#maribat server

Adrien and Marinette look at each other warmly, a bright smile on the former’s face and a much more subtle one on the latter’s. They are sitting a friendly distance apart, their body language clearly conveying that they are comfortable with one another. 

“Honestly, I think it depends what comes at us,” Adrien replies after another second or so. “My père has plans for a final ad campaign for me, and I know Marinette is planning on taking on the fashion world as soon as she can.” 

“A final campaign? Are you retiring from modeling so soon?” the reporter probes, their interest clearly piqued. 

“Not retiring as such. Just…taking a break,” he answers smoothly, the pause natural rather than rehearsed. “And I’d like time to get to know my father again without working for him. Even in the best relationships, working together can add a strain and I’d like to just be Adrien for a while.” 

“Yeah, he has to model at least once more for me, when I get my big break,” Marinette laughs, taking the attention off the blond and nudging him with her knee. There’s an extra sparkle in her eye that morning, presumably excitement for her future after a successful first view of the film for the public. 

“So you didn’t get sick of each other on set?” the presenter jokes, beaming at the pair when they laugh with them. 

“No, and we’ll hopefully have many more years as a team before that happens,” Adrien assures both the presenter and the cameras. 

“Well, thank you both for your time today! Whatever happens from here, we hope you have a miraculous time with it.” 

_ _ _

On the evening that Robin and Nightwing were due to be in Paris to meet Adrien and Marinette as Chat Noir and Ladybug, Damian escaped the manor a solid half hour before they were supposed to go. He had coordinated with Marinette so that they could have as long as possible without anyone else being privy to their conversation. If he had left too early, more than just Richard would descend on the meeting, so it had been a strategic departure with just enough time that it would not have been worth it for Richard to hurry. 

Finding her on the arranged rooftop, he quickly descended and embraced her briefly before speaking. 

“We have only a few moments before Nightwing descends upon us,” he said without preamble, his voice low and urgent as he pulled her over to a shadowy corner. They were alone, for however long it took the next attendee of this meeting to appear, and he was determined to have a decent conversation with her. “How are you? Have you already said goodbye to Tikki?” 

“Actually…” she said hesitantly, fingers lingering on her earrings while his brow furrowed in confusion and concern. “Okay, it’s not that I’ve been coerced…” 

“That makes it sound as though you absolutely have been coerced,” he replied, brushing a hand over her suddenly flushed cheek. “Marinette- Ladybug, you should not do something just because you think it is the proper thing to do, and I know you have reservations about becoming a hero. Good reasons not to take up the cause, and I would- I cannot bear to see you harmed because you chose to be noble rather than give back the earrings.” 

“Adrien-” 

“Is an adult, with money and other things to occupy his time, and does not need you as a babysitter,” he growled in frustration, gripping her chin between his gloved thumb and forefinger. 

“I know that,” she snapped, temper flashing in her eyes for a moment. The sight sparked relief and a little enthusiasm in him, something more clearly behind her reasoning. “But if I give the earrings back, he has to give the ring back. And- you don’t know what it was like for him, after his maman passed away, how his père treated him by closing himself off. And the ring is going to give him freedom, something he hasn’t had much of in his life.” 

“At your own expense,” he said softly, trying to get her to see how absurd she was being. “L- Marinette, don’t give away something of yourself just to appease someone else. Adrien does not need to use the Miraculous to become a hero; my entire family is proof that you need no powers, only the will to train hard.” 

“Yes, but Adrien…the catsuit makes him happy. Living the story we already wrote makes him happy,” she replied just as quietly, turning her head slightly and breaking the contact between them. “And I’ve been talking to Tikki - well, interrogating her, really - and I think I’ve come up with a plan! Because you’re right, Adrien shouldn’t have to use the Miraculous to become a hero, but I think he could train without the ring and then do hero work with it a little bit, and eventually he won’t need it anymore.” 

“But you would still have to wear the earrings and transform to keep the balance,” he said, letting his hand move from her chin to cup the back of her head to make her look him in the eye again. “I will not try to convince you not to do it. You have clearly given it much thought and want to do this for your friend. I only ask that you consider yourself occasionally during this.” 

“I will,” she whispered, leaning into his touch and smiling softly. She leaned into him, and he moved cautiously in her direction as well, eager to leave the difficult conversation behind and explore their own connection a little more. “Dam- um, Robin, I-” 

“Hello~o,” a voice shouted, making them jump apart wildly enough that he had to catch her hand to stop her falling off the building. He turned to glare at his brother, who was grinning wolfishly at them both, humour plain on his features and amusement sure to be dancing in his eyes if he wasn’t wearing the mask. “Nice to meet you, Ladybug! I’m Nightwing, Robin’s brother and best friend-” 

“Tt, Superboy is my best friend, and you are an annoying old man,” he grumbled,  making Ladybug giggle nervously. She stepped forward to greet the older vigilante, who shot him an aggrieved look before accepting her la bise. 

“Enchantée, Ladybug,” Nightwing said, smiling charmingly as he stepped back from her. “I see you two are still getting along well.” 

“Do not tease her,” Robin snapped, putting a hand on her elbow when she squeaked in embarrassment. “I thought the point of Red Hood not attending was because you were concerned he would be overbearing, and yet-” 

“I’m fine, D- Robin,” she said, blushing still but slowly returning to her proper colour. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Monsieur Nightwing. Robin speaks highly of you.” 

“I did, though I shall be rectifying by explaining his shortcomings in future,” he huffed, smirking when Nightwing gave a dramatic gasp and Ladybug laughed properly. “Regardless, we should prepare for Wonder Woman and Chat Noir to join us shortly, so…” 

When the others did arrive, Robin felt like he was ready to throw Nightwing off the edge of the building. Chat Noir, thankfully, seemed to like the older vigilante well enough, and was happy to accept the offer of training while the other three spoke. The pair took off to a more discrete rooftop, and Robin turned to Wonder Woman fully to talk about Marinette’s plans for her future as a hero. 

“It is good to see you again, Ladybug,” she said with a kind smile. “I understand from speaking with Robin that you have come to a decision regarding the Miraculous.” 

“I have, though it has changed since you likely talked with him,” Ladybug said slowly, smiling nervously as she glanced at Robin. “Um, I think I’ll keep hold of them for now, if that’s still okay with you?” 

“That is more than okay,” Wonder Woman replied stoically, her hands clasping together patiently. She didn’t say anything else, waiting for Ladybug to offer more information, which she did after a moment or so. 

“I don’t know how long I’ll keep them, but I think it will be long enough for Adrien to get trained enough to not die when he goes out as a hero,” she said, smiling to lighten the harshness of her words. Wonder Woman nodded patiently, looking pleased with her decision, though Robin doubted Ladybug could see it. “And- Tikki explained that if Chat Noir is out and about, Ladybug has to as well, but I want to change the name and I only want to be a supporting role in those cases. And…” 

She paused, and took a deep breath before forging onwards. “I have some conditions, if you want me to come to Themyscira to train,” she said in a small but clear voice. “The first of which is that I can’t stay for longer than a weekend at a time. I know I won’t be able to immerse myself fully, but I want to be able to do what I normally do, you know? And,” she hesitated, eyes cutting to Robin before moving back to Wonder Woman, “I know you don’t allow males on the island, so…” 

“Of course, I understand,” Wonder Woman conceded, a small, indulgent smile on her face. “And in addition to that?” 

“If I’m ever…if I can’t keep the earrings, I want to be able to give them back whenever, without questions,” she said, biting her lip. “But…if I change my mind…” 

“You are attuned with the Miraculous, possibly the most compatible person I have ever met. I very much doubt I could keep them from you if that is what you wanted,” said Wonder Woman kindly, clapping a hand onto Ladybug’s shoulder and smiling at Robin. “I have no qualms with these conditions, and we can arrange transport from Themyscira to almost anywhere on the planet, so you do not ever need to go back to the place you first travelled from.” 

_ _ _ 

The training session between Chat Noir and Nightwing seemed to go well, and Wonder Woman had checked on them before vanishing. Likely, she had gone to Themyscira to prepare training and a room for Ladybug in the future. Robin knew that Ladybug wasn’t adept at reading the Amazonian’s face but he was and could see how delighted she was that she had decided to proceed. If it hadn’t been so clearly at odds with what Marinette wanted, he likely would have been pleased as well, but he was willing to give it a shot if it was what she wanted. 

“The training schedule won’t be too severe, just enough to keep up with Ladybug when she goes to Themyscira,” Nightwing was saying as they got ready to say goodbye to the Parisian duo. “But we’ll do our best to get you up to standard as soon as possible. Have you given much thought to changing your name or suit?” 

“Not yet, but I think if I’m not using the black cat, I’ll probably go for something less animal themed,” Chat grinned, beaming at Ladybug before readying his staff. “Now, I need to get home before I’m missed. Bugaboo, I’ll call you later? We can start designing.” 

“Maybe tomorrow? I’m talking to Damian when I get home,” she explained in a low voice, glancing around furtively as if worried someone would overhear. What she didn’t do was look at Robin, which he appreciated if only because he had been serious about keeping his identity secret from Chat Noir for now. His family should get to have some say as to whether someone else found out who they were, even if it was an accident the first time. 

“Sure thing, M’Lady,” he chirped, saluting before jumping away towards his home. Which just left one more annoyance to get rid of. 

“Well, I’m famished-” Nightwing began, stretching lightly and glancing at Ladybug with faux innocence. But Robin wasn’t going to let him barge into the limited time they had. 

“You really should hasten home so you can eat with the others then,” he grit out, motioning for Ladybug to follow him and away from his annoying older brother. When Nightwing began to follow as well, he turned back and snarled at him openly. “Go. Home. This is none of your business and I would like time to speak with Ladybug without an audience.” 

“Yeesh, I just thought it would be nice to get to know her,” he snarked, though the fond grin on his face helped to calm Robin’s anger slightly. “Next time, Ladybug?” 

“Maybe,” she said, eyes flickering to Robin before she smiled sweetly and started moving towards the other side of the rooftop. “I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, Monsieur Nightwing!” 

Practically dragging her away before anyone could try and prolong the conversation, they made the short trip back to the bakery. When they dropped through her skylight, she muttered a short phrase and scooted aside so he could make himself comfortable alongside her. Silence spread between them and he wasn’t sure how to break it. So instead, he allowed himself to relax in her presence, gazing at her steadily as she appeared slightly lost in thought. But eventually, he decided he needed to know what she was thinking, and he moved closer to her to gain her attention. 

“So you will be staying in Paris, for the most part?” Robin murmured, capturing her face between his hands and allowing himself to look at her properly now that she was detransformed. Her own hands moved tentatively to his mask and gently removed it. He hadn’t realised that she must be practiced at removing the adhesive, but she was careful and it hurt no more than it ever did. “Can I convince you to make stops in Gotham, on occasion?” 

“I think it would be rude of me not to,” she whispered, tossing the mask aside before grabbing his cape and pulling him close. “Damian, I really, really like you.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” she responded, while coming up with the best way to explain.

She hadn’t suspected with the tone of the voice and the neutral cadence that she would be facing a woman. A delicate woman who was clearly toned for combat, but there was something in her eyes that made Marinette feel brave.

She wasn’t going to lie. There was no reason to do that. She didn’t lie without a reason, but she also didn’t want the woman to just dismiss her and leave.

She wanted her to stay; she wanted to know more.

She wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she sure told the truth.

“I came up here as a dare, part of our scavenger hunt,” she said it; Batgirl was already taking her gloved hand to Marinette’s bare arm to move her away. Saying it had been easy. So easy she kept talking, “But now that I’m here with you, I don’t want to leave.”

Batgirl froze and looked back at Marinette like she didn’t really know what to expect, but was ready for anything.

“What if we kiss like we are in love?”

Clearly that was something that the vigilante was not ready for. Considering she hadn’t planned to say it, Marinette wasn’t really ready for it either. Maybe something in the Gotham air was affecting her or maybe she just wanted to see softness on the other woman’s face as their breaths mingled.

“Kiss?” Was the only question Batgirl had for her.

Marinette’s throat went dry at the soft lilt she had when she wasn’t being stern.

“I doubt we could turn the big light on, but maybe I could use the one on my phone and get a picture with you,” she kept explaining the idea as it came to her, as if it was the most normal request.

It was later that she found out that this Batgirl was never pictured. Many refused to believe that she existed. All the sightings were blurred images and stories told later with hauntingly similar descriptions. Batgirl walked over to the light and flipped a switch, angling it so it was more on them than high up in the sky.

Seeing that, Marinette turned with a shaky hand and set her phone up on the ledge with the video recorder aimed in the direction that Batgirl now stood, with the light behind her. Marinette’s shadow joined Batgirl’s low in the sky.

They were larger than life.

Marinette fiddled with the high slit on her shimmery black gown nervously. The other woman seemed to have embodied Marinette’s boldness. She reached over, cupping Marinette’s cheek with a steady hand. Without waiting to see what Marinette would do, she dipped her head down until her lips were pressed to Marinette’s.

Tingling moved over her whole body when the kiss started, but as she moved forward to deepen the kiss, Marinette could feel herself heat and her blood pumping. She wrapped her arm around Batgirl’s waist and pulled her against herself. Batgirl returned the gesture and they were like that for several minutes before one of them pulled away. It had been awhile since Marinette had been in love, but the feelings she had as they both pulled back breathing heavily were definitely what she remembered.

She tried not to feel it in the gut when Batgirl walked over and casually flipped the switch on the bat signal. She bit her lip and walked over to her phone, stopping the recording. She paused and turned back to say ‘thank you’ or ‘bye’ to Batgirl, neither felt right for the situation. But the other woman was once again right behind her. She didn’t have time to startle because Batgirl was leaning down to kiss her again and she didn’t want to disappoint her.