#actually gently nudges him in the right direction. i mean it helps that the villain of the story is a nazi war criminal (even Teal would

[mariocki]

Simon Templar meets his match in the shape of Roger Delgado, as Peruvian police chief Captain Rodriguez in The Saint: Locate and Destroy (5.12, ITC, 1966)

[magicforjournals]

The Green Dress (A Story About Loki) Chapter two : That was unusual

Warning : A little teasing, a lot of fluff and kissing.

So that’s him. That’s Loki.

Why are you not bothered by his presence? He’s supposed to be the bad guy, no? Why are you so captivated by his eyes? All you want to do is run your fingers through his hair and feel his lips on your skin. Why are you feeling like this?!

Pepper tugs on your hand, bringing you back to reality. “Come on, let’s go get a drink,” she nudges you slightly towards the bar. You need a drink, and a stiff one at that. The feeling that came over you when you locked eyes with Loki, that had never happened to you. You don’t register that Pepper has let go of your hand, still walking in the direction of the bar, when you almost run into someone, full force. Two strong hands grip your waist, stopping you from toppling over, and you look up to meet those beautiful eyes.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there.” You say, quickly stepping away from his electrifying touch.

“It’s my fault, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Loki answers. His voice is deep and his accent makes your lower belly hurt for more. You want to hear him talk forever. “I’m Loki,” he says, stretching his right hand out to you.

You reach out to shake his hand, giving him your name and getting goosebumps as your skin touches his. This man surely has you under some kind of spell, right? You had heard his brother talk about his magic once before, when you had come over to see Nat after a mission.

“You’re not an avenger, are you?” He smiles down at you, a dimple showing and his voice resonating inside of you.

“Oh no, no. I’m a teacher actually, but Natasha is my best friend and I’m here often, more than my own home,” you giggle, tilting your head up to get a better look at him. He is tall. And so handsome. Why are you giving this man all this information about yourself? You need to get away from him and his irresistible eyes, you think as you lower your gaze.

He reaches down for your chin with his right hand and gently lifts your face up again to look into your eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“A teacher, that’s interesting!” He says softly. You hear Nat call your name from the bar. “Your friend is waiting, I hope to see more of you soon.” He says with a wink and walks away. See more of me soon, what the hell does that mean?! You’re shaking your head as you walk over to the bar, trying to get rid of the haze that took over while you were next to him. This isn’t natural, there’s something else going on.

“I see you’ve met Loki,” Nat says as she hands you your favorite drink. “What do you think? And why are you blushing?!” You were blushing?! You slap a hand to your face and feel the heat of your cheek. Well, that’s unusual. You take a big sip of your drink, almost finishing it.

“Nat, I think Loki might have me under a spell or something.” You whisper to her.

“What do you mean?” She asks, growing concerned.

“I don’t know. I can’t stop looking into his eyes whenever I’m next to him. We shook hands and it was almost... electric when his skin touched mine. I can’t think straight right now.”

“Either he put a spell on you or you’re into him.” Pepper giggles.

Attracted to Loki. You did want to feel his hands on you again, be near him, touch him… maybe you did want him.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Nat replies. “It’s Loki, God of mischief! I wasn’t thrilled with Thor bringing him here tonight in the first place. Please just be careful around him, I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t trust him.” She holds your hand and gives it a small squeeze. You know she’s right and she only wants what’s best for you. Loki had been the villain for so long now that it was hard for everyone to trust him. You smile at Nat and squeeze her hand back.

Sometime later, you are all sitting on the couches, just chatting. The men are arguing about who is the strongest, as usual, and other Avengers stuff you don’t really care about. You notice that your drink is empty, and you get up to go to the bar.

As you wait for the bartender to mix you another one, Bucky leans over the counter next to you and grabs a beer. “Hi,” he says as he pops the top off.

“Hey Buck, how are you?” You reply with a smile.

“I’m good, how have you been? Everything still going ok at school?” Just like Nat, Bucky was always curious about your job. You think that it possibly brings him some comfort, being friends with someone with a normal life and a normal job.

“I’ve been good, school too. My students are amazing, so smart. Potential Avengers maybe!” You say as you wink.

“We’re in trouble if they’re your students though!” Bucky chuckles, “Listen, I don’t usually beat around the bush with you, so I’ll just say it. I didn’t like seeing you with Loki earlier. I don’t like him and I don’t want him near you or even to touch you again.” He adds. Oh, he’s serious... he’s doing his staring thing.

Ok, people really don’t like Loki around here. You can understand that, however.

“Oh,” you gasp. “I understand, Buck.”

“I just want you to be safe,” he says with a sweet smile, putting a gentle hand on your arms and rubbing little circles with his thumb.

You look down at his hand, moving your eyes up to his face and you see that he’s looking at you, a strange sparkle in his eyes.

“You look nice tonight, by the way. I like the dress,” he adds. A burning hot heat floods your cheeks for the second time tonight and you dip your head whispering a thank you. He smiles at you and walks away to go sit back with Steve.

You grab your drink and head back to your spot next to Pepper. You notice that Steve is staring at you as he sips on his beer, and you wonder what the hell he wants. The party goes on, you guys keep talking and arguing, and Maria opens her presents. You’re having a good time.

As you get up to go to the washroom, you again feel Steve’s eyes on you and you quickly get annoyed. That staring bit is just getting old at this point. Why is he looking at you like that? He was the one who had made it clear he didn’t want to get involved in any sort of relationship, and he’s been eyeing you down like you’re a piece of candy he can’t wait to unwrap. It’s infuriating. Once locked away from the world, you walk to the sink, splashing cold water down your arms in an effort to calm you down. He’s probably had one too many beers, just let it go, you try to tell yourself. Once you’ve successfully calmed yourself down, you’re on your way out, when you, once again, bump into Loki.

“Hi”, he says with a crooked smile, wrapping his arm around your waist to keep you from stumbling over your own feet. You’ve never been this clumsy, but around him, it’s like you can’t find your footing.

“Hey,” You reply, squirming out of his hold. “Washroom’s free!” Stupid thing to say, you think to yourself.

“Ah, thanks,” Loki replies.

“No problem!” You say back, feeling like a complete idiot.

“Can I be honest with you?” he then adds after a brief moment of silence.

“Yes, of course!” you say, too quickly.

“I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of you tonight.” He says suddenly, slowly walking towards you, making you move instinctually back against the wall. He presses one hand against the wall next to your head and looks down at you. You knew he was tall, but he is towering above you. He’s taller than Steve, you think. Having him so close to you, you can feel the warmth of his body through his black shirt. Your eyes fall to his shoulder, following the length of his arm, and you see that he’s rolled up his sleeves, his pale, toned forearms clashing with the colour of the thin material. “There is something so… so intriguing about you”, he adds, and your eyes flash up to his face, so close to yours. You can taste his breath on your lips, mint and alcohol mixed together, and you have to hold yourself back from wanting a better taste. His eyes are gazing into yours, and you fall into the deep ocean before you. He lifts his other hand and caresses your cheek softly.

“I’m not that special,” you gasp as he touches your skin.

“I think you are. As I said, I have had a very, very hard time keeping my eyes off of you,” he whispers. ‘“You look ravishing in this dress. I have to admit, I have a weakness for the colour green, and it suits you just wonderfully.” He brushes the hair off your shoulder and traces his finger along the curve of it. “I know that everyone fears me, but you don’t seem afraid. Are you?”

“No, I don’t find you scary.” You whisper against his skin.

“You don’t think of me as the villain?” He asks, genuinely surprised.

“I don’t know…” You say with a frown. “I think you were maybe misunderstood a lot and y-you don’t know how to express yourself,” you answer him honestly.

Then, without any warning, Loki crashes his lips against yours. You should be pushing him away, but his kiss is tender and passionate, his lips intoxicating and you just cave in. You moan against his lips as you wrap your arms around his neck, and Loki responds by dropping his hands to your waist and pulling you in tight against his body. You shiver as you feel the tip of his tongue against your lower lip, licking slowly, begging for access. Moaning again, you part your lips and let him in, his kisses becoming increasingly desperate as he groans in pleasure in your mouth. You can feel him getting harder against your stomach. You hadn’t realized how much you needed - no - you craved him. You’re the one to break up the kiss, gasping for air. As you close your eyes and tilt your head back against the wall, you get a glimpse of Loki’s swollen lips and you can’t help but moan softly. Eager to taste you again, Loki drops his head to your neck, kissing and biting as he makes his way up to your ear, running his hands over your body. He takes your ear lobe between his teeth, nibbling gently and whispering just how beautiful you are, how much he needs you. His words and voice reverberating in the very pit of your stomach, making you pant as a throbbing heat makes you clench around nothing.

“Loki,” you moan his name. “Not here, not now.” You gather all the strength you have to put a weak hand on his chest, not to push him away, but to let him know you’re about to lose it here in this hallway. He slowly lets go of his grip around your waist and rests his forehead against yours, taking in your scent.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, “I don’t know what came over me, but I had to kiss you. It won’t happen again, unless you ask me to.”

Those sweet words turn you into a puddle and you reach for his lips, needing to feel their softness again. This time, he kisses you gently, wrapping a careful hand around your face before breaking your embrace.

“You should go back before one of them comes looking for you,” Loki whispers against your lips. “We’ll see each other soon, I promise.” He kisses you once more and goes into the washroom.

As you stand in the hallway, your fingers against your swollen lips, you can’t stop yourself from smiling. What just happened? Did you just kiss Loki Laufeyson? No, no. Did Loki Laufeyson just kiss you?! You were alone now and craved his touch, more than you’ve craved anything else in your life.

You tried to fix your hair and dress quickly, and made your way back to Nat, who was getting anxious. As you sat with your friends, you couldn’t stop thinking about Loki’s lips, his touch, the way he held you tight, and the heat and dampness between your legs returned. You were aching for more of him. You looked around the room and found him smirking at you while in conversation with his brother. Blushing instantly, you squirmed in your seat and saw, out of the corner of your eye, Steve noticing the silent interaction, his face stoic as ever. And that, that was unusual for Captain America.

[honey-dewey]

We Can’t all be Sunshine and Rainbows

Pairing: Marcus Moreno/Reader

Word Count: 2,344

Warnings: No big ones. Implied torture and feelings of depression and PTSD. 

Marcus had never seen anyone as powerful as you. With emotions that literally controlled the weather, you were basically a God. But power of that magnitude attracts many kinds of people, and sometimes, you must rely on yourself as much as you rely on the calming voice of Marcus Moreno

Author’s Notes: I don’t usually do an A/N but I want to give credit to the lovely @anetteaneta for their story ‘Weatherwoman’ which inspired the Reader’s power in this story! Go check it out, because it was a very good story. 

“You doing okay?” 

You looked up, sighing as the weather noticeably warmed. Marcus always made the temperature rise, but he never seemed to mind. In fact, he found it funny. 

“Yeah,” you said, flipping a page in your book. “Just thinking.” 

Marcus smiled, settling on the grass next to you. “Your thinking is making it very cold out here. What’s wrong?” 

You closed your book. “This was mom’s favorite book.” 

“Oh.” Marcus shuffled closer to you, so that his thigh was pressed to yours. He could still remember finding you, alone and scared, in the wreckage of your parents house. You’d gotten into an argument with them over something small, and your powers had ignited in that moment, setting the entire house ablaze. He’d been the one to lift you from the smoking remains and bandage your slightly singed hands. Aside from being shaken, you were completely fine. 

The lasting emotional damage had been bad. You’d never learned to control your power, so the city’s weather depended entirely on your mood. Marcus continued to insist you needed to take control and make your power your own, but fear kept you from ever trying. The last time you’d used your power on a scale as large as Marcus was talking about, you’d killed two people and turned your childhood home to ash. But he never pushed, only reminded you he was there for when you were ready to try. 

Now, three years after the accident, you and Marcus were partners, both in a relationship and in hero work. He was your rock, grounding you whenever your emotions got the better of you. He’d prevented many devastating hurricanes and actually jumped into a tornado you had caused so he could calm you down. In return, you gave him sunshine and happiness, rekindling his love and providing him a reason to fight as hard as he did. 

“Is there anything you need?” Marcus asked, nudging your side. 

You shook your head. “Not anything you could get me,” you murmured, resting your head against his shoulder. 

You two stayed like that, enjoying each other in the simplest way, until the sun began to turn Marcus’s skin red. When that happened, you kissed his nose, leaving the tiniest bit of sunburn behind. 

He laughed, standing and helping you up. “The weather is perfect,” he said, putting his arm around you. 

“Thank you,” you said. “I do try.” 

You two ended up in the local park, hand in hand. Heroics headquarters stood high in the background, reminding you of the ever looming responsibility Marcus had on his shoulders. The weather remained nice, sunny and a perfect temperature for a walk. 

“How’s Missy?” You asked eventually, after bouncing from topic to topic. 

“Good!” Marcus said happily. “She’s a natural leader.” 

You smiled. “I wonder where she gets that from.”

Marcus laughed. Before he could say anything, however, his watch beeped. “Crap.” 

“Work?” 

“Work.” Marcus took his jacket off and put it across your shoulders. “Keep this safe for me, okay?” 

You nodded, drawing the worn leather tighter around you. “You better come back for it!” 

Marcus began to jog across the park, turning back to smile at you. “I always do!” 

As he ran off, you sighed, turning away and heading back to Marcus’s house. It wasn’t too far, and the weather would remain nice as long as you stayed calm. 

Of course, the sun can’t last forever. 

You got home, seeing Missy already there. “That bad, huh?” You asked, grabbing a glass of milk. 

Missy shrugged. “They wouldn’t tell me.” 

“Well that’s a load of crap,” you said, sitting at the table next to her. “Let’s see if we can’t see him on the news.” 

Missy perked up, following you into the living room and turning on the TV. A bunch of reporters were already covering the attack, and you eagerly nudged Missy. “There he is.” 

As the fighting continued, you grew more and more worried that this wouldn’t go well. Marcus was getting visibly tired, protecting an unconscious Ms. Vox. The faceless enemies piled up around him, staining the ground red. It wasn’t until you felt a hand on your thigh that you realized what was happening outside. 

The sky was dark, a deep blue-purple grey that scared you so much lightning began to flash in the sky, splitting the nightmare clouds and making you jump. 

“You need to calm down,” Missy murmured, crawling into your lap and taking your hands. You breathed with her, feeling her back expand against your chest. Eventually, the sky settled at a gentler grey overcast, a light rainfall hitting the ground as Missy turned the TV off. 

“He’ll be fine,” she promised, scooting next to you and pushing herself into you. “He always is.” 

He was not. 

A heroics agent came to the house within the hour, solemnly telling you that Marcus had been kidnapped. His location was unknown, and the agent handed a shocked Missy Marcus’s shattered watch. 

As soon as the agent gave you two the information, the rain heavily increased until it was pouring. There was no thunder, just a dismally grey sky and a steady downpour. Missy walked over to the kitchen counter, gently placing the ruined watch down next to a photo of the three of you, smiling and happy on a beautiful sunny day. 

Four days of straight, nonstop rain later, you were slowly rolling a pen across Marcus’s desk in Heroic headquarters. Miracle Guy and Tech-No were with you, keeping you and Missy, who was sitting in the corner of the office and doing her homework, safe. However, nothing was really happening, so having them there was pointless. 

Pointless until a beeping startled you, sending a split second of hail across the window. 

“That was me.” Tech-No checked his watch, standing abruptly and gesturing Miracle Guy to his feet. “They found him.” 

“Found who?” You asked, also standing. “Marcus?” 

Miracle Guy hesitated by the door, looking between you and Missy. “Missy, get the kids and meet me on the bus in five minutes.” 

You followed after Miracle Guy, your anxiety making the winds outside pick up. “Hey!” You shouted, but he didn’t turn. No one did. “What’s going on?” 

Missy and the other kids raced over to the bus, Tech-No ushering them on. You tried to follow, but Miracle Guy refused to let you pass. 

“I promised Marcus I’d keep you safe,” he yelled over the wind. “That means you’re staying here.” 

“If they don’t go, I don’t go,” Missy countered, stepping off the bus and standing beside you. 

Miracle Guy faltered. “Missy.” 

Missy stood her ground, glaring at the Heroics until they let you on the bus. 

The ride to wherever you were going was silent, all other noise being drowned by the rain, which only got worse as the bus got further and further from headquarters. 

“Marcus is in the second building on the left,” Miracle Guy said once the bus began to slow. “Missy, you take the kids and secure the surrounding area. We’ll go in teams of two, staggered by a few minutes. Once he’s been retrieved, take him to the ambulance. We don’t know what his current condition is, so be prepared for anything.” 

“What about me?” You asked, hesitantly standing. 

Miracle Guy pointed to the ambulance that had pulled up beside the bus. “Stay here. If we get him out, he’ll want a familiar face. Try and stay calm. The last thing we need right now is a hurricane.” 

You nodded, grabbing an umbrella and setting yourself up under the small tent next to the ambulance. 

The wait was agonizing, but you managed to calm your nerves until the wind was just a slight breeze. The kids got the surrounding buildings secured, flushing out a bunch of low level villains. The police arrested them all, and Missy joined you under the tent. 

“Anything?” She asked. All the Heroics had gone in, and yet, none had returned. 

“No.” You fidgeted with the umbrella handle, your anxiety making the air cold. “Nothing yet.” 

Just as you spoke, Ms. Vox stumbled out of the building, supported by Blinding Fast. Two paramedics rushed over, helping them under the tent and calling for more ambulances. 

“What’s going on?” Missy asked, looking worriedly at Ms. Vox’s injuries. 

She shook her head. “They aren’t very strong,” she said softly, her voice incredibly scratched. “Or organized but there are so many of them. I think Tech-No found Marcus, but couldn’t do much. Lavagirl is out cold, and last I saw of Sharkboy, he was trying to help her. I don’t think they’re doing okay.” 

Missy bit her lip, looking back at the building. “We’re going in.” 

You hesitated. “Who are you taking?” 

She turned to look at you, genuine fear in her eyes. “You.” 

“What?” 

Missy took your hand. “We’ve got this,” she promised. “For Dad.” 

You nodded, the rain lightening substantially. “For Marcus.” 

The two of you raced into the building, followed by Missy’s team. She began shouting directions, sending the kids off in various directions. By the time she was done, it was you, her, Wild Card, and Guppy racing up stairs and down halls. 

In the end, you and Missy reached a door that had been smashed in, Tech-No unconscious just outside the doorway. Missy propped him up on the wall and gestured Guppy over. “Think you can take him downstairs?” 

Guppy nodded, lifting Tech-No easily and carrying him off towards the waiting ambulances. 

Missy gestured Wild Card into the room first, and he immediately began to take out villains. You slipped into the room behind him, trying to keep your bearings beyond the muddled mix of emotions brewing in your chest. 

You spotted Marcus laying, unconscious, in a cage, his body smeared with blood. You gasped, feeling the anger and fear turn your vision dark. 

Missy slipped behind you, pressing a hand to your arm. “Stay calm.” 

“Forget calm,” you growled lowly, looking at her, crouched down beside you. “Get Wild Card out of here. Evacuate the building as best you can. Get everyone away from the area and into sturdy buildings as far away as you can.” 

“What are you going to do?” Missy asked, clearly nervous. 

You balled your fists. “I’m getting your father out of here.” 

Missy left, grabbing Wild Card and going, yelling down the halls to get out. You rushed the remaining villains, the rain getting heavier and heavier as you fought, using the minimal fight training you had. 

Finally, the villains were all out, piled on the floor in limp heaps. You quickly opened the cage and pulled Marcus out, dragging him to the middle of the room. If this didn’t work, it would kill everyone. If it did, it could be your saving grace. 

You sat on the floor, pulling Marcus into your lap. His eyes opened slightly, one of them swollen and bruised. “Babe?” 

“Hush,” you whispered, cradling him with one hand and raising the other to the circular window in the ceiling. The rain pounded, and you concentrated on the feeling behind it, focusing on the soreness in your body until the rain turned to hail. The hail grew in size until it shattered the window, baseball sized chunks of ice hitting the floor, avoiding you and Marcus. 

You kept your hand raised, feeling it burn, the white hot fire racing down your arm as you poured anger into your heart, the red hot emotions mixing with the pain in your body until you were screaming, summoning a huge bolt of lightning to strike the building. 

When you opened your eyes again, it was to sirens and the smell of smoke. You cracked an eye, seeing charred rubble all around you. Sunlight filtered down, warming your face as you collapsed against Marcus. He was limp as well, and you were both supporting each other. 

“You did it,” Marcus murmured into your heat from where his chin was resting against your shoulder. “You turned your power into your own.” 

You smiled, using the last of your strength to grip his shirt. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, okay? I was so worried.” 

Marcus chuckled weakly. “I’ll try not to get kidnapped again,” he promised. 

The rescue team found you a few minutes later, lifting you both from the smoking remains of the building. Missy hugged both of you, crying her eyes out and insisting on riding in the ambulance with you. Aside from being shocked and a bit dazed, you were okay, slumped against the ambulance wall as you watched a paramedic stitch up a wound on Marcus’s arm. 

Two days later, the sun was shining and the weather was warm as Marcus was discharged from the hospital. Heroics had given him a vacation, letting him recover in the safety of his own home for a month. Missy was off from school for a week, using her time off to relax and forget what had just befallen you. 

“Weather’s nice,” Marcus commented happily as you two walked through his house and into the backyard. 

You smiled, sitting next to him in the grass. “The forecast all week is supposed to be sunshine,” you murmured. 

Marcus nodded, leaning his head onto yours. “Y’know, I knew exactly when you got the news,” he said softly. “The rain was so loud.” 

“I’m sorry.” You picked at a loose thread on your shirt, anxiety making clouds roll across the sun. 

“No,” Marcus insisted, taking your hands. “I knew it meant you were missing me. And that you’d come for me.” 

You smiled, the sun beginning to shine bright again. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Marcus said. “And by the way, do you still have my jacket?” 

You laughed, the weather warming. “It’s in the house,” you said happily. “Didn’t want to ruin it.” 

Marcus smiled. “You’re the best.” 

You leaned into his chest, looking up at the sky. It was picture perfect, with a few scattered clouds and a bright sun to warm everything. “I know.”

[fandom-necromancer]

404 attraction not found

Had an idea in the shower. Had to write it. Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900

‘Oh man, I’m not into men usually, but I’d definitely be gay for that one’, Chris laughed, admiring the person on the screen of the superhero movie they were watching currently. It was Friday evening: movie night. ‘God, he’s so hot, imagine his ass out of uniform!’ Gavin lifted his brows, studying the character and still not really seeing what Chris meant. The man looked over to them and laughed. ‘Come on, can’t be the only one!’ ‘Sorry, I’ve got the hots for the villain once again. She’s just too powerful not to love.’ ‘And you?’, Chris asked and nudged Gavin with his elbow. ‘Hmm? Yeah, same. Dude’s hot’, he answered. ‘Now keep it in your pants, haven’t seen this one yet! Wanna know what happens next.’ ‘Alright’, Chris chuckled and leaned back. Gavin did see how Tina side-eyed him knowingly, but chose to ignore it, hoping she wouldn’t address the topic in a misguided attempt to help.

They continued watching the movie, eating snacks and talking about anything that came to their mind. Tina got increasingly clingy the more she had drunken and as it had long become dark outside, Gavin decided to leave, driving her home. He thanked Chris and waved him goodbye at the door of his car. Their drive was silent until they stopped at a red light. ‘I’m sorry Gavin’, Tina lulled touching his elbow gently. ‘Maybe if you told him-‘ ‘Tina, it doesn’t bother me, okay?’, Gavin told her, maybe a bit too harsh. ‘And I’m really not in the mood to explain it yet again and hear all the same phrases over and over again. I can’t even complain or get mad about them, they are well meant. Phck. I will just continue to say what I’m supposed to say and it’s done with. Path of least resistance, as always. The reward really doesn’t justify the effort, okay?’ ‘Alright!’, Tina nodded, giving him a shaky thumbs-up. ‘My lips are sealed.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘And what’s with Nines?’

Gavin frowned and looked over at her. ‘What’s with Nines?’ ‘You two. Anything going on?’ ‘How many times do I have to tell you? We are friends, Tina.’ ‘Are you sure?’ She smiled at him. ‘I’d say the tin-can has the hots for you.’ Gavin groaned. ‘Come on. Who the hell would want me? And hell, even if it were like that, I’ll deal with it if it happens someday, okay?’ ‘You don’t want to do anything about it? Are you interested?’ ‘Tina. I barely know the guy. I mean, sure, we spend a lot of time together. But that’s it. It’s difficult. I’m can’t know it like you seeing the girl of your dreams and drooling over how hot her thighs or something. I like him, I enjoy spending time with him. I could imagine living with him. That’s all.’ ‘Booooring.’ ‘Tina, I’m not existing to entertain you.’ ‘Still you do most of the days.’ ‘Then maybe you have a shitty sense of humour.’

Tina laughed and sat up. ‘Alright, you win, okay? Just know that if you want a relationship you deserve it.’ ‘Yeah, the hell I deserve it!’, Gavin sighed exasperated, gripping the steering wheel tighter. But who’s the poor phcker that deserves this, he added as an afterthought.

-

‘Hey, Gavin?’ The Detective looked up from his terminal to Nines who was standing next to him placing a coffee on his table. ‘Yeah?’ ‘Are you free on Monday?’ Gavin frowned. ‘Yeah, I should be, why?’ ‘I’d like to invite you out. I discovered a really nice restaurant that serves android food. Thought we could try it out?’ Gavin shrugged, already back to his report. ‘Yeah, sure. Would love to.’ He missed the way Nines beamed at that answer. It might have given him the push to realise Monday was the 14th February. Valentine’s day.

He only realised that the Sunday before as he contemplated what to wear. He immediately called Tina: ‘T, red alert! Tomorrow is Valentine’s day.’ ‘Yeah, I know. What’s up?’ ‘Well, Nines invited me to a restaurant tomorrow.’ ‘Oh, that’s nice! I’m happy for you!’ ‘Yeah, well I’m not!’, Gavin returned. ‘Is that a date?’ ‘Maybe? Could be. What did he tell you?’ ‘He just said it was a fancy restaurant that sells android food he wanted to try out.’ Tina sighed. ‘I don’t know then. Could very well be a date. With the day and all.’ ‘God, what if he’s interested?’, Gavin asked. ‘Tina, I will ruin it. The guy will hate me.’ ‘Why should he?’ ‘Because I will have to tell him I’m basically not interested!’ ‘But you are right?’, Tina dug deeper. ‘Yeah, but until I’ve explained him in what way I’m interested, he will already be disappointed!’ ‘Gavin’, his friend spoke up, reminding him to keep calm. ‘You are overthinking. Nines is pretty direct. Maybe this isn’t a date at all. And if it is, you have no way of predicting his reaction. All I know is that Nines is a very patient being. You should go.’ ‘Of course I will go, Tina. Phck, just know that after this is over, I will need a new partner.’

-

The restaurant really looked nice from where Gavin was sitting in his car. It had a modern feeling but lots of dark wood had been used inside that made it comfy and bordering to a touch dowdy. He could see the android sitting at a table at the far corner by the windows and he was sure he had already recognised his car. Gavin shouldn’t stay inside for long, but he couldn’t really bring himself to exit either. ‘It’s just you two meeting at a restaurant Gavin. You had been to the movies already. You had met to watch the boats pass on the river, for phcks sake! This is just another one of those things you do together. Don’t think too much!’ He pushed himself up and exited the car, locking it and pulling his clothes in order. Then he walked over, entered and quickly made his way over to Nines’ table.

‘Hello Gavin!’, the android greeted him. ‘Nice to see you.’ ‘Hi’, Gavin answered, sitting down. ‘Yeah, you too.’ ‘You look nice.’ Gavin swallowed and looked at the android. He didn’t wear a suit, but a nice white shirt with a blue tie. He was thankful he had picked something more presentable than his usual attire: A blue short-sleeved shirt and light blue jeans. ‘Err… you too.’ Damn, he was repeating himself.

‘I’m really interested in how this android food works’, Nines changed topics then, handing Gavin a menu. ‘I know it’s all a combination of Thirium and compounds we can break down in our filtering systems. But Connor loves it, he told me it actually has taste, even if it’s mostly messing with our analysing programs to achieve that.’ Gavin nodded. ‘Yeah, sounds cool. I mean, eating is nice, I guess.’ ‘I don’t know if I will like it, to be honest’, Nines shrugged. ‘I mean, we don’t need to eat and to a large part it’s just complications to clean afterwards. But You can share a meal with someone and I guess that’s the whole appeal for human android couples.’

Gavin didn’t want to look at Nines as he said that and instead let his eyes wander over the other people in the restaurant. A large – if not all of them – were indeed human android couples spending Valentine’s day together. Laughing at each other’s jokes, eating and toasting to the other. It made Gavin even more uncomfortable though. A fact that Nines picked up on immediately, of course. But before he could speak up, a waiter came up to them and saved Gavin from the conversation. Both of them ordered and waited until the waiter had disappeared. Gavin had hoped the android had forgotten, but instead Nines spoke up: ‘You are nervous.’ ‘Yeah, no shit, tin-can. Well, not nervous, but…‘ ‘But?’

Gavin sighed and looked at the android, who was returning his stare completely neutral. ‘Nines, what is this? You invited me out to a fancy restaurant on Valentine’s day. It could be you just wanted to try the food, but I’m afraid there’s more to it.’ Nines pulled a grimace, blushing. ‘There’s no fooling you, is there?’ He added a smile afterwards, but Gavin’s face fell. ‘I wanted to wait until after dinner, but of course, we can discuss it now too.’ Gavin rubbed his face in frustration. ‘Phck.’ ‘Gavin? Everything alright?’ The man looked up, then blew his cheeks. ‘Yeah.’ He dropped his hands. ‘Yes, please, what did you wanted to tell me?’ ‘I really enjoy your company’, Nines begun. ‘I actually don’t want to miss any day we were together. You are a fascinating human being and I admire your way of thinking. Your humour is… cute in its own way. I just wanted to tell you that…’ The android huffed. ‘Well, I guess I’ve beaten around the bush for long enough. I love you, Gavin.’

There it was. Gavin’s dream and at the same time worst nightmare. He wanted to be happy about it, but if he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t quite feel anything but despair. ‘Phck’, he sighed. ‘Excuse me?’ ‘Nines, I… Thank you’, Gavin began. ‘I really appreciate it, but… I don’t feel like you do.’ The android swallowed. ‘Oh. Oh, err… that’s okay, it’s totally fine, I’m sorry I said anything. I-‘ ‘Nines, stop. I’m bad at this. I do love you. Romantically. I just can’t love you the same way you love me.’ Nines cocked his head inquisitively. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Does the word asexual say you something?’, Gavin whispered, feeling self-conscious about telling Nines something so personal in a space so public. ‘I’m- It’s basically not feeling sexual attraction towards someone.’ He looked up at Nines, afraid to see his disappointment. But the android was just sitting there, listening. ‘I can’t… I know someone’s beautiful, okay? Like this restaurant is nice, you look amazing, something like that. But there’s no sexy-sensor, basically. I’m not going around the city, seeing people and think I’d tap that, you understand?’

Nines nodded thoughtfully. ‘I think so. So there’s no particular feature of a person’s body you find attractive?’ ‘No’, Gavin nodded. ‘I mean, with time something could develop, but at first glance? Nah.’ ‘I’m sorry if this is intruding now’, the android began. ‘But you do have one-night stands every now and then, have you not?’ Gavin sighed. There it was. ‘Yeah, I have. Because sex is great. It feels nice and some days you simply feel the urge. But none of the persons I hooked up with I found particularly hot. They were just… people.’ ‘So you do like sex.’ ‘Yes, for phck’s sake!’

His call had startled the waiter coming over with their food, but Gavin just leaned back embarrassed, as the plates were put down and they mumbled their thanks to the waiter. ‘You had this conversation before, right?’, Nines spoke up gently as soon as the man had left them. Gavin just sighed and nodded. ‘Yeah. I’m not out to many, mostly because explaining something like that to others can be complicated. And it isn’t really worth the effort.’ ‘Then I thank you for telling me. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’m just fascinated. I thought it was an universal experience.’ He took up his fork and looked at the blue food on his plate, testing consistency. ‘Does this… Does this change anything in regard to what I told you?’ Gavin looked up from his plate. ‘What? I mean I should rather ask if that changes something for you, to be honest.’ The android shook his head. ‘No. I still love you. I mean I… To be honest I would really like to… spend the night with you? But if you don’t want that that’s… okay.’

The human sighed. ‘Okay, just to make it clear: I consider sex to be a gesture towards my partner. Like watching a movie with them I don’t know but they enjoy. It feels good and knowing your partner feels it too is… it’s nice, okay. I’m not abstinent, I just don’t find anyone attractive. That’s it.’ Nines smiled then. ‘Well it doesn’t change anything for me then. I still love you and would like to… deepen our relationship if you feel the same.’ ‘I… I would very much like that too’, Gavin smiled, unable to keep eye-contact with the android. ‘If you accept me despite what I’m missing.’ ‘You’re not-‘ ‘I am’, Gavin interrupted. ‘But it’s not a disadvantage. But I am missing something others have and that’s okay and I want to know you accept that.’ Nines blinked surprised. ‘Yes. Yes, I accept that.’

Gavin’s shoulders untensed and he finally took his first bite from the plate. The food was indeed amazing. ‘Then I’m sorry I made your date so awkward’, he chuckled. ‘Please, could you repeat what you’ve said?’ ‘What part? ‘The “I love you” part.’ Nines straightened his back and nodded. ‘I enjoy your company. You are fascinating and funny and intelligent. I wanted to tell you for a long time now. I love you, Gavin.’ Gavin smiled and took Nines’ hand in his. ‘I love you too.’

[jadethest0ne]

When the Moon meets the Morning, Epilogue - Sky

Summary:  Raphael is going on missions with Captain Jupiter as he always does when he meets an orange-wearing turtle yokai who feels oddly familiar.

Word Count: 1591

Ratings/Warnings: General Audiences; some minor harrowing moments, but mostly fluff, emotional overload, emotional manipulation, self-deprecation

Notes: The last part of this fic! Finishing this up with another nightmare/dream sequence! (so contains some potential distressing imagery). I hoped this adequately wrapped up the beginning of their friendship! I had a lot of fun working on this! But I’m not done with Raph and Mikey yet! I’ve still got roughly 2 more fics in store that will continue to explore their part in the Fantasy AU. Stay tuned! ;3  Big thanks to @undercoverwizardninjaturtle, @fraymotiif, and @5weekdays for helping me workshop this!

Read on AO3 For the RotTMNT Fantasy AU

———-

Raphael is in the village square back by the healing house, but it is strangely silent and devoid of people. No wait. Mikey is over there, looking at him. Mikey looks around. Looks at Raph. Confused.

A large alligator yokai looms behind Mikey, gearing up to attack. Leatherhead? Raph knew he shouldn't have let him go free! Raph rushes past the boxshell, ignoring Mikey calling his name, and charges into the larger yokai. Raph is surprised that this time it's much easier to overpower him than before. Leatherhead scrambles to regain his footing and it's Raph's turn to loom threateningly over the yokai, trying to appear tough to challenge the physically larger beast. But as Raph looks down at him, Leatherhead looks frightened.

Large pleading eyes stare back at Raph, and Raph sucks in a gasp as the emotion he feels from the gator is palpable. And surprisingly familiar. It's a feeling of being helpless. Othered. Hunted. Raph looks down. His hands are sweaty but look a lot more scaly all of a sudden. His nails are sharper. He is not wearing his gear or clothes; his spikey shell and plastron exposed. He tries to tug at his mask tails for comfort, but he isn’t even wearing his mask. He looks up to see that he's traded positions with Leatherhead. Except that Leatherhead is no longer there, and in his place is Captain Jupiter. Mikey is nowhere to be seen.

The Captain looks much taller and more imposing than normal, now towering over Raph and casting a dark shadow over the snapping turtle. The Captain smiles at him, but not in a friendly way. It's the kind of smile he directs at villains and monsters. One of triumph. Of overtaking his bounty. Raph shrinks back under the all too toothy smile. A whine escapes his throat as the Captain laughs heartily.

"I've got you cornered now, demon!" exclaims his mentor.

"Cap'n," Raph tries to say, but his mouth is dry and the word gets caught on its way up. He tries to clear his throat, but it comes out as an almost growl.

Captain Jupiter doesn't like that.

"You can't threaten me, evil beast! I will smite you like I have so many monsters before you!" The Captain points an accusatory finger at Raph.

The finger glows, and a red beam shoots out of the end of it hitting Raph square in the chest.

Raph's body stiffens from the strike and he falls to the floor, curled in on himself. His body twitches, but other than that he can't move. His breaths come quick and fast, but all too small against his tightening chest. He feels lightheaded. The Captain comes closer, cast in an even darker shadow, so much so that only his glaringly white smile shines through. Terror spreads through Raph's body. He tries to speak, but all that comes out is choked sobs as thick tears roll down his cheeks.

"I've got you now, monster." The Captain's voice deepens to something menacing and the word "monster" comes out distorted and inhuman. He extends a hand towards Raph, somehow appearing larger and larger as it stretches over him closer and closer. There to take him away. To lock him up. Like the monster he is. Only monsters have claws and teeth and spikes and sharp edges like him. Only monsters are large and menacing and scare folks at a glance. Only monsters hurt the people they love, leaving pink scars on their faces. Only monsters -

The hand that touches Raph's shoulder is soft and small. The tiny hand rubs his scales gently and the motion is paired with a gentle voice.

"Raph?" Mikey says. Quiet enough to not spook him; loud enough to be grounding.

Raph looks up at the small figure sitting beside him. Raph's eyes are blurry with tears, but even as he tries to wipe them away, he has to blink a few times to allow them to adjust because Mikey is glowing. Squinting a bit through the light he sees that it is Mikey's eyes. They're shining bright yellows and oranges. Like his fire. Like the morning sun. Breaking over the horizon. It's warm and comforting, and Raph tries to focus on that. He closes his eyes, still seeing the brightness through his eyelids, and takes some deep breaths. He swallows the lump that had formed in his throat and rubs his head a bit to clear it. After a few more breaths he opens his eyes back up. Mikey's eyes are no longer mimicking the sun, but a warmth still radiates from him.

"Raph. You're okay," Mikey says. It's a statement. Not a question. Because he knows. Raph nods and sits up, but Mikey's hand never once leaves him. Once in a sitting position Mikey rubs his shoulder and arm again. "You were having a bad dream."

Raph rubs the back of his neck and clears his throat and says, "Yeah, and you were in it."

Mikey gives Raph a sad, but meaningful smile. "I still am."

Raph pauses in rubbing his neck. Mikey does not pause in patting his arm. He blinks and looks around. They are in the sky. The fluffy clouds are tinged with an orange and peach sunrise. It feels like they're on solid ground, but whatever ground they're on is reflecting perfectly the morning sky around them.

Raph blinks again and looks at Mikey. "So none of this is real? You're not real?"

Mikey's freckled cheeks scrunch up and he giggles. "I'm still real, dude. I think you were dreamwalking again."

It takes a moment for that statement to sink in. "Dreamwalking?" He sure is doing a lot of blinking. "Again?!"

Mikey tilts his head to the side and quirks a brow up at Raph. "Yeah, you do it all the time!" He huffs out an amused laugh. "Do you not know that you're doing that?"

Raph shakes his head. But in the back of his mind a few flashes of faded memories return. Of Mikey's shell on a mirrored lake. Of Mikey in the forest. Of a figure in dark purple and another in bright blue. Oh man. How many peoples’ dreams had he accidentally wandered into?

"I'm - I'm sorry," Raph stutters out. "I'm not trying to pry, I just didn't notice before."

"Well, I guess if you're always fighting bad guys, you maybe never had time to practice your other magical abilities. Especially if you didn't even know you had them."

Raph looks at Mikey guiltily. Dreams can be really private. He didn't mean to mess with anyone's, least of all Mikey's. He's about to voice another apology, but Mikey squeezes his arm comfortingly.

"No need to apologize! I'm glad you're there for me in my dreams! You're always helping me out!"

The guilty feeling in Raph's gut lightens a bit. "Really?" He asks hopefully. Mikey nods. Then Raph realizes Mikey's word choice. "Wait, 'always?' How often have I...?"

"Pretty often, actually. For as long as I've had dreams, at least as I can remember. You always have those moon-eyes. It's why I recognized you in the fire!" Mikey smiles, and as he does the sun brightens around them.

"I- I'm sorry I didn't realize - I..." Raph stammers, still trying to take all this information in. Then yet another realization hits him. “Wait. Am I the Blood Moon Hunter?!”

"Well, yeah,” Mikey says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “But I was never sure that you were real until I saw you then, to be honest." He shrugs and waves his free hand emphatically. "I'm just glad I was able to help you out this time."

Raph looks away and scratches his cheek absently, thinking of the nightmare form of the Captain. It's bad that Raph was thinking of his mentor like that at all, even subconsciously. "Oh, you saw that..?"

Mikey shakes his head. "I didn't see much. Just a shadow, and then you crying. And I felt that you were really scared..." He looks at Raph with deep concern, "Are you okay...?"

Raph gives a small, but genuine smile. "Yeah, I am now." Mikey smiles back. Then Raph nudges Mikey very slightly. "I mean, you'd know, right?"

Mikey laughs, and lights reflecting off the clouds sparkle in time to his giggles. "Yeah, I would."

He gives Raph's arm another squeeze. "I'm really glad I could meet you."

"Same here."

"I'll probably be visiting the North again in the spring for more deliveries, but in the meantime, feel free to wander into my dreams again."

"You sure about that?" Raph says with apprehension. "I don't even know if I could do it on purpose."

"Well, this way it'd be good practice. AND," he emphasizes eagerly, "we'd get to see each other more often!"

"Yeah..." Raph's smile widens. "That'd be great!" It really would be.

"Cool!" Mikey gives Raph's arm a final squeeze before letting go.

The sky is filled with a bright orange flash.

Raph wakes up to an orange ray from the morning's sunrise peeking through his bedroom window. He squints against the sun's rays and sits up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He looks around his room. Right. Mikey had left yesterday after the whole Leatherhead thing, and brunch with Red Fox. He looks out at the beautiful morning sky, tinged with oranges and golds and a hint of peach, and smiles. It seems like he's going to be able to see his friend again sooner than he thought.

The End.

<–previous   ///   back to the beginning–>

[dadzawa-adopt-dabi]

Transbodyswap fic

Keigo had only gotten hit with the quirk because he had shoved Shigaraki out of the way. It was a stupid move on his part, body moving without thinking. Shigaraki had already been attempting to dodge but Keigo hadn’t given him time to finish getting out of the way. He hipchecked Shig out of the way, resulting in him getting smacked with the quirk instead. A beam of light shoots from their palm,hitting one of his wings. Dabi shoots to his side when he wavers, having trouble standing upright. He feels slightly dizzy, like he has a concussion.Him shoving Shigaraki gave him a chance to finally get his protective gloves off and shove himself to his feet. Dabi shot a plume of his blue fire to cover Shig and it melts the asshole’s shoes to the cement, effectively trapping her as he grabs a pair of quirk cuffs hanging off Keigo’s belt.

“You're so goddam lucky I'm not able to incinerate your trashy ass right now.” Dabi hisses as he clacks them around her wrists. Keigo could drop her off at a police station in a few minutes. 

“Save it Dabi, Didn’t do anything but make me lose my balance for maybe 30 seconds.” Keigo huffed from where he was leaning against a wall.

Dabi’s hands flutter with the want to help him but don’t touch him.

“Keigo are you alright?” Dabi reached out and grabbed his shoulder, cupping his face with his other hand. Tilting his face towards him and removing his visor, checking his pupils to see if he had a concussion.

“Aw worried hot stuff? I was just knocked a little off balance. I’m fine.” Keigo still leaned into the hand on his face. He made no move to stand up straight instead letting Dabi sling his arm over Dabi’s thin shoulders. 

“Dizzy? Nauseous? Do we need to try and get you to a hospital or to a vet here birdy?” Dabi was only half joking. He truly was worried and it showed in his eyes as he frowned Keigo seemed to shake it off.

“I go to a commision appointed doctor, you know that.” keigo smirks up at him and flaps his wings to get the others to give him some more room.

“What the fuck were you thinking you peice of roadkill?” Shigaraki snarled at him. Trembling in either anger or fear. He seemed to come to his senses and grabbed the villain who was sitting against the wall. She would be dropped off by Kuroguri since Hawks seemed to be down for the moment. Might have been the quirk or with how Hawks had been working lately it could also just be exhaustion.

 “We don’t even know what their quirk does, it could have been anything and you might have just gotten hit with it because you couldn't stand to what? Couldn't stand to let a villian get hurt?” He furiously messed with his phone in his other hand. Either texting Kuroguri to complain or to get them a portal home.

“I accept that whatever happens is my fault for jumping in front of you. You probably could have dodged. I just didn’t give myself time to think.” shrugging off the last of their concern he grabbed Dabi’s arm. 

“Now I believe we were on a mission for Disney movie night? Snacks are in order and I’m not letting a random vigilante attacking us try to ruin league night!” Keigo’s voice isn't even forced into being chipper, he’s genuinely excited about movie night it seems. A warpgate opened next to them and Shigaraki sighed.

“They still want to get snacks I guess. Can you warp her outside the nearest police station?” He nudged the vigilante towards the portal and pulled back on his gloves. Artist ones Dabi had gotten him that left all but his pinky and thumb exposed.

“Fucking hell, roadkill waiting to happen thats what you are.” shaking his head, Shigaraki pushed the vigilante through the portal the rest of the way and started walking in the direction of the 24hr convience store.

“I’ll let you know I eat roadkill for breakfast and you're being very rude by bringing it up!” Hawks turned his nose high up in the air and arched his wings. Playing up being offended to watch Shigaraki sputter and Dabi threaten Shig with silent dagger eyes. It was cute in a way, making little butterflies flutter in his stomach, the way Dabi thought he needed to be defended. 

He hadn’t felt anything for anyone in what felt like years, not like this at least. Pure attraction tugging a smile onto his face. He still hadn’t made a move to respond to Dabi’s flirting.  He wanted to but just...didn't know how Dabi felt yet he guessed. 

He was a villain but he seemed to be so kind, and Magne was always respected around them. Maybe Dabi just didn’t want to date a trans person? He wasn’t ready to deal with the heartache if he wasn’t. Didn’t want to confess to something so personal quite yet.

Movie night ended up going as just like Keigo hoped it would. Popcorn being thrown everywhere and impromptu sing alongs to a lot of songs. Dabi kept trying to get him to duet with him. He had only ever sung for Rumi before. Well,  Dabi had walked in on him once when he was singing in the kitchen. He had broken in but Dabi had a habit of making himself at home in places he wasn't supposed to be.

Most of the others fell asleep in the living room but when he started nodding off on Dabi's shoulder Dabi had gently shaken him awake to lead him to his room.

“I can’t - i mean. I should- it's better if I just go home Dab’s, what if whoevers room this is wakes up and finds me in their bed?”  He hovered outside the doorway.

“This is your room. For when you're here anyways.” Dabi leaned against the doorframe and smirked at him.

“I'm not here that often though? Are you guys sure, I'm still a Hero you know.” Hawks lips were twisted up in a smile when he said it,but it was his hero persona talking to Dabi, not Keigo. He still had the bad habit of covering anything he was unsure or too emotional about with his Hero persona. It was too easy for him to do so, Dabi had worked hard to see the cracks in the shield and read the person underneath.

“It's alright to leave if you're uncomfortable with it. Shigaraki won’t change his mind about giving you one either way.'' Dabi reassured him. He had no right to be looking as hot as he was. Leaning against a doorframe and smirking at him.

“It's not that I'm that uncomfortable with it, but how will everyone else feel with me sleeping here? A Hero in your home?” He countered. 

“Everyone was pretty excited when we told them we were giving you a room, actually pretty bird” Dabi shrugged. He was tempted to offer Hawks his bed but Hawks rarely responded to his flirting as it was and he would rather not scare him off.

“Pretty bird now huh? Not roadkill or chicken? Careful, I'll think you're getting soft on me hotstuff.“ Keigo smirked and leaned forward jokingly. Like he was going to give Dabi a kiss, puckering his lips cartoonishly.

“I’ll take you up on that kiss in a heartbeat if you're not careful” Dabi smiled and leaned in closer as Keigo regained control of his senses and stepped back into his room.

“Night pretty bird i'll dream of you” Keigo could hear Dabi laughing on the other side of the door not the least bit put off or sour.

“better keep it pg13!” letting out a tired laugh Keigo flopped onto his bed. An entire room without surveillance he could just relax in. A room for him for when he got tired of being a hero 24/7 and wanted to be a person for a little bit. 

The league did a lot for him and they didn't always realize it, things like this room. Reserved for someone who might rarely if ever use it. Like the raw ground turkey meat in the fridge, because Toga drank blood and Shuichi ate raw eggs. So really Keigo’s dietary needs were not that abnormal for someone with a predatory animal quirk. Just about everyone helped him preen his wings.

 He fell asleep almost the instant his head hit the pillow.

When he woke up he didn’t recognize anything. Maybe because this room belongs to him his guard was down lower than usual?

He stretched and felt the lack of wings on his back. Oh, one of those nightmares. Okay, he could deal with this, he didn't usually lucid dream but he had once or twice. He knew the general rules to keep his dream in control.

Then a certain lower body part that did not usually feel like that brushed against the sheets, jolting him fully awake. He shot bolt upright out of bed. Floundering to throw off the covers and take stock of himself.  He saw deeply scarred purple skin held to healthy skin with shiny staples. It caused him to reel back out of shock, he ended up falling completely out of bed with a wince.

 That- that was not his. He would know if that was his. It didn't occur to him to not check it, that this wasn’t his body to look at. He had just looked down and there it was. Jesusu fucki- fuck, it was even pierced. Oh fuck,it hits him like a brick. Slightly harder, because he’s been thrown into bricks with less force than the realization that he is in Dabi’s body hits him with.

Then where was- Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Shit god damn it. He starts reading to leave, yanking on a pair of nearby pants with a t-shirt. He hears a curse and a thump from where he guesses his room is and starts to walk quickly down the hall. He hears the start of Dabi waking up in his body, cussing and the sound of his wings throwing Dabi out of bed and picks up the pace to a run.

“What the fu-” is all that meets his ears before he slides around the corner and slams himself into the front door before he can stop and open it.

“Dabi? What’s wro- ” Magne starts to ask in concern before he’s out the door, pushing Dabi’s already burning lungs and aching muscles to go faster.

He hears someone call for Dabi but by the time anyone thinks to call for him, Keigo, He’s already almost out of earshot. Running in Dabi’s body is different, his lungs won’t work and he keeps gasping. He almost falls several times, catching himself at the last moment before his face can meet the pavement. Once or twice he over balances and he has to smack his hand against the ground to shove himself back upright to keep going, still in a panic. He’s pushed Dabi's body too hard, smoke escaping from the seams. His lungs burn and his muscles twitch consistantly.

Keigo stares over at his building from the dirty alleyway, debating how he’s going to get into his apartment while in Dabi’s body.  A loud Hawk screech sounds startling him. Dabi hadn’t, had he? He knows what he sounds like when he’s been startled and a few weeks ago Dabi had startled him badly enough that he had lost control of his vocal cords. Which led to him letting out a startled screech, always so loud due to his quirk. He smacks at the pockets on his pants looking for the phone and finds it in the hoodie pouch. Did he accidently steal Dabi’s phone? Fuck the phone actually, he techniccally stole Dabi’s body by taking off like he had.

He flinches as he thinks about it. He stole Dabi’s body and left him stuck in his. He silently mourns the flirting and discrete courting Dabi had been attempting. The research he had done for nothing, the gifts he had been giving Keigo and the preening he teased him with.

 Dabi’s phone gives another screech in his hand and he opens it. There’s two texts from his number. His number was saved under ‘A pretty bird’.

>I'm going to assume you went home. We’re going to track down the women who hit you with her quirk.

> You need to go in through the back service entrance and use the elevator there. No one should spot you.

The phone is silent for a few seconds as Keigo ducks into the alley beside his building, he finds the service entrance relatively easy and eases inside, wincing at the creak of the door. Then it screeches again and he yanks it out of his pocket to turn the sound down. Heart pounding he checks what Dabi sent now.

>I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. I'll try and stop by later if I can so we can talk if you want.

He notices as he shuts the service door that a sponge is tucked into the lock. His security really did suck if this was how Dabi was always getting into his building. True to Dabi’s word though he didn't see anyone as he rode the elevator up to his floor.His apartment door is never locked anymore, anyone who would come over already knows how to lockpick. 

< I’m sorry.

He finally responds to Dabi and tucks himself into his nest. Curling up under a blanket and looking through Dabi’s phone games. There’s not much. Collect some goldfish, a couple match 3 and a hidden objects one. Nothing like Keigo’s mix of cafe and gacha games.

>What the fuck are you sorry for? Not your fault the bitch whammied you with her quirk. 

<You know what I mean. I didn’t tell you and you're stuck in my body, so now you know.

>We’re talking about this later when I can see your face.

Keigo’s heart squeezes and he feels like he should be crying but there’s nothing there when he brushes his hands against Dabi’s eyes. Catching on the staples there reminds him that he still has to clean and disinfect Dabi’s staples. He would give anything to slip into a muscle bath soak right now to ease Dabi’s twitching muscles but he doesn't know how the scars would react.

He checks what damage he can see first. Dabi’s staples around his wrists and on his face. Before realizing he can feel something wet dripping down his legs. Glancing down he wonders how he didn’t feel the staples tearing out of Dabi’s skin before. He presses hard on a patch to check and just feels a small bit of pressure instead. He can't, Dabi can’t feel anything on his scars he realizes. Keigo feels like his eyes should be crying again.

He puts the staples back in that he can and presses a peroxide soaked cotton ball to the wounds. Then he takes a roll of cloth bandages and wraps the seams as best as he can. He leaves his bathroom a mess, figuring he can clean that up later. 

He flops back into his nest feeling cleaner and a little less like he’s going to fall apart. He gets a text from Dabi warning him he’s coming in after passing a ridiculous amount of levels in one of his games. A swirl of black and the sounds of a busy house fill his silent apartment. Sako promising not to cut himself if Kuroguri let him help cook breakfast. Jin arguing with himself over if he wants coffee or juice. Toga sleepy and demanding Shigaraki sit next to her. Keigo’s gotten attached and he hadn’t even noticed. He knows what they like to eat in the morning and how they greet him when he stops by for what’s essentially his lunch but everyone else’s breakfast. 

“-and you better fucking kiss him, Don’t come back until he’s been well fucked and well kissed.” Magne's voice cuts above the chaos as one of Keigo’s red wings pokes through the warp gate. Frank and loud as always, bringing him back to the present situation of Dabi coming through a portal to his utterly trashed apartment. For fucks sake he has a half empty bottle of alcohol uncapped and left on his bedside table. Not to mention the trash all over. He plucks a pop tart wrapper out of his blankets before he shrugs and leaves it, nothing he could do about his mess of a personal life now.

“Can you not? I’m fucking trying to eat breakfeast.” Shigaraki hissed at her. 

“Just get his ass back here when this mess is fixed.” Dabi steps through the portal in Keigo’s body and it lacks all of his usual grace. He’s more like falling through it,wings obviously unbalancing him.

“He’ll come back if he wants assface. I ain’t going to force him to do shit either of you.” He gestures to Kuroguri to close the portal as their very loud complaining starts up. Keigo’s wings relax and droop to the floor, as Dabi turns around and looks at Keigo’s sty of a room. He raises an eyebrow but that’s it. Looking at Keigo in the nest however has his wings lifting up into a protective shield.

“Hey Pretty bird.” Dabi sits on the edge of the nest and Keigo’s wings he’s wearing relax again. They seem to be extremely expressive on Dabi, constantly moving themselves wherever they want and getting in his way.

“I’m sorry.” he gulps while curling into himself until he feels a stretch of skin somewhere on his back tug sharply. Fuck, Dabi must have scars on his back too. These didn’t have the lack of feeling around it like the others did. “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you. I promise I was going to before we did anyth-”

Dabi gently tugged on his stapled limbs, interrupting Keigo and making him unwind himself from his little ball. It wasn’t a comfortable position on his scars, he knew from experience.

“I said I would talk to you. About this. It doesn't have to be now either, or really ever.”  Dabi gestured to the body he was currently wearing while he was speaking. It didn’t really matter what body parts Keigo had, not to him at least.

“I care more about your comfort level than what’s in your pants. Have I been making you uncomfortable with all the flirting?” Keigo’s wings rustled and twitched on his back. He had no idea how Keigo kept them from moving all the time. The feathers themselves moved a lot but the appendages themselves were attention grabbing.

“No It’s, It’s not that.” Keigo grabs his own body’s hand, feeling Dabi’s heart skip a beat. “I liked flirting. Didn’t want it to stop actually.”

“It doesn't have to stop then.” Dabi wove their fingers together and squeezed his own hand. Keigo’s wings flared open as wide as they could and he swayed as he fought to not be overbalanced by them. Keigo pulled on their joined hands so he flopped fully into the nest and laid over his own body’s legs.

“I'm more concerned with the way your body aches all over. Why do your wing joints feel like they are on fire? Trust me I know what that feels like.” Dabi propped himself up and noticed small drops of blood on Keigo’s sweatpants. Shit, Keigo must have torn some staples in Dabi’s legs earlier.

 “you can tell me how to fix that after we take care of my staples. You tore a few while you were running off this morning.” Dabi helped Keigo out of his nest, blue eyes locked with his golden brown ones. Keigo’s wings flared again and Dabi smirked, he was starting to get an idea of what the flaring meant.

Keigo gently laughs as he sits on the lid of the toilet and pulls down his borrowed sweats. Keigo’s wings flare wide as he sits down between his own body’s thighs to inspect the damage. It’s not as bad as it could be and he asks about Keigo’s wings to distract them as he carefully straightens and wraps them.

“Um that’s.” Keigo blushes as he tries to find the words to explain courtship displays when he realizes Dabi is the one attracted to him. Dabi is the one fanning himself out and kneeling between his legs. It’s his body displaying the signs but it’s Dabi who’s turned on at the thought of kneeling between Keigo’s legs. “Serious? I can’t believe you're getting turned on right now. I just fucked your staples up and you're having to help patch me up.”

Dabi snorted and gently unwrapped the mess Keigo had slapped on his wounds. “I’ve got a snarky bird in front me who I happen to like very much. Sue me. This quirk should wear off in about two days. We can stay here or we can go home.” He finished wrapping his seams and looked up at Keigo gently smoothing the seams as he focused on trying to fold Keigo’s wings to his back.

Keigo glanced down at Dabi, wings spread and licked his lips at the image.  “I’d like to stay here if it’s alright, I think I want some time with just us.” 

 “I’ll let the League know I won’t be back till later then.” Dabi stands, pulling Keigo gently up with him to avoid stressing his staples again. He goes to turn away and Keigo grabs his own wings and yanks him back in for a kiss. Dabi let’s out a startled moan at the action.

“You can do that after you help me with something else.” Keigo smirks so largely he can feel the staples in Dabi’s face struggling not to tear.

[dadgonedeku]

Celebrating Bakugou’s Birthday Headcanons

💥🎊~SFW (very fluffy...the most fluffy)

💥🎊~Bakugou x Fem!Reader (mutual pining)

💥🎊~Happy Birthday to the little rat, here are some hcs to celebrate! 🥳

💥🎊~Tbh I should have just made this a oneshot because that’s basically what it is but in HC format because it’s easier for me to write whoopsies...🥴

💥🎊~I wrote this in like four hours so I’m super sorry if it sucks...it was honestly really hard for me to write with no motivation what so ever but I just wanted to make sure I got something out in time for the baby’s b day! Double whoopsies 🥴

💥🎊~Also long post triple whoopsies 🥳

💥🎊~ “Here we go, today is the day!” You say to yourself as you wake up in the morning, already excited for what’s to come.

💥🎊~ You see reader, you and the rest of 1A (mainly the bakusquad) decided to surprise the gruff explosion boy for his birthday.

💥🎊~ And as you got ready that morning, you decided to take a little extra time in making yourself look even more beautiful than you already were, examples being putting on a little more makeup than usual or even taking some extra time to learn a new hairstyle.

💥🎊~ You’ve had a crush on the ash blonde for a while now, ever since the beginning of the school year, and it only continued to grow as you watched him become stronger and develop more of a gruff softness with his classmates.

💥🎊~ So this was the perfect opportunity to show him how much you cared, and on top of that you had an excuse for you lookin even more ‘like a snacc’ than usual.

💥🎊~ “Y/N!!!! Come on hurry up!!” You hear you’re best friend Ashido knock at your door, you quickly finish whatever you’re doing and pull yourself together, taking a quick glance at how you looked in a mirror before opening the door.

💥🎊~ “Geez girlie, you look bomb, get it, bomb?” You huff a laugh at the bad joke as she takes in your appearance.

💥🎊~ “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this spruced up before, well except for that one party you got to go too. Lookin good, ready to try and reel him in?” She teases as she takes a quick snap of one of your bra straps under your shirt.

💥🎊~ “Ashi!!! No. And besides, I’m sure he doesn’t even like me back anyways.” You shoot back as a bright pink blush paints itself on your s/c cheeks. Ashido was the only one who knew about your longtime crush on the ash blonde, and frankly she was the only one you trusted enough. Fortunately for you, she proved liable.

💥🎊~ “Ha, I wouldn’t think so, have you seen the way he looks at you whenever you’re paired up in a match or even during the sports fest?” She asks excitedly as she steps into your dorm room, following you over to your bedside table as you open the top drawer, retrieving a medium sized box wrapped in a bright orange paper, a green bow attached to black ribbons sitting on top of it.

💥🎊~ “No Ashido, and ya wanna know why? Because I’d be in the middle of a FIGHT then!” You playfully yell back as she lets out a laugh at your flustered face. “Plus, I’m sure that’s not even true anyways, there’s nothing special about me that would make him ‘fall in love’” You quote with your hands as you take the gift from your drawer, tucking it under your dominant arm as you grab your purse with the other.

💥🎊~ “Alright, think what you want. Just know that you are a tasty lady with a tasty bod and personality and if he don’t like it back, he doesn’t deserve you.” She chuckles with her hands on her hips as you roll your eyes amusingly in response, nudging her out of the door as you close it behind you.

💥🎊~ “Where is he right now anyways?” You inquire as you and Ashido make your way down the fourth floor hall to the elevator, “Doesn’t he get up really early in the mornings?”

💥🎊~ “Yep, sure does. To be fair I don’t really know what he’s doing right now, but he’s not in the common room.” She responded as the two of you stepped in the elevator, pressing the lobby button that would transport you to the common room.

💥🎊~ “Oh, well I hope someone came up with a good enough distraction so we have enough time to get everything ready.” You say hopefully as the elevator drifted downward, Ashido nodding in agreement. The rest was silence, a few moments going by before the familiar ‘ding!’ sound of the elevator alerted the two of you that you had arrived to the floor.

💥🎊~ You took a deep breath and fiddled with a necklace that hung around your neck, anxiety building of the unknown, and if your secret plan would actually work. Ashido placed a comforting pink hand on your shoulder and flashed you a small smile, you shot one back and took a deep breath, closing your e/c eyes for a moment before stepping out of the elevator.

💥🎊~ “There you guys are!” Kaminari waved happily from the common space, alerting the rest of your classmates that you and Ashido had finally shown. Well...all except for two?

💥🎊~ “Huh? Where’s Kirishima? Wasn’t he another mastermind of all this?” You ask curiously, placing your box on one of tables and signaling to Urakaka to keep an eye on it, to which, of course, she saluted with a bright smile.

💥🎊~ “Oh he’s keeping Kacchan occupied for now, they went to the gym for a workout an hour or two ago.” Your vibrant green-eyed classmate Midoriya replied with a grin, also holding a small box in his right hand.

💥🎊~ You took a sigh of relief, thankful that Kirishima had bought some time...but wait...Midoriya said a couple hours ago...

💥🎊~ oh no...

💥🎊~ “Wait?! A couple hours ago? That means that they’re almost done by now right?” You ask suddenly, startling a few of your classmates in the process, a couple seconds go by before all hell breaks loose, Iida resorting to shouting out orders to his various fellow classmates.

💥🎊~ You and the other girls were tasked with setting up tables and helping hang streamers from the ceilings, Urakaka’s quirk coming in handy as she would hold onto you as you attached the fragile paper material to the bland, off white ceiling.

💥🎊~ Orange and Black sheets were draped over the kitchen tables as Sato and Momo worked in the kitchen, whipping up tea and desserts for the class to enjoy during the party.

💥🎊~ To be fair, all of them would probably be chewed out by said birthday boy for ‘doing too damn much’ but deep down they all knew that he would appreciate it.

💥🎊~ Bakugou, however, never really thought much about his birthday, sure he celebrated it as a child but once he became a teen he kinda dropped it. He never really saw the appeal, I mean...all a birthday means is that you turn a year older right? To him it was just another day, so why did it matter so much to the rest of his class?

💥🎊~ Well, all of you had been through a lot as a class, with all of the villain attacks and heartache never seeming to end. It was rough, and it was hard to deal with. But the 21 of you still managed to get through it together, but part of you feels like Bakugou was hit the hardest by it all. Him and Midoriya of course.

💥🎊~ You’d never really seen him show any emotion aside from anger or brashness, maybe you’d even experienced some sass or a few cocky comments. But that’s about it....

💥🎊~ So why did you care so much about him?

💥🎊~ Why did your heart flutter every time you saw him?

💥🎊~ Why?

💥🎊~ You never realize that you had subconsciously tuned out the happy smiles and giggles and shouting as you don’t pay attention to the front doors opening and the immediate echo of “Surprise!” that comes right after.

💥🎊~ “Y/N!! Look out!” Urakaka shouts from below you, snapping you out of your thoughts, which only resulted in you to beginning to fall from the ceiling as you hear your female friend shout “release!” from underneath you. A scream rips from your throat as your body fails to react fast enough for you to catch yourself. You clench your eyes shut as your vision catches quick blurs of your classmates scrambling after you.

💥🎊~ 1000 thoughts rush through your brain as you brace yourself as best you can for impact in those quick couple seconds.

💥🎊~ But the impact never...came?

💥🎊~ “Oi, the hell was that for dumbass?” You hear a gruff voice say as your eyes open in shock, your mind drawing a blank as you stare up at none other than Bakugou himself, who had caught you in the heat of the moment with that sexy rapid reaction time of his-

💥🎊~ “I....uhhh...” You fail to answer as your eyes dart around the room, only for them to land on Ashido trying her best to hold in a laugh. “ I don’t really...know?”

💥🎊~ “Hah?! Whattaya mean you don’t know? You just fell from the ceiling! Watch how you release your quirk pink cheeks!” He shouts as he gently places you back on your feet, keeping a strong hand on your back to make sure you’re steady before removing it.

💥🎊~ Embarrasment rushes through your body, giving you shivers and goosebumps as you quickly look for Urakaka. “Urakaka what happened?” You unintentionally shout in her direction. She flushes profusely and shakes her hands in front of her before moving to cover it.

💥🎊~ “There was a huge spider right next to you on the ceiling, and I didn’t wanna startle you but I know how much you hate them so-“ She starts but interrupts with a very profuse “I’m so sorry I panicked!” that you can’t help but chuckle at. You calm down a little more and thank her for looking out for you before apologizing yourself, but you still can’t help the huge blush that rushes to your cheeks.

💥🎊~ ‘Omg omg omg that did nOt just happen he did nOt jUsT cATCH mE I-‘

💥🎊~ The worries voices of your fellow classmates snap you out of your thoughts once again as you rush to reassure them you’re okay.

💥🎊~ “Y/N are you okay?!” Midoriya and Kirishima ask in unison.

💥🎊~ “Ah! I’m fine! I promise!” You say, only before turning to face Bakugou, who was looking away...almost as if...

💥🎊~ ‘he was embarrassed too...’

💥🎊~ “Thank you, Bakugou.” You say lightly as you flash him a small smile of gratitude, only for him to reply with a rough ‘tch’.

💥🎊~ “Okay! Now that that’s over let’s get this party started!!!” You hear Ashido yell eagerly over the rest of the class, soon enough shouts of agreement could be heard as Sato and Momo appeared from the kitchen with Tea and Cupcakes, along with an actual birthday cake that was hidden in the back of the kitchen.

💥🎊~ You hear a “Tch, nerds” from behind you as you rush to the goods, your classmates following close behind as you help Momo and Sato set up the food and drinks.

💥🎊~ The day continued on with Bakugou putting up an annoyed front as you all agree in shouting happy birthday, blowing kazoos and pulling strings on confetti poppers as he reluctantly blows out the array of candles that are placed on the huge 3-tier cake that Sato had been working on all day. It was truly magnificent, white fondant draped over each of the layers, decorated with orange and green stripes with black frosted roses trimming the third tier, ‘Ground Zero’ written in cursive along the top of the cake that was encased in the roses.

💥🎊~ “Holy crap Sato!! You really went all out!!!” You hear Kaminari say behind you as you hear the clicks of phone cameras sound off around you, all of your friends recording and taking pictures to remember the happy moment.

💥🎊~ A few more minutes pass and each one of you has a cup of tea and a cupcake in hand as you all parade around the birthday boy, much to his surprise and slight annoyance, but he’ll never admit that deep down he was thankful for the enthusiastic celebration.

💥🎊~ Cheap, plastic party hats are passed around and even Mr. Aizawa partakes in the festivities, wishing the ash blonde his own happy birthday as he retrieves a cupcake and teacup himself, much to your surprise.

💥🎊~ Soon enough it’s time for present opening as Kaminari nudges the birthday boi over to the couches, the other 19 of you taking sitting positions accordingly around a coffee table that was filled with presents from everyone.

💥🎊~ “The hell is all this for?!”

💥🎊~ “For you Bakubro, duh.”

💥🎊~ “You extras do too damn much.”

💥🎊~ “But you still love us anyways.”

💥🎊~ “Tch.”

💥🎊~ His gifts include all different items, from boxes of pocky and video games, to even hoodies and fitted shirts and sweats, and of course a custom pair of black crocs with the words ‘ground zero’ spelled across the front in the little attachments...wonder who those could be from?

💥🎊~ “You’ve gotta be kidding me Shitty Hair...”

💥🎊~ “Don’t hate the player man, hate the game.”

💥🎊~ Your eyes widen as you see him reach for your gift to him, and you immediately find the courage to speak up and excuse yourself to the bathroom, when really, you were lying and choose to sneak outside instead.

💥🎊~ “But Y/N isn’t that your gift?” You hear Sero inquire.

💥🎊~ “Yeah but it’s fine! I really gotta go though.”

💥🎊~ “If you say so...”

💥🎊~ You quickly look back and notice that he opens it slower than the other ones, taking out a small index card you had placed in the lid of the box, you quickly glance through one of the window, only to see him reading it before you hide yourself from view.

💥🎊~ ‘Meet me outside, it’s important’ The card read, written in messy f/c gel pen.

💥🎊~ He sighs before quickly standing up and brushing off anyone who questions him, he grunts out a “Ill be back soon, screw off and don’t worry about it.” Before walking towards the front door.

💥🎊~ To his and your surprise...no one followed, and no one even seemed to question it.

💥🎊~ You feel your breath hitch in your throat as you hear the front door open and see Bakugou step out, turning to face you and letting the door close softly behind him. He flashes you the card and you give a small nod in response, almost as if the two of you had just silently confirmed the reason why you even wanted him here in the first place.

💥🎊~ “Well, what is it?” He asks with his usual gruff tone, but for some reason it feels much softer than earlier.

💥🎊~ “Umm...well I-“

💥🎊~ The worry comes up again as your mind decides to draw a blank on you once again, and you can’t help but blush profusely and look away. Why? Why are you like this? Why can’t you just say what you want to say? You hate it, you dread it. This empty and tingly gut feeling in your stomach, almost as if it is truly churning to the sounds of your embarrassment.

💥🎊~ “Well? Out with it already, don’t have all night ya know.” He replies bluntly as he leans back on the rails of the front porch, crossing his arms in front of him as he switches his gaze to the wooden ground instead of your flustered form.

💥🎊~ ‘Come on, out with it already y/n! He’s right here, right in front of you. He paid attention, he didn’t come out here for no reason. Just come on...say it....do it.’

💥🎊~ “Alright, think what you want. Just know that you are a tasty lady with a tasty bod and personality and if he don’t like it back, he doesn’t deserve you.”

💥🎊~ ‘fuck it, here goes nothing...’

💥🎊~ “If you’re not gonna say anything then I’m just gonna go back inside, this is a waste of my time.” He says, causing you’re eyes to widen and tear up. You shake your head silently as he turns his back to you, walking toward the door and reaching his hand out to the handle.

💥🎊~ ...but you grab it just in time...

💥🎊~ “Stop...” The word that exits your lips is barely audible as he feels the shake in your voice.

💥🎊~ “Hah? What is it then? You wanted me to come out here? So if you’re not gonna say anything then I don’t see the appeal in wasting-“

💥🎊~ “ I like you.”

💥🎊~ You feel the world stop around you and the silence that immediately follows as you prepare yourself for the worst. Good lord, the words just came out...they just escaped your lips and you could barely even handle it.

💥🎊~ “What?” Is all you hear back...

💥🎊~ ‘screw it, it’s too late to go back now...’

💥🎊~ “ I like you...Bakugou. I do...and I’m sorry if it’s weird or anything and honestly I’m okay if you don’t feel the same way...but I just want you to know anyways...”

💥🎊~ He only stares in silence, crimson eyes widened with shock.

💥🎊~ “I’ve felt like this for a long time to tell you the truth, and if I’m being honest I’ve tried to shake it off countless times but i just can’t get you out of my head. Whenever you show up and show out, whenever you talk about your dreams of becoming the number one hero...I can’t help but smile and think about how hard you must be working, and how far you must be pushing yourself to get stronger. And I feel it in my heart whenever I see you look my way or whenever you stand tall with a huge boasting smile after you’ve just won a battle. You’re amazing Bakugou...and I know that you’re gonna make it. I know that you’re going to get where you want to be, and I can’t help...but...we’ll I can’t help but long to be there with you as your journey continues...”

💥🎊~ more silence...

💥🎊~ “and I want to be there for you when you finally reach your goal...if you’ll have me of course.” You can only look down at the ground, twiddling your thumbs in anticipation as you let the words just explode from your lips...silence...more and more silence...“I love you...Bakugou.”

💥🎊~ The moments pass painfully slow as the silence fills the air and you feel heartache set in again.

💥🎊~ “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say all of it at once. I’m sure it’s a lot and I don’t want to-“

💥🎊~ “Shut up.” Is all you hear, and before you can even register the sound of Bakugou’s boots hit the wood...you feel strong and calloused hands engulf your face and wipe away your tears.

💥🎊~ tears you didn’t even know you were shedding...

💥🎊~ “Baku-“

💥🎊~ “I said shut up...ya damn nerd.”

💥🎊~ And you do...as you instinctively reach for his waist, wrapping your arms around it as your bury your face in his chest, finally letting out the sobs that you had kept in for so long...it was finally out...and he finally knew. And all you could feel was relief as you felt his right hand come up to rest on the top of your head.

💥🎊~ “Tch...you girls...always so damn emotional...just like Deku....” You hear him huff out in a short chuckle as you giggle slightly through your tears.

💥🎊~ “I’m sorry...”

💥🎊~ “You know...I’ve been thinking about it...”

💥🎊~ “Oh?”

💥🎊~ “and I think I love you too...Y/N.”

💥🎊~ It takes you a few seconds to even register the words that come out of his mouth. He lets you pull away from his chest and take a few steps back...e/c eyes meeting crimson ones as you stare at him in disbelief, mouth agape.

💥🎊~ “Yo- Your- hold on...you’re joking right?” You whisper with a shaky voice, just loud enough for him to hear as you bring a hand to clutch your chest.

💥🎊~ “Do I look like the type of person who jokes about shit like this? Idiot, of course I’m not joking.”

💥🎊~ “Then that means-“

💥🎊~ “Yeah...I like you too, dumbass.”

💥🎊~ “Holy shit...” You don’t even finish your sentence as you squeal, your hands rushing to cover your mouth, tears starting up again.

💥🎊~ “Oi...” “Holy shit.” “Oi!” “Holy shit.” “Oi!!! Y/N!” You finally snap out of it as your gaze switches back to his, he gives you a look that means it’s time to go back to being serious and you do, pulling yourself together before turning to face him again.

💥🎊~ “So are we gonna do this or what?” He asks bluntly, holding out a pale, calloused palm your way.

💥🎊~ It takes you a few moments to respond...but when you do-

💥🎊~ “Yeah...let’s do it.” You say as you take the hand that reaches out to you, only to be pulled into a deep, sweet, and intimate kiss as the sun sets on the horizon.

💥🎊~ Your first...and his first.

💥🎊~ “Happy birthday...Bakugou.”

💥🎊~ “Katsuki, call me Katsuki.”

💥🎊~WOWIE ITS FINALLY OVER WOOO!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE RAT AND IF YOU SOMEHOW REACHED THE END OF THIS POST I APPLAUD YOU! This took so much thinking for me to write out the way I wanted and honestly I’m pretty darn proud of it...so I hope you enjoyed it too! If you like it then please lemme know what you thought!!! I love talking to you guys! Have a good night and happy 4/20/20!!!🥰🎊💞

[wintersoldierland]

can’t escape reality

can be read on ao3 here

part of dream au: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Tony isn’t surprised when he wakes up in a damp room, bound to a chair, his head pounding. He just takes a look around and sighs.

His eyes are tired and he feels like shit, but he really isn’t surprised that he got kidnapped now. Life is already shit, why wouldn’t it get worse? That’s just how things are for Tony Stark. 

He’s not sure who kidnapped him, just remembers his stupid late-night walk and the sharp pain in the back of his head before everything went dark. Right now he’s getting no clues, as the doom is just damp and warm, with a ratty mattress on the floor and nothing else. It’s a pretty standard kidnapping accommodation, but Tony feels tired and old.

His chest is on fire, his lungs hurt with every breath and his joints ache. He’s getting too old for this shit.

Finally, someone enters the room and Tony raises his head, squinting at the man. 

Predictably, he’s wearing a mask so he gets nothing, but there’s a big gun in his hands and knife at his waist. Tony sighs deeply, already exhausted. He can’t wiggle out of his bonds, they got him good, and he can’t feel any device on him either. He’s truly stuck.

“Iron Man,” the man growls, voice altered by a modulator. Tony tries not to wince.

“That’s me,” he agrees, trying for cheeky and relaxed. He kind of makes it.

“Seems not so wonderful now, hm?” his abductor asks, gloating. Tony rolls his eyes but stays quiet. His chest and ribs are cracked and if they decide to actually torture him, his lungs may not take it. He doesn’t want to risk, not now.

“What do you want?” he asks instead. Usually, it’s money.

“Avengers,” comes the reply. Tony raises an eyebrow, again trying not to wince. “We want Avengers to come.”

“Buddy, I don’t know where you’ve been hiding those last few weeks, but they’ll be happy to leave me here.”

Tony tries to pretend it doesn’t hurt, that the thought of people he considered his family leaving him here doesn’t make his heart squeeze. 

He doesn’t succeed.

“They’ll come. Eventually,” the man replies, cold and unmoved. “Until that time comes…”

Before Tony can react, he feels a sharp pain in his neck and his vision goes hazy. He knows it’s some kind of a fast-acting drug, probably perfected just for this purpose, but he hates how reality starts to slip.

He can feel the man untie him and move him somewhere else, but then everything goes dark and Tony can’t feel anything else.

When the consciousness comes, there’s someone leaning over him, and Tony’s heart goes soft when he realizes who it is.

“James,” he mumbles, smiling gently. It makes his face hurt, probably from the drug, but his husband is here, it’s okay.

“Hey doll,” Bucky whispers, gentle hands grabbing Tony and pulling him into his husband’s arms. He gets held bridal style as they walk out.

He can hear the team taking everyone out, but James only has eyes for him, worried and soft and lovely.

“You scared me, Tony,” Bucky finally says when they’re outside, walking towards the jet. “You just disappeared on us. On me.”

“‘m sorry,” Tony mutters, lips brushing against James’s suit. “Didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” James replies, soothing and soft. “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Always safe with you,” is what Tony can come up with before he goes to sleep again. This time, he’s safe and warm, held in his husband’s strong arms.

Next time he wakes up, everything is okay.

Tony can smell the detergent and their cologne on the soft sheets, the lavender they both love and use as an air freshener. It smells like them. There’s soft music playing from somewhere and when he stretches, nothing hurts too much. His wrists are tender, but it’s okay. It’ll go away.

He turns to his side and cuddles against James, smiling when his husband holds him close.

“Hey, soldier.”

“Mornin’, baby,” James replies, just as softly.

“I’m fine, you know,” Tony says. He knows what’s haunting Bucky’s mind.

James only holds him closer, and a kiss gets pressed against the top of his head. “Yeah.”

They lay like that for a second, just breathing. Then, the door open and someone throws themselves at the bed. Tony laughs and grabs Peter when their son surges at him.

“You’re fine?” his teenager asks, so fragile and gentle.

Tony nods. “Yeah, spider-baby, I’m fine. Promise.”

“Good. Pops was worried. I was worried.”

Tony’s heart hurts when he hears the vulnerable note in Peter’s voice, and James’s arms wrap around them both.

“I know, Pete,” his husband replies. “Being a superhero sucks sometimes.”

“Yeah.”

Once again, they lay in silence, but it’s comfortable. Both Peter and Bucky produce heat like furnaces, so Tony’s is warm and safe and with his family.

He knows that if he’ll ask Jarvis, his AI will tell him all about the team who is probably either sleeping the mission off or eating breakfast.

“Hey, Jarvis? Tell everyone I’m fine, today is a close family day,” Tony requests. He gets a response quickly.

“Agent Barton would like you to know that he’s wounded because he thought the whole team was close family.”

Tony rolls his eyes and doesn’t reply. Clint has Natasha, he’ll be fine for a day. Instead, he focuses on his husband and spider son, who are nodding off, tangled together. It’s absolutely adorable and Tony doesn’t deny that he tears up a bit.

When they finally wake up for real, it’s 3 pm and Peter and Bucky are hungry. Tony also is kind of hungry, but he’ll never admit it because he’s stubborn and likes the fondly irritated face James makes.

“I want Thai,” he says suddenly, staring at the ceiling. They were discussing sushi, even though they know he only likes it sometimes. Yes, he’s aware that it’s all a ploy. “And a shake. Strawberry.”

James laughs fondly and asks Jarvis to place the order.

At the end of the day, Tony finds himself on the couch, watching as James and Peter sing Dinsey songs and attract the rest of the team. Everyone settles around the room and soon it’s filled with bad singing of iconic Disney songs and the smell of chocolate cake that Bruce made. There are laughter and a few concerned glances in his directions, but it’s fine. Steve sots down right next to him so Tony allows himself to lean against the blonde, knowing that he needs some physical reassurance.

It’s not a bad end of a day that started with a kidnapping.

When the warm dampness seeps through his wonderful evening, Tony knows that something is wrong. Very wrong.

The drug is wearing off.

His eyes shot open and he gasps for breath, looking around the empty room. His heart is hammering and there are tears in his eyes.

He wants to be back there. He wants his husband and his son and his team. He wants Thair and chocolate cakes and Disney songs.

Tony wants his family.

“Hey!” he shouts, voice wet and hoarse. He doesn’t care. “Hey, it wore off!”

Someone finally enters and Tony doesn’t even care how he looks. He doesn’t care it’s his chance to escape. He wants that life back, he needs it.

“Give me more,” Tony demands. He doesn’t care that he sounds crazy, he has a husband and a son waiting for him. They’re going to watch Mulan next, and it has the best songs. “Give me more, it wore off!”

His kidnapper looks at him for a second in silence, probably stunned. “They’re not showing up yet,” he growls, a smirk in his voice.

Tony rolls his eyes. “Yeah, told you so,” he snaps. “Now, chop-chop. More.”

This time he welcomes the sting and the darkness because it slowly goes back to make space for the warm light of a morning above New York.

Tony takes a look at his team, surrounding the newest villain and smiles. Life is good, even if he has to wake up at 4 am to defeat some twink in pyjamas. James is absolutely breathtaking, deadly and brutal and sleek and Tony is glad that no one can see his expression inside the armour because the press would have a field day.

They defeat the guy finally, leave him for SHIELD to take care of and Tony feels good. They did what they had to do and now it’s Natasha’s turn to make dinner because she got the final shot. Though she’s arguing with James, so they’ll share the duty probably.

He’s lucky, though because he gets to shower with James and cuddle a bit before they all gather in the kitchen and Tony gets to watch James cook.

He and Natasha are terrifyingly competent, but it’s a joy to watch how they dance around each other, preparing what looks like chilli con carne. Even Clint gets to work and starts on his weird but tasty “trash cookies” which are just all sweet leftovers thrown together with marshmallows and baked.

It’s terrible for Tony’s blood pressure but oh so good.

Tony sits down with Peter and kind of helps him through his homework, with Bruce chiming in from time to time. Tony never thought he’d get to have this - a family dinner like this, during which he’ll feel relaxed and content and happy.

His life is amazing.

He is aware, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he’s laying on a dirty, ratty mattress on some damp cell, but it only comes sometimes, when he’s thinking too deeply. Usually, he’s focused on his life.

On going to Peter’s science show with James, on bickering with Steve and doing science with Bruce. On the occasional bad guy even.

He’s not sure how much time passes when something starts to nudge him into awakeness. Tony groans and turns to his side. He and James got a late night because there was a small crisis downtown and he’s tired. His body aches in a few places and he wants to sleep.

“Stark,” comes an insistent whisper. “Come on, open your eyes.”

He groans again but finally opens his bleary eyes. 

Above him is a familiar, worried face. Tony smiles when he sees the scared, blue eyes. His mind is hazy but he knows those eyes.

“James?” he asks quietly, having a deja vu moment. The person above him pauses for a second before nodding.

“Yeah, James. Come on.”

Tony just sags against James’s chest as he’s cradled and lets himself rest. Something isn’t right here, something feels off but he’s tired and in pain and James is here, somehow. Solid and warm and familiar.

The James who loves him.

He looks around and frowns when he sees the dead bodies littering the floor and the blood on the walls, but hears nothing.

“Where’s everyone?” Tony mutters, confused. The team is weirdly quiet. He hears a quiet curse before James presses a kiss to his hair.

He smiles again, drunk on love and maybe something else.

“Everythin’ is fine, Tony, just rest. I’ve got ya.”

“Yeah,” he whispers, slipping into sleep. It seems like it’s all he does lately. “I trust you.”

There’s no one he trusts more. This is, after all, his husband.

[sparrellow]

Break A Leg, But Not Literally

Len was happy working from the shadows. Rin was a natural performer. Kaito loved being in the spotlight.

Another year, another school musical—and yet, just when all seemed to be going as usual, the universe had other plans.

rating: T genre: romance/friendship/humour/fluff ships: rin/len, miku/kaito if you squint words:  10,164

Len had always been a shy kid, avoiding anything that would draw unnecessary attention to him.

Every semester, his high school’s theatre club would hold a musical. It wasn’t his idea to join the theatre club (honestly, he’d rather be part of the go-home club), but he had no choice after being dragged by his bold best friend, Kaito, to the sign-up booth during first year.

Kaito was the polar opposite of Len. He loved the spotlight. He’d been acting ever since he was five. He was always first to volunteer in middle school for plays and the like. The guy was just, well, overwhelmingly eager to have hundreds of eyes staring him down.

Of course, Len never dared set foot on the stage—grudgingly obliging to work on props and lighting, and act as a stagehand. That was fine. He liked working from the shadows.

However, it was soon their last semester in which they could participate in a musical before graduation, and naturally, Kaito was trying to nag him into actually doing something. 

“C’mon, you could be like, a tree, or a swan, or something,” he hissed to him.

They were sitting at the back of the auditorium, watching the auditions for the female lead roles. The male lead role auditions were scheduled next, and hence, Kaito was waiting for his time to shine.

This semester’s musical was Swan Lake , interestingly enough. (Although, by the sounds of it, they were opting for a less tragic ending, much to Len's disappointment.)

Len rolled his eyes, although his friend couldn’t see his expression in the dark. “I’d rather be stung by a thousand wasps,” he said. “Really, Kai. I’m just happy to watch from the sidelines like always.”

“You’ll regret it,” Kaito said. “And I mean, like, you did a pretty good Odette impression when we were practicing yesterday.”

Len snorted. “Hilarious.”

“It’s true! And when you—”

He shushed his friend as the next auditioner walked onto the stage. Small, feeble, yet very cute; there stood a nervous-looking Rin Kagamine.

Kaito wolf-whistled and waved at her, earning a slap on the leg from Len. Rin glanced up at them and smiled sheepishly, before beginning her audition.

Rin was… well, she was one of the best performers in the theatre group. She’d been doing ballet since she could walk, and taking singing lessons since she could talk. She was humble and sweet and eager to please, always wearing a smile, always being soft-spoken.

There was just a lot to be said about her, but Len could never find all the right words.

One could say it was a crush, and maybe it was—he just really, really admired her. 

Kaito and Rin were good friends, having played major roles in past musicals together many times. Len could barely get out a sentence around her, though. Nevertheless, she was Rin— painfully polite and always treating others kindly.

Len watched as she acted out the scene where Odette sees Siegfried and Odile dancing together in the castle. The emotion she poured into her acting and singing—even though it was just an audition—made it seem as if the pain she was feeling was real. The performance pulled at his heartstrings.

When Rin finished her audition and toddled off the stage looking like she’d walked straight into a storm, Kaito turned to Len and said, “Oh, she’s definitely getting the lead role.”

“Yeah?”

“Too bad you won’t be her Siegfried,” he teased with a wink.

Len sighed. “What, you want to audition for Rothbart instead?”

Kaito stroked his chin in thought. “Well, auditioning as a villain is definitely a first, but I’m not opposed…”

They watched the rest of the auditions in silence. Perhaps Len was just biased, but it really did seem likely Rin would get the female lead. Of course, the other students were good, but Rin… she just stood out something special on stage.

Next were the male leads, and Kaito jumped up, ready to go wait in line to be called down by the front.

“Good luck,” he hissed to his friend.

Kaito blew him a kiss and ran off.

Unsurprisingly, he blew his audition out of the water. Of course, Len already knew that—having been his Odette while he practiced for the audition of Siegfried for the past week or so. He was definitely talented.

A few weeks after the auditions, all roles for the musical were announced. As expected, both Kaito and Rin got the leads. Rin seemed genuinely surprised, being too humble for her own good, but Kaito just looked smug.

“It’s a pity you can’t be my Odette,” he joked, as Len checked the lists for what job he’d be appointed. Ew, yet again painting and moving the props.

“I’m quite happy for Rin to be up there instead of me,” Len said, frowning at the paper as he read the names of other students who were helping out. Ugh, and that bossy girl Meiko is in charge of it? What a nightmare.

“Really? Doesn’t seem like that to me,” Kaito observed. Then he leaned over to read the list Len was looking at, snickering at something. “Oh, look! Your best friend Meiko is going to be working with you.”

The last time Meiko and Len were on the same team for the musical, she made him repaint an entire set because she didn’t like the shade of green he used. God, were art students such a pain in the butt.

Len shrugged his shoulders, considering asking to be moved to lighting or audio. “Hopefully I’ll get the paint colour right this time.”

Rin came skipping over to the boys with a smile that lit up the whole room, drawing their attention away from the list. She congratulated Kaito on landing his role. “I look forward to working with you!” she exclaimed, bowing politely.

Kaito nudged Len, winked, then gave her a thumbs up. “Right back at you, Rinnie,” he said.

She glanced over at Len questioningly, who was standing off to the side looking like a cardboard cut-out. “Are you working on props again, Len?”

Len looked down, his ears burning. “Oh. Yeah.”

“Len, here—if only he would audition too,” Kaito said, throwing a thumb in his direction. “He didn’t make a bad Odette when I was practicing.”

Rin raised her eyebrows, surprised. “Really? I wouldn’t think of Len as one to do acting.”

“I don’t,” Len mumbled.

Kaito chortled, slapping a hand down on Len's shoulder, who grunted at the impact. “Oh yeah, but he’s always been a great practice partner! He’s pretty much half the reason I remember my lines.”

“That’s nice of him!” Rin said, beaming. “Maybe I need to practice with him too. I always take forever to learn mine…”

“Well, next time him and I are practicing, I’ll call you over,” Kaito said with a grin. Len wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not, but he was praying that he wasn’t.

A group of some theatre girls walked past, calling Rin over, and she cast an apologetic look at the boys. “Sorry, gotta go,” she said, before waving goodbye and running off.

Kaito turned to Len, the grin still on his face. “So, what do you think? Wanna help Rin remember her lines?”

Len scowled at him. “Kai, I can barely get a sentence out around her. Do you think I’d be much help?”

His friend slung an arm around his shoulders. “Oh Len, we just have to get that talkative side to come out first.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

Fat chance , Len mused with a pout.

.

The weeks rolled by, with work on the musical starting off slow. Len spent most of his afternoons painting props and avoiding Meiko’s wrath, and listening to the other theatre kids gossip.

One day, one of his classmates—and fellow theatre club members—approached him. 

“Hey Len,” she said. 

She was playing the role of Odile, and helping with other things on the side—Miku, he recalled her name. They’d barely talked in all their years together, so this was a first. 

She crouched on the ground beside him as he was finishing off the flowers on a bush, and looked at him with a serious expression while twisting a pigtail in one hand. “Are, you know, Kaito and Rin, like, dating? ”

Len paused mid-stroke, going, “Uhh.”

“Because, like, they seem to be really close, right, and they’re always getting the main roles,” she babbled, and he sat there in silence, wondering for a moment. “And like, I’m just curious, ‘cus they haven’t really said anything, but like, it just wouldn’t surprise me, you know?”

Eventually, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I dunno. None of my business.” He didn’t think they were dating, but, hell, who knew. Maybe that had changed within the past day or so.

Miku looked at him weirdly. “Aren’t you, like, his best friend?”

“Yeah, and I dunno,” Len answered, returning the same expression. “What’s it to you?”

She flushed. “W-well, you know, I just thought…”

“Why not ask Kaito or something?” he said, looking back down at the prop he was working on. “The guy doesn’t keep any secrets.”

Miku huffed, frustrated with his answers. “Well, I—um, it’s just—that would be sort of rude, okay?”

Len raised an eyebrow. “Really.”

Then she threw her head back, groaning. “Wow, you are so weird. Never mind.”

Miku got up and ran off, not bothering him again. But that got Len thinking… 

What if they were dating? Sure, they were friendly with each other, but that was just—he assumed—because they’d worked together on so many musicals before. Besides, Kaito was always sort of gently nudging Len to make a move on Rin, so it didn’t make much sense if they did happen to be dating. (Unless they were like, polyamorous or something.)

Even so, Len couldn’t blame people for assuming it. They were a good-looking couple when together. And the few practices he’d sat through, he couldn’t help but be mesmerised by their acting with one another. Their voices harmonised well, their height difference was sort of amusing, and even their personalities seemed to contrast nicely.

He frowned down at the ugly flower he was painting. It was impossible to see himself with Rin, when she was just so bright and cheery, and him akin to the dark side of the moon.

“Len!” Meiko snapped, disturbing him from his thoughts. She was standing over him, her hands on her hips and her face pulled into a snarl. “Can you pick up the pace? We still have thirteen more of these bush sets to paint!”

Len grumbled an apology, and got back to work, thoughts of Rin and Kaito reeling through his mind.

.

“Huh, so something weird happened today,” Kaito said, while peeling open an ice-cream he got from the cafeteria vending machine. They were on lunch break, and it was a pleasant, mid-autumn afternoon, so they were sitting out in the courtyard, enjoying the sun.

“What happened?” Len asked, picking at the hard-boiled egg in his lunchbox.

“You know that girl Miku,” he continued, “she’s Odile, right? Anyway, she came up to me all flustered or something and was like, ‘Oh my God, are you and Rin dating?’” He mocked her voice and everything.

Len popped his egg into his mouth and chewed slowly. “She actually asked?” he said.

Kaito then looked at him, surprised. “What, did you know about this?”

“She came up to me the other day, asking if you two were dating,” Len said, before taking a sip of his banana-flavoured milk.

“She asked you? What did you say?”

“I said, ‘I dunno.’”

Kaito raised an eyebrow. “You just told her, ‘I dunno’?”

Len shrugged. “Yeah. She wasn’t happy with that answer, though, so I said if she wanted to know, to just ask you. I didn’t actually think she would, though.”

Kaito scoffed. “She did, and she looked like she was in pain.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Seemed happy to know we weren’t— ” Kaito then narrowed his eyes at Len, “—dating, though.”

“Look, it’s not my business to know if you two have something going on,” Len defended himself, pretty pathetically at that. “And, well, you’re spending a lot of time together now so maybe something could change. I don’t know.”

Kaito sighed, throwing an arm over his friend's shoulders and roughing up his hair. “God, you’re a loser. But Len, you know, Rin isn’t my type. Not saying she isn’t cute, but…” He released him and gave him a serious look. “Anyway, I’m not that much of a self-centred dick to date her behind your back, am I?”

Len shook his head, reaching up to fix his fringe. “No, but, like, I don’t own her or anything. I can’t even look her in the eye.”

“Hmm,” Kaito said. “Len, you’re too complacent and nice for your own good. You should be more fighty if you want to catch Rin’s attention.”

“I don’t like conflict.”

“Man, you’re strange.” Kaito gave him a grin, taking a bite of his ice-cream. “But I guess that’s what makes you Len.”

Len gave a dry laugh, which died down pretty soon thereafter, because he spotted the tell-tale wobble of a certain girl’s white ribbon. Rin was approaching them from the other side of the courtyard, a sense of urgency in her step.

“Hey Kaito,” she called, waving. She nodded at Len as a greeting. “We’re having a quick emergency measure-up to double check our measurements for costumes before they get finalised. Can I borrow you for a sec?”

“Aw man,” Kaito groaned. “It’s lunch time! Can’t they let a guy rest?”

Her lips twitched. “Sorry, Kai.” As Kaito gathered his things, she turned to Len. “Hi Len. How are all the props going?”

“I’ve painted seven bushes,” Len said to his knees. “And my hand really hurts.”

“Len’s an art prodigy, you see,” Kaito commented, slapping him on the back, earning a disgruntled oof . “Meiko loves his work.”

Rin raised an eyebrow. This time, she couldn’t contain her smirk. “Really?” she said, sounding skeptical. “To be honest, that girl terrifies me. Well, good luck, Len!”

Then she and Kaito were off, leaving Len to sit in the courtyard by himself and sigh down at his half-eaten lunch.

Well, at least he said more than three words to her, this time.

.

Winter vacation came and went, and soon began the countdown. Of course, the musical was still at least two months away, but theatre kids liked to feel the pressure of impending doom for some odd reason. 

Len’s team had finished with painting the bushes and were tasked to work on the castle shell with another team. Apart from a few students who were picky about design and colour, most days spent painting were uneventful.

The good thing was that the theatre club shared the auditorium for both prop preparation and rehearsal, so he got to see Kaito and Rin’s progress, too. Of course, on the odd occasion, Len was forced into helping Kaito practice his role on the weekends, but he preferred seeing it from the perspective of the audience.

One afternoon, while painting and listening to everyone’s rehearsal, there seemed to be some drama up on the stage. The theatre club’s president—Luka—was in a bad mood that day, and after Rin had stuffed up her lines for the fifth time in a row, she snapped .

Len had stopped whatever he was doing to watch as Luka pulled Rin aside to talk to her off-stage. A few minutes later, Rin went running out of the auditorium in tears.

No one else seemed to notice; rehearsal had moved on to another scene without her, and the art, audio and lighting kids were too busy focusing on their work to pay attention. Len looked around, hoping someone would follow after her, but no one did.

His stomach twisted, and he felt guilty having witnessed it, but not doing anything about it. 

Len sat for a moment, waiting for her to come back, or something , before taking a deep breath and deciding to be the one to take the initiative. He excused himself for the bathroom and went out the same door Rin ran through minutes earlier, wandering down the hall in search of the girl.

Eventually he found her tucked underneath the staircase after following the sound of her sniffling. She looked surprised on seeing him, and hurried to wipe away her tears.

He stood there, staring at her forehead, before eventually clearing his throat and going, “Uh… um… are you… okay?”

It was the most ridiculous question to ask, given Rin was literally crying right in front of him, and he punched himself in the mouth mentally for not being at least an ounce more socially adept.

She didn’t seem to mind the foolish question, though. She sniffled, wiping at her nose with her sleeve. “Ah… Len. I’m sorry. I’m okay, just… a little stressed is all.” She gave him a watery smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Len glanced off to the side, fiddling with his sleeve. “I saw Luka getting mad up on stage.”

Rin winced, screwing up her face. “Yeah… she’s stressed, too.” She sighed. “I mean, it’s my fault for not remembering my lines, so…” Her voice wobbled a bit at that, and she sniffled again, tears gathering.

Oh boy. He didn’t want to make her cry more. “It’s okay,” he blurted out, as if those words alone would make the situation any better. “It’s not your fault. It can’t be helped. We’re only human.”

She smiled a bit. “Yeah. You’re right,” she said. “It’s just… a lot of pressure, you know? Being the main character. I can’t help but feel I’m not right for the role. Like Miku… well, she’s so much better at this than I am.”

“That’s not true,” Len blurted. Rin looked surprised, and so did he. He scratched at his neck. “Well, um, I dunno, when I watched your audition, I couldn’t stop thinking about how well you suited Odette. Like, Miku’s was good, but there was something yours had that… hers didn’t.”

Rin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down. Although she still seemed upset, she had calmed down a bit.

He continued, trying to fill in the awkward silence, “I think you can do it.”

She sniffled again, letting out a shaky laugh. “Thank you, Len,” she said. She hesitated a bit, before looking up at him. “And thank you for coming out to check on me. That’s… really kind of you.”

Len managed a smile, but couldn’t quite meet her eyes.

Rin wiped at her face again and fixed her hair, taking a breath. “Okay. Let’s go back.”

They walked back to the auditorium together in silence. Before they split off their separate ways, Len stopped her, fingers barely grazing the sleeve of her shirt.

“Um,” he fumbled, when she turned to look at him. “Good luck up there.”

The corners of her lips turned, and she held up her fists. “I’ll do my best.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Rin shone brilliantly on the stage, and Meiko threw a newspaper at Len’s head for getting distracted by her.

.

“Oh Len. You sly, sly dog,” Kaito said, having heard from Rin what happened the following day.

Len gave him a look. “Well, none of you were running out to check on her.”

His friend grinned, leaning against his desk and folding his arms over his chest. “That’s true, but honestly, she and I were both equally surprised you were the one to go after her. Rin was all, Oh, that Len! He’s nice once he gets over his shyness, isn’t he? ” Kaito tried his best Rin-voice impression.

Len groaned, leaning back in his chair. “Please never do that again.”

“What?” Kaito said, grinning. “ Talking like Rin? ”

“Stop!” Len threw a hand in his direction, and he caught it, using it as a weapon to whack Len in the face.

“Anyway, so, Rin wants to practice her lines with you and me so she can get Luka off her case. I think she likes you, hey.” Kaito winked.

Len snatched his hand back. “How am I supposed to help? I’m not even acting a part.”

“Yeah, but you always do a great job playing the other roles when we’re practicing. And you always drop good hints about my next lines when I forget, ‘cus you always have the lines to read off.”

Len propped his elbow on his desk and leaned his head against his hand, disinterested. “You could, uh, also do that with each other, though.”

“C’mon Len! If you refuse to practice, she’ll think you don’t like her and get sad. She’ll be all, Oh, how disappointing, Len doesn’t want to practice with me …” Kaito faked wiping a tear.

Len rolled his eyes. “If I agree to it, will you stop doing bad impressions of Rin?”

Kaito grinned. “Maybe.”

Len narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, yes. I will stop doing bad impressions of Rin to harass you.”

He sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. “Fine. I’ll practice with you two. Just this once, though.”

Kaito high-fived himself. “Hell yeah! I’m gonna go tell Rin.” Then he disappeared.

Len dropped his head on his desk with a loud thunk . He didn’t know how on earth he was going to do any sort of ‘effective’ practice with Rin around.

.

“Len, you’re supposed to be the evil Rothbart, not a mute teenager,” Kaito said.

They were at a park somewhat central to all their houses on a chilly Sunday morning. Kaito was stretched out on a bench, drinking juice, and Rin stood in front of Len, waiting for him to start taking his role as the villain somewhat seriously.

But… Len couldn’t. Not with Rin dressed in cute casual clothes like this. He’d never seen her without a uniform on, in all these years of attending the same high school… and, well, it was a lot to process.

“Let’s try again,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips. “You don’t have to be convincing. Just… enough is alright, Len.”

He scanned the lines on the page in front of him again and took a breath, giving a nod. He dropped the sheet to his side and cleared his throat. Then, in the best voice he could muster, he began—

“Oh dear Odette! That prince of yours will never love you back—for he has sworn his love to my daughter Odile!”

Kaito burst into laughter from the side, but Rin ignored him and went on to deliver her line. “No! That can’t be true!” she wailed, bringing her hands up to her face in shock.

Len quickly glanced at his lines, before raising his arms like he was, uh, conjuring some magical image, or something like that. “No, Odette… it is …”

Rin stared at the empty space between his arms, her eyebrows furrowing. “It can’t be…” she said, her hands dropping to her sides. “He doesn’t love me…”

It was at this moment, Len was supposed to laugh maniacally and say something else, but he became distracted by how convincing Rin’s acting was. He didn’t realise he was gawking at her until she waved her hand in front of his face.

He snapped back to reality. “S-sorry!” he blurted, scrambling for the next line. God, this was going to kill him. “Um—uh… n-now, you shall be my pretty swan forever…”

Rin then stifled a laugh, breaking character. “Kaito, I think Len has had enough of being Rothbart for now.”

Kaito snickered into his juice bottle, waving his hand. “Oh, he’s fine. I think you were pulling on his heartstrings a little, that’s all.”

Len’s face burned. He tossed his photocopy of the musical’s script at Kaito and took a seat next to him. “Whatever, can I take a break? You two have plenty of scenes to practice with each other.”

His friend rolled his eyes, getting up from the bench with a groan. “Yeah, yeah. Alright, Rin. Let’s start from Act 4 line 46, then. Len, can you help us with our lines?”

Len begrudgingly took the papers back from Kaito and shuffled through to find Act 4.

Oh.

Oh .

It was the act with the kissing scene.

Well.

Fuck you, Kaito.

They began with Rin dying by the lake, and Kaito running in after killing Rothbart. (Len was pretty sure in the original they were both supposed to die, but the school council was all, Noooo, we want a happy ending! )

He frowned as he watched Kaito embrace her and act dramatic, confessing his love to her—what he was guessing—dead body. Rin then rose from the dead and reached out to cup his face.

“Oh, my prince!” she said. “You came back for me… and the curse has been broken!”

Kaito then turned and looked at Len, mouthing the word line .

Len sighed, muttering his next lines. “Odette, I thought I lost you.”

Kaito repeated down to Rin, “Odette, I thought I lost you.”

Silence. 

Len continued, “It was all my fault, mistaking you for that vile Odile.”

Kaito acted out the lines, then looked at him again.

Was he just doing this on purpose? He was doing it on purpose. This guy knew those lines, because Len had run over them with him at least a hundred times before. He wasn’t even looking at the script for reference anymore, because even he knew them.

“I could never love anyone else but you, Odette.”

The hint of a smirk tugged on Kaito’s lips as he repeated those lines down to Rin.

She stared up at him, as if he were a delicious slice of chocolate cake. “My prince…” she gasped.

Then it was the kiss scene.

Len averted his gaze as they leaned in for the kiss, signalling the end of the musical. He wanted to kick Kaito for this later. 

A moment passed, and the pair stood up as if nothing ever happened, brushing the grass off their clothes.

“So, what do you think, Len?” Kaito asked with a shit-eating grin.

“You need to learn your lines,” Len deadpanned.

“You wanna practice with me? Kissy-kissy.” Kaito pursed his lips and leaned in. Len swatted him away, disgusted.

“It’s not a real kiss, of course,” Rin said, smiling. “Just a theatrical one.”

Len raised an eyebrow. “A theatrical one?”

She ushered Kaito over to demonstrate. “You know, this hand faces the audience. It hides our mouths. And this hand… well, I use my fingers as a blockade for our mouths.” She placed one hand flat on the side of his face, then the other on the opposite side, and pressed one thumb over Kaito’s mouth.

“Romantic, huh?” Kaito said through her thumb.

“Ew.” Rin dropped her hands to wipe them on her shorts. “I mean, as if they’d let people kiss on stage at school.”

“Huh,” was all Len said.

Kaito wiggled his eyebrows at him. “You wanna try?”

“With you? No thanks.”

“I mean, Rin might want to—”

“Also no thanks.”

“Ouch.”

Rin just laughed. “It’s alright,” she said. She tucked her hair back behind her ears. “Can we run over another scene? There’s this one in Act 2 I really need to work on… and Len, can you help out too?” She turned to Len and gave him a pleading look.

And, well, he really couldn’t say no.

“Okay…”

“Great! Well, I need you to pretend to be the other swan maidens in the lake…”

Len thought to himself, Oh boy.

.

The weeks continued to fly by. Soon, the musical was barely a month away.

Both Rin and Kaito seemed drained from countless practices. Len was going just fine, on the other hand; props were almost finished, and now they were finessing details (as Meiko liked to call it). A few times, they did some ‘unofficial’ full run-throughs as stagehands, but there was still a bit of work that had to be done.

When Len sat down next to Kaito for lunch, his friend turned to him and said with a straight face, “Miku and I made out yesterday.”

Len almost dumped his lunchbox’s contents on his lap. “You what? ”

“Yeah,” Kaito said, looking a tad dead inside. “It was weird.”

“Why?” Len asked, although that was a strange question to ask about kissing someone .

Kaito shrugged. “We were alone, and she was stressed, and we just started making out.”

Len found such a statement hard to imagine. We just started making out . Like, how the hell do you just start making out with someone? “So…?”

“I don’t even like Miku,” his friend moaned, dropping his head. “She’s too… I dunno, noisy? Not my type at all.”

Len couldn’t help but ask, “What is your type?”

Kaito tapped his chin in thought. “Hmm. Bossy. Cold. Could crush my head with her thighs.”

“So, like Meiko?”

Kaito tilted his head, squinting at the wall beside Len. “Eh, yeah. I guess so.”\

Len didn’t know what to do with this newfound information. He shovelled a dim sum into his mouth and chewed. “What are you going to do about Miku?” he asked.

Kaito groaned. “I don’t know. I don’t like turning people down and… I mean, I totally made out with her yesterday, so.”

Len went for the salad, saying, “I don’t make out with random girls on the regular, so I don’t have any advice to give you, sorry.”

“That’s alright,” Kaito said, putting his head in his hands. “I’ll figure it out.”

Len frowned at his friend, couldn’t help but feel concerned for him. The musical-induced exhaustion definitely was clouding his judgement (or he had some sort of attraction to Miku he was in denial about, but who knew).

He saw Rin in the hallway later that day, and she almost completely snubbed him, until realising at the last minute he’d walked past. She swung around and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him over by the wall.

It caught him off-guard, and he stuttered something of a hello.

She sighed, folding her arms over her chest. “Rehearsals have been taking it out of me. How are you doing, though?”

Len fidgeted with the collar of his shirt. “Prop work is far from as bad as your case is.”

“That’s good to hear.” Rin smiled. “How’s Kaito? He was a bit of a zombie yesterday.”

“Oh.” He recalled the conversation earlier, and the crisis Kaito seemed to be having. “Not so great,” he decided as the best answer.

She frowned, folding her arms over her chest. “He needs to take it easy. I was going to ask if you wanted to practice this weekend, but maybe we should let him rest…”

Len didn’t mind not practicing, because he’d been humiliated at least a million times during the past four practices they’d done. Of course it meant more time with Rin, but at what cost?

“Yeah, might be a good idea,” he agreed. Kaito would probably spend the weekend having a crisis about girls, anyway.

Rin dropped her arms to her sides. “Well, we’re almost there. Only four weeks to go!” She then waved goodbye and disappeared off down the hallway, into the mass of migrating students.

Len exhaled. Only four weeks to go .

.

Two weeks to go—that was when the accident happened.

Rehearsals had been slotted into lunchtimes to add extra practice, but Len usually didn’t have to go, so he spent a lot of his lunches by himself. He was enjoying his peace and quiet in the classroom, reading a manga and eating a sandwich, when the door clattered open and both Rin and Miku came running in looking like they’d run a marathon.

Rin stumbled over to his desk, breathless, and blurted, “Kaito’s going to hospital.”

Len dog-eared his book and looked up at her, not sure if he’d heard her right. “He’s going where?”

Miku appeared from behind, repeating, “The hospital. He’s going to the hospital.”

“He fell off the stage during rehearsal,” Rin continued, her eyes wide. 

“His leg, like, snapped like uncooked spaghetti,” Miku added, the detail a little unnecessary.

Len finished his sandwich. “Is he alright?”

The girls exchanged looks with each other. “We don’t know, but the paramedics said he might’ve broken his leg. He just… landed on it in the wrong way, and it was awful,” Rin said. “Luka’s freaking out.”

What he wanted to know was, how the hell did Kaito fall off the stage? The guy wasn’t even clumsy, and yet, here he was, probably breaking his leg two weeks before the musical. What a clown.

“Oh,” Len said, unsure how to take the news. “Well, thanks for telling me.”

Miku was already distracted, telling another student about the incident, which signalled that whatever went down during practice would spread around the school like wildfire by the end of the day. 

“No problem.” Rin’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m just really worried. We’ll probably have an emergency meeting for it tomorrow, and for now this afternoon’s rehearsal has been called off, but…” She trailed off, chewing her lip with uncertainty.

“How did he fall off the stage?” Len asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

She shrugged her shoulders, the corners of her lips turning down. “I don’t really know. I guess he was really tired and just lost his balance… I wasn’t on stage at the time. I just heard him fall. It wasn’t good.”

“I wonder if he’ll be alright to do the musical,” he mused aloud.

Rin hung her head. “I hope he will,” she said. “But I have a feeling he won’t.”

That feeling was right. Kaito messaged Len that night to tell him, rather joyfully, that he had broken his ankle.

I’ll be at school nice and drugged up tomorrow! he added.

The next day, the emergency meeting for the theatre club was called after school. Although Len didn’t really have to attend it, being simply a stagehand, Kaito had dragged him along, asking for ‘moral support’.

“Do you really need moral support?” Len said, watching as his friend hobbled beside him on crutches.

“ Yes. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this role, you know. I’m going to need you to wipe away my tears.”

“Can’t you ask Miku to do that for you?”

“Len. Die ,” was Kaito’s harsh response.

They were the last ones to arrive at the auditorium, where most of the cast had gathered in a circle. Rin was chewing on her nails—something she tended to do when she was stressed—and Luka was pacing back and forth across the room, a frown etched into her lips.

Upon seeing that Kaito had arrived, Luka stopped and clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

“So, as you may know, Kaito has broken his ankle and has had to step down from his role from Siegfried,” she began. A shocked chatter rumbled through the group, and she cleared her throat, signalling for silence. “We had an understudy—Yuuma—but conveniently, he got the flu and won’t be able to take on the position.”

“Oh boy,” Kaito said, apparently having only just heard wind of this. 

Luka pushed back her hair, exhaling. “So, now we don’t have anyone to play the role of Siegfried—and I’m trying to decide what to do next,” she said. “First, any questions, ideas, or concerns about this?”

Miku put up her hand. “Is the musical going to be cancelled?”

“No,” Luka answered. “But we may have to change things, if we can’t find someone to fill Kaito’s spot.”

People began to murmur, sharing their doubt for such a possibility.

“We only have two weeks,” someone said. “I don’t think we can find anyone else to play the role of Siegfried.”

Luka frowned. “Well, first, does anyone know someone who might be able to do Siegfried? Or does anyone think they can step up to the position?”

The room went silent. Everyone looked around at each other.

Then Kaito cleared his throat. “I know someone.”

Luka turned to him. “Who?”

He gestured to Len standing beside him. “This guy has essentially all my lines memorised.”

Len’s face went red as everyone’s eyes fell on him. Oh no. Oh no no no no no . “Kaito,” he hissed, panicking.

Luka seemed unconvinced, folding her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow. 

Kaito kept talking. “Len’s been practicing with Rin and me, helping us with our lines. I think he could pull it off. I forced him to make a band with me once in middle school, so I know he can sing.”

It was then Len wished for a hole to appear in the ground and swallow him up. What the hell was Kaito thinking? He did not want this at all.

Rin spoke up, much to his displeasure. “I think Len can do it too,” she said. “Like Kaito said, he already knows most—if not all—of Siegfried’s lines. So if anything, he would just have to learn the songs and his actions.”

Luka was slowly coming around, tapping her chin. “Hmm. Well. Anyone have another suggestion?” She scanned the group, waiting for another name to be called, but crickets chirped in response. “Okay. Let’s have a show of hands then. Who’s okay with Len taking the role of Siegfried?”

Kaito and Rin’s hands shot up. Then, slowly, one-by-one, other students began raising their hands, too. It was a good 80% of students voting in favour of him.

“It looks like Len’s our best bet, then,” Luka decided, after counting the number. She looked at Len, who was beside himself. “Well, Len. Is it alright if you take the role of Siegfried in place of Kaito?”

Len swallowed, a nervous sweat breaking out across his body. His eyes darted from Kaito, who was giving him a serious look, to Rin, who was basically pleading him with her eyes.

Oh God. Oh God. He hated disappointing people.

He found himself muttering, “Sure. Okay. Yes.”

Just like that, a sigh of relief seemed to wash across the theatre club. 

Just like that, Len was going to be Siegfried.

Ah. Fuck.

.

Kaito tried his very best to convince Len he was capable of getting on stage and performing. Rin had even joined in, much to his surprise.

Len stared at the space above their heads, feeling as if he might puke.

“You’ll be fine, Len,” Kaito reassured. “Just think everyone in the audience is a potato.”

Rin nodded in agreement, her white bow bobbing up and down. “If you can get up and take on a role in front of me without even knowing the lines, you can get up in front of everyone else and be Siegfried.”

“But what happens if I forget my lines, or go off-key?” Len protested, looking pale.

“You just improvise, man,” Kaito said, as if it was the easiest answer ever. “You just keep going.”

“And Len,” Rin added, reaching out to grab his hands. She looked him in the eyes and his stomach did a somersault. “I’ll be up there with you, so don’t worry. If something happens, I’ll help you out if I can.”

His chest went warm and fuzzy. God, why did she have so much influence over him?

Len’s eyebrows furrowed. “I just… I don’t know if I can do it.”

Both Rin and Kaito yelled in his face, “You can!”

“You just have to believe in yourself,” Kaito said, hitting his own chest with a fist.

Rin nodded. “We’re all nervous going up there. But think of it as a fun challenge! You’re not being Len on stage. You’re being Siegfried.”

“Anyway, we should get on with practicing,” Kaito said, holding up his script. “We only have a week and a bit to go. Luka’s going to lose her mind if you show up next week with no clue what to do.”

Len whined as a complaint, but nevertheless, obliged.

Of course, Rin and Kaito were nice enough to spend essentially their entire weekend at the park helping him catch up, even going as far to teach him the dance moves and lyrics, and explain stage cues. Len was just absolutely terrified of getting up in front of hundreds of people to sing a solo song. Even doing such a thing in front of Rin now seemed like child’s play.

While Kaito hobbled off to the bathroom later in the day, they took a drink break. 

Rin turned to Len and admitted, “You know what? I’m really glad you were chosen to fill in for Kaito.”

Len’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? Why?”

She smiled down at her bottle of green tea she bought from the vending machine. “Well, Yuuma’s cool and all, but I feel more at ease when acting with you and Kaito. I’m glad it wasn’t someone else. You know, since it’s such an intimate role.”

Ah. Right. “Oh,” Len said. He was happy to hear that, and a smile inched its way onto his lips. Hearing that she felt comfortable around him was… somewhat relieving to his anxiety over what she thought of him. “Thank you.”

Rin looked up at him, beaming. Her face glowed under the afternoon light, and her blue eyes glittered like stars. He couldn’t help but stare.

Kaito returned, appearing from behind them. “Oh, you two look nice and comfortable. Guess we’re ready for Act 4, huh?” he joked.

Len grabbed one of his crutches, threatening to take it from his grasp. “Don’t test me, disabled man.”

Kaito pulled a face.

“We still need to do Act 3, first,” Rin said, not quite catching the joke—or perhaps just ignoring it. “It’s the longest one, so Len needs lots of practice.”

“Alright, alright.” Kaito waved his hand. “Let’s keep going, then.”

.

The following week went by in the blink of an eye. Len was exhausted and busy every day, rehearsing and doing costume try-ons and so on and so forth. By the end of the week, he almost didn’t care anymore, he was so tired.

Most of Len’s costumes consisted of safety pins, considering Kaito was both taller and larger than him in size. It was always a struggle getting in and out of the costumes, which made costume changes much more dire in between scenes.

Luka seemed somewhat satisfied with what he could do, though, which was a relief to both him and Kaito. (Although, his dancing left much to be desired.) “It’s not perfect,” she said in regards to his performance, “but it’s better than nothing at all.”

He tried to take it as a compliment.

Soon, they were doing their last dress rehearsal, two days before the show.

Kaito came up to him after the rehearsal, having sat and watched part of it. “How do you feel, Siegfried?” he asked, swinging an arm over his shoulders.

“Like I might have explosive diarrhea on the day,” Len answered.

“Oh yeah,” Kaito said with a nod. “It be like that sometimes.” He gave him a rough pat on the back. “You’ll be fine though. Do it for the theatrical kiss with Rin.”

Len could only roll his eyes.

Finally, the day of the performance came. According to Rin, who was chewing on her nails backstage, the auditorium was packed full. Len’s knees turned weak, and he sunk down on the ground beside her.

Rin put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do great, my prince,” she said, giving a wink, before getting dragged off by one of the stagehands.

His insides melted like butter. A part of him still couldn’t get it around his head that this was happening.

Kaito appeared with his crutches, hopping over to give him a last minute pep talk. Mostly, he just rattled off with bullshit.

“Just don’t look at the audience’s faces. That’s what always throws me off,” he told him.

“Will try not to,” Len said through grit teeth.

“ Or you can try finding my face, in which I’ll blow you kisses.”

“That’s great to hear, Kai.”

Kaito grinned, checking the time on his watch. “Well, I should go now. But hey. Break a leg, alright?” He gave him a thumbs up. “Just not literally, otherwise you’ll end up like me.”

Len frowned at him. “You better not have jinxed me.”

Kaito ignored him and left, leaving Len to try his best not to throw up.

Soon, the music for the opening began to play.

 .

  three…

two…

one

It’s showtime!

 .

 The adrenaline rush kept Len going, somehow, through the entire musical. He made mistakes, sure, but the show went on. The lights were bright and blinding, and at times he was just lost up on the wide, empty stage. Yet, he did it all. He managed to make it to the end.

He realised this as he was leaning over Rin, her chest rising and falling, her eyelids fluttering.

“Odette…” he whispered, a cue for Rin to ‘awaken’.

She stirred, sitting up, meeting his eyes. She looked different with makeup on, under the heavy stage lights. It wasn’t bad; it made her look older, sharper, more adult than a girl. She smiled at him, and he wasn’t sure if it was her acting, or actually genuine.

Rin reached out to cup his face, hands warm and clammy. He didn’t mind. “Oh, my prince!” she said. “You came back for me… and the curse has been broken.”

Len’s heart was beating so hard against his rib cage, like it might leap out of his chest. He wondered if she could hear it. “I thought I lost you,” he breathed. “It was all my fault, mistaking you for that vile Odile.”

She shook her head, the feathers in her hair dancing in the air around her head.

He took a breath. “I could never love anyone else but you…” Her name danced on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed it back. “…Odette.”

Rin gazed up at him. Her eyes were dark underneath all the makeup. He didn’t know what was going through her mind at that moment. “My prince…” she whispered.

She leaned in for the ‘kiss’ and he followed, expecting for it to go as it did in their practice. But for some reason, she didn’t place her thumb over his lips. She just went straight in , and their lips mashed together, and his eyes almost flew open in shock at the contact.

Of course, Len managed to keep his composure—just barely—reminding himself to push through until the curtains dropped in front of them, and the audience burst into applause.

Once they were no longer in view, Rin jumped away from him like he was on fire, her skin bright red down to her neck. “Oh my god,” she whispered, covering her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot to move my thumb.”

Len’s mouth was still warm from hers. The stage around them was spinning a little. “It’s… fine,” he managed to get out. 

The stagehands began ushering them off-stage before they could talk more, preparing them for the curtain call. 

He didn’t have any time after that to speak with Rin about the kiss. Once they were finished with the curtain call, she was whisked away by a crowd of underclassmen congratulating her and giving her flowers for her last show. It was only now that he realised how popular she was.

Kaito found him amongst the crowd, holding his hand up for a high-five. “You did it!” he said. “My little Lenny has grown up.”

“Please never call me that again,” Len said with a groan.

Kaito ignored him. “What’s that on your mouth?”

“Huh?” Len wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. It was red lipstick. From Rin’s lips. “Oh.”

Kaito raised his eyebrows. “Speaking of which, that kiss with Rin on stage seemed awfully… realistic. ”

Len laughed nervously at that. “Yeah… well…”

His friend leaned in, his eyes going wide. “Wait, it was real?”

“It was an accident,” Len said. His face was hot.

Kaito’s jaw went slack. “Oh my god. You…”

Len shushed him. “It’s not that big of a deal. It was an accident . Rin forgot to put her thumb in the way so we just… you know…”

“She forgot to put her thumb in the way, huh,” Kaito said, narrowing his eyes and stroking his chin. “She never forgot with me.”

Len shrugged. “Maybe she was nervous, or something, I don’t know. I didn’t get to talk to her about it much.”

Kaito hummed in thought. There was a mischievous glint in his eye. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get a chance to talk to her about it at dinner tonight.”

“There's dinner?” Len echoed.

“Uh, yeah, we always do dinner. Didn’t anyone tell you?”

“No…”

“Oh, well. We’re having dinner at a yakiniku restaurant. Wanna come?”

“I guess?”

Kaito winked. “More time with Rin, too.”

Len blushed, then elbowed his friend in the stomach. “I wish you’d shut up sometimes,” he muttered, before walking off to get out of costume.

.

As they were taking the train to the yakiniku restaurant Luka had booked, Miku wriggled her way in between Len and Kaito. 

“Len actually did pretty well up there!” she said. “I was surprised.”

“That’s a bit rude,” Kaito said down to her with a frown.

“What?” Miku batted her eyelashes innocently. “It’s his first time performing! I was sort of expecting something to go terribly wrong.”

Kaito rolled his eyes. “Well, of course Len did great. He’s like a closet superstar.”

Len snorted. “I’m anything but that, Kai.”

Miku pouted. “I’m not trying to be mean! You don’t think I’m being rude, do you, Len?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“See? He agrees with me!”

“He didn’t even give you a verbal answer, Miku,” Kaito said.

She folded her arms over her chest, puffing out her cheeks. 

Rin turned, having overheard their conversation. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“We were just discussing Len’s total owning of the stage,” Kaito answered. “And Miku’s being a bitch.”

“I’m not!” Miku cried, indignant.

Rin giggled. “Len did really well, despite the circumstances,” she said. She kept her eyes on Miku and Kaito, avoiding meeting Len’s gaze “Who knew the quiet boy could brew such a storm?”

“He was just saving it up. Huh, Len?” Kaito looked at him.

Len mustered a smile. “I hope I never have to do that again,” was all he could respond with.

Everyone aww-ed in disappointment, and Kaito poked him with one of his crutches. “Nah. You loved it. It was the best experience you’ve ever had.”

“It was the most distressing experience I’ve had,” Len corrected.

Their train pulled up at their stop, and they filed out of the carriage, following Luka’s lead. The walk to the restaurant was around ten minutes, and everyone had moved on to another conversation with each other. Kaito was bickering with Miku, who seemed awfully touchy-feely with him.

Hmm , Len thought.

He didn’t mind the moment of quiet, though, as he tagged behind the group. It was weighing down on him—now that the adrenalin rush had finished—how goddamn exhausted he was. He couldn’t wait to have a bath and crawl into bed.

At the restaurant, Len took a seat between Kaito and another girl—Gumi—who played as one of the swan princesses. He hadn’t talked to her much before, but she seemed friendly. Across from him was Gakupo—who played Rothbart, Miki—who played another swan princess, and Piko—who was Seigfried’s best friend. He’d managed to get to know Gakupo and Piko through his role a little bit—they were okay. 

Alas, Rin was at a separate table, along with Luka, Meiko and Miku (which was, perhaps, not entirely a bad thing). 

So much for having the chance to talk to her about what happened on stage, though.

Although it was hard to organise a group of like, thirteen rowdy teenagers, eventually they sorted their orders for drinks and food. Everyone was busy chatting, and Len was just sitting there, staring at the empty table in front of him. Sometimes Kaito would try to drag him into his conversation with Miku, mainly asking for him to give his two cents in their argument, but eventually he would just… fade out of existence again.

When their drinks came, they made a toast.

Luka did the honours, being the club president. “Well, despite one of our leads breaking an ankle two weeks before our show, I guess we did pretty well,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Kaito, who wore a proud expression. “Thanks to Len being able to pull through and play the role in Kaito’s place. Thanks to everyone else, too, for all your hard work and cooperation for the past semester. It’s been an honour being your club president.” It was now she looked a bit teary.

(Len didn’t realise the theatre club was such a big thing to her… but, well.)

“So, a toast to our theatre club! Well done everyone, and good luck with finals next semester!”

Everyone held up their glasses.

“Cheers!”

After that was done, came the wait for food. Len took that as a chance to escape and get a breath of fresh air (he was getting a little claustrophobic, sandwiched between Kaito and Gumi). He excused himself to the bathroom, then slipped outside, unnoticed.

Len glanced at the time, making sure he didn’t spend too long outside that people came looking. He crouched down on the curb, breathing in the freezing, late-winter air.

There were footsteps behind him not long after he’d been outside, and he turned, expecting Kaito to have followed him out. But much to his surprise (and pleasure), it was Rin.

She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Mind if I join?” she asked.

Len nodded, the words getting caught in his throat.

Rin sat down beside him with a sigh. Her shoulder bumped against his, and his heart fluttered. “Are you feeling alright?” she asked, glancing at him. She’d wiped most of her makeup off, returning that familiar softness to her features.

“Yeah,” he croaked, before clearing his throat. “Just needed some air. It was a bit crowded, is all.”

“Yeah,” she agreed in an exhale. “The exhaustion sort of hits you around now.”

Len hummed in response. “I don’t know if I can get up off the ground, to be honest. My legs are killing me.”

Rin chuckled. “It’s all that dancing.”

“I didn’t know I had to use so many muscles for that.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Comes easy to me, having done ballet and all.”

Rin then leaned against him, her head lowering to his shoulder. He stiffened at first, then relaxed—although, all the skin she was touching was on fire.

“Still exhausted, though,” she mumbled. 

“You did amazing,” he said.

Rin’s hand fluttered down to his thigh. It was hot through the fabric of his jeans. His heartbeat picked up, hammering against his chest as his mind went reeling. He didn’t know what was going on.

“You did amazing, too,” she said back, a smile in her voice.

Len wanted to disagree with that statement, but instead, decided to shut up for once. He settled for a quiet, “Thank you.”

He wondered if she could hear his heart, beating so loud. God, she could definitely hear his heart.

She then said, “I’m sorry about the kiss at the end, though.”

“Oh, um,” he fumbled. “It’s fine, I… it took me by surprise, but…” It was good. I wanted you to kiss me more.

“It took me by surprise, too,” Rin said with a laugh. “I almost broke character there on stage.”

Len laughed with her. “I was confused for a moment, thought your thumb was oddly soft,” he admitted.

“Oh, you’re telling me my thumb doesn’t feel like a kiss?” she jested. “Rude.”

They chuckled together, before a beat of silence passed. Then Rin said, “You caught me off-guard up there, Len.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I did?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Your acting was… really good.”

Len stared straight ahead at the vending machine across the road, illuminating the darkness. He knew Rin could hear his heart. Her hand was still on his thigh, and her head still resting on his shoulder. The gentle smiles and the fact that she was sitting here, out in the cold with him, and not inside with the others.

He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, and yet…

Something inside just told him to go for it. Maybe he was reaching a state of over-exhaustion and his brain wasn’t functioning properly, but to heck with it.

“It wasn’t acting,” he whispered, the words difficult to get out.

Rin lifted her head to look at him, going, “Hmm?”

Len swallowed, mustering up the courage to try again. “It wasn’t acting,” he repeated. Once they were out, it was like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

She gazed at him, confusion first crossing her face, then consideration, then realisation. Her eyes went wide, her lips parting.

For a split second, he wondered, with terror, if he’d gotten it wrong. If he’d mistaken all her gestures for something they weren’t. If she was about to break his heart, then and there, in the most awkward situation ever.

But then Rin’s lips curled up into a smile. She leaned in close, her forehead touching his.

“Do you want to… try again?” she whispered. “But this time, not just an accident.”

Len didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned in, lips brushing against hers. She reciprocated, pressing back hard against his mouth. A hand reached up to grab the collar of his shirt, curling into a fist. The other still rested on his thigh, fingers pressing down into his skin.

He reached for her shoulders, then up to her neck, the sides of her face. He tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her closer, drawing on her warmth.

Someone coughed from behind. Startled, they both jumped away from each other and turned to see Meiko.

She folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, in a tone that wasn’t very apologetic, “but everyone’s wondering where you two went, so unless you want to have to explain to them in detail what you were just doing, you should probably come inside.”

Rin cleared her throat, flustered. “S-sorry Meiko,” she stuttered.

Meiko just shook her head at them, before walking back into the restaurant.

Rin looked at Len. She exhaled and shrugged her shoulders. “We should probably go back.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, breathless.

She leaned in again to peck him on the lips once more before standing up, dusting off her clothes. She held out a hand for him, and he grabbed it, pulling him up.

Together, with faces red like stop signs, they walked back into the restaurant and took their seats, acting as if nothing ever happened.

.

When they were saying goodbye later that evening and going their separate ways, Rin kissed him again, right in front of Kaito.

Kaito gasped. “Excuse me,” he said, holding up a hand. They pulled away to look at him. “When did this happen?”

Rin looked at Len, smiling, and Len shrugged. “Like, two hours ago,” he said.

Kaito put a hand to his chest. “And you didn’t tell me, your best friend? I’m offended.”

“Well, you know now,” Len said.

Kaito sniffled, pretending to wipe away a tear, before he dropped his hand and grinned. “It’s about time!”

Len rolled his eyes, but Rin laughed, leaning into his shoulder. “Can you let us kiss in peace, please?”

“What, you didn’t get enough time on stage?”

“Kai! Away!” Len shooed him, and the boy left, cackling to himself.

Rin shook her head. “I think those painkillers are ramping him up a little, or maybe it’s just because I’m tired.”

“Definitely the painkillers,” Len said.

She reached down for his hand and squeezed it. Her fingers were cold, like ice. Her expression turned serious as she looked up at him from under her lashes. “So… does this mean we’re dating?”

He gazed at her face a moment, surprised she'd even bothered asking the question. “Well, I hope so,” he said.

A grin started to fight its way onto her lips, her shoulders sagging with relief. “Me too.”

Len reached up to brush some hair out of her eyes. “You wanna do something fun during spring vacation? Like see a movie, or go bowling or something.”

“Yeah,” Rin said, beaming. “I’d like to do something.”

“It’s a date, then,” he said.

Then they leaned in for another kiss.

[imagine-a-killingharmony]

V3 Boys + Playful Wrestling

The V3 boys playfully wrestling with S/O?? :DD You can choose whoever wins uwu!!

Ohoho... hoho! Playful-Wrestling! This sounds really adorable... this entire request has been purified by the cinnamon gods!

I had a joy writing this, so I hope you have a joy reading!

-Mod Shuichi

Kiibo

Did you truly think Kiibo of all people would start this battle off? Because you are sorely mistaken, you had sneaked up behind your unaware robot boyfriend who just casually sat on the bed watching some episode’s of Blue’s Clues... before you strike at him!

You tackled him down onto the bed with a playful battlecry which sounded more like a laugh.

Kiibo immediately screamed out in shock and tried wiggling out of your weak grip to no avail.

You had basically pinned him down back onto the bed, you were face-to-face and everything just waiting for him to push you off, or maybe place your master plan into action! “I’ve got the lead, eh?” Time to-

“S-S-S/O what’s going on?! W-What are you doing, I am sorely confused! D-Did Kokichi set you up for this, please let me go or I shall be forced to use my recording functions to-!”

“... Woah.” You squint at him. “Kiibo do... do you not know the difference between play-wrestling and like actual violence.... wait give me a second.”

You let go. “I’m not trying to hurt you, this is just us playing together y’know? Like... Like just messily rolling around? Actually hurting each other is a no, alright....? Um! Are you in? Or should we stop... like here’s how it works, whoever surrenders loses! Unless you want to stop playing.”

“Oh I see... ah! This seems promising so we can continue it for now... Alright then so you mean for us to... ahem... do things such as this...?” You suddenly felt Kiibo nudge you gently in the side, you smirked to yourself before you went back and gently tackled him placing your hands at his sides before...

“... You’re already dead.”

“... Eh?” You placed a light kiss against the side of his face with a giggle, before peppering the side of his face with yet another kiss.

“... A... Ahaaaah... S-S/O what are you doing...?”

You grinned, a flash of terror bounced back in Kiibo’s eye as his fate was sealed.

He never had a chance, Kiibo’s flustered gasps echoed throughout the household. You almost felt bad but his reaction was too adorable for regret, you only stopped when he said he: “surrendered.”

By the end of it he politely asked the two of you could... play-fight after he studied the topic... studied this topic so he understood it.

You swore you saw some smoke rise from the top of his head... maybe you went too far...? He seemed happy at least.

Shuichi Saihara

It had all started off with some nudging and teasing, all in good-intention of course! Shuichi had recently been in need of some fun with him getting himself mixed into some more cases his uncle needed assistance with, heavily needed assistance with...

“Shuuuiiiichi! C’mon! C’mon! Pleaaaase? I loooove yooou, it’ll be quick! Just got to see who wins?” You lightly elbowed him in the arm earning a weak sigh... he looked down tiredly at you, and pushed his hat down.

“S/O... I just don’t see the need to...-“

He was cut silent by you body slamming into him so you both fell onto the couch.

His hat fell behind in straight onto the floor, you were on top of him laughing like a madman.

“S-S/O!” You could hear a light chuckle come from out his mouth, before you gently rolled yourself away so you weren’t pushing down all of your weight onto him.

“1-2 1-2! Whose the chaaampppiiiion?! Meee! I’m the winner! Ding-Ding-Ding!” You could see him smile slightly as another weak chuckle came out of his mouth.

“S/O... Aha... I guess I... I could spare some of my time onto this, just... just...”

“This time while I’m actually ready...? And body-slams aren’t permitted... otherwise your disqualified.”

“... Of course.” You leaned down to place a loving kiss onto his cheek, before another battle commenced...!

You won each time, you were fighting the beta of betas, but each time around the hardships of his life seemed to evaporate, he looked far too happier than before...

That’s all that matters to you.

Ryoma Hoshi

It all started off with you wanting to find out if Ryoma Hoshi was ticklish, the most dastardly move of all time while the two of you were watching the news, he had no clue for what was to come.

Well that is until you got giggly about it, you put your hands over mouth to cover that far too cheeky expression on your face he just knew something was up...

So when you went in and tried to land a move, you were thwarted within a second.

He immediately threw a pillow in your direction, somehow it landed straight across your face and you almost fell back, the only thing stopping you being your own demise who took you by the hand and pulled you forward towards him.

By the time you fell back straight where you were before, Ryoma picked himself up, you could feel his hand lightly brushing against your ribcage.

You sputtered as a laugh coughed it’s way out of your system, he grinned back at you.

What have you done?

You tried to resist against fate by pulling back and retreating, but it was of no use...

Despite your best efforts throughout the battle you barely got a touch on him, he had that stupid sly smirk on his features as your stomach almost hurt from how hard you were laughing.

It only ended when you took ahold of his arm, while still laughing and managed to stutter out: “I-I surrender! I-Iiii- haha! I surrender!”

He let go of you a chuckle escaping his lips. “Heh, guess you still got a ways to go if you ever want the rise on me.”

You lost this fight... but you swear you’ll win the war.

Kaito Momota

Play-wrestling was a far too normal occurance with Kaito, just him suddenly lifting you above his shoulder before you fell straight on the bed and he began to nip at every part of skin within eyesight, just him gently rolling onto you as you wrestled away both your laughter echoing throughout the household.

So it was just another day in the morning when Kaito picked you up like you were a sack of potatoes and threw you over the bed before jumping with you himself, the widest most glorified smile on his features.

“Kaaaaito... noooo... I didn’t get breaaaakfast.” Your protests went unanswered as you could feel him place a kiss against your neck.

“C’mon babe! This is just to wake you right up alright? Kaito Momota’s daily dose of affection, heh.”

“Nooo o o o o.” Sadly nobody other than Kaito could hear your pleas as he placed the most loving kiss against your mouth which just took all those worries away, flashing off his widely-known grin across the whole universe.

holy shit what the fuck, this planet’s so good

“See? Are ya’ up?”

With a reply of kicking him off of you before pinning yourself down upon the astronaut and attacking him yourself with a barrage of kisses you felt the world was at peace...

...

You continue until the both of you fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Rantaro Amami

Rantaro would always go along whenever you would suddenly seek battle with him, like today for example when you pushed him over down onto the bed all he did was let out an “cry for help”:

“Oooh no... l’ve been attacked by S/O! Oh boy I wonder what their going to do to me, they are the Wrestler Supreme... And pretty cute on top of that, however can I get out of this mess?” Then he usually just let you do whatever you were planning to do without a second glance, you smirk to yourself.

“Mwahaha! That’s right there’s no way to escape, so surrender...!” You take out your best villain impression, you even pull out the most malicious grin you keep.

“Okay.” He responds with leaning back onto the bed, with an 👌 hand up.

God damnit.

“Rantarooooo... can’t you at least like... struggle? I feel like I’m winning a battle that I can’t lose...” You gently take both of his hands before pinning them above his head, he laughs.

“Because you can’t, I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.” He somehow manages to reply as you lean in slightly.

All he did was press a light kiss against your forehead, you jokingly punched him in the arm with a pout.

The one-sided wrestling commenced, you can guess who won.

Gonta Gokuhara

When you tried... even if you had no bad intentions or even thought behind this...

Gonta started to cry, the match was cancelled. He can’t even pretend to play-wrestle with you by the off-putting chance he accidentally breaks a bone or two, that would keep him from being a gentlemen...!

Comforting the gentle giant was easier than it seemed, you just promised you never try anything like it again.

Kokichi Ouma

There’s no way Kokichi didn’t start off this battle.

No way.

It was a day to study for the upcoming tests tomorrow, you were trying your very best to engrain each detail straight into your mind just for these exams flicking away page after page, the window had been picked at, you didn’t notice a thing.

Kokichi snuck in quiet as a rat, the only implication he was ever there the malicious aura he put off as he tip-toed ever close.

All it took was two words for you to fear your life, especially with the sensation of his hands wrapped neatly around your shoulders.

“What’cha doing?”

As soon as you turned around you fell to the floor with Kokichi above you, with the most shit-eating grin on his features.

“Heeey! Sleepy-Head! Why aren’t you picking up my texts? I was waiting so long for you...”

“Kokichi! I told you... I’m studying! You almost gave me a heart-attack- what are you doing? We can hang out later just let me finish my studying...”

You tried to pick yourself up, but his arms were currently around towards your sides. “Heeeey... S/O... you know... I don’t like you forgetting about me like that, I want you to look at only me... Just having the thought of you pay so much more attention to some dumb work, makes me angry...” His expression went somber, oddly somber.

“... Take responsibility... Apologize... I’m not letting you go that easily...”

Suddenly that smirk you too all too well was back. “That’s why I’m going to tickle you till you apologize, okay? Reminder I wuuuub-wuuub you!”

“NONONO.” You try stuggling out of his grasp, his hands already touching at your sides as you try to wrestle away from his grasp.

All you could hear was his deafening laugh as hellfire was unleashed upon your sides.

Korekiyo Shinguuji

You were rather bold this morning, finding yourself wanting to do something different with your stoic boyfriend, you wanted to see his reaction to fighting but... playfully!

It started off with you head butting him in the side which seemed more like a muzzle if anything, then came along the small jerks and teases that hadn’t even gotten a reaction out of him, it just took you pushing him down onto the couch as he was reading another story for you to get anything near emotion.

“... S/O if you wish to attempt to do the sacred act of showing our love to another? There are better ways to show your affection than pinning me down, you could have always asked.”

You felt your face flush red as your hands let go upon instinct. “What? No! It’s not like that, I just wanted to... wrestle a bit... I-I-“

His bandaged hands took ahold of your hips, you squinted at him in pure confusion, embarrassment, somewhat shame alike.

“... I do not wish to harm you, I much prefer the alternative I suggested.”

“...”

“I.”

“Holy man I love you.”

Korekiyo manages to completely distract your mind from the thought of fighting, it wasn’t like he would be able to win if you did try to do so...

Harming that beauty sacredness of your body be like committing a great sin that cannot be redeemed.

[pagerunner-j]

So: writing.

I haven’t written any fic in ages. I’ve had ideas bouncing around for a while, but long story short, morale was low. A project came up, though, that sounded like a good excuse to bust one of those concepts out of the closet, and I started tinkering around with it this week to see if it might work. Of course, I promptly realized it’ll be WAY too long, sooooo...yeah, I’ll have to go back to one of the other ideas instead.

Still, I’ll probably have to finish this one eventually, too, because now I’m invested. Dammit. ;)

For now: have the first draft of the first section as a preview. Future!Keyleth goes back to Whitestone to inspect something very interesting up for auction...

--

The placard in the display case read, Lot 19: Automaton clock, 830-835 PD, Whitestone Society of Artists and Artisans.

The label was understated, but the tabletop timepiece was anything but. It resembled a classical building, surrounded by miniature figures. A small bird perched on the rooftop, viewing everyone below. Most curiously, at least unless you knew Whitestone’s history, a bear had pride of place before the front door. It was rearing up on its hind legs, standing taller than the townspeople. None of them seemed afraid of him. One even seemed to be offering something, although she, and everything else, was suspended in motion. The delicate handle on the back of the clock suggested its potential. The stern guard standing nearby also suggested its value.

The woman who’d walked up to see it did her best to ignore the guard—a tall order, considering he was a very tall half-orc—and bent closer to the case.

Her reflection in the glass was faint, but it still showed the vivid red of her hair and the intent flicker of her eyes. She’d dressed in muted, formal clothes like everyone else, but she moved like they fit uncomfortably. Her short hair was brushed down far enough to cover her pointed ears, but her sun-bronzed complexion and freckled nose still stood out in this town, as far north as it was and as close to the edge of winter. She could have disguised those features better, but doing so hadn’t felt right. Even the name she’d registered under — “K. Ashe” — wasn’t exactly a lie. She could only hope that no one would think she was more interesting than the extraordinary artifacts in this room. So far, she’d been proven exactly right.

After all, the Frederickstein-Graves collection, built up over the years by cousins and companions of Whitestone’s ruling family, ran toward the esoteric. It also kept an eye to local history. Ms. Ashe had surveyed the catalog already, which included an elaborate game set dating back to the re-opening of continental trade routes (lot 9) and an unusual harp by a 10th-century artificer famous for her impossible-to-mimic performances (lot 12). But the prize items claimed connection to Whitestone’s greatest villains and heroes. Ms. Ashe had already overheard an enthusiastic discussion about a set of onyx jewelry that once passed through the hands of Lady Briarwood. It came complete with legends about a curse. From the sounds of it, that was somehow adding to the lot’s appeal. She hadn’t even wanted to ask.

But then there was this clock.

Whitestone’s renowned artisans’ society was founded by Percival Frederickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III, said the catalog on page 32, where she’d left a slender bookmark. De Rolo was Whitestone’s original Sophist of Native Ingenuity and member of the legendary group Vox Machina. This automaton clock, styled in the manner of his clock tower installation, dates from the period of his involvement with the guild and was gifted directly to the Frederickstein family. He has been credited in family documents as the maker of this timepiece.

Ms. Ashe, who had some familiarity with de Rolo handiwork, reached back into distant memories for a comparison. It took more effort than she was expecting. Suppressing a wince, she tilted her head to see the clock at a better angle.

“Magnificent craftsmanship, isn’t it?” said someone behind her. When she glanced up at the glass, she saw a young woman in a tailored suit, with her dark hair bound in a tidy braid. Her smile was just as tight, just as precise. “It’s truly something to see it up close.”

“It really is,” the redhead agreed. She straightened and turned around. “Jewel of the collection, everyone’s saying.”

“For once, the wisdom of the masses is entirely correct.” The woman’s smile had gone a touch condescending. “I traveled all the way from Rexxentrum to see it. It’s good to know the journey wasn’t wasted.”

“Did you now.”

“Indeed.” She proffered a hand. “Celia Corrigan-Whitburn. And I suppose you’ll be one of my rivals at auction, Miss…?”

“Ashe,” she answered, and then, somewhat awkwardly, “Kiki, specifically. To my friends. And the occasional rival.”

“Kiki. Really. Well, that’s charming.” Celia smiled again, mostly to the guard. “I don’t suppose I could persuade you to show us the clock in motion?”

“That’s a question for one of the specialists, ma’am.”

“Of course. Could you call one over, please?”

His expression didn’t change, but he touched his earpiece and murmured something Kiki couldn’t hear. She reflexively reached up to her own ear, touching the jewel that still hung there, but as ever, it remained perfectly silent.

Celia, who was speaking again, didn’t seem to notice.

“I was sent to inspect this at the behest of my employers,” she said. “We specialize in far more complex devices, but we still appreciate the classics. Especially when their makers are so interesting. Ah, there we are.”

The auction specialist, a tall human woman with an aquiline nose, nodded a greeting. “I understand you’re interested in the de Rolo clock.”

“Are you saying that’s its official provenance, then?”

“We can’t say it with 100% certainty, but all the hallmarks we’re aware of are there. I can show you one or two of them. Just a moment.”

While the guard hovered close by, she produced a small key and unlocked one side of the display case. Then she reached in with one gloved hand and pointed.

“That right there, of course, is the famous trained bear that belonged to the reigning de Rolos,” she said. “Trinket, by name. You’ll see him in motifs across Whitestone even today.”

“Trinket,” Celia repeated wryly. “Whatever inspired that name for a bear?”

“We don’t actually know,” the specialist admitted. “Much of Vex’ahlia’s history before becoming Baroness remains vague. But the popular theory is that since her husband was so clever in crafting trinkets, the bear was nicknamed thus to prove he was one of her own.”

Ms. Ashe, who knew that that wasn’t the story at all, twisted her lips but kept her mouth shut.

“The building is a stylized representation of a de Rolo property,” the specialist went on, indicating architectural details and commenting over a few. “Back in the 9th century, it was a shop. Part of the economic renaissance of Whitestone after being reclaimed from the Briarwoods.”

“It was a bakery,” Ms. Ashe added, unable to help herself this time. “The Slayer’s Cake. You can see part of the logo on the sign.”

The specialist’s eyes lit up. “Good eyes. Yes, that’s the name we have on record.”

“Again with the strange titles,” Celia remarked. “Slaying cakes?”

Kiki felt like she had to reply. “It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to another guild. The Slayer’s Take. Still exists, but under a different name and very different regulations. They hunted a few things too close to extinction, so now they claim to be about responsible wildlife management and environmental stewardship.” She quirked an eyebrow. “I understand a druid or two nudged them in that direction.”

Celia sniffed. “The Green Coalition at work again. We’ve had debates with them about our mining operations.”

“I imagine you have,” Kiki said under her breath.

“So what was the connection between the Slayer’s Take and a bakery?” Celia asked.

“The bakery founders used to be members,” said the specialist. “It was something of a retirement venture, after they were done with the adventuring life.”

“Actually, they opened it slightly before they fought…” Kiki began, then shook her head and waved a hand. “But close enough.”

The specialist turned to her. “So you’re also a student of local history.”

“Something like. Just…long experience.” Kiki shrugged one shoulder and changed the topic. “But this clock. Anyone could make a clock themed around the city. Is there a maker’s mark to identify it?”

Celia nodded as if she also wanted to know. The specialist gently tilted the clock back to show the symbol on the base. “The mark is for the artisans’ society,” she said. “We have a chart of different iterations of this logo. This is the earliest, the one Lord de Rolo personally designed. It didn’t acquire the double border until the 850s.”

“Hmm,” Kiki said, studying the little symbol.

“Also, the way the figures move is very typical of his work. Let me show you.” She set it back down and delicately wound the clock.

Celia bent closer this time. Kiki, her attention caught, didn’t move. She just held her breath and waited as the gears turned and the hands realigned, and the figures began gradually to stir.

“Look here,” said the auction specialist, indicating the townspeople in motion. “The articulation is particularly clever. My favorite is the woman offering a pastry to the bear.”

Kiki whispered something that might have been a name, but no one else heard it. The clockwork bear, though, lifted his head and seemingly looked straight out through the glass at her.

“The scene’s all very prosaic, isn’t it,” Celia said. “You’re right, though; the craftsmanship is terribly clever. There’s familiar techniques here, actually. I’ve seen clockwork like this before. Might lend credence to a few theories.”

The bear took a polite sniff of the pastry. Kiki’s side glance was less friendly. “What sort of theories do you mean?”

“That there really were ideas exchanged between Mr. de Rolo and our company founder. Maybe even outright collaboration.” She paused. “Well. Our honorary founder, I should say. The original inventor of the rifles that we licensed and continued developing. Did I mention I work in weapons manufacturing?”

“You might have left that out,” Kiki said thinly. “Are you speaking of…”

Celia’s tone turned conspiratorial. “Dr. Anna Ripley,” she answered with a smile. “She may still be a controversial figure, but I’ve always found her fascinating. And I’ve studied both her works and those of her competitors for a very long time.”

The clock chimed, and the bird on the rooftop opened its beak in a warning caw. Kiki, struck dumb, distantly felt that it might have been laying on the dramatic irony a bit thick.

The specialist, who’d missed that exchange while listening to something over her earpiece, closed and locked the case before nodding to them both. “If you’ll excuse me, it seems I have another auction-goer to speak to. But it’s good to see your interest. If you have other questions, come find me. I’ll be here until the end of the afternoon.”

“Of course,” Celia said, smiling brightly. “Thank you.”

The specialist walked off. Celia, too, readied to go. She faced Kiki again, though, and gave her one more little smile. It was taking on distinct shades of a smirk. “I hope you understand my interest in this item now, at least.”

“I do,” Kiki said, her voice low.

“And if I might ask—because now I’m curious—what brought you here to bid on this?”

She thought about it. “History,” she said at last. “Legacy. And a certain personal interest.”

“Care to share what kind?”

Kiki met her gaze levelly. “No.”

Celia’s eyebrows lifted. Then she started to laugh. “Well. You’ll make for an interesting competitor after all. But I’ll warn you, the Whitburn Company coffers run deep.” She winked. “I’ll see you at the auction, Miss Ashe.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Kiki said, and watched Celia go. The woman’s heels clicked rhythmically on the stone floor, almost mechanical in their precision, and only slowly grew quieter until they were lost in the sound of the crowd.

Kiki let out a long, long breath when she was gone. She looked briefly at the guard, who didn’t react, then slowly returned to the case. He didn’t seem bothered when she pressed one hand to the glass for support, at least. And if he was listening when she murmured one last thing aloud, she found she didn’t care.

“Oh, buddy,” Keyleth said to the little clockwork bear. “This just got a lot more complicated.”

Trinket roared his agreement before slowly, slowly winding down, going silent and still once more.

[drbtinglecannon]

Visiting hours

The super nice @risedphenix requested a Huwumi fic where Miruko gets hurt and Hawks finds out while he's with Fuyumi.

I haven't posted any fanfics in a month because I haven't been happy with anything I've made and just keep losing inspiration with WIPs. I finally finished this idea and I'm pretty content with it, I really hope you like it! Sorry it took so long to finish!! Read it here on Ao3.

(Hawks is named 'Takasu Tsubasa' until Horikoshi says otherwise which apparently HE WON'T, so.)

---

The loud buzzing of Hawks’ cell phone interrupts Fuyumi’s giggle fit.

She lowers her volume and quickly suppresses the laughter with a hand over her mouth, a look of disappointment in her eyes. Hawks gives her an apologetic smile while leaning back in his seat a little to slip his phone out of his pocket.

When the phone is in his hand he peers down at it, squinting at the screen and racking his mind trying to think who it could be.

“Is it your agency?" Fuyumi asks in a soft voice. This wouldn't be the first movie night Hawks was whisked away during.

“Nah, I actually don't know who it is...maybe I should let it go to voicemail.”

Fuyumi purses her lips for a second, then shakes her head. “I think you should answer, it could be important.”

Hawks meets her eyes with a pout, drawing an affectionate huff from the woman. “I know, 'I’m important too’, but you're a pro hero and you have a duty to help others.” She gently takes his free hand and laces her fingers with his, giving a reassuring squeeze.

“Ok, ok." Hawks agrees. He swipes the call button right and brings the phone up to his ear. “Hello?"

“Hello, is this Takasu-san?" A professional sounding voice greets.

Hawks furrows his brows and shrugs when Fuyumi cocks her head, clearly curious of who was on the other end of the call. “Yes, may I help you?"

“I’m calling with the Mustafa Municipal Hospital, a woman by the name of Usagiyama Rumi was admitted and she has you down as her emergency contact.” The calm voice explains.

“Is she ok?!" Hawks shoots up off the couch so quickly he almost knocked Fuyumi onto the floor.

He holds the receiver away from his face to whisper frantic apologies at her. She hushes him with quiet reassurances that she's fine then points at his phone to continue the call.

“She’s stable, but her injuries will take time to heal.” The voice says tactifully. “If you wish to come visit I would suggest the sooner the better. Visiting hours are until 9pm.”

“Right, yeah, I'm on my way." Hawks hangs up, not sparing a thought on manners, and turns to Fuyumi with his hand extended. “Hospital, Mustafa Municipal, now.”

Fuyumi reaches for the offered hand instantly. "H-hospital?”

"Miruko's hurt.” Hawks elaborates as he pulls her to her feet.

"What??” Fuyumi gasps. "Will she be ok? Is it critical??"

“Said she's stable.” Hawks already rushed over to the balcony door and is shimmying his coat on over his small wings while haphazardly tossing his slippers off. He toes on his boots as the crimson feathers funnel onto his back before he continues. “Visiting hours end in the next hour."

He grabs the handle and is about to pull it open when a hand lands on his shoulder and lightly tugs. “Wait, let's take a moment---"

“We don't have time!” Hawks snaps, whirling around to be face to face with her.

Fuyumi doesn't flinch at his outburst, instead just calming watching as his fully formed wings twitch impatiently in sync with his breathing.

“Tsubasa, the hospital isn't going anywhere. We’re only about fifteen minutes away from the Mustafa Municipal by car, let alone by flight. Let's take a moment to bring her something to help make her more comfortable.” Fuyumi explains in a level-headed tone. She releases his shoulder and wanders back into the apartment, not giving him the chance to argue.

Hawks throws his head back with a noisy groan but drops his hand off the door handle.

He crosses his arms and bounces on his heels, trying to work out some of his tension. There's some noise from further in the apartment, however the hero is too preoccupied with fidgeting by the door so he can dash out the second Fuyumi comes back to go investigating.

Fuyumi returns a moment later (to Hawks, it felt like hours) with a purple sweatshirt draped over her arm and a family sized bag of vegetable chips in hand. “Ok, let me get my shoes on."

“Where did you get those?”

Fuyumi nudges him out of the way so she can take her slippers off and slide on her flats. “Miruko left her hoodie here last week, and I bought some snacks I knew she liked since she drops by so often and always complains about all the junk food you eat.”

“I burn a lot of calories flying! Junk food is cheap, easy, and high in 'em.” He explains defensively and pulls his arms closer around himself.

“I know.” Fuyumi smiles softly at him. “Alright, I'm ready.”

"Thank you, let's go!” Hawks slides the door open and ushers Fuyumi out first, then follows after and slides it back shut.

He places his hands on her back and behind her knees, swings her up into his arms, and leaps into the air. His wings gather wind under them and they soar off towards the hospital. Fuyumi has to direct Hawks to the correct one while they're in the air; there are too many hospitals with the city name in them, plus he's not paying much attention to where he's going, just focusing on moving quickly. The moment they get there he drops her to her feet a little too roughly and drags her by the hand through the entrance.

It feels as if an eternity has passed by the time the two finish checking in, navigating the halls for Miruko's room, and finally knock on her door.

Hawks slowly opens it and pokes his head in. “Hey, you up?"

“Hey..." Miruko weakly mumbles from her bed.

He swings the door open the rest of the way and they walk towards the bed. They share a grimace at the state of the rabbit hero; her right leg is in a cast and hung on a sling, both arms and left leg are completely covered in bandages, and her face has a comically large band-aid slapped on her cheek.

“Geez, the fuck happened to you?" Hawks blurts out while inching closer. He rests his hands on the railing around her bed and Fuyumi moves to stand next to him.

“Villain...burning building. Got kids out, not ceiling-falling-on-you proof, though.” Miruko grits out with a lopsided smirk.

Hawks breathes a muted laugh. Even in her current predicament she can still joke, which allows relief to settle deep in his bones and to the tips of his wings.

He didn't even realize how tight his grip on the railing was until Fuyumi gently patted his hand beside her.

“We brought you your sweatshirt and a snack. Although seeing you now I'm not sure you can eat them.” Fuyumi smiles sympathetically and holds up the two offerings.

Miruko squirms and tries to sit up but ultimately fails. She groans in annoyance, though quickly sports a shit-eating grin on her bruised face. “Veggie chips? Didn't know Hawks had anything...vaguely healthy at his place.”

She pauses a bit to wince, then continues on with her teasing. “You, agh, on a diet? 'Fraid of gettin’ too fat?”

“I can't believe I was worried about you..." Hawks narrows his eyes at her. She laughs as hard as she can, which really isn't a lot.

Fuyumi places the bag and folded hoodie on the bedside table. “Would you like a drink? I can go get you a water or soda?”

Miruko smiles weakly. "Water sounds good."

Fuyumi nods, rubs Hawks’ back for a second, and then leaves the room.

Once she's gone Hawks sinks into the chair by the bed and drops his head on his hands. “Fuck, Miruko. Why didn't you call?"

“I, ugh...had it handled.”

Hawks snaps his head up to stare at her incredulously. “Obviously not, look at you!”

"'S fine. You were with 'Yumi, and I'm ok.” She hisses a little, then amends her statement. "I will be ok."

“What if---" Hawks starts but instantly shuts his mouth when Miruko glares at him harshly.

"I can handle myself. Know you're worried but, I'm a pro too. You're only...three spots higher.” Miruko spits out, making Hawks flinch. “You're such a, ah, sacrificer. Don't need to take all the burden.”

Hawks shallows the lump in his throat as waves of hot shame wash over him.

In his worry for Miruko he was short and condescending with Fuyumi; she may not be a pro herself but she still understands the pain and fear pretty well, given her family and current relationship. “You're right...I'm sorry. I didn't mean---"

“Shut up." Miruko rolls her eyes. “Don't want a speech. Sorry is good.”

He exhales deeply and smiles feebly at her, his grin growing when she smiles back.

“Um, am I interrupting something?”

The two look over at the to see Fuyumi lingering by the door frame, her hands tightly clutching a water bottle and covering it in a light dusting of frost. Miruko says “Nah" at the same time Hawks starts shaking his head frantically and waving her over.

She smiles and timidly enters the room again, passing Miruko the water only after the hero insisted she can ‘feed herself, dammit’.

Hawks tries to rise from the seat and offer it to her but Fuyumi gently pushes him back into it. “It’s ok, I'll stand.” She reassures him softly.

He pouts, then wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close against him. Fuyumi chuckles under her breath and gently cards her hand through his messy ash blond hair.

“You two’re gross." Miruko mumbles from the bed with no actual bite behind her words. Fuyumi mutters “sorry” but Hawks just sticks his tongue out at her. “Anyway! Wanna hear about my, ah, impressive heroics?”

“Eh." Hawks shrugs. Fuyumi swats his shoulder lightly with a disapproving look. “Kidding! Yes, please, oh great hero Miruko. Tell us your tale.”

The two listen to Miruko regale the events to them as animatedly as she can until a nurse comes by to inform them visiting hours are done. They say goodbye and promise to drop by again tomorrow when they have time.

Once outside Fuyumi puts her arms around Hawks’ shoulders in preparation for him to scoop her up and fly off. Instead he wraps his arms and warm wings around her and squeezes her tight.

“Oh, hello! Are you ok?" Fuyumi asks, and nuzzles closer when she feels him nods.

"I'm sorry I was such a jackass earlier." Hawks sighs. "You were worried too, and I shouldn't have snapped.”

Fuyumi hums happily. “Thank you for apologizing, but it's ok. Miruko will be fine, she said Recovery Girl agreed to come by and help fix her leg since she's such a high ranking pro. She'll be ok...everything is ok.”

The two stay holding each other right outside the hospital entrance for a few minutes. Eventually Hawks lowers his wings from around Fuyumi and pulls them back behind him, still keeping her in his arms.

“Think we can finish the movie?"

“Yes!" She exclaims. "But I'm also pretty hungry. Want to get something while we're out?”

“Aren't you afraid of me getting fat?” Hawks mumbles grumpily against her hair.

“Oh, shut up!" Fuyumi giggles loudly and squirms out of his arms. She takes his hand and they walk away from the lights pouring from the Hospital doors and windows, and towards the noisy night life and neon signs of downtown Mustafa.

[worddevdealswithml]

The Pressure Rises (Sequel to ‘French Vanilla’) Chapter 2: ’Fog’ Words: 7471 Available on AO3 Here

Summary: Following the defeat of Chat Blanc, they believed they finally shown Hawkmoth a defeat to make him stop.  They believed that they’d be able to enjoy their newfound knowledge of each other’s identity in peace.  They were wrong.  Hawkmoth is still working to obtain their Miraculous, and the pressure is only going to rise as he hones his skills with villains, and begins to decode the Grimoire.

[S]he was going to the peaceful haven of the library, where…

Where…

Where Kim and Alix were screaming review questions at each other.

Marinette shuffled her way into the room, past Nathaniel who was shaking his head as he walked out with a book entitled ‘Paris: The Grandest Sights.’  She slipped into a seat across from Alya, next to Nino.  Both of them seemed enraptured by what appeared to be some kind of academic sparring match.

“Should I be concerned?” she whispered.

“So,” she’d whispered when they’d seen each other just before school started, “I asked about that question you wanted answered.”

“Oh?” He’d said.

“It’s… I’ll explain later,” she’d said.

He’d waited.

…

At lunch, Ivan and Mylene hadn’t been able to find a seat, not even mentioning that Alya and Nino were of course sticking around.  Between the four of them, Marinette hadn’t even been able to raise the topic.

…

True, they had done an experiment in science (Much quieter than the last one- Make that louder?  Less action-packed), but they’d been in different groups; he’d actually been teamed up with Alya, which was interesting, since Marinette, no, make that ‘Ladybug’ had given him the go ahead to… Oh how did it go?  Tell her that he knew who she really was.  He was of the opinion that Ms. Mendeleev had split him and Marinette apart because she thought they distracted each other.  She wasn’t exactly wrong, but he and Alya hadn’t exactly gotten much done that day either.

…

So now, hours later, when Marinette had finally gotten twenty seconds alone with him, he was almost surprised when she said, “Like I was saying, I asked about...” and she looked around, conspiratorially.  He almost wanted to roll his eyes at the gesture, even if the secrecy she treated the topic with was one of the most adorable things he’d ever seen.  They were practically alone, and even if they hadn’t been, a display like that would only draw more attention.  “...your question,” she finished.  “According to… Our friend in the business, it’s way harder than it should be to find out that particular secret, and it’s even harder if you… If you’re not keeping the same secret.”

He nudged her, gently.  “C’mon Marinette, you’re making it sound like something illegal.  It’s more suspicious than just saying it normally.”

She shook her head.  “It’s just… It’s just… I’m, really happy that you know, but I’m still supposed to keep it a secret.”

“Of course,” he said, “I understand completely.  You don’t want people knowing our secrets.  But it wouldn’t help anybody for you to get accused of selling drugs, or something.”

She blushed.  “Well, when you put it like that…”

“So…” he said, “let me make sure I’ve got this right.  Master Fu told you that it’s just hard to find out someone’s a superhero, and it’s even harder if you aren’t one.”

“Yeah.”

“Did he say why?”

She shook her head.  “I would assume it’s some kind of Kwami thing.”

Adrien shrugged.  “Sounds about right.” He paused.  “Huh.”

“What?”

“Now that you say that, I could probably have just asked Plagg.”  They kept walking a bit longer, and then, suddenly, he shook his head.  “I still could!” he looked down.  “Hey Plagg?” he asked, “did you already know all that?”

He could feel the shift under the fabric of his shirt as Plagg slipped to the edge of it, still just out of sight.  “Well, yeah,” came the grating voice, somewhat muffled.  “I mean, if I were you, I’d have been surprised that nobody figured it out yet.”

“Real nice, Plagg.”

“Hey! I’m just being honest.  You’re pretty bad at keeping secrets.”

“Leave him alone!” came another voice from Marinette’s direction.  “It’s not like you’re any better at spotting secrets.”

“Spotting secrets?  Really?”

“That wasn’t a pun,” said Tikki, seemingly the slightest bit annoyed. “and besides, you’re one to talk.  You only figured out who Ladybug really was when she changed back right in front of you.”

Plagg went silent at that, and after a second, Adrien felt him slip back into the inside pocket of the shirt.  He felt, more than heard, the faint grumbling.

“Wow,” he said, “I’ve never seen him just stop talking like that before.”

“We’ve known each other a long time,” said Tikki, as if that was a proper explanation.

“Yeah, and I was just getting used to having her not do that every time I talk.”

“I wouldn’t do it if you didn’t keep needlessly insulting people.”

Their purposeful snail’s pace of a walk had finally lead them to their destination.

The library.  Finally, weeks after her… Ill-fated confession?  Well-fated confession?

 Fated confession.

 Anyway, she was back, and with a problem to solve simultaneously far less urgent than a crush, and yet somehow still just as tricky.

It was the end of a semester, which meant semester exams.  More to the point, it meant dealing with the frankly ridiculous matter of science.  Theoretically, it was supposed to be an ordinary, high-school level class, but Ms. Mendeleev had a reputation.  Namely, a reputation for giving out 7-page study guides where all of the listed material was on the test.  Tiny font, preparing for a test where worse than having to remember all the concepts was trying to write them all in before you ran out of time.

It was, in short, an infamous challenge, to the point that Marinette was almost worried someone would get Evilized just trying to study for it.  She should probably do something to keep people’s spirits up once the test ended.  But for now, she had to make sure that she survived.

To that end, she was going to the peaceful haven of the library, where…

Where…

Where Kim and Alix were screaming review questions at each other.

Marinette shuffled her way into the room, past Nathaniel who was shaking his head as he walked out with a book entitled ‘Paris: The Grandest Sights.’  She slipped into a seat across from Alya, next to Nino.  Both of them seemed enraptured by what appeared to be some kind of academic sparring match.

“Should I be concerned?” she whispered.

Alya looked up, surprised, “What!?  Oh, hey Marinette.  There was an incident with a textbook.  They both wanted the last copy, and somehow they’ve just ended up…” She gestured at the two of them, just as Alix shouted, “Sigma bonds!  Who figured out the periodic table!?”

“Well, like that.”

“Mendeleev! Why is water called the universal solvent!?”

“Oh.  How long have they been doing this?”

Alya shrugged.  “A while.”

“Gotta be like 2 minutes by now,” said Nino, “pretty impressive, honestly.”

“Yeah,” said Alya, “I’m pretty sure they’re remembering things purely out of spite at this point.”  After a second’s intent watching, she added, “I’d break it up, but honestly, I think this is probably better studying than I’d be doing anyway.  Plus, it’s more fun to watch.”

“Yup,” said Nino, nodding.

Marinette looked back up at Adrien, who still hadn’t sat down.  He seemed half-confused, half-pleased.

Nino followed her gaze, and chuckled.  “Guess you probably never saw them do this before,” he said.  When Adrien looked down at him, he continued, “They’ve been stuck in the same class for years now, and I’ve lost track of all the stuff that’s happened.” He looked back at the pair, and shrugged, “Not including the stuff I wasn’t there for.”

“It’s always a competition,” said Alya, “You remember how Kim kept making dares earlier in the year?”

Adrien nodded, eyes once more fixed on pair.

“Well, he’s been doing basically that for years, and nobody’s had to deal with more of it than Alix.”

“It doesn’t help that Alix gets really into it,” added Nino.

“Because the carbon atoms form a network!” shouted Alix.

“Seriously,” said Nino, as Alix cut back with her next question “I’m pretty sure they didn’t know any of this stuff five minutes ago.”  He laughed.  “I wonder what happens if you ask them something weird.”

“Did you have something in mind?” asked Alya.

Nino didn’t hesitate. “You could try asking who Ladybug really is.”

Alya snorted.  “Oh no, you’ve made it relevant to my interests, how can I resist,” she said.

“You can’t,” responded Nino.

“Because parts of it are polar, while other parts are nonpolar!” shouted back Kim.

In the bare pause of him trying to find a new question, Alya called out “What’s Ladybug’s real identity!?”

Alix swung around, and, not even seeming to see Alya, stared directly into Marinette’s eyes. Marinette couldn’t keep the eye contact, gaze flicking around the room.  Nobody else seemed to be looking at her, but it was still uniquely terrifying. “Secretly, Ladybug is-” her voice cut off, even though she seemed to be trying to say something.  “...is-” She shuddered as if about to throw up.  Then, she blinked a few times in rapid succession, and looked up at Alya.

“Nobody knows who Ladybug really is,” she said, shaking her head as if trying to rid her head of the thought, “that’s the whole point of a secret identity.”

“I win!”

“Oh, come on!” shouted Alix, “that’s not how-

“You said first person to get a question wrong or not know the answer!”

“Science questions, Kim!  That’s not a science question, and you didn’t ask it anyway!”

“Yeah, well…  Do you smell that?”

“I swear, you’re like some kind of dog; in the middle of talking and then suddenly, ‘Did you smell…’  Actually, yeah, what is that?”

Kim sniffed.  “Smells like alcohol.”

A beep, and then, “Ethanol, to be precise.”  That was Markov’s voice.  “Which is to say, drinking alcohol.”

They looked over.  “Max outfitted me with certain sensors.”

For a second every stood still, hesitantly smelling the air.  “You’re not supposed to drink in school,” said Nino.

“The quantities suggest a much larger source than would be plausibly carried by one person,” said Markov, “considering the concentration and spread.  However, it seems likely that this is not coming from a drink, but from some new villain, considering the oncoming wave of fog outside.”

The looked out the window, and stopped dead.

“Looks like studying’s gonna have to wait,” muttered Adrien.

“As usual,” said Alya.

--

Okay.  So.  Clearly, she had to get out of here.  Rena Rouge hadn’t been around for the last villain, but she was going to be there this time.

She had to get out of the room, obviously, but how was she supposed to justify it?  Maybe she could just sort of… Sort of… Edge herself back from the group, who were, to… Well, okay, Adrien seemed to be following her lead, which made sense.  Marinette seemed resolutely fixated on the cloud.

“So,” Marinette said quietly to Nino, “looks like a bad day to go driving, I guess.”

Nino laughed, the soft laugh of someone trying to ignore a bad situation.  “Yeah, guess so.”

Just a little more, and… Out.

She closed the door, taking care to avoid it making a sound.

For a second, she was going to say something about covering him while he went and transformed elsewhere, and then she remembered earlier today.  Well.  That would make things simpler.

“Alright,” she said, to Adrien, “time to transform?”

He glanced around.  “Looks clear enough.”

“You ready, Trixx?”

Trixx flitted out, with a wide grin.  “I’ve been ready for weeks!”

“Of course you have,” came a grating voice from Adrien’s direction, just as Adrien himself said, “Plagg, claws out!”

“Let’s pounce!”

…

“Time to get moving,” said Chat Noir.

“We should really figure out a synchronized transformation,” said Rena Rouge, as they jumped an inhuman distance, making for the exit.

“We’ll have to talk about that some other time,” said Chat Noir, “for now, we’ve got a villain to catch.”

--

Marinette was still making the resolute face of someone pretending not to hear something.  She’d been mid-conversation with Nino, and she could absolutely hear them talking through the door.  Nino didn’t seem to have heard them though, so she supposed the door worked well enough.

The worst part was that that was actually one of the more secure transformations she’d been around for, too, so she didn’t even want to think about all the times she’d transformed with only the hope that people weren’t looking at her.  In the park, behind a bench, for example.  Of course, it helped that even if they saw her, they wouldn’t know they needed to pay attention to her until she was already transformed, but still…

On the upside, though, now that they’d left, she had the perfect reason to leave.

“Hey,” she said, “Did Adrien tell you where he was going?”

“Nah,” said Nino.

“I’d better go find him, then,” she said.

He nodded.  “Cool.”

She walked out the door, and, head full of her own misgivings about obvious places to transform, left to find somewhere better to do it.

--

Kinda weird that all three of his best friends had pretty much immediately left.  Well, he supposed Marinette had just been following the other two, but still.

Chat Noir and Rena Rouge suddenly flew into sight, leaping across the rooftops towards the fog, which was now quite close to the school.  Then, with almost no warning, they hit the impossibly thick surface, and vanished into it without a trace.

Nino had the distinct impression Ladybug would be after them in just a moment.  He blinked.

…

Well… Presumably Marinette would find Alya and Adrien soon enough.  Hopefully they’d be back to the library soon.  In the meantime, though, it wasn’t like he’d be able to fight a villain, and he wasn’t going to do much by watching a massive cloud of fog.

He shrugged and pulled out his textbook.

He was probably going to be stuck here until the fog dispersed, so he might as well fight his way through the increasing smell of alcohol and get studying.

--

The fog was even more unnatural than she’d thought; it seemed to be shoving its way through the cracks in the door, thick billows of the stuff quickly obscuring the entry to the school.  Even as she hesitantly stepped up to open the door, she was quickly engulfed in it.  She turned to look back, but even as she looked, the view grew hazier.

She took a deep breath, trying not to choke on the now pervasive taste in the air, and opened the door.

 The fog, which seemed to have been pressing at the door, rushed in all at once, and she stepped through quickly and closed the door behind her.  It made no sense to let it spread that easily, whatever it did.

Was the school engulfed yet?  She didn’t know.  She couldn’t see all of it.  She could barely see to the rooftop.

Now, where were her friends?

--

Chat Noir was quietly regretting not waiting up for Ladybug.  It would have been easy; just get to a nearby rooftop to talk strategy, and make sure Rena Rouge was faced away from the school.  Ladybug would show up, and they’d be able to take on the villain together.

This?  This was a bad idea.

He kept almost losing track of the one hero who had come with him, and if he lost her for longer, there wouldn’t be much he could do to find her.

Right now, though, they were back to back, simply staring out into the void.  There had been nothing to suggest the villain; no appearance, no telltale marks to suggest a source.  The fog simply was.

He supposed the villain could be the fog?  Maybe they were standing inside of it.

That was an unpleasant thought, and besides, Hawkmoth wouldn’t make a villain who couldn’t…

He swatted away the…   Strange.  He could’ve sworn he’d felt something tugging on his ring, but when he’d looked down, nothing.

“Hey,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“Stay sharp.  Something weird’s going on.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” “I mean something tried to steal my ring.”

He felt her head jerk as she looked over at him. “What?”

“I don’t know.”

--

She was about to ask him what he meant, when something was there in the corner of her eye, long, almost snakelike.  Without thinking, she reached out and snagged it in her left hand.

It was… A hand?  A hand of mist, with a foggy arm stretching away behind it, but perfectly solid.  Even as she processed that she could touch it, it crushed in her hand, turning into nothing but a loose cloud.  The arm, too, dispersed into the mist.

Eerie.

“What?”  Right.  He must have felt her do something, side-effects of being back to back…

Back to back.  If someone had told her a year ago that in a year she’d be back to back with a superhero named Chat Noir, as another superhero, and that Chat Noir would be the famous model Adrien Agreste, who would also be her classmate, and practically her high-school brother-in-law...  Well, she wouldn’t have believed them.  She would have thought they were crazy.

But he’d asked a question.  “There are hands in the fog.”

“What!?”

“One hand, anyway.”

“Just floating?”

“There was an arm.”

“No body?”

“Not in sight.  It was a long arm.”

Her eyes twitched side to side, trying to catch the next one before it caught her.

“When you say long arm, you mean, what, tube of fog?”

“Yeah?”

“Figured,” she felt him move, as if he’d just caught one of his own.  “Turns to mist if you grab it?”

“Yup.”

“Yeah…  How much would you bet that if we follow the arms we find the villain?”

She felt a faint pressure on the back of her neck, and the soft shift of the pendant in her necklace.  She spun and caught the hand that had managed to sneak itself into the gap between her head and Chat Noir’s.

Sure enough, as her eyes followed the disintegration, she saw that the arm snaked off in the same general direction as the first one.

“Alright,” she said, “be ready, then.”

“Ready for…?”

“Hand!” she called, and started after the arm.

--

“Wait, you can’t-“ he began, but she was already too far away to hear.

He brought down a hand and chopped the arm out of existence.  Great.  Now, none of them were in the same place.  Rena Rouge, running off by herself, and he couldn’t follow, because…  What?  He was waiting for Ladybug, but what made it so certain that she’d come here?

He needed to…  Oh.  He rubbed his eyes.  He would’ve sworn he wasn’t tired, but his eyes were burning in this miasma, and the smell wasn’t helping either.  Still, if nothing else, he could at least arrange some kind of meeting.

He pulled out his baton and flicked it open.

For a long second, she didn’t respond, and then, her face appeared, surrounded by fog.

“Hey, we need to meet up,” he said, looking up at the street signs, “I’m at the corner of-

“I think we’ve got that just about covered,” she said, and he heard the same voice coming from behind him.

He spun around.  She was already there.

He blinked at her.

She smirked at him, and turned the compact around.  “Tracking, remember?” she said.

He stared blankly for an instant, and then said, “Of course!  Of course, I just thought… It would be more fun to try meeting up with conventional directions.  Call me a traditionalist, I guess.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Kitty,” she said, and then blinked. “Where’s Rena?”

“You tell me,” he said, nodding at her hand.

“You got split up?”

“She ran off.”

“Why?” “Chasing an arm,” he said, and then, at her confused look, “I should probably just take it from the top.”

--

Man, Marinette really was taking a long time to come back with Alya and Adrien.

Of course, the villain could have kidnapped them or something, but he was forcing himself not to dwell on that option.  Maybe they’d just gotten turned around in the mist that had finally filled up the school. However much he wanted to go looking for them, what would he be able to do that they hadn’t?  It was just like the time with Banshee; all he could do was hold out and try to stay out of trouble.

Except, muttered a bit of his mind, with Banshee, Alya had stayed behind, and saved Marinette and Adrien, and he’d run.

And what would have changed if he’d stayed behind?  It had been his idea to take everyone to the library, and they’d listened.  If he’d stayed, would they have stayed safe?

He blinked away the tears that were only mostly from the burn in the air.  And what was he supposed to do now?  His friends were out there, potentially in danger, and he was stuck in here, unable to move, and useless even if he could.

He put down the pencil he’d had out and sat up.  There was no use dwelling on it.  Never was.

He looked around the room.  Alix and Kim, (he assumed they were, by their silhouettes) for all they’d been yelling at each other earlier, had sat down at the same table.  Neither was talking, and both seemed unnerved.

Well.  If he couldn’t go looking for his other friends, he could at least look out for the ones here.

He picked up his textbook and walked over to the table.

They looked up as he approached.

He gave them his best reassuring smile and sat down.

“There’s still enough light to study by,” he said.

Alix gave him a funny look.  “You really want to study now?”

He shrugged.  “What else are we supposed to do?  It’s not like we can go fight whatever villain’s out there…  Besides, Miss Mendeleev’s never gonna move the test back for a villain.”

Kim snorted.  “Yeah.”

“Hey, Max, Markov,” he called, “you want in on this?”

--

Halfway sharing the senses of a villain as strange and nebulous as this one was a new experience for him.  He could see practically the whole city, and, at first, he’d thought that would mean he’d be guaranteed to see Ladybug and Chat Noir transform, uncovering their secret identities once and for all, but no such luck.  He’d only managed to spot them after they’d already been up and away over the rooftops.  Still, they’d have quite a time fighting when they could barely see, and, judging by the stench of the fog, were slowly growing intoxicated.

Better still, their newest member, Rena Rouge, had split off by herself, heading straight for the most dangerous place in Paris.  Right into the waiting arms of Fog.  With any luck, the Fox Miraculous at least would be his, crippling his enemies.

Hmm.  He might actually know just the person to wield it.  But first…

--

She’d realized after Chat Noir was far behind her that he wasn’t following her.  She wanted to stop then and there, but the way the arm had curled and twisted across the rooftops, she didn’t think she’d be able to trace her path back.  So the only paths available were to stay where she was, and keep pushing on.  Well.  Foxes were supposed to be hunters, right, and she was going to follow this rabbit of a villain back to its burrow.

Not, she continued as she kept following, that this was as harmless as a rabbit.  Plus, the metaphors, inside her own head, seemed a little over the top.  Call that an aesthetic failure, but it didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t about to sit around and wait for it to eventually succeed at its persistent attempts at theft.

And so, she went on, barely able to keep up with the hand that seemed always one rooftop further, until finally, the winding path led her to… An alley?  Well, she’d come this far.  It was just one, two, three jumps to the bottom.

She straightened up, and immediately knew that she was in the right place.  The air was thick, even choking, and the cloud was so thick here that she could see 20 feet, maybe.  No villain in sight, but she knew it had to be here somewhere.  She carefully looked around.  It could be outside the alley, somewhere, or it could be tiny.  Camouflaged?  Probably not invisible, or else why go to the trouble of covering things in fog.

Something in her head clicked.  A flicker in the fog.  Not a shape; a wisp of the same, but even thicker, almost solid.

She stepped lightly towards the source, and finally came close enough that she could make out a shape on the ground, small enough to hold in a hand.  It was a metallic grey, with an opening on one end, that was billowing, surprise, more fog.

This had to be the thing they had to destroy, right? 

Oh, who was she kidding? This was obviously the source of the whole cloud, for all it was tiny.  Well, for all it was a poor choice to run off alone, if she could get this back to Ladybug, it would be game over, no problem.

She reached down and… Hesitated.  It was strange that no villain had shown up, yet.  Would something happen if she touched this?  Maybe she should wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to… But then, how would they find her with no directions?

Maybe, though, she could set up a meeting.  That would be perfect.

She pulled her flute out.

She knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir could both communicate through their respective weapons, but it took her a second to figure out how hers did it.

Eventually, she hesitantly blew a note, and saw a flicker in the air.  A few notes more, and then a few more, and one decisive tweet, and an image of the same phone her phone used to say ‘call this number?’ was floating in the air, buzzing slightly.  Holographic screen?  Well, probably, it was more of a mirage, technically, but she had to admit, she’d found something she had up on the two of them, albeit with a terrible interface.

After a second, an oddly three-dimensional image of the two appeared in the air, on eye-level with her, and yet looking down, as if at the screen.  It was disconcerting, but she rallied quickly and said, “Where are you two?”

“We’re on our way,” said Ladybug.

She wanted to ask how, but the important point to make was, “I’m not seeing a villain, but I’ve got the Akumatized item.”

“What?” said Chat Noir.

“How?” asked Ladybug.

Rena grins.  “It’s right here,” she said, unthinkingly stepping towards it, “just lying on the ground!” Her hand wrapped around it, and-

--

-there was a loud hiss, and her image went white, and then cut out entirely.

They looked at each other, back at the screen, and then back in the direction they’d been heading.  Then, without a word, they began sprinting forward, Ladybug trying to switch back to the tracker as she ran.

The same fog they’d been cutting through easily before suddenly seemed much more difficult to navigate as they tried to hurry their progress to the small blip on Ladybug’s compact that was supposed to represent their friend.  Rooftops loomed out of nowhere, and more than once they stumbled as one suddenly rose up beneath them at an unexpected angle.

But they were close, close enough that by the time she had the map back up, they’d almost passed their stop.

“Here!” she called, and Chat Noir almost fell again as he tried to negate his momentum.

As he brought himself back up, he looked back up at her.  She nodded at the gap between the two buildings.

She brought up a hand.  3 fingers.  2.  1.

They jumped down.

--

“I guess you’re right,” he said, trying to get the cord of the necklace out from under her hair, “but you’d have to take it up with… With.  What was his name, again?”

He didn’t have a chance to complete the thought, as his body exploded, with a sudden impact of something in his back.

He clenched his hand around the flask, and he was back, again, on the ground.  He looked up, and saw two figures standing over the other one; one red, one black.

‘Like checkers’ he thought vaguely, before recalling what the purple guy had said.  These were the two he had to beat, right?  Didn’t sound like fun.  The red one was kneeling down over her friend, and the black one was charging him.

“CATACLYSM!”

He forced himself to focus.  He pushed up to his knees as fast as he could, but by then the… Chat Noir.  That was the name of the one who said ‘Cataclysm’ and then destroyed things.  Chat Noir was already almost on him, reaching for the flask.  He couldn’t let him take it.  He knew that much.

A snap-toss between his legs, and his last image was Chat Noir’s confused expression, and then he was gone.

And back, hand clenched on the metal surface of the flask.  Chat Noir was behind him, and probably was going to-

--

They spun at the same moment, and Chat Noir had the barest instant to see the open end of what he had to assume was a can of some kind pointed at him before his vision went white, and everything burned.  He slammed his eyes shut and covered his mouth, trying not to breathe.

Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and he forced his eyes open in time to see that same indistinct, grey figure rushing for him.  He put up an arm and blocked its clumsy strike, but still staggered.

It didn’t hurt, but it pushed, as if his own blocks weren’t as effective.

Well, it could push, so could he.

His vision was beginning to blur, now, as if his eyes had forgotten how to focus.  He made a weak grab for the thing it was holding and earned a punch to the gut for his trouble.  He grinned despite himself, even as he took a knee to the gut and fell back.

“I don’t need to win,” he slurred, “I just need to buy her time.”

And then the blinding white returned, and he realized an instant before he passed out that he’d forgotten to close his mouth.

--

As the energy jolted into her abdomen, Rena Rouge sat bolt upright, eyes wide.

“I didn’t know you could do that!” she said, quickly pulling her necklace back down where it belonged.

“Well, the time’s up,” came the faint voice from behind Ladybug, and chuckled.  It didn’t even sound evil, just a bit amused.

She spun around.  “Oh not again,” she muttered, a hard edge in her voice.  Rena leaned to the side.  The Fog-man had managed to bring down Chat Noir, and more to the point, had taken hold of his hand and was, using the hand that wasn’t holding the item, twisting at the ring.

The yo-yo had to be second nature by now, and this strike was particularly savage, causing Fog to jolt upright, even as it passed through him.  He spun, hand still working at the ring, and she thought the twists in the mutable face look almost scared.

“Now’d be a good time for a Lucky Charm,” said Rena.

“I think I just used up all of my power,” she said, shaking her head and sending another strike out, this one aimed at the villain’s hand.

“Don’t let him level the flask at you!” Rena called at her retreating back.

“Got it!” she called, and then, “Cover me!”

Well, with her mind recovered from what she could only assume was a forcible intoxication, she might just be able to make a proper illusion.

But what kind?  This was a halfway intelligent enemy, which limited her scope.  No grand illusions for this.  Surely there was something, though.

--

She was faster than him, and probably stronger, too, but her real advantage was knowing to never let it level that flask at her.  She’d bet, easily, that that was what had done in Chat Noir.  Well, he wasn’t going to get her.

One, two, knock the hand, a clip of the ankle with her foot, just enough to throw him off balance, and he was in perfect position for her to-

A twitch, and she was back ten feet, her mouth in her elbow, carefully exhaling through her nose, eyes squinted to avoid the burn.

As the choking stream finally died, she forced her eyes open again, and pushed forward again, trying not to wonder why Rena hadn’t used her Mirage yet.

There was a timing on that attack, or else he’d always be using it.  That meant she’d have to move fast or she’d get pushed back again.  Which meant…

She pushed onwards.  A feint towards his face, a slide in, hip check, hand darting out toward the flask, but he pulled back, his whole body turning away.  An awkward kick, slipping past his ghostly body, and knocking it into the air.

She leaped for the flask, only barely noticing Fog’s body disintegrate.  What she did notice was when his body formed, hand first, around the flask, back to her.

Her jump was abruptly halted by the surprisingly solid form of the villain going downwards.  She managed to extricate herself from underneath him, and barely managed to cover her face as another choking blast whited out her vision.

No, it was worse.  Her vision was unnaturally blurred, and she felt only somewhat steadier on her feet than Marinette, not that she wasn’t always Marinette, but right now, she was supposed to-  she shook off the tangent, just in time to hear a familiar melody.  She grinned.  Rena had figured out what she was doing.

--

Once or twice, before he’d been a villain, (which, he supposed, he was, now) he’d experienced the tricky sensation of seeing double, but he’d never seen triple?  Quadruple?  The point was he was suddenly dealing with a lot more Ladybug than usual, and he wasn’t sure why.

“Rena Rouge has used her Mirage,” came an echo from the fog.  It was the same voice he’d heard when he’d first transformed.  ‘If you can incapacitate her again, the fakes will vanish.’

“Well, that’s cool, man, but I don’t know exactly-“ he quickly formed again, and barely managed to slide the flask away across the pavement, “how you expect me-“ he reformed again, and began running, “to do anything with that when I’d have to get past an invisible girl with a vendetta first.”

“Invisible,” repeated the voice, clearly not understanding him.

“Y’know,” he said, his torso bursting into mist as the yo-yo around it suddenly tightened into nothing, “I can’t tell which one she is, so… invisible.”

“Then take the ring, if nothing else!”

He rolled the eyes he didn’t really have, due to being made of fog, and turned.

“Alright, man, you’re the boss,” he said, and flicked the flask underhand under what he had to assume was the real Ladybug diving at him.

He never found out if she was real, as he was already running back towards Chat Noir.

“Oh yeah ‘Take the ring,’ like that’s so easy,” he muttered.  “Almost enough to make me feel an emotion.”  He knelt down by Chat Noir, right hand poised like before, carefully avoiding touching the palm where the Cataclysm was still crackling.  The ring was past the first knuckle now, but the leather of- leather?  Material, let’s say, of the suit, gripped unnaturally hard.  One good wrench, though, would probably-

He just barely had time to register the pressure of the yo-yo’s cord at his left shoulder, and even less to register the contact it made with the hand holding the flask.

--

At this distance, she could just make out the flask bounce, and only knew that she’d managed to hit Chat Noir’s still burning hand when, in midair, the flask crumbled to dust

“Sick shot,” came the trailing voice of Fog, as his body disintegrated.

And then, didn’t disintegrate, reforming, stronger, stronger, a vicious wind whipping as the fog twisted back to him.

She could see the Akuma at this distance, struggling against the current.

A flip of the compact, and- a miss.

Another flip.

And another.

It was on the fourth try she finally caught it.

“Not too bad, all things considered,” she muttered. Considering the size of the target, the wind, the intoxication, and the fact that she was trying to do something precise immediately after a literal fight.

This wind would probably keep going and start a tornado or something similarly destructive if she didn’t do something.  Thankfully, she could…

Well, she didn’t have a lucky charm, but hopefully, she’d still be able to…

“Miraculous Ladybug!” she called out, and felt the power surge out, blinding.

When it was gone, everything was quiet again.  The day was warm and sunny, and above all, felt impossibly real.  Maybe it was the contrast with the fog, maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t half-drunk anymore.  Did it even count as being drunk if she hadn’t drunk anything?

Her earrings beeped, and she remembered what she was doing.

She reached down a hand, and pulled up Chat Noir, who seemed to be shaking off the intoxication, but not immediately.

He pushed up to his feet and nodded silently at her.

Now, she was low on time, and she couldn’t let Rena Rouge see her entering the school without raising too many questions

--

“Did you know she has healing powers?” was his first reminder that Rena existed.

“I,” he said, blinking at the suddenness.  He looked up at her.  “No, I didn’t. Shouldn’t be surprised, though, creation’s her whole thing.”

“Well, yeah, but I never realized you had more than one power!”

“Well, I suppose the upside to rushing off like that is that you find out.”

She cringed back, slightly.  “Yeah, guess I did a bit, didn’t I.”

He shrugged.  “You’re still pretty new to this.”  He looked away, “Not to mention that I’ve gotten taken down more times than I want to remember because I did something stupid.  Anyway, I need to get back to school, and you’re low on time too.  Make sure he’s okay, and then keep following, alright?”

“Make sure…” she began, and then seemed to register the civilian who’d been left behind.  “Yeah,” she said, and he set off, back towards the school.

--

Rena Rouge, left on civilian maintenance.  She wondered if it was because everyone else was out of time, or because she was the newest, or because... Well, if nothing else, she had experience talking to people she didn’t know, being halfway a reporter already.

“Hey,” she said, kneeling down beside the stubbled, blinking man.

“Hey,” he said, looking around.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.  Yeah, I just…  It was a hell of a night.  Said a few things… A lot of things I’m gonna regret.” He paused, and sighed deeply.  “That I do regret.  I’ve got a lot of people to apologize to.” He looked down at the flask in his hand, and shook his head.  “And this, I think,” he said, standing up, “is going in the garbage.”

He started walking away, seeming almost steady on his feet now.  “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll be fine, just got some stuff to do.”

And that was it.  That was making sure the civilian was alright.

Well, good that it was done, because by now, she really was running low on time, and she was a significant distance from the school.

Time to get gone.

--

“No, it’s all about ratios,” said Kim, “you don’t even have to calculate the whole thing, if you just compare the percentages of what changed, and you divide the one by the other, and boom, you’re done!”

“You realize that was entirely incomprehensible, right?” said Alix

“Assuming I understand him, though, he is entirely correct,” said Max.

Nino leaned back in his chair, a gentle smile on his face.  All things considered, that had been the most productive villain attack he’d ever had, and, if he had to guess, his other friends would probably be returning sooner rather-

“Oh, hey Marinette!” he called, as she awkwardly shuffled through the door, “did you manage to find Adrien and Alya?”

“Ah, no,” she called back, “I just, um, got caught up in the fog, and figured I’d be better off getting out of the halls.  Never know if a villain’s going to come to the school.”

“Y’know, normally, I’d call you paranoid,” said Alix, “but there have been a lot of villains that targeted the school.”

“Correct,” said Max.  “I had Markov check the numbers.  By area, this school has the highest density of Akuma attacks, just barely outpacing the Agreste Manor.  Le Grand Paris, in terms of horizontal area, is a close contender, simply because it’s so much taller than it is wide, but it falls flat when you consider how many floors it has.”

“You seriously go around calculating this stuff?”

He shrugged.  “It’s proven to be relaxing.”

“It doesn’t worry you that you’re constantly in the Akuma hotbed?”

“At least I know about it.”

“Adrien!” called Nino, “You had us worried there, man!  Now we’re just waiting on Alya.”

“I think she’s on her way,” he said, with a friendly wave as he walked over.

“Sweet.  Too bad you guys missed the study session.”

“Missed it?”

“Yeah, we did it while you guys were out.”

“During the attack?”

“I mean… Yeah, what else were we supposed to do?”

Adrien stopped.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  I just hope you can split me off some of that hard-earned study knowledge.”

Nino grinned.  “Can do.”

And there, finally, was Alya, rushing in, almost out of breath.

“Easy, babe, we’re all fine!”

She looked up, hair a gorgeous mess, and smiled.  He never got tired of that smile.

“Good to hear,” she said.

“Alright,” he said to the three he’d been sitting with.  “Attack’s over, everyone’s accounted for, great work team, right?”

“Right!” said Kim.

“Now,” he continued, “I’ve just got to teach these three academic layabouts some science.”

Alya had her lips pursed as she looked at him, trying her best to look annoyed, but he could still see the smile peeking through.

--

They sat in their rooms.

This certainly qualified as a ‘Kwami Thing,’ which he could probably ask Plagg about.

“I have some questions,” he said, pulling out a wedge of cheese.

“I’m listening.”

 “How did I do that,” she asked. “I know that when Switch attacked, we were in the wrong bodies, with the wrong tools, so having our powers changed made sense, but this was just, me, normal me- not normal, I mean, but normal Ladybug.”

Tikki laughed.  “Marinette, you’ve only just begun to find out what you’re capable of!  Your Lucky Charm is powerful, but it’s not even the most common ability I’ve seen people learn!  There are so many others!”

 “But you’re the one who told me how to use Cataclysm!” he said, “did Cataclysm do something different when other Chat Noir’s used it? Like it did when Silencer attacked?”

“What? No, that’d be stupid,” said Plagg, through a mouthful of cheese.  “It’s just a feeling you get.  Cataclysm’s easy enough for someone as young as you are, if you’re careful with it.  You didn’t seem like you were going to go around blowing stuff up for no reason.  Now, if I’d thought you were too unstable for it, I might have told you about Frenzy, or something a bit less lethal.”

 “Renewal?  Is that what it’s called?”

“Of course!  I’d have told you sooner, but it can be very difficult for the wielder of a Miraculous to keep more than one ability in their mind at once, so I wanted to wait until you’d discovered it by yourself.”

 “Does Master Fu know about these?”

“Eh, probably.  He knows about a lot of stuff, but I think he likes leaving this side of things up to us.  Honestly, that’s good, since he’s only ever used the Turtle Miraculous.  Not easy to train someone with a Miraculous you haven’t used, believe me.  Whole different feeling, and I’ve seen people forget about that way too often.”

 “Then, it’s not just me.  Chat Noir has them too, and Rena Rouge?”

“There are variations on every Miraculous, but some are more versatile than others.  The Ladybug and Cat Miraculous’ are among the most versatile.  Rena Rouge has a few options, but nothing quite like the two of you.”

“Marinette?  Are you talking to someone up there?”

“Just myself!” she called back, lying almost more smoothly than she felt comfortable with.

“Alright, honey.  Dinner’s almost ready, okay?”

 “And what do you want to bet Gabey isn’t going to be there tonight.”

“He might be,” Adrien responded, giving Plagg a sidelong look for the vitriol with which he’d said the nickname.

“Alright, Mister Optimism,” cut back Plagg, and sighed.  “One of these days, you’re going to figure out how he operates.”

[thenerdytomboynewb96]

Samantha Allan Park Ch. #41

Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to “TENT Out of the Shadows” DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC’s and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. Thank you.

Chapter #41

Earlier around 10:40

Sam wasn’t sure which of the brothers she should talk to first. As she was making her way back into the lair, she heard Leo and Raph’s voices coming from the hallway that lead to Mikey and Raph’s rooms, so she decided she would go check up on Donnie.

She walked over towards the lab and knocked on the closed door. Sam heard footsteps and seconds later Donatello had opened the door. He gave her a small smile and nodded his head backwards, signaling for her to come in. Sam had sat on an empty space on one of the work tables, and once Donnie had shut the door, he took a seat in his desk chair. “Did things go okay with your brother?” he asked gently. Sam happily nodded. “Overall yeah. I told him that I should have been more respectful and that I just didn’t want to stress him out even more, and we had a long talk about that and how I come first. And then he talked about how it will scare the shit out of him but that he actually will allow me to go on missions with you guys without updates.” Donnie’s eyes went wide. “Really? What changed?” he asked as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “He said he wasn’t happy with how I handled things, but he understood why I snuck around the rules and still went with you guys anyway. He’s glad I was able to help keep you all safe and that you guys protected me as well, and that he believes I can help you guys keep the city safe.” Donnie chuckled. “Reminds me of when Sensei finally decided to let us patrol the city at nights on our own. He was terrified to let us go, but he knew people would need us as much as he did.” Sam snapped her fingers and pointed at Donnie. “Dude, that’s exactly what Jay was talking to me about. He told me he wanted me to help those in need and that that meant I wouldn’t always be able to wait for him to give me an official okay to take action.” Sam waited for a reply from her friend, but all he did was lean back in his chair and nervously fold his hands in his lap. Sam pursed her lips and displayed a gloomy look. “You don’t want me on missions with you now, do you?” she asked. His head quickly snapped up as he looked at her with an irked expression. “Okay, don’t do that.” “Do what?” Sam asked. “Don’t act like I don’t want you on missions. Of course I want you to join us on missions.” “Then what’s with your body language dude?” Sam asked, slightly playful, slightly serious in the tone she used. “Just…I should have been more careful. Neither of us knew what your limits were and yet I had you completing crazy difficult stunts to help us. I should have known better. Maybe Leo was right, maybe I was taking advantage of you.” “NOPE! Wrong answer” Sam replied rather loudly. Donnie’s face scrunched up. “This isn’t a game Sam.” “I never said it was, I’m just saying that this is one of the few times that you’re wrong.” Donnie sat there quietly, waiting for the girl to explain herself. “Donnie, you’re literally the smartest person I know. That means that any decision you made out there was one that could drastically change the outcome for the rest of the mission, meaning that if you lead me to do anything out there, then that means it was the last resort decision and that there was absolutely no other solutions to keep everyone alive and safe.” “But…what if there were other solutions? What if there were other ways to solve the problems we faced and instead I just relied on you because I knew your powers could help?” Donnie began to ask rather frantically. Sam paused for a few seconds before another smile formed on her face. “Alright Mr. photographic memory. Close your eyes and imagine we’re on the place as it’s about to crash. Look at everything around you and try to come up with a different solution that still keeps us safe, but doesn’t involve me in any way. Tell me what you can come up with.”

Donnie closed his eyes and pictured everything around him. He pictured everything from the cock pit (or at least everything that was left of the cock pit), he pictured the layout from what remained throughout the rest of the plane, he pictured the outside layout of the plane, and he pictured all the gear that he and his team had packed. He sat there for what seemed like years as he tried to figure out any other solution that could have been used that would have prevented Sam from putting her life at risk. Finally, he opened up his eyes and sighed. “I can’t think of anything. Not one damn thing that we could have done to keep you safe” he said as he groggily flopped back against his chair and aimed his gaze up at the ceiling, annoyed that there was nothing he could have done to better protect his sister and his friend. “But don’t you get it?!” Sam said with excitement, “that means you guys needed me! It means that you all would have been in danger if I wasn’t there. Don’t you see that as a sign that we all made the right choice in letting me join you on the mission?” Donnie paused as he looked forward and saw how excited Sam was that she was able to help protect him and his brothers. “You sure like playing the hero role, don’t you?” he smirked. Sam chuckled. “Playfully, hell yeah I want to be the badass hero. Seriously, I just want to know you guys are safe” she said honestly. Donnie sighed. “Still, things need to change if you’re going to continue joining us on missions like that. Luckily we all made it out okay, but if we had been facing a different villain then things might not have ended quite the same way that they did.” Now it was Sam who displayed a nervous expression as she spoke. “I know, and I’m sorry for scaring you all like that.” “Hey,” Donnie called out, to which Sam looked up at him, “you didn’t understand your powers just yet, and neither did we. It wasn’t your fault. The important thing is that you made it out okay and that you’re here with us now.” Sam smiled at the turtle in front of her. “Thanks D. And don’t worry, now that I better understand my powers, that means we can conduct better tests with more informative results.” “Oh I’m definitely going to enjoy that” he replied with an even wider smile, excited for all the complicated tests he and Sam would eventually set up in order to truly test her abilities.

Just then, the lab door creaked open as two sets of eyes slowly and gradually peeked in. “Hey, this a bad time?” Leo asked. Donnie shook his head and waved for his two brothers to enter the room. “You’re both here, perfect” Raph said. “Sarcasm or serious?” Sam questioned playfully. Raph squinted his eyes at her and replied with “serious.” “What’s up?” Donnie asked as he continued to sit in his chair. Raph leaned back against the table where Sam was sitting, and Leo had sat down on a nearby swivel chair that was almost right next to Donnie. “We just wanted to check up on you, and to apologize for how we treated you” Leo stated calmly. “To start, I never should have made you keep secrets from the others. I thought that hiding them from the surface-” “Would prevent them from losing all hope of actually getting to live lives where they could interact with humans and live out their dreams?” Donnie questioned as he cut Leo off. Leo scoffed. “That’s right, you two were eavesdropping on Sam and me” Leo said as he bit his lip. “I knew it! Ohhhhhh I knew it!” Sam said as she pointed back and forth between Raph and Donnie, and then playfully shoving Raph who was closest to where she was sitting. “ANYWAY,” Leo continued, “I should have let you and the others join in on the decision of what to do with the ooze, and it wasn’t fair turning you against the other two like that.” Donnie smiled and nudged his brother. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t have followed along if I didn’t have some sense as to your intentions. I know you’re strict, but I know you’re hearts always in the right place, especially when it comes to all of us.” He then turned his head towards Raph. “I’m sorry I held information from you though” Donnie said, disheartened. Raph shot him a small smile. “It’s all good D, you were just following orders. Knowing you, you were doing what you thought was best for the rest of us.” Leo shot both brother’s a small but genuine grin. Donnie was displaying the same expression at first, but then his slowly switched to an uneasy look. Donnie was fidgeting with his fingers, as though silently cracking them, as he began to speak. “I’m sorry to, about what happened with the device at the river. I just, I made sure, well I thought Sam was safe and then I saw the device and I just went for it. I didn’t try to signal anything to you and that’s unlike me” he said solemnly. Leo leaned back in his chair as he shook his head. “No, that’s exactly like you. You analyze a situation and in seconds you react. Thinking like that could save one of us. Looking around to signal someone could be the split second move that leads to one of us getting killed one day. The fact that you were able to pinpoint the device and maneuver towards it within seconds from so far away is actually impressive, well impressive for someone with normal intelligence. That’s just typical Donnie to all of us” he said with a smirk, which gained a low laugh from the adjacent turtle. “Unfortunately,” Leo continued, “I just happened to find an alternate route at the exact same time you found yours. Sadly it just happens that way sometimes. It doesn’t help that I just jump right into action and completely forget about the rest of you though” Leo said as he looked away from his brother and instead directed his attention to the computer screens beside him. Donnie smirked as he simultaneously shot his oldest brother a questioning look. “Do you realize how hypocritical that statement was?” he asked, slightly teasing his brother. Leo, confused, looked back at Donnie with scrunched features. “What?” “You just told me that it was a good thing that I was able to react so quickly and that one day it could save one of our lives, yet you just downed yourself for doing the same thing.” Leo nodded his head. “True, but in my case I didn’t pay attention to where any of you were, I just acted.” Donnie pursed his head and nodded, then suddenly his eyes widened as he came to a conclusion. “Alright, sounds like the only way we can learn from this is to do a quick 360 before we officially act. That way we double check and see who needs help, and if everyone is good then just as fast we act and do what we need to do. Deal?” A true and wide smile formed on Leo’s face as he held his fist outward. “Deal” he replied while Donnie completed the fist bump.

“Huh, well what do you know?” Sam stated, “Leo just stated that what Donnie did proved that he has skills, quick reactions skill that are an extremely good thing. Isn’t that funny Raph?” Sam said rather loudly (on purpose of course) as she then punched Raph in the shoulder (playfully, but still purposefully rough enough to make him wince). Of course, Raph knew what she was getting at. He tried his best to turn towards her with a somewhat calm expression (and without holding onto his throbbing shoulder) as he spoke. “I was going to let them finish talking before I did SAM” Raph said, attempting to whisper, but more so grunting and making his voice louder than he intended to. “Well I’m done” Leo said bluntly, lowly raising his hands up in the air. “Perfect” Raph grunted. He then looked over towards his younger brother and sighed. “Don, you know I’m an ass right?” “I know that very well” Donnie chuckled. “So, you know I say shit I don’t mean because I’m an ass, right?” “Sounds like a personal problem” Donnie said, nodding his head as though this had become a therapy session and he was the therapist. Raph couldn’t help but smile at his brother’s reaction. “I never should have said what I did on the plane. You’ve obviously got skills. Hell, you’ve used them to kick my ass more times than I’d like to admit” he said, gritting his teeth and rubbing the back of his head as he remembered past trainings where he had lost to his brother. Donnie rapidly pat his hands on his knees. “Yes! Why didn’t I think of those times! I always think of good comebacks AFTER the fight. I’m that guy” he pouted as he slumped back into his chair.

Now that Raph could tell that Donnie was feeling better, he then turned towards Sam, knowing that he needed to apologize to her as well. “I shouldn’t have acted the way I did to you either” he said as he looked up at her for a quick second and then directed his gaze towards the floor seconds later. Sam tilted her head in confusion. “What are you talking about?” “The way he talked to you when your powers took over,” Leo cut in, “and I’m sorry to.” “We both treated you like crap, and it wasn’t even your fault” Raph added. Sam fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke. “Yeah, but you guys didn’t know that” she replied glumly. “Doesn’t mean it was okay for us to talk to you like that though” Raph said roughly as he looked back up at her. His angry tone wasn’t aimed at her, but rather at himself as he regretted the way he had spoken to her within the past so many hours since the incident. A small grin appeared on Sam’s face as she looked back and forth between the oldest two. “But that’s just how you both show you care. Yeah your tones can sound dark, but that’s how pissed you guys were that I could have gotten seriously hurt. I don’t blame you. And sadly I really could have damaged my future. I was lucky things panned out the way they did, but things could have gone wrong, and fast. I should have stayed where Donnie left me. I could have helped without literally jumping into the fight.” “Well, let’s look at the bright side,” Leo said, “maybe all this was supposed to happen the way it did. Because of your reaction, we learned more about your powers. This means that we can incorporate this information into your future trainings, since I already know you two are planning how you can further test this newly learned information out” Leo chuckled as he looked back and forth between the two nerds in the room. Sam’s grin was now a beaming smiled as she continued her apology. “Still, no matter where I am, I’ll try to better control myself now that I know what sets my powers off, I promise.” “It might be awhile before you join us on missions though” Donnie said. Sam’s expression became grim. “What? Why?” “Because I’m not letting you go back out there with us if there’s a chance your powers could take over like they did this time, or if you’re going to keep having blackouts, like, what was it 7 times? You’re not joining us again until we thoroughly test your abilities. Leo was right, I was asking you to do things that could have put your life in danger” Donnie said as he tightly crossed his arms, pained by the thought of losing his sister because of his commands during the mission. “But even Jay said I could join you guys from now on” Sam said in a rather demanding tone.

All heads snapped towards her and eyes were wide as they glued themselves towards staring at hers. “Jay? As in your brother who was shouting at you earlier for not updating you on where you were?” Raph asked. “The brother that was furious that you left the country and could have gotten seriously injured during the mission?” Leo asked. “The brother who was fuming because of how many secrets you were keeping from him?” Donnie asked. “YESSSSSAAAA!” Sam groaned. “I talked to him and he said he understood why I acted without waiting for his response, and he understood that I helped save all your butts! Which none of you can deny that” she said, strictly pointing at each one of the turtles in the room. Leo stood up from his chair. “I’m going to go talk to him, just to make sure we’re all on the same page.” Raph and Donnie nodded their heads in approval, which just made Sam roll her eyes. She then jumped down from the table and also began to walk towards the door. Leo looked at her and rose a brow, questioning her as he asked “what? Are you going to intervene and change your story before I talk to him?” Sam squinted her eyes, taken aback by the comment. “No, I’m going to go talk to your younger brother.” She then turned back towards the middle brothers. “You guys coming?” Donnie shrugged. “I think Mikey’s the only one I never had any beef with this whole time, so I’m just gonna head to bed and end the day on a good note.” Raph smirked. “Leo and I already talked to him, so he’s all yours” he said as he used his arms to guide her towards the exit as though she was a celebrity on the red carpet. “Psh, whatever” she said as she playfully pushed by him. “Night guys!”

With that, Leo headed towards the med wing to talk to Jay, Sam headed towards Mikey’s room, and the remaining two brother’s headed towards their bedrooms to call it a day.

In Michelangelo’s bedroom

Sam knocked on the door and then turned the handle. She then paused before ever so slowly cracking the door open. “May I come in?” Once Mikey heard her voice, his head shot up and his comic was sent flying across the room. Oddly, this was his way of getting rid of all distractions so that he could focus on his friend. Sam took that as a yes and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. “Hey, how was the talk with your brother?” he asked. Sam grinned. “It went well, he said I could join you guys on missions without updating him.” Mikey stood there, frozen. His jaw had dropped slightly from the shock of what he had just heard. Sam turned away, visibly upset. “No no no it’s not that I don’t believe you!” Mikey rushed to say, “it’s just, I’m surprised he would say that so quickly. I mean, wasn’t he as scared as we were? He heard about everything that happened…” “Yeah, and he also admitted that I had saved each of you multiple times during the mission. I mean jeez without me then the entire plane would have fallen out of the sky! All of you would be gone, and I helped out in more ways than just that. Jay knows that I can help people the same way you four can” she said sternly. “I know that” Mikey replied in a similar manner, “but just, you don’t get it Sam” he said as he shook his head. He then turned away, his hands behind his head, as he walked back towards his bed and flopped onto his back. “Then explain to me what I don’t understand” Sam persisted as she marched over and stood next to the bed. “What, do you just not want me on missions now? Is that why you were really shocked?” “What?!” he said as he shot up and sat upright. “Makes sense, you assumed I wouldn’t be joining you anymore and now you’re shocked that I was given an okay.” “I’m shocked because you going on missions again means I could have to see you like that again.” “See me like what?” “Dead Sam!”

Sam paused. She opened her mouth as to say something, but then quickly closed it. She didn’t know how to respond to that, and she was afraid to. Obviously she had hurt her friend more than she had realized. “I mean, I’m the one that vouched for you and encouraged the others to let you train with us and join us on missions back when we first met. You really think I don’t want you to go with us?” “I-” “Well you did, you said it” Mikey cut her off. “…what went through your mind when you saw me in the river?” Sam asked softly, realizing that her best friend needed to speak of this or else it would ride on his shoulder for a long while. She sat down on the bed near where his legs were spread out so that she could face him as they talked. Mikey sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it. It was just, dark. Like I completely stopped moving and Raph basically almost ran me over.” “Like when you were watching the Halloween parade in the sewers?” she asked, remembering how Raph had almost collided with Michelangelo in the sewers just days beforehand. “Exactly like that! Like, just every bad vibe I could ever feel just hit me then and I just…well I want to say that I began to fear for the worst, but I couldn’t even think. All my thoughts were just gone.” “So that’s why you didn’t defend me when Jay grounded me” Sam said, slowly nodding her head. He turned his head to face her. The look in his eyes alone signaled how sorrowful he felt. “You and me, we’re a team, you know that. 99% of the time I would always defend you even if you messed up. That’s how we both are towards each other, more so you protecting me though” he said with a chuckle, “but, seeing you that way was different. This wasn’t a prank gone wrong, or you were out late in a not great area, you literally could have died. I faced that once, I didn’t think I’d have to see it again like that” he said as he turned his face away from her. The white of Sam’s skin became paler than usual. With everything that had been going on she had completely forgotten that all her family had already seen her die once. The night they all took Shredder down, she had died when trying to save Mikey, and the only reason she was alive now was because of the mutagen running through her veins. “Mikey, I’m…I’m…” she said, her voice getting softer and softer as the emotions began building up inside her. Mikey turned his head, and as he looked at her he realized now how he was feeling. In appreciation for her understanding, he did his best to keep her calm. He placed his hand on her shoulder. Sam stopped stuttering and looked up at him as he spoke. “It’s okay,” he said with a typical Mikey smile, “you’re here now and that’s all that matters. And I’m sorry for being cold to you earlier and yelling at you and all and encouraging Jay to ground you. It was just hard for me to see all that again, okay? If we need you on a mission then I’m fine if you join us, we all just really need to work some things out though so that none of us have to experience that again.” Sam reached her arm across and grabbed onto his hand. “Donnie and I are going to continue to test and study my abilities so that we can all understand what I can and can’t do, and so we can know what my limits are.” She then titled her head so that her check lay against Mikey’s hand. “Missions will get better and I’ll make safer decisions, I promise.” Mikey smiled at her. “We all have something to work on, and we’re all going to get better. We’re a team, and we’re a family. We all have something to work on and that’s going to make the group stronger. That’s my promise.” The two smiled at the others words, but then Mikey’s smile began to fade. “So, are we good then?” he asked cautiously. Sam tilted her head forward and did her best to display an evil expression (though the turtle in front of her could see right through her act). “No, things will never be the same” she said viciously, or at least tried to. Mikey just waved this expression away. “Psh, girl you love me.” Sam rolled her eyes. “sigh well then I guess that means we’re okay.” By the time the smile appeared on her face, Michelangelo was already pulling her into his side and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Thank god, I thought you were going to hate me forever for taking your brothers side” “Oh there is still a price to pay” she said with a wicked smile.

That fast, Sam had grabbed a Nerf gun that was lying on the floor next to the bed and was shooting at her target. Of course, Mikey knew where his stash was under his bed and was quickly able to retaliate. This went on for about 45 minutes, and by 1a.m. the two had crashed on the bed and were sound asleep, as was everyone else throughout the lair. Each of them was grateful that after everything they had been through, the night was able to end on a good note.

[whitebear-ofthe-watertribe]

That Which Holds Us - Chapter 1

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug (Sequel to A Brand New Dawn)

Pairing(s): Adrien / Marinette, Nino / Alya

Summary: It’s been several months since Ladybug and Chat Noir discovered their true identities. Now that they aren’t trapped by secrets, they can finally be their full selves around each other and have never been closer. Marinette is going into her final year at university, Adrien is exploring new classes and passions, and their friends Alya and Nino seem to be moving towards a happy future together. It all feels like things couldn’t be better. 

But of course, nothing in life is quite so perfect. 

When Adrien starts having vivid nightmares and visions about his mother, old questions begin to resurface. Will he be able to find the answers, or will these ghosts from the past tear apart the heroes of Paris for good?

Reminder, you can also read / follow this fic at AO3 here, and FF.net here.

Word Count: 6,817

Enjoy!!!

The late August sun beat down upon Paris from a brilliant, cloudless sky. The city was full of bustling noise as its inhabitants tried to take advantage of the last days of Summer. Cars drove with the windows rolled down, blasting upbeat music as they passed. Hordes of people explored the many kiosks, strolled along the river banks, and flew kites in the refreshing breeze that blew through the parks and along the busy streets. 

Alya sat perched at a small round patio table of an open-front bistro just off campus. The computer before her displayed the latest article she’d been commissioned to write, and her overflowing notebook and third coffee of the day rested beside it. She tapped her pen on the paper impatiently, trying and failing to find the right words to fill her introduction. Letting out a sigh, she set the pen down and reached up to nudge her glasses onto her forehead. Pressing her fingers against her eyelids, she enjoyed the cool wind that played across the back of her neck, momentarily dispelling the day’s heat.

As she sat there, Alya began taking in some of the chatter of the people surrounding her. A couple of women walking along the sidewalk were gabbing about a dinner party they were planning. A little girl was asking her uncle questions at a neighboring table as he patiently tried to teach her the rules of chess; Alya smiled at the girl’s names for each of the pieces, including “Princess Pony” and calling the pawns “prunes.”

An irritated voice caught Alya’s attention. She curiously peeked through her fingers to see a man around her own age standing in line for the bistro’s counter, clearly in a heated phone discussion.

“No, Mother… Mother I’m fine… No, I’m not moving back home. School’s starting and… Yes, I understand you’re worried, but as I told you last week, I like my job. I mean I’m honestly used to the Akumas at this point! Everyone is!”

‘Ah,’ thought Alya, suddenly realizing what was going on. 

It was a familiar discussion that she’d heard a dozen times in recent months. A number of people she went to school with had already left the city in favor of transferring to places where the threat of supervillain attack was a bit less common.

For the people of Paris who’d lived with it for nearly a decade, the Akuma attacks had sort of become standard news. Sure, there were still plenty of people who experienced a thrill of fear every time they heard some bangs and explosions in the distance. However, most folks planned the risk of attack into their daily schedule, much like leaving their house early to account for rush hour traffic. And when friends or family called to check in, it was not unusual for them to insist their loved ones move out of the city at once. Or, at the very least, ask for updates about the escapades of their favorite superheroes and villains.

Alya had always considered herself pretty good at keeping a cool head during attacks; after all, she’d been directly involved in enough of them. She’d had a deep love for superheroes ever since she was little, and the excitement she got from running straight into the heart of battles always overshadowed any fears she might’ve had.

It wasn’t really until Puppet Master’s attack in January – when Marinette had been so badly injured – that she finally started to see these attacks as truly dangerous. And it seemed as though the rest of the city was of the same mind. 

Ever since that incident, Paris had been rallying behind their heroes with a new intensity she’d never seen before. To learn that their beloved heroes were not perfectly infallible – that they couldn’t always set everything back to normal after every attack – made them all realize that there was actual risk involved.

There had even been a lot of anger towards the city’s law enforcement and politicians for not doing more to bring this villain to justice. A new chief of police had been appointed, replacing the father of Alya’s old schoolmate, Sabrina Raincomprix. From what she could tell, this new guy – Chief Thomas Benoit – had actually been extremely helpful to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Multiple times, he’d done an amazing job of getting civilians to safety so that the heroes could focus on the Akumas. He’d even contacted Alya about her old Ladyblog, asking her for permission to use it as a civilian hotline and resource in tracking down Hawkmoth himself. The Ladyblog was more popular than it had been in years as people tried to take matters into their own hands and bring the villain to justice.

A soft ding from her computer’s speakers brought Alya out of her contemplation. 

Pulling her hands away from her face and repositioning her glasses, she grimaced as she shifted to unstick her thighs from the wooden seat. As much as she loved Summer, she was really ready for some cool Autumn weather. The notification in the corner of her screen told her that Adrien had just sent her a large folder. Clicking on it, her mouth drew into a smile when she saw the page full of picture thumbnails from last week’s camping trip.

Adrien had spent a week and a half earlier that Summer in the American Rocky Mountains, participating in a photo campaign for the prAna company. He’d joined a small team that climbed a handful of the 14ers closest to the city of Denver. When he returned home, he’d brought a huge assortment of backpacking gear for himself and Marinette, and enthusiastically insisted that the four of them go out for a camping weekend before school started up.

Nino and Alya were no strangers to hiking adventures. They both enjoyed traveling regularly for their jobs, and there was no better way to see a new place than to walk it. 

By the end of that weekend, though, it was clear that Marinette was a city girl through and through. While she kept a good face about sleeping in tents, carrying heavy loads, and doing business in the woods, all of them could see how relieved she was to be back in urban civilization.

As Alya clicked through the pictures, her smile grew. 

Adrien had done amazing work photographing their trip, capturing stunning shots of the wilderness and wildlife they’d encountered, sprinkled with plenty of excellent shots of the four of them. Of course, no small number of pictures featured Marinette as their focus. 

Alya snorted affectionately as she clicked through several in a row of Marinette blushing furiously and laughing as she tried to snatch Adrien’s camera away from him.

Her two friends had become next to inseparable in the past months. Alya had the sneaking suspicion that the near-death incident, as horrible as it was, had caused Marinette to finally break out of her comfort zone and take the next step in her relationship with Adrien. 

‘Well, at least one good thing came of that horrible time,’ Alya thought. 

She and Nino were beyond thrilled about this turn of events; it had been something they’d all be waiting for ever since their years in middle school.

“And speaking of waiting…” Alya muttered under her breath as her eyes flicked down to the clock on her computer screen. 

Her friends should have joined her at the restaurant for lunch a while ago, and now they were all officially late. 

Frowning slightly, Alya reached under her chair to grab the phone from her purse, preparing to message Nino. She was halfway done with her text when a flash of movement outside the patio gate caught her eye. 

Alya looked up to find Nino and Adrien hurrying up the path between tables, looking gently frazzled.

“It’s about time!” Alya called, waving them over. “What’s going on with you two? You look like you’ve just seen –”

“An Akuma?” Nino offered, coming over to her as Adrien scanned the patio. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Really?” Alya raised her eyebrows, quickly closing her computer and feeling more awake now than she had from any of her three coffees.

“An attack just started a couple blocks down,” Adrien confirmed. “Where’s Marinette?”

“She hasn’t shown up yet,” Alya replied, shoving her stuff into her bag and leaving payment for her coffee on the table.

Adrien craned his neck to peer up and down the street when they got to the sidewalk. 

Alya could hear distant screams and what sounded like a man shouting. She couldn’t quite make his words out.

“I should go look for her,” Adrien said, turning to face Alya and Nino.

Nino smirked at him, nodding in agreement. 

“Give us a call when you find her, kay?”

Alya quickly pulled out her phone, opening up her camera and turning on the spot to try and see where exactly the battle was taking place. The commotion sounded like it was getting closer.

“We’ll meet up here when all of this is over, kay?” Adrien called, starting to head off down the street in the opposite direction of the noise.

Nino nodded. “See you in a –”

“LOOK OUT!”

There was a loud humming noise and a flash of bright red. 

Suddenly, Alya’s breath was knocked out of her. A sharp pain in her shoulder told her that she’d just been knocked against the restaurant’s stone siding. 

Nino had his arms wrapped protectively around her. 

Looking over his shoulder, Alya saw Adrien was nowhere to be found. She caught a glimpse of Ladybug swinging around the corner at the end of the block. It looked like she was carrying someone, but before Alya could get a better look, she heard a strained grunt come from Nino. Quickly she pushed him off her and placed her hands on his cheeks to see where he was injured.

“Babe! Are you ok–” 

The words died on her tongue as she took a better look at him. It was as if time had been set on fast-forward; where one moment Nino stood there looking perfectly ordinary, the next his hair had turned grey, and he’d grown a bushy beard to match. Wrinkles framed his amber eyes as he looked back at her, worry streaking across his face when he saw her surprise.

“What? What’s happened?!” he exclaimed, his voice coming out a little deeper and hoarser than before.

“Well, I guess this means we know what the Akuma’s powers are.” 

Alya ran her fingers through his silver hair, and Nino frowned at her.

“What are you talking – ” Nino stopped dead, staring at his reflection in the window beside her. He let out a yelp as his hands flew to his face. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Hun, calm down. You look fine!” 

Alya fought hard against the laugh that threatened to burst out, pressing a hand to her lips as she watched her boyfriend closely inspect his new, sagely features.

“I look like my grandfather.”

“Yes,” Alya snorted, unlocking her phone and opening the camera once again as she hurried down the street towards the sounds of the battle. “Well, haven’t you always said that you wanted to grow up to be as suave as him?”

“I mean, I expected it to happen over the course of decades, not seconds!” replied Nino irritably as he finally turned away from his reflection to hurry after her.

“Don’t worry babe, you still rock a beard better than anyone!” Alya shot over her shoulder. “Oh, by the way…” 

She spun on her heel and raised her phone up to him. When the sounds of the camera shutter went off, Nino scowled.

“Why?” he grumbled.

“For the Ladyblog!” Alya said brightly, turning around to continue running. “And for your Mom. You know she’s gonna get a huge kick out of this!”

*******

Adrien felt a great lurching in his stomach, and opened his eyes to find himself soaring through the air. Looking around, he discovered that he’d been flung over Ladybug’s shoulder, and she had an arm wrapped securely around his waist. She used her yo-yo to swing around a building’s corner and up onto the rooftops of a block of department stores. 

He smiled affectionately at the back of her head, realizing that she’d just saved him from an Akuma’s attack so that he could be sure to fight by her side.

“Sorry to snatch you up like that!” Ladybug called to him. “But we’ve got a monster to stop!”

Coming to a halt, Ladybug made to set him down, but Adrien grinned devilishly and wrapped his arms around her neck so that she had no choice but to hold him up, one hand under his knees, the other supporting his shoulders. 

He beamed up at her, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Adrien, what are you –”

“Wooow, Ladybug!” Adrien gushed, fluttering his eyes at her. “You saved me! You’re so cool and strong…”

“Oh for the love of –” Ladybug rolled her eyes and let her arms drop down.

With a whoomph, Adrien sprawled at her feet, flinching to keep his exposed skin from touching the roof’s hot tiles. He let out a bark of laughter as he gazed up at her.

“Wait, nooo!” He reached out to her playfully. “You’re my hero, Ladybug! You’re so pretty and brave and awesome and –”

“And ready to smack you if you keep this up,” Ladybug cut him off, but he could hear the amusement in her voice as she stepped over him and out of his reach. Her cheeks had taken on a shade of red that had nothing to do with the sunburn she’d gotten while camping. “Just transform, you idiot cat.”

“As M’lady commands,” Adrien said, smirking as Plagg emerged from his pocket to hover between the two of them.

“Do you two have to be stupid and lovey-dovey every single time?” he wined.

“Excuse me?” Ladybug scoffed, looking over her shoulder and putting her hands on her hips as Adrien sat up and rested his arms on his knees. “I’m the one trying to act like a professional over here!”

“Seriously?” Plagg drawled. “You’re the one who didn’t have to save the idiot cat’s ass in the first place.”

Adrien nodded stoically.

“He’s got a point. I mean it’s almost like…” He let out a theatrical gasp, his hands flying to his cheeks. “Does the beloved heroine of Paris like me?!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes again and turned back to fully face him. She opened her mouth to retort, but her words were drowned out by a shout of alarm from below.

Forcibly reminded of why they were on the rooftop in the first place, Adrien leapt to his feet and cried, “Plagg, transforme moi!”

Plagg’s final muttering of, “Idiots” faded with the burst of green light that momentarily surged around them, and suddenly Chat Noir stood beside his Lady, flashing her his usual Cheshire grin.

“So, Bugaboo, what exactly are we dealing with?”

“Well…” Ladybug peered over the building’s ledge, and Chat followed her gaze to see a tall, elderly man in a tweed patterned suit and homburg hat walking purposefully along the street.

He held a polished wooden cane in his hand, and Chat’s ears picked up the sharp crack it made with his every step. For all the world, this man could have simply been enjoying an afternoon stroll in the sunshine, except for the fact that his skin was as pale white as parchment paper, and nearly as translucent.

Before either of them could move, the Akuma caught sight of a couple young men hurrying away from him. 

There was a loud hum and Chat felt a sort of static pulse shoot through the air as the Akuma spun his cane and brought it against the ground.

CRACK.

Chat Noir gasped as he saw that the two young men suddenly weren’t so young anymore.

“This’ll teach you!” the Akuma cried. “This’ll teach ALL of you! You can’t just throw the Sage away because of old age! Not when everyone else is old, too!”

“From what I can tell, this guy didn’t get a promotion or something because he’s a bit older,” Ladybug said beside him, and Chat looked down at her as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “If I were to guess, I’d say the Akuma is inside the cane. Thoughts?”

“Makes sense to me,” Chat nodded as she glanced up at him. “That does look like where his power seems to be coming from. Do you have a plan yet?”

“You go low, I go high?” Ladybug suggested.

“Come from behind? I’ll keep his attention,” he offered, shooting her a wink before they both dove in opposite directions.

Chat lithely made his way down the side of the building to land on all fours in the middle of the street, several yards from the Sage. He noticed a few civilians peeking out from behind the shop windows on either side of the street.

“Aren’t you a little old to be acting so childish?” Chat called, standing up and rolling his shoulders. “I mean, I know they say, ‘act the age you feel,’ but this seems a little counter intuitive, dontchya think?”

The Sage turned to face him fully.

“I am really, really tired of children telling me what to do,” he growled, the grip on his cane tightening.

“Um, rude!” Chat scoffed dramatically, catching a glimpse of his Lady making her way along the roof behind the Akuma. 

She was holding what seemed to be a large, elaborate kite. He assumed that must be her Lucky Charm. 

“I mean, I think I should get a little more credit,” he continued, “for the fact that I know how to file my own taxes, thank you very much.”

Before the Akuma could retort, Ladybug flew off the roof. Holding the kite above her head, she brought it down with a cry of “Take that!” and effectively trapped his arms between the fabric and string. 

The Sage, however, twirled the cane between his fingers and caught her ankle in its hook. 

Ladybug let out a yelp of surprise and tumbled to the ground.

Chat hurried towards her.

“You ok?”

“The Akuma!” she cried, glancing up.

He spun to see the Akuma throwing the kite trap to the side.

The Sage began to swing his cane over his head, and a hum filled the air again.

Chat let out a battle cry and launched himself forward.

Trying to direct his attack, the Sage turned to follow him, but in a fluid motion, Chat flipped into the air, soaring right over the top of the Sage’s head and snatching the cane out of his hands.

In another swift motion, he snatched up the kite and thrust it firmly back over the Akuma’s head, this time wrapping his arms together with the kite’s string.

“A gift for you, M’lady,” Chat said, moving towards her and offering her a hand, helping her to her feet.

“Aw!” Ladybug gushed, taking the cane with a dazzling smile. “You shouldn’t have, Kitty! It’s not even my birthday.”

“Anything for you, my dear,” Chat swept into a low bow.

Ladybug raised the cane high and brought it down onto her knee, splitting it in half with a loud snap. 

As she caught up the dark butterfly and quickly restored the world to its former normalcy, Chat turned and made his way over to the old man sitting on the ground where the Akuma had just stood. The man was gazing around in confusion until he spotted them. A look of understanding flashed across his face.

“I didn’t mean to get so upset,” the man said sadly as Chat helped him stand up. “I was just… angry. The company I helped build said they wanted to replace me with someone younger, and I guess I just…”

“I’m so sorry,” Chat said gently. “It’s not right that they were prepared to just get rid of you like that after all the work you’ve done to get your company where it is today. Is there any way you could still participate in how things are run?”

The man looked at him thoughtfully before shrugging.

“Eh, we’ll see what happens. I’m sure my husband would be thrilled to have me finally considering retirement.”

“I hope you can find a way to transition on good terms,” Chat offered kindly. “Don’t let them bully you into anything, yeah?”

Chuckling, the old man offered Chat a hand and he shook it. “You know, young sir, you’re alright . Thank you for helping me out of that vile darkness.”

“My pleasure, Monsieur. Good luck.”

Ladybug appeared by his shoulder and offered the man his un-Akumatized walking cane, which he took gratefully before turning to go.

“Everything ok?” she asked, looking between the two of them.

“Yeah,” Chat said. “I just… I wish we could help more, sometimes.”

“I know what you mean,” Ladybug said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But we can’t solve everyone’s problems.”

Just as he heard her earrings give off their tell-tale beep, a small flood of news reporters appeared and quickly approached them, cameras and notepads in hand. A jumble of questions reached Chat Noir’s ears.

Before he could open his mouth to respond, Ladybug had stepped forward to address them.

“Sorry to be rude,” she said kindly but firmly. “But we really must be going!”

The two of them hurried off, launching into the air and soaring over the crowd until they found a secluded corner a couple blocks away. 

Detransforming, Adrien looked around to see Marinette catching Tikki out of midair. The angry lines of her camping trip sunburn were made even more apparent under her navy sundress. Where her spotted suit had hidden the worst of it, these thin straps did not.

“Well, at least that was easy,” he said fanning himself in the heat, and she shrugged.

“Too easy,” she muttered, pulling her phone out of her pocket to check the time. “Crap, we totally missed our lunch window. Have you seen Nino and Alya yet?”

“Yeah, they were going to try and get some footage of the fight last I knew.” 

Plagg was staring at Adrien pointedly, so he began rummaging in his pockets for cheese. 

“Did they say where to meet up?” Tikki asked over the bit of pastry Marinette had just fished out for her. “There’s still a few minutes before you guys have to head back to work.”

“They should be back at the restaurant,” Adrien nodded.

Taking Marinette’s hand, they hurried out onto the street which was once more filled with people going about their business. They wove their way down the block, and rounding the last corner, they heard a familiar voice calling their names. Looking around, he saw Alya waving them over to where she and Nino stood waiting.

“Are you guys ok?” Nino asked, giving them a sweeping look, searching for injuries.

“We’re fine,” Marinette smiled. “I just had to save Adrien’s butt from getting blasted by the Akuma, but other than that…”

“Oh please, you’re the one who fell over.” Adrien exchanged an amused glance with her before turning back to their friends. “Did you get any good footage for the Ladyblog?”

“Ohoho, I did better than that.” 

Alya pulled her phone out and Nino let out a huff beside her as she flipped through it to a particular image, holding it out proudly for Adrien and Marinette to see.

“Wait… is that…?!” Marinette gasped and Adrien burst out laughing.

“Man! You got blasted?”

“Ha ha ha,” Nino rolled his eyes, crossing his arms indignantly.

Adrien could tell he was fighting to hide a smile.

“Alya, please send that to me,” he demanded, grinning as he pulled out his own phone. “This is absolutely going to be your new caller ID picture.”

“Done!”

“Dude!?” Nino exclaimed.

“Don’t fight it, babe,” Alya patted Nino gently on the arm. “Do you guys still have any time left to grab a bite?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Marinette wrapped her arms around Alya’s neck apologetically. “I really need to get back to the bakery. The afternoon rush is probably just starting.”

“Shall we raincheck, then?” Nino suggested. “We can figure something out for tomorrow?”

“Sounds good to me,” Marinette smiled, quickly giving both Alya and Nino a peck on the cheek before taking Adrien’s hand. “We’ll have more time to catch up then, anyways.”

They waved goodbye, and Adrien gave her hand an affectionate squeeze as they headed off in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

“How long do you work tonight?” he asked, and she shrugged.

“I’m closing.”

“Didn’t you open this morning?” Adrien raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “And I closed last night too.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

Marinette shrugged again. “That’s what my parents said too. I’m just trying to get in as many hours as I can before school starts, you know?”

“I guess,” Adrien looked at her sideways. “But you look kinda tired. Are you sure you’re not pushing it too hard? I’m pretty sure they expect you to go back to school rested.”

“It’s fine,” Marinette grinned up at him. “Although I think I’m going to skip patrol tonight, if that’s ok?”

“That’s fine, Bugaboo. Are we still going to Master Fu’s tomorrow?”

“Yeah of course,” she nodded. “I have a new shirt for him.”

“Tropical?”

“Always.”

They paused at the top of a set of stairs leading down to the underground subway system. 

Adrien leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

“Be sure to get some good sleep tonight, kay?”

“I’ll text you later,” Marinette said, giving his hand a squeeze goodbye as she turned to go. 

Adrien watched her walk away, admiring how the sun reflecting off her dark hair made it look exceptionally blue for a moment. He smiled to himself before heading down the stairs to find the train that would take him back to his office.

The remainder of Adrien’s afternoon was filled with video calls and meetings. By the end of the day, he was thoroughly tired of work. He’d barely gotten to see his friends that afternoon, and he’d been counting on spending a little more time with Marinette than just taking down yet another villain.

He stayed late into the evening, though, enjoying how quiet the building got when the day lights had been turned down and most of the people had left. He cherished times like this when he could actually finish things up without interruption.

The moment he left his office, his feet made his mind up for him. He climbed up a few flights of stairs until he emerged onto the roof.

The night sky was lit up with the orangey glow of the city. A warm breeze ruffled his hair as he breathed in the delicious smell coming from a nearby restaurant. 

Plagg flew out from Adrien’s shirt pocket and perched on his shoulder.

“So, we’re going to the girls’ place, huh?” he inquired, and Adrien grinned down at him.

“I think the city can survive without a patrol for one night.”

Plagg gave a little whoop of enthusiasm, spiraling off Adrien’s shoulder to loop happily through the air.

“Beautiful cheese, here I come!”

Adrien laughed, amused at how much his catty Kwami had grown to love Marinette. As much as Plagg had tried to hide it, justifying his enthusiasm with the excuse of loving the cheese she always had, Adrien could tell how deep his affection for Marinette ran. 

He rolled his shoulders before taking a running leap off the roof’s ledge. In a burst of light, he landed as Chat Noir on a neighboring building and sprinted off in the direction of Marinette and Alya’s apartment, his tail fluttering out behind him.

It only took him several minutes to make his way over the busy roadways and loud street corners where people enjoyed the pleasant evening. Even though the air was cooling off with the absence of the afternoon’s blazing sun, by the time he flipped onto the building across from their apartment, he was feeling uncomfortably hot.

Pausing for a moment, he carefully observed his destination through the living room windows.

Alya was pacing in the kitchen, her phone held between her cheek and shoulder while her hands were occupied with a spoon and a pint of ice cream. She let out a laugh, and from what Chat’s sharp ears could pick up, she was talking to Nino.

He smiled as his eyes slid over to Marinette’s window, which sat open to let in the night air.

She was standing in front of her mirror wearing only some sleep shorts and a sports bra, twisting her arms around uncomfortably to try and reach her back. 

Chat tilted his head in confusion until he noticed the bottle of Aloe Vera laying atop the bureau beside her, and suddenly understood what she was trying to do.

Springing across the street, he soared easily through her window. As his boots hit her wooden floor, Marinette let out a yelp and jumped back in surprise.

“What the– ?!” she exclaimed loudly, stumbling into her bureau with a loud crash. 

Chat was before her in a swift, fluid movement, one hand catching her around her waist to stop her fall, the other pressed over her mouth.

“Shh!” he hissed, grinning. “Alya is still in the kitchen!”

“Mar?” came Alya’s voice through the door. “Is everything ok?”

Chat widened his eyes imploringly. 

“Is everything ok, Princess?” he whispered.

Marinette reached up to pull his hand away from her face with a huff, though he was pleased to note that she held onto it, weaving her fingers between his almost unthinkingly.

“I’m good!” Marinette called out. “Just tripped. No worries!”

“Ok, goodnight Ms. Clumsy!”

 Chat noticed the kitchen light shining through the crack under in Marinette’s turn off.

“Goodnight!” Marinette said distractedly over her shoulder, before turning back to him. “What are you doing here?” she asked softly, raising her eyebrows.

“I missed you,” he shrugged.

Marinette let out a dramatic gasp. “Does this mean the beloved hero of Paris likes me?!” she said, making fun of his words from earlier.

Chat was only half successful in stifling his laughter as he dropped his transformation.

Plagg appeared to hover in the air beside them, looking rather expectantly at Marinette.

“Hello Plagg,” Marinette smirked, glancing sideways at him. “Let me guess...” 

Stepping away from Adrien, she reached for the insulated lunchbox that held a permanent place on her bookshelf.

“Hello!” came another familiar voice, and Adrien turned around to see Tikki perched on one of Marinette’s bedposts, happily munching on a cookie that was easily twice her size and already halfway gone.

“How’s it going, Tikki?”

Adrien reached over to give her an affectionate pet on the top of her head with his thumb.

“Great,” she chirped. “Marinette was just talking about how she wished she could’ve seen you more today, too.”

“Was she, now?”

He grinned, feeling thoroughly pleased at his decision to come over.

Marinette turned towards him away from Plagg, who was already filling his cheeks with a rather odiferous cheese.

“Yeah, yeah, so I missed you too.”

She returned his smile, though.

He reached out to cup her cheek again, this time leaning in to brush his mouth against hers. He felt her hum happily against him, but as he trailed his hands gently over her shoulders, she broke away and hissed in pain.

“I’m so sorry!” Adrien threw his hands up in alarm. “I totally forgot!”

“No, no!” Marinette gave him an apologetic look, grabbing his hands and holding them tightly. “You’re totally fine!”

“I guess this means minimal cuddling still, huh?”

“Correct,” Marinette said, moving gingerly back in front of the mirror and grabbing the Aloe bottle again. “I’m just glad these burns are finally starting to get better.”

Adrien thought her use of the term “better” must be very loose in this situation. The lines where her normally pale skin met the deep red of sunburn still stood out in high contrast. Now it looked almost worse than before, as the damaged areas were beginning to blister and peel. He really, truly felt sorry for her. 

Despite their best efforts to be responsible with the sunblock during their camping trip, they had spent their last afternoon playing in a river, which must’ve washed a lot of it off. But where his, Alya’s, and Nino’s sunburns had already faded into healthy tans, Marinette it seemed would only every transition between the tones of “porcelain ghost” and “cooked lobster,” as Nino had put it. None of their burns even hurt anymore, really. It was only poor Marinette who was stuck with the worst of it.

“I just can’t – reach – this – one – spot!” 

Marinette tried and failed once again to reach an elusive point on her back with her fingers covered in the soothing gel. 

Adrien chuckled, reaching out to push her arms down.

“Don’t worry, I got your back.”

Marinette gave him a grateful smile and moved away from her mirror over to her desk. 

As Adrien quickly stripped out of his work clothes down to a t-shirt and briefs, she switched on a small fan near her window. It slowly started to rotate, pulling the cooler air from outside into the warm room. Adrien sighed in relief, enjoying how the temperature was already beginning to drop.

Tikki and Plagg bid them goodnight (mostly Tikki, as Plagg was still stuffing his mouth with cheese) and flew up to the top of Marinette’s tall bookcase. She had set up a sort of mini pillow fort in the space between the bookcase and the ceiling; it was their Kwami’s favorite place to hide away and get some privacy.

Marinette climbed onto her bed and slumped face down on the mattress, letting out a tired sigh.

“Busy day, huh?” Adrien asked, moving to sit cross-legged beside her and putting a dollop of Aloe on his hands.

“Yep,” Marinette grunted her voice muffled through the pillow before she turned her head to look at him. “I’ve been helping Mom and Dad train the new kid.” 

She yawned hugely, and Adrien could tell that she was fading fast now that she’d lain down.

“Edmund, right?” Adrien gently traced the skin of her back with the lotion, feeling how much heat the burn areas were giving off and trying his best to be delicate. “How’s that going?”

“Mmm,” she sighed, reaching out for his free hand and gently tracing the cat tattoo on his forearm, her eyes closing lazily. “It’s going fine. He’s a fast learner and seems to do really well with the customers.”

“Do your parents like him?” he asked, smiling as her warm fingers left tingles on his skin.

“Yeah. I think my Dad is a little disappointed that I won’t be around to help with the decorations as much,” Marinette sighed, “but I’m sure they’ll train him up for all that in no time.”

Adrien reached out to put the lotion bottle on the desk and turned off her lamp light. Stretching out his legs, he laid down on his side, facing her.

“I have a hunch that he’s more disappointed that you’re going to be so wrapped up in your final year that you won’t have as much time with them.”

“Hmm,” Marinette mumbled. “How ‘bout you? How was your day?”

“Eh, fine I guess. The usual. I got all the pictures from our trip edited.”

“I saw those. I wanna hang some of them up.”

“I’ll get you some prints this week.”

“Mmm. Good.” 

Her breathing was already slowing to a soft rhythm.

After a moment, Adrien realized she was already asleep. He grinned as he watched her in the soft street light that came in through her curtains, moving his fingers to deftly pull a soft strand of hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

“I love you,” he whispered, and closing his eyes, he too let himself drift gently out of consciousness.

He was in some sort of room. He could barely make out the walls in the darkness. There was no hint of a door or windows. Just endless walls and corners, trapping him in a box. He trailed his hands frantically along the paneling, turning this way and that.

There had to be a way out.

There had to be an escape.

And he only knew, with absolute certainty, that he had to escape.

In desperation, he threw his shoulder against one of the walls. He’d rip apart a hole with his bare hands if that’s what it took. Again and again and again, he beat at the dark material. Yes, there! The sound of splintering wood met his ears. It was working!

“Adrien, my love.”

Adrien froze, his heart jumping into his throat. He knew that voice. He hadn’t heard it in nearly a decade, but there was no way he could ever forget. Slowly, hardly daring to believe it, he turned around. There, standing in the middle of the room, illuminated by a strange blue light, was his Mother.

“Mom?”

“Adrien, you can hear me?” Her eyes softened as she smiled and raised her arms, welcoming him in. “Oh honey, I’ve missed you so much.”

Adrien ran towards her, stretching his hand out in front of him, trying desperately to reach her. But she never moved closer. As hard as he tried, his feet were not carrying him across the room. He sprinted with all his might, but she only seemed to be moving further away.

“Mom!” he cried, his voice feeling raw in his throat. “Mom wait!”

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Mom please don’t go! Don’t leave me!"

Adrien’s foot landed on nothingness and he lurched forward. There was no floor. He was falling, down, down, down into the endless darkness.

“I love you, my son.”

Adrien woke up with a gasp, his eyes blowing wide to take in Marinette’s dark room. The fan that sat on her desk slowly turned to blow a soft breeze in his direction.

Beside him, Marinette slept on, her breathing steady, and her lips puckered as she squashed her cheek into her pillow.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, Adrien pushed off the mattress and came to a sitting position, running his hand through his hair. He realized he was trembling. His heart was still pounding from the dream he’d been having moments before. He frowned trying to recall more clearly what had been weaving through his mind.

“It happened again, didn’t it?”

Adrien looked up, just barely making out Plagg peering over the top of the bookshelf, his slitted eyes reflecting the soft golden glow from the lights beyond the window.

Ever since their battle with the Puppet Master, Adrien and Plagg had shared the residual effects of absorbing the Akuma’s dark energy. Things had gotten much better over time, especially when they both spent more time with Marinette and Tikki. But it was not unusual for them to get a violent nightmare every now and then. And when that happened, linked as he and Plagg were, they would always feel the same darkness. It was a burden they shared, but because they were in it together, they could at least offer each other understanding and solidarity.

Adrien frowned. The dream he’d had was far from the normal night terrors. Usually they had something to do with Hawkmoth or some monstrous Akuma. But this dream had been no Akuma, so why…?

‘It’s the anniversary,’ he thought suddenly. 

They were approaching the anniversary of when his Mother disappeared from his life nearly a decade ago. He’d had dreams about her before, whenever this time of year came around. He supposed it was just another one like those before, but he still didn’t understand why Plagg would have sensed anything when it was simply a dream about his Mother.

“What time is it?” Adrien whispered, looking around for Marinette’s clock.

“A couple hours till dawn.”

“Is Tikki asleep?” Adrien whispered.

“Yeah.”

Plagg floated down from the shelf to hover beside him.

“Good. Let’s let them rest. I need to run for a bit. Transforme moi.”

Welcome to the official sequel of 'A Brand New Dawn'!!! You guys, I've been planning this story for about a year now, and let me tell you I am SO FREAKIN EXCITED to finally begin sharing it with you!

Now, if it's not quite clear, TWHU takes place between Chapters 12 and 13 of ABND. I really wanted to have fun exploring our dorks' relationship while it was still a bit new during that missing year, plus there's a lot I wanted to address regarding... *ahem* other things in the Miraculous universe ;}

As far as this fic goes, I currently have a whopping 16 pages of this story outlined chapter-by-chapter, with several different conclusions I have yet to decide on (but as with ABND, I'm pretty sure the right ending will present itself as I work through the story) so we'll see how that goes. I will try and update fairly regularly, but there's this pesky thing called a "day job" that I am pouring most of my energy into, as well as commissions and other aspects of a busy life, so please forgive any hiatus-type moments in advance! Just know that I'm fully committed to sharing this whole story, and with some much appreciated patience from you all, TWHU will get done eventually!!!

Thank you everyone who supported ABND and took the time to send in comments! Without you guys, I never would've gotten this far! This one is for you <3

[asgardian-light]

Random HC #69 (Continuation of #4 - #68)