Chapter Three: Fang Gets A Bath

Now, with Lila out of the way, Marinette felt at ease as she tried to become Jagged's niece. Trying to get a grip on the fact that he's not just "Jagged Stone" anymore, they came up with Uncle J. What kind of close relationship would a niece have with her uncle without a nickname? They were still trying to find a nickname for Marinette, because "Mari" wouldn't work with many people calling her that.

"How do you like… Netty?" Jagged asked.

"Nah, just not… me."

"How about Lyric? Because you are the 'Lyric-s' to my songs?"

"Now that's more like it. Or Melody, because I'm the melody you hear inside your head?"

"That's rock-and-roll, but I like Lyric. You?"

"Lyric works. Let's go with that." Finally. The ninety-nineth nickname they had come up with worked. When they went into Jagged's apartment, Penny was pacing the floor.

"JAGGED!" Penny shouted, rushing over to the Rockstar.

"Penny, chillax, Lyric will be my niece," Jagged said, gesturing to Marinette who gave a bright smile.

"Lyric? Isn't her name Marinette?" Penny asked, quizzically.

"Yes, it is, but since we are trying to create a close niece-uncle dynamic, we thought nicknames would be a good thing," Marinette hummed. "I call him Uncle J, he calls me Lyric. Easy as pie."

"Sweet!" Penny said. "That's really good, and Jagged, Fang was missing you."

"Well, that's good. Me and Lyric are going to give him a bath," Jagged said. He led the crocodile to the bathtub, with Marinette following.

Jagged made giant movements with a push-broom rubbing Fang's belly. And then Marinette tried. The faster she tried, the move her arms felt like they were rubber. And, not just that, Marinette pushed the broom off of Fang's belly and landed face-first in the water.

"Um- Uncle J, I'm no good at this," Marinette said, rinsing out her wet hair.

"I can finish while you go talk to Penny," Jagged suggested.

"No problem, I need to get cleaned up, anyway," Marinette said, looking at her sopping clothes. Walking out she muttered, "Just perfect. What am I supposed to wear now?" Penny looked up at her and rushed over.

"You look cold, do you need a towel?"

"Yeah, that'd be helpful, thank you," Marinette sighed.

AN: I know, a short chapter. A really short chapter. Okay- all I want to say is, the next chapter will be about Penny and Marinette having a little bit of "Girl time" so stay patient for that. Hope you enjoy this chapter and tell me if you enjoyed it!