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Jason downed the closest glass of whiskey and slammed the glass back down at the head of the long line of identical glasses. He motioned to the bartender for another with one hand while the other held a diamond ring up in front of his face, shifting it back and forth between his fingers so he could watch the way the bar lights refracted and reflected in its facets.
“You sure?” the bartender asked gruffly.
Jason slammed the ring down on the bar, almost embedding it into the wood. “Do I look like I’m not sure?” he demanded.
The bartender raised an eyebrow but set the drink in front of him. “And how do you plan on paying for all this?” he asked motioning toward the train of empty glasses. “You’re amassing quite a bill.”
Jason snorted and picked the ring up again. “I’m good for it,” he sneered, downing the next drink immediately. “Another,” he ordered without looking up. Suddenly his dulled eyes brightened and he straightened on his stool. “How about I pay with this?” he asked holding up the ring. “It’s worth enough to pay for the bar, let alone a few drinks.”
The bartender blinked at him a few times. “Look, man…”
“No, no,” Jason interrupted. “I know what you’re thinking…”
“I doubt it,” the bartender grumbled under his breath.
“…but the stone is genuine… like love should be,” he added lowly.
The bartender sighed deeply. “Look, man, I really think you should…”
“No,” Jason interrupted again. “I know it isn’t shining for me like it should, but that’s because of the whole bar pounding incident. It’ll shine for you. This diamond ring can be something beautiful and this diamond ring can be dreams that are coming true.”
“Okay,” the bartender shook his head, “I’m going to have a friend take you home, so you don’t try to give your ring to the cabbie, or the cabbie doesn’t kill you for it,” he added under his breath as he walked away.
“You don’t have to…” Jason objected but the bartender had already disappeared. “Could have at least left a drink for me,” he groused.
He started to examine the glasses to verify their empty status when his peaceful solitude was interrupted. “Jason? Jason Todd?”
A man who looked decidedly out of place in a seedy bar like the one Jason had chosen to drown in, stood next to him. Hell, he was dressed so properly, he’d look out of place in the nicest bar Jason had ever even stepped in. Jason looked him up and down and stared at his face. He looked familiar, but he couldn’t place him. He gave up after a few seconds and returned his attention to the glasses in front of him. “You the friend? That was fast. I didn’t think he’d even had time to call someone.”
The man quirked his head to the side, his face scrunched. “Yes, I’m the friend, I guess. I’m Adrien. You were expecting me?”
“The bartender just said he was going to call you,” Jason responded like it was the dumbest question that could have been asked, even to him, and he was well on his way to drunk.
The man looked to where Jason indicated before letting out a quiet, “Ahh.” He took a seat next to Jason. “No. I’m not his friend. I’m Adrien.”
Jason finally looked at the man. He’d said it so matter of factly, it was like the name should mean something to him, but it decidedly did not. “And?”
“I’m a friend of Marinette’s,” Adrien elaborated.
Jason pursed his lips and turned away from Marinette’s friend to focus his attention on the empty glass in front of him. All the ease he’d found at the bottom of the long line of drinks dissolved in an instant. His shoulders tensed and his entire body became rigid. He motioned to the bartender as soon as he reappeared from the back room. He nearly growled when the bartender rolled his eyes and pointedly ignored him. “Then you should know I’m not the person you should talk to if you’re looking for Mari.”
“That’s how I know you are exactly the person I want,” Adrien grinned. “Water, please” he called out loudly.
Jason did growl when the bartender immediately responded to Adrien, dropping identical glasses of water down in front of both of them. “Look man, she broke up with me. What do you want from me?” he spat.
“To fight!” Adrien exclaimed.
Jason had to dodge Adrien’s hands when he threw them out imploringly. It was a move so reminiscent of Marinette, it made his chest suddenly feel two sizes too small. At least until the words registered. “You want me to fight you? Over Marinette? With how you’re dressed? What? Are we supposed to engage in fisticuffs?” he scoffed.
Adrien flinched back from him at the suggestion, whether in surprise at the suggestion or out of fear that Jason might act on it, Jason wasn’t sure. “Oh God no! You’re like two… three times my size, and from Gotham. If you were from Metropolis, I might not have been concerned about the size difference.” He shuddered theatrically and took a drink before continuing. “I want you to fight Marinette…”
Jason stared at him; mouth dropped for a beat before he scowled deeply at the man. “Look stranger, I didn’t ask to join me…”
Adrien’s eyes widened and he waved his hands in front of him violently as his words hit him. “No, wait, I meant for Marinette. For Marinette. Not…”
Jason’s scowl softened but otherwise stayed firmly set on his face. “Marinette has made it perfectly clear she does not want me fighting for her.”
“Marinette has always sacrificed for others before they even knew there was an issue,” Adrien corrected pointedly, his voice laced with something Jason couldn’t define, exasperation or chagrin. “She takes the burden before they know it was even coming.”
“And I’m a burden?” Jason demanded, his scowl deepening again.
“No, she thinks she is,” Adrien corrected quietly but firmly. Jason stared at him flabbergasted. That didn’t make sense. He was prepared to accept that he was a burden. As annoyed as he would be to have it pointed out, he understood it. Agreed with it. But Marinette as a burden? There was no reality in which he could understand that.
“Okay,” Adrien started, he eyed the line of drinks in front of Jason and laid a couple bills down and stood up, “for this conversation, we really need to not be in public.” He picked up the ring from the bar and tossed it at Jason. “Come on. I have a car outside.”
Adrien’s comment was baffling enough, Jason pocketed the ring and followed him without protest, even sliding into a stranger’s car without thinking twice. He was studying Adrien waiting for him to continue when it hit him. “You’re Adrien!”
Adrien barked out a laugh and looked at him from the corner of his eye, keeping his focus on the road ahead. “I thought we established that.”
Jason waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. But you’re Adrien. ‘Like my brother, Adrien.’ She talks about you all the time.”
“Made you nervous, did I,” Adrien grinned.
Jason scoffed. “For a second. But she made it clear your relationship is incredibly platonic and I believe her.”
Adrien nodded, his grin settling into an approving smile. “Good. Keep that in mind.” He took a sudden turn that had Jason bracing himself to keep from slamming into the window. When he looked back, Adrien’s smile had disappeared and was replaced with a flat, determined line. “To have this conversation properly, we need to stop pretending we don’t both know who Mari is,” Jason raised an eyebrow at him, “and who you are,” he continued.
“So, she told you I’m a Wayne?” Jason asked without skipping a beat.
Adrien barked out a laugh and shook his head. “Good recovery. But no. Actually, she didn’t mention that. I’m going to ridicule the Hell out of her for that. Another rich boy.” He looked at Jason appraisingly for a second before returning his attention to the road. “However, the way you were looking at her at the last JL meeting was rather telling for your other identity.”
Jason’s head whipped to Adrien so quickly, Adrien was impressed it didn’t pop. “The last…” he started. He narrowed his eyes at Adrien. “Who are you?”
Adrien raised an eyebrow and glanced at him from the corner of his eye, his smirk reappearing. “Wow. And I thought Kim was dense. I’m here as Marinette’s, Ladybug’s, best friend,” he said leadingly, he rolled his hand to encourage Jason to finish the thought.
“You’re…” scrunched his face. “She told you?”
“There we go,” he sighed. “Yeah, I’m Chat Noir. And, no, she wouldn’t say who you are. She didn’t… well, not exactly. I know who Marinette was dating because I’m her best friend. You weren’t exactly subtle. Anyone who knew either one of your identities would know the other’s.”
“So, she didn’t tell you, but I still don’t understand why you’re here,” Jason glowered at him. Adrien’s presence made even less sense now that he knew he was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was who she left him for. Chat Noir was the reason he wasn’t with Marinette any longer. What the actual FUCK was he doing?
“I’m waiting for your drunk-ass mind to catch up to the situation,” Adrien shrugged, utterly nonplussed by Jason’s obvious hostility.
“I’m not fucking drunk,” Jason barked. “I’m sober enough to know that the man Mari left me for is sitting in the car with me is telling me to ‘fight for Mari’ like it was my fucking choice when he’s the fucking one she left me for,” his voice rose with each word until he was screaming at Adrien.
Adrien let out a long, exasperated sigh and looked at him only long enough to deliver the flattest look Jason had ever seen. “And who am I again?”
“The…” Jason started, hissing the words through clenched teeth.
“No, not that one. What’s my other role?”
“Cha…”
“No,” Adrien interrupted again. “As a civilian? What did you call me?”
Jason furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what he was getting at. He was definitely leading Jason somewhere, he seemed to have a point. “You’re Adrien,” Jason started slowly. “You’re her…” Jason trailed off as he remembered his previous words, remembered what he knew about their relationship, knew with every fiber of his being.
“She lied,” he whispered.
“There it is,” Adrien nodded, letting out a relieved breath.
Jason shook his head, unsure how to process the new information. Marinette said she had to end their relationship because she couldn’t deny her feelings for her partner. She’d said the feelings they’d always had for one another, the trust, the love, had evolved into a romantic love she couldn’t deny any longer. She’d lied. Because the one thing he knew was her feelings for Adrien had been romantic at one point but they were now like siblings. Their love was incredibly strong and incredibly platonic.
But it didn’t make sense. If she’d wanted to end their relationship, she could have told the truth. There was no reason to make up an excuse. Why would she lie? It was like it was designed to hurt him. What could he possibly have done to deserve that? He looked over at Adrien. “Why?”
“Why do it in the first place? Or why use me as an excuse?” Adrien asked.
“Yes,” Jason answered instantly.
Adrien snickered and nodded. “That’s fair. She didn’t explain any of this to me, mind you, so I’m just going off of what I know of her and what happened recently.”
“What happened?” Jason asked, body getting tense, ready to fight whatever caused her to feel like she needed to end their relationship.
“We’ll get to that,” Adrien waved him off. “Let’s start small. Why me.” He took another sharp turn that Jason didn’t brace himself for this time. He glowered at Adrien as he rubbed his head. “What did you do when she said she was leaving you for her superhero partner?”
Jason eyed him suspiciously. “I walked away.”
“And what would you have done if she’d said she was ending it because she was scared?”
“I’d…” Jason stopped and let out a long, resigned breath. “I’d fight for her. I’d try to convince her to let me help her drive away the fears.”
“Right,” Adrien nodded. “She used the excuse that would be most effective on you. Now, the longer, harder one. The one that could get me into a lot of trouble.” He stared at Jason pointedly for a few seconds while the gravity of his words sunk in. “What do you know about the Miraculous?”
Jason had to do a double take at the non sequitur. “A fair amount,” he answered uncertainly.
“And about guardianship?” Adrien asked next.
“She’s responsible for a bunch of Chibi sized gods. I haven’t been introduced yet,” Jason shrugged.
Adrien nodded. “That makes sense. Yes, she’s responsible for them.”
“Right, I know,” Jason nodded.
“And the grimoire,” Adrien continued.
“Yes, I know,” Jason repeated.
“And choosing wielders for the miraculous.”
“Of course. I know,” Jason said, irritation bleeding into his voice.
“And protecting their powers from being abused.”
“I knew that already,” Jason snapped.
“And when she reaches the point where she needs to pass on her position, she will likely lose her memories,” Adrien finished casually.
“Yes, I kn… Wait. What?” Jason asked. All irritation bleeding from his voice as he sat up straight, suddenly paying close attention to every word out of Adrien’s mouth.
“Memories,” Adrien repeated. “All of them since she became a guardian, maybe since she became a hero. Maybe she won’t lose them at all. We don’t know. But our mentor did. All of them since he became aware of the miraculous. And what happened,” he looked to Jason to make sure he was paying attention, which was unnecessary since Jason’s attention had not left Adrien since he uttered ‘memories’ the second time, “is she met with a group of the other guardians a few days ago,” Adrien finished darkly.
“I don’t know what they talked about exactly, she only gave me the broad strokes, but I do know they reminded her of her ‘position’ and ‘responsibilities’, which is absolutely fucking hilarious+ because she is the most responsible person I’ve ever met. Far-fucking-more responsible and capable than those other assholes.”
Adrien’s voice had become so dark and menacing, Jason stared at him with respect. It took a full minute for the words and implications to set in. “So, when she passes on her position, she’s afraid she’ll forget us,” he concluded, falling back against the seat. “And we have no idea when that will happen.”
“That’s what she thinks, yes,” Adrien confirmed.
Jason stared at him unable to form words for a solid minute as the implications took hold. “She never said anything,” he finally managed to mumble. “I had no idea.”
“You weren’t supposed to,” Adrien scoffed. “That was rather the point.”
Jason scowled at him. “So, what am I supposed to do?” he demanded.
Adrien stopped the car to turn to him with a raised eyebrow. He nodded toward the passenger side window. “You fight for her,” he answered like it was the simplest thing in the world.
Jason followed his line of sight out his window to discover Marinette’s apartment complex’ front doors in front of him. He looked back at Adrien with an impressed, raised brow.
“Yeah, I know,” he grinned. “Best-man worthy. Now go. I have plans for tonight,” he motioned toward his clothes. “You know the entire reason I’m in town. And I’m late. If I’m any later, my date is going to be pissed.”
Jason snorted. “Thanks,” he said sincerely. “If she takes the ring back, the job is yours.”
Adrien beamed. “Sweet. That’s two for me and only one for Mari.”
Jason chuckled and shook his head. Marinette was not going to like that. He’d just have to do something to make sure she was maid of honor at Adrien’s wedding. He took a deep, bracing breath before exiting the car, not turning to acknowledge the ‘good luck’ that was thrown at him before the car peeled out of the spot. There was no backing out now. He took another breath and nodded determinedly. He didn’t want to back out. He wanted this. She wanted this. He just needed to assure her that he really did even if things might go bad. He’d be willing to take the risk. She was worth the risk. They were worth the risk.
He was in front of her door and knocking before he’d finished the thought, having apparently taken the stairs several at a time without having noticed and she was answering the door before he could figure out how he wanted to fight. Which was not his usual MO. Usually, he strategized and planned for every possibility. But now, even if he had come up with a plan, he would have forgotten it as soon as he saw her.
Her red and puffy eyes widened at the sight of him. She turned away slightly as if that would stop him from seeing her rapidly rub at her face. She cleared her throat discreetly and looked up to meet his eyes for just a second before looking away again. “Jason, what are you doing here? I, um, I…” she looked back into her apartment, but kept her position blocking his entry. “I haven’t packed your things up yet. But I… I, um, I can…”
“Pixie,” he broke in gently. He gently grazed his finger along her jaw with a bit of force to encourage her to look at him. “I didn’t come for my things.”
She took a step back and kept her gaze down, refusing to meet his eyes. “I don’t have anything else here for you, Jason.”
“You’re here,” he noted, his voice soft but pointed. He held fast in his position, not pushing into her space.
“Like I said,” she answered harder this time, but she still refused to meet his eyes, this time crossing her arms over her chest.
“Then I’m where I should be,” he answered simply.
“Jason,” she groaned, the tiredness leaching from her bones into her voice. “I told you…”
“And I decided I didn’t believe you,” he shrugged and leaned against the doorjamb. “You never were a good liar.” She heaved a deep sigh but still wouldn’t look up as she closed the door in his face, but before she could close it, Jason inserted his foot between it and the jamb. “Okay,” he admitted grudgingly, “you’re a better liar than I thought you were. That was a really well thought out lie. I may have required a bit of help seeing through it.”
Marinette’s eyes finally snapped up to his. Her head quirked to the side and her eyes narrowed as she considered him. Jason smiled broadly, becoming increasingly awkward as she continued to stare until out of nowhere she groaned loudly and rolled her head back in frustration, finally moving out of the doorway and giving Jason the opportunity to slip in and close the door behind himself. “Meddling, pesky, annoying cat,” she hissed.
His grin turned bright. “I promised him best-man at our wedding,” he informed her quite unhelpfully.
She stared at him mouth agape. “At our…” she started, scrambling to find the right words. “Jason, just because… there is no… I gave the ring back!” she finally exclaimed.
“Yes,” Jason agreed with a dramatic nod. “For a made-up reason, as it turns out. Which, as far as I can figure, only proves you didn’t want to do it in the first place.”
Marinette scowled at his accurate assessment. “But I did,” she growled.
“And I rather wish you hadn’t.” He crouched down to meet Marinette’s eyes with a dramatic pout. “I put a lot of thought into that ring. Not just what it looked like, but what it meant. It meant I wanted you to be a part of my life, that we would face the future together. I don’t let many people in, so when I let you in, I did it for a reason. I gave you this ring because I…”
“I can’t promise you that!” she shouted. The words burst out, seemingly surprising her as much as him. She backed away from him, eyes unfocused as she shook her head. She ran her hands through her messy hair in frustration. “I know. I know you want forever. You talk about it so passionately. You talk about this amazing future that I desperately want. It sounds perfect. I want that. I want forever. But I can’t give you that.”
Her breath was ragged and too fast as the weight of all the emotions she’d just barely been holding at bay, broke free and engulfed her. When she finally looked back at him, her eyes were desperate and broken. “I know how important the people you let in are to you. I know you have a deep-seated fear of losing people, of watching them slip away in front of your eyes, so deep even you won’t acknowledge it,” she continued, missing the way his brow furrowed and lips puckered at her words, in her ineffective attempt to enact some kind of control over the words that were flowing out faster than she could manage. “I don’t want you to lose anyone else. I wanted to… I wanted to get out before you built that life and then watched it slip away. I wanted to get out before you got hurt too badly. I… It isn’t fair to you for me to…”
“Oh Pixie,” he cut in gently. He approached her slowly like a wild, injured animal who would be ready to run at any moment. He stopped a breath in front of her and slowly wound his arms around her and gently pulled her into his chest as the tears flowed again. “It’s far too late for that.”
He waited until she was calmer before continuing. “It took a lot to get past my own issues… I apparently have more than I thought because they’re entirely different issues from the ones you mentioned,” he chuckled mirthlessly, “but that’s a different topic.” He cleared his throat lightly and squeezed her tighter. “So, when I proposed, it was because I was already all in. I already can’t imagine my future without you in it. I already don’t want any future that doesn’t include you. I want you. You make my life worthwhile. And I’m not going to lose you. Not now, not ever. Nothing is going to keep us apart.”
She pulled away from him just enough to look up with wide, watery eyes and shake her head violently. “Jason, you don’t know that. You don’t know what…”
“I do,” he promised. He cupped her jaw lightly and grazed his thumb over her cheek with such tender reverence, it almost made her cry again. “Adrien told me. I know what could be coming, but I won’t let it. I won’t let you forget me. And even if you do, we’ll fall in love again. I’ll make sure we do.”
“You can’t know that,” she whimpered even as she nestled further into his hand, cupping it to keep it in place.
“I can,” he assured her. “Because it’s you and me. In any reality, in any universe, it’s always going to be you and me. There is no reality in which we aren’t in love.” He brought his forehead to delicately rest on her forehead, his nose just barely brushing hers. His eyes squeezed shut as he let the feeling of her thrum through him. “We will always come back together,” he finished gently.
He wallowed in her scent and touch for a few more seconds before he pulled away to meet her eyes, still swimming with tears but distinctly less distraught. “I need to know if you believe me,” he urged her gently. “I need to know if you agree.”
She met his eyes, searching them for a full minute before her face split into a watery smile as she nodded. “I do,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” he grinned brightly, hope spilling into his eyes for the first time in days. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and dipped down onto one knee. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you marry me?”
She nodded rapidly, tears streaming down her cheeks again. She held out her left hand for him. She let out a giddy giggle as soon as it slid into its proper place. His laughter met hers as he spun her. “I love you so much,” he mumbled against her lips.
She nodded against him, her lips brushing against his with each move. “I love you. I missed you.”
“I don’t want to wait this time. We wait just long enough for you to make your dress and then we get married, yeah?”
She nodded, her eyes never leaving his lips. “Okay. I can start right away,” she agreed before capturing his lips again.
When Jason pulled away it was to nod absently. His eyes darted from her lips to her eyes. “But before that, we’re going to have a discussion about honesty in our relationship, because I suspect both of us are going to have issues… and I’m going to help someone pay off a bar as a thank you.”
Marinette blinked, finally pulling her attention from his lips to quirk her head to the side. “Tomorrow,” he said in answer to her silent question before kissing her again.