#audrey feeling shame and admitting to it...is that it then?

[graceisinthelibrary]

My take on the prompt "bow tie".

@acgasfanchallenge

"What's in a bow tie?"

“Oh bugger!”

Audrey could hear Siegfried’s angry tantrum from the hallway upstairs. Glad that Helen and Jimmy had spent the night at Heston where they certainly didn’t hear Uncle Siegfried blustering all about the house, she closed the door to her linen cupboard. It was shortly after seven, time for breakfast and he was already in one of his moods.

“Blast!”

Knowing his cursing was nothing but a cry for her help, she shook her head and ascended the staircase.

“On me way!”

The door to his bedroom was wide open and their two very curious four-pawed friends were lying on his unmade bed, watching him attentively as he was fiddling with a piece of clothes she had never seen before dangling from his neck.

Amused by the sight, she leaned against the doorframe and chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” He asked, visibly offended. With his hands firmly planted on his hips he stared at his own reflection in the mirror at the wall.

“You,” she answered nonchalantly.

“This blasted thing just won’t… for heaven’s…” The rest of the sentence was swallowed by another spate of unruly cursing.

“Let me have a look!” Trying not to look too cheerful, she walked over to him and ordered him to face her. With childish reluctance he did as ordered and she smiled softly at him.

“That’s a new one,” she said when she pulled the loose fabric from his neck and let it glide through her fingers. It was a burgundy coloured bow tie made of velvet - one that perfectly matched his favourite tweed suit.

“It is,” he confirmed as his eyes flickered over her fingers as she straightened the fabric.

“It feels expensive.”

“I wanted to treat myself a little,” he admitted, somewhat hangdogged. He held his breath when she leaned in a little and placed the bow tie around the collar of his shirt.

“It’s been ages since you’ve worn one of these,” she remarked when she carefully started to intertwine the loose ends. Sometimes her fingers were brushing against his neck and he felt her breath, warm and sweet from her first cup of tea, against his skin. She was standing a little too close for him to ignore her physical attributes he was only too aware of, even though they were hidden under her apron. Last night she must have washed her hair, because he could smell her shampoo and the faded scent of her lavender bath oil.

“I thought it was time to update my wardrobe,” he replied as he tried not to look at her. “Turns out I’m a bit out of practice.”

“There’s no shame in that,” she countered. “But you mustn’t shout around the house like a mad man.”

“Why not? You’re here now, aren’t you?” The words had been out before he could stop them and she laughed in response. “Am I that predictable?” She wondered as she added the finishing touches and straightened the knot in the middle and pulled it in the right position.

“I knew you wouldn’t leave me in tatters,” he answered, glad she took his slip lightly.

“Course not,” she mused and stepped back, admiring her work on him. “There you are.”

He turned towards the mirror and looked at his own reflection. “Do you like it?” With pointed fingers he touched his new accessory, unsure whether it was what he imagined it would be.

“It suits you,” she answered and looked at his reflection. With obvious curiosity her eyes searched for his in the mirror and she reached out to touch the bow tie once more.

“Did Richard inspire you?”

“Why would you think that?” He returned the question.

“Just wondering…” She shrugged and nibbled at her lower lip.

“But you like it on him, don’t you?” His question hung in the air like a cloud over the Dales.

“There are a lot of things to like about the lad,” she answered tentatively. ”And there are even more things I like about you.” Her hand was now lying on his chest. The warmth of her skin penetrated the fabric and he was sure there was no way she could miss how his heartbeat increased under her touch.

One day he wanted to feel that hand on him without separating barriers.

One day he didn’t want to throw a tantrum to get her undivided attention and one day he wouldn’t buy new clothes just to impress her, because he wanted her to accompany him when he chose them.

One day…

The touch of her lips against his cheek was light and tender. The sweetness in her breath that he had felt earlier was now evident in her gentle kiss. He was glad he saw her kissing him in the reflection of his mirror, because otherwise he wouldn’t have believed it.

“You don’t have to change, you know,” she whispered into his ear and her voice was sending small shocks throughout his entire system. “Not for me.”

With bated breath he turned his face to meet her blue eyes. He saw the tenderness in them, the devotion and smiled. She could read him like no one else. Some years ago this would have scared the daylights out of him, but now it just gave him comfort and a warm sense of belonging.

“You’re marvellous.”

“I know.” She blinked cheekily at him and caressed the outline of his beard with her thumb. “Will you come downstairs for breakfast now?”

“Gladly,” he replied.

“Good…” She placed a soft, chaste kiss on his mouth and left. With a low whistle she ordered the dogs to follow her and they obediently jumped from his bed to run after her. He waited for her footsteps to fade before he slipped into his waistcoat and straightened his shoulders in front of the mirror. Once again he touched the unusual garment around his neck and couldn’t help but smile.

There was something about his bow tie that had just made his life even more worthwhile than it already was. He silently thanked Carmody, his lucky stars, and last weekend’s jumble sale for this strike of inspiration. And then he was on his way downstairs to have breakfast with her. It was going to be a good day.

[sl-newsie]

Spelled (Carlos de Vil x Sanderson Daughter) Ch. 22: Evil In The Eyes of the Beholder

“Do you think she’ll ever wake up?”

“Only time will tell.”

“See? She’s a good witch!”

“But she made me dance!”

“It wasn’t all her fault. You pushed her to the edge!”

When I open my eyes, I’m surrounded by bright lights and many faces. The 4 VKs, Ben, Audrey, Doug, Lonnie, Jane, Fairy Godmother- the whole room is crowded.

“Look! She’s awake!” Carlos exclaims and squeezes my hand.

“W- Where am I? What happened? Where’s Maleficent?!”

I scramble to sit up but it’s as if half my energy has been drained. But I was just sleeping…? Looking around, I see that I’m lying on a cot set up in Ben’s room. It looks like sunset outside, but there’s no telling of how long I’ve been unconscious.

“Calm down, trixie. Maleficent’s a lizard now!” Jay pats my shoulder.

“Wait- what?”

Over on my right, Mal holds up her palm to show me a tiny, purple lizard. “Magica, say hello to my mom.”

I give the lizard a wide-eyed look and slowly raise a hand. “Um, hello.” I notice an unusual smell and look to see a strange candle burning on a nearby desk. “Is that- is that a black flame candle?”

“Gracious, no!” Fairy Godmother assures me.

“It’s a healing candle, trixie,” Jay explains. “And I don’t know how black flame candles are made, but trust me you do not wanna know how this one is!”

“That protection spell was incredible, Sparks!” Ben comes over and gives me a soft hug. 

“Ben, get away from her! She’ll just hex us again.” Audrey tries to break us apart but Carlos pushes her away.

“She’s not evil, Audrey. Just because she’s smarter and prettier than you doesn’t mean you need to hate her.”

Audrey’s face twitches. “Prettier?” She pivots and storms out. When she’s gone we all try not to giggle.

“She’s never gonna forgive you for that,” Ben points at Carlos.

He leans against the bedframe and crosses his arms. “All worth it.”

“We’re sorry, Magica.” Jane gives me a wistful look and the other Auradon students join her.

“Yeah. We all assumed that because your mom is, you know, evil and all, that you were trying to spell us after the family day dance-off.”

I hang my head in shame and feel Carlos inch closer to give me comfort. “I truly am sorry for betraying your trust, however you yourselves must also admit your wrongdoing.”

“She’s right,” Ben agrees. “We all assumed she was evil just because she wouldn’t help us anymore. We pushed her too hard and paid the price.”

Evie snickers. “Yeah, by dancing!”

I can see she’s standing next to Doug, and I’m filled with potential hope that maybe they can kindle a relationship after all.

“Everyone should be hating me insead,” Jane tries to comfort me. “I’m the one who opened the barrier. All just because I want to be beautiful like you, Magica.”

“But you don’t need to want it, because you have it.” I take Jane’s hand with my free one. “Everyone’s idea of beauty is different. You are beautiful, Jane.”

Fairy Godmother now calls attention. “Um, fellow students? I’m going to need a moment to talk with Magica alone.”

The students start filing out, but Carlos stays a bit longer to kiss my cheek and give me a comforting smile. After everyone’s gone, FG comes over to sit on the cot next to me.

“Headmistress I’m so sorry-” I weakly try to sit up again.

“Shh, shh. Calm down, Magica. You’ve drained a lot out of yourself, and need to rest.” Fairy Godmother presses a hand to my cheek and smiles down at me. “I’m so proud of you!”

I try to shift to a better sitting up position, ignoring the clenching pain in my chest. “You are?”

“Of course, dear! You protected us.”

“B- But yesterday… What I did-”

“-Is all forgiven. Trust me, after being Headmistress here I’ve seen a lot of strange pranks. Hexing people to dance is pretty tame compared to other works I’ve had to deal with. After today, it’s us who should be apologizing to you. We had no right to assume you were a threat and treat you like one.” 

“They won’t see it that way. All the other students hate me now. I think it’s best if I just disappear for a while. That way I won’t pose a threat and can exercise my magic in peace.”

FG shows concern but nods in respect. “If that is what you wish. I’ll set up a safe space for you to practice. That patch in the school gardens is a bit too small, wouldn’t you say?”

My eyes widen. “You knew?”

She smiles. “I’m the Fairy Godmother. I always know. I will say that your improvements have been very impressive. You’ve definitely proven to be the top of Goodness 2.0.”

I return her smile and begin to slide off the cot in attempts to stand. “Thank you. For believing in me.”

“Focusing on the future is sort of my thing.” FG threads an arm around me to help me keep balance. “And I think you’re going to have a very important role in our future.”

Future. A word I’ve always feared, but now I’m starting to see a light at the end of a very twisted tunnel. I really want a bright future. With Carlos. But for now that sadly has to wait.

“Do you want to say goodbye to your friends?” Fairy Godmother asks as she gestures to the door.

I nod. “Yes. I’m ready to face them.”

Outside, my fellow Auradon students are talking amongst each other. Doug and Evie seem to be taking attempts at flirting, Ben, Mal, and Jane are discussing upcoming school events, and Carlos and Jay keep play-fighting. Once everyone sees me, they all go silent.

“Hey guys. I suppose you’re wondering about what happens now. Well… The Headmistress and I have decided that it’s best for me and the good of Auradon that I take a leave of absence. I just need to make a few adjustments before I go into hiding.”

“Hiding?” Evie asks unsurely. “But why? Everyone knows you’re not evil!”

“That is sadly untrue, Evie. The people of Auradon will always harbor distrust for me. And I know more than others how long it takes to build a lifestyle, so I’m cutting out the middleman and avoiding people altogether. I do, however, need a favor from you.”

“What is it, trixie?”

“I must request that you all vow to never speak of my whereabouts. The less people know of me, the better. Do you accept?”

My colleagues all exchange sad and worried looks.

“You’ll stay safe, right?” Doug asks.

“Of course she will. She’s a Sanderson witch!” Jane says encouragingly. 

“By the way, nice invisible cloak.” Mal nods approvingly. “You’re a fast learner when it comes to magic.”

“She always has been.” Ben wraps an arm around my shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you, Sparks.”

But Carlos doesn’t seem to agree with their contentment. “Wait. You’re leaving?”

[booasaur]

Snowpiercer - 3x08

[gayerthanevertbh]

her moments.

you and natasha are having a fight until you’ve come to the point where you have thoughts about leaving her; she opposes the idea, and begs for you to stay.

WARNINGS: fighting, natasha flirting with other women (not cheating specifically), angst, and a little fluff at the end (i think).

NOTES: this is so short, i know, but i need to get out of my writer's block. more updates will come soon! tomorrow, maybe with a smut one-shot, REQUESTS ARE CLOSED! 

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“And you said that–” your breath hitches, closing your eyes as you felt more tears on your cheeks, slowly drying up. Natasha only looks at you but lowers her head down in shame. “Y-You said that it won’t happen again!”

“Y/N–”

“I can’t be calm about this,” you sobbed out, covering your face with your hands as you wept loudly. She has done it again, flirting with someone without her control. It was a stupid excuse, that her immense flirting wouldn’t be such harm – and now it has, especially when you have a baby along the way. She only bites her lip and rolls out a tear, wiping it away with her thumb.

She can only look at you with her eyes and touch your hand, kissing them gently until she’s peppering kisses all over your face. But the privilege of you being hers was no longer there, the fact is, you were never hers.

Did she even want you? Did she even love your marriage? But what makes you feel even stupider is that there were always red flags when it comes to her, you were so blinded by her love and her choice of words that swoon you over completely.

Natasha nears herself to you, she feels this fright when you are trembling, and there is nothing she can do but touch your hand out of habit. You tried not flinching away, but you did – and she was hurt.

“Don’t touch me.”

“I love you.”

You shake your head, wiping your face with your wet palm as you back yourself away from your wife, whimpering loudly when the realization does hit you hard like a truck running you over twice. Her hair was ruffled, her eyes were deeper than the beautiful sea, and you could see her eyebags getting more defined as she gets closer to you – seeking out your touch, your lips, your skin. But you pushed her away, you walked away from her, and as much as you tried getting away; her arms were immediately around your waist.

“You’re all I love,” she whispers, giving a sad smile as she kisses my temple, turns you, and leans her forehead against yours. You knew from her eyes that she didn’t want to lose you, she envies the thought of it even. So when you walked away – tried to – all she could think about is how the hell she was going to fix her stupid mess, her stupid stupidity. “Y/N, baby–please stop. You’re the only one I love, only you!”

You shake your head, twisting yourself away from your wife but god – she was strong. Natasha cups both of your cheeks as she kisses you hard, reminding you and herself how it’s supposed to be. You end up with her, you end up marrying her again, and have the baby you both always wanted. You’re supposed to be with her, to be her wife as she is yours. But she, her stupidity, is not making everything work.

You don’t know if she’s cheating, but she probably wasn’t. She just can’t stop giving flirtatious remarks to other people, to other women. And that makes you feel useless as a wife, why am I still here when you can’t stop giving women compliments that they don’t need from you?

She kisses you again before saying, “You’re all I want, all I care about. I’m sorry–I’m so sorry, baby… it won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Y-You said that many times…”

“But it won’t happen!” she couldn’t lose you, she was scared of the fact that you might end up hating her. She brings you closer as she peppers many kisses all over your face, and you do have to admit that it was very comforting. “Baby, please don’t go… you have to stay with me. We’re going to have a baby together, our little girl.”

“I’ll take care of Audrey myself.” you whispered, sniffling while still trying to pull away from her embrace; she only shakes her head as she lets out a shaky sigh.

“We have to do that together,” she whispers, kissing your nose while rubbing your belly, which has been swelling for hours. She brings her hand up and down while still pecking your mouth, and it gives you so much strength to not kiss her back. “I’ll stay home with you from now on, okay? I-I will stop this time, just please don’t leave me kotenok, please don’t go. I love you–I’m in love with you.”

“Tash–”

“Audrey needs us both together,” she says, shaking her head as she bursts out another choked sob. “S-She needs her Mommy and her Mama. I will be loyal this time, okay? Just please you can’t leave me, you both can’t leave me… I need you and Audrey in my life. God, please don’t do this. You–I belong to you.”

You looked at her with reddening eyes, as you felt your chest tightening up. It takes you a minute to reply, having no voice and breath when she stares down at you like a dead puppy. What if you trust her again? Will she break you? Will she break your walls once more? The better question was, will she stop those acts?

You should’ve known better.

“Natasha.”

“Y/N,” she whispers, almost making you cry when she says your name like that – as if she’s really in love with you. She holds your left cheek as she brings her lips back to you, kissing you so softly that it almost feels like a feverish dream. Her other hand is on your waist as she pulls you closer, her tongue flicking on your upper lip for more entrance. Natasha kisses you passionately with so much love that no words describe the feeling. But all you could think about is how you could trust her again.

How?

“I love you.” you whimpered out, letting out a sigh as you buried your face into her chest – your arms finding themselves wrapping around her torso. Natasha could only sigh with relief and kissed your head, whispering how much she loves you too.

“I’ll never break our family,” she reassures, combing your hair and smiling with more tears in her eyes. “I won’t. I promise.”

You better this time.

lol thoughts on this one? did u guys miss me

[books]

Tumblr Exclusive: Forestborn

Do you like shapeshifters, epic quests, magic, dark forests, and obstinate princes? Well, have we got an exclusive excerpt for you!

Forestborn is an upcoming @torteen novel by debut author Elayne Audrey Becker. Becker graduated from Vassar College with a BA in classics and history. She is currently continuing her education at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland after time spent as an editor with a New York publisher. She grew up with a lake and woods as her backyard, spending long days outside and visiting national parks with her family.

Forestborn will be available at bookstores everywhere from August 31. Read the exclusive excerpt below, and thanks again to Elayne for sharing her inspiration moodboard with us!

Forestborn By Elayne Audrey Becker

One

I find her deep in the Old Forest, facedown in the dirt. 

Sharp pain needles my palms where I’ve balled my fists so tight, the nails have carved half-moon marks into the skin. Snaking across the twig-strewn ground, gnarled roots press against my boots like a warning as I roll the young woman onto her back. Best to be sure.

No, she is certainly dead. Cold, stiff, and hungry like the rest; even with forest debris masking much of her shirt, the threadbare cotton dips in unmistakable rivulets across her bony frame. I swallow my disappointment and push her eyelids shut, wanting to spare her kin the sight of those empty, pointless eyes.

“Sorry,” I murmur, sitting back on my heels. “I’m guessing you didn’t deserve this.”

Around us, the trees lean inward and down with ominous uniformity, leaves and branches straining against their holds, drawn to the dead woman as if tethered by ropes. The sway, the humans call it. I ignore the prickling in my belly. They’ll straighten out soon enough when the magic leaves her body. 

With a final nod, I push to my feet and wend my way back to the forest’s edge. It’s a close wood, with broad oaks in summer bloom crowding the grassy floor, their leafy canopy admitting shafts of sunlight that glitter like crystal chandeliers. All in all, too peaceful a setting for someone driven to madness to die alone. I breathe it in deep to savor the scent while I can, grateful that for whatever reason, these trees never seem drawn to the magic in my own blood. I’ve had enough of vengeful wilderness to last a lifetime.

“Well?” Seraline asks, her knuckles nearly white where they clutch the hem of her shirt. 

I shake my head. “Dead.”

Her shoulders sink. Though Seraline is sturdy as iron when she’s in her aunt’s tannery, shaping leather into draft horses’ yokes, standing a determined two paces behind the tree line now, she seems shakeable as snow.

“Come on,” I say, nodding to the stony town just across the open fields. “You’re going to be late.” I don’t ask if she plans to examine the body for herself. Seraline may have insisted on coming as a show of support, but our friendship has many limits, her discomfort with the dead and dying the least of them. 

After a brief hesitation, Seraline falls into step at my side, sweeping her seeing stick across the ground in broad strokes. “Poor thing.”

I nod, my jaw clenched tight. 

This time of year, the late summer air hangs heavy even in the early morning, enough that the back of my neck is already slick with sweat. The barley fields remain mercifully empty as we pick our way through the dusty rows, but still I plow forward with my head down and shoulders bent, half from habit and half spurred by the hour. Seraline isn’t the only one who’s running behind. 

“Will you not come with us?” she asks, her head tipping to the side as we near the town. “Aren’t you due back in Roanin, anyway?”

“I can’t,” I reply, making it sound like an apology. I’m not really sure why we still play this game when we both know it’s futile. “I have a few things to take care of first.”

“Today of all days,” she snorts.

“You know how it is.” In truth, I’d give my right arm to stay away from the capital today. But there’s no help for it.

“Her husband deserves to know,” Seraline adds after a while. “The two of them were inseparable.”

“He will know. The trail wasn’t hard to follow.”

Seraline is always trying to persuade me to talk to the deceased’s families. She believes I have a softer manner than many in uniform, and once she even called me heartless for refusing. That time hurt the most. But it isn’t my job to report any deaths I uncover to next of kin. Only to the king. And it’s not like she’s stepping up to volunteer, anyway.

Briarwend is a humble farming town that stretches all of three streets, a collection of squared off stone shops that deal in necessity rather than charm. Its weather-worn residents are the same. When I began seeking intel here four years ago, long days tending the surrounding fields made the people lazy and open over a couple of pints. Lately, they’re just hungry, poor soil and rising taxes leaving gaping holes that only tempers seem to fill. 

Each night under dwindling lamplight and over stained, sticky tables, the pub dwellers deal out anger and judgment like tossing seeds across the earth. The battered forest walker I helped home last night is not the only magical person I’ve found bleeding on cobbled streets. The humans’ anger is growing fists.

Seraline’s family is fixing their horse’s harness to an old wooden cart when we reach their cottage home. Most others have long since departed.

“Where have you been?” her mother demands, tightening the leather straps. The roan mare stamps a hoof, ears flicking nervously in my presence. “We should have left hours ago!”

“Lela needed my help. And you’re not ready, anyway.” Seraline shrugs.

“Nor are you. Breakfast is gone, so you’ll just have to wait. Go get changed.” She studiously avoids my eye, as if I’m not even there. 

Seraline bids me farewell with a light touch on the shoulder, which causes her little sister to quickly interlace two pairs of twisted fingers and pull them apart. The sign to ward off bad fortune.  

“You shouldn’t indulge my sister,” the dreadful Arden says once she’s gone, stomping over and swiping a greasy hand across his forehead. By far the weakest sibling in this family of four. “Seraline is delicate. She can’t be tramping about the kingdom with the likes of you.”

Which is ironic, really, since he was eager enough to sidle close last year, when he thought empty flattery might earn him a kiss. That was before a too-often empty belly soured his tongue, before he learned who and what I was. And though I truly could not care less what this boy thinks, I’m dismayed to find my stomach still burns with anger and something close to shame. My gaze drops to his pant leg, which bears splotches of dried blood from the night before. 

“Problem?” Arden sneers, white skin burned red from long days in the sun. 

A slow tingling feeling bubbles up from my core, threads of numbness that tiptoe across my arms and legs. I force myself to breathe deeply, to beat the threads back. “I know it was you,” I mutter. 

He traces his chapped lips with two fingers, beady eyes darting to his mother before he leans forward, his smile stiffening. “You know nothing,” he hisses.

“You forget I have certain resources at my disposal.” I raise a hand in front of his flaking face, where my nails have sharpened into claws. “And that I know where you live.”

I stare until a satisfying trace of fear tinges Arden’s expression before stomping away toward the town’s single inn, which is little more than a guesthouse with four creaking rooms. If Helos were here, he would tell me to not take the bait, that I’m better than that. What he never seems to understand is that I’m not better than anything at all.

[quickspinner]

Month of Miracles - Dressing Up Part 2

Find the prompt list here!

Hallmark Movie AU Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 (end) | Read Month of Miracles on AO3

Marinette tapped her pencil on the small stack of sketches and sighed. She felt dissatisfied with them, but that was nothing new. She was dissatisfied with almost everything she made these days, so why should this be any different?

Her thoughts drifted back to Luka for the hundredth time. She was going to have to face him again. He was expecting her and she really did need to source some materials from the wardrobe he was offering. 

She might be able to put it off a day, though, she mused. Maybe it would be better to give him some space, anyway. She had just rejected him, after all. That had to sting, no matter how chill he acted about it. Marinette would be doing him a favor, staying away for a day. She could go shopping and see what she could get in the way of basic materials first. That was a perfectly plausible excuse. 

Coward, she thought sourly at herself, and sighed, dropping her head into her arms.

It would be easier if she didn’t like him so much. Marinette turned her head and looked at her phone where it lay on the table in its cheerful pink case. She could text him, but...would that be weird? People here didn’t seem to do that, they just...popped up. He’d told her just to show up whenever, but…

I don’t have his number, she realized suddenly. How funny was that? All the times they’d talked, and they’d never even traded numbers. 

She wouldn’t even be able to text him when she went back to the city. The thought made her ache, but she pushed it aside. That was the kind of problem you could push off for later, she thought as she packed up her things. Not like making out with a guy you were probably never going to see again once the week was out. Which was a real, actual problem that should be avoided. 

Right?

Marinette groaned, and grabbed Gina’s car keys, marching out of the door. She had a job to do, and surely she was still professional enough to manage that much. 

She had herself mostly together by the time she pulled into the Couffaine farm. The yard wasn’t empty when she pulled in, to her mild surprise. 

“Ahoy, Marinette!” Anarka called, waving at her, and Marinette, feeling she should be polite, got her kit out of the car and walked over to where Anarka was working. Ankara was unloading some small saplings from the back of a pickup truck that looked a lot like Luka’s, only about twenty years older. “For a moment there, I fergot it was you and not yer grandma pulling up,” Anarka chuckled as Marinette approached. “Here t’see Luka, I expect? He said ye were comin’ by.” 

“Yes,” Marinette tried to smile, and hoped she didn’t blush too hard at Luka’s name. Yes, hi, I kissed your son this morning and broke his heart, so this isn’t awkward at all. Lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?

“He’s been working like a demon all day,” Anarka commented, lifting another tree down with a grunt. “He was drivin’ me crazy, bein’ so efficient, and I about bit his head off.” She glanced at Marinette, who tried hard not to look guilty. “Told him to make himself scarce for a bit. I think he went t’ take a shower, but he should be done by now.” 

“Oh,” Marinette said lamely, trying very hard not to think of accidentally walking in on a freshly showered and not entirely dressed Luka. Maybe awkward small talk was for the best. “He, um. He said you were done for the year?”

“Aye, closed to the public fer the year,” Anarka smiled. “Though o’ course if there was anyone in town that needed anythin’ we’d open right back up. Nah, the public part of business is done for the year. Now it’s just all the work nobody sees.” She turned away from Marinette for a moment, walking over to the rail fence that separated the rows of trees. Marinette followed, unsure what else to do, her kit bumping against her knees as she carefully skirted the saplings. 

“Never really thought I’d end up in a place like this,” Anarka said, leaning her elbows against the fence rails. “There’s a kinda poetry t’ it, though. Renewal. Rebirth. The old makin’ way for the young.” She winked at Marinette, and then went on. “I might not even be here by the time these trees are big enough t’ cut. Got a wandering foot, y’know, and it’ll take seven or eight years minimum for these to get the size where anyone would even consider cutting ‘em. Who’s to say I won’t be off to some new adventure by then? But they’ll still be here, growing, because I planted them. Endings, beginnings. Sometimes it’s hard to tell one apart from the other, aye?” 

Marinette made a noise in reply automatically, but Anarka’s musings had put her thoughts on another track, and she barely heard the last bit. 

Anarka eyed her sidelong for a moment, and then sighed and shoved herself off the fence, turning to smile at Marinette with her hand on her hips. “Out with it, lass, what’s on yer mind?”  

Marinette blushed, snapping back to the present. “Nothing. It’s none of my business.” 

“Maybe not,” Anarka shrugged. “Ye can still ask, though. If I don’t want to tell ye, I just won’t.” 

Marinette shifted her weight and adjusted her grip on the handle of her kit, still uncomfortable, but...“Were you...disappointed?” she asked in a low voice. “When Luka gave up his career?”

Anarka laughed loud enough that it echoed back to them. “Nah, lass, I was proud . Luka was miserable, livin’ that life. It takes guts to admit that and come home, ‘specially when everyone around you is telling you how lucky ye are, having a talent and a chance like that. Like somehow you owe some cosmic debt and if ye don’t stick it out, yer wastin’ somethin’. Like success is a cookie cutter and ye have to slice away bits of yerself to make it fit.” She shook her head. “It’s not how I raised my kids. I taught them to take chances, and I taught them not to let fear make their decisions—and I also taught them that there’s no shame in what the world likes to call failure. There’s no shame in trying out the different shapes of success until you find one that fits, instead o’ tryin’ t’ force yerself into the one kind.” 

Marinette blinked at her, surprised at the way her expression softened as she spoke. 

Anarka was silent a moment and then sighed. “Still. You do your best to teach them, but you never know whether the lesson’s gonna stick. So when I think of the courage it took for Luka to walk away, to look so-called failure in the face and turn it into just another lesson learned, to find a way to believe that he’s still his father’s son even if he doesn’t follow in the old man’s footsteps—I’m so proud I could burst.” Marinette started slightly as Anarka suddenly stepped forward and put a surprisingly gentle hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “Luka’s never needed to prove his talent to me, lass. He’s still finding his feet again, and that’s okay. When he’s ready, he’ll make success fit him instead of the other way around, I’ve no doubt of that.” She squeezed Marinette’s shoulder, and looked at Marinette for a long moment. Marinette swallowed nervously, but couldn’t think of anything to say. 

Ankara let her hand drop and jerked her head towards the house. “Go on now, we’ve both got things to be doing. Go straight on in, he’ll be expecting you.” She turned back to her young trees, and Marinette, clearly dismissed, turned towards the house, butterflies surging back to life in her stomach. She was being stupid, she told herself. Luka had accepted her rejection gracefully, and tried so hard to make her comfortable. Marinette was sure she’d hurt his feelings if she suddenly got awkward about being around him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. 

Marinette sneaked a glance back towards Anarka, and then despite what she had been told, she knocked as loudly as she could. She lingered on the doorstep as long as she dared (which wasn’t very long, knowing that Anarka could see her not going on in), and let herself into the house. She could hear guitar music even before she got the creaky old door open, and once inside, she followed it to the great room. Luka was perched on the same fragile-looking chair as before, with an acoustic in his hands this time. He looked up as she entered, and smiled, laying his hand flat against the strings. His hair was damp, and his t-shirt sticking to him a little bit. He couldn’t have been out of the shower long and Marinette was kind of glad she’d stopped to talk to Anarka. 

Luka stood up and put the guitar in a stand, and Marinette realized she hadn’t even said hi, but it seemed too late now. “I was starting to think Mom was going to talk your ear off before you made it up here,” Luka teased gently as he straightened. 

“Oh, we were just, um—” Marinette winced. “Talking.” She was so lame, ugh. 

“I saw through the window,” Luka grinned. “Figured you’d get here when you were ready. The stuff’s all in the attic, so…” He gestured towards the stairs, and then reached for her kit. “Can I get that for you?”

Too flustered to object politely, Marinette let him take it, and then followed him. She should say something, she thought, but she couldn’t think of anything.

She sighed mournfully as they climbed the stairs. Part of her ached for what he was offering—but she was pretty sure that same part wouldn’t want to let him go, and that was just...and really, she was such a disaster, and he was amazing, and he deserved so much better than someone who was so mixed up and wishy-washy. Why did they have to meet like this? Would it have been different if they met before?

Except before, she was with Adrien, too dazzled and in love to even see anyone else, and Luka had been a rock star, surrounded by all the glamorous women he could possibly want, and she had never really stood out, as Audrey loved to remind her. She just didn’t have Adrien’s celebrity magnetism, nor Audrey’s force of personality, so she was always overlooked. It was no wonder that nobody ever really saw her until she came here. 

“Well, here we are,” Luka’s voice broke into her thoughts. He was reaching up to grab a hanging cord. 

Marinette shook her head and slapped her cheeks as Luka pulled the attic ladder down and ascended it. None of this was actually solving the problem at hand. She needed to keep her mind on the costumes. Marinette had sketched out some ideas at home, thinking she could probably get some sheets to use as a base, and then maybe she could source some of the less expensive things from Luka’s old wardrobe for embellishments on the fancier things like the angels, or for the snaps and things. There was a single big box store in town, actually; the selection would be limited but surely she could find some things there too. This project was ridiculously easy, when it came down to it. She had a plan that would work, and it was all simple sewing, stuff she could do in her sleep. No sweat. 

So why were her hands shaking?

She lifted her hands and watched them tremble before her eyes. She felt her breath getting short.

She started when a large hand closed over both of hers. “Marinette.” She looked up, and Luka was there, framed against the light coming down from the attic. “Are you all right?” 

“Yeah,” she said, a little too quickly, with a smile that was a little too wide. “Just, hoping there will be some stuff I can use.” 

Luka smiled. “It’ll be fine. Come on up.” He shifted his hold to just one of her hands and drew her up the narrow stairs after him.

He let go of her hand once she was up, and Marinette looked around in mild surprise. The attic was cleaner than she expected. Cluttered, like the rest of the house, and full of things in piles and stacked, sometimes draped in sheets, but she didn’t encounter the dust she had expected, and the small, high windows were clean and let in plenty of light. She wondered if they were just carting things in and out of here so often that they kept it clean, or if they used the space for more than storage. There was a clear path to where they needed to be, and she followed Luka across the creaking floor.

Marinette waited nervously as he whisked the protective sheets off two racks of clothes. Marinette had to blink as the light hit the clothes; there were metal accents and rhinestones and metallic fabrics everywhere, and she was unprepared for the amount of light they threw back in her eyes. 

“There it is,” Luka sighed, folding his arms as he sat on a trunk a short distance away. “Every bedazzled scrap of it.”

She had to giggle a little at that. Luke Stone had certainly favored ostentation, though that was almost unavoidable when you played with Jagged Stone. 

Still, they didn’t have to, she thought, as she walked up and began mechanically sliding looks along the rack to have a look. They could have played up his simplicity. They could have made him stand out by contrast, rather than by imitation. She wondered if they were deliberately setting up an implied rivalry between father and son with their choices, or if they just hadn’t thought a rock star could be simple. Costume design wasn’t exactly the same thing as fashion design, but there was enough overlap that— 

Marinette brought her thoughts back to the present, and swallowed as she stepped back again, suddenly overwhelmed. She turned away and opened her kit slowly, taking out the stack of drawings she’d left on top, suddenly profoundly dissatisfied with them. Rose and the kids expected her to work magic with this stuff, and all she had was a pile of generic toga-style costumes.

Simple. Uninspired. Pedestrian. 

Her gut began to churn.

Marinette glanced at Luka nervously, and then jerked her gaze quickly away, but of course he caught it. 

“I don’t have to be here if it makes you uncomfortable,” he said quietly. “I can go back downstairs and you can just call me if you need help with anything.”

That was so far from her thoughts that it gave her pause. “You...don’t make me uncomfortable,” she said, and looked back at him with a sad smile. “You never have. You’ve been...really wonderful, Luka, now matter how weird things got. I am uncomfortable, but it’s not about you.” Taking a breath, Marinette stepped back to the rack and ran her fingers down the fabric in front of her in a practiced motion, taking in the composition and the drape almost without conscious thought.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Luka asked quietly. 

Marinette thought about that for a moment, and then turned back to the garments on the rack. “Not tonight.” She couldn’t afford to get worked up now, she had to figure something out. She...she had to do something, she couldn’t just…

“Okay.” Luka said simply, and Marinette swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut. He was so understanding, but—what was she going to do? She couldn’t just drape the kids in sheets and call it a day, they deserved so much better than that. She had to figure something out, she had to—She put both hands in her hair and pulled it, trying to focus on the clothes in front of her, but her eyes stung. She squeezed them shut tight and held her breath, trying to keep it together. 

Luka’s hands closed on her shoulders from behind, squeezing lightly, and Marinette turned to him in a rush, burying her face in his chest. 

“Marinette, look at me,” he said, pushing her shoulders back gently and taking her face in his hands. “Just breathe, and look at me.”

Marinette stared up into his blue eyes, reflecting calm and assurance while all that fluttered in her chest was panic and self-doubt.

“Slow down,” he said emphatically. “It’s okay.”

“But I—” she began, and he shook his head.

“Marinette. There’s no failure here. Anything you put together will be better than moldy, moth-eaten rags. Without your help we’d all be frantically cutting armholes in pillowcases or something. No matter what you do, Rose will be ecstatic.” He smiled encouragingly at her. “These are the lowest possible stakes. You can’t screw up, so just have fun with it.” 

Marinette turned her head out of his hands, looking at the designer, rock star wardrobe laid out for her to use. “But—”

Luka reached over and grabbed her fabric scissors out of her kit. He grabbed a shirt at random off the rack, and cut it in half in a ragged line. Marinette stared as he offered her the scissors back. “That’s how little I care about this stuff,” he grinned. 

Marinette’s mouth closed abruptly and she glared at him, and would have snatched the scissors from them if they hadn’t been—well, scissors. Well-sharpened fabric scissors at that. Instead she took them with the appropriate amount of care even as she narrowed her eyes at him. “I might have needed that,” she told him, kicking his foot lightly. 

“I have faith,” Luka grinned wider. “You’ll manage.” 

She huffed and turned back to the garments, and looked at the second rack next to her. Luka backed away, leaning his elbows on an old dresser as he watched her. 

Marinette studied the racks, and suddenly she pulled out her phone, swiping to the group photo she’d taken at the library today. She looked over the children there, at their dyed hair and punk haircuts and all-black outfits interspersed with riots of color, and began to smile a bit. “Okay,” she muttered, picking up a leather garment studded with rhinestones. “I guess this Christmas is about to get a little bit rock ‘n roll.” 

Luka raised his eyebrows slightly.

Marinette barely noticed him, eyes lighting up as her mind began racing. She picked up the stack of designs she had done earlier and crumpled them absently in her hands. “I need my sketchbook,” she muttered. 

“I’ll get it,” Luka said, shoving off the dresser and crossing the room. “Where?”

“I left it in my car. On the passenger seat, I think.”

Luka clattered down the stairs and out of the front door to grab Marinette’s sketchbook. Halfway back up the stairs he hesitated, and ducked into his room to grab his own notebook. Marinette practically snatched the book out of his hand, digging in her kit for her pencils, and Luka grinned, sitting back on the trunk again and resting his notebook on his knee. 

He watched her, fascinated, as her focus narrowed to her task, and she began sketching, making notes and separating out items from the stacks of clothing he never thought he’d look at again. Luka began scribbling notes to himself as well, just...idle thoughts, the web of concepts and ideas that eventually came together to make a song, but he kept looking up to watch her, intrigued by her creative process. She muttered something to herself or tossed something aside with more vehemence than usual and he grinned. 

Slowly, the attic transformed, suddenly strewn with gaudy clothes. Several distinct heaps were forming. Every once in a while Marinette would stop, and go back to her sketchbook, scratching in new details or ideas, or crossing something out with a sigh. 

He jumped slightly, though, when she tossed the book aside with a little scream, and buried her face in her hands. “I’m such an idiot,” she muttered. “Why didn’t I think of that? It’s never going to hold up with that kind of weight, I’m so stupid —” 

“Whoa,” Luka said, a little sharply than he’d meant to, putting his notebook aside and getting up quickly to go to her. “Hey, hey, hey, slow down. What’s wrong?”

“I just—I should have accounted for this, and I didn’t, and now I have to change it—”

“Okay, so change it,” Luka said, putting his hands on her shoulders again to make her look at him. Marinette looked at him like he had two heads, and he almost laughed at her. “Marinette, you’re an artist, not a machine. It’s okay to backtrack and change your mind.” He smiled at her, hoping he looked reassuring and not enchanted. “I know every artist is different and music isn’t the same as fashion, but for me…” he shrugged. “Success comes from a series of small failures. You try something, and it mostly works, but something isn’t quite right, so you make a change and try again. That’s not something to be ashamed of or upset about. If you’re that frustrated, we could take a break. Or if you want to rework it some and come back tomorrow, that’s fine too. I’m not going anywhere.”

Marinette stared at him for a minute, her mouth working soundlessly. She looked down at the sketchbook in her hands, and then back up at him. 

“Do you want to take a break?” Luka asked her. 

“I...no,” she said. “It’s...it’s not that big of a deal, I’m pretty sure I can fix it if I...um—” 

“Okay,” he said simply, giving her shoulders a little squeeze. He really wanted to hug her, to hold her tight and tell her how amazing he found her, how entranced he was watching her work, how alive she looked when she was creating, but—he couldn’t, so he squeezed her shoulders and then let his hands fall. “No need to explain it, I trust you.” He glanced down at the book, and then looked away. “Sorry, I’m not trying to peek, but that—that looks really badass.” He couldn’t help looking again, and, blushing, Marinette turned the book so he could see. His smile grew as he looked at it. “That’s amazing, Marinette, what are you worrying about? If it looks half this cool in real life we’re going to have to have someone standing by to give Rose oxygen.” 

Marinette giggled, and looked back down at it herself. “You really think so?” she murmured, with a small smile that made his heart skip. Just when he thought she couldn’t get any sweeter. 

“I definitely think so,” Luka told her, backing away. He sat down on the floor this time, leaning back against the trunk. He groped behind him blindly for his notebook and nearly knocked it off the far side of the trunk. 

Marinette gave a pleased hum, and then took a deep breath before her brows furrowed into her concentration face. Luka drew his knees up and leaned one elbow on them, smiling like the fool he was. 

There were a few more frustrated groans, but no more spirals, and Luka kept quietly in his place even as piles of fabric grew around him. Finally she sat back and sighed. “I think that’s everything I’m going to need.” 

“Cool.” Luka looked up from his notebook and smiled. 

“I’m so sorry about the mess,” Marinette gasped, looking around as if she had only just now realized the chaos she had created. “I can help you clean it up—” 

Luka cut her off with a laugh. “You’re welcome to,” he chuckled, “but there’s really no need. Clutter is a way of life around here. Trust me, the only reason they were so organized to begin with is because they were delivered that way.” His eyes fell to her sketchbook. “Can I see what you have in mind?” he asked, unable to contain his curiosity any more.

Marinette tensed up immediately, biting her lip. She looked at the book and then at Luka, and then she offered it to him.

Luka took it, though his eyes stayed on her, concerned and a little baffled by her hesitation when the one sketch he’d seen had been so cool. Marinette turned back to the pile of garments she had chosen, though, and so he let his eyes fall and began looking through the few pages of sketches she had made, careful not to go beyond even though he was aching to see more. A slow smile grew on his face as he looked, and he shook his head slightly. “The angels are still my favorite, but these are amazing, Marinette. You might want to get some earplugs because Rose is going to shatter glass when she sees these.” He grinned up at her. “I knew you could do it.” 

She smiled faintly, but looked away. “They’re just pictures, though. I still have to actually execute the designs.” 

“Hey,” Luka said, reaching a hand up towards her. Marinette blinked in surprise, but she slowly stepped forward and put her hand in his. He tugged gently, and she sank to her knees in front of him. “ Yeah, you might have to make some changes when you go to actually put it together, but that’s part of the process for everybody. Sometimes a song I thought was finished doesn’t work out right the first time I play it with the band, and I have to make some changes.” He hesitated, and then went on. “I don’t know what’s going on in there,” he poked her forehead gently. “And I’m not exactly up on fashion, but—” he gestured at the racks of clothes. “I have some experience too, and I gotta say…” he shook his head, and turned the sketchbook towards her. “You outclass anybody else I’ve worked with by far.”  

Marinette blushed deeply. “They’re just costumes,” she murmured, tucking her hair back as she looked away. 

“They could have been, but they’re not.” Luka offered her the book back. “Marinette.” He waited until she looked at him. “Do you like them?”

Marinette looked back at the drawings, and bit her lip. Her face was growing red again. “Yes,” she finally admitted quietly. 

Luka put his fingers under her chin and tipped her face back up. “Stop thinking so hard,” he said gently. “I know it’s easy to lose faith in yourself, but...you’re creating something, you have to find a way to tune all of that stuff out and just be in that moment. You can deal with the aftermath afterwards.” He grinned. “That’s what editing is for, right? Or so I’m told. I was never any good at it.” 

Marinette smiled. “That’s why your music was so good. It was...raw, instinctive. Still polished, but deeply emotional. It’s why I always loved it.” 

It was Luka’s turn to flame up red, and Marinette giggled. 

“That wasn’t fair,” he huffed, pulling his knees up to hide his face in his arms for a moment.

Marinette laughed harder. “How many thousands of records sold and you blush at a little old compliment from a fan?” she teased. 

Luka turned his face on his arms so that he was looking at her. “You’re not just any fan,” he said, and smiled at the pink returning to her cheeks. He sighed, raising his head, and letting his legs fall and cross beneath him again. “Don’t ever let anyone let you feel like you’re not special, Marinette.”

“It’s definitely not a problem when I’m with you,” she said, and then bit her lip, like it had slipped out without her intending it to. 

“Good,” he grinned, and then decided he’d better move before he did something stupid. “So, show me what you need me to take down to the car for you, and we’ll just leave the rest of it like this until you’re done in case you need to come back for something.” 

“Oh,” Marinette’s eyes widened slightly and she scrambled to her feet. “Right.” 

She told him which piles of clothes she wanted to take, and Luka got some bags and gathered them up. Marinette made a token effort at tidying up, despite Luka having told her to leave it. She hung a few things back on the rack, and paused suddenly, hand hovering over a jacket still on the rack. 

Marinette picked it up slowly, looking at it. The scent of leather and something like electronics hit her nose, and her eyes widened slightly. She felt around the bottom hem and found something hard and rectangular there. Another minute of searching, and the jacket lit up in her hands, the fiber optic lights sewn into the seam pulsing faintly. 

Marinette laughed a little, and crossed over to the trunk Luka had been using as a chair all afternoon. She sat down and spread the jacket across her lap. She remembered this. He’d been wearing it at the show she’d gone to. They’d started with all the lights off and just Luka on stage, wearing this jacket and the pants that went with it, making him just an electric outline on the stage when the curtain went up. 

Hard to reconcile that image with the guy from the tree farm, she thought affectionately. But then, he’d always had a reputation for being a sweetheart, good to his fans and generous with his time, so...maybe it wasn’t so hard to believe. 

At least this contraption is well made, she thought, running a finger along one of the light tubes. It was still secure after all this time, and clearly in working order. 

The lights began to flash and jump around, and Marinette giggled. It had started that right before Luke had swept his hand up and down in a dramatic power chord that had rattled her teeth. Once again it was hard to reconcile them in her mind. It was almost funny, now that she knew Luka, remembering those dramatics. 

The light reflected back off something in the corner of her eye, and when she looked, she saw it was the metal coil of Luka’s notebook, half buried under a pile of clothes he had shoved out of the way. She picked the notebook up and smiled a little bit as she did so; the page was a mess, full of scratched out lines, and the writing went every which way in a complicated web. Was this how his mind worked? It was so different from her own process— 

Jewels Diamonds in the sands of time Those are my memories with you And even if it’s only a precious few They’re the ones I’ll keep when everything else flows away

It made Marinette think of her first fashion show, when she’d been new and excited about the garments she was putting out there, excited and happy. That moment shone jewel-bright in her memory, despite all the drudgery that had followed it. That was she was working for, after all, another chance at that feeling. All of this frustration would be worth it if she could have another moment like that. 

Marinette blinked back to reality and suddenly realized what she was doing. She slammed her eyes shut and turned the notebook over in her lap. Oh, she shouldn’t have looked at that, she thought frantically, her heart suddenly beating triple time. This—this was private, just like her designs were, and she shouldn’t have—but she hadn’t meant to— 

Luka’s heavy boots thunked on the stairs and Marinette jumped, dropping the notebook so that it landed on the floor splayed open with an inelegant smack . Marinette scrambled up and hurriedly grabbed it again. She hastily smoothed it out as Luka came the rest of the way up into the attic. “Oh, I think this one is yours,” she said, holding it out to him. 

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Luka said, curling it in half and sticking it in his back pocket. Marinette tried not to wince. “Anything else?” His eyes landed on the jacket in her hands. “Oh, I see you found the switch,” he chuckled. 

“Will you put it on?” Marinette blurted, and Luka raised his eyebrows at her. “Please?” she smiled, hunching her shoulders slightly as she held it up.   

Eyebrows still raised, Luka took it, and slipped it on. He grimaced slightly as he zipped it up. “Definitely doesn’t fit as comfortably as it used to,” he commented, tugging down on the hem. “Not too bad, though.” 

“You probably build muscles in different places, hauling trees,” Marinette said absently, stepping forward to adjust the way it sat across his shoulders for a moment. “Not as uniform a workout as using a personal trainer. It gives you a more natural build.” She smiled a little as she smoothed the arms and stepped back.

“It still looks good on you,” she observed. “You were wearing this at the concert I went to. The first time I saw you live.” 

Luka smiled ruefully. “Doesn’t exactly have the same effect in my attic, does it?”

“No,” Marinette smiled back. “It was a wonderful performance, though, and I guess I wasn’t expecting to be reminded of it just now.” She bit her lip and asked in a rush, “Were you...were you writing a song? Just now?” She gestured vaguely toward his pocket. 

Luka looked a little taken aback, but not offended. “I was starting to,” he admitted. “I...really enjoy the time we spend together, and it was really nice, seeing a new side of you today. I guess I felt a little inspired, yeah.” 

Marinette’s breath caught. “It was...about me?” 

“About you and me, yeah,” he admitted. “Does that bother you?” 

Marinette’s eyes widened. “No!” How could he think she’d be offended by such a thing? It was...it was amazing, that she’d inspired anything in him, when she was so—and—how she had felt, in that first fashion show, was he...was he saying he felt that way with her ? She shied away from the idea even as she thought it, it was so...so much, and she was so—she was—   

Oh no. Luka was looking at her intently, a slight crease in his forehead. She tried to think of something to say, but her internal meltdown was too complete, and she just stared at him. 

“You’re extraordinary, Marinette,” Luka said softly, and his expression was completely serious and not at all flirtatious. “Getting to see you work today was a privilege. I’m better for meeting you, even if my heart breaks when you’re gone. It’s...it’s a long way from being a song, but I meant it.”

“But I’m…”

Luka shook his head slightly, a smile softening his expression. “You’re what, Marinette? Tell me everything, I want to hear all of it.” 

Marinette gaped. “You—you—how do you do that?” she cried, throwing her hands up. “You’re sweet and kind and you have an amazing talent but you’re so laid back and grounded and—”

“And you are all of those things too,” Luka laughed. “Except maybe the laid back part.” He grinned, and Marinette made a face at him. “You kinda maybe worry too—”

Marinette had taken two large steps toward him. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled. Luka staggered, grabbing on to her shoulders as she dragged him down and kissed him. 

He made a very undignified noise even as his arms were coming down to wrap around her. Marinette couldn’t hold the kiss very long; she hadn’t taken a good breath and her nose was smashed against his cheek, so she was forced to break it before Luka really even had a chance to respond. 

Luka sucked in a breath, blinking at her. “Are you sure?” he blurted, and then looked like he wanted to kick himself. Marinette had to giggle, giddy with elation and adrenaline, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest. 

“No,” she told him when she was able, and a little shiver of fear went up her spine before she stomped it down again. “But I’ve never met anybody like you and...anyway, you’re right. It’s stupid to be tearing myself up over it when I could just be kissing you instead.” 

“Very logical,” he laughed, and Marinette kicked his shin lightly.

“Take off this ridiculous jacket,” she told him, tugging. “I can’t take you seriously in this thing.” 

“I don’t know, I’m suddenly a lot fonder of it than I was a moment ago,” Luka grinned, putting his hands over hers on the lapels. His tone was teasing, but his thumbs caressed the backs of her hands, and there was a light in his eyes that had her heart galloping all over again. 

She slipped her hands away, and Luka fumbled at the hem until he found the switch, turned the lights off, and shrugged the jacket off, dropping it carelessly on the trunk beside them before reaching for her again.

They were still wrapped up in each other when Rose popped her head in the attic looking for them, and rattled the windows with her scream.

Fiction Master Post | Month of Miracles

[deafchild2000]

I'm Feeling Like A Broken Record!

But you know what: Audrey deserved Fuckin' better!

I'm going to admit it: I'm anti-Mal and Anti-Bal!

I feel no shame in admitting it!

[mcheang]

It’s all about me

As Annabeth once said in Percy Jackson, there is no such thing as a free lunch. I got inspired by the idea. The title was inspired by a song sung by Chelsea Kane in Bratz. This is a rough idea and I’m sad to say it’s got Adrien salt but I always disliked how he didn’t expose Lila even after Marinette had to sit in the back alone. On the bright side, he did join her in the back eventually.

The class is willing to help Lila but it helps that she makes promises to do introductions. To be honest, that is why Lila has so many followers.

They don’t really care about what Lila had seen or had done. If they did, Chloe could have regaled them with her holiday trips and grand parties.

Celebrity connections is great but Chloe, Marinette and Adrien have already interacted with celebrities. They don’t really care about that stuff. You don’t see everyone crowding around Marinette when she made the cover of a magazine.

What the class cares about is when Lila promises to make them famous or introduce them to their favourite celebrities.

That is why, the day after Chameleon, the band asks Lila when she can make introductions because they really want to boost Kitty Section’s fame. Lila tells Kitty Section she doesn’t mix personal and business together when it comes to her sensitive music director friend. She gives the same answer to Nino. She can introduce them however, whenever he comes to Paris, which they know is not in the near future.

Rose is conflicted because what she just read on Prince Ali conflicts with what Lila said yesterday.

She tells Nathaniel that her manga acquaintance is currently busy but maybe once his series is finished, she will recommend Nathaniel to him. Nathaniel knows that could take years.

Kim and Alix know their favourite atheletes are currently busy so don’t bother asking.

Chloe doesn’t associate with anyone but her BFF and Adrien. Sabrina follows her lead.

Adrien and Marinette already know she is lying and keep their distance.

In time, Lila loses her entourage. She can’t give them immediate dates for meeting with their celebrities and they soon realize that all Lila talks about is herself. She’s like a more sociable and friendly version of Chloe. They grow tired of her talk and try to leave her as soon as one of them carries lunch for her.

Don’t get me wrong, they have tried to divert the conversation but she always tries to lead it back to her.

“I did tell you about my time in Japan right? Oh the fashion was so picturesque I’m sure even Audrey must have visited.” Chloe rolls her eyes. Sabrina just gives Lila a polite nod.

“Oh, I know Clara Nightingale when she visited Italy for her tour. My mum made arrangements and Clara even taught me a few moves!” Yeah...Lila can’t dance...

“Did I ever tell you i once ate at the best bakery in all of Italy? And the food was so cheap too?” Alya led Marinette away at that, thinking that for a sweet girl, Lila can be so tactless.

As for Alya, she received comments from viewers about how they had been saved by Ladybug, ever since she posted Lila’s interview.

When Mr Ramier admits he usually treats the heroes to ice cream after they defeat Mr Pigeon, that is when Alya begins to have thoughts. There is even proof of the ice cream conversation by other viewers admitting they saw this and one even provided pictures.

Alya asks Lila for a photo of her and Ladybug. Lila denies this as Ladybug doesn’t take photos like that. She lets people take photos of her but she doesn’t pose for them. Alya asks Lila to surprise Ladybug but Lila doesn’t want to do that to her friend.

Alya is hesitant because she herself has grown tired of Lila’s big talk and has had received comments from followers claiming to be part of Ladybug’s inner circle.

Alya finally asks for proof, so she can distinguish who is telling the truth and who isn’t. Otherwise she will take down Lila’s post.

When Alya talks about her worries with Marinette - because if Lila is lying, it means she is taking advantage of their kindness and her blog’s reputation will be ruined - Marinette decides to forego Adrien’s high road and even offers to set up another interview for Alya.

Yeah, Ladybug denies ever being friends with Lila. She exposed Lila earlier but felt bad about how she did it.

Alya confronts Lila about it the next day. Lila tries to claim Ladybug was protecting her but Alya has done her research now.

She had confronted Adrien earlier, who admits that he knew Lila was a liar. (Alya figured the crush Ladybug mentioned Lila had and was talking to had to be Adrien because she had seen her flirting with him on her first day.) Alya then gets Adrien to back her up if he wants to be forgiven by the class because they won’t react kindly once they find out his role. Adrien is guilt-shamed when Alya declares him to be an untrustworthy, horrible friend for letting them be manipulated by Lila.

And also, Alya had recorded Lila’s interview about how Ladybug healed her tinnitus on the wrong ear.

When Lila tries to accuse Alya and Adrien of ganging up on her, Rose herself tearfully points out her inaccuracies about Ali’s charities. Adrien realizes that Lila is hurting people with her lies and feels truly bad upon seeing Rose’s tears.

Seeing that she is losing ground, Lila cries and runs away. This scene is familiar to Marinette and Adrien so they run after her.

Ladybug arrives to purify the akuma. The class see Ladybug for themselves and Lila is truly caught.

When Lila then tries to accuse Ladybug of embarrassing her.

Ladybug admits she went too far, but can you blame her after Lila insulted her abilities as a hero?

With all this drama, Ms Bustier eventually has to step in. Ladybug warns Bustier to keep an eye on Lila and to actually check her stories.

Mrs Rossi is contacted.

Lila is in bigger trouble than ever, and all because she never thought about the consequences of her lies.

Alya posts an apology on her blog.

Marinette admits Ladybug loves her cookies and that’s how she got Alya her interviews.

The class forgives Adrien and he decides to skip advising then to forgive Lila because he realizes he himself was in the wrong and they won’t take that advice from him. He also apologizes to Marinette (yeah Alya really tore into him about his stupid advice. He was lucky he at least decided to join Marinette in the back.) But he still feels bad for sweet, misguided Lila until Marinette reveals that Lila had threatened her.

Alya gets Adrien to treat Marinette to a meal to make it up to her. While Marinette protests, Adrien agrees with Alya.

[kneamet]

Delusion (2/5)

Trigger Warning: no

Summary: she was the only girl in his band whose singing he loved so much. She was the person he truly respected. Andy Miles was someone Hank Williams had an unrelenting obsession with.

Chapter two: Quarrel

POV Hank

He could see the look of satisfaction on Fred Rose's face. He could literally feel the look of pleasure burning through the musician. And Hank loved it.

He liked to finally feel that sense of dignity and that people were listening to you and doing it not for the sake of profit, but simply because they were interested in you. Because Hank was sure that he was working for the WSFA for the money and Mr. Pill didn't give a damn about the way he sang. The main thing is that there should be sales and money. And the audience, of course.

No, Williams certainly liked the fact that many people, when driving to work or doing morning chores, such as breakfast or going to the store, listen to his program. Sales of his own records, which he published, were not so much, but he was sure that this contract, which he would conclude with MGM Records, would bring him fame.

"...So move it on over..." not daring to hold back a smile, feeling Mr. Rose's pride, Hank tried not to mess up the tune. She wasn't that old after all. To be honest, he wrote this song back in June, and the audition only happened in April.

Knowing that this song would appeal to many, Williams just couldn't stop thinking about what would happen when he found the fame and fortune that would later haunt him throughout his life. He will never again sing in cheap places and entertain the crowd with his original songs. Now Williams will be the new star of the Opry, who everyone will love and look forward to his next outing.

"...Move it on over..."

Imagining what he would be able to buy with this wealth and how he would fulfill all the debts that he had accumulated, if you remember how much he sometimes lent to his friends. And it had to be done only for the sake of Audrey's whim. You see, what she didn't like was that he didn't support her singing; that he drank at dinner, ostensibly setting a bad example to her daughter Lucrezia.

It always annoyed him, but Hank was sure that sooner or later, but Audrey would leave him and this elusive love story would end in failure and the fact that they fell out. Although what kind of love story is this? Unless, of course, extortion of money from a partner is considered love.

"...the big dogs moving in..."

Williams always thought about it. That soon, having come to his popularity, he would immediately have time to quarrel with his entire group, which he had been collecting for years and with which he spent all his free time so fiercely. But he never thought about leaving his beloved girlfriend Andy.

For him, Andy was the one who inspired him to write lyrics; the one who inspired him to stay calm in certain situations; the one who simply helped him not to give up.

He was sure, he had been sure for a long time, of how she felt about him. It wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't exactly friendly either, because sometimes she would make such comments about Hank's personal life that he would burn with shame. He knew it was a feeling that couldn't be explained. Feelings that can be called falling in love.

Sometimes Hank allowed himself to think about her in a sexual way, but he always tried to put those thoughts away where no one would find them. After all, to desecrate the beloved, who helped him to rise, is very mean, so even in this way.

Thinking about how happy he would be to be engaged to the girl he loved, Hank shivered a little. He just couldn't help but think about it, and at a time when things could change for the better.

"...Shes changed the..."

***

He knew Audrey very well, and especially how much she liked to be overbearing in certain moments of their personal life. And it was in such moments of her total power over him that Williams could only think of Andy. He didn't care that Audrey didn't like something and wanted something different. He didn't care, and that feeling had accompanied their marriage together for two years.

And now, watching with a little bit of distaste as Audrey supervised the workers who did everything right, the guy couldn't help but chuckle. Ridiculous. Although perhaps she just wanted to show her "power" over people who work for other people for little money.

Shaking his head in a negative gesture, the man squeezed his hand slightly, slightly triumphant over the fact that he would soon not have to put up with Audrey and her dismissive attitude towards him.

And she still wonders why he continues to sleep with different women, satisfying their needs, if she can not even give him a simple caress, which he so desperately needs?

He really needed support from someone, and especially from his wife, who was always supposed to help him. Didn't they swear an oath before the altar that they would support each other in everything? Because Audrey Williams has never even said a single word of support. Sometimes it seemed to him that she did it just for the money.

Williams knew that she would never accept him simply as someone to be loved and cherished in health and sickness, but his beloved, his true love, which made all bad thoughts go out of his head, would definitely be able to accept him as he was.

Andy would definitely not love him because he had money in his pocket, those bloody bloody bills. She would truly respect him when they lived together and he would take care of her no matter what.

"Honey, come here!" Sitting down at the cleared table, on which there was only an ashtray, in which there were already two extinguished cigarettes, which were successfully smoked by Williams, who was in a nervous state.

He didn't want to call Audrey at the moment, especially after he had recovered from Audrey's behavior, and he didn't want to play the role of a good husband who respected his wife. Because he definitely didn't have the slightest respect for Audrey.

"What?" I hear my wife's voice, and the man feels like he's starting to smile, looking at the cover of the newspaper. He did not hear her, but continued to think about his dream, which has every chance of coming true soon. Hank made the right contract. For once in his life, he made the right decision.

"I want to show you something," admitting honestly, but Williams wasn't too eager to show Audrey the interview, as he knew she wouldn't care about it. After all, it would be much better if he bought her another unnecessary trinket, worth a fortune.

"What is it?" The voice becomes clearer, and Hank knows Audrey will be right there. Taking a gentle breath, the man focused on playing a man who respects the dignity of his wife.

"Come here and I'll show you," taking a sip from the cup next to the clear ashtray, Williams frowns again, showing rejection and a little contempt on his face. Cold coffee again. Why does it cool down so quickly?

"Okay, what do you want to show me?" The gentle voice of his wife tries to caress the man's ear, but he knows that now she will show off in front of him. How naive she is to think that he didn't see it and doesn't understand even the simplest hints.

Blinking a couple of times at a rapid pace, the man smiled again and looked at Audrey, who was standing in front of him, bit her lip and, apparently seeing his slight nod, took a mink coat hanging on the back of a wooden chair, which cost the man a lot of money, which he was not particularly happy to give away. He'd rather buy another gift from Andy under the guise of his best friend. He knew that her favorite cigarettes, a good tart whiskey, and an old worn book would be the best gift for her.

"See this?" the guy says, pointing with his index finger at a passage that is important to him and that he is proud of. "So..."hugging his wife with a hug full of lies, Hank smiles, anticipating her reaction to what he was doing. Clearing his throat, Williams continues, after a significant pause. "«Where he got his inspiration for the song "Move It On Over", Hank could not say, but certainly not from his family life. Mr. and Mrs. Hank Williams live a wonderful family life»," feeling the burning gaze of Audrey, the guy looks at her and, as if realizing what a mess it is, smiles and begins to laugh. His wife's laughter is also heard in the distance. They both seem to understand the nonsense in the papers.

"Wait... Do you think it's funny?" Hank chuckled and smiled, and only tightened his grip on the white newsprint, praying Audrey wouldn't notice. He didn't want to explain to her later that he was just nervous and thinking about filing for divorce as soon as possible.

He knew. Audrey would definitely make a scene out of nothing.

"I think so, in you?" As if mocking the girl, the guy says, watching carefully as Audrey gets up from his lap and grins, taking the newspaper that the postman delivered a couple of hours ago, throwing it on the steps of the house.

Hank takes another sip and immediately sticks out his tongue, as if trying to remove the unpleasant taste of cold coffee. His eye twitched slightly.

"It says here that we've sold more than ninety thousand records," she says, and there's no surprise or joy in her voice that he's moved up to the winning sales spots for the first time. And this is called family solidarity? His hand tightened on the cup, and his fingers were white with tension. "If it's even half true, I wonder how much we'll make out of it..." holding the paper closer to his eyes, as if trying to see some subtext in them. Hank pursed his lip.

"So Hank Williams is an important person?" The question was rhetorical and it did not require an answer, but the guy simply could not understand and realize this fact. What he had lived and worked for had finally come true, and now he had a contract and an officially paid job.

He didn't hear what Audrey was saying or reading. Knowing that she wouldn't be thrilled or happy for him, Williams simply couldn't help but wonder what Andy's reaction would be to the fact that they had not only reached number four on the chart together, but had also made the front pages of the newspaper. It made him happy to think how happy she would be to see it. After all, he owed this song to her.

"See the note on the sideboard?" Interrupting the thoughts that were so dear to Hank, Audrey throws the newspaper on the table and turns in his direction. "Howard Pill called, we're going to the radio station tomorrow."

He kicked him and his band out of his show, didn't he? Or what, he found out about the rapid popularity and immediately wanted to invite them?

"To hell with the show, I shouldn't have gone back there."

***

"Ha, ha," comes a light voice with a little hoarseness, and Hank smiles at Andy, who is always happy to please the audience with new songs and a cheerful mood. After all, wasn't that enough for people?

He looks down, watching as his beloved, his truly beloved girl, runs her gauze-wrapped fingers over the strings of a guitar that is playing a set of notes.

"So guys, I know, it's six-thirty in the morning," Andy continued to smile, leaning closer to the microphone and casting a quick glance at Hank, who was looking at her with pursed lips, immediately continued: "but if you're milking a cow or just going to the grocery store, we're happy if you're listening to us at this time," Williams reluctantly tore his gaze away from Miles's contemplation, and turned his gaze to his wife, who was standing by the piano, sipping her morning coffee. It's invigorating, and who wouldn't mind a cup of coffee in the morning?

He didn't want to quarrel with Audrey and listen to her loud and unpleasant voice again. Whenever they started a new fight, Audrey always shouted in a nasty voice. What can we say about singing, if even in raised tones her voice took on a vile and bad color.

"So, we have a young lady here who wants to sing a song for you. Are you here?" Suddenly interrupting Andy, Hank begins, turning his attention to Audrey. Better to let her sing now than later, or he wouldn't be able to wait any longer. Waiting was a good thing, but annoying. Williams was absolutely certain that no one here wanted to hear his wife sing.

"I'm here, I'm here," Mrs. Williams takes a quick, deft step toward Hank, to which Hank only smiles falsely. Today everything should go smoothly and without quarrels, which could happen in the morning, but, thank God, he managed to tell her in time that she was going with him.

"She walks slowly to the microphone," Hank runs his shoulders up a little, chuckling and feeling a slight tension in his back. It always hurt when he thought of something stressful. "Ready?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she says, looking at Williams, smiling. The man's hand trembled, sending pain to his temples and a haunting rhythm. A nervous migraine?

"You sound a little shaky," Andy interjects, saving the situation and interrupting the banter between the couple. Hank sends her a smile, which is immediately reflected in his direction.

Williams takes a sharp breath and closes his eyes for a few seconds. His sensitive nose picks up the smell of the cheap, bitter cigarettes that Andy loved to smoke. He chuckled slightly, knowing their price, because in fact, he always found some atmosphere in bad cigarettes, which were diluted with various impurities, which made the taste sweet and herbaceous. However, the disadvantage was that the smoke was very dry throat and then there was a bitter taste, which I wanted to get rid of as soon as possible.

"I'm ready," Audrey smiles at Hank, who lets out a chuckle.

He'd never liked her smile, and at times like this, he wondered how he'd ever come to the conclusion that they were perfect for each other when they couldn't even find simple support.

After all, according to Hank, the life of two spouses should be perfect, they should fit each other, not finding flaws and accepting themselves as you are.

"Well, that's good. She will sing you a song called "Pan American", which some of you have already heard," this song was very much liked by his beloved and although he wanted this song to be performed by her, but, unfortunately, Audrey expressed her opinion yesterday about what song she wants to perform. "This is the train that goes from Cincinnati to New Orleans every day."

"Let's go, Rivers," Miles said, interrupting the boy, and Hank saw Jerry wink at her in response to the girl's words, boldly touching the bow to the strings of the violin he had always so carefully guarded.

Hank's brows drew together, and his left hand clenched into a fist, trembling treacherously. What kind of playful winks are these?

Williams bites the inside of his cheek, glancing at Audrey, who is about to start singing. Although, to be more precise, it is more like an eruption of strange and incomprehensible sounds.

His mind, being a little clouded by what he has just seen, does not want to think straight. And because of that, his mog was unable to think of anything but insults.

"...I have heard your stories about your fast trains... " came the voice of his wife, and Hank had already several times regretted that he had ever gotten involved in this. It was better not to agree to take Audrey with you and come to the radio station, just to enjoy and admire Andy's tired, slightly hoarse voice.

He closed his eyes, taking a few breaths. It's going to be a long time.

***

"Someone has to do something about her," not that he disagreed with Mr. Pill about Audrey's singing, but rather that he was afraid that his wife would hear it. He knew what a scandal she would make if she heard that, knowing that she sang beautifully.

Although this was certainly not true. Anyone who thinks that singing is her destiny either hasn't heard her sing, or they're an idiot.

"Well, wow... Are you discussing the weather or Audrey?" Trying to get close to them without being seen, Hank says, taking the first drag on his cigarette and putting his hand down. Bitter taste. Just right for the situation.

"Hank," the normally silent Lum suddenly says, interrupting the tense exchange between the bosses. "Actually, we were discussing how she sings."

He certainly didn't mind them discussing it, because he would have been happy to join them if Audrey hadn't been here, but he just didn't want to plan and start another fight. It will be better to just keep silent, especially since the head, and the back as well, begin to give weightless pain.

"Ah, that's it."

"Yes," the bassist says casually.

If he really loved her, he would have defended and defended Jaro long ago, but knowing that this was the best reason to waste his nerves, and being completely in agreement with Audrey's singing, Hank just sighed, turning his gaze to Mr. Pill, who was watching him closely.

"Well, Hank," Howard says, standing up from the yellow chairs against the wall, shaking his head. "He's terrible, and you know it as well as I do," Mr. Pill said quickly, as if predicting further argument.

"Well, maybe I do, but it doesn't matter now, it's about my wife," at the moment, he just hoped that no one could hear him. He held his breath as he said this, wishing only that he and Audrey would part amicably without a " bloody divorce."

The boss's eyes widen and dim, and he swallows. Hank grins triumphantly, but he notices that his gaze is not directed at him, but behind his broad back. He turns back, frowning.

"Fuck you, my husband," anger and indignation oozes out of her voice, and Williams opens his mouth slightly, wanting to utter false words that are pleasant to hear, but notices that his wife wants to leave as soon as possible. Before he can, Hank grabs her wrist, stopping her.

"Honey, honey, you didn't hear what I said, I was protecting you. You did a great job, " oh, if that were true.

"Just forget it," she tries to free herself from her husband's hand, and Audrey shakes it slightly, pulling her teeth together and looking at him with an angry look.

"Baby, baby, it's such a beautiful morning, you look great, we're doing fine."

"Have another drink, Hank. We're all shitty!"

"Why do you say that?" The guy swallows, slightly perplexed by this, but realizing that Audrey has long since figured it out and understood. Only, he wasn't sure if she had correctly interpreted his words and hints that he didn't have any tender feelings for her at all.

His love and heart were completely given to his beloved girl, who did not yet know what his feelings for her were. Perhaps Andy thought that he was just a friend to her, but he would definitely show her later that he did not want to remain just a friend, wanting to be something more in their immortal love.

"I've been told people like the way I sing, but not you. You're trying to crush me like a bug," bile oozes from Audrey's mouth and Hank just tries not to snap. Unfortunately, his temper was quite explosive and if something did not suit him, he immediately began to break down.

"What are you talking about? You're more like a queen bee. I brought you here, I was on your side!"

"Yes, I stepped on my own throat!"

"Stepped on the throat!?" The guy does not restrain himself, starting to raise his voice and not even trying to calm his nerves. My back starts to hurt even more.

He squints, as if trying to show discomfort. His back always hurt when he raised his voice or got into conflicts. And this irritated him insanely, since she then sent signals to the heads and began a mild migraine, which could later develop into a more serious diagnosis.

"I'm sick of this, Hank, I'm sick of it," she turns around again and tries to leave, but Williams doesn't give her a break.

"In case you've forgotten, we've got one hit, a new house, and you've got a damn fur coat!" His words sound as if this really justifies something, but in a relationship with another person, and even in a simple conversation, it could play into your hands.

But that's not Audrey's style at all. She will swear and break out until people recognize her side, and even build a victim out of herself. Disgusting.

And what did he see in her? Not only did she have a disgusting personality, being terribly selfish and not helping Williams in his endeavors, but she also never liked him outwardly: green, with some shades of blue, eyes; blonde hair, which she always tried to hide with light brown paint; plump lips, which were so unpleasant to kiss that the guy was amazed how he tolerated it at all; this ugly mole near the eye. And her style of dress was always a failure. Although no, Hank is definitely lying, since she was very attractive, but until the moment he met Andy.

"You think that justifies whores and booze!?"

Hank's eyes flickered, and he didn't like it. She doesn't even understand the situation, and already blames him. If only she knew that he'd been doing less and less escorting lately, trying to spend more time with Andy.

"This should justify at least something!" Williams ' eyes were wide. The hand holding the cigarette began to shake even more, and a quick migraine shot through his head in his right temple.

"But it's not. That's no excuse for ruining another person's dreams!" Dreams? Dreams of what? Become a singer who can't sing? He didn't want to upset her, but he was sure she wouldn't be happy if she found out that you could get into show business either because of your connections or because you had talent.

"What?" Hank shouts as he gets even closer to his wife.

"Yes, you should know that," looks straight into Audrey's eyes with a piercing gaze. "Because now it's obvious to me. You can take your hit, along with this fur coat! And don't forget to answer the phone when my lawyer calls!" she says, turning around and giving her husband a menacing and venomous look. The man's eye twitched again as the front door closed.

"Great, let him call right now!" In a fit of rage gnawing at his mind, Hank kicks an innocent chair, still burning to break something. Right hands itching to calm your anger with the flat of something.

As he turns to face the group, the pain in Hank's temple reverberates in his head again. He didn't give a damn what the guys and the boss might think, because at the moment, he just needed to show his emotions in a negative way.

"What are you looking at?" He shouted in a rush of emotion and really did not know what he was doing. The fist holding the cigarette clenched. "Do you like the show?"

As he headed for the recording room, Hank brushed his shoulder against Mr. Pill, as if to show how much he was currently unable to think properly and rationally, doing everything on emotion.

Opening the door and closing it with a loud bang, Hank went to the dark brown sofa and sat down on it, clutching at his hair, pulling at the roots until it hurt. It was necessary to adjust the mind to think rationally and not to succumb to the emotions that always prevailed over it.

His lips tightened, and his legs tightened. My head itched from the strain.

"You'll make up," a familiar tired voice suddenly sounded, hoarse from singing, and Hank looked up, still holding his dark hair. He smiled faintly as he noticed that Andy was leaning against the door frame, her thin arms crossed.

Williams nodded toward the couch, as if inviting her to sit down. Miles chuckled and walked over to Hank, who was looking at her from under his brows. Sipping her pants, the girl sat up, turning to the guy, to which he only shook his head and lowered his head down, as if admitting his failure.

"You'll find a way," Andy shrugged simply, as if she didn't care, putting her hands on top of her head and looking at her friend. "I know you guys. Just your gap is that you are very proud, and this feeling is one of the most crushing in the world."

It seemed like a game to her. Her words were light, but they were also food for thought.

"You'll make up," Andy said again.

Hank raised his head, looking for a moment at his beloved, who thoughtfully focused her gaze on the white, with some spots, ceiling and seemed to be thinking about her own.

The guy smiled, sighing. You should know, Andy, that he's been in love with you for so long, and he's just afraid to admit it. It was indeed the kind of love that is described in books. Gentle, romantic and understanding, in which the partners just love each other.

[cornholio4]

Be Careful What You Wish For

Author’s Note: This was based on a Tumblr story I found out about Adrien betraying Marinette in using the wish, Marinette lost her mum but get together with Damian after being with Adrien in the new timeline. I decided to go to a plot bunny I had where the wish the Agrestes make was not worth it.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng couldn't believe what just happened; her partner Chat Noir had messaged her saying that he had found a clue as to who Hawk Moth was and was surprised to find it was the Agreste Manor. She wondered if this meant that Gabriel Agreste could have been Hawk Moth and found a way around the limitations to become the Collector.

Tikki had told her that she had a bad feeling about this but Marinette felt that she trusted Chat to know what he was doing.

She met up with Chat Noir and they went inside to be faced with Hawk Moth; however Chat took her by surprise and had taken Earrings. She was stunned as Adrien took off the Ring to reveal that he was Adrien. Her partner who was annoying with his flirting was really her crush?

And he had to be under an Akuma's influence; no way that he could really betray her.

Right?

Marinette was stunned as Adrien was taken aback to see Ladybug was Marinette but then gave them both to Hawk Moth ignoring the pleas of Marinette, Plagg and Tikki. The Kwami's please became more angry as Adrien addressed Hawk Moth as his dad.

Hawk Moth taken them and used the incantation and wished that his wife never suffered whatever it was that happened to her. Marinette saw a huge glow and suddenly saw the area was a huge fashion studio and she was now in fancy clothes.

There were the Ring and Earrings on the ground and she had taken them, the Kwamis were more than happy enough to explain. "The Miraculous in order to use the wish needs a huge sacrifice, it might not be just a life but life changed and the end results might not be favourable to the wishes of the wisher. If the wish is not specific enough, we both are able to bend the reality change even if we don't have control over the details. We don't know what happened but just wished that life was better for you and life worse for your enemies. You deserve it Marinette." Tikki told her and Marinette was stunned.

She was asking then how about Adrien and Plagg was furious saying "who cares, he made his choice and he wasn't that good a partner to you anyway. I admit that I didn't rein him in when he was being selfish and throwing hissy fits about you not wanting to go out with him. I tried to talk him out of allying with his dad when he revealed to him but he made his choice."

Marinette was stunned and went upstairs and found that the manor was actually now her family's?

It seemed now the Dupain-Chengs now owned a successful catering company that Tom had started with his father Roland. She found to her surprise she was a popular girl at her school and was apprenticing with a fashion company. She was seen as an up and coming fashion star and loved for how much of a sweetheart she was.

Her friends in class were still her friends (plus Sabrina who didn't have Chloe in her class) and she found to her surprise that she had Luka as boyfriend. She was terrified that Luka had his mind and feelings altered thanks to the magic but Tikki laughed it off saying the magic can't force someone to like anyone (if it was wished it would be more like mind control and Luka wouldn't be acting like himself), all it did was remove any obstacles to get in between them as Luka liked her anyway.

She noticed that she did not have Adrien, Lila and Chloe in her class and looked them up. Lila it seemed was doing what she did in one of her schools and was caught with her truancy and trying to use lies to bully people who called them out but no one really willing to believe her.

To her shock she found that Chloe was in an American juvenile centre, apparently in this new reality Chloe's father failed to win the election that made him Mayor thanks to a scandal when it was revealed his was embezzling money from his hotel for his campaign funds and his slanderous accusations against the running Mayor. Audrey Bourgeois took Chloe and left with the schools and authorities in the US not tolerating her attitude.

But to her shock she saw that Adrien was somewhere in hiding with his mother Emilie out of France. Apparently here Gabriel was caught as the head of a huge criminal cabal and when he was arrested the charges were numerous and he was now serving several life sentences.

She was stunned and couldn't help but feel sorry for all of them but Tikki had told her that it just meant she was a better person than them. She considered using a Wish to put everything back to how it was but they warned her that they might not be able to control any prices made and she decided to just accept the new reality as it just is.

She found her family being as nice and loving as she knew them even if they were a little busier than they had been. But she found the man who had been Adrien's bodyguard and chauffeur was now working for her family and he joined in on video game nights with Marinette and Tom.

While Paris had news bulletins of a new Superhero called Lady Catbug. The Kwamis smirked to themselves not having told Marinette that they made it so her former tormentors would be punished with the memories of the previous timeline...

Adrien Agreste hated the look of betray of his Lady when he had to betray her but it was for his mother and his family. He was stunned to see his good friend Marinette had been his Lady all along but had to keep going forward. His father had finally revealed himself to be Hawk Moth. He was stunned and confused and wanted to use attack as Chat Noir. But he explained to him that all this was to bring her mother back who was in a dangerous state.

He dealt with time to himself to think this through and despite Plagg's warnings not to trust him he felt that he had to. His father had said they were going to make sure she was never gone and thus the Akumas never happened. He would be allowed to start school at Francoise Dupont and start his friendships all over again.

Plus not that he knew that Marinette was Ladybug, he could come to her and they would be able to start their love together. It would be perfect, plus since his father would have no more use for the Miraculous... He would give Marinette the Earrings and they would be Ladybug and Chat Noir, superhero couple of Paris.

It would be all worth the betrayal he would have to do...

His father made the wish and suddenly he saw he was in the home of his mother's family the Graham De Vanilys. He saw his mother Emilie but she looked like a wreck and he found he had no other friends than Felix.

He learned to his horror that his father was in prison as a criminal mastermind and in shame his mother took them to London and ditched the Agreste surname. This wasn't supposed to happen, his family was supposed to be full again...

Gabriel Agreste was stunned when he finally found out that his son Adrien was indeed Chat Noir and decided to use it to his advantage. He had sat down with him and explained to him that he was Hawk Moth. His reaction was to be expected but he managed to explain in full and convinced him to set a trap to get the Ladybug Earrings.

To think one of his hated nemeses was his own son all along. However it worked out and he didn't bother hiding his glee when Adrien done his part and gave them both to him. He savoured the moment as he made the wish and was anticipating being able to hold his dear Emilie again.

He fell down with a thud as he found himself on stone floor and in a small prison cell in dirty prison robes, he was confused to his surroundings and looked in the mirror and saw that he was a mess. He had began ranting wondering what was going on only for the guards to bang the cell bars and yell at him to shut up.

As he felt the hatred coming from all guards and prisoners in the next week, he could only wonder how on earth did this go wrong.

[starrynighttime]

Miraculous Ladybug SL AU Part 2

Based on the AU by @zoe-oneesama​

Part 1

Ao3

Chloe was furious. The attention was always on the two useless sidekicks instead of on her, which is where it should have been! She kicked, screamed, cried, and pouted up a storm, but there was nothing she could do. Or was there…

Marinette was excited. She was actually going to see her hat on the runway! It made her giddy just thinking about it. 

“Pollen, I just can’t believe it!” she squealed for the millionth time. 

“I am very excited for you, my q- Marinette.” Pollen buzzed happily as Marinette dug through her closet. “May I ask what you are looking for?” 

“My other sh- found it!” Marinette exclaimed, holding up a pink, strappy heel. 

“Marinette, are you ready?” her mom’s muffled voice called from downstairs. 

“Yeah, mom!” Marinette called back, shoving her foot into the shoe and rushing downstairs. Her dad pulled her into a tight hug when he saw his daughter. 

“My little girl is all grown up and showing her amazing work to the world!” He cried, proudly. When he finally let go, Sabine was waiting paitently at the door. 

“Come on! We don’t want to be late!”

Adrien straightens his jacket nervously. 

“How do I look, Plagg?” he asks, turning to look at himself in the mirror. The kwami grunts. 

“If I say yes, will you stop asking me?” 

“But I want to make sure I look good tonight!” 

“Why?” Plagg snickers. “You wanna look good for Pigtails?” Adrien blushes and straightens his tie. Plagg sighs. “Kid, you look fine. Can we go now?” Suddenly, someone knocks on the trailer door. 

“Come in!” Adrien calls as Plagg zooms out of sight. The door opens and Marinette steps inside the trailer, but… it was a Marinette he’d never seen before. She was wearing a short, but still very elegant, pink lacey dress with a black belt. Her hair was loose on her shoulders, which only made her look more beautiful. She waves nervously. 

“Hi, Adrien. I’m just here to drop off the hat and wish you luck!” She says, holding up a hat box. Adrien tries to ignore the blush creeping up to his cheeks. 

“Oh, right! Thanks.” He says, taking the hat out of the box. Marinette smiles as he puts it on. 

“So… are you going to model it for me?” Adrien blinks. 

“What, now?” Marinette nods. 

“Yes, now! Show me how you walk the walk! Fash-ion show! Fash-ion show!” She chants, bouncing a little. Adrien chuckles 

“Well, if the lady insists…” He does his best model walk to the end of the trailer, then turns and does a quick pose. Marinette claps happily. 

“Wow! You have the catwalk down!” Adrien feels himself blush for the hundredth time. “

I-thank you.” He stutters. Marinette walks over to the mirror and leans on the little table in front of it. 

“I’m honestly really nervous” she admits. “Audrey Bourgeois is in the audience and she’s, like, the biggest name in fashion! She could end my designing career before it even begins!” Adrien pauses, then walks over to stand next to Marinette in front of the mirror. 

“You’re super talented, Marinette. I wouldn’t be standing here, next to you, wearing a hat that you made and designed if that weren’t true. I think it's awesome; so does my father. Otherwise he wouldn't have picked it for me.” Marinette takes a deep breath and turns to look at him. 

“Okay, you’re right. Maybe I am overthinking this. I just need to let today happen and face the consequences tomorrow.” Adrien smiles. 

“Exactly.” They stand there in silence for a little bit. Their faces were so close, Adrien could smell her cherry lip gloss. Did Marinette always have that little freckle under her left eye? Adrien resited the urge to touch it. Suddenly, the trailer door swings open, causing the teens to jump back, unfortunately for Marinette. Her foot caught on something, sending her flying backwards onto the floor. 

“Ow...” “Marinette! Are you okay?” Adrien cries, helping her up. Marinette chuckles. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Probably should have thought twice before wearing heels, though…” 

“Ahem” Nathalie coughs, pulling out a clipboard. “Sorry to interrupt, but Adrien, the show is about to start. Miss Dupain-Cheng, I am to escort you to your seat.” Marinette gulps, then nods. 

“Okay. See you on the catwalk, Adrien.”

As soon as Marinette saw Audrey Bourgeois she fought off a grimace. Oh, god, there’s two of them. When the Fashion Queen sat down next to her, Marinette knew she was in for a long night.

A/N Chloe’s mom isn’t going to become akumatized in this story because A) I am too lazy to write it, B) Gabriel is taking a day off from being Hawk Moth to be there for his son, and C) It didn’t make much sense that Marinette’s friends were invited to a private event, so I am writing them out of this part of the story (sorry, Alya!).

After the show, Marinette meets up with Adrien in the entry hall. 

“That was amazing!” She cries, hugging him. 

“Excuse me.” a haughty voice calls from behind them. Marinette turns to see Audrey Bourgeois walking over with Chloe close behind her. Without a warning, she takes the hat off of Adrien’s head and inspects the brim. 

“This hat is not a Gabriel Agreste. Are you responsible for that?” She asks, looking at Marinette in a intimidating manner. Marinette gulps. 

“Um…” she looks nervously at Adrien, who flashes her a thumbs up. “Stand proud!” Marinette takes a deep breath and nods. “I… I’m the one who created it.” 

“Miss Dupain-Cheng won a fashion design competition at her school.” Gabriel says, appearing behind Marinette, making her jump a little. Audrey lifts her glasses to get a better look at the hat. 

“It’s the most…” Marinette shrinks, anticipating shame as Chloe smirks. “…exceptional thing I've ever seen! You're a visionary, Marinette!” Audrey exclaims, placing the hat back onto Adrien’s head. Marinette gasps happily. 

“R-really?!” “Of course! Glitter’s had its day, feathers are the trend of tomorrow!” 

“She does have talent.” Gabriel says, smiling at Marinette. Audrey studies Marinette with interest. 

“You want to be a fashion designer, right?” Marinette nods nervously. 

“Y-yes ma’am.” Audrey spreads her arms wide. 

“Then come to New York with me! I can make you the biggest name in fashion! I'm sure you'll even-” 

“-WHAT?!” Chloe screams angrily. “This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! I’ve never been to New York with you and you’re taking Dupain-Cheng?!” 

“I’m taking her because she's exceptional Claudette. Uh— Chloé.” Chloe gasps and stamps her foot. 

“I’m exceptional too!!” Audrey inspects her gloved hand. 

“The only exceptional thing about you, my dear… is your mother.” Marinette and Adrien grimace. Chloe growls and throws off her sunglasses. 

“Ugh! I'll show you how exceptional I can be!” she smirks and strikes a pose.

“Tikki, spots on!” 

[nitholites]

Assuming someone in the BatFam is the end game:

It's been only a week or so since Tony figured out who Ladybug is

She's captured everyone's hearts, but has to go to Gotham soon

For help, but also because of her internship

The Stark Gala becomes a 'you better live and come back one day, Mari or I STG' party, hosted by Tony Stark, of course

She makes all the outfits of the Starks, her parents, herself, Jagged, Penny, Luka, and Kagami (the last two friends minus Chloe from Paris) and she makes extra in case someone has a wardrobe malfunction

Meanwhile, the Waynes have heard a lot about the newest Stark: MDC

Tim is a fanboy. He's found everything related to his favorite rock star's designer/niece there is to find ("I'm not obsessed! They're just super talented, and I'd like something from them! Stop laughing at me, Dick!")

Dick has no room to tease him, as both him and Jason are pretty much in the same boat

Kor'i and Mar'i love MDC, as well

Every one of the Bats are huge Jagged Stone fans

Like... Nearly rabid

(Damian, Bruce, and Alfred redact that statement)

They're invited to Tony's gala thing (he only started it to surpass the Wayne Gala, like the Lil Shite he is)

The night of the party, only Bruce and Jason go, since the rest of the bats are busy

Bruce, Jagged (who brought Fang), and Tony are all chatting in the middle of the floor, 2/3rds of the group are just talking up Marinette

Jason, meanwhile, accidentally runs into this small, adorable child who proceeds to spill her punch all over his suit

He insists it's fine, but she won't take 'no' for an answer ("I am so sorry, please let me make it up to you" "Kid, it's fine, accidents happen" "No, seriously, let me help")

There's a look in her eyes that insists she do something, and he eventually agrees

Cue to Marinette having a suit jacket that matches and fits Jason because "You look like you're the same build as Mr. Stark (she's all for joining Peter in calling Tony 'Mr. Stark' to get under his skin)"

"you know Tony?"

She shrugs, and doesn't comment anymore on it

"give me your address, and I'll bring this back when it's clean again. I'm moving to Gotham for a while soon, anyway"

He does, she doesn't realize he's a Wayne, and they part when the party ends

Cue the entire BatFam sprinting into Jason's room, chasing after a full on scream

Like, they didn't know Jason's voice could get "so high and squeaky, what the hecc?"

They pause as they see Jason litterally jumping up and down

"What the hell, Todd."

Instead of answering, he shoves the jacket in Tim's face with a shite-eating grin

It takes a moment, but Tim scowls and pulls out his wallet

When the rest of the family only look confused, Tim sighs and explains

"He got an MDC original first."

"...you had a bet on that?"

Jason freezes, eyes widening

"HOLY SH*T, I MET THE MDC! SHE WAS SO TINY, OH MY GOD, BATS, WE HAVE TO ADOPT HER!"

They're confused for a solid minute

"YOU DONT UNDERSTAND SHES AN ANGEL AND HAS BLACK HAIR AND BLUE EYES!! SHE'S OBVIOUSLY A WAYNE!"

It takes all of Bruce's willpower not to adopt her on the spot when she visits them

Like, he almost brings up adoption papers

But he knows Stark would fight tooth and nail to keep this baby

So he restrains himself

(for now)

(he swears if one of his children doesn't marry her, he's bringing the adoption papers to court)

She doesn't stay long, only meeting all the Waynes at the house and going back to her hotel

The next day, a villain goes after Mar'i, near the park/mall/something Marinette is by

Instead of becoming Ladybug, she heccin kicks arse

As Marinette

She gets both her and Mar'i out of danger without a scratch using a yo-yo of all things and meets Batman and Robin as they clean up the rest

She's all like "no, it's alright, I'm sure anyone would do the same please stop thanking me, my family's gonna kick my ass to next year for scaring them like this"

Bats comes up and takes her statement, and she happens to mention the situation in Paris

"oh, this was nothing compared to some of the Akuma I've faced" "What's an akuma?" She paled, eyes widening in shock. "You don't know? About Ladybug, Chat Noir, Ryuuko, Viperion, Queen Bee, Red Wasp, Multimouse, Hawkmoth, Mayura, Carapace, Rena Rouge, and all them?"

She explains a little, giving basic information everyone knew, then shows him the app she made a while ago

The Akuma Alert app that held much more than just akuma-related things

She leaves soon after, and Batman has a goal in mind

Within the day, Diana is furious at the lack of response towards the Paris situation

"This Ladybug was left alone for all this time?! Shame on you all, leaving my mother's successor alone!"

When Ladybug is later spotted (hehe, get it?) in Gotham, the entire BatFam finds her and gets her in touch with the League

She explains how she asked both the League and the Avengers for help, all those years ago, and was pushed aside with warnings not to send in prank calls anymore

Of course, Iron Man has already looked into it, but he's not exactly a detective and the more brains on this, the better

Meanwhile, as civilians...

The normal shipping stuff happens

With the exception that nearly every criminal in Gotham low-key adopts Marinette

They may think she's the next Wayne, but the Angel of Gotham is off limits

And not because the little Wayne chases after anyone who even looks at her wrong with a katana

Not just as Robin. As Damian

Marinette actually meets a few villains on the street

She was going to a commission, carrying some hero, vigilante, and villain themed macaroons when she got lost

(before meeting the Waynes officially, actually)

She was in a park, looking lost when Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn came up

She offered treats, and ever since she's the Angel of Gotham

Once, when on a date with her romantic interest, Killer Croc tried taking the restaurant hostage after robbing a bank

Key word: tried

Marinette calmly slipped behind him, grabbed his tail, and dragged his butt outta there

(he blames the fast French girl and the tile on the floor, which didn't let him get a good grip)

By the time Bats and the police got there, Croc was in tears as this tiny French girl lectured him about manners and interrupting dates

(the BatFam can't think of a funnier time)

When the Joker actually kidnaps her as a way to get to Batman, literally everyone rages a rescue mission

Harley, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze (Marinette reminds him of the daughter he's always wanted, with his frozen wife), Two-Face (Marinette talked philosophy with him, showing him he still had choices beyond the black and white), Killer Crock (who was impressed by the tiny French girl who threw him out of a restaurant by his tail that one time), Batman, Robin, the Teen Titans, Red Hood, Red Robin, Wonder Woman (she could feel Tikki's influence on Marinette and guessed her identity), Nightwing, all the Avengers, Red Wasp (Chloe, with the Bee Miraculous because she earned it back ages ago), Sabine (no one messed with her baby. No one), a teenage boy wielding a potato gun (who let this kid here?), Pepper, Penny (the two women were fast friends, bonding over their husbands' eccentric ways), Jagged with Fang, Audrey Bourgeois, and the entire police force storm the Joker's hideout

He didn't have a chance

Later, they admit it was kinda funny watching the small Sabine beating the crap out of the deranged clown

Fang, who was usually a puppy with scales, didn't hesitate to bite off the Joker's hand, reminiscent of Captain Hook and the Croc

Marinette's fine (or not, depending on how much angst you want in the story. It's easy to have her tourtured and nearly killed in the Joker's clutches {or actually killed and focused on angst from everyone who knew her [possible heavy Lila/class salt]} and see her move past her PTSD) and she gets home eventually

Around this time, she's made the Guardian of the Miraculous

She eventually goes back to Paris with her huge family (or everyone she thinks could keep their emotions in check)

They kick Gabriel's arse, but Adrien gets away with his mother (who was healed by Ladybug)

Possible second book

Marinette's ship becomes the Black Cat

Time skip, fiveish years later, some of Marinette's classmates see her for the first time since she left

They insult and sass her, not changed since school

Her S/O scowls and debunks them easily, defending Marinette

When they don't stop, Marinette's S/O calls Bruce, Tony, Jagged, and the rest of the League and the Avengers to destroy the morons in the class because they know how long they've waited for this moment

Mari puts her head in her hands, but doesn't stop them because she knows how long they've waited for this moment

Three hours later, the speeches and lectures aren't done yet

Lila eventually goes to Gotham or wherever Marinette is, and tries to warn the person on her arm about Marinette's 'bulling tendencies'

That gets another lecture

Or, her class gets a tour at either SI or WE, depending on when in the story you write it (could be both, and the class just doesn't learn or Tony, Pepper, and their kids were visiting WE to talk about Mari Protection Measures when they overhear it)

Lila goes off on how Mari's S/O is actually Lila's, or how she's BFFS with Batman/Iron Man/ Bruce Wayne and his kids/ Tony Stark and his kids/ the Avengers/ the Justice League

Cue the class seeing Mari

Instant bullying

The resident children and billionaire steps up, insulting and embarrassing the class while defending Mari

Lila tries to turn it around, but they're having none of that

First the kids jump at the chance to defend their little sister and/or girlfriend, then the big guns show up

At WE, it's Bruce, a highly protective Jason, and Tim, who has every single sin/mean thing/lie pulled up in a folder

It's thicker than his hand, and hard to hold

It's both in digital and physical form and sent to every single member of Mari's family- blood related or not

At SI, it's Tony and Pepper

FRIDAY steps up, too

Harley shoots Lila with the potato gun mk 3 until she leaves

The class don't know what they did wrong, but they swear to make it up just to get the scary CEOs and relatives

Also, if anyone knows the AU where Marinette was a street kid with Jason and his little sister (I can't remember who made it or what it was called, but I fell in l o v e), that could work with this one too. Jason would be so proud of his Lil sister being so famous and awesome and "how dare you let me think you were dead!! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" "I made you worried?! You up and nearly got killed last I checked!"

Jason swore not to tell her he actually died once. He prays she never finds out.

@tired-butterfly @evil-elf16 @doggiediva13 @krispydefendorpolice @mochegato @legallyspawned @kryptored

[cookiedoughmeagain]

Haven DVD commentaries: 5.15 - Power

5.15 Commentary with Adam Higgs and Speed Weed (writers for this episode and the next episode)

SW: By the time anyone’s listening to this, we’ll both be writing on different shows. But we can’t tell you which ones yet. Not the same show as each other sadly. AH: Yeah that was a shame. But we will one day in the future, I have a good feeling about that. However for Haven stuff, I think the thing here was, we were trying to reboot the show in a way. SW: That’s right. AH: 514 is the start of the season, or of season 5 part B, but these two episodes [515 and 516] really encompass the new world order. SE: That’s right, they define the world after the shroud is down. Did we call it the shroud in the show? AH: The shroud, yeah. That’s actually a good point because we spent a lot of time talking about what the shroud was going to be called. I can’t remember the other names we thought about, but we went back and forth for a long time. SW: And we talked about what we called it - because often there’s a handle that you use in the room for what you’re talking about, and then you have to remember, did you actually put the same term in an actor’s mouth so that the world inside the show knows what it’s called? AH: My favourite is when you don’t realise that. On another show I did that, it was in the edit that I was like; Oh have we ever mentioned that that’s what that’s called? And going through scripts we realised that no; no we did not - OK, let’s ADR some stuff in.

AH: So this was fun. We’re both fans of The Walking Dead, and we got to do a Haven kind of version of The Walking Dead, or of them just trying to survive. It’s not the Trouble of the Week things so much, it’s … SW: It’s Haven’s version of a post-apocalyptic world, it’s true. These episodes were directed by Rick Bota who also direct 9 and 10 that Adam and I also wrote, so it was good to work with him again.

[Dwight and Nathan talk outside the school] AH: So here we get to see that time has passed since we last saw everyone in 514 and we spent a lot of time making sure that everyone had their own intro so we could showcase how things have changed. And a lot of this episode is about putting strain on these episodes and just seeing how everyone reacts to this post-apocalyptic kind of situation they’re in

SW: There’s Tony, he becomes a bigger character in the next episode. AH: Yeah we spent a lot of time seeding a lot of things. And we shot these episodes in between our set move. So, for other other seasons we shot up until October, or earlier than that even? And everything was shot on our sound stages in Chester. And then this year, half way through the season everything got moved up to Halifax, because of hockey. SW: That’s right. We shot on a hockey rink in Chester. Really anything that has a lot of space and a tall ceiling can be a sound stage for a television show - if it’s quiet outside, if there’s no noise from the street coming in. *pause for the break*

[Duke driving to work in Halifax] AH: This is actually Halifax, this bridge here. SW: That’s right, and I think this is actually one of the first scenes we shot in Halifax. Oh no, we shot that later. AH: Yeah this was shot quite a bit after. And here we’ve got our wonderful mechanic here played by William MacDonald. I worked with William on an episode of Republic of Doyle, so I was happy when I saw him in the auditions for this, and he did a great job. He just has that look, that imposing feel.

SW: So anyway, the people in Chester wanted their hockey rink back, so when we got a 26 epsiode order (seasons 5A and 5B) we had to move sets at this point as we were shooting. And the reason these episodes take place almost entirely in the school (this storyline [Duke in Halifax] excepted) is because all of our standing sets were being taken down in one place and being put up in another. So you’ll see in later episodes those sets coming back AH: We slowly start to see the sets getting put back up. But these scenes with Duke in Halifax were shot after - well after - because we had to shoot everything in the school for this whole block.

[As Duke is leaving his voicemail to Monty talking about the kind of job he’s looking for] SW: What do you do when you’re responsible for having given Troubles to thousands of people? AH: Go to disneyland. But no, that is exactly what we were trying to figure out here - what happens to Duke? After the explosion how does everyone pick up the pieces and move on?

AH: And another goal for these episodes was trying to get the characters to an interesting place, or a place we can build off of. And the relationship between Audrey and Charlotte was an important one to build (over this and the next couple of episodes) to see if we could get them to a place where they can trust each other. Because it’s like Speed said, what do you do after you gave everyone Troubles? What do you do when you find out that this woman that you’ve been missing your whole life [your mother] has been an obstacle for you for the last couple episodes? How do you respond to that? And we do try really hard on this show to create some level of reality, maybe not in terms of the supernatural, but at least in the emotions characters have.

SW: The other thing that was a challeng early in the design of these episodes, and it was really cool talking through with Adam in the room, was how we got a super deadly - oh I should pause, people are psyched about this kiss [Nathan’s and Audrey’s ‘I like the view’ moment], enjoy the kiss. AH: This hasn’t aired yet, I just realised. And I’ve been waiting to see the Twitter response to these kisses, because we ramp up that lovefest, in these two episodses especially. And there’s some really powerful scenes in 516. SW: It’s true. Or I should say, I believe you. I’ve actually forgotten what happens in 516. You know we do have a portion of fans who are not on Team Naudrey. We have a portion of fans who are rapid Duke/Audrey lovers.

SW: So, we really worked hard to design a Trouble that was super-deadly, and really scary, and didn’t require any production budget. So we talked a long time about the darkness, like - when you were in the dark a monster would come and eat you, but then we thought you’d have to produce something for that. So it became just the darkness itself. AH: And we even talked later about whether there would be a sound cue or not a sound cue. SW: Sound is cheap. AH: Yes, but this was a good one. We went back and forth on what to make this look like. And you’ll see some of that production-friendly magic throughout these two episodes. But the darkness I think worked well in just keeping everyone scared. Because it’s kind of human nature to be afraid of the dark.

[Dwight giving his banishment speech to the assembled crowd in the school hall] AH: We got to give Adam Copeland some cool stuff to do, and just showing where Dwight would go if you pushed him to the edge. And I’ll admit, we went further with Dwight in the early drafts. Dwight was Ned Stark in the early drafts, and he was a little bit more complicit in some executions. But we looked at the character and had to pull back a bit on that, I was a little zealous there, I think it was good to pull back. SW: Well you had The Walking Dead in mind, you know. But the truth is ultimately, we’re not that show. We are more heartfelt and lighter, and we protect our characters.

[Nathan discussing his trip down Trouble Alley, and Audrey pointing out cell phones don’t work.] AH: Cell phones. SW: We talked a lot about cell phones. AH: We did, we talked about whether or not we wanted them to be able to use cell phones, or not to use cell phones, could cell phones work that way? SW: Could they get through the shroud? Well, we knew they couldn’t get through the shroud AH: How did the shroud work when it came to people outside? There were a lot of rules that we inside the room spent a lot of time discussing how things would work.

[As Nathan is telling Audrey who he’s taking with him to the power plant, and the camera cuts away to show those people, and Vince and Dave’s argument] AH: Speed, I have to give you big props for pushing with the intercut here, because it’s not something we usually do on this show. And you really encouraged me to push it further and I think it ended up working really well. SW: Well you did have the instincts to do that, and TV now can really jump all over the place and audiences follow it. Haven has typically followed a pretty standard way of story telling. But, for film students out there, this started (and we’re now back to) a conversation between Nathan and Audrey, that cuts forwards to a walking shot [of the group coming up to Trouble Alley], that cuts back to a flashback of Dave and Vince, and then comes back to the overarching narrative [Nathan and Audrey’s conversation]. You’re following that as you watch it, but it is - at least to the tastes of this show - a risky re-arrangement of time. AH: It looks good though. SW: And it’s very efficient story telling. You can get more story in in less time. AH: We did get very efficient on this show, I have to say.

[Vince and Dwight’s conversation in the office about the batteries] AH: This relationship was a lot of fun. And it was great to build it, and talking to Adam Copeland about it, he really thinks of the character, of Dwight, that Vince is his dad so to speak. When he’s thinking about how to play a scene really works in that kind of structure.

SW: To be clear, in case we got confusing before, Trouble Alley has no cell phones working. Cell phones work within the school, and around town inside the shroud, except for Trouble Alley where - did we explain it, I can’t remember, but there’s some kind of electromagnetic Trouble there. AH: Yeah and EMP kind of Trouble that’s knocking out a lot of the power.

AH: This episode moves a quite a clip. And again we’re back here in Halifax. SW: Actual Halifax. And here is Hailie. AH: Hailie, played by Tamara Duarte. SW: She just had a spot on audition. I think Shawn Pillar, our executive producer director, knew her, and she delivered a tape that was just perfect. We needed somebody who was broken and hard, and yet also vulnerable which is not easy to do. And she’s a young actress. AH: And she can sell stuff so well with expression, that’s one of the things she brought to this. And this character ends up growing. We originally only had her in these two episodes [515 and 516] but then she becomes integral to the story. And that was interesting because we hadn’t actually shot these scenes yet - as we were talking about earlier, the Duke scenes were shot much later than the rest of the episode - so we had to go back and change things a little bit to make sure it lined up with the mythology that we were putting in to the show to pay off in epsiodes like 21, 22, 23. It was interesting. SW: And we designed her Trouble before we thought how we were going to use her later (to phase through the shroud). But it was kind of cool, we essentially took a tool that we’d built off the shelf, instead of designing it specifically. SW: I love the story Matt McGuinness tells about when he was in Vegas with some of his friends from Franklin & Bash on a retreat there. And they were getting into a hotel van to go down town for dinner or something like that. So they’re this goupr of 50 year old men, and in climbs a group of good looking 50 year old women who were there for some sort of party. And they get to talking and flirting. So it’s like; What do you do? Oh we write for TV, Franklin & Bash. And that drops like a lead balloon; nobody cares. So Matt says; Well actually I write for Haven - and they all light up. And one woman says to Matt; You know what I love about Haven - it’s so complicated, but I know that you guys have everything absolutely planned out right from the beginning, so even though it feels confusing at times, I feel safe in your hands. AH: *laughing* What did Matt say to that? SW: He nodded and said; You’re right. And then he came back and told us that story. And, it’s just not true folks, I’m sorry. We are scrambling at every moment to figure it out. I think we do. AH: I think we do. That’s the thing, we make it work. Unlike other shows (nothing against them) we do take pains to make sure that if we set it up, we fix it, we make sure it works. We sometimes spend long days on getting that stuff to work.

[As Nathan is about to take the group into Trouble Alley] AH: I do enjoy this bunch of ragtag misfits working together. SW: Notice, another invisible Trouble. That’s a crew member with a wire in their hand; that’s cheap. AH: But if you’re wondering what I think it looks like, I’ve always thought of it as like Godzilla, a smaller version of Godzilla. SW: Cool! AH: Just invisible.

[As Charlotte gets her foot caught] AH: Oh, and again, talking about The Walking Dead transitions, Nathan in the original draft was super dark here where instead of saving Charlotte, Nathan basically blackmails her freedom in exchange for information. SW: Right, it was jumping up a wall originally, and he was only going to pull her up if she gave up the information about the aether. Whereas here now she offers it because she’s in trouble. AH: So I think it was a good note to pull back on that, but again it was just getting into that head space of Game of Thrones, Walking Dead.

[Duke on the phone to the bank who refuse to recognise the existence of Haven.] AH: And again here we are putting in some rules of the shroud, how does it work with memory, what do people of think of Haven, that are outside of the shroud. SW: Yeah, important for the rest of the season. AH: And are these - yes they are, the first episodes to really start Duke on this journey of him walking the earth. SW: Oh yeah for sure. Last episode he was in Haven. AH: And that plays out for quite a while. SW: Yeah he’s out of town for a while.

[Nathan and the others arriving at the smashed up Herald] AH: This scene I felt was important, just to show how the world has changed so much for everyone. You know, no one is safe. And it’s not just Troubles, there’s looters and stuff where the Troubles have set off a fuse, but at the end of it is just crime and everything. SW: And very poignant that it’s Dave here in the Teagues home, because for most of the series they were the keeper of the secrets. If everyone else was confused, they knew what was going on. And then a little bit in season 4 it started getting out of their hands , and then certainly in season give they are way out of their depth. And this their vault of secrets has been affected.

[As Charlotte is telling Nathan that aether might help her solve the Troubles AH: Here we had to be very specific about this receipe for success and how it would work.

[Dwight to Audrey; It’s easy making choices from the side lines] AH: This is the ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’ aspect

[As we see the power plant] AH: This was actually a power plant SW: Yeah it’s so cool. Very unusual looking place. AH: So that was neat that we were able to get an actual power plant with the turbines and everything. I will say for myself, that I am not mechanically inclined at all. So there was a lot of help from the room in figuring out how electricity works. And this is Kira Fletcher, this is our third Fletcher that we’ve used on this show.

AH: It was nice to get everybody in the dirty clothes and everything too. And they wore it all well.

[As Nathan takes the wires from Kira] AH: That’s the other thing, in these episodes I really wanted to make Nathan as active as possible. He’s trying his best to put this genie back in the bottle. And just every time he tries to do something good it seems to backfire. SW: Well, it’s sort of the theme of the show; No good deed goes unpunished. AH: And we’re going to see that with Duke right here.

[As Hailie is asking Duke about her mom’s ‘superpower’ AH: And again, a lot of this story we had put in here, and we didn’t have to alter it when we came up with the fix or the solution or the mythology for 21, 22, 23. SW: Well and episode 20 as well. AH: Yeah, her mom is seeded in right there. SW: If you haven’t seen it yet, epsiode 20, Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn wrote a retro Haven episode that features Hailie’s mom. AH: And I remember there was talk about using Tamara to play Hailie’s mom. But I don’t think we did that in the end.

[As Duke and Hailie finish their conversation outside the garage] AH: Oh, somebody listening in. SW: 26B, is that what Matt calls it? AH: Yeah, 26B SW: Matt’s code for someone overhearing.

AH: This was fun with Charlotte as a character where she comes from another world that’s much more advanced, so she’s not a mechanic, she’s not an engineer by trade, but our technology is so simple to her. SW: It’s like playing with a paperclip to her. There’s a word that we use all the time in the room that isn’t actually in the show; Arcadians. Just to ourselves, Charlotte and Mara and her father are Arcadians. And William.

[As Audrey finds Vince with Rolf’s body, the latest victim of the No Marks Killer] AH: And this was some heavy mythology to drop as well. There is a lot going on in this episode! SW: Yeah it’s really the season premiere AH: It was nice to bring the Teagues back into the main cast. They’ve been out on an island almost, having their own plot and learning a lot of stuff that was very important. But it was nice to bring them back so that they’re interacting again with Audrey and Nathan, and Dwight. SW: And they do well when they’re holding secrets. They’re built for that.

AH: Eric Cayla, our Director of Photography, did some great work with darkness and shadows in this episode. [Audrey; Did they force you to do this? Because I can get you out.] AH: And there’s that Audrey compassion that’s going to play a big role in 17 SW: We like to, on this show to set up things, especially as it’s become more serialised. And with that litle line there, Audrey just sealed her fate for episode 17, or the end of 16. AH: Yeah, that was another one, like we talked about with 9 and 10, where the ending moved back and forth.

[Dave to Charlotte; Is there anything I can do to help? Back rub? Water?] SW: *laughing: Oh Adam. You have a way of getting humour in. That’s just terrific AH: *also laughing* I remember there was some debate though about that ‘back rub’ if he was coming on to her. And I was just like: No, no - he’s just in an awkward situation and doesn’t know what to do. Being an awkward person myself, that’s coming from real experience.

AH: And this was great work by the art department on these power schematics. It really helped tell the story.

[people in the school fighting over a flashlight] AH: Chaos! And this is again that post-apocalyptic landscape [Dwight; Alright everyone take a deep breath SW: That’s what I say to my kids when they throw tantrums AH: But not the rest of the speech. And this just shows how Dwight has elevated in the eyes of the town.He really is the leader. So interesting where you started with this character and where he ends.

[As Nathan and Kira find the mine shaft where the aether seems to be] AH: So we were talking this through, if this is where William’s stash of aether is held, our idea behind it is that he stashed it in a natural cave or underground area, geological formation of some kind SW: Like 500 years ago AH: And then things were built over it. It’s not that William went there when that building was built and buried it there. SW: Right, just to line up with the backstory that William and Mara were trapsing round New Engliand in the 1500s.

[Mechanic on screen; I looked you up Hailie Colton] AH: Oh I remember we didn’t have a last name for her initially. We had to go back and add that in.

[Duke runs the mechanic over and drives through Hailie] AH: Yes, Duke knew that was going to happen. He was not trying to kill Hailie. And props to Shawn and Rick for blocking this, it was not the easiest scene to block - a lot of moving pieces.

[As Audrey is packing a bag to go look for Nathan] AH: And here we were trying to have a nice mother/daughter moment SW: Yeah you did a great job. The slow arc of getting them together. AH: I think that’s the other thing we tried to do with these episodes is re-establish that anything could happen. That this is a new world order, bad stuff, people are dying. And it could be one of our characters. SW: Yeah we talked about where to end this episode and start the next one [The implication being they considered ending the episode before Nathan gets back, and so with the suggestion that he is actually dead] AH: I think a lot of these background extras here [as Nathan arrives in the hall full of people] were comped in. SW: They had 300 extras on the day AH: Was it 300? Maybe they weren’t then, maybe it was all practical.

AH: Thank you for listening SW: We’ll see you on 16

[raleigh-ocean]

over my skin (where you left your own mark), part 3 | audrey tindall & dara ann lynch

words: 3,739

summary: series of drabbles about how Audrey got to know, one day at a time, little by little, one of the two women she wished to meet in every one of her lives. Part 3: when Audrey made Billie jealous; and also how Audrey started to act more like the advice giver than the receiver.

n/a: I strongly recommend reading ‘troubles of a learning heart’ before this one!

"I still can't wrap my head around how you manage to keep yourself in line," Audrey scratched her eyebrow a bit, looking at Billie in the kitchen from the couch. "It's beyond me, darling."

Billie's laughter sounded all over the apartment, lightening it up from its gloomy aura that autumn day. The medium had picked Audrey up from a meeting with her manager a few hours ago, bringing her over to the apartment just to spend time together since Dara was working a late shift in the shop. Audrey pouted again, resting her arms and chin better in the back of the couch so she could look at what was Billie doing in the kitchen.

Hoarding a plate full of brownies like some kind of gremlin was something very unlike of her, for anyone who knew the medium of the stars in like a street level basis, but she was doing it right now with like zero shame.

"My line of work has both perks and cons, I'm afraid," Audrey rolled her eyes hard upon noticing the tone in which Billie spoke, trying to sound a bit mighty with her mouth full of brownie. She swallowed, humming contently, and then shot Audrey the most perfect smile she could do. "But I think it's probably spinning twice a week what does the actual trick and-"

"Please, don't finish that sentence," warned Audrey, because she was like a million percent sure that Billie was going to say that sex helped her greatly as well. "I think you two have a problem at times."

"Do we now? Thought you enjoyed it as well, pumpkin," Billie laughed once again and Audrey felt herself blush to the root, cheeks and ears ablaze. It only got worse when the medium moaned a little upon munching on another brownie.

"Are they really that good?" Audrey felt necessary to change topic, coughing a bit, and trying to focus in the kettle that was over the stove. "Where did you buy them?"

"Nowhere, that's the best part," hummed Billie, retrieving cups from the cupboard and some milk from the fridge. "Dara bakes at times, she's really good at it, so I'm supplied of these delicious mortal chocolate bombs for a lifetime."

Audrey couldn't help but scratch her ear, feeling a bit out of place suddenly. There were many things about Billie's daily life that she was missing completely at times and those all were related to her actual girlfriend. Of course Audrey knew Dara was there, how not? A constant reminding her that she was actually the added one in the relationship, but hearing about those kind of simple tiny details wasn’t something she still got in her head easily.

It was weird, to be fair, because Dara could be eating her out one night but not get a wind of her in days if it wasn't because Billie mentioned her often...and that was as of now, in which Audrey thought their relationship was improving in someway. It all had going for the better after that morning in Audrey’s apartment, but they still had a long way ahead.

Audrey and Billie had been ‘together’ for a year and half as of now, while with Dara barely joined them half a year ago, so just imagine the whole thing.

"Well let me try them then," Audrey wanted to be courageous, trying something 'new' and having a new opportunity of interacting with Dara. She was pretty sure that complimenting her baking was another step to a good direction. "I don't have such a sweet tooth like you, but I'm willing to have my cheat day earlier if you say that they are so good."

Upon hearing that, Billie stopped her munching to look at Audrey, as if she grew another head all of a sudden, but she did walk towards her with the brownies' plate to let her have as many as she wanted. She wasn’t used to Audrey not being picky with everything she ate, so it was a surprise that she was indulging, a good one to be honest.

Until she heard Audrey’s moan.

It wasn’t something she didn’t heard before, but in that moment it was in a new light. One that made Billie’s stomach swirl and settle in a feeling she despised with her whole being, even if it was just a little.

“Well, so...where did you say Dara had her rings? I think I’ll give a jewelry downtown a call, because wow, if she’s down for it I’m marrying her right away,” Audrey’s laugh was soft after swallowing, trying to look at Billie. “How can she bake like some kind of God?”

From all the things that Audrey could expect, she didn’t expect to see such blank face in Billie. She was about to ask if there was something wrong but the next second Billie was taking the plate from her hands with a scowl on her face.

“Ha, ha, so funny,” Audrey was another million percent sure that Billie was about to pout at any second for some reason. “Find your own baker, miss Tindall.”

It only took Audrey what it took Billie to go back to the kitchen to actually know what was going on. And if she was being honest, it totally weirded her out that she managed to acknowledge that Billie was jealous.

Finishing the treat, Audrey left her friend room to clear her mind, just merely observing her going around the kitchen again to finish from fixing tea time. It also gave the actress time to think of some kind of action plan in case Billie was more annoyed than she thought. 

The next minutes, almost next hour, Audrey didn't add much verbally but left Billie be the one carrying the conversation. Having her talking about everything and nothing made the actress feel more at ease in some way, but still be worried sick because Billie always got like that when there was something else in her mind. Doing things that made her avoid altogether what was bugging her so deeply, a classic at this point that Audrey was getting a bit annoyed by.

She neither stopped Billie or suggested following her when she announced that she was taking a shower, only indulging a bit on the kiss before watching her walk away. Without knowing what else to do, Audrey decided to take the videogame controller from the coffee table and maybe keep playing that game Dara showed her - and in which she got really invested - was a good idea.

Billie looked at herself in the mirror after getting out of the shower, feeling how her stomach churned uncomfortably. 

Audrey didn’t deserve being the receiving end of all her frustrations, that was for sure, but the soft joke had hit her with an unexpected might. 

Three weeks had already passed since their vacations in Sacramento, the topic of everything that happened there not showing up at all nor close to, and Billie saw each day how Dara seemed to get a bit more lost in herself. She always had some magic way to separate every aspect of her life, but many times Billie had had to snap her out of a way too deep rant about work - when Dara herself was the one that always reminding her that work things were left at work after the clock ticked. Or even a few days in which Dara seemed out of touch with what was happening at the moment, making her to drop and hit things out of the blue, or worse: getting herself injured - Billie shivered with how she still had an oil burn she got a few days ago or when she hit herself in the head with the window by accident or all the tiny bruises in her legs from bumping into things.

All of that didn't help at all neither with trying to manage her own past discomfort and try to do something for her.

Billie sighed deeply, getting in her pajamas quickly, to spend some minutes in silence in her bedroom. She looked through her messages, trying to see if she got any important but the only one she got was from her assistant reminding her of something about tomorrow schedule. Tapping in Dara's chat, she looked at the few texts they exchanged that day and wondered how busy her girl was, taking in count she didn't respond to her last one. 

She really should stop from over worrying, Billie thought putting her phone down and rubbing her forehead a bit. Taking a peek to the living room, she saw how Audrey was really focused on the television, game controller tightly held in her hands and maybe a bit of a scowl.

Yeah, Audrey didn’t deserve her being mean for no reason.

If it wasn’t because Billie moved her legs to sit and leave them in her lap, Audrey wouldn’t have noticed her best friend coming back. The game was really fucking addicting, to be fair, and the music catchy which made a perfect combination to not think much.

She didn’t stop playing because Billie didn’t do or say something, so she only smiled at her sideways when the medium started to draw slow patterns in her legs with her thumbs. This was kind of a unexpected calm date, as far as Audrey could discern, but even when she kept playing the game she decided that she wanted Billie to speak her mind once and for all.

“Are you going to tell me whatever is burning your brain or are you going to just sit there brooding while I play?” she asked, thinking a bit the choices the game gave her.

It took Billie the incredible amount of ten minutes to finally answer, but she did it and Audrey felt herself to freeze on the spot.

“Do you think I am enough for Dara?” Audrey blinked, trying to discern if Billie really said that. “Sometimes I feel like I’m failing her, that she can do way more better than..me,” Billie rubbed her eyes a bit. “I don’t know Audrey, it’s weird, I feel bad.”

Pressing pause at the same time Billie sadly chuckled at admitting she was feeling bad because of those questions, Audrey looked at her in another light. It wasn’t that she didn’t notice before how Billie changed the moment she crossed the door of her home, but for someone she always saw so sure of herself...well, this was new and a bit scary.

“What made you think that, sweetheart?” she asked, taking one of Billie’s hands in hers, trying to run her thumb soothingly over her knuckles. 

She wasn’t ready for the flood that was Billie’s thoughts and words for the next twenty or so minutes, that was for sure. Everything that truly happened in their vacation, from when they landed in Sacramento to the moment they woke up that very same day. It made Audrey feel how her heart broke in a few pieces, listening to how unsure Billie was of everything in that moment. 

For a few seconds Audrey didn’t know what to say, how to give advice to Billie, and she wondered if her best friend was going to cry and let all that frustration out.

“You should have seen them Drey, they gravitate around each other and if he wasn’t with Dara’s sister, well,” Billie’s voice broke a bit and Audrey couldn’t help but bring her hand to her lips. That was Billie’s fatal flaw: the overthinking, it made her overlook many other details and go full beeline with everything and forgetting the rest. “So hearing you say that hit me like a fucking truck, you sure will swoop her off her feet and away easily.”

“I think Dara would slap the shit out of me if I ever suggest taking her away from you,” Audrey was really serious about that statement, looking at the controller with that unlike scenario in her head. “Did you hear her arguing with her sisters over the phone? Bloody hell, I bet she’s a feisty one.”

“Oh dear, she totally is,” hearing how Billie laughed for a bit was something good. “You should see them arguing face to face.”

“Next time Dahlia invite me over,” Audrey smiled with that, because after all, Dahlia still was her best friend and she was invited over a few times at some family gatherings. “But going back to the point...when Dara’s mom told you about them, did she tell you who left who?”

By the look in Billie’s eyes, her whole demeanor and obviously how she shook her head, Audrey knew Dara’s mother conveniently left that detail outside of the talk. She felt herself frown a bit and pulled Billie closer, kissing her temple tenderly, lingering softly to convey all that she couldn’t put in words. It was hard to give a good opinion, taking in count she only knew Billie’s side of the story, but she was about to do her best.

“Then you really should ask Dara about it, don’t you think?” Billie groaned at Audrey’s words. “Listen Billie, I know you two from not that long maybe, but I know how deeply you care for Dara and how much she loves you, how much you love her,” Audrey said those last words in a whisper because you should be blind to not see it yet at the same time she knew how much her best friend struggled with that point. “Do I think that sometimes you should be more forward with her, more vocal? Absolutely, but I don’t think you’re failing Dara. How long have you two been together, please do tell me.”

“Seven years.”

“Seven fucking years, you already surpassed anything she could have achieved with that guy and, as much I can see, you two are going forward,” how strange was to give her best friend and also her lover, for the time being, those words but she did it the same because it was what Billie needed to hear...or that she hoped. “Do you think Dara doesn’t know what’s best for her? If she decided you were that, the best for her, then why are you worrying? Wouldn’t she say something the second a doubt came to her head?”

Maybe Audrey shouldn’t have say that so promptly, because it made Billie to finally breakdown, but maybe she did have to say them to prompt that reaction. Let her go of those nasty feelings, she thought, because if Billie started to cry it was because it was needed. Billie wasn’t one to sob loudly - Audrey was that type of crybaby, being honest -, but her tiny whimpers were very heartbreaking. Audrey had to hold her own so Billie could take all the tears for herself.

She usually didn’t like to mingle with Billie and Dara’s relationship, mostly because she was the added one in this, but she had come to clash more with that side of Billie that Dara seemed to take and wrap with millions of bubble paper sheets so she didn’t explode. Maybe that was one of their main problems, as much as Audrey could have seen in the time they three together, but if it worked for them, who was she to snoop around? Only in times like those, which were pretty much rare, was that she suggested something to Billie or asked about.

Audrey thought sometimes Dara needed to be more forward as well with Billie, but this time it was Billie’s to take and do everything.

Letting Billie to cry to her heart content, Audrey tried to come up with something to tell Dara once she saw her girlfriend - again, Audrey refused to address both as anything different in her head, as much as she knew they never formalized their relationship - like that. She shivered a bit with the possibility of the other woman coming right in that moment, but it didn’t happen and for that she was grateful.

It wouldn’t be for another hour that Dara didn’t come home. Billie was fast asleep over Audrey’s chest while she decided to keep playing the game, not knowing what else she could do, when she overheard keys at the front door. The medium woke up in automatic, making Audrey to break her concentration and lose what she was doing, taking in count she was playing with the controller resting in Billie’s back.

“I think I’m sweating in places I’m not sure I should sweat,” Audrey saw Dara not looking at the living room, going for the kitchen immediately and a sleepy Billie trailing behind her like a lost puppy. “I hope you two are hungry, my cousin the super duper ultra chef gave me a recipe for a quiche that’s to die for and I’m going to cook the Hell out of that,” from her position in the couch, Audrey saw how Billie took the groceries bag from Dara’s arms and Dara thanked her a bit out of breath, her smile bright like the sun upon seeing how her partner was wrapping her arms around her middle after that. “How was the nap honey? Bet it was amazing, you can barely keep your eyes open.” 

Audrey smiled to herself when Billie replied to that with a mumble she couldn’t hear, the kiss the blonde gave her girlfriend as sweet and slow that for a moment they both only existed in the tiny kitchen.

If only Billie could see what she could, any doubt in her head would be erased from eternity. Billie said Dara and her ex seemed to gravitate around each other? That’s why she couldn’t see how she gravitated around Dara. How the whole apartment, all this time somewhat gloom even for a mild summer day, seemed to come alive the moment the woman with the cane entered; how Billie herself was more relaxed and the tears were long forgotten the second Dara circled her neck to keep kissing like in those old black and white movies.

How Dara seemed to just have all her focus in Billie because, for her, nothing else mattered.

“I’m starving, Billie only gave me tea for afternoon snack,” chided Audrey, going back to the game to fix the mess Billie left her with.

“Only tea?” it took Dara five minutes to reply, Audrey didn’t have to turn around to see how they were making out. “Bills.”

“She was mean,” Billie mumbled and Audrey overheard the soft smack of a new kiss. “Only tea it was.”

“Is that so, my love?” Audrey wanted to throw Billie a shoe if she didn’t catch the raw emotion behind the pet name. “It’s okay, I’m here to protect you from the big meany, but I need you two on table duty while I get out of this before going all crusader on both dinner and avenging.”

When Dara was out of view, Audrey finally turned around to see Billie. Billie was also looking at her, cheeks a bit blushed but not regretting a single thing. Ah, there she was again, thought Audrey standing up and doing as she was told, since her best friend decided to take out first the ingredients for dinner from the bag. They bumped into each other like kids, bickering a bit just like that, but this time Audrey did not go for a kiss like always.

She felt like today Billie wanted and needed every ounce of affection from the woman that was now walking towards them slowly, pulling up her hair into a ponytail and smiling at her girlfriend with the force of a thousand suns. 

Audrey didn’t add much after getting her task done, only sitting at the counter to watch Dara cook, Billie close to her as well and always touching her in some way. It also seemed that today she was going back home after dinner, she thought when Billie hugged Dara from behind and started kissing the back of her neck with care, tracing with her lips Dara’s tattoo just like that. She shook her head, giving Billie a teasing soft kick in her butt and Dara reminding both she was in front of a hot pan.

They needed each other too bad and Audrey simply didn’t have the heart to not let them.

So the best thing Audrey came up with was to go back to the game, for the third time in the day. She wasn’t of much use in the kitchen, anyway, so waiting in the couch didn’t sound half as bad and, if she was completely honest, she had discovered it was a nice spot for just observing.

A nice spot for watching two of the people she was so strongly attached to, which she loved in a way that not many could understand.

However she didn’t expect to overhear the private conversation the couple had while waiting for the ingredients to fry. It made her try to focus in the television, but it was of no use at this point.

“I’m sorry I’ve been acting weird these days,” the apology coming from Dara’s lips was not what Audrey expected to hear. “I know I’ve been worrying you, it’s just that...my head isn’t in a good place right now.”

“You don’t have to apologize Annie,” Billie sighed and Audrey was pretty sure she was hugging her tightly. “It’s not your fault or something.”

“Still, you don’t deserve be treated like this Bills,” Audrey tried to not be too loud pushing the buttons of the game controller. “I...look, you’re the most important thing I have, and I don’t want you to feel bad or something because I’m an asshole that can’t handle well her head.”

“I won’t let you call yourself an asshole, baby,” yeah, Billie, that’s it and a kiss to make it even more serious! “Not when you also aren’t feeling well...sometimes you don’t know how to handle your head, but maybe I can help with that...if you let me?”

Audrey couldn’t help herself, smiling as big as she could, when Dara seemed to agree partially with Billie’s proposal. It wasn’t what she wanted, but it was a start, and that was very much a big step for them. As if they were keep building that beautiful bridge between them, little by little, and learning from each other at the same time.

It made the quiche taste even better and all.

[nathalie-sancoeur-assistant]

Loveater

Here’s my analysis on Loveater, spoilers are below- and there may be some Miracle Queen ones as well.

“Experiencing loss is a part of life. Some people lose their first love. Some lose the harmony of their relationship. Some people lose hope. Others lose patience. While others lose their soul. Some lose their certainties...and some have nothing to lose”

Let’s look at this intro sequence, shall we? 

I believe each and every one of those lines have meaning and foreshadowing in them for each character they were about. 

My evidence:

“Some people lose their first love” it shows Master Fu staring longingly at Marianne. And in the very next episode ( MQ spoilers) even though he’s lost his memories, he’s finally able to be with the woman he loves. 

In this very episode, the loss of harmony between Andre and Audrey’s relationship is what starts off the whole plan Hawkmoth has in store for the next 2 episodes. 

Some lose hope- Chloe, losing hope in Ladybug that she will ever have her miraculous again. And that loss of hope is what fuels her to (MQ spoilers) follow along with Hawkmoth.

So what are we left with that didn’t quite have any resolution in this episode? 

Chat Noir, losing patience. 

Nathalie, losing her soul. 

Gabriel, losing his certainties. 

And Luka, having nothing to lose. 

Before I go on, I would like to point out that the only time we have heard of someone having “nothing to lose” was in Heroes Day, when Hawkmoth claimed HE had nothing to lose....and yet, if he had nothing to lose, he wouldn’t be losing his certainties. So how does Luka have nothing to lose, pray tell? Moving on- these are the 4 unresolved lines of this episode, and I can’t help but feel as if there’s going to be more at play to them later on. 

Chat has been basically waiting for Ladybug to fall in love with him this whole time. If he’s losing patience, that may very well cue his attempt to move on through season 4. 

Nathalie, losing her soul- Nathalie Sancoeur. Nathalie “Heartless”.Soulless? And directly after it’s said, she begins coughing, because she’s still sick. This could be implying a couple things. 

1.) Nathalie’s body isn’t the only thing being effected by the miraculous. Her lifeforce and very soul are being effected and potentially drained. 

2.) By soul, they’re referring to how she’s willing to give up anything for this family. How she’s essentially allowed herself to become their servant, willing to do whatever they ask of her and essentially, giving up her soul for them. 

And if it’s the first then we know that Emilie isn’t just comatose or dead. She’s practically soulless. 

No matter how you take it, it means that she has been willing to give up her very soul for Gabriel and his family. 

Gabriel, losing his certainties- when she says this, we get this scene. 

So this I feel kind of obviously implies that Gabriel’s certainty on both what he thinks is right and what he wants is wavering. And if he’s losing his certainty, his determination is going to waver...which means he might start occasionally skipping over potential akumas for Nathalie’s sake.

Now of course (MQ spoilers) by the end the peacock miraculous is already fixed, giving him less reason to doubt his intentions and actions, but what about what he wants? This is the episode after Felix chronologically if I remember correctly, so this is directly after Adrien told Gabriel that Nathalie was practically part of the family. And we see how intimate things get between them throughout these two episodes. He may have no reason to back down anymore, so it would be interesting to see him still doubting himself. 

And lastly, Luka...honestly, this is likely a really big stretch...but the only other person who’s been implied to have nothing to lose (despite having a son who needs him, a woman who loves him, and a business that can’t run without him) was Hawkmoth. And now we have Luka, someone with a sister who needs him, a mother who loves him, a girl who needs his support that he cares very much for and a bright future ahead of him, being implied to have nothing to lose. As soon as I heard that, my thoughts went to the new Hawkmoth actually being Luka. Which...I have no clue how they would do that. But...he’s the person no one would suspect. He’d be practically safe from suspicion until some solid evidence came into play and even then folks would doubt. It would be the biggest plot twist MLB could pull, I’ll tell you that. 

---

I don’t ship Lukanette, but this is very cute.

And this...oh my gosh, Gabriel in this scene. He just seems so happy to present this love cloak to Audrey and Andre. It’s one of the happiest sounding voices I can recall him using and it’s because he did this on purpose, he know’s exactly what’s going to happen. He’s just waiting for it to unfold. And you have to admit it’s pretty funny. Especially when you realize that...he did it on purpose. (and he made it a cloak because he wanted to akumatize both of them.)

They both know what’s up.

And you know what, I actually like it quite well, but Audrey is right...it doesn’t look good on Andre. 

“A symbol of eternal love...”

Sooo if someone were to order that in a dress form for themselves....would it symbolize their self-love too? 

---

Adrien: Can we help you? *puts hands together* please?

Pure. 

“The secret to a long lasting marriage is-” “Distance!” 

Nathalie:

That smirk.

Even if no one dates each other in the Kagami/Adrien/Marinette/Luka square, they have a very wholesome friendship deserving of recognition. 

Scooby dooby doo, where are you, we’ve got some work for you now 

This was a shout-out to the cliche of all older cartoons when folks are sneaking around, wasn’t it?

She’s still the one out here on the field doing the dirty work. 

Pure. Nothing to see here, just two broken rich kids finally having a chance to enjoy themselves with their good friend Marinette. I love their friendship.

My resting face.

She really is quite pretty with her hair down. 

Gotta go fast

She pressed one button and spoke to Hawkmoth. She has Hawkmoth on speed dial.

I ship lovesquare but the more we get of Lukanette and Adrigami the more I appreciate it. And the more Luka grows on me. I don’t ship it, but I’m not mad at it at all. 

I love the Mari-vision. Its like watching a lightbulb go off in her head.

Also! I love how Heart Hunter/Loveater doesn’t just target romantic love. I mean, sure romantic love is cool and all but they were even able to recognize the love and bond between an owner and their pet. Self-love counts. I’m honestly really disappointed they didn’t get a chance to corner Nathalie, though...not that I want Nathalie in harms way, but I would have loved to hear them say something like “This one is just absolutely filled with love.” “Yes, unrequited...” “Love for a family that can never be her own. What a shame...” and right before she gets devoured, Chat Noir dives down and gives her a chance to get away. 

I have nothing to say about this, I just wanted to include it. 

They still look like night and day even without ones transformation.

“I dont believe in those kids of myths...but I do believe in ice cream” I agree.

“I wish I didn’t have to involve you in this”

Poor thing- I love this scene though. As soon as we see them together it starts with him reaching for her- seeing them out in public, in the daylight, interacting like that, it’s quite pleasing. 

Does he even realize how close her is to her?

And when you zoom further out, he’s got a hand resting on her shoulder...

It’s quite beautiful. 

An awkward screenshot, but I love this running sequence. “Bye bye little bird”, love it.

And...she fell right into their trap. They knew they’d never be able to find the guardian if she managed to detransform and be her civilian self- they were rushing and confusing her so she’d forget to detransform.

“My dear guardian” Okay so what does Hawkmoth have a thing for Master Fu now? 

“My dear Pigeon” 

“My dear Mayura”

“My dear Guardian”

It’s like with me and calling everyone “Hon(ey)”. And I have to admit, the first time seeing this- 

It was quite terrifying. Because I couldn’t help but imagine/compare it to looking up and suddenly seeing something like SCP-096 looming over you, or slenderman or you know just...something really chilling. Looking up and seeing someone or something with the capabilities of ruining and uprooting your life, when you’ve been trying so hard to avoid them all this time. It’d be spooky.

---

The conversation they had here was kinda heartbreaking. 

“There’s only one person I don’t want to hurt- Marinette. She’s the only other friend I have.” and yet “I can’t give him up, even for the sake of friendship”

Maybe I find it heartbreaking because I value friendship over romantic feelings. If I found out a friend had feelings for a guy I also liked, unless that guy approached me first, it’d be given up for the sake of my friend. And even if the guy approached me first, it’d still be a complicated process for me to be willing to accept. I’m so used to hearing about Friends > everyone else that I forget that there are people who don’t have those same values. 

Aw yeah, Master Fu finally out to kick some shell.

And the fact that Hawkmoth assumes that old people have the same time limit that children do, goes to show that hey, he still doesn’t know everything about the miraculous. He still has a lot to learn. 

Oh gosh I love going through and pausing this show frame by frame because then I get gems like this

I can’t stop giggling at this omgosh

“You talk a lot but you haven’t achieved much so far” Master Fu’s really out here to roast Hawkmoth. 

Maymoth are a power couple.

Okay so....I love this? It’s actually really clever if he’s looking for more allies. I like the way he went about it here. Offering her something she desperately wants and can boost her power...and in return she fight by his side. And targeting her once all her hope is down the drain, when her doubts are at their highest...yes, yes, it’s twisted as heck but I like how you can see the thought he put into this. He’s even willing to go so far as to call her “My queen” just to further erase all doubts she might have and cement the idea that if she follows through and does as he asks she can have everything she wants.

ngl this gave me strong Sebastian Michaelis vibes (a demon off the show Black Butler). 

And I like how they were sure to incude the detail of the akuma not only just flying out of the cloak but also lsing the energy it had been infused with.

And Marinette’s emotional breakdown...

Finally, we get to see some of the effect that owning the miraculous and having to constantly hold back her negative emotions has had. It can’t be easy, having to constantly lie to people you love and trust, not being able to show them a side of yourself that really is a part of who you are. Never being allowed to feel overwhelmingly sad, or mad, for fear of destroying your home and family with no one to stop it. And on top of it, feeling as if you have to give up on the person you love because, they love someone else, and someone else loves them more than they love you. Feeling as if Adrien can’t be trusted for fear of spreading her deepest secret, as if Kagami doesn’t care about her as much as she may have hoped, and she ends up rambling about something tht Luka can’t begin to understand unless he knows her secret. 

And Luka, “You can tell me everything, or nothing if you prefer” that is so important, Luka has officially gained my utmost respect. His personality, values and mindset are starting to really come out and I respect it. He knows that sometimes people just can’t talk about something right then and there, that sometimes they’re just not ready, and that it’s okay. I like how they used that to showcase part of Luka and it’s really important for kids to learn that too. 

[eviesmyspiritanimal]

Glasses Girl

Summary: Audrey has added a new, rather functional article to her wardrobe--- glasses. She’s terrified that everyone is going to think she is a nerd. But with Jay’s help, she becomes confident in her new look and learns that it doesn’t matter what she looks like on the outside. Jaudrey or Jay x Audrey.

  Audrey was sitting at her vanity, looking over some homework that she needed to catch up on. However, at the same time, she was trying out her new pair of shining glasses.

  Not too long ago, Audrey had finally gone to the optometrist after months of blurry vision as a result of mostly Jane’s insistence. Jane was the only one that knew of Audrey’s vision issues, and Audrey aimed on things staying that way. Of course, Audrey only really had issues seeing small print, and just the slightest bits of people’s features were occasionally fuzzy, so it wasn’t truly life-changing vision problems.

  But as a result of her visit to the doctor, she was prescribed glasses so that she could refine these slight imperfections of vision. And as a result of these glasses, Audrey was completely and utterly mortified at the mere idea of being seen in them.

  So Audrey made sure that the only time she ever wore them was in the safety and privacy of her own dorm away from prying eyes and possible hecklers. After all, it didn’t look good for one of the most famous princesses in all of Auradon to be wearing glasses of all things. It made her look like some sort of nerd, and Audrey was not some sort of nerd.

  However, she couldn’t help but admit that she could read much better now, and there wasn’t nearly as much trouble when she examined the fine writing in the captions below photos in her textbook.

  Audrey sighed slightly as she gently flipped a page carefully.

  However, she was soon interrupted from her peaceful alone time by a knock at the door. Audrey read the last of her sentence before getting up from her chair and mindlessly heading over to answer the door.

  Audrey opened it and smiled widely as she realized that it was Jay there, leaning against the doorway casually. He grinned happily at the sight of her, but suddenly looked very shocked and his jaw slackened as he kept looking at her. Audrey furrowed her brow, unsure of what was wrong with him as she reached a hand up to brush her hair out of the way of her face.

  But as she raised her hand before her face and accidentally ran into the frame of her glasses, she immediately realized what Jay was staring at.

  “Oh, no,” she murmured, and Jay suddenly woke up from his stupor, smirking, and she felt her stomach drop to her feet. Jay would probably think that she was ugly or unattractive in these ridiculous glasses, and he’d definitely think that she wasn’t the princess that he had originally started a relationship with.

  “Hey, Foxy. What’s up with the new look?” he casually questioned and she immediately ripped the glasses away from her face in mortification.

  “Nothing! Nothing at all!”

  “I dunno, it kind of looked like you’re wearing glasses now,” he pointed out easily, and she felt that she could nearly die of humiliation as she turned and started into the room swiftly, retreating to her vanity at the speed of light. She could hear his footsteps behind her, and she knew he wouldn’t give up chase that easily.

  “Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe you saw me with these!” Audrey exclaimed in pure embarrassment, hiding her face in her hands as she placed her eyewear on the table. Her face was practically burning right now with the shame of her boyfriend discovering that she wore glasses.

  “Well, I don’t know why that’s a problem. I actually thought you were really cute with them on,” Jay somewhat awkwardly admitted with a smirk and she barely caught sight of his face, and her cheeks grew immediately ten times redder.

  “They’re so nerdy!” Audrey protested, and Jay walked over to her seated form, placing his hands on the table and moving his mouth nearby her ear. Purely against her will, she almost shivered at the ticklish feeling and she felt an irritation rising towards herself for being so easily affected. Of course, it was likely due to the extreme embarrassment she was experiencing.

  “Hey, hey, listen. They’re adorable. Put them back on,” Jay gently commanded, and she shook her head, refusing to do it despite the fact that he didn’t seem as if he thought any less of her now that he knew she was wearing glasses. Jay raised an eyebrow and shrugged, reaching for the eyewear and putting them on his own face.

  “Huh. I don’t know about you, but I think I look hot,” he cockily informed her, and Audrey hesitantly looked at him from between her fingers. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of her large, very much girly spectacles on him. Honestly, at that point she couldn’t decide if he was insanely attractive while wearing them or the biggest dork that she had ever laid eyes on. She finally giggled against her will in a pure expression of her confused feelings.

  “Give those back,” Audrey grinned, extending her arm and trying to take them away from him. Jay laughed at her, moving backwards and using his somewhat greater height to his advantage as he avoided her grasp.

  “No. No, actually I think I’ll keep them. You obviously don’t treat them like the great things that they are,” Jay announced, and Audrey hopped upwards, trying to snag them from his face. He backed up until his knees hit the edge of her bed and Audrey tackled him full force so that they fell in a heap on the mattress, giggling all the way.

   They sat there and laughed for several long moments before they finally sobered just enough so that it was simply small chuckles and giggles here and there.

  Audrey smiled at him somewhat shyly as she actually gazed at him full-on for the first time that day since he first arrived and Jay grinned in response, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear as she perched herself upon the boy’s torso. Jay, with one hand on the small of her back, reached for her glasses on his face with his free hand and took them off carefully. He then held them in both hands as he carefully slid them onto her own face.

  Audrey looked away embarrassedly, and Jay carefully took her cheeks in his hands, guiding her so that she would look at him. Jay smiled at her and Audrey returned it ever so slightly.

  He leaned up on his elbow carefully with one side of her face cradled in his grasp, and he leaned in. She closed her eyes as he kissed her nose, her forehead, her cheek, and chin before hovering over her lips.

  “Did you know that you’re the most gorgeous thing I ever laid eyes on?” Jay questioned softly, and Audrey’s eyelids fluttered open so that her gaze met his. Her eyes softened as she looked at his face. The picture she was getting seemed much more crystal clear than it usually was, which would indicate that the glasses were doing their job of magnifying. However, she was still worried about looking like a complete nerd or weirdo in his eyes.

  “Thank you, but let’s just be honest. I look better without the glasses,” Audrey admitted her insecurities as she started to try to remove the glasses. Before she could take them off, he caught her hands in his own.

  “I think you are gorgeous without them, but I meant that you are completely stunning with them, too,” Jay expressed to her, and she ducked her head shyly before bringing her gaze to look back up at him.

  “Really?” she questioned, her voice small as she allowed herself to genuinely hope for the best in this situation, and Jay just eyed her tenderly before nodding to her.

  “Definitely.”

   ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

      The first time Audrey wore them after that in public was with Jay when she was going to study and get books from the library. The only reason she was comfortable with this was because the library was a place where hopefully no one would really see them or recognize them. Audrey honestly was not too scared of the nerds and geeks figuring out about her glasses, but with the way Jay kept joking with her, she could not help but get a little more worried about the entire situation.

  “Hey, you’ve got all the nerds staring,” Jay whispered nearby her ear, and Audrey rolled her eyes, adjusting her glasses a bit as she tried to avoid bringing too much attention to herself.

  “Aren’t you kind of cutting off your nose to spite your face?” Audrey asked, referencing how Jay kept on teasing her about guys liking her when she was already his girlfriend. Jay just shrugged, looking at her mischievously, and she felt her stomach perform that frustrating little flip.

  “No. You think I’m scared of a bunch of nerds taking my girl?” Jay somewhat arrogantly questioned, raising an eyebrow slyly, and she pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at him as she tried to quell the feelings that glittered inside her as a result of his verbal claiming of her.

  “And how do you know I’m not about to fall head over heels for some geek?” Audrey asked, and Jay just smirked at her confidently in that way that was purposefully geared to make her weak in the knees and that infuriatingly succeeded every single time.

  “Because… I’m pretty sure my rippling pectorals speak for themselves,” Jay playfully flexed his chest muscles, and Audrey rolled her eyes, smacking his chest firmly. However, she did allow her fingers to linger there as she subtly felt the muscle beneath. He just raised an eyebrow at her as he looked at her, and Audrey took her hand away with a stubborn huff.

  “Let’s sit back here. I’ve got to get some reading done for one of my classes,” Audrey informed him, and Jay nodded as they plopped down in opposing chairs at a table in the very back of the library. Unbelievably, Jay had somehow convinced her that all of the nerds were looking, despite what she knew to be the actual truth.

  Audrey withdrew her English textbook and placed it before her so she could flip through the pages.

  She silently worked, and she could practically feel his gaze raking over her as he watched her carefully. She flipped through her book, aiming on studying a bit closer on the intricacies of allegories. After all, that was one of her largest weaknesses. Plus, she was hoping that if she could focus on it well enough, she could perhaps ignore that intense bubbling of her stomach that had recently started as a result of Jay’s staring at her.

  However, after several minutes, it became quite apparent that there was no way she was going to be able to focus. Jay’s gaze hadn’t let up for one moment, so after a few beats, she raised an eyebrow, looking up at him finally as she peered at him over the brim of her glasses.

  “What?” she questioned, and he just smiled at her a bit, showcasing that mostly perfect row of teeth winningly, but an uncharacteristic softness in his eyes as he watched her.

  “Nothing… It’s just that you look like an adorable little scholar. Y’know, like those little owls you see on ads,” Jay told her, and she blushed hotly, shooting him a glare that was severely dulled in effect as a result of her glowing red face.

  “Jay!” Audrey cried in a whisper-yell, her eyes wide as she looked at him, and he smirked in response to her outburst. She just glared in response to him, attempting desperately to regain control of her blushing. Jay studied her for a moment, the softness disappearing from his face in favor of a bit more hungry look.

  “I don’t know, though, you might be like a hot librarian with that look on your face,” Jay informed her, and Audrey immediately knew that there was a whole new round of redness coming her way.

  “Y’know, there’s plenty of books in here, but I’d sure like to check you out,” he flirted, winking, and despite its stupidity and terrible cheesiness, the pick-up line did send electricity coursing through her. Audrey just shook her head at him, completely baffled by his ridiculousness and shamelessness.

  “You are horrific.”

  “Oh, really? Because I’d catalog you under ‘Desirable,’” Jay tried again, grinning widely, and Audrey ran her fingers through her hair as she very unfortunately couldn’t resist laughing along with him.

  “That is awful, Jay,” Audrey informed him shortly, chuckling as she allowed herself to just enjoy his ridiculousness despite her own humiliation as a result of his terrible pick-up lines that were incorrigibly cheesy.

  They laughed for a few moments more before quietening down, and he smiled at her somewhat softly.

  “So, are my suave flirtations and stellar pick-up lines taking your mind off the whole glasses thing?” Jay questioned finally, raising an eyebrow as he sobered significantly. Audrey furrowed her brow as she suddenly realized that all of these embarrassing compliments that he had been giving her were his odd attempt at distracting her.

  All this time, she hadn’t even really thought of the glasses since they sat down. She looked around in surprise, almost as if she were seeing the world around her through a different set of eyes.

  Audrey allowed herself a small giggle as she realized that everything was not at all how she had previously seen it at all. There was absolutely no sign of anyone looking at her strangely, and there were several people passing by and lingering around to look at certain books.

  She slowly looked back at Jay as she eyed him. He just smiled at her easily, and she felt a smile growing on her own countenance.

  Maybe her new glasses weren’t so bad after all.

   ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

      The first time that Audrey wore her glasses in front of her friends was with Jay standing by her side when they had come over to Evie’s place for a movie night.

  She entered Evie’s starter castle nervously, Jay right by her as he guided her in. She had worn them in front of him and she had worn the glasses in public, but never had she worn them in front of her friends. Quite honestly, it was a frightening experience, and she really wasn’t sure if she was ready. However, with Jay’s comforting words perpetually whispered in her ear about how she was definitely going to be fine and no one was going to think she looked weird or nerdy or anything of the sort, she found enough confidence to walk into Evie’s living room with her head held at least a little high.

  There in the house were Ben, Evie, Mal, Carlos, and Jane. Mal was seated between Evie and Ben, and Jane and Carlos were on a couch, and there was an empty space waiting for Jay and Audrey. As soon as she entered the room, everyone’s eyes were on her.

  After only a moment of staring, Evie hopped to her feet, pulling Mal up with her as she rushed over to meet Audrey with that Evie-esque giant grin.

  “Audrey! I’m so glad you came! Wow! And I love your glasses! They look so smart, and really work on you!” Evie immediately complimented, gushing over the sight of Audrey’s glasses, and Audrey flushed a bit at the praise, but nevertheless puffed up a bit as she glanced at Jay. Jay just grinned in response as he squeezed her waist slightly, silently rubbing in that he had been right the entire time.

  “Yeah, Thorn. They’re pretty nice. Be careful, though. I don’t want you rubbing off all that geniusy stuff on me. I have to be the cool one amongst all you smart people,” Mal pointed out with a joking smirk as she nudged Evie’s side, obviously jabbing a bit at the bluenette. Evie just rolled her eyes good-naturedly in response to the faerie, and affectionately threw an arm around Mal’s shoulders. Audrey laughed a bit, knowing that Mal meant no ill will, and the purple-haired girl winked at her playfully as she grinned at the pink princess.

  “Nice, Audrey!” Carlos offered a thumbs-up with a toothy grin and Jane smiled widely at her, nodding with enthusiasm, and Audrey felt a bit more self-assurance filling her form as Mal and Evie returned to their seats. Jay and Audrey then sat down in their proper place, and Ben looked at her admiringly.

  “They look great. I’m glad you finally broke down and went to the optometrist,” Ben pointed out, and Audrey was immediately brought back to the days that Ben had been not only her betrothed, but her best friend that knew everything about her. He obviously had picked up on that part of her as well.

  “Thanks, guys,” Audrey expressed, and they all smiled in various expressions of acceptance and happiness as Evie reached for the remote to turn on the movie.

  Audrey snuggled into Jay’s chest with satisfaction as she took in the movie that was just coming on the screen. It was in surprising clarity, and she knew she had her glasses to thank for the new view on things.

  “Told you it’d be fine,” Jay’s voice whispered softly in her ear, and she couldn’t help but grin as she turned to look at him, her face very close to his own as she pressed her nose against his.

  “Thank you,” she expressed, looking into his eyes, and he smiled at her, his lips grazing her own.

  “Anything for my princess.”