#crosover

Marinette pays very close attention to her loved ones. She always has. Being a social misfit and being bullied as a child prompts you to appreciate those who care about you a hell of a lot more.

From Nino who would play and laugh with her in her childhood, to Alya and Kagami who set her straight (no matter how much it hurts). Her parents....who have been through a lot separately and together. Cat Noir. Her first partner, though she tragically lost the right to call him that. Maps, who helped welcome her into this new city and reality (based on Lie Lie Lie on Ao3). Damian...whose face looks very familiar to an enigma she met before fleeing Paris.

It wasn't until her first encounter with the Waynes (Damian first) that a familiar...forgetfulness arose. But was it forgetfulness? She simply had no need to involve herself with other people right now. She had other things to focus on. Like making it in this new reality (post wish) without losing her mind. Or making it through a quiet night without spiraling into fits of rage and self-loathing. Or just maintaining the will to live. Or staying alive. The secret organizations after her are hardly a threat compared to her own two hands.

She was not going to lie, she thought Damian was out to get her. Can you really blame her though?

I mean, people in capes and masks were following her on the rooftops, there was(is) an entire organization that had worked with Gabriel Agreste that is out to get Ladybug, and a society of mages, Guardians, sages, and the works still beating more lessons into her. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. Not to mention the hyper-vigilance that comes with being under the pressures and emotional confines of a magical war, most of which involves suppressing basic human reactions because if you so much as crack for a second and let the tears fall you could be responsible for children dying and hospitals being overwhelmed.

You could be responsible for the gut wrenching smell of bloated corpses and rotting flesh. You could be responsible for the soul crushing whimpering of puppies and the limping of cats all because you had the nerve to be angry about something.

It's not the Miraculers' fault it takes a long time to find an akumatized "villain" that can hide in plain sight.

But who is he? Why does he stare when he thinks she isn't looking? A few of her classmates looked at her in disbelief when she asked "Who is that?"

It was as if she had committed an unforgivable crime: not minding the business of people she didn't know. "Girl, that's Damian Wayne, the youngest son of Bruce Wayne...and heir to the billionaire fortune. I'm honestly surprised you don't recognize him, especially since their faces are all over Gotham, and you've been here for a minute...but that's okay, I'll bring you up to speed."

Uh huh. Analyzing a person's character based off of someone whose description paints them as a rich kid notable for his money was not something Marinette planned on doing.

But she did notice that she'd seen posters around the city. Most had his face on them. So why could she not recognize his face?

As she contemplated this more Marinette realized: she doesn't recognize faces period. Every time she recognized someone, it was for their more notable traits. Alya's glasses, firm hands that used to rest around her shoulders, or the pen almost always behind her ear. Kagami's short hair, purposeful walk, or her soft brown eyes that knew when you were lying. Mia's voice, common barrette, or strong hugs that fixed something in Mari. Her mother's fingers in her hair and the scent of various teas that wafted after her. Her father ruffling her hair and the clouds of flour that materialized off of his hands.

She never really thought about their faces as a whole. She thought about their bodies. Their energy. Their smells and habits. Things that take months and years to develop.

Well, she had no intentions on developing something new right now.