#adriens bodyguard

So this is the second part for this fic I’m posting today, cause you know, no self control. Just want to make sure everyone’s aware so they can read Part 96 too.

Beginning Previous   Next

By the end of the next week everyone was taking turns trying to get Marinette to slow down, sleep, and eat on a regular schedule. Even Syd was taking a turn at it since they’d broken down and let her use one of Babs’ old electric wheelchairs. Selina could honestly say she’d never seen the house so frazzled. Bruce even got desperate enough to ask her if she thought Mari would open up to Harley.

After he’d gotten permission for Kagami to stay with them, he and Mari had been in his office for four hours. She still didn’t know most of what was said, but some of the effects were obvious. Mari and Syd were both pulled from Gotham academy to homeschool. Damian was still giving Bruce the silent treatment over that. Syd was suddenly eighteen on paper and was about to take the GED test. Given how strongly Bruce had felt about Mari not emancipating herself she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d said to convince him to help with that. That or she’d bypassed him on that one and gone directly to Alfred and Babs. Selina was fairly certain she hadn’t gotten up the nerve to defy Bruce directly but it’s possible she decided to go with the ‘better to ask forgiveness than permission’ adage on that one. When it came to her team she was much more assertive about their welfare, even with Bruce. If he’d pushed, Selina was sure the girl would back down, but he never did. He questioned her decisions to make sure she was certain in a course of action, but when it came to her holders, Mari had the final say.

The day after their meeting, a second one took place involving Bruce, Mari, Jagged, Penny, Tim, Chloe, and Syd. Syd hadn’t wanted to go but Chloe insisted that watching them help Mari set up her business would be a good learning experience. She came out of it thoughtful but wouldn’t admit that Chloe was right for some reason. Mari came out of it with her first contract. Jagged had commissioned three years of tour outfits right off the bat. Despite everyone telling Mari that she didn’t need to design and make them all right away, the girl seemed intent on getting it done within the month. It almost seemed like, now that she had permission to design, she had to prove to everyone that she could. In her manic state only one thing had the ability to calm her down, and that was Jason.

He’d taken one look at the homeschool literature curriculum and deemed it garbage before proclaiming himself her tutor on the subject. Once it was clear that Mari was doing her best to run herself into the ground he’d started doing their lessons after dinner. More often than not they’d end the night with him reading to her and Mari falling asleep against him. She still only got three or four hours before she woke up and resumed her insane pace, but it was better than her and Tim trying to break each other’s record for hours without sleep.

Bruce had benched her, and by extension, all the Miraculous holders from patrol. Mari would do nothing but worry about them if they were out there without her so they were free to train with them but none of them were allowed out of the manor after dark. There was a lot of grumbling from everyone but Syd and Luka, but Gustave shut it down almost immediately. And that development had to be the weirdest thing to happen that week. Marinette had been so sleep deprived at the time that she’d actually had a full on yelling match with Bruce about the man. She’d been so mortified and apologetic once it hit her what she’d actually done. When she burst into tears while she was trying to apologize, Bruce panicked and forgave her immediately. The fact that she had no idea the effect she had on him made it even more hilarious.

It all started when Adrien mentioned that Gustave spent almost all his time sitting in the car outside the Manor gates in case he was needed. Marinette had deemed that unacceptable and had asked Bruce if there was somewhere in the house he could stay instead. Bruce had said that it wasn’t safe between the Kwami and the boys, it was only a matter of time before he saw something he shouldn’t, and after working for Gabriel, Bruce just didn’t trust him. According to Adrien and Chloe that was the worst argument he could have used. Marinette was telling him all about the man’s good qualities and how loyal he was to Adrien but Bruce wasn’t having it. He told her that the Miraculous holders he was willing to trust at her say so because they had a secret that needed to be kept just like his family, but he wasn’t willing to just let some random person, with no reason not to out the family secret, wander around the house.

Before anyone could say anything, she’d transformed with what Selina later found out was the Horse Miraculous, made a portal and pulled Gustave through it. She detransformed and gave him the Turtle Miraculous before telling Bruce he was now part of her team and he was just going to have to deal with it. Gustave didn’t even look surprised and Selina had to wonder exactly how much he’d figured out on his own. Bruce could only gape at her and honestly it was satisfying to see him speechless for once.

After the apology and after his initial shock had worn off, Bruce and Gustave actually got along very well together. Gustave was much better at keeping all the kids in line. Even Damian seemed to have a grudging respect for the man. As a bodyguard he was well versed in multiple fighting styles and weapons so he made a good sparring partner for everyone and a good teacher for the Miraculous holders who had less actual combat experience. Just his being there seemed to calm Mari down during training and no one was sure why, least of all her. Tikki said they thought Wayzz being back in the hands of a father figure might be the reason but they wouldn’t elaborate.

She’d settled into a routine by the end of the week that wasn’t perfect but it was acceptable. Mari would wake up and work on designing until breakfast. Alfred insisted she eat in the dining room with everyone else or even by herself just to give her a break. After that she’d do any school work and go back to designing until lunch. After lunch was training with her team and possibly a nap if Gustave had her on his back while he was putting the others through their paces. No one said anything when it happened because they didn’t want to chance her being even more paranoid about sleep. If there was time after that, more designing and then dinner. Then Jason would take over and the entire process would start over again.

Everyone was worried about the near frantic pace she set for herself. Bruce and Gina had tried talking to her, separately and together, to get her to slow down. She was still a teenager despite everything else. She needed to have down time. She needed to spend time with her friends as equals rather than as the Guardian. Even the Kwami were pushing her to just be a kid for once. That was how they all ended up at the Botanical Gardens on Sunday. Harley and Ivy were supposed to bump into them and see how Mari reacted after everything that had happened. If things went well they’d ease into having them over to the Manor for more than just checking in on Syd. But, just like everything else, the day didn’t go as planned.

Beginning Previous    Next

Ko-Fi

Tag List

@northernbluetongue@thequestionablyhuman@feliciakainzofspades@moonlightstar64@resignedcatservant@mindfulmagics@danielslilangel@persephonebutkore@dorkus-minimus@vixen-uchiha@18-fandoms-unite-08@noirdots@yin-390@abrx2002@ladysblackcat@crazylittlemunchkin@kuroko26@zalladane@firesong323@actual-disaster-human@loysydark@shizukiryuu@elspethshadow@weird-pale-blonde-person@kurogaya913@maynora@miraculous-simmer7@novicevoice@theyellowfeverexperience@mandy9849-blog@drarryismylife101@krispydefendorpolice@captainmac6@ladylb@ninjatantei@thethirdwheelfriend@bleeding-heart-romantic@satans-favorite-homo@melicmusicmagic@mooshoon@goggles-mcgee@karategirl119@shamefullove@jardimazul-blog@the-alice-of-hearts@spider-person95@tbehartoo@zestyzealot@slytherin-batbitch@emeraldpuffguide@justafanwarrior@fandomkitty8@melicmusicmagic@dur55@yamadochie@liawinchester67 @magicalfirebird @daminett4life @paradoxal-occurance @bee-wrecker@winter-gardenflower@driftingmoonlitpetals@graduatedmelon@ayuchan07@chrismarium@heaven428@ace-aro-agender @alessialeone6997 @enchanted-nerd @motherly-type@shethecat@slytherinqueen2432@fontegagrilledcheese@theatreandcomicfreak@horseshoe-lilacs@eliza-bich@corabeth11@dannyelric301@7-sage-7@chocolatecatstheron@alessialeone6997@emilytopaz@royalchaoticfangirl@kokotaru@clumsy-owl-4178@smolplantmum@angelofmusickaterinapetrova@lunar-wolf-warrior@tall-and-angry@tinyterror333@naoryllis@iloontjeboontje @bookishfangirl7 @peachedpocky @katiegardneriscoolerthanyou @marinettepotterandplagg @doodledeerest@athena452@kakashixobito@risingmoonyue@dast218@wargraymon0709@worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry@thesunanditsangel@tired-butterfly @a-fan-fighting-for-equality @nataladriana9 @shoushig@briareris@unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine@xgxmxtx@jessigurl-design@persephonescat@suzen23smith@littleblue5mcdork@thequeenofpotatoeunicornss@goblinwhoships@plsltmesleep@animegirlweeb@i-have-no-cool-username-to-use@ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat@schrodingers25@aestheticnpoetic@draco-kasai@awesome-starfish-and-tacos@sturchling@thewondersoflebanon@j-a-n-e–d-o-e@otaku4312@notamagicalgirluwu@spidermansgirl03@rosesgonerogue@hauntedwintersweets@solarcupid@sealy4321@runestarchild@multplelifes@castielsofficialtoothbrush@myblacknightworld@slytherinhquinn@certainloverjudgepatrol@creator-josie@snowstar1016@captainartsypants@midnightkaito@gentlemanoftimetravel@chylou34@pale-lady-dreamer@hufflejournals@thatonegaybitchfromschool@uwuteamleader@severelyenchantedwonderland@sassakitty@indecisive-mess-named-me@write-for-your-life2@freshbark @hi-what-is-anything @tis-i-beanbandit @fandomsaremylifeline@purple-people-eaters-productions@diddleedoo@lady-phoenix-of-tardis@silvergold-swirl@ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat @miukiiu @renamonroe @irontimetravelflower@romanoff-queen@damianette-is-life@its-the-punkrockprincess-love@gaeasun@aegyobutpsycho2@peachesbackup@toodaloo-kangaroo@nobodyw8s4evr@kuipseedo@the-fusionist@colorfulmongerpsychicranch@iwantwhirlledpeasandlotsatrees@chocolateherringtacofan@laurcad123@our-preciousss@missanalysis