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marauderundercover · 3 years

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Taking Chances Chapter 9: Heroes and Villains (Discovery)

AO3

It wasn’t the toughest akuma that they had ever faced. But even with both of them fighting, it took too long. So long that her family was sure to be suspicious. Despite the fact that she just wanted to portal back to the hotel where there would be far fewer questions, she knew she didn’t have that luxury.

“Kaalki, if I ask to go to an empty room in the manor, can you do that? I don’t wanna pop out of nowhere. I’m already dreading the questions we’re gonna get about Adrien disappearing.” Marinette asks the kwami, rolling her eyes at Adrien’s annoyed huff.

“If you had just taken me with you to begin with-”

“To the bathroom? Adrien, I know you’re not the best with social situations but even you know that’s weird, right? And besides, there’s no way Dick would’ve let you follow me. He’s hovered every time we’ve been alone.” Marinette reminds him, crossing her arms.

“We were bonding over humor!” Adrien argues.

“Sure! But I still-”

“Ladybug, I can do it. As entertaining as all of this is, the Wayne family should not be kept waiting.” Kaalki reminds her, a small smirk on their face. Marinette’s eye twitches at the reminder of her family. Okay. One problem at a time.

“Okay. I’m trusting you. Tikki, Kaalki unify. Voyage!” Marinette calls, grabbing Adrien’s hand and stepping through the portal. She glances around the room, frowning as she looks at everything. None of it made sense. It looked kind of what she would imagine from-

“Is this the Batcave?” Adrien asks, mouth wide in shock as he slowly turns in a circle.

“Kaalki, dismount.” Marinette says, glaring at the kwami the second they’re visible again. “Care to explain what’s going on?”

“You asked to go to an empty room in the manor. I simply took you to the most famous room. It truly is a crime that you’ve never been in here before.” Kaalki hums, zipping around the space.

“I’ve only been to the manor twice! And this is in the manor? Does Batman work for Mr. Wayne?” She asks, desperately trying to figure out the situation.

“LB, what if he is Batman?” Adrien asks, making her pale.

“He’d figure me out so quickly. Oh god, what are we gonna do? He’s gonna kick me out of the family and I was just starting to be able to breathe around them and think about the fact that they are my family and now I’m going to go back to being an only child and even though Dick can be annoying and I haven’t really talked a lot to the others I really wanted to get to know them and now I’ll never get the chance because I’m a failed superhero who can’t even defeat one measly villain and he’s gonna take away my Miraculous and then he’s gonna be Ladybug but then it’ll be weird and he’ll hate me even more because red is not his color but he’ll be stuck in red because that’s what Paris is used to for the Ladybug costume and we don’t want them to go into shock when I’m replaced and-”

“Who the fuck are you?” A voice asks, clearly angry. Marinette winces and turns, eyes wide when she notices the actual (REAL) gun in Jason’s hands.

“We’re not meant to be here. There was a mistake with transportation and-” Marinette starts, stumbling over her words as she tries not to panic even more.

“Likely story. Don’t fucking move. I’m calling Batman.” Jason says, glaring at the two before pulling out his phone. “Hey B, there’s a situation in the cave. Intruders. No, I have no fucking clue how they got in here. Yeah, there’s two of them. No, no it’s not them. Yeah well I kinda can’t fucking interrogate them by myself now can I?” There’s a pause. “Yeah no, not wearing that. Yeah thanks for that. Well I didn’t- Just get over here.”

“So is Batman coming?” Adrien asks, the excitement clear on his face. Marinette looks at him in annoyance. She loved the boy but sometimes, he had no sense of self preservation.

“Yeah, Batman’s coming. Why the fuck are you here?” Jason asks, the angry look on his face not matching the personality she had seen every other time she’d seen him.

“Why are we here? Why are you here?” Adrien asks, poking. Jason’s eyes narrow and his glare gets darker.

“We’re here to ask Batman for help with a situation.” Marinette blurts, shifting so that she’s slightly in front of Adrien since he kept saying things that were pissing Jason off. Jason frowns.

“Why do you need help from Batman?” He asks.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir. I’ll admit I didn’t expect to see either of you here.” A gruff voice states, walking towards them. Marinette’s eyes widen. Holy vigilante, that's Batman. And he’s not looking at her as a civilian who could be scared. Nope. Now he’s looking at her as a fellow hero and possible intruder. Oh this should be fun.

“Monsieur Batman. I apologize for our intrusion. I meant to bring us to Gotham, to speak with you, but I must have messed up. I’m truly sorry for appearing in your home like this.” She says, extending her hand for a handshake. Batman glances down at her hand, seeming to hesitate for a moment before reaching out and shaking her hand.

“As long as you are here, we might as well talk about the Paris situation. It has recently come to my attention and I’m concerned about the possibility of death in your city.” Batman says, getting straight to business.

“I’m sorry, what the actual fuck is happening in Paris? And why haven’t I heard anything about it? Actually, why hasn’t anyone heard about a situation in Paris?” Jason asks, actually glaring at Batman.

“It doesn’t concern you, Mr. Todd. You may leave now. We’ll have our meeting another time.” Batman says, his tone firm.

“The hell it doesn’t. My baby sister lives in Paris, and I’d be damned if I left her alone in some kind of hellscape where apparently there’s the possibility of a lot of death. Now can someone tell me what is going on in Paris?” Jason yells, his eyes blazing as he glares at Batman. Marinette blinks at her brother, shocked at his reaction. Did he really care that much?

“It’d probably be easier to show you. Do you mind?” Adrien asks, gesturing to the computer. Batman stiffens.

“I’ll pull it up. I’m sure you’re referring to the videos of previous fights. I have them in a folder.” He says, walking over and hitting several buttons. Before long, a video is pulled up on the gigantic screen. A video of the fight against Syren. Of course he had to choose one of the most dangerous akumas. Instead of watching the screen, Marinette watches her brother’s reactions. Flinching slightly as she hears his knuckles crack from how tightly he’s clenching his fists.

“How long has this been going on?” He asks simply, his voice much darker than she’d ever heard.

“Almost two years.” Marinette responds, frowning at him. She hadn’t known him long, and she knew it would be stupid as Ladybug, but Marinette wanted to hug her older brother. He looked pissed, sure, but underneath the initial anger, she could see the worry. And how unsure he was. She couldn’t be certain that all of the worry was aimed at her or the Paris situation, but she knew at least some of it was. And she felt bad for making him worry like that.

“And where has the Justice League been?” He asks Batman, almost snarling.

“There’s no lasting damage.” Marinette says. “Even if the Justice League had shown up, they couldn’t have done anything that Chat or I couldn’t. My power is to erase the damage, and death, done during our battles. So Monsieur Batman, you don’t have to worry about the possible death either. I assure you both, it’s fine. We could use assistance to figure out Hawkmoth’s identity though.” Marinette says, trying to move the subject away from death and injury and the rougher parts of akuma battles.

“I don’t give a damn if the damage isn’t lasting. You remember, right?” Jason asks. Marinette hesitates.

“Well, yes. But the akumatized victims don’t and-”

“No. See, I don’t care about the akumatized victims right now either. I care about the amount of death and destruction and pain my sister has had to deal with alone. What about the people who die, Ladybug? Do they remember that they died? Do they wake up after drowning or burning or being crushed to death and just be told to be thankful that it wasn’t permanent? Or do they get to forget too?” Jason asks through clenched teeth. Marinette stops, thinking of all the times buildings have fallen on her. The times she's watched friends die. The time Tikki had to take the earrings and Marinette woke up after the battle, still able to feel the metal in her chest. The time she saw a world draped in white, only one other person left in the entire world. She thinks of these times, and she sighs.

"No. They don't forget." She says, biting back the wave of emotion threatening to push her under. She can't. She has to focus. She can't break right now.

"Then I don't care about the rest of Paris. What are you doing to protect Marinette Dupain Cheng?" He asks, crossing his arms and staring her down. She blinks. She gets that he's worried, as her brother, but why would they have special protection for one person? She's about to ask when Batman speaks up instead.

"No worries, Mr. Todd. My team and I have been made aware and have prepared a security detail for Miss Dupain Cheng once she returns to Paris." Batman says simply. Marinette's eyes widen. No. Oh no. No, no, no, she can't be watched! How's she supposed to protect Paris if an American superhero and his team are stalking her to make sure she's safe?

"As a former Miraculous wielder, Marinette is already under our protection." She lies, ignoring the shocked look Adrien is giving her.

"I'm sorry, what? Former- She was a hero?!" Jason yells, the panic clear on his face.

"Yes, but she was compromised so she doesn't work with us anymore." Marinette says, hoping to calm him down. It doesn't work.

"She was compromised! And you abandoned her? What the hell is wrong with you?" He yells as he starts to pace the room.

"Mr. Todd, it might be best if you-" Batman starts, holding his hands up placatingly.

"I don't wanna fucking hear it, B. You might be okay with watching a bunch of kids run around in costumes and have near death experiences but I'm not watching it. Not again. Now whatever this meeting is can wait, because my sister is currently missing and Batman over here needs to go find her. Because we need to wrap her in some goddamned bubble wrap because apparently this family is a fucking trouble magnet. And if you two are going to be in Gotham, then you can go help look for her too." Jason says, turning and starting to storm off. He pauses and turns back to the group of heroes- vigilantes?- "And her friend Adrien. I'm not sure how we'll fund him, stupid magic light thingy. But Marinette's gonna be pissed if she gets back and her boy toy is missing." He turns and actually leaves this time. Marinette turns to Batman and raises an eyebrow. A silent question on what the next step is. Batman frowns.

"As much as I dislike taking orders from civilians, he's right. Mr. Wayne asked my team to look for Miss Dupain Cheng. I assume the two of you will stay to help." He says. Marinette shakes her head.

"Unfortunately, we're going to have to leave. But we'll be in contact." Marinette says with a quick smile before calling Kaalki's transformation and creating a portal. Repeatedly thinking 'unused bedroom in Wayne manor, she steps through without waiting for a response from Batman, tugging Adrien along. Glancing around, she sighs in relief when she realizes the Kwami didn't take them to another secret lair.

"That was intense." Adrien says, dropping his transformation.

"I need extra Camembert after that disaster." Plagg says with a smirk. Marinette drops her transformation, stifling a giggle at the annoyed look on Tikki’s face.

"It wouldn't have been a disaster if you hadn't convinced Kaalki to do that!" She says angrily. Marinette’s previous humor instantly disappears and she turns to Plagg.

"Plagg, what is she talking about?" She asks, glaring at the Kwami.

"Now, pigtails, don't do anything rash, but the Batcave was my idea." He blurts out.

"I take offense to that. I brought them there!" Kaalki exclaims with a pout.

"Yeah, but I'm the one who found out. And told you and Sugar Cube." Plagg counters making Kaalki roll their eyes.

"Oh puhlease, you wouldn't have known what it was if I hadn't followed you." They say, chin high in the air.

"So apparently Batman is looking for us. What're the odds Mr. Wayne is just working for Batman and not actually Batman himself?" Marinette asks, giving Adrien a hopeful look.

"I think they're the same odds that no one in your family will ask questions about where we were." He says with a shrug. Marinette groans.

"I can't believe my dad is Batman." She drops her head into her hands, taking a moment to breathe before a thought pops into her head.

"Do you think my brothers are the rest of them? Oh god. Damian is totally Robin, and Tim is Red Robin. Which would make Jason Red Hood 'cause Nightwing's hair is completely black. Oh my god. I'm in a family of vigilantes!" She groans, huffing in annoyance.

"What's so bad about that? They'll be even more likely to help us find Hawkmoth." Adrien says, still looking on the bright side.

"That's if they let me out of their sight. You heard Jason, and Mr. Wayne. They want to put a security detail on me and they think I'm a civilian! What’re they gonna do when they realize I’m a superhero too?” Marinette moans, various situations running through her head. She takes a few steadying breaths to try and stave off the panic. They won’t find out, right?

---

Jason kicks a chair he walks past, mumbling under his breath. Bruce hadn’t acted surprised or anything, so apparently he already knew about the situation. Knew and didn’t say shit to anyone else. Of course he did. Jason would’ve cared a few days ago, sure he would’ve. But now he cares. Because now his tiny sister is in danger and he’d be damned if he let her go back to Paris without protection. Hell, he’ll go with if he has to. Anything to keep her safe. To stop her from dying. Or, dying again. And apparently she was a hero in Paris at some point. And she was compromised. And then abandoned. What a pile of shit. Huffing in frustration, he resists the urge to run back to the cave and start shooting. Instead he walks towards his room to grab the keys he’d thrown in there earlier when he got to the manor for dinner. Turning the corner, he freezes in shock when he sees Marinette and Adrien standing there, Adrien gently patting her back as she looks close to panicked.

“Marinette!” Jason calls, running towards her and sweeping her up in a big hug. He didn’t want to let her go. If he let her go, she’d go back to Paris. She’d have to deal with a supervillain and death and horrible things. She was too young for that. He, of all people, would know.

“Jay. Can’t breathe. Please.” She chokes out. Jason lets her down, then glares at her.

“Where the hell have you been? I thought you were going to the bathroom?” He asks, frowning as she grows even paler.

“Uh, er, I was?” She says, sounding more like a question. He narrows his eyes.

“Are you sure?” He asks.

“Yes?” She asks, eye twitching. Jason sighs.

“If you don’t wanna tell me Pixie Pop, you don’t have to. But you are gonna have to tell B.” He says.

“Batman?!” She shrieks, eyes wide. Jason shakes his head, panic welling up.

“No, why- B’s what I call Bruce. Why would you think I was talking about Batman?” He asks, gesturing wildly.

“Because that’s what you called Batman on the phone!” She counters, freezing the second the words are out of her mouth.

“Wait, what? When did you-” Jason stops, a horrible feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. No. She can’t.

“Wait no, I- oh crap.” She mumbles, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“You’re Ladybug.” Jason says, his ears ringing as he looks down at his sister. Well fuck.

---

Dick sighs, turning around in a circle as he looks at the closing shops around him. Where could Marinette have gone? Why did she leave? If she was overwhelmed they would have driven her back to her hotel. She didn’t have to try and walk back by herself. Especially this late. And in Gotham of all places. His phone ringing tugged him from his thoughts and he answered without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?” He says, trying hard to push down the worry and focus on the phone call.

”Hey Dick. I found them.” Jay says, sounding tired. Dick lets out a sigh of relief.

“Where were they?” He asks.

”In the manor. Look, I think we all need to have a talk. You should probably come home. And grab Replacement and Demon Spawn on the way back.” Jason says. Dick frowns. How were they in the manor? They all looked in the manor, they were not there.

“Okay, yeah. On my way.” Dick says instead. This should be interesting.

---

Marinette tries to ignore the burning stare from Jason as she grips onto Adrien’s hand. This could be a huge mistake, but it could also help them find Hawkmoth. And take him down for good. The idea of that is too great to give up. So no matter how much it makes her want to puke with nerves, she’d tell her family the truth. That she’s Ladybug. She was sure they’d understand, being the infamous Batfamily and everything.

“Sorry about that, Timmy insisted on grabbing some coffee on the way back. Where’s B?” Dick asks, and Marinette winces at the nickname. Why her brothers thought it was a good idea to call Mr. Wayne ‘B’ as both Batman and Bruce Wayne was beyond her. They’d had secret identities much longer (though after today she wasn’t sure how).

“Now that we are all here, could you explain why you insisted on this meeting, Jason?” Mr. Wayne asks, sat in the same chair he’d been in when the evening had first started. Marinette glances around at her siblings, smiling softly back at Cass who seemed to be trying to reassure her without signing or saying anything.

“Marinette is Ladybug.” Jason blurts out, instead of dropping the bomb slowly like they’d discussed. Silence. Just as Mr. Wayne opens his mouth, Marinette blurts out:

“Yeah, well you’re the Batfamily!” Oops.

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symwinter · 3 years

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HBIC Marinette – Chapter Two

Sorry it took so long for the next chapter. If I stop writing I have to go back and read what was there and it just reads so badly to me so I have to start over. To make up for it, I tried to make this chapter extra long, but I don’t know if it came across that way.

First - Last - Next

Hell hath no fury like Marinette scorned. On the outside she appeared calm, almost peaceful, but on the inside she was plotting. She doubted the class would take the fallout quietly so she needed to be prepared. The bell on the door jingled as she stepped inside. Her maman perked up hearing the bell. “Marinette! How was school today?” “Eventful,” she replied, “can I talk to you and papa about something? It’s important.” “Of course,” Sabine replied, “please flip the sigh to closed will you?” Marinette nodded and flipped the sign, locking the door for good measure. From there she was ushered upstairs.

“So what do you need to talk to us about? Did you find your sketchbook?” Sabine inquired, her hands folded gently on her lap. “You remember Lila right? The girl who falsified my expulsion?” “She’s the one with the lying disease right?” Tom replied. Marinette forced herself to not roll her eyes. Lila literally said she had a lying disease and was still believed. “Yes and yes. Lila was the one who took it and tore it apart,” Marinette pulled the broken sketchbook from her backpack. Sabine gasped. Tom rubbed her shoulder. “Most of my class did as well. Except for Adrien, Chloé, Sabrina, and Nathanael.” Sabine frowned. “Was it your commission book?” “No, thankfully. That one’s still here. This one was just doodles.” Marinette put the sketchbook down on the table. “But I refuse to leave this unpunished. I just thought I’d let you know.” Tom grimaced but object. “Normally I would be against this,” Tom said, “but if you think it’s necessary then you have my support.” Sabine nodded in agreement. “Is there anything we can do to help?” “Outside of Chloé, Adrien, Sabrina, and Nathanael I don’t know who helped tear it apart and who tried to take it away so it wouldn’t get damaged,” Marinette began, “so until then could you refuse to serve anyone from my class that isn’t those three? Or at least not give them a discount? Or let them see me?” Not that anyone but Nathanael would visit from that small group. “Of course Marinette,” Sabine said, “we’re your parents. It’s our job to be there for you.” Marinette didn’t comment about how they believed Lila when she was expelled and instead shot herself into her parents arms, pulling them into a hug. “I’m going to go salvage what I can from this.” She said, picking up the sketchbook. “Let me know if anyone stops by.”

It took longer than Adrien would like to admit to pick out which sketchbook to buy for Marinette. This was the third shop he went to. “Oh for the love of god Adrikins will you just pick a sketchbook already?” Chloé snapped from beside him. Adrien staggered slightly before looking at her. “It’s not just a replacement but an apology.” He replied. “It needs to be perfect.” “There’s only so long before you father comes a calling and then you can’t give her the sketchbook at all.” She retorted, crossing her arms. Sabrina appeared next to the two blondes holding a 12 by 9 inch sketchbook. Adrien took it from her hands and inspected it. The cover was rather bland, only being a dull dark brown, but the quality of the paper was rather nice. It looked like something his father would use. He didn’t know Sabrina as well as he did Chloé but she clearly had an eye for these things. He supposed being friends with Chloé helped in that regard. “I also considered the idea of getting flowers for Marinette,” Sabrina added, “maybe they’ll act as a nice icebreaker before giving her the sketchbook.” “Sabrina, when you get married I will happily pay for the wedding.” Adrien said. Sabrina smiled. “I’ll hold it to you.” “Great we have a sketchbook can we go already?” Chloé hissed, clearly annoyed. “Yes Chlo, we can go pay and head out.” Adrien paid for the expensive sketchbook before hopping into a flower shop nearby, much to the chagrin of Chloé. One bouquet later and they was off to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

“Welcome! How can I-” Sabine paused looking at the odd trio in front of her. Adrien, Chloé, and Sabrina, only two of which had ever been over. “We’re here to see Marinette.” Adrien replied, giving an awkward smile. If Sabine did know about the sketchbook, it’s possible she wouldn’t let them visit. Chloé and Sabrina’s less than perfect history with Marinette certainly wouldn’t help. “Of course, you remember how to get inside don’t you Adrien?” He nodded and slipped past the confused Sabine. Tom was equally as confused. “You’re here to see Marinette?” “Yep.” Adrien replied, popping the ‘p.’ “Feel free to grab something then, you’re practically skin and bones.” “Model diet,” Chloé retorted, as Adrien slipped the sketchbook under his arm. Marinette’s parents made the best baked goods. The trio moved efficiently through the house before sending Sabrina to knock on the trap door. A simple ‘who is it?’ rang from above. Sabrina pushed the trap door open. “Adrien and Chloé are also here.” Marinette ushered the three up. Adrien practically shoved the flowers in front of her. “Are these-” Marinette began. “Flowers? Yeah. Sabrina suggest I get some along with this,” he held the sketchbook out. Marinette placed the bouquet on her desk before delicately taking the sketchbook from him. She inspected it but found no price tag. “I heard the class damaged your sketchbook so I found it right to get you a new one.” “I can’t this accept, ugh I mean, I can’t accept this.” “Yes you can. You deserve nice things Marinette.” “Adrikins practically dragged me around Paris to find you that sketchbook. Take it.” Chloé said, inspecting her nails. “Ignore her,” Adrien replied, “it was my fault that you’re sketchbook got torn in the first place. I didn’t know how awful Lila could be.” “But you didn’t. I didn’t tell you that she threatened me-” Adrien, Sabrina, and Chloé’s heads whipped to look at her. “She threatened you?” Adrien’s voice was cold. It almost reminded her of M. Agreste’s during the brief time he heard it. “When exactly did she threaten you?” “When she first got back. In the bathroom. And she kind of did when I got briefly expelled.” “Well then it was definitely the wrong advice. I thought she was just lying for attention, not threatening you. That’s serious. I would’ve never made that deal if I knew how awful she was. I could’ve, I should’ve-” “Wait deal?” This time Sabrina spoke up. “The reason Lila works for Gabriel is because I made a deal to get her to lie Marinette back into class. I swore I told her to leave you alone to. It’s all my fau—why are you crying??!!”

And lo and behold, large tears dripped down Marinette’s cheeks, which she wiped away. “You did that for me?” “Of course, you’re my friend.” Adrien replied, pulling her into a hug. “And that’s what friend do right?” “Okay great, dirty laundry has been aired or whatever but can we get to the point people?” Chloé sniped. “What’s the point?” Marinette asked, stepping out of the hug, albeit reluctantly. “When you go maul the class to death, leave Sabrina, Adrikins, and I out of it. We’re not friends, but even I know not to ruin your stuff.” Marinette put the sketchbook down. “I will but I get to slap you with no consequences.” “You’ve got to be joking.” “You made my life hell and that’s getting off easy for the amount of crap you put me though.” “How about instead, I cover whatever expensive fancy fabrics you can’t buy for the next two months. I’d have to explain the smack to daddy after all” “Hm, make it four months.” Marinette replied. “Three.” “Deal.” Chloé turned on her heel. “Sabrina, let’s go.” The redhead followed but paused to wave goodbye. “I guess that’s my cue to leave as well.” Adrien replied. “And again, I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner.” “You didn’t know. But you’ll stand up for me now right? When Lila opens her mouth to spew more lies?” “Of course Mari. I’ll be your alibi until the foreseeable future.” He pulled Marinette into a hug again, and impulsively kissed her cheek before leaving the building. It wasn’t until he was standing on the street, phone in hand to call the Gorilla did he realize what he had done.

“Oh god.”

#symwinter’s trash writing #hbic marinette #lila salt #adrien sugar #Chloe bourgeois redemption #still kinda #she doesn't get better but she doesn't get worse #maybe some adrienette #I haven't decided yet so I just dipped my toe in #It's lowkey based off one of my favourite scenes from Teen Wolf

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mochegato · 3 years

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Everything the Light Touches

“So, as you can see, it is actually a decent adaptation of the classic. Admittedly, they lost a lot of the original gravitas of the story by allowing Nala to live instead of committing suicide like Ophelia did, but I suppose it makes the story more fun without the massive amounts of death and depression and insanity.” Jason rocked the baby in his arms for a bit, seeing if he’d finally, finally fallen asleep. After a few moments of quiet, the baby scrunched his face in discomfort and started whining at the loss of the soothing sound of Jason’s voice and the resulting vibrations resonating throughout the chest he was cuddled against.

Jason smiled softly and bounced him gently as he continued pacing around the nursery. “Uh huh, uh huh. I can see your point there. But, that was one of the lessons we learned from ‘I Just Can't Wait to be King’. It's not only a fucking… er, um, freak… no… bloody?” he stuttered and sighed deeply, “no, Mommy probably won’t like that one either…” He wrinkled his nose as he searched for an acceptable alternative word. “A really annoying song that your sister insists on screaming at the top of her lungs for hours at a time,” he offered instead.

“It shows us first that Simba wants to be king. He wants to rule. But, in the same stroke, it also shows us he doesn't understand what that means. What he's asking for is control, a tyranny, which is what he thinks becoming king means. It's all about him. A lot like the rogues Daddy and your uncles and aunts fight. Simba doesn't realize the responsibilities of a good ruler. It shows us, that if things had continued the way they were, he may well have become Scar on his own.”

The baby gurgled again, nestling deeper into Jason’s arms. “Ooh, very good point. You’re so smart, just like Mommy. Yes, he had his father there to guide him. We saw and heard his father truly understood what it meant to be a king and was slowly trying to teach him that. So maybe he wouldn't have become Scar. We'll never know. Him deciding to let Scar live at the end shows he chose Mufasa’s view of ruling. He finally understood the lesson. He won't become Scar. He will become like his father.”

He paused for a moment and gently stroked his son’s head with his nose. His voice got impossibly softer. “So maybe it wasn’t necessarily about the lessons he taught intentionally. Maybe it was the love he showed his son. He showed him so much love, that even years later, Simba wanted to emulate him.” He kissed his son’s head. “God, I hope I can be that for you, Hugo. I’d give you the world if you wanted, if I could. Everything the light touches. Not that I expect you to take over anything from me, and definitely not my old crime empire.” He cringed slightly. “Mommy would murder me and not even wait to do it in my sleep. But I hope I can show you that level of love.”

Hugo responded with relaxed, even breaths. Jason smiled at him again before furrowing his brow in mock seriousness and bringing him closer to his face. “But, if you want to throw an uncle off a cliff, especially Damian or Adrien or Roy, I’ll cover for you.”

He placed a soft kiss on Hugo’s head. “Next time, we’ll analyze the success of the Oliver & Company adaptation,” he whispered barely loud enough to be heard. Jason gently laid Hugo back down in his crib, moving carefully so he didn’t jostle him too much and wake him up for the fourth time that night already. He stroked his stomach lightly a few times until he was sure Hugo was asleep enough that movement wouldn’t wake him.

He quietly closed the door behind himself and let out a relieved sigh as soon as he released the handle. He rubbed his face wearily. This growth spurt was killing them. They hadn’t slept more than a few hours at a time for a week now. His eyes caught on his daughter’s door, which was just slightly ajar, and let out another deep, resigned sigh. That was not the way they’d left it when they put her to bed earlier. He pushed the door open slowly and leaned against the doorway. His face split into an adoring smile. Marinette was laying on top of the covers, her arm slung over Catherine who was curled into her.

If you asked her, Catherine would tell you she was extremely excited for Preschool to start in a few weeks and not at all scared. However, she’d been waking up at least once every night for the last month and asking for Mommy Cuddles to make her room less scary, which Jason completely understood. Marinette’s cuddles were amazing. But it meant that at least Marinette was getting woken up to comfort Catherine at least once a night and at least twice to nurse Hugo.

Jason gently picked Marinette up, being careful not to disturb Catherine and restart the soothing process all again. His heart warmed when she instantly snuggled closer into his arms as he walked. Even after their years together, the way she instantly reacted to his touch, even unconsciously, blew him away. He laid her in their bed with a lingering kiss to the temple. She opened her eyes groggily, a sleepy smile on her face. “Hey, sexy. You know, most parents sing lullabies or tell fairytales to their kids,” she teased.

“Most parents aren’t awesome,” he answered as if it were obvious. Marinette hummed in agreement and moved to make room for him. “You heard,” he chuckled as he crawled into bed after her.

“I caught the beginning before Catherine woke up.” She yawned as she answered. Jason curled around Marinette, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against his chest. She snuggled into his warm embrace and hugged her arms over his. She was quiet for a while, savoring the embrace, until Jason thought she’d fallen back asleep. “So, Lion King, huh?”

He smirked and nodded into her hair. “It’s a classic.”

After a moment she turned back to eye him knowingly. “Which uncle did you tell him it was okay to kill?”

He blinked a few times. She couldn’t have heard him so that meant she just knew him that well. He grinned at the thought. “...a few.”

Marinette sighed and cuddled back into him again. “You need to stop doing that. He's going to start talking you seriously. And we do not need a baby Damian.”

Jason puckered his lips at that horrifying thought. That was terrible enough to go through once. But Damian never tried to hurt his father and this time Jason would be the father so... “It'll be fine,” he assured her.

“Catherine was glaring at Wally so hard earlier today he ran away before Adrien even had the chance to ask him on a date. And Adrien put so much effort into setting it up too,” Marinette warned him, not at all entertained. She was the one that had to apologize to Adrien after and listen to the awkward call between them so Adrien could try to set up another chance and talk to Catherine about not killing off Uncle Adrien’s love life. He didn’t need the help.

Jason snorted. “Seriously?”

Marinette elbowed him at his amused tone. “Yes.”

Jason grinned and buried his face in Marinette's hair. “That's my girl.”

@jasonette-july-event

#maribat #jasonette #Jasonette July 2021 #Jasonette July #prompt - fairytales

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ur-favorite-queer-queen · 4 years

Text

Betrayal

For Maribat March day 7 theme betrayal

Master List

Adrien didn't understand. Why would his lady do this to him? Hadn't they loved each other? One moment he was trying to convince her that they were made for each other, then the next she’s taken his ring away. And the cherry on top, no matter how much he begged, she hadn’t even revealed himself to her.

But that was fine, after all she would eventually see reason, give him back his ring, reveal herself to him, so that they could live happily ever after together.

Only when the next akuma arrived, she did not show up with his ring. She did not show up at all. Instead she came with new miraculous users, and there was someone wearing HIS RING!

Maybe it was a mistake, perhaps she was just trying to make him jealous. But no, in the interview done by Aurore, not Alya, she said that they were all permanent. Including this IMPOSTER! How could she do this to him? How could she betray him like this?

If this was the game she wanted to play, then he would play. He just needed to find someone to be his pawn. Then she would see, and she would come begging.

As he walked into class the next day, he spotted his target. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, sitting in the back of class with Nathaniel. Ever since she switched seats with Lila that’s where she sat. Perhaps he could ask Nath to switch with him.

Marinette was kind, forgiving, and pretty. The perfect person to make Ladybug jealous. He just needed to get her to go out with him. Which unfortunately was easier said than done.

Nath refused to switch seats with him, which was totally unreasonable. Marinette took whatever means necessary to avoid him, during school, at the bakery, and when she was hanging out with her friends. He even tried to get to the bakery super early to walk with her to class and tried to walk her home.

But she either had Nathaniel, Marc, Mireillie, Aurore, and even Kagami at times with her. All of whom got very aggressive whenever he got near.

That was okay though, he would just try a different approach. So he started leaving roses and gifts at her seat. But that didn’t work either, in fact it looked like she was getting annoyed. Like she had a right to be annoyed.

How was he supposed to make Ladybug jealous if she didn’t go out with him. Now he was getting annoyed.

It didn’t help that his father and Natalie were arrested for being Hawkmoth and Mayura. His mother was in their basement in a coma and was thankfully revived. So she started taking care of him.

That was fine, but what was more annoying was that Ladybug wasn’t seen after that. No one from the team was. And she had never come back with his ring. Never come back to apologize or reveal herself.

The nerve of her! And what was worse was that Marinette was no longer seen at school. It wasn’t like her to ditch school, so where was she? He tried asking her parents but apparently she had gotten emancipated.

And none of his friends had any clue where she was. And when he had tried asking her current friends, they refused to tell him!

It wasn’t until years later, married to someone he didn’t love, a woman who only loved his money, that he had stumbled upon an account. Marinette’s tik tok account.

He eagerly pressed a video, wanting to see how miserable her life was now since she had left. What he saw made his blood boil.

There she was with the famous Jason Todd-Wayne, looking happy. Having the nerve to be happy while he was miserable. And apparently she wasn’t even Marinette anymore, she was MARGOT TODD! How dare she move on! How dare she be happy dating some secret girlfriend while he was miserable with his lying, gold-digging wife! It wasn’t fair! IT WASN’T FAIR! IT-

His thought was cut off by a knock at the door. “It’s me Monsieur Agreste.” The sweet voice of his secretary came from the other side of the door. Just what he needed.

“Come in Ashlynn.” As he made his way to the door, Ashlynn walked in. He immediately closed the door, grabbed her waist, and pulled her into a passionate kiss. He would’ve done more if not for her hands pushing him away.

“Not today Adrien, Lila just got home.” She spoke, slightly out of breath.

“I see, shall we continue this later, Ashlynn?” Despite it being a question, there was no other choice in the matter.

“We shall Monsieur.” She replied, walking out the door to go greet his horrible wife. Some days he wished he could get a divorce, but that wouldn’t look good for his already struggling image.

“Chloe! I’m home!” Marinette shouted to her lovely girlfriend.

“Pixie, come to the living room! You’re gonna wanna see this!” The voice of Jason Todd came from her living room.

As she made her way to the living room she was met with Chloe and Jason both grinning like maniacs on the couch in front of the TV.

“What are you both watching?” Marinette asked, before she registered that Jason was in her home, “Wait, Jason what are you doing here?”

“Just come watch babe.” Chloe whined, making grabby hands at her girlfriend.

Marinette went and sat down in Chloe’s lap while Jason rewinded the TV. Marinette was about to ask again what was going on when the news person started speaking.

“Famous model, owner of Gabriel Agreste, and son of late Gabriel Agreste, Adrien Agreste has been divorced by his wife Lila Agreste, now Lila Rossi after having an affair with his secretary, Ashlynn Leroy. So far he has yet to comment on the affair or divorce, but this isn’t the first time that the young man has come under fire…”

“Seriously, Lila is actually divorcing him?” Marinette questioned, shocked at this revelation.

“You’re surprised she’s divorcing his money.” Chloe snickered.

“Yeah, yeah. But Jay, that doesn’t explain why you’re here?” Marinette went back to her original question.

“I wanted to see your reaction. And I’m not surprised, apparently this isn’t his first time cheating on her.” Jason answered.

“What poor soul do you think she’ll try to trap next?” Chloe jokingly asked.

“Well lets see…” Jason trailed off.

“I never should’ve let you guys meet.” Marinette muttered, narrowing her eyes at the two of them.

“We were gonna meet one way or another Pixie. She’s your girlfriend and I’m your best friend.” Jason easily replied.

“You two are gonna be the death of me, you know that?” Marinette complained. Jason was about to reply but then the doorbell rang.

“Oh pizza’s here!” Jason raced up to grab the door.

“You ordered pizza!” Marinette exclaimed.

“It’s with my money, don't worry!” Jason yelled back.

“JASON!” Marinette screamed, while Chloe laughed in the background.

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I’m not sure how many people saw the post I made earlier today, but I’ll say it here. While I was writing psycho Adrien I ended up scaring myself as I wrote him. I told my sister and she laughed at me, she’s lucky she doesn’t have these writer problems. On another not, I bet you weren’t expecting that plot twist. But honestly as long as Adrien isn’t dating Ladybug I totally see him as a cheater. But that’s just me.

@maribatmarch-2k21

#maribatmarch2021 #maribat #maribat march #betrayal #psycho Adrien #marinette x chloe #platonic jasonette

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ravenclaw-questions-gone-writing · 4 years

Text

Ven’s Idea Outline #1 (Maribat)

Remember that MariDamiJon fic that I mentioned I was going to do for the gift exchange? It’s still bouncing around in my head and Luka decided to join in so I’ve decided to at least make an outline in (assuredly vain) hopes that it will leave me alone for a bit.

Ao3

Part 1

Typical Daminette but Hanahaki style bc I can’t find any Maribat hanahaki fics and I need one and I can’t find any.

Dick and Damian sent to scope out Paris for Hawkmoth related reasons

Jon goes with bc he’s Damian’s emotional support kryptonian but he might arrive later This idea has been removed but I like it so I will share it.

Damian is getting familiar with the new battlegrounds taking a walk in the park when a girl falls from a tree and lands on top of him

The girl apologizes profusely before explaining that she’s really clumsy and she was just trying to help a kitten stuck in the tree

It’s not love at first sight but Damian appreciates an animal lover and is slightly less of an ass than he would usually be

Might mix this with my Blossom Soulmate AU that I never got around to finishing and posting, now that I think about it

Anyway, Damian helps her get the cat down from the tree

He latches onto this potential information source who is not as annoying as most other people and sticks with her

They become friends friendly acquaintances and he drops by her school to pick up her up after she agreed to show him around Paris.

Debating Lila salt...

Debating Class salt...

If yes: Damian walks into a scene where Marinette and sweeps Marinette away without a word to the rest of her class

If no: Damian arrives and proceeds to wait for her outside by his motorcycle

Either way, his appearance makes waves in Dupont’s rumor mills

They do not know he’s Damian Wayne, just that there’s a dude who attractive enough to be model with a motorcycle waiting for the schools (tragic, if salt) sunshine fashion princess.

Robin and Nightwing meet up with Ladybug and Chat Noir to offer their help in figuring out who Hawkmoth is, as well as fighting and training.

Full Miraculous court meeting with Ryuko, Viperion, Queen Bee, Carapace, Rena Rouge, Pegasus, Bunnyx, and Monkey king. (Rena Rouge is removed if Class salt. Replaced with Fox!Nath or Fox!Julieka)

Ladybug and Robin get along

About two weeks in Adrien starts officially dating Kagami.

Another week passes and Damian finds out Marinette has been coughing flower petals and her unrequited love is her classmate Adrien Agreste.

She refuses to remove the hanahaki - this version is the standard they can’t fall in love ever again if they remove it.

This revelation makes him oddly uneasy, it isn’t until his own Hanahaki shows up later that night that realizes he understands why.

Damian does a pretty good job of hiding it.

Dick knows something is up but he’s trying to give Damian more space so he doesn’t look into it and trusts Damian would ask him if it’s life threatening

Ladybug notices his discomfort on patrol and they talk

He is surprised to learn Ladybug also has it and Robin comes up with the brilliant idea that they should fall in love with each other.

There is precedent that if you fall out of love with the person, the Hanahaki will go away. But falling out of love is difficult and not easily done. There must be no lingering romantic feelings at all.

Ladybug encourages Robin to chase his crush first, because he at least has a chance if the girl he likes also has it.

Cue the debates

If Ladybug wins: Enter Damian going all out in flirty assassin seduction techniques from his mother - Good Talia that kills rapists, none of that she raped Bruce bs, she actually had a good relationship with Bruce and a mutual breakup because of differing views on killing people - that he’s barely used since his lessons on it in the league and romantic advice from Dick.

He goes full on Bitch-sensei from assassination classroom.

He’s commissioned a shirt from Marinette. She gets to design it however she wants.

It is a long sleeved button up, specifically made to accentuate his muscles without being too revealing.

That’s the shirt he wears when he asks her out with flowers and a stuffed kitten holding a stuffed wood board that says “please date me” He has his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, top button undone. Collar and hair ruffled up for maximum sensuality. He’s got a lot of references between all the people he knows (Bruce, Talia, Selina, Dick, and really his whole family is full of objectively attractive, seductive people he can reference. Just as long as he avoids mimicking their failing romantic habits, he should be fine.)

He tries to be suave about it but is a little too nervous to completely pull it off. It doesn’t matter because Marinette finds it endearing.

On the date, he’s more confident and is able to pull off suave bastard much better but only at the end. He’s a gentleman until the very end, when he leaves her in the bakery

He goes in, and twirls her admittedly short hair around his finger, maintaining eye contact as he presses his lips against her hair - it’s admittedly harder than he expected given how short it is but being so close made it more intimate and the blush on her face was definitely worth it

He leaves in the bakery slightly dazed and counts the date as a success.

Marinette’s mind shut down bc damn that boy is fine and smooth af is flustered and confused as heck but she’s willing to give him a shot

Alternatively: Marinette’s not sure about dating Damian because she feels like she’s just using him to get rid of her hanahaki bc of the idea that Robin had proposed.

Dick is ecstatic that Damian was acting weird because he had a crush and loved helping his brother out with this date planning in the city of love

He doesn’t report it back to the batfam yet because they had a small argument about it and Damian pulled away with the small victory of Dick has to wait until after the first date to tell them.

Damian is glad he Marinette’s willing to give him a chance but he’s worried about Ladybug

he wonders if he should set her up with Tim or Duke, it’d be a shame to lose a friend and hero like her.

Robin brings up his success to Ladybug and asks if there’s anything he can do to help her.

She notes that a friend had actually confessed to her and she’s giving them a chance.

They accidentally compare notes on their dates and that’s their reveal.

If Robin wins: An awkward start that smooths into moonlit dates on the Eiffel tower, dancing on rooftops, an increase in flirting but only after battles, never before it bc they have a professional reputation to keep, increasingly physical training routines, stolen kisses but not on lips until they’re more comfortable with each other.

Fast tracked mutual slow burn which kinda defeats the purpose of a slow burn but whatever

I have realized these ideas are not mutually exclusive.

Maybe Ladybug wins first but Damian fails to seduce Marinette because she has the doubts so they go with plan B and date each other. Ladybug is more comfortable with the idea of dating Robin because they both have Hanahaki and are knowingly using each other to get rid of it?

There is no identity reveal in this version

Complaint Break time: I was writing this to get it out but it keeps growing, wtf. This is so long and I haven’t even gotten to the main part.

It was supposed to be an established Daminette but I wanted to show how they got together, this was supposed to be like 5 bullet points, 10 tops.

At some point, I’m going to have to mention the rumor that people with Hanahaki are being kidnapped because the flowers that bloom after their death make great medicine but that cures most illnesses and are good potions ingredient whatever, something along those lines. It’s not the ones they cough up but the flowers that grow on the vines constricting their lungs after until they die and only blossom after death. Those flowers that spread the pollen into the air that makes the Hanahaki disease possible.

That’s why people keep it a secret unless they’re going to get the surgery as there’s not other way to treat it.

But that’s a plot point for part 2.

I feel like this is already longer than anything I’ve put out at this point in time.

Back to the story:

Even though they’re dating, the Hanahaki doesn’t go away immediately. It slows and becomes less frequent but there are times when they think of how their love doesn’t return their feelings and the flowers come back with a vengeance and they’re down for the day, possibly the entire week, hacking up flower petals and buds.

(Ladybug Wins version until otherwise stated) It’s during one of these fits that Dick finds out and is angry at this girl playing with his brother’s feelings.

Damian is too busy hacking up bloody flower petals to correct him

The entire batfam and subsequently Superfam now know the batfam’s youngest has hanahaki

Jon is called in and flies in to help keep an eye on his best friend

Bruce, Jason, Tim, and Duke are shocked but they pack up and are ready to go in guns blazing to have a talk with this girl bc the boys might not be on the best terms but that’s their baby brother. The girls stay behind to hold down the fort (because I need more time to get familiar with them before I can confidently write their characters. I’m not too confident about Duke either but I already mentioned him and it’s too late to back out now.)

So, Damian’s brothers and his father track her down to a different park in Paris where Marinette’s hanging out with her friends

They’re incised to find their brother’s girlfriend with another guy’s arm around her, leading her away from the main group of friends

It’s Luka, he’s helping her hide her hanahaki because she assures him that she has it under control and will go with him to the hospital if it becomes too much

They confront the couple

There’s a lot of intimidating posturing and accusations

Batfam is absolutely not prepared for the bloody flowers that spill from her lips - her hanahaki is even worse than Damian’s

Detective bats (correctly or incorrectly, depending on which version happens) put the pieces together and figure they’re dating to get rid of the hanahaki, that is something Damian would absolutely propose

and oh shit, this time it’s not just Bruce that’s adopting someone. They have a little sister now.

Luka explains what he knows about the situation and basically confirms what they’d deduced.

Welp, since they’re here, Hawkmoth has become top priority.

Hawkmoth takes one look at the Miraculous circle and the new set of bats and just- nopes out plus super boy and just nopes out.

Like, he tries but he has no expectation of winning and tries to run instead. It doesn’t work, they have all grounds covered.

I should probably make use of Mayura if I ever do write everything out but she didn’t really leave much of an impression on me tbh and I don’t have a lot of ideas. Maybe if I ever go back and watch it.

Celebratory, on-the-spot kiss between Robin and Ladybug where they do “oh“ and realize the pressure in their chest is finally gone and the Hanahaki is no more.

(Robin Wins) Dick is obliviously happy about little Robin leaving the nest and finding a mate until he finds out both the little heroes coughing up flower petals on their date

then he goes in and mother hens them both, before demanding answers

He’s also less happy about this whole dating thing

Dick can’t do much about Ladybug without revealing her identity but Damian isn’t getting out of it so easily

Dick figures out who Damian’s crushing on and goes to do a little investigating. He is very surprised to see it’s a bubbly, energetic designer girl and not someone... calmer. But then he thinks of Jon and it makes a little more sense

He talks to her, asks about what she thinks of Damian and is pleasantly surprised by her positive view of his brother. He asks if she would go out with him and she coughs up some petals

Now, Dick’s freaking out and why are there so many children with Hanahaki? This is the third one in two days!

fast forward because I’m finally out of ideas for this part

Ladybug knows she’s fallen for Robin, which was the entire point of them dating but she not sure he actually reciprocates or is still trying to forget that other girl.

Or if you went the other way, Robin’s still chasing Marinette but Ladybug now likes Robin and is aware that he’s trying to woo her. So, out of the frying pan and into another for her.

Robin is absolutely having regrets bc he is an emotional wreck and crushing on two girls and this was not supposed to happen, damnit.

A meta gets akumatized and takes out half the miraculous court but turns out the meta’s psychic ability can help track Hawkmoth so its all cool, now that they know what Hawkmoth feels like

Ladybug, Chat Noir, Ryuko, and Robin vs Hawkmoth and Mayura

Nightwing stayed behind to watch the other heroes are no longer brain dead from the battle but boy are they out of it and he has to make sure they get home safe

that does not mean he’s not extremely put out and worried about it since he knows half the team has hanahaki and it may interfere with the fight

Even if the Ladybug suit lessens the hanahaki attacks, they still happen from time to time

For two people who don’t show up to fight often Hawkmoth and Mayura put up a good fight

Ladybug has an hanahaki attack and Hawkmoth tried to take advantage of it, only to get knocked out by Chat Noir who’s still pissed at his dad for causing this whole thing

Chat Noir and Ryuko are pretty shocked Ladybug has hanahaki, even more her timer runs out and she choses to present it to Robin

Robin is shook

He gets it together and pulls her into a kiss that cures their hanahaki and makes their brains melt

Now Marinette’s kinda confused bc what the other girl

Damian, slightly shifting his mask so she can see who he is: That other girl was YOU

Now Marinette’s the one who’s shook

Note: Chat Noir and Ryuko have both de-transformed at this point and are watching with wide eyes but they do not see who is under that mask. Also, no cameras in this section of the manor bc that would be proof.

They have a lot to talk about but it works out in the end.

the outline above was written out of order bc I had to go back everytime a new idea hit and I cannot be bothered to go back and dodeca-check this thing again just to make sure everything makes sense.

Part 2 (that was supposed to be the main story- finally made it, the starting point. I cry.)

Ok, so, now that Daminette is established and the evil is defeated

Damian returns to Gotham with his girlfriend in tow to introduce her to the rest of his family, despite his better judgement

Jon is happy that Damian is in happy, loving relationship but he’s a bit sad that it’s not him and oop, sunshine kryptonian boy got hanahaki’d.

Same for Luka. (Yes, Jagged will be his dad and a Gothamite.)

Jagged and his kids join them in Gotham bc he has to be there to show his favorite designer niece around to all the best places of his hometown.

Luka finds out Jon has Hanahaki and they bond over the experience

They make a pact to cover each other and get the other to the hospital when it gets to that point

Pining/Simping meetings over their best friends that for some unknown reason seem to lessen the flower coughing over time even though these meetings probably make things worse but they also need vent before it increases again.

Luka and Jon beginning to fall for each other but they think the other is still in love with Marinette/Damian and it’s true that they still hold feelings for their best friends that aren’t diminishing in the sleightest and it’s all very confusing.

It’s even more confusing when we add the new hero in Gotham, Viperion who’s there to continue training with the bats since he’s visiting the area, rescues and lightly flirts with Jon who ended up developing a small crush and Jon realizes he has a type.

So, poor Jon’s now crushing on Damian, Luka, and Viperion

Viperion meets Superboy and the kryptonian doesn’t seem to like him?

Luka’s crushing on Marinette, Jon - still doesn’t know that Damian is Robin. And is kinda curious and a little hurt that the Robin’s oddly familiar kryptonian is actively and obviously avoiding him and that heart song is kind of familiar but different.

Viperion also gains a crush on Robin after watching him take down a thug in a very graceful way - the bird was showing off for his bug and decided to make it a little showier, he accidentally also caught a snake

Ladybug and Robin still flirt but the court - aside from Ryuko and Chat, depending on which version - think that’s just their dynamic, though they do pull Robin aside for a bit to tell him she has a boyfriend now. He assured them it’s fine and he knows, oddly amused at their attempt.

man, I am not original with this identity porn thing

It isn’t until Luka sees Jon again that he puts it together.

Marinette suspiciously notes Luka and Jon been hanging out an awful lot she’s making connections to the time she had hanahaki and Luka covered for her

The pains of befriending deductive genii.

Cue the panic and they accidentally claim they’re dating but it throws Marinette off for now, so it kinda worked?

Hanahaki fic with a fake dating AU. Oops.

Mari decides since she and Damian don’t know this, they must have been neglecting their best friends and double dates are the way to go.

Cue more panic

Unlike Marinette who is willing to trust their word, Damian’s a suspicious bastard who’s kind of dubious and a little salty that Jon didn’t tell him earlier if they’re telling the truth but Mari’s all gung ho about it so he lets it go for now

They go on the date and it is an emotional mess for everyone involved

It starts out fine

Jon and Luka act a bit weird because they have to cover for each other randomly coughing up petals, not to mention they’re on a date with their original crushes without actually dating their original crushes not even mentioning their new crushes and the secret identity reveal that Luka still hasn’t confronted Jon on and Jon’s guiltily thinking about Viperion half the time he thinks about Luka and shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Yeah, so they’re a mess

Damian’s watching them like he’s trying to figure them out and it is not helping but thank god Mari’s distracting him totally on accident

Marinette? She found a random lost kid in Gotham looking for their parents

So now the double date’s been temporarily derailed to help the lost kid

While Damian’s watching Marinette try pass the crying kid off to Jon for a moment so she can make a phone call to report a lost child but the kid’s clinging onto Marinette, and they exchange looks so Jon calls in the lost kid instead and he’s just struck with the idea of a family with the three of them and some kids

Cue panic time (again)

Ignoring the thought of children, why was Jon in his fantasy?

Luka’s just watching a smitten boy go into panic mode over the trio and while doesn’t quite know what’s going on in Damian’s head, but that was really cute and oh not again

They find the kid’s parents, and the date moves on

Jon’s more comfortable, Marinette wasn’t really bothered in the first place. Luka and Damian are now having crises

Luka makes a joke under his breath in an attempt to calm down before his Hanahaki acts up

It did not help bc Damian overhears and gives a small amused snort that made his heart stutter but hey positive interaction!

Both Marinette and Jon but end up having feelings very similar to the one Damian had earlier when they look over at Damian and Luka’s little interaction - Damian’s giving Luka a small smirk and Luka is entirely embarassed at being heard when he wasn’t hadn’t meant to be.

But then Luka gives Jon a small sign before he excuses himself to the restroom so Luka can run off and cough up his flower petals

You remember that whole thing about the kidnapping people with hanahaki so they die and medicine and things can be collected from the flowers springing up from their corpse thing? Yeah, the kids are in Gotham and there is definitely a group there that has dealings with the trade and someone saw Luka hacking up flowers

but they mark him and pull back to plan instead of kidnapping him then and there bc drama and Jon followed him to the restroom to check on him

Date ends ok and everyone’s kind of an emotional wreck

Damian has surprisingly learned his lesson on miscommunication and guiltily confides his fantasy to her like a parishioner to his priest

Marinette basically goes same and confesses about the moment she and Jon saw his interaction with Luka.

“So, We’re together, and they’re together...and I might be in love with Jon, you think you might be in love with Luka... What now?“ Damian asked, trying to make sense of it all

“We could...” Marinette swallows, “um, all four of us? together?“ she offered meekly. Seeing that Damian seemed to like the idea, she continued. “Y’know, feel out how receptive they are to the idea and then just seduce them?”

Ok, so the temporary communication skills were nice.

Because instead of talking it out with their best friends, they decide to seduce them but to be fair, there’s at least one version of this where Damian got where he did because of seduction.

Between both Damian and Marinette’s phsyical attractiveness, their combined determination and stubbornness, Damian’s assassin seduction knowledge, and Marinette’s fashion ability and tactical knowledge of where to accentuate what, Jon and Luka have no chance of leaving pining hell for the foreseeable future.

Marinette doubles down on the “double dates” aka, seduction plans in action and group hang outs, aka much more softer, subtle seduction plans

Marinette and Damian do not do much seeing how receptive they are and really just jump right into the seduction, except they adjust the plans so Luka and Jon don’t catch on so Daminette couple thinks it’s ok to go all out.

Cue seduction and pining hijinks, and a whole lot of bloodly flowers and plenty of internal screaming

Damian learns that Luka might not be too bad in the group and Jon is panicking because oh shit he’s got another crush and it’s his best friend’s girlfriend.

the quartet’s love issues are really full circle... or whatever this shape is supposed to be. Because there’s still the whole Viperion/superboy thing and - i just... I’m not going to keep analyzing this.

Somewhere during this, Jon confesses his feelings this particular friend group to Con, leaving out the whole Hanahaki thing. Con tells Tim for advice on being a big brother and things happen but I’m not sure what. I just want TimCon and the Superboys bonding

So a couple weeks pass by the Hanahaki’s getting pretty bad and Luka suddenly goes missing

Ladybug and the bats are on it as soon as they realize he’s gone

Except they are missing one, very important piece of information

Luka’s hanahaki

So, for the next few days, they don’t get anywhere until Jon slips up and ends up coughing up a shitton of bloody flowers which leads to panic, confusion and explanation, bc wtf Jon, you’re supposed to be dating Luka and that’s definitely not unrequited

So everyone gets the full explanation, the final piece of the puzzle snaps into place and the bats are on it.

Marinette and Damian have to put aside that whole revelation in order to track and save Luka before he dies of Hanahaki

They both make sure to kiss Jon first so he doesn’t get handicapped by his hanahaki like Ladybug did but he and Luka will be on thin ice once they get Luka back

So it’s pretty much a race against time bc they don’t know how bad Luka’s hanahaki is

Tracking, beat up bad guys, possible magic related villain(s) searching for potion ingredients that may take harm Superboy more than than if they weren’t there

They rescue Luka or Luka and Ssass break out as Viperion and meet them halfway.

Hey, the identity reveals!

Either way, at the end of it, Luka ends up with Ladybug and the unconscious and they have to wait until he wakes up to administer the kiss/cure bc it doesn’t work if one party is unconscious

which sparks an interesting idea of a sleeping beauty-cinderella style hanahaki fic where it would work if they’re unconscious, and the patient has to find go out to find who cured them and I’ll have to adjust some other rules of the hanahaki disease such as who can cure it but goddamn it

So while Luka’s out, Marinette and Damian confront the possibly injured but very much awake Jon

Once Luka wakes up and is brought up to speed, they take care of his hanahaki and work out the new boundaries of their new relationship

Part one is longer and I’m a bit put out by that. This made much more sense in my head but if you got this far, my rambling must have made some sort of sense.

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oblivionhold · 3 years

Text

Part three of my submission for @lilanette-week Prompt 3: Science Fiction. Read on Ao3

“It's good to see you back, Marinette.”

“Nice to see you beat that cold, Marinette!”

“I'm happy you're healthy, Marinette.”

Marinette loved her friends in her class. Really, she did. But if they, collectively, had a flaw, it was that they were too nice sometimes. Some of it was obvious, like everyone collectively thinking that there was no need to actually check the new girl's stories, even if they were ridiculously far-fetched. But some of it was just little things, like everyone reacting to Marinette missing a day of school due to a cold like she was on the brink of death.

“Oh my god, it was just a cold. Stop freaking out over Dupain-Cheng!”

Okay, mostly everyone. Still, her showing up slightly early the day after she missed a day due to illness gave most of her classmates plenty of time to worry over her, which was honestly kind of annoying. “Seriously guys, I'm fine. You don't need to fawn over me so much.” Marinette did try to keep her frustration off her face as she smiled. She did understand that her classmates were just worried and wanted to be nice to her, and in terms of flaws, 'too nice sometimes' was definitely preferable to most.

“Oh, I'm so glad you're here Marinette!” Another voice called from the door. Marinette struggled to keep her smile on her face as she turned towards the door, where Lila waited. “I was so worried about you yesterday. Did you enjoy the soup I brought over?” Lila walked over to Marinette and hugged her from the side. Marinette could wear she could feel Alya's anger and Adrien's shock. Seems like Lila decided she had given Marinette enough time to react.

“Yeah, Lila.” Marinette forced out, trying to look like she was enjoying the hug. “I really loved the soup. It was delicious. I'm sure it helped me get better fast.” Honestly, it probably did, that soup was amazing.

“Oh, I'm glad you loved it.” Lila leaned on Marinette even further, to the point where Marinette could smell her shampoo. It was honestly a nice lemon scent. “Only the best for my girlfriend.”

Marinette could only sigh as a ripple of surprise went through the rest of their class. Except for Alya and Rose, everyone was looking at them like one of them had just grown a third arm or something. Alya's face was carefully neutral, though Marinette knew her well enough to see the tensing of her jaw that indicated she was angry. And Rose...well, Rose looked like Christmas came early. She was absolutely going to have to answer a barrage of questions about their 'romance', wasn't she?

Before anyone could voice more than “What!?”, Miss Bustier walked into the room. She raised an eyebrow at Lila hugging Marinette, but apparently Marinette's acting abilities managed to fool her, because she just smiled. “Alright, class, back to your seats. Let's begin the lesson for today.”

Lila squeezed one last time before she turned around to walk back to her seat, Marinette turning around to watch her leave. Lila winked at her and shook her hips, causing Marinette to blush and turn towards the front of the room. Nino had turned towards Miss Bustier, but Adrien was still looking towards her, clearly looking worried. Marinette tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he didn't change expression until Miss Bustier began talking and he turned to face his teacher.

------------------

Marinette wasn't surprised when, as soon as Miss Bustier excused them for lunch, Adrien turned around. “Hey, Marinette, do you mind if we talk?”

Marinette turned around to see if Lila was on her way to demand that they feed each other in public of something equally 'romantic', but she was busy talking to Rose, so she turned back to Adrien and nodded. “Not at all. Weed the may, er, lead the way!” She could swear she could hear Alya rolling her eyes beside her, and quickly stood up. “I can eat whoever! Er, wherever.” Marinette took out a lunch bag she brought from home so she didn't have to go home and probably get interrogated over Lila.

“I probably won't have time to eat, but my bodyguard should let us talk for a bit.” Adrien smiled back politely.

Marinette frowned at the reminder that Adrien's dad controlled his life this much, that he couldn't even eat at school with his friends. But that was a problem for a different day; now, she needed to assuage his fears about Lila.

Marinette waited by the school entrance as Adrien talked to his bodyguard. The Gorilla waited until he was finished, checked his watch, and then held up two fingers. Adrien nodded and then turned back towards Marinette. “Sorry, we only have two minutes, so I need to cut to the chase. What did Lila threaten you with?”

Cut to the chase indeed. Marinette sheepishly laughed, bringing up a hand to scratch the back of her head. “Who says she threatened me? We just...”

“Marinette. Please.” Adrien said softly. “I know how much you hate Lila, and I could tell you weren't comfortable with her back there. I can help if you let me.”

Marinette could feel her fake smile drop. She wanted to tell him. She really did. She wouldn't doubt that Adrien might be able to think of something to help get her out of this problem, but... he really cannot know what Lila is blackmailing her with.

More than anyone else, Adrien cannot know she is Ladybug. She's still not too sure how it led to Chat Noir finding out, or how Chat Noir finding out caused him to get akumatized, but Marinette is more than willing to take some uncomfortable hugs if the alternative is Chat Blanc.

“You're right,” she whispered, looking back and forth to make sure no one was within earshot, especially Lila, “I'm not really dating her because I want too, but I have everything under control. As long as all she's doing is clinging to me and bragging about being my girlfriend, I can take it.” Marinette smiled at Adrien again, more real this time. “I appreciate the offer, Adrien, but I can do this on my own.”

Adrien frowned and sighed. “If you're sure. But I'll always be here to help if you need me, okay Marinette?”

Marinette felt her face flush. “Okay Marinette...I mean, Adrien.” Adrien just smiled at her and turned back towards his ride home. Marinette waved goodbye as he got into the car and the gorilla drove him away. Then she sighed and turned back towards the classroom. Lila probably wanted them to publicly eat lunch together.

She was right about that.

------------------

Once again, Lila was on her almost as soon as Miss Bustier dismissed them for the day. “Oh Marinette~” she said with a sing songy voice as she walked down the stairs. “I'm still worried about you. Won't you let me walk you home?” Lila smiled happily down at Marinette.

Marinette couldn't resist rolling her eyes. “I appreciate it, Lila.” She said, “But I don't want to trouble you. I do only live right across the street, after all.”

Lila's smile never dropped, but Marinette swore she could have seen a flash of anger in her eyes. “Oh, I know, but I insist!” Once again Lila dropped down to hug her and whispered in her ear “And I want to talk to you in your room.”

Marinette could see Alya gripping the table beside her out of the corner of her eye and sighed. “Alright, fine. Let's go.” As Marinette stood up, Lila let go and held out her hand. Marinette figured it wasn't any more embarrassing to hold hands than to walk arm-in-arm, so she held Lila's hand in her right hand while using her left to wave goodbye to her class. While the reaction wasn't quite as bad as yesterday, most of the class was still shocked, and Rose was still practically vibrating with excitement.

The walk home was much easier than two days ago. She didn't have to keep so close to Lila, and Sabine was busy with a customer, so she didn't have to worry about hiding Lila as she told her mom she'd be in her room with a friend. As soon as the they entered her room and closed her hatch, she pulled her hand from Lila's grip. “Alright, so what did you want to talk about?”

“Two things!” Lila said, riffling through her purse. “First off, here's a list of my answers I gave to Rose about how we got together and what we enjoy doing together.” Lila did, indeed, give her a handwritten list, full of questions and answers, and went back to looking through her purse. “Memorize it, because she's probably going to want your perspective on the relationship and we need the facts to match.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and read through the first answer, eyebrows raising higher as she got through it. “You broke down and cried about all the evil things you did to me after I helped save your life? Really?”

Lila giggled. “Rose ate it up. Don't worry, I made sure to make you look good.” She then pulled out what appeared to be a brochure or something. “Second thing, I've decided what our first date should be.”

Marinette took the brochure and just stared at it in confusion. “What the heck is this?”

“StarCon. Have you seriously never heard of it?” Lila sounded legitimately confused.

The brochure showed a bunch of people all dressed up in similar tight outfits, distinguished only by color. It was mostly men, but there were a fair few women. They were all smiling at the camera, and, indeed, a logo for 'StarCon' was emblazoned on the bottom, with a date that was about a month from now. It was, thankfully, still in Paris.

Marinette shook her head. “Maybe I heard Max say something about it, but I've never actually seen it before.”

Lila grumbled to herself for a bit before shaking her head. “Okay, whatever. It's a convention for Starsea, this big sci-fi show. They're releasing this movie soon, and someone you know very well is doing the theme song for it. Check the back.”

Marinette, confused, turned the brochure over. Indeed, Jagged Stone was standing there, wearing a purple version of the same outfit she saw the people on the front wearing. The brochure promised that Jagged was going to do a small concert as part of the closing ceremonies, and he'd do an autograph signing earlier in the day. “So you want to go to a sci-fi convention just to see Jagged Stone? How expensive is this, anyway?”

Lila rolled her eyes. “Not just that, but he helps, yes. And hopefully we're getting in for free. You are Jagged Stone's favorite, after all.”

“You really want me to ask Jagged Stone for convention tickets?” Marinette frowned. “I knew one of the reasons you wanted to date me was to get close to celebrities, but I wasn't expecting to have to ask them for material help...”

“It's two tickets to a con. Jagged could probably buy them himself from a single hour of album sales. And if he says no, I'll just buy them myself. So hurry up and ask him! I want to be here when you do it. Ooh, and make sure you say you're coming with your girlfriend.”

Marinette unlocked her phone with a sigh. She did have Jagged's number...well, she had Penny's number, and Penny was always with Jagged, so it was basically the same thing. As she dialed, she desperately hoped that Penny wouldn't pick up, but after only two rings, she heard Penny pick up. “Hello?”

“Hi, Penny.” Marinette turned towards Lila, who was looking like the cat who ate the canary. “I was kind of hoping to ask Jagged something about StarCon...”

“Yeah, sure, hold on, he's doing something stupid right now.” Penny moved away from her phone, but Marinette could still hear her yelling for Jagged.

A couple of seconds passed and she heard Jagged on the phone. “What's up, Marinette? How's my rock-and-roller doing?”

“I'm doing fine, Jagged.” Lila gestured for her to hurry up and Marinette rolled her eyes. “So I saw you were going to be at StarCon this year, and I was wondering if you could help me get tickets? See...”

Jagged interrupted before she could even make up an excuse. “Oh, of course, no problem. Anything for you. How many do you need?”

“Two. One for me, and one for...” Marinette paused. Lila was sitting in front of her with a smug smile on her face. Marinette sighed and continued. “One for my girlfriend.”

Marinette was kind of hoping Jagged would get mad at her for dating someone else so soon after breaking up with Luka, or maybe he was homophobic or something, but instead he laughed. “Alright! That's two tickets coming right up. But you gotta bring your girlfriend over to the autograph session, alright? I gotta meet her. If you're dating her, she has to be just as rock-n-roll as you are.”

“That's...” Lila was leaning in now, and Marinette rolled her eyes again. “Yeah, she is.”

“Radical. See you, Marinette!” And then he hung up before she could respond, naturally.

“There, are you happy now, Lila?”

“Very.” Lila did, indeed, look incredibly happy. Her smug smile at forcing Marinette to do something was replaced with something that looked softer and more pure, but just as soon as Marinette noticed it, it was gone, replaced with something more smug. “Now all you need to do is make the costumes for us and everything will be set.”

Marinette balked. “Costumes? How much time do you think I have? How much money do you think I have? I don't even know this series...”

Lila shrugged. “I'll pay you whatever you need and I can provide any references you want. Plus it's basically just two of the same outfit in different colors. Mine's in white, and you can pick whatever color you want.” Then Lila smiled in the way that Marinette associated with teasing. “I can also provide you my sizes...assuming you don't want to take them yourself.”

Marinette still flushed red. Normally, she would prefer to take measurements herself, but like hell she'll give Lila the satisfaction. “No, thank you. Just the measurements would be fine. And I'm not even going to start until you give me the money.”

“Conveniently, I have it right here.” Lila pulled a stack of bills out of her purse and handed it to Marinette. Marinette gasped in shock. This was almost certainly more than enough for two costumes, even if they were full-body suits. She probably didn't need all of this...but then again, she's already putting so much effort into this fake relationship as is. This was basically just payment, right? “And here's the references.” Lila handed her a folder. As Marinette opened it up, she saw screenshots of a tall woman with brown hair tied in a ponytail in the white version of the Starsea uniform in various action poses, as well as a turnaround. “Like I said, it's the same outfit for everyone, so yours will be the same. You can pick any color you want, except for red. Red is for the villains.”

“Alright then.” Marinette was tempted to wear red just to annoy Lila, but decided it wasn't worth the fit she might throw. “I'll get it done by next month. Anything else you want to drop in my lap, Lila?”

“Well, if you're offering...” Lila smiled again.

“If you sit on my lap I'm screaming.” Marinette said, deadpan.

Lila chuckled and waved her off. “Nope, that's it. I'll see you tomorrow, my cute little bug.”

------------------

The costumes weren't actually that bad, though it did take her almost up to the deadline to finish them both. And while they were pretty tight, she was fairly certain her Ladybug outfit was tighter; she wouldn't have any problem moving around in them, especially with the expensive materials Lila's generous payment had allowed her to afford.

Marinette expected to feel kind of awkward, walking around in a sci-fi outfit, but it seemed Starsea was more popular than she thought. She was just one of many people in the same outfit walking around Paris. Her choice of color, a light pink, was pretty unique, but that's about it. Most of the other women and girls she saw were wearing the same white that Lila was wearing.

She got to the convention venue fairly easily, and took out her phone to call Lila and ask when she was showing up. Before she could, however, she heard Lila from behind her. “Wow, that you must really love pink.” Marinette turned around and was about to respond when her breath caught. Lila was wearing the outfit she made for her, and she did look good in it, but she wasn't expecting Lila to wear her hair in the ponytail that the reference character did. Lila noticed Marinette's shock and smiled teasingly. “Like what you see?”

Marinette blushed. “No, I mean, you are pretty, but it's not that, it's just, um.” Marinette took a deep breath to calm down. “Your hair. I wasn't expecting it. It looks good.”

Lila's smile softened to something more genuine. “Aww, thank you. You don't look too bad yourself. Maybe lose those pigtails, though, they made you look like a kid.”

“I am a kid.” Marinette scowled. “And besides that, I like my pigtails. They're cute.”

Lila rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I have my schedule memorized. All you need to do is follow me and maybe pose for some pictures.” Marinette must have shown her shock on her face, because Lila smiled in a way that Marinette was pretty sure was supposed to be reassuring. “We're two cute girls wearing some of the best-made costumes here. If the costume contest wasn't happening at the same time as Jagged's autograph signing, I would have made us join, cause we would have won for sure.”

Marinette blinked at the honest praise. “Thanks, I guess?”

“Seriously, this is so much better than what I wore last time I went to one of these.” Lila shuddered. “I bought a pre-made one, and it was just a mess. Too tight in some places, too loose in others, and the material just would not breathe. You're really good at this.” Marinette was shocked into silence both at the praise and the revelation that Lila enjoyed going to sci-fi conventions enough to have gone to at least one more. Lila checked her phone and nodded. “Alright, the first panel I want to go to doesn't start for another hour, so we can probably just walk around and...”

“Marinette? Lila?” They both turned in surprised to find Max and his mom. Max was wearing a yellow version of the Starsea uniform, while his mom was wearing normal clothes. Both were carrying Starsea branded bags. Max was surprised, but his mom just politely waved. “I didn't know either of you were into Starsea.”

“Oh, I'm not.” Marinette shrugged. “But Lila wanted to come, so...”

“I just find the outfits cute, that's all!” Marinette was surprised to see that Lila sounded slightly panicked. “I never really watched the show until recently”

Max raised an eyebrow. “So the fact you're not only dressed in the proper Psychic Division uniform, but you're also wearing your hair in Mylleia's signature ponytail is a complete coincidence?”

Lila shrugged and smiled bashfully. “I just thought she was cute.”

Marinette giggled. She finally found some way to turn things around on Lila. “Didn't you say this was your second convention? Sounds like a lot of effort to go through just because you find the outfits cute.”

Lila whipped her head to the side to stare at Marinette in horror as Max's mom chuckled. “There's no need to be ashamed of liking Starsea, Lila. Enjoy what you want, and don't worry about anyone telling you otherwise.”

“Er...” Lila clearly didn't know how to react, and Marinette giggled as the aghast expression on her face. “Thanks?”

“So, Marinette.” Max turned towards her. “Am I correct in assuming you made the uniforms you two are wearing? They seem higher quality than average.”

Marinette smiled and nodded. “Yes, I did.”

“Would you mind if I took a couple of photographs, then?” Max pulled out his phone from his bag. “They really do look quite good.”

“Of course you can!” Lila clearly enjoyed the conversation going back to a topic she was comfortable with and dashed over to pull Marinette close. Marinette grumbled a bit but smiled for the camera. Max took several shots, with Lila changing poses in between each one. After the third picture with Marinette just standing there smiling at Max, Lila pulled her in for a hug and whispered in her ear to pose more. Marinette rolled her eyes, but changed to a heroic pose she saw Mylleia doing in one of the reference photos.

Max was satisfied after a couple more photos, but by the time he and his mom waved goodbye, a couple more people had walked over and asked for some photos. Lila had agreed before Marinette could react, and so Marinette was back to posing for more photographs. Marinette had to admit, it was actually pretty fun; she was expecting the worst, but most of the photographers were respectful and only wanted a couple of photos. It was kind of exhausting to hold poses for as long as she needed too, sometimes, but she had done much worse as Ladybug.

It felt like mere minutes, but it wasn't long before Lila clapped her hands after a photo. “Alright, sorry everyone, but I think we're done with photos for now. We have a panel to get too. Maybe we'll see you later today.” A couple of groans of disappointment, but most of the fans seemed fine with it. However, a couple of boys slightly older than them walked forward.

“Hey, do you and your friend there want to go to the concert with us?” One of them asked, smiling politely.

“Yeah, it'll be fun!” The other one joined in with a grin.

Marinette shook her head, but before she could speak, Lila hugged her from behind and rested her head on Marinette's shoulder. “Sorry boys, we're taken.”

The second boy looked confused, but the first one's eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, uh, sorry about that. You have fun with your girlfriend.” He waved goodbye as he pulled his friend along, who still didn't seem to get it.

Lila rolled her eyes. “Idiot.” Then she grabbed Marinette's hand and started pulling her along. “Now hurry up, we can't be late.”

Marinette just sighed and and sped up slightly so that Lila wasn't dragging her.

------------------

If Marinette had any doubts about Lila being a fan of Starsea, they were laid to rest when they got to the panel and Lila clearly had some Opinions about which side of the love triangle should get together. Backed up with references to individual scenes in individual episodes, Lila got up and debated that both of the girls the milquetoast main protagonist had to choose from should ignore him and instead date each other. She was basically the only one in the room with that opinion, but she defended it passionately, and while Marinette never thought the debate got disrespectful, it certainly got loud.

Then they went to a quiz show. Lila nearly ran out of the room when she saw that Max and his mom were there, but Marinette managed to get her to stay by teasing that she was afraid of Max beating her. For the record, he did beat Lila, but only by a single question. Lila was irritated afterwards, but managed to respond to Max's 'good game' with a relatively polite 'you too'.

For their last panel before Jagged's autograph signing, they went to a speculation panel. Lila didn't speak at this one, but literally brought out a piece of paper and was writing notes on everyone's theories. Marinette didn't understand any of it, so she spent most of her time staring at Lila. Honestly, her look of concentration was honestly kind of adorable. It was nice to see her earnestly enjoying herself in a way that didn't involve insulting people or teasing Marinette.

Finally, it came time for the autograph signing. The hall was, indeed, packed. By the time they got there, they were at the back of a line of what must have been over a hundred. Lila frowned and turned to Marinette. “Can't you just call Jagged up and ask to go first or something? This is way too long a line.”

Marinette rolled her eyes again. “I am definitely not going to ask to get to the front of a line just because you don't want to wait. We'll get there eventually.”

“Oi! Marinette!”

She blinked in surprise and turned towards the table where Jagged sat. He was wearing his purple Starsea uniform, and he was looking directly at them, standing and waving. “Come up here! And bring your girlfriend along with!”

“Never mind!” Lila said cheerfully. “Now come on, Marinette. Don't want to keep your 'Uncle Jagged' waiting!”

Marinette groaned, but walked alongside Lila towards the table where Jagged was, trying to ignore all of the jealous or angry looks she was getting from all the people she was cutting. When she got there, Jagged gave her a thumbs up. “Rocking outfit you two have there. Did you make them, Marinette?”

Marinette smiled at Jagged. If nothing else, Jagged's enthusiasm was infectious. “I did. Thanks for liking them, Jagged.”

“Not a problem.” Then he turned towards Lila and looked her up and down. “So you're Marinette's girlfriend, eh? What's your name?”

“Lila Rossi!” Lila was back to her fake enthusiasm she used when she was talking about Prince Ali's environmental charities or whatever. “It's a real pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stone! I love your music, I have all your CDs!”

Marinette had never heard Lila listen to a Jagged Stone song in her life. She seemed to enjoy XY's music more, though after Marinette had ranted to her about what he and Bob Roth did to Kitty Section, she hadn't played it in front of her anymore. Still, Lila would probably murder her if she brought that up now.

“Well now, always nice to meet a fan! I'm told you want an autograph?” Jagged smiled politely.

“I do! Actually, can I have two? One to Lila, and one to Adrien Agreste? See, I work alongside him as a model, and I know how much he loves your music...” Lila indeed took out two CDs from her bag, both Jagged's newest release, the one Marinette did the cover art for.

“I don't see why not.” Jagged got to signing.

Marinette felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Penny beside her, looking worried. Penny gestured towards the back of the room, away from anyway. Marinette nodded and followed her. “Is something wrong, Penny?”

“Maybe.” Penny frowned. “Part of my job is keeping Jagged away from anyone that might want to use and abuse his fame. He loves being connected to his fans, and while that's one of the reasons he's so popular and why I lo...respect him so much, it does mean that he's particularly vulnerable to people trying to get rich or famous by leeching off of him. I have to be skilled at distinguishing between good fans that just want to meet their favorite artist, and bad fans that might want to use him for a quick paycheck or their own fame.”

Marinette could see where this is going. “And you think Lila is the second kind.”

Penny nodded slowly. “It's not my place to tell you who you can date, and maybe I'm wrong. But I felt like I had to say something.”

Marinette smiled and was about to respond when her phone's akuma app went off. She checked the location and groaned when she realized the akuma was all the way across town. She looked around for a good hiding space to transform in when she heard a shout. “Marinette!” She turned to see Lila running towards her, holding her bag to her side. “I have a cosplay emergency, can you help me fix it?”

It took a couple of moments for Marinette to figure out that Lila was giving her an excuse to leave, but Penny responded quickly. “You two can go to Jagged's dressing room, it's right outside here.” She reached out and squeezed Marinette's shoulder reassuringly before pointing off to the side, behind Jagged's table. Marinette nodded and helped Lila towards the back.

As soon as they entered Jagged's dressing room, Lila removed the bag, revealing the still perfectly intact costume. “Well, at least the akuma waited until after I got my autographs.” Lila grumbled.

Marinette rolled her eyes, but smiled at her. “Thanks for coming up with an excuse. I appreciate it.”

Lila took out her phone and sat back. “Not a problem. Kick the akuma's ass for me, won't you?”

“I was going to do that anyway. Tikki, Spots On!”

------------------

Starswimmer was a relatively middling akuma. It took her and Chat a fair bit of time to defeat it, but she was never worried she was going to lose. Just some kid upset that his parents wouldn't let him go to the convention until he was older. Marinette always hated fighting akumatized children.

By the time she got back and snuck in through a window to Jagged's dressing room, she was red faced and exhausted from the fight and having to rush back. Lila was still engrossed in her phone. Ladybug snuck up behind her and checked to see what she was doing; to her surprise, Lila was watching the Ladyblog footage of the battle, and Lila actively winced when Ladybug took a hit.

That was surprising...and something to unpack later. Instead, Ladybug backed up like she just got in the room and said, loudly, “Spots Off.” She pulled out a cookie to feed to Tikki and pretended not to notice Lila jumping and covering her phone in a panic. Smiling, she turned to Lila. “Are you okay, Lila? I didn't take too long, did I?”

Lila quickly hid her surprise and scoffed. “No, you took as long as you needed to.” Lila stood up and smiled back. “Isn't it nice, having a girlfriend that knows where you're going when you disappear for almost an hour?”

Marinette frowned. Now that Lila said it...yeah. She did, kind of. She hated having to leave Luka in the lurch like she did. Even if he didn't have problems with her lying to him, it was awful to imagine him just waiting at in a movie theater or restaurant all alone. It was basically the major reason she broke up with him.

Not that she wanted to tell Lila that. She didn't want Lila to think that she was enjoying this or anything.

As they walked outside the dressing room, Penny was waiting for them with a frown on her face. “You two sure took a while.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry.” Lila smiled apologetically. “I must have had a growth spurt or something since Marinette measured me. Lucky that she always carries around a sewing kit!”

“Yeah.” Marinette had mostly caught her breath, but she was still breathing hard. “Especially with costumes like these.”

Penny pursed her lips and sighed. “Look, Jagged doesn't mind and I don't really want to be a buzzkill. But please don't make excuses just to make out in a dressing room. Find a bathroom or something like everyone else.”

Marinette's face, which had mostly faded to pale, immediately went red again. “I wasn't...we weren't...I just needed...”

Lila smirked, and Marinette despaired as to what she might say. “Well, I really did need to get my costume repaired. But I needed to take off my costume in order for her to repair it, and, well...” She shrugged and feigned surprise. “You know how it goes.”

Penny slowly rubbed her temples as Marinette groaned. “I do not want to know about what you two get up to.” Penny said. “Let's just. Hurry up and get you two to the concert. Jagged gave you special seating because of course he did.” Penny descended into grumbling as Marinette glared at Lila behind her back.

“What?” Lila whispered, the picture of innocence. “You came out with a red face and breathing hard. Do you think she would buy that you decided to do your workout routine while in there?” Then her false persona faded as her smug grin returned. Marinette rolled her eyes.

The concert was pretty good. Jagged Stone was Jagged Stone, and even three songs of Jagged Stone was enough to get her hyped and excited. As she expected, Lila wasn't really into it, and as soon as Jagged finished and walked to the back, she stopped pretending to enjoy it.

“Well,” Marinette said on the walk out of the convention building. “Akuma aside, that was a fun day, wouldn't you think?”

Lila nodded. “I got two CDs with Jagged Stone's name on them and he thinks I am 'Rock-n-roll' if you like me.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “And the rest of the day was nothing? Don't try and lie to me and say you didn't enjoy all those panels.”

“Look, if you tell anyone I like this show...” Lila growled.

“Why would I?” Marinette was legitimately confused. “Max likes it. It's not like it's a bad show. Everyone who came here like it. Why are you embarrassed to like it?”

Lila flushed. “It's just... not the sort of a show a pretty model is supposed to like, right?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Who cares what show a pretty model is supposed to like. You're a pretty model, and you like it. No one should have a problem with that.”

Lila's face remained red. “I guess...” she muttered before shaking her head and putting her smug grin back on her face. “So how about you? What did you like about today, apart from my hair in a ponytail.” She giggled as she twirled a strand of her hair around a finger. “If I knew you were gonna have that reaction to it, I would have worn my hair in a ponytail much sooner.”

Marinette definitely didn't blush at that thought. She turned away from Lila so she couldn't see her expression. “Well, it's always nice to see Jagged. And, well, I mean... I didn't know the show? But it was fun to see you enjoy yourself in a way that didn't involve hurting other people.” Marinette managed to control her expression enough to smile at Lila. “I really enjoyed watching you have fun, if that makes sense? And I did enjoy up enjoying taking photos with you, even if there ended up being way too many of them.”

Lila paused and just stared at her, expression neutral, which Marinette found weird. She didn't really say anything weird, did she? But before she could go back through what she said, Lila's face broke out into a smile. “How about one more for the road, then?” Lila took out her phone, pulled Marinette close, and lined up for a selfie. “Say cheese, my cute little bug.”

Marinette said cheese.

#miraculous ladybug #lilanetteweek #lilanette #lila rossi #marinette dupain-cheng

11 notes · View notes

snow-leopard-777 · 4 years

Text

In The Darkest Hour

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not, despite what most would claim, a normal girl, nor did she lead a normal life. Chloè had once claimed that the bakers' daughter held more secrets than Fort Knox, whatever that was. Though she wasn't entirely wrong. Marinette did hold many secrets. Family, friend, random stranger, it didn't matter who talked to her. Unless you were a member of the conversation, not a peep was to be heard about it from Marinette.

As much as it occasionally annoyed them to be unable to get gossip from the girl, the entire class greatly appreciated the girl's talent for secrets. When Chloè, Kim, Max, Alix, Nathaniel, and Juleka needed someone to talk to about being LGBT, Marinette was their only pick. The group quickly became close, Marinette asking their permission to tell the other LGBT classmates to talk to them about it. None of their other classmates could figure out why the group was so close, for which they were extremely greatful.

Kitty Section was created under Marinette's careful selection, the girl gathering those that had shyly admitted to their preferred method of making music and introducing them, one on one, to Luka and Juleka for consideration of the band they wanted to create.

The one thing the entire class knew about the rest of their classmates was one thing that were in perfect agreement with: Marinette Dupain-Cheng was an odd individual, and no one wanted her to snap. Especially after the appearance of le Papillion. Many of her classmates worried about their secrets, as so very little was known about the girl. Though the class didn't realize it, the only students that did not fear Marinette's akumazation revealing their secrets were the LGBT kids, as Marinette had not only admitted to possibly being either ace or demi due to her lack of attraction to anyone, but they also knew she was keeping secrets before she knew how to talk.

As they gave the girl more and more secrets, she became more and more isolated. No one was willing to give up their confidant, but those that she didn't trust with a secret of her own began to avoid her unless they needed a conversation kept quiet. Marinette simply smiled a small non-committal smile every time they spoke to her while Madame Bustier nodded approvingly at the girl.

A delicate peace existed in the class. Marinette's friends were all extremely protective of her, especially after they learned just why the girl was so secretive. Everything came to a head when Alya suspected Marinette knew the identity of at least one of Paris's heroes after seeing Chat Noir enter a room at the end of his timer- and Marinette walk out seconds later.

In retrospect, Alya could have chosen a better place to confront Marinette than in the school classroom, interrupting Bustier's lesson so that the girl couldn't run away.

The bluenette, of course, denied knowing who Chat Noir was. Alya, however, refused to let up- her blog was at stake, after all.

"C'mon, Mari!" Alya whinned, ignoring the classroom's collective flinch. No one was allowed to call Marinette Mari, new girl or not. "Be a good friend! Do you know what you could do for my blog?"

Marinette glared at the girl. "It's always about what I can do for you, isn't it?"

"Marinette! That was too harsh," Caline scolded her student. "You're supposed to be the example, not the problem starter! She just wants a little help with her career!"

Marinette glared at the teacher. "I said that I don't know the identity of Chat Noir. She kept pushing, insistent that I did even though all she knows is that he entered a room shortly before I exited it. I remained in front of the door until Chat Noir let me know he was properly recharged and left. She wishes to know a secret he would die to protect despite his and his cousin's protests against her stalking them."

"That is highly uncalled for!" Caline scolded. "One should never be judged for curiosity."

"And one should never be judged for the keeping of ones secrets, so be they keeping their own or others'. She's lucky that they haven't filed restraining orders or complaints against her. She could easily be sued for invasion of privacy, charged with jail time for stalking, or have charges brought against her for posting un-consented photos, of minors no less, on a public forum without any kind of authorization- not to mention some of her theories could be considered slander and defamation of character." Marinette retorted, the majority of the class shocked by her sass. The quiet girl usually refused to speak when challenged about her secrets; she had never fought back before (Sabrina was surprised, but more because of Marinette's legal jargon. Perhaps she should attempt a friendship with the girl instead of fearing her closed-off mannerisms). Only a select few that remembered her as a child with no filter (Chloè, Kim, Alix, and Nino) or visibly held no regard to authority figures (Juleka) remembered the old Marinette. The Marinette from before her aunt and uncle's deaths. The Marinette that allowed people to call her Mari.

Irina Karasuma, neè Dupain-Jelevac, adoptive daughter of Gina, had disappeared off the face of the planet when Marinette was eight years old. Six months after her disappearance, the Russian woman was presumed dead- along with her husband. Karasuma Tadaomi was Marinette's favorite out of her adoptive relatives, and everyone knew it. He was the one that taught her how to fight, how to defend herself. He also taught her how to cuss someone out, in French or Japanese, and make them thank her for it. He was the one that taught her just how important secrets were from the moment she was born. Irina taught her, very reluctant, niece how to use her looks to her advantage, the art of flirting, and about seven different languages (plus how to flirt or cuss in many others). By the time her favorite family members vanished (not dead, never dead, they couldn't be dead), Marinette was able to speak nine different languages, not including her mother tongue, plus sing beautifully.

Two weeks after Bustier assigned her detention for standing up to Alya, Marinette found a strange box on her desk, a fox tail amulet and a strange little pocket fox contained inside.

🍯

Adrien Agreste hit record on his phone the second Alya interupted class. He didn't plan on being defended, had only hoped to get a good laugh to share with Felix, until Marinette spoke up. If he weren't so good at acting, Adrien wouldn't have been able to keep the tears from falling. He knew, without a doubt, that Marinette knew his identity- and Ladybug's as well. She hadn't quite managed to close her eyes in time when he detransformed in front of her. The girl had simply pulled out her lunchbox when Plagg mentioned Adrien forgetting his Camembert at home, offering the kwami her own.

"Let me know when your good to go." Was all the girl said before walking out of the room, the sound of fabric sliding against the door letting him know she was leaning against it. Several nerve-racking minutes passed before Adrien announced that he was transformed. He watched the door slightly shift forward as she got off it, though the door never opened.

He had waited days for the girl to spill. Yes, he was well aware of her reputation. However, he was almost positive that his was too big of a secret to keep. After seventy-two hours of nothing happening, Adrien tracked down his cousin and visited Master Fu.

Master Fu had frowned at him. "We will watch her and see how the situation pans out. If she proves herself enough, I may give her a Miraculous of her own."

The next day, Adrien walked into the massage parlor with the recording of an absolutely unaware Marinette verbally attacking a classmate for trying to pressure her into spilling the secret.

The Guardian had watched the video contemplatively, analyzing the girl. "I think I know the perfect match." He finally said once the video was over. "But I am unsure… it has been several centuries since a true match for her surfaced."

Adrien left more confused than ever, though forgot about the strange encounter once his cousin saw the video. All of Adrien's being was suddenly focused on keeping Felix from taking legal action as Ladybug against the blogger.

🍯

Marinette stared at the small goddess. The fox stared back, then smirked.

"Most kits freak out when they see me." The fox commented.

Marinette smirked back, "I'm not most kits."

"Hmm. We'll see. My name's Trixx, I'm the Kwami of Illusion. My main power is Mirage, we'll be able to see if you can use any other power after we work together for a time. You have five minutes after using my power before you transform… until your an adult."

"Okay. Does this come with a catch? Do I have to fight akumas?"

Trixx grinned ferally. "Nope. All you have to do is not use my Miraculous for evil."

"Good. I think Kitsune would prefer to take out human criminals and night akuma over missing school."

Trixx nearly purred at her newest holder's words, eyes sparkling with pride, "That sounds perfect." It was brilliant for her kit, this one might even grow to be a full fox, to use a name of different origin to mislead people. Who would think a half-Chinese girl would use a Japanese name?

🍯

Marinette transformed with Trixx for the first time that night, fiddling with her weapon before ever leaving her room. She had a flute, the mouth piece pulling out to reveal a sharpened blade on the end, barbs set strategically down the blade so that it would catch without letting go. She slowly pulled the rest of it apart, each one leading to a blade of some sort. The middle had two blades, one on each end, while the others only had one- lengths varying.

It didn't take more than a second to find the phone-like use, the girl calling Chat Noir to meet her at the Trodacero with Ladybug.

The two heroes beat her to the meeting spot, Huli Jinn joining them after learning how to move around as a Miraculous user. Her dark silver cloak settled around her, shifting and blending with the shadows.

Ladybug eyed her suspiciously. "Who are you and what do you want?" The blond demanded.

Kitsune smirked at him. "Call me Kitsune. I'm the holder of the Fox Miraculous. I thought it best to let you know I was active before you mistook me for an akuma." She lowered her hood and pushed the cloak back, revealing her appearance. Her dress was silver with blue ribbons and sleeves. The skirt had slits up both sides to prevent it impeding movement and the skirt and sleeves were removable- not that the boys knew that. A pair of loose silver pants and black combat boots hid under what most assumed to be a dress. Her Miraculous stayed tucked under her outfit, her mask matching her silver theme- excepting the orange curled fox tails on either side of her mask.

Chat visibly brightened. "So you're here to help us?"

"Not exactly. You two are heroes. You fight akuma no matter when or where they occur. I'm a vigilante- I'm focusing more on keeping the average Parisian safe. If an akuma occurs at night, I'll help you out. But you're on your own during the day. I have school, and I know you do too, but I'm already on thin ice with my teacher, and I have work I have to do. You guys can sleep at night while I keep an eye on things."

Felix eyed her. "Why is your name in Japanese?"

Marinette blinked at him. "My favorite uncle was Japanese. He taught me many things before he vanished a few years ago. I don't know if he's dead or not, I hope not, but I wish to honor his memory and all he taught me."

Chat grinned even brighter at her. "Are you a Honeypot?" He demanded. He only knew one of those, and if she was… "Master Fu said he might give you a Miraculous!"

The other two heroes eyed the cat. "How do you know who I am?" Marinette demanded.

Felix stared at the two. "You're the girl that knows who we are." He dumbly stated.

Marinette huffed. "Yes, I know who you are. Not that anyone would ever learn that for sure."

"What are you going to do about sleep?" Felix demanded. He refused to be the cause of another person being irresponsible about school.

Kitsune waved her hand through the air. "I can exsist perfectly well by sleeping on the weekends and taking naps throughout the week. Foxes are at their peak at night anyways."

"Didn't you just say you're on thin ice with your teacher?" Ladybug demanded. Chat Noir simply looked highly concerned.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, though Adrien beat her to speaking. "Our teacher doesn't like her right now because she defended my hero persona against a classmate. Our teacher is all for Mar- sorry, Kitsune keeping secrets until those secrets could make someone else rise to the top. She got detention for protecting my identity and defending herself against the girl pestering her."

Felix narrowed his eyes. "So the teacher punishes victims for defending themselves against a bully harrassing them?"

"I wouldn't say that-"

"Yes." Kitsune interupted. "The teacher shows no care for the emotional state of a person being attacked, only for the well-being of the more agressive person. She has had several complaints filed against her, though no action has been taken. My allies and I are getting ready to go to the school board if nothing changes soon."

Felix nodded once in acknowledgement. "Good. I shall retire for the night, Chat, you should do the same. We miss enough sleep as it is." He turned around and muttered under his breath, knowing his cousin could hear him, "And you need to explain to me what a Honeypot is."

Marinette bit back her laugh, fully aware that Felix didn't know her Miraculous also came with heightened senses. "Goodnight, boys."

🍯

Adrien landed in Felix's bedroom, having laughed at the boy the entire way there. Their transformations fell even as Adrien teased his cousin. "Need me to explain what a Honeypot is? Didn't you say that I was the one who was sheltered? That I don't know anything if it's not in an anime?" Felix glared at his cousin. "Okay, fine! A Honeypot is someone who can lure their prey in by their looks and actions, and once they catch what their after, they can make their move. Marinette's aunt taught her how to be a Honeypot when she was little."

Felix eyed his cousin. "What anime did you learn it from?"

Adrien made several insulted noises before Plagg finally outed him.

🍯

Nearly a month later, Caline Bustier and Damoclès were told to pack their bags. The head of the school board called in a favor from an old friend in Japan. The principal had demanded to be allowed to bring one of his teachers with him. She quickly agreed. François-DuPont suffered a hit with the removal of the principal and a teacher for negligence. Hopefully their replacements would help nullify that hit.

Asano Gakushuu laid his phone on his desk before buzzing for Nagisa. He started speaking before Nagisa could even properly shut the door. "I know you were planning on moving to Paris with Akabane when he got shipped off as an ambassador. I'm not going to try to change your mind." The again went unspoken. They both knew exactly who his best teacher was.

Gakushuu was always surprised when Nagisa spoke to him- the boy had always been so silent. He hadn't learned until after they started working together exactly why Nagisa was the way he was. "Why did you call me?"

Gakushuu huffed. "Here's the deal. An old acquantence of mine called in a favor I owed her. She recently fired her principal and one of her teachers, and needs a suitable replacement for both. She asked me to take over, I agreed on the stipulation that I got to bring one of my teachers with me."

"Where at?"

"François-DuPont. It's a school in Paris. Instead of struggling to find a new teaching position in a country you are unfamiliar with, you can join me at this school. It's not far from the embassy, so you would still be able to meet Akabane for lunch or whatever."

Nagisa raised his eyebrow at his friend. "You do know that Karma prefers his first name for a reason. We're twenty-six, and have been friends since the end of cram school. Your rivalry should be dead by now." Gakushuu shrugged. Nagisa let out a heavy sigh. "What's my class like? How did the teacher I'm replacing run it?"

"I don't know how accurate my information is, all I have is what the superintendent knew. But the teacher and principal were terminated due to neglecting the students"

Nagisa facepalmed. "End Class bad? Paradise High bad? Or relatively alright?"

Gakushuu shrugged. "Possibly some combination of the first two. They did have one competent teacher for science and math. The terminated teacher was supposed to teach them almost everything else. We won't really know until we get there and assess the situation. They want us there ASAP."

"Of course. I'll tell Karma. Get me the school's address so that we can plan housing."

"I'll forward you all the information by the end of today. Use today to tell your students the news and pack. I'll begin the transfer paperwork. Do you have tickets to Paris already booked?"

Nagisa gave Gakushuu a bland look. "Karma and I leave for Paris this coming Monday. You need to focus more on your own paperwork, mine should be nearly completed."

Asano would never admit that he had been putting off Nagisa's paperwork for as long as possible in hopes that he would stay. Nope, not at all.

🍯

Marinette kept an eye on the new teacher as soon as he arrived. They had been stuck with different substitutes for nearly two weeks while waiting on him to arrive and all the paperwork to go through. The name Shiota Nagisa rung a distant bell in her mind, though she struggled a little with remembering where, exactly, she had heard his name.

"Greetings, everyone." His French was passable enough, though he had a noticable Japanese accent to Marinette's trained ear. "My name is Shiota Nagisa, though you can all call me by my given name. I hope we have a good year together." He offered them a small bow.

Marinette rose to her feet. "Greetings, Nagisa-sensei. I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng, class representative. Thank you for coming to teach us." She offered him a bow in return.

Nagisa gave her an approving grin even as Rose hesitantly spoke up. "Didn't he ask us to call him by his given name?"

Kim explained before Nagisa could. "His name's switched around, like mine! Last name is first and first name is last!" Kim boasted. "The new teach is like me!"

Nagisa hummed appreciatively. Le Chein Kim understood the basics, but not the proper terminology. "A little rough, but basically correct. Though I do not appreciate the interruptions. In Japan, a person's family name is given first and their given name second. It is considered rude to address someone by their given name or a nickname without permission. Dupain-Cheng-chan, please stay after school so that we can discuss the class."

"Yes, Sensei." Marinette acknowledged.

"Now, in Japan, different honorifics are used to address someone. Here you use madame, mademoidemoiselle, and monsieur. It's a bit more complex in Japan. If you were to speak to an adult, you call them by their family name followed by -san. For example, a friend of mine also lives here. You would address him as Akabane-san. You would address females your age or younger by adding -chan to their surname, males with -kun. People in the grades above you would be addressed as -senpai, which can also be used for someone with more experience. A teacher, doctor, someone in a roll ment to educate someone is addressed as -sensei." Nagisa spent the first day explaining to them the cultural differences between Japan and France, flashing back to Bitch-sensei's less than conventional methods proving their usefulness. Several of his new students seemed to understand the different cultures very well while others seemed to let everything fly over their heads.

The day finally ended, Nagisa ushering the students out so that he could finally learn just what he was dealing with. "Dupain-Cheng-chan, would you please explain to me how the class was run prior to my arrival? The principal and I were given minimal information about why we were being brought in."

Marinette slightly inclined her head. " Please, call me Marinette. My surname is a mouthful. Caline Bustier was our former teacher. She let bullies run rampant and punished the victims if they stood up for themselves. One of my classmates is obsessed with uncovering the identities of Paris's heroes. The teacher never warned her of all the legal action that could be taken against her for basically stalking underaged people. Césaire was convinced that I knew one of their identities and interupted the class to hound me about it. I denied any knowledge of who they were. She pressured me, insisting I knew and called me by a nickname I do not use. I told her off, the teacher scolded me and gave me detention.

"The former principal wasn't any better. He was easily controlled by people in a place of power, allowing bullies to rule the school even as he brushed an complaints about his teachers under the rug. I was chosen as class representative because my classmates trusted me to know better than anyone just what they wanted or needed without airing their secrets to the world. I am also one of the only students who was not afraid to tell Bustier and Damoclès that they were acting like imbeciles. My class is accustomed to not being able to rely on an adult in charge to handle a situation for them- especially if that situation is hostile. Now days they either handle it themselves or come to me."

Nagisa nodded. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to began taking some of that responsibility off of you. It will take time for us to learn how to work together, but I assure you that I am not like Caline Bustier."

Marinette eyed the new teacher. "Anything my classmates tell me in confidence will stay with me. But I will attempt to speak with you about the class when needed."

Nagisa inclined his head. "That's fair. I would expect nothing less. What can you tell me about the class? I can't move at mach twenty, nor am I a verifiable genius, but I would like to be able to give all of my students what they need. I was under the impression that I am in charge of everything except mathematics and science?"

Marinette nodded. "Juleka, Mylène, and Nathaniel are all very reserved and shy. Juleka and Nathaniel prefer to hide in the background and let others shine. Mylène is okay as long as there's someone she's comfortable with nearby. Ivan is quiet and has a few anger issues, though he's pretty good at controlling himself as long as le Papillion is inactive. Kim has trouble focusing on class and retaining the information, he does better when he has something to do. I've been making him study with me, letting him practice sports, parkour, that sort of thing while I call out information and question him on the materials. He's not at the top of the class, but he is usually in the top ten. Alix can focus better than Kim, but also learns better when she has something to do. Césaire has a tendency to ignore the materials when the teacher is covering them in favor of working on her blog. She expects someone from the class to share their notes with her later on so she can pass. Sabrina takes care of helping Chloè study, since Chloè learns better with technical terms. Every now and then Sabrina calls me in for help for a particularly difficult subject because, where French sometimes fails, making Chloè learn the material in a different language works every time. Nino learns through music. Everyone else learns relatively well in the class and can mostly interact with new people. Adrien said his cousin's considering transferring in, he's asocial, not big on people, but smart."

"Thank you. I'll see what I can do about helping Le Chein-kun and Kubdel-chan have something interactive during class to help them. Do any of your classmates find music distracting?" Marinette shook her head. "Then I'll ask one of my former classmates for help with making a playlist to help Lahiffe-kun learn the material. What would you suggest to stop Césaire-chan from being on her blog during class?"

Marinette hummed contemplatively. "As long as she has an electronic, she's going to check it. Especially since she knows a few of our classmates will give her the notes."

Nagisa nodded. "I'll have her give me her phone before class. Would you do me a favor?"

Marinette eyed the teacher. "That depends on the favor, Sensei."

"It's nothing bad." Nagisa promised. "I'm just used to students being unwilling to help. I feel your classmates are more likely to listen to you right now than me. You have their trust, I do not. Would you be willing to ask them to stop giving Césaire-chan their notes? It would be different if she were missing class, but she's just not paying attention. She needs to learn that there isn't always going to be someone to cover for her."

Marinette blinked, surprised. "Of course, Sensei."

Nagisa considered the girl. "You have a Chinese and French heritage, yes?"

"I do."

"Where does the grasp on Japanese culture come from?" Nagisa questioned, deeply curious.

Marinette offered a small smile. "My family is very complex. My grandmother is the equivalent of an Italian gypsy and has a penchance for adopting people. My adopted aunt, Irina Dupain-Jelevac, married Karasuma Tadaomi. He taught me many things, including Japanese culture, before they went missing a few years ago."

Nagisa's mouth fell open. "You're related to Bitch-sensei? And Karasuma-sensei?"

Marinette snapped her fingers. "I knew your name sounded familiar! My aunt told me about her attempt at being a teacher and how much she struggled with it. She had a lot of pride in your class. Tadomi-oji-san did too, he was just better at hiding it."

Nagisa stared at the small girl. "They told you about us?"

Marinette shrugged. "A little, yeah. Is that all you needed, Sensei? I need to get to work."

"Y-yes, thank you. Have a nice evening, Marinette-chan."

"You too, Sensei." Marinette called as she walked out the door. She found something in her relaxing slightly with knowing that the new teacher was taught by her uncle. Though she did wonder how Adrien, and possibly Felix if he transfered in, would escape to fight daytime akumas.

🍯

Nagsia flopped on the couch once he got home, startling his husband. "Sup, Nagisa?" Karma asked. Nagisa smiled, even after over a decade his husband hadn't changed from the time they were at Kunikagawa. He even continued elongating his name.

"Guess who my class rep. is related to?"

Karma raised an eyebrow. "I literally have no idea."

"Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei."

"What the fuck?" Karma lost all attempt at feignig disinterest, bolting straight up.

"She's French-Chinese, Italian grandmother. The grandmother adopted Bitch-sensei before she married Karasuma."

"How the hell did you figure all this out?"

"I had her stay after class to get a feel for the class. I was called in to replace a negligent teacher, so I wanted to know exactly what I was working with. After we were officially done, I asked her where she learned so much about Japanese culture, as she seemed to already know what I was teaching today. I was already thinking about Bitch-sensei and her teaching methods before she explained how she was adopted by Karasuma-sensei- as a niece. Apparently they talked about us."

"Holy fucking shit, talk about a full circle. How much does she know?"

"That's the problem, I have no idea. Nor do I know what they taught her." That was more worrying than how much she knew about their past.

🍯

Marinette texted Chloè as she walked. *Césaire's notes privileges have been revoked until further notice, excluding absences.*

*I was waiting on you to snap on her. 🙃*

*New teacher's rules for her. Former Class 3E- 🗡️*

*😮 …………… Trust?*

*With caution.* Marinette pocketed her phone as she walked in the bakery. She could give a good two hours in the bakery, design while cooking supper, and then take a quick nap before patrol.

#mlb #mlb x ass class #Assassination Classroom #Miraculous Ladybug #Shiota Nagisa #Akabane Karma #teacher Nagisa #Fox Marinette #Ladybug Fèlix #Good Fèlix #Félix Graham de Vanily #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #In The Darkest Hour

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thunderpot · 5 years

Photo

1 | 2 | 3 (you’re here!) | 4

For the curious~

As soon as Alya was out of the shield, Marinette in her arms, Hawkmoth moved to approach them. The akuma hadn't been able to drain all of Mari thanks to the entire group getting in front of it, but it had still taken a good chunk and it was vital she was out of sight immediately.

Still unable to move freely, Adrien felt relieved when Nino ran as if his tigh wasn’t wounded and remade his shield in a constricting manner around the enemy, getting a cuss out of the villain's mouth that made his stomach turn. The more Hawkmoth existed, it seemed, the sicker he grew at the mere sight of him.

His entire body should be aching, but the adrenaline was getting too high for it —and for that he was grateful. He shouted against the rain to his friend to protect the other two, straightening himself and feeling the tickling sensation of Tikki's power. She was aprehensive, and he couldn't blame her. Once his friend was gone, the shield around Hawkmoth gave up and the man launched into his direction intent on taking the rare chance of snatching one of the two most powerful miraculous while he was still weak, a mere 5 meters between them.

"You are not getting the chance!"

Under any other circumstance, Adrien would've shouted something, anything to make light of the situation, but all jokes and fun had suddenly dried out. He wasn't fast enough to stop Hawkmoth and fell back to the ground, his legs his only barrier while the man tried to bring his hands close enough to pick one of his earrings out by force.

In a split second he mustered all the strength he had left and gave him a closed fist right to the chin, pushing him back with his legs right after and seeing him roll to the side with a groan. He had no time to revel in the sound, however, and struggled to get back on his feet once more. He needed to put some distance between them and grab his baton back.

Running to the edge of the building they stood on, he could see it shining faintly behind a pipe, but Hawkmoth was up and running right behind him again way too soon.

"You think yourself too smart, don't you" Hawkmoth said in an almost amusing way, and Adrien could almost see the grin on his mouth even without turning around. "But you're too weak! if it was any other miraculous..But using these two will be too much to your body right now. Just give the ladybug to me and I will fix everything!"

"Shut up!

"You prefer to die!?" His plan was working. Talking made the boy go slightly slower, and the energy his new miraculous gave him made him faster. he was just about to touch that damn fool. He just needed to close the gap, just a little bit more...

He wasn't fast enough, however, and halted as he saw Chat Noir take a last second decision to use the wet floor to his advantage, throwing himself on the ground and closing the distance between him and his baton with a slide, arms open and mouth muttering something he didn't need to listen to understand.

A beam of bright white light blinded him for a few seconds, and before he could even see again his instincts made him jump back just in time to avoid something that hit the ground with such force that he could hear the cement cracking before whatever it was was taken back.

He blinked a few times while his sight came back to him, following the thing that had almost caught him: It was Chat Noir's baton, that was for sure, but it was now black and splitted with a bright red cord between the pieces as if it was some sort of nunchaku. It came back to it's master's grip and closed itself as if the cord had never been there before, but it wasn't the new weapon that froze him in place.

Right in front of him was standing the annoying boy he had been trying to get rid of for the past 10 years.

No.

The boy that scrambled his plans over and over again and he swore more than once he would destroy. The boy he almost killed many times.

No.

The boy he almost succeded in killing many times. His son.

"Cat got your tongue?" Adrien told him with zero amusement, baton in hand growing as it usually did, and he could see when Hawkmoth felt the ground faltering below his feet.

While transforming, there were only two things in Adrien's mind: having enough resources to ditch every move Hawkmoth had into the trash, and be sure that bastard saw his face. And so his kwami friends conceded his wish, and his transformation had all the right bits except the mask to conceal his identity. He knew his eyes were still merged with Plagg's, and he liked it because it meant he could see very clearly through the rain and into the night. All his senses were ready for one thing only: Stop his father.

Without an answer, the hero continued, being thankful for his newfound force and regained energy, and gave a single, slowly step that made Hawkmoth go back one step in response.

"You--Adri--" Hawkmoth started, but jumped again at the leap his son gave to close the distance between them, his baton cracking the ground again just where he stood mere seconds before. "Adrien stop that! You could die!!"

"Death is overrated" His tone was smooth while he got up and leaped again, atacking over and over while Hawkmoth barelly defended himself with his cane.

He had so many things to ask, and yet none of them seemed to be able to blurt out of his mouth while he saw the man fanctically trying to protect his face and both miraculous he had active at the moment — as to not shatter them and undo the only thing protecting him from being dead by a single blow of his baton.

He wanted to say he couldn't care less, but deep down, something in him still cared.

"Why!?" He shouted instead of any other question, but never stopping his blows. Hawkmoth let himself get hit once before using his cane to push into his wounds and he grunted, the seconds he faltered just enough for the other man to jump to the next building to get some space between them.

"You do not understand!" Hawkmoth shouted back, Adrien could see a mix of anger and desperation bulding behind his now pink-ish eyes "I did this for us-I did this for you! If you just give me the Ladybug you'd—"

Adrien grunted once more, out of rage this time, and leaped after him. Hawkmoth conjured a swarm of butterflies that almost made him fall from the building - enough distraction to put even more space between them.

"For me!?" He got up the water tank on a corner and saw the butterflies leave him alone while his enemy listened "For me!?" an unamused laugh this time "The only thing you wanted all these years was power on top of power! You are a manipulative prick, a lying bastard, a killer!"

"I never intended to-"

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME!" He shouted, jumping to the top of the building Gabriel stood on and landing in a cat-like manner, not bothering to get back up before slowly circling him once, analyzing.

"All the people you manipulated to control and all the ones you hurt... Do you want to know how many times I would be fucking dead by your doing if it wasn't Ladybug!?”

That seemed to click something inside Hawkmoth's head, because the man started attacking him back with a mix of cane attacks and butterfly swarms in hopes of making him use his power and greatly reduce the time he had to fight.

"YES, I DID ALL THAT!" He seemed enraged, and Adrien wanted nothing more. "But you and Ladybug know nothing! I did it for a greater purpose! I did did for our family!!"

"Do you want me to enumerate how many innocent people Ladybug brought back to life that died by YOUR akumas!?" Adrien dodged his cane once and crouched when the butterflies tried to get to him "How many people are endangered right now because of you!? There is nothing that would justify what you did- nothing!"

Saying those things out loud made him even more enraged. He could barely get any rest some nights thinking about the amount of times they couldn't completely save the day, how many people were endangered or affected because of their fight. He had no idea how that man even slept knowing what he did.

Gabriel jumped to flee and he went right behind him. Deep down he still wanted a reason, something that was strong enough. He didn't want his father to--

"I DID IT TO BRING YOUR MOTHER BACK!"

This time, it was something inside him that lit up. A fire he did not know he was capable of having, but he felt nonetheless. Before he could even control his own body, he propelled himself full force on a chimney and caught Hawkmoth mid-jump, one hand pulling and throwing his cane away, the other holding his neck.

He could feel the fabric of his suit barely holding against his claws and, this time, he could truly say he couldn't care less.

The older man's head slammed against the wall of the building's lift motor room as they landed, and Adrien saw himself pulling him from it and slamming his father's head against the wall a second time, and then a third.

"Don't you dare." His eyes were wide and his tone was lethal as he pushed Halkmoth out of the ground, still anchored on the wall by his hand holding him in place. "Don't you dare bring her into this"

Gabriel was holding his arm with both his hands now, but Adrien's force was still too much for him to handle, specially now with two miraculous.

"It is--" he coughed, finding it difficult to breathe "it is true!!" He argued "You know the ladybug can do it-If you just- If you just give it to me--"

"You forced Fu to give up his memory." He started in the same tone, ignoring what Gabriel had just said completely, but shifted his gaze to the side. He could see the light changing. A few more moments and the sun would rise. "You made Nathalie permanently ill. You put the entirety of Paris in danger. You made an akuma to steal Ladybug's soul just so you could use the miraculous the same way she does and not suffer any consequences... And you have the nerve to say it was because of my mother? "

His grip got tighter as he pulled Gabriel out of the wall and hanged him out of the building, his hand being now the only thing stopping him from falling.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end you right now."

"Adrie--" His voice was hoarse thanks to the pressure, and he saw Adrien's eyes flinch carefully as his gaze went back to him.

"It's Chat Noir for you, Hawkmoth."

" Wouldn't-" he coughed again, holding himself against his arm, but the hero didn't move a single muscle "Wouldn't you.. do everything..it took? Aren't you..too...Trying to bring her back?"

The shine in his eyes gave Adrien the confirmation he didn't need. He was talking about Marinette.

"Aren't we..The same?"

-----------------------------

It had barely been ten minutes, but the waiting was killing her. She was about to make a hole on the ground, walking from one side to the other, when she heard what sounded like muffed excited roars at a distance. What was going on? It sounded a bit like..cheering? She decided to talk to Nino about it, but the sound of his miraculous beeping with a new call distracted her.

“Bunnyx” Nino hid his face behind the hood and googles once more before answering, and the hero on the other side spoke quickly:

“Quick report! Chat and Ladybug are not answering, but whatever you guys did, good job!!” She said excitedly and he could hear people cheering behind her while he looked worriedly at Alya. Her face went instantly pale “The sentimonsters are crumbling, and the akumas are fleei-- Ah, here it comes!! It should get to you guys in no time. I need to help out the civilians! Great job everyone!” and she hung up.

Nino stood up, his heart suddenly skipping a beat. Both him and Alya approached Marinette as they noticed a big wave of ladybugs made out of light coming from all directions.

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marauderundercover · 3 years

Text

A Guide to Love and Coffee in the City of Crime: Ch. 4

Heroes

AO3

Marinette sticks her tongue out in concentration, trying to calm her spiking frustration. Trying to knit a sweater with a clunky cast on her right hand was annoying. But she’d started the project two weeks ago, and was determined to finally finish it. If only because she had finally moved into her Gotham apartment and thought the Sirens themed sweater would be nice to wear on a chilly night. Apparently the other exchange students lived with a host family. But after several sets of forms, and meetings with her uncle and aunt (who were only half an hour away), the school had agreed to let her live in an apartment by herself. She honestly thought that the deciding factor wasn’t the plethora of forms her parents had signed, or the meetings with Lois and Clark. No, she was pretty sure the deciding factor was when Jagged had popped in and talked to the school. So it goes. Just as Marinette finishes up the last couple of stitches, the akuma alarm on her phone blares. Jumping slightly, she reads over the information on the alert. Repeat akumatization- Sandboy. Marinette frowns, before she remembers the time difference. Right.

“Tikki?” Marinette calls, jumping up, looking around for her friend.

“Ready, Marinette.” They say with a grin. Marinette smiles and portals to Paris. Sprinting across the rooftops, she double checks her yoyo to make sure she’s going the right way. She comes to a halt in front of her best friend, grinning widely.

“Hey M’Lady.” He says, bowing with a flourish.

“Hey Kitty Cat.” She says, giving an equally obnoxious bow. He laughs, before his face settles into something more serious.

“Saw the alert, but I haven’t seen any sign of Sandboy. Just the nightmares he’s leaving behind, and-” Chat pauses, wincing. “They’re much worse, M’Lady.” Of course they were. The first time there had been an akuma like Sandboy, the horrors of Paris’ situation hadn’t sunk in. There hadn’t been any mass deaths at that point, but now…now there had been too many. Far too many.

“No!” A shrill scream, one filled with heartbreak and anguish, catches Marinette’s attention and she runs towards it, all of her inhibitions disappearing as she sprints towards her mother’s frantic screaming. She skids to a stop several feet away as she sees her own limp form on the ground. Marinette winces at the visible gunshot wound in her head. She hadn’t lost sight in battle like that in a long time, but hearing her mother scream like that? It overrode everything else. Taking a steadying breath, she grounds herself again.

“You okay?” Chat asks, landing softly beside her. She sighs.

“Yeah I just- we can talk later. Let's go find Sandboy.” She says. Chat nods with a sad smile. Time to fight the nightmares.

---

Sitting at the top of the Eiffel Tower with her best friend by her side, Marinette tugs her knees up to her chest and lays her head on Adrien’s shoulder. Their reveal had been incredibly anti-climactic, but it had helped them sort through their feelings (or lack thereof). Honestly, it really was just a matter of time before they both accidentally chose the same alley to detransform.

“She hasn’t told me to my face, but I know she’s upset that I’m in Gotham.” Marinette says softly, her words almost getting lost in the wind. She knew that her maman didn’t agree. That she, like Clark, thought Gotham was far too dangerous. But Marinette knew that she could handle it. And it’s not like she was going to live there forever. She just had to do something to increase her chances of talking to the Batclan. After all, they were a team of vigilante detectives. She needed their help. They had to unmask Hawkmoth soon. She was tired. Adrien was tired. Paris was tired.

“Do you ever wish you could just explain it to her?” He asks softly. She shakes her head immediately.

“No. I couldn’t. I love my parents, but I don’t think they’d take this well. Our entire family is normal, we thrive off of that.” Marinette sighs. Normal, except for the slightly odd Kent side. But even then, she was pretty sure they didn’t do anything as crazy as dressing up in a suit to fight crime. She frowns slightly. Okay, maybe she shouldn’t think too much into that.

“I get that. I don’t-” He pauses, and Marinette glances at him out of the corner of her eye- wincing at the pained look on his face. “I could never tell my father about any of this. Or anything I actually enjoy. Nothing that says who I really am.” He says sadly. Marinette frowns, reaching over and squeezing his hand. Despite being in a relationship with Luka for almost a year and a half, he hadn’t told his dad. But since he was now seventeen, his dad had started pressuring him to ‘find a girl’ so that they could promote the brand more. She knew it was something that had been weighing heavily on him for awhile, and she just wished she could do something to help him. Unfortunately, Agreste's lawyers were good and her lawyer had yet to find a way to break Adrien out of his contract (the only thing keeping him modeling, and, on the same foot, in ‘need’ of a girlfriend).

“Wish you could’ve come with me to Gotham so that you could’ve had a break.” Marinette says. His face brightens slightly, a smirk on his face.

“Hey, you still need to tell me about that Tim guy. Is he good enough for my best friend?” Adrien asks, wiggling his eyebrows. She laughs. It was nice, sitting with her best friend.

---

Wrapped up in her new Sirens sweater, a travel cup of coffee, and her sketch book in hand, Marinette climbs up the fire escape to sit on the roof. She’d sat on the tower with Adrien for hours, but while it was nearing four am back in Paris, it was only ten in Gotham. Which meant she still had plenty of time to design and think. Humming softly, she starts working on a sketch for Jagged’s new tour jacket. She was a little slower than usual, and it was messy because of the cast, but she couldn’t just stop designing til it came off. Not only did she have her business to think of, but she also knew that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else if she pushed away her creative whims for any period of time. Every time he started a new tour, she made him a new jacket. This one had a faux leather base (the only type of leather Jagged would wear) and she planned on incorporating elements from the new album cover throughout the design. Sometimes, it still shocked her how far she had come. From Eiffel tower sunglasses and an album cover, to exclusive designer for both Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale. She’d also done commissions for several other celebrities. Every time she got a request, she felt giddy. It didn’t even feel real at times. A couple of soft thuds immediately yanks her from her thoughts. Snapping her attention up, she relaxes slightly as she recognizes one of the figures.

“Hello again, M. Red Hood.” She says with a small smile. Glancing at the other vigilante, she tilts her head as she thinks. And who was- “Nice to meet you, Red Robin.” She says with a small wave. He returns the wave before he focuses in on her sweater. Frowning, she glances at Red Hood and quirks an eyebrow. He shrugs.

“Ignore him, kiddo. What’re you doing on a roof this late?” He asks, crossing his arms. She can’t see his face, but she’s certain he’s giving her some variation of a Concerned Dad Look™. Marinette frowns, pulling out her phone to double check the time. Almost midnight. She winces.

“In my defense, I came up here at like, ten.” She says.

“That’s not better.” Red Hood says with a scoff.

“Is that an MDC original?” Red Robin asks suddenly. Marinette blinks.

“What?” She asks. He points to her sweater.

“The sweater. Is it an MDC? I remember they posted a teaser picture of it on their Instagram a couple weeks ago.” He says. Her eyes widen slightly for a moment. Red Robin followed her on Instagram? Was he a fan?

“Uh, yeah, sorry I just didn’t realize anyone would recognize it.” She says. He grins widely.

“Well I’m kind of a fan. Not only do they make some really cool stuff, but I like looking into the mystery of their identity.” Red Robin says. “I would never expose it, or anything, obviously I understand secret identities. I just like looking into all of the different theories.” Marinette grins.

“Yeah, that’s a pretty cool part.” She admits.

“Do you know who they are?” He asks. Marinette weighs her options. She didn’t really like lying to people. She tried to only lie about her secret identity stuff. On the one hand, this would link her too closely to MDC for comfort. But on the other hand, how else would she be able to explain getting a commission from one of the most elusive designers of the last three years? Sighing, she nods slowly.

“Yes, but I really can’t-”

“No! I mean- sorry, I don’t want you to tell me. If I figure it out, I want to be the one to do it.” He says. Marinette grins, nodding.

“If you two are quite done with your flirting, I think the pixie over here needs to go back inside. Maybe get some sleep?” Red Hood suggests. Marinette rolls her eyes, sticking her tongue out at the man while she tries (and fails) not to see the blush on Red Robin’s face. She couldn’t get a crush on him, not when she really liked Tim. She’d feel awful.

“You’re worse than my cousin Conner. I swear. Ever since I came to Gotham, he’s been the ultimate mom friend. Actually, I think he’s worse than my actual mom, sometimes.” Marinette whispers the last part, furrowing her eyebrows. He’d technically banned her from coffee after ten. That, obviously, wasn’t working out for him. Hopefully though, his mom senses wouldn’t tingle and alert him of her coffee intake over the past couple of days. She’d never live it down.

“C’mon kid, I’m just looking out for you. And I’m sure your cousin is too. Gotham’s dangerous as hell.” Red Hood says, his voice slightly gentler. Marinette sighs, but stands up and collects her stuff.

“Fine. But just because I’m pretty sure that, despite not even being anywhere near here, Conner will suddenly show up and drag me off to bed if I don’t go now.” She says. Stranger things had happened.

Story tag list (open): @timari-month-event

Permanent tag list (open): @stainedglassm @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess @crazylittlemunchkin @buttercupsbitch @toodaloo-kangaroo

#maribat #maribat fanfiction #maribat tim drake #maribat marinette dupain cheng #timari #timinette #maribat red hood #maribat red robin #maribat adrien agreste #maribat chat noir #maribat conner kent #maribat january #timari january

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ourplaceinthecosmosphff · 4 years

Text

Chapter 20. Courage

‘Her courage was her crown and she wore it like a Queen.' Atticus

When I walked inside after waving goodbye to Adrien, Harry and Lourdes were still in the kitchen. They looked at me, as if waiting for an idea of what came next.

“Well, I, for one, need a drink.” I said, trying my best to give them a smile.

Harry got to his feet and poured us some wine.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lourdes asked.

“I don’t think we can.” I told her. “I don’t know what happens next. All we can do is wait.”

She avoided my eyes, and mumbled, “I know how much you love that.”

“Shut up.” I said, grabbing the glass Harry offered and drinking most of it in one sip. “Distractions, right? That’s what I need.” I said, looking at him.

“Oh, Harry! Do you have Amazon or iTunes or something?” Lourdes asked, excitedly.

“I think I have both. Why?”

“I know what we should watch!” She smiled, jumping up and going to his TV. “It’ll get your mind off things!”

Half an hour and half a bottle of wine later, we were watching Frozen.

“How do I know this song?!” I asked, confused and entertained at once, as Elsa let go of her fears on the screen.

“Some songs are so popular they are just downloaded into our subconscious without us noticing.” Lourdes said, but I wasn’t hearing her.

I was singing Let it Go.

Harry laughed. “I think you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.” I complained, more than contested. “Sadly. I’m just… slightly buzzed.” I said, going right back into singing the words I somehow knew.

“I wish I knew what being drunk feels like.” Lourdes said. “It looks fun.”

“…Let it go–I’m not drunk.” I corrected, mid song.

“It’s not all it's cracked up to be.” Harry sighed.

I scoffed. “Says the guy who–”

“You don’t need to finish that sentence.” He said, making me laugh.

To Lourdes, I explained, deflated. “He’s right, though. Really, it just makes you make dumb mistakes.”

She looked at Harry, “Like dressing up as a nazi?”

“Lourdes!” I admonished, completely sober now.

“No, no…” Harry said, soothing. “It’s fine. She’s not wrong. But, sadly, no. That wasn’t a drunk mistake. It was just… a mistake.”

She looked away from him. “Do you regret it?”

“Of course.” He answered, without a second beat. “Every day. But I was… dumb. Young. Privileged. Completely unaware of what it truly meant. I just… I thought it would be funny. I was an idiot.”

On the screen, Elsa wasn’t bothered by the cold. I drank more wine.

“How about this, Lou?” I proposed. “When you’re… seventeen I’ll let you try wine.”

“Seventeen?!” She asked, surprised.

“…and eleven months.”

“Eleven–are you serious?!” She rolled her eyes.

“Yes, I’ll get you drunk before your birthday, in a responsible way, in a safe and controlled environment.”

“Ugh.” She complained, and then talked to me in French. “Like you waited until you were eighteen.”

“Excuse me? Yes, I did.” I replied, also in French.

“Really? What about the time when you came home from–?”

“Okay, but that was an accident!”

“Okay, my French is not that good!” Harry complained. “What did you say?”

Lourdes gave me a smug look.

“Nothing.” I said.

“Really?” She chuckled.

“Shut up and watch the movie.”

She sighed, “Okay, what’s up your butt?”

“Nothing.” I shrugged.

As I sat in the middle, I saw from the corners of my eyes as she exchanged a look with Harry.

“Truth or dare?” He asked.

I sighed. “Truth.”

“What’s up your butt?”

I gave him an annoyed look, but he just grinned at my sister. I looked away.

“Adrien just gave me a lot to think about, I guess.”

“I think he was right.” Lourdes said, sitting up, pausing the movie. “Not about everything, like going to America. That’s dumb. But about you.”

“You think I have power, too?” I asked, half hope, half skepticism.

“I know you do.” She shrugged. “But that’s not new, you’ve always had.”

I scoffed. “Excuse me?!”

“Mags, I don’t know what family you’ve been living with, but the rest of us know you as the perfect one we need to live up to.”

“That’s-” I started, but gave up with a sigh.

After all, in one of the last times I had spoken to Louis, he had told me I let our parents do whatever they wanted with me and my life. So, of course my parents saw me as the one who always said yes. Who never questioned. No wonder they thought it was okay to not tell me anything. No wonder they were so upset I had ‘ran away’. And, if that is who I was, it made sense that that’s how my siblings and cousins saw me.

“I don’t want that to be true.” I told them.

“Why not?” She asked. “It’s a compliment. Sort of.”

Harry reached over to the bottle of wine, and refilled my glass. I took a long sip.

“Even if it is true,” I started, “doesn’t that mean they can do what they want, and therefore they hold the power? And not me?”

“Not really.” Harry said. “Because they’ve grown dependent on you always being there. Especially now.”

“Now I’m the heir?” I asked, whispery. Almost afraid if I said it too loudly he would leave, as if he didn’t already know that.

“Yes.” He said, avoiding my eyes. “A death that alters the line of succession is a big deal. It’s a big change. People grow used to a royal family, they see us as newborns, they watch us grow up. For someone they expected to watch grow old and become king to die so young, I imagine it shakes up the entire collective mindspace of the whole country… Not to mention the ways it can affect politics and all the people who may try to take advantage of it. They may not have told you much yet, but they’ll need to start showing you off soon, to reassure the public that the family is still there, and that the throne is secure. Just because we’re ceremonial doesn’t mean they don’t need us. Unfortunately.”

The silence that followed wasn’t bad or uncomfortable. The twinkly lights and wine helped.

“Truth or dare?” Lourdes asked.

I looked at her, surprised.

“What? Apparently that’s the only way you answer questions now.”

I exchanged an amused look with Harry, who looked down, grinning.

“Dare.” I chose, defiantly.

She rolled her eyes.

“Fine.” She said. “I dare you to let me try your wine.”

“Fuck off.” I said. Harry laughed. “Don’t think I forgot about the smoking and cutting class bullshit. I’m not rewarding your behavior.”

“Just a sip!” She justified. “You just said that it’s healthy to let kids try these things at home, in a controlled environment!”

“Oh, so now you’re a kid again.” I grinned, sarcastic. “I thought you were a teenager.”

“I’m just saying,” she argued, “you want me to go after it myself? Who’s to say what I might get into?”

“Oh, my God.”

Harry laughed harder.

“You know, to be fair,” he tried, “I wasn’t allowed to drink and I still did it way earlier than I probably should. Maybe if I had been allowed to taste it at home the whole mystique of it wouldn’t have wheeled me in.”

“Who’s side are you on?!” I asked, as Lourdes nodded enthusiastically. I sighed. “Fine. One sip!” I told her, pointing a threatening finger. “And with one condition.”

“Maman and Papa never find out.” She guessed.

“We take this to our graves.” I told her, serious. Then, I looked at Harry, who tried to suppress his grin and made the motion of locking his mouth shut and throwing away the key.

I sighed, grabbed my wine glass and passed it to her. “Slowly!” I warned.

She sat up, excitedly, and changed positions so she was facing the both of us, sitting on her knees and closing her eyes as she held the cup with both hands.

“I need to enjoy it the most, so... Okay, I’m going to pretend I’m a fancy adult who just came home from... practice--” Harry and I tried to suppress a laugh. “I’ve been practicing for my… third Olympics where I will, once again, win gold, of course.”

“Of course.” Harry nodded, amused.

“…and my hot, live-in boyfriend, who happens to be a… what’s a hot sport?” She opened her eyes, staring off into the distance.

I laughed.

“Does he have to be an athlete, as well?” Harry asked.

“I’m not going to just date anybody.” She replied, all seriousness. “I need to respect a boy to make him my boyfriend.”

“Hear, hear.” I agreed.

Harry smiled. “That’s fair. How about gymnastics?”

She pouted. “Male gymnasts are all… tiny.”

“Swimmer!” I chimed in, excitedly. “All swimmers are hot!”

“That’s good.” She agreed, before her smile fell. “Oh, but that's the summer Olympics.”

“So, that just means your schedules don’t conflict with each other!” I argued. “He’ll be free to go to your competitions, and vice, versa.”

She smiled. “Okay! That’s good. Awesome, okay, so!”

I smiled, and leaned back into Harry, mindlessly. He seemed to take in a sharp breath as my head laid on his shoulder, before he slowly moved his arm up and passed it around me. I leaned into his embrace, feeling his skin and clothes warm up parts of me I hadn’t realized were cold. We watched Lourdes daydream.

“So, I come home from practice and my hot, live-in, swimmer boyfriend is cooking us dinner, and–”

“Oh, boy, you really need to lower your expectations.” I mumbled.

Harry sighed. “I forget what a rare breed I am.”

I scoffed, as Lourdes giggled. “You can’t cook!”

He looked mock-outraged. “Yes, I can!”

“Harry, you couldn’t even flip a pancake without burning yourself.” I argued. “You didn’t even have oregano!”

“Okay, I may not be a great Chef, but–!”

“Chef?! It’s just oregano!”

“…I know enough not to starve!”

“Okay, I’ll lower my expectations!” Lourdes interrupted. “Hot swimmer has ordered us delivery. I thank him, and he hands me a glass of wine…”

She dreamily closed her eyes and brought the glass to her lips. Almost immediately after she drank, she spit it back into the glass, making us break into laughter as we watched.

“Disgusting!” I accused.

“This is awful!” She complained. “Why is it so bitter?!”

“Oh, my God!” Harry said in between laughter, his head back, a hand to his ribs.

“That’s really expensive wine!” I added.

“How do you drink this?!” She asked, smelling the cup, before trying it again, making the same face.

“Ew, Lourdes, no!” I complained, taking the glass from her. “Disgusting!”

“Yikes.” She complained.

“Yeah, remember this next time someone offers you alcohol.”

--- ---- ---

We fell asleep right there – with the end credits of the movie rolling up, in the living room blanket covered stone floors. Lourdes curled up to the side, her blonde hair sprawling out around her, hugging a couch pillow. Behind her, I still had Harry’s arm around me.

His eyes were closed, peace all over his face. I pulled the duvet over us, snuggling into him and ready to embrace sleep. I let my arm rest across his stomach, on the side of his waist. As his shirt was wrinkled up, I could feel his skin under my fingertips, so I stretched my hand under it.

He was so warm, and his stomach moved up and down slowly as he breathed. Slowly, I brought my hand up across his stomach, feeling his pecs on my palm.

It now felt too warm for the duvet, but I remained completely still, hidden underneath it, with nothing but the screen and the twinkly lights illuminating us in the darkness.

I felt a chill over all of my skin; it felt too personal, too risky, but I couldn’t bring myself to get away. Resting in his embrace, his shoulder under my head, his face right above mine, his breath lightly breezing over my hair, and his warm skin on my palms… it was exactly where I felt I needed to be.

So I raised my hand higher, slowly, just a little more, to hover over his heart. His breath grew heavier, and his arm tightened around me. I felt his lips on my forehead and his heart under my hand beat so fast it was almost worrying.

On my forehead, his lips whispered so low I wasn’t sure I had imagined it. “It’s yours.” He said.

I moved my head only slightly to his direction, so he knew I was listening.

“What is?” I asked, matching his tone.

Instead of replying, he just moved his other hand – the one not around me – to touch my arm under his shirt, slowly making its way up until his hand was above mine, above his heart. His finger tapped my hand, twice. I didn’t need words, the gesture said enough.

His heart, it said. His heart was mine.

“But you know that, already.” He whispered.

I could barely breathe, and the duvet felt almost unbearable now as my skin grew hotter.

But I couldn’t answer. All I could do was stretch my fingers up to intertwine my fingers with his.

I thought it was the end of it. I thought we would just sleep now, and I would wake up tomorrow struggling to understand if it had been a dream or not. Then he spoke again, just as quietly as before, but slower, so I could make out every word.

“Don’t marry him.”

“…What?” I looked up higher; it felt like if I couldn’t see his eyes, it might not be real.

He looked down at me, under his lashes; the twinkly lights made his hair look golden.

“Don’t marry him.” He repeated.

Again, I couldn’t answer. So he rested his lips on my forehead again, and we let the hours tick by.

Both of us took a long time to fall asleep.

--- ---- ---

When I woke up, we were still on the floor under the twinkly lights of the blanket fort. Lourdes was facing away from me, her knees almost to her chest. In the middle, I still had my head on Harry’s chest, and his arm around my shoulders felt warm, but the noise echoing around the house was anything but.

He moved his arm delicately from under me, and I grunted a complaint, mindlessly.

“Sorry.” He whispered. “The phone.”

He stumbled to his feet, crawling out of the fort slowly, and walking, crooked, to the phone mounted on the wall in the hallway, in front of the stairs.

“Hello?” He said, on a low tone; his voice guttural from sleep. “Who? What do you–? Are you sure? Yes, I know who– I just–” He sighed. “How soon…? Okay, okay. Thanks.”

He returned the phone to the wall and soon he was kneeling in front of the fort again.

“Hey.” He touched my arm, gently. “Mary, wake up.”

“Good morning.” I tried to smile. “What’s going on?”

His face was serious. “We have another visitor.”

Behind me, Lourdes grunted. “Tell them I’m not going home, Harry, especially if they insist on waking me up.”

Harry’s eyes were on mine. “It’s your father.”

I sat up, “What?”

“We’ve been through this with your mom, already.” He started. “I’m not joking, he had to be signed on at the gates. He’ll be here in a minute.”

I recalled Adrien saying he would send someone ‘with power’. Surely, he couldn’t have meant–

“What do I do?!” Harry asked. “Send him away?!”

“When you say our father,” Lourdes asked, crawling up from behind me, “surely you don’t mean–?”

“Forgive me, do you have another one?! Because I’ve only met the King one.”

“Oh, God.” She mumbled, just as I forced myself to get up. “Oh, God, Maggie–”

“Okay,” I started, “Okay.”

“Should I send him away?” Harry asked.

“Maggie, the fort!” Lourdes aggressively whispered, hurriedly pulling the blankets and twinkly lights down.

“I can just send him away, like with the others!” Harry repeated, whispery still. Behind him, the pole holding the fort up hit the floor with a dull thud.

“One of you, help me!” Lourdes whispered at us, pulling the chord of the twinkly lights out of the outlet and trying to ball up all of the blankets and pillows.

There was a knock on the door. We all froze in place.

“Oh, God.” I shuddered.

“Maggie.” Harry said, holding on to my arms gently. It was the first time he used the nickname only my family used for me. “Do you want me to send him away?”

“You can’t send him away!” Lourdes whispered, now so low I could barely hear her. “He’s the king and you barely know him!”

“It’s my house, I can do what I want.” Harry replied, awfully calm. “Margueritte?”

I took in a deep breath in and one deep breath out, and then there was another knock on the door.

“I have to speak to him.”

His hands traveled down my bare arms until my hands, which he held firmly. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”

I smiled, sadly, down at our hands. His touch was so soft.

“That’s not true.” I said, shaking my head.

He stepped closer to me. “Yes, it is.”

My eyes felt heavy, my throat felt tight. I wanted nothing but to lay down inside our blanket fort into his arms and stay there forever.

“I’m the Crown Princess of Savoy.” I looked at him, allowing the words to break us apart as I knew they would the moment my brother died. “There’s a lot I have to do that I don’t want.”

He looked like he was going to protest, and I wasn’t sure how much of it I could take. So I pulled my hands from his and walked to the door.

My father was wearing a high neck wool shirt, black, and a khaki blazer over it. He was clean shaven, as always, and his receding hair was now so gray it was almost impossible to tell it had once been blond.

He seemed surprised I opened the door, or that was just the smile he gave me; a tentative, surprised small smile. He let out an almost imperceptive sigh before saying, softly,

“Bonjour, Margueritte.”

“Papa.” I replied, feeling breathless. “Bonjour.”

His eyes then examined every piece of me and I was, at once, fully conscious that I was still wearing Harry’s sweatpants and shirt. As we had just woken up from sleeping on the floor after a late night, my face was probably still swollen, my hair a mess, my eyes dirty.

“Tu as l'air bien.” He decided, diplomatic. “Confortable.”

‘You look well. Comfortable.’

“Nous venons de nous réveiller.” I justified, embarrassed, feeling my cheeks redden. ‘We just woke up.’

He nodded. “May I come in?”

I started to open the door, but closed it again.

“It’s not my house.” I explained. “I–”

“Of course!” Harry shouted from inside. “Entrez, s'il-vous-plaît!”

I looked down at the floor as I opened the door and stepped aside to let him in.

It felt so weird. Like intruding and being intruded on at the same time. I felt an urge to apologize, but I couldn’t decide to whom. To Harry for bringing him all of this? To my father for not being dressed?

As he walked inside, taking the house in slowly, I hurriedly let my hair down and brushed it with my fingers, putting it back up with all its loose strands on a ponytail.

The sofa was still facing the back wall, and the coffee table was pushed against the bookshelf. The TV was back to its place of origin, but the chord was clearly hanging to the side. Surprisingly, the blankets, pillows and twinkly lights were gone.

“Your Royal Highness.” My father shook Harry’s hand, with almost no accent. “How do you do?”

“Your Majesty, sir.” Harry bowed his head. “I’m well, thank you. And yourself?”

“Good. The flight was good.” He nodded.

The small talk was killing me. Harry, however, stood tall and confident, one hand firmly shaking my father’s, the other casually in his sweatpants’ pocket. He also had sleep all over his face.

“Is my other daughter around?” My father asked, casually. “Or is she still asleep?”

“I’m here!” Lourdes called from the stairs. Two seconds later, she jumped as if having leapt over the last two steps. “Papa, bienvenue!”

She was in jeans and my sweater, slightly too big for her, but in a stylish way. Her hair was brushed down and, though her face still looked a little swollen as well, she overall looked as though she had been up for a while.

She kissed his cheeks and he held her in place, hands in her shoulders. He spoke in French,

“I am very angry with you.”

Her face fell. “I wasn’t smoking!”

“I know that, and we will talk about it at home.” He replied. “But running away? Not answering your phone? We were worried!”

“It’s hardly running away when you sent me here.” She justified. “And I was with Maggie! In a palace! I couldn’t be safer!”

They went on like this, in French, as he berated her and she tried to justify herself. I caught Harry’s eyes behind them, and tried to give him an apologetic, humorous, if awkward look. But he looked away.

“Papa?” I called after a while of this, trying to be brave, remembering Harry’s French wasn’t so good. “Maybe we should speak in English? As we are in England. And in Harry’s house.”

They all looked at me, all somewhat surprised.

“Of course.” He said, smiling at him. “Sir, I am sorry to trespass even more on your hospitality. Is there a place where I would be able to speak to my daughter with some privacy?”

Harry thought on it for a second, looking around the living room. Lourdes gave me a silent, desperate look.

“Why don’t you talk here?” Harry proposed. “I have been meaning to show Lourdes to the gallery in Kensington, anyway. It’s closed to the public today, so it should be safe. What do you say, Lou?”

Dad’s eyebrow twitched at the nickname, perceptible only to those who knew him enough.

Lourdes looked at each of us and sighed.

“Sure.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Why not?”

Harry followed her to the door.

“Thank you.” I told him as he passed by me.

He smiled in acknowledgement, but didn’t look at me.

They left.

I could hear each of my heartbeats as I looked back at my father. He walked over to the armchair and looked at me, smiling sadly.

“I can wait until you get changed.” He said.

I nodded and had to stop myself from running out of the room. At the stairs, I realized Harry and my sister had just shoved all of the blankets and pillows out of sight. They were crammed in the small space precariously, only a tiny passage through in the corner where Lourdes probably made her way up and down to change.

I schooled my face to not react to it and attempted to climb up as quietly as possible, hoping my father wouldn’t make his way to this end of the room and see it.

In the guest room, Lourdes’ pajamas were on the floor. I picked them up and put them on the bed, as well as my bag, quickly emptying its contents to find clothes that felt appropriate. My dress for the wedding was wrinkled, so I would have to make do with jeans and the simple blouse I had on in the train.

As I got dressed, I was overcome with shame again. Why did I feel so embarrassed at wearing pajamas or not having formal day clothes? How was I to know he was coming? And why were my clothes not good enough if they were mine? If I liked them?

I was reminded of Louis, lecturing me about dressing up the way mom wanted me to. I stopped myself just before pulling out the shirt; Harry’s shirt. I had told my brother I would stand up for myself and my own fashion choices, but now I had to stand up for a lot more. For being heard and for being told the truth. For being allowed to do something with my life other than look pretty in pictures. I had to.

I took in a deep breath and kept Harry’s shirt on. Then, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went back downstairs.

Dad was standing in front of the bookcase holding a picture frame in his hand, the same one Lourdes had noticed when she arrived.

He made no comments of the clothes I was wearing; instead, he returned the photo to the shelf and said, as he walked back to the armchair.

“I knew her, you know?” He started in French. “The late Princess of Wales.”

“Yes, I remember.” I said. “I was there when she visited Savoy with Prince Charles.”

He seemed confused. “Right. That must have soon before she passed.”

“It was.”

“You won’t remember this, Maggie, but we were actually in Britain when it happened.” He sat down, crossing his legs and sitting back, leisurely. “We went to–”

“I do remember it, Papa.” I interrupted. “That was the first time I met Harry.”

He suppressed his surprise better this time, nodding.

“He was a good kid. Bright, charming, smart… It was a terribly traumatizing event to happen to such a young child.”

I grabbed a chair from the kitchen table and placed it across the room from him, in front of the still turned sofa.

“Which is what I imagine made him into such a problematic young fellow.”

“Should we talk about us now?” I asked.

As anxious as I was to have this conversation with my father, I was more impatient at his tone regarding Harry.

“We are.” He replied, gravely. “I can’t pinpoint anything else that might have brought you to this, Margueritte.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Henry. What is it? What did he say to you to get you here? To get you to do this?”

My mouth dropped open, and I, for one second, was almost amused.

“Are–? Are you serious?!”

“I understand he is charming and fun, Margueritte, a lot of men are, particularly to pretty girls like you–”

“Wow, Papa–”

“But he is older than you, and he has a reputation, which has not been manufactured with no cause.” He insisted. “He’s wrong for you even before we focus on the fact that he is a foreign royal.”

“Do you hear yourself?!” I asked, choked. “Harry is not the problem, Papa! He has nothing to do with this!”

“My daughter,” he started, enunciating the word loudly, “my firstborn, the little girl I raised, would never have done something this outrageous! Goodness, Margueritte, you’re a good girl! You’re kind and respectful, and you have always put others before yourself! You were always a good student, you went to Harvard, for goodness’ sake!” He took in a heavy breath, “To just disappear like this with no effort to alleviate our minds! Do you have any idea how worried we were?! What went through my head when they came into my office to tell me they had no idea where you were?!”

He uncrossed his legs, sitting up now, restless, fidgeting with his hands.

“I have sat through so many security meetings discussing the risk assessments for each of you, having to hear from expert after expert what are the most likely horrible things to happen to you, and having to decide what the best way to protect you is! And to suddenly be told that the two security officers who were meant to keep you safe simply lost track of you in a foreign country!”

His voice was raising with each word, until the last one, which he shouted, finally getting to his feet, restless.

“Did you even spare a single thought to your mother and me?! We could barely sleep for three days, we were in and out of meetings with the staff trying to decide what was the best way to go about the situation,” he went on, now walking up and down the living room, “Should we contact the police? Interpol? Ask the Scotland Yard to intervene?! So many people trying to show us what the best resolution would be, to then be told you were just… sleeping over at Kensington, walking right in of your own free will as if it’s a holiday!”

He ran a hand through his hair, nervously; a far cry from the composet monarch he was in public.

“And not one call… Not one call going through…” he mumbled. “It’s alright, I tried to tell them. She probably had an issue with her phone. It must be a misunderstanding… Marie-Margueritte would never be this dismissive and disrespectful!” he shouted, again. “And to then have Auguste’s account of how he was treated when he was merely trying to make sure of your wellbeing. Do you think that is an appropriate way to treat your private secretary?! You’re a Crown Princess, Margueritte! You have a responsibility to the people whose job revolves around making you the best future monarch you can be! Do you understand that?!”

My palms were aching, burning, as I scratched them with my nails, tightly holding my hands in fists as I took in deep breath after deep breath.

“Not to even speak of the disrespect towards your mother! To not even see her, after she made the whole trip here?! To allow your… Harry,” he said, with contempt, “to treat her as… as–!”

“He was nothing but polite and kind to maman.” I interrupted, speaking for the first time, my voice barely a shaky whisper. “She was the one who changed the tone of the conversation, Harry did nothing but be honest about why she wasn’t allowed to go upstairs, and he was still polite at that.”

“And why didn’t you see her, Margueritte?! If you had a problem, why didn’t you come home and speak to us about it?! Is this fun for you? Is this what the plan was the whole time?! Because I’ll tell you this, I have never yelled at any of you kids like this, never since you were born!” He sighed. “What is the point? Tell me?!”

He removed his blazer, methodically, slowly, breathing heavily still.

“And Christopher!” he added, shouting. “What are we to tell him?! As far as I understand he left for Canada thinking his girlfriend was going home and all was normal, how are we to explain to him this little holiday you took at another men’s house?! You think he’ll enjoy this information?! Or did you just assume your mother and I would lie for you?!”

“Christopher is my problem, not yours.” I said, shaky. Hands hurting, still. “And I’ll tell him what–”

“I don’t think you understand, Margueritte!” He interrupted, walking over, and sitting again, leaning into his knees to look me in the eyes. “Whatever is your problem, is our problem, too! You’ll be Queen to Savoy one day, you don’t get the privilege of privacy, anymore! Or you think it’s not a big deal that Christopher will be the country’s consort one day?! You think that’s something we can just worry about later?!”

I tried taking another calming, deep breath, but I couldn’t anymore. It was as if my throat was also tighter from the anxiety and anger.

“Do you even know how many threats we’ve received since you became Crown Princess?!” He asked, whispery now. “Do you even realize the amount of detail and accurate information that has to be in a threat for it to be deemed credible?! Do you even know how close you could have come to coming to serious harm in the way here when you were completely alone?!”

“No!” I interrupted, using all of the strength left in me to raise my voice enough so he would hear. “I don’t! I don’t know any of it! Do you know why?!”

I waited, looking at him, but, confused, he seemed to have no response.

“Because you don’t tell me anything!” I told him. “None of you! And that was fine, Papa, when I was a child, or when I was just someone who would never be needed to work for the Crown, but from the moment Louis died I knew my life had changed completely, and I kept waiting for someone to tell me how and what to do, but no one did! Even when I asked! And I asked, and asked! Almost every day I asked, and I was dismissed and condescended to, by almost every single person in the Palace, including you and Auguste, who is supposed to work for me, somehow!”

I ran my hands down my jeans, trying to assuage the burn of the scratches there.

“You talked to me when it was about quitting my job to give the press something to talk about,” I started, “and to make sure I knew I had no choice in what my own staff was, but that was it. I was never given any… choice, any direction.”

“Alright.” He nodded, sitting back again. “Alright, then what do you want, Margueritte? What is it about your life that is so upsetting now?!”

“You do not get to say it like that anymore!” I shook my head. “You don’t get to make me feel like my feelings don’t matter, Papa. If you do, this conversation is over right now.”

“When have I ever–?!”

“You always do that!” I interrupted. “At first it was about me being too young to have any real issues, it was about being too pushy or demanding, when all I wanted was some power over my own life!”

“Margueritte, if sometimes I am harsh, it’s because I don’t think you understand what your life really is.”

“I know I am privileged!” I assured. “I am very aware of that, but that was never the problem. No, the problem is that you, and maman as well, got used to me always being accommodating of whatever it is you needed! We need a child for a photo opportunity, well, Margueritte can catch up with school later, by herself, let’s pull her from class to bring her to an event, then! Well, we need to improve female registration for military service, Margueirtte would attract a lot of girls, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind postponing university a year!”

“Are you saying we made you do those things?” He asked, sounding truly concerned. “You were always given a choice, Margueritte. That was always important to us!”

“But is it a choice when the people asking are the most important people in my life?!�� I asked, eyes watering. “When the people asking are the two people I love the most in the world? The two people I could see working so hard to do a good job for the entire country and to be as good to us as they could be?! How could I say no when saying no was upsetting to you? How could I say no to anything when I knew there was so little I could actually do to help!”

He looked down, hands fidgeting again. But I powered through, thinking of Louis; thinking of the promise I had made to stand up to myself.

“The truth is I think you got used to me being the easiest answer to whatever problem you had. Always.” I said, trying to sound calmer. “Even when I was in America! If there was a scandal, like with uncle’s divorce, and you needed someone to put in front of a camera to draw attention to it, you never had an issue asking me to come home, and I never said no, because I felt too guilty.”

I felt a single tear fall from my eye.

“I used to feel guilty that I didn’t want this life, when you had no choice, when Louis had no choice.” I confessed. “And then, when he died, I felt so guilty about inheriting his title that I couldn’t say no to anything. Even if I didn’t want to quit my job in such a public way. Even if I didn’t want to fire Cadie. Or Joyce.”

I dried my cheek with one hand, taking a deep breath. Dad hadn’t moved, yet.

“You got used to me being easy, dad. To not fighting. To not trying too hard to stand out, to accepting anything you needed. Even if it was about my life. My choices. My staff. My clothes?!”

“When have I ever policed your clothes, Margueritte?!” He asked, hoarse.

“You may not have done it, but you didn’t try to stop it, either.” I replied. “And I can’t go on like that, Papa. I can’t go on letting you, and Maman, and Montennon or Auguste or whoever, make me into a paper doll Crown Princess, to be dressed up and sent away to look nice for a picture, that’s not who I am. I can’t do that anymore.”

He nodded, slowly, seeming alarmingly calm.

“I’m the Crown Princess now, and I accept that.” I told him. “Mostly because I don’t have a choice, but I accept it regardless. But if I am to do this, then things can’t be the way they’ve always been… I can’t just say yes, and you can’t just dismiss me when I say no. I need to be allowed to ask questions, and I need actual answers. If I’m to learn what I need to learn, then I need the staff to see me as the heir, as their future monarch, not as good, obedient Princess Margueritte, and they won’t as long as you still treat me as the good daughter you’re trying to protect, or the one you pull out when you need help because you know I won’t complain!”

He took in a deep breath, biting his lip; his hand scratched his chin, and he looked at the center table behind me, thoughtfully.

“I’m sorry I disappeared.” I told him. “I honestly am, but I would do it again. Because I didn’t know what else to do… and let’s be honest, why should I be home? It’s not like I have been doing a lot of work. I don’t have a job anymore, and the work I wanted to do was quickly shut down by Auguste.”

He sighed, exhausted. “There’s a lot going on that you don’t know, Margueritte.”

“Then tell me!” I said, louder than intended. “That is my point!”

“There are things you’re not ready for.” He shook his head. “This job isn’t as simple as you seem to think it is. You can’t be ready one day after someone dies unexpectedly.”

“I didn’t expect to be ready in one day!” I assured him. “I wanted to learn. I just wanted to know there was some sort of plan that didn’t include telling me to avoid the news and just go enjoy my day.”

“That is not what happened–”

“That is exactly what happened!” I contradicted.

“Do you think maybe we just wanted to give you time to grieve for your brother?” He asked.

“I did.” I nodded, enthusiastically. “More than that, I assumed you needed time for that. I assumed it just felt too hurtful to see me in his place when he had just died.”

I looked away, tears falling from my eyes again when my voice broke.

“But months passed, Papa.” I went on. “Months. Then the year was done. And nothing. And fine, if I’m to do nothing, then I’ll do nothing. But why should I quit my job, then?! If I can’t have an active part in this role, then why should I be home, doing nothing, every day?! Should I spend every day just waiting for the moment you’ll need me for another photo opportunity?!”

“It’s much more than that, Margueritte.”

“Good.” I nodded. “That’s good, then tell me what it is!”

We sat in silence, looking away from each other as I tried to dry my tears as soon as they fell.

“I realize that it’s hard…” I started. “I miss him every day. I cry every day. I think about all the things he won’t be here for, every day… And I can only imagine what it’s like for you, having raised him for this job his whole life and now to not only be unable to see him do it, but to have to accept me into it. But, Papa, you need to understand that I did not want this.”

“…You don’t think I know that?!”

“I honestly don’t know!” I shrugged, crying. “But I can understand that it can feel like… like a betrayal to Lou. For me to have his title now. I feel it, too. But I think he would know, surely he would know that I did not wish for this!”

I tried to dry my tears again, as they fell more freely now.

“For the rest of my life, every time I wear that crown, every time I am addressed as Crown Princess, or Queen, I will be reminded of the fact that my brother should be here.”

I stood up, and walked over to the bathroom near the stairs. I washed my face with cold water, trying to take in deep breaths, trying to think of the promise I made to Louis. Trying to fight the desire to tell my father I would just do whatever he wanted as long as this ended.

When I came back, he was using a handkerchief to dry his own cheeks.

“Do you remember…?” He started, sniffling slightly. “On the train ride to London last year, for the tour, when you asked me to promise you that would be allowed the space and time you needed to focus on your own life?”

The memory was like a dream from a lifetime ago; I nodded, as I sat back down on my chair.

“When your brother died,” he started, so calm and in such a low tone now that I could barely hear him. “My first thought, after him, was you. It was the heartbreaking realization that I would not be able to keep my promise.”

He definitely stifled a sniff, now.

“I have spent so much time feeling guilty over bringing you and your brother and sister into this family, Margueritte.” He admitted. “I have loved you every single day of your lives, but there hasn’t been one day that I don’t fear you’ll resent me for bringing you into a world where you have no real free will. No expectation of privacy… So, when I knew how much I would have to ask of you… All I wanted to do was try and keep your life from changing too much. I figured, if I can keep you out of the conversations that need to happen, if I can keep you just informed enough, then you can go about your life, and those changes won’t feel so disruptive. I just… I didn’t want you to have to give up anything.”

“But that is not your choice.” I told him. “It’s not your choice, either, Papa… You don’t think I know that?”

“I was afraid, chèrie.” He told me, apologetic. “I was afraid you’d blame me. And you’d be right to do it.”

“This is not your fault.” I said, louder. “Keeping me out of the loop on conversations about my life, that was your choice. And it was a bad one. But the changes that need to happen, those are not your choice. I know that.”

He nodded, almost reluctantly.

“We can’t bring him back.” I said. “And we can’t stop my life from changing, it already has. But you can help me. You can help me be… good at this. Good enough that Louis would be proud of me.”

He nodded, took in a deep breath and ran his hand down his face, staring into the floor. He had never looked more tired. I sat back on my chair, hands in my lap, no longer closed in fists. I tried to calm my breathing, and to allow him time to decide where we should go next.

“Okay.” He said, after a while, nodding. “So, you want to be included.”

I sat up. “Yes.”

“Okay.” He nodded again. “I’ll make sure you’re more included going forward.”

“That’s not good enough.”

He sighed. “I don’t know what that means, Margueritte.”

“I want a meeting.” I said, bracing myself, trying to ignore the painful anxiety ache in my stomach. “With the whole staff, mine and whomever from yours needs to be there. I want… to be told, item by item, everything that needs to be different now. I want to understand why it needs to be different. I want to choose a new security team, to be headed by Joyce.”

“Joyce has been transferred, Margueritte.”

“Then transfer her back.” I insisted. “And Cadie, too.”

“Margueritte.” He sighed. “If you’re serious about understanding what your new role is, and I think you are, you’ll have to be prepared to accept that there are things that are out of your control. Sometimes, staff issues are one of them.”

“Then you can explain that to me… at the meeting. With our staff there, including Cadie.”

He sighed again. “You can’t fire Auguste.”

“We can discuss it in the meeting.” I repeated. “It’s more professional.”

He grinned, scratching his nose. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“The staff will need time to prepare material for a meeting this… itemized.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “It’s pretty early now, how about tomorrow night? That should give them time to prepare.”

He looked at his watch. “…I suppose.”

“Good.” I nodded. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow. Six?”

He let out a long sigh, and nodded as he got to his feet. “You will have to be home. Will you be home?”

I gulped, looking around the room, already missing it. Realizing I would have to leave Harry’s clothes behind, pack up my bag, and travel back to being five hours away from him. Realizing I would have to sleep alone again.

But I had been right before. I had to do a lot that I didn’t want to.

“I will.”

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[A/N: Extra long, meaty chapter! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT ‘DONT MARRY HIM’ MOMENT???? And MM finally standing up for herself??? But now she has to leaaaaaaave??????????? Let me know what you think??? Thank you SO MUCH for reading, I cant thank you enough! What do you want to see next? <3 ]

#Princeharryff #prince harry fanfic #prince harry fanfiction #princeharryfanfiction #Princeharryfanfic #prince harry #brf #modern royalty au #modern royalty fanfic #fanfiction #OPITCphff #chapters

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witchsblackfox · 5 years

Text

Let Me Love You

Summary: Inspired by Let me Love you by Mario. Adrien is such a playboy. Engaged to Marinette she takes all his excuses and stays by his side. When Damian enters her life, she finds there is more than just what her Fiance is showing her.

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Adrien proposed to Marinette back spring after she graduated college. A year after they have been engaged they finally planned to have a Christmas wedding that year. As December rolled around Adrien agreed to go over seas with her to check out Gotham, New Jersey to see if it would be a good fit for a new home and business. As they arrived to the city, Adrien insisted they should go to the hotel and rest then do all the searching tomorrow. But Mari wouldn't have it. Instead she had the taxi cab drop her off at the next light where so she can have a look around and Adrien can go and rest. It was still early morning for the city so a lot of the shops were just now opening up. Marinette walked down the streets finding a cute little coffee shop and went in, ordering a large latte and a banana muffin.

"I'll pay for the gentleman behind me." She whispered to the barista leaving her thirty dollars and walked to the table by the window, waiting for her name to be called. She picked at her muffin, watching the sidewalks fill with people as a young man walked up to her table.

øøøø

Damian was annoyed that someone even paid for his coffee. He looked for the woman and found her. He walked over ready to tell her off until he saw her dazed and beautiful. The light from the sun coming in the window glowed around the woman and glitter off her eyes.

"May I join you?" Mari jumped a little looking up to see him smiling at her slightly. She waved her hand to the seat in front of her then popped a piece of muffin in her mouth. "Thank you for the coffee." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to come talk to her, but some reason she drew him in. The barista called for Marinette's and Damian's name and they both stood. Mari laughed and he offered to grab it for her so she sat back down. When he came back and handed her his coffee taking a sip of her latte by mistake, she was watching him with a raised brow.

"This coffee is good compared to my usual. Must be a new barista." Marinette was hiding her laughter.

"That's because its mine." She held up his cup and he looked at his hand with a smile. He sat back down and they traded cups and talked about themselves. Damian found that she's from Paris looking for a new place to live, she was an animal lover. She had the prettiest smile he had ever seen. He looked at his watch and scooted back from his seat.

"I'm sorry, if I don't leave now I'll be late for work."

"It was a pleasure to meet you Damian." She stood up as as well and walked out with him. She held her latte and turned to a voice calling for her. The man had ran to her coming to a stop and pants. Damian stayed a little longer as the blonde man gave her a gentle kiss on her head, wrapped his arm around her waist then they walk off. Damian raised a brow giving a hurt scowl and heads off to work.

øøøø

Mari stayed in the hotel the rest of the week working on the rest of her wedding dress as she worked on her other commissions. Adrien would leave and come back late at night semi drunk or comes home the next morning covered in make up. Mari noticed all of this happening but she ignored it by being either in bed or absorbed in her work. Sometime that week, Mari was getting the clothes prepared to wash them and all she could smell on the clothes were perfume she never wear and find lipstick all over the collar of his shirts. It made her more uncomfortable than when he was still modelling for his dad. It's only until the wedding... This will be over with... She continued to tell herself.

øøøø

A week later, she meets Damian again at the same coffee shop and they sat and talked for about an hour he never once brought up the blonde from before. That same night had a business dinner with his father to attend and an Agreste from Francis was joining them. His father and him stood by the entrance waiting for their guest to arrive as the host came over assuring them that their table is ready. The door had opened letting in a cold chill as a woman walked in. She took off her black coat, holding it over her arm revealing a formal red, off the shoulder long sleeve dress and her midnight hair was pinned into curls against her head. A man stepped in behind her not removing his suit jacket but combed his blonde hair back with his fingers. They walked over to Damian and his father looking like a happy couple. If noticed closely, it can bee seen that there is something wrong with the woman based off her body language but with just from the first glance it she appears to be uncomfortable.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Wayne." The blonde spoke holding his hand out to his father.

"I am, please call me Bruce. This is my son Damian." His father introduces as he shook his hand.

"Adrien Agreste, and this is my fiancé, Marinette Dupan-Cheng." She held out her hand a soft red hugh covered her cheeks. Bruce shook her hand first then Damian eyes a little wide taking her in. Bruce cleared his throat and Damian blinked composing himself again and took her hand bringing it to his lips.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss." Damian lowered it then let go he felt death glares coming from Mr. Agreste but shrug them off. Marinette had a smile on her face so he just accepted it as a win. The host appeared once more with a nod from Bruce she led them to a table of four. Bruce and Adrien walked ahead of Damian and Marinette leaving them alone. So he held his arm out for the woman to take. She took it and walked with him as Bruce spoke with Adrien. Bruce stood in front of a chair holding it place when the two arrived. Damian reached for chair beside the blonde when Marinette was pulled away by him and forced to sit by his father. Damian showed at the notion and moved to the other side of the table and sat down.

"Miss Dupan-Cheng, Mr. Agreste said that you are here to find a place to live. Why here?" Bruce asked.

"Well, I wanted a change of scenery. Paris has so much memory I wish to escape from and Gotham feels like the best location for my new store." She smiled. Damian listened taking in as much information and add them to his mental file of her.

"So you are a designer? Did you make the dress?" Oh that question lit her face up.

"Yes. Thank you for noticing. I even made Adrien his suit. Show them honey." She turned to get Adrien to stand but stopped short when the waitress was blushing and giggling mess in Adrien's arm talking about the drink menu. Seriously?! Marinette turned back to Bruce and smiled the most uncomfortable smile she could bare.

"What would you recommend to drink Mr. Wayne?" Her words were noticeably shaky. Bruce pointed to the pink wine to eat with her spaghetti and then snapped his finger grabbing the stared attention of Adrien and the waitress. She blushed redder then ran over apologizing for her distraction and took their drink and food order. Damian was upset by the exchange. It was clearly bothering his father for its a Business meeting. Bruce cleared his throat dragging the blonde’s attention and smiled an annoyed smile.

"So, we were talking about building an office and we join as board members. Correct?" Marinette looked up surprised by the conversation. She was unaware of this choice he made and listened carefully. Damian listened as well as he debated about taking the girl away from the table or not.

øøøø

After dinner, Marinette wanted to leave before Adrien embarrasses her more. Adrian has clearly drank too much wine for her liking. She stood, wrapped her jacket back around her body, then lifted Adrien up against her shoulder. Damian got out of his seat and took her fiancé from her, putting him in the rental car.

"Thank you." She granted Damian a kiss on the cheek and got into the driver seat driving to the hotel.

Week two was passing slowly. Marinette was left alone as Adrien had left back to Paris to check on the wedding plans with his father. She walked around Gotham grabbing ideas as she made it to Robbinsville Park and sat in the grass sketching her first line of clothing in Gotham. She expect a criminal act to happen around her or at least a missing child, but she wasn't expecting a Great Dane to topple her over. He licked her face earning laughs and squeals from the woman. Mari laid there on her back as he laid on top of her pinning her in place. Marinette just couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and just pet the Dane. She found his tag under her chest reading the name "Titus" nothing more.

They stayed there for about an hour and when no one came for him, she hooked her belt around the collar and took him back to the hotel with her. Titus jumped on her couch and laid back down watching her get settled. He looked like he was considering jump in back on her but decided not to. She couldn't help but laugh as she sat down next to him turning the tv on and snuggle against him. She kept him home for a few days with her, feeding him dog food she had ordered from room, service to pick up using Adrien’s credit card to pay for it.

They spent all their time together, playing in the hotel room, making outfits that fit him like a boss. Even made him a bat costume just for fun. Titus liked dressing up and Marinette enjoyed making the clothes for him.

The following weekend, Mari decided to take Titus for a walk. They walked around the fashion district picking up the materials she ordered, then went to park to relax. It was a wonderful afternoon of quiet and peace; she lay against Titus, who was asleep behind her head resting on her leg until someone ran over panting heavily. Titus shot his head up at the same time as Mari and wagged his tail excitedly.

øøøø

Damian went back to the park in hope someone would being his dog back. That's when he saw Titus dressed in a red and black outfit laying in the grass under a shaded tree. He bolted toward them not expecting his dog to jump out from behind the person growling at him.

"Titus down." The voice was familiar but Damian was too pissed to see who it was. Once he settled down a bit he spoke.

"How dare you...steal my dog..." He breathed each word then stood up brushing his hair back and sees Marinette behind his dog protectively. Marinette laughed, petting his head as she got up and hand Damian the leash.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know he was your dog. When no one came for him I took him home. Titus was great company." She smiled at him and he just couldn't be mad anymore. Marinette pulled out her phone and Damian watched as her face shifted then looked down to her phone vibrate before a sound rang from her pocket. Mari was almost in tears from the picture was quickly wiping her eyes with the back of her hands exposing the photo to Damian by accident. The photo was of a man walking into a hotel room with two women clearly going to do something inappropriate.

His anger that subsided was back and he quickly hugged the small woman being joined by Titus standing on his back legs coming just as tall as Damian. Marinette began laughing at the notion and tripped dragging the three of them down onto the grass talking into another laughing fit.

"Haha. Thank you Damian, I feel a bit better now. Hey, would you like to hang out with me this week? Titus too." She wiped her cheeks off sitting up ad she scratched under Titus's jaw.

"I'd love to."' Marinette climbed up onto her feet, dusting off her butt, then picked up her shopping bags.

"I'll see you tomorrow my little hero." She leaned down and gave whispered something else in his ear before giving him a kiss on his snout. The three of them spent time together the rest of the week. Going to the park, seeing a movie, hell they even just spent time at her hotel room. It only lasted until Adrien came back finding a big dog on Mari's lap and another man in the kitchen bring out drinks.

"What the hell." Adrien as livid. The Great Dane growled at him. Mari stood up petting the big dog down and walked over to the blonde giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Welcome home. You remember Damian? He came over to talk about the project." It wasn't a complete lie. They we're talking about it. Inbetween ice cream and games. Adrien refused to reciprocate glaring at the man in the room.

"Leave my hotel room. Now." He didn't want to leave but Mari moving her hand behind her back motioning him to go. Damian pulled Titus out the door with him closing the door. He could hear a yelling match happening.

øøøø

The last week in Gotham Mari and Adrien were inseparable. Adrien wouldn't let Mari leave his side she even had to join him during meeting. He kept her from doing her projects including her wedding gown. She was beginning to feel suffocated and wanted to get some space.

"I'm going back to the hotel. Enjoy your dinner." She put the napkin on the table receiving a scuffed response with a wave to leave clearly annoyed by her. She walked out, looking behind her to find another woman sitting in her seat. Oh she could have screamed instead she stormed into the nearest alley heading to the hotel.

Robin and Red Hood were arguing over who beat the bad guy first. They weren't aware that a woman dressed in a purple semi-formal dress was walking down their way until the man they had beaten, stood and wrapped his arms around her holding the knife to her throat. She released a sudden yelp getting the attention of the boys then took her heel stomped it directly in the center of the man's foot, elbows his rib, shoved her left palm into his chin slamming his teeth together then rolled the knife holding arm behind his back dropping him to the ground. She sat on top of him and sighed.

The boys stared at the woman surprised. She got up after pressing her fingers into the man's neck putting him to sleep. As she dusted off her dress then fixed her hair.

"Marinette?" Robin let the name slip but cleared his throat before speaking again. "Miss that is quite dangerous. Is everything okay?" He stepped forward offering a hand instead he was rejected.

"Can you please take me back to my hotel. I don't wish to be here anymore." Robin nodded then looked to Red Hood.

"You got this?" Hood nodded and tuned to the sleeping criminal. Robin picked up Marinette' caring her like a princess to her hotel room balcony. She slid out of his arm, rubbing her arm looking down.

"Thank you, Robin." She went to kiss him on the cheek but met his lips. They didn't pull away. Robin pulled her closer making the kiss deep and longing. Eventually they separated and she breathed a name.

"Damian." Robin froze in place as he looked down at her. She found out? How? She apologized becoming a blushing mess.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said another man's name. I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm engaged you see... To a playboy of all people. Heh. The kiss was amazing don't get me wrong... It like it a lot." She continued to ramble and Robin kissed her again making her go quiet and press closer.

"I liked kissing you too." He whispered against her lips. "Get some sleep. You had a rough night." They kissed once more then leapt off the balcony heading home.

The next and final day in Gotham, Mari had her bags packed ready to go back to Paris tomorrow. She figured Adrien would be out doing whatever he does until he texted her saying the plane will be leaving in an hour.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She grabbed her suitcase pretty sire she left something behind and ran to the elevator. As it came to the lobby she rushed with her suit case down to the representative counter to call for a cab to take her to the airport. The woman gave Mari a sympathetic look as she hung up the phone.

"The cab will be here in less than 20 minutes."

"Thats okay.. I'll wait outside. Thank you miss. Oh can you give this to Damian if he visits." The woman nodded taking the item and placing it under her desk. As the cab arrived, she threw her suitcase into the trunk and slid into the backseat. She barely made it before check in was closed, putting her bag onto the plane, and found Adrien waiting by the gate.

"Took you long enough. Let's go." He took her hand and lead her to their seats in first class.

øøøø

Damian and Titus arrived to her hotel hoping to see her before she for the last day here. His mind kept going back to their kiss last night and he hoped be could talk her into staying with him.

"Sir, this is for you."' Damian was stopped by the receptionist holding an envelope. "The miss asked me to give it to you before she bolted out the door with her suitcase in tow." He took the envelope, thanked the woman, and went home. Dick and Jason found him pouting in the Batcave beating up the mannequins. The white shiny envelope laid on the chair slightly open almost crumbled up. Dick picked it up reading it then understood.

"You going to crash it?" Dick asked.

"How can I, she's in Paris. I'm here. It's not like I want her." The words burned in his mouth as if he stuck his tongue in lava. Dick just shook his head and the beating continued. This went on for days after until the day Tuesday night.

øøøø

Marinette spent all Tuesday finishing her dress for the wedding in the end getting very little sleep. She fell asleep around 4 am and had just woken up at 8 when the door bell rang with Chloe and her mom behind the door.

"Oh my god Mari did you not sleep?!" Chloe questioned sharply.

"Oh honey. Wedding jitters? I remember my wedding day with your father." Marinette's mom began. They took her to her vanity and earned up her face helping her hide the circles she created. As Mari put on her dress, she spinner around showing it off.

"Oh wow, you look absolutely divine." Chloe as already in tears and her mom was speechless. The time was 9 am and they rushed out the door to the limousine. She took this chance to tell her mom and best friend about Damian and Gotham.

"I’m sick of Adrien doing this to you. You shouldn't marry him Mari." Chloe again said.

"Its just pre-wedding habit. He'll stop after we say 'I do'." The response earned two sour scowls and a sigh. They arrived to the church by 9:30 and walked up to the door meeting her papá giving her a gentle kiss on the head.

"You look beautiful pumpkin."

"Thank you papá." She took his arm and held herself close feeling safe against him. At 10 am, the bell rang and the music began. Chloe and Adrien's cousin, Felix walked down the isle, Luka with Kagami followed, then their little one held the rings on a small pink pillow. The girls wore something blue on their gowns that symbolized Mari's hair and the boys wore something green for Adrien's eyes. Marinette took a deep breath and smiled at her papá then began the walk down the isle. Adrien stood in full white wearing a green under dress shirt, he stared at his bride as she got closer to him. They met at the alter, lifting her vail, he took her hand and turned to the priest.

øøøø

Damian landed at the airport at 8:30 Wednesday morning in Paris. He quickly searched for the church that held the wedding then changed his clothes into a suit and fixed his hair. A bell from across the way rang loudly, he looked to his wrist and saw it was 10 o'clock. He got to the lobby as his rental pulled up. Once inside he sped off toward the church.

He arrived just 10 minutes after the door closed, the Wedding March playing. A big burley man held his hand up blocking Damian from entering.

"I am an invited guest of Marinette's. You must let me through." He held up the invitation to the man. The burly man scowled at the young man stepping to the side and let him through. Don't do anything you'll regret. Damian thought go himself. He stood in the back staying by the door mesmerized by Marinette's beauty.

"If anyone believe these two should not be wedded, speak now or forever hold your peace." The priest spoke toward the audience. Damian waited when no one spoke he stepped forward.

"I object." His voice filled the room and everyone turned to him.

"Damian, why are you here?"

"Why are you here?" Adrien and Mari said together.

"You invited me. Marinette, listen to me please. Don't marry him. Come home to Gotham, to Titus. You don't need a sleaze who will just hurt you every night. Seeing other women while his wonderfyl and beautiful wife sits st home waiting. Come back to me." He waited for her to say something but when she shook her head he continued. "You'd never have to worry about what I do. I'd be coming home back to you, every night, doing you right. You're the type of woman who deserves good things. Mari I just want to show you what love is. Please let me love you."

"I'm sorry, I can't. Even if does continue to do so. I'm prepared for it. Thank you Damian." She turned back around to continue the ceremony. Damian wanted to not accept it. When she wouldn't turn back to him he felt defeated. The man from outside escorted him out of the church feeling sympathetic toward him. He say on the steps outside the church.

øøøø

Marinette's mind was on Damian. He was right. I get nothing but pain and suffering. It'll be the same. Chloe knew too. What am I to do..it's too late isn't it?Adrien tapped Marinette's hand grasping her attention.

"I'm sorry can you repeat that." She gave the priest a small smile.

"Do you, Marinette take this man to be your husband?" She looked at Adrien, eyes demanding and wishful. She turned to her friends seeing the answer from them and then to the door. After another second she smiled and looked back to the priest.

"I do not." She gave both rings to Adrien and stepped down from the alter.

"I'm sorry everyone." That was all she said and ran down the isle and out the door. Chloe and Kagami followed after, then Sabine and Tom, and lastly by Luka with his son. Marinette kicked off her heels pushed open the church doors.

"Damian!" He stood up staring at her. She ran towards him jumping from the fourth step away and hugged him to her. He spun her around a bit looking down at her face. "I choose you." She kisses him deeply, holding him in place.

øøøø

Adrien stood there shocked from man. Who entered objecting and making sick claims about him. He was smug when his wife-to-be stood up for him and sent the man off. He wasn't expecting her to leave him at the alter. He stood there alone with the priest as everyone from Marinette's family left with her. He looked to his father who just sat there scowling at him, Natalie shook her head just as disappointed. They knew he was going to screw up, he knew he would, but he didn't expect her to leave him.

øøøø

A year later, Damian and Marinette lived back in Gotham in an apartment above her boutique. Mari was finishing with her last client for Christmas Eve, Damian was upstairs making dinner, getting everything ready when a call from his father came through.

"It's time Selina is about to have the baby. We're st the hospital now." Bruce had a panic tone in his voice.

"Okay dad. We'll meet you there. Just breathe with her and you won't pass out." Damian teased before hanging up. He cleaned his mess and put the food away from the heated burner, put the apron away then head down stairs with his coat.

"Babe, it's time. We got to get to the hospital." Mari was just about to lock the door when he came down.

"Oh shoot! She's a day early! I owe Dick twenty dollars now. Let me grab my coat and well leave." Damian just laughed. Only his family could get Mari to join the betting war. Mari and Damian made it to the hospital in time to meet the newest addition to the family. A little pink blanket covered in elephants filled Bruce's arms.

"Meet the newest member of our family. Emily Mari Wayne." Mari awed, took the baby from him and rocked her gently. Damian talked to his father while Mari was alone with Selina and Emily.

Emily had a tuff of black hair covering her little head, soft little pale skin. She has her moms nose and at the moment her fathers eyes. She was just so small and fitted perfectly in Mari's arms.

"She looks so much like you Selina. She's so beautiful." Marinette said handing her back to Selina. "I'll let you rest. Good night." Damian and Mari left the hospital to go home. They wee both too tired from their day of excitement to even think about dinner. They just got ready for bed and cuddled to sleep with Titus at their feet.

Christmas Day, they leave the apartment with bundles of gifts made by Mari, pastries they both made and headed to the Manor. The doctor have given clear instructions to Bruce to watch Selina and the baby for at most couple days. Emily and Selina we're sitting by the tree in Bruce's favorite chair when Mari and Damian arrived. Alfred helped Damian take the box of goodies to the dining room as Mari took the gifts to the study finding her parents waiting.

With a squeal she hugged them tight.

"When did you two get in?" Damian came in with a small laugh pressing his back against the archway by his dad watching the exchange.

"Two nights ago. We wanted it to be a surprise pumpkin." As everyone piled in around the tree, Mari stood up giving everyone their gifts from her. Bruce and Selina got matching lockets, Tom and Sabine got aprons courtesy of Damian's handy work. Alfred received a new dress shirt that if the light hits it right he can see the names of all his loved ones sewn in it. Dick got a blue and black jacket, Jason recieved a red and tan jacket, and Tim got a red and black jacket. Mari smiled wondering why they gave her a confused face and just shrugged. She knew, just hasn't told anyone yet.

Finally, Damian cleared his throat and sat Mari down by her parents and knelt down in front of them holding her hand. Dick had his phone out turning on video chat with Chloe who sat with Kagami and Luka and watched quietly.

"Mari, I've known you for a year but it feel like a life time. What I said last year I meant it. We should be together. With me and you it can be whatever you want to be. So can we make this thing ours?" He pulled the ring from his pocket a beautiful small princess cut ring. "You should let me love you let me be the one to give you everything you want and need. I'll give you good love and protection, Make me your selection let me show you the way love's supposed to be. Baby, you should let me marry you."

Her parents waited tears running down their cheeks as Mari jumped into him hugging him tightly then kissed him.

"Yes, a thousand time yes." She sat up in his lap. He slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her once more. Everyone raised their cups and shouted congratulations even the baby gave a loud giggle making everyone say awe. The adults and baby went to bed first, then the boys walked away. Damian and Mari disappeared into his old room. Everyone had planned to stayed the night at the manor until New Years so no one left.

Damian and Mari laid in his old room, he held her close to his chest and softly whispered into her head.

"Let me love you, Mari."

"Forever and Always Damian."

The End.

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#maribat #daminette

395 notes · View notes

myownworldstayout · 5 years

Text

New Friends Ch. 14

Ch.1 / Ch.13 / Ch.15

(so this chapter is where I got “Prompt #17 Akuma!felix” from, but it’ll be a little different. Also, this is the last pre-written Chapter so there won’t be anymore daily updates. I’m gonna change to updating weekly for sake of sanity lol)

Lila was ticked. All of her attempts to take down the new dynamic duo in school had been futile. She had been so close, too! The class had turned on Marinette, including Adrien. True, the class never directly turned on her, but they all believed Lila over Marinette. That was the same thing in her book, and apparently, it was the same in Marinette’s book as well.

Lila remembered feeling such triumph when the ravenette ran out of the room in tears, especially when the class only shook their heads and turned back to comfort her. But that all changed when Felix joined their school.

Lila scowled at the thought.

Felix.

Ever since his arrival, not only has he refused to take her side, but has also challenged nearly all of her stories shamelessly. He didn’t care about the opinions of those around him, meaning he couldn’t be swayed by the backlash of going against her. That was a problem.

It didn’t help that he stood resolutely by Marinette’s side. The class’ opinion of Marinette sunk lower after that, which was a good thing, except now Marinette didn’t seem to care. Lila assumed it was because she finally had a real ally.

Lila wasn’t blind. She knew that Adrien had figured out she was lying. He just wasn’t saying anything. Whether he didn’t want to cause more trouble or was just a coward, Lila didn’t care. It only made her cons easier to come by.

“Morning, girl!” Alya greeted warmly, bumping her shoulder into Lila’s.

Lila forced a sweet smile. “Hi! How was your weekend?”

“Annoying.” Alya rolled her eyes, her expression quickly turning sour. “I tried to get another interview with Ladybug yesterday, and guess who comes out of the blue and stops me? Felix!” The journalist huffed and crossed her arms. “Why was he even there?”

Lila knew she should be pleased. She hardly needed to do anything to turn the class on Felix. He was cold and blunt, easy to dislike. But how can you feel like you’ve won when the losers aren’t affected?

The answer is you can’t.

“Maybe he wanted to get his own interview?” Lila suggested.

Anger flashed across Alya’s face at the thought, and she smiled. The poor girl was way too predictable.

After a moment, though, Alya furrowed her eyebrows. “That can’t be why, because he didn’t talk to her. He just said her miraculous was gonna time out and she needed to get going.”

Lila hummed, cocking an eyebrow. That was weird. Even though Ladybug was a superhero, Felix didn’t usually get involved in other people’s business.

“Maybe he just didn’t want you to get an interview.” Lila then said, hiding a sly smile.

Alya bristled and clenched her fists, drinking up Lila’s absurd idea.

“Tch. of course he wouldn’t.” She glared at the floor.

Conveniently, Felix walked past them just then, not even glancing their way.

“Oh, there he is now. Why don’t I try to go talk to him?” Lila offered innocently, pushing back her growing irritation with the stubborn boy.

Alya scoffed, crossing her arms. “Don’t even bother. He’s not worth it.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings in class.” She batted her eyelashes, giving Felix a sympathetic gaze.

Alya frowned, shaking her head.

“Alright, you can give it a shot if you think it will help, But I’m going to class.” the redhead sighed, walking off in the other direction. Perfect.

After checking for any “witnesses”, Lila slinked over towards Felix.

“Where’s Marinette? You’ve been her shadow for the past few weeks.” Lila taunted, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Felix didn’t acknowledge her, silently making his way to the library.

Lila glared at the stiff boy, thinking of what to say next.

“I heard you had a run in with Ladybug yesterday.”

Felix paused, brief but still. Lila smirked, pressing on the nerve.

“It makes me wonder what you were doing there, why you were so set on Alya not getting an interview. You didn’t even talk to Ladybug herself so I have to imagine there was some other reason for rejecting Alya’s advances.” Lila pulled a sly smile when Felix glanced in her direction. He was getting nervous. What secret was he hiding with Alya and Ladybug, she wondered.

“I bet you don’t want to see her succeed because she’s Marinette’s best friend, and you’re not, hm? Is the Ice King jealous?”

Nothing. Felix became impassive again. If Lila didn’t know any better, she might even say he looked relieved.

The girl clicked her tongue, trying to figure out which part she needed to backtrack onto. Unfortunately for her, the school bell rang just then, forcing her to go back to class.

Fine. She thought curtly. Guess I’ll have to settle for plan B.

~~~~~~~

Marinette practically skipped to class the next morning. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn’t have to hide being Ladybug anymore!

Well, she didn’t have to hide being Ladybug from Felix anymore. Marinette would take what she could get, though.

“Glad to see you so happy, Mari.” Luka commented with a warm smile.

“Glad to be happy, Luka.” Marinette grinned in turn.

“May I ask what’s made you so cheerful this morning?”

Marinette hummed. “Let’s just say, Lady Luck’s finally coming to pay me an overdue visit.”

Luka laughed at the metaphor, seeming satisfied with that answer.

“Think that luck is gonna leak into school?” He said lightheartedly.

“I’m hoping!” Marinette giggled.

She probably should have known better than to hope for the impossible.

When Marinette entered the classroom, the screaming was already ringing through the halls outside. The entire class, aside from Felix, was huddled around a crying Lila, some attempting to comfort her while others glared and chewed out Felix. Felix himself was silently sitting in the back with book in hand, effectively ignoring the group as a whole. He only looked up when Lila called out her name.

“Marinette!” The girl blubbered. “Your friend, he- I was trying to ask him how you'd been doing since - since you've been so distant lately, but he..he..he said he didn’t want vermin like me near you! Or, or anyone for that matter! He said you were his- that he- that you only needed him.” A few more tears slipped down her cheeks, and Marinette vaguely spotted the eye drops Lila shoved into her purse.

“I tried to reason with him, but then he-” Lila choked back a sob. “He slapped me, Marinette!”

The class crowded closer, trying to provide the girl with comforting hugs and sweet words. Lila thanked them with a watery smile, hand pressed to her right cheek where Felix had supposedly slapped her.

“What did I tell you, Mari.” Alya growled, sending death glares to the indifferent blonde as she softly rubbed Lila’s back in support. “He’s nothing but trouble! A cold, heartless, obsessed monster!”

Marinette glanced up at Felix,wanting to know his opinion on this. Lila lies like she breaths, but she also over dramatizes the truth. Therefore, it wasn’t completely out of the question that Felix would call her vermin- or even slap her for that matter.

The blonde, however, simply looked her in the eyes for a moment, then shook his head. That was all Marinette needed to see. She smoothly slipped around her other classmates, heading for the stairs without a word.

“Marinette?” Nino frowned.

“What are you doing?” Alya shouted, even though Marinette was right next to her.

The ravenette coolly turned to face them, Her gaze flicking to Lila and briefly catching the triumphant, yet subtle smirk on the liar’s lips.

“I’m going to sit with Felix. Class is about to start.”

The class let out a few incredulous gasps and a few said “are you serious?”. Alya and Nino just stared, not really believing what they were hearing. Adrien cringed behind them all, a silent begging in his eyes for her to stop when she had the chance.

Marinette ignored him.

“How can you say that! Didn’t you hear what Lila just said?!” Alya was furious now, pulling away from Lila to clench her fists at her side.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, before turning her head slightly in Felix’s direction.

“Felix, what happened?” Her tone was composed, almost distant, and eerily similar to Ladybug’s during an attack.

He hesitated at the sudden command, but quickly explained the situation. “Lila stopped me on the way to the library, asking about why I stopped Alya’s interview yesterday. She said I was jealous of Alya. I just ignored her until the bell rang and she left.”

The class seemed to falter- just for a moment- looking back to Lila. Felix was brutal and harsh and cold, but he hadn’t told a single lie since he transferred there. He was a hard facts, no-nonsense person. Lying wouldn’t make any sense for Felix.

“So- what - you’re going to believe a stranger over your friends!” Alya fumed, discarding his words without a second thought.

“Isn’t that what you did?” Marinette grumbled under her breath. Unfortunately, Alya heard her anyway.

She let out a laugh of disbelief. “Oh my gosh we are not having this conversation again.”

“Guys, why don’t we just-” Adrien tried to defuse the situation, but it was as if Alya didn’t even hear him.

“You know what your problem is Marinette? You are so set that Lila is a terrible liar that you refuse to see the torture you’ve put her through these last two months. I’ve tried to help you, we all have, but you’re so dang stubborn and stuck up! You say Chloe is ridiculous?”

Alya ignored the protest on Chloe’s part.

“Well, guess what? You’re even worse than she is! You’re so selfish and self centered and if I weren’t so angry, I’d be heartbroken that you turned out to be such a cruel, pathetic bully.” She snarled, shaking with anger at this point.

Marinette opened her mouth to snap back, but found she had nothing to say. What was the point of arguing about this? Alya obviously wasn’t listening to reason. And she had the gall to say that she was the one set in her opinions? As if.

Marinette wasn’t angry- for which she was glad. The last thing they needed was another screaming match. -but she was extremely disappointed. In Alya. In everyone. Especially in Adrien, who claimed to be by her side despite that clearly not being the case.

So, the ravenette simply sighed and shook her head, before walking up the steps and sitting in the back with Felix. He was the only person in her class that she could depend on at this point.

The class fell silent at the action, probably because they half-expected her to retaliate at this point. She always did. Even Alya’s anger had somewhat faded from the shock.

Marinette didn’t pay them any attention, though, taking out her tablet and pulling up this morning’s due homework.

“Alright, everyone, in your seats please!” Ms. Bustier suddenly ordered, causing the class to scatter to their assigned seats. Alya was the last to sit down, still staring at Marinette with a mix of confusion and frustration.

“Are you alright?” Felix whispered after a moment, leaning in so she could hear him but giving her enough space to feel comfortable.

Marinette sighed. “I’m starting to be.”

~~~~~~

Alya shifted in her seat to fix a glare on the infamous “Marinette group”. Luka and the others appeared to be comforting Marinette at the cafeteria table. Felix sat next to the ravenette, glowering right back at Alya.

“She’s such manipulator!” Alya huffed, wringing her hands through her hair in frustration. “Look at them! Giving her all of that undeserved sympathy while Lila’s the one that’s been suffering!” she added, gesturing to the brunette who was cheerfully chatting with Mylene and Rose.

Adrien glanced towards Lila, not mentioning how happy she seemed despite “suffering” all this time.

“I’ve known her since kindergarten.. How did I not see it?” Nino shook his head.

“M-maybe,” Adrien began cautiously, “Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding? You guys know Mari-”

“We thought we knew Mari.” Alya cut him off, turning her glare to him.

“You saw what happened today, She’s a menace! Just like your cousin.” She added curtly, looking back to the group.

Felix wasn’t glaring at her anymore, instead looking at Marinette with concern. She had her face buried in her hands with Luka and Aurore putting supportive hands on her shoulders.

To be honest, it was odd seeing Felix show emotion for anything, let alone a person. It caused Alya to pause. To really, really study the blonde.

Of course, she didn’t get to entertain the thought too much because a flick of purple caught her eye. Alya gasped.

It was an akuma, but it wasn’t heading for her, despite her anger. The akuma was flying towards-

“Marinette!” Wayhem gasped, standing up and pointing to the black butterfly. Students around their table began screaming and running for exits, Luka and the others tensed and took a step back, and Marinette..

Marinette just froze. She stared at the akuma in horror, yet acceptance, as if she had been expecting this for a while now.

Just before the akuma could touch Marinette’s earrings, however, Felix stepped protectively in front of her, holding up his book as a shield. To everyone’s mutual terror, the akuma merged with Felix’s book instead, creating a purple, butterfly shaped mask in front of his face.

Alya didn’t know what happened next, all she remembered was seeing Marinette’s eyes widen and being yanked towards the exit by Nino.

~~~~~~~

Marinette tried not to think about Alya’s acidic outburst or Lila’s malicious smirk, but that was all Felix talked about during their lunch period. He was angry- understandeably so - and when the others heard what happened, they were infuriated as well. She held back the tears as they tried to comfort her. Marinette shouldn’t have needed comfort. None of this should have happened in the first place. Adrien should have stuck up for her. The class shouldn’t have believed Lila over her. After everything she’d done. After everything she’d sacrificed, they-

“Akuma!”

Marinette’s gaze snapped upwards. Sure enough, a black butterfly was heading straight for her.

She needed to run. Ladybug wasn’t allowed to get akumatized.

Nevertheless, Marinette stayed put, watching the akuma grow closer. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be? She had already been nearly akumatized three different times now. Perhaps Marinette was meant to get akumatized. Maybe she could finally let out some of her anger and frustrations without being judged or at fault. Chat Noir would turn her back to normal, right? Felix knew she was Ladybug so he would be able to help out as well.

Yes, Maybe this was a good thing.

That thought was shattered in an instant, though, when Felix threw himself in front of her. He was protecting her. Again. Only this time as Marinette instead of Ladybug.

Reality slapped Marinette in the face as Felix became shadowed in a purple glow, and her Ladybug instincts finally kicked in.

She shot to her feet, eyeing the boy warily. “Felix?”

At the name, Felix- or an akumatized version of Felix -looked up. He wore a blood red suit with his black, button up shirt and tie. His blonde- now turned pitch black -hair was slicked to the side, and his silver eyes had turned a dark, inky grey with flecks of bright red.

“Marinette..” Felix breathed, immediately stepping towards her.

Marinette took a slight step back, hesitating when Felix lightly cupped her cheeks.

“Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be fine now. You won’t have to deal with those idiotic classmates of yours anymore.” His voice was so soft and sweet that Marinette wasn’t entirely sure she was talking to the same, stiff classmate she knew.

“But Felix, I don’t-”

“My name isn’t Felix.” He cut her off sharply, though the gentleness never left his eyes. “It’s Karma, now. I’ll be back. Stay here.”

Before Marinette could say anything else, he was off, running in the direction of her other classmates. She stood there dumbly, bringing her hands up to touch her earrings. Felix never tried to take them. Did that mean he was still somewhat conscious in all of this?

“Marinette, let’s go!” Tikki whispered from Marinette’s purse.

Marinette startled, absently nodding her head and starting for the bathroom.

~~~~~~~

Chat Noir leaped towards the school as fast as he could from the place he transformed.

Why couldn’t Marinette just let Lila be? He warned her that someone would get hurt if she kept prying. This is exactly the reason they needed to let Lila go in the first place!

The cat heroine sighed as he landed in front of the back entrance to the school. Now he was going to have to fight Marinette when she could have avoided being akumatized at all.

The walls around the door fell to decay and crumbled within seconds, causing Chat Noir to pause and hold his breath. Anticipation clouded the air as footsteps approached him in the wreckage. He tensed, slipping into a fighting stance as he unhooked his staff.

“Marinette, please, I don’t want to fight you.” He pleaded.

“Well, that’s rather fitting then, isn’t it?” a cold voice responded as a man in a blood red suit stepped out of the smoke. “Because I’m not Marinette.”

Chat Noir blinked, his stance slacking a bit. “Then who-”

He was cut off by a sudden paralyzation that swept over his body, causing his limbs to feel rigid and stiff.

“Chat Noir,” The akuma began, taking out a black book from his suit coat and opening it, “You constantly push your feelings onto Ladybug despite her protests and leave her to fight for herself. As punishment, you will no longer have any feelings to push onto her.” he informed with an icy glare, slamming the book shut.

As soon as the akuma did so, a sharp coldness flooded into Chat Noir’s chest. Emptiness, numbness. He thought he would be angry towards the accusation, or scared of what the akuma meant, or even worried for Marinette, but he wasn’t.

He didn’t feel anything. He couldn’t feel anything. The thought would have terrified him had it not been for the circumstances.

“Felix, you have to stop this!”

Chat Noir barely registered the red blur landing in front of him.

Felix? He was the one that was akumatized? What about Marinette?

“I’ve already told you, it’s Karma now.” The akuma said coolly, though certainly not as cold as when he spoke to Chat noir.

Why was that?

“Marinette wouldn’t want this!” Ladybug tried to reason

“No,” Karma agreed, “She wouldn’t. Marinette’s too nice to condemn those who’ve hurt her. She’s too kind to be this cruel. So I will be selfish for her.”

Ladybug looked pained towards the answer, and even Karma seemed a bit upset that they were fighting. Why were the two reluctant? Why hadn’t Karma attacked her with her own karma yet?

Chat had a hunch he would be angry if he could feel anything.

“My Lady, we need to cleanse the akuma.” He stated dryly, taking out his staff and lunging for Karma.

The akuma’s eyes never left Ladybug’s as he disappeared into thin air.

Chat Noir stumbled, whipping around to try and find where Felix went, but Ladybug was already flinging out of her yoyo.

“What are you doing!” Chat demanded, frowning towards his partner.

Ladybug flinched, looking back at him with worry and exasperation in her gaze. “We have to find him before he hurts anyone!”

Chat Noir faltered at the urgency in her tone. Despite the hollowness aching in his bones, he knew he should be worried as well. So he listened to her as he always did and followed his lady.

~~~~~~~

Kagami wasn’t one to run away from fights. She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty as long as her mother gave her permission. When she saw that butterfly coming for Marinette, though, she genuinely felt fear.

Marinette was kind, gentle, too good for this world. If she was getting akumatized? who knew what kind of nightmare she’d become.

Of course, Luka and the others didn’t want to leave Mari, either, but they were forced out of the school by the panicked crowds and worried teachers. Soon, they were all running from the building along with Marinette’s classmates, including Lila.

Kagami knew full well this was Lila’s doing, and she wanted nothing more than to slice her to pieces with her sword. Unfortunately, now was the time for running, not revenge.

Or so she thought.

The group came to a screeching halt when a man in a suit appeared in front of them, black book in hand.

“Who are you?” Alya blurted out.

“Felix..” Kagami whispered, turning to look at Luka.

The blue-haired boy was equally as terrified. Of course Felix would get akumatized. He was infuriated at the class, a strong negative emotion. He was also extremely protective towards Marinette, and he would never have left her alone during the chaos.

But that begged the question, where was Mari?

“Alya Cessaire,” the akuma began, ignoring her question and opening his book, “you turned your back on your friend in need and instead believed a liar’s words over her own.”

She’s not a liar! Marinette’s the one who’s lying! That’s what Kagami expected Alya to shout, but the journalist, for once, said nothing.

Then Kagami noticed how stiff the red head was. Not moving, not talking, almost like she was.. Paralyzed.

“Since you refused to see the truth, I, Karma, give you the punishment to not be able to see anything at all.”

The akuma slammed the book shut, and Alya screamed.

Nino asked her what was wrong, grabbing her flailing arms. Alya looked up, revealing her brown eyes to be clouded over.

She was blind. Felix- no, the akuma- blinded her.

“Dude, what did you do!” Nino shouted in a fury. He had a right to be upset, Kagami reasoned. It was his girlfriend after all.

Karma calmly turned to Nino, and opened his book, causing the DJ to freeze. “Nino Lahiffe, you were told the truth and didn’t listen. Therefore, your punishment is you will not be able to hear anything.”

The akuma slammed the book shut again, and Nino looked around.

“Alya?” he asked, slightly too loud. Then he said it again, this time louder.

Then again. And again, each time increasing his volume.

Deaf.

Kagami stared curiously at the book, starting to understand. It was obviously the akumatized object. Anytime Karma opened it, it paralyzed the victim, most likely portrayed their actions, and, when closed, delivered their punishments.

“Please, there’s no need for this! Can’t we all just be happy?” Lila cried, burying her face in her hands.

Karma snapped his gaze to the girl, rage exploding across his features. Kagami took an unconscious step back, not expecting him to get so upset. He’d been cool and composed until now.

The akuma flipped open the book with a new found determination, glaring daggers at Lila.

“Lila Rossi,” Acid dripped from his tone, “you’ve spread lies and deceit and filth throughout the world without remorse. As punishment, you will not be able to speak.”

Karma slammed the book, releasing Lila from paralysis.

The brunette immediately straightened and let out a whimper, clamping her hands over her mouth. She then doubled over, as if about to throw up, and spit something out.

Kagami squinted, leaning closer to get a better look. When she realized what it was, her blood ran cold.

It was Lila’s tongue.

~~~~~~~

Marinette tried to level her breathing as she ran towards the direction her classmates had gone during the akumatization. She’d convinced Chat that it was smarter to split up, to search for Fe- Karma -since they weren’t sure where he’d go.

She knew, though. She knew he’d attempt to get revenge on Lila and the others. She also knew if she was going to appeal to Felix in any way, she needed to do it as Marinette. Ladybug wouldn’t know what Marinette does, and Felix was thankfully keeping her identity a secret. That meant she had to talk to him in civilian form. It could be dangerous, but after his speech right before he ran off, she was confident he wouldn’t hurt her.

Well, she was pretty sure.

Marinette felt the confidence slip when she saw him facing down the class, specifically Lila.

She felt a full on chill run down her spine when the brunette spit out her tongue onto the ground. Marinette knew akumas could be a bit aggressive, but this was plain morbid.

“F-felix?” Marinette swallowed, trying to hide the fear in her voice. It wasn’t him- it wasn’t Felix. She knew that!

But it was still a threat. If not Felix, then Karma.

The akuma glanced up, instantly relaxing at her presence.

Then he tensed back up.

“I told you to stay out of this.” he said solemnly.

“And I told you I didn’t want any of this!” Marinette retorted, gesturing vaguely to the other classmates.

Karma sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m doing this for you, Mari.”

“No.” She responded sternly. “If you were really doing this for me, you would do what I wished! You’re only doing what you wish!” her gaze then softened, as she took a step forward.

“M-mari?” Alya gasped, feeling around the air to try to find her.

Marinette’s stomach sank when she saw Alya’s blindness. How many others was Felix willing to hurt?

“Felix, you have to stop this, please.” She begged, taking another step.

Remorse reflected in Karma’s eyes. “I can’t. Not until they all get what they deserve. Lila, Hawk Moth, everyone who’s treated you unfairly.”

Marinette shook her head. “They will, Felix. I promise they’ll get what they need, just-” she sucked in a breath as she held out her hand. “Just give me the book.”

She saw him hesitate, but he inevitably pulled it out of her reach. “I can’t. You’re always in trouble and hurting because of the jerks in this class. You always try to see the good in others, putting their feelings ahead of your own.” He paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his features. “And I love you for it..”

The declaration was soft enough that Marinette thought she might have imagined it, but the blush of embarrassment on his face proved otherwise.

Before Marinette could respond, the akuma abruptly straightened. “That’s why I’ll do it for you.”

It took a moment for Marinette to realize he was referring to his earlier statement about punishing the class, and her eyes widened.

“No!” She cried, lunging for the book.

Karma raised it higher into the air, getting ready to teleport, when a staff knocked the book out of his hand.

“Not so fast!” Chat Noir shouted, landing a few feet behind them.

Marinette looked on in relief, but Felix scrambled for the black book that had flown across the street.

He can’t teleport without the book. Marinette noted as she darted after him. That was good. He had a weakness.

Chat Noir followed the two, using his staff to trip Karma and get closer to the book. Miraculously, Marinette got to the book first, quickly tearing it in half before anything else could interrupt her.

Karma let out a gasp, his entire form being covered in a purple glow. Then Felix reappeared, a very dazed and confused look coming to his face.

“Felix!” Marinette sighed in relief, running over to him.

Felix blinked, looking up at her. “Marinette? What- where am I? What happened?” He clutched his head with furrowed eyebrows, clearly trying to remember how he’d gotten so far away from the school.

“It’s okay, Fe. you were akumatized, so you probably don’t remember what happened.” Marinette said softly, kneeling in front of him.

“Akumatized?” Felix frowned. “Where’s the akuma? Shouldn’t you be.. You know.” He gestured vaguely to her figure, silently referring to her Ladybug alter ego.

Marinette pulled a nervous smile. “Ah, well, probably, but you need-”

“It doesn’t matter what I need.” Felix cut her off. “If the akuma is still out there, I can wait.”

Marinette pursed her lips, knowing she couldn’t argue with the statement. Nevertheless, she tried. “But-”

“Marinette.” Felix stressed.

Marinette huffed, standing up.

“I’m coming back to check on you.”

“I’ll be at the school.” Felix replied, standing up as well and brushing himself off.

With a final, weary glance, Marinette ran off to transform and capture the akuma.

Tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose@kuroko26@im-here-for-the-content @angstyrastuff @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanboy7794@choaticneturcl @bigcheeseyboi @burntnugget-tae @ayuchan07@honorisfortheweak @knightrose15 @mjisntme@rhub4rb @simplythebestbug@wilhelmares@zebrabaker@dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia @kaydenth3gayden @thornangelic727 @flirtshobi @whatamessofwords @book-r-the-best @naomi-from-paleontology

#Felinette #Felix Culpa #New Friends AU

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macaronsforchat · 4 years

Text

Adrinette April Day 1 - Pranks

read on ao3!

@adrinetteapril

“Bro, I don’t know about this,” Nino admitted, staring at Adrien and watching his face fall.

“Really? Do you think she won’t like it, like last time?” he wondered, a frown growing on his face.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Nino told him, adjusting the rim of his hat and trying to figure out how to make him understand, almost wanting to laugh at the situation.

“So she will like it! Good, because she should be here any second!” Adrien grinned, turning to peek around the corner and out of the school doors.

Nino decided to let the situation play out instead of interfering, knowing not too much harm would come from it.

It was only a few minutes before the last bell was going to ring, and Marinette appeared in front of the school, looking rushed as always. Before she could finish up the stairs, Alya called her name, just as Adrien planned.

“Marinette! Over here,” Alya called, and Marinette looked up to see her best friend holding a wrapped gift box. She stopped dead in her tracks.

“What’s this?” she wondered, both Adrien and Nino listening from around the corner.

“I don’t know, girl! It was left at my doorstep and had a note to give it to you on the front steps of the school,” she relayed, and Marinette was silent for a few seconds. Adrien wished he could see her face, if only to make sure she wasn’t annoyed by such a thing.

“Is this a prank?” Marinette asked, and Adrien wanted to cheer. Those were exactly the words he wanted to hear.

“I have no clue,” Alya replied. “But you should open it!”

“What? No! I don’t even know who it’s from,” Marinette reminded her.

“What if it’s from a secret admirer? Or from Adrien?” her best friend suggested, and Marinette snorted.

“But it’s not my birthday or anything! And Adrien? Why would he give me a gift?” she wondered.

“Just open it! I’m dying to see what it is!” Alya exclaimed, and Marinette gave in.

“Okay, okay,” she sighed, beginning to open the gift. When she finally had, she blinked rapidly, confused.

“A sewing kit?” she wondered aloud.

“Weren’t you saying you needed a new one?” Alya asked, then squeaked. “It has to be someone in class, Mari!”

“Do you think so? No, it can’t be! It’s just a coincidence,” she spoke, shaking her head and feeling very perplexed about the whole thing.

Adrien grinned, signaling for Nino and him to get going. They both headed upstairs to Ms. Bustier’s class to wait for what Adrien had planned next.

When the girls walked through the door, just after the bell rang, Ms. Bustier stopped them.

“I’m sorry we’re late, Ms. Bustier,” Marinette apologized, but Ms. Bustier shook her head.

“This was on my desk this morning with instructions to deliver it to you,” their teacher explained, handing Marinette another gift of about the same size as the first.

“For me?” Marinette asked incredulously, looking stunned. Ms. Bustier nodded, handing it to her with a smile. Adrien tried not to smile too widely, seeing Marinette’s features soften as she opened the second gift.

“Girl, that’s the most Marinette-esque pin cushion I’ve ever seen,” Alya commented as Marinette admired the pink and white polka-dotted cushion.

Ms. Bustier asked them to head to their seats as Adrien ducked his head, happier than he thought he would be. This prank was definitely going better than the last one.

As the day progressed, Marinette got three more gifts. In her locker before gym, she received a new pair of fabric scissors, the best money could buy. At lunch, the principal came to deliver a brand new, top of the line sewing machine. That one had Marinette speechless. Adrien was extremely proud of himself.

Finally, after school was out, there was one last gift.

Adrien followed after Marinette and Alya, listening to Marinette go through the possibilities of what was going on, laughing to himself when she thought it might be an “anonymous gift-giving Akuma.”

As Alya parted ways with Marinette, Adrien made his move.

“Hey, Marinette!” he called, watching her freeze, slowly turning to meet his gaze.

“Hey,” she drew out, laughing nervously. Adrien wondered if she was wary of another gift.

“All those gifts today were crazy, huh?” he commented, and she glanced down at her new sewing machine.

“Yes!” she squeaked out, laughing again. Adrien chuckled lightly, holding his hands behind his back.

“Well, someone asked me to give you something as well,” he said, watching her eyes widen.

“R-really?” she stuttered, her cheeks flushing slightly. “Are they trying to kill me?”

“No no, Marinette,” he assured her, wondering why she’d gotten so nervous at his arrival.

He pulled the final present out from behind his back, and she furrowed her eyebrows as he handed it to her.

Marinette stared down at it. It wasn’t wrapped, the small ticket gently wiggling in Marinette’s shaky hands.

“Is this…” she breathed out as she read what was printed on the ticket. “To--to Gabriel Agreste’s fa-fa-fashion show?”

“Yeah! It’s on the 19th,” he said, pointing to the date on the ticket with a big smile. He looked back up at her, seeing her face had lost all color.

“Marinette? Are you okay?” he asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder so she wouldn’t fall over.

“Y-yeah, I’m just…” she trailed off, staring down at the ticket in disbelief. After a few seconds, she looked up at him, back at the ticket, and then back into his eyes. He knew she was more than smart enough to figure it out.

“Who asked you to give this to me?” she wondered, and he grinned, taking in a big breath.

“Actually, I decided to give it to you! All of these gifts today were a prank to apologize for that horrible prank I played on you at the Grévin Wax Museum,” he explained, watching her eyes widen again. “I’m really sorry about that, Marinette, but I hope you’ll accept all my gifts.”

He watched the gears turn in her head and the blush decorate her cheeks. He found himself taking note of how many freckles dotted her cheeks when she spoke once more.

“I forgive you, Adrien,” she smiled, and he sighed out in relief.

“I’m really glad,” he smiled back, and she looked away quickly, back down at the ticket.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she said, looking up at him.

“You’re welcome, Marinette!” he grinned at her, seeing her cheeks flush again and wondering why. Before he could think about asking, the silver car that was always waiting for him honked impatientl.y

“I hope you enjoy all your gifts. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Adrien spoke as he began to walk to the car. He waved goodbye to her, seeing her still look completely surprised.

He smiled to himself the whole way home, overjoyed that Marinette still thought of him as a friend.

~~~~~

these two will be the death of me someday. thank you all for reading!

#adrinetteapril #adrinetteapril2020 #adrinette #adrien x marinette #miraculous ladybug #my writing #i love these two so much

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dakotacrisis · 4 years

Text

Deal’s End (6)

What better screams romance than a horrific gore fest?

(Read on AO3)

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“No.” Marinette slapped the dress out of Felix’s hands. “You dressed me up yesterday. You’re not doing it again today.”

“It worked!”

“I don’t care!” Marinette went to grab the outfit she laid out last night. “I already have something to wear.”

“Are you sure about that?” her outfit disappeared. She glared back at Felix who was holding up the dress again.

“Give me back my clothes.”

“I have your clothes right here.” he tossed the dress to her.

“I mean the clothes I picked.” she tossed it back at him.

“No can do. Besides, I thought you were trusting me.”

“For advice. Not fashion choices.” Marinette went to her closet. It was fine, she’d just pick something else. She opened the doors to her closet and gaped at the empty hangers. “FELIX!”

“That is so strange.” he shook his head, “Are all your clothes in the laundry? That seems very poor planning, love.”

“Put them back!” She growled.

“Wear the dress and I’ll put them back.”

“I hate you.” she snatched the red and white polka dotted sundress out of his hands and went behind the screen to change. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the dress or anything it’s just that she wasn’t in the mood for Felix. While yesterday may have ended in her favor it had also made her a little self conscious to be around Adrien again.

She stepped out in the dress and turned around. “Zip me up?”

“Gotcha.” He zipped up the back of her dress she couldn’t reach. “See? Is this so bad?”

“Whatever.” Marinette grabbed her bag and slipped on her shoes. “Let’s just get this over with.”

When they got to the sidewalk Felix spoke up again. “I sense you’re angry with me.”

“What was your first clue?” She spat.

“This isn’t about the dress at all is it? You’re only looking for a reason to be mad at me.”

“I don’t need to look for a reason to be mad at you. It’s a perpetual state.” She sneered. “I liked the outfit I picked out.”

“And you can wear it tomorrow. And besides, look,” he held his arms wide the sides of his red and white baseball tee fluttering in the wind, “We match!”

“As if I didn’t need another reason to want to take this off.” Marinette sighed.

“By all means go ahead, you’ll certainly get lover boy’s attention that way.”

“Why do I bother with you?” Marinette thunked the back of his head. “Perverted demon.”

“If I was that perverted I would have gotten rid of all your underwear too. Which by the way, how come you have no push-up bras? Yeah, yeah, I know all bodies are beautiful but you got mosquito bites. Why not give them a little lift?”

“You were in my underwear drawer?” Marinette stopped on the sidewalk.

“Oh shit, here we go.”

“You were in my underwear drawer!!”

“I was curious!”

“Curious about what? How many panties I had?”

“Uh Marinette--”

“Also, these are not mosquito bites mister!” she poked him hard in the chest, “These are B cups and still growing so you can take your nose out of my underwear drawer and shove it up your--”

“Hi Adrien.” Felix waved behind her.

Marinette froze. Then she relaxed. “Nice try, demon boy. Adrien arrives by car every morning so there is no way he could be behind me. So as I was saying if I see you raiding my underwear drawer again I am going to crack your skull open. Got it?”

“I understand.” Felix nodded. “But also…” He turned her around.

“A-Adrien!” Marinette stumbled back. Why of all the times Felix was being serious she had to take it as a joke?

“Good morning.” Adrien waved. He shifted from foot to foot uneasily. He heard that. He heard all of that! Adrien heard her yelling at Felix to stay out of her underwear drawer. Oh god, she was yelling about having not that small of boobs when he was right there!

“Looks like your friend walked today. Isn’t that funny?” Felix whispered in her ear. “Good luck.”

Felix proceeded to make a hasty retreat. “Felix! No! Get back here!” she yelled after him but he was not turning around. “If there is a god may he please kill me now.” She muttered.

“Um, Marinette?” Adrien said, “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She whirled around with a smile stretched painfully on her face. “Why do you ask?”

“Because Felix--”

“Oh that? That was nothing. Just a joke between friends. I should be going.” She turned to run.

“Wait.” Adrien caught her arm and gently pulled her back. She stared down at the ground. She couldn’t face him. Not after all of this.

“You said his people’s skill weren’t the best, right?” Adrien said.

Marinette peeked up through her bangs. The corner of her mouth quirked up in a small smile. “Yeah...they aren’t.”

“Do you want to walk to class or would you rather go find your chaotic neighbor and give him what for?”

“Oh trust me, he is big trouble next time I see him.” She relaxed a little and stood up straight. “I’m positively mortified that you heard any of that though.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He put an arm around her shoulders as they walked to class. “Also, it’s a really pretty dress you have on today. That one you made?”

“It is. Thank you for noticing.” She wanted to loop an arm around Adrien as well but wasn’t sure if that was pushing it too far.

“Thank you for gracing the school with another Marinette original.” They stepped into class. “Oh, do you have the project?”

“Right here.” She pulled out the project from her bag. “Done and ready to turn in.”

“Awesome.” he scanned it over. “Oh, by the way, a group of us are heading to the movies after school. Did you wanna come?”

“Sure!”

“Great. Felix can come too if he wants.”

“What about me?” Felix appeared at her side in the blink of an eye.

“Nothing. Shoo.” she elbowed him away.

“Some friends of ours are going to the movies. Would you like to join?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Felix shrugged. “What are we seeing?”

“Coven of the Creep.”

“Wait, that new horror movie?” Marinette squeaked. “It’s supposed to be super scary, right?”

“You talking about the movie?” Nino joined in. “Oh yeah, it is meant to be one of the scariest, goriest, most disturbing new horror movies of the decade. I’ve been hearing nothing but good reviews and I am so stoked to finally watch it. Dodging spoilers has been rough.”

“That scary? Now I’m interested.” Felix said. “What about you, love?”

“I um...I…” Marinette hated horror movies. She was scared to death of them. Even the cheesy bad ones that everyone laughs at. She couldn’t handle horror in any capacity.

“Marinette’s not a fan of horror.” Alya came to her mute friend’s aid. “Girl is jumpier than a cat on a hot tin roof when it comes to anything scary.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Adrien frowned, “You don’t have to come if you’d rather not.”

“Sure she does.” Felix subtly pinched her arm, “It was just the other day we were talking about movies we had seen and she mentioned that she was looking into trying horror again.”

“That true?” Alya asked.

“No--” Felix pinched her arm harder, “Er, I mean, yes?”

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Adrien gave her a waning smile. “But if at any moment you change your mind,”

“I’ll be fine.” Marinette elbowed Felix off her again. She really was going to kill him. He had better hope this movie didn’t give her ideas.

Classes sped by too fast for Marinette’s liking. She really didn’t want to go to this movie. She had been trying to psyche herself up for it but the effort fell flat. She was going to be willingly walking into a dark room with two hours of nightmare fuel and there was nothing she could do to stop it now. Every step towards the theatre felt like another step towards her own grave.

“Why did you say that I would go?” Marinette whined to Felix. “I hate horror! I am a huge scaredy cat! I can’t do this!”

“You are literally living with a demon and you can’t handle a little movie?”

“You’re annoying. Not scary.” She clasped her arms tight around her. “I know that the goal is to get me to spend more time with Adrien but this is too much? Don’t I have the power to veto some of your ideas?”

“Think about this from my point of view.” Felix put an arm around her, “You’re in a dark room, conveniently sat next to your crush. The movie starts to play, the first scare happens and you jump. Jump right into your waiting knight in shining armor’s arms. You cower into him the entire movie and he holds you and comforts you from the scary images and sounds. At the end you’re still shaking slightly. The credits roll but you are still there in his arms. You look up, frightened, trying your best to regain composure. He smiles, and suddenly the nightmares are farther away. And our young knight feels noble and needed by the helpless damsel.”

“You really need to stop reading my YA books.” Marinette replied blandly.

“He’s got a point.” Alya came up on Marinette’s other side. “Sorry to cut in but I couldn’t help but overhear you two plotting to get Marinette into Adrien’s arms. Girl, why didn’t you tell me Felix was acting as your wingman? I could have been helping this entire time!”

“Shush!” Marinette put a finger over her lips. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough to know sir stoic here has a flair for the dramatic.” Alya laughed. “As much as I know you hate horror, Felix is kinda right. This would be a good chance to steal some cuddles.”

“Cuddles should not be stolen. Cuddles should be freely given.” Marinette pouted.

“Then I’ll spoon you when we get home to make up for the stolen cuddles now. Better?” Felix said.

“No. Not better. I don’t even see how that would make up for anything.” Marinette groaned. Why was he like this?

“In another life you two would make a cute couple.” Alya said. Marinette glared at her. “Oh don’t give me that look. You’re obviously close. I say if things with Adrien don’t work out you take his bad boy clone over here for a spin.”

“Alya!” She started lightly smacking her arm. It was bad enough dealing with Felix but she couldn’t handle this talk from Alya as well.

“It is so satisfying seeing you happen to someone else.” Felix laughed. “Do it again! Do it again!”

“Shut it.” Marinette charged ahead, “Both of you!”

Since the movie was rated-R Marinette had a fleeting hope of them not being allowed in. That hope died the second Alya’s older sister showed up and bought the tickets for them to go in. Everyone paid back their share to her and shuffled inside the theater. Their group took up an entire row and Felix and Alya were sure to rig the seating so that Marinette was sat next to Adrien. Felix was on her other side to keep her from bolting before the movie began.

The opening credits started and already the creepy music had Marinette’s anxiety cranked up to eleven. It was slow going at first and she relaxed enough to think that maybe she could get over this. Maybe she had been acting like a baby the other--AND SOMEONE’S HEAD JUST GOT CUT OFF! Oh god no!

She flinched away from the screen and hid her eyes in Adrien’s shoulder.

“You alright?” Adrien whispered.

She shook her head profusely. “I’m--I’m sorry. I--I--I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s okay.” He pushed the arm rest between them up between the seats and put a protective arm around her. “Do you want to leave?”

“No.” She took a deep breath. “I can--I can handle it.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

“Okay. Just cling to me if you get scared.” He pulled her a bit closer. “And if you want to bail at any time you can. I’ll even buy you a slushie at the snack counter.”

“Thanks.” Marinette flinched away from the gore on the screen.

Two agonizing hours later the credits finally rolled. Marinette had done a fair share of screaming, jumping and burying her face in Adrien’s shoulder throughout the entire film. For facing her fears and being so brave in the face of such a scary film Adrien walked her to the snack counter for a victory slushie. He kept her close on his arm and didn’t let go until it was time for them to go separate directions home.

She knew she should have been over the moon but the blood curdling screams from the screen still haunted her in the back of her mind. Felix didn’t say anything on the rest of the walk home but let her hold his hand as tightly as she needed.

Right before bed Marinette got a text from Adrien.

Hope the movie didn’t scare you too much. Next time I invite you out let’s see a comedy. Sweet dreams --Adrien

At least it had been worth something.

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(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (7)

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(tagged)

@sannsibarr @miss-mysterys-blog @maribug-adrienoir @mermaidreject @corabeth11 @goblinwhoships @symwinter

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #felix #felinette #demon au #writing

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