A/N: This is the last chapter in the first arc of the story. I currently have twelve and a quarter chapters written, so once this story passes the 12-part mark, updates are going to be a loooooot slower because I now have to write more.
Also, the video up there ^^^ is 'The Ash is in Our Clothes' by Sleeping at Last. The music only lasts about four minutes though, so while it was enough for me to get through the chapter, I also read reeeeeally fast. Sorry about that, but it was a really good mood setter.
Edit: turns out, you can't scroll to read and keep it playing at the same time. Whoops. Just open it in a separate tab if you'd like to hear it, I guess.
"Bruce is alive."
Marinette sits attentively through Timothy's explanation, which, while a bit odd, is nothing that far out of the ordinary, considering the things the Justice League has fought, the existence of magic, and the Lazarus Pits.
However, everyone else seems to think otherwise, and all of them are convinced that Timothy is having trouble moving on from Father's death. Timothy leaves the room, angry but determined, and Marinette follows.
"What, are you here to tell me how stupid my theory is too?" Timothy grumbles when she slips into his room.
"Actually, I think your theory is very plausible." Marinette says. "You will be searching for Father anyway, with or without everyone's help, will you not? I shall help you pack."
"...Do you want to come with me?" Timothy asks, as Marinette starts rummaging through the mess he calls a room.
She looks at him apologetically. "Richard is swamped with responsibility now that Father is absent, and so is Alfred. Alfred is more or less used to it, but Richard will burn himself out trying to keep the family functional. I must stay to help. I truly am sorry, Timothy. We should keep in contact, but I cannot come with you."
"Okay. That's fine." Timothy mumbles. Marinette doesn't need to look at him to know he is terrified of what comes next, but she also thinks Timothy will need this time to figure himself out, as well as find their father.
"Would you like a hug?" She asks quietly. Marinette has grown to trust Timothy over the last few weeks. She has faith that, unlike her instructors, he will not hurt her, because he is family.
Timothy frowns. "You and Damian both detest hugs."
Marinette's lips quirk upwards. "You are family. Family is an exception."
Timothy's arms wrap around her, and Marinette returns the gesture, somewhat awkwardly. Hugs are kind of nice, she supposes, but only from the right people.
Timothy leaves two days later to pursue the trail Father has left throughout history.
Marinette churns out design after design after design, creating a whole new wardrobe for herself, Damian, and numerous clothing items for Richard too, who is looking more and more exhausted by the day. Damian also expresses his concerns for the man's health, but Richard always waves it off.
Starling trails Batman and Robin instead. Batman grows sloppier by the night, and Richard stumbles into the kitchen in the morning with eye bags to rival Timothy's before chugging a large coffee with too many espresso shots and attending several company meetings in a row.
Three weeks after Timothy leaves, Marinette and Damian hatch a plot with Alfred to sedate Richard. It works beautifully, and though he is a bit irritated at them, he has to admit it is the longest he's slept since Father's 'death'.
They video call Cass weekly to check in. Marinette tracks down Jason and convinces him to come to dinner once a week. She asks the same of Barbara, because Richard perks up more when she is around. Marinette still calls Timothy whenever possible, though any mention of talking to the others wipes the smile off his face. That is understandable, given the circumstances. Her family is starting to come together.
Damian switches from 'Grayson' and 'Cain' to 'Richard' and 'Cassandra.' Richard tries to get them to call him Dick. They both grimace.
"I am not calling you a slang word for male genitals!" Marinette protests, and her twin agrees.
Two months after Darkseid, Marinette calls Richard 'frate'. It accidentally slips out when he brings her a mug of Alfred's hot chocolate while she is designing. His tired face lights up when she calls him brother in his native Romani, and she doesn't even try to escape the hug this time.
Damian sometimes wakes up screaming. On those nights, Marinette will climb off the top bunk and hold him tight until he calms down. Sometimes, it's the other way around, but they are always there for each other.
Two and a half months after Darkseid marks the first time she calls Alfred 'Grandfather.' Marinette does this very deliberately, having considered what role Alfred takes in her life. He was most certainly a grandfather figure to her, and would always be more of a grandfather than Ra's ever was. Marinette sees him wipe a tear away out of the corner of her eye.
The first time she calls Tim 'frère', it is three months into his hunt for Father. French was the first language Tim picked up after English. He just smiles and continues discussing his newest lead.
Another month later, Cass becomes 'jiejie' and Jason becomes 'hermano'. Marinette adds 'meimei' and 'Pixie' to her ever-growing reservoir of nicknames, along with 'Mari', 'Nettie', 'ukhti', 'little star', 'soră', and a few others.
Barbara becomes Babs when she teaches Marinette how to easily surpass firewalls she previously struggled with. She also takes her and Damian to many places around Gotham in order to give Richard a break from looking after them, because they are a handful, no matter how much they try not to be.
Five months after Batman disappears, Damian and Marinette turn eleven. Somehow, the family finds out even though they never told anyone their birth date and throws them a party.
Alfred bakes a delicious chocolate cake. Marinette receives a book of puns from Richard, a dagger from Jason, a pen drive with an immense amount of storage that also functioned as a taser and flashlight from Babs, and a new sketchbook from Alfred.
Tim and Cass send their presents, a book on formal clothing designs by French designer Gabriel Agreste, and a cat-themed stationery set, in the mail.
Damian and Marinette exchange gifts in private. She gives her brother a knitted plush tiger, while he gives Marinette a beautiful drawing of her training in the cave, fans glinting in the light as she goes through her motions.
Eight months after Batman is lost, he returns.
.o0o.
Tim comes back to Gotham tired, worn, and missing his spleen, but accompanied by Father. Everyone else immediately rushes forward and hugs the man, some crying, but Marinette and Damian stand awkwardly off to the side as they reunite. They haven't forgotten Bruce's frosty demeanor towards them from before.
But then Father sees them and opens his arms wider. "Damian. Marinette. My children." And they join the large pile too, buried in their family's warm embrace, and Marinette knows everything is going to be just fine.
Cass arrives from Hong Kong the next morning, shedding silent tears as she hugs them all, one by one, and Jason even stays overnight without an injury as an excuse.
Nightwing hits the streets again, with his cheerful attitude and showy acrobatics and never-ending supply of puns. Red Hood is seen assisting Batman, scowl permanently in place, with a drug case. Black Bat glides through the night, a silent shadow, and Robin makes a few B-list rogues wet their pants when he draws his katana with a dangerous smile. Red Robin soars over Gotham's streets with the wings hidden in what looks like a regular cape, and if you actually saw the ghost that was rumoured to be named Starling, it was far too late to run.
Oracle, all knowing, watches everything from the eyes she has all over the city, and Agent A patiently waits for them to return after a long night, medical supplies at hand for when they inevitably get hurt.
This is her family, Starling thinks as she leaps onto the roof of Wayne Enterprises, where the others are already waiting with takeout Nightwing obtained from their favorite place. She wouldn't change it for the world.