#but the NEED to do all that is clearly rooted in her feelings for Adrien

[familyagrestefanblog]

Screw it, I'm gonna ask the question:

When has Marinette really struggling to make friends ever been a thing in the show? People are now using Marinette's anxiety as an excuse for why she struggled with behaving in any way normally around Sublime, as well as using it as "duh" explanation for why Adrien is in the "right" for saying that it is a normal thing for Marinette to not know how to befriend people.

But WHEN did she ever act like this while trying to make new friends or form a connection when it wasn't actually explicitly about Adrien?

Cause that's the thing: Adrien is incorrectly projecting the way Marinette treats him onto her treatment of Sublime, saying that this is normal for Marinette.

But its not.

This whole "you only have one chance to make a good impression to become someone's friend" has never been something Marinette's character thought or acted like. She has countless of friends, even more connections everywhere, she's the widely beloved hero of the city, and a team that trusts her and follows her every word.

Her anxiety can get a BIT in the way here and there in how she treats her regular friends (so excluding Chat Noir), but she never did THIS before to make a friend.

Her anxiety can have her badly judge people who she then treats worse, but once she gets over herself she barely has a problem to try and reconnect with them and be their friend

She ONLY treated Adrien like this, hence why he incorrectly projected onto Sublime. What are you all TALKING about that thats the REAL reason for her behaviour?

Shouldn't yall Marinette stans KNOW your fav well enough to know she never did THIS before?

Why are you all LYING?

[ilikekidsshows]

Is it bad if I started to feel sorry and want to root for Lila instead of Marinette?

There was time when fell into the echo chamber, believing that Lila is bad, she's horrible for threatening Marinette and trying to destroy her life, she's a bully. But when I watch Volpina again... I can't blame Lila for hating Marinette and Ladybug, not when in that very episode, Ladybug proudly humiliating her because of jealousy.

Marinette stan say what Marinette do is justified, because she doesn't like lying and no one would like it when others lie about them, she has the right to be mad. and Lila also endangered people by lying about being Ladybug friends in the internet, which is a false statement considering ONLY Adrien know about her 'ladybug bff' lie. Sure, Marinette can be mad but it still doesn't justify her humiliating Lila in public space. Another Marinette stan told me 'it doesn't matter because there's only Adrien there' but it's matter, no matter how much the audience is, even it just one person, humiliating people is never justified anything, especially when the lie is not even something outrageous. I don't think any IRL celebrity would be mad if a teenager claimed to be their bff.

What Marinette do to Lila is even more outrageous than whatever lie Lila spouting in class, and yet Lila is the bad one? Lila's lies in Ladybug episode and in Onichan is the only one I consider bad, but then again Marinette has been harassing her nonstop everytime she's attending the class. Even when Lila claimed to have a disability, she never stop harassing her but somehow it's okay because Lila is bad, Marinette is good. Because yeah, people need to proof their disability or else you're a liar. It's guilty until proven innocent. Weird weird. 🙄

It just hilarious when Marinette stan say that Marinette is the victim and she's done nothing wrong, because Lila is Marinette victim first and foremost. She just decided to fight back instead of forgiving Marinette and be her ally. I wonder if Adrien decided to fight back and stop forgiving Marinette would he become an antagonist as well?

I'm not saying Lila is justified in every bad thing she do, but it's understandable. Marinette isn't any better than her because nothing about what she do to Lila is understandable, it just make her worst. The only saving grace here is Lila doesn't have real disability and the show painted her as the antagonist/villain.

The recent leak just make her worsen, more than I imagined, because the girl has real disability there. I thought having new writers and the 'sofr reboot' will make things better.

---

This ask actually goes perfectly with a little thought exercise I gave myself: what if the Lila “storyline” was told from Lila’s perspective? Because, like, she would make for a pretty good lead for an “underdog protagonist decides to go full-on villain protagonist against an asshole” story with only very slight, if any, tweaking into the course of events.

You transfer into a new school and don't know anyone, so you make up a bunch of stories to make yourself seem cooler to your new classmates. You even meet a really cute boy who isn't seeing anyone, so you go a bit overboard trying to impress him. You steal a book he was really into for ideas and then try to hide the fact that you did so. Suddenly the local superhero is there screaming at you and embarrassing you in front of your crush. Clearly she isn't all that.

Next time you go to school, you find out the most popular girl in class is making stuff up about you, and she follows you around at school, trying to catch you in a lie and publicly humiliate you. She even corners you in the school bathroom so you lash out to get her to back off. Next even the boy you like is getting on your case about lying. You're certain she's been telling him things about you to make you look bad.

Somewhere along the line you find out why the school’s queen bee's been bullying you, she makes it obvious that she likes the same boy you do and has decided that he doesn't get a choice, he’s going to end up dating her. You try to fake that you're already dating to get her to back off and discover that said girl is stalking the boy you both like, but you decide to keep it a secret. It's not like that info would help you; all your classmates flock to her and support her even when she's clearly in the wrong and constantly disappears with lies about where she's going. You can tell, you lie enough yourself. It's like whenever your rival is around, your classmates become mindless idiots who’d believe anything.

The superhero situation is also getting worse. You get a chance to make things harder for the big, beloved superhero. You’ve seen her little sidekick fight Akumas alone, but she’s never had to do that. You don’t think it would really hurt her, you wouldn't be that lucky, but it would be pretty satisfying to see her on the ropes for once. So, you try to get an Akuma to beat her up a bit, maybe that’ll knock her down a peg, but the heroes win pretty effortlessly once again and now everyone treats you like you're a monster for just wanting Ladybug to have a slightly worse day for once. You don't see what the big deal is but you know you hate Ladybug and Marinette, the bullies who are praised as saints.

[friendfromdsmp]

Are there Adrien Salt takes that you disagree with?

I definitely think that Adrien gets unnecessary hate as well as unnecessary praise. One thing that disappoints me is how many people see a lot of Adrien’s actions as malicious due to his arguably abusive behaviours concerning his love for Ladybug

You can partake in abusive behaviours without malicious intent. You can form a pattern of abuse without malicious intent. And while good intentions don’t justify or excuse the abuse, it does help to get to the root of the problem. In Adrien’s case, it seems to be a matter of not having been provided healthy outlets for his emotions, emotional identification and regulation or any positive examples or role models to lead by example

Before the show began, Adrien only had a few people in his life; his father, the cold and distant man who secretly had full control of Adrien’s free will and isolated him and all but forced him to work for his brand and do an ungodly amount of extracurriculars; Nathalie, the assistant who seems to have shown Adrien lightly more care and gentle encouragement but that’s really grown in the past few months more than anything; the bodyguard who’s chill and would keep a secret but isn’t exactly a fountain of advice, at best he’s a great option for venting; a mother who we know nothing about but judging by what we know in-universe there was most likely nothing too much better than Nathalie or Gabriel in her; and Chloé, the best friend that was clearly a horrible influence that Adrien tolerated more than liked but clung to all the same for being his only friend

All of this absolutely screams of an unhealthy social development in his upbringing. And when we see how Chloé and Gabriel both throw tantrums like toddlers whenever they don’t get their way or they need to play a part to manipulate others, it’s no wonder that Adrien has a tendency to lash out when his emotions get volatile. It’s not healthy or acceptable, but it’s understandable

Adrien also seems to have developed a bit of a codependency issue of sorts when it comes to Ladybug; if she’s not there, he doesn’t function, but when she’s present he constantly shows off and tries to win her over. This is another factor of his neglectful upbringing; he’s strongly motivated by praise and has a high reward drive, but when there’s no attention to be gained, positive or negative, he sees no point. And with Ladybug being the first person to actually return that emotional connection with him in a genuine and friendly way, he seems to latch onto her to continue supplying him with that positive emotional input and manage his emotions. Again, none of this is healthy or acceptable behaviour, but it’s understandable why he’d get to this point; it’s a classic case of a neglected child acting out for attention, whether positive or negative, because it’s better than feeling totally invisible

Adrien needs therapy, is the bottom line here. He’s developed horrible coping mechanisms or just straight-up lacks them due to a traumatic and neglectful childhood. I don’t think he’s always morally well-intentioned, but I think a lot of his abusive acts, while definitely not excusable, aren’t done out of any kind of ill-intent. They’re mostly done out of ignorance of how to appropriately express or vent his emotions, which results in him lashing out in harmful ways or completely shutting down on both himself and others. Both are harmful, but not inherently malicious. What Adrien needs to do is learn emotional regulation, something that everyone learns as they grow. Hell, it’s something many adults still struggle with, so I won’t blame a teenage boy for not having it down pat. But that doesn’t absolve him of responsibility to work on himself and to make amends for his past behaviours

[starguardianniom]

Adrien in season 6

Let's be real here, after knowing how season 5 ends, I have some fears of Adrien for the next season.

Why? Because he clearly won't be the same Adrien that we saw the last 5 seasons, of course.

The main reason being his entire relationship with his dad being rewritten in his mind as much more affectionate and sunshine and rainbows than what he's been dealing with for the entire show until now.

The emotional abuse and over protectiveness to the point of suffocation that he endured from Gabriel for the show will all be erased from his mind, replaced with sugary lies from the wish his father made.

The finale basically removes most of the roots of Adrien's issues that he's been struggling with and has made his life more miserable and decided to hand him everything he deserves on a silver platter, not saying he doesn't deserve to have his mom back and being raised lovingly by her and Nathalie, but the method of doing so, his father dying (probably the best thing for him even if he is his dad because I of Gabriel reaching the breaking points from Cat Blanc and Ephemeral in season 5 so after that he can rot in hell for all I care) and replacing his less than ideal relationship with him in a ball of life so sweet you feel an heart attack coming to you from the diabetes it gives you knowing why it happened in the first place and how the truth is also making you sick itself, that idea is wrong.

Adriend deserved better than Gabriel as a dad, but he also deserved to have the truth and not just get a memory wipe of all the horrible stuff Gabriel did to him and just switch it all for a fantasy dream of ideal father-son relationship.

Because obviously that will change his personality. When you remove from his mind all the coldness he got, the gaslighting, the emotional manipulation, the threats from being pulled out from school, forbidding him from seeing his friends or attend gatherings and events with his friends, the neglect, the strain and stress it puts on Adrien that if he screw up his father can lock him away instantly and he'll only have freedom as Chat Noir anymore, obviously we'll probably have a more healthy minded Adrien in his head, but it will also be made very clear that it's not who he is, because a lot of his behavior was reflected in his relationship with Gabriel, and with said relationship being completely flipped over in his mind, well.

It's like erasing Marinette's trauma of confessing to Kim or all the bullying she got from Chloé for 4 years. So it would be like if we get Adrien when he was under Oblivio's power, probably more normal, less awkward, less Adrien, but also well, it will take away a lot of what made Adrien, well, Adrien, or more like a healthy Adrien without his issues.

You can't just erase an entire relationship like that and then expect to believe this is the same person, even less knowing they are not even aware of it, was made without their consent, and that they will probably never know it, and even less when said relationship was quite unhealthy and abusive, and also basically erase all the trauma of the victim and makes their abuser looks all saintly and stuff.

The one good thing there is in that ending is that Gabriel is dead and won't come back (hopefully).

Adrien deserves all the good in the world, but he also needs to face his trauma, his relationship with his dad, gets a good therapy over it, and moves on, and he can't achieve any of that when the choice is completely ripped away from him and he's made to believe a huge fluffy illusion of his life that removes all his inner conflicts.

Not saying Adrien is all about his issues with his dad, but it did do a lot on his personality and was also a good focus of the show, so replacing all that with a false memory of a loving father when he was a selfish monster that used bringing back Émilie as an excuse to not have to care so much for him so his wife could do it in his stead instead is sickening.

I can imagine it's a real game changer for the finale. And honestly I am also looking forward to it. But I'm also scared because Adrien is my favorite character of the show and I'm afraid I'll see a more idealized version of him like what Marinette tends to paint him as, and I'm also screaming inside while wearing my clown costume and clutching my popcorn and chips close to not miss anything either. Oh and also my kleenex.

I am hoping Lila will go tell him the truth and he'll just go on a war path over it, because he would be beyond justified to do so.

I mean, imagine having the memory of the person who hurt you the most being replaced by a loving version of them that never did you anything wrong without your consent and knowledge while completely ignoring your feelings or thoughts over it while your abuser gets all glorified and saintly by everyone else who before knew how much they hurt you, seriously, would you sincerely like it or would it makes you want to throw up?

I would throw up and go on a murder spree I think.

I would support Adrien becoming a villain from learning the truth and being desperate to go back to real life rather than living this false wonderland life that completely disregarded his feelings, pain, loneliness, sadness, anger, hatred and everything else.

[trainsinanime]

The upcoming Ladynoir conflict is fascinating, and really the only thing I’m not happy about is how short it will probably be, as there is room for a lot of discussion in there. A lot of the discussion I see is about who is to blame, either partially or alone, but that’s not really interesting. What does blame give us? Do we make a character pay a fine, and then we go back to season 1? Boring.

The really interesting thing is why the characters do the things they do, what their assumptions are, and how these interact. People describe it as a failure to communicate, which is true, but also doesn’t really grasp the severity of the situation. Ladybug isn’t telling and Chat Noir isn’t asking. Or is it the other way around? Or maybe neither?

The root cause for a lot of this are definitely Marinette’s decisions. She’s the one with agency here because she has the new job and must decide what to do about it. Her decisions about this have all been seat-of-her-pants things to immediately solve a crisis. She’s not good at long term stuff. And she has a tendency to forget about Chat Noir.

Which isn’t fully fair either. She does try to connect with him. She apologies when she’s late for patrol, she asks him how he’s doing, she tries to reassure him all the time whenever she notices that he is down. It’s just all stuff that’s not really working, because Adrien, thanks to his experience with his father, is deadly afraid of being honest with her. That’s not helpful of him, but also deeply relatable. It takes bravery and trust to answer the question „how are you doing“ honestly, and there are good reasons why Adrien doesn’t have that.

At the same time, Adrien does make his displeasure known. Alya definitely noticed it, and told Marinette to apologise to her cat. But Marinette, for all her good intentions, isn’t really good at noticing other’s emotional needs. That’s a trait that shows up all the time (e.g. with Juleka in the Pigella episode). She genuinely thinks she’s doing enough, because she doesn’t see how deep the problem really runs. That’s not because she’s lazy, but because she’s unaware. That’s relatable as well to me. Figuring out what other people are feeling and how to best react to that is genuinely difficult and scary.

So Marinette thinks she is communicating enough and that there are no problems, and she’s completely wrong. Meanwhile Adrien thinks that he mustn’t express his problems to her clearly—if he’s even fully aware of them himself—and that’s just as wrong.

I don’t mean this in a moral sense. These are honest mistakes. In some ways Marinette and Adrien are almost the worst characters here to have this issue, because their different perspectives interact in such a tragically broken way. Compare e.g. how Alya and Nino interact this season. There are some similar issues here, but they resolve them much more quickly. Both Adrien’s and Marinette’s perspectives are limited and flawed, but relatable and understandable. Neither of them notices that they could and should communicate much more; they don’t have the experience and the right mindset for that.

But here’s the most important thing, of course: I know there will be fallout from that. It may even take longer than Kuro Neko, but that’s hard to say. But I also know how much these kids love each other and how great friends they are (and how much the show loves its status quo). I know both of them genuinely enjoy each other’s company and want to be happy together. I know they’re going to come back from this stronger than ever, and more understanding of each other, and I can’t wait for that.

[carpisuns]

The way Marinette throws Chat Noir in the trash very angrily in one moment and in the other is like, "omg!! 😍💖💗Adrien😍💖💗 is sad!!! my poor baby CAN'T be sad!!" just..... sends me, lmao. The IRONY.

I find it genuinely funny 😅 It reminds how in the New York Special she was, like, EXTREMELY flustered around Adrien and couldn't even let him touch her without turning into a tomato/making a teapot noise, and then when she sees Chat Noir she's like, "excuse me, bitch?? watcha doing here??" But the best example was in Desperada when Adrien and Chat tell exactly the same joke, and she giggles at Adrien's joke and rolls her eyes at Chat 😭😭

Like. I can't see a sudden reveal going smoothly at all. She'll absolutely FREAK OUT 😂 (To be fair, I think that the difference in treatment it's not only about her crush on Adrien. She sees Adrien as this very sensitive, sweet boy and Chat Noir as this super cocky, confident hero who needs no coddling, if it makes sense...?) Anyway, Chat will have A LOT of fuel to make fun of her........ Wax lips, three suns, buttercup.... Y'know.

haha same! glaciator 2 made me laugh so much, including the trash can bit, and it's always so funny to see how differently she reacts to adrien vs chat noir. i gotta think that she'll be embarrassed about how spazzy she was around adrien when he was really her goofy dork of a partner all along lol.

as much as i appreciate the humor/irony of it though, i totally get why the difference in treatment is frustrating for a lot of fans. i feel that too at times. i am always rooting for marinette to get to the point where she can just speak comfortably with adrien and not be so weird and nervous because that would really make their friendship blossom. like, imagine if she could hang out with adrien the way she did with chat in glaciator 2. aaaa 😭

i'm also really hoping that she learns to see chat noir differently too. i get the sense that as much as she cares about him, she does tend to see him as being a little immature, not taking the job seriously, getting into trouble, etc. i definitely agree that she seems to see chat noir as too cocky to need coddling. i feel like she thinks he's pretty unflappable—like, if he's down for a second, it's okay because he'll bounce right back. "he'll be fine; he's chat noir." but sometimes he isn't fine! and he doesn't let her see that often.

i think glaciator 1 was the first time she really saw how sensitive and genuine and gentle chat noir really is, so she knows that side of him, but not nearly as well as we do, as the audience. there's a lot she doesn't see. she doesn't know how hurt he is by the events going on, and she doesn't see how hard he's trying and how much pressure he puts on himself. like, how long was he out there cataclysming ladynoir posters 😭😭 she had no idea that he was doing that! so yeah, while i do find marinette's adrien/chat noir disconnect super interesting and entertaining, i hope we see some development where marinette starts to naturally merge them a bit in her mind. not necessarily figuring it out (although that would be cool!) but at least just expanding her view of chat noir and seeing/understanding him more clearly on an individual level before she finds out he was adrien all along.

i agree that a sudden reveal would probably not go smoothly at this point, and the shock of it could've been really funny/entertaining in previous seasons, but at this point i feel like a reveal would be more angsty than anything D: im really excited to see whatever is in store for us but i'm hoping we won't get the reveal quite yet bc i would love to see some development first!

hahaha yesssss the post-reveal shenanigans will be AMAZING. i very much enjoy the idea of adrien good-naturedly teasing marinette for all the embarrassing things she did lol

[playingbaseballwithyourson]

OKAY BUT CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ALYA’S LINE: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain”

This is just!!! A beautiful line! And an incredibly beautiful, meaningful message! 

Marinette has been having such a hard fucking time lately in s4′s first three episodes, and my heart has been breaking for her. Depressed, isolated, crying all the time, and feeling utterly alone. Even the few friends she did have who knew about her secret identity, the kwamis, couldn’t truly help her because they don’t know what it means to fall in love. It was an arc the likes of which we have never seen in ML, and god, seeing our little queen Marinette just, alone and crying all the time and completely falling apart at the seams was just, devastating. 

Then insert Gang of Secrets and the alyanette reveal! A first step on the road to fixing the mess that had become Marinette’s life.

Then we have Mr Pigeon 72, a fucking phenomenal episode just like all the other early S4 episodes so far, where Alya is now helping her. And it cannot be understated just how absolutely clutch Alya has been in supporting Marinette, but the episode also showcased that things aren’t perfect yet. Alya is powerful but not so powerful that she can completely yank Marinette out of the hole she’s fallen into and reset her back to normal. 

Marinette is recovering, and she’s doing great at it! But it’s still a process and the show is doing a lot to demonstrate that. She’s still obsessing over fighting Hawk Moth. She’s still going a little bananas trying to hide the miracle box and kwamis in her room, to the point of making all these crazy contraptions. She’s still dumping the majority of her time into trying to translate the grimoire, to the point of NOT KNOWING ADRIEN AND KAGAMI BROKE UP AND NOT EVEN KNOWING ADRIEN WAS GONNA BE FILMING A COMMERCIAL THAT DAY. That’s pretty fucking huge for Marinette to miss! This is the girl who’s supposed to have Adrien’s schedule memorized front to back, and she does not miss a SINGLE THING that happens in this boy’s life. And she missed something huge like his breakup? That’s a pretty big deal.

My point is, things are on their way to being fixed, but we’re not there yet. The storm is waning but is not completely passed yet. Then come’s Alya’s line

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning how to dance in the rain.”

As someone watching Marinette steadily try to recover from the absolute shitshow that was her life for S4 Eps 1-3, I think this line is incredibly beautiful. Because Marinette WAS waiting for the storm to pass before she would allow herself to be happy again. Alya told Marinette that she needed to take a break and relax, but Marinette insisted that she couldn’t rest until Hawk Moth was defeated. Alya tried to tempt Marinette out of her mad scientist lab by telling her about Adrien’s commercial, but Marinette continued to insist she didn’t have feelings for him anymore, because if she tried to date Adrien while Hawk Moth was still at large, it would end the same way that it did with Luka. Marinette is very clearly just not giving herself permission to be happy until she’s done her job of defeating Hawk Moth. 

But then Alya’s line comes in. And we get the reverse umbrella scene. Marinette receives Kagami’s blessing to pursue Adrien, and after having a really tender moment with him where they retread old footsteps, she falls in love all over again. She offers the umbrella to Adrien, a symbol of love between them. She’s not just receiving it this time, she has more agency now. She willingly offers the umbrella to Adrien. No longer is she wingmanning for a disinterested Kagami. Who fuckin cares if Hawk Moth is still at large? Who cares if she has responsibilities as Ladybug? The girl is back in the game. Marinette LOVES Adrien, right here, right now.

And she dances in the rain.

THIS END CARD IS SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL I LITERALLY WANNA CRY OVER IT! After three episodes of Marinette being depressed, crying, curled up alone, and suffering in every sense of the word, look at her now!!! She’s laughing, she’s happy, she’s excited and dancing and she’s madly in love! I’m just so fucking happy for her! It’s such a goddamn relief! I love this lil girl so much that to see her back up on her feet after a really severe breakdown is just, an absolute treasure. It’s so fucking beautiful and I’m so happy for Marinette.

It doesn’t matter right now that Hawk Moth is still at large. Doesn’t matter that she’s Ladybug. It doesn’t matter that things are still bad. Marinette is learning to take the good in life as it comes. She’s learning to give herself permission to be happy again. She’s not fully back yet, she’s still recovering, but she’s now able to fully accept the good moments and good things she still has in her life. And that’s so fucking important to recovery. That’s such an important part of learning to be happy again. Because life will ALWAYS have storms, especially for a superheroine. So learning to dance in the rain? It’s one of the most important skills she ever could have learned.

Good for you, Marinette. I’m rooting for you, girl. 

[iloveitwhen]

What Team? (pt. 2)

(yes, everytime i see “what team?” i think “wildcats!” and i just couldn’t help myself with the title heehee)

I hope this meets all of your expectations! if not then sorry i guess lmao. if there are mistakes or inconsistencies let me know(:

So I got a little carried away and this is much MUCH longer than the first part so... sorry? you’re welcome? idk but turns out the story has not progressed but it basically has so let’s say it did. I also got a little carried away with Alix meeting the waynes... (Also I should add I don't know squat about roller blading)

Part 1

Based on this post by @unmaskedagain

--------

Alix wasn’t stupid, granted her best friend was Kim and together they were pretty stupid, but Alix was not inherently stupid, Kim just lowered her IQ by a significant amount just by being around him, ok? Not her fault. But anyways, point being, Alix was not stupid, she could see the way Lila's face morphed to disgust when she looked at Marinette and thought no one was watching, or when she sneered at the backs of all of her classmates when they turned around, so of course she knew why Lila really tried to force "Lukanette" down everyone's throats, she wanted to be on top. Alix aslo prided herself in not having problems such as crushes, why bother yourself when clearly people are not… hot, attractive, sexy, ect. Alix didn’t understand how or why people so desperately wanted to kiss each other but not having that urge really brought light to her class’ situation. She had learned from the way Kim used to look at Chloe and the way Max looked at Kim and the way Marinette looked at Adrien, there were plenty more examples, like Mylene and Ivan, anyways, they all had the same look even if they were trying to hide it. Lila looked at Marinette with that same look but hidden under disgust, but then again she also looked at Adrien that way too, without disgust and hate though. But she also hated Marinette, plain and simple. Wait, definitely not simple. As for why she hated Marinette, Alix just hadn't gotten that far yet, but she was sure it had something to do with Adrien. And being a closeted gay. 

As for everyone else it was no secret that Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Lila Rossi did NOT like each other but lucky, or unlucky depending on how you look at it, the class simply ignored the both of them when they tried talking about the other. 

Marinette, picking up on the fact that she won that battle, stopped trying to tell everyone about Lila’s obvious lies. She knew the girl still had it out for her but she was completely powerless when it came to taking Marinette’s friends away. It was quite exhausting listening to Lila and not being able to say anything that would disprove her lies because no matter how sound her proof was her classmates wouldn’t listen. And Marinette honestly just wanted to sleep.

Lately she didn’t know what was going on, all week people kept whispering and would change the conversation when she arrived. She thought they were talking behind her back but they never gave her dirty looks, in fact they were even more friendly and she got a large increase of “morning Marinette!” and “How are you doing?” which was only slightly confusing. At least they were finally being as friendly and considerate towards her as she was towards them. 

“Hey Marinette?” Marinette looked up from her sketchbook as her thoughts scattered to see Juleka nervously tapping on her desk with her nails while Rose stood behind her girlfriend with a look that could only be described as sparkly. Marinette raised an eyebrow but smiled kindly at them. 

“Yes?” 

“So, umm,” she cleared her throat nervously, “can you help me and Rose make shirts that say “Team Luka” on them?” 

“Team lu- uhmm sure?” 

Juleka gave her a rare smile and a soft “thanks” before returning to her seat with Rosa who squeaked “you're the best Marinette!” Marinette gave the girl a weak smile and a small nod of appreciation and just stared in confusion at the spot where the two girls stood previously. 

What?

The heck?

“What was that all about?” Alya voiced Marinette’s thoughts and slid into her seat, poking Marinette’s arm to break the black haired girl out of her stupor. 

“I'm... not sure....” She furrowed her brows in confusion. Who was Luka going against that required Juleka’s support? She hadn't heard of XY making headlines lately and Luka wasn't either, well she wasn’t really online either anyways. “They asked me to help them make Team Luka shirts.” She looked over to her friend and was brought to even more confusion. Alya looked… offended? But she quickly wiped the look off her face and pursed her lips together before turning to face the front saying, 

“Interesting....”

After school Marinette, with Juleka and Rose, went to buy supplies before heading to the ship to meet with Luka. Together they made ten teal tie dyed shirts which they had printed “TEAM LUKA” on the center of it. Marinette tried asking what it was for but all three just redirected her so she eventually just dropped it. 

As she was leaving Luka stopped her. “Thank you, Marinette,” he said softly, “you really are a wonderful girl, you deserve the world.” Of course that made Marinette blush, what was up with this guy and his cute, mushy words? 

“Thanks, Luka. An- and don’t worry about it! Anything for you,” she trailed off for a moment before rushing to add, “and your family of course. Obviously.” She chuckled nervously while Luka just gave her an amused smile. 

“I’ll keep that in mind. Have a wonderful evening, Marinette.” He turned and walked back onto the ship, leaving Marinette weak in the knees. She quickly steeled her nerves then chastised herself while walking away. Stop feeling for multiple boys. Stop feeling for multiple boys. Stop feeling….

---

Alya was not happy to find Juleka and Rose wearing teal tie dyed shirts saying “TEAM LUKA” printed on them. So they want to play THAT game. Ok. She can deal with that. In her desire to plan she missed Marinette’s rambles throughout class and the bell that signaling the start of lunch. 

“ALYA!” she snapped her head to the source of the sound to find the one and only Chloe Bourgeois with a hand on her hip and pursed lips. She looked around the room to find it completely empty except for the two of them. 

“Chloe!” she scooched over the bench and hopped up, accidentally almost bumping noses with the blonde girl from being too close but Chloe just gave a disgusted face and quickly took a step back. “Just the person I needed! Did you SEE those shirts?” Chloe huffed and rolled her eyes. 

“Of course I did, Césaire. That is the only reason you will be spending more time than I am comfortable with in my presence. Come on.” She turned her heel and strutted out of the classroom while Alya scrambled to grab all of her belongings. 

---

Not long at all after Marinette saw Juleka and Rose (Ivan quickly following suit) wearing the Team Luka shirts, Alya and Chloe, a pairing Marinette NEVER saw coming, walked in with matching shirts, orange for Alya and yellow for Chloe, with a fancy, clean font spelling out “Team Adrien” on the front and a bold “SUCK IT” on the back. Marinette watched Alya approach her seat with her jaw hanging loose. 

WHAT WAS GOING ON???

“What is- you know what? Nevermind. I don’t want to know.” Alya smirked and slid into her seat. “You purposefully came last didn’t you?” 

“Yep!” Alya replied happily while pulling her phone out and started typing furiously. 

“Babe, where’s my shirt?” Nino had turned around and gave his girlfriend puppy eyes. 

“Oh, here you go,” she pulled a green shirt out of her bag and tossed it to him while Adrien watched with interest. A sound of excitement escaped Nino when he caught the shirt and he opened it up to see the front which revealed the back of the shirt to Marinette. She felt the blood drain from her face and she lifted her hand to cover her mouth in horror. The back had a perfect snapshot of Adrien’s side profile from his ad for cologne when he was gliding through the air. Marinette glanced at Adrien and saw that his jaw had dropped and his face started to burn a deep red. Marinette just wanted to cry. Nino flipped it over and Marinette saw “Team Adrien” in the same font of Chloe and Alya’s shirts while Nino let out an unearthly squeal. 

“It’s PERFECT! Adrien! Look!” he flipped the shirt over to show Adrien but the blonde boy had already curled in on himself and hid his face in his arms. 

“Whyyyyy, Alyaaaaa.” Alya smirked and looked up from her phone. 

“Don’t worry Adrien, we’re rooting for you.” 

Marinette cried (internally) that night as she prayed to every Kwami she knew to save her soul. 

---

Adrien didn’t know what was going on, at first when he saw Luka’s shirts he really wanted one too to show his support of his acquaintance. Adrien didn’t know the boy that well but he was very kind and any team that Luka was on Adrien wanted to be on too heehee. After his friends started wearing Team Adrien shirts he felt… conflicted. And slightly uncomfortable. He was happy his friends were supporting him but it just felt wrong to root for himself. So to counteract this he approached Juleka when the school ended and got his own shirt. The next day he changed into it after getting dropped off at school, obviously because his Father would make him burn the shirt if he ever saw Adrien wearing it, and when he came out of the restroom he found Lila climbing the stairs in her own Team Luka shirt. Her eyes shot up in surprise at the sight of him before a strained smile etched onto her lips. 

“Lila! It’s great to see we’re on the same team.” He smiled kindly at her and gave a silent prayer to Plagg that she didn’t think he was flirting with her as she always seemed to assume. 

“Indeed, Adrien.” 

Everyday for the next week more and more people wore their own team shirts until the class was split in half, save for Nathanial, Marinette, and Alix. Adrien continuously tried to find out what the teams were for but someone always assured him that it was nothing to worry about. 

It wasn’t until he saw Chloe’s retweet of Alix’s tweet that he realized that his class was warring over who was the better match, him or Luka, for one of Alix’s friends that apparently the entire class knew besides Nathanial and Marinette as they never picked a side. He wondered if he knew the person that the class was talking about and decided to logout of twitter before anything got out of hand as it usually did whenever Chloe was on twitter. 

---

“We have a problem.” Dick stated to his two brothers and adoptive father. 

“Ok, what’s new?” Jason asked lazily, polishing his gun. 

“Marinette is trending on twitter.”

“What?” Tim pulled his phone out and started going through the app as Dick continued.

“Team Luka, Team Adrien, Lukanette, and Adrinette are trending on twitter. Take a wild guess what that could mean.” Bruce rolled his eyes and started to say, 

“Dick we don’t have time for this,” but Dick cut him off mid sentence and spoke over him. 

“These boys are getting fought over who would be a better fit for Marinette. OUR Marinette. As in Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Jason stopped polishing his gun and actually looked at Dick while Tim gagged. 

“What?” all three voices before him spoke up in unison. Dick was surprised that Bruce spoke up with a little more exasperation. 

“No!” Bruce dropped his face into his hands and groaned. He was certainly taking this far worse than Dick thought he would. The older man raised his head and gave Dick a look he usually gave him when he was trusting him with an important mission, “take care of this, make sure none of those boys steal Marinette away from Damian.” Dick nodded his head once. 

“Yes, sir.”

---

Marinette and the Waynes go way back, so far back that when Bruce let it slip that he and Alfred used to have a neighbor at a lake house who would repeatedly visit whenever Alfred was there the batboys KNEW they had to find the one and only Gina and meet her ENTIRE family. Marinette was ten at the time and was immediately enraptured by Damian’s “old man” personality and forced him to have fun like a child during his short stay. The Batboys, as much as they were scared of Damian and what he might do, immediately shipped them together, Jason (being the fanfiction writer/reader which he never admitted to anyone) deemed the ship “Daminette” which the others agreed to fervently. But now, five years later and three very determined Daminette shippers later, Damian and his brothers were on a plan to France to meet with Marinette. 

“Momma Cheng! Papa Dupain!” Dick swung the bakery door open and sauntered in while the others trailed behind him rolling their eyes, except for Tim, Tim was excited for good coffee. 

“Oh Richard!” Sabine walked around the counter and gave all the boys a quick hug and handed them off to her husband who cracked their backs with his monstrous hugs. Sabine reached Damian and pulled him into a hug before he could protest then held him at arm's length. “Oh my have you grown! Tom,” she turned her head to her husband while still holding onto Damian. 

Tom set down Tim who stumbled and was caught by Dick before hitting the ground. “Yes, dear?” 

“Hasn’t he grown so much? Such a handsome young man,” she let go and pinched his cheek which he pulled away from when suddenly he was lifted into a smoldering hug and felt the cr-rick cra-ack! of his spine. He wiggled in the grip finding he couldn’t get out but when he was placed back down he felt a little lightheaded and refused to stumble like an embarrassment Tim was. 

“You fellas can grab some treats, Marinette won’t be home until pretty late but you boys are welcome to stay until she arrives” The boys all nodded in response and said their chorus of thank you’s and went to grab some pastries before heading to the inside of their home. 

Jason quickly got restless and Dick followed him to babysit keep an eye on him while Tim pulled out his computer and started typing away. Damian got bored and decided to explore. He knew it was probably inappropriate but he politely asked Sabine if he could go up to Marinette’s balcony knowing she probably kept her garden growing up there when she started it out of spite of him after he insulted her capabilities to take care of another thing, much less herself. He was pleased, and slightly annoyed, to find a beautiful garden with an array of flowers, herbal plants and even a beautiful small tree. 

After a while being by himself a ragged looking cat sauntered over to the balcony and Damian quickly made friends with the animal and deemed it sweet and good and no harm would ever come to such an animal under his watch. He decided she was worthy to carry the name Enibas and smiled as she curled up on his chest while they both drifted off to sleep on the deck chair. 

---

Alix re-strapped her skates and got back up, ignoring the pain in her badly scraped hip and rolled out her shoulder while skating back uphill to the beginning of her obstacle course. She spun around and narrowed her eyes at the several cones placed strategically in front of her. She had set up her area by the Eiffel Tower and the locals already knew to steer clear as she had been doing this regularly for the past seven years ever since she got her first pair of skates. She blocked everything and anything out of her mind and focused on her breathing and steadied her body, with one more huff of breath she shot out towards the cones. 

First: three cones placed closely together in a line and a fourth further behind, she spun in circles and lifted her heel of her right foot and toes of her and glided through the three cones quickly, she then jumped in the air and spun in a circle in midair over the fourth cone in a slight pirouette position before landed on her left foot with her arms out, bent over slightly, and her right leg sticking out behind her. 

Second: she was still gliding very fast and twisting her extended leg gave her the momentum to face behind her, there were no cones but she knew what to do. She bent the leg supporting her and cut to the right and expertly landed on her padded hand and using the walled walkway beside her she pushed her left leg out to skate alongside and up the wall. Placing her other hand on the ground she pushed her body up high, higher than anybody should be able to do but given the fact she discovered Fluff gave her a bit of an advantage, she twirled and twisted to land on both feet. Once again Alix was facing downhill and even though she lost a lot of speed with the last move she was gaining again. 

Third: there was a little makeshift ramp, Alix huffed again and pushed herself downhill. She would make it this time. Going as fast as she thought was safe, she skated on top of the ramp and keeping her legs straight she let it lift her, Alix let herself fly for a bit letting her legs carry up as her upper body fell before tucking her legs in to quicken the flip. However, instead of flipping too fast like last time, slipping, and slamming onto her shoulder, she went higher than she anticipated and shot her legs out to reach the ground quicker and ungracefully swung her arms about to prevent her from falling backwards again. She thumped onto the ground but before she could celebrate her success of landing on two feet she tripped from the unbalance and yelled “FU**!” before smashing into the ground. 

Alix groaned from the pain and thanked the Kwami’s she always wore her helmet, if not she was sure she'd have much more than just a scratched chin. 

“Are you okay?” a panicked man’s voice entered her ears and without moving to see who it was she gave a thumbs up. 

“Holy sh** that was AWESOME!” another man’s voice invaded her ears again. Great. American tourists. 

Alix pushed herself up to see who it was speaking to find, what most would call, a handsome gentleman with black hair and clear blue eyes filled with worry. She looked over at the other man who looked pretty much the same except with a weird strip of white hair and was typing furiously on his phone. 

“Oi!” she pointed at the white striped hair dude, “di**head, did you take a video? Where are you sending it?” 

“Jason!” the first with the blue eyes looked back at his… partner? “Don’t send that to anyone, alright?” The guy looked between the man in front of Alix then to her before shrugging.

“I wasn’t going to.” Alix still stared at him while he went back to his phone but walked up to the two on the ground. 

“Are you sure you're ok, miss?” the man in front of her asked. She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. 

“I've been doing this since I was eight. I’ve had worse.” the guy nodded then smiled brightly. 

“That was very impressive though.” He stood up and offered his hand which she took and stood up with him. “Do you mind if I join you? I would love it if I could. I’ve never actually done flips and stuff with skates but I think I can handle it. So can I?” His smile was so big and innocent that Alix laughed at him. 

“I’m sorry but this isn’t exactly something you can just pick up and be good at, I’ve fallen enough times I won’t break a bone and while he,” Alix pointed at the other guy, “might be able to take a few crashes you don’t look like you’ve ever been in a serious harm. Like ever. No offence or anything I just don’t want some broken bones blamed on me.” She replied as nicely as she could but the man just started laughing. 

“How about I show you what I can do on skates first and if you deem me unworthy I’ll take my leave.” Alix narrowed her eyes at him then gave him a slow nod. “Great!” he whipped out his phone and started texting someone while Alix just turned around and headed for her water bottle. These guys were weird. 

Ten minutes later another guy showed up, Tim, as Alix was informed earlier, also had black hair and blue eyes except he seemed younger and was skinnier than the other two, and was carrying three pairs of new skates. Alix gawked at him, those were some of the nicest, most expensive pairs of skates in Paris and he had three. Yup. These were some rich fools. 

Dick, as he introduced himself as (Alix laughed at him for such an unfortunate name), squealed and rushed to put on a pair of skates and wheeled around doing impressive jumps and moves that he really had no right doing while Jason yelled “I told you not to get me a pair!” the new boy shrugged and put his own on. Alix sighed and shook her head, accepting that these particular rich fools would be quite stubborn. 

“Ok. I’m ready.” Alix turned towards Dick who looked at her expectantly. 

“Ok. What are you waiting for, am I supposed to help you with something or…?” 

“Oh! Uh… can I do the course? He pointed downhill at her makeshift course and she nodded. 

“Sure. Don’t blame me when you crack your head open, you should really get a helmet by the way.” 

“Oh don’t worry,” he waved her off and smiled like he wasn’t in actual danger, “I do stuff like this all the time.” He readied himself and went through her course, not as dramatic as she had done but toned down motions and movements and when he got to the ramp he jumped as far up as he could but didn’t flip. He skated back up and went through again adding a little more complicated movements through it. Alix watched with interest as Tim skated up to her side and stuck a hand out. 

“Hello, I’m Tim.” 

“I know.” Alix accepted his hand shake, “I’m Alix,” she replied before returning to watching Dick go through the course. 

“I hope we’re not bothering you too much. I saw the video and I really wanted to meet you and I knew Dick here would love to do some stunts of his own. Did he already tell you what you did wrong with that flip that made you lose your balance?” 

“Huh? He’s good but I don’t think he’ll be flipping on skates anytime soon.” 

“Oh, actually we all kind of do crazy stunts like this on a daily basis and he specializes in acrobats so I just figured he told you already.” 

“Ok! I think I’m ready!” Dick called out after his fourth round skating up the hill. 

“No,” Alix breathed out. “He’s not gonna do the backflip is he?”

“Yup,” Tim lightly chuckled. “Sorry we’re all a little crazy.” 

“This is for you, Alix.” 

“Wait, no-” but Dick ignored her and started through the course again. He skated skillfully around the cones and did a perfect pirouette over the fourth cone as if he’d been doing it for years and did his own little crazy stint with a backflip then raced towards the ramp and with straight legs he let his legs fly up and his head drop much longer than she was comfortable with, then tucked his legs in but not as much as she did and landed perfectly and glided down the hill with his arms raised up like a gymnast. 

“What!?” Alix yelled. She was highly peeved. She’s been trying this for the past week and he tries and lands on the first try!? Unfair. So unfair. 

“Can I try?” Tim asked. Alix whipped her head to him and scoffed.

“Not you too? You're going to just flip like it's nothing too? No. No no no. Dick!” she yelled out unintentionally calling him the American curse word in the process to the man who turned around and started towards them. 

“Yeah?” Alix waited until he stopped in front of her. 

“How did you do that?”

“I just waited a bit longer before tucking my knees in. I noticed that you tucked too early and brought your knees too close to your chest which made you over flip. And by waiting a little longer you would have dropped a little further so you wouldn’t have struggled with being too high.” Alix huffed in annoyance. 

“Ok… ok…. My turn, I’m going to get it this time.” 

Alix went to the beginning of the course and took a deep breath, blocking everything out and shot out. She did her tricks and jumps and when she got to the ramp she felt a rush of adrenaline from the slight fear. She went up as high as she could and her legs went up and her upper body dropped. She waited past her comfort zone and looked down to the approaching ground. Then everything clicked. She tucked her legs in, following Dick’s words, and straightened them out again until they were slightly bent and landed. She whooped and pumped her fists in the air. She’d finally done it! She turned back around to find Jason on the side with his camera out and cheering her on while Tim and Dick did the same but without their phones. She laughed and skated back up the hill. 

“I finally got it!” 

“Yes!” Tim held out a hand and she high-fived it. “That was awesome! You are amazing!” Alix grinned widely at the praise. 

“Thanks! I just have to land at least ten more times in a row,” she said as she readied herself to go again. 

“Wait, I can’t go yet?”

“My course, my rules.” Tim smiled and nodded his head. 

“Good point.” 

For the next two hours Alix skated with the two boys and conversed with Jason when she was taking a break. That’s how she found out they were in Paris because of Marinette and refused to have two boys fighting over Marinette when she was already taken, well not yet but they were determined to get their brother Damian and Marinette together. She then decided she liked Jason, despite him taking unwanted videos though they turned out to be fun to watch (she cringed when she saw herself faceplant in the first video). It was nice to see people like the three of them looking out for Marinette, heaven knows she doesn’t have a guardian angel because she gets into way too much trouble without even trying, though the three of them were also troublemakers and chaos was basically Alix’s occupation. It was 19 hours (7:00) when they had to go but Alix was very excited when they invited her over with them to meet Marinette who they hadn’t seen in several years. 

---

Marinette sighed from exhaustion as she pushed the front door of her parent’s bakery open. She had been working nonstop with Jagged Stone on his new stage outfits, she loved the guy but he was a handful sometimes. 

“Marinette!” She looked up and gave her mother a tired smile while the woman handed a pastry to a customer. “Have a wonderful day,” she told the customer before walking around the counter as the man left and hugged her daughter. “We have some guests who came to visit you.” Mrs. Cheng smiled brightly at Marinette who scrunched her brows together in confusion. 

“Who?” Her mother shook her head and pushed her towards the entrance to their home. 

“You’ll see.” 

Marinette walked through the door to find Alix wrestling Jason Todd to the ground while the man was pushing her face away with a pillow and Tim Drake watching, but not really watching, as he sipped on something she assumed was coffee, and Dick Grayson who was ignoring them all, laying on the couch watching spongebob in french. She cleared her throat to get their attention but nothing happened. 

“Excuse me.” she called out but again, nothing. 

“ExCUSE me.” Nothing besides Alix’s ‘hmph’ as Jason flipped her over and stood up, lightly smacking her with the pillow while yelling. “Taste defeat!”

“HEY!” Marinette finally yelled out. All four heads snapped to her and everything was silent for a moment before chaos erupted and all the three boys started shouting and squealing (Dick) and clamoring for hugs. 

“Mari!”

“Nettie!”

“MY FAVORITE SISTER!”

Marinette made a strangled noise as they all squeezed the life out of her. Marinette was smiling and laughing with them but was very glad when she was finally back on her own feet. 

“What are you guys doing here?” 

“What, we can’t visit our little sister?” Jason asked innocently and Marinette crossed her arms and looked at him with disbelief etched in every part of her. 

“Ok so we heard about your situation in your class and-”

“Hey!” Alix suddenly cut in and stuttered when all eyes were on her. “I mean, hey, so I was just hanging out with these guys all day and they’re all hungry, let’s fix them something to eat?” She looked at Marinette in question then clapped her hands together and nodded once to confirm it with herself. “Yes.” 

Marinette looked at her suspiciously then at her pseudo brothers who suddenly started nodding in confirmation. 

“Yes, food.”

“Yup.”

“Hunger is a thing I have.” Jason’s stomach grumbled as if on cue which broke Marinette’s suspicion and she giggled at him. 

“Ok, spaghetti it is. Blue Bird, you're on cutting duty, Tim-Tam, you get the ingredients, Jay-Jay…. Alix, keep Jason busy.” 

After a few minutes bustling around the kitchen Marinette suddenly remembered something and she turned to Dick, “Where’s the old man?” 

After dinner was made Dick bounded into her room claiming Damian was napping on her balcony which Marinette smiled to in triumph but when Damian came downstairs her triumph washed away along with her soul. 

Marinette was doing fine all day. She was completely rational and fine. She was fine. Currently she is NOT fine. She is NOT ok. And as for Damian? He was fine alright. Oh boy was he fine. As soon as he walked down from her trapdoor her jaw dropped to the floor. 

---

Alix shook her head, she was having quite the time watching Marinette’s reaction to her childhood friend but felt a rush of relief that she didn’t have Marinette Problems.

“Seriously, Marinette? Close your mouth.” The girl snapped her mouth shut and tore her eyes away from Damian to land on the skater. 

“Alix,” she hissed, “why is he so damn hot?” Alix smirked at her friend’s rare use of a curse word and watched as Marinette’s face started to pinken and she ducked behind the kitchen counter. Alix leaned over the counter and saw the tip of her friend’s head. 

“Relax,” she tried to be reassuring but couldn’t stop grinning. She heard footsteps get closer and whispered, “he’s coming,” before plopping back onto her seat. 

Damian walked into Marinette’s view and stopped to look at her on the floor with a scowl that Alix was sure was not helping Marinette’s situation. 

“What are you doing on the floor, Dupain-Cheng?” Alix snickered while Marinette shot up on her feet. 

“He’s a male Chloe Bourgeois!” she said mostly to herself. 

“None of your business. I see you haven’t changed a bit, Old Man.” Damian scoffed. 

“Neither have you, it seems, Sunshine Face.” Wow. Bad nickname. 

“Oh,” Marinette placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, “so you still admit my face is pretty?” Oooo, where did Marinette get her game?

“What? No. More like I can’t look at it for too long because-” 

Marinette began waving her hands back and forth to get him to stop, “ok ok ok,” where was she getting this confidence? She was literally hiding from him five seconds ago. “When you explain it, it loses the humor, did you learn nothing all those years ago?” Marinette shakes her head and Alix silently agrees, “pity. Anyways, my cooking has improved, as well as everything about me, I have clearly surpassed you, and here is some spaghetti we made while you were napping.” She grabbed a plate and waved her hand towards the food still on the stove while handing it to him, “help yourself.” She walked by him and headed to the couch where Jason and Dick had settled and plopped between them while they played video games. Alix nodded in approval as she watched Marinette walk away. When she turned back she found Damian watching her as well with cheeks slightly tinted pink. Wow. Does every boy she talks to fall for her? Even Kagami, poor soul, had fallen for Marinette as quickly as she could say “Begone, Adrien.”

This is going to be a fun week. 

---

Marinette groaned in despair. Nino walked in with a blue shirt with a white outline of Adrien’s face like he was some kind of pop star and a red hat that of course said “Team Adrien”  

“What's next,” Marinette mumbled to herself while leaning back and crossing her arms, “Team Damian?” Marinette heard a gasp and turned to see Alix staring at her like she had the greatest idea ever. 

Very suddenly things clicked for Marinette. Her classmates were picking sides of who she should date. Adrien or Luka. It was literally the only connection she could find between the two boys, they only had about one or two conversations together in their entire lives and Marinette was definitely terrible at keeping her crushes secret so there was no way that at least Kitty Section would know about it. And thinking about Kitty Section they were the ones who started it. Oh no. Marinette made those shirts. Does Luka know? Probably. Adrien definitely doesn’t. Wwwooowww. Some friends she has. 

And now Alix. 

That BRAT! She was typing something on her phone… oh no. 

“Alix,” Marinette said slowly as if approaching a rabid dog while unraveling her arms from her body. “Alix, no!” She jumped from her seat and lunged for the skater over Mylene who merely leaned back in her seat as if she’d been through this a million times. Alix jumped back while continuing to type then very clearly pressing send. “Noooooo…” Marinette slumped onto Mylene’s lap who patted the top of her head in pity. 

She laid there for a moment taking in Mylene’s silent comfort before slowly standing up and ignoring everyone’s stares. She straightened her clothes saying a polite, “thank you, Mylene,” and a nod at her before focusing her gaze on Alix. “You’re dead, Kubdel,” she said then turning around and sitting straight backed on her seat trying desperately to ignore another snapshot of Adrien in a Gabriel line of workout clothes showing off his muscles on the back of Nino’s new shirt. 

Marinette was slowly losing her mind. 

---

The next day Alix walked in with a black shirt with green bold font saying “TEAM DAMIAN” on the front and she could feel Marinette staring daggers at her. She purposefully exposed her back to the class so they could see the “FIND YOUR OWN GIRL” printed on the back. 

Alix ignored the stares while pulling out her school things until she heard Lila’s sickening sweet voice call out to, “who’s Damian?” Alix waited for a beat to make sure everyone was listening before smiling smugly, she couldn’t help it, and shrugging. 

“Damian Wayne, obviously.” 

---

Marinette would deny it but she felt a sick sort of satisfaction when Lila’s face paled. 

BONUS:

“Plagg!” Adrien sounded exasperated and the little god chuckled evilly. It was such fun to tease his holder. The boy hadn’t caught on that his infatuation with Ladybug was just that: infatuation. He couldn’t see that he merely admired the girl, his father saw to it that Adrien was so sheltered that he couldn’t separate his feelings of the different types of love. 

“Just saying, I know what you're doing there, “chaton”,” plagg mimicked Luka’s voice perfectly on the last word which instantly made Adrien become very red in the face, “you and I know what team you play for.” He threw the boy a wink and cackled before leaving him to ponder his words as he searched for more Camembert. 

---

Felix rolled his eyes at his phone and quickly pressed the unfollow button on his cousin. What an embarrassment. He had absolutely no clue what he was throwing away because of his naïvety. 

---

“I can feel your rage from here, Kagami.” 

“Sorry, mother.” Kagami’s mother nodded her head as an acceptance of her apology. 

“I’ve heard about that pesky little feud Gabriel’s child is in.” She stayed quiet for a moment but Kagami didn’t break the silence. “You are a Tsurugi, Kagami. No hesitation.” Kagami couldn’t stop the little smile that slid onto her face. 

“Yes, mother,” she said quietly. 

-------

Team Luka: 

Lila, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, Sabrina, Adrien

Team Adrien: 

Alya, Chloe, Nino, Kim, Max, Mylene

Team Damian: 

Alix, Dick, Tim, Jason, Bruce

some long ass notes: 

I didn’t add kagami and felix into the mix because it would really complicate things but for clarification in my mind Marinette and everyone is between 14-16 and Marinette doesn’t know it but she does have feelings for kagami but she's focused on the other two boys, she knows she likes boys and doesn't want to think about girls since it would complicate her situation and open a door to many more problems with her poor little teen heart. Kagami knows she likes Marinette though, she took one look at marinette and said “nope. Bye Adrien.”

SO i think it be pretty cool if whoever wants to can reply with their own versions of whatever ships they want and the characters interactions with them. I won’t be actually putting any characters together as to leave the imagination up to the reader but if you want you can go ahead and add yourselves to whatever team you want (: 

Part 1

@miracleofadisaster @consumeconstantly @mermaidreject @alenee13 @how-to-fuction-properly @dreamykitty25 @certifiedbidisaster @kris-pines04 @ira-sairain @crystalangelluna @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @our-preciousss @iamabrownfox @susiej1118 @thenillabean @tired-butterfly @fantasyislive @prudencerika @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @clumsy-owl-4178 @notmycupoftea26 @iamablinkmarvelarmy

[miraculous-ladybug-et-chat-noir]

Overwhelming

Request: No

Pairing: Rose Lavillant x Reader

Prompt: The reader is struggling with self-deprecating thoughts and an overwhelming sadness that insists no one loves them. Rose is there to ensure them that that is not true. They are very loved, by her.

“Sure there are people out there who love you, I do.”

Warning(s): TW: self-deprecating thoughts, angst, the reader is not being very kind to themselves

A/N: I will not be including any physical self-harm in this fic, at this point the reader is merely hating who they are but not harming themselves physically. Also, note that this is only a fic, someone professing their love won’t magically fix everything, but it does help to know someone is rooting for you Xx. If you ever need to talk, my inbox is always open.

(Not my GIF)

(Y/N)’s all-consuming thoughts were clouding their judgments from the moment they woke up. It was a subtle flutter of anxiety circulating in their chest. A sudden doubt was invoked seemingly overnight. Though that wouldn’t be accurate. There was always that cloud in their mind telling them that something wasn’t right, but they could never figure out what it was. It just happened to be that particular day that hit them the hardest.

They woke with that sense of dread that had developed over time, only they felt it tenfold. They had the overwhelming need to cry. Cry over what? Nothing, but also everything. It was so overwhelming living their life and after days of dragging on without the sweet relief of letting everything out, their feelings were starting to overflow like a river after heavy rain. Yet they refused to allow the tears to stream down their cheeks. No matter what their heart was feeling, they wouldn’t let anyone know what they were going through. Why would they want to bother anyone with their pity party? It’s not like they’d care anyway.

So (Y/N) forced themselves out of bed and dragged themselves to the bathroom to ready themselves for the day. They spent some time staring at themselves in the mirror. Taking notice of the bags under their eyes. The stress was clearly written all over their face. They forced a smile, trying to convince themselves that they were okay. ‘Just one more day,’ they promised, ‘One more day and then you can be the sad sack of shit that you really are.’ It was a routine, forcing themselves to bore through life.

Once they were finally ready for school, they forced that smile back on their face and proceeded out the door. They decided to walk to school rather than burden their mother with the task of driving them to school, though she had persisted. It was merely her obligation as a mother to care for them. They blasted music through their earbuds on the way, drowning out the world around them. For a moment they felt peace, it was just the music blasting in their ears and the worries and doubts were drowned out. That is until they got to school.

Here is where the real test would begin. It was rather easy to convince their parents they were okay. It was a quick “good morning” and a “see you later,” so (Y/N) did not need to worry about them asking any questions. However, now they were at school where even people you never talked to would press their noses into your business. (Y/N) had kind of hoped they’d be late to avoid talking to their friends, not that they didn’t like their friends, no, they loved them. But… they couldn’t help the guilt and dread at seeing them. Maybe they didn’t want to see them, and they were just too nice to actually say anything. Maybe it’d just be easier if they just stopped talking to them, stopped burdening them with their presence.

“Hey (Y/N)!” Marinette greeted happily.

What (Y/N) would give to have her constant good mood, “hey,” They waved with a strained smile.

“We were thinking of hanging out after school, care to join?” Alya slung her arm over their shoulder.

(Y/N) looked from Marinette to Alya, did they really want to hang out with them? Or were they just trying to be nice?

“I don’t know if I can, I’ll let you know, okay?” (Y/N) subtly shrugged out from under Alya’s arm.

“No problem, hopefully, you can,” Marinette grinned.

“Yeah, hopefully,” (Y/N) agreed halfheartedly.

“Marinette,” Alya singsonged teasingly, “Look at what Adrien is wearing!” She smirked when she noticed the blond boy walk in sporting the blue scarf that Marinette had knit for him. Marinette’s cheeks flushed red and her face turned to panic.

“Go say hi!” Alya urged.

“I-I can’t!” Marinette shook her head, “Come with me! Please?” She pleaded.

Alya sighed, “sooner or later you’ll need to speak to him by yourself,” despite her words, she trailed after her best friend. Alya glanced back at (Y/N), “coming?”

“Uh, no, I’ll be fine,” They brushed off, “I have to get something out of my locker,” They lied.

“Okay, see you in class,” Alya smiled and waved.

(Y/N) waved back and once Alya was no longer looking at them, their hand dropped and their shoulders dropped. They shuffled toward their locker even though they didn’t need to. Their mind was too occupied, on autopilot rather than actually focusing on where they were going. How would they get out of hanging out later? Why shouldn’t they go have fun? ‘They only invited you to be nice,’ They thought. Was it a genuine invite? Or was it out of obligation? (Y/N) leaned against their locker. They slowly sunk until they were sitting. They ignored the people around them.

It’d probably be best if they just disappeared. Who would miss them?

“(Y/N)?” A soft voice spoke nearby.

(Y/N) looked up, startled by the sudden appearance of Rose. “Sorry, am I in your way?” (Y/N) moved to get up and make room for Rose.

“No, silly. I just wanted to talk to you,” Rose beamed.

“Oh…” (Y/N) wasn’t sure what to say.

“I couldn’t help but notice… Are you okay?” Rose sat next to them, concern etched on her delicate features.

And there was the million-dollar question. ‘Are you okay?’ (Y/N) couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out. No. No, they were not okay.

Rose’s brows furrowed, even more, the tears slipping down (Y/N)’s cheeks didn’t go unnoticed. “(Y/N)?” Rose spoke softly.

(Y/N) shook their head. They furiously wiped away their tears, suddenly angry at themselves for allowing themselves to cry, especially in front of sweet innocent Rose. Rose was like a ray of sunshine, she was like a warm spring day. Rose was perfect. She shouldn’t be worrying over someone like (Y/N). “I-I don’t-” Their voice cracked. They couldn’t speak. The more they tried, the more they began to sob uncontrollably. It was a wonder no one called the authorities on them and had them admitted to an asylum.

Rose pulled them into her arms, allowing them to cry into her chest. Her heart broke seeing someone she loved cry so brokenly. How long had they felt like this? What if this could have been prevented? If only she had asked before, maybe (Y/N) wouldn’t be this upset.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” Rose murmured softly. She pressed a kiss to the top of (Y/N)’s head, “I’ve got you.”

(Y/N) took in a shuddering breath. This was embarrassing. How could they burden Rose with their issues? “S-sor-sorry,” They hiccuped out.

“Sorry? What for?” Rose lifted (Y/N)’s face to look into their eyes. She wiped away their tears as they fell.

“M-me,” (Y/N) swallowed around the lump in their throat.

“(Y/N), you have nothing to be sorry for.” Rose lightly brushed their (H/C) hair behind their ear.

“O-of co-course I do! You-you shouldn’t be bur-burdened by th-this,” (Y/N) furiously wiped away their tears, ashamed of the meltdown they were having, at school no less.

“(Y/N), listen to me,” Rose forced them to look into her eyes again, “You are not a burden.”

“B-”

“No! I won’t hear you say otherwise!” Rose snapped. The fury in her eyes spoke volumes. “You are not a burden.” She repeated.

(Y/N) looked from her determined eyes to her set jaw. They’ve never seen such insistence in her before. “Then why do I feel this way?” They spoke softly.

Rose sighed and pulled them in for another hug, “honestly? I don’t know… but you are an amazing person, (Y/N). Anyone would be lucky to have you in their life.”

(Y/N) scoffed, “Yeah, sure.”

Rose frowned and lightly slapped their arm, “I’m serious.”

“Yeah, so am I,” (Y/N) sucked in a deep breath, steadying the shakiness in their voice. “I can’t help but feel like everyone hates me. Almost as much as I do.” They whispered.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Lots of people love you!” Rose rubbed their arm soothingly. It hurt hearing such hateful remarks coming from their lips.

(Y/N) shook their head, “I just feel like they’re all pretending or just tolerating me. No one loves me.”

“Sure there are people out there who love you!” Rose bit her lip nervously, “I do.”

(Y/N) looked at her in disbelief. No one who is as perfect as Rose could ever love them… Right?

Rose gave them a nervous smile. She shrugged, “It’s probably not a good time to tell you, but I do. I love you, (Y/F/N).”

Okay, maybe it wasn’t impossible after all, “I love you too, Rose.”

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien: Zebras Can’t Change Their Stripes: Chapter One

Read it on AO3: Zebras Can’t Change Their Stripes: Chapter One

A whole week had passed since The Breakup, and Luka was still reeling.

“You brought this upon yourself,” he reminded bitterly as he rolled over and found the space on the bed next to him empty and cold.

He kept telling himself, “You broke up with her”, “It was the right thing to do”, and “You couldn’t keep waiting for her to move on. That wasn’t healthy”, but the words never quite sank in.

One week later, he was even more of a mess than when he’d finally gotten the courage to break things off. The pain of being without her, knowing that it was really over, was worse than having her by his side knowing that she was thinking about someone else when she kissed him.

At least before he’d had a place in her heart, even if it was only second.

With a groan, Luka pushed himself up to sitting and grabbed his phone off the nightstand.

There was a text from Juleka berating him for drinking too much, not returning her texts, and taking crap care of himself.

Rose had also sent him a message reminding him about family dinner that Sunday.

Jacob, the bassist from his band Eternal Nocturne, had texted him not to be late for the auditions for a new lead singer that afternoon.

Luka cursed, setting his phone down without replying to anyone. He scrubbed his face with both hands and then forced himself to kick the covers off and get up.

It was already almost noon, and the mature, adult part of his brain knew that he had to get his stuff together. He was twenty-six, and he’d been through breakups before. He would survive this one as well…even though it didn’t feel like it at the moment.

He pushed himself out of bed and began to search around for something clean to wear.

He really needed to do laundry. And the dishes. And the grocery shopping.

Luka winced as he uncovered a lacey pink bra with white polka dots under a pile of jeans that reeked of alcohol and stale bar smell.

He needed to make a breakup box, put all of her leftover things in it, and send it back to her.

His heart sank at that realization, the finality of it.

He put the bra back under the jeans and promised himself he’d deal with it later. When he was feeling better…. Whenever that happened to be.

The important thing just then was to find something that could pass as clean so that he could get to the audition and not let his bandmates down. He was already disappointing himself and his family. He needed to do right by somebody at least.

 Adrien was screwed.

He’d been back in Paris for two days, and, already, his funds were almost entirely used up. He’d found a cheap hostel in Pigalle where he’d been able to shower and get a decent night’s rest without having to worry about anyone bothering him, but he wouldn’t be able to stay there for much longer unless he found work.

That was turning out to be much harder than anticipated. In Paris, people were a lot stricter about having to have valid identification to secure employment. They were also a lot more persnickety about hiring Adrien Agreste, even if it was just to wash dishes, clean hotel rooms, or wait tables.

Maybe he could talk to the owners of the hostel about working the front desk. He’d done that before in Nice and Lyon.

If the situation really got dire, he could always try to find someone like Nino from his past who would be sympathetic and maybe let him sleep on a couch or something until he could get back up on his feet again.

He didn’t want to do that, but it was beginning to look like he had no other choice. It had been four years since his father’s arrest, four years since Adrien lost his family, his fortune, and even the ability to use his own name. He’d thought that maybe people would have cooled off and moved on, that it was safe to come back to Paris, back home…but it wasn’t looking like it so far.

He was starting to think that it had been a mistake to return, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. He was tired of roaming the country and scraping by, and he couldn’t go on like that any longer. He wanted to establish roots and make a place for himself. He wanted to feel grounded again.

He was determined to figure things out and make it work, and if that meant going door to door to every restaurant, shop, and hotel in Paris until he found a job, that’s what he was going to do. He was through running away; it was time to settle down and make a life for himself.

He wasn’t sure what that life would look like, but if it included years of hard work, a partner who saw him and not his father’s crimes, some children who inherited his mother’s smile, and a pet or two, Adrien would be content.

He just had to find a job first so that he didn’t end up on the street nicking food out of restaurant dumpsters again.

As he descended the steps into the Métro, a flyer advertising auditions for a lead singer for a band caught Adrien’s eye.

He stopped and studied it, noting that auditions had begun twenty minutes prior at a bar just a few blocks away.

He grabbed the flyer and took off at a jog.

 “No one’s coming,” Jacob grumbled half an hour into the audition time when it became apparent that not a single soul was going to show up.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Josie the drummer agreed, tipping back on her barstool so that it balanced precariously on two legs. “So, what are we going to do without a vocalist?”

“Yeah, we’ve got that gig coming up this weekend,” Jacob reminded, chewing anxiously on his bottom lip.

Josie and Jacob both looked to Marc—guitarist, keyboardist, and the band’s unofficial leader/mum.

“Josephine, don’t do that; you’re going to fall,” Marc sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “…I mean, I can cover lead for one night.”

“Who’s going to do your backup vocals, then,” Josie demanded, setting her stool legs back on the ground.

“Luka can,” Marc informed.

Jacob snorted. “Luka’s drunk.”

“Luka is not drunk,” Marc growled defensively. “He knows better than to show up drunk. He’s just hung over, isn’t that right, Luc?”

“Yes, and I’m nursing a killer headache, so if we could take the volume of the talking down a few decibels, it would be greatly appreciated,” Luka groaned, pulling his newsboy cap down a little further to shield his eyes from the bright light emanating from the stage where the people auditioning were supposed to be performing.

“And who’s going to do Luka’s backup vocals?” Josie persisted, lowering her voice out of consideration for Luka.

“I don’t know. Jacob?” Marc suggested uncertainly.

Josie let out a bark of laughter. “Jacob can’t walk and talk at the same time. How is he supposed to play and sing?”

“Josie,” Marc scolded. “Be nice.”

“No, she’s got a point,” Jacob cut in. “I’ve walked into poles before because I didn’t see them because I was talking to someone. Multitasking really isn’t my strong suit.”

Marc opened his mouth to reply, paused to consider his words, and then shut his mouth.

“Excuse me?” a new voice called out.

The band turned their heads to find a thin, scraggly young man standing in the doorway.

He had scruffy, wild blonde hair and piercing peridot eyes, and it was impossible to say how old he was exactly. He looked young, but he had one of those ageless faces that could have just as easily been twenty as forty. His clothes had been expensive, good quality when they were new, but now they were well-worn and showing their age.

“Are auditions over already?” he inquired, taking a tentative step into the bar.

The door closed behind him, and now that he wasn’t backlit by the daylight pouring in from outside, Luka could see him clearly.

His eyes widened as he recognized his former crush whom he hadn’t seen in four long years.

“No, we’re still going,” Jacob informed.

“You here to try out, Kid?” Josie asked with a big smile, turning on her stool to face him.

Adrien nodded, holding up the flyer in his hand. “I just learned about the audition, like, ten minutes ago, so I don’t have anything prepared in advance, but I’m a good singer with a pretty expansive range. I’m a quick study too, so, if you teach me, I’ll pick up your songs right away.”

“All right,” Marc agreed with a grin. “Go ahead and take the stage, and we’ll see what you’ve got. What’s your name?”

“Émile,” Adrien responded with a smile as he took his spot in front of the microphone. “Émile Dupain.”

Luka frowned.

Surely, he wasn’t mistaken. The years had changed Adrien, yes, but he wasn’t that different. Luka knew that face, those eyes, that smile.

“Nice to meet you, Émile,” Marc greeted amicably. “I’m Marc. I play keyboard and some guitar depending on the song. I also do backup vocals.”

“I’m Josie. Percussion,” Josie took over. “This idiot is Jacob, our bassist,”

Jacob gamely raised a hand. “Sup.”

“and Mr. Doom and Gloom over there is Luc,” Josie completed the introductions. “He plays guitar and does backup vocals. Ignore him for right now. He just broke up with his girlfriend, so he’s kind of in a funk. Normally, he’s the nicest person, so give him another week and you’ll be best friends.”

“Thank you for broadcasting all that, Josie,” Luka grumbled as he waved at Adrien, just waiting for him to recognize Luka.

He worried that if Adrien were trying to conceal his identity, he wouldn’t appreciate the reunion, but a part of Luka hoped that Adrien would be excited to see him again. Luka was certainly happy to see Adrien.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Adrien replied, friendly expression not changing in the slightest. “What kind of music do you guys usually play?”

Luka fought down a tsunami of disappointment at Adrien not seeming to recognize him.

“Usually alternative or punk,” Marc supplied, not appearing to notice the way Luka slumped in his chair. “We mostly do covers, but we have our own songs too. Our next show is Saturday, but we’ll just be doing covers for that one, so it shouldn’t be too hard for you to get up to speed if we decide to hire you.”

Adrien nodded. “Sounds good. I’m a hard worker, so I’ll get the music memorized right away and be ready for the show.”

“Have you ever been in a band before, Émile?” Josie inquired curiously.

“Yes,” Adrien answered with confidence. “I’m a little out of practice at the moment, but I played keyboard and did a little bit of backup vocals.”

“What kind of band was it?” Marc asked.

“Uh…the genre’s called kawaiicore, if you’ve heard of it,” Adrien informed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Jacob’s forehead furrowed in concentration as he tried to recall. “It sounds familiar, but I’m coming up blank. What’s kawaiicore?”

“You know when I showed you Babymetal?” Luka reminded.

Jacob’s face lit up, and Josie started to nod too.

“Like Kitty Section!” Jacob exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Adrien perked up. “That’s—”

He cut himself off and went pale when he realized that telling them that he had been the keyboardist in Kitty Section was just as good as revealing his identity.

“That’s right,” Adrien completed. “Like Kitty Section. I can do other genres, though. I can sing anything: musical theatre, opera, jazz, pop—whatever.”

“So, what will you be singing for us today?” Marc prompted, very interested in seeing what Adrien would come up with.

“Well, I’ve kind of been living under a rock lately, so I’m not exactly up on what’s popular now,” Adrien hedged. “I mostly listen to music in Japanese, so maybe I could just sing something so that you can see if my voice is a good fit for you guys, and then you can give me a list of songs you usually do so that I can memorize them.”

“Sounds fair,” Josie replied with a shrug. “So, what are you going to sing?”

Adrien bit his lip and took a deep breath, scanning his mind for a song that would show off his abilities.

“Do you know Charles?” Luka spoke up. “That was popular a couple years ago. If you know that one, I could play the guitar part along with you.”

Adrien had been the one to introduce the song to Luka, and they’d played it together with Kitty Section with Adrien doing the main vocals. Luka still played that song from time to time when he was feeling nostalgic.

On stage, Adrien’s eyes widened in surprise. “Uh…yeah. Yeah, I know Charles. It’s one of my favourites. You wouldn’t mind?”

He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at Luka’s facial features, but the hat blocked Adrien’s view, and it was difficult to discern Luka’s face clearly in the dim lighting of the bar when contrasted with the blinding lights on stage.

“I’d be happy to,” Luka assured, reaching down to grab his guitar off of the amp where it lay.

“Thank you,” Adrien replied with a big smile that made Luka positive that he hadn’t been mistaken about “Émile’s” identity. “Ready when you are.”

Luka counted them in and began to play.

Adrien blew the band away with his vocals. His voice was smooth and lyrical, gliding over the notes like a swan across a pond.

“He has really clear intonation,” Marc hummed softly in approval to his bandmates after listening to Adrien sing for a bit.

“And he wasn’t lying about his range,” Josie chuckled as she drummed out the rhythm on her thighs and danced in her seat.

“I certainly can’t hit those notes,” Jacob laughed.

“Neither can I,” Josie snorted. “Well, maybe on a good day, but not the way he does. He just shoots all the way up there and drops back down again like it’s nothing.”

“It’s so clean too,” Marc added. “His voice doesn’t crack or squeak or waver or anything. He hits those notes dead center, and then he stays there until it’s time to move to the next note.”

“I think we struck gold,” Jacob snickered.

“He’s super cute too.” Josie smirked deviously. “He’s sure to attract a crowd. We just need to put some eyeliner on him and get him in leather pants, and—”

“—Distracting me,” Luka hissed quietly so that he wouldn’t interrupt Adrien.

Jacob waggled his eyebrows as he whispered, “What? Imagining Émile in leather pants?”

“Jacques,” Luka warned testily.

“He’s totally your type, though,” Josie joined in helpfully. “I think a new romance is just the thing to get you over your breakup.”

“Jacob, Josephine,” Marc called quietly but firmly. “Leave him alone.”

Josie and Jacob both held up their hands in a placating gesture and let the subject drop.

Luka redoubled his focus on his fingers, trying to banish the thought of Chat Noir from his mind.

“Waraiatte sayonara,” Adrien finished softly and then looked to the band for their judgment call.

Jacob started clapping, and Josie wolf-whistled.

“Can we do that song sometime?” Jacob directed at Marc. “I bet the bass part is killer.”

“Yeah!” Josie cheered. “I can’t wait to get my drumsticks on that.”

“I don’t see why we couldn’t,” Marc agreed and then turned back to Adrien with a smile. “You really can sing. That was great.”

“You think so?” Adrien asked with a breathless giddiness, starting to squirm in excitement.

“Definitely,” Luka assured. “You sing like an angel.”

“Make him sing something else,” Josie demanded of Marc who had the grace to blush.

“Josephine, I can’t just make him sing for us,” he sighed and then looked to Adrien. “Would you mind singing something else?”

“Not at all,” Adrien easily agreed, eager to please.

He needed the job desperately, and if he could get paid just for singing, that was certainly easier than anything else he’d done for money the past four years.

“Um…let me think of something else I could sing for you,” he mumbled, chewing on his lip as he wracked his thoughts.

“…Do you know Ranbu no Melody?” Luka suggested. “That’s another one I could play along with you, if you’re familiar with it. I only know the minute and a half that was used as the Bleach opening theme song, though.”

“Yeah, I think I remember how that version goes,” Adrien fibbed.

Luka and Adrien had watched portions of Bleach together, and Adrien had sung along with all of the openings. If Luka still remembered the guitar part, surely, Adrien remembered the lyrics.

Luka counted them in again, and Adrien proved not to have forgotten at all. He sang with every ounce of confidence and enthusiasm that he had back when they’d been teenagers watching anime together.

It was reassuring for Luka to know that, even though Adrien might have changed in the years they’d been apart, there were some things that remained the same.

“How do you know all this weeb music, Luka?” Jacob wondered.

“The Boy was a total anime nerd,” Luka explained with an affectionate smile.

Jacob and Josie let out soft “Oooooh”s and started to nod.

The Boy was practically a mythical figure at this point in their friendship. Luka had talked a lot about The Boy over the years, just like he’d talked a lot about The Girl. Luka had dated many people and loved a small handful, but no one had penetrated so deeply into Luka’s heart as Adrien and Marinette.

“…He’s really good,” Marc observed, visibly delighted as he listened to Adrien. “He puts a lot of emotion into his voice, and I am loving it.”

“Yeah,” Jacob chimed in. “I have no idea what the hell he’s saying, but I feel it, Man. It’s intense.”

Luka’s smile turned melancholy as he remarked, “If I remember correctly, the song is about soldiering on and taking on whatever difficulty is in front of you and then carrying those experiences forward to present them to the person you want to spend your life with. It’s kind of like…we’re the sum of our experiences, and the singer hopes that the person they love will accept them anyway, even though they’ve got cracks and jagged edges in places.”

“Wow,” Josie whispered. “That’s…deep.”

“That’s what I got out of it, anyway,” Luka quickly added. “The Boy translated it into French for me, and then I kind of interpreted it artistically, taking some liberties, but that’s what I got out of it.”

“I like this song,” Jacob decided, tapping his foot along. “I like this kid.”

“We’re adopting him,” Josie decreed.

“Yeah.” Jacob nodded resolutely. “I need to get him to show me more weeb music. I feel like I’ve been missing out.”

“Wooo!!!” Josie cheered loudly as Adrien finished. “We love you!”

“Sing more!” Jacob encouraged as he clapped.

A blush spread across Adrien’s cheeks like fire catching on dried grass.

He rubbed at the back of his neck and looked to Marc for instruction, sensing that Marc was the leader of their little circus.

“I think it would be good if we all played something together to see if we mesh well as a band,” Marc decided. “Would that be okay with you, Émile?”

Adrien nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, of course.”

Jacob turned to Luka. “What song does he know that we could all play?”

Luka shrank, semi-hiding behind his guitar. “Why are you asking me?”

“You did the psychic thing with the songs in Japanese,” Jacob reasoned with a shrug. “Do it again.”

“Yeah,” Josie urged, reaching across Marc to poke Luka. “Do it.”

“I don’t know,” Luka grumbled. “How about This is Gospel? We play that one sometimes.”

And he had taught Adrien how to play it on guitar, so maybe Adrien remembered the lyrics.

“I know that one,” Adrien offered.

“Awesome!” Josie trilled, jumping down from her stool and heading over to the stage to join Adrien.

Once she reached him, she pulled him into a crushing hug.

It was kind of cute. Josie was a statuesque six-foot-two, and Adrien was only five-eight. (Five-ten with shoes on, he used to always insist, sensitive about his lack of height.)

“Hi. We’re adopting you,” Josie informed him as she pulled back with a grin and then abruptly turned on her heel and headed for her drum set.

Marc shook his head, getting up and making his way to the stage to turn on his keyboard.

“Josephine, don’t scare the poor kid,” he chastised wearily.

“I’m not!” she insisted. “I’m being friendly!”

Marc placed a hand on Adrien’s shoulder as he passed, assuring, “She means well. If we ever make you uncomfortable, just say something, okay?”

“It’s fine,” Adrien assured, wiping at the tears beading at the corners of his eyes, hoping that Marc couldn’t see. “I’m just…I’m not used to people being so friendly. I don’t…people don’t hug me. Ever.”

Marc frowned at that, his mum senses kicking in. “Do you like being hugged?”

Adrien nodded.

“Okay then.” Marc didn’t even hesitate as he pulled Adrien in for a hug—not a guy hug with a pat on the back, but an honest to goodness hug.

He pulled back with a smile, instructing, “Just let us know whenever you want a hug, okay? You’re family now. Family get hugs whenever.”

Adrien had to actually bite his tongue to hold in a whimper. He couldn’t find his voice to reply, so he nodded and rubbed away the tears that were quickly taking the previous ones’ place.

“I’ll give you a hug in a minute, Kid,” Jacob assured, picking up his bass. “I’m just lazy, and I’m already set up over here.”

“Same,” Luka latched onto Jacob’s excuse, figuring that now wasn’t the best time for a reunion with Adrien.

Josie counted them in and started the heartbeat-like rhythm that began the song.

Adrien took a deep breath and sang.

The full sound of the band all playing together resonated powerfully through the bar, giving Adrien chills.

It wasn’t perfect. The timing was a little off in places, and Adrien needed to learn his cues if he was going to sync up with the others. They needed to work out the backup vocals and other little things to make the performance come out smooth, but they were starting in a good place. They could polish this up and make it shine.

It felt good to be playing with a band again. Adrien hadn’t realized how much he’d missed making music with others, being a part of a team.

He’d been so alone these past four years.

Partly that was his own fault. He’d run away both literally and figuratively and shut people out who otherwise would have been there for him. He’d let pride and shame and fear of rejection win…and now he was finally realizing how exhausting it had been.

Now that these nice people were opening up to him and accepting him into their little family, it finally dawned upon Adrien that he’d been foolish to try to make it on his own for so long. He hadn’t realized how draining it had been until he’d been offered the chance to rest.

He needed to call Nino and reconnect.

He needed to find Marinette and apologize for giving up his Miraculous and taking off because he’d been overwhelmed after his father’s arrest and hadn’t felt worthy of being Chat Noir.

He needed to fix things, fix his life.

As the song came to an end, a feeling of calm and peace settled over Adrien.

He was still broke and not sure where his next meal was coming from or if he’d have a roof over his head in the intervening days between now and the show on Saturday when he’d presumably get paid, but, oddly enough, he felt a little better about things.

“We killed that,” Jacob preened as he set down his bass and went over to join the others on stage. “Excellent work, Kid,” he announced, pulling Adrien into a hug.

“I’m guessing I got the job?” Adrien hazarded a guess, looking around at his bandmates for confirmation.

“Oh, definitely,” Josie assured. “You know that one meme? ‘I’ve only known Émile for twenty minutes, but if anything happened to him, I’d kill everyone and then myself.’”

Adrien cracked up, beaming. “I don’t think anyone’s ever felt that strongly about me before.”

“Poor boy. And now he’s stuck with us,” Jacob snickered, giving Adrien’s hair a tussle.

“Let’s exchange contact information so we can get ahold of you,” Marc suggested. “Are you available tomorrow? We’re going to need a lot of rehearsal time between now and Saturday in order to be ready.”

“Yes. I’m available,” Adrien quickly confirmed. “I don’t have a phone, though, so if we could communicate by email, that would be great. I’m le chat de la princesse de la nuit on gmail. All lowercase and run together.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Marc assured, getting out his phone and opening up a new email. “I’ll email you all of our numbers and emails so you can get in touch with us. I’ll email you again later with the place and time. It’ll probably be Phantasmagoria over in the eighth arrondissement. You know it?”

Adrien nodded. “I had a friend whose band played there. He used to sneak me in before I turned eighteen.”

The fond smile on Adrien’s face gave Luka some hope that maybe he was still a good memory for Adrien and that Adrien wouldn’t be too upset when he realized just whose band he had inadvertently joined.

It didn’t occur to Adrien until later to wonder if Luka still played at Phantasmagoria and if Raoul the bartender still worked there and would recognize Adrien.

“Good,” Marc chuckled. “I’m glad you know it. Like I said, I’ll confirm place and time later this afternoon.”

He then turned to Luka. “Hey, Rich Boy. Would you mind picking up a phone for Émile? It’s going to be really inconvenient if we can’t get ahold of him.”

“You don’t have to do to that!” Adrien looked frantically between Marc and Luka. “I’ll-I’ll pay you back when I can. I promise.”

“Don’t worry about it, Angel,” Luka assured with a kind smile as he got up and started to put his guitar away. “My bio dad got hit with a huge dose of guilt a few years ago for never bothering to find out I existed let alone pay child support for me, so I’ve got a ridiculous trust fund that I don’t know what to do with now.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed, and he wanted to protest out of principle, but even he had to acknowledge that it would be really useful to have a phone, and he was too down on his luck to afford one.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it, Luc,” he replied with sincerity.

“Sure thing.” Luka smiled, giving Adrien a wink and doing an internal victory dance when Adrien smiled back at him.

“…Well, I guess if you guys don’t need anything else from me, I’m going to head out,” Adrien excused himself politely, starting to make his way towards the door. “It was lovely meeting you all.”

“You too, Kid!” Jacob assured, and Josie seconded the sentiment.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Émile.” Marc waved him off. “Be safe.”

Adrien returned the wave and turned to go.

Luka bit his lip, debating with himself.

“What’s that face you’re making?” Josie snickered, coming back to perch on her barstool.

“You should go ask him out to coffee,” Jacob suggested as he came over, making a shooing gesture at Luka.

“Jacob will babysit your stuff for you,” Marc volunteered.

Luka looked to Jacob, and Jacob shrugged.

“We all want you to start feeling better soon,” Josie explained, giving Luka a soft smile. “Spending time with someone new will be good for you.”

“Just don’t come on too strong so that you scare him off,” Marc cautioned. “Don’t do that heart-song stuff. He’s a good kid, and we need him for Saturday.”

Luka rolled his eyes, handing his guitar to Jacob. “Thanks, guys, but this isn’t a romantic thing.”

“Uh-huh,” Josie agreed disingenuously, a cat-that-ate-the-canary smirk pulling at the corners of her lips.

“Have fun,” Jacob snickered.

Luka shook his head, making for the door.

He looked back and forth once he got outside of the bar and just happened to spot Adrien turning the corner.

He raced after him, slowing down as he began to catch up because he figured the last thing Adrien needed was someone he didn’t recognize barreling towards him and making him think he was in danger.

He decelerated into a walk and took a few deep breaths before calling out, “Adrien!”

Adrien froze, every muscle in his back going tense as he slowly turned.

“I’m sorry. I think you’ve confused me with someone el—” he started to say but then stopped short as he got a good look at Luka in the light of day without his cap obscuring the view.

Adrien’s eyes widened, his cheeks lost all colour, and his mouth dropped open.

“Luka?” he breathed, his heart stopping in his chest.

[howlingday]

THE DRAGON-SLAYER

"Aaaaaaah~! Another boring mission complete!" Yang Xiao Long yawned as she walked down the road through the forest. It was still about a day's trip until she returned to the guild hall. She was hoping for some more action, but eh, what could you do? "Least I got to try out that new move I was working on."

Yang couldn't wait to get back and rub it in her sister's face that she completed an B Ranked mission by herself without any help, something Ruby had yet to accomplish. B Ranked or not, though, it was still boring.

She slung her bag forward and fished around until she pulled out the poster to look over it again. It featured a terrifying looking bear on the illustration, with the words "TERROR BEAR" emboldened on the bottom. Yang scoffed as she crumpled the poster and shoved it back into her bag.

"Terror wuss is more like it." She looked to the sky and noticed the sun was blazing overhead through the trees, and she was grateful for the protection it offered. Tanning was fine, but a sunburn was the last thing she wanted. Well, a sunburn and another awful mission.

A rustle in the bushes caught her attention, causing her to stop and step into a combative stance. After that last dud of a fight, she was itching for a real fight.

If she wanted to fight a bunny, that is. A small, brown bunny hopped out, sniffing the dirt in the road, hoping to find roots or whatever rabbits ate out here.

"Aw!" Yang cooed as she squatted. "Well, aren't you just the cutest? I wish I had a carrot for ya, but I'm all out. I hope you're not- HOPPING mad about that!" Yang fell on her back and rolled around laughing, kicking her feet at her own joke. The rabbit gave a deadpan expression and jumped back into the bush. "What? Was it not a good pun? C'mon, be honest! No need to- beat around the BUSH!" Yang fell into another fit of laughter.

She sighed, then poked her head into the bush to look for the rabbit. It must have ran through it because the bush was empty. Yang stood up to see where her furriest critic ran off to.

The forest was dense with trees, tall grass, and bushes. It was alive with deer, butterflies, and songbirds. Yang smiled at the view. She wished she could see something as beautiful as this every day.

Looking closer, she spotted a waterfall crashing in the distance. She reached for her flask and gave it a shake. Not empty, but also not full. No harm in a refill.

Another thought came as she lifted her arm higher and took a quick whiff of herself. "Urp! Yeah, a shower wouldn't hurt, either!"

Yang stepped over the bush and deeper into the treeline. She stepped carefully around the barbed vines growing in the tall grass, and waved away at the biting insects that also called this forest home. In a few moments, she reached her destination at the beautiful, glistening blue pond, complete with a crashing waterfall.

"Any perverts out there?" Yang dropped her bag and looked behind her; then to her left; then to the right. "Alright then. Either you're quiet, or you're not there. Either way," Yang took off her yellow jacket, "don't bother me."

"Aaaaaah! I'm so lost!" Jaune Arc was lost. Scratch that; lost implied he had no idea where he was, and he did know. He was in a forest. What he didn't know was where the nearest town was.

He had been wandering through this forest for days, but he always makes a wrong turn every time he reaches a split path. Right now, though, he was out of the treeline and following creekbed. He really wished his mom was here; she knew all about directions.

'No! Stop it! You're a big boy now, Jaune. Big boys don't need their moms!' Jaune's stomach growled. 'But what I wouldn't give for a hot meal right about now.'

Jaune looked to the sky. No clouds, which meant no rain, which meant only Sun for another few days, which meant more wandering around in the blistering heat. Jaune wasn't normally one for cursing things, but for the Sun, he was willing to make an exception.

The creekbed flowed with water, about ankle-deep, and Jaune was banking on this crystal-clear cascade flowed to a town water-wheel. Hopefully the water-wheel was attached to a house with food, like grilled fish, or a tasty pie. He could almost smell it now! He sniffed the air and it smelled like...

Coconut?

What were coconuts doing in the forest? Did coconuts grow in forests? No, that's not what his mom taught him. Coconuts grow on islands in the middle of the ocean. But weren't continents technically giant islands? He'd have to ask his mom later, but for now, he followed the scent.

Jaune almost walked off a cliff, and found the creek led to a glistening waterfall. At the bottom, where the waterfall pooled, Jaune saw a girl scrubbing her hair. Maybe she knew the way to town!

"Excuse me!" Jaune caught her attention. "Do you know the way to town?" Oh, neat! She was a wizard, too; and a pretty strong one at that, if the incantation circle told him anything.

"FIRE MAGIC: FIRECRACKER!" Yang blasted a set of five fireballs at her peeping tom. What was this guy's deal?! Didn't he know better than to sneak up on a girl in the shower?! Once her spell was cast, she bolted from the water, it's cool temptations dragging her in more than the actual water resistance. She toweled off and quickly put her clothes on. Once her jacket was on, however, the pervert was already halfway towards her! How does a creep like that move so fast?! And without so much as a scorch mark on him?!

He was clearly a powerful wizard, probably as strong as Uncle Qrow! She got into a combative stance as he stopped. He reached his hand out, probably in an attempt to grab her.

"Hi, I'm-"

"FIRE MAGIC: BOTTLE-ROCKET!" Yang launched herself away while simultaneously hurling three fireballs at her pursuer; much larger ones than her previous attack. Yet again, however, he shrugged it off like it was nothing! She might have to resort to punching the creep, but she wasn't going to rush in without thinking before doing that. "Okay; who are you, creep? You from a dark guild, or something?"

"A dark guild?" He gave her a confused look. Clearly, he was playing the ignorant and innocent card. It wasn't going to work on her. "No, I'm not from any guild. I'm Jaune Arc, from Argus."

"Argus? Across the water of the other side of the continent?"

"Yeah, have you heard of it?"

"Uh, only from what one of the other guild members told me. She said she grew up there."

"Oh, really? What's her name?" His smile did little to ease her fears. This guy was dangerous, and that was the only thing she knew about him besides his name and hometown.

"I'll answer you if you answer me, deal?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure."

"Okay, then, first question: why were you spying on me?"

"Uh, I wasn't spying on you."

"Then why were you on top of the waterfall?" Yang cracked her fingers, ready to launch another fire attack.

"I got lost, so I was just following the stream." He looked behind him towards the waterfall. "I was kind of hoping to find a water-wheel."

"A water-wheel? In the middle of the forest?"

"Yeah, I mean, it isn't the craziest thing I've heard of."

Yang looked him up and down. He definitely looked like an adventurer. He was wearing a plate mail cover on his chest and shoulder; a belt with a canteen and a pouch attached; and he was wearing a leather backpack over both shoulders. "Uh, can I ask you something?"

Yang blinked. "Uh, I guess."

"Am I in trouble?" Yang deadpanned. What was his first clue, the first attack, the follow-up, or that she was glaring daggers at him while in a combat stance? "Because if I am, I'd like to apologize for anything wrong I did."

"Yeah, no, pal. I don't let peeping toms get away scot-free, y'know?" Her muscles tensed like a coiled spring, ready to burst forward. Nothing was going to stop her from stomping this creep."

"Peeping tom? Were you naked?"

Yang suddenly felt the ground give beneath her, landing on her face. She stood up and nearly breathed fire on him. "Yes, you moron! How else would a girl be under a waterfall?!"

"I don't know. I thought you were doing some kind of monk training."

"Do I look like a monk to you?!" Yang growled, but then sighed. She gave up on this. There was no point. He's not a threat, not while being this stupid. "Look, I need to get back my guild. If I bring you to town, will that be enough for you to leave me alone?"

"Oh, uh, sure, but I didn't know I was bothering you. I'm sorry!"

Yang sighed. "This is going to be a long trip."

"So, you're from Argus?" Yang asked, trying to make small talk.

"Not originally, but I lived there for a while with my sister and her wife and son." Jaune was going to miss Adrien, but he could leech off his family for too long. He had to go out and make something of himself, like that girl who left before he showed up. What was her name Pina Nolada, or something? "I'm trying to find a guild to join."

"Where'd you live before that?"

"I was kind of wandering around for a little while."

"You didn't live anywhere?"

"Not since my mom left." Yang made a pained face. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just..." Yang sighed. "My mom left when I was young, too. My dad raised me and my sister all on his own."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Jaune felt a sympathetic sadness from hearing this; or maybe it was empathetic? In either case, Jaune made her feel sad, so he should cheer her up. "Hey, uh, check this out!"

Yang looked over to see Jaune pull the large sheath from his side. With the click of a button, the sheath expanded into a shield. Yang's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Wow," she said, "that's gotta be heavy!"

"Uh, yeah, it kind of is," Jaune groaned, "but it's a handy tool! I can block just about anything with it!"

"What about my fireballs?"

"Your what?"

"My fireballs. The magic I was shooting at you?"

Jaune's eyes went wide this time. "You were shooting magic at me?!"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Oh, um, don't take this the wrong way, but-" Luckily, Jaune's comment was cut off by a cry of terror. Yang must have heard it, too, since she sprinted towards the scream. Jaune returned to the shield to it's sheath form. "Yup, still just as heavy."

"Come on, sweetie; just one little kiss?" The petite girl was overshadowed by the taller, scruffy-faced man towering over her. The tanned skin of his arms were covered in scars, his long, greasy, black hair poured like thick oil from his white bandana on his head. The cackling demon image on the cloth seemed to sneer from it's perch above his brow.

"No! I already told I'm not interested!" The girl's rejection was met with a snapping finger, which signalled the three individuals behind him to continue their work.

The shortest of the trio had pale skin, and long white moustache. He stood no higher than the girl's knees, and seemed to delight in the fact as he passed by her to enter the back room. He began throwing supplies into the lobby, smashing containers and ripping bags while doing so.

The windows were worked over by a flat-nosed woman with round body. She took a deep breath and blew onto the window, melting the glass and the wood in the frame around it. She laughed, causing her belly to jiggle.

The third member, a tall man with dark skin and wearing black shades, placed his hands on the ceiling. He then grunted, flexing as he pushed on the ceiling, tearing it from the walls.

"So..." The scarred man said, grabbing the girl's chin and forcing her to look at him again. "About that kiss?"

The girl trembled. She wanted to look away, but her captor kept an iron grip on her head. She shut her eyes and clenched her jaw, wishing this nightmare would be over. That someone would save her!

"Hello?" Everyone in the room turned to see the blonde woman in the doorway. "Hi! Can I get some snacks for the road? Got a long trip ahead." The woman was followed a more blonde man, who seemed to actually take note of the carnage inside, if his shocked face was any indication. "Is the manager here?"

"Beeeeeeeeeat iiiiiiiiiit, blooooooondiiiiiiiie." the tall man said slowly, drawing the syllables out of every word as he spoke. As he turned to face her, the ceiling and roof over the store spun with him. "Stooooooorrrrrre's clooooooossssssssed."

"Really? Looks open to me." She cocked a smirked. "In fact, I'd say sales are "through the roof!" Eh? Eh?" She finger-gunned at her audience. No one was laughing. "Nothing? Eh, you must be more of a slapstick crowd, huh?"

The large, round woman waddled her way over to would-be comedienne, sneering at her. "Hmph! Such an ugly sense of humor befits a woman such as yourself."

"Huh?" The blonde woman looked up at her critic. "If you don't like it, that's fine, but there's no need to insult my looks."

"Hmph! With ratty locks, and a twig of a shape your form retains, you are hardly fit to be considered a full-figured maiden like moi!"

"Hang on," the blonde man stepped forward now, "Yang's right. You shouldn't be making fun of somebody's looks. Don't you know how rude that is, sir?"

The larger woman flinched, clenching her jaw in anger and grinding her teeth so intensely, you'd think sparks would start flying.

"Jaune," the blonde woman tapped his shoulder, "she's not a man." She whispered.

"Who isn't a man?"

"Hmph! Me!" The rotund madame barked. "I shall gift upon you such a mercy as to repent on your transgressions!"

"Huh?"

"She's telling you to say you're sorry."

"Oh! Uh, I'm sorry I mistook you for a man." Jaune apologized.

"Hmph! As you should be!"

"It's just, you don't look like any woman I've ever seen. To be honest, I thought you were some kind of weird, two-legged boar."

Everyone's jaw dropped. There was dense, and then there was stupid, but this was just downright brainless! Whoever told this guy that "honesty is the best policy" didn't bother to explain little white lies. And from the looks of it, he was going to live to regret it.

The portly woman ground her teeth violently and inhaled so deeply with her nose, she reeled her head back. She then swung forward as an incantation circle appeared behind. "MAIDEN'S KISS!"

A jet of white smoke escaped her mouth as she opened it. The blonde woman jumped out of the way, but the blonde man didn't, choosing instead to lift a white bar up and extend it into a shield. The attack was blocked by the shield, but the white smoke enveloped the man. As it dissipated, the round woman laughed.

"Hmph! Such is the tax of fools who dare question the virtues of a full-figured maiden such as myself!"

The gang of cronies laughed as well, with their leader grinning. These villains weren't going to stop at destroying property, and that suited them just fine. The girl trembled once again as she watched the cloud dissipate into nothing, leaving only a pool of brown sludge where the man stood.

"Phew! That was a close!" A voice said from above. Everyone looked up and saw the man hovering above them and slowly descending. "Good thing you lifted the ceiling, huh, big guy? A foot lower, and I could have been in some real trouble!"

"Hoooooooooooow aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrre yooooooooooou stiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllll aaaaaaaaaaaliiiiiiivvvvvvvvvve?"

"Well," the man said, finally touching ground in the goop, "I saw the melted window, but I didn't smell anything like wood burning, so your ability melts, but it doesn't burn. That requires a lot of heat, and heat rises. Decided to hitch a ride with my glide shield."

"Nice one, Jaune!"

"Thanks, Yang!"

"Yang?" The man in the bandana stepped away from the girl. "As in Yang Xiao Long, the Blonde Bombshell Brawler of Dryad's Tears?!"

Yang chuckled as she scratched an itch on her upper lip with her finger. "Oh, so you've heard of me? Well, glad to know I'm famous around here! Now, since you know who I am, why don't you tell me who you are?"

"Gladly." The man tightened the bandana on his head, making the demon image look more impressive. "The name is Zed, "Sin-Eater" Zed of Imp's Delight. And these are my Sons of Sin; "Luster-Loss" Asma; "Star-Grabber" Cin; and "Hoard-Stealer" Nom. We were just passing by when I decided to do some shopping here. Found me a pretty, little doll I like, so I tried to buy her. Unfortunately, the doll's owner didn't like the look of me, so I decided to take it for myself."

"What doll?" The blonde man asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What doll? This looks more like a farm supply store. I don't think they sell dolls here."

"Not normally, hehehehe, but this little peach right here is just ripe for the taking, hehehehe!" The short man said through giggling, grabbing for the girl with his prehensile moustache. She jumped away, only to end up in a corner. "Now, now, dear! No need to be fussy!"

"No! Stay away! No! No!" The girl cried as the hairs of his moustache wrapped around her legs. Nom cackled as he stepped closer.

"There's no point trying to break free, my dear! My hairs are so full, not even a charging rhino could break through! So just let me have some-"

SWISH!

Nom looked down from the girl's terrified face to her legs where his hairs fell limp. He continued down until he found a break in the line between his facial hairs and their end point.

"I don't know what you people think you're doing," Jaune spoke through gritted teeth, "but a person is a person, not some toy or a piece of fruit." He turned his head and faced Nom, his eyes burning with a blue flame. "Now get the hell out of this store!" Jaune kicked Nom in the face, knocking him out and sending him flying into the wall.

Jaune turned towards the girl and knelt down. "Are you okay, miss? Can you walk?" The girl shook her head to recover, then nodded. "Good. I need you to leave. Go find a friend and stay with them for a while. We'll take care of the guys here. Okay?" The girl nodded again, then ran for the exit. The ceiling shifted overhead.

"Whoooooooooo saaaaaaaaaid yoooooooou coooooould leeeeeeeeavvvvve?" Cin drawled as he shifted his weight to throw the ceiling down.

"I did, bub" Yang shouted as she leapt into his face, "because this party hasn't even started yet, so I need you to keep raising the roof for now!" Yang punched Cin so hard, he staggered, but never fell. "Heh, tough guy, huh?"

"Hmph!" Asma grabbed Yang in a bear hug. "Such a fragile harlot need not concern herself with the whims and wishes of much more fragile harlots! MAIDEN'S KI-!"

"Oh, no you don't! FIRE MAGIC: STRAWBERRY SUNRISE" Yang's entire body glowed in a brilliant golden light as her hair shone like the Sun and her eyes became a flawless ruby red. Not only bright, but hot, too! So hot that Asma stopped her initial attack to let go of Yang, who took advantage of this recoil and launched another attack. "FIRE MAGIC: EMBER BURST!" Yang used both hands to launch a massive fireball twice her size to engulf Asma, sending her flying across the road as the rescued girl escaped.

"Cin! Drop the damn roof on her already!" The giant responded by doing so, a rain of splinters and wood shavings fluttering down as it comes crashing down.

"Hey, Jaune!" Jaune looked to Yang. "Keep your eyes on me!" Yang took a deep breath. "FIRE MAGIC: I BURN!" Yang's entire body, once a shining light, erupted into a now veritable burning star. She stood her ground as she caught it, the wood between her fingers scorching into cinders as she lifted it high above her head, then slammed it back down onto the now crumbling tower. Yang smirked as her flames died, having only one thought as the dust slowly settled. 'I never could stop myself from showing off in front of the boys, huh, Rubes?'

Jaune coughed and blinked as the scent of burning wood and sawdust invaded his senses. It gave him mixed feelings; a combination of warmth and happiness from bonfires with his mother, and dread as it was a bonfire that led to her disappearance.

Jaune waved away the smoke and coughed when a cloud chose his mouth as a suitable home. The coughing led to hacking, and the sawdust decided to invite friends over for a housewarming party. "Water," he cried with a dry voice, "I need water!"

Suddenly a vortex formed a few yards away from him, drawing all the dust and small debris away. Jaune felt the vacuum draw on his clothes, but luckily he was too heavy to be swept away. As he looked closer, he saw a green magic incantation circle rotate at the point where the vortex drew everything in. The wind died, and sunlight returned to blind Jaune.

In front of him, stood Zed, a cocky grin on his face. "I don't know who you are, kid, but I suggest you run. Nobody's ever survived against "Sin-Eater" Zed and lived to tell the tale!"

"Probably because they died when you fought them, right?"

The thug tapped the side of his nose. "You know, I've heard of Dryad's Tears and Yang Xiao Long, but I've never heard of you before. What guild are you from?"

Jaune laxed at the conversation. "Oh, I'm not from a guild."

"That so? A shame you gotta waste it helping out the sleeping dragon there." He nodded his head towards Yang. "Why don't you join up with Imp's Delight? We could use a man like you in our guild. Raiding villages'll be a breeze!"

"And if I say no?" Jaune tightened his grip on his sword and widened his stance.

"Then you won't say anything ever again." Jaune held up his shield. Zed sighed. "Shame. You could have been a real pal." A green incantation circle manifested behind Zed. "WINDS OF OMEN!"

The vortex reappeared, but spun in reverse this time, launching small debris everywhere. Jaune kept his shield close to his face as the wall of wind, debris, and sawdust blinded him. He raised a foot to step forward.

"STARVING GIANT!" Zed cried over the howling wind, and the vortex spun once again in reverse, sucking the sawdust and debris in, as well as the now off-balance Jaune, forcing him to fall forward. Zed cancelled his vortex and rushed towards him. Jaune struggled to regain his balance, only to lose it once again as Zed unleashed an onslaught of punches into Jaune, his unbalanced flailing of his sword and shield to his sides left him wide open. Jaune fell to the ground in pain.

"That's all you going for you, huh? Brains and a blonde girlfriend? It takes more than that to beat me, kid." He crouched down next to his floored opponent. "Tell you what I'll do: you and your friend come back to the guild, you swear your allegiance, and I'll forgive you both for this little interruption we had. What do you say?"

"I say you can take that offer and shove it up your ass." Jaune and Zed looked in surprise as the panting Yang stood up from the rubble. She removed a bandana from her leg, revealing a tattoo of yellow tree with yellow teardrops falling from the canopy. "I don't care how tough you Imp cowards think you are. My guild is the strongest Wizard Guild this side of Fiore. Your little street gang clubhouse has got nothing on us!"

Zed stood up and walked over to Yang, who struggled to get into a fighter's stance. "STARVING GIANT." Yang was pulled into the vortex, her face caught by Zed's hand. He lifted her up, then slammed her into the ground. "WINDS OF OMEN."

Yang screamed as winds with the force of a hurricane blasted her into the ground, but Zed kept his grip on her face as his volley of winds continued, each gale more intense than the last. "This is what happens to those who fight against Imp's Delight! No one is greater than our guild; not while Guildmaster Amon Ripper, the Red Dragonslayer, still breathes! And now, I'm going to drag your sorry hide to his feet, and you'll be his toy for as long as he likes! Because we are-

"GAH!" Jaune crashed into Zed, forcing him to let go of Yang and sending him flying a few yards away. Yang looked up and saw Jaune standing over, his shield in front of him. Zed stood up, growling. "Cheap shot, kid, and the last one, too!" Zed placed both hands in front of him, incantation circles manifesting behind him. Jaune sheathed his sword and took a deep breath. "WINDS OF OMEN!"

A cylinder of wind charged towards Jaune, the young man stepping forward, over Yang. He widened his stance and squatted in place, bringing his fists up to his mouth, one in front of the other.

Yang and Zed both widened their eyes. "You're a-?!" was all Yang could get out before a yellow incantation circle with the head of a dragon in the center appeared.

"YELLOW DRAGON ROAR!" Jaune bellowed as a shining yellow vortex of his own crashed into Zed's, then enveloped and swallowed his gusts of wind, overpowering and launching Zed.

Zed crashed far away. Far from the village and his team of thugs. Said team gathered at the ruined shop, each gawking at the powerful wizard who literally blew their leader away. Jaune turned towards Yang and saw them. They flinched at his gaze. "Your boss flew that way." Jaune pointed in the direction of his blast. The team nodded, then ran off to collect their benefactor. Jaune looked down at Yang. "Do you need help?"

"Just a little." Jaune grabbed her arm by the bicep and helped her stand. "Thanks, but I should be fi- Shit!" Yang stumbled into Jaune's chest. She must have been tired. Jaune could tell by how red her face was getting. "So, uh, a dragonslayer, huh?"

"Yeah." Jaune answered simply.

"So your "mom" is-" Jaune answered the same as before. "Huh. Never would have guest, since you have that sword and shield. Figured you'd be a Requip wizard."

Jaune shook his head. "Nope."

Yang grabbed Jaune by the shoulders and steadied herself. Jaune gave her a worried look. "I'll be fine. I just need a nap."

"Maybe there's an inn nearby."

"Nah! What I really need is grub! Is there a tavern around here?"

Jaune and Yang sat down in the tavern that was only a few buildings away. Yang was scarfing down beef burgers and fries by the handful, while Jaune ate his chicken sandwich in silence. "Sho yur muh effed I yu ur yah?"

"Could you maybe say that again without an entire cow in your face?" Yang chewed and swallowed her sixth helping of burger, then washed it with her stein of cider, finishing with the most ladylike belch in the history of ever.

"BRAAAAAAAAP!!! Ah! So, like I was saying, your mom just up and left while you were young?" Jaune nodded, which Yang replied to with a scoff. "Your mom sounds just like mine, except somehow worse. I had my dad. You didn't have anybody."

"I'm sure she had a reason. That's why I'm looking for her."

"To learn why?" Jaune nodded again. "Be careful, Jaune. You might not like the answer. I sure as hell didn't like mine." Yang reached for her fries. "There's a lot people in this world, Jaune, and the worst ones are always the ones closest to you." Jaune frowned at that. She expected him to. "But enough about that. Let's get back to you joining me."

"What?"

"You and me hooking up! I need you by my side in case what happened back there happens again." Yang extended her hand. "What do you say?"

Jaune blushed and looked away. "My mother warned me about this!"

"Huh?"

"She said she wanted grandkids, but only when I met the right woman. But how will I know if you are the right woman for me? I mean, we've only just met, but maybe this is love at first sight?" Yang was blushing now. "You are strong, but strength isn't what's important in a relationship. What matters is that we love each other, and-"

Yang slammed her hands on the table. "HOLD ON A MINUTE!"

"Um, excuse me?" Yang and Jaune looked to their side, seeing the young girl they saved earlier. "Um, thank you again for saving me. I owe you both so much."

"We were just happy to help." Jaune said with a smile.

"Yeah, so how much are you willing to pay back?" Jaune snapped his head towards Yang, glaring at her. "Relax, shield boy! I'm just messing with her." Yang turned her attention back to the girl. "But really, if you need any help, don't be afraid to ask Dryad's Tears for help. We'll be here as fast as we can, and kick butt as hard as we can."

The poor girl seemed on the verge of tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Yang smiled at the girl's tears. Her smile of gratitude warmed her heart. It almost reminded her of Ruby. "Well, time we get going."

"Already?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah." Yang pulled out a piece of paper, and wrote something down. "My offer still stands, if you're interested. Just swing by the guild if you wanna join."

"Can't I go with you?" Yang gave him a curious look. "I mean, it's like you said earlier, you need me by your side. Besides, if it means I'm closer to finding my mom, then I should join, right?

Yang set her paper face-down on the table, and closed her eyes in thought. She couldn't guarantee that she'd be able to help him find his mom, or any dragons for that matter. Still, he saved her life, so she owed him at least that much. "Okay, you got yourself a deal!"

"Oh, my! It's so big" Yang opened her eyes to see the girl marvel at Jaune's sword, which he was showing off for her.

"Thanks! It was a gift from my mom."

"She must have been quite the craftsman!"

"No, she was a dragon."

"Oh, my! Really? Does that mean you're a dragonslayer?"

"Yup! I'm the son of Bellisa, the Yellow Dragon."

Yang quickly stood up. "All right, Jaune, time to go!" The last thing they needed right now was unwanted attention. "Time to head back to the guild!"

"Okay!" Jaune stood up, and stepped out. "It was nice meeting you-" Jaune tripped over himself and landed on his face. Not hard, though, which was odd when you considered the floor was made of wood. Jaune pushed himself off the floor, into the ruby red eyes of the blushing girl.

"Wow!" someone said.

Jaune immediately leapt up. "Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-!" He felt a tug on his arm. He looked in that direction and saw Yang red in the face and looking away.

"Come on, Lady Killer, we have to go!"

"What about the bill?"

"I left a check, don't worry about it!" As soon as they made it out, Jaune heard shouting behind him. He looked back and saw an elderly man chasing them with a broom, mumbling something loudly that he couldn't understand. He saw the girl following suit, stopping the man and talking to him. Whatever she said seemed to calm him down. As the man turned away, she looked in his direction. She was far away, but he could have sworn she was winking. "C'mon! Pick up the pace, Romeo! We gotta get there before nightfall!"

"To where?"

Yang smiled. "Where else? Beacon, the home of Dryad's Tears!"

The girl went back to her house, and collapsed into a chair. What a day! First some rookie thugs from some no name dark guild try to hustle her, then her cover gets blown, LITERALLY, by a dragonslayer.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a buzz in her dresser drawer. She opened it to find her communications Lacrima vibrating. With a touch, she was answered with the image of a woman with black hair and amber eyes watching her, taking into account her every move. She lifted the Lacrima to the dresser.

The woman spoke first. "Do you have anything to report?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Proceed." The girl took a deep breath and began explaining her encounter today. The slow, early morning, the annoying later morning, the interesting midday, and the unfortunate afternoon. "So your cover is compromised."

"Not completely. However, it doesn't seem there's anything left for me here. If you'd like, ma'am, I can continue my role-"

"That won't be necessary." The woman was silent for a moment. "Return to the guild. Our guildmaster will have another assignment for you ready by that time."

"Yes, Cinder."

"Good." Cinder Fall leaned forward, her bangs parting to show off her web tattoo over her eyes. "Besides, I also would like to hear more about this "dragonslayer" you told me about, Emerald."

[kittinoir]

Phantoms Ch. 11

Read on Ao3

With just the two of them on patrol, things felt almost like they used to. Almost. There was nothing familiar about the too-casual, lingering touches between them, or in the way Ladybug looked at Chat Noir and felt her heart swell to bursting with affection, but if this was her new normal, she thought she could get used to it.

If only she didn’t have to also get used to the fear that dogged every glance, every brush, every moment. Even as it faded with every day that passed, it never quite disappeared. She sometimes wondered if it ever would.

But not in that moment. Sitting this close to him on the edge of the roof, closer than she ever would have before, their knees pressed together, fear of the future was momentarily held at bay. Adrien had that effect on her. 

“Don’t get mad,” Chat Noir said, breaking their comfortable, if loaded silence, thick with all the things they couldn’t say to each other, “But it’s been…really quiet lately.”

“Don’t you dare jinx us!” Ladybug said, but she couldn’t help a laugh. “But…you’re right. I don’t know if I should be worried or relieved.”

“With Hawk Moth?” Chat Noir said, glancing sidelong at her. “Always worried.”

Ladybug didn’t say it, but she’d grown so use to worrying that it hardly felt like anything anymore. He had a point, though. Hawk Moth wasn’t taking a break: he was gearing up. Someone like that didn’t just disappear.

Almost as though their thoughts had summoned him, both Ladybug and Chat Noir leapt to their feet as someone shot out of the clouds towards them, faster than anything they’d ever seen.

“Koira,” Chat Noir said suddenly, his baton stilling in his hand. Moments later, Ladybug could spot the details her partner had already seen and slowed her yoyo as well. Had they missed an akuma alert?

“What is it?” Ladybug demanded as Koira landed hard, skidding across the roof. He was panting, having pushed Barkk to his limits, but Koira didn’t give off the impression he was staying as he stalked back to them.

“It’s Hawk Moth,” Koira said, loosing the hammer at his hip. He flipped the hammer head down and revealed the screen on the handle, a small black and yellow icon flashing in the top right corner. “We - Chloe…I think she found him.” He met Chat Noir’s confused gaze. “There’s no easy way for you to learn this, but…your father…”

“You’re wrong,” Ladybug said automatically, though Koira’s announcement stirred old suspicions that she’d never totally managed to put to rest. “Gabriel Agreste was cleared a long time ago when he was akumatized.”

“Then maybe you can explain this,” Koira said, thrusting his hammer at them.

It displayed a photo of a portrait and a hole in the ground of what looked like some kind of sitting room or office. It seemed vaguely familiar, but Ladybug couldn’t place it. She read the message attached instead: Still think this is a waste of time?

“So he has another safe in the floor,” Chat Noir said in a voice Ladybug had only heard once before. “So what? Did she find the one behind the portrait, too, while she was snooping through my father’s office?”

Ladybug turned and was met with the same disbelief, the same anger that had come over her partner the first time she’d voiced her thoughts aloud. Now it all made sense. She supposed she should have been grateful he’d followed her lead at all.

“I hope you have more than this,” she said instead of taking Chat Noir’s hand in her own to offer comfort like she wanted to. 

“This is the last message Queen Bee sent before she vanished,” Koira snapped, reholstering his hammer. “The Grimoire came from him. She went there, and then she disappeared.”

“Chloe is always disappearing,” Chat Noir said, and edge of desperation in his voice now. “Whenever things gets hard or they don’t go her way, she vanishes.”

“You know that’s not true!” Koira shouted, and Ladybug had to admit, even if Chat Noir didn’t know that, she did. Chloe had stopped running a while ago. That wasn’t to say Chloe couldn’t have a moment of weakness, but this wasn’t adding up. At least not to that.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter,” Koira said, abruptly turning from them. “The only reason I even came here was because she made me promise that… But it doesn’t matter. Sit here in denial if you want, but I’m going to do what you should have been doing all along: take the problem out at the root.”

He’d made it all of two steps before Chat Noir’s baton swept his feet out from under him, sending Koira sprawling.

“If you think I’m going to let you attack my father because of some half-baked investigation you two did, you have another thing coming,” Chat Noir snarled.

“Enough!”

Ladybug stepped between them, trying to ignore the rage pouring off her partner in waves.

“Koira, if there’s even the slightest chance you’re right, you can’t seriously expect we’d just let you walk into the same trap Queen Bee did.” Ladybug didn’t think she imagined his wince, but it was hard to tell. Felix rarely conceded anyone’s point.

“Chat Noir,” she continued, turning to the familiar stranger her partner had become, “I think we owe it to ourselves and this city to lay these suspicions to rest once and for all.”

Chat Noir reacted as though she’d struck him. “Are you telling me you…believe him…?”

“I’m saying we have to be sure, one way or the other,” Ladybug said softly, silently begging him to understand. “We’ve both been in two places before, too.”

Ladybug turned back to Koira before she could register her partner’s reaction. She knew her stance would feel like a betrayal, but she knew even so he’d see the value in confirming his fathers innocence. At least, she hoped it would be innocence. She could hear Adrien’s voice in her head as clearly as if he’d spoken the words out loud: he’d already lost his mother. He couldn’t lose his father, too.

“Assemble the team,” Ladybug said to Koira. “I want everyone here in an hour or less. No excuses. We’ll deal with this, once and for all.” But first she needed to talk with her partner - without his needling cousin a few feet away.

“But Chloe - ”

“Is smarter and more resourceful than you give her credit for.” Ladybug didn’t miss Felix’s wince this time, and she couldn’t help but hope she had hit a nerve. “And will not be thanking us if all we do is get ourselves captured trying to help her. That’s the worst case scenario. For all we know, she just fell down that shaft and is need of rescue. Chat Noir is right; this ‘investigation’ needs more work. Now go.”

Koira scowled but leapt from the roof without another protest, leaving her alone again with Chat Noir, a prospect that had been much more appealing only ten minutes ago.

“You’re not seriously entertaining this, are you?” Chat Noir demanded as she walked back to him. His baton was trembling in his fist and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “If he were Hawk Moth, I would know. I would…How could I not…”

He trailed off as the implications began to set in. This time Ladybug did step up to him and wrap her arms around his waist, placing her head on his chest, but she felt him lock up beneath her touch.

“We don’t have enough information,” Ladybug said, avoiding his questions. “But Adrien…whatever we do, we have to be sure.”

He jerked in her arms at the use of his real name, but a moment later, she heard the clatter of the baton against the rooftop and then the comforting weight of his own arms around her as he pulled her close.

“It’s not that it can’t be him,” Adrien admitted quietly as he laid his cheek on the top of her head, “But if he’s been there the whole time…and I could have…”

“Hawk Moth’s crimes do not lay at your feet,” Ladybug said firmly, twisting her face up towards him and refusing to let his eyes stray from hers. “I’ve been to your house during Hawk Moth’s reign. Is it my fault I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary? Tikki’s, for not sensing another kwami’s presence?”

“Of course not, but you didn’t live with him,” Chat Noir protested.

“Hawk Moth isn’t sloppy,” Ladybug said. Why couldn’t she find the right words? “If he didn’t want you to know, you wouldn’t. That’s no one’s fault. What matters is what we do next.”

“And what’s that?” he asked with a bitter chuckle as he dropped his arms. “Arrest him? Storm my house? Fight it out in the backyard?”

“We check our facts,” Ladybug said, reluctantly letting him go. “We check everything. Regardless of who your father may or may not be, Chloe is missing and her last known location is your house. Either she fell down a servants elevator, or…or she found something. If nothing else, we have to look for her, or at least some clues as to what happened to her. For all we know, your father could be a hapless pawn in all this. Maybe all he needs our help.”

Chat Noir blew out a breath as he turned to look out over the city. He was still reeling, she could see that. She couldn’t blame him. If it had been her own father, would she have been so calm? No, she knew, she would not. In point of fact, he would have been chasing her across the city, trying to catch her before she ripped the bakery door of its hinges.

“What do you need?” she asked softly. More than anything, she wanted to hold him, love him, support him the way someone who was more than just a friend could. She couldn’t see how their relationship could lead to that horrible future that dogged her sleeping hours, especially now when he was obviously in so much pain. Could it really be so much worse than the present playing out in front of her?

“I need my dad to not be Hawk Moth,” Chat Noir said without turning. “And if he is, I need to do something. Luckily, I’m as clever as I am handsome.”

Ladybug frowned. “Adri -”

He pivoted abruptly, laying a single clawed finger against her lips. “Ah-ah. Your rule, remember, Ladybug?”

Ladybug’s heart gave a painful squeeze as she beheld his face. The light that had danced in his eyes since she’d met him, the warmth and humour, had shuttered and gone out. She may have put the wall between them before, but he was the one putting it there now. 

’No,’ she wanted to beg, ’Don’t. Don’t shut me out. You don’t have to do this alone.’ Was this how he’d felt all those months she’d been missing? Desperately wondering how to fix something when you weren’t even sure just how it had broken? How to help someone who shut you out?

“You have a plan?” she made herself ask, suppressing a shiver as he dropped his hand from her mouth. He wasn’t alone. She wouldn’t allow it. 

“The beginnings of one,” Chat Noir said as he opened the calendar feature on his baton. “My father is hosting a charity auction at our house in two days as a fundraiser for the foundation he created in… Lots of guests, fancy dress affair, the perfect time to do some reconnaissance and a possible rescue. Kagami, Felix, and I are, of course, already on the guest list.” He paused, and Ladybug glimpsed the momentary slip of his calm. “Chloe was, too.”

“Any chance you can get anyone else in?” Ladybug asked. Normally she was the one who came up with the plans, but she could feel how much he needed this in the absence of someone to actually fight. “A…date, maybe?”

Chat Noir’s eyes were narrowed in concentration as he mentally went through his elusive father’s rules and regulations. “I have to bring Lila. Kagami and Felix have an available plus one, though.”

Ok, she’d be lying if that didn’t sting. Little Lila did anymore bothered Ladybug, but being Adrien’s date? She knew how it would look to the press. Judging by Chat Noir’s face, he knew, too. So why did it matter?

The answer was instantaneous.

Because even if it was contractual, even if it was for show, what Lila would have was more real than the moments she and Adrien stole when they hoped fate wasn’t looking. 

“Kagami can bring Max as her plus one,” Ladybug said as though her heart wasn’t on fire. “If he can sneak away, he can open a portal long enough for a few of us to get in. I’ll go with Felix.”

Chat Noir’s head snapped up at that, but he bit back his protest before he could make it. “Makes sense,” he bit out, the cool facade falling back into place. “Who sneaks in?”

“Luka,” Ladybug said, listing them on her fingers. “Juleka, Mylene, Alya, and Nino. Anyone else?”

Chat Noir shook his head. “The fewer there are, the smaller the risks.”

Over his shoulder, Ladybug could see multiple flashes of colour making their way towards them, weaving around one another like planets caught in her and Chat Noir’s gravitational pull. 

“It’s a good plan,” Ladybug said as her gaze slide back to her partner. “I…Adr - ”

Before she could try again, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Viperion landed on the roof. The others weren’t far behind. She watched her partner greet them, his face a mask of grim determination, no hint of the storm she knew he must be feeling. All this time, she thought she’d been afraid of Adrien’s reaction if he knew she knew his identity. Maybe what she’d really been afraid of was her own feelings about it. Maybe what she’d really been afraid of was the truth. Maybe Adrien was just smart enough to know the difference.

“I heard there’s a major development?” Rena Rouge said as Kele and Aurochs dropped onto the roof as well.

“Possibly,” Ladybug said. “Queen Bee’s gone missing.”

The excitement in everyone’s eyes died immediately. 

“Kidnapped?” Rena Rouge asked.

“Just missing,” Ladybug said. She didn’t want to tell them Felix’s theory, afraid to bias them against a threat that truly might not be there. She’d jumped to so many conclusions in the past, and they’d always lost ground because of it. “Her last known location is the Agreste mansion.”

Predictably, everyone’s gaze swung to Chat Noir. There were even more eyes now, since Phoenix, Pegasus, and Ryuuko had joined them. 

“Why was she there?” Carapace asked.

“We’re not entirely sure,” Ladybug said, skirting the truth. Koira might have said Chloe was investigating Hawk Moth, but they had no real proof of that, though Ladybug could think of little other reason Queen Bee would have for sniffing around the mans’ office. “But her last transmission was from Gabriel Agreste’s office. She hasn’t been seen since.”

“Gabriel Agreste?” Tigress chimed in. “You don’t think - ”

“Let’s wait for everyone,” Chat Noir finally said. Despite his initial reaction, his spine was straight, his voice cool. For a moment, Ladybug’s vision shifted and his suit was white, not black, his eyes a piercing blue in the twilight. 

No. They weren’t the same. Adrien might have that same reckless energy about him right then, but that didn’t mean…he wasn’t…he wasn’t…

They didn’t have to wait long. 

Felix was the last to arrive. Despite the round trip, he still seemed as agitated as before. Ladybug got it; Felix wasn’t the easiest to get along with, but Chloe had been the closest thing he had to a friend amongst them. Hell, she wasn’t in love with the idea of leaving Chloe for another two days, either, but she had to admit it was the best shot at success they had. 

Within seconds of full assembly, everyone knew why they’d been called: one of their own had disappeared in Gabriel Agreste’s mansion.

For once, Ladybug took a step back and let Chat Noir explain the basics of their plan to the team. He seemed to have understood her unspoken wish to keep the ‘why’ of their mission to themselves until the last possible moment, but then he’d always been able to pick up on her silent cues. 

This was different than an after-school slumber party and a candid conversation about what was and wasn’t forgivable, she knew. This was a real mission, and it could have real consequences. She wouldn’t make anyone risk their lives if their heart wasn’t in it.

But one by one, everyone nodded their assent, even Kagami, Alix, and Mylene.

It all came down to the same thing: even bitching and moaning the whole way, Chloe would do the same for them. 

“Alright, then,” Chat Noir said, drawing the meeting to a close as the sun sank over the city behind them. “Let’s go get Queen Bee back.” 

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 9

(Master post)

_______________________________________________________________________

Lila began her walk to school with a confident stride. She was back. She had a plan, she had her objectives set, and she was going to get what she wanted.

The brunette realized her confident walk and quickly changed pace, making sure it looked less sure of herself, more sullen. She had a role to play today and she was going to play the role to perfection.

As the brunette approached the school, she noticed Nino and Alya standing by the entrance. The glasses wearing couple showed expressions that did not appear friendly. Lila was expecting that they would know about what she did. She was hoping that she would be able to divide and conquer. It is easier lying to one person at a time.

Fuck! I was hoping to catch them on their own. Okay, so plan A is out, switching to plan B. ‘The new leaf’ protocol’

“Nino, I really need to talk to you.” Lila called out as she headed towards them.

Alya quickly got in between the two.

“Interesting, we need to talk to you too.” Alya’s tone barely held back her bubbling emotions.

Lila’s face showed a look of guilt and sorrow.

“...I am guess you found out what happened.” Lila spoke softly.

“So you admit to using Nino’s phone to find out Adrien’s compatibility list?” Alya interrogated. “Thats pretty twisted! I can't believe you would do something like that! Lila we....”

Lila looked down and cover her face for a second before looking up at the couple now with tears in her eyes, catching the two off guard and stopping Alya’s tongue lashing.

“I am sorry!” Lila cried. “I ju- I Just wanted to know! You- You said Marinette had an account. And I and I thought she would be on Adrien’s list. So I-I-I wanted to check and see.” 

Lila’s tears caused Nino and Alya’s view of the situation to shift.

“I-I-i wanted to pair them up so they could be happy! But I needed to be sure they were on each other’s lists. I acted foolishly, I should have asked directly, but I didn't want anyone thinking I was in love with Adrien after the incident with the photo and I had your phone in my hand and...” Lila blubbered. She covered her face when she uncovered her face again more tears appeared. “ I am so sorry! I realized as soon as I did it how wrong it was. I stupidly deleted the conversation just to pretend like the whole thing never happened. I felt so sick and stressed from the guilt I got such a nasty stomach ache yesterday. I knew that regardless of how you feel about me I needed to apologize.”

 “I am super duper mega sorry about causing you all of this trouble. I swear I will never ever betray your trust like that again.” Lila bowed practically prostrating herself. “If you can't forgive me... I understand.”

Nino and Alya felt their own anger melt as they saw how distraught Lila was. Clearly there was a mistake on her part but she had been beating herself up over it far more then they could ever do.

“You don't need to beat yourself up over it Lady dude.” Nino answered as he put his hand on her shoulder. “We all get carried away and your heart was in the right place. You should apologize to Adrien too, he was the one whose privacy you breached. But if you just tell him the truth about the situation, I am sure he will understand. Adrien is a softie.”

“I will I promise. I owe him a massive apology and I am not leaving today until I apologize to him.” Lila said with an assuring smile through her tears.

Alya hugged the girl.

“I know what its like to act without thinking. I am sorry I started jumping to conclusions. I should have known you were trying to make up for it, you asked me about it the other day.” Alya assured. “ So please don't beat yourself up over it. I am sorry for yelling at you.”

Lila hugged alya tightly.

“You two are amazing friends. I am so lucky to have such kind and understanding people at this school.” Lila praised as she wiped her ‘tears’.

The two girls stop hugging as Alya takes a look at her phone.

“Well I am glad we got that sorted out. Now I need to meet Marinette.”

“Okay, also could you tell Marinette to meet me later today. I want to talk with her.” Lila asked. The brunette wanted to know why Alya was so keen on meeting Marinette, but decided to ask later.

“Oh no prob, you can talk with her during Lunch.” Alya assured as she walked off. “Good luck with your apology to Adrien.”

Lila turned to Nino.

“Would you happen to know where Adrien is? I want to talk with him as soon as possible.”

“He should be in the locker room, he had early morning fencing practice. so he should be by his gym locker.” Nino answered.

“I will head there and wait for him outside. Thanks Nino, for being such a wonderful person.”

Lila gave the Dj a hug.

“No probs Lila. Thanks for being honest with us.”

Lila smiled putting the small bottle of eye drops back into her sleeve.

“Anytime.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Adrien had put his gym clothes away. He finished showering in the locker room and was dressed in the mostly white attire that he had wore in the cologne ad, the only new addition being the light blue scarf around his neck. He touched the scarf for a brief moment and felt a faint smile across his face.

Still 100% Marinette, just like this scarf is one hundred percent her.

“You are taking the fact that the best gift your father gave you wasn't actually from him pretty well.”

“It was a bit sad that this wasn't actually a gift from father.” Adrien spoke. “But I am happy that it was a gift from Marinette.”

“I didn't expect that frigid assistant of your dad to cave to the questions so easily. You really didn't need to promise that you wouldn't tell your pops that you know.” Plagg answered.

“Well, at least he did try to make sure I had a gift, I can't be mad at him for that.”

“True, you have a mountain of other reasons to be mad at him.” Plagg commented. 

Adrien shrugged as he began to walk through the door. Only to find a brunette exchange student waiting outside the door.

“Hi Adrien... I really need to talk with you.” Lila said timidly.

Adrien mentally eye rolled but maintained an emotionless look at the girl. 

I wonder if Nino and Alya got a chance to talk to her. Nino mentioned that he would try to. Lila can be sneaky so she might have avoided them just to talk with me.

“I talked with Nino and Alya earlier.” Lila answered. “I told them everything.”

Adrien looked at her surprised.

“You did? You told them about...”

“I told them about my actions. They know about the texting thing.” Lila answered. 

There was a brief pause. Adrien did not know what to make of it. Lila seemed different then usual, it was unsettling.

“I apologized to them, just like I am about to apologize to you now.” Lila stated. “Adrien... I am so sorry about everything I have done up until now, not just about tricking you.”

The model was shocked to hear her say it.

“You were right, I needed to be honest with people. Alya and Nino were so kind and accepting of me coming clean. This school is filled with such good people, I think I don't have to try and pretend to be someone I am not.” Lila explained. 

“Oh? Well I am glad you are changing your approach.” Adrien responded, still not entirely sure that this isn't another lie.

“I can tell you are iffy on me, and I totally understand. But I will show you.” Lila answered.

She went into her phone and showed Adrien a photo of his compatibility list. The one he messaged Nino.

“Wait, you got the photo?!” Adrien exclaimed in shock.

Lila showed Adrien as she deleted the photo.

“Not anymore.” Lila answered. “I know it doesn't make up for everything I have lied about, but I hope that it is a start.”

Adrien thought hard about what she was saying. Part of him really wanted to believe she is telling the truth.

“I support your new way of going about things. I will be rooting for you, so long as you are being honest.” Adrien responded.

Lila nodded.

“I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but it means a lot to hear you say that. Thank you.” Lila bowed slightly.

“You are welcome. I wish you luck on this new path.” Adrien smiled.

“Ill see you in class.” Lila returned his smile just before turning to walk away. revealing a far more sinister smirk. 

Three handled and one more to go

Adrien watched Lila walk off, reflecting on her words.

Lila is turning over a new leaf. I can't believe it. This day really seems to be going well. This was exactly what I wanted to hear... why does this feel wrong though.

Regardless of his thoughts, he will be sure to talk with Marinette about it later if he gets a chance before or after the interview.

“You don't believe that pile of crap she just spouted out of her front butt right?” The black cat kwami questioned interrupting his internal monologue.

“She said she was turning over a new leaf, so I am going to at least give her a chance to prove it. There is a possibility she did really change Plagg. There is some good in everyone Plagg.” Adrien answered. 

“Adrien, I don't understand how you can be not hate someone who lies and is trying to use you for her own benefit.”

“Plagg, if I hated people just because they lied to me and used me for their own benefit, by that logic I would have to hate my father.” Adrien replied with a casual demeanor.

Plagg pauses as he was processing that statement. That explained way too much about Adrien’s thought process. There was a lot to unpack there.

Plagg hugged his chosen neck.

“I promise to share my camembert as long as you never say something that terrible again.”

“I will talk to Marinette about it. See what she thinks about Lila’s new attitude.” Adrien concluded as he began to walk back to class.

Plagg was right. Lila was a liar and she was very manipulative. But right now, Adrien didn't have much reason to doubt that Lila was trying to turn over a new leaf after she owned up to all the lies and deceit she did to him. She had apologized for lying to Adrien, but did that include the lies she told Chat noir? Chat noir knows about how she blatantly lied to try and get Ladybug hurt, Chat noir is completely aware of how nasty and dangerous of a liar Lila can be, akumatized or not. She maybe be able to trick Adrien, but she wasn't going to fool chat noir, not again. Lila’s new attitude better be genuine, because she should know crossing a black cat can be very unlucky.

_______________________________________________________________________

“So everything is in there.” Alya inquired as she walked with Marinette. Marinette held the outfit in a protective clothing cover. Its a surprise and she wanted to be sure it stayed perfect until she needed it.

“Yup, I finished the stitching on it last night and its ready to go.” Marinette assured. “But I don't know if I am ready for it.”

Alya placed her hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Trust me girl. With that outfit you will be...”

“If you love me you won't say another cat pun.” Marinette interrupted.

“Party pooper.” Alya puffed her cheeks pretending to be hurt. “No cake for you.”

Marinette laughed at her friend’s reaction.

“The cat puns are only cute when Chat noir does it.” Marinette mentions as they walk. Realizing what she just said after she finishes talking, causing the girl to get flustered. “Cause its his gimmick not because he is cute or anything! Not that he isn't but...”

Alya raised an eyebrow as Marinette just closed her mouth to stop talking.

“Well plan B, if Adrien doesn't work out, I will help you steel chat noir away from Ladybug.”  

“Can we please move on from this? I think we are focusing on the wrong blond.” Marinette tried to change the subject. She wanted to focus on Adrien, not chat noir.

“Alright, fair point. Speaking of Mr.Model, how is the compatibility? Are you two still perfect for eachother?” Alya inquired.

Marinette opened her phone showing her best friend the results with glee.

“It really doesn't get boring seeing that 100% does it? Nino and I just barely cracked 86%” Alya responded.

“It did help me get me out of bed when I remembered to answer the questions. This time I made sure to be out of bed to answer them.”

“Smart call. Speaking of smart calls, Alix picked up my request.” Alya exclaimed as she pulled out a box.

Inside was a small bottle of a perfume called ‘odeur d'amour’ a very nice and very expensive bottle of perfume.

“How did you get this?! Isn't it crazy expensive?” Marinette questioned as she looked at the box.

“Yes and no. Rose just happened to know a place that was offering a sale and also happened to have a cousin that made it 80% off. Alix went to go get it while it was still in stock. Two months of Allowance later and here we are.”

“Two months! Alya I can't accept it.” Marinette said solemnly.

“I am not giving you the bottle. This one is for me. I just am going to let you use some for today.” Alya smiled.

Marinette almost knocked over Alya in her embrace, making her almost drop the perfume box.

“Easy Mari! I love you too, but I don't love you enough to not be mad if I lose this.” Alya answered.

Marinette stopped and apologized, forgetting herself for a moment.

“Sorry. I got caught up in how amazing you are.”

“You are forgiven.” Alya patted her head.

“Oh, before I forget. Lila asked me to tell you she wanted to meet you at Lunch today.”

Marinette stopped walking immediately.

“What?!” Marinette exclaimed.

“Relax Girl. I talked with Lila earlier today. She admitted to making some mistakes, and I think you should talk with her. She just wants to be friends.” Alya answered. “I am not asking you to become besties, but at least hear Lila out.”

Marinette wanted to scream that there was no way that evil, manipulative goblin was ever going to want to genuinely be her friend. But, Marinette didn't. The designer took a deep sigh.

“Okay, I will talk with her. But I don't promise anything.” Marinette answered.

“Thank you Marinette. I am sure if you got to know Lila, you would see that she isn't evil.”Alya assured.

_______________________________________________________________________

It was lunch time when Marinette walked into the library, the place was practically empty as she saw Lila sitting at a table and looking at her phone.

Marinette took a deep calming breath. She looked into her purse, where her red Kwami was holding her phone.

“I am ready when you are Marinette.” The ladybug Kwami assured.

“Thanks Tikki.” Marinette whispered.

Marinette was not going to face Lila without a back up plan. She has Tikki recording her ‘Exchange’ with Lila, should she threaten her again. Marinette would have definitive proof of how nasty of a person Lila is.

Marinette approached Lila.

“You wanted to talk?” Marinette did her best to not sound angry or irritated.

“Yes, Please sit right next to me.” Lila spoke with a peppy tone.

Marinette obliged, still suspicious of the brunette’s actions.

“I need a simple favor.” Lila asked sweetly. “After that, I won't ask anything else.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed.

“Whats the favor?” 

“Nothing much, just answer this quiz honestly for me.” Lila explained as she passed her phone to Marinette, showing the Soulmate Searcher app. 

Marinette quickly realized what she was doing. Adrien mentioned that Lila knew about his list, therefore she knows the person that has the highest compatibility, which is her. So having her answer the questions would give Lila the score to match with Adrien.

“No.”

“Oh please Marinette! You are the only one who can do it.”

“I am not going to let you cheat to get a high compatibility score.” Marinette exclaimed.

Marinette stood up and began to leave.

“Then I guess I will have no choice but to post the list.” Lila spoke unnaturally casual.

Marinette stops.

“What do you mean?”

Lila smiled as she walks over to Marinette and shows the photo of Adrien’s list. She has multiple copies on her phone and at home. Lila had planned for this encounter all day yesterday. She was three for three and she would end strong.

“If I was on his list there would be no reason for me to share this with the world. But if you are gonna be selfish, then I think the world needs to see who Adrien’s ‘Perfect match’ is.” Lila smiled. “I can imagine angry fangirls screaming with rage as they pursued you.”

“You're threatening me?”

“Oh nothing of the sort, its just a fact that Adrien has some rather, ‘Extreme’ fans. Of course, those fans will likely find out where you go to school, where you live, who is close to you.” Lila detailed. “They would find ways of ruining your existence in a flash.”

Marinette glared at Lila. She would not be threatened like this.

“That isn't going to work on me Lila.”

“Then after you, they would go after Kagami.”

“Kagami can protect herself fine.” Marinette assured. “If anything I would be more worried about you if Kagami found out.”

“What about the girl in third place? And the girl after her, and the girl after her and so on? Would you let seven innocent girls get mobbed and hurt because you wouldn't answer a quiz?” Lila twisted the dagger.

“They wouldn't believe its real.” Marinette exclaimed.

“Just like how your friends and classmates believed you before?” Lila’s words cut deeply.

Marinette knew she couldn't risk it. Lila was crazy enough to do it. But Marinette did have Tikki recording the whole situation, so at least she can show proof to school that Lila isn't who she says she is.

“Okay. I will answer the quiz.” Marinette answered in defeat.

“Good girl. And before you think about deleting the photo from my phone, I already have back ups on my computer.” Lila answered.

“Just give me the quiz.” Marinette growled irritated.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Its alright dude, it isn't the end of the world.” Kim tried to comfort his best friend.

The buff athlete padded the robot enthusiast as he looked distraught over what was on his screen. The blond model noticed the two in the classroom as he went to grab something from his desk.

“Whats wrong Max?” Adrien asked as he happened to walk by.

“My days of research have all been for nothing. Most of my dummy profiles have been wiped from the server!” Max answered in anguish.

“Dummy profiles?” 

“Max made some like fake people to test stuff about the app. But the people that run the app called foul on his accounts and gave them the red card.” Kim explained in a mix of sports metaphors.

“Um... Sorry, I didn't follow that.” Adrien confessed.

“I made test accounts to explore the app’s algorithm. But thanks to last nights update, all bots are being wiped from the server. And any account that mods suspect is a bot is put under suspension. Days of work down the drain.”

Adrien felt bad for the tech genius. but also found himself curious on how this happened.

“How did the mods even know about your fake accounts?”

“Well, I rigged most of my accounts to have identical answers, right down to the the write in questions. From what I gathered, the mods figured that no two profiles are ever the exact same, so the earliest profile with those answers are kept.” 

“Wow, I guess that makes sense on how they figured it out. Thats a pretty creative solution.” Adrien responded. “Sorry, that was insensitive of me.”

“No, you are right, it is theoretically sound reasoning. No person would ever try to make a real account have the exact same answers as another, that would be incredibly stupid.”

_______________________________________________________________________

“To the letter. All of your answers have to be exact. I want to reach 100%.” Lila exclaimed. “Don't try to cheat me by messing up once.”

“I know I know.” Marinette grumbled. “I am doing it exactly as I did it before.”

Whether it was fortunate or not, over the course of improving her profile Marinette has seen all of the questions that Lila’s core profile was being made from. Marinette answered them to the letter as Lila requested, much to her disgust.

“And done.” Marinette spoke as she pushed the phone to Lila.”There, now we are finished.”

Marinette tried to walk off but Lila grabbed her shoulder.

“I need to make sure you didn't try to screw me over.” Lila answered. “You are staying to see the results.

Marinette felt her stomach flip in disgust. Nothing sounded less appealing to her. She had helped Lila reach her objective of 100% compatibility with Adrien, and Lila was going to make her watch.

Lila smiled as she pressed the button.

After about a minute, a notification popped up.

Lila looked at the message.

‘We regret inform you that this account is under investigation. We apologize for the inconvenience and after our mods are finishing investigating and deem the account real we will reinstate your profile and you are free to try and recreate your core profile. Thank you for your patience...’

Marinette looked at the screen and looked at Lila’s shocked expression. The look on lila’s face was something that gave Marinette a feeling that could only describe as ‘if Christmas and her birthday combined into one.’.

Marinette started laughing. She almost fell on the floor laughing as Lila stood frozen looking at her phone. This was too perfect.

Lila was fuming.

“What did you do!?” Lila hissed.

“I ha ha I did what you asked.” Marinette spoke between fits of laughter. “Exactly like you asked.”

The brunette felt her frustration and anger boil.

“You KNEW this would happen Didn't you!?” Lila accused.

Marinette began laughing louder.

“I wish I did, but I am so glad I didn't.” Marinette laughed. “This is perfect. You are such a liar that the app thought your profile was a bot!”

“This is bullshit! You... You conniving little toad! I will get to the bottom of this, and you will pay.”

Marinette’s giggle fit calmed down. She wiped the tear that was coming out of her eye. Marinette was done laughing.

She went into her purse. And pulled out her phone.

“I think not.” Marinette says with confidence.

She presses play and watched as Lila’s anger shifted to one of surprise. She heard their conversation, her threat to her, to other people. Lila went pale for a moment.

“I have the recording drafted on a message ready to be sent to all of my contacts. You try anything and its over.” Marinette answered. “So do yourself a favor and stop trying to manipulate me and my friends.”

Lila scoffed. She absolutely despised Marinette. It was starting to get close to her hatred of Ladybug, but it was still not there yet, and Marinette hasn't won yet.

“This isn't over. Not by a long shot.” Lila grumbled as she stormed off, leaving Marinette with a confident smile on her face.

“I think I might have gone a little too far.” Marinette confessed.

“Lila may get akumatized over this, but this isn't your fault, it is hers.” Tikki assured. “I think you made the right call. And if she does get akumatized, we will handle it.”

“Thanks Tikki” Marinette sweetly pat her Kwami on the head as they began walking out of the library.

_______________________________________________________________________

In a room filled with white butterflies. stood a man in a purple suit and a silver face mask. The window opened to reveal the villain of Paris known as Hawkmoth.

“Oh the amount of negative emotion is tempting. But I will hold off for now. After all, the main event has yet to come and that will be something with far more bite. But for now, let it fester, let is gather, and let it grow.” The villain monologued

Hawkmoth had an inkling on who this person was. Oh Miss Rossi would make a good akuma right now, but he would hold off, he wants to catch the heroes off guard, and the best time will be during that interview. Besides, Lila’s negative emotions can still grow, if he is going to act on them, he wants them at their highest emotional distress.

_______________________________________________________________________

Part 9 is finished I am living for all of this spectacular feedback and you guys keep me inspired to keep writing this. The day has arrived and the ball has begun to roll. (over 1000 notes on part 8 within 24 hours. Just spectacular)

Part 10 is the interview.

Please Keep up that amazing feedback. I love seeing those notes and comments, It really feeds my impulsive need to write.

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[nobodyfamousposts]

Mominette: Changes

Conner got a message from Marinette.

As soon as he saw the words "Something happened", he didn’t even wait for the rest.

He immediately got to Paris and burst into the Bakery. Tom and Sabine looked confused and worried, but let him go upstairs to where Mari and Adrien were.

The normal thrum of his siblings was weak, almost muted.

He rushed up to Marinette’s room, his mind racing the entire way. Was everyone safe? Are they okay? What happened?

He burst into the room.

He saw Marinette and Adrien. They're fine, but worried and Marinette looked almost on the verge of a panic attack. Adrien was comforting Marinette and getting her to breathe.

He saw Plagg and Tikki. They're fine. But similarly looked worried.

He glanced around again, growing more agitated.

He seaw Adrien and Mari. He seaw Plagg and Tikki. He did not see his siblings.

He was about to ask—more like demand what happened.

But was interrupted by a voice he’d never heard before.

"Conny?"

He turned to the chaise where there are three children wrapped in a blanket.

Three human children.

He could barely feel it, but the magic was still there, in them.

“What…happened?” He asked the duo. Because this was definitely not normal.

“It’s an akuma.” Adrien explained, being the calmer of the two at the moment. “She has the power to bring toys to life, but…they’re already alive.” He shrugged, helplessly.

“My magic inside of them mixed with the akuma’s.” Marinette said, looking extremely worried. “If we defeat the akuma and return everything to normal, who knows what will happen to them?”

Tikki nuzzled Marinette, mournfully. “I’m sorry, Marinette. This has never happened before.”

Conner’s attention had turned back to the three. All of whom somehow looked smaller despite being bigger than before.

The boy—blond hair and green eyed—Chaton—reached out a hand for him. And Conner couldn’t stop himself from reaching back in turn.

The boy smiled.

“Conny.”

The girls—one with dark blue hair, the other fully black—Littlebug and Minimouse—looked up at him. One curled in on herself and shivered. The other moved the blanket and patted the chaise, a clear invitation for him to join them.

He…really wanted to.

They look all of four years old. Bigger than they had been as dolls, but oh so much more fragile. Chaton’s hand in his own was so tiny and he couldn’t help but worry he would hurt him.

“M’cold.” Minimouse murmured, shivering.

And that pretty much settled it.

Within seconds, Conner was sitting on the chaise with all three siblings wrapped up in the blanket and curled into him.

“I’ll watch them.” He assured his parents.

The two paused, looking back to him in concern.

“Conner…”

“You both need to defeat the akuma, right? I’ll protect them.” He promised. And he meant it.

“It may help.” Plagg rationalized. “He’s got your magic, Spots.”

“Plagg?”

“There’s conflicting magic in your kids right now.” He explained. “The longer it stays, the more trouble it can cause. So the sooner you take out the akuma, the better. And he can keep them stable in the meantime.”

“But…what about after?” Marinette asked, still very much worried.

Tikki hung her head. “Plagg’s right. We won’t know until it’s over. But it would be best to resolve this quickly.”

Marinette looked over to her children, biting her lip in worry.

Conner nodded to her. “I’ll keep them safe.”

Adrien rested a hand on her shoulder. “C’mon. Let’s…let’s be quick.”

Both of them were clearly holding back tears as they kissed each of their kids on the head just in case. With whispered words, they transformed and were gone, leaving Conner alone with his siblings.

Conner did have magic from Marinette. It was weak due to the conflict with his Kryptonian DNA, but it was there. It was the link that let him bond with his family. It allowed him to sense where they were and how they were doing. And now, it let him help with the maelstrom inside the three tiny bodies clutching to him.

But there was only so much he could do. Due to his limited magic and limited experience in using it, he was only able to mostly serve as a rock to try and keep the three grounded.

“Conny…hurts…”

Perhaps for the first time, he actually cursed his Kryptonian side.

“I know.” He said softly, trying to soothe them.

All he could do was try to hold them together while waiting for the akuma to be defeated and hope that there would still be four of them when Ladybug and Chat Noir returned.

“It’ll be okay.”

__________________________

By the time the akuma was defeated, the three had passed out and Conner was exhausted. He barely responded to the two thuds on the balcony above them or the sound of the door springing open.

“Conner?! CONNER!”

“Mom…?”

She knelt in front of him, tired and worried. He didn’t like that expression. He wanted to reassure her, but apparently he didn’t feel any better than she looked.

“Hey!”

Oops. Sorry, Mom.

“Marinette. You need to cast the Cure.” Dad told her, firmly.

“But…what if…?”

“Don’t overthink it.” He said, taking her hand in his and resting his forehead against her own. “Trust your magic.”

“You c’n do it, Mom.” Conner whispered.

She clenched her eyes shut, but nodded.

Would there be any permanent effect of this?

Would they go back to being normal non-magical dolls?

Would they be okay?

Please…please let them be okay.

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

The Cure swept through the room and then throughout Paris. But all three only had eyes for the children and the effect the Cure would have.

Conner felt rejuvenated by the effects of the loveliness. His energy and focus restored, he looked down to the three children clinging to him.

To find three still very human children clinging to him. Asleep. But oh so alive.

“They’re alive.” Conner reported, awed.

“They’re…but they’re human?” Adrien asked in astonishment. He separated from Plagg before moving forward and touching Chaton, ruffling his hair—and yeah, that was real, all right. He looked up to Plagg and Tikki as she also reformed. “They’re just…they’re human now?”

Marinette gaped. “But how? I mean—is this okay? Are they okay? Did it not work?” She was almost on the verge of panicking again.

Minimouse didn’t like the noise, apparently, as she frowned in discomfort and curled more into Conner’s side. Conner placed a hand on her head, soothing her.

Tikki floated down to her as well and kissed her head for a moment. She appeared to be sensing something—analyzing, maybe? A minute passed before she parted from Minimouse and looked up at the three.

“It’s settled. The akuma’s magic is gone.”

“But…why are they like this then?!” Marinette asked.

“The Cure restored everything to how it should be.” Tikki explained.

“Shouldn’t they be dolls then?” Adrien asked. “Not that I’m complaining.” Because he certainly preferred his kids alive regardless. But this was…a surprise to say the least.

Tikki nodded to her chosen. “Conner received magic from you, Marinette. But as a result of the process made to make him, his magic is naturally rooted in stability and grounding.”

Conner blinked in surprise at that. “Is that how I’m able to have Kryptonian powers and magic?”

“In a way, yes. Your magic has focus in boosting your abilities and stabilization. When you used it to deal with the warring magic in your siblings, you did help stabilize them, but you…um…apparently convinced them that this is how they should be.”

Conner’s eyes widened. He looked up at the gaping Marinette and Adrien in shock. As well as growing horror as the full extent of what he’d seemingly done hit him.

“I…I didn’t mean to.”

Well, he did, apparently. But he didn’t know this would happen. He hadn’t meant to change them—or keep them changed. He’d just…wanted to anchor them. To keep them alive and safe. He hadn’t wanted to force anything on them.

In an instant, arms enveloped him and he was in the comforting and reassuring hold of his mother.

“You did everything you could for them and more.”

He felt his eyes watering.

“I’m so proud of you, Conner.”

Okay, yeah. Definitely watering.

Another hand rested on his shoulder. He glanced to the side and saw a smiling Adrien.

“It’s a surprise. And it’ll be different. But we can make this work.”

“But…but I changed them.” Conner murmured, uncertain.

“They were already changed.” Plagg replied in a blasé manner, floating lazily nearby. “You just held them together so the warring magics wouldn’t rip them apart. And given that they’re each more magical than you—no offense, kid—you aren’t capable of forcing them into a form if they didn’t want it.”

Conner froze. “Wait…what?”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “If they wanted to be dolls again, they would be. Keep up, kid.”

Tikki gave a giggle. “I think they wanted to be like you, Conner.”

He blushed. “They…what?”

But she had a point, didn’t she? The Dolls didn’t get to move about as openly as he did. They weren’t understood easily by anyone outside of himself, their parents, or the kwamis. They struggled to do things he could accomplish with ease. And though they liked that he would carry and hug them…they sometimes looked like they wanted to return the favor.

Conner had been jealous of them. Wishing in some ways he had been more like them. He’d never considered they could have felt the same towards him.

Even in their sleep, the three clung to him.

They were like this…because they’d wanted it. And he’d helped them keep it.

He drew them a little closer. And in turn allowed himself to be drawn closer as well when Marinette and Adrien also joined them in the growing cuddle pile.

All six of them stayed together for a while after that.

There would be things to do because of this. Arrangements would need to be made. Explanations given. History and paperwork and legalities.

But for now, they were together and safe.

[galahadwilder]

Unwise

Ch. 2: In Which Too Many People Turn Patrols Into Dates

Happy birthday @alexseanchai! You wanted more Unwise? Here you go!

*

Convincing Fu to let her bring out the other Miraculi on a semi-permanent basis had been a chore in and of itself. Feast had proven the depth of his paranoia—though, to be fair, it’s not technically paranoia if people are actually out to get you—and she wasn’t prepared to lose Tikki a second time. He’d refused to allow her to bring out more Miraculi, until she’d forcefully reminded him that A. she is a full-fledged Guardian now, he’d said that himself, and B. She, a child, is the one on the front lines while he hides. (She hates bringing that up, because she knows why he’s doing it, but it was that or go insane.)

Eventually, he’d relented, though he’d let her take only the ones who’d already proven themselves. Which was fine, it wasn’t like she was planning on doing any recruiting anytime soon.

She’d been planning to hand out all of the Miraculi herself, as usual, but as soon as she’d had them in her hands she’d paused, reconsidered. Chat was right—trying to do everything herself has been driving her insane. She already knows that, if she goes down, Chat can take the earrings and Mister Bug it up—or, in an emergency situation, just Cataclysm a butterfly and wait for her to get back up—so there’s a little bit of the weight off there. But the fact is, he was originally never supposed to know the identities of any of the backup, and if she were to have gone down in that situation he’d have been left to continue the fight alone in a way that she never would. The thought makes her want to vomit.

And she can’t deny that the way Chat’s face lit up when she asked him to help her distribute the Miraculi had done something funny in her tummy. Not love, of course, nor attraction—absolutely not that, stop laughing Tikki—but something. She’d laid out all of the Miraculi Fu had let her take on their favorite rooftop, then, after a moment’s consideration, handed him the Horse, the Bee, and the Dragon (she’d briefly passed her hand over the snake, but she saw the way he tried to suppress a shudder; curious as his reaction made her, she knew she couldn’t let herself think about what that was about, lest she learn something she shouldn’t).

She picked up the Fox, the Snake, the Turtle, and the Mouse, then paused, thought, made a decision. “You already know who the mouse is,” she said. “If you ever need an illusionist, and I’m not there to help you...” She held up the foxtail necklace. “This one goes to the Ladyblogger.”

Chat froze. “My Lady,” he said, the Dragon choker dangling between his claws, “are you... sure I should know this?”

She nodded. “You said yourself, I can’t keep doing this alone,” she said. “You’re my partner.”

There’d been no big meeting; someone might’ve noticed that Multimouse wasn’t there, and that would lead to questions she doesn’t want to answer. She’d made a list of reasons why, but surprisingly, Chat had asked for none of them, simply agreeing with her out of hand.

The whole thing is going swimmingly, and yet she can’t help feeling guilty about how she’d arranged the patrols. She’d insisted on not letting Rena Rouge and Carapace patrol together, since there was no way either of them could tear away from each other in a non-emergency situation, so for the first two few nights she’d rotated them through everyone but each other, just to keep from ill-advised makeouts. And yet, here she is, having intentionally arranged herself on patrol with Adrien...

God, she’s a hypocrite.

She can honestly say that after a week of letting other holders cover patrols, she’s more rested than she’s been in a while. But she’s done so many stupid things to spend time with Adrien, it’s not like one more will make a difference at this point, right? And at least this way she’s doing something productive with it. She hopes. If she can, you know, actually hold it together around him to do anything.

“Tikki,” she groans into her hands, her elbows propped on her desk. “Tell me I’m doing the right thing.” The cursor blinks on the anonymous Google schedule she’s been sharing with the team, waiting for her to confirm the time of her first patrol as Multimouse. Her first patrol with Adrien. She wonders, idly, what he’ll choose for his name.

Tikki sighs from her spot on Marinette’s pincushion, rolling a chocolate chip between her paws. “I don’t know,” she says. “Master Fu had very good reasons not to let the rest of us out of the box, but you also have very good reasons.” She looks up at Marinette, her blue eyes shining with compassion. “I do worry about you.”

“I’m just happy to be out and about,” Mullo says, climbing onto Marinette’s phone and poking the screen with delight. “So much new technology! I didn’t get to see this last time you wore me.”

“Not that,” Marinette says, dropping her hands onto the desk—then she tilts her head. “Well, yes that, but not what I’m asking about right now.” She sighs, staring at the calendar block. “Am I being... selfish, with this schedule?”

Tikki purses her lips, then turns the chocolate chip on its side and starts rolling it back and forth on the desk beneath one paw, staring at it pensively.

“Tikki?” Marinette whispers.

Tikki grimaces. “You know you’re not supposed to use your powers for personal gain,” she says. “I’ve told you before.”

Marinette swallows. “I remember,” she whispers.

Tikki tilts her head. “On the other hand,” she says, “this might be more practical than you think.”

Marinette blinks. “What?”

“If he is going to be a full-time member of the team, it might help to acclimate yourself to his presence?” Tikki says, a small smile spreading across her face. “We wouldn’t want you to start tripping over your words in the middle of combat.” She flings the chocolate chip straight up, then launches her tiny body from the desk, swallowing it in a single gulp in a manner reminiscent of the poster for Jaws.

“Hey!” Marinette protests. “I did fine last time!”

“You said one sentence and you had to use Sass to practice it eight times first,” Tikki says with a smug grin, crossing her arms.

Marinette bites her lip, then rolls her eyes. “You see how mean she is to me?” she says to Mullo.

“Hm? What?” the rat says, her head perking up and twisting back and forth. “I’m sorry, I was distracted by this...” Her turns back to the phone, where she’s been swiping between app pages with wide eyes. “Um, magic screen thing.”

Tikki giggles. “Not everything humans do is magic, Mullo.” She flits around to Marinette’s eye level. “Marinette. The day I told you not to use your powers for personal gain? That was our third time out. I didn’t know you then. I do now.” She reaches out, laying her palm on Marinette’s cheek. “You’ve grown into a responsible and professional young woman, and Master Fu has selected you to be the next Guardian.” She floats back. “I trust your judgment. And besides, you deserve a break.” She gestures to the computer screen, where the calendar is still waiting, unfinished. “If this is what you want to do? Then you should do it.”

Marinette swallows as tears brim in her eyes. “I—thank you, Tikki,” she whispers.

“Of course,” Tikki says, zipping forward to hug Marinette’s cheek again. “I love you so much, Marinette.”

“I love you too,” Marinette says, cupping her Kwami to her cheek with her palm.

“Oh my Guardians!” Mullo sobs. “You—you two— you are...” She rolls over onto her back, letting out a tiny melodramatic wail. “Your friendship is so perfect!”

Tikki snorts, backing away from Marinette’s cheek. “Okay. Back down there, Squeakers.”

Marinette sets her jaw, looking at the screen. “So,” she says, “I’m doing this?”

Tikki nods. Mullo rolls back onto her stomach, looking back at her expectantly.

Marinette nods back. “I’m doing this,” she says, and presses her finger down on Enter.

*

This was a mistake this was a mistake this was a mistake this was a mistake—

Sapis (who looks amazing in his costume, his gossamer half-cape floating off his back, furry cuffs on his wrists, black streaks in his carefully styled hair to resemble antennae—oh, she’s going to be gushing about this to Tikki later) is looking at her with eyes like the night sky, golden irises inset on black sclera, and she feels all the breath leave her body. She’s seen enough of Adrien’s patented “Soft Eyes” in candid shots from Alya that she thought she’d be immune, but nope, photographs have in no way prepared her for the real thing. Sweet Kwamis, she’s going to die and she hasn’t even said a word to him yet.

Say something, Ladybug, she tells herself. But under Sapis’ gaze, in Multimouse’s suit that she’s suddenly aware came out far more cute than her usual reassuringly minimalist design, she doesn’t feel like Ladybug, so when she opens her mouth, she only manages to squeak.

Nice, she thinks, mentally kicking herself. Well done. Very professional.

“H-hi!” she yelps. “Are you, um...” She grips her elbow, her free hand playing with the tail of the jump rope tied around her waist. “Queen Bee’s replacement?”

“Yep,” he says in an exaggeratedly deep voice. He takes a Superman stance, pressing his fists to his hips, and turns his eyes dramatically to look somewhere slightly behind her. It looks generally ridiculous, and he clearly knows it. “Sapis, at your service.”

“Sapis?” she says, squinting one eye, trying to remember if she knows what that means in Latin. Sagesse... that’s the same root, right? “Wisdom?”

His whole face lights up, and her heart leaps in her chest. “Old Latin pun,” he says. “Si sapis, sis apis.” He steps forward, holding out a hand. “If you’re wise? Be a bee.”

She stares at him, looking at his hand, then his face, then his hand, then his face. She has—she knows what she’s supposed to do here, but this is Adrien trying to introduce himself, and she knows it’s him, and he doesn’t know it’s her, and she has to get this impression exactly right. The joke is stupid, silly, it’s so very Chat Noir that she’s caught off guard and suddenly her chest is bubbling, she’s laughing, and oh god is he going to think that she’s laughing at him? Is he going to be disappointed? Is he going to be crushed? Oh Kwamis, is he going to hate her forever?

And then his eyes shut, and he giggles, pure and clear, and it’s just like that moment after the umbrella closed on her head. Lightning strikes in her heart all over again, and it’s everything she can do not to fall on her steadily reddening face.

Finally, he calms down, but when his golden-black eyes turn back to her he’s still beaming. “So,” he says, gesturing to her necklace, “Chat Noir tells me you’re really good with that thing.”

She reaches up, fingers it nervously. “I—pretty good, yeah.”

Sapis grins, hoisting his trompo. “Wanna show me what you’ve got?”

A slow, sly grin spreads across her face in answer as she reaches for her jump rope, the confidence building in her chest. This is familiar territory. This, she can handle. “You’re on, bee boy.”

Adrien wants to see what she can do? He won’t even know what hit him.

[currentfandomkick]

Miraculous Team and the Batboys

Longer update, wrote the ao3 version first this time. if you want to find me there, crazyjc.

--

Thankfully there weren’t any akuma attacks that day or that night. Marinette was glad to get some sleep for once. Her body, confused and used to a few hours a night, got her up early.

Marinette decided to help with the morning rush—quick to handle the register and make adjustments to some people’s orders (no extra charge for the exhausted high school and college students) when she managed to find someone as dead as she was after an akuma messed up her commission schedule and sleep was skipped for a week.

“Wow, you’re getting the ‘Please Don’t Let Me Die Again Yet’ special.” Marinette turned before the zombie could speak. “Maman, watch the register, someone looks worse than midterms and commissions me.”

Once Maman took the register again, Marinette worked on her disaster drink that only a few particular customers knew of from her personal menu--mainly the dead college and high school students insane enough to pull a weeks worth of all nighters like her. And baby parents that liked her parents bakery.

Gurarana beans instead for the extra caffeine with her special blend of licorice root, peppermint and green tea poured in--double the caffeine with less effort, glucose for the brain fuel, sweet and mint for wakeup and focus, and green tea for lasting energy boost.

“Here, this should keep you up and a bit more functional than usual.”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“Oh my god, what got Finals Angel up this early?” One of the regulars almost yelled, staring at her with a look that screamed the universe was going to collapse in on itself, and they were now anticipating this outcome until they got their morning fix.

Marinette shrugged, moving to the next customer as the dead man took a seat and pulled out his laptop. She continued to help until it was getting close to class.

“Maman, the rest of that brew is under the cabinet for the laptop zombie, I’m taking my morning delivery now.”

Maman took over while Marinette made her way to school, passing out the usual deliveries as she moved about.

“Adrien, your insult to caffeinated monstrosities everywhere.”

“Thanks Marinette!” The blond held his (essentially) hot chocolate with one pump expresso, and five three shots of caramel on top of whip cream.

“Chloe, why you have me grab something this sweet this early is only further proof of your crimes against humanity.”

“You’re welcome Dupain-Cheng.” The girl nabbed her (in Marinette's opinion) low caffeine sugar water--licorice root with half a bottle of honey, and lots of ice with whip cream and honesy drizzled on top. She would never understand that order, but was too afraid to ask at this point. She might be taking the Bee thing too far.

“Alya, thank you for being a sane coffee person, Nino, we are having a talk about your scheduling.”

“Thanks gurl." Because close or not, Alya was an addict with a simple and reasonable coffee that restored Marinette's sanity while making it.

Nino groaned as he took his pastries and three cream, one expresso. “Not again, I still haven’t recovered from the last time.”

Marinette shrugged. “Your mistake, not mine.”

“Oh, did you get my cookies?” Sabrina asked.

Marinette rolled her eyes with a fond smile. She likes Sabrina when she isn't in full cling mode, and giving her boxes of pre-paid cookies put together on Marinette's whims? Very calming after dealing with Adrien and Chloe's offending orders. “Yes. You paid for a different set everyday.”

“Thanks!” Sabina examined her current mix, more obscure cookies since Marinette got them before the morning rush.

“Markov, please tell me Max got some sleep last night?” Marinette asked as she handed another of her special “Max needs a nap but is to stubborn to” order--which is essentially an energy drink blend with a few slow-release teas mixed in.

“Affirmative. He got the requested minimum of three hours. I will ensure he gets more once school is out.”

“I’ll take what I can get.” He was less prone to akumatazation with more sleep, and Hawkmoth does like using Max. Marinette likes knowing she can have her teammate in the field without wondering if he'll pass out.

Marinette took her seat by Alya. They weren’t as close anymore, but it did mean Lila was alone in the back and didn’t see the group document.

“Class, we have a new student today!”

Marinette frowned. She wasn’t informed of any newcomers. She looked over at Chloe who huffed. She didn’t know either then.

“Class, this is Damian Grayson from America. His father is here on business and will be joining us for the semester!”

Chloe and her shared a look. With Chloe as the current president and Marinette as the head of the welcome committee, this was very last minute for them not to be informed. Especially as Bustier had the time to since both were here early.

Alya shot her a look.

Marinette shook her head. She really didn’t know, and it bugged her.

Alya narrowed her eyes as the new boy came in. Black hair, stood too straight and Middle Eastern. She wondered what his first language was briefly--someone in school was bound to be fairly fluent. If it was related to Arabic, Rose would be a good translator. Her and Adrien both have Mandarin now, and her English was passable to Americans--not so much for the UK. Alya has Spanish while Nino has Portuguese covered. Chloe was good for UK English and so was Adrien, but those two weren't good for new kids... especially from the America. Mylene, Ivan, Nathaniel and Juleka were bad at talking most of the time, so they were no-gos...

And she still had to finish Ali's commission… This would be a headache if they were an old Chloe-type.

“Damian, why don’t you tell us about yourself.”

“No need to. I do not plan on making friends.”

And he was worse than an Old Chloe-type. There went her free period for commissions.

The entire class shared a look, and Marinette wanted to groan. This boy would be in for a rude awakening—there was no escaping friendship in Bustier’s class. And anyone difficult? They would sent Marinette as envoy--hopefully Alya didn't make easy.

“I presume my seat is in the back?”

“Actually,” Alya stood up with a grin, “I was going to sit back with Lila to help her catch up in our next class.”

Marinette froze as she realized what Alya was doing. Keeping the new kid from Lila was good, but she also needed to keep Alya from falling for Lila’s lies again. And she has no clue on his preferred languages and uh!

“Alya,” she hissed.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Alya moved to the back with ease before the boy could say a word.

Marinette hit her head. Why was her friend like this?

“I guess that means you’ll sit next to Marinette. Marinette, can you show Damian around during your free period?”

Marinette knew that tone. There was no refusing without a lecture on being a good role model and another reprimand for stepping down from class representative and student government when she got more commissions and needed more time.

“Of course Miss Buster.”

Damian took his seat without saying a word.

Marinette decided it was better to stay silent with this one--he didn't want friends, and would only be here briefly. She could respect that, even if she could feel the others scheming otherwise.

“What do you mean you know—“

“Oops,” Lila grinned. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

And that was what Marinette was hoping to avoid.

Damian twitched next to her. Marinette sighed, “One sec, I need to remind someone to check her sources before getting ahead of themselves… again.”

Nino shot Marinette a sympathetic look while Marinette linked three redacted articles that starred Lila as her main source.

“And done.”

Damian raised an eye brow at her. “You aren’t going to pester me, correct?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. Honestly? “You made your stance clear. I’m here as the actual head of the welcoming committee, and during free period I’ll just need to know your interests so we can avoid the parts of the school that aren’t relevant for you, and to make sure you have an idea how to handle akuma attacks since I’m going to guess they didn’t tell you about that before you applied.”

“tt,” Damian leveled her with a scowl. “Of course I know about them.”

Marinette didn’t bother to hide her surprise. “So you know where to go for shelter, the drills, the apps and news sources that are good for tracking, which hospitals are contactable during attacks and which ones go into lock down, oh and what actions are allowable and not as civilian aides to the miraculous team?”

The boy froze before her. He didn't then.

Her face slid into a more neutral one--keeping her gloating to herself.“That’s what I thought. I have a few flow charts in the committee room to grab since its an info dump and no one processes those well, and your learning style may benefit from it for all I know.” Marinette made sure not add ‘since some people can’t be bothered to tell me.’ The new boy clearly wasn’t interested in friendship, and despite what the class thinks, she is not friendship-nip.

“I…”

“Class, turn to page 67 of your textbook. Marinette, make sure to share with Damian.”

“Yes Miss Bustier,” Marinette moved the book between the two of them, ignoring Damian besides checking where his eyes were on the page before turning as they followed along.

Once their free period began, Adrien had a Chloe guarding him against the Lila octopus, with Sabrina flanking his other arm as backup.

“I take it those three are together?” Damian asked once they left.

“No, Chloe doesn’t share her friends well,” Marinette explained as they moved through the halls. “And it keeps away his fans, so no one stops it anymore.” Not unless they wanted the Mayor’s ire at least. It was very effective against Lila.

“I see…” He was watching her. She wasn’t sure if it was an American thing or just a tic of his. Possibly both.

“That’s where the teacher’s offices are for before and after school,” Marinette gestured to one wing. “All the doors are labeled, so its easy enough to find who you’re looking for as long as you have a name. You’ll find most of the school services there as well, minus the nurse who’s room is closer to the quad.”

Marinette smiled when they got to welcoming committee room. None of the other members were there at the moment, but the file cabinet was. She grabbed one of the ready-made packets and grabbed a spare Bustier Class packet too.

“Here’s the information for being new in Paris, everything from common places to eat, the good hole-in-the-wall places itemized by what you’re looking for, everything relating to akumas is on the red papers, and the yellow is the school’s map and procedures.” Marinette handed him the blue folder, then the orange. “This one is the Bustier-class specific one approved by Miss Bustier. It lists everything from class rules, what caused various akumatazations with the victim’s consent to disclose it, so not all are listed, and it has your schedule and the class outing dates plus who’s interested in what on the pink pages for possible friends, but you said you weren’t interested so we can skip that.”

Marinette watched him look over the papers for a moment, waiting until his attention was back to her. “Now, anything you have a vague interest in that you might have some random inclination to do at Dupont during your free periods, before or after school?”

Damian raised an eyebrow at her.

“Its you let me tailor the tour for you, or you have to go all over the school and talk to me the entire time, when we both know you’re really not interested.”

“Tt.”

Marinette shrugged. “Have it your way, now, on with the tour!”

--

Damian gawked at the core ciruculum including what he knew was more college level than high school level. Then there was the fact these students had access to multiple state of the art facilities tailored to current students interests on campus, with little issue getting them apparently.

“How does your school get all of this?”

The pigtail girl almost laughed at his question. “I guess they just sent you here since we have the most flexible curriculum routines then.” The girl shifted how she stood. “Dupont is an experimental school, everyone is given high expectations on entry but as long as you keep up with grades the school gets whatever any student requests—a few years ago we had one kid that was allowed to do rocket science as part of his program, he went to some German facility with a translator every other day. Alix has a blanket permit to do street art and installations on public property, as long as she gets her design approved and can give them her schedule as long as she helps other student with history classes. I get full access to any designing materials as part of my deal with the school in exchange for doing any school event costumes and tailoring jobs that I get a two week notice on.”

Damian nodded along, processing this new information. Suddenly, the high amount of akumas from graduates and current students of Dupont made sense. They were specialists, extremely skilled at their crafts and more likely to be knowledgeable than the general population on a variety of topics.

--

Marinette was glad for their hour-long lunch. “I’d ask if you wanted someone to eat with you, but you look like you need some time to process. I’ll check in before school ends.”

She ran home, noting that the man from that morning was still there but looked much less like he would keel over sometime soon. She knew that brew would help. She grabbed a croissant and ran upstairs to finish Prince Ali’s latest commission—a variant on his usual princely attire that was more maneuverable but still formal enough that no one would notice when he wore that one instead of the traditional one.

She had a feeling he was going to use it to sneak away from his guards.

She set an alarm and got to work.

She was quick to leave once the alarm sounded—she gave herself an extra five minutes this time.

“Hey, you’re the coffee angel, right?”

Marinette turned to see the man from that morning, now much more alive.

“I guess.” Marinette knew not to give out names to customers unless her parents deemed them not-stalker-y.

“Thanks, that thing actually worked. What’s in it?”

Marinette smiled at that. “Sorry, that’s a secret not even Maman and Papa get to know.”

“Huh,” the man processed her words. “Guess I’ll have to keep coming when I’m low then.”

Marinette nodded. “Guess so, good to see you’re no longer a zombie monsieur!”

She ran off at that, not sure what to think of them yet, other than if they needed that drink regularly, they might be worse than her. And she has heroing as an excuse. He doesn’t.

--

Holy shit was not expecting this response.

Thank you all so much, was not expecting this much positive response and i think my brain broke a bit, in the good way.

So, we have a new fan to Marinette's secret menu, and a Damian slowly realizing why the school is targetted who is also going with the 'I don't do friends' thing, again.

leaving this one as a poll: Damian calls out Lila by the end of the day for how Marinette and him end up as friends, or he puts together Marinette is doing a lot for the class by the end of the day and wants to figure out why, especially after reading the Ladyblog during lunch, or any other ideas.

Any ideas on how Marinette meets Dick and Jason for when she meets the next round of Batboys?

@worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @littleredrobinhoodlum @northernbluetongue @kceedraws @pirats-pizzacanninibles @theatreandcomicfreak @daminett4life @catthhay @weird-pale-blonde-person @amayakans @chocolatecatstheron