Family
Marinette pov-
I was in my room getting ready for my first day of school at Gotham Academy, not wanting to face my classmates again.
Sure, Damian, Tim, and my friends would be there, but my class would find a way to get to me. They always did.
I sat in my bathroom on the floor in a corner, trying not to cry. I already knew Lila, Alya, and Adrien were going to make my life at school hell, and I didn't want them to. I just wanted a normal life, where I could be myself.
Was that too much to ask for?
I was jolted out of my thoughts when someone knocked on my bedroom door. Sighing, I shakily stood and went to go open it.
Jason was outside with a worried expression. "Hey, are you- Pixie, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Did your phone get hacked by that fucking class?" He asked, examining me closely and dramatically. I giggled at his dorky self. "N-no, I just... JayJay, I don't want to go to Gotham Academy again. What if Lila ruins it for me before I even get there? What if it will be the same as when we were kids? I don't want to go through that anymore. I want to stay home with you and Dickie, and be safe and protected and not leave you again. What if something happens when I'm gone, and you disappear and I never see you again, and then Dick goes away and Dad leaves, and Cass, Babs, and Steph don't want me as their sister anymore, and then Tim and Dami will hate me and I'll be all alone again, and then Adrien will find me and take me back to Paris, and then I won't have anyone to save me from them and-and-" I cried, shaking and trying not to have a panic attack.
Jay pulled me into a hug and carried me to my bed and cuddled with me. "Mi preciosa hija, listen to me, okay? I'm not going anywhere, I promise. You will never be alone again, and Tim and Damian will never hate you. Bruce and Dick wont leave, the girls will always want you as their sister, and I'll go back to Joker and get murdered again before I let Agreste even breathe in your direction, sweetheart. Everything will be okay, I promise you. We'll be okay, and you will be okay. Damian and Tim will protect you, because they are your older brothers, and they love you, and I know they wont let anything bad happen to you, because if they do, I'll show them a little bit of what Joker did to me and kill them. You know we all would do anything to protect you, Marinette, and we wouldn't give Bruce's stupid code a second glance if anyone touched you. We're your brothers, and our siblings and I, me more than them, love you with everything we have." He said into my hair.
I was crying into his chest now. "But Lila said she'll have the school around her finger before I ever get the chance. They'll find a way around you to get to me. They always do, and even my friends can't avoid them." I protested, curling into my father figure. He wrapped his arms around me. "Nette, listen. That shitty class has only dealt with the held back versions of those kids, and the VERY held back version of Nino. They don't know what we Wayne's are capable of, and Damian and Nino came from the same place, Love. You aren't in Paris anymore. You're in Gotham, the crime capital of the world. People do whatever they want, and if they want revenge, they don't hold back. Trust me, you will be okay. You have Replacement and Demon Spawn with you, the assassin, and the other 3 as well. Not to mention that I'm putting you under the protection of Red Hood. Everyone in Gotham knows not to mess with anyone under my protection, and they know what happens to them if they do." He said. I sniffled and looked at him. "What happens to them?" I asked. Jason only smirked. "That's for me to know and your class to hopefully find out, and definitely for you to never find out, hermanita ." He said, then stood and tossed me up in the air and caught me a few times, making me laugh and shout for him to put me down, but he was having too much fun.
"Nah, I need to make those tears of yours disappear, and I need to see your amazing smile." He said, tossing me in the air once more. I screeched and started cackling, and I didn't notice my siblings watching from my open door.
A few moments later, he caught me again and flipped me upside down, having me hang from his shoulder by my legs, which he had an arm on to keep me from falling. My brother looked down at me. "Is that a smile I see down there, si?" He said teasingly, and I tried to hide it. "No, I don't know what you're talking about." I said, giggling. Jay grinned and skillfully flipped me up and held me bridal style. "Are you sure? Because there's this weird line on your face, right there, and it looks like a smile to me." He said.
I bit back my laughter. "You mean the line that's on your face? Huh. Maybe I'm seeing things," I snickered, and he gasped dramatically. "Pixie Pop! How could you betray me as so? Your own hermanito, your own best friend! You have killed me!" He said, putting me down and dramatically falling to the floor. I was quietly laughing behind my hand.
Then I grinned. "Looks like he isn't breathing. Yes! I get to wear his Red Hood suit and take his bike and guns out!" I shouted, beginning to run for my door, but Jay shut up and grabbed me by the waist and pinned me to the floor. "Oh no you don't, little girl." He smirked, then started tickling me with a shit eating grin on his face.
I squirmed and tried to get away, but he was too strong. I was dying of laughter and rolling on the floor, and Jase was laughing as well. "No! DICK! DICKIEBIRD, HELP MEEEEEE!!!" I laughed out, and Jay playfully glared. "He won't save you, Pix. He knows better than to do that." He said, and I twisted, still laughing. "Jaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!! Hahahahahahaha, I can't feel my sides! Hahahahaha!" I laughed, and he smirked. "Do you give up yet?" He asked smugly. I tried to glare at him, but my face hurt from laughing and smiling so hard, so I gave him a soft and tired smile before breaking out into a coughing fit that ended with me laughing a little bit more.
He only raised a mischievous eyebrow, and I caught my breath before tackling him. "One of the many things you taught me was to never give up." I said, then started tickling him back.
The older teen was laughing in seconds. I didn't last long with the revenge because his laughing made me start laughing again, and I fell back on the floor and was rolling.
Neither of us noticed our family and my friends, or Roy and Wally and Jon at the door filming everything for blackmail.
After a good 10-15 minutes of our laughing fit, we both lay panting on the floor, our sides and muscles hurting. Jay groaned and coughed, curling onto his side, and I almost laughed again, but my sides were too sore to let me do that. Though a huge smile was on my face. I inched over to my older brother and sighed, laying next to him on my side as well. "Thank you, JayJay. I needed that laugh," I admitted.
Big bro smiled. "You're welcome, Mars Bar. It's good to know that I still have those old cards up my sleeve. I should use them on Tim and Damian, maybe the others too... wonder what would happen?" He said, and I yawned.
"Hermanito?" I asked tiredly.
"Hm?" He hummed, also sounding tired.
"So do I have to go to school today?" I asked while trying not to fall asleep out of exhaustion.
He coughed. "Go to sleep, Baby Wing. You ain't fucking leaving this mansion today. Bruce can... kiss my ass if h-he... he doesn't like... it-t..." he said with a yawn, and passed out. I softly smiled and felt my world go black as I fell into a deep slumber.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The next day, I stood in front of Gotham Academy silently, Jason as Red Hood standing next to me. The kids that were outside were whispering and taking photos, but I didn't really care.
Jay pulled me into a hug. "Hey, you'll be alright, Pixie Pop. It's just a few hours at this hellhole. Everything will be okay, I promise. Besides, Demon Spawn and Replacement are here, and they know to kick ass if something happens, alright?" He said as I hugged him back very tightly. I wished he was back to my age, that way he could come with me.
I pulled away a few minutes later, and Jay handed me something. It was a bracelet with his symbol on it. I looked at him, and I could feel his eyes staring into mine. "Before you ask and tell me off for getting you something, no, this is not just a piece of jewelry. This bracelet is a panic button, and it tells me if you are feeling anything but calm and content by an alarm on my phone that hooks up to this bracelet. Call it over worrying, I don't care, but it also tells me your heart rate, because I have to make sure the huge thing is still beating in that tiny frame of yours." I playfully smacked his shoulder and laughed.
"If you need help or anything, and I mean ANYTHING, and the others aren't around you for some reason that better not happen, then press the bat and it will send me a Code M, like this," he continued, then pressed the symbol. His phone immediately turned a light pink and said Code M in a flashing white light, and it kept loudly repeating it on his phone. His bracelet was going crazy as well, and he pressed the bat again and made it stop. "You already met all of my gang yesterday, and they also have the alarm in their phones. If for some reason that I can't get to you when this goes off, then I press my bracelet twice and it will make your bracelet tell you that I can't come and that one of the crew is coming. If I tap it once, then it will say I'm coming and to not move. And it's indestructible, so don't worry about it getting wet or destroyed somehow. Alright?" He explained.
I nodded, and he put the bracelet around my wrist. "Thank you, Akhi," I quietly said. Hood took his helmet off and kissed my head. "Hey, I love you, Baby Wing. I always will. Don't forget that, or I'll have to make you remember with another tickle attack in the middle of the night." He warned. I laughed, and he joined me. "How could I possibly forget? Not that I'd want to, you dork." I said. He smiled and pulled me into another hug. "Survive school today, and I'll pick you up and we'll steal the batmobile and take it for a drive tonight, and go out for a burger. Sound good?" He asked.
I grinned and nodded. "Deal." I said, and he ruffled my hair. "Bet. Alright, I have to go back to the warehouse and help the boys, but I promise I will be here when school gets out." He said. I warily looked at the huge building. "I hope this was a good idea, Hood." I whispered, and he looked at me. "Hey, you'll be fine. Just call me or use the bracelet if you need me, MJ. Oh, and here." He said, taking off his well worn brown leather jacket and putting it on around my shoulders like a blanket.
He gave me a fatherly look. "This is so that you won't feel alone, and for protection because it has a few daggers, a couple of guns, and a few other things, and I made my own batarangs, but they're my symbol and not Bruce's. I don't trust anyone in that school, especially now because I won't be able to be by your side this time. I don't want you to get hurt, and I want to be by your side, like the old days, but Nino, Damian, and Tim, and the others, are going to have to be suitable replacements for now." He said.
He looked like he wanted to say more, but the school bell cut him off. Jason gave an involuntary shudder, most likely from memories of this school back then. I looked at him and put my hand through his hair to ruffle it, but I couldn't reach, so he knelt down so that I could. I smiled and ruffled it, and pulled him into a tight hug. "Please be careful, JayJay. I know how your patrols get. Don't get hurt, please." I whispered softly in his ear, and he hugged me back.
"I can't promise to not get hurt, but I promise to try not to and to come back home to my little girl alive and in one piece. Sound good?" He asked as I sniffled into his neck, and I forced myself to nod, unable to speak. He felt my body shake with the silent crying and rubbed my back, softly murmuring in my ear and calming me down. My little frame was so little that I almost disappeared into the muscular vigilante, and I didn't mind it one bit. I'd rather kill people beside him than go to the school of hell without him by my side.
But, as we all know, life isn't fair.
"Brother?" I asked, still hugging him.
"Yes, Kiddo?" He calmly replied.
I smiled at the nickname. "Can you come have lunch with Dami and Tim and I? Please?" I asked.
He nodded. "Of course. I'll bring pizza for y'all, so don't get any cafeteria food, not that it's good anyway." He said.
I smiled. "Brother?"
"Yes, Pixie Pop?"
"Can you walk me inside? I don't want to go alone, and I don't see the others yet." I said.
The deadly vigilante and crime boss of Gotham City smiled down at me as he stood. "Are you my little sister?" He countered. I smiled back up at him and grabbed his hand.
This exact scene, except Jay being in his normal civilian clothes, was the exact same one from the day after I had met him all those years ago, and we had walked to school together in the cold winter snow.
I put the huge leather jacket on properly, and Jay smiled and snickered at how little I looked in it. I gave a small smile and playfully shoved his shoulder, and he laughed and ruffled my hair again. "Alright, here's your schedule... oh, would you look at that! You have music and art. I did good in those classes. Well, your first class isn't that far from here... c'mon, I'm gonna walk you to class, MJ. That way I can see how much this hellhole changed. I'm going to be mad if they don't have my old trophies that I won from football here still. I sacrificed a lot to win those." He said.
Kids in the hallways stared at us and took photos, but Jay ignored them and walked past them with an arm over my shoulders, his way of telling all the boys we saw in the hall that I was off limits. I caught my brother glaring at a few boys, but I pretended not to notice as we continued down the halls, chatting about the past and our old days here, and when we got there, I spotted Damian and Jon already there.
Jason opened the door, and the teacher looked up from teaching the class. Damian gave Jason a 'what the hell are you doing?' look, and the vigilante had the ghost of a smirk on his face. The teacher looked shocked to see a vigilante in the room, and everyone started whispering. I shied away from the whispers and stares and hid behind Jason, not wanting to be here. I wanted to go back home to the manor, where I could be safe with Dad and Alfred and my other siblings, snuggled up on the couch with blankets and watching movies.
I had bad experiences at school, and I hated it.
Damian came up to me and pulled me into a protective hug as Jay spoke to the teacher, and I leaned into Dami. "B-brother..?" I shakily whispered into his shoulder. Damian hummed. "Yes, Angel?" He quietly asked. "Can- can you tell the class..." I wasn't able to finish my sentence, but my older half brother sensed what I wanted. "I would greatly appreciate it if you harlots would stop gossiping and staring at my little sister. You lot of imbeciles are making her uncomfortable. Don't you have work to do?" He said coldly to them, and they instantly obeyed.
I relaxed a little bit, and Damian pulled away from the hug but let me lean into him. Jason finished with the teacher and stood behind Dami and I and put a hand on our shoulders, then spoke to the class.
"I'm going to say this, and I'm not going to repeat myself, so you little shits better get this shit through your tiny heads and keep it there. This is Damian Wayne, and his little sister, Marinette Cheng-Wayne. I can imagine you all know who Tim Drake-Wayne is. Take a guess at who their old man is. Cutting to the chase, if any of you try any bullshit and mess with the Wayne kids, Nette especially, I will find out, and when I do, you'll find out just how deadly an ex-assassin vigilante such as myself can be and just what I'm capable of. All three of them are under my protection, and you should k ow what happens to people who disobey the symbol and mess with them anyway. For those of you who don't, then you better pray that you don't find out. Oh, and this goes for the Kent kid as well, seeing as he's the only one Ice Prince seems to tolerate.
"Do yourselves a favor and stay away from them, or I'll make sure you will hate your parents for ever considering creating you shitheads. And believe me, I will know if you do. Mari can't hide anything from me, and I know these three better than anyone from the past, before they ever heard of Bruce Wayne. Mess with these four kids, and I'll rip you all apart. I know some of y'all's parents, because they work for me, so do t think I won't wipe out your entire families if you mess with them. Y'all even talk to them, and you'll go through me. Believe me when I say that you won't like dealing with me. Especially when I'm pissed. Just ask Batman and the Batfam. They'll tell you that I'm not fucking around. So make wise choices. You and your peoples lives depend on your actions starting now." He said in a scarily calm voice, then pointed out the window.
"And if y'all mess with these kids, after you go through me, you'll have to go through all of them, and the Justice League, and they don't play nice and fair, either." He added. I turned my head to see Dad, Dickie, Babs, Cass, Steph, Duke, Timmy, and Young Justice all standing on the roof across the street, watching us. The class snapped their heads to look out the window, and I leaned against my brothers. Damian turned and hugged Jason. "Thank you, Todd. You did not have to do that." He almost silently said. Jay hugged him back. "You're my little brother, Damian. I'm only doing what every older brother would do for his younger siblings. Don't worry about it. Just... don't tell Bruce. He'd have my head if he finds out what I'm doing." He murmured back into the boy's hair.
Then I got pulled into the hug, and Jay gave Damian a look. "Protect her, Demon Spawn. Keep that French class away from her. I'm counting on you to protect my little girl, kid." He said, then looked up at Jon. "I don't like you being around my sister, you kryptonian brat, but even Damian is human. Look after them, and I'll think about not killing you later." He breathed with a glare. Jon nodded silently in understanding, and Jay let us go. "Tell me if the teachers are still dirty like they were when I went here. You'll know what I mean if they remember my sister, Damian. If they remember her, she'll try to hide it, but her entire personality will alter itself. Only those who know her like the family and her friends will be able to notice, and when you notice, call me. I mean it. Don't try to handle it yourself, because it will only make it worse. Oh, and tell Replacement and the others to not eat for lunch." He added, and Jon came and guided me to a seat with him and Damian.
With one last glance, Jay gave the three of us a two finger salute and left the class. I watched him go, and I felt sick with fear. I pulled the jacket tighter around me and breathed in my bigger brothers scent. His jacket smelled like gunpowder, smoke, his cologne, and an old library, and it was surprisingly calming.
I let out a silent yawn and struggled to keep my eyes open as I tried to pay attention to what the teAcher was talking about, and I noticed Jon taking notes on everything he said. But before I could do anything, he passed me a note that said: Sleep. I'll have the notes for you so that you won't get behind. Don't worry about the teacher, he won't care if you fall asleep.
I softly smiled at Damian's best friend, and with that I put my head in my arms on my desk and was out like a light.
Maybe today would be okay.
Maybe.