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mochegato · 3 months

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Thank You, But No

“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” Marinette uttered in a combination of mutters under her breath and exasperated groans. She was running late to meet Tim for dinner, which admittedly, wasn’t new or surprising, for either of them. It had become so common for one of them to be late, they had a punishment for it, whoever was late had to pay for the meal, or the next one if they missed the meal entirely. Which was fine for M. Co-CEO of a billion-dollar company, but she could NOT afford another dinner. Not even a Batburger dinner.

Not that Tim would force her to pay. He’d brush it off and pay with a smile, but she didn’t want him to have to because he was being generous, which of course he always was. He was the single most generous, thoughtful, considerate man she’d ever met, and she’d met Adrien, Luka, Nino, and her dad, so that was saying something. He was brilliant and funny and understanding. He was an absolutely amazing person and even better boyfriend.

Which isn’t to say they didn’t have issues… such as their propensity for getting wrapped up in whatever they were working on and being late for dates or missing them entirely, as mentioned previously. But they always made it up to each other and made sure the other knew how important they were. Or at least they tried. Maybe they weren’t as successful as Marinette had thought. That would explain why there was still an underlying feeling that something was off. It was tiny but niggling.

That feeling always stopped her from feeling too secure in their relationship and her actions. She wanted nothing more than to build a life with Tim, but that niggling was holding them back. They were just short of fully trusting each other. She knew why she was holding some things back. She wasn’t ready to tell a man she didn’t fully trust about the nineteen little gods and innumerable troublesome monks that came with being with her. But she couldn’t figure out what was holding him back if it wasn’t that her constantly being late made him doubt her commitment.

So she needed to get to the restaurant before him, but everything that afternoon seemed to be colluding against her. She’d narrowly avoided having to go to the warehouse or to a customer to handle random issues several times throughout the day, the issues seemingly getting increasingly significant as the day went on. She’d spent the entire day putting out fires and now was running late.

But! She was only a block from the restaurant. She could see the awning as she ran and although she was late, she was still earlier than Tim typically was, so there was a very good chance she would be able to beat him. She grinned as she picked up speed, weaving between people as she flew toward the crosswalk.

However, that is when Gotham struck. Just as she reached the street corner, a car exploded in front of her. Everyone immediately backed away and lowered themselves closer to the ground as they edged away from the explosion. Marinette, however, froze after crouching down rather than backing away.

She studied the scene taking in every detail, searching for anyone in need of immediate help and calculating where her help would most be needed. But nothing appeared to need attention. The explosion was controlled and concise. Only the car itself was damaged. She couldn’t even see any bodies, not even the driver.

She cautiously moved closer to the exploded car waiting for the rogue’s next move. But nothing happened. She stood warily and moved slowly toward the restaurant. In all likelihood, it would still operate as normal. The incident wasn’t large enough to garner Bat attention. The cops would appear eventually. Nothing that any Gothamite would take note of the next day, really.

She kept her movements tentative as she crossed the street. Something seemed off, something she couldn’t quite identify and it was disconcerting. It almost came as no surprise when she felt herself suddenly drifting off into a black void mid-step.

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Sensation flooded back to Marinette with a drawn-out groan. Her head was fuzzy. Her limbs were weighed down. She snuggled into the luxurious sheets wrapped around her. She loved these sheets. They were silky and soft and… she shot up into a seated position, eyes wide… and they were definitely not something she would be able to afford.

She instantly fell back onto the bed with a whimper, clutching her now throbbing head, and looked around through her fingers. It took a few seconds for the scene around her to register. She was in a grand room. Her entire apartment could fit in this one room. She eyed one of the paintings on the wall. Just that painting alone was worth more than everything in her apartment combined.

There was only one family she knew personally who could possibly have a room like this. She sat back up slowly to examine the room again. It had to be Wayne Manor… some hidden, supremely pretentious room in Wayne Manor. Oh no! Did she pass out and Tim found her and took her home to Wayne Manor! Instead of his own flat for some reason… Oh, this was a catastrophe. It was so embarrassing.

She collapsed back onto the bed with an embarrassed groan, her eyes clamped shut. There was a lot more gold than she had ever seen in Wayne Manor before. Why would he have taken her to Wayne Manor and this room? What was she supposed to get from this? There had to be a message in this bizarre behavior, right?

“Finally awake I see.” Marinette’s eyes shot open. That was not Tim’s voice. That wasn’t even a male voice, so it definitely wasn’t Alfred’s voice or one of Tim’s brothers either. She sat up warily, eyes darting around rapidly to find the source of the voice, which was considerably more difficult than it should have been in the cavernous room. She froze when she finally located it.

A tall, lithe, impeccably put together woman sitting in a shadowy corner leaned forward, but didn’t say anything, choosing instead to stand gracefully and observe Marinette impassively. After a few long seconds under her scrutiny, Marinette shifted uncomfortably in the bed, pulling the opulent sheets tighter around herself. Her gaze broke away, nervously taking in the room around them in greater detail, now knowing with certainty that they were not in Wayne Manor. “Where am I?”

The woman stalked closer to Marinette, her movements intimidating in their precision and control. “Somewhere far away from any heroes. Somewhere nobody can find without a guide. Somewhere not even your dear Detective would be able to find you.” Her voice was without the cruelty Marinette would have expected considering the content of her statement.

It was that contrast more than anything that made her register her words. “Who’s ‘my detective’? Do you mean Sabrina’s dad! He’s not a detective! He’s just an officer. And he can’t even find his badge half the time. Sabrina has to stop over and find it for him most mornings. Saying I’m somewhere he can’t find doesn’t narrow it down. It could be his guest room… except for the whole,” she motioned to the gilded room.

The woman studied Marinette with a complete lack of emotion on her face except for a single brow arching. The effect was like being completely transparent before her, which was a feeling Marinette was familiar with from that glass akuma. But this was worse. This felt more invasive, more revealing. “Interesting.”

“I’ve never had someone creepy say that to me and not have it mean something bad,” Marinette observed petulantly.

The woman’s lips seemed to strain to stay in their perfect pout. “You may want to keep your mouth closed if you value your tongue.” Despite the war on her lips, her voice was even and commanding, bordering on cold.

“You guys may have kidnapped the wrong person then,” Marinette grumbled.

“Oh no, no, I don’t believe we did,” she hummed, her eyes twinkled with something Marinette couldn’t identify.

The urge to reach up and feel for her earrings was overwhelming, but Marinette refused to give in. If they didn’t know who she was already, the movement would signal the truth. It was a clue Marinette was not willing to give. A blank façade fell across her face. “And I would recommend speaking clearly and sparsely when you are brought to the throne room,” the woman advised.

Marinette’s façade immediately dropped as her brows furrowed. “The what now?”

“My father is not known for looking kindly upon fools,” she continued as if Marinette hadn’t spoken.

Marinette blinked at her. “Did you just sa…”

“You will put those on,” the woman interrupted sharply and motioned toward the clothes laid out on the bed. “There are no cameras or microphones in here, so you don’t need to worry about that, if my word means anything to you.”

“It doesn’t,” Marinette answered instantly but did turn in the direction indicated, noticing the clothes for the first time. Even without touching them, she could tell they were extremely high quality both in the fabric and in production. It would easily be the nicest, most ornate outfit she had ever worn. It was truly an inspiration for her. However, it would also easily be the skimpiest thing she’d worn in public other than her bikini. It was so tight and skimpy, it looked like something a comic book artist designed for a female superhero. It was most definitely not what she wanted to wear when she was brought to face whoever was behind all this. “Thank you, but no. No, I would prefer not to.”

“You will put it on, or you will wear nothing,” the woman warned firmly, “which I’m sure my father will also enjoy, both the result and the process of stripping your current clothes from your body scrap by scrap.”

Marinette’s eyes widened with every word, absolutely confident in the honesty of her words. She looked back at the clothes that she would be wearing. “Right… I will… put those on.”

“Wise choice, you may yet survive the night,” the woman nodded and turned. “The dressers will be in soon.”

“I know how to…” Marinette ripped her eyes from the clothes to the woman, but she was already gone, “… dress myself,” she finished lamely to the empty room. She finally allowed herself to reach up to her ears with a groan at the lack of earrings. She was going to have to do this, whatever this ended up being, without her powers and then somehow search what she was positive was a ridiculously large complex for her earrings.

She let out a long, deep breath and started putting the clothes on by herself. “It’s not like I’m a designer or anything,” she grumbled. “Not like it’s my entire job to come up with an outfit, accessories, hair, and makeup. What would I know.”

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Okay, so maybe she didn’t know what was expected for this particular occasion, because just like the room, there was considerably more gold involved in her outfit, accessories, and even makeup than she would have ever used on her own. And in all honestly, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to get the hair accessories actually stay in their artfully styled placement, especially with all the sharp movements she kept making around the women helping style her and the guards escorting her to their destination, the throne room, if the woman was to be believed, which Marinette was inclined to do, about that fact at least.

As soon as she entered the room, pushed at the end of a few very sharp swords was actually a far better description, she had to fight her jaw dropping. She’d thought the last room was ostentatious, but this new room made the last room look like a cheap, roadside motel that hadn’t been updated since the 70’s. The room was covered in gold details and ornately carved, deeply stained woodwork. The ceiling was far above her like the grand entryway of Wayne Enterprises. Operas could be properly sung in this room. Centered against the back wall, a raised platform towered, demanding attention in its size and ostentatiousness.

A single chair sat at the apex with an ancient man seated, just as impeccably dressed as the woman earlier had been. A step down and behind the chair was a line of other chairs, a few fille empty. One of the seated figures was the woman she had seen earlier. As before, the woman gazed impassively upon her, like Marinette’s discomfort and fear was beneath her consideration. The two others in line only vaguely resembled one another, some not at all, but Marinette surmised they were all his children and the empty chairs for even more of his children.

She stopped at the bottom of the short staircase to what must have been considered the throne and waited to be acknowledged. The man, who had to be the father the woman had spoken of earlier, stared at her with a similarly intense gaze as his daughter, but significantly more sinister and creepier. She had to stop herself from fidgeting under it.

The longer it went on, the more uncomfortable it became until she had to say something. “Um… hi,” she offered uncertainly, adding to her discomfort with a small, awkward wave.

“Hello…” he responded. His voice was exactly what she had expected from his appearance, bold but empty and dripping with smarm. “… Guardian.”

Marinette lifted her head slowly, eyes wide in horror. “Oh no,” she gasped, barely louder than a breath.

“Welcome to my throne room,” he stated with no indication of warmth or welcome in his voice. “You, my dear, you have the immense honor of becoming my bride.��

Her eyes somehow managed to widen even further at his words despite her actions being sluggish, the world around her not quite registering as real. “Oh… no. No, no, no, no… no. No, thank you, no. No, no. Thank you but no. No, no, no, no…” she shook her head woodenly then looked back up at him and pursed her lips. “Noooo.”

“You will join me, and I will make you my queen.” The sinister glint in his eye and eerie curl to his lips suggested he believed this was an incredible honor. Marinette could not quite see what proof he had to back that up, but she suspected he was one of those men who based their personal value on delusion rather than evidence.

She was sure a statement like the one he had just uttered was supposed to be a request, but it was stated like a command. A statement of fact, like ‘the sky is blue’, ‘water is wet’, ‘this situation is messed up.’ “Que…Oh, no. No, I’m not really the royalty type. Queen? I wouldn’t be… I hate velvet!” she finally exclaimed. She stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest to accentuate her point.

His vile smile dropped, his lips instead forming into a hard, thin line. “I realize you may believe you are unworthy of me. Your ability to realize your inferior status is one of the reasons you will become a perfect wife.”

“Oh… no,” she muttered, shaking her head, her eyes unfocusing. “Adrien warned me something like this would happen if I moved to Gotham.”

“But I assure you,” he continued, completely oblivious that she had said anything, or that she was no longer listening, “you are not as far beneath me as you may believe, Guardian. With your given powers and my natural strength and intelligence, we will have many strong brilliant children.”

Marinette’s eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. “Oh… no. No, thank you. No. I think we should reevaluate that decision… maybe tweak it… just a bit. I can’t… I’m already dat...” She stopped short, offering a strained smile instead. It was a decidedly terrible idea to mention Tim to a madman.

What she wouldn’t give to have Tim there with her. She wanted nothing more than to be able to bury her face in his chest and have him wrap his strong arms around her. But at the same time, she couldn’t imagine anything worse. He was safe where he was, far away from what was happening to her. No, she didn’t want Tim with her. What she wanted was to get out of that room, find her earrings, and get back to Tim’s embrace and not leave it for a week.

She shook her head to try to concentrate back on where she was. “How about…” she forced air out of her lungs, “no. No, no, no. You have kids!” She motioned toward the seats behind him. “You already have MANY kids. You do not need me to have ‘many.’”

“I need better,” he bellowed.

Marinette gasped and straightened up to her full height, which granted, even if the man had been on the same level as her and standing, would not have been much against the towering man, but she refused to accept his statement unmatched. “Okay, rude. I think maybe they need a better father.”

“Silence!” he thundered. His voice echoed throughout the chamber with a ferocity and strength, she was surprised nobody except her flinched.

The woman from earlier almost imperceptibly shook her head, just enough to catch Marinette’s eye but not enough to catch anyone else’s. “Right. Silence. Shutting up, sir,” Marinette grumbled grudgingly.

“Start the ceremony,” he commanded.

In the blink of an eye, Marinette was shoved forward and up the stairs, tripping frequently on her skirt she hadn’t been given time to gather up, a skirt that managed to cover almost nothing of her legs but still drag under her feet, until she was next to the ancient man while another man in a significantly less ornate outfit was ushered into the room in front of them. “Wait, now?” she exclaimed, looking around frantically. She could not get married! Not like this. Not to him. It was supposed to be Tim. They were supposed to build their relationship, develop their trust, then get married.

No, this couldn’t happen. “Oh, no. No, this is all happening a bit f…” the word died in her throat when quicker than she could track, a dagger dug into her throat, hard enough for beads of blood to appear at the knife’s edge, but only that much. She wasn’t sure if the restraint was luck or because he didn’t want his ‘wife’ to bear visible scars, and she was not willing to find out. Especially considering he was able to do it without standing and she still had no clues where her earrings were.

The new man cleared his throat and looked between the two of them anxiously, his eyes begging Marinette for forgiveness she was too dazed to be able to give. He cleared his throat when she didn’t respond and continued anyway. “We are…”

“Skip to the important part,” the ancient man growled. Marinette tried to back away from him but the guards behind her must have anticipated the response as before she could move a millimeter, she could feel the points of their swords digging into her bare shoulder blades.

The man offered a strained smile. “Isn’t the entire ceremony the imp…” he froze as the dagger that had been at her neck, suddenly appeared at his, drawing rivulets of blood.

“Do you wish to continue your insolence?” her soon-to-be-husband hissed. He waited a few beats while he stared down the petrified man. “Do you?” he demanded louder. When the man shook his head sloppily, the dagger disappeared so quickly Marinette couldn’t say where it went.

The other man’s eyes darted between the two of them again, sweat mixing with the blood running down his neck and staining his collar. “Do you…”

“I do,” the ancient man barked impatiently.

“Right…” The other man nodded anxiously and turned to Marinette. “Do yo…”

She shook her head so rapidly the man in front of her blurred. “Oh… n…”

“She does,” her betrothed cut in loudly.

“Okay, yeah, I suppose that can… can count,” the other man stammered. He was slowly inching away from the couple, putting as much space between him and them as he could before he was able to sprint out of the room, and Marinette had never been more jealous of anyone in her life. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

“What?” she exclaimed. No. No, no, no, no. No. She could not be married. Not to this man. This was not the future she planned. Her heart sank as the man’s lips puckered and he pulled her closer against his body.

His predatory grin dropped when an explosion sounded nearby. “What,” he seethed. He glared at the wall closest to the explosion like it was solely responsible for the disruption and hissed when the sounds of fighting carried into the room. “Impossible!”

The sounds increased in volume until it was so loud, they could almost make out the words being screamed in the fight. It quickly became apparent the fight would breach the throne room in moments. The ancient man shoved Marinette away with such force, she sprawled on the floor and scrambled to keep from falling off the stage, but his eyes never left the door to check on her, not that she would have expected him to. He pulled out his sword from wherever he had secured it, she still wasn’t sure where that was, and wielded it in preparation.

“Father,” the woman from earlier said quietly but forcefully, “we must leave before he comes.”

“I am not afraid of him,” he hissed, his eyes still glaring at the door in anticipation.

“No,” she agreed, but Marinette could see the roll of her eyes behind her father’s back. “But a battle that need not be fought is a foolish one.”

He hissed and tucked his sword away as he whirled toward the back of the room, rushing with his daughter toward a hidden door, his other children already long gone. “How did he know?” His voice was lower than it had been since she met him, but still managed to carry through the room.

The woman pointedly ignored Marinette as she moved behind her father. “Likely a tracker. Did you check her for a tracker?”

“Of course I checked for a tracker!” he thundered and turned on her, attempting to stare her down.

The woman raised an eyebrow but refused to cower at his vitriol. “Then I suggest having your men do a better job next time.”

The man growled but moved through the door his daughter had been urging him toward with a final flourish of his cape. And just like that, he was gone and the room empty as his guards had all disappeared without a sound and through some mysterious, possibly magical means, because they certainly hadn’t gone through the door at the front of the room or the door the man and his daughter had disappeared through.

She searched the room for their escape route, hoping to follow their lead. Following that man and his family seemed like an absolutely terrible idea. The last thing she needed was him remembering she existed and trying to take her with him. Going out the front door would lead her straight into the fight, which without her earrings, seemed like a worse idea. But she needed to get to her earrings and she needed to get them now, before anyone else found them. And that was all assuming the man didn’t realize she was Ladybug as well as the guardian and take the earrings with him.

She started down the stairs swiftly, intensely inspecting every centimeter of the side wall as she moved. She had just caught a slight irregularity in the wall when the front door slammed open and several figures rushed in. She squawked and attempted to find a place to hide, but she had managed to position herself directly in front of the stairs when the door opened. She could not have selected a more exposed location in the room if she tried. Even if she’d been at the top of the stairs, she would have been closer to the back door and would have had the chance to get to it before they could get to her.

It took a full few seconds for her to register that the figures rushing toward her were not a threat. In fact, she recognized them. The Teen Titans were there. The Teen Titans had come to rescue her. She furrowed her brow. No, that couldn’t be right. There was no way they’d come just for her. There had to have been something else going on and she was just a collateral bonus.

Red Robin rushed ahead of the rest of the team, directly toward her. He reached her in mere moments and reached out for her like he was afraid she would disappear if he didn’t, but he stopped just short of touching her, his hands hovering over her body as though he would be able to sense any damage that way. “Marinette! Marinette, are you okay?” She blinked at him and nodded numbly. Maybe she was wrong. There was no way for them to know her name if she wasn’t the objective. “Are you sure?” he asked again.

She quirked her head to the side to consider his voice, his lips, his expression as he examined her. The way his brow furrowed just slightly and his lips pursed a touch, like he was afraid of showing too much emotion and giving away his hand. She wished she could see his eyes. She could almost picture the frantic darting of his panicked blue eyes hidden behind the white lenses of his mask.

Her eyes widened as her subconscious realization became fully conscious. “Oh my… Oh no. No, no, no. Really?” she exclaimed, taking a step back to get a better look at him and yep, there was definitely protective padding built into the suit, but she knew those arms, she’d spent a good half an hour tracing her fingers over the edges of those biceps, triceps, and deltoids just the night before.

“Mar… Mademoiselle?” he asked cautiously.

She closed her eyes and dropped her head back with a heavy sigh. “I’m never going to live this down.”

He raised an eyebrow at her response, but his eyes quickly zeroed in on her newly exposed neck, almost reaching toward her neck, but diverting his hand to run through the hair she’d brushed out of his face that morning. “Are you sure you’re okay, Mademoiselle?”

“Mademoiselle? Really?” She righted her head to look him in the eye, raising an incredulous eyebrow at him until his shoulders fell slightly and he smiled sheepishly.

He finally allowed himself to reach out and touch her, starting by tenderly tracing the skin around the cut on her neck, his touch so tender and cautious, she almost couldn’t feel it. She slowly stretched her neck to give him a better view without ever taking her eyes off his, waiting for him to satisfy his fears and assure himself of her safety, knowing he wouldn’t be able to move on until he had.

His eyes slowly moved from her neck to her clavicle, arms, stomach, and legs, his fingers trailing the path his eyes forged. His brow furrowed at the goosebumps that trailed his fingers. His eyes jumped up to meet hers, realization dawning. He quickly removed his cape and draped it over her shoulders. “It’s insulated,” he murmured. “I know how cold you get.”

He pulled the cape closed around her and ran his hands down her arms a few times, his eyes never leaving hers. He took a breath and slowly reached up to remove his mask. The look in his eyes took her breath away. There was such a depth to them, almost boundless with emotion, almost limitless with devotion. “How did you know?” he asked softly, close to a whisper.

Marinette cupped his face tenderly. She gently traced the skin around his eyes where his mask had sat. “I’d know you anywhere,” she answered in the same breathless tone.

He searched her eyes, hoping it conveyed all the relief he felt at finally having her in front of him. “I’d find you anywhere,” he whispered. Her eyes suddenly watered and she collapsed into his arms, body shaking as she cried and digging in deeper when he wound his arms around her.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe,” he repeated over and over in her ear like a mantra. He kept repeating it until her tears eased. He pulled back just far enough to meet her eyes. “I’m here and you’re safe. I’ll always rescue you. I’d tear the world apart to protect you.”

She was no longer crying but her eyes were red rimmed and broken. He suddenly felt overwhelmed again and pulled her to him to reassure himself she was still there. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry he took you,” he muttered into her hair.

She shook her head. She could feel his lips rub against her hair with each shake. “It’s okay. It’s not like it was your fault.”

He pulled away to meet her eyes again so he could convey how earnest he was. “It… Marinette it was,” he affirmed, regret and guilt bleeding from his voice. “He knows who I am and… has a bit of an obsession with me. He took you because of me.”

She met his eyes firmly. “He didn’t. It wasn’t about you. He thought I would produce good kids for him.”

Tim jerked his head back and wrinkled his nose at the thought. “Ew.”

“Right?” she exclaimed with a false lightness.

“But Marinette…” He groaned and removed a hand just so he could run it through his hair and immediately settle it back at her waist. “…you have to know, you came to his attention because of me. It really was my…”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she repeated more forcefully. “It wasn’t Tim. I can’t exp…” she let out a frustrated groan and met his eyes with renewed determination. “It wasn’t your fault. I need you to believe me even if I can’t say why. Not yet. Not here. But soon.”

He shook his head, his lips pursed unconvinced. But, instead of focusing who to blame, obviously him, he focused on her; her safety, her health, her emotions, her in his arms when he was terrified he might never see her alive again. His eyes traced her face, his fingers trailed after in a tender embrace until he slid them over to tuck her bangs behind her ear. “How are you? Really?” he whispered.

Marinette dropped her head onto his chest again and nuzzled into his arms, letting his warmth and security seep through her skin and into her bones. “It was horrible. I didn’t know when I would see you again.”

He tightened his arms around her as if it would protect her against that possibility. “I’ll always come for you,” he reassured, his voice just loud enough for her to hear… and Superboy, but that was irrelevant. “Are you hurt anywhere else? Was it just your neck?”

She shook her head against his chest, refusing to reduce any contact between them. “No, nowhere else.” She suddenly jerked back and looked up with wide eyes. “But he… we’re married.”

Tim blinked at her. “Wait, what?”

She shook her head blankly as her mind started running through the repercussions. “He… there was a ceremony,” she rushed out. Her words were coming out so quickly, they almost merged into a single word. “There was a ceremony and a holy person, I think, that didn’t want to but he did…”

“Did you say I do?” Tim cut in before she could spiral too deep.

She shook her head as she blinked, her mind still racing but on a different track now. It was all a bit cloudy, but her mind ran through all the events of the past hour as well as she could remember it. “I didn’t… it didn’t seem to be an important factor.”

“Then you’re not,” he assured her confidently.

“But…”

“She married?” he asked over her shoulder. Marinette whipped around but Tim kept her in his arms, pulling her closer when Marinette squeaked and tried to jump away from the figure behind her.

“No,” the woman from earlier confirmed. “Father skipped through that part. Don’t worry my dear. You’re not my stepmother. You are uncorrupted.”

“Uh…” Marinette tried to edge away from her, unsure how to respond. But Tim held her tight, which had to mean he didn’t think she was a threat; Marinette however still wasn’t convinced.

“And I’ll keep him away. I’ll convince him he is wrong about you… though we both know he’s not, don’t we? Speaking of, here are your things,” she handed Marinette a Hermès bag filled with her clothes, “all of your things,” she said pointedly. Marinette took the bag and looked in warily to find her clothes, but more importantly, her earrings at the very top.

“Thank you,” Marinette gushed, offering the woman a smile for the first time.

The woman nodded. “Keep the bag and the outfit. You’ve earned it.”

“Oh… no,” Marinette deferred and held the bag out away from her. “No, thank you.”

The woman scoffed. “The bag is mine, go ahead and keep that for yourself. No association with my father. Used Bruce’s money, actually, so no guilt.” Marinette was so overwhelmed by everything happening she almost didn’t register Tim’s snort at the woman’s comment. “Sell the gold from the accessories or donate it. I suspect that’s the kind of thing you would like. Father won’t notice.”

“Thank you, Talia,” Tim offered with a nod.

“You’re welcome, Tim,” the woman, Talia apparently, nodded back. “Keep her safe. She’s more valuable than you know.”

Tim looked down at Marinette, his gaze swimming in adoration. “I intend to.” When he looked back up the woman had disappeared again. “Should I be worried about that? About her interest in you?” he asked Marinette lowly.

“I am,” Marinette grumbled. “It’s probably the smart move.” She leaned her head back on his shoulder and let out a relieved sigh when he tightened his embrace and guided her out of the compound and toward their plane.

“She’s the one that told you where I was?” He nodded without looking at her, his eyes scanning the area to ensure all threats had been removed. His team seemed to have fallen into step behind them, keeping a bit of a distance to give them privacy, but Marinette could feel their eyes darting to her frequently. “She mentioned Bruce. You know each other well?”

He nodded. “A bit too well sometimes. Other times…” he kissed her temple letting his lips linger and pulling her closer when she melted into it, “other times I couldn’t be more thankful for her.”

Marinette cocked her head to the side with a hum. “She’s a bit creepy. Sexy!” she added quickly. “But creepy… which is usually a combination I hear about from booktok men, not real women.”

Tim snorted “Booktok, huh?”

“Zoé,” Marinette shrugged. “I know far more than I want to.”

“Ah, yeah, I can see that,” he snickered. He urged her on ahead of him up the plane’s rear ramp, following close behind her, making sure he had at least one hand on her at all times. He waited until she was at the top before speaking again. “She’s Damian’s mom.”

Marinette whirled on him instantly. “She’s what!”

“Yep,” he answered, popping the p.

“With Bruce?” she clarified.

He let out a deep sigh. “My family is a bit of a mess. This is really just the tip of the iceberg.” He shook his head and motioned toward some seats, finally removing his hand to pull out a strapped in container, pulling out a few blankets and pillow. “Ready to go home?”

She nodded tiredly and collapsed back against him, sagging against him until she would have fallen down if he hadn’t wrapped his arms around her waist. He sat down, pulling her down into the seat next to him and wrapped the blankets around her with tender, gentle movements.

She watched him move, her affection for him growing with each soft pat and caring rub. “Will you stay with me?”

Tim looked up from the blankets to meet her eyes with a fond, understanding gaze. He brushed her cheek softly and opened his mouth to respond but closed it quickly with a furrow of his brow. “Why don’t you stay with me? Forever?” he added hesitantly.

She blinked at him. “Tim! Are you…”

“Yeah, yeah, I am. Asking you to move into my home, I mean. Well, no, it would be our home,” he rambled. “I’ve wanted to ask you for so long. The only thing holding me back was,” he motioned toward his suit and then around them. “And now that you know…”

Marinette stared at him; mouth slightly ajar in shock. Her mind tried to process all the possible implications, the benefits and dangers. Was it too soon? They hadn’t been dating too long, but they’d been dating long enough for her to know him and know that she loved him and that’s what mattered, wasn’t it? The emotion, not the time.

Was it too dangerous? If she moved in with him, it was going to be difficult to hide the kwami, and yeah, he was probably in a better position than most to understand what it meant to be a Guardian, but it still wasn’t a secret she was willing to share. He would only be the third person she’d ever told. Alya and Adrien were the only people she’d told and the prospect of adding another person to that list was terrifying.

Was she in the right place mentally to make the decision? And if she wasn’t and if she made the wrong choice, would it destroy their relationship? If she said yes just because she was in need of some stability in that moment, but then after a few weeks needed space, would going backward in their relationship harm it? But then, it really wasn’t an in the moment decision. She’d wanted to take the next step in their relationship for a while but had been too afraid. It felt like Tim was hiding something and now she knew what it was.

But all the processing meant Marinette was dead silent for a while too long. Tim’s arms loosened around her, not dropping, but not as tight as he started backtracking frantically. “I mean, if you need some time… This was probably the wrong time. I shouldn’t have…”

The uncertainty in his voice kicked Marinette into action. “Tim?”

“Yeah?” he asked tentatively. She could feel his hands clench almost like he was fighting pulling them back.

She pushed forward and placed a firm kiss on his lips, pulling away after a moment just far enough to whisper against his lips. “Shut up.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he grinned moments before he pulled her closer to kiss her deeper. He wound his fingers into her hair as hers found his shoulders to hold him against her, reveling in the feel of him, the assurance that he was there, it was him and not someone else. He seemed to need the same assurance, his hands running over her and squeezing her frequently. They didn’t part until one of his teammates passed them and cleared their throat to remind them they were not alone.

Marinette settled back into her seat with a giggle and rested her head on his chest with a contented sigh. “Please take me home… to our home.”

He grinned and dipped down to place a tender kiss against her forehead. “Are you sure?”

She smiled brilliantly. “Oh, yes. Yes, please.”

#maribat #timari #timinette #Timari January #Timari January 2024 #prompt - tender

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the-alice-of-hearts · 4 months

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Timari January 2024

I’m writing a long fic I’ve decided! Hope y’all like it:

Fandom: Maribat

Ship: Timari

Characters: Marinette Dupain Cheng, Tim Drake

Additional tags: Court of Owls, slow burn, fashion designer Mari, more tags to be added as chapters are written

Marinette just wanted to spend the week in Gotham at fashion week for her boss. She was supposed to be at the main event for their walk so she could take notes. She'd even designed a special outfit for it. So when she gets told two days before the event that she won't be needed she decides to do a little cathartic arson. She didn't realise that someone had seen her design, and that they were the reason she was getting the silent treatment from her boss. Can she get herself out of this predicament? Or is she going to have to rely on the local wildlife for a save? One thing is for sure, the man who got kidnapped with her is hiding something and she's going to find out what.

I’m excited about this. It’s a challenge for myself to write 500 words per prompt, so it won’t be the longest thing, but that’s still a decent length of fic.

@maribat-calendar-events

#timari #Timari January #Timari January 2024 #maribat #my writing #alice writes

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intotherabithole · 3 months

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Gargoyle

#maribat #timnette #timari #timari january 2024 #copic markers #artists on tumblr #mlbxdc

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olivia-anderson-fanfic · 1 year

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Hostage(d) situation

Timari January: Day 28 (Problem? What problem?) by @maribat-calendar-events

Summary: That weird moment where you’ve been kidnapped and are being held for ransom but also the person who did that to you is letting you play video games so you can’t even be mad at them.

Back to Timari January 2023 Masterlist

Tim squinted around. His head was fuzzy, the sedative was still somewhat in his system, but he was able to take in a few streaks of neon colors and a faint dinging sound.

Also, he wasn’t tied up. He shifted where he had been laid out on the floor, quietly confused, and found that the only thing holding him down was a blanket.

The almost videogame-like sounds stopped and there was a sigh.

He closed his eyes quickly, but he got the distinct feeling that it wasn’t fast enough.

And then he felt a gloved finger poke his cheek. Which, yeah, that settles that.

“You’re awake,” a voice said, and it wasn’t a question.

He blinked an eye open to find a blank white mask. Or, at least, he thought it was blank, everything was kind of blurry.

“Muddafucka,” Tim slurred.

She laughed in the face of his biting insult and reached behind herself. “I’m sorry, Mr. Drake, but I don’t happen to be a necrophiliac.”

His nose scrunched in confusion, his head unable to piece together what he was pretty sure was an insult, but she didn’t seem to be paying much attention to that. Instead, the mask got closer as the woman leaned in, poking at his face.

“Hm… I guess I should administer the rest…” She murmured absently.

He saw something silver gleam out of the corner of his eyes and thrashed to the best of his abilities, but the blanket was weighted or something and she was holding his head to the floor.

Something stabbed him in the neck.

He went very still. He wasn’t that fond of sedatives, but necks were fragile things and he wasn’t going to purposefully tear it open just in hopes that he would be able to avoid too much of it getting in his bloodstream. He liked being alive, thanks.

But then the weirdest thing happened. His vision got clearer. And he was able to push off the light blanket and her finger left his face.

He sat up slowly, testing out his ‘new’ limbs. “I think you gave me the wrong thing.”

She snorted. She didn’t seem surprised by his newfound ability to form sentences. “I’m not stupid, I wouldn’t do that.”

He tipped his head to the side consideringly. “But…”

“Listen, Mr. Drake, I might be dumb enough to kidnap you for quick cash, but I’m not going to mistreat you.” She winced just slightly, her head jerking to the side almost imperceptibly with the motion. “I’m not fond of the idea of the bats beating my face in.”

He stared at her.

She tipped her head to the side on purpose this time. “Did I not give you enough?”

“You’re… a normal person,” he said, quietly confused.

Her shoulders shook with what appeared to be laughter. “Duh. Now, how good are you at videogames?”

He finally took in the area. Maybe he should have done that earlier, as his bat training had always told him to do that first, but she had been pretty close to his face to examine how he was doing so he had an excuse as to why he couldn’t really see. Now, he realized he was…

“Are we in an arcade?”

“No. My house just has a giant game room complete with an entire prize counter. Y’know, for aesthetic purposes.”

He frowned. He wasn’t sure if she was joking.

She sighed. “Right. That doesn’t work with billionaires.” She pushed herself to her feet, brushing imaginary dust from her knees before gesturing around. “This is an arcade. I hijacked it because I was bored, happened to see you while heading here today, and now here we are.”

He looked around. There was a Frogger character consistently jumping to his doom. That must have been the game she was playing before he woke up.

There were a couple of employees around. They were ignoring the pair that weren’t supposed to be there, going about their daily duties as if everything was fine and normal.

There were no customers.

“Huh,” he said quietly. “So… you’re just going to play games with me until you get ransom money?”

“Yeah. I’m not even taking your phone.”

“Aren’t you scared I’ll call the police?”

Her nose scrunched. “Don’t do that. They’re buzzkills. I literally just want a couple of grand so I can make a quick downpayment. Chill.”

He thought that over for a moment before shrugging. He could play along. And, if she wasn’t taking his phone, then he could warn his family that everything was actually fine.

“Now. What do you think of fps games?”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Tim squinted at the fake, plastic gun in his hand. “Does this have kickback?”

“Nope.”

“That’s so weird,” he muttered, frowning as he tried to imagine how he was going to un-account for kickback.

She shrugged.

///////////////////////

“-- and then the bastard stiffed me,” she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. Probably not the best thing to do during a round of basketball, but Tim was purposefully doing terribly and she had a good twenty points on him so she must have assumed it was fine.

He frowned and looked away from the hoop to find her pouting. “You don’t take your money in advance?”

“Of course not, no one would hire me,” she sighed, leaning back against the machine. “It doesn’t work like that. Think normal business paranoia, but instead of just trying to get the upper hand they’re also actively trying to screw you over. And they're expecting the same from you.”

He tipped his head to the side consideringly. “How often does this happen?”

“Oh, not that often. Most people are too scared of my general love of poisons to try things like this.”

His eyes narrowed. “Wait, did you –?”

The machines beeped to say they were done and she finally realized that Tim had beaten her score.

She gasped, pointing an accusatory finger. “You were lulling me into a false sense of security!” She said, puffing her cheeks in false anger.

But she snickered all the same.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

It took an embarrassing amount of tries considering both of their intellects, but they ended up with a plush each courtesy of a banged up crane machine.

Tim hugged the dumb little smiling octopus to his chest. Technically, the thing was reversible, but consider: why would he want to make his darling baby sad on purpose?

The woman kissed the forehead of a duck plushie. “I’m going to love him and feed him and call him George. Or whatever.”

He snorted. “Please don’t feed the duck.”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“I’m here to take care of the problem,” Red Hood said, cocking his gun in a clear threat.

Tim rolled his eyes and motioned to the woman who was casually taking apart a sensor on a jump roping game to figure out how to make real life pressure plates. To the cherry slushie in his hand. To the plush in his lap. To the phone on the ground that he had used to tell his dumb, paranoid family that everything was fine. “Problem? What problem?”

There was a moment as this was considered, and then shrugged. “There isn’t one, I guess,” he muttered, sending the woman a wave that she only barely acknowledged.

He moved to walk away, but didn’t even get a full step in the opposite direction before he collapsed.

Tim almost choked on his slushie. He turned to give his kind-of-captor a wide-eyed look.

“In my defense, I thought he was going to kill me, I think sedating him is perfectly understandable,” she said, shrugging.

Tim was torn between laughing and going to check on his brother.

He settled for laughing. She’d said ‘sedating’, after all.

#maribat #timari #timari january 2023 #timinette #timmari #shutterbug #tim drake #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #red robin

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ali-annals · 3 months

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Timari January 2024: Day 30 - Blanket

Timari, 200 words, fluff, G | A/N: This is for ao3, so I'll have 200k up 🎉

Marinette pulled the blanket more snuggly around her, curling into herself as the cold air hit her back.

The blanket tugged away from her again, the cool breeze sending shivers down her spine. She yanked it back over her, curling her arms up under her chin in sleepy annoyance.

The blanket moved back again and she sat up with a huff. If the kwami were messing with her sleep, she was going to do something drastic.

To her surprise, her boyfriend was beside her, trying to fit them both under the one-person square of fabric. Her demeanour softened as she took in her dozing boyfriend. He’d been working hard all week since the Arkham breakout; she could let him have the blanket this once. Pulling another fuzzy blanket out of the bin by the sofa, she curled up in it, leaning into Tim’s side and resting her face on his shoulder. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before dozing off again. There was nowhere else she’d rather be, warm and safe with her love.

Maribat Taglist (Open): @velveteenshadow here's your request :) <3 @questioning-blob-of-fog @jennifer-rose123

#timari #timari january 2024 #dcxmlb #ali writes

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itriedwritingandhereiam · 1 year

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DCU, Miraculous Ladybug, Red Robin (Comics), MariBat- Fandom Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tim Drake/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Characters: Tim Drake, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Mentioned Bruce Wayne - Character, Mentioned Plagg (Ladybug Miraculous) Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Fluff, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Sleep Deprived Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Tired Tim Drake, Protective Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Pillow Fights, Coffee Lover Tim Drake, Coffee Lover Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Timari - Freeform, timinette Series: Part 4 of Timari January 2023 Summary:

It’s an odd hour. At 3am, most people are either fast asleep, working night shifts or binge watching t.v. Tim and Marinette are different. At 3 am after patrol, a few hours in the office and an hour or two of sleep, they are in their most productive state after midnight. ~ “I hate to say it,” she sighed, closing her sketchbook, “But it's been three days since we had more than an hour nap, we have to go to bed,” The blue eyed man turned his gaze from his computer, to his actually serious girlfriend. “Mares, we both have so much to finish-” She placed a finger to his lip, effectively shushing him. “I know that, but Plagg threatened to curse every cup of coffee we touch from tomorrow if we don’t take a nap,” He narrowed his eyes at her, removing her finger from his lips, “What he doesn’t know, won’t hurt us,”

#timinette #timari #Timari January 2023 #ao3fic #dc x mlb

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boldlyanxious · 9 months

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Timinette

one shots

Still bitter Marinette took Tim's coffee

Always here childhood friends timari told over a few years

Barter meet cute with a stolen cheeseburger

Take a break Tim forces Marinette to take time away from working

Birthday Fluff Tim is supposed to be sleeping in for his birthday but he has help waking up

Blind Commission meet cute as a confusing client meeting

Speed Dating meet cute at speed dating

On the Nose meet cute where they both go for the door

Glimpse soulmate meet cute

Old Trick TIm shows up at Marinette's to explain why he ghosted her

It lives clumsy costumed meet cute

Excuse me coffee shop meet cute

longer works

Remember When- Marinette is in Gotham with few memories of her time in Paris after becoming Ladybug. She attempted to protect the miracle box from Hawkmoth with a trick guardian transfer but still suffered amnesia. She mets Red Robin and because Rouge Gorge for her hero persona but convincing all of the bat family is proving difficult.

Kiss me more- timari January 2022 prompts with kisses

#timinette #timari #maribat #boldlyanxious #mlb x dc #masterlist

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ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole · 2 years

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A proposal

Meet Cute Monday 40

This was originally planned to be MCM 30, but well Timari January happened and I had other ideas. Finally prioritising finishing my WIPs so, here's this one about 6 months late and different approach. Finally in the last hurdle of MCM!! 🎉

Masterlist

MCM Masterlist

………………………………….

Walking through the park was meant to be a short cut. A quicker route to stop her being late. It was meant to be less crowded. So why were there so many people milling around? It felt unnatural. Like something was underfoot. Marinette couldn't put her finger on it all. Star City did have villains and deadly events occurring but it wasn't like Bludhaven or Gotham known for their high crime rates, nor was it Paris with people having a bad day. The whole atmosphere seemed to be charged but whether it was good or bad was hard to decipher.

To her left by the pond… lake she saw a couple walking past deep in conversation. It felt to her that the whole park was watching the pair.

Suddenly the man drops to one knee and the whole park erupts. There was music playing from somewhere, blasting over the area. The people 'innocently' meandering around were all swiftly in formation and dancing.

Baguettes!!!

She was trapped in the middle of a flash dance mob thingy!!!

Someone grabbed her hand and started swinging her around in some dance pattern she had no clue how to follow. Every time she tried to grab her 'partners' attention she was ignored and spun in a circle. She was getting dizzy.

Abruptly the tune and beat changes and Marinette manages to make her escape… by crashing into yet another man, sending the pair crashing down.

"I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to knock you over. Please, just let me escape, I'm sorry, I'm not part of this… errr… event."

"Same, I was trying to escape too."

Marinette shifted so she stopped pinning the muscular man down and darted her eyes around, seeing a perfect escape route, she grabbed the man's hand and tugs. It's only then she realised that a) his is a LOT bigger than her, his arms were huge causing her eyes to widen as she took in the muscles and raw strength and b) her tug did nothing. He hardly moved even if she pulled with all her might. Causing her c) to actually take in the hulking man and see his flaming hair, shimmering emerald eyes and devilish smirking grin.

"Oh, errr, ummm, I think I can see an escape route if umm, if we move quickly."

She turned to keep an eye on her escape path, hoping the man missed her blush and would either join her in the escape or let go of her hand which seemed dwarfed by his. The dancers seemed to have shifted yet again closing that route off but had opened another. Marinette glanced back at the man who surprisingly gracefully for his size had shifted off the ground and crouched next to her.

"What's the signal?"

Darting her eyes around, Marinette just pulled, "Now!"

The pair swiftly sprinted through the gap. They scurried through the crowds before ending up hiding behind a hedge as yet another dance routine started up.

"This has to be the most over the top proposal ever! Is it bad that I want her to say no?"

The deep timber of the man's whisper startled Marinette from her planning the next escape dash. She turned and blinked up at him in surprise.

"No… it does seem… dramatic. It's not definitely not what I'd want. But…"

Marinette's thoughts drifted back to conversations she'd had with Adrien and Nino and mused that this dramatic declaration was definitely on par Adrien's idea she and Nino had talked him down for Kagami's sake.

"... Some people love it. Showing their love and admiration in a grand style for the world to see and agree that their partner is worthy of worship."

She shudders at the extravagant stuff she herself had been on the receiving end of due to akuma and well… life, especially in her red suit.

"Sounds awful if you ask me."

Marinette's mouth twitched with amusement at his statement.

"Agreed. So, you ready for our next step in our escape?"

"Yup, the sooner we're out of this nonsense, the sooner I can ask for your number and maybe a coffee date?"

"What?!"

Marinette's brain halted, her escape plan momentarily paused and out of focus as she looked at the emerald eyes man. He shook their still joined hands tilting his head in amusement as he shuffled his eyebrows suggestively. Heat flooded her cheeks further as she realised she'd not let go of his hand yet.

"You're number and a coffee date sweetheart. I'm Roy by the way."

"Oh… err…ummm… M.. M-Marinette."

Her nervous stutter reappeared at the most annoying moments, Marinette moaned. Marinette ducked her head and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear to avoid his intense gaze. The sight of her watch caused a gasp to escape her mouth as she saw the time.

"Oh baguettes!!"

The man, Roy's, energy shifted at her exclamation.

"I'm late! Like really late now!! Ummm… I'm meant to be meeting a friend at a cafe nearby… in that direction."

She pointed to the opposite side of the park which was filled with the flash mob.

"Let's get you there then. I'll just have to be your handsome escort."

"Huh?!"

Roy moved again, this time guiding Marinette through the crowds, twirling her occasionally so the could blend in with the crowds as they sneaked past dancers causing giggles to escape her mouth in surprise. Working together, they had managed to navigate their way to the edge of the flash mob and towards the park's exit Marinette required quicker than expected. Both grinning as though unwanted to be part of the dance troupe, finding a partner to conspire with was fun.

"So Marinette, which cafe are you heading to?"

Roy shifted Marinette's hand he still held onto to the crook of his elbow as they started to walk out the park. He looked down at her with a dreamy smile that set her heart fluttering as she bit her lip with nerves. It wasn't fair that he was so attractive and being nice. Why did green eyed males do this too her??

"You really don't need to take me all the way Roy. Just getting out of the park was fine."

Cheering could be heard in the distance as Roy rolled his eyes at her, though not relinquishing his loose hold of her hand on his arm. If she really wanted she could easily escape.

"Course I do sweetheart. Can't have you getting swept away by another flash mob without me."

He winked at her causing Marinette to blush again especially when he tensed his arm muscles showing them off.

"Terra Coffee I think… or that's what my friend said to meet."

"I know the place. Come on, let's get you there. I'll even buy you your drink, gorgeous."

"You buy me a drink? Shouldn't I buy you one since you're making all this effort to make sure I get there AND it was me who knocked into you?"

"You saved me from the horror of dancing in a mob."

"We did dance though."

"We did." He smirked further, "and I think we make a decent couple. We could get to know each other more so we can do it again."

Marinette laughed at his blunt upfront-ness. She had to admit he was fun to dance with and escape the park with. He definitely wasn't hard on the eyes either. Shaking her head with a fondness she wasn't expecting this morning she looked up at him.

"Fine. Hopefully Juleka won't mind company. At least she can vet you before you get in too deep."

Roy beamed and fist pumped the air setting the pair into further giggles.

"You won't regret it!"

"I might not but you may."

Marinette laughed further at his surprised face before they settled into a comfy conversation as Roy led her to the cafe.

#maribat #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #maribat au #ml x dc #dc x ml #meet cute #meet cute monday #marinette x roy #roy x Marinette #roynette

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