#Marinette is a little shit

[fanbliss]

Rouge Cat and Phantom

After another argument with Bruce, Jason having enough of his shit decided to take his anger out on unsuspecting criminals of crime alley. What he didn't account for was for the guys to get lucky and for him to be currently pleading out in alley, last thing he saw before passing out was a boy and a girl sitting on top of the fire escape both having black hair the girls eyes glowing blood red and the boy's a Lazarus green.

[bigfatbreak]

Birds of a Feather previous / next

[tears-of-xion]

April rainshowers and affectionate gazes.

-

Please do not use or re-post my artwork without my permission. Thank you!   (reblogs, however, are welcome and appreciated)

I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, nor it’s characters. All rights to their owners.

[carpetbug]

another character color test (just for u @wisteriasymphony mwuah i luv u)

for some reason i have such a love hate relationship with his color palette, it has potential but it feels sort of bland? if that makes sense lol

tikki and plagg up next <3 i haven’t really considered comparing my different kwami designs + canon so i think ill have a lot of fun with it

[verfound]

FIC: "Of Kwamis, Soulmates, and Idiots"

(MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Lukanette Month 2024)

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers is doing a Lukanette Month for September 2024, and we all just kinda tossed some prompts in the disco to compile a list?  We ended up with 71 prompts, so I decided I’d roll some dice to pick a prompt, do a twenty minute (ish, bc we all know sometimes they run away from me) sprint, and try to get some short fics out this month?

Sorry not sorry for the end...

Read on Ao3

Prompt 09: New Pet

“You should talk to him.”

Marinette felt her shoulders stiffen – felt her entire body tense – at the tiny voice.  Irrational as it was, because she knew no one else could hear it.  No one else was able to see or hear Tikki except for her – that’s just how kwamis worked.

…well.

Her, and her soulmate.

But she didn’t have a soulmate.  Or…she hadn’t found them.  Yet.  So it was impossible that anyone else currently aboard the Liberty would have heard Tikki’s horrible suggestion.

Talk to him.

Like she could ever do something as crazy as that.

“Shut up,” she hissed under her breath, her eyes still darting up to make sure the band – to make sure he wasn’t listening.  She hunched closer to her legs, bringing her face dangerously close to her sketchbook, and tapped her pencil against the page in irritation.  “You know I can’t.”

“But why?” the little bug asked, zipping out from behind her pigtails to stare unabashedly at the him in question.

…Luka.

Juleka’s older brother.

Lead guitar of Kitty Section.

Super cool, super nice, super hot, super out of her league…

Tikki was frowning as she looked back and forth from Luka to Marinette’s sketchbook.

“You like him, don’t you?” she asked, tilting her little head to the side.  Marinette flailed, sending her sketchbook flying, as she grabbed at the kwami.  Did she have to be so loud?!

“Tikki, shut up!” she cried, her face burning as she pulled her against her chest.  She looked up at the sudden silence on the deck, and she gave a nervous laugh as she waved off the concerned stares.  “S-sorry, guys!  You know how…annoying kwamis are!”

Tikki shouted something rude at her, she was sure, but her hand was covering the little brat’s mouth and it came out a muffled squeak.  Marinette groaned as she pulled her knees back up on the crate and pressed her forehead against them.  Tikki grew suddenly quiet, and Marinette looked up to find…oh.  Oh no.

Luka was standing right in front of her, her discarded sketchbook in hand.

“Your kwami’s a little shit, too, huh?” he chuckled, holding the book out for her.  She swallowed and glanced down at her clenched hands, but Luka wasn’t looking at Tikki.

…of course he wouldn’t be.

He couldn’t see her.

Because he wasn’t…

“More than usual lately,” she sighed, letting Tikki go as she took her book back.  She offered him a shaky smile as he took a seat on the crate beside her.  “Sorry.  She…likes to tease me.”

“Oh, mine lives for that,” he chuckled.  “I don’t think Sass considers a day complete until he’s made my life a living hell.”

She giggled as he grinned at her, and her feet slipped from the edge of the crate back to the deck as she leaned forward.  His smile softened, and that…oh, he had the best smile…

“I’m sure he’s not all that bad,” she said, reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear.  She looked up at him with a shy smile and prayed her face wasn’t as red as it felt.  “…he’s your kwami, after all.”

“Well, by that logic…someone as sweet as you?  Tikki has to be a saint,” he said.  She wanted to roll her eyes, but Luka had just called her sweet, and she ended up mumbling out some nonsense that might have been a thank you or maybe a shut up you’re cute, but either way she ended up looking back at the deck as her face burned hotter.  After a moment, he nudged he shoulder with his own and nodded towards the sketchbook.  “Sooo…what were you working on?  It must be good – you looked pretty intense.”

Her stomach clenched, remember exactly what – or who – she had been doodling, and she prayed he hadn’t actually seen the very detailed sketch of himself when he had picked the book up.

…any of the very detailed studies she’d done of him over the last few weeks, actually.  Tikki, kill her now…

“N-no, it was…it was nothing,” she said quickly, shaking her head.  “Just…you know.  Doodles.”

“I’d love to see them sometime, if you don’t mind sharing,” he said, leaning a little closer.  “Juleka says you’re crazy talented.”

“She…she said that?” she asked, looking up in surprise.  She hugged her sketchbook to her chest, and his smile…there was something in his eyes, something she couldn’t quite place – something she maybe wasn’t quite ready to place yet – that made her stomach flip pleasantly.  That made her want to show him the sketchbook, or anything he asked for, if only he’d keep looking at her like that.  He nodded, and she looked away as she bit down on her smile.  “That…that was really sweet of her.”

“She can be, sometimes,” he said.  She glanced back up at him, and her breath caught when he winked at her.  “If you’re not related to her.”

A giggle was startled out of her, and he chuckled as he reached over to squeeze her shoulder.  He glanced at something behind her, that strange look passing over his face again, before he stood and waved.

“Th-thanks!” she called as he turned away.  He looked back, and she waved her sketchbook at him.  “For…bringing it back.  Thank you.”

“Anytime, Ma-Ma-Marinette,” he said with a wink.  She rolled her eyes at the nickname, but her face didn’t feel as hot as it had the first time he’d teased her with it.  It felt…familiar, now.  More comfortable.

A tiny giggle by her shoulder had her tensing all over again, and she looked down to find Tikki grinning at her.

“Well,” she said, her eyes sparkling, “at least you talked to him!”

. : .

Later, after the others had headed home for the night and Luka was left ‘cleaning up’ the deck (…which was more of an excuse to sit on the stage, staring up at the stars as he worked on that song that had been stuck in his head since blue, blue eyes and Ma-Ma-Marinettes), Sass decided he apparently hadn’t had enough that day.

…as if seeing that crazy drawing of him in her sketchbook hadn’t been enough.  He had almost dropped the book all over again when he’d picked it up and realized she’d been drawing him the entire time she’d been watching their rehearsal.  When he’d realized she’d been watching him maybe as much as he’d been trying not to watch her.

“You ssstill have not told her,” the little snake hissed softly, settling on the head of his guitar when his playing tapered out.  Luka’s grip tightened on the neck as his eyes narrowed at his kwami.  His long tail was dangling, swishing almost like a cat – and the smirk on his face was definitely too feline for something that was supposed to be a snake.

“Sass…” he said in warning, but Sass just flicked his tongue out at him.  He’d say he was scenting the air, but Luka knew better.  Sass lived to torment him.

“Why haven’t you told her?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.  Luka rolled his eyes and jostled his guitar, just enough to dislodge the little shit.

“You know why,” he sighed, sinking back against the speaker he was using as a backrest.  “She’s not ready yet, buddy.”

“How do you know if you don’t tell her?” Sass pressed.  “Shhhe deserves to know, Luka.  Wouldn’t you both be happier if she did?”

“…she’s not ready yet,” he insisted, shaking his head.  “Her song’s still too…I don’t think she knows what she really wants yet, Sass.  And when I tell her…I want her to want it.  I want her to want me.  Is that too much to ask?”

The kwami’s brow furrowed, as if he didn’t understand – or didn’t believe – him, and Luka sighed as he started picking the familiar notes out again.  Marinette’s song.  The one that had utterly bewitched him from the moment he had first heard it – that had only intensified when she’d waved goodbye that first night and he’d seen the large, violet eyes peeking out from behind her collar.

Sass heaved a longsuffering sigh as he settled on his human’s head.  He flicked his tail against him as he settled in, a clear sign of his annoyance.

“I ssstill sssay you shhhould tell her,” he huffed, and Luka smiled sadly.

“I know, buddy,” he said.  “I will.  Soon.”

. : .

Except it wasn’t just that the kwamis’ humans were soulmates.

The kwamis needed each other, too.

They were linked, in an ancient, mysterious way no one really understood.

They could never really exist peacefully, in harmony, until they were reunited.

…and soon just wasn’t proving to be soon enough.

After another week went by – and then another two – Sass and Tikki had had just about enough.

“She’s just so shy,” Tikki huffed from their hiding place in the basketball hoop.  “She’s so amazing, Sass, but she has no self-confidence!  She’ll never make the first move!”

“I fear Luka won’t, either, if shhhe never does,” Sass sighed.  “He feels shhhe is…not ready.”

He said it with a roll of his eyes, and Tikki pouted as she stared at the two hopeless soulmates dancing around each other below them.

“She’s more ready than he thinks,” she tutted.  “You don’t have to wake up to her kissing her stupid cat pillow and sighing his name.”

Sass snickered, and Tikki tried to pout at him, but it was too easy to return his grin when he looked at her like that.  He was more familiar with things like that than she knew, he was afraid.

“Perhapsss it’sss time we ssstopped leaving it up to them, then?” he suggested, tilting his head as he watched Luka bend to help Marinette pick something up – and then crash his head against hers when their hands brushed and she jerked back.  “Perhapsss they need a little…pushhh?”

“…what do you have in mind?” Tikki asked, turning to him.  He grinned and floated up, winking at her as he made his way below.

“I think it’sss about time I sssee thisss pillow for myssself,” he hummed.  It took barely a moment – the briefest of distractions, provided by Ivan calling for Luka to get back to the stage and neither of them watching too closely – and then Sass was phasing through Marinette’s bag, settling into a pocket he was sure would go unchecked until it was too late.

From her place on the hoop, Tikki just…stared.

She…hadn’t known they could do that?

They could do that???

She had thought they were bound to their humans, that they couldn’t travel too far from them, and yet…well.

If Luka was Marinette’s soulmate, perhaps he was a little bit Tikki’s human, too?

Tikki was still hiding up on the hoop a short while later when Marinette received a call asking her to come home, and she watched anxiously as her human waved goodbye to her friends and ran off the boat.

…as Luka watched her go, a look she would call nothing short of longing on his face.

She sank back against the board and wished for a freshly-baked cookie to chew on.  Oh, she had a bad feeling about this…

[definitely-not-a-wasp]

Boy, where’s your Mother? Fall Down Dead Dirty Mind, Dirty Mouth, Pretty Little Head

For @buggachat‘s Drowning (In Plain Sight), which is currently giving me brain worms

[knifedancer]

What-If: MultiFelix

What if Felix met Multimouse before his appearance in canon?

What if Adrien wasn’t the only blond crushing on a super heroine in the family?

~~~~~~~ “Shit!” Felix cursed as he dodged a wayward akuma blast, the wall of the store he had been hiding beside becoming nothing more than a crumbling pile of bricks in his wake. He stumbled as the ground shook again, hazel eyes darting around to seek out another route away from the battlefront before the akuma-of-the-week targeted the blond directly instead of the thinning crowds around him.

‘There! I can hide in that alley!’ Felix rushed forward, panting as he sprinted across the street towards perceived safety. However, just before he could breach it, another blast struck the building to the left and the debris blocked the mouth of the alleyway – a few bricks slammed into his left leg, their bruising impacts ripping his pants and leaving a smattering of cuts on his thigh. By the way the material of his black slacks bloomed matching glossy spots, there were likely more bloody wounds than those visible through the tears. Cursing under his breath, he spun to his right to begin limping further down the avenue when the sound of maniacal laughter sent chills down his spine. Felix turned and dropped into a fighting stance; hazel eyes focused on the threat approaching slowly. The akuma was dressed as a Medieval court jester; bells jingling as they bounced from foot to foot, legs and arms as pale as snow and unnaturally long like some sort of spider. Eyes wild and toothy grin wide, their head tilted like an inquisitive puppy looking at a new toy.

‘Well, new fear unlocked…’ Felix thought, his rising panic hidden behind a carefully constructed mask of indifference and splotches of plaster dust.

“When I was a lad, I was gloomy and sad / As I was from the day I was born / When other babes giggled and gurgled and wiggled / I proudly was loudly forlorn. / My friends and my family looked at me clammily / Thought there was something amiss…” the akuma’s unhinged, sing-songed limerick coming out dejected as it approached slowly, their grin temporarily dropping into an overexaggerated frown. Felix took a cautious step back, was this the victim’s backstory?

“What else could he be but a Jester? / A Jester? A Jester! / A funny idea, a Jester!” Suddenly the akuma’s mouth stretched up into an unnaturally feral grin, like some sort of horror game villain – equal parts terrifying and disturbing that would certainly not haunt his dreams later – and squealed with joy, clapping its hands around their marotte. “Only the sharpest eye, the keenest nose / the quickest ear and the fleetest toes / Can ever outfox the Jester! Can ever outfox the Jester! / Only the stoutest arm, the bravest heart / with a magic charm and a good head start / Will ever outfox the Jester!”

The hazel-eyed teen braced himself to fight as the akuma lunged with a sharp jingle, marotte extended above their head as if to club the blond over his skull rather than shoot a blast from the tip. Out of nowhere and with a quiet fwip, a pink jump rope shot in front of the jester, tripping them. Just as soon as the rope appeared, it retracted in the blink of an eye and, in its place, a grey dressed figure somersaulted in the air directly above the flattened akuma. Time seemed to slow as Felix watched her pink hair ribbons flutter in the air behind the space buns holding back her hair, tresses as dark as a raven’s wing. His breath briefly caught as bright, bluebell eyes flashed – focused and calculating – from behind the edges of a baby pink domino mask. She brought her black booted feet together and ruthlessly planted them directly into the back of the akuma’s skull, impaling their head into the pavement like some sort of avenging Valkyrie taking down a mythical beast. Felix felt breathless and his knees turned to putty watching the graceful, powerful display. Just who was she?

Shaking off the foreign feelings clouding his mind, the blond limped backwards, unsure if this lithe woman was a friend or foe. Perhaps she would attack him next. Why did he feel a thrill at the idea of sparring with her? Focus! The movement drew the attention of those enchanting blue eyes. She squeaked in surprise, as if just noticing him for the first time. However, they took on an intelligent gleam, quickly assessing his physical state – those eyes pausing on his leg – as she approached him with her hands outstretched in a placating manner. “Um. Excuse me, garçon, I’m here to help. You need to evacuate. Are you badly injured?”

Ignoring the way that her sweet voice – which sounded like silk wrapped around steel – made his heartbeat quicken, he evaluated her for a threat. She was petite and so thin that it looked like the next strong breeze might knock her over. Hazel eyes trailed down the woman’s grey suit – lines of pink breaking the black and grey tightly hugging her tiny frame, the fabric caressing each toned curve and valley in a way that made his mouth run dry – before taking note of a familiar pink jump rope hanging around her waist like a tail. He relaxed fractionally and cleared his throat. “You were the one that tripped him before, weren’t you?” he questioned, gesturing to the now thrashing akuma attempting to free itself from the ground. If Jester had not been struggling to free themselves, Felix would liken the akuma’s current state to an ostrich hiding their head in a hole – the blond choked on a laugh over that mental image!

The grey suited woman glanced back and nodded, “I apologize but…we need to get you out of here before Jester sees us and decides to get revenge.” She drew out the jump rope and stepped into his personal space. Felix realized just how much shorter she was, the top of her head just barely clearing his shoulder, before her words finally registered.

“W-wait, what are you—OOF!” The lithe figure quickly lifted him in a fireman’s carry over her shoulder with shockingly little effort before whipping out the rope and tugging them into the air as if snapping a rubber band. Watching the ground flash by beneath them at a dizzying speed, Felix was pretty sure he was going to be sick. ‘What a way to go…throwing up while escaping an akuma, being manhandled by some superhuman, spandex wearing, midget!’ He refused to admit that this position also provided a lovely angle on some of her finer assets…which was distracting enough to assuage the rising bile in his throat.

With a jolt, they landed on a rooftop, but she only paused for a moment. The woman returned the rope to her waist and shifted him into a bridal carry before dashing quickly across the uneven terrain as if it were second nature. Felix’s arms instinctually wrapped around her neck in a desperate attempt to prevent being dropped. He glanced over her shoulder to see the rapidly expanding distance from whence he was kidnapped – perhaps rescued? – off the street while the wind whipped noisily past his ears. ‘It appears she’s just as strong and fast, even with my added weight,’ the blond thought with mounting admiration. The grey suited woman began to slow and hopped onto a flat roof with a small garden next to a fire escape, finally halting their advance and gingerly returning him to his feet. The blond attributed his racing heart from the unexpected flight rather than their proximity.

“Sorry about that! We didn’t have much time and I needed to get you away from that akuma before they freed themselves. You should be safe here and, if you’re not in too much pain, you can easily take the fire escape down to the streets. Just try to avoid Rue de Rivoli or else you might bump into our crazed jester friend again.” Her lips curved into a gentle smile that made him feel fluttery—er, reassured.

Felix furrowed his brow, “Who even are you?”

The woman blinked and opened her mouth to reply when a cry of “MOUSINETTE!” came from his right, followed by a black blur crashing into the grey suited woman. She stumbled back a few steps with a giggle that sounded like wind chimes dancing in sunlight. Wrapped around Felix’s savior, belt tail seemingly interweaving with the hanging jump rope length, was none other than a grinning Chat Noir. “What are you doing here?! Milady said she was sending in help, but I didn’t think she’d send you after…” The cat hero trailed off, one hand gesturing towards her mask. Now what was that about?

“O-Oh…Yeah…She said that it was just temp-temporary since she’s…uh…” The young woman glanced over towards Felix and then back to Chat, dropping her voice to a soft whisper, “…indisposed.”

“Indisposed? But isn’t her kwam—” Chat Noir looked confused before finally realizing they had company, his mouth dropping into a silent ‘oh’. “Gotcha. Ixnay.” Then he grinned again and ruffled her hair, “It’s good to see you again, Little Mouse! No one deserves it more than you!”

Her cheeks flared in rosy embarrassment and her lips protruded in a pout at the hero’s praise. “Um…I-I…Thank you, Chat. That’s very sweet but…uh, don’t get your hopes up?” The mousey girl cringed and backed away, tugging her jump rope free as she prepared for her departure.

Felix’s lips quirked up slightly at her increased nervous vocal quirks, ‘First she’s badass, then she’s adorable. Just who is she?’

“Since you’re more, uh experienced than me, wo-would you mind checking out this man’s le-leg? I’m heading back to see if Jester has um…broken free from where I…uh…left him.” With that, she scurried away, using her jump rope to swing back towards the akuma.

“Wow! You don’t know it, sir, but you’re a very lucky man… saved by THE Multimouse!” Chat crowed with joy while slitted eyes watched her disappear from sight.

“…Multi-who?” Felix questioned awkwardly, wondering why the cat hero appeared to be so excited.

Chat chuckled softly before turning to him, “Multimouse. She’s smart and funny and strong and sweet…She’s one of the temporary heroes, our greatest strategist (next to my Bugaboo, of course)! Our heavy hitter!”

“Is she some sort of stealth hero? I don’t recall ever hearing about her online…” In fact, he had researched all the heroes before this trip and found not a single mention of a mouse hero.

The black clad cat deflated slightly and sighed, “Yeah…she’s only been out once or twice before this…never really been caught on camera but something happened last time and…well, Ladybug said we couldn’t call her back out. I guess Milady decided it was enough of an emergency… Not that I mind!”

Felix took in the goofy smile that slowly stretched across Chat’s face while he looked off in the direction Multimouse had retreated. Suddenly he felt nauseous, as if something ugly was twisting up and clenching in his stomach, causing his neck to burn red. Unable to control his emotions any longer, his tone became clipped and hard as a lump of anger gripped his vocal cords. “Aren’t you…supposed to be in love with Ladybug?” Did he sound jealous? It was definitely not jealousy!

Chat Noir’s eyes widened comically, his arms swinging wildly in the air as if to physically dispel any misunderstanding. “Yes! Milady is the only one for me! B-but—wait...” Green eyes narrowed with suspicion and the cat stalked closer to the injured teen, his entire demeanor flipping like a switch: from nervous house cat to dangerous panther. Felix struggled to keep himself calm and attention locked on the approaching predator so that he could leap away at a moment’s notice. The cat leaned into his face before a huge grin broke through, his voice a smug murmur. “Do you have a crush on Mousinette?”

Now it was Felix’s turn to panic – eyes widening, heart racing, body trembling, and face burning red – as the image of a grey suited, blue-eyed Valkyrie popped up in his head. His mind replayed the way the breeze tugged at the ribbons in her hair, the obvious strength her petite body contained while effortlessly holding him, the intelligence that showed in her eyes, the blush painted across her cheeks and a giggle that made something inside him sing!

‘Oh…’ he thought dazedly. Sure, Felix had always heard of ‘love at first sight’ but had excused it as nothing more than romantic fantasy! Some unrealistic and overused movie trope! Yet here he was…falling for some mystery heroine that hadn’t even spoken more than a handful of meaningless sentences to him. Mortification bled through the warmth expanding in his chest.

Chat Noir’s grin became sharp, as if he could hear the hazel-eyed blond’s heart beating in time to the heroine’s name. “You and I aren’t so different; I was the same way for Ladybug. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

~~~

He refreshed the Ladyblog and scrolled through the latest posts for possibly the hundredth time, the habit becoming a daily routine for the blond. There was no real evidence of Multimouse’s existence, merely anecdotal or the occasional passing comment about a pink jump rope appearing during a time of crisis. The only images captured during the Jester akuma were blurry and taken at too far of a distance, Felix checked. Thoroughly. He questioned his memory more with each passing day as little details seemed to slip away, like a well-worn film played so many times that the sound and images began to distort. He could recall that her voice and laughter were sweet but why was it so hard to remember the exact tone? Was she really as lovely as in his dreams? Did her eyes sparkle like the sun glancing off a lake’s surface or were they more like the color of a cloudless sky at noon? What was the shape of her face like again? Did she have freckles?

Frustrated, the blond refreshed the page yet again.

The next time that Felix visited Paris, he watched the skies for a streak of grey and pink. No matter how many akumas appeared, it was simply the original pair: Ladybug and Chat Noir. His attention was divided between his phone and the skies, constantly hoping for another glimpse of the heroine that stole his heart; enough that even his cousin seemed to notice the level of his distraction.

“Hey Fe, you seem really out of it. You okay?” Adrien asked, concern seeming to drip from every pore.

Felix sighed and dropped his phone back down into his lap, “Yes. Apologies, cousin, I’m simply…” He made a motion with one hand as if scrolling through a list of words before settling on one, “…distracted.”

The model approached and hung himself over the back of the couch like a discarded throw blanket, glancing down at what had captured his interest on the screen. “Oh, are you checking out the Ladyblog? My friend, Alya, actually runs it!”

The hazel eyed teen turned with interest, desperately he tried to keep hope from bleeding into his voice. “Do you know if she has a database of images of the various heroes, perchance?”

“Besides the gallery on the blog itself, no, I don’t think so. Why?”

Felix’s posture deflated a bit as he stifled a groan, “It’s…nothing.”

“Are you looking for a certain hero, maybe?” Adrien innocently asked.

“No!” The Londoner answered a little too quickly, unable to keep his ears from turning bright red as he denied the question emphatically.

A playful grin spread across the green-eyed blond’s face, “Yes, you are, Fe! Who is it? Was it a temporary hero during that attack you were caught up in last time?”

He gripped his phone and clenched his teeth, attempting to stifle the spread of the blush now blooming across his cheeks. Good gods, he would never live this down…but his cousin was a fan of the heroes, surely, he might have some information? He hated feeling vulnerable. Felix pressed his eyes shut as if pained to admit it, his voice coming out as more of a whispered hiss than he would care to admit. “…Yes.”

Adrien seemed to light up, “Really? Who was it?” Bouncing like a puppy with a new toy, the model’s eyes gleamed. “Viperion? Or perhaps Ryuko? Rena Rouge? Or...Carapace?! No judgment.”

Felix scoffed and looked down into his lap pensively, his fingers gliding over the darkened surface of his phone’s screen as he struggled to open up. “No…none of them. She doesn’t appear on the Ladyblog anywhere and there’s no pictures of her in battle…I—”

The model gently set a hand on his shoulder, finally hazel met green. “Hey, it’s okay to have a crush on whoever it is. I mean I…” He watched as his cousin blushed, his eyes looking out the wall of windows with a dreamy, far-off look. Felix couldn’t help but think that his cousin looked like some sort of melancholic-romantic lead pining for their lover. “I’ve…had a huge crush on Ladybug ever since she saved me.”

The formal boy stared at his cousin’s profile, dumbfounded at finding common ground with his lookalike. They had been raised so differently, had lost contact, lost parents, and pursued different routes in life… The model was like sunshine incarnate while the magician resembled that of a thunderstorm. All their lives, Felix had always been compared to Adrien and found lacking. Perhaps they weren’t so different after all?

Adrien sighed softly and turned his gaze back towards him, excited once more. “So? What was she like?”

“She…” He allowed his eyes to drift up briefly as he recalled the encounter once again. “She was…strong and agile. Small, but powerful, like some sort of petite battle angel.”

“Yeah… I’m a sucker for a strong woman, too.” Adrien climbed over the sofa and settled beside him with a chuckle, leaning back so that the model’s face looked up at the ceiling. “And beautiful.”

“Graceful,” Felix supplied with an agreeable hum, lost in thought as his eyes drifted down to his lap once again. Fingers tracing the edges of his phone case as the image of bright eyes framed by a pink mask flooded his memories.

“Kind,” his cousin sighed into the air around them, his mind’s eye bringing forward images of his Lady.

“Capable.”

“Smart.”

“Clever.”

“Confident.”

“…yet adorable.”

“Especially how her nose crinkles when she laughs…”

“Laughter that makes your heart dance.”

“And a smile that makes you feel warm all over.”

“With blue eyes as clear as crystal…”

“Hair the color of the midnight sky…”

Felix laughed wryly, “Almost sounds like we’re in love with the same girl.”

“Oh gods, I think we have a type!” Adrien’s whole body shook with his laughter.

“Seems so, cousin!” The formal boy’s chuckles died out as the original issue arose to the forefront of his mind yet again. “At least you can find pictures of Ladybug all over the blog. Multimouse doesn’t appear on camera nor is she called out much. It’s…It’s like she never existed!” He ran a hand through his hair in visible frustration.

“Yeah, I’ve…uh…heard rumors of a mouse hero. But I’ve um, never seen her myself,” the model admitted while twisting his ring. “Wait! What if I ask Chat Noir – he, uh…patrols nearby sometimes – to get you a picture?”

Felix scoffed at the idea, “That’s not likely to happen. Even that cat mentioned that she is hardly ever called out to help. Besides, I don’t need any of the heroes to find out about my…inclinations. They might think I’m some sort of stalker and never call her out again.” Crossing his arms, he glared at the tops of his knees.

“Oh. Um.” Adrien seemed to deflate a little, his eyes twitching back and forth pensively as if trying to find an answer. “Then…what if you describe her to me and I can try to get my friend to draw her for you? His name’s Nathaniel, he’s really good – even has his own Ladybug comic book! Here, I’ll show you some of his work.”

Felix watched as his cousin pulled up a few screenshots he had saved of the bug heroine – obviously full colored, pre-print cells from the final draft – and was begrudgingly impressed. “That…that might just work. I…” He furrowed his brow and cleared his throat; an uncomfortable tightness having lodged deep in his chest. Hazel eyes rose to look into the model’s face once again, his voice a murmur of gratitude. “Thank you, Adrien.”

A genuine smile stretched across the model’s face. “Hey, what is family for?”

~~~

A few weeks later, a small package arrived at Felix’s door in London with a return address from Paris.

Retreating to the privacy of his room, the blond allowed his emotions to go unguarded as he quickly peeled back the tape with anticipation. A small gasp echoed in the silent room as hazel eyes finally laid upon the contents. Inside the rigid packaging and protected by a stiff plastic sleeve, lay three realistic drawings of various sizes and poses, all professionally colored and inked in a way that made it seem almost like the heroine could jump straight off the page.

“Multimouse…” his whispered voice filled with awe and admiration.

Felix pulled the largest image from the sleeve, an action shot that he had described in great detail – repetitively – to Adrien. Jump rope curled around her waist, ribbons blowing in the breeze, her booted feet together and arms extended above her head as she came down upon the akuma… Suddenly he felt as if he was right back in that moment! The artist had drawn her form as if hovering in the air, looking like an instant frozen in time, and filled in the background with a simple watercolor burst that accentuated the grays, pinks, and dark blues in the rest of the piece. With trembling fingers, he reverently traced the curve of Multimouse’s domino mask. He gazed into the bright blue eyes that had bewitched him and haunted his dreams. Somehow Adrien’s artist friend had even perfectly captured the determined sparkle in her eyes!

Gently setting that drawing aside, he pulled the medium sized image out next and found another action shot of the heroine mid-flight. Jump rope extended beyond the paper’s edges, legs extended behind her in freefall, her eyes partially closed against the wind whipping at her face – it was a beautiful vision! However, what captured his interest and stole his breath was the bright smile stretched across her face. She looked so carefree and relaxed, as if she were simply patrolling the rooftops with the rest of the team. Had they used Ladybug for reference? Or did someone see her recently?

No, if she had been seen, it would have been on the Ladyblog.

Placing that piece beside the other on his desktop, Felix finally pulled the last from the sleeve. Unlike the others, this one was laminated and covered by a sticky note in Adrien’s usual scrawl.

Dear Fe, I asked Nath to make this one small enough to fit in your wallet. We asked my very good friend, Marinette, to pose for it. I hope you like it! ~AA

The hazel eyed teen scoffed and peeled it away, freezing once he revealed the image beneath. The mouse heroine was pictured sitting on the edge of a building, reclined back on one arm while glancing over her shoulder almost flirtatiously, the sunset and Eiffel Tower behind her so that part of her face was cast in shadow. One delicate hand was brushing her bangs from her eyes, a shy smile upon her lips, her body language open and comfortable. The angle was close enough to make out long lashes and a light blush on her freckled cheeks. It almost felt as if she were looking right at him!

Knees shaking from the weight of his overwhelming emotions and eyes still locked on the small drawing, he sat heavily into the desk chair with a sharp creak in protest. Felix raised a hand to his chest, as if trying to calm the rapidly thumping organ currently threatening to flee from his body. His imagination ran wild – supplanting memories of the Jester with daydreams of shy smiles, sweet giggles, and teasing banter as they watched the sunset…

‘Wow…’ thought Felix, looking back over the three drawings before his eyes settled back on the one still in his hand. ‘I don’t know how I’m ever going to return the favor for this… Perhaps I can help my cousin with his crush the next time I visit?’

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

~~~~~~~Author's Notes: I had a this thought and decided to type it up. I'm the only one to blame here. I couldn't stop myself if I tried. I swear, I don't know why my brain spits this stuff out…

Jester lines are modified prose from character dialogue in 'The Court Jester' (1955).

Jester's visuals were inspired by a combination of Spinel (corrupted) from 'Steven Universe', Joker from 'Batman', and Huggy Wuggy and Mommy Longlegs from 'Poppy's Playtime'. Disturbing enough? Check.

Marotte: Originally the medieval fool's stick or sceptre, a short rod topped with a small head.

Adrien hints about Marinette's secret mouse identity, said hint goes right over Felix's head.

[d011zk1ll]

Essentially them yep

[familyagrestefanblog]

Someday, I swear, someday...

Someday I will write down why not just the story of Cinderella but especially the dynamic between Cinderella, her evil stepmother and stepsisters is one of the most important stories that has lasted thousands of years for a VERY GOOD REASON

Not just regarding child abuse, feminist literature and literature of female (coded) life experiences

But one of the most important stories PERIOD.

SOMEDAY I will fucking explain why Adrien and Gabriel are a brilliant and extremely important depiction of that story, and a phenomenal gender swapped variation of it for modern feminist story-telling that is very much breaking some grounds. If only Marinette's own girlboss 'knight in shining armor' narrative wouldn't constantly undermine that, making them seem "lesser" bc Adrien is "just" her little damsel she will save "easily" because we can't allow for her to be seen as anything else but one of the "STRONG" modern female heros.

SOMEDAY I will explain why Cinderella and Lady Tremaine are NOT fucking jokes and outdated female (coded) archetypes to be laughed at for how "weak and backwards" they are, but if well utilized one of the most raw and gut-wrenching archetypes of the non-romantic interplay of love vs hatred that grabs you by the most intimit connection a human can have and potentially breaks down the very root of who you are and why.

I will fucking explain why despite how misogynistic our society is, Cinderella and Lady Tremaine are still one of the most iconic protagonist and villain pairs in all of fiction and will continue doing so for many ages to come.

Why Cinderella, no matter how much society will tear her down, will never stop rising from her ashes victoriously. And why Lady Tremaine, no matter how underutilized and slandered she's depicted, will never ever stop dominating 99% of any other villain she's put against.

Both entirely without special powers, status, or whatever. Just through their very presence and dynamic.

I swear to God this fandom...

[fanbliss]

Maribat promt

After a shitty day of patrol and getting into an argument with the bat, Jason heads home to his apartment only to find a magical three year old girl with black hair and blue eyes playing with a black cat and a strange ladybug plushie on his couch.

[bigfatbreak]

#and also blackmail authority figures trying to get in his way of his investigations lol

lol but who is he blackmailing??

The Mayor. :D

[angelshizuka]

The way Multimouse's costume looks like the demigirl flag.

And the nice thing about headcanons is that you don't have to agree, just let me have fun with my own little delusions.

[sarcasticbambi]

Spiders

HMB Bingo Board "Stab It!" + Crack

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!”

SMACK!

“There she goes again.”  rings in the heads of the residents of the Wayne Manor.

At this point, everyone is used to Marinette’s fear of spiders and, regardless of Alfred’s countless efforts, the Wayne Manor is an old building with a big magnet for the little hairy creatures.

At first, they used to get startled and think that perhaps they were being attacked, no matter how low the chances were, only an attacker could cause such fear induced screams!

Only to arrive at the room she was in, ready to attack, to find her curled into a corner mumbling curses of all kinds and looking on the verge of tears.

Usually someone removes the spider from the room while Damian helps calm down his girlfriend.

Now, after that fateful incident no one is allowed to talk about, that resulted in a broken chandelier from the Eighteenth Century and a painting of one of the founding fathers of Gotham having dinner with a Wayne, Marinette can proudly say she can safely protect herself from the hairy eight leg devils.

And with that, also came a new source of entertainment for the Waynes: Marinette’s Spider killing skills. She had gathered an arsenal of skills and weapons just to get rid of spiders. Some of which not even World’s Best Detective Family could think of.

Some instances include:

She bought a hand shaped fly swatter to smack them with since she refused to touch them herself.

She bought spider insecticide for each and every room in the Manor so that she was never unprepared. (Made sure to use Damian’s card since it was his house, and he should keep it clean of “bugs”)

One time, she was so startled by the spider falling on the lounge room table she jumped and stole the vacuum from Alfred’s hands and vacuumed the spider.

Another time, when she noticed the insecticides weren’t being very effective, she called her mum who told her that in China, a popular way to remove bugs and insects from the house was to use peppermint essential oil and spray it around. Needless to say, the Manor smelled of peppermint for a good couple of weeks until she found a new method.

Alya also told her that when she was younger, her mum used to make a homemade insect repellent consisting of water, vinegar, pepper, oil and liquid soap and of course, our dearest Maribug decided it was a great idea to spray the house down with it - just like she did with all other methods.

She also recommended they plant Eucalyptus trees to help in keeping them away.

She only didn’t use the “spray/pour alcohol on spiders to kill them” because it had to be done directly to them and she considered it torture and she refused to use underhanded methods.

By now, everyone just rolls with it if Marinette comes into a room, flushed and huffing and asking if they have a weapon Manor never had that many spiders but, somehow, Marinette was always being “attacked” by them, as if they were attracted to her like Moths to Flame.

What was surprising was that Marinette was always very gentle with any insects and/or bugs. Especially Ladybugs, she even kept her habit of growing marigolds, sweet alyssums, calendulas and some more on a terrace garden, both at her apartment and at the Manor, which was usually cared for by Damian when she was not there.

Because of this, it was weird that she was afraid of the arachnids, especially considering how useful and harmless they actually were for the house.

This was all even more suspicious when one day, for Justice League business, Ladybug was given the “honour” of visiting the Batcave.

They first found it fun that Ladybug was afraid of the little spiders that also resided in the Batcave alongside the hanging bats (which by the way, what the heck Batman, really keeping up with the theme no?”), joking around if it was a Parisian thing since they knew a Parisian girl that was also terrified of them.

Then, she started using random objects to smack them if they got too close. Which was weird since the spiders never really came close to them, preferring to stick around the small corners and crevices. But they guessed it had something to do with her creation abilities and agreed to not host another meeting in the cave if it could be influenced by it.

Then, she started using methods that Marinette was often using around the house but improvised in a Ladybug way. Like vacuuming the spiders with the yoyo or presenting a peppermint spray from the endless pocket of space that was the little toy-like weapon.

She even grabbed Agent A’s offered teacup, threw the tea at someone - if the “Hey!” was anything to go by - and used it to cover a spider that decided to crawl across the table towards her. It was almost like she did it unconsciously at this point, because she immediately turned to him and apologised for wasting his tea in such a manner.

The highlight of the meeting was when a spider, hanging from the web, was right in front of her face falling right on her nose, causing the loudest shriek to come from The Guardian of The Miraculous. She jumped nearly five feet, attaching herself to the closest victim - who happened to be Robin - shaking him and screaming Bloody Mary.

“DO SOMETHING!!”

“DO SOMETHING I’M TELLING YOU!!

“What do you mean “do something”? What am I supposed to do, Stab It?” 

“I meant something more along the lines of smacking or trapping it, but I guess that’d also work.”

“I-”

“You know what, I honestly don’t care what you do with it, JUST GET IT OUT OF MY SIGHT”

Insert the loudest and longest sigh ever from both Robin and Batman.

“Ladybug, you are aware of just how unprofessional your beha-”

“Father, it’s alright. It is understandable that some people are frightened of such simple life forms, but if we can do it for Habibti, I don’t see why we can’t do the same for Ladybug tonight, you did say we’d change the meeting location for next time so such incidents could be prevented so I don’t see any issue with enduring it for tonight since it’d only be a hassle to change locations at the point.”

And it was thanks to Robin’s words that Batman shut up. With the argument shut down before it could even be started, Nightwing helped collect this round’s spider, and the meeting continued, with a high alert Ladybug and her trusted peppermint spray in one hand and the yoyo on the other. And every Batfam secretly disposed of any spiders attempting to get closer, none of them showing signs of inconvenience at doing such as to not get noticed by Ladybug. 

Needless to say, that no one paid attention to anything Batman was saying and yet, all proving true the “they all share one brain cell” theory when they busied their minds with thoughts on how cute she looked being so concentrated on getting the spiders - which had reduced significantly since there were very few that managed to get past them.

After the meeting had ended with agreements to rerun the points at the next meeting since no one grasped a single speck of information that night, Ladybug summoned the Horse Miraculous and opened herself a portal to leave.

She had told Damian she was going out for the night for a dinner with Chloe since she was in town, so to not wait for her - the excuse she usually went with whenever she had to go on Ladybug business and didn’t want him to know about it. Chloe was the only one of her friends to live nearby when she moved to Gotham, afterall Metropolis was just a town over so any excuse related to Chloe made sense to the little bug.

She was surprised however, to find the lights on when she got to their apartment’s door and saw Damian up and reading a book on the couch when she got inside.

“I told you not to wait up Damian!”

“I know. But what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t stay up to make sure my precious Angel got home safe?”

“I guess you do have a point… Thank you for waiting up then” she said and went in for a hug, which he readily accepted.

“So, did you have fun? You look a bit tired?”

“Oh, uhhh yeah, it was fun! Ahah, but you know Chloe, it’s always unpredictable with her ahahah”

“Hmmm, that’s true. I guess an entire evening with Chloe would be a bit of a headache.”

“Yeah hahaha”

“Hopefully there were no spiders, right?” “wHAT? NO! I mean no! There were no spiders tonight!” 

Damian smiled softly.   She’s so cute when  flustered.

“Great! I’m sure it’s because of all the ladybugs that come to visit!”

“Wha- what dO yOU mEaN hic-?!” Marinette’s brain was going over a mile a minute trying to process what he was talking about. Afterall, He couldn’t have figured out her identity, right? How would he even find out if she was never around him as Ladybug?!

“Oh, you know, the marigold garden in the balcony attracts lots of ladybugs. And like their name says, they are known to bring lots of luck! So, I’m sure you had no encounter with spiders because of it! We should plant some more!

“Oh, yeah, haha, the balcony marigolds, hahaha.”

“Come on, let’s get ready for bed. I already watered the balcony garden, so you don’t need to worry your little head over it. Tomorrow we can go and get some Bachelor’s Buttons, I read that Ladybugs also like them quite a bit.”

Marinette was too dazed to keep up any coherent thought with him at the moment, settling for just a little nod.

Poor thing, she’s probably stressing so much over it. Well, I’ll keep it up for a bit longer, it’s not every day you find your girlfriend’s secret identity afterall.

Pressing a little kiss to her forehead, Damian guided the poor bug to their room to get some rest for the night.

[carpetbug]

woah number four what featuring tikki!

I think her canon design is super cute, but also fairly simple, so I wanted my ‘fixed’ tikki to have a more bright, magical girl kinda vibe lol

mbau tikki has a less saturated palette mainly cause I think it works well with the other characters and it kinda works thematically? fbau version has more saturated colors cause. I can. and just slightly different physical traits. Her ‘tail’ (idk if it really counts as a tail but whatever lol) is significantly smaller from stress :)

these were fun! i’m glad i made the main bugs and cats, perhaps a turtle and fox will be next

[verfound]

FIC: "When Did You Get THAT?" (MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Lukanette Month 2024)

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers is doing a Lukanette Month for September 2024, and we all just kinda tossed some prompts in the disco to compile a list?  We ended up with 71 prompts, so I decided I’d roll some dice to pick a prompt, do a twenty minute (ish, bc we all know sometimes they run away from me) sprint, and try to get some short fics out this month?

Also HUGE shoutout to @goldenlaurelleaveswrites , who is the Juleka Whisperer and absolutely saved this fic when my Get-the-Prompt-Donitis had Juleka sounding like a dyed Alya. You're the best, babes 🖤

Read on Ao3

Prompt 52: Piercing

Luka was…distracted.

Which really wasn’t saying much, because Juleka would argue he was usually distracted when a certain someone was around, but today was…worse than usual.

Because today was hot.

And had been set aside for a seasonal Mop Up Day – one of the few times a year the Captain actually tolerated the word clean on her ship.  And Marinette had come over with the best of intentions, not realizing it was a Mop Up Day until it was too late.  All Luka had told her, when she had first asked if it was all right to come over that day, was that they’d be busy all day and wouldn’t be able to have anyone over.  He had also had the best of intentions, wanting to keep her from getting caught up in the chaos that was the Captain cleaning.  He had also known that, because it was Marinette, she would totally offer to help, and while that was appreciated he had still wanted to save her from the Captain cleaning.  So imagine his shock when she showed up bright and early – at least for them – with a box of pastries and some harried excuses about how I know you said not to come over but if you’re busy you’ll need sustenance and pastries are always a great pick-me-up, right?

It was just…Marinette being Marinette.  Being the awesome girl she was.  But it had, unfortunately, also completely blown his plans to save her from cleaning, because she was a helper.  A doer.  And the next thing he knew, she was hauling boxes and mopping decks with the rest of them.

And he wasn’t complaining, because he would never complain about getting more time with Marinette, but…it wasn’t really fair.  For her, totally, because it wasn’t even her home.  Sure, she spent enough time there and often joked that it was like a second home, but the Liberty still wasn’t her actual home.  She shouldn’t be responsible for cleaning it up.

It also wasn’t fair to…well.  Him.  Because it was hot, and she had dressed appropriately for a late summer day, and sure he had seen her in shorts and swimsuits before but that never made it any easier when there was just so much Marinette on display.

…he was still a guy.  A guy who was still stupid in love with her, even if he was pretty sure it was no longer mutual.  A guy who was still stupid in love with her and had eyes.

Somewhere out there, up there, whatever (…probably hiding in her purse, or back in her bedroom but still somehow just knowing), the universe (or a tiny snake-shaped god) was laughing at him.  Uproariously.

He was probably playing his pain on fucking loop.

So now Marinette was sticking around for the mop up, and while she wasn’t stuck with the more manual tasks Luka had been assigned – like how he was currently on the roof of the greenhouse, replacing some panes that had broken in the last bad storm – she was still…there.  Distracting.  Because, if you asked Juleka, Marinette was always distracting.  At least for him.

She…really had a point.

Because he was always so aware of her, even when she wasn’t directly engaging him.  He was drawn to her, as he had always been, like a magnet.  Every time he heard her voice somewhere below.  Every time Juleka said something stupid that made her laugh.  Every time he looked up and saw the flex of her arms as she lifted something someone so tiny shouldn’t have been able to, or saw the curve of her ass on full display as she bent to pick something up off the deck.  The way her white tank top was starting to stick to her skin with her sweat.  The glimmer in her eyes when she called up to him and tossed a water bottle his way – “So you don’t overheat!”

…the little glimpse of something, something small and shiny, that he couldn’t be sure he was actually seeing every time that tank rode up just a little too high, which was happening more and more as the day wore on.

He couldn’t be seeing that right.  It had to be his imagination, or a hallucination, or…something.

Because there was no way he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

There was no way Marinette would have gone through with it.

There was no way in hell Tom would have let her.

And there was definitely no way she would have done it without telling him!

…right?

Not that…not that she needed to.  But they were friends – really good, really close friends – and they told each other stuff.  He had told her before he’d gotten his first tattoo.  And sure, that was partly because he’d been hoping she would design it, but…he had still told her.  She was actually the first person he had told, when it was still just an inkling of an idea instead of actual ink.

So wouldn’t she tell him if she was planning on…on…

She turned back towards Juleka, lifting an arm to wipe some sweat from her brow, and there.  Her shirt lifted just enough that her navel was in plain sight.  And she wasn’t moving.  And he could clearly see, glinting in the sun…

Juleka noticed it, too.

“Woah, Mari,” she said, her eyes widening.  Her hand reached out almost automatically before she seemed to catch herself, and Marinette frowned as she noticed Juleka was staring at her…she squeaked and went to tug her shirt down, but Juleka put a hand on her arm and made her pause.  “Can I…is that what I think it is?”

“It…ah…” Marinette stammered, but then she was looking towards the deck as she nodded, lifting her shirt up just a bit more to reveal…holy shit.  Juleka gave her a Look, and she rolled her eyes and sighed as she lifted her shirt even higher.  Luka swallowed, his throat suddenly too dry.  There was a tiny, pink flower – a cherry blossom, he was sure, because what else could it be with her, made of glittering pink crystals – nestled perfectly in her belly button.  A smaller white stone poked through her skin just above it.  It was…it was…

…hot, a tiny, strangled voice somewhere in the back of his mind offered, most unhelpfully.

“When did you get that?” Juleka asked, her eyes widening even more.

“Not that long ago,” she said.  She started to lower her shirt again, but Juleka shook her head as she reached out to stop her.  She looked up at her with a grin, one Luka had seen too many times over the course of his short life and now had Marinette looking away anxiously, clearly uncomfortable with her scrutiny.  There was a blush on her face.  “It’s…it’s still new.”

“Not that new,” Juleka said, and Luka watched in something akin to amazement – or maybe just…bafflement – as she reached out to poke her fucking stomach.  She seemed to remember herself just shy of actually touching Marinette, but Marinette – who was too familiar with such oversteps from other people who had called themselves friend over the years – flinched away all the same.  It was enough to make his fists clench against the roof, and the next thing he knew he was making his way down to the deck and over towards them.  He didn’t care if Juleka was his sister: she knew better, and even if she had opened up more over her time in lycée – mostly thanks to friends like Rose and Marinette – she knew shit like that wasn’t ok.  He noticed she did pull back as his boots touched the deck, her hand moving to rub at her elbow as she looked at Marinette’s stomach.   “…sorry.  But it can’t be that new, Marinette.  It’s not even swollen anymore.”

“Juleka…” she sighed, and Luka felt himself swallowing again when she glanced over at him.  Her face turned several shades darker as she saw he was no longer on the roof, and that almost gave him pause.  “Cut it…come on.  It’s not a big deal.”

Juleka followed her gaze, and her grin turned positively wicked when she saw him, and that was around when Luka realized they were both fu…doomed.  His swallow was more of a gulp that time as Juleka coughed and nodded towards him.

“…have you told Luka yet?” she asked, her voice just loud enough for him to hear as he walked towards them.  There was a moment – an almost painful moment, as his boot landed heavy on the deck behind Marinette and her entire body seemed to tense before she spun around, her eyes wide and her face several shades darker than it had been moments before.  And she looked up at him, her eyes wide and kind of terrified and so, so blue, but…she was still holding her shirt up.

It would have fallen, if she hadn’t still had her hands twisted in the hem so tight he was surprised it hadn’t ripped.  If she hadn’t frozen upon seeing him right there, in front of her, with his eyes glued to the piercing like some creep.

“Did you know, brother dear?” Juleka asked, her voice entirely too innocent as she smirked at him from over Marinette’s shoulder.  He swallowed, and her grin grew.  “Me neither.  But I must say: it looks hot.  Don’t you think?”

“I think I liked it better when you were too shy to speak…” Marinette grumbled, her eyes dropping to their feet.  Luka was pretty sure he was supposed to be yelling at Juleka – or corralling Marinette below, away from the ‘good-natured’ teasing and to the safety of his bunk, where she would be more comfortable.

…because they were friends, and she was comfortable with him, and this conversation was clearly making her so very…not comfortable.

“Come on, Jules,” she sighed, her eyes still on her feet.  “It’s not a big deal.  It’s just a belly button ring.”

“Lay off, Jules,” he said, finally tearing his eyes away from the piercing to glare at his sister.  “You’ve had your fun.”

“Oh, I’m just getting started, brother dear.  You, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are pierced,” Juleka snickered, grinning at her.  She nodded towards Luka.  “You officially have more holes than that idiot.”

“Juleka!” they both snapped at her, but she just laughed – outright cackled, like the little witch she was – before looping an arm around Marinette’s shoulders.

“Seriously.  Did you lose a bet or something?  I wouldn’t have pegged you as a belly button ring girl,” she quipped.  Her grin was almost feral, and Luka honestly wasn’t sure if the blush on Marinette’s face was from embarrassment or frustration.  Probably both.  He was starting to feel frustrated himself.  “Probably some more on your ears.  Maybe a nose ring.  But your navel?”

“Juleka –” he started, but Marinette huffed as she tried to shrug her off.  Juleka took her arm back, her expression wavering for a moment, and he was relieved to see that.  Good.  Maybe she was finally getting the picture.

“Shut up, Juleka.  It wasn’t like that,” she said, her hands still twisting just enough in her shirt to keep the piercing revealed.  He was trying his level best to ignore it.  “I just…thought it was cute.  And Rose agreed, and she thought –”

That was enough to catch her attention.

“Wait, Rose?” she asked, her eyes widening as she looked up at her.  And that…that look on her face possibly made up for how much he wanted to throttle her, putting Marinette on the spot like that.  Like she wasn’t finding her game very amusing anymore.  That dawning look of horror and realization as she connected some dots in her head.  “Son of a –!”

“No, Juleka, wait –!” Marinette called as she spun away from her, but it was too late.  Juleka had the look about her of a woman possessed, and Luka knew nothing they said or did would deter her from her goal.  “You weren’t supposed to know yet!”

“I need a break!  Tell Ma I’ll be back soon – text me what you want!” Juleka called, and then she was gone.  Marinette blinked before turning back to him.

“Did…did she actually say where she was going?” she asked, her fingers still twisting anxiously in the hem of her shirt.  “I’m assuming she’s going to see Rose, I mean, but…”

“She’ll have to bring something back if she’s going to convince Ma she’s not just shirking her duties,” he said, shrugging.  “Might as well take advantage of it.  I dare say she deserves it.”

Marinette groaned and dropped her face in her hands – finally dropping her shirt in the process.  Luka couldn’t stop the way his eyes flicked down, or the way he reflexively swallowed when he still saw a glimmer of pink along the strip of still-exposed skin.

“Rose is going to kill me,” she said.  “It was supposed to be a surprise.  She didn’t want Juleka to know until it had fully healed – hers got…why am I telling you this???”

She had squeaked out the last question, and she was peeking out over her fingertips at him.  He shook his head, chuckling slightly as he smiled at her.  It didn’t feel as easy as his smiles for her usually did, which was…weird.  He hadn’t felt this off-kilter around her in…well.

That wasn’t fair.

He usually felt off-kilter around her.

He was just…usually better at hiding it.  At least he liked to think he was.

“Because we’re friends?  And we talk?” he hazarded.  He reached out, laying his hand on her arm and rubbing…it was supposed to be soothing.  Comforting.  He hoped it was, for her.  His skin felt like a livewire where they touched.  That damn piercing was still taunting him, begging him to reach out and…  “I’m a little surprised you hadn’t told me yet, honestly.”

“Because it was supposed to be a surprise,” she huffed, rolling her eyes.  “It…I mean…I didn’t…”

“I’m sorry she kept on you like that,” he sighed, squeezing her arm before removing his hand.  He shoved them in his pockets, where he was thankful to find a spare pick he quickly started flipping between his fingers.  Anything to fidget with.  Anything to keep him from…  “She knows how much that sucks.  She shouldn’t have embarrassed you like that.

“I’m not embarrassed,” she was quick to say.  He lifted an eyebrow, and she pushed out a breath as she rolled her eyes.  “I’m not.  I just…she just…I was going to tell you, Luka.  I was.”

“I know,” he said, because they told each other stuff like that.  He had no doubt she would have told him.  When she was ready.

“Do…” she glanced back down, her teeth worrying her lower lip in a way that was just as distracting as the damn piercing.  “…do you like it?”

…he would have told her he liked XY, with the way she was looking up at him like that.  He was amazed she even had to ask.

Like it?

Did he like it?

He didn’t like it.

He loved it.

He was…actually having some very inappropriate thoughts about just how much he loved it.  Thoughts he probably shouldn’t be having, considering…

“Yeah,” he finally said, swallowing thickly as he nodded.  Her smile turned a bit easier, and he reached out to flick a finger against her shirt.  When she didn’t flinch away, he lifted it just a little.  Just enough to fully reveal the little flower glinting up at him.  His eyes flicked up to her, his smile growing as his finger brushed the warm skin stretched out in stark contrast to the cool silver of the piercing.  It had to be his imagination, but he would have sworn she shivered at the touch.  “It’s pretty cool, Marinette.”

The smile she gave him at that was one of his favorite things, and he found himself smiling back as she ducked her head, a pretty blush on her cheeks.

“C-cool,” she stammered, reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear.  Her other hand reached out, her fingertips brushing against his until she had pulled his hand towards her, and his breath caught as she threaded her fingers through his.  As she held his hand and smiled up at him like…he twisted their hands, pressing their palms together and  brushing his thumb against hers.  Her smile turned easier, and she took a step closer.  One more step, just one, and she’d…  “Cool.”

[mystic-myrtille]

Not Adrien stans being angry because he rightfully apologized for his bs advice to Marinette back in Chameleon. Hard to believe that Adrien „I have no experience with social intercations I‘m just a sunshine bby uwu“ Agreste might have misjudged the situation back then, huh?