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lily-drake · 1 year

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It’s a Learned Trait

This is my Secret Santa gift to Night_ngale on Ao3! This story is inspired by this photo by @mumblesplash on Tumblr (yes I got permission, and thank you for it!):

For Night_ngale on Ao3:

Marinette had been having a wonderful day with her parents in Gotham, New Jersey. Her parents had just finished a catering job there and today they had decided to go sightseeing to all of the tourist attractions. They had taken her to the zoo, to the aquarium, to the museum, and now they were heading to a bo-ton-tanicel-al…. botanical garden! Both of her parents were holding her hands and smiling brightly at her as they walked the busy streets. It was such a nice day, absolutely nothing could ruin it for her!

Then an explosion happened, and there was running, and a ringing noise in her ears that just wouldn’t stop, and everything was moving too fast.

Screams filled the air along with scary high pitched giggling that sent shivers running through her spine. She clutched tightly to the pair of hands that held onto both of her’s just as tightly, if not tighter, as they fled the crowded streets. Then they could feel the cool shadow of something big that was coming from up high. She looked up and felt herself freeze up as a massive piece of concrete broke off of the building they were under and fell faster and faster and faster exactly where she and her parents stood. She tried to move, she tried to get herself to run away from the danger that she knew even at her age meant that she would no longer be able to wander the Earth; but she couldn’t. The people kept shoving past her and her parents, keeping them in place as everyone pushed and shoved to get far, far away from the ensuing chaos. The crowd was too thick, the screams were too loud, the rubble was too fast. The next thing she knew was two pairs of different sized hands shoved her forward away from the massive pieces of falling debris that was right above them. She turned to look behind her to see her parents' horrified expressions as they too stared up at the ginormous piece of concrete that was hurtling towards them and so many more people. People kept almost stepping on her and crowding her vision of her parents and they moved before she could blink.

Before she could even process what happened next, someone had picked her up and moved her away before quickly covering her eyes. A few seconds later a loud crash was heard and the ground shook so hard she would have fallen over if the person hadn’t been keeping her upright. Once the shaking was over the person that had rescued her picked her up, holding tightly onto her as they moved their hand up and the sound of something being shot through the air sounded just above her.

“It’s ok, I’ve gotcha.”

Said a deep gruff voice, though she could barely hear it as the cold wind whipped past her ears biting at her skin. Her knee length pink dress hugged her legs as her brain refused to function and process the events that had just occurred. She felt her feet touch solid ground, but her legs didn’t seem to want to hold her as her brain continued to stay offline. She couldn’t think, couldn’t comprehend, and would the ringing in her ears just stop! Where were her mama and papa?! What happened to them?!

It sounded like someone was trying to talk to her, but she was underwater and she couldn’t hear a thing, she couldn’t even see what was in front of her clearly. Her entire body felt like it was weighted down, the pressure slowly crushing her. She couldn’t even think, her brain was just too quiet and the ringing was too loud! There was too much, too much noise, too much quiet, too much information yet not enough at all! She kept going down deeper with nothing to ground her fleeting thoughts until she felt something heavy being placed around her shoulders. Her eyes slowly began to register her surroundings and, after who knew how long, she was met with deep light teal eyes that were filled with worry. Their face was obscured by a red mask, but she could still make out most of his features. He had dark black hair with a white streak in it. She didn’t know why this was important, all she knew was that she had to keep looking at him. It was like if she looked away from him then everything would get all fuzzy again and she wouldn’t be able to think, and the ringing would take over her again even though it was still there! Why can’t it stop, just make it stop, she wanted her mama and papa! Where were they?!

“Hey, things will be ok.”

The masked man gently stated. He kept eye contact with her, watching her to make sure she didn’t start to hyperventilate and that she wouldn’t go into shock. He carefully pulled the jacket around her full body, carefully pulling her limp and dysfunctional arms into the jacket’s large sleeves. He gave her a small reassuring smile while smoothing out the sleeves on the jacket, pressing the warmth of it onto her. “Can you hold onto this for me? I’ll be right back, ok?”

She simply nodded her head and held onto the jacket tightly like it was a lifeline. He slowly grabbed a helmet that was on the ground near his legs and put it on. “Don’t move ok, you’re safe now.”

He looked back at her then ran and jumped off…., oh, she was on a roof. When did she get on a roof? She hadn’t noticed. She stood completely still, her mind causing the cacophony of noises to fade in and out. She could hear screams and bangs, then nothing. She could hear fighting and laughter, then the ringing came back. The sounds often came close to the roof she was on; the fear of it made her legs so weak she eventually collapsed onto her knees as she clutched the jacket tighter than before. Eventually her brain finally seemed to grasp the reality around her causing tears to start falling down her cheeks and sobs escaped her lips. Her parents were dead, she was rescued, but th-they’re d-de-dead!

Sobs wracked her small frame as the noises continued on for she doesn’t even know how long. Every time there was a noise louder than the rest she pulled the jacket even tighter around her small body expecting the worst. She wanted to escape, she wanted to hug her parents, she just wanted to go back home to Paris. She wanted to go back to the bakery and eat the desserts her parents made, see Nino and Kim and play games with them, she wanted to go to the pretty gardens at the park and lay with the flowers.

They were supposed to be happy, they were happy when they saw the pretty fishies, they were happy when they saw the amazing artifacts in the museum, papa had held her on his shoulders so she could see the giraffes better when they had taken her to the zoo. Everything had been so perfect, why did everything change so fast? Why did her mama and papa have to leave her like this? Why was there no rain when such a terrible tragedy had just occurred like in the movies?

There was a soft thump that made her wrap the jacket even tighter, if that was even possible. She didn’t want to get hurt, she just wanted her parents back. “Hey, thanks for holding onto that for me.”

The man from before said. She looked up, her eyes watery, making his figure blurry. She saw him take off the helmet and set it down. He looked sad and remorseful as he slowly sat next to her, but never reached out to touch her, instead remaining a comfortable presence. “You from here?”

She slowly shook her head no. “P-Paris.”

Her voice was cracked and broken. Her parents had her study English with her French studies because of all of the tourists that came by. Not to mention Mama said that if she wanted to be famous then she had to know English. How would she get back to Paris? Who would take her? How was she supposed to survive without her mama and papa?! She couldn’t, she needed them, now they’re gone and she’ll die here because she has nothing without them.

“Paris is a nice place. Have any friends there?”

She nodded again, the movement causing the drops on her cheek to drip onto the ground. He stayed silent, waiting to see if she would do or say anything further. She was glad he let her take her time, she was tired and her brain was still too loud and fuzzy to really understand his questions immediately. Dejectedly she replied, “N-Nino and K-Kim are my friends. Th-they stand up t-to Chloe f-for me. Everyo-one else is too scared of her an-and her daddy.”

He reached out to touch her, but quickly pulled back. He wanted to comfort the small child, but he wasn’t sure how she would respond if he touched her. She looked so small curled up in his jacket, it would have been cute if it weren’t for the circumstances that led to the scene in front of him. “Sounds like you’ve got some good people lookin’ out for ya.”

He said, trying to sound reassuring. She gave a small smile and nodded, “Y-yea.”

“Why don’t we go somewhere safe. I know someone who will take care of ya for a bit, okay?” Red Hood asked carefully. She nodded again and was about to take her arms out of the sleeves of the warm jacket, but before she could fully take it off the man stopped her. “Keep it, I’ve got a lot of others back home, and this is gonna keep you safe, ok?”

She nodded slowly, letting him adjust and zip it up so the warmth that still lingered in it was all around her. He slowly stood up, projecting his movements so as to not scare her before he extended his hand for her to take. She looked at it hesitantly, slowly reaching out and taking hold of his hand as she wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her free arm. Her hand was so small that when he closed his her entire hand was encompassed by his own. He gently pulled her back onto her feet making sure she was stable before letting go. “Hop on my back and hold on tight, ‘kay?”

He said softly–just like her mom used to when she was hurt–crouching down with his back facing her so she could climb on. With a brief moment of hesitation, because what if this was a trap like Mama and Papa had warned her about, she carefully climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and gripped onto his shirt. It was a bit hard as there seemed to be something hard sewn into parts of it, but it was okay. He slowly got up and made sure her legs were wrapped tightly around his torso so she wouldn't slip or fall off. When he was sure she was secure, he grabbed something from one of his pockets, angled it. There was a loud bang, like the one she had heard when he had first grabbed her, though that memory felt like it was from so many years ago, that startled her accompanied by a whiz as it shot into the air. He pulled on the device he was using to make sure it was taught and secure, then he ran and jumped off the building.

Marinette screamed in fear and buried her face into his shoulder, holding him even tighter than before. She kept her eyes shut, feeling out the rhythm of run, jump, fall, swing. Eventually she started to feel a little more comfortable swinging through the air, that was until they started to fall again. She screamed again louder than the time before and heard the noise of the man’s device again before she felt the taut jolt that signified they were soaring through the air once more. Slowly, she tilted her head up and saw how amazing the city looked with all of its shining lights so high up in the sky with the setting sun sinking behind the tall buildings. Wasn’t it just past 13:00 though? She had just eaten lunch with her mama and papa; hadn’t she…?

Suddenly the lights weren’t as amazing as they were before, they were dull and full of sorrow and loss. She didn’t want to look down just in case she saw them, they wouldn’t look the same. She didn’t want to look down because then she might fall, and she didn’t want to fall. Heights have always been scary. She held onto the man tighter, scared that if she loosened her grip even the smallest amount, she’d fall.

They continued on in that fashion for a few minutes when the man with the red helmet set her down on a balcony. It was plain with a swirled black metal guard. The roof was bland and lifeless with nothing decorating it other than the fence, she didn’t like it. “I’ve got a friend here. He’ll watch over you for a while, okay?” She nodded slowly, unsure of whether she should be relieved someone would take her in or scared that this was all some sort of trap. She watched and listened as the man climbed down a fire escape and began to tap on a window.

Tap

…

Tap tap

…..

Tap tap tap

Then he stepped back and waited. Another man with red hair opened the window with a small smile, “What’s up Hood?” He asked in a casual voice.

“I need you to watch someone for me.”

The red-haired man raised a brow.

“Her parents didn’t make it in the last battle with Joker. Lots of debris, and I don’t feel like having serial-adopter-bats see her.”

“Makes sense. Where are they?” The other man asked with a small nod, looking around the escape. The man in the helmet held up one finger and climbed back up to her.

“Can you come with me please?”

Marinette gulped, unsure of what she should do. But the man has been really nice to her so far, and he’s even letting her keep his jacket. Slowly she reached out and took his offered hand, letting him help her down the fire escape to the window.

“Hey,”

The other man said in a soft tone,

“What's your name?”

She looked down, anxiously twirling her foot from side to side. “M-Marinette.” She replied quietly, voice strained.

“That’s a nice name, how old are you?” His voice was soft and gentle and it made her feel a little more at ease.

“Nine.”

“Wow, you’re pretty old, huh? I’m Roy, do you want to come in and eat something? I just finished making some sandwiches.” She looked back at the man that had brought her here and saw him give her a small nod. She nodded back and shyly followed the red haired man into the apartment building. “Do you want some water?”

She nodded again, standing near the island counter. She looked back at the window where the man in the helmet had been only seconds before, only to see that he was no longer there. The man nodded and quickly got a cup from a cupboard and filled it with some tap water before placing it on the counter near her with a small plate that held what looked like BLT. “I have a roommate, he should come by soon. Just as a heads up, ok?”

She nodded, carefully climbing up to the barstool and sat down. Marinette looked at the sandwich and started picking at it. She really wasn’t that hungry, but it would be rude to not accept her host's hospitality. Her mama had taught her the importance of respecting people that were trying to help her, especially when she was at her friend’s home. Tears she thought she had run out of started to resurface as she thought of her mama. She sniffled and wiped her eyes before more could escape.

Roy looked at her worriedly. From what he had read from the text Jason had sent him, her parents were caught by falling debris from one of Joker’s bombs that the bats hadn’t been able to dismantle in time. He had been able to pull her away, but her parents along with a bunch of other civilians weren’t able to make it out of the way in time. Jason said that he had managed to cover her eyes and take her away before she could see anything, but he knew that wouldn’t be enough to stop any type of trauma from forming.

The girl was so small, he could only imagine what must be going through her mind. Not to mention she was only visiting from Paris, she wasn’t even from Gotham. Apparently her parents were catering for one of Bruce’s events, and that was the only reason they had even traveled here in the first place.

“Hey, do you want to watch a movie? I’m sure we could find something you’d like.” She didn’t respond right away as she processed what he had asked. It didn’t matter though, he’d give her all the time she needed.

“R-Ratatouille?” Was her small reply. A smile graced his lips, as he asked,

“Is that your favorite Disney movie?” She shrunk in on herself and nodded with a small,

“Mhm.”

“That’s a great movie, let me ask Jason to pick it up when he comes back. He should be here soon anyways.”

“Okay.”

Her voice was so quiet, but he could hear the joy in her voice. He quickly texted Jason to pick up the movie when he was done debriefing with The Bats and started to make another sandwich since she was eating his, not that he minded of course.

• • •

Jason walks in with a bag full of gummy candy, popcorn, a box of different flavored macaroons, and one Disney movie in its unopened case and plastic wrapping. He was thankful to see that the small girl was sitting at the counter drawing. He wouldn’t know what to do if she were still crying. “Hey, heard we’re takin’ care of another kid? I bet Lian will be happy to have a new friend when she comes back from her sleepover.”

He called out into the apartment as if he had no idea what had happened only a few hours before. The little girl startled from her seat, quickly turning to look at him with her large bluebell eyes. He really needed to keep her away from Bruce, she was perfect Wayne material and he refused for her to be tainted by him and the rest of his adopted child army.

“Yea, Red Hood dropped her off due to….” He glanced at the girl sympathetically, “The incident that happened earlier.”

Marinette shifted uncomfortably and went back to drawing with a furrowed brow. There was a heavy silence that filled the room until Jason said, “Well, I bought a bunch of snacks and was told to buy a movie, so….”

Marinette looked up again and hopped off the chair nearly tripping. She quickly stood up embarrassed as both boys stared at her in worry.

“You okay Marinette?” Roy asked carefully, walking towards her. Her cheeks turned a slight red as she nodded.

“Y-yes, sorry. I’m really clumsy.” Her voice held a French accent that only made the little girl even more adorable. Jason gave her a wide smile and gently handed her the plastic grocery bag.

“Here you go.”

She carefully took the bag with a small, “Thank you”, and started to look through it. Her eyes shined with childlike glee at the macaroons and they shined even brighter when she pulled out the blue-ray disk. She quickly ran over to Roy and showed him the movie asking if he could put it into whatever he uses.

It was interesting to see Roy smile and ruffle her hair. He looked calm and happy, used to the role of caretaker. Gently he took the disk, removed the plastic before opening it up, and walked over to the TV in the main room next to the kitchen and popped the disk in.

“Hey, I’ll go grab some blankets. Do you want to take your shoes off Marinette?” He asked gently as he moved toward the linen closet. She nodded and slipped them off with a slightly flushed face. She watched as Roy sunk down on the couch where he patted at one of the seats. Cautiously she walked toward the coach sitting in a rocking chair a few feet away from Roy. You could never be too cautious, at least that’s what her mama used to say. “Used to”, that felt wrong.

When Jason walked back into the room he watched as the small girl hugged her legs close to her chest, face hidden behind her arms. It was a heartbreaking sight, a sight that felt familiar as it pulled against his heartstrings as he remembered doing the same thing around the same age.

“Thanks Jaybird.” Roy whispered as he took the blankets from his hands. He hadn’t even noticed that he was approaching. He was out of it today, and not in a good way. The opening narration of Remmy the Rat began to play through the speakers as Roy slowly and carefully wrapped a weighted blanket around the young girl's shoulders. He watched as Roy talked to her quietly for a few moments, never initiating touch, waiting to see what she would say or do. It was always interesting to watch Roy act like a father as he treated his kid far differently than either of his dads had treated him. After a few minutes Roy stepped away, back to his spot on the couch not saying another word as the young girl collected herself before looking up to watch the movie with tear soaked cheeks that stabbed at Jason’s heart.

• • •

It was around the middle of the movie that little Mari fell asleep. She had slowly begun to relax as the movie progressed until she had blinked a few times very slowly, then her eyes fell and stayed shut. She was emotionally exhausted from the day and had simply passed out, poor kid.

Jason watched the kid, but not in a weird way. He was worried, and he didn’t know what to do. The kid was stuck here, despite the fact that she’s not a citizen, and from what little information he could find with little time at his disposal, he couldn’t find any family that could take her now that she was an orphan. Jason wondered if this was how Bruce felt when he had met all of them before he decided to make them his little band of misfit toys. He often felt this way when he saw Lian, but it was never as strong of an emotion as he felt now for this child he had only met a few hours ago.

“You look constipated; which means you’re trying a failing to show some form of deep emotion. So spit it out, what’s going on in that thick skull of yours?”

Roy asked quietly, turning his head slightly to give him a side eye before turning back to the movie. Jason rolled his eyes and let out a long frustrated sigh. “I don’t know Roy. There’s just a lot going on, especially after the last attack.”

Roy quickly paused the movie and turned to look Jason in his eyes. There wasn’t any pity in his gaze, but there was empathy and an openness that showed he wouldn’t judge.

“It was Joker’s fault. So many people died because of the Joker, her parents,” he firmly gestured to the sleeping girl with tear stained cheeks sleeping on the small chair, whisper yelling so as to not wake her; “are no longer alive because of his actions today and Bruce still won’t get rid of him.” Jason took in a deep shuddering breath, he needed to control himself, he couldn’t let the green creep in. That wouldn’t do anything, it wouldn’t do any good for anyone, especially right now.

“I’ve tried to kill him,” Jason admitted shakily, “I’ve tried, but he always finds a way to stop me. I don’t understand how he cares for that-that creature more than his own- than me.” A heavy silence fell between them only broken up by the gentle snores to their right.

“I don’t want her to feel this way, I don’t want her to go through the same pain I went through at her age.” Jason continued. When I was trying to find out any information on her, a potential family member that could take her home I found that her grandmother on her dad’s side died in a motorcycle accident, her grandfather died of a heart attack, on her mom’s side it looks like her mother was disowned for unknown reasons, which means that they probably would not take in her daughter. That leaves her with Social Services, and despite Bruce’s efforts I still don’t trust it; or as a street kid.”

Roy contemplated everything that Jason had just told him. They had been through a lot together, in fact Jason and Star were the reasons that he was still alive, the reason he believed that he was doing a good job at being a father, they helped him keep going when everyone else had given up on him. Roy glanced at the sleeping girl, then back to Jason. Jason looked at the girl the same way Roy looked at his own daughter, with a sort of protective love. Roy could tell that Jason cared about the kid; he probably saw himself Marinette. It only made sense that he would feel extra protective around the girl as no one would want the same trauma that you’ve faced placed onto another.

“Well, what do you think is the best thing to do Jason? I know for a fact that you’re not going to be letting Bruce or any of the other bats, besides maybe Oracle, anywhere near her. If what you say is true, and she really has no family that will willingly take her in, then what’s your plan?”

Another sigh escaped Jason as he leaned his head back so that it was hanging off the couch. “I don’t know Roy, maybe we can drop her off in Metropolis and let her be taken care of there. They have a better system and I’m sure she would be adopted by someone that would love her.”

Roy nodded, he could see the good in the plan, but there was something else. Jason was still frustrated and didn’t like the idea. “But?” He prodded.

“‘But’,” Jason said emphasizing the ‘t’, “the thought of doing that makes my skin crawl in all of the wrong ways.”

Roy hummed. This isn't some easy or light hearted task. The kid had just lost both of her parents in the most sudden way possible, then she was taken away from the area and to the house of complete strangers, and to top it off she may never be able to return to her home country; but if she does she would be put into the foster system with no stability ot time to heal. Of course she also had the possibility of being taken in by her grandparents in China, but there was a chance that they would treat her poorly since they had disowned her mother, and they may only take her in because of obligation. Nothing about this was easy, none of it was simple. If Jason wanted to somehow become her legal guardian then he would need to earn her trust, he would have to either legally become alive again or find a believable identity that would allow for him to adopt her.

There were just so many variables, and it was too late for this conversation, yet not late enough.

“Lian’s coming home tomorrow, we can figure this out while they play.”

Jason nodded, mostly to himself. “You’re right. We need to give her more time to process everything, I still need to process today.”

“Did you have a panic attack?” Roy asked worriedly. Now that he was thinking about it there must have been lots of explosions, even if most of them were disabled. Then there was the clown and how he just paraded around on the rooftops. Jason had had a few before when he returned back to the apartment after a Joker breakout, it was horrifying. Jason just gave him a sad, strained smile.

“No, thankfully.”

“Right,” Roy said as he slowly stood up, stretching his arms up dramatically. “Well let's move her to Kori’s room tonight. She’s still visiting Tamaran.”

Jason nodded, following suit. Slowly he approached the sleeping girl, televising his movements despite the fact that she was still asleep before gently picking the girl up. Roy watched with a gentle smile as he slowly walked to Kori’s room, trying not to wake her as he brought her to bed. He had watched Jason do the same thing with Lian, playing the role of older brother perfectly. Now, it looked like he might be stepping into a new role. The same role that Roy carried right now. But who knew what would happen. As Roy settled in for the night in his own room a sudden thought came to his mind. Jason was always complaining how Bruce had a “type” or MO for the people he really cared about; and that was that they needed to have black hair and/or blue eyes. The girl that Jason saved and now is attached to has black hair and…blue eyes. He quickly turned into his pillow and started laughing his butt of, hoping that no one would be able to hear him. A couple tears slipped down his cheeks as he thought to himself, ‘so it’s a learned trait after all.’

Taglist:

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