"Marinette," Tim was knocking. "Are you coming for dinner? Hello?" Tim had been knocking for a while now with no answer. He knit his eyebrows and dropped to the floor, looking for signs of movement in the room.
"Drake, what are you doing?" Damian gave him a look. "You're a grown man and you are rolling around on the floor." Tim rolled his eyes.
"I've been calling her for ten minutes but I don't think Marinette's in her room." Damian went serious and swiftly kicked the door down "DUDE, YOU DON'T DO THAT TO OTHER PEOPLE." Damian shushed him then checked the bed, then the bathroom. The window was open. Frustrated, he grabbed a pencil from her desk and repeatedly scribbled
'Where are you?' on his arm. After a few times the pencil showed up, but faintly.
"I just hope she didn't go on one of her 'walks' again." Tim knit his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" Damian sighed.
"The other night I caught her come back into the room in the middle of the night, seriously drunk. I still don't know what happened exactly, but I do know she got into a streetfight, she had bruises up her midsection, but I don't know the whole story. And since she wasn't fully conscious of what she was doing, neither does she." Tim crossed his arms.
"And you didn't tell me this, why?" Damian shrugged.
"I already talked about it somewhat with her and I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone unless it got out of control. Though I left that one part out." Tim sighed and pulled out his phone. Damian raised a hand. "She took out the GPS chip and replaced it with one of her own. I don't think you'll be able to find her through her phone."
"What should we do? Should we just wait to see if she's here? Or?"
"What are you doing in here?" She was at the door with a handful of clean sheets. They both sighed in relief.
"Sorry Mari, I thought you got lost in the house." Tim ruffled her hair and walked downstairs and Damian rolled his eyes.
"Damian," she started, "I know that he wasn't lying but I can tell you are. What were you doing in my room." he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"This is exactly the saying 'It isn't what it looks like'. I thought you went out your window again for a walk or whatever." she laughed.
"Ok, thanks for telling me the truth. Who's going to fix my door?" he looked at it and tilted his head.
"Don't you just like push it back up and it snaps together? I only kick them down. I don't stand them back up." he walked away and she rolled her eyes.
"I'LL NEED A NEW DOOR YOU JERK!" she yelled then dropped the sheets on the bed with a sigh. Tikki flew out.
"Marinette, he had an exact reason to kick down your door." Marinette whipped her head around.
"Excuse me?" Tikki crossed her tiny paws.
"You heard me. If you did one of your walks and went out drinking again, I'd never forgive myself. Look at yourself. You've been eating the bare minimal to survive, and you don't even care. Why can't you see that it's effecting everyone? We all care about you." Marinette sighed and laced her fingers behind her neck.
"It's not that simple-" Tikki cut her off.
"Yes it is! Stop doing things that can kill you! It's like last year all over again!" Marinette crossed her arms.
"I've been clean from that for months!"
"Self harm? Marinette, not eating IS a form of self harm! I've watched other Ladybug's do it in the past and many other holders. It never ends up right. This is as bad as comitting suicide!" Marinette closed her eyes in frustration.
"Look, I'm trying to stop, but it's really not that simple. I know you care, just leave me alone and I'll take care of it." Tikki dropped her head.
"That's what you said last time, but you didn't mean it then either." She flew into the miraculous box. Marinette groaned and mentally kicked herself in the head.
"Tikki, I didn't mean it like that." the kwami did not come out of the box. "TIKKI!"
"What are you yelling about? Alfred said it's time for dinner." Damian was at her door again.
"I'm not hungry. Go away." He scoffed.
"No, you're eating something because I haven't physically seen you eat something since well, the night you arrived. And even then you barely ate anything. Also, I know your stomach hurts from how much it's been growling. Come on." He grabbed her arm and she stayed still. "Marinette. Come on." she glared at him.
"I'm in the middle of something Damian! Back off!" he sighed.
"I really hoped I wouldn't have to do this, but Grayson insists." he picked up the screaming girl, and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She kicked, and punched him in the back. She stopped when they got to the staircase.
"If you don't put me down, I will actually hit you. I don't care how much it hurts me." he laughed.
"You know, this is the most amusing thing I've seen in weeks. You know what? Free shot. Go ahead." he set her down and held his hands up. Then saw how pissed she was. It was too late when a punch was rocketed his way. She punched him in the gut, then roundhouse kicked him in the face. He stood, but he glared while he held his stomach. "You fight well, for a civilian." she scoffed and was about to start, but felt the injuries hit. She heaved and doubled over. He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure it hurts doesn't it? Let's go downstairs."
"No," she panted, "I'm staying up here. I have to fix a few things. One of them is my door." Damian rolled his eyes.
"I'll call someone to put a new door on. Stop being annoying, and go downstairs."
"FINE." She proclaimed, "I'M GOING. ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY?!?!" He crossed his arms with a smirk.
"Very, actually. On we go." he mock bowed then motioned his arms torward the stairs. She pushed past him and stomped down, and angrily sat at the table.
"Aww what's wrong pixie? Did Demon Spawn piss you off?" she scoffed.
"Demon Spawn?" she looked over at Damian who was glaring daggers at Jason.
"Just watch where you sleep tonight Todd. I can't promise anything good." Jason laughed.
"Don't worry about me brat. I have multiple deadlocks on my door for a reason." Marinette crossed her arms.
"At least you have a door." she mumbed and Tim laughed. Damian glared at her.
"I said I'd have somebody take care of it. Relax." she whipped her head around and looked at him with fake shock.
"Relax? You KICKED MY FUCKING DOOR DOWN!" he sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Oh GREAT. We're on this AGAIN."
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? THIS HAPPENED LESS THAN TEN MINUTES-" Alfred cut her off.
"While I understand you are frustrated, but please do not yell at the table. And would you be so kind to please set down the knife you are holding? While I agree, in this house, a weapon is usually a good thing to keep on you, I'd rather not have blood on my new tablecloth. I rather like it." Marinette paused then dropped the knife.
"Sorry, I didn't realize I was holding it." Alfred chuckled then left the room again.
"With the way the two of you are fighting, I could have sworn you were an old couple." she glared at the man across the table.
"Shut up Grayson." Damian snapped before she could say anything. Bruce walked in the room.
"See, the reason I don't come to dinner, is becuase most the time, I am the reason for the yelling and the screaming. I figured by putting my study on the OTHER side of the manor, I wouldn't hear it as badly. It seems to be, that I was wrong." he set down his tablet.
"What's going on?" Tim chuckled and Jason laughed. Dick pouted and pushed around his meal. Marinette sighed.
"Damian is just being an asshole and he kicked my door down." Bruce glared at him.
"What have I told you about kicking down the door to people's private space? I get that that's the easiest way in, but could you not turn the doorknob instead of breaking a $400 door? Now I have to call Lowe's for the eighth time in the last two months." Damian sighed and pushed his food around with his fork.
"Yes father, I apologize." Jason snickered. Bruce turned to him.
"What's so funny Jason?" he laughed again.
"Brucie, you suck as a parent. But we still love you." Bruce stood up.
"I'm an old man. I don't have time for this." Alfred walked in the room.
"Master Bruce, you'll sit down if you know what's good for you, and Master Jason as absolutely right. You need work as a Father, but no better time then the present so sit." Bruce huffed and sat down. Alfred set down his plate.
"Thank you." he angrily muttered then began eating. "So Dick, how's-" Dick cut him off.
"Nope, not doing this." he stood up and went upstairs. Bruce knit his eyebrows.
"What did I do? All I asked was how he's doing?" Jason scoffed.
"Come on man. You gotta do better than that. You're basically his father for christs sake. Come on Timbo, I gotta beat you in Ultimate Mecha Strike 4." Tim sighed, playing this for the third time this week. Marinette stood up.
"Actually, can I play? I was pretty good back in France." Damian raised an eyebrow but she ignored him. Jason shrugged and nodded and they headed off.
"Father," Damian started, "Is it too late for me to tell you that Marinette is both the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous and the Guardian of the Miraculous?" Bruce choked on his coffee and wiped his mouth.
"Well that is new information, thank you but if she needs help, she'll ask. Alfred said we shouldn't push her." Damian nodded then grabbed a book from a nearby bookcase.
"I'm going back out to my reading spot. I will see you later." Bruce nodded.
"Will you ever tell anyone where you go to read?" Damian's face went dark.
"Over my dead body. Good evening Father." He stated coldly and left without another word leaving Bruce in silence.