Chapter Text
Marinette folded the last of the empty cardboard boxes and added them to her recycling pile. She’d done it. Sure, it was two in the morning, but her determination to unpack all her belongings on her first day in Gotham had paid off. Although, she supposed it was technically the next day. Any normal person might have chosen then to burrow into bed and sleep off the effort. Marinette was not a normal person. She’d neglected her usual business admin while unpacking and she probably had a ton of emails to check.
That was why, instead of going to sleep, Marinette picked up her laptop and left her new apartment building for the 24 hour coffee shop across the road. She had scouted it out while she’d been carrying her stuff inside and suspected it was going to become one of her most frequented spots in Gotham.
There were only two other people in The Midnight Bean when she walked in. One of them was the tired looking worker on shift, and the other was a man in full business attire. The business man was hunched over a laptop partially hugging the biggest coffee on offer to his chest. Marinette knew a fellow addict when she saw one. “I’ll have what he’s got,” she said to the woman behind the counter, pointing to the business man.
The woman working blinked a few times, glancing between Marinette and the man. “Are you sure?” The server asked wearily. “That man has the most caffeine I am legally allowed to serve in one cup.”
“That sounds perfect,” Marinette sighed happily.
“I need a new fucking job,” the woman mumbled as Marinette paid.
Marinette found a table, an easy feat considering how empty the place was, and started sorting out her inbox. Her MDC fashion line had been thriving for the last few years, to the point where she’d already made more money than she’d ever expected to make in her life. She loved that she could live off design commissions alone, but she was beginning to regret the amount of admin that came along with it. She’d thought about hiring an assistant or secretary, but the identity of MDC was a secret and she didn’t want to risk exposing herself.
As well as business emails, there were a few emails from Gotham University about the two business courses she had enrolled in. While she was great at the creative side of her business, she was long overdue to improve the other required skills. She’d been delighted to learn about the reputable business courses that GSU had to offer. The courses also served as a good excuse to give her friends and family about why she was moving to Gotham at all.
She’d needed some kind of excuse after all. Most people didn’t just move to Gotham, the most crime-ridden city in the US. Those who cared for Marinette hadn’t been able to fathom why she, an aspiring fashion designer, would leave Paris, a city known for its fashion, and move to the hell-hole that was Gotham. Marinette understood their confusion. If she were being honest, she wasn’t sure why she’d come here either.
The final few months of high school had been difficult for Marinette. Her, as her secret identity Ladybug, and Chat Noir, her partner, had been getting closer and closer to tracking down their nemesis, Hawkmoth. Ladybug had enlisted her classmate, Max, to help hack the cameras of Paris and use the footage to isolate the origin of Hawkmoth’s akumas. Before they’d even found anything, Bunnix, Ladybug’s time travelling team mate, had shown up from the future with grave news. She had told Ladybug that it would not be possible to rely on Char Noir in the final fight. She had urged Ladybug to take the black cat miraculous off of him. She wouldn’t tell Ladybug the details, although she did insist that it wasn’t Chat Noir’s fault and that the coming events would simply be too emotionally painful for him to avoid akumatisation.
Marinette had wanted to trust Chat Noir. He was her partner. Sure, he could be too flirty and silly at times, but she knew he’d have her back. However, Marinette knew better than to ignore a warning from Bunnix. She explained what Bunnix had said to Chat Noir, and though he hadn’t liked it, he had also understood the importance of not being compromised. He had handed over his miraculous, revealing himself to be Adrien Agreste before her very eyes. Marinette had still been reeling from the shock of her crush being her superhero parter as he walked away.
Later that day, she had received a message from Max, and finally understood why she’d had to take Chat Noir’s miraculous. Max had pinpointed the location that the akumas seemed to come from and it was the Agreste mansion. Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth was Chat Noir’s father.
Ladybug had gone to confront Hawkmoth immediately and the fight had been brutal. Mayura, whom Marinette now knew was Nathalie, had joined the fight as well. Even with the training Wonder Woman had been giving Ladybug, the fight was difficult for her. Out of desperation, she had merged the ladybug and black chat miraculous. However, unlike every other person to wield the miraculous of creation and destruction, she hadn’t made a wish. Instead she had unified them to become Black Bug. The power she had wielded with both creation and destruction had been immense and she had finally been able to defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura. They were in prison now. She had even managed to heal Adrien’s mother, whom she had found comatose in the basement.
Marinette had been so relieved as she’d swung home. She’d also been so tired. It was finally time for her to be a regular teenager. She could finally be a normal girl with a normal life. Then she had gotten home and de-transformed. The looks Tikki and Plagg had given her had been filled with worry.
“No one has ever wielded both creation and destruction before,” Tikki had explained. She seemed hesitant to continue. “We didn’t even know that could be done. You … You’ve … We ….”
“What you did was impossible,” Plagg had cut in bluntly. “It changed you. You’re something else now.”
“I’m what?” Marinette had asked.
“We don’t know what.” Plagg had shrugged. “You’re still somewhat human. But also, you’re not.”
This revelation had been too much for Marinette. She’d put the miraculous back in the box and decided not to take them out again. She was going to be normal now. She’d earned that, hadn’t she? Hadn’t she? She knew she’d still have to guard the miraculous box, but that was it. From then on, she was going to pretend none of it existed. That had been difficult in Paris, where everyone was still recovering from the five years of emotional terrorism they had been subject to.
She’d wanted to get away from it all. Somehow, that had led her to Gotham. Everyone had asked her why? Why would you want to move to Gotham? The frustrating thing was, she didn’t know why. She hadn’t even thought to question ‘why Gotham?’ until her mother had asked her. By then she’d already bought a flat and booked flights. She had tried not to think about what had drawn her to Gotham because, deep down, part of her knew that she wouldn’t like the reason. Thus she had chosen to ignore it. Denial, thy name is Marinette.
“Large mug full of expresso shots,” the worker announced dryly, pulling Marinette from her thoughts of the past.
She looked up to see the woman staring at her from behind the counter, holding out the mug. Marinette grinned and stood to retrieve her coffee. However, a hand closed around the mug just as hers did. Marinette blinked up at the business man who’d been sitting a few tables over. He seemed equally surprised to see her in front of him. They both continued to stare at each other sleepily, each clutching the same cup. Now that she was closer, Marinette realised that he wasn’t as old as she’d assumed. In fact, he looked close to her age of nineteen. He was also incredibly handsome, even with the dark circles under his eyes.
The worker groaned as they continued to stare at each other with no comprehension of what was happening. This was a romcom moment if she ever recognised one, and she was decidedly not enthused to see these caffeine addicts having a meet cute right in front of her face. “It’s her coffee,” she told them, pointing at Marinette, before waking away.
The server’s words finally broke Tim out of his trance. “Oh,” he said as some of the sleepy haze left his brain. “Sorry.” He looked down at the stunning woman before him, half convinced that she was a figment of his imagination. Her features were so vivid and delicate that he thought she might be a fairy. “I heard my preferred drink and am only now remembering I hadn’t ordered a second yet.”
“That’s may fault,” the woman said, her accent just strong enough for Tim to identify her as French. “You looked like someone with similar tastes so I copied your order.” She smiled at him and Tim had to squint at the brightness of it. He was too sleepy for the full force of the sun right now.
That was when Tim realised he was still holding onto her cup and hurriedly let go. “Ah, a fellow connoisseur,” he joked. “I’m Tim, by the way.”
Tim saw no spark of recognition on her face and supposed she hadn’t lived in Gotham long enough to recognise a Wayne.
“Marinette,” she said, still smiling. “It’s nice to meet another addict.”
“Indeed,” he said. “The last time someone took a sip of my coffee order, they tried to confiscate it.”
“Monsters,” Marinette declared. “My friends tried the same. I had to start sneaking coffee in secret. But I’m in another country now. They can’t stop me.”
“You’re lucky,” Tim laughed. “My family are always trying to limit my caffeine. They replaced all the coffee in my office with decaf and programmed the machine at home to lockdown after five pm. That’s why I have to come all the way out here to get my fast bean juice. Last time they caught me hacking the coffee machine to override the shutdown my brothers locked me in a closet with a sleeping bag. They’ve even started bribing coffee shops not to serve me.”
“No,” Marinette exclaimed with the appropriate amount of horror. “If things ever get dire, I promise I will hook you up. Us addicts have to look out for each other.”
Tim stared at her in awe. This woman was an angel. “If you would do such a thing then I would forever devote myself to you, O coffee goddess.”
She giggled as they started walking back to their tables. “Could I join your table?” she asked. “I’m new to Gotham so I can’t pass up this opportunity to make a friend.”
“Of course,” he said with a grin.
They sat together for the next several hours, working on their individual tasks, exchanging the odd joke, and taking turns ordering more coffee for each other. They finally parted ways at four am, after exchanging contact information. Marinette was very proud of her first attempt at a normal friendship in Gotham. She went to sleep with a gentle smile on her face.
———
A few days later, Marinette made use of her new contact to ask which Gotham sights she should see. She’d been delighted when Tim had personally offered to show her around. When he’d shown up wearing sunglasses and a hat, despite how overcast it was, she’d been a little surprised. She’d almost asked him about the incognito celebrity get-up, but ultimately decided to respect his privacy. He’d tell her about it if he wanted to.
Tim took Marinette to the Wayne Botanical Gardens first. It had been wonderfull until Marinette had realised that all the flowers were turning towards her. She’d been noticing little things like that ever since she’d become Black Bug. Even with the miraculous safely in the miracle box, the magic still clung to her. Tikki and Plagg had been right when they’d called her changed. She’d rushed Tim out of the gardens, saying something about being hungry.
Over the next few weeks, Tim also showed her around the university campus, a few museums, and the best spots to eat. She was itching to pay him back for his kindness somehow. Luckily, she’d had the opportunity after their all-hours coffee shop had been mysteriously bought out and turned into a mattress store. She’d been able to invite Tim over to her place and make him her special blend of energy juice.
“You really are a coffee goddess,” he moaned as he drank it.
Marinette tried not to think about how close to a goddess she might truly be. “Feel free to come over for your coffee fix whenever you need to. It’s the least I can do after how much you’ve shown me around.”
“You can’t know what you’re promising,” Tim said, shaking his head. “I’d be here at ridiculous hours. I wanted to show you around. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Well then I want to make you coffee,” she said. “So long as you text me first to make sure I’m awake, the offer is limitless.”
Tim decided that Marinette was a treasure too precious for this world. What was someone like her doing somewhere like Gotham?