#...and spent the last year of your life obsessing over details and themes and parallels and intersecting storylines...

[gaysails]

3.10 // 4.02

[terramythos]

Review: Vengeful by V. E. Schwab (Villains #2)

Length: 567 pages

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Found Family, Revenge Narrative, Superpowers, Dark, Time Jumps, Perspective Shifts, Third-Person, LGBT+ Protagonist, Female Protagonist, Duology

Warning(s): Pretty much every previous warning applies here (violence, gore, genocidal thinking, etc). In addition, there is a VERY graphic medical torture scene, physical abuse, references to rape, implied hard drug abuse, and somewhat graphic sexual content. To reiterate: NO ONE in this story is a good person.

My Rating: 7/10

My Summary:

Five years have passed since Victor and Eli’s fateful encounter, when Victor enacted his perfect revenge. He finds himself in an unusual position; with other people to care for. There’s just one problem— his pain-manipulation powers have started to backfire on him. Every few weeks, they kill him. He comes back, but the intervals between episodes are growing shorter, and his amount of time without oxygen to the brain are growing longer. Thus Victor, Sydney, and Mitch enter a desperate race against the clock to find a cure— by any means necessary. Meanwhile, a new force rises in the city of Merit. When Marcella Riggins, wife to one of the most powerful mob bosses in the city, catches her husband cheating, he burns her alive to solve the problem. What he doesn’t count on is for her to come back as an EO with a terrifying power in her grasp. Now she’s out to take revenge and all the power of Merit for herself. As Marcella’s  ascension to power progresses, she inevitably pulls Victor and Eli back into their deadly conflict.

“How many of us do you think there are?” “EOs?” June hesitated. “Who knows? More than you’d think. We don’t exactly go around advertising.” “But you can find them.” The glass was halfway to June’s mouth. Now it stopped. “What?” “Your power,” said Marcella. “You said when you touch someone, you can take their appearance, but only if they’re human. Doesn’t that man you can tell when they’re not?” June’s smile flickered, and returned twice as bright. “You’re awfully sharp.” “So I’ve been told.” June stretched on her stool. “Sure, I can tell. Why? You looking to find more of us?” “Maybe.” “Why?” June shot her a sideways glance. “Trying to eliminate the competition?” “Hardly.” She finished her drink and set the empty glass down, running a gold nail around the rim. “Men look at anyone with power and see only a threat, an obstacle in their path. They never have the sense to see the power for what it really is.” “And what’s that?” asked June. “Potential.” Marcella tightened her fingers around the stem of her glass. “This ability of mine,” she said as her hand glowed red, “is a weapon.” As she spoke, the glass dissolved to sand, slipping through her fingers. “But why settle for one weapon when you can have an arsenal?”

For my review of Vicious, the first book in this series, please click here. 

Full review under the cut. 

I really wanted to give Vengeful a higher score. After all, the first 90% of the book is a solid 9/10, addressing most of the criticisms I had with Vicious and containing much of what I had hoped to see in a sequel. It features deeper exploration of the characters, develops intriguing themes I had wanted to see more of, and expands upon the setting and premise in interesting ways. In essence, it’s a bigger and better version of Vicious… for the most part. However, it falls apart in the ending, to such an extent that it dragged down the whole experience for me. I’ll get into the whys later. But first I think it’s worth discussing the novel in general and which parts of it did click for me. After all, I’m not lying when I say most of it is very enjoyable.

Vengeful is written and takes place 5 years after Vicious. It’s roughly twice the length of the previous entry and features an expanded cast. Three main leads from the previous novel— Victor, Sydney, and Eli— all reprise leading roles. Joining them are Detective Stell (a minor antagonist from Vicious) and two newcomers— June and Marcella, the latter of whom shows up on the cover and in most of the promotional material. I was struck immediately by the writing improvements in Vengeful— including more detailed, imaginative, and interesting descriptions. Schwab obviously improved a lot on the 5-year span between this book and its predecessor.

Basically, Vengeful focuses on where the characters have come over the last 5 years— for better or worse— and how the world adjusts and changes in the presence of EOs— superpowered humans.

Like before, the story is told in an anachronistic fashion. There is an overarching plot, but it hops around the timeline showing different parts of each character’s lives. That could be confusing, but it’s well-executed here, as it was in Vicious. Unlike in Vicious, however, this entry dedicates entire chunks of the book to individual characters. For example, the story opens up with Victor and explores him for a while, then switches over to Sydney, then onwards through the six members of the main cast. Occasionally we get guest chapters starring minor characters or “check-in” chapters with others, but for the most part it follows this pattern. I really liked this approach, because it's a deep dive into each character and their complexities and motivations. There were times I had to backtrack and remind myself what happened in previous sections, but that’s probably more on me than the book itself.

The characters themselves are interesting, and probably the strongest point of the novel. I enjoyed each to some extent. It’s fun to read a story where nobody is a good person, yet what that actually means varies quite a bit. Sydney and Eli had the most compelling stories and arcs; both dealt with identity and one’s place in life and the universe, but explored different facets of the concept. Both characters have changed a lot from their introductions, and it’s been interesting to see. Victor’s struggles and desperation are a far cry from where he finished in Vicious, so that was interesting as well. I thought June was a creative take on a shapeshifter character (more on that later), and her level of obsession with Sydney and its development over time was alarmingly relatable. While I don’t find Stell particularly interesting, I do think he was an essential perspective for the story, and he does expand the world quite a bit with his ties to EON (again, more on that later).

The (somewhat twisted) found family between Victor, Sydney, and Mitch was a big high point of the story for me; there are some indications of it in the first book, but this one goes all-in. I really enjoyed seeing these messed up people genuinely bond with each other and form a ragtag family.

There’s also some good LGBT+ representation in the novel. The relationship between Sydney and June, while ultimately pretty screwed up, is flirty and romantic in nature (and again, uh, alarmingly relatable). Victor is canonically confirmed to be asexual as well. I’m of the opinion that LGBT+ characters should hold a variety of roles, heroic and otherwise, since we’re people. I’m glad to see Vengeful make it happen.

Marcella is probably where I struggled the most (outside of the ending in general). She was initially one of my favorite characters— imagine an ambitious femme fatale turned up to eleven and literally given the power to destroy anything she touches. Her chapters are certainly fun based on that premise. However, I spent most of the novel waiting for there to be something else to her. Possibly a secondary motivation, or some kind of personal moral struggle— anything. But there really isn’t. She is just straight up a character who wants to seize power at all costs because she thinks she deserves it. Marcella is a pretty flat character, which is disappointing when she’s (1) the face of the novel and (2) in a series that focuses on moral complexity and shades of gray.

Vengeful improves upon the worldbuilding in Vicious. Before, Merit was just a generic city setting. But this entry expands upon it— especially its criminal underbelly. It also develops some setting-specific concepts. New to the story is EON, a clandestine paramilitary organization that hunts down EOs and eliminates or imprisons them. Led by Stell and built with the best of intentions, there is nevertheless a sense of dehumanization and genocidal parallels as he struggles to control the expanding organization. It’s key to both Stell and Eli’s character arcs, and there is certainly enough material to expand upon in the future.

This may sound like an odd thing to praise, but Vengeful abandons the whole superhero motif present in Vicious. Yeah, it was an interesting moral dilemma in the first novel— who’s the hero and who’s the villain— but it’s played out by now. Having a setting which features superpowers but isn’t tied down by superhero tropes is a good call and allows for more creative plot and writing decisions.

One thing I really enjoyed about this novel is how it expands upon the superpowers in creative ways. Even established characters have new and interesting developments to their powers that are still in line with previous canon. For example, Victor— whose power is manipulating pain in others— discovers he can manipulate nerves in general, and develops the ability to control others’ movements. June is a shapeshifter, but it’s a unique take I haven’t seen before. Basically, she takes on key memories of anyone she touches, which gives her enough background to convincingly mimic them. In addition, she’s a living voodoo doll. If she sustains injury while disguised as someone else, they’re the one who gets injured, not her. This is used to interesting and creative effect several times in the story.

Overall, this has the makings of a really entertaining novel with some deep character arcs and interesting themes. I should be overjoyed this even got a sequel, and for most of the novel I was. So what’s up with the ending? How could it have so strongly impacted my experience with Vengeful?

My problem with the ending isn’t that I disagree with it, or didn’t like it on a personal level. I’ve dealt with plenty of endings that didn’t go where I wanted (hell, I’ve read some by this author). But I can justify and even appreciate just about any ending as long as it makes sense with what’s been established before. Does it make sense for the characters to end up here, based on their development throughout the story? Does the ending fully realize the premise? If so, it’s an acceptable ending. Even if it’s one I didn’t picture, I can understand and even learn to like it.

That’s not the case with Vengeful. I mentioned characterization as a strong point, but out of the six members of the main cast, I’d say maybe two of them end up in places that even make sense (not even in satisfying ways, just… make sense). That means that four members of the main cast have unsatisfying or nonsensical endings to their character arcs. Considering this, is it much of a surprise the ending impacts the score so much? I finished the novel scratching my head like wow, that’s really it?

And I’ve tried to figure it out, believe me. I finished this book weeks ago and am only now posting the review. I’ve gone back and forth, tried to justify certain endings, went back to see if I missed something, but… nope. And at the end of the day, I shouldn’t need to bend over backwards to justify an ending. It should justify itself. It should make sense in and of itself.

I’ll give an example of one character, because I think it exemplifies the root of the problem. (Obviously this will be vague to avoid Mega Spoilers, but it should be obvious who I’m talking about if you’ve read the book).

There’s one character whose main conflict is they NEED to find a solution to their problem. Throughout the story they seek out and find various people who might be able to help. But nothing is working. They grow increasingly desperate and resort to more and more extreme methods to find the solution. Eventually, they find what seems to be the answer, but their hopes are dashed once again. In a moment of personal growth, this character realizes that there is no miracle coming. Since they are the cause of the problem, the only one who can solve it is THEM. They resolve to find the solution themselves or die trying.

How does this arc end? I’m not even joking— they just straight up find a miracle solution. There is some setup for it… but that setup is tied to a completely different character. And regardless, it still feels like a deus ex machina; it destroys initiative. It’s even worse because this character’s arc peaks when they realize they must SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS, then the ending hands over the solution with no strings attached. Sure, they technically find it due to their own actions, but it’s because someone unrelated to them or their arc did something. Even then, there were ways to make it work— Schwab could have drawn parallels between characters, or played up the dramatic irony. It would still be weak, but at least it would show some self-awareness. But we don’t even get that.

That’s just the clearest example. There are multiple characters whose key moments are just ignored in the ending. It would be one thing if they realized certain things weren’t that important to them, or in a moment of dramatic irony fell short of where they were meant to go. Those things make sense. But that’s not what happens— the character arcs just end with zero solution to the problems and ideas the rest of the novel spends developing. It’s very unsatisfying, and I found myself wondering what the point of the novel even was. It honestly feels like the first 90% of the book is hand crafted and polished to a mirror shine, while the ending is a first draft with minimal edits and zero continuity with the rest of the story.  

It’s possible, and even likely, that there’s more to the Villains story. Nothing has been officially announced, but certain aspects of the novel just scream it to me. One of the few characters who ends in a decent place has a very “the end… or is it?” outro. There’s a 4-page short story after the epilogue that focuses on a seemingly minor character and her origins. And some aspects of the worldbuilding, such as EON, could be explored more. In short, Vengeful sets up for a book three, or even a spinoff of some sort. But even then, the character arcs still need to make sense in the context of this novel, and they simply don’t. When the main strength and focus of the novel is characterization, the ending HAS to realize that potential. Vengeful doesn’t, and we’re left with a confusing and disappointing conclusion.  

Feel free to take this review with a grain of salt— from what I can tell, Vengeful was critically well-received and a lot of people enjoyed it. Perhaps there really is just something I’m missing. But the ending was enough of a disappointment that it affected the whole experience. It was especially disappointing to me coming from an author I really enjoy. Perhaps there is more to the story, but it’s going to take a lot to win me back on this one.

[blaqqkat]

Honey, Honey

Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction

Read it on AO3 here

A/N: This fandom has eaten me whole. I am trash. Send help.

     It is no simple task for an artist to find their muse. The first time Nathanael had ever found his, he was fifteen and her eyes were so, so blue. Marinette was delicate and sugar-sweet, and he only ever wanted to shield her from the world. Of course, turning into a villain that so cruelly paralleled the heroic version of himself he’d crafted was the worst way to do so. He’d stopped drawing her after that. After all, how could you spend all of your time drawing someone you couldn’t bear to look at?

     It’s been two years since then, and Nath still struggles to find something that resonates with him quite the way Marinette once had. Not for lack of trying, of course! But no matter how many times he strolled around Paris with a sketchbook in hand, nothing inspired him. He was just waiting for that spark. That jolt of electricity, that-

     Nathanael didn’t even get time to process the flash of bold color in his peripheral before he was knocked to the ground. When he came to, he realized two things. The first thing he noticed when he looked up was that the city was in chaos. How did he not notice that before? The curse of being an artist, he supposed. He sort of had a one-track mind when it came to inspiration, and-

     The second thing Nathanael noticed was that he had a superheroine on top of him. The same one he’s seen all over the news, saving the world in that bug-themed suit of hers. And wow, she really was as beautiful as everyone says.

     “What,” she begins. “Are you doing? This whole block is supposed to be evacuated! It’s so typical for you to have your head in the clouds, Na- I mean, you naive artist.”

     As much as he would’ve liked to say that he was listening to her, all he could focus on was the way her mouth formed the words. Was his face getting hot? A quick brush of his palm to his cheek confirmed that, yes, it was. After a moment of analyzing his face with narrowed eyes, she clamored off of him and extended a hand. He stared at it for a moment before the gears in his brain began to move and he realized that she was offering to help him up. Nathanael put his hand in hers, blood boiling as she pulled him to his feet.

     “I would offer to get you to safety, but I don’t have time,” she said haughtily, cocking a hip. “I trust that you can find your own way?”

     “Yes,” Nathanael rushed to say. “I’ll be fine.”

     “And you promise not to get caught in the line of fire or snatched up by the akuma?”

     Her eyes were fierce, as if she was daring him to answer to the contrary. Something in him was a little frightened at her intensity, but the rest of him was… flattered? She was looking at him like his safety was vital. Like he’d better not dare put himself in harm’s way. Would this be a weird time to swoon?

     “I, uh, yes. I promise, ma’am.”

     She nodded and turned to rejoin the fight. At the last minute, however, she glanced back over her shoulder. Her serious demeanor melted into something almost playful as her eyes met his, and Nathanael felt something in his stomach twist and flutter.

     “You know,” she drawled, rolling her eyes and giving a cavalier flip her hair. “Most people just call me Queen Bee.”

     Nathanael doesn’t know how long he stands there after she flies away, jaw dropped and heart pounding. When he finally snaps out of it, he realizes two things. First is that he probably should take cover. Queen Bee really had been serious about him getting out of there, and he didn’t exactly feel like falling victim to the akuma of the week. But the second thing he realized was how tightly his fingers were clenching his sketchbook. Seeing her had lit up a part of himself that had been in the dark for so long. It was like he’d touched a live wire. Like he’d just received a defibrillator to the chest.

     Like he’d just been struck by lightning.

     Walking into class the next day felt like trying to move with a lead anchor wrapped around his ankle. Nathanael had spent the entire night drawing her. And he still couldn’t seem to stop himself. As soon as he sat at his desk and set his bag on the floor, he was already taking out his sketchbook to flesh out an outline he’d started after waking up. Nath just couldn’t seem to get her eyes right. They were big, but they didn’t look young. They were fierce, but they weren’t angry. They were sexy, but not flirtatious-

     “What are you drawing?”

     Nathanael sighed at the familiar voice without even bothering to look up.

     “Nothing, Chloe.”

     “What’s with the attitude?” she whined, coming closer. “I’m just curious! I never see you draw during class.”

     “And whose fault do you think that is?” he grumbled. Chloe huffed and hopped up to sit on his desk, but Nathanael only hissed and shielded his sketchbook from her prying eyes.

     “I don’t know what you’re implying, but if I did then I would say whoever you’re talking about is a changed person and might mildly regret that one time she showed your drawings of Marinette to everyone. But I really don’t know what you’re implying.”

     “Don’t you?” Nathanael asked flatly.

     “I really don’t,” Chloe insisted. “Now show me.”

     “No.”

     “The more you hide it, the more I want to know.”

     “It’s good to want things, Chloe.”

     “Nathanael, I’m not going to ask again.”

     “Good, because it would be annoying to say ‘no’ again.”

     “Just let me see what you’re drawing!” Chloe demanded, hopping off the desk and stomping her foot. She reached for the sketchbook, but Nathanael stood up to get it out of reach in time. Which, of course, only made her louder and more persistent.

      “Come on! I just want to see what’s so important that it’s got you drawing again-”

     “It’s not a big deal,” Nath defended. “Just let it go, Chloe.”

     “It’s probably some stupid girl again-”

     “She’s not stupid!”

     And suddenly the whole class was staring, and Chloe was gaping like a fish. Great. Nathanael sat back down and put a fist over his mouth, wishing for probably the millionth time in his short life that he could make himself invisible.

     “Who’s not stupid?” Alya asked with narrowed eyes, her gaze darting back and forth between Chloe and Nathanael.

     “Uh,” Nathanael stammered, face burning from the attention. “I, um-”

     “Frida Kahlo,” Chloe interrupted blithely. “I said that she was stupid for depicting herself as less attractive than she really was in her self portraits. Nathanael was just saying that she was intentionally doing it to depict her inner turmoil and deep-seeded issues with her low self-esteem.”

     “Huh,” Alya exhaled, obviously not expecting that answer. “That’s… interesting. He’s right, though. And anyone who’d call Frida Kahlo stupid is obviously overcompensating for their own lack of artistic creativity.”

     “Bite me, Césaire,” Chloe hissed.

     “The only one my girlfriend will be biting is me,” Nino joked, butting in with an easy smile. Alya whacked the back of his head but gave a girlish giggle as she did so.

     “You so bad,” she fake-hissed.

     Nathanael watched as Chloe gagged at the couple’s antics and refocused her eyes on him. He felt annoyed at the flood of gratitude that washed over him, seeing as the unwanted attention was Chloe’s fault in the first place.

     “I didn’t know you were so well-versed in Frida Kahlo,” Nathanael murmured, glancing up to catch Chloe staring intently at some fixed point in space before turning her attention to him.

     “I may not be good at making art, but I dominate in art history. Just like I do in my many other talents.”

     Nathanael rolled his eyes.

     “Color me impressed.”

     “Is that an art pun?”

     “Um, should it be?”

     “God, no,” Chloe breathed, leaning against his desk. “I’ve been spending more and more time with this coworker of mine who puns constantly. Honestly, I don’t know how his partner puts up with it.”

     “You have a job?” Nathanael asked, trying to imagine Chloe working a day in her life.

     “Not for money, obviously,” Chloe sniffed. “It’s just some volunteer work I do a couple times a week. Making the world a better place and all that.”

     “Somehow, I highly doubt that.”

     “Well, I definitely saved your ass just now.”

     “I guess you did,” Nathanael admitted. “Even though it was your fault-”

     “No need to thank me,”  Chloe interrupted, completely ignoring what Nath was about to say. “Showing me your drawings of the girl that’s got your panties in a twist will be thanks enough.”

     “You’re really not gonna let go of this, are you?”

     “Nope.”

     After all these years, Nathanael really should’ve known better than to try to beat Chloe Bourgeois in a glaring contest. But no more than one minute later he was handing over his sketchbook with eyes that stung and watered from the effort of matching Chloe’s unblinking rage. She gave a little chuckle that screamed of superiority as she flipped through his old sketches to find his new muse.

     “You’ve got me curious to see who she is,” she murmured, flipping through old drawings of Nath’s pets and recreations of famous portraits he had seen around the Louvre.

     “Curiosity killed the cat,” Nathanael sighed.

     “If only,” Chloe muttered cryptically. “I just want to see this mystery girl. Whoever she is, I bet she’s not as cool as…”

     Chloe trailed off, clearly having reached the pages with Nath’s drawings of Queen Bee. He watched, embarrassed, as she gently ran her fingers along the silhouette of the blonde superheroine mid-flight.

     “Me,” Chloe breathed, the uncertainty of her tone making it sound more like a question than her finally finishing her sentence.

     Nathanael watched as she flipped through the pages slowly, her eyes lingering over every detail. He couldn’t bear to see her expression as she found more and more drawings, nervously looking around the room for a distraction. Adrien Agreste had just come in, so maybe he could get Chloe’s attention? Honestly, anything that would get Chloe off his back before she started judging him would be great. He worried that he looked like a creepy, Queen Bee-obsessed fanboy. It was completely normal to fill ten pages (front and back) with drawings of the same person in a single night, right? He couldn’t help it. The end result had never quite looked right. They never did her justice. Anyone could look at the drawings and plainly see-

     “Is she really this pretty?”

     Chloe’s voice was quiet for once, as if she’d been speaking to herself. Still, Nathanael couldn’t help but feel a little indignant on Queen Bee’s behalf. Honestly, he felt borderline offended at the implication.

     “No,” he griped, reaching for the sketchbook only for Chloe to block him. “She’s much prettier. I’m too shitty an artist to capture just how beautiful she is.”

     Was Chloe Bourgeois blushing? His eyes must be deceiving him.

     “You’re not a shitty artist. These drawings are… amazing,” she gushed. Nathanael just about fell out of his seat. Was this the Twilight Zone? Had Nath wandered into an alternate dimension? Chloe noticed his stunned silence and cleared her throat.

     “For an amateur, that is,” Chloe quickly added.

     “Ah, thanks. I guess.”

     “I suppose it helps that you have an acceptable muse,” Chloe noted, finally handing back Nath’s sketchbook. “I heard Queen Bee is quite impressive.”

     “That’s an understatement,” Nathanael declared. “I actually met her yesterday.”

     “Oh really,” Chloe asked, seemingly disinterested as she glanced down at her nails. “What’s she like?”

     Nathanael answered with the first word that came to mind.

     “Bold. Like she’d take down anyone who gets in her way. And confident, like she knew she’d win.”

     “She probably would,” Chloe shrugged. “I heard she’s a badass.”

     “I believe it,” Nathanael sighed. “She’s so intense.”

     “Of course she is!” Chloe agreed. “I mean, she’s best friends with Ladybug, right?”

     “Excuse me,” Alya butted in. “I’m pretty sure Volpina is Ladybug’s favorite.”

     “That’s cute, babe,” Nino laughed. “But I think we all know that Ladybug and Jade Turtle are the two wisest. Which definitely makes them tighter than the rest of the squad.”

     “Are you guys insane?” Adrien hissed, turning in his seat to glare at the three of them. “Chat Noir is obviously Ladybug’s closest companion in the entire world! They’re yin and yang! Creation and destruction! Good luck and bad! Besides, the two of them were partners before all these other heroes showed up out of nowhere-”

     “What,” Chloe gasped, indignant. “I adore you, Adrikins, but how could you even-”

     “Dear God,” Marinette groaned, walking into class late (as per usual). “It is too early in the morning for this bickering.”

     “Good morning, Marinette,” Nathanael waved, hoping that she might be the one to break up all this talk of superheroes.

     “Salut, Nathanael,” she smiled. But as Marinette edged towards her seat, her eyes trailed over to Adrien (as they always did) and Nath knew it was a lost cause.

     “So, what exactly is the problem?”

     “Reason with these savages, Marinette,” Alya begged. “Ladybug’s favorite is obviously-”

     “Her entire team, because she loves them equally and only third graders pick favorite friends,” Marinette finished flatly, sitting down and pulling out her tablet.

     “But who do you think she’d save first if they were all stuck in a burning building?” Nino insisted.

     “The answer is obvious,” Marinette groused. “Queen Bee has wings, so she can fly out herself. Jade Turtle’s shell is pretty much indestructible, so he would just take cover. And he’d definitely shield Volpina while he was at it because they obviously have a thing going on-”

     “They so do not,” Alya interrupted defensively. “Volpina said in an interview that she had a boyfriend, and she definitely wouldn’t betray his trust to run off with Donatello-”

     “Jade Turtle is definitely Leonardo,” Nino defended. “But Alya is right. He wouldn’t cheat on the beautiful girlfriend I’m sure he has for some vixen-”

     “But you think Volpina’s cute, right?” Alya asked, looking strangely self-conscious. Nino sputtered.

     “Well, duh, but not as cute as you-”

     “Anyways,” Adrien interrupted. “What Marinette was getting at was that Chat is undoubtedly the one Ladybug would save from a fire, which makes him Ladybug’s dearest teammate. Meaning that Marinette is clearly the only one here with common sense. Case closed.”

     Marinette flushed.

     “I didn’t say that! You make it sound like Ladybug and Chat Noir are an item.”

     “I mean,” Adrien blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Couldn’t they be?”

     “I, um, that is,” Marinette stammered. “Maybe they could be if she weren’t in love with someone else-”

     “What,” Adrien gasped, visibly upset. “Where did you hear that Ladybug was in love with someone?”

     “Well, I-”

     Nathanael stopped listening around then, glad that everyone was riled up enough to pay him no mind. He pulled his sketchbook out again and tried to capture the sultry sweep of Queen Bee’s eyelashes, frowning when her heavy lids made her look more tired than seductive. He erased and redrew, quickly getting lost in his work and forgetting the world around him. It was more convincing, this way, to pretend that he couldn’t feel Chloe’s eyes on him. It was easier ignore the fact that she kept darting her gaze back to him and his sketchbook with an interest that she’d never quite seemed to think he was worthy of before.

     But most of all, it was better that he keep head down and act like her unwavering attention didn’t have Nath’s heart ready to beat out of his chest.

     It was a few months later, when Queen Bee had saved him from danger for the third time that week alone, that she started to crack.

     “Now, what are you going to do next time there’s an akuma attack?” she asked shrilly.

     “Run away,” Nathanael droned blandly, the same rehearsed lie he’d been forced to give the last dozen times they’d had this conversation.

     “And what are you not going to do the next time there’s an akuma attack?”

     Nathanael blushed and muttered under his breath.

     “I’m sorry, what was that?”

     “I’m not gonna try to take reference photos of the akuma for my graphic novel,” he grumbled, cheeks burning.

     “And you’re actually going to keep your word next time,” Queen Bee insisted with narrowed eyes. “Right?”

     “Yes, ma’am.”

     “Be honest,” she demanded, definitely picking up on the nervous flit of Nathanael’s eyes as she crossed her arms.

     “Don’t you mean bee honest?”

     Nath watched as Queen Bee spun around to glare daggers at one of Paris’s favorite superheroes. He felt a little small as Chat Noir sauntered over, oozing confidence and charm. It struck him as odd, suddenly, when he realized that he’d never seen Queen Bee interacting with another member of her team outside of crime fighting. If the sudden stiffness of her posture and the clench of her jaw were indicators, Nath might be under the impression that not every superhero in Paris got along with the others as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir did.

     “If I hear one more pun from you today, Chat Noir, I will personally make sure that you wind up as puréed cat food before the week is through.”

     “Hey,” Chat said, throwing his hands up in defense with a good-natured grin. “I just wanted to let you know that Volpina and I took care of things. Bug is cleansing the akuma as we speak. But if you’re busy-”

     “I am, thank you very much. I have to make sure this civilian is safe-”

     “He looks safe to me,” Chat Noir frowned. “You safe, pal?”

     “Yeah, I’m safe,” Nath reassured, surprise flooding him when Bee turned to shoot him a look of betrayal.

     “Then come on, Bee. The press is wanting a conference with all five of us.”

     And then Nathanael saw something he thought he’d never see in his entire life. Queen Bee- graceful, sophisticated, polished- stamped her foot and had a tantrum. Like a small child told to pick up her toys.

     “I don’t wanna,” she whined, crossing her arms. “The press is stupid! They only ever focus on dumb old Hawkmoth, Volpina and Jade Turtle’s sexual tension, and you and LB wanting to kiss each other’s faces off-”

     “What,” Chat spluttered.

     “So I’m going to stay here with this civilian,” Bee pressed on. “Because he’s obviously shaken and in need of emotional support.”

     Nathanael started to protest but was quickly met with a sharp elbow to his side.

     “Yep,” he winced. “I’m holding back the tears as we speak.”

     “So if you could kindly buzz off,” Queen Bee seethed at Chat Noir. “It would be appreciated.”

     “I believe buzzing off would be your forte,” Chat snarked back.

     “Okay, that’s it-”

     “Oh!” Nathanael feigned, fed up with their bickering. “The crippling emotional trauma!”

     Bee looked at him liked he’d grown a second head before catching on. She feigned concern, pressing a comforting hand to Nath’s back and stepping in closer. She was so near that Nathanael could count her eyelashes if his overactive mind didn’t tend to lose track so easily. Thunder erupted in his chest. That definitely wasn’t the sound of his heart doing the Paso Doble against his ribcage. Nope. No siree.

     “I should get you somewhere quieter,” she played along. “As in somewhere where this loudmouth is not.”

     “Hey-”

     “Enjoy your boring press junket, Cat Boy!”

     And with that, Queen Bee scooped Nath up and flew off. In the back of his mind, Nath wondered when he got so comfortable with a girl smaller than he was carrying him princess style. It was likely around the time that he found himself getting personally cornered by an akuma every other week. Should he feel emasculated? Because all he felt was a honey-sweet warmth pooling in his veins as her ponytail brushed against his fingers where they gripped her shoulder and her perfume wafted between them. Whatever the scent was, it smelled nice. And expensive. Nathanael added ‘wears expensive perfume’ to the short list of things he knew about Queen Bee.

     “Thank you,” he murmured as they flew through the night. “For always saving me.”

     “It’s my job,” she muttered, not quite accepting the compliment as she usually did. “Someone has to make sure you don’t get squashed every time there’s an akuma, after all.”

     “Still,” Nath insisted. “I appreciate it. You’re… you’re amazing.”

     Nathanael about had a heart attack when they suddenly fell about ten feet out of the air before continuing on course. Startled, he looked over to see Bee grimacing.

     “Forget how to fly much?” he teased, boldened.

     “I will drop you,” she threatened.

     “But then you’ll lose your number one fan,” he laughed.

     “I’m pretty sure Sabrina Raincomprix holds that title,” she grumbled back.

     Nath wheezed in response. She was probably right on that one. When Alya’s LadyBlog fizzled out (Alya had suddenly become too busy during akuma battles to get any footage, for some reason), Sabrina had been inspired to start a blog of her own: QueenMeme. It was awful, really. The whole thing was a slew of fan memes depicting how wonderful Queen Bee is.

     “She worships you,” Nath managed to say between bouts of laughter.

     “Well, for good reason,” Bee snarked. “I’m the greatest superhero Paris has ever seen.”

     “You might be right,” he hummed in response.

     The next time her wings faltered, Nathanael just laughed.

     To say he was surprised when Queen Bee landed on the roof of his apartment complex would have been the most obscene understatement. It was disorienting, like having a dream where reality and fiction were so intertwined that he could make head or tails of neither. After all, this was his home but-

     “How did you know where I live?”

     Queen Bee had the sense to look embarrassed. Another wave of surprise washed over Nath as she looked down at her feet, kicking at the nonexistent dirt on the gravel rooftop. “Bashful” was a color he’d never seen painted on her before, and Nath’s head was reeling from all these new sides of Bee he was seeing tonight.

     “I, um,” she stammered, the way she nervously gripped her elbow making Nathanael’s head spin. “I was, you know, patrolling around here a couple weeks ago, and I saw you go inside. I was late, and you didn’t come out so I just assumed- I mean, unless you have a girlfriend or-”

     Queen Bee abruptly cut herself off with a groan and swiped her palms down her face. Nathanael watched in awe as she took a moment to recollect herself, his mouth gaping as he himself tried to formulate some sort of words. He was still reeling when Bee pieced herself together enough to send him a deadly serious look.

     “Do you live here or not?” she asked hotly, crossing her arms.

     “I, uh, yeah?”

     He didn’t mean to make his words sound like a question, but she seemed to find the answer satisfactory enough as she plowed on.

     “And what’s the deal with the whole girlfriend situation?” She demanded, expression fierce despite the deep crimson in her cheeks,

     “What?” Nathanael gaped, head spinning as she leaned in closer.

     “Do you have a girlfriend,” she grit out, repeating her words slowly. “Or not?”

     “Not,” he rushed to say. “I mean, no, I don’t.”

     Her eyes scanned his face, as if trying find a lie in his flushing cheeks or the nervous crease between his brows. And without fanfare or ceremony, she darted in for a kiss. It was brief, but he still had time to process the slick rub of her lipgloss and the warmth of her skin and the rubbery honeycomb texture of her gloved hand where it brushed his jaw. The smack of their lips pulling apart would’ve been deafeningly loud if his own heartbeat wasn’t frantic enough to cover the sound. She looked up at him after pulling away, those piercing eyes of hers not looking through him like usual, but into him? He wondered what she saw there. Could she see the jittery shake of his body? Or the way his skin was practically thrumming with electricity?

     “I’m glad you don’t have a girlfriend,” she finally murmured, voice low and secretive. “I would’ve stolen you from her anyways, but it’s a bother to deal with competition.”

     Nath let out a shaky breath, unsure of what to say next. Speechlessness was a problem he continually dealt with, and he was used to people getting frustrated with his silence. But not her. He didn’t want her to look down on him. Speak, he hissed at himself. Say something. Anything.

     Before he could work up his nerve, a loud beep chirped between them. Nathanael watched as disappointment flooded Bee’s face, and his heart clenched.

     “I have to go,” she sighed. “I’m about to de-transform.”

     “Oh,” he breathed, feeling like he’d missed some sort of opportunity just then. “I guess I’ll see you later?”

     She nodded and backed away, and the space between them suddenly felt cold. He watched, dazed, as she stepped onto the ledge and slipped him a final “goodnight” from over her shoulder before flying away. He tried making sense of what had just happened. Did a superhero really want to be his girlfriend? Every logical part of his brain told him it was impossible, but he couldn’t deny the fact that she’d kissed him. She’d kissed him! It took a while to snap out of his stupor, and a little while longer to realize that he had no way to enter his apartment building from the closed-off roof. Meaning he would have to go down the old, creaky fire escape to enter through the building’s front entrance. Great.

     As Nathanael went down, he thought about everything that had happened that night. Once again, his mind snagged on the details of The Kiss, and he bit his lip. Absentmindedly, Nath noted that now his own lips now tasted like cherries.

     It wasn’t until a week later, during a picnic at the park his classmates had thrown together to celebrate the end of the school year, that Nathanael had realized he was in deep shit. It was honestly one of the better afternoons he’d had in a long time. The weather was perfect, everyone was laughing and having a great time, and even Chloe seemed to be playing nice. But then Alya had to go and speak.

     “Attention fellow classmates,” she called out, pulling a champagne flute out of literally nowhere and tapping the rim with a piece of silverware. “I have an announcement!”

     The group quieted, Marinette and Nino rolling their eyes while others looked on expectantly. Alya cleared her throat dramatically before pulling out an honest to God speech to read from.

     “Today, we are all gathered here to celebrate our temporary release from the prison we all call ‘school’,” she began, grinning when the group cheered in agreement. “Today was meant to be a time of laughter! A time of peace! A time of trust! But, alas, it is difficult for me to bask in the glow of our friendship when I know there’s a traitor in our midst.”

     A niggling feeling pressed at the back of Nath’s mind as Rose and Mylene made sounds of confusion and Max whispered something to Kim. But Alya pressed on.

     “Someone here today has committed a most heinous crime in the past week. I caught them in the act without their knowing, and have given them ample time to confess their sin. But they have not come forward or even shown any signs of remorse! In fact-”

     “Alya,” Nino murmured, nudging her side. “Is there a point to this?”

     “Hold on, babe,” she hissed. “I’m getting to the good part.”

     Alya cleared her throat again before speaking.

     “In fact, this friend of ours has continued with business as usual, which leads me to believe that this crime isn’t their first offense! Exactly what is this crime, you may ask. Well, I’ll tell you!”

     Alya paused dramatically, looking around at everyone’s faces. Nathanael could’ve sworn her eyes snagged on him. Was it in his head? It might’ve been, because even Nino was starting to look nervous at this point.

     “Without telling me, superhero aficionado, someone has been having a heated affair with one of Paris’s finest! I only found out last week after catching this person in the arms of a superhero, sharing a late-night kiss on their rooftop.”

     Nathanael’s stomach dropped as his classmates broke out into gasps and accusations amongst themselves. He didn’t like having his private life for the world to see, and now-

     “What exactly are you trying to say, Alya,” Chloe hissed, bad mood emerging for the first time that day.

     Her eyes were narrowed and ferocious, daring Alya to finish her claim. Nath wondered what had her so defensive, and surprise shot through him like a bullet when her eyes darted to his face. The glance was quick enough to make him think he’d imagined it. And maybe he did? Maybe-

     “What I’m trying to say is that I’m about to expose one of our peers for what they are,” Alya cried out.

     This was it. Nathanael’s heart was pounding, and-

     “Tell me the nature of your secret rendevouz with Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

     Nathanael gaped as Marinette, now a blushing, stuttering mess, stammered out denials. Their classmates were scandalized, of course. Even Adrien Agreste was obviously flushed from the shock of the sweetest girl in their class having a torrid romance with a superhero after dark. He felt for Marinette, he really did. But Nath couldn’t deny his relief about not being the star of Alya’s accusations.

     It was while the class was distracted with the drama of Marinette’s love life (“It just happened, I swear!”) someone tugged Nath up by the arm and dragged him away from the group. He was too startled to do anything but follow his kidnapper, eyes wide at the swing of her blonde ponytail as she took him somewhere more secluded. Only when they were shrouded by trees did she turn back to look at him.

     “You got lucky,” she finally grumbled. “What are the odds that Marinette is also hooking up with a superhero?”

     “Also,” Nath choked. “What are you-”

     “I know, Nath,” Chloe grumbled. “About you and Bee. It’s a wonder that no one else does, honestly. She’s always saving you, and you draw her all the time-”

     “You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” he whispered.

     “Of course not,” she hissed. “But this nonsense with Marinette made me realize something.”

     “And what is that?” he asked, brows furrowing.

     “It’s not safe for you to be dating a superhero. That idiot, Chat Noir, is going to get Marinette in trouble. A relationship with Queen Bee would just put you in danger.”

     And what kind of nerve did Chloe Bourgeois have telling Nathanael who he could or couldn’t date? Especially when all Bee had ever done was keep him safe! For the first time in ages, the heat in Nath’s cheeks wasn’t from embarrassment or lovestruck wonder.

     It was from rage.

     “I can do what I want,” Nathanael bit back defensively. “You’re not my boss, Chloe.”

     “I don’t care what you say,” Chloe growled back. “You’re not going to date Queen Bee!”

     “So what,” Nathanael spat, throwing his hands in the air. “You’re gonna break us up?”

     “What, are you dating now?” Chloe groused, crossing her arms and shooting him an unreadable expression.

     “I- Maybe? I don’t know,” Nath muttered, shrinking back a little. Chloe looked at him a long moment before stepping closer.

     “I don’t care either way,” Chloe grumbled, darting a glance at his mouth. “If you are, then I’ll just steal you away from her.”

     “You,” Nathanael spluttered. “What?”

     “You heard me,” she replied haughtily despite the pretty pink brushing her cheeks. “I don’t want you to like Queen Bee. I want you to like me.”

     And then that thing happened where Nathanael couldn’t speak. Because this was the part where he was supposed to tell Chloe that he wouldn’t fall for her in a thousand years. That he liked Queen Bee, and there was no way Chloe of all people could sway his affection. But instead he was left with goosebumps as her eyes languorously swept over his face.

     “I’m going to kiss you now,” she murmured, voice softer than he’d ever heard it before. “And you’d better kiss me back this time.”

     Nath’s head was such a mess that any attempts to think past ‘kiss me back’ were like trying to swim through a lake of molasses. He’d barely made any sense of her words at all before Chloe was grabbing his collar and pulling him down to meet her mouth.

     This kiss was not brief. It was slow and heated enough to have his bones melting at the joints. She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in closer, and he followed mindlessly as he gripped her waist in turn. He felt the strangest buzzing where his chest and stomach and thighs pressed against hers, and no one ever told him kissing was quite like this. Who knew that Chloe Bourgeois had the power to make him come apart at the seams?

     When she finally pulled away to breathe, he almost chased her mouth for more. But this was Chloe Bourgeois. She was a bully in middle school. She was a rich brat. She was looking up at him with eyes gentler than he’d ever seen before and making him feel like the world was drenched in honey.

     “Prepare yourself,” she whispered before slipping away to rejoin the picnic.

     If Nath’s mind wasn’t a whirlwind, he might’ve been able to piece together the bits of déjà vu that swirled around his head. He might’ve picked up on how familiar the swing of blond hair on a retreating figure was or how strange it was that she, too, tasted like cherry lipgloss. But the only place the cyclone of his thoughts seemed to touch down on was the ache in his hand for a pencil and paper. And, of course, that he’d never noticed Chloe’s eyes were so, so blue.

A/N: Not gonna lie, this was HEAVILY inspired by @siderealsandman‘s The Perils of Fake-Dating a Superheroine. If you like this pairing and haven’t read it, please check it out because it’s 10000% better than this garbage.