#brucenette

Step. Palm. Grab. Flip.

*Thud!

Heel kick. Step back.

Turn.

Again.

Slower.

Step. Palm. Grab. Flip.

*Thud!

Heel kick. Step back.

Turn.

Again.

Faster.

Step. Palm. Grab. Flip.

*Thud!

Heel kick. Step back.

Turn.

Again.

The process of taking down student after student continued, over, and over again. The guardian did not once hold back as each pupil hit the floor.

It was the same pattern. The same sequence of attacks. The speed and strength of each attack were the only changed variables. Each round of attacks was custom made for the pupil the Guardian was facing.

Step. Palm. Grab. Flip.

*Thud!

Heel kick. Step back.

Turn.

Again.

Most of the students laid still on the matted ground, knowing that once their back hit the ground and the pain of a heel to their gut sunk in, they were considered ‘out’ for this training exercise. The vast majority of the pupils were used to the harsh treatment and those who were not were left to curl up in pain on the floor until the match was called.

The guardian continued the exercise until there were no more students to take down.

Step. Palm.

Block.

Step back.

Faster.

Step. Palm. Palm. Palm. Grab. Flip.

Marinette braced for the landing, arching her back to let the lower half of her body hit the mat first. As if she had just flopped down onto the floor to sit, knees bent, as she let her shoulders hit the mat next.

*Thump bum.

She laid flat on the matted floor, flexing her core as she quickly let out a steady breath.

Heel kick. Step back.

The Guardian looked over the people in the room, assessing them before nodding his head as he made eye contact with her.

“All have done well.” The guardian informed them, and so they did because if the guardian said they did well, they must have.

“That is the end of today. Rest as you wish.” The guardian instructed as the students got back up, helping the newer recruits to stand if they were unable to do it on their own.

“Yes, Guardian!” Came the collective response from the pupils, and with that, he left the room.

Marinette stayed on the floor, ignoring the strange looks she received as she waved off the new ones’ concern as she stared up at the ceiling, not quite present mentally today. Blue eyes had appeared in her dreams again, and they hadn’t been her own. They had been cold, distant, and hurt, but oh so warm and caring. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go back to him but know that he has probably moved on already. It has been years since she entered the temple. He doesn’t remember her. He can’t remember her while she was in the temple. It was part of the Order’s protection magic.

“That is just Ari. She is not new like you.” Tif, a fellow senior guardian in training, informed the apprentices, drawing Marinette out of her head for the second it took to register that her new name had been spoken.

They continued to give her a weird, worried look, and Marinette continued to ignore them. She moved her arm from her side up to her face, covering her eyes with her forearm. 

“They are gone now,” Tif said after a long-drawn-out silence.

With a sigh, Marinette removed her forearm to look around the room, and sure enough, they were all gone. Marinette looked back at Tif and the hand that she was now holding out to her. She silently took the hand, dusting off as she stood up.

“Your thoughts on this class?” Tif asked as they began walking out of the room, falling a few steps behind Marinette, nine and a half inches behind and to the left of her to be exact.

Nine and a half inches. A seemingly random number that happens to equal around the same length as nineteen finger widths. One for each Kwami her soul has touched and now fell under her protection. One of many old etiquette the Order saw fit to bring back with the revival of their organization.

“Some would do well to be healers, not fighters,” Marinette answered honestly.

“Of the new ones?” The senior guardian in training asked as clarification.

“Some yes, but some old. A list will be made.” Marinette informed her.

Tif gave a nod of her head that Marinette could just see out of the corner of her eye. While it was difficult to watch people’s body language when they were behind her, she adapted and learned that the reason they stood to one side at the same distance they stood behind was to make it easier for her to keep an eye on them.

“The elders will be told,” Tif said with a bow of her head, two fingers, the index and middle, being placed over her heart in respect before taking her leave.

Two fingers over one’s heart. A sign of respect to not only her, the Grand Guardian, but also to the two Kwami the gesture represents. Creation with fortune, and Destruction with Ill fortune, respectively. A gesture to represent the dual natures of the Kwami as well as that they are two halves of one whole.

“Ari! Ari!” A child called out her chosen name in the temple. Everyone who lives in the temple has a chosen two-part name. Their first being two, three, or four letters. While the last was usually four to nine letters. Outside the temple, they use what is seen as 'normal’ names and identities that match their ethnicity

“Ari! Come eat with us!” The children of some Guardians asked as they ran up to her with no regard for or knowledge of the rules and etiquette they were breaking.

“I will.” Marinette agreed easily, catching the eye of the mother nurse that was supposed to be watching these children.

“This is fine,” Marinette said to the mother nurse as the children pulled Grand Guardian past her.

The mother nurse hesitated but nodded, leading Marinette and the children back to the nursery for their meal.

Marinette smiled at the young children as she sat down with her plate of food. Some of them broke off into their own groups while others surrounded her, asking question after question in an attempt to keep her attention on themself.

“Ari! When I become a guardian will I get a shiny tag like you?” One of the boys asked, pointing to the silver locket Marinette had attached to her neckband that everyone in the temple wore. The color of the band signifies what your job is. The jobs range from healers, fighters, protectors, caretakers, young ones, and more, all with their own color.

Without realizing it, Marinette’s hand had come up to hold the silver pendant.

“It is a memory gift,” Marinette informed the boy with a gentle smile.

The boy’s bright, excited smile fell away. He reached over and grabbed her hand, patting the back of it as if to reassure her.

“What a beautiful memory.” He told her, the other children were all giving their own feedback on how nice her memory is.

After a few more minutes of talking with the children, the mother nurse gathered them up and began to help them get ready for bed. Marinette said her goodbyes and left the nursery. Her hand once again came up to hold the silver locket. She unclasped the oval pendant from her neckband and gently opened it as she took a deep breath.

On the inside were two photos, both of which had been taken by a retired member of the Order.

On the left, is a picture of a younger her doing homework as Bruce just watched her with a smile.

On the right, is a screenshot from Wayne tower’s rooftop security cameras of the sun setting, two people standing near the edge, just holding each other.

She smiled and let out a shaky breath as her head fell back against the nursery door. She hoped his training had gone well and that he had become the hero she knew he could be for his city. She hopes that he stays safe and alive.

As she let that thought go back to the farthest corner of her mind, she connected her locket back to her neckband. She really did need to thank Alfred for the memorable gift.

___________________

A lot of information isn’t specifically labeled, so I did it in the end notes, foranyone who gets confused.

Marinette is the Grand Guardian.

Once you begin training in the temple, you can’t leave until you have completed the training for one of the jobs. You can switch jobs whenever you want. If you can’t complete training you can just stay at the temple, but if you really want to leave, your memory will be wiped.

If you thought they were speaking weird- they were. They aren’t speaking English, so what you’re reading is essentially the 'translated’ version.

There are only 19 miraculi/Kwmai total (because it makes my job less complicated).

The old Order has a lot of etiquette rules that Marinette is trying to follow to the best of her ability.

2-4 letter first names with 4-9 letter last names that are considered sacred within the temple, and only to be used in the temple.

A Mother nurse is a 'caretaker’ or 'babysitter’ who watches over children while their parents a busy. Parents spend time and care for and about their children here (unlike the LoA).

Neckbands have specific colors for specific jobs. You CAN earn more than one neckband color, they’ll just give you a black neckband with an X sewn in for each color in the color. (they are essentially job ID cards made as chokers).

Memory gifts are usually the last gift you receive before entering the temple from the people in the outside world before they forget about you.

The outside people can’t remember people who enter the temple, WHILE THEY ARE IN THE TEMPLE.

Marinette stared at the view in front of her. The city night lying to all those that could see it as the windows of the tall buildings stayed lit up despite the sun having set long ago. It was deceiving, creating the illusion that the city was safe even after the shadows and darkness came out, drowning its surroundings and the people who call this place home.

She knew the truth though. She knew about the ones with ill intentions who crept through the night, unpunished. This city was no safer than her own during the war, when Hawkmoth was still a threat.

There had been heroes in her city, and soon there would be heroes in this city, hiscity.

An arm snaked its way around her waist, pulling her away from the edge of the roof top and back against a broad chest. She glanced over her shoulder to look at the boy behind her, because no matter how much they have been through, they are still children, teenagers who have yet to reach their eighteenth birthday. They are just children. Just a boy. Just a girl.

“I’m going to miss you.” She told him, holding his blue eyes with her own.

He held her tighter, pressing feather light kisses against the exposed skin on her shoulder, trailing his way up her neck. He placed a kiss to her jaw before leaning close to her ear, lips just brushing against the shell of it, breath hot against her skin.

“Then don’t go.” He suggested, kissing her forehead before burying his face in her neck.

“You know I have to go.” She sighed, looking back out towards the deceitful sight. “And so do you.” She reminded him.

“I know.” He murmured into her neck.

“We’ll both be pretty busy.” Marinette continued.

“I know.” He repeated.

“We’ll see each other again.” She informed him.

He hummed in agreement this time.

“We will.” He promised.

Marinette let out a sigh, wiggling slightly in her best friend’s hold. He loosened his grip, lifting his head to meet her eyes with his own concerned ones.

“Then why do you sound so sad?” Marinette asked, holding his face in her hands.

Bruce leaned into the touch. Even as his eyes roomed over her face, memorizing each and every detail for the millionth time, he never once took her eyes off the girl in front of him. He never wanted to.

“I don’t want you to leave my side.” He confessed, leaning his forehead against her’s as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his own still settled around her waist.

“I know.” she said, echoing his earlier response.

“Then why bother asking?” He questioned in a soft, quiet tone, as if Marinette were a frightened animal that was ready to run.

“Because I’m a cruel being who wanted to hear you say it.” Marinette claimed, twisting the ends of his hair between her fingertips as their noses just barely touched.

“I don’t believe you have the ability to be cruel.” Bruce whispered against her lips, causing Marinette to laugh bitterly, leaning away with a shake of her head.

“Not here I don’t. Too much destruction in the air for there not to be harsh consequences if I am.” Marinette informs him with a sad smile, knowing he doesn’t fully understand her words but understands enough to not question them.

The two stay where they are, near the edge of the roof but at a safe enough distance that there is no danger, for a while. The two just enjoying each other’s presence as the last of their time together slips away, second by second, sand slipping through an hourglass.

“What are we?” Marinette asked, looking up from where she had been resting her head against his chest.

“What do you mean?” Bruce asked, looking down at her with furrowed brows.

Marinette shrugged to the best of her ability without removing herself from the comfort of his physical affection.

“We’ve just… never labeled anything- ever. I don’t even remember when it was, we officially became friends.” Marinette explained, eyes full of curiosity and warmth as she smiled up at Bruce.

He hummed in response as he thought over their relationship and all their past interactions. His brows stayed furrowed together even as he landed on the answer he desired.

“What do you want us to be?” He asked instead of voicing his own answer.

“I… don’t know.” She answered honestly, “We aren’t just friends- I don’t think we couldeverbejust friends.” Marinette claimed, leaning her head back against his chest while keeping eye contact.

“I suppose that’s true, and something we can agree on.” Bruce chuckled, tightening his hold as if to pull her closer, despite it not being possible.

This is an important conversation, and they both know it.

This is also a long-overdue conversation that they probably should have had after the first kiss, or the second, or the third, but they didn’t, so they’re having this conversation now, hours before they have to separate for who knows how long.

Bruce gave another quiet hum, pressing a kiss to her forehead, whispering to her.

“I know what I want,” he told her, the drop in his tone causing the warmth in her chest to spread up the back of her neck.

“But you want to make sure I want the same thing and that your answer isn’t pressuring me or affecting my own answer.” Marinette summarized from the silence that hung between them after his statement.

He didn’t acknowledge what she had just said, only staring into her sapphire blue eyes as he waited for her to tell him what it is she wanted their relationship to be.

“How about… we revisit this topic when we meet again?” Marinette suggested playfully, receiving a raised brow.

“Will you have your answer then?” Bruce asked patiently.

“hmm- maybe… maybe not. Who knows? We could be thirty the next time we meet for all we know. We might already be in a relationship, or perhaps have a family of our own.” Marinette informs him, doing her best to hide her sadness behind a smile.

A sad smile that Bruce kissed right off her. Soft and gentle, yet desperate and pleading. As if he was seeking her attention while demanding it at the same time.

He has always been a walking contradiction in some ways. The way he spoke and the things he did. However, she never paid his contradictions any mind, always having been able to pick out the truth of what he meant.

“And if we aren’t? If we meet again, neither of us with a partner? What then?” He asked when he pulled away from her lips, leaving Marinette a bit dazed.

“Well- I suppose I would just have to make you mine then,” Marinette informed him before recapturing his lips only for her phone’s alarm to go off, letting her know it was time for her to leave.

“Is that a promise?” Bruce asked against her lips as the alarm continued to ring out.

Marinette huffed in amusement as she blindly turned off her phone’s alarm.

“Sure.” She agreed with a smile. “If we’re thirty and single we’ll get married or something.”

They shared one last kiss before parting ways for an unknown amount of time. They both have training to get to. Marinette who needed to complete her training, and Bruce who needed to begin his training. Both with cities and people they wanted to protect.

What did you do?! Brucinette [CrackFic]

Thought of this when I was reading this

I’m making this a Brucinette just because it makes more sense in my opinion.

—

(This takes place in Wayne manor, Marinette and Bruce are married.)

Marinette was packing a bag while Bruce was sulking when Dick entered: Hey, Mom, I need your help wit- what are you doing? Why are you packing a bag?! Did Bruce do something?!

Bruce: Dick Marinette’s leavi-

Before he could finish what he was saying Dick cut him off yelling: HEY GUYS. COME QUICK!!! EMERGENCY!!! B DID SOMETHING TO PISS MOM OFF SO NOW SHE’S LEAVING!!!

Both Jason and Damian were the first ones to arrive.

Jason: WHAT DID B DO!?

Damian: FATHER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!

Jason: Is it because he’s old?

Bruce: what th-

Barbra was next followed by Stephanie dragging a barely awake Tim.

Both Barbra and Stephanie: WHAT DID HE DO?!

Stephanie : it’s probably because of his fashion taste, just look at him.

Barbra: he’s probably going bald, is that why?!

Bruce: he-

Tim: he probably said or did something stupid again.☕️

And in our lord and savior’s typical fashion, Alfred shows up out of nowhere and says: shame on you master Wayne. (Smh)

Bruce: bu..but-

Damian: Pennyworth gather my belongings, I’ve decided, if mother and father wish to get a divorce, I shall live with mother.

Bruce: di-?

Dick: DIVORCE!?

Jason: it was fun while it lasted, After you’re done with demon spawns stuff help me with mine.

Cassandra: I help too!! ‍♀️

(Wtf, where’d she come from!?)

Barbra: Come on Dick, we need to get our stuff too, Steph go help Tim with his.. whatever?

Bye Bruce it was fun while it lasted. ☹️

Dick: I ca- can’t believe it’s ov- over.. just like that…

Everyone starts walking out of the room talking when suddenly Marinette screams: EVERYONE STOP!

Everyone stops and turns to look at Marinette

Everyone: yes?

Marinette: WTH?! Your father and I aren’t getting a divorce!

Dick: Then only separation?

Marinette: no! I’m leaving for a mission not divorcing Bruce!

.

..

…

Everyone: ooooohhhh

…

..

.

Jason: what’s for lunch?

Alfred: lasagna, master Ja-

And just like that everyone was out of the room back to their respective places

Bruce:

(don’t mind the bad and lazy art)

—

Low key everyone jabbing at Bruce

Welcome to the dark age 

Don’t know why but i really like the idea of sugar baby Brucinette

Can someone please write this?

No Time To Die|Song Au

It was a Dark and rainy day when it happened,

I should’ve known

it was ten years ago but I still remember it like it was just yesterday, it was the day before my 16th birthday,

I’d leave alone

we’d finally managed to track down hawkmoth. we, being chat noir and ladybug, had planned to raid his base and retrieve the peacocks and moth miraculous, finally ending the three year long war.

Just goes to show

we’d planned it for weeks, nothing could’ve possibly gone wrong…

That the blood you bleed

except Chat noir wasn’t on my side, at least not anymore.

Is just the blood you owe

we’d entered the ominous looking lair fairly easy, walked to the end of the hall together, I nocked down the door, and entered first,

We were a pair

there he was, standing there Mayura by his side,

But I saw you there

I was the first to talk “Hawkmoth! Mayura! as the Gradian of the Miraculous I demand you return the Moth and peacock miraculous or be faced with the consequences!” the only response I’d gotten was a manic laugh and the revealing look of madness in his eyes,

Too much to bear

“and what that might be ladybug, you don’t actually believe you can stop us on your own. do you?”

You were my life

“I’m sorry my lady” and just like that, I felt a sharp pain in my back, and tears in my eyes,

But life is far away from fair

chat noir had betrayed me, my closet ally and partner…ha..ha Ha HA-

Was I stupid to love you?

in a long line of dominos, it was the last domino falling, after three years they’d done it, she said it would happen and it did..

Was I reckless to help?

First it was trusted acquaintances, next was Friends, then it was family, now this, people I’d known for years, all turned their backs to me.

Was it obvious to everybody else

it was all a lie, A LIE!!

That I’d fallen for a lie?

maybe it was the anger that fuelled my next actions, or maybe it was desperation mixed my mental and physical pain,

You were never on my side

I was on my back, I used my legs to spring myself back on my feet, it caught everyone off guard, I used that and got a hit on chat noir, causing him to fall flat down on his ass, I knocked him out and took his ring.

Fool me once, fool me twice

it was two vs one so I put on the ring and unified the ring and earrings, it was a move purely driven by adrenalin.

Are you death or paradise?

physically, it felt felt warm. Mentally? I was as cold as ice.

Now you’ll never see me cry

I don’t remember much, just tears and anger,

There’s just no time to die

all I know is, when the adrenalin wore off, I had the moth and peacock miraculous in my hands, and both hawkmoth and mayure were on the floor, unconscious.

I let it burn

there were sirens outside getting closer by the second, so after getting what I wanted, I left.

You’re no longer my concern

she had the Grimoire, the miracle box, and a bag of clothes.

Faces from my past return

she’d turned the miracle box into a ring, it was easier to travel with that way,

Another lesson yet to learn

she didn’t know where she was going, she was alone with no one to trust,

That I’d fallen for a lie

all she knew was she was done, done being the nice girl, done with people, and done with being a ‘hero’

You were never on my side

just like that, came the downfall of ladybug. and with it, came the rise of 'the Scarlet Guardian’.

Fool me once, fool me twice

Are you death or paradise?

and for the the next ten years she travelled the world, training and looking for lost miraculouses, no one by her side other then the Kwamis.

Now you’ll never see me cry

There’s just no time to die

she’d been in Tibet to visit the abandoned temple, she’s had decided to visit a random, nearby bar when she met him.

No time to die

it was purely by chance when their eyes met

No time to die

blue bluebell eyes meets dazzling ocean blue eyes,

Foolme once, fool me twice

it was electric, she was as drawn to him as he was to her.

Are you death or paradise?

he was the first to move, getting up from his table and heading to her direction at the bar.

Now you’ll never see me cry

he’d asked to sit in the empty seat next to her, introducing himself as Bruce, she’d reluctantly agreed, for a few minutes they’d sat there in silence, he’d been the one to break it,

There’s just no time to die

for a complete stranger, she’d enjoyed his company, maybe she should give him a chance.

———

Ok so personally I get Carmen SanDiego vibes when I think of what she wears, so red trench coat with a matching Fedora hat, plus I found this ring on Pinterest so let’s add that in too:

Thanks for reading, now if you excuse me I have to go study for my first mid semester physics exam qwq