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Marinette and Jason were separated when Marinette was six years old -- Gotham City's Child Protective Services had finally caught up to them. Their parents had died when they were young and ever since they had lived on Gotham's streets. Jason did his best to protect and raise Marinette, but he always felt like he was falling short despite his best efforts.
They didn't go to school. Jason refused to let Marinette out of his sight for more than a few hours at a time. Gotham was a dangerous place and Marinette was especially good at getting herself into trouble. Jason had stumbled upon Marinette somehow pissing off some of the most powerful people in Gotham -- the Rogues, more than a few times. Leaving her alone was a recipe for disaster.
Jason doesn't know how Gotham City's Child Protective Services had found them. They were woken up early one morning to a great commotion. They may not have had a place to call home anymore but they rarely slept alone. All of Gotham's street kids knew about the few safe havens scattered across the city. Places they were welcome. Sometimes it was an abandoned building, sometimes it was a kind old lady's garage, and sometimes it was a covered alleyway that was protected by a couple of Rogues.
Most nights the siblings would stay at one of the safe houses. On the nights that there was no room, or they couldn't bear to share a cramped space with a bunch of dirty teenagers, they would find a quiet place in one of Gotham's parks. They would pull out a few ratty blankets and coats and lay them out on the ground before falling asleep under the open sky. Marinette loved these nights. At least when it wasn't too cold.
They had been forced to sleep outside many nights in the dead of winter, especially when they first started living on the streets. Marinette did her best to forget these nights. But most of them she couldn't remember even if she tried. She was often left sick after sleeping outside in the cold all night. A combination of her young age and her small body weakened by the lack of a proper meal.
On the night the siblings were separated, Marinette and Jason were sleeping close to some of the other street kids for warmth. They were lucky enough to find one of the abandoned factories that Gotham's homeless population had claimed before sunset and had quickly claimed a spot on the ground farthest away from the walls. It was the dead of winter and the run-down building had no heating system. They couldn't start a fire due to the instability of the building so the only options the kids had was to stock up on blankets and jackets (a rarity at this time of year) and to share their body heat.
The group was dead asleep (or as close one can get to dead asleep when surrounded by a group of people you don't quite trust) when the police crashed through the door. Jason grabbed Marinette (who was still waking up and was Very Confused) and hastily put her jacket on her. They were chased out of their temporary refuge and forced to run, but Gotham City Police wasn't far behind them.
One thing had led to another and somehow they thought that it was a good idea to split up (this would later become one of Jason's biggest regrets. Ever). Marinette made a few (a lot of) mistakes. It was very cold and Marinette was very tired. And she was scared now that she was separated from her big brother. She wasn't thinking straight. She ran through the city turning at random intervals, but her short little legs couldn't carry her very far (or very fast). Her jacket was thin and she could feel the wind blowing even through the fabric. The rain that had started to fall wasn't helping either. The water chilled Marinette to the core but she kept running. She had to -- she had promised Jason she wouldn't stop.
As she turned the corner she slipped on one of the newly formed puddles and went tumbling to the ground. She felt her ankle twist during the fall and her jeans were ripped at the knee. Through the dim street light, she could barely see blood start to form and she quickly held a shaking hand to her knee to stop the blood flow and held another hand against her mouth. She had to be quiet. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get up if they found her. Marinette held back her sobs as she realized that she had already failed Jason. She couldn't even follow through on his simple task!
Marinette did her best to quiet her sniffles as she sat there on the curb, her knee and ankle throbbing as the rain poured down around her -- she had never felt like more of a disappointment.
It didn't take them long to find her. Marinette was young and in her confusion, she hadn't made it very far from the abandoned warehouse. She was briefly treated for her injuries and a few days later she was on a plane to Paris, sent to live with a nice couple who would serve as her foster parents. She wasn't happy about it.
At first, Marinette was suspicious of her foster parents. They were nice. Too nice. In Gotham, adults were only nice if they wanted something from you. If they wanted to separate you from your big brother.
Marinette was alone in Paris with no way to contact Jason. She had no phone number to call, no home address to send a letter to, and no contacts in Gotham that she had a way of communicating with. While Marinette had grown close (or as close as you can to someone you don't really trust) to some of the other street kids and the (few) good adults she had come into contact with, she had no way of reaching them.
Her heart dropped as she realized that she really was all alone. She was an ocean away from the most important person in her life and had no way of knowing if he was okay.
Jason frantically searched for his little sister. He knew that CPS had found her but he didn't know where she had been taken. He tried everything, called in every favor he had, everyone living on the streets of Gotham knew that Jason Todd was looking for his little sister. But no one knew anything.
Eventually, it became clear to the young boy that Marinette was no longer in Gotham. He never dared to imagine that she was no longer in the country, no longer on the same continent as him.
Jason became desperate. He spent all of his time searching for his little sister and started to run low on money. He was running out of options.
He pulled his biggest stunt yet -- stealing the tires from the Bat Mobile.
Marinette started going to school in Paris. She was quiet, reserved, and slow to trust. She had been betrayed before, she wasn't about to let it happen again. Despite her cool exterior and her refusal to make conversation, a young boy insisted on sitting next to her in class every day. He was very persistent.
"Hi! I'm Nino. What's your name?" he held his hand out to her. Despite Marinette's limited understanding of French, it was obvious that he was introducing himself. She glared at him before opening her notebook in silence and began to draw, refusing to acknowledge him any further.
"What are you drawing?" he asked as he attempted to peer over her shoulder. She huffed and slammed her notebook closed before he could see anything.
This type of interaction became regular between the two. Nino trying in vain to become her friend, or at least her acquaintance, and Marinette doing her best to keep herself isolated.
It took a few months but Marinette finally started to open up. Nino was one of the most open people she had ever met, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Maybe this was someone she could trust. Maybe this was someone she could let herself get close to. She didn't need to be isolated all the time (maybe she could finally begin to stop punishing herself for things that were out of her control).
Eventually, they became friends. Best friends. She told him about Gotham. About the way the streetlights flickered, how she knew every shadow of every street in a five-block radius of her and Jason's usual stomping grounds. She told him about the kids she had befriended.
Johnny -- a small kid with curly black hair who could climb the tallest tree in the park without falling.
Cricket -- a quiet girl who somehow knew everyone's shoe size and where they slept each night. They would go to her if they ever needed to find someone. Some had even suggested that she could be a meta but they never put too much thought into it. They didn't want to know. Things rarely ended well for metas in Gotham.
Eagle -- an older boy who was protective of all the street kids and had long, lanky legs that he used to easily outrun anyone who dared to challenge him to a race.
She told him about the boy Marinette's age who she had never learned the name of. He was the son of a rich businessman who had given her his favorite stuffed animal claiming that she 'needed it more than him.' She told Nino about how she had slept with that stuffed rabbit every night after that. At least until she was shipped off to Paris for a 'better life' (how could anyone ever think that she could have a better life without Jason?) and had been forced to leave everything behind in that cold, abandoned warehouse. Maybe another kid had found it after CPS left. Maybe they slept with it now. Marinette hoped so. She would hate for the gift that had meant so much to her to have been abandoned.
She told Nino about the few adults who had shown her kindness. The old man who had offered them shelter during a particularly bad set of storms. The young lady who had found Marinette on the side of the road and offered half of her turkey sandwich.
She told him about Jason. Her brother. Her big brother. The man who she wouldn't be able to see until she was 18. Because she was going back -- she had to make sure he was okay. She had to see him again. She wouldn't abandon him as her parents had abandoned her.
Despite being an ocean apart, time moved on. The siblings grew older. Jason was taken in by Bruce. He met Dick (their relationship was a little rocky at first but they got over it. Eventually). He became Robin. But he never told them about Marinette.
He didn't trust them. Not yet.
Marinette turned 11. She and Adrien had a rough start -- Marinette was never partial to bullies. But she had been wrong about him. Despite his connection to Chloe, he wasn't a terrible person who put chewed-up pieces of gum on random student's seats. Apparently.
When he offered her his umbrella outside of the school's front entrance her heart pounded in tune with the thunder. For once, she felt at one with the universe instead of fighting against it. She knew that she and Adrien had a special connection -- she just didn't know what it was yet.
The umbrella snapped closed around her and she heard Adrien laugh for the first time and suddenly the embarrassment she felt was completely worth it. Her cheeks blushed a brilliant red and she giggled as Adrien helped her fix the umbrella.
Jason died. He came back to life. He tried to kill Bruce. He got over it (not really).
Eventually, he started to get better. It was a long and difficult process and, while he was still hurting a lot, he didn't try to kill Bruce anymore. It was a step in the right direction. Tim Drake joined the family (and the family business).
Jason still didn't tell them about Marinette. His connection with his family was broken. He needed more time. Not yet.
Not yet.
Marinette was surprised to find a strange box in her purse one day. She was even more surprised when a red, flying bug-mouse hybrid popped out and began to speak to her. Apparently, some old man thought a small god was suitable repayment for helping him cross the street? She's not even a teenager yet what was he thinking? Maybe he's senile.
Nevertheless, she accepted the miraculous and took on the responsibility of becoming Ladybug. When she met Chat Noir she felt (just like with Adrien) that she was connected to him in some way.
She didn't connect the dots.
Jason finally told his family about Marinette. They immediately jumped into action and began to search for her every way they know how. Bruce calls in all of his connections. Every important person in Gotham knew that Bruce Wayne was looking for a young girl named Marinette Todd. But no one knew anything.
They were too late. There was no trace of her.
The Miraculous made sure of that.
As long as Hawkmoth remained active, as long as Marinette was Ladybug and actively fighting a miraculous threat, there would be no outside interference. Not until Hawkmoth was defeated. Until then, Marinette was no longer Marinette Todd, but Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
But the Wayne's didn't give up. They had a bad habit of that. Even when there wasn't any hope, even when it seemed like all lines of reasoning had been exhausted, they would keep on searching.
But there were no more leads and fighting against an unknown magic (especially one you didn't even know you were fighting against) made it extremely difficult for any work to get done. For now, Marinette Todd would remain lost.
Marinette learned how to fight. She had no other choice.
She learned what it was like watching the people of Paris die. The people that she swore to protect die. Her partner die. She learned what it was like to die.
After Queen Wasp was defeated, she never told Chat that she remembered the time loops after the fact. She never told him that she remembered all of the ways they failed. All of the ways she died. It's not like it mattered. (It did).
Damian joined the family. Jason thought he was a brat (which he was). He was reminded of what it was like to have a younger sibling. While Tim was younger than him, he wasn't young enough to remind him of Marinette. But Damian was.
Was she as tall as Damian? Did she finally learn how to read properly? Did she like writing? Did she like Shakespeare?
What did she do in her free time now that they weren't on the run from CPS? Or was she? Even after all this time? Was she still on the streets? He refused to think about it. He refused to entertain the thought of Marinette struggling to survive without him there to help. Especially with his new extravagant lifestyle living with Bruce Wayne.
It would be a long time until he would finally have answers to his questions.
Marinette starts to catch feelings for Chat Noir. Adrien starts to catch feelings for Marinette. It's a mess. They both think that they're betraying the other (despite never actually getting together and believing that their feelings were unrequited).
Ladybug takes a hit while fighting a particularly nasty akuma. As Chat Noir holds her in his arms it becomes obvious to the pair that she's not going to make it.
"Chat, you have to go," she manages to choke out.
Chat Noir sniffles as he struggles to hold back his tears, "No! I'm not going to leave you here!"
With shaky hands, she reaches towards her earrings and manages to take one off before she becomes too weak to keep her arms raised. Chat Noir watches on in horror as her mask and suit slowly start to disappear.
She manages to force the earring into Chat's limp hand and when she looks up at him her voice is barely a whisper, "Kitty, please. You need to take the other off for me. I don't think I can."
His voice breaks, "Bug, please. I don't think I can do this without you."
"You won't have to. I'll be back before you know it."
Tears fall down his face and he looks down and shakes his head, "You don't know that, Bug-"
"Yes," she interrupts, "I do. Because I believe in you, Chat. You're my best friend and you're the best partner ever. I know you would never let me down. You can do this. Tikki will help."
As Marinette begins to lose focus and she looks up into the sky, Adrien takes off his ring and places it around her finger before he dawns her earrings.
He knows who she is.
After a quick pep talk from Tikki (and a quick lesson on his new powers), he races across the rooftops, desperate to defeat the akuma and use the cure before it's too late. But deep down he knew it was no use, they were running out of time.
Marinette bleeds out on a rooftop, alone. As she takes her last breathes, all she can think about is how she wishes she could see Jason one last time. To know he was okay. To know that he was alive, even if she wouldn't be around to see it.
She's revived an hour later. It's not a feeling she'll forget. She's died before, but not like this. Not slowly. Not alone. And not in a way that could have been permanent (the perks of being stuck in a time loop).
Adrien rushes back to her side and as he reaches her, his earrings begin frantically beeping at him, warning of his impending de-transformation. They stand there staring at each other as his timer runs out.
He lets his mask fall.
It's him. It's Adrien.
For the second time in her life, Marinette felt the universe align. Among the chaos, there is peace, if even for a brief moment.
They get together not long after the reveal. They love each other with every meaning of the word (not that they would admit that yet).
One night, after Chat has slunk in through her skylight, they lay in Marinette's bed, his arm wrapped around her and their hands intertwined. She tells him about Gotham. About Jason. About everything. More than she ever told Nino. More than she ever told Alya. More than she ever told her foster parents.
She admits that she had gotten up the courage to look up his name, years later. For some reason, it had slipped her mind until then (the universe's doing no doubt). Apparently, the universe (or fate, or whatever you want to call the guiding hand of life) thought the best way to build her up, to make her stronger, was to break her down first.
The first article she found was about her brother's death. Six months too late.
She didn't want to go back to Gotham anymore.
Adrien and Marinette grow closer. They defeat Hawkmoth. Adrien is devastated. They graduate. They finally turn 18.
But they have nowhere to go.
Nothing to do.
Their purpose, protecting Paris, was gone. They saved the day. Their job was done.
Paris became a living nightmare. Everything was a constant reminder of the horrors they had faced and the media was no help. They constantly harassed the young couple because of their connection to Gabriel.
Marinette had interned under him for a short time and Adrien (of course) was his son. The media was desperate for an inside scoop that neither was willing to give.
Fashion design no longer held the same appeal. It only served as a reminder of her shortcomings. She had worked with Gabriel for months! She had been in his office, in his home, and yet she had never become suspicious. Unlike Adrien, she didn't have an excuse. She wasn't blinded by a familial connection to the man, but she was so caught up in idolizing Gabriel that she refused to let herself see the red flags. Adrien did his best to remind her that it wasn't her fault, no one had noticed or acknowledged that anything was off about the man. But his words did little to help. Yet she loved him all the more for trying.
Neither of them knew what to do with their life. So they did what anyone does when they struggle to find the light -- they moved to Gotham.
They opened a small bakery together: La Bonne Boulangerie. With Marinette's knowledge of baking and Adrien's knowledge of business the small bakery and coffee shop thrived. There were no reporters trying to harass the couple or trying to invade their personal space for an inside scoop. They were finally free of the crippling atmosphere of Paris.
They had a small garden out front that lined that patio. The only garden that outshone it was the one taken care of by Poison Ivy herself. Like with Marinette's own home, they lived together above the bakery.
They'd had some interesting characters pop into their tiny bakery, Poison Ivy and her girlfriend being amongst the most noticeable. They didn't come by often but often enough that most Rogues left them alone.
People liked their bakery and more and more customers started stopping by. Eventually, people started to notice the aura that the store emitted. Good feelings. Good luck.
More people started stopping by. Less people tried to rob and vandalize them. Life was finally looking up.
They started a new project: they would collect business cards from people who were hiring and would send them the resumes of their customers. They had a little table near the door where customers (or anyone really. They never stopped anyone) could drop off their information.
Things started to look up for the people of Gotham. There was balance in places there wasn't before. Marinette and Adrien brought that with them. Somehow the universe made sure that they were always in the place they needed to be. Perhaps that was why Marinette had ended up in Paris all those years ago.
The couple hadn't donned their suits in a long time, but they were okay with that. They deserved the break.
They hired local workers and paid them well (Kwamii knows they could afford it with the money that Adrien had inherited after his father's imprisonment). They stayed open almost 24/7. If someone needed them they were open (which was most of the time). Somehow they always knew when to keep the store open later than usual (they didn't exactly have normal hours).
It was almost 3 am when they walked in. A disheveled young man who seemed to be half asleep and an older man who had multiple scars running down his face. Adrien was working at the counter while Marinette was baking in the back.
"Long night?" Adrien asked.
The disheveled man chucked, "You have no idea."
They ordered their coffee and Adrien called for Marinette to come to the front to help him. She nearly dropped the tray of cookies she held in her hands when she saw their customers.
"Jason?" she asked, her voice quiet and near breaking.
The older man inhaled sharply, "Nettie?!"
They stared at each other in shock and for the third time in Marinette's life, the universe aligned.
Adrien's grin nearly split his face in half, "Oh, no way. No. Way."
Jason's companion rubbed his eyes and grumbled, "I need at least two more cups of coffee before I can comprehend this shit."
Marinette jumped over the counter and into Jason's waiting arms, both of them unabashed in their sobbing.
By the time they had finally calmed down and let go the rest of Jason's family had arrived (Tim had called them).
"I found you. I finally found you, "Marinette sniffled.
Jason pulled her in for another tight hug, "Thank God you're okay, squirt. I thought I had lost you."
"You'll never lose me again."
Adrien definitely wasn't crying. Neither was Dick.
Marinette and Adrien meet the rest of the family (Jason gives him the Big Brother Smack Talk TM at some point).
Jason never tells her about his nighttime activities. He knows that she would want to get involved and none of them would be able to say no. Because she was good. Very good. But he couldn't let her get hurt. He had just gotten her back.
She was family. And so was Adrien now. All of them were, Jason realized. Some of them he had hated with his entire heart not too long ago, but he would give his life for them now. He already had.
If Jason and Marinette have learned anything during their time in Gotham, it's that peace never lasts long. A new threat is introduced.
A meeting is called and Jason and the rest of the Wayne's meet with the rest of the Justice League at the Watchtower. Except there are two new members that he doesn't recognize.
They need the help of the Grand Guardian, whoever the fuck that is.
It's Marinette. Of-Fucking-Course it's Marinette. Because when has the universe ever given her a break.
But it makes sense, his little sister being among the most powerful people in their galaxy, because who else would it be?
He's glad he found her.