Crimson

It's a process

Clark left Marinette shortly after, she needed as much sun as she could get

When the sun started to set, Marinette headed back inside, in the living room, the only person there was Lois. Her brothers must have been in their rooms, Clark had gone to get some extra food and something  about a trip to their storage barn. Adrien was likely lecturing Jon again or telling them embarrassing stories about the last few years with Damien.

From what she could see, Lois wasn't paying attention to the world around her, she was hunched over a little, holding a steaming cup of what she assumed to be coffee. Her eyes were glassy and had a shine over them.

It was only when Marinette saw the ever so slight tremble set over her body that she realised she was crying.

Marinette took off her shoes, leaving her in thick fluffy socks that Lois had likely put her in while she was asleep.

She stepped onto the hard floor and knew that she was too quiet for Lois to notice her approaching.

She eventually sat down next to her.

It obviously made Lois jump, she spilled some of her coffee on the floor and quickly placed the mug on the coffee table in front of her.

Without saying anything, Marinette got up, and went to the kitchen, coming back with a cloth and some cleaning supplies, gently pushing Lois aside who was trying to clean up the liquid with her shirt sleeve.

The mess was soon cleaned up and Marinette sat down next to Lois again. Marinette could tell that Lois had tried to clean her tears but the tear tracks remained and her eyes were still glassy, definitely hard to hide from a kryptonian's eye.

Lois seemed scared to approach, to talk or get close to her.

Marinette didn't want her to be timid. Sure, the strain was there. But Marinette  had never seen her this... Small... Before. Just seeing her like that made Marinette realise that there was remorse. She was hurt when she left... Heartbroken. But she was also guilty and she understood. It may have taken time to realise but she knew why she had left and she felt awful.

Marinette had gotten better at reading her family, peeling back the layers of their complicated minds and emotions. It was one of the perks of becoming the wallflower in the family, she could observe.

Lois had always been on the more complex side of the family. She was better at keeping herself under wraps but Marinette knew better than to simply accept her mother was sad that Marinette had just been hurt.

"Hey..." Marinette began quietly.

Lois looked over at her. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"Turn around..." Marinette said quietly.

Lois blinked in surprise but did as she asked, turning he back to Marinette. She soon felt her daughter's gentle fingers weaving through her hair, braiding it carefully. It was unexpected and brought a beautiful warmth to her heart.

"Marinette -" Lois started.

"Don't apologise... It makes no difference. Plus... Your other half has done a lot of that already." She said quietly.

"I don't know what to say..."

"Then don't... Just... Stay here okay...? It's okay to cry... I missed you too."

Lois took a shaky breath and once she felt Marinette tie off the braid she turned around and looked into her daughter's eyes. They were exactly how she remembered except maybe... More tired less hopefull and more determined... She wasn't a dreamer anymore. She didn't have to be. She chased what she wanted and caught it.

Lois slowly reached out, giving her a chance to push her away and gently stroked her cheek. "You've grown so much starlight..."

Marinette tilted her head into Lois' touch. "I said it to him and I'll say it to you... I have things to do before... Coming back... But I want to forgive you... And maybe once I've... Once I've fixed Paris..." She looked up at Lois with sincerity but uncertainty. "Maybe I... Maybe I'd like to come back here... To you. If you'd let me... But only after my duty is done. I want to make things right." She teared up as well. "I want you back..."

"Of course you're welcome back." Lois hugged her close, nuzzling into her neck. "I love you so much, you're welcome here always. I promise things will be different."

Marinette hugged back. "Good... But I have a madman's butt to kick first." She smiled and wiped her eyes.

"Y-you're actually going back to fight? Honey, you've almost died. What if you get hurt?" She gently pushed her back and placed her hands on Marinette's shoulders.

"I've had worse than this... It's something I have to do."

Lois was about to go full smothering mother but was interrupted when Clark entered, carrying some bags of groceries and a large ish box.

Lois gasped, "You found it!"

He chuckled, setting the bags down on the table and brushing the dust from the top of the box. He set it down on the coffee table in front of them. "Just a second!" Clark quickly put the shopping away and went back to join them, sitting in the sofa next to them.

"Oh sorry! Sh-should I go?" Marinette asked.

"No! No... Stay. This is actually for you..." Clark smiled and gently lifted the lid off the box.

Marinette glanced at each of them before carefully lifting the tissue paper away. Eventually it revealed classic Super 'S' on a sea of blue, sat on top was a pair of fake glasses. "W-what is this?"

Clark knelt in front of her, taking a hold of her hand. "After you left... We wanted to make something to show that you were and always will be one of us... I know that we made the mistake of missing out on you because you didn't have powers. You're a Super Mari..." He slowly placed the fake glasses on her face.

She stared at him in surprise and tears came to her eyes, "I-I don't know what to say."

Lois smiled softly and held her other hand. "We know that you're already a hero. But... After you left, we got this made." She gently lifted the suit from the box. It was similar to Kara's with a few extra hints of red along the shoulders and arms.

Marinette took it from Lois, slowly, tracing the shape of the S with the tip of her finger in awe. It wasn't until a tear dropped onto the suit that she realised she was crying again, soon openly sobbing as she gripped onto the suit, curling into herself.

Clark and Lois both wrapped an arm around her. "We love you so much Starlight. We will never stop trying to fix things. We will make things better. You are our daughter. We are so proud of you."

She only cried harder. It felt like she had never heard her parents say those words before. They were proud of her. She was their daughter. They loved her.

She allowed herself to be trapped in their embrace.

Things were still hard.

Things were still hurting.

It was very complicated.

But above all, they all still loved eachother no matter what had happened.

It was going to be a long and probably painful process.

They would be a family again.

Again
Not proof read
Sorry.
Please don't tell if there's something wrong. : )