#@novicevoice

[soap-lady]

I was sick and this is why I’m late, don’t @ me

Hello, everyone!

Thank you all for waiting. I’m shocked anyone is still reading this fic but @arylace and I are incredibly grateful to those who like this story. I was ill which is why this was late. Not the flu or Covid, just a virus that kicked my butt.

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Worthy Opponent Chapter 20

Jack Watson allowed himself to be tugged along by Felicity Dupin. “So what’s this thing I have to see without Holmes around?”

She stopped so fast he nearly ran into her. Looking over her shoulder she asked him, “Do you really want to be around Barry when he’s being a colossal horse’s ass?”

He needed less than a second to think about it. “No.”

“Well, come along then.”

She grabbed his hand again and pulled him with her. He smiled at the back of her head. He wondered if she knew how pretty she was when she was taking charge.

Felicity guided him past study rooms and a tea parlor (some of the students were British after all) to a small closet whose door knob was on the wrong side. Jack watched as she turned the knob counterclockwise and the knob slid away to reveal a keypad. She grinned up at his surprised face. “Secret clubhouse. It’s only available to members of the Founding Families. What I want to show you is here.”

Jack smiled at the idea of generations of Holmes, Watsons, Dupains, Marples and Poirots having meetings in a hidden room. “Cool, but why?”

She shrugged then punched in the code. “Secrecy. Protection.” She glanced up at him. “I’m sure the Nazis or the Central Powers would have loved to have taken the world’s most famous detectives prisoner. Or just kill them.”

He nodded and the door slid open. Felicity glanced down the hall in both directions, grabbed his arm and pulled him in before the door slid closed.

Jack’s eyes widened as LED wall sconces lit up as they passed and turned towards Felicity. “Wow. This is…a lot.”

She laughed. “What? Did you just now realize you belonged to a secret society?” She continued to walk down the hall while he followed behind her, feeling like a hick. “There’s all sorts of secret tunnels and hidden rooms in here. It’s how we survived the Nazi occupation. There’s probably secret places in all three schools.” She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. “Don’t feel bad. Even Barry only knows about half of them.”

“So that’s yet another thing he can hold over my head. Goody,” Jack muttered as they approached an ornate oaken door with the school’s crest carved into it.

She paused as she was turning the knight’s helmet in the Holmes family crest upside down. “Do you really care? That he knows stuff you don’t?”

He thought for a moment. “Nah. Despite what he thinks, my life doesn't have to revolve around him.”

“Mais non,” she replied with a saucy wink and turned the pine tree in the Dupin family crest right side up. The door opened and they stepped inside.

Jack paused. “Aren’t we going to shut the door?”

Felicity shook her head. “Why bother? No one knows to get in here if they’re not one of the founding members. Not even the Headmaster.” She grinned and he was struck once again by her confidence. Playful, where Holmes was arrogant.

“Besides,” she began to flip switches and lights and an unseen fan whirred to life, “it’s always stuffy in here until the fan’s been on awhile. Come on and sit down.”

Jack looked around, surprised at the size of the room. It was easily three times what he was expecting and light and bright where the Headmaster’s office was all dark wood and Turkish rugs, this room had blond parquet flooring with matching recessed bookcases. The walls were eggshell blue with silver fleur-de-lis stenciled on top of the paint, very French. This room was more Dupin’s style while the Headmaster’s office was very Holmes. Jack wondered if there was a Watson room somewhere.

The furniture was a mishmash of styles, clearly scrounged from other parts of the school. The chairs and the couch were no doubt vintage but they had been reupholstered and were lovingly polished. Some Dupin family retainer probably maintained the place, no doubt someone trusted by the school and Felicity’s relatives; someone who could keep a secret. Jack wondered if there were any Watson family retainers running around. He made a mental note to ask Felicity later.

There were a few modern touches too; sleek black metal desks with ergonomic chairs and desk or laptops lovingly built by Jayden. A Cola Style Machine took up one corner while a small kitchenette with a microwave, steel refrigerator with a matching stove filled up another. There was another door that led to what Jack assumed was a bathroom.

“Cozy, huh?” Felicity spoke up after he was done looking around. She smiled, eyes going soft. “Barry suggested having a professional redo the room but he would have done something grand and posh and boring. I wanted something simple and Seabert and Elinor voted with me while Jayden abstained. Welcome to the Founders Room, Jack Watson.” She motioned in the general direction of the soda machine. “Fix us something to drink, please. I want to show you something but I have to find it first.”

“Sure,” Jack crossed the room. The drink machine had a built-in ice maker with cup dispensers underneath. He was beginning to feel a little grubby when he thought about the kind of life of luxury the other kids must have taken for granted while his mom struggled. Fortunately none of them were snobs; except maybe for Barry. He had vague recollections of his former life but everyone but “Filly” was a blur. He mostly remembered his parents fighting, when his father was home at all.

“What kind?”

Felicity stopped searching for a moment. “Surprise me.”

He nodded to himself and fixed two drinks; lemon cola for himself and Orangina for Felicity. The coffee table had an inlaid marble top so he  looked in the drawers in the kitchenette for coasters. Finding two he put them on the table and set the drinks down.

Felicity found what she was looking for on the top shelf of the third bookcase and padded over to the couch where she sat down and patted the seat beside her.

Jack took a seat and looked over at what Felicity had in her lap. “Is that an actual photo album? Like pictures taken using actual film and developed?”

She nodded. “Yup. The staff’s a little old-fashioned around here, in case you didn’t notice. So…yeah. Real pictures developed from actual film. She opened the album and slid it so it was balanced on both of their legs. “Take a look.”

He did and saw a miniature version of himself in the class uniform posing with a group of kids of similar size. There were around twelve children sitting in two rows with six children in each row. The taller children sat behind the shorter children. He recognized himself, Barry, Jayden and Seabert. Jayden wore his hair plaited and Seabert hadn’t quite grown into his ears. One of the others might have been Nick Charles IV but he wasn’t sure. The last boy reminded him of Marlowe. He was seated by Jayden Spade and looked angry. Jack sat next to Barry and looked bored while Barry looked annoyed. He was probably upset that Watson didn’t immediately fall down and worship him on the first day of school. He grinned at the thought.

He looked for Elinor and Felicity next. He smiled at Felicity when he spotted her. She’d worn her hair short back then after Barry had “accidentally” gotten gum in her hair. Elinor had wanted to cut her own hair to show support but her parents hadn’t let her. Instead she started braiding it and having it pinned up to look like it was short. Aubrey had done the same but with microbraids. He was sure Felicity had appreciated the effort. Elinore sat in front of Seabert while Felicity claimed the spot in front of him. He grinned. Even back then, the battle lines had been drawn. Flick and Jack versus Barry.

Felicity nudged him with her shoulder and also smiled at the pictures. “We were pretty cute, huh?”

Jack looked over at her. He could still see the mischievous girl she’d been and felt sorry he’d been yanked away to America by his mom. “Yeah,” he finally answered. “But we’re damn hot now.”

She laughed and looked over his side at the album. “How could we not be?” She peered down at his younger self. “Your cheekbones were unfairly sharp, even back then.”

He chuckled. “True. Then again, even with a bowl cut, you were still the prettiest girl in the class.”

“I know.” She pretended to preen and they laughed together again.

Looking at these photos made him recall other things. Like the time they’d build a detective’s office out of cardboard at Jayden’s house. The sleepover at Seabert’s where he’d confided to Doctor Poirot about his parents’ arguing. All of them getting their butts kicked at Operation by Aubrey.

He also remembered how Felicity and Elinor used to share their lunches with him when his parents had stayed up the whole night fighting and neither remembered to make him one. He and Felicity would sneak off to have secret “best friend” picnics when Jack needed to talk. Barry would follow them and give Jack half of his lunch because “his cook always made too much anyway.” Barry later confided he deliberately asked his cook for extra for an excuse to get away from all the people who chased him and tried to kiss him during recess. At the time Jack and Felicity thought he was just trying to brag about how popular he was but now he wondered if Barry sometimes wanted a break from the spotlight.

He flipped through the photos, smiling at some and outright laughing at others. They had all gotten into trouble together and pulled each other out of it as well. They’d stuck together, even when fighting each other.

Jack turned to the last page and the smile fell off his face.

The last picture had to be of his last day. The entire class was sitting around a table. There was a cake in front of his younger self, but he wouldn’t even look at it. One arm was around a crying Felicity who was clinging to him and the other was patting Barry on the shoulder. The blond boy looked like he was at a wake, not a party. His haunted eyes were better equipped to be in a painting of a dying Victorian child, not a living, breathing boy. Hazy memories of that day flashed in his mind, of how everyone seemed to give space to the three: Felicity, Barrington, and Jack sharing their final moments.

How the lunch ladies made berry cookies because Barrington thought it was funny, for Flick and Jack had black-blue hair like rich and sweet blackberries. How Barrington was called Barry by friends, a berry cookie stained in purple-pink and white chocolate, for Barry was the palest of the three, that filled their mouths in sweetness that wasn’t so saccharine. A little tin filled with recipes of all of Jack’s favorite foods from Barry, meticulously organized by category, season, and then alphabetically; so his new school could cook the best for his Watson.

Flick had made charm bracelets for the three of them; a silver girl in between two silver boys with beads of pink, teal, and purple. How Jack’s charm was a music note, as he always showed how better he was in music than Barry. How Barry had a little crown because Flick said “your royal pain in the butt” one time he won in chess. Flick's charm was a little horseshoe because she took to equestrian sports like a duck to water. There were some smaller charms for other things, a little Eiffel Tower and Big Ben; green, yellow, and cyan beads for their other friends.

There was a banner behind him that read “We’ll miss you, Jack!”. Only the adults in the room were smiling and even those were strained. It was incredibly depressing to look at the picture so he closed the book and handed it back to Felicity without a word.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly as she took the book back. “It’s been years since I remembered we even had this album. I’d forgotten that picture was in there.”

She stood up and put the album back where she found it then sat back down.

She sat at the end of the couch, as far as she could get from him, almost pressing herself into the couch. His chest tightened when he noticed how upset with herself she was. She hadn’t done this on purpose, he realized. She just wanted to share what she thought were happy childhood memories.

Jack slid cautiously and slowly to her side of the couch. He spoke gently to her as if to a scared fawn. “It was an accident. Besides,” he tried to give her a reassuring smile but wasn’t sure how successful he was, “it’s stupid to be mad at you for showing me an old photo. I barely remember what happened last year, much less eight years ago.”

She smiled again, small but sincere. “Thanks for that.” She stood up and grabbed their cups to throw away. He just sat there, feeling like an idiot for not being able to make her feel better but afraid of just making her feel worse. Finally he said, “Are you hungry?”

Felicity came back and grabbed the coasters. “I could  eat. Besides, we haven’t stocked the pantry in weeks.”

Jack twisted so he could see her over the back of the couch. “Would you like to have dinner in the student cafe with me?”

She put the coasters back in the kitchen drawer then turned around to stare at him. “This isn’t a date, is it?”

“Nah.” It was hardly the time. They were investigating a murder.

“Oh.” She didn’t look the least bit disappointed. “No problem.” She walked past the couch and to the door without waiting for him. “I’m not sure if you could keep up with me anyway.”

“What?!” Jack stood up and saw she was laughing at him. He grinned and said, “Well, Barry can’t either.”

“Not by himself anyway,” she inclined her head towards the door. “Come on.”

                                                       *****

It’s not odd to hear the advice,  “put yourself into the character’s shoes” if you’re an actor. The concept of being the very person you are meant to portray bleeds a sincerity that the audience can resonate with. The very idea isn’t odd for Felix, he was aware of its existence; his father had told him once. He’s tried to mold his acting to be like that, not a puppeteer moving a character along, but to be the character when performing. How peculiar were these feelings? The bitter taste of jealousy and envy coexisting in watching the scene being played before him. When did Barrington Holmes begin and Felix end? There were shining lights and people scrutinizing his every move but all of that washed away. Unimportant, and unnecessary variables that didn’t pertain to what he felt. Why was the feeling sad and bittersweet? Felix couldn’t understand. His brow furrowed as he peered into the room from a window.

                                                          *-*-*-*

Barrington Holmes felt silly and unsure standing outside his dorm building, at night, and peering in from the window. No different from a poor pauper who’s peering into a window of a middle class family and seeing a tender moment while struggling in the cold. Their smiles were so bright, easily shared and given to one another as they sat huddled to one another. Twin plates filled with food and sparkling glasses clinking in toast as they sat to eat and chat.

A book was on the table and both of them were talking about its pages. Why did this scene feel closer to a distant dream? The rival, the distant friend; a part of fate that elected to move together in tandem leaving him behind. It was strange, he wanted to break that tranquility. March in and force the two who sat with such warmth to each other in harmony to acknowledge him. He wanted their attention, their time, anything they could grant. He would gladly take a miniscule fraction of what they shared equally, for they obviously saw him as a lesser member. After all they always were happy to exclude Barry at every turn. Try as he might to integrate everyone in the Spades as equals, Flick and Jack always kept more of a distance. If he walked in…. stepped into that light. Would he be welcomed? Or would he be regaled by the shadow that followed him firmly?

Fear pierced him, what if he were shunned? For someone like Barrington Holmes who was nothing without his name, his family, that precious legacy; would two who cared not for those things look at him favorably? He already felt like a failure every hour that passed without granting justice to Professor Akunin. Did they notice that failure? Did they both rejoice in the times they were alone without them? Barry wasn’t an idiot, as much as everyone has been whispering as of late. It felt as if there was slowly a noose circling around him. The rope slowly ever so slightly tightening more and more around his neck. He was nothing without victory, a wash up Holmes who can’t do one case. They were all looking at Barry to come up with a plan to find the villains. All they’ve seen is a member of the Holmes family who loses his cool more often. What whispers are spoken about him?  A cold shiver left Barry as he tried to breathe but he couldn’t. Why was it so hard to breathe?

“I got you.” A voice cut off and Barry felt himself floating for a moment, before it registered, he was picked up. Quite literally when he realized his face was within inches of Eleanor Marple’s. To Barry’s shock, she was carrying him in her arms and walking away from the window.

“What happened?” Barry asked, surprised his voice was hoarse.

“You fainted, Barry.” Seabert sounded off, stepping around so Barry could see him easily. “We’re getting worried, man.”

“When did you last eat?” Elinor asked, concerned. “You’re shaking.”

“Eat?” Barry asked, confused, they had a case to do. When on earth can someone expect him to eat?

“Yes Barry, eat food and not chug energy drinks like no tomorrow.” Seabert chastised. “You also don’t look like you’ve slept in days.”

“Pot, meet kettle.” Barry deadpanned, knowing it was a weak deflection of the conversation. Yet quick to bring up the dark bags of both Seabert and Elinor. They weren't getting enough sleep either. “Where are we going?”

“The kitchens.  You’re going to eat what we put in front of you.” Elinor answered, increasing her strides. “It’s 30 minutes to curfew so the area’s practically deserted. Then you’re going to take a nap, I know nothing I can say will convince you to sleep the entire night away. We’re compromising on a nice nap. Effective immediately, Seabert and I are starting operation BB.”

“I hate Operation BB; Babysit Barry. It’s not a good plan, Elinor.” Barry pouted, resting his head on her shoulder.

“I may not be a Holmes in levels of planning, but Operation BB has kept you alive so far. Or do we want a repeat of two years ago when you almost developed a heart murmur from all that excessive caffeine?” Elinor reminded Barry as Seabert went ahead and opened the kitchen’s side door for the two of them.

“As your best friends, it’s imperative that we keep our illustrious leader alive.” Seabert quipped with a smile locking the door behind them.

“That was only until Watson would join us again.” Barry reminded the duo, sinking further into Elinor. He started noticing how hungry he was. If he really has been neglecting himself; they're going to be insufferable.

“He hasn’t.” Seabert pointed out. “Not really, Jack is still an outsider to us. He might be considered a Watson by blood, and that's it. A Watson, but he isn’t ours yet. He doesn’t understand the pressure and expectations we deal with. He doesn't understand the history or importance; he's riding coat tails without thinking what got him here, thinking he's above all of it and reaping the privilege. He doesn't get that our privilege is also a responsibility and work; work that he should be sharing in. Work that he’s been adding onto your plate instead.”

“He really hasn’t.” Barry attempted to defend. It sounded weak to his ears.

“You’re the planner, Barry,” Seabert reminded Barry Holmes as he dove into fixing a plate for the three of them from the remnants of the night’s dinner. “I’m the profiler, you lay down the tracks for us to run in; and I see the obstacles we make for others and ourselves. Jack Watson is adding to your plate when he should be sharing our burden.”

“You can’t argue with us Barry, we know all your ticks.” Elinor reminded Barry, setting him down on a chair.

It was a well-practiced routine. Elinor and Seabert whisked Barry away when things got too overwhelming. The kitchen staff was well aware of their escapades and tended to leave some things out with chairs on a little table when Seabert would alert them of a late dinner. As long as everything was cleaned afterwards and the trio had always done so.

                                                           *****

“And…cut!” Amelie called out. She clapped happily. “Brilliant work, darlings.” She smiled at Luka and Marinette. “I could feel the melancholy and nostalgia as Felicity and Jack grew closer.” The two blushed and looked at each other, then blushed harder.

She turned to her son and two of his closest friends. “And you three!” She clasped her hands together and beamed a wide, loving smile tinged with pride. "Wonderful! You were perfect! Lifelong friends, looking out for one another. Seabert, who seems silly, actually being observant. Elinor, a kind soul with both physical and emotional strength. Barry might be conflicted over his feelings towards Jack and Felicity for the moment but he knows there are at least two people in his life he can always lean on when he needs to.”

“Even if he grumbles about it,” Claude pointed out.

“Even so,” Amelie began and stopped when she saw the look on Marinette’s face. She gave the girl a gentle, reassuring smile. “Did you have something to add about the scene, dear?”

Marinette frowned, then began to speak; hesitant and first and then with more confidence. “It’s just…all the characters are supposed to be friends, right?” She looked unsure.

Allegra found herself nodding. “Right, and?”

Marinette’s brows knitted together in confusion. “But…it also seems like Elinor and Seabert are more on Barry’s side than Felicity’s. I mean…” she bit her lip and both Felix and Luka found themselves staring at her mouth. “They’ve all known each for the same amount of time, minus Jack of course. Shouldn’t they care about Felicity’s feelings as much as Barry’s?”

“Marinette has a good point,” Luka was quick to take her side. “Felicity is a direct descendant of Auguste Dupin, the man who founded this society they all belong to. His heir should be the one with the most prestige, the one everyone listens to. She should be the leader.”

Luka looked around. No one’s heart music seemed upset. Some of them even harmonized with his, like Marinette, and to his surprise, Claude’s. He went on. “But because the adventures of Sherlock Holmes became more famous because the original  Watson wrote more of his down, he’s more famous. And in the eyes of the world, famous means better.”

“Hence why Felicity resents Holmes,” Marinette spoke up.

Allegra looked at Felix. His eyes seemed unfocused, his lips pressed together. He was still in-character. If he were to speak up, it would be Barry who spoke, not Felix. She decided to speak up for him.

“And the Holmes and Watson from each generation have been partners, working together. This generation’s Watson,” she pointed at Luka, “dropped out of sight eight years ago so it’s been up to Seabert and Elinor to take care of him instead. Felicity is Holmes’ rival so having to care for him would just make her resent him more.”

“And being a profiler with psychologist parents, Seabert has to be able to get into the heads of criminals and victims, so he’s probably high in empathy.” Claude joined Allegra.

“And Elinor has a strong protective streak and a black belt in several forms of martial arts,” Allegra continued as she gave her boyfriend a wink and a grin. “She likes Felicity and considers her a friend but because she’s so used to taking care of Barry in Jack’s absence,” she pretended to scowl at Luka, who smiled back.  “She’s naturally closer to him.”

“Both Elinor and Seabert take care of Barry but also resent Jack because they have to do what they consider to be his job.” Marinette offered.

“Yep.”

“And Jack, who hasn’t been around any of you for eight years, who’s been raised with a lot of resentment towards the Holmes family chafes at the idea of being forced into a role he never asked for,” Luka deftly summarized the main character’s backstories and was rewarded with a smile and a fist bump from Marinette.

“Exactly!” Amelie stood up and twirled around. “Conflict within the group while trying to solve the murder of a man most of them considered a mentor! Years of bitterness! Jealousy! Perhaps a budding romance?” She winked at Luka, who looked amused. Marinette pretended she hadn’t seen. “It adds drama and tension, just as much as car chases and sword fights!” She kissed her fingers. “Magnifique!”

She was looking at Felix, who still seemed in his own little world. She remembered how she used to get so caught up in a character and dear Geralt had to coax her back to herself. Usually it involved a cup of tea. Smell was the closest sense to memory after all. She left the group after giving Claude and Allegra a look they recognized as Felix is stuck in his role. Look after him until I come back. They nodded while their two co-stars just looked confused. She walked up to an assistant and requested some tea and snacks for her son. They nodded and walked away.

“Hey, Felix?”

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up into Luka’s gentle blue eyes. They gazed down at him with concern as they looked him over. The logical part of his mind knew the other boy was only trying to help and just wanted to show his concern. Luka was a good guy; he was kind and cared about people. He also had a sharp sense of humor and a wicked wit. He was beginning to think of Luka as a friend.

But Felix was also Barrington Holmes right now and Barry resented how close Jack was to Felicity. How the person who was supposed to be his partner and equal barely tolerated him. Jack and Luka merged together and suddenly Felix didn’t want either of them putting their hands on him.

“Don’t touch me!” Felix snarled, knocking the gentle hand away and causing Luka to hit himself in the face. The sound of flesh hitting flesh brought him back to himself as his co-stars gasped. The crew tensed. They’d seen Felix and his mother struggle to pull themselves out of a character’s mindset but it never resulted in a fight. They waited to see if they needed to intervene.

Felix blinked, seeing the shock on Luka’s face. Marinette froze for a moment before turning red. She looked like she very much wanted to throw hands and had to be restrained by both Allegra and Claude.

The shock faded from the older boy and Luka looked disappointed, then angry.

Well, shite.

Felix wanted to apologize or explain, whichever was the least embarrassing and wouldn’t break the fragile relationship he’d formed with Luka and Marinette. He could tell Luka understood what he wanted to say but by the time his voice returned Luka just shook his head and glared at him.

“We’ll talk more when you’re more like yourself again,” was all Luka said as he turned away. Marinette had shaken off both the people holding her back and followed him but not before throwing a nasty glare at him over her shoulder.

“Excuse me, FeFe.”

Felix was just about to try and call them back but before he could say a word Chloe calmly strolled up to him. He was just about to speak to her when she reached out and flicked him hard on the nose.

“Ow!”

“Chloe!” Claude squawked, “he was just lost in character!”

“I know,” she replied, “that’s why I did it.” She looked up at Felix. She wasn’t upset or surprised, just calm and matter of fact. “So are we talking to Felix now?”

“Yes,” he rubbed his nose and looked in the direction Marinette and Luka retreated. “Thanks, Bitchois.”

“No problem,” she told him, a little bit of her old snobby self coming out, “I’ll use any excuse to hit you.”

Claude opened his mouth to speak but Allegra wisely put her hand over his mouth. “We should clear the set and get ready for the next scene before Felix alienates anyone else.”

                                                           *****

Amelie had had her set designers (paid extra, naturally) create several lounges for the cast and crew to use. Each department had their own and there were several set aside for cast members based on hierarchy. Even the plainest was nicer than most “green rooms” on other productions but no one denied the main cast was nicer. This was mostly because the Quantic Kids had brought a few luxury items from home. Most of the time Marinette and Luka spent their free time with their friends in the music room but today by unspoken agreement they wanted to be alone.

They wandered around and found themselves in an unused private room. Marinette quickly texted Amelie to let her know where they were and for her permission to use it. The director quickly answered in the affirmative; she seemed to understand there was a bit of tension on-set and some time apart was probably the best way to diffuse it.

The room wasn’t as luxurious as the Quantic Kids room but it still had a well-stocked refrigerator, an entertainment center with a television that took up half a wall, as well as several movies and probably a dozen streaming services. There were also three overstuffed sofas and a recliner in shades of blue and teal only a few shades darker than the walls. Marinette noticed (to her amusement) the room also had a tea-making station and a four person dining table made of blond wood and matching chairs.

Luka hadn’t thought to grab his guitar before coming into the room. He mostly wanted to get away from Felix before he said or did anything he’d regret or get him fired. He wasn’t ashamed of being a delivery driver but he couldn’t deny the salary was incredible and he was finally able to pay for some renovations for the ship his family lived on. His mother insisted he put most of what he earned away but she couldn’t deny that two teenagers needed privacy and therefore their own rooms.

He unlocked his phone and scrolled through his apps until he found one that allowed him to play guitar on mobile. Strolling over to the couch he sat down and patted the seat beside him and smiled at Marinette. She sat down beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder to peer at his phone. Luka smiled and began to play the electronic strings. She listened quietly, recognizing the tune as the one he’d written. There was something gentle and almost thoughtful about it. She closed her eyes and listened in silence for a few minutes.

Luka looked away from his phone and towards the lovely girl on his shoulder. He barely contained the urge to stroke her cheek or brush the hair off her forehead. She was so sweet and kind; incredibly smart and talented. He watched as shoulders eased a bit then stiffened. The poor girl couldn’t let herself completely relax, even when it was just the two of them. It made him want to…

“You can lie down if you want,” he offered.

Her eyes popped open and she looked at him in shock. Marinette blinked up at him. He smiled back and the two of them had a completely silent conversation. She understood that he was inviting her to lay down and relax for a few minutes or longer if she needed to. He was offering to look out for her, even though he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

“You do a lot for everyone around you,” he told her. “You’re more than welcome to let me be strong for you. Just for a little while.”

She smiled gratefully as she took off her shoes then laid down on her back with her head in his lap. She gave his waist a grateful squeeze then closed her eyes.

Luka continued to play for her, watching as she began to allow herself to relax. She clasped her hands across her stomach and sighed in contentment.

She lay still and he continued to play what he was beginning to think of as “their” song, adding notes and little flourishes as he continued. New notes danced into his head as he played. She smiled as she listened and he became bold, adding an allegro piece, then a pianissimo, anything to see her smile like that.

“Filming today was…intense,” she said so quietly he barely heard her.

He stopped, pausing the app. “Um…yeah. I didn’t know Felix got so lost in character he forgot who he was.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her face had gone from relaxed to troubled and he wondered what was on her mind. “Not just him.” She frowned a bit. “That was the closest I’ve ever seen you to actual anger. Not since…”

She stopped and he didn’t have to listen to the music in her heart to know she was worried about him.

Luka didn’t respond at first. He was thinking to himself, trying to decide how to explain his thoughts to her. “Let’s just say…” he began, not sure how much he wanted to tell her. It wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, least of all with her. ..I used to have anger issues and leave it at that for now.”

She nodded in understanding and he began to play again but the mood was ruined.

He waited until he could stand the silence any more. Her good opinion mattered more to him than he cared to admit. He’d rather drop his guitar in the Seine than lose it. Then again, he hated keeping secrets from people he…loved.

“Hey,” he said finally, “tomorrow is Reshoot Day but as far as I know we don’t have any.”

Marinette’s eyes opened again and she gazed up at him, looking curious.

She waited for him to speak and he cleared his throat. “So…would you like to come over and hang out? On the Liberty? Mom will be in and out so we’ll be…you know…chaperoned. Kind of.”

She smiled at the earnest look of concern. “I’m pretty sure I could fight you off if you tried anything.”

Marinette tried not to laugh at the relieved look on his face. With all the movie training and private training she’d done with her Mom, she could probably wipe the floor with Luka if she had to.

She poked  him in the stomach. “Besides. I trust you.”

He chuckled, the sound rumbling pleasantly in his chest. “What if I wasn’t worried about you but myself?” He clasped his hands to his chest in mock concern. “What if you’re after my virtue?”

Marinette blinked at him then burst out laughing. He laughed back.

                                                       *****

Felix heard the two laughing before he even opened the door. Their two voices blended so pleasantly it was almost as if they were made for each other and he had to push away the sudden stab of jealousy.

He stopped his thoughts before they could continue down their strange path. That was counterproductive. The three of them were only temporarily friends for the sake of the production and if he didn’t stop confusing his feelings as his character and his feelings as a person it would be difficult to extract himself after filming was over.

Plus, it would hurt like hell. He remembered how he would confuse his part with his true self as a child and nearly cried when he realized his castmates didn’t actually care about him. He told himself he didn’t care, that he’d grown callouses over his feelings to prevent feeling vulnerable and that was that.

Felix took two large deep breaths to calm himself and composed his face to look as contrite and regretful. After he was sure he was ready he rapped on the door and waited politely for someone to answer.

“Who is it?”

Marinette. Of course it would be Marinette who spoke first. She was the leader of her little friend group, the one they looked for to give them everything from advice to pep talks to protection.

“It’s Felix. May I come in, please?”

“Are you here to apologize?”

Now it was Luka who spoke, Her Majesty’s Lord Protector, even if he was redundant. Marinette didn’t need a knight nor a representative but he could appreciate the other boy’s concern. It was clearly one of the ways he shows affection. That and playing music and understanding everyone’s “heart song”.

He rolled his eyes because he knew they couldn’t see him and answered, “Of course.”

“Come in then.”

He turned the knob and walked inside, closing the door after him. He forced himself to relax his posture. After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Not on purpose anyway.

Marinette and Luka were sitting together; not quite cuddling but still very close. She looked receptive to hearing him out but there was a sharpness in her eyes that told him she wouldn’t be fooled by lies or acting. He respected how perceptive she was, even when it worked against his interests.

Luka looked like his usual self; mild and gentle, doing his best to put everyone around him at ease. Felix had been fooled like everyone else into underestimating Luka because the older boy seemed so harmless. But now that he knew him better Felix could see a tiny glint deep in the other boy's ocean blue eyes that warned him. If Felix did anything to harm or upset Marinette he’d probably get his arse handed to him.

Felix took a deep breath as if he were about to undergo an unpleasant task and said, “I’m sorry.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, looking regal in a pleated black skirt and pink blouse with black horizontal stripes. Luka had ditched his usual distressed jeans for gray denim shorts and a loose-fitting gray shirt with broad black horizontal stripes. Separately they would have looked good but together they looked…like a matched set.

“For?” Luka spoke up.

Felix pointed to a chair across from the couch they were sitting on. It might have been presumptuous of him to ask to join them. “Do either of you mind if I sit down?”

They looked at each other and then back at him, shaking their heads. “Thank you,” he said a bit dryly. They were making him feel as if he were having an audience with the Queen, except he wasn’t seven and his collar wasn’t itchy.

He sat and crossed his ankle over his other knee. He sighed and began to speak. “For being rude and disrespectful while still in character.” He sighed. “It was unprofessional and neither of you deserved it.”

“We know that-” Marinette began but Luka laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She smiled and apologized. “Sorry. That was rude. I’ll let you speak first and then tell you what I think when you’re done.”

Felix nodded his thanks at her and Luka and began to explain. “You see, I’ve been acting since I could learn lines.  Usually for my father. Small parts at first but then larger and more complicated as I got older.” They nodded but didn’t interrupt.

He continued. “Any I’m sure by now you two have noticed that when an actor is in character sometimes they forget who they are. Especially if a scene is very long or emotionally intensive.” He shrugged and looked a little sheepish. “Usually Mom or one of my friends can pull me out of it but I, as Barry, was feeling jealous because I was being left out of the Jack and Felicity bonding. That boiled over into my ‘true’ self,” he made air quotes, “and I lashed out at you before I, or anyone else, could bring me back to myself.”

Felix stopped and looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to speak. A part of him nagged at him, it sounded strangely of his fathers voice caressing his ear. Telling Felix to truly explain. Followed by Griff in his posh 'a knight of virtue would be honest. To obfuscate with half truths is unbecoming of the very notion of courage.'

"I….Also…." Felix tried to begin. his throat closing in on him. Emotions rampant within him: anger, jealousy, resentment even coursed high. It was hard to show vulnerabilities to most. The select few being done so after careful consideration and the years of loyalty to prove it. But he felt compelled by something to actually tell the truth without a gimmick.

"There's a little bit more to it really." Felix managed to say one thumb tracing his signet ring as if trying to invoke courage to spill into him at this very moment.

"As you know…this project means a lot to us here at Graham Films." Felix began once again bolstered by seeing Luka giving an encouraging nod at Felix. "It is my father's last script. That alone makes his project worthwhile. But on a personal note, to me, this is both an honor and a punishment to play. My father wrote this for me, as his son, and not for me as an actor."

"The genre and themes are personal favorites of mine. Yet the characters…most of the Spades were written by our influences. Barrington Holmes is both a character to play, and also my fathers inspiration using me as the source material." Felix gave a dry chuckle at the thought although he knew it to be true. "It's easy playing as Barrington because I am Barrington Holmes in many aspects. This part was written for me by my father. So much that half of my improvisation is more me playing moments where I get to change my word for once." Felix added, worrying his ring.

"We reminded you of something." Marinette concluded which caused Felix to color shamefully.

"Yes." Felix confessed.

"You were seeing Adrien….weren't you?" Marinette asked curiously. Memories of that fateful day of Felix impersonating his cousin popping into her head. Luka almost heard the halting screech of a cello from Felix's heartsong as the blond froze.

"Correct as always Fl-Marinette." Felix nodded when he unfreeze some thirty seconds later.

"This wasn't about you, please believe me that the last thing I'd want is to disrespect you both. Not only as actors, helping me live up to the thought of doing my father's work justice. But with our tentative friendship on the line it is a horrible happenstance that things aligned where acting pulled my true emotions freely. Especially when you two are not the object of my ire. I really do apologize about this."

"Chloe flicked you?" Luka asked curiously.

"I was an arse, it's well deserved." Felix nodded. Now having confessed everything and leaving the choice in their hands.

“We’re not going to say it’s okay-” Marinette told him.

“-because it’s not.” Luka added.

“But you weren’t being deliberately rude or unkind.” Marinette kept on, “I didn’t notice that you were still thinking like Barry and weren’t yourself. I’ll try to be more observant next time.”

“But it’s still up to you to let us know if you need space and we’ll back off.” Luka smiled at him. “But yeah, I’ll try to read you better next time we film an emotionally tense scene like that again.”

Despite himself Felix was a little relieved. He’d apologized, explained his actions, and they’d forgiven him. “Thank you both for understanding. I’ll work harder to be less…’up my own arse’ as Allegra would say, during filming.”

As he stood up they also stood with him. His shoulders ease as tension he didn’t even know he was feeling dissolved. “Well…thank you…” he offered Marinette his hand. “I’d like to say it’ll never happen again but I’d be lying. It just might but I’ll do what I can not to let it.”

“See that you do.” Marinette’s smile was kind as she took his hand. He gave her a tentative smile back and then she used his hand to pull him towards her and into a hug. He squawked in protest but she was warm and soft and smelled of vanilla sugar and cinnamon. He tried to breathe her in without being obvious about it.

Felix heard movement and suddenly Luka’s long arms were surrounding them both, pulling them both towards him and hugging them both gently but tightly. Bay rum suited the tall boy more than lavender. Felix hoped neither of them could smell his sweat. He was feeling a bit awkward but still enjoyed the hug. It was comforting and he didn’t want it to end just yet.

“Fair warning, Felix. If you do this again, we reserve the right to beat you up.” Marinette pulled away just enough to give him a wicked grin. “I hope I don’t have to remind you I’m a martial artist with fencing experience now.”

“I’m not a martial artist but I was raised by a pirate so I know how to street and knife fight. And sometimes I fight dirty.” Luka’s smile wasn’t as sharp as Marinette’s but Felix had no doubt Luka would hurt him if pushed, friend or costar be damned. Especially for Marinette’s sake.

Felix gave in to the urge to roll his eyes. “Right. It’s hardly fair of you two to threaten to double team me.”

“Yes it is!”

He just sighed and pretended to grumble under his breath. These two were perfect for each other.

                                                    *****

Meanwhile, Adrien and Kagami sat alone in an abandoned corner of the set, wondering what the hell was going on.

An hour ago they had been watching quietly as their friends, Adrien’s cousin, and his cousin’s friends had been filming a scene together. It seemed to go well, or that was what Aunt Amelie said. Then suddenly Felix was arguing with Luka and Marinette, even snapping at the tall boy when he asked if Felix was all right. Then everyone disappeared and left the two of them there, forgotten.

Adrien was quiet as he cuddled into Kagami’s side. Normally she enjoyed it when her boyfriend was physically affectionate with her but she was certain his closeness was more about seeking comfort than it was about showing her how much he cared. As much as she cared for him, it occasionally irritated her that she was the only emotional support Adrien had.  Well, perhaps besides that hulking bodyguard but the man would not or could not speak. She sighed inwardly. Kagami might not be any more in touch with her emotions than Adrien but she would try to understand.

“That was…intense,” she said to her boyfriend and winced. Intense? That was the best she could do? She wished she had Marinette’s tact or Luka’s emotional awareness but she didn’t and her blunt way of expressing her thoughts would have to do.

Brusque or not, Adrien recognized her words as an opening and invitation to talk. “That’s putting it mildly.” He sighed but didn’t elaborate.

Kagami was silent until she began to feel awkward again. “You know, my mother was an actress once.”

He perked up. “I remember! She was in ‘Solitude’ with my mom.” He smiled but it faded quickly. “She and my mom acted together only once though. It’s a shame. I thought they were both good.” He sat quietly before realizing it was his turn to keep the conversation going. “I didn’t know my mom and your mom had been friends for so long. She looked a lot like you when you were younger.”

“Yes,” she agreed. It was strange to see her own face staring at her from the film her mother and Mme. Agreste had been in. It made her wonder if she would grow up to be as strict as her mother was.  “According to my mother, she had to make the movie in secret. Her grandparents were born shortly after World War II and did not want her associating with Americans.”  She chuckled. “They saw all people of European descent as Americans, or at least just as barbaric.”

Kagami didn’t want to dwell on the similarities between her mother and the grandparents she’d barely known so she hurried on. “She did tell me once she struggled to ‘get into character’ because pretending to be someone she wasn’t didn’t come naturally.” She frowned as she continued. “She also said it was equally difficult to get out of character because she found herself able to see the world from her character’s perspective; it wasn't easy to return to her own.”

Adrien huffed a laugh. “So, your mother had a rebellious phase too, huh?” He grinned at his girlfriend. Tomoe-san was more complex than he gave her credit for. “So now I know where you get it.”

She mock-glared at him but he gave her innocent kitten eyes until she gave up and laughed at him. He laughed back.

They were silent for a minute until Kagami suggested. “Perhaps…your cousin has the same problem my mother had? It’s possible he was simply stuck in the mindset of his character when he lashed out at Luka.”

Adrien considered her words and then said, “maybe I should have said something. Tried to draw him out.”

Kagami shook her head. “No,” her words were blunt and she explained, “it’s possible you could have helped him but it’s equally possible his hostility towards you would have come out instead.”

He nodded. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”  “It’s just…” he sighed and put his arm around her to draw her closer. “I know. I get it. I did a lot of stupid shit, even though it was inadvertent, and hurt my relationship with Felix.” He frowned, managing to look handsome even when he was miserable. “But he won’t let me mend things! He won’t accept my apology, he doesn’t want to spend time with me. I couldn’t get him to come over for dinner even if Father would let him inside.” He sighed and pressed his face into her shoulder. “What should I do, ‘Gami?”

Several responses came to mind but the one she decided on was; “Nothing.”

That surprised him so much he took his arm from around her shoulders and pulled away. “Nothing?”

She affirmed. “Let him approach you when ready. Don’t force him to be around you if he doesn’t want to. Be polite and professional if you have any more fencing lessons with him and don’t pressure him to spend time with you.”

Part of Adrien thought she had a point. “But-”

“You’re backing Felix into a corner, constantly putting him on the defensive,” Kagami pointed out. “That’s why he lashes out; he feels as if he has no choice.”

He opened his mouth but she gently laid a finger on his lips. “Stop treating him like an opponent and return to the en garde position until your cousin makes a move.”

Adrien smiled, appreciating the fencing metaphor. “I’m so lucky to have a girlfriend as wise as you.”

She smiled back. “Yes. You are.”

She leaned forward and he closed his eyes, meeting her halfway for the kiss.

Their lips met just before someone cleared their throat and interrupted them.

                                                       *****

The production company had updated its security procedures. Nathalie not only had to leave her bag, tablet and phone behind but received a pat down by a female security guard. The woman wouldn’t let Adrien’s bodyguard accompany her (she claimed Amelie had only left one pass) but Nathalie could swear she heard the woman flirt with the man as she walked on in search of Adrien.

She was met by a red-haired man who said he was her escort. Shit. There went her chance to snoop or contact Mlle. Rossi. She couldn’t stand the girl anyway; she wanted to climb the ladder by sycophancy or social advancement rather than hard work.

Her musings about Rossi were interrupted as the man talked into a radio and received some sort of response. He looked at Nathalie. “Mrs. Graham de Vanily and her son would like to see you off if you don’t mind waiting for them.”

“Not at all,” she replied. Felix and his mother probably wanted to make sure she left without stealing anything or causing trouble. Ironic, considering what the boy had done during his last visit to his uncle’s home. Nathalie wisely kept her opinion to herself.

As they reached the current set she spied Adrien and Kagami in a tender kiss. Although her face remained impassive she felt her heart melt just a little bit. He was growing up so fast! She knew Gabriel had approved of his son’s relationship with Mlle. Tsurugi for business reasons but the girl clearly adored the boy and Adrien reciprocated. Nathalie secretly loved seeing her charge happy. She hated to break them up but unfortunately she had a schedule to keep and romance was a low priority to Gabriel if it didn’t involve his wife.

She cleared her throat and the two broke apart; Adrien guiltily, the Tsurugi girl with reluctance. Nathalie didn’t miss the way the young woman glared at her. She didn’t care.

“Adrien, Mlle. Tsurugi, it’s time we were away.” She adjusted her glasses. “We’ll have a few minutes to say goodbye to your aunt and cousin and then the two of you have a practice match before dinner with your father.”

Adrien perked up, just as Nathalie hoped he would. “Father?! Really?” His face shone in a way it rarely did if he wasn’t around his girlfriend.

“I’m very happy for you, Adrien.” Kagami’s face didn’t look happy to anyone who didn’t know her well but her eyes shone.

Nathalie gave in to the urge to smile at the boy she’d known most of his life. She didn’t have the heart to tell him it was an interrogation disguised as dinner. Let him be happy for now.

                                                        *****

After Felix left Marinette and Luka, pleased that their relationship had been repaired, a hand grabbed his shoulder and jerked him into the shadows.

He twisted, trying to get away until a voice spoke up; “It’s just me, Houdini.”

He stopped struggling and looked up at her. “A little less cloak and dagger next time, Hel.”

Helen rolled her eyes and dug a small box out of her pocket. “I had to switch materials but I think you’ll be pleased with the results.” She opened it and showed him its contents.

It was a perfect reproduction of the brooch Marinette had thought she was making for his mom, down to the matched pearls and lapis lazuli. Yet again Helen had impressed him.

What he was thinking must have shown on his face because his favorite cousin had grinned, looking incredibly pleased with herself. “It’s something, right?” she bragged. “It’s diecast metal because what I wanted to use wouldn’t cure for a few days and you said this was a rush.”

Felix held out his hand and she placed the box in it. “Diecast metal?”

She just shrugged. “Eh, it’s a lost art.”

He took it out of the box and examined it, turning it over and looking for flaws. He found none. It was indistinguishable from what Marinette had created and had the proper heft and color.

“It’s perfect, Helen.”

Helen smirked. “I’m so very pleased you’re satisfied.”

All he needed now was two things; for Ms. Sancoeur to wear the peacock brooch today and an opportunity to make the switch.

                                                         *****

This set was hot.

Nathalie willed herself not to sweat but that didn’t stop her stomach from feeling a bit queasy. She tried to focus on Adrien’s question about dinner; what he should wear, what they were having, should he stop by the Dupain-Cheng bakery for a light dessert. She tried not to snap at him when he asked if Kagami could attend as well but his face was beginning to blur.

No! Not now! She had to hold it together and appear calm and self-assured. She could not embarrass herself in front of Graham de Vanilys. Besides, Gabriel depended on her, as did Adrien. She would not falter.

“Why, Ms. Sancoeur! How very good to see you again!” Amelie swept in with her usual aplomb, her son and his friends trailing behind her. The woman’s smile was wide and welcoming but her son looked smug and superior as usual. The boy’s friends looked more curious than friendly but at least they weren’t hostile.

Nathalie’s eyes darted quickly, not seeing Chloe Bourgeois nor Lila Rossi. Neither girl was shaping up to be a particularly good pawn and she would advise Gabriel to cut his losses. Paris was sure to have its fair share of entitled yet stupid young people he could use instead. Someone more reliable.

The ever perceptive Felix noticed her attention was diverted. “Something wrong, Ms. Sancoeur?”

“I don’t see Mlle. Dupain-Cheng anywhere,” Nathalie lied smoothly. “M. Agreste wanted me to pass along his congratulations on securing her first internship and a starring role at the same time.” Only Adrien and his girlfriend seemed to believe her.

Amelie seemed content to play along. “Yes, isn’t she wonderful?” She beamed as if she’d given Marinette her talent personally. “So very talented. We were lucky to get her.”

Nathalie gave a nod, even as it made her dizzy. “M. Agreste says he’ll be watching her fashion career very closely from now on. He’s a big believer in nurturing talent.” She wondered what Amelie would say to that.

The woman didn’t react as Nathalie had hoped. She just smiled and replied, “Well, I hope he won’t be too disappointed when we snap her up. Really, Gabriel should have offered a contract as soon as she won his little contest.”

Adrien picked the wrong time to speak up. “I’m sure he was worried about putting too much pressure on her. Father has always praised Marinette’s talents, even to the Style Queen herself.”

The mood of the room shifted as Chloe’s neglectful, impossible to please mother was brought up. Felix’s companions went from neutral towards Adrien to disdainful when Audrey was introduced as a topic.

Nathalie wondered if she should try and add to the conversation when Amelie looked over her shoulder and beamed. “And what perfect timing! Here is the young woman herself. Hello, Marinette, dear. Are you ready for the next scene?”

For a nanosecond Nathalie swore the girl looked uncomfortable but then the tall blue haired boy (his name escaped her but he looked very familiar) laid a hand on her shoulder. The girl blinked and then smiled. “You bet!”

“Ms. Sancoeur was just saying that Gabriel sent along his congratulations on your triumphant designing and acting debut!” Amelie spoke up. “Apparently he’s very impressed.”

“As he should be,” the blue haired boy squeezed Marinette’s shoulder and the girl blushed.

The three teens with Amelie began to sing Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s praises. “Marinette designed the school uniforms for all the school characters,” a blonde with long braided hair put in. Her blue eyes narrowed at Nathalie and she felt even less welcome.

“Not to mention some of the fancy ball gowns for a very pivotal scene!” A blue eyed brown-haired boy smiled but didn’t seem to want her there either.

“And her performance is some of the best acting I’ve ever seen for someone with no experience.” A very handsome brown skinned young man praised his co-star. His face was neutral but Nathalie still felt watched and judged.

Suddenly everyone but Felix and Marinette herself were talking over each other, giving the young designer one glowing compliment after another. The girl just stammered and blushed and tried to get everyone to stop. Felix looked…

Concerned?

For her?

He cocked his head to one side, then the other. His brow furrowed he asked, “Ms. Sancoeur? Are you all right?”

Nathalie felt sweat drip down her face and the small of her back. She felt hot and the room began to tilt. She dimly heard Adrien call her name and suddenly she was dropping.

Most of the room cried out in alarm as the usually unflappable woman began to droop.

“Catch her!” Felix called out abruptly as he and Luka stopped the woman from hitting the ground. Once they were sure they had her they gently lowered her to the floor.

Adrien just stood there, rooted to the spot, staring at the woman who helped raise him. He began to shake as his face went pale. Kagami grabbed his arm and dragged him to a chair before he could also faint.

“I’m calling one-one-two!” Allen pulled out his phone and began to dial. Amelie, Claude and Allegra stepped back to give the others room.

Felix kept his head and removed Nathalie's jacket and used it to cushion her head. He looked over at Luka. “Can you help me roll her so she’s on her side? Please.”

Luka nodded then removed the jacket of his uniform costume. Together he and Felix turned the woman on her side to keep her airway free and then Luka used his jacket to cover the woman to prevent shock.

Felix checked her vitals. “She’s breathing and has a pulse” He opened her mouth. “It looks like her mouth and throat are clear.” He looked over at his cousin. “Does Ms. Sancoeur have a history of fainting spells, Adr-”

He stopped. Adrien clearly wasn’t going to be of use to anyone.

Adrien was spiraling, completely unaware of his surroundings or what was happening a few feet from him. Nathalie fainted again, just like his mom used to do. She was having dizzy spells and even though his father would tell him it was no big deal and she just needed rest, he didn’t believe it. It was just like when Mom disappeared. Nathalie was sick too and soon she’d disappear and he’d never know what really happened to her-

Kagami’s hand hit his cheek with a sharp crack.

Amelie gasped but Kagami ignored her.

“Adrien,” she commanded, “I understand this must be upsetting for you but your caregiver is ill and staring into nothing is incredibly unhelpful.” Her voice was stern, not a trace of compassion or empathy left. “She needs help and sitting here useless does nothing to aid her.”

Amelie huffed in indignation at the treatment of her nephew and even Claude and Allegra looked sorry for him. Felix and Luka were too busy trying to treat the woman and Allen was giving the emergency service operator directions.

Marinette was more than used to handling crises, even medical ones, so she came to Kagami’s side and smoothly intervened.

“Kagami? I know you’re just trying to bring him around with some tough love but is it alright if I try something too?” Her expression didn’t plead but she would respectfully back off if asked.

Kagami thought about the request before nodding. She knew she could trust her.

Marinette slowly and carefully crouched in front of Adrien, who had barely registered the slap. “Adrien? Look at me.” He met her gaze without thinking. “Listen to me.” Her blue eyes were calm and serious but still kind. “Breathe. Slowly. In through your mouth and out through your nose.” He obeyed.

She gently took Kagami’s  hand and laid it over Adrien’s. “We’re here for you. Feel her hand on yours. Listen to my voice. Remember to breathe.” She watched as Adrien’s pupils contracted. She relaxed her shoulders and then asked, “Do you remember what happened?”

He nodded and then his face fell. Nathalie had collapsed. He was useless. Again.

Marinette did her best to give him a reassuring smile. “Adrien. Help is on the way. We’re going to get Ms. Sancoeur to the hospital.”

“Will-” his voice cracked. Yet another person who raised him was fading and he’d done nothing. “Will she be okay?” He whispered.

He sounded so forlorn, like a lost child. She felt sorry for him despite his past enabling.

Marinette couldn’t answer and looked to Kagami.

Kagami took her boyfriend’s hand and caressed the cheek she had just slapped. “We’ll follow her to the hospital. Then we’ll see.”

He gulped and nodded before pulling both girls into a hug.

                                                     *****

Felix was rather proud of himself. He hadn’t predicted Ms. Sancoeur would give him such a dramatic opportunity but everything had turned out just as he wanted so he couldn’t complain. The switch was made and the original peacock brooch was resting comfortably in his pocket with no one the wiser. He'll ask Chloe to see if she can catch anything on the cameras and alter it; just to cover all his bases.

He couldn’t wait to find out what was so special about this brooch.

Aaaand that’s it!

See you soon!

[charlietheepic7]

Chapter 29 of Hey, Little Songbird is out, so here’s some memes

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A Little Birdy Told Me 20

AO3

Beginning Last Chapter

Summary: Damian continues to try and get more information about the akuma class and Marinette while Dick is having an off day and just wants it to get better.

Only one brother gets what they want.

CH 20:

Damian may have jumped the gun on that one. 

He admitted that, willingly, in the privacy of his own mind. 

“To Dupain-Cheng? I mean sure but why would you like to know.” Chloe asked with narrowed sharp eyes.

Bourgeois was sharp, as were all his acquaintances so there was no point in lying, though he was confident he could do so flawlessly, his acquaintances had proved to be somewhat trustful. They all kept secrets if asked unless it was something trivial which confused him to no end. Allegra could ask they don’t tell anyone what she shared with them when it came to her having trouble mentally or her parents fighting but the group would tell almost everyone in the group how Claude had a crush on so-and-so from class-whatever. Richard said that is just how teenagers and friends are but it didn’t make sense to Damian and he tried many times to make it make sense. The only thing that made him feel better is the fact his father also didn’t understand. When he was in med school he told him how his study group kept his fear of bats to themselves but when he admitted to not being a fan of some musician that that information was shared and laughed at, but he stated clearly that the laughing wasn’t at him, just at the information as a study group member had explained. Again. It was strange, but Damian felt like this wasn’t one of those moments that they would share his information with others. 

“It goes without saying that what I tell you does not leave this table,” he began, “I know I said that if I knew something I wouldn’t tell, but given Bourgeois’s forthcoming, I too can be a little forthcoming. Dupain-Cheng is now a ward of my Father for the rest of the exchange.”

Vogel nodded and glared at everyone at the table as if to ward them off even thinking of telling anyone what Damian was saying. It was…nice and appreciated. Vogul reminded him of Cassandra sometimes and it always left him feeling warm yet wrongfooted. The blonde wasn’t his sister but sometimes she felt like it and that also confused him. Nonetheless he gave Vogel a small nod of appreciation. “After the events at Wayne Tower and what followed, it was decided that my father take care of Dupain-Cheng for the remainder of the trip and actual chaperones are being flown in. The original plan of having the class merge with ours has been effectively thrown out the window and negotiations are being made where to place everyone as they will be separated. Dupain-Cheng and her friends will join our class but it hasn’t been decided where Rossi and her sycophants will go.” 

Allaway pursed his lips together and looked deep in thought, it was like he was trying to organize everything that was said and unsaid. He was someone who liked puzzles and mysteries. “You guys are building a case?” It was posed as a question but Damian knew the other boy better. It was a statement. Damian simply leaned back in his chair to give Allaway his attention, it took the boy some time to voice his thoughts so Damian waited before responding. “The question is, who is the case against?” 

“I would think that obvious by now Allaway.” Damian scoffed. 

Allaway stared at Damian intensely until he let out a deep sigh, “Yeah, I know, I was saying it to be dramatic.”

“You’re always dramatic.” Damian countered.

“No. That’s Claude.” Allaway shot right back.

“Guilty!” Hardy sing-songed. Damian conceded. Hardy was always dramatic. Every announcement he made to the group or even the school was so rich in dramatics that Damian wondered if the boy practiced what he said every day to make sure it was the perfect amount of dramatic or if it was something instinctual. Damian felt like it was the latter. Sometimes Hardy’s dramatics confused him but Vogel was good at explaining what the dramatic boy was saying, she was basically the Hardy Translator.

“We are getting off topic.” Bourgeois sighed. “You really want to know everything that witch did to Dupain-Cheng, Wayne? Then you better buckle in and take notes.

Damian nodded and pressed the hidden button on his watch that Lucius Fox and his son Lucas upgraded at Bruce’s request, that would record the rest of the conversation. Though he did take out a notebook and pen, he never wrote in pencil, writing in pencil showed you were not confident in your writing or knowledge. He was trying to break out of the habit though as it was one Ra’s made sure ‘stuck’ with his heir. His grandfather would never settle for anything less than perfect and the one time Damian took a test in front of his grandfather and used a pencil, he was punished. Damian hid a wince at the memories of that particular lesson and instead stared at his watch, it was a replica of his Grandfather's watch , the one he wore when he was murdered. It was a bit morbid but it was the thought behind it that made it one of Damian’s most prized possessions. 

It had been a little after he had been…introduced to his father and a little before his father’s seeming demise at Darkseid’s hand that Bruce had taken Damian aside into his study to talk to him. Damian thought it would be another reprimand of his methods but had been surprised when Bruce handed him a small box with a bow on it. He had been so hesitant, so wary, so suspicious that his father had gently taken the box from him and opened it to show a watch. A rather nice watch though Damian had noted its somewhat dated design. Like someone had purposefully made it look vintage.  “ It’s made to look like my father’s watch, your grandfather, though I have no doubt you were…informed of my parents before you came here -”

“ I know everything about you, Father, and my grandparents .” Damian had interrupted, eager to prove his knowledge, his worth. 

“ I don’t doubt that, Damian, but you were told about them by people who did not know them. That makes all the difference. There is time for stories so you get to know them like I knew them but this is the first one I will tell you. ” Bruce had looked sincere yet a bit uncomfortable, Damian had chalked it up to his father’s weakness of not getting over his parent’s death. Such a weakness was not allowed in the League, but Damian had said nothing of the fact even if he could. Richard had been teaching him just because you could doesn’t mean you should. It was confusing but his father seemed to agree with the sentiment so Damian was doing his best to learn it. 

His father continued. “ When my father was ten, his father bought him his first watch. I never met my grandfather, but when I was young, my father told me grandfather wanted to start a new Wayne tradition. When the heir of the family turned ten, they would be gifted a watch. I’m afraid that the reason is lost in time and forgotten memories but my father wanted to continue this tradition. I got my watch on my birthday and 9 days later my parents died. My father had been wearing his birthday watch that night .”

Damian hadn’t wanted to interrupt but he did want to touch the watch and his father seemed to understand that so he passed back the gift and watched as Damian had caressed the face of the watch with his thumb. 

“ I admit that I have bought your brother's watches as well but I know you are struggling to accept them. I won’t lie and say I understand but I want to feel connected to them, to me, to this family. I wasn’t able to give you a watch on your birthday but I am giving it to you now. I had this made for you in the image of your grandfather’s watch because I want to show you how important you are to this family and me. I could have easily given you a new watch as I had your brother’s but you deserve a connection to your roots. I hope you like it. ”

Damian had only nodded but the small smile his father gave in return had filled him with such warmth he hadn’t known what to do other than let his father put the watch on him. Later, Alfred would explain that Bruce had the watch built with many hidden features to keep Damian safe and to make sure his son wouldn’t be without a way out of a situation. The watch was made to resemble the Rolex Submariner that Damian had seen in a case along with a broken pearl necklace and some loose grimy pearls. He knows they were keepsakes of his grandparents that Bruce kept in a protected case in the Cave. He didn’t really believe it would make him feel any more connected to the Wayne name than him already being Bruce Wayne’s biological son but wearing the watch and seeing the original in its case when he was down in the Cave actually did make him feel connected in a way he couldn’t explain. Thus it became one of his most prized possessions much like his first straight double edged sword his mother gave him for the earliest birthdays he could remember. 

Damian inhaled slowly then exhaled to bring himself out of his memory before he looked up at Bourgeois and gave her a short nod. “Proceed.” 

___________________

Dick was doing all he could to relax and show Marinette the company’s botanical gardens as it was something she had wanted to do. It was good to see her smile and flit from plant to plant like a little honey bee or something, but Dick couldn’t get rid of his tension completely. He was always like that after dealing with Two-Face even if it wasn’t the usual confrontation between the two, i.e mask to two faces but it still left him feeling the same. Angry, restless and most annoyingly, scared. He wasn’t the same little scared Robin but dealing with Two-Face always made him feel like he was. He thought he worked past all that! But seeing Marinette in his arms with a gun pressed to her head brought uncomfortable flashbacks of a different tiny black-haired blue-eyed child. A child who got cocky in his skills as Robin and helper of Batman. He could still feel the long-since healed injuries throb in phantom pain. Dick couldn’t help the flash of another black-haired blue-eyed child, older than the first when he learned that being Robin wasn’t magical or whimsical. Thinking of that never did him any good, if anything it brought about an enormous amount of guilt and anger that Dick didn’t know what to do with. 

“Mari-gold?” A very familiar voice pulled Dick out of his thoughts and he cursed himself for being so distracted. 

“Ivy!” Marinette shouted out in glee as she ran to hug the woman she had seen fairly recently. It made Dick smile though, this kid loved with her whole heart and it was something he admired. 

“Now what are you doing here, Sapling?” 

“I came here with Mister Dick and Mister Tim. Though we lost Tim pretty early on.” Oh yeah, they did. Though Dick was willing to bet Tim just went to the coffee shop nearby, he seemed to have a built in radar for knowing where they were no matter what part of town they were in. It was kind of funny though since Tim wasn’t even a big fan of coffee, he more so just needed the caffeine. The guy preferred tea but he was really particular about which places made the best tea, specifically a good ol’ Dirty Chai. 

“And what brings you to the Gardens today, Ive?” Dick asked, deciding to partake in the conversation. 

“Oh just making sure they are doing okay and to give the workers a restock of my special fertilizer.” That made sense, Ivy was, on-the-down low helping the Wayne Botanical Studies team. While Harley helped them more with their night time business, Ivy was content to help in the more official business. With the occasional helping hand stopping a threat if they “got in over their heads.” Her words. 

“You make your own fertilizer?” Marinette asked. Look, Dick was also curious about that but after finding Ivy and Jason talking one night with these big-ass smiles on their faces, all teeth, he was like 80% sure that fertilizer was some of Jason’s…problems. But there was no way in hell that Dick was going to try and confirm that, and he sure as hell would not be telling Bruce that little theory. 

“Yes! It takes time but it-”

“My Passion Lily! I got your Matcha Lemonade and look! I found a wild Wayne.” They were interrupted by Harley, which was not a surprise, and she was dragging a resigned looking Tim with her. 

Ivy merely huffed out a laugh at her wife before taking the offered drink with a kiss to Harley’s cheek. “Thank you, Peanut, I also found a wild Wayne and a little Sapling.”

“Mari-Doll!” Harley squeaked out before almost knocking the poor girl off her feet in her hurry to smother the girl in a hug. Surprisingly they didn’t fall over. 

“Hi Harley!”

“You guys saw each other the other night?” Tim said, confused. 

“And?” Marinette and Harley asked in unison. It made Dick giggle and helped relieve him of more of his pent up tension. 

“Well since we're all here, why don’t we walk around together?” Dick offered. “Bruce wanted Tim to get some fresh air so try not to let him sneak off again.”

Tim gave an offended squawk which had Marinette laughing once more. “I’m fine!”

“Yeah, okay Timmy-Boy.” Harley said with a scoff as she laced her arms together with Ivy and Marinette. “And I’m the Queen of England.”

“You do need some time outside the Manor Tim. It’s not healthy to stay cooped up.” Ivy said as she happily walked with Harley and Marinette. Though she did grab Tim by the scruff of his shirt and manhandled him toward Dick. He looked very much like a cranky kitten. 

“What is this? Pick on Tim day?” 

“I believe Damian has that scheduled for next month.” Dick wished he was joking.

Marinette obviously noticed he wasn’t if her raised brow was anything to go off. “Oh?”

“He stepped on Titus’s tail three months ago, on accident.” Dick explained. “But Damian is very good at keeping grudges and he’s very good on cashing in on favors.” 

Tim merely whined in response and Dick couldn’t help but pity his brother for a second before he remembered how Tim used him as a human meat shield when Condiment King randomly joined in on a fight against some robbers. Apparently he was also planning on robbing the jewelry store after keeping a low profile from his then-recent prison break. Needless to say it took Dick forever trying to get the mustard smell out of his costume once again and had to beg Alfred for help once again. Even though Alfred refused to help with cleaning anything CK contaminated, it spiked his blood pressure or something like that. Dick thinks it’s because of all the first times he helped clean them up when the rogue had been new on the scene. That had been a long month and Dick had seen how Alfred got more and more annoyed each time they came home covered in mustard, ketchup, you name it. It was awful. Truly. So Dick didn’t feel all that bad. Stephanie was already coming up with a list of things to tease Tim about. She specifically waits for the days Damian declares will be Pick-On Drake Days so she has lists on lists compiled for that very reason. She hoards them and never shares until the scheduled day. Duke surprisingly joined in too and started making his own list. 

“He’s very dedicated.” Marinette giggled out.

“That’s one word for it.” Tim grumbled. 

From there they had a good time touring the different gardens with Ivy acting as a somewhat tour guide and Dick could see it was really helping Marinette unwind as well. The interview with Jim and Harvey had really gotten her tense which was totally understandable, it would be intimidating for anyone. Tim tried to escape a couple times but after Dick teasingly asked if he should get Tim a child-leash and Ivy offered to make one out of vines he stopped. He even seemed to be relaxing a small bit. It was nice, really and it seemed to be something that Dick needed too without realizing it. Eventually they went out for lunch and after they went their separate ways. The drive back to the Manor had been nice too, normal traffic and a nice playlist helped. Tim and Marinette had even made some good conversation, though Dick got worried at the mention of PowerPoints. He hoped it was nothing serious, but the fact that Tim found someone as obsessed with planning and making PowerPoints was a little frightening. Maybe more than a little, Dick could only take so many Tim PowerPoints. He loved his brother, dearly, with his whole heart, but his PowerPoints were long and…thorough. He even tested people on the more important ones with a freaking Kahoot match. Cass and surprisingly Damian always won those. 

As they made their way into the manor Dick was pretty much planning on taking a good, lengthy nap to catch up on the sleep he hadn't gotten last night. His brain felt fried and scrambled, like it couldn’t decide whether to sink into the depressing thoughts from before or just remember the good time at the gardens they all had, even Tim surprisingly had a good time. As he sunk into the couch in the family living room his mind seemed to settle on both. His eyes closed and he saw Marinette laughing and smiling at their afternoon activities, then it would flash to her being held against Two-Face. He could hear the rogue’s laugh deep in his bones, then it changed to the Joker’s unique cackle. Marinette changed from her to him to Jason at blinding speeds. He could hear Marinette’s voice firm and confident in contrast to the fear in her eyes when she told him there was no time and that she would lead Scarecrow away. He could hear her yelling and telling Alfred she and they weren’t safe. He heard his own cries and shouts mixed with Two-Face’s voice. He could hear what he imagined Jason sounded like when the Joker beat him to death. He could hear the accusations of others about his jealousy of Jason being adopted. 

That unfortunately brought up memories of the talk he had had with Bruce once upon a time about Jason and adoption. It felt like he had had to fight not only tabloids but even Bruce about nonexistent hatred. Dick never hated Jason, but he had been so caught up in his anger with Bruce that he let it affect his and Jason’s relationship. He had just been so angry and it wasn’t an excuse but sometimes it seemed like he was even trying to justify his actions to himself. Though there was some jealousy and hurt there that he didn’t know what to do with, okay he did know what to do but the fact it would have to involve talking to Bruce and Jason was not something that sounded fun nor easy. He liked a good challenge but that idea sounded impossible. Like yes, he was Bruce’s son now but for so long he was just a ward, like Marinette was now, he called Bruce dad, they lived together, they fought crime together, they took care of each other, and yet it took years for Bruce to adopt him. But Jason? Dick knew Jason was Bruce’s son, his first son, his favorite son. Jason got the Bruce Dick had always wanted and it had hurt. Jason’s death had impacted Bruce more than his parents. That was a fact. 

And…And Dick had no idea where this was all coming from. He knew he didn’t know Marinette well as her class’s tour guide but seeing her held against Two-Face, mere centimeters from danger had thrown him. She reminded him too much of himself and too much like Jason before his death. She wasn’t a Robin, she would never be a Robin, but she had been a hero like one. She saved her people as fiercely as a Robin protected Gotham and its people. She took the weight of her world on her shoulders, much like a Robin. She was a child turned soldier due to circumstance just like a Robin. Marinette was a Robin in soul with no Batman to guide her and maybe that was for the best but looking at how lost she looked when she spoke about the ‘akumatizations’ in Paris, Dick wished she had had her version of Batman. A mentor who could aid in the fight, who shared the knowledge and responsibility. Yes, there were other heroes, they were like her version of Teen Titans, but that’s just it she was just barely a teen, a child, when she took up the mantle of hero. And from the pictures Tim showed the family of the other heroes, it wasn’t hard to guess that the other ‘Holders’ were teens themselves. Seeing as Adrien was also a teen and a former hero. 

Dick, in a weird, roundabout way, felt responsible for Marinette. As soon as she looked at him with hope, determination and fear in her eyes he was hit by a wave of protectiveness for her. She looked at him like Damian did when he first complimented and criticized his work as Robin, he and Marinette had also pulled off a plan as smooth and seamless as Dick and Damian had been when they were the Dynamic Duo. Or as Dick liked to call them, The More Dynamic Duo. He knew his family was kind of freaked out by how well Marinette and Damian seemed to get along, but not him, sure he teased a bit but he just had a feeling they would be friends. Damian had been trying to get himself out there and make friends and he did have some! He just called them acquaintances right now but Dick knew it wouldn’t be long till they were bumped up to friend status. Though Jon would always be Damian’s best friend even if they weren’t in the same school anymore. They still video or phone called every day and they played games with each other online. Which games? Dick could never remember but the point was, Damian had grown and was very capable of making friends, it just took him some time. 

Speaking of time , Dick thought as his gaze lazily glanced at the clock on the wall. If he slept now, he knew he would not go to bed after patrol tonight. So with much reluctance he pushed himself up and off the couch. He figured he could see if Marinette wanted some company and maybe the two of them could get some tea and snacks from Alfred and tour more of the manor when they were done. It would help in the long term of Marinette’s stay so it was productive! When he got to her room he saw that the door was slightly open but it was still he knocked, if he could dodge a Pennyworth Lecture he would even knock his own bedroom door. As he did so though, the door opened more and with it came an overwhelming energy that left him feeling suppressed yet energized. He wasn’t around magic a lot anymore, but it always left him with the same feeling so he ditched being a gentleman and waiting for an answer and just barreled into the room to see what looked like a closing portal. 

“Shit!” That would be a dollar in the Swear Jar, but that wasn’t important. What was important however was the fact Marinette was missing, a portal had seemingly opened in her room and closed, and…and there was a note on the bed? 

‘Dear Any Wayne That Finds This,

Actually, are you all Waynes? I never asked, I should have asked. Anyways, please don’t freak out if you come to my room and I’m not here. Ladybug needed my help back in Paris and opened a portal to get me there. I shouldn’t be too long and hey! Maybe I’ll be back before anyone reads this but if I’m not then just don’t worry. Ladybug will return me once the akuma is dealt with.

 -Marinette who is very sorry if someone does end up reading this and is pleading they don’t worry or get angry.’  

“Double shit.” Dick said as he read over the letter. 

That was another dollar for the Swear Jar. 

_________________

Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

Oops.

____

Bruce Wayne @therealbrucewayne

RE: Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

       Oops.

Richard John Grayson-Wayne. What did you do?

_____

JBIrd @sidesteppeddeath

RE: Bruce Wayne @therealbrucewayne

       Richard John Grayson-Wayne. What did you do?

Ha! You got full government named Dickie! @toflyistofall

_____

Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

RE: JBIrd @sidesteppeddeath

       Ha! You got full government named Dickie! @toflyistofall

Oh come on! I didn’t even add tags! How did he respond so fast?

#hahaimindanger

Next Chapter

[trashystar420]

CHAPTER 3!!! Babysitter Maribat AU AGE Reversed Chapter 3!

Well here’s chapter three, not sure how good it is. A bit OOC here so yeah.

Selina awoke from the annoying buzzing from her cellphone resting on the night stand. It was Bruce?!? Selina immediately answered.

“Wh-THE MANSION IS IN ONE PIECE SELINA!!!!! Do you know what this means!?!?” Before the older woman could respond, Bruce interrupted her, again.

“ I can take you out on dates, I can actually focus on work without having to stress over them, I can actually feel confident walking into my home to NOT find it in pieces!!!! Selina please you must give me that lady’s number!!! Selina Love!!!” Selina was too stunned to even respond. How were you supposed to respond when the BRUCE WAYNE, stotic man who feels nothing, shows more emotion then he has in the last thirty years. Not that this was a bad thing, for a happy Bruce meant a GRAND time in the bed.

The cat lady licked her lips, eager to have the man in her bed yet again. She really must thank that girl for doing this for her.

“Brucie Dear, could you please slow down, I can barely stay awake, especially from last night.” She purred. What she didn’t expect was the tone in his answer.

“Oh, I know and I can keep coming back, IF you give me that young lady’s number.” Shit, since when did he get this aggressive!??!? The poor lady was blushing a new shade of red. Bruce wasn’t the type to be this aggressive. Now she REALLY must thank Marinette.

“Ugh let me talk to her first, then we’ll see.” And she cut the call. Getting up from her bed, Selina’s nightgown slipped out of her shoulders. The proof of Bruce’s late night visit was all over her neck and upper chest area. Blushing at the reminder of what went down that night, Selina made up her mind and called Marinette quickly.

...

...

...

“Mari dear, I’m sorry, were you sleeping?” She asked wincing that she woke the poor girl up, she wasn’t much of a morning person, much like herself.

“Mmmm” the older lady chuckled.

“Hey Mari dear, you know the babysitting gig I set you up for?” Somehow that woke Marinette up.

“OH NO DID I DO A TERRIBLE JOB?!? What if he fires me?!? What if he blacklists me and I can never get my dream job!?? Am I going to jail I can’t go there Selin- Marinette calm down!!!” Selina finally calmed the now sobbing Bluenette over the phone.

After a few minutes of Selina calming the girl down, Marinette was now in a better state of mind to listen to what Selina had to say.

“So he actually wants me to be a permanent babysitter?” She clarified. Selina confirmed.

“Why is this so hard for you to believe?” Selina asked annoyed. The young designer chuckled, as though the older woman knew no better.

“don’t you think it’s a bit weird how he hasn’t even had me for a week to SEE if I was good or not? What about a proper background check?!? For all he knows I could be a suspicious person who is in it for his fortune or something?” Selina rolled her eyes. Leave it to Marinette to start overanalyzing.

“That’s because I recommended you to him dearie, are you saying I have poor judge of character?” She teased.

“Yes” she retorts back then precedes to laugh, Selina gave a pout but let it slide. She really owed Marinette this.

“So Selina, how was it?” Mari asked in a mocking tone. Selina heaved a sigh.

“It was absolutely Devine Mari Darling. It was perfect, though I think the neighbors might complain over the noise.” The more experienced woman smirked. Marinette blushes on the other line and quickly chastised her.

“Selina!”

“You asked for it!”

“Ugh so should I call him?”

...

...

...

The Wayne’s were currently seated in the dining room, everyone eating the breakfast Alfred made for them. What was unusual about this morning was Bruce’s mood visibly brighten, which set everyone else other than Alfred off.

Tim reaches over to lil Dick.

“Why do you think he’s in such a good mood?” Dick asked. Tim being the know-it-all he is, gave an answer.

“Bruce got to go out with Selina, and came home to find the house not in shambles.” He whispered, fearing that the good mood his father has will dissolve.

“Father, are you ok?” Damien asked. His father smiling unnerved him. Something about it felt really unnatural.

“Never felt better.” He responded too quickly for Damien’s liking. Jason was just poking his pancake with a fork. Alfred looked concerned, usually Jason loved eating anything and everything.

“ What is the matter Master Jason? Are the pancakes not to your liking?” The butler asked. Jason shook his head, then looked at Bruce with fierce determination burning in his eyes.

“Hey Bruce.” The man looked at the young boy feeling slightly apprehensive.

“Did having sex with Aunt Selina really feel that good?” Bruce immediately spits his drink. Tim was on the floor bawling, while Damien did his best to look unaffected, but ultimately snickered. Dick, being the innocent bean that he is, wonders out loud what sex is.

A blushing Bruce told his clueless son it meant nothing, while Alfred gave a disapproving look to the troublesome brat.

“Master Jason was that appropriate?” Before Jason could answer, Tim gave a ‘yes’ in response to the question. More laughter persisted as Alfred gave a dejected sigh, Dick being clueless, and Bruce wanting the earth to swallow him whole.

The phone left on the counter buzzed. Quirking an eyebrow, Alfred retrieves the phone for Bruce.

“Unknown number?” Bruce took the phone and accepted the call. He waited on the other line with baited breathe thinking it would be another spam caller. Instead a familiar feminine voice spoke.

“A-Are you Mr.Bruce? The one who needed a last minute babysitter? Selina told me that you were planning on making me a permanent one...”

“Ah Ms.Dupain-Cheng, did Selina give you my number?”

“Yes, sorry to call you so early.”

“Ah I wouldn’t worry about that. Anyways this is good timing, I need to talk to you about being a babysitter. I made sure to deliver you your check in the mail. You should have gotten it by now.” Shuffling was heard from Bruce’s line. And some crashing noises. Bruce was close to wincing.

“Ah um... si-sir y-you didn’t”

“Oh yes I did”

“But sir this is $10,000!!! Isn’t that much for babysitting two kids, well behaved ones at that?!?” The entire mansion echoed the laughter that came from the businessman.

“It’s because they behaved so well that I gave you that much, but now that I think about it. Perhaps I should give you three extra zeroes.” He replied. Now everyone was listening in on the conversation.

“NO! I-I mean, Monsier Wayne, please this is considered too much for a babysitting job, and for a day. Please I can’t accept this.” Bruce wasn’t having any of it.

“Oh no I insist you have been a great help. You have no idea how hard it is to manage those troublemakers.”

“You must be joking, the boys have been nothing but angels”

“ either way no take backs” Bruce stubbornly stated. The boys couldn’t pick up what Marinette said over the phone that was muffled by Bruce.

“Can you come at least once a week?” He asked. More muffled digital voices in. The boys gaped as their well respected father, fist-bumped to himself like a little kid getting the best thing in the world. Alfred had merely begun cleaning up after the Waynes.

“Yes you can cancel in advance if something comes up.” He answers

“Yes you can take the boys out, but make sure it is not passed 7.” Jason and Dick perked up at that. Even Damien had to do a double take on that. Tim was listening intently to every little tid-bit.

“You want to start by the beginning of next week?” Bruce asked to confirm.

“I would be glad to Monsieur Bruce.” Marinette finished.

“Please Ms.Dupain-Cheng call me Bruce.”

“Only if you call me Marinette.”

“Then it is settled, Marinette.”

“See you next week Mon- er - i mean B-Bruce.” And the call ended. Bruce was half tempted to do a happy dance, but after looking at his boys, decided not too.

“Now everyone, I expect you all to be in the bat cave by 8, we have another serious meeting to discuss. But right now. ‘Looks at wristwatch’ looks like I have to get going.” And off Bruce went. His kids could only stare as he took off in his very expensive looking car.

“Miss.M-Marinette is going to babysit us!” Squealed Dick while Jason grinned from ear to ear.

“I’m so gonna beat pixie-bob at ultimate mecha strike three!!!” Jason spoke determinately. Tim just sipped more of his coffee, realizing he’s gonna need another mug and walks to the kitchen to make some more.

“That harlot is simply humoring you two.” Damien answered, while looking away. Dick and Jason were clearly offended by that statement.

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK!” Dick screeched as he racked his older brother who was completely caught off guard.

“Yeah lil Dickie teach Demon Spawn a lesson!!!! Jason cheered from the sidelines, and Damien struggles to get the flexible boy of him. Dick eventually kicks Damien in the family jewels.

“Ahhhhhhh oh you are so gonna- eat shit Bitch!” As Jason threw a chair at the incompacitated Damien. The two younger boys fled the scene as a rather pissed off Damien got up. Alfred offered him an ice-pack and he reluctantly took it.

“When I get my hands on those two.” As he stormed off after his idiotic brothers.

...

...

...

“Tikki!!!!!!!!” The super heroine pleaded. The small goddess just gave her a look.

“Just take it in strive Marinette”

“But it’s $10,000!!!!! Don’t you think it’s too much!?!?”

“I don’t know, sounds to me like those boys were not so nice to begin with Mari” Mari scoffed. How could anyone think anything bad of Jason and Dick. They were absolute angels and totally adorable.

“Please Tikki, your just jealous.” The kwami just gave her a look, before muttering ‘clueless holders’

“I heard that!”

“That’s kind of the point!” The kwami sighed. It’s going to be quite the adventure.

[imthepunchlord]

Where can I find glora rosa au? Is it in development or just little here and there asks?

Development and the most of it is just through asks for now. There are only two snippets of it written out. 

First take on the idea. 

The origins. 

[jayphoenic]

Tumblr MLB Lila (Salt) Bashing Prompts/Fics Recommendations 3

The Other Diplomat Kid by @musicfeedsmysoul12

Sam Williams goes to Paris when their dad temporarily takes over the title of diplomat to get away from their grandfather. They end up meeting a girl everyone in the diplomat circle knows is a liar.

Fake Lila Rossi AU by @ladyanput

So it was that night that Lila approached this girl, befriended her, and later offered her a deal;

Lila would pay her handsomely for her services. To act as her double. Lila promises to pay for the plastic surgery, anything she needs to look exactly like Lila. Besides, who wouldn’t want to be one of the biggest influencers in Paris? The girl does the charity work, get down and dirty, get Lila a good image, while Lila enjoys the high life. But they plan in carefully so that the two are never seem at the same time, even if they were in different places.

Fortune Reversal by @cornholio4

They put their paws together and in unison used the incantation that activated the magic of the Fortune Reversal. Plagg let Tikki take the reigns as she turned Marinette’s fortune positive and jsut because she decided to be a petty Kwami she also decided to reverse the fortune of Lila.

Rate this (Trust is Hard to Come By) by @unmaskedagain

Lila looked honestly confused. She had missed something, and it was big. “What’s going on?”

Nino glared at the girl; his eyes red, tear streaks his face. “Those numbers tell the world how much Ladybug trusts you. Or how much she doesn’t,” He said darkly, thinking about his own number and his actions against the girl he once called his best friend. “And why.”

“The lower the number,” Adrien added. “The less she trust you.”

Remember some chapters are longer than others

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

Taglist:

@lazyeasyaddict @aludhazie @lonestarfangirl2014 @gingerdaile @virgil-is-a-cutie @ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole @erb23 @miraculous-ladybug-stufff @thefullmetalfairy @im-tired-101 @rubybee5 @mewwitch @fantasyfandommaiden @mariloki4 @novicevoice @graduatedmelon @cheyj05 @sparklyaxolotlstudent @tails-of-a-dragon-rider @caycay-lee @crazylittlemunchkin @smartlanceisreal @lostinday @dagnysdawn @i-cant-think-of-one-meh @sassakitty @alicesangelofmusic @the-navistar-carol @wrecker-radioactive @toftbmh @whimsicalsandmusings @lugluh @ml-miraculouslady @unabashedbookworm @akittycat24stuff @sillyandquest @madd-kwami @naturegreenr @irontimetravelflower @starstruckstarlightpenguin @255940g @dreamer2 @staren3rgy101 @spottedbug @weirdness2020 @chaoticmistake

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Hey, Little Songbird

Chapter 24 - AO3

Adrien’s bodyguard stood outside Felix’s bedroom.

He wasn’t allowed to wander around the mansion; the bodyguard—who’s name Felix didn’t know despite the man working for the Agrestes for years—was there to make sure he didn’t escape.

Felix closed the door and paced up and down the length of the room.

What was he supposed to do now? So close to his goal, and yet so far. Gabriel wasn’t an idiot; after Felix robbed him the first time, he wouldn’t let his ring disappear the same way. It was probably hidden in a safe somewhere, but how was he supposed to find it when there was a guard with him the entire time? Could Felix wait until tomorrow, when the bodyguard had to take Adrien to school?

No, Nathalie would likely lock the door on him. Every lock in the mansion could be controlled remotely, as part of his uncle’s desperate need to control everything. He would have to wait to know for certain, but the door would likely be locked at night as well, giving the bodyguard a break.

Felix paused. So why was the bodyguard there right now? They could just lock him in his room and be done with him until dinner, not… whatever this is.

Did Gabriel expect something from him?

Well, Felix thought, sitting primely on his bed. Now he wasn’t going to do anything.

Felix wasted time until dinner on his phone. M. Henry had finally gotten back to him regarding the translation, asking Felix if he was alright in the email, which Felix understood once he read the diary. It was… a little disturbing, reading Rossi’s analysis of their classmates and theorizing lies that would specifically cater to their flaws. Rossi’s M.O. seemed to be lying about one little thing they wanted to get them hooked, then build up with promises—that she’d introduce them to someone, that she’d help them make it big, that she’d teach them to be like rockstars and celebrities. She wanted them dependent on her, protective of her so they’d one day get their investment back.

And then there was her lies about Ladybug and Marinette. Felix grouped the two together because Rossi did—in some passages it was like Rossi mistook one for the other. The hatred Rossi had for them disgusted Felix, it truly did. Felix didn’t really know Ladybug, but she seemed… alright, for someone who punched him in the face. To be far, he’d expected it, considering how he was trying to ruin Adrien’s reputation at the time. But the hero was perceptive and a generally good person by all accounts… if you didn’t count Rossi’s.

If you believed Rossi’s words, Ladybug was just a jealous showoff with a crush on Adrien, and Marinette was no better.

Felix closed the PDF before he got too angry, then forwarded the email to Cesaire. Hopefully she hadn’t blocked him yet, and was still willing to take down Rossi, even after he’d framed her. He hadn’t heard anything from Cesaire, which could be good and bad. But at least she hadn’t leaked his phone number to their classmates, so he didn’t have to deal with cyber harassment on top of everything else.

After a quick text to Marinette, informing her that he was okay, Nathalie fetched him for a family dinner. Gabriel seemed excessively angry at Felix, glaring and playing with his cravat, which Felix understood. He did punch his uncle’s cash cow in the face, after all. Dinner passed in stony silence, and when Felix was returned to his room, the locks clicked in place behind him.

With the knowledge that there was no one in the hall to check if he was still in his room, Felix turned to the windows. Despite Uncle’s numerous security measures, windows were his weak spot, as Felix and Adrien learned when they were children.

Gabriel would regret keeping Felix in his mansion, especially since Felix learned the position of all Gabriel’s security cameras years ago. Tonight, he’d find the safe. Lay low for a few days. And on the last night… Gabriel wouldn’t know what hit him.

Taglist: @graduatedmelon @novicevoice @dur55 @kris-pines04 @18-fandoms-unite-08 @moonlightstar64 @bee-a-garbage-shipper @sol-o-shade @kittyotakunoir666 @tinyterror333 @allieoftheenemy @marichat00 @xgxmxtx @two-faced-biatch @feliciakainzofspades @evil-cricket @emilytopaz @spicybelladonna @chocolateherringtacofan @user00000003 @wannajointhecrabcult @happymonster-pants @duquesapincarrasca  @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen  @sxltinette @kittydemon9000 @thetrashypanda423 @unoriginalmess @toodaloo-kangaroo

[difx-writes]

Wildest Dreams - In the Death of the Night

Masterlist

After turning 10 and losing her soulmate, Marinette would imagine how Damian Wayne would be.

Would he be tall or short? Did he have blond hair or brown or did he dyed it? Would he be shy or have a bold personality? Perhaps he was an artistic soul, a poet, a writer? Or would he be a baker like her parents? Why did his last name change?

The wonders and questions took over her mind for days with no end.

On good days, she imagined how he would interact with her friends, how her parents would take him in as their own son, how he would fit into her life.

She liked to talk to him, pretending there, alive, with her. She asked his opinion on what to wear, how she should do her hair, what colors with go well with the design. He was her voice of reason. Talking to "Damian" brought a smile to her face, even when she knew she was deluding herself.

On bad days, she pretended he was right there with her, comforting her, encouraging her, whispering that everything would be alright... Sometimes it worked and she felt better the next days but most times she felt bitter, she felt robbed of a future where he was in her life.

The realization that the person she was supposed to share her soul with was no longer alive, that his death was painful, gruesome, and... lonely... It always ended with her taking a few days to prevent a breakdown...

When she turned 13, Hawkmoth appeared and Marinette became Ladybug, the hero of Paris.

Soon after, Marinette stopped talking with "Damian", she couldn't afford to wonder about him anymore. She couldn't afford the bliss of her own delusions. She couldn't afford to let herself grief and fall pray to Hawkmoth's manipulation.

As she couldn't fail Paris and its citizens, Damian Wayne mostly disappeared from her life.

But there were days when her “friends” demanded a lot from her, akumas were too violent and draining and everything was just too much, those the godawful days.

On godawful days she wished Damian was there to take her away to a place she could feel she belonged. Away from everything to a place she could call a home.

_______

Most nights Damian recalls a voice talking to him during the time he was dead.

His soulmate, he supposed, talked to him regularly, she started her day asking his opinion on her outfit for the day, when at home she would tell him how her day went, what she did with her friends, what she learned in class, etc...

At first, Damian was pretty much annoyed that he couldn't "rest in peace" with all the noise pollution but after a few weeks, he slowly started to tolerate her talking to him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't talk to her nor see her very clearly so it was a pleasant surprise when Marinette would ask his opinion to make a decision, she always picked what he chooses.

Perhaps it was their bond that allowed her to know what he was thinking without actually hearing each other's thoughts. Or maybe they were more in sync with one another. Most likely it was pure luck on her part. (Him being dead is enough proof of how bad his luck was.)

In the months he was dead, Damian learned a grand lot Marinette. He liked how she made him feel he wasn't alone, like how her voice calmed him when he remembered the family he left behind in his death. Marinette was his only lighthouse in the vast void of the afterlife

_______

Impotent, despair, and hopeless.

That's how Damian felt every time Marinette had to relive his death. He hated it so much. She didn't deserve that and it broke his heart every damn time.

Why did he have to die? Why did it have to be in such a painful way? Why did she have to feel it on repeat over and over and over again? Was it a twisted way the universe tried to make them reunited? If they can't find each other in life, then they can be together in death? That isn't right!

But it always hurts more when she wakes up and talks to him. Wondering if he was happy and in peace, in wherever place he ended up.

He was there but she didn't know.

He felt sick.

After being revived, Damian felt an immense sense of loss. Sure, he was kinda happy to reunite with his family and grateful for being alive again, but he missed her.

It was difficult to readjust to being alive again, it was crystal clear that Damian Wayne wasn't okay. What hurts him the most was how her name turned into a scar on his wrist.

During the day paranoia settled in making him always on high alert, lashing out when it got too much for him.

In the night, he couldn't sleep properly as a feeling of unease latched onto his every nerve and when he did sleep, nightmares plagued him.

Damian tried to calm down in various ways, but ultimately it was Marinette's voice that soothed him and lulled him to sleep.

It quickly became a habit to replay their one-sided conversations as he tries to fall asleep.

He went over what Marinette Dupain-Cheng spoke to him time and time again as to engrave her voice in his mind. Unfortunately, her voice was fading away, every time he recalled it, he hear his own voice.

At least some memories remained, which was relieving for Damian, even when important ones like what language she spoke or the name of her school were completely wiped out.

He never told his family his experience while he was dead, he guesses Jason was the most likely to know about it but he never brought it up to anyone, so Damian did the same.

Now he was lying in bed, remembering about the time Marinette tried embroidery for the first time.

She started by searching up what she wanted it to be and after much talking, she chose a Robin, Damian smile at the eagerness he felt for her to chose it. It was a fun day, with her making comments here and there about the work, he wishes he could see it.

A knock woke him up of his thoughts, Alfred emerging from the door.

"Master Damian, I'm here to inform you a guest will be joining us for tomorrow's dinner."

"Whose guest?" He didn't really feel like dealing with new people.

"It's Master Jason's guest."

Damian groans, perhaps he could go visit Kent.

"It would be in your best interest to participate, Master Damian." Alfred gave him a look.

He sighed, definitely can't miss tomorrow or he'll have to face Pennyworth.

So, I've written another chapter while listening to a sad song on repeat :') I know it doesn’t really connect to the last chapter but I wasn’t feeling okay and didn’t know how to continue from where I left off.

I hope y’all enjoyed this and have a nice day!

P.S.: The taglist is temporarily closed as some tags aren't working. Again, I'm very sorry if I missed anyone. If you no longer want to be tagged please hit me up.

Taglist:

@thestressmademedoit @moonlightstar64 @dast218 @moonystars14 @buticaaba @urbanpineapplefarmer @thedragonbug  @little-lady-bird @an-actual-changeling @ladybug-182 @ash-amg @g-arya @nnon-it-up @hateswifi @maribat-is-lifeblood @kikooaaaaaa @jessigurl-design @vixen-uchiha @acoursedprophetwithasmothie @snow-leopard-777 @theatreandcomicfreak @zalladane @fusser90 @finallyaniguana @danielslilangel @dreamykitty25 @corabeth11 @ellymae21 @books-and-left-behind-journals @hetalia-lover-is-here @dorkus-minimus @magic-miraculous @waywardpeachgardenshark @darkthunder1589 @jaggedheart11 @daminettes @todaylillypads @schrodingers25 @pheonixashtree @mikantsume @eliza-bich @miraculous-simmer7 @goblinwhoships @fidget-eep @rosalineandrosemary @lunarwolfspn @more-or-less-human-i-guess @aestheticnpoetic @amayakans @abrx2002 @karategirl119 @agentofscifi @flower-and-drawing @itsmeevie01 @suddenly-i-kin-oikawa @ii-fox-demon @thatonecroc @dawnwave16 @bigpicklebananatree @violentbisexualprophecywriter @scribblinggraveyard @heaven428 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ravennightingaleandavatempus @chylou34 @silvergold-swirl @magictragic-world @snowstar1016 @heldtogetherbysafetypins @awkwardoneout @novicevoice @thenillabean @bookishdork13 @laurcad123 @thezestywalru @k-poplunardreams @coloursforyourportrait @fandomsaremylifeline @goddessofthewestwind @captainmac6 @chocolatecatstheron @princessanimeangel11 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @ur-beautiful-when-u-smile @batlover1303 @softlysobbingpostendgame @justconfusedperiod @clumsy-owl-4178 @bluesimani @iwritelikeimrunningoutoftime @kokotaru @totalyasexual @professionalfangirl1738 @nitholites @zestyzealot @pawsitivelymiraculous @autiegirlshit @raz-b-rose @thanks-captain-obvious @emilytopaz @nightstarblue @2confused-2doanything @niknak-3 @blackroserelina @fortunatelyoptimisticdeer @ira-sairain @pepelachanel @naimena @iloveitwhen @disneyfoxuniverse @ur-average-reader @lylshyt @jerusalemandolives @anonymously-odd @southamericanghotamite @a-star-with-a-human-name @we-want-mini-mini @literallytryingmybestbutok @alenee13 @animegirlweeb @our-preciousss @prudencerika @byronsacademics @ivymala07 @shamefullove @susiej1118 @technicallyburninggarden @sentimentalcrap @ertyzeta @tomanyfandomsonmymind @starmist19 @synnesstra @nokia75 @swiftie-miraculer13 @solideogloria172 @a-door-into-my-mind @road-work-ahead123 @madking-warqueen @caseoftheblues @buginetye @ihavehomeworkbutistillhere @i-wanna-go-to-outerspace @insane-fangirl-of-everything @ultimatetornshipper @chaoticstarworld @adrestar @wolf-for-life @blacktea-ba @pinkk-sheep @autiegirlshit @chocolateherringtacofan @blackroserelina @samopotahto @blur-of-colours @stainedglassm @redbullgivescaswings @khneltea @amigotasbien @sdg-demachera @alyssadeliv @greatcatblaze @raesofmoonlight @galla02006 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @novaloptr @qualitypeacepainter @solangelo252 @unnamed2357 @thespianlesb @mildlydeadly @yuriyuhitsu @hewantedbeefintheparkinglot @literaryhiraeth @luna025 @henie04 @trashesa @castle-bookworms-world

[rosesgonerogue]

Finding You (Again)

Chapter Three

Masterlist

Marinette

Marinette bounced in and out of consciousness, but nothing about consciousness made her want to lengthen her stay. Wherever she was it was dark, and everything around her rattled and shook, the constant drone of an engine too oppressive for Marinette to even form a thought. She was tied up, and her muscles screamed from the unnatural position she was in, but she couldn’t do anything but fall into yet another fit of dreamless sleep. 

She was awake when the engine finally stopped, giving her hazy mind enough room to decide that it was probably safer to pretend she was still asleep. It sounded like there were only two men, and metal screeched on metal when they opened the door to whatever they were holding her in. They spoke in a language Marinette couldn’t even identify at the moment, and then rough, meaty hands yanked her away, slinging her over a shoulder. 

Taking a risk, Marinette barely opened a single eye, taking in where she was. The angle was atrocious, Marinette couldn’t see anything. The ground was concrete, and with a sinking heart she could identify the landing gear of a plane - she knew nothing aside from the fact that she was probably incredibly far from home. 

Reaching up slowly, Marinette gently touched her earrings. They were still there, which meant that even if Tikki weren’t there right then, she would find Marinette one way or another. 

Again laying completely still, she allowed herself to be carried to wherever the destination was. The longer she was carried, the more Marinette’s mind cleared from whatever drug they’d used. 

After a lengthy walk, they were able to enter into a building. She didn’t dare open her eyes again, but based on the sound of the men’s footsteps it was a wooden floor. She was especially jostled as they went down a flight of stairs. 

It took every ounce of Marinette’s self control not to react when  door opened and she was unceremoniously dumped onto the cold concrete floor. 

She fought to keep her breathing even when unfamiliar footsteps approached. “She’s still asleep?” 

“Yes, of course.” 

Marinette focused on breathing normally despite the fact that Talia al Ghul was definitely now in the room with her. Using her breathing to distract herself and keep her body limp, Marientte nearly yelped when an icy hand grasped her lower face. 

The hand tilted her head this way and that, Marinette’s neck crying out at the injustice of being abused in this way. 

“Pathetic, this is who my son has chosen? I would have hoped that I raised him well enough to choose more wisely than a frail little girl.” 

“What is our plan for her, Ma’am?” 

Talia was silent for a tense moment. “It’s time for my son to come reclaim his birthright. If this is what it takes to bring him home, so be it.” 

“But will he know it’s you that took the girl?” 

“If he doesn’t I would be sorely disappointed. After all, I’m being more than generous - a month is more than enough time for him to find her. If he can’t then all that will be left for him to find will be her head.” 

A shiver ran down Marinette’s spine, and she could’ve cried from relief when Talia stepped away. The nearly imperceptible sound of her retreating was an immense relief to Marinette, but when Talia spoke again everything in her tensed. 

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you my secondary motive - you couldn’t hurt me if you tried,” she said, every syllable somehow deadly. “My son has been working closely with the wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous. With all of the teamwork his father has doubtlessly used to indoctrinate him, he’s likely going to bring her along. Taking the jewel will be child’s play - they’ll bring it to us. From there, getting the Black Cat Miraculous will be almost effortless. He’s a reckless one, especially without his Lady to temper him.” 

Marinette could feel her fingernails digging into her palms - she was fairly sure she drew blood. Even after Talia had completely gone, Marinette laid there, hands clenched and virtually motionless. She laid there for what felt like years until Tikki’s tiny voice said, “It’s safe now, Marinette.” 

Slowly Marinette sat up, every muscle in her body aching. Voice hoarse, she whispered, “Where are we, Tikki?” 

“I don’t know, Marinette. I knew I needed to stay with you and stay hidden, and that meant I couldn’t see anything. We were on that plane for a long time, though.” 

Marinette tried to swallow, but she didn’t have enough saliva for the action to accomplish anything. “What do we do?” 

“I’d love to tell you to transform and break out of here, but-”

“We can’t expose my identity, especially since they want the Miraculous,” Marinette finished. It was an issue Marinette had faced since she’d relocated to Gotham. It wouldn’t have taken Tim to connect the dots between Ladybug, the Parisian superheroine, and MDC, Parisian fashion designer. So, with the help of Kaalki and the Justice League, Ladybug went global. It was well known that she had an especially close working relationship with Batman and company, but she frequently worked with others as well. 

“It’s worse than that, Marinette,” Tikki said gravely. “Do you remember when Damian told you about the Lazarus Pits?” 

Marinette froze. “No, Tikki. Please tell me it isn’t what I think.” 

“They’re old enough that my memory is hazy - being used with Plagg to grant wishes does that - but the Lazarus Pits are the result of a Miraculous wish. The al Ghul family knows what the Miraculous are and what they can do, and they’re dangerous enough on their own.” 

“Did you get any impression that they suspect me?” Marinette asked, almost unwillingly. 

“No, they don’t suspect you’re a wielder, and definitely not the Guardian. But they know that Damian goes on almost every mission Ladybug goes on. Talia hopes that Damian will join then, like you heard, but Ra’as doubts it. Ra’as wants to use Damian to get information out of Ladybug if he doesn’t join the League of Assassins.” 

Snippets of the things Damian had told her about Ra’as al Ghul filtered through her mind, and the seriousness of her situation finally sank in. She barely registered she was shaking until Tikki patted her hand, eyes filled with concern. Marinette smiled the worst smile of her life, and she knew Tikki could see right through it. 

With a voice trembling just as much as her smile, Marinette said, “It’ll be okay, Tikki. Damian will come.”

“Of course Marinette. Nothing would stop Damian.” 

“Nothing,” she repeated, almost in an effort to convince herself.

Taglist: @tbehartoo @kris-pines04 @thesunanditsangel @constancetruggle @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @rosalineandrosemary @novicevoice @momothefemur  @theymakeupfairies @maskedpainter @mystery5-5 @dast218 @tip-tap-tired @zerotosiki @rebecarojas07 @bookgirl14 @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @lookatthestars1 @swiftie-miraculer13 @qualitypeacepainter

Note:  Surprise! I'm not dead! And if you're invested in my other stories, don't worry! They're not being abandoned, I'm just in the middle of grad school. They will be updated eventually.

[soap-lady]

Yes, I know I’m late again but in my defense, I’m exhausted.

Hey guys!

If you’re still reading WO, I’m incredibly impressed. This is the second month in a row that I’ve been late but I’m tired. Work is kicking my butt, there’s some real life problems with a friend’s dad and I’m planning a vacation. So it’s been hard to focus on fanfiction. Sorry, guys.

Thanks as always to @arylace

Taglist:

@fantasiame, @g-arya, @lavenderjunes, @charlietheepic7, @ahenix, @delectablycoolscientist, @kaseykay17, @vio-march-0327, @mewwitch, @vixen-uchiha, @coolspidermanmusicflower, @lady-bee-fechin, @raeuberprinzessin, @symwinter, @frieddonutsweets, @seraphkitty, @friendsofthefairies, @nickristus-dreamer, @khneltea, @jumpingjoy82, @fan-written, @woe-is-me0,@corporeal-terrestrial, @queenmjean, @theymakeupfairies, @dorkus-minimus, @idk-j-go-with-it, @aespades, @swiftie-miraculer13,@moongoddesskiana, @arty-shadow-morningstar, @ahalloweengirl, @the-navistar-carol, @bigpicklebananatree, @novicevoice, @nerd-nowandforever, @certainmuffinbagelcalzone, @irontimetravelflower, @jjmjjktth, @dopefestsuit, @morning-wolf-designs, @alcoholic-barney, @just-living5, @chocolatecatstheron, @another-cancer, @hammalammadamdam, @ichigorose

Worthy Opponent Chapter Twenty-one

Nathalie was going to make a full recovery.

Adrien had heard it at least five times from various members of hospital staff. He’d heard it from a doctor, two nurses, and the paramedics who had brought her in. Adrien had insisted on going  with her to the hospital and no one bothered to object.

He sat in a white, uncomfortable plastic chair and waited for someone to tell him Nathalie could go home. Or…gone. Or she was going to be fine but needed to stay at the hospital for observation.

That scenario was the most likely but at least it wasn’t the worst case scenario.

He dearly wanted to fidget; move around, sneak something out of the snack machine or find a quiet bathroom and scream into the void. Of course, he couldn’t. He was Adrien Agreste, Face of The Brand. Well, at least Kagami was on set during modeling shoots to glare Lila away. Fortunately, he hadn’t had a shoot with her in over a month and he had plenty of cute shots of him and his girlfriend to post online. Now Lila couldn’t claim to be his girlfriend, especially if Father wanted to keep Mme.Tsurugi happy.

Father hadn’t even called. Adrien thought the woman who ran their lives deserved at least a call asking for a status update.

He had Nathalie’s phone and tablet with him. He knew how important schedules were to his father. Gabriel Agreste needed every minute planned for himself and his son. Heaven forbid something happened to him and the schedule was off by a nanosecond. Why, Father might not know where his son is for nearly thirty seconds! The horror! The scandal!

He almost laughed and then stopped himself. He knew why his father wanted him scheduled every minute of every day. It was because Mom went missing and Father was afraid his son would go missing too. Mom rarely if ever kept to a schedule; she chided Father when he tried and even their occasional disagreements were cute.  Mom was kind and sweet but she had a stubborn streak and a temper that would shut his father down.

A smart man, his father had told him once, knows how to say, “Yes, Dear” and shut his mouth. That is, if he wants to stay married.

He’d laughed at the time, but didn’t feel like laughing now.

Because Nathalie had the same condition, the exact same that Mom did; pale skin, lack of energy, and dizzy spells right before passing out. Was it communicable or had Father hired Nathalie so he could study her condition and find a cure for Mom?

His thoughts looped in on one another and around and around his brain, finding no solution. He wished Kagami could be there with him; either for comfort or to smack some sense into him. Mme. Tsurugi insisted that her daughter be home by dark and so Gorilla had driven her home while The Tsurugi’s self-drive car was unavailable. He was sure the large man would be back to drag him home any minute now.

Adrien sighed. He was sure his father would be angry that he’d failed yet again to reconcile with Felix. He didn’t understand why his relationship with his cousin was so important. Did Father want the two of them to model for the brand? Did he want to invest in Graham Films? He realized he was naive but he doubted Father would suddenly want to repair familial relationships out of the goodness of his heart.

He was so lost in thought he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until he felt a cold smooth object touch the back of his neck.

“Gah!” he yelped, then looked around guiltily. No one seemed to be paying attention to him so he looked around to see who or what had touched him.

Chloe Bourgeois stood in front of him, wearing a black top with gold trim, black skinny jeans, and a white blazer. A new pair of sunglasses with a hawk motif perched on her head. She didn’t look fawning or hostile. Just…sympathetic. And watchful, as if she were unsure whether or not she would be welcome.

“Hello. Hello, Chloe,” he managed to stammer out.

“Hey, Adrien,” she said finally, tone serious. She held out a white bottle topped with a miniature crown. “I figured they wouldn’t have any designer water here so I brought you some Fillico. Just give me the crown top. I’ve started to collect them.” He didn’t need to know she saved them to give to the kwami. Milvii especially loved wearing them, even if Griff called her a “commoner”.

“Thanks, Chloe,” he took the bottle from her, cracked it open, and handed her the top. She put it in her bag then looked at him. “Make sure you take the crystals off before you recycle the bottle. You can give them to Marinette or whatever.”

“Um…okay.” He felt a little nervous, unsure what to make of this new Chloe. She wasn’t demanding anything from him, nor was she making a scene. Neither was she all over him or yelling at him. He had no idea how to deal with her. There was something different about the way she carried herself, as if she no longer needed her parents’ approval and had somehow found her self-worth on her own. It was refreshing, but confusing. A part of Adrien, a small part felt odd at that observation; as if the idea of change had his heart seized for a moment.

“Let’s have a seat,” Chloe made a show of taking out a handkerchief and dusting off the seat next to Adrien’s but she did sit down.

There were probably many heartfelt, diplomatic things he could have said but all that came out was, “I’m surprised to see you here, considering…”

She huffed a laugh. “Considering we’re hardly on speaking terms and I’ve been busy living my own life while you make puppy eyes at your ice maiden? Yeah, well…” her expression softened and her eyes became more sympathetic. “We’ve been here before, remember? With your mom.”

The words were said uncharacteristically gently by Chloe but they still hit him like a shot. “Yeah.” He sank in on himself and neither of them said anything for a few minutes. The only sounds were the footsteps of the nurses, the beeps of medical equipment, and the occasional sips of water taken by Adrien.

He looked over at Chloe. She fidgeted a bit and adjusted her sunglasses. Every now and then she’d check her phone. Finally with a low growl she shot up and pulled him to his feet. “Come on.” She grabbed his arm and began to tug him along. It reminded him so much of the old Chloe he actually smiled.

He shook his head. No. He wasn’t going to be led around anymore. Not by her, not by anyone. He stopped and resisted being pulled. “Wait. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where you’re taking me.”

She looked incredibly offended, much like she would have months ago; she had always hated being questioned or thwarted. She must have realized how she acted because she faltered a step. Seeming to mull something or other before she let him go.

“I thought you might need to talk. I know how you feel about making a scene and drawing negative attention to yourself so I thought I’d take us somewhere more private, like the chapel.” She stopped and then whispered, “and there’s a high chance you’ll end up crying. We don’t need any paparazzi or wannabe paparazzi taking pictures at that. You have a brand to protect.”

                                                     *****

The general ambience of the Chapelle de l'Hôpital Lariboisière was dark and funereal, but more importantly, empty and quiet. The perfect place for a private conversation. Adrien and Chloe dutifully lit candles for Nathalie’s full recovery and sat on a pew together. Both were careful not to perch too near the other. To anyone the eight centimeters seemed insignificant; but to Chloe and Adrien it felt chasmal.

Adrien opened his mouth to speak before the silence went on too long but as usual Chloe beat him to it. “Oh. Well, this isn’t awkward at all. You’d think after twelve years of friendship we’d have a conversation starter or two.”

He laughed. “Yeah. So..how have you been? How do you like being the official set photographer for Graham Films?”

She blinked, surprised at both the question and his genuine interest. “Love it. Getting lots of cool photo ops. It’s gonna be a great art book once the film is done.” She was quiet and then said. “You know, I’m thinking of going to school for cinematography. I think I’d be a good Director of Photography, probably minor in business to appease my parents.”

“That’s really cool,” Adrien replied, genuinely pleased. “I’m glad to see you’re finding something you love. It’s great that you have an idea about what you want to do with your life.”

“I know, right?” She couldn’t help but smile at his approval. She told herself she didn’t want or need it, but she enjoyed having it. “What about you?”

He shrugged. “Nothing really grabs me. I’ve thought about science, but I’m not passionate about it.” He faked a chuckle. “Maybe I should just marry Kagami. She can take care of me and I can be her househusband.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Sounds like something you’re qualified for. You already know how to do what you’re told.”

Adrien looked like he wanted to protest or deny her words but he just laughed. “True, but if you can grow beyond being a spoiled rich kid, why can’t I?”

Chloe sputtered for an answer then surrendered. “Yeah. I was a hard-ass bitch, wasn’t I?”

He hesitated. “I would have said bratty or egocentric, but-”

“Trust me, Adrikins. The correct word is ‘bitch’.” The old nickname slipped out and she covered it by asking, “So how's the lady who’s totally crushing on your dad?”

He cringed. “Gross, Chlo.” He exhaled slowly and then told her, “The doctors were still examining and running tests last I heard but supposedly she’s going to be okay. I’m just waiting to hear if she needs to stay overnight or if she can go home.”

Chloe looked over at his phone. “Do they know how to get a hold of you if they need to?”

Adrien also looked at his phone. “Yeah. They’ll text me an update when there is one.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’m glad I’m not taking you away if they need to stay in contact.”

Silence filled the chapel after that. Chloe was vigilant and alert, a stark contrast to Adrien’s doom and gloom. So many emotions warred in him. Trust Chloe? Be mistrustful of Chloe? A pendulum question that swung either which way and left him more and more confused each time he pondered it. The quiet was also something new, Chloe and Adrien tended to always fill their time together with noise. To be engaging, whether watching anime or arguing theories. Or Adrien being subjected to Chloe’s fashion critiques, she was actually not bad at those and would preen if he said she sounded like her mom. Quiet….quiet and Chloe plus Adrien was an anomaly. One he wasn’t sure how to broach until the quiet gnawed on him.

“Why are you really here, Chloe?” Adrien asked, catching the blonde heiress off guard. It was the second time he asked the question, but maybe in the silent and empty chapel he could gain true answers.

“You needed someone.” Chloe replied after a pregnant pause to focus on the window outside. No longer brave enough to look Adrien in the face. “You actually need someone who understands. Kagami won’t understand as much as she likes. There’s little experience in watching someone you love wither away like a dried flower that can be gained in the real world. In a strict household like hers? Ours? Non-existent. Your friends would be sympathetic….but you will spend the entire time focusing more on how you are perceived than getting actual support. They won’t understand.”

"They'd be here for me." Adrien tried to defend his friends, it sounded weak even to him.

"Oh please, if that was true you would've called one. I found you alone." Chloe remarked, hitting the nail on the head. Adrien pouted not wanting to admit Chloe was right.

"So who would be?" Adrien asked and Chloe had the gall to turn and look at him with an unamused snort and a raise of a perfect brow before turning away.

“Who’s going to be here for you? Your dad? Where is he, Adrien? Did you remember what happened last time? He isolates himself….has been isolating himself and you.” Chloe began to pick up bolder at every question she directed to Adrien. Still not actually looking at him, but the faint reflection of a mirror watching the dark sky. She saw how the truth hit him. How he hated it and probably her for voicing it. Too bad Chloe is used to scorn. Chloe quickly looked around to ensure that things were under control, they were talking with heavy emotions. Heavier than anything they ever did and she would be damned if an akuma came now.

“To be quite honest, there’s only three people you know who would understand you, and would stand by you. Aunt Amelie, Felix, and me. Aunty is busy trying to fulfill the last wishes of Uncle Geralt. Felix is too, and the bridge between you two is far more broken than ours. So I stay because I get it….and I promised I’d always be there for you. No matter what, best friends promise we pinkie swore and that's sacred.” Chloe huffed, hurt that Adrien continued to question her on her loyalty. The only true thing she’s ever been able to claim. It was that loyalty that had her go to the hospital when a large part of her wanted to disappear from Adrien and his judgmental eyes but she still came.“I know you don’t like this arrangement…but you need someone; and that someone is me. Because we were best friends once, and I won’t let you brave this again without me. So that’s why I’m here.”

Adrien was stunned, it was the first time Chloe had said so much. Not since pre Miracle Queen. That was the crux of it all, the brand of her rejection seared into his soul that at times all he saw was Miracle Queen. All he would associate with Chloe was Miracle Queen, and he hated her for it. Yet this floored him, he would have never known, never thought, never guessed the depths Chloe of all people would go for him. It was humbling and wrong to Adrien. He had been burned by her before, but in an identity she didn’t know; and in this hour he was grateful that Chloe was being like how he knew. Disregarding his initial no and doing it anyway…because it was nice not being alone.

“I’m….I…I heard some stuff—“ Adrien began weakly.

“A lot of people talk about me. A lot is true and a lot of it is bullshit. What was it?” Chloe asked.

“You….betrayed Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Adrien spoke the damming words and watched Chloe’s reflection this time. Saw how her jaw immediately clenched and her face crumpled. It was a surprise to Adrien to see defeat so clearly on her face as she crumbled into herself before tensing up again. It almost felt like regret…but Adrien wasn't sure.

“Did they say how?” Chloe asked softly. Sadness, regret, hatred collecting again in her veins but oppressing it because she wasn't here for herself. She was there for Adrien and if he wanted to peel off the festering scabs of her feelings and what she did. It would distract him enough to not think of the woman on a hospital bed so she'll endure because of her loyalty. Even if Adrien would never get how much it cost to voice stuff like that out.

“No…but they said that was why you couldn’t be a hero anymore.” Adrien lied through his teeth, and seeing Chloe hang her head he was glad they weren’t looking at each other. She could spot him lying easily…which is why he worked hard while Chat Noir around her. Then again a lot of the times it was during an Akuma scenario so she was distracted.

“I never had loyalty to them.” Chloe confessed which surprised Adrien, Chloe was a self-proclaimed Ladybug’s biggest fan.

“You were obsessed with them.” Adrien sputtered.

“I was enamored with the idea of them.” Chloe sighed. “I idolized them because our anime suddenly became true and they were special. Adrien, you’re like them in a lot of ways…Ladybug, Chat Noir, you. None of you will ever understand. You guys are like the sun, happy, warm, too nice for your own good that has you getting walked all over, and to a certain extent righteous. The sun will never understand why an ugly storm cloud would do anything to be seen and valued.”

“You’re not an ugly storm cloud Chloe.” Adrien spoke up, feeling that this was the only chance he might ever get to know why Chloe became Miracle Queen. It sounded like something Chloe would say, deflect or use metaphors instead of voice things herself. Chloe’s snorting dry laugh caught him off guard and had him blushing embarrassed and frustrated. “I’m being honest, you’re not.”

“Of course I am.” Chloe dismissed Adrien, looking at him with a pitying smile. “Little sunshine who was raised in warmth, doesn’t see how the world works.”

“Don’t condescend to me Chloe.” Adrien snarked, frustrated at her tone.

“I’m not, you just prove my point.” Chloe chuckled without humor. “Charismatic, charming people like you. Who were loved and attended to, down to the point it’s almost stalkerish and your dad needs a restraining order on you, honestly Adrien I can make an entire case for you—“

“Stop deflecting, Chloe.” Adrien remarked having heard that train of thought so many times in his earlier youth.

“That’s the thing. You waltz in with this golden retriever smile and instantly you’re cared for by everyone you meet. Always happened, as long as I can remember. Practically from when we were in diapers.” Chloe huffed. “The sun can never understand why the moon got tired of being a reflection. Of only being known and cared for as the sun’s reflection.”

She sighed at the look on his face and crossed her legs. “The sun just assumes the moon will forever be happy to be that odd reflection and shine when the sun wants it to. The sun will never really know the rejection storm clouds get, because rain and thunder destroy their happy mood. A song dedicated to banish the rain so the sun can come back. I wanted to be looked at….to be special. I thought playing the hero would be like when we would act out our favorite cartoon and anime heroes.”

“You wanted fame.” Adrien tried to meet her train of thought, the metaphor having him think about his cousin as the moon and Chloe as the storm cloud. At least that’s how she saw them in her mind. If more fame was what she wanted…  Bitterness wound itself into his throat. Chloe would be selfish enough. Famous Chloe would be even worse.

“No…I wanted to be seen and have my mom look at me and think for once in her stupid life: ‘Wow….Chloe…not Clarissa, or Casserole, or Claudette, Clare, Chlorine,,, or Kylie. Chloe’s special’. To have people who automatically discredit me as a rich brat have to swallow their words—“

“You are rich though.”

“A brat too, but when we say it…it’s not thrown at you like an offense; and then everyone wants to extort things from you,” Chloe huffed. “You didn’t spend ecole primaire with kids who tried to act like your friends only to get stuff from you; or parents who would try to make it seem you were a bad kid so they could complain to your dad and get something.

“Then I noticed that Daddy was never busy when I was in trouble; but he was too busy for dinner or to help me with my schoolwork. So I decided if that’s all I’ll be recognized for, so be it. All of them were beneath me, and by being a bitch I’d get attention. Win-win; they paint me as their bad girl, and I am recognized. Even if it's infamy, it made me unforgettable. You, sunshine boy, are different because you were put into the spotlight but also cared for so you didn’t become a brat. Heroes like Chat Noir and Ladybug are good but they also ride their own high horse and make judgements based off of rumors. Ladybug never liked me from the beginning, I still idolized her. It was how it worked, you give affection and get scorned.

"I was a good Queen Bee, bitch aside, revealing my identity for Paris aside. I was driven and wanted to prove myself so bad…I would have done anything they asked. Sure I'd make it a dramatic deal I have to. But they could have said we'd accept you only if you I don't know killed Hawkmoth or retrieved the miraculous by yourself and I'd do it. I would have walked to hell barefoot on hot coals and broken glass to be recognized. It didn't work out so they said I can’t be a hero anymore. Fine, it’s not like I was rejected again.

“Then my parents got akumatized….and at that point I still gave a damn about them. I wanted to help, because I knew I could do it and it was personal. But I was overlooked again…and then someone looked at me…and Hawkmoth presented the bee miraculous. Something I thought I'd never see again. I was angry and betrayed so I decided to do what the one person who looked at me said I’d be good for.” Chloe confessed, the second time in her life. The first being to Milvii, Griff, and Felix when they asked about Queen Bee.

“I’m sure they didn’t mean to make you feel like that Chloe.” Adrien spoke conflicted…the side of him that was Chat Noir that grew to sprout hatred for the girl he once called friend felt like her reasons were not good enough. Yet the side of him who was purely Adrien, the boy and not the hero, understood a bit. The way someone like Chloe would rationalize it, as he didn’t fully agree with her. She did incredibly wrong and many people suffered for it. Her confession did not absolve her of sin, but uncovered some of the questions that festered in his chest like a wound.

“Adrien…I learned the hard way that intent is shit in the face of how it gets interpreted by the world.” Chloe tsked lightly. “I’m atoning for what I did, and if I get a chance with Hawkmoth I’ll drop kick him to the next century over messing with Paris and me. But this isn’t about me, this is about you.”

The conversation died again with a Chloe patented dismissal. Vulnerability on her part was over and the tension rewound itself into them both. Adrien had a lot to consider over what Chloe said. How she deluded herself into thinking that Hawkmoth saw Chloe and that’s why he offered the miraculous to her. Chloe sat there for a few minutes in silence waiting for Adrien to talk about another topic, or break down crying. When he didn’t she knew it was yet again up to her to keep the chat going. Sure, people might say she had been a pushy bitch to him and Felix but how else was she supposed to keep their friendships going? They never did anything themselves.

Finally she couldn’t stand it. “Still, it’s weird that your dad’s assistant has the same medical condition your mom did.”

“Yeah, it is,” he sighed.

“Maybe it’s something environmental? Like old drywall that never got removed or your mansion was built over an old radiation deposit?” Chloe snorted. “It would totally be like Uncle Gabriel to try to keep you indoors at all times when it was your house itself making people sick. Lead poisoning like the tin man from Wizard of Oz.”

She laughed and he laughed with her. “It would explain a lot. Father’s pretty shortsighted and convinced he knows what’s best all the time, even if evidence to the contrary is staring him in the face.”

"Could they have gotten sick from sleeping with your dad?" Chloe thought to which Adrien made a face of disgust.

"Chloe, he's my dad."

"I know but listen….he sucks the joy out of everything, Adrien. It's sad beige hours with him. I used to think that was classy but it washes me out. What if his sad beige boring powers just….sucked the life force of youthful women?" Chloe conspired.

"My dad isn't a villain." Adrien snorted.

"He hasn't paid you years worth of wages for your model work. I can bring up a case if you'd let me talk to a lawyer, Adrien." Chloe snarked.

"Look, he's not that bad." Adrien sighed. "He's gotten better."

"I'm a box blonde and I love the color pink." Chloe deadpanned with a face that had Adrien start laughing at how incredulous Chloe’s thoughts were.

Their laughter died quickly and to her surprise, he scooted close and lay his head on her shoulder. He sighed and she braced herself for screaming and wailing.

“I can’t go through it again, Chlo,” he whispered. “I went through it with Mom. She got sick and wasted away and then disappeared. Like a cat. Cats know when their time is near so they slink off in private to die.”

“It’s different this time,” she tried to reassure him, “she’s not your mom. You can’t get any cool character development from one semi weird maternal figure, who’s most likely sleeping with your dad so like eww. You’re prepared because you’ve already been through this. You know what to expect. You’re not going into this situation blind.” Good, that was more assuring and less cold-hearted. Empathy was hard. “There are probably treatment options available now that weren’t a few years ago.”

He threw his arms around her, almost nuzzling her neck. “And if…worst case scenario…?”

Chloe leaned her head on his. “Then…you have something you didn’t have a few years ago. A support network. You know, me…your girlfriend…Nino, I guess.” She sighed. “And even though he’s pissed at you for not being there when his world went to shit, Felix would be there for you too.I’ll drag him myself kicking and screaming, I’ve been working out, I can take him. But he’d be here regardless so I’ll never get a chance to do that.”

“You really think so?” he mumbled against her throat.

“Yeah.” She petted his hair for a few minutes and smiled almost lovingly at him because she knew he couldn’t see it. Thankfully Felix wasn’t here either to rub it in.

They’d been through a lot together. He was one of the few people who’d noticed how sad and bereft she’d been when Audrey had abandoned her life and family to pursue her own dreams. She in turn had held him when he cried over his mom’s disappearance and his father changed overnight. She thought they’d always be friends. They’d even pinkie-swore on it. Even as they drifted apart and he learned of her shame, she still came like she promised before. When hands tightened around her and she heard the telltale sniffle of tears, and felt them soak into her outfit Chloe held him closer. Gentle and unlike herself, softening her angles to catch a boy who hurt her with his casual rejections but was still for many years a bright light for her and tried to comfort as he cried. Whispering an odd ‘it’s ok’ or ‘I got you’ here and there, just like she did years ago.

She allowed him to cry now in silence while she continued to pat him. She wished she was good with that sympathy crap like Allen. Or making people laugh like Claude. Allegra would have bopped some sense into him by now. All she could do was listen and hug. And order room service. After what felt like eternity of subdued silent tears, and quiet static like silence filled the room Chloe knew it was time to distract.

Chloe gently pushed him away. “Okay, okay. Jeez, quit slobbering on me.” He sat back up and gave her sad kitten eyes.

“Hey, Chloe?”

“Yeah…?” she answered hesitantly. She hoped he wasn’t about to ask her to bare her soul as well.

Adrien didn’t answer at first, just looked at her for a while. “Tell me about you. Your life right now. Nothing too personal!” He waved his hands as if fending off her objections. “Nothing confidential or about Felix. Or about anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. I just…” he raised a shoulder. “We don’t talk. I think we can work on fixing that. Tell me about your life. Anything you want.”

Chloe sighed and began to speak. She told him about Felix buying her a camera and learning about photography. How light and composition changed the feeling of a picture. There was an art to it beyond selfies or Instagram posts. She even told him a very condensed version of using her camera to diffuse an akuma situation on set. His face managed to look both proud and disappointed at the same time.

She didn’t feel like bringing up Lila or Dupain-Cheng. (She could call her that in her mind.) Instead, she talked about learning to play D&D with the Quantic Kids or how Mylene had come a long way since “Horrificator” in her acting. Adrien listened without interrupting until she finally ran out of things to say.

“Come on,” she stood up and reached for his hand. “Sharing feelings makes me hungry. Let’s see if the cafeteria has anything that won’t poison us. If it looks horrible, I know a place nearby that does delivery.”

                                                    *****

Gorilla was waiting for them near the entrance of the hospital cafeteria. He didn’t speak but didn’t seem angry or hurried. Adrien drooped even lower until he saw the rectangular box in the man’s overly large hands

Adrien brightened, hands reaching out to take the object from his driver/bodyguard. “Is that a genuine bento box?”

The man nodded but didn’t give the boy the box.

“From Kagami?” Adrien’s hands went to the box but didn’t take it away from the man who’d guarded him nearly half his life.

The man nodded, then grunted and pointed at a nearby seat. He was drawing attention and preferred to fade into the background but the boy’s delight made it difficult.

“Ugh,” Chloe rolled her eyes and dragged his friend to the table. “Come on…he’s telling you to eat it here because your dad will take it away and force you to eat three leaves and an acorn.”

Gorilla nodded and gently nudged the boy along. “Okay, I’ll eat it now but I should FaceTime Kagami later to say thank you.”

“And you know…talk about your feelings or whatever,” Chloe put out a hand to stop him before he interrupted. “Yeah, I can’t believe these words are coming out of my mouth either but one of the cool things about having a boy or girlfriend is to have someone to confide in, right?”

Adrien just smiled, letting her know without words how much he appreciated her being there for him.

There was no way in hell she’d let him know she was touched. “Shut it, Agreste.”

                                                         *****

Wednesday was clear and calm. With no reshoots to do, Marinette found herself with the rarest of gifts; free time. Her designs for the ball gowns were finished and turned into Mme. Jennings for pattern making. She’d learned all her lines and could rehearse with Luka, Felix, and Allan tomorrow. The bakery was closed for a week and her parents were away at a bed and breakfast. They had M. Haprele come by every day to check on her and Captain Anarka promised to let her come over during the day for “supervised” visits. Yes, there was an adult on board but Luka and Marinette would be mostly on their own.

“Ahoy, Liberty!” Marinette called out when she reached the dock. “Permission to come aboard! Lower the gangplank, if you please!”

She heard the patter of running shoes on a wooden floor when Luka appeared above deck, trying to look as if he hadn’t been running at all. Her eyebrows rose in appreciation. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a matching vest with shoes. There was an aqua blue shirt under the vest and his usual assortment of jewelry.

All he needs is a teal bracelet, she thought to herself and then sighed. Luka could never be Viperion again…but perhaps another sort of reptile?

Marinette imagined Luka dressed in the red and black of the Dragon Miraculous. He’d look incredibly handsome wielding a sword…and some cute little horns…

Luka saw her staring at him with unfocused, dilated eyes and grinned. “Do you like what you see?”

“Yessss,” she drooled and then snapped out of her fog. “Yes! You look great!” She looked him over with a critical designer’s eye and approved. “I like the new outfit.”

He struck a pose and winked at her. “Mom and I found a goldmine when we went thrifting last week.” He looked her up and down. “You look pretty great yourself.”

Marinette gave him a mock curtsy, pleased he’d noticed. She’d paired a high-waisted pair of jean shorts with a pink shirt with navy horizontal stripes and some old pink canvas shoes that had been her mother’s. She lifted her foot so he could see them. “Vintage nineties.”

He nodded in approval. “They suit you.” He lowered the gangplank. “Permission to come aboard granted.”

She boarded the ship and unslung her backpack from over her shoulder. “I brought some snacks from the bakery. And a few sketchbooks. You know, in case I get inspired.”

“I do the same thing with this guitar app on my phone. Just in case I’m ever caught somewhere without Euterpe.” Euterpe was the name of Luka’s acoustic guitar, the one he’d built himself.

“Ah, Euterpe,” she sighed. “All other women pale beside her. The love of your life.” She giggled and nudged his side. “Even when you get a girlfriend, the poor girl would still only be your side piece.”

Luka just smiled, unoffended. “Not at all. Anyone I end up in a relationship with would understand Euterpe’s place in my life and not feel jealous.”

Marinette paused for a second as she processed this information. “Anyone? Oh, ok. Well, as long as they’re treated as an equal partner, like Euterpe.”

He laughed. “At the thrift store I found a copy of Crocodile Heart on DVD. Wanna watch it?”

Her eyes lit up. “Does Fang have scales? Of course I do!” She grabbed on to him. “Is it the special edition? With Jagged’s commentary? Eeeee!” She wiggled with excitement at his nod. “I can’t wait!”

Luka shushed her gently. “Hey, my mom’s home. You know how she gets when she hears his name.”

Marinette quieted immediately, hands over her mouth. “Sorry! I mean…sorry,” she whispered. “It’s still awesome that she played in a band with him.”

“I know, right?”

                                                          *****

"You are?.." "You are?.."

Marinette shifted as she considered the answer.  “Is it…’you are the popcorn of my life?’ “

Luka chuckled before throwing a piece of croissant at her.  “It’s…’you are the donut of my life.”

She caught it in her mouth and chewed it before swallowing. “Right! From his ‘Candy Apple’ album. Every song was related to food somehow. Next?”

They were lying together in a haphazard clump on Luka’s bed. Jagged Stone’s first movie was playing but both of them were too busy eating and asking each other trivia questions to watch it. It was a rather silly tale of a man and his crocodile traveling through the Australian rainforest in search of adventure and the last known copy of a pioneering rock star’s first record. Ordinarily Marinette would have pointed out that exposure to the kind of moisture rainforests are know for would ruin the album but the movie was fun and dumb and she knew it well enough to quote lines.

Luka sighed, content with Marinette snuggled up to him. He enjoyed filming and thought Felix and the others could all be friends after the movie but he preferred the peace of home. He could also admit to himself he was selfish enough to want Marinette all to himself. He blessed the day she came tripping into his life with her warmth and creativity and intelligence. He only regretted that she, Rose and Juleka had been too afraid or worn down by Chloe Bourgeois to become friends earlier. If she had met him before Adrien Agreste, would she have had a crush on Luka instead?

His better self insisted he was being greedy but he felt less guilty than he would have a year ago. Adrien was firmly in a relationship with Kagami, who was helping him grow a spine. Felix? Felix was smart, cunning, ruthless when he had to be but warm and loving to those who’d earned his loyalty. Felix reminded Luka of a cat while his cousin was more like a friendly golden retriever. Was there a Dog Miraculous? Adrien would be perfect.

“Here’s another one,” Luka said finally, ‘I gave up everything…’ “

“But my dreams!” Marinette answered happily.

“Another point to House Dupain-Cheng,” he smiled down at her. She smiled back.

Marinette was quiet and then said, “My turn. ‘My guitar…’ “

“ ‘...is my only family,” Luka interjected, “From his ‘Alone On the Road’ live concert. I love that song.”

She was clearly impressed. “Whoa, twenty to twelve, in favor of House Couffaine.” She booped him on the nose and handed him the last strawberry macaron. “You sir, are officially the world’s number one Jagged Stone fan.”

He accepted the macaron with all the poise of a gracious winner. “I accept your bribe and allow you one more question: ‘Under the moonlight, by the sea…’ “

She flailed as she thought about her answer. “ ‘Under the moonlight, by the sea’…I almost have it…it was his first song…’kiss me!’ ”

“Well, if you insist…”, he joked and leaned in closer.

She giggled and then her eyes flew wide open as she realized how close he was.

Luka had lovely eyes the color of the summer sea.

Marinette wondered what it would be like to kiss his soft pink lips and feel his heartbeat under her hand. She knew being a delivery boy kept him in shape. What would he look like without his shirt?

“G’day, Ruby! How is the most beautiful vet in all of Northern Australia?”

“Don’t try and act all sweet to me, you British git! What has that garbage disposal of a croc swallowed now?”

The two teens sprang apart, feeling embarrassed and strangely disappointed. “I forgot that the movie was on,” Marinette’s words sounded dumb and lame, even to her own ears but it was better than sitting in silence.

Luka almost wished he’d taken the initiative but didn’t want to rush her or do anything without her consent. “Me too. I wonder what happened to the woman who played Ruby?”

Marinette smiled at him gratefully. “I think she had a brief career as a pop star in Australia before making a few movies and then writing a series of young adult mysteries.”

“Good. For her.” Awkward silence descended again and he cleared his throat. “Uh…it’s getting stuffy down here. Let’s go up to the deck.”

                                                         *****

“I’m so glad you finally agreed to try this.”

“I can’t believe I never thought of this before.”

“Well, maybe you just weren’t ready. Let me show you the position I like to use best.”

Luka sat on the deck then crossed his legs, one after the other. He straightened his spine and rested his hands on his knees, palms up and closed his eyes. “Now all you do is breathe.”

Marinette copied his pose and tried to focus on nothing but her breath. “Do I need to…focus on a thought?”

“Or a goal. Or nothing at all.”

She sat quietly and concentrated on inhaling and exhaling. She did her best to keep her mouth closed and breathed through her nose.

Thoughts swirled chaotically around her head; projects she wanted to try, skills she wanted to learn. The accident where she almost died. Mlle. Sancoeur collapsing. She imagined all of them turning into pieces of cloth. Then she folded them up and put them into individually labeled drawers to be dealt with one by one.

Now with her thoughts filed away she began to design her own gown, the only dress she hadn’t designed already because she put her “clients” first. Well, she’d design something amazing for herself this time. It was Felicity’s right as a main character and, if Marinette was honest, she just wanted to do something fancy for herself. At least this once.

She began to imagine a pink dress and first but shook her head. She wore pink so much it was practically her signature color. What would Felicity want?

Medium blue, like her eyes. Something soft, flowy and easy to move in in case of an emergency during the dance. Organza perhaps. Layers and layers with floral applique embellishments; like roses. Some climbing roses would look pretty, perhaps in cream and pink. Or silver and dark blue. Maybe all four. Then an off the shoulder neckline with short winged sleeves. Lacing on the back of the bodice would fit the Victorian aesthetic. She could wear low comfortable heels and…

Rebuild her hero team.

She thought about how they looked on Heroes Day when Chloe was still trying to become a true hero. She thought of Ryuuko standing up to her mother. Viperion and his determination to save his family. Or most of the team working together to defeat Party Crasher.

Just because Hawk Moth is taking the summer off doesn’t mean he’s gone. What are you doing to defeat him? What are you doing here?

Marinette gasped as her eyes popped open and she looked at Luka. For a moment Viperion’s mask was superimposed on his face. It almost made her want to cry. He’d been such a good hero. It wasn’t fair that he had to retire because of her negligence.

He must have felt her gaze on her because his eyes opened and looked at her. His eyebrows raised as looked over her with concern. “Is something wrong, or did you have one of those epiphanies of yours?”

“Something like that,” she demurred. His calm, patient gaze coaxed her into telling him her idea about her ball costume. “I know what I want to design for myself now! I’m thinking something soft and flowy, with rose embroidery and a full skirt. In organza.”

“What style?” he asked.

She couldn’t help but smile at him. One of the things she lov-liked about Luka was he didn’t just sit and nod politely when she talked about design. Even her parents did it. Luka always asked questions, even if he didn’t know much about fashion. He was willing to learn; maybe so he’d have something to talk to her about, or just to expand his own knowledge about the world.

“I bet it’s blue,” he grinned, “to match your eyes.”

Marinette was sure she was blushing. He could go from learning about her hobbies to flirting with her so effortlessly. Or, was he just being nice? She found herself hoping he was flirting. She felt her resolve to ask him out after the movie wrapped to be slipping. Would it hurt to ask him out now? Yes. She should wait a little longer to make sure she was over Adrien. Luka deserved that.

But did he have to have such pretty eyes and kissable lips? It just wasn’t fair.

She blinked and decided to distract herself from wishing she could kiss Luka.

What should she think about? The movie? Costumes?

Felix popped into her head for some reason. She was starting to like him, even if he acted like a creepy toolbag when they first met. Hell, he still acted like a toolbag sometimes but he had his good points too.

He was clever and creative. He had drive and ambition but didn’t feel the need to step on people to achieve his goals. To the contrary, he wanted to take those he considered talented with him. He was a loyal friend and son and had facets to his personality she never would have noticed before working with him.

But unfortunately he was also hot. Distractingly hot, with soft peach lips and sexy green eyes. Like his cousin.

Whoops! Time to think of something else!

“So…if you don’t mind me asking, why did  you take up meditation?” she asked her friend. “Was it because your mom is…kind of chaotic and you needed some calm?”

At first she thought she’d offended him but he chuckled and responded, “Kinda. Yeah. Mom’s great but she can be a little over the top.” He thought for a moment and then added, “kinda like Jagged. Maybe that’s why their relationship was so volatile and they stopped playing together.”

Marinette giggled and he continued. “But there’s more to it than just that.” He sighed and his face became more serious. “You see, I needed it.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. “But…you’re so calm and level-headed! I’ve only seen you mad-”

He nodded. “Silencer. Yeah.” He unfolded his legs and lay on the deck with his hands on his stomach. Marinette copied his new pose and lay beside him. She looked him in the eyes and nodded at him to show she was listening.

Luka went on. “See, when I was younger, I had a lot of anger issues and resentment.” She must have looked surprised because he laughed. “Yeah. I know. But it can happen to the best of us.”

She fought the urge to interrupt and ask questions. His eyes went unfocused as he recalled embarrassing memories.

“I never knew who my father was. I can remember occasional raised voices and glass breaking but other than slammed doors, nothing. Not even a name.” Marinette scooted a little closer and put her head on his shoulder to show support. He went on.

“It made me angry that she wouldn’t tell me something so important. Jules and I deserve to know who our dad is and why he left us, even if he doesn’t want to be part of our lives.” He sighed and looked at the sky.

“You can imagine some of the shit we heard in school. Kids can understand death and divorce but not even knowing who your dad is? People just assume your mom’s a slut and as the kids of a slut, you’re no better.”

“The people you went to ecole with were…assholes,” Marinette nearly tripped over the curse word.

Luka couldn’t help but smile, both at her defense and using a word that made her uncomfortable to make him feel better. “Yeah, they were.” He sighed. “So, I was angry. Not just at them, but at the man who abandoned us and the mom who was such an anarchist she moved us onto a boat to avoid property taxes she couldn’t afford and neighbors who gossiped about us.”

“Times were tough and we didn’t have a lot of stability back then. Sometimes,” it made him feel disloyal to admit it, “I was angry at Mom for not being a normal parent and taking care of us. I resented Juleka because it felt like I was raising her along with myself and I had too much responsibility for a kid my age.”

They laid there quietly for a few minutes then Marinette prompted, “so…what happened?”

He laughed but it became a sigh. “There was a big kid in our class. Hugo. What he lacked in smarts he made up for in fists. He picked on us and that was ok, we were used to that. But one day he decided he wanted the lunch I’d made for Juleka and he grabbed it out of her hands, then punched her in the face for threatening to tell the teacher. He made her bleed and almost knocked out one of her baby teeth. I…lost it.”

He seemed to be debating with himself whether or not to tell her the rest. She tried to console him. “You don’t have to say anything else if you don’t want-”

Luka nuzzled the top of her head. “It’s okay. I think I need to. To make a long story short, I punched him hard enough to knock him down. Then I knocked out two of his teeth and punched him in the ribs. It took a couple of teachers and a janitor to pull me off him.”

Marinette said nothing but the idea of a Luka angry enough to punch someone until they bled made her shiver a little.

She stole a glance at his face. He looked tired and ashamed. She could tell he hadn’t enjoyed beating up a bully; the kid could have had a crappy home life too. Still the boy had crossed a line when he hurt Juleka.  “You were just defending your sister,” she told him.

He laughed but it sounded bitter and cynical. “That might have been true at first but the truth is I think I was taking out all my aggression and resentment on him. Yeah, he messed with my sister,” he frowned, “but I crossed a line too.”

She lay her head on his shoulder and let him vent. She could sense he needed to get this all out. This was probably something no one outside his little family or the other people involved had ever heard. She was honored that he’d chosen to confide in her.

“Needless to say, his parents and the principal got involved. They’d wanted to have me expelled but the principal brought in Hugo’s file and showed them how many times their son had bullied other kids and they’d done nothing to correct his behavior. So, they backed off pretty quickly and both of us were sent to psychological counseling.”

His eyes softened a bit, remembering. “My counselor was this great lady named Doctor Smythe. I think it was the first time an adult listened to me and my problems. She didn’t judge or get angry with me but she suggested meditation as a way to cope. She told me I might not be able to control my environment or the world around me but I could control how I reacted.

He looked down at her. Marinette’s eyes glowed with interest and compassion. He was glad his story hadn’t chased her away. “I’m not proud of how I acted back then, but what I learned has helped me gain better control of myself.” He smiled into her eyes. “I think meditation could help you with your anxiety. Learning how to relax and not take on so much would help too,” he chided gently.

She couldn’t help but laugh. She’d give anything to be able to take some of the burdens off her shoulders, bring Master Fu back to be The Guardian, get more hero help. She smiled back at him. “Would you like to teach me?” Would you be my new Dragon? “Maybe that would help.”

Luka stared at her cerulean eyes, her full lush pink lips. He wanted more than anything to kiss her, hold her close to him, maybe feel her bare skin and put her hand on his chest so she could feel his beating heart…

No. Nope, Nuh-uh. He was rushing things and she was just barely over Adrien. Plus, she worked with Felix, who, despite becoming a friend, looked just like Adrien. It wasn’t time yet.

“Sure,” was all he said, “maybe after a nap.”

                                                       *****

Anarka found her son and his future girlfriend (suck it, Amelie) cuddled together in sleep. She slipped pillows under their heads and took a picture before sneaking away.

Ah, lad. You could’ve stolen a kiss, at least.

                                                     *****

Adrien checked the hallway leading to his father’s atelier. The man had been barricaded in there ever since Nathalie had been admitted to the hospital. He’d ignored his son even more than usual so the boy took advantage of his inattention to blow off his piano practice to FaceTime his girlfriend.

He dialed her number and was pleased to see her face appear after a few seconds. She was dressed casually in a pair of white capris and a red button-up with three-quarter sleeves. She smiled warmly at him; the smile that she saved for those closest to her. It made him pause and stare every time.

“Wow!” He exclaimed as he looked her up and down. He blinked to make sure he didn’t imagine seeing her in something besides her class uniform, fencing garb or that lovely kimono at the Miraculous premiere. “That looks amazing on you!”

She laughed and said, “Thank you, I know. Marinette made a Spinterest board full of outfit ideas for me. I bought this online and had it shipped along with some fencing equipment. Mother was none the wiser.” Her smile turned sly and, to Adrien’s mind, very very sexy. “Mother thinks I am practicing the violin at the moment. What about M. Agreste?”

“Oh. Father thinks I’m practicing the piano.” He winked at her. “Of course, with Nathalie away, he’s a lot more preoccupied than usual.” It hurt him a little to think of her all alone in the hospital but he didn’t know anything about her family so there was no one he could call. She’d called him that morning; she sounded weak but ok. For some reason she wanted him to be sure to tell his father she had all her personal effects with her except her tablet, which Adrien had given his father. She was being monitored around the clock and had little privacy but was well taken care of.  She assured him she’d be back in the morning but in the meantime he should remind his father to eat and not just live on coffee.

“How is Mlle. Sancoeur?” Kagami asked and he beamed at her in appreciation. His girlfriend might not be as outwardly expressive as someone like Rose or Alya but she was as kind and considerate as Marinette.

“She’s doing a lot better,” he assured her. “Her vitals were good, the doctor said, but she needs to work on managing her stress better. She’s also vitamin deficient and needs to stay hydrated.” He sighed and then confided, “Father works her too hard.”

Kagami nodded. She was familiar with stress and hard work but if the woman was not taking in enough nutrients then she clearly was neglecting her health. “Humans can be unreliable. I think that’s why Mother employs AI whenever possible.”

“Does that mean you also have a robot butler who brings you little drinks and snacks?” Adrien wanted to know.

She blinked once. “Of course,” she answered stoically. She then frowned seriously and asked, “Why? Don’t you?”

They stared at each other for a minute and then laughed.

Adrien sighed happily, feeling some of the tension of the past twenty-four hours slip away. “You are so funny!” He said. He smiled a bit wistfully at his girlfriend. “I wish all my friends knew how funny you are.”

“Well, comedy isn’t something I can force,” she replied thoughtfully. She didn’t want to tell him that most of his friends were predisposed to dislike her because they were upset she had torpedoed the “Adrienette ship” so thoroughly. “Although Marinette has said I’m funny as well.”

Marinette had morphed from a girl who was no more than a rival to be vanquished to a cherished friend. Kagami tried not to cringe when she remembered how she had so casually told Ladybug that even though she didn’t want to hurt Marinette, she had no trouble doing so if it meant winning Adrien. Her actions shamed her. She had always detested girls who would backstab their best friend if it meant the boy they liked chose them over said friend. Women had enough obstacles from men without the girls who should be their sisters competing with them too.

To learn that she was little better than some grasping, conniving schoolgirl who wanted senpai to notice them was humbling. She was very lucky Marinette was getting over Adrien on her own and moving on, perhaps to Luka. He seemed to notice and appreciate her friend and his calm steadiness balances Marinette’s manic frenzy.

Really, those two were perfect for each other. Two little blueberries in joyous harmony. Seeing Marinette and Luka interact so happily made her feel a little less guilty about taking Adrien for her own. True, Marinette had hesitated but it was also possible the girl had anxiety. Perhaps once Luka and Marinette were officially a couple she could put her remorse aside and move on.  She looked forward to the day she could whole-heartedly support “Lukanette.”

Kagami didn’t realize she’d been staring into space for fifteen seconds until Adrien spoke up. “What’s wrong, ‘Gami?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean. Why should anything be wrong?”

He frowned, making himself look like a concerned puppy. “Do you honestly think I don’t know you well enough by now?” He grinned and rubbed his forehead. “You get this little wrinkle in your forehead right above your nose when something’s bothering you. Come on,” he coaxed, “you’ve listened to me rant for hours about Father, Felix, having to model with someone I can’t stand, all that stuff.” Adrien’s smile was warm and comforting. “It’s my turn to be the confidant. Someone you can talk to and lean on when you need to. Now,” he sat back a bit and settled into his “listening pose”. “What’s on your mind?”

I feel as if I took advantage of another girl’s doubts and fears to win you for myself. She wasn’t my friend at first but now she is my best friend besides you. It’s made me feel incredibly guilty, like I behaved dishonorably. What should I do? Kagami hesitated, then said, “there are some things…I would like to share them with you but I’m…ashamed.” She looked down at her lap and couldn’t look at him in case he could see her guilt.

“Hey…it’s okay. Don’t share if you’re not ready,” he soothed. “But…if there’s something that I could help you with, even if it’s just to listen, you can. Or…you know…we could sit and stare at each other while we think about how cute we both are.”

She chuckled. It wasn’t a very funny joke, but he was trying. “Well, allow me to tell you about what I can talk about.”  She sat up a little straighter. “I think I mentioned Mother wanted me to study some traditional arts, like tea ceremony, flower arranging, and calligraphy.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I remember  you mentioning that.”

“Well,” she began and almost stopped. No, she would not allow herself to hesitate. Not even once. “I somewhat enjoy the tea ceremony. It’s rather meditative and the precision and care calligraphy requires is not unlike fencing. However…”

“But..the flower arranging?” Adrien prompted.

“Is…boring!” she burst out.

He started as did she, surprised at her own words. The proverbial dam had broken and she couldn’t stop if she wanted to. “I cannot stand flowers! And you have to be so careful because every color has significance. An uneven number of flowers is lucky while an even number is unlucky. Plus having thorns in the arrangement can have meaning, so can stems and leaves. Plus you have to be aware of symmetry and you basically sit quietly for hours doing nearly nothing while you contemplate the meaning of adding sticks. It’s just…a waste of time to me but Mother loves it and wants me to love it too.”

She slumped a bit, embarrassed at her show of emotion, of her boyfriend seeing her at less than her best. What must he think of her now?

“Hey, Kagami?” Adrien’s earnest face filled her phone’s screen. “Trust me, I understand. You're a woman of passion and action and your mom doesn’t understand you’re not just a perfect copy of her. It’s okay.” He smiled. “You’re amazing, just the way you are. It’s great that you’re trying things you don’t like to make her happy.”

She smiled, feeling reassured and happy and seen. She wasn’t a cold ice queen with no emotions, just a girl who struggled with self-expression after being sheltered all her life. She longed to break free and do what she wanted and be who she wanted without feeling as if she were letting her entire family line down. She looked at Adrien and judging by his sympathetic expression, he understood because he was under the same pressure of expectations.

“Would you…would you like to see what I really want to do?” Kagami asked shyly. She trusted him enough to be a little vulnerable now and then.

He nodded eagerly. “Yes, please!”

Adrien wondered what Kagami could possibly be passionate about. Did she want to be an acrobat like Cirque du Soleil? Did she secretly want to play basketball or be a dancer? He couldn’t wait to see it.

Kagami grinned, looking incredibly young and adorable to his eyes. She pulled out a hardcover sketchbook and held it up to her phone’s camera for him to see.

He gasped as she slowly turned the pages to show him her work as best she could. She’d drawn him! Not just him but Gorilla standing guard, face soft as he looked up kitten videos. There was also Nathalie looking irritated at something Bob Roth was saying. His father looking at their family portrait with such a look of raw longing for his mother Adrien could almost feel it.

As the pages turned he saw that girl Allegra and her boyfriend being sweet when they thought no one was looking. Ivan spun Mylene as they danced in a hallway on set. He saw Felix, several versions of him; furtive, angry. Amused, mischievous and then he saw him squaring up against Marinette. Both looked determined and strong, refusing to back down. They looked like opponents who were evenly matched. To his surprise, they looked good together.

Kagami turned again and on the last page was Marinette and Luka. She leaned against him and looked up, her gaze soft and trusting. Luka looked down at her as if she were the most important, the most precious thing in the world and he’d do anything to keep her safe.

They would make an amazing couple. He had always thought so, ever since that day at the ice rink.

Adrien looked up and saw Kagami staring at him, hopeful yet nervous.

“So…” she fidgeted a bit, which she rarely did. “What do you think?”

“It’s gorgeous!” He looked at her with awe. “You could be a professional.” He had the world’s most talented girlfriend and he wanted to brag to all of France about her. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Kagami shut her sketchbook and slumped a bit, looking defeated.

“According to Mother, Art,” she sighed. She sat up and looked at her boyfriend. “She says art might be an acceptable hobby depending on the form but not a career.” She shrugged. “I am a Tsurugi and though I am allowed to fence and play music one day I will take over the family business and I must prepare myself for that.” It was an old argument she’d had with her mother several times. “Being a Tsurgi means there is no time for personal dreams.”

“Didn’t your mother want to be an actress once?” Adrien reminded her.

“Yes.” She breathed in, then out slowly. “Yes, so you would think she would be a little more sympathetic towards my need to…”

“Rebel? Sneak away so you can be your true self?” He suggested.

She looked up at him with a smile, glad to see he understood and didn’t judge her for her little acts of disobedience. A kindred spirit.

Adrien grinned. Kagami was one of the few people in his life who understood him. It was both comforting and incredibly freeing. He just wanted to ask her something.

“You look great in red but how do you feel about teal?”

                                                   *****

Marinette waited until her parents went to bed, waited another thirty minutes to make sure they were asleep and then turned to Ladybug before slipping out via her trapdoor and making her way to the Eiffel Tower.

To her surprise her partner was already there, sitting down and scrolling through images on his baton. She decided to play a little prank and tried to sneak up on him.

“Hey, Ladybug.”

She stopped trying to sneak and straightened up. It had been weeks since he stopped calling her “Bugaboo” or even “M’Lady”. She didn’t miss the stupid nicknames but she didn’t miss the easy banter they used to have.

Still, his civilian life seemed to be a bit better. He had a girlfriend, an actual girl and not just someone made up to make her jealous. He was happy and she was happy for him, even though every now and then she mourned the death of her crush. Still, it wasn’t healthy and she was nearly incapable of talking to him for the longest time. Besides, there was Luka.

She realized her partner was waiting for a response and stuttered out, “Oh. He-hey, Kitty! How’s your-” she broke off as she noticed his posture.

Chat Noir looked slumped, defeated. She sat beside him and put an arm around his shoulder and drew him into a sideways hug. He rested his head on her shoulder, seeking comfort. Neither spoke for a few minutes until she cajoled. “If you need to talk or take a break, we can try again tomorrow or the next day.”

“But we need new teammates,” he spoke into her collar bone.

Ladybug reached up and petted her partner’s head. “Not at the risk of our original team. Self-care, remember? You’re always telling me I need to take time for myself or have fun. Don’t push yourself if you’re not feeling it.”

He surprised her by pulling away from her hair-stroking and scooting away. “No,” he sighed. I need to get away from home for a few hours. Right now I need something to keep my mind occupied.”

Dozens of questions ran through her head but her reply was, “You got it, Kitty. Now, do you have someone in mind for the Snake? Is it someone you can trust? Don’t tell me who it is!” She held up her hand when he opened his mouth. “I trust you and if you trust them that’s good enough for me.”

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. He tried to smile but it fell flat. “Thanks, Ladybug.” His usually cocky demeanor was gone and she never thought she’d miss it so much. “It means a lot to me to have your trust.”

They shared a grin. He was irritating and went overboard on puns but he finally was growing up and getting over his entitlement. It was a long time coming and she hoped he wouldn’t revert if he and his girlfriend broke up. She already had a plan in place to deal with that.

He cleared his throat. “Okay, um…team bonding moment over.” He held out his hand. “If you don’t mind, may I have the Miraculous now? I want to have time to train my purr-fect candidate before twenty-one hundred.”

She rolled her eyes out of habit but spoiled it by smiling at him. She opened her yo-yo and pulled out the Snake bracelet. It changed from rose gold to silver as she handed it to him. “I’ll meet you and your new trainee back here at Twenty hundred hours. See ya later, Kitty!” She jumped off the deck of the Eiffel Tower.

Chat Noir grinned; a little in awe, a little ruefully. “No matter how many times I see her do that, it never gets old.” He deployed his baton and hopped away into the night.

[dandelionflower]

Felinette Month Day 14

Shakespeare

“Hey there, Romeo.” She didn’t even look up from her sewing.

“It tore again.” Felix said, setting a jacket on her desk.

Marinette froze, looking up at him. “You tore it again. For the third time this week alone.” Her eyes were cloudy with rage.

“I told you, I didn’t tear it. I left it in my locker and it tore on its own. Probably your shoddy craftsmanship.” It was odd, actually expressing the cutting comments he usually bit down to maintain his composed demeanor. But Marinette… she brought something out in him, and he hated it.

They were partners in their drama class. Assigned partners, heaven knows he wouldn’t choose that bleeding heart even if she was Shakespeare himself. They agreed that Felix would do Romeo’s famous monologue, and Marinette would make his costume. This way they would have as little interaction as necessary.

At least, that was the idea.

His jacket kept tearing, time and time again. He would leave it alone for two minutes and when he came back the seams unraveled.

He couldn’t believe “fashion prodigy” Marinette Dupain-Cheng couldn’t sew a simple jacket. He tried to approach the subject delicately, but after the third time he was just annoyed.

“Maybe if you put a little care into something that wasn’t yourself, this wouldn’t keep happening.” She bit back, returning to her sewing. “Leave it here, I’ll have it done in a bit.”

“The show is tomorrow.”

“Yeah. I’m aware.” She glared at him. “Which is why you should have taken better care of it.”

“I did. It was in a bag, in another bag, in my locked locker.”

“Well, it wasn’t enough. I’ll keep ahold of it until tomorrow.”

“I don’t need to be treated like a child.”

“Then stop breaking things like one.”

He didn’t growl. Not at all.

-

Marinette scurried around backstage, looking for Felix. Of course he’d be so self absorbed and distracted that he forgot the jacket he’d been complaining about all week. Sure, it wasn’t her best work, but it wasn’t her fault by any means that he kept ripping the seams.

And he had the gall to blame her for it! Her seams were perfect; Felix didn’t know what he was talking about.

Speaking of Felix, where was he?

He was meant to go on in ten minutes, he should at least be backstage.

“Alya. Where is he?”

Her eyes widened and she pointed a trembling finger at Felix who was brushing off his impeccable costume and checking over his lines.

“Felix!” He jolted. “Jacket. Come here.”

He must have seen her barely contained rage written across her face, because he obediently walked over and accepted the jacket.

She walked around him, observing every part of his outfit, when her eye snagged on his shirt. The fit was all wrong, and there was no chance Marinette would let anyone, even Felix, walking out in something so atrocious.

She stepped forwards, and immediately went to work.

“W-what are you doing?” He looked down from where she was scrutinizing his shirt, but she payed him little mind.

“Fixing it. Keep reading.” She grunted, pulling out a tiny sewing kit from her bag. “Hold this.”

Nine minutes later, he looked perfect and Marinette shoved him onstage with a grin and a “don’t mess this up for us!”

He almost stumbled when she shoved him, she was a little guilty about that, but he turned it into an easy stride, a lovelorn expression turning his features from “angry substitute teacher” into something more... attractive.

No. No, check that. Marinette would never find Felix attractive. Ever.

His voice drifted from the stage to the audience with ease, every word clear and filled with emotion.

Marinette found herself taken with the scene, leaning against the wall and picturing Felix in a garden of sorts, on his knees, taking her hands in his with a shining smile...

Nope. No. Nuh-uh. Not attractive.

But she had to admit, he was a good actor.

-

Felix laced anxiously beside the curtain. It was ten minutes until he went on stage, where was Marinette with that jacket?

Of course, she would be tardy on top of being clumsy.

He huffed. The show must go on, one way or another. He didn’t have time to worry about her. Felix had to practice his lines one last time.

“Felix!” And there she was, with her usual disregard for any social cues.

She handed him the jacket without many words other than “Jacket. Come here.” How eloquent.

She paced around him as he continued to read his lines, though most of his effort was going towards ignoring her.

Suddenly, she leaned close to his chest, grabbing at his shirt and sticking a few pins into it.

“W- what are you doing?” Too close. Too close.

“Fixing it. Keep reading.” A hand rifled through her bag and she handed him a small case. “Hold this.”

Am I supposed to hold this, or keep reading? You can’t just give two contradicting commands like that. He bit down the reply; Marinette was in a state he was certain would become terrifying if he was to shock her out of it.

Finally, just as he needed to go onstage, she finished and shoved him into the spotlight.

He just barely stumbled, but he resolved to yell at her for that afterwards. For now, he let a dreamy smile take over his face and threw himself into the monologue.

Marinette really was infuriating, but he had to admit, seeing her so focused, so dedicated to fixing his shirt before his performance, it was admirable, and the concentrated expression she had was almost cute.

No. No, not that. Anything but that. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was many things, but she was not cute.

He turned his thoughts to something more appropriate for the monologue he was delivering. His Juliet.

They would be in a garden, having walked and joked for a long period of time, before he turned to face her. He would murmur the words to her, replacing Juliets name for hers, cradling her face in his hands as he stared into those sparkling bluebell eyes.

No. No. Negative. He did not find Marinette cute.

But he had to admit, she was a good seamstress.

@felinettenovember @novicevoice

[black-streak]

Little Pistol - The Investigation

Chapter 14

First Previous Next

I'm really trying to continue this, I promise. I know the updates are rare and spaced, but I promise this isn't being abandoned. Please let me know of any changed usernames so I can update the taglist, assuming you still want to be tagged. Song by Sugarcult.

Highly recommend listening to the song, it's so fitting for the inner turmoil here.

Permanent list

@naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @my-name-is-michell @maribat-is-lifeblood @dast218 @novicevoice @shizukiryuu @princess-of-fangirls @bigpicklebananatree @pirats-pizzacanninibles @abrx2002 @breemeister @darkthunder1589 @thestressmademedoit @severelyenchantedwonderland @isabellemasen @multi-fandom-freak0221 @fantasyloversblog @bzz75 @cloudiedraws @orbitsvt @gingerdaile @sotheresthatthought @kadmeread @novaloptr @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @crazylittlemunchkin @18-fandoms-unite-08 @tiny-goddess-of-chaos @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @the-alice-of-hearts @vixen-uchiha @changelinggarden @unrepentantgeek

LP Taglist

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~---~

Jason's hesitance in the doorway was noticeable as Tim led the silent lady into the living room of their safehouse in the Coventry. This particular location chosen for its proximity not only to their base of operations, but the rooftop he'd originally pinned their guest to. Their guest truly was silent too, not only from lack of speaking, but the movement of her clothing, her steps, her shifting weight all completely muted into nothingness. Had he not felt her solid wrist within his grip, Tim could easily pass her off as a ghost. Even still, the life form trailing him felt haunting. A sense of foreboding laying like a thick blanket over the room.

Coming to a stop in front of an armchair, he pressed down on her shoulder, watching as she complied, body lowering into the chair while maintaining perfect eye contact. The whisper of what wanted to be a smile stayed on her lips as she settled, as though they were old friends meeting over afternoon tea. It put him on edge. 

She shouldn't feel so comfortable with both of them closed in on her, anonymity on the verge of collapse as they scrutinized her every move. 

Tim waved Jason off as the other reached for a set of ropes.

"Don't bother, she can escape them."

He seemed to mull the words over before narrowing them down to their based meaning, "You're saying she chose to be captured."

"Yes."

Their guest's eyes flashed in mild amusement before settling back into the blank void of almost smiling. It was creepy, like a porcelain doll come to life for a flicker of a second only to make you second guess if it ever happened at all the next. 

"Why isn't she talking? She seemed to have plenty to say before," Jason squinted at her, keeping a reasonable distance, one hand hovering over his left holster.

Tim shook his head, "She responded to one question, then ignored the rest."

"Huh. So like a puzzle then."

"What." Tim deadpanned.

"No no, hear me out," Jason waved his hands about, seemingly catching the lady's attention as she followed the motion, "she answered one question, right?"

"Yes?" He folded his arms, waiting to see where Jay was going with this.

"So it's not that she won't respond to anything. Only to things she decides are worth answering. Whether that means things she sees as important or just too noteworthy to pass up, I'm not sure, but she seemed pretty quick to jump on Bat-wannabe and demon spawn's case, so I'm hedging towards the latter here."

A startled giggle makes both men snap their head towards the cause.

"Demon Spawn," she mumbles, earning a grin from Jason and an eye roll from Tim. Jason was just grateful he'd forgone the helmet tonight so she could see the positive reaction.

"Definitely the latter then," Tim sighed, reaching to rub his eyes, only to drop his hand back down at the reminder of the mask pressed to his fingers.

"Easy peasy then," Jason sat on a crate normally used as a makeshift table in the barren apartment, unbothered by the way it made his knees knock into the lady's.

"Sure. Easy."

"Yeah, all we gotta do is intrigue her enough to want to talk to us. And that can't be too difficult, otherwise she wouldn'ta bothered talking to begin with, isn't that right, sweetheart?" He leaned towards her with a friendly smile. One that wasn't returned.

"Yeah, seems to be working wonders," Tim mocked.

"Just give me a sec, I haven't even tried," he waved Tim off, focusing on the figure before him, "so, you seem pretty calm considering the circumstances. That got more to do with your confidence in your abilities to escape or more an interest in being captured?"

Silence.

"Were you hoping we'd use the ropes? I could bring them back if you're into that kind of thing."

More silence.

"What's got you tongue tied anyhow? See something you like?"

Dead silence only this one came with a delicately raised eyebrow and a glance in Tim's direction, as if to say, 'He always this cocksure?'

Jason lept on the action even still.

"Oh, he got your interest back there? I guess that makes sense since you talked to him first. That reminds me, how'd you react so fast when that lowlife got that lucky swipe in, anyhow? Unless you were already there?"

Her eyes slowly drifted back over to him at the lack of speech from the other, not reacting even to the callout.

"Feel free to dazzle us at any time," Tim called over.

Her lips twitched up.

"Oh, I see. Only willing to interact with little red then?"

A head tilt.

"What about demon spawn? Anything to say about him? Or what about big brother pretender?"

Her eyes snapped up to his, narrowed and... calculating?

"Think I struck a chord?" He turned towards Tim who only shrugged only to be wrenched back to focus as a tiny hand gripped his arm tightly, the previously complacent figure now tilted forward and staring him down with a hard look, flickering over his face as though the mask wasn't even there. Before he could even twist her arm away, she murmured out, "You're the second Robin, aren't you?"

Oh. Maybe calling Dick their big brother even jokingly was a mistake. Oh well, too late now,  and what did it really matter if she knew? Not as though it connected back to his civilian form.

"Yeah. You figured that out pretty quickly."

"Faked your death? To get away?" She asked, voice gruff and heavily accented.

"Died and brought back. Weird magic shit. Almost lost a bit of me on the way back."

"Should you be telling her that?" Tim bit out.

"What's it matter if I do? What's she going to do with that? She's not even from this country. Besides, you want her to trust us enough to talk, might as well instill a little trust in return, ya know? Not like we're interrogating her, otherwise you woulda taken over by now," Jason eased Tim again, his own words sparking his own thoughts back into motion, "Which reminds me, you travel here the normal way? Cause it'll be pretty easy to look up young women who've traveled here from France."

"Weird magic shit," was the deadened response.

"Touché."

"Why's your voice so hoarse?" Tim asked, finally moving forward to rejoin the conversation fully, only to watch her rub her throat.

"Not much of a talker?" Tim continued, meeting her eyes, "how long since you held a full conversation with someone then? Days? Weeks? Months?" Her eyes flickered, "Months then? Why? Why not talk? Why talk to us now?"

Her entire figure seemed to droop, caving into itself and finally she responded to him directly, "I'm alone."

While Jason seemed confused, it's like she struck something deep within Tim. Something that understood. That wanted to reach out and contradict her just so they could both be wrong.

And right as he reached out to do just that, the seat beneath her opened up in a pool of black ink that dragged her under only to close back up, leaving his hand outstretched towards an empty chair.

"Fuck, now I'm even more confused," Jason groused, standing up and kicking away the crate as he went.

"Yeah…"

[goddessofspunk]

Catfamily

Thanks to {•.•} on Ao3 we have a title for part 2 of Paris meets Selina Kyle!

<<Previous Masterpost Next>>

-So Selina now has her 2 wonderful children she adopted

- She decides to stay in Paris for a bit and teach them how to fight because honestly these were kids

- Of course she insisted on the whole you need to support each other as civilians to be a better team so identity reveal!

- That kind of killed their crushes on another because Adrien is Chat and Ladybug was Marinette

- So know that they know they have fully embraced their chaos child personalities and are living life well

- Of course then Lila decides to start her whole smear campaign of Marinette and Adrien is like nope not my sister

- Selina also gets another Kitten when Chloe joins in the Catfamily (because Chloe deserves a redemption arc)

- Queen Bee is also back in commission after heroes day due to a lot of miraculous magic and using the name Abeille

-Luka and Kagami are inducted to the Cat family shortly after

- The Catfamily is also considering Nino, Alix, Kim, and Max for possible membership due to them having seen the light

- And part time miraculous users Kagami and Luka are also being considered

- All in all the heroes of Paris are now Selina's kids and she now has a magical artifact that turns her into a cat hero

-She loves being the holder of the Tiger miraculous!

- Selina decides it's time for Bruce to meet his new step children

Selina- Brucie guess what? I took in a couple of strays!

Bruce- That's nice Selina, what type of cat are they?

Selina- Only one of them is a cat. A nice black cat to be precise.

A bewildered Bruce- Wait did you adopt a dog?

A delighted Selina who is acting like she is an offended Victorian maiden- Heavens no! I adopted children Bruce! To think you thought I would adopt a dog of all things! I thought you knew me!

Dick who just fell out of the celling- You adopted what!

Jason and Tim who fell out of the clock- She what!

Barbra, Stephanie, and Duke who are in the now open doorway- Children!

Cass signing- Congratulations!

Damian as he steps over Jason and Tim who are on the floor- Honestly Father you really thought she would adopt a dog?

-Cue a bunch of shenanigans as Adrien, Marinette, and Chloe meet their step-bat-family

-Marinette and Chloe totally drag their fashion choices with Adrien adding in occassionaly

-Bruce is appalled to find out Selina know has a magical cat artifact along with a hero identity that is protected by magic! And apparently she has magical powers now? Who thought that was a good idea? And why is she a magic cat hero!?!

-As you can see Bruce is not taking this new development well but his children are exited about the whole magical powers bit

-Damian likes all three of his new step siblings since they have their own city and hero legacies and won't take his

-Also Marinette makes amazing pastries and appreciates his drawings, he and Chloe have a mutual respect, and he can appreciate Agreste's fondness for felines and can you talk to them?

-The rest of the Batfamily  love their new French step siblings too

Anyway I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update. Everything has been so crazy since Covid started, but now it has calmed down a lot soo. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed part 2 of Selina in Paris! Happy Valentine’s Day guys!

Aella <3

Edit I totally forgot to add the tag list when I first posted this

Tag List

@g-arya @maribat-is-lifeblood @trashystar420 @novicevoice @dreamykitty25 @loveswifi @zotinha456

[jayphoenic]

Maribat Masterlist of Masterlists

Masterlist by @arty-shadow-morningstar

Contents are Daminette's, Bio Dad! John Constantine, Bridgette switching, Platonic Jasonette, Platonic Brucinette, and a Stephanie x Marinette.

Waiting for the Worms Masterpost by @black-streak

This is one big fic about soulmate Jasonette where they can switch bodies. Guess who was in Jason's body when the Joker killed 'him'.

ML x DC Masterlist by @artxyra

Containing Mari/Adribat, Mominette, Klepto! Mari, Psychologist Mari, Sibling Brucinette, Daminette and many more.

Maribat Master List by @astrynyx

Containing Timari/Timinette, Daminette, and art.

Masterpost by @soulmate-game

There are Bio Dad! Stephen Strange, Bio Dad! Bruce Wayne, Bio! Dad John Constantine, Adopted by the Kents, Bio Dad & Mom! Joker and Harley, and many more.

Remember some chapters are longer than others

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

Taglist:

@multplelifes @maribatcrossoveronly @elijahcrevan @soros14vox @anime-rae @kamenrider10123 @fic-holder @alexizlazy @miniaturealmonddreamzine @creampuff-mlbfics-finished @jayjayspixiepop @doll246 @thanos-rules @moonreaper25 @lexx-ee @ghostmaster83 @mysticprofessoralienhumanoid @megawhitleycalderonpaganus @kking13 @ritacrow-blog @lostinday @thewackest @pepelachanel @hemeraandnyxx @sureagain @novicevoice

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Hey, Little Songbird

Chapter 25 - AO3

An objective observer would call the security of the Agreste Manor flawless. The alarms, the sensors, the guard dogs, the cameras: all preciously poised to keep people out as well as in. in theory, Felix was a rat in a trap.

In theory.

Jimmying the window open with a knife he stole from dinner, he smushed a chewed piece of gum over the sensor as it was revealed, nestled against the side of the frame, never giving it time to set the alarm off. The sensor was designed to be unobtrusive at the cost of efficacy; Gabriel was paranoid, but he didn’t want anyone to know he was paranoid, so the sensor only triggered the alarm if it was fully uncovered.

Felix crept out onto the window ledge, years of gymnastics keeping him light on his feet. Tucked under the eaves of the house, out of sight of the security cameras pointed out at the grounds, he eased past darkened windows and balconies. Gabriel’s office was a floor above and around a corner, with a trellis covered in flowering vines between the two. Normally, a trellis wouldn’t support your weight, but Felix knew, from his childhood spent in and out of the manor, that it was anchored into the wall so that cleaners had access to the roof without the need for unsightly ladders.

He climbed the trellis, crushing ivy and flowers underfoot even though he could avoid hurting them, taking a perverse pleasure in killing them. They were only alive to keep up the perfect appearance of the manor. Eventually, they would die because of him, and then Gabriel would have to fork out thousands to replace plants.

Gabriel’s office window was more elaborate than Felix’s own guest window, with violet stained-glass butterflies all over. But Gabriel skimped on the security. There were no sensors, no cameras pointed at the glass. But there was an alarm. Gabriel had explained to him and Adrien when they were children that it was merely to alert him if the window was opened, so that no one could fall out. And while Felix thought it was strange, to only have an alarm on it, it was convenient. It only went off if he opened the window.

So Felix broke the glass instead.

Felix dropped in, shattered glass glinting in the moonlight from the broken window. The office looked no different from his memories when he and Adrien would stand side by side, bonded together in whatever mischief Gabriel was lecturing them over. Those years were long gone, and Felix ignored those lingering feelings in favor of the safe hidden behind his aunt’s painting.

The combination was their wedding anniversary. Felix gagged at the sappiness—as if his uncle didn’t have something to do with Aunt Emilie’s disappearance, as if he actually cared—but at least in meant Gabriel was consistent. The safe swung open.

A medley of treasures filled the safe. Felix recognized a few, like the pretty brooch Auntie used to wear, but others were more… eccentric. Like the salt encrusting the bottom of the safe. Felix snooped through several empty vials, crusted with an old, long-evaporated liquid, and crystals the size of his fist. An old book with a maroon cover leaned against the side, it’s title gibberish to Felix, with a Celtic knot on its front. There was a long black box, locked even inside the safe, and a lock of long, blonde hair inside a velvet bag.

He’d expected more. Corporate documents, evidence of secret dealings, something he could use to blackmail Gabriel. Not… weird cult stuff.

Finally, in the back, there was a telltale glint of silver.

He grabbed it, and slid his aunt’s wedding band onto his pointer finger, the diamond inset shining in the dim light.

“What do you think you’re doing here?”

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[rosesgonerogue]

Finding You (Again)

Chapter Four

Masterlist

Damian

After the first three days, Damian didn’t go home again. Every time he walked in and she wasn’t there felt like he was being stabbed, so he just stopped going. He still had the security system synced with his phone, and he couldn’t stop himself from checking it immediately whenever it gave any sort of update. 

Instead, Damian sulked around Wayne Manor, doing anything he could contrive to stop thinking about Marinette. He trained a lot - in fact, training took up the bulk of his time, leaving him to systematically rip various training dummies limb from limb. After a week of this, he felt…  feral. His family gave him a healthy amount of space, as evidenced by the fifteen foot radius they were giving him as they watched him dispatch yet another dummy, this time with his katana. 

When the practice dummy had been sufficiently reduced to scraps, he breathed deeply. Irked by the feeling of being scrutinized, he growled, “I can tell you all have something to say. What is it?”

They all traded glances before Babs finally said, “We’re worried about you, Damian.” 

“Shocking,” Damian said, punctuating the work with a sharp kick to the dismembered dummy laying on the ground. 

“Little D, you’re not okay,” Dick said from where he was perched. “You haven’t been this moody and angry since you were a teenager.” 

Before Damian could give an appropriately caustic reply, Jason spoke up. “Come on, Dick, let’s stop pussyfooting around the issue. You screwed up, Demon Spawn, and while you’re throwing a temper tantrum we haven’t heard from Marinette.” 

Hurt and anger flared in Damian’s chest, and the bottled up emotions from every day Marinette didn’t return broke free in the form of a wild punch thrown at his older brother’s face. It was a crazed, desperate punch that Jason caught without difficulty. Using the grip on Damian’s hand, Jason hauled him forward. “Listen here, you little -” 

“Let him go, Master Jason,” Alfred said, inserting himself between the two. “The situation will not be improved with violence, as Master Damian has demonstrated with these dummies.” 

“Thank you, Alfred,” Damian said, sharply pulling his hand away from Jason. “Now you can all kindly stay out of my marriage.” 

“With all due respect, Master Damian, we have been staying out of your marriage, but we have some serious concerns that you will listen to.” 

“I don’t know where Marinette is, so you can all save your breath,” Damian spat.

“We don’t know where she is either,” Babs said seriously. “We didn’t want to overstep our bounds, but Marinette hasn’t picked up her phone since she left, we found it being sold in a back alley.” 

“Her tracking chip isn’t showing up at all, and that sucker was embedded in her arm,” Drake added. “It should be able to track her anywhere in the world, and a little ways beyond it.” 

“Tom and Sabine haven’t seen or heard from her, and neither have her friends,” Bruce said seriously.

“Th-they haven’t?” Damian asked, his anger slowly being replaced by fear.

“She hasn’t finished a single commission,” Babs added. “I had to hack her website to send refunds and explanations to each of her customers.” 

“Ladybug also hasn’t been seen anywhere in the world that we can find. Besides, Marinette has never been the kind to just leave without saying a word to anyone. We don’t want to pry into your marriage, but we love you and we love Marinette. Something is wrong.” 

With every word his family spoke, Damian felt reality crashing down on him. All the worry and loneliness he’d been smothering with anger felt suffocating. He couldn’t hear anything above the sound on his heartbeat drumming in his ears. A million different possibilities swam through his mind - Marinette, cold and alone. Marinette, trapped and desperate. 

Marinette dead.

That image brought everything to a screeching halt. As much as he wanted to give into his emotions, Damian needed to act. Breathing deeply, he attempted to organize his chaotic thoughts.

“Tim, Babs, I need you two to look at all of the security footage of the night she disappeared. When she needs to think, she usually takes Fifth Street home so she has a longer walk. Jason and Stephanie, you two go search possible routes to my house for any kind of evidence. Dick… Dick, will you come look in my house for any evidence?”

He hated the way his voice shook when he said the last part, but his oldest brother simply put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re here to help, Little D. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.” 

With that, everyone sprang into action, worry etched into their faces. Damian didn’t speak a single word on the way over to his house, despite his brother’s best efforts. A million more possibilities swam through his head, torturing him with all of the possibilities of what might have happened to her. 

His heart twisted in his chest when they got to his house. Again, Damian found that he couldn’t name the emotions racing through him. If he were going to attempt describing what he was feeling while looking at his house, he would liken it to being in a funeral home - it was somewhere designed to be warm and inviting, but it was just cold and oppressively silent. 

The house was still, undisturbed. It smelled slightly musty, but it looked exactly as it had been the last time he’d walked in. 

“She didn’t make it home that night,” Damian said almost immediately. 

“How do you know?”

“The morning of she forgot that fabric - she was going to come home for it during her lunch break, but an emergency repair came in for her and she didn’t have time. She had big plans for that fabric, and she never would have left it unfolded on the floor like that.” 

“She is neurotic about her fabric,” Dick said, nodding sagely. 

Seeing the fabric strewn across the floor bothered Damian more than it probably should have. While his brother started to search the house, Damian couldn’t help but snatch the fabric and carefully fold it. He’d barely placed it on the couch when the door crashed open, a huge form bustling in. 

“Bad news, Damian,” Jason said, thrusting something towards Damian’s face. 

It was so close to his eyes that it took a second to adjust so he could see what it was, but when he did take it in, the blood drained from his face. It was a dart, a dart that he and Jason recognized immediately. 

“Mother.” 

Note:  So it's been a minute, but I only have two weeks left of the semester and then I should have exponentially more time to write. Thank you all for your support and patience, I really appreciate it!

Taglist: 

@tbehartoo @kris-pines04 @thesunanditsangel @constancetruggle @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @rosalineandrosemary @novicevoice @momothefemur  @theymakeupfairies @maskedpainter @mystery-5-5 @dast218 @tip-tap-tired @zerotosiki @rebecarojas07 @bookgirl14 @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @lookatthestars1 @swiftie-miraculer13 @qualitypeacepainter @redbullgivescaswings @toodaloo-kangaroo @kking13 @buginetye