MARIBAT ARROW APRIL 2023

70% of the time tim drake is one of the greatest liars on the planet, even able to trick batman

the other 30% goes something like this:

dick: hey tim do you smell something burning?

tim: …no

dick:

dick: tim—

tim: i have no clue what you’re talking about

dick: tim i can see the oven on fire

tim: what’s an oven

“Someone who is worthy of your love will never put you in a situation where you feel you must sacrifice your dignity, your integrity, or your self worth to be with them.”

— Unknown

It's not really well known, but Carrie Kelley is canon in DC comics.

A few years back, she was the Robin that came after Dick, but it was soon retconned and she was erased from canon.

But in Batman and Robin (2011), she makes an appearance.

Carrie Kelley, in new canon, is a college student who gave Damian acting classes. Nobody knew that he was getting tutored by her, but it was revealed to Bruce in a 'not pleasent' way.

In her first few panels, we see her trying to contact Damian because he had stopped showing up to the lessons and stopped taking her calls. This had upset her, as he was naturally talented (according to her) in acting. She was also worried about him.

Carrie, then, shows up at the Wayne Manor looking for Damian. However, she does not get what she was looking for.

Bruce tells her that he had sent him abroad for education and Carrie is not happy with that. At that time, we can see that Carrie knows Damian well enough to know that he wouldn't be happy getting sent to another country. She also blames Bruce for losing a great acting partner.

After Bruce leaves, we see Alfred converse with Carrie and offer her a job of taking care of Titus. Carrie happily agrees to it.

A few days later, she comes back to the manor and Bruce is visibly uncomfortable. It's clear that he does not want her here. Bruce asks her what she is doing in his house, and Alfred explains the situation.

Bruce and Carrie start talking a little as Bruce is curious about Damian's new friend. Carrie mentions a movie she made of Titus and also about an interview she had with Damian before he had started taking acting lessons. She also mentions that Damian was like a little brother to her and with him being blunt and true, it was easy to befriend him.

Bruce asks her for the the interview footage and Carrie makes a deal with him instead. She'd give him the interview footage if Bruce gives the movie she made about Titus to Damian. She also asks Bruce to tell Damian to give her a call. Bruce agrees to the deal.

Later on, when she leaves, Bruce keeps his promise and takes Titus' movie to Damian and places it onto his grave...

Some of My Favorite Batfam Fic Tropes

In no particular order:

 - The batfam have their own language of chirps, trills, tweets, and whistles, and they use it in front of other ppl (civilians, the jla, whatever) and the other ppl go “what the actual fuck”

 - Bruce throwing the batarang at Jason Todd’s neck actually Does Damage™, and eventually the other members of the family find out and lose their shit

 - “Hey Tim?” “Yeah?” “Where’s your fucking spleen :)” “Lost it.” “LOST IT??”

 - Damian calling his brothers Akhi :)

 - “How many kids do you HAVE??” -The entire Justice League

 - Jason going to Titans Tower, seeing Tim, saying “is anyone gonna parent that” and then not waiting for an answer.

 - Literal Toddler Tim Drake informing the Batfamily that yes he knows everyone’s identity, and really if you didn’t want people to figure it out you should stop showing off your extremely niche skills during patrols Nightwing.

 - “Dude your son is a crime boss.” “Ex-crime boss :/”

 - A Batfamily member hearing someone talk about their civilian identity (bc, yknow,, they’re famous) and just having to Deal With It because what the fuck else are they supposed to do??

 - The Justice League hearing about Batman and assuming he (& his family) are demons or vampires or some other cryptid, and then meeting him and finding out he’s just Some Guy.

 - The batfamily learning the origin of the name Robin

- The Justice League meeting the Batfamily and specifically learning who Red Hood is, and one of the heroes nervously asks “Didn’t the second Robin.. die?” and Jason just goes “yeah lol”

Danny, after running away moving to Gotham a few months ago begins making little commentary videos on a social media app.

It was fine and all with mostly friends viewing them up until his meta gene activated. He didn't even know he had a meta gene and kinda figured any of the ghost stuff he did as Phantom would have activated it if he did have one. Nope!

His newest video started out with him wearing a red beanie, "Hey guys! You know how I just moved to Gotham a few months ago? Well, turns out I have the meta gene!" He takes a moment to let that sink in before continuing, "Most people get there abilities or whatever through a lab accident or an explosion or something and end up with like telekinesis."

"I, however, am hated by the universe and got scratched by a cat," he then yanked off the beanie to reveal two large cat ears, "and turned into furry bait. On that note if you have any tips on how to avoid Catwoman please leave them in the comments section. For my sake."

Dick stared down at his phone in shock. He needed to show his siblings this

In the meantime Danny has to deal with his channels popularity skyrocketing. "This is not what I want to be remembered for."

Bonus points if Danny gets one of those FMK questions that are all bats and he responds with, "Kill? A bat? Listen, if I get put into a death match with a bat the only one dying here will be me. I cant even do a backflip, what makes you think I could even touch one of them???"

Thesis statement: 

  Batman is the Worlds Greatest Detective and thus is excellent at discovering facts about people; he however is far from the worlds best manipulator, but doesn’t realize this, mistaking his knowledge of a person for having the ability to use it effectively. Or in other words, Batman is not actually very good at mind games. Why do I say this? Well, lets look at Bruce’s relationships with some of his wards/apprentices or loved one’s, people who admire him, love him and whom he raised or taught. Surely of all the people in the world he would be able to get to do what he wants it would be them right? Wrong. Alfred literally quits his job several times and bails when Bruce is being too difficult to put up with for good or ill and Bruce never seems to know how to get him back or even notice a problem is mounting. Bruce raised Dick Grayson and was potentially at his kindest and most stable with him and Jason, yet despite that there was a several year long period where they constantly fought and barely talked and Bruce could not only not get his former ward to do what Bruce thought was best, but to listen to him at all. Similarly, when it came to how Jason’s trauma manifested as he grew older, while Bruce sympathized at times, he rarely seemed to actually know what to do and was often left playing catch up to Jason’s thoughts and feelings processes and the less said about how poorly they communicate as adults the better. Now for a double header, his relationship with Tim on paper seems OK, but leaning back on that ‘mind game’ thing I mentioned before. When Bruce decided it was time Stephanie learn at least some identities, he arranged the whole thing in secret, damaging her and Tim’s relationship with each other and him. Somehow this result flummoxed Bruce and he seemed apologetic… But also refused to actually do anything about it like change his behaviors. His handling of Stephanie in general is among the other better left unsaid things, because ’wow’. His relationship with Cass in the Batgirl 2000 comics is kind of a mixed bag, but she also thinks the world of him and is the most psychologically similar to him and even then I’d give him fifty fifty at best. Though his whole 'making Cass give up Batgirl’ thing was also poorly planned out given it mostly just upset and confused everybody involved and only worked out because it was either adapt or die. Long story short, if Bruce is incapable of using his intimate and generally positive relationships and insights on the people closest to him to get the results he wants…. Why on Earth would I think him capable of manipulating his various enemies?

Daminette Headcanon #??

Meet cute/meet disaster opportunity in Gotham. So Marinette is new to the city, and her stash of fabric and notions is completely depleted because she had to downsize when moving across the Atlantic (she had way too much stuff to ship with her.) So she's trying to find Gotham's fabric district which does exist... but it's frequented mainly by villains or henchpeople who need fabric for their costumes. Otherwise, everyone just buys online. Marnette though needs to see her stuff in person, needs to feel the fabric and test stretch and shit. So she's struggling down the street burdened by like five bags and a whole bolt of fabric and Damian (overachiever that he is) is doing an early evening patrol as Robin, and sees this little slip-of-nothing girl walking out of a fabric store that is definitely only frequented by villains and is a front for a local gang, and thinks 'oh, this is a new villain and/or she's being blackmailed to create new outfits' and so he prepares to swing down and interrogate her. Now Marinette, total badass that she is, can handle herself (yes, all her friends and family told her she shouldn't move to Gotham, but she's a hero too and Gotham ain't got shit on Hawkmoth) and she knows this isn't the best part of town, but it's the only place that has fabric stores, and the prices are really good so of course, she's gonna stock up. She knows she looks like an easy target but she is not. But bad guys don't know that, so a pair of idiots come up to her on the street and start harassing her and trying to rob her. One goes to hit her, and she totally backhands them and then knocks them both out flat in under 30 seconds. Not a hair out of place and all of her purchases are still safe and sound. And Robin is shocked up above (and kinda turned on) and is now definitely thinking that this girl is the newest up-and-coming supervillain, and he hears her mutter, "these fools have nothing on Paris." And so he swings down, intrigued, and wanting to know who this new danger is. He doesn't want to be too sus at first though and asks if she's fine (Richard would be proud of how far he's come at interpersonal skills) Of course, Marinette knows who the local heroes are (she doesn't want to step on anyone's toes after all) and so is very friendly at first, and basically says, "I'm okay and don't need any help, after all, you don't survive long in Paris if you can't handle yourself, but it's nice to know Gotham's heroes are looking out." And Robin doesn't know if that's meant to be a threat or sincere. And so he offers to walk her home because that's what a hero would do with a normal civilian right?? Not one that he was trying to gauge what their notorious schemes are, right?? But Marinette easily agrees, and in her mind, is just happy to get a read on the local heroes, and just chats with Robin the whole way home about Gotham and what amazing styles she can get from its local design and architecture. And Damian is so?? confused??? Is this girl an artist? IS she a villain artist?? What kind of schemes are going to happen here. And so he obviously has to know more about this amazi- he means potentially dangerous woman, and so when he sees her safely home asks to maybe, visit? Again? And Marinette is all like 😁😁 Sure, happy to help Gotham's heroes however she can. Damian is like 'perfect, I have managed to open a line of inquiry into a potential threat, now I just need to visit often- I mean monitor her carefully to figure out her plans' and Marinette is just like, 'The Gotham heroes are much more welcoming than I thought they would be. I got fabric, beat up some baddies, and made a new friend all in one evening!'

Their falling in love is kinda inevitable.

Damn this looks like a treasure chest

my jewelry box

Maribat Secret Santa 2022

is it late... yes

did it grow out of control and need a part 2... also yes

but without further ado for my secret santa recipient @intercoursefluids

In Every Lifetime

~~~~~~~~~~

Life after life, death after death, whether they would find each other or not they knew the other was searching for them land, sea, or even the skies for them. Their dreams a guiding light to one another. The powers and magic practiced and hidden in order to protect them. After centuries they learned they would always share a birthdate, which in the newer ages of technology made it slightly easier to find one another, if there weren't so many more people now, and the gods never made it easy for them. But reincarnations are both a blessing and a curse.

•••

"Please don't take her!" He begged clutching her limp lifeless form, still warm despite knowing otherwise.

The two gods stared at him, watching him, waiting. They were the final two, creation and destruction, to choose their vessels. Yet here they were watching silently this mournful event unfold.

The boy reached for a sheathed sword. "I will find who did this and they will pay." He grit out, tears of rage and sadness rolled down his face.

"The price, if you are willing to pay it, is an expensive one." The god of destruction offered, as they finally appeared before the boy.

"Who are you." The boy's eyes flicked between the two of them.

"You humans really are a suspicious bunch."

"What Plagg is trying to say is we want to make a deal with the two of you." The goddess, Tikki, responded.

"The... two..." He looked to his side where the spirit of the girl in his arms, sat beside him. "What deal do you propose?" The boy didn't look at them, but at the spirit at his side.

"We want to use the two of you as vessels." Plagg stated bored. "Thus, the two of you will reincarnate."

"Then why say the price shall be expensive." He asked the two gods, finally turning away from the girl.

Tikki was the one who answered. "Because you may or may not meet one another in each lifetime. But if you do you will loose one another time and time again."

"If that is the cost I..." The boy looked over at the girl again, who nodded. "We are willing to pay it."

"We the kwamii, gods of creation and destruction, imbue the both of you with our powers. You shall reincarnate time and time again, and we will watch over you to aid your existence.”

•••

He had a mission to complete, but these annoying dreams would not let him rest.

He watched as a girl his age rushed around a palace of sorts. They weren't unsettling, just peculiar, almost as if he were witnessing her life.

It wasn't until he reached the palace that was constantly in his dreams that he understood them. Granted if he listened to that annoying voice in his ear he might have figured it out sooner. The roads he travelled became familiar, faces and places as well.

That's when he noticed her, a daughter of a feudal lord, his target. She turned and their eyes connected.

Their past flashed behind his eyes.

His mission forgotten and forfeited.

"Wǒ de tài yáng." Her smile was as bright as in the previous life they shared.

"Wǒ de yuè liàng." He whispered in response. Public appearance the only reason the both of them restrained themselves from jumping into each other’s arms.

It wasn't until the night covered the sky that he dared find her again.

"I was hoping you'd come, Hēi Māo." she watched him a soft smile ever present.

"Piáo Chóng, I promise in this life and every life to come I will find you no matter what." He held her close, whispering into her hair.

"And I you. If you promise to lead me to you in your dreams." He nodded into her not wanting to let her go.

"Only if you do the same."

Their peace didn’t last long. It only took a single cycle of the moon for the guards to realize that someone was constantly coming into the palace after dark. The guards stormed in and dragged him away from his beloved.

He heard her cries and screams trying to come back to him. But he constantly kept getting dragged further and further, her voice becoming softer and softer in the distance.

That is until he heard her footsteps, felt her soothing presence of her newly present magic near him.

"I can’t lose you again. I won’t."

In that moment they both knew they would take their lives, knowing that they’d find each other in the next.

But until then they wouldn’t fear the dark so long as they had each other.

The poison vials that Hēi Māo kept on his belt broke in each of their mouths, the guards to shocked to stop them.

The little voices that rang in their heads spoke out.

Find each other in your next life as you will always be reincarnated together.

•••

The gods did not favor mortals, less their children. But that was not here nor there.

She was abandoned by her parents, an affinity for magic caused them to fear godly retribution. They feared she was a child of Hades, because when she was born jewels materialized on her ears.

The fact of the matter was quite different. She knew, she wasn't of godly descent. She was something else.

So, they left her, a hunter of Artemis later found her. Where she was raised with the Amazons until she joined the hunt.

By then she knew she was able to draw upon the power of beings called kwamii, specifically the spirit inhabiting her jewelry. At least that is what Tikki calls herself. She knows that Tikki isn't telling her everything, but she knows there must be a reason.

She travelled with the goddess of the hunt until a fated day.

The battle was bloody, both sides lost lives. She was the oldest of the hunters there at the moment, she saw them as her younger sisters. When she noticed the volley of arrows heading towards them.

And that’s when the world shook the only thought on her mind her sisters.

To protect Artemis, the hunters, the Amazons that that raised her, that became her family.

She decided to sacrifice herself in order to protect everyone she cared for. In a matter of seconds, the magic exploded from her, disintegrating the arrows creating a veil that stopped the enemy forces from attacking.

she had never used so much magic at once. So much so, she know that it cost her, her life. But she also knew that she would do it again each and every single one of her lives.

She reached up to her ears and plucked the jewels from them. Artemis tentatively stepped forward.

"Amira." The goddess finally reached her. She was kneeling on the ground knowing full well she could not stand up, even if she wanted to. She was a warrior, but even she knew when she shouldn't push her mortal body further.

Amira raised her hand and placed the jewels into the hand of Artemis.

A much smaller, almost looking like a little ladybug, the kwamii of creation appeared to them.

"The world still needs ladybug at this time. Artemis goddess of the hunt, this is my jewel find a worthy warrior until the day comes that we shall reincarnate."

"You are a Kwamii, meaning you are a miraculous." She looked between both of them. "That is understood being of creation." she held the jewels closer. "Amira, my sister, until we meet again." Silver tears fell onto the goddess's face.

•••

She led armies, she sacrificed her entire being for her country.

But this, this was not what she hoped for.

Here she was shackled and ridiculed. Escorted to the gallows like a criminal.

"Joan of Arc, you are charged with being a witch and heretic. How do you plead?"

Head held high she stared at the man condemning her to her death. "No matter my response, you will have my head."

"The price for your insolence is your death."

She was promptly grabbed and pushed down. She heard the executioner raise his axe. So, she stared forwards, meeting a pair of emerald, green eyes.

Memories flashed behind her mind. Moments of blissful joy, unending sorrow, life and death entwined in a never-ending cycle of pain and happiness.

In that second, she finally understood those words spoken those many centuries before. It truly was an expensive price to pay.

"Mon Sol." She whispered, seeing her other half realize it at the same time.

"Mi Luna." She saw him month, seconds before her life ended.

They would always be destined to watch one another die, over and over.

•••

Centuries have passed. She and the others have fought wars. Seen the rise and fall of various civilizations.

But nothing stops the pain she feels every time either she or her sun dies. They may not meet in every life, but they know that they will find one another.

•••

Marinette was a normal girl, well normal-ish. (Tikki had learned to hide herself, among her chosen's families belongings, instead of appearing suddenly.)

Ever since she was small she knew she was different.

She's known since the little goddess Tikki told her when she was five. However, she's known since before. The goddess had always been with her, but she had a magic no one else seemed to notice. Although her luck skewed badly.

But the most intriguing was the boy she constantly saw in her dreams. Because of him she took several martial arts which she excelled in naturally. She quickly got bored of them as she rose through the ranks quickly. In the end she stuck to gymnastics and fencing.

But it wasn't until her tenth birthday it all came to a head.

Her Nonna took her on a trip to visit some friends in the United States.

They were in Gotham and were going to meet a friend named Alfred, but first dinner. Unfortunately, that was pushed back a bit.

She felt an all to familiar pull, but this time it was stronger, so she followed it.

She ran out of the restaurant when her Nonna's attention was off of her. Marinette ran following the pull that seem to be leading her somewhere deeper into the city. She doesn’t know what this pull was or why it constantly seems to pull her in different directions. All she knew was that she should follow it in this moment.

She doesn’t know how long she ran for, it might not have been long at all actually, but one thing she knows is she just ran into a fight.

The much younger of the two raised a sword to man who was fallen on the ground, but that’s when a third arrived. Nightwing, if she remembers correctly, kicked the younger boy which threw his sword into the air, which he then caught.

"The psychos just keep getting younger." The masked vigilante commented.

But her attention was on the boy, the force almost unbearable now pulling her to the boy, but she wouldn’t move. In this match between the two, the boy was completely blinded by anger, Nightwing attempting to subdue him. Snarls and insults, comments being hurled as the two fought, but she couldn't hear.

The boy looked around trying to find an opening, trying to find anything, and that's when he found her. They’re eyes met and he stopped. The blinding anger faded from him as he froze watching her.

And she knows what was going on in his mind. Because the same was happening to her, all the memories of their past lives, every interaction the two ever had was laid out for their minds to see.

But that give Nightwing the opportunity that he needed.

"Mon sol." Was barely audibly whispered and she was again frozen in her tracks.

Nightwing however never once noticed her, seeing as his back was turned to her a majority of the time, and is now presently. Her and was promptly tied up, gagged, and then hung from the light pole like a piñata. And unfortunately, Nightwing still hasn’t noticed her, as he started a call on speaker.

"Talk." A gravely monotone voice answered.

"Missing something?" Nightwing asked, annoyance and disbelief clear in his voice.

"Not in the mood for games." Came the response on the phone.

"I have a kid here." Nightwing paused looking up at the boy hanging in the air. "Says he's your son."

"I'll be right there."

The call ended, And Nightwing finally seemed to look around, thus noticing her.

He froze, and more than likely for good reason. Marinette knows that he doesn’t know how long she’s been there, if from the beginning, or if she just arrived, or if she’s heard the entire conversation. She stood there quietly staring between the vigilante, the man unconscious on the ground, and her soulmate strung up in the air.

She didn’t say a word Nightwing straighten himself up and took a step towards her. She instinctively took a step back, still reeling from the events that just flipped through her mind and the fight she had just witnessed.

Oddly enough that’s exactly when a few others showed up. First was the Batman, who went towards the other two.

Nightwing stepped in front of her blocking them.

That is when her Nonna finally found her.

"My little faerie, what are you doing? I turned around and you were gone." Her Nonna began to scold her. Marinette barely processing what is being told said to her.

"Sorry I..." The words got stuck in her throat, not knowing what actually say. "I don’t know what happened?"

It was a lie she knew it was a lie, but there was truth in it. She didn’t know why she was pulled when she started to run, but now she did. She doesn’t know why she stayed, when she could just easily turn around, instead of listening to the conversation.

"Miss?"

Nightwing again approached the two of them blocking her view of the Batman and her sol.

"Thank you for making sure she is safe. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been here." Her Nonna began to thank Nightwing. Not noticing noticing the man on the ground with a blade near him.

Nightwing looked unsure of how to proceed, as if wanting to ask Marinette more but not knowing if he should. He looked towards Marinette, and she gently shook her head, a signal to him not to say a thing.

"Thank you Monsieur Nightwing. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you didn’t arrive on time." She looked up at him her eyes big, a small smile on her face, acting slightly saved as ice and memories swarmed her.

"Nightwing." The Bat's voice sounded from behind them the man, previously on the ground, cuffed sirens heard approaching.

"Right. Be careful the both of you Gotham is dangerous."

With that Nightwing turned and walked towards the Bat.

She tried to find a boy again but couldn’t. She assumes that he is inside the Batmobile but isn’t completely sure. She’s turned and was led away from the scene until they reach the restaurant, her appetite gone, mind racing.

"My little Faerie?" Her Nona pulled her attention. "Don’t forget you’re to meet my friend, and his family."

"Right Nonna."

---

The entire car ride back to the manner was silent.

His blind anger and vengeance no longer consumed his mind.

His qamari was here. In this very city. But he knew he couldn't escape this place twice in the same night.

So, he stood silently watching the fake son receive stitches, by his father‘s butler, Pennyworth. It wasn’t until then that he noticed, the ever present familiar soul, the way he moved, the energy that he radiated, it was like his own.

In that moment he clenched his always gloved hands. A ring has been embedded into his skin and with it an annoying little presence called a Kwamii, named Plagg. Because of his constant company, the small pocket god destruction, enhanced Damian's abilities, greater than the League expected from him.

Fortune always seems to be in his favor, Plagg said it’s because he lacked it, today he realized what Plagg had meant. He was a reincarnation, he was a miraculous, just like Pennyworth seems to be.

They were talking but he wasn’t exactly keeping pace with their conversation.

"Are you all right Master Dick?" The fake grimaced before answering.

"I took the cut; I can take the stitch."

"Maybe you need more anesthetic." He didn’t mean to say it, it’s not that he actually cared about him, he just didn’t want to see him in pain anymore, pain he caused.

"And maybe you need to find..."

"Master Dick!" Pennyworth cut the fake son off.

He was going to say something else I stopped himself.

"The Blood Sun." He whispered back, the empty cave allowing the two men down below to hear him.

"Blood thirsty, more like it." He heard the fake say.

He didn’t deny it, he knew it was true.

In every life he had blood was stained on his hands. And nothing he says or does can change that. He clenched his every loved hand feeling the cold metal of the ring burn into his skin. But he turned and walked away.

He went up to the room that was prepared for him, sat in the middle of the bed back pressed up against the headboard, and began to meditate.

Well in reality he was speaking with Plagg. Now that his memories were unlocked he would be able to tell him more, but did he really want to hear it is the question.

"Well, this was earlier than ever before." A nasally voice almost cackled in front of him.

"Tt. I realize that but why? Why did I never notice she was so close?" the asked aloud.

"You know the answer kid. You were so blinded by your rage and hatred and the need for vengeance, you blocked everything else. You blocked her until she could no longer be blocked from you. You blocked the other miraculous who has been trying to help you since you got here. What else is there to say?"

"But I didn’t mean to." He was being to tear, voice caught in his throat, as a single line from his past seemed to hold him. "I promised I would always find her, but I didn’t even try in this life." His tears fell onto his cheeks, Plagg not knowing what else to do. Simply curled up into a ball on the top of his head.

"You did your best kid with what you were given, don’t hesitate to be happy. To be a kid for once."

"But…"

"No buts." with that the two sat in comfortable silence.

A knock was at the door and Pennyworth slowly opened it. Plagg disappeared from this plane.

"We are to have guests over tonight Master Damien. If you would be so gracious to appear tonight."

He nodded. Pennyworth was closing the door when his curiosity finally couldn’t be restrained.

"Pennyworth." The man looked back in. "You are miraculous, aren’t you?"

Upon hearing this a sly smile appeared on the older man’s lips.

"As are you, although that took longer for you to realize than I expected." With that Pennyworth left the room.

But he knew she was still near him.

He got dressed in more civilian attire and went down, mostly following Pennyworth's energy signature. He went down and ended up in the kitchen where he saw Pennyworth preparing a cake. Damian never once said it was his birthday, he doesn't believe it’s anyone else in the house, so deduction must mean that it’s for the people who are visiting.

"Who are we to celebrate?"

The older gentleman looked up and simply answered him in kind.

"The granddaughter of a friend who is visiting today. I expect you to be on your best behavior understood Master Damian."

"Only if the fake acts accordingly."

That’s when he noticed a plain vanilla cake with pink buttercream and strawberries.

"She likes to have strawberries with dark chocolate."

He doesn’t know why he said it, it probably made no sense to Pennyworth, because he had never met her, he had never met her. And it probably wasn’t for her anyways. The older man looked up at him.

"Sorry." And Damian turned on his heel and over towards one of the rooms closest to the front door.

He was miserable. The only thing he wanted to do was be outside of this house searching for her, some thing, Plagg specifically, told him he should sit still. And one thing he’s learned over these last few millennia, is to listen when Plagg is serious.

So, he sat down, the fake son came in with him, almost like a guard dog. But he didn’t care.

"The people coming over are civilians, they don’t know about the bat , they are not enemies understood."

The older man didn't say it in a condescending or rude tone, it was more like casual conversation.

"I know how to be have myself." He made quick eye contact and then went around and studied the room.

The doorbell rang and both of them moved to exit the room. Damian stood between the fake and his father, white Pennyworth opened the door.

"Alfie, my friend it's been much much too long." A cheerful voice rang in the hallway. "And that’s a little Brucie. My he's grown."

Pennyworth chuckled. "You haven’t changed at all, Gina." A smile on his face. "And who is this?"

Alfred motioned to a girl who was still hidden behind the woman named Gina.

"My granddaughter." The woman stepped aside and then behind the girl, the woman placing her hands on both of the girl's shoulders. "Marinette, my little faerie."

He took a step forward, but someone caught his shoulder, well actually two people. Introductions were promptly made, all the while each one of his shoulders were being held back by the fake and his father respectively, almost as if they were scared that he would attack her.

But what surprised the men however was when they sat down, in the parlor, she sat next to him.

It was comforting speaking with her again, someone he's known for so long/she is his true love, his other half of his soul. He felt at ease with her for the first time in this life.

Their conversations turned from shared memories of the past to those the other never met, the friends they made, the people they gained to trust, as well as those they hope they will see again. What they didn’t notice was the room became silent except for them. Marinette was reminiscing of someone she came to trust from a place called Paradise Island a goddess and a warrior, but that is when Alfred interjected.

"Have you visited Paradise Island before Miss Marinette?"

This shocked the other two men in the room, for a reason that he will more than likely understand very soon, however Gina was the first to respond.

"Alfie, I don’t know how you kept up with them, that was Greek to me."

"Indeed, it was."

Came in response to which both he and Marinette realized they had been bouncing through the different tongues they learned throughout their lifetimes.

"I unfortunately couldn’t understand the first part of it. Do either of you mind elaborating?"

He and Marinette shared a look, but it was her who spoke first. "What is there to say? Anywhere you visit can be a paradise if that’s how you see it."

“That is one way to see it.” His father nodded, but he noticed the fake watching them studiously.

“That’s my little faerie, always looking on the bright side.”

“I’ve learned it’s not good to regret anything.” She smiled looking back at him.

~~~~~~~~~~

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