#when both marinette and adrien would deck him on sight and he has every reason in the world to avoid the agreste household

[kindaorangey]

i hope félix comes back and not as an antagonist

[guardiankarenterrier]

ask meme: we are golden by mika and lukadrigaminette please!

(for this ask meme)

(my ao3)

Marinette finds Adrien lounging in the crow’s nest, sprawling in a strip of sunlight in a way that absolutely cannot be safe.  Plagg’s ears are just barely visible in the hood of Adrien’s Kitty Section jacket- ever since Luka had given him that jacket, Marinette hasn’t seen a trace of his old overshirt, so she’s glad Plagg’s made himself so comfortable so quickly.   

She only hesitates a moment before she joins them. 

“Hey,” Adrien greets her drowsily, not bothering to get up.  Or move.  “Anyone figure out where Rose and Juleka got to?" 

"They weren’t on the ship,” Marinette says, dryly.  Tikki giggles. 

“Oh."  Adrien does blink at that, sitting up more only to very deliberately fall into her side.  "Whoops." 

Marinette shoves at him, playfully, in a way she wouldn’t have dared a week or two before.  "We went back and got them, kitty." 

Adrien makes a complicated face.  "I kinda liked the idea of it being just us." 

"Anarka is still here,” Marinette reminds him.  “What with the Liberty being her home.  You know, like it’s Rose and Juleka’s home? We really had to go back for them." 

Adrien mutters something, reminding her of nothing so much as a grumpy cat.

Marinette gentles her voice.  Adrien has a right to be worried, after all.  "Don’t worry, no one saw us.  Anarka only stopped long enough for them to get on." 

Adrien cracks one eye open, then the other, blinking slowly.

"I’m sure no one saw us,” Marinette repeats, because he seems like he needs it repeated.  She notices Tikki burying herself back into her purse, but she doesn’t think anything of it.  “Even if they did, they probably don’t realise the Liberty is seaworthy." 

"I am not convinced it is,” Kagami says from just below them, making Marinette jump before she can help herself.  Plagg’s ears vanish into Adrien’s jacket at the same time.

She should be used to people sneaking up on her, after all this time partnered with Adrien, but somehow Kagami is still able to take her by surprise. 

It’s so much more frustrating that Kagami clearly isn’t trying to do it. 

“Hey,” Marinette calls down to Kagami, glancing around the crow’s nest and trying to judge if there’s space. 

There’s not, really, but that’s never stopped them before. 

She shrugs out from under Adrien long enough to fold her arms over the edge of the crow’s nest, looking down at Kagami and spotting Luka emerging from below decks.  “Hey, come join us!”

Luka raises his eyebrows as he looks up at them.  “Pretty sure there’s a rule about there only being one person up there at a time.”

“Pretty sure your mom’s allergic to rules,” Marinette points out, raising her eyebrows right back.  “Get up here." 

"I didn’t say it was Mom’s rule."  Luka’s already climbing, though, with Kagami right behind him, so Marinette pays that exactly as much attention as it deserves.  Which is none.

Adrien tugs her back down against his side, letting out a very quiet purr before the others can reach them.

"Adrien,” Marinette says, very cautiously, and he makes a face at her.  He clearly tries to stop purring, but he’s not very successful.

“I still think they know anyway,” he mutters, ducking his head long enough to brush his bangs across her arm.  It’s not quite the full-on head bump he’ll do when they’re alone, but it’s verging very close to it. 

Marinette sighs, her heart aching.  “We still shouldn’t confirm it." 

"We could consider it."  He doesn’t move.  "No more Hawkmoth.  No one’s gonna let him out of jail anytime soon.  Right?”

Now he’s stopped purring.

“Adrien-” Marinette reaches for him at that, but Kagami and Luka have reached them, so she bites down hard on any of the things she wants to say.  She’ll find the time.  She’s not sure how, since there’s not a whole lot of privacy on a ship the size of the Liberty to begin with and it’s really not designed for long trips with seven people (and assorted kwami), but she’ll make time somehow.  

Luka drops down to join the two of them right away, jostling them slightly when he can’t quite fit his guitar into the impromptu cuddle pile, but Kagami only stands above them awkwardly. 

Marinette reaches for her, as much as she can with both Adrien and Luka in the way.  “It’s warmer down by us, you know." 

"Warmer,” Kagami echoes, and then shakes her head, hard, and takes a seat at the edge of the crow’s nest.  Her knees are in contact with Adrien’s shoulder, though, and that might be the best they can hope for yet. 

Adrien has always been too touch-starved to care about decorum, assuming he would have in the first place, and while Luka sometimes has to draw away and take time for himself he’s not terribly shy about it either.  Kagami alone of them is still wary of too much physical contact. 

Kagami alone of all of them could potentially face consequences for running off the way they have. 

Marinette told her parents ahead of time (though not far enough ahead of time for them to stop her. They’d been enthusiastic about the trip, though, even if Marinette had left out some pertinent details).  Luka’s mom is not exactly in a position to be upset.  Adrien’s dad is… not currently able to prevent him.  Neither is Nathalie, and while she’s pretty sure he did tell the Gorilla where he was going it’s been a long time now since the Gorilla’s made even a token attempt to stop them. 

Adrien has every reason to take off with them for the summer and no reason to stay.  Penny and Jagged helped him find someone to manage the estate once Marinette had figured out a discreet way to ask them, and there’s no one else living at the mansion anymore.  Marinette strongly suspects Adrien isn’t planning on going back to it himself. 

She doesn’t think he’ll be able to without being far too aware of Hawkmoth’s lair beneath his feet. 

(After the battle, after they’d gotten somewhere safe and private and detransformed, he’d stayed pressed against her side as he held Plagg and shook for the better part of an hour.  She thinks the idea that Hawkmoth could have so easily gotten his hands on his kwami might actually have scared him more than his father being Hawkmoth, and that itself is frightening). 

“We’ve already lost sight of the shore,” Kagami observes, a strange note in her voice that seems divided between hope and fear.  Adrien’s running away just as much as she is, but Kagami’s mother is fully capable of trying to find her again. 

Trying.  Luka hadn’t offered up the Liberty for no reason. 

“The Liberty’s faster than you’d think,” Luka offers now, getting up only to move to a position where he can bring his guitar around to start letting his fingers play idly over the strings.  He hums occasionally, trying on and discarding various songs.  “And I heard that, by the way.  She’s seaworthy." 

"Is that wordplay?"  Kagami asks him, suspicion in her voice as her hand twitches towards the hilt of a sword she doesn’t have. 

She could have brought it.  Marinette very much doubts that Anarka would have cared. 

She doesn’t think Kagami would have believed that, though. 

"It’s not wordplay,” Luka assures her, fingers dancing faster as he finds his song.  “We’ve taken her out on the ocean before.  She may not look like she can handle it, but trust me, we’ll be fine.  Might be hard for us to reach anyone else, but we’ll be fine." 

Tikki must have phased through her purse and into her shirt at some point, because Marinette feels her kwami press against her side at that even as the guilt wells up.  She really shouldn’t be taking four of the heroes out to sea at once, but Nino knows how to reach them if there really is an emergency.  They can still transform.  They still have their water power-ups if they really need them. 

What they’d really needed for themselves was a break. 

A break, and time for Adrien to try and figure out what he’s going to do now. 

(Marinette knows for a fact that she, Luka, Nino, and even Chloé have all already offered him places to stay.  She’d found out after they’d made their plans to go with Anarka for the summer that Kim and Max and Alix had all offered, too.  Nathaniel had apologised for not having enough space, but that turned out to be because he already had Marc living with him.  The class members who couldn’t give Adrien a place had all tried to help him find one. 

She’d found him crying in the locker room at the end of the day, too overwhelmed by everyone’s unexpected kindness to try and make a decision.  In the end it was the idea of taking Kagami with them that decided him on the Liberty). 

Luka’s voice finds the words he wants the same way his hands have found the notes he wants.  "Teenage dreams in a teenage circus, running around like a clown on purpose-" 

”Hey,“ Adrien says, but he tilts his head towards Luka’s playing.  Marinette’s sure if he were transformed his ears would be trained on Luka. 

Luka leans back with a faint twitch to his smile and keeps singing. ”-who gives a damn about the family you come from?  No givin’ up when you’re young and you want-“ Luka does stumble for a moment, fingers slipping for the barest part of a second.  ”-One.“ 

Kagami leans closer to Marinette.  "I think he changed something." 

"I think he did,” Marinette agrees, amused, though she doesn’t know the song well enough to know what Luka could have changed. 

“Do you want me to play or not?” Luka asks with a laugh.  He clearly tries to still his hands, but he can’t seem to make himself stop playing entirely. 

“Looks like it doesn’t entirely matter if we do or not."  Adrien’s voice is drowsy again.  He’s been taking a lot of naps since that last battle, but Marinette can’t blame him.  She’s not all that sure where he’s been sleeping between now and then, considering how much he’s been trying to avoid the mansion.  If he’d actually gone to any of their classmates she thinks she’d have heard something by now. 

She likes knowing where he is a lot better. 

"I can stop anytime,” Luka announces, with the air of someone who’s well aware they’re lying. 

“No, you can’t,” Kagami tells him anyway.  

“No, I can’t,” Luka agrees, laughing.  He leans back and looks up at the sky, shading his eyes against the midday sun with one hand.  There are clouds about to drift across it, but Luka winces and drops his hand to his guitar again, having looked too soon.  “You wouldn’t want me to anyway." 

Adrien stirs, resting one hand over his side in a way Marinette recognises as the nervous tic he’s developed to protect Plagg.  His eyes crack open and she realises for the first time that he actually had started to fall asleep again.

He’s been taking a lot of naps.  She doesn’t think he’s been staying asleep for very long.

(She still hasn’t asked him about his mother.  She doesn’t know how to ask.  She’s not sure that she should).

Adrien sits up slightly now, one hand hovering over Plagg and the other reaching for Marinette.  "What’s our schedule like, anyway?" 

Luka cocks an eyebrow at him, ignoring the distant sound of Rose and Juleka making their way onto the deck.  "Our what?" 

The cloud cover vanishes as the breeze picks up, carrying the scent of salt, but the sun that shines through pales in comparison to Adrien’s answering smile.

[whenimgoodandready]

(grabs the speaker hanging above) Attention everyone! This your conductor/reviewer speaking, for today’s review, we’ll be goin’ for a ride from Point A to Point B and as we journey in this state of the art revolutionary industrialistic mechanism, we’ll be seeing some oh so interesting sights along the way such as an adorable shipping moment, a view from our own Milky Way galaxy and a new superhero in combat! So please fasten your seatbelts, sit back, relax and do enjoy the ride, All aboard! (pulls the trains caboose and it sounds):

*Startrain-Ms.Bustiers class is taking a field trip to London, WHOA! London!? Damn! Wish my field trips were fun! They’re taking the Startrain! (not the villain) You know, that fancy modern looking bullet train that goes from the city of love to the Queen in seconds from “Bakerix”!? Yeah, that Startrain! Foreshadowing! Unfortunately, poor Marinette can’t go cuz if she does, Hawk Moth will have an advantage on akumatizing someone and they’ll be no Ladybug there to purify the akuma. On occasion, this is one of those eps where she acts responsible and not impulsive (depending on the writer), but Master Fu allows her to go cuz she needs a break! She works harder than anyone in Paris, France! She deserves a vacation! But! she’s still responsible, so Fu gives her the horse miraculous (power of teleportation) in case there’s any danger. Smart! As for Adrien, he sneaks off to his field trip cuz Gabe barely lets him go anywhere. Hey! Let the kid go eat a crumpet! Besides, it’s not the first time he’s run off to go do something against his fathers wishes. Nice guys can rebel! Elsewhere, Sabrina’s father, Lieutenant Roger, is bald-I mean! Running late on getting his daughter onboard cuz he’s too distracted by his code of honor on the force to focus which has the akuma go after him. Oh great! We’re gonna have Robocop again, okay, let’s see how this-wait what!? He calmed down? Oh cool. Sorry little akuma, run along! Nice try there Hawk Moth. Looks like Rogers hair isn’t the only thing receding over here! (Badum-tish🥁).

The class genius, Max Kanté, is excited cuz his mother, Dr.Claudie Kanté, is the conductor for the Startrain. Hey! Look at that! We’re expanding even more on Marinettes classmates and their families! Yea! We need to know more about these kids. As cool as it is to operate a train, Dr.Kantés real dream is to be an astronaut! She had to put that aside to support her son, but now that he’s all grown up and is a genius who can pretty much take care of himself, she’s free to follow her true passion. All she needs to do now is just wait for her results in her e-mail if she passed her exam to go into space. So she waits.......and waits......and waits.......and waits.......and waits.......and-Hey! Let’s see what’s goin’ in the train!

The Startrains futuristically fun! Service droids roaming around asking the passengers for drinks and automatically handing it to them! Are these things real! I’d love for them to be real! Chloe was in First Class (why bother, it’s still a cool train?) while the other kids were just being kids playing video games, drawing, browsing on their iPhones, yawning!? Oops! That’s Marinette. She’s exhausted from her earlier crime fighting and is just taking a nap. Good-night girl! Alya asks Adrien to switch seats with her to be with her boyfriend, Nino (😉), and he says yes. Here’s the part where everyone goes, “Awwwww”. I’ve seen fan art of this particular moment, the moment that’s so precious and so soft, there’s a word for it. Sleep Cute! The ✨Adrienette Sleep Cute!✨It’s now canon! Awwwwwww. The girl squad and everyone else think it’s the cutest thing in the world and they just-(record scratch) Wait! What’s Lila doing there!? Hey! Lila! No! Bad Lila! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING! Alya! Thank God! Thank you girl! The leader of the squad saved the moment! Take that! Lila! The people may believe every word you say, but when it comes to the girl squads Adrienette ship, don’t.rock.the.boat!*snap**snap* Mmmhmm.

Wait! We’re not on a boat! We’re on a train! Lol! Forgot where I was for a moment there! Dr.Kanté grows impatient with her e-mail wait and thinks she probably failed her exam and that’s when the akuma comes (was it just fluttering around aimlessly?) in making her into Startrain. She’s a sci fi looking villainess who’s right arm is attached to the “dead mans switch” (or else it’s a dead stop) and makes the whole train, containing its passenger, her own rocket ship! Going all Magic Schhol Bus on them. 10.....9.....8.....7.....6.....5.....4.....3.....2.....1! BLAST OFF! 💥🚀💥And we have lift off! It’s a space case adventure and I had no idea how this was gonna go! Our heroes were in space with zero gravity! Where no one can hear them scream! Don! Don! Don!

Hmmmm, so another parent from Marinettes classmates has been akumatized and Ladybug and Cat Noir need extra help......I think we all know who that is. Ladies and gentleman, the holder of the horse miraculous, Max Kanté! A.k.a. Pegasus! (trumpets sound). Well, we all knew from “Party Crasher” anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . His Kwamie is a British accented uppity pony like being named Kaalki, the miraculous: a pair of glasses, the weapon: two horse shoes and it’s power:(we already know) teleportation by saying, “Voyage” that opens up a huge portal to wherever they want.

(grabs the speaker hanging above) Thank you for riding the Startrain, please unbuckle your seatbelts, take your belongings and exit in an orderly fashion as we come to our destination. We apologize for the inconvenience of our unexpected space odyssey as that was not planned in our schedule, but we thank you for staying calm throughout the journey. Have a nice day! It’s interesting how Marinette managed to get the highest score in “Ladybug” for her quiz (really? Even more so than Max!?) despite having to juggle her school work along with her superhero duties and social life and yet she felt drowsy here after another unseen supervillain fight. Well, since this ep took place before “Ladybug” she must’ve handled it better later. As for Adrien, let us count the ways he’s rebelled against Gabe: 1. Ditching his bodyguard to sneak off to the movies (“The Puppeteer”), 2. Running away to go to school (“Origins Part:1-2”), 3. Running away to blow off some steam (“A Christmas Special”), 4. Stealing the miraculous book (“The Collector”), 5. Sneaking off to see his moms movie (“Gorizilla”), 6. Lying about going to fencing practice to instead go on a date with Kagami (“Frozer”), 7. Having a party with Gabe gone (“Party Crasher”) and 8. Ditching fencing practice again with Kagami to hang out with their friends (“Desperada”). It’s all very reasonable cuz he has an overprotective (evil) father, lives in a mansion full of mostly stone cold people and is VERY lonely and miserable! Who wouldn’t wanna get away from all that!? Lieutenant Roger is blind to his daughters slavitude towards Chloe and just thinks she’s “serving and protecting” by being a “good friend”. Ironic that he’s a cop and doesn’t notice the injustice in this. Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! A little thing we learned about the akumas, Hawk Moth can’t control ‘em if they’re a distance away! Like space! He also reluctantly had to see his plan fail cuz Adrien was on the Startrain in space and was forced to let the good guys win for his sons sake. Was this the first time it happened? Cuz I think so. No Queen Bee in this ep cuz Chloe dear, you’re retired! I’m sensing her distraught over this is the reason for her third akumatization in the finale *cough*BattleoftheMiraculousPart2:MiracleQueen*cough* Yeah, wait for it. Another thing is Alya has a second blog for astronomy, so she’s not limited to her Ladyblog. That’s good! Give her a new hobby so she won’t look one-dimensional. So this was the space episode and sadly, there were no space related power-ups :P. Damn it! I wanted to see Ladybug and Cat Noir in space outfits! We see a member of Maxes family and we find out he has a mother who operates the Startrain, but really wants to be an astronaut. Hey, we’ve all been there. Stuck at a dead end job you had to take to support a family instead of following your dreams on what you really wanted to do. I can relate! I wanted to be a writer! I love books and reading, so I wanted to create some myself. Unfortunately, I wasn’t motivated much and didn’t get any support, so now I’m just a medical assistant to put bread on the table. That’s it! The closest I get to my writing career is writing in these reviews on my blog! It’s fine, just cuz I can’t do my real passion, doesn’t mean I have to stop. Right? Least Claudies dream came true. Congratulations girl! Boldly go where (no) man has gone before! (salutes). What everyone was really talking about was the Sleep Cute Adrienette moment :). When Marinette fell asleep on Adrien, he allowed it and even fell asleep as well. Wether you see it as either him being a gentlemen and not disturbing her or him just subconsciously being in love with her is up to you (I’m mixed on both, but mostly on the former). Lila was almost a c*ckblocker in that moment, but thanks to Shipper On Deck Alya, it was thwarted! Yea-ah! Really Lila, another “illness” you have? First it was tinnitus and arthritis (“Chameleon”), then it was “a lying problem” (“Ladybug”) and now you’re saying “motion sickness”! It’s amazing she’s able to walk! Isn’t anyone concerned!? Well, people almost saw her ruin the Adrienette moment which would make everyone start being suspicious of Lila as they all vouched for Marinette (“Ladybug”). Max is Pegasus! And his transformation had a techno beat! Cool! However, his powers were the same as Bunnyx. Teleportation! Why is that!? Viperion has a similar power to Bunnyx too, time travel! Why are all three of these the same!? I prefer each miraculous power to be individually different to stand out! This better not happen again with the other miraculouses! The miraculous for the horse miraculous was a pair of glasses.........glasses?........and it went to Max......how convenient 😒. As someone who’s born in the Year of the Horse, this was most disappointing. Guess I’m just like Kaalki who has high expectations and wants to be representative of my Chinese sign with “grace, beauty, nobility and freedom”.

[mintchocolateleaves]

Come as you are (2/)

Summary:  It seems that the entire world is against Hawkmoth, making it so he’s unable to steal Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous. That’s fine – with his next akuma victim, he’ll create a new one. (OR – a fic in which Marinette and Adrien are transported into another world, and the only way to get home is to purify the akuma who put them there.)

Notes: I hope you enjoy the second chapter you guys! o/

[Part One]

[-2-]

A new world, or, ‘Chat, I don’t think we’re in Paris anymore.’

During her time as Ladybug, Ladybug has learned her fair share about falling. Planned falls, tumbles, falling with her yoyo in hand to offer a second swing. She’s experienced freefalling a few times, but never to this extent – the highest she’s fallen from was the Eiffel tower, and even then, she’d caught herself in the end.

Now – she’s much higher than that, and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere for her to aim her yoyo at, to control her ascent. She tries, eyes searching out for anything to keep her from falling to her death, but there’s nothing.

Lucky charm would help; Tikki’s magic has always given her what she’s needed, and if she uses it now, then there’s no doubt she’ll get something that’ll help her land in one piece.

Still, it’ll include a transformation back to herself, something Ladybug can’t really afford. Not when she’s uncertain whether this new villain, whether World-builder, will just appear beside her again.

Except, it’s not going to matter if he shows or not. If Ladybug doesn’t use lucky charm, then she’ll be dead – or at least, with enough broken bones that she’ll wish she was. Lucky charm is her only option right now, she needs to use it.

“Lucky Ch-”

She stops halfway. While it’s difficult to hear, - the wind is loud against her ears as she’s falling – she can still hear the whisperings of what is probably a yell. Her superhero name being called out, demanding her attention.

It’s a sound from beside her, and with a brief effort, she uses her arms to turn her around, so she can glance towards the sound.

Nothing.

Ladybug must be hearing things and then:

“Ladybug!” The whisper again, “look up.”

She glances up and lets out a sigh of relief. Ladybug had been worried when she’d not immediately seen Chat, when everything had been white. The idea of him fighting alone in Notre Dame while she’d been falling into the middle of nowhere was terrifying.

Instead, they’re both falling.

It’s still terrifying, but at least she’s not falling by herself. Chat is higher up than her – indicating that he’d either been transported to a higher altitude than her, or that she’d been falling longer than he has.

Ladybug pulls on her yoyo, tries to focus on the speed of the wind as it brushes against her suit. It’s slow, although that might just be because the uplift as she falls is stronger.

She hazards a guess, instead of knowing for certain, and throws the yoyo out, upwards towards her partner.

With the speed of her fall, she overestimates the flick of her wrist, and the wire zips above Chat’s head, much higher than she’d hoped. No amount of clawing at the air to try and rise higher can get Chat to reach the yoyo.

The yoyo returns to her hand.

Ladybug spares a glance below her, at the incoming ground. There’s still time to try this, hitting the ground isn’t an immediate concern. At least… not right now.

“Come on,” she hisses to herself, narrowing her eyes, attempting to focus. “Just a little bit lower.”

She flicks her wrist again, the yoyo slipping from her fingers and flying towards Chat. The cat stiffens, allowing the wire to wrap around his waist.

Good, Ladybug thinks, pulling on the string, that’s one step down.

She tugs, pulls the wire into a ball in her hand until Chat is near enough to reach out and grab onto. In response, he wraps his arms around her, tightly enough that even the pressure of the wind won’t be able to tear them apart.

“Oh god,” Chat says as soon as he’s holding onto her, glancing around as they fall before turning his gaze back onto her, “I was terrified when you just disappeared.”

Ladybug scrunches her nose. So she had been falling slightly longer than he had.

“Hold on to me,” Ladybug says instead, ignoring his raised eyebrows. “What? I’m going to undo my yoyo, we need to figure out how we’re going to land.”

“Why my lady,” Chat purrs, almost oblivious to the fact they’re falling to their doom, or maybe ignoring the fact altogether, “it seems like maybe we’re falling for each other.”

If this fall doesn’t kill him, Ladybug might have to.

“Quiet kitty,” she says, “and try to help me think a way out of this.”

She can see the ground now, white splayed out. No building for her to tether herself to, nothing but white. It almost looks like… snow? Although that’s impossible seeing as it’s June, and why would there be snow now?

“There’s snow…” She mutters, trying to think. Will she really need lucky charm with Chat by her side? At the speed they’re falling… with the tools they’ve both got at their disposal…

“Snow?” Chat questions, “my lady, it’s summer.”

Ladybug purses her lips and looks down. Chat’s baton is still between his belt, where he’d put it before they’d gone inside the cathedral. If she holds on to him, will he be able to get it out without the wind thrusting it out of his hands?

There’s only really one way to find out.

Interweaving her legs around Chat’s, she leans back slightly, allowing a small gap to form.

“Your baton,” she says, “I have a plan.”

Chat nods, loosens his grip, as if testing the air resistance on them. They don’t drift apart, Ladybug makes sure of it, locking her legs around his. Lowering his arms, he pulls his baton from his belt, gripping it tightly in his hands.

He wraps his arms around her again.

“What’s the plan, my lady?”

He’s ready to go along with her every plan. Lacking any hesitation, ready to perform any dangerous feat she asks of him. No matter how reckless.

And Ladybug… well, it’s about time she gets reckless.

“Your baton,” she says, “how far does it elongate?”

She’s seen it reach the second observation deck of the Eiffel tower, but never the full 324 metres.

“I…” Chat pauses, brow furrowed. “I’m not sure, I’ve never tested it before.”

Very helpful, Ladybug thinks, before chiding herself for the bitter thought. It’s not Chat’s fault he doesn’t know. They’ve never really fallen from this high up before.

“Well kitty, looks like we’re going to have to test it today.” She says, as the snow gets steadily nearer and nearer. “I need you to get this baton as long as possible, and you need to aim it straight at all of the snow.”

She’s relying on the snow being thick. If it’s not well…

Well Ladybug doesn’t want to think about how they’re going to land it isn’t. Instead, she waits as Chat lets go of her again, both hands wrapped around his baton as he wills it to grow longer, aiming it towards the ground.

It stops after a second, not far enough to hit the ground, but much lower than they are. Chat moves his hands, places his palm on top of it, and pushes. The other hand remains around it, keeping it straight up.

“You’re hoping it’ll lodge between all the snow?” Chat asks.

“If we manage to get it in the snow, then we can slow down our fall by using my yoyo.”

The idea that they swing, looping around the baton as many times as possible until reaching the ground.

Chat nods.

And together they look down, watching the snow grow nearer. Ladybug wonders if Chat’s heartbeat is pulsing as wildly as hers, pressing against her ribs, leaving them bruised.

She hopes so.

The ground is too close. Much to close for comfort.

Ladybug can feel the moment the baton hits the ground. Holding onto Chat’s waist, there’s no way she wouldn’t feel the impact. It’s jarring, sends a flash of pain down her, as the movement throws them up.

Chat lets out a hiss.

“Hold onto me tight,” she shouts, waiting until there’s a single hand around her waist to throw her yoyo out, towards the baton. The yoyo wraps around, anchors itself onto the baton with a faint clang. Wire dragging them towards it.

“Ready to swing, Chat?” She asks, although it’s not like they have much of a choice. He offers her a nod.

“Of course, my lady,” he mumbles, and then – a grin. Under his breath, she can faintly hear him singing, the words ‘you spin me right round baby, right round’ making Ladybug groan.

“Shush, kitty,” she says again. Although the sight of his grin does leave her feeling less anxious. They’re going to survive this, and Chat’s grin is an indicator of that – that’s the only reason her pulse changes to a stutter.

And if her cheeks are a little warm, it’s completely coincidental.

She’s just glad that this plan is going well, that’s all. They’re lucky, to be surviving this right now, and that they are – Ladybug is just glad.

And then, almost as quickly she’s not glad because there’s a groan and she can feel the baton move as they swing past. There’s a slant to it now; The baton not deep enough in the snow to remain upright.

Ladybug swallows a curse, decides they’re just going to have to hope for the best. If she adjusts her yoyo, makes their line longer while they spin, then hopefully they should get down to the ground before the baton falls.

She can wish, anyway.

“Uh, my lady,” Chat says, the cat ears of his suit twitching as they continue their descent to the ground, “did you hear that?”

Ladybug does not offer a response, not at first. She focuses on adjusting her yoyo, taking note of the wind against them as they move. Then: “hear what?”

There is a larger groan, and the baton starts to tip.

“Oh,” she says, offering a startled gasp, “you mean that?”

“What other highly alarming sounds did you think I was talking about?”

Ladybug does not answer him. Instead, she bites into her lips. This isn’t going to be good, they’re going to have to jump at one point, throw themselves into the snow and hope to God their time fighting akumas has taught them how to properly fall.

She tells Chat just as much.

At the sight of his nod, Ladybug lets out a sigh of relief. And then, with his hands letting go of her waist, he falls from her side.

Ladybug tries not to think about the sudden cold of his absence beside her, and loosens her own grip from her yoyo. For a moment, she is falling, legs flailing alongside her arms.

Then, she realises falling like that’s only going to result in broken bones, so she stops the flailing and readies herself to land, to roll.

The snow is dust beneath her. It’s deep, although she doesn’t go any further than her knees in height as she lands. And Ladybug quickly finds that it’s extremely difficult to roll in snow properly.

She’s certain the only reason she’s not sporting broken bones is because of Tikki’s magic. Although, Ladybug’s sure she’s going to bruise, she just knows it.

Well – hopefully she won’t have to deal with the aching of bruises for too long. Between her and Chat, they should be able to catch the akuma and purify it. And then, she’ll be able to use her miraculous to heal them both.

To erase this stupid fall from their bodies, so it’ll seem like it never happened.

Ladybug lets out a groan. Places her palms against the snow beneath her, and pushes up. A shudder runs down her spine as she pushes up, her breath foggy against the freezing air.

It’s too cold.

She glances around – where’s that stupid cat? – before pulling a face. If she doesn’t want to fall into the grounds of becoming hypothermic, she’s going to have to find a way to get away from all the snow.

“Chat?” She calls, standing.

No response.

“Kitty cat?” She calls out again, worry creeping into her voice. Which direction had he fallen? Ladybug doesn’t know, doesn’t know where to search for him.

A groan from her right.

“Chat!” Ladybug shouts, racing to the left. She doesn’t see him at first, not until he sits up, black cat ears poking out from a dip in the snow. After a second, he must rise to his knees because blonde hair and his eyes start to peek out against white.

“My lady,” Chat says, and now she can see the black of his tail raised, the tip bent forwards, twitching back and forth. “I’m not sure how to deal with all this snow.”

Ladybug lets out a deep breath, it’s shuddering. And eventually, she realises that it’s a laugh, breathless – they’re both okay, and Chat is going to complain about the snow like he had in February when it had covered Paris.

“Your so dramatic,” she laughs.

Chat pouts. “Snow’s wet, I don’t like being wet.”

Ladybug pays him no mind. She continues to laugh.

His lady’s laugh is beautiful.

Chat had known from the moment he lay eyes on her that she’d stolen his heart, but hearing such light laughter catches his attention, leaves his cheeks tinged with red and reinforces the feelings he’s been harbouring for the past two years.

Even laughing at him, and his harboured dislike for all wet weather, she’s beautiful.

He shakes his head, rises from the snow as he feels her gaze leave his form. The whole situation, no matter how glad he is for surviving such a fall, is strange.

First, it’s the beginning of summer. Chat’s been enjoying naps in the sun, his blinds left open rather than shut. There shouldn’t be any snow around, not in Paris – and hell, not in most of France.

The only places he assumes there’d be any snow right now would be the mountain ranges. And even then, there wouldn’t be this much snow. From how far they’d fallen, they’re no way they’d be near the peak of the mountain… so… how?

“Where do you think we are?” Ladybug says, turning back to him. She’s shivering, not that Chat’s any different – it’s too cold, and they’re only wearing spandex. No amount of magic can make them immune to the cold in such clothing.

“I don’t know,” Chat says, padding at the snow around him, attempting to create a pathway. “But it’s definitely not Paris.”

Ladybug sends him a look.

“Are you sure?” She shakes her head for a moment, “maybe this is part of the akumas magic. Making everything seem like winter?”

“Maybe…” But something about that doesn’t seem right. He can’t see anything past this snow, it seems to go on and on further than he can see. Surely, if they were still in Paris, he’d be able to see the monuments. “But my lady, if we’re still in Paris, then where is everything?”

Ladybug glances around, her lips pursed.

“And even then,” Chat continues, “it wouldn’t make sense for World-builder to be able to transport us into the sky and cover all of Paris in snow at once. Doesn’t an akuma only ever give one power to villains?”

Now, his Lady stiffens.

“Get your baton,” she says, “and we’ll start searching for everything together.”

Chat nods, follows her lead. It’s difficult to move, the snow is too deep, and Chat finds that he needs to leap up into the snow to navigate it. Clumps of snow wisp into the air around him as lands, something that leaves him shuddering.

He really does not like the cold.

“You know what, bugaboo,” he calls as he finally wraps his hand around his baton, pulling it from the snow, “this entire experience has been extremely catastrophic for me.”

He receives a huff.

Chat expects to see pursed lips when he turns, holding out his baton for his Lady to grab her yoyo, but there’s just a smile. Not just a smile, it’s beautiful, breath-taking, and frankly, Chat can’t control the sudden flush of red that rises up his neck.

“Silly cat,” Ladybug says, shaking her head, “saying things like that’s only tempting fate.”

“You’re purrfectly right about that my lady,” Chat says, nodding his head. “Let’s avoid making this any worse than it already is.”

Now that she’s got her yoyo she surveys the area they’ve landed in. There’s a slight slant to the snow, as if they’re on a gradual slope.

“This way,” Ladybug says, pointing downwards, towards what can only be his only escape from the cold. “We should be able to figure out where we are if we go this way.”

As he always does, Chat follows his lady.

He’s right, Ladybug thinks to herself as they start to traverse the snow. They’re not in Paris.

There are no buildings in sight, just the bare outline of trees as they make their way to… the bottom of wherever they are.

So, they’re not in Paris... That leaves them with a big problem. Where are they?

And how did they even get here?

The how is easy, Ladybug supposes, as she trudges through more snow. They’ve been transported by the akuma, by World-builder. Send thousands of meters into the sky, left to fall to their deaths.

But the where… It depends on the extent to World-builders powers. They could be anywhere in the world right now. Although, no – there’s always a limit to the power each akuma displays, and even transporting them around Europe seems like a stretch.

From how far they’ve fallen, and if she’s assuming their still in France, then there are two possible outcomes. Either they’re in the alps, doubtful with the lack of mountains surrounding them, or they’re stuck in the middle of Massif Central.

Either thing suggests they’re hundreds of miles from Paris. What state will the city be in when they eventually get back?

No, she can’t think about that. Ladybug refuses to – everything will sort itself out if they get back, she’ll use lucky charm and it’ll be fine.

“It’s going to take us hours to get back to Paris,” she sighs after a while, crossing her arms around her. It’s cold – the sooner they find a way back, the sooner she’ll be able to wrap herself in blankets, sitting as close to the radiator as possible.

She wonders if Chat’s thinking the same; Not that she can ask him. She knows that the moment she mentions how cold she is, he’ll suggest snuggling to stay warm.

Which is… really not an option right now.

Or ever.

“It seems like it,” Chat says, nodding his head. They snow is getting lighter now, less difficult for them to trudge through. “The sooner we get back, the sooner we can sort this out.”

Ladybug nods.

For a while, they don’t speak. They focus instead on moving forwards, making their way towards the what can only be a hiking trail, signs posted and the layer of snow thinner than the surrounding banks.

They’re going to be walking for a while, Ladybug realises. Which is… going to be difficult – how long until their miraculous wear off? They’ve never really fought long enough without using cataclysm or lucky charm for their magic to wear off… will their transformations last long enough to get them back to Paris?

Ladybug doesn’t know. She wishes she could as Tikki.

“Over there,” Chat says, pointing towards the trail she’d just noticed. “It looks like a sign for the highway.”

Ladybug hums, picks up her speed.

“So, this villain,” Chat says now, rubbing at his neck. “World-builder, he can transport people to different areas?”

Ladybug nods. “It would seem like that’s his ability, but… why would Hawkmoth give him a name like that? Usually the names have some sort of sense behind them.”

They reach the highway, make their way down the pathway. It’s warmer here, than when they’d been traversing snowfields, and yet Ladybug still watches her breath fog in the air, the wind keeping her chilled.

“Let’s worry about that later, my lady,” Chat says, shaking his head. “We need to come up with a plan on how to get the akuma from wherever it’s hidden.”

They’d not had enough time to survey the villain, to see which element of his attire had seemed odd compared to the rest of him. One moment he’d been there, the next, they’d been falling from such a height.

“We started falling the moment he touched us,” Ladybug says, shaking her head. “That’s the way he uses his powers, I reckon. So, we’ll need to come up with a strategy to fight him without getting near him.”

She turns to look at her partner over her shoulder, watches his expression for any ideas. With the distance they’re going to be forced to travel, surely they’ll come up with a suitable plan.

“Any immediate ideas?” She asks, still glancing towards him.

“Maybe,” Chat tilts his head, “if we use our–”

He pauses, eyes widening. His movements seem to still entirely, much like a cat that’s been faced with it’s prey, slowing to a stop before getting ready to pounce. Except – no, he’s not very cat-like right now, there’s more shock on his face than anything else.

“Chat…?”

He lifts a gloved hand, sunlight glinting off his ring. Ladybug finds that her own legs feel like lead, and dread fills her stomach at the idea of turning to see what exactly has caught her partner’s attention, washing his skin out to a sickly pallor.

“I…” Chat shakes his head, “the waterfall…”

Ladybug heaves out a sigh. “It’s just a waterfall? Silly cat, just because you don’t like water doesn’t mean you have to give me a heart attack.”

Chat does not respond. He raises his hand to point.

“Listen,” Ladybug says, crossing her arms, “it’s just a waterfall, it’s nothing to worry abou–”

She turns, glances at the waterfall. For a moment, everything is as it should be – what is strange about seeing a waterfall in an area filled with snow? Even winter can’t freeze over such a surge of water, not all the way through.

But that is not the thing that throws her off. It is what the waterfall is producing.

Beneath waterfalls, Ladybug is expecting to see white water, the foam that usually forms at the bottom of the falls. She’s seen videos of waterfalls, has visited them before on school trips and never–

Waterfalls are not supposed to produce fresh snow at the bottom. But that is exactly what’s happening. The water solidifies into snowflakes as it falls from the edge of the stream, adding to the snow at the bottom of what can only be… a pool of snow?

No… This isn’t possible.

“What the…?” Ladybug turns to Chat. “What’s going on?”

Chat’s responding expression shows just how confused he is in response. How is he to know what’s going on?”

“This isn’t natural… It’s… impossible.” Chat mutters.

“I…” Ladybug shakes her head. Even with the various akumas they’ve seen up to now, they’ve never been powerful enough to change nature... “It’s not possible, he can’t change the laws of nature, not with this much of a scope.”

Chat turns – glances his hands around. He chokes out, “His… his name.”

Ladybug scrunches her nose. What does World-builder have to do with changing the laws of nature and then, like a blow to the back of the head, it hits her.

“He can’t change the way nature works in our world…” Ladybug mumbles, horror settling onto her face, stomach acid churning, “so… he built his own…”