#AND IF I KEEP MY LIGHTS ON ANY LONGER THE TINY BUGS THAT ARE MIRACULOUSLY SPAWNING IN THE NIGHT AIR

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 8

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“I trust you to act responsibly. And as a Guardian, you probably should start learning magic anyway.”

“Let’s get started then. Please tell me I can curse Lie-la!”

“Mari!”

“Just kidding, alright?” She smiled innocently and Tikki shook her head. 

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Somewhere into the evening, Chloe called her to inform her that she was on her way back and she shouldn’t worry. When the blonde entered the room… it was a mess, using the word loosely. The walls were in all colors of the rainbow sans their original one. The room seemed to be double its size and Chloe was pretty sure her bed just got a fourth dimension added to it. There was also that the plants seemed to have taken over one corner and created their own kingdom. She could even see them raising a flag with Marigold Design and creations logo on it. 

“Figures! I leave you for one afternoon…!” Chloe said with disdain while trying to step over what looked almost like a black hole. 

“Chlo? Is that you?” Mari’s voice came from two and a half directions at the same time. The blonde had no idea how was it even possible.

“Isley! Get your pretty ass here so I can properly scold you!”  

“Um… Kinda tied at the moment,” came an answer.

“I don’t want to hear it. I had a long day of scheming and I need my beauty sleep.” Chloe complained. “Get me my bed fixed at least.”

“Oh fine! Tikki! Spots on!” There was a pink light from two separate directions and suddenly Ladybug jumped out of the small hole in the ground. “Miraculous Ladybug!” 

After the wave of shining bugs settled and the room was back to normal Mari detransformed and smiled apologetically at Chloe. “Sorry. Got carried away with the new book.”

“Picasso’s guide to architecture and interior design?” Chloe deadpanned. 

“Nope,” The bluenette smiled and pulled a rather hefty tome from her bed to show it to her friend. “Someone dropped it inside our room when we were out. Tikki deemed it safe and taught me the basics.” 

“I think you will need remedial lessons, given how our room looked. What exactly was the purpose of making my bed four-dimensional?”

“I might have tried to expand the room a bit, but I miscalculated a tiny bit. There is a surprising amount of math in magic.”

“Whatever. I would tell you how my date went, but I’m utterly exhausted now.” Chloe teased her friend. She expected the girl to beg her for the details. Instead, Mari pointed her arm at the bed.

“Pea and feather go along. Make this bed out of stone.” Her iridescent green and blue eyes flashed for a moment… and nothing happened. Chloe smiled triumphantly and tried to jump onto her bed, only to hit the cover hard. While on the outside, the bed looked like nothing changed, in reality, it was hard as the floor. Funnily enough, she could easily slip under the cover, but it still felt like lying on the floor with sheets of paper sewn together as a blanket. 

“You’re mean!” She cried. “I’m now commandeering your bed.” Before Mari even understood what Chloe meant, the girl jumped under her covers and snuggled on one side. There was still enough space for Mari to join if she was brave enough. 

“Ugh! That’s my bed!” 

“Exactly. You can take mine if you like it enough to modify it.”

“Tikki!” Mari cried, hoping that at least the Kwami would support her.

“Nope. You’re the one that made the bed so now you must sleep in it.”

“Um…” Mari tried to look in the book for a counterspell, but in the end, she just pointed her hand on the bed. “Princes found her prince at last. Take the curse and…” she tried to quickly find some rhyme. “break the glass? Ups…”

The window suddenly exploded, but the bed glowed, and after checking it was okay she picked Chloe to move her over. Except it totally didn’t work and the blonde instead pulled her into the comfortable bed. The tired Mari was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to care. She just cuddled closer to her adopted sister for some comfort. And heat since there was now a hole instead of the window and it was February.

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The next morning Mari and Chloe woke up in a similar mess to the day before. And once again they were clothed.

“Ugh… I should probably calm down on magic.” Mari stretched herself a bit to get ready. She quickly changed into the fresh version of her yesterday’s outfit and helped Chloe gather herself a new ‘something’ for the day’s work. Apparently, for the next step of her scheme, she needed to look like a perfect Parisian princess. Something about Media attention. Mari was too busy with her tablet to care. 

She received a mail at 6 am that there was a slight change in the time of the press conference so she needed to forward it to the conference center before she even got to work. While eating breakfast she checked over the summary reaction about the public statement and emotions that accompanied the fallout. Predictably, the pictures served as a nice distraction, but also rallied the citizens behind the company. They treated it as someone making fun of the suffering company and flamed the Lila girl, even though the company said that she was also a victim. Well, there was a footnote about it. 

“You know you don’t need to put so much work into it?” Chloe asked while eating her croissant.

“I do. But if I can’t manage it now, how am I supposed to one day make MDC as big of a brand as Gabriel?”

“By not working yourself into a coffin?”

“Well… Wait a moment.” Mari was interrupted when her phone ringed. She quickly picked the call and her smile was replaced with a frown. “I understand. I will be there soon. Please keep an eye on him and tell the security not to let any more paparazzi.” she hanged up.

“Trouble?” Chloe asked with a grin.

“I’m afraid to ask…” 

“Damian is doing an errand for me. He is such a good sidekick.” The blonde smiled. Mari did not answer but urged her best friend to move on faster.

Since they stayed in their room for breakfast, neither girl wanting to deal with their moronic class longer than needed, they got down just in time… to see the bus leaving them in front of the hotel.

“Are you kidding me?” Chloe raised her hand. “We are in Gotham. Does that… that… Has she got any idea how dangerous is it?!”

“Said the girl that taunted the Riddler.” Mari deadpanned.

“He wouldn’t hurt me.” The blonde answered confidently.

“Anyway… we could call a taxi.” Chloe sneered at the idea, so Mari offered something else. “I could also test that portal spell…” 

“Taxi!” The girl shouted. Mari just shook her head and pulled the mobile phone. After less than five minutes Chas Chandler rolled next to them in his cab.

“I was in the neighborhood.” He smiled.

“Nice seeing you sir.” Mari greeted him before pushing Chloe in the back seat and joining her.

“To the Wayne tower, please. I would appreciate it if you could get us there fast. I need to get my boss to do his work.” She hoped they would arrive before the class to see their faces.

Sadly, the cab got stuck in the traffic and it took them over an hour to arrive. When Mari entered the lobby, she was angry enough to turn into a ‘stern assistant’ mode. Not a nice place to be if you are on her way. She stormed past the security while flashing her badge. They didn’t dare to try to stop her. 

“Get McKinsley to HR. And by the time I arrive I want Lila Rossi and Alya Cessaire to be sitting there!” The second one was directed to the receptionist, who nodded. So far everyone loved Mari, even in her bad mood. It didn’t stop them from being terrified. 

Both she and Chloe got into the elevator. When the doors closed, the blonde grinned. 

“I love it when you finally show your Gothamite side.” 

She got no response from the angry Mari, but through the ride, her smirk did not disappear through the ride. Once they separated, the bluenette continued alone. Angry did not give her emotions justice. She was furious.

Once she finally got on the floor, she stormed through the corridors right to the head of the department’s office. Luckily for everyone, Lila and Alya were already there.

“Who do you think…” Alya started only to be silenced by a death stare from Mari. For the first time in her life, she realized that the bluenette was someone not to be trifled with. 

“Apparently, since this morning I’m your superior.” Mari deadpanned. “Funny thing. I would probably only learn about this from your bragging later on if you didn’t decide, in all your stupidity, to write yourself reference in my name.” It was clear that she did not find it funny. 

“Puh-lease. You bullied Lila since she came. I thought that it was only fair that you’ve repaid her somehow.” Alya babbled, already forgetting her earlier fear.

“So you take full responsibility for forging both your resume?” Mari asked with a raised eyebrow, wanting to have it said out loud for the record. Especially since Madame McKinsley was standing in the entrance.

“Of course. It was totally unfair that such a bully got all the privileges while hard-working Lila had nothing.”

The Head of the Human Resources department sent Mari a tired look that seemed to mean ‘is she for real?’ She was a woman in her thirties with neatly cut black hair and skin in the color of dark chocolate by the name Mrs. Alicia Lynch

“Oh… In that case, you’re disciplinarily fired.”

“What?!” Alya screamed.

“And I will make sure this incident finds itself into your acts,” Alicia said with a frown. 

“You can’t…!” Alya was once more cut off, this time by madame McKinsley.

“They can. And you’re lucky that we are not pressing charges for attempted sabotage.” 

“The security will show you out. The teacher and your guardians will be informed. Since the hotel is paid by Wayne Enterprise for the members of the interns’ program, you will need to find alternative accommodations or simply return to Paris. I’ll leave this to the teacher and parents to resolve.”

“But… But…” Alya wanted to argue. All blood left her face and she seemed close to passing out. A man in a suit, carrying the security badge helped her out of the chair and led her outside.

“Now about you.” Mari turned her gaze toward Lila, who so far was busy checking on her nails.

“Oh! This is ridiculous! I had nothing to do with it. I’m a victim too!”

Marigold turned to McKinsley, who looked dejected.

“We can’t fire her. She was hired for the six months period.”

“Mutual agreement?” Mari asked. She’s been researching ways to dissolve her contract faster. Sadly, she already knew the answer.

“Two months waiting period. Standard to ensure she doesn’t use any of her knowledge against us.” For Mari, it was a year when she couldn’t work for any other company. Luckily, running her own business was still on the table, as long as she stuck to restrictions.

A different idea formed in Blunette’s head. She smirked slightly. “Well, Miss Rossi, looks like you’re in luck. Welcome to Wayne Enterprises. I hope you didn’t have any great ideas.”

Lila gulped. “Was that a threat?”

“No. If I threatened you, you would know. You and your little attack dog forgot that this is not Paris. This is Gotham. Here, we play by my rules.” With that she spun around and left, typing on her tablet. Just before the doors closed, she tossed another sentence that drove the nail deeper. “And this time, there is no minion to do it for you.”

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Marigold didn’t calm down before reaching the top floor. Her emotions subsided a bit, but she was still on edge. 

“Ugh! How dare those stupid witches to try to use my name to sign their references! And that idiot who somehow believed them. He will definitely not get any bonus this month. Or next. At least they had enough common sense to call me. Except after the fact!” She was pacing in front of her desk. 

Tikki peaked from the inner pocket of her jacket. “At least you could do something about it!” She cheered.

“True. I got rid of one trouble. Without her, I will have a chance for some peace…” She barely finished the sentence when there was a crash in the room next door. Immediately, she rushed inside to check. Turns out her boss for some reason decided to move the desk. He ended up knocking the computer over. 

“Ehm.” She faux-coughed to get his attention.

“Oh! Um… I was just…” Tim tried to find some excuse.

“Trying to open the secret stash of coffee?”

“How do you…” he started to ask flabbergasted, but she interrupted him once more.

“I studied the schematics. And Sarah left me a note about it.” A smirk ghosted her stern face.

“Damn! Now I will need another hiding place.” Tim gathered himself from the ground. “Wait! You moved the desk by yourself?”

“Do I look that strong to you?” She asked, her face unmoving. Just because she came to hate liars didn’t mean she didn’t know how to bend the truth a little. And technically, she just avoided answering altogether.

“Whatever. You must’ve ordered the repair crew to move it then. I want my coffee.” He said pouting.

“Sir. I’m supposed to help you manage your time better. I am not simply your secretary.” Marigold informed him firmly. She checked with both Chloe and Nathalie what her responsibilities included.

“But you made that divine brew on Monday!”

“That was a gift for my first day of work.” Plus I had no idea what I was doing.

“But…”

“Enough buts for today. You have a meeting with Mr. Fox about the Friday presentation in half-an-hour. Did you familiarize yourself with the content of the email he sent you?”

“Ah! Of course, I did. I totally didn’t spend my night…”

“Then I would appreciate it if you spent the next half-an-hour on doing so.”

“B…” He didn’t even finish when her glare stopped him. She could pull Batstare better than the original.

“If you act like a proper CEO, I might think about making you some of my ‘divine brew’ as a reward.” She suggested and closed the door, leaving him to his own device. She had several calls to make and set other meetings

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It was two hours later when angry Caline Bustier demanded a meeting with her. Mari didn’t even think before redirecting her to HR. The teacher was supposed to be the chaperone of the group and look after them after work. She was also directly responsible for all of their actions. She was very displeased that now she had to take care of Alya for eight hours a day that used to be free time for her. So of course, she blamed everything on Marinette. This time, it backfired. She had to quickly give up any accusations before she ended up in an even worse situation. 

Luckily, after that little incident, the day passed without any more surprises. She had half-a-mind to search the town for her mother in the evening. Since she was hired, she was now technically independent of the class. Chloe had a slip from her father that allowed her to basically ignore the teacher. The blonde convinced Mari that mindless wandering the city would only get her robbed. Or at least involved in attempted robbery since she could easily kick ass if she only wanted. Instead, Mari spent the afternoon shopping for materials and working on a new outfit for uncle Jagged that he ordered for his visit to Gotham in a month or so.

She also made a quick call to Paris to discuss things with her hire. The girl informed her that she would happily run the store a little longer. Mari promised to even consider to hire her permanently if she did well. 

Chloe had another date scheming meeting with Damian Wayne. At this point, it was unclear what their relationship was. Good thing: neither did the tabloids. Mari promised to the blonde to hold back on the search for her mom until Friday afternoon. She also promised to take both Adrien and Chloe with her when she visited a contact in the local club. They would celebrate her getting a job and the first week over.

All would be great. If she didn’t spot a vigilante on the rooftop next to her (now fixed) window. Even then, it was Gotham. The bats were rather common at this point. It wasn’t like when she left and they were only starting. Batman was still mostly a myth back then, even after six years of work. Except this vigilante was clearly staking her room specifically. he even had binoculars that she was sure had night vision in them. 

She opened the window and picked a pencil. With deadly precision she tossed it. The wooden tool sailed through the air until it hit the binoculars and broke one side of them. She huffed and closed the window before pulling the curtains closed. How rude.

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NEXT

[fuckingdeadbutroyal]

Jasonette July- Soulmate AU- Part 4

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

!Season 3 spoilers coming right ahead!

A tiny sigh escaped Maris lips as she felt her body filling up with energy. “He ate. I think I’ll be fine in a few”, she told her partner, who was currently swimming next to her. She hadn’t dared to detransform for a day now, knowing that doing so would mean her finally collapsing. The duo hasn’t been wasting time, though. Theyvwere trying to come up with a new plan. Ladybug told him all about her being the new Guardian of the Miraculous, about Chat Blanc and Bunnix. Pointed out how if Bunnix hasn’t turned up yet, that meant that they could handle the situation. Explained why she wouldn’t dare share her identity with him, even though she wanted to, because of how she couldn’t afford to risk him turning into Chat Blanc again. Ladybug told him about her soulmate. Now he finally understood how she had such incredible stamina and... had a hard time agreeing to the two of them staying as nothing more than friends.

Adrien did not disregard their friendship as something unimportant. Knowing that he was Ladybugs best friend and feeling that she was just as well his... best friend, his partner, the person he could rely on the most. It was amazing, unique and so very very important to him.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt, though. He loved her and she liked him, they both knew that. It just was never enough. Not for Adrien.Now was not the time to grieve his broken heart, though. He was used to suppressing his emotions due to Hawkmoths terror. He could keep it together for a little longer.

Now that all their cards were laid out on the table, they were ready to come up with a plan.

“Look. I can’t cast my cure while the akuma is still out there. Creation doesn’t work with destruction working actively against it.”, Ladybug told Chat who, though currently detransformed as Adrien, winced. The word “Destruction” has already intergrated itself as a trigger, setting off a bad reaction in the teenagers mind. Plagg did not like that in the slightest. “Kid, you’ve gotta get it together. Yes I am the god of D-Trigger, but I’m also the God of Chaos and let me tell ya, I can’t sense a hint of chaos on that dusty dirtbag out there.” Adrien smirked, a drained, sarcastical smile forming on his lips. “Are you trying to tell me I have another power you’ve just forgotten to mention?” 

The heroes knew they still weren’t off age and therefore didn’t have access to their full potential. That didn’t stop hope from lighting up in the backs of the duos hearts. They already couldn’t use the other Miraculous power, since all of the previous Miraculous holders were eliminated on day three, due to Hawkmoth already knowing their identities (thanks to what he had done on heroes day two years ago) and him finding the civilian heroes’ hiding places before Ladybug and Chat Noir could even locate their presence in Paris. Searching for new holders was clearly not a good idea. They couldn’t risk throwing someone inexperienced and terrified into a battle they didn’t know how to win yet.

But if Chat could use a new power? 

That would be the element of surprise they needed! Adriens 18th Birthday was just around the corner, there's a chance it could work!

"Nah, he's not in the right condition to try, too young and way too exhausted"

Bye bye little flame of hope.

"But if you were to get some ACTUAL sleep and eat some fucking food? You would totally make it."

"Wait what?", Marinettes eyes were the size of asteroids. They had a chance! She just had to get him to one of those bunkers so he could get some sleep and then..."Then we'll have to go without it. I'm not leaving you alone milady."

Oh, yeah, there was that tiny detail she had forgotten. The two of them were too protective of each other to leave their partner to their own devices and Ladybug entering any building was not an option.The girl let out a frustrated huff, "Cha-" "I understand what you mean, Ladybug.”, Adriens voice was solid and left no room for argument. Batman would have been proud. “But this is not up to debate. I'm not leaving you alone, not while you are in this state nor during any of our battles. It has never ended well in the past and it sure as hell won't end well now."

Plagg' and Maris' annoyed sighs were absolutly identical, which would've made Adrien laugh, if it weren't for their current situation. He knew he was right, though, and he knew she did as well.

Mentally, Marinette was feeling better. Less on edge, more focused. It was surprising to all of them. Of course she still was incredibly tired, even more fatigued than yesterday, which was understandable since she has not slept for about a week now and spent most of her time swinging around Paris, thinking her head off and crying her eyes out while trying to save as many civilians as possible. Nontheless, even though her body was about to shut down, her brain was working at a thousand miles per hour. She knew it was thanks to her soulmate, who was currently fueling the both of them by ingesting loads of energizing substances and getting closer.

Marinette was now certain her soulmate was a man. He was in Paris, in danger and aware of her dependance on him.

Who could he be? How did he get here? Why now? Why hasn’t he ever tried to find her before? 

She didn’t judge him, of couse. Did not expect him to put everything aside just to find her. Who if not Ladybug could understand what it meant to have duties holding you back, chaining you to the ones who claim to love you? (While they only do so because they need her, Marinette believed. Paris didn’t actually love her, no-one cared about her wellbeing unless it was important for their safety. No-one would jump into fire for Ladybug if they wouldn't trust her to sacrifice her sanity to resurrect them. No-one has ever jumped to rescue Marinette in her civilian identity, after all.)

Marinette was spiralling. Memories and repressed emotions suddenly jumping to the surface, reminding her of all the ways she had offered her very self to help anyone in need and receiving nothing in return. She had people who were nice to her, she had friends and family and people who loved her for who she was. Sadly, Mari only just now realised that love wasn't enough. It has never been enough. She would spend many nights awake, working on gifts and projects and helping her friends out or even just simply entertaining them over the phone. What for? Why?!

"Marinette is a saint", her parents would say, "She can do anything." Mari knew that wasn't true. She wasn't almighty. She couldn't even say "No".

That’s where the spiral came to an end. All those thoughts were standing at a cliffs edge, staring down into the abyss right beneath their feet. A tiny step forward, a minimal lean in and she would fall. Where would she go? What would she encounter? Was it okay to do this? Was it okay to change?

For once, Mari felt sure of herself. In a place she would've never thought she'd be, swimming under a god damn Ladybug themed boat in the middle of the Saine. Her mind was clear, certain. She opened her eyes and her mind jumped.

"Well fuck no I can't always do everything.", Mari heard Ladybugs voice, only partly recognizing it as her own.

The black cat duo next to her winced, having been discussing the topic of whether or not Adrien could leave Ladybug alone for a few hours. Not at all have they been expecting the sudden change in the star of their argument.

"Bug...?"

She looked at him, face straight but full of rage. Eyes sharp but full of thought. She didn't need to look around to figure out how to use her lucky charm, instead she had a horrible, unstable and unfinished plan she was absolutely going to follow.

"I have an idea."

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Hawkmoth was nervous. The akuma was stronger than he had expected and definitely much harder to control. He hasn't yet decided whether or not it was a good idea to akumatize a homeless man, especially considering his educational history in architecture and geography.

It was like the Akuma was thinking, not just feeling like all his previous ones did. It could either mean victory or the literal end of the world. Gabriel was hoping for the first option, of course.

Another reason for his nervous state of mind, were the unexpected members of the justice league, who for whatever reason just now decided to enter the battlefield. He hasn't been expecting them anymore, once the first year of his reign had passed without a droplet of attention from Gotham and the rest of the world. If they've never cared before, why now? Did they suddenly have more free time or did they only just realise they were literal vigilantes and could therefore ignore any and all international borders?

Or was Hawkmoth finally on the right track, finally about to win so they sent the last of their forces to come and save his enemies? A grin split his masked face in a horrifying grimace. His secret weapon was still leashed, still waiting for his order. Agreste Senior had the upper hand, this was his time to shine, his time to win.

Finally.

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Much clearer air seeped into Jason's lungs. He even went as far as removing his mask, just so he could properly breathe in something that wasn't poisoned with a literal mist of dust and the stench of death. His heart, no, their hearts were beating faster. Jason stood right by the river. He felt the cold water numbing her legs and reaching for her throat. He felt her dizzy fatigue and her clenching stomach. He knew her thoughts were just as clear as his. It felt as though their minds were finally complete, as if their brains could finally grasp the whole situation. Their body's were so close, they could finally function the way they were meant to. Together, helping one another.

"Red Robin. I found her. The boats are meant for shelter, the akuma can't come out in the open and it’s afraid of water. The heroes must be somewhere underneath those fat kanus."

"Copy."

"I'm going in."

"Hood wai-"

Jason was already underwater, hearing but not listening to Tim's voice.

Red Hood was about to find his Red Lady and no one could stop him.

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Marinette had just finished explaining her plan to Adrien, who was now transformed and ready to move, when she felt it. "He's here.", was all she could muster. Chat didn't have to think twice to guess what she had meant and subconsciously started to brace himself. He couldn't help but think that now really wasn't the time for her soulmate to interrupt. They were at war, which meant that her uninvited lover was putting himself and Ladybug at risk. Risking her safety meant risking Paris safety which meant that over all, Adrien felt like they were being royaly fucked by the Kwami of Timing.

The Duo felt the water underneath their feet moving. (The rivers flow has been stopped right at the beginning of the akuma battle. It was a safety precaution the mayor has ordered after a particularly unpleasant spread of akuma poison. Now, whenever the Akuma-alert went of, the city shut down, sealed shut and closed up. Not a single soul could enter and not a single twig could leave.

The heroes had formerly agreed to that being a great idea, now that they were short on everything, though... let's say they have learned that isolation wasn't always the best solution to their problems.)

Ladybug felt him before she heard him, a weird sense of Deja-vu overcoming her.

He came up behind her. Her spine felt like it was buzzing with electricity.

"Pixie?"

Jason didn't know why he called her that, but it sure as hell felt right.

Another shiver went down their spines. Marinettes reaction caused by her soulmates voice, while Jason's body just seemed to mimic hers even more intensely now.

She turned around.

Their eyes met.

Their scars felt like they've lit up in flames.

Two sleeping bodies were sinking towards the floor of the river Saine.

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Hey ho, friendioh

I am so tired, my eyes are so done, je suis juste come Jasonette in my story.

You comments though? I LOVE YOU. Thank each and every one of you lovely message-leavers, my heart is now full of love and excitement and it’s your fault!

I can’t stress this enough, your feedback is shooing my depressay far far away.

Now back to the content. I am not finished yet, there’s more coming and the end is still uncertain, even to me. I have my plotline and my scenes, but this story has kind of started writing itself (which in my opinion is what makes writing so great). So I guess we’re all looking into a future just as uncertain as Dukes vision :)

My taglist has grown! Message me if you are interested in joining that cute group you are about to read the names of, I’ll be happy to add you ^^

Tag List \o/

@maribat-is-lifeblood @lokilex @amayakans @readingismyoxygen 

Thanks for reading ^^

[fix-it-luciano]

I Find Myself Difficult To Love

Description:

An akuma turns Lila back in to a seven year old, right down to reducing her memories and personality back to when she was seven years old. Ladybug is surprised when Lila turns out to be much different, and the hero is forced to put her bias aside to help the child. Maybe, though, the child will help her as well, in her own way.

@galahadwilder

—

Ladybug was not prepared for this in any way, whatsoever. Well, the akuma, maybe she was prepared for. A child angry with her parents, who wanted to turn everyone back into children. It was a typical kind of akuma, and she and Chat Noir had done well at fighting it.

But then Lila got in the middle of it, this time without even trying to. She seemed just as surprised as them, when she was suddenly beamed in the face. Knocked back by the light, she fell onto the street, and Ladybug ran to help her, because even if Lila was an awful liar, Ladybug was still a hero. But when the light dispersed, Lila wasn’t what she expected.

Lila was now a seven year old. A seven year old who looked terrified, and close to tears. She had short bobbed hair, with a silver headband, and very cute, fashionable clothes. It was a pale pink blouse with long, flowing sleeves, and dark grey tights. Ladybug recognized them, from a young girl’s designer brand from seven years ago. And when she saw Ladybug, the little Lila flinched away, as if expecting to be yelled at.

Ladybug paused. And then Chat yelled. Apparently, the akuma had escaped, and he lost track of it. Ladybug quickly turned to call instructions to him: patrol the city for more destruction, alert her if he found more. Then the spotted heroine crouched to the younger girl’s height, offering a hand to help her up. Because something was off with Lila. She had to find out what.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Lila. Are you okay?”

“Um... I’m okay, Miss.” Her accent was much thicker, and she looked confused. “But... who are you? Are you a, ah...” She mumbled a word in Italian, and then looked back to her. “A superhero! Are you a superhero, Miss Lucky Bug?” Her eyes were now wide with awe.

Ladybug held in a groan. Of course Lila didn’t remember anything. But her intuition was still tingling. Something was off. So, for now, she decided to play along.

“That’s right. I’m Ladybug, and I protect Paris from Hawkmoth, along with my partner, Chat Noir!” She gave the little Lila a gentle smile. “And you need to get out of here. It’s dangerous.”

“B-But... I want to help, Miss Lucky Bug! I don’t wanna...” She crossed her arms, seeming insecure, holding back something.

“Don’t want to what?” Ladybug prompted.

“I don’t wanna be alone. Mama always leaves me alone, but everything’s so scary, and I don’t even know anything about Paris!”

Ladybug felt for the girl. She just hoped that wasn’t a lie, too. It seemed genuine, but...

“Alright. Come on, hold onto me I know someone who can watch you.” Lifting the small Italian into her arms and holding her tight on her hip, Ladybug swung away, and to a familiar window.

Sure enough, inside was Alya, already editing her latest video of the akuma attack. Ladybug knocked on the window, and Alya’s head turned quickly.

She ran towards the window, opening it. “Ladybug! What do you need? Are you here to give me an interview?! Or do you need Rena Rogue?” The reporter asked excitedly.

“Not quite. Chat and I scouting for the akuma, but... a citizen got hit.” Ladybug carefully pulled Lila into the window and onto steady ground. The seven year old was shaking a little, from her first time being yoyo’d through the city.

Alya’s eyes went huge. “Wait. Lila?! You got hit?!”

Lila looked surprised, and frightened. “Ah! I guess? Um... who are you? Miss Lucky Bug said she was taking me to someone who can watch me...”

“My name is Alya Césaire. I run the Ladyblog, and I’m friends with you! Or, uh, you when you’re older? Heh. Come on. How about you tell me some of your stories?”

“You know about my stories?! But I thought I burned my journal...” Lila looked even more worried.

Ladybug and Alya exchanged a worried look.

“No... your stories of you traveling and meeting all those celebrities?” Alya tried to prod her.

“I’ve never been outside of Italy... Mama isn’t allowed to take me on diplomatic trips. Or, well... I guess she isn’t. She never tells me when she’s leaving for them. She just suddenly isn’t there. My nanny is usually the only one at home, but she doesn’t like to talk to me. She’s super strict.”

Ladybug decides at that time that’s it time to leave. She wasn’t expecting this, either. But it’s not her problem, right now.

—

When Ladybug next sees Lila, it’s after the villain escapes again. Neither of the heroes can figure out where they keep going. Chat Noir’s on the look for a lair of sort, like how Dark Owl had. Ladybug, having used her Lucky Charm, is left to recharge. But before she does, she takes the five minutes to go to Alya’s house.

The scene makes her heart sink. Alya is at her computer, pointedly ignoring the little Lila, who has silent tears streaming down her cheeks as she’s curled into a ball. And Marinette’s want to care for the hurt rules out over Ladybug’s loyalty to her duty. She lets herself in, and Alya doesn’t even look up. She’s on the Ladyblog, typing something.

Ladybug crouches next to little Lila. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think she’d take it out on you. Let’s go somewhere else, ok?” She tells her.

Lila hesitates. Then, the little girl holds out her arms, looking away shyly as she silently requests to be held. And Ladybug isn’t callous enough to refuse. She picks up the little girl, and yoyo’s away. She isn’t sure where to go, but she lands on her civilian self’s balcony.

“Someone I trust lives her, but she’s not here right now.” Ladybug explains. Insistently, her earrings beep. She sighs, and leads the still silent Lila inside. She picks up a scarf.

“I’m going to blindfold you do you don’t see who I really am. It’s too much of a risk. Your older self might remember this.” She tells her.

Lila nods mutely. She’s still silent as Ladybug ties the scarf around her eyes. Then...

“Spots off.”

Ladybug becomes Marinette. And she sits in front of Lila. Tikki is knowingly silent, grabbing a cookie from her purse and eating. Marinette isn’t sure what to do here. She’s not sure how to address this. So she thinks of the most kind and caring person she knows, and tries to imitate them.

“You can tell me everything, or nothing. But I want you to know that I’m here to help if you’ll just let me.” Marinette tells the blindfolded little girl. She hopes that Luka doesn’t mind her using that line, but it was the kindest thing she could say.

“...That girl kept saying I’ve done all this stuff. I knew all these people since I was little. But it was all lies. I was so confused, because... I don’t know anyone. No one likes me. Everyone ignores me. My mama loves me, I guess, but... she’s always busy. And I’m always trying to get her notice me!” Lila brushes down her outfit. “See? If I’m the prettiest girl in Paris, maybe she’ll stay longer. Maybe she’ll spend more time with me.”

She sniffles. “And I’m sad because when she talked about my stories... I thought she meant the stories I write. The plays I like to write, my poems, my shirt stories. The stuff I... the stuff I burned last week, because everyone told me they didn’t care about that kinda stuff. That it was lame. I thought maybe in the future that people cared about my stories. But it was all lies. Whoever she is, she’s not my friend. She’s friends with some older me who lies about everything, and doesn’t care at all about the real me!”

Marinette frowns, and pulls Lila in for a hug. She holds the girl tight to her chest, petting her hair. “I care. I promise, with all my heart, that I care, Lila.” She whispers. “I’m sure your stories are amazing, and I’m sure you’re amazing. And I’m sorry you went through all this. I’m sorry.”

Lila’s tiny body shakes, weak sobs racking her as she takes comfort in the raven haired girl. “Miss Lucky Bug... Thank you. Thank you so much! I promise, I promise I’ll do better so I can be your friend in the future!”

Marinette doubts it, but that isn’t what this little Lila needs to hear. So she stays silent. She looks to Tikki, who’s finished her cookie. The little god nods.

“It’s time to go. I’ll let you stay on the sidelines, ok?” Marinette is gentle with her words.

Lila nods into her chest. “Okay.”

And Marinette turns into Ladybug. She unties the scarf from Lila’s eyes, and then wraps it loosely around her neck. It’s a silky, light orange thing, that goes with her outfit, and makes the little girl look like a sunrise.

“Keep it. So you know that I care, no matter what.” Ladybug tells her. She smiles softly, and Lila gives a shaky grin back.

Ladybug opens her yo-yo, seeing that Chat has found the villain. Holding Lila like the child she is at that moment, she swings off.

The villain is easy to defeat now that they’ve found her base and akumatized item. Lila ends up being a factor in the lucky item, holding the mirror that bounces the villain’s beam of light back at her, hitting her and dazing her long enough for Ladybug to reach and break the akumatized item. The butterfly flies, and Ladybug takes one last look at the young Lila.

The lonely little girl smiles tearfully, and that’s all Ladybug needs to see to know that Lila is fine with being restored to her older self.

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

—

Lila is strangely missing when Ladybug tries to find her, after everything is back to normal. Marinette doesn’t see her again until school the next day, where she sits in the back of the class, wearing the scarf Ladybug gave her. She looks annoyed, but more than that, she looks tired.

Marinette goes to her, and Lila gives her a glare.

“What?” The Italian snaps.

“I forgive you.” Marinette says simply.

Lila looks shocked, just for a moment, before she huffs and looks away. Marinette doesn’t mind, as she goes to sit next to Alya, who’s already spouting apologies like a broken faucet.

One step at a time.

[angelofthequeers]

Miladybug

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

I signed up to be a backup gifter for @mlsecretsanta and my giftee turned out to be @chimpukampu so I hope you like this fic!  ❤️💚

AO3 link

“Where’s…Adrien?” Marinette pants when she’s tumbled into her seat, only barely on time for school which, to be fair, is a step up from being outright late. But there’s no familiar blond head in front of her!

“Home sick,” Nino says. “Poor dude’s got a nasty cold.”

“You reckon his dad’ll let him rest and recover?” Alya says, making a face. “Or is he just gonna learn at home?”

“Probably that one,” Nino says.

“Ugh. He’s got the worst dad, I swear. My mum would tie me to the bed with blankets and force-feed me homemade chicken soup.”

Ms Bustier clears her throat, cutting the conversation short. But Marinette can’t concentrate. All she can think about is poor, sick Adrien, and how she should maybe swing by later that night before patrol with a box of delicious baked goods…but no, she can’t. Between her love for Adrien and the feelings for Chat Noir that she’s trying to shove a lid on, it’s the last thing her tangled heart needs, not to mention that she’d probably end up a flustered mess like when she’d given Adrien the Snake Miraculous and then he’ll think she’s totally uncool and won’t want to talk to her and she’ll have blown her relationship with him on both sides of the mask and –

Marinette shakes her head with a soft groan and forces herself to pay attention to the lesson. Dwelling on it won’t do anything except send her brain spiralling, which is never a good time for her.

Once school’s over, she distracts herself until patrol time making a get well soon card for Adrien, even though she probably won’t have the guts to even sign it, let alone deliver it. Besides, the universe will probably kick her in the gut if she does; after all, she’d forgotten to sign her Valentine, and she’d signed Adrien’s birthday present, but her signature had somehow vanished. Tikki perches on her shoulder, munching on a cookie while Marinette sticks a scarlet heart to the front of the pink card and then sprinkles a touch of pink glitter on it.

“What do I even write?” she says when she opens it. “Dear Adrien, get well soon! Love, Marinette.” She groans and thumps her head on her desk. “No! That’s the most generic message ever! And “love”? Gah! That’s too – too – coupley!”

“I thought you wanted to be a couple,” Tikki teases.

“Yeah, but not through a get-well card when he’s sick!” Marinette says. “Ugh, this is a disaster!”

“Well, it’s almost time for patrol,” Tikki says. “Why not head out a little earlier to clear your head? Then you can work on your card when you get home!”

Marinette exhales and lets her shoulders slump. “You’re right, Tikki,” she says. “I’m freaking out over nothing!”

“Hey, I didn’t say that!”

“Yeah, yeah. Tikki, spots on!”

As Ladybug, all her worries seem to melt away once she’s swinging through the sea of lights that make up Paris. Although she could make it to the Eiffel Tower in less than a minute, she decides to take the scenic route and keeps a nice, relaxed pace through the city. At one point, she even closes her eyes and lets herself plummet, laughing at how the wind whips through her hair and howls in her ears, then opens her eyes and throws her yo-yo just in time to stop herself from crashing into the ground.

Even though she’s early, Chat Noir is already at the Tower when Ladybug lands on the platform at the tip, her pigtails a windblown mess and her cheeks flushed warm with blood. He gives her his signature smirk, although it’s lopsided.

“Milady!” He lets out a giggle. “Get it! Because you’re a ladybug! You’re milady…bug!” He squints at her and adds, “You don’t look like a bug, though. Your eyes are…” He laughs again. “Pretty!”

“Uh…” Ladybug lets her yo-yo swing. “Is there an akuma? Did you get hit?”

“What! Noooo! No akuma!” Chat Noir lets himself fall onto his back. “I’m happy, miladybug. Bugaboo. Angel. The light of my life!”

Her brow furrowed, Ladybug edges towards her oddly-behaving partner and nudges him with her toes. He giggles again and looks up at her with glazed green eyes.

“Okay, what happened?” she says, crossing her arms. “What did you do?”

“I’m sick!” Chat Noir beams as though Ladybug had just revealed her identity to him. “I have a coooold. But I’m so hot!” He flexes his biceps and says, “In more ways than one, miladybug!”

“God help me,” Ladybug mutters. “What kind of cold could you possibly have that would make you like this?”

“It’s not my cold!” Chat Noir winks. “It’s – it’s the meds! I took cold tablets!” He frowns and adds, “Why are they called cold tablets if they’re not cold? You don’t keep them in the fridge. Maybe you should, though!” He gasps and covers his mouth. “I’ve found the secret, miladybug! I’ll cure colds! Maybe I shouldn’t be a ps – a physicist. I’ll be a biologist!”

So, Chat Noir wants to be a physicist? Huh. Adrien likes physics too.

“A bi-ologist!” Chat Noir says with a rasping laugh. “Because I’m bi! Geddit, miladybug? And I’m bilingual! I’m learning Mandarin!” He gasps. “Are you bi too? Are we balanced? You on this side –” He holds his left hand out. “And me on this side!” He holds out his right hand. “For justice! Lady Justice! Milady Justice!”

“Okay, okay, no patrol for you tonight, kitty,” Ladybug sighs, sitting cross-legged next to him. He immediately shuffles over and rests his head in her lap, and a deep sound rumbles deep in his chest. “Did you just purr?”

“Mm-hmm!” Chat Noir sighs and nestles his head further in her lap. “Cats purr when they’re happy. And you make me happy, miladybug. You’re my – my catnip! I can’t get enough of you!” He twirls his finger near his temple and says, “You make me gaga when you’re around!”

Despite her best efforts, Ladybug can’t stop a giggle from escaping her. It seems that cold and flu medication sends Chat Noir high as a kite and removes any filter he might have. This could be problematic, although she can’t quite put her finger on why because even without a filter, he shouldn’t just up and spill his secret identity.

Right?

“Are you an angel, miladybug?” Chat Noir sighs. “You’re glowing.”

“That’s just the city lights, silly,” Ladybug says and boops his nose. He purrs louder in response.

“Your eyes are so pretty,” he says. “So – so – blue! Just like my friend.”

Alarm bells start to sound in Ladybug’s head. “Chat –”

“Marinette!” Chat Noir blurts out. Ladybug freezes. “You know Marinette, right? Of course you do! You told me to protect her from Nathanieeeel.” He sighs again and says, “Can I tell you a secret, miladybug?”

“Um, I don’t think –”

“I think I like Marinette. She’s so prettyyyy…and she’s always standing up – everyone stands up! No one can sit forever! But she stands up strongly. And she tells off Chloe. I wish I could be as cool as her.”

“Chat, I think you need to shut up now,” Ladybug says, trying to extract Chat Noir from her lap while also trying to deal with the warmth pooling in her gut at his words. Rather than listen to her, however, he utters the words that knock her entire worldview off its axis.

“She’s so beautiful when she’s positive,” Chat Noir says with a strong purr. “She’s the only person in my class who’s never touched a pretty black butterfly, apart from me.” He wrinkles his nose. “Wait, no, they’re ugly. Hawkmoth is ugly. But not Marinette! She’s beautiful. I’m used to disappointment. But she’s strong. Of course she is. She’s a baker’s daughter!” His eyes unfocus. “I wonder if she could carry me like a sack of flour.”

Ice explodes in Ladybug’s stomach, coating her insides. She’s the only other person apart from him that hasn’t been akumatised in their class? But – no, that can’t be – the only other person in Ms Bustier’s class who hasn’t been akumatised is…

Something behind Chat Noir’s mask seems to shift. The blond hair and green eyes are no longer unfamiliar. Now they’re – now it’s Adrien looking out at her with his drug-glazed eyes and lopsided grin –

No. Way. She’s been rejecting her crush all this time for herself! He’s starting to fall for her civilian identity, and he never would’ve let this slip if he’d known it was her behind the mask, drugged or not! And now he’s just gone and blurted it all out to her and outed his identity! What the heck is she supposed to do?

A soft snore snaps her out of her panicked thoughts. Chat Noir has dozed off in her lap, curled up like a cat and letting out little purring snores with each exhale. Before she realises what she’s doing, her fingers are carding through his hair, bright scarlet against soft gold like a rose on sea sand. Okay. She just has to be rational about this. She needs to talk to someone before she has her looming meltdown.

“Spots off,” she whispers. Pink sparkles wash over her, dissolving the ladybug suit and freeing Tikki. The kwami gasps, her eyes bulging as she takes in the scene before her.

“It’s okay,” Marinette says softly, still combing her fingers through his hair. “Adrien’s asleep.”

“Ad – oh.” Tikki’s large blue eyes are fixed on Chat Noir. “You know. How?”

“He’s high on cold meds,” Marinette says. “He let a few things slip. Things I couldn’t just brush off. Like how we’re the only two people in our class who haven’t been akumatised.”

“That would do it,” Tikki sighs. She darts into Marinette’s purse and emerges with a macaron, devouring half of it in one bite. “And you’re not…upset? Freaking out?’

“Oh, I’m about two seconds from losing my mind,” Marinette says rather evenly, still stroking her kitty’s hair. “I think it’s just a delayed reaction. And I don’t want to wake him up or freak out Paris and make them think there’s an akuma.”

“Poor Adrien.” Tikki darts down to press a tiny kiss to Chat Noir’s forehead.

“It makes sense now,” Marinette says. “Why Chat’s so…Chat. I mean, his timing could use some work, but of course he’s going to be that open when he’s Chat.”

“It’s not like he’s a different person as Chat than as Adrien,” Tikki says.

“Yeah, I know that,” Marinette says. She sighs and leans down to follow Tikki’s example and kiss Chat Noir on the forehead. The inevitable meltdown in the next few hours as she tries to process this is going to be huge. “Adrien has his dorky moments. How did I not see it before? He literally told me it was a ‘knightmare’ after Darkblade was defeated! And you knew!”

“Of course I knew,” Tikki says. “I saw him when you were facing Dark Owl. But are you really upset that I didn’t tell you?”

“No, no…it was my decision to keep our identities a secret. I guess I’m just trying to process.”

“Maybe you should process at home,” Tikki says. “You’re clearly not going to get any patrolling done, and it’s probably best for Adrien if he’s at home to rest.”

“But he’s…so peaceful.” Marinette starts to stroke a finger down Chat Noir’s nose over the shiny leather mask, just like her mother used to do to her as a small child. Chat Noir lets out a loud purr and nuzzles against her thigh.

“The longer you try to suppress this freak-out, the stronger it’s going to be when it sinks in,” Tikki says. “And super suit or not, the best thing for Adrien right now is to be resting at home. It’s not exactly warm out here.”

“That’s…true.” Marinette huffs and carefully shifts Chat Noir’s head so that she can stand up. Chat Noir lets out a tiny mewl when his head touches the cool metal of the Eiffel Tower, rather than the warmth of Marinette’s legs. She can’t help but let a laugh slip out when, absurdly, she realises what Chat Noir might have to say about Tikki’s wording. “That silly cat. He’d say suppurress and then give me that grin of his when I groan. I can’t believe I’m in love with this dork!”

“You’re in love with him?” Tikki says. Marinette braces herself for a freak-out that never emerges. Huh. Maybe it really is waiting until she’s home and her brain isn’t currently trying to process a million past interactions at once.

“He’s Adrien,” Marinette says. “Of course I’m in love with every side of him. And okay, so I might have been catching some feelings for Chat, but I’m just going to ignore that. And bury it deep down. Really deep down. And then let it blow up as I scream into my pillow and you float there and try to calm me down and offer me advice about how it’s all going to be alright and I’ll start shrieking about our three kids and hamster and island home and my parents will just assume I’m going on a lovesick ramble again –”

“Marinette!” Tikki says loudly, cutting off the rest of Marinette’s babbling in her throat. “Maybe you should get Adrien home while you’ve still got some semblance of higher brain power?”

“Right. Right. Of course.” Marinette runs a hand through her hair, accidentally pulling some strands out of her pigtails. “You’re right. Tikki, spots on!”

Once transformed, Ladybug scoops Chat Noir into her arms bridal-style and then leaps across the buildings of Paris in the direction of the Agreste mansion. To be honest, there’s a part of her that’s praying to see Adrien in his room, to maintain this charade of Adrien and Chat Noir being two separate people, even though she knows rationally that after Chat Noir’s rambling just before, there’s no way he could be anyone else. But sure enough, when she swings smoothly through the window into Adrien’s bedroom, there’s no one there.

Well, then. Guess there’s no more deluding herself. Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste are the same person. The boy she’s been turning down is the boy she’s been so in love with for so long.

“He can’t detransform like this, can he?” Ladybug mumbles to herself once she’s laid Chat Noir down on the bed as reverently as someone might set down their new bride. Chat Noir snuffles and curls in on himself, then lets out a tiny snore, and Ladybug’s insides melt into goo at just how…adorable he is.

If she’s honest with herself, Chat Noir’s always had a bit of her heart that Adrien never had. It would’ve been easy – so very easy – to let herself fall for him. But how could she do that when her heart belonged to Adrien? How could she let herself give up on the boy she loved?

Except that now, she doesn’t have to. The two boys who’ve staked claim to her heart are one and the same. It’s not as though her feelings for Adrien have transferred to Chat Noir now that she knows they’re the same person. It’s more like…acknowledging the duality of Adrien and Chat Noir has unlocked her heart, allowing herself to fully love both sides of the same boy, simultaneously so similar and yet so different.

Ladybug blinks and shakes her head. Of course she’d stand there and wax poetic over her sleeping kitty. But how is she supposed to detransform him without waking him up to have him say the words? She can’t really leave him there as Chat Noir in case someone comes to check on him and finds a leather cat superhero where the sunshine prince of Paris should be. She bites down on her lip to stifle her laughter at that thought, to avoid waking him.

“Forgive me, mon minou,” Ladybug whispers. She takes his hand in hers and starts to slide his ring off, ever so slowly, making sure that he doesn’t wake up and start freaking out that someone’s trying to remove his ring. She freezes when he grunts, but his head just lolls to the other side and he continues to snore softly, his exhales whistling just like hers do when she’s all clogged up from a cold. Poor kitten.

In a flash of green light, Chat Noir is replaced with Adrien once Ladybug finally gets the ring off. Plagg comes tumbling out and whips around, no doubt to investigate why he’d been forcibly freed from the transformation, so Ladybug just raises a finger to her lips, Plagg’s Miraculous in full view, and then carefully twists the now-silver ring back onto Adrien’s finger. Plagg watches her silently, his bright green cat eyes rather eerie in the rolling shadows of Adrien’s room cast by the lights outside his window.

“I can’t believe he’s my kitten.” Ladybug sits down next to Adrien, careful not to disturb him, wincing when he forces in a particularly loud gulp of air. She resumes stroking her finger down his nose just as she’d done on top of the Eiffel Tower and he seems to lean into the touch with a soft purr, although that could just be her imagination.

“Thanks for taking care of him.” Plagg’s voice is soft, both in volume to not wake Adrien up and in tone, unlike his usual crassness. “I tried to get him to skip out on patrol tonight.”

“He should have. Silly kitty.” Impulsively, Ladybug bends down and smooths back Adrien’s soft hair to press a kiss to his forehead, her lips lingering on the hot skin. She won’t kiss him on the mouth, not while he’s asleep; that’s a privilege that she has to earn when he’s awake and aware. “I wish I could help.”

“Kid, trust me, when I tell him Ladybug kissed him, that’ll help him plenty,” Plagg says. Then he smirks, his fangs glinting in the dim light. “He’s gonna freak when I tell him Ladybug knows who he is. Maybe he’ll finally shut up about his lady and her silky hair like night and her bluebell eyes –”

“Plagg!” Ladybug hisses as blood rushes to her cheeks. “Don’t be a turd!”

Plagg just cackles quietly. “You should go, Pigtails,” he says as he zips down to snuggle on the pillow next to Adrien’s head. “I’ll watch out for him. Wouldn’t want to be late for school tomorrow, would ya?”

“You and I both know I’ll always be late, Ladybug or not,” Ladybug say. But she still rises from the bed as gently as she can, then turns back to leave one last kiss on Adrien’s forehead. “Sleep well, mon chéri.”

“Gag me,” Plagg mutters. Ladybug rolls her eyes at him before heading for the window, tiptoeing so that her kitten can sleep peacefully. She her yo-yo to catch on a nearby chimney, blows a kiss back at Adrien, then leaps out into the cool Parisian night.

“Don’t worry, Adrien,” Ladybug murmurs as she reflects on the action-packed events of the past hour, praying that she makes it home before it really sinks in and she starts to scream, because the last thing she needs is to scare the living daylights out of Paris. “I’ll carry you like a bag of flour tomorrow. Just you wait and see.”

[shewhoridesonrainbows]

Words Upon Your Skin

My first lil contribution to the Maribat fandom Hope y’all enjoy

Worldbuilding Summary: You have a 50/50 shot of being born with a soulmate. Most find out in early childhood since kids always end up drawing on themselves. The only hiccup is that the universe decided being able to just write your names to each other was too easy so the only thing that won’t transfer through the bond is your names.

Now Mari always thought she was in the half without soulmates because she’s never had even a scribble appear. We all know better than that though so join me for a ride exploring the twists and turns of Marinette dealing with a new soulmate on top of trying to figure out who’s using the Butterfly Miraculous to terrorize Paris.

AO3 

Chapter One * Chapter 2 * Chapter 3 * Chapter 4

“Bye bye, pretty butterfly.” Ladybug watched the small, white butterfly slowly flap away, back to its master. “Now, Kaalki.” A horse-like creature floated up to her ear at the short command. 

“I’m going to need so many sugar cubes after this, Ladybug,” the Kwamii said before taking off, tailing the butterfly. Chat Noir stepped silently next Ladybug. The eyes of Paris’s heroes followed the specks in the bright summer sky until two quiet beeps broke the silence. 

Chat placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, LB, your plan is brilliant,” he said with a gentle squeeze. “And at least it was just Mr. Pigeon today.”

“I’m glad you have so much faith in me,” her gaze finally broke away and she looked at her partner, a grateful expression adorned her face. “Now let’s go recharge so we’re ready when Kaalki comes back.”

“Sure thing, bugaboo.” Chat saluted then leapt onto the closest rooftop.

She tossed the Lucky Charm into the air and cast her Miraculous Cure before bounding off towards the nearest hiding spot. Magic swarmed Paris. Any damage from the angry flocks of birds that overran the streets during the akuma attack disappeared. Ladybug didn’t pay attention to any of it as she ducked into an alley. In a pink flash Marinette was crouching on the trash littered ground, she flinched but couldn’t worry about how dirty her clothes were getting because making sure Tikki had enough energy to transform again was so much more important right then. Who knew how quickly it would take Kaalki and the akuma to get to Hawkmoth’s lair. Ladybug and Chat Noir had to be ready when the horse kwamii found their destination.

Marinette opened her purse, pulled out a cookie, and handed it to the red Kwamii floating in front of her. The girl started talking to fill the silence as the tiny God-of-Creation scarfed down the treat.

“Maybe after this, Adrien and I can finally expose Lila, you know, since we won’t have to worry about her getting akumatized?”

Tikki nodded and made a positive sound around the mouthful of cookie. Sitting down and leaning against the wall made Marinette’s clothes even grosser but the thought of not having to deal with Lila anymore eased her worries.

“As annoying as he was about preaching ‘the high road’ in the beginning, without Adrien, school would’ve been horrible. And who’d have thought that I’d be better friends with Chloe than Alya!" 

Marinette smiled at Tikki as she tried to fit as much of the cookie in her mouth as possible and shook her head free of non-Ladybug thoughts. The little red bug popped the last chocolate chip in her mouth then grinned.

"Do you think you’ll need another, Tikki?” Marinette asked, already reaching into her purse for a second.

“No no, Marinette,” Tikki squeaked, cookie crumbs coming out with the words. “I didn’t use that much energy today.” She swallowed the last bite quickly and smiled at her holder. “Ready when you are!”

“Let’s just hope Chat is. Tikki, spots on!” Another flash of pink magic and Ladybug was swinging towards the top of the Eiffel Tower, the place Kaalki was going to meet back up with her and Chat.

***

In Kaalki’s personal opinion, famous people were the best to work with. What’s the point of granting someone teleportation powers if her and her holder weren’t going to be in the spotlight? And in Paris, no one was more famous than Ladybug. So when Tikki’s Chosen asked for Kaalki’s help in finally defeating Hawkmoth, of course she wouldn’t turn down the girl’s plan.

Kaalki closed the distance between herself and the dumb butterfly she was following. She watched it fly into the window of some big house then saw how the window closed behind the white bug. Alright, got the location. Now just to make sure Hawky and Mayura are inside, get back to the Eiffel tower, then teleport Ladybug and Chat into that room and I’ll be one of the Kwamii’s they write into the history books.

She got as close to the window as she could without the inhabitants noticing her. She peeked over the widow’s edge and saw the costumed Hawkmoth and a woman with Duusu floating nearby. With a nod, Kaalki channeled her powers to create a small portal just big enough for her and popped out the other side, almost flying right into the waiting teens.

“Did you find them?” Plagg’s Chosen asked. Ladybug was right behind him, pulling a sugar cube out of a bag.

“Of course I did, was there any doubt?” Kaalki grabbed the cube from the girl and daintily ate the sweet substance to recharge.

“Never,” Ladybug smiled then narrowed her eyes in seriousness. “Are you ready to end this Chat?”

“After you, M'Lady.”

“What about you, Kaalki?”

Kaalki nodded then widened her portal to fit the two heroes. She went through first to make sure it was positioned perfectly. In one fluid motion, Paris’s Wonder Duo dropped from the glowing circle, smashed through the window, and posed, battle ready. Kaalki waited, eagerly listening for the sounds of Ladybug and Chat fighting Hawkmoth and Mayura. 

She was met with silence instead.

***

Marinette’s heart was racing. Her eyes couldn’t focus on just a single thing, constantly flitting around the room, taking in every detail around her once, the glittering of shattered glass under her feet.

Twice, the forms of Ga- no, of Hawkmoth and Mayura, in crumpled heaps just outside of the window’s light.

Three times, the torn and ruined white butterfly wings spread on the floor, like twisted flower petals. 

It took a broken, choking sound from Chat to bring her back from the verge of what could only have been a panic attack. She rushed forward to kneel by the two adults.

Ok, first, make sure they’re still alive. A gentle press of fingers against their throats confirmed their unconscious states. 

Next, look for the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous. A quick once over and Ladybug knew that these two no longer had the magic jewelry on them. She was about to stand up to look in the dark corners when Chat made that choking sound again. Ladybug looked back at her partner, his head was down and she couldn’t see his face.

“Chat Noir, what’s wrong? Are you ok?”

His head shot up at the sound of her voice. “Ladybug, I- Are they…” His shoulders shook and he seemed to fold into himself, almost as if to get as small as possible without moving.

“Chat Noir, please.” Ladybug straightened and slowly approached the other teen. Sobs were rattling his whole form now. “What’s wrong?”

“My father was Hawkmoth, Ladybug, and Natalie had to have been Mayura,” he gasped out. Those words must have broken a dam in him because he started walking back and forth across the circle of light, glass crunching under his boots, never taking a step into the darkness. “It all makes sense now, if you think about it. Of course Father was a recluse, he had to be able to get to his lair to akumatize someone at a moment’s notice.”

Twist, turn, step, step, step, then repeat. The longer he ranted, the longer Chat’s strides become. Turn, step, step, repeat.

Ladybug hurried forward and grabbed his shoulders, stopping his agitated pacing. She turned him to look her in the eyes. A sharp inhale and he was focused on her.

“Chat, calm down, you’re going to be ok. Let’s just talk this out.”

“Okay,” he croaked, close to tears again.

“Okay. Now Chat, are you saying Gabriel Agreste is your father?” A silent nod.

“And you’re Adrien?” Another nod.

“Did you ever think that Gabriel could be Hawkmoth?” Head shake this time.

Under the red and black spandex, Marinette’s heart broke for this boy. He always tries to see the best in people, and no wonder, with Hawkmoth as a father of course Adrien wanted to ignore the bad. Even if he never realized who Gabriel actually was. I’ve got to find some way to keep him from spiraling too far down for me to reach him. 

She’d just opened her mouth to ask Chat/Adrien another question when a moan of pain came from behind her. She immediately switched to a defensive stance in front of her partner. No one was getting to him any time soon.

Gabriel Agreste inched his way up into a sitting position, holding his head in a hand the whole time. “Wh-what happened?” he groaned. He looked around his lair slowly, stunned when his eyes landed on the heroes standing in the light. “Ladybug, Chat Noir, how did you two get here?” Beside him, Natalie started to rise. 

Ladybug glared at the adults before her, “Miraculous of Teleportation, you didn’t think we’d let you continue on your warpath, did you?" 

As soon as, Natalie was sitting up too, Ladybug wrapped her yoyo string around them, ignoring the small sound of protest from her partner.  Once the bonds were secure, the angered teen crouched to Gabriel’s eye level. 

"Now tell me, Hawkmoth, where are the Miraculous?”

Gabriel’s eyes widened and he looked down at where the butterfly brooch had been for the last two years. “I-I don’t know, Ladybug. I just had it.” He started desperately searching the area around him, as if the Miraculous was hiding among the dead butterflies littering the floor.

“I had just used it to akumatize that girl who was not invited to a classmate’s party again,” he started to ramble, pulling on the cords around his torso. “I-”

Chat Noir interrupted the panicking man, “What do you mean? We just fought Mr. Pigeon again, not some girl.”

“No, I distinctly remember the feelings of a girl being ostracized by her peers,” Gabriel sneered. He glared up at Chat before Ladybug stepped between the two, blocking the man’s line of sight to her partner. 

Ladybug was glaring back when she saw Gabriel’s eyes glance behind her and his face paled. “Chat what’s he looking at?” I can’t look behind me, this could be a trick.

“Nothing, M'Lady, there’s just the window." 

"What’s the date?” Gabriel’s voice came out as a whisper. A gentle breeze blew through the trees, leaves rustling was the only sound for one heart stopping second.

“June 2, why?” His face whitened even more. It looked like the ghost of Gabriel Agreste was kneeling in front of her. He shakily made eye contact with Ladybug again.

“The last thing I remember was akumatizing a teenage girl on January 2. The trees outside were covered in snow.”

Ladybug’s eyes went wide and she whipped her head towards the woman tied up with Gabriel. “Natalie, what about you, what do you remember?”

“The,” the woman paused, obviously still not completely awake, “the last I remember was dropping Adrien off at a photoshoot, January 2 as well.”

“That means,” Ladybug stumbled back, “something stole your memories." 

Chat shifted behind her then added, "And your Miraculous." 

Chat Noir and Ladybug moved to a dark corner to decide what to do about the poor excuse of a father sitting just outside the circle of light. Her arms were crossed and her posture tense while he looked more defeated than the magic-less duo still tied together.

"I think we should call the police and have both hauled off!” huffed Ladybug, still very much pissed that Adrien’s own father was the villain they’d been fighting against for so long. “But,” she deflated, “he’s your father, what do you want to do?”

Chat Noir opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, then opened it again to simply state, “I’ve already lost my mother, I don’t think I can lose him too.”

Ladybug’s gaze softened as he went on.

“Look, I know he fucked up. He fucked up really bad. But we don’t even know why he wanted our Miraculous.” Ladybug tried to interject but a raised, leather hand stopped her. “I’m not excusing anything he’s done, I just want to know why.”

With a nod Ladybug led the way back to Gabriel and Nathalie. She silently stood, glaring down at the man before speaking, “Why did you want our Miraculous?” Gabriel seemed to weigh his options then answered.

“To bring my wife back. To make my family whole again.”

NEXT

[seeaddywrite]

bitch, i’m a monster

a/n: this is the start of the vampire AU that’s been bugging me for the last few weeks. it takes place in a mostly canon universe, but ignores max’s death & michael’s relationship with maria. michael & alex still aren’t together, though the reasons are different this time around, & their feelings for each other are still very real. 

it’s a little ridiculous, a lot melodramatic, & a whole lot of fun to write. i probably would have given up on it a long time ago if it weren’t for @soberqueerinthewild‘s insistence i do something with it, & her beta-ing, so, as always, she’s the best!  i’m hoping to post the follow-up for the last day of Roswell NM Week, & then hopefully that will be the end of it because i absolutely do not want another never-ending ‘verse haha. 

also, this is not the real title!! i just grew attached to the title on my google doc & can’t find a good one yet -- soooo it’s temporary haha. hopefully it makes you laugh as much as me. 

The sharp, stabbing pain in his residual limb is the first sign. It’s a human pain, one easily avoided if Alex is careful and drains one of the packets in his specialized, hidden cooler on a consistent schedule. But that cooler is in his cabin, safely stashed in the sub-basement that Jim Valenti had kindly left him, and Alex is stranded in the middle of the goddamn desert without access to anything that would help the pain disappear.

It takes several minutes for the severity of the situation to process, though, since Alex is busy blinking the remnants of unconsciousness from his eyes and trying to figure out how he’d gone from reclining on his couch to what seemed to be the middle of the New Mexican desert. He groans and pushes himself up from coarse, brownish grass and gritty red dirt. There’s nothing ahead of him for miles but desert landscape and waves of heat rising from the ground; it’s got to be close to midday, as the sun is still high in the sky and beating down on him. It makes his skin feel too-tight and sore, like he’s got a low-level sunburn, and Alex has spent enough time in deserts to know that it will only get worse the longer he’s outside. 

The sun might not reduce him to ash like it does in horror films, but sunlight is still not kind to vampires. The damage it causes will burn through whatever blood is left in his system at twice the normal speed, and leave him starving even faster than he wants to consider. It’s not worth thinking about, not yet -- it’ll only make him panic, and he needs to be focused on getting back to his cabin before he loses himself to baser instincts. 

“Fuck,” he mutters passionately, giving himself approximately thirty seconds to acknowledge how miserable he is before forcing his tactical mind and survival training to take over -- but he doesn’t have the chance. A short, wry chuckle from behind him makes Alex jump, and he twists around abruptly to find the source, his body habitually trying to find a defensive stance, even from his seated position in the dirt. 

“Yeah. Fuck pretty much sums it up,” Michael Guerin drawls, his achingly familiar features drawn into a pinched scowl as he surveys their surroundings, and Alex’s heart sinks. Stranded alone in the desert is bad enough, but Michael’s presence makes it worse, despite the traitorous feeling of security and pleasure that sparks in Alex’s chest when he sees him. It’s a vestigial reaction from the days when Alex was allowed to think of Guerin as his only port in a storm, and he hates that he can’t shake it even now, with years of one night stands, abandonment, and heartbreak between them. “Whoever knocked us out and dropped us here got our phones and dosed me with pollen. Again.”  He shakes his head, hard, and a cloud of yellow dust surrounds him briefly to illustrate his point. 

It takes a moment for Alex to remember the significance of the dust. It’s been over a year since Noah’s death and the discovery of the strange powder that nullified the aliens’ powers, and he’s had too much on his mind to spare it much thought in the intervening time. Jesse Manes’ escape from Kyle’s hospital and the subsequent skirmishes with him had taken up all of Alex’s time and energy -- but he knows intimately how much Michael loathes feeling powerless, and that frustration is obvious in the tight pull of his shoulders and the set of his jaw. For a moment, Alex wants to get up and smooth the lines in his face with his fingertips, to kiss away the fury at feeling helpless that burns in his own chest as much as Michael’s, but as always, he holds himself back. Getting close enough to touch Guerin at this point is too dangerous, anyway; every time Alex has allowed himself such luxury since his transition to vampire, the fight to keep his appearance and instincts within human bounds had been nearly impossible to win. He’d been an inch away from burying his fangs in Michael’s neck the last time they’d been naked together -- which is going to stay the last time they were together. Alex isn’t going to allow his love for Michael to put him in any more danger than his alien heritage already does. Especially not danger from Alex. 

“You gonna sit there until you dehydrate?” It takes a moment to process the question as Alex looks up at Michael. His jeans are covered in the reddish-brown dirt of the desert rather than the streaks of oil Alex is used to seeing. There’s a sprawling purple bruise across his sternum, revealed only because there are several buttons undone at his collar, and his curls are in utter disarray, matted with dried blood at one temple. Alex does his best to keep the latter as a clinical observation, but he swallows convulsively at the realization, forcing himself to focus on Michael’s scowl instead of the blood. His stomach cramps at the sight anyway, reminding him that it’s well past time for his bagged lunch, and he drags his gaze away. 

Michael waves a hand in front of Alex’s face in silent offer to help him up, and he takes it without thinking. As always, the contrast between his extreme body heat and Alex’s undead cold is shocking, but Michael doesn’t seem to notice. Everyone feels considerably cooler to him, Alex imagines, so the difference must not be as noticeable as it would be to others. Still, he’s careful to release Michael as soon as he’s found his balance on both feet, and to mask the wince that threatens to contort his face as he does so. He’s never really had to deal with aches or pains in his residual limb, even immediately after the amputation, because he’d healed with miraculous speed after he began to feed on a consistent schedule. 

It wasn’t actually that simple, of course. Alex had woken alone in a military hospital with limited memories of the explosion that put him there. The blast itself was still a blank spot in his mind, but if he tries, he can picture the tall, broad-shouldered Sebastian Erickson leaning over him, his ABUs torn and bloodied though there were no visible wounds on his body. Alex remembers trying to look at him, to focus and tell him to go get the others to safety, but Sebastian had only smiled sadly and rested a cold hand on his forehead. “This is going to hurt, I am afraid,” he’d said, in the same old-time accent that Alex remembered from nights at the bar with his squadron and countless training simulations. “But it is the only way you will live.” 

Alex remembers the words, but no accompanying panic. He hadn’t even felt pain at that point, just a vague sense of disconnect from the world around him and the sudden, overwhelming certainty that he was about to die. He’d always imagined he would fear death, would fight it with everything in him, but it had seemed a relief, then. No more war. No more guilt. No more anything. But the moment he relaxed into it, allowed himself to accept his fate, Sebastian’s familiar visage was in his line of sight, twisted into something … other. Something monstrous. And while the thought of death wasn’t enough to make Alex panic, blood-red eyes and fangs, it seemed, were. 

The flash of fang, the burning pain that started in his neck at the site of the bite and spread through his entire body with alarming alacrity, are crystal clear in his shoddy memory. Alex remembers screaming for help, clutching at Sebastian’s hand until it was just gone, along with Sebastian himself, as if he’d never been there in the first place. 

The next foggy memory Alex has is from days later, after his amputation. He was high on pain medication and barely lucid, but there’s no forgetting Sebastian’s sudden presence in the tiny, sterile room. After the initial burst of fear, an instinctive panic that comes from two predators in a room together while one is weak and vulnerable, Sebastian had begun to explain. It was the first time Alex had heard the word vampire outside bad pop culture references, and even high on painkillers, he’d believed it too fantastical to be true -- until Sebastian had snarled, fangs flashing in his mouth beneath fluorescent lights, and bit into his forearm. Blood streamed crimson over his pale skin, and from feet away, Alex could smell it. His mouth watered, his gums throbbed, and when he blinked, his vision was suddenly too good, taking in every detail of the hospital room before he even looked in that direction. 

Then, the bloody wound was shoved beneath his nose, and Alex loses the thread. He remembers sensations, feelings -- the way his entire body thrilled at the first drop against his lips, the first impression of his tongue against elongated teeth, the pure euphoria his first swallow. He’s been high on weed and drunk off his ass, but nothing else compares to that initial rush of fresh blood in his mouth. And at that point, there was really no denying the truth of it any longer. Alex was a vampire, and it did no good to pretend otherwise. 

When it was done, Sebastian disappeared, sliding through the tiny window with inhuman grace and without a backward glance. He left a phone number for his contact at a blood bank in Sacramento, California, behind, and tucked a tiny cooler full of blood packets beneath the bed, where the doctors would have no reason to look -- and Alex never saw him again. He’d been forced to learn most of what he knows of vampirism on his own by trial and error, and he’s lived in constant fear of what he’s capable of ever since. 

“Alex? Alex! Did you end up with a concussion or something? Hello?” 

The increasingly anxious voice pulls Alex back to the present, and he blinks, shaking his head and taking a step back, far enough away that the temptation to touch Michael eases. “No, I’m fine,” he says with a tight smile. In all honesty, he may have had a concussion, but it’s long healed by now. “I don’t remember anything about how we got here, though. You?” 

It doesn’t matter, really; the course of action is still the same. Get the hell out of the desert, find a way back to town, and hopefully manage to do it all before he ends up revealing his less-than-human side to Michael. But Alex isn’t the sort of person to be hit over the head and dragged out into the middle of the desert without wanting to know who’d done it -- if they didn’t get what they were after the first time, there’s too high a chance that they’d try again. Plus, whoever had done this has to know about Michael and his siblings’ secret to have used the pollen. That alone is enough of a reason to find and stop them; there are too many ways that information could be used against them, and Alex won’t let it happen. 

It turns out, Alex needn’t have worried. 

“C’mon, Manes, think about it. Who are the only people who know about this shit that aren’t on our side?” He brushes another waterfall of the yellow powder to the desert floor, scowling at it furiously. “Plus, you and me? Not Max or Isobel? Not Valenti, or Liz, or the half of the damn town who knows what we are? It’s gotta be personal. Who’s the only guy you know who’d want to take you and me out first?” 

Alex sucks in a sharp breath, ignoring the scent of Michael’s blood that it drags into his lungs. It’s impossible to deny that he’s right -- even though Alex very much wishes he could, because the insinuations are terrifying. 

“My dad,” he says tersely, rubbing at his temples in a futile attempt to stop the ache building behind his eyes. Of course it was his father. Jesse Manes is the only addition to this fiasco that could possibly make it worse, and that’s the way Alex’s luck has been running, lately. “Remind me to call Kyle as soon as we get back to town. He’ll need the heads-up to make sure no one shows up behind him with a gun again.” 

Michael stares flatly back at him, incredulity glowing in his eyes. “That’s what you’re worried about right now? Seriously? Look around, Alex!” He spreads his arms wide, encompassing the expanse of desert surrounding them, touching the horizon on all sides. There’s no sign of the way they’d come, no way of knowing for sure in which direction home was, and they’d been left with no supplies or methods of communication. Just the two of them, with Michael’s powers muted and Alex’s useless without a steady source of blood. 

In short, they’re screwed. 

Alex presses his lips together tightly, then nods curtly, conceding the point. “Yeah, okay. Valenti’s on his own for now,” he agrees, and tries to organize his thoughts, filtering out the voices in the back of his head that are screaming that he’s going to either starve in the middle of this wasteland or end up fang-deep in Michael’s neck before he can stop himself. 

“As long as this isn’t all a diversion, I think everyone else will be fine until we get back and show we ruined the grand plan … whatever the hell that is,” Michael muses thoughtfully, and Alex’s shoulders slump in relief when he keeps talking. Not because his thoughts bring good news, but because it gives him something else to focus on, anything else, besides the steadily growing panic in his chest and the hunger that’s beginning to gnaw ruthlessly at his insides. “Any ideas? Kidnapping us and leaving before we’re dead isn’t exactly Jesse’s style. He’s usually into more hands-on stuff: torture, gunshots to the head, fiery explosions, all the classics. So why’d he dump us out here when there’s a good chance we’ll be able to find our way back and come after him?” 

Alex calls on years of military discipline to keep from squirming at the questions. He knows the answer, of course. His father has been his nemesis, his war, since he was eight years old, and Alex believes in knowing thy enemy. Jesse Manes is a sadist. He gets off on watching others hurt and always has -- especially when it comes to Alex, who has managed to disappoint him in every way a son can. He’s gay. He’s unalterably in love with an alien. And three years ago, when he should have died in an IED explosion, adding to the family legacy, Alex became something inhuman instead. It’s the perfect trifecta of sins, in his father’s eyes, and being dumped in a sun-scorched desert at midday with nothing and no one around besides a powerless -- and therefore defenseless -- Michael Guerin is his idea of a fitting punishment. 

Even after discovering all of Jesse Manes’ secrets, Alex still has no idea how he found out about his condition, but that doesn’t matter. He knows, and at least thinks he knows how to kill a vampire. And Alex has to admit that this is a good way to do it. Eventually, instinct will take over and he’ll end up attacking Michael to stay alive. And afterward, in time, Alex will begin to dessicate from lack of blood. At least, he assumes so -- no one has ever actually told him what happens when a vampire goes too long without blood, but movies and literature all seem to agree that the consequences are unpleasant. 

Not that it particularly matters. Alex isn’t naive enough to think he’d care about what came next if he lost control of himself and murdered the love of his life. He’s a vampire, and maybe a bit monstrous, in the right light, but his heart still beats faster when Michael looks at him, and he doubts he’ll ever be able to shake the warmth that infuses his body when their eyes meet. Together or not, Alex loves Michael, and while he may have managed to forgive himself for a long list of sins, killing him isn’t one that Alex could ever recover from. And a world without Michael isn’t one that he wants to exist in, even if the guilt wasn’t enough to kill him instantaneously. 

None of that is information he plans on sharing with Guerin, at least not yet, not until he’s absolutely sure they can’t make it back to Roswell before the situation becomes critical. They don’t even know how far out they are -- maybe they can hike back in a few hours with no worse repercussions than dehydration and a sun burn. They both tend toward the pessimistic, both looking for the worst-case scenario as a direct result of the ways they were raised, but Alex doesn’t have any choice but to hope for the best, this time. Hope for the best … and prepare for the worst.

“I don’t know,” Alex lies, leaning down to hide his face under the guise of adjusting his compression sock. Even with all of the unpleasantness and recent distance between them, Michael knows Alex too well, and the last thing Alex wants is for him to read the falsehood in his expression. “But it doesn’t really matter now. We have to get back to town as soon as possible.” 

Michael rolls his eyes. “No, really? I thought we’d stay and take a nice vacation,” he snarks, head cocked to one side as he rakes agitated fingers through his curls. Yellow powder again coalesces into a cloud around his head before falling to the sand, and Michael’s lips tighten angrily. “This stuff is literally choking me. I can’t reach Iz or Max until it’s gone, so we’re on our own, unless Daddy Dearest was nice enough to leave you a phone?”

Alex sighs heavily, eyeing the horizon with displeasure. It’s going to be a long fucking day. “We’d better get a move on, then,” he tells Michael, and points them north, toward what he hopes is civilization. 

[aalissy]

Working Together

This chapter took me agessss to write but it’s here now and I’m proud of it. I have been listening to the Diggy Diggy Hole cover by Wind Rose allll day today (Cause I’m a Yognaut and proud of it lol) so now it’s stuck in my head. Have you guys been listening to any good music? Lemme know <3

AO3

“You want me to what?” Adrien’s eyes practically bugged out of his head as he stared at the superheroine. Ladybug was perched outside his window with a worried expression overtaking her usually delicate features.

“I’m sorry, Adrien,” her bright blue eyes filled with regret, “It’s just that I know Lila has a soft spot for you and I’m really hoping we can use that to our advantage. If I didn’t think that it was the easiest way I wouldn’t ask you to do this,” Ladybug shook her head softly before blinking at him innocently, “So what do you think? Will you work with me?”

“I-I,” he stuttered before shaking himself out of his stupor, “Only if I get to be the Chat Noir to your Ladybug.”

Ladybug giggled, a light pink filling her cheeks which caused him to smirk proudly, “I’d much prefer if you were the Adrien to my Ladybug actually.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah,” she said breathlessly before straightening up, “With me, you, and Chat fighting Lila we should be unstoppable!”

Adrien mentally slapped a hand to his forehead. Of course I forgot about Chat Noir! So how are you getting yourself out of this one Agreste? Shooting a nervous glance around his room he blurted out, “I’ll be right back!” before darting towards the bathroom.

“Ok?” Ladybug’s voice called after him.

Sighing as he leaned against the bathroom door, Plagg zipped out of his pocket snickering at the desperate boy, “And just how exactly are you planning on fighting Lila with both yourself and Chat Noir. I may be wrong here but I don’t think humans can spilt into two different people.”

“Shut up Plagg. You’re not helping,” Adrien muttered, raking a hand through his blonde locks.

“Good luck figuring this one out lover boy,” the kwami cackled with pure glee.

Adrien’s lips pursed before brightening as he snapped his fingers together, “I got it! I’ll just call Ladybug as Chat and tell her I can’t make it tonight. Important superhero business to do and all,” he flexed proudly.

“Yeah that’s believable,” Plagg rolled his eyes.

“And why wouldn’t she believe me?” the model said defensively before shrugging, “Besides, Ladybug’s done the same thing. Remember when she left me and Marinette to take on the Evillustrator by ourselves.”

Plagg’s mouth dropped open in shock before he shook his head, “Do you have any idea how oblivious you are?”

“What do you mean?” Adrien’s head tilted in confusion.

“Nothing, nothing, let’s just tell Ladybug,” the tiny cat said before murmuring a quiet, “Let’s just hope she’s not as oblivious.”

Ignoring the sarcastic comment Plagg had muttered, Adrien called on his transformation, “Plagg, claws out!” With the surge of energy flooding through his bones, he quickly pulled out his baton. Chat then quickly called the superheroine who answered with a relieved look.

“Chat, Lila’s been overtaken with another akuma! Can you meet me and Adrien outside his house in five?”

“I’m sorry My Lady but I can’t tonight. Something came up,” he tried to seem disappointed though he was eager to return to the bug just outside his bathroom door.

“What? With what? This is important, Chat!” Ladybug said angrily.

“Sorry LB but it’s a secret mission,” Chat winked playfully, “You know what those are like.”

Her eyebrows rose slightly as a peculiar expression took over her features, “I... yeah I guess I know what you mean,” she said before her features sharpened into one of determination, “I have to go. Lila won’t stop herself after all.”

A sappy smile overtook his face as he heard her words, waving goodbye over the tiny screen, “Goodbye, Buggaboo,” Chat gave a quick air kiss before hanging up.

Calling off his detransformation revealed a still snickering Plagg who snuggled his way back into Adrien’s shirt pocket, “Yeah I don’t see how this could go wrong at all.”

“We’ll be fine,” Adrien gave a determined nod. Waiting a few seconds longer in the large bathroom, so as to not seem suspicious, the model hurried over to Ladybug. She turned to look at him as he came out, stopping her observing scan of the city. She blinked a few times as she gave him the same peculiar look she had bestowed upon Chat just moments before. Before Adrien could decipher that particular look, however, it was gone, replaced with the look of resolve he adored on her.

“We need to go,” her head jerked over to the city, “Turns out Chat won’t be joining us. Something about a secret mission. So it’ll be just you and me this time,” Ladybug smiled.

“Oh, well I’m still certain we can take on Lila together,” Adrien raised his fist in confidence. Giving him a quick nod, she quickly scooped him up into her warm arms. A light blush flooding his cheeks they began their journey across the city and Adrien quickly tightened his arms around the superheroine.

“Details!” Ladybug shouted to him over the rush of wind that flooded his ears, “Lila is Volpina again, so if you see something that seems unbelievable it probably is. We know she’s after you because of her obsession with you. What I need you to do is keep her distracted so I can break the akuma in her necklace. Think you can do that for me?”

“You can count on me, Ladybug!” Adrien shouted back at her as he gave her a quick thumbs-up.

“Great!” she beamed at him before setting him down on a park, “Now we just need to find that girl.”

He gave a hum, looking around to see if he could spot the familiar fox, “Knowing Lila she’ll probably come to us. I figure me walking around is probably our best bet at finding her.”

Ladybug nodded, “You’re right. That fox will probably come sniff you out soon enough. So I’ll be following you from a safe distance.”

“Told you we got this Ladybug!”

The heroine chuckled, “Let’s not be too confident yet. That fox is sneaky after all.”

“Sorry,” Adrien sheepishly smiled, “Guess I’m just excited to be working with a superhero.”

Ladybug’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, “Just be careful, ok Adrien.”

“As long as you’re here, I’ll be fine Ladybug,” a soft grin overtook his features as he looked up at her.

“Mhm,” she squeaked with a bright beam.

Adrien turned around reluctantly, wishing longingly that he could still look at the superheroine. With a heaved sigh, Adrien began his trek to discover Andre’s ice cream shop. Taking out his phone he quickly searched social media to see if he could find any recent clues as to the man’s whereabouts. Trailing his hand along the cold metal of the Ponts des Arts bridge he finally spotted the ice cream man handing out the delicious treats. With a small smirk on his face, Adrien headed towards Andre before a figure jumped in front of him, effectively cutting off his path.

Volpina looked up at him with a bright smile, “Adrien, hi! Are you getting Andre’s ice cream? Oh, I know why don’t we go together?!” she gasps and grasped onto his arm, “Did you know that there’s a legend that says those who share his ice cream together stay with each other forever?”

“Oh, wow, no I didn’t know that Lila!” Adrien winced subtly, as he faked enthusiasm. Please, will you just let go of my arm, Lila! Where are you Ladybug? Adrien moaned silently to himself.

With a quick flick of her wrist, Volpina pulled out her flute, playing a quiet melody, “And afterward we can go look around the giant museum I just made,” she gestured to the building before latching onto Adrien once again, “I finally got my Miraculous back from Rena Rouge, you know. Such a hassle.”

“I’m sure it was,” Adrien nodded along with her as though he believed her lies.

“Oh Andre!” she waved at the man, “My boyfriend and I would like two ice creams please!” As they neared the man a quick blur of red tied itself around Volpina’s ankle. She tripped, her face smashing into the ground before she whipped around with a fierce glare.

“Hey Volpina,” Ladybug stood with a proud smirk, “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

“Ladybug,” the fox sneered before reaching for her flute.

Noticing how distracted the girl was, Adrien quickly latched onto the necklace and tore it off the unsuspecting girl’s neck, “Ladybug catch!”

“NO!” Volpina screeched, pushing Adrien down just as he threw the necklace.

“ADRIEN!” Ladybug panicked, before easily breaking the necklace to reveal the akuma. Purifying the creature with a nimble swing of her yo-yo she rushed over to the boy. “Are you alright?” she lifted him up, placing his head on her lap.

“Yeah, I’m just fine M’l... Ladybug,” he quickly stopped himself from using the nickname his superhero counterpart uses, “Your magic fixed me right up.”

She stroked his forehead lightly, causing him to lean into her head, “I told you to be careful. That wasn’t careful.”

“We still saved the day, didn’t we?” Adrien chuckled.

Before Ladybug could make a retort back, two ice cream cones were handed to the two of them, “For saving Paris,” Andre said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Suppose I should save Paris more often if I get more ice cream like this,” Adrien smiled before he saw her gaping at his treat, a dark flush overtaking her cheeks. Looking down at his ice cream, Adrien blushed as he realized the scoops still matched her bluebell eyes, dark blue hair, and polka-dotted suit. He gave her a sheepish grin before looking at her own mint and peach flavored ice cream. The pink flush filling his own cheeks this time he glanced away as Ladybug stood up, clearing her throat. Maybe we are destined to be, Adrien thought to himself dreamily.

“Are you alright, Lila?” Ladybug offered the girl a hand up.

I had completely forgotten about Lila, Adrien winced as he stood up to follow the heroine.

“I’m fine,” the girl brushed herself off, not taking Ladybug’s hand as she stood up by herself.

The superheroines lips pursed as she dropped her hand, her eyes rolling at Lila’s actions. Turning back around to Adrien, she cradled the boy into her arms. Ladybug then shot Lila a smug look, “Are you sure? Because you do seem to be akumatized a lot.”

“I’m sure,” she growled, her fists tightening in anger.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Ladybug smirked before wrapping her yo-yo around a building, “I’m certain we’ll be seeing each other again.”

Adrien closed his eyes as he leaned into the superheroine. He relaxed into her grip as they began flying through the air. Too soon, he was back at his house, staring at Ladybug with affectionate eyes, “Am I allowed to be confident now that we’ve defeated the akuma?”

She laughed, “Yes of course you are. After all, I couldn’t have saved the day without you,” she shot him a quick wink.

“We make a great team,” he grinned dreamily at her.

“Pound it?” Ladybug held out her fist for him before he connected the two.

Her gloved hand met his ungloved one for the first time since their partnership began, “Pound it!”

“Enjoy your ice cream Adrien,” she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she was off, taking his heart along with her.

[animatical-fandoms]

Upcoming Fanart Info!

I finished my @kwamiswaps week art a few minutes ago, and boy let me tell you, it took forever. It’s just tagged and put in my queue for each day (I think each is scheduled for like 9-10 AM or something my time? So a few things to note about each character if y’all are interested, I have basic info below the cut about each swap and my basic headcanons about it. 

If I tagged you below the cut, it means I used your existing au as inspiration for some of my designs in the coming week, and I wanted to credit you as inspiration before my queue catches up! 

Tikki

Adrien - Okay just, whatever happens in canon, all that I ask is that Adrien calls Mari “Chaton”/”Kitty” it will warm my dead, dead heart understand? 

Alya - basically my personal design for @lunian‘s Ladybird AU. It’s awesome, go read their comics and stuff! I just like Alya’s Rena cape thing, so I went for ladybug wings - Fennette will be a thing too for Trixx’s day!

Nino - The fact of the matter is in this AU, Mari was like Nino is the responsible level-headed person of this friend group he’d make the best superhero and gives him the ladybug miraculous. He and Chat!Adrien are the best of friends, and Adrien lowkey crushes on him almost as bad as Mari!Ladybug. 

Chloe - yeah, my interpretation of the wonderful @zoe-oneesama‘s Scarlet Lady AU. My version of Marigold will get featured, too :)

Luka - Plain and simple, Master Fu showed up a few years earlier, and ran into this kindhearted musician before Mari. TBH Luka is one of my faves, so he’s going to show up for the majority of the week because I loved playing around with designs for him

Felix - He doesn’t get cursed with bad luck, but with a kwami that insists he be responsible and help poor Lady Noir (Bridgette) break her curse. He’s gentler, kinder as a bug than as Felix, always happy to help others and to calm akuma victims after a fight. He’s drawn to Lady Noir, ever melancholy and mysterious, and lets himself loose with an edge against Bridgette because that’s how he’s always been. 

Plagg

Marinette - Again, based off of the canon leaked art. I just really, really hope she’ll call Adrien some version of My Lady, and make at least one cat pun, either unintentionally or specifically for Adrien’s benefit so he can squeal over it. 

Alya - Instead of Master Fu picking Adrien, he asks New Ladybug who she would like by her side. Obviously Alya is the first choice, and she’s ecstatic to be a superhero, keeping the Ladyblog focused on Ladybug because, you know, she can’t record herself. Nino and Adrien crush HARD on the new superheroes, and while that frustrates Mari, Alya is absolutely delighted. 

Nino - Adrien pulls a Marinette, afraid that he’ll get caught since he’s under so much scrutiny as a model with a ton of visibility, and though it physically pains him to not fulfill his magical girl dreams, he knows Nino would be an amazing hero. Nino takes it in stride, and he and Mari!Ladybug are the bros to end all bros. Alya, crushing on Chat!Nino, creates both the Ladyblog and another blog dedicated to Nino’s alter ego. His thought? Best girlfriend ever. 

Chloe - I don’t really know how this would happen unless Adrien did the above, but with Chloe, thinking her confidence would be an asset?  Mari as Ladybug would be irritated by Mistress Noir, but it becomes a series of growing moments for Chloe, because she gets to see what a destructive force she really can be on people’s lives and gets better at the Friend Thing. 

Luka - My boy omg this one was fun to draw. So 

Bridgette - Reverse PV like Luka’s - Bridgette thought her luck was bad enough with her being unable to speak at a normal pace and pitch in front of her crush, not to mention her clumsiness makes her look like a fool in front of him during their dance classes. Now she’s cursed with a tiny god of destruction and a Perfect Superhero Partner - well, at least her clumsiness disappears when she’s Lady Noir. A shadow to Lordbug’s light. She knows it’s as hopeless to try and break her curse with him as it is to get together with Felix, so she just stands aside as his protector. 

Trixx

Marinette - See the Ladybird AU with Alya; I couldn’t help myself!

Adrien - In the world where Alya is Chat and Mari is Ladybug, the two need help against the multiplying twins, same as before. Except Mari goes to lonely Adrien who she knows would be amazing.

Nino - The above babysitting disaster happens to be Nino’s little cousin, Chris, rather than Alya’s sisters, so Mari offers the fox miraculous to him. He and Adrien get to be bros for all sides of the mask. Alya makes an entirely new blog dedicated to the new fox. 

Chloe - I really don’t know how she would get her hands on the fox, unless she made like Queen Bee and stole it, which I suppose is plausible. Maybe I can do way better than Lila because I won’t be faking it kind of thing?

Luka - He probably would get this if another akuma was the reason they needed the Fox - maybe if Fu gave it to Ladybug while his mom was akumatized and he was worried about everyone’s safety. 

Felix - He was free of the Black Cat’s curse, and the miraculous could no longer be his. It got passed to Adrien through Fu without him knowing, and as soon as he sees his little brother vaulting across the city in a catsuit (without stripper boots, what the hell Plagg why did you make me suffer this way) he storms up to Fu’s place and says give me the fox those are children my god and becomes Mentor #1 to the new Chat and Ladybug. Naturally, no one catches on that he’s himself. He’s a professional at this secret identity thing. 

Wayzz

Marinette - In the world where Nino and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat respectively, Alya has been chosen as the fox. During Anansi, though, she’s captured - so Nino’s like omg Marinette could be the turtle and Marinette, upon receiving it, is having major panic mode set in, but you know, she does her best. Adrien takes a look at her protecting them and is like omg my Lady, a la Alya knowing exactly who Carapace was, but he keeps it to himself, and becomes more comfortable and flirty with Mari. 

Adrien - Don’t know if this fits in with any of the others . . . but probably Chat!Chloe verse, and Marinette is like please can you be my partner forever

Alya - Instead of her getting kidnapped during Anansi, it’s Nino, since Nora had a beef with him being too girly. She totally saves him and fangirls over being a superhero and he just knows. 

Chloe - How did this happen? I’m not even sure. But her being on the defensive is so out of character that I can’t even begin to rationalize it. 

Luka - Both Alya and Nino are unavailable during Anansi, so Marinette is like, Luka was super helpful on the boat and is super nice let’s do this. 

Bridgette - Fox!Felix verse - she sees her boyfriend, who was once Chat, as a fox teaching the two bb heroes the ropes. She goes to Fu, stands in the door with her eyebrow raised.  Fu had meant for her to succeed him as guardian anyway, and she takes up a job at his place so he can still hang out with Wayzz. She becomes Mentor #2 and is basically Mulan in fighting style - totally unexpected strategies. (It’s her fault that identity reveals happen, idk how, but it is)

Pollen 

Marinette - Marigold from the Lady Scarlet universe!

Adrien - From the universe where Chloe ends up as Chat, Marinette is super protective of this sunshine bee boy

Alya - Marinette actually? Gets the Bee Miraculous to Alya instead of losing it to Chloe?

Nino - Mari’s mind goes to Nino instead of Alya when the Bee is needed, and she makes it to him. 

Alix - After seeing her do so awesome with Reverser, Marinette turns to Alix for help as the Bee. 

Max - well, I don’t have too much of a headcanon for him, but kwamiswaps did a fanfic, so that’’s what this design is for! (I did little suspender stripes without meaning to omg I really do like how it turned out)

Dusuu

Marinette - I suppose in this AU, the Peacock wasn’t damaged, just disappeared - and, while visiting Adrien for a study session, she ends up with a new bird friend. 

Adrien - He inherits it from his mom okay??? Like, Fu has it and knows and is like your mother would have wanted you to have this. And this pisses off Hawkmoth to no end because he thinks whoever stole it is Definitely Not Adrien and is disgracing his wife’s name and just more angst than I expected for this Bird Boy (which, of course, makes the running gag that he’s allergic to feathers hilarious - Dusuu does make him sneeze if they get in his face, but when he transforms he doesn’t have his allergy. 

Alya - Swap the Peacock for the Fox - let’s just say Hawkmoth had a direct source to mess with Lila. Instead of illusions on the night the twins start multiplying, she creates a summoned creature to lure them all together. 

Nino - The Peacock was damaged still, but Nino was willing to risk that to save his girlfriend and the city. 

Chloe - Somehow, since the Mayor was friends with Gabriel and his wife, he ended up in possession of the Peacock before Gabriel knew what it was. Chloe gets her hands on it relatively at the same time she would have gotten the Bee and is just as Extra. 

Jagged - Who knows? It was necessary to make this once it was suggested. Let it happen. He deserves to be a flashy birb.

Nooroo

Marinette - Mayura is the main villain in this universe, and Emilie is comatose because of a damaged Ladybug Miraculous. Adrien is still Chat, but he makes “my wings” and “my little butterfly” comments rather than “My Lady”. Gabriel has Nathalie generally doing his dirty work, and he calls Emilie his lady. It’s very sad and angsty. Mari uses her friends’ best qualities to fight against the beasts Mayura creates. 

Adrien - He’s been Chat for some time, but now Gabriel has been revealed to him and Mari, and he gets really, really angry, and steals the miraculous as Adrien. This is a Problem. Plagg is concerned Adrien is getting too angry to deal with powers of destruction full-time, so Adrien brings him to Fu and alternates between Plagg and Nooroo, and he confronts Gabriel a lot as the Butterfly because betrayal reasons. Ladybug is concerned, but she trusts him and that’s what gets him through. 

Nino - He is So Supportive of his friends, okay? He gets chosen as the Butterfly holder when, say, Bridgette has the Turtle and they manage to take it from Hawkmoth but still need help getting the Peacock or some other stolen one. 

Chloe - Okay, this version of Chloe does not get a redemption arc, like, ever - she’s Hawkmoth. Straight up.  She starts every akuma purposefully, becomes a villain, etc.  Don’t ask why; I don’t know - attention? I prefer Redeemed!Chloe, but I feel like she’d totally be past saving as this particular supervillain. 

Kagami - She’s a fencer, the Butterfly has a sword/cane, it’s a match! Adrien gets to pick some new holders in my personal headcanon. Let’s say while the Mouse and Snake go to Mari and Luka, they get the Butterfly so Adrien chooses Kagami because she tried to help him and she wouldn’t let her emotions get in the way when she chooses people with her powers. (I didn’t like my original Alya design for the butterfly, so we get Kagami instead!)

Felix - Brother!AU. He was Chat Noir when he was younger, has been abroad with Bridgette, and comes home to see the canon situation. He is Not Fooled by Adrien, Mari, anyone - he’s been there, and he has distance of not knowing most of the people involved, so he gets very, very, angry. He knows his father is Hawkmoth. So he steals the butterfly and sides with Ladybug and Chat Noir, who are both thankful but confused at this new Butterfly who’s So Angry - Adrien doesn’t figure it out, but he comforts Felix without meaning to and Felix is so touched. Felix eventually reveals that he knows who the previous Hawkmoth and the current (insert villain name) is - Gabriel Agreste. Obviously disbelief and angst, but he reveals himself and is like I am the last person to want Gabriel to be a supervillain so yeah and Agreste brotherly bonding and HawkDad butt-kicking and there. 

[freedom-shamrock]

Someone Chatty This Way Comes

Also on AO3. Look, an actual one-shot!  This is the @miraculousfluffmonth  Aug 24 prompt, wrong number. Since I am incapable of true one-shots, part 2 is here and part 3 is here.

Once Marinette had gotten Tikki settled with a couple of warm cookies, still soft with melty chocolate, she picked up her cell phone.  "I'm just going to make sure Chat got home all right."

"He did get thrown pretty hard today," Tikki said.  "But the miraculous cure should have fixed everything."

Marinette shrugged.  "It may have fixed the physical bits, but there's still the memory of it."  She knew that first hand.  She knew she didn't have to be concerned about him developing a tolerance to the cure, and that it would work on him every time; she'd questioned her kwami after a particularly brutal attack on that particular topic.  She pulled up the messaging app they'd started using a few months ago.  She'd learned about it from Alya.  A lot of their classmates used it to keep in touch out of school, and to get homework help.  Ladybug and Chat used it to talk when they were out of their suits.

"It's nice that you worry about him," Tikki said, smiling happily as she took another bite of the cookie she was working on.

"Of course I do," Marinette said, indignant.  "He's my partner, and one of my closest friends."

"Any chance his persistence is paying off?" Tikki asked.

Marinette turned away, feeling the heat in her cheeks.  "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," Tikki agreed.  "You'd never blush over your partner."  She giggled.  "You're so cute, Marinette."

"Ugh!"  Marinette collapsed into her desk chair.  She didn't want to admit that it was nice how much attention he paid to her, that he noticed when she was happy or down from the tiniest cues.  And at some point, he'd scaled back his flirting to fun banter when it was appropriate.  He'd moved on to sweet and kind acts of appreciation, which touched her more than they embarrassed her.

Bugnette: @mon_chaton did you make it home okay?

Mon_Chaton: Yep.  And just before the final warning, too.

Bugnette: You worked so hard today.  Thank you for the save.

Bugnette: Saves.  I know those couldn't have felt very good at the time, even though you knew they'd heal up.

Mon_Chaton: It's an honor to serve as your shield.

Bugnette: You know that's not ALL you are, right?

Mon_Chaton : Yes, Bug.  I know.

He was probably smiling in that insufferably sweet way he did when he was agreeing, but had another motive or take on it.

Bugnette: I have to get started on my homework, but please do me a favor and be nice to yourself tonight.

Mon_Chaton: Is that a euphemism?  Because it sounds like one.

Bugnette: OMG Chat!  I just meant I wanted you to take it easy and maybe pamper yourself.  Like a bubble bath or your favorite treat or something.  I know you work hard in your civilian life too, and I was hoping you could step it down a notch because you deserve it.

Mon_Chaton: You're too easy.

Bugnette: Is THAT a euphemism?!

Mon_Chaton: Eh, no.  I meant easy to tease, not the other kind of easy, which I can firmly state you are not.  

Marinette giggled.  At some point, their partnership had truly become friendship, and he was as comfortable to talk to and joke with as Alya and Nino.  While she was no longer a stuttering mess around Adrien, it was still a lot of work to talk to him.

Mon_Chaton: I'm gonna let you get to that homework before I can accidentally say something too offensive.  And I'm going to be nice to myself and go to bed early.  I'm too tired for all this.

Bugnette: Did you just gesture to all of me?

Mon_Chaton : You bet your miraculous I did.

Marinette was staring at her physics homework.  It just didn't make sense.  She hadn't missed that class at all this week, but apparently today's lecture had evaporated out of her brain before she could commit the contents to long term memory.  She dialed Alya.

"Hey girl!" her best friend answered after the first ring.  "What's up?"

"Physics," Marinette replied, groaning.  "Did I fall asleep in class today?  I have no memory of that hour."

Alya's laugh was one of Marinette's favorite things about her best friend.  It could almost always make her smile.  "No you didn't.  But it was a tangled mess.  I've got Nino over here right now and we're trying to figure it out before we give up and call Adrien."

"Dang it," Marinette muttered.  "It's the last thing I have to do, and I really want to get this done so I can work on a project."

"Well, you could always ask Adrien for help yourself," Alya suggested.  "He's on the chat system right now."

"Adrien uses the chat system?"  She was surprised.  She'd never seen him in any of the groups she used.

"I half think he's addicted to chatting," Alya replied.  "I'll text you his contact info and you can add him, okay?"

"And you don't think he'll mind?"  He'd helped her with physics in class before, so she figured it would be okay, she just worried about coming off as needy and stalkerish, especially now that she could recognize how inappropriate her early crush behavior had been.

"The boy loves helping, and he's damn good at it," Alya said.  "If the modeling thing doesn't work out, he should consider teaching."

Marinette copied Adrien's chat details and opened the app.  She plugged him in, grinning in amusement when his screen name popped up.

Bugnette: @NerdAlert, hey Adrien.  This is Marinette.  Alya gave me your contact details, I hope it's OK.  I have some questions on today's physics homework and was wondering if you could help me out.

Immediately after hitting enter, she realized her mistake.  She'd forgotten to log out as Ladybug and log back in as herself.  She stared at her screen in horror for a moment, before trying to talk herself down.  "It's okay.  We picked screen names that wouldn't give us away.  I can work with this.  I can totally play it off as a gaming pseudonym or something and switch over to my regular account.  There's no way he'll know."

NerdAlert: My Lady?

"Oh shit."  Marinette pushed herself away from her desk hard enough to fall over.  She sprawled on her back, legs dangling over her upended chair, stuck in a mental feedback loop of Adrien is Chat.  Chat is Adrien.  A shadow loomed over her skylight and a polite tapping came from above.

Tikki who had gone to look at Marinette's computer after her intense reaction and withdrawal, hovered over her chosen's face.  "Chat's here."

Marinette covered her face with both hands, whining inarticulately.

"I'll just let him in, then," Tikki said brightly.

Not looking out from behind her fingers, Marinette heard a click of the latch, then quiet greetings.

"Welcome Chat Noir!" Tikki said cheerfully.  "It's so nice to finally meet you.  I'm Tikki."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Tikki."  There was a pause.  "Are you sure it's okay for me to come in?  She looks paralyzed."  How had she not recognized his voice?

Tikki giggled.  "It's just shock.  Stay Chat for just a bit, and I'm sure she'll come around.  Then I'd love to see Plagg.  It's been ages."

"Yeah, he mentioned that."  He chuckled, and though his feet made no noise, cat that he was, he was obviously getting closer.  There was a shuffling noise as he sat down near her head.  "Are you going to come out, My Lady?"

"You have reached the life model decoy of Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she said, keeping her face covered.  "Please leave a message after the beep.  Beeeeep."

He giggled.  

Oh god, it was such a sweet sound.  How had that not outed him?  Then she felt his familiar gloved hand on her forehead, gentle.  Groaning, she rolled toward him, flopping her legs onto the floor, and pressed his face against his shin.  "Oh gooood.  I'm so stupid."

His hand slid to her back.  "My Lady is definitely not stupid.  And my friend Marinette is one of the smartest people I know."

"I suck at physics," she pointed out.

"Nah.  You just don't have a great teacher for it."  He picked out her hair binder and pushed his free hand into her hair, massaging her scalp.  "You always pick it up quickly when I explain it to you.  And I'm only as good at it as I am because it's review for me.  I love physics and my summer tutor is amazing."

"Of course Chat Noir is a physics nerd," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" his fingers slowed.

"You do all that crazy, on-the-fly, applied physics in every akuma battle.  It's freaking brilliant, and you're obviously a genius."  Now that she knew both the boys she liked were the same person, she could stop pretending to not admire her partner as much as she did.

"Oh," he said softly.

She peeked up at him, surprised to see pink in Chat Noir's cheeks.  "Oh my god.  You're adorable."  She abruptly sat up catching his face between her hands.  "You need to keep your Adrien sweetness under wraps when you're Chat, I don't think Paris could handle that combination.  I, personally, would be completely unable to work under those conditions."  She let go of him and gave a sniff of mock disdain.

He stared at her a moment, his mouth hanging open.  Letting out a huff he said, "Right.  But you need to put Ladybug's sass away when you're Marinette, or I'm going to suffer cardiac Agreste."

"Did you just?"  Honestly, she wished she'd come up with that one first.  "No more puns," she said firmly.

"But you like puns," he said, surprised.

"True, but after that one, all others will be pale and inadequate."  She shrugged.  "You have attained pun perfection, may as well stop."

He giggled again.  "I'm so glad you're my Ladybug."

"Yeah, well I'm even more glad you're my Chat Noir… well that Adrien is my Chat Noir."  She shrugged.  "You can drop the transformation.  I won't scream now."

"Heh.  You should have heard me when I got your message."  He grinned.  "Plagg, claws in."  With a wave of green light, Chat Noir was replaced with Adrien.  He waved.  "See.  It's me."

She rolled her eyes.  "I do see.  And I'm wondering why I didn't see it before."  She looked at the tiny black cat hovering over Adrien's shoulder.  "Oh.  You must be Plagg.  I've heard so much about you."

"It's all true," Plagg said.  "Especially the really nasty bits."  He darted close enough to whisper in her ear.  "My kid is totally bonkers for you.  Be gentle with him, he's only tough on the outside."

"Plagg."  Adrien's voice held a firm cautionary tone.

"Plagg!" Tikki squealed.  "Come on let's catch up.  I bet you need tummy rubs."

"I'm roughly one hundred and eight years behind on them, so yes," Plagg agreed, allowing Tikki to drag him off to her hideout.

Marinette righted her chair, offering it to Adrien.

"Thanks.  Uhm…"  He rubbed the back of his head.  "I didn't really plan what I was going to do, here.  Once I realize you were… you, I sort of forgot everything else and rushed over."  He shrugged.

"I'm actually glad you did."  She settled into the other chair.  "You being here defused my freak out, so thanks."

He looked so much happier than he did in his professional photos.  "Still want help with physics?  I'm here, so I may as well."  He pointed to the tablet and open text book on the desk.

"Yeah.  Let's do that."  She moved closer to him.  "Wanna stay for dinner?  We can go for a rooftop run afterward," she suggested.

"You have the best ideas," he said with a sigh.

"Not sure about that," she teased.  "It was my idea for us to use a chat service."

"Yeah."  He leaned his chin on his hands and beamed at her.  "That was possibly your best idea ever."

Started as a 30 minute exercise but I was still kind of out of it from my diphenhydramine, and my brain was not at peak function.  I also realized it was insufficiently fluffy ending with the reveal, and we needed Chat to actually show up for maximum fluff.

[purrincesskittens]

Miraculous Ladybug: Adventures Of Lupine Alpha and Corvus. Chapter 6

Summery: A new girl has started at Adrien’s school. One whose elder brother is just as rich and famous as his father. Adrien gets to know the girl more as his father works with her brother on a new project and finds she is a lot like him. As Chat Noir he continues to work along side Ladybug to keep Paris safe when a new Miraculous Holder appears along with a new enemy. Just who is Lupine Alpha? As their knowledge changes and expands more and more information about the Miraculouses comes to light. As do more miraculous holders. 

(Note: I do allow reblogging of this on tumblr alone )

Marinette had gotten lucky really. When she had been pushed out of the way of the collapsing tunnel roof she had been shoved back the way she came so she with the help of Plagg who kept bugging her for more cheese bread and scratches and pets turning out to be a very needy and demanding little kwami, she managed to eventually find her way out of the catacombs.

Getting out was the hard part. She couldn’t jump out since she wasn’t Ladybug at the moment nor could she transform into Ladybug which left her with climbing being her only option. “No!I refuse I absolutely won’t do it!” Marinette protests shaking her head and crossing her arms. “Come on princess you got to or your never going to get out of here and that means no cheese bread and I like cheese bread.” Plagg urges flying around her in circles anxiously he had yet to shut up about the cheese bread.

It took a bit longer but she finally with a loud groan wrapped some fabric around her hands so she wouldn’t have to touch the bones directly and began to climb her way up the side of the tunnel wall. She kept slipping and having to readjust her position to try and get up her shaking didn’t help and she kept trying to turn her gaze away from the creepy empty eye sockets of the skulls that stared back at her.

Just as she was about to reach the top letting go with one hand to reach for the edge grabbing a hold of it and reaching with her other hand she slipped. Plagg luckily grabbed her flailing free hand and gave a sharp tug with all his might pulling her hand back towards the edge of the opening. “Thank you Plagg.” Marinette says with a sigh of relief.

“Don’t thank me yet you’re still in the catacombs you know. And you owe me a ton of cheese bread for this princess.” He mutters giving her butt a push up as she struggled to pull herself up through the hole. Sabrina’s father Roger was standing near the hole guarding it the police had roped it off to keep pedestrians and civilians out.

Upon seeing the girl struggling to get out he rushed over and pulled her up. She offered him a brief explanation saying she had fallen in shortly after it opened not paying attention to where she was going and had tried to find another way out and gotten lost before turning back and finding the hole again. Her excuse was accepted and she was escorted home safe and sound Plagg tucked hidden into her bag.

Her parents were of course concerned for her but she manged to convince them she was unharmed. “I’m fine papa I truly am I just fell down a hole is all I should have been paying better attention.” Her parents fussed over her a bit which she allowed. “I promise I’ll be more careful and pay attention to where I’m going from now on okay mama?”

“Okay Mari sweety but you really should rest to make sure you aren’t hurt and to recover that was quite the ordeal you went through I’m just glad you weren’t hurt too badly from that fall. ” Her father says hugging her tight which she returned knowing her parents loved her and worried about her. Plagg caught her attention with a “Psst.” and a headbutt from the opening of her bag.

“Ohh yeah Papa can I have some more of that cheese bread you made this morning if there is any left? It was really good and a friend of mine wanted to try some too I gave him the little bit I had left.” She asks innocently. “Of course in fact I just made a new loaf this one is a little different I tried some new cheeses in it including that stinky Camembert stuff. You can try it and tell me what you think and so can your friend.”

She was handed the entire loaf with a knife on a plate to take up to her room. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and called her thanks over her shoulder as she headed up to her room closing the trap door behind her. Plagg immediately flew out and started crooning over the bread. “Ohh my sweet cheese bread at last we are together. And you’re Camembert cheese bread too doubly delicious.” He moans rubbing the crust of the bread with a paw savoring the scent.

Marinette rolled her eyes leaving the kwami to eat in peace while she hunted down the clothing necessary to make her disguise. She bite her lip as she hunted through her closest. “Ahah this will work.” She mutters pulling out a tank top she had bought on a shopping trip with her friends. Adrien had commented on how cute it looked sparking her into trying it on which had Alya squealing in delight and snapping photos while Adrien just gave her a dazzling smile that her her going weak in the knees and Nino commenting on how cute it looked on her.

The tank top was simple in design really a red wide strapped tank that was red in color with little black spots surrounding the the word Miraculous printed in big black sprawling letters across her small chest. It was form fitting so it hugged what few curves she had and revealed the tops of her breasts slightly with the low cut neck line.

She rarely wore it out of embarrassment because she wasn’t comfortable with exactly how low the neckline was. But it would work perfectly for her disguise. It was a popular store she had bought it from too so other people would have the same shirt besides her so she couldn’t be traced back as the only one having it.

She drew out a cute little red jacket with pink heart buttons on the sleeves and collar that she had made herself. It fastened just under her bust and she had only ever worn it once. Chloe had been a bitch that day and had made fun of her for the heart buttons causing her to promptly take it off and stuff it in her locker. Only Alya and a few of the other girls had seen her in it. So it was pretty safe to wear.

She hummed to herself as she continued to hunt for more things to wear. She didn’t have any red pants but she did have some black ones with tiny little ladybugs stitched into the pant leg hems that she had done herself. She started to put on her clothes before realizing something. The cute lacy pink bra and panties she had on wouldn’t go with the shirt and would show. She had to change completely.

Blushing bright red she eyed Plagg who was stuffing his face with the bread not really paying attention to her. She moved to her underwear drawer and pulled out her bright red with black lace bra and pantie set Alya had insisted she buy last month when she had realized some of her bras were getting too small. Taking Alya with her on her shopping trip with her mother had proven to be a bad idea. Alya had loved the brightness and boldness of the set and insisted Marinette needed something like that even though she protested that no one other then herself would see her in it.

She hadn’t worn it yet too embarrassed to do so. She also only had the one shirt it would go with. Casting another glance at Plagg she pulled her shirt off over her head and undid her pants letting them drop to the floor and stepping out of them. She reached behind her and unclasped her bra letting it fall to the floor before drawing her panties down off her hips and stepping out of them. She quickly drew on her red set and pulled on her shirt and pants sighing in relief once she was dressed again.

Plagg finally finished with his cheese bread watched her through narrow green slits thinking of how he could torture his miraculous holder with what he had just witnessed. He was a teenager after all and had hormones to deal with getting him all frustrated with describing the girl behind the ladybug mask stripping would be fun.

Marinette finished attaching the detachable hood she had created to go with her jacket before turning to him to show him her outfit. “What do you think?” “You look hot but what about a mask?” “Crap I forgot about that. I don’t have a mask.” Marinette bit her lip as she rummaged through her stuff finding an old pair of dark pink sunglasses she had. Grinning she sat at her desk and pulled out the supplies she needed getting to work on changing the frames red before adding black dots on them the lenses dark enough to nearly hide her eyes.

Slipping on her completed glasses she posed in front of the mirror getting a whistle from Plagg. “My kit should marry you then we can have all the cheese bread we want and he can see his precious lady all dressed up special for him.” Plagg says with a snicker flying over to her and landing on her shoulder. She smiled and shook her head petting the tiny little kitty.

Pulling down her hood and taking off her glasses with Plagg tucked in under her jacket collar and glasses tucked into her pocket she went downstairs calling to her parents that she was going to try and find Alya and see what she was up to. “Okay sweeties have fun and BE CAREFUL!” Her father calls as she snags another small loaf of the cheese bread to take with her. “I will Papa!”

She slid on her glasses and pulled up her hood once she was outside and Plagg crawled up onto her shoulder still inside her hood to talk to her as she walked down the street towards the park with the statue in it. She was just entering the park petting and scratching a purring Plagg when she froze spying a man standing near the statue. It was Skinwalker and from the way he looked at her she got a bad feeling he knew who she was.

“Ladybug we have been waiting. Skinwalker has patience but Wendigo does not.” He says with a cruel smile a purple butterfly shape appearing around his face showing that Hawkmoth was talking to him. “Wendigo?” She questions softly not getting the chance to figure out who he was talking about as a loud snort came from her side as a hulking monster tore towards her.

She tried to dash out of the way but was caught quickly by the creature getting slammed into and sent skidding across the ground into the base of the statue knocking her out along with Chat’s kwami who had also been sitting on the side she had been hit on. As her consciousness faded she saw a small child appear from behind the statue and reach for her ears removing her earrings with gentle small hands before darting back into the shadows as the world around her went black.

~o~

Adrien was getting tired of Accalia real quick. She had a penchant for biting him when ever he touched her or at random moments. She also kept bugging him for fruit especially something she called Goji. He seriously wanted Plagg back. He was annoying but not nearly as much as Accalia. It took a while of wondering the tunnels before Accalia smelled fresh air and grabbed him by the hand and dragged him towards where she smelled the scent coming from. He had ended up in a new tunnel after the cave in and had gotten lost at first till Accalia gave in and started leading the way with her nose.

Now he was emerging from the catacombs through an official tourist entrance after finding their way into a area toured by the public and following the directions of a few groups he ran into offering up the explanation that he got separated from his party and was going to go wait for them at the bus once he found his way out. He breathed a sigh of relief at finally getting out of the catacombs even risking giving Accalia a tiny pat on the head with a finger that he miraculously escaped with out a nip for.

He didn’t dare go home but he did have some cash on him so he headed towards some stores that he knew sold clothes for cosplay enthusiasts as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise. He picked out a simple black shirt with a green paw print on the front with Miraculous scrawled across the paw print. He grinned remembering how he had encouraged Marinette to buy a tank top with that written on it once. She never wore it though so he had no idea if she still had it. He had seen plenty of other girls wearing the same shirt though making him wonder if Ladybug had one and if she ever wore it.

He was so lost in thought he didn’t see Accalia slip out of his jacket pocket and fly over to a hoodie on a display model. He heard a sharp high pitch yip which drew several peoples attention all confused over what it was. He glanced around confused before he heard her calling for him. “Hey kid over here kitty.” He patted his jacket quickly discovering the wolf kwami was gone looking around wildly for her knowing Lupine would probably kill him for losing her kwami.

Accalia let out a frustrated huff and zipped back to him getting right up in his face. “Pay attention!” She growls dragging him over to the display. “Look what I found! It’s perfect for the little kitty kat!” She yips excitedly her tail wagging as she showed him the black cat eared hoodie with the words “I’m the cat’s meow!” written on it. He couldn’t help but grin and laugh a little at the hoodie. He could just imagine Ladybug’s reaction if he wore that.

The display model happened to be the only one in his size so he got a store associate to help him get it down. He completed the outfit with a simple pair of black jeans with a leather tail belt attached and some black combat boots. A thin black leather mask finished it all off tying in the back of his head. He didn’t buy as much stuff as Lupine did so his total was lower and he had just enough money to cover the cost leaving with his normal clothes in his bag stopping to get a fruit crepe to pacify the demanding hungry wolf kwami who kept nipping him.

He was enjoying himself walking through the streets of Paris in disguise without drawing to much attention either as Adrien Agreste or Chat Noir. Thanks to this he wasn’t stopped by people so he made good time getting to the park despite having taken the longest to get out of the catacombs. He froze in place as he caught sight of two females laying sprawled on the ground unconscious by the statue.

“Tala!” Accalia calls out worriedly confirming his suspicions that they were Lupine and Ladybug judging from the red on one and the brown on the other. He took a step towards them worried himself but stopped spying the two responsible for hurting his partners. “You how could you?! They don’t even have their powers and you attack them anyways?” He growls anger brewing in him.

He didn’t know why there were two of them now but he didn’t care they had hurt Ladybug which was bad enough but then they hurt Lupine. He liked Lupine. She was funny and kind and had a shy side. She was older then him he figured that out but she seemed to be emotionally vulnerable when not transformed. She had panic attacks at the mere thought of going into a crowd. Ladybug was strong and confident just as Lupine was but for Lupine she took courage from her kwami and her mask. He did the same hiding behind his mask like she did which made him wonder how his Lady was outside of her mask. Did she too hide behind it like them?

“We care not if they have their powers or not they have their miraculouses that is all we care about. You have made Skinwalker wait long enough Chat now its time for you to meet Wendigo.” Skinwalkers says calmly directing the hulking beast beside him to attack. Adrien dodged to the best of his ability running basically in circles to avoid getting rammed into by that monster. If that was what a true Wendigo looked like he decided he didn’t want to go to America and try meeting one of these legendary monsters.

Somethign or rather someone, Skinwalker, tripped him having grown tired of the game of cat and mouse. He tripped falling forward and sliding along the ground beside the girls. He could see Plagg curled up against Ladybug’s neck also unconscious which made him even more mad that they had hurt his kwami. The little red bug beside Lupine must be Tikki meaning they had knocked her out as well when they knocked Lupine out.

“Watch out kid!” Accalia warns causing him to roll out of the way as both Skinwalker and Wendigo tried to stomp on him. His attention was focused on watching them so he didn’t notice the small child slide out of the shadows of the statue and reach for his hand. He felt the small tug on his hand and glanced up in time to catch the child removing his ring from his hand.

“No!” He cries trying to scramble to his feet and stop the child. Accalia growled and zipped towards the kid with all her might. “Aha!We are triumphant at last! We have all three miraculouses!” Skinwalker laughs the purple butterflies appearing on both his and Wendigo’s faces as Hawkmoth laugh triumphantly believing he had finally won he had what he wanted and more.

Accalia wasn’t about to give in and fastened her teeth around the child’s hand what part of it she could causing them to give a small cry and try to shake her off. Accalia was finally shaken free but with her came her miraculous. Clutched in her tiny paws she held the choker quickly retreating back to the only conscious miraculous holder left. “Put this on kid!And call out Paws On!”

Adrien was reluctant at first but watching the child scramble away from him towards the other two he quickly obliged sliding the choker on around his neck and tying it in the back. Touching the little metal disk he called out the words to activate a miraculous that wasn’t his own. “Accalia, Paws On!” He felt the magic wash over him but it had a different feel this time as the wolf kwami was sucked into the miraculous transforming him into the new Lupine Alpha.

[freedom-shamrock]

Bug Out

Also on AO3 Chronologically follows “Everything’s Better.”  It can stand on its own, but if you want to read in order, catch that one first. Now with art by Eden Daphne!!!

"Ouch!" Marinette squealed, freezing in the middle of pulling a dress over her head.

"What's wrong?" Chat asked, hands out, ready to help.  She'd sounded more startled than hurt, but he didn't care for it either way.  There was also something vaguely familiar about it, but he couldn't quite place it.

"I must've missed a pin," she muttered, holding the neckline away from her as she peeled it back off.

Chat gathered the fabric and eased it back over her head, wincing at the long thin line of red down her cheek, from temple to jaw.  "Oh, Princess," he whispered sadly.  "You're bleeding."

"It's just a scratch," she assured him, trying to find the offending pin.

"It's on your face, though."  He frowned and decided their photoshoot was cancelled.  "We've got to get that taken care of.  Pack up."

"But it's just a…"

"No," he said firmly.  He hadn't had to show her his stern and unmovable side, so it was apparently time.  "We're going home and I'm going to tend to that."

She blinked in surprise.  "You're that worried about it?"

"Please just let me take care of you," he said, bending to press his forehead against hers in the way she liked.

"Fine."  She sighed.  "Take me home, Chataxi."

He helped gather up the few things they'd brought, tucking them into her backpack, before pulling her close to bound across the rooftops.

When they got to her room, she pulled her first aid kit out from under her desk.  "All right Kitty."  

She handed him the large blue canvas bag.  His Princess could be spectacularly clumsy, but even still, it was a much more complete kit than he'd expected.  It reminded him of the one he'd snuck into his bathroom for those bad attacks with breaks in the action where he or Ladybug needed treatment until they could finish off the akuma.  

She settled herself on the chaise, her cheek turned toward him and her eyes closed.  "Just so you know, I'm going to imagine you in a nurse outfit while you do this."

He felt the grin on his face.  "Real nurse, or…" he paused suggestively.

"Definitely naughty nurse."

He'd reached the attack first, and started his usual routine of distracting the akuma and helping people escape.  He caught the flash of red out of the corner of his eye, and knew Ladybug was on the scene, so perhaps they could wrap this up quickly.

As it turned out, they spent most of the fight on opposite sides of the street, trapping the akuma between them and instinctively picking up each others' cues for action.  They'd been partners long enough that they rarely needed to actually talk about their plan. They briefly traded roles, Ladybug swinging in front of the akuma while Chat darted behind and stole the possessed hair clip.

He tossed it to her so she could start the cleansing process while he obeyed the laws of physics and continued on his current arc.  By the time his feet touched down to redirect him back, he heard Ladybug capture the purple butterfly.

"No more evil doing for you," she said.  She'd once explained that it was the first half of a spell.  The yoyo would purify the butterfly either way, but the spell prevented the butterfly from returning to Hawkmoth.  "Bye bye, little butterfly."  That was the second half.  He landed next to her as she picked up the lucky charm to toss it into the air.  "Miraculous Ladybug!"

He held out his fist. "Pound i…"  He froze as she tapped his fist with hers.

"Chat?" she asked, sounding worried.  "Are you okay?  Did the cure not work?"

He caught her face in both hands and traced his thumb down the tiny familiar line that ran from temple to jaw.  "You're hurt," he whispered, his brain a jumbled mess.  "You…"

"It's okay Ki… Chaton," she stammered, sounding more like his girlfriend than his partner in that moment, and holy hell it made more sense than it didn't.  "It's just a scratch."

For a long moment, they seemed trapped in each other's gaze, then her earrings beeped.  "Time to bug out," he said quietly.  "I need to go visit my girlfriend, anyway.  So I'll cat-ch you later."  Giving her a heads up seemed only fair, but he also didn't want to wait on this any longer than he needed to.

Panic crossed her face.  He knew that look.  

"Go on, little bug."  He waved her away with his fingers.  "This isn't the time or place."

She nodded once then swung off, not even bothering to conceal the direction she was heading.  The cat was well and truly out of the bag, and there was no putting it back.

Part of him wanted to wait a full half hour before showing up, because he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep himself from dropping his transformation, and he'd promised her that much warning before revealing himself.  But he couldn't do it.  He knew she was freaking out, probably more than he was, and he couldn't leave her to do that alone.  So it was only fifteen minutes after they parted ways that he landed on her balcony.

He was relieved to see she'd left the Chat flap open.  He'd half expected to have to come in another way.  "Hey Princess," he called careful to keep his voice light.  It was definitely a shock to realize his girlfriend, his longtime classmate and friend, was Ladybug.  And it would take a little getting used to, but he was surprisingly content with the discovery.  "Princess, I'm coming in."

Her lack of response was a little worrying, and he dropped into her room without further delay.  She was frantically doing something at her computer.  She clicked a few more things, then shoved herself away from the desk hard enough to rock her chair backward.  Chat leaped forward and caught her.

"You okay, love?" he asked, running his thumb over that tell-tale scratch.  She whimpered, closing her eyes.  He righted the chair and sat down, cradling her on his lap.  "It's okay," he whispered.

"That's not how I wanted to do it!" she blurted, burrowing into his chest like she thought he might disappear any moment.  "I was going to show you when you were ready to tell me who you are.  I didn't want to push you into it."

He chuckled.  "I've always wanted to know who you are, you know that."

"But you'd stopped asking or even hinting… I thought you'd had second thoughts."

He shook his head.  "No.  I was trying to respect your wishes."  He kissed her forehead.  "And I admit, once I started hanging out with Marinette, it didn't seem so important anymore."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she mumbled.

"What on earth for?" he demanded.  "Look, Princess, I'm not upset about this.  If anything, I'm glad you're My Lady.  I do find it ironic that we had to fall in love with each other twice, but honestly, that makes it feel that much more right."

"But I was so stupid," she insisted.  "I pushed you away and hurt your feelings because I was so blinded by my own pointless crushtastrophe that I couldn't see you properly until recently.  I mean, if my mom hadn't pointed it out, I'd probably still be stupidly clueless."  She sat up and rubbed angrily at her eyes.  "I don't want you to feel like you're my second choice, but I know that's what it looks like."

"We both talked about our emotional hang ups before we started dating," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but the person you were hung up on was still me, so it didn't really bother me."  Her shrug was a helpless little thing.

"Can I detransform?" he asked.  "I know it hasn't been half an hour yet, but, honestly, I think it will clear up a lot of this mess."  When she stared at him silently, he continued.  "And everything you're worried about, all the crimes you feel you committed against me, I'm guilty of those as well."  When she hesitated, he kissed her cheek, then her chin.  "Please Princess.  I'm kind of freaking out here."

She climbed out of his lap and nodded.

"Don't go too far," he said, snatching one of her hands.  "Remember, I may need to protect you from evil purple butterflies."

She planted her free hand on her hip.  "I may freak out, but I'm not going to be angry or disappointed."

"Plagg, claws in," he said, surprised when she held his eyes instead of looking away.

"Adrien?" she gasped, her hand gripping his tightly, but not trying to pull away.

"Hey there, Princess," he said quietly.

"Oh my god," she whispered.  "You're… and I… and we…"  She trailed off and stared at him.  "Oh my god.  I kept turning you down because I was in love with you, only I didn't know you were you!"  Her voice was steadily rising.  Yep.  Freak out time.

He stood up, catching her chin in his palm.  "We both did it," he said.  "And it's okay.  Like I said, it makes it feel more… like the real thing, because we both fell for each other twice."  He bent to kiss her, staggering a little when she grabbed onto his hair and went for something less sweet and far more primal.

He only pulled away because he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Hello Adrien," Sabine said brightly, popping into her daughter's room with a tray.  "I thought you might be here."  She placed the tray on the desk.  "Lemon ice for both of you, cookies for Marinette and pain au chocolate for Adrien with camembert on the side."

His girlfriend stared at her mother as if she'd grown another head, or two.  He could see her taking in the details, noting the facts, and utterly failing to refute the truth.

"Thank you," Adrien said.  All of this confirmed his long-standing suspicion that she'd known who Chat was.  He now realized she knew Marinette was Ladybug.  But how had she known about his kwami's very specific cheese taste?  He'd never mentioned it.

"Will you be staying over?" Sabine asked as she reached the top of the stairs.

He glanced at Marinette, then back at her mother.  "Yes."

Sabine smiled.  "Excellent.  I'll let you know when dinner is ready.  And if you're interested in game night, Tom's ready to have another go at you with the computer, or we could see if things turn out differently in the Ladybug and Chat Noir board game."

"We'll see," he replied.  "Depends on what Mari wants."

Sabine caught the trap door's handle.  "I'll just give you two some privacy, then."

Marinette stared at him, her eyes wide.  "Holy shit.  How does my mother know everything?"

"We can ask later," he said.  It wasn't an issue that was going anywhere.  "But right now I need to know.  Are we okay?  Will Ladybug still be able to work with Chat?"

"Of course she will."  She almost sounded offended.

He was a lot less certain on this next one.  "And do I still get to be your boyfriend?"

She caressed his cheek.  "Yes Kitty.  Very yes."

He nodded.  "Great.  Can we go back to the kissing?  I liked that part.  I want to do that some more."

She leaned in and whispered, her lips brushing his ear.  "Lock my door, and meet me in my bunk."

Next in series > Hot Leather

Marichat May, Day 30, Scratch This is also a continuation of my Miraculous Acts of Kindness series proposed by @squirrellygirlart on Tumblr. @edendaphne is an artist who has put together some fantastic art and comics in ML and other fandoms. I absolutely could not pick a favorite, though I'm a sucker for the aged up ML pieces. You can find her on Tumblr, where her blog name has a fantastically geeky origin story, or check out her participation in some delightful illustrated pieces on AO3.