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honeyhan-123 · 4 years

Text

The Artist ~ I

Summary: When Steve meets the reader at an art class he immediately becomes enticed and maybe, just maybe, she can help heal his wounded heart.

Warnings: None for this chapter but smut will be present in later chapters

Pairings: Steve x reader, Steve x Bucky

AN: I meant to post this tomorrow but I realised today was Chris Evans’ birthday as well as @jtargaryen18 who inspired me to start writing so I decided to post it early in celebration. This is also the first chapter of my entry to @that-damn-girl pride writing challenge. I would like to say a massive thank you to @imanuglywombat for the absolutely stunning moodboard and @magdaleneruth for being an awesome beta!

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He couldn’t believe it.

Even watching the flyer hang from the board on the wall with his own two eyes, Steve could barely remember the conversation with Nat that led to this moment as he was sat on a bench outside a classroom for the first time in eighty years.

He hadn’t drawn seriously in decades, probably since before the Battle of New York. The rest had just been little doodles, here and there. Nothing really came from it. But here he was standing in the doorway of a studio, ready for a life drawing class.

Steve couldn’t understand the nerves racking his body—he was Captain America for crying out loud, he’s been in far worse situations than attending an art class.

Why on earth couldn’t he bring himself to walk through a silly little doorway? He was pulled from his thoughts by a soft delicate voice.

‘Excuse me...’ He was pulled from his thoughts by a voice, soft and delicate. His head snapped to the left, his jaw drifting slightly ajar as he took you in. ‘Are you headed inside?’ You were dressed casually, a warm jacket over what was clearly a man’s button down shirt and your jeans had little doodles on the rough denim canvass. Little splats of paint here and there coated the entire look. Steve didn’t know quite why, but he was immediately enticed.

‘I - uh, yeah. I am, sorry I’m in your way.’ He hastily moved out of the doorway, gesturing for you to enter first but you didn’t make a move as your eyes clearly sized him up and he was thankful he had pulled the dark blue baseball cap low over his brow. It wasn’t much in terms of a disguise but that paired with the thick beard that coated his jaw made it harder for the average person to recognise him.

‘Is this your first drawing class?’ You framed it as a question, but it was clear you already knew the answer.

He nodded a little sheepishly. ‘How could you tell?’

‘You just seem a little nervous. Don’t worry, though. It’s really not as scary as it might seem. I remember when I first signed up, I was terrified that someone would say I wasn’t good enough for the class. I could barely keep my hands steady. So, naturally, that turned out to be one of the worst drawings of my life but no one said a word. You have nothing to worry about - you don’t need to prove yourself here.’

‘Anytime, but if you are going to come in I suggest you do it sooner rather than later. Madame Maxine absolutely hates tardiness and it’s nearly seven.’ You gave him a small but genuine smile before you excused yourself, your hips swaying slightly as you walked through the doorway and over to an easel.

He let out a sigh of relief when you’d left - it gave him some privacy to hype himself up and quiet the inner critic screaming his anxieties.Taking a steadying breath, he followed your footsteps and headed for an unclaimed easel towards the back as the rest of the class made idle chit chat, clearly all familiar with one another as they readied themselves for the lesson.

He rolled out his shoulders before sitting on the small stool, pulling his sketchbook and set of charcoal pencils from his satchel. It was a mixed media class and Steve watched in awe as some people set canvases up on their easels, their palets already covered with various colours of paint.

He felt woefully underprepared with his worn leather bound sketchbook and collection of pencils, but it was how he had always drawn. His mother had barely been able to afford the splurge for real drawing pencils, nevermind paints or canvases.

There was a portly man standing in the corner of the room stretching his muscles this way and that, and he figured this must be their model for the day. Most of the drawing Steve had done in the past few years had been of inanimate objects, it was much easier than asking one of his many busy friends to sit still for a few hours as he drew them. If he’d felt more in the mood for a portrait, he generally used photographs as a reference point, so having a real live model would be a nice change.

A few more minutes passed before an elderly woman entered the room. Her hair was grey and her curls frayed out in every direction from the messy bun she has tied it in. She wore a green and yellow bandana around her face keeping her hair away and a matching flowy dress with a dark blue half apron tied around her waist. Immediately, Steve knew this woman had to be Maxine.

She clapped her hands together, drawing the class’s attention as she neared the front of the room. ‘Good evening, I am Maxine Winnefred and I will be your instructor over the next few weeks as we explore the human form. I recognise some of you from my Summer course focussed on the true form of still life in fruits and flowers, and I would just like to say it’s lovely to see you all again.’ She smiled as her eyes rested on those who must be the familiar faces.

‘To the new faces in the room, there are a few things you should know about me.While I do understand everyone has lives outside of the art world, tardiness remains unacceptable as a hard and fast rule–especially where live models are concerned. Secondly, whether about your own piece or someone else’s, I will not stand for any negative thoughts. We are all here to learn and the only way you can truly achieve that is with a positive mindset. If you feel negatively about a particular piece of yours, you must think of it as a stepping stone. What did you do wrong? What can you improve on next time? The human form is incredibly complicated and it may take a while getting used to if you’re not familiar with it.’

‘Since you have all elected to pay for the entire course, if for some reason you are unable to make it to a session, I also run a Thursday night class. You must call me and let me know that you will be attending that class as I will need to make sure there are enough easels and stools. I will hand out my number at the end of class. Are there any questions?’

Although it had barely been five minutes, Steve could already tell he would enjoy this class, especially being under Maxine’s tutelage. She had a no nonsense air that was rare to find in the art world and despite this being a fairly casual, once a week type of get together, Steve knew she took her work seriously. She wanted all of her pupils to be their best.

The room fell into silence as her eagle eye flickered around the sea of faces. When moments had passed in silence, she continued.

‘This is Jerry,’ she held her arm out, becaning the man over. ‘He will be our first model. We will be drawing him for the first two weeks, once with clothes and once without, we will then move onto our next model and the same process will follow.’ Everyone nodded their heads in understanding but Steve felt his cheeks flush slightly. He had known that there would be nude models and he knew that it was all purely professional but still… the small kid from the forties never would have even thought about doing something like this.

‘Right. Jerry,’ she clapped her hands again, eyes locked on just where her model would go in the scene. ‘If you could please get into position A, we can get started. To the class, we’ll have him sit for an hour and twenty minutes. Then another hour after that with a break in between. Somewhere in there we’ll have a vote on whether or not we would like to see a new pose or the same.’ Maxine checked the time as Jerry found his seating on the lone stool in the front of the room. Once he was in position, she prompted the class to begin.

Although he’d been wanting to avoid detection, Steve was deeply regretting choosing a seat so far from the front. On the surface level, his better than average eyesight would be acceptable - and yet, being the perfectionist that he was, he wanted to get up and close with Jerry. He wanted to be able to mark every tiny blemish on his skin, every line of sadness or laughter.

Steve sighed to himself before he picked up his HB pencil, getting to work on his main outline. He hadn’t been working long when he felt a presence at his shoulder, peering over at his work. He’d just finished the vague outline of Jerry’s clothes and the stool beneath him when she spoke. ‘Back in my day, it was considered rude to wear a hat indoors, Mr…?’

He had to at least try and hide his smile over her words, being at least forty years her senior.

‘Just Steve.’ Quickly he swiped the cap from his head, placing it down in his satchel on the floor. ‘I’m sorry ma’am.’

‘That’s okay son, just don’t let it happen again.’ She gave him a small smile before setting off, perusing the pieces of the other artists and Steve got back to work.

His neck ached from the awkward position it had been contorted to for the past ninety minutes. He could feel the muscles in his hand beginning their protest. It had been a long time since he’d drawn so intently and he wasn’t used to it quite yet.

He stood from his stool, stretching out his back as he did so, wandering over to the small table of refreshments after a few moments. He swiped a lemon biscuit from the tray, catching sight of you from his periphery. You were gesturing wildly as you chatted up an older fellow. Your face was the picture of sincerity and Steve couldn’t help but smile as he eavesdropped.

‘One of these days you have to teach me your shading technique, Albert. The way you make a simple shadow have so much depth and colour is incredible,’ you gushed.

‘So long as you teach me how you do the detail work around the eyes. Whenever I try, they just come out looking blank!’ he shot back with a smile on his lips.

‘It’s a deal.’ You held your hand jokingly Albert took it, shaking it vigorously as you chuckled. Feeling his eyes on you, your head quirked in Steve’s direction and you quickly excused yourself.

Steve tried to busy himself and pretend that he hadn’t been caught awkwardly staring at you but your footsteps were growing closer by the second.

‘So? How are you feeling, newbie? Not as daunting as you thought, huh?’ There was a small teasing smile playing along the corner of your lips and Steve couldn't help but laugh along with you.

‘I really don’t know why I was so nervous, but what you said… Well, it really helped. So, thank you for that. I assume you took Maxine’s summer course?’ he asked, trying to make conversation.

‘Yeah, it was a fruit and flower class, plus I also took her winter human form class before that. I fell hard for portraits, so I just knew I had to take it again this year.’ Steve nodded in understanding, taking a class this way was the perfect opportunity to work on portraiture. ‘And what about yourself? I may have snuck a peek at your easel. You have an incredible eye from what I can tell. How did you capture such detail in only pencils?’

Steve felt his face heat as he took your compliment. ‘I’m honestly not quite sure, but I’ve had a lot of practice. Growing up, I was bedridden more often than not and my best friend used to come over and sit with me for hours. I probably know his face better than my own.’ He felt the familiar pang that echoed around his heart every time he thought of Bucky and those days that stretched into nights when all he would do was stare at the other man, trying to capture his beauty on the page. Steve forced himself to shake off the memories to try and keep his tone light. He hadn’t intended on saying something so personal but there was just something about you that made him want to let down his guard and that was dangerous.

‘Really? You were bedridden?’ Your mouth gaped slightly and Steve couldn’t help but notice the way your eyes danced slightly down his body. ‘But you look so perfect now - I mean, uh. You look… You look very healthy.’

He smiled, trying not to laugh as dread coated your face. He’s reminded so much of the man he left behind all those years ago…the boy in the back of the car, driving through Brooklyn, although he had to admit, you were far cuter than he had ever been.

‘How long have you been painting for?’ Steve tried to brush the conversation away, he liked talking to you just as a fellow artist and he wasn’t ready for you to recognise him. ‘You’re very talented.’

‘Oh, it’s just sort of a hobby that I do in my spare time. I went to uni and got an Arts degree, but you know how it goes. It only gets you so far in the real world.’

‘If you’re not an artist, what do you do for a living?’

‘I’m a secretary at a law firm.’ He nodded trying to maintain control of his thoughts. Being a secretary wasn’t a filler job for a woman any more. Not like it had been in his day. ‘You?’

‘Oh…’ The question took him completely by surprise and his mind went blank. He needed to think fast. ‘I uh… I work for Stark Enterprises. I’m on his PR team.’ Steve tried to justify it in his mind as it wasn’t a complete lie he was a part of the PR team. Plus, he couldn’t have said he was a scientist or something. It would have been clear he was lying if you asked him any type of even remotely science question.

‘Ah, maybe that’s why you look kind of familiar. Are you a part of his press conferences?’

Steve nodded, feeling his throat start to tighten. He wasn’t ready for this to end. Call him selfish but he didn’t want this to end. For someone to treat him as he was, rather than who he was. He hadn’t felt so at home with himself, with someone else, in a long time.

He was saved from further interrogation by the chime of a bell. The ten minute break was up. The group had already opted to keep Jerry in the same reclined pose, so he quickly found his position and the class returned to their sketching.

While Steve tried to keep his eyes focussed on his drawing, he couldn’t help the constant flicker of his eyes over to where to sat, paintbrush in hand, looking like one of the Greek Muses.

He only prayed you were one of the merciful ones.

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#steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #apridec1 #marvel #mcu #steve x reader #honeyhan writes #q it up

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picturebookmakers · 4 years

Text

Axel Scheffler

In this post, Axel takes us on a journey through his art studio and career. As well as sharing wonderful development work from some of his much-loved picturebooks, he shows us unseen sketchbook pages, early illustration commissions, etchings he made as a student, and his recent work to educate children about the coronavirus.

Visit Axel Scheffler’s website

Axel: I’m not really sure how many books I’ve illustrated in the 30+ years that I’ve been working. Over 150. I mostly work for the UK market, but occasionally I do books with German publishers. Not picturebooks though, so nothing that collides with the co-edition market.

Each of the boxes you see here contains one of my books: the sketches, illustrations, dummies, alternate versions of covers, everything.

I organised these boxes with Liz, my assistant, to have all the main books there so we can find things for exhibitions. There’s still lots of drawings in these boxes which aren’t sorted yet. Liz is such a great help, but it’s very difficult for me to keep on top of everything. I think I would probably need two Lizes, or perhaps three.

So yes, I don’t really know where to begin... I’ve got endless sketchbooks and little drawings on paper. I’ve got some really old sketchbooks I could show you.

Shall we start with The Gruffalo?

My early sketches of the Gruffalo were thought by my editor to be too scary for small children. So I had to make him a bit rounder and more ‘cuddly’. Initially, I‘d also thought that all the animals would be wearing clothes, as they often do in picturebooks. But Julia had different ideas, and to be honest I was relieved. How would I have dressed the snake?

Here’s some spreads from the dummy...

I tried a lot of alternate covers for this book; I think there were twelve in total. There’s some where the Gruffalo doesn’t even feature on the cover.

My latest book with Julia is called ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’. It was quite nice to work on because it’s so different from the other books we’ve done together. The text is a bit like a mixture between Dr Seuss and Lewis Carol; it has this nonsense element. But it’s basically Romeo and Juliet in outer space.

It’s an alien story, so I didn’t have to draw any rabbits or squirrels for a change, and I could invent more. I had more freedom. But like always, I got bored with drawing the same characters over and over again. But that’s picturebooks.

There was quite a lot of development work in the case of this book. But when it’s a story about a fox or a squirrel, I don’t do this kind of stuff. Over the years, it’s become much quicker and easier working on my books. I do far less research than I used to. Now I generally just do a quick pencil sketch then go straight to artwork.

Sometimes I have to start again because things go wrong though. This was a finished piece that was abandoned. I think I suddenly thought that the rocket was far too big or something. I do that; I work on something for ages, and then I suddenly look at it from a distance and realise that something needs redoing.

Did you spot the little Gruffalo in this picture? Since ‘The Snail and the Whale’, I’ve hidden a Gruffalo in each of my books with Julia (not ‘The Ugly Five’ though).

For almost all of the books Julia and I have done together, our editor has been Alison Green. We’re an old established team. And I’ve always worked with the publisher Kate Wilson; I followed her from Macmillan to Scholastic, and then to Nosy Crow. Julia moved from Macmillan to Scholastic, and decided to stay there. So Julia and I have some of our joint titles with Macmillan and some with Scholastic. Julia does books with other illustrators for Macmillan, and I illustrate other books for Nosy Crow.

People often ask me which of the books I’ve done with Julia is my favourite. It’s quite hard to choose, but I enjoyed working on ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’. I liked the way I could do a crazy world with animals, giants, fairytale characters, everything mixed together without anyone caring or questioning it. I’ll show you a few things from the box...

For this book, the cover was changed at the last minute. The original design had the title written on a poster stuck on a brick wall, but the sales people said they wanted a landscape, so I did another one. Years later, they used the original design for a new paperback edition, so it wasn’t completely wasted in the end.

I mentioned my endless sketchbooks earlier. I’ll show you a few of them. This was mainly me playing around without thinking about what I was doing; it wasn’t a conscious thing.

I haven’t looked at these sketchbooks for ages. It was such a long time ago. I don’t work in sketchbooks like this anymore, and I no longer doodle. But for fun, I make illustrated envelopes for friends.

I often think about doing a book with just pictures, but I’m always too busy doing other things. Posthumously, perhaps there will be time to do this. I’d also love to experiment and be more spontaneous; it’s been my dream for decades to do something completely different. But when I receive a book project, I always feel under pressure to finish it, and I’m always late with everything, so I end up doing it the way I’ve always done it.

This is my drawing table, which is and always has been too small and too messy. I think I have to accept it will always be this way.

I use Saunders Waterford paper for my illustrations. It’s funny how we all have our special paper. My rough sketches are often quite small, so I have them blown up to the correct size. Then I trace the sketches on a lightbox onto my watercolour paper. After that, I draw the outlines in black ink with a dip pen. I colour everything with Ecoline inks using brushes, and then coloured pencils on top of it (I use Faber Polychromos and Prismacolour crayons). I might then need to redraw some of the black lines, or use some white gouache for highlights.

I studied History of Art in Hamburg, but left before graduating. I realised this wasn’t what I was good at; I’m not an academic.

Then I had to do my alternative service as conscientious objector. Sixteen months. There was still conscription then; that’s how old I am. I worked with mentally ill people in their homes. It was during this time that I had a friend studying ceramics at Bath Academy of Art in England. I went to visit her. I really didn’t know what else to do, so I thought maybe I could move to Bath and go to the art school. So this is what I did. The course was Visual Communications, so it was design, printmaking, photography, all that stuff. But I realised I only wanted to do illustration.

I’d gone to art college hoping to learn something. I don’t think that necessarily happened, but drawing intensively for three years was, I think, what I had needed to do. I don’t remember actually finishing any projects though.

Here’s some drawings from my student sketchbooks. I did lots of observational drawing back then, which I don’t anymore. I did it then because they told us to. I’m an obedient person!

While I was a student, I did an exchange in New York: Cooper Union Art College for three months. These drawings are of Jewish immigrants, meeting for coffee. It was 1984, so many of them were still alive; refugees from Germany or Austria. I heard them speaking German, so that’s how I knew.

Sketchbooks are such a good way of memorising things. Nobody really knows about these sketchbooks; I used to take them to interviews, but they’ve been hidden away for years.

After I graduated, I moved to London and took my portfolio around. My art teacher had suggested I should do this to get work, so that’s what I did. In those days, you had to ring them and ask to come around. I got two commissions straight away, and it’s been busy ever since, really. I’ve always had something to do.

Here’s some of my early commissions. Starting from 1985, I guess. Very pointy noses...

I did so much of this kind of work. It was a good way of earning money quickly. Occasionally, I still do editorial. I did some Brexit drawings for the remain campaign. Sadly, it didn’t help. Maybe I wrecked everything!

I’ll say a few words about the KIND book... 38 wonderful artists donated a picture to illustrate some of the many ways children can be kind. Such as sharing their toys or helping people from other countries to feel welcome.

One pound from each book sold goes to the Three Peas charity, which supports refugees from war-torn countries. It’s been a big success so far, and Three Peas has received a lot of money from sales in the UK and co-editions.

I’d quite like to do the UNKIND book next! I think illustrators would probably enjoy that, but I don’t imagine it would sell very well.

And now for something completely different! Some etchings I made when I was a student.

People often ask me which illustrators I’m inspired by. I don’t seek any direct influence on my work, but I’ve always said that Tomi Ungerer had the greatest influence on my approach to illustration. Although his style is quite different to mine, this humour and wackiness is something that has always appealed to me. And the details.

William Steig is someone I got into later, when I was already illustrating. And Edward Gorey of course. And Saul Steinberg. I think the Czech artist Jiří Šalamoun is wonderful. And I like Eva Lindström from Sweden a lot. She’s so great.

Okay, to finish with I’ll talk about the coronavirus work I’ve been doing...

I asked myself what I could do as a children’s illustrator to inform, as well as entertain, my readers here and abroad about the coronavirus. So I was glad when Nosy Crow asked me to illustrate a book on the subject. I think it’s extremely important for children and families to have access to reliable information in this unprecedented crisis.

You can download the free digital book in English here, and in over 60 other languages here.

I also wanted to do something light-hearted to cheer people up, and I thought, “What if I imagine some of our characters in corona situations?” Julia liked the idea and wrote rhymes for the new scenes. This was really more about entertainment than serious information.

Artwork and verse © Axel Scheffler and Julia Donaldson 2020. Based on characters from ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ (2004), ‘Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book’ (2005), ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’ (2002), and ‘The Gruffalo’ (1999) — © Macmillan Children’s Books.

And here’s one more thing: my ‘letter from lockdown’. On The Children’s Bookshow website, you’ll find lockdown letters from lots of other wonderful authors and illustrators.

Illustrations © Axel Scheffler. Post edited by dPICTUS.

Buy this picturebook

The Gruffalo

Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

Macmillan Children’s Books, UK, 1999

‘A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.’

Walk further into the deep dark wood, and discover what happens when a quick-witted mouse comes face to face with an owl, a snake... and a hungry Gruffalo!

‘The Gruffalo’ has become a bestselling phenomenon across the world. This award-winning rhyming story of a mouse and a monster is now a modern classic, and will enchant children for years to come.

PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES & DIALECTS

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Australian

Azerbaijani

Basque

Belarusian

Bengali

Breton

Bulgaria

Catalan

Chinese (Simplified)

Chinese (Traditional)

Corsu

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Doric

Dundonian

Dutch

English

Esperanto

Estonian

Faroese

Farsi

Finnish

French

Frisian

Gaelic

Galician

Georgian

German

Glasgow Scots

Greek

Guernésiais

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Iceland

Indonesian

Irish

Italian

Jèrriais

Kazakh

Kölsch

Korean

Latin

Latvian

Lithuanian

Low German

Lowland Scots

Luxembourgish

Macedonian

Maltese

Manx Gaelic

Maori

Marathi

Mexican Spanish

Mongolian

Norwegian

Orcadian Scots

Polish

Portuguese

Portuguese (Brazil)

Romanian

Russian

Sami

Schwabisch

Serbian

Sesotho

Setswana

Shetland Scots

Slovakian

Slovenian

Spanish

Swedish

Swiss German

Tamil

Thai

Turkish

Ukrainian

US English

Vietnamese

Welsh

Xhosa

Zulu

Buy this picturebook

The Smeds and The Smoos

Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

Alison Green Books, UK, 2019

The Smeds (who are red) never mix with the Smoos (who are blue). So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love, their families disapprove.

But peace is restored and love conquers all in this happiest of love stories. There’s even a gorgeous purple baby to celebrate!

PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES

Afrikaans

Catalan

Croatian

Dutch

English

Finnish

French

German

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Korean

Luxenbourghish

Polish

Russian

Slovenian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Ukrainian

Buy this picturebook

Kind

Alison Green, Axel Scheffler & 38 illustrators

Alison Green Books, UK, 2019

Imagine a world where everyone is kind; how can we make that come true? With gorgeous pictures by a host of top illustrators, KIND is a timely, inspiring picturebook about the many ways children can be kind, from sharing their toys and games, to helping those from other countries feel welcome.

One pound from the sale of each printed copy will go to the Three Peas charity, which gives vital help to refugees from war-torn countries.

PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES

Bulgarian

Catalan

Chinese (Simplified)

Chinese (Traditional)

English

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Italian

Korean

Netherlands

Portuguese (Brazil)

Romanian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Vietnamese

#Germany / UK

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chocoluckchipz · 5 years

Text

Dance with Me, Chaton - 21

Read it on A03, WattPad, FF.net

Written for @ladynoirjuly2019

< Previous

21. Rose

They agreed on a schedule. As unbelievable as it was, but Plagg proposed it himself: a set schedule for lessons instead of whatever chaotic non-system they had now. His only condition was that the lessons had to be daily. Adrien proposed early mornings, so he could have his evenings free. Five in the morning satisfied them both. What Adrien had forgotten to count in was that he’d have to show up for a lesson the very next day which left him with little sleep that night again. Sleep-deprived for weeks, he hated to get out of his bed. He still did because Plagg was making an effort to be civil. Adrien had to upkeep his end of a deal.

The clock showed three minutes to five when Adrien shuffled into Plagg’s studio. Upbeat music from the boombox quietly echoed through space as Plagg lounged on his throne, twirling a red rose in his hand. Too focused on it, he didn’t even look up at Adrien when he entered the room.

“Morning,” Adrien greeted.

Plagg spared him a glance, turning back to the rose. “Are you going to ask her out?”

Adrien put his bag on the floor, taking off his sweater. “Who? Marinette?”

“Unless you have someone else in mind.”

“Nope. No one else,” Adrien said, drinking from his water bottle. “And yes. I was thinking of that.”

“When?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Soon.”

“Where are you going to take her?”

“Didn’t think of that yet. Somewhere private for sure.”

“Good. How are you going to ask her? You know, the way you go about it could make it or break it.”

Adrien frowned. “Not sure. I haven’t had a lot of time to think about that yet. I had barely enough time to sleep.”

Plagg jumped from his throne and headed to Adrien, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Then it’s your lucky day, kid. Thank the heavens. I’m willing to help you.”

Adrien suppressed a chuckle. “I’m thankful, Plagg, bu—”

“As you should be,” Plagg grinned, poking Adrien’s chest with a finger. “I’ve known Mlle Ladybug ever since she was an angsty teenager. My wife is her best friend, so I know tons of stuff about her to help you navigate the thorny path of dating.”

“With all due respect,” Adrien replied, trying to suppress a smile. “I think I can manage that myself.”

“Have you ever dated?”

Adrien shook his head. “Was kind of hard to meet anyone with my schedule.”

“Do you know what Marinette likes?”

“Macarons?”

“Yes.” Plagg rolled his eyes. “But apart from that? Other stuff like her favourite colour or a movie? Her dreams and her goals for the future? Her favourite game? Preferable time of the year? Stuff like that. Do you know any of that?”

“I know some stuff. The rest would be fun to find that out from her.”

“Nonsense!” Plagg exclaimed, heading towards Adrien. “You’ve got me for that. I’ll tell you everything there is about Marinette, so you can easily woo her. Free of charge. You’re welcome.”

“Plagg, no—”

“For example, our Little Lady has always dreamed of seeing you with a red rose in your teeth, looking at her seductively—”

“Plagg, stop!” Adrien covered his ears in a protest. “Why… How would you even know that?”

He grinned. “I saw doodles in her sketchbooks.”

“You went through her sketchbooks?”

“She showed them to me herself.” Plagg defended. “Well… to Tikki, but I was nearby. And there were mostly clothes designs, but a blond guy with a rose in his teeth was also there.”

“Plagg.” Adrien ran his hand over his face, exhaling. “Thank you. I really appreciate your desire to help, but I’d like to discover everything there is about Marinette myself. From her. You do what I’m paying you for: teach me to dance.”

Plagg pouted. “Your loss. I could’ve made it so much easier for you.”

“I appreciate the thought, but no, thank you.”

“Don’t come running back to me when you’re in trouble.”

“I won’t.”

“Keep the rose, though.” Plagg pushed the flower into Adrien’s hand and walked back to his throne. “In case you change your mind.”

Adrien chuckled, putting the rose on top of his bag. “Can we get to our lesson now? I have to be out by six to make it in time for work.”

“I don’t see my Camembert.”

Adrien pulled a container out from his bag and passed it to Plagg.

Plagg opened it and inhaled the stink. “Delicious.” Closing it back up, he turned to his boombox and clicked something on it, sounds of You Make Me Feel by Cobra Starship filling the room. Turning to Adrien, he smirked. “Now tell me, kid: can you top your yesterday’s performance?”

“Is that a challenge?” Adrien asked, stretching, a smile playing on his lips.

“What do you think?” Plagg grinned and snapped his fingers, coming onto Adrien, already moving to the beat.

“You’re on,” Adrien said, a mischievous light igniting in his eyes. This should be fun. This kind of lessons would make his whole day better. He should’ve told Plagg to go to hell a long time ago. Rebellion did have its better sides.

***

Standing by the elevator at Gabriel, Adrien twirled the rose between his fingertips. Was that true? Did Marinette really dream of him seducing her with a rose in his teeth? Not that he was opposed to the idea—

“Good morning, Adrien.”

He jerked around. “Good morning, Kagami.”

She walked past him and pressed the button for the elevator. “You forgot to press it.”

“I did?” he nervously, chuckled. “Guess, I’m a bit distracted.”

“Apart from that, how are you today?”

“Good. And you?”

“I’m fine,” she said, diverting her eyes to look at the elevator’s door. “Feeling better? After the company’s party?”

Adrien sighed. “So, you’ve heard.”

“I did.” She waited for Adrien to respond, but when he said nothing, Kagami added, “I’ve also seen the video.”

Adrien groaned as the elevator’s door opened. He motioned to her to enter first. “Kagami… I… I might have drunk a little too much.”

“A little?” She quirked an eyebrow, entering the elevator. “Getting so drunk you can’t even get to a room isn’t a little too much.”

Adrien followed her, pressing a button to their floor. The door closed. “It was just a few kisses. Nothing happened.”

“It didn’t look like just a few kisses, Adrien, but that doesn’t really matter. You can’t afford to get drunk and to make out in public. You’ve got your and your company’s reputation to uphold,” Kagami snapped, her usually strong facade cracking. Yet right after, she took a deep breath and a few moments to compose herself. “I’m sorry. I crossed the line. Your activities in your free time shouldn’t be any of my concern, but I am responsible for this company’s Public Relations and your actions do affect Gabriel ’s reputation. Please, be more careful next time.”

“Will do,” Adrien said with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

“That’s fine,” she said, glancing his way. “Comparing to your father’s incident with the designer department, this is nothing serious. I’m sorry I snapped. I’ve just had a stressful week and next to no rest on the weekends.”

“We’re a troublesome bunch, aren’t we? Us, Agrestes?”

“You certainly are,” she said, huffing a moment later. “That’s why I never go to those parties. You never know what'll happen. One moment you’re having fun, the next thing you know, you’ve ruined your career.”

“The video’s down. Everyone will forget soon. Nothing’s ruined.”

“No, it isn’t. Not for you at least.” Kagami shrugged. “Have you thought about Marinette, though? She’d have to face consequences for making out with her boss’ son in public.”

“I don’t think Father has any strict no internal dating rules, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t,” Kagami nodded. “But I bet you’re a different deal. You’re his son. He might not like you dating one of his employees.”

Adrien fell quiet. He twirled the rose between his fingers, staring in front of himself. Father didn’t mention anything about punishing Marinette the last time they’d spoken. Still, Adrien would have to check with him again to ensure that Marinette was safe. She wasn’t using him for career advances, money, or fame. That much Adrien was sure off. And Father wouldn’t punish a girl just because Adrien fell in love with her, would he? Ludicrous. He’d never.

The bell rang, and the elevator’s door opened at their floor.

“It’s for Marinette, isn't it??” Kagami asked, glancing at the rose as she exited.

Adrien couldn’t keep a smile off his face. “Yeah. I really like her.”

“She seems likable,” Kagami said. “We didn’t interact much, but she seemed nice. Good luck with that.”

“Thanks,” Adrien said. Bidding their farewells, the pair parted.

Adrien headed straight to the designer department. It was still too early for anyone to be there. People were just starting to come in and there was a good chance he could sneak in the rose on Marinette’s desk without getting her in trouble for it being from him. The boss’ son. Why did he have to be him in this particular situation? Unnecessary complication.

Adrien creaked the door open. The studio was empty. Quickly, he walked in and headed straight for Marinette’s desk. He put the rose in a middle and rummaged the drawer for a sticky note and pencil.

Good morning to the most beautiful and amazing girl around. I hope you have a great day. <3

The note stuck on the desk by the rose, Adrien was about to depart when a nearby mirror caught his attention. Glancing at the flower on the table, he wondered…

“My Lady,” Adrien purred, standing in front of the mirror a moment later. His voice raw and alluring, the rose nestled in his teeth, he tried to look as seductive as he could muster. “Would you like me to ravage you now or should I take you on a date first?”

Someone exploded with laughter off to his side from behind. Adrien jerked around, rose falling out of his mouth.

“Marinette?” He nervously chuckled. “You’re in early.”

“Tikki had me up early for practice. Though, I can see you made it even earlier than I did.”

Adrien puffed, rolling his eyes. “I don’t think Plagg sleeps at all.”

Marinette giggled. “Well, Tikki has been complaining he started to nap during the days recently.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes. “He naps?”

Marinette chuckled. “Yup. He does.”

Adrien swore under his breath. Of course, Plagg napped. Why was he even surprised? He napped specifically during the daytime so he could torture Adrien during the night! How malicious, yet smart. That—

“And I’d love the date first, if you don’t mind,” Marinette added, struggling to contain her giggles.

Adrien’s face flamed. “Marinette… That wasn’t what you think… or what it looked like.”

“Oh, really?” She quirked an eyebrow. “What is it then?”

“It’s…” Adrien leaned down to pick up the rose. “Well, for starters, this is for you.”

“Thank you.” Marinette smiled, taking the flower. “I shall dry-press it and always remember the scene I’ve witnessed just a few moments ago when I look at it.”

Adrien groaned, throwing his head backwards. “It’s all Plagg’s fault. I swear. He insisted on teaching me how to woo you, and he said you’ve dreamed of me doing that. I didn’t want to do that, but I saw the mirror, and I wondered how it’ll look—”

“Wait,” Marinette interrupted. “Plagg said I was dreaming of you doing this?”

“You haven’t? He said he saw doodles in your sketchbooks?”

“What doodles?”

“Of me with a rose between my teeth? He said you showed them to Tikki and he saw.”

Marinette’s frown deepened. Then her eyes widened, cheeks flared crimson, a startled gasp slipping her lips.

Adrien chuckled. “So, I guess the doodles exist?”

“Maybe?” she mumbled. “But I was fifteen and in my weeb stage, and that wasn’t you. That was Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club.”

Adrien’s eyes sparkled. “I love that show! We should rewatch it together.”

Marinette chuckled. “I see you didn’t outgrow your weeb stage.”

“And I’m proudly not ashamed of that.”

“Good morning, Marinette, Adrien.” Mme Bustier walked past them. “Sober enough to work today?”

Her cheeks crimson, Marinette replied affirmatively and turned back to Adrien. “Sorry, I have to get to work, but maybe we can chat during lunch?”

Adrien grinned. “Are you asking me on a date?”

“I’m asking if you want to chat during lunch,” Marinette said. “You decide what it is.”

“It’s a date then,” Adrien said, taking her hand and placing a lingering kiss on her knuckles. Some other person entered the room. Adrien let her go, taking a step back. “Have a great day, my Lady.”

“You too,” she whispered, her lips curling into a smile.

Adrien left. Unfortunately for him, models were starting their preparations for the big show this week, and that demanded his attention in another department. Otherwise, he’d spend the day glued to Marinette’s desk, chasing away anyone who’d dared to cause her troubles on his behalf. He’d have to ask her about that at lunch. As well as beg her to become his girlfriend because with Marinette by his side, Adrien didn’t need to leave Gabriel to be free. She was his freedom, and he’d be flying high in her cage. As long as she’d be by his side.

_______________________________________________________________________

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#ladynoirjuly2019 #Plagg is precious #post reveal Adrienette #fluff #too much fluff imo

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philcoulsonismyhero · 7 years

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I got tagged by @cm-drabbles!

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better!

A: Age?

B: Birthplace?

Southwest Scotland

C: Current time?

3:45am 4:30am (I should be asleep...)

D: Drink you last had?

It called itself ‘lemonade’ but it came in a carton and wasn’t fizzy so was really more of a lemon juice drink. (Because proper lemonade is carbonated and I will fight an American on this.)

E: Easiest person to talk to?

@kscinewt and @squireofgeekdom

F: Favourite song?

I can never pick just one, so I’m going to be a massive nerd and name Tom Lehrer’s ‘Elements Song’ because I still know the whole thing off by heart.

G: Grossest memory?

Heck if I know. Although one thing that came to mind was swimming in Loch Trool on a camping trip and being Not A Fan of getting my feet tangled in the slimy reeds at the bottom. But that evolved into a mud fight with other, less gross pond weeds and also one of my friends draped himself in slime and started pretending to be a bog monster, so the hilarity quickly overcame the grossness.

H: Horror- yes or no?

I don’t get scared by horror movies, so no. They do nothing for me.

I: In love?

Nope, I’m too aro for that nonsense.

J: Jealous of people?

I’m not a jealous person by nature. I do get quite competitive, though, which can be similar but isn’t quite the same thing.

L: Love at first sight or should I walk by again?

As previously stated, I’m too aro for this nonsense. Although, on the rare occasions that I do end up aesthetically appreciating a character from something (because it’s always fictional characters), the aesthetic attraction only shows up once I’m emotionally attached to them.

M: Middle name?

Katrina, after one of my cousins

N: Number of siblings?

2 younger sisters

O: One wish?

A reliable sleep schedule?

P: Person you called last?

Probably my mum, because she’s pretty much the only person I ever call. I hate using the phone.

Q: Questions you are always asked?

“Hey, do you like [thing that’s currently on my t-shirt]?” Also “Did you draw that?!?” which. Yes. It’s in my sketchbook, and I’m currently sitting with a pencil hovering over it. I know it’s basically an automatic response for people, but it’s a daft question.

R: Reasons to be alive?

There are things I haven’t learned yet, places I’ve never been, things I want to do with the people I love that I haven’t yet... Also, to reference those old Discovery Channel adverts, “the world is just awesome.” Being alive is good, my dudes. I’m a fan.

S: Song you last sang?

'Here I Am’ from the Spirit soundtrack, although that wasn’t especially committed. Before that, it was probably ‘Dear Theodosia’ from Hamilton.

T: Time you woke up?

I technically didn’t sleep properly last night, just napped on the sofa for a couple of hours around lunchtime today. My sleep schedule is fucked up, my dudes.

U: Underwear colour?

Fun fact: I very rarely wear matching socks. It’s not deliberate, rather I just grab the first two that don’t have holes in them and hope for the best. (I have Weird shaped feet so I have to get seamless socks, but they wear out faster than normal ones and it’s a pain.)

V: Vacation destination?

I have some friends on another continent that I’d really like to visit...

W: Worst habit?

Not sleeping when I should be sleeping (@me, hint hint)

X: X-Rays?

I know I’ve had at least one, and that was when I kicked the bottom of a swimming pool and thought I might have broken something in my foot. (I hadn’t, thankfully.)

F: Favourite Food?

I have a weird thing for bagels? Other than that, chocolate is good. (Honestly, it’s a cop-out on the part of this meme, not having a proper ‘y’ option.)

Z: Zodiac Sign?

Aquarius

I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you want to do the thing you totally should and you should also tag me in it so I can see.

#personal stuff #i got tagged #cm drabbles

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