#anyways i watched pink flamingos for the first time the other day | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

marveldc-imagines-hub · 4 years ago

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Subtitles: Episode 3, Now in Color

Subtitles Masterlist

Summary: Things are going well between [Y/N] and their new partners but what shenanigans will ensue as the Maximoff baby’s arrival quickly approaches and they’re pulled into the throughs of building a nursery and… child delivery?

Word count: 10,640

Warnings: Cotton candy fluff, chaos, baby. So the usual, plus babies.

Tag list: @madamevirgo @ravennight41 @multifandomgirl16 (It won’t tage you for some reason, I’m sorry ;-; ) @cyanide-mustard @badasspolygenderfriend

~~~

You huffed and sat back on your heels, slipping a sore finger into your mouth. “Stupid bird.”

The bird in question, a pink flamingo made of plastic and wire, seemed to sneer at you from its position sticking a few inches farther out of the grass than it should be. Because of this, you could still see the main stake sticking out of the bottom of the bird’s standing foot, which, much to your distaste, made the pink plastic-feathered creature look like it was trapped on a piece of wood impaled in its foot rather than lounging on one foot in the lush green grass of your yard.

You had spent a good portion of today working on your yard and garden and waiting for a member of the household across the street to step outside and beckon you over. Dressed in overalls stained by grass and dirt, a brightly colored T-shirt, a sun hat, and working shoes, you forced yourself to keep busy by planting new flora and putting down new garden fences and decor while Vision and Wanda were tucked away indoors, preparing for a baby. You were the only one so far to know about the Maximoff bun in the oven outside of the parents and although it seemed like just last week that Wanda had gotten pregnant, the baby had finally big enough that the couple had to involve a doctor to make sure all was going well.

It also felt like not long ago that the couple had asked you out for the first time. Both of them. At the same time. It was news to you that they had felt even remotely felt the same way about you as you had about them but the rest of that conversation had gone swimmingly with you being too nervous and dumbstruck to do much more than blubber questions. The first date and then the second went a similar way, with you not being completely sure that you were on a three-person date or even awake. Luckily, your new partners were just as unnerved as you were and the three of you agreed to simply play it by ear and communicate a lot.

Some time and a few sporadic dates later and things were going smoothly. Almost every bit of free time was spent at either their place or yours; if it wasn’t free time, you were giving Vision rides to work and leaving cute messages in the files you left at his desk—you always hoped they were cute, anyway, and not annoying, only to be reassured when you got a smiley back or your favorite treat from the breakroom left with the file when it was returned—or trying to help Wanda clean or cook or take a break despite her stubborn fussing against it. Vision was the first to give you a pet name, Wanda was the first to hold you in place when you attempted to pull away from a normally quick handhold or hug, and you were the first to press kisses to both their cheeks after walking them home from dinner. Wanda fell asleep on your couch first, you on theirs second, and Vision went ahead and turned cheek pecks into lip kisses. You weren’t quite ready to initiate them yourself yet but you hadn’t been complaining when Vision caught you on your porch steps and kissed you on the mouth; the rain that had just started had either been just a bonus or his initial inspiration.

As nice as everything has been, though, you were still worried about overstepping boundaries with the married couple so when Vision invited you over to be a part of the doctor visit, you politely declined. Instead, after the doctor left, you were to head over and bring your tools to help set up the nursery; it was also your joint job with Vision, who was now a baby book reading master but also increasingly bugged out about Wanda and the baby’s health, to try and convince said woman to relax for once in her life—a task difficult enough to be on the list of Hercules’ Twelve Labors, you were convinced at this point.

For now, though, you were sitting with your feet beginning to cramp and your knees getting damp and most likely more grass-stained, glaring at the devil in pink whose foot-stake had left your finger with a prick from a splinter and whose one visible dark eye stared at you with sadistic mirth.

“Oh, you wanna go, Bernard?” you scoffed at the bird-shaped plastic, dropping your hand from your mouth and pushing yourself up into a squat. “I’ll call you out. Let’s go!” You raised your hands in a fighting stance and bounced on the balls of your feet as you prepared to strike.

The sound of a chainsaw starting up caught you off guard mid-bounce and you lost your balance but what caught your eye when you twisted around while rubbing your now-bruised tailbone was Vision walking outside his front door with an older gentleman, presumably the doctor. However, you paid very little attention to said other man as you laid in the middle of your yard, twisted into what was probably a partial yoga pose, resting your chin on your arm and making lovey-dovey eyes at the former.

Not that it was surprising at all, Vision looked very nice today. He was wearing dark blue pants and a similarly colored sweater over a collared shirt and tie, with a honey-brown jacket topping everything off; you couldn’t imagine wearing a shirt plus two outerwear items in the heat of the day but you certainly didn’t mind seeing him all dressed up. His hair was somewhere between jaw and shoulder length and wavy as ever and while you weren’t a fan of the popular 70s cut, he not only pulled it off but made it look incredibly attractive. He greeted his next-door neighbor Herb, who started up the chainsaw, then spoke animatedly, as he always did, to the doctor. Talking about keeping the baby news to themselves, no doubt.

Vision watched as the doctor walked off down the sidewalk and as he happened to pass in your direction, Vision’s gaze refocused to settle on you instead. The expression on his face changed from purely friendly to something deeper and you felt the familiar flutter of butterflies in your stomach as he waved over to you.

“Hello, perfectly platonic neighbor!” he hollered, to which you responded in kind after snorting and then disentangling yourself from your strange position.

No response from Herb about the odd greeting. The cul-de-sac, and in Westview in general, people didn’t seem concerned with your trio’s out-of-place shenanigans as long as it didn’t directly affect them, you had noticed over time. You could have probably walked over and planted a brazen smooch on Vision’s perfect mouth while out in the open, with other neighbors milling about, and no one would bat an eye.

But that’s exactly what we’re not going to do, you thought stubbornly as you stood and brushed yourself off. Not yet, anyway. I want to make sure they’re both comfortable with it first.

Vision seemed to grasp what your plan was because he waited for you as you gave Bernard the flamingo a fight postpone notice and then a light kick before walking across your yard and heading across the street. If you had been more rational, you would have grabbed your tools so you could have just come inside when you reached the Maximoff house but your brain, muddled with the pink mist of freshly requited affections, could only think of getting closer to the man, maybe even holding hands or nuzzling noses.

A sound that was equal parts loud and awful caught both your and Vision’s attention as you reached the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Looking over, you both saw Herb cutting away with his chainsaw, only now he wasn’t cutting through bushes but the stone wall separating his and Wanda and Vision’s homes. The stone blocks of the wall weren’t super heavy-duty, you supposed, but the sound made you cringe, and the sight was a little jarring. Herb didn’t seem to realize was he was doing despite the lack of hedges in his path.

“Hey Herb,” Vision yelled over the noise, “think you might’ve taken the hedge trimming a little too far there, old chum!” As he spoke, he glanced over at you and, seeing you nearby, instinctively shifted in your direction; you moved to meet him halfway and you each gave the other’s hand a quick affectionate squeeze, though both pairs of eyes were trained on Herb.

Herb, who looked up, smiled, and responded, “So I have! Thanks, buddy.” Despite saying this, he continued to cut through the bordering wall and stare glassily ahead as if none the wiser.

The expression gave you an unnerving sense of familiarity but you couldn’t quite put a name to the vague memory of a person you’d seen wearing it. Acquiring a migraine medication and forcing yourself to not look too hard into every strange thing that happened in this town helped but your headaches appeared to never quite go away. This was proven by the muted throb across one side of your head that came with looking at the bizarre scene.

“Yeah,” Vision said a little quieter, “don’t mention it.”

The action only happened briefly but when you caught him chewing his lower lip, you felt your innards tie themselves in knots and had a particularly hard time tearing your gaze away. Now that you were closer, you also noticed that the blue and brown ensemble he wore perfectly matched his hair and eyes. That hair that you always desperately wanted to brush your fingers through.

Fingers carefully slipping around your hand, like if they held you any tighter your own would break, managed to catch your attention as Vision turned to lead you inside.

“Oh,” you chirped, tugging your hand back to point a thumb over your shoulder, “I forgot my tools. Meet you in a minute?”

Vision seemed persistent to bring you inside, even going so far as to catch both your arms and doing a playful series of shimmies and sways to dance the two of you closer to the front door. Now that you were out of Herb’s frozen line of sight, the two of your found yourselves standing so close together that there wasn’t a single pocket of space between your bodies. When you inhaled, you smell cologne that wasn’t too light or too heavy and a scent that you could only describe as the heat of a warm, sunny day. Thinking as he would only smell sweat and dirt and grass if he did the same, you blushed and made a note to change before you came back over.

Whatever Vision thought about how you smelled or the clothes you wore, he didn’t seem to care enough, if at all. He took advantage of being out of sight to move his hands from your hours to your waist—a much more convincing position indeed—and nuzzled his nose to your hairline, now exposed as your hat rested farther back on your head.

“You know very well that you can use ours,” he said.

You felt his warm breath on your forehead. If you weren’t standing up and didn’t have the nagging feeling that you were getting dirt on his nice sweater, you would have been perfectly comfortable simply hugging him and dozing off in the cozy embrace right there.

Vision continued in a lilting voice and with an added shimmy that brought the two of you directly to the front door. “They’d love to see you, you know.”

They? Your brows furrowed a bit, then rolled your eyes. Oh, Wanda plus baby.

Still, you steeled your resolve and leaned away from him. He looked at you like he was a puppy that had been kicked, to which you responded with a faux scowl. “Mr. Vision Maximoff, I said I was going bring my tools, and [Y/N] is no flake. Besides,” you paused as your scowl melted into a smile, “I don’t want to get dirt and grime all over the new room. It’ll only take a minute; you act like we can’t see each other through our living room windows if we wanted to.”

Making his last attempt, Vision leaned into your arms, which were now around his own, and pressed his cheek against your temple. Still pouting, he muttered, “It only took Wanda and I going around a few times before we moved in together.”

The idea of you living under the same roof as your couple and their new baby made you giddy as much as it made you feel like you wanted to throw yourself into a lit fire pit to save yourself from embarrassment.

“Ah, yes, a spectacle to behold,” you said as you leaned away again, “A new baby and a new roommate!” You saw Vision open his mouth to speak, no doubt to respond with a quip, and quickly continued, disentangling yourself from him as you did, “Gotta skitty, I’ll be back momentarily!”

“Well,” Vision replied, dragging out the last consonant as if you were going to change your mind if he did so long enough; when you didn’t, he huffed a bit. “Alright then. Hurry back!”

You gave him a smile and two-fingered salute then bounded down the steps and back across the street. You only stopped once on the quick trip back home and that was to give Bernard another swift kick, which somehow lodged the bird the rest of the way into the ground, and a “Fuck you, Bernard!” You heard sputtering laughter from across the street that made you grin as you marched inside to change and grab your toolkit.

The tools were the easy part; they had been sitting out on the table in your dining area since last night when you’d originally suggested the idea so you were sure to not forget them. It took a bit longer to struggle your way out of your clothes, especially while simultaneously trotting to the bathroom to wash your hands and splash water on your face. It took longer still to jog back to your bedroom without slamming yourself into an end table or plant along the way and then also go through every piece of clothes you owned; when bright colors and eccentric outfits came into style, you were, for once, ahead of the fashion game with your regular closet, and your wardrobe only continued to grow as the rest of the country’s interest in the style did. You were particularly interested in peacock fashion and it showed in your array of ruffled, brightly colored, and loudly patterned shirts and blouses.

Of these blouses, you threw on one in a burnt orange and yellow paisley pattern, choosing one without ruffles in fear of ripping them while working. You paired the shirt with matching yellow walk-shorts that ended just above your knees and a pair of honey-brown clog sandals whose color made you think of Vision’s outfit. Thinking about this further, you decided to accent your ensemble with a touch of blue, wrapping your hair that was still damp with sweat back with a satin scarf that was a vibrant blue and some handmade jewelry pieces in the same color to match. Finally, you added a woven belt and, after looking in the mirror for a moment, decided to tie your blouse off an inch above the waist of your shorts instead of tucking it in before booking it back across the street.

Standing at the door of your couple’s house, you took a final glance at yourself in the reflection of one of their windows before knocking. You let yourself in after Wanda invited you with a holler through the door and you were greeted with the interesting sight of Wanda, in all her stunning, colorful, mother-to-be glory standing by the long dark-wood dining table; Vision, half-hidden behind her belly that seemed significantly larger than the last time you saw her, was taking an awkward knee while holding up a variety of fruits.

“I’m never not uniquely surprised when I walk into this house,” you said mostly to yourself and you made your way over. Reaching Wanda, you sat your bag of tools on the floor by her feet and gave her a gentle hug. “Hey, sunshine, you’re looking foxy.”

You certainly had gotten a lot more comfortable with them recently.

Wanda visibly blushed, giving you one of her signature fake irritated looks—a tilted head with tight-knit brows and tight lips that broke into a smile less than a second later—and lightly swatted your arm before carefully returning the hug. “Hey sunshine yourself. Look at you, you’re glowing! And those threads, you’re a regular Casanova.”

She made a point of eyeing your partially exposed midriff and you almost blushed—but not quite.

“Glowing,” you repeated, playfully patting your face, “I’m not even the pregnant one! Thank you, though. Some of the colors were inspired.” You took your turn eyeing her, particularly the bright red of her striped dress that was a common color in her palette, then you caught Vision’s bright blue gaze as he stood and placed a couple of fruits back in their rightful place in the basket on the table. You moved to Wanda’s other side to help him. “Why the fruit?”

“Oh, well, the doctor said it helps the mothers keep track of the baby’s progress.” Vision explained. He added another fruit to the basket’s tower, although he was giving the last one in his hand an odd look.

“What he actually said was,” Wanda added, grasping your shoulder and tugging you over two put an arm around your waist and give you mildly strained look, “it helps make things ‘simple’ for us ‘little ladies.’”

You recognized the glint in her eye and nodded understandingly. “Well that’s mildly condescending, must’ve been just groovy.”

“Out of sight,” Wanda agreed in the same tone. She then looked in Vision’s direction with raised brows; you followed her gaze and saw the man toying with the large green fruit in his hand. “Hey, honey? What’cha doin’?”

Vision met both of your equally puzzled gazes with barely contained glee. Voice tight from holding back a giggle, he raised the fruit and pointed at it. “I can’t wait… to be… a proud… papa-ya.”

Wanda looked amused at the future father’s pun and Vision grinned, clearly happy with the reaction. You actually laughed before quickly throwing up a hand to cover the titter.

“Well, that just proves it,” you said after composing yourself even though your company seemed perfectly pleased with your reaction to the joke, “you’re going to be a wonderful one. Look at you, turning into a proper one already.”

Vision went from smiling to flusteredly chewing at his lip quite quickly; he would always get easily flustered but never enough to blush. Instead, he’d twist his head a certain way and rub his neck and shoulder, maybe even avoid eye contact if he was embarrassed enough. He’d always tug his bottom lip between his teeth too, something you couldn’t help finding just a touch more endearing than the other mannerisms; at least it gave you a much more rational reason to stare at his lips for longer than generally accepted.

“You really think so?” he asked.

You scoffed as you moved to pick up your tools again. “Of course, you and Wanda will make absolutely stellar parents. The two of you are more prepared now than I’ve seen some people after they’ve already had the kids. Now,” you paused as you stood up straight and looked at your couple with a cheerful smile, “shall we head to the nursery?”

You were partially convinced that you had been invited solely to help Vision wrangle his wife. You certainly hadn’t been invited to help decorate; even pregnant, Wanda made faster work of your tools than you did. You were huffing while maneuvering a rocking chair in the room and by the time you got it settled in the corner, Wanda had already pieced together the changing stand that was to sit next to it. You turned to grab a tool to open the cans of paint only to turn back around and see all of them opened and Wanda with a brush in hand, painting away. You managed to get the crib up before she could get her hands on it but when you looked around for the yellow mattress and bumper cushions, you looked up to find Wanda already putting on the finishing touches.

Now, you were kneeling on the ground by the crib and painting a delicately rendered stork while Vision was getting to his feet after reading all the reasons Wanda should be resting instead of doing what she was doing, which was pulling a mobile of colorful plastic butterflies out of a box and shifting ever so closer to a stool so she could hang it.

“Darling,” Vision tried, shifting ever so closer to her, “you should probably sit down.”

“You really should,” you offered your help, almost half-heartedly because you already knew the outcome before she said it.

“Don’t be silly,” Wanda assured him, “all I feel is excitement, happiness, and— huhnf! Oh!”

You were on your feet and spun around to give her a wide-eyed stare before her gasp even finished, but instead of pain or worry, Wanda’s face was lit up with wonder as the hand not grasping a plate fluttered around her stomach. Vision also moved quickly, to step forward and pressed his hand on her stomach.

He breathed, “Kicking already?” and they shared an excited stare.

You stared awkwardly from the side with a paintbrush in hand, feeling more out of place you’ve ever had in your life.

Until Wanda, without missing a single beat, turned her head in your direction and grinned. “[Y/N], you have to feel this!” Then she spoke to Vision, “Oh, it’s such a strange sensation, it’s kinda fluttery!”

She was breathtaking. Then her nose scrunched up and she giggled in a way that could also be described as fluttery, and you were wondering in which states polygamy was legal and where was the best jeweler to get a ring.

Still, you were trying to refrain from overstepping boundaries.

“Oh, I don’t know…” you mumbled, shifting your weight from foot to foot and glancing around the room. You noticed the mobile she had been retrieving the last time you’d looked at her was already hung up above the crib; of course, it was.

Wanda scoffed and made a gesture at Vision, then he was walking over and coaxing you to her side with an encouraging nuzzle to your temple.

“I just don’t want—” you started.

“To overstep, we know,” Wanda finished, the giddy look on her face replaced with a scowl. “Trust me, this is probably the one and only time I’ll ask for someone to feel my stomach while everyone else in the town just does it willy-nilly and besides, you are a part of— Oh!”

Her gasp and glance over your shoulder, combined with the sound of movement behind you was enough to make you turn your head, only for Vision to catch your attention in the opposite direction.

“Another kick!” he exclaimed, just a little too loud. You thought you caught his gaze flitting over in the same direction as Wanda’s but then he was grasping your wrist and placing your hand against Wanda’s stomach. At the same time, his arm that was hovering politely around your back pressed against the naked small of your back as he pulled you closer into the little triangle of space you, Wanda, and he made; the sudden heat there made your blood boil in the best way and when his hand accidentally caught on the hem of your shorts and dipped a little lower over the fabric, you choked while sucking in a breath.

Vision��s hands flew up to the sky and he scrambled away, apologizing profusely. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see his hands fluttering around, could imagine his eyes doing the same, and you were vaguely aware of Wanda moving at your other side, the fabric of her sleeve brushing against yours as she waved her arm. You also heard a sound that you chalked up to being a breeze coming from the open window and rustling the drawn curtains. You, usually the final piece of the chaotic puzzle, were instead staring down and softly gasping as the sudden tap against your palm.

“I felt it,” you whispered and the chaos that was happening around you seemed to still in the same moment as Wanda and Vision settled back around you to feel themselves. You repeated the phrase, brushing your thumb across the patch of clothed skin, and the baby responded with another kick a moment later. You couldn’t help looking up at Wanda a face frozen in almost childish wonder, and state the obvious, “You’re gonna have a baby.”

Wanda nodded at you with shining eyes and a wet smile. She wrapped her free arm around her midsection and looked back down on her belly. The expression on her face radiated an intense, loving tenderness and you felt a billion non-plastic butterflies make a comfortable home in your chest.

You followed her gaze and felt your face break into a grin so wide that your cheeks started to hurt almost immediately. Your hand, along with Wanda’s own and Vision’s, created a loose but ever so protective triangular shield over the place where you had felt your first baby kick, promising to move the universe for them should it ever be required. Despite the overlapping mess of fingers, you noticed how Vision’s hand was the perfect size to envelop your own and that even with a ring on one of them, Wanda’s fingers fit perfectly in the spaces between yours.

The nervousness and insecurities that seemed to bounce around your head whenever you observed your couple, in their perfect world with their perfect dynamics, melted away in the comfortable warmth that came from your trio’s cozy huddle. This wasn’t a story about you or them separately but the three of you together and it was a wonderful one in the making.

Then, “Oh.”

Wanda looked up at her husband and echoed, “Oh.”

You looked up second, adding your own questioning “Oh?” before your gaze settled on the butterfly lightly perched on the tip of Vision’s nose. “Oh!” Watching the monarch’s delicate wings fluttering, you were surprised he hadn’t already sneezed.

“Hello, little fella,” Vision softly said. He was the first to separate your group, stepping away and leaning down a bit for your and Wanda’s better viewing. His smile was blinding for the brief moment you caught it, before tilting your head away to snicker at the way his eyes were crossing to view his insect passenger.

Wanda gently coaxed the butterfly onto her fingertip and walked over to the window to release it. That’s when you noticed a group of the bug type coalesced around the same area; the sudden visit from Mother Nature must have been what she had seen earlier.

“Oh, my,” you said, “that’s something you don’t see every day.”

The smile on Wanda’s face tightened for just a moment as her gaze jumped around the baby room, then relaxed as she maneuvered the various colorful butterflies outside. “Bringing good vibes, hopefully. They must have been enticed by the mobile; why, they even tried to free their plastic friends!”

You looked towards the crib curiously and saw that the mobile hanging above it was only a series of transparent hanging strings. Walking over, you found the butterflies that had once been attached to it scattered around the mattress. You picked a couple of them up and carefully pinched the thin material between your fingers. “Hm, strong butterflies.”

“Clearly,” Vision agreed. He walked over to the rocking chair he had been sitting and reading baby books earlier and picked up his most recent read.

Meanwhile, you began gathering up the scattered butterflies, then climbed up the nearby stool to retrieve the rest of the mobile. “You wouldn’t happen to have a good adhesive laying around, would you? I can have this fixed up and rehung lickity-split.”

“Not laying around but I’m sure there’s one in the cabinet under the sink.” Vision seemed to find the page he was looking for. He glanced over the words, tensed up immediately after, and paced over to Wanda’s side as she shut the window. “If that was first kick, that puts you at about six months! Why I can’t keep up!”

Has it been that long already? You silently wondered as you made your way over to the exit, careful not to crush any of the delicate pieces you were holding. While Vision was thinking in terms of babies, you were surprised that you had already been dating him and his wife for almost half of a year.

In a signature dad-to-be fashion, Vision waggled his head down to give Wanda and the baby a kiss. Then he said in an equally identifiable dad’s voice, “Please don’t misinterpret. I can’t wait you meet you, little Billy!”

You leaned against the doorframe as you offered Wanda an amused look; you had been previously graced with the conversation of baby names and Billy wasn’t exactly on her roster.

“Billy?” she questioned, to which Vision gave a smile and an affirming noise. Wanda continued, “Well I was thinking Tommy. Just a nice, classic American name.”

Vision gave an exaggerated, head tilting nod that suggested a mild disagreement. Then the higher-pitched tone he took when he replied confirmed it. “Hm, Tommy! Hm, mm… then there’s Billy, isn’t there? Named after William Shakespeare, all the world’s a stage, all the men and women many players!”

Wanda went to speak but you beat her to it. “You’re sure it’s a boy, then?”

Your partner seemed mildly embarrassed as she turned her attention to you. “Strong intuition?”

You offered casually, not thinking about your lack of say in the matter, “What about Victor? Vin? Little Vinny’s certainly a cute nickname.” Almost immediately after you finished, it was your turn to be the embarrassed one. You stumbled over your words a bit as you started to apologize, only to falter when you saw both Vision and Wanda’s gleeful stares.

“Well, those are wonderful names too,” Wanda assured you, clearly pleased you had chimed in, “but I’m not hoping for quadruplets. I guess we’ll need the next best thing— A girl.”

Your shoulders relaxed from their hunched places that you hadn’t noticed they took. You chuckled and strolled out the door, throwing a couple more ideas over your shoulder, “Vivian! Virginia! Nadia!”

Vision’s voice floated after you as you walked to the kitchen. “Ooh, Vivian’s quite good…”

When you returned to the bedroom with good-as-new mobile in hand, only final touches needed to be added to the nursery, and Wanda and Vision’s excitement over the baby’s coming was suddenly amped up to eleven. The two were pacing around and frantically listing off the all things that they had left to do or buy. It was a very drastic change from the casual playfulness that you had experienced between them earlier, as the new parents were keeping themselves—and you—busy with a thousand new tasks. Eventually, Vision had a list about as long as he was tall of every bottle, diaper, blanky, binky, children’s book, and stuffed animal that they had yet to get.

Deciding you were now the more sane member of the group, you decided to take the list and go shopping for them; if you didn’t, Vision may have been swept up in the baby section of a clothing store and never return. That’s how you ended up where you were now, at the front of an ever-growing line of department store customers, waiting anxiously as the workers tried to get the lights back on and the cash register back in working order.

You rapped your fingernails on the countertop—not intentionally, just out of worry about how your parents-to-be were managing at home—and glanced from your bloated shopping cart to the cashier, who was talking quietly with a manager then back several times. You were antsy about being stuck in a store when you were much useful elsewhere and being concerned about whether you were making the cashier uncomfortable with your mannerisms, for they were probably three times as unsettled as you were, wasn’t doing anything but adding on to the stress.

Finally, the cashier turned back to you and the rest of the shoppers and announced, “Good news, everybody! The register is still down but it’s a quick switch to manual; we’ll have each and every one of you checked out and on your ways home soon!”

A cheer erupted around you but you were too frazzled to join in.

“Unfortunately,” the cashier continued as the noise died down, “we’re not the only store experiencing this. It’s the whole town.”

While the crowd’s disappointed “Aww” only appeared mildly disgruntled, you went rigid and your mind began racing, all thoughts revolving around a particular household.

One random thought of wondering What if Wanda went into labor right now? had the hair on your arms sticking straight up.

You slammed your hand down on the counter, spooking both the cashier and yourself.

“Ma’am,” you started, then paused to quickly apologize for your rudeness before continuing, “I need you to check me out as fast as humanly possible; I think my—” Wife seemed way out of line but girlfriend felt too out of place. “—pah-art-ner’s having a baby.”

You were struggling to your car with a small mountain of baby items in the arms in a matter of minutes, mentally kicking yourself for being bad at talking the entire way there. You threw your bags in the back, scrambled into the driver’s seat, and were getting ready to pull away from the curb when a ringing from your mobile phone sounded.

“Goddammit,” you huffed. One hand was pulling up an antenna and pressing the technological brick to your ear while the other gripped your steering wheel so hard that your knuckles turned three skin tones lighter. “Yeah, hello?”

“[Y/N]?” Agnes’s voice was a welcome surprise but her worried tone wasn’t.

“No, it’s your husband, I’m on my way home now, dear,” you snarked, then mentally kicked yourself again. “Sorry, that was rude, I’m in a rush. What’s crackin’? Besides the town going into blackout, that is.”

“The neighborhood’s flooded,” Agnes said simply.

You blanched. “I’m sorry?”

“The cul-de-sac? Something’s happened and all the pipes have burst. Mine, Herb’s, Dotty’s, everyone’s!”

How on earth the day’s mood has changed so quickly, you had no idea. What you did know is that you desperately had to get back to Wanda’s side, your house be damned.

“Thanks, ‘Nes, good to know,” you hissed through clenched teeth. You rested your phone between your ear and shoulder as you put both hands on the wheel and started driving.

“Do you want me to do anything?” Agnes asked; her voice sounded as frazzled as you and the rest of Westview looked. “Go over to your place, grab anything important?”

You huffed out a sigh as your car flew around a corner. “Agnes, you know I adore you, but I really, really have to go.”

“[Y/N]—”

You hung up and tossed the shoe-sized device in the passenger’s seat.

Vision met you on the curb as you were parking your car and he had the doctor from earlier that day in tow, now dressed in vacationing attire and very seeming very underprepared. Within a few words and as if you had accidentally wished it into existence back at the department store, you were informed that Wanda was in fact about to have little Billy or Tommy or who-have-you. Of course, this messy day would come to a peak in such a way.

The taller man was half-escorting, half-hauling both you and the doctor to the door, and the bags in the backseat of your car were completely forgotten as concern chewed away at your insides. Loud, strained sounds coming from inside only added onto it.

As the three of you reached the front door, Vision flung it open and pressed the doctor inside. Then he grabbed your wrist and began tugging you in after himself.

You couldn’t help your feet freezing to the concrete. “Vis, are you sure?”

The distress on his face softened just slightly and he pressed the back of your hand to his lips. “Of course we are.” Then he wrapped an arm around you and properly, albeit quickly, brought you into his and Wanda’s home—

—where Wanda was laying on the floor, panting and shimmering with sweat and holding a baby wrapped in a blue and white dishtowel while Geraldine perched awkwardly over her.

You and Vision shared a bug-eyed look before Vision’s turned into one of sadness. You wanted so badly to hug him and tell him it was alright but he was already releasing you and slowly walking over; you trailed a couple of steps after him.

“Oh no,” he murmured, “I missed it?” However, when he took a look at Wanda’s softly smiling face and their happily cooing baby, whatever brief grief he was experiencing was replaced by a proud smile and new fatherly glow.

“Hey, doc,” Geraldine spoke suddenly, “why don’t you help me out in the kitchen there?” She nodded in your direction as well.

You wondered why she was there, in Wanda’s home or Westview, at all. The idea made your stomach flip but you just couldn’t place why.

The only response the doctor gave was blubbering about speeding as she took his arm and led him away. You began to follow when Vision stopped you with a gentle tug on your arm.

“No, [Y/N],” he said, “it’s alright. Stay and come see.”

You didn’t even think as you smiled and took his hand. You took a glance towards the kitchen to make sure the other company was occupied, then kissed the back of his hand as he had done only a moment earlier. Squeezing it and letting it drop, you responded, “Go say hello to your baby. I’ll always be here.”

Given the current situation, Vision wasn’t up for arguing much. He gave you a quick peck on the temple before gingerly making his way over to where Wanda rested happily on the living room floor.

You made your way to the kitchen, where you slumped against the kitchen counter as exhaustion overtook you. You were close enough to both parties to hear Geraldine’s blatant attempts at distracting the doctor to your left and Vision and Wanda’s cozy rumblings to your right, but too out of sorts to make out anything tangible. You didn’t realize until now how badly your feet ached from the combination of gardening, decorating, and running around and how your outfit had lost its cute playfulness in place of wrinkles and feeling slightly damp from sweat. You were sure you were looking more worse for wear than Wanda, despite Wanda having had a baby, but when you thought about it for more than a second or two, you felt like you wouldn’t trade the day for any other in the world.

Especially when thinking about that cutie patootie, you thought with a tired smile. He’s gonna have such good parents. Such a good life.

Suddenly, your train of thought was stopped by the sound of Wanda yelling and your whole body jerked in her direction, energetic as ever.

Wanda was going into labor a second time, you could see easily see. Something somehow more surprising was going on in the living area, though, and that something was Vision’s skin. While he still wore his regular clothes, that was the only normal thing about him. Instead of light skin, his flesh was a deep red and you weren’t even sure it could be called skin; it looked more… mechanical than that, with symmetrical lines etched into some places and silver plating covering others. Instead of a full head of wavy hair, he had none, and his ears and parts of his bald skull were also covered in silver. Silver came to a peak at the top of his forehead and at the end of it was a golden gem.

Vision was holding his baby and yelling along with Wanda as she began pushing a second time. He happened to glance up and catch your bewildered eye and then he started yelling because of you.

You stood frozen in place, not sure what to do until you heard a commotion behind you.

“Well, what’s going on now?” Geraldine started.

Your brain kicked back into full gear and thinking quickly and somewhat stupidly, you yelled and pointed in the opposite direction, “Jeepers creepers, is that a stork?” You couldn’t imagine why your poor attempt at a distraction worked but you considered it a success as Geraldine and the still-disoriented doctor’s attention settled elsewhere. Not missing a beat, you grabbed another cloth from the kitchen and raced to Wanda and Vision’s aid, skidding to a halt on your knees.

“[Y/N],” Vision said, though nothing else followed. He stared at you in pure shock, mouth flapping and the bright blue irises of his eyes twisting and shifting like a camera lens as he looked at you. Still, his body worked despite his befuddled mind as he took the cloth you handed him and offered you a newborn baby to hold instead.

“[Y/N],” Wanda gasped through her current endeavor. When you dragged your head to look at her, she was staring at you with a clenched jaw and equally wide eyes, which were filled with a mixture of surprise, horror, and… relief? Then she was screaming and pushing again, eyes squeezed shut, and her hand flew to your own.

You grabbed it and held on tight, even when her fingernails dug in enough to leave marks for days. While a red and silver-skinned Vision handled the delivery like a champ—a bugged out, stammering, robotic champ who couldn’t figure out whether he should be looking at you, his wife, or the baby he was helping into the world but a champ nonetheless—you switched between offering encouraging words to the tiring new mother and cooing calmly at the newborn swaddled and resting cozily in the crook of your arm. Soon enough, Wanda was slumping back into the pillow behind her head and Vision was sitting back on his haunches with another quiet baby snuggled against his chest; your taut muscles sagged and the exhaustion you hit in the kitchen came rushing back.

You made sure Wanda was lucid enough to take her baby back and carefully transferred from your arms to hers. It was only after he was safely in his mother’s grasp that you were able to fully relax, tossing an arm around Vision’s shoulders and leaning heavily against him while you shook out your other hand, which was red and covered in deep, crescent moon-shaped marks.

“So,” you puffed, “Billy and Tommy?”

Wanda’s tired face lit up as she nodded her head towards her baby. “Tommy.”

Vision, who was leaning on you as much as you were on him—something in the back of your head noted that the two of you held each other very well and that something sent a little pang of affection straight to your pounding heart—used his turn to nuzzle the forehead of the baby he held and grumble in a half British, half baby-talk accent, “Billy.”

You hummed while stretching a hand down to give Billy a very ginger boop on the nose; he didn’t seem to mind. Then you said, “Vinny and Vivian will just have to be next time.”

Your group shuddered with a mess of tired, soft laughter. Then you began to relax further but as the excitement of childbirth began to wear off, you a new variation of tension settling into your couple. The new parents were sharing increasingly worried looks and if they were communicating telepathically, and it was then that you remembered that the man sitting next to you was for less human than you’d previously made him out to be.

The realization seemed to hit him at almost the same time because his head swung to look at you just as you had turned to observe his new appearance. On his robotic face—was robotic even the word; was he a robot?—was an expression of outright fear but also something that looked like he was mentally being torn in two different directions. He went to speak several times—his mouth and teeth looked the same, perfect and familiar—only to verbally scramble and backtrack, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders since his hands were too occupied to scratch his neck. Finally, he appeared to get himself in order and he started, “[Y/N], I can— we can explain—”

You ran your hand over his scalp and down to rest at the base of his neck; the silver plating felt like metal, while the thick red epidermis was warm and softer to the touch. Not only warm but damp from exertion, and pulsing softly to some form of a heartbeat where you ran a finger over a common pulse point.

While your mental energy was rapidly declining, you still managed to quip at the man, “As much as loved the idea of running my fingers through your hair, I think I prefer this over that awful cut that’s in style right now.”

That left Vision dumbfounded and silent, his mouth flopping open and closed like a fish out of water. On your other side, who had been otherwise quiet and already snoozing as far as you were concerned, broke into a burst of loud laughter that was music to your ears.

You grinned in response but your muscles were too tired to make it reach your eyes. You shifted over slightly to be closer to Wanda now and brushed your thumb over little Tommy’s cheek before resting doing a similar action to his mother’s. Wanda relaxed her head against your palm and the way she looked up at you from under her lashes made you do mental gymnastics about the ethics of blurting out the L-word then and there.

Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last much longer because then Geraldine’s voice floated over from the kitchen, getting louder as she and the doctor made their way back from the wild stork chase you sent them on. You quickly looked to Vision, only to see him looking as human as the day you first met him, and noted the sad little string you got from seeing simple blue irises instead of the intricately shifting blue ones that swirled mechanically as he focused on something. It only lasted a moment, though, before you and your trio were busy readjusting yourselves into what you considered normal poses but in reality, probably made the three of you look much more awkward than you previously had.

You’d just finished settling as Geraldine and her companion walked into the living room and, thinking tiredly and definitely stupidly, you blurted, “Jeepers creepers, another baby!”

“Twenty fingers and twenty toes, you’ve got two healthy baby boys on your hands.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Wanda responded as the man handed Billy back to her. Vision stood watchfully next to her, holding Tommy.

You poked your head up from behind the second crib you were finishing assembling and as the doctor turned to thank Geraldine for her delivery help, you said to the Maximoff couple, “And a second crib all ready to go. If they’re not fans of sleeping separately, let me know and we can exchange the ones you have for one big one.”

Wanda held out her hand to you as you stood and you walked over to hold it only briefly as she thanked you before leaning over and crooning at Billy and Tommy in turn. You were in the company of others, after all, and there had been enough excitement for one day without revealing your polyamorous relationship to a neighbor and a random doctor.

It was weird how different the energy felt standing with them now than it had earlier just that day alone. Things still felt new and strange but you no longer felt like a separate unit from the household you were standing in or the people standing and smiling oh so sweetly at you. Then again, maybe that’s just what being involved in the arrival of an unexpected set of twins and making a superhuman discovery about one of your partners did to all blossoming romantic triads in the seventies.

Speaking of the doctor, as he began to finish up chatting with Geraldine, Vision beckoned you closer, and after getting an okay to do so, he carefully laid the baby he held in your arms. He gave Tommy a nuzzle and a light tap on the nose, then straightened up and headed towards the door.

He said to the other man, “Allow me to walk you out, doctor.”

“Oh, alright,” the doctor responded with an odd quiver in his voice. Said quiver was confirmed to be restlessness, which you had no doubt was attached to some sort of superhuman business Vision had involved him in when picking him up, when he continued, “As long as we actually walk this time?”

You would definitely have to delve into the mystery of Vision’s sometimes inhuman appearance at a later date but at that moment you were remembering how the entire neighborhood’s pipes had burst. The neighborhood of which your house was a part of and an event you were sure you hadn’t been lucky enough to avoid.

“Oh, shi—oot,” you stammered, “I should probably get back to my own pad and save what I can from getting water damage. I haven’t even been home to see how bad everything is.” You provided Tommy with a very important explanation in very serious baby babble terms before placing him in his crib. “I’ll just leave my car on this side of the street and bring the other stuff in sometime later this evening if that’s alright with you, Wanda?”

When you looked at her, she was giving you a confused head tilt. She blinked, then her eyes shot wide open. “Oh, the pipes!” She paused and turned her gaze to the far wall of the living room as if she could see your house through it, then looked back at you with a smile. “Your house should be fine. In fact, I think the entire neighborhood is back intact!”

Something about the way she looked at you assured you that she was right. You wondered whether Vision wasn’t the only one with a unique secret under this roof and if all the strange happenings that had gone on today couldn’t be traced back to Wanda herself.

Not that any of that really mattered in the grand scheme of things.

“I should still go,” you insisted, “You should really rest for a while, and I am a mess for the second time today. Maybe I can pop back over in a little bit?”

Wanda pursed her lips in a subtle doubt before giving in. She nodded and after taking a glance around to make sure the company was occupied, she grasped your hand and leaned in closer. “Come over for dinner tonight. Stay and help us get the babies settled in? We can talk about today.”

“Wanda, you need rest—”

The woman interrupted, a teasing look making her eyes glitter. “Which is why either you or Vision will be doing the cooking! And you know how much I love the man but there’s a reason the only thing he handles in the kitchen is water from the faucet.”

You had to nod in somber agreement at that statement, then sighed and gave Wanda a pout of your own. “Fine. Now, is anyone looking?”

Wanda was smiling triumphantly. She took another quick look around, then shook her head; her silky hair fanned out slightly from its position perfectly framing her head as she did.

You shuffled a little closer and slipped an arm around her waist in an intimate hug. Leaning in, you gave her one quick smooch on the cheek and another on the forehead then mumbled against her skin, “You did amazing.” Another kiss. “And you’re going to be a wonderful mother. Please, though, promise me that you’ll rest, at least for a little bit. The world will not crumble around you if you take one break.”

Wanda, who had immediately leaned into your embrace and giggled as you kissed her, scoffed slightly. She gave you a tight squeeze and murmured back, “I suppose you’re right. Fine, but only because you promised to cook.”

“Well, technically,” you said as you broke away from her, “I only said I’d come over. I can’t wait for Vision to make us burnt water and boiled bacon!”

Wanda stared after you, frozen in a mock gasp. “[Y/N]!”

You grinned and waved before spinning on your heels and trotting over to where Vision was perched, holding the door. “Bye!”

When you got to the door, Vision’s hand played lightly down your back as he followed you outside after the doctor.

“Well, Dr. Nielson,” Vision said, “I hope you’re still able to make your trip.”

The doctor, apparently Dr. Nielson, slowed as he stepped off the porch and onto the sidewalk. He turned towards Vision with a glassy look in his eye that he hadn’t had before but you’ve been seeing more and more often in Westview residents these days. When he talked, his speech became slower as well.

“Ah, yes, about my trip,” he drawled, “I don’t think we’ll get away after all. Small towns, you know. So hard to… escape.”

You frowned, suddenly uneasy. Glancing at Vision, the man just looked confused.

Dr. Nielson’s glassy gaze shifted from Vision to you. He spoke deliberately to you, “Don’t you think, [Y/N]?” Then he blinked, turned, and walked off down the sidewalk.

You weren’t sure exactly why, but you flinched and reeled back. You would have tripped and fallen up the porch if it weren’t for Vision catching you. Then the two of you stood gripping each other and staring as the doctor disappeared around the corner.

You didn’t even realize that your ears had started ringing until the sound began to fade. You started, “Well, that was…”

“Yeah,” Vision said with a slow nod. “Very. Are you alright?”

“Fine, I think.”

“No migraines?”

“No migraines.”

The two of you stood holding each other for a moment longer before you forced your fingers to loosen their death grip on Vision’s jacket. As the two of you relaxed slightly and readjusted yourselves, several questions rushed through your head, like why was that so unnerving and why did the doctor speak directly to you.

How had he known your name?

A particularly sharp pain made your vision swim temporarily but it was gone as soon as it came. Before you think any further on the subject, other voices floated into your range of hearing.

“What is she doing in there?”

“I don’t know.”

You followed the voices with your eyes and found Agnes and Herb talking quietly by the wall Herb had been cutting into earlier; actually, Herb looked like he’d barely moved an inch, still standing in the gap between his wall of shrubs. At least he appeared more lucid, but now he and Agnes were huddled together like they were having a secret meeting. Neither of them noticed you yet.

Vision decided to change that by throwing up a hand and hollering, “Howdy neighbors!”

Agnes spun around so quickly you were wonder if she’d given herself whiplash, but the strained greetings and even more strained expressions that both she and Herb gave were what really piqued your interest.

Well, not so much piqued your interest than their actions gave you a second dose of uneasiness that made your head spin and filled you with a sense of somewhat morbid curiosity.

Then they stuck their heads back together and continued muttering.

“Did you see her go inside?” Agnes questioned.

Herb responded, “She went right in.”

Vision leaned his head closer to yours; he didn’t seem to catch what they were saying. “Do they seem… a little off to you?”

“Just a tad.”

You silently deliberated with each other before casually strolling over.

“Remarkable day we’re having, no?” Vision tried again.

Agnes and Herb looked up again, also trying to look casual but there was something definitely worrisome about their equally strained smiles.

Vision continued, “Did you lose power too?”

You snapped your fingers, joining in. “That’s right! Agnes, you called me about the pipes bursting. I hope nothing got too damaged?”

“Oh, sure did,” Agnes said to Vision, “but Ralph looks better in the dark, so I’m not complaining. And you’re right, I did, [Y/N]! Luckily, everything’s just fine.”

There was an awkward pause and even though you were out in open air, you felt like you were struggling to breathe in a sauna.

Vision said, “Hi, Herb.”

Herb responded, “Heya, buddy.”

More awkward silence.

“Well,” Vision said slowly, lightly clapping his hands together, “I’ll get back to Wanda. [Y/N], you’re heading home?”

“Right,” you affirmed, a little too quickly.

What is going on?

Vision placing his hand on your back brought back some sense of normalcy as he began escorting you to the curb.

“Vision,” Agnes abruptly said halting your exit. You and your partner turned back to her and Herb and she continued after a long-winded pause and adjusting her awkward stance leaning against the low wall, “Is Geraldine inside with Wanda?”

“Yes. Why?”

Herb piped up, “She’s new to town. Brand new.”

Wait, that’s not right. Your brows furrowed and you felt the sting of your own bite as you chewed your bottom lip. You felt pressure in your skull as you tried to recall where you’d previously met the woman, because you knew you had, but trying to do so had a similar feeling to trying to grip water as it rushed through your fingers.

Agnes went on, “There’s no family. No husband.”

You would have scowled, said something in defense of your circumstances of moving to Westview without a family or marriage, but you were too busy trying to clear away the fog that quickly encroaching your headspace. Vision, on the other hand, was able to say something, “Well there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Agnes hummed, gave a half-hearted nod, then steadily met his gaze. “No home.”

Come to think of it, you knew very little about Geraldine. While you were positive that you’d met her before today, you couldn’t for the life of you place what she did for work, when she first appeared in Westview, what house in the cul-de-sac she lived in—

You could list off the names of everyone who lived in your neighborhood. Geraldine wasn’t one of them.

Your brain felt like it could expand and explode from the intense pressure at any moment but the dread pooling in the pit of your stomach from the idea of not being able to retrieve memories bothered you far more. You couldn’t bring yourself to push the thoughts away and instead mentally leaned into the pain. The harder you pushed, the more pressure pushed back, as if you were fighting against an invisible barrier that was barring you from your own memories.

At the same time, you attempted to keep yourself grounded by staying tuned into the conversation at hand. Vision asked Agnes what she meant by Geraldine having no home and Herb kept stumbling over the same beginning of a sentence—She came here because… She came here because… She came here because we’re all…—like he was a record on a broken player that just wouldn’t let him get out what he wanted to say.

Vision tried to urge him on. “She came here because what? What are trying to tell me?”

With Agnes and Herb bickering briefly about whether or not to tell Vision whatever it was they had been speaking about, Vision completely tuned into them, and you fighting to remember things without succumbing to your migraines, you had an underlying feeling of being out of place. You’ve felt out of place before, of course, but this was something different and weird and wrong. Your entire perfect—but not so much, you were gradually learning—little town suddenly seemed like it was out of place in its state, its country, its world, its reality. Out of nowhere, Westview felt like it was trapped in a claustrophobic little bubble that wouldn’t let anyone escape and the longer anyone was here, the warped things would become—

A memory came rushing back of a black and white talent show and a smashed mirror and an arm oozing blood and color and Geraldine was there but she was an eerie Geraldine, out of place and time and reality and asking if you knew who she was or who you were and you didn’t know the answer and then Wanda and Vision appeared and everything was okay again, and now the name Monica throbbed against the base of your neck and the air around you radiated electricity and it was itchy and no one around you was noticing anything and instead of darkness, a weird bright light was tinging the edges of your vision white and—

There was a crash coming from the house and none of the people standing next to you were any the wiser but even though you felt like you were swimming through honey while doing it, you turned just in time to see a portion of a nearby wall explode as something shot out from inside and continued flying until it disappeared into the distance. Then there was a sound similar to a sonic boom that followed and a wave of nausea crashed over you as the electric air rippled and distorted right before your eyes, and then you could see the dome of TV static-looking energy that encapsulated your town and the dome seemed to peak directly above the Maximoff house.

Your ears rang. Your mouth flapped open closed but you couldn’t force a single word out. You looked around and everyone else in your group seemed trapped in a strained conversation that they couldn’t escape from if they wanted to.

You didn’t so much walk as you floated over to the gaping hole in the side of your couple’s house, or at least, that’s what it felt like as the ground grew soft and wobbly under your feet and you swayed as you moved. You reached the hole and peered through it, then waved aimlessly when you saw Wanda staring wide-eyed at you from a couple of demolished rooms away. She said or mouthed something—she’s sorry? Why?—but you couldn’t tell which it was over the thrumming of your own pulse in your ears. You cocked your head, more out of curiosity than confusion, then blinked and stared glassy-eyed as the hole in the house reversed itself.

“Huh,” you said dumbly as the last brick fell back into place. “Cool.”

Then your body felt as if it were slammed back onto very hard, solid ground and that’s because it was. You weren’t sure if you whined or groaned or screamed as you collapsed to the ground, succumbing to your worst migraine yet.

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thedistantdusk · 3 years ago

Text

Arcadia, Chapter 3

Thanks to everyone who followed along! Things are heating up with this chapter! Most of the referenced triggers from chapter 1 apply in this chapter specifically. Here's the link to chapter 2, if you're just seeing this now :)

Thanks again to @secretkeeper13, @accio-broom, @remedialpotions, @jamezbot, @jenoramaca, @not-steve42, @ginisbetterthanfirewhiskey... god, I'm forgetting people, and I'm sorry! But you're all amazing <3

___________________________

D A Y + T H R E E

As fate would have it, Ginny wakes before 0-700.

Not that she sleeps.

Nightmares, the likes of which she hasn’t experienced in years, torment her throughout the night. They leave her scared. Miserable. Guilty. Around 3 AM, she finally reaches for her Dreamless Sleep potion with shaking hands. For more reasons than one, she’s pleased that Harry’s slept on the couch.

She knows now just how stupid this entire mission truly was. The longer she analyzes it, the more she accepts that her bloody pride got her here in the first place. A chance for a promotion, however small, gave her false confidence in her ability to disregard a decade of sexual tension, all while trapped in close quarters with the person she wants the most.

She hopes Harry makes himself sparse today, though she knows that sounds cruel. But the longer they spend together, the clearer it becomes they’re on the cusp of something… and not something that would look good on a performance review. He’s been kind and understanding so far, even when she’s fucked things up. She just hopes she can ignore the most human parts of herself until they’ve dealt with this.

So at half-past 8, Ginny — Jenny — emerges from the house in a bright floral sundress and nude pumps. Were it not for the secret weapon clutched in her right fist, she might have fit in quite well... but Jenny has no intention of fitting in. Not anymore. In three confident strides, she marches across the front lawn, bends down, and spears the prongs of a lurid pink flamingo into the grass.

Yes.

She grins and takes in her work. How ghastly against the backdrop of earth tones! How repugnant!

Ginny steals quick glimpses over each shoulder, only to be met with the eerie, blanketed silence that’s defined Arcadia since their arrival. No activity at all. Which means she’ll have no issue with the next bit…

She strides to the mailbox at the end of their driveway and gives it a sharp kick. The post slides out of alignment, leaving it askew. Perfect. She returns to the house with a bounce in her step. Living with the twins taught her a thing or two about how to infuriate complete strangers.

She just hopes it’ll be enough.

___________________________

As luck would have it, it is enough. Her efforts receive reward more quickly than she thought— more quickly than she’s been conditioned to expect.

Scarcely an hour passes before she finds the warning she needs. And to be honest, it could’ve been there sooner; she just figured she’d give it that long before she checked.

Still, it’s not even 10 AM when she opens the door and sees it on their welcome mat: a folded paper with Pee-tri scrolled on the front. She can’t help but admire the sheer cheek as she unfolds it; this is the closest they’ll get to a public call-out for the way Harry insists on correcting everyone’s pronunciation. The message inside doesn’t surprise her, either.

Be like the others before dark. Or else.

Ginny glimpses out at the lawn, just to confirm— and yes. Sure enough. Just as she’d suspected, the flamingo's gone. The mailbox is straight. Everything’s back to normal.

She kicks the door closed with a smirk and wonders if they’re aware of how easily they’ve exposed themselves. How—

“What’ve you got there?” Harry calls from the sofa in the living room. He looks up from his laptop with bleary, dark-rimmed eyes. A wave of guilt washes through her; that sofa clearly didn’t get more comfortable overnight. Not that he would’ve accepted the alternative.

“Erm. A letter.” She waves in front of her and walks into the living room. “I’ve done a great job annoying them!”

He offers a gentle smile. “Any chance you’ll let me know who this ‘them’ is that you’re so worried about?”

Ginny rolls her eyes and settles on the other end of the couch. “You know I can’t—”

“Talk about your work,” Harry finishes, turning back to his computer. “Right.”

“Mm. Not exactly that I can’t… talk about my work,” she ventures, putting her feet up on the white ottoman. “More like I can’t give information until it’s essential knowledge for all parties involved. Based on criteria that I also can’t share.”

“Sounds like a fun job,” Harry deadpans, still looking at the computer. “But anyway, if I were to suggest something like… I don’t know…” He casually tilts the screen in her direction. “The fact that Oliver Skinner definitely has a criminal record, and maybe that’s worth looking into. You couldn’t confirm or deny that?”

Ginny just shrugs. “That’s correct. I can neither confirm nor deny.”

His theory is wrong, of course. Dead wrong.

They wouldn’t have sent an Unspeakable and an Auror into the country if this were a simple Muggle murderer. Harry would be able to suss this out, she reckons, if he had more sleep. Poor bloke.

He groans and cracks his back. “I’m starting to understand why King’s always so frustrated.”

“Probably because he has to deal with you all the time,” Ginny quips, reaching for a magazine on the floor. Ugh. Of course, it’s only the TV guide, Radio Times. They don’t even have a TV, but it came with the Daily Mail on Sunday.

Harry reaches for a glass of water on the coffee table. “Fine,” he relents, in between sips. “I’ll stay in my lane. But if I get bored, I’ll get tetchy.” He gestures to the computer. “And since they’ve given us this laptop, I’ve had time to do a bit of—”

“They’ve given me a laptop,” Ginny corrects, arching a brow. “As you’re well aware, Auror Potter, that is technically the property of the DoM.” She returns to the guide with a shrug. “I just don’t care if you use it, mostly because I don’t expect you’ll be looking up tits all day.”

He chokes on his water; Ginny just laughs and turns the page. Ooh, lovely! Eurovision looks particularly flamboyant this year…

“You’re absolutely right,” Harry says, once he recovers. “I’d never look up tits on government property!” He looks affronted as he hands over the laptop, but she knows he’s not done... not when he’s set that up so perfectly. Annnnd sure enough…

“You of all people should know I'm an arse-man, Ginny.”

Now it’s her turn for an unattractive snort as he winks over his shoulder and marches upstairs.

When he’s gone, Ginny rolls her eyes and opens her laptop. He’s an incredible liar on the arse-man front, but it was a good joke. A simple joke…. one that didn’t deserve looking into.

It’s just unfortunate that can’t stop these stupid fucking butterflies from erupting in her stomach like she’s ten years old again.

___________________________

He launches into the air again, the gardens of his neighbors spanning out in front of him. Each perfectly manicured. Each disturbing in its performative precision. None of this is real; none of this is life.

He pulled out the trampoline after dinner, when Ginny okayed it. He’s not used to that— checking before he does things. This whole exercise has been a great reminder that his teamwork skills are rusty, especially when he’s in a subordinate role. Ron left after their first year to work in the magic shop instead, which only made sense after… yeah. Harry draws a deep breath and jumps again. Ron and Hermione haven’t been problem-solving in his head for ages. There’s been no one to share the burden of choices or—

“OI!” Oliver’s voice thunders across the garden.

Harry smiles and takes another huge leap into the air. Just in time…

He rips open the fence door and stomps over, hands balled into fists. Harry’s never seen anyone look quite so furious while dressed in cashmere. And standing beside a trampoline.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Oliver hisses, eyes narrowed to slits. “Are you trying to make enemies, Henry? Is this entire estate a bloody joke to you?”

“Of course not!” Harry lands on his bum before he jumps up again. “This is very serious!”

“Oliver!” Sharon wails, hurrying over. “Oliver. Please! This really—”

“Keep your nose where it belongs, woman,” Oliver snarls, looking at her like she’s scum on his shoe. “No one wants your opinion!”

Sharon flinches… and this, more than anything else, gets Harry’s back up. “No need to take it out on her!” he snaps, climbing down from the trampoline. “Talk to me if you’ve got a problem, Ollie. Why not—”

But just as Harry’s feet touch the grass, something very weird happens: A dull buzzing fills his ears. Sharon and Oliver hear it too, but unlike Harry, they aren’t looking around in bewildered confusion. In a flash, the rage on Oliver’s face transforms into something much different: fear. And as the pressure grows, Harry can only watch as Oliver grabs Sharon’s hand, yanking her from the garden, when—

An unmistakable sound replaces the buzzing. A large piece of glass from somewhere in the front of the house shatters on the pavement. And with that, the buzzing stops.

Birds chirp again. Someone laughs in the distance. Harry jabs a finger in his ear, trying to clear it, but it seems Oliver’s returned to his furious state. He lunges towards Harry, a vein ticking in his neck, his hands outstretched as if to push him over— but Harry doesn’t have time for this. He’s already running around him, bolting towards the source of the sound, his hand inching for his pocket…

Because whatever they’ve got going on isn’t related to Oliver, is it? No… definitely not. That buzzing was too creepy to be muggle. Harry hadn’t really been convinced of the Oliver theory in the first place, even if the wanker has a criminal record for drunk driving. He mostly suggested it to Ginny to see if she’d give him any information.

Harry spots the broken glass the second he reaches the pavement. The lamppost right outside their house has shattered, light bulb and all. Bits of glass sparkle on the street, but the lamppost is at least 10 feet high. Harry scans around for signs of a ladder, or some form of a projectile… any method someone might’ve used to— oh! A baseball rolls around in one of the open garages across the street. He’s about to march over and collect it when his conscience stops him.

Because that’s the definition of circumstantial evidence, isn’t it? Harry sighs, rubbing his forehead. Snatching the baseball while working alone is one thing, but it’s not worth risking Ginny’s job. Especially because he reckons these thoroughly unmemorable homes are each equipped with monitoring systems. At absolute best, that would be… awkward to explain to the muggle police, especially without an obvious connection between the ball and the shattered lamppost...

Harry’s just about to turn back inside and write it off a freak occurrence when—

Shit.

His breath freezes in his throat.

What the...

He blinks a few times to make sure he’s not imagining it, but no...

There’s no weird buzzing this time… but something else is happening instead. The grass on the far side of their yard is bulging and curling, right in front of his eyes. The soil creaks as this… this mass — a huge sphere of some sort — passes through; bits of dirt fly into the air before settling back.

Harry’s veins turn to ice, his stomach churning. Work has introduced him to new, vile varieties of ghouls and nasties. He’s been bitten by a leprechaun. Stalked by a vampire. He’s encountered every disturbing otherworldly menace that one could imagine.

But he’s never seen anything like this.

His only solace is that it’s headed towards Mike’s empty house… this massive, rolling boulder that travels beneath the soil. ‘Boulder’ isn’t exactly the right term, though; he’s never seen a boulder move with a slinking, predatory grace. He’s never gotten gooseflesh from a rock, no matter how large.

And try as he might, he can only stand there, wide-eyed, his heart racing. Because now he knows for sure what Ginny only alluded to before: whatever they’re chasing isn’t human.

And it’s aware of them.

___________________________

The door creaks open less than five minutes after the glass shatters, but Ginny’s prepared.

She’s standing in the alcove just off the entryway, wand in one hand, fire poker in the other. It’s probably not the best strategy she’s ever had— but she reckons that if a Muggle were to catch sight of an altercation, it would be an easy memory supplantation. Wands and fire pokers don’t look that dissimilar, and—

“Ginny?” Harry calls. Directly into her ear.

Shit! She jumps into the air, the poker clattering to the ground.

“When did you learn to move like a cat?” she demands, turning to face him. “You nearly—”

“We need to talk,” he says brusquely. It’s only then that she takes in his wide, haunted eyes. His white pallor. The way he hasn’t even commented on the ridiculousness of her fire poker.

Oh.

He’s scared.

Scared in a way she hasn’t seen him in ages. Maybe ever. Which means he heard…? Shit. She’d might as well ask.

“What do you erm…” She toys with her wand handle. “Want to talk about?”

Harry heaves a tired sigh. “I’m only going to ask you this once,” he says flatly, rubbing his hand over his forehead. Then he blinks up at her, his eyes pulsing and stern. “What the fuck was that?”

“The… shattered lamppost?” she hedges. “I’ve no idea. I just—”

Apparently, that was the wrong response.

Harry groans. “You know damn well I don’t mean the bloody lamppost!” he snarls. “I mean that… that thing! First the weird buzzing, then whatever moved through the grass! It was like some creepy worm, or—”

“—not a worm,” she amends, staring at her cuticles.

This, too, was the wrong reply; she’s never seen him go from bewildered to enraged quite so fast.

Harry lets out a furious roar and kicks at an empty box. “This is why Unspeakables are so fucking annoying!” he shouts, tossing his hands in the air. “You never fucking say anything — even if it might help someone!”

Pfft! He can do better than that...

“Not sure what you expected,” she deadpans. “Would it help if I were a Speakable instead?”

Harry rolls his eyes and throws himself on the couch. Ginny just leans against the door… and waits. She can’t say she blames him for being angry. It’s probably made him feel vulnerable in ways he hasn’t in ages.

“The least you can bloody do,” Harry says, cutting into her thoughts, “is to let me know how to kill it.” He glimpses up at her, his chest still heaving. “Because if anything happened to you….” His hand curls around his wand, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. “We both know I’d never forgive myself.”

Fuck.

Her heart clenches; as embarrassing as it is, tears sting the backs of her eyes. She wasn’t expecting that… but it makes perfect sense. He’s not angry because he’s vulnerable; he’s angry because he doesn’t know how to protect her.

Because he’s Harry.

Her Harry.

And try as she might, she can’t deny that. He’s hers… even though now he’s broken and angry and scared and alone. Which is probably why she loves the fucking fuck out of him.

No.

She stops herself, squeezing her eyes shut. Mission. Mission. They’re on a mission.

Right. She clears her throat and steps forward, two papers clutched in her hand.

“What’s that?” Harry grumbles as she hands them over. He scans the pages, brow furrowing. “Sugar… engine oil. Red Dye 40. What am I supposed to do with—?”

Ginny smiles and tries to make this easy. “It’s the report from the necklace. The thing that was on Mike’s medallion… it’s rubbish. Not blood, not some ghost slime. It’s just a weird mixture of types of rubbish.”

She should’ve figured he wouldn’t find this significant.

“What a brilliant scientific discovery.” Harry tosses the paper to the side. “Hermione would be thrilled.”

Ginny gnaws at her cheek, choosing her words carefully… but if he’s already seen it, if he’s already heard it, surely there’s no harm...

Harry rises to his feet and takes a step closer until he’s towering over her, all warm and brooding. They aren’t touching… not exactly. He’s just hovering close enough to give her strength, whether he knows it or not. When she finally gets the nerve to look up at him, his green eyes are swirling with more pain than rage. Truth be told, she prefers the rage. “I deserve to know,” he says thickly, like he’s suppressing something in his throat, “what the fuck is going on.”

Ginny breaks their eye contact. Some of this she hasn’t even shared with Attica yet. She’s violating about a million protocols by telling Harry first, but if they’re together on a mission…

“It’s… not what we thought. Not what I thought,” she admits softly, after a moment. “We came out here under the assumption of chasing something from the Thought Chamber. Something that erm… may have escaped. During a routine experiment.”

He’s not impressed, though. “Yeah,” he says, arching a brow. “I gathered all of that from your intro with the camera, thanks. Do you ever plan on telling me anything new?” He jerks his chin towards the window. “Because you’ve sure as hell never mentioned Evil Grass Monster Experiment #6, and that may have been helpful to fucking know before I saw it.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake!

His attitude is more infuriating than his actual words, but she lacks the patience for dealing with either. The bloody nerve, to act all impatient with information that’s kept secret for a reason...

“I don’t have to tell you shit, actually,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “And in case you’re unaware, I can protect myself.”

Harry pulls back with a laugh, but this one is cruel. Dark. The sort she’s never heard from him before. “Makes sense,” he says with a fake grin. Then he taps her on the nose. “Because when that thing outside inevitably kills someone else, we all know how well you’ll manage the guilt.”

Ouch.

She reels back, stung. He’s got to know that’s a low blow. Younger Ginny would have Bat Bogeyed him into oblivion, but she’s better now. She’s changed.

At least that’s what she tells herself as she glares at him, her hands fisted so tightly they turn white. “Say what you mean,” she manages several moments later, when rage isn’t clawing at her chest. “If you’d like to rehash our breakup, Auror Potter, I’m all ears!” She gives her best impression of an icy smirk. “This isn’t exactly professional… but then again, when have you ever been?”

Harry looks like he’s going to respond, but a loud vibration starts in his back pocket. “Fuck!” Now it’s his turn to leap into the air before he realizes it’s just his wand. And really, she’s tempted to laugh— but the look on his face helps her put the pieces together.

Because if his wand’s vibrating, that means it’s an emergency; only department heads can summon their employees like that. They’re the only ones with access to that sort of technology, not that she’s really interested either way.

“It’s King,” he mutters. She’s about to get on him for stating the obvious, but when he peers at her again, his face is filled with such timid yearning that she can only see the 11-year-old boy on the train platform. “Can I…erm. Use your mobile?”

Fine. Ginny nods towards the bedroom, her head still spinning. She’s still a bit angry with him, but he’s so fucking broken. They both are. And besides, they’ve got bigger problems. What could possibly have King so worried that he’d call Harry from a mission? The man is unflappable.

Harry returns a minute later, his face stony, jaw set. In another life, she might’ve seen the bulge in his pocket and asked if that’s just her mobile, or if he’s happy to see her.

Instead, she tucks her hair behind her ears like the seasoned professional she is. “There’s no reception inside,” she points out. “I’ve had luck calling Attica from up the street, right at the corner. Just watch out for…”

Harry smirks. “Grass monsters?”

Ginny draws a breath to consider her options. She could keep him in the dark forever, but isn’t that the whole point of this assignment? To learn? It’s time for the truth, she reckons...

“It’s erm. It’s called a tulpa, actually.”

His eyes light up at this. “A tulpa?”

Ginny shifts her weight and searches for the right words. “It’s a… it’s sort of like an evil imaginary friend, created by a group of people to do their bidding,” she explains, reaching for the discarded papers. “They come from the material of whatever’s underground. I’ve only heard of creatures made from clay or water, but since this village was built on a rubbish tip”— she flicks the papers with her fingers— “that’s our guy!”

She can almost see the gears spinning in Harry’s head as he studies the far wall. “So…” he says slowly, still peering off, “it’s basically an evil dump monster, made of rubbish, that can murder people.”

A laugh slips past her lips. It sounds a bit dumb when he puts it that way. She clears her throat and continues. “I was wrong because it’s not something that’s escaped, more like something that’s—”

“Formed,” Harry finishes quickly. For the first time all week, he sounds intrigued. Like he’s happy to be here. “So… they’ve made it to keep order, then?”

“It would seem so.” She shrugs. “I… honestly don’t know. But between the weird buzzing and the rubbish, it’s the closest match we’ve got. According to the system database, anyway.”

There’s another pause as Harry mulls this over. “So, how do we get rid of it, then?”

How fucked up is it that her heart warms at the way he says ‘we’?

Ginny brushes that aside. “Considering the mask in Gogolak’s house and the way they’ve made a point to tell us he’s in charge, I’d say he’s the one we need to get rid of.”

Harry crosses his arms over his chest but doesn’t object.

“Or at least… knock him totally unconscious,” she adds, swallowing; Gogolak’s a wanker, but she’d rather not kill him, either. “Beyond just being asleep. Because he sleeps at night, but the tulpa’s still here, which means he needs to be down for the count. Comatose, even.”

Harry’s wand buzzes again. Ah, shit; in all the hubbub, she’d forgotten about that.

Concern floods Harry’s face. “Give me five minutes.” He blinks. “Ok?”

She waves towards the door. “Duty calls.”

He gives her a weak smile and turns away; she begins the trek upstairs to send Attica an email update.

“Ginny?”

She stops to look down at him. Harry’s paused, halfway out the door. “Thank you,” he says softly, meeting her eyes. “And… I’m sorry. For everything. Ok? I’ll always, erm…”

But she can’t right now. She actually fucking can’t.

“Later,” she whispers, nearly begging. “Please. Let’s do this later.”

Because of course she loves him.

She’s always fucking loved him, even though that’s changed forms. It’s shifted. It’s evolved. He feels the same way… she knows he’s bloody feels the same way. She just doesn’t have the resources to deal with whatever this fuck is reigniting, right in front of her eyes, as the tulpa dances in the back of her head.

Luckily, he understands. Harry just swallows again, nods at her, and heads out into the night.

___________________________

As it would turn out, he was wrong about the identity of the summoner.

“Great news!” Hermione announces on the other end of the mobile. “MLE found Yaxley. He was hiding in a cave in Romania, just like you said.”

Harry snorts; he wishes that gave him more pride. “Well, if you’d listened to me months ago, then—”

“The important part is that we have him,” Hermione says, cutting across. “We need you back ASAP to prep for witness questioning. You’ll take the stand, of course. The trial’s set to start next week!”

He can practically hear her bouncing with excitement. Very little brings her more joy than trials of former Death Eaters.

“Erm… about that.” Harry rubs the back of his neck. “We’re actually right on the cusp of something here. I’m gonna need a couple more days to wrap things up.”

“Really?” Hermione sounds surprised. “Kingsley and Robards said you’d be pleased. Said you found this mission as useless as they did.”

Fuck, he was such an arse.

“Well, things… changed,” he offers lamely. “It’s going really well. This mission is so important to her. I’d just hate to leave at the last minute.”

“Ohhh?” Hermione draws out the word in a way that suggests she finds herself quite clever. Even before she asks, he knows what she’s on about. “How’s it going with Ginny, then?”

Harry rolls his eyes. Her coy prodding is obvious, even over the phone.

“As I already said, it’s going well,” he replies flatly. “We’re a great team. Always have been.”

But she can’t let him have that one, can she?

“Well… not always,” Hermione allows. “After Percy—”

Harry groans. For fuck’s sake, what’s her obsession with stating the obvious? “Yeah, well,” he retorts, “I’d like to know who you think did well after that, especially since…”

He trails off with a sigh.

Especially since what, exactly?

He toys with the fraying ends of his hoodie string.

Especially since Ginny was the last to speak with Percy? That she still carries the weight of the guilt for what she said that night? That she’s never admitted it, but that he suspects her choice to become an Unspeakable was influenced by the things she wishes she could un-say?

Harry makes a face. That’s corny as fuck, isn’t it? What a thing to pull from his arse...

Hermione interrupts his thoughts for a bit of bragging. “Well, Ron and I have done just fine.”

He can almost imagine her staring at her engagement ring in dreamy affection. The mental image makes his reply sound more bitter than he intends.

“Well,” Harry snaps, “Ron wasn’t the last person to speak with Percy. So I’m not sure how you could compare the two, really.”

Shit.

The silence on the other end tells him he needs to apologize, even if it’s true. Fortunately, Hermione gives him an easy out. “Anyway.” She clears her throat. “I’ll give you until tomorrow night, but we really need you the following day. If you haven’t settled this, we’re swapping you out. Got it?”

Harry sighs. He’s exhausted, but this couldn’t possibly take much longer. Ginny’s more or less got the proof she needs now. They just need to confront Gogolak, knock him out, and—

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Harry cranes his neck towards the source of the noise. Huh… weird. Far up the street, flashing lights tip him off. That’s definitely Oliver’s Audi, the one parked in the driveway directly beside theirs. It’s in utopia blue with a metallic finish, a detail Oliver probably mentioned at least fifty times the other night. Then, while Sharon and Ginny were out walking the dog, Oliver began a mind-numbing lecture on the car’s exact miles per liter. Harry was a bit drunk, which is probably why he interrupted to ask a much more important maths question: How many blow jobs per week is too many, exactly?

Even from a distance, Harry can tell that Oliver’s nearly the same shade of murderous red now; he storms from the house and turns off the alarm with his key fob. But then he pauses, glancing around like something’s spooked him. He must decide it’s not that significant, though, because he huffs back inside soon enough. Fucking wanker...

“....Harry?”

“Sorry!” Harry shakes his head. “Yeah, sorry, that works. See you then, Hermione.”

“Can’t wait!” she trills. He doesn’t need to see her face to know she’s smug and grinning.

___________________________

Two minutes after Harry leaves, Ginny feels it again: that same sensation she experienced while walking Captain Bone.

She’s sitting at her laptop when it starts… this deeply unsettling shift. It stands the hair up on the back of her neck. She rushes to the window on instinct, but just like before, everything outside looks the same. There’s no “moving grass monster,” as Harry called it. Not yet, at least.

Still, she can’t deny it’s growing louder. Getting stronger. And now that she’s felt it for a bit longer, she can put more words to it. It’s like she’s plummeting through the absence of sound; like all the wind’s been sucked from the air. It’s a building pressure, a mounting unease, and before she knows it, her whole body starts to shake.

Then two things happen in quick succession: that weird feeling stops, and a car alarm begins to blare in the distance.

Weird.

She shudders. This whole thing is so fucking weird. Weird is her job, and this place is still Very Fucking Weird. Seriously, who enjoys living here? She’s reaching for her wand, just in case, when the front door slams open.

In retrospect, it’s a blessing she knows Harry as well as she does… because she can tell that those heavy, clobbering footsteps don’t belong to him. She knows he’s not the one drawing deep, ragged breaths as he marches up the stairs.

She hides around the corner of the bedroom, her heart racing, and goes through a mental list of spells she might use. Shield charms. Enchantments. The buzzing’s stopped, so this probably isn’t the tulpa… but who else would be here? Gogolak? It sounds more human than—

“Jenny?” a deep, soothing voice asks. “Are you in here?”

Her breath freezes in her throat. She’s only heard that voice once before… but it’s so similar to her former life that she identifies it at once.

“Mike?” A wave of relief washes through her. She shoves her wand into her dress as she comes around the corner. Sure enough, there he is, in the flesh. Mike Snodgrass. A man she presumed dead days ago.

“Hi!” Mike pants. He cracks a smile. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but.” He winces, wiping a palm on his ripped khakis. “Been hiding!” Fuck. His whole outfit (yellow Polo, khakis) is the same he wore days ago to unload their boxes, except now it’s filthy. Stained. Like he’s been living beneath cars and inside drains. He’s just missing his Saint Julian medallion, which she’s sent to the Ministry.

Ginny feels sick. She wrote him off as dead so carelessly...

“I’ve been trying to take it down,” he adds earnestly, peering at her. His cheeks are caked in something red and grimy, the same stuff she stuffed into her bra. He’s been tailing the tulpa, she realizes, her stomach plummeting…

Except he’s got no clue what he’s doing.

“I was about to leave the development, to just run away, but that’s when I figured out it was coming for you two!” He shudders, closing his eyes. It feels like he’s been waiting a long, long time to say this. “And I’ve been aimless without Jess in the first place. So what was the point in leaving, really, if I could save…?”

He trails off, clearing his throat; when he looks up at her again, there’s a flash of annoyance in his eyes. “I’ve been leaving clues, though! Why didn’t you listen?”

“Clues?” Ginny sounds like she’s a million miles away.

Mike’s nearly pleading now. “You had to go and kick the mailbox and stick the flamingo in the grass, didn’t you?” He raises his pointer finger. “And even though I left you a note, you had to make it even worse! It only attacks when the sun goes down, see.”

“You… you left the note?” she whispers. She was so certain that it was from Gogolak...

But Mike proceeds in such a rush it’s clear he hasn’t heard her. “It was about to get Henry by the trampoline, so I threw the baseball as a diversion. I broke the lamppost, too— which worked. For a second,” he adds hastily, glancing over his shoulder.

“How did you also set off the car alarm— oh.” Her head’s still spinning. “Buddy system. Right.”

Mike dangles a keyfob. “Covenant rules. Stole the spare off Jane.” He glances into the hall again before whipping back to face her. “It’ll need a sacrifice tonight, though,” he adds grimly. “And every night, until you all have perfect behavior. It was coming for you earlier, see. We aren’t meant to be outdoors after dark without a permit for dog-walking, so.” He shrugs. “If there’s an unapproved disruption like a car alarm, it knows just where to hunt.”

It’s then that the final pieces of this dreadful puzzle slide together in her brain. “Captain Bone,” Ginny breathes; she swears a feather could knock her over. “He was the first since we arrived. Punishment for us sticking out.”

“I couldn’t save him,” Mike laments. “It came up and snatched him. So I threw in my medallion, right after his collar, just to make them think I was already gone.”

“That’s… that was brilliant,” she admits, biting her lip. “Thank you. You didn’t have—”

“Nah,” he says firmly. “I did. For starters, you remind me so much of…” He stops mid-sentence, an odd expression on his face.

For a second, she thinks he’s being sentimental, but then she feels it too.

Shit.

The hairs on her arm stand up. It’s back… that weird way she felt before. Like the air’s sucked from the room. That creeping, clawing silence. This time, though, it only gets louder, louder, louder, until she’s throwing her hands over her ears, all hope of self-defense forgotten.

But Mike knows what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. She doesn’t have the chance to object or get her wand before he’s ripping open the closet door and throwing her inside. Ginny opens her mouth in a startled cry, but it’s like she’s screaming underwater, the sound distant and distorted. Mike slams the door closed with her inside and stomps to the center of the room— but now the thundering, roaring wind is causing her physical pain… it’s so loud now that it reverberates in her chest, so loud that her hands shake as she reaches for her wand at long last, but fuck fuck fuck, it’s too late…

It’s too fucking late.

Because Mike’s made a choice. One he can’t take back. He just stands in the middle of the room, puffing out his chest, offering himself as the proud sacrifice, even as the noise grows so loud that Ginny screams her throat raw.

She feels it enter the bedroom, this looming, shifting mass— but by then, she’s certain her ears are bleeding, her eardrums bursting. Her whole body rattles and shakes as she peers through the slats in the closet door, but she’s frozen. Stuck. Miserable. She couldn’t cast a spell if she tried… even as the tulpa oozes into the room, lunges itself back, and swallows Mike with a sickening squelch.

Even though the slats of the door, Ginny’s sprayed with blood. Covered. And she’s dizzy now… so dizzy. A drop of blood trickles into her eye; she reaches up to wipe it from her face, and it’s only then that she hears her own screams again. They reverberate through the small space, anguished and pleading, so loud that she’s certain someone up the street could hear, but she doesn’t care. She doesn’t fucking care. She just screams over and over and over, her nails clawing at the walls, until the world slips away into darkness.

___________________________

Blood.

It’s the first thing he smells as he charges up the steps. His chest squeezes, his eyes water, his head pounds over and over again with one word: No.

No. No. No.

Not Ginny. It can’t be.

But almost as soon as he smells the blood, he hears her screaming, and yes! His heart soars. Screaming is good; screaming means she’s alive and breathing and—

Fuck.

His dinner rises in his throat as he steps into the bedroom. He smelled the blood from the steps, he hadn’t expected… this much. It always takes him aback, exactly how much blood is in one human body, and he’s certainly never seen it sprayed, all over the floor… covering the walls. Covering the closet, even, where Ginny’s still screaming.

He flings open the door, thinking he’s prepared for what he might see. Somehow, though, none of that measures up. Because he’s dealt with tears in his line of work… but he’s never, ever seen her so broken. His chest clenches when he takes her in. Her perfect suburban dress — the yellow floral one, the one he liked so much— is now red and grimy, caked in blood, as Ginny rocks back and forth on the floor, sobs wracking her body.

Blood’s covering her face, too, and her arms. Dried trails of it have crusted around her eyes, like she’s fallen asleep wiping them away… or perhaps lost consciousness. The thought is too terrible to bear. He kicks the door open completely and brings her into his arms in one fell swoop.

She melts against him, her voice raw and broken. “H-Harry!” she manages. “P-please! I need-I need!” She begins to shake, pressing her face to his chest.

“A shower,” he says firmly, stepping into the en-suite. “You… you just need a shower. Ok? And maybe some calming draught, I’ve got some in my luggage, and—”

“No!” she cries, shaking her head. Her eyes are wide and filled with horror. “Don’t… don’t leave. Don’t leave me, Harry, please!”

“I… ok,” he allows, carrying her to his luggage to retrieve the bottle. She clings to his neck as he reaches for it, but she weighs next to nothing. Fuck, she’s so thin… he’d just been too busy eyeing her up to realize exactly how thin. What a complete wanker.

It’s not difficult to unzip the suitcase with one hand and pass her the bottle. “Take this,” he urges, thrusting it into her hands. “Please, Ginny. You’ll feel—”

She’s already downed it before he gets to the end of the sentence. She tips her head back, drawing air into her lungs. “Thanks.” Her voice is still hoarse. Ragged.

“Shower, then,” he murmurs, walking her into the bathroom. He feels her start to relax against him, her body growing looser, as he opens the curtain and turns on the tap.

“Thanks,” she whispers again, her head tucked beneath his chin. His fingers itch with restraint; he’d do anything, he thinks, to hold her against him. To press a kiss to her temple. To tell her he loves her and that she’s beautiful and perfect and he’s sorry, so sorry, that any of this happened and—

She peers up at him, her eyes more focused now, less wide-eyed and horror-struck. “Would you stay here?” she asks, biting her lip. “While I shower? Just so I’m not—”

“‘Course.” Harry swallows, putting her on her feet. She lands with unintentional grace, one foot after the next.

“And can you… erm.” She turns her back to him, lifting her hair above her zipper. His hands shake as he reaches for the clasp. He knows the exact shape of her back as he slides it down, over the middle bump of her white bra strap. He nearly unstraps that for her, too, before he catches himself. It reeks of intimacy, doesn’t it? All of this…

His eyes linger on the soft swell of her bum before he turns around, self-disgust hammering in his throat.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” he adds feebly. He balls his hands into fists as her dress hits the floor… followed by her bra. And her knickers.

“Not your fault,” she croaks, stepping into the shower. He smiles, his glasses fogging up as he moves to sit on the closed toilet seat. Even covered in blood and traumatized, she can't bring herself to blame him.

She finishes several minutes later.

“Erm… towel?” She shuts the water off. “Could you?”

“Sure,” he soothes, thrusting one through the curtain. “D’you want me to leave, or…?”

Ginny manages a weak snort. “Nah. Nothing you haven’t seen before.”

He chuckles at the door as he turns around again. She’s right, of course; he knows every bloody inch of her… but it’s not quite the same now.

There’s a tap on his shoulder. He whips around to face her. Admittedly, she looks… better. The blood’s gone. Her eyes are still red-rimmed from sobbing, but she’s looking a bit less like a woman who witnessed a death. Which reminds him…

“Erm. Give me a second to get it all cleaned up?”

Ginny shudders and settles on the toilet seat; he immediately kicks himself for asking. “Yeah,” she says a moment later. “Just… come get me, ok? When you’re done?”

He nods.

___________________________

It can’t be later than 10 PM when he finally carries her to the bed, still wrapped in a towel.

He’s exhausted from the nights on the sofa, but he knows she’s worse off. He’s cleaned the bedroom fairly well, he thinks, considering. There’s a rust-colored stain above the closet that he reckons won’t go anywhere anytime soon. He just hopes she doesn’t see it.

He rests her on the duvet surface, fully prepared to head downstairs for the night— but the pleading look on her face informs him he’s got other plans, instead. So without sharing a single word, he spreads his palms, lies beside her, and waits.

It comes eventually, as he knew it would. One person can’t deal with all that, see all that, without eventually cracking. And as a fellow fucked-up individual, he would know.

It starts as simple tears, ones that he wipes away. It progresses into sobs… full-body sobs. The sort he heard coming up the stairs. He’s surprised she’s got any left, but Ginny’s always been the sort to keep him on his toes. And just as her water-dark hair starts to dry and sprout red tendrils, he faces the thing he expected least of all: a kiss.

She starts softly. Slowly. Her lips so tender and soft that he forgets everything. She moans against his mouth, her whole body leaning into it; he’s instantly reminded of how much he’s fucking missed her. How lonely he’s been. How could he have forgotten the tiny mewl she makes in the back of her throat as her tongue parts his lips? He must’ve blocked it out, he realizes, as she begins to slide her body against him, panting, as she tips her head back. His lips trail down her neck, nibbling and biting, as she grips his arms and hair and bum. Because if he’d remembered all of these little details, he’d have gone mad long ago.

He’s throbbing hard by the time he gets to the tail end of her towel, which brushes the tip of her thighs. He tries to adjust himself, to—

“You can take it out, you know.”

Oh. He blinks up at her, his breath freezing in his throat. She’s peering down at him, her lips red and swollen.

“I know you’re hard,” she adds, her voice still raw. “So if it’s uncomfortable… take it out.”

He arches a brow from his position at her thigh. He’s about to retort with something snappy. Something that might keep them bantering for ages. But Ginny has no patience.

“Please.” It’s nearly a command. She blinks down with glassy eyes, her lips swollen. “I want you, Harry.”

Fuck. He groans, rubbing his cock against his palm to relieve some of the pressure. It doesn’t help for long, not that it matters; he’d rather focus on her, anyway. So with a slip of his fingers, the towel opens. She releases a breathy moan, tipping her head back.

Naked.

She’s finally naked. In front of him. His breathing grows ragged, his eyes scanning the territory somehow both totally familiar and completely new. She is thinner; he was right. Her hip bones jut out now, her stomach more sunken. But most of her is the same. The smattering of freckles on her chest. The way her breasts have puckered and darkened, the way her chest is rising and falling so fast. The thatch of dark red hair at the apex of her thighs.

“Well,” she quips. He blinks up at her as she reclines on her elbow. “Are you going to fuck me, Harry, or just stare all day?”

With that, he removes his glasses and gives her a smirk— her only real warning— before he kisses her one more time, just as his fingers spread her thighs.

She opens beneath him with a breathy sigh. Fuck, she’s so wet… he groans into her mouth as he dips his fingers further and further down. She’s dripping by the time he finds her clit… by the time he begins to swirl in tight circles. Clockwise. The pattern that screams of such intimate familiarity that it’s as if the years never passed.

He’s scarcely done anything, but she’s already writhing against his fingers, arching her back. “Please,” she slurs after a minute, “put them in.”

He’s never been one to deny her, has he?

It’s like muscle memory how quickly he finds his face between her thighs instead. He spares a moment of self-indulgence as he closes his eyes, breathing her in. She smells like home. She always has. It’s comfort… but more than that, it’s proof. Proof she wants him as much as he wants her. It’s why he stuffed his face in her knickers whenever he got a spare moment on the Horcrux hunt: one hand on that black lace, the other pulling at his cock. It’s bloody erotic, seeing proof of how much she wants him… but it’s more than that.

It’s love.

And despite all the things he’s forgotten tonight, he’d never forget this. He presses two fingers inside her, his hands shaking, and lets his body do the rest. Fuck, he’s missed this. She cries out above him, her hands grasping at his hair, tugging him closer. He’s never forgotten this… the way she tastes. The way she smells. The right way to run his tongue against her clit. Exactly how many fingers she needs, pressed against her just there… crooked in a certain position… just as she begins to thrust herself up and down on them, her cries growing louder, more insistent… and yesssss, there it is, she’s right there, right fucking there—

“Harry!” Her hair rubs against the pillow with abandon. “I’m… I’m so close,” she pants, her body starting to shake.

“Come for me,” he commands, his cock fit to burst, his face slippery. “Come for me, Ginny.”

He returns to her clit for a split-second before she says the words that change everything.

Her whole body tenses, a blush spreading up her chest. “I love you!” she cries, her voice strangled… and with that, she’s coming, clenching around him, her body shaking as he rides her through it.

What he doesn’t tell her is that he comes, too. The second those words wash over him. Those fucking words that prove he’s fucked up, fucked up, fucked up… but he can’t exactly help that, can he?

He just shoves his face into the duvet, thrusting his hips once, twice, and with a grunt, he’s off. His cock tightens and bursts, filling his boxers. Soaking through his jeans. He pulls back, dizzy, when the clenching finally stops.

Luckily, she seems too distracted to notice. Ginny’s half-asleep as he rises from between her thighs, pulling the blanket over her. He presses a kiss to her temple and makes quick work of removing his soggy clothes. Fairly embarrassing, this. Like he’s 16 again and rutting on the lawn.

He mutters a quick cleaning charm and changes into basketball shorts before settling down beside her in bed… making sure he’s on top of the duvet.

But as he drifts off, there’s something far less sentimental that hammers through his chest: They need to get their shit sorted.

Before he ever, ever lets that happen again.

#harry/ginny fanfic #harry x ginny #harry potter fanfic #harry potter fanfiction

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mercurial-madhouse · 3 years ago

Photo

Anon prompted me with a Disney drabble and several plot-bunnies bounded and burrowed into my brain. This is the first that insisted on coming through my fingers and it is Sleeping Beauty inspired. I just couldn’t get the idea of Louis, Liam, and Harry as the three fairy godmothers (fathers? non-binary magical beings who aren’t parents?) out of my mind. The official prompt will come with the other drabble! Enjoy the light-hearted humour!

>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<

Got this spell on me (’cause everything you do is magic)

Niall loves his flatmates. Truly, there’s never a dull moment when the four of them are all home. The three Brits are oddly protective of him, something about him living in a strange land or summat.

Louis will fight the weather to make sure they’ve got a footie match to watch. Harry will create a new designer store to keep Niall in the latest fashions that work for him. And Liam pulls every delicious food Niall ever wants out of thin air. No, it’s never a dull moment when they’re around.

That insanity might have a wee bit to do with their magic.

Something whistles through the air.

“Blue.”

As Louis’s tart declaration rings behind him, Niall flops back into the sofa and makes himself comfortable. He flicks on the telly and finds the most recent match.

Harry huffs somewhere on the opposite side. Another whistle sings from his end of the room. “Pink.”

Schwip.

“He looks brilliant in blue.”

Schwip.

“He’ll stand out in pink.”

Niall probably shouldn’t have let Harry and Louis decide his outfit for the Gala Friday night.

Schwip.

“He doesn’t need to stand out. He needs to look good.”

Schwip.

“He always looks good.”

“Batter?”

Niall glances up at Liam, holding out a bowl to him. He’s got a spot of chocolate dough on his cheek and some hair falling over one eyebrow. The bowl he’s holding has mostly been emptied, but he always lets Niall lick the containers.

Niall takes the bowl, peering over Liam’s shoulder.

The dishes are washing themselves, there’s another bowl stirring itself on the worktop, and Louis’s guarding the border between kitchen and living room. Hair fluffy and torso wrapped in a loose, royal blue jumper, he’s facing Harry, who’s defending the window on the other end of the flat. The early-afternoon light filtering in glitters off Harry’s rings and the shine in his fitted lilac shirt.

True to form, they’re glaring daggers past their wands in a British standoff over a flamingo-coloured Paul Smith suit that’s floating on its own in the centre of the room.

Niall tips his head left then right, impressed. “Full sentences, proper grammar, no swearing or name-calling. Sounds like progress,” he says to Liam.

Liam screws his face up skeptically. He sticks his wand over his upper lip like a mustache and rolls it between his fingers as he thinks, which twists his features up to look even more doubtful. “Ah...”

Louis twips his wand and crosses his arms in one fluid movement. Not quite a twirl, not quite a whip, it’s what Niall has dubbed a twip. Sapphire sparks shoot out of the end of his wand as it’s being tucked under Louis’s arm. They smack into the suit and it transforms into a beautiful periwinkle.

“Blue.”

Harry scrunches his nose and swishes his wand in an understated pointing motion. Magenta sparks shoot from the end and the suit blooms a lovely pale rose. “Pink.”

Without missing a beat, Louis flicks his wand up like he’s flicking Harry off with it. More cerulean sparks. The suit reverts back. “Blue.”

Niall rolls his eyes.

Liam just shrugs and taps the side of the bowl with his wand in a nudge, completely unaffected by the madness behind him.

Niall scoops a heaping fingerful of chocolate batter onto his tongue. His eyes widen. Feet flattening on the floor, he stares between Liam and the traces of batter. “Nandoca’s Choice?”

Liam winks. “I get it right then?”

Niall loves his flat mates. He’s certain there’s no one in London who would try to recreate Nando’s for him with magic. Actually, he doesn’t know anyone else with magic, just these three eccentric misfits who it feels like Niall’s known all his life.

“Pink.”

“Blue.”

Niall swipes up another glob of perfection, sucking on his finger as he jerks a nod towards the other two. “Is this still because Haz ‘flirted’ one smile too many with that bloke at the pub last night?”

Harry had turned on his blinding charm to distract the bartender because Louis got a mite too tipsy too early. Alcohol loosens the link with their magic and Niall, in his non-magic role as damage control, hadn’t been expecting anything to happen so soon. Louis’s pint had frothed teal and spouted out like a volcano when he’d burst out laughing. Niall hadn’t covered it fast enough and the bartender saw it.

But Niall knows that’s all semantics to Louis when he’s halfway to flutered and watching his partner make googly-eyes at a stranger.

Liam shrugs a yes, scooping out a small sample himself and giving it a taste. His eyes pop in delight. “They’ll sort it tonight.”

Niall snorts. “With which wands?”

The question is rhetorical because he knows the answer, but Liam responds anyway. Liam’s got the strangest and honestly quaintest quirk of being incapable of perceiving what’s rhetorical.

“Both, I reckon.”

“Blue!”

“Pink!” The tempo increases until Louis and Harry are practically shouting overtop each other. Magic whips behind him and Liam and ruffles Niall’s hair.

“Blue!”

“Pink!”

A small implosion resounds through the flat. Liam glances up and sighs. Niall gathers the last of the glorious Nando’s batter and hands the bowl back to Liam. He takes the bowl and disappears back to the kitchen, fwipping his wand by his shoulder towards the suit without looking.

In the silence, the excitement on the telly from the announcer buzzes as though the proverbial dust is clearing.

Louis flops down next to him and twists, throwing his legs over Niall’s lap. In the far edge of his vision, Niall watches Louis’s wand twirl in a circle. A bowl of Coco Pops appears in Louis’s hand.

“Should’ve gone left. Chelsea’s defense is weaker on the left,” Louis grumbles with his mouth full.

Niall glances at Louis and tries not to laugh. With his eyes trained on the telly, Louis dings his spoon against the bottom of his bowl like his hair and eyebrows aren’t a vibrant shade of bubblegum pink that, combined with the sleep-fluff of the strands, make him into a life-size piece of cotton candy.

The sofa dips on his other side before Niall can answer Louis.

“You say that every time,” Harry mutters as he lifts Louis’s feet and drops them on his own lap. The pout on his face matches the cobalt blue his brows and curls are now dyed. With the expression and colour combination, Harry looks like a caricature of an anime character and Niall barely manages to keep a straight face.

“Because it’s still true,” Louis gruffs back. His legs dig into Niall’s thighs when he shifts. Niall glances down to see him burrowing his feet under Harry’s hands until Harry starts rubbing them.

Niall chuckles and shakes his head. The suit is now a boring grey, like a canvas waiting to be finished. Whatever colour it is the moment he walks out the door will be fine with him. His flatmates are ridiculous, but he wouldn’t give them up even for the chance to have magic too.

>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<

(I need to create a post on Tumblr and AO3 where all my drabbles can be found. Alas, it is not this day. But I promise there’s at least one more drabble coming that is Disney inspired, beautiful Anony!)

Have something else you’d like to see me write? Go wild! Pairing, situation, feeling… Send me an ask (anon or not) completing the sentence ‘I wish you’d write a fic where…’

Superpowers Drabble

Invisible Drabble

Only one bed (H-POV)

Only one bed (L-POV)

ABO new-omega!Louis drabble that became a fic on AO3.

Spy AU Drabble

#trackinghome #hlcreators #hljournal #1dsource #yourlarrysource #tracksintheam #1d fanfiction #1d drabble #larry drabble

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managedmischiefs · 3 years ago

Text

sweatpants//spencer reid

genre: fluff

warnings: nothing really. sad spencer for about two seconds.

word count: 2.7k

i have plenty more one shots on my wattpad so let me know if any of you want to see more of this type of writing :) make sure to reblog and comment :))

i fell in love with spencer reid the moment i met him. i fell in love with absolutely everything about him. his smile lit up the little bookstore as his glasses drifted further and further down his nose, and his hair hung over his forehead in messy, unbrushed curls. from the first time we locked eyes after he got a book down from the top shelf for me, i envisioned our whole future together.

we saw each other casually after our first meeting despite how badly i wanted more. we quickly realized that we frequented the little bookstore at the same time on saturdays and we just began to "accidentally" run into each other over and over at the same exact day and time. of course, i made sure to be there every saturday for the next three months just for the chance of seeing him.

i finally got the balls to ask him out after the fifth month of these meetups. he seems surprised and he blushed, then tugged on his tie to loosen it around his neck. he accepted quickly and we went bowling the next week. we were both horrible and eventually asked to put the bumpers up because the amount of gutter balls we were throwing were astronomical. but that "first" date was the first time i noticed something very important about spencer reid.

he wears a variation of the same outfit every single day, no matter what he's doing.

sweater vests, button ups, slacks, ties, and converse. sometimes a cardigan. these items get mixed and matched everyday and sometimes don't match, but the chaos of his outfit colors just suits him. and it suits his penchant for wearing mismatched socks. but i continued to realize more and more about his wardrobe as we spent more time together.

if we went out: slacks, button up, tie, converse.

if we had dinner at his apartment: slacks, button up, sweater vest, tie, converse.

if we cuddle on the couch: pajamas.

there's no in-between with him and it took me a while to decide if i loved this or thought it was odd. i landed somewhere in the middle. he would sometimes start to squirm in the middle of dinner and go to change into pajamas to be more comfortable.

i never commented on this because i knew he liked the way he dressed and i didn't want him to think i hated it. he's already an insecure person, despite me loving him with my whole heart and soul, and i'd feel so horrible if i added onto that. so i would sit through the squirming and the tie-tugging and the quick unlacing of shoes after a long day of converse wearing. i grinned and gave him lots of kisses because i love him regardless of his fashion choices. or lack there of.

but spencer continues to grow and thankfully, i grow with him. i start a new job and spencer continues to thrive at the bau. i move into his apartment and he decides that this is the perfect time for a change. a new haircut. super short on the sides and long on the top. i nearly keeled when i saw how utterly handsome he was with his new haircut. i jumped his bones immediately.

but the sweater vests and same brown cardigan didn't quite hit the spot anymore. i would find spencer standing in front of the mirror before work, silently wondering if the black or brown cardigan would look better with his gray sweater vest. still, it was endearing but eventually it becomes too much.

i pass a department store everyday on my way home from work and it started to pique my interest. one day when i got off work early and knew spencer wouldn't be home, i stopped off. the store was huge and had a humongous selection of styles and brands to choose from. i knew i had to bring spencer.

when i told him i wanted to take him shopping, he tilted his head in confusion like an adorable puppy. "what do you need? new sweaters? it is almost winter and i know you got rid of most of your winter clothes when the summer came. did you—"

"no, honey," i laughed, silencing his confused, off-topic rant. "i'm taking you shopping. for you."

another head tilt. "for me? i don't need anything."

"i know you don't need anything," i clarified, running my hands through his freshly cut hair, "but i want to treat you. and besides, i think you've outgrown some of your wardrobe and it's time to get some new items."

so that leaves us now, walking hand in hand into the department store. he's holding me tighter than usual as i lead him to the men's section, but i don't complain. i know he gets nervous in public places and i have no problem with a bit of coddling.

"so, i was thinking," i say as i flip through a rack of undershirts, "you could get some new dress pants. maybe a pair of jeans. maybe some blazers or just suit jackets. that way your style can grow but you can also wear your trusty button ups and ties underneath."

spencer pouts. "i like it better when we shop for you."

i stifle a laugh as i find an appealing gray blazer and search for spencer's size. "and why's that, bub?"

"because then you get to pick out cute clothes and i can watch you try them on."

"well, this time, i'll get to watch you try them on," i wink and hand the blazer over to him. "hold that. please and thank you."

spencer huffs and drops my hand so he can hold the hanger of the blazer. i continue walking through the racks and in my peripherals, i can see spencer glancing around the store and at the racks surrounding us. he follows behind me like a lost puppy, the amount of items in his hands growing as i pass every rack.

"how would you feel about," i pick out a set of matching maroon pants and a maroon blazer, "this color?" i told it up to spencer's chest. he looks down at the garment and scrunches up his nose. "no? that's okay. i think navy's suit you better anyway. no pun intended."

"babe?" he wonders softly as i move over to a rack of ties. "why are you doing this?"

"doing what?" i pick up a tie that is blue with pink flamingoes on it and drape it over his shoulder.

"taking me shopping. wanting to redo my wardrobe or something."

"well," a new tie on his shoulder- a yellow base with blue whales, "you have had the same wardrobe since i met you, and that was many years ago. you've grown up, spencer. maybe some new clothes could reflect that."

i watch a pout come to his face and his shoulders deflate. "you don't like the way i dress?"

i pout right back at him, trying to not seem so mocking in my expression. "i love the way you dress. but i think it might be time to replace that same brown sweater vest you've had since college. that's what i'm talking about. we don't have to do this if you don't want. we can go home."

spencer thinks for a second. he adjusts his hold on the handful of blazers and trousers in his arms and takes another glance at them. "i'll give these a try."

the pride swells in my chest and nearly bursts out. it's no secret that spencer hates change. he would rather his life stays exactly the same all the time. meals, furniture arrangement, train schedule, his wardrobe. clearly, he would rather wear the same clothes for the rest of his life than branch out a bit. so him agreeing to do just that nearly makes me cry right in the middle of the department store.

we push on and spencer continues to trail behind me and hold the clothes i pick. once his knees are practically buckling under the weight of the chosen clothes, i agree to let him start part two. the fitting room.

he disappears into a room and i sit across from the door in a fluffy armchair that probably has more germs on it than a public bathroom. okay, maybe that's just dramatic. but it has enough germs that i'm sure spencer would refuse to sit here, or maybe even get grossed out that i'm sitting on it.

"uh," i hear my boyfriends voice from behind the door, "i think i did it."

i hold in my giggle. "you think?"

"i mean, i put together an outfit. don't know if it's any good. it's definitely not as good as the things you put together."

"just let me see."

the door pops open and my jaw nearly hits the floor. my spencer is standing there in navy slacks, a navy blazer, a vest, button up, and a tie. he looks exactly like i expected him too. my same loving, quiet, genius boyfriend but much older and mature. he looks phenomenal.

but spencer scrunches up his nose and turns on his toes to look in the full length mirror. "i feel like all of this is too busy. there's too much happening."

"no, baby, not at all," i come up behind him and slide my hands across his back and then around his waist. "it's such a good look on you. it's spencer reid but as an adult."

he furrows his eyebrows and looks at me through the mirror. "are you implying i dressed like a child before?"

"no, no, not at all," i nudge his waist and he spins back to me. "it's a perfect outfit. you put it together perfectly. the colors, the different pieces."

spencer's face lights up as he watches me adjust the lapel of his jacket. "really?"

"yes!" i smooth down the shoulders and then tug on the cuff links. "it's perfectly your style. you don't think so?"

"mm," he looks back down at his own body and shakes out his arms a little. "i guess it is. it's just...different."

"it is different but it's a good different. you're still the same old genius who could go on for hours about mushrooms or doctor who or whatever. so you," i pat his shoulder and go up on my toes to kiss his cheek, "get into a new outfit and show me again, okay?"

spencer agrees and closes the fitting room door. we stay at the store for nearly two hours, picking out and trying on potential outfits. spencer even starts picking items on his own, but he comes to me in the cutest way to ask if i like the things he's picked out. i always do. and even if it's not my favorite piece, he obviously likes it so i tell him i love it.

we spend hundreds and split the bill. i insisted i pay because i was the one who brought him here, but he insisted he pay because the clothes are for him. we found a happy medium.

i don't know what i thought was going to happen after we basically replaced his wardrobe. apparently, i didn't think about what the next work day would be like. because i wake up before spencer and go to make breakfast and only listen to him shower and get dressed.

"good morning!" spencer chirps, practically skipping into the kitchen.

"morning!" i say back, putting pancakes on a plate for him. "here's your—" and i absolutely freeze in my spot at the sight of him in a dark tan jacket and slacks, a purple button up, and a matching gray tie. his hair is perfectly swooped across his forehead and he's grinning, practically glowing in his new outfit. "holy shit."

"you like it?" he holds up his arms a bit as if to gesture to his appearance.

i just stand and stare at him for another minute, clutching the plate in my hand so tightly that i fear i might break it. but spencer chuckles, taking it from me and placing it in front of the chair he always has breakfast in.

"i might not let you out of the house looking this good," i finally manage to say. "you'll come home with a new girl on your arm and forget all about me."

spencer pouts. "i'd never do that to you."

i grab onto his cheeks and lay a huge kiss on his lips. "i know you wouldn't. you look amazing, spence. even better than yesterday."

spencer comes home that night and beams about the compliments he got from his coworkers today and thanks me for encouraging him to expand his wardrobe. i don't accept his thanks because i'm just happy to see him feeling more confident in himself than ever.

however, my job is not done yet.

as much as he loves his new clothes, i give him a few weeks to adjust to his new normal. i let him get used to needing a few extra minutes in the morning to arrange an outfit and to the washing process before i spring something new on him. but once i can tell he's completely comfortable with his new wardrobe, i stop at the department store after work again.

"spence?" i call into the apartment as i kick my shoes off, clutching the paper bag in my hand.

"hi!" he calls back, emerging from the study with a book in his hand. "you're late."

i hold up the bag for proof. "i stopped at the store again." spencer follows me into the bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed in anticipation. "well, first, i saw a couple more ties that i liked," i take those out of the bag and throw them over his shoulder. "but i got these!"

i pull out three perfectly folded pairs of sweatpants and four plain colored tee shirts. spencer unravels each item and then looks up with his eyebrows furrowed. "i don't get it."

"okay," i giggle, placing my hands on his shoulders, "when i go to work, i wear my skirts and blouses and heels, right?"

like the puppy he is, he tilts his head to the side in confusion. "right."

"and when i got to sleep, i wear pajamas. but between the blouse and the pajamas, i wear sweats. you, my love," i boop his nose and instantly, an adorable pink hue paints his cheeks, "don't own sweats. you go from suits to pajamas. and again, i'm not saying that i don't love the way you dress. i'm just looking out for your comfort. if you hate them, i'll return them. simple as that."

he runs his hands over the tee shirts and runs it between his fingers. "they are really soft."

"i got the ones that are 100% cotton because i know you like how it feels."

"i'll try it," he concedes, smiling up at me. "thank you. you're too good to me."

"you deserve the world, angel face."

the next day, he gets called away for a case and i don't see him for almost two weeks. we call and text as much as possible, but we both get so busy that it's nearly impossible. so i stick to sending him good morning and goodnight texts and praying that he comes home in one piece.

after nearly two and a half weeks without him, i come home and see his car in the parking garage where it always is. i squeal, running all the way to the apartment and bursting through the door.

spencer is lounging on the couch, thankfully in one piece, and reading a book, dressed in gray sweatpants and a white tee shirt. he looks up and grins when i enter, standing up and pulling me into his arms.

"i can't believe you're sitting here," i mumble into his neck, "and looking so good when i'm not around."

spencer laughs into my shoulder, kissing my small bit of exposed skin. "well, you're here now so you can enjoy it."

"you look so fucking hot," i blurt out, grabbing a handful of his cotton shirt and tugging him towards the bedroom. "let me show you just how hot i think you are."

"god, i love this new wardrobe."

#spencer reid #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid fic #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #dr reid #dr spencer reid #criminal minds #matthew gray gubler #mgg

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twomanyideas · 3 years ago

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The Grill Next Door

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

Gratsu Week 2021 Prompt(s): Impress, Smile, Smokey Pairing: Gray x Natsu

AO3

Summary: Natsu had to repress a loud snort when he caught his first glimpse of his neighbor. The guy was dressed in only a pair of black boxers, his fair skin slick and shiny from the thick layer of sunblock he had applied. His back had white streaks and missed spots all over it from where he hadn’t been able to distribute it evenly, and some of the lotion was sticking to the dark hairs on his neck.

But the absolute worst thing of all was that he obviously had no idea how to use a barbeque properly.

0-0 Summer was arguably the worst time to be moving. Who in their right mind would want to spend all day inside unpacking boxes when it was 90 degrees outside? Definitely not Natsu, and yet here he was, dragging another box full of stuff up the stairs in his new home. He was grateful for his friends, who had been there when he’d gotten the key and helped him clean the house, paint some walls, and install the larger pieces of furniture. But now that there was only the smaller clutter left, he was on his own, and he was missing out on all the summer fun. His friends were all enjoying themselves without him; spending their free time at the beach or the pool, barbecuing in their yards, raiding the ice cream parlor… “Soon…” Natsu sighed to himself. Soon, he could join them again. He just had a few more boxes filled with necessary items to go.

He’d already unpacked the ones filled with kitchen utensils and Happy’s stuff. All that was left were his toiletries and a few clothes. He’d sort through the rest of his crap bit by bit, one or two boxes every night until he was done. That way, he could still get the most out of the vacation days he'd pulled out for moving. He opened the box he’d brought upstairs with him and groaned; of course, he’d grabbed the wrong one. Instead of towels and shower products, he was looking at some of the housewarming gifts he’d gotten. A key hanger from Lucy, because he was always losing his keys. A baking set from Erza, which Natsu had to admit was the most optimistic gift he’d ever gotten, and a cute houseplant from Wendy, carefully wrapped up in brown paper, with wet paper towels to keep the soil moist.

There were a few more small gifts, but Natsu’s attention was drawn to the flat package at the bottom. More specifically, to the image that was on it, giving away what was inside: a bright pink flamingo kiddie pool. “So you can have a pool in your backyard!” Sting had grinned when Natsu unwrapped the gift. It was obviously a gag gift, and at the time, Natsu had seen the humor in it. He’d even joked that he’d call Sting for a pool party once he was all settled in, but right now, it only fueled his longing to do something fun. Actually… Screw unpacking, he’d do that later. One look through the window, at the bright blue sky and the burning sun, was all it took to finalize his decision. He picked up the box and took it downstairs again, quickly watering the plant before it could die in the summer heat, and putting it on a windowsill. Leaving the rest of the box’s contents for now, he took out the inflatable pool and started digging through one of the other boxes in search of his swim trunks.

He’d done enough for today. He was going to sit in his backyard and enjoy his stupid pool, damn it. Once he’d changed into his swimwear, he applied a thin layer of sunblock he’d found during his search for a towel. He went outside with the pool under his arm, sticking his foot out when he slipped through the sliding door to keep Happy from sneaking outside.

“Sorry buddy, you can’t go out yet,” he apologized, knowing that it was for the best.

They'd only moved in a few days ago, and Happy needed to get used to his new home. If he were to run away, he'd get lost trying to find his way back to their old apartment, and the last thing Natsu wanted was to end up like Rogue, who had spent all night frantically searching for Frosch when he had just moved in with Sting and failed to shut the front door behind him fast enough. Still, Natsu couldn’t help but feel guilty at the sight of Happy pawing at him from behind the glass. Maybe he could get him a cat leash tomorrow, so he could at least explore the backyard safely. One thing was for sure, he’d definitely give him some of his favorite fish treats to make up for a few hours of sitting alone inside. With that in mind, he smiled and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh summer air and the delicious smell that came along with it. It was one of his favorites, and he instantly recognized it. One of his neighbors was grilling in his backyard. Too curious for his own good, Natsu followed the scent. His nose told him it was coming from the house to his left, from the backyard that was only separated from his by a tall wooden fence. Tall, but not tall enough to keep Natsu away. He was just able to peek over the top if he stood on his tippy toes.

He wanted to get an idea of who was living next to him, that’s all. Okay, and maybe he wanted to live through them a little as they indulged in one of his all-time favorite summer activities. \

Natsu had to repress a loud snort when he caught his first glimpse of his neighbor. The guy was dressed in only a pair of black boxers, his fair skin slick and shiny from the thick layer of sunblock he had applied. His back had white streaks and missed spots all over it from where he hadn’t been able to distribute it evenly, and some of the lotion was sticking to the dark hairs on his neck. But the absolute worst thing of all was that he obviously had no idea how to use a barbeque properly. “You know, your food is going to cook more evenly and taste a lot better if you close the lid,” Natsu suggested, bursting out in laughter when the guy jumped and almost dropped his tongs. “Idiot!” He whirled around and glared at Natsu, waving the tongs in the air as he stomped closer. Damn! This guy was actually pretty cute when he was mad.

"I almost burned myself. What were you thinking?!"

"That you weren't doing those ribs the justice they deserve," Natsu retorted, frustration rising within him once he managed to tear his eyes away from his half-naked neighbor and focus back on the grill. All that delicious aroma-filled smoke that would've added so much flavor to that gorgeous meat was getting away!

It was a fucking crime.

"Pay attention to what you were doing, you jackass! You gotta flip them over!"

The guy quickly returned to his grill to tend to his ribs, cursing as he fumbled with the tongs while trying to keep a safe distance between the searing heat of the barbecue and his own bare ribs.

"Man, you really suck at this," Natsu couldn't resist pointing out.

"Oh, and I suppose _you _could do better?"

In all honesty, Natsu was a terrible cook. He lacked the ability to multitask in the kitchen, always made an enormous mess, and often combined ingredients that his friends insisted should never be combined.

However, cooking and grilling were two completely different things to him. His dad had taught him how to cook meat on an open fire or a makeshift grill during camping trips since he was little, and he had it down to a fine art by now.

"You're damn right I can," he scoffed, taking the question as a challenge and being kind enough to climb over the fence and invite himself to his neighbor's backyard so he could show him how it was done.

"What are you doing?!"

"Saving your meat, of course! Move over."

Too stunned by what was happening, the guy didn't protest when Natsu snatched away the tongs. He just watched with his mouth open as Natsu flipped the ribs and set the grate to a higher level, making sure they'd cook slower. And much to Natsu’s amusement, it wasn't just the grill he was staring at.

Satisfied with his intervention, Natsu closed the lid and stepped back. "There, that should do it!" he grinned, putting the tongs down on a plate on the nearby table so he could hold out his hand in greeting. "I'm Natsu, by the way. I just moved here last Wednesday."

"... Gray," his neighbor replied, frowning warily but still accepting Natsu's hand and shaking it briefly. "Do you always stick your nose into other people's business like that?"

“Just wait, you’ll be thanking me soon enough.” Natsu said, amused by his neighbor's grumpy tone. “Anyway, you should be fine as long as you leave the lid closed for about an hour.”

“An hour?” Gray complained, “I thought grilling was supposed to be faster.”

“I mean, do you want fast, or do you want good?” Natsu drawled suggestively. He wasn’t sure if it was the beautiful weather or just the high he felt from having had a hot guy so obviously checking him out because normally he wasn’t much of a flirt, but he felt the urge to test the waters. “Cause I could show you both.”

Gray surprised him by laughing heartily at his innuendo. “There is seriously nothing subtle about you, is there?”

“Nope.” Natsu agreed and laughed along. “Well, it was nice to meet you. I’ll leave you to your grilling, gotta go set up my pool.”

He climbed the fence to get back into his yard, hearing Gray yell behind him. “You’re going to get yourself killed. Just use the gate next time.”

“But then, how could I show you my best asset?” Natsu retorted once he was safely over, chuckling as Gray muttered something he couldn’t quite make out. He wasn’t too worried, though. After all Gray had said next time.

0-0

Gray looked back at the grill, already tempted to open the lid and check on the ribs. What was he supposed to do for an hour? He’d mowed the grass earlier, and he didn’t feel comfortable staying inside while the grill was going.

The sun felt overly hot on his skin and he found shelter under a tree in his backyard. Playing on his phone had netted him ten minutes of entertainment and two group conversations he wasn’t all that interested in.

Maybe Natsu did know what he was talking about because the smell of the ribs cooking was making his mouth water in ravenous anticipation. Thinking about his new neighbor brought a smile to his face, especially since he heard odd noises coming from the other side of the fence. Didn’t he say something about a pool?

With all this time to kill, maybe he should go return the favor and see what he was up to.

With that in mind, Gray walked over to the fence and peered over it, unable to hold back a snort when he saw Natsu sitting on the ground and puffing air into a pink flamingo-shaped pool.

"Wow, I guess you really are full of hot air."

Natsu looked up at him, flashing that grin Gray was quickly developing a weak spot for. "So you think I'm hot?"

Yes, he sure as hell did, but he wasn’t about to give Natsu the satisfaction of saying so. At least... not yet.

“I think you’re having an awfully hard time blowing, which is… disappointing.”

"Huh. Never had any complaints before." Natsu shrugged, returning his attention to blowing air into the flamingo.

“Why don’t you let me show you how it’s done?” Gray said, feeling confident.

God knows he’d blown up a ton of these things for his brother’s kid. He’d quickly learned there was a little trick to it. You had to squeeze the valve as you blew into it or the air wouldn’t get in properly. Clearly, his hot dumbass of a neighbor didn't get that.

“You want to show me how well you blow?” Natsu tilted his head, looking amused by Gray’s suggestion. “How can I say no to that?”

Gray let himself into Natsu’s backyard, using the gate that connected their properties, like a normal person, and grabbed the pool away from Natsu. Using his trick, he quickly filled both rings of the pool.

“Color me impressed.” Natsu whistled in appreciation once Gray set the pool down on the grass. He filled it with water from the hose, which he oh so charmingly put between his legs, giggling to himself as he swung it around.

How the guy could go from flirting to acting like a five-year-old within the blink of an eye was beyond Gray, but he had to admit that it was oddly endearing.

Natsu jumped in with both feet as soon as the pool was filled, watching with glee as water sloshed out onto the grass from his efforts. He sat down, stretching his legs out in front of him, and immediately propped his arms around the pool’s rim.

“That feels so much better!” Natsu moaned happily.

Now that Natsu was inside it, Gray couldn't help but notice that the pool could fit two people, albeit a little snugly considering their size. And though normally he wouldn't be caught dead in one of these things- especially a pink flamingo one- it was a very hot day, and Natsu’s yard was a lot shadier than his.

"You want in?" Natsu asked, his lips stretching into a mischievous smile.

Gray’s eyes were drawn to the slightly pointy canines, finding them incredibly sexy, and he immediately wondered what kissing that mouth would feel like as Natsu patted the empty spot next to him invitingly.

What had gotten into him? He’d just met the guy, knew next to nothing about him, yet here he was acting like a hormone driven teenager. It wasn’t like him at all, but he couldn’t deny the chemistry that sizzled between them, so palpable he could almost touch it.

Besides, what was wrong with having a little fun? It was summer, and he had been in a bit of a dry spell for months.

That thought decided him.

“I suppose I could join you for a bit.”

He had just stepped one foot inside the pool when, to his surprise, Natsu stopped him. “Hang on a minute. I didn’t say you could come in. I only asked if you wanted to.”

“If you want in-” Natsu winked at him. “It’s gonna cost ya.”

“Cost me?” Gray sputtered in protest. “You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious. I will be more than happy to share my pool with you on this incredibly hot day, but only if you share some of those ribs with me.”

Gray had already been planning on doing that, but it was infinitely more fun to make Natsu work for it.

“I don’t know,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, which only netted him greasy fingers from the sunblock he’d slathered on earlier. “It seems to me like you’re getting the better end of the deal here. This is just a kiddie pool after all.”

“Alright, you drive a hard bargain, but I can respect that. How about this then? I’ll throw in some of my world famous special sauce.”

“World famous?” Gray scoffed, “It’s probably just something you picked up at the grocery store, but… okay, I’ll bite.”

“You promise?” Natsu gave him a cheeky smirk, one that ignited a need in Gray to get in that damn pool right the hell now and show him what he intended to do.

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Gray said. “Just don’t complain if it ends up being more than you bargained for.”

Gray was so determined to get in there that he completely forgot he was already partly in the pool, and tripped over the edge when he tried to step in. He caught himself with his hands but still ended up splashing Natsu, not to mention had the wind yanked out of his sails.

He looked up to see the damage. The water had darkened Natsu’s pink hair and flattened it against his face, softening his features and somehow making the bastard look even more attractive. Gray watched in rapt fascination as a drop of water traveled from Natsu’s cheek, joining others on its way down his neck and over his chest until rejoining the rest of the water at waist level.

“You’re right,” Natsu laughed loudly, slicking his hair back and away from his face. “That was definitely more than I bargained for. Nice entrance, by the way.”

Gray was utterly mortified, and he scrambled to sit down, desperately trying to come up with a witty comeback, but before he could say a word, Natsu had already splashed him.

“There you go. No need to make that face. It’s a pool. We were going to get wet, eventually.” Natsu shrugged, his expression gradually changing to distaste as he looked at the water.

“Dude, what did you use for sunblock, SPF lard?”

“I burn easily!” Gray protested, smoothing out the bits of sunblock he could see on his skin.

“Yeah? Then maybe you should actually get it on all of your skin. Turn around.”

“It’s hard to reach back there! Besides, you just want an excuse to get your hands on me,” he argued, but did as he was told anyway, turning his back to Natsu.

“Yeah, that’s the idea. Are you complaining?”

Gray pouted but remained silent.

“That’s what I thought.”

It was hard to miss the smug tone in his voice.

Natsu’s hands spread the globs of lotion evenly across his back, occasionally stopping to knead on one of his muscles and then concentrating on his shoulders. Gray closed his eyes, biting his lip so as not to let on how much he was enjoying it. If this was what he got in exchange for some barbecued ribs, he'd love to know what other types of food Natsu liked.

“There you go.” Natsu said, giving his shoulders one last squeeze. “You can turn around now. It should be safe for you to walk in daylight again.”

Gray turned just in time to see Natsu lean back into his previous position.

“Are you implying I'm some sort of vampire? Cause I’m not the one with the pointy teeth.”

“No, but you are the one who offered to bite me.”

“True.” Gray laughed, and not wanting to lose the mood, he made his move, adjusting from a sitting position to a half straddle. He leaned in, close enough that he could feel the slight puff of Natsu’s breaths on his face as he murmured, “I can still make that happen.”

“You talk too much.” Natsu said just as quietly, peering into his eyes for a split second before closing his eyes and bridging the distance between them.

Gray hadn’t expected Natsu’s body to feel so warm against his, especially considering they were both wet from the pool water, and he instinctively pulled him closer. As arousing as the kiss was, and Natsu sucking on his tongue was definitely doing things to him, he realized he had no urge to push for more.

That should have been his first warning.

But he wasn’t really thinking about anything. His world had narrowed down to sensations. The torrid heat of Natsu’s mouth, the sharp sting of teeth nibbling on his lips, and the tingling pleasure of his hair being tugged, coupled with the sounds they were both making. Needy moans that would have embarrassed him if Natsu hadn’t sounded the same.

Gray liked it all a little too much. Already, the thought of separating filled him with a sense of dread. And perhaps that should have been his second warning.

He was busy running his hands up and down Natsu’s back when he felt him let go of his hair. His hands trailed down to his chest, but no lower, and he pulled away, leaving Gray to chase after him. Confused and more than a little disappointed, Gray opened his eyes. Natsu sat perfectly still, his eyes slightly widening as he sniffed the air. “THE RIBS!!!” Oh crap! He’d forgotten all about the ribs!

“Go open the lid,” Natsu urged, scrambling to get up and out of the pool. “I’ll be there in a few minutes with the sauce.”

Gray watched Natsu enter his house and then hurried over to his yard. The food smelled even better than before and when he opened the lid and poked the ribs with the tongs; he saw they were indeed done, the meat tender and ready to fall off the bone. Rather than stand around waiting awkwardly, he grabbed two beers from his fridge along with plates, napkins and utensils to bring outside.

He opened the sliding door that led to his backyard and found Natsu brushing sauce onto the ribs from an unmarked blue bottle. There was a content smile on his face as he worked away, and Gray felt a flutter in his stomach at the sight.

Shit!

He’d never been one for one-night stands, so why had he thought he’d just be able to go along this time? Because Natsu was hot and seemed willing?

Gray wanted to know more about him, but he wasn’t sure if Natsu felt the same way or if this was just a game he liked to play. What would happen if he played along to its inevitable conclusion? Would that be the end of it? The two of them- probably awkwardly- moving on as just neighbors who happened to have hooked up?

Was it wrong of him to want more?

Natsu looked up then, waving at him and gesturing him over. His smile widened when he noticed the beer bottles Gray was holding.

“Ooh, beer wasn’t part of the deal! I must have kissed you real good!” Natsu teased, accepting the bottle and easing some of the uncertainty Gray had felt about whether things would turn awkward after their make-out session in the pool.

“You’ll notice this is only domestic beer, so I wouldn’t get too full of myself if I were you.” Gray retorted, still playing along.

“Meh, beer is beer, and it goes great with ribs.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

The back and forth was nice, but Gray was itching to ask what was really on his mind.

Can I keep you? Or will you run off after the next pretty face that strikes your fancy?

The lid of the barbecue closed again, and Natsu walked over. “They should be ready in about five more minutes.”

He clinked bottles with him and took a swig. Gray followed suit and decided to just go for it. He’d rather know what to expect than hope for something that wasn’t meant to be.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” he blurted out, sounding a bit more eager than he would have liked.

“Sure, shoot.”

Natsu gave no sign he knew what was coming, or at least that’s what his relaxed posture seemed to broadcast.

“Do you do this kind of thing often?”

“Moving? God, no, I hate it with a passion. Might as well bury me here cause I’m never doing it again.”

“No,” Gray frowned. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” Natsu mock sighed, “I’m just trying to think of an answer that won’t go to your head.”

“What?” Gray didn’t know what to make of that answer. Was he trying to find a way to let him down gently?

“No, I don’t do this type of thing often.” Natsu admitted, meeting Gray’s eyes and holding his gaze. “Look, you’re hot and turned out to be fun to mess with, so I figured there was no harm in seeing where that led. But I’m not expecting anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Gray wanted to ask if that meant that he’d like to date, but to his chagrin, all that came out of his mouth was, “You think I’m hot?”

“See?” Natsu said, sounding amused. “What’d I tell you? Right to your head!”

He put his beer bottle down on the table and traded it in for the tongs and the plates before hurrying back to the grill to check on their food. Satisfied, he turned it off and heaped a large serving of ribs onto each plate.

Gray followed him to the table, only then noticing the sliced watermelon Natsu must have brought with him from his house. He bit into one to buy himself some time to organize his thoughts.

Next to him, Natsu had already begun to dig in, messily devouring the ribs, stopping only long enough to take a sip from his beer. Gray shrugged and did the same. It wasn’t like his table manners were anything to write home about, either. The moment the meat from the ribs touched his tongue, his taste buds were assaulted with flavor. Sweet, salty, spicy… all blending together in perfect harmony. It was by far the best ribs Gray had ever tasted. He could hardly believe they’d come off his grill. He glanced at Natsu admiringly. Not that he noticed, focused as he was on his plate.

“So, what other things can you make?”

Natsu looked up at his question. There was a glob of sauce at the corner of his mouth, driving Gray all sorts of crazy with the urge to kiss it off him, but he held strong.

For now.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but this is it. I can’t cook worth a damn.”

“That’s too bad.” Gray tried but failed to suppress a smile. “Guess I’ll just have to show you all the best places to eat around here, then. You busy tomorrow night?”

Natsu shook his head, breaking into a smile so blinding it wiped every single thought out of Gray’s head. Save one.

"Nope, I'm all yours," Natsu answered after what looked like a brief moment of contemplation.

Gray sure as hell liked the sound of that.

“There’s just one thing…”

Natsu tilted his head and scrunched up his nose in silent question, which was just perfect.

“You’ve got a little something there,” Gray said, leaning in and licking the sauce off before claiming Natsu’s lips hungrily.

The kiss tasted like sauce and beer, but most of all, it tasted like more. And more was definitely bound to follow soon, tomorrow night, and many more days after.

Gray could feel it.

#fairy tail #gratsu #gratsuweek2k21 #natray #gray x natsu #natsu x gray #Gratsu Week 2021 #fics #other #prompt: impress #prompt: smile #prompt: smokey #humor #flirty

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moldy-mold · 3 years ago

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July Blog I occasionally have a social life.

My friends from different states came together to visit for July 4! It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other - probably since before pandemic times. We did the usual, getting takeout at the recommended food spots, going hiking, playing games. We finally had a self care day, which is what everyone desperately needed:

We jumped in a freezing cold river, watched ducks, soaked up the sun. I was born and raised in the sunshine state, meaning I am a creature of the water. Every summer, my fellow Floridians and I long for our hometown beaches. I’ve never considered swimming in the rivers so this was my first time. It was cold, numbingly cold. But the river’s current pushing at my back, being in the open water and surrounded by trees and wildlife with hardly anyone around was definitely a profound experience.

We ended our self-care day with boba tea, face masks and John Wick. Nothing like sharing a relaxing spa time with Keanu Reeves.

Compilation of other things we did. I feel like all we did was eat...

Uhhhhhh......... I have more because I lack self-control.

I can explain... Our local park started hosting a farmer’s market so my roommate and I wanted to check it out. It also has a greenhouse / plant store. Its caretaker is a grandpa whose name is Art. The guy just really loves plants and just wants to keep growing new things.

I first established my relationship with Art when he gave me an offshoot of his super huge and old Christmas cactus. I didn’t have cash on me so he said, “just take it and pay me back the next time you visit.” Two weeks later, I returned to him with the cash.

My cactus is about 3 years old now and he blooms hot pink flowers every Christmas. His name is Kiryu. I have given some of Kiryu’s offspring to my parents and my friends.

Back to the present... Enchanted by the new and exotic additions to the greenhouse, I could not resist. Luckily Art was there, still planting it up. I told him about Kiryu and he was happy to hear that my cactus was doing well. He gave me my plants for pretty much chump change when they can go for $25+. He even repotted them in new pots for me. Art is the best plant grandpa.

Sooo without further ado, say hello to Ferdinand, the Cosmic Delight Caladium!

And a warm welcome to Raven, the Flamingo Feather Celosia! Hard to kill, easy to please. Disappears every winter, but returns every summer.

And here is cat grass! You don’t get a name because you are a sacrifice!

Rokurou the Venus Flytrap caught his first fly! Had to take a picture. You’re doing great, sweetie. 🥺

Lorenz is doing ok. He suffered from white fungus thanks to the nighttime showers and lingering humidity. SERIOUSLY, DUDE? Anyway I’m keeping him inside at night for recuperation. I spray his leaves with a soap formula to kill the fungus.

Finished watching...

Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex ✦✦✧ What if we lived in a world in which people have cyber-brains and prosthetic bodies? If we are made of machines, then how do we retain our sense of self? The show explores these kinds of questions. Super interesting.

Sk8 ✦✦✧ Soooooo cute but kind of unhinged. Best sports anime in recent times.

Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash ✦✧✧ Finally. Tbh, I was underwhelmed by it, but I know it’s only one piece of a whole series of movies so I’ll still hang on for the rest. The animation was sooooo good though. I do give it props for showing us in detail what happens when you’re a civilian caught below a mobile suit battle. It was terrifying and well done.

Giant Robo OVA ✦✦✧ Animation was really really good. A show about the world’s energy problems and how it was solved in the distant future. Its plot is like a cousin to Cyborg 009.

Carmen Sandiego ✦✦✦ Solid show for kids and adults. We are all in love with Shadowsan (ok maybe it’s just me). Screamed at the ending.

Castlevania ✦✦✧ It was so cute and then it got really freaky in here and then it was cute again.

Demon Slayer (2nd watch for the legendary ENG dub cast) ✦✦✧ Ufotable delivers the most amazing sword fights. I forgot how cute the boys were. Zenitsu’s VA (Aleks Le) was SOOO GOOD even tho he was screaming 70% of the time. I hope his throat is okay honestly. Also really satisfied that Johnny Yong Bosch is Giyu lol.

Angel’s Egg OVA ✦✦✧ It made sense sometimes but most of the time it’s ???????? Kinda freaky imagery. Superb animation.

This Month’s Shower Thought Why did I get into comics?

I never considered myself a comic artist but looking back, I did get serious about it (aka, putting more effort in) when I was in high school. Maybe I watched/read some serious plots and wanted to create some crazy story of my own. The thing with me is that I never had OC’s. I always drew fanart or drew my friends from school and placed them into difficult situations.

In college, after reading Gekkan Shoujou Nozaki-kun I was inspired to do less angsty comics and switch to comedy. I wondered what made me choose to be “funny.” I was not a funny person. In fact, I was quite miserable during that time. It was an escape, perhaps...

What makes people funny? Is it something that is always within you, waiting to be unleashed or is it a social pattern you pick up on?

I was thinking it had to do with self-confidence. At a certain point in my life, the inhibitor switch kinda turned off in my brain and some ridiculous things come out when I’m talking. I didn’t care if it was embarrassing or stupid. Now it’s applied to my comics.

It might even be as simple as, “it makes me chuckle, so I like it. I will keep doing it.”

#diary

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enochianribs · 4 years ago

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Chapter 2 of the Cabin AU is up now!

Read on Ao3 here, or under the cut.

(Reblogs appreciated!)

The roof had a leak. Dean woke up to a growing wet spot on the pillow next to his. He laid still, eyes crossing as he stared at the ceiling, watching the bead of water run across one of the unfinished boards, suspending itself for an entire minute until it plopped right next to his head. Slowly, his mind pulled itself out of his dream, though the haze lingered. The roof had a leak. Dean woke up to a growing wet spot on the pillow next to his. He laid still, eyes crossing as he stared at the ceiling, watching the bead of water run across one of the unfinished boards, suspending itself for an entire minute until it plopped right next to his head. Slowly, his mind pulled itself out of his dream, though the haze lingered.

“Mmm...great.” Another item on his to-do list.

Dean was willing to bet there were more leaks in the living room.

For a moment he debated allowing himself to be lulled back to sleep. It was all too easy to slip back to that dream again: blurry hands, soft mouths, quiet murmurs, everything he missed and everything he’d never had. Not really.

Rain gently pattered against the outside of the cabin, the storm grinding in from the East and then settling its haunches right over the hills to stay for the night. The sun was rising, and the pink sky cast shadows from the drops on the window pane, little spots phantom dripping down his sheets.

It was the first morning since he’d gotten to the cabin that he’d slept in past sunrise. Sluggishly, he sat up, diggin the heel of his hand into his eyes as a yawn fought its way out of his chest. He turned his head, and reached out with a hand to wake his companion, before reality caught up with him and his hand fell to the mattress, going through the ghost.

That’s right , he thought. His mouth tasted like ash.

If he laid there any longer his chest would become heavy, and his breaths ragged, so he tossed the covers off, and trudged over to the shower. The cold water bit through the fog better than anything else could, and he leaned his temple against the glass door waiting for it to heat up and fill the room with steam.

Normally, he’d air dry, but it was chilly and an urgency hung around him. He grabbed the bleach-spotted towel hanging sadly by the door towelled off quickly.

He wandered idly, picking his daily morning tasks up and dropping them before he’d complete them. Something pulled him around the house. He was forgetting something.

Dean was midway through folding the quilt and draping it on the sofa arm when they caught his eye.

Two large feathers sat in the middle of the massive dining table (he still wondered who had built and what they’d been thinking— the thing could seat the knights of the round table if necessary). Tugging the fridge door with one hand he reached blindly for the pot of coffee he kept iced, and nudged it closed with his knee, never taking his eyes off them.

They were captivating. He continued to stare as he poured himself a cup, spilling some of the coffee onto the counter. He’d forget to clean it up, and it would stain, but that was okay. If they asked, he was experimenting with wood staining.

Dean could examine them once he made himself some kind of breakfast. Those were the rules: remember to feed yourself, and then you can do whatever you want to with your day. Breakfast ended up being toast and jam, and he plopped it down at the end seat of the table, and reached for the feathers before he took a bite.

The color on the first one was so dark it looked heavy, but it was as light in his hand as any feather should be. He held it up and squinted, twisting his wrist back and forth. It caught the light and reflected a shimmering oil slick back at him. The colors shifted, hues iridescent.

At first glance it could be a raven’s, but it was at least four times bigger than that.

The second one was more muted, the black towards the base of it dappled into a brown and white, and it was downy soft where the other was sharp and precise. Yesterday he’d thought it was grey but better light proved that it was a grey-brown.

He’d assumed that it was from the same bird— creature , but now he wasn’t so sure. Dean didn’t know the first thing about birds. However, he knew several people who did.

▵▿▵

“Hey, Bobby. Can I talk to Rufus?”

“He’s kinda in the middle of some’in’, Dean.” The roll of his eyes was audible, as someone yelped in the muffled background. “Can I call you back?”

“Please?” Dean asked, grinning cheekily even though he wasn’t there to warm Bobby over in person.

Bobby made a disgruntled noise and paused, before sighing. “You’re doing the face aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“Fine. You never want to talk to me .”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Hm.” Bobby replied. Out of spite, he kept the phone next to his face as he shouted for his attention. “Rufus! It’s Dean.”

Ouch , Dean mouthed wincing at the volume, as he listened to the sound of two old men grumbling at each other before fabric shifted, and Rufus picked up the phone.

“He lives.”

A smile burst its way through Dean’s concentration. “Hey Ruf, gotta question for you.”

“Coulda called us sooner. We were beginning to wonder if you’d sold the cabin and moved somewhere warmer with pink flamingos.”

The image made Dean snort. Him at the beach? Unlikely.

“Nope.” Dean quipped. “Still here and freezing my ass off. You guys ever think about installing a damn heater?”

“And pay that bill? Hell no. We added a fireplace, what more do you want from us.”

Good ol’ crabby Rufus. “What do you know about birds?”

“A lot.” As per usual, he was being obtuse.

“Know of any big enough to leave behind two foot feathers?”

Rufus whistled. “Not in North America, unless you’ve got ostriches running around.”

“That’d be a negatory. So there’s nothing you can think of?”

“Nope. Did you find something, kid?”

“Holding one right now.”

“No shit.” He could hear the bewildered tone of his voice over the shitty connection. “Well, I guess keep an eye out. It’d be real hard for something that big to hide, and even harder for it to sit comfortable in those pine trees with the branches so dense. I’d say you’re about to make the biggest zoological discovery in North America in the past century. Keep us posted?”

“Will do.” Dean said, and he heard Rufus handing the phone back over to Bobby.

“Hope everything’s okay up there, Dean.”

“Everything’s peachy, honestly. Anyways—” He checked the clock on the stove. 8:30. The hardware store would be open in a half hour. “I’ve got some errands to run, so I’ll leave you to whatever it is a couple of old farts do in retirement.”

“Hey—”

Dean grinned to himself. “See ya, Bobby.”

“Take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

The line went silent, and Dean shoved his phone back into his pocket, bobbing his head to the side in thought. Though he didn’t get a definitive answer, at least the call had eliminated the options of native fauna.

▵▿▵

At nine in the morning, Dean was usually one of a small line of people waiting outside Lafitte’s Goods to needle Benny’s brain for fixes and tools of the trade. Pamela was waiting against the brick wall, hand shielding the summer morning sun from her eyes, reading a 99 cent paper back with interest.

“Hey, Pamela.”

“Dean-o. Call me Pammy.”

“Really?”

“No, of course not. But Pam works. I’m not your mother.”

“You call your mom by her first name?”

“Fair point. What’re you here for?” She nodded her head and bounced off the wall, as Benny unlocked the doors. A couple of grizzled old men shuffled in ahead of them, beelining it for the plywood.

Porch season.

“Roof’s got a leak.”

“Leak season.”

“Apparently. This is the third one since I got here.”

She squinted at him, like he was omitting something important, and popped the bubble of gum in her mouth. Dean started to itch under her scrutiny. He hated being studied like a lab rat.

What was the woman? A witch? Why was she peeling back layers of his get-up without warning.

Dean coughed, and used Benny’s presence as an excuse to wiggle out from under her gaze. “Gotta— yeah, see you.” Turning on his heel he fled towards the adhesives, face contorting with embarrassment.

Holy fuck, somehow he’d gotten even more awkward.

Dear god, help me.

Benny never pried unless Dean seemed interested in offering up information, and for that Dean was actually incredibly grateful. Most days he didn’t want to talk about anything, certainly not his past, but Benny and his bushy beard and warm eyes had managed to wiggle through his walls, just a little.

“Benny.”

Benny stared at him from behind the register, inquisitive expression considerably easier to cope with than Barnes' hungry expression. A friendly smile danced across his face as he assessed Dean’s no-doubt rosey cheeks.

“She’s got her claws in you, huh.”

Dean ducked his head, glancing sideways at the brunette woman still looking at the different kinds of rope. A tramp stamp peeked out from under the bottom edge of her tank top. Dean tapped his fingers on the pock-marked wood counter and turned his attention back to his friend. “Is she always like that?”

“Sure is,” Benny drawled, ringing up everything Dean had haphazardly shoved onto the counter in his escape. “You just happen to be the newest, prettiest , plaything in Pringle.” The burly man winked.

Pink crawled up Dean’s neck from his collarbones and spread into his cheeks once again. Christ, there was no escape from these people. Still stammering, Dean practically ran back to the Impala.

▵▿▵

The phone vibrated in his back pocket. By the third ring, Dean had parked Baby in her usual spot, and he struggled to tug it out of his pocket, checking the Caller ID.

California.

He pumped the window down, the air getting warm inside the car, and he flipped the phone open, inhaling sharply. He should have called before now. Shouldn’t have let so much time pass. In the fall, he’d be too busy to take any of Dean’s calls anyways.

“Hello?”

“Dean?”

“Sammy.”

Several seconds of too-long silence passed between them.

“Where have you been?”

Dean swallowed, thick, guilt permeating the small space.

“Sorry, I just—” He didn’t have an excuse. “I didn’t know what to say.”

“You still could’ve picked up the phone. I tried to call you about six times. You don’t always need to have something to say, y’know… It just would’ve been nice to know you’re still breathing.” His brother’s voice was basically a whisper at the end.

“I know.” Dean closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing shakily. “I know.”

“I had to hear it from Bobby. Dean—” Sam’s voice pitched up to that octave it always did when he was upset. “Dad’s gone again.”

Fuck.

“And that’s fine. It’s not like I’m ten and incapable of caring for myself but I thought— I thought he’d be back by now. It’s been a couple of weeks.”

“Shit, Sammy.”

“I think he’s fine. He sent a vague text a couple of days ago, it’s just with school starting in two months I get worried. Not even for him, just for us. I can’t pay for school myself, and I can’t afford to miss anything because of Dad. If my grades drop, I’m out.”

“I know.” God, Dean knew.

Sam was a late bloomer for college. The kid was brilliant, but he’d been dealt a bad hand, and it was a miracle Rufus and Bobby had invested in a saving fund for the two of them decades ago. At twenty-two, Dean knew that he’d already had trouble securing the scholarships. Stanford wanted the best and brightest, not the kid with seven schools on his high school transcript and an overabundance of unexcused absences.

The guilt piled up and perched itself on his shoulders until he sagged into his seat under the heaviness. It was his job to keep John out of trouble, not Sammy’s. And instead he’d run away from that responsibility.

The repair materials sat in the backseat, and his heart twisted in his chest. The meadow sat peacefully in the late afternoon sun, just across the short distance of woods, and it still kept its secret. He didn’t want to go back. Not yet. Not until he’d had his fill of independence.

“Look,” He could kick himself for how his voice cracked. “If John doesn’t turn up by the end of the week, I’ll come back. I’ll help. Promise.”

For what it was worth, a facet of his brother’s relieved sigh sounded apologetic.“Thank you, Dean. I don’t know how to do this without you.”

“Okay then.”

“Bye.”

“Talk to you soon, Sammy.” Dean’s jaw clenched involuntarily, as he flipped the phone closed and tossed it against the passenger door. His frustrated shout echoed between him and the trees, but he didn’t feel better.

Always this .

Historically, John would do something stupid and irresponsible and Dean would drop everythign to clean up the mess and no one would thank him. Not really. That was fine.

Family was supposed to break your heart.

▵▿▵

The leak proved to be an easy fix.

Dean fought the attic door that led to the roof, following the small staircase up until he was on the balls of his feet, head sticking out as he pulled himself onto it. The shingles were rough, cracked and damaged from the winters, and he scrapped the length of his arm against it.

The source of the leak took only a minute to find. Five or so shingles were missing, leaving nothing but the wood underneath, which did nothing but absorb any and all precipitation. The rubber sealant smelled terrible, and he gagged dramatically, almost dropping the metal can in the process. Done applying, he plopped his ass down, determined to see it dry properly before he went back inside.

Half assing things had always resulted in a stern talking to in the least, and it had been something he’d struggled with growing up, his mind yanking him a thousand directions until his head was spinning and John was disappointed.

Dean grit his teeth, purposefully dragging the raw scrape against the rough roofing, the burn biting through the thought, bringing him back down from that far off place he so frequently wandered to. He didn’t even know how he got there, but he found himself lost, shrunk down, smaller than the hand-me-down leather jacket he tried to fill.

From the roof he could see almost everything. It turned out that Rufus and Bobby’s cabin foundation was built onto a gentle slope.

The rain clouds had dissipated, migrating to the flat plains further south, and it left a crisp atmosphere behind. The sun poked through the remaining gargantuan cumulonimbus clouds, sunbeams gently caressing the grass. Grey mist rose from where the creek beds greedily absorbed the heat. It reminded him of the paintings of cowboys, sitting on a stallion, bathed in golden light, their backs to the audience, all the edges illuminated and throwing everything else into stark purple shadows.

The burn of the scrape subsided as a sense of peace settled Dean, his body melting into the shingles. An hour passed before his stomach growled, and he climbed back down for lunch.

▵▿▵

Tapping.

Tapping at the window pane only inches from his face.

Groggy and only slightly encrusted (gross) Dean opened his eyes and was met by dark blue ones, a tawny human hand pressed up against the glass.

Dean’s soul evaporated out of his body, back pressed to the headboard as he scrabbled for the small knife he kept under his pillow. Before he could look again, it was gone.He launched himself out of bed, so very entirely grateful that he’d had enough sense to go to sleep in his boxers and his worn-out threadbare Kansas shirt.

Holy hell.

Fingers trembling, he opened the window, leaning almost all the way out, hovering a few feet above the ground.A single feather slowly came to rest soundlessly on the pine-needle carpet. The view from the window remained unyieldingly motionless.

Black-eyed susans had begun to sprout in the shade, despite themselves, and now they quivered where they grew between the pine-roots even though the morning wind had not pierced through the woods yet.

Craning his neck, he glanced up, half expecting the last thing he’d ever see to be a terrifying bird man staring down at him like he was lunch. Nothing.

Dean practically fell out of his room, chanting under his breath in a poor attempt to calm himself down as he stumbled down the short hall to the living room.

It’s human.

“No,” Dean spoke to the picture frames on the walls. He had no idea what he was denying, but the situation begged to be denied. He paced back and forth in the living room, no doubt wearing the floor down despite the fact that he was wearing socks— the ones with the holes in the heel. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Oh my God, it was so very not okay.

Suddenly, the couch seemed like the perfect place to suffocate himself to unconsciousness. Someone else could deal with this.

No , he thought. You wanted this to happen, you dirty liar. Stop panicking and deal with it.

Wings was human- or at least partially human. He looked like a man. Dean’s thin eyelids fluttered closed, and the image was painted on the backside of them with crystal clarity. Square jawline, arrow-straight nose, curiously arched eyebrows… and the eyes . They were so blue. And they had been looking right at him. Watching him.

It was entirely ridiculous that his eyes overshadowed the massive lurking darkness behind him, of what had to have been his wings.

A human with wings.

This was crazy. Everything was crazy.

The way he saw it, there were two directions this could go: he could pretend he hadn’t seen anything, and this would be tucked away into the delusion box that he kept under lock and key at the back of his mind and he could grow old being none the wiser of whatever breach of reality this was, or he could go find it.

The first option was sounding real nice. Normal. Well adjusted.

He was well adjusted.

Besides, Dean wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t a dream. this entire thing was a fever dream and he was in some hospital bed back in Lawrence, stuck in a coma. Dean pinched himself, viciously and stared at the white marks left on his forearm, helpless.

Nope.

“Okay.” He barked out a laugh.

He should call Jo.

After a few more minutes of pacing and hyperventilating, he decided against it. He would tell her— of course he would! —but when it came up.

The Harvelle’s were good people and they’d shown him nothing but kindness.

The situation had to be broached with care, or the small home he’d built in the life he wanted to live would topple in on itself, and the rubble and dust would drown him.

Trust issues were a problem of his, and he’d been aware of them since high school, when he’d had too many secrets to keep and any semblance of a support system was states away.

God, he knew the way he clammed up was obvious, but sometimes he surprised even himself. If he was being honest, there was a lot more to it than a strong need for privacy. Didn’t matter though. In the end, after all the nit-picking and self beratement, it boiled down to fear.

Jo could keep her mouth closed, but there was always a chance she’d accidentally tell someone, and there was a high chance it would be the wrong person. If he let it slip that this thing existed, who knew what would come packing. And he knew sooner or later, someone would bring the heat. Words got around easily in a small town like Pringle and he knew everyone would be at his door, wanting a chance to see the freak of the week.

Which… was a thing that existed. A human with wings, that called the small clearing his home.

His heart skipped a beat at the thought. He felt protective over the man, almost ferociously so.

The day’s hunting trip wasn’t happening— now Dean was paranoid.

What if he accidently shot him? Or scared him off permanently?

His stomach churned, acid and bile climbing their way up his throat. The burn was familiar. Half his childhood had been spent subsiding panic attacks and anxiety, calming down Dad or Sam or both at the same time.

▵▿▵

The tin echo of a gunshot managed to penetrate through the thick log walls of the cabin.In a heartbeat, he was scrambling for the ancient shotgun. The front door swung open, the little voice in his head told him to close it behind him, but his feet carried him quicker than his mind and so he left it swinging on its hinges at his back.

An anguished scream gargled its way from somewhere deeper into the woods, due south of the cabin. Rocks dashed the soles of Dean’s feat and he swore out loud, having forgotten his boots at the door.

Shit shit shit.

Someone was nearby, and they were ballsy enough to fire a weapon despite the illegality of hunting on private property. His mind raced at the same speed he ran towards it, a limp skewing his gate every few steps. Stray branches caught the sleeves of his shirt, tearing through the fabric as he refused to slow down.

It’s just a deer.

He knew better.

They’re just after a deer, or a bison that wandered away from the heard or an elk or something—

Another blood curdling scream erupted from amongst the pine, this one loud enough to rattle the crows out of their nests. They cawed, the sound of dozens of pairs of wings taking flight muting the pained groans.

He knew better.

Please— please. Not Wings.

He faltered over a boulder, panic overtaking muscle memory and skidded to a halt at the crest of a ledge. The scene below knocked the breath out of his chest, leaving a vacuum in its wake.

Campbell, one of the more elderly hunters of the area was standing over another tawny body. Giant black wings sprawled out, twisting and twitching in the dirt and mud, feathers slightly splayed underneath his back.

Campbell’s face distorted in pain, a tense moment passing before his wild eyes landed on Dean, the whites of his too visible, even from ten yards away. Blood pumped out from a wound on his neck, and he had a hand clamped down onto it, slick with red, he held a shotgun limply in his left hand, the butt of it dropped heavily to the ground.

Semi-satisfied that Campbell didn’t seem interested in shooting again, Dean fixated every ounce of attention on Wings and his breath hitched. Smeared across his mouth and chin was a copious amount of blood. He’d bitten Campbell. Dean’s heart swelled with pride.

Good .

His short encounter with Campbell prior had proved that the man was a bag of dicks, cocky and far too keen on the killing aspect of hunting. It skeeved Dean out then, and it certainly did now. Campbell was still looking at Wings like he was prey. Though no component of the scene begged to differ: the man was naked, teeth bared, but he was incapable of escaping, the gunshot wound in his abdomen bleeding him dry.

Dean leveled the end of his shotgun at Campbell’s head. “Get the fuck away from him.”

Campbell backed away from Wings, the muscles in his right arm tensed, like he wanted to put it up defensively, but it was necessary he kept pressure on the wound. It looked like Wings had gone for the jugular. “It attacked me, Winchester.”

“And?”

“You’re fucking crazy.”

Dean would put money on the fact that he looked the part, he could feel his chest heaving, something akin to dull rage pumping through his veins. He prayed the tremor in his hand didn’t betray his hesitation. “I said move .”

Obeying his orders, Campbell stepped back, never taking his eyes off of the strange man. Agony flashed across his face where he laid in the dirt.In his hands, he held a silver blade. Wings looked from Campbell to Dean, expression visibly softening.

“Give me your coat.” Dean didn’t have much time, glancing at Wings, he saw that a red gleam of blood was starting to trickle from the corner of his mouth and his eyes moved frantically. He slid down the slope and went to take off his jacket and remembered his was only in his boxers. “ NOW .”

Campbell shirked it off and threw it at Dean, staying exactly where he was. Moving quickly, Dean pressed the thick fabric to the wound, moving his other hand to the back side to see where the bullet went. There was no opening there, and he was thankful that Wings was naked. He could skip the sometimes detrimental process of removing his clothes to assess the wound better.

He tied the jacket around him and slid one arm under his legs and the other across his shoulder blades, lifting him up carefully. Dean had to get him back to his house immediately, before Wings lost too much blood.

One last time, he regarded Campbell. He felt the sneer tug his lip up, his voice like acid trying to eat through the other man’s bones until he was nothing. “Get the fuck off my property. And don’t tell anyone about this. He’ll be fine, not that you care. But you won’t be if I see you here again, or if I hear about this from anyone. Do I make myself clear?”

Samuel’s eyes darkened clearly at war with Dean’s threat, but his skin was taking on a pallor akin to lethal blood loss. He nodded curtly, acknowledging the agreement, at least for the moment.

Reasonably satisfied that Campbell wouldn’t shoot them in the back, Dean turned and left, the body draped over his shoulder too warm.Dean’s hand wrapped around, hand feathering over his taut side, avoiding the wound. He could feel his fingers wet with blood.

Wings was whispering something feverishly, though Dean couldn’t catch a word of it, his eyes glazed over with pain, searching the sky for something with a fervor of a religious man with hell hounds on his heels.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Dean murmured, straining to carry the both of them the distance to the cabin. “I’ve got you.”

Wing’s head lolled to the side, and his body went slack. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, but Dean couldn’t afford to cry now. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to get them inside safely. He swallowed the terror. He ducked and wove through the undergrowth, fearing that the drooping wings would catch on a branch or boulder.

The time it took until he could lay Wings down on his dining room table felt like hell had manifested on Earth, keenly able to feel life slipping away in his arms.

Once Dean managed to put Wings on the table without his head smacking the wood, he tore the kitchen apart for salt and a bowl of water and some clean washcloths, and sprinted to the bathroom, yanking the drawers out and emptying their contents onto the counter and sink until his eyes landed on the tweezers and isopropyl alcohol.

It wasn’t a perfect med kit, but there was no other choice. It had to do.

Dean approached the table cautiously, worried that too much movement would set him off. The dark wingspan spread out almost three feet on either side of the table and Dean swallowed a stone.

He had no idea what to do next, not really. The closest experience he’d had to being a doctor had been treating John’s stab wound when he was thirteen and John had come home more beaten than usual.

He stared helplessly down at Wings.

“He...help.” Wings voice was like a ghost’s, he barely heard it, and he was standing right next to him. He looked up at the cobwebbed chandelier lighting like it was something holy and mesmerizing and Dean realized he was losing him.

“Shhh… it’s okay.” His forehead was sticky with sweat and drying blood, and Dean pushed some of the unruly black wisps from his eyes, humming low. “I’m gonna help you.”

Wings hand shook, following the edge of the table, feverishly searching for something to hold onto. Tentatively, Dean slid his fingers between his, feeling his calloused palm against his own. “Wings. Wings, you gotta listen to me. Wings, please . You have to lay still.”

He had no idea if the man understood a single word he was saying, but it seemed to do the trick. Over the span of a terrible minute, his breathing slowed down, and his grip on Dean’s hand went from frail to almost bone crushingly alive.

Wings’ blue eyes were on him, flickering a little in the low light. Dean waited, untrained, unable and unwilling to play operation on him while he was still conscious, eyes desperate to look at anything but the daunting task before him.

Eventually, he passed out, his painful grimace replaced by a soft one, and Dean began to remove the shrapnel bullet, praying to anyone who was listening that it had not shredded his insides beyond repair.

▵▿▵

At some point in the night, Dean had gotten up to draw the curtains and lock the door, willing to sacrifice only a moment to seal them away from the rest of the world.

Now, sunlight pierced through the cracks, illuminating them both in thin lines of white light. He watched Wings toss and turn, his face gnarling into pain each time he moved.

What if Dean had fucked it up? What if the next breath he drew was his last? His mind raced, punishing him for every moment’s hesitation that could very well lead to his death.

Dean caught himself following Wings jawline, examining the stark contours of his face like he would never see them again. Please, just please make it out alive.

“Don’t die on me, Wings.” The words slipped out subconsciously. “Please, God, don’t die on me.”

Dean had the decency to cover him up with the quilt. The two’s hands were still tightly entwined long after the heartbeat in Wing’s wrist lulled Dean into sleep, tumbling heart over head.

#honestly i think i'm gonna reverse the title #I HATE TITLES what kinda corny ass things i come up with lmao #but for now.#that's what its called #cabin au #*#mine

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awanderingdeal · 4 years ago

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Simply having a wonderful Christmas Time [Part 1]

Merry Christmas to all those folks who celebrate today! This one is dedicated to those of you of who are perhaps not spending Christmas in the way that you would like this year. I hope this brings you a little bit of Joy. Please note that this fic is filled with happy Christmas people so if that is going to make you feel worse then please avoid. I’m hoping to have a Coops instalment up for those who celebrate on the 25th and O’Knutzy on 26th for all those who have boxing day and second Christmas.

CW: CHRISTMAS AND FOOD TALK

Rating: T, there are some sexual implications but I’m pretty happy leaving this at a T. Let me know if you think that needs to change.

And finally, to @lumosinlove. Thank you for creating the sweater weather universe and in particular the fabulous OC’s that feature in this fic. They really have been a light in the darkness of this year.

Anyway, let’s get on with this show.

P.S. Yes, we are just ignoring the fact that hockey players most definitely do not get two weeks off at Christmas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex had bitched for days about spending his Christmas in the heat of Mauritius - he wasn’t supposed to be opening presents in shorts, dammit - but he’d been willing to concede that he may have been wrong from the very moment that he had stepped through the door of their beach front villa.

He was tired and groggy from the day of travel. The recycled air of the plane had made his throat scratchy; he needed a long, hot shower, and he was generally miserable.

“Almost there now, sweetcheeks,” Natalie reassured him as the taxi rounded a corner. “You’re going to love it, I promise.”

The villa was one that Natalie and Kasey had stayed in a few times before, boasting of it’s view and proximity to perfect waves. Right now, Alex didn’t really care about those things. As long as the villa had a comfortable bed and a large shower, he’d be satisfied.

Natalie was right, and soon the three of them were piling out of the car, hauling bags of luggage behind them. They were only there for two weeks but somehow had five large suitcases between them.

“I swear, I’m going to sleep for two days,” Alex grumbled as Kasey keyed in the number to obtain the keys.

“Try and stay awake for a few more hours,” Kasey said. “You’ll feel way better tomorrow for it.”

“Yeah, yeah, jetlag, blah, try to acclimatise to local time, blah -” Alex’s rant was cut short as he stepped through the door. “Wow,” he gasped.

The villa was gorgeous. He’d expected the large expanse of open plan luxury; a haven of polished metal and glass windows that showed panoramic views of white sand meeting a crystal clear sea. What he hadn’t expected was the giant Christmas tree, at least a few feet taller than himself, and the rest of the expertly placed decorations.

“Do you like it?” Kasey asked. Alex saw the glance that he and Natalie shared. They were probably worried, he’d been frozen in place for the last 30 seconds.

Alex nodded, taking a moment to find his words, “It’s incredible. Just like home. Better.”

Everywhere he looked there was something new. A wreath on the wall. Faux furs draped over the seating. A garland that snaked all the way up the spiral staircase.

“Are those?” Alex stepped towards the stockings that hung on the wall. Each one had a name sewn into it. Natalie. Alex. Kasey.

“Yeah,” Natalie nodded. “One for each of us. Lils made those.”

Alex let himself be pulled into Kasey’s arms, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

“We know that Christmas with your family is very important to you and we just want you to know that we are incredibly grateful that you decided to spend it with us this year,” Kasey said softly.

“Finn already bailed anyway,” Alex gave a small laugh. He felt Natalie join them and her arms were also there, enclosing Alex between his two favourite people.

“We told them to leave the tree. Thought we could decorate it together?” Natalie told him.

“God, I love you two.” Alex breathed.

That had been ten days ago. Now, a cheesy Christmas movie played on the TV but Alex wasn’t paying it much attention; enjoying the memory and being curled into Kasey’s chest. His fingers played idly with Natalie’s blonde waves as she snored softly in his lap.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day, a delicately balanced mixture of tradition and newness. Alex saw how hard his partners had worked to give him a Christmas day that rivalved those of his memories with his family and Alex couldn’t wait to thank them properly for it tomorrow. For now though, he was content to just bask in the moment.

“Al,” Kasey whispered. “Do you want to head to bed? I’m not really watching this.”

Alex looked up at Kasey, a gentle smile resting on his lips, “Yeah, bed sounds good to me.”

“Shotgun, not waking Natalie up” Kasey laughed.

“No need to wake her up. I’ll carry her,” Alex said. "Besides, she’s not that bad.”

Kasey frowned, “She bit me once.”

“Yeah, and did you clap in her ear like you did to me that time?” Alex replied. “Because if so, then you deserved it.”

“Not my fault you both sleep like the dead.” Kasey mumbled under his breath, switching off the TV and taking their dirty glasses to the sink.

Natalie gave a small grumble as she was picked up, wriggling in Alex’s arms before settling herself into the crook.

“God, she’s so cute.” Alex spoke quietly.

“You both are.” Kasey said with a grin, pressing a kiss first to Natalie’s cheek and then Alex’s. He led them the short distance to the bedroom, pulling the thin sheets on the bed back so that Alex could lie Natalie down.

“I’m just gonna brush my teeth,” Alex started to walk towards the en-suite but suddenly his phone was vibrating against the bedside table. The noise seemed extraordinarily loud in the quiet room. “Fuck, that’ll be Finn. Get that please, Kase?”

Kasey grabbed the phone and Alex heard a snort as he read the contact name, Fillet O’Fish.

“Hi!” Finn’s voice boomed a few seconds before his face appeared.

“Sssh.” Kasey hissed, rapidly hitting the down volume key.

“Oh, hi, Blizz,” Finn said. “Don’t know why I wasn’t expecting you. You’re naked. Why are you naked? Am I interrupting something? Is Alex naked too? I don’t want to see that.”

Alex plucked the phone from Kasey’s hand with a laugh. “He’s not naked, we’re just getting reading for bed,” Alex replied, panning the camera down and showing Kasey’s plaid pyjama pants to prove his point.

Alex pecked Kasey on the lips, “I’m going to take this to the other room.”

“Alright,” Kasey returned the kiss. “Merry Christmas Finn,” he added, giving the camera a wave.

“Merry Christmas, Kase!” a chorus of replies was heard.

Alex wandered from the bedroom, settling himself into a seat that gave a stunning view of the beach that their villa was sat on.

“Wait, isn’t it only 9 pm there?” Finn asked. “Why are you going to bed already?”

Before Alex could answer, Logan appeared in the frame, leaning over the back of the sofa to wrap his arms around Finn’s neck, “So nosy, Fish. Maybe they tired each other out, eh?”

Finn’s nose wrinkled with a look of disgust, “eww.”

“Nothing like that,” Alex laughed. “Not this evening anyway,” he continued, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

“Get it, Alex,” Leo teased, flopping himself onto the sofa next to Finn.

“Look at this view,” Alex said, turning the camera so they could see the idyllic scenery in an attempt to change the subject. It only served to trigger a memory from earlier that day, one that he probably shouldn't have been thinking about whilst on the phone with his brother.

Alex sighed happily to himself as he looked down at the watch on his wrist. It looked out of place against his bright blue and pink flamingo shorts, but Alex had received it from Kasey earlier that morning and he refused to take it off.

It was barely 11 am. However, it was Christmas day, so Alex didn't feel even the slightest bit guilty about the cosmopolitan balanced between his fingers, as he waited for Natalie and Kasey to come back from their surf. Alex wasn’t the biggest fan of the water, preferring to stay in the shade of the giant umbrella they had set up despite Natalie’s playful chirping.

Alex had pointed the watch out on his and Kasey’s first date without Natalie. They'd been heading to the aquarium when Alex had spotted it in the window of the jewellers. He'd made the briefest passing comment about how beautiful it was and it made Alex's heart sing that Kasey had remembered.

As if they knew that he was thinking about them, Alex saw the sun bronzed figures of his partners making their way towards him. They looked good; fitted wetsuits showing off their toned bodies and their faces brightened by laughter. Alex loved Kasey’s laugh, people thought it was rare but he just saved it for those that he thought truly deserved it. Apparently, Alex was one of those people now.

“Close your mouth, O’Hara.” Natalie teased, grabbing a towel and piling her hair into it.

“Hmm,” Finn nodded, pulling Alex from the memory too soon. “That is beautiful. I think mine has been better though.” His brother's eyes glanced back towards Logan with a smirk and Alex had a sneaking suspicion that Logan's torso wasn't the only thing that was bare.

"Yeah, you can keep that one for yourself," Alex retorted.

“Hey Haz! Did Kase like his present?” Leo asked.

Alex had enjoyed getting to know his brother’s second boyfriend. He offered a stabilizing presence to Finn and Logan’s chaos and to paraphrase shrek, “he was like an onion, he had layers.” Leo had been Kasey’s secret santa and Alex hated to admit it, but he had done a great job.

“Unfortunately yes,” Alex pretended to glare. “I suppose I have Finn to thank for helping you with that?”

Leo shook his head, “Your mom actually. She was more than willing to send many photos of baby Alex.”

Alex barked out a laugh, “Of course she was.” He couldn’t really be mad. The three of them had spent an age flipping through the scrapbook of his childhood photos, laughing at the annotations that Leo had added in his delicate script.

The alarm on Leo’s phone blared. “Sorry, that’s the timer for the potatoes,” the blond apologised. “I better go and check on them.”

“I can come and help.” Finn said.

Alex saw Leo visibly wince before he replied, "No thank you sweetheart. Y’all stay and talk with your brother.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, “Do I even want to know what disasters you are causing?”

“You cannot talk, Alexander,” Logan defended. “You nearly burnt your kitchen down making toast.”

Alex didn’t have an argument to that, it was true. He hadn’t been much help with Christmas dinner either.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to do anything?” Alex asked for the thousandth time. Besides setting the table, he really hadn’t done much to help with the meal and he didn’t feel great about it.

“Yes,” Natalie insisted. “We really do not need a trip to the ER today. Just sit down and look pretty.”

He protested a little but did as he was told. He watched Natalie and Kasey work, moving seamlessly around one another. And then Alex was standing again. He went back inside, ignoring his partner's queries. He was only going to be a moment anyway. Alex reappeared with his camera. He may not be able to cook, but he was excellent at photography. He remembered how they had found so much joy in looking at the photos of himself earlier and wanted to document their first Christmas together. Hopefully, in years to come it would bring them similar joy.

He took photo after photo of the meal coming together. Kasey flipping the steaks on the BBQ. Natalie glazing the prawns in sauce. The private glances they shared.

The camera was taken out of his hands and he heard the shutter snap as Natalie fed him pieces of peach.

He beckoned the two of them over and took a few shots of the three of them together, Santa hats perched on their heads, until Natalie was cursing about something burning.

He’d go through the photos later but he doubted there would be many that he wanted to delete.

“Earth to Alex!” Finn shouted and Alex blushed as he realised that they had been trying to get his attention for a little while.

Logan rolled his eyes, “You and Finn make the same stupid faces.”

“Oi!” Alex and Finn exclaimed together.

“C’est Vrai,” Logan chimed.

“I’ll admit to being a hopeless romantic.” Alex shrugged. “It’s part of my charm.”

Finn snorted at that, “It’s not my fault that you and Le are so cute.”

“Agreed.” Alex nodded. “Nat and Kase should be less perfect. It’s all their fault really.”

“You’re both disgusting,” Logan groaned, but he was pressing his lips to the bare flesh on the back of Finn's neck, and Alex had known those two long enough to know exactly where that was going.

“On that note, I am going to bed. Have a fantastic Christmas, boys.”

#O'Darwin #Coops #O'Knutzy #Lumosinlove #Sweater Weather #Coast to Coast #Winter holidays #Christmas #Food #ALL FLUFF

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stiles-hoodie · 3 years ago

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I thought of this before but for some reason never wrote about jt even though I've wanted to. I was rewatching Boy Meets World a while back when I first thought this, but rewatched some episodes again recently and thought about this again. Everyone thats watched Girl Meets World or at least heard of it knows that Riley = Cory and Maya = Shawn, but I started to realize that some of the other characters also remind of Shawn sometimes (in certain moments anyways).

Obviously we have Maya: We know why she is the 'Shawn in her Rileys friendship. She's the rebellious one, family issues, identity issues (which could've been done and handled a lot better), the two girls from her past (which I'm assuming was actually around middle school that she eventually just stopped hanging out with) and lack of motivation (in the beginning anyways).

Lucas: The whole thing with his past back in Texas, I definitely feel like was the Shawn in his and Zays friendship. He got into the wrong crowd and Zay was the one to get him out. I feel like their probably was a moment like The Pink Flamingo Kid where Lucas stood up for Zay and that could've been the moment he truly realized he needs to stop what he's doing.

Farkle: Also had an identity issue and one point, there was problems with his parents marriage, felt alone in his own home (Stuart actually realizes the lack of time he's spent with him and mentions fixing that in GM Money and I genuinely believe he meant it), everything his mom threw the wedding ring i wouldn't be surprised if she walked away and left for a bit to, when he was in an insecure place with the bullying he properly ran away from his friends because he thought they deserved better then him (Not saying Shawn has run away from bullies but he did run away when he thought Cory deserved better), and he realized something really big that changed his entire view of his family. I wouldn't be surprised if Farkle actually had depression, but believed he didn't because its glued in his head he shouldn't because he has more then his friends.

Zay doesn't have any resemblance except being a flirt and a little trouble maker. Smackle doesn't really have any moments either. Rileys small rebellious moments can just go with Cory's because Cory also had his rebellious moments that weren't as big too.

Anyways thats all I have for now. I do have ideas on how I would've rewritten Girl Meets World if it wasn't on Disney that I might post another day.

#boy meets world #girl meets world #shawn hunter #cory mathews #topanga lawrence #eric mathews #riley mathews #maya hart #farkle minkus #lucas friar

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silverwhiteraven · 4 years ago

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Wings of Broken White - Ch. 2

Tag List: @marichatmay

[ Posted on Ao3 ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 3 ]

[ Summary: It’s Origins all over again, but jsut a little different. ]

Ever since his mother disappeared, Adrien’s favorite movie has been Spirited Away. As the years passed, he related to it more and more.

A young child, who’s parent’s pay her no mind despite her warnings. She gets separated from them, wanting to do nothing more than cry for the unfairness of it all. Then she gets dragged into signing a contract, willing to work under its terms because it would allow her to bid her time and someday regain her family.

All of that he felt in his heart, but it wasn’t all.

A strange and dark looking creature is constantly asking her to let it inside, and each time she has to keep denying it. Letting it in would be, is, a mistake, she had to get him out as soon as possible and keep him far, far away.

It was a little unclear to Adrien why he related to this part of the movie as more of a relevant metaphor than a personal experience. But it was still there. He could never quite grasp why, but whatever his own dark, faceless creature was, he knew he couldn't let it in.

And of course, there was one other part to Spirited Away that he wished to understand.

The girl lost her name, her memories, all of who she was, as part of a contract to get her parents back. Even her spirit friend had lost his name, too, and he had done it to stay alive. Those parts felt raw and real to Adrien, and it always made his cry.

Though he was always a bit confused why he felt lost like they were. Had he forgotten something? He knew his name though, it was Adrien. And he still belongs to himself, after all, his Father lets him set his terms for when he models so he’s never uncomfortable. Had he forgotten something else, then?

From what he could recall, there were very few photos of Adrien from before he was seven. All up-close shots taken from a polaroid in black-and-white film, and all stuffed away in a little photo album in his Father’s personal library. Nothing was out of place, he was certain of it.

So Adrien dismissed it, chalking up his tears to nothing more than build up emotions from the earlier parts of the movie.

Spirited Away wasn’t the only Studio Ghibli movie he enjoyed, though.

He had seen every single one, really, and he loved them all.

But when Chloé had watched Whisper of the Heart with him one time, she used it as a way to egg him into going to public school with her.

“But Chlo, you’re homeschooled too, aren't you?” He was a bit confused.

“Only for now!” She huffed in annoyance. “But being homeschooled by tutors means I can't be in classes with you, Adrien, so as soon as I demand that Daddy enroll me to a school so that I can be with you more often, he will see reason! Just watch!”

And he did. She succeeded, of course, though it took her agreeing to wait until she was eligible for secondary school so they could skip the hassle of enrolling her in primary school first. Unfortunately, she had underestimated just how stubbornly protective Gabriel Agreste would be of his son.

For three years, Chloé went to Collège Françoise Dupont on her own. For three years, Adrien dreamed of getting out of the house and making friends on his own. For three years, Chloe helped build Adrien’s courage to push against his protective bubble and pop it using all his might. And, Lucky for him, three years was all it took.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Marinette was running late for school, just like she has every day since she started Collège. It wasn’t her fault that mornings didn’t give her very much time to eat, shower, put on her wing-binders carefully and perfectly, get dressed, maybe help out in the Bakery a little bit, and then finally grab her bag and dash off to make it on time for classes. Honestly, who’s idea was it to make the day start so early? Not her’s, that's for sure!

It really didn't help that an elder had been crossing the street while a car with a distracted driver drove toward the intersection too quickly. Marinette had rescued the elder, sure, but her box of goodies had suffered, and so did her wings. Luckily, it wasn't too bad, she had just awkwardly landed on her butt, subsequently squashing some of her primaries and secondaries where they had been concealed under her dress. Oh well, it wasn’t like she flew very often anymore anyways, right? Right!

Her first day of school was…normal, really, as normal as it has been for the past four years, anyways. This year, she had all three of her primary school friends, Nino, Alix, and Kim, in her class, and that made her rather glad. She was even happier to see that the rest of the students she had also met before over the previous three school years. She was surrounded by friends, so she knew this year would at least be better than before. Even Alya, who had transferred to their school the previous year, would be joining her classes again.

There was, of course, that one sore thumb that stuck out.

Chloé Bourgeois, for the fourth time in a row, had made a big deal of sitting in a particular spot so that a student no one knew could sit in front of her. For the fourth time in a row, Chloé watched the door instead of the teacher. And, again, for the fourth time in a row as classes passed then lunch came and ended, Chloé looked rejected and sad coming back into the classroom, before taking her usual spot back in the front row with Sabrina.

For the fourth year in a row, it looked like Chloé’s one friend outside of school wasn't going to be showing up.

Only, it seemed this year would turn out just a little different.

The mystery boy did, in fact, show up this year. He came in late, smiling like he had just escaped from prison for some reason. Chloé had jumped from her seat like a coiled spring and hugged him like he had just come back from a war when she thought he had died. Marinette had no clue why she was comparing these two’s interactions to such horrific things, but it seemed to convey just how high their emotions were running.

After that, their teacher had taken the chance to rearrange the class seating, to better accommodate the students.

Rose Lavillant with her pretty wings of a Roseate Spoonbill, and Juleka Couffaine with the purple and grey wings of a Violet-Backed Starling, were the inseparable couple, now seated in the right hand side’s back row. To their left across the aisle was Nathaniel Kurtzberg, his large red and black Cardinal wings keeping the sky boy hidden. He would have been put in the front due to his shyness, but his wings had a tendency to block other’s views.

In the next row forward, there was Max Kanté, his wings that of a pure white Flamingo. Lê Chiến Kim sat beside him. Kim was one of the wingless students, but that never got him down. Some students would even say that if he did have wings, they would be on his feet like Hermes purely because of how fast on his feet he could be. Ivan Bruel sat at the next desk in front of Nathaniel, also on his own. His Raven wings were hidden under his oversized clothes, making him rather large and intimidating in looks. He wasn’t trying to look scary, really, he was just embarrassed at how shiny his large wings were and hid them.

Third row from the top, right behind the front row, sat Alix Kubdel, dark green and pink iridescent Hummingbird wings tucked smoothly against her back. Kim was staring at the back of her head like he could already picture himself beating her in a race. Mylène Haprèle was at Alix’s side, another wingless student. She didn’t mind, really, if anything, it made her time with Ivan feel all the more special, since they could share their experiences with each other without being embarrassed. Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Alya Césaire were at the other desk. Alya had the prettiest Barn Owl wings, the color reminding many of roasted marshmallows. Her wings also made her a person to fear during camping, because as soon as the scary campfire stories were out, she would sneak off, then ambush the group on silent wings at the scariest possible moment. Marinette, on the other hand, still hid her wings under loose shirts and skirts, so she was seated near the front of the room.

And finally, on the right hand side of the very front row of desks, sat Chloé Bourgeois with her regal Swan wings, and Sabrina Raincomprix, Chloé’s wingless desk companion and only friend inside of school. And now, at the other desk opposite the two girls and in front of the classroom’s door, the last two students were seated. Nino Lahiffe, another Hummingbird with blue and green feathers, sat very chill in the front row, his wings tucked away just like Alix’s to keep anyone from behind him from having trouble seeing. And at his side was the new student.

Adrien Agreste was the last of the wingless students in the class. But even without wings, he was eye-catching. His hair was white, more pure in color than even Max’s or Chloé’s wings. It was only accentuated by his light, almost pale skin. And his eyes, blue as could be, looking like ice drifting on an open sea. He wasn’t completely unique, of course, as there were plenty of pale or even albino people in the world. But still, he was different and new to them, and even more curiously, he was friends with Chloé, of all people. She even treated him well, and she didn’t do that for many.

After the excitement of seat changing and a new student, everyone settled down for the rest of their first day of school. Adrien seemed rather excited to be there, even jumping out of his seat when called on, blushing furiously at the giggles but still smiling at his own amusement.

Sadly, the day was interrupted. By magic and supervillains, of all things.

No need to get into the details, but here is what Marinette remembered when she finally got home after an exhausting day.

First, a very large, blue gorilla came crashing into the school, obviously looking for someone.

Second, Marinette found a pair of earrings in her room, a magical creature with them.

Third, she became Ladybug, and, for the first time in a while, flew in the skies on new wings of pitch black.

Fourth, she was really out of practice on flying, especially with the new set of feathers, and ended up falling into another person.

Fifth, that new person was her partner in heroics, apparently, calling himself Chat Blanc.

Sixth, he too, had wings, a brilliant, almost iridescent white, broken by scattering specks of crystal blue. But for some reason, he hadn't been flying when she fell, or any time after that.

But, seventh and most important of all, he had been encouraging to her, helping her when she faltered and felt fear. She was utterly embarrassed over it, but also very, utterly certain that she really, really liked him for it.

Adrien, on the other hand, remembered a few less things, but was just as excited about them.

First, he got to go to school!!! He had to run away from home to do it, yes, but it was worth the cost.

Second, when a monster came attacking his school, looking for someone (later revealed to be Adrien himself when the monster was reverted back into his bodyguard), Adrien had been saved. Marinette, his new classmate, had guided him through and out of the school building to help him escape the chaos happening in the unfamiliar environment. It was so cool.

Third, he had more freedom now than ever before. With the help of a silver ring and a wary little cat creature named Plagg, he could become Chat Blanc. And that freedom came with wings. Those wings made him feel almost whole for some reason. Like one of the missing pieces of himself, that he only thought about when watching Spirited Away, was suddenly back where it belonged.

Fifth of all, after the fighting was over, after his first day in public school was over, he got to see Marinette again. As he waited for his Father’s intimidating Assistant to come and get him, as he waited under the entrance awning as rain poured from the sky, Marinette had come up to his side.

“I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier, but welcome to our class, Adrien,” she had smiled genuinely at him. “I wasn’t sure what to think at first, you being a friend of Chloé, but you seem to make her, well, nicer, I guess. So, I hope I get a chance to be your friend, too.”

Then, she handed him her white dotted pink umbrella and dashed off into the rain before he could say anything back. It reminded him of another Ghibli movie, actually; in My Neighbor Totoro, when the sisters had been waiting in the rain for their bus, they had lent their only umbrella to the strange but friendly Totoro.

Adrien was glad Marinette hadn't seen him blushing as she left, or heard his embarrassing squawk as the umbrella had suddenly snapped down around his head and shoulders.

But after all that, the day was made bright by the fact that his Father was going to let him continue going to school. Everything was really looking up. He couldn't wait for the rest of his life to come.

#marichatmay2021 #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #chat blanc #ml wing au #wing-binding #willowbendt

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atths--twice · 4 years ago

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Faith’s Second Birthday

It's Halloween again! 🎃 Time to celebrate the birthday of a certain little girl. Two years... where has the time gone? ❤️

This story... I have had some of it planned for months and some presented themselves to me, demanding to be added. I thought it was finished, but no, it needed more. I hope you all enjoy it. I do so love writing these happy family stories. God... they so deserve to be happy.

October 30, 2020

Scully looked out the kitchen window as she rinsed the blueberries for Faith’s dinner and smiled as she watched Mulder and Faith at the edge of the lake. Faith was wearing her fuzzy green Halloween costume, the alien-faced hood of it lying down her back, as she had asked to wear a black headband with a sparkly black bat attached to it, which Mulder was only happy to oblige.

Faith laughed as Mulder knelt in front of her, blowing bubbles as she tried to catch them, a few of them landing in her hair. She laughed harder when one popped on her nose and she covered it with her hand. Mulder kissed her cheek with a smile, before he blew more bubbles.

Drying her hands, Scully left the blueberries draining in a colander in the sink. She glanced at the timer on her phone and smiled as she slipped it into her pocket. Twenty five minutes until dinner would be ready. Perfect.

She grabbed the baggie of the ends of bread off the counter and stepped onto the porch. Double checking that Bella was sleeping inside, she closed the door and slipped on her shoes, walking down the stairs to join Faith and Mulder.

“Mama!” Faith called, looking at her and smiling. “Dada. Buhbos. Pitee.” Scully picked her up and kissed her, breathing in her nearly intoxicating scent.

“Yes, love, they are pretty. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Should we maybe take a little walk? See if we can find the ducks?” Faith’s eyes lit up and she nodded.

“Ducks. Yes, Mama. Down.” Scully laughed, setting her down as Mulder stood up with a grin.

“Well, let’s go then, my girl. Let’s go find those ducks.” He put the cap on the small bottle of bubbles and placed it into the pocket of his black fleece vest. Smiling, he took the baggie of bread from Scully and put it into his other pocket.

They each took a hold of one of Faith’s hands and began to walk toward the small log near the house where they had found a small family of ducks. Mulder glanced at Scully and winked as they walked over the stones and the sand, and she smiled as she took a deep breath of fresh air.

It had been a great idea to come to the lake. After Mulder’s birthday, which had gone wrong from nearly the moment they woke up, a change had been exactly what they had needed…

_________

A little over two weeks ago

Faith woke up in a grumpy mood on the morning of Mulder’s birthday. She was very clingy, wanting only Scully to hold her, with no desire to see Mulder. He did not take offense to it, knowing she would feel better once she had woken up a bit more and had eaten her breakfast.

Scully was making breakfast while Mulder was outside with Bella. As the pancakes and bacon were cooking, Faith had picked up Grey’s water bowl and spilled it all over the floor, unbeknownst to Scully, who nearly slipped, catching herself against the counter and banging her knee into the cupboard. Tears sprang into her eyes as she heard the cat food hitting the linoleum floor and falling all around her.

“Uh oh,” Faith said, squatting down and beginning to spread the food across the floor.

“Don’t touch it!” Scully yelled, louder than she had intended, her knee throbbing. Faith looked up at her, her eyes widening and then filling with tears as her bottom lip stuck out. She began to cry, her head dropping down and Scully limped over to her, ignoring the excrutiating pain in her knee.

“I’m sorry, my love. I’m so sorry. Come here.” She bent at the waist, stifling a moan as she picked her up and snuggled her close. Faith buried her face in her neck, crying hard as Scully held her tightly, trying not to cry herself as she took a deep breath.

“Hey,” Mulder called, coming in through the door with Bella right behind him. He stopped in his tracks as he locked eyes with Scully, his eyebrows raising. At that same moment, they both realized the food on the stove was burning. He walked toward it, but Scully stopped him.

“There’s water all over the floor. Faith spilled Grey’s water and I slipped in it. She also dumped out her food and I yelled at her not to play in it. I didn’t mean to make her cry, but…” She shook her head and closed her eyes, hating that she had caused her to cry. Her knee aching, she kissed Faith’s head, shushing her softly.

“Well… Bella is making quick work of the cat food on the floor. I’ll be careful as I walk to the stove.” He walked past them as Scully opened her eyes and limped a few steps to the table and sat down in a chair. Rubbing Faith’s back, she closed her eyes again, the smell of burning food beginning to fill the room.

“There, at least one thing is taken care of, well by me anyway. Bella’s gotten all the food.” Scully opened her eyes and looked at him as he moved the pans of food to a different burner. The air around him was smoky as he turned on the vent above the stove, hoping to clear it away.

He looked over at her and smiled softly, walking over and squatting down in front of them, putting his hand on Faith’s back, rubbing gently along with Scully.

“Did you fall or just slip?”

“Slipped into the cabinet and hit my knee pretty hard.” She straightened her leg with a wince and he nodded as Faith sniffled and clung to her shirt.

As he pulled up the leg of her pajama bottoms, she winced again as she looked over Faith‘s back and saw the damage that had been done, already imagining the bruise she would have in a few days. Mulder let out a low whistle and looked up at her.

“Let me wipe up the floor and then I’ll get the first aid kit. You bashed it pretty good. It’s bleeding, but not too terribly. It’s gonna be a good bruise, though.” He left her pant leg as it was and stood up, grabbing the paper towels.

The floor clean and her knee bandaged, they sat on the front porch, the house airing out as they ate dry cereal; the last of the milk having been used for the now burnt pancakes. Faith was still rather clingy, laying back against Scully as she sat with her leg up, a bag of frozen peas on her knee to bring down the swelling.

She watched the hanging ghosts and witches blowing in the breeze, as she rubbed Faith’s arm. They had scaled down the decorations, neither of them really in the mood after the year they had. There were still the kid friendly ones: yard flamingos, scarecrows, cats, witches and bats. But the hay bales, pumpkins, and spiderwebs, were not added to the fray this time. The animated witch Mulder had purchased and then hated, getting scared every time she had laughed, had been placed back in the plastic tote, Faith absolutely terrified of it. Mulder had been ecstatic of course, shoving the witch away with a gleeful smile.

“So much for your birthday breakfast,” Scully said with a sigh, as Faith reached into her snack cup and took out some Cheerios, shoving them into her mouth.

“Hey, how is this not a fabulous birthday meal?” he asked, eating right out of a large box of Lucky Charms. “I’m eating only the marshmallow pieces, Scully. It’s perfect.” He shrugged with a smile, popping some into his mouth and chewing loudly. She smiled back with another sigh, shaking his head.

“Mama. Eat,” Faith said, sitting up and turning around, attempting to push some Cheerios into Scully’s mouth.

“Oh, thank you,” she said, moving them over her lips and into her mouth. Mulder chuckled as she glanced at him, chewing up the Cheerios and he held out an offering of a pink heart marshmallow. She leaned closer and he placed it into her mouth with a smile.

The phone rang inside the house and Mulder stood up to answer it, bringing the box of cereal with him. Faith leaned back, eating more Cheerios as Scully moved her knee, adjusting the bag of peas with a groan.

“Mama, owie,” Faith said, touching the bag of peas as she sat up again.

“Yes, my girl. I have an owie. But, it’s okay.” She hummed as Faith lay back against her again, closing her eyes with a small smiile.

“Okay, here she is,” Mulder said as he walked out and Scully opened her eyes, looking up at him as he handed her her cell phone. “Louise.” She took the phone and he picked Faith up from her lap, holding onto the cup of Cheerios and walking away a few steps.

"Louise? Hello,” Scully said. “How are you?”

“Dana, hello! I am doing well, how are you?” Scully laughed as she looked at the bag of peas lying on her knee.

“Well…” She laughed again and fell into conversation with Louise, hearing how her family was and telling her of their rather catastrophic morning.

“Sounds like you three could use some time away from that little house. You know the lake house is just sitting there… as always. No one has been out there in at least a month, and that was just me checking on a small tree that had fallen over. You all are welcome to borrow it again. A change of scenery might be just what you need.”

“The lake house?” Scully asked, looking up at Mulder and his eyes widened. He nodded and Scully smiled. “That sounds perfect, Louise.”

And so, they had packed up, taking Grey to stay with Denis and Violet, leaving them their house keys so they could stop by and feed the fish. Bella sat beside Faith in the backseat as they drove away, waving goodbye to Denis, Violet, and Jaf, the large wooden giraffe in their yard.

Sticking her head out of the half open window, Bella sniffed at the breeze, her tongue hanging out at intervals, as she whined happily and Faith laughed as she watched her. Scully closed her eyes as Mulder took her hand and she breathed out a contented sigh.

“This will be great,” he said and she nodded with a smile.

And it had been. Arriving on Wednesday afternoon, they had all gone to the house before Mulder went to the store for supplies and Scully opened the windows to air it out.

For two weeks, they had that change of scenery they desperately needed. Bella was in the water often, running down the dock and launching after the ball or stick Mulder had thrown for her. She would tire herself out and lay on the porch, napping as she dried off in a patch of sunlight.

The water was far too cold for them, and especially for Faith, though she did enjoy putting her feet in and splashing around, her eyes wide when the cold water hit her face.

They rented a boat and rode around the lake, Bella barking at birds flying by and Faith toddling around in a purple life jacket. They stopped and Scully showed her how to bait a hook and they ate lunch while they hoped for a nibble. Catching nothing, Scully reeled in the line and they headed back to the dock.

They went on walks, collected rocks, pinecones, leaves and anything else Faith found interesting. Mulder made another trip into town and bought some painting supplies. The next day they sat at the outdoor table on the porch and painted the rocks they had collected. Leaving them to dry, they walked down to the water and splashed along the shore, Bella chasing the ball that was thrown for her.

When the rocks were dry, Mulder placed them into his pockets and Scully picked up the backpack and the bag containing their picnic lunch. They walked to the spot, the one they had avoided since they had arrived. Mulder squeezed Scully‘s hand as the long log came into view and she drew in a deep breath as she squeezed back.

When they arrived, Mulder took the rocks from his pockets and placed them on the log, laying them in a line as he told Faith about her grandma. He laughed at some of the stories and was quieter at others. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and looked at Faith.

“Faithy, she would have loved you so much. She would have given you anything you ever wanted, made you your favorite dessert and driven all the way over just to give it to you and see the happiness on your face. Her house would have been filled with toys just waiting for your arrival.” He smiled at Faith and Scully sniffled, thinking of how much her mother would have loved having a granddaughter to spoil. Mulder looked up and she nodded, letting him know she was okay. He nodded and looked back at Faith.

“So, my love, we will leave these rocks here to remember her and let her know we are thinking of her- always.”

He handed Faith the rocks she had painted and placed his own at the base of the log, showing her what they were doing. She squatted down beside him and laid her rocks next to his own. Scully picked hers up and bent down beside Faith, rubbing her thumb over the dark blue painted rock with the white heart in the middle that she had made. Whispering “I love you,” she placed it beside Faith’s and sniffled once more. Mulder glanced at her, his eyes concerned, and she nodded again.

Stepping back, they walked to a less rocky spot and laid down a couple of blankets, the log within their view as they ate.

A couple of days later, Skinner and Rachel had driven out on Thursday afternoon to stay for a long weekend. It was a much welcome change and their weekend was filled with laughter and fun. Wine was drunk with dinner and then out on the porch once Faith had gone down for the night. Bella lay at their feet, as they laughed and shared stories, the crickets chirping in the crisp night air.

Rachel and Skinner both doted on Faith, doing whatever she liked, taking her wherever she wanted. Scully smiled at Mulder as Faith was taken from them, given cookies, or read a book she had heard five times in the past fifteen minutes.

Sunday afternoon, Scully and Skinner stood on the porch watching as Rachel, Mulder, and Faith played by the water. Faith picked up rocks and threw them in the water, laughing at the splash they created. Scully glanced at Skinner and slid her arm through his, where it was resting on the railing. He turned his head to look at her and she smiled.

“So,” she said, clearing her throat and he hummed, as though reading her mind.

“Yes?” he asked and she put her head on his shoulder with a sigh.

“She’s great, Walter. More than great.”

“I know she is,” he agreed gruffly and she laughed, raising her head and looking at him.

“So…” She raised her eyebrows and he let out a heavy sigh. “It’s been a year… and I mean… a year .”

“No shit,” he muttered and she laughed.

“Well, what I mean is, this year has been like five pressed together.” He nodded and she smiled. “If the two of you can survive the craziness of this new life, I’d say you can get through anything.” He hummed again, looking over at Rachel as she laughed. “So, I suppose my question is: what are you waiting for?” She squeezed his arm before moving her arm, and clasping her hands together.

“Hmm,” he hummed, shifting and letting out a sigh. “You sound like me asking Mulder if twenty five years was enough time to know someone.” She laughed and shook her head.

“To be fair though, we weren’t dating for twenty five years.” He snorted and looked at her, both of them laughing.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” he said and she chuckled softly, both of them quiet for a moment.

“It’s not that he didn’t ask me or that he didn’t want it, I just… I didn’t feel it was part of our journey until…”

“Until you did,” he said quietly and she nodded, her thumb rubbing the wedding band around her finger.

“Yeah…” she agreed and he hummed in response.

“You know, since the quarantine started in earnest, I haven’t been working as much, at least not in the office. I could have, but… I’ve lived rather simply most of my life. I didn’t travel much or spend a lot of money. I’ve made good decisions with investments and I’m comfortable. Many of the people working at the VA office needed their paycheck more than I did and so I gladly stepped aside.”

“I would expect nothing less of you,” she said, looking at him with a smile and he nodded.

“I had more time at home as a result, obviously, and I could hear Rachel speaking to her patients. We didn’t discuss her patients and we still don’t, but I couldn't help but hear her speaking to them. While I didn’t pay attention to the problems discussed, what I did hear was the kindness and also the firmness she carries. She doesn’t coddle anyone and yet she lets them feel and cry, sometimes crying with them, and more often than not, crying when the session is finished. She’s an amazing therapist, Dana.” He looked at Scully, his expression serious and she smiled.

“Yes, I know. I honestly don't know where we would have been without her help.” She looked at Mulder making funny faces at Faith and she shook her head. “We may not even have had her if it hadn’t been for Rachel’s help, helping him to face the past to secure our future.” She looked back at Skinner and he nodded with a smile.

“Most of her patients were fine with the teletherapy and Zoom calls at first, but as time went on, some of them weren't. They wanted the one-on-one meetings they were used to, but sitting in a room with someone, or many someones throughout the day, was not ideal. Or safe.”

He looked over at Rachel again, smiling as Bella ran out of the water and shook her body, spraying all of them with water, causing Rachel to gasp loudly. He laughed softly and Scully watched him, seeing the love in his eyes. Clearing his throat, he looked back at her and she grinned.

“So, anyway…” he said and she laughed as he shook his head. “She didn’t want to lose the patients, not for her , but for them, not wanting them to lose ground on their progress.” Scully smiled and sighed, glancing at Rachel as she smiled and took a rock Faith was offering her, and slipped it into her pocket. “Taking precautions, she made plans to meet with the few who wanted to meet in person. Twice a week now, she goes to her office and sits outside in the parking lot of the empty businesses surrounding hers, and talks to them face-to-face. They each bring a chair and wear masks, sitting far enough apart for it to not be a threat, but she’s there . She shows up for them in these worrisome times. “People need someone to talk to, Walter.” That’s what she told me that first day and every day since as she’s getting ready to leave, making sure she has everything she needs. She brings bottles of water, individual packs of tissues, and even prepackaged snacks for them.” He shook his head and sighed.

“Dana…” he said, turning toward her, touching her arm and taking a deep breath. “I knew that I cared for her, that I loved her, but that first day she packed up the basket of items to take… watching the care and thought she put into it… something changed. When she left, I picked up my laptop and began looking online for engagement rings.”

She clutched his arm, taking a deep breath and letting it out, as she scrunched her chin and smiled. He covered her hand with his own and grinned with a nod.

“I… that makes me so happy,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “I like her for you so much. I like her in general, but especially for you.” He patted her hand before she moved it, continuing to smile happily.

“So, I take it you found the perfect one, after telling me all that,” she said and he nodded with a grin. She hummed as they turned back to look at Rachel, Mulder and Faith. Shaking her head again, unable to stop smiling, she put her arm through his again and squeezed.

“Come on,” she said after a couple of minutes, wanting to join the others. Tugging at his arm and stepping back, she smiled as they walked down the stairs and past the pumpkins they had all carved the previous evening. They had all laughed as Faith pulled away, not wanting to touch the insides, declaring them “yucky,” though she had been intrigued by them when they were finished.

__________

“Ohhh, ducks!” Faith said, pulling Scully’s thoughts back to the present. Faith began to walk faster, but still stepping carefully over the rocks, and they smiled at each other as they watched her.

Mulder took the baggie of bread from his pocket and opened it, taking out a piece and breaking it into smaller pieces. He threw a few of them out to entice the ducks to come toward them. They started quacking softly as they got up, eating the bread as they came closer.

“Hi, ducks. Hi,” Faith said, squatting down and waiting for them. She put her hand out and Mulder placed a small piece of bread onto it. “Eat ducks. Heah.” She showed them the bread and soon they were in front of her, taking the bread from her gently. She laughed and reached out for more bread.

Scully smiled and shook her head as she watched her. Tomorrow was her second birthday… where had the time gone so fast?

“Okay, last few pieces here guys,” Mulder said. “Or girls, as most of you seem to be. Here, honey, there’s just a few more.” He handed Faith a couple more pieces and the ducks gathered around her.

Scully shook her head again, watching her, smiling at how cute she was in her costume. Now that she saw how much she loved it, she was happy they had given it to her early, despite not actually going trick-or-treating this year.

“It doesn’t matter, Scully,” Mulder had said when he excitedly showed her the costume online. “She’s our Halloween baby, she needs to get used to wearing costumes.” She had smiled and nodded as he had ordered it.

Little did he know that as he was distracted with his glee, she had bought something for them. Not a costume, but something fun for them to wear that she knew he would find humorous.

“Okay, that’s it. No more bread, ducks,” Mulder said, standing up and brushing off his hands. “Let’s say goodbye, honey. We’ll see them tomorrow or the next day. Say bye, Faithy.”

“Bye ducks. See waytah.”

“I know she’ll outgrow the way she says things, but I hope it isn’t anytime soon,” Mulder said with a grin. “I love hearing it. It’s so cute.”

He put the empty baggie into his pocket and scooped Faith up, as it was now getting dark. Scully put her arm around his waist and he put his around her shoulders, and they headed back to eat the dinner that was very nearly ready.

_______________

A few hours later, Scully sat on the floor, her arms resting on the coffee table as she looked at her phone with a sigh.

“Hey,” Mulder said softly, stepping into the room after letting Bella out one last time before they went to bed. “Whatcha doing?”

“Ohhh…” She sighed again and smiled up at him as he sat down on the couch. She leaned back and set her phone down. “I was just sending an email to everyone. The ones at Faith’s party last year I mean and I…” She shook her head with a sigh as he began to stroke her hair.

“An email about what?”

“They each sent an email earlier and I was sending out a group one; thanking them for their early birthday wishes. I told them that I wished we could all get together this year, but…” She shook her head and sighed again.

“Hmm,” he hummed and she pushed herself up to join him on the couch. He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Two years, Mulder. How did two years go by so fast? The first year seemed fast, even though there were months that seemed never ending when we were so exhausted. But…” She laughed softly and he nodded against her head.

“I know, honey,” he said quietly and she snuggled closer to him, putting an arm around his waist. “But… although we won’t be having a party this year, the reason to avoid too many people being a devastating one… these past few months have been… calling it a gift sounds wrong, but I can’t think of a better way to describe it. We’ve had to plan things differently and limit our contact with others, but… it’s been good. Hasn’t it?”

“It has, yes. But that’s not what I meant.”

“I know you didn’t.” He kissed her head and she hummed. “I’m just saying that although I know this time has been crazy and scary, we’ve been good and I’ve loved our time together. Even the moments when, though you might not say anything, your eyes were angry and annoyed.”

“As if you never looked at me with the same eyes?” she asked, squeezing his side.

“I would never,” he answered and she pulled away, turning her body to climb into his lap and straddle him, his hands landing on her thighs and her arms wrapping loosely around his neck.

“You’re such a liar,” she whispered with a smile and he shrugged with a smug grin and a raised eyebrow. She shook her head, her fingernails scratching at his neck, his breathing became faster.

“It led to some amazing sex,” he admitted breathily, his hands moving to her hips, his thumbs stroking under her shirt as her heart began to race.

“It did indeed,” she agreed, her voice low, and he groaned as she rocked into him, desire coursing through her.

“What do you say we uh… we move this somewhere a little more… uh… to the bedroom?” he asked, swallowing hard.

“By this, you mean…” she teased, rocking into him again, yelping as he stood up with a mighty push and held her tightly, walking toward the stairs.

“You know exactly what this is,” he said and she grinned, kissing him deeply as they reached the base of the stairs, halting their progress. “Woman, stop distracting me.” She laughed happily as they stumbled up the stairs and into the bedroom.

______________

Scully smiled happily, humming as she made breakfast the next morning, adding rainbow sprinkles to the birthday waffle batter. Mulder walked up behind her, grabbing her hips and pulling her close and kissing her neck. She laughed and smiled at him as he stepped to the side and she stirred in the sprinkles.

“What time will Skinner and Rachel be here?” he asked, popping a strawberry into his mouth.

“Noon. They’re bringing lunch to thank us for the weekend they spent here and… they’re picking up the cake. Rachel said Skinner picked it out.” She looked at him and he raised his eyebrows.

“Is that right? Hmm, it will be interesting to see what he’s chosen.”

“It will indeed.” She continued to stare at him and he bit his lip with a nod.

“Hmm… seems to me, those two should just get married already.” He held her gaze and she pursed her lips, trying not to smile and give anything away. “Mm-hmm.” He nodded with a smile, not inquiring any further, but obviously aware that something was up.

They ate breakfast, a rainbow polka dotted number two candle set in Faith’s waffle, glowing brightly as they sang happy birthday to her. Her eyes shone as she attempted to blow out the candle, both of them helping her in the end.

Whipped cream, strawberries, and syrup were added to her rainbow sprinkled waffle and she wiggled as she ate it, a huge smile on her face as she dipped her fingers into the whipped cream and put them in her mouth. Eggs and some sausages were added to her plate and she ate it all up, happy and smiling.

After breakfast, they gave her her birthday gifts: books, clothes, a stuffed yellow duck, and a plastic barn and farm set.

“Cow. Piggy. Sheep… baaa!” she said, taking them out and holding them tight as Scully smiled at her with a happy sigh.

Just before Skinner and Rachel were due to arrive, Scully took out the surprise she had bought for her and Mulder to wear that day. Faith was once again wearing her beloved alien costume over rainbow leggings and a black long sleeved shirt. A puffball headband with small black cat ears finished off her rather unusual costume.

She looked the part, ready for her Halloween birthday, now it was their turn.

“Mulllderrr,” she sang out and he walked in from the kitchen.

“Yeeees?” he answered and she smiled at him, her hands behind her back.

“Pick a hand,” she said and he raised his eyebrows, rubbing his hands together excitedly. He stood in front of her looking from one hand to the other, taking his time with his decision. She smiled, enjoying his excitement.

“Hmm…” he narrowed his eyes and pointed to her left hand.

“Are you sure?” she teased and he searched her face.

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Good choice,” she said, bringing her hand around and giving him the black T-shirt she had bought for him. He took it and unrolled it, laughing when he saw the picture on it.

It was the face of a grey alien with big black eyes, the yellow neck of a shirt showing within a blue arched frame. Underneath it, one word was written: believe.

“This is fantastic. I love it.” He took his shirt off quickly and put on the new one. Grinning, he looked at it and then at her. “Thank you.” She nodded, her right hand still behind her back.

“Close your eyes,” she said and he grinned again, doing as she asked.

Taking off her own shirt, she traded it for the one in her hand. Smoothing it down, she brushed her hair back and glanced at Faith, who was playing with her new barn. Grinning, she looked back at him.

“Okay, you can open them.” He opened his eyes and howled with laughter, causing Bella to bark excitedly as she ran over to them.

The shirt she had bought for herself was also black, but hers had a green alien in a small spaceship. Under the picture it said: “Not sure I believe.”

“Oh,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes and stepping closer to her. “This is too perfect.” He laughed again and she smiled.

“Yours is the only one that’s accurate, what with it being grey and all. Or, you know, maybe. I’m not entirely sure because…” She pointed down at her shirt and shrugged as he laughed and he shook his head.

“A perfect costume for the current state of the world we’re living in; low-key and easy.” She nodded with a happy smile as he bent to kiss her. “At least until next year when we will be wearing a matching family costume.” He kissed her quickly before she pulled back and gave him a look. He grinned with a nod and she shook her head.

Skinner and Rachel arrived a few minutes later, bringing in bags of food. They laughed at their shirts, Skinner shaking his head and rolling his eyes. As Rachel took out two pink bakery boxes from a bag, Scully saw a glint of light on her left hand. Her eyes swung to Skinner, who grinned with a nod.

Lunch was put on hold as the story of the proposal was told, Scully asking for all the details, smiling as she looked at the thin platinum band with a large diamond in the middle and smaller ones down the braided sides. It was beautiful and fit her perfectly, both in personality and in size.

Rachel’s eyes shone as she looked at Skinner and began to tell the story of how he had come to her office when she was done with her social distance therapy sessions. She had been surprised to see him, even more so when he set up a picnic meal in the back of his car, the same way he had one year ago.

They had eaten, talking about their day and as he got up to clear everything away, she stood up as well and when she turned around, he was on his knee and reaching for her hand.

Scully’s eyes filled with tears and she took a deep breath. Rachel smiled at her, the words of the proposal not said, but staying private as it should.

“Needless to say, I said yes,” she said with a laugh, holding up her hand and showing off the ring. Scully took her hand in hers, once more admiring it. Looking up at her, she smiled and shook her head.

“I’m so happy. Truly happy for you both.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said with a sniff. “It was hard to say no. I mean, he brought the fettuccine.”

“Oh, did he?” Scully said, with a laugh. “The magic fettuccine? The Maggie Scully fettuccine?”

They all laughed and a bottle of wine was opened to celebrate the happy news. Faith laughed and had the full attention of everyone as they ate and celebrated her birthday. They sang happy birthday many times during the meal as she asked to hear it, smiling happily and clapping her hands.

Lunch was cleared away and Skinner picked up one of the bakery boxes, moving it to the kitchen island. Scully looked on curiously as he used a knife to cut away the tape on the side. He glanced up at her as he lifted the lid and when she looked down at it, she gasped.

“Oh… that’s beautiful. The butterflies…” She looked up at him and he nodded as she squeezed his arm.

“I know she’s a Halloween girl, but…” He shrugged and Scully shook her head.

“No, it’s perfect.” She squeezed his arm again as she looked at the cake with a smile, remembering the weekend they had spent together.

As they had all been out for a walk one day, a small cluster of very colorful butterflies flew past and then around them. Skinner had been carrying Faith, her small legs becoming tired.

The butterflies flitted around them, coming close to Faith and then flying away, dancing on the breeze. Faith had been mesmerized by them, her eyes never leaving them.

“Buhafy’s! See? Buhafy’s. Pitee.”

They had watched them until they had flown away and they had continued on their walk.

Faith spoke about them, asking to see the pictures Rachel had taken and shown her, pointing at them and saying the colors she saw when the picture was zoomed in closer.

“It’s a perfect cake,” Scully said again, smiling at it.

It had sky blue fondant with bright rainbow colored butterflies and white clouds, also made with fondant, placed on the sides and the top. Skinner took the cake from the box and placed it on a stand that Scully found in a cupboard. Once it was set down, a rainbow, the same color as the butterflies, was added to the top with stabilizing skewers. Happy birthday, Faith! was written upon it, in white frosting with a happy font and the polka dotted number two candle from the morning was added as well.

“Before you take the cake over, you should see what Rachel picked out,” Skinner said quietly, nodding to the other box. Scully smiled as she reached for it and took off the lid.

“Oh, these are adorable,” she exclaimed as she looked at the Halloween macarons in the box.

There were orange pumpkins with and without faces, white ghosts with black eyes and pink cheeks, a couple of ghosts holding little pumpkins, and what looked like a ghost family gathered beside a pumpkin.

“I love these. They are nearly too cute to eat.”

“You’ll change your mind when you try one. We had a sample at the bakery and the filling tastes like pumpkin pie,” Skinner said and she licked her lips. He smiled and picked up the cake stand as she smiled back, following him to the table.

Catching Mulder’s eye, she glanced at the cake and he nodded slightly with a smile as the candle was lit and once again, they sang happy birthday as Faith yelled “Buhafy’s!” pointing and smiling widely.

No one blew the candle on the cake, instead Mulder took it out and held it closer to Faith, blowing on it gently as she tried to do it on her own. They all clapped and the candle was set aside.

“Dada, buhafy’s. So pitee. Puhpo buhafy’s. Geen buhafy’s.”

“Oh my girl, I love you so much. Yes, the butterflies are so pretty.” He kissed her forehead as Skinner placed a purple butterfly in front of her. She picked it up and kissed it, everyone groaning at the cuteness of it.

The cake was taken back to the island to be cut and served, Faith now showing Rachel the butterfly in her hand. Scully picked up a plate, putting some of the cookies onto it, deciding Faith should have a choice of what she wanted to eat. As she reached for a large knife to cut the cake, her cell phone rang. Seeing that it was Alan, she instead reached for the phone with a smile.

“Hello?”

“Double scotch! Hello!” he said and she chuckled.

“You’re terrible. How are you?” she asked, shaking her head and.

“Good, good. Hey, I was wondering if I could get you to do me a favor. Could you meet me outside?”

“Outside?”

“Mmhmm- you know that place that’s the opposite of inside?” he teased.

“Oh, Alan. I’m… I’m so sorry. We aren’t home right now. We’re-”

“Just… come outside, okay?” He hung up, the conversation ending abruptly and she stared at the phone in confusion, ready to call him back.

“Who was that?” Mulder asked, coming to stand beside her and grabbing a cookie from the plate.

“Alan. He said he wanted me to meet him outside and I told him we aren’t home, but I don’t think he understood. I think he may have a gift for Faith and wants to drop it off, but…” She shook her head and pressed the button to call him back when Mulder stopped her, setting her phone on the counter. She looked at him with a frown and he smiled.

“Maybe we should just do as he asked,” he said quietly, taking a bite of the cookie with a shrug, and she tilted her head.

“What are you talking about?” He stared at her and smiled again. “Mulder…

“Come on,” he said, shoving the last bit of cookie into his mouth, brushing off the crumbs, and reaching for her hand.

“What did you do?” she asked as she took it, still confused at what was happening.

“Me? Oh, I didn’t do anything,” he said, squeezing her hand as she noticed that Skinner had taken Faith from her high chair and was holding her, Rachel standing beside him.

“Did you two do something?” she asked and they both shrugged unconvincingly.

Mulder picked up another cookie, a pumpkin, and handed it to Faith. She grinned and showed it to Rachel.

“Puhkin, Raycho. See? Ohage puhkin.” Rachel grinned and nodded, looking at the pumpkin with her.

“Come on,” Mulder said again, tugging at Scully’s hand and they all walked out the back door and down the porch stairs.

Staying on the small path along the side of the house, they walked towards the front yard. Arriving there, they found no one. Not a car, or Alan standing in the street with a gift for Faith. The only cars in sight were Skinner's and their own in the driveway.

“See? He must’ve thought we were home and is now standing in front of our empty house.” She let go of Mulder’s hand and crossed her arms with a sigh as she looked around and shook her head. “I need to get my phone and call-” But then, she heard something to the right and she turned her head at the sound.

A black car was driving slowly from the direction of the cul-de-sac, brightly colored balloons tied down all over it, and music playing loudly from inside; all the windows rolled down in order for it to be heard. As they got closer, she realized it was “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder.

Behind the car was a line of people, spaced far apart, and all of them wearing masks and Halloween costumes of some sort.

Alan and Ryan led the group, dancing along with the music. Alan was wearing jeans and a black shirt that said ELECT MORE WOMEN in rainbow letters as bright as the balloons on the car. He also wore a long rainbow colored wig to which he had added a bobble headband with photos of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ryan also wore jeans and a dark blue shirt that said Vote Your Ossoff in white letters with a white outline of the state of Georgia beside it. He was also wearing a wig, a short metallic blue bob, which was quite comical when paired with the scruffy beard that could be seen under his mask. He also wore a bobble headband, but the bobbles on his said Biden on one and Harris on the other.

Elise, Tyler, and Raina were next, all dressed as bunnies. Elise wore a short sleeved light yellow dress with a white pinafore apron over it. She also had a tail and white rabbit ears. Tyler wore a silly black vest covered in orange carrots over a denim shirt, wire glasses, and rabbit ears. Raina was in a full bunny costume, her mask made to look like a rabbit mouth and nose. She hopped along and danced happily to the music. The baby, who had been in utero last year, was now six months old and dressed as a carrot; Elise holding her in her arms.

Louise was next, dressed all in red as the Queen of England. White pearls were around her neck, a purse on her arm, white gloves on her hands, and a large fancy hat on her head. She waved at them regally as she walked closer.

Cassidy, Sean, and Jacob were last. Jacob, the same age as Faith, was dressed as a monkey; his zip up costume similar in style to Faith‘s. He held a felt banana in his hand, chewing on the end of it as they all walked and danced.

Sean was dressed as a chef, wearing an apron and a chefs hat over his clothes. Cassidy wore a hot pink and black tulle skirt over a pair of pink leggings. She was visibly pregnant, and wearing a black shirt with Bun in the Oven written in pink sparkly letters.

As the small parade arrived in front of the house, they stopped, keeping a safe distance from one another and the group watching them, as the music was turned down. Everyone clapped and cheered, waving at Faith as she stood by Mulder and Scully, hiding a little and holding onto Scully’s leg.

“Happy birthday, Faith!” they all called and she leaned further into Scully’s leg, watching them with interest, but also a little bit hesitant.

“What are you all doing here?” Scully asked, smiling at the sight of them.

“As if we wouldn’t be here for a mini celebration. It’s her birthday! Also, we are in the middle of a pandemic. This might be the most exciting thing most of us will do for a few days,” Alan said, pushing a stray piece of his wig back, as they all laughed and nodded in agreement.

Scully shook her head as she looked at them with a happy smile. At Elise and their new sweet little baby, Louise as she adjusted her hat, and Cassidy as her eyes crinkled from a smile Scully could not see and she rubbed her pregnant belly lovingly.

“Thank you. All of you for this-”

“Oh… did you think this was it? Oh, come on now,” Alan said and nodded to the driver of the car, who she just noticed was dressed like a Blues Brother. He nodded and Alan looked back at Scully, giving her a wink.

Scully looked at Mulder and he shrugged with a smile. Turning to Skinner and Rachel, her eyes widened as she watched them toss their sweaters onto the bumper of their car and put on their own masks.

They joined the group, Skinner wearing a Superman shirt and Rachel a Wonder Woman. She winked at Scully as the music started and Raina clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing up and down as everyone faced them. In that moment, as the music started, she knew for certain that it was Rachel who had a large hand in planning this little party.

Don't think about it Just move your body Listen to the music Sing, oh, ey, oh

Just move those left feet Go ahead, get crazy Anyone can do it Sing, oh, ey, oh

Show the world you've got that fire (fire) Feel the rhythm getting louder Show the room what you can do Prove to them you got the moves I don't know about you,

But I feel better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah Better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah And we can do this together I bet you feel better when you're dancing, yeah, yeah

Scully laughed with tears in her eyes, as she watched them perform a little dance they had somehow rehearsed, their choreography absolutely perfect. Mulder picked Faith up and laughed as he too watched them, bouncing her happily.

When you finally let go And you slay that solo Cause you listen to the music Sing, oh, ey, oh

'Cause you're confident, babe And you make your hips sway We knew that you could do it Sing, oh, ey, oh

Show the world you've got that fire (fire, baby) Feel the rhythm getting louder Show the room what you can do Prove to them you got the moves I don't know about you,

But I feel better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah Better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah And we can do this together I bet you feel better when you're dancing, yeah, yeah

“What do you say, Faithy, you want to join the party?” Mulder asked and she pointed to the group of people with a smile, her pumpkin cookie long since eaten or dropped somewhere. He glanced at Scully and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, hell yes. I just need a…” She stopped speaking as he took two masks from his pocket with a wink. “Oh, yeah. You definitely played some part in all of this.” She started to put on her mask, but he stopped her, bending close for a kiss.

“I’ll never tell,” he whispered and she grinned, kissing him once more before putting on her mask as he did the same. Winking at her again, they joined the group, though they kept a safe distance.

Oh, ey oh Oh, ey oh I feel better when I'm dancing I'm better when I'm dancing, aye, oh ey oh

Feel better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah Better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah, Don't you know We can do this together Bet you feel better when you're dancing, yeah, yeah

I feel better when I'm dancing I'm better when I'm dancing, hey Feel better when I'm, yeah, yeah

Cheering and clapping rang out as the song ended and a new one began, the music happy and fun. Scully looked around at all the people who had made the drive over to celebrate a birthday in the street. Not one of them looked perturbed to have done so, their happiness shining through as they laughed and danced.

She watched Skinner and Rachel dancing close together, her head thrown back in laughter as he then spun them around. She smiled at them and then she caught Louise’s eye.

Stepping closer to her, she put out her hands. Louise reached for them and Scully clasped her gloved ones tightly.

“Thank you,” she said, just loud enough for Louise to hear, knowing she knew she meant for more than just this moment of celebration, and Louise nodded.

“You’re welcome, my dear. A change of scenery is always good. It helps us to recenter and recharge.” Louise’s eyes crinkled and Scully nodded. “You know, amidst all of this the fun, I do hate to be a stickler.. but, it is customary to bow when one meets the Queen.” Scully stared at her before she laughed and curtsied slightly, apologizing for her insolence.

“Forgiven,” Louise said in a bored voice, though her eyes shone with happiness.

“Mama!” Faith called and Scully squeezed Louise’s hands once again before she walked over to Mulder and Faith.

“Happy birthday, my sweet love!” she said, wrapping her arms around them both, her heart incredibly happy.

“Happy day,” Faith said with a smile and Scully sighed.

“Yes,” she said, looking at Mulder and she could see the smile in his eyes. “Yes, my love. It’s a very happy day.”

As the Happy Birthday song began to play again, the three of them seemed to move as one, their foreheads coming to rest together as they swayed slowly in their own little bubble, as the sounds of the birthday celebrations continued on around them.

Yes, it was a very happy day indeed.

____________________________

Oh, I hope you enjoyed this story. The tooth rotting fluff is my absolute favorite. I love them being happy, getting out of that little house, being at a lake, blowing bubbles, going for walks, finding ducks, and celebrating and remembering Maggie. I love the little parade party and the group of friends these previous hermits have made in the past couple of years.

And as always, I love Rachel. I love her so much and I especially love her for Skinner. She is the light HE needed, just as much as Mulder needs it from Scully. They balance each other out and thinking of him no longer alone in that sterile apartment makes me very happy. I hope you like her too, because she is 100% in their lives now. 💙

Oh... the song I used is Better When I'm Dancin' by Meghan Trainor. It's such a fun song and I can see Faith loving to dance to it.

#The X-Files #XF Fanfic #Family Life: The Story Beyond the Series #Halloween Birthday #Family #Family Fluff #Family Feels #Time at the lake is always a good idea #Friendship #Pumpkins #Ducks #Birthday Gifts #Birthday Fluff #Halloween Costumes #Social Distanced Birthday #Love #Happiness #Friends #Celebrations

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miraculousmongoose · 4 years ago

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Miraculous: New Heroes, New Allies

This is all of Miraculous: New Heroes, New Allies series thus far. The Next Generation of Heroes is set in the future.

Chapter 1

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Ladybug sat at the top of the Eiffel Tower, waiting for Cat Noir to show up. She had something important to talk to him about. She tried calling him again, but only got his stupid voicemail in response.

“Where is he?” She muttered to herself. Ladybug fingered with the octagonal box that held the Horse Miraculous.

“You called, Bugaboo?” Cat Noir said behind her.

Ladybug shrieked and fell backwards, losing her grip on the box. “Cat! How many times have I told you not to call me Bugaboo!” She groaned after regaining the box and her composure.

“But just saying Ladybug is just so dull.” He fake pouted. “So, what did you wish to talk about M’lady?”

Ladybug gave him a dirty look. “I’m planning to visit the temple, and I want you to come with me. We are the holders of the two most powerful Miraculouses in existence after all.”

“And how do you plan to get there? Because this is certainly purr-plexing.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “With the Horse Miraculous, Kitty.” She said, showing Cat Noir the box. She opened it and the horse kwami Kaalki flew out. She put on the glasses, which turned red and black. “Tikki, Kaalki, unify!”

Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, her hands and feet became black, and her shoulders and knees became reminiscent of Kaalki’s pattern.

“So are we going or what, Bugaboo?” Cat Noir asked.

“Don’t call me Bugaboo!” She said. “Voyage!” She summoned a portal to the temple. “After you, Cat Noir.”

He stepped through and she followed. “Tikki, Kaalki, divide.” She said, turning back to Ladybug. “Shall we go meet the other Guardians?” She asked Cat Noir.

“We shall, M’Ladybug.”

Chapter 2

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian took a deep breath outside the classroom door. It was her first day at Collège Françoise Dupont in Paris. She gathered her wits and clutched her sketchbook with one hand and pushed the door open.

“Is this Ms. Bustier’s class?” She asked nervously. She looked around. On the right front row there sat a boy with glasses, a red baseball cap, and headphones around his neck. Behind him was a girl with black glasses and wavy brown hair with reddish ends. A large boy with a black skull t-shirt sat behind her, and behind him was a boy with red hair that partially covered one of his blue eyes.

On the left there was a blonde girl with her hair in a ponytail and sunglasses on her head. Next to her was a red haired girl with glasses and a white headband. Behind then sat another pair of girls. One had crazy, reddish pink hair and the other had multicolored hair. Behind them sat a pair of boys, one very athletic looking and the other with glasses and a square afro. Sitting behind them were two girls. One had short blonde hair and the other had long black hair with purple ends. Behind them was a girl with long brown hair and green eyes.

“Yes, this is my class.” A red haired woman with a kind smile said. “I’m Miss Bustier. Who might you be?”

“I-I’m Lillian.” She stuttered.

“Lillian Montgomery?” Ms. Bustier asked.

She nodded.

“Why don’t you sit next to Nathaniel?” She pointed to the red haired boy in the back.

“Um, okay.” Lillian walked towards the desk and sat down.

“H-hi.” Nathaniel said, looking at Lillian. “I’m Nathaniel.” He held out his hand.

“I’m Lillian.” She said as she shook his hand, smiling. Their eyes met for a brief moment and they both looked away, embarrassed. Lillian’s cheeks were flushed.

Am I getting a crush on him? She asked herself silently. She looked back over again and he smiled slightly.

I think I am! Lillian thought.

Chapter 3

Adrien Agreste

“Welcome, Ladybug and Cat Noir, I am Zagnu. We have been expecting you two for months.” The monk greeted Cat Noir and Ladybug.

“So you must've heard of my amazing-ness and M’lady’s help.” Cat Noir said, smirking as Ladybug gave him a dirty look.

“We’ve heard of both of you equally.” Zagnu said. “We also know that Wang Fu has passed his guardianship to you.” He pointed to Ladybug. “Now come, we are preparing something for you.”

“Croissants?” Cat Noir asked hopefully.

“No,” Zagnu said, giving him an odd look. “This.” He opened a set of doors.

Inside, more monks with Miracle Boxes waited.

“We are aware that the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses have fallen into the hands of evil. We are willing to lend you four miraculouses to fill in the empty spots in your Miracle Box until the missing miraculouses are recovered.” Zagnu told them.

Both Cat Noir and Ladybug’s mouths fell open.

“Four new miraculouses?” Cat Noir exclaimed. “That’s amazing!”

“But how will we choose?” Ladybug asked.

“We have taken the liberty of choosing the most powerful miraculouses from each Miracle Box.”

After looking through the miraculouses, Ladybug spoke up. “We’ll take the Lion, the Zebra, the Flamingo, and the Owl.”

“Be careful not to lose them.” Zagnu warned as he gave two to Ladybug and two to Cat Noir.

“We will be.” Ladybug said, giving Cat Noir a hard look.

“What?” he asked, putting on an innocent face.

“Let’s just go.”

“Fine by me, Bugaboo.”

“Don’t call me Bugaboo!” Ladybug groaned. “Tikki, Kaalki, unify.” She summoned Voyage.

“After you, M’lady.” Cat Noir said, following Ladybug into the portal.

“Watch out for the-” Ladybug called out too late as Cat Noir tripped on a steel beam. “-beam.”

Cat Noir flailed his arms wildly, losing his grip on one of the miraculouses. He watched as it fell down the tower.

“We have to catch it!” Ladybug said just as Cat Noir leapt down.

“Don’t worry, cats always land on their feet!” He called up.

He reached the ground, but there was no sign of the missing miraculous.

Chapter 4

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian was walking by the Eiffel Tower, heading to her new home when something fell on her head.

“What the-?” She exclaimed. She examined the object. It was a wooden octagonal box with a red insignia on the top. “What is this thing?” She was about to open it when her phone pinged. “Oh, Mom’s waiting.” She muttered and stuffed the mysterious box into her bag and rushed off.

The next day Lillian entered Ms. Bustier’s class, and saw two new people that weren’t there the previous day. One was a blond, handsome boy, who sat next to Nino, the boy with the red baseball cap, and sitting next to Alya, the girl with the wavy brown hair with the reddish tips, there was a blue-black haired girl with bright blue eyes. Both were clearly exhausted.

“Who are those two?” She whispered to Nathaniel.

“The boy is Adrien Agreste and the girl is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” He replied.

“Oh.” Lillian held his gaze a moment too long and they both looked away, a repeat of yesterday.

What neither of them noticed was that Lila Rossi, the girl with long brown hair and green eyes, was watching them intensely.

Later, Lillian looked around the cafeteria, searching for a place to sit.

“Hey, Lillian! Come sit with us!” Alya called.

Lillian headed over and sat down.

“So this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Alya began, pointing to the blue-black haired girl. “Alix Kubdel,” She pointed to the girl with crazy pink hair. “Juleka Couffaine and Rose Lavillant,” She pointed to the black and purple haired girl and the girl with short blonde hair. “And Mylène Haprèle.” She pointed to the girl with rainbow hair.

“Nice to meet you all.” Lillian said, smiling.

“Where were you from?” Marinette asked.

“I used to live in Alabama, if ya'll don’t mind me saying.” She said, with the last part in a corny southern accent, sending the other girls into laughter. Lillian grinned. Maybe Paris wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter 5

Lila Rossi

Lila watched Lillian talk and joke with the other girls. Already the new girl was more popular than her! The thought made her fists clench with rage. Lillian even had someone who liked her back! She had to do something about it.

She got up and walked towards Lillian, ignoring the suspicious look from Marinette.

“Hi, Lillian. I’m Lila!” She said in her sickly sweet voice. “We’re in the same class, and I was wondering if we could switch seats? The air conditioning back at my table is very high and I have hyperhypothermalia, so I’m very sensitive to the cold.”

She watched Lillian as she went over two conflicting thoughts. Should she do the ‘right’ thing and give Lila her seat, or should she stay with her friends?

Before Lillian could answer, Rose piped up. “You can have my seat, Lila!”

Lila internally groaned. “Thank you, Rose! You’re too kind!”

She later excused herself and went to the bathroom. “That stupid, little nitwit…” She muttered. As Lila went back to the lunchroom, she overheard Marinette.

“It’s not even cold!”

“She’s right, you know.” She heard Rose say.

Juleka mumbled something that couldn’t be understood.

“Why lie though?” Lillian asked.

“Who cares? Lila is a liar!” Marinette exclaimed.

Lila couldn't believe her ears. Marinette was getting the others to side up against her? She ran back into the bathroom and began to cry, but her spirits lifted when she saw a black butterfly heading towards her.

Chapter 6

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian was finishing her lunch, her mind still buzzing at Marinette’s outburst. Furthermore, she couldn’t help but think of Nathaniel. Suddenly, the doors burst open and Lila stumbled through.

“Akuma in the bathroom!” She yelled before collapsing on the ground, à la Professor Quirell.

The room burst into chaos. Everyone ran in separate directions. Not knowing what else to do, she followed Alya outside. “What’s an akuma?” She panted.

Alya stared at her. “You seriously don’t know what an akuma is?”

“Nope.”

“Well basically, there’s this evil guy, Hawk Moth, and he has these butterflies that can turn people into supervillains. For some reason he always wants Ladybug and Cat Noir’s-”

“Who are Ladybug and Cat Noir?” Lillian interrupted.

“How do you not know about Ladybug and Cat Noir? They were even in New York City at one point!”

“I lived in Alabama!”

“Well, anyways, Ladybug and Cat Noir are Paris’ superheroes, but they also get others to help out. So far there’s been Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, but she got demoted because she betrayed Ladybug and Cat Noir, Carapace, Pegasus, Viperion, King Monkey, and Ryuko. They all help defeat the akumatized villain, and they are totally awesome! But Hawk Moth always wants their miraculouses, which give them their powers.”

“Hey, where is everybody?” Lillian asked, noticing they were alone.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure everyone’s ok…” Alya sounded doubtful. “Hey, where are you going?” She called after Lillian, who had run inside.

The lunchroom was full of chaos. Lillian looked around. Some students hid behind tables, others, like Alya, had run outside, and in the midst of it all stood a girl in indigo robes that were sparkling with golden stars and silver moons. In her hands she held twin golden blades, and she was standing over a girl with blue-black hair in pigtails. Marinette. Lillian looked around and spotted a trash can lid and some tarp. She grabbed both and snuck behind the girl in robes.

“I am Hecate.” The girl proclaimed. “I have power over everything and everyone.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep talking,” Lillian mumbled softly. She was right behind Hecate and banged the lid onto her head. Hecate collapsed, and Lillian secured her with the tarp.

“I’m not sure how long it’ll hold, so c’mon!” She said, and helped Marinette up.

“Thanks, Lillian.” Marinette said.

“No problem.”

Then, the windows exploded.

Chapter 7

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Marinette ran, feeling guilty for leaving her friends, but she knew that she couldn’t do anything as Marinette. She ducked into an empty alley and opened her bag, letting Tikki fly out. “Tikki, spots on!” Ladybug hopped out of the alley and headed back to the school. While running, she called Cat Noir on her yo-yo. “Cat Noir! Akumatized villain at Collège Françoise Dupont! Meet me there ASAP!” She closed the yo-yo just as she heard a scream. “That can’t be good.” She muttered.

The scream had come from Rose. She was shaking her arm frantically as golden light spread up it. Within seconds, she was encased in the light. When it fell, Rose had been replaced by her akumatized form, Princess Fragrance.

Ladybug gasped. She looked around and spotted Hecate, who was holding her swords, one of which was tinged pink. Rose’s favorite color. She understood what had happened. The blades had turned Rose into Princess Fragrance. Before she could act, Hecate threw her swords like a boomerang, hitting various students and employees. Soon, Stoneheart, Horrificator, Reflekta, Evillustrator, Stormy Weather, Timebreker, Reverser, Zombizou, Dark Owl, Dark Cupid, The Mime, Copycat, Antibug, and Miraculer joined Hecate’s army.

Ladybug knew she had to act now. She readied her yo-yo as Cat Noir spoke behind her.

“So, where’s the big baddie that needs some talking to?”

“Cat! Stop sneaking up on me!” Ladybug exclaimed. “Besides, we can’t let Hecate, the one with the swords, reach the remaining students.” She pointed to a small group containing Alya, Nino, Lillian, and Max.

“They’re all that’s left?” Cat Noir asked.

“I’m afraid so.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” He extended his staff to the ground. “Climb on up!” He called down to the students.

Alya, Nino, and Max climbed up.

“Wait, weren’t there four of them?” Cat Noir asked.

“Maybe she made a break for it.” Ladybug said, though she wasn’t very optimistic.

“Let’s hope so…” He replied.

Chapter 8

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian was running as fast as her feet could carry her. Seeing nearly all of her friends turned into those villains had scared her. She ran aimlessly, searching for someone who could help. She burst into her home, hoping her mother would be home.

“Mom- oof!” She tripped on one of her books, sending the contents of her bag flying, including the box she had found the day before. She stared at the box and curiosity got the best of her. Lillian opened it, and suddenly a small ball of silvery-blue light flew from it. She dropped the box in surprise.

As the light faded, Lillian saw what had been inside it. It was a light blue creature about four inches in height. It had no toes or fingers, just paddle-like limbs. On its forehead it had a blue v shape with a white feather design on the end. Two antennae curled like braids behind its back. It had five blue tail feathers with a mix of light blue and white design.

“Hello!” The thing said with a distinct feminine voice. “I am Unna!”

Lillian chose that moment to scream.

“Shhhh!” Unna said. “No one must know I exist!”

“What are you?” Lillian asked after calming down.

“I am the owl kwami, also known as the kwami of resilience.”

“Kwami?”

“Kwamis are what power miraculouses.”

“Like Ladybug and Cat Noir? Because my friend Alya told me about them.” Lillian said, slowly adjusting to the situation.

“Exactly! To transform, say ‘Unna, wing it’ and to detransform you say ‘Nest time’.” Unna said. “Also, you’ll need to wear the necklace when you do so.”

“Necklace?” Lillian asked.

“Just look in the box.” Unna told her.

Lillian pulled out a necklace. It had a horizontal stone cut into a rectangular shape that looked like lapis lazuli, but had four silvery streaks, dividing it into fifths. On the sides there were identical silver wings, and the chain was silver too. When she put it on, the chain turned to gold and the wings disappeared. The stone became pure teal.

“Well, here goes nothing.” Lillian murmured. “Unna, wing it!”

The same silvery-blue light that Unna momentarily surrounded Lillian. When it fell she was in a completely new outfit.

She had a skintight suit that was white on the top half, and light blue on the bottom. The colors were divided by a curved v shape that laid slightly above her waist. On her shoulders, she gained silver-blue feather designs that looked like wings. A blue rope threaded with black was wrapped around her waist. The mask followed the same color scheme as the rest of the suit. The teal in her hair had become white, and her eyes turned bright blue. And, to top it off, five blue tail feathers identical to Unna’s were on the back of her waist.

“Sweet!” She exclaimed. “Now to help my friends.”

Chapter 9

Adrien Agreste

“We’re going to need reinforcements, no matter what.” Cat Noir told Ladybug.

“But Hawk Moth knows the identities of every wearer except us. We can’t risk it.” She said.

“We’ve risked it before with Chloé.” He pointed out.

“But how would we get the right miraculouses to the right people? We don’t even know who King Monkey is!”

“We’ll have to do without him then. Also, I’m positive they would love to be heroes at least one more time.”

Ladybug hesitated. “Alright,” She said after a moment. “I’ll get the Miracle Box. Make sure they don’t get the students.”

“You know I excel in purr-tection.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “Just keep them safe.”

A while later, Ladybug returned. “I’ve got it.”

“Let’s have a look now shall we?”

Ladybug brought out the Fox, Turtle, Horse, Snake, and Dragon Miraculouses. She handed Cat Noir the Horse and Dragon.

“Get these to Max and Kagami, I’ll handle Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Viperion.” She said.

“I’ll find Kagami first, so I can think of a way to get Max from Alya and Nino.” He said as he vaulted off.

“If I were Kagami, where would I be..?” Cat Noir muttered to himself. “She might be practicing with her mother at Jardin des Tuileries!”

Sure enough, both Tomoe and Kagami Tsurugi were there. He landed nearby and cleared his throat. “Ms. Tsurugi? I’m Cat Noir, and there’s an akumatized villain close by. We need both you and your daughter to split up and hide.” He paused. “For your own safety, of course.”

How will I know if Kagami is safe, though?” Tomoe asked.

“Ma’am, we’re professionals.”

“Very well then.” Tomoe walked off to her self-driving car.

Kagami watched her mother depart. “Why is it that I don’t believe you stated the whole truth?” She asked, turning to Cat Noir.

He grinned. “Right as always.” He brought out the Dragon Miraculous. “Kagami Tsurugi, here is the Miraculous of the Dragon which grants the power of Perfection. You'll use it for the greater good. Once the mission is over, you'll return the miraculous to either Ladybug or me. Can we trust you?”

“Yes, you can.” She put the choker on. “Longg, bring the storm!”

“We’re meeting up at Collège Françoise Dupont, but I need to make a quick stop on the way.” He told Ryuko.

“See you there, Cat Noir.” She leapt away.

Cat Noir headed where the three students had been. Alya and Nino weren��t there, which made his job much easier.

“Hey, Max, catch!” He tossed the Horse Miraculous to him. “We’re meeting up at Collège Françoise Dupont.” He said and vaulted away."

Chapter 10

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Ladybug raced back to Collège Françoise Dupont with Viperion right behind her. Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Ryuko, and Pegasus were waiting for them.

“Alright, so this is what we know,” Ladybug began. “The only true akumatized person is Hecate, who is the one with the golden swords. Those swords can turn anyone into their akumatized form, so don’t let them touch you. Miraculer and Timebreaker are both very dangerous. Miraculer can steal our powers and Timebreaker can freeze us and go back in time. Stoneheart absorbs all damage, and it makes him stronger, so don’t attack him. Princess Fragrance can control anyone who smells her perfume. Zombizou’s kisses are infectious, and Dark Cupid can turn all emotions negative. Horrificator can trap anyone in her goo and she feeds off fear. Reflekta turns people into copies of herself. Evillustrator can draw anything, the Mime can mime anything, Dark Owl has an endless supply of weapons, Stormy Weather can control the weather, and Copycat and Antibug have identical powers to Cat Noir and I.”

“They do have weaknesses, though.” Cat Noir said.

“Yes. Evillustrator can’t draw in the dark, Reflekta’s beams can be reflected, the Mime can only mime one thing at a time, Princess Fragrance’s perfume is highly flammable, Antibug can only use her Anti Charm once, and same goes for Copycat’s Cataclysm.”

“So what’s the plan?” Rena Rouge asked.

“Lucky Ch- huh?” Ladybug exclaimed.

“Wooaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!” A white and blue figure hurtled towards the superheroes. “Oof!”

The figure slammed into the roof where the heroes were.

“Are you alright!?” Ladybug ran towards them, but froze in shock. Her necklace was the very same one that Cat Noir had lost. She had the lost Owl Miraculous.

Chapter 11

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian stared at the group in front of her. They all had unique animal themed outfits. She saw a ladybug, cat, fox, turtle, horse, snake, and what she thought was a dragon.

She groaned and got up. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She looked up and frowned. “Why are you staring at me?”

“Y-your necklace. Where did you fi- I mean get it?” Ladybug stammered.

“It fell on my head.” She mumbled softly.

Ladybug pulled Cat Noir aside. They talked in hushed, inaudible tones.

“So, what’s your miraculous?” Carapace asked.

“My kwami said it was the owl.” Lillian said.

Ladybug and Cat Noir returned.

“Alright, if it means more help, you can join us.” Ladybug said.

Lillian grinned.

“Now, what should we call you?”

She hesitated before answering. “Athena. Call me Athena.”

“Niiiccceeee.” Rena Rouge whistled. “Greek Goddess of wisdom, right? Symbol is the owl?”

“Yep.” Athena replied. “Now how about we kick some villainous butt?”

Cat Noir grinned. “I think you’ll be a great addition to the team.

Ladybug groaned. “Just what we need, another jokester.”

“What’s wrong?” Athena asked. “Are you wondering who will be the better at puns?”

Cat Noir cracked up. “I like you already!”

Chapter 12

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug summoned her lucky charm. “A roll of duct tape!?” She exclaimed.

“You gonna use it to tape Cat Noir’s mouth shut to spare us from his puns?”

Cat Noir chuckled. “Good one, Athena… Hey!”

Athena snickered.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and looked around. She spotted the villains weapons, the heroes around her, and some discarded trash can lids.

“Alright, here’s the plan…” She began to whisper to her friends.

"Second Chance!"

"Whirlwind!"

"Water Dragon!"

The heroes summoned their powers.

Cackling filled the air."You fools! You think you can stop me? I have an army of villains to aid me!"

Ladybug looked, and saw Hecate wasn't kidding. Mr. Pigeon, Pharaoh, Rogercop, Darkblade, Animan, Simon Says, Pixelator, Guitar Villain, Puppeteer, Volpina, Collector, Prime Queen, Despair Bear, Gorizilla, Frightningale, Style Queen, Maldiktator, Anansi, Weredad, Party Crasher, Kwamibuster, Ikari Gozen, and about a billion Sapotis had joined her ranks.

"Oh my…" Ladybug muttered.

"We don't have time to waste!" Rena Rouge said.

"You're right."

"Let's kick some villainous butt!" Athena cheered.

Chapter 13

French Miraculous Superhero Team

Rena Rouge leapt down from the building, grinning. She loved being a hero. Carapace landed next to her. "You focus on Anansi, I'll work on Volpina." She told him.

"Be careful!" Carapace replied and ran off.

Rena Rouge weaved her way to her evil counterpart, and raised her flute. Volpina did the same. Volpina brought her flute down, but it dissolved in a blue and silver mist, revealing Miraculer.

Orange spots appeared on her suit as she drained Rena Rouge's power.

Carapace was battling Anansi, using his shield to block her punches.

"You little flyweight!" She roared.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Miraculer standing over Rena Rouge, causing him to falter.

Anansi took that moment to punch him, sending Carapace flying.

Viperion battled Reflekta, unaware that the second change timer was running out. The snake head reached the end just as she saw Miraculer steal Rena Rouge's powers. He attempted to turn back time, only to find out he couldn't. In his confusion, Reflekta zapped her own brother into a copy of herself.

Ryuko was fending off the Sapotis, but to no avail. They surrounded her. "Lightning Dragon!" She called, and she managed to fry a few clones. Her necklace began to beep. The Sapotis swarmed her.

Pegasus was narrowly dodging Kwamibuster's attacks. Her rays were coming dangerously close to him.

He threw his horseshoe at her, but missed.

Kwamibuster took the opportunity to zap him.

Pegasus barely had time to hide before Kaalki was sucked into her vacuum.

Cat Noir and Ladybug were fighting their way to Hecate. In their way was Evillustrator and Puppeteer. Evillustrator drew Ladybug and Cat Noir dolls and tossed them to Puppeteer.

"Ladybug, come to life!" Puppeteer said.

"No!" Cat Noir cried, but it was too late. Ladybug had lost.

"Cat Noir come to-" Puppeteer began.

"Oh no you don't!" Cat Noir yelled and used his staff to knock the doll out of her hands. He then proceeded to destroy Evillustrator's drawing pad.

He looked around. There was no sign of Carapace or Pegasus, Rena Rouge was powerless, Ryuko was imprisoned by the Sapotis, and it looked as if Viperion had been turned into a Reflekta copy. Then he spotted a flash of blue and white, and his spirits lifted. Athena hadn't fallen. At least, not yet.

Chapter 14

Lillian Montgomery

Athena was barely able to fend off the villains. Her rope twisted around Stormy Weather, but a blast of lightning threw it free. Her necklace was on its last segment. Suddenly, Cat Noir's staff slammed in front of her.

"Can't let my fellow comedian become a mind controlled zombie." He said with a grin. "Now follow me, I know a place where we can regroup." He vaulted off.

"Where are we going?" She asked. "And what about the others?"

"Ladybug's under Puppeteer's control, Pegasus was zapped by Kwamibuster, Viperion is a Reflekta copy, Rena Rouge is powerless, Ryuko is trapped, and Carapace is who knows where." He tried to open a manhole, but found it locked. "Cataclysm!"

He slid it open. "You coming?"

"...Okay."

They ran for about 30 seconds before Athena's necklace gave a final beep. She tripped in surprise as she turned back to Lillian.

Cat Noir stared at her. "You look familiar, but I can't quite place it." She said.

"Does this mean I can't be Athena anymore?" She asked miserably.

He hesitated. "Well, Ladybug decides who gets to be heroes, and she's not here… And she has no way of knowing that I know your identity…" He grinned.

Lillian gasped. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Unna moaned.

"Looks like your kwami needs to refuel." Cat Noir remarked. "What do they eat?"

"I don't know. I transformed almost immediately after I met her." Lillian said.

"Candy! I like candy!" Unna declared.

"I only have cheese."

"Cheese is good, too."

"So, what's the plan?" Lillian asked as Unna munched on some of Cat Noir's camembert.

"Maybe find Carapace. The more backup we have, the better. Then after that… I don't know." He said. His ears were flattened and he sighed. "I've never faced a villain without Ladybug. I've never faced anyone alone."

"But you're not alone. You have your kwami, and you have Unna and I." Lillian said, her voice full of sympathy. "And we'll have Carapace soon enough."

Cat Noir smiled. "Thanks, Athena." His ring beeped. "Hold that thought!" He ran behind a corner as Lillian cracked up.

"You all better?" She asked Unna.

"Sure am!"

"Unna, wing it!"

Chapter 15

Nino Lahiffe/Adrien Agreste

Carapace sailed through the air. He didn't know how far Anansi's punch had and would send him. His bracelet was beeping, indicating that Wayzz was losing energy. He spied the ground coming up.

"Shell-ter!" He yelled, protecting himself as he slammed into the Arc de Triomphe. The structure shook and began to fall, but luckily his shield held. Carapace soon blacked out.

Cat Noir and Athena scoured the city, searching for Carapace. They soon came across the ruins of the Arc de Triomphe and the fading glow of Carapace's Shell-ter. When they reached the spot, they found Carapace out cold. As the two of them watched, a green light emitted from his bracelet and Wayzz flew out. Carapace was returned to his civilian form.

Cat Noir gasped, as did Athena, though hers was much quieter. "Nino?" He asked.

Nino awoke to the sound of his name.

"Nino, wake up!" Someone said. It sounded like Adrien.

"Nino?" Another voice asked, this one more feminine.

He opened his eyes to see Cat Noir and Athena standing over him.

Cat Noir breathed a sigh of relief. "So you're Carapace, huh?"

He paled. "Uh, I don't know what you're talking about, dude. I'm just me." He tried to feign innocence as he hid his bracelet.

"We saw you detransform." Athena said. Her blue eyes were sympathetic, as if she'd experienced someone seeing her detransform as well.

"Wait, how did you two know my name?"

This time it was Cat Noir and Athena's turn to pale.

"Uhhh…"

Nino's mind began to race. Cat Noir had sounded like Adrien, and he knew his name… "Adrien?" He asked.

Cat Noir's eyes widened.

"Is the cat out of the bag?" Athena teased.

Cat Noir ignored her. "How did you know?" He asked Nino.

"You talk the same way, and you know my name." He said.

"Promise me you will never, ever, breathe a word about this to anyone." Cat Noir said.

"Don't worry, dude. I can keep secrets, just like I keep Marinette's."

"What about Marinette?" Cat Noir was confused. What secret could his very good friend have?

"Oh, just that she has a major crush on you…" He trailed off, obviously realizing he had just blabbed a secret.

Athena cracked up. "Bwahahahaha! You didn't know a girl had a serious crush on you? That is so priceless!"

Chapter 16

Lillian Montgomery

While the two boys got oriented, Athena formed a plan in her head. Hecate was the main target, but getting to her was impossible. The akuma had to be in the bracelet she wore, as there was only one. Hawk Moth wanted miraculouses…

After a while, she'd come up with a plan. "Cat Noir, Adrien, whatever. I've got a plan!" She began to whisper.

Cat Noir turned to Nino. "We'll need the Turtle Miraculous back." He told him.

"Good luck dude and dudette." He told them with all sincerity.

"Thank you, Carapace." Athena said with a wink.

The pair left.

"Hecate!" Athena shouted at the entrance of Collège Françoise Dupont.

"We give up! If you free all these people, I will give you my miraculous." Cat Noir added, a seldom heard tone of solemn in his voice.

"Very well." Hecate said. She raised a sword and golden light enveloped the school. When it fell, everyone was back in their civilian forms.

"Cat Noir! What are you doing?" Ladybug pushed her way to the two heroes.

"Don't worry, everything will be just fine." He said.

"Hand over your miraculouses!" Hecate shouted.

Every hero in the vicinity approached the villain.

She held out her hand.

Athena stepped forward and began to undo her clasp. She suddenly stopped and ran forward, snagging the bracelet. "Cat Noir, catch!"

"Cataclysm!" He destroyed the bracelet and the akuma flew out. "It's your turn, M'lady." He said.

"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug captured the akuma and grabbed some of the unused duct tape. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Chapter 17

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Lillian Montgomery

It was two days after Hecate. Lila had been deakumatized and had left in her usual huff. Marinette took her usual seat next to Alya when she heard someone speak.

"Hey, Alya, could I trade seats with you?" Adrien asked.

Marinette went wide eyed as he sat down.

"Marinette," Adrien said, looking into her eyes. "I've come to realize that you mean more to me than I used to think. You've always been there when I needed it most. You're such a supportive and kind person. You're more than just a friend, and I was wondering, if um-" His face went red. "If you'd like to go out on a date with me?"

Marinette's jaw dropped, as did nearly everyone else's in the room.

"How romantic!" Rose squealed.

"I- um-" Marinette was at a loss for words.

Adrien's shoulders slumped.

"I mean- YES!" She threw her arms around the boy she'd loved since the second day of school.

Everyone cheered. Well, everyone but Chloé and Lila.

Chloé threw a temper tantrum, but no one seemed to mind.

Unbeknownst to both of the miraculous holders, Tikki and Plagg popped out of their bags and grinned at each other.

"I'm happy for them," Lillian told Nathaniel. "They just seem made for each other."

"They certainly do." He replied.

"Oh, um Nathaniel?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come over to my house to work on homework?" She hoped her cheeks weren't red.

"Sure!" He smiled.

Lillian gave him a bigger smile. It wasn't a date, or even a declaration of love, but it was something.

End of Book One

Short Story

Miraculous: Happy Holidays

"Oh Tikki! Where are my spools of thread?" Marinette scrambled around her room, hurrying to finish her gifts, scattering supplies in the process. She still had to do Nino's and Rose's, not to mention the ones for the heroes.

"Which color?" Tikki asked.

"Gold!"

"Here you go!" Tikki flew up, carrying the requested thread.

"Thank you!" Marinette stitched a music note to a headphone plushie. "There! Nino's gift is finished!" She got to work on a flower purse for Rose.

A few hours later, Marinette finished the last present.

"Perfect!" She looked at the presents on her desk. "I've got everyone!"

"Uh, Marinette, it's a bit late, don't you think?" Tikki asked. "It's 1:30 am!"

"You're right, Tikki." She yawned. "I should get some sleep…" Marinette laid down and almost immediately fell asleep.

Adrien wrapped the final gift, one for Marinette. "I hope she likes it." He told Plagg.

"Oh, that girl will go nuts over anything you give her." Plagg said as he gobbled up a slice of cheese.

"You think so?" Adrien asked.

"As sure as I love Camenbert!" He said.

"Well, time to sleep. Goodnight, Plagg."

"Goodnight, Adrien."

That morning, Adrien arrived at school early to distribute his presents. For Alix he got a new pair of roller skates and a watch repair and cleaning kit. Alya received a high tech video camera and a notebook. Chloé got a honeycomb phone case and golden charm bracelet. Ivan got tickets to the Zombie Skull Crushers, for Juleka, he gave a makeup kit and barretts. Kim got swimming gear, Lila got some Mad Libs, Lillian got signed copies of the Harry Potter books, Max received a gaming console and games, and Mylène got a gardening kit and an apple sapling. Nathaniel got an art kit, a new sketchbook, and drawing materials. Nino was gifted with a new pair of headphones and music records, Rose got a blank scrapbook, and Sabrina, a set of superhero costumes.

He smiled as his friends found their gifts. He then approached Marinette to give her her present.

Marinette opened it, revealing a silver necklace with a pinkish ruby pendant shaped like a flower. "Oh, Adrien! It's beautiful! I love it!"

He grinned as she gave him a big hug.

Lillian went home carrying an armful of presents. Alix had gotten her a guided tour of the Louvre, Kitty Section had pitched together to get her a trumpet of her own, Alya gave her an art kit, Max got her a joke book, Adrien gifted her the entire Harry Potter series, each one signed by J.K. Rowling herself, Kim, oddly enough, gave her a helmet, for which he said could be used for any sport, Mylène gave her a bouquet of lilies, which she said were her namesake, Nathaniel had given her each of his and Marc's comics so far, and Marinette had made her a light blue scarf with pink flower designs.

That night, she and Unna prepared the gifts for the heroes and their kwamis.

"Tikki told me that she loves cookies." Unna told her.

"I know, Unna. You've reminded me of that for a while now." She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Her kwami companion asked.

"It's just that I lost my dad on Christmas last year. There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss him. Mom was forced to move here so she could sustain us." She stared at a picture of the late Chase Montgomery. "He was coming home when a car couldn't brake fast enough…" Her voice broke and a tear slid down her cheek.

Cat Noir was on his way to the Eiffel Tower when he caught sight of Lillian. She was crying. He went over and tapped on her window.

"Cat Noir?" She asked in surprise.

"Hey. I saw you crying. What's wrong?" He asked his friend.

Lillian sighed. "My dad passed away a year ago tonight. I've never spent a Christmas without him."

"I understand. I lost my mom around a year ago, too, but I've learned to grow and move on, and I'd bet that's what your dad would want you to do."

She smiled. "Thanks, Cat."

"Any time." He vaulted off.

Later, the entire team met up at the Eiffel Tower, bringing presents. Ladybug gave everyone little plushies of their respective animals, Rena Rouge brought a polaroid camera, which everyone took selfies with, Carapace brought a Just Dance game, which was a huge hit, Ryuko gave some combat lessons, Pegasus produced books for everyone, including a cat pun one for Cat Noir and an owl pun one for Athena, King Monkey, for inexplicable reasons, gave everyone personalized helmets, and Athena and Viperion played a duet on the trumpet and lyre, which were surprisingly great sounding together.

Then it was Cat Noir's turn to pass out his presents, and he did so with gusto. Everyone received a kitten a day calendar, but every cat's head had been replaced by his.

Athena playfully threw hers at Cat Noir, which bonked him on the head. "I'm already haunted by it." She teased.

Even later in the night, Cat Noir returned to his room. "Claws in." He whispered and destransformed.

Adrien immediately hopped onto his computer and ordered something for his saddened friend.

Lillian stared at the small package in her hand. A delivery person had just dropped it off. She opened it and a note fluttered out.

"Lillian, I know it's hard to lose someone you love, but with this, hopefully you won't feel quite as lonely. Merry Christmas, Adrien." She read aloud. Inside the package was a golden necklace with a circular pendant engraved with an L. It was a locket, and she knew exactly what to put in it.

An hour later, Lillian looked down and smiled at the two pictures that now resided in the locket. One was of the night before, when they had all taken a group selfie with Rena Rouge's camera, and the other was of her father.

"Thank you, Cat Noir." She whispered as she put the necklace on.

Chapter 1

Nathaniel Kurtzburg

Nathaniel had never felt this way about someone before, not even for Marinette. She was kind and sweet and a talented artist. She even had a good sense of humor. Lillian Hope Montgomery. Just thinking about her could make him smile.

"The problem is, I love Lillian, but I don't know if she feels the same way." He said to Alix one day. "And then there's Marc and our comic book. I'm pretty sure he likes me, and I used to until I met Lillian."

"Look, Nath. I'm not the love expert, but based on Marinette's old obsession with Adrien, you should just come right out and say it." Alix said.

"Thanks, Alix." He smiled.

A while later, he met up with Marc on the entrance stairs to the school.

"Hey, Nathaniel!" Marc said as he sat down.

"Hey, Marc. I've got a new hero for our comic book!" Nathaniel showed him his design. "Her name is Brushstroke, and she's the female counterpart of Mightillustrator."

"Cool! I love how her ponytail looks like a brush."

Nathaniel smiled. "Thanks. I based her off of Lillian. She's a new girl in my class." He blushed.

Marc either didn't notice or didn't care. "I think I've met her before." He said. "Short brown hair with teal tips, glasses, blue-green eyes?"

He nodded. "That's her, alright." He paused for a second. "I was thinking that maybe she could also help us out on our comic book. She's an amazing artist and she loves to write. Plus she's had some first-hand experiences with akumatized villains."

"We could give it a shot." Marc said after thinking about it.

"Great! I'll tell Lillian and-" He stopped abruptly when his watch beeped. "Oh, I forgot, we're studying for a test together today. Well, see you!"

Chapter 2

Adrien Agreste

"Father?" Adrien asked as he poked his head through the doorway.

"What is it, Adrien?" He responded with his usual cool tone.

"I-I'd like your permission to go to the movies with my girlfriend, Marinette." He said nervously.

"Of course, Adrien, you are allowed to go to the movies. Let Nathalie prepare the limousine for you."

"I meant going to the movies alone with Marinette." Adrien said. "Please?"

Gabriel Agreste sighed. "Very well. You may go alone, but you are to come back immediately afterwards.

Adrien grinned. "Thank you, Father!"

A while later, Adrien knocked on the door of the Dupain-Cheng residence. Sabine answered the door.

"Oh, Adrien! Marinette's up in her room!" She said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cheng."

"Please, call me Sabine."

"Adrien!" Marinette fell out of her chair, but quickly got back up. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"It was a surprise." He said. "I got us tickets for Solitude, as we never truly got to see it last time."

"And this time people will rightly guess I'm your girlfriend this time." Marinette laughed.

Adrien smiled. "That is true. Now, come on! It starts at 3:00!"

The couple sat down in the movie theater.

"This is so exciting!" Marinette squealed, her blue eyes full of happiness.

Adrien grinned. Ever since he'd started dating Marinette, he'd been so much happier. He'd stopped thinking about Ladybug as much. Ladybug had also seemed happier. He hoped it was because she was finally with the boy she loved.

Marinette rested her head on his shoulder.

"Have I ever told you that you're awesome?" He asked her.

"You just did." She replied with a grin.

The movie started.

Chapter 3

Flora Mayfield

"Dad! Where'd you put my fabric?" Flora called.

"I don't know! Ask your mother!" Her father replied.

"Don't ask me! I never touch it!" Her mother yelled.

Flora groaned. "The only good thing about this is that I don't have to share a room with Carson."

"I heard that!" Her little brother yelled.

"I'm sure everything will work out, Flora." A slightly muffled voice piped up.

Flora chuckled. "Oh, sorry, Sunny. I'll let you out." She opened the flap on her bag and a little pink sprite flew out.

Sunny was Flora's kwami. She was about 4 inches tall and was almost completely pink. She had large, emerald green eyes, and two antennae. On her forehead there was a design that looked like a flamingo's beak, and she had a short train of fluffy, pink feathers.

"Like I said, it's all going to be fine. Paris is one of the safest cities in the world thanks to Ladybug and Cat Noir." She said.

"Tell me about them." Flora requested.

"Ladybug is considered the leader of the French Miraculous Superhero team. Her miraculous is the ladybug's, which give the power of creation. Cat Noir is her partner. He owns the Black Cat Miraculous, which grants him the power of destruction."

"Thanks, Sunny." Flora said.

"I recommend you explore a bit, maybe make some friends." Sunny said.

"That doesn't sound so bad…" Flora mused.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going out!" Flora called. "Sunny, feather up!" She transformed into her alter-ego, Tropic Storm.

Her suit was a mix of gold, pink, dark pink, and small traces of black. Her mask was gold and pink, and she had a train of feathers similar to Sunny's. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled up into a bun and her hair comb had turned pink with five light pink metal feathers.

Tropic Storm leapt out her window.

Chapter 4

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Marinette smiled as she leaned against Adrien. She couldn't remember a time she'd ever been happier. As she stared at the screen, she noticed something off. There was a faint silhouette behind it.

"Adrien, we need to leave." Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Why?"

She pointed at the figure. "I think it's an akumatized villain. We should hide until Ladybug and Cat Noir get here."

"What about Athena?" He asked.

"How do you know about Athena?"

"The Ladyblog."

"Fair enough. Now, let's hi-" She was interrupted by the slashing of the screen. "-de." She finished.

Stormy Weather floated through.

"Adrien, run!" Marinette grabbed his hand.

The two of them made it out of the theater, but Stormy Weather froze them in ice.

"No!" Adrien banged on the ice. "Let us out!"

"Help!" Marinette cried.

Suddenly, a figure clad in pink landed in front of them. "Color Bomb!" They drew what looked like a blowtorch in the air, which then materialized. They used it to melt the ice surrounding Marinette and Adrien.

The two of them stared, open mouthed.

The girl leapt off and began to fight Stormy Weather.

"American superheroine Tropic Storm is fighting Stormy Weather here in Paris!" Nadja Chamack said.

Marinette and Adrien watched the news on her phone.

"Tropic Storm? I don't think even Alya's heard of her." Marinette remarked.

"How is she even here? And why?" Adrien asked.

"Maybe Cat Noir and Ladybug can figure it out." She said.

"Oh, um, my father will be expecting me!" Adrien ran off.

"That was… odd." Marinette said to Tikki.

"Shouldn't Ladybug be helping 'Tropic Storm' out right now?" Tikki asked.

"You're right. Tikki, spots on!"

Chapter 5

Lillian Montgomery

"Can I show you something?" Nathaniel asked.

"Um, sure!" Lillian said.

He brought out a drawing of a young teen. She had brown and teal hair that was pulled back into a ponytail that resembled a paint brush. She had a white beret and a dark aqua mask. She wore a white and teal top with a swan necked collar, and had a dark teal and white bottom with a short teal skirt.

"Is that- is that- me?" Lillian asked.

He nodded.

"It's wonderful! What's 'her' name?"

"Brushstroke. She's supposed to be the female counterpart of Mightillustrator." Nathaniel said, smiling.

"It's miraculous." She said with a sly grin.

"Uh, listen. I was wondering if, um, you'd like to help me and Marc with our comic book. He's on board, and I've seen your art and writings."

"I'd-" Lillian's phone beeped. "I'd, uh, love to, but my mom is waiting for me and, um I have to go!" She dashed off. "Unna, we have a problem."

"Akuma?"

"Precisely. Unna, wing it!"

Athena arrived at the theater. Stormy Weather blasted the area with lightning.

"Nice to see you again, Coldilocks." A voice said behind her.

"You talking to me or the Ice Queen over there?" She asked Cat Noir.

"Her, but I keep my range open." He replied.

"Oh, yeah? Well then, let's show this mouse what owls and cats like to do."

Suddenly, a large, clear, hollow cube slammed down on Athena. "What the-?"

A girl in pink landed next to Cat Noir and strode over to Athena. "Hand over your source of evil." She said.

"Evil? Who do you think I am? Hawk Moth? Mayura?" Athena exclaimed. "The real villain's over there!" She pointed at Stormy Weather.

"You are not a member of the French Miraculous Superhero team, yet you have powers, suggesting that you are a villain. Hand it over."

"On whose authority?"

"By Tropic Storm's."

Athena's jaw dropped. "Tropic Storm!? But- but- You're supposed to be in Alabama!"

"May I ask why you are persecuting the second best comedian on the team, when there's a villain wreaking havoc across Paris?" Cat Noir said.

"Stormy Weather is of little threat. Miraculouses used wrongly impose serious threat."

"She's a hero! While she may have gotten her miraculous by mistake, nothing but good had ever come from her!"

"Storm. It's me." Athena said. "Nest time."

"Lillian!?" Tropic Storm stared.

"How do you two know each other?" Cat Noir asked, curious.

"She saved my life before I moved to Paris. We've been friends since then. How do you think I knew so much when I was new?"

Cat Noir shrugged. "I just assumed you were a natural, like me or Rena Rouge."

"And can you please let me out? We need to hold off Stormy Weather until Ladybug gets here."

"There you go." Tropic Storm snapped her fingers and the cube vanished.

"Thanks. Unna, wing it!"

Chapter 6

Nathaniel Kurtzburg

Nathaniel sat down next to Lillian. "Marc and I are meeting at Place des Vosges. If you want to come, we'll wait for you."

"Count on me to be there!" Lillian said. "I've done some drawings of the heroes, if you guys want to use them."

"That'll be great! We're meeting up at 4:00."

Nathaniel sat on a bench, waiting for Marc and Lillian. He doodled a picture of Lillian, or rather, Lillian as Brushstroke.

"Is she coming?" Marc asked as he sat down.

"She said she'd come." He said, not looking up.

"Woah! Oof!" Lillian made her entrance by tripping on a rock. "Sorry if I'm late." She apologized after getting up.

Nathaniel dropped his drawing. "You're right on time, actually." He turned to Marc. "Marc, this is Lillian. Lillian, Marc."

She smiled. "Nice to meet you! I actually brought some drawings if you want to look at them."

She handed some papers to Marc.

"I've got Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Ryuko, Carapace, Athena, and Viperion." She said.

"These are amazing! They're almost like the real ones!"

Nathaniel grinned at Lillian.

"Nathaniel also said you were a writer too. Did you bring any?"

"No, those are kind of private, but I will gladly share my drawings."

Both Nathaniel and Marc grinned.

Chapter 7

Marc Anciel

"Whatcha got there, Montgomery?" Chloé's snear filled the air. "Pfft, doodles of those lame-o superheroes?"

"They're not doodles, they're art. And also, I'm honored you've bothered to learn my last name, now how about learning my first?" Lillian said with a slight smirk.

Marc snorted.

"Hmph, Athena? The new one? You didn't even bother to make Queen Bee." Chloé tore Lillian's drawings in half.

"No!" The three of them cried.

Lillian began to sob and ran off.

"Lillian, wait!" Nathaniel ran after her.

Marc began to gather the papers dropped. He came across Nathaniel's drawing. He noticed hearts drawn across, including one with lettering.

"NK+LM? NK must be Nathaniel Kurtzburg, LM… Lillian Montgomery?"

Nathaniel's words echoed in his mind. 'New girl…' 'Female counterpart…'. Marc remembered Nathaniel's blush when he spoke of Lillian.

"No…" He breathed.

Nathaniel had a crush on Lillian.

A tear rolled down his cheek.

"No." He repeated. "H-he can't be."

But he couldn't deny the facts. The boy he loved loved someone else. Nathaniel loved Lillian.

Chapter 7 ½

Gabriel Agreste

Hawk Moth stood in his liar. He sensed a powerful negative emotion, one that he'd only felt once before from Evillustrator.

He cupped his hands around an akuma and filled it with dark energy.

"Fly away my little akuma, and evilize her broken heart!"

The akuma began to fly off. It soon came across a young teen, crying, her face in her hands. Before the akuma reached her though, a red haired boy approached her.

Hawk Moth couldn't hear what the boy was saying, but the girl's negative feelings faded.

The akuma changed course and began to fly towards Place des Vosges, where Marc sat, crying. It infected Nathaniel's drawing of Lillian.

"Reverser, I am Hawk Moth. I will grant you the power to reverse any aspect of a person. In return, all I ask for are Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculouses.

"Yes, Hawk Moth."

Chapter 8

Flora Mayfield

"My best friend is a superhero. A superhero." Flora paced across her room. "How long has she kept this from me? How? When?"

"Have you considered that she only became Athena after she moved to Paris?" Sunny asked.

"I saved her life and this is how she repays me?" Flora continued, not listening to Sunny.

"Flora!" Sunny said sternly. "Listen to me. Did Lillian have her necklace back in Alabama?"

"Well no, but-"

"And did Athena first appear in Alabama, or Paris?"

"Paris, but-"

"And didn't Cat Noir say that she received it by accident? How could he have known that if she got it in Alabama?"

"It's just so hard to believe." Flora said.

"Talk to her, it might make you feel better."

"Alright. Sunny, feather up!"

Tropic Storm tapped on Lillian's window.

"What is it now?" Lillian asked grumpily.

"I want to talk to you."

"Alright. Just be quiet. Mom's been on edge recently."

"Well, first off, I'm sorry for trapping you in that cube. I didn't recognize you."

"Well you released me eventually."

"And I'm sorry for thinking you were a vill-" She was cut off by Unna.

"You big bully! You made Athena sad! And when she's sad, she doesn't give me as much candy because she's eating it! So I'm sad! You- you-" Unna paused. "Poopy head!"

Lillian put her face in her hands. "Unna! Be nice."

"I'd, um, better get going." Tropic Storm said, not wanting to be yelled at by Unna.

"Bye, poopy head!"

Chapter 9

Lillian Montgomery

"Unna, you have got to stop being so erratic. Storm made a mistake, and she feels bad abou-" She was cut off by a new voice.

"Lillian! You've stolen Nathaniel from me! Now you will pay!"

"I don't know who that is, but Athena needs to be there. Unna, wing it!"

Her necklace glowed with energy as Unna entered it. She put both hands over her eyes, with one laying on top of the other and pulled them back, revealing her newly created mask. She tapped her shoulders then spread her arms out, creating the sleeves of her suit. She stomped her foot and the legs of her suit appeared. She drew a line across her wait and her rope appeared. She then swept her hands down and her tail feathers materialized. She ended her transformation with her hands on her hips. She was now Athena.

Athena leapt out her window and swung up onto her roof. She was greeted by the sight of Parisians screaming and running from a villain on a paper airplane.

"Is that… Marc!?" She used the feather on her rope to access her Owl Phone.

"Let's see, past akumatized villains…" She came across a photo of Marc. Next to it was a picture of who she was facing now, and her face fell. "Reverser."

She attempted to call Ladybug, but there was no answer. "Ladybug, this is Athena. Reverser is at Place des Vosges, come ASAP!" She tried Cat Noir, but got no answer either. "Looks like this is up to me." She muttered. She began to swing her rope and ran after Reverser.

"What's Old-Timey-Movie all worked up about?"

Athena jumped. "How do you always manage to sneak up on people? This is the fifth time this week!"

"It's just one of my amazing talents." Cat Noir replied.

"Yeah, right. And you're not dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

He groaned. "Just because we know each other's identities doesn't mean you can bring up my personal life, Birdbrain."

"Why thank you! Owls are very smart, you know."

He sighed. "Are you always this irritating?"

"Not as irritating as you." Athena said. She took every chance she could get to out-joke the master of puns.

Ladybug swung by on her yoyo. "Got your message, what'd I miss?" She asked Athena.

"Oh nothing, just outwitting the cat."

Cat Noir glared.

"Nice job." Ladybug pounded fists with Athena.

"Let's just find Reverser and do this thing." Cat Noir said.

"Sounds like a plan, Cat Noir." Athena said.

Chapter 10

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Ladybug raced alongside Athena and Cat Noir. "Make sure you don't get hit by his airplanes." She said.

"Let me guess, they reverse stuff about you." Athena said.

"Right. Last time he made me super clumsy and Cat Noir afraid of his own shadow."

Athena snickered.

"Can we focus on the villain, please?"

"Oh Lillian? Where are you?" Reverser called out.

Athena and Cat Noir's faces paled.

"What?" Ladybug asked.

"Errr, nothing. I just happen to know about the girl he's after. That's all." Athena said hastily.

"Maybe we can use her to distract him like we did with Marinette with Evillustator and Nathaniel last time?"

"No!" Athena shouted. "I, uh, mean, we shouldn't. His powers are most likely increased, and our mission is not to harm, but to help."

"Ah, Clumsybug and Scaredy Cat. And it looks like you've brought a friend. How about the stupid owl?" Reverser said behind them.

"Athena! Look out!" Cat Noir jumped in front of the paper plane.

"You throw one more at us, and you'll be dead in two seconds." Athena growled. She raised her rope and began to swing it, forming a shield.

Ladybug did the same with her yoyo.

"Whirlwind!" Athena launched herself at the villain and began fighting like a literal whirlwind. She managed to dodge and deflect every paper airplane thrown at her, using the summoned winds to support her as Ladybug defended Cat Noir.

Finally, Reverser growled. "You'll regret this!" He flew off, yelling for Lillian.

"Uh, Ladybug? You might want to look at this." Athena called as Ladybug made one last attempt to catch Reverser.

"What?" Ladybug turned to look at Cat Noir. She gasped.

His hair had become longer, stopping at his shoulders. His body was narrower and slimmer. His face had become more delicate, more… feminine. Realization struck her. Cat Noir was no longer a boy. He was a girl.

"What?" She asked. Her voice was higher than usual. "What's wrong?"

"Um, here." Ladybug handed her yoyo over.

Cat Noir looked at herself in selfie mode. "What the what!"

Chapter 11

Lillian Montgomery

"We should split up and cover more ground." Athena said. "With luck, we might be able to catch him, but we'll need to know where he is."

"Good idea. Cat, take the Louvre, Athena, take the Eiffel tower, and I'll focus on Place des Vosges in case he comes back." Ladybug said. "Ready? Go."

Athena ran off. Soon her necklace began to beep. "Oh no, please hold, Unna!" She managed to duck into an alley, but did so by tripping and face planting into a dumpster. "Bleah! How many times do I have to trip?"

"Candy?" Unna asked.

Lillian checked her purse. "I'm all out." She peaked out and saw she was near the Dupain-Cheng bakery. "Can you settle for cookies?" She asked Unna.

"Ok!" Unna dove into Lillian's bag.

Lillian walked to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She tried the door, but found it locked.

"Hello?" She called.

She heard footsteps. Sabine Cheng unlocked the door. "Oh thank goodness! Marinette told us that there was an akumatized villain and we've been worried about all of you! Have you seen her?"

"I-I don't think so. Last I saw her was at school."

"Well, come on in! The more people who are safe, the better!" Sabine pulled Lillian in.

"Woah!"

"Can I at least get some cookies?" Lillian asked Tom and Sabine.

"Why, sure! Any friend of Marinette's is a friend of ours!" Tom said and handed Lillian a plate of cookies.

"Thanks!" Lillian walked off and began to explore. She'd only been in Marinette's home a few times, so there was much she didn't know. She made her way up to Marinette's balcony.

"Wow… what a view!" Lillian exclaimed.

She saw Ladybug go by. "Well, I could ask her if she's seen Marinette, it's the least I can do for her parents." She told Unna, who was happily munching on a cookie.

"Ladybug!" She called out.

The superheroine landed next to Lillian. "What is it?" She asked.

"My friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng is missing and her parents are really worried. Have you seen her?"

"Oh, yes! She's somewhere safe."

Lillian smiled. "Thanks. I'll tell her parents."

Ladybug turned to leave, but paused. "Hey, you're Lillian, right?

She nodded.

"Do you think you could help Cat Noir and I? This villain seems to have it in for you. We can keep you safe though."

She hesitated. On one hand, she knew she could very well be useful to Ladybug and Cat Noir, but on the other hand, her identity could be in danger if Athena wasn't there.

"I'll help you any way I can." She finally said.

"Great." Ladybug grabbed ahold of Lillian and together they soared off.

Chapter 12

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

"Where are we heading?" Lillian asked Ladybug.

"The Eiffel Tower. Athena and Cat Noir should be there by now."

She thought she heard Lillian gulp.

They reached the tower, where Cat Noir was waiting.

"Where's Athena? She's supposed to be around here." Ladybug asked Cat Noir.

"I don't know," She admitted. "She might've run out of time, but-" She faltered when she saw Lillian.

"But what?"

"But-errr-uh-I forgot."

"Let's just do this before he causes more havoc. Lucky Charm!"

"A hat?" Ladybug thought for a moment then gasped. "I'll be right back!" She promised and swung away.

She landed on her balcony. "Spots off."

Marinette crept into her room and accessed a secret compartment under her bed where the Miracle Box was. She hesitated before pulling out the Fox Miraculous. "Sorry, Alya, but a new fox needs to come…" She muttered. "Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug landed back at the tower. "Still no sign of Athena?" She asked.

Both Lillian and Cat Noir shook their heads.

"Oh well." She turned to Lillian.

"Lillian Montgomery, this is the Miraculous of the Fox which grants the power of Illusion. You'll use it for the greater good. Once the mission is over, you'll return the miraculous to me… Can I trust you?"

Lillian's eyes widened. "You can count on me anytime, Ladybug."

Chapter 13

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian put on the necklace, swiftly removing her current one. When Ladybug wasn't looking, she slipped it to Unna, who then flew off. An orange ball of light erupted from the necklace and the fox kwami appeared.

"My name is Trixx, and I'm your kwami! All you have to do is say 'Trixx, let's pounce'!"

Lillian took a deep breath. "Trixx, let's pounce!"

"I don't look like Rena Rouge." She remarked as she examined her new outfit.

While having a two-piece design, mask, and ears like Rena Rouge, that was where the similarities stopped. Her hair had gotten longer and was streaked with orange, pulled into a low ponytail with a gold and black band. Her tips were white, but resembling a fox's tail rather than what it was when she was Athena. She had black arms and legs that ended in a swirling pattern that was outlined in gold. Her top was orange on the top half and white on the bottom, outlined with gold, with a black swan-necked collar with a golden streak in the middle, also outlined in gold. Her lower half was orange with white and gold streaks, and she had an orange, fabric fox tail that glittered with gold ending at her knees.

"It changes for every user. When Cat Noir and I accidentally switched miraculouses, our outfits changed drastically." Ladybug said. "Now, what should we call you?"

Lillian hesitated. "Kitsune. Call me Kitsune."

"Well, Kitsune. Let's take down this baddie. I'm tired of being a girl." Cat Noir said.

"What's the plan?" Kitsune asked Ladybug.

"Lucky Charm!"

Chapter 14

Flora Mayfield

Flora sat at her sewing machine, working on a skirt when Sunny flew up to her.

"Unna's at the window! She has the necklace, too!"

Flora ran to the window and let Unna in. "I hope you're here to apologize for calling me 'poopy head'."

"Never, poopy head!" Unna paused, as if remembering why she was there. "But L-" White sparkles came from her mouth. "I mean Athena needs your help!"

"Is Lillian in trouble?" Flora asked, concerned.

"No. In order to help Ladybug, she's risking her identity. She's gotten the Fox Miraculous and she has a plan, but she'll need 'her' powers. She trusts you with her life."

"Wait, how do you know I'm Tropic Storm?"

"Errr I sorta told her where we live…" Sunny mumbled.

Flora sighed. "You know what, I don't have time to be mad at you. Sunny, feather up!" Tropic Storm turned to Unna, who in turn gave her the miraculous. "Sunny, Unna, unify!"

Tropic Storm leapt to the tower, the pink in her outfit various shades of blue and the gold was now silver. She saw Ladybug and two others, one who looked like Cat Noir, but a girl, and another with a fox-like outfit. Must be Lillian. She thought.

She got closer, staying in the shadows, and overheard the conversation.

"What are you going to do with a mop?" Fox-Lillian asked.

"I don't think you can clean up this mess with just that." The girl-Cat-Noir said.

"Is he- she- always this annoying?" Fox-Lillian groaned.

"Usually more, now I think I have a plan, Kitsune." Ladybug said.

Chapter 15

Lillian Montgomery

Kitsune peeked up and saw a blue figure. Tropic Storm. She smiled to herself. The plan was working.

"Ready to try out your power?" Ladybug asked.

She nodded and raised her flute. She envisioned two copies of herself, one as Lillian, next to her, and one as Athena where Tropic Storm was. "Mirage!"

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late!" 'Athena' hopped down.

"Athena! Just in time!" Ladybug said.

"So what's the plan? I doubt you could do much with a mop."

Ladybug snapped the handle, leaving the mop itself intact. "Cat Noir, I'll need your staff." She said. She used her yo-yo to tie the mop onto Cat Noir's staff.

"Alright, so here's the plan…" Ladybug began to whisper.

Kitsune, Ladybug, and Cat Noir raced around where Reverser was. One by one, they were hit. Ladybug became clumsy, Cat Noir lost her bravado, and Kitsune lost her smarts. They retreated back to the tower.

"Alright. Athena, stay hidden, Cat Noir, take the mop and dip it in water, Kitsune, take 'Lillian' to the top." Ladybug gave directions.

After a few minutes, Ladybug picked up a megaphone. "Reverser! We give up! We surrender our miraculouses! We will also give you Lillian! All we ask is that you turn everyone else back to normal!"

Reverser flew up. "Surrender, eh? Give me Lillian and then we'll talk."

Chapter 16

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste

Ladybug glanced up at Athena, who was still perched in the shadows. She looked at Kitsune, who nodded. The Lillian illusion stepped forward.

"What do you want with me?" She asked.

Reverser flew closer. "Get on first."

"Now!" Ladybug shouted.

"Whirlwind!" Athena's winds imprisoned Reverser.

Cat Noir extended her staff and soaked the airplane. The villain fell, but Kitsune snatched him out of the air. Cat Noir caught the paper airplane and cataclysmed it, releasing the akuma.

Cat Noir tossed Ladybug the mop.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

Athena and Lillian had dispersed, leaving Cat Noir with Ladybug.

"Bye bye, kitty." She told him. "Bug out!" She smiled and swung off.

Cat Noir grinned as he watched his friend go. A few weeks ago, he'd have been love struck by her words, but now Marinette was the one he loved. Ladybug was a friend now, and only that.

"Oh no!" Ladybug's scream reached his ears. He looked over and saw a bright pink light. Ladybug must've run out of time.

Cat Noir ran forward, ignoring his ring's beeping. He vaulted into the air and closed his eyes, playing he would catch her. They landed in an alley

"Cat Noir!?" Ladybug asked in surprise.

"I'm not looking, Bugaboo." He told her with all sincerity.

"But you're about to transform ba-" She stopped with a gasp. "A-Adrien?"

He opened his eyes to see… "Marinette?"

End of Book Two

Chapter 1

Unna

Lillian slept on her lower bunk. Unna had a peppermint shaped pillow on which she slept. Both human and kwami were sound asleep. Two things, one red and one black, phased through a window.

"Unna! We need to talk!" The red thing hissed.

"Candy?" Unna asked sleepily, half awake.

"I've got a cookie, but Plagg ate the cheese he was supposed to bring."

Unna fully opened her eyes to see Tikki and Plagg. "What's going on? Why aren't you with Marinette and Adrien?"

"We'll explain later. Grab something interesting and follow us." Tikki said.

Unna looked around and spotted one of Lillian's wooden puzzles. She picked it up and followed her kwami friends.

They approached the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and entered through the top, where Marinette's bedroom was. The three kwamis entered the Miracle Box.

"We're here!" Plagg called out.

15 kwamis popped up. Trixx, Pollen, Wayzz, Sass, Kaalki, Xuppu, Mullo, Longg, Fluff, Barkk, Daizzi, Stompp, Roarr, Ziggy, and Orikko greeted them.

"Hey, who's behind you?" Xuppu asked, spotting Unna.

"My name is Unna, and I'm the owl kwami! I brought a wooden puzzle!"

"She's not the reason we're here." Tikki said.

"Then what is?" Wayzz inquired.

"The reason is… They know."

Every kwami but Plagg and Tikki gasped. There was only one thing that Tikki would say with that much graveness. Ladybug and Cat Noir's identities weren't secret to them any more.

Chapter 2

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian was making her way to Ms. Bustier's class when she was stopped by Marc.

"Um, hi, Lillian." He said. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for trying to attack you the other day as Reverser."

"It's not your fault Marc. Hawk Moth is the one to blame." She told him.

"Also, I wish you and Nathaniel the best of luck."

Lillian frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you two dating?"

Lillian felt her face go red. "No… Why would you think that?"

"Because he dropped this in the park." Marc handed her a paper.

She gasped. It was a drawing of her as Brushstroke, but drawn around it were hearts of all sizes. One had lettering in it. "NK+LM?"

"Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Lillian Montgomery." Marc explained.

"Thank you Marc!" Lillian said, excitement dancing in her eyes. She clutched the drawing to her chest and ran off.

That evening, Lillian sat at her desk, doing her homework. After a little bit, she decided to get some fresh air. She grabbed a flashlight, her sketchbook, and some drawing utensils, and opened her window. She climbed up to a flat section of her roof and looked out on the city.

Lillian sighed contently. "Paris is more of a home than Alabama ever was." She remarked. She opened her sketchbook and Nathaniel's drawing fluttered out. "After all, it's where he is."

She noticed a dark figure on a nearby rooftop. Lillian flicked on her flashlight and the beam illuminated Cat Noir.

"What is he doing here? It's Ladybug's night to patrol." She said to Unna.

"I don't know, why don't you ask him?" Unna said.

"That's not a bad idea. Unna, wing it." Athena quickly made her way to her friend. "Nest time." She whispered quietly.

Lillian approached her friend. "I knew owls were nocturnal, but I didn't know cats were."

Cat Noir didn't turn around. "Hi, Athena." He said glumly.

"Actually, it's Lillian." She sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

He sighed. "It's partially about Marinette. Our relationship has become… Tested."

"Define 'tested'."

Cat Noir hesitated. "I-I shouldn't say. I'm already putting you and her in danger by talking to you about it."

"It always helps to talk." She told him.

"The thing is… There's a reason Ladybug and Marinette are never seen together."

Lillian's jaw dropped. "You mean she's-?"

He nodded. "Please don't tell her I said that."

"Don't worry." She smiled. "I'm good at keeping secrets. And you should write a note or something to her. So you can talk."

Chapter 3

Adrien Agreste

Later that night, Cat Noir headed back to his home. "Claws in." Adrien collapsed on his bed.

"Lillian's a good friend." He remarked.

"You said the same thing about Marinette." Plagg noted. "Are you just going to keep on switching girls?"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "No, Plagg. My heart belongs to Marinette. Besides, she loves Nathaniel and he loves her. They just don't know the other's feelings yet."

"Love is boring. Cheese is where it's at." The kwami gobbled up a slice of Camenbert.

"Well, I'm going to sleep. So finnish that cheese and settle down."

That morning before school, Adrien took Lillian's advice and prepared a note for Marinette.

Marinette

Mysterious and beautiful, like the moon

Midnight blue, her hair shines so bright

And every waking hour, I hope to see her soon

Eyes that stand out like stars, and they fill me full of delight

Tomorrow, I'll still love her

Six years, I'll still pretty much too

So I just want to say, I love you

And to separate, will be never

He underlined specific letters in each line with invisible ink, so that the underlined letters spelled out 'Marinette, meet me at Eiffel Tower, six PM. I love you, Adrien.'

Adrien put the poem in his bag and exited his room.

Chapter 4

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Marinette could barely keep her eyes open. She had spent most of the past nights thinking about what had happened a week ago. Of course she was grateful for Cat Noir saving her, and even more so that he had closed his eyes so he wouldn't see her, but she still felt it was all her fault.

"Girl, what's wrong? I've never seen you this tired before." Alya asked her.

"It's nothing… Just some sleepless nights…" Marinette murmured, almost falling asleep.

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien walked up to her. He looked worn down as well.

She smiled tiredly. "Hi, Adrien." She stood up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Adrien smiled brightly. "Here, I made this for you." He handed her a piece of paper before sitting down.

Marinette read what he had written aloud. "Marinette. Mysterious and beautiful, like the moon, Midnight blue, her hair shines so bright, And every waking hour, I hope to see her soon, Eyes that stand out like stars, and they fill me full of delight, Tomorrow, I'll still love her, Six years, I'll still pretty much too, So I just want to say, I love you, And to separate, will be never."

"Your boyfriend's a model and a poet. What luck!" Alya said.

He's a superhero, too. Marinette added silently.

That afternoon, Marinette examined the poem at her desk. "Something about this seems a little off." She told Tikki.

"Maybe there's a message?" Tikki suggested.

"You might be right!" She fished out a blacklight and shone it on the paper. "Marinette, meet me at Eiffel Tower, six PM. I love you, Adrien." She smiled. "That sneaky cat has done it again."

"And he wrote you a love poem for it!"

Marinette looked at the time. "It's 5:50. I'm sure he wouldn't mind that I'm a little early. Tikki, spots on!" Ladybug quickly made her way to the tower.

Cat Noir was waiting for her there. "Hey, M- I mean Ladybug."

"Hi, Cat. I got your message. Why did you want to meet me?" Ladybug asked.

"So we could talk about… you know."

"Oh." She sat down next to him. "It's just so hard to wrap my mind around it. Just when life seems almost perfect, something comes to mess it all up again. In this case, it was knowing who you are."

"I know. First you were the girl I loved and the girl whose friendship mattered most to me, then you were my closest friend and my girlfriend, and now, it's a weird mix of both."

"How about being a couple both ways? We could just do what we usually do and hide our identities, and no one's the wiser." Ladybug suggested.

"That's not a bad idea. You're awesome, Bugaboo." He smiled at her.

For once, she didn't object to the name. She just rested her head on his shoulder and they looked out on Paris' glimmering lights.

Chapter 5

Lillian Montgomery

Athena watched Ladybug and Cat Noir from a distance. She smiled. They just seemed so… whole. She accessed the camera on her rope feather and snapped a picture of the two, then ran off, neither hero noticing her.

That night, she landed on her roof. "Nest time." She whispered, so she wouldn't wake her mother. She slipped into her room. Lillian pulled out her phone, where the picture had been transferred to.

"I might just send this to Alya." She mused, a slight gleam in her eyes. She quickly texted her friend the picture.

"Good night, Unna." She murmured before drifting off to sleep.

"Good night, Lillian." Her kwami said sleepily.

That morning, Lillian entered Collège Françoise Dupont. The whole school was abuzz about Ladybug and Cat Noir. Alya ran up to her.

"How did you get that picture? The Ladyblog has exploded thanks to you!"

"I have friends in high places." She replied.

"Come on! I have to know more!" Alya pleaded.

"My lips are sealed." She said, but smiled slightly. Lillian walked off.

Lillian slipped into the art classroom and put a note she had prepared that morning on Nathaniel's seat. She raced out the door to Ms. Bustier's class. "Hopefully I'll see you soon, Nathaniel." She murmured before entering the classroom.

Chapter 6

Nathaniel Kurtzberg

"Lillian? Is something wrong?" Nathaniel asked his seatmate. She was acting very strange.

"No, no. Everything's fine!" She stammered.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't press it.

Later in the day, he entered the art classroom. He found a letter on his seat. He opened it and read what was written.

Dear Nathaniel,

I've pushed my feelings down for fear I'll ruin our friendship, but now I need to tell you something. If you meet me on the roof of the school tonight, you'll find what it is.

See you there,

MHL

"Who could MHL be?" He wondered aloud.

"No clue, but you should check it out." Marc told him. "Someone must really want to tell you something."

"You have a point. I guess I'll meet him or her tonight."

True to his word, Nathaniel made his way to the roof that evening.

"Hello?" He called. "MHL?" He looked around.

"Hello, Nathaniel." A shadowy figure stepped into his view. She had a light pink skirt with darker pink feather designs that went down her knees, with an ankle-length train of the same pattern. Her top was teal and heart shaped. She wore a simple white sweater with some pink flower designs. The girl fully stepped into the fading sunlight.

Nathaniel gasped softly. "Lillian? You're MHL?"

She smiled. "MHL, Montgomery Hope Lillian. My initials backward."

"Why did you want to meet me? Where did you get that dress?"

"To answer your second question, Marinette made it. As for the first one…" She reached into her purse and pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. "Marc gave this to me." Lillian handed it to him.

His heart skipped a beat. It was the same drawing he had dropped just before Marc had been akumatized.

"Is it true?" Lillian asked. "Do you… love me?"

Nathaniel felt like a deer struck by headlights. "I-I um. Err, uhhh… No! LM st-stands for um, Lee Marvins, my neighbor!" He was making the whole thing up, of course.

"I- oh." Her eyes lost their gleam and her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." She turned and left.

Chapter 7

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian couldn't bear to look at Nathaniel. Her hopes had been crushed.

"Lillian, I-I'm sorry." Nathaniel tried to talk to her.

She looked away. "It's fine…" She got up and took the hall pass. Lillian headed out the door and to the restroom.

In a stall, she began to sob, clutching Nathaniel's drawing. "I dared to hope, and now our friendship may never be repaired." The drawing got smudged by her tears.

"Lillian?" Marinette's voice echoed through. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." She said shakily.

"Okay…"

Lillian didn't notice the akuma heading for her until it was right in front of her. She let out an ear piercing scream as it entered the paper.

"Heartthrob, I am Hawk Moth." The villain spoke to her through her mind. "Your hopes of love have been crushed. I will give you the power to erase and replace love for any one you choose. In return, all I ask for are Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculouses. Do we have a deal?"

Lillian reached for her necklace, but not her miraculous. She pulled out the locket Adrien gave her for Christmas and looked at the two pictures inside. Her father and her friends.

"No!" She shouted. "I am Lillian! Lillian Hope Montgomery! I am not Heartthrob! You can't control me Hawk Moth!" She rebelled against the villain's power. "I am Ath- Kitsune!"

Hawk Moth fell silent and the akuma flew out of the drawing.

Lillian collapsed. She was vaguely aware of someone rushing in, and a pink light before blacking out.

Chapter 8

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

"Lillian? Are you okay?" Ladybug tried to awaken her friend. The akuma was long gone, but Lillian was still out cold.

"Spots off." She detransformed. If there was no akuma to catch, being Ladybug was pointless. Marinette managed to get Lillian upright and put one of her arms around her shoulders, so she was supporting her. She couldn't help be a bit in awe of Lillian. She'd never witnessed someone successfully resist an akuma before, though Ms. Bustier had come close.

"Oh, Cat Noir, Adrien, whatever, if there was ever a time I needed you, it's now…" She murmured as she got out of the restroom.

As if summoned, she heard his voice. "Marinette? What's going on? Ms. Bustier sent me to check up on you two."

She looked up to see Adrien on the floor above. "She fought off an akuma." She explained.

"She what?!" Adrien rushed down. "No one's ever done that before, right?"

"Ms. Bustier came close, but otherwise, it hasn't happened to my knowledge."

"Did you capture it?"

"It was gone when I got in there. Now, can you help me with Lillian?"

"Sure thing." He grabbed Lillian's arm and together they walked off, supporting their friend.

They were almost to Ms. Bustier's door when Lillian began to moan. "Marinette? Adrien? Wh-what's going on?"

"You fought off an akuma. That's no easy feat." She told her friend.

"And what's Adrien doing here?"

"When you didn't return soon, Ms. Bustier sent me to check up on you two." Adrien explained.

Lillian attempted to stand. At first she was wobbly, but she quickly regained balance. She gave them a grateful look and entered the classroom.

Chapter 9

Chloé Bourgeois

Chloé clenched her fists in anger as she watched Lillian be surrounded by admiring classmates. She had become instantly popular once she had told them what had happened.

"Fighting off an akuma? Puh-lease. That's not so special! I've done it before." She cried out.

The class stared at her doubtfully.

"Sure, you did, Chloé, and I'm Ladybug." Alix said, the sarcasm so thick you could almost see it.

The class burst into laughter. Even Sabrina couldn't hold it in.

Chloé stormed off, furious.

In her room, her anger only increased as she surfed the web. All everyone was talking about was either Lillian's picture of Ladybug and Cat Noir or Lillian's feat of fighting off the akuma. The little nobody from nowhere had somehow achieved city-wide fame… or something like that. The picture of the two heroes only infuriated her more.

Chloé banged her fist on her desk. She didn't notice the black butterfly until it had entered her necklace.

"Ahh, Miss Chloé Bourgeois. How nice to see you again." She heard the villain speak in her mind.

Chloé grinned. "Hawk Moth, it's good to see you too. I assume you want to give me powers?" She asked nonchalantly.

Hawk Moth chuckled. "Bright as ever, Miss Bourgeois. Like the Roman goddess Minerva, you have excellent tactics. Now it's time to put them to use. I shall give you the power to perfectly impersonate any hero or villain of your choosing. You can infiltrate the heroes and take them down from the inside. All I ask for in return are Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculouses. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Hawk Moth."

Chapter 10

Lillian Montgomery

Lillian sighed as she sat on her roof. The day had been tiring, and not just because of the akuma. Chloé had gotten extremely jealous about her feat, and nearly everyone else had crowded around her for the rest of the day. The only people who kept their space were Marinette and Adrien, obviously, and Nathaniel.

She pulled out the drawing. "I have no one to blame but me…" She murmured. A tear slid down her cheek and splotched the paper.

Unna flew up next to her. "Would it make you feel better if I called him a poopy head?" She asked innocently.

Lillian managed a weak smile. "I thought Storm was the poopy head."

"Yeah, well, that poopy head isn't here right now, so he can be the poopy head!"

She laughed out loud, but quickly slipped back into her gloom. "Thanks, Unna, but it doesn't change that Nathaniel loves someone else."

She heard the familiar sheik of Cat Noir's staff.

"I knew cats were nocturnal, but I didn't know owls were." He said from behind her.

"Ha ha ha." She said flatly. "Not as good as mine."

"I just wanted to check up on you. I mean, fighting off an akuma is no easy feat, not to mention the extra baggage of being a hero." He sat down next to her.

"Truth be told, I don't think I could've managed it if I didn't have this." Lillian pulled out her locket and opened it, revealing the two pictures that resided inside.

"Is that your dad?" He asked, pointing at the first picture. "You look like him."

She looked fondly at it. Her father was grinning as he held a baby Lillian, while Cristine Montgomery, her mother, was laughing as she draped her arm on her husband's shoulder. "Yeah," She finally said. "That's him."

"There's something else bothering you." Cat Noir said. "What is it?"

"You seem to know everything. You tell me."

"Someone once told me that it always helps to talk."

She gave him a dirty look. "Now you're just teasing." She sighed and showed him the drawing.

"Brushstroke? Why do you have a drawing of her?"

"I've had a crush on Nathaniel for what seems like forever, and Marc gave this to me about 4 days ago. He said it meant he had a crush on me too…" She found herself spilling everything to Cat Noir.

He listened patiently to her. When she had finished, he opened his mouth to say something, but a new, yet strangely familiar voice interrupted him.

"Well, well, well. Has the tomcat found himself a new molly?"

They looked up to see a girl leaning against a wall on the roof of a nearby building. She had a skintight suit that was white on the top half, and light blue on the bottom. The colors were divided by a curved v shape that laid slightly above her waist. On her shoulders, she had silver-blue feather designs that looked like wings. A blue rope threaded with black was wrapped around her waist. There was a mask that followed the same color scheme as the rest of the suit. She had short brown hair with white tips, and bright blue eyes. Underneath the rope were five fabric tail feathers.

With a start, Lillian realized the girl was a perfect duplicate of her. Well, Athena.

"I'll stall her, you transform and find Ladybug." Cat Noir whispered to her.

It was obvious that they were thinking the same thing. The girl, whoever she was, was either akumatized, the product of an akumatized villain, or a sentimonster, none of which could be resolved without the spotted heroine.

Chapter 11

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Ladybug made her way across the city on patrol. The moon shone bright and full, which made her think of the time she and Adrien had danced in New York. During nights like this, her mind was clear. No worries about how to juggle her civilian and superhero lives, no fretting if someone other than Adrien discovered her identity. Nothing.

Of course, like all seemingly perfect moments, it had to be ruined.

"Look out!" A girl's voice shattered the tranquil.

Ladybug looked up to see Athena spiraling towards her, but light blue bird wings held her slightly aloft.

"Whirlwind!" Athena used her power to cushion her plummet, but she still wound up face planting next to the spotted hero.

Ladybug rushed to help her friend up. "Athena! Is something wrong?"

"Akuma. Cat Noir. Montgomery." She panted out, trying to catch her breath.

"Akuma?" She echoed, alarmed. "You mean there's an akumatized villain?"

Athena nodded. "I think so. Looks just like me." Her breaths were becoming steadier.

"Okay. Where is it? Do you know who? And since when did you have wings?" The last question was definitely not necessary, but she'd just blurted it out.

"Montgomery place. Nope. Discovered them a few weeks ago. Still not used to them."

"Got it." She readied her yoyo, but paused. "Do you need to recharge?"

"Nah. Got four minutes to use whirlwind, and then five minutes until I detransform."

"Good. Let's find Cat Noir and your doppelganger."

Chapter 12

Adrien Agreste

Adrien groaned as he pushed himself up. The moment that he had shown suspicion of the fake Athena, she had judo flipped him into the alley. He looked at his hands, which no longer sported the clawed gloves of Cat Noir. Furthermore, there was no silver ring or a tiny cat whining for cheese.

"No, no, no, no!" He scrambled around, searching for the ring.

"Cat Noir?"

He swiveled his head up to see who had spoken. It was Ladybug. His face immediately lit up, but it quickly fell when he saw she wasn't looking at him.

"Where's the villain?" Ladybug asked.

He heard his own voice respond, "I don't know. She overpawered me."

Adrien cringed as he heard that clawful pun.

"She was wearing this ring though. I don't know why, but it's purrplexingly like mine,"

This time, both Ladybug and Athena groaned, but Adrien froze. The fake Athena/Cat Noir had his ring.

"Did you see where she went?" Athena asked.

He wanted to yell out that the villain was right in front of them, but he couldn't risk drawing attention to himself.

He couldn't go back to the mansion. He was sure of that. Even if he was let in at this hour, no doubt he'd have to explain where he was.

The obvious answer came to him. The Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Sabine and Tom treated him like their own son. They'd surely let him stay until things were settled.

Ladybug and Athena were still talking to the fake him, so the coast was clear.

He quickly made his way to the bakery he visited so often.

Adrien knocked on the locked door, praying that Marinette's parents would be able to hear him.

He heard footsteps, and soon, Sabine Cheng unlocked the door.

"Adrien? What on earth are you doing here?" She exclaimed.

"Akuma."

That one word caused him to be pulled inside the bakery. There, Tom and Sabine fussed over him.

"Please let me get Plagg back…" He murmured once he was alone. "Please."

Chapter 13

Lillian Montgomery

Something was off about Cat Noir, but Athena couldn't place it. Ladybug seemed to notice whatever it was too, as there was a slight frown on her face, but she tried to pass it off as thinking.

Athena began to think. If the villain could look like her, who's to say they couldn't look like Cat Noir?

"Say, Cat Noir, could I take a look at that ring?" She asked innocently.

"No."

"But we're friends, aren't we?"

"Just give her the ring, Cat. What could she do with it?" Ladybug said.

Cat Noir grumbled, but handed the identical ring over.

Athena examined the ring closely, comparing it to the one on Cat Noir before her. She couldn't find a single difference. But there was one last thing to do to make sure her theory was correct.

She slipped on the ring.

Instantly, it became gold with a circular teal stone in the center. A green ball of light shot out, and faded to reveal the black cat kwami.

"Impostor!" Ladybug shouted. "What have you done with the real Cat Noir?"

"Oh, I just deprived him of his miraculous, just like I'm going to do with you!" The fake Cat Noir morphed into a girl with long brown hair and a fox ensemble.

"Lila!"

Volpina lunged forward, aiming at Ladybug, but Athena leapt at her. The two tangled, but Volpina soon overpowered her and snagged her necklace.

Lillian was tossed into the alley. She groaned as she picked herself up, watching the last of her suit disappear.

She heard a strangled gasp from behind her. Lillian whirled around to see Nathaniel, staring at her, wide eyed and pale as a ghost.

"L-Lillian?" He stammered.

"Nathaniel, this isn't what it looks like. I was, uh…"

"Fighting an akumatized villain with Ladybug and Cat Noir?" He supplied. "You're not a good liar, Lillian."

She groaned. "Please don't tell anyone about this."

"I can keep a secret." He told her.

"Cheese?" Plagg whined.

"What was that!?"

Lillian face palmed. "Plagg, you should know that I don't carry cheese. I'm not Cat Noir, so normally it's not my responsibility to feed you."

"W-who's Plagg?"

"Me." Plagg flew out from behind Lillian. "Kwami of Destruction, nice to meet you. Do you have cheese?"

"Plagg!" She scolded. "I'm not sure what Cat Noir tells you, but you can't just go up to someone and ask for cheese." She blinked, finally taking in the full situation. "Nathaniel, I'm going to need you to keep another secret for me."

"Oh no."

"Plagg, claws out!"

Chapter 14

Nathaniel Kurtzberg

I'm in love with a superhero. The girl I love is a literal superhero. Why does that somehow make sense? Nathaniel's mind reeled as he stared at the girl in front of him. I go to try to clear things up with Lillian and I discover the identity of one of Paris' superheroes.

"Nathaniel?" Lillian asked. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I don't blame you. I know what it's like to have your world turned upside down, but I've always gotten through it. And if I can do that, so can you."

Her normally blue-green eyes were now green like a cat's. Her brown hair was longer and braided with a single green streak going through it. She donned black fabric cat ears edged with green. She had smooth black clawed gloves trimmed in green. Two crisscrossing lines of green wrapped around her waist, to the back of which a silver staff and a black fabric cat tail were attached. Her black boots reached her knees, and had green wedges that gave her extra height.

He blushed. "Th-thanks, Lillian, o-or Athena, or, uh-"

"Lillian is fine for now." She turned around.

"Wait!" He grabbed her arm. "Be careful. Please."

She smiled. "I'll do my best, but you know about my history of face planting." She said with a twinkle in her eyes. "But only if you promise to stay safe as well."

"I-I will.''

"Thank you, Nathaniel." And, before he saw it coming, Lillian kissed him on the cheek. "And it's okay that you love someone else. We can always be just friends."

With that, Lillian used her staff to vault up and out of sight.

Nathaniel stared at the space she had been. "But I don't want to be just friends." He whispered softly.

Chapter 15

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Ladybug was pinned down by Volpina. She couldn't shake her grip.

"Once I have your miraculous, I will be unstoppable!" She proclaimed with triumph, cackling evilly.

"But you forgot the Black Cat!" A girl shouted.

A figure in black smashed into Volpina, knocking the villain off of Ladybug.

"Cat Noir?"

"Nope. I'm way sassier and funnier, but I have the green eyes and the cat attire." The girl in black said, standing up. "You can call me Katrina, because I'm a force to be reckoned with."

"Athena?" She asked incredulously, because there was no one else who would challenge Cat Noir's sass and puns. "But how?"

"Chloé might've gotten my necklace, but she forgot that I still had Cat Noir's ring." She said.

"Wait, Chloé?"

"Why don't you take a look at 'Volpina' over there?"

Ladybug looked to where the villain was knocked to, and just like Katrina had said, Chloé was lying where Volpina should have been.

"How did you manage to land a hit? She managed to overpower all three of us before. What makes this time different?"

"My guess is that her power is to impersonate any hero or villain, so the fact that I'm using a different miraculous means she can't know how I'll act to different people because she doesn't know who I am."

"You know, you joke around so much that I sometimes forget how smart you are."

"Wing it, whirlwind, and nest time. Unna eats candy." Katrina tossed the Owl Miraculous to her.

"Wha- but shouldn't I purify the akuma?"

"You mean the one that's gone?"

"Oh." She said, seeing that Chloé was indeed gone. "Alright. Just don't look." Ladybug ducked out of sight. "Spots off."

"What's going on?" The ladybug kwami asked after being fed a macaroon.

"It's a long story, Tikki, but I'm going to need you to get these to Cat Noir." Marinette took off her earrings. "Athena, or Katrina, has a plan."

The kwami nodded in understanding. "I'll do my best to find him." With that, Tikki flew off.

Marinette put on the necklace she held. "Hello, there, Unna. I'm going to need your miraculous' abilities. And yes, Athena okay-ed this."

"Do you at least have candy?"

"Unna!" Katrina scolded from afar.

Marinette laughed. "No, but I do have cookies. Unna, wing it!"

Chapter 16

Adrien Agreste/Nathaniel Kurtzberg

Adrien stood on Marinette's balcony, trying to see if he could spot Ladybug or Athena, or maybe, if by some miracle, Plagg. He didn't like feeling so helpless. He'd felt enough of that in the mansion before Plagg came along.

"Adrien? Are you sure you're okay?" Sabine asked, having climbed through the trapdoor.

"Yeah. I'm just worried. That's all."

Sabine smiled. "You have a good heart, Adrien."

"Thanks, Sabine." He smiled weakly as Marinette's mother descended down. Why can't Father be more like that? He thought. Just someone who is supportive and kind. Is that too much to ask?

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice the little red kwami until she hissed his name.

"Adrien!"

He looked over to see none other than Tikki, who was holding the earrings.

"Tikki? Why do you have the earrings? Is Marinette alright? Is Plagg okay? What about Athena?"

"Everyone is fine." Tikki assured him. "But in order to defeat this villain, there needs to be a change of the miraculous. Athena recovered Plagg, and Ladybug is using Unna. They need you to become Mister Bug."

"Alright. Where are they?" He asked, taking the miraculous.

"Waiting for you at the Eiffel Tower."

"Got it. Tikki, spots on!"

Nathaniel sat at his desk in his room, his cheek still warm from Lillian's kiss.

"I can't just let her fight alone." He said aloud. "She doesn't have the experience with the Cat Miraculous." Nathaniel sighed heavily. "Why can't I be a superhero?"

He stared at his sketchbook, looking at all the different heroes he had drawn. And not just the ones that Paris knew.

Many of his pages were filled with designs for Brushstroke. Nathaniel sighed again. "If I were Mightillustrator, I could just draw whatever I needed to save the day."

A thought occurred to him. "But I might be able to find someone who could!"

He hopped onto his computer and did a quick search of the residents of Montgomery, Alabama in the past year. He then cross-checked those names with the residents of Paris in the past year. Only six names popped up, but only two of them were important to his search: Flora Mayfield and Carol Mayfield.

Another quick search told him that only Flora was about his age.

Nathaniel printed out the address and went out the door. He was off to find Tropic Storm.

Chapter 17

Flora Mayfield

"Flora?" Her father called up. "A boy is here to see you."

"Ooooooh! Flora has a boyfriend! Flora has a boyfriend! Flora and that boy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes the love, then comes the marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage! But that's not all, but that's all-"

"Carson, shut up." She grumbled as she made her way to the door.

She opened it to see a boy about her age with red hair that covered one of his eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Nathaniel Kurtzberg, and I'm looking for Tropic Storm."

Flora felt the blood drain from her face. Could this boy actually know she was Tropic Storm?

She decided to play dumb. "I don't know who that is."

"And the girl I love isn't Athena."

"Lillian doesn't have a boyfriend." She said. "Oh poop."

"She needs help."

"I've retired. I can't be in Montgomery, and I'm not needed here."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is just having to sit by while someone you love risks their life? Because that's what I'm going through. This villain managed to take her miraculous."

Flora subconsciously reached for her comb. She could tell that the boy had pure intentions, but could she really trust him? But then again, Lillian needed her, and she couldn't just abandon her friend.

She sighed and took the comb from her hair. "The Flamingo Miraculous is very powerful, make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. I will only give this to you one time, and you have to promise to return it to me."

Nathaniel's eyes widened. "You're- you're giving it to me?"

"Only to help Lillian. Promise that you'll help her."

"I promise I will."

"Thank you." Flora recalled the words the guardian of Sunny's Miracle Box had taught her if she ever were to give a miraculous to another. "Nathaniel Kurtzberg, here is the Miraculous of the Flamingo which grants the power of Creativity. You will use it for the greater good. Once the mission is over, you'll return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"

"I will do everything I can to help Lillian and the others."

She handed him the comb. "Now go. Help her."

Chapter 18

Lillian Montgomery

Katrina vaulted over Chloé, who was masked as Riposte, narrowly dodging a slash from her sword.

"You hoo! Over here!" Ladybug yelled, waving her arms. "Bet you can't catch me!"

Chloé growled and lunged at the heroine, but Ladybug was too quick.

"Hey, wanna-bee! Try me instead!" She shouted. Their plan was basically to keep Chloé occupied until Mister Bug showed up.

She blew a large raspberry at the villain, being at her utmost peak of being annoying and irritating, which was pretty high.

She wasn't sure how long they would be able to keep it up, though, as Chloé was getting wise to them.

"Now, how did that vixen put it? Oh yes," She laughed sadistically and shifted to a form that she knew all too well. "I am Minerva. I have power over everything and everyone."

Katrina froze. She knew exactly what Minerva was referencing. "No." She whispered. "No, no, no."

"Katrina?" Ladybug had rushed to her side. "Katrina, what is it?"

She didn't answer. She had never let on how much Hecate had impacted her. She still had nightmares about the villain, even though she had been defeated nearly six months ago.

"Katrina, I don't know what's wrong, but if you don't move soon, Minerva will get your miraculous!"

"Too late!"

She stood frozen as Minerva lunged for her ring.

"You know, I thought you were traumatizing enough even when you weren't akumatized, but Athena certainly thinks otherwise." A voice called as a quill whizzed by, stopping the villain.

Katrina was shaken out of her stupor. "St-Storm?" She stammered. She would recognize that quill anywhere.

"Tropic Storm is retired. I'm a one-time holder. Call me Mightillustrator."

Chapter 19

Nathaniel Kurtzberg

Mightillustrator had to fight a smile as Katrina stormed over to him. Her furious face just didn't look all that scary with the cat costume.

"You promised you would stay safe!" She yelled.

"Civilian me promised. Mightillustrator didn't." He replied. "And I couldn't just stand by."

"I can handle this. You've never wielded a miraculous before. I can't let you get hurt, Nath- Mightillustrator." She said in a much softer tone.

"And neither can I."

Katrina's face suddenly flushed bright red. "I- uh-" She tripped over her words.

He laughed. "You're starting to sound like Marinette."

"Y-yeah. I guess I am." She laughed self consciously.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, creating a highly awkward silence. Subconsciously, though, they were slowly drawing closer.

The pair locked eyes, cat green upon aquamarine. An unsaid message passed between them.

Is this really happening? His thoughts raced. Am I really going to-? His thoughts were interrupted by a snobbish voice.

"Just kiss already!" Minerva called.

Katrina simply shrugged, and, just like before, she kissed him. But this time it wasn't on the cheek.

Mightillustrator and Katrina locked hands, and for that moment, nothing in the world mattered other than the fact that they were together at last.

"Does this mean we're dating now?" She asked as they pulled back.

He grinned. "It absolutely does." And with that, he kissed the girl he had fallen in love with once again.

Chapter 20

Gabriel Agreste

Hawk Moth scowled as the purified akuma fluttered back to his liar. When Minerva had been distracted by the two heroes kissing, the obnoxious Mister Bug had managed to break the necklace that the akuma had infected.

"One day. One day very soon, I will get your miraculouses, Ladybug and Cat Noir." He vowed. "No matter how many heroes join you, the villains will always outnumber and overpower you."

"Sir?" Nathalie asked, approaching him. "Perhaps you should stop. People are becoming more resilient to your akumas. Today was the second time you tried to akumatize that Lillian girl, and also the second time someone managed to resist your akuma. You might just have to accept that Emilie is gone."

He sighed. "Nooroo, dark wings fall." Gabriel turned to Nathalie. "But with every new akuma, I learn something new about those heroes. Things that I can use against them. Like with Hecate. The only reason they won was because of Athena. And now with Minerva, I now know that one of her deepest fears is Hecate."

"Sir? What are you getting at?"

"I won't rest until I have her back, Nathalie. I will do whatever it takes to be with her again."

"Sir?" Nathalie asked again.

"It might be time to call on Miss Rossi's talents again."

"Are you sure?"

"For Emilie, anything."

He didn't notice Nooroo and Duusu exchange worried looks.

End of Book Three

Chapter 1

Marinette Agreste

"And to thank our guardians for 25 years of protecting our city, I, Chloé Bourgeois, the mayor of Paris, dedicate the Miraculous Gardens to Ladybug, Cat Noir, and all of our other heroes!"

Ladybug smiled as she stood side by side with her friends. Along with Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Athena, Viperion, Ryuko, Pegasus, Bunnix, and King Monkey stood with her.

"Thank you, Chloé. I know Queen Bee wanted to be here tonight, but I'm afraid being in two places at once is quite difficult." She said.

Her joke sent ripples of laughter among the crowd.

"And I'd like to thank so many people for our success, and for helping us in akuma attacks." She continued.

Cat Noir then took over.

Later that night she and Cat Noir landed on the Agreste mansion. "Spots off."

"Claws in."

The couple went inside.

"Do you think it's time?" Marinette asked her husband. "I mean, being Ladybug has been wonderful, but I'm also the guardian. The box will be safer if a new Ladybug arises."

"Do what you think is best. You've never steered us wrong." Adrien told her. "Whatever you do, I promise I'll be there to support you."

She smiled. "I'll look for candidates tomorrow." She told him.

True to her word, after her daughters, Kathrine and Emily, left the house, Marinette transformed into Ladybug and began to search Paris for someone worthy.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon that she found the right people.

The first one was walking with some other girls. They passed an elderly woman, who was being pushed around by the crowd. The group walked past her, but one girl ran back and helped the woman.

The second was alone, unlike the girl. He had a giant cookie, of which he was about to take a bite out of, when he saw a young child staring hungrily at it. Without a moment's hesitation, the boy gave his cookie to the child.

Ladybug smiled. She had just found Paris' next heroes.

Chapter 2

Cayden Couffaine

Cayden entered Collège Françoise Dupont. His older sister Calypso had already entered, and Freedom was tagging along with her big sister as usual, leaving Cayden alone on his first day of school. His mother had been homeschooling him up until now.

He looked at his schedule. "I have Mrs. Bruel… Who is that?"

After a bit, he finally found the classroom.

The only person he recognized was his cousin Violet, but she was sitting in the back with a blonde and blue eyed girl. Cayden looked around and found an open seat next to a boy with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was listening to some music.

Cayden sighed and sat down next to the boy. The boy took out his earbuds.

"Uh, hi. I'm Aiden Lahiffe-Césaire." He said, somewhat awkwardly.

"I'm Cayden Couffaine." Cayden mumbled back.

Aiden's jaw dropped. "Couffaine as in Juleka and Luka Couffaine, two of the members of Kitty Section?"

"Uh, yeah, he's my dad and she's my aunt."

"That is so cool!" Before Aiden could talk further, a young woman entered the room.

"Good morning class! I am Mrs. Bruel, and I am your teacher. Now, I will call roll. Emily Agreste?"

"Here, and I go by Emmy." The girl Violet was sitting next to said.

"Kathrine Agreste?"

"Here!" The girl in front of Aiden called. "And I go by Kat."

"Amaya Bourgeois?"

"I'm here." A brown haired girl murmured.

"I already know Percy is here, so Cayden Couffaine?"

"Uh, here." Cayden mumbled.

"Gabrielle Graham de Vanily?"

"Call me Gabby!" A girl with blonde hair and green eyes piped up.

"Mark Kanté?"

"I am present." A boy said, somewhat robotically.

"Kayla Kubdel?"

"Yo." A girl with wild green hair said.

"Leo Lê?"

"Present."

"Annabeth Kurtzberg?"

"That's me." An auburn-haired girl who sat in front of him said.

"Adien Lahiffe-Césaire?"

"Right here!" Adien called.

"And finally, Violet Lavillant?"

"Present!" His cousin called.

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Bruel clapped her hands. "Now, let's get to know each other. Please pick one person you don't already know and spend five minutes talking to each other!"

Before the students could get up, Amaya suddenly began to wail. "Leo! Why?"

"Amaya, please calm down." Mrs. Bruel said, but Amaya had run out the door.

Chapter 3

Annabeth Kurtzberg

Annabeth doodled in her notebook, halfheartedly listening to Mrs. Bruel. She was thinking about her parents. They, along with her Uncle Marc, had gone to the USA for some comic book convention or something. Marc wasn't really her uncle, but he was so close to her parents that she just called him that.

She was going to stay with the Agrestes, her mother had told her. It was fine by Annabeth. She loved to hang out with Kat and Emmy. But her mother had been acting weird. She'd even given a package to her to deliver to Marinette.

Kat nudged her. "Psst, pay attention."

Suddenly, Leo shrieked out in alarm. Pencils were being thrown at him from around the room.

Fiendish laughter filled the room.

"Class, please evacuate the school and go home. This is clearly an akuma attack. I'm sure Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Athena will take care of it." Mrs. Bruel said, somewhat fearfully.

"C'mon, Annabeth!" Kat pulled her along.

She, along with Kat and Emmy soon arrived at the Agreste mansion, where Marinette quickly ushered them inside. Annabeth was so hurried, she didn't notice a small box being slipped into her bag. Also in her haste, she didn't realize that she'd dropped the package for Marinette, or that the ever curious Emmy came across it.

In Kat and Emmy's room, Annabeth turned on their TV.

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news! I'm Alya Césaire. Have our heroes abandoned us? Earlier this afternoon, Amaya Bourgeois was akumatized into the villain Chaotica, but there is no sign of Ladybug, Cat Noir, or Athena!"

Annabeth gasped, knocking over her bag. Among the contents was an octagonal box she had never seen before.

"What is this?" She opened the box and a bright, pink light flew out. She dropped the box.

"Hello, Annabeth! I'm Tikki, and Ladybug has chosen you to be her successor!"

"Say what now?"

Chapter 4

Cayden Couffaine

Cayden stared at the little cat creature in front of him.

"Let me get this straight, Ladybug wants me and some other person I don't know to be the next Cat Noir and Ladybug?" He asked.

The cat nodded. "Now, you gonna transform or what? If you don't, you better give me some cheese."

He sighed. "It's not like my day can get any weirder. What do I do?"

"Just say, 'Plagg, claws out'." Plagg said.

"Got it." He stood up. "Plagg, claws out!"

"Woahhhhhhh!" Cayden hurtled through the sky. "How does Cat Noir do this!?" He cried as he clung to his stick.

"Look out!" A new voice shouted.

He saw a figure in red and black hurtling towards him. The two of them collided and his staff went haywire.

The girl's yoyo wrapped around them and they hung suspended in the air.

"Hello, there. Nice of you to drop in." He joked.

"Weren't those the first words Cat Noir said to Ladybug?" The girl asked him.

"Yep, but don't worry, I won't be falling madly in love with you."

She giggled. "We'll see about that."

They got untangled and upright. Cayden got his first good look at the girl. She had auburn hair in a single braid down her back, tied off with a black ribbon with a red stone in the center. Her bluish green eyes sparkled playfully inside of her mask, which was just like Ladybug's. Her shoulders resembled the inverse of a ladybug's wings, and she had black boots with short red heels. She had a short black train in the shape of a ladybug wing, and around her waist was the iconic yoyo.

"So, who are you?" He asked her.

"Call me… Ruby Lady. And you?"

"You can call me Felynx." He told her.

Chapter 5

Emily Agreste

Emmy stared at the package in her hand. It had an octagonal shape, but it was wrapped in paper. There was a note on the top.

M-

CN told me a long time ago, and I've kept your secret for you, but now, I am ready to stop being a hero. It's been an honor working with you two, and please make sure this goes to someone just as deserving. N and A do not know yet, but I plan to tell them soon.

I'll see you around,

KMHL

"Who are M, CN, N, A, and KMHL?" Emmy wondered aloud. She felt like Pandora in the ancient Greek myths, her curiosity growing by the second.

"I suppose I could just see what's inside and re-wrap it for Annabeth." She mused.

Carefully, she removed the wrapping, revealing an octagonal box with a red insignia on the lid. As she pried it open, a silvery blue ball of light flew out.

"Finally! I knew you were just joking when you renounced me, Lillian!" A small voice said as the light faded to reveal a small, blue creature.

"Lillian? As in Lillian Kurtzberg, by best friend's mom?" Emmy asked, quickly recovering her wits.

"You're not Lillian!" The creature screamed.

"I'm Emmy Agreste." By then she had noticed the creature's voice was feminie.

Realization seemed to dawn upon the thing. "B-but she would never pass me on to a stranger, even if she was the daughter of her best friend."

"Wait, so this 'Lillian' is my mom or dad's best friend? But Dad's best friend is Mr. Nino and Mom's is Mrs. Alya."

"I said her best friend, not theirs."

"You still haven't told me what is going on." Emmy pointed out.

"My name is Unna, and I'm a kwami. I'm guessing Lillian somehow got this box to Ladybug, who in turn deemed you worthy and gave me and my miraculous to you."

"How can that be? My best friend Annabeth was carrying this." She held up the box that Unna had flown out of.

Before Unna could respond, Emmy's green-eyed and black-haired twin dashed in. "You won't believe this! There are two new superheroes!" Kat exclaimed. "A new Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

"What!? That's so cool!" Emmy tried to hide her nervousness. A small part of her knew that Unna had to be a secret.

"I know!" Her twin agreed. "Reports say that their names are Ruby Lady and Felynx. I wonder if a new Athena will show up." Kat talked a mile a minute.

"Maybe. Why don't you continue to check the news?" Emmy hurried her sister out. Once she was gone, she turned to the kwami.

"Let me guess. You know you shouldn't have the miraculous, but you need to stop the villain, so you need to transform. Your face looks just like Lillian's when she had gotten over the shock."

She sighed. "You got me. What do I do?" Emmy pulled out the necklace from the box.

Chapter 6

Marinette Agreste

"Emmy? Where are you?" Marinette searched the mansion for her daughter. Kat had come running up to her, saying that Emmy had vanished. She wished she still had Tikki with her, or even Plagg. The cat kwami could almost always make her laugh.

A rustling caught her attention. Marinette found a piece of paper fluttering in the wind. She bent down and picked it up.

"M. CN told me a long time ago, and I've kept your secret for you, but now, I am ready to stop being a hero. It's been an honor working with you two, and please make sure this goes to someone just as deserving. N and A do not know yet, but I plan to tell them soon. I'll see you around, KMHL." She read the note aloud.

M was undoubtedly her, and the KMHL triggered a story Nathaniel had once told her. Lillian had written a note to him and signed it 'MHL' which were her initials backwards. Add a K to MHL and it would become KMHL… Marinette gasped. "Lillian Hope Montgomery Kurtzberg!"

She re-read the note again. N and A were most likely Nathaniel and Annabeth, and CN… That had to be Cat Noir.

Forgetting about Emmy for the time being, Marinette sought out her husband.

She found him playing a song on the piano.

He looked up at her and smiled. "To what do I owe this pleasure, M'lady?"

"Did you ever tell a secret of mine to Lillian?" She showed him the note.

"Uh, well…" He looked like a deer caught in headlights. "It started when we retreated from Hecate. She detransformed in front of me-"

"Wait, what?" She interrupted him. "Are you saying that she's Athena!?"

Adrien looked guilty. "I sorta bent the rules for her. I could tell she had lots of potential, and it didn't seem right to take it away from her. Then we searched for Carapace, who also transformed. Nino managed to figure out my identity-"

"Nino knows!? How has he not spilled the beans to Alya after all these years?"

"It's a miracle, I know. Anyways, Lillian then knew who I was. After I found out you were Ladybug, I told Lillian."

"When she gets back from Alabama, I am going to have a long talk with her." Marinette said.

"So, what are you going to do with the miraculous?" Adrien asked her.

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The note implies that she's given it back, right?"

"Oh no." She gasped as realization dawned on her. "The Owl Miraculous is lost again!"

Chapter 7

Annabeth Kurtzberg

Ruby Lady raced across Paris with her new partner. Felynx had messy black hair and piercing green eyes. His hair was edged with green, which made it stand out from his black mask.

She was getting the hang of using the yoyo, but she wasn't a master yet.

"So, where do you think Chaotica could be?" She asked him.

"Isn't she the mayor's daughter? We could ask her where she'd be."

"Uhhhh…" Ruby Lady remembered something that her mom had told her, that Chloé in her youth had been a complete brat. "It's worth a shot." She said at last. "Let's go!"

They found Chloé Bourgeois pacing in her office. "What do you mean, you can't find my daughter? I demand that you do not rest until she is found!" She hung up on whoever she was yelling at on the phone.

Ruby Lady softly knocked on the ajar doors.

Chloé must've seen the spots on her suit as she called out, "Come on in, Ladybug!"

"Actually, we're Ruby Lady and Felynx." Ruby Lady said as they stepped in.

"Say what now?" The mayor's face showed nothing but perplexion.

"Look, ma'am. Your daughter has been akumatized, and we need to ask you some questions." Felynx said.

"Amaya's been akumatized?" Chloé's voice softened and the harshness had been replaced by concern.

"Yes, and we need to know where she'd be most likely to be." Ruby Lady said.

"Alright." Chloé paused before yelling, "Jaques! Bring me two chairs for my guests!"

A butler hurried in with two padded seats. If he was surprised to see her and Felynx, he didn't show it.

After what felt like an eternity later, the duo exited. "Well, that was a waste of time." Ruby Lady grumbled. "And we're no closer to finding Chaotica."

"Why does it that I feel like I've known you all my life yet we've only known each other for a few hours?" Felynx wondered.

"I suppose it's because Ladybug picked us out because we would have the same chemistry as she and Cat Noir did, or does. Or maybe they both picked us out. Did your kwami mention anything about who chose you?"

"Basically, he told me that I was to be the next Cat Noir whether I liked it or not because it was for the good for Paris and yadda yadda yadda. Then he said I'd have to give him cheese."

She blinked. "That sounds so absurd it has to be true." She giggled.

Felynx smiled weakly. "We still have to figure out where she is and what her powers are." He suddenly froze. "I hear someone."

Ruby Lady looked around and spotted a flash of white. "Do you think it's her?" She whispered.

"Only one way to find out." He grabbed his staff and exended it upwards. After pressing a few buttons, a screen popped up, showing the view from the top of the staff.

"It's like a periscope, but on land!" She exclaimed as they peered at the screen.

It showed nothing at first, but soon the white flash reappeared. It was a girl about their age with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

She stopped and stared right at the camera. The two stopped breathing for a moment. After what seemed like forever, the girl turned and left.

"Who was that? Kinda looked like Athena." Felynx wondered.

"Ruby Lady and Felynx, I presume?" A new voice asked. "The name's Lady Owl. I'm the next Athena."

They looked up to see the blonde and blue-eyed girl staring right at them.

Chapter 8

Kathrine Agreste

Kat paced outside the mansion. There was still no sign of Annabeth or Emmy. A car pulled up and her friend Kayla Kubdel stepped out.

"Thanks, Mom." She said as the car pulled out. "Hey, Kat. I came as soon as I heard." Kayla hugged her.

Kat smiled weakly. "Thanks, K." She hugged her friend back. "I'm honestly more worried about Mom and Dad. Mrs. Lillian is going to be furious when she finds out, and they're already worried sick about Emmy."

"Here." Kayla fished around her bag and pulled out a silver pocket watch. "My mom gave this to me. It's, like, a good luck charm. Maybe it will help bring Emmy and Annabeth back."

Kat smiled, brighter this time.

Another car pulled up, and five kids clambered out. Kat recognized the driver. "Mr. Nino!"

Nino Lahiffe lowered the window. "Hey, dudette. I heard about Emmy and Annabeth, and Alya and I are searching for them. I'm sure they'll turn up soon." With that he raised the window and drove off.

"Oh, Kat! We heard, and Cayden's vanished too!" Calypso Couffaine hugged her tightly.

"Cayden?" She echoed. "The one that just started school?"

Calypso nodded.

All three Lahiffe-Césaires were huddled close while little Freedom clutched Calypso's hand.

"Thank you guys for coming, really." Kat managed to say. She pocketed Kayla's watch.

"We're here to help find Emmy and Annabeth." Mary, the oldest Lahiffe-Césaire, said.

Aiden, the middle one, nodded enthusiastically. "Together we can cover more ground!"

Kat managed a full smile. "Thanks, guys."

Chapter 9

Amaya Bourgeois

Amaya's eyes flew open. Standing over her were three people that looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. One was a black haired boy with intense green eyes in a cat costume. Another was an auburn haired girl in a spotted red and black costume, and the third was a blonde with a bird themed costume.

They almost looked like the heroes, and not because of the outfits. The cat boy had Viperion's greenish eyes and midnight blackish-blue hair like Ryuko. The bird girl's eyes were strikingly like Ladybug's, and the spotted girl looked a bit like Athena.

"Wh-where am I? Who are you guys?"

The spotted girl bent down and put her hand on Amaya's shoulder. "You were akumatized, Amaya. I'm Ruby Lady. This is Felynx and Lady Owl." She pointed to the cat boy and the bird girl.

"You mean like Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Athena?"

"Exactly." The cat boy, Felynx, said.

"I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well, other than Leo getting a couple bonks on the head, everyone's fine." Lady Owl said.

Amaya laughed, but that made her see another similarity to the heroes. Her sense of humor was incredibly like Cat Noir's.

Lady Owl grinned back at her. "C'mon, let's get you back to your mom." She then mock-whispered, "These two need to make sure they don't reveal their identities on the first day of the job."

That night, Amaya couldn't sleep. The voice that had spoken to her when she was akumatized wasn't from a male, like so many past victims had described, but that of a female, and she had addressed herself as 'Violette Butterfly', rather than 'Hawk Moth'.

It just didn't feel right to her. She needed to talk to someone. Someone who wasn't her mother.

After making sure her mother was sound asleep, Amaya grabbed some warm clothes and opened her bedroom window. She tied an end of a rope she kept for these purposes to a nearby chair. She swiftly made her way down to the ground.

"Gabby! Wake up!" Amaya stood at the Graham de Vanily mansion, constantly throwing small pebbles at her secret girlfriend's window.

At last, Gabrielle Graham de Vanily slid open her balcony door. "Amaya? What are you doing here? Mother will freak if she finds out you were here, especially at this hour."

"I need to talk to you. Like, really need to."

Gabby sighed. "Alright, I'll let down the rope."

"Alright, spill it. What did Leo say to you that made you run off like that?"

"He called me a wimp for being lesbian." She muttered.

"What!? That homophobic…" Gabby struggled for a good word. "Poopy head."

Amaya burst out laughing. "Where in the world did you get something as absurd as that from?"

"Annabeth once told me about a party her parents hosted, and there was this girl from her life in Alabama who was there, and someone constantly yelled 'poopy head' at her."

She snorted. "That's so weird it has to be true."

"Now I know that wasn't the reason you came, but I know it has something to do with your being akumatized." Her girlfriend crossed her arms.

"Yes." She sighed. "But it wasn't like so many others had described. No Hawk Moth. It was a woman, and she called herself Violette Butterfly. She almost sounded like your mom."

It was Gabby's turn to snort. "You know that would be like Mr. Agreste's dad being Hawk Moth. Cold parents who don't care about their children. Too cliché."

"I guess you're right, but I should go know. Mom will go nuts if she finds me missing." She embraced her girlfriend one last time and made her way down to the ground.

It wasn't until she was back in her bed that Amaya realized she had completely forgotten to talk about the new heroes.

Chapter 10

Annabeth Kurtzberg

"Mommy! Daddy!" Annabeth was rereading her favorite book when her parents entered the Agreste living room.

She dropped her book and ran into her parents' outstretched arms.

"Looks like the owl has forgotten it’s day." Adrien remarked, leaning against an entryway. "Marinette needs to talk to you, Lillian."

"What about me and Daddy?" Annabeth asked.

"Just stay here with Kat and Emmy. It won't be long." Adrien ducked out of sight.

"How about you get your things, Buttercup?" Her father asked.

She nodded mutely.

"We'll help her!" Kat and Emmy sprung up.

The three girls headed upstairs to grab Annabeth's stuff.

"What do you think your parents wanted with my mom?" She asked her friends, wishing she had something to fidget with.

"Maybe to talk about you and Emmy disappearing?" Kat suggested.

"The new heroes?" Emmy offered.

They went on like this until they had gotten her things.

Her mother was back in the living room, though she looked troubled.

"Annabeth, can you come here, please?" Annabeth heard her mother call.

She gulped nervously. "What if she asks about where I was last night? I have no excuse!" She fretted to Tikki.

"If she asks, just tell her that you wanted to see the heroes." Tikki told her.

"Okay. Got it." Annabeth went downstairs to their living room. There, her mother sat in a plush chair.

"Annabeth, it's time I told you something that only a few others have ever known." Her mother began.

"Wh-what do you mean, Mommy?" She asked, nervous.

"You know the necklace I always wore?"

"The one with the teal stone?"

"Yes. Well, I've had it since I was your age. I was thirteen, and I had just moved here with Grandma."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

Lillian sighed, reaching around her neck. She unclasped a silver necklace and handed it to her daughter. "Look inside."

Annabeth complied. In the locket there were two pictures, neither of which she had ever seen before. The first showed a family of three, a father, a mother, and a baby, but it was the second one that caught her attention.

It was a group photo of nine of the eleven former heroes of Paris, likely between the ages of 13 and 15. Cat Noir and Ladybug were in the front, giving each other bunny ears. Behind them was Rena Rouge, who was sitting on Carapace's shoulders. On the far right, behind Rena Rouge and Carapace was Pegasus, and opposite him was King Monkey. Between King Monkey and Cat Noir were Ryuko and Viperion, and right in the middle of it all was Athena.

"I was a unique member. Not only was I the youngest, but also the only full time member that never fought Stoneheart."

Realization hit Annabeth. "You mean," She looked up at her mother. "You are, or were, Athena?"

Chapter 11

Cayden Couffaine

Cayden was nearly the last one out of the school. Dark clouds had formed during the day and were pouring down turrets of rain.

"Great," He muttered as he stood in the doorway. "The one day I don't bring an umbrella."

He prepared to step out into the rain when someone spoke behind him.

"You're Cayden, right?"

He whirled around to see the auburn haired girl who sat in front of him. She wore blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a purple flower design, which was partially covered by her army green jacket. Her multicolored sneakers were slightly soaked from the rain, but she stayed mostly dry from a black umbrella.

"Uh, yeah." He finally said.

The girl giggled. "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

Cayden felt his face go red.

"I'm guessing you didn't bring an umbrella?" She asked.

"Would I still be here if I did?"

She smiled. "You have a point there. You can have mine. I don't mind the rain. It makes me think about my friends and family. Each raindrop is someone who loves me, or at least, that's the way I see it."

"That's not a bad thought." He said as he took the handle of her umbrella. A clap of thunder startled him, causing the umbrella to fall on his head.

The girl laughed. "Sorry," She apologized. "But you just look so silly with that on your head."

Cayden's face reddened even further. "I guess so."

She began to walk off.

"W-wait!" He called. "What's your name?"

"I'm Annabeth. Annabeth Kurtzberg."

He smiled as Annabeth walked off.

"Let me guess," Plagg said, poking out of his bag. "'She's just a friend'?"

Chapter 12

Gabrielle Graham de Vanily

"Ugh. This dress is way too tight. Can't I please take it off?" Gabby complained as a seamstress worked on her newest gala dress.

"Nonsense, Mademoiselle. These are the top fashion trends. Your mother ordered the design especially for you, so hold still."

She groaned. Her mother never got something for her, she got things to live through her. This dress was only proof of that.

The dress was sleeveless and its skirt was just below knee length, with a train in the back. It was primarily orange, but the inside of the design was white. The train resembled a fox tail and she had a fabric fox tail wrapped around her waist, plus long black gloves and boots.

It was clearly a remake of Volpina's costume.

After what seemed like an eternity of torture, Gabby was finally allowed out of the dressing room, but her bliss wouldn't last long, because just a few hours later, she was forced to put on the dress again for the once-in-a-lifetime showing of the 'secrets' behind the Gabriel brand.

Gabriel wasn't even in business anymore. After Adrien had inherited the company, he'd shut it down, and helped Marinette start her own company, Marinette Designed, or more commonly referred to as Designed.

The gala was huge, as most of the ones her family went to were. All the 'important' families were present. The Couffaines, Bruels, and Lavillants from Kitty Section were present, as were Chloé and Amaya too, obviously. Also obviously were the Agrestes, and also the Lahiffe-Césaires. Surprisingly, the Kurtzbergs were present too.

Gabby desperately wanted to be with Amaya, but they couldn't risk it in such a crowded place.

Amaya had also undergone the same treatment as Gabby, as her dress was undoubtedly based on Queen Bee.

Looking around, she noticed several other superhero themed outfits. Emmy's dress was red with black spots, like Ladybug, or rather Ruby Lady, Kat's was black with green accents, like Lady Noir, and Annabeth's was a mixture of blues, whites, and feather designs, like Athena or Lady Owl.

The evening went on, and it was clear that none of the kids were enjoying it.

Finally, the 'highlight' of night came around.

"And now, the highlight of our show, generously loaned to us by Félix and Lila Graham de Vanily, here is Gabriel Agreste's book of inspiration!"

Chapter 13

Emily Agreste

"What's up, RL?" Lady Owl plopped down next to her teammate. "You seem down."

Ruby Lady sighed. "I've just got way too many things occupying my mind. First my mom drops the bomb that she was Athena, then Tikki thinks that the Graham de Vanilys have the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses, and now I think I'm getting a crush on Felynx!" Then her face reddened. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Wait, your mom was Athena?" Lady Owl recalled what Unna had let slip in their first meeting, that her previous owner's name was Lillian. Unna had never confirmed that Lillian's last name was Kurtzberg, but still…

"That's what your mind jumps to? Not that, I don't know, Lila and Félix Graham de Vanily could be the very villains that Ladybug, Cat Noir, and my mom devoted their lives to stopping?"

"Oops, sorry. I'm a bit scatterbrained." She apologized.

No, She thought. Ruby Lady can't be Annabeth. She isn't the kind of person who has outbursts like that.

"It's fine. I think we're all a bit tired. Where even is Felynx?"

"Did someone say my name?" Felynx hopped up beside the girls. "Also, sorry I'm late. Getting out was harder than I thought."

Lady Owl noticed the slight blush growing on Ruby Lady's cheeks.

That night, she and Kat were getting ready for bed.

"Oh, Emmy, I totally forgot to tell you. Kayla gave me this epic watch!" Her twin told her. She fished around her drawers for a minute before coming up with a silver pocket watch.

"What's so cool about it? You have a digital one."

"Just watch." Her sister pressed the top. The watch swung open and the holographic figure of a young woman holding a large watch appeared at its base.

"Woah," Emmy breathed. "I want it!"

"Well, you can't have it!" Kat playfully stuck out her tongue.

Their playful banter continued on for some time, until, unseen by Kat, Unna whispered, "That's a miraculous." into Emmy's ear.

"Wait, you said Kayla gave that to you?" The blonde and blue eyed twin asked.

"Yeah. It was her mom's."

"You do know her mom was Bunnix, right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with any- Ohhhh."

The twins locked eyes.

"I'm going to be the next Bunnix!" Kat squealed.

Chapter 14

Cayden Couffaine

"You like her, don't you?" Aiden nudged Cayden from his thoughts.

He blushed. "Uhh no?"

His friend chuckled. "There's a joke in my family: Nino knows all, Nino sees all. I'm the only son of my dad, so therefore, I know all and see all."

"Fine. I have a crush on Annabeth." He admitted.

"You should talk to her."

"Aiden, are you crazy? What if she has her eyes set on some guy who is filthy rich or whatever?"

"Uh, dude. Your family has tons of money."

"Not like her! The Kurtzbergs are, like, as rich as the Agrestes."

"Yeah, but neither Lillian or Nathaniel came from a rich family. They don't flaunt their wealth."

"I'm still not doing it."

Aiden sighed. "Suit yourself dude, but I'm telling you, you really should talk to her."

"You know, I'm not sure why all my owners always go fawning over some girl. Cat Noir was obsessed with Ladybug, and now you are head over heels for that Annabeth of yours. Frankly, surprised that you haven't fallen for Ruby Lady by now. It only took Cat Noir a day."

Cayden sighed in annoyance. "Plagg, why are you always so cynical?"

"Because there are only two good things in life: Cheese and Sugarcube."

"Sugarcube?"

"Oh, that's Tikki, the kwami of creation. Ruby Lady's. But then of course there's also Addy, she's always good for a laugh. So, I guess that's three things…"

"Wait, who's Addy?"

"Oh, that's Unna. She eats so much candy, it's like she has ADD, so Addy."

"Is it too late to back out of being Felynx?" Cayden groaned as he plopped onto his bed.

"Nope!" Was Plagg's gleeful response.

Chapter 15

Kathrine Agreste

"Call me Cottontail!" Kat leaped onto her bed with an umbrella and a Bunnix mask, trying to surprise her sister.

Instead of the hoped for reaction, Emmy just burst out in laughter. "That's what your costume is going to be? I could do way better."

"I see no proof of that." She said as she took off the mask. "Show me."

"Alright I will. Unna, wing it!"

"Hate to break it to you, but I see no change."

Emmy scowled. "Where did that kwami go off to now?"

"What's a quamy?"

Her sister didn't answer, but was searching around their bedroom.

Kat plopped onto her bed and waited.

"Unna! How many times have I told you not to sneak off and eat candy?" Her twin at long last exclaimed.

"But candy is so yummy! Lillian would give me all I wanted. And Plagg and Tikki get to eat as much as they want too." A high pitched voice responded.

"Who was that?" Kat asked, scrambling away from the source of the voice.

"Emmy!" The voice scolded. "You know I'm supposed to be a secret!"

"Well, too late." Emmy turned to Kat. "Kat, I'd like you to meet Unna, the kwami of resilience."

A small light blue thing flew out from behind Emmy's back.

Kat screamed. "Bird! Mouse! Bird mouse!"

"Shh!" Emmy hissed. "Mom and Dad will hear! Unna needs to be as secret as possible, or else I won't be able to be Lady Owl."

"Wha- you're-" She stuttered. "Emily Agreste! I am your twin sister, and you didn't tell me you were Lady Owl!?"

"I told you, Emmy."

Chapter 16

Annabeth Kurtzberg

"Alright, class! Today, we will be starting a group project on current events. Here is a list of who you'll be partnered with!" Mrs. Bruel said.

Annabeth scanned the list until she found her name. "Hey, Cayden! We're partners!" She turned around to look at her new friend.

"Oh, uh, great!"

They made plans to meet up in the library after class.

"So what current event should we work on?" He asked her.

"How about the new heroes?" She said, thinking of Felynx.

"That's not a bad idea. Maybe we could even try to interview one of them?" Cayden suggested.

Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Do you think you could do that?"

"I- uh- I mean, I'll try."

She squealed and threw her arms around him, but she quickly drew back, her face redder than her hair. "Sorry."

"I-it's okay." He stuttered back, his face as flushed as hers.

"You know, Gabby's mom has a book full of superheroes. Maybe I could try to borrow it."

"Good thing it's Lady Owl's night to patrol. I have way too much homework." Annabeth said as she plopped down by her desk.

"I'm surprised you haven't fallen behind already. Ladybug could barely keep things together as it was." Tikki told her.

"You know, I still can't believe that out of all the people in Paris, Ladybug chose me to be her successor. I mean, what made me so special? And Felynx and Lady Owl for that matter."

"Well, given Unna's history, Lady Owl probably wasn't chosen so much as found, but as for you and Felynx, guardians choose wielders by the amount of selflessness you have. Ladybug must've seen you two perform truly selfless acts with no hesitation."

Before Annabeth could respond, she heard a thunk on the roof. "What was that?"

She went out to her balcony and made her way to the top using a series of steps she had perfected over the years.

There, on the flat rooftop, was none other than her partner.

"Felynx?" She asked tentatively.

He turned to face her. "Oh, hello, Annabeth! I was beginning to think I had gotten the wrong house."

"How do you know my name?" She demanded.

"Your friend Cayden reached out to me, saying that you two were doing a project about me, Ruby Lady, and Lady Owl."

"Wow. Well, I-I'll be sure to thank him." She felt her face growing red. "U-um, the interview?"

"O-oh yeah! Where should we start?"

Chapter 17

Lillian Kurtzberg

"Time for your tuck in, Buttercup!" Lillian said as she entered her daughter's room.

Instead of the semi-embarrassed giggle of 'Mommy!' she usually got, Lillian was greeted only with silence.

"Annabeth?" She asked.

Again, there was no answer.

She went over to her daughter's bed and found it empty.

Lillian began to panic. Had Annabeth run off? Had she been kidnapped? Her mind raced through horrible possibilities.

"Of all the times not to have Unna…" She murmured.

She reached for her locket, which normally gave her comfort, but the worst thought yet struck her. What if Annabeth had run off because she was Athena?

Lillian had always been known for having an aura of calm around her, but now… now the insecurities were piling up.

She barely noticed the black butterfly until it entered her locket.

"I've fended off an akuma before, Hawk Moth, and I can do it again." She growled.

"Oh, darling, who says I'm Hawk Moth?" A woman asked. "I'm Violette Butterfly, and I do agree with you. Not knowing where your children are is so stressful, and that's why I keep mine under lock and key. I will give you the power to do the same. All I ask for in return are the miraculouses. Do we have a deal, Lockette?"

Lillian frowned. Something was familiar about that sickly sweet voice, but her thoughts were clouded.

"Yes, Violette Butterfly."

Chapter 18

Annabeth Kurtzberg

"Well, thanks for the interview, Felynx. This'll help out a lot!" Annabeth said brightly.

"No problem! I'm always happy to help." He told her. "Especially when it involves someone as nice as you."

She blushed deeply. "Th-thanks." She turned to head down to her bedroom.

As she walked into her room, she saw the silhouette of a person. "Mommy?" She asked nervously.

"Why, Annabeth, honey, you're not safe! Let Mommy lock you up tight!" The figure said.

"You're not my mother." Annabeth growled, stepping back. "If you were, you'd call me Buttercup."

"Oh, but I am, darling! Or my name isn't Lockette!" The figure stepped into the light.

Her hair was jet black, and pulled into a tight bun. Her skin was pale, almost pure white. She wore a golden blouse that billowed at the sleeves, and underneath it was another shirt, this with a black swan-necked collar. She had a pair of black pants with wide openings at the ankles. Golden boots with high heels rested on her feet, that clicked as she walked. Around her waist was a large silver key ring, to which several keys and locks were attached. She wore a silver locket with a lock and key emblem, and her eyes, Annabeth would know those eyes anywhere. Those blue-green eyes that the black and gold mask surrounded belonged to her mother.

Annabeth scrambled away from Lockette, but the supervillain kept on advancing. Soon, she was pressed against the railing of her balcony.

She whimpered as Lockette drew nearer. The supervillain was taking one of the locks off her key ring.

"Don't you know that it's rude to stalk a lady?"

Annabeth looked up to see Lady Owl perched on the roof. Her rope wrapped around Annabeth's waist, and she was flung skyward.

Just as she began to fall, Felynx caught her. Apparently, he had never left the roof.

She clung to Felynx as he whisked her away.

He set her down at the Eiffel Tower. As Felynx turned to leave, Annabeth grabbed his arm.

"Please make sure she doesn't get hurt. It's my mom."

"Don't worry, Annabeth. You'll get your mom back in no time." With that, he vaulted off.

"Well, not without me they won't." She said to her kwami. "Tikki, spots on!"

"I heard your goal was to keep people safe, so how come we're all fighting?" Ruby Lady stood on the roof above the action.

"They are trying to keep my daughter away from me!" Lockette shouted.

"The daughter you're trying to imprison?" She countered.

"Well you can't keep me from her when you're all trapped in my locket!" The supervillain unhooked three locks.

"Watch out!" She screamed as the locks were thrown at her friends.

Ruby Lady leapt down and deflected the locks, but they kept coming. Eventually, two wayward locks made their way to her allies.

In an instant, Lady Owl and Felynx vanished in a puff of metallic smoke.

"No!" She cried. "Lucky Charm!"

She was given a hat.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Soon enough, her earrings began to beep, and she had to leap into a nearby and empty alley.

"Spots off." Tikki flew out of the earrings. "Tikki, the Lucky Charm gave me a hat, but I couldn't find anything to do with it."

"When Ladybug had something like that, the Lucky Charm would be trying to tell her something…" Tikki trailed off.

"What are you getting at, Tikki?"

"Annabeth, I think it's time for you to meet the Guardian of the Miraculouses."

Chapter 19

Tikki

"Tikki, this is the Agreste mansion. Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"Yes, just follow me." Tikki said. She led Annabeth around the back of the mansion and phased through a certain spot in the wall.

"Tikki?"

"Marinette!" Tikki flew towards her former owner.

"What are you doing here? There's an akumatized villain!" Marinette exclaimed. "Annabeth needs you to transform!"

"The Lucky Charm told her to come here."

Marinette nodded in understanding. "I'll open the way."

"Tikki?" Annabeth's voice came echoing through. "What is this pla- Mrs. Agreste?"

Marinette smiled. "I've told you before, Annabeth. You can call me Marinette."

"But why did Tik- I mean uh, my flying hairless cat bring me here?"

Tikki had to suppress a round of giggles. The 'flying hairless cat' excuse was nearly identical to the one Marinette had used when she had first met Master Fu.

Marinette was clearly thinking the same thing, as a small smile was on her lips.

"Annabeth, you don't need to hide from me. I've known you were Ruby Lady since before you transformed for the first time, and I can't have imagined someone better to be my successor."

Annabeth blinked. "You mean, you're Ladybug!?"

"Indeed. Now, tell me what happened."

Tikki settled down next to her owner, listening to the whole thing from Annabeth's perspective.

After Annabeth had finished, Marinette got up and walked over to a cabinet, bringing out an old phonograph.

Tikki recognized it as the same one Master Fu had used to store the Miracle Box.

"Annabeth, you are aware of the powers each miraculous holds, right?"

Her owner nodded.

"Very well." Marinette turned around, holding the Miracle Box. "Annabeth Kurtzberg, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you for this mission. Choose wisely. Such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you must retrieve the miraculous from them and bring it back to me."

Annabeth hesitated before picking up the Rabbit Miraculous. "I won't be able to do this without Felynx… and Lady Owl." She hurriedly added the last part.

Marinette nodded. "Be sure this doesn't fall into the wrong hands. The Rabbit Miraculous is exceptionally powerful."

"I promise I'll be careful."

As Annabeth left, Marinette spoke. "She's fallen for him, hasn't she?"

Tikki turned around. "She won't admit it, but it's obvious."

"And he her?"

"It does seem Cayden has fallen for her. As Annabeth."

Marinette smiled. "The reverse of me and Adrien. I chose them well. Now go, Annabeth will need you to deliver the miraculous."

Chapter 20

Kathrine Agreste

"Oh, Emmy… Please get back safe." Kat sat on her bed, worried sick. Emmy had left a while ago for patrol, but over an hour ago, there had been an akuma alert. There hadn't been any word since.

She heard a tap on her window.

Kat looked over to see Ruby Lady hanging from her yoyo in front of the glass pane.

Not knowing what else to do, she opened it. The superhero hopped in.

"Why are you here?" Kat nervously asked.

"It's a long story, but, how would you like to help a superhero?"

Her eyes widened. "Me? But why?"

"I know that you find us fascinating, and that you would give anything to be a superhero, but that you don't let power get to your head. So? Are you in?"

Kat grinned. "Yes."

"Good." Ruby Lady held out an octagonal box with a red insignia on the lid. "Kathrine Agreste, here is the Miraculous of the Rabbit which grants the power of Evolution. You will use it for the greater good. Once the mission is over, you'll return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"

"Totally!" She exclaimed. She took the box and opened it. A ball of light shot out. When it faded, she saw a rabbit-looking thing.

"Hi there! I'm Fluff!" The thing exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hello, there. I'm Kat." She replied.

"Super cool to meet you! Just say, 'Fluff, clockwise' to transform!"

"Got it." Kat took the pocket watch. "Fluff, clockwise!"

"Okay, so your special power is called Burrow. It will create a portal to your Burrow-" Ruby Lady was cut off by a new voice.

"-Which has other portals to any point in time. Including ones to this very moment where I can hop in and teach Cottontail myself. And don't worry, Ruby Lady. Felynx and Lady Owl are waiting for you in my Burrow. They're getting tips from the professionals."

They whirled around to see none other than Bunnix herself.

"But- what- how? Mar- The guardian took back the miraculouses! How are you here?"

"I'm a time traveler. Present me doesn't have Fluff, but I'm a past me, so I still do."

"This is crazy." She muttered. "And how did you know I would choose the name Cottontail? That was a private moment with my sister."

"Time travel expertise. Now, come. You're going to need to be at the top of your game when you fight Lockette."

Chapter 21

Lillian Montgomery

"Do you have any idea why Bunnix yanked us here?" Athena asked her companions.

"Last time she did something like this was when Kitty here got himself akumatized in an alternate future. I saved the day of course."

"Because my Bugaboo is purrfect beyond imagining." Cat Noir quipped.

"Don't call me Bugaboo!"

Athena laughed. "These moments where nothing is wrong and we are free to joke is why I love being a superhero with you guys so much."

"I think this is the end of this one though." Ladybug said.

Athena saw what she meant. Bunnix walked towards then with two teenagers their age.

"Wait, is that my ring?" Cat Noir asked.

"And is that my necklace?"

"Bunnix, what is going on?" Ladybug demanded.

"These are two of the three future heroes of Paris. Felynx wields the Cat Miraculous and Lady Owl the Owl."

"But what about the Ladybug?"

"I have to get her separately. This villain is especially powerful, which is why both generations of heroes need to work together."

"Wait, you don't mean-?"

The look on Ladybug's face was priceless, and soon Athena and Cat Noir burst out laughing.

"I'm betting it's the owl." She whispered to her friend.

"And why is that?"

"Duh. She's a girl. Girls are awesome. Everybody knows that. Oh wait…"

"Hey!" He punched her softly.

Athena smirked, but it soon fell as she was tackled by the other owl in question.

"I told you I could do it!" She said triumphantly. "Take that, Felynx!"

"I never said you couldn't but that you shouldn't. Why do I have to be the responsible one?"

"I thought that was Ruby Lady's job."

"But when she's gone, I'm second in command."

While the two were arguing, she and Cat Noir exchanged mischievous looks. "Let's show these mice what owls and cats can do."

And that's what Bunnix came to when she returned. The two cats and two owls sparing with Ladybug laughing hysterically.

"Ahem." Bunnix cleared her throat.

All five heroes froze in place and turned to look at the rabbit hero.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, Athena. This is Ruby Lady, the leader of the future French Miraculous Superhero Team. And this is Cottontail, the first non full time member of the team."

Athena noticed the other owl, Lady Owl, seemed taken aback by the name Cottontail.

Ruby Lady, presumably the other ladybug, ran forward and tackled the other cat, Felynx, in a hug. "I thought I'd lost you."

"I'm standing here you know," Lady Owl said. "And what do you mean by that?"

"I'll bet you a hundred bucks that he's in love with her civilian form." Athena whispered to Cat Noir.

"What's that in euros?"

"'Bout 84."

"I'm not taking that bet."

She noticed that Ruby Lady was staring at her, her face pale like she had just seen a ghost.

"Is something wrong?"

The girl looked away, a pained expression on her face. "If I said what it was, I'd reveal both our identities, given time."

She wondered what that meant, but now was not the time. "Bunnix, can you fill us in?"

Chapter 22

Lila Graham de Vanily

Violette Butterfly growled in frustration. Lockette was supposed to be her masterpiece, but even a loyal mother like that Lillian couldn't find that pesky bug. Of course she was pleased that Lockette had gotten the other two miraculouses, especially the owl. She had never forgiven Athena for foiling her triumphant reign as Hecate.

"I don't understand! Lockette has searched the entire city, but she can't find that stupid bug!"

"Why not give her a sentimonster to help?"

"Not now, Félix. A sentimonster would be too obvious. Right now she needs the element of surprise."

"That's Peafowl to you, Lila." Her husband grumbled. "Have you even considered that this could put Nathan and Gabrielle in danger? And what about Adrien and Marinette? Adrien is my cousin and he's never given up on me. I'm not even sure why I agreed to help you get those miraculouses."

"Because, with the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses, we would have infinite power, right, Peafowl darling?"

"You have a point." Peafowl sighed. "You know, Uncle Gabriel was lucky Marinette and Adrien kept his secret."

"And we're lucky that he gave me the miraculouses, so be quiet."

Peafowl suddenly started to laugh.

"What is it now?" Violette Butterfly asked annoyedly.

"I just realized that a nickname for Violet is Vi. Violette sounds like Violet. And Violette Butterfly, VB."

"Félix, don't you dare." She growled, realizing where he was going.

He cracked up. "I am so calling you Vibe now!"

"Why did I marry you?"

"Because I come from a rich family and am insanely good looking."

She suddenly tensed. "They used that rotten rabbit!" Violette Butterfly could see what Lockette was seeing: a glowing white portal.

As she watched, Ruby Lady stepped out. The young heroine's eyes were tinged red, as if she had been crying.

"Lockette, I surrender. I can't defeat you without my friends. If you release them, I will have Felynx tell me where your daughter is so you can find her. I will then give you my miraculous." The girl's voice quivered.

"It's a trap." Violette Butterfly warned her disciple.

"But Annabeth…"

It became a battle of will, but the mother's love triumphed.

"Peafowl." Violette Butterfly broke off the connection. "Sentimonster. Now."

Chapter 23

Cayden Couffaine

"No, no, no, no!" Felynx banged against the walls of the locket. "She doesn't know where Annabeth is! She can't keep her safe!"

"Annabeth is a resourceful girl. She can take care of herself. It's us I'm worried about."

He didn't want to listen. "Cataclysm!" He slammed his hand against the wall. "What?"

No black cracks were spreading, nor was the wall crumbling into black dust.

"The locket muffles our powers, Felynx. If you had just listened I would've told you. Whirlwind isn't working for me." Lady Owl sighed. "We're just going to have to wait until RL frees us."

Felynx slumped to the floor. "But I can't just leave her."

"Don't make me slap you out of it." She warned.

He said nothing, and the two heroes sat in silence for quite some time.

"Lockette, I surrender. I can't defeat you without my friends. If you release them, I will have Felynx tell me where your daughter is so you can find her. I will then give you my miraculous."

Felynx and Lady Owl locked eyes. "Ruby Lady!?"

They scrambled to the locket's window to see their friend standing in front of the villain.

"What is she doing? That's not like her!" He banged on the unbreakable window.

Moments later, the duo stood in front of the heroine.

Felynx was tackled in a hug. "I've got a plan." She whispered to him. "Just follow my lead."

He nodded slightly.

Ruby Lady looked at Lockette. "Annabeth is at the Louvre Pyramid."

As soon as the villain was gone, his friend turned around. "Cottontail? You can open the portal."

Lady Owl had an odd reaction to the name, but he didn't have the time to think about it as a glowing white portal appeared.

They stepped in to see a girl with black hair and vivid green eyes. "Ready to see your mom again?" She asked Ruby Lady.

The other two heroes exchanged looks.

"Athena?" Lady Owl asked, touching her necklace. "How?"

"It will make sense in time. Come." Cottontail beckoned them over to a window with six figures, all of whom had their backs turned.

They stepped through and the six turned around. Four of them he had never met, but he knew their faces from pictures. The former heroes of Paris, and the other two, he knew all too well. Felynx found himself face to face with himself.

Chapter 24

Annabeth Kurtzberg

"We'll need to set a trap for Lockette." Ruby Lady said after Felynx and Lady Owl had gotten oriented. "If we had the Fox Miraculous, we could create an illusion…"

"Do you want me to get Rena Rouge or Foxtrot?" Cottontail asked.

"Foxtrot?"

"Oh right. You haven't given her the miraculous yet." She seemed to notice the odd looks. "What? Bunnix is a good teacher."

"Maybe Lucky Charm might give you a hint?" Past Lady Owl suggested.

"I've only ever experienced two Lucky Charms at the same time once, and that was during Timebreaker when there were two of them. We might have the same ones, and that would put us in an unnecessary risk." Ladybug said.

But it also reflects on how the holder thinks. Tikki told me that when Cat Noir was Mister Bug, the charm was used in a much more straightforward way.

"Good point."

"Lucky Charm!" They said simultaneously.

Ruby Lady received a duffle bag and Ladybug got a manila envelope. Inside the bag was a white t-shirt with a purple floral design, a pair of jeans, an army green jacket, and an auburn wig. Inside the envelope was a picture of her- as Annabeth- face.

Ruby Lady grinned. "Good thing we got two yoyos, three batons, and three ropes."

"Oh Annabeth? Where are you?" Lockette called out in a singsong voice.

Ruby Lady was hidden in the shadows, using both yoyos, both Lady Owl's ropes, and Cat Noir's and Past Felynx's batons you create a makeshift marionette control, with a dummy with the clothes, wig, and picture acting as the marionette.

"Mommy? Did the heroes deakumatize you?"

"Yes, buttercup."

"I'm by the entrance!"

The boys had Cataclysmed the area to weaken the ground, and the others were going to make sure that Lockette didn't escape.

The clicking of the villain's heels drew closer.

Suddenly the ground gave away and Lockette fell through.

Ruby Lady grabbed the two yoyos and leapt down and snagged the locket, breaking it. She and Ladybug tossed their Lucky Charms in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Chapter 25

Lillian Kurtzberg

Lillian's eyes fluttered open. Standing in front of her were the three heroes.

"Where am I? What happened?"

Felynx bent down. "You were akumatized, ma'am. But don't worry, your daughter is safe. I took her to the Eiffel Tower. She's waiting for me to take her back."

She nodded. "Thank you."

"Lady Owl, do you think you can take her home? I can get Annabeth. Besides, I need to return Cottontail's miraculous." Ruby Lady said.

"Will do." The owl heroine said.

"Mommy?" Lillian at last heard her daughter call. She rose from the seat she was sitting in and ran to Annabeth, who stood at the door of her balcony.

"I was so worried! Where were you?" She asked.

"I was getting an interview from Felynx. He told me that Cayden had reached out to him. It was for our project."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Annabeth laughed. "I did! Just after we began, I went to tell Daddy. He said he'd tell you."

"And I did." Nathaniel chuckled, walking in. "But that's your mother for you, Buttercup. Smart as a tree full of owls but always forgetting things."

"Says the boy who couldn't figure out I was crushing on him for who knows how long." She teased back.

"Well, you weren't as obvious as Marinette."

"Well, that we can agree on." She said with a smile.

The next morning, Lillian knocked on the door of the Agreste mansion. Adrien answered it.

"Oh, hey Lillian. What's up?" He greeted her.

"I need to talk to Marinette. It's about Hawk Moth."

His eyes widened. "She's in her spot." He said and let Lillian in.

Marinette's 'spot' was a small room where the former heroine kept the miracle box, but it also served as her quiet and meditation area.

"Lillian?" Marinette asked. "What brings you here?"

"The new akumas. They aren't from Hawk Moth anymore."

"What?"

"She was manipulative enough to- to get me akumatized."

"Who is she?"

"She calls herself Violette Butterfly."

Marinette's face hardened. "Thank you for telling me." She walked to an unassuming cabinet and pulled out an old phonograph. There were two ornate dragons with red eyes on the base. She pressed the eyes, which caused a panel to flip open, revealing nine buttons. The guardian punched in a code, revealing the Miracle Box.

She took out three miraculouses. She handed one to Lillian. "Here. Moral support always helps fight off akumas. If Ruby Lady has need for it, I'll send Wayzz or Pollen."

"That we will do!" The turtle kwami said.

"Affirmative!" Pollen chirped.

Lillian noticed Marinette had put on both a bracelet and hair comb.

"But for now, I have a job for you two. Pollen, find Tikki; Wayzz, find Plagg. Tell their owners to enter transformed."

The kwamis flew off.

"Well, Kitsune. Care to transform?"

#Why am I doing this?#BECAUSE I CAN #Miraculous: Athena #miraculous: tales of ladybug and chat noir #MiraculousMongoose #miraculous #fanfiction

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