Dinner at the manor was quite the affair. No one seemed bent on asking her personal questions this time, which she was more than happy with. Instead, they were trying to be quiet so as to not startle her -although they probably already knew that the fear toxin would make her extra jumpy.
They were all in the sitting room now, Marinette back on the couch and trying to convince Damian that she could go back home. "I've dealt with worse and I know how to take stitches out when they're ready," she argued, her arms crossed over her chest in irritation. "I know how to clean a wound and I can get around just fine. There are no stairs in my apartment."
"I still think it would be more secure to stay here tonight," he argued back, Alfred the cat sitting on his chest.
"I don't even have anything here. It wouldn't make any sense to go get stuff from my apartment and then come back," Mari said, feeling her eyebrow twitch in irritation. He could be so stubborn sometimes.
"It wouldn't be an inconvenience because you'd be here and someone else would go get the clothes," Damian said, not understanding why she couldn't just stay here for one night.
"The answer is no," Mari said, her eyes narrowing. She stood from the couch and looked at Cass. "Where were my belongings put?"
'Groceries were brought to the apartment. Clothing had to be trashed. Torn beyond repair,' the girl signed, smiling calmly at Marinette.
Mari nodded, grabbing her purse and walking slowly to the kitchen where Alfred was. "Do you know the number for a taxi company, Monsieur?" she asked, trying to calm down. She knew she wasn't getting anywhere with Damian. He was too stubborn and couldn't understand properly that she wouldn't be in the right mental state if she stayed here.
"I would be happy to take you home, Miss Marinette," Alfred responded, turning from the dishes he was washing. "I've also put together a little care package for you for the next few days with instructions on cleaning the stitched areas."
"That would be greatly thanked," she said, smiling tiredly at the man. He was a gentle soul, something she could read easily as the guardian.
"Appreciated," he corrected her gently, gathering a bag from the counter and leading her through the family room again. Damian had disappeared apparently, so it was just his siblings in the room.
"Thank you for your help," Marinette said, bowing deeply despite the protest she felt in her ribs. "I appreciate it very much. I will see you at work on Monday, Monsieur Drake."
"I've gone ahead and given you a few days off, actually," Tim told her, standing to walk with them. "All employees get five days if they're attacked by a rogue or caught in an attack and injured. So you'll get the week to recover."
She blinked, nodding. What would I do with myself for five days? She thought to herself before shrugging. She'd figure something out. Maybe.
"Take it easy, short stuff," Jason told her, walking over and surprising her with a hug. "Give me a call if you feel too caged in."
"I will," she told him, hugging him back as well as she could.
Cass and Steph called out their goodbyes, not wanting to crowd her as she left. Dick had disappeared a while ago, needing to call his girlfriend. Tim was just helping her down the front steps when Damian came back down, a duffle bag over his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Tim asked, spotting him first.
"I'm going to stay in my apartment. It will be closer to Marinette if she needs anything," he responded, taking over helping her down the stairs.
"Apartment?" Mari asked, not having heard him mention this to her before.
"That is what I said," Damian said, simply giving up and picking her up again.
"Goodnight, Monsieur Drake," she called over his shoulder before turning back to Damian who was at the car now, putting her back on her feet. "I didn't know you had an apartment."
"It is on the same floor as yours. We stay there if the manor becomes too much to deal with," he told her, tossing his bag into the front seat before helping her into the car.
"Rich people," Mari muttered, rolling her eyes as she scooted into her seat, hissing through her teeth when her body twisted at the wrong angle.
"Careful," he remarked, making sure she was seated before getting into the car.
"Careful," Mari mocked while he couldn't hear her, smiling when she heard Alfred chuckle to himself.
The ride back to her apartment was fairly quiet, Damian looking over something on his phone and Mari just looking out the window. She was exhausted and she knew that there was no way she'd be able to fall back to sleep in the Manor even if there were more security measures in place. It had too many hidden nooks and things that she hadn't seen and therefore too many possibilities for her to get trapped.
When they got to the building Damian helped her out of the car again before almost immediately picking her back up. The care package was placed in her arms by the mildly amused butler. She simply sighed and waved to Alfred, knowing that the only win she was getting today was the fact he'd not just locked her in a room in the Manor.
"Can we play Ultimate Mecha Strike?" she asked Damian when they got in the elevator, wiggling a bit in his arms.
He looked down at her and she could see that he was guarding himself for the moment. She wasn't sure what had brought it on - maybe the rogue attack? "We can if you rest," he eventually conceded, giving her a small smile.
"Sweet," Mari said, smiling tiredly at him.
"I think I may have to block off communication with my brothers for you," he said, smirking. "They're starting to erode your vocabulary choices into their own."
She rolled her eyes at him, knowing he was just joking. His brothers were all smart in different ways than him and he knew that. Potentially. "Good luck with that one. I see at least one of them each week for work," she pointed out.
He finally set her down when they got to her apartment, letting her unlock the door and walk in all on her own. "Would you like something to eat?" he asked her, taking the care package that Alfred had sent from her arms and placing it on the kitchen counter.
Mari thought about it before shaking her head. "Not at the moment. I'm going to go take a shower quickly before we start playing," she told him, walking slowly into her room and grabbing something comfortable to wear.
She put her purse on her dresser and opened it to let Tikki out, smiling when the tiny flying creature immediately nuzzled into her cheek before joining Plagg on his sun perch to update him as to the situation. At least those two had each other for times like this.
You're not alone, not anymore, her thoughts reminded her. She smiled to herself then, thinking of the man in the other room who'd advocated so loudly for her today, who'd held her during a rogue attack and made sure she was safe. She was sure that she could trust him now. She'd never felt comfortable enough with someone to pass out after a battle before.
She grabbed the extra long hoodie she'd made herself a couple weeks ago and a pair of shorts before going into the bathroom and taking a quick shower. She winced when the water ran over the stitches on her sides but powered through it, knowing she would feel better without the sweat coating her body. The hoodie was lightweight and reached her knees with a pair of green cat eyes on the front. It had clearly been Chat Noir themed but she liked to think that it was themed after who he was before the betrayal.
Damian was still in the kitchen when she walked out, leaving her hair to air dry. "What're you doing?" she asked, walking over to him.
"Looking at the contents of your care package from Alfred," he replied, looking up for a moment before quickly looking away, seemingly blushing. He'd seen her in her work clothes before so she didn't think anything was wrong with her outfit.
"What's in it?" she asked, stepping up next to him and looking at it all.
"Some new dressings for your wounds, antiseptic wipes, antibiotics so you don't get an infection, other medical related things, and candy," he indicated, holding up the bags upon bags of candy.
"So Cass helped put it together then," she said, smiling. It was a little known fact that Cassandra loved sweets almost more than her.
"It would seem so," Damian said, handing her a chocolate bar and directing her to the couch. He would never understand how she could eat so many sweets - his teeth always hurt after a bite or two.
Mari sighed as she was directed to the couch, laying across it in protest for her supposed bed rest. She was already feeling restless with her time off from work and it'd only been about a half hour since the start of it. If she had to "rest" she usually got other things done during that time. Calling her parents more frequently, she'd probably call Penny and see how she was doing as well. She'd clean the apartment more thoroughly than she usually did, get ahead on some Christmas presents she had in the works, maybe make a few more nests for the kwamis for when they were out of the box.
"You're already planning to fill the entire week off with strenuous tasks, aren't you?" Damian asked, setting up the game console and sitting on the floor in front of the couch.
Mari blushed a bit when his hair tickled her exposed legs, shrugging. "I wouldn't consider anything I had in mind strenuous," she retorted, nearly considering sticking her tongue out at him when he wasn't looking. He always knew when she did that somehow.
He had to physically hold back an eye roll at that. "Yes, well your definition of the word seems to have gotten lost in translation."
"Oh yes, the language barrier retorts, how original," she griped, reaching over and giving him a poke behind the ear. "I think we're going to have to cut off contact from your siblings. They seem to be eroding at your usual vocabulary choices."
"Ha ha," he mocked, reaching back and poking her in the leg before handing her a controller.
Mari smiled, taking it so she could happily crush him into dust. In the game of course. Neither saw it, but Tikki and Plagg would watch the two of them well into the night from the sewing table, happy to see their Guardian so at ease with another person. And if Tikki covered Damian in a blanket after he fell asleep leaning on the couch, he was none the wiser.