kiss. It lasts for some time, but when they finally separate themselves he has a grin on his face.

“Just to be clear, I knew the move wouldn’t have worked. You just look cute when you're angry.” 

And before she can protest he shuts her up with another kiss.

So this is by far the biggest chapter! Hope ya’ll like it! We finally get the story behind Jason and Marianne. Let me know what you think!

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#batman #bio dad bruce wayne #child assassin #damian wayne #mari al ghul #marianne al ghul #maribat #miraculous ladybug #older sibling #the forgotten one #assassin marinette #damian al ghul #league of assassins #mari wayne #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous au #mlb x dc #ra's al ghul #talia al ghul #bio-dad #jasonette

[nxrthmizu]

[Broken Hearts and Empty Ones]- Daminette Songfic: ‘The Only Exception’, ft. Paramore

---

When I was younger

I saw my daddy cry

And curse at the wind

Damian crouched outside the door of the office, hearing Bruce’s muffled sobs echoing softly in the secluded area of the manor. The fact that Bruce was crying was nerve-wracking enough- But crying over a woman? That was something else- Especially since that woman was his mother. 

He broke his own heart

And I watched

As he tried to reassemble it

Damian watched as his father kept a straight face at breakfast the next morning, the cries and tears of last night only a distant memory- Perhaps even a dream. He watched the way Bruce looked at Tim and Stephanie with that wistful spark in his eyes. He watched the way tears- Not happy tears, but broken-hearted tears- Gathered in his father’s eyes when Dick and Barbara got married.

And my momma swore

That she would never let herself forget

When Damian was still young, he remembered how his mother would put on the cold, uncaring expression on despite the fact she just caught the title of ‘Gotham Playboy Bruce Wayne Caught With (---)’ on the first page of the latest news. 

She raised him, telling him that no one was trustable, that giving out his heart would only result in it getting broken. 

And that was the day that I promised

I'd never sing of love

If it does not exist, 

She’d made him promise, she said: “Don’t you ever let love be your weakness.” and Damian had swore, Damian had squeezed every ounce of affection out of his system, had made sure he’d never develop a crush on anyone.

but darlin'

You are, the only exception

The first day he’d met her in college, he’d scoffed at the sight of a weak, frail girl- Clearly, this was someone who gave her heart away too easily- And got it returned, broken. 

You are, the only exception

But the next day, she’d brought him a paper bag of macarons and she’d told him to eat up. And then, out of sheer curiosity, he asked why she’d let her heart get broken. She took one look at him, and told him that his heart was as empty as hers was broken, and then pushed the paper bag closer to him. 

You are, the only exception

He’d been offended at first, and refused to talk to her. He’d given her the cold shoulder, telling himself it was better to have an empty heart than a broken one. But even though he’d ignored her, brushed her aside, and spat at her about keeping to her own business, without fail, everyday, he’d have a bag of fresh macarons on his table. 

There was even one day when he thought she’d stopped making macarons, but later, when he was at the library, studying, she’d dropped by, setting a bag of macarons on his table, walking away without another word. And although he didn’t want to admit it, he ate all of the macarons (Only because they were good and it was a pity to throw them away). 

You are, the only exception 

Then, after that, he’d find a bag of fresh, toasty macarons inside the mailbox of his hostel, everyday. But on a faithful Friday, two weeks after she’d told him his heart was empty- He found a sticky note on his bag of macarons. It read: Broken hearts take time to fix, but an empty heart takes affection to mend. 

One part of him scoffed at how cringey it was, how naive she was. But another part of him pocketed the note, another part of him held the note to his heart in the dark, and smiled like a teenager in love. 

---

Maybe I know, somewhere

Deep in my soul

That love never lasts 

If she was being honest, Marinette saw it coming. From the day she’d asked him out, to the day he broke it off, she’d always knew that he was too good for her, and that her love would never be enough to tie him down. 

And we've got to find other ways

To make it alone

But keep a straight face

She’d refused to be the girl who spent hours crying over her breakup, but that didn’t mean she didn’t shed a few tears while watching romantic movies, all alone in the apartment that she had spent so much time in with him. 

And I've always lived like this “You can keep it,” He said, tossing the keys of their apartment to her, his arm around his new, smirking girlfriend, who looked as proud as the cat who got the canary. 

She’d caught the keys with shaking hands, dripping tears, and a broken heart.  Keeping a comfortable, distance After one week of mourning the silence in the apartment, she got herself together. She made designs, she listened to breakup songs, she attended college while earning money off commissions. 

And up until now

Once in a while, she’d find something that was his, and then think: Wow, he’s been gone for three months now. 

I had sworn to myself 

“I’m happy,” She said, a sad smile on her face as her friends got engaged, one by one. 

that I'm content

“I’m happy,” She told her parents, a bright smile on her lips, a heavy weight jerking on her chest as she glanced at her mother’s wedding ring. 

With loneliness “I’m happy,” She whispered, sitting alone in a quiet apartment, knowing that the rest of her friends were shopping for wedding gowns. 

Because none of it was ever worth the risk

She cried and screamed when she found a framed photo of her and him, six months ago, his arm around her waist and matching, in-love smiles on their faces. 

But, you are, the only exception

When she looked at him, the new boy in her college class, she saw- Nothing. There was no love, no hate, no joy, no despair. And for some reason, a voice in her head told her that yes, she was going to help him. 

You are, the only exception

She picked up the spatula, hesitating, remembering all the times she baked home-made pastries for him until the day that she found the pastries she’d packed for him to eat at work in the trash can, all of them untouched. She shook her head, and told herself no, she would never again associate the thought of baking with him.

You are, the only exception

Everyday, without fail, she packed macarons for him, and everyday, she found her heart slowly, slowly piecing itself back together. And every morning, she found herself waking up with a smile, getting up to gather her ingredients and make more fresh macarons for him. 

You are, the only exception

It went to the point where she gained the courage to put a sticky note on his bag of macarons, and as she was writing, she glanced up, catching view of herself in the mirror. Her eyes had stopped being sunken; The dark circles beneath were gone; And most of all- A soft, genuine smile was stretched across her lips. 

---

I've got a tight grip on reality

Damian decided enough was enough. He asked around for her apartment address, and on a Saturday morning, he waited for her, right outside her door. 

But I can't let go of what's in front of me here

Oh, she’d been surprised, alright. Once the shock wore off, she’d smiled sweetly at him, and then Damian realised, as he looked at her, that she’d mended her heart. Sure, you could still see the little flaws and cracks in her once-full heart, but somehow, she’d gathered the million shatters of her heart and then stuck them back together. 

“Hey...?” She greeted unsurely, and he noted the recycled bags in her hand. “Good morning.” 

He nodded in response, his tongue absolutely tied. He fiddled with her sticky note inside his pocket, and gestured with his other hand for her to go on with her day. He was grateful that she didn’t ask any questions about why he was following her. The two walked to the subway, took three stops down, and emerged on a busy street. After another bit of a walk, they stopped at the grocery store. 

“So, why did you follow me to the grocery store?” She asked, arms crossed. 

He only shrugged and gestured for her to go on. He carried the basket as she picked up her usual ingredients, eyeing Damian with a wary glance. Flour, almond ground, meringue. When she was done, she went over to take the basket from him, but he held on firmly. She raised an eyebrow but never said anything as they made their way to the paying counter. When she was about to take out her purse to pay, he gave the cashier his credit card. 

When she protested, he had said: “The least I can do is pay for the ingredients.” She went quiet, and then everything made sense. 

On the way back to the subway station, he had insisted on carrying the bags like the gentleman he was. Sure- He might’ve never had a crush on a girl before, but Bruce and Alfred made sure he was raised right. 

I know you’re leaving in the morning, when you wake up

“You know, you’re really incredible.” He said, smiling at her. 

“Oh?” The corner of her mouth lifted. “How so?” 

Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream, oh

He took out the sticky note from his pocket, and the shock on her face was something he would never forget. “Remember this?” The note was wrinkled and stained- It was pretty obvious that he had opened it and re-folded it many, many times. “You said ‘A broken heart takes time to fix, but an empty heart takes affection to mend’.” 

She nodded, unsure of where the conversation was going. “You’re really incredible, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” He repeated. “In under two weeks, you managed to fix both a broken heart and an empty one.” 

They stopped walking, and she stared at him. 

You are, the only exception

”You actually listened to what I said.” She said, finally. “I didn’t think you would.”

You are, the only exception

He shrugged. “I thought I’d never fall in love, either, but look where I am now.” He smiled softly. “You really are something else.” 

You are, the only exception

She blushed. 

You are, the only exception

“You have to promise me something, though.” He put on a serious face. “Promise me you’ll never stop making macarons for me.” 

She hit him playfully, and then Damian knew in that instant, his empty heart had been mended. 

You are, the only exception

On a Friday evening, as she returned from the campus library, Marinette glimpsed something sticking out of her apartment mailbox. She opened it cautiously, afraid that it was a prank. A paper bag sat quietly inside, a little letter lying next to it. She peered into the paper bag, letting out a delighted squeal when she spied a container with disfigured-looking cream puffs. 

You are, the only exception

The letter, which she opened later in her apartment, read: This was my first attempt at making cream puffs. I know they probably aren’t the best payment to you, especially since your macarons always look perfect and let’s not mention you fixed my ‘empty heart’ (Your words, not mine). So... If the cream puffs aren’t good enough of a repayment, could I possibly make it up to you with a date? Tomorrow night, 6pm? Sincerely, your-once-empty-hearted-boy, Damian Wayne. 

You are, the only exception

Three months later, she’d decided that the apartment was still a little painful to live in, and after selling it off, both she and Damian had put together the money that they had from doing commissions and working at a cafe respectively, and they’d bought a little apartment not too far from the college. 

You are, the only exception

One evening, two years after they’d graduated- She’d dressed up nicely to go on a date- He’d said ‘dress extra nice’ in his text, then added: ‘don’t worry too much, you’d look good in whatever you pick’. Once the taxi had dropped her off, she looked around the lavender field that Damian had instructed her to go to- face brightening when she saw her beloved once-empty-hearted boy. 

It was difficult not to squeal as he got on one knee, taking a velvet box out of his back pocket. Both of them were shaking with emotions, and Damian hadn’t even gotten the first word out and he was already getting teary. Marinette was seconds from sobbing out of happiness. 

“Marinette,” He took her hand, his voice shaking. “When we first met, you told me I was as empty-hearted as your were broken.” Damian swallowed. “And even after I snapped at you, brushed you off, you still made those macarons for me.” Both of them shared a teary laugh. “And under two weeks, you fixed both your broken heart and my empty one. So,” He choked, his heart nearly bursting from the pressure. “Will you let me be your once-empty-hearted-boy forever, and let me marry you?” 

“Yes,” Marinette laughed, tears dripping down her cheeks. “A thousand times yes!” 

And I'm on my way to believing

Damian, standing at the altar with his father and brothers next to him, couldn’t believe how lucky he was. Just because this one girl in his college class had looked at him and decided that she was going to help fix his heart, he was getting married. Bruce, for once, didn’t look broken-hearted at a wedding as Selina smiled proudly from the front row seat. 

Oh, and I'm on my way to believing.

Marinette, in her beautiful, white ballgown, arm-in-arm with her father, bit her lip, trying not to cry and ruin her makeup. In their relationship, Damian was wrong about one thing- Marinette didn’t fix her broken heart on her own. Damian was the one who mended her broken heart- The thought of Damian eating her macarons- And when he told her to promise to make those macarons for him for the rest of their lives- That, was the very moment that Marinette’s heart blossomed again. 

They were each other’s exceptions. 

---

I am not kidding you I CRIED WHILE REREADING THIS that is how emotional i am people and whoop am i getting a hold of my procrastination! I wrote a chapter of lord bug robin and kitty noir- And it was a mighty long chapter, too, and then i wrote this. Whoaaaaa i did a lot of writing for one day~ I’ve been writing since like, after lunch, and now, it’s almost six (Where i’m from it’s almost six) and i’ve been writing for like... Six hours. *claps self on back and gives self reward sticker* and if i tagged you and you didn’t want to be tagged I'm sowy :( i just copied the tag lists from my lord bug and hogwarts au... Sowy if you didn’t want to be tagged... And I'm a hundred percent sure that some people were tagged twice... Anyways love y’all <3

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Tag list: @kceedraws @constancetruggle  @ellerahs @2sunchild2 @mystery-5-5 @ki117h3dr4g0n @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @tbehartoo @resignedcatservant @im-here-for-the-content @mooshoon @darkened-flame @spicybelladonna @whomthefyck @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @xxmadamjinxx @rhub4rb @a-marlene-s @mochinek0 @zalladane @t-nikki10 @angelicbookfangirl  @politelyvicious @mikantsume @iggy-of-fans @shizukiryuu @littleredrobinhoodlum @thebananathatwrites @my-name-is-michell @7-sage-7 @linnyalou @ladylb @particularlygeeky @vivilakitty @iglowinggemma28 @alexzandria-747 @luciferge @lunar-wolf-warrior @aurordraws @urbanpineapplefarmer @clumsy-owl-4178 @creator-josie @driftingmoonlitpetals @fiendsangelical @mjisntme @two-faced-biatch @thecatnipmademedoit @northernbluetongue

#damian wayne mlbdc #marinette dupaincheng mlbdc #i nearly cried writing this btw if anyone was wondering #the only exception #paramore #mlbdc #mlb x dc #miraculous ladybug x dc #daminette #damian wayne x marinette dupain cheng #bruce wayne mlbdc #poor baby bruce #talia al ghul mlbdc #I'm crying guys

[vln-vibes]

Watchtower Woes

Week 1 Day 4 of Maribat March

Special thanks to @little-kitty-kanny , @ethelphantom and @the-navistar-carol  for beta-ing for me

It was a normal day at the Watchtower, well as normal as a space station for superheroes could be. The Watchtower looked down upon their home planet, making it seem so big yet so small amongst the sea of stars surrounding them. Today it was just Wonder Woman, Black Bat and Ladybug on monitor duty.

“Sister.” 

Ladybug, otherwise known as Marinette Drake nee Dupain-Cheng (the 23-year old designer behind the Lady Luck designs by MDC company), turned to see Wonder Woman looking at her with concern. She and Diana were rather close as the Amazonian princess had practically taken her as blood sisters when she learned of a new Ladybug; seeing as her mother had once worn the mantle as well.  Diana had also been her business partner when her company first began to take off.

“Are you feeling alright? You seem to be under the weather”

“She’s right,” Cassandra Cain-Wayne added in “Your center is off, you seem uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine. It's been a little stressful with the upcoming line with Wayne Enterprises,” Ladybug sighed, finding herself massaging her temple, feeling a headache already developing. “That and the team has been acting strange lately, I’ve been trying to investigate the cause, but the Miracle Book isn’t saying much, and I can’t exactly ask Master Fu anymore”

“How so, Ladybug?” Diana asked, taking a seat next to her while Cass took charge of looking through the security footage for them, still focused on the conversation.

“Well, most of them have gotten dangerously overprotective of me. Just yesterday Roi Singe took a hit for me against Hawkmoth 2.0’s latest creation. I asked him about it afterwards, and he just said that nothing could harm me? It was rather strange, especially seeing as Ryuuko and Abeille got more ruthless afterward. Chat was also hissing at people who approached me,” she explained with a troubled look.

“Even as civilians, Viperion, Monarch, and Paon were coddling me: Mari are you warm enough? Have you eaten today? No, Mari, let me get you a natural juice instead of coffee. It’s been so frustrating having to deal with their constant  babying.”

“It’s honorable for your team to care for your well being” Diana commented, heavens knew  how the JL got  whenever one of their members was  ill or was unable to perform their duties. Ladybug’s eyes just seemed to water at the implication, wiping the tears before they even fell.

“B-But that could just mean they don’t trust my abilities… what if they think I’m not worthy of being leader or even worse… of being Ladybug?” 

Diana did her best to console the younger woman while Cass looked at her skeptically.

She had seen the sudden change in emotion Ladybug had gone through like whiplash, from tired to content to worried to saddened. As Diana combed through Marinette’s pixie cut, Cass continued to think of the things happening these past few weeks.

Tim had once asked Barbara if there was anything that could help with back pains, stating that Marinette had been experiencing some rather hard period symptoms.

She recalled Adrien purring along with Alfred the Cat when they had gone to Wayne Manor last week along with Tim and Conner. Even Ace and Titus were acting like her personal bodyguards, not too different from normal, though Damian admitted that it was a bit more overkill.

Just last month for the Wayne Charity Gala, during the ladies’ final fitting, she had complained to Steph that her own dress felt a little tighter than she expected... though not unbearably so, so she had just decided to leave her own dress as is.

Had it really been so obvious?

She needed to recheck whether Tim deserved the title of Detective after this. Cass stepped out of the room momentarily to make what was potentially a life changing call.

“Robin and Superboy, do you read?” she knew her baby brother, almost eighteen years old, would be hanging out at the Titans Tower in the east coast with Superboy, now sixteen, but seeing as it was a quiet day and the other Titans: Green Lantern (Milagro Reyes), Nightstar (Mar’i Grayson), Scarlet Flash and Kid Speed (Dawn and Don Allen), and Speedy(Lian Harper) would be on standby.

“Is something the matter Black Bat?” Damian responded almost immediately.

All Bats were rather keen on making sure their comms were on in case of emergencies, even when silenced, they’d have the notifications on to see who was trying to contact them.

“Do you mind coming to the Watchtower with Superboy, there’s something concerning Ladybug𑁋”

“Is she alright?” she almost giggled at how concerned her brother was before keeping her cool and responding.

“I believe she’s alright but perhaps not aware of her condition”

“We’ll be there in a minute”

Not even a full minute after stepping back in with a much calmer Ladybug, did she hear the announcement of Robin and Superboy’s arrival before the two skid into the communications room with the three heroines.

“Robin and Superboy? I wasn’t aware you boys would be passing by today,” Diana asked curiously as Damian just puffed up.

“Black Bat called about checking Ladybug’s condition” he said eyeing the scarlet hero to see if anything was amiss; other than her red rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks he found nothing unusual.

“My condition? Cass what are you talking about?” Ladybug asked confused and a bit protective.

“Superboy,” Jon perked at his name before turning to Cass “Can you hear the heartbeats in this room?”

“Uh sure…” to say he was confused was an understatement. He was rather familiar with their heartbeats, having known them for years at this point. He could hear Diana and Damian’s rather war drum like beat, Cass’ steady and rhythmic beats, Marinette’s calm and slightly faster than usual heart and then there was𑁋

Wait, what?

“That’s weird” he whispered to himself before focusing again. Sure enough it was still there a soft echoe of duhn-duhn… duhn-dun as the fifth heartbeat. But he had never heard it before… and it was coming from…

Oh duh!

“Holy schmoly! Congrats Ladybug.” He flew up to her and gave her a huge hug, conscious of his strength now more than ever. Ladybug seemed confused while Cass smiled at her.

“You’re expecting!”

Suddenly everything made more sense, Marinette thought in that moment of realization, as she felt Diana give her her own congratulations along with Damian, who wished to both brag and inform the rest of the family.

This was really happening.

“Can— can we see Doctor Mid-Nite or Doctor Thompkins, please?” she heard herself whisper. The group looked at each other, Diana contacting the Watchtower’s doctor while Damian called for Tim and the rest of the Bat Family to come as soon as they could; was that overkill? Perhaps, but no one that was even associated with the Bats could be anything less than dramatic. Jon was the one who called Conner who called Adrien to go meet them at the Watchtower as well.

Half an hour passed and Ladybug found herself lying on one of the Med Bay beds with Doctor Thompkins, the woman having to be pulled until they mentioned Marinette requesting her assistance, making the last few configurations to the ultrasound machine.

“Are you ready, dear?” the kind doctor asked.

 Ladybug lifted her uniform, which she learned she could do at that moment, nearly squirming at the cold gel spreading at her softening abdomen.

“As ready as I’ll ever be” she laughed nervously before taking a deep breath. She couldn’t help but close her eyes, unsure if she wanted it to be true or not, before hearing the curtain open. Tim looked disheveled, most likely having come out of a W.E business meeting he had mentioned yesterday evening.

“Mari, what’s wrong!?”

Duhn-duhn…. Duhn-duhn… duhn-duhn

Marinette had never heard such a life-altering sound, feeling the tears swell in her eyes as her husband looked dumbfounded.

“Is— is that?” Marinette could only nod before being enveloped in a hug by him. He whispered sweet nothings and reassurances to her as the beautiful sound echoed in their heads.

“God, we’re going to be parents, sunshine”

“So it would seem, moonlight”

“M’Lady what’s—!” Chat Noir had sprinted from the zeta entrance having heard the far too soft heartbeat coming from the monitor, the Bats not far behind him. Suffice to say that the Watchtowers usual quiet was interrupted for the rest of that evening as cheers and congratulations went around the Med-Bay.

They would later learn that she had been nearly three months pregnant by the time they found out, explaining her team’s odd behavior due to the animal characteristics of the Miraculous. However, the worst news was to come a week later on one faithful morning.

“Oh kwami, get that away from me!” Marinette exclaimed as soon as she came out of their room in their studio apartment in Gotham. The scarlet hero having to rely on Pegasus for travel to and from Paris for the time being. Not that her team even wanted her on the field in the first place at the time but she was anything if not stubborn, a necessity for the Wayne family.

That was how the coffee obsessed duo discovered that Marinette and baby were disgusted by the mere smell of coffee. Truly, it was the hardest part of the pregnancy.

Six months later, when Thomas Louis Drake-D.C was born, his aunts and uncle would continuously call him the ‘Second Coming of Christ’ for doing the impossible and getting his parents to cut off their caffeine addiction, much to their annoyance. 

For now they were just a family of three, looking at the infinite stars of their baby’s eyes.

My AO3

Ko-Fi

#Maribat #MariBat March #MariBatMarch2020 #timari #timinette #Tim x Marinette #Tim Drake x Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Maribat March day 4 #Day 4 #Watchtower

[rhub4rb]

Home is Where the Heart is

AO3

[First chapter] [Previous chapter] [Next chapter]

-_-_-_-

It was awkward in the living room. Marinette and Bruce were alone, for some apparent "bonding time" that was very much needed according to Alfred. Marinette scowled inwardly at the butler.

Bruce had gone along with adopting Marinette for Alfred, which she didn't quite understand. If anyone had any reason to be distrustful of her, it should be Bruce. She was in his city, fought his kids, had no history. Apparently adopting black-haired, blue-eyed kids was a habit of Bruce's.

She didn't really understand, but she appreciated it, if only somewhat.

"So..." Marinette said. "You adopt kids a lot?" Smooth Marinette, real smooth.

It worked, at least slightly, as Bruce raised an eyebrow at her. It was a reaction! But nothing more came of the topic. They went into silence again, and for a moment, Marinette wondered if he was considering taking back the adoption.

"I lost my parents too," Bruce suddenly said, and Marinette blinked, not even sure if he said anything at all. "I was 8 years old. Alfred took care of me growing up."

Marinette stayed quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say. Comfort, even if well-meant, didn't seem appropriate. So instead, she shared.

"I lost my parents a week before I came to Gotham," Marinette said, looking at her hands folded in her lap. "I stayed with my grandfather, and then he... he passed away too."

"Were you close?"

Her hands tightened.

"Very."

A moment passed before Bruce said, "No one can ever replace them." Marinette shook her head, feeling her nose starting to tingle as tears built up. She just wanted to go home. To France, to the bakery. To the ever-present scent of baked bread and bear hugs, to flour fights and game nights.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know you only did this because Alfred aske-"

"I didn't do this because Alfred asked me to," Bruce said, cutting her off. "He was going to have you under his custody, I was the one to request adopting you." 

Marinette blinked, finally looking up at the man who had let her stay in his home, despite knowing that something shady was going on.

"But... why?"

"Do I need a reason why?" He asked, and Marinette was hit with how similar it sounded to what she told Tikki, once her plan against Hawkmoth had been solidified.

A tear slid down, followed by another one, and before Marinette could even think, her weeping echoed through the halls of the manor, leaving behind a ghost of what she was feeling. She didn't even notice him hugging her until he started shushing in her ear, rocking her back on forth, and it felt so similar to what her papa would do that she just started to cry harder.

It seemed like Bruce understood though. He said nothing, just tried to calm her down, yet still let her cry, let her grieve.

-

Breakfast the morning after was a quiet affair. Marinette was certain that the other members of the family had heard her weeping, but none of them made a comment. It seemed that grief was a common feeling in this household, and Marinette didn't know whether to be relieved or worried.

It eased the awkward tension that was usually in the dining room, but the fact that Jason was gone somewhere probably helped too, though Marinette had the distinct feeling that he was avoiding her as much as possible.

She couldn't say, it wasn't like they had spent time together as she and Tim had, but maybe it was the looks he would sometimes send her way when he thought she wouldn't notice, questioning and doubtful.

Maybe she wasn't the most forthcoming with him either. Whatever magic that was used on him, used to bring him back, was reeking off of him, pulsating and angry, as if trying to scare her away. It could perhaps be the magic that was causing him to avoid her, and he simply didn't realize it. Or maybe he did, but refrained from saying anything.

Doing a cursory glance around the room, it seemed like almost everyone present had at one point passed away, save for herself and Tim.

Marinette wondered what caused these people to be so willing to give up everything to save lives when they got nothing in return. But then she looked at herself and realized that it was quite simple really.

The feeling of it just being the right thing to do could be strong at times, and maybe this family of vigilantes felt that too.

From what Tikki had told her, Marinette had been destined to be given the miraculous, that she was a true Ladybug. Marinette wasn't sure how to feel about that, that the fates had made such a decision about her before she was even born.

"What are you spacing out about?" Damian suddenly asked, cutting her thoughts off with a harsh tone.

"Nothing," she stated simply, to which he scoffed and turned up her nose.

"Figures you're empty in the head. Are you sure that you actually went to school before coming to Gotham?"

Marinette knew there was more to that question. They had looked her up by now, tried to find her, and they got nothing. All Damian was looking for was some type of confirmation, for her to deny any schooling so he could bust her on something he already knew the answer to.

"Yeah," Marinette said. "I've gone to the same school all my life. I skipped a grade back in elementaire."

This seemed to catch the attention of the other table occupants, Bruce looking up with raised brows.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I did pretty well in college too, though I don't really know what I should do now," she admitted a little reluctantly.

Her dream had always been to design, but now... that dream felt far away, like it was part of the life that she erased, along with everything else. Marinette shrugged.

"It's not like I'm an idiot or something, I did well in school and I worked hard for my grades, it's just... school hasn't exactly been on the forefront of my mind."

"We can discuss what you want to do later," Bruce said, and Marinette nodded, just glad that the topic was dropped for now.

Damian just continued to scowl.

-

"Why did you let her stay?"

Bruce let out a tired sigh as Damian asked him the question again, not the first time in the week that Damian had cornered him.

"You know, she asked me that question too," Bruce said. Damian just scoffed.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Why do you have such a problem with her staying here?" Bruce asked instead of actually telling Damian what he wanted to know.

"I feel like it's obvious! She shouldn't even be here in the first place!" Damian exclaimed. "You trust Alfred too much sometimes."

Bruce felt a spike of anger grow at this, protectiveness of the father figure of his life rising.

"I have a reason to trust Alfred as much as I do," Bruce said with an air of finality that Damian ignored in favor of continuing the argument.

"He's human, he makes mistakes," Damian said. "How do you know he hasn't misplaced his trust in that girl? How do you know she isn't just playing him to get to us?"

"There are certainly more effective ways to do that than to go through the butler, don't you think?" Bruce asked rhetorically. "If she wanted to do something to us, she would have done so by now."

"I still think you're being a fool for trusting her so easily."

There was silence between the two, Bruce refusing to answer his son at this point, and Damian refusing to step down on the idea that Marinette could maybe be trustworthy.

Of course, Bruce didn't trust Marinette. He hadn't told her about the Batcave and their nightly activities for a reason, but he wasn't about to throw her out either, not after what happened the night before, not after Alfred had already told him that the girl had nowhere to go.

Maybe he really did have a bad habit of adopting kids, but he gave them lives that were better, didn't he? An outlet for all their frustrations against the world. Heck, according to Alfred, Marinette slept in an abandoned building somewhere until she found the butler.

Leaving her now felt wrong, and besides, this way they could keep an even closer eye on her, even if she did hardly leave her room. She and Tim frequently talked apparently, not that Bruce would know. Tim was awake at the most absurd of hours, but his third son seemed to trust her well enough.

It made sense to keep her around.

She was a mystery waiting to be solved, and they were supposed to be the world's greatest detectives. If that was the truth, then they should be able to figure out what was really going on.

"I still think it's a mistake to let her stay."

"Then it's a good thing that this isn't your decision to make."

-

Marinette and Tim were once again in the kitchen in the middle of the night, neither of them able to sleep yet. It had become an almost nightly ritual at this point, not that Marinette minded much.

"Damian really doesn't like me much, does he?" Marinette noted absentmindedly while she was sketching. She hadn't talked about her shaky relation with Damian to anyone, but it was really starting to get on her nerves.

After their last confrontation, Marinette largely left him alone. She didn't feel like getting yelled at by someone who was only a year older than herself, but she still felt the stink-eye he would send her way, the way he would complain about her to Bruce.

"Don't mind him, he's a brat most of the time, even when he's in a good mood," Tim said, typing away on his computer.

Marinette just hummed, though her sketching slowed. It was weird. She hadn't had this much trouble with a person since Lila, and that was years ago. It didn't help that Marinette already felt like a burden to the family, she didn't tell Bruce to adopt her, she didn't tell Alfred to look out for her this way.

She didn't even realize that she had stopped sketching completely until Tim called out to her.

"This is really getting to you, isn't it?" Tim asked.

Marinette bit her lip before reluctantly nodding.

Tim sighed. "Damian didn't have an easy childhood," he told her. "He might feel threatened by you here."

"But why would he feel threatened? I'm not trying to take his family from him or anything."

"Of course!" Tim admitted. "But Damian is used to things being taken from him, all of us are. He doesn't want to lose it all."

Marinette could understand that. After Paris, after losing everything, even herself, she could only understand it too well.

"I just don't know what to do," Marinette whispered, her voice cracking.

"Give him time, it took a while before he started trusting us too," Tim said, putting a comforting hand over hers. "He'll come around at some point."

Marinette wasn't so sure about that, but she didn't say that to Tim. Instead, she nodded and went back to sketching. Peace once again entered the kitchen, though Marinette's mind was still swirling with the Damian issue.

Suddenly, a box is placed on her sketchbook, and Marinette looks up at Tim questioning. 

"Don't take what Damian says too seriously, he really is just a brat most of the time. As for that," Tim said, nodding towards the small black box he placed on her sketchbook. "That's a gift from me to you."

Slowly, Marinette lifted the lid of the box, revealing a sleek black phone.

"I figured you might need one," he explained.

Marinette looked wide-eyed at the phone, then back at Tim, before looking at the phone again and slowly shaking her head.

"I can't accept this-"

"You've had a rough couple of days. Take it."

A second passed, two, before Marinette lunged herself towards Tim, engulfing him in a tight hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed quietly, mindful of the others still sleeping.

-_-_-_-

@constancetruggle @mojos-biggest-fan @lysslovesanime @heredmaquam @luciferge @scribblinggraveyard @thatfandomsgirl @eliza-bich @ki77h3dr4g0n @crazylittlemunchkin @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @skyel0ve @serenacross200 @valeks-princess @thebananathatwrites @aurordraws @nothernbluetongue @bluerosette23 @xxmadamjinxx @graduatedmelon @tritaledkitsune @tinybrie @shamefullove @screechingflapbiscuitpeach @danielslilangel @vivilakitty @kurogaya913 @elspethshadow @theatreandcomicfreak

#marijon #joninette #jonette #home is where the heart is #maribat

[meliecho]

Hearts and Heroes: One Shot - chpt. 9: Mark’s Past

A kind warning: This chapter contains a topic that may trigger some people. It’s not bloody, graphic, or gory, but it is psychological. Please keep this in mind when reading. Thank you.

A kind disclaimer: None of this is based in reality. Nothing like this happened 5 years ago. This is a fan created backstory. This is not canon, and not created by the devs of Hearts and Heroes. It is isolated to this story alone, and should not be considered canon in any way, shape, or form.  ...But headcanons are perfectly acceptable.

I have this ability to disassociate myself from the Id so I can put 100% of my ability into the art, even if it tears me apart to do it. Later, when I reconnect, I think, “WTF was I thinking?” I love Mark, so writing this was hard, but it's the story. Creators know the story will beat them with a nail-studded nerf bat until it’s told. We apologize to our characters all the time. I'm sorry, Character Mark. I’m really sorry.

---

Thank you. Please grab some tissues on the way in. I apologize in advance.

---------------------------------

Summary: While Mark watches over Sun, and the team recovers in the infirmary, Tiny Box Tim relates to Blue the story of a poignant moment in Mark’s past within the dream world, and we learn about Tim.

----------------------------------

“Hey, Tim?” Blue caught the little box's attention.

Tim wobbled over and jumped up onto her bed. No matter how many times he had to leap to reach higher places, it looked to take little-to-no effort. “Yeah?”

The main reason she wanted a little bit of distance between herself and the team came out in her next question, “What did he mean when he said he wouldn't lose her, too? I've never heard Mark go off like that. What happened to him?”

Tim quieted his voice. “He won't like me telling you, but in light of recent events, and with you being his team leader, I think he'll forgive me.”

Blue listened closely, letting the little box Somni speak. “I have time. Hit me.”

“You know Mark was chosen just like you were, right? Well, he also started out as clueless as everyone else. At first, he was the only person here. The main hub wasn't more than a single room with a row of folding chairs and a small raised platform for the stage. He didn't know what the heart on his sleeve meant, and for the first few nights he avoided the portal, unsure and afraid of where it would lead. So, he explored the area and got a bearing on this place he dreamed about every night. He started to believe there was a reason he kept coming back here, why he knew he was dreaming but wouldn't wake up, and why it felt real. His only clue was the portal, which remained open as if patiently waiting for him to decide.

“Finally, he just stared it down, flipped it off, and jumped. He created the menu on his first mission to organize everything he found, because that kind of logging system made sense to him as a gamer. That first mission terrified him so much he woke up screaming. Eventually, he fell back to sleep and finished the dream. He rescued the mission target on his own, and they worked together from then on. Ben’s file and his appeared in the menu. Mark designated one room to hold all of the information gathered in these other dreams.”

“Google's library.”

“Yup. Except Google wasn't around yet, so the team leaders had to input everything themselves, or designate a team member to do it. Anyway, he soon realized the hub was a constant in the dream world; like an island in the eye of an ever-shifting storm –a safe room. Terrorlings couldn't get in on their own.”

Thanks to her experience with Mark's nightmare, Blue knew the wraiths could hitch rides in people. They just couldn't leave them while inside the hub.

“It didn't take long for others to start finding their way here, and pretty soon, he had his own team - Ben, Marly, Nathan, Anna, and himself. He was quickly voted in as the leader, even though most of his decisions were more 'Screw it. Let's try it and find out' rather than highly thought out calculated plans. No one really knew what they were doing. Everyone was flying by the seat of their pants, but as the missions added up, so did their experience. The five of them became best friends here the same way they had best friends in your world. Everything was going fine. They believed that they were truly making a difference, even if they couldn't remember it or each other when they woke up.”

He stared across the aisle at his friend's hunched back. Mark was exhausted, drained, and damaged from the battle, but he wouldn't let himself fall. “It happened six months into his role as team leader—about 5 years ago. Ben didn't show up. We got our mission briefing and went into a dream centered around a game called MYST.”

“Never heard of it.”

“It's an old school PC game consisting of puzzles and clues. You have to find books and pages to free a pair of brothers trapped in the books and blaming each other for their father's death, or something. Don't quote me on that. It's been a while.”

“Sounds cool. So, then what happened?”

“Their mission target was Ben.”

She frowned. “Oh.”

Tim continued. “They had to solve some of the puzzles before finally reaching him at the rocket ship up on the platform. But when they got there, the sky turned black, and the stairway to the ground crumbled, leaving them trapped with a horde of Terrorlings. The dream suddenly exploded into pixels around us like we were sucked into a black hole. It left us in this hollow void with the Terrorlings. The dream had disappeared and this was all that was left.”

“Like what was slowly happening because of the black squares in Sun's dream?”

He nodded. “That's when everyone realized the Terrorlings got to him a long time ago—long before he'd even met the four of us. He hid his own battle so well, no one even knew. His heartlight faded just like Sun's.”

Blue listened, completely absorbed in the tale.

“They tried everything to convince their friend that they were there to save him. They cried, they hugged him, they shouted at how much their team mate meant to them. They did everything they could to push that message beyond the Terrorlings' hold, but it failed. He was unresponsive.

“The team fought off waves of enemies, killing dozens of them. It was only when the Terrorlings suddenly backed away from our teammate to focus on us that we knew something was seriously wrong.

“There were too many for us to handle. They restrained the whole team. Mark was shoved to the ground and pinned down. He watched his friend collapse to his back like a rag doll. Ben turned to look at him and said something Mark would never forget; 'I'm sorry. I should have told you, but I couldn't. I made a mistake that I can't take back. Please forgive me.'

“It hit him just then the gravity of what he was facing. He'd reached out in desperation to his friend who was only a few feet away and kept demanding that he fight this. As team leader, he ordered him to stay. His cries mixed with the other three, all begging their friend to hold on, and that they were going to go home. He used the last of his energy on a healing spell to try to fix his teammate.”

Tim's gaze lowered to his clenched hands at the memory of the distorted scene from Mark's point of view. “Mark wasn't strong enough. He was forced to watch Ben’s heartlight go out with no way to save him. Everyone was kicked out of the dream back to consciousness. He woke up crying without knowing why.”

Blue felt a crushing sadness form a prickly ball in her chest. The image of Mark screaming for his friend was powerful enough to form a lump in her throat. Hot tears stung her brown eyes. “So Ben...died?” she whispered.

Tim nodded forlornly. “By his own hand in the waking world. We're not sure how, but he was alive long enough to reach us, almost like he planned it. The dream mission was his way of saying good-bye through one of his favorite childhood games. There really was no saving him from the start no matter what we did,” Tim exhaled. “Mark blamed himself. He still does.”

Dark's admonishment during Mark's nightmare suddenly held more depth than it already did, 'You know you can't really help people. You can't save anyone.'

She looked over at Mark watching over Sun. “That's so sad. No wonder he fought so hard to save her.” She wiped wetness away from her eyes in sympathy for her friend. She couldn't imagine losing any of her team. Just the thought of it terrified her. They were her family here in her other life, rescuing people from the Terrorlings together. She swallowed the lump to regain her voice. “What happened after that?”

“The team broke up. They got together on a few missions a couple of months after that, but it was never the same. Mark lost all faith in himself to lead a team. How could he take on that mantle if he couldn't even save one of his own? So he handed over leadership to Marly and decided to dedicate the majority of his time helping newbies and any of the teams that needed an extra hand. 

“Marly left for 2 years. The pain of losing Ben, and seeing Mark and Nate as constant reminders of the past were too much for her. She came back late 2015. Nate never left. Anna moved to a different hub completely and we haven’t seen her since. 

“Mark made a promise to himself to never be that helpless again. That's why he created the Markihorn after the shop opened—so he could be quickly summoned to a dream to briefly help in a battle, then return here.”

“Did he know any of them in the waking world?” Part of her didn't want an answer.

“Mark pieced everything together over the years. At that time, no, he didn't know them outside of the dream world.”

A soft breath of relief escaped her. “Did he ever meet them?”

“He met the other three a year later at a convention. They were all in the same line of work, but he didn't have everything put together yet, so the connection he felt didn't make sense. They were all connected to each other because of their bond of friendship here. That link that forms from spirit to spirit is actually pretty strong between team members, some more-so than others, and carries over into your world. They got along, and formed new friendships. As time passed, he realized they didn't remember their lost teammate or the dream world while awake, but he did. He was the only one. He decided not to tell them about it while conscious. At least in the waking world, he wanted them to lead happy lives without this knowledge.”

“That sounds like something Mark would do. Damn, I had no idea,” she hushed. “It's terrible. He has to carry that around.” She glanced to Tiny Box Tim, who hopped down to the floor. “Hey, you said 'we,' 'us,' and 'I' a few times in weird places. Were you on the team?”

“Sort of. I was still part of him at that time.”

Blue didn't fully understand the formation of Somnis, but she knew Purple did. She'd have to read up on it, or ask for the Cliff Notes from her best friend. “You mean you were in his head? Like Dark?”

“Yup, but nothing like that big Jerk. Mark lived his life and I was fine with that. I remember the moment I realized some of my thoughts weren't mine and became what I am, but that didn't matter. I was happy where I was being a little character he tapped into to smile.”

“So, you wouldn't have left?”

“It wasn't a priority. I was fine. But the pain from his heart was so overwhelming after that mission, that I debated if it was a good idea to become my own self or not. I even managed to reach him in a deep dream once, but when I asked if I should become myself, all he did was grab me and say, 'We're saving the pancakes, Tim! It's a musical this time. The zombies are onto us. Get in the tub! You drive, I'll shoot!' I asked again, and he yelled 'Yes! Help me, Tim! Get us out of this parking garage! Keep driving!'”

Blue couldn't stop a snerk. “Dreams are weird.”

“Yeah. A lot of his dreams took place in a parking garage.”

“Again: weird.”

“But even in that, he was fighting to stay out of the darkness. He was suffering. Even the happy memories that I recalled to help him were met with a half-hearted smirk. He didn't know what was wrong. I tried to tell him he'd be ok, but every time, the other thoughts that contributed to Dark's formation were louder than me even though I was yelling. He kept thinking my voice was his. He wasn't wrong, of course, but at the same time, he didn't know I'd become self aware a while ago. He wasn't listening to me. So, I had to make a decision; stay and try to deal with this from within and risk being suppressed, or do something here and actually help him. It was the easiest decision I ever made. I pushed beyond my limits and became corporeal a few days later. He needed me.”

Tim also had to explain the concept of Somni, since he was the first one. Mark was super confused, thought he'd gone bonkers, and was a little frightened when a tiny talking wooden box suddenly said 'Hi, Mark!' from outside his own thoughts.

Tim offered her a small side smirk, letting her know everything was ok. “Don't worry about Mark, Blue. He's stronger than people think. You know that. He's one of the strongest people I know. Even though the past hurts, he found a way to heal and use it to help others. He's doing fine. He has his friends in the waking world, and he has you and your team, now. For him to accept joining another team after all this time is a huge step. I'm proud of him for that.”

She bit her lip, sniffling, and gave Tim a promise of her own. “We'll, he's not getting out of this team, now, so he has no fear of losing any of us. We'll always have each others backs no matter what.”

Tim's smile exuded genuine relief and happiness. “I trust you on that, and I'm holding you to it. Get some rest, Blue. You don't want to feel the repercussions of this particular mission when you wake up.”

“Yeah, no kidding. It's a good thing it's the weekend.” Blue watched him bobble over to help the dark haired girl in the gray flannel shirt. She laid back to stare at a lazily rotating ceiling fan and folded her hands over her chest. “We're not going anywhere, Mark. Not from you and not from Sun, Red, Peach, Purple, or Jade. And if you even think we are, I'll kick your butt here, and in the waking world. That's a promise.”

------------

TBC

Prologue: A Light in the Darkness

Chapter 1: Weekend Warriors

Chapter 2: Something’s Suspishy

Chapter 3: Chasing the Sun

Chapter 4: The Nightmare’s Truth

Chapter 5: Light and Shadow

Chapter 6: Lifeline - part 1

Chapter 7: Lifeline - part 2

Chapter 8: Phantom Power

Chapter 9: Mark’s Past

Chapter 10: A Second Chance

Chapter 11: Learning to Breathe

Epilogue: Ad Infinitum

#hearts and heroes #markiplier #fanfiction #fanfic #sad story #mark's past #tiny box tim #strength from your past #angst #i don't know why i wrote this #I'm sorry character mark. I'm really sorry

[my-one-love-is-music]

Promises of Tomorrow’s Yesterday ch. 14

Hey everybody!!! Hope you're excited for a new chapter!!! I think that we might be getting close to the end of this fic and there might only be a couple of chapters left. (I'll know more after the next one.)

But for now...enjoy an update! I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope that you're excited for it. :D

Also on AO3!

               Jason sighed as his alarm went off. He stared up at the ceiling and listened as the cheery melody began to repeat itself. He reached over and pulled his phone over to himself, silencing the irritating sound. It was far too happy for the fact that he wouldn’t be able to see Tim that afternoon. The next week was going to be hell. They’d just started getting along again and now he was going to be all alone. For a week. God this sucked.

               Reluctantly, he pushed himself from the bed and slowly made his way around his bedroom, pulling off his pajamas and pulling on his clothes for the day. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his phone, trudging down the hallway and to the kitchen where his mom was already hard at work making breakfast.

               “Morning, honey!” she greeted cheerfully.

               Jason took one look at her and saw the bags under her eyes, hair and uniform in slight disarray.

               “Mom, have you even gone to bed yet?” he asked, letting his bag fall to his feet.

               She sighed and carried to plates over to the table, sitting down heavily in her own chair as Jason moved over to the cabinet to grab a glass and fill it with juice.

               “Sadly, no. I was about to fall into bed when I noticed that you’d be getting up in a few minutes anyway so I thought there was no harm in making breakfast before I crash.”

               “I thought you didn’t have an overnight shift yesterday?”

               “I didn’t, but one of the other nurses had an emergency and they needed someone to stay and I was there and available. They gave me time and a half so it’ll help with the paycheck and I don’t have to work again until tomorrow morning, giving me plenty of time to catch up on sleep.”

               “Okay,” Jason said, feeling doubtful. “If you get hungry, there are some leftovers in the fridge from one of my friends. It’s some pretty good food and it means not having to cook so that’s a plus.”

               His mom gave him a tired and obviously grateful smile. “That sounds wonderful, but you didn’t have to bring that back for me.”

               He shrugged. “They insisted.”

               Silence fell between the two of them as they continued to eat breakfast. The warm food helped to wake Jason up and made him feel better about not being able to see Tim that afternoon. Or for the next week at that, unless Tim decided to reach out for him. He was conflicted between wanting to text them and reach out himself, but they’d seemed troubled the night before and he wasn’t sure if it was something that he’d done or not. He wanted to give Tim space, but he also wanted to know what they were thinking and feeling. He wanted to become an important aspect of their life again and be able to have those conversations that had meant so much to him before.

               Jason blinked down at his now-empty place, unsure of when he’d finished all of his food. Doing his best to shake himself from the daze that he’d so easily fallen into, he picked his plate up and carried it to the sink, reaching for the dish soap to clean it up.

               “Jason you don’t need to do the dishes. Head off to school, I can take care of those,” his mom spoke up from behind him.

               He glanced over at the clock. “I have time. And it’s only two plates so it shouldn’t take too long,” he said, pulling the other one from his mom’s hands and setting it in the sink as he turned on the tap. “You should go to sleep. You look exhausted and I’d rather know that you’re safe in bed before I leave than struggling to keep your eyes open.”

               She gave him a kiss on the cheek and ruffled his hair. “What did I ever to do deserve a son as wonderful as you?” she murmured as she walked out of the kitchen and towards her bedroom.

               Jason felt his chest tighten at the words. “It’s far too early to be experiencing these kinds of emotions,” he huffed, renewing his scrubbing with added fervor and refusing to think about how his mom didn’t know how much those words really impacted him.

               He finished the dishes and left them to dry in the rack as he headed out the door to his usual bus. As he put his headphones in and selected his playlist for the day, phone buzzing in his hand just as the first song started to play. He opened the new message and couldn’t contain the grin that pulled at his lips.

 Tim: On a scale of 1 to Hulk, how mad do you think Bane would get at me for taking the next week off?

 Jason: I think you might be getting pretty close to Hulk on that one. He might not Hulk out at you, but he would definitely be disappointed.

 Jason: He was already pretty mad about losing me, but I think he’d like to have at least one instructor now that he’s getting his new set of classes off the ground.

 Tim: Ugh, you’re probably right. Guess I can’t get out of this one.

 Jason: Any particular reason why you don’t want to handle the classes yourself?

 Tim: Because it’s going to suck. You’re better with people thank I am…

 Jason: That all? Doesn’t make me feel very important :(

 Tim: Well…

 Jason: You’re worried about a repeat of what just happened yesterday aren’t you?

Tim: Yeah…

 Tim: Is that bad? I know a lot of people at the gym are pretty accepting, mainly because that’s how Bane designed it, but I can’t help but wonder…

 Tim: It’s just all of these what ifs going through my head. I just want them to stop.

 Jason: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. Now we both have to suffer through the next week.

                 Jason stumbled a bit as the bus came to a stop and he looked up, shocked that they were already where he needed to get off. He shouldered his bag and quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket, hurrying out the doors and down the street to his school. He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out, checking the time and ignoring Tim’s message for the moment. He was going to cut it close, but Jason knew that he could make it.

               He burst through the double doors and hurried down the nearly deserted hall that only held the last stragglers. He ignored his locker, knowing he didn’t have time to stop and already had his things for his first class anyway. He picked up his pace, cutting close corners and nearly skidded through the door to his first class just as the bell rang.

               “Cutting it rather close there, Mr. Todd. Please take your seat.”

               Jason grinned and trudged down the aisle to his seat, still struggling to catch his breath. He nearly collapsed into it and placed a hand over his stomach. He hadn’t felt this out of shape in years and it strangely wasn’t entirely unwelcome. He pulled out his things for the class and sat back as his teacher’s voice began to fill the room.

               He sat down heavily at lunch and quickly unwrapped the burger that he’d gotten. He’d just taken his first bite when Roy and Kori joined him with their own food trays. Kori looked incredibly pleased with herself and Roy just looked like he wanted to get the hell out of school.

               “What’s up with you two?” Jason asked around his mouthful of food.

               Roy groaned and let his forehead hit the table in front of him.

               “Roy has agreed to come with me to the football game tomorrow night. I am sure that it is going to be really fun! You are coming, too? Aren’t you Jason?” she asked hopefully.

               Jason shrugged. “Yeah. I was already thinking about going anyway so why not.”

               “You were actually wanting to go to the game?!” Roy exclaimed, still not lifting his head from the table. “Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?”

               “Quit being such a drama queen. It’s just a football game, jeez.”

               Roy sighed and leaned back in his chair, finally picking up the slice of pizza that he’d gotten. “I don’t understand the barbaric practice of football at all. What’s so entertaining about it anyway?”

               “Just track down a cute girl and you’ll be fine,” Jason said, waving him off.

               He grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath and turned his eyes down to his tray as he shoved more pizza into his mouth.

               Jason just rolled his eyes at his friend and gave Kori a knowing look. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, happy to just be doing something. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, keeping it discretely out of sight underneath the table. Faculty usually didn’t venture this far into the cafeteria and they were much more relaxed about using phones during lunch, but his luck had already been pretty shitty the day before and he wasn’t about to take any chances.

 Tim: You were just helping me out. There’s nothing to apologize for.

 Tim: Why is it that Fridays always seem to drag on forever?

 Jason: Because we’re so close to freedom that we have to be tortured even more before we get it.

 Tim: Not only that, but my school decided to throw a stupid pep rally in support of the game tomorrow. Kill me now. The thought of sitting in the gym while the faculty prattle on about the jocks makes me want to vomit.

 Jason: So skip

 Tim: …

 Tim: What time do you get out of class?

 Jason: 2:25. Why?????

 Tim: You should skip with me.

                 “What the fuck?” Jason muttered under his breath, brow furrowing in confusion.

               “Everything okay over there?” Roy asked.

               “Yeah, fine,” he answered, distracted as he slowly typed out a reply.

 Jason: I can’t just ditch class.

 Tim: But, Jasoooooonnnnnn

 Tim: It’s Friday. Live your life on the edge a bit. Nothing interesting is probably going to happen in your last class.

 Jason: I can’t just leave school.

 Tim: Fine…

 Tim: I guess I can just go to Bane’s alone and chill there until the class this afternoon.

 Jason: Maybe next time….

 Tim: Really?!

 Jason: Maybe.

                 Jason hastily put his phone away and looked around to make sure that no one had seen him with it. He hunched his shoulders over the table and returned to his food, hoping that no one would say anything.

               “What was that?” Roy asked.

               “Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Jason said, knowing he sounded far more defensive than he needed to be.

               “You’re texting your crush, aren’t you?” he asked, eyes lighting up with glee and delight.

               “None of your business, Roy,” he hissed.

               “Oh my God, you are! Who is it?” he asked, looking around the cafeteria. “Do they go here? Do I know them?”

               “They don’t go here so stop it.”

               “Well what did they want then?” he asked, turning back to face Jason who buried his face in his hands.

               “They wanted me to skip my last class to meet up.”

               “What?!” Roy screeched.

               Jason glared up at him.

               “And you aren’t going? Why the fuck not, man? You know things are serious when they ask you to skip class. That means they want to do stuff. Dude, you’re totally missing out.”

               He rolled his eyes. “Trust me. Nothing would’ve happened. They just didn’t want to be alone.”

               “And you’re still staying here because?”

               Thankfully, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang much to Jason’s relief.

               “We’ll finish this later,” Roy vowed.

               Jason just shook his head and picked up his tray to take over to the return. He gripped the straps of his backpack as he headed out of the cafeteria, intent on avoiding Roy for the rest of the day.

               The end of the day came slowly and his last class had crawled by. Tim had texted him again telling him that he could still skip and come with him to spend the afternoon around Gotham. He’d refused again. He’d wanted to go, but knew that he would probably end up feeling that much worse when Tim had to go off to work and he was left to a lonely bus ride back home.

               Jason moved quietly through the apartment and fell heavily onto his mattress, letting his backpack fall to the floor next to his bed. He reached over and grabbed his pillow, pulling it underneath his head and banging his forehead against it a couple of times to make a suitable indent for himself.

               “Tough day?”

               He rolled over and looked at his mom who was standing in the doorway, looking far more refreshed than she had that morning. “Just long and tiring, that’s all.”

               “At least it’s Friday,” she said, walking over to his bed and sitting on the edge next to his torso. “You can relax and sleep in tomorrow.” She reached over and started running her fingers through Jason’s hair. “That food your friend let you bring back was delicious. I really appreciated it.”

               “Yeah. It was pretty good.”

               “There’s enough left over for dinner tonight so I hope that you’re ready for round two.”

               “Sounds great, Mom,” he said shutting his eyes

               “Well, I’ll leave you to it,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Go read a book or something.”

               Jason laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

               “I’ll pop in and get you when it’s time for dinner,” she said, walking out and shutting the door behind her.

               Jason watched the door for a minute after it was closed and toed off his shoes that were still on his feet, letting them fall to the floor with a muffled thud. He pushed himself into a sitting position and pulled off his jacket, throwing that over to his desk chair and ultimately missing its target and falling to the floor instead. He leaned over the edge of the bed and rifled through his backpack, pulling out the half-finished novel that he’d been working his way through. He readjusted his pillow and opened to his marked page, leaving himself to read.

               He furrowed his brow at the sound of soft knocking.

               “Jason? Dinner’s ready.”

               He blinked his eyes opened and looked to find his mom pushing the door open. He rubbed a hand over his face and looked over to where his book had been pushed aside when he’d fallen asleep. He didn’t even remember falling asleep honestly.

               “Come on, sleepyhead. Let’s eat and then you can go back to bed,” she said, pulling him up.

               Jason covered his mouth as he made to yawn and followed his mom back to the kitchen. “I didn’t even realize I was that tired.”

               She patted his shoulder and sat him down in front of a full plate of food before taking her own seat. Jason thought that he was probably eating while half-asleep but he couldn’t be bothered to care. The food was warm and tasted delicious. He’d have to try and take more leftovers from Tim more often. That would also mean that he would have to see Tim more often and he was most certainly not against that idea.

               Before he even had time to try and take the dishes over to the sink, his mom was picking up everything on the table and giving him a look that quelled an arguments or protests that he might have.

               “I can do the dishes. I’ve had all day to sleep. Now it’s your turn.”

               Jason wanted to protest. He really did, but the thought of crawling back into his warm bed won out and forced the words to die on his tongue. He simply nodded and sluggishly pushed his chair back before heading back to his bed. He slipped underneath his comforter this time, sighing in contentment and reached down to his backpack for his phone. He was surprised that Tim had texted him yet again.

 Tim: You better not do anything to piss Bane off again. Leading classes alone absolutely sucks.

                 He smiled. He knew that he should feel bad on some level and he actually did, but he couldn’t help but be pleased that Tim wanted him there and missed him. It was definitely an improvement over where they’d been before and he was happy that they’d come this far.

 Jason: I wouldn’t say that I necessarily pissed him off, he just had to do something to show that he wouldn’t tolerate that type of behavior. You know that that kid’s parents are going to complain and he had to prove that he did something about it.

 Jason: I’ll be back before you know it, I promise.

 Tim: Fine.

                 Jason could almost hear how Tim would’ve sounded saying that to him out loud. Could almost imagine the cute pout that their lips would’ve formed and how they would’ve crossed their arms.

 Jason: It’s okay to tell me that you miss me.

 Tim: I don’t miss you. I simply don’t want to have to do both your job and my job together. We were supposed to be leading these classes together.

 Jason: Admit it, you miss me.

 Tim: Did you not read what I just wrote?

                 Jason chuckled as his eyes grew heavy. He felt warm, almost too warm from his heavy blanket and from the emotions and happiness swelling in his chest and how evasive Tim was being about something that Jason was obviously right about.

 Tim: Fine. I miss you. But only a little bit.

 Jason: Was that so hard?

 Tim: Now get your ass back to work fast so I don’t have to deal with so many people by myself.

 Jason: Okay

                 Jason set his phone aside and pulled his comforter around him more tightly. He felt giddy. Almost too happy. He almost thought that his happiness was going to completely overwhelm him and that he’d drown in it. It would be the perfect way to die in his opinion.

#jaytim #fic: POTY #molim writes #fic update #fanfic #dc #jason todd #tim drake #woooo