Hide And Seek

Chapter 13

Marie sat at her kitchen table, Kim and Max seated around her.

They had coffee, as it was a staple for her at this point- but it remained completely untouched before them. “I listened to their conversation for a while, and it’s fairly straightforward. They hired him to follow you and the Waynes around until he could find me. They paid him for my location before letting him go, they don’t know about the library or Diana.”

There was a beat of silence in the room, the walls of her home feeling alien and hostile. Every shadow and sharp edge jumped out at her, making her seem small.

“Couldn’t we get a restraining order?” Kim asked nervously, clearly unsure how to fix the situation, but trying anyway. Because sometimes, the confirmation that you weren’t alone meant more than the actual solution. Marie let out a small thankful breath, smiling at Kim even as she disagreed with him.

“Legally I could, but I would need proof of them harassing me. Plus, it might aggravate them.”

“They seem aggravated already Pipsqueak,” Kim protested. He probably thought she was giving them grace of some sort, which was a fair assumption all things considered. But a wrong one nevertheless.

“They know I’m Ladybug,” Marie reasoned. “If they feel like they can stop me they won’t reveal that. If they lose that ‘hope’ then-“

“They will have nothing to stop them,” Max finished, wide-eyed. He sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose so that his glasses were pressed against his forehead. “You are right, so call Jason. We must get to work.”

“Get to work?”

Max turned from them, straightening his glasses as he started pulling dishes from their shelves, setting them in neat stacks on the table. “We must relocate you, they will likely come here first thing in the morning. Ask Bruce to stay in the guest room Alfred keeps prepared for you anyways.”

Kim nodded, following his boyfriend in cleaning out her kitchen. “We’ll get everything out, call Jason and tell him we need plenty of boxes. Alfred probably already knows, but we should tell them.”

Marie hesitated a moment before nodding. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed Jason, he picked up on the third ring. “Pixie?”

“Jason,” She breathed out, relieved he had woken up. “My parents know where I live, Max said I should pack and move into the Manor. I can rent out the room of course, but could you get lots of boxes? Bring anyone who wants to help, but we’ve probably got like five hours.”

There was some rustling noise on the line, probably getting out of bed. “Yeah, shit- I’ll be over as soon as I can, love.”

“Thanks,” She smiled as he hung up. Turning back, she hurried to her room, carefully folding commissions into various clothes bags she had lying around. She stopped partway through to email Alya that she was moving. If she texted her she would likely wake up, so an email was a nice alternative. She had finished securing her commissions when she heard a knock at the door.

She turned to go back to the living room, being only a little shocked to find all the Bat Boys carrying plenty of boxes.

“Hey Teacup, I hope you know that I’m making you sleep as soon as we get you home,” Dick teased her good naturally as he started placing her dishes in the boxes.

“Might just let you for once, I’m beat,” Marie admitted, turning to greet Tim who wordlessly handed her a large thermos of very strong smelling coffee.

“I love you so much, thank you,” She gulped down some of the drink, immediately feeling the boost. She noted the equally large thermos in his hand. “Sorry for waking you.”

“Happy to help, Bean,” He smiled at her tiredly as he started towards her living room. Damian was last, simply patting her shoulder in support before moving to help. She smiled at Jason in thanks, stepping forward to wrap him in a tight hug.

She breathed in deeply, feeling that she was standing like Atlas holding up the sky, but at the moment she wasn’t bearing it alone.

Once everything was packed up in boxes, Marie sent her notice to the apartment manager, slipping her key under her door with a note. Alfred helped them load everything up and she went back to check if she'd forgotten anything. It was strange moving out. She had lived in one place her whole life, and when she'd had to move she hadn't had time to mourn it exactly.

She hadn't seen its walls bare, stripped of everything that made her think of it as her home. It wasn't traumatic or anything, but it was heavy. She smiled to herself a bit, this was the place she had finally taken her own independence. The place she had run to when everything fell apart, well-

She turned towards the door to find Jason waiting for her. He was holding her coffee in one hand, patient and unassuming. She walked to him, giving him a quick kiss before leading the way out. She wasn't really leaving anything of importance, she was going to Wayne manor and things would be a little different. But she would be with Jason and other people who cared about her.

And at the end of the day that was more than enough, well the early morning anyways.

They pulled up to the Manor at 5 am, quickly dumping all her boxes in the guest room. She took a minute to get settled before letting Dick force her into her new bed. He fussed over her for a minute, promising lots of mother-hen-ing when she woke up before clicking the lights off. She smiled to herself a bit at how comfortable she had gotten with people actually caring about her health.

Her parents had never really cared, just as long as she was in her room and quiet before they went to bed. Max and Kim had tried, but she was far more stubborn than them and she outlasted them. Alya would tease her but didn't do anything about it. And that had been her normal, and it wasn't terribly upsetting.

But it was nice to have someone force you to bed or drag you down to reconcile with a friend. For someone to care enough about you to not let you do everything alone she supposed as she snuggled herself deeper into her blankets.

Jason quietly walked into the room soon after, having been talking to Bruce. He smiled to himself, taking in the peace and contentment on her face. This moment, he can't help but think, is one where she is truly open. She is relaxed and open and unafraid, and he loves that he is part of that reason. He moved farther into the room, boxes stacked around him in little towers. Like she is the ruler of her own little city, she is magnificent and beautiful.

He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Marie’s forehead, mumbling against it with all the gentleness and care in the world. “Goodnight, my love.”

He does not notice Marie let out a small sleepy smile as he turns away, being on the edge of sleep.