Chapter Text
Mari would never admit it to anyone, but she hated it when Tim left. She understood he was doing it out of kindness and respecting her privacy. And really, she was grateful for it. It had been so long since the last time she got to talk face to face to Uncle Jagged and Penny, and it would have been uncomfortable talking with them in front of Tim, who didn’t know them as well as she did. But that didn’t stop her from missing his body’s warmth.
Even without Tim, she enjoyed her time. Jagged and her started talking about the future MDC line and the up coming worldwide tour of Jagged. They would remember old anecdotes and inside jokes, laughing as loud as hyenas, while Penny simply smiled by their side.
“So, how’s Gotham?”
It was the first time someone from Paris, outside of her direct family, asked her that. The school friends she had met with before, were way more interested in talking about the past and getting new experiences together. Not really about the present.
“It’s great!”, she said cheerfully. And truly, it was. Gotham, outside from the danger of living in the notorius city, was a dream come true. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else in the world”
“Then that means you have found your place”, Penny said with her usual kind smile.
“And friends? How are you on that topic?”
Jagged was clearly being over caring, as always.
“Me and my friends back in Paris talk almost every day. Sometimes Alya and I make video calls in the middle of the night”
“But, American friends? Friends in Gotham?”
Mari thought about that. Since she had arrived to Gotham, she had decided to focus more on her work than on making any kind of relationships. If anything, the friends she had found in Gotham came from her work, or from the streets in Tim’s case. Now that she thought about it, all her friends from Gotham had, either currently or in the past, the name Wayne.
“There’s less of those, but I care for the ones I have. Like Jason and Timmy-“
“Wait, Tim Drake? The guy you were with just now?”, Jagged interrupted her. “I thought you guys were dating”
Marinette went inmediately red. She wasn’t supposed to say the truth, but it was Uncle Jagged. It wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? And no one was paying attention to their little chat, they were all too focused on the music and the drinking.
“No”, she answered. “Tim and I are just friends, but we are acting as partners to get away from some people”
Jagged was about to ask once again, when Penny poked him under the ribs. Jagged flexed down a bit because of the pain, and Penny whispered something on his ear. Jagged’s eyes went wide with understanding and his mouth formed a small oh.
Some years back, when the whole Adrien situation had happened, Mari had gone running to Jagged and Penny. They helped her get back up on her feet and made sure to keep her as far away from Adrien as possible. Their efforts went as far as investing even more on her brand, so that she would have enough money to move to wherever she decided.
She chose Gotham.
“Is he here?”
“I haven’t seen him yet. But Bruce invited Gabriel because he’s still an important person in the fashion industry. I suppose Gabriel brought Adrien with him”
Jagged nodded and started looking left and right for any sign of the blonde. With his height and the way he moved his heas, he looked just like an ostrich. Penny and her shared a knowledgable look and started chuckling.
It was fun, being with them like this. She really missed them.
Sadly, the two of them had to go because of the concert. They said goodbye, took a few pictures, and Jagged and Penny were already on their way back to the helicopter.
Alone in the middle of the dance floor, Mari tried searching with her eyes for Tim. She thought that maybe he would be with the older looking man in the corners, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. She sighed, her mind set on going to him as soon as she found him.
Suddenly, two hands placed on top of her shoulders. She felt a chill go through her body, already fearing just who it might be. The person behind her brought their lips close to her ear. There was no question, if the person said the wrong thing or had the wrong voice, she was going to punch them until they didn’t remember their name.
“Boo”, the boy said to her ear.
Yes, that wasn’t the right choice.
She turned around and gave him a punch directly to the middle of his face. The boy groaned and put a hand on top of his mouth, right were her fist collided with his skin.
That’s when she noticed that the boy, or more like man, had blue eyes and dark hair. Yes, punching him of all people certainly wasn’t the right choice.
“Damn, Mari!”, Dick said as he continued covering his mouth. By his side, an incredibly dressed Kori laughed at his pain.
“You said a bad world, dear”
“Right! Sorry Marinette”
“What? No! I am sorry! I shouldn’t have punched you!”, Mari squeaked as she got closer to Dick to examine where she had hurt him. He had a broken lip, and the top of his mouth was beginning to swollen, but it didn’t look that bad. She asked a waiter to get her a tissue and a pack of ice.
“No, no”, Dick said as he tried pushing her away. “It was my fault, I shouldn’t have gone up to you like that”
Kori nodded behind Dick.
“He’s right. Next time someone approaches you like that, don’t punch him but tackle him to the floor and scream as high as you can until you aren’t the only one beating the crap out of the creep”
“Are you calling me a creep?”, Dick shrieked.
“Yes, I am”. The waiter came back with the tissue and the pack of ice, which Kori gladly took and started dabbing the ice on the face of her fiancé. “You of all people should know that isn’t the right thing to do”
“I wanted to surprise Mari!”
“You did, but not how you wanted”, Mari grinned.
Once Dick stopped moaning because of the pain, he seemed to remember why he had been searching for her.
“Kori and I got you a present!”, he said excitedly. Kori nodded.
“It’s a traditional dress from my home. The tradition is that it is passed down the family, but since Dick and I don’t have any kids, I decided you were the right choice”
“Oh, guys! Thank you!”
“Yeah, well. I tried giving it to Damian since he’s my little brother, but he threatened with destroying the dress”, Dick sighed, causing Mari to pat his shoulder. How Dick was one of the Waynes, she would never understand.
Which reminded her of Tim.
“By the way, have you seen Tim? I’ve been looking for him for a while now”
“Wasn’t him with you?”, Dick asked.
“Yes, but we got separated because of some friends”
“Well, I wouldn’t get too worried if I was you”, Kori chuckled. “I am sure he’s looking for you right at this moment”
“You think so?”, Mari’s eyes gleamed with happiness.
Kori gave the ice pack and the tissue back to a passing waitress.
“Of course!”, Kori continued and took Mari by the hands. “The boy only has eyes for you, it’s so obvious how much he loves-“
“Shh!”, Dick interrupted her.
Kori furrowed her brow.
“Why are you interrupting me?”
Dick took Kori’s hand back from Mari and tried pulling her away, but Kori stayed planted firmly on the ground. Dick gulped.
“Well, we all know how much Tim loves not being alone in this type of events…”
“No, that wasn’t what I was going to say. I was going to say how much he loves-“
“Coffee!”
“Dick!”, Marinette intervened. “Will you please let her speak?”
“Yes, Dick, will you?”, Kori seemed to be sending daggers to him with her eyes. Which was better than the alternative of lazers.
“Well”, Dick began once more. Did he always start his sentences with well? “I would love to let you finish that sentence, babe”
“Thank you”
“But! But, but, but… There’s so many buts, right?”, she laughed nervously. The murderous eyes from both women were enough to get him back on track. “But, well, if you did finish that sentence, Tim would get very mad”
“With me?”, Kori said confused. “Why would he be angry with me?”
“Oh, no! No, he wouldn’t get angry at you, of course not. He would be angry at me for telling you that Tim has a crush on Mari”
“What?”, Mari asked not believing what Dick had just said.
Was it true? And if it was, what did that mean for Mari and Tim? She didn’t think she could imagine herself with Tim. But she could, because she had done that same thing millions of times already. Mari had thought about it the first time they went to the movies, as friends. And the time she taught him how to bake a cake, as friends. Or the time he invited her to the Wayne’s family dinner, as friends.
Of course she constantly thought about Tim that way. As more than friends. She had thought about it the moment she asked him to be her boyfriend, at least for the night. And when he said yes, it almost felt as if he was saying yes to the real thing.
As if she was saying yes to her, not to a fake proposition.
And even that night, while knowing everything was fake, in the elevator she had thought about holding Tim’s hand and never letting go.
Mari had thought about it, but decided to push her thoughts to the side. She was in Gotham for work, for making her dreams true. Not to build any sort of relationship.
But wasn’t a relationship with Tim also a part of her dreams?
She couldn’t think and she couldn’t speak.
Dick, on the other hand, had gone terribly pale.
“Please, don’t say anything to Tim! I-I was lying, please forget it!”
He took Kori by the hand and dragged her away from the disaster that was Marinette. Was her mouth hanging? It probably was.
So, what if she wasn’t in Gotham for relationships?
Maybe she could find a loophole in her own plans.
And now, more than ever she needed to find Tim.
“Marinette!”
Oh no.
Not him.
Not now.
She couldn’t waste time on the past.
“I was sure it was you! I love your dress”, Adrien Agreste smiled kindly at her as he kissed her on each cheek. Behind him, Gabriel Agreste stood, always so serious.
“It is a pleasure to meet you again, Miss Dupain”
“It’s Dupain-Cheng”, she hissed between her teeth. Gabriel made deaf ears.
“I am so glad to see you again! How long has it been since the last time? Two years?”
“Three”, she corrected. “Three years”
“Time does pass fast, doesn’t it Mari?”
She wanted to puke. Her name sounded all kinds of wrong on his voice. It brought her back to the past, the past she had worked so hard to keep behind, and here he was ruining everything.
Mari needed to run away. She needed to find Dick and Kori, she needed to find anyone.
No.
She needed to find Tim and ask him to get out of that stupid event with her. Bruce would understand.
Adrien kept talking with his easy smile, while his father simply nodded behind. She couldn’t even hear what he was saying at this point. She wished for him to disappear.
“I don’t think we have met”, said someone behind her.
Her heart felt as if someone was pressing it way too hard until it burst.
Marinette turned her head around just in time for Tim to grab her hand. He was going to break her figers because of how hard he was gripping her, but she didn’t mind.
He was here.
“No, we haven’t”, said Adrien in that same stupid smile, but Mari could see how his eyes ran up and down the new arrival. “I’m Adrien Agreste, and this is my father Gabriel. Mari is my friend"
No, she wasn’t. She wasn't his and she would never be.
He was her ex boyfriend, the only person who had caused her to run away from Paris because of how bad he made her feel with herself. He was the one who made everyone get worried about her worsening health, he was the one Alya had threatened to stay as far away from Mari as the physic’s laws would allow. He was not her friend, and he had no business in that place.
Tim seemed to feel the same way as Mari.
“I’m Tim Drake-Wayne”, he said with the coldest voice Mari had ever heard from him. “I’m Mari’s boyfriend”