Promises Of Life - Chapter 2
Dang, its been a while! I finally managed to break through my writers block and get this done! I hope you enjoy!!!
Side Note: this picks up where the last chapter ended. If you need a refresher, or have not yet read the first chapter, you can find it here.
Pulling apart from their kiss, Marinette stared off into space dreamily while Bruce laughed at her vacant expression.
“So... you want to meet the family?” Bruce asked, biting his lip.
“Sure! They are going to be my family soon, so we might as well!” Marinette replied with a smile.
Bruce smiled back, her excitement was contagious.
“Woah” Marinette’s eyes went wide as they pulled up to Wayne Manor. “I know I’ve been here before, but it seems like it keeps getting bigger.”
Bruce chuckled at her amazement. “All the boys should be home, it is a weekend after all. I think Cass and Steph are currently on a trip though.”
He held a hand out to her and helped her out of the car. As he led her up the steps, Marinette started fidgeting nervously. “What if they don’t like me?”
“Don’t worry Mari. They’ll love you.”
They walked inside the manor. “Welcome back Miss Marinette. It is good to see you again.” Alfred smiled.
“It’s nice to see you again as well, Alfred!” Marinette replied cheerfully.
“Master Bruce, I believe that the young masters are currently in the main sitting room.” Alfred directed his attention to the younger man.
“Thank you Alfred” Bruce replied before taking Marinette’s hand once again and taking them to the sitting room.
“Todd, I swear, if you don’t give me my katana back right now- “ Damian stopped upon seeing Bruce and Marinette enter the room. Jason awkwardly tried to hide the katana behind his back while Dick was trying to contain his laughter.
“Uh, hey B.” Dick tried to break the very palpable tension in the room.
“Dick... care to explain why Jason stole Damian’s Katana?” Bruce raised an eyebrow.
“Jason stole Damian's katana because Damian was about to go assassin mode on us.” Tim supplied helpfully, not looking up from what he was typing on his computer.
“... Thank you Tim. Anyways, boys, we have a guest. This is Marinette and she’s an old friend of mine” He swallowed hard. “And technically my fiancée.”
The last statement caused an uproar from the boys, the most prominent being Jasons’s yell of “WHAT THE HECK B?” Jason then turned to Marinette. “Blink twice if he’s holding you hostage, blink three times if you’re blackmailing him”
Marinette raised an eyebrow at the last statement before turning to Bruce, deciding it would be best for him to answer the myriad of questions being thrown their way.
Bruce breathed in through his nose and then let it out. “No, she’s not blackmailing me. No, I’m not blackmailing her. Yes, she does know about our... nightlife.”
This announcement caused another round of shouts to ensue.
“One question at a time please.” Marinette asked, stepping forward with a smile.
Dick’s hand shot up first as if he was an excited school boy that knew the answer. “Who are you, and why did B introduce you as his fiancée?”
Marinette laughed at the question. “Uh, I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and Bruce and I have known each other since we were five. When we were sixteen, we both promised each other that if we both turned 30 and were not yet married, dating someone, etcetera, we would marry each other, because what’s better than marrying your best friend?”
Dick nodded as if to say 'yeah, that makes sense' before looking at Bruce to confirm the story.
Damian's eyes narrowed. "And what makes you think you’re worthy of knowing our secret?"
Bruce snorted lightly at that one.
"Oh you know... I'm just carrying around twenty or so gods in my pocket??" Marinette replied with a smirk.
Jason’s jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, what?"
“Yeah! So, basically, I’m the babysitter of a bunch of tiny gods who act like children-”
“We do not!” A tiny voice squeaked from her pocket as a vaguely cat shaped... creature flew out of her pocket.
"Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that. Plagg, please get back in the bag. Thank you." She closed her purse once again. "Anyways, each God is bound to a piece of jewelry that can possibly end the world. Easy enough to keep safe, right?" She laughed, sitting down and gratefully accepting the mug of tea Alfred handed her.
"..." The boys stared at her in disbelief. Tim shook his head before muttering something about hallucinating about flying fairies and more coffee.
"It's been fun meeting you all!" Marinette smiled warmly. "I'll be back tomorrow! For now, I have to make sure the rest of the kwami haven't blown up the hotel yet." With that final statement, she kissed Bruce's cheek and left.
The following day, Marinette was back at the manor. As she greeted Alfred, she asked if she could borrow their kitchen to do a bit of baking. Alfred agreed happily, letting her know that she was always welcome to use it.
“Dick, I can see you up there.” Marinette called up to the ceiling.
“Aw, come on!” Slowly, Dick left his spot on the chandelier, where he was hiding with his box of bat-puffs.
He had been hidden on top of the chandelier, out of sight from anyone walking by, but not from Marinette’s view from the entry hall.
Marinette laughed. “It's okay. When we were younger Bruce had climbed on top of the chandelier because he wanted to show that he was the ‘king of the world’ and… uh, well, the chandelier had to be replaced due to a few… loose screws?”
Dick tried not to laugh, he really did. In doing so however, he fell off the chandelier and hit the ground with a thud.
Marinette ran over to him. “Are you alright?”
Dick nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine, just can't see B standing on top of a chandelier..."
Alfred walked over to them with a smile. "Believe me Master Dick, he did. I believe we have photos somewhere."
“… I need to see those.” Dick replied, picking himself off the ground and standing up.
Marinette’s next target bonding experience was with Jason, she found him hiding out in the Library of the Wayne Manor.
Knocking lightly on the door frame, she called out to Jason, who was sitting in an overstuffed armchair reading Pride and Prejudice.
“Hey Jason. What’re you up to?” Marinette asked, sitting down in the chair next to him.
“Uh, nothing much, just reading.” Jason replied, closing his book. “Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yeah actually. I was able to convince Alfred to let us set up a few targets in the backyard. There’s water guns and paintball guns involved!” Marinette smiled as Jason stood up and bolted towards the backyard.
Marinette followed Jason out the door. Upon arriving in the backyard, it was very plain as to who the experience was geared towards. Multiple targets, all with the Joker’s face plastered on them were scattered around the backyard. Jason’s face lit up as he grabbed a paintball gun in one hand and a water gun in the other. Marinette laughed in the background as Jason fired round after round at the Joker’s face.
Marinette grabbed her own set of guns and joined him in firing at the targets. That was until her finger “slipped” and she fired her water gun at Jason’s back.
“Marinette!” Jason gasped, in a dramatic fashion. “It’s on!” He turned around and trained his guns on her. Firing a purple paintball at her arm, Marinette leapt to the side, firing a red one at him.
A few minutes later, they were both covered in a mix of water and paintball goo. Laughing, they made their way inside to hit the showers.
After she had washed all the paint from her hair, Marinette changed into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt. Making her way through the house, she was able to locate Tim, who was playing Ultimate Mega Strike III. Marinette plopped down next to him with a smirk.
“Mind if I play too?” Marinette asked.
Tim looked at her as if she was crazy. “Sure. Just so you know, I’m the reigning champion here.” He handed her a controller and started a new round.
Choosing their bots, Marinette readjusted her grip on her controller. As the countdown appeared on the screen, Marinette hovered her fingers over the joystick and the buttons. Tim glanced at her odd finger placement just as the round started. Marinette began mashing buttons in an order that looked completely random. Spoiler Alert; it wasn’t random.
Two minutes later as the round ended, Tim looked at Marinette in disbelief. She had managed to end his streak of winning 423 games, something no one else in his family had been able to do.
“Good game Tim! You actually managed to make me have to try, something that no one has been able to do since my Papa taught me how to play!” Marinette smiled.
Tim started laughing. “You have got to teach me your methods of button mashing. Those were some seriously cool moves!”
“For sure! Hey, we should team up next time! I bet we could take over the leaderboards if we wanted to!”
In the gardens, Marinette found her final target of the day. Damian sat in a gazebo, sketching Titus who was stretched out in the sun.
Marinette walked into the gazebo, and being careful not to startle him, spoke up. “Mind if I join you?”
Damian glanced up briefly from his sketchpad before nodding slightly. Marinette sat down next to him, leaning over to see what he was working on before pulling out her own sketchbook.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the occasional chirp of a bird.
“Can you make that?” Damian’s voice cut through the still air as he gestured to the bandana she had been drawing, inspired by Damian’s drawing of Titus. The bandana she had drawn was forest green with silver birds speckled across the fabric.
Marinette startled at his sudden comment, but nodded anyways. “It's a pretty simple design, but it’s a fun one. I can make it for Titus if you’d like.”
Damian gave her a rare slight smile. “I would like that.”
Marinette left the manor shortly before dinner. She gave each of the boys a hug, including Damian who tried to escape. Emphasis on tried. Marinette then gave Bruce a kiss, hugged Alfred, and then left.
After leaving the manor, Marinette opened a portal using the horse miraculous and teleported to a safe house where a figure clad in black was waiting.
“Thanks for keeping the Cat Miraculous safe.” Marinette hugged them, as they dropped the ring into Marinette’s palm. “And thanks for keeping B entertained for all these years. I know I haven’t been around much.”
“Of course. Anything for my friends. I’ll see you around Mari.” They hugged Marinette again.
“Thanks Lina. I really do appreciate it. Tell Ivy and Harley that I say hi!” Marinette replied.
“For sure Mari. And make sure to stop by soon! We miss our fourth siren.” Selina Kyle smiled before leaping out a window back onto the rooftops.
Marinette giggled before sliding the ring onto her finger, planning to mess with the Waynes while they were on patrol later that night.
Tag List: @jjmjjktth, @a4-machete, @blackroserelina, @ramos123, @mizzy-pop, @corporeal-terrestrial, @adrestar, @kashlyn
