#ah my wonderful trash kitty!

[zenxenophilia]

I can't get to the rules because the link isn't working on mobile? But if this is something you don't do, feel free to just delete! I think I remember your rules though. Okay so how do you think MTMTE Rodimus, poly Cygate, Rung and Getaway would react to their human s/o being able to turn into a kitty whenever they want? I hope that's not too many characters but I put Getaway in there for you ;D

*Gasps!*  You know me so well!  Omfg!  

Rodimus:  

He’s actually not as shocked as you’d thought he’d be, but remember, their whole race is centered around transformation.  He just sees this as your ‘alt mode’.  

“Really?  Neat!  I didn’t know humans could do that!  Oh, not all humans?  Just you?  Huh.  Well that’s neat.  I always knew you were special, though.  *wink*”  

Asks you if this makes you a predacon or a maximal.  (You spend nearly the entire day pondering this.)

Likes to pet you when your in your ‘alt mode’.  Mostly just with the tip of his finger while you curl up on his desk as he doodles absentmindedly (he’s so worried about hurting you.  You’re already so much smaller than him!  Help!)

He gets so annoyed when you go running off around the ship as a cat and he can’t find you.  Please, s/o.  You’re going to get stepped on.  Get out of those vents, you don’t know what’s in there! (sorry, Skids)  S/o please, you’re killing him.

Would prefer if you don’t ride in his alt mode in cat form.  Nothing personal, but that interior is very hard to replace and those claws look rather... sharp.  You understand.

Tailgate/Cyconus:

Tailgate is surprisingly a bit suspicious at first, but only because his only experience with cats is Ravage and that’s enough to put anyone on edge.  But once he gets used to it, he’s totally enamored with your cat form.  Oh my gosh!  You are just the cutest!  

Cyclonus is proud that you posses such a unique a remarkable skill, but... why a cat, s/o?  Couldn’t you have chosen something larger and less easy to squish?  He worries.

Tailgate is able to get the most out of petting you because he’s about (or just a bit larger) than the size of an average human.  His favorite thing is when you sit on his shoulder as a cat since your relatively similar heights make it impossible for you to do so as a human.

Cyclonus tries to keep the petting to a minimum at first because you’re still a person and his s/o no matter what form you take, and he would never want to make you feel uncomfortable or awkward.  If you mention that it is definitely more than okay for him to rub your belly, well that’s another story.  Those sharp, pointy claws of his feel absolutely amazing as he ever so gently scratches you behind the ears.

You know never have to worry about missing anything during movie night.  You’re able to perch comfortably on top of Cyclonus’ helm as he holds Tailgate gently on his lap.  It’s an amazing system, and best of all you only need one seat.

Rung:

He asks you about a million questions when you first explain it to him (or at least he’ll wait to make sure you’re comfortable with answering first.  His curiosity can wait.)  He gets the biggest, warmest smile on his face when you show him for the first time.  

He advises you not to go running around the ship as a cat however, or at least not in any particularly crowded areas like Swerve’s.  You may be faster and more agile in this form, but all it would take is for Trailcutter to loose his balance, or for Fort Max not paying attention to where he was going and- oh it doesn’t even bear thinking about!

Whenever he’s feeling sad or lonely or stressed, you always curl up on his lap and purr to tell him everything’s alright.  The effect gently running his fingers through your soft fur has on him is positively therapeutic and he’s more grateful for your perception and your kindness than you will ever know.  (Maybe next time you stop for a shore leave visit, Rung will look into getting a therapy animal for his patients.)

His favorite thing is when you curl up over his spark for a little cat nap.  Rung never lets you sleep in his bed for fear of accidentally hurting you, but he’s perfectly happy to lie back and rest his eyes for a bit while you purr contentedly on his chest.

Just please whatever you do, please don’t jump up on his model display shelf.  Those are very rare you know.  He spent ages putting that last one together.  S/o!  S/o, no!  Get off the bookcase!  This has really gone on long enough!  You are not being funny!  And that is most definitely not a safe space to nap!  S/o!   

Getaway:

Oh my god, this boy is so impressed, you’ll never hear the end of it!  He showers you with compliments.  How you’re so clever to be able to do that!  How special and unique you are!  How adorable you look in this form!  How proud he is of you!  (You can’t tell if he really means it or if he’s just trying to boost your ego but either way it feels nice)

“Look!  Look, s/o!  We match!”  “*sigh*”

He’s the aft that’s always scooping you up in cat form to nuzzle you, or squeeze your paws, or rub your tummy.  You’d be offended, but he does this kind of thing when you’re a human as well, so at least he’s consistent.

Asks you all kinds of ridiculous questions that you just roll your eyes over.  “Hey, s/o, who do you think would win, you or Ravage?’  “Win what, exactly?  Like in a fight?  Or a popularity contest?  Or a game of Monopoly?  What?”  “Yes.”  “...”

“Who’s a good kitty?  Who’s a good little kitty widdy?”  “Not you, that’s for damn sure.”

You get the sense that he’s a little too eager for you to test your powers, but that could just be your paranoia talking.  It’s not like that prank where he had you break into Rodimus’ office was anything dangerous or anything.  He just wanted to see the inside of it for kicks....  Right?  

[artistic-shell]

Background: I have Scoliosis! I had the correction surgery at 12, so from top to bottom (save for one each on both) its fused with rods on either side! This has left me with a lot of pain in my back but I couldn't sleep and kept thinking about this.

It's also almost 4am as I write this- I'm just a silly little guy who wants to write a fanfic so exscue the typos. This is also from me reading Bamsra's solar lunacy fanfic lmao. Also also; I don't write in 2nd person often but this felt...too personal to put in first lmao

You're working your way through the pizzaplex, picking up trash and wiping down any particularly sticky surfaces. It's late and going to school during the day did not serve you well as the pain in your lower back starts to settle. While it's chronic, that doesn't mean it hurts any less. You push through though, hoping to at least make it to the daycare as you considered that your halfway point for cleaning. Moments later, you push through the doors, pulling a cleaning cart along with you to the daycare. Finally- you're able to relax, going down to the area just outside the actual entrance for the play area, you sit at the table and lay your head down. The pain doesn't subside but it's better than when you're walking.

There's a light creek, the door to the playroom opens and you hear bells jingle. Slowly you look up, just enough to see over your arm.

Sun's voice rings out to you, "y/n, are you okay? Do you want a snack~?"

You hear your stomach grumble at the mention and you stand, nodding some, "I would, thank you.."

He quickly moves from the doors to a set of cubbies, pulling a box down from the very top, humming as he looks through it. You find yourself leaning against the security desk watching him, curiously wondering what he's looking for.

"Ah-ha!" He turns toward you, holding out a strawberry cheesecake bar. "I was saving this one for you!" His voice is sing-songy, gently shoving the bar into your hand.

You smile to him, "why thank you" you open it and take a bite, still leaning against the counter. At this point your shirt has moved up your back some and Sun notices. He moves to just pull it down but pauses as he notices the scar running down your back.

"Friend...what happened to your back?" He sounds concerned but it's not much different than his normal voice, "did you get hurt?" He starts touch the scar but quickly pulls away when you stand up straight and pull the fabric down yourself.

"No- I'm fine." You wince at the sudden movement, turning to look at him.

"No- you're hurt! You can't be working when you're hurt!" Before you can say anything he's already back at the cubbies, grabbing the first aid kit, "do you want a kitty bandaid or maybe this one with us on it?" He holds up a bandaid with the decals of both him and moon on either side.

"No- really. I'm fine, Sun-" he cuts you off again.

"You can't be! Not with such a large scar!" His normally blank look, turns to one of concern.

"Sun, it's old. Years old, in fact...it's not something that a bandaid can fix. I just have to live with it.."

He stares at you a moment, slowly putting the box away. "I see...it's something that is permanent..." he sounds somber almost now.

You nod, tugging your shirt down again, crossing your arms. "I have metal that's screwed into my spine. It's going to hurt." You sound a bit more harsher than you mean to and you take another bite of your bar.

Sun tilts his head some, "metal? Now why would you do that? Metal doesn't belong in humans~" his playful tone is back and he comes closer to you.

You huff, "my spine wasn't the greatest when I was born and slowly it curved. It's something that had be done so my body didn't just crush itself.." You take another bite and looks to the bot.

"I see- interesting!" The permanent smile both unnerves you and comforts you. "I haven't heard of something like that!" He moves to sit criss cross on the floor and pats the space near him, "tell me more"

[multifandomwriter18]

“If only I could hear your voice” Chatnoir x Reader || PART 2

A/n: alright so this was months overdue, to be completely honest I totally forgot about it and I don’t really use my iPod that much anymore LOL

On that note! ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!! Ya boi turned 20 today!!! I feel old lol

Anyways here’s part 2 since y’all been waiting for a while for. I’m really sorry about not being active on here. Life’s been rough...ANYWAYS HOPE YALL ENJOY IT!!!

Things you need to know

Y/N: your name

L/N: last name

H/C: hair colour

H/L: hair length

E/C: eye colour

S/C: skin colour

F/F: favourite flower

F/C: favourite colour

Symbol to play music:

(🎵☑️)

When you see this! That means play!

My chest ached, like someone just dropped weights on me. My lungs burned like they were on fire.

My breath hitched as a hiccuped a little and coughed too. I groaned softly as I rubbed my now red and swollen eyes. I sighed and wiped my eyes trying to run away the redness.

I curled up in a bawl and cried a softly into my pillows. I didn't ask for this to happen to me..

Why can't people like me for me?

(🎵☑️)

I froze when I felt a weird vibe.

I caught a scent of sweet cologne that had such a scent..almost drugging..

I sat up from my pillow and turned to see the one and only Chat Noir. His green eyes burn in my (e/c) ones.

"Hello M'Lady, I hope you don't mind that I stopped by."

I stayed froze as I watched the silk cat hero walk around my room. "(Y/n)..what happened here..why is.." He trailed off as he walked to my trash can and picked up my sketch book.

I clenched my hands tightly on to one of my pillows I had against my chest to my chest.

He looked at me and gave me a sad smile that made my heart nearly break even more.

I looked away pressing my cheek into the pillow I was hold. I heard him sigh as he walked to the where all my music stuff was scattered.

He knelt down and let out a sigh. "You make songs.." I ran over and-I didnt mean to shove him I just didn't want anything I wrote to be seen.

I gathered it all up and shoved it all under my bed. Chat looked at me but I couldn't look at him.

I made sure my (h/l) (h/c) hair covered my now teary (e/c) eyes.

I heard rustling of paper and when I looked up I see Chatvadverting his green orbs away from mine as his hand was extended towards me.

In his claw like hand he hand a sheet of paper. When I looked at it realized it was the drawing I did of him and I..

The one I had written a little song about him.

"This belongs to you I think..I..it's a beautiful drawing M'Lady..I.."

I shook my head and grabbed his hand gently on his chest. He looked at me and I looked away.

I want him to have it..

He sighed as he held the drawing close. "I'm sorry..maybe I shouldn't have come.." I clenched my jaw as I watched him open up my window to my balcony.

My chest squeezed and I ran fast grabbing his arm. He looked at me as I had tears in my eyes.

Please don't leave me..

I'm guessing he got the message because before I could sink to me knees and cry I was already in his arms.

He strokes my (h/c) hair as he muttered soft words making my heart flutter.

I held him close as I hiccuped and cried. When I felt as if I was done I pulled my head away and mouthed 'I'm sorry..'

He smiled and cupped my cheek so my (e/c) eyes met his beautiful green orbs. "It's ok..I..."

His thumb stroked my cheek as he rested his forehead against mine. His other hand intertwined with mine. "If only I could here your voice.."

When he pulled his head away his eyes searched mine. "You have such beautiful eyes..the perfect shade of (e/c) just like..

(If your eyes a blue then he says like the colour of the ocean. If Green or like a hazel colour then he'll say like the colours of lush green trees. If your eyes are a brown then a he'd say like the sweet Belgium chocolate.. If he said grey then he'd say.. Like the soft clouds the blow through the sky you guys get it now? If confused comment.)

I stared at him as I small smile formed on my lips. 'Thank you..' I mouthed and his eyes instantly looked at my lips.

Did he want to kiss me?

My breath hitched and my heart fluttered just thinking about it.

Slowly and hesitately he first softly brushed his soft lips against mine. I closed my eyes enjoying how they felt. Even if it was for a second of taste..

He pulled away again as his finger like claw brushed a lock of my (h/c) hair behind my ear.

Then with more pressure he pressed his lips against mine again. Slowly I kissed back resting my hands on his chest. His lips were amazing..soft and tender..the kiss was sweet and soft..

It took my breath away...

When we pulled away we both take in a small breath. I felt my (s/c) cheeks get hot and he smiled again.

I smiled back as his eyes brighten. "There we go..that beautiful smile is what I love to see..."

I looked at him and he rested a hand on my cheek. "You so purrfect M'Lady..such purrfection.."

I shuddered my shoulders and giggled. Well not really since..well since I lost my voice.

He chuckled and kissed my cheek softly. I closed my eyes enjoying the feeling of his lips on my (s/c) cheeks.

His hands intertwined with mine and he smiled. I smiled back and then his ring started to beep.

"Ah..I have to go."

I frowned and he sighed looking at me. "I promise I'll see you again..my beautiful angel.."

I smiled as tears formed in my eyes again. He kissed me one last time before slipping through my window and jumping off my balcony and off down the street. I watched him go as my hear pounded.

See you later Chat..

My one and only hero..

My one and only Kitty Cat...

I closed the window and laid back on my bed hunching over I grabbed my music notes and sketch book as began to draw..

PART TWO IS FINALLY DONE! I hope you all like it!!!

Again. I do apologize for the long wait to write and staying active here on tumblr. Work has been busy, I’ve been literally working over 12hr shifts so it hasn’t been easy.

I’ll try to post more sooner or later once I find the time to do so. Thanks for all the support, likes and reads. I really appreciate it y’all!

Love y’all, stay safe and have a wonderful day❤️

[riktorart]

“Welcome for the third, and (hopefully) final time to the auditorium, beloved students of Night Raven College! Yes, as many of you expect, this assembly is in regards to our ice cream fundraiser, which has yet to take off! However, now that I’ve recovered from my horrific injuries from last month’s assembly, I say it’s time for us to start anew, and introduce our new line of flavors!

… Why are you all groaning??? Truly you’ve not grown tired of ice cream already, have you?! … No, no, it can’t be… You all just must be far too excited to carry on! Very well! I shall introduce to you the newest flavors, and then you’ll be off! Making me… Err, the school, enough Madol to fix the chandelier that was broken (again) last week!

… Hm? Why aren’t we using the past flavors? … Well… You see there was a… Ah, would you look at the time! If we don’t start now, we’ll never finish! Vargas! Bring up the first cooler!!! NOW!!!

-----------

Lemon Zestvolt- Don’t let his frown fool you, this sweet cream is actually quite sweet, with it’s mellow mix of lemon and lime that’ll make you smile! (... Though, it does take quite a while to actually get past the bitter aftertaste… And it’s surprisingly loud… And… It feels like it’s constantly judging my every move according to a standard that’s quite frankly unrealistic… And... You know what? We’re just going to move on for the sake of my self-confidence!)

Blue Berrygrotto- Despite it’s name, this treat’s name is quite deceiving! It’s not just blueberry, but in fact, a mix of eight different types of berries, all baked into a freshly warm pie and served a la Mode with a trustworthy smile~! (… Hm? What do you mean that sounds a bit much…? Ehrm, no matter!) 

Even if it’s a bit… Wet, you won’t mind at all once you enjoy it’s wonderfully sophisticated taste! Ah and would you look at that! On sale for only 300 Madol! What a steal~! Make sure you stop by the cafeteria to buy a Blue Berrygrotto today!

Lion-Colored Kingsicle… Stick- … Well! There was a batch of ice cream in this cooler… And now it’s gone. We have no idea where it we- (... Oh, hold on, did we find them?) … Well! Turns out that as we speak, the original ice cream has been found tucked into obscure corners of the college where no person in their right mind would even think to look, or… On beds… (It seems the only reason they’ve been found is because they’ve begun to melt…)

… Well! We still have popsicle sticks available, so why not treat yourself with some? I’m sure at least one of you could find something to do with so many popsicle sticks!

(Warning: If you encounter this treat on your daily commute, simply back away slowly, and contact a trusted member of Night Raven College Staff to dispose of this treat. Do NOT engage. (Night Raven College is not liable for any injuries/death that may result in confrontation of this product.))

Coco’lover!- Ah, did you think this treat was simply coconut! Well, my delightful students, you are wrong! This ice cream is a delicate balance of coconut, and pistachios, a surprisingly friendly combo! … Well, that is as long as you like coconut… And pistachios…  (On second thought, this combo wasn’t the best idea now, is it?)

… Ahem! I hear it pairs quite well with baked delights, so do keep that in mind!

Mortho Energy Drink… Sicle- Tell me children, would you like to stunt your growth by drinking unhealthy shots of pure caffeine? Well, I’m here to inform you that is a foolish idea! Why drink them, when you can eat them instead with an ice cream sponsored by Mortho™ Energy Drinks! Whether it’s for a late-night study session, or for an extra kick during finals, Good ol’ Mortho here will help to keep your poor body conscious against its will! 

(... Also, please buy these as soon as possible. He’s beginning to miss one of our discontinued flavors, and will melt… (Night Raven College is not liable for injuries/death that may result from consumption of this product. If Mortho™ Energy Drink-Sickle commences Self-Destruction mode, toss it as far as possible, and duck for cover. To avoid such an occurrence from happening, do NOT insult any person with fire-like hair within the vicinity. It WILL hear you, and it WILL be upset.))

Catolate Diamikan- Do you need to take a… (Wait, what was that one site called…? Ah, yes!) MagiCam-worthy photo of yourself and friends? Well, fret no longer students, as this is the treat for you! A picture of you and Catolate’s smile is sure to be a hit! And if it’s not… Well, he’s flavored like white chocolate and oranges, so either way, you’re a winner!

(... Speaking of photos… Trien, why did you not like my “selfie” that I took earlier this afternoon? … Ah, you’re right! This isn’t the time for such trivialities! I shall simply discuss it with you later then!)

Mir-Lot- A treat based on the likeness of our beloved Magical Mirror itself! Doesn’t it look absolutely stunning, in all it’s glory? Ah, even this old bird can’t help but marvel at it’s timeless beauty… This treat is a nice, deep merlot-flavor, (non-alcoholic, of course!) that I’m sure more mature audiences will enjoy… 

And even if you don’t… Well, you don’t want to hurt our beloved mirror’s feelings now, do you? You should buy one anyway, just so it knows for sure it’s appreciated~!

Berry Bad Cat- This… “Cute,” little feline’s filled with many surprises, and though most of them are a hassle… This surprise is actually quite pleasant! A bold blackberry taste, sprinkled with small popping candies that seem to light a spark along your taste buds… Why, it’s surprisingly easy to grow attached to it!

(… Wait, what do you mean my tongue has turned black?! Oh heavens, get me a mirror!!! And water!!!)

Ramshackle Special- Um… Well… This ice cream had no specific flavor. It was an amalgamation of every single flavor crafted so we could save funds and resources, and it was quite awful the majority of the time, so we’d lowered the price for 100 Madol, but… Before we even made the official announcement, someone snuck into my office and took every single one… Of course, they were at least kind enough to leave the funds for it all, but…

Oh, who cares about manners?! WHICH ONE OF YOU RELEASED FIREFLIES INTO MY OFFICE?! … Well, if no one will confess to the crime, then everyone will be punished for the crime! … Later, of course! 

Now, like before, we have three special options that are just a tad bit above the rest in terms of flavor and appearances, so despite how kindhearted and generous I am… We will have to charge just a bit extra for these three. Surely you all understand~! These next treats are also quite limited, so if you desire to delight in one, make sure you buy them fast! Once they’re gone, they’re gone!!!

(Well… Not completely, but if people are under the illusion that there is no second chance, then they’re be far more likely to make impulsive purchases! Oh ho ho~ Dire, you clever, dapper man, you~ … Wait, did I say that out loud?)

… Anyway! Our first premium snack!

Rhymes Rosetarts- A delightful treat of sweet cherry tarts with cream and… Oh, is that actually a hint of roses I caught?! How interesting! I’d love nothing more than to dig in, yet… For some reason, I feel that even if my manners slip just a tad, that I’d be chastised… Ah, I suppose I will simply have to consume the treat carefully, lest my suspicions are confirmed true… Which they’re not!

(Night Raven College is not responsible for injuries/death resulting from consumption of this product. Make sure to review the rulebook supplied with each purchase before unwrapping this treat. Once it is free from it’s wrapper, it will always have it’s eyes on you…)

Varbucks™ Iced Protein Coffee- Are you fan of coffee? Or perhaps something sweet, but healthy? Well this treat i-”

“OI, DIRE! WHY AM I THE ONLY STAFF WHO’S ICE CREAM WAS AWFUL?!”

“A-ah! Professor Crewel! Well, err… I’ll… Get back to you on that, yes! So why don’t you have an ice cream and calm d-OWN NO, NO, NO!!! GET OFF THE STAGE I’M SORRY CREWEL PLEASE DON’T H-YAHHH!!!”

Apple Farmier- “... Well, I suppose since the Headmaster was forced to step away for “business,” I should wrap up this assembly. The final dessert available for purchase during our school fundraiser will be the... “Apple Farmier?” (... Crowley seems to have a knack for finding such strange names…) 

The Apple Farmier is described to have an almost overly-sweet aroma of ripened apples, yet when bitten into, administers a horrific shock from it’s incredibly sour taste. Those who have tried it described an almost numbing sensation on their tongue, and one such person even lost consciousness as a result of it.”

“Meow.”

“(Hm? Quite right Lucious, thank you for the reminder.) If you purchase this treat, do be aware that our esteemed institution does not hold any accountability for any harm that comes upon you. Do consume the product at your own risk… As for the lot of you who’ve decided to fall asleep during the assembly, I shall see you in detention. In case you’re wondering, yes, I see you, and I will remember if you decide to “ditch.”

Now, you are dismissed. Vargas, please make sure the students return to class while I check upon the Headmaster’s condition… (And hopefully this will be the last of these tedious assemblies…)”

-----------

Bonus

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Lionel Kingsbutter- “Have you ever sat down and thought, “Hm, there seems to be something missing in my life… Something… Hard, surprisingly sweet… And yet, something with a mean bite to match it’s bark?” Well, this treat has no bark, but it does have quite a bite! Smooth, delightful cookie butter than just melts upon your tongue, and plentiful chunks of crispy cookies! They’re a bit… Spicy… But strangely... Delicious! (... Water… I need water...! … Thank you, Trien.)

And if that’s not enough, why, just look at it’s adorable little ears, and i-YEOWCH!!! DID IT JUST BITE ME?! IT’S FROZEN CREAM, HOW DID IT DO THAT?! BAD KITTY, BAD KITTY! WHERE’S THE TRASH C-AAAAH IT’S LATCHED ONTO MY CLAWS!!! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY GET IT OFF!!! GYAAAAAAAH!!!”

[dandelionflower]

She hikes alone

Marinette skipped to her friends, tapping Adrien on the shoulder before hugging him tight.

“Hey, Princess,” he gave her a smile that melted her heart, “we were just talking about things we could do on our free day.”

He gestured to the class, who were all deep in a debate over ice cream place or pizza parlor.

“I was thinking we could go to a park; a new friend of mine has a couple of places we could check out. I think it would be really good as a lazy activity to get rid of jet lag, or in Kim’s case, excess energy.”

“Sounds really nice!” He smiled and began to open his mouth to tell them; he had become Marinette’s representative to the class, when Lila stood up.

“Hey guys! What if, since today doesn’t have anything planned, we went to a park and hung out?”

“That’s a genius idea, Lila!”

“I could play frisbee!”

“I’d enjoy observing the local flora.”

That’s genius Lila. You’re so smart. Marinette growled under her breath, Lila obviously overheard her talking with Adrien and took credit for her idea.

“I actually know some parks we could go to, from when I visited with Jagged Stone a few months back. We could go to one of those, if you want?”

“That sounds great Lila!” Adrien cut in before Marinette could protest. “Let’s go now!”

“Don’t worry,” he whispered to her as the class cheered and stood up, “I’ll make sure we go to a nice park.”

That’s not what I’m worried about. Marinette thought as she watched Lila attach herself to Adrien’s arm.

She followed at a fair distance from the class; not by choice, her friends just seemed to speed up whenever she tried to walk near them.

“Marinette!” Grace tapped on her shoulder, a broad grin on her face. She was wearing the headband. “Where did you decide on going?”

“A park.”

“That’s great! Which one are you going to? Because if you haven’t decided, I have a ton of great places for you to go...” she plucked some pamphlets from her back pocket and displayed one. “I think this one would suit your needs best.”

“Thanks, Grace, but...” Marinette spared a glance at the pack of students, led by Lila and Adrien. “I think it’s already been decided.”

Grace’s expression soured. “Okay, but keep ahold of that pamphlet, will you? You might end up finding time to go.”

“I hope I do.” She waved Grace a quick goodbye and dashed back to her friends, who were already going through the door.

—

They hopped on a bus and Marinette smirked as Lila worried her lip, eyes darting towards every sign that could possibly lead her to a park.

As fun as that was, Marinette quickly got bored and began perusing the pamphlet Grace handed to her.

Quarry Stone Park

Known for its towering pillars of black stone, it is rumored that Quarry Stone Park was where the brick for the famed Culpa Manor was mined.

While the parks naming is rather obvious, it also contains many hidden paths, leading to waterfalls, gem-filled caves, and even the ocean.

A popular landmark of the park is Quarry Ledge, which overlooks the ocean. The natural black spires and stark white sands make for an amazing view.

That’s where we should be going, Marinette mused, not wherever Lila’s going to take us.

“Here we are!” Lila sang. “The best park in the whole town.”

Sure... Marinette glanced at the rotting wooden sign, the crumbling letters reading, Wooded Glade Park.

The class ran in, Alix already tossing a frisbee for Kim to catch. Adrien fell back and greeted Marinette with a silent smile and had just grabbed her hand when everyone fell silent and stared at the open field surrounded by borderline rotting trees.

“Uhh, Lila?” Ivan asked, shielding Mylene’s eyes from the mistreated plants. “Are you sure this is he place? It looks a little run down.”

“Definitely!” Lila protested, and though her back was facing Marinette, she could almost see the false tears welling up in her eyes. “I- I don’t know what happened; it used to be so beautiful... I’m so sorry everyone.”

“What if we helped you clean it up?” Rose offered. “Got rid of any trash and planted some flowers!”

“Yeah!” The class cheered, voicing their agreement.

“You- you would all do that for me?”

“Of course!”

“I can’t believe this! I... thank you!”

Mylene pulled Ivan’s hand from her eyes and glared at the offending trees. “Babe? I need a lift.”

Ivan picked her up and placed her onto his shoulders.

“Alright everybody!” She shouted, voice abnormally loud. “I need someone to carry heavy stuff, a couple people for trash and, Marinette! Can you organize our efforts?”

She smiled and was about to pull out her notebook, when Lila opened her mouth, which had proven to be a tragedy in itself.

“I don’t know guys, remember how late Marinette came in? She didn’t even get to have breakfast, we don’t want to tire her out what with the jet lag and all. I can just organize, you know I was an organizer to a famous charity.”

“That’s a great idea, Lila! I’ll help!” Adrien leaned over to whisper in Marinette’s ear. “Don’t worry, I can keep her out of trouble while you just relax and walk down one of the trails, it’s a win-win.”

But I want to walk the trails with you...

She smiled, gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked to the closest trail as fast as she could so Adrien couldn’t see the tears collecting in her eyes.

She loved how selfless Adrien was, she did. It was just... he never seemed to choose her.

She stood there for a moment and allowed herself to cry. This was supposed to be a fun trip where she could hang out with her boyfriend and friends as they all explored her favorite place in the world.

Marinette finally looked up and observed the signs marking the different paths she could take.

Daisy Walkway.

Riverside.

Quarry Stone Path.

Quarry Stone?

Marinette pulled out her pamphlet and compared the names.

Maybe I will get to see Quarry Stone after all.

—

It was a fair hike to Quarry Stone, but it was so worth it.

The trees were lush and green, every bench and table were in perfect condition, people were everywhere, and interspersed across the field were dozens of giant black pillars of rock.

Marinette gave a glance to the other trails.

Waterfalls, meadows, beachside.... there were so many choices.

“Excuse me, sir?” She touched the arm of a nearby elderly man, who was exiting one of the trails. “I was wondering, do you know these trails well? Could you maybe recommend one to me?”

“Never been to Quarry Stone, have you dear?” He gave her a friendly smile.

“No.”

“Well, when I was young and adventurous, I would go on the Nymph’s River path. On a sunny day like this, it’s sure to be a magical sight.”

“It’s cloudy, you old coot!”

A frail old woman in a worn pink dress stumbled from the same path.

“What?” The man put on a thick pair of spectacles and squinted at the sky. “So it is.”

“I’m Henry’s wife, Meredith, and what’s your name, sweetie?”

“I’m Marinette. It’s nice to meet you.” She grinned at the familiar banter that reminded her of her parents.

“Likewise, dear.” A bony hand grasped her own. “Now, what’s a little thing like you doing out here all alone?”

“Um, my class, we’re here on a field trip and we had… a disagreement on what to do.”

“Ah, and they let you do your thing but it’s not as fun alone, is it?”

“No, not really.”

“I’ve got just the place for you dear. Henry, what about...” she leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“You’re a genius, Mere. Kiddo, just go down that path,” he pointed her to the forest, “and I promise it will be a sight worth seeing.”

“Okay, thank you both so much!” She waved to the couple as she headed down the path, memorizing their faces in case they encounter one another again.

—

It truly was a sight worth seeing, as promised.

When Marinette finally broke out of the dark greens in the surrounding the trail, she was met by the most soothing sight she’d ever laid eyes on.

She was standing on a large ledge carved out of the hill; metal posts and railings were surrounding the platform. Nothing noteworthy.

But the sight it was there to show was unimaginably perfect. The sand was a pure white, which would have been blinding if it wasn’t for the clouds covering the sun. The stone spires that decorated the entire forest were dotting the beach in all their splendor, rising proudly and casting barely noticeable shadows across the sand and the pale, rolling waves.

She leaned on the railing; taking in the soothing spectacle. It was almost like she was falling asleep, her consciousness drifting until she had no other thought but the muted colors in front of her...

“Meow?”

Marinette screamed and leapt away from the sound, pushing her back against the railing and gripping it with both hands likes she was on a crashing elevator.

A black cat with startling blue eyes stared at her, tilting its head in a quizzical motion.

“Mrrrrrr.” Was its only reaction to her panic.

“He- hello?”

It stared at her waved hand, like it was the most interesting thing it had seen.

She held it out tentatively, in an open gesture, leaving enough space for it to leave.

It stared at it for a moment longer before tentatively leaning forwards to place its head in her palm. It purred as she scritched its chin.

“What’s your name, kitty?” She mused. “Garfield? Like the Culpa that started the mansion?”

It leaned its head into her pinky in a silent gesture to go on.

“Harriet? Darrian? Abigail?”

No cigar.

“What about Culpa?”

The cat purred and nuzzled her hand with a vigor.

“Culpa it is.” She brought her other hand to pet at the newly-christened Culpa’s ear.

Culpa mewled with a satisfaction that seemed... almost human on the face of the pitch cat.

—

The rest

@miraculous-of-salt @calliopeia @drama-queen-supreme @kaydenth3gayden @mcheang @nomiegnome @never-say-donuts @vixen-uchiha @miracul0us-multishipper @hauntedfreakdeputyhero @chocolatecustarddanish @iwantswifttoblessmysoul @digitalmagpie @ilseofskadi @nerdy-and-a-little-birdy @minty-goose @nataladriana9 @aestheticnpoetic @constellation-king @animegirlweeb @persephonebutkore @ahalloweengirl @r0sebutch @marinettepotterandplagg @beelzzebop @akalovelymaybe @pleasefollowmeuwu @angelost4r @constancetruggle @speaknowtome @some-oxymoron @nerdy-scifi-birdy @toodaloo-kangaroo @purplesundaze @aestheticnpoetic @neptuningkai @2confused-2doanything

[deadontheinsidebut]

Hi angel!! I just wanted to say that I just found you today and I think you’re really talented! But I was wondering if I could have hc’s for suga, oikawa, and kuroo where you’re best friends with them but one day you wake up with them in your bed and ur like wait we just had a one night stand 😳. I hope this is okay and if you aren’t comfortable writing this I def understand!! Thank you!! 💞

HI ANON!!! That’s literally so nice of you wtf😳✨💗 Im sending you all the positive vibes and I’m hoping you have a wonderful day/night. 😌💗✨💗✨💗

— Waking up from a one night stand w/ Suga, Oikawa, and Kuroo

a/n: all the characters are aged up!! And there are mentions of alcohol and protective friends and siblings but it’s all cute and fun :))

—Sugawara Koshi

The two of you met in high school and immediately hit it off when you decided to become the manager for Karasuno’s volleyball team

Together, you, Daichi, and Suga formed the parent trio and looked over your little crows with pure dedication

But you and Suga had always been a little closer than the rest with your hidden sassiness and love for everyone around you

So five years after your graduation, it’s not a surprise that you two have managed to keep the bond alive

It’s been a long night at the karaoke bar with you crying over your ex dumping you and Suga doing everything in his power to comfort you

You’re definitely not in the best mindset right now as you sing your heart out to the boy who broke your heart and take shot after shot with your bestfriend

The sloshing of the alcohol in your stomach is burning and Suga tries his best to keep the two of you afloat as he calls an Uber

But he’s so out of it that he forgets your address??? So you two just end up at his house??? And the night is now fair game

You wake up with a killer headache and the smell of pancakes in the room next door

The clothes you’re wearing looks nothing like the ones from last night

Instead, you’re wearing an oversized gray sweater that smells like warm vanilla and laundry detergent

You step out of the strange bed only to notice the framed picture of you and Suga on his desk and you immediately knew where you were

As you make your way through the familiar hallway to the kitchen, you groan and whimper from the pain in your head

Suga is standing there in his pjs making breakfast??

And you stand there in shock as he turns his head to you and ask if you had a good sleep

You’re sputtering as you ask him why you’re here and what happened

And he sheepishly starts to explain the situation and how you two had ended up getting it on while drunk as hell

So you’re sitting on his chair trying to process the night as he serves you the pancakes and you go “what the actual fuck???”

You two eat breakfast in confused silence until you choke on a piece of the pancake and Suga is rushing to get you water and you two are laughing at how awkward you are

The laughing eases the tension and you two are back to just talking and teasing. He starts to apologize for last night but you reassure him that it’s definitely something to cross off the bucket list

And who knows; maybe it’s something you might want to happen twice

—Oikawa Tooru

You’re Iwaizumi’s little sister and you’ve known Oikawa since you were children

You were always by his side and watching every game of his up until he left for Brazil to pursue his dreams of volleyball

You’ve always had a crush on him and your friendship has always been strong, but maybe a future with him was too much to hope for?

Until he came to visit

You two were catching up at a local bar and laughing as if you had never been separated at all

He begins to order drinks for you and you start to blush at his familiar chivalry

You two have basically caught up on everything when you start to feel your eyes droop and your body lose its normal functions

Surprisingly, even Oikawa is a lightweight and almost passes out until he feels you tug at his sleeve and he mans up just enough to call you both a taxi to his hotel room

The smell of alcohol on Oikawa’s breath was the last thing you remembered before your eyes drifted shut

You wake up to the blinding light of the sun coming from the windows and peek open an eye to see a tuffle of dark brown hair

‘omfg...’ is all you think before you let out an ear-shattering shriek

Oikawa’s head shoots up and is darting his head side to side before registering your terrified face as you gather the blankets to cover your naked body

“Oh god... Iwa-chan is going to kill me,” Oikawa let’s out before gulping nervously

As you two begin to put together the pieces of last night, you let out a little giggle

Oikawa is actually horrified and is slightly shaking as he asks you what’s so funny

“Isn’t it so funny how I haven’t seen you in over a year and this is the first thing we do when you come back?”

He’s scratching the back of his head and turns a dark shade of red

And that’s when you had a brilliant idea

You pick up the phone and dial Iwaizumi’s number, eagerly awaiting his answer to tell him everything that happened

“Hey y/n, what’s up? You do realize our timezones are hours apart and I should be sleeping right now.”

“OIKAWA AND I HAD S*X!!!” You shout excitedly

You put him on speaker when he didn’t speak for a couple seconds

“YOU AND SHITTYKAWA DID WHAT???”

Oikawa is literally shivering in the corner with no clothes on and you’re roaring with laughter

“THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIS ASS, IM BEATING HIM ALL THE WAY TO ANOTHER PLANET-“

“P-please spare me!” Oikawa interrupts meekly

“But... just tell him to take good care of you since I can’t be there. You hear me shittykawa? Take good care of my little sister. Part of her belongs to you now.”

Oikawa looks from you to the phone and back to you before giving you a firm nod and a “yes sir” to the phone

Well, I guess that’s one way to start a relationship

—Kuroo Tetsurou

You met Kuroo the same time he met Kenma

The three of you went to the same middle school and Kuroo is the reason why you decided to play volleyball

Your job as the libero was full of diving so of course you would go hang out with Kuroo and Kenma full of fresh bruises and scrapes

Kuroo was always super protective of you from the get go and never wanted you to feel any sort of pain so it wasn’t a surprise when he was the first to help you clean up your wounds

He likes to tease you from time to time about how a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be hurting herself like that but has always supported you whenever you lost a game and encouraged you to carry on

So when you decided to go pro after highschool, he was right by your side

And it was even better since he worked with the Japan Volleyball Association

But after a devastating loss against one of the best teams in the league, you were a crying mess in Kuroo’s arms

He held you tighter than he’s ever held you and whispered words of encouragement as you two sat on your bedroom floor

And you two did the regular ritual for a depressing night where you down shot after shot while letting out every worry and doubt you’ve ever had

You were lost in the alcohol and the room was swirling more than you’ve ever experienced

You woke up to a pair of familiar biceps around your body

As you turn your body to face him, you’re met with a sly grin and beaming eyes

“GET OFF OF ME YOU BAFFOON” you cry out as you try to shove the beautiful man off your bed

“That’s not what you were saying last night,” Kuroo responds while cocking a brow

“Oh shut it you Cheshire Cat,” you mumble half-heartedly

He snakes his arm back around you and inhales the sweet scent of your neck before continuing to talk

“You know princess, if I had known you would be this good, I would’ve hit on you a looong time ago.”

You roll your eyes at his comment before surprising him by cuddling him back

“It’s not like I would’ve let you,” you mumble back

You feel him press a soft kiss on your head before holding you even closer

The day after, you two met up with Kenma for dinner and he immediately picked up on your guys’ suspicious behaviour

“You guys had s*x didn’t you,” he deadpans

“KENMA AJAOSNOSKS” was literally your reaction

Kuroo just sat there like a sly kitty cat

“You told him didn’t you?” You basically sneer

“Ah ah ah, a man never kisses and tells. Or in this case, smashes and tells?”

“No y/n, you just happen to smell like trash today so I assumed Kuroo left his mark on you.”

“HEY I’m not trash!” Kuroo barks back with a slight pout on his face

He pulls you closer until you were basically one nose apart

“Although, I don’t mind leaving my mark on you to make sure everyone knows you’re mine.”

Kenma: get me out of here

Taglist:

@janellion @darkdinosaurpeanut @personality-still-downloading

People who may enjoy hcs of their lovers:

@herakosmos @myhaikyuuhq @shrimpyblog @sugacookiies @anianimol @spicyricerice @sstardusty

[kurosakikai]

. xx5. Poker and Ramen

Find me on AO3 Find me on Ko-Fi Also available to yell at on Twitter

“Hi Urahara-san,” Kai-kun greets him cheerfully, and Kisuke looks up from his magazine, raises a brow as he pops the lolly back into his mouth.

“You’re here early,” he remarks with a smile, and Kai-kun gives him a shy smile.

“I was hoping I could pet the pretty kitty again,” he says, and Kisuke chuckles.

“You like cats, then?” He asks, and Kai-kun beams brightly.

“They’re fluffy! And they kinda remind me of Papa,” the seven-year old informs him chipperly, Kai-kun looking around hopefully.

“Oh?” Kisuke puts his magazine down even as Yoruichi comes down from upstairs. “How so?”

“Papa looks really pretty but can also kill things lots,” the boy says, distracted by Yoruichi. Which Kisuke thinks is for the best, given he chokes on the mint in his mouth. “Hi pretty kitty,” he gushes, and Yoruichi purrs at him, jumps up into his arms. “Oooh! You’re so friendly, pretty kitty!” Kai-kun gushes, scratching her on the top of her head.

“So you came by early so you could pet a cat?” Kisuke says, once he’s recovered.

“Yep!” He says happily. “Plus, spies are never late,” the boy says frankly. Kisuke smiles, chuckling indulgently at the boy and surreptitiously dropping the lollipop in the trash so he won’t choke again. The boy spends a good ten minutes cooing over Yoruichi, who purrs happily at her appreciative human audience, the boy giggling and scratching her wherever she wanted, and even giving her several appreciative little nose kisses.

Yoruichi was most certainly in her glee, Kisuke thinks with amusement, watching the little boy gush happily.

“So you’re going to adopt a cat?” He says, chuckling when Kai-kun hums.

“Maybe. Of course, I have this pretty kitty to pamper, so I don’t have to be in a hurry to adopt when I’m old enough,” the boy says, giving Yoruichi one last smooch to her nose. “Thank you pretty kitty,” he tells her, before looking expectantly at Kisuke.

“All done?” He asks, chuckling, and the boy beams up at him.

“Yep!” he says happily, and Kisuke chuckles. “What’s today’s lesson Urahara-san?” He asks, and Kisuke smiles, amused.

“Well, I thought we could work some more on the dinner forks...” he teases. When Kai-kun shoots him a look that promises murder, he laughs aloud. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he chuckles, and Kai-kun gives him such a disbelieving look he actually snorts. “My my Kai-kun, you have such an expressive face,” he teases again, tugs on a lock of dark hair until Kai-kun whines and smacks at his hand.

So much like Jinta, his cute little protege.

“Papa warned me about you.” He says, tone suspicious, and Kisuke laughs, amused.

“I’m offended, really.” He says, entertained by the boy’s sharp look, chuckling.

It reminded him of Kaien, actually -

Kisuke freezes a little, but recovers before Kai-kun can truly notice.

“Today we’re going to work on your expressions!” He manages to say with nary a shake in his voice. “You see, the reason you always get caught lying is because you have such easy tells! So we’re going to play poker.”

“Not shogi?” Kai-kun asks, distracted by his cheerfully flapping fan. Maaa, another thing to teach his little spy in training, he supposed. Some traitorous part of him shriveled inside at the realization that he was only furthering the divide between Kai and Kaien, but a greater part of him - the parent, the caretaker, the guardian - slaps his own traitorous heart.

Ichigo had incredible faith in him. He would not betray that. More importantly, Kai-kun was young, and looked towards him for guidance. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at him for anything resembling such a thing.

“Ah, Shogi’s more familiar to you,” Kisuke says, smiling. “I’m using an unfamiliar game so I can better see how much I need to teach you.” The boy blinks at him, before nodding.

“Okay Urahara-san. So you’ll teach me the rules and then I’ll learn how to play?” He asks innocently.

“Partly. The other part, of course, is to see how well you hide your expressions.” Kai-kun stares at him for a moment. Then sighs.

“We don’t have to bet anything, do we?” Kai-kun says hesitantly, and Kisuke grins.

“Am I that predictable?” He teases, and Kai-kun scowls at him. “How about this. If you win even one game against me, I’ll start early on more self defense. If you don’t, we have to finish the formal dinner lesson.”

Kai-kun looks appropriately horrified.

“You’re mean, Urahara-san,” the boy says, wilting. “You know I’m going to lose.”

“Maa, maa, I can’t say that,” he teases fondly. “You might be good at this, and you have to learn the formal rules of dinner eventually, Kai-kun.”

Kai-kun looks at his smile, looks at the deck of cards, and wilts further.

Maaa, this was fun.

*

Ichigo takes one look at Kai-kun, puddled on the floor and sulking, and laughs.

“I see you two wrapped up your lesson on the dinner forks,” Ichigo chuckles, picking the boy up and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Hi there, cutie,” Ichigo says fondly. “How are you? Do you feel up to eating dinner?”

“I ate with Urahara-san. He bribed me into attending the lesson after I lost against him in poker,” the boy grumbles, even though he was obviously lapping up the attention like a pushy little kitten.

Goodness, the boy was bringing up all sorts of associations today.

“Poker? Why were you learning that?” He asks, looking amused.

“Urahara-san said that a good spy needs to be able to conceal his facial expressions, and that poker was an easy way to learn how,” Kai-kun grumbles, and Ichigo chuckles, bounces his son lightly as he regards Kisuke.

“Should I be worried?” The shopkeeper wonders, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

“No, it’s fine.” Ichigo’s tone is light and casual.

Oh no.

“When are you working on self defense?” He asks his son, and the boy’s cheeks puff out.

“Next week. But only if I can show him that I learned how to fall safely.” Kai-kun pouts.

“We can work on that together then, cutie. Learning to fall safely is a really important step in martial arts. Do you know why?” Ichigo asks, and Kai-kun’s nose scrunches up, and he huffs a little.

“No...” He sounds disappointed with himself, and Ichigo gives his son a fond little smile.

“Don’t be. It took me two years before I learned why, cutie.” Ichigo says fondly, and Kai-kun looks up, eyes round.

“Really?” he asks, looking bemused.

Ah, children. The stage where they thought parents knew everything was always the cutest age for a child.

“Really really, cutie.” Ichigo shifts his son to his other hip as he says, “Learning to fall is important because your body can be very fragile, especially when you’re young. It keeps you from breaking important things like your wrists and your ribs, and helps keep unnecessary bruises from important parts of your body like your neck, or more importantly,” Ichigo hefts Kai-kun up to press a kiss against his head to the boy’s surprised squeal, “Your head.”

“Papa!” the boy giggles, and Ichigo grins down at his son, ruffles unruly black hair. “Mmh, okay, okay. Can you practice with me tomorrow?”

“Is that your day off?” He teases, and Kai-kun pouts.

“Paaaaaapa,” he whines, and Ichigo laughs again.

“I’ll let it slide this time cutie. Since you’re full from dinner, does that mean you can’t join Papa in having dessert?” He asks, picks up Kai-kun’s bag when Urahara offers it to him.

“But you haven’t eaten dinner yet Papa!” Kai-kun fusses, tiny hand pressing against his face, and Ichigo laughs fondly. “Papa! You said you wouldn’t eat desserts before dinner anymore if I didn’t either!”

“You can eat dessert, cutie. I’ll eat some actual food. Uncle Keigo opened a restaurant, and he promises that you’ll get the first dessert on the house.”

“He opened his ramen store?” the boy squeaks, and Kisuke flaps his fan, watching them indulgently. “Can Urahara-san join us?” The boy says, suddenly shy, and Kisuke blinks, openly thrown by Kai-kun’s request. Ichigo too, is surprised, but his eyes soften with warmth.

“I suppose he can join us, if he wants,” Ichigo says, ruffles Kai-kun’s hair. “What about it? Care to spend an extra hour with me and Kai?”

Kai-kun turns big, pleading eyes on Kisuke, and he stares down at the child.

He has things to do.

But those eyes are so round and cute -

No. No Kisuke, resist.

Oh shit, was he going to cry? No, please don’t -

RESIST, KISUKE.

A sniff, and Kisuke finds himself defeated.

“I guess I have free time...” he mumbles, scratching his cheek with a finger. Kai-kun beams brightly, and jumps up into the air, pumping a small fist up.

“Yay! Papa, did you hear?” he says, eagerly turning his gaze to an amused Ichigo, who is giving him a knowing look.

“I did, cutie,” he chuckles, hefts his son up to plant a kiss against his cheek. “C’mon. Let’s go eat.”

*

Urahara was never one for sweets, Ichigo thought in amusement. The man could dole out candy free as he pleased, but heaven forbid he eat too many of them himself. He’d ordered a small ramen instead of the water drop dessert, and was now under force of Kai’s big, round doe-eyes as he sniffled pitifully at Kisuke.

Ichigo takes a bite of ramen to hide his grin. Kai hadn’t pulled out the wet kitten eyes on Ichigo for nearly a year, but he’d clearly found a new subject to try it on, and Ichigo had no intentions of stopping his only son from having fun.

Oi. King. Zangetsu’s voice was a welcome distraction, and he gives a hum as he nibbles on his food thoughtfully. Kai’s getting trained to be a spy? Ichigo nods along, smiling a little at his baby boy as he pouts at his teacher.

He wanted to, Ichigo thinks quietly, and Zangetsu snorts in his head.

Yeah, because it’s not a job Kaien did, King. Ichigo sighs internally, takes another bite of crunchy bacon - Keigo’s experiment was pretty nice, he’d recommend Keigo keep this one.

Why do you think I’m not complaining? Ichigo asks, and Zangetsu sighs, unbearably fond and yet worried. Kisuke’s keeping it light, for now. Information gathering, a little bit of self-defense. Dinner forks, Ichigo adds cheekily, and Zangetsu laughs as Ichigo brings up the memory of Kai hiding under a blanket.

Our son is growing well, Zangetsu concedes fondly, cooing over the little boy in the memory. Strong and full of justice for those around him.

Ichigo smiles softly.

He is. And he will continue to, no matter what. Ichigo promises, smiling to himself.

Even if that means facing Rukia? Zangetsu asks, and Ichigo allows his smile to get a little sharp as Kai, having won his argument, cheerfully shares the sweet with Kisuke.

Rukia is not my child. I’m done holding my son back for her sake.

Zangetsu’s pleasure is a low, purring rumble.

[kurt-nightcrawler]

Together Again

John Allerdyce x Female Reader

Request: Hi! I love your your writing (especially the mother nature ones and crush honestly,,,,, art lmao) and I was wondering if you could write something else for John? Like honestly anything I'm just really starved for pyro content 😂 if you don't want to then uh dw 💜

A/N: if you guys want a blurb about wedding vows or baby making sex let me know!!

Warnings: teen pregnancy, swearing, mentions of sex, and some angst.

Word Count: 8.9k

“Hey, I know it’s been a while, but I miss you… and I know I shouldn’t… but I can’t help myself. I’m really sorry for everything I did. I hurt you, I acted out, I ruined all the relationships I had at the mansion…” His voice faltered as tears fell from his eyes.

“Um, you don’t have to call me back… I’m just really sorry for being such an asshole… You deserved better…” 

You jokingly scoffed to yourself.

Typical John, You mused. Never realizing his potential. 

“I love you…” 

The voice message ended. You felt your eyes watering. Despite it all, you missed him. You missed John so much. 

-

He joined Magento’s army, brotherhood, and left you. You didn’t want to side with either of them, Charles or Erik. 

You wanted to run away somewhere, live a small-town life, maybe in Europe or something. You hadn’t really figured out all the details, but you assumed that figuring it out as you went along would suffice. As long as you had John by your side, nothing could get in your way. 

But then he wasn’t by your side. And your entire world came crashing down. 

-

You had woken up to an empty bed. Unusual, since John was in it with you the night before. 

His clothes were gone, and it felt like he had never been there to start with. 

You got yourself out of bed, not even bothering to change out of your pajamas. You wanted to know where he went. 

You made it downstairs to the den, where your friends were seated with some staff members. 

“Ah, (Y/N),” Xavier said. “You’re awake. Please sit down.” 

You sat down on the couch next to Kitty. “What’s going on? Where’s John?” 

“Allerdyce left,” Logan stated with a bitter tone. 

“Left? What do you mean he left?” 

“Magento is forming a new brotherhood of mutants, and he’s planning to attack Worthington industries.” 

“Is this about the “cure”?” You asked. 

Xavier nodded, “John left to join him.” 

No… You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. “That can’t be true. He wouldn’t just leave and not tell anyone. He would have told me if he was thinking about joining forces with Magento!” 

“(Y/N),” You looked over at Bobby, “We had an argument in our room late last night. I tried to convince him to stay but—“

“No…” You were shaking. “You’re— you’re lying!” You stood up too quickly and you got a head rush. 

“I wish I was—“ 

You felt like you were going to be sick. You could hear the blood pounding in your ears. Your vision was blurry, and you were sweating. 

You ran to the nearest trash can and dunked your head in as you heaved. 

Kitty held your hair back and rubbed your back. “Let it out. Let it out, (Y/N)...” 

You puked your guts out until you didn’t have the energy to continue. Then, you turned over, moving your head out of the trash and started crying. 

No one knew what to do about you— and Magneto trying to kill a bunch of people was a bit more of a pressing issue. 

-

You didn’t want to go to Worthington industries and fight. You didn’t want to see him. You wanted to be left alone. 

Plus, with your mutation, the X-Men thought you’d be a good guard for the mansion if anything happened. 

It was a few days before anyone came back, and while they were gone you caught a stomach bug. Constantly vomiting, bad cramps, and your chest was extremely sore. 

You didn’t know what to do about it, so you kept a trash can nearby and drank lots of water and took some ibuprofen. 

When everyone returned, Bobby, Kitty, and Rogue, all ran to hug you, knowing you’d need it. 

“I punched him for you,” Bobby whispered. You held him tighter and let silent tears rain down your face as you hugged him. 

The three of them told you about the battle, and what happened to everyone, and a new addition to the team— Scott’s younger brother, Alex Summers, who had apparently been friends with one of the brotherhood members, but decided to switch sides and support his brother. 

He was in the medical bay downstairs with everyone else, getting checked out. 

“What have you been up to?” 

You let out a weak laugh, “Nothing much. I’ve been watching tv and puking my guts out the past few days…” 

Your friends nodded in sympathy. “You’re probably sick from all the stress…” Rogue commented. 

“Yeah, that’s probably it. When it’s a good time, I’ll ask Dr. Grey to give me some medicine other than pain killers.” 

“Good idea…” 

“I’m gonna go shower,” Rogue said, getting up from the couch. 

“Me too! Kitty replied. “Are you going to change Bobby?” 

He looked over at her, “Uh, yeah. I will in a little bit.” The girls walked off, satisfied with his answer. 

You patted Bobby’s shoulder. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t talk him out of leaving…”

“He’s… He’s stubborn. I don’t think any of us could have convinced him to stay…”

“(Y/N)...” Bobby sighed.

“He never told me about even wanting to leave!” Your words stung in the air like venom. 

“He’s not coming back, is he?” 

Bobby shook his head, “I don’t think so. After the fight, the brotherhood just kind of wandered off… We have no idea where any of them went—“

“And that includes John…”

There was a pregnant pause before Bobby spoke up. 

“He really loves you.” 

“Not enough to stay,” You scoffed. 

“He just didn’t want you to get hurt… And while he’s dumb as shit, deep down, he meant well…”

“It’s just…” You snuffled your nose. “Three years, B. We were together for three years. He confided in me, and we trusted each other and we were gonna move out to the countryside in France or maybe Denmark…” Your cries interrupted your words, and all Bobby could do was hug you. Trying his best to comfort you. 

-

You weren’t sick with a stomach bug from stress— you were pregnant. 

It was simultaneously the best and worst news of your life. Everyone was supportive and kept reminding you, you didn’t have to keep it, you were only 18. 

You weren’t sure what you were going to do. John wasn’t there and you had almost no money. 

You didn’t want to raise a child alone, but you didn’t want to send them into foster care either. 

It was a messy situation, and with each week passing by, your baby grew, reminding you to make a decision. 

“I’m going to keep it. I’m going to stay here and raise my baby. It’ll probably be a mutant, so what better place for a mutant child to grow up?” 

-

Everyone was excited for you and your baby.  Kitty was excited to “be an aunt”, Rogue was excited, ablet a little nervous, with her no-touch rule, and Bobby just wanted you to be happy. 

You found out you were having a boy, and you were so excited, you cried. Jean and Ororo threw a baby shower for you and Bobby, Logan, and Scott helped redo your room so it could function for the baby too. 

Everything was going great. So great, in fact, you didn’t think about him most nights. 

You still longed for John, and you wanted him there with you, to see your baby at the ultrasound screenings, feel him kick for the first time, and decide on names. But you had to remain strong. With or without John, you needed to be a good mom for your son. 

Before and after his birth. 

-

No one was allowed on the roof normally, but you were especially not allowed in your condition. 

Yet you went up there anyway, for a moment of quiet and alone time. 

You had snuck up to the roof before in your 4 years at Xavier’s. Most times it had been to hide with John. Or just lay and star gaze— your head resting on his chest, and his hands either preoccupied with his flames, or they’d be in your hair. 

You placed a hand on your stomach, thinking it would maybe soothe you, but it didn’t really work. 

You heard footsteps, and you quickly looked over to see who it was. 

“Sorry— I uh, I didn’t think anyone was up here.” He started to leave. 

“Alex, no, you’re fine. You can stay.” 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah! Of course.” He walked over and sat next to you. 

“How’ve you been?” 

“Good, good.” He nodded. “How have you been?”

“Same as you…” You both awkwardly laughed together. 

“That’s good.”

“Mmhmm…”

Alex shifted in his spot awkwardly. 

“Are you uh… are you excited about being a mom?”

You laughed. He was so nervous. “Yeah. I mean, I’m nervous as hell, but I have all my friends around, more than willing to help me, and my life is secure and safe.” 

Alex nodded, shy and awkward, yet attentive. 

“Is… Is Bobby excited about being a dad?” 

You were shocked. “Bobby’s gay.” 

“I know, but wait— isn’t he— is he—“ Alex was so confused. 

“Bobby’s probably my best friend here, his old roommate, um, he’s the father…” 

Alex’s face was red as a tomato. “Oh…” 

He knew about Bobby’s old roommate, seeing as he took over his spot in his room. He didn’t know much, and he was pretty sure he died or something. 

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know…”

“Did he… did he die?”

You rubbed your eyes. “No… he left to join the brotherhood, days before I found out I was pregnant…” Alex listened to your every word. He still didn’t know who this guy was, considering he too, joined the brotherhood during the battle at Worthington industries, but so did a ton of other mutants. 

“I don’t really know how to contact him now, and… I don’t really want to at the moment.” 

“You don’t have to…” Alex said.  “He left, and that’s his problem.” 

“Yep… And besides, I’m not alone. I have my friends and family here.” 

“Yeah, see! You’re doing great.” 

You laughed at Alex’s words. He was cute and dorky. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

-

You were crying. Crying in pain, in joy, in sorrow, in relief— you were extremely emotional. Your baby was finally born. 

Once he got all cleaned up, umbilical cord cut, and was in your arms, laying on your bare chest for some bonding, people started coming in. 

At first, it was just Bobby, Kitty, Rogue, and Alex. They had some flowers, balloons, and presents with them. 

“We got you some things…” Rogue began.

“Awww... how are you guys?” Kitty interrupted. 

“We’re fine. He’s asleep.” You glanced down at your chest. 

“He’s so small.” Alex’s eyes were glossy. 

“He’s all pink,” Bobby observed. 

Kitty hit him on the arm, “He just came out of her vagina!” 

You laughed, “He was a C-section.” 

“Oh, I was a tumor baby.” Everyone looked at Bobby like he grew a second head. “What?” 

Rogue rolled her eyes, “Anyway, we all got you a card and some gifts.” She set them down on the ledge near the visiting chairs and window. 

“You guys didn’t have to do that.” 

“Most of them are for the little guy,” Alex said. 

“Still! He’s gonna be so spoiled…” 

Your nurse walked in after you said that. “Alright mama, we gotta get him weighed and everything. Just get stuff for the birth certificate…” She set papers down on your table tray. “If you’re up for it, you can fill stuff out now, or have someone else do it for you… We’ll be back in a little bit.” 

“Aww, bye…” Your friends cooed at your son. 

You rolled your eyes, smiling. “He’ll be in the nursery, and you can go see him in a little bit. Then if he’s fine, he’ll be back here with me and you guys can hold him.” 

“We can’t stay in here forever. This room is too small, plus Scott and his posse wanna come say hi.” 

“Right, right.” You took a sip from your water bottle the hospital gave you and looked at the birth certificate and other papers with it. 

“So… What’s his name?”

“I don’t know…” You admitted. You hadn’t really thought of a name. 

Well, you had, but it was kind of stupid. 

You wanted to name him after John, his father because he was one of the few things you had left of John. You also wanted to name him after Bobby or Alex, because they’d been some of your best friends and there for you during your pregnancy. 

“Well, you have sixty days to think about it.” Bobby reminded you. 

“Yeah,” You yawned. “Oh boy… Sorry— Sorry, I just—“

“Nonsense. You gave birth like what maybe an hour or two ago? Take a nap. You deserve it,” Kitty told you. 

“Yeah, we’ll go down to the nursery and see if we can spot him.” 

“Okay, you guys sure?”

“Yes, mom,” Alex teased. “We’re sure.”

“Okay, okay.” 

“We’ll be back.” 

Once the four shuffled out of your room, you quickly examined the birth certificate. 

You took a pen and wrote down your name, John’s, and the perfect name for your son. 

-

“Johnathan-Robert Alexander (Y/L/N)! Get back here!” Rogue scolded. 

“Sorry Marie, I just saw a cool bird, and it flew away…”

She ruffled his hair, “Your mom is gonna be mad if we don’t eat lunch. I let you play outside for an extra twenty minutes.”

“Oh, okay…” 

It had been six years since your son was born. You named him after his dad and your two best guy friends. His nickname was Jr, or Junior, because of his initials. 

He took after you mostly, except he had John’s eyes and mutation. 

You and your friends all became X-Men and teachers at the mansion, and they all pitched in to help raise Junior, despite you telling them over and over again that they didn’t have to. 

It wasn’t easy. You were a young mom— there were some pity looks at the grocery store, people asking if Junior was your little brother, you had no biological family around, despite the X-Men making up for it, and you were single. 

Not the end of the world, but sometimes, late at night, you thought about John. 

You know he did what he thought was right, somehow. You just wish he didn’t leave. Keeping you safe, what bullshit. 

Sometimes you resented him and you were glad he was gone. Sometimes you cried and wished he was there with you. 

He would have been a great dad. Nervous, and a little unsure at times, sure, but you know he’d love Junior and do anything for him. 

You were grading papers when your phone rang. 

You didn’t recognize the number, and you had no idea who’d be calling you at noon in the middle of the week.  

It stopped ringing and you didn’t look at it again for the rest of the hour. 

You glanced over at your phone as you took a bite from your salad. The caller left a message in your voice box, which was weird since spam calls usually don’t do that. 

Maybe it was someone with the wrong number, thinking you were a lost loved one. 

Oh god! I better listen to the message!

You picked up your phone and went to your messages. 

Your finger didn’t even hover over and hesitate when it hit the play button. 

-

You were crying. Six years later. Six years later, and he finally reached out. 

You didn’t know what to do. 

What did he want?

You rubbed your temple. What if he’d been in trouble with some bad people? What if he was dying?

You quickly selected his number on your screen. 

“Would you like to call? Yes or no?” 

Your thumb hovered over yes. 

Why didn’t you just push it? What were you so afraid of?

“God…” You groaned. “What am I doing?” 

“No! No, no… I have to call him back. Urgh!” You ran a hand through your hair. 

“Whooooo…” You hit yes, out your phone up to your ear, and let the phone ring. 

You were sweating and your heart was pounding like a drum. 

What if he didn’t pick up?

“Hello?”

“Hi, John, it’s me… (Y/N).” 

-

You asked him to come to the mansion, to sit down and talk to you. He seemed nervous over the phone, but he agreed to come and talk. 

“He called you? After six years of nothing?” Kitty scoffed in disbelief. 

“My number isn’t the same as it was in 2006. Plus who knows what he’s been up too since…” Your words trailed off.

“Why didn’t you ask to meet up at like a Starbucks or the library?” Alex asked. 

“I want him to meet Junior.”

“Are you insane?!” Rogue asked, looking over at you.

“The mansion is a place we’re both familiar with, and he doesn’t have to see him right away…” 

The three all had unsure looks on their faces. 

“It’s my decision. And while you’ve all been more than supportive, I believe he has a right to meet his son. He doesn’t have to be in his life permanently, as much as I’d like that, but he should at least know about him. See him once, maybe.” 

“You’re right,” Kitty spoke up. “He deserves to meet his kid. We may not like him or want him around, but Junior is his son. We can’t change that.”

“Kitty’s right. John’s not the greatest, but he always tried when it came to you, and he deserves to meet his son.” 

“When is he coming over?”

“Tomorrow at 10.” 

-

“Hey, kiddo.” You slowly opened your son’s door and peaked in. “You ready for bed?”

“Yep!” He popped the p. “I fed George and Rock and Socks.” Those were the fish in his little aquarium. “I brushed my teeth, and I put my pajamas on!” 

You gave him a hug, “That’s great, sweetie!” 

Junior sat under his covers in his bed, and you sat on the edge. “What’d you do in your classes today?” 

“Well, Ms. Monroe read us a book about a farm where the cows found a typewriter and made the farmer change the farm up!” 

Wow, starting them young.

“And then she taught us about different types of plants. Did you know broccoli is actually a flower?”

“I did not,” You blinked. 

“Does this mean I don’t have to eat it anymore? People don’t eat flowers!” 

Oh, Junior thought he was so slick. 

“Actually kiddo, some flowers are edible. So, no, you can’t cut out broccoli.” 

He frowned, “But I don’t wanna eat flowers!” 

“Rules are rules… And besides, you wanna eat healthily and get strong, don’t you?” 

“Yeah!” Junior’s face lit up. “So I can beat Gabe when we wrestle!” 

Gabe was Scott and Alex’s 10-year-old brother, who also went to Xavier’s school. He was one of the few kids even close to Junior’s age, making them almost best friends. 

“See! That’s the spirit! Now, do you want me to read to you before you go to sleep?” 

“Hmm… Hmm… Hmm…” 

You laughed a little, “I’ll take that as a no.”

Junior yawned, “Hmm…”

“I’ll let you get some sleep, okay?” You got up, bending down to kiss his forehead. 

“Okay, mom… Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sweetie.” 

You closed the door behind you as you stepped out. You stood there for a moment to take a breather. 

John was going to love him, you weren’t worried about that. You were worried if you still had feelings for him and you were acting irrationally. 

No, You decided as you brushed your teeth in your bathroom. I’m not acting irrationally. I’ve wanted to talk to him since he left. I have no anger or sadness left in me, and I just want to catch up. 

“(Y/N),” Professor Xavier spoke into your mind. “You’re making part of the mansion shake.” 

“Shit!” You dropped your toothbrush into the sink and tried to pace your breath. 

“It’s alright, dear.” 

You had geological manipulation, and while you had practically mastered it, you still struggled at times. 

You rubbed your face with a towel and sighed. 

You knew getting any sleep was out the door at that point. 

-

You must have fallen asleep at some point and gotten some sleep because you woke up almost an hour late. 

“No, no, no!” You were frantic, slipping on your clothes, trying to brush your hair and somehow rock half-assed bed head and no makeup so you could be presentable in under five minutes. 

“Hey, (Y/N), you slept through your alarm—“

“I know, Bobby!” You were running down the hall to get to your classroom. 

“So I got Junior dressed and ready for the day—“

You slowed down to stop and open your door, looking at Bobby. “Oh my god. Thank you so much…” You instantly wrapped him into a hug. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay…” 

“I’m just so worried… about John and—“

“You’re gonna be fine,” He soothingly rubbed one of his hands on your back. 

“I got no sleep last night… I’m anxious about John coming back too. We’re in this together, okay?” 

“Yeah, together.” 

-

You stood peeking through a window, waiting for him. 

10:00 came, and a rugged, black Jeep pulled through the gates. 

You watched him step out of the car— brown leather jacket, facial hair, and he looked slightly more muscular than you’d last seen him. He’d aged, just like you, but not in a bad way, despite the fact he looked a bit tired. But then again, so did you. 

You left your hiding spot and went outside to greet him. 

“Hey!” 

“Hey!” He quickly checked you out, but it didn’t go undetected by you. “Wow, you look— great!” 

“You too.” You stood there, face to face, unsure if a hug or a handshake was appropriate. 

“So, how have you been?” 

“Good, um— well, a lot has changed since you left…” 

John nodded awkwardly. “But uh… I could give you a tour. Tell me about what you’ve been up to?” 

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good.” 

“So… Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, and I all became teachers...“ John chuckled. “What? Hard to believe?”

“No, no…” He shook his head. “Are Bobby and Rogue still together?” 

You laughed, “No way! Bobby came out of the closet and Marie sees some guy from New Orleans, I think his name is Remy? I’m not really sure… 

John smiled, “Yeah, he told me— junior year, he didn’t like girls.” 

“It hurt, Rogue,” You admitted. “But she understood.” 

“Well, that’s good, I suppose…”

“Yeah, yeah.” You wandered down the halls a bit, before speaking up. 

“So… what have you been up to?”

“Well, I lived in Genosha for awhile…”

“Magento’s hippie colony?” 

“Hey!” He jokingly scoffed. “It’s not a hippie colony!”

“Okay, Mister.” 

“Anyway, I uh, I started writing…”

You rose your brows in surprise, “Really? What do you write about?”

“Romance, mostly…” John was flustered. “Gothic romance. One of the people on Genosha knew a guy, he’s a literary agent—“

“Wait, are you…?”

“Yeah, I’m an actual published author. I only have two books out right now, the first one came out in 2008, and the other just last year.” 

You were baffled, all this time, and you could have contacted him sooner somehow. “I had no idea… congratulations! That’s amazing!”

“Thank you…” 

“Yeah, of course. You do anything else?”

“My mom died two years ago… I went to her funeral… I saw my dad.”

“How’d that go?”

“Not great… but, you know how it is.” You nodded in sympathy. “Anyway, what’s new with you? Besides teaching… Any new X-Men? Are you… seeing anyone…?”

“Scott’s younger brother joined the team, and he has another brother—“

“Mommy! Mom!” You froze. John noticed your shift in demeanor and glanced from you to Junior. 

“Junior, you’re supposed to be in class.” 

“I was, but then Stacy Brown, the girl with the lizard tongue, threw up, so Stacy got taken to Dr. Grey’s lab and Ororo let us leave early.”

“I know who Stacy Brown is, sweetie. You don’t have to tell me she has a lizard tongue. That’s not very nice to point out people’s mutations.” 

Junior frowned and sulked a little, “I’m sorry…”

“I forgive you.” 

John’s eyes kept moving between you and Junior. When did you have a kid? He couldn’t be any older than five or six. 

“Hi. Who are you?” The kid spoke to him. 

“Oh,” John crouched down to equal eye level. “I’m John… What’s your name?” 

“My name is John, too! Well, actually Johnathan-Robert, I was named after my dad and one of his closest friends, even though his name isn’t actually Johnathan. Everyone calls me Junior though, cause my initials are JR.” 

John was floored. He had a son. 

He had a son, and he left him. He left you. 

Oh, God… 

“Uh, Mr… Mr. John?” Junior asked. “Why are you crying?” 

“Uh, Junior, sweetie…” You trailed off. “He’s your dad.” 

“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry…”

John wiped his eyes and stood up, “What for?”

“I made you cry… I’m really sorry…”

“It’s okay. They were happy tears.” He rubbed his eyes. 

“Oh… Do you wanna see my fish? I have 3 of them in my room, they live in a terrarium!” 

“Aquarium,” You corrected him. 

“That’s what I said!” 

John smiled, “Yeah, I’d like that.” 

“Come on, then!” Junior grabbed his hand and led him upstairs. 

-

John moved back in. 

Not with you necessarily, but he wanted to be a part of Junior’s life. He felt like the world’s biggest asshole for leaving days before you found out you were pregnant. 

He joined the brotherhood because he felt like you were the only person who saw him as a decent human being. He didn’t agree with everything Xavier said and stood for, and he was tired of people comparing him to Bobby. 

He wanted to fight for what he thought was right. He wanted to be able to just do what he wanted without hurting the one person he cared about. Which is why he didn’t tell you he was leaving. 

But he knew he hurt you. He knew soon as the battle was over and he claimed one of the small homes on Genosha as his. 

He was scared to reach out the first few months. And then he assumed you left Xavier’s and he didn’t know how to contact you from there. He only just got your number because a graduate from Xavier’s moved to Genosha, giving him your number and telling him you hadn’t left. 

He didn’t even hesitate to call you. He didn’t even care if you cursed him out on the other line, yelling about how you never wanted to see him again. He just wanted to hear your voice one more time. 

What he wouldn’t have done to hold you in his arms again, feel your soft, pink lips against his, your bodies pressed against each other, becoming one. 

But he knew he didn’t deserve any of it. He didn’t deserve you. He knew he fucked up. 

And what hurt him the most was he thought he was worse than his own father. The one who beat him, called him a monster, sent him away to a foreign country, left in the care of strangers— he thought he was worse because he wasn’t there in the beginning. He wasn’t there for the doctor’s appointments, the birth, or his first steps and words. 

You talked to him. Tried to convince him he wasn’t bad, while still holding your ground and making him responsible for just up and leaving. 

“I should have gone with you. You know I would have. I would have followed you to the fucking moon if you asked.” 

“I know… I just thought keeping you out of all that was the best choice.”

“We were fucking kids John! We really didn’t know much. We still don’t! We’re 23 with a child.”

“You don’t have to forgive me. You don’t have to love me again. I just want to be in my son’s life, please.” He was trying his best to not cry again. 

“Most of the time you’re a great guy. I want you in Junior’s life… I just… I don’t know if we can ever go back to how it was before.” I still love you, but I’m not ready to rush into anything…

“Yeah, no, I get that. You have no reason to trust me, and no obligations to date me…”

You sighed, “I want us to be friends. Not for anyone’s sake but for our own… because as much as I should… I don’t hate you.” 

“Thank you.” His voice was breaking. 

“Friends?” 

He nodded, “Yeah, friends.” You wrapped him in your arms in place of a handshake. Neither of you said anything. Nothing needed to be said. 

-

John had been living at the X-Mansion for almost two years. He taught an English class or two and continued to write more gothic romance novels while spending as much time as he could with Junior. 

He became friends with Bobby, Kitty, and Rogue again. He became friends with Alex. He was friends with you, despite wanting more. 

But he knew he didn’t deserve it, and he was just glad to get what he could. 

“So… what do they like, do in Romania?”

You looked up from your lesson plan for the week and gave John a funny look. 

“What do they do in Romania? Aren’t you the one writing about vampires? You should know.” 

“Yeah, but you’re a history teacher!”

“I teach kids about the civil war, Marie Antionette, and the Han dynasty.” 

You sometimes worked together in the library or in one of your rooms or classrooms. John— writing the next chapter of his novel— and you, usually doing lesson plans or grading tests. 

“What are you writing about anyway?” You turned in your chair to watch John scribble words down in his notebook. He preferred to write down on paper first, then type it up. 

“Well, she’s making Von take her on a date since she’s been living with him for a month and he confessed he liked her.”

“Isn’t Von a vampire?”

John nodded, “Half. Anyway, he’s gonna like, take her stargazing on the rooftop. I don’t know what else they’re gonna do after that.”

You pondered for a moment, “We used to do that all the time…” 

“Yeah, um…”

You laughed a little, teasing him. “Do you base all your stories on our romantic endeavors?”

“Not all of them!” He defended. 

“That so?” John hummed in response. “What has the great womanizer, St. John Allerdyce, been up to in his love life the last few years?” 

“Not much,” He admitted. “I went on a few dates, a handful of hookups, but nothing really worked out…” He tried to shake the feeling of longing for you off, “What about you?”

“Same as you. Not much luck, especially with being a young mom, and raising a kid with two of her best friends who are guys, it tends to… scare people away…” 

John swung his legs to the side of the bed, about to get up. 

“They’re pussies,” He said while looking at you. 

You nodded, not noticing he got up, “Yeah, besides I’m busy…”

Your train of thought was forgotten as John’s eyes looked into yours. You weren’t speaking. 

Your eyes glanced down at his lips. They were soft and pink. 

You cleared your throat, trying to distract yourself from your thoughts, unaware John’s brain was on the same page as yours. 

He unexpectedly pressed his lips against yours. You were wide-eyed with shock as he did so. You weren’t expecting that. 

But you were glad it happened. 

He broke away too quickly for your liking. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have—“

“Do it again.” 

“What?” John almost thought you were kidding. 

“Kiss me again, Sinjin.” 

And so he did. His lips collided with yours, your mouths moving in sync. 

His weight and force caused you to fall back in your chair, with John straddling your waist. Your hands were tugging on the hair at the nape of his neck, causing him to moan a little against your mouth. His hands were roaming up and down your body. 

You partially ground against his crotch, causing him to break his lips away from yours and curse. 

It didn’t last long, as he went back to kissing your lips like a horny teenager, pulling your shirt up off of you. 

“Wait, wait, stop.” John froze, looking you directly in the eyes, his face barely two inches away from yours. 

“Is everything alright?” 

“Buy me dinner first, before you undress me, okay?” 

You didn’t want to get carried away. You wanted a clear mind before you slept with him again. Kissing and going on a few dates and whatever else you were doing was enough at that moment. 

He nodded, in total awe of you— The small details of your face one could only see if they were this close— “Tomorrow at 7. Does that work for you?” 

“That’s perfect.” 

-

“So I need you— if you can’t that’s fine! You have lives of your own— but I kind of need someone to watch Junior for the night.” 

You really hated asking people to babysit, but it was Kitty and Rogue. They wouldn’t care. 

“Not that we won’t do it,” Kitty said. “But why can’t John watch him?” 

“Well—“

suddenly, Bobby burst through the door, screaming the girls’ names. 

“KATHERINE! ANNA MARIE! I HAVE HUGE NEWS!” 

“What is it?”

“John—“ He looked at you, and then stopped his sentence. 

“Oh… I’m assuming you told them.”

“Told us what?” Rogue asked. 

“John and (Y/N) are going on a date.” 

“Finally,” Kitty let out. 

You were confused, “What do you mean, finally?” 

“Are— are you serious?” Bobby asked in disbelief. 

You nodded. 

“You two are so in love, it’s sickening sometimes!” Rogue scoffed. 

“We are not!” You knew that wasn’t true. You obviously still had feelings and so did he, but love? You weren’t sure if it was that. 

“Please, he never stopped loving you, and you never stopped loving him.”

“Bobby…”

“(Y/N)...” 

You groaned. 

“Look, I’m not gonna push you into saying the L-word anytime soon, but the guy writes romance novels for fuck’s sake! You’re gonna have a great time no matter what.”

Yeah, you thought to yourself as John drove down the crowded New York roads. 

We’re gonna have a great time no matter what. 

You went to some restaurant that just opened. It wasn’t too fancy or too casual, but since it was new, you still needed a reservation. 

After dinner, you walked around the city streets, just catching up, looking at shops and apartment buildings and all the people. 

It almost felt like you were teenagers again. 

Holding hands, watching the sunset…

John pulled out his phone to snap a few pictures. You decided to try and photobomb, making dumb faces and peeking your head into view of the camera. 

John shifted his hands and arms so you were the camera’s main focus. 

The way the sun's rays reflected through the lens behind you making you glow, (John already thought you were most of the time), your goofy smile— he took a picture, but to him, it looked more like a renaissance painting. 

He glanced away from his phone to see you without a lense. 

You still looked like a heavenly being to him. You always did— strong, beautiful, intelligent, witty, and you were an amazing mom.

 He didn’t have anyone to use as a base for “mom skills”, but he didn’t need that to know you were amazing. Not just with Junior, but all the young kids at the mansion. 

Of course, there were times when you faltered or felt like you weren’t good enough, times where you would make the mansion shake on accident, but everyone had weak points. 

John didn’t see you as any lesser for them, he knew your life wasn’t easy. Even if he had never left, it wouldn’t have been perfect. 

But he couldn’t dwell on the past forever, despite how much he wanted to at some of his weaker moments. 

“Whatcha looking at?”

He blinked. “You… The sunset… You look like an angel.” 

You nervously laughed, “Stop it.” 

John put his phone away and got back to your side. 

“I’m serious, you’re beautiful…” 

Your gaze fell down to your feet, not unnoticed by John. 

“Hey,” He cupped your face with his hand, forcing your gaze on him. “It’s okay if you don’t believe me right now, but you will one day… I promise you that.” 

His hand faltered and you hugged him. 

“God, you’re so nice to me.” 

“I don’t deserve you.” He plainly stated. 

You narrowed your eyes at him and pointed a finger. “No self-deprecating talk!”

John laughed at your attitude shift. It was cute. “Alright, but that means nothing from you either.“

“Fine.” 

John kissed the top of your head, causing you to smile like a madman. It made his heart flutter a bit. 

-

Your first date was almost two years ago. It seemed so long ago, yet almost like it was yesterday. 

You woke up to the sound of your alarm. 

You immediately woke up, but John just groaned and stirred in his sleep a little. 

He had an arm wrapped around you, so you had to wiggle your way out of bed. “Come on, sleepyhead…” 

John groaned some more, his grip on you just got tighter. 

“If you don’t let me out, I’ll pee on the bed.” 

John’s eyes shot open, and you smirked to yourself, having been victorious. 

“That would be hot.” 

You gagged as you walked into your bathroom. “Gross!”

John followed you, “You know I’m just joking.” 

You shook your head, a smile evident on your face. “I know, I know.” 

You turned the sink on and began washing your face. John used the empty space in the mirror to brush out his bed head. 

You caught him starring at you a few times as you both went through your morning routines. 

“What are you thinking about?” 

“Nothing.” He kissed the crook of your neck. “Today’s just gonna be a good day. That’s all. I can feel it.” 

You let his words sink in for a moment. 

“Yeah, today’s gonna be a good day.” 

That’s when John knew. His instinct, gut, or whatever you call it, knew this was it. 

He casually walked out of the bathroom and grabbed a small box. You were preoccupied with applying some makeup. 

He came back in, on one knee in the doorway. 

You looked over at him, nearly dropping your brush on to the floor, your jaw slack. 

“(Y/N), I love you. And this isn’t some big romantic gesture, but love isn’t only seen in big romantic gestures. It’s the small things, the intimate moments. I did have something planned, but I really couldn’t wait. I love you… and…” John’s words trailed off. He was starting to cry. Your eyes were watering too. 

“Will you marry me?”

You nodded, “Yes, yes!” 

John got up and kissed you. Then he slipped the ring on your finger. 

You admired it, “Wow… it’s beautiful…”

“So are you.” 

You kissed him without missing a beat.

-

“You may now kiss the bride.” 

John didn’t hesitate with that. 

People cheered and some jokingly wolf-whistled. Junior made a sour face. 

Your wedding was magical, and despite having to say hello to every guest and dance at least twice, you were happy. So happy. 

John was happy too. He had a big smile on his face the whole time, no matter what and he was so excited to call himself your husband. 

Some people teased him and others were very surprised, claiming John was really out of his element. 

You knew better though. You both just loved each other, and after John spilled his guts on how much he loved you in front of everyone at the altar, he couldn’t care less who saw him like this. 

-

You just had a quick breakfast before you had to teach your first-hour class. You didn’t think anything of it as you were running a bit behind. 

You were fine though, and your schedule was going smoothly, your class was taking notes as you talked about the French Revolution. Students were asking questions when needed, and most of them were paying attention. 

Suddenly, you felt a wave of nausea hit you. You tried to keep it down, but you couldn’t, and immediately darted to the trash can near your desk. 

Your students were murmuring among each other, unsure of what to do. 

“Um… Ms. (Y/L/N)? Are you okay?” 

You used a tissue to wipe your mouth and applied some hand sanitizer. 

“Yeah— um—“ 

You couldn’t come up with an excuse though, for one of your students opened a portal and grabbed John and another teacher. 

John rushed to your aid, asking if you were alright. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“I’m gonna take you to Dr. Grey. Piotr, can you watch her class for a little bit?” 

“Yeah, sure.” He replied, a little unsure and worried about your well being. 

John helped you out of your classroom, despite you insisting you didn’t need help. 

Thankfully Jean was in the lab, so you didn’t have to go looking for her. 

As you explained what happened, John sat at your side like a nervous puppy. 

“Babe, I’m not going to die. I probably just ate something bad and my stomach didn’t agree with it.” 

“Food poisoning is really serious—“

“It’s probably not that.” 

“You rarely get sick aside from the common cold or seasonal allergies.” He reminded you. 

Jean smiled, at how much John was worrying. It showed he cared. 

“Have you had anything else happen to you lately?”

“I’ve been a lot more tired, and more headaches, but that’s just aging, right?” 

“Probably. I’m gonna have you fill this out though, just in case.” Jean handed you a clipboard with a questionnaire attached. 

You read each question, leaving a checkmark or an x, depending on what it was. You handed it back to Jean and she read it over. 

“I’m gonna have you pee in a cup, just so I can test it for a few things.”  Jean opened a plastic wrapping and handed you a small plastic cup. 

“Bathroom’s on the right.” 

You came back quickly, informing Jean you left the cup in the bathroom. 

“I’ll go get that… and I should be back with your results soon.”

She walked out, leaving you and John alone. 

You checked your phone, seeing some missed texts from Kitty. 

 KITTY: Hey

 KITTY: heard you puked in class today :( you alright?

 (Y/N): yeah, I’m in Jean’s lab. She’s testing my urine for something…

 KITTY: oh my god! Are you pregnant?

 (Y/N): What!!?

 KITTY: that’s usually why they test urine. Although, when I’d go to the dr. they’d make me pee to see if there was like protein in my pee or something

 KITTY: idk

 (Y/N): There’s no way!

 (Y/N): Well...

 KITTY: *side eye emoji* didn’t you tell me your period was a little late?

 (Y/N): Yeah, but that’s normal! 

 KITTY: You’re almost 30

 (Y/N): So? Your period isn’t always regular, and we’re the same age

 KITTY: I’m a lesbian. You have a husband. 

 You turned your phone off. What if you were pregnant again?

Obviously, you were in a good place, you would be fine having a kid. (Plus, Junior had been asking for a sibling awhile back.) You just hadn’t really discussed it with John. 

Why mess up a good thing? You, know? You didn’t need another child, but you wouldn’t be disappointed. 

Oh god! You were definitely pregnant and what if John didn’t want more kids? What if your body couldn’t handle carrying another baby? What if—

“Sweetheart, you’re shaking.” John’s hands held yours, trying to keep them from moving. “Are you alright? Do you feel like you’re gonna faint?”

“I might be pregnant…” You whispered. You don’t know why you whispered it. 

“Are you sure?”

“My period is late— but even after five different kinds of birth controls it’s never really been on a regular schedule. Me throwing up could have been morning sickness—“ 

John couldn’t hide the smile on his face. You were rambling about how you were probably pregnant and how worried you were. He just held your hand, and calmly said your name.��

“(Y/N), you’re gonna be okay. You’re an amazing mom, and I’m gonna be with you through all of it this time.” 

You nodded, not trusting your voice. 

Jean came back with your results. 

“So?”

“You must have eaten something bad, or your period is coming up. Some women vomit during PMS.” 

“Am I pregnant?” You asked. 

“No, why? We’re you expecting that?” 

“Oh, no. We’re not— I just thought— cause you made me pee—“

Jean shrugged as she typed on her computer. “I did test for that. But no baby…” 

You nodded, asking what to do next. 

John sat, lost in his thoughts. He was so excited at the thought of you being pregnant. 

Do I want another kid?... 

When Junior had asked for a sibling not too long ago, John said, “No way.” 

Now?

“Just drink plenty of water, and bed rest. I’ll get someone to cover your classes for tomorrow after we disinfect your room. If you don’t puke or have any new symptoms within the next 48 hours, you can go back to teaching.” 

“Make sure she stays in her room, okay?” Jean said to John. 

“Yes, ma’am.” He half-joked. 

John led you up to your shared room, shutting the door behind him. 

“Lay on the bed. I’ll get you some pajamas, and then some water. How do you feel? Do you need more blankets? I’m sure I can get Bobby to cover my next class, I can cuddle with you if you’d like.” 

“No, Sinjin, I’m fine, really… besides, I can make another lesson plan, or finish my book—“

“Oh no, you don’t. Jean said you needed to rest. So, that’s exactly what you’re gonna do. Even if that means I have to sit and watch you.” 

“Creep,” You teased as you changed into your pajamas. 

“Edward did it with Bella,” He argued, while quickly texting Bobby, asking to sub for him. 

“Didn’t you say Stephanie Myer was an ‘embarrassment in the gothic romance community?’” 

“Besides the point…” 

“Okay, Edward Cullen.” 

John removed his shoes and socks and joined you in bed, “Shut up.” 

“Make me,” You teased, eyes bearing into his. John kissed your forehead. 

“I would, but you puked up breakfast not even three hours ago.” 

You frowned, “Then don’t cuddle with me! You’ll get sick.” 

“My body is like a furnace. Most diseases don’t last in me.” 

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” 

John shrugged as he draped an arm over you, rubbing circles into your skin with his thumb.

You shifted a little, trying to get comfortable, before settling on a position. 

“Hey, Sinjin…”

“Yeah?” 

“What if I was pregnant?” 

John’s hand stopped. 

“We thought I was for a minute, and you looked excited, despite the fact I was freaking out… Do you want another kid?” 

John flinched a little at your sharp question. “I mean… it’s your body. It’s up to you.” 

“No, no, we’re in this together. Do you want another kid?” 

“Honestly?... Yeah, I do. I know I was on the fence when Junior first asked, but that was months ago… I want to experience everything, and be there for you this time… do you want to have another kid?

“Uh-huh.” 

“Okay… Wait— when can we— Jean said 48 hours without puking—“

You glanced over at the clock, “10:43 AM. This Wednesday.” 

“Right. At exactly 10:43 AM, on Wednesday, we can have sex… Oh my god.” John laughed, somewhat disappointed and embarrassed by his words. 

“What?”

“We’re like an old couple, scheduling when to have sex.” 

You laughed, “Plenty of people schedule sex— remember when we were younger? We’d plan around when Bobby and Kitty wouldn’t be around so one of our rooms were empty—“

“Okay, okay… I’ll go to the store and get some viagra.” 

You snorted, “Don’t think you’ll be needing that big guy.” 

“You’re right. I’ll just get some extra large condoms.” John joked. 

“First off, that defeats the whole point of baby-making, and second, you need small at best.” 

“You wound me, woman!”

You smiled stuck your tongue out like a child.

-

When you were in better health, you and John didn’t waste any time— You went at it like rabbits. 

You thought you’d get pregnant on the first try, seeing as you weren’t even trying for Junior, but that wasn’t the case. You had to try a few more times before getting there.

Test after test, until finally, one said positive. 

You and John were so excited, not a dry eye between the two of you. 

“We’re having a baby!” John held you close, his hands down at your stomach. 

“I’m not showing yet, it’s too early…”

“I know, I know,” He sheepishly admitted.  “I’m just excited.” 

“We can’t tell anyone until the second trimester, or well, we’re not supposed to, because it’s such early development right now that something could go wrong, usually it doesn’t— but that’s what all the doctors and books and mommy blogs online say.”

John nodded, he’d read a few books, and some articles online, but he knew you’d already been to doctors before and just knew more. 

“When do you think we should tell Junior?” 

“How are we gonna tell Junior,” You corrected him. 

“He wanted a sibling. This should be easy.” 

You squinted your eyes at him. “If we start to struggle how to explain this to him, it’s all on you buddy.” 

“Alright.” 

-

John knew what was going to happen. He knew what a cesarean section was. He even watched videos, about it. 

But boy, oh, boy, seeing it in person was so much different. 

Your doctor let him cut the umbilical cord, which he was super nervous about. He was anxious about everything. 

Was your daughter safe? What if you woke up before you got stitched up? What if you had a sudden health complication?

His mind raced as he watched your baby get cleaned off and checked on. 

“Is she okay?” 

“So far. We’re going to take her to the nursery to get her weighed and measured and move her mom out of the delivery room. Stay with her, when the anesthesia wears off she’s gonna be pretty sore.” 

John didn’t want to leave your baby girl, but he wasn’t going to disobey your doctor. 

You made it into your recovery room without any trouble, and after a few minutes, your nurse left you and John alone, saying he could visit your daughter in the nursery soon. 

“I’ll wait until our friends and family get here.” 

Your nurse nodded and reminded you to press the button on the side of your bed if you needed anything, before heading out the door. 

-

You named your daughter after your other two best friends, Katherine Anne Allerdyce. John wanted to name her after you, but you argued what if you had another girl? 

He got all flustered and nervous at the idea, which you found cute. 

“Do you wanna hold her?” He asked Junior. 

He nodded and was told to sit down in one of the chairs. 

“She’s so… tiny…” He emphasized. 

Everyone laughed or chuckled at Junior’s demeanor. 

“She was born a few hours ago,” You reminded him. 

“Oh… Yeah.” 

Everyone else took turns holding her and cooing and doting over Kat. 

“Aww, hello… Hello Kat… Aww, you’re so cute.”

“Bobby she’s asleep.” 

“Hush let me hold my niece.”

John frowned. “She’s my child and I’ve held her less than you have.” 

You rolled your eyes, “Babe, let Bobby dote.” 

“Fine…”

Kitty pulled out her phone, “Let me get a picture of you guys! Bobby, John, and Katherine. I think it’ll be cute!” 

“Fine, fine.” John rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. 

He scooted closer to Bobby and grinned up at Kitty’s phone as the flash went off. 

“Ow!” Bobby winced. “Did you have to use flash?” 

“Aww… you blinked.” She pouted. 

“I was blinded!”

“Hush it, you big baby. Let me take another one.” Kitty positioned her phone to take another picture again. 

“No flash this time!”

“It’s not on!”

John smiled again and so did Bobby. Kitty took her photo and then admired her work. 

“Aww, you guys look so cute together!” 

She handed her phone to John so he and Bobby could look at the picture. 

John smiled. 

He looked tired, normal with age, raising a kid, and being up for hours while his wife gave birth. 

But he was happy. 

His life wasn’t how he thought it would be, but unplanned plans are usually the best ones. 

He had a family— not just you, Junior, and Kat— but Bobby, Kitty, Alex, Rogue, and everyone else at the mansion. He had people to fall back on and that supported and loved him. 

He looked over at you, talking to Alex while sipping from the straw of your hospital cup/water bottle they gave you. His heart yearned. Despite how tired you were, and how you couldn’t even walk at the moment due to giving birth not even 24 hours ago, John still thought you were the most beautiful and brave person he knew. His writing could never compare or encapture your character, no matter how hard he tried. 

But it didn’t matter. 

You both had what you never knew you wanted. 

And you were happy. 

[simptasia]

ship number ask game;;;; 1, 7, 8, 15, 23, 29, 32, 33, 44 for mistoria please 🥺

thank you so much, keena!! :D

How do they fall asleep? Wake up? Any daily rituals?

typically they fall asleep curled up together spooning (in munku’s bed, or the love nest misto made on his roof, or victoria’s bed at the egyptian, etc), and most of the time misto is the big spoon because he’s ever so protective. they both wuv cuddles, they could stay like that for hours and hours. and they do

they wakin’ up looking like a couple of very content kitties. often purring

daily rituals? nothing they do together is something i’d call a ritual

What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could?

uhhh misto is rather insecure so he’s self-deprecating and he doesn’t take compliments as well as one should. victoria could Almost consider this annoying, but mostly she finds it sad and concerning. yeah he got a confidence boost in the movie but he’s gonna still have some issues for a bit. as for misto with victoria,,, uh, victoria is impulsive and highly impressionable and that can get her into trouble and that worries him, so he wishes she’d think things thru a bit more. but again, i don’t think he finds it annoying, as much as... worrisome

so basically neither of them actually dislike anything about the other

What do the like best about their partner?

they both love each other’s kindness the best

cats, even these sapient cats, aren’t Especially deep creatures so they’re mainly thinking with their hearts and some other organs. ahem. so they love each other for being kind and sweet and good and funny and also sexy reasons. misto also loves what a good dancer victoria is, i mention because dancing is obviously incredibly important to the culture of jellicle cats. it’s like a mystical language

How adventurous are they?

victoria, Very. misto, coax him and he’ll get into it

victoria is down for anything, she’s hungry for Experiences, her eyes aglitter with wonder and curiosity. misto is an anxious overthinker but victoria (and munku) can convince him to do anything. ANYTHING. he needs to remember that he has the powers of a fucking god and maybe he’ll calm down a bit. anyways once he’s in The Adventure he’s like “oh this is really fun! why was i worried”

How do they hug? Kiss? Tease? Flirt? Comfort?

hug: ohhh misto would have to bend pretty much in half or get down on his knees because he’s a Long Boy and victoria is widdle. itsy bitsy. or he’s holding her to his chest. mostly they hug laying down anyways. i’m reminded of that post thats like “the ideal hug is 45 minutes”, yeah that. tight, unabashed, nuzzly affection. oh, with tails curled together too! how could i almost forget that

kiss: i personally shy away from imagining the cats kissing. i like the idea that nuzzles, in certain contexts and relationships, are their version of kissing. (like, their nuzzle during misto’s song very much felt like a movie’s Big Damn Kiss moment) i’m not against people writing/drawing Cats universe cats human style kissing, they just don’t in my version of this world in my head....... that and i find writing about kissing to be especially hard so the idea of writing nuzzles and other affections instead makes me feel pleased

tease: sometimes victoria will purposely move her tail is an extra slow and hypnotic manner in order to draw attention to... some attention deserving areas below the tail. and misto? tease? oh please. mr. Yes Victoria, No Victoria, Step On Me, Victoria, I’ve Been A Good Boy ain’t teasing nobody

flirt: i wouldn’t so much call it flirting as i’d call it They Want Each Other Desperately And Aren’t Subtle About It. also dancing. also based on the movie, misto’s form of flirting is to suddenly expose pretty cats to juggling and card tricks....... bewildering but effective. we make fun but by the end of the movie, he’s got two of the hottest cats in the tribe, so checkmate atheists

comfort: hold the other tight and pet their head while telling them they’re here for the other. whilst making soft soothing noises and rocking a bit

How do the handle disasters or emergencies? Minor injuries? Sickness?

disasters and emergencies? when something goes wrong the first plan is always Get Munkustrap, He’ll Know What To Do

minor injuries, i’m picturing victoria is a hurt leg, like she fell over and got a cut from something in the bin, and misto panics slightly but gets a band-aid from his top hat and tends to it, which is cute. also if victoria’s leg was can’t walk hurt, misto would piggy back her everywhere. just thought i’d mention that adorable mental image. as for sickness,,,, uhhh dote on each other i guess. keep cozy on misto’s roof, lotsa blankets and such

Do they ever get into trouble? Is it serious, or are they just mischievous?

yeah sometimes, nah never anything serious. misto for knocking shit over. and victoria can be pretty rowdy when given the chance (see: mungo and rumple’s song, where she also trashs a peson’s house and dinner jhdsajhdsa)

...also misto has gotten in trouble with his owners in the past for... how do i put this... loving the household pillows more than one should

it was a phase he went thru, he don’t do that anymore

What kind of presents do they get each other? Do they only do it on special occasions?

oh you know, traditional stuff: jewellery... food... buttons... dead birds

misto is a self described romantical cat after all

and nah, not just on special occasions, they’d both like “hey i found something shiny or tasty for you” or “i killed this, please enjoy it” and viola

Are the comfortable with each other? Anything they have to have their privacy for?

yes, they’re very comfortable with each other. at most, misto gets discomfort due to severe nervousness but thats not like discomfort with victoria

and for the second question,,,, you’re kidding, right? they’re cats. these two would casually lick themselves in front of each other. ah, okay, actually, there is some stuff involving misto’s favourite toy, a plush toy rabbit named flopsy, that he kept to himself beforehand buuuut he gets over that. misto gets his weird little shame spirals sometimes but they always get past it because victoria is so delightfully non-judgemental and sweet and down for whatever

thank you for your time!

[lovelylapins]

can we always be this close?

for the lovely @leviaana

enjoy this fic? buy me a ko-fi!

“Marinette, I have a confession,” Adrien tells her one day. Her hands were playing with his hair while his head rested in her lap, and stilling for a second, Marinette looked down, observing how bright his green eyes looked when the sunlight hit just right.

“A confession?” she asks, watching the way he smiled. Adrien always seemed to smile around her, no matter what was occurring. An akuma attack led way to a mischievous grin, a joke had him throwing a hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle laughter, and now, there was the simple swoop of his lips, curving upward as he looked up.

She always loved that kind of smile the most.

“A confession,” Adrien repeats, nodding. She can feel the weight of his head sinking into her thighs as he does so, more than comfortable with her touch.

“Care to share it?” Marinette asks, voice low as her fingers sought new territory, roaming the usually well-combed curls and seeing just how badly she could mess it up before he went home.

He answers with a bright glint in his eyes, alit with chaos.

“I’m Chat Noir.”

There’s a brief moment between the two, a shared space of silence, if only for a second. Adrien’s expectant grin, waiting for Marinette to react. Marinette’s frozen look, almost biting her lip to hold herself back.

It doesn’t work. With a snort, she tugs lightly on his hair, shaking her head.

“A bit too late for that, kitty,” Marinette says. “Or did you forget we’ve already revealed our identities?”

Adrien sighs, rolling his eyes. “I can’t entertain the idea of another one?” he asks.

“Not if you’re gonna make each confession as cheesy as that.”

“Oh, come on, Mari,” Adrien says, practically begging her as he talks, “I know you’re not going to look at me and tell me that wasn’t the best time yet. Seriously, that was perfect.”

“Was it now?”

“Of course. I’d much rather prefer we remember that as the reveal as opposed to the real one.”

Ah yes, Marinette thought. The real one, the one that had left the two without any contact for a near twenty-four hours, Adrien avoiding her like the plague. At least, up until Marinette had grabbed hold of him and dragged him off to an empty classroom, forcing the two to address the elephant in the room.

The real reveal, the one that had sent Adrien rushing around for anything else that could make up for it. The one that brought a smell with its memory, one that made her nose crinkle.

“You mean,” she starts, “when you crash-landed on top of me in an alley, pushed the both of us onto a pile of trash, and made the suits smell so bad Tikki and Plagg detransformed so they wouldn’t have to deal with it, completely wrecking our clothes?”

Adrien grimaces, closing his eyes. “That would be the one.”

“I was sure I had mixed it up,” Marinette says, chuckling. “You do have a habit of trying to rewrite it, after all.”

“Can you blame me, Mari?” Adrien asks. “We were covered in rotten food. Nathalie nearly lost her mind when I came home and had me wash my hair for like an hour to make sure we got all the gunk out.”

“You act like my parents didn’t freak.” Marinette laughs, hand moving away from Adrien’s hair to run through her own, rethinking that day. “It’s a good thing I’m so clumsy, or they would’ve never bought my story.”

Adrien laughs, finally raising himself up on his elbows and pushing off from Marinette’s lap. He moves his body around until he’s sat upright, and slouches next to Marinette.

“You know,” he says after a moment, “we couldn’t have asked for a worst reveal.”

Marinette smiles, resting her head on his shoulder. “I don’t think of it that way.”

“You don’t?” Adrien asks, his heart starting up in a familiar tune, rapid and unwavering. Marinette snuggles closer, her hair tickling his collarbone as she did so.

“Well, a reveal’s a reveal,” she says. A hand comes down, finds Adrien’s. Marinette holds onto it gently as she closes her eyes, continuing. “It shouldn’t matter how it goes down. We still know who’s who, right?”

Adrien looks down at their hands, interlocked. He moves his head a bit to gaze at Marinette, taking the small moment he had to admire her features. Eyelashes, so long and delicate, each one taking flight with every blink she did. The slope of her nose, dotted with freckles that never seemed to grow old to his eyes. And her lips which were puckered, as if readying for a kiss onto some lucky being.

Adrien wondered if one day, would he be so lucky.

Eyes moving back down to their hands, he gives a gentle squeeze. Marinette returns it in the next few seconds, even while her eyes never opened and breaths began to slow down.

“Right,” Adrien finally agrees, before moving his head down to rest onto hers, eyes closing just the same.

A reveal was a reveal, after all. In the end, Adrien knew just what he had always wanted to, and that was enough.

[trensu]

Episode 28: The One where LXC Loses his Title as Greatest Wingman

THAT’S RIGHT GUYS

WE’RE HERE

THE ONE THAT HOLDS ONE OF THE MOST PRECIOUS, CLASSIC WANGXIAN SCENES IN THE WHOLE SHOW

THE SCENE THAT JUST BURSTS WITH WANGXIAN DOMESTICITY AND WE DIE FROM THE SHEER FLUFFINESS OF IT ALL

Shockingly this VERY IMPORTANT wangxian moment doesn’t start until the 34min mark.

So we’re gonna power through those first 34min to get to the parts that actually matter

We’re still at the burial mounds

Emotional Yungmeng Bro Drama happens

It’s very upsetting

There’s a lot of feelings everywhere.

I can’t defend you if you keep this path, jc protests 

You can’t defend me? Then Leave me, wwx says, tell the world i defected, he says, my actions are no longer associated with the jiang clan he says

WHO KNEW BROTHERLY LOVE COULD BE SO PAINFUL, AMIRITE GUYS? HAHA *CHOKES BACK SOBS*

LET’S SKIP AHEAD!

Jc’s gone, maybe it’ll get better now??

A-YUAN TIME!!

Oh no, little a-yuan is hungry!!

Wen qing gives him the last of the fruit because a-yuan activated her Good Big Sister instincts

Ah, look at his happy face as he takes the fruit!

The wwx shows up with MORE fruit and a-yuan does the leg-grabby thing!!

ADORABLE 

Great, now we get Emotional WWX and WQ Bonding Time

SHE TRIES TO GIVE HIM AN OUT

SHE TRIES TO GET HIM BACK TO HIS FAMILY

Wwx is not having it so instead he acts all charming and teases her until the matter is dropped

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Other stuff happens, boring boring boring

Moving forward

Yunmeng bro fight scene!

The first half was pretty neat and then they did a bunch of funky flying moves that had me like, why, why must you do this, please stop and give me wangxiantics instead

They did not stop

But they did do some wonderful Twirling, so I guess i can forgive them a little

Oh, sadface, a paperman gets viciously slaughtered by jc

(@theuntamednarrator​ pointed out that this fight scene PARALLELS a future fight scene on a moonlit rooftop THAT WE’RE NOT GONNA THINK ABOUT BECAUSE IT MAKES ME SAD)

Wwx, at some point in this fight is all: oh look, i’ve been impaled

(what’s a little light stabbing between siblings, amirite?)

More stuff happens that we don’t care about

But we’ll take a moment to laugh at wwx here

Wwx is like, imma hide this gaping stab wound from the world’s greatest doctor by distracting her with potatoes

It doesn’t quite work bc wen qing immediately makes a grab for him

Wwx is scandalized!

Wwx: Men and women shouldn’t be improperly intimate!!

Wwx: you suddenly doing this makes me scared for my virtue which i’m obviously saving for lan zhan!

She backs off for half a second; then wwx winces but he recovers quickly by being all i’m totally fine, look at how fine i am, i’m flinching because of HUNGER PAINS, NOTHING ELSE

If he weren't so charming and adorable none of this would've worked

Other non-wangxian nonsense occurs

Some more non-wangxian stuff

A scene featuring Disaster Het Jin Zixuan and our Perfect Elder Sister Jiang Yanli

Jzx is all, i know carp tower isn’t your home but i’m willing to build another lotus pier here for you

...ugh, fine, okay, maybe you’ve grown on me a little by now, you huge Disaster Het BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU’RE MAKING JYL HAPPY, YOU HEAR ME?? ALL BETS ARE OFF IF YOU MAKE HER CRY AGAIN

We’ve made it through the 34 minutes!!

GET READY GUYS

We’re at a tea house in Yiling! There’s lots of people! AND THEY’RE ALL TRASH-TALKING MY BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE BOY WTF

But hey, look in the background is lwj, (angrily) listening to people trash-talk our sunshine boy.

God, he sits so straight, it looks almost painful

I mean, in terms of posture

We know he’s not straight in any other way lol

The only time we get full body shots of him in this scene is when he’s blurred and out of focus in the background, which is interesting

When he’s at the forefront of the scene, it’s all close-ups of his (angry) face 

But even with the close ups, we only see parts of his face. One half of his face at a time, close-ups on the eyes (or one eye) specifically at times

It’s not until the end of that teahouse scene that we get to see a full shot of him and that’s only when he’s had Enough of people slandering his soulmate and slams his (poor innocent) tea cup onto the table and (viciously) glares at the gossipers

He leaves the teahouse (angrily)

Lwj is (angrily) walking through the marketplace 

He walks past some random lady and the lady turns the hell around so fast and BLATANTLY CHECKS HIM OUT, oh god, that’s HILARIOUS

(you are not alone in this, lady, YOU ARE NOT ALONE)

Then, we have one of the best tropes of all, ACCIDENTAL CHILD ACQUISITION

THERE IS A CHILD CLINGING TO HIS LEG

IT’S A-YUAN

A-YUAN HAS SURGICALLY ATTACHED HIMSELF TO LWJ

WE ALL LOVE HIM FOR IT

Wwx does not notice his child is missing bc he is haggling, which is important but maybe not as important as missing a child. 

Omg the look of panic on his face when he finally realizes a-yuan is gone gutted me for half a second. 

REALIZING YOU’VE LOST A CHILD IN A CROWDED PLACE IS THE WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD, OKAY

But i get over this quickly bc WWX FINDS A-YUAN CLINGING TO LWJ’S LEG. 

GUYS

GUYS

THIS SCENE

THIS SCENE MAKES ME SO HAPPY

IT’S MADE OF RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES AND ITTY BITTY KITTIES

Okay, let's break it down because there’s JUST SO MUCH GOOD STUFF HERE WE NEED TO PROPERLY APPRECIATE ALL OF IT

FIRSTLY, lwj’s face.

There is a loudly crying child clinging to his leg

He is surrounded by nosy talkative strangers (PARENT strangers!!) all Judging™ him for his (lack of) parenting skills

And lwj’s face is about as External Panic as lwj can make it bc our boy is FREAKING OUT

THERE IS A CRYING CHILD

LATCHED ON TO HIS LEG

STRANGERS ARE ASSUMING HE’S THE FATHER

BUT HE ISN’T

THEY DON’T LISTEN WHEN HE TELLS THEM HE ISN’T

THEY SAY THEY HAVE THE SAME NOSE?? THEY SAY HE RESEMBLES THIS STRANGE UNKNOWN CRYING CHILD SOMEHOW?? 

AND WORSE STILL, THEY’RE SAYING HE’S A BAD FATHER

THEY’RE ALL LIKE, OH LOOK HE SCOLDED HIS POOR KID AND NOW WON’T EVEN HUG HIS KID TO MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER??

HIS FACE, OMG

HIS FACE SCREAMS: DEAR GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING HOW DO I MAKE IT STOP 

LWJ IS DYING INSIDE

AND HE KIND OF WANTS TO DIE OUTSIDE

(There’s one guy who kinda takes pity on him and was like, ah, he’s your first kid, huh? I was like that with MY first kid but now i know everything after my wife gave a few more births. It’s a learning process!)

And ohoho, boy, does lwj learn (later, after horrible horrible things happen)

Secondly, WWX IS HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE WATCHING ALL OF THIS UNFOLD BEFORE HIM

HIS SMILE IS HEART-STOPPINGLY BEAUTIFUL

HE’S STIFLING GIGGLES

IT’S SO CUTE I WANNA DIE

Finally, wwx takes pity on poor lan zhan

I would like to point out that he takes pity on lan zhan only after  the crowd of Judgy Parents start asking A-Yuan where his mother is

And like, i don’t want to fall into the pit of heteronormativity and stereotypical gender roles, BUT THAT’S HILARIOUS

Wwx: Lan zhan!

Lwj looks up and the world fades away when he sees wwx, with his cute little smile, making his way towards him in slo-mo

Like, literally slow motion and literally the world fades away until basically only wwx is in focus, THIS IS HOW LWJ SEES WWX ALL THE TIME, OMG IT’S AMAZING

AND OF COURSE ~THEIR SONG~ IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND

I’M SCREAMING, EVERYTHING IS GREAT

LWJ STARES AT HIM WITH SUCH YEARNING

And even when they’re right in front of each other, they KEEP STARING AT EACH OTHER, SOAKING UP EACH OTHER’S PRESENCE

WHICH I LOVE, but also there’s a crying child right there maybe take care of him??

Wwx: lan zhan, what a coincidence! What are you doing i yiling?

WHAT DO YOU THINK HE’S DOING IN YILING, WWX

IT’S NOT LIKE HIS SOULMATE LIVES AROUND THAT AREA OR ANYTHING

Lwj: night hunt. Passing by.

Short and sweet and to the point

I’m convinced it’s because his brain has short-circuited from the double whammy of Accidental Child Acquisition and OMG My Beautiful Soulmate is With Me and Smiling

Lwj: ....this child

Wwx: ah, yes, this is MY son

I read a post on tumblr that says the actual translation of that line was more like “ah, yes, i gave birth to this child”

Which would explain lwj’s absolutely stunned and confused expression

I mean, the fact that he doesn’t immediately dismiss this as the nonsense that it is, is absolutely HILARIOUS to me

Like, for a split second there he honestly believed wwx??

He must’ve been like, wait, is this a side effect of demonic cultivation??!?!?

That doesn’t sound right but i don’t know enough about demonic cultivation to dispute it

But then wwx starts giggling at him which gives away the game

Wwx: hey, lan zhan, what did you do? Why is a-yuan crying?

Lwj: I didn’t do anything

Wwx: ah, i see what happened. Lan zhan, as pretty as you look, you still have resting bitch face. 

(no for real, wwx called him pretty, i died a little when i heard him say it and i’m pretty sure lwj did too)

Wwx: a-yuan doesn’t know any better so of course he’d look at you and start crying!!

Lwj stares at a-yuan (who is now clinging adorably to wwx) and you can see in his face that his New Life Mission is to get A-Yuan to Like Him.

It is IMPERATIVE that this small child Like Him. Not for any particular reason, of course. But this Must happen.

Even if it means having to go to an Ancient Fantasy China plastic surgeon to get his resting bitch face problem resolved

THANK GOD WE DON’T HAVE TO RESORT TO THAT

Wwx kneels down to comfort a-yuan and lwj watches him interact with this small child and VISIBLY SWALLOWS before looking away

Like it was too much cute to handle

Like oh shit, i want wwx’s children

Like oh shit, i want to be a dad???

GUYS WE SEE THE EXACT MOMENT LWJ REALIZES HE WANTS KIDS

THANK YOU WORLD FOR BLESSING US WITH THIS MOMENT

Okay, quiz time! 

How do we make a small child stop crying?

Answer - Distraction!

What is the best distraction for a small child?

Answer - TOYS

Wwx pulls a-yuan to a toy stall 

The music here gets all upbeat and playful. (In fact, it’s the same music that played in the ‘flower petals rain on LWJ’ scene in The One where NHS is Total Cockblock omg i just had to reference my own guide to make sure that was the right episode lol this is exactly why i’m making this). I love this music!!

So they admire the toys and wwx picks up one of them and is like, do you like this one?

A-yuan of course says yes bc all kids love toys

Then wwx is like, cool, and proceeds to drag a-yuan away from the toy stall without the toy

SAD FACE A-YUAN :(

Lwj sees Sad Face A-Yuan and does the Lan Clan version of running (aka lengthening his strides and quickening his steps slightly)

Lwj: wei ying, why didn’t you buy it for him?

Dude, he sounds almost accusatory here, it’s GREAT

Wwx: ??? why should I???

Lwj: you asked him if he wanted it, doesn’t that mean you’re going to buy it?

Wwx: asking is asking, buying is buying. Who says i have to buy something just because i asked about it?

Wwx, lwj has a point tho. It’s kinda mean to lead a kid on like that 

And here lwj sounds all hesitant (and shy?? maybe??) like he doesn’t want to scare a-yuan again. He looks at him briefly

Lwj: which one...do you want.

Then when a-yuan doesn’t immediately burst into tears, he speaks more confidently.

Lwj: among those, which one did you want?

And a-yuan points to the toy he wants with all the confidence small children have when  they know they’re about to get exactly what they want

Omg, lwj looks at wwx as soon as he sees which toy a-yuan wants

It’s a look that says I’M GETTING THIS CHILD A TOY AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME

And wwx just beams at him like a ray of sunshine!! HE’S MELTING INSIDE, YOU CAN TELL

HE’S ALL LIKE, OMG LAN ZHAN IS SO SWEET WITH CHILDREN

OMG LAN ZHAN WOULD BE A GREAT DAD

OMG I WANT LAN ZHAN TO CO-DAD A-YUAN WITH ME

Cut to a-yuan gleefully playing with his new toys 

He and wwx are play fighting with cute little wooden swords and it’s SO ADORABLE I’M GONNA DIE

And lwj watches them for moment with the FONDEST LOOK ON HIS FACE

A-yuan notices that lwj is there again and immediately ditches wwx to cling to lwj’s leg

Smart, kid, smart

Butter up the rich guy who makes wwx smile

Wwx laughs: lan zhan, congrats! My kid likes you! He only hugs the legs of his favorite people and then never lets go

Lwj: *internally probably* i wish YOU’D hug me and never let me go

Also

YES! LIFE MISSION COMPLETE. WWX’S CHILD LIKES ME

Wwx: you should ditch your night hunt and have a meal with me

Lwj: a meal?

Lwj: *internally probably* OMG DID HE JUST ASK ME OUT ON A DATE?? AND HE CALLED ME PRETTY EARLIER??? TODAY IS THE BEST DAY

He then pretends to hesitate bc YOU GOTTA PLAY IT COOL

CAN’T CLUE HIM IN ON HOW DESPERATELY YOU WANT TO KEEP HIM WITH YOU FOREVER

BE COOL, LWJ, BE COOL, BE COOL

Wwx: c’mon, we hardly see each other! We can reminisce about the old days! It’ll be my treat~!

Wwx what, YOU HAVE NO MONEY WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING

Wwx grabs lwj’s arm and drags him away

Lwj’s brain rn: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But they run off WITHOUT A-YUAN??

Good thing a-yuan is quick on his feet, god damn

AND THAT’S THE END OF ONE OF THE BESTEST EPISODES OF THE SHOW

GOD I NEEDED THIS AFTER THE HELLSCAPE OF LAST EPISODE WHERE EVERYONE MADE ME ANGRY

And lets give a round of applause to our precious adorable A-Yuan who somehow managed to latch on to the one person in the entire town that is completely head over heels in love with wwx and who wwx has been pining for since their sad separation in the rain.

FOUR FOR YOU, A-YUAN. YOU GO, A-YUAN!!

Return to Masterpost

[dfcfanfics]

Righteous Indignation Miraculous Prompt, Pt. 2

...Said The Spider To The Fly

Standing in the entranceway to his own house, Chat Noir did his very best to look natural and not at all nervous.  Standing next to him, Ladybug gave him a small smile, but he could see that she was also feeling a bit edgy.

“You okay, my Lady?” he whispered to her.

“I think so.  I’m just... not sure if we should be doing this alone.  Whatever this is,” Ladybug whispered back.  “Some kind of... business proposition?”

“I’m not sure, either,” Chat agreed.  “It surprised me a lot when we saw his advertisement, asking us to meet with him.”

“What do you think he could want?” asked Ladybug.

“Well... I do know that Agreste Enterprises does handle fragrances... maybe they’d want to develop a Chat Noir counterpart to--”

“You mention that other fragrance, you lose a finger,” snapped Ladybug.  

“One with an infinitely less offensive advertising campaign,” replied Chat, hastily.  “But there are so many possible things that--”

Nathalie approached the two of them, interrupting their conversation.  “So sorry to keep the two of you waiting,” she stated.  “Mr. Agreste will see you now.”

~----~

“Ah!  Greetings, Ladybug, Chat Noir.  It is a pleasure to meet Paris’s finest once again,” bubbled Gabriel, clearly in an upbeat mood.  

As he rose to meet them and shake hands, Ladybug replied, “Likewise, Sir,” in a small voice.  Chat returned the handshake with a curious look on his face, but covered it well.  

What is up with HIM today? he wondered.

“Obviously,” Gabriel began as he retook his seat, “the two of you saw my advertisement.”

“It was pretty hard to miss.  A half-page in both Le Figaro and Le Monde, asking us to contact you?” noted Ladybug.  “That must have cost a small fortune.”

“Not so much as you might think.  I know people at each publication, and, after all... you two do not have telephone numbers or email addresses one could look up,” shrugged Gabriel.  “I did not know if the two of you read either newspaper, but I felt sure that someone each of you knew would see it if you did not.”

“It worked as you planned it,” Chat smiled.  “Maybe we should set up some sort of how-to-contact system... but that’s for another time.  What can we help you with?”

“I will not waste your valuable time,” Gabriel stated, shifting into business mode.  “I owe each of you a large debt of gratitude; several, actually.  The two of you were responsible from freeing me from one of those foul Akumas, and Ladybug, you in particular saved the very life of someone very dear to me.”

“And to mmm... um... it was my pleasure,” Ladybug stammered.  “All in a day’s work.”

“Nevertheless,” continued Gabriel, “I have been watching out for an opportunity to return the favor and do the two of you some great good.  And I believe that I have found one.”  He sat back in his chair.  “I witnessed the media circus surrounding that tawdry little fragrance advertisement, freeloading off of your good name and reputation.”

Ladybug’s head sank in frustration.  “Yes,” she hissed.  “I have nothing but love for this city and the people in it... but in their case, I will make an exception.”

“That advertisement was completely wrong,” Chat agreed.  Wrong.  Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, fantasy material for my next three years, wrong, wrong and wrong, he thought.

“I am intimately familiar with the business world, as you might imagine,” Gabriel mused.  “No stranger to battles over copyright and trademark, legalities of parody and homage and fair use, struggling to protect ideas and imagery which I hold dear.  And in pondering this, two points occurred to me.  One is that nothing is preventing other companies from piggybacking off of this, creating entire product lines of bastardized merchandise with your names and faces all over them.”

He turned towards Chat Noir.  “I do not know if yours would be as... inappropriately sexualized as your partner’s, young man, but would you be comfortable with Chat Noir’s Clumping Kitty Litter hitting grocery shelves?” Gabriel smiled.  “I can see it now.  Chat Noir Says ‘It’s So Easy On My Paws!’ on the label.”

“Uggggh,” groaned Chat.  Ladybug suppressed a giggle, feeling sympathetic.

“And the other point is that, not to be rude in any way... but the two of you are children,” noted Gabriel.  “I struggle with these sorts of legal difficulties weekly, and even I need to retain staff to make proper sense of it.  Am I correct that the two of you are without such representation?”

“I... I have a lawyer working with me on the fragrance case,” Ladybug replied.  “Not so much on the overall problem that you mentioned.”

“Well, while tearing the roof off of a building may be an adequate form of stress relief...” Gabriel continued.

“No one has proven that,” snapped Ladybug, a little more quickly than she’d intended.

“Of course not,” grinned Gabriel.  “Though no jury would possibly convict.  If I had powers such as yours and someone wronged me so thoroughly... no corner of the Earth would be far enough for them to run.”

“All right... we have identified the problem.  What are you proposing?” asked Chat.

“In a nutshell... officially sanctioned merchandise would go a long way towards protecting the marketplace from knockoffs and similar trash.  I am proposing a business partnership between the two of you and Agreste Enterprises; one that would provide both legal protection for your names and images and control over what goes out into the world featuring them.”

~----~

“Please... continue,” said Ladybug, looking unsure.  “I do hope you know, Mr. Agreste, that the last thing that Chat and I want to do with our powers is to make money off of them.”

“Very much understood!” Gabriel backpedaled.  “I would not have dreamed otherwise.  I would gladly direct a significant percentage of all revenues to the charities of your choice, rather than to either of you directly.  Not that I would know to whom to write a check... or what accounts you could deposit them into.”

“What kinds of products are you thinking about?” asked Chat, his curiosity piqued.

“I would start slowly at first, were I your business advisor in this,” Gabriel rattled off.  “An officially authorized set of fragrances would be an excellent start, to crowd that impostor off the market.  I am envisioning clothing lines, an area in which Agreste is an industry leader; casual logoed wear for children, let us say, or even infants. ‘Baby-Bugs and Kittenwear’ branding comes to mind for the latter.”

“Go on...” Ladybug ventured.

“Beyond that, we would have to see what the public’s response would be.  My staff is highly trained at identifying what customers are hungry for,” Gabriel replied.  “Also, you would have our legal staff at your disposal for related issues.”

“About that,” Chat jumped in.  “All of that sounds well and good... but it also sounds as if we’re signing over the legal rights to our own public personas.  What control would we retain over how those are maintained, or the quality of the products, for instance?”

Gabriel stared back at him, mildly impressed.  “You speak as if you have some experience with such matters, young man,” he said.

“Without disclosing things that I cannot say out loud... I’m not entirely a stranger to that kind of thing,” allowed Chat.

“Fair enough,” smiled Gabriel.  “The two of you are minors, obviously.  And since I doubt that either of you would feel comfortable bringing your parents into negotiations...”

“My father doesn’t know that I do... this,” Chat blurted out.  Ladybug shot him a look, but it was already spoken.

“I assumed as much,” Gabriel answered.  Ha! he gloated, internally.  Valuable information for me to tuck away.  Whomever his father may be, that is some poor sap that we may find a way to exploit...  

“Leaving our families out of this...” Ladybug said, evenly.

“Agreed.  It would take some finesse to find lawyers and notaries who could hammer out the details accordingly, so... it may be possible to put it on paper, or portions of it may be more of a handshake deal between us,” ventured Gabriel.  “Agreste Enterprises would maintain some legal control over the Ladybug and Chat Noir trademarks until you reach maturity, at which point you would be more capable of renegotiating on your own behalf.”

“I cannot hand you full peace of mind on a silver platter,” Gabriel allowed.  “As with all business negotiations... there would be some element of trust on both sides.  I would imagine, for instance, that the prospect of the heroes of Paris openly denouncing Agreste’s products would be sufficient impetus for us to maintain our end of any deal.”

~----~

Ladybug turned to Chat Noir.  “I’m... not sure what to think about this.  How about you?”

Chat scratched his head.  “I’m not sure, either.  On the one hand, it sounds like a positive way to keep things like that sex-bomb ad from happening again, and get more responsible merchandise into our fans’ hands, but...”  He turned to Gabriel and asked, “Can we have some time to think this over?”

“Absolutely, my boy.  Take all the time you need,” Gabriel assured him.  “Though do note that I cannot control who might flood the marketplace with more tawdriness while you’re considering my offer.”

“All right.  Thank you, Mr. Agreste.  We will give this full consideration, and I will speak with... whomever I can about it.  We will be in touch,” smiled Ladybug.

“Likewise.  Thank you for reaching out to us like this,” agreed Chat.

“Absolutely my pleasure,” Gabriel beamed.  “I do hope that we can reach an agreement.”

As he watched the two of them leave his office, Gabriel sat back in his chair... and grinned a particularly sinister grin.

Yes... go out and speak with your parents, or some dime-store lawyer, he smiled to himself.  Weigh the pros and cons.  And then, when the next sleazy product hits the airwaves, you two will come running back... and willingly hand over to me control of your financial futures.

As Sun Tzu might have said... when frontal assaults fail, sometimes an oblique angle of attack is best.

And this one... you will not see coming.

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Original CH18

Your trash princess is feeling generous on this night. I wrote this in four days, so appreciate it!

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Chapter 18

Marinette knew the moment she stepped off that runway that her life would change forever, but she could never have anticipated by what magnitude.

From the moment the show ended, she and her friends hit the ground running. The press went wild with her line, and by the next morning, every phone in her house was ringing with calls from reporters, magazines, other celebrities looking for commissions, relatives and family friends sending their congrats. All of it made her a little dizzy, and the attention didn’t stop there.

Everyone at school followed her everywhere, showering her with praise and asking if she would design for them. She never got a moment alone even in the bathroom, and even her friends were a bit shaken by the sudden influx of attention. Part of her wondered if this had been the right move after all when she exited the school that afternoon to find the front steps teeming with her fans, but an overbearing man stood on the curb next to a familiar silver limo who upon seeing her, parted the crowd easily and lifted her over his head.

“Crazy day?” Adrien quirked a brow after Gorilla shoved her into the car and shut the door, and she flinched as people pressed themselves against the windows.

“Uh…” She winced, flicking her gaze to the fans cheering for her on the sidewalk as they pulled away, and Adrien chuckled in amusement. “How do you put up with this?”

“Comes with the territory. You get used to it.” He shrugged, helping her buckle her seatbelt. “It should die down after a while. You’re just new.”

“I hope so,” she said with wide eyes, settling into her seat. “How did people react at your school?”

“Well…” Adrien pursed his lips.

-  -  -

“Adrien! Marinette’s line was so sick!”

“How is she doing?”

“You’re so lucky to be dating her.”

“We should all hang out again sometime. Could you ask her when she’s available?”

“Uh,” Adrien drawled, averting his gaze as he walked. “I’m sure she would love to see you all again.”

“We should invite her to the class beach party this summer! She always loved going.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate that,” Adrien replied with a smile.

“Can you tell her we miss her?”

“I will.” He nodded as the bell rang, and everyone dispersed.

Lila looked on from the second floor with a pensive frown, Alya by her side. That brat was stealing her thunder, and she wasn’t even around! She needed to come up with something to bring everyone’s attention back quick.

“It’s pretty awesome that Marinette started her own brand,” Alya remarked as they walked, and Lila blinked out of her trance.

“Oh, yeah totally!” Lila smiled sweetly. “I mean, it’s cool that she’s going to be getting so much money and fame, but if it were me, I would be using all of this attention for good. There are so many countries out there that need help, and I think it would be better if she focused her efforts there instead of on herself, don’t you think?”

“Slow your role, Miss Charitable, her show was just last night. Give her time,” Alya chuckled, and Lila pursed her lips.

“I’m a little surprised that you’re so supportive, Alya. I mean, after the way she turned her back on you, and how horribly she treated me…” Lila lowered her gaze. “You aren’t thinking of leaving me for her, are you?”

“No way!” Alya stepped in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Marinette and I have a messy past, and I’m not denying that, but I know that this was always her dream, so I’m happy that she’s finally achieving it. I’m just trying to be the bigger person and move on, but you’re still my bff, no worries.”

“Aww, Alya, you’re so sweet. Marinette doesn’t deserve you.” Lila pulled her in for a hug. “If only you were the famous one instead of her then maybe the world would be a better place. I know that you would definitely help the poor children suffering from disease in the hospital like I’m doing.”

“If you ever need any help with that, I’ll be happy to, ya know,” Alya said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked.

“Oh, I absolutely would, but they’re so particular about who can visit since exposing them to outside germs is so risky for their health,” Lila said, and Chloe rolled her eyes from where she walked behind them a few feet back.

She slowed her pace to meet Adrien, a sly grin on her lips.

“Lila thinks Marinette should help the children’s hospital,” she murmured, and Adrien flicked his gaze ahead with a smirk.

“Then maybe she will.”

-  -  -

“I think that’s a good place to start,” Marinette said, tapping her chin as the limo slowed to a stop in front of city hall. “What’s this?”

“You didn’t expect to do all this work for free, did you?” Adrien quirked a brow as Gorilla moved around to open the door. “Come on. You’ll see.”

Inside the mayor’s office were her parents, Audrey, and Mayor Bourgeois all chatting idly, and their heads all turned to face her as she entered with Adrien.

“Marinette, darling, come in and sit,” Audrey greeted, motioning to the chair between her parents.

“What’s going on?” She asked, slowly sinking into her seat as she glanced around suspiciously.

“Oh, she really has no idea. How cute,” Audrey laughed, pressing a hand to her chest.

“We’re here to talk about your future, Marinette,” Mayor Bourgeois said, folding his hands together neatly on his desk.

“We’ve been working with the Bourgeois’ to set up an account for you, sweetie,” Tom explained, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’re still young, so your mother and I will be helping you manage your finances until you’re old enough to do it on your own.”

“Finances?” Marinette’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Lots of people are investing in your brand, sweetie. They want in,” Audrey said, cutting to the chase. “My phone has been ringing all day with people asking to put money into your brand, so I took the liberty as your primary investor to hire you a manager to help you sort through all of your offers, but seeing as you and I have already partnered, I wanted to hand you your very first check myself.”

Marinette straightened as Mayor Bourgeois ripped a check from his book for his wife who moved around to hand it to her. She eyed Audrey for a moment before flicking her gaze down to the slip of paper, her parents and Adrien leaning in to get a better look.

“Oh my-” Sabine gasped.

“Whoa!” Tom ran a hand through his hair, and a smirk curled on Adrien’s lips. “That’s a lot of croissants.”

“Are you sure the decimal is in the right place?” Marinette looked up, and Audrey and Andre exchanged amused looks.

“Oh, don’t be silly. That’s mere cents compared to what you have coming.” Audrey waved it away. “I’ve made more than that in magazine sales this past hour alone.”

“Is it really alright for me to accept this?” Marinette curled her shoulders.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Audrey placed a hand on her hip. “You earned it.”

“Audrey is right, sweetie, you worked for this,” Sabine said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and Marinette glanced back down at the check with pursed lips.

“Thank you, Audrey,” she said softly. “For everything.”

“Thank you for revitalizing my passion for this industry. I was in a bit of a dry patch, but you’ve just brought a rainstorm,” Audrey said, pinching her cheek. “Now, onto the subject of your future, I haven’t been shy about how talented I find you, and I think you have a place in this industry, Marinette. The world of fashion needs your eye. I’ve already offered to train you once, and I believe you should reconsider your answer.”

“I-I don’t know…” Marinette cast a nervous glance down at her purse, but Audrey was undeterred.

“Of course, you’re barely out of college, but you have so much raw talent that needs to be harnessed,” she continued, pacing the floor as she spoke. “I can help you hone your skills, not only in designing but in navigating the industry, investing, networking, you have so much to learn, my dear.”

“Audrey,” Marinette started, blinking as she gathered her thoughts. “I do want to work with you, and I did before too, but-”

“Yes, yes, Paris is your home, I know this.” Audrey rolled her eyes, pacing back over to Marinette and placing her hands on her shoulders. “You’re still young, and I know that your life here is important to you, so I’m not asking you to leave it all behind yet.” She let out a sigh. “I will work with you here, in Paris, until you turn 18 and finish school. Then you and I can go to New York and enroll you in university, and I will help you establish yourself independently.”

Marinette searched her expression, flicking her gaze briefly down to her purse where Tikki hid then back up to Audrey with a gulp.

“We’ll be working here in Paris?” She reiterated.

“Yes, you don’t have to leave all of your little school friends,” Audrey said with another eye roll, and Marinette pressed her lips together.

“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Then I would be honored to train with you, Audrey.”

“Excellent!” Audrey clapped her hands together, straightening up. “I will have your manager meet with my assistant to work out our schedules. Ah, this is going to be wonderful. Absolutely wonderful, I can already see the headlines!”

“We’re so proud of you, honey,” Tom said, placing a hand on her back and kissing her temple.

“What are you going to spend your first paycheck on?” Mayor Bourgeois asked, a knowing smile on his lips, and Marinette glanced back down at the check with pursed lips.

“I’m going to spend it on the children’s hospital.”

***

“Bien Jouè!” Ladybug and Chat Noir fist bumped after another purified akuma.

“Nice work today, kitty,” Ladybug said, and Chat Noir flashed her a cheesy grin.

“Same to you, LB,” he replied, readying his staff. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a lady in waiting.”

“Send her my condolences,” Ladybug smirked, giggling as Chat stuck his tongue out before vaulting off. “Okay, time to race.”

She tossed her yoyo and shot off, landing back on her balcony and letting her transformation drop. She checked her phone timer briefly before glancing out across the rooftops as that mess of blond hair came into view. Right on time.

“Chat Noir!” She called, waving him down, and he skidded to a stop a few roofs over before hopping over to meet her.

“Is something the matter, little lady?” He asked, perching on the railing.

“No- ah, I mean, I wanted to ask you for a favor.” She clasped her hands together in front of her. “I tried asking Ladybug, but she is going to be busy. Tomorrow I’m planning on visiting the children’s hospital, and I was hoping that I could get someone special for the kids. I think they would be thrilled if one of Paris’ superheroes could make it, so do you have time to come?”

“To the hospital? Tomorrow?” He searched her pleading expression with pursed lips. “Uh, yeah, I think I can make that.”

“Awesome! Thank you, Chat Noir!” She beamed, and he smiled at her fondly.

“Anything for you,” he said then seeming to catch himself, held up his ring with a wince. “Uh, gotta jet, but I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“10 o’clock!” She called as he hopped off again before crawling inside to call Adrien. His phone rang several times, and she wondered momentarily if it would go to voicemail before he finally picked up.

“Hey!” He said, sounding slightly out of breath.

“Hey, did I catch you at a bad time? You sound winded,” she remarked.

“No, no, sorry! I was, uh, just playing a little basketball,” he insisted. “What’s up?”

“Guess who agreed to come to the hospital with us tomorrow?” She bounced excitedly.

“Jagged Stone?”

“Out of the country. Think local.”

“Andre the ice cream man?”

“Most of the kids have dietary restrictions.”

“Ladybug?”

“Closer,” she giggled. “It’s Chat Noir!”

“That’s awesome, Marinette! The kids are going to be so happy,” he said, masking his unease.

“I’m really excited now,” she said, climbing down the stairs. “By the way, whose car are we taking, yours or mine?”

“Uh, yours is fine. We need to break it in,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay. I’ll let you get back to your basketball. See you tomorrow?” She picked up a banana from the fruit bowl and began to peel it.

“Yeah…definitely,” he said with a wince.

“Love you!”

“I love you too,” he said before hanging up and falling back onto his bed with a sigh.

“How are you going to be in two places at once, genius? You can’t go as Adrien and Chat Noir,” Plagg said pointedly, stuffing a whole wedge of Camembert down his throat.

“I’m not,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Chat Noir is going to be the more desirable guest, so Adrien is just going to have to call in sick before the event.”

“Sick with what?”

“A stomach bug?” Marinette gasped the next day over the phone.

“Yeah, I woke up in the middle of the night and haven’t been able to keep anything down,” he fibbed. “I’m really sorry, beautiful. I feel like I’m letting you down.”

“No, it’s fine. We’ll manage. You just get lots of rest and focus on feeling better, okay?” She said gently. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“Love you,” he said weakly.

“Love you too. Now, go lie down.”

“Already there,” he moaned before hanging up and pulling the blanket over his pillows. “Come on, Plagg! Transform me.”

Chat Noir was waiting when Marinette arrived with her friends, and she smiled at him as she climbed out of the car.

“Thank you for coming!” She said, shaking his hand.

“Of course.” He bowed politely and kissed her hand.

“Ah, Marinette, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Han, head director of the hospital,” a cheerful woman greeted her. “Thank you so much for your generous donations. You’re really going to change lives here.”

“I’m happy to help,” she said with a smile. “Is it alright if we visit with the kids for a while?”

“I think they’d enjoy that very much.”

Dr. Han led the way, and their group broke off into different wards, Eliott and Lisette, Macy and Martin, and Marinette and Chat Noir. The hospital staff had gathered the kids in the large play room, and their faces lit up when they entered with Chat Noir.

“Everyone, this is Marinette. She and her friends were the ones who donated to help us get new equipment and gift baskets for all of you,” Dr. Han explained, and Marinette offered a shy wave.

“Hello,” she said. “Did you all enjoy your gifts?”

“Yeah!” They replied, one girl snuggling a Ladybug doll tighter.

“Well, what fun are toys if you have no one to play with, right? So I brought someone with me to play with you all today.” She gestured to Chat Noir who gave a friendly wave.

“Are you the real Chat Noir?” One girl asked, and a smirk curled on his lips.

“Could a fake Chat Noir do this?” He extended his staff along the length of the room, creating a secure bar overhead before climbing up to hang upside down much to the delight of the kids.

To no one’s surprise, Chat was a big hit with the kids, but Marinette found their favor as well when they started a game of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“The real Ladybug couldn’t make it today, so will you play the part, m’lady?” Chat asked, holding out a hand in offering, and Marinette pursed her lips.

“I think someone else should play Ladybug,” she said, moving around to the girl in the wheelchair with a Ladybug doll. “How would you like to be Ladybug?”

“But I can’t be Ladybug because of my chair,” she said, glancing down, and Marinette smiled.

“Then I’ll be Queen Bee and help you. Even the real Ladybug needs help sometimes, so I think you’ll be perfect,” she said, and the girl’s face lit up.

“I call Bunny!”

“Can I be Malin?”

“I wanna be Emerald Shell!”

“I want to be the akuma!”

“Okay, what is your evil superpower?” Chat asked the boy.

“Making everyone eat broccoli!” He exclaimed, and everyone gasped in horror.

“A true villain.” Chat nodded, placing a hand on his chest.

“Okay, Ladybug, are you ready to fight crime with Chat Noir and all of your super friends?” Marinette asked, moving around to push the chair.

“Yeah!”

The kids had a blast as Marinette wheeled their Ladybug around to save each of them from having to eat their broccoli, and Chat couldn’t take his eyes off her. The way she helped each child feel useful and special, bringing glowing smiles to each of their faces, and the light emanating from her own face made his heart skip. Every time he thought he couldn’t love her more, she did something to prove him wrong.

“Okay, Ladybug, I think it’s time to call your lucky charm,” Marinette said once they’d rescued all the kids by giving them smiley face stickers of immunity. “Can you do it?”

“Lucky Charm!” The girl called, throwing her hands up, and Marinette retrieved an apple from the snack cart.

“Alright, what’s your plan?” Marinette asked, holding it up.

She tapped her chin for a moment before pulling Chat down to her level and whispering in his ear.

“You got it, LB.” He winked. “Bunny, Malin, I seem to have forgotten the name of my power. Can you say it for me?”

“Cataclysm!” They shouted, and Chat moved through the motions, gently brushing the toy broccoli with his fingers.

“Well, Broccolator, Chat Noir has just destroyed all the broccoli. There’s only fruit left now,” Marinette declared.

“No!” The young boy collapsed to his knees.

“Quick, Ladybug, we have to capture his akuma!” Marinette said, wheeling her over. “What’s the phrase?”

“Time to de-evilized!” She said, and Marinette placed a white butterfly sticker on his shirt before passing the apple to the little girl to hold up. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

“Another victim saved by Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their brave super friends Malin, Emerald Shell, Queen Bee, and Bunny!” Marinette announced, and all of the kids and staff cheered.

“Alright, super team, we have one more important order of business left,” Chat said, carrying their Emerald Shell over. “Put your fists in like this and…”

“Pound it!”

“Good job,” he chuckled as they all crowded in for a hug.

“Alright, kids, now Marinette is going to read you all a story while you have your snacks,” one nurse announced as several others moved chairs around.

“How many of you remember Sandboy?” Marinette asked as they settled in, holding up a book and hands shot up. “Oh good because I may need your help telling this one.”

Marinette was really good with kids, engaging them all in the story and letting everyone feel included. How did Chat ever get so lucky to interest a girl like her? Most days he couldn’t believe that she had fallen in love with Adrien.

“And then they heard a voice from above…” Marinette said ominously. “What did it say?”

“The Sandboy just checked in, now nightmares can begin!” The kids recited.

“Then Chat Noir got dusted with his magic sand, bringing his worst nightmare to life! Nevertheless, he stepped in front of Ladybug, twirling his staff and saying…”

“Get behind me, m’lady. I’ll protect you!” Chat said, mimicking the stance in the picture, prompting a laugh from the kids.

“’You’ve still got your powers?’ Ladybug asked.”

“Losing mine isn’t what I’m afraid of,” Chat recited.

“’Then what?’ Suddenly, a menacing voice sounded above them. ‘Chat Noir! Bad kitty, I’ll never love you!’”

Marinette shot him a playful grin, and he shrugged guiltily.

“…And finally Ladybug captured the akuma and used her lucky charm to set everything back to normal. Pound it!” Marinette finished several minutes later. “So, did you all have fun today meeting a real superhero?”

“Yeah!” The kids cheered, and their little Ladybug looked up at her.

“You’re a superhero too, Marinette,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re our superhero cause you helped us get new machines and more medicine,” another boy echoed. “You’re our Ladybug.”

The kids all voiced agreements, turning Marinette’s cheeks pink.

“As Ladybug’s certified best friend, I have to agree,” Chat concurred, and Marinette hugged the book to her chest.

“Let me tell you all a secret: We can all be heroes just like Ladybug and Chat Noir so long as we always have one thing: hope," she said. "Hope is our superpower, and so long as we always have that then Hawkmoth can never win. It's his one weakness, and anyone can have it. Isn't that right, Chat Noir?"

"Yeah..." He nodded, eyes softening on her.

He'd seen Marinette glow before when she was encouraging her friends or at the fashion show, but in that moment, she was more radiant than ever. The whole room was brighter and warmer because she was in it, and every child wore a smile as they departed. This was Marinette's superpower, the ability to give hope to others so that their lights could shine too, and Chat Noir had never been so smitten. For a moment, he forgot that they were doing all of this to get back at Lila, and he felt like in a way Marinette had too. She really was an everyday hero.

Chat caught a glimpse of her phone screen as they walked up the hall, and he noticed her typing a message to Adrien with pictures taken throughout the day. Pictures she was sending to him who was supposed to be at home sick.

“Texting your boyfriend?” He asked, unable to resist and trying, and failing, to hide his smirk.

“Yeah. He’s sick today, so he couldn’t come, but I wanted him to see what we did,” she said, smiling down at the screen as the message sent.

“I’m sure he appreciates it, and I’m sure he would have been here if he could. You should go visit him. He probably misses you,” Chat said, clasping his hands behind his back and pursing his lips innocently.

“I’ll see how he’s feeling,” she said before smiling up at him. “Thank you for coming today, Chat Noir.”

“Of course. Anytime,” he said, stopping short and taking her hand. “I mean it. If you ever need anything, just ask.”

Instinctively, he leaned down to kiss her, but, catching himself, tilted his head to peck both of her cheeks. “I should get going. Thanks for all of your good work, Miraculous Marinette.”

“See you around, Chat Noir.” She smiled, pulling him in for a hug, and he desperately hoped she couldn’t tell how fast his heart was beating or how it accelerated the moment she touched him.

“Don’t forget to go see your boyfriend. He loves you so much and really wants to see you and kiss you,” Chat said. “Probably! I mean, I’m just guessing. A girl like you, what guy wouldn’t want to kiss you really badly. Anyway, wow, look at the time. Gotta go, see you later, bye!”

Marinette chuckled as he raced off, shaking her head. That cat was so eccentric sometimes.

Chat landed back in his bathroom, letting his transformation drop and stumbling over to the sink. He mussed up his hair, slapping his cheeks a few times to redden them before rushing back to his bed.

He smiled down at all of the photos and loving messages she’d sent him before tapping the phone icon in the corner.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” She answered on the third ring, the seatbelt strap a telltale sign that she was in the car.

“A lot better,” he said. “Turns out it was a kidney stone, not a virus, so you can come visit me if you want.”

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” She asked worriedly, and he smiled.

“I’m always up to seeing you, gorgeous.” He winked, and she touched a hand to her lips with a giggle.

“Well, if you have enough energy to flirt, you must be feeling better. I’ll be there soon,” she promised.

“Can’t wait. I miss you.” He pouted. “Come make me feel better with your kisses.”

“I will.”

When she arrived, Adrien smiled up at her, reaching a hand out for her to take. She sat on the edge of the bed with an amused grin, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” She asked as he leaned his cheek into her palm.

“Better now that you’re here,” he said, kissing her hand. “How was the hospital?”

“We had an amazing time. Those kids are so strong and full of hope…We played a game with them, and this little girl-” She was cut off as Adrien leaned up to kiss her. “Don’t you want to hear how everything went?”

“Later,” he said, laying back against his pillow. “Right now I need my Marinette to save me. I have no energy to move anything except my lips, and only a kiss from the most kindhearted and beautiful princess in the world can heal me.”

“And I thought Chat Noir was dramatic,” she teased.

“Hurry,” he coughed. “I’m not going to make it.”

Marinette smiled down at her dork before leaning in to touch her lips to his, and he wrapped his arms around her, lips parting eagerly as she hugged herself to him. Her poor sick boy was awfully cuddly, but she didn’t mind because she had missed him too. Her stories could wait because right now all that mattered were his lips and hers.

***

“Did you hear about Marinette-”

“Oh, you mean about the children’s hospital?”

“Crazy, right? She’s so generous.”

Lila’s annoyance flared hotter with each step she took at school. It had been a week since Marinette’s stupid fashion show, and people were still buzzing about her. To make matters worse, she’d donated every dime to the stupid children’s hospital for new equipment and to help in their research. Over two million euros by herself, and not to mention, her friends all pitched in to donate another two million as if the hospital really needs that much. It appeared that Lila wasn’t going to stop hearing about her for a while.

“Yo, Lila!” Nino waved her down from across the courtyard, and she flicked her gaze over to him only to feel her blood curdle when she spotted Adrien. He offered her a cheeky grin as she approached. “Adrien was just telling me about the children’s hospital. The new equipment is really helping a lot of kids. Isn’t it awesome?”

“Wow, yeah. That’s so thoughtful of you, Adrien,” Lila said, plastering on a fake smile.

“It was all Marinette’s idea actually. She’s always trying to help people. I’m so unworthy,” Adrien said, placing a hand over his heart as several classmates ‘awwed’ at him, and Lila did her best to suppress an eyeroll. “We’re going to be working on a few projects this summer if you want to join, Lila. I know how much you like charity work.”

“Oh, I love it, but I’m actually going on a summer trip to Achu to work on my global campaign to end pollution, so I’m afraid I’ll have to pass,” she said, and Adrien sucked his teeth.

“Too bad, but good luck with your campaign!” Adrien patted her shoulder as the bell rang, and as their classmates dispersed, she shot him a pointed glare to which he simply smiled and walked away.

As it turned out, lying and saying you were going to be out of the country all summer made for a very boring two months spent indoors, and all the while, her mortal enemy was out living it up at beach parties. Even stuck in her own house she couldn’t get away from Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Every time she opened her social media accounts, there she was posing with her friends at the beach or doing an interview with Nadja about whatever ridiculous charity she was doing at the moment.

To say she hated her was an understatement at best; however, seeing as she was forced off of her electronics, it did give her a lot of time for her other hobbies, and more than anything it gave her time to think and plan how she was going to win everyone back at the start of the new school year. They were all moving up to lycée now, and if she remembered correctly, Adrien was moving to the same school as Marinette which only made it easier. Now there was no one left at school to stop her from running everything, so Marinette could enjoy her fame if she wanted. Lila had everything she needed.

“Alright, my bella, I’m off,” her mother called, peeking her head into Lila’s room. “Got any exciting plans?”

“Yeah, totally, I’m going to a movie with some friends,” Lila said with a smile as her mother leaned down to kiss her temple.

“Well, have fun. I should be back later tonight. I’ve got a day full of meetings ahead of me,” her mother said with a sigh. “That girl that used to go to your school is coming to pitch an idea for us today. The famous designer girl, now what was her name?”

“You’re having a meeting with Marinette?” Lila shot up.

“Marinette! Yes, that’s it.” She snapped her fingers in realization. “She wants to pitch a campaign to help Europe go green. Isn’t that wonderful? Most of us are already on board, so this meeting is just a formality to discuss specifics.”

Lila’s blood ran cold as her mother dug her keys from her purse.

“Anywho, I left you a couple meals in the fridge in case I get back late. Have a great day, my love!”

Lila’s hands clenched into fists, her breaths coming in short and ragged, and the moment the apartment door closed, she buried her face in her pillow with a scream.

Poor little girl trapped in a web of her own lies. I can help you get revenge.

“Oh, get lost, Hawkmoth! I can’t get akumatized because I’m supposed to be out of the country!” Lila shouted, ripping out her earrings and tossing them across the room with a growl before collapsing onto her bed.

Stupid Marinette! Lila never thought when she challenged her that any of this would happen. She would have to think up some really good lies to get herself out of this one come September.

***

“How do I look?” Marinette twirled around. “Too frumpy? Is this too serious? Not serious enough? Should I have a briefcase? I think I need a briefcase. Danielle, how quickly can I get a briefcase?”

“You look fine,” Adrien assured her, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Incredibly cute as always.”

“Okay, but cute isn’t going to cut it for a room of global ambassadors. I need to be smart and professional and-and-”

“You are both of those things,” Adrien said, squishing her cheeks in his hands. “Stop worrying.”

“But what if I knock over the projector, or what if I accidentally delete the presentation when I go to open it? Or what if I spill the chief ambassador’s coffee in his lap and give him second degree burns and get banned from ever setting foot in France again- no, what if they ban me from the Earth? I’ll have to go live on the moon. Adrien, I can’t live on the moon!” Marinette took frantic breaths, and Adrien got her a cup of water from the cooler nearby.

“Yeah, so none of that is going to happen. I’ve seen you rehearse this speech a thousand times, so why don’t you let me handle the power point,” Adrien soothed, pressing the cup to her lips and gently removing the remote from her hand. “The ambassadors are just interested in your idea. Their job is to make the world a better place, and that’s all you’re trying to do. No one is grading you on how well you present, so just get in there and get the idea out and answer any questions. You can do this.”

“My pits are sweating,” she sighed, grabbing several tissues from a box on a desk and dabbing under her arms. “Plus, it’s not even my idea.”

“Well, you were inspired by someone else on the general idea, but you were the one who came up with the specific details. You planned exactly how to go about it, reached out to the ambassadors, put together the whole thing, so I would say that it is your idea,” he fanned her with a pamphlet as she held her arms out. “Lila may have been the spark that lit this flame, but you’re the one who keeps tending to it so it can warm the most people. You’ve taken all of her lies and used them to help people, Marinette. Everything you do is for the good of others, and you should be proud of that.”

“The good of everyone except Lila,” Marinette corrected, and Adrien pursed his lips.

“Maybe not. Maybe this will be the wakeup call that she needs to get her to stop lying,” he suggested with a shrug as the door to the meeting room opened, and the secretary stepped out.

“They’re ready for you, Marinette,” she said with a smile, and Marinette let out a breath, rolling her neck and wiping her palms on her blazer.

“Ready?” Adrien quirked a brow, and she nodded.

“Yeah. Ready.”

Inside the room sat several men and women in suits sitting at a round table, and all heads turned to her as she entered. Several of them smiled encouragingly at her as Adrien plugged in the thumb drive and pulled up her presentation.

“Um, good afternoon,” she said, unsure of what to do with her hands and ultimately settling for clasping them together in front of her. “Thank you for meeting with me today.”

“Thank you for reaching out to us, Marinette. It’s nice to see youth taking initiative and working to better their community,” one woman said with a friendly smile that Marinette returned before squaring her shoulders.

“I want to present you all with a plan to help the European Union do its part in diminishing our footprint on the environment.”

***

Marinette sat stiffly in her town car, watching buildings pass as Danielle flipped through her schedule. It was the first time she would be arriving at school with a chauffeur just like everyone else, and even though it was incredibly normal for her classmates, she was still having a hard time adjusting. Riding with her friends was one thing, but now that she had her own, she couldn't help feeling it was a little excessive, and she found herself missing the subway. Of course, things were different now and taking the subway was no longer an option for her unless she wanted to get mobbed by fans. A lot had changed over the summer.

"You're spending time with your friends after school today, but don't forget your branding appointment with Mme. Bourgeois at 7," Danielle said without looking up from her tablet.

"I won't. Thank you, Danielle," Marinette said with a smile.

Despite feeling incredibly awkward about her new found wealth, she had to admit that having someone to manage her schedule was nice. She had so many appointments and meetings to keep up with now for all of her charities that it would be impossible to keep up with on her own. Danielle made sure that she was where she was supposed to be on time, and she also ensured that Marinette wasn't taking on too much and that she still had ample amounts of free time to spend with her friends or doing what she loved which made juggling her civilian life with her hero life easier. She had to be more careful since everyone was watching her now, but at least she was still awarded plenty of freedom. Or as much freedom as she could have without getting chased down by fans. She wasn't sure how Adrien put up with it.

"Have a good day, Marinette," Danielle said as the car slowed to a stop on the curb, and Marinette offered a small wave.

"Thank you, Danielle. You too!" She smiled as she climbed out and taking in her new school.

She thought her college was enormous, but lycée was even bigger. She felt like an ant standing on the curb, but she took comfort in knowing that her friends waited just beyond the doors.

Several teachers stood around in the halls helping students find their way, and Marinette glanced down at the schedule on her phone with pursed lips as she walked. If she remembered, Macy and Eliott were still in her class, so at least she wouldn’t be alone. Plus, they could see Martin and Lisette at lunch time.

“Oh my gosh, is that Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” A faux-nasally voice gasped, and she turned to see a familiar mop of blond hair leaning against the doorway to the stairwell. “I love your work! Can I have an autograph?”

Marinette examined the grey uniform, a smile curling on her lips before she leapt into his arms with a giggle, touching her lips to his. He chuckled against her lips, holding her close with a contented sigh.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming here!” She breathed when they pulled away.

“I wanted to surprise you.” He grinned, setting her feet on the floor.

“You left behind Nino…Kagami, Kim, Ivan, Max…” Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed, but Adrien simply shrugged.

“It’s not like I can’t see them. Besides, I have friends here too,” he said, touching his forehead to hers. “Plus it gets me away from you-know-who.”

“What about Chloe?” Marinette asked, and Adrien pursed his lips.

“She didn’t want to transfer to private school. Something about not being caught dead in such dreadful uniforms,” he said with an eyeroll. “Plus someone has to stay behind to keep an eye on things to fuel our plans.”

Marinette relaxed a little, her smile widening, though it wavered when she looked back down at his uniform.

“Okay, but why do you look so good though? That’s not fair!” She huffed, and Adrien threw his head back with a laugh before striking a pose.

“I can make anything look good,” he bragged, flexing his muscles, and Marinette stretched up on her toes to kiss him again.

As it turned out, having her boyfriend at school with her was going to prove trickier than she thought. If it weren’t for Macy, they would have been late to their first class.

“Um, you two do realize the bell rang, right?” She called, peeking behind the stairwell where they stood tangled in each other’s embrace with locked lips.

“Oh, yeah, we were just-” Marinette tried as they frantically detangled themselves, but Macy simply quirked a brow. “Thanks…”

“Come on, you two. We’re going to have to put you guys on a leash, I swear,” she chuckled as they scurried after her with ruffled hair and rosy cheeks.

“Can you blame me? She’s just so cute,” Adrien said, shooting Marinette a wink, and Macy rolled her eyes.

“You two are worse than Eliott and Lisette,” she groaned.

In the months following the fashion show, Macy had been seeing a therapist to help with her body image struggles, and it made Marinette happy to know that she was working to get better. She smiled a lot more freely now, and she’d taken seeing her face all over magazines in stride. Marinette was just glad to see her becoming more confident as a result of her brand.

“Anywho, Martin and I have loads to tell you about our trip to Germany to oversee your Go Green initiative. In just two months, they’ve reduced the amount of one-use plastics by 13% all thanks to you,” she reported jovially as they entered the classroom, and Eliott flagged them down.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” He grinned up at Macy, who shoved his shoulder.

“I found them making out under the staircase,” she said, and Eliott shook his head at them.

“I told you it would happen. As soon as Adrien said he was coming to our school, I knew we were going to have to chaperone them,” he tsked.

“You told them?” Marinette quirked a brow at him, and he simply offered her a guilty smile.

“It was well worth it to see your face when you saw me,” he said, kissing her hand, and she rolled her eyes as they took their seats next to one another. “Plus, I missed being in the same class as you, so this will be fun.”

“Just make sure you two pay attention,” Macy teased, and Marinette bit back a smile as the teacher entered and started the day.

Having Adrien at her school again was nice, and she realized as she stole glances at him in class that she really had missed seeing him every day. Of course, things were much different between them now than they were the last time they were in school together. He was her boyfriend. She was famous. Chloe was her friend. Alya was not. So much had changed in her life since she left, and so much more changed over the next two years.

She met more ambassadors and world leaders, started up several more charities both locally and internationally, recorded singles with Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale, designed several more outfits for various celebrities, had lunch with the President of France to discuss pollution, but her crowning achievement that she’d been working toward ever since they started this scheme was the day she met with Prince Ali to bring her Go Green initiative global. His invitation to spend New Year’s at his palace was just a bonus.

When news reached Lila about Marinette and Prince Ali, her blood ran cold. For years she’d tricked people into believing she’d started a campaign with Prince Ali to end pollution, but now there Marinette stood on television starting her very campaign for all the world to see.

She pulled up Marinette’s website, scanning over all of her noteworthy achievements. Songs written for her, tweets from famous Hollywood directors, rescuing the prime minister from choking on a macaron, movie roles, charities, interviews…every lie Lila had ever told staring her back in the face only this time they wore Marinette’s name, and for once in her life, Lila didn’t have a lie to get out of this one.

A few blocks over, Alya scrolled through various videos online coming across an interview with Marinette and Jagged Stone with kittens. Her eyebrows creased, and she kept scrolling until she came across a newsfeed from earlier that day about Marinette’s work to fight pollution with Prince Ali and clicked it.

“Out of all of my close friends, Marinette is the most selfless and hardworking individuals I know, and her campaign is going to change the world!”

“Her campaign?” Alya pressed her lips together.

I’m such good friends with Prince Ali. He invites me to his palace all the time!

She lies with every breath.

Her stomach jumped up to her throat, hands shaking as she clicked on the other interview.

“Aw, I have always wanted a cat. They are so rock n roll!” Jagged gushed, nuzzling a kitten. “What do you think? Should I get Fang a furry sibling?”

“Definitely!”

I saved Jagged Stone’s kitten before he had to get rid of it because he found out he was allergic.

She’s a liar.

Ladybug consults me before giving out every Miraculous because we’re such good friends.

Your identities are your most important asset. No one must know who you really are.

“This just in, Ladybug and Chat Noir have finally defeated Hawkmoth with the help of their superhero friends Malin, Emerald Shell, Bunny, and Queen Bee. The team of superheroes faced off against Hawkmoth-”

A tear slid down Alya’s cheek, and she tossed her phone aside, sliding down on her pillow. Her hands shook, her lungs felt heavy as if she couldn’t breathe, and in the center of her chest stood a gaping hole where her heart should be, chewed away from years of lies and deceit.

Marinette wasn’t her enemy. She never had been. All along she’d tried to warn Alya about Lila, and even now she’d gone to such great lengths to throw them all a lifeline. To save them from a ship they didn’t know was sinking.

It could have been her by Ladybug’s side. It could have been her helping Marinette. Modeling in her show, visiting sick kids, changing the world…being a hero. She wasn’t sure she knew what that meant anymore, but if anyone deserved the title of hero, it was Marinette.

She wasn’t sure when she moved; she didn’t even recall putting on her shoes, but she found herself stalking up the street to Lila’s apartment, tears burning hot on her cheeks. Lila’s grave expression when she opened the door was the final nail in her coffin.

“You lied,” Alya said, and Lila leaned against the doorframe.

“Yeah.”

“About everything!” Alya shouted, and Lila averted her gaze. “Marinette was right about you, and I let you tear us apart.”

“Don’t mention her-”

“I’ve been picking up your slack for years! Three years almost I’ve been going out of my way for you because I believed you were out there making a difference, and not once have you ever done anything for me except lie and use me!” Her hands balled into angry fists. “You’re nothing but a coward, Lila. A liar and a coward!”

“Say what you want, but I’m not the one who turned my back on my best friend!” Lila shot back. “How much did Marinette do for you for you to abandon her so quickly?”

Alya’s temper flared, and she turned and stormed off. Upon returning home, she slammed the door to her bedroom and dug her phone out from under the blankets then rummaged through her closet for her tripod. She set them up on her desk just like she used to, taking a few deep breaths before hitting record. She sat in front of it for several moments, composing her thoughts, before finally speaking.

“Hey, um, it’s me. A lot of you have probably forgotten, but my name is Alya, and I used to run a blog a few years ago called the Ladyblog, and I would give all of the latest news on Ladybug and Chat Noir and superheroes, and one day, without warning I shut it down, and I’ve never really explained why, but I think I’m finally ready to tell my story.” She paused for a few beats, pursing her lips. “I had this friend, and she was my best friend. She was scatterbrained and clumsy, and she could never quite confess her feelings to the boy she liked no matter how many times we tried. She was kind, and she was always helping people, but one day, someone new came along who had this fantastical life, and suddenly my best friend became suspicious of her and never wanted to be around when this person was there which was so out of character for her because she barely knew her, and she was always nice to everyone.

This person told such amazing stories, but my friend never believed any of them. Several times, she tried to prove that they were made up, but she never quite could, and so we all turned our backs on her, a person we knew and trusted and loved, for someone who was, in actuality, a stranger. Well, this friend decided to leave our school because of the way we brushed her off, and this person led us all to believe that our friend was the one bullying her, and we all couldn’t believe that our friend who was so kind would ever do such a thing…We shouldn’t have believed her, and I think many of us were unsure for a long time.

My friend and I split up, and I became friends with this new person, and I believed for a long time that she was so great and that she was out helping people. She told me things and said that she knew people, and that she had done so many amazing things, and I believed her. Every time, I believed her, and I let her alter what I believed about my friends and about myself.

Since Hawkmoth is defeated now, and I’ll never get the opportunity again, I am, or rather I was Rena Rouge for a time, but when I broke ties with my friend and started hanging out with this new person, Ladybug stopped trusting me, which didn’t make sense to me because this person was supposedly Ladybug’s best friend, so why would my friendship with her make me unworthy of being a hero? But I again I let her warp what I knew to be true. She convinced me that she’d had a falling out with Ladybug and that I was just a casualty. She convinced me to delete my blog and to resent Ladybug for years. It’s no wonder Ladybug stopped trusting me because I was no longer trustworthy, and I see that now, um…” She paused, to wipe her cheek.

“This person stripped everything that I was from me. She used me and isolated me from people I truly cared about, and I feel like I owe so many apologies. To all of you who followed my blog, to Ladybug for letting her down, to my boyfriend for brushing aside his suspicions, to the people who tried to warn me about her, and especially to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my friend, for turning my back on you. I’m sorry…” She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth as her throat closed up. “I’m really sorry. I know it probably doesn’t mean anything anymore, and I know that you have moved on in life, and I am so happy for you. But I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me one day, and I hope that no one ever has to be used by this person again, so, Lila Rossi, let this be a wake up call to you to tell the truth because using someone the way you used me is so vile and disgusting, and I hope that you feel as horrible right now as I have felt for the past three years.”

Alya leaned her head back with a sigh, biting her lip.

“I’m sorry to everyone I’ve disappointed over the last few years. If any of you out there ever find a Marinette in your life, hold onto them because they will always lift you up, and if ever you encounter a Lila…run.” She shook her head. “This is Alya Cesaire. Stay connected, bugheads.”

[laadychat]

codeword pt.2

(honestly, i suck at writing but here's this trash lmao)

Laying on her bed, Marinette glanced up at her kwami. "Hey, Tikki. What's the likelyhood I'll run into Chat Nori?"

The small creature flew over to her owner, watching her thoughtfully. "Honestly, everyone that wielded both miraculous always found each other. Plagg and I think it's because the miraculouses are each a half of a whole- they're always going to find each other."

Humming, Marinette nodded. "Have we already met?"

Tikki shook her head and landed on the bluenette's stomach. "No, that I know for sure. But it won't be for long!"

"I already have a couple of ideas who Chat might be. But even then, I'm not sure I'll run into any models any time soon."

"Well," Tikki flew away to grab a cookie, curious as to who could also be Chat Noir. "Who do you think is Chat Noir?"

"Adrien Agreste is my biggest guess. Kitty knew quite a bit about fashion so he had to have some personal connection to it. Well, besides being a model." Marinette tapped her head, looking at some of the poster's she had around her room. She had plenty of Gabriel Agreste's recent line on her walls. "His father is one of the biggest fashion designers in Paris."

Tikki nodded, storing away this information. "Anyone else."

"Two others; Alexander Kain and Oscar Wright. But my money is on the Agreste kid."

She didn't have any chance to continue when an incoming call distracted her. Seeing how it was Alya video calling her, she quickly asked Tikki to hide before answering. "What's up?"

"Girl, I won't be the new kid anymore!"

Eyes raised in surprise, Marinette asked her to clarify. "We're getting a new kid?"

"Yup! I don't know his name yet, just that he's Chloé's friend."

"So, rich and probably stuck up then?" She mused.

"Hopefully not but we'll see! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Blinking at her phone, she then gave her kwami a puzzled look. "I wonder who the new kid's gonna be."

-

"So..."

"I'm not gonna help you find her, kid. That's a you problem." The little black creature grunted, floating towards his favorite stash of cheese.

"But Plagg!" Adrien clasped his hand in a prayer style. "I gotta win this bet. Oh wise one," he walked over to his kwami and got onto his knees. "Please help this dear, troubled soul."

Plagg blinked, astonished at what he just witnessed. "Uh, so long as you never do that again." Rolling his eyes, he gulped down a slice of cheese. "Jeez, kid. You're useless with me."

"Actually," fishing his phone out, Adrien quickly scanned for a picture before showing his friend. "I have an idea on who she may be. Look!"

Once viewing what was in front of him, Plagg couldn't help but snicker. "What is this, Agreste? Going around sneaking pictures of distracted girls? Never thought you were the type."

"Plagg! That's not- ugh, whatever but I think she maybe Ladybug!" Grinning, Adrien glanced at his phone once again.

"What makes you say that?"

Signing, Adrien took this opportunity to sprawl on the floor, hell-bent on this certain girl being his partner. "She said she lives above a bakery and always brings pastries from her parent's work. When she wouldn't tell me what bakery, I went to all the ones in Paris." He ran his fingers through his hair, remembering when he first laid eyes on this bluenette girl. "Then I stepped into Tom and Sabine Bakery and saw her- she wears her hair the same!"

Snorting, Plagg poked his owner's nose, amused on how smitten his kitten is already. "You don't know for sure, though. Is there anyone else?"

"Well, Kagami but," Shaking his head, the blonde boy rubbed his abused nose before sitting up once again. "I'm like 99% sure it's not her."

"So, bakery girl is your best bet. You going to that bakery again some time soon?"

At that, Adrien's shoulder drop. "I'd have to sneak out but with what I'm going to do tomorrow, I don't think I'll have the time."

"Ah, yes. The rebellious boy. Running away to a public school when he could have 5all he wants at home." Plagg mused, flying away once again to grab another slice. "Still don't understand why bother."

"Whatever, Plagg. I might make friends. Hey, do you think she might go there?"

Groaning, Plagg flew further away with his cheese. "We're not done talking about this?"

Pretending to have not heard the kwami of destruction's whine, the model continued. "I just remembered! The bakery is right across the street! So is that a yes?"

"If I said let's find out tomorrow, will you stop your sappy thoughts?"

-

Sooo~ just to clarify, Adrien hasn't started going to Collège Françoise Dupont till about two months after he and Marinette got their miraculous. And Chat doesn't overly flirt with Ladybug but have this great friendship going for them. Also, yeah they know the whole "keep identity secret" thing but could care less about it and the kwami's are like 'if you find each other's in civilian life, we ain't stopping y'all'.

[crazyrandomfucker]

Marichat May Day 23: Blushing

Summary:

What would happen if Marin knew that the girl he first loved is also the girl who is now madly in love? What would happen if said girl was crazy in love with him and he couldn't confess to her because he would have to recognize that he knows her secret?

----------------------

It was not supposed to happen. Marin could have never predicted and much less, prevent it from happenning. Not in his entire career as Lordbug he had ever thought that he himself would be the one that broke the first rule they had established between superheroes: None of the four heroes were to know the secret identity. Not even Chat Noir, who wanted the most to know who was Ladybug, had ever broken that rule. They four had swear not to investigate or try to find the others identities. And yet, ther was Marin, seeing how Kitty Noire detransformed into Adrienne Agrestre from behind the container he had detransformed. In his defence, Marin wasn't trying to know her identity and it was actually  Kitty's fault for not being careful enough, but still, he could not believe it.

Obviously, Marin didn't tell any of this to Marinette, given how strict she and Tikki were regarding the secret identities. Tekke on the other side, while it ticked him off that there had been a one-sided reveal, he understood that it wasn't Marin's fault. Marin now had two options as Tekke said; he either kept everything a secret and act as if nothing had happened, or he'd have to take away the miraculous from Chat Noir and Kitty Noire, explain everything and look for new holders. The later really wasn't an option and even Tekke agreed on that one; they had been partners for far too long to now introduce new cats, escpecially because the sudden appearance of two ew villains that went by Papilionidae and Le Paon. So, Marin had a new secret to keep.

The first days, he was simply nervous around Adrienne whether she was in her civilian form or in her Kitty Noire form, so he tried to act as normal as he could and not distanciate himself from her in order to avoid making her suspicious of him. However,when days turned to weeks, Marin began to feeel like the stress was building up and that it'd crush him if he didn't let it out. He became restless and the people around him definitely noticed. His family constantly asked him if there was any ptoblems, but he wouldn't budge. Alen and Alya did their best to interrogate Marin and try to get something out of him, but Marin didn't budge. Even Adrien was worrying about him and asked him both as Adrien and as Chat Noir, which was ironic given that Adrien didn't get exactly along with Marin. When Marin thought about it, Adrien most likely didn't get along with Marin because he was Adrienne's love interest and there was no wayto knoow if Marin was a good guy or a gold digger.

As Marin's stress built up and the constant questioning began to sound repetitive and annoying, Marin decided that he was going to vent to someone about it and Tekke approved it concerned for Marin's mental state. He had three options to whom could he vent to. First one, his sister, who was very strict about secret identities and was totally against a reveal. Bad idea. Second option, he could talk it out with Kitty herself, but Marin was definitely not prepared to have that conversation with her or any rational conversation at least. Which only left him with the final option : Chat Noir. Luckily for him, they had patrol together so they'd have quite some time to talk.

Hours later, Lordbug was staring at the sunset as he nervously waited for Chat. "Ah, I wonder how should I appraoch this..."

"Approach what M'Lord?" asks Chat as he clims next to Lordbug.

"Perfect timing Chat Noir. We have to talk" says Lordbug serious as he swallows his nervousness.

"What happened Lordbug? Is there a clue abouth the identity of Hawk Moth? Is it Mayura's perhaps? Or is it Le Paon and Papilionidae?" asks Chat concerned.

"You are right in only one thing. It's about someone's identity, but not the villains" says Lordbug. "It's Kitty's".

"Wait, what?!" says Chat confused.

"Someone saw her detransforming about a month and some weeks ago. He told me after overthinking it for that period and built quite a lot of stress because he knows her in your civilian life" says Lordbug trying to remain calm not to blow his cover. "And he slipped out accidentally her identity to me in an anxiety attack".

"A- I- Th- Wh-" tries to articulate Chat Noir as hismind gets more and more confused by the second. "Who saw her?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this Adrien, but he's someone you don't get completely along with" says Lordbug proving that he knew their identities. "It was Marin, he was hiding behind a container when your sister dropped in the alley and detransformed".

"No way!" says Chat connecting the pieces of the puzzle. "That's why he's been so weird lately, it all makes sense now..."

"Look Chat, I'm sorry to tell you this and drop the news like that but... You were lucky this time" says Lordbug. "It was Marin who saw her and decided to keep the secret to himself for a lot of time before he collapsed. I didn't tell any of this to Ladybug because... You know it, we would have to take away your miraculous and find a replacement and she's the one who'd do it even if it pains her a lot".

"I- I understand... Are you... Are you going to take the miraculous away then?" asks Chat holding his ring nervously.

"I won't. It's far too late in the game to find you a replacement, we're already a good team and work like a perfectly oiled machine" says Lordbug and Chat visibly relaxes. "Not to mention that we heave more villains to take care of now and introducing someone brand new could lead to a disastrous defeat".

"What are we going to do then?" asks Chat.

"We're going to do a bunch of things. First of all, I'm sorry about this Chat" says Lordbug and then slaps Chat Noir, almost knocking him off balance. "You're an idiot!"

"What the hell?! What was that for?!" asks Chat Noir rubbing his faceslightly pissed.

"I can't tell you because secret identities, but you deserved that" says Lordbug. "But I also deserve it, so hit me and tell me that I'm an idiot".

"What? I'm not doing that!" says Chat.

"Chat Noir, slap my face with all your strength or I'll hit you again" threatens Lordbug and Chat complies, almost knocking Lordbug off the ground.

"You're an idiot! Even if I don't know why!" exclaims Chat.

"Good! Now I can feel a bit more at ease" says Lordbug. "Now that we have that out of the way, I want you to explain everything to Kitty and please try not to visit randomly Marin to do whatever you want to do, he's not in a good state right now. In fact, I'm going to sort everything out with him because he's a mess and I'm afraid that he'll explode when least expected".

"Okay, I understand" says Chat Noir serious. "Can I ask something thought?"

"Of course, I'll try to asnwer if I can" says Lordbug.

"What exactly is troubling Marin so much? Doesn't he already knows your identity and Ladybug's without a problem?" asks Chat Noir.

"Okay, that is a hard to answer question and I'm not sure if I should answer" says Lordbug blushing a bit. "Anywas, there is a difference between our identities and yours".

"What difference?" asks Chat. "Are you aliens?"

"No. We're... Sort of family? But to Marin... Kitty Noire was the girl he and I fell for more or less at the same time. However... When he decided to move on, he became more perceptive of his surroundings and... Well, you already know ho your sister feels about Marin and... Ugh! This is so hard to say!" says Lordbug blushing. "After considering Adrienne's feelings and his own opinion on her, he began to see her in a different light and slowly was enamoured by her hard. As in, madly in love with her".

"So it's not his mind what has a problem then? Isn't it the heart instead?" asks Chat Noir far more calmly than Lordbug would have ever expected.

"Since we think alike, I can understand what he's going on. Wait, now that I think about it... Did we seriously fell for the same girl twice?!" says Lordbug. "Okay, thats it, kill me now Chat. I don't want to keep living in this embarrassement of a world".

Chat lets out a small laugh as he puts his hand on Lordbug's shoulder. "Please, M'Lord, if you're gone, who am I going to tease to death about this?"

"Watch it cat boy, because I can and I will tell embarrassing moments of yours to Marin and Marinette, meybe even to the reporter twins, the Cesaire" says Lordbug jokingly.

"To be hinest, it'd be totally worth it" says Chat laughing.

"At least, until I tell your girlfriend about them" says Lordbug. "I'm sure Kagami will be really interested on it" says Lordbug. "That's right, I know about the secret relationship you began... Was it two months ago?"

"You wouldn't dare" says Chat Noir alarmed.

"You bet I would kitty-cat, so let's patrol before I actually do it" says Lordbug swinging away.

When Adrienne heard from Adrien and Plagg that the cat was out of the bag, she couldn't believe it. She had been so careful! More than Chat for sure. But when she heard the rest of it and learnt that it was Marin who discovered her and that he had stressed himself out lately to not mess up and reveal her secret, a lot of mixed feelings bursted on her chest. First of all, she felt a pang of guilt on her chest, knowing that Marin had been suffering because of her and tried to hide it either way. But because he had been trying to hide it, worrying so much for her, her heart also skipped a beat as she blushed. On the other hand, she felt a lot more of respect for Lordbug for not following the rules and deciding what would be the best, even if she also felt guilty and pitied him after she learnt that he had liked her both as Kittty and as Adrienne.

Knowing how much would her holder overthink everything, Plaggue distracted Adrienne by literally picking Adrienne's phone and throwin it to the bin. Adrienne instantly snapped out of her trance and picked up the phone from the trash, complaining to Plaggue that she shouldn't do that if she was bored. Tha kwami was looking at her seriously thought, which made Adrienne straighten up a bit since Plaggue rarely was serious.

"Listen here kitten, I did what I needed to provent you from overthinking everything once more. You're not going to think about this, understood?" says PPlaggue serious. "If you have any problems or whatsoever, you go and talk everything out with Marin".

"But I can't see him right now! I'm a mess and I don't know what to say!" says Adrienne blushing and desperate.

"Okay, first of all, I don't care if you can't see him right now. How many times have you gone over his house as Kitty whenever you felt like it?" asks Plaggue. "And second, you'll never know what to say, so grab the bull by the horns and do it".

After a large discussion about whether should Kitty Noire pay a visit to Marin or not and about what should Kitty say, Adrienne stood up ecouraged by Plague and transformed into Kitty Noire. Completely ignoring her brother's warning about not visiting Marin for his sanity's sake, she jumped out if her window and pole-vaulted into the air, heading for Marin's roof with only one thing on her mind: Marin. In no time, she crossed the distance between her house and the Dupain-Cheng boulangerie-pastisserie and landed on Marin's roof. Without letting herself have enough time to rethink about it, she knocked on Marin's trapdoor and heard how something on the inside made a lot of noise, as if something had fallen or had been thrown in the spur of the moment.

"K-Kitty?" says Marin blushing a lot with a nervous smile.

"It's okay, I already know. Lordbug told my brother and he told me" says Kitty Noire trying not to blush. "Do you mind if we talk inside your room were no one can spot me easily?"

"S-Sure..." says Marinas his hands trembled due to his nerves. "Would you- Should I go for something to drink or to eat?"

"Don't worry about it" says Kitty as she drops inside the room. "I just want to talk somethings with you".

"S-Sure" says Marin mentally screaming. "What do y-you want t-t-to talk about Kitty?"

"You could call me by my name when we're alone you know" says Kitty pouting while a faint blush dusts her cheeks.

"I- It's just in c-case" says Marin rubbing it off.

"Okay..." says Kitty still pouting, but she shakes her head and calms down. "Anyways, I'm really sorry for being too careless and not noticing you in that alley!"

"It's okay Kitty" says Marin trying to supress his awkwardness. "I know it wasn't intentional".

"Yeah, but I still feelsorry for making you worry so much about me" says Kitty getting closer to him and Marin gets redder. "I don't want to make you suffer and cause you problems because of something I did!"

Marin smiles tenderly as he watches her worrying. "Kitty, it's okay. I wasn't on a struggle for keeping your secet or anything like that. I just made myself suffer beacause of me, it's not your fault, trust me".

"Then why have you been so weird lately at school?" asks Kitty worried. "Why have you been hiding everything from me?"

"I- I just was conflicted about something" says Marin. "I honestly never thought that anything of this was your fault, I simply tormented myself as I usually do instead of talking with other people".

"then I want you to talk everything with me!" demands Kitty as she gets really close to Marin.

"Em... Personal space? Please?" says Marin awkwardly as his blush deepens.

"Oh! Sorry!  I tend to forget about boundaries whenever I get too emotional" says Kitty feeling a bit down.

"Don't worry. It's just that after so many years of bullying, I've kind of developed a bit obsessive about personal space" says Marin.

"But I always was hugging you or clinging to you and you never complained" says Kitty confused

"That's because I was being respectful. I knew more or less how things are at your home and I didn't want to be someone else who didn't let you express your feelings as you want" says Marin.

"Then what's different noe? I don't get it" complains Kitty.

"I am. I didn't know you were Kitty Noire. I was falling for you after resigning to be a couple with Kitty when I suddenly discovered that you were the same!" spurts Marin without thinking. "I'm very confused right now! The girl I had a crush on turned out to be the girl I'm currently in love with! What are the odds? I was too surprised to even recognize that I fell for you twice, Lordbug had to remember me that!"

"Y-You had a-a-a crush on me?" asks Kitty bashfully as her cheeks lit.

"I- Uh- I me- ... Yeah, I had one, but I gave up on it because I fell in lov for someone else" says Marin misteriously. "I... fell for you after I thought how would a future with you be like".

"W-Why? Why would you think about something like that?" asks Kity blushing.

"Because I realized that you loved me and I didn't know how I felt about you" ansewrs Marin as if it was the most normal thing to say of all times.

"Y-You know about it?" asks Kitty Noire.

"Well, once I wasn't blind-sided by my crush on Kitty Noire, it was pretty easy to figure it out" says Marin. "It's not like you or Nina made an effort to hide it to be honest".

"That mkes sense..." says Kitty blushing as she realizes how obvious she had been being.

Both of them fell into an awkward silence of reflexion were they analyzed the whole conversation again, slowly noticing here and there some hints about the other lowkey admiting their love for eachother if not openly professing it but then covering it with something else. Both realized that they loved eachother and that their love was certainly mutual, but neither of them dared to step up and confess to the other, not in fear of rejection since they knew the other's feelings; but in awkwardness. They simply stood there blushing as they waited for the other to make the first move, being to embarrassed to make it themselves.

Minutes later, Kitty's ring began to  beep and four of the paws suddenly disappeared, indicating that in less than a minute the transformation would be gone and Kitty would risk being discovered by someone else in Marin's bedroom without an alibi. Marin and her began t panic, but the ring  went back to it's normal state misteriously, as if it was giving them some more time to do what they needed. In fear of running out of time for sure, both of them took a step and confessd their feelings for the other while a bright red blush colored their cheeks. Obviously, they accepted eachother's feelings and began to date, but not even that made them stop blushing as hard as they were blushing.

[universal-kitty]

“What am I to you?” + ur edgiest f/o??

❤ ▬▬ emotional starters to kick you in the feelings.

   This was the usual by now. Ichimatsu would leave home to feed the neighborhood strays- as per usual- and, somewhere along the way, meet up with Rachel, who’d join him and give love to the cats that flocked among them... When not making some of them sour at them, as they often brought healthy things with them. Like some sort of...application that would help kill fleas and such. 

   Nice of a thing to do for these domestic strays, but it always made him frown. They always let themselves get hurt if it meant helping som- a cat. Wincing in pain at the scatches, frowning at the yowls and hisses, but always smiling at the end of it, happy that the cat got some treatment... No matter how long it’d last the stray. (As, just like the both of them, the cats were bound to get into trouble sooner or later.)

   ...It was almost uncomfortable to see. Because he saw himself in these cats...and Rachel as, well...themself. Always so caring and kind and gentle. Forgiving, even when the cats were mad at them for having be messed with. Patient and willing to show kindness to such grumpy kitties all over again, to win back their trust and have them purring against them in no time flat.

   It felt like...how they were with him. He, too, was an angry cat. He’d say mean things, not accept their compliments, and constantly say the opposite things of what he really meant. Better to shoo Rach off then let them dig a deeper hole, stuck with someone as disgusting and loathesome as him.

   They deserved better and he wouldn’t let them get stuck with him.Even as he wonders...if it’s okay to do that. Is it really okay to let such kindness go? Even if he doesn’t deserve it?

   It’s what was bothering him today, even. Snacks bought for them both (by Rachel, since...he’s still a NEET), cats being fed, and others resting in their laps. A tortie kitten was in Rachel’s lap, while Ichimatsu’s lap was primarily hogged by a tuxedo cat, but others hovered around, like the ever-hovering ESP Kitty. (Though he kept the cat away, just in case he started spilling any secrets.)

   They’d been pretty focused on the kitten, eyes gentle and rather motherly, when not flicking up to take stock of the cats eating, to Ichimatsu (who would quickly pretend he hadn’t been staring at them), and then back to the kitten. Purring in delight, a stray tamed by a gentle hand with very short nails... Perhaps they’d been biting them earlier in the week? He wouldn’t put it past Rachel to do so, what with their anxiety and all.

   ...He certainly wasn’t alone on that. A comforting thought, though fleeting. Someone as good and pretty as Rachel didn’t deserve such a horrible person around them like he is. (Right? Isn’t that right? So why does the thought of pushing them away hurt, too...?)

   He barely notices when they look up at him, innocence still in their dark green eyes. A small smile on their lips... How soft would they be? Would they be okay with the thoughts he’s had about them...? Would such disgusting thoughts ruin him to Rachel forever or would he dare try believing that maybe--?

   “Heh, what are you looking at Ichima-?”

   “What am I to you?” He asked, tone harsher than he meant to, catching Rachel off guard. Making them flinch. (His gut swirled in regret, rejection bubbling up into a sick feeling.)

   “What...?” They straightened up, brows furrowing together as he looked away, staring instead at the slowly approaching ESP Kitty. (Don’t you dare, you little shit.) “What do you mean? Where did this come from?”

  “I... You...” Ichimatsu sucked in air through his teeth, focusing on the short sound of it instead of the patient ESP Kitty staring at him. At the eyes of his crush looking at him, lost and hurt. Confused at his words, ones that had no context and left them lost in a sea of anxieties. “I just want to know. Before you go off giving me ideas.”

   “Idea-?”

   “You know what you’re doing to me!!!” He roared, scaring off most of their feline company, including the kitten in Rachel’s lap. Scared, ESP Kitty still hovered close, fur fluffing up in caution. Their eyes were so wide with shock, staring up at him with fear...but also more confusion.

   “I-I.... I don’t...understand.....” Tears gathered in their eyes, and Ichimatsu faltered at the sight, expression dropping into one of heartbreak and pain. “I...I don’t... What am I doing? I just wanted to be f-friends with y-you, but..... I don’t mean to make you h-hurt, Ichimatsu...!” His jaw was dropped, fear growing in his chest...especially as they struggled to stand up. “I.... I can go-”

   “NO!!!” Ichimatsu lunged for their sleeve faster than he ever thought he could move, eyes wide and desperate for them not to leave. No... No, no, no, nonono- He’s wrong, he’s sorry, but how does he say that?! Especially to such a heart-wrenching expression like the one Rachel had on their face....

   He looked down to an equally sad ESP Kitty, sighing and letting go of their sleeve... Sitting back down, and gently scooping the cat into his arms, cradling the cat there. Though seemingly nervous at first, ESP Kitty was quick to warm up to his friend again, soon looking like he had a little smile all over again.

   “The truth is, I care about you a lot,” ESP Kitty said, Ichimatsu glancing up in time to see her eyes widen with shock, jaw dropping as the cat spoke! “In fact, I care about you so much, it’s scary to me. I think pushing you away will keep you safe, but I also don’t want to be alone, after knowing your friendship.”

   “...Ichi...?” Rachel slowly sat back down, this time on their legs, hands on their knees as they looked between him and ESP Kitty uncertainly. He’d explain it after this, but...right now, his heart was beating wildly. Honestly, he was pretty sure that if he tried to explain what was going on, he might die. (Or get horrible stomach pains again, so. Either wasn’t a pleasant idea.)

   “You make my heart race,” the cat continued. “I’ve never felt so strongly about someone before... That’s what love is, isn’t it?” Ichimatsu’s face burned as he pointedly looked away, Rachel staring at him with a blush growing over their face. “I feel like I’m not worth your time or attention or kindness...but you’re the person I love the most. Equal to cats~!

   “Ah...but is that kind of love from someone like me okay? You deserve better, don’t you? Can I be someone worth your time? A NEET like me...?” Ichimatsu looked back just in time to see Rachel close, unconsciously leaning forward to the two. W-Within....kissing distance......

    “...Rachel, I love you,” Ichimatsu and ESP Kitty say at the same time, seeming to stop time in that little alleyway they’ve been tucked into all the while. The quite after that confession is deafening, but somehow...feels a little less nerve-wracking? Maybe because- despite the surprise- they don’t seem as scared or disgusted as Ichimatsu always imagined they’d be....

   .......Well, until the silence kept dragging on. Then he started getting worried.

   “L-Look, you don’t have to be-”

   “I-I love you, too.” Ichimatsu froze. Stared at their knees. Then to Rachel’s face.

   “............Ah?”

   “Ichi....I’ve liked you all this time,” they confessed, laughing a little as tears rose back in their eyes. “You silly... I thought you could actually do better than me!! I’m not much, you know.... If anything, I’m pretty plain.”

   “You’re gorgeous! How could you say that about yourself when I’m the plain piece of garbage?! Your kindness, your love of cats... You’re way better than a NEET like me deserves.”

   “Wh-What?! Ichi, I used to be a NEET before I moved to Japan! I only got out of that because I wanted to move here so badly....and I got to meet you because of that... Being a NEET isn’t all bad, ‘long as you can figure out what you want to do someday.” They hesitated, then offered their hand to him, palm up. Ichimatsu stared at it like it was some kind of alien tech......then slowly slipped his hand into their own, blushing brightly at how soft their hand was. Better than he’d ever imagined, that’s for sure. Still so kind, too...

   “...So you’re fine...with trash like me being your boyfriend?”

   “Only you’re okay with having a trash partner~” Ichimatsu glared at them as they gave a smug look, tightening his hold slightly.

   “You’re not trash,” he snapped.

   “I won’t say it anymore if you won’t~!” He stared at them, glare getting worse...then sighed, pouting. Softening his glare by quite a lot. “Heheh, I figured. We’ll work on it together, ‘kay?”

   “...You’ll help me?”

   “Mhm. I promise it,” they assured gently, scooting closer. “Hey.... Ichi?” As he turned to look at them, they leaned forward enough to gently, quickly peck his lips, smiling softly. Heat spread from head to toe, barely suppressing a shiver as it clicked in his head: that was...his first kiss. A messy way to get to this point, but get there they did and ahaha holy shit, this was officially the best day of his life.

    “Ichi...I love you.” He had to bluescreen a little longer, processing the kiss before nodding slowly, his eyes hesitantly meeting theirs all over again. 

    “...I-I...love you, too.” He stared a little longer, glanced down, and then back up. “....I hope you still will...when you find out what I like......”

   “Oh...? In what way, I wonder~?” Ichimatsu could only grin darkly at the mischievous look on Rachel’s face. Heh, seems like they might already know...and he looks forward to testing that.

   Not today, oh no!! That’d be too much for one day and his stomach would surely fuck up the moment. But someday. For sure.