#marcus grayson

the lights in mark’s basement flickered once before settling into a soft dim, the kind of imperfect glow that made the cheap fairy lights strung along the wall seem brighter than they really were. he was sprawled across the couch, one socked foot tucked under his leg, the other brushing against the carpet, remote in hand. you were curled up next to him, blanket wrapped around your shoulders like a cape, a bowl of popcorn balanced precariously between your knees.

“okay,” you said, adjusting the blanket and shooting him a look. “so we’re doing this the right way. chronological order. none of that skipping around nonsense.”

mark smirked, thumb hovering over the remote. “you know that’s controversial, right? there are whole forums that would roast you alive for suggesting chronological order.”

“i can handle angry nerds,” you replied, tossing a piece of popcorn at him. it bounced off his shoulder and landed somewhere on the carpet. “but if i’m going to do this, i want it to make sense. i don’t want some ancient desert hermit popping up halfway through without any explanation.”

“fair.” he chuckled, aiming the remote at the tv. “episode one it is, then. brace yourself. jar jar binks is… something.”

the familiar opening crawl filled the screen with golden text, accompanied by the blaring brass of the iconic theme. you leaned back against the couch, the sound vibrating through the walls, goosebumps prickling along your arms. mark side-eyed you with a grin.

“what?” you asked.

“nothing. you’re just—” he shrugged, his grin widening. “you look like a little kid watching fireworks for the first time.”

you rolled your eyes, shoving another handful of popcorn into your mouth to hide the smile pulling at your lips. “shut up.”

but you didn’t deny it.

the first hour passed with both of you half-watching, half-commentating. mark leaned forward every so often, pointing out things you might’ve missed—“that’s a lightsaber, by the way, it’s like their… laser sword weapon. super important.” he had a running commentary about how young anakin was, how qui-gon jinn got a raw deal, and how obi-wan’s hair looked like it belonged in a boy band.

you teased him right back. “wow, you’re just full of trivia. did you secretly practice for this? like, read a bunch of star wars for dummies articles before tonight?”

“i’ll have you know,” he said dramatically, hand over his heart, “that my cultural knowledge is entirely organic. no cramming required.”

“uh-huh.” you smirked, tugging the blanket higher over your shoulders. “totally believable.”

when jar jar binks first stumbled on screen, both of you burst into laughter, the kind that made your stomach hurt and popcorn threaten to spill.

“oh my god,” you wheezed. “this is—this is the guy people warned me about?”

“yep.” mark wiped at his eyes. “he only gets worse. but don’t worry, there are lightsaber duels later. that kind of makes up for it.”

by the time the podracing sequence rolled around, your head had somehow found its way onto his shoulder. you hadn’t really noticed when it happened—it was a natural drift, a small shift closer during a quiet moment. mark stiffened for half a second, then relaxed, leaning ever so slightly into you, careful not to move too much or make it obvious. his heart thudded faster than the podracers on screen.

“you’re really into this, huh?” he asked softly.

“yeah.” your voice came out more muffled than you meant it to, your cheek pressed against the fabric of his hoodie. “it’s kind of amazing. like, i get why people obsess over this now.”

he smiled to himself, glad the lights were low enough that you couldn’t see how stupidly wide it was.

when the big duel between qui-gon, obi-wan, and darth maul hit, both of you sat forward instinctively, eyes glued to the screen.

“okay, that’s—” you whispered, leaning forward with wide eyes. “that’s the coolest thing i’ve ever seen.”

“right?” mark’s voice was practically vibrating with excitement. “the double-bladed lightsaber? iconic. i remember seeing clips of this when i was a kid.”

“you mean you’ve never watched the whole thing either?”

he hesitated, caught. “…not all of it. bits and pieces. but hey, we’re both first-timers in a way.”

you gave him a sly look. “so this whole time you were pretending to be my expert guide, but really you’re just as clueless as me?”

“uh…” he pretended to study the screen intently. “look, qui-gon’s fighting for his life, can we not do this now?”

you laughed, nudging him with your elbow, but didn’t push the joke further. the fight had both of you hooked, and when the ending hit—when qui-gon fell and obi-wan unleashed everything he had—you actually gasped, covering your mouth.

mark didn’t say anything, just let the silence hang, his eyes flicking toward you to catch your reaction. there was something about watching you experience it, seeing your genuine shock, that made the whole thing better than if he’d been watching alone.

as the credits rolled, you slumped back against the couch, exhaling. “wow.”

“yeah,” mark said softly. “and that’s just the first one.”

you tilted your head, studying him with a grin tugging at the corners of your mouth. “you’re way too excited for this.”

“hey, i’ve got a perfect excuse,” he replied. “it’s movie night with you. of course i’m excited.”

the words slipped out before he could second-guess them, and he instantly felt heat crawl up the back of his neck. but instead of teasing him, instead of calling him out, you just let your smile grow a little softer, your hand brushing his where it rested on the couch.

“good answer,” you said quietly.

the room was filled with the hum of the ending credits music, the glow of the tv painting shifting colors across both your faces. mark didn’t move his hand away, and you didn’t move yours either. instead, you both stayed like that for a moment, the promise of the next episode hanging between you like an unspoken secret.

“ready for episode two?” he asked eventually, voice a little rougher than before.

you smirked, leaning back into the couch, your head falling against his shoulder again. “hit play, grayson.”

and he did.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug had been fighting an Akuma who had portal powers due to having been a researcher who had his funding cut on his research into alternate dimensions. She had been sucked through and had ended up in an Alternate America and there was a slightly older boy in a black, yellow and blue suit who introduced himself as Invincible asking where she had come from after he had seen her come through the portal.

Marinette introduced herself as Ladybug and Invincible showed her to the headquarters of the National Defense Agency which was a government superhero organisation. The scary looking director of the organisation Cecil Stedman said to wait there and they will work on a way to find her Earth and send her home. She was a bit worried and frightened about being there and knowing that alternate Earths existed but laughed while thinking that if Alya was here she would be asking a billion questions about the superheroes in this Earth.

"You seem to be taking it well about me being here Mr Stedman." Ladybug commented and Cecil gave a humourless laugh.

"Kid, you are far from the first misplaced Superhero that I have had to deal with." Cecil replied simply as Invincible came to see Marinette.

"So you come from Paris in your Earth and there is a guy named Hawk Moth who turns people with strong negative emotions into villains to steal the source of you and your partner's powers? Must be some life as a Superhero, fighting aliens can get overwhelming for me." Invincible said but noticed that she was looking down and offered a brotherly hand on her shoulder.

"Wish it was much easier than it is; I keep having to be late and bail on commitments while lying about where I am. Chat Noir doesn't seem to take it seriously at times and I had to break it up with my boyfriend. I kept bailing on him... He made me feel like the most important girl in the world and he was never angry at me... All that he wanted was honesty and I couldn't give it to him..." Marinette told him feeling like she needed to let all this out.

"I kept having to bail on my girlfriend and when it looked like I jsut ran away while people were in trouble she broke up with me, I revealed my secret to her but she figured it out before and was angry about the dishonesty. Even my best friend Mark thought i was a jerk." Invincible told her and she looked sorry for him while thinking that it was unfair for him.

"Not just that but I now have to take up the duty of replacing my mentor as the Guardian of the Miraculous with only the bare minimum considered training as well as him forgetting about it all. It's so much..." Marinette said about to cry.

"My dad was Omni-Man the top superhero in the world, I looked up to him and always wanted to be like him. Our top superhero team the Guardians of the Globe were murdered and he was knocked out cold afterwards but it turns out he set it up and murdered them himself." Invincible said and Marinette was open mouthed.

"That's horrible, was he under mind control?" Marinette asked Invincible and he shook his head sadly.

"I so badly wanted it to be the case and wanted to free him but no, turns out his alien race the Vitrumites are evil bloodthirsty powerful conquerors and dad was sent here to weaken the planet's defences and conquer it for them. I refused to join him and he beat me hard as I tried to fight him back, all the destruction he caused while yelling at me about how Earth wasn't our home. I couldn't save anyone and this pilot I did managed to save he crushed afterwards and used me as a shield to kill a train full of people. He asked me what I would have after a thousand years and I told him that I still would have had him, he flew away and we haven't heard any of him since. He said that my Mum was nothing more than a pet to him." Invincible said and Marinette was open mouthed in horror as silent as Invincible was mentally punching himself.

"Wow, I am so sorry as you didn't need to hear most of that or any of that really.. You are struggling with your own Superheroics and I could have traumatised a 14 year old Superhero with the details of my recent troubles just to vent, I really am the biggest jerk..." Invincible told her apologetically but Marinette gave a small smile.

"First of all I'm 15 thank you very much and I used you to vent and while you could have let out a lot of those details, it's only fair that you get to vent as well. Next time you see your dad tell him that he better not show his face on my Earth, if he does then I might steal Chat Noir's Miraculous so I can Catacalysm his face." Marinette told him and he couldn't help but laugh. "You are definitely coping with what you have been through better than I ever could have, I had to go through that and I would have quit all this all together, I would have put my earrings into the Miraculous Box and then tossed it into through a well forever." Marinette said.

"I almost nearly did quit several times but we both persevere despite how hard it is but let me tell you that you still need your social life. Ask this ex-boyfriend of yours if he wants to give it a second chance and if you trust him then tell him the truth. I know that it sounds risky but believe me it helps a lot to have at least someone you know and trust to talk to about all this. Future relationships are not going to go well if you keep secrets like this forever so tell him or a friend you have and make sure that you leave enough time to be the teenager that you really are." Invincible told Marinette and she thought about having to keep it a secret but couldn't help but think about how nice it would be to talk to someone.

Cecil came and gave her a watch and said to press the button and it would send her back home and if she wanted to come back then the coordinates were sent to this Earth as well, while adding that they could use more heroes. "See you later Ladybug, come and see me again if you think you need someone to talk to again. By the way... Mark Grayson." Invincible told her and she was stunned and smiled.