Daminette December Day 1 - Just A Friend
The twins were basically modern day royalty. Sure, the Wayne family was the richest, the Agreste family the most famous, but the twins were something better. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and her identical twin sister Starrette, belonged to two long lines of important families. The Dupain family has been important bakers for over eleven generations while the Cheng family was a prestigious family to rival Kagami’s Tsurugi family back in China. The Cheng family are direct descendants of the late Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.
Adrien Agreste was a little over a year older than the twins, and this made them ideal playmates. Gabriel Agreste, along with his wife Emilie Agreste, would often invite themselves over to the Dupain-Cheng bakery to have the children play. Of course, Gabriel would try to goad Sabine into business discussions and Emilie would have baking lessons with Tom while the children played.
This continued until the children turned 5. At this time, Paris was granted a new mayor who happened to have a daughter the same age. At this time, a fourth family joined the seemingly ever expanding category, the Bourgeois family, also known worldwide in the fashion industry. While Tom, Sabine, and Emilie were more than happy to accept the new couple into their ranks, Gabriel was none too pleased with the addition of André and Audrey Bourgeois. Their daughter joined the frequent play dates.
Chloe Bourgeois was fine as a child, but as the four friends grew, so did her entitlement and cruelty. The twins were painfully aware of her familial situation while Adrien remained blissfully ignorant.
When they started school, Marinette and Starrette never intended to hide who they were, people just didn’t seem to connect the dots. Although they were sure that they would know if there was another Dupain-Cheng family, but the girls shrugged and let it go. After begging Chloe to leave it alone, the three girl slowly integrated into their new surroundings. Chloe made friends with a quiet, mousy girl named Sabrina and the twins made friends with everyone else.
Chloe frequently complained to her parents about her friends fraternizing with those beneath them, but the Bourgeois couple knew which family had more power and wisely kept this to themselves. While not afraid to duke it out with the Agreste’s, and vice versa, everyone in their circle knew better than to cross the Dupain-Cheng’s.
The world felt shock when Emilie mysteriously disappeared. Gabriel used the event to excuse himself back into his dark and dreary shell of a mansion, while Adrien was left to emotionally fend for himself. The four friends were separated, unless it was for work.
At this time, the Agreste brand started using Adrien as a model who quickly became the very face of their brand. Chloe would sometimes model for her mother’s brand, but when Emilie disappeared, Audrey decided that Paris was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, and moved to New York. Leaving behind a devastated Chloe and a spineless André who tried to numb his princess’s pain with bought affection.
Across the sea, in New York, Audrey Bourgeois has finally run into the Wayne family. At the time, a 34 year old Bruce Wayne is accompanied by his two sons, 14 year old Dick Grayson-Wayne and 13 year old Jason Todd-Wayne. She is unable to wiggle herself into the Wayne’s good graces, but is successful in making the Bourgeois name important in America.
Audrey is unaware that Bruce was already more than aware of Paris’ important families. More than aware of the Bourgeois, Agreste, and Dupain-Cheng families than anyone would expect. However, what else would anyone expect of Batman? The only reason he had yet to approach the families was the lack of a reasonable excuse. Unlike the other families, whose children were 8 or 9 years old, his were teenagers and too old for “play dates”.
Chloe and the twins slowly begin to drift apart as Chloe becomes crueler and unreasonable. Starrette is the twin who is able to keep a relationship with Chloe. Marinette wants nothing to do with her if she is going to act in this manner. Starrette and Marinette’s relationship becomes strained due to the difference in morals, which is odd considering that the two are currently 9 1/2.
Not long after, a new Robin appears, along with 11 year old Tim Drake-Wayne. Now that Bruce has a son within an acceptable age range of the Parisian children, he begins to organize a trip to introduce himself to the three other prominent families. This is derailed when his blood son, 10 year old Damian Wayne, is dropped off at his doorstep a couple months later, not but a few days before departure. The trip is postponed due to his lack of... social skills.
Starrette and Marinette are closer than ever, with Chloe integrating back into their friendship. This is due to Marinette being chosen to bare the Ladybug Miraculous. Starrette was not given a miraculous, instead she is being taught to become the next master of the Miraculous box. While Marinette has an affinity to being a miraculous holder, Starrette is gifted with an affinity to miraculous magic. Quickly learning the different spells and Kwami healing techniques from Master Fu, the current holder of the Miraculous Box, she is now being taught to use each miraculous. Before she can be entrusted with the Miraculous Box, Starrette must bind with each Kwami. For how can she match a Kwami and their chosen without understanding the Kwami.
The childhood four are once again reunited with the new school year, Adrien finally joining them at school. The four all start Collège Françoise Dupont at the same time. While Miss Bustier is quite obviously wishy-washy in her beliefs, her teaching is sound and much more appreciated than Miss Mendeleiev’s. As the next Guardian of the Miraculous Box, Starrette is very much aware of Adrien being Chat Noir, and painfully disapproving of his constant flirting with her twin, but there’s not much she can do. Luckily the four friends are not plagued with romantic infighting and are able to peacefully coexist. During particularly hard weeks at school, the four friends (yes, that includes Adrien) will go to Chloe’s suite and have a major spa day; complete with hot stone massages, facial masks, and mani-pedi’s.
It is during one of these spa days that they are interrupted by a knock on Chloe’s door. Adrien, being the only one without a facial mask on yet, is the one to open the door. He is surprised to see their parents outside. His father looks ready to kill someone, Chloe’s father looks ready to pass out, and the Dupain-Cheng’s are just smiling at him pleasantly without a care in the world. Before he can ask what is happening, they bath into the room. Sabine helps the confused girls sadly take off their fresh masks while Gabriel rummages through their clothes to try and find them suitable outfits. Tom is trying to calm down André while simultaneously trying to explain to the four teens what is going on. The four are shocked to discover that Chloe’s mother, Audrey, is busy downstairs stalling Bruce Wayne and his four sons while they get them. Apparently Bruce showed up at the hotel, claiming to have a meeting with the four parents (and André is going to fire someone!), and the four children had better hurry up and get dressed!
Once groomed to perfection, thanks to Gabriel Agreste who is sure to take credit of any compliments thrown their way, they make their way over to the meeting room the Wayne’s and Audrey are currently speaking in. When the doors open, whatever Audrey was saying gets cut off by the uncomfortable silence that follows.
It is Starrette who makes the first move, introducing herself and Marinette to the Wayne’s before moving on to introduce her parents and friends. She is not presumptuous enough to introduce the three adults who, while they might be close family friends, with snap her in half before she shows them up in front of such important guests. After the Bourgeois couple and Gabriel introduce themselves, the Wayne’s proceed to return the favor, Bruce introducing himself then his four sons. The four Parisian friends are pleasantly surprised to find out Damian and Tim are their age. Bruce quickly suggest that the eight of them “go play,” which is met with a few eye rolls and some grumbling before they comply and shuffle out the door.
Jason is quick to make twin jokes. This does not bother Marinette and Starrette. When they continue not to be goaded, he moves on to blonde jokes and picks fun at Adrien while Dick tries to defuse the situation he is causing. Chloe and Tim are already in a deep conversation about how immature her classmates/his brothers are and how they deserve better. Marinette and Starrette turn to each other and laugh until they realize that leaves one more brother. Damian has sat down in one of the luxurious armchairs lining the hallway.
Damian, who is currently on his phone, sees them approach and tries to shut it down. He’s not here to make friends and tells them as much. Instead of becoming upset or emotional as he expected of the twins, they sit down on each side of him and get on their phones as well. Most girls would be indignant at being ignored and snapped at by such an important person, these girls acted like it didn’t even matter!
At the look on his face, shock with an angry undertone, Jason and Dick were amazed. Damian wasn’t the type for this kind of interaction. Adrien wasn’t surprised that the twins weren’t impressed by his attitude. They were (close) friends with Chloe after all. Speaking of Chloe, Chloe and Tim has moved on from their previous topic to a new one. They were now discussing their siblings, Tim’s adopted and Chloe’s honorary. While Tim was explaining his sibling’s situations to Chloe, who, for once, was actually listening, when he looked over at Damian and saw the situation. Chloe didn’t see the big deal. If Damian was snubbing the twins, they should snub him right back! The three brothers laughed at Damian amongst themselves while Chloe and Adrien looked on.
The day ended with the parents having several new connections, including each other’s, and the children having new friends. Damian has yet to come around, but the twins had forcibly put their numbers into his phone while stealing his own number for themselves. He would break, and so he did within the month. Their constant memes, well wishes, and thoughtful conversations brought him over to their side.
The original four friends world became bigger by two, Tim and Damian, while the older brothers were just that, honorary older brothers. The closest of them all, however, were Marinette and Damian. Over the years, Marinette began to think of Damian as more than just one of her childhood friends, but she worried that he wouldn’t reciprocate. When Star asked her twin why she felt this, Marinette lamented, “Because Star! To him, I’m just a friend...”