#it probably takes a long time of marinette reassuring him

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

After watching what his mother, and now Nathalie went/is going through, can you imagine how traumatized Adrien must be. I mean, at this point, to hear that anyone he loves is sick or under the weather must make him feel completely panicked. 

I can only imagine if, when they’re older, anytime that Marinette or their kids so much as gets a cold, Adrien would be incredibly doting on and caring for them, bordering on smothering, All to ensure that they get well as soon as possible, that they recover. It just seems like a pattern he is all too familiar with and all too anxious to avoid...

[mc-lukanette]

After spending all of her teenage years as Ladybug, Marinette had thought that nothing could surprise her anymore. The magical earrings had chosen her a long time ago and, as an adult, she practically had all of Paris mapped out in her head. If she needed to go anywhere, she could do so in minutes.

That was exactly what she was doing, using her yoyo to swing from building to building as she made her way home. She'd just wrapped up some typical hero things - stopping a bank robbery, saving a kitten in a tree, the usual - and was looking forward to some rest at home.

Her eyes had long since grown adjusted to picking out the smallest details even while she swung along, so when she caught sight of what appeared to be someone lying face down in an alleyway, she stopped immediately. Letting herself drop down to the ground, she backtracked the small distance on foot and hesitantly peeked into the alley. Despite any horrors she may've seen in her line of "work," she still wasn't good with horror, so she hoped it wasn't a dead body.

It wasn't, but what she did see still had her jaw dropping. There in the alley was a merman, who must've somehow wound up there so far from the ocean. His black and blue hair obscured his face, but she was certain he was unconscious. There weren't any visible wounds to speak of and his body didn't react to being shook or poked.

Ladybug tapped her cheek in thought. Merfolk were rare enough that she didn't know much about them, but she could guess that he'd gone long enough without water nearby. That was the nice possibility anyway, and she preferred not to think of the other.

Thanking herself for her indoor pool at home, she grabbed one of the merman's arms and slowly settled it on her shoulder, trying to lift him into a carrying position. She could feel the thump of a heartbeat when her hand briefly touched his chest and was reassured for certain that he was alive at least.

——

Upon letting the merman down in the shallow part of her pool, Marinette pulled up a seat and tried to focus on a sketchpad in her lap. It probably - no, definitely - looked weird seeing someone handling a simple paper and pencil near water, but she needed something to do and wasn't inclined to leave the merman by himself.

...Pool water is fine, right? she wondered as she idly scribbled. If anything bad happens to him, are there merfolk police that will come after me?

It occurred to her again that she had no idea how he got there. For all she knew, he was dragged out of the water and ditched somewhere, the thought of which making a shudder run through her spine. She hoped that he'd be able to understand a map at least, as then she could simply take him home.

That, of course, all hinged on the fact that he was friendly, but Marinette felt her instincts had been honed enough by then to be able to tell. She'd offered him her pool - not that she used it anyway beyond practicing her aqua powers and bringing nonexistent dates there to swim - so the ideal was that he'd realize she meant no harm. He wasn't restrained in any way, after all.

I should stop thinking about it, she resolved, having long since learned that such paranoia had gotten her nowhere. Then, she looked down and realized that she'd been sketching the pattern on his tail without thinking. Sighing at herself in faint embarrassment, she flipped to a new page and started again on a sketch not in the least involving merfolk.

She was barely a minute in when a single splash caught her attention. She looked up from her sketchpad, noting that the merman was starting to stir and move about. His tail must've given an involuntary twitch while he was waking up and hit the water.

His eyelids fluttered open, revealing deep blue irises that slowly took in the room around him. They darted down to the pool underneath him, his tail intentionally swishing in the water this time, then his sight landed on her.

Marinette blinked, shoulders tensing. In all of her "infinite wisdom," she hadn't thought about how to strike up conversation yet. "...Hi?"

He blinked back, squinting, though she could tell that it was because he was still waking up. He pushed himself up tiredly with his arms, then pointed deeper into the pool and asked, "Do you mind if I swim over there?"

"What?" How was that his first question?! "U-um, sure? Go ahead!"

He took the invitation immediately, slowly adjusting his position to allow him to properly swim into the deeper part of her pool. She found herself inching towards the edge of her seat, head raised as she watched him effortlessly swim around. Had she had a swimming partner like that, trying to adjust to her aqua powers would've been a lot less difficult.

After a moment of moving about in the water, the merman emerged like he'd done the equivalent of a morning stretch. He looked refreshed, his eyes more focused as he moved his bangs out of his vision. "Thanks for saving me. I could've been in big trouble if you didn't find me."

His statements only brought more questions to her, both ping-ponging around in her head until she'd settled on addressing the latter first. "You weren't in trouble before?"

He swam closer to the edge of the pool - nearest to where she was - and rested his forearms there. "How much do you know about merfolk?" When she didn't answer for a few seconds, he took pity on her and explained, "We cast spells using our voice. I thought I practiced my shifting spell enough, but I ran out of magic before I could find my sister's place."

So it had nothing to do with water then, but exhaustion. Marinette's lips pursed, tapping her pencil against her sketchpad as she contemplated if it'd be offensive or not to ask the next burning question that'd surfaced in her brain. The merman stared, this time with curiosity, and her resolve broke to ask, "Um, does she... live at the aquarium or something?"

The way he flashed her a grin, as well as the slight shaking of his shoulders, gave away the almost laugh. Marinette flushed pink, desperate to defend herself.

"S-secretly, of course! I don't go to the aquarium but I know they don't have merfolk there!"

That got a snicker out of him, though he tried to hide it behind his hand. Once he'd calmed, he corrected her, "No. My sister lives with her human girlfriend here. She just has more practice using the shifting spell than I do." He smiled, just slightly shy as he admitted, "I've never been on land before, but I wanted to surprise her."

"Your sister lives on the land?" she pressed further, only growing more baffled the more he explained. "How great is this girlfriend? They must've known each other forever."

To her continued shock, he shook his head. "She started practicing the spell since she first saw her."

"What?!" Marinette didn't know how she went out to do generic heroism and came back with this. "So it was love at first sight?"

"Sound," he clarified, but quickly realized that wasn't descriptive enough. "Merfolk are so rare to see because most of us don't need to leave our groups. We hear the song in everyone's hearts and it tells us right away if someone's the one, so we fall in love quickly."

"Oh." That was all she could say at first, but when she thought about it further it made sense. She'd been wondering why he was so calm around her and willing to divulge such information. Now she knew: he'd already "heard" that she was trustworthy.

She blushed, faintly embarrassed at the idea of having her "soul" read. Unconsciously, she held the sketchpad against her chest, as if she were exposed and trying to cover herself.

"Sorry." He raised a hand in a gesture to show that he meant no harm. "I can't control it."

"It's fine," she assured, mentally digging a hole to bury the urge to ask what he thought of her song. Hurrying to change the subject, she asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"Mm." He had an expression that said he didn't know. Looking away, he ran a hand through his wet hair, mulling over his potential options. "I guess I'll have to go back and practice more, since I can't stay human long enough."

"Can't you just stay here?"

The merman's head jerked back to her, wide-eyed. "...Are you sure?"

Marinette put a hand over her mouth as if it would push back the words she'd already said. The hero instincts had kicked in, always encouraging her to put herself out there for others even if it was an inconvenience to her or overly-impulsive.

"Ah—" She genuinely thought about it since it was too late to take it back. "Yes? You could go to your sister's house from here once you feel better. Besides, you taught me about your kind and are going through all of this just to surprise someone, so..." She shrugged for lack of better reasoning. "I think I can trust you?"

He beamed. Putting both hands flat against the edge of the pool, he pushed himself up to sit on it, thus leaving him free to offer her a handshake. "Thank you...?"

The trailing off at the end was a gentle request for her name. She smiled back at him, getting off of her chair in order to kneel down next to him and shake his hand. "Marinette."

"Luka," he introduced in return.

She was sure that the pool's water had been cool, but his hand was warm.

[ggomos-maribat]

The Consequences of Her Visit

Part 3 of Heirs Apparent | AO3

Masterlist

Danny dragged his feet to the kitchen to fetch himself a glass of water. This time, he wasn't deprived of any sleep; he'd snored his way through the entire afternoon after a particularly long morning of attending to kingly duties.

He threaded his fingers through his hair. The day marked four months since he had last heard from his mother. Her last letter had informed him about the situation of the League: the members had split into two main factions, one in support of a new leader and one in support of Talia and Nyssa's current rule. Talia never made her letters lengthy or personal, but Danny found comfort in receiving them. It told him that his mother was at least alive. 

The hairs on the back of his head abruptly stood on end when he sensed a presence by the kitchen table. 

"Dani, I told you to tell me first before you suddenly drop by," he sighed. 

But when he was met with no snark, no reply, he whipped around to see an unexpected guest. "Amira? What are you doing here?" 

Marinette gave him a gentle smile. "Sorry, I just . . . I needed to see you. It's been four months." 

"Since the letters." Danny moved around the kitchen to prepare hot drinks for the both of them. 

"Yeah." Marinette cast her gaze down. "I can't really visit Damian without compromising our identities so I thought I should come to you." 

Danny shared her sentiments. He already had half the mind to fly to Paris or Gotham out of paranoia but held back, thinking of it as a reckless move. But he was more than relieved to have his sister visit. 

He repeated the words from the last letter. "The League is split into two factions. She's probably occupied with that, right?" 

"I imagine she's taking precautions so the other faction cannot trace us." 

Excuses to reassure themselves. Danny had already known the fact that death was inevitable for any of them—they were a family of assassins after all. But he didn't know if he'd be able to accept it when it did happen. He swallowed down the bitter lump in his throat. Cross the bridge when you get there. Don't think about that right now. 

He took the steaming mugs of coffee, handing Marinette one much to her delight. He wasn't unfamiliar with her addiction to caffeine but he had the same tendencies so he was happy to indulge her. 

"Are you sure it's okay for me to stay here?" Marinette shot a wary look at the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. 

"Don't worry, Mom and Dad can't be woken up even if there's a ghost and Jazz just pulled an all nighter so she's knocked out," Danny explained and Marinette hummed in reply. 

He often wondered if she felt any different shifting into a new family. In his first days with the Fentons, there was a strange feeling accompanied by being the youngest as a transition from being one of a set of triplets. 

"Is there anything bothering you?" asked Marinette, sipping on her drink. Translation: has anyone targeted you? 

"Nothing really. The usual," he shrugged. "Ember, Technus, Fright Knight. They're minor inconveniences at this point. What about you?"  

"Hawkmoth's still Hawkmoth," said Marinette. "But, um, my partner and I are handling things better. We're together now." 

Danny made a mental note to arrange a shovel talk later on when he saw a pink blush dusting her cheeks.  

"I'm worried about you," he confessed, "I was thinking . . . Rogues will always be in Gotham and ghosts won't cease to exist here but you—you can defeat the villain in your city. There's an end to his reign. If we can help out in uncovering his identity, Paris will be at peace again." 

"It's too dangerous. I'm sorry, akhi." 

Danny took a sip from his cup. Just like that, his help was turned down. 

With his luck, footsteps sounded from the staircase. He scrambled to get Marinette into a hiding place but she was faster, effortlessly slipping inside a cabinet. Danny had just enough time to push back her chair and bring her mug next to his when Jack entered the kitchen. 

"Whatcha you doing up, son?" Jack asked. Danny pretended not to notice that his adoptive father was all geared up. 

"Can't sleep." Danny forced out a faux smile. "It's nothing bad." 

"Why do you have two cups of coffee?" 

"Uhmmm, I like to have an extra just in case." He pulled the other mug closer to his. 

Thankfully, Jack didn't seem to think twice about it. "Well, your mom and I are driving over to Springfield. One of our ghost sensors went off there and we're gonna test our newest invention!" 

"You're going right now? At this hour?" Another ghost-hunting trip. What did he expect? 

"Yup!" As if on cue, more footsteps padded down the stairs. Most likely it was Maddie, who was loading their equipment into the truck. "Who knows, we might be able to catch that sneaky Phantom!" 

A chill passed over Danny's spine. The fact that Marinette was hearing how obsessed the two were about hunting down Phantom wasn't good. He drummed his fingers nervously on the table. "Doesn't he stay in Amity Park though?" 

"You never know." Jack dug into his pocket and handed him a few bills. "Here's a lil' something for you. Get yourself something nice while we're out." 

Danny looked down at the allowance left for them. It was barely enough to buy them groceries to last a whole weekend. Jack, as usual, didn't seem to realize this and only ruffled his hair before heading out the front door. In less than a minute, the RV was speeding down the street. 

And Marinette was out from her hiding spot. 

"Danny, what was that?" He couldn't meet her eyes as she asked the dreaded question. 

"What was what?" 

"Are your parents always like that?" Her tone was firmer, voice louder. 

He didn't answer. Marinette moved closer to him and he knew—he knew—she was analyzing him, watching his every move to read the answer from him. "Danny. Danyal." She clutched the edge of the table. "What was that?" 

He had told his siblings about how he came to be a Halfa, but he only mentioned in passing that his parents were hunters. He chose to omit their neglect, and preferred to just live with it. "Jack and Maddie care about catching ghosts more than us," he told his sister quietly, "But they're good people, amira." 

"But what he said about Phantom." Venom laced her words. "How can they be so reckless? What about you? You're a good person, don't they see that?" 

Danny opened his mouth and clamped it shut. Ancients, what am I supposed to say? 'We're used to it'? He braved a look at her eyes and found them flowing with emotion, perhaps even more than what she could show back in Paris. 

"They don't know you're . . ." 

"No, they don't." 

"But Jazz knows, right?" She took a seat, accepting her cup again. 

"Yes, and she's been taking care of me ever since." He reached across to squeeze her hand. "It's okay, we're okay right now. As soon as Jazz finishes college and saves up enough money, we'll be out of this house." 

"Why didn't you tell us you've been living like this?" Her face was red, her irises were watery and her fingers shook. Marinette was good at concealing her emotions, but she was better at expressing them at the right times.  

"The same reason why we lie about our past," Danny answered solemnly. "You understand that, don't you?" 

A harsh glare was directed at him. "Yes, we lie to other people but that doesn't mean you lie to us. No matter what you think of the situation, it's dangerous for you. And don't say you didn't want to worry me and akhi, because we're always worried." 

His shoulders sagged. He did want to tell them but only when he had settled on a new life. "I'm sorry." 

Marinette heaved out a sigh, and it that second Danny felt like he was the youngest, fresh out of a scolding. She sipped on her coffee to calm herself down, rubbing away the tears from her eyes. "You know akhi will skin you alive, right?" 

His lips quirked up into a smile. "It's not like I'm not already half-dead." 

"Danyal." 

"I know, I know." His smile stretched wider. "Are you going to tell him?" 

Marinette huffed. "I should." 

"I'll tell him myself. Later today." He downed the last of his coffee, savoring the sweet taste. 

"What?" 

"You said it's difficult to visit Damian, but it's less risky if it's me. I'll drop by Gotham, check on him, and ask if he's heard anything from the League or Mother," he vowed. "Then I'll come clean." 

Marinette's lips curled. ". . . Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I'll make it quick and give you an update after." Plus, I can always overshadow akhi if it doesn't go well. Or disappear right away. 

----

Danny didn't find his brother in manor, so he opted to track his location to the Botanical Gardens where he saw Damian with Titus. He swiftly checked if he was truly alone before jotting down a coded message on a broad leaf. He dropped the leaf on the page Damian was sketching on, and the latter quickly deemed the coast clear. 

"Hey, akhi." Danny carefully sat down beside his brother. The setup and timing were too perfect. 

It was almost as if Damian was expecting him. 

"Amira told you, didn't she?" Danny said with a wince. 

"She concisely summarized what transpired during her visit." Damian paused his sketching, patting Titus' head who seemed to be interested in Danny's presence. "Now explain." 

Of course she'd snitch on me, Danny grumbled to himself. But then again, I promised to tell Damian. "It's exactly how it is. My adoptive parents . . . aren't the best parents. Ghost hunting has always been the topmost priority for them and Jazz has been the one taking care of me for as long as I remember." 

"Why were you keeping this from us?" 

Danny's leg bounced up and down. From their childhood, it was always Damian who asserted his elder position among the three, despite being born only three minutes before Danny. Danny always thought his brother was subconsciously pressured to be the one in charge, along with the obligation of being the League's heir. 

"Because . . . it's too messy to deal with it. I don't want court cases linked to us or CPS knocking at our door," Danny replied. "And it's better this way. They don't care too much if I'm out late or missing for a few days. At least Jazz and I have the freedom to deal with our lives, especially ghost-fighting." 

Danny looked at his brother. He hadn't torn his gaze away from the page, continuing to draw the pink hydrangeas in front of them. Danny leaned back. "There's also the Guys In White." 

"Guys in White?" 

"A secret government organization dedicated to eliminating ghosts." The awful memories filled his head one by one. "If Jack and Maddie are out of the picture, they might come for me and Jazz or confiscate their hunting equipment. I don't need more ghosts falling into their hands." 

Danny laughed humorlessly. "So I guess our parents' neglect is a double-edged sword in that way." 

He felt his eyes shifting in color as he imagined what the GIW could do to them and his subjects. Damian clearly sensed his anxiety as he didn't pry any further about the organization (though Danny knew his akhi would be doing a lot of incognito research later on). 

". . . I see," Damian finally uttered after moments in silence. 

Danny cocked an eyebrow. "That's it? 'I see'? You're not going to skin me?" 

"Tt. I trust that you and Jasmine know what you're doing and I see no need to interfere . . . yet." A scowl flashed on his face. "Also, I refuse to be a victim of your possession again." 

Danny blinked. He anticipated blood. A bruise or two at least. But a calm Damian was more terrifying; he took it as a promise that his brother will retaliate if ever anything happens to him under the care of his adoptive parents. 

Nonetheless, he was glad he could finally confide in his siblings about his situation and give them more clarity on his double life as a Halfa. 

"Overshadowing," Danny corrected, snorting. "That was one time! I didn't know where to hide." 

"You made a fool out of me in front of Kent." 

"Come on, he totally bought it!"  

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[quickspinner]

Even Superheroes Need a Hand

Normally I don't do great with word count limits (or word count goals) but I thought the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers minific challenge might be a good chance to try getting some mojo back. Instead of checking my word count I did a timed sprint, but apparently I gave myself a little too much time because I still came out well above word count.

I also kind of fizzled out at the end, not sure exactly where to go (probably should have rewatched the NY special bus scene, but I was too lazy).

But, I figure any writing is better than no writing, right?

No edits, just brain dump.

Fictober prompt Day 1: "It's not too late, let's go."

Even Superheroes Need a Hand

She was panicking. She could feel it in the way her heart felt like it was shoving up into her throat and choking her, still beating wildly the whole time. She was so stupid, she knew better, why did this always happen, why couldn’t she be on time for just one day—

Think. She needed to think. Solve the problem, that’s what we do right? Marinette put one hand on her purse, but guilt stopped her. There had to be another solution, Tikki wouldn’t like it if she just—but what else was she supposed to do? A taxi—did she have enough money for a—

“Marinette?” 

Her head snapped up, and she found herself staring up at Luka, who was standing with one foot on the ground and the other still on the pedal of his bicycle. His brow furrowed in concern even as he looked at her. “Weren’t you supposed to go on your school trip today?” he asked. “I thought that’s why Juleka left early, to catch the bus.”

Marinette slumped, ashamed, and whipped her hand away from her purse to rub at the back of her head. “I—” Even as she stuttered out an explanation, she could see Luka taking in her suitcase and putting together what must have happened.

Her babbled explanation was cut off by the click of his kickstand as he got off of his bike. “Come on, it’s not too late, let’s go.”

“What? But Luka—” Marinette began protesting, even as Luka was loading her bag on the luggage rack. “You can’t ride all the way to the airport!” 

“I could try,” Luka grinned. “But I think I can catch the bus before it come to that. It couldn’t have left too long ago, right?” He was still moving, even as he was talking, and Marinette took the pink helmet he handed her without thinking.

“Luka, I can’t ask you to do that—” she began, but he was already straddling the bike again. She took the hand he offered without thinking, climbing onto the bike seat. “You can’t catch up to a bus—” 

“In this city?” Luka snorted. “Bet you I can. Hold on, though, it might not be the smoothest ride.” 

“This is insane,” Marinette moaned as she put her arms around his waist. “You’ll be late for school!”

Luka just shot a grin back at her and started the bike with a hefty push. “Here we go.” 

Marinette moaned to herself, and held on tighter. 

The ride was a blur. It was hard to see much beyond Luka’s back anyway, and between the crisis and the bump of the bike Marinette’s brain was too rattled to process what was going on. Luka whipped into alleys she hadn’t even known were there a heartbeat before he turned, and Marinette clamped her teeth to keep from squealing and distracting him. He didn’t have much breath for talk, anyway, and some corner of her mind found the time to be impressed, not only at how well he knew the city’s back ways, but at the way he was thinking on the fly to find them a route that would, she hoped, eventually intersect the bus. Then they hit another bump and Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, clinging to Luka and praying for heavy traffic on the main roads.

“We’re going to make it,” he told her as her hands tightened on his shirt. “Don’t worry.” 

Marinette laughed weakly, and as a downhill slope gave him a chance to glide, he looked over his shoulder and shot her a reassuring smile. 

She had to smile back.

She was too overwhelmed in the moment to take in everything that was happening, but that night, she would call him, babbling apologies, promising him pastries, and anxiously asking how long it had taken him to get home. He laughed at her concerns, admitted he was a little sore but he had taken his time getting home, stopping by some shops in that area of the city. He’d gotten his mom to call him in sick, so as long as his classmates didn’t rat him out, he wouldn’t be in too much trouble. 

[susannaius]

Pretension

Ok, so I loved EVERYTHING about this episode, starting with THIS:

Just look at his face. How horrified he is. This is the first time he might realise that there is actually something wrong with him. He wants to contradict his father, he wants it so much, and he physically cannot. And the first part of it? Plagg is right behind him, so while he is there, he cannot see Adrien's face, cannot see the absolute distress he is in (while he is already used to Adrien musing about contradicting his father but not acting on it). Adrien is so ALONE.

The only upside is that the situation will not last long, because Marinette will storm in, enclose him in an embrace, and reassuring him that she will always be there for him. I really loved how Gorilla simply let her did it. Not that I'm surprised, especially after we were reassured earlier in the episode that he is in Adrien's corner.

Also, Marinette is absolute queen in this episode. After Gabe accuses her that she is in "love" with Adrien only for the fame and the connections (which a lot of Marinette salters do anyway), and in general does his best to break off her wings, she makes the most of the situation by 1. leaving the situation without choosing one bad thing or another, 2. still reassuring Adrien she is there, and 3. handing Gabe's ass to him on the pancake front. As soon as she is out of view, she deserves a little meltdown, as a treat.

In the meantime, Tomoe is being a total bitch. If anyone had any doubts whether she cares about her daughter, know we know for sure. And what kind of twisted person would say that wanting to feel love and feel loved, and letting other to have the same is being "slaves to their feelings"? What the actual ever giving fuck?

And this is topped by Felix coming to her "rescue". My baby boy is trying to express his feelings by stalking and kidnapping the girl she likes! I'm so glad Kagami is calling him out on his bullshit. (And that when he asks for time, she stops swinging the chair, but will not put it down.)

But then, but then... OK, so I tried to keep as spoiler free as possible, but I still ended up getting hints of Feligami. And I was like, huh? How is that possible? How can that work? But then Felix goes and says the one thing that can realistically make self-sufficient, determined, but lonely Kagami fall for him: that he wants to protect her from her mum, and here mum can't talk to her like this?!?

Look at that girl? She is so... soft?!? But alas, this cannot last, guests arrive, and EVERYONE wants to save Kagami! Asasdfasgsdxsgafvgd

The only question is, who does KAGAMI want to save her? Probably not Felix... But then her mum starts shooting arrows at her, so...

Hey, what do you MEAN Felix's father was worse? How worse? Did we know about this? Did Felix get free because his father died? What is happening?

Felix getting romantic in the sewers (the sewer system is such a romantic place, we know that already) - about senti beings. Or is he talking about parents? Who knows? Not me! Not based on this one frame!

And then our heroes arrive and Kagami stands up to them! For Felix! And we get teamwork! Yay!

And it is so bad that when Tomoe is turned back and Ladybug briefly talks to her, we know this is not the end of it. And then Kagami comes and tells her that to follow one's heart is not a weakness! GO KAGAMI! But Kagami is still a dutiful daughter who loves and respects her mum very much...

Please tell me she is not a senti and that is not her amok please tell me she is not a senti and that is not her amok please tell me she is not a senti and that is not her amok please tell me she is not a senti and that is not her amok...

Well, I guess, she is, and it is... (in which case I do hope Felix tells her to keep it safe, and maybe also why, grrrr)

(On a sidenote, you can trust Gabe to promise Natalie that he would spend as much time with Adrien as possible, taking this last chance to be there for him - and then trying to break up him and his girlfriend, and announcing to send Adrien off to London. Of course, that can only be expected. Ugh.)

OMG WHAT A RIDE

(One more thing: when I first read the sentiadrien thing I was so angry, and when I first read the "all the rich kids are sentis" thing I was like no, that cannot be true... But all these things happening, and Felix being like this... it makes total sense if all the rich kids are sentis, while none if not, unless there is a totally different solutions... and this is the biggest red herring of the history of animation.)

[alexiethymia]

ML s5e9 Elation

I loved it and I have a lot to say

Marichat given and taken in one ep. *sobs*

Marinette is having a hard time of it. She’s just a fourteen year old girl, and every time she has a crush, everything goes wrong.

Andre represents the hardcore shippers. He represents all of us.

This ep was insidious. Hawkmoth knowing Marinette is Chat Noir’s weakness is dangerous. But it is also hilarious in that I am absolutely sure he’s going to want Marinette around more often for the chance to manipulate her which gives more chances for Adrien to make her fall for him again which means Gabriel is both endangering and helping out his son’s love life. Good luck with your avoiding Adrien plan, Marinette!

Adrien is amazing. His heart and strength and kindness and ethics is amazing to me. Marinette needs that reassurance of Chat Noir loving Marinette, but also can’t help but feel hurt he no longer loves Ladybug. Meanwhile, Adrien despite having what he wants being literally there for the taking (and make no mistake he wants Marinette desperately, that doped out look proves it, he probably has since way back that first time she kissed him), has enough sense and conscience to get a hold of himself. I really appreciate this show taking the time to explain the power imbalance of loving a superhero with a secret identity (which I think applies in a lot of scenarios) and that despite how much Marinette wants it, Adrien won’t even take the tiniest risk of taking advantage of her

In connection to the above, it is his utterly selfless care for the people he loves that saved this love square from getting even more complicated. Despite how much hurt he must feel like probably having lost Marinette because it felt heavy to love him (and to find out she loves his alter-ego which must compound his self-confidence issues), Adrien of all people to hear that and to think that Marinette might have been burdened with loving him, what with all his hang ups about fame and loneliness, to still not take the easy way out as Chat Noir - I just, I just really have to applaud him. He’s come such a long way from that boy who let his jealousy akumatize someone. This may be a kid’s show but I lived (and guiltily loved) through some problematic shoujo leads so Adrien has always been refreshing to me in so many ways. I loved him as Adrien and Chat Noir in determination, so I’m really excited to see his progression throughout season five.

Marinette is amazingly brave, but Adrien too is unbelievably courageous with his heart. Multiple times he serves his heart on a platter, but rather than be cynical, he still chooses to be true to himself. It is this eternal optimism, in contrast to Marinette’s pessimism (which she has good reason to have, thinking you’ll end the world if you fall in love will do that to you), that allows him to face both Ladybug and Marinette, and rather than resent or even feel hurt by Marinette, psych himself up to win her over again. He can believe that Marinette would love anyone under the mask even though he hesitates to reveal himself now that he thinks Marinette must have been burdened when she loved him, because that’s how he felt/feels in regard to Ladybug. His hang-up is more on the secret identities thing. He wants to court her properly and honestly. He truly is a good boi.

Also, I cannot believe with how many speculations and theories we’ve had of how Marinette’s feelings for Adrien get revealed, she gets outed by ANDRE OF ALL PEOPLE?? I don’t know whether to call him king or clown. He’ll probably be overjoyed the moment they reveal their identities to each other, and he sees Adrien and Marinette holding hands and happy, as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir, like balance has been restored. (And then go berserk again and Glacer 4.0 the moment he sees Ladybug spiderman kissing Adrien Agreste in an alleyway or something.)

[jennagrinsoverml]

I know you probably have a million rec lists you’re working on but I am wondering if you have any fics you’ve read since writing your rec lists that you would want to add to your existing lists? Or would you just make a part 2 for them in that case.

Ooh, anon, this is a great question! I usually don't add to my lists after they're posted, even if I come across a fic that would be perfect for it. (Although I will curse my luck to find the fic after posting lol) These days I don't do a lot of self-directed rec lists, since I get so many asks, so I haven't done any part 2s in a while.

The rec list I would most want to update/redo would be Season 4 Angst.

See, when I'm making my lists, I start them in my drafts and add to them over time. I don't add immediately when I'm reading. Usually I email myself fics, but previously I would sometimes copy and paste the fics into a word doc.

This turned out to be a mistake. Because...when I was doing the Season 4 Angst rec list...I forgot to include all the fics I had in my word doc. WHOOPS!

I felt so bad when I realized, but it'd already been reblogged a bunch, so it felt too late to change it.

So, kind anon, I'm going to take advantage of this ask to share the fics I wanted to then! (As well as a few more I’ve found since.) Not all of these are angsty, so this can be a general Season 4 rec list to supplement the angst one 😁

ours, always. By @theanxiouscupcake

Chat Noir knows this is not a regular patrol when he arrives to their spot. She's pacing up and down, muttering to herself, occasionally tugging at her pigtails. When he lands on the roof, she looks up, startled and as her eyes take him in, she jumps at him to swathe him into the tightest she’s ever given him. 

“I- I swear, I didn’t mean to,” she says softly. “I- I mean I did, but I didn’t plan to do it! We were just- Everyone was so upset with me, and I couldn’t take it anymore, minou, a-and I…”

He tries to hug her again in reassurance, but she pushes away, eyes scrunched shut as she words burst out of her. “ I told my best friend I’m Ladybug.”

One-shot. This fic is, I think, what we all wanted after Gang of Secrets. That is to say, Ladybug actually TELLING Chat that she revealed her identity to someone else. And it hurts, and Chat is clearly hurt, and he’s allowed to be, but also Ladybug isn’t made out to be wrong or bad. It’s just this real portrayal of how that could have gone (how it should have gone).

The Break (My Broken Bones are Mending) by MoonlightShines   

“I can’t believe you broke your ankle!” Alya bemoaned for the hundredth time. She fluffed the pillow underneath Marinette’s bad leg. 

Marinette threw her head back on her bed with a drawn out groan. “I know!” 

“Girl, what are we gonna do?” 

“I don’t know!”

One-shot. The premise of this one is a little ridiculous with Marinette breaking her ankle, and then her and Alya deciding that she can continue to be Ladybug and maybe no one will notice. Needless to say...Chat notices. And proceeds to be sweet as can be because of course he does. And the whole thing is just so sweet and I loved the ending!

The Sun is In Your Eyes by @deinde-prandium

The morning after they’ve revealed their identities to one another, Ladybug and Chat Noir have a much-needed talk. Post-season 4.

One-shot. Oh man, I love this fic a ridiculous amount. We get post-reveal pre-relationship in the aftermath of all of season 4′s angst and it’s beautiful!! Chat trying to hold back because he doesn’t want to pressure her, but his feelings haven’t changed, of course they haven’t. And Marinette’s learned that her partner is the boy she loves and she’s afraid but they actually talk to each other and it’s absolutely beautiful!!!

they took the crown, but it’s alright by welcomedistraction

it doesn't surprise her that she falls for him in that moment. it only surprises her how long it took in the first place.

Two-shot. We all saw the way Ladybug looked at Chat at the end of Strike Back. Here we have the aftermath of Ladybug realizing her feelings for her partner, which leads to a sweet mix of angst and fluff, and an eventual identity reveal. It’s a sweet fic!

Build You Up by @coffeebanana​

After the events of Risk and Strike Back, showing up to school and acting like nothing had changed feels wrong. Adrien doesn't want to be there, listening to the fears and criticisms of his classmates. Worrying about Ladybug. Trying not to let his doubts consume him.

But it turns out there's someone else who might want to be there even less than him. And maybe the answer to his problems has been sitting behind him in class all along.

One-shot. My absolute favourite post-season 4 fic! Like, this is EXACTLY the fic that I needed after watching Strike Back. It’s so, so good and there’s an identity reveal and I don’t want to spoil it, but this fic is gorgeous and you should definitely read it if you haven’t already! (And if you have, well, consider this an excuse to read it again!)

Off the Mark by @buggachat​

Ever since Nino's (frankly embarrassing) akumatization into Rocketear, Chat Noir's behavior had taken a strange and sudden turn in the presence of Carapace, and Nino could only think of one possible explanation:

Chat Noir hated him.

Somehow, Adrien didn't seem to agree.

One-shot. This is adrino (can be read platonically) not love square but it’s so, so good. As you all may have realized by now, I’m an absolute sucker for misunderstandings, and I’ve been desperate for good fic dealing with the aftermath of Rocketear since it came out. And this is just SPECTACULAR! Nino doesn’t understand why Adrien’s so bothered, but of course it’s clear to us as readers, and it’s finally resolved so beautifully omg I love this fic!!!

[flightfoot]

Gang of Secrets gave us a lot of gifts, a lot of things to be happy about, to talk about. Between the emotional breakdown Marinette was going through, one of the biggest status quo changes in the show’s history, and the potential for Ladynoir conflict down the line, there’s a lot to discuss.

But I want to focus on one of the smaller parts of the episode: Trixx.

He’s a pretty small part of the episode, all things considered. But what little screentime he has is put to good use fleshing him out, giving him an interesting personality and qualities that make him stand out from his fellow kwamis, ones that build on what we’ve seen from him previously.

We first got a good look at Trixx’s personality back in Sapotis, when Ladybug chose her first temporary superhero partner: Alya, AKA Rena Rouge. She’d promised to return the necklace afterwards, but was reluctant to do so, having enjoyed being a superhero so much and wanting to help Ladybug and Chat Noir consistently. She pleaded with Ladybug about keeping the necklace long enough that Ladybug was forced to take cover in order to stop from outing her identity

Trixx:  You're absolutely right, Alya. I'm sure the three of you would make quite the team! You have all the makings of a true superhero.

Trixx:  You're strong, brave,

Trixx: but most of all, you’re trustworthy.

Trixx is pushing Alya to make the right decision here, not through scolding her, but by subtly reminding her that she’s not living up to the ideals of a hero right now, even while he’s complimenting her. That in order to truly be the hero she wants to be, she needs to keep her promise.

And she does.

This scene, as short as it was, gave Trixx one of the most standout personalities and qualities among the kwamis. He’s subtle and manipulative, understanding people well enough to have an idea what to say or do to get the outcome he wants.

That manipulation isn’t always a bad thing: here, it stopped Alya from making a grave mistake.

Trixx is the kwami of illusion, something that he exemplifies in not only his power, but his name and his personality as well. He knows what to do to push people to think what he wants them to think, to do what he wants them to do.

Which goes back to Gang of Secrets.

Marinette’s breaking down after pretending to be fine earlier. Trixx, having a decent understanding of humans and what might be able to help, urges her to reach out to her friends, to find strength in her support network.

Marinette refuses.

That particular avenue cut off for now, Trixx changes his approach.

If she can’t get support from her friends - and it’s true that they can’t understand all the details of why she’s hurting - she can at least get Tikki’s support, the support of the kwami who’s been with her longest and most often.

But Marinette refuses that as well.

Luckily, Trixx has an ace up his sleeve.

This is where Trixx shines. What he’s saying here isn’t untrue - Tikki could probably use that break - but concern for Tikki isn’t the main reason he’s saying this. He just understands Marinette well enough to know that this is something he can push on to make her do a 180 on the whole “staying transformed all the time” thing.

Trixx is good at using truths to get people to do what he wants.

In Sapotis, he emphasized how trustworthiness helps make for a good hero - this is true.

Here with Marinette, he emphasized that Tikki might be tired or want to eat instead of being part of the transformation for longer - this is also true and fair.

But in both cases he used the truth deceptively, with surgical precision, wrapping up his actual motives in true statements that made it appear like his priorities, his reasons for saying them, for pushing them, were different than they actually were.

There’s a second scene in this episode with Trixx, which continues the trend of saying what he needs to say, presenting things the way he needs to present them in order to get things done, wrapping them in truth, but using that to obfuscate some key details.

When Marinette’s cornered by Lady Wifi, Trixx creates an illusions, against his fellow kwamis’ concerns.

With how dire the situation is, even knowing the risks, Trixx uses his power without a Holder to temper it, creating an illusion of Marinette and leading Lady Wifi and the rest of the akumas away.

Ladybug’s happy things worked out, but concerned.

What Trixx says here is true, but obscures the size of the problem. 

Barkk and Wayzz, having know Trixx for a very long time, know the true scope of the issue and are indignant at Trixx for playing it down.

It’s true that the damage was illusory. But a dancing Eiffel Tower is hard to ignore.

Trixx wanted to reassure Ladybug that him using his power was fine, stop her from worrying too much (and also not get lectured). To that end, he told Ladybug the truth about what his raw power does, but doesn’t go into detail.

He plays it down, but truthfully understands how extreme it can be, and concerning - that’s evident after she leaves and only his fellow kwamis, who’re well-acquainted with his powers, are around. Him telling her the damage would be illusory and acting casual about it wasn’t because he genuinely believed that using his power without a wielder was harmless, like he seemed to imply - here he acknowledges that it’s something that’ll need to be fixed.

But it allowed him to achieve his goal of assuaging Ladybug’s worries at the time.

Overall Trixx is one of my favorite kwamis right now. What little screen time he has is put to good use, and his cleverness and understanding of human psychology make him stand out from the others, and make him a very useful character overall.

[nobodyfamousposts]

Chloe’s Lament Part 3

She didn’t know how long she spent ruminating. What drew her out of those thoughts was the sudden shouting from behind her and the exclamation of Bustier ordering Ivan to go to the Principal’s.

…wait…

Yes! Yes, this was it! This was the start of Stoneheart, the first akuma!

This was the start of the previous Ladybug’s debut!

And it would be the beginning of her own!

Chloe was almost squirming in her seat as Ivan was ordered to go to the Principal’s office. She watched eagerly as he stormed out of the room.

Soon, she reminded herself.

Soon…

So caught up in her own plans and imagining all the things she would do with the Miraculous, she didn’t even notice when class was over until everyone was leaving.

That’s right! She had to go, too! Her Miraculous awaited!

Sure, she didn’t know where it would be, but it was supposed to show up when Stoneheart appeared, right?

All the more reason to head out now to start looking!

Or she would if it weren’t for Bustier calling her before she could get out the door.

“Chloe. Do you have a minute?”

No, she didn’t! She had a Miraculous to receive and a city to adore her!

But at Bustier’s expectant look, she turned back with a sigh and walked up to her teacher’s desk. This was just a minor and temporary obstacle. Surely her Miraculous would wait! It wasn’t like there was anyone else fit for the hero role.

Her thoughts shifted to Marinette briefly before she waved them off. Certainly not!

“Did you need something?” She asked. As much of a rush as she was to get her Miraculous, Bustier was her favorite teacher and had always been on her side. The least she could do was allow her a bit of her time.

“I wanted to check in with you before school, but it seemed you had gotten here before I did.” Bustier smiled but her expression seemed tense. “I heard there had been an argument before class started?” She asked gently.

Perfect! Just the opening she needed.

Chloe fixed a hurt expression. “It was awful! Marinette was dictating the roles for the work study and she was going to make Adrien work in the kitchen!”

There! Let’s see how that wannabe responds when the school calls her out on this!

Bustier listened to her cries and nodded in sympathy, so Chloe was sure she had this set.

“What did Adrien say?”

…except for that.

“Pardon?”

“Did Adrien say he didn’t want to work the kitchen?” Bustier asked curiously.

Did he?

“Marinette didn’t give him a chance!” She argued, though truthfully she didn’t remember how he responded at the time. She had just been focusing on calling out Marinette and getting back at her for everything.

“Did you ask Adrien what he wanted?” Bustier asked.

A long pause followed.

The teacher looked at Chloe almost pityingly.

What? What was that look for?!

“I already knew!” Chloe defended. Because she did! Of course she did! She didn’t have to ask! He was her best friend! Of course she knew him better than anyone! So of course she knew what he wanted! “I was just looking out for him!”

It was just to help him! It wasn’t about herself! Wasn’t that good? Didn’t that make her the good guy here? Where was the outrage at Marinette?

“Were you looking out for him or against Marinette?”

Silence.

Bustier sighed.

“Chloe, I know it’s difficult coming back after what happened. And I know you want your feelings to be justified.”

Because they were. Chloe’s feelings were justified, but no one could possibly understand why. She was the only one who knew about the previous reality. 

“—don’t know what you were doing in her locker, though I’m sure you had a reason, you know that wasn’t the right way to go about it—”

How could she even begin to explain what had happened? Of everything she had suffered while Marinette had gotten to play the hero and deny her what was rightfully hers?

“—though I’m sure it was an accident, but the things you said before and afterwards gave everyone the wrong idea—”

No. There was no point trying to explain. Even Bustier wouldn’t get it. Especially not at a time before magic was shown to be real.

“—really tried to argue on your behalf, but you were caught on camera—”

Though it seems like she at least is still on Chloe’s side. Plus there was that time she believed Marinette cheated on the test and did whatever, so clearly her trust in the girl wasn’t that great.

“—have already talked to Marinette about it and she’s willing to try to forgive—”

Plus Bustier was a bleeding heart. She never punished her for anything. Even looking the other way with some of Chloe’s plans. Getting bi-colored hair out of the way so she could be in the class photo next to her Adrikens. Her methods to win the Class Rep position. She never even made her do anything as the Rep. Surely that meant she was on her side, right?

“—but her parents are still very upset. It took a lot of effort to get them to agree to—”

Whatever this ‘probation’ was, it wasn’t like she’d be held to it.

“—advocated to keep you in my class along with her to prove you can do it. I have faith in you—”

Chloe nodded, not really listening, her mind busy formulating new plans.

It didn’t matter that Chloe was starting at a slight disadvantage. She could work around this.

“—so I hope you can understand—”

It meant that she just had to keep under the radar as Chloe.

And complete her revenge through the mask of Ladybug.

All the better.

After all, what better irony would it be than to ruin Marinette by using her own former hero persona against her?

“—what your counselor has been telling you—”

Chloe shook her head, realizing she had missed out on what Bustier was saying. And one word in particular stuck out to her.

“Counselor?”

Bustier looked surprised at Chloe’s own surprise, then worried. “Please tell me you haven’t been skipping your sessions, Chloe. Those are part of the requirements per the agreement for you to continue coming to school here.”

Chloe blinked in shock.

“What?!”

“I was able to argue for you to stay in my classes, and the administration agreed to keep you on a probationary period, but these are part of the conditions, Chloe.” Bustier explained. She sounded particularly anxious about it, causing it to really hit Chloe just how serious this was. “You need to see your counselor weekly and you need to not antagonize any of the other students, especially Marinette. Her parents were willing to accept the arrangement and not demand a hearing with the school board to have you expelled, but there is only so much the school can accommodate.”

No…no way…

How could she start off with things this bad for her already?

Wait…was this Marinette’s fault, too? Had she framed Chloe somehow?

Bustier rested a hand on Chloe’s shoulder in some attempt at reassurance.

“I want to continue to work with you, Chloe. But please…you need to at least try.” She said more than asked, but was still pleading. “Marinette has been willing to forgive, but if her parents hear anything more about you antagonizing her, this will be your last strike and they may very well demand your expulsion. Maybe even press charges.”

“Press charges?!”

But no one had ever pressed charges against her! She had never even had a detention before! And now she was facing this immediately?

“They aren’t going to!” Bustier assured her. “Believe me, no one wants that!”

Clearly Marinette did, the evil bit—

Bustier crouched, just enough to be eye level with her.

“Chloe, things aren’t over yet. We want you to have the best chance for your future. That’s why I’m working with you this year and why you have a counselor to help you with all these feelings you’re having a hard time with. And that’s why you need to take this as a new chance and do your best with it.”

Bustier looked at her hopefully.

“Do you understand?”

Yes, she understood clearly.

She understood that this world was ridiculous, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!

This was not at all what she had wished for and she would be having words with that little kwami as soon as she got the Miraculous!

But as she couldn’t exactly explain any of that to Bustier, she simply nodded numbly and returned to her seat. There, she looked over her notebooks. And when Bustier wasn’t focusing on her, she glanced over her phone. Really, she should have done that first thing as soon as she woke up, and she regretted not doing so sooner.

What she found was…illuminating…

Chloe had gotten it completely wrong.

It wasn’t that Marinette was a threat. Or that she was abusing her power to bully Chloe. Or just doing any of the things that Chloe had assumed she would.

It was that Chloe herself was on thin ice for a history of bullying and harassment. And this time around, as a normal girl without her former clout, people were not as inclined to overlook her behavior. Especially when the girl in question being targeted was the daughter of the Mayor and also unexpectedly well regarded (not loved, because surely it had to be the position that made people hate Chloe originally, right?)

Marinette may not have been willing to demand punishment for whatever reason--probably to look good to the peons, but the school administration, being the cronies that they were, would hardly risk the liability of something happening to the child of an official under their care.

She left the class but honestly didn’t know where she was going. She was running on autopilot at this point as everything finally started to sink in about the new reality she was in. Nothing was as she expected. If anything, it was worse!

She just needed her Miraculous! Everything would be fine when—

“Chloe?”

Speak of the devil…

She had nearly bumped into the very girl her thoughts were raging against.

“Chloe?” Marinette asked. “Are you okay?”

No! No, she wasn’t! Everything was wrong and nothing was how it was supposed to be and it was all her fault!

“What do you want?” Chloe demanded sourly.

Marinette held out a hand but hesitated. She drew back but instead pressed on verbally. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed confused earlier, and—

Yeah, cutting that nonsense off right now! If she thought pretending to care would spare her once Chloe became the Ladybug hero, she had another thing coming! And there was no way she was going to let the traitor use her to try and make herself look better by acting nice.

Chloe sharply cut her off. If Marinette hadn’t pulled her own hand back, it would have been slapped away with Chloe’s motion.

“Stop faking! There’s no way a spoiled brat who is given everything by her parents would help others! You’re just as crooked as they are!” She shouted.

Because that’s what Marinette had to be! What she always must have been! Why else would she hoard all the Miraculous to herself and not give Chloe what was hers?!

Marinette looked at Chloe almost…pityingly.

That witch was looking down on her!

“I don’t know what is upsetting you, Chloe. But I’m not responsible for your problems. You can lash out for as little as it actually makes you feel better, but I don’t have to take it.”

Don’t have to—DON’T HAVE TO—!!!

Chloe pointed at her angrily. “It’s because of you that I’m having to see a counselor!”

And Marinette sighed! Sighed! Like she was the one being put upon here! Bad enough she stole Chloe’s life, but now she was trying to act like she was the wronged party, here!

“Chloe, the alternative was a restraining order and another fine. And I’m pretty sure your dad can’t keep paying them. All things considered, I think you got off lucky.”

Chloe broke off sputtering, wanting nothing more than to put the other girl in her place but having no way to do so without revealing anything.

Marinette stared her straight on, unperturbed.

“Whatever you’re facing now is a result of your own actions.”

How dare she?! Like she knows anything!

Who was she to talk?!

“Oooh!” Chloe stomped her foot before storming off.

She’d show her!

Just wait! Once she got her Miraculous, she would tear her down in every way possible and she would enjoy it! And THEN Ladybug would be sorry! She would regret ever denying Chloe!

She just needed—

From a distance, she could hear crashing and the sound of screams echoing through the school. Many people ran past her in terror. And peeking out, she caught sight of what could only be Stoneheart rampaging through the school. 

“No doubt looking for what’s-his-name.” She muttered. She hadn’t really cared to know the details of that first akuma attack aside from her involvement in it.

But still, there was an akuma, just as expected! Which signaled the first appearance of the heroes!

She smirked.

This was it! That meant she should be getting her Miraculous at any time now! She just had to wait for whoever to deliver it to her!

So she waited in place, grinning with excitement the entire time.

And waited.

And waited.

And…waited.

Waiting…

…

…

…

…but nobody came.

“WHAT GIVES?!”

How was she supposed to become a hero if her power-granting jewelry didn’t show up? How did Marinette get it originally anyway? She seemed close to that old guy…wasn’t he supposed to show up by now? She hasn’t seen any old guy!

“Where is it already?!”

Well, someone had to deliver it, right? Maybe they just didn’t know where she was and left it somewhere she could find…which meant she had to be the one to search.

“I can’t believe this!”

Nothing in her locker.

“What kind of service is this anyway?”

Her desk was empty.

“Is this how you treat your hero?”

With little other options, she stormed home in a huff—not like classes would happen anyway with a giant stone monster running around. She didn’t even need to bother checking, as it was what happened last time. And if the way everyone was running around was any indication, it would no doubt be the same now.

She couldn’t afford to waste anymore time. Her moment had come! And that meant her Miraculous was here!

She flung open the door to her room.

…somewhere.

“Where is it?”

Not on her desk.

“Where is it?!”

Not on or under her bed.

“Why would they make it so hard to find?!”

Really, she should be handed it on a golden platter as everyone begs her to save them! It shouldn’t be this difficult! And she shouldn’t be having to actually have to search herself!

That’s what the servants were for! Or Sabrina.

She was determined, however! Nothing would stop her, even a messy room! So she continued her search, throwing this or that aside—they weren’t a Miraculous, they didn’t matter.

She didn’t even notice that one of the items she tossed was a remove, which landed in such a way that it turned on the nearby TV.

“Maybe it’s in my closet?” She wondered.

That made sense. After all, once she got all the Miraculous, she’d be able to switch them out as easily as a pair of shoes. She would probably need to leave them in the closet when she’s not using them.

She opened the closet doors, giving a grimace at the small space and her much more limited wardrobe. It was so much smaller than her old one!

She briefly mourned the loss of the space and all of her top-brand designers as she forced herself to dig through the various clothes and accessories.

Not this.

Not that.

Ew! She wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that!

“—stone monster has been defeated!”

Chloe froze.

What?!

But she hadn’t even made her appearance yet!

Chloe spun around, nearly tripping over some shoes in her escape from the closet. All to get a closer look at the screen because clearly it was some cartoon or show or something. It was a mistake! It had to be a mistake!

But no, there was that news anchor—whatever-her-name-was. And behind her was a video of her classmate—Jim? Ryan? Whatever the rock monster had been, now back to normal—or as normal as anyone could be in THAT tacky shirt and getup!

And next to him…

A boy in black—blond but in a distinctly different getup from her Adrikens.

And a girl.

In red.

Red and black.

Ladybug!

It wasn’t the Ladybug she knew. It couldn’t be. She had just seen the now Ex-Ladybug in the halls!

The new hero’s hair was as red as her suit with a black headband—almost like a tiara. Her mask was a mix of red and black. Her suit was a black bodysuit with red accents—with her hands covered in gloves that seemed to be red and red boots that reached just above her shin. And the collar of the suit seemed to expand into a sort of dress that lengthened in the back, which when she turned appeared more like a cape that was red in color. Like a Ladybug’s shell.

And of course, the outfit was sparse with spots of differing colors, with multiple black spots on her red cape and single red dots center on her gloves and the peaks of her boots.

And looking closely—to the point she was literally pressed up against the screen, she could swear that the spots were all…in the shape of hearts, of all things? How juvenile!

But there was no mistaking it!

That was Ladybug. Maybe not the same Ladybug as before, but still the Ladybug Miraculous! It hadn’t been waiting for her like it was supposed to. It had gone to—been stolen by someone else!

They had made her tear up her room for nothing!

“—day has been saved thanks to the combined efforts of Red Queen and Cheshire! Paris’s new heroes!”

Chloe felt something crack. It may have been her TV.

Not only did this upstart steal her place as the city’s hero. And her rightful victory over the Ex-Ladybug by taking her place…

She took her title as Queen!

“How dare she?!”

Bad enough to injure her this way, but to insult her, too?!

At this point, she didn’t even know whether she was more angry with this faker or with Marinette!

She froze at that as the realization hit her…

Chloe didn’t have the Ladybug.

She wouldn’t be able to fix anything.

Her Wish had switched her with Marinette so she could make the other girl experience the burdens of her life while she could become the hero and make her suffer for her past life’s crimes.

But rather than hated, Marinette was actually well liked by their classmates and just in general. A few internet searches had pulled up Marinette using her power over others much as Chloe had in the past, so it wasn’t like they were any different! But apparently cancelling talks to make a new building for a corporate gym chain in order to keep a lame old skating rink open was good somehow! And forcing people to do backbreaking labor to plant trees on a Saturday! And that work study program at her Dad’s hotel! That was just free child labor!

The fact that Chloe had done the same thing in the previous timeline only with putting people in the suckier jobs had no bearing on this!

Chloe growled, clenching her fists and shaking at the injustice of it all.

And while Marinette was getting to live it up, meanwhile, poor Chloe herself was despised and about two steps away from a criminal record for things that weren’t even her fault! She couldn’t even enjoy the one nice thing about Marinette’s original position of becoming a hero and being popular! And any attempts to call out Marinette for her evils only made HER look like the bad guy!

Becoming Ladybug had been her only chance to fix this. She could have used it to promote herself. To tear down Marinette. Even to go back to the previous reality where she could still be Miracle Queen if nothing else! But now she didn’t even have that! Whatever stupid power in charge of this must be broken somehow!

This meant…

Marinette had won before Chloe even had a chance to do anything.

And now there was nothing Chloe could do about it.

She didn’t have the Ladybug. She was going to need a new TV. She didn’t have any of her previous life’s accommodations or riches to replace them. Nobody liked her. Her Daddykins had no influence to help her. Her Mother was still in New York.

There was only one thing she could count on, she realized as she picked up a picture frame.

“At least I always have you.”

The picture of Adrien stared back at her, flat and unblinking.

________________

Once upon a timeline, son of a fashion mogul, Adrien Agreste, was a popular model who was sad and cut off from the world, being isolated except for his only friend: daughter of the Mayor and the Style Queen, Chloe Bourgeois.

But someone didn’t like that story, so they changed it.

So once upon a timeline, son of a fashion mogul, Adrien Agreste, who only sometimes took part in his fathers business had two friends: daughter of the Mayor, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and daughter of the Style Queen, Chloe Bourgeois.

He was sad and cut off from the world for a time, true. But the current Mayor was a big believer of children having normal healthy childhoods and was not as inclined to ignore child labor laws. And her daughter, while happy to be his friend, was similarly a big believer of healthy childhoods and not as inclined to be Adrien’s only friend.

Being on good terms with the family, Sabine and Tom convinced Gabriel and Emilie to cut down on the modeling and activities for their son to let him go to school and spend time around kids his age. And being on good terms with Adrien himself, Marinette convinced him to interact with his various classmates and introduced him to a number of peers.

What followed was the beginning of beautiful—if not headache-inducing friendships.

A couple of years made all the difference. So much so that by the time that particularly Miraculous school year started, Adrien had already been going to school for a good couple of years. Long enough to become settled, join clubs, and make his own friends. Ones outside of Marinette and Chloe and their social circles.

Adrien Agreste was popular. Not the kind of popularity that comes with hundreds of fans chasing him down the street, thankfully, which he would certainly appreciate if he knew about. But rather, his popularity was the general school variety that came with a guy who was good looking and kind to everyone.

Adrien was, to put it simply, quite happy. And not at all alone.

He would play sports with Kim and Alix. Study with Max and Sabrina. Geek out over books and anime with Marc and Jean. Play games with Max and Nino. Blabber on about heroes and comics with Nathaniel and Mirelle. 

And of course, there was Marinette.

Adrien would be lying if he said he never had…some feelings for Marinette.

She was the one who had helped to convince his father to let him join public school three years ago. While it may have been possible for the man to argue with an hour long presentation complete with a fifty slide PowerPoint explaining why public school was beneficial for children including statistics and psychological studies, it was substantially more difficult for him to argue with the girl’s mother when she was both the Mayor and a close enough family friend. It couldn’t be sure which of the two had been the final push that had convinced Emilie, but once she was on board, Gabriel couldn’t help but cave soon after.

Either way, Adrien was grateful to his friend.

…and a bit smitten. Not that he could tell her that. Especially the way she would stick her tongue out when she was so focused on a drawing. Or how beautiful she looked when she took charge of a project. Or how cute she was the way she would get annoyed when she’d catch him wearing the worst possible combination from his closet, which was made all the better partly because it made his Father look ready to have a coronary as well. Plus it helped that she’d drag him to her house at the first opportunity to salvage his outfit into something bearable. He didn’t have to, but he let her every time.

She was adorable like that. And at least he wasn’t alone since it seemed many of his other friends had admitted a crush on her at some point that never went anywhere. He doubted he’d be different.

After all, he was admittedly a sucker for the childhood friend to lovers trope in anime—which made him all the more bummed that they hardly ever worked out.

And since he was apparently the equivalent of an anime protagonist now if his new little companion was any indication…

He looked down at his bag, where his new little friend smirked up at him.

…yeah, he didn’t want to risk it.

Especially given some of the things the little cat-god had told him.

“What do you mean we’ve done this before?” Adrien asked, rather confused to say the least.

“Yeah, it didn’t work out last time.” The creature—Plagg, replied. Though not actually answering his question in any way.

He looked up at Adrien with a smirk.

“But things will be different this go around. We’ve made sure of it.” He then turned away, muttering darkly something Adrien couldn’t hear about some “brat” and a “surprise”.

“O…kay?” He didn’t get it, but okay?

Plagg shook his head before turning back and floating up to eye level with him. “Just change up your suit, ditch the bell, and don’t call yourself Chat Noir and things will be fine.” It told him.

“But why?” Admittedly, his first thought had been “Wild Pussycat” due to his current favorite fandom, but Chat Noir actually sounded really cool.

“Trust me, kid. It’ll help.”

And apparently it had, since he’d met his partner and they’d defeated that monster easily enough.

Plus Adrien did rather like the Wonderland theme they agreed on.

He had been excited about the adventure—what teenage boy wouldn’t be? Still, it was a relief to return to the school the next day and find everyone safe and sound.

Mostly.

Ivan admittedly wasn’t having the best time, unfortunately. He was being crowded by everyone and questioned about the incident by the time Adrien had arrived. Everyone was clearly worried and no one knew for sure what had happened. Marinette in particular was being supportive.

Chloe was…not.

“—monster!”

“He’s not a monster!” Marinette countered defensively. “He doesn’t even remember what happened!”

“He could just be saying that!” Chloe yelled, pointing at Ivan. “Once a monster, always a monster!”

“Hey, back off, Chloe.” Alya said, stepping in front of her. “It’d not like Ivan asked to become a stone golem, and besides, any damage was erased and he’s back to normal.”

Adrien sighed. He was going to have to play mediator again, wasn’t he?

“Hey, Chloe?” He asked benignly, stepping up to her. “If you’re worried he’ll transform again, maybe upsetting him isn’t a good idea? We don’t know what caused it or if it was a one time thing.”

Actually, he did know. But given what Plagg had told him about how the akumas worked, he didn’t want to risk Ivan getting reakumatized. And he couldn’t very well come out and say any of that until this Hawk Moth guy revealed himself and the city as a whole had a better idea how his powers worked.

“Of course, it—” She suddenly cut off, as if realizing something. “Whatever!”

With that, she turned and stomped off.

What was her deal?

Still, everyone else was uncertain of what else to do and with class about to start, several other classmates chose to leave as well. Soon, the previously larger crowd had only a couple people left. Adrien, for his part, figured he should step back and give Ivan some space.

Marinette took advantage of the opportunity the lack of crowd gave to push Kim forward. The taller boy began nervously apologizing while Marinette sat by Ivan as support.

Adrien sighed in relief as he walked away.

Marinette was a wonderful friend. 

Chloe, on the other hand…

___________________

Speaking of Chloe, the girl in question had realized a few minutes after she had stormed off that in her anger, she hadn’t kept track of where she was going and had apparently gone the complete opposite direction of her next class.

Seriously! She knew more than anyone! They should be flocking to her for answers and instead, everyone was focusing on Kim! Or what’s his-name! Rocker boy! Sure, he was only going to be the first of many akumas, but nobody else knew that! She thought she could use that to boost her status by confronting the “threat”!

Last time, she had led the crowd by calling him out for what he had done. Yet much like many things, that had gone wrong this time as well! Instead of rallying behind her against the clear threat only she knew about, most of the people were giving her the side-eye. And of course Marinette freaking Chang had to be the one to act against her!

Really! She was the victim here and nobody even knew it! Thanks to that new Red Queen stealing her rightful place, Chloe had lost everything! And she couldn’t even TELL anyone! Now what was she supposed to do?

She growled, smacking a wall with her fist.

And now she would have to walk all the way back! And she couldn’t just skip classes for the day to make them suffer without her presence for siding against her; the school wouldn’t allow it. Which meant she would have to face everyone again. And walk in these old shoes that were murder on her poor feet!

Oh, the life of suffering she lived!

She trudged back through the hallway the way she came, taking a slightly different route—just in case the others were still where she left them. She didn’t want it to seem like she was intentionally coming back or anything. That would just be letting them think they were right.

“That was something earlier, huh?”

“Yeah. Poor Ivan.”

She paused. Up ahead was a connecting hallway that led to another path to her classroom. And she could hear voices from around the corner.

One of them was Adrikens!

She almost felt herself floating forward, her feet no longer in pain and her shoes no longer a trouble to her. Adrikens always made things better! And surely he of all people would understand her misery!

She peaked. Sure enough, there he was. Her precious friend! The only one she could count on!

But she didn’t recognize the other boy with him. It wasn’t Nino. She couldn’t not know if it was him due to how his name was engraved upon her psyche with how much Adrikens would talk about him.

The other boy grumbled, though Chloe barely took notice of what he had to say. Not until he started talking about her.

“I can’t believe Chloe. Well, I can, because that’s nothing new for her. What a…”

Gasp! How rude! Who did he think he was? He was luck he cut off or she would have had his parents’ jobs!

She winced, remembering that she couldn’t do that anymore.

…well, she’d cause him some repercussions, anyway.

But unaware of her, he kept going, turning to Adrien.

“Dude, why do you even put up with her?” The loser asked.

How rude! She wasn’t someone he had to ‘put up with’, she was a joy to be around! Of course her Adrikens adored her! And he would no doubt admonish that low class nobody for talking about her in such a way!

‘Because I’m his best friend,’ Chloe thought smugly.

Of course Adrien would be on her side.

Because she was his best friend.

Because they were each other’s only friends for years.

Because they’re the only ones who understand each other.

Because even if everything else changed, that was one thing that would remain true.

He would never abandon her.

Chloe Bourgeois and Adrien Agreste—them against the world!

“Honestly, I don’t even know anymore.”

She froze.

"I mean, we used to be friends, but that was more because her parents were friends with mine. Right now her Mom is my Dad's business associate and I kind of have to be nice to her or she could complain or something."

"Oh yeah. She did threaten to run to 'Daddy' earlier. Stands to reason she'd use 'Mommy' the same. But do you really think her Mom would care that much?"

"I don't want to risk it. Being in school the past three years has been like a dream. The last thing I want is to lose it all because Chloe threw a tantrum."

He sighed.

“Besides, I do feel bad for her. I mean…she’s alienated pretty much everyone she’s ever been in a class with and I’m the only one who will even talk to her.”

“The only one who can, you mean.” The other said snarkily. “She insults anyone else who even looks at her.”

He shook his head. “She doesn’t have any friends. And it’s just…sad.”

“Dude, that’s not your fault.”

“I know that now. She was always a...” He hesitated for a moment before spitting it out, “well...a brat. I’m honestly not sure I ever liked her. I just hung out with her at the time because she was the first kid my age to interact with and I was told to. Back then, I thought that was enough to make us friends. That that was what friendship was supposed to be.”

“Thank God for Mari and her mom.”

“Tell me about it!”

His words were like a blade piercing her heart from behind.

One after another, they stabbed her.

And he—her only friend, completely unaware, he just kept going.

“When we were kids, neither of us knew better. But while I grew up, she…didn’t.”

That…that wasn’t right!

None of that was right!

Adrien sighed. “And I really wish she would.”

Chloe didn’t even realize she had lost all feeling in her legs until she had slumped to the ground.

He…

He really thought that?

About her?

“I try to step in and help her when I can. Partly because I feel obligated to since we were close once, but mostly because I know she would just make things worse if I didn’t. I mean, you know what she did with Mari when she got mad. But honestly…I’m really tired of it. Of having to pacify her, the way she grabs me, her stupid ‘Adrikens’ nickname, and just…dealing with her. All of it.”

He sighed again.

“But who knows how much worse she’d be otherwise?”

“Dude, you’re not some sacrificial lamb here.” The other boy assured him. “And besides, you heard, didn’t you? Chloe’s been reprimanded and she’s only still in school on a trial period. If she does anything and people complain, she’ll be out of here and you won’t have to deal with her anymore.”

A weak chuckle. Her Adrikens—Adrien actually laughed at that.

“I’d feel bad if I said I was looking forward to it.”

The other boy laughed at that. “Y’know, I had a dream last night where she announced she was leaving Paris.”

“Sounds like a good dream.” Adrien replied, not even missing a beat.

“I know! I almost didn’t want to wake up!”

The two left, with Adrien just…continuing to chat and laugh and joke like they were best friends and like they weren’t making fun of Chloe who was supposed to be his best friend whose side he was supposed to be on no matter what…

But…

Where was he just then? Where was his defense of her? Where was his declaration that he was still her friend no matter what? Where was his insistence that she wasn’t as bad as people think? Where was his lecture of that boy for speaking ill of her? Where was his disappointment of the others for being mean and wanting her gone? Where was his promise?

...Where was her Adrien?

That was what finally broke through.

Chloe sobbed.

It wasn’t just Adrien. That was simply the last straw.

Marinette had Chloe’s life and was apparently happier than she ever was in the previous life—happier than Chloe had been even! Someone else was the Ladybug hero and had taken her title as ‘Queen’. She didn’t have a Miraculous. She didn’t have Pollen. Her Father wasn’t the Mayor. Her Mother was still in New York. And everything was…

Everything that had made Chloe Bourgeois who she was was gone. 

What was she, after all?

Chloe Bourgeois was rich.

She was the Daughter of the Mayor.

She was the Princess of Paris.

Without that…who was she?

Who was this new Chloe Bourgeois she had become?

She wasn’t feared. She wasn’t respected. She wasn't in any way liked. She was an annoyance at best. An irritant. A bug to them. Someone to be avoided.

And in Adrien’s case…pitied.

That, more than anything, was what hurt the most.

Adrien didn’t love her. He didn’t even like her.

And maybe…

“…I hate you, Chloe.”

…he never had.

…

“You’re the sort of person who is never satisfied with anything.”

…did he ever care about her at all?

“Whatever you do. Whatever world you create. My feelings won’t change.”

Had he…been trying to warn her?

“It won’t be real, Chloe. Whatever we had…whatever you would call it is already gone.”

She slowly pulled herself up. She wasn’t quite sure where she was going at this point, but she didn’t want to be there anymore. She was deaf to everything but the pounding of her own heart and the memory of Adrien’s words.

“Chloe, you don’t know what friends are!”

…

“And I didn’t know better before because I only ever had you. But since I’ve started school, I’ve learned what friendship is!”

…

 “I wish I had learned it sooner.”

Well…it looked like he had gotten his wish. Seeing him now, surrounded by people in a way he had never been before. Not even just Nino this time, but others from other classes.

He looked happy.

…had he ever looked that happy when he was with her?

She bit her lip.

That liar.

He…he was a traitor!

Just like Ladybug!

Just like all of them!

She looked up to the sound of cheers.

From the angle she was at, she could see her classmates gathered close to the doorway of the classroom. Apparently rocker boy and rainbow-haired girl were together now? Oh yeah, that had happened around this time like time, hadn’t it? Wasn’t he supposed to have been akumatized a second time first, though?

It didn’t seem to matter. They were holding hands. And the others were going on about how great it was. And Adrien was congratulating them just as much as everyone else. And they were all just so damn happy.

And there was Marinette, in the middle of it all. Smiling.

And not once did she even look at her.

Chloe could only watch on as they ignored her. As Marinette brushed her off like it didn’t matter while she got to carry on with what had been Chloe’s life. Still kind. Still friendly. Still popular. And somehow even more despicably perfect than before now that she had taken Chloe’s place.

All that…having everything that made Chloe who she was, and somehow, she was still so…disgustingly happy.

Not despised. Not unloved. Not a hateful, selfish person. Not…anything like Chloe.

“Marinette is a better Ladybug—a better person than you ever will be. And that’s because she chooses to be kind! Regardless of the circumstances!”

 …

 “Even if your positions were switched, that wouldn’t change.”

It…

It wasn’t fair.

IT WASN’T FAIR!

_________________________

The Universe is a director. It doesn’t alter the script, merely the parts. When someone demands a different role, the most it will do is swap people around to put them in places that best fulfill the demand. And if the ones who saw fit to make demands didn’t like their new roles...well...

The Universe didn’t particularly like critics.

So the critic wanted the baker girl’s life? That was fine.

After all, the critic’s father had two roles.

One for two. Two in one.

Why not split the difference and see what comes of it?

At least, that was what it figured. And it turned out pretty well in its not so humble opinion.

The city had a steadfast leader. The hotel had a caring manager. The bakery had a decent owner. The heroes were both the same and different. The sad male lead would get to display greater range. The former hero got to take a break after carrying the entire production previously. And the invisible actor would get a chance to step out of a shadow and finally shine.

And if the little critic didn’t like it, maybe she shouldn’t have complained?

Some people just didn’t appreciate what they were given.

The Universe nodded to itself and turned its attention to the new heroic duo, curious as to what would come of this new dynamic.

It was getting bored of the old love square anyway...

[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.

[intercoursefluids]

Hi! I love, love, love, your work! Holy shit! You gotta be the only one that I know of that does Adribat related stuff without being a Adrien Salter. Jesus, I could literally kiss right now if I could. But I had saw that you had this sleeping schedule, so I understand if you don't get this right away.

But I was wondering if I could get a Tim x Adrien story? With a side of childhood friends to lovers? Like Tim and Adri met at one of the Drakes Parties when they were younger? But also I want a side of relationship reveal, but with Class Field Trip to Gotham City salt. Also, also Tim and Adrien already know each other identities. BAMF bottom Adrien(not enough of those)

Basically all of Lila's lying, Tim x Adrien's relationship, is revealed at one of the Wayne Gala's. Could the only person that knows of the relationship be Chloe? I live for Adrien and Chloe sibling dynamic.

Thanks and please get a proper rest! I don't want you overworking yourself.

Hi, I'm glad that you enjoy my writing but I need to let you know, before you read this, that I *hate* this prompt.

There is nothing actually wrong with it, I just could not get it to work for me, this is the best I could come up with and I do not like how it came out but I refuse to leave you hanging so...

*Throws fic to you and hopes for the best*

If someone else wants to take a crack at this be my guest

Adrien sighed, slinking away from the group of his classmates and friends to go hide near the snack table.

Lila was back at it, complaining and bragging about any and everything, and she wouldn’t stop touching him!

It was so! Annoying!

Sure he was used to it but that didn’t make it any better, especially when it was her.

If Marinette or Kagami had been there they would have separated them (Kagami) or caused a distraction so he could slip away (Marinette), but no, neither of them were there because Kagami was a thief and stole his friend to introduce her to her family in Japan, ensuring that she wouldn’t be here during the schools ‘educational’ end of year trip to Gotham.

Add on to the fact that Chloe was running late and couldn’t ‘bitch her way into getting Lila to leave him alone’, her words not his.

The only plus side to this trip was-

“Adrien! There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Come on, I want to introduce you to my family.”

-Seeing Tim Drake Drake-Wayne again.

Adrien smiled, hugging his friend tightly.

“Tim! I haven’t seen you in so long! I’ve missed you!”

Tim paused, tightly hugging Adrien back before pulling away with a huge smile.

“I missed you too, where’s Chloe? I thought you two went everywhere together?”

Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair and messing it up some.

“She’s running late, something about her hair being too frizzy to be seen in public, I think.”

Tim’s smile turned soft, reaching up with one hand to try and fix Adrien’s hair as he used the other to lace their hands together.

“That sounds like her now, are you ready to finally meet the rest of my family?”

Adrien nodded his head rapidly, squeezing Tim’s hand in his own as he started to lead him away.

“Yes I am, you talk about them all the time when we email each other.”

Tim carefully led them through crowds, turning back to smile at him as they came into view.

“Remember, Damian will bite you so don’t touch him without permission and Jason and Steph’s love languages are bullying, they probably won’t be genuinely mean so don’t worry too much-”

“-Cass doesn’t like to talk much, Dick loves puns, and if we start acting out Duke will pretend he doesn’t know us even though he is the one who started the fight, I know, I know. It’ll be fine, let's go.”

Tim takes a deep breath, squeezing Adrien’s hand and shooting him a look that was probably supposed to be reassuring as opposed to the grimace it looked like.

Marching over to his family, Adrien catches the tail end of an argument over someone named Jerry (?) before Tim interrupted them.

“Guys, this is Adrien, my- friend.”

Adrien barely even notices Tim’s stumble over the word ‘friend’ before he gets pulled into a headlock with his hair being violently ruffled.

“Why do you look so stuffy, blondie? This is supposed to be a party!”

Adrien laughs as his hair is messed up, again.

A grin covers his face as Tim pulls him away from his brother with a yelp, wrapping him in his arms and holding him away from them.

“I didn’t bring him over here for you to torment him!”

The one who had been ruffling his hair, Jason if he had to guess based off the white streak in his hair, laughs, pulling Tim into a side hug and shaking him as Adrien is stolen away again.

“So, you are the friend Tim was telling me about, nice to meet you. I’m Stephanie but everyone calls me Steph.”

Adrien smiled at her, shaking her hand.

“Adrien, I don’t really have a nickname but my friends like to come up with names on the fly so feel free to do the same-”

“Adrien! There you are~ We lost you for a minute there.”

Lila's voice is like nails on a chalkboard and Adrien can’t hold back the grimace and glare that momentarily cover his face.

“Damnit. Hi Lila, I was just meeting one of my friends' family.”

Adrien forces a smile on his face, struggling not to cringe away when she comes up and tucks her hand into his elbow, digging her nails into his skin.

“Oh, hello everyone! My name is Lila, Adrien and I are friends, you could say.”

She ends her sentence with a giggle and Adrien doesn’t even bother hiding the small glare on his face this time.

“That's right. We are friends. By the way, I’m pretty sure Alya is looking for you, you should go see what she needs him?”

Adrien’s annoyance is obvious to anyone who looks at him, emphasized by how he makes sure there is no misunderstanding about his relationship with Lila.

Lila glares at him before covering it up and smiling sweetly at Tim’s family.

“Adrien’s right, I really should be getting back. Come find us when you are done here, okay Adrien?”

Adrien was barely able to force out something that sounded vaguely like an agreement out through his clenched teeth as she walked away.

Adrien shook his arm off, rubbing the sore spots from where her nails dug in before his arm was snatched back up.

Adrien looked up, staring at Tim as he gently but firmly started to roll up his sleeve, looking at the little marks left by Lila’s nails.

“Adrien… This isn’t okay.”

Tim runs his thumb over the little marks, brow furrowed as he slowly looks up to meet Adrien’s eyes.

“It’s fine, I'm used to it. People touch me all the time while I’m modeling, it’s not that big of a deal, honestly.”

Tim presses his lips into a thin line, turning to address his family as he laces their hands together.

“We’ll be back soon. If anybody asks, I was feeling sick and needed some air.”

Jason gives him a thumbs up, him and Steph glaring in the direction Lila walked off.

Leading Adrien back through the crowd they head for the stairs, going into a room resembling a study.

Tim pulls Adrien into a hug, squeezing him tightly against him.

Adrien melts into the hug, squeezing him back as Tim runs a hand up and down his back.

“Adrien, she is hurting you. I cannot let her keep doing that. I care about you far too much to just stand by while she hurts you.”

The tension in the air was thick, making Adrien shift from foot to foot as Tim stared at him, holding him down with just his gaze.

“Well, when you say it like that it sounds like you’re in love with me of something, haha…”

Adrien tries to joke, ignoring how it feels more like a dig at himself and his feelings for Tim when he doesn’t laugh with him.

Instead Tim blushes, brightly.

Looking away from Adrien and clearing his throat, a slightly panicked look taking over his face.

Adrien stops laughing, opting to stare at Tim with his mouth wide open.

“Wait, are you?!”

Tim coughs again, turning to face Adrien again.

“Well, while this isn’t how I had planned it, I was going to tell you tonight. I completely understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore or if you are uncomfortable being around me now, I’m not going to force you to stay-”

Adrien rushed forward, grabbing Tim’s hands and holding them to his chest.

“No no no, I like you too! I wasn’t going to say anything but I have feelings for you too!”

Tim’s face gets redder as he looks at anything other than Adrien.

“Good, um, that- that’s great. Do you… Want to be my boyfriend?”

Adrien smiles so hard his cheeks hurt, lacing their fingers together and nodding quickly.

“Yes, yes I want to be your boyfriend.”

Adrien lunges forward, planting a kiss on Tim’s cheek, blushing when Tim tilts his head so kisses his lips instead.

“Well, now that you are officially mine, you can tell ‘Lila’ to fuck off whenever she touches you. Better yet, I’ll do it for you.”

Tim leads him out of the room, still holding his hand.

As they reach the rest of the party, Adrien spots Tim’s family, they are looking up at the two and money is changing hands.

Adrien tugs back on Tim’s hand, causing him to pause and look towards him.

“Maybe just wait for Lila to come up to us again? I don’t really want to cause a scene right now.”

Tim sighed before agreeing, leading him back over to his family where they proceeded to spend most of the Gala.

At some point Chloe had finally joined them, from there she had immediately started embarrassing Adrien with how he and Tim had met as well as several different stories about some of his most embarrassing moments.

Chloe had moved onto thinly veiled stories from Adrien’s times as Chat Noir, causing him and Tim to share a meaningful look as Tim already knew the truth about him being a hero and vice versa.

(When Tim had made his plan to become Robin he had immediately told Adrien about it and when Adrien had first gotten his miraculous he had told Tim about it to get some advice.)

In the middle of Chloe telling everyone how he had fallen into the pool on her roof, Lila came back.

Looping her hand through Adrien’s arm already had him on edge, but when she did the same to Tim, he was pissed.

Adrien quickly removed her hands from both of them, pulling Tim to his other side as he glared at Lila.

“First of all, stop touching me, it makes me want to claw my skin off everytime you touch me. Second of all, do not to Tim. If you put your hands on him one more time I will out you as the lying, two faced snake you are.”

Adrien’s voice doesn’t rise over a harsh whisper but the message is plenty clear to everyone who heard it.

Unfortunately, Lila has always been too cocky for her own good.

“Adrien, I know you aren’t talking to me like that. All I have to do is have a little chat with your father and you will be ripped away from all of our little friends faster than you can say “Sorry”, and let's not forget what I will do to your little friends Marinette and Kagami. I can and will ruin yours and their lives if you don’t apologize to me.”

Adrien goes to reply when Tim holds him back, a loud, deep voice filling the air beside them.

“Is that so, Mademoiselle Rossi?”

Both teens turn to see Bruce Wayne standing beside them, looking absolutely pissed. Not to mention that all of Tim’s siblings have their phones out and are likely recording.

“I had planned to speak with you tonight on several matters but I suppose now is as good a time as any.”

Lila pales, eyes wide as she stares at one of the men she had been lying about the entire trip.

“My children have alerted me to the fact that you have been lying about me and my family since before you even got to Gotham, as well as several other celebrities I have already alerted.”

“I must say, I am severely disappointed to find that not only do you have a problem with lying, but you are also threatening my son’s boyfriend. Come with me, we are calling your mother.”

As Bruce walks away, Lila trailing after him, Chloe’s phone abrupts into loud, hysterical laughter, startling everyone standing too close.

It takes a second but Adrien is able to recognize the sound of Marinette’s voice with Kagami trying to get her to calm down in the background.

Adrien raises an eyebrow at her and Chloe looks back unapologetically.

“What? Mari had a right to hear Liar-la get exposed and you know it.”

Adrien sighs, hugging Tim as he tries to block out the sounds of everyone around them gossiping about what just happened.

… As well as the sounds of Marinette cackling like a mix of a supervillain and a witch emanating from Chloe’s phone.

Tag List:

@Vroomtaka

@rosesandsailboats

[mc-lukanette]

Luka set down his guitar, having perfected "I Love Unicorns" half an hour ago but hesitant to get up and leave when Marinette was sitting nearby, sketching away due to their creative energies feeding off of each other. It was incredibly alluring, the way she would get lost in her work, and he hadn't seen her anxious or upset like she'd been when they'd first met.

He wished it could be like this all the time.

Still, they'd been at it for a while and he figured that they could both use some refreshments. Standing up from the couch, he turned to Marinette to ask, "Do you want a drink?"

"Mm?" She looked up from her sketchpad, her tongue still sticking out to the side for an extra second before she seemed to come back to reality. Cute. "Oh, I can get one myself, it's okay."

"I'm up anyway. Besides, you seem really in tune with whatever you're working on," he pointed out, grinning because he knew the feeling all too well.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, briefly distracting his eyes, as she gazed upon her work. After some consideration, she glanced back up at him and nodded. "As long as you don't mind? Anything's fine."

He nodded back, stepping past her and going off into the kitchen. He could vaguely hear her whilst grabbing two bottles of juice, an occasional involuntary noise sounding every now and then whenever Marinette was (presumably) critiquing her own work. He chuckled to himself, pretending not to notice but wondering if he's ever done the same thing.

As he went back to hand over the drink he'd grabbed for her, he caught sight of the sketches she'd been working on. He hadn't meant to, but his eyes had unconsciously drifted to them, probably caused by the first few days of them working on the music video where she'd always been showing him her sketchpad to get his input.

He nearly dropped the drinks when he realized that she'd been sketching him. It was clearly still for the music video, but he didn't recall any of their conversations about design involved him being in post as if he were descending from heaven, complete with light coming out from behind him. There were other sketches nearby of his face with an overwhelming sense of detail, arrows and notes everywhere theorizing on which way would be best for his facial structure.

None of said notes included color theory over the hint of pink currently forming on his face.

He supposed that he could've acted like he hadn't seen it, but it wasn't his style. Since Marinette had never been shy about her sketches, he didn't have any reason to think it might embarrass her.

Thus, he leaned down, gently nudging her arm with the bottle of juice and commenting, "Are those really me?"

She startled, though relaxed when she took in the sight of him. "O-oh, um... yes?" She frowned, taking the drink offered to her and setting it to her side. "You don't like them?"

"It's not that," he replied, glancing again at her work. He smiled to reassure her, explaining, "I think you're too generous. I don't look like that."

She tilted her head, seeming genuinely confused. "You do to me?"

Oh. Oh wow, okay. She said it so casually that it must've been true, but he was still baffled.

Something must've shown on his face, because Marinette pursed her lips in thought and turned her attention back to her sketchpad, grabbing a bunch of the pages in her hand and flipping them over to go backwards in her sketchpad to much earlier works, then flipping one at a time afterwards. He guessed that she was looking for something.

Between the designs he saw were sketches that appeared to show assorted moments, such as Juleka brushing her hair or Ivan napping. Going only off of the glimpses he saw, Marinette drew her friends to keep her drawing ability sharp.

Then, as Marinette stopped, Luka realized what she'd been doing: she was looking for an old sketch of him. He even recognized it in a way: he was laughing with a hand held up near his lips. It was when they first met, but that only confused him further if what he'd thought was true.

"I thought you were making fun of me back then, but then you said you were sorry and played my heart," she said, as if she'd read his thoughts. "I was embarrassed then, but I'm not now."

He'd had no idea. He assumed she'd simply put it behind her.

"Hm," she continued, holding the sketchpad out at arm's length and squinting at it. "I guess I drew you a little differently back then. Maybe my style changed?"

She examined the other sketches nearby, then flipped back to her current ones for comparison's sake. In truth, both sketches did look different, but he couldn't describe it with words if asked.

"I didn't draw you any more perfect," Marinette concluded. She pointed and traced specific lines with her fingers as if he could make any sense of what she was trying to point out. "All your imperfections are still there, and they make you you so there's nothing wrong with them anyway."

Luka tried not to be obvious about unscrewing the cap on his drink and taking a far bigger sip than he normally would have. His throat just felt very dry all of a sudden.

Finally showing some level of embarrassment, Marinette rubbed the back of her neck in what looked like some sort of realization for her. "U-um... I did hear once that good people can become more beautiful to someone after they get to know them. How they see them physically doesn't really change, but—" She gestured wildly with a free hand, lacking the words necessary to convey the thought. "—the way they see them changes? And..." She ducked her head, blushing as her voice lowered to a squeak. "Y-you're very, very handsome to me, Luka."

Luka, truthfully, had never had someone compliment him so directly before. There had been girls and boys alike at school who would flirt with him - some more seriously or openly than others - but not like this. Marinette spoke directly from her heart, the way that would leave one lightheaded from such a direct attack.

He took a breath, reminding himself that he must still be alive, then set his drink down on the table before moving to sit beside Marinette.

"That explains why you're so pretty to me, Marinette."

"H—huh?" She gaped at him, apparently having not expected him to "fight back." She even dropped her sketchpad, which would've fallen to the floor had he not caught it. "Me? No, I mean—I'm not that—"

"You're really pretty," he insisted gently, smile widening at the knowledge of exactly what he was doing to her. "The prettiest person I've ever known."

She opened her mouth to retort, but stopped. Her gaze flickering back to the sketchpad, she must've realized that they were on the same wavelength. "...You think so?"

He nodded. Pointing at the sketchpad, he imitated her earlier movements, his fingertip tracing along the lines of his sketch's face. "A song is only a song until you hear the meaning behind it. They might look the same on a music sheet, but it's the person playing that makes all the difference."

"Really?" She leaned towards him in an entirely unnecessary gesture to watch him trace the lines on her sketchpad. Their arms pressed together and he pretended not to notice so as to not give her the wrong impression.

"Mhm~" He looked over at her. "I hope you'll draw yourself one day in the same way I see you."

She met his gaze, eyes unmoving from his face to the point where he could see his reflection in her eyes. Distantly, he heard the shifting of paper as Marinette blindly closed the sketchpad, him having to pull his hand out from in-between the pages to let it close completely.

Clear as a music note, sincere as a melody. He hadn't said it outright, but it seemed like he'd gotten the message across even without the words.

She clutched at the fabric of his jacket, slowly leaning towards him. He leaned in return, turning to face her properly. Then—

"W-wait!"

Luka blinked as Marinette suddenly pulled back, holding the sketchpad in front of her face. Confused, he rewound his memory, wondering if maybe he had misinterpreted her leaning.

"Um..." She lowered the sketchpad enough for him to see the upper half of her face, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "N-not yet. Not now."

"I understand. If you're not ready—"

"No! I want to!" she insisted. "But..." She groaned, leaning back and then bumping her forehead against her sketchpad in exasperation. "We have a contest to worry about, and I don't want to be... distracted."

Luka felt an intense wave of affection wash over him at the idea that she was worried about not being able to stop kissing him if she got a taste. Thinking about it himself, he acknowledged that it would be difficult to focus on the contest after kissing her, and the fact that she wanted to do it at all was enough to satisfy him for the time being.

"Then... after the contest?" he offered.

"Yes! Definitely!" Her hands shook whilst she was holding the sketchpad, putting her excitement openly on display for him. Then, giggling to herself, she added shyly, "I-I think you just became even more handsome."

He officially didn't care whether or not they won the contest. He already felt like a winner.

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 17

Chapter 1     Chapter 16

Marinette shook her head and tried to hide her giggles. Red Robin had to have thought he was being discrete, right?  Unless he was intentionally making himself known as a way to intimidate any more rogues from trying to get to her.  He was discrete enough that the average person probably wouldn’t notice him, but anyone paying attention, looking for him, would see him easily.

She waited until he was looking down at her again and waved at him.  He smiled and waved back before blushing, shaking his head, and motioning for her to continue. Marinette grinned and looked back at the map on her phone.  The restaurant Jason chose was around here somewhere.  One of the places he just ended up at a lot, he said.  Low key and cozy, exactly the kind of place she needed right now.

After that, he said he was planning on following her around for the rest of the day.  He’d said it in a joking tone, but she knew there was nothing joking about his intent.  He would be shadowing her for the rest of the day. He couldn’t hide the gravity behind the statement.  He couldn’t mask the concerned questions, no matter how casually he tried to play them off. The insistence on seeing her apartment, make sure the view was good enough and the kitchen was stocked enough. The way he casually suggested she teach him how to make a baked good she liked.  

Honestly, she was shocked he let her walk there on her own, but he said he’d be have eyes on her anyway.  She looked back up at Red Robin with a smile.  Clearly, he wasn’t kidding.  White lensed eyes.  The smile quickly morphed into a frown when she couldn’t see him.  He hadn’t been hidden this whole time, so where was he now? She squeaked and whirled around into a fighting stance when she heard someone land behind her.  She barely had time to put her hands down before Red Robin was standing next to her, his hand on her shoulder while he looked around, eyes sharp and calculating.

Marinette followed his lead and scanned the crowd. In lieu of knowing what she was looking for, she kept her eye out for anything that seemed out of place. Everything looked normal though. Nothing seemed suspicious.  There were a few people throwing them odd looks, but nothing that seemed hostile or calculating, instead it seemed more curious and fearful of what having a vigilante dropping down in the middle of the night meant for them.

Red Robin turned back to face her.  “Let’s get you somepl…” his hand went up to his ear. “Shit!”

Marinette’s eyes widened in fear.  “What happened?  Did someone get hurt?”

Red Robin’s eyes looked around them again and narrowed at one of the buildings.  He moved his arm to her back and firmly pushed her toward the building. “Nobody is hurt.”

She looked at him doubtfully.  “But…”

“There’s just an issue that needs attention, but nobody has been hurt,” he assured her, looking down briefly to meet her eyes.

Marinette nodded uncertainly, not feeling calmer with his reassurance.  She couldn’t see his eyes past the white filters to gauge his sincerity, and it was unsettling.  “So my friend and brother, my… the Waynes, they’re… nobody is hurt?”

Red Robin paused almost imperceptibly.  If she hadn’t become used to his constant pressure on her back, she wouldn’t have noticed.  He looked back down at her as they walked, the tense muscles in his face softened considerably.  “They’re all safe.  Your friend and brother and family.  They’re all safe.  I promise. I just need to go assist someone, but I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow at him.  “I can defend myself you know.”

Red Robin gave her a deadpan expression. She’s sure if he didn’t have a mask, he’d have his own eyebrow raised at her.  “After last night, you can understand that we and your family are a bit concerned and perhaps a bit overprotective just right now.”

Marinette rolled her eyes with a sigh but didn’t fight him.  “So you’re going to, what?  Hide me in some abandoned office until everything blows over?  That sounds safe.”

Red Robin huffed out a laugh.  “Absolutely safe.  That is our standard approach.  I’m glad you understand how we operate.”  He gave her a look she couldn’t quite decipher with his mask in the way.  “No.  I think your family would hunt me down if I did something so reckless with you.  They’re quite protective, you know?”  

Marinette opened her mouth to say something but shut it quickly.  He was a stranger.  There was absolutely no reason to get into her family dynamics with him.  “No,” he continued, oblivious to her uncertainty. “I’m going to stash you with someone we know we can trust.”

Marinette looked up at him with narrowed eyes.  “A babysitter.”

The corners of Red Robin’s mouth quirked up. “Well, if you’re going to whine like a baby…” he teased.

Marinette gasped dramatically.  “If you want whining, I can show you whining.  I grew up with the most spoiled brat in existence.  I can give new meaning to the word.”  Red Robin actually laughed as he opened the door to the business.  “You know, I’m supposed to meet my… um… br… brother,” she stuttered over the word.  “Jason’s going to wonder about me.”

Red Robin cringed slightly.  “You should probably text him.  It isn’t a good idea for you to go out until this is resolved.” Marinette nodded and shot a text off to Jason letting him know she was okay and Red Robin was putting her somewhere safe for a bit.

They heard movement from the building, finally drawing Marinette’s attention to the business they had gone into.  “Can I help… T… Red Robin?  Marinette?” Roy asked pushing out from behind a motorcycle with its transmission in his hands.

“Hey, I was hoping you could watch Marinette while I take care of something.  You’re a friend with the Waynes right?” Red Robin asked pointedly.

Roy stared at him for a few seconds before realization set in.  “Yeah. Yeah, we’re like fam…” he looked over to Marinette, “well, not family family.  But, uh, yeah.”

Red Robin cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips.  “No, I’m pretty sure you are con…” he was cut off by something in his com.  He paused for a moment to listen before turning back to Roy with what Marinette was pretty sure was supposed to be a glare.  “I’m trusting you,” he growled.  “There’s some madness going on.”

Roy’s face turned serious and he gave him a determined nod.  “I’ll protect her.  Go.”

Red Robin looked between them for a second then nodded and took off.  Roy and Marinette watched him leave for a second before turning back to each other. Marinette gave him a shy smile. “Hi,” she waved sheepishly. “Sorry to just drop in on you like this.”

Roy gave her a welcoming smile and motioned to the garage bay.  “Not at all. I guess you’re just visiting sooner than we anticipated.  Can’t say I’m upset at all.”  He moved some parts off of a stool and motioned toward it for her to sit.  “I should say sorry that you have to hunker down here. You definitely look like you were going somewhere a bit nicer.”

Marinette looked down at her outfit analytically, a blood red, long-sleeved blouse, black skinny jeans, and black heeled boots. She’d wanted to wear ladybug colors after the previous night in the Riddler’s facility and the Wayne dining room. Ladybug colors always reminded her of the strongest, most resilient parts of herself.  She looked back up at him, her eyes catching on the coat rack behind him.  “Excuse you. All I need is that jacked over there and I’d fit right in.  In fact, I’d match your baby.”

Roy looked to where she was looking, seeing his black leather jacket hanging up.  He blushed slightly at the idea of her wearing his jacket.  He could picture it on her, the jacket hanging loosely off of her significantly smaller frame, her clinging to him as they rode on his bike… He looked back at her with a soft look. “And you would still be too classy to be here.”

Marinette pouted at him.  “You say that like I don’t fit in.”  She didn’t want to say the ‘with you’ that was running through her head.  Did he think she wouldn’t fit with him?  “I can fit. I can even be helpful.”

Roy shook his head.  “No, not at all just…”  He motioned to his own clothes, an old tee, stained jeans, and a backwards ball cap that was just as stained with grease as his jeans, and then motioned to her.

Marinette looked between the two of them and grinned. “You underestimate my ability to get dirty.  Give me a few minutes and I’ll be as dirty as you.”

Roy’s eyes snapped to the wrench in his hand. Based on the complete lack of amusement or sultriness in her eyes, she did not at all realize what she just said. He took a few seconds, it may have been minutes, to calm his heart and mind.  “Okay, how about you prove it?”

Marinette raised an eyebrow at him.  “Prove what?”

“That you can be helpful.  Roll up those sleeves and help me with this engine.”  He motioned to the transmission on the workbench next to her.  “I can also get you some coveralls so your outfit won’t get dirty if you prefer.” He looked back at her with an amused glint in his eyes.  “They’ll be a bit big on you…”  Marinette narrowed her eyes at him but his eyes danced with even more amusement at her reaction.  “Since you’re so litt…”

“You know what…” she cut him off, standing to get in his personal space.  She stared up at him, her eyes meeting his for a moment before her cheeks burst into color.  She looked away and cleared her throat.  After a second to recover, she motioned to the transmission as she rolled up her sleeves. “Just tell me what you’re doing and how I can help.”

Roy grinned and twirled the wrench in his hand. “Yes, ma’am.”  

He leaned over the transmission and started loosening one of the nuts holding the piece together.  His hand faltered for a fraction of a second when Marinette leaned next to him, close enough for him to feel her breath as she let out a sigh, close enough to feel her body heat.  Close enough he could easily wrap his arms around her and pull her against him.  He had to tighten his hands to keep them from reaching over.

He took a breath to focus.  Now was not the time.  She had just been kidnapped and people could take a bit of time to recover from something like that, especially considering the things she had said about having a breakdown.  He flicked his eyes over to her trying to assess how she was doing.  Her eyes were intently watching his hands as they moved around the transmission.  They were sharp and her body seemed to be relaxing the longer she watched him work.  If he didn’t know better, he’d never know she had been kidnapped and threatened the night before.

She looked up at him questioningly when his hands stilled as he analyzed her.  He gave her a small smile and motioned toward the tool box.  “Um… I need… Can you, um, get me the, um… 5/16th wrench, please?” he stuttered.

Marinette jumped up to search through the wrenches in the box.  She frowned, her lip jutting out as she searched.  “I don’t see it here.  Is there somewhere else it could be?”

Roy’s face scrunched as he tried to remember where else he might have used it.  He’d been working on the bike almost all day.  He looked back at the motorcycle trying to remember what he had done with it. He was broken from his concentration by Marinette’s light giggle.  He looked over to her with a raised brow.  

Marinette looked away quickly, another blush on her cheeks.  She followed where his line of sight had been and searched around the motorcycle, focusing her energy on her search for the wrench instead of the adorable face he made when he was concentrating and the way his nose wrinkled up in thought and his lips quirked to the side.  After a minute of looking she shook her head and held her empty hands out for him to see.

“Any other ideas?” she asked as she came back over to her stool.

Roy sighed deeply and scanned the workbench. He had a backup set of wrenches, but he knew he had used that one recently.  It couldn’t have gone too far. His attention was brought back to Marinette when she giggled again, her giggles turning into full blown laughter.  He gave her a confused look which made her laugh louder.  She reached over the workbench, almost climbing onto it to grab the wrench that was behind the transmission.  She held the wrench out to him triumphantly with a smug, teasing smile on her lips.

Roy fought choking on air at the sight of her climbing onto his workbench and all the images that immediately flooded into his mind involving that particular scenario, especially in his jacket… and nothing else.  He took the wrench, hoping she believed the blush he knew was on his cheek was from embarrassment rather than where his thoughts had gone.  “Thanks,” he managed to mutter out.

“Anytime,” she grinned back.  “See?” she motioned to herself.  “Helpful.”

Roy chuckled and shook his head fondly. “Guess I’ll have to keep you around then.”

Marinette chuckled and let her focus settle back on the part he was working on.  She watched his hands move effortlessly and confidently over the pieces.  “Flathead screwdriver,” he asked, holding out his hand for her.  She quickly grabbed one and slapped it in his hand like he was a surgeon.  He looked up at her with a grin.  “Thanks, nurse.”

Marinette shook her head and let her gaze pass over the garage bay.  She quirked her head to the side when her eyes settled on a bow leaning up against the wall by the door.  “What’s with the bow?”

Roy’s head jerked up.  His eyes immediately found his bow and quiver.  He looked back at her with an almost natural smile. “Oh, I just… like to shoot.”

“It’s yours?” she asked perking up.

“Yeah… I just pulled it out… recently.”  His eyes flicked to the cut on her cheek quickly before returning to the transmission.

Marinette looked back at the bow.  “That sounds fun.  I always wanted to learn.  How did you learn?”

Roy’s eyes took on a far off look and a sentimental smile spread on his lips.  “My father, my adopted father.”

“Oliver?” Marinette asked, confusion clear in her voice as she tried to reconcile the sentimental smile with his description in the bar.

“Ah, so you know,” Roy said quietly, eyes suddenly in focus and pointed at the transmission.

Marinette gave him a sympathetic smile.  “Sorry.  Damian… he um… thought I knew,” she stuttered out.  She really didn’t want to get into that conversation right now.  She was sure Roy would be upset and it was just something she wanted to leave between her and Damian, not someone else.  “He just mentioned it yesterday.”

Roy nodded and flicked his eyes up to her for a second, gauging her reaction, waiting for the questions.  There were always questions.  Questions about Oliver, questions about their relationship, questions about their money.  The exact combination might change but they were always there.  “Sorry for bringing it up,” she said quietly.

Roy shook his head, with a small smile.  “No.  It isn’t your fault.  No not Oliver.  It was before Oliver.  My birth father died saving me from a forest fire and a man named Brave Bow adopted me. He raised me.  He was a really good man.  He taught me how to be a good person and how to shoot… and just about everything else I know.”

The smile on Roy’s face made Marinette smile too. “He sounds like a good father.”

Roy nodded.  “He was,” he said quietly.  He looked over at her hesitantly before focusing back on the piece he was working on. “How are you feeling?”

Marinette quirked her head to the side.  “Feeling?  Not as useful as I could be.  A burden on you more than a help, if I’m being honest,” she shrugged.

Roy snorted.  “Sorry, I’ll try to get you to do more of my work for me.”  He sent her a smirk that got an eye roll out of her.  “And I would never call you a burden.  In fact, I’d fight to keep you nearby,” he added quietly, no longer meeting her eyes.  He tried to focus on the transmission but he could feel her eyes on him, making it impossible to think of anything else.  

After a few seconds he cleared his throat.  “I mean after,” he motioned toward her face, his hand still grasping the gear he had just removed.  “How are you handling it?  The Riddler’s no joke.”

Marinette scoffed and picked up a wrench.  She spun it in her hand as a distraction while she spoke.  “He really isn’t.  I didn’t find him funny at all.”  Roy gave her a flat look and returned to working on the part, letting her decide to continue discussing it or not.  “How did you know?” she asked quietly.

“He broadcast it to all Gotham.  Everybody knows.  Everybody saw you deliver the verbal smack down of the century,” he grinned at her.  “It was inspiring.  You were amazing.”

“I was pissed is what I was,” she grumbled.  She looked away and sighed, running her hand over her face and grimacing when she accidentally touched her cut.  “I forgot everyone would see that.”

She stared at the wrench as she twirled it in her hands.  She knew the Waynes probably knew she was taken.  She’d called Jason to let him know she was fine, but had pretended she had to go talk to the police and cut the call short.  She really didn’t want to talk to them after the scene at dinner. She didn’t want to have the conversations she knew they were going to want to have.  She just wanted to move on.  It didn’t have anything to do with them, especially the kids.  It was her past, one they had no way of knowing about and no way of helping with.  There was no reason to hash through it all again.

But she hadn’t realized they would get to see the full video.  She frowned at the thought.  She’d said so much while she was yelling and she couldn’t remember what all she had said. It was a moment of weakness that now the entire city, possibly the world now knew about.  Thankfully she was positive she didn’t mention anything about the miraculous so to anyone watching she would have looked like any other normal, non-miraculous wielding person.

And on top of it all, she wasn’t sure if she was grateful or upset that M. Wayne hadn’t reached out to see if she was alright. All of the kids had even Lucius had, but not him… or Alfred.  After the way she left, he might not feel like he’s allowed to.  But still… he hadn’t bothered to check on her at all.

She looked up with a weak smile.  “Guess I’ve truly experienced Gotham now.”

Roy grimaced.  “Sorry about that.”  He watched her as she seemed to work through her feelings on the matter, going from annoyed to hurt.  He returned his attention to the engine part.  “I think I need to start calling you Fire Flower.”

Marinette looked up at him curiously.  “Fire Flower?”

“Yeah,” he looked up briefly with a spark in his eyes. “It’s like a fire cracker, but cuter. More impressive to look at.” Marinette blushed and looked down, accidentally dropping the wrench she had been playing with.  Roy grinned widely at her before focusing back on his work. “You sure you feel safe?” he asked, still focusing on the engine.

Marinette nodded.  “I have Adrien and Max.  We might not look like we can protect ourselves, but we’re pretty good at it.” Actually incredibly well.  She was possibly the best protected person in the world right now, but he didn’t have any way of knowing that.

“I’m actually pretty surprised Adrien isn’t with you right now or Max.”  He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

Marinette nodded.  “You’re not wrong.  They would be but Max just started work and couldn’t really take a day off immediately and Adrien had a job interview in Metropolis today.  And this is the one he’s really excited about.  I was supposed to go with him and check out Metropolis, but then I wouldn’t have had anyone with me while he was in the interview and that made them a bit too nervous.  Here at least they know I have the bats following me at all times so, they were pretty confident I was safe.”

“The bats are keeping an eye on you, huh?” Roy asked with a secretive grin.

Marinette nodded.  “I’m not sure if they’re trying to be subtle, but yeah.  I don’t know what kind of relationship they have with the Waynes. They mentioned… the bats certainly act like they talk a lot and know each other well.”

Roy froze for a second.  Well, they certainly weren’t being as discrete as they normally are, it would seem.  Although after last night, he could imagine they were pretty flustered.  He had been and she was just an acquaintance to him. He wanted it to be more but… that wasn’t the point.  But at this rate, she was going to figure it out before they told her and he didn’t imagine that going well for them.  “So you’ve caught them a few times?”

“Caught is a liberal term for it.  Is it catching if they aren’t really hiding?  I think Red Robin might have been trying… maybe, but Batman was on our balcony, standing vigil all night last night.”

Roy glanced over for a second.  “Batman was watching over your apartment last night?”

Marinette nodded.  “Markov said he was there until Red Robin took over some time around breakfast.”

Roy paused for a few seconds then tapped the screwdriver against the workbench.  “And… Bruce? Did Bruce check in on you?”

Marinette looked away and licked her lips before pursing them.  She twisted the wrench around a few more times, focusing entirely on that, not meeting Roy’s eyes.  “No,” she finally said in a falsely calm voice.  “I… I didn’t…  Dinner didn’t go so well.”

Roy moved closer to her until he was close enough to reach her comfortably but still gave her space so he wasn’t crowding her. He ducked his head to try to meet her eyes.  She yielded quickly and met his eyes.  “He’s worried about you.  I guarantee you he is.  He’s just… shit at emotions and reading a room.  

“If you guys fought, I promise you he isn’t less worried about you, he’s just afraid that seeing him or hearing from him will upset you more.  I promise you he’s finding out everything he can about how you are from anyone that will tell him.  He cares. Your fight didn’t push him away. He’s just a fucking idiot.  And an asshole, so there’s like a 97% chance if you did fight, it was his fault.  And he probably knows that, just not how to make it up to you.”

Marinette huffed out a laugh despite her eyes suddenly turning glassy. “I don’t need him to make it up, just… it’s not even his fault.  It was mine really.”  She fiddled with the wrench in her hands, testing the strength, trying to bend it, focusing on that as if it was the most interesting thing in the room.

“I doubt it.”  He sighed and readjusted his cap as he tried to come up with the right words.  “I’ve found that when bad things happen at the manor it’s almost always because Bruce was being a controlling little bitch.”  Instead of laughing, she frowned at the wrench. Right, calling her father, she’s trying to connect to a ‘controlling little bitch’ probably isn’t really helping. He sighed and looked back up trying to figure out how to remove the frown.  It didn’t look right on her face.  She should be smiling.  Always. “Do you want a hug?”

Marinette finally looked up from the wrench in surprise.  After a second she gave him a weak smile and shook her head, returning her focus to the wrench.  “I’m fine.”

Roy lightly placed his hand on the wrench to stop its motion. “That’s not what I asked,” he said gently.

She blinked at him a few times before a smirk quirked her lips up. “I mean… I’m not going to object to a handsome man wrapping his arms around me,” she answered slyly, throwing his words from days earlier back at him.  Roy grinned and wrapped his arms around her, gently at first but holding her tighter as the hug went on.  His arms were strong and reassuring, giving a sense of warmth and safety and Marinette quickly found herself melting into his embrace.  She nuzzled into his chest and dear God, she could feel his muscles moving through his shirt with every minute movement.

She tried to hide her frown when he pulled away after a few minutes. But, it turned into a smile when he stopped after a few inches, just enough to look down at her.  Roy smiled softly and rubbed her cheek with his thumb a few times.  Marinette leaned into his hand, captivated by the feel of his hand on her face.  He started to lean down but jumped away with the sound of clattering right next to them.  Roy moved in front of her, caging her in behind him as he looked for the source of the sound.

Marinette grimaced and leaned down to pick up the wrench that had slipped through her fingers when she was looking at Roy.  He chuckled awkwardly and moved back to his transmission. He started working on it again a lot slower than he had been before.  His hands were shaking slightly.  He could still feel the traces of her on his fingers and around his chest, trilling through him.  “Can you… um… the.  Can you hand me the Phillips head, please?” he stuttered, unable to get his mind settled.

Marinette stared at him for a few seconds, her cheeks still bright red, as her mind tried to kick back into gear.  She looked at the tools in the toolbox and back to him. “Is… that’s a tool, not like a horror movie thing, right?”

Roy blinked a few times before breaking out in laughter.  Marinette smiled at his laughter, beyond grateful for the change of topic.  “The one with the cross for a head,” he said motioning toward the screwdrivers.

“Oh,” Marinette nodded in understanding. “Tournevis cruciform,” she muttered to herself as she searched through the tools for the right screwdriver. “Americans and their naming things.”

Roy grinned at her outrage.  “And what do you call it?  The cross screwdriver.” he teased.

“That is literally what it translates to,” she deadpanned.

Roy puckered his lips in an attempt at keeping a smile off his lips and make his annoyed wrinkled brow more believable.  “Oh, well I bow to your superior naming capabilities,” he snarked with a fake bow.

Marinette nodded graciously and passed the screwdriver to him.  “Thank you. That’s all I ask.”

Roy laughed and returned to the transmission, pretending like he could focus on that instead of the kiss they almost had. Marinette watched, almost transfixed as he moved the gears synchronously on the transmission, creating intricate and ever changing patterns.  She pulled her sketchbook and pencil out to capture a sudden idea.

“The wrench?” Roy called out, not looking up from the transmission.  He held out his hand and waited for a few seconds before adding, “Please?”  He waited a little longer before repeating it a bit louder.  “Wrench, please?”  He finally looked up when she still hadn’t handed it to him.  “Marinette?”  He looked over to her concerned.  His face immediately softened when he saw her.

Marinette’s face was frozen in intense concentration on her sketchbook as she drew confidently and without hesitation.  She held the sketchbook out and tilted it slightly. She narrowed her eyes at it and tilted it a different way.  Her mouth curved into a satisfied smirk before she added in more details and notes. Her eyes lit up with inspiration, bright and clear.  She shook her head to get a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, hands too busy committing her inspiration to paper to waste time with such trivialities.  Roy shook his head, mentally berating himself for having backed off before.  She had been right there and leaning toward him.  Maybe Jason and Dick… and Tim and Damian, were right.  He was an idiot.

Before Roy realized what he was doing, he had reached out to tuck it behind her ear, being careful to avoid her cut as his fingers brushed her face.  Marinette jumped at the unexpected contact.  She looked up at him wide eyed but a sheepish look quickly overtook her expression. She looked down in embarrassment, but that only pressed her face further into Roy’s hand, which made her embarrassed blush deepen but not due to embarrassment this time.  “Sorry.  Did you need a tool?”

Roy shook his head.  He smiled and moved his hand slightly so it was cupping her face this time.  “It’s fine. I was enjoying watching you get caught up in inspiration.”

Marinette looked down again and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.  It is probably the most embarrassing face.”

Roy smiled softly at her, his eyes shining with sincerity and fondness.  “No. It wasn’t.  It was cute.”  He took a step closer to her and leaned a bit closer, more intimately.  “I wouldn’t mind seeing it more.”

“More of my too distracted to pay attention to you face?” she smirked and leaned closer to him.

“Any version of your face you’ll let me see. Although I would prefer to see it with fewer cuts,” he frowned at the cut on her cheek as he rubbed a soothing line just below the bruise that had formed around the cut.  He leaned closer to examine the cut until his lips were centimeters from her cheek.  He flicked his eyes to her half lidded ones and leaned to close the distance.

“Hey, guys!” Dick boomed as he came into the room. Marinette and Roy jumped apart, or rather Roy jumped away and Marinette straightened up on the stool, grabbing the workbench to keep from falling off.  “Sorry I’m late.  And sorry I’m here instead of Jason.  He got… caught up in the attack.  Not personally!” he rushed to assure Marinette when her eyes widened and body stiffened.  “I meant he’s dealing with the fallout.  Jason is fine.  He’d just be really, really late and asked if I could come over here instead.  If that’s okay.”

Marinette nodded, but her eyes were still slightly widened.  “Of course. But you’re sure Jason’s okay?”

“Absolutely,” Dick shot her a charming smile.  “He’s just going to need a bit of time to deal with things,” he lied smoothly.  He looked between Marinette and Roy with narrowed eyes and moved between them as he hugged Marinette.  “He really, really wanted to be here with you today.  I think he’s planning on attaching himself to you tomorrow though.”

Marinette chuckled lightly.  “That’s okay.  We’ll have fun doing something.”  Her face suddenly sobered.  “Oh, no, wait.  I have lunch with Duke and Cass tomorrow.  I mean… I think I have lunch with them.  We had planned it, but that was before…” she trailed off, not wanting to go into detail at all, but especially in front of Roy.

“I’m sure you still do,” Dick assured her.  “They’re probably just waiting to get confirmation from you in case the last few days were a bit much and you wanted a break.”

“No!” Marinette exclaimed.  “No.  I’ll text them.  Thanks.”

“But I get you for tonight.  How do you feel about a movie marathon?” he grinned widely, already planning a full night’s marathon with her, Adrien, and Max.  She had to love Disney movies, right?  Who didn’t love Disney movies?

“I like movies,” Roy chirped with a teasing grin.

“No,” he answered sharply.  He turned back to Marinette with a mock sympathetic smile. “You must have been so bored here.”

Roy narrowed his eyes back at him but Marinette jumped up to defend Roy.  “Not at all. It was interesting watching him working on the bike.  I got some good inspiration too.”

Roy raised a pointed eyebrow at him with a smug grin.  “Motorcycles remind her of her grandmother.”

Dick looked back at Marinette who was looking back at Roy with a surprised expression.  “Good memory.”

“I remember important things,” he shrugged.

Dick glared at him.  “Uh huh.  But not to check if things are loaded.”  He looked back at Marinette.  “You’ve got something just there,” he motioned to the cheek Roy had stroked earlier. “You might want to get that grease off.”

“Oh!” Marinette exclaimed grabbing her cheek, almost succeeding in covering the blush that flushed on her cheeks.  “Do you have a bathroom I can use?”

Roy nodded and motioned toward the bathroom. “Just right over there.”

As soon as the door closed, Dick punched Roy’s shoulder.  Roy frowned at him.  “What?”

“What the Hell are you doing?” Dick hissed and motioned toward the bathroom.

“What?” Roy answered rubbing his shoulder.  At least it was just Dick.  If it was Jason, he’d be rubbing his jaw right now.  “Tim dropped her off here.  What was I supposed to do?  Ignore her?”

“You were supposed to not hit on her,” he grumbled.

“That’s just unreasonable,” Roy rolled his eyes and leaned back against the workbench.  He motioned to the bathroom.  “Have you met her? She’s smart and sassy and really sweet.  She's funny and obviously gorgeous.  Who doesn’t want to hit on her?”

“Yeah.  I’ve met her. Didn’t hit on her.” Dick let out a long suffering sigh. “Jesus, Roy!  I’ve had her as a sister for like a week.  I don’t want to lose her because I’m in jail for killing you.”

“You’re her brother, you don’t count in the hitting on her count.  And please,” Roy scoffed, “you’re too good to go to jail for it.”

“True.  Just…” he narrowed his eyes at him and pointed at him threateningly, “if you mess around and hurt her… I’ll choose her over you.  And I won’t forget to load the magazines and Jason will be more than happy to use them.”

“That’s hurtful,” Roy groused.  “One time.  I forgot to load the magazines one time.”

“Yeah, in the middle of a mission!” Dick whisper hissed.

“You survived,” Roy shrugged.  “Stop being such a baby.  But I get it.  I’d choose her over me too.  Or you. But if you were going to kill anyone for hurting her, Riddler wouldn’t still be alive… or Bruce.”

Dick pursed his lips at the reminder of how Bruce had treated Marinette, of everything that had come up the night before. His anger quickly deflating.  He looked toward the bathroom, his eyes softening. They really needed to work harder to support her, to assure her they weren’t holding her at arm’s length. Maybe talk to Bruce about telling her the truth.  That seemed like the only possible way to salvage this.  “How does she seem to be doing?”

Roy shrugged and watched the bathroom door to make sure she wouldn’t walk in on the conversation.  “Actually doesn’t seem too bothered by the Riddler incident.  She’s more anxious about the family knowing.” He pursed his lips and picked up a transmission piece, pretending to examine it.  “Bruce hasn’t said anything or made any attempts as far as she knows.”

Dick sighed and massaged his temples.  “That should surprise me more than it does.” He let out a heavy sigh.  “Last night… dinner didn’t… some things came out that Bruce didn’t know.  Things she had to go through.  He’s beating himself up over it.  Too ashamed to talk to her.”

Roy sighed and shook his head.  Bruce was going to lose her before he even had her at this point.  “That have anything to do with why she’s so unaffected by having been taken captive by one of the most dangerous rogues in Gotham?” Dick’s resigned sigh was enough confirmation for him.  “Fuck,” he grumbled.  “She thinks it’s her fault he doesn’t want to bother with her anymore.”

“Damn it,” Dick grumbled, drawing out the words in frustration.  He ran his hand over his face and collapsed on the stool she had been on earlier.  “Good to know.  Thanks.”

Roy nodded and threw the part back on the workbench.  “How’s Jay doing?”

“He’ll be okay.  Tim got there in time to stop him from going too far, but he’s going to need a few hours, maybe the night to let the Pit Madness recede.  And I think he’s really nervous about showing any part of that to Marinette.”

They both snapped their attention to Marinette when she came back.  “My cheek look better?” she turned her cheek for them to see.  “I mean obviously not the cut.”

“Yeah, you look beautiful.”  Roy assured her and handed her purse to her.  

Dick glared at Roy.  “Could you stop hitting on my sister for five seconds?” he hissed low enough for Marinette not to hear.  He turned to Marinette before Roy could respond.  “Ready to go?  I don’t know about you but I’m hungry.”

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

Dick walked ahead of her, pretending like he didn’t notice her lag behind. When he was almost out the door, she turned to Roy and gave him a lingering kiss on his cheek.  “Thank you for babysitting me today and for the tour the other day.  I’ve had a lot of fun.”

Roy nodded and handed her his phone with a spot for Fire Flower already started in his contacts.  “If your plans ever get canceled again or you need to hide out or you need to borrow a jacket so you fit in, give me a call, Fire Flower.”

Marinette put her number in and passed it back to him with a grin.  “You have extra you can just loan out?”

Roy grinned back and nodded.  “A few jackets, suit coats, shirts, ties, clean pants, even a few pairs of coveralls, none of which would fit you, but if you ever need them… Or even if you don’t need anything, just want to talk or hang out, let me know.”

“Marinette!  I thought you were ready to go?” Dick yelled.

Marinette shook her head and sighed.  She waved to Roy as she rushed out.  “Thanks again!”

Roy watched her leave until he couldn’t see her anymore.  He let out a deep sigh and collapsed against the workbench. He looked at his phone and quickly sent a text with a smile.

Tags:

@maribat-bdbwm @jayjayspixiepop @redscarlet95 @alice-hazelwood @deathssilentapproach-blog @unoriginalmess @alyssadeliv @emotionalsupportginger @frieddonutsweets @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @toodaloo-kangaroo @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @iloontjeboontje @wolf-for-life @maribatserver @aespades @prettylittlebutterflie @imarivers8  @ certainmuffinbagelcalzone @ritacrow-blog @unoriginalmess @demonicbusiness @kking13 @lady-bee-fechin @blur-of-colours @kittenmywaythrulife @kashlyn @loysydark

[miraculouscontent]

I know that you said that it was an one shot, but I really love the idea of marinette stay in Paris with Luka and kagami and avoid all the NY drama! If you can, can you share more of it? Even if just a few little ideas it would be great! (I love your ideas!)

(the one-shot this anon is referring to)

Aw, thank you so much!

And sure, after some thought, I did really want to write a little more with them!

—————

While throwing away their now juice-less cups, Marinette made the realization of how different things seemed with Luka and Kagami. She had already experienced hanging out with both of them separately, but she'd never imagined having both of them with her at once. It wasn't as if she'd always dismissed or despised the idea, but the only time they'd interacted as a group had been with Adrien around, which had probably soured the whole thing and thus involuntarily caused her to never think about it.

With her friends, everything was typically high-energy. Juleka and Mylene weren't very involved in creating such an atmosphere, but Marinette herself, Rose, Alya, and kept things energized. It wasn't a bad thing in general, but it made Marinette wonder if maybe surrounding herself with people who only encouraged her excitable habits wasn't a good thing.

Meanwhile, Luka and Kagami were completely different, both from her and her friends. Neither were particularly loud - though both could be when they wanted to - and they weren't really the kind to tease or mess with her either. Luka wasn't quiet in the way Juleka was, just seeming to absorb the world around him, whereas Kagami only spoke when she felt that there was something of value to say. Marinette had worried briefly that she might've been too different from the both of them, or that she'd overwhelm them due to speaking up the most, but instead, there was a sense of balance. Luka smiled or chuckled reassuringly whenever she caught herself rambling, whereas Kagami would cut in with her own views that were often direct but nevertheless good in their intentions. Perhaps her personality rubbed off on them in a way she couldn't fully understand?

Still, it was nice.

As the three were deciding what to do next, Marinette's phone suddenly went off. Marinette looked at her purse and pulled out her phone, half-expecting a text from one of her classmates about her missing the bus, but it was actually a notification about where Andre the ice cream man was.

Kagami glanced over after noticing the look on Marinette's face. "You want to get ice cream?"

Marinette frowned, Kagami's voice reminding her of the day the two of them had gone for ice cream with Adrien. She still remembered talking to Andre, hoping beyond hope that maybe the man wouldn't make them pick between the three different flavors. His words still stung a little, not because of Adrien, but because of what the words meant.

"Too many flavors mixed together may throw off the delicate balance."

It implied that one of them would always be the third wheel if they were together, no matter what, and it was a hollow feeling that she'd only recently started to accept.

"Marinette?"

Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, she looked over and noted Luka offering her a concerned expression. It grounded her, serving as a reminders that things were different now and that Adrien wasn't there which, in a strange way, brought her an immense sense of comfort.

"I'm fine," she assured. Turning her attention back to her phone, she deleted the notification and then made sure that she wouldn't be getting another one. "Ice cream sounds good, if you want it too, but... I think I've got a better idea than Andre's."

Luka and Kagami exchanged curious glances.

—————

"Here's to Neapolitan ice cream!" Marinette declared dramatically, raising her spoon up with flair before shoving it and the ice cream on it right into her mouth.

Luka snorted in amusement while Kagami gave an acknowledging nod, probably remembering the exact phrase from Andre that Marinette had recalled earlier.

They'd picked up the carton of ice cream on the way to Marinette's place, with Marinette insisting on paying in order to spoil them, and while they seemed confused on the specifics of her insistence, they gave in soon enough. Marinette could understand why she'd be the expected person to be comforted, but giving to others made her happy on its own and she felt they deserved it. After all, Luka had tried his hardest to catch up to the bus and Kagami was still dealing with Adrien wanting to leave for New York despite her being in Paris.

They'd ultimately decided on splitting the entire carton between the three of them, with each of them getting a majority of the one of the flavors and then the rest of that flavor going to the other two. Marinette had gone with chocolate, Kagami had gone with vanilla, and Luka had gone with strawberry. It might've seemed like a weird choice to go with since they'd just had orange juice, but it hadn't been much and it wasn't exactly a "treat."

Marinette may have considered suggesting ice skating instead if her first thought of it wasn't her slipping and bringing Luka and Kagami down to the ice with her. Ice cream was the safer alternative to "cold fun."

"Luka," she called thoughtfully, taking another bite before asking, "you're not feeling sore or anything, are you?"

He met her gaze, smiling at the concern but waving his hand dismissively. "I'm alright, Marinette. I'm used to biking around for hours because of my job, so it wasn't a big deal."

Kagami halted, spoon halfway in her mouth while her brows rose noticeably. She finished the scoop, then turned to look at Luka. "You have a job?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I deliver pizza." He grinned, clearly amused by her reaction. "Are you surprised?"

Kagami's expression didn't shift, but Marinette had known her long enough to see that she was embarrassed. "Oh, no. It's... I don't have one."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Luka shrugged. "I just have the time to do it."

"Mm." Kagami looked back at her ice cream, poking at the surface with her spoon. "I suppose it would be too difficult with my fencing lessons."

Marinette giggled sheepishly, happy to join in on the conversation. "I probably wouldn't be able to either. There's all my fashion work with my website, and then there's the unexpected babysitting, the bakery, and I'm also the class representative." She hurriedly added an, "I know it doesn't sound like much, but I'm bad at planning," when she felt that it seemed like such little things. She was Ladybug and the new guardian too, of course, but she couldn't be blurting that out, so she could only hope that it didn't seem like she was whining over nothing.

She averted her gaze, scooping up a self-conscious bite of her ice cream and shoving it into her mouth. She was partway through savoring it when she realized that neither Luka nor Kagami had responded to her. Daring a look back, she saw them staring at her with varying gazes.

Kagami seemed stunned, commenting, "That is... well, much, actually," referring to what Marinette had just tried to brush off.

Was it? Marinette had never really thought about it. In fact, she distinctly remembered back in the day where people might've thought she was just scatterbrained and didn't really do anything. Back when she was hesitant to be class representative and claimed that she was busy, Alya had asked her with a hint of snark what she was busy with, like she expected her to have a free schedule.

Even beyond her role of Ladybug at the time, she still had random babysitting to do and still frequently worked on her fashion projects. Thinking back, it stung just a little.

As Marinette glanced at Luka, she at first felt that the amount of sympathy he was directing at her was excessive, but then she remembered how she had cried in front of him to the point where he'd dropped his bike and guitar in order to comfort her. She blushed, both in shame and from the memory of him holding her so closely.

"Ah—well—it's okay!" she said hurriedly, "Anyway, forget about me! This day is about... um, this ice cream, and ice cream doesn't have problems that you should worry about!"

She nearly gave herself brainfreeze from how quickly she scooped up and ate the next bite, but figured it'd be worth it if they dropped the subject.

It wasn't worth it.

"You should be more careful," Kagami commented critically, an edge to her voice that Marinette knew wasn't meant to be anger at her. "You're my friend, so don't overwork yourself."

Marinette grinned nervously, still trying to lighten the mood. "A-are you saying it'd be alright to overwork myself if I wasn't your friend?"

Kagami's gaze didn't waver, and Marinette slowly tried to sink into her seat.

Luka set his spoon down on the bowl, then chimed in, "I don't know anything about fashion, Marinette, but if you ever need any help with anything—"

Kagami clicked her own spoon against her bowl to interrupt him, as if she felt personally slighted that he'd gotten to say it first. "We're here for you."

Luka nodded to confirm.

"Oh." Marinette blushed deeper, touched by the gesture from both of them. She thought about trying to reassure them again, but their gazes were firm and showed no room for argument, so she settled for a soft, "Thanks."

They resumed eating their ice cream from there, the topic officially concluded. Though the atmosphere felt noticeably different, Marinette was surprised to realize that it wasn't exactly in a bad way. She feared that she'd ruined the mood, but instead felt like she was supported, with Kagami and Luka looking satisfied with their choice in offering help to her.

It was like she was Ladybug, and they were the partners standing at her side, each with their own form of support. It made her smile, allowing her to happily eat away at her ice cream without thinking about anything stressful.

The idea of going to New York was suddenly very unappetizing in comparison to having ice cream with Luka and Kagami.

—————

All things considered, Ladybug wasn't concerned about telling Chat Noir that her plans had changed and she wasn't going anywhere after all. She imagined that Chat would be overjoyed and wouldn't even ask questions about it, just happy to have her back. She found his affection eyeroll-worthy, but he was still her teammate, so she just steeled herself up for whatever ramble he was about to give her.

However, as she waited near the top of the Eiffel Tower, sitting on the guardrail and looking around for Chat Noir, she realized that she couldn't even see him. Checking the time on her yoyo, she confirmed that it was indeed time for their usual patrol, but Chat Noir was completely absent. Even though it was nighttime, which made the black cat's suit blend in with the sky, he still had the blond hair and light skin that should've made him noticeable.

Ladybug got up and paced around the area a few times, constantly peeking down at the city as she wondered if maybe she just wasn't looking in the right spot. When she still saw nothing, she concluded that Chat Noir must just be running late and she'd simply have to wait a little longer. Things happened, after all, she knew that better than anyone, so she began idling on her yoyo, searching for something to keep her occupied while she waited.

They were a team. While their identities had to remain a secret, Chat Noir had always hated it and prioritized openness in their relationship, so he would've told her if something had come up. He was also active in going on patrols, always seeming eager to join her for their runs across the rooftops, and given that he didn't even know that she'd still be in Paris, patrols were even more crucial.

He never showed up.

[capesandshapes]

Didn't You Know? (Post Reveal/Pre Relationship)

Summary:

Marinette is sick and realizes that Adrien has a secret to tell her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The music was loud.

Far too loud.

But she knew at the same time that she was drunk, far too drunk; so that might have played a part in it. Adrien sitting at the bar with girls surrounding him—draped on his shoulders and with hands on his knees— might have also played a part in it. Because she’s tired, and sick, and lonely; and he’s there like he always is, waiting to take her home, waiting to take care of her because he feels like it’s his duty.

Because he’s Chat Noir and she’s Ladybug, and he promised one day however many years ago that he would always take care of her. Now she has to live with that. Now she has to live with wanting him, but still not fucking saying it.

And just when her night seems like it can’t get worse, some guy dumps a pint of whiskey on the front of her dress and makes to clean it up, his napkin at the ready to blot it like this totally isn’t some pre-planned thing—

“Oof,” a familiar voice says beside her, placing his sweatshirt around her shoulders before she can even protest and pushing the hands away before the man can try to ‘help’. “Thank you for that, but she’s already taken care of, I think I’m gonna take her home.”

And immediately the guy, some big burly man likely in his thirties, is flinging accusations and acting like he knows everything. “And who are you to do that?” Like he wasn’t just trying to do something awful.

“I’m her husband,” Adrien says, flashing a black and green ring while throwing a cheeky smile over his shoulder as he pulled the two edges of his sweatshirt a little bit closer around her. “Happily married,” he mutters, his eyes softening as they landed on hers and he saw her pull the sweatshirt on to really sell the statement. He leaned forward to zip it up, throwing the man another smile, this one verging on a warning as he placed his hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize,” the man began, blinking as Adrien made to herd her away.

“It’s fine,” Adrien said, his arm around her shoulders and his eyes staying firmly on her. “She’s going home.” In a stage whisper, he added, “you’re sick, aren’t you sweetheart?”

Which was only half because of the other man and half because she actually was sick, and he wanted an answer.

She had been wondering how long she could keep it from him that night, how long she could last dancing with Alya and accepting only water. Now that he knew who she was, Adrien had a way of seeing through all of her other disguises too. Like her telling herself that she wasn’t sick and trying to act like she wasn’t sick.

Even though a small part of her was afraid she might have caught the flu or been suffering from some sign of overwork…

“I’m going to get your coat,” he said, guiding her near the door.

“Are you also going to go and tell more people that we’re married?” She asked wearily, swaying on her feet.

He laughed, leaving a small kiss on her forehead that almost made her cross her eyes. “I tell everyone I’m married; it keeps them from hitting on me and technically I am…” He raised his hand, waggling his eyebrows at her, “married to the job,” he joked. “I’m taken in more ways than one.”

She wished she didn’t laugh, if only because it encouraged that type of thing. As his friend, she shouldn’t have been happy that he was sitting in clubs with his miraculous on his ring finger, turning away girls who could have been something to him. As his friend, she shouldn’t have raised the sleeve of his sweatshirt to her nose as he walked away, smelling the soft cologne that he’s taken to wearing instead of the Agreste branded stuff.

She really sucked at this whole being his friend thing. More so now than ever.

He reappeared with her jacket, her housekeys in his hand. He didn’t, of course, make any moves to replace the sweatshirt around her shoulders, just another addition to the list of many things that would always make her wonder about where she actually stood with him.

Alya always insisted that he liked her and was just waiting for the right time to say anything, but two years had passed since they’d revealed their identities and Marinette had started to doubt that. If it was more than a childhood crush, he would have told her by now.

Then again, she thought as she watched him wait for their taxi, she hadn’t told him.

***********************************

Adrien unlocked her door and hauled her stuff inside, Marinette following closely behind. He reached around her once she was safely inside, closing the door and locking it.

“I’ll stay on the couch tonight in case you need anything,” he informed her. Adrien was often overbearing when she was sick, a trait that he’d picked up from her once she learned that no one was really around to care for him when the boy was sick. It almost became tradition for the man to sleep in her living room whenever she was ill, another reason why she didn’t want him to know.

It was almost painful how much he cared.

That was the problem with the two of them, someday he would get a girlfriend or she would have another boyfriend, and they would tell him how weird this was, that he cared way too much for the young woman and she cared too far beyond reason for him as well. Then it would end.

She didn’t want it to end.

She wanted a thousand different things in her life, like to start her own fashion line and see the world, but she didn’t want Adrien to leave her.

She was in love with Chat Noir. How long? She couldn’t tell you. Before the reveal, probably. Before she knew that he shared those green eyes with the other guy who made her chest feel heavy and her breathing weak.

“You should shower,” Adrien said. “Are you hungry? We didn’t go out to eat this time.”

“I had a microwave meal.”

“You didn’t eat then,” Adrien proclaimed, marching into her kitchen. Ever since he learned how to cook one summer at Nino’s grandparents, he was a storm in the kitchen. He made food for her whenever he could, always watching her closely for her reaction to that first bite. It reminded her of her father in a way, that excitement to watch her experience new things and know that he was responsible.

She sighed, lumbering into the kitchen on exhausted legs and wrapping her arms around his back, burying her face into it and murmuring her thanks. “I love you,” she mumbled, such a common phrase from her that it always just slipped out.

“I love you too,” he stated, his hands wrapping around hers and giving a reassuring squeeze. “You can put on a new one of my sweatshirts when you get out of the shower,” he said, because eventually she had started a whole collection of them without thinking about it.

She nodded, bending over to remove her high heels before traveling further into the apartment. He was already at her feet by the time she’d managed to overcome dizziness and bend over, beginning the process of unbuckling her heels and tossing them aside.

She blinked at him, feeling his soft blond hair brush against her leg and immediately giving into the urge to touch it. Her hand wove through the back of his hair and he pressed a small kiss to her leg as he finished the last shoe, tossing them aside. “There,” he said, smiling up at her.

She really hoped he thought she was red from the fever.

Freed from her shoes, she felt the world blink in and out as she stumbled to her bathroom, turning the shower on cold to combat her fever despite her body’s pleas not to. She practically fell into the shower and she knew that he heard, rushing to the door as quick as possible. “I’m fine,” she called before he could so much as knock, blinking at the mixture of shampoos and soaps before her. When would she finally make room for Adrien to have his own shelf? She shook her head, tempted as always to see if there was some magic in his fifty-dollar shampoo, but settling for her strawberry-scented one instead. Adrien had teased her the last time she’d used anything on his recommendation.

Finally clean, she emerged from the bathroom, walking the short distance in her towel before ending up in her room. “It’s almost done,” Adrien said from the kitchen as she pulled on a pair of joggers and one of his old sweatshirts, pulling her hair into a sad attempt of a bun.

Deeming herself close enough to presentable, she moved back into the kitchen, steadying herself on the wall when he noticed her and his face broke into a smile.

“You didn’t have any chicken stock, so I made leek soup,” he said, gesturing to the bowls, one for her, one for him.

She nodded, grabbing the bowl and moving to the living room, scooting too close into his side when he settled on the couch beside her, flicking on the tv. He threw on the show they’d been watching recently, a bad soap opera about werewolves that had the sets falling apart around them. She let out the softest yawn when the theme music began, sinking further and further into him until he finally finished his food, placing his arm around her.

“When is she finally going to realize that he’s in love with her,” she grumbled. “I mean, they’re dating, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know,” Adrien said, pulling the empty bowl from her lap and pulling her on top of him, the two laying together as the show continued to play. His eyebrows furrowed, concern for the characters showing on his face, “I mean, she has stuff at his place and everything.”

That didn’t mean anything, Marinette had things at Adrien’s place. She had more than one drawer, a whole closet even. “I mean, he said he’s in love with her, right?”

“Yeah,” Adrien agreed. “And they go practically everywhere together, people invite them as a couple.”

“And he sends her all these texts every day of things that she’s into!” Marinette complained. “I don’t know much about love, but that seems like it’s part of it.”

“Mhm,” Adrien agreed, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth. “Thank you for the recipes the other day, by the way.”

“No problem—” she began, and then stopped, her eyes sliding over to him. He still watched the tv with the same expression, not even giving what he’d done a second thought.

“I think he’s finally about to say it,” Adrien stated with a frown. “It’s taken long enough.”

But Marinette couldn’t focus on the show at all. All she could do was stare at him. “You almost kissed me,” she marveled.

He cast her a questioning look, looking over at her just slightly before turning back to the tv. “Do you want me to fully kiss you, or?”

Marinette straightened, using her forearms to jerk back from him, her eyes wide.

He blinked, turning around to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed. “Marinette?”

“You kissed me,” she repeated, deciding at the corner was good enough and reaching to touch her mouth with her hand almost absentmindedly, tumbling against his chest in the process.

“Yes?” He said, peeling her off him to look him in the eyes. “I mean, that’s what people do when they’re dating—”

Her mouth fell open.

“Marinette..?”

“We’re dating?!” She yelled, her eyes wild.

He immediately flattened against the couch, looking almost as shocked at the statement as she was. “Marinette, I have stuff at your apartment, you have stuff at mine. I cook for you, we have shows. We watched all of Naruto together. You tell me you love me every day, and I say it back.”

“But that’s—We—” She floundered, almost falling off the couch.

Adrien’s hand caught her. “Marinette, be careful, you have a fever—”

“How long?” She asked, slumping into his hand. “We haven’t even kissed—”

“To be fair, we have kissed plenty of times before and I just assumed—”

“How. Long.” She repeated, and she could see the pure terror grow in his eyes.

“Two weeks?” He said, quickly explaining, “I mean, I sent you that long text about how much I liked you and you sent me back that you would be lucky to be my girlfriend, any girl would—”

She gasped, almost falling backward this time before his hands plastered themselves to the small of her back, the young man sitting up beneath her.

“Marinette?!”

“You’re my boyfriend,” she said loudly. “Oh my god, you’re my boyfriend.”

“Is that a bad thing?” He frowned.

“But you tell people that you’re married—”

“As a private joke,” he corrected. “I also tell people that I’m taken, not as a joke.” His hands pulled back from her, his voice almost unsure as he asked, “do you not want to be?”

“Of course, I want to be,” she squeaked. “I mean, that’s like asking someone if they want to be rich, or have a room full of puppies, or cure cancer—”

The corner of his mouth rose in a smirk.

“It’s just that I didn’t know,” she finished. “I haven’t even kissed you. And now I’m sick and I have this boyfriend here to take care of me, and he’s going to sleep on the couch…” Marinette struggled to list everything else wrong.

Adrien didn’t give her a chance.

No, instead he grabbed the side of her face and pulled her down, pressing his lips against hers in a firm, inarguable kiss.

“Well, I don’t have to sleep on the couch…” he said as he pulled away.

[dayenurose]

Writer’s Month Prompts (written for @writersmonth )

Day 18 - Bridge (Ladybug/Chat Noir)

(So far this story has played out in four parts (with this one being number four). Find the rest of the parts here: Part One | Part Two | Part Three )

Marinette: meet me at the Ponts des Arts at 11:00, please.

A wave of relief for washed over Adrien as he read the text message for the hundredth time. Marinette wasn't mad at him. At least one part of his life was hopefully returning to normal.

To say things had been stressful over the past week would be an understatement of epic proportions. When Ladybug had fled from him after his accidental identity reveal, he had turned to other best friend. Marinette always knew how to make him feel better. Except this time, apparently Marinette was having a break down at the exact same moment he was. He tried to help, but she'd ignored all his texts and calls. When none of that worked and none of their other friends or her parents had heard from her, he showed up at her apartment door hoping to help. Once again, she didn't respond. At least by the sounds of movement within the apartment he knew she was alive.

When Alya returned from her trip, Marinette started speaking to her friends again. To everyone except him. No matter how hard he wracked his brain, he couldn't figure out what he'd done to cause Marinette to give him the silent treatment. It must have been awful. Despite Alya's reassurances that it had nothing to do with him, he was certain he deserved it. Not only had he lost Ladybug, it looked like he was going to lose Marinette as well.

Until today. Until her text message blipped onto his screen, inviting him to the bridge.

Adrien stood on the south side of the Seine. Pedestrians crossed the bridge on their way from one side of the city to the other. People gathered on the benches to talk or look out over the river. The bridge wasn't as crowded as it had been in the days couples marked their love by leaving a padlock along the grated railings. It was still a beautiful view of the river and the city, even if it was very different from his usual perspective along rooftops of Paris. He had a feeling that whatever Marinette wanted to tell him, it wouldn't be bad news. If she wanted to yell at him, she probably wouldn't have chosen such a public location.

Despite the crowd, Adrien immediately spotted Marinette. She walked along the side of the bridge. Her fingers trailed along the railing. Occasionally, she would pause at a lamp post when a particular lock caught her attention and she'd study the message etched into the surface.

About halfway across the bridge, Marinette stopped and turned towards the river. She no longer wore her hair bound in pigtails, instead she wore it loose with a pink headband holding it out of her eyes. The sun illuminated her at the right angle to cast a warm, honeyed glow over her. The wind picked up and caught the ends of her long hair causing them to obscure her face from his view. The whole effect lent her an ethereal beauty. He longed to capture the moment on film, but he'd left his camera at home.

Borrowing a bit of Chat Noir's confidence, Adrien started across the bridge. Apparently Marinette was so lost in thought she didn't notice his arrival until he stood next to her. “Hi.”

“Adrien! I didn't see you.” Though she took a startled step back, she didn't trip over her own feet. Instinctively, he reached out and touched her elbow to help restore her balance.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.”

“Oh no.” Her eyes widened and she shook her head. She looked ready to bolt or start jumbling her words. Instead she took a deep breath. “I was lost in thought.”

“Is it about what was bothering you over the weekend?” He rested his elbows along the railing and stared down into the water. Her fluster seemed to calm when he wasn't looking directly at her.

“Sort of. It was a lot to take in and I kind of panicked.” He wasn't certain when she'd moved. The sides of their arms touched and she rested her head against his shoulder. “I saw your messages and I'm sorry I didn't answer. I didn't mean to worry you, I just needed some time to think things through. It was a lot to take in.”

Adrien nodded along as though he knew what she was talking about, although he didn't have a clue. It almost felt like he was talking to Ladybug instead of Marinette. Which was ridiculous. Since their encounter at the conservatory, he hadn't talked to Ladybug either. He'd only seen her at a distance while they fought akuma. At least Marinette appeared to be feeling better after her week of contemplation. He wish he could say the same thing for himself.

“Adrien?”

Shaking off the malaise haunting him, he offered Marinette a comforting smile. “I'm glad you're doing better now.”

She started to speak, but stopped before uttering a word. Instead she stared out at the horizon and he joined her in the silent contemplation. Time ticked slowly, with the beating of the hearts and the rhythm of their breaths. He enjoyed spending quiet moments like this with her.

For a few minutes, he was able to silence the voice in the back of his head which insisted that the fact his world was falling apart was all his fault. He didn't want to go there. “Was that why you wanted to meet me here?”

“What? No.” Marinette scrambled upright. Her hand reflexively clutched around the strap of her purse. “I wanted to tell you something. And, it's something better to say in person. 'Cause you know. You're a person, I'm a person....people talk.”

“Breathe.” Adrien waited as she calmed down.

A half dozen deep breaths later, she could speak calmly again. “I have something for you.”

“Oh?” He hadn't expected that.

“I know we can’t….” With the a vague, encompassing wave of her hand, she gestured at the bridge.

Breathing slowly, Adrien tried to calm his thoughts. Why would Marinette even imply that? Their relationship wasn't the kind which anyone would consider leaving a lock at the Ponts des Arts as an appropriate gesture. Had he woken in an alternate dimension? Had he been hit on the head? An akuma attack? A dream?

Without skipping a beat, Marinette dipped her hand into her purse and withdrew an object small enough to hide in her clenched fist. Bridging the gap between them, she cupped both her hands around his. She pressed a small, metallic block against his palm and held it there while she continued. “But, I wanted you to have this. I wanted you to know.” She hesitated for only a moment before allowing a familiar confidence to settle over her. “Adrien, I feel the same way about you. “

With that, she let go of his hand, leaving the object behind in his grasp. In stunned silence, he watched as she proceeded across the bridge to the far side of the river. His brain whirred as he tried to grasp what she was saying. It sounded like she was responding to a love confession. But, he’d never confessed to her. Only Ladybug.

Slowly he uncurled his fingers one by one. In his palm laid a padlock. The metal had been stained red. Red with black spots

Red with black spots.

Like a Lucky Charm.

Ladybug's Lucky Charm.

Ladybug.

He’d confessed to…

“Marinette!” He called as he ran the rest of the way across the bridge.

Though she’d already reached the other side, she paused the moment he called her name. Panting, he reached her side, the lock now clenched in his fist. He looked into her eyes. Her blue eyes. Eyes twice familiar. The eyes that he loved.

“Do you mean it.”

“Yes, chaton,” she said softly, an endearment meant for his ears only. She cupped his cheek and he had to resist the urge to nuzzle her hand. “Je t’aime. I've always loved you. As her, and as myself, my feelings have always been the same. I just…I just didn’t see straight.”

“You're really you aren’t you?” He didn’t dare speak her alter ego’s name, but she knew exactly what he meant. She always knew.

“Yes. I am sorry I ran away from you. I was scared.”

“Are you still scared?” He took a step closer and rested his forehead against hers. His hands rested on her hips. “No. Not anymore.” She laced her hands around the back of his neck and drew her fave towards his. In the space of a breath, Marinette—his lady—kissed him.