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animatorweirdo · 4 years ago

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Frozen heart: Music in the dark

You fall into middle-earth with your best friend and start a new life.

Warning: Swearing and scary themes.

This chapter is a bit long but it might be interesting to read.

"Run! Run! Run!" You yelled.

The ghouls screeched behind you and your friend. You two ran like crazy through the forest. The ghouls jumped from tree to tree as they pursued you two. You could hear their haunting screaming above the ground. You could also hear them from far away on the ground too. They were trying to surround you two.

You and your friend hopped over a fallen log. One of the ghouls managed to jump at you. You quickly pulled your friend over the log. The ghoul crashed into the log, breaking it in half. The ghoul would have gotten your friend if you didn't pull her away. You two didn't waste time and quickly ran away. Another ghoul appeared in front of you, blocking your way. You two screamed and ran in another direction. The ghouls were literally everywhere. You started to doubt that you two will escape alive.

"Jump!" Your friend pulled you with her and you two, then stumbled down a rocky hill. You grunted and gasped as your body rolled down the hill. Rocks and sticks under the snow hitting you and scraping your skin. You two finally managed to get to the down of the hill. The violent spinning stopped. You laid on the snowy ground, breathing heavily. Everything was stinging.

"Camilla!" You called for your friend. She appeared in front of your line of vision and quickly helped you up. You groaned when your ribs started to ache. There was a chance of broken ribs. You ignored your pain and checked if Camilla had injuries. "Come on; we need to keep moving," She said, pulling you gently. You heard hollow screaming in the distance. They were coming. You two quickly moved, and to your surprise, you two managed to find a cliff and a waterfall. There was a long drop over the cliff. The place was pretty sweet, but there was literally nowhere to go to. You two were trapped. "Are you freaking kidding me?!" Camilla yelled.

You two gasped when something dropped behind you. You two turned around and were faced with a giant ghoul. It was bigger than the other ones, and it had blood-red eyes than rotten yellow. You smelled a foul smell of death. The ghoul growled at you two, licking its sharp teeth. It was ready to devour you two. You looked around in panic. There were no more escape routes, except the waterfall if you jumped, and hope the fall won't kill you. There was a tiny chance that you two will survive, but it was better than getting eaten by a giant blood-thirsty monster.

"Hey, this might get us killed, but would you rather be food than jump off a cliff?" You asked. "Are you crazy?" Camilla asked. "Maybe, but there is a tiny chance of survival," You said. Camilla stared at you like you grew another head. She turned her attention back to the giant ghoul. It started approaching you two with hunger in its eyes. She glanced at the cliff, then at the ghoul. "Fuck it!" She yelled. She grabbed your arm and jumped over the cliff with you. You two screamed as you fell toward the bottom. You fell through a cold mist before being engulfed by cold water. You screamed from the shock the cold water gave you. Your screams were muffled by the water, and the air in your lungs turned into bubbles. It was so cold. It was like thousands of cold needles were stabbing you from every corner.

Someone suddenly grabbed your jacket and pulled you up. You gasped as you burst through the surface. The cold air struck you like a brick. Camilla pulled you out of the deep water. You stood up after your foot hit the bottom. You hugged Camilla's arm as your legs felt like jello. "Fuck, it's cold," Your teeth clattered. You turned toward Camilla. "Are you okay?" You asked. She was shaking as well. You both were dripping wet from the cold water. "Uhm... look over there," Camilla suddenly pointed out. You followed her gaze, confused, then froze when you saw people. They were wearing strange medieval clothes and were staring at you two with shocked and frightful expressions. Why were they wearing medieval clothes? You then noticed a slight change in the environment. The waterfall was gone, and it was morning. If you recalled correctly. It was still nighttime before you two jumped over the cliff. You also didn't hear the ghouls anymore. Where in the hell you two ended up to?

"Camilla... where the fuck are we?" You asked.

And that's how you two came to this world. Middle-earth, the land of humans, dwarves, elves, and orcs. There are even people called Valars and Maiars, who are like gods of this world. You and Camilla were completely dumbstruck when you heard that from the village people you met at the lake. However, you two needed to do a lot of convincing to make them believe that you were not the dark lord's servants. This dark lord guy, Morgoth was a big deal and something to be afraid of. You and Camilla, however, didn't think about it much and started traveling in this new world. It was fairly exciting, but sometimes you two got really homesick, which led you two to settle down in a nice village near the mountains of Himring and the place called Maglor's Gap. Weird names, but this was another world, so it made sense.

"Cami! I'm home!" You came through the door. The door slamming against the wall with a loud sound after you kicked it. "Can you like not break the damm door?!"Camilla yelled from the table. She had a bowl in her hands, and there was an open book on the table. You frowned in curiosity after you smelled a mild scent of coffee. "Are you still trying to make coffee out of those beans?" You asked, walking over to the table. "So what?" She asked back. "You don't know how to make coffee, and those beans aren't really coffee beans," You pointed at the bowl of green beans. "Well! It's better than nothing," Camilla continued what she was doing. You shook your head then approached the kitchen cabinets. Camilla and her caffeine addiction. It's been five months since you two came here, and she started to miss her morning coffees desperately. After you two moved into this village, she has been trying to come up with a recipe to make coffee out of the beans that closely resembled the brown coffee beans. She has tried at least five times, and every time it failed. You two ended up drinking something worse than expired milk.

You opened the cabinet, then saw something very bad. You two were out of food. Again. "Cami! There's nothing to eat!" You turned toward your best friend. "What?" She turned toward you then saw the inside of the cabinet. She groaned, knowing what an empty cabinet meant. "For fuck sake," She stated.

You two walked through the thick forest, holding baskets. It was spring, so finding food was easy since you two mostly fed of from berries and mushrooms. You two occasionally buy food from the village, but money was difficult to get in this world. Technically, you two were broke, really broke. You two sometimes do volunteer works to earn some money, but the money was not enough to feed both of you, so it was off into the forest every time the cabinet was empty. Berries and mushrooms were free.

You crouched down to pick up a batch of brown ceps. Too bad you disliked mushrooms, but it was literally one of the only things you can eat. You fell on your knees after they grew tired of crouching down too long. "You know something, a supermarket would be a really cool place right now," You said and stared at the sky. "I know, too bad credit cards are completely useless around here," Camilla answered. She sighed and stretched her legs. "We could have at least fall into a world where we can at least use our world's currency," She explained. "This world sucks. I wanna go home," You stated. Your thoughts ran back to the memory you saw the giant ghoul for the last time. You actually didn't mind getting eaten by a ghoul right now. Sounds a lot better than walking around in this world, eating berries and mushrooms. "Okay, come on, the cabinet is not gonna fill itself. We need to be back before the nightfall," Camilla stated. You mentally whined. You really didn't want to go through a forest. You wanted to go back to the house and take a nap.

After three hours of suffering and looking through a stupid forest. You two managed to fill your baskets with delicious berries and edible mushrooms. You two were currently in a large meadow. You took a big yawn and looked around the meadow. You stood under a large tree. It gave perfectly shaded from the sun. You set your basket down then sat down, leaning against the tree. "(Name)! I'm gonna go back to the village to buy some meat!" Camilla called. "Okay, I'm gonna stay here and relax a bit," You answered. "Okay, but come back before the sunset or I make dinner for myself!" She called. "Alright!" You answered. You then saw her pick up her basket and disappeared into the forest you two came from. You took a deep sigh and leaned against the tree. You then glanced at the scenery you saw in the distance. Mountains, wide-open land, and forest. It felt so same and unknown at the same time. You didn't really know what to think about it. You and Camilla encountered many types of people. You once met dwarves and that was an exciting experience. Dwarves were quite friendly folk, despite what things have been said about them. Elves and orcs were the only ones you two haven't seen. Elves could be nice to meet, but maybe not orcs. They are said to be the dark lord's servants and the most violent creatures on the earth. It's for the best that you two won't even think about them. You got more serious things to worry about, like getting some decent food on the table.

Your head laid against the bark of the tree. You yawned, and your eyes started drooping. It was peaceful. You don't even remember the last time you found peace. Your eyelids started to close slowly and it was hard to keep them open. Maybe a little nap won't hurt. You were about to close your eyes, but then you remembered something that motivated your eyes to stay open. You never slept well because of the nightmares. Every time you go to sleep, nightmares always bother you, making you wake up in the middle of the night. You were technically an insomniac. That's why you are always tired. You stared into nothingness as you tried to keep your eyes open, but they wanted to close so badly. You yawned. It's been ages since you had a good sleep. The whole thing almost sounds foreign to you,

Birds singing caught your ears. The song of the birds made the situation worse. Your eyes were harder to keep open. A yawn broke out of your mouth. Maybe a short nap won't bother. There was a tiny chance that you will catch a nightmare in such a short time.

You wake up to a sudden sound of a gust of cold wind. Your heart started beating up after you noticed there was snow everywhere. You stood up in a panic. What happened? Why it was winter out of a sudden? You looked up to the sky and saw that it was dark. You weren't sure if it was a night. The moon and the stars were missing. It was just pitch-black darkness. You gasped when you heard a deep rumbling sound from the forest. You stared at the forest where the sound came from. No, it coulnd't be. You backed away with a beating heart. You almost fell on the ground from the startle when you heard the same sound behind you. Your whole body started to shake from a familiar feeling of fear. You stared at the forest in front of you. There was nothing but darkness, but you knew. You knew what lurked in there. Stalking you. Ready to devour your whole existence.

You backed away, not breaking eye contact with the dark forest. Your back hit against the tree. Burning tears started to come out of your eyes. "Please... don't..." You fell against the tree. A familiar feeling touched your bare hands. You saw frost covering your hands under its white layer. Heavy breaths escaped your mouth. The warm air turning into a visible mist from every breath you took. You hugged yourself to protect the last bits of warmth you had. "Go away, Go away..." You begged. The tears running freely across your cheeks. You heard heavy steps coming toward you, but you didn't dare to look up to see what it was. You knew what it was, and you didn't want to look into its eyes. "Go away, please..." You were whimpering at this point.

The silence and the wind were replaced with gentle and beautiful music. You stopped shaking as the fear you felt disappeared. The beautiful music was accompanied by soft humming. Was somebody... singing? Everything suddenly became dark.

You opened your eyes and stared at the green grass in front of you. It was warm, and there was no snow. The sky was blue, and the birds flew across it with freedom. You looked at the forest. There was nothing. You dried up the tears that managed to dry up against your skin. It was just another nightmare. You almost laughed for even thinking a short nap would spare you from nightmares.

Your attention was caught by familiar music you heard in your nightmare. You looked around the tree and saw a person playing harp. The person was obviously a male, telling from the deepness of his voice. He was quite tall and had long dark hair covering his back. What really caught your attention was his ears. They were pointy. Was he an elf?

You stood quiet and listened to his music. He was a pretty good musician. The dreadful feeling of fear you felt before was gone. You felt calm and relaxed like there was nothing to be afraid of. His humming was also very calming. You can only imagine what his voice sounded like. You were gonna take a bet that his voice was angel-like.

The music ended shortly, and the silence took over the meadow. The birds started singing, and the crickets went on with their business. You almost didn't notice how quiet it was when the elf stopped playing. It was like animals stood quiet for him to play his harp. You heard the elves had a special bond with nature, but this was the first time you got to witness that happen. The silence between you and him started to bug you. You were still literally staring at him while he didn't even know you were there. To avoid future awkwardness, it's better to say something now than nothing.

"Nice song," You said.

You almost crapped yourself when he suddenly snapped his attention toward you. His eyes were steel grey and almost sent shivers to your spine from their coldness. He was quite handsome, though, but you still better be careful with your words. He looked like he was having a bad day. "Who are you?" He demanded. Bingo, he had a great voice. You quickly regained yourself. "Sorry if I scared you, but in my defense, I was already here taking a nap before you started playing," You explained. He stared at you for a moment like he was trying to figure out if you were lying. You shifted uncomfortably, wanting to look away from his intense stare. Oh no, you managed to make this awkward, didn't you?

His expression became softer after he saw your basket and not any traces of suspicion. "I see. I apologize for my attitude. I'm having kind of a bad day," He explained. Hah, you knew it. "No worries, not every day is a good day," You said. He chuckled, which sounded like a scoff. "Unless every day is a bad day," He muttered under his breath. You frowned when you heard that. He was probably having more than just a bad day. You could offer some comfort, but you didn't know him at all, so it's better to stay out of his personal business. Silence took over the atmosphere for a while.

"So... do you live around here? I heard you don't meet elves around these parts often," You asked. He looked at you, then chuckled. "Bold words from someone who lives in elven lands," He said with an amused tone. Was he making fun out of you? "Hey! I recently moved to a village around here. I haven't gotten time to learn anything," You defended yourself. "Oh really?" He questioned with a challenging look. "Yes," You answered. He stared at you for a moment before chuckling with a tiny smile. You crossed your arms and smiled along. His mood seemed to turn positive, which was a good sign.

"What's your name?" You asked, wanting to know. "How about you tell me your name first since I was the first one to ask," He said back. You rolled your eyes. "Okay. My name is (Name). May I ask what's your name?" You answered. He chuckled. "I don't think you want to know," He said. "And why is that?" You asked. This intrigues your curiosity. "Because when I tell my name, people tend to avoid having anything to do with me," He explained. That sounded a bit dark. Telling from the tone of his voice.

"Try me," You said. He glanced at you curiously. You got guts. "My name is Maglor from the house of Feanor," He waited for your reaction. "Cool," You casually said. Okay, not what he was expecting. He stared at you curiously.

You glanced at the sky and saw the sun descending on the horizon. "I need to go," You got up then picked up your basket. "I need to be back at home before my friend starts making dinner without me," You explained. "See you around, Maglor from the house of Feanor," You waved your goodbye then walked into the forest. Maglor watched as your figure disappeared into the forest. You were... interesting for a human. He glanced at the sunset, then sighed. He got up, holding his harp against his chest. He better go back too. He glanced at the forest you disappeared into. There was a very tiny chance you two would meet again, but for some reason, he had a tingle of hope that you would meet again. He was not sure why. Maybe because he had a normal conversation with someone that didn't include the drama of his family and the damn oath. He started to walk back to his brother's fortress. The sun finally settled down, making room for the moon and allowing Varda's starts to give light to the middle-earth.

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hiswhiteknight · 4 years ago

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Fighting with Fire – Part 2

Summary: The Reader is friends with Erin Reagan, but absolutely hates one of her brother’s. After meeting Erin for a case, Reader meets Erin’s youngest brother. But due to her hatred of a certain Reagan, the Reader isn’t necessarily warm towards the youngest Reagan.

Pairing: Jamie Reagan X Fire Fighter Reader

Words: 799 (short one)

Warning: Maybe cursing, eventual angst, eventual fluff

** I’ve noticed there aren’t many Gifs, but if anyone wants to teach me the ropes with make Gifs or Gif etiquette, I’d love that so much!

You had just spent the last 12 hours working at the station and this was your free thirty minutes before you went on another 8 hours. You could think of nothing else, but a big cup of coffee from your favorite café down the block. You looked both ways before crossing the street, jogging to avoid traffic. You started grow excited because you were twenty feet away from you pick-me up, “Pardon me miss, I hope you know jay-walking is illegal,” you turned to the voice.

“Jamie, shut up,” a female voice said, “Ignore him, he’s right but just don’t listen to him.”

You focus on the face of the young man talking to you and you must stop yourself from rolling your eyes. Shocking, another Reagan male who likes to bust your balls, “Reagan, my apologizes for breaking the law. I made sure to look both ways like a good little citizen.” You looked to his female partner, she looked tough and you appreciated a strong female character, “I’m Y/N Y/L/N, I work with Company 255 down the block.

“Oh, I know who you are,” she smiled, “Eddie Janko, with the 12th district. You teach that self defense class for women at the Y’s and shelters. I heard you were looking for some volunteers.”

You smiled at her, “Yeah, I’m glad the words getting out. You wouldn’t happen to be interested?”

“Hell yeah, I got your email from one of the Directors,” she shared with enthusiasm.

“Nah,” you shake your head, pulling out one of your cards, “Here is my personal number, just text it when you get a chance, I’ll send my schedule your way. Any help would be appreciated.”

She took it, putting it in her back pocket. Jamie watched the two females’ bond, feeling intrigued and scared at the same time, “Yeah, sounds good. Anyway, ignore Jamie he doesn’t really know how to talk to women.”

Taking a glance at him, you lean towards her, “I hear it’s a Reagan thing, though the Commissioners are quite charming,” I send a grin her way.

“Alright ladies,” Jamie said shifting his feet, “I draw the line when we start to talk about my dad and Grandpa, thank you.”

“Mr. Reagan you do not get to make the rules when it comes to me,” you point in his direction. He put his hands up defensively, “Let me give you the warning Reagan, I don’t play nice with people who toy with me, much like your brothers. Try not to follow in their footsteps,” you tap on his shoulder as you skip to your coffee place. “Catch ya later Janko,” you wave retreating into the coffee bliss.

Eddie looked to her partner, “What did your brother do,” she laughed, “I’ve never seen a guy strike out so hard,” she poked at him as she started to walk down the street.

Jamie caught a glance of you ordering your drink and laughing with the barista. He had no idea why he was so intrigued by you, but he knew he wanted to pursue it. He didn’t much like the feeling of someone disliking him, especially one with such a pretty smile.

You started to set up the mats, your volunteers hadn’t made it yet. After working a long two day shift, you liked the slow, focused pace of these lessons. You only did them every few weeks with your schedule, but it felt good teaching women in a safe space. You struggled with adjusting a mat when someone came over and helped you pushed it together. You looked up at them, “Looked like you needed help,” Jamie smiled at you.

The image of him in front of you made you stand up straighter, “What are you doing here,” you ask him, trying to understand his motivation. Not even his brothers would purposely seek her out to torture her.

“Eddie said you needed more volunteers, noble cause,” he answered looking down with you. If you could have guessed, he seemed a little nervous, “If I remember, you literally said any help is appreciated,” he added with a grin.

You look him up and down before catching Eddie walking in, “Am I interrupting something,” she asked feeling the tension.

Looking back at him, “Did you invite your brother?”

He shook his head, “No, I like breathing,” he said, half laughing, “Erin made it abundantly clear, under no circumstance to I let you two in the same room together without her.”

Pointing at him, “Just to be clear, that’s because I could kill him in three moves and Erin, for a reason I am unsure, loves him very much. Something about a sibling bond.”

He did his best not to smile, “Understood,” he looked around the room, “What can I do to help?”

Part 3

Taglist: @screeching-student-unknown

#jamie reagan #jamie reagan x reader #jamie reagan imagine #blue bloods #blue bloods fanfiction #blue blood imagines #fanfiction

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ibelieveinahappilyeverafter · 7 years ago

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Putting the Cat in Catastrophe Chapter 3

Bonjour, mes chers! Sorry for the long delay, but things only just settled down after I got back from camping with my family! I hope you enjoy the third chapter. I'll be posting the advanced chapters up on my patreon here shortly, so keep an eye out and remember pledging a little as a dollar can unlock great bonus content!

Consider supporting me to see more stories like this one! $29/100 down for the podfic goal!

Pledge to me at https://www.patreon.com/mjanderson Buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/mjanderson

Click here to read on FFN Click here to read on AO3

Summary: Danny Fenton has just escaped from a secret government testing facility and runs straight into Andrew Riter - a busybody librarian who seems to be obsessed with helping a stray black cat - said stray black cat happening to be Danny himself. The Government gets interested when they find out a seemingly ordinary human can shapeshift into different animals. Danny just wants to return to his family and try to find his lost memories, but he’s having a hard time doing so when he’s finding less and less reasons for leaving Andrew’s side. He couldn’t tell anyone his secret - not again - but… But why did he want to trust this man so badly? (Iambic Prose) (Shapeshifter Danny AU)

Warning: This story will have references to laboratory testing, mentions of vivisections, blood, wounds, character trauma, and things of a similar sort. Most mentions of such things will be vague, but there will be heavy mentions of it and warnings at the beginning of chapters when it gets explicit.

<<First Chapter>> <<Last Chapter>> <<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Three

"I suppose if I miss lunch with Randy he'll be even more worried. He'll probably even try to move back in with me, again." Remembering the hell that came from sharing an apartment with his overbearing and well-concerning brother last time, Andrew groaned and pushed himself to his feet before looking down to the bedraggled scrap of fur still curled up in his arms. "You'll remind me to stop by and get my meds filled, won't you?"

There was a sound between a meow and a purr, Andrew choking on a laugh as he threaded his fingers through the wet black fur. "I've fallen rather far already, so I might as well ask. Would you like to come to lunch with me? You'll have to meet my brother, but he usually pays for lunch and, if nothing else, it's free food that isn't alive and moving."

The cat in his arms seemed to study him for a long few moments before collapsing, rather dramatically, and near falling out of his arms. As soon as Andrew was sure he wasn't about to actually fall and hit the ground, he was choking on a laugh. "You're a dramatic little thing, aren't you?" He was going to take the loud, wild murr sound as an agreement. Besides, if that noise was supposed to be an argument, then it just proved his point about the dramatism. "Come on, then."

Shifting the cat into one arm, Andrew braced the umbrella over them with his other as he began walking through the streets. Memorial Day meant there was a fair amount of traffic running back and forth, but other than that there was absolutely no one out walking - not that Andrew could blame them. They were probably smart enough to check the weather forecast before going outside.

Jeez, it was bad enough that even with the umbrella they were still getting wet. He supposed a cheap little thing could only do so much against wind like this. Ugh. The last dying storms of May always seemed the worst. It was like winter was giving them one last 'present'. It- Well, Andrew could understand why others disliked winter as they did, that was for sure. Maybe-

A sharp meow jerked him out of his thoughts, Andrew looking down in bewilderment the exact second a gust of wind tore through town and ripped away his umbrella and left a nice gash on his palm from one of the prongs snagging him. Hissing at the pain, Andrew quickly curled around the now screeching cat, shifting and moving to get his coat open enough for the little thing to curl up against his, somewhat dry, chest.

"Hey, hey, we're alright. Just a bit of rain and wind." There was another loud screeching noise and Andrew was pretty sure he was being yelled at by a cat. How delightful a day, so far. "Alright, a bit more than just a bit, but it's really not that bad. You had better not be blaming your bad luck either, petit chaton." Andrew tapped at the little thing's nose, grinning at the snuffle. "I had bad luck long before I met you."

Making sure the kitten was reassured enough to curl up to him and settle down, Andrew squinted up through the downpour as he shielded his hurt hand as much as possible. While walking six blocks to the cafe he and Randy ate at was never a difficult thing to do, today it felt like nothing more or less than a biblical journey.

Any dry spots he had left on him were mercilessly soaked to where he felt like he was wading through the ocean. It was only the little black bundle of fur pressed against his chest that kept him from breaking down in the middle of the streets and screaming at God and hadn't he been punished enough-

"Andrew?!" The shout of his name was barely even heard, but Andrew didn't fight it as he was jerked inside an open door and- Oh.

"Bonjour, Amy. Doing well, I hope?" Their usual server, and long time friend, was looking at Andrew as if he had just crawled out of a sewer. He certainly felt it, so he couldn't blame her. "I know what you're thinking, but it really isn't bad-"

"You look like hell. You look like every religion's version of hell- You look like the hell that the religions who don't have hell would say hey, you look like hell." Waiting for Amy to breath, Andrew quickly jumped in.

"Honestly, it's not that bad. I just got caught in the rain when it really started hitting. See? Just a little wet it all!"

"Just a little- Is that blood on your hand? Randy!" Oh, no. "And hide that cat, you know the manager hates even seeing service animals in here." How the hell- "Cat tail."

"Yes, well, shut up." Tucking the kitten more out of sight, Andrew looked up and almost had heart failure as he met Randy's gaze. He had five seconds to regret his life before he was caught up in a hug tight enough that had him squeaking and had the cat giving a startled shriek of a noise. It did help in getting Randy to let go of him, though, so that was good.

"Okay, first question, what the hell was that?" 'First.' As his bundle of dirty fur poked his head out of the coat and hissed at Randy, Andrew gave a tired giggle. He did need sleep soon, didn't he?

"It's a long story." Startling at the dry towel that fell over his head, Andrew blinked to see Amy carrying a whole armful of fluffy white towels.

"Good. You can explain while we dry your stupid ass off. Honestly, walking around in this without an umbrella- And how did you mess your hand up?"

"Ah, yes, that. Well, it's an explanation as to where my umbrella went." Andrew ignored the glare as he held his hand out to Randy's probing fingers, not even able to drudge up the energy to roll his eyes when his brother had his hurt hand dried off, wiped clean, and wrapped in bandages in a heartbeat. Paranoid, he was.

"Winds that bad, huh," Randy snorted, using the towel to gently dry Andrew's hair before grabbing another one, distracting the cat with a bit of clicking and hand movement, and then snatching him up into the towel. He then quickly gave him back to Andrew.

"Oh, yes, give me the murderous ball of fluff." The cat looked less murderous and more confused, though. Andrew would have liked to comfort him, but Amy was already patting down at his back.

"You're a matching pair. Twins, maybe." Mm. "Come on, I already ordered for us." As the two nudged him along, Andrew allowed himself a small sigh. If nothing else was right in his shit life, at least he had a great big brother and wonderful friends. Well. The plural of that last part could be debated, he supposed, depending on the day and friend he was dealing with. "You had better not get sick, either. Really, Andy, I deal with animals, not humans - and I'm not about to be the next Doolittle."

"Actually, depending on which iteration you're talking about, that was a medical doctor who became a veterinarian." Andrew was pushed down into his seat for his troubles. "Seeing as you deal with animals, however, I might just have a new patient for you."

"Yeah, you know, I kind of noticed," Randy snorted, throwing a few more towels on Andrew before he took his own seat. "I think that's the most sickly, bedraggled little thing I've ever seen." Said 'sickly, bedraggled little thing' promptly hissed at Randy and managed to wiggle a paw out to flex claws at him. "Cute."

"Isn't he?" Andrew grinned, grabbing the paw and giving it a little shake. He was honestly surprised he wasn't scratched for that, but he was more amused by the cat's once more confused expression.

"Sorry, I'm a little distracted because you're holding a cat. A black cat. Andy, frérot, don't you have enough bad luck as it is?"

"Oh, please. You and I both know what a silly superstition that is. Honestly, just because a few people in a colony thought they were the servants of witches we now have-"

"Blue eyes." Snapping his mouth shut, he looked to Randy, Andrew swallowing at the look that was very close to pitying. "Andy, your cat there has blue eyes."

Not having a response to that one, Andrew looked down as their food arrived. Shoving his fork around his dry chicken salad, Andrew picked out a few smaller pieces of chicken before beginning to feed the cat still wrapped up in a towel in his lap. It was a bit sad to see there was no suspicion at the food and instead the cat was gulping it down as fast as possible.

He got through four pieces before Randy finally sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll schedule some time to take a look at him tomorrow. He probably just needs a round of shots and maybe some antibiotics." Ah. The cat was hissing again. "Hey, I'm taking time out of my schedule and money out of my clinic to look at you. You had better appreciate it."

"Isn't that illegal to take money from the clinic?" This time Randy was the one to give a long silence. "If you go to jail again-"

"Hey, last time wasn't my fault!"

"Just like the first, second, and third time weren't your fault?"

"They weren't. I just had some bad influences in my life is all."

"Bad influences! You broke into at pet store and freed all the pets!"

"I found them all homes, didn't I?"

"Randy-"

"So, what are you going to name him?" Oh, look, something that managed to shock him into silence. He was surprised Randy had managed to ask him something so stupid. "Well, you're keeping him, aren't you?"

"Wha- Since when did I say I was keeping him! I have no plans on keeping him and so giving him a name would be superfluous at best and-" Pausing as he felt something hit his fingers, he glanced down to see that the cat had pushed his plate closer to him and was now giving him a judging look. He then went back to nudging the plate and didn't stop until Andrew cautiously took a bite of food.

Across from him, Randy started laughing. Brat. "I like this cat already if he can get you to eat your food!" Please. Andrew was never that bad. Usually.

"It's ridiculous." Andrew took another bite even as he fed the little thing another scrap of chicken. He seemed to make sure Andrew was really eating before taking the bite of food himself. It had Andrew remembering something he didn't want to remember. "D… Danny." The cat in his arms went still for some odd reason, but Randy going silent across from him was what had Andrew looking at the table and rambling.

"It's a good name for a cat, don't you think? Danny? It's certainly not a bad name. Nothing like Snuffles or Snowball or Coal or anything stupid like that. It could be a good name. Okay, so-"

"Danny sounds like a great name, Andy." Glancing up to see his brother's smile, Andrew gave a weak little one back as he fed… As he fed Danny another scrap of chicken. Poor thing was still looking exhausted if he was near limp in his arms now.

"I suppose I'm still not ready to let it all go, am I?" Five years. It had been five years and yet still- Well. Maybe it would be nice to think of someone else when he heard that name. He wasn't sure how effective that would be, though. Black hair and bright blue eyes.

Sighing softly to himself, Andrew bowed his head. He really had been doomed from the start in all of this.

"Randy? Can you come here?" Feeling more than seeing his brother rush over, Andrew carefully continued to peel Danny out of the towel around him - the towel that was no longer white. "Is he bleeding?"

"Fuck, you sure know how to pick them if he is." Randy was inspecting Danny at once, the poor thing too tired to do much more than make a pathetic growling noise. "He definitely was. Most of it is scabbing over, but those are some nasty wounds… You have tomorrow off?"

"Wha- Oh, yes." Taking a moment to make sure it was indeed Tuesday tomorrow, Andrew gave a nod. "Yes, I have it off."

"Bring him by around eleven or so, okay?" That bad, then. "For tonight just keep him from moving too much, don't let him jump or run around, and make sure he gets plenty of water. No water or food after midnight, though, okay? I don't know how much he'll need done tomorrow."

"Got it." Andrew tucked the towel back around Danny, shifting him in his arms so he was more comfortable. "Can you pay for the towel, too?"

"You're something else." What was that supposed to mean! "Yes, Andy, I'll pay for the towel, too. Now go home, will you? You're making me near cry just looking at you."

"Mother and I could say the same about you," Andrew sniffed, turning on his heel and choosing to take Danny's strange noise as a laugh. "Danny agrees with me, too!"

"Doesn't he always?" Heh. Guess he wasn't the only one who couldn't leave it all behind. "Go cuddle up with a book, nerd."

"Try not to wind up in jail again!" Poking his head out of the cafe, Andrew sighed in relief as he saw the rain had finally stopped. "See? Our bad luck isn't so bad." Looking around, Andrew jumped as he felt the pricking of teeth against his hand that hand the bandage on it. Danny wasn't biting, but he was certainly getting his attention. "What? Are you bleeding again? Am I?"

After a few moments of nothing else happening, and not seeing any blood, Andrew looked back up to start off towards home before he felt the 'bite' again. "I can't read minds, you-" Ah. "You're reminding me to get my medicine." The teeth left him and Danny gave a soft purr. "Well, you at least can earn your keep, I suppose."

It was probably coincidence, but… It was nice to think that someone else was helping him remember the important things. "Right. First my medicine, and then we can go home." Maybe his luck really wasn't so bad.

#danny phantom #putting the cat in catastrophe #tcc au #iambic prose

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mr-hawkmoth · 8 years ago

Text

You’re Not Her: 6. Fire and Ice

Shout out to @squirrellygirlart for beta reading this for me!!!!

Sorry for the wait everyone!! @polkadotsdesign @justa-dork

Ao3

Start <----- Previously

Marinette was suspended. Her parents were angry of course but once Marinette had explained what had happened they understood. She was, however, grounded for the duration of the week because “violence is never the answer Marinette.” Being grounded was fine by her, it was an excuse to keep from socializing, but that didn’t keep Adrien from stopping by and dropping off notes and instructions for their group project. Marinette wished he would leave her alone. Thus far Adrien had caused her more problems than she currently needed in her life right now. She knew it was irrational to be angry at him for Chloe’s behavior but she couldn’t help but feel a little bitterness towards the model. If he left her alone Chloe would have less incentive to approach Marinette of course after the stunt Marinette had pulled Chloe would probably keep her distance when tormenting her now. Maybe her dislike of Adrien stemmed more from Chloe than it did from his actual actions but Marinette couldn’t find it in herself to change that. She was exhausted by people. Talking to anyone, even friends became a chore. The only emotions that came easily now were overwhelming sadness, anger, or complete apathy. Sometimes it was easier to just mask over one’s sorrows with the all consuming hate that anger brought. It was a reprieve from the drowning misery of grief. All this made it easier to dislike Adrien. He himself might not be the problem but by being associated with him it had caused more face time with the people of her class, and to her utter horror, more biting comments from Chloe- neither of which Marinette wanted.

Unable to intercept Adrien at the front door, since she was grounded, Marinette’s parents scheduled a time for her to come by his place and work with him. Marinette was hoping that she could just do all the work by herself, her parents, however, did not agree that that was fair. So Marinette stood in front of the Agreste Mansion, ready to get through this as quickly as possible. The gate stood slightly ajar. Marinette looked to the telecom used to beep people in and grimaced. She didn’t need any extra interaction today. Talking to people was like forcing herself to chew on glass. It was painful, forced, and left her feeling mangled and raw. With a deep calming breath Marinette pushed the gate open and wound her way up the long walkway to the door. She rapped on the door and waited. There was no answer. Agitated about already having to be here Marinette knocked again this time more forcefully. A tall dark haired woman answered the door a confused and harried expression pulling her face.

“How did you get in?” The woman asked suspiciously.

“The gate was open,” Marinette explained. The woman’s eyebrows shot up, realization crossing her features. “I’m here to see Adrien,” Marinette said expectantly.

“Oh, yes, of course, come in. Adrien should be waiting in the library for you,” The woman explained before turning to walk up the stairs, steps forceful and frustrated, hands in fists at her sides. “Felix! What have I told you about leaving the gate open,” the woman shouted as she pounded on a hallway door out of sight.

“I refuse to encourage father’s ludicrous paranoia Nathalie,” Felix’s collected voice shot back much softer in response than the irate woman. The door slammed shut and Nathalie let out a frustrated groan before beginning to stomp down the hall. Nathalie paused at the top of the steps noticing Marinette still there.

“I don’t know where the library is,” Marinette said trying to keep the apprehension out of her voice.

“Yes, of course, I will take you there,” Nathalie rushed out, a bit frazzled. She quickly made her way downstairs and led Marinette down the hall.

Adrien wasn’t happy with Felix. He had avoided Adrien in the bathroom leaving to follow Marinette mumbling something about Adrien needing to learn how to knock. Then when Felix found out about Adrien being paired with Marinette on a group project he had ordered the driver to stop at the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery and forced Adrien to talk to Marinette about when they could work on the project. Felix and her parents had made the arrangements. And now that Adrien had started working on the project with Marinette he was really unhappy with Felix. Marinette could not have looked less thrilled to be there. Adrien worried if it was the schoolwork she was unhappy about doing or his presence that was bothering her.

“What if we do ours on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’?” Adrien asked. Marinette grimaced in response.

“Why would you want to do that?” She asked incredulously

“Well I mean it’s kind of funny, it’s a nice love story that’s easy to understand.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck nervously, suddenly uncertain.

“Why don’t we do ‘Hamlet’,” Marinette suggested as her eyes glanced over the list of Shakespeare’s plays they had to choose from.

“You mean the dude who went crazy with revenge?” Adrien asked skeptically.

“No, I mean the guy who fooled everyone into thinking he was crazy with grief in order to kill his bastard of an uncle,” Marinette spat with enough venom in her voice to make Adrien’s hair stand on end. Marinette glared at the page as she looked over the plot. Adrien only hoped her anger wasn’t meant for him.

“Nothing against Hamlet it just seems a little… dark,” Adrien fumbled for words tongue twisting in his mouth with uncertainty. Sweat dotted his forehead. Why is this girl so frightening? Adrien thought to himself.

“Life is dark Adrien, Faeries don’t come in to make everything right again,” Marinette explained bitterly, and suddenly her fury wasn’t directed towards the page in her hands anymore. Oh no! Take it back Adrien! Undo it! Undo it!

“I’m not saying they do I just think ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ would be easier,” Adrien reasoned.

“Marinette’s right, you should do ‘Hamlet’. Everyone else will either be doing ‘Midsummer’ or ‘Romeo and Juliet’,” Felix said as he casually walked to a bookshelf and picked out a large, green hardback book. Adrien hadn’t even heard him come in. Marinette looked over at Adrien a smug grin playing on her lips, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, challenging him. Adrien let her have her victory- mostly because he was afraid to go against her at this point and to see an expression other than annoyance or anger on her face was a relief.

“Okay fine, we can do ‘Hamlet’,” Adrien said agitatedly. The door creaked closed as Felix left the room. Adrien sighed. Did he mention how much Felix had been bothering him lately?

An explosion sounded outside. Marinette jumped to her feet rushing towards the window, Adrien followed. Outside smoke was funneling upward a few blocks away. Screams could be heard from the smoldering building in the distance.

“Can I use your bathroom?” Marinette rushed, wide eyes trained on the billowing smoke.

Ladybug landed on a rooftop next to Chat Noir across the street from the burning building.

“Nice of you to show up Bug-brat,” Chat said snidely.

“What are we up against?” Ladybug asked ignoring the comment.

“Siamese twins, one spits fire and the other ice,” Chat explained looking back towards the akuma. The akuma was indeed fused at the hip, the two splitting off into two very different akuma. The one on the right’s body was blue and white blended into a stiff looking ice sculpture of a human woman. Flames licked at her hips as they crawled up the orange molten body of her sister.

“You’re melting my sculptures!” The Ice Queen screeched. Her victims, all encased in blocks of ice as they fled the burning building, were beginning to melt from the heat of the flames.

“Well, why do you have to freeze my victims?! Get your own!” Molten Mary snapped.

“I would if I could,” Ice Queen snarled.

“They don’t seem to like each other very much,” Ladybug noted.

“No kidding,” Chat Noir snorted.

A scream drew her attention back to the building, a small child sat on the window sill of the building high above the ground. She looked at the ground 5 stories down with fear in her eyes. Marinette stepped up onto the roof’s edge, gripping her yo-yo tightly in hand. A hand gripped her shoulder pulling her back.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chat hissed. Ladybug glanced back towards the girl and then to Chat.

“I have to save her, we don’t have time to defeat the akuma first,” Ladybug explained. Chat nodded releasing her shoulder and taking a step back.

“I’ll distract them, just try not to get yourself killed,” Chat commanded. Marinette nodded before tossing her yo-yo and sailing towards the girl in the burning building. Ladybug’s feet touched down tentatively along the windowsill. She reached her free hand down to the young girl who graciously took it. Marinette slowly lowered the two down to the ground by her yo-yo string releasing the girl as they reached the sidewalk. Marinette released her yo-yo and looked on the girl assessing the damage. A once over told her the girl, for the most part, was fine. Marinette moved to throw her yo-yo and jump into the fight with Chat but a hand on her arm stopped her. Big tear-filled eyes looked up at her.

“My sister, she’s still in there. You have to help my sister!” The girl screamed desperately. Marinette set her jaw nodding down at the small girl. Turning back towards the burning building Marinette flung her yo-yo swinging back in through the girl’s window. Smoke filled Marinette’s lungs causing her to cough and her eyes to sting. She crouched down careful to avoid the orange flames licking the sides of the walls. She moved towards the door of the girl’s room. Heat pulsed against her body beating down on her. Sweat beaded her brow as she checked the heat of the door. It was warm but not hot. Here goes nothing. Marinette risked opening the door. Heart hammering in her chest. Smoke poured into the room as the flames surged inward. Ladybug stumbled back out of the way, hacking into her arm. Ladybug pulled herself to her feet squinting through the black smoke in search of the girl’s sister.

“Hello! Is anyone here?” Ladybug shouted. She walked through the door only to shy away from the brightness and heat of the flames. Her eyes watered profusely as she looked through the haze.

“Annabelle!! Annabelle! Where are you?” She heard a girl’s voice shout. Ladybug moved quickly through the fiery wreckage towards the sound of the voice.

“Hello!” Marinette shouted once more. Coughs answered her. A girl no more than thirteen stumbled out of the hallway face filled with panic. Ladybug quickly approached wrapping her arm around the girl’s shoulders and guiding her back towards the way she had come in.

“Wait! I can’t leave! I need to find Annabelle first!” The girl pulled away from Ladybug voice already hoarse.

“I already got her. She’s waiting for you outside,” Ladybug assured her. The girl’s body relaxed as relief washed through her. “Come on we need to get out of here,” Ladybug commanded guiding the girl forward until they were able to make it to the window. Marinette looped her arm around the girl’s waist as they stepped up onto the window’s ledge. Marinette flicked her yo-yo out catching it on the flagpole of the building and slowly beginning to lower them to the ground below. Two stories down, three stories up the flag pole snapped and Ladybug and the girl went sailing to the ground. As if in slow motion Marinette watched as the girl slipped from her grasp. She saw the fearful look on the young girl’s face. In the distance, her younger sister watched in horror. She would not let this happen. She would not let this little girl lose her sister. She wouldn’t. Ladybug threw her yo-yo out and prayed it would catch on something. With her other hand, she reached towards the girl. And then as if time had returned to its normal pace the yo-yo string pulled taut as Marinette’s hand caught the girl’s wrist and the two swung safely down on the other side of the street. The younger girl came rushing up to them, both sisters clinging to one another once they were close enough. The older of the two turned towards Marinette.

“Thank you,” She whispered with tears in her eyes.

“No problem, you two better get out of here,” Ladybug wheezed. The two girls hand in hand quickly fled the scene.

Marinette stumbled forward placing a hand on the building next to her to steady herself. She coughed hard, sucking in air only for her lungs to reject the clean oxygen. Feeling light headed she looked up to find where the akuma and Chat had ended up. Before she could properly assess her surroundings Chat Noir’s arms were pulling her into him and turning her around. The movement caused her head to spin making her dizzy. She closed her eyes clinging to Chat Noir to keep her balance. Chat Noir let out a hiss as he squeezed her tighter against him. His body strong and tight against her and the heat utterly suffocating. She still felt feverish from her time in the burning building and the warmth radiating from Chat’s chest only furthered the pounding of her pulse and the flush of her cheeks. Ice shattered against the wall behind them. Chat Noir slumped against her, one arm coming out to support himself against the building’s wall, the other still wrapped firmly around Ladybug’s waist. He rearranged them, leaning more of Ladybug’s weight against the wall and shielding her with his own body. Face to face now, Chat’s nose brushed against hers, his chest rising and falling heavily. Sweat dripped down the side of his face as his eyes moved up to meet hers. His blonde bangs tickled her forehead. Her hands rested loosely at his waist no longer needing to clutch him for support.

“Are you alright?” Chat panted, voice pained.

“I’ll be fine,” Ladybug croaked. Behind him, Ladybug could see the two sisters had stopped bickering long enough to form a spear of flames. “Look out!” Marinette shouted. Hands quickly came up to grasp Chat’s back. Her body tilted to the side, her feet coming out to trip Chat’s, and with the loss of balance and extra weight pulling him down, the two went crashing to the ground. The burst of flames blasting heat onto their bodies but sparing them from being burned. Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief until her hand touched something wet and sticky. Pulling her hand away from Chat’s back she found dark crimson blood dripping from her fingertips. Chat groaned as he pulled himself up off of Ladybug and onto his hands and knees. Ladybug sat up holding her hand up for him to see.

“Chat you’re-“ Ladybug began.

“I’m fine Bug-brat! Come on, let’s get this over with,” Chat huffed. Ladybug grit her teeth and nodded. Injured or not they still had an akuma to fight. Chat jumped to his feet offering up his hand and pulling Ladybug to hers as well. Head pounding pulse drumming in her ears Ladybug pulled her yo-yo free from her hip lashing it out and calling on her Lucky Charm.

“Oh good a fan, because our biggest problem right now is overheating,” Chat snorted eyeing the electric fan in Ladybug’s hands.

“There’s no guard for the blades,” Ladybug whispered to herself.

“I hate to break it to you kid but those blades aren’t as sharp as you think,” Chat pointed out. Ladybug glared at him pursing her lips into a pout.

“I know that! Just give me a minute to think!” Marinette snapped. Think Marinette! Think, think!! She searched the area around her for any clue as to what the hell she could use an electric fan for.

“You have ten seconds,” Chat said pulling out his baton and spinning it in his hand body tensing for battle. Marinette noticed the firemen behind the akuma hosing down the burning building.

“Keep them occupied! I’ve got a plan!” Ladybug smirked.

“Sure it’s not like I haven’t been doing that this whole time,” Chat hissed.

“Just do it!” Ladybug called back as she sprinted towards the other end of the street electric fan in hand. Of course with the akuma having two heads it was hard to ‘sneak’ past her. Marinette felt the ice before she saw the blow coming. One foot frozen to the ground Marinette’s body continued its movement forward until she fell painfully onto one knee electric fan falling from her hands and skittering across the asphalt. Marinette winced at the burning of the ice against her suit and the awkward position her ankle had been forced into.

Chat noticed Ladybug’s trapped foot but before he could come to the damn girl’s rescue he had his own problems to deal with, mainly trying to avoid becoming a charbroiled Chat. Chat rolled away from the course of yet another fireball. Chat grit his teeth in annoyance. I am so done with this! He thought as he stamped out the flames curling up his tail. Molten Mary cackled as Chat turned to glare at her. Another burst of flames filled her hand as her arm reeled back. Chat smirked as he straightened his body slowly turning to the side gripping his baton in both hands. As the flames came sailing towards him Chat raised his baton and swung with as much force as he could manage. The flames fizzled into nothing but sparks.

“That the best you got?” Chat Noir snarled. Molten Mary conjured up a pillar of fire within her hand. She gave him a wicked smile before extending the staff to take a swing at him. Chat blocked each blow having to duck and dodge as he did so to avoid the sparks flying from her weapon. Behind Molten Mary Chat could see Ladybug still stuck in place deflecting icicles from the Ice Queen. Ice Queen giggled as she became more enthralled with watching Ladybug squirm. Ladybug with one foot stuck and a yo-yo as a poor defense against the larger ice weapons was having to throw her body into awkward angles to avoid being struck. Chat chuckled as inspiration struck him. The akuma took another swing at him. This time instead of deflecting the blow, Chat Noir leapt backward out of reach from the akuma. The akuma sneered at him and attempted to move closer. Her other half had different ideas, however.

“Stop moving!” Ice Queen hissed.

“Let me have control over my body!! I’m in the middle of getting the Chat Noir miraculous!” Molten Mary snarled turning to glare at her sister.

“Well, I’m about to get the Ladybug miraculous!” Ice Queen countered crossing her arms over her chest.

“No, you aren’t! You’re just toying with her!” Molten Mary scoffed.

“You always do this! I can do great things too you know! Just because mom loves you more doesn’t mean you’re better than me!” Ice Queen complained.

“Please!! You always get whatever you want!! It’s my turn for glory! I’m going to get the miraculous first!” Molten Mary screeched. As the two bickered and began to elbow and prod one another Chat Noir took his opportunity to slide over to Ladybug’s aid. Chat cracked his baton over the ice encapsulating Ladybug’s foot. Ladybug winced as she wiggled her foot free from the remainder of the ice restraint.

“Hurry up,” Chat commanded turning back to face the still arguing akuma. Ladybug nodded grunting in pain as she scooped the fan up off the ground. Her ankle burned in more ways than one. She flicked her yo-yo up towards the charred building. She wheezed as smoke filled her lungs. She would need to work fast. Down below the akuma had now turned their attention back towards Chat Noir. Ladybug quickly went to work setting up the fan at the edge of the building and attaching her yo-yo string to one of the blades. The plan was simple enough, the execution, however, was a bit more complicated. Marinette prayed that physics would be on her side today.

“A little help would be nice!” Chat Noir shouted at Ladybug narrowly avoiding being impaled by an exceptionally large ice sculpture. Marinette flicked on the fan but to her dismay, nothing happened. She flipped the switch on and off several more times in a panic. “Now would be good!” Chat shouted. One of his hands now attached by a block of ice to the brick wall behind him, sticking him in place. Ladybug banged on the top of the fan with her fist and to her amazement, the blades sputtered to life. As the blades of the fan picked up speed her yo-yo extended creating a much larger fan and with the extra momentum of her yo-yo much faster as well. “Wind isn’t really helping!” Chat yelled up to her. Molten Mary’s flames dancing dangerously close to his face. Chat cringed away shrinking uselessly back against the wall he was pinned against. Ladybug grimaced as she quickly hobbled down to the fire escape. The metal burned her feet through the suit as she ran down as quickly as she could coughing the whole way. Her lungs burned as she glanced back to the akuma laughing maniacally as the flames began to lap against the sides of his suit. Without bothering to look how far up she was, Ladybug gripped the railing and hopped to the ground. Pain shot up her leg as she landed and rolled to the side. Grunting she pulled herself back to her feet, wheezing as she approached the firemen. Ladybug opened her mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t leave her throat so instead Marinette captured the arms of the gentleman manning the hose, thrusting the spray of water upwards into her glorified super fan. Water rained down on all of them instantly putting out the flames that threatened to burn Chat to a crisp. The water put out Molten Mary’s fire and began melting the frost off the Ice Queen. The akuma shrieked in outrage throwing up their arms in an attempt to shield themselves from the torrent of water coming down on them. Marinette grinned as she realized her plan had worked. Spraying the akuma’s with the firemen’s hose could have hurt or even killed them but directing the water into her super fan reduced the dangerous pressure of a fire hose.

“The belt! Get the belt!” Chat shouted pulling against his quickly melting ice shackles. Ladybug nodded rushing in through the storm from behind the akuma and snapping the iridescent belt from around their conjoined waist. Ladybug tore the belt in half (much to her own amazement) freeing the little akuma out into the air. Ladybug’s hand moved automatically to her hip only to realize her yo-yo wasn’t there. Her eyes widened as her pulse sped up. She looked desperately to Chat.

“Chat my yo-yo!” She called in a frenzy. With one final tug Chat pulled his wrist free from the ice block. Without missing a beat Chat scooped his baton from the where it lay on the ground and ran towards Ladybug pulling her into him by her waist in one fluid motion and vaulting them up onto the rooftop. Ladybug gripped his shoulders until she was sure of her footing. Rushing up to the fan and switching it off Marinette stood in agonizing wait as the fan began to slow. Chat Noir growing impatient stuck his staff into the throws of the spinning string. The yo-yo spun wildly around his staff. Ladybug fumbled to detach the other end of the yo-yo string as Chat rapidly detangled the yo-yo from his staff. yo-yo now in hand Marinette’s eyes scanned for the akuma. Which was now floating dangerously close to one of the firemen. Marinette didn’t waste another second, throwing her yo-yo out and trapping the akuma inside. The momentum of the movement causing her to tip forward. Ladybug began to lose her balance before Chat Noir’s hand came out to snatch her elbow, steadying her once more. Ladybug smiled gratefully at him before releasing the purified akuma out into the open air. The two breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the white butterfly ascend into the air.

“Aren’t you forgetting something Bug-brat?” Chat coughed into his arm. Marinette knit her brows together before she noticed the electric fan still sitting at the edge of the rooftop. Ladybug picked up the magical item and feebly tossed it off the roof. A flurry of red set things right again clearing the smoke from the air and restoring the burning building back to its former glory. As if on cue Ladybug’s earrings rang in her ears. She didn’t have long.

“I’ll see you around Chat Noir,” Ladybug called as she leapt off the roof yo-yo in hand.

Marinette’s hand barely caught the windowsill of the Agreste mansion when her transformation wore off. With a pained groan, Marinette pulled herself back into the bathroom letting her body collapse on the tile floor. Her whole body ached. Not only was she sore but the newly acquired injuries intermingled with the still healing ones were not helping things. With a deep breath, Marinette pulled herself up off the bathroom floor and back to her feet. She glanced in the mirror and let out a frustrated groan. Not only was her hair dripping wet but her face was smeared with soot. Marinette yanked her hair free from its ties and washed her face in the sink. Using a hand towel she wiped her face clean and did her best to dry her messy hair. When she looked a little less haggard Marinette briskly exited the bathroom only to immediately run into someone. Marinette stumbled back wincing as she did so. She had definitely sprained her ankle. Marinette’s eyes shot up to meet Felix’s. Felix raised his eyebrows at Marinette in surprise. Marinette noted his mussed, damp hair. She had never seen Felix look so… unravelled. Felix ran a hand through his ragged hair in an attempt to smooth some of its messiness to no avail. The hair fell right back into his face. Felix groaned internally.

“Hi,” Marinette breathed softly. Felix raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“Everything alright?” He asked eyeing her damp hair.

“Yeah, I uh had a problem… with the sink…” Marinette’s eyes grew wide as the terrible lie fell past her lips. She had to consciously tell herself not to cringe after hearing her own words out loud. Felix nodded suspiciously.

“I heard you were suspended,” Felix said bluntly.

“Yeah. I am. I hit Chloe,” Marinette responded dryly. Felix nodded eyes narrowing as if analyzing the information before him.

“Why?” Felix asked.

“It’s personal,” Marinette huffed. Mentally telling herself to keep her cool. Felix raised his eyebrows but didn’t press the matter.

“Whatever it was, I’m sure the situation warranted it,” Felix spoke factually as if this was something as certain as his own name. Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. Felix’s hand shot out to grab her chin stopping the motion. Marinette froze unable to breathe. Felix moved his face closer to hers nose nearly brushing against her own as his eyes looked at her with an intense stare. Her moved his hand from her chin reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face. His thumb skimmed her temple, his breath tickling her lips.

“Is this... soot?” Felix asked eyes trained on her temple where Marinette had missed some of the remnants of the fire.

“Hey, Marinette are you-” Adrien froze as he entered the hallway and saw Marinette and Felix standing startlingly close to one another. “Why are you both wet!?” Adrien shouted incredulously.

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