#lila can barely hold back her cackles | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

theflowerofthecommonwealth · 2 years ago

Text

Power Armor Punch Part Forty Three

Masterlist

Nick: *looks to Lucille* Was that really necessary?

Lucille: I was making an observation.

Nick: We need to have a discussion on your tone and timing, then.

Lucille: *shifts back to Teshteal’s request* Sure but only for a moment. This place isn’t exactly friendly to normal humans. *lifts her power armor helmet… then her regular helmet*

Teshteal: Wait- Gardio’s little girl? *snaps his fingers, trying to recall the name* Linda, Lila, Lucinda, Lucy- Lucille! You’re Lucille! *beams but then frowns* Why do you hate us?

Lucille: I don’t hate you…

Teshteal: Seems that way. You looked at me like I was a wild animal earlier then that comment about her breakdown just now.

Lucille: Can you blame me for looking at you that way when you cackled like that? After how quickly you decimated that raider camp? I think any sensible person out would be a little on their guard.

Teshteal: *thinks on this and nods understandably* True… true… But that remark-

Lucille: *while putting on her sentry then her power armor helmet* Was an observation I was making. *sighs* At any rate. I’m going to explore a little further out until things settle down.

Jasmine: (Tries to get herself to stop sobbing so much for the sake of energy, and it kinda works as she comes to soft sniffles. But its more of tucking away her negative feelings to blow up later instead of dealing with them right now. Nevertheless, they are in the middle of the Glowing Sea, and have somewhere to be that they cannot get to without her help)

Teshteal: *climbs into his dumpster and grabs his possum and cookbook, putting both into a patched up leather bag before curling up on his blankets while we waits*

Nick: *softly to Jas* Better…?

Jasmine: (Raises her head and wipes away some blood so she can open her eyes. As suspected, she has slight double vision, but should still be able to navigate just fine)

Nick: *pulls out some bandages and a rag to mop up the blood a bit. He applies them as a small strip accross the gash on her head* Would you mind if I gave you some water and used a stimpak on ya? Just to help speed things up a bit with that wound?

Jasmine: (Signing) “Water, please. No needles.” (Pulls her hood over her head)

Nick: *nods and hands her a can of purified water*

Teshteal: *has used his tail to lower the lid and is taking a nap*

Lucille: *fighting some Radscorpions*

Jasmine: (Pops off the lid of the can with one hand while the other holds Nicks hand, staring down into it before she starts drinking, finishing the whole thing really quickly as to not spit it out)

Nick: There you go, kiddo… *rubs her back*

Lucille: *just over there. Fighting some Radscorpions… sawing into them with her ripper*

Jasmine: (Wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, lifting her head to stare up at Nick while she squeezes his hand)

Nick: *squeezes back* As much as I would love to continue holding you, we’re still in the middle of the Glowing Sea-

Teshteal: *suddenly bursts out of the dumpster* Stingwings! *running a little bit past them to swat at them and catch them like a cat catching flies- with his bare hands*

Nick: What the-

Teshteal: *catches the last one and eats it right there*

Nick: *covers Jas’s eyes so she doesn’t have to watch. Mild disgusted whisper* Why…?

Jasmine: (Makes a squeak of annoyance when Nick covers her eyes, squirming to try and make him stop)

Nick: *keeps her eyes covered* Trust me, doll. I’m doing you a favor. *keeps them covered until Teshteal’s done eating a bug like a feral animal*

Jasmine: (Gives him a vaguely annoyed glare when she is permitted to see again, blinking to focus her off-centered eyesight) (Softly)“Do we keep moving…?”

Nick: *helps her to her feet as he stands* Yeah.

Teshteal: *whiping his face clean with his arm as he walks back casually as if he didn’t just take down a bunch of sting wings like some feral beast and eat one. More like he just came back from eating a cupcake* What’s going on?

Nick: We’re walking to her old home to hopefully find some answers about some of her past.

Lucille: *back, a few pieces of radscorpion meat and one egg richer* Everyone all set?

Teshteal: *shrugs and looks at Nick and Jas*

Jasmine: (Nods her head, putting her mask back on and tightening her hood. She takes ahold of Nicks arm and points far off into the horizon, beyond a cluster of crumbling buildings. That’s where her town is, and her home)

Nick: Onward we go. *starts walking in that direction*

Lucille: *wordlessly follows*

Teshteal: *walks along side them, picking up where he left off on the bottles of beer. Singing* 26 bottles of beer on the wall, 26 bottles of beer…!

Lucille: *dying internally at the continuation of the song but says nothing*

Jasmine: (She had siblings, and a bunch of young friends that she could call family that she was always around, and they all had their little quirks. Calling out Donovan specifically, he’d annoy people by singing variety of songs in high pitched tones. The one he tailored for her was Sherry by Frankie Valli, he could hit those high notes pretty well. So shes immune to this not bothered by Teshteals song at all)

Nick: *keeps a tight hold on her arm as they travel through the buildings that make up her little town*

Teshteal: *goes silent. The weight of the destruction too palpable even for him*

Lucille: *checking everything around her. She even pulls out Stabby the ghoul slaying knife and has it ready… just in case*

Jasmine: (Stone faced under her mask while she leads them down a couple of streets and closer to her street. All the homes around them are caved in and half sunken into the cracked and molten earth, a few skeletons of her neighbors still visible and scattered about. Some dead ghouls too. Finally, she vaguely gestures down a slope to a row of ruined house frameworks, pointing to a specific one after she takes a deep breath)

Nick: Ah… There. *leads the four of them to it to see if there’s anything left that can be explored… let alone salvaged*

Lucille: *keeping watch around them still. You just never know in places like this*

Teshteal: *sniffing the air* What… exactly are we looking for?

Nick: Notes. Paperwork. Anything that might tell us why they took her away from here.

Teshteal: Got it… *starts sniffing for the distinct scent of paper around the structure*

Jasmine: (The roof of the house is completely caved in on top of the first, they’d have to dig under the dirt and rubble. She already came here once, so she’s not doubts that they will find anything loose or in the open) (Signing) “Mom had a safe under her bed, if she or my aunt had anything important they’d keep it in there.” (Let’s go of Nick and walks over to about where her mothers bedroom would have been. She starts pulling away the pieces of the caved in roof and rubble that must’ve been blown in here during the last two centuries)

Nick: Hold on, doll. Let me move those. I don’t want that concussion to get worse. *starts moving some of it for her*

Lucille: I’ll help too… *lifts a good few sizeable chunks to the side to help make a stable pathway inside with the help of her power armor*

Teshteal: *digs himself a small entrance into the building somehow*

Jasmine: (Keeps aiding in removing the rubble despite Nicks words, her stomach doing flips the more they uncover. If she had anything left in her stomach, she doubts she would be able to keep it down. Under a large beam, she squints through the dust and spots the light grey framework of her mothers bed, under it being the safe. It’ll take some lifting power to get to it, but she doubts that will be a problem)

Lucille: *very easily moves the bed to uncover the safe… thank goodness for power armor. She steps to the side to let Jas take a look.*

Teshteal: *turning up empty on paper but has collected a few of his new vault-sibling’s toys, some ruined books that might be legible, and a few other keepsakes he found. Wonders if there’s anything she’d keep for sentimental reasons…*

Jasmine: (Slowly gets on her knees and examines the safe, noting that it’s still locked. She takes out a bobby pin and a screw driver, picking the lock with ease. When she swings open the lid, her breathing hitches and she stares blankly into the safe) (Softly) “Oh….” (Reaches in and digs around, the safe that contains several loose photos, sheets of colored paper along, and some jewelry, which had belonging to her mother. She carefully gazes over the photos, choking up when she recognizes each and every one of them. But, there’s something off about them…. She gives the colored papers a look, her face darkening under the mask) (Coldly) “There is nothing here.” (Harshly slams the lid shut and hastily walks off back outside to the entrance of her house, leaning against what’s left of the outer wall while she lowers her head)

Nick: *decides to give the photos and drawings a look for himself, just to see if he can glean anything from them*

Teshteal: *looking for anything that seems out of the ordinary in the old building, now*

Lucille: *standing guard in case anything hostile comes their way. Might take a nap in her powerarmor*

The Photos and Drawings: (Are all an assortment of Jasmine as a small child. There at least one from each birthday since her the day she was brought home, her first day of school from each grade, at the beach with friends and her siblings, sleepovers in the yard, school plays, seated in a garden with her siblings, her posed next to a slain buck with an older unknown man who’s smiling with pride, and so many more little memories from her prewar life. The drawings consist of handmade Mother’s Day cards, birthday cards, school projects, little doodles, and carefully folded origami figures. All of them signed by Rosie, the drawing of the underwater paradise is even there, faded but still looks wonderfully creative…..)

Jasmine: (Standing in the spot where the pink rose bushes that her mother had planted once had been, the ones she was named after. Tears dribble down her face under her mask while her head spins. She’s not even sure why she agreed to come here, they didn’t even find anything useful, just more heartache realization for her. It’s hurts to think about all she lost here… and this new finding certainly didn’t help. It hurts, and there is nothing she can do about it. She slowly raises her head and stares off, another thought suddenly smacking her when she sees the other houses) “………” (Reaches into the bottom of her bag under all of her stuff and pulls out a few canisters of Psychojet that she had subconsciously collected on their way here, jabbing them into her arm with a crazed hunger, not caring about the needles. Next she brings out two jars of Buffout and swallows the pills from both quickly, the sharp edges of her addiction being temporarily quenched while the Chems boil in her veins. She takes a deep breath and bolts off in a lightening fury fueled dash to an unknown destination, not running away but there is something she has to do. And she has to go through with it this time, no excuses or opting out. They would want this to be done for them)

Nick: *hasn’t noticed her leaving. Examining the photos more closely… who’s that man she’s with in that one photo? *

Teshteal: *HAS noticed and is already going after her, not really losing track of her thanks to his heightened sense of smell and sight. He isn’t trying to stop her. Just wants to know what she’s doing… and to step in if she needs help*

Lucille: H- *moved to slow before she could stop both of them. To Nick* Teshteal and Jasmine ran off! I think she dosed up on something to increase her speed-

Nick: What-?! *stands immediately, only bending to gather the evidence in his bag to review later*

Jasmine: (Hurdling and blazing over the ruined homes of the neighborhood, it being a maze to get through it as most yards are lumpy and blocked off. She suddenly comes to a stop at one house that’s completely caved in, not even looking like a home anymore, just a pile of whatnot. She stands over it, breathing quickly under her mask with her clenched into fists. It needs to be done, no matter how much it makes her ache and get weighed down with grief. She reaches into her bag once more to pull out some canisters of Ultrajet, inhaling them to soothe these negative feeling riling up in her and to keep her mind clouded in the sweet bliss. She can’t let them down again) (Weakly through gritted teeth) “C’mon you stupid bitch….” (Furiously starts digging through the piles with super human strength and energy, throwing aside whatever gets in her way from reaching her goal)

Teshteal: *darting directly toward the building she’s at on all fours before bee-lining it for cover to watch from the shadows before she notices him*

Lucille: *points in the direction the two went off in* They went that way!

Nick: Thanks for the heads up. *starts running*

Lucille: *just stands and waits by the house. Figures she’s not much help at all in this situation*

Jasmine: (Cuts her hands and wrists deeply on the sharp metal that she is moving, but doesn’t care one bit. She cannot give up now for anything. With all her might she heaves away a large piece of ceiling, her head hurting more and more) “Cmon you pathetic little girl….” (Suddenly yelps and jumps backwards when something long and glowing jumpscares her from under the rubble. It’s an arm, from a Glowing One ghoul who can’t reach her due to all the stuff in the way. It tries though, really tries to grab her and pull her in. Soon a whole chorus of feral ghouls growls and moans ring out, all coming from under the rubble and from what appears to be a bunker of sorts. One with its door partly hacked off. She cries out at the sight of them and scrambles backwards, hesitantly raising her gun to the ghouls, wanting to end their misery… But like last time she just falls onto her knees with her bloodied gun shakily still held out)

Teshteal: *jumps out from behind the building and grabs one of the pieces she cut herself on, making short work of the arm, pupils narrow and sharp with focus. He waits to see if any of the feral ghouls start getting restless before he can calm Jas down*

The Ghouls: (All howl out at once, the Glowing One being the most unhappy. It shrieks out and bursts out a wave of radiation, riling up the other ghouls in the basement and causing them all to come up and try to break out of their cage. There’s a second glowing one judging by the second green glow lighting up the area, maybe even a third. Through the cracks a bunch of a smaller arms reach through and grab at the two, accompanied by higher pitched growls)

Jasmine: (Can’t help but to scream in horror when she sees this, putting away her gun and covering her mouth with her bloody hands, staying unmoving in her spot)

The Ghouls: (Seem dead set on getting to their chosen prey, and will eventually breakthrough the rubble with enough persistence)

Teshteal: *sets the building chunk aside to pick her up and move her just out of the way behind one of the other structures* Stay here. Don’t move. *goes back to the bunker and picks up the chunk of building, using it as a giant knife and slicing anything that pops up. In full combat mode now- face completely expressionless. He removes the last of the rubble holding the ghouls back*

Jasmine: (Thrashes and shrieks when he picks her up, but once she is set down she just sits there trembling like a leaf and continues sobbing out. Maybe it’s the Chems working up her system, or her earlier breakdowns, or her pent up emotions, or the concussion but whatever it is she can’t make herself do anything else other than sit there uselessly)

The Ghouls: (All file out in one big flesh hungry mob, lunging at Teshteal and spreading themselves out to fill the area. Two Glowing Ones come out followed by feral children and several regular ferals. There were so many packed in that little bunker, too many for it to be all that comfortable for those who must’ve taken shelter there)

Teshteal: *mutters an apology for what he has to do, recognizing that these creatures were once people as he swiftly slices up each one that lunges without blinking. If it weren’t for the blood and gore and quickly he tore each feral apart with the building piece, his movement would almost seem like a mournful but graceful dance. Each time it seemed he was being attacked all at once, he’d spin on his heal, making one large swipe around him*

Jasmine: (Is shaking all over. She couldn’t do it, put them out of their misery. They were all packed in there and she didn’t have the guts to finally let them rest. God, she knows full well that’s what they would want, she can almost hear their voices in her head begging to finally be set free. Judging by the numbers, something went wrong during bombs and they spent centuries in an overcrowded space. She hastily pours all the Daytripper pills she has onto her palm and crams them in her mouth, but is unable to swallow with the lump in her throat)

Teshteal: *with a few final and terrible swings of his rudimentary sword, he finishes off the last of the ferals. He stops for a moment in case there were anymore down in the bunker*

The Bunker: (No more feral ghouls are left in the bunker, it reeks horribly of rotten flesh and stale air, thick layers of dust and dirt covering everything)

Jasmine: (Staring off with tears going down her face and with the Daytripper pills still in her mouth and the jar clutches in her hands. She can’t make herself swallow them, not without choking)

Teshteal: *throws the building chunk aside, blinking once then walking over to Jas, blinking again as he reaches the building. His pupils widen a little after the third blink as he reaches her* It’s done- *notices the day tripper jar- that it’s empty and suddenly, frantically looks at Jas in fear. Dead serious* Spit it out. Right now.

Jasmine: (Shakes her head, clasping one hand over her mouth while the other grabs at her dagger. There’s an almost crazed possessive glint in her eyes while she glares. She needs this, she won’t spit it out!)

Teshteal: *grabs her by her jacket and picks her up, glaring up at her* I don’t care if you’re the most powerful creature in the Glowing Sea, YOU WILL DIE if you take that many on top of the chems you’ve already taken! It isn’t going to save you. It will only kill you. All it ever does is cause more pain. More suffering for you and the people you care about. *trembling but now trying to hold it together. Remembering how terribly the chems in the vault made him feel. The sluggishness. Almost terrified whisper* More torture for you to endure….

Jasmine: (Too busy shrugging him off to actually listen to the truthful advice, stubborn relentless little kitten. She has the self control over Chems like a kid does over their Halloween candy, which is little to none. Chems are her candy with the sweetness of temporary relief and bliss, and she’s a child no matter how much she insists that she isn’t. She starts kicking up a storm while shrieking without spitting the pills out, threatening Teshteal with her dagger by raising it slightly)

Teshteal: *pupils narrow into slits again, but not out of fear as he glances at the dagger then at her again* Do you think I’m scared of being hurt? After everything that they did to us in the vault? Go ahead. *pupils become slivers you can barely see* Do it. Stab me. *hisses, baring his sharp pointed teeth* But know if you hurt me, it’s because you were high on chems and chose them over the safety of your own family, Rosie.

Jasmine: (Cries out through gritted teeth when she hears her name spoken, finally just shoving him back with little restraint and scampers a few feet away on her hands and knees. She starts coughing and gagging, having to clasp her hands over her mouth to keep the pills from falling out. She’s not gonna die from this as she’s been pumped with higher amounts, but she wants the relief! With one hand she rips out another container of Daytripper, shoving those in her mouth as well. Whatever it takes to reach that bliss….)

Teshteal: *doesn’t move much at all when she shoves him. His tail picks her up by her ankles by wrapping around her legs. Because she doesn’t really eat much and is rather small, he has no problem lifting her by that point of her body while keeping some distance from himself* How long are we going to keep this up, Rosie? How long are you going keep disgracing yourself like this? Your departed family? Your living family? *frowns at himself* Why was I scared of you when this is what you’ve sunk to? *snarls* If there’s one thing the vault made clear as I failed training after training while high on this shit- Chems make you weak. Chems make you vulnerable. Chems open you up to attack.

Jasmine: (Swatting, screaming, and hissing through her gritted teeth like a feral kitten. She’s also a stupidly relentless child, she won’t give up so easily. A really good thing when it come to not giving in to those monsters, bad when it comes to things like this that are suppose to help her)

Teshteal: *unphased* Chems make you useless. You couldn’t even fight one ghoul because of how high you are. *starts walking back to her house, wagging his tail in such a way to make her nauseous enough to puke. Whatever it takes to get her to spit the pills out* Whatever happiness you think you’re getting? It isn’t worth making yourself sopathetic. *voice is filled with disgust. He can’t understand why she would put herself into such a state when it has the chance to let her be exploited- doesn’t realize his body’s reaction to chems isn’t universal*

Jasmine: (Continues to throw a hissy fit without so much of batting an eyelash to all the jostling. She was known back in her prewar days as the one to never get dizzy no matter what happened, she was the crazy daredevil who wouldn’t get sick on the spinning chair on the playground. She’d spin for several minutes at a time at high speeds, then jump off without a care and bolt off to do other activities)

Teshteal: *eventually just gives up trying to force it out of her- he could try swinging her at buildings but that would hurt her and he doesn’t want that* Well. I guess we have to depend on dear old daddy, Nick Valentine, to set you straight. He’s going to be so dissapointed and angry… I wonder how often you’ve done this? Maybe he won’t be and he’ll just sigh shamefully as he pries another bottle and a half of pills out of his daughter’s mouth? Maybe he’ll yell? Maybe he’ll just… *stops for just a moment to glance back at her sadly* …give up on you? *continues walking* I wouldn’t be surprised about that last one. We experiments of the vault are so hard to deal with. *sighs bitterly at memories of being abandoned by various people that took him in over the last century and a half* Who knows. This might be the tipping point for the detective.

Jasmine: (That last comment only fuels her anger that’s already boiling with the Psycho. Nick already said that she’s his daughter and is not discardable as the way her birth mother saw her, and she trusts him fully on that part! Teshteal sounds exactly like the guards and trainers from the vault, telling her that she’s not worthy of being loved and cared for. That no one on this godforsaken planet will put the effort in helping her and supporting her while she tries to fix herself little by little, day by day. It sounds like he is trying to chase her away and make her run back to the Vault so she can keep being their toy, because what else is she good for…)

Teshteal: *can tell that last comment set her off* Getting angry? Good. That means you’ve found someone that makes you feel like you’re wanted. That you’re worth something- and believe me, I do feel you’re worth something, too… it’s just… *winces at both the fact he’s hesitating so much and how much it hurts to see her like this- irrational and scared partly because of the bunker, partly because of the concussion, and largely because she’s high as a fxcking kite right now. His voice cracks with fear and worry for her* …chems drag you down and turn you into someone you’re not. That girl that tried so hard to help me earlier isn’t the same girl that I’m having to drag back to her father with her mouth full of pills. *sighs regretfully, realizing his mistake in the way he worded things* I don’t think you’re actually worthless. I’m just trying to get you to reevaluate the way you look at chems. They aren’t candy.

Jasmine: (Starts a new waterfall of tears on her face while she swats her kitten paws angrily at Teshteal as that seems to be the only ways she can react. His words touch her heart in way, sorta like how Nicks word do when he gives her a pep talk. She still can’t make herself swallow the Chems, she tried several times but her throat is too choked with tears and her mouth is too damned dry. But maybe in the end, that’s a good thing) (Signing aggressively) “Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!”

Teshteal: *only stops to turn around cause he thinks she’s trying to get his attention. Sees the sign and gets a little confused at first cause he thinks she’s trying to swipe at him… but his training from before the war kicks in and it finally clicks* “Stop?” Are you referring to me or the voice in your head? If it’s me, then stop what? Telling you that you shouldn’t throw your life away chasing a temporary high that’ll just put you in the ground much sooner? Stop talking all together? Stop walking? What do you want, Rosie? What is it that needs stopping? If it’s any of those I just mentioned I’m not going to because your life is on the line and- *tears prick with tears but he doesn’t buckle or cower like he did before. Earnestly with a cracked voice* -you’re the only other person besides myself in this ruined world that seems to actually give a damn about me.

Jasmine: (Just shrugs her shoulders while more tears dance down her cheeks. She vaguely points to her head and makes the “talk” sign, then to Teshteal and also makes the “talk” sign, followed by the “stop” one)

Teshteal: You want me to stop talking? I will. *wordlessly and tearfully turns and starts walking again, hands in pockets as the thoughts start to build up in his head*

Nick: *finally comes upon them* What the- *points his gun at Teshteal* Drop her! Now!

Teshteal: *looks over at her with a pang of pain, not used to being this silent around people. Shrugs, and plops the feral kitten down at Nick’s feet gently. He points to his mouth then at her then makes a drinking motion*

Nick: *as he scoops Jas up* Huh…? *figures it out soon enough and dawns a frustrated, dissapointed look as he glares down at the teen* Chems?! AGAIN?!?! *growls* You better spit it out right now or I’m going to have to make you…

Teshteal: *winces as Nick raises his voice*

Jasmine: (Shakes her head, trying to clear her up her thoughts enough to properly convey her feelings. It’s more difficult than it should be, but she has to try) (Signing, hands shaking) “I NEED them, hurts without.” (Points off in the direction of the bunker, then signs “friends” with her bloodied hands followed by a slicing motion over her throat with her finger. She clasps both of her hands over her mouth and turns her face away from both of them while shaking her head again)

Nick: Would your friends want this?! Would they want you to overdose on so many pills you CHOKE?! *snarls then sighs* I know what that’s like to watch someone you care about die- you want to drown your sorrows in anything that’ll numb the pain… but this is too much, doll.

Teshteal: *crouches and holds his head at both Nick’s raised voice and the thoughts rushing through his brain.*

Jasmine: (Goes wide eyed at her Dads words, trembling and whimpering in his arms. She still somehow has not swallowed the mouthful of Daytripper pills despite being swung around, her mouth and throat drier than the Sahara Desert at this point. And it’s frustrating because the sweet bliss is one swallow away, it’s dangling in front of her just outta reach. Almost tauntingly. She’s gone mostly limp with her hands tightly over her mouth, tired after fighting Teshteal and from running everywhere)

Nick: So what are you going to do…? *looking dead at Jas* Your call, doll. *sounds so tired of this*

Teshteal: *curls up and holds his knees to his chest, his tail wrapped around himself*

Jasmine: (So badly wants to be free from this, even if it’s only for that brief moment. But now she has several screaming battles in her head, one saying to take the chance and slip into the relief while the other howls pleas to listen to Nick and Teshteal who both care deeply about her….. And another just wants to sleep it off and hope it all goes away when she wakes up)

Nick: *looks on, waiting for her to make a choice*

Teshteal: *the thoughts pound at his skull. Most of them telling him that no one cares. That everyone leaves in the end. That people would rather die than be around him. That nothing he does matters. He pulls his hat firmly down in desperation*

Jasmine: (Squeezes her eyes shut. God, she might just faint at this rate, there’s just too much for her overworked and clouded mind to handle. Her hands over her mouth relax a little, but that just sends shrieking in her mind to swallow the pills)

Nick: *stands her up finally and slaps her back hard enough to force her to spit them out. And then the Heimlich maneuver.*

Teshteal: *can’t get them to stop- the thoughts. Wants to disappear.*

Jasmine: (Starts coughing and gasping as the pills finally fly out of her mouth for good. The first thing she sobs out is a string of apologies followed by some frustrated cries that she no longer has the chance to escape. Her knees buckle and grow weak, going limp like a rag doll while she continues to mutter apologizes and half desperate cries)

Nick: I know, doll… I know… *scoops her up once he’s sure she’s spit as much as she could out. He turns to her house*

Teshteal: *looks up. Halfhearted smile despite the torture he’s put himself into* I can lead you there-

Nick: *coldly* That won’t be necessary.

Teshteal: I- I see… *goes back to sitting there, watching as Nick leaves him behind… abandoned and unwanted again*

Jasmine: (Suddenly screams out loudly and thrashes in protest with an amount of kitten fire that she didn’t know she still had, doing several different signs and gestures at back at Teshteal. “Brother” “friend” “bunker” “rescue me” “peace to ghouls” “bring home” “love” and “please come” are the most readable ones in her haste. She even whispers “Safeguard” a few times, blood getting everywhere from her dripping hands and wrists)

Nick: *stops short and thrown off by the sudden tantrum* Wh- *strengthens his grip on her and presses on* While it’s great he saved you, he’ll be fine on his own.

Teshteal: *lays down and rolls over to look up at the darkening perpetually beige sky of the glowing sea, wondering what he’ll do now*

Jasmine: (Shakes her head with another loud holler and continues to struggle like mad against her Dad. She even starts repeatedly hitting Nicks arms and shoulders, legs kicking wildly in the air)

Nick: *desperately keeps hold of her as he keeps trying to walk* Look at you, doll. You’re covered in blood-

Jasmine: (Mumbling desperately) “My fault. My fault. My fault…” (Gives Nick a sharp blow on the shoulder, not enough to do damage but enough to get her point across that she doesn’t want to leave Teshteal behind! She doesn’t stop her wrangling after that, getting even more erratic just to secure her statement)

Nick: He was holding you up by your legs- How do you know he wasn’t sent from the vault to toy with you?!

Teshteal: *his hearing picks up on Nick’s words even all the way back where he is. He covers his face and closes his eyes. His thoughts add untrustworthy and traitor to the ongoing list of things to call him even though they’re not true*

Jasmine: (Whispering) “I was trying to kill him…” (Signing) “What else was he gonna do!” (Starts twisting her body in Nicks arms while continuing to harshly swipe and kick at him, trying to get back to Teshteal) (Crying out) “Lemme go!”

Nick: *stops* He picked you up- you do have a tendency to attack when you’re touched without notice. *protectively* For all I know, he could have hurt you-

Jasmine: (Slurring her words) “And I woulda killed…. If he… try to hurt… Chems I took, he’d be dead…” (She’s sweating now, burning up to touch but cold and getting chills on the inside. Probably a side effect along with the haze that’s settling in. But even that doesn’t stop her hissy fit from getting stronger)

Nick: You’re burning up… *has to stop now to treat the fever she’s developing. He sets her down to pull out water and a cloth to pat her forehead with it, then an emergency dose of addictol and med-x*

Jasmine: (Freaks out when Nick brings out the Addictol and Med-X, furious enough that they left poor Teshteal behind and alone to rot in the middle of the Glowing Sea when he had rescued her. The Psycho mental effects are still lingering, so it’s harder to control herself while she hits at Nicks chest while screaming)

Nick: *while he tries to get her to inhale the addictol* You barely know the guy! He can handle himself out there on his own. He's pretty capable of doing so; he has for the last century and a half. *already has the med-x on standby*

Teshteal: *doesn't know why he even tried to get attached- everyone leaves him to die*

Jasmine: (Hisses between her teeth) “Could I survive that long?! They did this to him too!” (Uses her other hand to push Nick backwards and twist her arm free, springing up from where he set her down and bolting off. Her body starts screaming with pain and her vision and hearing might as well not exist, but she won’t stop. She can’t abandon another sibling again…)

Nick: Jas-! *leaps to his feet and goes after her*

Teshteal: *laying, curled up on the ground, tail around his body. He doesn’t want to move*

Jasmine: (Backtracks in a stumble to her best extent, aware that Nick is not that far behind. She manages to blindly make it all the way back to where they had last saw Teshteal, her heart snapping into two when she sees him laying so defeated on the ground, a mirror image of herself) “Teshteal!” (Tramples up to him, barely managing to make it before she collapses onto the ground with a pained groan, very weakly reaching for him while gasping for air) (Faintly) “Brother, Mamá said to safeguard…”

@lucilleandherrobots

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout 4 oc #fallout original character #fallout oc #nick valentine

43 notes · View notes

intercoursefluids · 4 years ago

Text

You Lied to Me?

The Wayne Enterprises building was the most beautiful building Marinette had ever seen. The tour guide was a very sweet man and he loved telling jokes to try to get the class to laugh.

Unfortunately, Lila was on a roll today, lying about knowing the Waynes and growing up with the youngest son, and finding out that they were true mates.

Even if she was claiming that her true mate was Prince Ali a week before the trip was announced, god forbid Marinette points that out and makes Lila shed her crocodile tears.

Even Adrien, her own mate, took Lilas's side and yelled at her for pointing out her lies when she should just stay quiet.

It ended up leading into a huge argument between them that Marinette had to apologize for to get him to talk to her after 3 long weeks of him ignoring her existence.

“Bruce Wayne funds multiple charities around the world in honor of his late parents, he has several adoptive children and a single blood son. Bruce typically keeps his children out of the spotlight and most Gothamites are very good about keeping pictures with them off of the internet.”

As the tour guide talks, Marinette reaches out her hand for Adrien's just for him to brush her off and step away from her.

Wrapping her arms around herself she leaves his side to stand next to the tour guide. At least he tells jokes and tries to make this interesting.

Damian's POV:

“Master Damian, you should start heading to the office if you want to catch Master Dick before his lunch break is over.”

Running his hands over his face he thanks Alfred before grabbing his jacket and starting his car up.

He needed Dick to sign off on his trip to Paris, France since he was his temporary guardian until Father got back from his honeymoon with Selina.

Pulling up to the building he stops. Not because of the bright yellow bus sitting in the parking lot, no, it's because of the intoxicating scent of baked goods, plants, and rain wafting through the air.

Following the smell leads him to the tour group Grayson is leading into the cafeteria.

Walking to Grayson's side he passes him the permission slip, trying to understand why he wants to be near the Blue haired angel getting a lunch tray.

“Grayson, how can you tell if you’ve found your true mate?”

Grayson startles looking up from signing the papers.

“Well, their scent is one way, they will smell like absolute heaven to you and you can’t help but follow it. Another way is that when you see them you want to touch them so you can get your scent on them as well, and when you do touch them, it's electrifying. Literally and figuratively. Do you think you found them?”

Damian nods, his eyes following his mate as she looks for a table to sit at.

“She’s right there. The one with the blue hair.”

Grayson smiles, clapping Damian on the shoulder.

“She’s pretty.”

Damian snorts responding without even thinking.

“She’s beautiful, Grayson. ‘Pretty’ doesn’t even scratch the surface.”

Grayson coos at Damian, being thoroughly ignored.

Damian starts walking towards her, intent on introducing himself when he catches another scent just beneath hers.

Another male’s scent.

He freezes in place making Grayson stop his cooing to instead question him.

“What's wrong? Is it not her?”

Damian watches as she walks to a seat at an empty table away from the rest of her group.

“She-”

Damian cuts off as he watches someone stick out their foot and trip her. Her lunch spills everywhere as she falls to the floor.

Not thinking twice he rushes over to her, holding out his hand and helping her up.

Just like Grayson said little shocks travel up and down his arm and he finds himself never wanting to let go.

She has the most beautiful blue eyes he's ever seen and the most angelic voice he's eve- Oh wait she's talking.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and tripped, I’m so sorry!”

Damian just shakes his head, motioning for one of the janitors to come over and clean up the mess.

When he arrives she automatically drops down beside him to help pick up the mess muttering apologize the entire time.

Damian shifts his hand to her shoulder, subconsciously marking her with his scent and trying to overpower the other males.

“It’s fine honey, this stuff happens all the time. Why don’t you go hop back in line and get another tray? We wouldn’t want you to go hungry now.”

With the janitor's gentle prodding she finally stands up and gets another tray.

On her way back, Damian makes sure to keep an eye out for anyone else who wants to trip her.

The rest of lunch goes smoothly as she takes a seat at the table she was heading to and Damian watches her from his spot next to his brother.

Everything goes fine until they are about to finish the tour. A guy with blonde hair roughly grabs the girl with blue hair pulling her off to the side.

“Ow! Adrien, what’s wrong?”

Damian watches from Grayson's side, wanting to go help but certain she can handle herself.

“You know exactly what you did, Marinette. Don’t play stupid.”

A low growl leaves his chest as his mate is insulted.

“Adrien, you’re not making any sense. What did I do?”

He grabs both her wrists, shaking her violently.

“You belong to me! You are mine Marinette! Trying to get me jealous by flirting with that other guy? Really?! How low can you sink?! It's pathetic!”

She pushes away from him, rubbing at her wrists with the start of a bruise forming.

Damian starts to make his way over, a low, vicious rumbling in the back of his throat.

Grayson, seeing how mad Damian follows him.

“What the hell are you talking about?! I wasn’t flirting with anyone! I fell because Lila stuck her foot out and tripped me! It wasn’t my fault!”

Their argument starts to attract the attention of the other workers, a few running to find security.

Damian starts running as he watches the guy's hand clench before raising it.

He strikes her. Hard.

‘Marinette’ being caught off guard, loses her balance and falls to the ground, turning to look at him before he roughly grabs her by one of her pigtails and pulls her up to his face, and screams at her.

“Don’t talk back to me! I own you and you will do as I say! Do you understand?!”

She pushes him away.

“Whoever decided that you were my true mate was wrong. Dead wrong!”

He snarls, pulling his fist back to strike her.

Damian gets there first.

The next thing everyone knows is Damian Wayne is standing protectively in front of the girl and the guy is several feet away clutching his cheek and groaning.

Grayson kneels next to Marinette, helping her to her feet and taking Damian’s coat from his outstretched hand to wrap around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?”

She nods as he pulls her closer to him away from the fight that is likely to break out before a loud screeching voice cuts through the air.

“True mates? With him? Please Marinette, I knew you were ignorant but I didn’t think you were stupid. I am Adriens true mate. Not you.”

Damian stands up making his way to Marinette, taking her in his arms as she starts to shake.

“What are you talking about Lila? Adrien was there on my birthday, he said we were mates!”

‘Lila’ cackles as other people gasp, some with their phones out recording the entire thing.

“Oh please, did you just take his word for it? Why didn’t you just check his scent? That’s always been the easiest way to tell. Go ahead, I won’t even mess with you.”

She stays frozen looking straight at the boy claiming to be her mate.

“I can’t. I lost my sense of smell when I was a kid. I couldn’t check even if I wanted to.”

Lila looks surprised now, before looking on sadly.

“You really had no idea he was lying, did you?”

She starts shaking, taking a hesitant step towards Adrien.

“Adrien? W-what's she talking about? It’s not true. Is it?”

Her voice ends in a broken whisper, eyes tearing up as he slowly stands up and walks to her.

“You are mine, Marinette. You were mine the moment you put on those earrings. I mean seriously if I don’t take you who will?”

She flinches as he steps closer, his voice getting louder with hysteria.

“Nobody likes you, Mari! I am all you have left now! You want to leave me? HA! I’d like to see you try it.”

At the end of his ‘speech’ he roughly grabs her arm pulling a whimper from her and a very, VERY dangerous sounding snarl from Damian.

Ripping Adrien's hand from her arm while being as gentle as possible to not hurt her he pulls her behind him handing her off to his brothers entrusting them to take care of her.

“Who do you think you are grabbing her like that?”

The words are accentuated with the deep growl rumbling from his chest.

“I don’t see how it's any of your business, what I do with MY personal belongings.”

Damian picks Adrien up by his neck slamming him against the nearest wall.

“Don’t talk about her like she's an object.”

Adrien, being the Buffon with no sense of self-preservation he is, laughs.

“Oh yeah? What's it to you how I treat her? Not like you would want her for anything other than her body anyway.”

Adrien sneers down at Damian, even as he slowly starts to turn purple in the face from his grip on his neck.

Slowly tightening his grip even more he watches as the blonde idiot starts to flail from the lack of breathing. Fighting to get a single breath of air.

“Do not act as if I would ever treat my mate in such a way.”

His voice is deadly, sending shivers down even the security guards spines.

Everyone watches on, some with their phones recording, certain that they are about to see Damian Wayne, their bosses son, about to commit a murder in the lobby.

And no one is even going to try and stop him.

That is until a small pale hand lands on his arm, shooting sparks all the way to his heart.

“Is it true? Are you really my true mate?”

Damian nods ever so slowly, never taking his eyes off the blonde who is slowly losing consciousness.

Two thin, lethal arms wrap around his waist from behind.

“Please stop. I just want to leave right now. Will you take me?”

Without another word Damian drops the barely conscious man, taking his coat off and wrapping it around Marinette's shoulders, tucking her into his side as he swiftly walks her out of the building.

Adrien slowly gets up, trying to chase after them only to be cut short by the three eldest Wayne brothers.

All armed with glares that could kill.

Behind them stands all of the Wayne enterprises employees, making a human barrier between the newly found mates and Adrien.

The brother with the white piece of hair steps forward pushing Adrien back down to the ground.

“I think we need to have a little talk.”

#werewolf au #Not sure I like it #Not my idea #If you can find the original tag so I can give credit #maribat #daminette #maridami #protective batfam #toxic!adrien

297 notes · View notes

consumeconstantly · 4 years ago

Text

A Discowing at the Wayne Gala

Summary: Getting Jason to go to the Wayne Gala each year was more difficult than putting the Joker away in Arkham; he insisted the part was full of pretentious, rich social climbers who were horribly boring. As it turned out, all he really needed to persuade him was an upset, drunk girl rambling about how much she was going to deck her highschool enemies there to convince himself that he’d be in for a great show. (AKA the extremely chaotic and nonsensical salt/crack fic)

____________________________________________________

“I, Mar--” she hiccupped, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng solemnly swear to rip Lila a new one with Discowing’s godawful costume.”

“You say it girl!” called some random person from across the bar.

“I will--” another hiccup “--use Batman’s Batmobile to run over Kim. And slam Red Hood’s ugly ass helmet onto Adrien’s stupid face.”

“Better yet,” Marinette pounded the table, “I will use their stupid utility belts to dismantle Gabriel’s empire. Somebody give me a yeah!”

“Yeah!”

All in all, the sight wasn’t that atypical for a bar in Gotham, if it weren’t for the fact that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was barely five feet, wore pigtails, and knocked five men on their asses when they tried to approach her.

“Take that, Hawkass,” she hissed. “Think you can pull a fast one on me when I’m drunk, do you? Well I’ve got news for you!”

Her words slurred together, and she leaned on the bar for support. “When I get my way, you’re going to be tied up into a pretzel and dumped into a volcano, then the tundra and then we’ll see how you like your stupid little jewlery touched.”

“Dupain-Cheng,” her blonde companion hissed. “Get yourself together. We don’t need another one of your breakdowns now. You know we’re going to be busy tomorrow night, and I don’t want to deal with you completely hung over all throughout the gala.”

“Aww,” Marinette squished her cheek onto Chloe’s “You know you love me.”

“Yes, yes, but I’m not going to tolerate this bullshit. If you want to make good on your plans, you need to be in tip top shape.”

“Ughhhh, why are they even invited to the stupid gala? It’s not even like they’re rich! Oh wait, I guess they are…” Marinette pressed her face to the bar, which was undoubtedly dirty. She reveled in it’s coolness, brushing her bangs out of her face. “And why do you have to be right? I guess I have to stop drinking if I want to make any of my plans work.”

“Your plans will work, hungover or not. It’s just a question of how much you’ll be able to enjoy them. I don’t want you complaining for months after the fact that you don’t remember half of what happened.”

“I guess you’re right. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and I'm feeling a little too warm to ice them out.” Staggering, Marinette got to her feet. “Call an Uber?”

“It’s already here.”

“What made you change your mind?” Tim frowned at Jason, doubtful that he wasn’t going to cop out at the last second. He was sure that he was only putting on his suit as some sort of deliberate ploy to get out of the Gala. Truthfully, it wasn’t required that all of them attend the Gala, but it was one of the few events that brought together most of the Wayne family.

Jason ran a hand through his hair and smirked. “Let’s just say I’m expecting quite the show.”

Jason kept a hawkish gaze on the entrance, waiting for the appearance of one short, pigtailed girl, and a taller blonde. They arrived almost forty five minutes into the Gala, which was good timing; not late enough to be considered rude, but most people have already arrived and have made their rounds.

Marinette looked different out of the dim lighting of the bar, and even though she definitely looks like she’s nursing a light hangover, she still managed to look stunning. With a matte-black floor length dress that attracted all light in the vicinity towards it, it’s hard not to look her way; Tim, for one, stared at the outfits that Marinette and her companion are wearing with stars in his eyes. Any moment now, he’s going to approach them. Or he would if he weren’t on Jason-sitting duty.

“I’ll play nice,” Jason promised.

“You? Nice?” Tim sounded incredulous, and it’s not like he can fault him. Whenever Jason did successfully get roped into coming to the Gala, it’s a sure thing that he gets at least one fist fight started, if not an everyone for themselves sort of situation.

“They’re the reason I decided to come. It’s not me you have to be worried about.”

Tim groaned. “Really? They’re trouble makers? But they’re wearing MDC!”

Jason chuckled, slipping a hand into his pants pocket. Tim was weirdly obsessed with the highly secretive French designer. Nobody ever saw them in person. “Wearing your fashion icon doesn’t mean they can’t kick ass.”

Tim rocked back on his heels, looking at the two girls calculatively. “That’s right. If anything, they’re more likely to kick ass, because that’s the kind of confidence that MDC inspires in their designs. Well, if you’re not going to fight them, I’m going to introduce myself.”

“And I can’t leave my little brother alone.” Jason said, watching the blonde girl point in the direction of, if he wasn’t mistaken, Gabriel Agreste’s son and his plus one.

Who knew that doing a preliminary reading of the guests would be so informative? He could only guess what kind of beef Marinette had with Agreste Jr.--Bruce had enough problems with Gabriel; even though Wayne Enterprises only dabbled in fashion, Gabriel was a ruthless man when it came to his competitors, and tried to edge them out of the market multiple times. Foolish on his part, not taking into consideration that both Bruce and Tim were very, very stubborn people who only get more difficult to face when dealing with a challenge.

Wayne Enterprise might primarily be considered with R&D and technology companies, but underestimating the amount of influence Tim could gather when someone pissed him off was just a bad idea.

“Hi, I’m Tim--”

“--and it’s lovely to meet you, but we’re on a mission right now,” finished the blonde girl, who Jason was now 98% sure is Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of Paris’ mayor and Style Queen Audrey Bourgeois. “Dupain-Cheng, it’s your time to shine.”

“God,” Marinette muttered underneath her breath, ducking her head. “I can’t believe you’re holding me to what I said while drunk last night.”

“It’s not just what you said drunk last night, it’s the most effective way of dealing with that liar. She’ll be so embarrassed she’ll hide away forever. Maybe get some plastic surgery and change her name. Daddy will make sure she can never step foot in Paris again.”

“Chloe,” Marinette groaned. “We all know how that panned out last time. Do you want a repeat performance?”

“By that time Hawkmoth will already be taken down. No need to worry about evil butterflies.”

“Evil butterflies?” Tim frowned.

“We can fill you in later, Marinette has a car to steal.”

“Chloe!”

“Oh stuff it, Dupain-Cheng, you’re no goody two shoes, even though you pretend to be one.”

Marinette whispers into Chloe’s ear, eyeing Jason and Tim. “Do you have to discuss that with other people around?”

“Well,” Chloe crossed her arms. “You boys aren’t going to rat us out, are you? They’re part of the infamous Wayne family. They’ll definitely be in.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You know they already reached out-- I can’t risk--” Marinette kept cutting herself off. “Fine, but if you-know-what falls through, I’m putting it all on you.”

“Like they’re going to pass you up just because of what’s going to go down at this gala. If anything, they’ll be glad to know that you’re as vicious as you are creative,” Chloe checked her nails and touched her hair, making sure it was in place.

“Sorry, what? I’m a little bit lost.”

“Keep up, Drake. I’m beginning to doubt your title as child-genius.You have the unique opportunity to watch history in the making.”

“Wait,” Tim’s jaw almost dropped at the display in front of him. “How did you even--”

“Trade secret. Marinette doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“But that’s the Batmobile.”

“Yeah, and?”

Jason laughed. He stole the hubcaps off the Batmobile, Marinette stole the whole thing. What a sight.

Here’s how the rest of the night went: Chloe plied Marinette with copious amounts of water, trying to get rid of her headache. Marinette hopped into the driver’s seat of the Batmobile (to which Chloe cackled, “And she doesn’t even have a driver’s license yet,” and Tim paled to the shade of freshly fired ceramic plate.) They ran over Kim, who, somehow managed to get into the event as a server of sorts, at which point Tim swore that the background checks would have to be upped again. Marinette landed the Batmobile in the middle of the gala, barely managing to avoid several innocents who were in her path. She reached into the convenient storage compartment that Jason was previously unaware of and pulled out the Discowing outfit and his helmet-- seriously, how did she get those?-- and slammed the car door.

Security, of course, was waiting for them. How couldn’t they, with that big of a disturbance? Half of the guests were up in a tizzy-- mostly the ones who were experiencing their first Wayne Gala-- and the other half were looking on, amused. Tim waved the guards off as Marinette made her way to Lila and Adrien, like a vengeful Valkyrie.

“You,” Marinette grimaced. “Chloe, say the words, I forgot them.”

“We decided that words were useless, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Marinette said, before promptly slamming Red Hood’s helmet onto Adrien’s head hard enough for him to fall to the ground, likely concussed. Lila, who started screeching and running away made for a surprisingly difficult target. Well, difficult in the fact that she was using other people as shields, but once she came across a group of Experienced Wayne Gala Goers, she got pushed out of her comfort zone.

In eight inch heels and with her hair down, Marinette stalked towards her prey.

“Lila Rossi,” Marinette intoned. “Your sins will be judged.”

“What are you going to do, Marinette? You have no power here. We’re in America now. No Ladybug to back you up. No public opinion in your favor.”

Marinette shuddered. “Ugh, your voice makes me want to vomit. In any case, I sentence you to life in Discowing’s costume.”

“You can’t make me wear anything!”

Famous last words, Lila.

“I’m still so confused. What just happened?”

“Don’t worry,” Chloe gave Tim a pat on the back. “You’ll get used to this kind of thing if you end up hanging around Marinette more often.”

“I think I’m in love,” said Jason.

“Get in the back of the line. The only thing Marinette has time for now are her plans to take down Hawkmoth.”

“I’m not opposed to joining you. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve.” Jason paused. “By the way, has she already stolen the utility belts to take down Gabriel or does she need more? I’ve got contacts.”

"Fair warning, everything in Paris is at least twenty times crazier than what you’ve seen here today.” Chloe swiped through a few notifications on her phone. “And please, do you think someone who hotwired the Batmobile needs your help getting her hands on a couple utility belts? If she really put her mind to it, she could get the Lasso of Truth from Wonder Woman.”

“Yeah, Jason, I’m definitely not going to join you on that trip.” Tim turned his attention towards Marinette, who was currently passed out on the hotel couch. “Anyways, You two are wearing MDC, right? I have a meeting with them tomorrow!”

Chloe looked at the poor boy with pity. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

@jasonette-july-2k20

________________________________________________

i’m really churning out these jasonette prompts like butter (god butter is so freaking good you ever eat butter straight? i do. heart attack city & the next paula dean) even tho i only thought about joining in right when july was ending but here we are

2K notes · View notes

fanartfunart · 3 years ago

Text

Fly Away

Episode 1: Paon Lilas (*Lilac Peacock)

Ao3 Link (If I actually continue this, check my Ao3 of the same name “Fanartfunart”.. Considering how much mental real estate it’s taking up, I probably will.)

An au in which Adrien didn't succeed in trying to 'sneak' into brick and mortar school and therefore also didn't get the Black Cat miraculous..... but he did find a pretty peacock. (It's in his house... I mean....) Ladybug and Féline Sombre (Who uses She/They. Black Cat hero name thanks to @broadwaytheanimatedseries) get some help from the mysterious peacock miraculous holder, but Ladybug isn’t sure he’s 100% doing this for good.

Warnings: Canon typical violence.... Not much else? Tell me if I need to add anything.

A/N because Brick and Mortar schoolers never know that’s what they are: "Brick and Mortar school" is a homeschool/online school method of reference to in-person schools before calling it “in-person” was a thing. I 100% think Adrien would use that phrasing. (if the writers knew it existed...Tho. Idk if there's a French equivalent)

-*-

Adrien knew he shouldn’t be doing this. This was a worse idea than trying to sneak his way into brick and mortar school. He’d only seen it by accident. He wasn’t even doing very good at committing to breaking into his father’s mysterious safe. This was the third time he’d come back down to find out what was behind that painting.... He should really not be doing this. But...a secret compartment behind his mother’s painting was just… too interesting to ignore. He unfurled an umbrella to cover himself from the cameras his father probably had in the room. Inching his way to the painting of his mother.

...He had had far too much time to think about this. He only had to punch in the code once (his mother’s birthday- frankly, his father really needed a code harder to guess), for the safe to click and unlock.

The contents… were not what he anticipated. It looked like a keepsake box, not a super secret compartment. He ghosted a hand over the frame of his mother’s photo, blinking away the lingering sadness. ...A peacock brooch? He picked it up, tumbling it in his hand. It almost hummed with energy. He tilted his head, brow raised.

Footsteps.

Adrien frantically closed the hidden compartment and glancing for a hiding place. The umbrella closed over his head just as he dove for the curtain. That… might bruise. He flattened himself against the windowsill, going on his tip-toes on the barely-there window ledge.

From the distinct clack of dress shoes on the floor, his father had entered the room. Adrien held his breath, hearing his father’s footsteps come closer. A strange whirr. Then silence. Adrien stood there for a long moment, feeling the edges of the peacock brooch dig into his clenched fist. Heart hammering. But father never called for Natalie, or his bodyguard, or moved, or anything. It was eerily quiet. The umbrella peaked out of the curtain. He popped open the umbrella to find… no one.

"What?" Adrien whispered to himself. He frowned, and tiptoed out from the window, before racing out of the room, down the hall, and outside. Once safely in the garden, he dropped the umbrella. He slid down into the grass, taking deep breaths.

The brooch vibrated.

Wait. The brooch vibrated? He opened his hand. He had to shield his face from the burst of light. He opened an eye to see… a tiny… hummingbird? No, it was a peacock. Why is a peacock… floating? And Tiny? And why isn’t he sneezing? Are miniature peacocks hypoallergenic? “What the...”

“Ooooo, hello!” The creature said cheerfully, “Lovely weather isn’t it? Beautiful flowers! Nice to be outdoors for once isn’t it? Are you my new miraculous wielder? You’re so cute! You look almost like…” tears welled up into the miniature peacock’s eyes. Adrien looked around frantically. It kept talking unintelligibly between sobs, gesturing vaguely.

“Are you… okay?”

“Noooooooo.”

“Right. Er-” Adrien frowned, clearly it wasn’t going to make sense if he asked what was wrong. He opted for distraction. “Do… you want something to eat?”

“Oh sure!” The tiny peacock’s tears cleared up immediately.

Adrien blinked at the sudden change in mood and nodded “Let’s… Let’s go get you something to eat… I guess. Er, what are you?”

"Oh I'm Duusu, a kwami, I can grant the power to hone emotions into constructs."

He tilted his head. The image of Ladybug summoning her Lucky Charm came to mind. "Like… a superhero? How?”

"Well you are transformed by a magic phrase, and once transformed, you can create a sentimonster out of vibrant emotions. Whoever holds the Amok, the item imbued with power, can control the sentimonster."

“Oh, cool!”

"It is! Do you have any mangoes? I love mango."

“We’ll see.” Adrien glanced at the peacock brooch and stuffed it into his pocket. He looked back at the door inside, then Duusu. “Actually, can you… hide? Just for now-”

“Oh yes! Don’t worry! I know the Kwami and our wielder's identities are a secret.” The kwami zipped into Adrien’s over-shirt inner pocket and settled there. It felt… almost natural. He smiled a bit to himself and went to find out if they had some good fruit for the tiny peacock.

The TV played in the background while Duusu had another sudden breakdown about… something. Adrien still wasn’t sure what. He was starting to feel very out of his depth.

“Duusu.... Duusu. D- Duusu, do you want to talk about it?” There was a pause before the tears flowed even harder. Adrien was reminded of a sprinkler.

His eyes were pulled to the TV, with a flash of red and black blurring on the screen. Followed by an Akuma. Ladybug and Féline Sombre. He glanced at the Kwami. “Duusu… you mentioned you can give me powers, right?”

“Mhm! You just have to say ‘Spread my feathers.’”

“Alright! Duusu-”

“OH! Wait I didn’t-”

“Spread my feathers!” The transformation felt so natural, like he was made to do this. He struck a pose and smiled behind the fan that materialized in his hand. “Alright, let’s go help Ladybug and Féline Sombre.”

He didn’t expect to start… feeling, seeing emotions. Although he supposed that made sense for the power set. They were everywhere- it was like being dropped into the deep end of a pool, surrounded and covered. Fear, worry, frustration, annoyance, determination. Stronger emotions felt… bigger, somehow. The world was full of colors and feelings he’d never expected. He lept across rooftops, feeling like he was flying. His own elation from the truest sense of freedom he’s ever had in… ever; a bright vibrant bubble. He stumbled to a stop as he spotted Ladybug.

Ladybug was determined… and scared? He didn’t expect that from Paris’s hero. She kept looking around, searching for a plan. The redhead cat hero dove in from above and smacked the Akuma with their baton. Her baton was then immediately captured and swallowed by the plants under the Akuma’s control. Féline Sombe pulled desperately before eventually giving up and vaulting towards Ladybug. She was scared too, he noticed, and frustrated.

The Akumatized person was angry. So so angry it was overwhelming. He almost couldn’t see the person behind their anger. “It’s only a matter of time before Chloé Bourgeois and the litterers of Paris pay!” The plant-covered Akuma cackled.

Chloe?! Well that’s not good. One of his only friends is in danger?

“Bonzaniac is just gonna grow bigger if they go anywhere near the Eiffel. We need to prune this plant before it’s unmanageable.” Ladybug told Féline Sombre, wrapping her yo-yo around the Akuma’s legs, straining to control Bonzaniac’s movement.

Féline Sombre gestured widely, “If I touch them I’ll just become Cat-nip! How are we supposed to stop them?”

Ladybug called her Lucky Charm, ending up with a polka dotted fishing pole. “How’s that supposed to help?”

The peacock hero frowned and… Chloé? What’s she doing here? Bonzaniac noticed her as well, it seemed, because the plant growth reached toward her. Chloé’s fear grew rapidly and immediately. He plucked a feather from the fan, imbuing it with power. He dove from his perch on the roof down towards Chloé and Bonzaniac.

“Fly away, darling amok.” The feather fluttered into Chloé’s necklace. He grabbed a traffic cone and hurled it at the plant tendrils, keeping it from touching Chloé. Féline Sombre quickly took over the idea, batting away the tendrils with a trash can lid. (That made Chloé cringe.) A purplish mask of light illuminated Chloé’s and his own face. “Chloé, I am…er- Paon Lilas. I can sense your fear. Let me help you turn it into safety. I can grant you a construct to protect you.”

“Then just do it already!” Chloé cried, “Please just don’t let it turn me into a sticky sappy gross tree!” A large golden bear materialized in front of Chloe. It roared and Chloé gasped. “Mr. Cuddles!”

Ladybug was... understandably confused. “What? Another Akuma?” She furrowed her brow and deepened her fighting stance.

“OH! No no no, uh, I’m Paon Lilas." He flourished his fan with a bow. "I’m here to help.”

Ladybug’s suspicion grew, but he didn’t have much of a chance to explain himself as Bonzaniac roared and turned on him, aiming their plant tendrils towards him. “Hey! I’m not really the roosting type of bird!” He dived for cover behind a car, patting himself down, “Come on, is the only weapon I get a fan? Why couldn’t I get a baton or something like that?”

The gold bear attacked Bonzaniac, knocking them down. Bonzaniac grappled the bear in plants, taking the plants away from protecting their back.

Ladybug gasped, "There! They only have so much plant matter! Féline, destroy as much plant matter as you can, Paon, distract Bonzaniac! I'm going Akuma fishing."

The two other heroes nodded.

"Cataclysm!" Féline Sombre yelled, summoning black destructive energy around their hand. She ducked and weaved towards the center of Bonzaniac's plant mass, jumping out of the way of grasping tendrils.

Paon Lilas whistled "Hey Bonzaniac, have you heard about Fast Fashion? I use all my outfits that way. Never worn the same shirt twice!"

The Akuma roared "All. That. WASTE!" They focused a massive amount of plant matter towards him.

"Didn't think that'd work so effectively," he muttered under his breath. He lept out of the way, and back around the bend of the car. The plants wrapped up around the car. He whooped in triamph.

Féline Sombre finally managed to hit Bonzaniac, severely reducing the amount of plants in their control. Ladybug swung the fishing pole and caught a necklace from in the middle of the thicket of plant matter. She crushed it under foot and captured the purple butterfly that fluttered out.

Mr Cuddly the sentibear sat on the Akuma victim. Paon frowned and glanced at Chloé. The gardener looked dazed and confused.

“Now who do you think you are?” Chloe said, crossing her arms.

The gardener smacked the side of the over large bear. “Wh- you! You littered in my garden! And refused to simply pick it up!”

“So what? That's not my job," Chloe huffed, crossing her arms. The sentibear huffed with her.

Paon snapped his fingers, pulling the amok from the necklace, the sentibear disappearing. Chloe gasped, pouting.

"Mademoiselle Chloe," Paon sighed softly, "How would you feel if someone threw trash into your beautiful hair and refused to help clean it up?" Chloe grabbed her hair, and Paon saw her horror at the concept. "Exactly. That garden takes just as much work, or more, as your hair. I suggest apologizing."

She pouted, "Fine, your garden was pretty or whatever, sorry I messed it up." She flicked her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "There. I apologized."

Féline Sombre and Ladybug chatted in the background. Féline grabbed their baton and with a light salute, she vaulted away.

Paon's Miraculous beeped. That... meant something right?

"Birdy!" Ladybug called, walking toward him, her own Miraculous beeping. "Where did you get that Miraculous?"

"Oh… um…. Funny story-"

"I'm sorry, but you need to give it to me. It doesn't belong to you."

"What?" Paon took a step back, "Why?"

"It's been lost. I'm going to take it back to the original owner."

Paon paled. Did Ladybug know his father? Or did his father find the lost miraculous without giving it back? Did his father know what it was? What would happen if his father found out he took it? The bubble of elated freedom popped. "That… sounds like a great, morally right thing to do… but… consider…” He took a soft step back, glancing up to find a path of escape, hands raised surrender. “I can't. Sorry, bye!" Paon ran, leaping up and away.

Ladybug moved to go after him, only for her miraculous to beep again. Sabrina had run in just in time to comfort Chloé, so Ladybug sighed and ran in the opposite direction.

Adrien tripped over himself as he detransformed in a back alley. His legs weak, and head dizzy. "Woah- is that normal?"

Duusu looked up at him with sad eyes. "I meant to tell you. The miraculous is broken... If you continue to use it... it will hurt you."

"... Does it hurt you?"

Duusu thought for a moment. "The transformation? No.... It is nice... to see another use it's power so kindly."

Adrien glanced down. He looked at the broach clipped to his overshirt. The lightness... the freedom. He nodded firmly. Unclipping it from his shirt and instead clipping it in his inside pocket. Hidden. "I'll be careful. Come on, let's get something to eat...” He rubbed his head, “I feel like we both need it."

Marinette just barely managed to make it to the bakery before the afternoon rush.

"Marinette! How was school?” Tom called, opening his arms for a hug. She happily took her place in her father’s arms.

"Not great.. Chloé caused another Akuma."

Tom sighed and shook his head, releasing her with a pat on the back. "At least we have Ladybug and Féline Sombre. Come on, if you can't learn in peace at school you can learn some more Dupain-Chang classics!"

Marinette chuckled and nodded, heading over to get ready to work behind the counter.

The door chimed, signaling the entrance of a young blond. She stared at him. He seemed oddly familiar. She started picturing him against all the blonds she knew, although her brain was still somewhat stuck on the Peacock Miraculous holder…. She really needed to talk to Master Fu about that.

The boy stumbled. He was just about to faceplant into the counter before Marinette, intending to catch him- shoved him. He fell on his rear instead.

“OH, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Marinette cried, moving to pull him up to his feet. He was surprisingly light, ohmy and now she just manhandled him like a human doll.

“It’s okay! You saved me from what was probably a worse fate.” He giggled awkwardly, "Thanks... I’ve been.. a bit dizzy today, I guess."

"Oh, I hope you feel better, anything I can do to help?"

"Heh, I was looking for food. Got some, er, fruity stuff?"

"Fruity, fruit. For sure, fruit." Marinette stared at him a bit longer. Finally the images and fashion magazine clippings clicked next to the boy’s face. She gasped "Adrien Agreste! You're Gabriel Agreste's son! He’s my favorite fashion designer!"

He laughed awkwardly. Rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah… That’s… that’s me."

"You probably hear that all the time, sorry! But! Fruit." She walked over to the counter and gestured at the prepared goods. "Macaroons are always good, and there's some a couple of fruit Eclairs, brioche and jam-"

He smiled somewhat stiffly, before frowning at the eclairs. He made a subtle 'come here' gesture. Marinette looked down at the eclairs herself, unsure what exactly made him frown.

He sighed, adjusting his overshirt. (Duusu settled nicely into the pocket again, glad to have been able to choose his treat.) "I think one of those is good.... Er... actually, I think two."

He handed her the money, and she handed him the pastries. "Thank you."

She smiled, "Thank you! Come again soon. Just try not to trip, that's usually my thing."

He laughed. "Actually…” He takes a bite of his eclair, with a smile “I think I will definetly try to come in again."

"Oh! Okay, cool!"

He waved and walked out of the establishment with a small smile.

Tom leaned over as she watched him leave. "Flirting with the customers?"

Marinette gasped dramatically, "NoOo dad no. He's... just a friend."

Adrien leaned against a wall and sighed. Duusu floated up into view, taking a section of eclair. "Ah young love..."

He shook his head, "...She's just a friend..." He gasped, glancing back at the bakery with a smile, "A friend."

Marinette frowned, "Wait, Master Fu, do you think he could be working with Hawkmoth?"

"It is a possibility. I wouldn’t be surprised if the butterfly and the peacock had been nearby each other. If you can find out where he found it, it may help us find Hawkmoth.”

“Hm, he didn’t seem like he was with Hawkmoth. He was helpful... And he actually got Chloé to apologize?” She was still bewildered about that. It wasn’t the best apology ever, but she still actually did it.

“The peacock wields the power of emotion, Peon Lilas will be able to sense emotion. He can very easily use that information to manipulate others into doing things for him. Even something as simple as an apology.”

She frowned, considering, “I think I understand.”

“Be careful, the peacock is not to be underestimated. Make sure you and Féline Sombre are prepared for what he might do next."

She nodded firmly. "I will be.”

Gabriel Agreste stared at the paused frame from the newscast on his newest enemy. Emile's painting ajar and missing a vital item. "Natalie... Where is the surveillance footage for this room?"

She silently pulled up the footage, scrolling through to find an umbrella blocking their view of their thief.

Gabriel growled under his breath and stood up. "Time to catch a runaway bird, it seems. See what you can find from the rest of the cameras in and out of the building. If there's anything or anyone out of place, you tell me immediately."

"What will you do sir?" Natalie asked, already scanning through footage on her tablet.

"Someone found and stole the peacock miraculous from right under our noses. I need to find a way to protect my identity and a lure for our heroic peafoul.”

#gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #adrien agreste #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #ml #peacock!adrien #black cat!sabrina #Chloé Bourgeois #akuma oc #ml fanfiction #fanart's fanfic #Peon Lilas AU #Duusu #Up next: me drawing them lolol

63 notes · View notes

readingismyoxygen · 4 years ago

Text

A liar, bug and bird ch1

ch1 / ch2 / ch3 / ch4 / ch5 / ch6

The class was going on a graduation trip, as a final goodbye before university. They were all one big group of friends, but two people didn't fit in: Marinette and Chloé. The difference between them was that Chloé just stayed by herself for most of the time, quietly, while Marinette seemed to have it out for everyone's favorite friend: Lila. Because she was always angry at the Italian and just straight up bullied her when no one was watching (Lila had "trusted" them with that info two years ago, but no one saw the devious smirk she hid in her hands while pretending to cry), the class had decided to not let Marinette join them for the trip.

The bluenette was fine with that, she had given up on her class long ago and only really spoke to Chloé when they were alone, to keep the blonde out of their line of fire. Mme. Bustier's class decided to go to Gotham, because Lila's childhood sweetheart Damian Wayne, lived there and it would give them the chance to reconnect. So they prepared everything to help the girl, booking a hotel, tours to do in the city, plane tickets and so on. Soon, they would leave on their trip of a lifetime.

It was the day of the trip. They were already at the airport, waiting to board their plane, when they saw someone unexpected.

"Marinette? What are you doing here? You weren't invited on this trip!" Alya said furiously.

"Oh, I know, I'm just going to visit some people I haven't seen in a long time."

They were ready to reply sharply when a voice over the intercom called for the people who would fly first-class to Gotham to start boarding the plane.

"Oh, that's me. Bye, everyone!" she said, smirking at their surprised faces and winking subtly at a grinning Chloé. To be honest, while she had planned to go to Gotham for a while now, she lined her trip up with one of her class on purpose, because it was the perfect opportunity to take down a liar.

One long, long flight later, they landed in the city of Crime, and Marinette was ready to go home and sleep. She hadn't been able to on the plane (turbulence and not being fond of flying will do that to you), and the day before was entirely spent on packing. Luckily she saw immediately where she had to go, Alfred waiting for her with a gentle smile on his face.

"Hey Alfie, how are you?" she asked, tiredness seeping into her voice.

"I'm doing just fine, Miss Marinette, thank you for asking, though I do believe you could use some sleep."

"I know, I know, I'm not the best at that, but this time I at least have good reasons and I'm still not as bad as Tim", she answered, holding back a yawn while they exited the building. When they reached the car Alfred put her luggage in the trunk while Marinette lied herself down on the back seat.

Little time passed before they reached the Manor, but it was enough for Marinette to pass out fall asleep completely. She woke up to the sight of two faces mere inches from hers, and will deny for the rest of her life that she shrieked louder than rusty brakes on a car.

"Eeck! By my Mom's cookies Dick, Jay, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"But Sunshine, we're just so happy to see you again! Seriously, you have no idea how much everyone has missed your heavenly presence!"Dick said dramatically.

"Yeah, especially one certain annoying little Demon Spawn", Jason said with a smug grin and waggling eyebrows. She hit his arm, but was still too tired to really put any force behind it.

"D-don't -yawn- call him that you jerk. Now let me out of the -yawn- car, kiss my boyfriend and find a bed to sleep off my jet lag."

Jason chuckled as he helped her out of the car while Dick and Alfred took care of her bags.

"This way to your Demon, miss fashion designer."

They walked into the manor, heading for the living room, with Marinette leaning on Jason in a side hug, half asleep again already.

"Oh Demon spawn, guess who's back", Jason said in a sing-song voice, practically carrying Marinette at this point. Damian, who had been petting titus as he sat in one of the armchairs, stood up and walked over to them, a soft smile appearing on his face as he let Marinette lean onto him instead of his brother.

"Hey Shieae Alqamar*, how was your flight?" he asked her softly while pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Oh it was awesome, turbulence all the way", Tired-Marinette drawled out sarcastically.

He chuckled. "Alright, you need sleep."

"Noooo, I dooon't!"

"Mari, my Moonbeam, light of my life, you can barely stand up straight. You are going to sleep. Now."

"Will you pleeeaaaase stay with me then?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to sleep, then sure."

As the two left the room, the others stared after them.

"I still find it creepy how different he is when she's here", Jason stated.

"I think it's adorable", Dick said, his proud-oldest-brother-tendencies rising to the surface. Jason quickly made himself scarce to avoid being subjected to them, while Dick went up to his room gushing to himself about the two lovebirds.

Alfred just smiled softly. "Either way, they are each other's perfect balance."

The class was less lucky. When booking the hotel, something had mysteriously (looking at you, Tikki) gone wrong. Instead of a fairly luxurious hotel near the center of the city, they had ended up in one with a lot more creaking floors and beds and a musty smell, on the outskirts of the city. But no matter, they would be able to endure it for Lila! Still...

"Umm... How exactly did we end up in this hotel again? This isn't the one we booked." Alya inquired.

"Oh, I don't know, Als! Marinette must have done something to change it, just to get to me! I'm so sorry you guys!" the liar wailed obnoxiously. The class started muttering while Lila cackled a victorious laugh in her head. These sheep are so stupid! They believe absolutely everything! I wonder what else I can blame on Mari-trash while we're here...

__________

Okay, that was my very first chapter! Let me know what you think, and thank you for reading!

#maribat #daminette #ml salt #ml x dc #class salt

167 notes · View notes

giuliafc · 3 years ago

Text

Betrayal Chapter 9: Who saves us now?

<< 1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 -- 6 -- 7 -- 8 -- 9: Ao3 || FFN -- 10 >>

Written by: JuliaFC

Beta: Etoile-Lead-Sama and Myimaginationflows

Summary: Chat Noir to the rescue. Well, kinda. (997 words)

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Written for the "Snippet July" challenge of the Miraculous Fanworks Discord server @miraculousfanworks AND for LadyNoir July @ladynoirjuly Day 20 — Pride/save me. Let me know what you think!

PS: I forgot to upload this chapter on Tumblr on the 20th! Sorry about that...

oOoOoOoOoOo

It didn't take long before a soft thump echoed from the deck of the diner boat.

Good, Chat Noir is here, thought Marinette.

She looked at Tikki, who nodded and disappeared through the wall to go greet the cat superhero. But straight after that, Marinette could only watch in horror as Jacques, who had been just sitting on a chair next to her reading a book, smirked and dialled a number on his phone.

"Hello, sweetie. The cat is here. Yes. I'll do as planned." He stood up and walked out of the room.

Marinette looked with eyes full of worry at Chat Noir's head popping out from the boat's window. She didn't know what Lila's plan was, but it didn't sound good at all. And what was worse, she had no way to warn Chat Noir that something was wrong. She also knew that the boy always acted on impulse, and may not think twice before jumping in the room if he didn't see anyone there with her. He would fall straight into the trap!

She groaned as loud as she could in hopes of warning Chat Noir, but as she did that, a purple mass appeared in the centre of the room. Right in Chat Noir's full view, and a sentimonster who looked like a buffed up version of Jacques materialised in its place. Marinette and Chat exchanged looks and Chat Noir nodded, his head disappearing from the view. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief.

"Only the bee holder can immobilise a sentimonster," said Tikki.

"How are we going to contact Vesperia? She's only a temporary hero, isn't she? So she doesn't keep her Miraculous, we need to give it to her!"

Tikki looked at Chat Noir sheepishly. "Rena Rouge knows Vesperia's identity, and she knows how to get to the Miracle Box." She sighed at Chat Noir's unbelieving stare and at how his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Then, she continued, "I know it's hard on you, Chat Noir, but you can't save Marinette alone. You need help. If you cataclysm the sentimonster, it will go mad and we don't know what powers it holds, if any."

Chat Noir swallowed dryly. "It's okay. Marinette is more important than my pride." He sighed and dialled Rena's number on the communicator. There will be time for Marinette to fill him in with all the details she hadn't revealed to him up to now. At the moment, the most important thing was to save her.

However, after having spoken to Alya, explaining to her what they needed, and waiting for a long time that Alya or Vesperia arrived to help; Chat Noir lost his patience. He was nearly going to enter the room and fight the sentimonster himself when his eyes widened in horror: Lila had come back. But the most shocking thing was that it wasn't just Lila. It was Volpina.

Volpina approached Marinette and used her flute to create a cage around her. Then, she came through the cage and took off the tape from Marinette's face with a firm gesture. The girl coughed and spit out the cloth that was filling her mouth. Volpina freed Marinette from the knots and came out of the cage. Marinette took a little time to untie herself completely and get back to a sitting position, trying to gain back the feeling from her hands and legs.

"V-volpina? Wh-what…" was the first thing Marinette was able to say. Volpina sneered.

"It was so easy. I know you're listening, Chat Noir. You may as well want to hand yourself in at this stage. Your pathetic attempt to get the bee holder has failed miserably. The new Bee Miraculous holder was unavailable, so Rena Rouge—or should I say Alya Césaire—had to give the Miraculous to Chloé Bourgeois." Volpina cackled. "How stupid of her. She didn't know that Chloé had teamed up with me! So now…" She fondly grabbed the fox necklace on her neck. "...Now I've got the real one, and nobody will stop me!"

"What have you done to Alya?" screamed Marinette, her hands reaching for the bars of the cage and noticing with surprise that they were more solid than she thought and they didn't disappear when touched.

Volpina laughed. "Chloé used her power to paralyse her so I could get her Miraculous, and she's still unconscious."

"You evil witch!" Chat Noir shouted and jumped out of his hiding place.

Volpina blocked his baton using her flute, but didn't seem to be able to counteract his attacks very effectively. However, before he could knock her off, the sentimonster intervened. It became a fight between Chat Noir and the buffed sentimonster, a fight that Marinette watched with her heart drumming into her throat, jumping at every hit of Chat's baton.

The sentimonster defended himself with his bare hands to start with, then Volpina materialised a pole for him to use as a weapon. Things seemed to get worse for Chat Noir; the boy took many hits and eventually crashed on the ground.

"Chat Noir!" cried Marinette as Volpina used Mirage to create another cage around the black clad superhero.

"Damn witch, you won't trap me like this!" growled Chat Noir, and balled his right hand to a fist, roaring "CATACLYSM!"

His hand came in contact with the bars, and the cage crumbled and turned into ashes. But Volpina didn't even need to snap her fingers; almost immediately, the bars were up again, as solid as before. Chat Noir was left blinking in surprise as Papillon's mask appeared on Volpina's face.

"The plan was perfectly executed, Papillombre. Now we just need to wait." Chat Noir's eyes widened in horror as Volpina's face came closer to the bars of his cage. "Tik-tok, tik-tok, kitty-cat. It will be a pleasure seeing you detransforming and handing your Miraculous to Papillombre."

Marinette's heart sank as Chat Noir growled and shook the bars of the cage with his fists.

They were in DEEP trouble.

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

Author's Note

Whoops. I hope it's clear that Lila is using the Fox Miraculous and the conversation we didn't see before she arrived at the boat had Papillombre offering Volpina "the power to generate solid and unlimited illusions." This story is growing legs, I'm telling you. Why do all my stories end up growing legs?

I hope you liked it and will leave me a comment. You know that comments are my bread and butter!

Until tomorrow, bug out!

#miraculous ladynoir #miraculous love square #miraculous lb #miraculous les aventures de ladybug et chat noir #miraculous adrien #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #miraculous nathalie #nathalie sancoeur #ladynoirjuly2021 #miraculous fanworks

15 notes · View notes

ravenclaw-questions-gone-writing · 4 years ago

Text

Trope Snippets Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 A Stolen Hood

Marinette dragged the vigilante she’d knocked out into their temporary base, an uncertain Adrien trailing behind her.

“Do you- I don’t think- Are you sure we should be doing this?” he asked, his voice higher and more feminine due to the voice changer Marinette had built into the mask of his hoodie. It was based off of Lila’s voice, because if they were going to do this, they might as well incriminate the annoyance. (No matter how temporary because there’s no way it’d hold up when the Bats actually looked into it.)

Marinette shrugged. “No harm no foul, right?” Her own voice changer - not that she needed one - based off that piece of- that thing Lila called a brother.

“You just knocked him out, that’s definitely harm!”

Marinette pouted at her partner in crime. “It was only a bit of-” she cut it off there, aware of the active com, and wiggled her fingers in the gesture for magic. “He’s not hurt, just asleep.” She said as she took Red Hood’s guns and tucked one away and sent the other one to Adrien.

“It doesn’t last long, he should be waking up any minute now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s just pretending to be asleep since he no longer has a way to contact the other bats and we have his guns. Reconnaissance in an unfamiliar and possibly dangerous situation is a very basic thing.”

Marinette shrugged as she examined the com. Ritsu had already tampered with the tracking aspect of it. That should buy them at least another ten to fifteen minutes before the Batfam realizes, forcing Marinette and Adrien to relocate.

She smiled, she kinda wanted to mess with them. And, wow, she was spending too much time with her prankster parents. (The magic teachers she saw as parental figures, not Tom and Sabine, who were more like flatmate-siblings than parents.)

Adrien gives her a look and rolls his eyes, he knew she was up to no good - more than they already were anyway. “I’ll begin preparations.” He grumbled, not wanting to deal with it.

Well, they both dealt with the insanity of their reincarnated lives in different ways.

He wasn’t really one to talk. For every prank of hers, malicious or otherwise, he had a magical plant or creature - sometimes both - to create. And at this point, he’d probably recreated every non legendary pokemon the two of them could remember and then some other… more questionable creations.

Adrien pulled a metal bucket, some firewood, a set of stationery with a black chisel tip marker would be waiting alongside some paintball guns, two gallons of honey, and four pounds of birdseed from his pocket dimension and began counting their inventory to make sure they had everything and extras just in case.

“What are you planning to do with Red Hood?” demanded one of the bats from the com.

Marinette, giddy with anticipation, could barely contain her snickers. “We’re not going to hurt him if that’s what you’re worried about. We just need him to do a favor for us.” She says, managing to keep her voice even. It came out more cheerful than she intended but it got the message across.

Red Hood turned with a snarl. “I’m not doing shit for you cra-” Red Hood’s snarl died down into a gasp. “Holy shit, you’re just kids. What are you, 12?”

Marinette pouted, she was 16, thank you very much. It wasn’t her fault that she was so short. And even though she preferred being on the shorter side, calling her a 12 year old was going a bit too far.

The assumption about her age would be useful in throwing off the bats so she let it be.

“Speaking of favors, Mr. Red Hood, can I have your autograph?” Adrien asked from the other side of their warehouse.

“You knocked me out and kidnapped me for an autograph? ” Red Hood asked incredulously.

“Uh, no. He’s just a huge fan.”

“Oh shit, I didn’t think this through. What would he even sign it out to?” Adrien groaned.

“You could just use your assassin name? And I don’t mean the codename.”

Adrien shuddered and Marinette would have at least snickered if she hadn’t been through the same pain of having a Class 3-E codename.

“Assassins?” someone hissed on the other side of the com.

“Who are you affiliated with?” another demanded.

Marinette blinked and thought about it for a minute. “Uh… I stayed with the League of Shadows for a while some years back, does that count?”

There’s a stunned silence on the other side of the com before cursing fills the air.

Adrien groaned, “Why would you tell them that?”

“The most annoying thing for a detective is having a lead you can’t follow up on.” Marinette said, staring off into the distance as she recalled their attempts to track down Hawkmoth, who - in this universe - was not actually Gabriel Agreste. Surprisingly.

“Look, I’m not doing anything for Ra’s.” Red Hood snarls again.

Marinette frowned at him. “Who said anything about that old fart? No, we’re doing something much more personal.”

From the com, she could hear some suspicious coughing from the bats.

Marinette could tell Red Hood was startled and amused by what she’d called the demon’s head. The helmet was annoyingly in the way of reading his facial expressions but that’s what having a magical, very on-point, intuition was for.

“...Ok, you have my respect but I’m not doing any favors for someone who kidnapped me.”

Oh, right.

Sometimes, Marinette forgets that people don’t react like she does in kidnapping situations. But to be fair, she gets kidnapped like twice a week ever since she caught the Kudo curse from that trip to Japan, usually by some random amateur murderer, some burglar in all the cases they run into, or Talia Al Ghoul. It gets repetitive after a while.

“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Talia.” Adrien chirps from his place.

“A future mother-in-law is still a mother-in-law. I’m pretty much obligated to spend time with her.” Marinette huffs at Adrien. “And even if she wasn’t, she’s still my godmother.”

There’s choking, squawking, and a strangled noise of realization from the other side of the com. Red Hood himself was sputtering, Marinette wondered if his saliva was collecting on the inside of his helmet.

Really, that couldn’t be comfortable or sanitary.

“Nevertheless, if you won’t help us, we’re going to have problems.” she growled at Red Hood, before turning the comm off and tossing it aside.

“If you don’t want to help, I won’t force the issue.” Marinette pouted at Red Hood, then shifted her disappointment to Adrien. “I thought you said he’d want to help.”

“I really thought he’d want to.” Adrien said mournfully.

“Alright then, we’ll just keep you locked up until it’s over and release you tomorrow morning.” Marinette sighed, giving the vigilante a glance before turning back to her partner. “We don’t have much time, who else do you know is skilled with guns and would be willing to help us shoot the Joker?”

Red Hood spasmed and jerked up. “ Woah. Hey now, maybe I was being a little too hasty in my decision making. I’d be willing to give the plan a listen.”

“Oh?” Marinette perked up, “That’s wonderful!”

Ch 2 Bonus

“He won’t work for you.” a gruff voice came out over the coms.

“So, Red Hood, what do you say?” Marinette prods her captive.

“Didn’t Batman just say I wouldn’t?”

“Well,” Marinette replied petulantly. “he’s not the boss of you.”

There was a beat of silence and despite Marinette’s glee, she could feel the “oh shit,” silence from the other side of the com.

Then, Adrien’s cackling cut through the quiet. “Oh my gods, I can literally hear them all thinking, ‘Don’t do it. It’s a trap!’.”

Ch 2 Bonus 2

“Robin, who are we dealing with.” Batman demanded.

“Baby bird, was that your fiance, since when do you have a fiance? Or do we have another sibling we don’t know about?”

“I thought the league would want you to marry a woman to continue to the line. Why is your fiance a guy?”

“Tt. She is most likely using a voice changer.”

“ She? That was a girl? ”

“ Robin. ”

Damian sighed. “I do not know her real name, I’ve always just called her Uma. As she said, she is my mother’s god daughter. She doesn’t break promises so we know she won’t actually hurt Red Hood, but what she’s after, I can’t say.”

“Try.”

“Father, it could be anything from wanting directions to a store to decorating the entirety of Gotham all the colors of the rainbow because she thinks it looks too dreary to needing information on a hit. In the League, she was most well-known for being unpredictable and chaotic.” Then, after a moment of debate, he added. “If you want an example, she is also known for being the main instigator of the zombie whale incident.”

“Excuse me?”

“The what? ” Red Robin squawked.

“Elaborate.” Batman growled.

“As she would say,” Damian replied dryly. “Long story short, she dropped a whale on my grandfather.”

#maribat #daminette #damianette #damian wayne x marinette dupain cheng #arranged marriage #zombie whale incident #trope snippets #crack fic?#i guess #tenses suck #unreliable writter warning: may never update #It's on ao3 #reincarnated marinette #reincarnated adrien #mentions of other fandoms #lots of references #bizarre coping mechanisms #no longer connected chapters #Ven's Fanfics

62 notes · View notes

bisexualsforprompto · 5 years ago

Text

Maribat March Firsts

The Gotham trip was a trip of firsts for Marinette. First time in America. First time being in a different country without her parents. First time being left behind on the day she was supposed to go back to her home…

In reality, she should’ve seen it coming. After all, when Chloe had asked her to grab her makeup bag that she had “left” in the hotel, Marinette should’ve seen it coming.

Chloe didn’t leave anywhere without her makeup bag, but Marinette didn’t think about that, she just thought it would be the nice thing to do to go get it. Adrien was going to, but Lila was clinging onto him for dear life.

Normally, getting Chloe’s items would be Sabrina’s job (as proclaimed by Chloe), but Sabrina wasn’t able to make it on the trip. As if Chloe asking Marinette to do something wasn't a red flag enough, Lila had been getting real chummy with Chloe.

Regardless, Marinette went to get the makeup. When she had gone to the hotel lobby where Chloe said she left it, Marinette found only dust.

The concierge eyed her warily, but because it was Gotham, Marinette wasn’t surprised. Marinette was however surprised to call Alya and get a frantic answer, “Marinette! Girl! Where are you?!”

“I’m getting Chloe’s makeup...which is nowhere to be found.” Marinette said, her mind working on overdrive.

“Ok, well get here fast! Lila told everyone that you were already on the bus, so Bustier told the bus driver to leave! We’re on our way to the airport!!!” Alya exclaimed.

“What?!” Marinette shrieked, getting dirty looks from the concierge. She ran outside of the hotel. Where there bus had been parked down a few blocks further was nowhere to be seen. “Can’t Miss Bustier come back for me?!”

Marinette started panicking. She paced up and down the sidewalk, debating whether or not she should run around Gotham trying to find the bus, or wait for Bustier to come back for her.

“Adrien and Nino are trying to get her to turn the bus around, but we’re stuck in major traffic girl! And this bus driver is ancient! He can’t hear what Nino and Adrien are yelling at him to do!”

“Oh what am I gonna do?! What am I gonna do?! Alya!” Marinette whisper-shouted walking towards the end of the block. “Alya?! ALYA?!”

Marinette pulled her phone back, and was met with a pitch black screen. She pressed the on button frantically. She was out of battery.

If Marinette cursed, she’d be cursing enough to make Batman blush! But instead, she was racing up and down the sidewalk, hoping Miss. Bustier would come back for her.

In her panicked frenzy she ran into a dark haired woman with a formal business suit on. “My god!” She exclaimed.

“I’m so sorry, miss!” Marinette shouted with wide eyes.

“It’s alright!” The woman assured, “What’s got you in such a frenzy?”

Marinette took a deep breath, “Somyclassisonthisfieldtripandtheresthisliarandshemadeeveryonethinkiwasonthebusbutimnotandtheyleftwithoutmeandnowimgonnabestuckingothamforever!”

The woman gave her a dumbfounded expression and her eye twitched, “Could you slow down a bit, honey?” She asked calmly.

Marinette breathed out raggedly and nodded her head. “I’m from a visiting class from Paris. We’re on a class field trip to Gotham, but today was our last day, and the bus just left without me! They’re on their way to the airport without me! And my phone just died! So I can’t call for help!”

“Honey calm down.” The woman said, kneeling on the sidewalk and holding onto Marinette’s shoulders, “My name is Betty Bates. I’m the district attorney in Gotham. Is your class going to the Gotham Airlines?” Marinette nodded silently.

“Ok, well I can take you. Are you comfortable with that?” Betty asked her. Marinette nodded again. “Alright, let me bring you to my car, we’ll have to be quick though, I’m not sure when your airplane leaves.”

Betty took Marinette’s hand and led her around a corner. Betty smiled at her and pointed to her car, Marinette was just about to place her hand on the door when she heard a scream.

It was Betty. Marinette turned around to see the Joker, in all of his psychotic glory, laughing maniacally at Betty who was writhing on the ground laughing too, after being hit from one of his guns.

“Wow girly!” He shouted, “You could pass as a Wayne!” He eyed her up and brought his hand to her cheek. Marinette slapped it away and ducked underneath his grasp.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Joker pouted before laughing again. Marinette scowled. “Oh come on! Put a smile on that face!”

Joker aimed his gun at her. Marinette dodged in the nick of time again, she tripped, being far more clumsy as her alter ego. She tumbled around in a somersault-like fashion until she crashed right at the feet of one Harley Quinn.

“Leave the kid alone!” Harley yelled, patting her baseball bat. Catwoman and Poison Ivy were at her side.

“It’s not nice to pick on defenseless kids Joker.” Ivy said with malice in her voice.

“And who are you to stop me?!” Joker cackled.

“We’re not.” Catwoman said, “But they will.”

“Who?”

In a flash Batman and his family surrounded the Joker. Marinette heard blows land, but she didn’t see a thing. Harley had picked her up and was ushering her to safety.

Marinette couldn't process anything. Everything was beginning to be too much, too much. The last thing she heard was Harley saying,

“The kid doesn’t look too good!”

•~•~•~•~•

Marinette woke up being cuddled by two hyenas.

“Bud, Lou, shoo! She’s wakin’ up!” Harley exclaimed, running over to Marinette.

“Thank god, I did not want to have that call to Bruce.” Catwoman said, “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me he adopted another one.”

“A-Adopted?” Marinette asked groggily.

“You are one of Bruce’s kids aren’t you?” Poison Ivy asked, suspiciously.

“B-Bruce?”

“Bruce Wayne?” Ivy said with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t- I don’t know any Bruce Wayne’s.” Marinette said, “My parents are back in Paris...Paris! Oh kwami! I need to get to the airport!”

“What?!” Catwoman shouted. The other women were starting to pick up on her accent. “Oh my god…”

“We basically kidnapped a kid!” Harley pulled at her pigtails, “Bats is gonna kill us!”

“Babe, calm down.” Ivy said walking over to Harley. She focused her attention onto Marinette next, “You said you’re from Paris?”

Marinette nodded.

“What's your name?”

“Marinette.”

“Marinette, is your school here on a trip?”

“Yeah...but they left me behind, and they’re on their way to the airport without me! Kwami! Their plane has probably already left by now!” Marinette exclaimed.

“They left you behind?” Harley asked in disbelief.

Marinette nodded, starting to panic more.

“They behind in the crime capital of the world?!” Catwoman seethed, barely hiring her anger. She reached for her phone and started angrily punching numbers in. “Bruce? Yeah, it’s me. I need you here right now...Not like that you idiot! Just...get here now! And bring some of your dumbass children, I could use them.”

Catwoman hung up her phone with a sigh, “Bruce is on his way.”

“Good. In the meantime, tell us some more about your class little miss.” Harley said, bringing her baseball bat into her arms.

“Well there are these two girls. A liar and a bully. They’re dead set on trying to make my life miserable.” Marinette began.

“Did ya tell your teacher?” Harley asked.

“I...have, but she doesn’t really help. She sides with them most of the time.”

“Oh really? Why?”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “something about me having to set an example. ‘Taking the high road’ and all that.”

“What?! That’s absolute bulls-“

Harley and Catwoman shut Ivy up with a glare.

“I have a couple friends in the class, but the liar hangs on Adrien all the time, he can barely ever get away from her! Alya and Nino try to help me, but Chloe always finds a way to rile Alya up and then Nino has to make sure Chloe isn’t murdered an-“

“So does that make Chloe the liar?” Catwoman asked.

“Yeah,” Marinette huffed, “I was okay at handling her until Lila showed up— she’s the liar.”

“What does she lie about?” Catwoman asked with genuine curiosity.

Marinette sighed, “Me bullying her mainly. She lies to my class about knowing a bunch of famous people, the lies could be disproven easily, but my classmates just trust her!”

“They’re really that dumb?” Escaped from Ivy’s mouth before she could stop it.

“Yeah,” Marinette shrugged, “Miss Bustier has been our teacher ever since we started school. She’s the kind of teacher who tells people that everyone is a good person. She doesn’t prepare anyone for the real world.”

“Then it’s sure foolish to come to Gotham of all places.” Harley muttered.

“Yeah, why would anyone plan a trip here?” Catwoman asked.

Marinette’s shoulders sagged and she got a tired expression on her face, “I planned another trip. I made the deposits and everything. We were going to go to Spain, but the moment I announced the trip Lila burst into tears and made up some illness she had, saying that she wouldn’t be able to go.” Marinette rolled her eyes, “And of course we had to make a new trip just because of Lila. The school lost so much money from non refundable deposits! According to Miss Bustier, Gotham was the only place we could afford.”

“They seem like real bitches! Really, lying about something so stupid and then your teacher making you plan a trip.” Ivy huffed. Catwoman and Harley cast her dirty looks, “What?”

“Well, I’m actually the class representative, so it was my job to plan the trip to Spain.” Marinette said, “I had a lot of really nice things planned.”

The group could hear the exhaustion and disappointment in her voice.

“Sweetheart, that environment is toxic! Trust me, I have a PhD in psychology, and no teacher should ever be putting that much on a student!” Harley said, ruffling Marinette’s hair.

“Can you tell us the liar, the bully and your teachers full names?” Catwoman asked, uncapping a pen.

“W-why?” Marinette asked with fear in her voice, “I don’t want them to get in trouble.”

“Hey,” Harley said softly, “They can’t just get away with what they’ve done to you. I can tell there’s more too, PhD remember? You’re baring more than a kid should ever be, I can see it in your eyes… Catwoman’s friend Bruce, has lots of connections, he’ll be here soon and I’m sure he’ll be able to look into them. I know you’ll feel better if they get what they deserve.”

“O-okay. The liar is Lila Rossi. The bully is Chloe Bourgeois. And my teacher is Caline Bustier.”

“Thank you sweetheart.” Harley said, pulling her in for a hug. Ivy raised an eyebrow, Harley just gave her a smirk, “I’m a natural with kids.”

At that moment a knock came from outside.

“That’s Bruce.” Catwoman confirmed as she went to the door.

A tall man in a suit and tie case in, “Catwoman.” He greeted. Three others followed in behind him.

“That’s it?” Catwoman furrowed her eyebrows, “I know you have more.”

“Well you didn’t give me much notice. Cass was...practicing and Tim is still at work. What do you need anyway?”

As Catwoman and Bruce discussed, the three boys that had followed him in came up to Marinette.

“Hey there!” Exclaimed the tallest one, “My name is Dick, that’s Jason, and the smallest one is Damian.”

“TT.”

“We’re Bruce’s sons.” Dick said politely, “Who are you?”

“M-Marinette.”

“Nice to meet you Marinette!” Dick smiled dazzlingly. “Where are you from?”

“France.” Marinette said, slightly amazed that Dick had realized she wasn’t from Gotham without Marinette saying more than her name.

“Oh! Are you the Paris trip that came here?”

Marinette nodded.

“Weren’t you supposed to leave today?” Dick asked, cocking his head to the side.

“She was, but her teacher left her behind.” Ivy butted in.

Dick scowled, “Really?”

“She didn’t even do a headcount?” Jason asked.

“If she did, she probably would’ve come back for me.” Marinette murmured.

“Disgraceful.” Damian turned up his nose, “But are you incapable of getting there? You could’ve called a cab, or one of your peers.”

“Damian, don’t be rude.” Dick warned.

“My phone’s dead.” Marinette grumbled.

“And we just saved her from an attack by Joker. We brought her here because we thought she was one of yours.” Harley said.

“You’re right.” Jason examined Marinette, “I sure hope you have parents kid, or Bruce will adopt you.”

Marinette giggled, “I have parents.”

“Shame, could’ve used a little Pixie as a sister.” Jason teased.

“Dick,” Bruce yelled, startling the everyone out of their conversation, “Check to see if the flight to Paris has taken off yet.”

Dick pulled out his phone and began to type rapidly. Marinette waited with baited breath. “B...It left…”

Marinette deflated.

“When’s the next flight to Paris?”

“Two days from now…”

Bruce sighed. “Alright, we’ll take the jet.”

“Jet?” Marinette wondered out loud.

“Yep,” Jason said popping the p, “The Wayne family jet.”

“Father if we leave now, we can make it to Paris before the other plane.” Damian said, looking at Dick’s screen.

“Is that okay with you Marinette?” Bruce asked.

“Yes please, that would be amazing, thank you.”

“Okay, we’ll go now. Alfred is in the car, so we can head straight to the airport.” Bruce said.

“Wait.” Dick said, “I don’t think I can spare seven hours, you know with our nighttime activities.”

“Right…” Bruce trailed off, “Jason and Dick, Alfred will take you home once we get to the airport.”

“TT. What about me, father?” Damian asked, folding his arms.

“I’ll be flying the jet, and I’m sure Marinette would like some company.” Bruce suggested. It seemed like a command to Marinette.

“Fine.”

“Alright.” Bruce brightened, “Let’s get going then.”

“Thank you Catwoman, Harley and Ivy!” Marinette called as she walked out of the door, trying to keep up with the Waynes.

“You’re welcome sweetie!”

•~•~•~•~•

Marinette sat in silence across from Damian, the only noise being the humming of the jet. She felt awkward, but at the same time, the silence was comforting, it gave her time to process.

And boy, did she realize that she had a lot to process.

If only I hadn’t given Adrien Kaaliki, she thought. She hadn’t expected to get separated from him, so in case there was an akuma they could go together, but obviously that didn’t work out well.

Marinette almost sighed, maybe if she was a better guardian and less reckless she would be on the plane with her friends, and not be wasting Mr. Wayne’s time.

“So,” Damian began, breaking the silence, “Father told me about the liar in your class. Why didn’t you stand up to her.”

“Well it was a mixture of things,” Marinette sighed, “She’s got my class wrapped around her finger, and my teacher too, plus I didn’t want to get her akumatized, that wouldn’t have looked good, and-“

“Akumatized?” Damian asked.

“Yeah, you know? By Hawkmoth!”

“Who is that?” Damian asked, scrunching up his nose.

“Paris’s supervillain...you really don’t know?” Marinette was shocked.

“TT, I had no idea such a thing existed in Paris.”

“Yeah, the mayor tries to keep it under wraps.” Marinette sighed, “Plus I think the magic of the miraculous makes keeps it covered up, if that makes sense.”

“Interesting…” Damian said, “Tell me more about your home.”

Marinette’s eyes lit up, “Well besides Hawkmoth, we actually have a lot of really amazing things! For one, the Eiffel Tower, but that’s the big attraction! We have many others too, the Louvre, the Sacre-Coeur, André’s ice cream and my parents bakery is one of the best in Paris!”

“Interesting. What kind of goods do they sell?” Damian asked.

Marinette gave him a funny look, “Your average pastries, bread, and sweets! Chat Noir and Ladybug have eaten there before!” Marinette proudly stated on behalf of her parents.

“Chat Noir...and Ladybug?”

“Oh right!” Marinette facepalmed, “They’re the heroes of Paris!”

Damian paused for a minute, “What do you think of them?”

“Pardon?”

“Are they good heroes? Could they use more help?”

“I think they’re pretty capable.” Marinette said a little more defensively than she wanted, “S-sorry, it’s just...Their our heroes you know?”

“I understand.” Damian said, “I’d react the same way if someone who didn’t know the situation in Gotham asked that about our heroes.”

Marinette sighed, “It’s so weird that these are the times we live in. Supervillains are just normal.”

“I suppose it is…” Damian pondered thoughtfully, “It’s odd for me, some things that aren’t normal for most are normal for me…”

“H-how so?” Marinette stuttered out, “I d-don’t mean to pry! You have to tell me. I mean you don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry.” Marinette was as red as a tomato.

Damian let out a low chuckle and smiled slightly, “My life has been surrounded by a lot of death.”

Marinette’s face dropped, “I’m sorry. That must be hard to talk about, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“I feel at ease with you Marinette. I know that’s forward, but it seems I don’t mind talking to you.”

“Really? We’ve only known each other for like an hour.” Marinette said quizzically.

“I suppose I’m odd as well then.” Damian gave her an expression that she couldn’t quite place.

She was surprised that he had felt like that with her.

She was surprised that she felt the same.

She looked at the boy across from her. His skin was a rich, dark, toned tan that complemented his piercing emerald green eyes. His face has defined features and his cheekbones could cut through steel. His black hair was naturally spiky and tousled in a way that made him effortlessly beautiful. She could tell even from his conservative black turtleneck that he had muscles.

Marinette blushed inadvertently, realizing how handsome the man before her really was, “S-so what else is special about you?”

“Special?” Damian smirked.

“Ummm...Sorry I just mean-“

“You don’t have to apologize all the time.” Damian said, “I was...teasing.”

Marinette held back a smile, he didn’t seem like the teasing type.

“Well you’ve met Todd and Grayson, but I have another brother, and a sister, and a few honorary family members.” Damian explained.

“That’s so amazing. I’m almost jealous, I wish I had siblings.” Marinette said tracing the hem of her skirt.

“They’re not all their cracked up to be…” Damian grumbled pushing his black hair away.

Marinette laughed and beamed, “You’re funny, Damian.”

“That’s not how most people would describe me.”

Marinette’s expression turned to worry, “How would they describe you?”

“Cold. Off putting. A demon of sorts.” Damian said blankly.

“I-I’m sorry. That’s awful.” Marinette said, “If...If it makes things better, I don’t see you that way.”

“It does...Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger than people you’ve known your whole life.” Marinette remarked.

“You’re a lot smarter than you pretend to be, aren’t you?” Marinette blushed. “I can tell your facade you put up isn’t really you.”

“Oh?” Was all Marinette could muster.

“You’re a lot stronger than you look.” Damian said, “And clever. Am I wrong?”

Marinette shook her head, “I’m underestimated a lot I guess...or used.”

“Hmm.” Damian tapped his cheek, “I think the clumsy baker’s daughter is a protection. They’re your walls because you’ve been used. You are a lot like me in that respect…Am I hot, or am I cold?”

Before Marinette could stop it, “You're very hot!” Escaped her lips. She clamped a hand over her mouth and blushed.

Damian chuckled, “Thank you Angel.”

“Angel?” Marinette blushed.

“Well if they call me a demon, you must be an angel, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I’m not sure my class would.” Marinette said, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Then they’re idiots. You’re obviously a sweet person who looks out for everyone, isn’t that why you were left behind too?”

Marinette nodded.

“Then who cares what they think?” Damian scoffed.

“I have a feeling I’ll learn a lot from you.” Marinette mused.

“And I you.” Damian said, “Actually...I’m sure I can convince father to let me stay in Paris for a while when we drop you off, maybe we could go out somewhere?”

“Is the sly Damian Wayne asking me on a date?” Marinette teased. Red flooded Damian’s cheeks and danced away quickly.

“Well I suppose, if you’d like it to be one I would not be opposed.”

“Then I would like it to be one.” Marinette smiled. “Maybe you can meet my parents!”

“Wow, meeting the parents already? Aren’t you rather forward, Angel? I don’t even know your last name.” Damian smirked.

“Well I’ve met your father.” Marinette pointed out, “And for your information, my last name is Dupain-Chang.”

“Beautiful.” Damian remarked.

“Actually if you put it together it means ‘to make bread.’” Marinette laughed. The color came back to Damian’s cheeks.

“Well your first name is beautiful.”

“T-thank you.”

“Of course Angel.”

•~•~•~•~•

Seven hours passed more quickly than Marinette could’ve ever realized, Damian was so easy to talk to. By the time she knew it, they had landed in Paris.

“Father.” Damian said once he had helped Marinette off the jet, “I’d like to request some time in Paris before we depart again, Marinette and I are...going on a date.”

Bruce held back a smile, “You can have a few hours, I need to fuel the jet back up anyway. Have fun.”

Damian took Marinette’s hand and started to lead her away.

“Oh and Marinette.” She turned back to Bruce, “I’m glad we met.”

“Me too Mr. Wayne!” Marinette exclaimed before going off with Damian.

Marinette led him towards her bakery only to see her classmates walking her way.

Damian had been right, they had arrived in Paris before them, and from the shocked look on Lila’s face, it was clear they were surprised she arrived at all.

“Marinette!” Alya exclaimed, embracing her, “Why didn’t you answer your phone?! I was so worried! And how did you get here? And who’s this?”

Adrien and Nino approached them. “My phone died Al, sorry! Mr. Wayne flew me here, this is Damian.” Marinette motioned to the boy beside her.

“Wait Mr. Wayne...and Damian? Marinette did you meet the Bruce Wayne?!” Alya squealed.

“You know him?” Marinette asked. Adrien snorted.

“You really don’t know any celebrities out of fashion do you?” Nino laughed.

“Wait celebrities...that’s why you had your own jet?!” Marinette shrieked.

Damian held back a laugh, “You didn’t know?”

“No?!” Marinette said still hysterical, “No, I didn’t!!!”

Alya laughed, “This’ll take a while for her to process. Anyway, we have to drop our bags off, I’m so glad you're safe and here.” Alya hugged Marinette again, “Enjoy your date!”

“How’d you know?” Marinette asked.

“Well I didn’t before.” Alya winked, “Have fun you two. And if you break her heart, I break you, got it pretty boy?” Alya shoved a finger at Damian.

“If I break her heart, I will gladly let you.”

“That’s the correct answer. Bye Mari!” Alya waved walking off with Adrien and Nino.

Then came a scream of unbridled rage. It was loud. It was long. And it was undeniably, Chloe’s.

“I can’t believe this! Dupain-Chang is going on a date with a Wayne! And our plan didn’t work!”

“Plan?” Damian asked.

“Oh don’t act so surprised!” Chloe spat, “Lila and I planned right from the beginning to make sure your little girlfriend wouldn’t make the trip back, but it’s not fair that everything worked out for her!” Another scream, “I’m calling Daddy!”

Chloe stormed off.

“She’s lying!” Lila exclaimed as the rest of the class turned to her, “I had nothing to do with Marinette not showing up on the bus!”

“Even that is the case, which I doubt,” Damian started, “You’ve still lied about many things. That’s slander Miss Rossi. Father has already had his lawyers start compiling a case on you when he learned about you.”

“Is that really necessary Mr. Wayne?” Miss Bustier asked nervously, “Lila wasn’t causing any harm.”

“Oh? Like how you weren’t causing any harm? You’ll also be hearing from my lawyers. Negligence will be easy to prove against you. There is an obvious duty for a teacher, you obviously breached it, and I’m sure the Wayne lawyers will be able to prove that it was the causation of Marinette’s harm.”

“I-I…” Miss Bustier stood paralyzed in a dazed stupor.

“Come on Angel.” Damian said, extending his arm. Marinette took it and they walked away from the chaos and destruction Damian had just wreaked.

“Let’s go on that date, shall we?” Marinette smiled, creating the newest chapter of her story.

In the end it really was a day of firsts… First time Lila’s lies crumbled before her. First time Caline Bustier was called out for everything she had done. First time Marinette went out on a date.

But for all the firsts that Marinette had that day, none of them would be the last.

#maribat #damianette #im cryyinnggg tumblr i hate you #this probably wont even post #ive been trying for an hour

637 notes · View notes

lochrannn · 3 years ago

Text

Fanfic: Premiere Threads

Read on AO3

Thanks @pepperf for the prompt “You look amazing tonight”!

I also snuck in “Dance with me.” which came in with a choice of prompts from @ohrackham. Thanks as well!

Summary:

The Hargreeves + Lila head to LA for a film premiere.

Low-level hijinks ensue.

Lila gets off her plane at LAX after sitting in the damn metal tube for nearly eight hours. It was only supposed to be a six hour flight but they were delayed on the runway and sat around for nearly an hour with nothing happening. Lila will admit that she's not the most patient of people at the best of times and she had got used to travelling by briefcase, taking her anywhere in an instant. On top of that, she is just absolutely over the vastness of this country. Having to fly six hours to get from one coast to the other is just excessive.

Yeah, she's not in the best of moods when she lifts her heavy bag and then her rolling suitcase off the luggage belt, but does take a little bit of satisfaction from the fact she accidentally (no really, she didn't mean to) hits the guy who roughly pushed past her to get to the belt first in the knee with the corner of her suitcase.

It doesn't take Lila too long to get from baggage collection to the arrival terminal and when she walks out through the sliding doors, she's a little surprised that she can't spot Diego right away waiting for her.

She'd texted him about the delay and he had her flight number, so she wonders why he's not around yet, she doubts he'd be willing to spend any more time than necessary in an airport. In fact, knowing that, she'd told him it wouldn't be necessary for him to pick her up, she could just got a taxi to their hotel, but he had insisted again when she talked to him on the phone yesterday.

He has been in a weird mood these past few days and with the upcoming premiere of the widely anticipated documentary about The Umbrella Academy, she can understand why.

Diego flew out to LA together with Klaus a few days before Lila as she had a job to finish up, but Klaus and Diego wanted some time to spend with Allison and Claire as they've become deeply fond of their little niece.

Luther, Vanya, and Five are scheduled to arrive tomorrow only just making it in time for the premiere. Vanya is tied up with some orchestra thing and both Luther and Five offered to travel with her. Lila was relieved that nobody asked why she wouldn't travel with the others. She loves her new family, she really does, but being trapped on a plain with all of them and having to go through airports and security checks with the three oddballs would have tested her admittedly limited patience a little too much.

As she's annoyingly too short to effectively look over the crowd that's caused a throng just outside the arrivals door, she starts to wander about weaving past hugging families and drivers with signs held up for their clients, and finally spots Diego sitting on a chair at the side of the hall.

She immediately notices three things about him. The first are the large, square, plastic-y orange rimmed sunglasses, which absolutely clash with the grey t-shirt and black jeans he's wearing. The second are the people with him; Klaus on the outside lounging in his chair, also wearing sunglasses, between the two brothers someone who can only be Allison, also in sunglasses, but the actress has apparently wisely decided to make herself as unrecognisable as possible and is wearing a big sweatshirt with a hood up over her head. The third thing Lila notices are the large take-away coffee cups they're all holding and she comes to the conclusion that they must be desperately hung-over.

The three of them spot her before she gets to them and get up, throw away their cups, while Klaus picks up a take-away tray with what must be a fourth coffee they got for Lila, and start making their way over to her. That's when she notices the thing she should have probably spotted right away.

There's an obvious difference to Diego and she feels her jaw drop a little when she notices. He's a little unkempt and his usual designer stubble could do with some tidying up, but all that is inconsequential compared to the glinting flashes that catch her eye on both his earlobes.

He's wearing earrings.

She's about to comment on that, but then she's swallowed up in their madness.

Allison and Klaus are arguing good-naturedly as they come up to her. Allison takes the rolling suitcase from Lila, Diego takes her bag and swings it over his shoulder before heavily putting his free arm around her shoulders and tucking her into his side, while Klaus takes one of her now free hands, kisses it dramatically and then fills it with the remaining cardboard coffee cup.

All the while they do not stop squabbling to properly greet her, instead Diego has now got involved, siding with whoever he seems to think is winning.

“Long night?” she eventually directs at Diego, as the four of them make their way out to the taxi rank.

“Ugh, don't ask!” Diego answers with an exasperated chuckle.

“No, I'm definitely going to!” Lila counters with a pointed look at the side of his head.

“Fair,” Diego says as he lets go of her to put her bag in the taxi they've caught.

Once all her luggage is in the boot, they squeeze into the cab, Diego, Allison and herself on the back bench and Klaus in the front next to the driver.

Allison calls out an address that sounds vaguely familiar to Lila and they drive off.

“Where are we headed?” she asks no one in particular.

“My place,” Allison answers and then Diego adds, “All my stuff is still there.”

Lila nods at that and is about to say something else, when Klaus turns around in his seat and looks at her with a sly smirk, eyes peaking over the rim of his shades, and says teasingly, “So you're not gonna ask about the...?”, he flicks his own earlobe by way of explanation, and then waggles his eyebrows at Diego.

“Why? 's anything different?” Lila deadpans and hears Diego huff next to her, though whether it's in amusement or indignation she's not quite sure.

“Aw, we thought you'd have at least some opinion on the makeover we gave Crocodile Dundee over here. He's been fidgety all morning, wondering what you'll make of it!” Klaus almost whines and earns himself a grumbled “Fuck off, Klaus!” from Diego, “I think he looks dashing. Like a pirate!” Klaus chuckles and earns himself a more emphatic, “Fuck off, Klaus!” and “Leave him alone!” from Allison.

Lila decides that, firstly, there's no point in even attempting to match their energy, so she lets go of the idea and relaxes a little at the thought that she can just let herself be swept along as she's far too tired to come up with a better plan herself, and secondly, she's going to ask the only halfway rational adult in this cab, bar herself and hopefully the driver, to explain the situation. So she turns to Allison and asks, “You gave him the earring?”

Allison takes off her sunglasses, revealing dark shadows under her eyes, and Lila ends up feeling sympathetic even though she knows that tired look is very much self-inflicted.

“I know I shouldn't say this but he was asking for it. Like actually, literally!” Allison begins explaining with an exasperated sigh. “He said he'd always wanted earrings, that the only thing holding him back was his fear of needles, and we were pretty drunk already and you know Diego, he's a lightweight, so when he passed out on the couch, we thought we'd do him a favor...” she trails off a little sheepishly.

“All we needed was alcohol and some ice, which we had plenty of, a needle, and a potato!” Klaus counted off the items on his fingers with a flourish.

“That sounds unsanitary,” was all Lila could think to say.

“You're one to talk,” Diego finally piped up, “you cauterized my stab wound with a soldering iron and then rode me the next day...” but he doesn't get much further as he is interrupted by Lila slapping him in the chest, Allison mumbling “gross” and Klaus cackling delightedly.

“So this is how a bunch of unsupervised thirty-two year olds behave?” Lila asks the occupants of the cab at large, mostly to steer the conversation away from her sex life, to which Allison corrects her “I'm thirty-four.” and Klaus chimes in more or less at the same time, “I'm thirty-six, actually!”

“Great roll models to your little brother, then,” Lila teases with a big grin and pointedly ignores Diego's indignant “Hey!”.

They spend the rest of the taxi ride with much the same amount of back and forth arguing, but somewhere within that is Diego's explanation that really he'd always wanted to get earrings but went for his piercing first as any kind of jewelry outside of a uniform would not have fit police academy regulation and then he had never got up the courage to go anywhere close to a needle again. He hardly wants to admit it, but he is apparently kind of grateful to his siblings for taking matters into their own hands.

Lila takes this information in in her stride. It's his body and the earrings suit him, so she tells him as much and has mixed feelings about the way he visibly relaxes next to her when she says that. It has it's perks that he's so desperate for her approval, but sometimes it makes her a little concerned.

They end up having lunch delivered at Allison's and by late afternoon everybody is exhausted, so Lila and Diego take their luggage and get a taxi to the hotel Diego was meant to check in to three days ago, but he had ended up crashing with his sister instead. Lila hopes they will have a room available.

They do, and the two of them barely manage to drop their bags on the floor before they tumble on to the bed, not even bothering to pull back the sheets, only stripping off the top cover that Lila is always a little suspicious of in hotels, and falling asleep fully dressed.

----

The next day is mostly a whirl and Lila is glad that herself and Diego basically only had a quiet dinner the night before after their nap and then went straight back to bed, as she thinks they would be having a hell of a shitty time if they'd been sleep-deprived.

It's not that the day isn't enjoyable, it's just a lot.

Luther, Vanya, and Five arrive in LA and the siblings all congregate at Allison's.

Lila is fascinated to see the amount of work that goes into just maintaining a brand for something as simple as a documentary premiere, as there are also half a dozen professional make-up artists and stylists on the scene who are wrangling the Hargreeves siblings with impressive authority. Lila is offered a very elaborate evening gown but decides on a colourful mini-dress with high neckline and exposed shoulders, and by the time they head out to the theatre where the premiere and a subsequent Q+A session is going to take place – they've decided that only Allison, Vanya, and Klaus should be involved in that, as Luther would feel to awkward up on stage, Diego had to admit that he was quite certain he wouldn't get a word out anyway, and Five wasn't part of the film as he is still officially missing – they are all dressed to the nines.

At the afterparty there's still press milling around and some photographers get the Hargreeves sans Five lined up to take a bunch of pictures while Lila and Five watch from a bit of a distance.

“You feel left out, little man?” Lila asks Five.

He looks at her pointedly and then back at his siblings being arranged into good poses by Allison and unconvincingly says, “Not really.” Then he turns back to Lila and asks her, “Do you?”

“Nah,” she replies with the same lack of conviction Five had managed. Then she picks up her whiskey soda and switches it with the ginger ale that's in front of Five, as she knows he hasn't been able to get anything more boozy than apple cider – a non-alcoholic drink in this part of the world, Lila has learnt from an irate Five when she didn't quite understand his complaint – and receives a grateful nod from Five for her efforts.

Before he can even take a sip, they are called over by Allison, who explains that she's wrangled one of the photographers who she has a good working relationship with into taking pictures of all of them – not to publish, just for their own use.

Lila squeezes in between Allison and Klaus and doesn't mind that Five subsequently squeezes in between Klaus and herself. They've come a long way from trying to tear each other to shreds in the sixties.

When they finally disperse to go enjoy the party, Lila feels a hand wrap around her arm and Diego whisper in her ear, his breath ghosting over her exposed shoulder, “Dance with me.”

She doesn't answer, instead she takes his hand and pulls him along to the small dance floor near the DJ. She swivels around and lets herself be pulled in close by Diego and they start dancing to the lively music.

When she gets a chance, she leans close to his ear and tries not to shout, but says loud enough to be heard over the music, “You look amazing tonight!”

And he does. He's wearing a terra-cotta coloured suit with a white vest underneath and Lila really likes the changeup from his usual blacks and greys. But her favourite detail is the heavy chain that one of the stylists, in a stroke of genius, got Diego to put around his neck, and the combination of the vest's low neck-line exposing his chest hair and the cold metal is really doing a number on her sanity.

“Yeah?” Diego asks a little breathlessly. She barely hears him, rather guesses what he says from his open and slightly bashful expression.

She nods at him with a smile, then wraps her fingers around the chain and uses it to pull his face down towards hers and kisses him soundly.

When she pulls away there's a hungry look in his eyes and so Lila decides to make things worse by pulling on the chain a little harder now so she can get to Diego's ear without having to get up on tip-toes, and says evenly, “I think I could get quite the good use out of this,” and jerks the chain once more for emphasis.

To her delight her antics get the desired response as Diego growls at her words, bites her lightly on the jaw, which makes Lila yelp, and then surprises her by dipping her deeply, and with his nose touching hers, says in a low rumble that sends a shiver down Lila's spine, “You should know better, babe, than to say shit like that if you're not going to follow through with it!”

To Lila's annoyance he doesn't kiss her but rather pulls her back upright and spins her out, and Lila's reminded that they're technically still dancing. When she comes back close to him she drags a finger down his chest and says into his ear in the most sultry voice she can manage, “Oh, I'll follow through with it, don't you worry!”

They spend the rest of the night dancing and flirting with each other and drinking with the rest of the Hargreeves.

And when they get back to their hotel room, Lila makes good on her promise.

#fanfic #the umbrella academy #tua #lila pitts #diego hargreeves #diellila #liego #diego x lila #diego/lila #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves

7 notes · View notes

a-solitary-marshmallow · 4 years ago

Text

Do No Harm, Take No Shit; Chapter 2

Oh sweet mother of god, he had to see her. His princess. His Lady. The girl with a devilish smile, frightening intelligence and the biggest heart he’d ever seen in one person. The girl who brought him surprise croissants on bad days and made the lucky charm that lived in his breast pocket, resting above his heart.

He had to see her. He had to tell her he was sorry and beg her forgiveness for being so useless. For not seeing her before.

“Do what you have to do.” Plagg sighed from his desk.

“Plagg, claws out!”

He didn’t care that he was in track pants and an old shirt, or that wet hair dribbled down the nape of his neck. As soon as Adrien’s mask manifested he leapt from the window and into the chilling night air.

In only a few minutes Chat Noir reached the hospital. Room number, room number. Alya had mentioned it over the phone when she’d visited Marinette in the afternoon. Adrien hadn’t been allowed to go.

He landed on the windowsill with shaking breaths. Chat Noir tried to peer inside but all he could see was a dark room, equipment and a nondescript hospital bed, all in shades of night-vision green. There was someone in the bed but he couldn’t see who it was under the blanket.

She was sleeping. Even in this was her room, Chat Noir had come during the night. Of course she was sleeping! It was dark and she must be tired. Chat Noir couldn’t wake her up for a stupid visit. He hadn’t even thought about what to say.

He turned to leave, kicking himself, and then he heard a click.

Chat Noir looked around slowly to where Marinette sat up in bed staring at him, a lamp illuminating the room. Chat Noir felt his cheeks flush and he pointed to the window.

Marinette nodded. He eased it open and landed lightly on the sterile floor.

“Chat Noir.” Her voice was so achingly familiar. Why had he never seen it before? He tried to study her face but all he could see were bruises, dressing, and the heavy pink cast on her arm. Her lower lip was swollen. “To what do I owe this visit?”

Chat Noir’s eyes burned, and Marinette looked concerned.

“Chat?”

Chat Noir walked over to her and knelt shakily to kiss her non-broken hand. It was small and cold, terrifyingly so. How had he never noticed how small she was before? Ladybug had always seemed big – her confidence made up for any lack in stature, but now she seemed very little in a big hospital bed.

“My Lady, I – I’m so sorry. I should have been there.” Tears blurred his vision so he kept his gaze on the bed sheets. “I should have done more. I’m sorry, Marinette.”

Even now, her name tasted sweet on his lips. Marinette’s breath hitched – then she sighed and squeezed his hand. “It wasn’t your fault, Kitty.” He didn’t look up to see the smile he could hear in her voice. “But how’d you figure me out?”

Chat Noir wiped his eyes with his other palm. “You – you kept asking for Tikki.”

“Oh.” Marinette said dumbly. “Huh. How about that?”

“Can I…” Chat faltered. “Can I stay for a bit? I don’t want to go yet.”

“Of course.” Marinette scooched over, giving him room to crawl up next to her. He laid his cheek on the warm pillow and Marinette smiled at him, bruised and beautiful.

Some time passed, and then Chat Noir said, “So now that I know the identity of our resident Ladybug, am I permitted to know the name of the boy who has captured her heart?” Marinette flushed adorably. The words tasted bitter, but Chat Noir forced a crooked smile. “A certain blue-haired musician, perhaps?”

Marinette blinked. “What, Luka?” And that wasn’t going quite to script, leaving him even more confused than before. He was sure Marinette and Luka were a thing – they had a double date together at the ice rink!

“But…” He said dumbly. Marinette shook her head firmly.

“No, I don’t love Luka. We’re friends. Not that it’s any of your business, silly cat.” She whacked him lightly on the shoulder and Chat Noir snickered.

“So, what’s the lucky boy like?” He teased. Marinette groaned and hid her face in her one useable hand. “Oh come on Milady, I won’t tell anyone. Cat’s honour.” He crossed his heart for good measure. She paused for a moment.

“He’s… kind. And so sweet. He isn’t very good with people but he tries so hard, anyone can see. Naive,” She chuckled, “but so adorable.”

Chat Noir bit down a sting of jealousy. “He sounds like a great guy.”

“He is!” Marinette gushed. And even though it hurt him, he could watch her talk about this boy for hours. Her eyes sparkled and she glowed with happiness. “At first I didn’t like him, I thought he was just another rude rich kid, but we talked and I just… fell for him. And he’s so gentle, Chat. There’s this girl in our class who keeps hanging off him and it obviously makes him uncomfortable, but he doesn’t want to hurt her by telling her off, which is kind of upsetting because Adrien deserved to have his boundaries respected but it’s not my place to tell her to back off.”

She continued, but Cat Noir only heard static. Adrien. Like, his name, Adrien. Did Marinette know another Adrien who attended their class? Because if not then she could only be talking about...

“Chat, you can’t tell anyone about this.” Marinette continued seriously. “Ugh, when Adrien’s around my heart absolutely melts, I can barely get through a conversation, let alone confess. As much as Alya tries to get me to.”

“Adrien?” Chat wheezed. “Like, Adrien Agreste? From the perfume ad?”

Marinette peered at him suspiciously. “Why the face? Do you like him too? That’s understandable, because he is adorable, but-”

Chat Noir burst out laughing.

Once it started it didn’t stop and he sat up, loud peals of laughter exploding through him. Of course. Of course it was like this. He cackled until his stomach and cheeks ached, and then he dissolved into a fit of giggles at the sight of Marinette’s face.

“If you’re quite done?” Marinette said dryly. Evidently he wasn’t because that got him started all over again.

When Chat finally got a hold of himself, Marinette was frowning at him. He ran a hand through his hair.

“Oh Mari, you won’t believe how stupid I’ve been. This is priceless.”

“What?” Marinette demanded. Chat Noir giggled into his hands and managed, “Claws in.”

Marinette let out a strangled yelp as his costume dissolved in a flash of light.

“OhmygodChatwhy – ADRIEN?”

Adrien grinned sheepishly at her. Marinette fumbled for words with a very panicked expression on her white face.

“You’re – you were – OH SHIT I REJECTED YOU!”

Adrien cackled again. “You see?”

Marinette clapped her hands over her mouth – then she too started giggling. “Oh my god, we’re both idiots. But – but Aspik!” She pointed at his face accusingly. Adrien rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, I was flattered that you chose me – civilian me, I mean. And anyway, what about Multimouse? I swear I saw Ladybug and Multimouse standing side-by-side.”

Now Marinette flushed. “I, um, used Trixx’s power for that bit. I couldn’t have you figuring out my identity, and – stop laughing!” She grabbed her pillow to pummel him one-handedly.

Adrien wheezed through cackles, “You could have just said something like I did-”

“I WAS BEING CAUTIOUS!”

“Ugh, get a room.” Plagg groaned from behind Adrien. The pesky kwarmi had been sitting there the whole time, hadn’t he? Adrien’s face burned.

Marinette ceased her ruthless attack to bury her face in her hands and mumble, “Hi Plagg.”

“Howdy.” The kwarmi replied dryly. “Finally. Do you know how annoying it was to watch you two dance around each other?”

A bright red blur zipped from under the bed to bump against Plagg affectionately. Tikki herself. Adrien waved to her and she beamed back, but it only lasted a second before shifting to something serious.

“While this is sweet, I think we have bigger things to talk aboit right now – mainly Lila.”

Damn, Tikki’s voice was squeaker than he remembered. “Lila?” Adrien echoed, noticing as Marinette flinched. “What about her? Oh, you’re Ladybug, so her claiming to be your best friend is kinda messed up. Especially since everyone knows I’m–”

He broke off as Marinette lifted a hand for quiet, biting her lip.

“Did I miss something?” Adrien looked between kwarmi and wielder. Marinette’s eyebrows were pulled tight and she looked uncertain, an expression he didn’t often see on his Lady’s face.

Marinette took a breath and Adrien waited for her to talk. She did, slowly. “I don’t remember most of what happened today. But… Tikki does, and she says that Lila tripped me. And it isn’t the first time she’s done something like this.” She mumbled almost to herself. Adrien’s ears roared.

“She what?” He snarled. Marinette looked away. “She. Tripped you? What the fuck is wrong with her? Wait wait wait, what do you mean this isn’t the first time?”

Marinette flushed, her eyes locked on the bed sheets. Adrien took her hands.

“Marinette, please, talk to me.”

“She… threatened me.” Marinette mumbled, making Adrien’s blood burn. “Told me she’d take you, and all my friends. And she spills coffee on me and when I get upset she makes it seem like I’m in the wrong. And she keeps shaming me for asking to be paid for commissions, and she ruined my art project and got me expelled and she trips me when we’re alone and once she threw a book at my head and,” Marinette looked up with tears in her eyes, “And she’s taking Alya away from me. She’s making everyone think I’m a liar.” Marinette’s voice cracked, as did Adrien’s heart.

“She threatened you?” Adrien whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Marinette hiccupped. “I-I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me-”

Oh, no, no this wouldn’t stand. Adrien pulled Marinette to his chest and buried his face in her hair as she shook. “I’m so sorry, Marinette, that you’ve had to do this alone. I’m sorry I made you think I wouldn’t take your side. I’m so sorry I told you to ignore her and left you to deal with her all by yourself, and I promise, I will always have your back, I will always believe you. Please don’t feel like you have to keep things from me.”

Marinette sniffled and wrapped her arms around him, which seemed like a good start on the road for forgiveness. Oh fuck, he had messed up so badly. Marinette could have died. He owed her so many chocolates and flowers and get well soon cards, and as for Lila…

“That girl is going to pay.” Adrien growled into Marinette’s hair. She pulled back enough to meet his gaze, and there was something steely in her tear-filled eyes.

“Way ahead of you, kitty. I have a plan.”

“You know I’m all in.” Adrien kissed her forehead, making her squeak in alarm. “Whatever you need.”

“…though it may take a while.” Marinette admitted. “I’ll need to be out of my cast so no one gets suspicious.”

“In the meantime, we can prepare. And – if my lady permits it – I might be given a second chance?”

“Second chance?” Marinette echoed. Adrien winced. She was so sweet, she didn’t even know what he was talking about. She’d probably already forgiven him. He didn’t deserve her – none of their classmates did, either.

“For being a terrible partner.” He explained. Marinette’s eyes widened.

“Chat Augustus Cornelius Noir, you take that back right this second.”

He blinked at the ferocity of her tone. “But-”

“No buts. You didn’t know about Lila, how could you have done anything about it?”

“But I let it happen right under my-” Marinette’s glare made Adrien choke to a halt. They stared at each other for a moment before she poked him.

“Enough with the self-deprecation. It’s been disallowed. None of this was your fault. Okay?”

“Okay.” Adrien echoed.

“Good.” Marinette said severely. Oh, he loved her.

“Will-” Adrien blurted out. “I mean – um – would you – can I get you lunch some time?”

Marinette’s eyes widened comically, her cheeks flushing. “Er. Yes. I’d really lo – like that. To get lunch.”

“O-Okay.” Adrien stammered. Wow, real eloquent. He could hear Plagg snickering at him.

There was a shuffling through the wall, and they tensed. What would happen if a nurse walked in and found a strange boy in Marinette’s room? From the look in Marinette’s eye she seemed to be having the same thought.

“I’ll come back tomorrow.” Adrien whispered. Marinette nodded. “Claws out.”

Chat Noir leaned down to kiss Marinette’s hand before ducking through the window and into the Paris night sky, feeling lighter than he had in years.

#dnhtns #fic #my writing #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #chat noir #part 2

201 notes · View notes

p-artsypants · 4 years ago

Text

Panache

Every eligible maiden was invited to the Prince's ball. That included Marinette, scullery maid in her own household. But her stepsisters destroyed her dress, and she can't go to the ball in rags.

Or can she?

"You go to that ball! You eat some fancy cheese! Get tipsy on expensive champagne! And lose yourself in the arms of some nameless stranger!" Said Plagg.

"Nameless Stranger, hmm?"

Ao3 | FF.net

“So? What do you think?” Marinette pulled the vintage dress from her trunk, holding it up against herself for the two little fairies to see.

“I love the pink!” Said Tikki, the Ladybug.

“It’s a little old fashioned,” said Plagg, the cat.

Marinette turned and looked at it in the mirror. “It is a little old fashioned, isn’t it? It was my mother’s favorite party dress. I hid it before stepmother got rid of everything that belonged to her.”

“It’s still very nice...” Plagg said, trying to placate her.

“Of course. Nobles such as my parents didn’t attend parties in rags. Most nobles didn’t wear the same dress twice! But my mother loved this dress, so she wore it as often as she could.”

“You could update it a little,” said Tikki. “The Prince’s ball isn’t for another two days.”

“That’s not a lot of time, without a sewing machine, but I think I can pull it off!”

“Marinette!” Called a nasally voice up the stairs. “I’ve been waiting on my snack for 15 minutes! What’s taking you so long? Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I guess the dress will have to wait.” She slipped it on the dress form and let her hand smooth over the years of wrinkles from being hidden away. Updated or not, she would wear it.

Because the Prince demanded every eligible maiden, regardless of status, to attend. Technically, Marinette was of noble birth, but after the death of her biological parents, and the alienation of her stepmother, she was basically just a scullery maid. And scullery maids don’t get to attend fancy parties, even if they used to be something.

But that didn’t seem to matter to the Prince. Or the King. Or whoever was responsible for this party.

“Marinette!!” The young woman was pulled out of her thoughts at the shout.

“Coming!” She abandoned the dress and hurried down the steps to do her chores.

Her step-sister, Chloe, was waiting for her at the bottom. “What were you doing up there? You’re supposed to be making my afternoon snack!”

“Of course, Chloe. I was just distracted.”

“Well, stop it! And after you’ve made my snack, Mother wants you to fit Lila and I for our dresses for the ball!”

“I’ll meet you in the dressing room after you’ve had your snack.” Marinette said cooly. “I’ll only need to fetch my sewing kit.”

Chloe gave her a little smirk. “I’m not sure what style I want for the ball. You might be working on alterations all night!” She cackled as she walked away.

“Guess I won’t be updating that dress very much.” Marinette huffed to herself.

Never mind fitting or altering the dresses, Lila and Chloe couldn’t pick one to start with!

“This purple is heinous! It completely clashes with the brown in my hair!”

“This red is too dark, too old fashioned!”

“This sash is so ugly! I never want to see it again! Throw it away!”

“Look at the frills on this! So last season! Get it out of my sight!”

Each dress put more of a mess on the floor, more fabric in her hands, and more of her late father’s squandered money in the toilet.

“Have we made a decision?” A voice spoke from the doorway. It belonged to Marinette’s stepmother, Audrey.

“Mother, we simply have nothing to wear! None of this is good enough for the Prince!”

Marinette swept her eyes across the room, and the now empty closets. If she had a better relationship with her stepsisters, maybe they’d let her borrow one. There were at least a dozen she envied, just at a first glance.

But these girls were selfish and spoiled rotten. There was no ‘borrowing’ happening.

Audrey met Marinette’s eyes over the stack of dresses in her arms. “What do you think, Marinette?”

“Her?!” Barked Chloe. “She has no sense of fashion at all!”

“No fashion at all!” Echoed Lila. “She hasn’t been helpful at all today!” She lied.

“Regardless,” Audrey stated calmly as she walked further into the room. “I’m curious to see what Marinette thinks. What dresses do you think your stepsisters should wear to the ball?”

This had to be a test. Everything that Audrey did was a test, to see Marinette’s will, her spirit, and her loyalty. The better she played the test, the less severe the punishment.

And there was always punishment.

Carefully, Marinette set the dresses down on the bed, then laid out each one, looking them over carefully. She occasionally looked over to Chloe and Lila, just to gauge complexions and hair colors.

“This one, for Chloe,” she held up a mostly gold dress, with black accents along the bodice and skirts. “If I take the bustle from this dress,” she pointed to another gold dress that was the same shade, “I can add it to this one, and make it more stylish for this year.”

Chloe didn’t argue, and came over to look at the dress again for herself.

“For Lila,” she held up a lavender purple dress with huge sleeves and wide skirts. “If I remove the neck line, and lower the sleeves to be off the shoulder, I think that would look really nice.”

Lila perked up a little bit, liking the idea of the off-the-shoulder look.

“What do you think gals?”

It turns out, Marinette was the inventor of her own punishment. Chloe and Lila instantly dove in to request outlandish alterations for their dresses.

Things that would take up almost all of her time.

“And before I leave, what were the items you wanted me to discard?”

Marinette ended up leaving the room with an arm full of ‘last years’ accessories, and two huge dresses to alter.

—

Many hours later, and too many pin pricks to count. Marinette finished Chloe and Lila’s dresses.

They were amazing, elegant, and far too beautiful for her horrible stepsisters to wear.

It just wasn’t fair.

“Wow Marinette!” Exclaimed Tikki with eyes shining, “these dresses came out beautifully!”

“Too bad they don’t match the souls of the wearers.” Snarked Plagg, as if he read her mind.

“Stop,” Marinette chastised. “You shouldn’t say stuff like that.”

“You were thinking it.”

“...yeah, well thinking it and saying it are two different things.”

Plagg picked up a scrap of discarded fabric from the floor and took it over to her own untouched dress. “You’ve got a lot of leftover fabric. What are you going to do with it?”

“I don’t know what I can do. Most of this doesn’t match my dress, and the ball is tomorrow!”

“We’ll help you!” Said Tikki, eager. “If anyone deserves a night off, it’s you!”

Marinette smiled fondly at her two fairies. Though they could work a little magic, they couldn’t drastically fix her problems. But just having their company and friendship made her life more bearable, and a lot less lonely.

“Then, we better get to work!”

—

A careful eye is all it took. Marinette plucked the perfect scraps needed to enhance her mother’s dress. A little lace here, a sash there, and with the help of Tikki and Plagg, it all fell together, just in time.

She even made little pockets for them to hide in, so that they could, ostensibly, enjoy the ball as well.

Marinette hurried down the staircase just as her step family was leaving. “Wait! Oh please wait!”

Wait they did, halting in movement and sound as she sashayed down the stairs and across the foyer. “Do you like it? It took me all night!”

Instead of any words of kindness, not that she actually expected any, both Lila and Chloe turned to Audrey, screaming.

“Mother she can’t go! You can’t let her go!”

“It’s not fair! Tell her to stay home!”

But Audrey simply smiled at the daughters, and then Marinette. “I’m afraid it’s out of my hands. Marinette is allowed to go. She finished all of her chores, and by all rights, she was invited.”

Marinette refrained from celebrating though. There was something in her step-mother’s tone that suggested something more sinister.

Audrey appraised her dress, her dark eyes scanning her form with scrutiny. “It’s a very lovely dress, Marinette. You made it yourself?”

“Yes?”

“And oh, where did you get the fabric from?”

“I didn’t make it from scratch. It’s an updated dress I had from my mother.”

“This lace plating,” Audrey traced the line on the collar. “It looks a lot like the lace that used to be on Chloe’s dress. Don’t you think, Chloe?”

“Don’t ask me, I don’t care—AH!” She gasped. “You little thief! You ripped my dress apart just to take the piece you wanted from it?!”

“No! No Chloe not at all! It was scrap! I was going to throw it away!”

“Give it back!” With a firm grip and a hearty tug, Chloe ripped the thin lace right off of Marinette’s collar. This unraveled part of the front, which drooped asymmetrically. Marinette grabbed hold to keep it from falling off.

“And that’s the sash to my dress!” Lila shouted, pointing at her waist. She grabbed hold and ripped it right off, not caring if it got torn in the process.

“And that tassel!” Chloé shrieked, going in for more damage.

Over and over, Lila and Chloe laid waste to Marinette’s hard work, turning the recycled ball gown into just rags.

When it was all said and done, she was just barely covered. One shoulder was exposed, and there was half a sleeve on the other side. Her draping silk skirt was shredded, and only the white underskirt kept her modest (and even that had a slit up her leg.)

Marinette stood in the carnage, in shock and horror, as she just took in all that had happened in so little time.

Audrey just smiled at her as Chloe and Lila flounced out of the manor. “Goodnight, dear.” She said with a sickeningly sweet voice.

It was too much. Marinette fled from the room, bursting through the back door and out to the garden. For so long, she had been able to shrug off their comments, to smile and turn the other cheek. Because that’s all it was, comments. Words.

But this was too much. Cruelty to an unfathomable degree.

Marinette collapsed on a stone bench under her mother’s favorite willow tree. The very place she held her fondest memories with her parents. It was six years since her father’s passing, and ten since her mother’s. But not a day passed without her missing them.

But under this tree, she felt close to them. The ache didn’t hurt as much. The low draping branches caressed her hair, and she could pretend it was her mother’s hand.

“Maman...papa...I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I let them ruin your dress. I shouldn’t have altered it. Maybe then...maybe...” she sobbed. “I’m sorry papa. You asked me to love them, but I can’t. I just can’t! They’re awful and cruel! Why did you leave me with them?”

A tiny paw caressed her cheek. “Marinette, you know Audrey acted differently around your father. He fell for her lies. He didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know. I know...I’m sorry papa. I’m sorry.”

Still feeling guilty, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. “It’s just a silly dress...and just a silly ball.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “But I worked really hard, and I really wanted to go.”

“So why don’t you?” Plagg asked, cheerfully.

“I can’t go looking like this.”

“Why not?”

“It would be improper!”

He scoffed at her. “What’s improper? You’re covered, you’re still dressed modestly. Set a new fashion standard! Beggar chic!”

”Thanks Plagg, you always know how to cheer me up.”

“Well, I’m glad you feel better. But it wasn’t just a joke.”

“You aren’t seriously suggesting...”

“I am!” He twirled in the air. “You go to that ball! You eat some fancy cheese! Get tipsy on expensive champagne! And lose yourself in the arms of some nameless stranger!” He put his paw to his head, to stir up dramatics.

“A nameless stranger, huh?” She laughed. “Like anyone would approach me looking like this.”

“All you need is a little tidying up!” Sang Tikki. She twirled around her, brushing the dirt from her skirt and tying back some of the material to look less like rags, and more intentional. “And...a little spell.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Really? You’re going to use magic?”

“Just a little, tiny, harmless spell.” Tikki blew on her, creating a plume of glitter. “There we go.”

“What did you do?”

“Gave you a little boost of confidence. It’s very attractive in people, you know. Wear your dress with pride, and don’t let anyone ruin this night for you.”

Her shoulders felt light, her body relaxed. She could take on the world! “Thanks Tikki, and Plagg.” She added as an afterthought.

Both fairies kept her company until she reached the castle, and then they dove into her skirt pockets.

“One more thing,” Tikki added. “When the clock strikes midnight, the confidence spell will be broken. You’ll be on your own.”

“That's alright. I can’t imagine staying that long.”

Walking through the town, Marinette was given looks of skepticism and repulsion, but she just smiled and waved them off.

Because this was her night, and no one was going to ruin it for her.

She arrived at the castle after the majority of the guests arrived. The stairs were flanked with guards, all stalwartly standing at attention, with halberds in hand.

She attempted to enter, but the halberds crossed in front of her, forbidding entry.

A less confident Marinette would have taken that as her defeat and turned back. But she had confidence to spare today! “Is this not the way to the ball?”

“Dressed like that, it’s not.” Said the guard.

“Oh, this? I know, it looked better a half hour ago, before my stepsisters decided I shouldn’t be allowed to attend, even though I was invited. I decided not to let it bother me, and go anyways. It’s still the best dress I have.”

The palace guards were known for their stoic faces and rigid posture. But at that moment, she saw both of them melt, and move the halberds back to their sides. “Go ahead mademoiselle, enjoy the party.”

She curtsied. “Thank you, kind sirs.”

With her head held high, Marinette climbed the stairs, following the trickle of people, until she stood before a woman at a table.

This woman had gorgeous red hair in an ombré, and wore a monocle. She gave Marinette a skeptical glance, and asked, “invitation please?”

Oh, this might actually be a problem. “I’m sorry. My stepmother has the invitation. She arrived before me.”

This did not concern the woman. “Name of household?”

“Ah, Bourgeois.”

The woman frowned, her mouth screwing up in displeasure. She checked her list. “I’m sorry, I already have Lila and Chloe here. Are you a maid in the house?”

“Yes, in a way.”

“What’s your surname?”

“Dupain-Cheng.”

The quill the woman was holding clattered to the floor, as she looked at her, wide-eyed and horrified. “Du-Du-Dupain?! As in Thomas Dupain?!”

“Yes, and his wife Sabine.”

“You’re their daughter? Marinette?”

“Yes? Um, how do you know me?”

“Who doesn’t know the name Dupain?! Duke Thomas Dupain, married a baker from China for love. The nicest person anyone ever knew! What happened to you? Where did you go?”

“I’ve been here, in Paris.” Marinette shrugged, shyly.

“Everyone thinks you’re dead!”

“I’m...dead? No, no, I just...” she looked down at her tattered dress. “I suppose that shouldn’t be all that surprising.”

“Your father remarried after the death of your mother, correct?”

“Yes. Audrey Bourgeois.”

“Ah, I see now. I apologize.” She glanced over her ragged dress again. “I’ll send for a new dress for you, and I’ll give your name to the herald to announce your arrival.”

“Oh that’s not necessary,” Marinette interrupted with an outstretched hand. “I don’t really want to draw extra attention to myself. I just came to enjoy the ball. I know that the Prince will be looking for his bride tonight, but...I just want to be a wallflower to such a fancy party.”

The woman sighed, a fond smile on her face. “Alright, I’ll let you in. But you should introduce yourself in there. People deserve to know you’re here...you deserve to be acknowledged.”

Marinette reached out and touched her hand gently. “Thank you. Right now, it’s not a good idea. But I’ll keep it in mind Miss...?”

“Cesaire. Alya Cesaire.”

“Thank you Alya.” She gave a little curtsy, and then headed up the stairs. The ballroom was just ahead. The doors were wide open, and even despite the enormous crowd, the room still looked empty. High ceilings, robust chandeliers, and a high, wide balcony where a man sat, watching. It was so much to take in.

—

This ball, as with all of his father’s events, was dull and boring. When his father had announced he was throwing his son a party for his seventeenth birthday, he expected some sort of boring formal ball. But this, this was a whole new level of asinine mediocrity.

All Adrien had done so far was stand in one spot and smile, then addressed every god damn eligible maiden in the kingdom with a polite, “how do you do?”

Each one came up with the most gold digging, fake smile, and curtsied. They twirled their little dresses, like that would somehow influence him?

Adrien was lucky that King Gabriel had allowed him to marry for love. Though he was on a time limit. Apparently, he was a year behind, because Gabriel had assumed he would have picked someone at 16.

He was barely interested in the fairer sex right now anyways. Sure, it would be nice to have a female companion. They were soft and smelled nice. Bonus if they were married to him, he could have someone to snuggle with at night when he was at his loneliest.

But he didn’t want a trophy. Or a ‘yes-woman’. He wanted a companion. A friend.

And it was really hard to judge someone’s personality based on a 30 second interaction.

He yawned, casting the action up towards his father, letting him know this entire evening was a bore.

“Lila and Chloe Bourgeois.”

Adrien winced internally as the girls were introduced. He knew them. There wasn’t a single person in the kingdom that didn’t know the infamous Bourgeois daughters. Pretty enough, but wickedly cruel, stuck up, and obnoxious.

“I want to go first!” Said Chloe, elbowing her sister.

“I was introduced first, so I get to go!” Said Lila.

They made their way towards him, elbowing and bickering the whole time. But they pulled it together when they reached the end, and bowed low.

“Your Highness.” They both cooed in the most sickeningly sweet tone he’d ever heard.

“How do you do?” He nodded to them.

Then rolled his eyes at his father.

But the girls weren’t leaving. They continued to stand in front of him, staring at him with hunger in their eyes.

“So,” said Lila. “Which one of us is it going to be?”

“Excuse me?” Adrien asked, more insulted than confused.

“Obviously, I’m the prettier one.” Said Chloe, with a hand to her chest.

“Yes, sister, but your voice is so hard to listen to. You wouldn’t subject His Highness to that, would you?”

Chloe gasped. “How dare you try to embarrass me in front of the Prince!”

Adrien glanced behind the girls, trying to see the line of ladies waiting to be introduced.

There was no more. He was done. Over a hundred eligible maidens in the kingdom, and he had to get stuck with these two at the end. So what now? Did the list start over with dancing? He certainly didn’t have that many dances in him.

He didn’t really want to dance at all.

“Well?” Asked Chloe, waving her hand in front of his face. “What do you think? Personally, I think I have more personality. And I’m more honest.”

“You’re more blunt, is what you mean,” interjected Lila.

Across the room, Adrien noticed a new girl entering. She hadn’t been announced, but he hadn’t seen her earlier. And he would have remembered if he had.

She wore a content smile, her hands folded in front of her. Her eyes wandered the venue, taking in the sights, the sounds, the ambience. She seemed to just revel in it, like she was coming home. Her shoulders were squared, her spine straight, and she smiled and nodded at passerby, servant and guest alike.

She oozed with confidence and elegance, but also grace and dignity. The fact that she was the first guest to acknowledge the servants at all spoke volumes.

He had never felt this way before. His heart was pounding, his face felt warm, and his breaths were never deep enough.

Maybe she wasn’t so special, or nice, or anything he wanted. But there was only one way to know. He had to talk to her.

“Excuse me, ladies,” he spoke absently as he parted Lila and Chloe.

Surely his father wouldn’t be angry that he broke protocol. Not if she turned out to be as amazing as she seemed at first glance.

“Pardon me,” he spoke, coming up to her side.

She gave a little gasp of surprise, not expecting to be approached.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just wondered if you cared to dance?”

The smile she gave was radiant, dreamy, carefree. “I would love to dance, Nameless Stranger.”

He tilted his head. Did she really not know who he was? “Nameless Stranger?” He laughed.

“It’s a little joke. I promised myself I’d enjoy the evening with a little fancy cheese, a taste of expensive champagne, and to lose myself in the arms of a nameless stranger. If that’s alright?”

“Meeting the prince isn’t on that list?”

She actually looked sheepish. “Well, it would be nice, but I didn’t think it was appropriate while I’m dressed like this.” She gestured to her dress.

For the first time, Adrien actually noticed what she was wearing. He had seen so many dresses that night, they all seemed to blur together.

But hers was ripped to shreds. “Oh.” He stated, a little shocked.

“It looked better a half an hour ago, before some family decided they didn’t want me coming to the ball.”

“And you decided to come anyways?” He said with awe. “Even at the risk of being ridiculed?”

“I haven’t been ridiculed yet.” She smiled. “Got some side-eyes, but I can handle that. You’ve invited me for a dance after all.”

“To be quite honest, I hadn’t noticed your dress until you pointed it out. Men don’t typically notice that sort of thing, you know?”

“Or perhaps it’s just you,” she beamed at him, eyes glittering with mirth.

It made him blush. “Well, would you still like to dance with me? You might attract some attention.”

“You’re being awfully kind to me, and that’s really all that matters.”

He smiled at her widely, and extended his arm for her to take.

Never before did Marinette get to enjoy the sensation of watching a crowd part for her. This young, handsome man led her out to the dance floor, and as they reached the center, music started to play.

He led, and she followed, stumbling once or twice before they got their rhythm.

“I haven’t danced in a long time. Sorry if I’m out of practice.”

“If this is out of practice, you’re doing remarkably well.”

“Really?”

“Really! Just last week, I danced with a girl. Well, I was forced to dance with a girl that stepped on my feet more than the floor.”

“I’m sorry for your poor toes.” She giggled, and he had never heard such a sweet sound.

Somewhere behind her, Marinette heard a scoff of disgust. Normally, this would have made her shrink in embarrassment, but with the confidence boost, she just said, “they’re all watching us, but I don’t think they’re happy.”

“No,” said Adrien. “I don’t think so either. I think they’re jealous. Not a lot of handsome men to dance with, I’m afraid.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

She laughed. “I feel sorry for the Prince then, if he had to invite all these women to have a good time.”

“Oh, you don’t know? He’s looking for a bride tonight.”

“I heard such a thing. An odd way of going about it, inviting every eligible maiden. Seems like a lot of estrogen to wade through.”

He laughed, a bit too unrestrained for such a fancy occasion, in front of so many people, but he really didn’t care. And by the way her face lit up with joy, she didn’t mind either.

“I like your spunk, Miss…?”

“Miss Nameless Stranger,” she smirked. “After all, it wouldn’t be fair if you knew me, and I still didn’t know you.”

“Touché. But I intend to get it out of you by the end of the night. You’re far too amazing to let go of.”

Her smile came a little sadder this time. “I’m not that amazing. But it thrills me to know you think so.”

“Would you like to take a walk in the garden? Give these Old biddies something to gossip about?”

She giggled. “Sounds entirely too pleasant. Lead the way, good sir.”

Adrien held out an arm for her, squeezing her hand as she attached herself to him.

This was nice. Extremely nice. It was fun and exciting to meet someone under the pretext of being someone else, but more so, getting to know someone without title and wealth getting in the way.

She was smart, polite, and graceful. She knew how to dance. Surely she was someone of some nobility? Even if she wasn’t, his father had agreed he could pick anyone at the ball for a bride.

There also laid excitement in unraveling her mystery. Her interests, her worldview, her thinking, her story. It was like solving a moving puzzle.

Moving out to the gardens, he watched as her face lit up with a dazzling smile as she took in the perfectly curated blooms.

“A fan of flowers?” He asked.

“Oh yes!” Said Marinette. “My parents used to have this lovely garden when I was younger. It’s not as nice now, when I’m the only one able to tend to it.” She caressed the petals of a pink rose.

“Your family has lost a lot of money then?” He asked. “Not that it’s any of my business of course. But I know rough times fall upon a lot of people.”

“I understand. We were set for life, and I would have been too, had nothing happened. But, I lost my mother when I was six.”

He gasped. “I know what that’s like. I lost my mother two years ago.”

She looked pained, and reached out to take his hand, and gave it a little squeeze. “My heart goes out to you. It was so long ago with my mother, I still miss her, but I’ve had time to grieve. Same with my father. But two years ago must still be hard.”

“You lost your father too?” He spoke, his heart breaking for her.

“Yes. Two years after my mother. I’m not homeless though. He remarried, and she had two daughters. I still have...a family.”

Adrien noticed that her smile didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry, that’s such a downer topic for such a nice evening.” She winced.

“No, no it’s fine. I’m interested in learning about your family! And besides, every time I mention my mother, I end up having to comfort whoever I’m talking to, because they usually knew her and they’re sad about her passing.”

“She was popular then?”

“A regular queen bee.”

“And your father?” She asked, delicately.

“Um, he didn’t take it well. He’s been pretty hard to read.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry, it's hard not to have family when you need them. My stepmother was pretty…cold after my father passed. So I understand the feeling.”

“What did you do? How did you cope with it?” He asked, looking into her eyes. He seemed genuine, like he needed advice.

“I realized a stepmother isn’t the same thing as a blood relative.” She began, “So you might have better luck, but…I never really had a good relationship with her. I try to avoid her as much as possible. Instead, I found friends, and they’re my new family now.”

His eyes widened, before a hopeful smile graced his face. “A new family, hmm?”

“That’s what worked for me, at least. You should at least talk to your father. You never know.”

“I suppose it’s worth a try.” He gave a little half grin. “Although these days, he’s more obsessed about me getting married and having heirs.”

“Marriage! How old are you?”

“17. So, not out of the realm of possibility.”

“For nobles?” She asked.

A curious gaze came over his face. So she wasn’t of noble birth? She was just that keen and aware? “Who said I was a noble?” His eyes twinkled.

“Oh, it was just an assumption. Your clothing looks very nice. And you said you were forced to dance with a girl last week. Sounds like you go to fancy parties fairly often.”

He chuckled. “You figured me out. I was trying to lean into the nameless stranger role, and let you pretend I was anything you wanted me to be.”

She squeezed his hand. “Prince or pauper, all I want is for you to be you, sir.”

He raised her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You must be careful with such flattering words, or else I may follow you out of here like a lost kitten.” He kissed her once more and admitted, “it’s not often people get invested in me for me, and not my title or family name.”

“That’s a shame. You seem so wonderful.”

“I’ll have you know, that I am a delight.” He beamed, squeezing her hands in both of his. “Oh, goodness, your hands…” he felt her skin.

“I know, awfully rough and callous?”

“I was going to say cold.” He raised her digits to his face and blew on her hands, then covered them with his own. “Are you chilled out here?”

“Oh no, not at all. It feels nice. My hands are just always cold, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, an excuse to get me to hold your hand for the rest of the night. I’m onto your tricks.”

She giggled. “You’ve caught me.”

He intertwined their fingers and guided her down a walkway, delving deeper into the gardens.

“Now, My Lady, as much as I’ve enjoyed our little game, I simply must know where to find you again. This hour alone has been the most easy and comfortable conversation I’ve had in a long time.”

“Sadly, my good sir, it must only be for tonight. Because at dawn, I turn back into a frog.”

“No!” He gasped. “You can’t be a frog! You must be a more graceful animal, like a swan or a cat.” But this joke fell flat. “But truly, I can’t see you again?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“Will you tell me why?”

“No. Because I’m having too much fun with you. You know the phrase ‘the truth will set you free’? Well, it will. Set you free from me, that is.”

He frowned. “You’re not some sort of maniac or killer, are you?”

“Contrary to my appearance, no, I’m quite sane.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to be content with what you have given me. Tonight, you’ll be my princess, and tomorrow, you’ll be the phantom that haunts me for the rest of my life.”

“You’re being quite dramatic for only knowing me a day.”

“If I must be honest, you’re a breath of fresh air. The last few girls my father has tried to set me up with have been nothing but ‘ooooh look at this lovely dress my daddy bought me!’ ‘I didn’t like my old carriage, so my daddy bought me one in pink! Of course, I wouldn’t dare ruin it by riding on the dirt streets.’ ‘Ooo mummy and I are going on holiday to Milan! We’re meeting with the Princess there! Have you ever met the Princess? She’s so lovely!’ Blah, Milan doesn’t even have a Princess.”

“People live like that? It sounds so wasteful...” she thought about her own stepsisters then, realizing it wasn’t too hard to believe and that they would have done the same sort of things with more money. Especially Chloe.

“Yes, it is wasteful.” Said Adrien, tapping her on the nose playfully. “Though, my family does not have want for wealth, my father is extremely against frivolous spending. Every coin must be accounted for.” Adrien didn’t disclose that the money his family had was also the money for the kingdom. If the King started to spend more and more extravagantly, taxes go up, poverty goes up, riots go up, and the guillotine blade goes up. It wasn’t a habit Gabriel wanted his family to get into.

“I see. My stepsisters like their material goods. If they find a dress they like, they get it in every color. I, on the other hand, am lucky to get a new dress once a year.”

“...if this is your definition of new...” he gestured to her rags. “Then we ought to have a long conversation.”

She poked him in the ribs. “As I said earlier, this dress looked better earlier today. It was an old dress of my mother’s that I updated to modern style.”

“Ah! A seamstress and a designer! Now we’re getting somewhere!” He said with glee. “Is that something you enjoy for fun? Or necessity?”

“A little of both,” she stated, leading him onwards down the path. “It started as a necessity, and then I started to enjoy it. I don’t often get to really design...though I did mostly make up my stepsisters dresses for this party.”

He stopped. “Wait, they’re here? Which ones were they? I want to see!” He started to head back towards the ballroom, but Marinette held fast to his hand and tugged him back. She was stronger than he expected, and he stumbled and collided into her, standing chest to chest.

“I’m sorry, darling. My identity must remain a secret, remember? If I point them out, you’ll know who I am.”

The mirth in her eyes, the cunning, mischievous smile on her lips, it made him weak in the knees. He felt the warmth of her body pressed against him, and allowed his hand to rest on her back.

“You scare me, my lady.”

“How so?”

“It frightens me how quickly I’m finding myself falling for you, when I haven’t known you very long.”

“Maybe it’s the music.” The music from the ballroom was faint in the air, but did lend to the magic of the garden.

“No, no I don’t think it is.” He said softly.

She smirked at him and twirled out of his arms, but she did take his hand again. “So what about you, kind sir? What are your hobbies? Do you often find yourself falling in love with strange women?”

He didn’t feel offended as she pulled away or teased him. Contrary, he let her go, and was surprised that a woman wasn’t flinging herself at him. “Not hardly. Or ever. I don’t have a lot of time for hobbies. But I enjoy fencing, and playing the piano.”

She sighed happily. “I love pianos. My mother played when I was a child. My stepsister tries to play...but she’s not very good at it.” She winced. “But I’d love to hear you play.”

He ducked so he could face her, his nose almost touching hers. “Let me see you again, and I’ll play to your heart’s content.”

She lightly pinched his nose. “You’re a naughty one, has anyone told you that?”

“Nonsense,” he wiggled his nose after she let go. “I’m a gentleman. But to be honest, I’d play for you right now. Except the piano is in the ballroom, and I don’t want any of those sycophants to hear.”

“My, it almost sounds as if you’re bitter. Best not let them hear that. After all, the Prince invited them. Every eligible maiden.”

“Is that what the invitation said? Horrendous.” He scoffed. “But, to defend the Prince’s honor, he didn’t invite anyone. He didn’t even want this party.”

“Oh, does he not like parties?”

“I’m sure he does,” Adrien said with a little smile. “But this isn’t really a true ball. This is a job interview. You missed the part at the beginning, where he stood in front of this long line of girls, and they each came up to be introduced. They gave their prettiest smiles, and then moved over for the next girl. It lasted about two hours.” He groaned. “And he’s supposed to choose one to be his bride.”

“After a smile and a curtsy? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“No, it’s not.” He shook his head. “Hopefully, he gets his chance to find the girl he wants and get to talk to her. But there’s not many of them in there that came to enjoy the evening, like you. They all came with the intent to marry the Prince.”

“I see why you called them sycophants then.”

At that point, they had reached a fountain, and Marinette took a seat on the lip, letting her fingers drag across the surface. “What about you? Why are you here?”

“My father made me come. He wants me to pick out a bride, remember? Take home a heartbroken girl rejected by the Prince.” He looked back at the ballroom, lack of enthusiasm plain on his face. “I should be in there, looking for a bride. But...” he turned back to her. “I can’t seem to pull myself away from you.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t be who you want me to be. I’m not the marrying kind.”

“I’m not trying to guilt you, honest.” He moved a lock of her hair out of her face. “Besides, I wouldn’t want you to be anyone else, My Lady. If I was obligated to do anything with you, I can’t imagine this encounter would be the same.”

“So you’re glad I’ll be gone in the morning?” She tilted her head up towards him.

“Glad isn’t fair, because I will certainly miss your presence, with an ache in my heart. But that just means I can tell you every one of my secrets, and nothing will ever happen.”

She rested her hand on his knee as she stared up at him through her lashes. “Alright then, tell me your secrets?”

He smiled at her, and could not resist the temptation to press a kiss to the apple of her cheek. “I’m a hopeless romantic.”

“That’s not surprising.” She teased.

“It would be to anyone else. Any of my friends or family that sees me barely look at girls...they’d never guess that I desire for a beautiful, smart, funny, and kind companion. Who I would love to fall asleep with, and wake up next to.” He let his nose brush against hers, feeling the warmth of her breath over his lips. This was sinful, and so inappropriate, but it was the most fun he’d ever had. His heart was just a hum in his chest. “What about you? What’s your secret?”

“It’s not as innocent as yours, I’m afraid,” she whispered.

“Oh please tell me,” he nearly begged. “You must have a flaw.”

“I have plenty of flaws,” she smirked. “But for your information…I hate my stepfamily.”

“You? Hate? No!”

“Oh please, anyone can hate someone. I’m sure you have someone you loathe more than anything.”

He pulled away from her, a hand on his chin in genuine thought. “Hate, hate, hate…hmm…oh! Of course.” His face darkened. “Lila and Chloe Bourgeois.”

Her face paled. “What?”

“If there were two people I hate in this world, it’s them. Do you know who I’m talking about?”

“Yes, they’re fairly infamous then?”

“Extremely so. Cruel, obnoxious, and completely unaware that they live in proper society. Their mother is a little better, but she allows them to behave however they want to.”

“And what of their stepsister?” Marinette asked, trying to be casual.

“Who?”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Their stepsister?”

“Oh, Duke Tom and Sabine’s daughter? I’ve never met her. Don’t know anything about her, to be honest. There’s been rumors that she died, poisoned, like her father. Another reason I hate the family.” He glanced over the plants, making sure no one was around. “There’s another secret, I’m a huge gossip. They always say that gossip is an old women’s sport, but I find entertainment in listening to drama unfold around me.”

“You can get in trouble for gossiping.” She warned.

“Not me, surely. And I only listen. My servants—er, the um, the staff around the house, they fill me in with all the latest details from the marketplace.”

“You don’t go to the market yourself?”

“No, I’m not supposed to leave the house. It’s ‘unsightly for a boy of my nature to be seen in the streets’.”

“Sounds boring.”

“It is.” He ever so smoothly slid over so their thighs were touching. “You often go to the marketplace?”

“Maybe once a week.”

“That often?”

“Sometimes twice, if I’m lucky.”

He looked at her like she hung the stars in the sky. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

“Not really.”

He frowned.

“It’s exciting, for sure, not to completely disillusion you. But the baker and his wife don’t get along, so if I want to place an order, I have to wait through their bickering.”

Adrien’s eyes just shone with delight. It was fresh, new, alive! “What else?”

“The market place is always busy. I get bumped into a lot. Someone bumped me so hard I dropped two eggs one time.”

“That jerk.”

“I know! They missed my shoes, but I had to get more eggs, and the chicken farmer is kind of skeevy, I don’t like talking to him for too long.”

“It sounds wildly interesting,” he leaned in. “At home, I pretty much get anything I ask for. It’s just ‘yes sir’, and they disappear for a few minutes, come back and that’s that.”

“Must be nice.” Marinette commented with a bitter smile, she tried not to be envious.

“It’s nice and all, but if I try to do anything for myself, I get shooed out of the kitchen or whatever. Granted, I don’t often know what I’m doing...but I’d at least like to try.”

“I wish my stepsisters wanted to try things. They just depend on me doing everything. If they ever got bored and wanted to learn how to bake a cake, I’d certainly teach them.”

“Would you teach me how to bake?”

She decided to humor him. “Someday, my darling. Someday.”

He grinned at her, widely, as if he had caught her. “I’ll hold you to that, my Lady.”

She just smiled at him, snuggling closer. “You’re naughty, has anyone told you that?”

He wrapped an arm around her waist. Hugging her tightly. “I’m only naughty when I’m around strange, nameless women. It’s my curse.”

She turned her face towards him. “Then we shouldn’t let anyone catch us together. Can’t let the gentry see you being naughty in the garden at night with a nameless woman.”

“My dear, you make it sound like we’re doing something sinful.”

“I’d never insinuate such a thing,” she kissed his cheek. “I’m a lady.”

He laughed. A little too hard, if he was honest. But she had just used his joke against him, and it was thrilling. No matter what happened, who she turned out to be, he knew he wanted to kiss her by the end of the night.

But then he remembered something. “Oh! What were the other things you wanted to do this evening? Champagne and cheese?”

“Yes, but those aren’t necessary—“

“Nonsense!” He stood. “Wait right here, my lady. I’ll go fetch some. I want to make your night complete, so you can leave here without any regrets!” And he hurried off.

“Hmm I might still have some regrets,” she said solemnly, as he disappeared into the foliage.

She glanced over at the clock. It was 15 minutes past midnight, the confidence spell was over. But she was speaking so honestly and openly with her date, she didn’t even need any help.

“What a dreamboat!” Said Tikki, emerging from the skirts. “Are you going to tell him who you are?”

“...I might.” Marinette said, biting her lip. “But then again, in the morning, I don’t want him to have any regrets or obligations. I don’t want him to feel like he needs to rescue me. Or for him to feel dirty for being so...cavalier with a scullery man. No, tonight is just a night of fun and relaxation. It has no bearing on the future.”

Plagg’s ears and Tikki’s antenna both dropped.

There was a rustling in the foliage, and Marinette turned attentively to await the arrival of her date. Tikki and Plagg went back to hiding.

Instead of a handsome stranger, Audrey Bourgeois emerged, enraged and livid. “You!”

Marinette stood quickly, prepared to run.

“How dare you! You made me look like an absolute fool!”

Marinette trembled in her stepmother’s anger. That confidence spell would be really nice to have again right now. “But—but I was invited.”

Audrey clamped down on her arm. “Proper ladies were invited, not scullery maids!” She yanked her and started pulling her away from the castle, towards the gates. “You’ll never know how humiliating this evening was for me! For you to show up like—like that! And to dance with—and take his attention—!” She was so angry and frustrated, her sentences were constantly cut off, not knowing what to be angry about first. Her sharp nails dug into Marinette’s arm as she was pulled further and further away.

“But—“

“No buts!” Audrey approached the gate and shoved her past the guards. “This little pickpocket was caught trying to steal from the Baron Raincomprix! Don’t let her back in!” With that, Audrey collected herself and went back to the party.

Marinette stood frozen, dejected, and heartbroken, staring at the halberds that made an ‘X’ in front of her.

“Go home, Miss Pickpocket.” One of the guards stated. “Or we’ll be forced to arrest you, and put you in the dungeon.”

Marinette looked longingly back at the garden, desperate to see a smear of blonde hair. But alas, it was too dark.

“I didn’t steal anything,” she informed the guards. “I’m just not wanted here.”

They didn’t move, just kept their spears crossed, and glared her down.

Slowly, she walked away. What was the point anymore?

“Oh Marinette,” Tikki said sadly. “I’m so sorry. You didn’t even get to have your champagne.”

“Yes, well, it was lovely while it lasted. He was lovely…I knew it couldn’t last forever—where’s Plagg?”

Tikki shrugged.

“Oh! That silly cat! I bet he followed my Nameless Stranger to find the cheese! I have to go find him!”

“Marinette, they aren’t going to let you back into the palace. And besides, Plagg knows where we live. He’ll come back when he’s full.”

“…I suppose.” She sighed, her feet dragging on the ground. “I just wish I could have said goodbye. But now he’s going to think the worst, and that I was waiting to bolt at the first chance I got.”

“Don’t worry about him anymore, Marinette. Just go home and get some sleep.”

“You know best, Tikki.”

—

Adrien, now with his man-servant Nino in tow, made his way back into the garden. “She’s over by the fountain, and you’re sure you’ll be able to identify her?��

“I’m 97 percent sure,” Nino smiled, walking as briskly as his tray of cheese and champagne would allow. “As long as she’s really from this kingdom. And Alya checked everyone in at the door. We’ll get her name, Your Majesty.”

“Hush, she doesn’t know who I am.”

“Oh, that’s right, um, sir.”

“Better.”

As they came to the clearing with the fountain, they found it empty.

“That’s odd. She was right here…”

“Do you think she went to powder her nose?”

Adrien frowned. “I would have thought she would have waited to tell me…” He called out across the garden. “My Lady! My Lady where are you!?”

There was no answer.

“She couldn’t have left…could she?”

Nino shrugged.

“Perhaps I could help?” Said a new voice. It was dark enough in the garden, that it looked like a floating pair of green eyes were staring at him.

“Ah! What are you?”

“I’m a fairy, name’s Plagg, is that Camembert?” He swooped over and landed on Nino’s tray, helping himself to the cheese.

“You’re a—what?”

“A fairy, keep up man.”

“Like…a fairy god…father?”

“Yes, for that girl that you were calling out for.”

Adrien perked up. “You know her? Can you tell me who she is?”

“Kid, I’ll lead you right to her house.”

“Why did she leave? Why didn’t she say goodbye?”

Plagg polished off one wheel of cheese, and then went for the next. “She didn’t want to. Her stepmother found her and dragged her out by the arm. She’s long gone now.”

“Her stepmother…” Adrien frowned. “Who is my mystery lady? What’s her name?”

Plagg smiled, his fangs gleaming in the light. “You were basking in the presence of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, late daughter of Duke Tom Dupain, and stepsister to Chloe and Lila Bourgeois.”

Adrien paled considerably.

“Late daughter? She’s a ghost?” Asked Nino.

“No, no…I commented that it’s widely believed that Marinette was killed by her step family. I had no idea—God, I’ve been such an idiot! She’ll probably never want to speak to me again!”

“In a way, they did kill her.” Plagg said, quietly. “They beat her into submission, insulted her, destroyed her self worth, they killed her spirit and self love.” He floated up in front of Adrien. “But she’s still so driven, so kind and funny, and so so smart. She has a hard time loving herself, but she has so much love for others. She could really use someone like you to love on her. Would you?”

“Where can I find her?”

“The Bourgeois Château, just on the edge of the kingdom. They make her work as a scullery maid in their kitchen.”

“Audrey makes her own step daughter her servant? That’s awful.” Nino commented.

“It is! All she wanted was to come out here tonight and have a good time. She made her own dress and made sure all her chores were finished, but they wouldn’t let her have it.”

“Why didn’t she say who she was?”

“I don’t think she came here to look for a rescue. I think she came out for a nice night.” He played with his tail. “And I think she was nervous that you wouldn’t like her after you found out who she was.”

Adrien shook his head. “If anything, I respect her more! She lives with those…she-devils and she’s still so…” he sighed happily. “I must go tell my father that I’ve found a bride, and then tomorrow, we’ll go rescue her!”

—

In the morning, Adrien dressed and was ready to fetch his wife at sunrise. It killed him to have to wait until the carriage driver was on duty, and the Chancellor, the King’s trusted advisor, Nathalie, to get ready.

The King hadn’t initially been thrilled that the girl his son had picked was a scullery maid, but he changed his tune when Adrien clarified it was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of a Duke. That was one step down from being a Princess. And then of course, when King Gabriel finally realized this high born woman was being forced to be a maid, he insisted that Adrien go and rescue her, if not only to give her a proper place in society.

So here he was, bouncing in his seat as the carriage drove through the countryside.

“You seem nervous,” Plagg announced, watching as Adrien’s leg twitched.

“I am a little. She didn’t want me to know who she was. And I’ve gone against that. And this time, she’ll find out I’m the Prince. It’s going to change everything.” He looked out the window. “It always changes everything.”

“But Marinette isn’t like other girls,” Plagg insisted. “She’s not going to act differently around you, just because you’re the Prince. I mean, maybe in front of other people, but when you’re alone…it’ll be just like last night. Trust me.”

Adrien rubbed his head, right between the ears. “Thanks Plagg. I hope you stick around.”

“If you keep feeding me Camembert, I’ll be sure to.”

Finally, the Chateau was in sight, and the carriage pulled into the drive.

How sad.

The chateau looked like it was being eaten by the nature around it. Everything was overgrown, half-dead, and filled with weeds. The house itself was falling apart, with missing shingles and broken windows, and cracks in the bricks. Once upon a time, this would have been a gorgeous house, but time and lack of funds had brought it to ruin.

If Audrey and her daughters allowed this inherited house to fall, what was the state of the daughter that came with it?

“You best let me do the talking,” Chancellor Nathalie spoke, as she got out of the carriage.

Adrien was hot on her heels, resisting the urge to fidget.

The herald in attendance rang the bell and then called, “open in the name of the king!”

It was a long while before the door opened, Audrey Bourgeois answering herself. “My my, welcome honored guests. What can I do for you?”

“It is known that you have a Marinette Dupain-Cheng living here under your roof. We have come to speak with her.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng has not lived in this house for many years.” Audrey said gravely. “She died along with her father.”

“And the maid you have working for you?”

“I have no maid, I can afford no help. It is just I, and my two daughters, Chloe and Lila, in this house.”

“And no one else?”

“No one.”

“So you do not know the identity of the girl in the pink dress at the ball last night?”

“No idea. No one knows, I’m very sorry.”

Adrien clenched his fist. He was two seconds away from bursting in the door on his own.

“Well, thank you for your time, madam.” Nathalie bowed her head.

“Of course, Your Grace.” And she shut and locked the door.

“She’s lying,” said Plagg. “I’ve lived in the house for years. Marinette’s in there, probably on her hands and knees, scouring the floor.

Adrien frowned at the thought.

“We will return with guards and take her by force,” said Nathalie. “Then we will arrest Madam Bourgeois for refusing to cooperate.”

“As wonderful as that sounds,” interrupted Adrien. “Can I try something?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“Plagg, there’s a backdoor by the kitchen, isn’t there? Can you show me?”

The fairy lit up with mischief. “Follow me!”

—

Marinette was exhausted. She was awoken early in the morning, after a nearly sleepless night. Her step-family had been merciless to her in the wake of her presence at the ball. They left bruises and scratches all over her skin, her face. And all day, even though it was early, they had been working her to the bone.

Marinette tried to hold back tears, as she scrubbed the floor in her rags. She was elbow deep in filthy mop water, and what wasn’t muddy was dusty or covered in soot or cobwebs.

Audrey appeared in the door to the kitchen. “You disgusting, stupid wench. I should have killed you when I had the chance! They came here, looking for you. They know you snuck into the ball. They were coming to take you away, to arrest you for your burdensome presence at the ball last night. But I convinced them not to. I at least let you eat, don’t I? You have a bed to sleep in, don’t you? No shackles, no bars. You should be grateful I let you work here. No one else wants you.” Then she tipped over the mop bucket, thoroughly soaking Marinette from the knee down. “I don’t even want you.”

Marinette was then left alone as the woman’s heels clacked against the floor. She only took a moment to gather her emotions, before getting back to scrubbing. “It was worth it.” She whispered. “Just to be in love for a few hours, it was worth it.”

A knock broke her out of her thoughts, and she turned to the half-open dutch door. A man stood there, pity scrawled all over his face. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m looking for someone.”

It was the boy from the ball! The one that kissed her cheek and said he was in love with her!

She was mortified.

She turned her face to the floor, trying and failing to conceal her identity. “O-oh, uh…yes? Who are you looking for?”

“My Princess. The most beautiful, amazing, wonderful girl. You see, she stole my heart last night, and I simply can’t get her out of my mind.”

“Doesn’t sound familiar,” Marinette said to the floor. “I can’t help you.”

“I know it’s you, Marinette. I know you’re my phantom.”

She stopped scrubbing, and just trembled. “How did you find out?”

“You left your cat behind. He ate all my cheese.”

Plagg swooped up to her face and kissed her cheek. “Sorry, kid. I just wanted you to have your happy ending.”

“Scullery maids don’t get happy endings.” She recited, just like her step family always said.

“But you aren’t a maid,” Adrien clarified. “You’re the daughter of a duke.”

“A deceased duke!” She stood, her disgusting brown dress clinging to her legs. “I have nothing now! Look at me! You can’t honestly say you want me!”

His heart broke for her. “I do. I want you so badly it hurts.”

She shook her head. “I can’t give you anything. Your father will be angry that you threw your chances away. Please, please leave me alone. You don’t want me. You don’t want me.” She cried.

“But—“

Just then, the bells on the other side of the room started frantically ringing. “Marinette! Marinette!” Chloe and Lila screamed from upstairs.

“I have to go. Goodbye.” She didn’t even look at him, before she fled the room.

This time, Tikki stayed behind with Adrien and Plagg. “You’re not going to give up on her. Are you?”

“Nope!” Adrien smiled, despite the heartbreak. “She just needs to see how sincere I am!” He opened the door and let himself in.

Looking around, he saw a lot of half-finished projects. Things that Marinette had started that her family interrupted, only to make her work on something else.

He took off his very nice jacket and rolled up his sleeves, then got to work cleaning the dirty dishes in the sink.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping.” Adrien said simply, whistling a tune. The wet food was pretty gross, but the water was warm and soapy. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but when a dish looked clean, he put it on the rack to dry.

Soon enough, Marinette was back. “Ack!” She shrieked, seeing him at work. “What are you doing!?”

“The dishes…I think?”

“No! No that’s not for you!” She took the dish out of his hands and dried him with a towel. “You don’t need to do my chores, please.”

“Then what can I do to help? You won’t let me take you home, you won’t let me do dishes…”

She reached up to touch his face, but stopped when she saw the dirt on her hands. “My darling…I can’t be what you want me to be.”

“What do I want you to be?”

“I…I don’t know? Someone of great importance, of value. But I’m not. I’m nobody. Just me.”

“But I just want you to be you. I fell in love with you, as you. Not as the daughter of a duke, or a scullery maid. I fell in love with a girl that doesn’t care about what people think. A girl that knows what she wants. A girl that teases and jokes and—“

“I’m not that girl,” Marinette insisted. “Tikki cast a spell on me before the ball,” she gestured to the Ladybug fairy. “She gave me a confidence boost so that I could handle the judgement better.”

“Actually, Marinette…” Tikki piped up. “I didn’t do anything. I said I did so you’d have confidence in yourself. That was all you.”

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, because normally, she wouldn’t have been that brave, she wouldn’t have convinced the guards or Alya, or him…

“The way you entered that room, it was different from everyone else. Everyone else said ‘I’m desperate, look at me!’ and you just said, ‘I’m here.’ And it spoke louder than anyone else.”

She hesitantly pulled away from him, her walls crumbling quickly. “But…I don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve you. I didn’t go to the ball to be rescued. I just…I just wanted a night to feel like a Princess.”

“I can make the rest of your life feel like that…”

“…I don’t deserve it,” she whispered, trying to convince herself.

Adrien knew he just needed one last push. “Fine, I’ll leave. But on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You owe me a baking lesson.”

She let out a sardonic laugh. “I knew you’d try to pull that on me…”

“Please? A cake, and then I’ll leave.”

Plagg and Tikki joined in on his begging. “Please?”

“Fine,” she said. “A white cake. My stepmother won’t be happy if I waste ingredients…”

“I’ll pay for them, not to worry.”

It seemed like he had a way to break down every bit of her argument, so she relented.

“Alright, so we need a mixing bowl, a cake pan, and a spoon to mix with.” She introduced each item as she got them out. “How much experience do you have in the kitchen?”

“Well…” he held up the mixing bowl. “This is a bowl.”

“Oh boy.”

“But I’m a fast learner.” He grinned.

She smiled at him so fondly, but it was filled with so much sadness and pain. “So…we’re going to grease the pan,” she rubbed the butter on the edges of the pan. “And then we’ll start with butter and sugar.”

“Why did we grease the pan?”

“So the cake won’t stick when it’s done.”

“Ah.”

“Next, we’re going to fluff the sugar into the butter,” she poured the two in the bowl and started mixing.

“Oh! I can do that!” He took the bowl from her, and mimicked her whisking motion. “Like that?”

“Yes, fold the sugar into the butter, try to trap air inside too, to make it fluffy.”

“Got it,” he worked diligently as she gathered the next ingredients.

“Alright, next is the eggs. Would you like to crack them?”

“Um…you go first.”

She tapped one perfectly on the bowl, breaking it in half, and added it to the mixture. “Easy, right?”

Adrien took the other egg, and nearly smashed it, some of the white landing on the counter, and some of the shell into the mixture. “Whoops.”

“It’s alright.” She picked out the shards and mixed the batter. “Not bad for your first egg.”

“What’s next?”

“Next, we need to sift the flour, salt, and baking powder.” She got a sifter out from under the counter. “You just pour the dry ingredient in the top, and then pull this trigger to sift it.” She demonstrated.

“I can do that too,” he wrapped his hand around hers, taking the sifter away.

He worked diligently, getting flour all over his nice clothes, and not caring one bit. When he finished the flour, Marinette poured the other ingredients in too.

“Um…my hand is cramping. Sorry…” He sheepishly handed the sifter over to her.

She chuckled. “Again, it’s fine. My hand always cramps when I sift. We’re almost done. We just need to add this, milk, and vanilla.”

She walked him through, step by step, as they finished off the cake. In the end, he blasted himself with flour too many times, and his black pants turned gray.

“I would offer to wash your clothes, but I don’t think I’d do it right,” Marinette blanched, looking him over. “I’m not used to such nice clothes.”

“It’s not a problem. I’m actually very excited to see some people’s reaction when I come home covered in flour. Pandemonium.”

“So…you’ve made your cake…”

“Now we wait for it to bake! You can’t send me away without letting me try it!”

“I guess that’s fair…”

“How long will it take to bake?”

“About a half an hour.”

“Perfect, plenty of time to let me convince you to come home with me!”

She sighed. “Please don’t…”

“Marinette,” he said softly. “Answer me honestly. What do you want to do?”

“I have to stay here—“

“No, not what you have to do, what you want to do.”

Her brows furrowed, her arms wrapping around her herself. Then she looked up with teary-eyes. “I never think about what I want. It never happens to me, and it always ends in heartbreak. They find out…and they ruin it for me. They ruin everything. They can’t ruin you too. Please…”

“They won’t. They can’t. There’s nothing they can do.” He stepped up to her, arm draping over her waist. “You’ll find that I have the power to do anything. Whatever you want, just say the word. Jail? Execution? Eviction? You name it.”

She giggled.

He brought her hand, cold, callus, and dirty, up to his lips and kissed her knuckles like she was a queen.

She trembled, and a tear tracked a streak through the soot on her face. “Can I kiss you before I decide?”

“Nothing would make me happier,” he uttered, before capturing her lips with his.

Marinette’s heart leapt, butterflies took flight in her belly, and she swore her legs would give out. If not for his strong arms around her, she might have ended up on the floor.

Love poured out of him, as he drifted his hands over her back and arms, uncaring if he smeared dust or flour around. He finally got to kiss his lady, damnit, and nothing was going to ruin it!

She pulled away first, her arms around his neck, and fingers in his hair. “So that’s what kissing is like.”

“I can see what all the fuss is about.”

Marinette blushed a little. “This is rather funny…but it just occurred to me…I don’t know your name.”

He laughed. That laugh that always seemed to come out around her. Loud, unrestrained, and full of joy.

“Shh!” She hushed, giggling.

He kissed her again, briefly. “It’s Adrien, darling.”

“Adrien…Adrien?” She frowned, the name sounding familiar…but where?

The kitchen door slammed open, and there stood Audrey, Lila, and Chloe, staring in equal parts horror and shock.

“Y-y-your majesty?!” Audrey stammered.

Marinette felt her soul leave her body, as she turned to look at the man she was so engrossed with. “You…you’re the prince…”

He kissed her. The Prince kissed her! On the lips! “I am.”

“But—“

He stooped slightly and wrapped an arm under her damp legs, hoisting her into his arms. “She’s mine now,” he announced. “I’m taking her back with me to the castle, where she’s going to teach me how to bake all sorts of delicious things. Then, I’m going to buy her the prettiest, richest, most fashionable dresses and sparkliest jewelry. Then every night, after we make sweet love, I’m going to fall asleep next to the love of my life. The hardest working woman I’ve ever met…and you all will just be rotting in prison.”

“But-but, Your Majesty!” Audrey cried.

“Darling, would you grab my coat?” Adrien asked, as they passed by the coat rack.

Still in shock, Marinette reached out and grabbed it.

Once outside, Adrien called back, “you can expect the guards here in the morning to arrest you. But feel free to help yourselves to the cake in the oven!”

At that, Marinette couldn’t help but giggle.

“Marinette!” Audrey shouted back. “Please! Tell him this is all a misunderstanding! Tell him how well I took care of you!”

For the first time, in a long time, Marinette truly felt like she was free from consequence. She turned and smiled at her groom, kissing his face. Then she turned back to her stepmother. “No, I don’t think I will. Imagine, if you had been nicer to me, you could have come with me!”

“Marinette!” Audrey screamed back.

But the couple was too busy giggling and running to the front.

Adrien helped his bride into the carriage first, still so full of joy and mirth.

Nathalie looked up from her documents to the absolute mess that blew into the carriage. “I don’t want to know.”

“I learned how to bake a cake.”

“I’m sure your father will be thrilled.”

“And this is Marinette, my wife to be.”

Nathalie actually smiled at that. “Now that, your father will be thrilled to hear.”

#ml #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrienette #plagg #tikki #secret identity #identity reveal #fanfiction #panache

36 notes · View notes

ranger-jedi-knight · 4 years ago

Text

Angel Wings Darken Part 4

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26286832/chapters/64065646

Ok, so here’s the next part!! We get to see Gab’s, Nat’s, Sabine’s, and Tom’s reaction~!

“-I’m helping Joker. and Hawkmoth, Mayura, if you know what's good for you, leave your miraculous at my balcony unless you want to see what a protege of Joker can do,” ice filled Gabriel’s veins as he heard that. Nathalie froze behind him, her tablet falling from her numb fingers. They barely heard the crack over the buzzing in their ears as they watched her lips turn into a sinister smile. They barely were able to register what was happening on the screen in front of them.

It wasn’t until the screen froze on the retreating back of Marinette, Damian, and Chloe were they able to move.

“Sir, what are we going to do?” Nathalie asked shakily as in the corner of the screen they watched the comments blow up in confusion and fear and anger. “Y-you know what the Joker can do. If-if he really did turn her evil, what could she do to us that’s worse than following her demands?” Nathalie asked, somehow only stumbling a couple of times.

Gabriel’s eyes couldn’t leave the screen as TViNews popped up with an enlarged picture of Bug’s sinister smile. He barely heard the news anchor-Prime Queen he realized-talking. He couldn’t turn away from the grin or cold eyes. He felt trapped by them, feeling like they were staring directly at him, like she could see what he was doing right then.

And he didn’t like that feeling at all.

“W-e need to first deal with the press. Act like we were being tricked. Send out a public apology and cut any and all ties to Ms. Rossi. As for Adrien, I’m not sure. One thing for sure, we can’t use him as a model anymore. Make sure any lawyer contacted to help Adrien, whether our own or a public servant, knows to comply with the plaintiff’s wishes. We do not want this excelating any further.”

“Sir?”

“What?” he demanded looking over at her with a glare as his thoughts ran around trying to ignore the threat Bug gave him. He was trying to process this, trying to understand how his greatest foe was the same person as the one he tried getting akumatized and also working for him. He just couldn’t see how Ladybug = Marinette. They seemed like entirely two different people.

But alas.

It was true.

“Should we do what she asks, sir?” Gabriel turned back to the screen grimacing when he heard her cackle as someone analyzed the footage again. Seeing her grin once more, his skin started crawling. I never knew someone one so heroic and kind could be so chilling and disturbing, he thought tensing up.

“I need some time to think. For now, do what I said. The longer we say nothing, the bigger a risk we have of the public turning against us and tanking our stocks. We can’t have that that happen,” he snapped out and Nathalie startled but nodded, bending over to pick the cracked tablet before going to her desk quickly.

As soon as the door closed, Gabriel held his head in his hand, messing up his carefully done hair as pins ran throu him. “God have mercy,” he whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They couldn’t believe it….

Their baby….

a monster.

But maybe….maybe they could get her back?

Surely, if they talk to her they could get her to go back to being their precious baby girl. Their kind, helpful daughter.

Yeah.

They can do that. Talking to their daughter, telling her how much they miss her, that’ll surely get her to come back to her senses. With a determined look, the two went back to work, listening as the people that came into the bakery gossiping about what happened.

“-Yes, you heard that correctly, Paris. Mayor Bourgeois and the Board of Education are having the students involved in the attack come back to Paris by tomorrow. Mayor Bourgeois is having his daughter Chloe stay behind to try getting Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as Ladybug, to come back to Paris. Will she succeed? Stay tuned to learn if she did,” Nadja’s voice startled them as they worked. They turned when they heard the repeat. The class photo was on the screen showing a time that was an estimate of when the Mayor hoped to get the class back in Paris.

When talking about Chloe and the girl they used to see as their daughter-but they hoped they could get her back- they showed a picture of the two at the park across from them beaming. They scowled at the image.

At the reminder.

It was all her fault.

Had Chloe stayed away…

Their darling daughter wouldn’t have changed. As soon as Marinette got back, they were going to keep her away from that girl.

Away from the girl that turned her into that monster.

Lila may have lied about some things, but she was correct that their daughter had changed. But they were going to change her back.

Marinette didn’t have a choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sir, she’s here,” Nathalie called showing him the footage of the plane landing. It was a private jet. The same one Chloe posted a selfie with saying they were going to Paris for the lawsuits. It was early. No doubt most everyone would be home getting ready or asleep.

“We have no choice. Take them. Put them on her balcony,” Gabriel said with a defeated sigh as he gestured to the broaches and book.

“Even the book, sir?” She had a look of shock on her face, even when he nodded again.

“Yes, even the book. There’s no point in keeping it if we don’t have the miraculouses. I need to give up. I can’t win. And I doubt she’ll want to revive Emilie after everything that’s happened. When you get back we’ll finally put her to rest,” he said with a sigh, glancing at the portrait behind him.

“Of course, sir,” she picked up the items, Dusuu and Nooru floated next to her as they left his office. Reaching the bakery, she went to the side next to an alley and held the broaches loosely in one hand and held the book out. “Goodbye,” she muttered softly and the two kwami looked at her sadly, but they were happy to finally be free. Together, they put their broaches on the book and then carried the book up. When she saw that they were over the railing, Nathalie turned away. She could only sigh as she sat in the car heading back to Agreste Manor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sabine smiled when she watched the footage of Marinette’s plane landing. “Tom, she’s here!” she called out and Tom nodded heading to the front. They watched as Marinette transformed and swung away from the airport. Closing up the shop, they made their way to the courthouse. Lots of people were trying to get in, but because they were the parents of Marinette, the witness here, they were let in.

All they could feel was shock.

They couldn’t believe the look their daughter had on her face.

As she watched Lila be chained to her seat. They didn’t even hear the added charges to Lila’s case. They couldn’t hear anything. Buzzing was the only thing they could hear. When Marinette left after hearing that everyone was guilty, they followed after her. Sabine caught her daughter's arm before she left the steps. “Marinette.”

Marinette turned with an icy look. She held no warmth in her eyes looking between her mother and father. “What?” she asked, watching as Damian and Chloe came closer to them.

“What? What do you mean ‘what’? We’re your parents Marinette. Aren’t we allowed to talk to you? You must have been terrified when the Joker took you. Surely now that your safe from him, you can drop this act? Go back to being our baby girl. You’re safe now. There’s no need to be scared of him anymore,” Sabine said and Tom came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

“Ha!” she ripped her arm from Sabine’s grip with a scornful laugh. “You truly don’t know me at all if you think I’m scared of Joker,” she started but then turned away and started walking down the steps, Chloe and Damian coming to her sides. While he was still apprehensive, he knew she wasn’t going to hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it.

“Marinette! Come back here!” Sabine shouted, unaware of the people gathering to watch.

“Sweetie, you can be honest with us. No need to pretend,” Tom tried and Marinette whipped around to glare at the two. The couple froze from where they had started to move, their bodies acting like they were statues instead of living, breathing people.

“There’s no pretending here. You’re just in denial about the truth. That I never will, and never have been the daughter you think I am in your heads. Joker….he’s many things, but he showed me the truth. He helped me realize that I’m done taking people’s crap. I won’t let anyone walk over me again. Nor take advantage of me. I’m done with that. He helped me become the person I’m meant to be. See, I finally have all the miraculous back. Right where they’re meant to be,” she said, holding her hand out to show the two inactive miraculouses. “If your done with your delusions, I need to head off.”

“No! We are your parents and you will listen to us!” Sabine yelled as Marinette took another step down. Marinette didn’t even turn around, just turned so that they had the profile of her face.

“You haven’t been parents to me since I was 10. Stop lying to yourselves” she replied coldly before walking toward the bakery to pack up, leaving the two sputtering in their spots as people around them glared and muttered as they walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She looked around her old room, seeing if she left anything that she wanted or needed. Old photos decorated the floor while most were in the trash. The mannequin stayed in its place, but the stylized ‘M’ was ripped up and destroyed. Her computer was turned to the side and off, showing the ports. The flash drives used were in her purse. The few remaining wall decorations were in boxes. The chaise and umbrella were gone, already being packed into the jet beside her rug and mirror. The vanity was cleared of everything, it’s drawers left open showing the plain wood inside.

Her desk was bare of all her sewing equipment and organization cabinet. Her bed sheets were packed with her clothes. All that was left was what was originally there: the desk, vanity, the mattress, and trash can(well she wasn’t going to bring it, she took it from the kitchen). But she wasn’t going to take them. She didn’t care about them. They were easily replaced. Dust and dirt littered the ground right beside the photos.

The only photos she took were the ones on her phone and a few baby pictures. She didn’t want the others. They were a reminder of all the sheep she had surrounded herself with.

She didn’t want sheep in her new place. Picking up the last box which contained all her sketchbooks, she left her old home.

“Marinette!” a voice shouted and Marinette looked around the street. Most people were either working or just avoiding her, knowing they couldn’t do anything to change her mind. But then her eyes landed on Jagged and Penny, coming over to her from their limo.

“Uncle Jagged?” she asked confused and Jagged beamed at her.

“How’s my rockin’ niece? I just got caught up on what happened,” Jagged said and Marinette bit her lip. Her eyes softened when she looked between their matching looks of concern.

“I’m fine, Jagged. Thank you thou,” she said, handing the box to Damian when he appeared at her side.

“Where are you going?” Penny asked looking at the boxes in the limo Chloe had brought.

“Leaving. Moving to Gotham,” she replied looking away.

“Your parents?” Penny asked, her tone neutral toward the couple. Thou, watching Marinette scowl at the question, Penny frowned.

“I don’t need them. They’re delusional. Want me to be someone I’m not,” she bit out, gnashing her teeth together.

“Say, your heading to Gotham?” Jagged asked and Marinette nodded. Getting the confirmation, Jagged beamed at her. “That’s my home town! You can live with me and Penny!” he offered and Marinette had a small smile on her lips.

“Marinette-” Penny started and leaned in not wanting anyone to overhear. When she pulled back, Marinette was beaming at the two and started nodding frantically. All Penny could do was smile softly at the girl when she did that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well, we’re never getting her to work here now,” Gabriel said watching the screen. TViNews was showing Marinette walking out of the courthouse beaming between Jagged and Penny Stone. Announcing her as their new daughter. Behind the three were Sabine and Tom, scowling as they watched them walk down the steps.

“How does it feel to be adopted by Jagged Stone?” Nadja asked with a smile that Marinette returned as her eyes closed with a laugh bubbling out of her.

“Amazing. He’s already been calling me his niece! I know he and Penny will be the best parents I could ask for!” she replied, causing the couple to smile and hug her tightly as Nadja continued to ask questions that he ignored, looking over at Nathalie.

“That does seem to be the case, sir. Seems like you should look elsewhere. We both know Jagged won’t let just anyone work with her,” Nathalie replied and Gabriel sighed with a nod as he turned off the monitor.

“Adrien?”

“He’s in his room. He hasn’t done much since the lawsuit. Luckily our stocks are still going strong. Our investors are very forgiving it seems and are ignoring what Adrien and Lila have done.”

“Good, good. Just like I hoped. Now, go start searching to see if there are any aspiring designers. I want any you find on my desk as soon as possible.” “As you wish, sir,” Nathalie said with a slight bow before leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re really ok with this B?” Dick asked, looking at Bruce closely. Bruce turned to give his sons a look.

“I can’t exactly stop her, now can I?” he asked and the three boys looked away at that. “Look, I’m not really ok with it. Joker managed to get Mari to work with him. Who would be ok with that? But we have to face the facts. We can’t stop her from doing that. All we can hope is that she doesn’t do anything horrible with Joker,” he said with a sigh, leaning back against his chair while Dick, Jason, and Tim shuffled their feets against the ground.

“I knew we should have done something to that mad-man,” Jason muttered and Bruce didn’t have the heart to scold him. Since it could very well be true.

“Maybe….maybe not thou,” Dick said and Jason turned to him confused.

“How can you say that? That psychopath turned Marinette to the dark side!”

“Yes….and no,” Tim spoke up that time and Jason whirled around to glare at Tim who managed to tilt his head back to look Jason in the eye in defiance.

“What did you say?” Jason demanded.

“Yes and no. Marinette may be working with that psychopath, but she wouldn’t do the same things as him. Whether we like it or not, he did get Marinette to stand up for herself. She’s finally speaking up against the harassment, the bullying, the negligence. All because of Joker. Yes he did it throu making her think she doesn’t have us on her side, but we can show her we are still standing behind her. And maybe….just maybe….she could get Joker to stop killing people,” Tim explained with a sigh.

“You really think that?” Dick asked, looking slightly disbelieving at the thought. Tim just shrugged at the question.

“I can’t say for certain. But we can hope,” he replied and that had the two nodding.

“Fine. But the moment Marinette does something deranged with him, you can’t stop me,” Jason replied and they could only nod. But they didn’t bother saying that he’d most likely have to get in line since Damian would probably be doing that first.

“Let’s get ourselves cleaned up finally. Damian and Marinette should be landing soon, it would be best we show her she has us as soon as she lands,” Bruce said and the boys nodded, moving to their rooms to do exactly that.

Ok, so here it is! I hope you enjoyed this!! And maybe….one day i’ll do a part 5. Who knows. Cause I don't. I didn’t think I'd be doin this many parts but here I am. There is honestly a good chance you guys can get me into doin one last part. But anyways, the next fic will another Dark!Mari fic! After that….maybe ‘A New Hero’ will be updated. We’ll see. Until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3

#fanfic #fanfic update #update #my writing #Angel Wings Darken #AWD #part 4 #maribat #daminette #ml x dc #darkish mari #mari snapped

35 notes · View notes

galahadwilder · 5 years ago

Text

Waking Nightmare

Enjoy my writing? Go to my page to donate to my Ko-Fi!

Nightmares aren’t so bad if you’re prepared for them. The worst of Sandboy was the first time, when they weren’t ready for him, when they hadn’t expected any of what was coming. When everything was a shock.

Now, the second time around, it’s not so bad. Horror-freakshow Adrien is off somewhere, jerkily crawling around the city and screaming about how much he loves Lila, and Ladybug is frankly unimpressed. A nightmare is never as effective the second time.

She supposes that’s why Chat gets a little cocky, why he accidentally flies right into Sandboy’s dust cloud. He drops to the ground mid-vault, coughing, as Sandboy cackles, flying away from them on his cloud.

Ladybug swings down to catch him and looks up, fully expecting to be confronted with her own face, twisted in hate. She’s excited, honestly—she’s due for a reckoning with Nightmare Ladybug. Nobody says those things to her Chaton without getting a fist in their face.

“Kitty,” she hears her own voice say, not from on high but from the streets. “Ch-Chat Noir, help m-m-me.”

And Marinette stumbles out of the alley, holding her bloody chest and dragging one leg, and collapses onto the ground in front of Chat.

Ice cakes around Ladybug’s heart as she stares at her wounded doppelgänger. This is... this is his nightmare?

The Nightmari is on her side, curled up, holding her shoulders. Half her hair is torn out at the bloody roots, her leg is bending the wrong way and turning a sickening black-green, and her chest shudders with every breath. Even knowing she’s not real, Ladybug wants to vomit.

Why Marinette? She’d expect herself, yes, but in costume, not as a civilian. What is going on that Chat’s worst nightmare is—

Chat’s eyes spark dangerously as he catches sight of the Nightmari. He surges to his feet, and Ladybug has a moment of horror where she realizes that he’s going to the nightmare. “Marinette!” he croaks as Ladybug’s yo-yo wraps around his torso, yanking him to a halt. “Mari!”

Ladybug yanks Chat to look at herself, locking eyes with him. “Listen to me,” she hisses. “It’s just a nightmare. She’s not real.”

Chat whines, yanking against the yo-yo string. His eyes are distant, feral, in a way she hasn’t seen on him since Reverser took his courage. He’s not even looking at the real her, too focused on the doppelgänger.

The Nightmari jerks, screaming, and Chat—the sound that comes out of his mouth isn’t human, or even feline. It’s the Platonic ideal of anguish, reverberating in Ladybug’s bones as he yanks against her grip.

She digs her heels into the ground and tenses her muscles.

“Please, Bug!” Chat screams, struggling forward—her feet slide forward, digging furrows into the cobbled street. “Her nightmare—it got her, let me help her, I have to save her—!”

“The Cure, Chat!” Ladybug cries. “If you want to help her, we have to stop Sandboy!”

Chat’s whole body goes slack, and for a moment she thinks she’s gotten through to him. But then—

He turns to her, and she sees the same rage burning in his eyes as when Dark Cupid took him. “I would let all of Paris burn to save her,” he growls, and the implication in his words is clear: stay out of my way.

Ladybug drops the yo-yo string in shock. He’s never looked at her like this, not when he’s in control of his own mind, and the fact that it’s her civilian self that’s driving him into this frenzy—before she can stop him, Chat is at the Nightmari’s side. “I’m here, Princess,” he whispers.

“Kitty,” the Nightmari gasps, reaching up to him. Their hands meet, clasp... and then her skin begins to blacken and flake.

Oh, no. No no no. Chat’s nightmare... Ladybug knows exactly where it’s going now, and it’s worse than she could ever have possibly imagined.

The Nightmari screams as the false Cataclysm takes hold, but she doesn’t even finish a breath before her tongue turns to ash. It’s slow, too slow, real Cataclysm is faster than this and it’s just prolonging Chat’s agony. She’s watching herself burn from the inside out, shuddering and twitching as her body disintegrates, and even knowing it isn’t real doesn’t stop her heart from squeezing into a tiny point like it’s trying to hide behind her sternum.

Everything’s silent for a moment, and then she hears the worst goddamn sound she’s ever experienced as Chat’s vocal cords seem to shatter in raw, unfiltered torment.

All Ladybug’s muscles lock up at once. She doesn’t know what to do—doesn’t know how to help him. He doesn’t know Marinette well enough for this, he shouldn’t be reacting this way—what is he...?

She sees a black-purple glow fluttering towards him. Oh no. Oh GOD NO.

Hawkmoth must’ve pulled the Akuma back from Sandboy—Chat’s in such a bad way that... that...

She slams into him, spinning him around, pressing his chest to hers. “Chat it wasn’t real!” she whispers, frantic. “It’s me, it’s Marinette, you didn’t kill me, I’m right here, I’m okay—” She’s sobbing into his ear. Fuck identities, he needs her now.

“Marinette?” he gasps, his chest shaking.

“Yeah,” she sobs. “Yeah, Kitty, it’s me.”

He breaks down into her, and the butterfly hesitates, fluttering in a circle around them. She doesn’t even let go of him as she snaps her yo-yo upward, catching it in the shell and burning the corruption out of its body. It flutters off, white, and Ladybug drops onto Chat Noir’s shoulder. They’re both shaking, together.

Finally, Chat’s shuddering slows. “Th-thank you,” he rasps. “For—for lying to me.”

Ladybug blinks. “What?”

“I just... I know that must’ve been... you hate it,” he says. “I just... I needed to believe she was okay. Just for a minute.”

Ladybug’s breath rushes into her lungs. She just spilled her identity to him, and he didn’t believe her.

“I... I need to check on her,” Chat says. “To make sure she’s okay.”

She’s never seen Chat move this fast. She’s hard-pressed to keep up with him, pushing her legs, her arms, her lungs to their absolute limits, but before she’s realized it she’s lost sight of him completely.

“Dammit, Chat,” she gasps, rolling to a stop on a rooftop a few blocks away from the bakery. She can barely stand—she had to outrun Nightmare Adrien before transforming just in case Hawkmoth could see through his eyes, then chase Sandboy II around Paris, then this. She’s bent over, hands on her knees, breathing hard—

Bip. Chat’s text tone. She flips open her compact.

Chaton: she’s not here

Chaton: lb she’s not here

He’s panicking. He always texts with proper grammar and syntax, no matter the situation; she’s never seen him devolve like this. Now that the danger’s passed, something in her warms at the thought that she did this to him. Not Ladybug-her, Marinette-her.

She catches her breath, leaps down to street level, and detransforms, sprinting towards her apartment. She’s looking up as she does, trying to catch a glimpse of Chat overhead... so she doesn’t notice the loose cobblestone until she’s halfway to the ground.

Halfway’s as far as she gets.

“You’re okay,” Adrien breathes, and she can feel his... something. Like he’d been holding his breath for hours, and now he’s finally let it out.

“Y-yeah?” she says, as he lifts her back upright and places her on her feet, oh so gently, in a way that makes her heart go soft. “Wh-why would I... not be?”

“What were you doing out?” Adrien says instead, dodging the question. “It’s, like, midnight. And there was an Akuma!”

She blinks. “What—what were you doing out?” she snaps back, completely forgetting that she can’t talk around him. “Doesn’t your dad lock you inside the house at eight?”

Adrien looks at the ground, sheepish. “Snuck out,” he grumbles. “Akuma got between me and the house.”

Her heart falls at his face. “Oh,” she says. She’s not sure how to respond to that.

He lights up suddenly. “Hey,” he says. “Do you... mind if I walk you home?”

Marinette bites her lip. This... normally, that would be amazing, but—“Sorry,” she says. “I’d love to, but... but I need to find someone first.”

“Oh, who is it?” Adrien says. “We can look together.”

Marinette barely restrains herself from growling. Why, why, why does Adrien have to be such a gentleman? She wouldn’t love him if he weren’t, sure, but right now it is stunningly inconvenient. “Just—just a friend,” she says.

“Who is he?”

She closes her eyes. “Chat Noir, okay?” she says. “He was freaking out earlier, and he was looking for me, and I have to find him before he hurts himself—”

“Ladybug told you?” he gasps, and then immediately covers his mouth, his eyes going as wide as she’s ever seen them.

Marinette’s eyes narrow. “Told me?” she says. “Told me what?”

Adrien swallows, then sighs. “I... Marinette,” he says. “Mari. Princess.”

Marinette’s eyelid twitches. No. No, that didn’t—that wouldn’t—

He grins that fucking grin, and oh Kwami, it is him. “Hi,” he says, scratching the back of his neck.

Marinette stares at him, and then... she can’t help it. She starts laughing. Full-throated, ugly laughing.

He stares at her with concern. “Marinette?” he says. “Are you... okay?”

“Chaton!” she shrieks with delight, throwing herself into his confused arms. She presses her body to his, because he’s here and he’s okay. “I wasn’t lying earlier,” she whispers.

Adrien’s eyes widen. “You... what?”

She smiles. “I told you I was fine,” she murmurs, stepping back and blushing... but he reaches out, takes her hand.

“My Lady?”

She closes her eyes, smiles, nods. “It’s me, Kitty,” she says. “I’m okay.”

He yanks her into his arms. “Oh thank Plagg,” he sobs. “Don’t—don’t ever die on me again.”

She pokes him in the stomach. “You first,” she says with a smile. “Hypocrite.”

Enjoy my writing? Go to my page to donate to my Ko-Fi!

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #original content #my fic #gore #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #chat noir #ladybug #adrienette #adrinette #ladynoir #marichat #angst #fanfic #fanfiction #sandboy

1K notes · View notes

thenovelartist · 5 years ago

Text

A Bride for the Prince, chapter 3

AO3 ~ <Previous ~ Next>

It was probably the most embarrassing day she had had thus far. She had failed on several accounts. At this rate, she’d be found out in days, then thrown in jail awaiting a sentence that would probably end in her dying and her parents would be heartbroken about losing their only daughter and Mylene—

The sudden bang of her door opening startled her from her thoughts. Heart racing, Marinette spun around to see who had entered, only to see Alya shutting the door.

Marinette forced a smile, hoping it wouldn’t give away just how fast her heart was pounding at the moment. “Alya—”

But Alya lifted her hand in a stop motion, and Marinette’s jaw shut with a click. “You’re not nobility, are you?”

Her tone of voice was perfectly clear: that was not a question.

Here was the beginning of Marinette’s cruel end. Her stomach twisted in worry as she bowed her head. “No. I’m not.”

Alya was silent as she stared at Marinette with her arms crossed and a quirked brow. “That’s a story I want to hear.”

That’s when it all came tumbling out. Everything regarding Mylene and how she was the real Lady Bug but ran off to marry her sweetheart and sent Marinette to pretend to be a lady in her place.

“And it was supposed to be a joke, I swear!” Marinette finished. “I didn’t actually think she was going to send me to the castle, but next thing I know, she’s agreeing, thinking it’s a great idea and teaching me how to act the part.”

Alya was smiling at this point. Actually, it was far more like an amused smirk. “So you’re here, masquerading as Lady Bug so the actual Lady Bug could be with her now husband.”

With her head hung in shame, Marinette nodded. “Please,” she begged, hoping the tears wouldn’t fall. “Please, don’t tell anyone about this. I’ll run off. I’ll do something. I can’t get caught. I know it’s a crime, but please—”

“Whoa, hey,” Alya interrupted, the smirk gone as she rushed up to Marinette. She grabbed Marinette’s shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “No. I won’t expose you. I swear. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

Marinette looked up through her lashes as Alya sweetly smiled. “I promise,” Alya assured once again. “Your secret is safe with me. No one is going to catch you. You’re not going to get in trouble. You’ll be safe until you can return to your lady’s side. I swear.”

With a blink, Marinette felt the tears she was trying to hold back run down her cheeks. She was quick to pat them away with her sleeves before realizing that wasn’t what proper ladies did. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I know I’ve failed a few times over, but… I just can’t get caught, and I’m terrified I’m going to wind up in even more trouble. I also can’t help but think if someone other than you has figured it out already.”

Alya’s lips pursed. “Well,” she said. “A certain guard may have an idea…”

With a groan, Marinette immediately covered her face with her hands. “No, no, no,” she grumbled.

“Don’t worry,” Alya assured, pulling Marinette close like a mother protecting a child. “He won’t say a thing. He’s a cocky idiot, but he’ll keep your secret.”

Marinette wasn’t sure she believed Alya, but she wanted to. “As long as I don’t end up in trouble, that’s all I care about.”

“You won’t,” Alya promised, squeezing Marinette tighter for a moment before putting her at arm’s length. “We’ll just have to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

Biting her lip to keep it from warbling, Marinette looked up at Alya. “And how do you suggest we do that?”

“Lessons, of course,” Alya said with a wink. “I’ll teach you more thoroughly since—and I mean no offence to your lady—you clearly weren’t sent here prepared enough.”

Marinette sighed. Mylene was her friend, and the last thing she wanted to do was slander her, but at the same point, Marinette clearly hadn’t been prepared well enough. “It’s so much to remember. And even when I do remember, it’s hard to break my old habits.”

“I know. I have a feeling I’d do the same in your position.” Alya patted Marinette’s shoulders. “But don’t worry; we’ll go over all the lessons again and hope that none of the other ladies here notice if you make a little misstep or two. I have a feeling they’re all too obsessed with competing for Prince Adrien’s attention to care if you make a misstep, but you can never be too careful.”

Marinette felt herself relax. “I think you’re right about that. As long as I don’t get too close to the prince, I should be good, don’t you think?”

With a grin, Alya nodded. “I’m pretty certain. But the one person you do have to watch out for is Prince Adrien’s father. He’s particular.”

Marinette felt the blood rush from her face. The king. Oh, heaven have mercy, how did she miss that she was likely going to be meeting the king of the land?

“Hey, hey now,” Alya said, quickly returning to reassuring Marinette. “Don’t worry about it. It will be all right. Just as long as you act enough of a lady, there’s nothing to worry about. The worst he might do is tell his son to avoid you if he saw you make too many tiny blunders, but that’s what you want, right?”

Marinette nodded.

“So no worries!” Alya assured. “He’s not going to accuse you of a crime because he’s never going to suspect a thing. He may just think you were a poorly trained lady. After all, isn’t your lady on the outskirts of the kingdom? He always complained about the outliers not having as refined manners as the nobility well inside the boundaries of the kingdom. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll get by without trouble, and soon the whole thing will be behind you. Trust me.”

Marinette swallowed nervously, and even though the butterflies were still fluttering in her stomach, she forced a smile. “Well, right now, I don’t have many other options.”

Alya chuckled. “That’s the spirit. Now, let’s start the first lesson.”

“Now?”

“No time like the present,” Alya said, guiding Marinette to sit down on a lounger. “Now, lesson number one.” That’s when a cheeky smile crossed Alya’s face. “Guards are below you, and you are to treat them with the same detached manner as you would a servant. You do not talk casually with them and most certainly do not allow them to flirt with you.”

Marinette’s cheeks flared with heat before she could hide them behind her hands. She groaned at her incompetence while Alya laughed in the background. At least Alya swore that Chat Noir wouldn’t tell because after her allowing him to lead her around the castle and bow over her hands, there was no way he didn’t know she wasn’t a lady.

…

“This is pointless,” Marinette bemoaned, standing stick straight with a book balanced on her head while Alya quizzed her about all sorts of random facts.

Alya frowned. “How so? You haven’t questioned my training methods before.”

True. It had been a few days since Alya started drilling these lessons into her. Marinette almost felt overwhelmed by the amount of information, both new and old, that she was bombarded with constantly. But she knew Alya was only trying to help her.

The book on the head, however, was new. And very irritating. “Why do I need to balance a book?”

“Because I need amusement.”

Alya spoke it so flatly that Marinette had to process her words for a solid four seconds before realizing what Alya had said. “Hey!” she cried, causing Alya to break into laughter. Marinette took the book off her head and tossed it toward Alya, who barely managed to avoid the flying object. “I can’t believe you! I trust you to help me and you pull a stunt like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Alya cackled, “but it was just too easy to get you to do it.”

Marinette pretended to be angry, but she couldn’t be. Alya may be full of spunk and sass, but she was truly kind and caring at heart. Marinette knew Alya only had her best intentions in mind. “I severely dislike you. I should have you fired for mocking me.”

Alya snickered. “Now you sound like Lady Bourgeois.”

Marinette immediately cringed. “Oh, please don’t compare me to Chloe.” Lady Bourgeois was the most obnoxious, irritating, loud, brash, entitled woman in the entire castle and Marinette’s second least favorite person ever.

Alya snorted in amusement. “Better than Lady Lila.”

Marinette groaned. “Anyone is better than Lady Lila. She’s a horrible human being and such a liar. How anyone could believe her is beyond me.”

“At least you know,” Alya said. “I mean, it was quite obvious.”

“Which lie? Her saying she was part of some secret fox clan with supernatural powers or the part where the prince of a foreign land loved her policies so much, he grew determined to implement them immediately?”

Alya sniggered. “Any of them. All of them. That any of the other ladies are as captivated as they are proves how dull they are.”

Marinette bit back a chuckle. “Back to the lesson,” she said, changing the subject before she accidently started speaking ill of any of the other girls. “What else can you teach me? Sans book on my head.”

“I think we’ll call it good for tonight,” Alya said.

Happily, Marinette collapsed on her lounger. “Thank goodness. I can barely keep facts straight anymore.”

“And in the meantime,” Alya said. “I can tell you all about the festival coming up.”

“Festival?” Marinette asked, her brow furrowing in thoughts. “Oh! Do you mean the summer solstice festival?”

Alya nodded before she gasped, her expression brightening. “We should go together. My sweetheart said he would take me but then he was informed he had to guard the ladies—he’s a royal guard; I’ll introduce you to him sometime—and since it’s no fun going alone, we should go together.”

Marinette immediately frowned. “But Mistress Nathalie is certain to notice if I disappeared.” Mistress Nathalie was, to say the least, an utterly terrifying woman. She may not have been born into royalty, but she held herself like a queen. She ruled the servants of the castle with a firm hand, hence her title as Head Mistress of the Castle. However, she also was trusted by the king himself to take on certain tasks, such as monitor the ladies at the castle to ensure they were good enough to marry the prince.

“I don’t think so,” Alya said, shaking her head. “She’s tasked with observing you all when you’re together, but if you retire early to your room, I’m sure I can sneak you out. And then we can explore the shops and vendors and the food—oh, the food. It’s amazing. And then there’s the fireworks at the end of the night and it’s just spectacular; you have to come with me.”

Her fingers nervously toyed with the fabric of her skirt while she chewed her lip in thought. “Are you sure I won’t get in trouble?”

Alya nodded. “For certain.”

Though she wanted to pretend she could argue, Marinette just didn’t have the energy to. Not when she would much prefer that celebration over anything she could do in the castle. What was a festival in the capital city like? The town Lord Bug ruled over was small, yet the celebrations took up the whole town. With the capitol being as large as it was, surely there would be no shortage of things to do.

With a relenting sigh, she grinned. “As though I could say no.”

Alya squeaked excitedly. “Perfect! It’s tomorrow night so I’ll come get you and get you out of whatever awful dress you wear and get you into something more comfortable. You don’t have anything like that, do you?” Alya realized.

Marinette shook her head. “It wasn’t as though I’d have use for it. I’m supposed to masquerade as a lady, not a servant.”

Alya hummed. “True. We’ll make something work. There are a few other girls I know who might be your size so we don’t have to hem anything for the day. But even if nothing fits, I’ll make quick work of that. You aren’t the only one who knows her way around a needle. Not when I have two younger sisters that rip everything.”

Marinette chuckled at the reminder of little Ella who came up with a ripped shirt for her sister to fix. “I suppose that would make you proficient pretty quickly.”

With a roll of her eyes, Alya nodded her agreement. “So don’t worry about the clothes or anything else. I’ll come get you, we’ll sneak out, and we’ll have a fantastic time.”

For the first time, Marinette felt genuinely excited about having come to the castle in the first place. “Okay.”

…

It was most certainly an odd thing. A very odd thing, indeed.

It had not missed Nathalie’s attention, the way Lady Bug was, to put it nicely, less trained than the other ladies that had arrived for Prince Adrien’s choosing. Furthermore, the way Nathalie had caught Lady Bug talking with her lady’s maid, one that the castle had assigned to her, brought up a whole new set of questions. They seemed far too familiar, and while Nathalie knew Alya was a chatty woman, she also knew Alya knew her place.

Which begged the question of why Alya was acting familiar with Lady Bug.

So many questions; so few answers.

“Is something bothering you, Nathalie?”

Nathalie paused, knowing that King Gabriel knew her well enough to call her out should she answer ‘no’. “It’s one of the ladies, Sire,” she answered.

Gabriel paused his work to look up at her. “What of it?”

“It is merely speculation at this point.”

“It is rare for your speculation to be wrong.”

“But it is too early to tell anything for certain.”

Gabriel frowned before laying down his pen and leaning back in his chair. “Nathalie,” he directed. “You are far too sharp and preceptive for me to believe that you picked up something that is actually nothing. Therefore, what concerns you?”

Nathalie frowned. Gabriel was equally sharp and preceptive. As such, she couldn’t be anything but completely blunt with him. “Lady Bug is poorly trained for a lady.”

Gabriel hummed. “What of it? If I’m correct, Lady Bug is the daughter of an earl on the rim. And if I’m not mistaken, there was a rumor about his daughter sneaking down into a ballroom and making a scene of herself before she could be properly presented. I can’t say her lack of training surprises me.”

“Yes,” Nathalie agreed. “But I’m made more curious by the way Alya—the maid we assigned to Lady Bug—is acting towards her.”

Gabriel’s frown deepened. “Then I suggest you keep an eye on this maid of ours, Nathalie,” he directed. “And keep me informed on your findings.”

Nathalie bowed. “Of course, Sire.”

…

“Stand still.”

“I am. Stop poking me.”

Alya grunted as she passed the needle through the fabric of the skirt for Marinette. It was a little large of her, meaning it that to be hemmed and taken in at the waist. Ideally, this should have been done this morning, but apparently, Alya had to search for just the right skirt, hence why it was being done mere moments before they were heading out to the summer solstice festival.

Marinette did have to give Alya credit, though; she was quick with a needle.

“And done.”

Marinette sighed in relief. “Finally.”

“What do you mean ‘finally’?”

“I mean you can finally stop poking me with a needle.”

“Only twice,” Alya argued.

“Three times.”

Alya grunted. “Don’t make me make it four.”

With a chuckle, Marinette finished dressing in the rest of her clothes before putting her hair up with two ribbons.

“Cute,” Alya commented.

Marinette grinned. “Not befitting of a lady, though.”

“Yes, but that’s why no one is going to look twice at you when we walk out of here.”

“Just as long as—”

“We won’t get caught,” Alya assured with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Calm down.”

Marinette huffed. “Forgive me for being a little worried.”

“Trust me. Nathalie won’t know. At this very moment, she’s either looking after the other ladies or talking with King Gabriel. We will be fine.”

“What about the guards?”

“What about them?”

“Won’t they catch us? Rather, me?”

Alya smirked. “Nino is high ranking. All I have to do is throw his name out, and they’ll conveniently forget ever seeing us. Now, quit worrying and let’s go.”

Before Marinette could protest, Alya grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door. Alya made sure to peak around every corner before pulling Marinette down each hallway. Then they reached the servant’s door and Alya was quick to tug her through it.

Marinette’s heart was racing with fear. No matter what Alya said, Marinette was terrified of getting caught.

“Uh-oh.”

Which was apparently was what was about to happen.

“Oh no,” Marinette grumbled. But she bit back the ramble that wanted to spill out. Not only for the sake of being quiet, but Alya was taking up a nasty habit of thumping her head when she did.

Alya squeezed her hand. “Stay.” Silently, she slipped out of the stairwell. “Hello, Sabrina.”

Marinette inwardly groaned. Of all the people… Marinette had met Sabrina once before as a servant, though it was years ago. Keeping out of Sabrina’s sight was difficult thus far considering Lady Bourgeois demanded Sabrina follow her around everywhere. If Sabrina caught Marinette now, she would out her immediately.

Blood roared in her ears as her heart pounded, making it difficult to hear the conversation, but it was over quickly enough and Alya was back and grabbing Marinette’s hand soon enough.

“Run.”

“Run?”

Marinette barely had time to gather the still slightly too long skirt and run after Alya. They wove through more corridors and ducked through the hallways until they reached a door Alya was quick to shove open. In seconds, Marinette was yanked outside and Alya slammed the door shut.

“See?” Alya said, panting lightly as she flashed Marinette a smile. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah,” Marinette sarcastically grumbled while mentally begging her poor heart to calm down before it killed her. “Absolutely nothing.”

Alya sniggered. “You’ll live. Now, come on. We have a festival to go to!”

Before Marinette could respond, Alya grabbed her hand and began scampering off. Again, Marinette had to snatch hold of her skirt to keep from tripping over it, but she also couldn’t hold back her grin. “Alya, slow down!”

“Speed up! The festival is calling us.”

Laughing all the while, she yanked her hand away from Alya. “I’m going to trip over this skirt, and I’m trying not to ruin it.”

Alya frowned, but at least she slowed her pace. “Maybe we should have hemmed it a little more. But too late for that now. I’m sure you can walk in that thing backwards if you’re careful enough.”

Marinette scoffed. “The last time I tried walking backwards in a skirt, I tripped over it and ripped it.”

A smug grin soon took over Alya’s face. In a second, she flipped around and started walking backwards. “I don’t know. Seems easy to me.”

It was a hard task to scowl when all she wanted to do was grin. “How dare you mock me. I thought we could be friends.”

“We still are. I just have a talent you don’t.”

Marinette’s smile grew bigger.

“I bet I could run backwards and not trip.”

“And I hope you do so I can laugh at you.”

With a wild grin, Alya did, looking over her shoulder as she shuffled quickly backwards.

“You’re going to trip!” Marinette called.

“You’re such a worry wa—AHHH!”

Marinette gasped as Alya fell, only to be snatched by a figure in black hidden behind a tree. Her heart began pounding and her first instinct sent her tripping over her skirt again, barely spinning in time to land…

On a very firm, leather-clad chest.

This was it. She was caught and she was going to be found out and be thrown in the dungeon and—

Froze completely at the sudden deep chuckle that emanated from the chest. “Are you falling for me again, my Lady?”

#miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #A Bride for the Prince #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #training time :)#nathalie sancoeur #gabriel agreste

89 notes · View notes

pandawritespoorly · 5 years ago

Text

Teamwork

Author’s Note: What?? Panda posting a work where Marinette collapses/is overworked/is sleep deprived/etc?? That's never happened before!

Sarcasm aside, I finished this a while ago, and figured I should probably post it before it's lost among my docs. This is basically along the lines of the early concept art where there was a team, rather than just the two heroes. I didn't use Bridgette though because 1) I don't really have as much experience writing for her, and I didn't want to start just yet, and 2) The personality I imagine her with isn't like Mari's in that she probably wouldn't overwork herself to this extent or be so stubborn about it.

Also, I'm sure you're all familiar with the 'Lila wants *insert big school event here* rescheduled after Marinette has already planned it, and Marinette gets pressured into changing it anyways' story prompt sort of thing. That's what's going on here.

Summary: Tikki isn't about to let Marinette run herself into the ground. Time to have the team intervene.

Ladybug really can’t wait for the weekend. She’s absolutely exhausted, and once she doesn’t have to worry about school, she’ll be able to sleep.

Well, once she’s got some of her planning done for the potential of a rescheduled school dance and if she’s going to be up, she may as well bake some stuff for the bake sale, because so much money of the school’s budget will be lost if Lila does manage to convince everyone to force her to change the date of the dance and if she’s going to be baking, she should really bring in some cupcakes for the class, because she needs to do something to make sure that everyone doesn’t turn on her, and if she’s making cupcakes maybe she can fit in a nap while they’re in the-

No. Her time would be better spent on designs for the dance. She’s got her own dress designed, and materials purchased, but everyone probably expects that she’ll be making theirs, so she needs to get that done and-

Suddenly, the heroine is limp, having fallen asleep mid thought.

And mid jump.

Before she falls far, a green blur races over, catching her and landing with her on the next roof. Gavroche looks at Kid Mime, both of their faces filled with concern.

They had just been about to call out to Ladybug to alert her to their presence, when she’d just… dropped. She’d gone from jumping across the rooftops to wilting entirely, collapsing in the air.

It’s worrying to say the least.

“Ladybug?” Kid approaches her, but the girl barely stirs.

Gavroche passes her to the other boy. “I’ll go grab Mel and Chat.”

Kid nods, sitting down on the roof with the spotted heroine and holding her carefully while waiting for the other three to join them.

Ladybug frowns, stirring a little more and sitting up on her own.

“Bug?” He squeezes her hand a little. “You up?”

“...yeahhh, ‘m up. ‘m up…” she slurs, opening her eyes.

“That’s good. You scared us-”

“Sorry.” She blinks, seeming to realize who she’s talking to and where she is. “Kid?”

“That’s me.” He forces a gentle smile, his worry not ebbing at all.

“So ‘m patrollin’?”

Before he can tell that no, she is not going to be patrolling now or anytime in the near future, she’s standing. The girl stumbles, tripping over her own feet and heading back towards the roof.

She falls onto her miraculous partner, Gavroche having returned with both Chat Noir and Melodie.

The cat hero looks at the girl slumped against him. “Are you feeling alright, My Lady?”

She hums half-heartedly.

“Maybe you should go home and rest,” Melodie suggests, “You aren’t in any state to be out right now.”

“No, I’m up!” She straightens, stepping away. “I’m up…” She teeters, and Chat preemptively grabs her. Instead of fighting, she just leans back, using him for support.

“Really, you should be going home.” Kid agrees. “You clearly need to sleep.”

“Nah, I jus’... need t’ bake, an’ reschedule… plans in case…”

Chat sits down, letting her rest against him, and they all follow suit.

“No, you need to sleep. That should be a priority.” Gavroche argues. “Patrol is canceled.”

Ladybug seems determined to try and patrol anyways.

Melodie plays a soft tune on her flute, a slower version of what she’s taught them to recognize as Ladybug’s song. She slows it further, and plays even softer over a few minutes and eventually puts the instrument down.

Ladybug is out, sleeping calmly in Chat’s arms.

“Thanks,” he whispers.

“No problem. I’ve had to pull that trick on these two more than once when they think they can get away with not sleeping.”

“Hypocrite.” Gavroche mutters.

“That said, we know better than to try and go out on patrol when we’re tired enough to collapse,” Kid Mime frowns at his exhausted friend.

“Has she mentioned anything coming up that could have made her busy enough to forget to sleep?” Melodie asks, “I don’t remember her saying anything…”

“No, she’s been normal. Seemed busy, but not any busier than usual,” Chat comments. The other boys nod in agreement.

They end up letting her sleep for two hours or so before waking her up and telling her to go home and sleep.

They can only hope she listens.

---

“Marinette. You should stay home sick today,” Tikki pleads.

“’m not sick though.”

“You may as well be! You almost fell off a building last night, just take a break!”

Marinette shakes her head, ignoring how her brain feels fuzzy. “Can’t. Lila… she could do sumthin’...”

The girl begins heading out of her room. “Marinette, if you don’t let yourself rest-”

“‘m fine.”

Alright then. Tikki settles herself in her chosen’s purse. If that’s how it’s going to be, then so be it.

A Kwami may not be able to do much, but the girl’s superhero partners?

They’d certainly be capable of stopping her.

Especially because Tikki is releasing the spell. Any fellow superhero that Marinette trusts will recognize her now.

She honestly should have done this sooner, but she wanted to give the girl a chance to see reason.

Oh well.

---

Felix is sitting on a bench in the courtyard, reading. He glances up when someone walks by, returning to his book. It’s just Marinette.

Marinette who looks oddly like-

He does a double take and sure enough, he can’t miss his classmate’s resemblance to his partner.

It’s more than that though. Marinette is Ladybug.

How on Earth did he miss that?!

He watches her cross the courtyard.

“Plagg?”

“Yeah?”

“Marinette is Ladybug.”

The Kwami looks at him from his pocket, studying him. “Huh. Sugarcube must’ve dropped the spell. Guess ‘m doin’ that then. Yeah, Pigtails is Pigtails.”

“You gave them both the same nickname, how did I-”

“Magic, kid. Now go talk to her.”

That’s what it takes to shake Felix out of it. He snaps his book shut, putting it in his bag, which he pulls over his shoulder as he hurries after the girl.

“Marinette.”

“Hey, Feli’sss...” she mumbles, dragging herself across the courtyard.

“You cannot seriously be planning on attending school today?”

“‘m not sick. ‘s fine.”

He blinks at her. “That is a foolish excuse. Simply lacking illness does not make you well.”

She doesn’t respond, so he continues, “Given that you quite literally fell off of a roof during patrol last night, I do not think you have any sort of case here.”

She pauses, finally looking at him.

“Kitty?”

“Yes, now honestly, what are you doing-”

“Didn’ fall, I jump’d…”

For one moment, he was horrified, before he remembered the exact circumstances of the incident. “Semantics. Either way, you were - and still are - tired to a point where it is dangerous for your overall health and safety. You should not be at school today.”

“Gotta’ watch Lila…”

He pauses, glancing to where the Italian girl has just arrived at school. Frowning, he pulls Marinette into an empty classroom. “Is Lila the reason you are so exhausted?” he growls.

As usual, it takes her tired brain a moment to understand the question. While she’s thinking, the door opens.

He recognizes Allegra, the girl who opened it. They’re in the same music class, and her friend Claude has a habit of making obnoxious puns whenever he sees Felix. She and Allan are bearable though. This must be their usual classroom.

“Hello.”

The girl just stares at him. He raises an eyebrow.

“Allan, Claude, get in here and tell me I’m not hallucinating.”

“Why? You seein’ flying elephants or someth-” Claude cuts himself off as he enters the doorway. “Well. Okay. Not what I expected from today, but alright.”

“I guess this is an ‘or something’, then?” Allan comments.

“What is going on with you three now?”

Allegra shakes herself out of her surprise. She strolls up to him, sticking her hand out. “A pleasure to finally meet you outside of the suits, Chat Noir. I’m Melodie, that’s Kid Mime, and-”

“Gavroche,” Allan finishes.

Felix blinks a few times. “What.”

He hears Plagg cackle, “What, kid, didn’t listen when I was dropping the spell? Your team can recognize you.”

Felix glares at the Kwami who is now floating in the open, “I was rather distracted, and you failed to elaborate. In fact, you were the one to dismiss the conversation and rush me to move along.”

Plagg shrugs, “Not my problem.”

“So you’re Plagg.” Allegra studies the Kwami.

“And you’re Ladybug.” Claude approaches the pigtailed girl. She’s completely forgotten Felix’s question, and is staring at the trio that has entered the room.

“Hi?”

“You shouldn’t be at school, dear.” Allan chides her gently. Marinette just keeps blinking at the people around her, her exhausted brain doing little to connect any dots besides the fact that these are her teammates.

“Tikki’s Bugs are stubborn. Have fun trying to get her to go home,” Plagg comments as he curls up under Felix’s collar.

The other Kwami shoots out of the purse. “Plagg! They’re not all stubborn!”

“Just most of ‘em.”

Marinette still doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on, looking entirely lost as she watches everything going on in front of her.

Felix ignores the Kwamis, turning back to Marinette. “You did not answer my question. Is Ms. Rossi responsible for your current state?”

They all give her a moment to respond.

“No… I jus’ gotta’ make sure ‘m ready if we resc’edu’l-”

“For which she is entirely to blame.”

“What’s going on?” Allan asks.

“Our class consists of mindless sheep, who are infatuated with the tall tales of one Lila Rossi. She is currently working on convincing them that Marinette must reschedule the entire school dance so that she may attend.”

“They actually believe her?! I thought they were all humoring her!” Claude is incredulous.

“That’s ridiculous! The dance is a school event! We can’t just change the date! The class presidents have already spent most of the budget for it! It’s non-refundable!” Allegra fumes.

“Exactly!”

“So ‘m gonna do bake sale, an’ then-”

“No. No, you don’t have to worry about it being rescheduled.” Allegra goes to Marinette, giving her a hug. “Even if they tell you to, you can’t because you aren’t the only one in charge of it.”

Marinette slowly blinks a few times. “Then I shou’d pr’bly start designin’ their-”

Felix stares in shock as he realizes what she means. “Marinette. Please tell me they don’t expect you to design and make each of their outfits by hand.”

“‘s only fair…”

“How?” Claude challenges, “How is that fair in the slightest?”

Marinette seems to mumble something as she slumps further, the exhaustion beginning to win out.

The bell rings, and she jumps. Suddenly a little more aware of what’s going on, she shakes herself a little. “We gotta’ get to class now!”

“Honey-”

“Bye! I’ll see you between classes?”

“Yeah, but-”

Marinette smiles at all of them, then rushes away. They all stare at her, before Felix sighs. “I will follow her, as I fear she may collapse in the hallway.”

“We’ll make sure that everyone knows what Lila is trying to do. I don’t think anyone thinks it makes sense to reschedule a school event for one girl,” Allegra growls.

---

Marinette is trying to pay attention in class, she really is.

Her mind is determined to stay awake, well aware of all that she needs to do. All the tasks she needs to complete.

Her body, on the other hand, isn’t having any of it. Too many nights of no sleep, and her limbs are like weights, hanging in her seat and dragging her down.

Her eyes keep closing, no matter how many times she forces them open, they just keep slipping closed.

She falls to the side, leaning against her seatmate. Felix.

Chat Noir.

That had been a nice surprise.

She smiles softly.

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng? Is the lesson not-” Ms. Bustier cuts off suddenly.

Nonetheless, Marinette sits up again, eyes mostly closed, but doing her best to seem attentive.

Through her blurry vision, she can sort of see her teacher. The woman looks uncomfortable for a moment before she turns back to the board and continues on in the lesson as usual.

Bustier sufficiently cowed, Felix turns back to Marinette, who is swaying slightly and staring puzzledly towards the front of the room.

“Marinette,” he whispers, “You may rest again. Ms. Bustier is allowing it.”

She nods, returning to her previous position. Her eyes slip shut a few times, before they stay that way, and she dozes against the boy.

He does his best to sit still, and mentally thanks his ambidextrousness.

---

When lunch begins, a few classmates seem to be considering waking her, but he glares at them until they get the message.

“Geez, you know you could just talk t’ people, right?” Allan teases, showing up at the door just as the last classmate leaves.

“Self expression, Al’. That’s just his true self.” Claude appears. “Truly, I’m so proud, look at him with his very own personality.”

His glares are less effective on the two boys than his classmates, and before he can say anything in response, Allegra interrupts, “Those two are just taking advantage of the fact that you can’t do anything other than whisper and scowl at them with our fair lady right there.”

The braided blonde approaches the pair who are still seated, nudging the fatigued girl slightly. Bleary eyes crack open, and her mouth moves in a shadow of mumbled words that never get verbalized.

“Claude, get over here so you can carry her.”

He nods dutifully, coming over. Allan sees Felix’s expression and grins. “Sorry Fe’, but if someone saw you carrying an unconscious girl they’d think you were disposing of a body.”

“No one would think something so outlandish.”

Claude reaches for Marinette, who complies with being picked up, holding on like a koala. She doesn’t bother attempting to ask where they’re taking her.

Mostly because all her brain can register is that these are her teammates, and that’s more than enough for her. She’s safe.

The quartet keeps their conversation down, carrying the girl out of the class, then the school. Crossing the street, they enter the bakery. Once they explain a little to their friend’s parents, they’re allowed up, and easily find Marinette’s room.

“Here we are, sweetheart. This is your stop.” Claude starts to set the girl down.

Marinette teeters on her feet slightly, blinking around at her surroundings. She realizes where she is and shakes her head.

“Oh yes,” Allan counters, “This is where you’re supposed to be.”

She shakes her head again, still using Claude for support. Allegra thinks for a moment, then drags Marinette over to the chaise. “Alright. Then we’ll sit here, and I’ll try different hairstyles on you.”

Marinette blinks, which they take as confusion.

“Well, we’ve got to do something while we’re here, and I want to see what you look like without pigtails!”

Marinette is too tired to notice how the girl hums as she works, a quiet tune that’s familiar to the others. Allegra slows the song while she combs out Marinette’s hair with her fingers. Separating it into three parts, she starts making a loose braid, still humming.

By the time she’s finished with the braid, Marinette is asleep.

“Stubborn child,” Allegra whispers, standing and guiding Marinette’s body to lean backwards in a more comfortable position.

“Have you spoken to the other class presidents about Ms. Rossi’s ‘request’?” Felix inquires.

Allegra huffs, then her face splits in a grin. “Oh yes. I explained everything, and needless to say they were rather… angry. I don’t think Lila will be lasting much longer.”

---

Ladybug runs along her usual patrol route. She’d slept for a few hours, then woke up and moved on with her usual routine. It was for the best, given how many hours she’d lost.

She can just count those towards her sleep quota.

Her patrol is interrupted when she sees Gavroche sitting on a nearby building with an unimpressed look.

“Ladybug. You’re supposed to be resting. You’ve missed too much sleep.”

“I already slept for a bit. I’m fine. I should be patrolling,” she argues.

He responds by taking out his communicator, contacting every member of the team with one button. “You guys will never guess who I ran into.”

He never breaks eye contact with her, and she glares at him.

He responds by taking a picture of her and sending it to the other heroes.

“We both know you can’t outrun me. Accept your fate.”

“I don’t need to sleep!”

“Yes you do. You’re running yourself into the ground, and as your friends, we can’t just let that happen. You were barely conscious this morning.”

Chat Noir was the first to arrive, though Kid Mime and Melodie weren’t far behind.

“Ladybug. What do you think you’re doing?” “I was doing patrol.”

“Patrol was canceled, remember? Last night.”

“We’ll start patrolling regularly again once you have a regular sleep schedule.”

She huffs. “I’m not even tired.”

Melodie shakes her head. “Maybe not on the surface, but your song is exhausted.”

When Ladybug doesn’t respond, she continues, “I can show you. I don’t like forcing people to sleep against their will, because it makes me feel gross, but if you’re okay with it…”

Ladybug sighs. “...fine. But if I don’t fall asleep, I get to patrol.”

Kid seems to consider this, nodding. “Deal.”

The others look at him in disbelief, but he has a mischievous grin on his face, and they just go along with it.

Melodie straightens, taking a few moments to prepare herself before beginning the song. Once again, they recognize what she’s told them is Ladybug’s song. This time, however, she’s put more detail into it. It’s how Ladybug’s song sounds right now, not just the general feeling of it.

At a glance, it’s the usual. A strong, confident tune that makes you want to smile. Under the surface though, something lurks. As Melodie continues, she pulls the coverings away, bringing it to light.

It’s a slower song. Almost every note seems like it could be the end, as though it’s just going to drop and the song is going to end. Each one drags itself out into the air wearily.

Ladybug is no longer standing with the near perfect posture she had moments before. The longer the song drags on, the heavier her eyelids seem to get, and the more she droops. When she starts to sway, Chat walks over to hold her.

She fights a little to get herself back to a standing position. It doesn’t last long, and she’s leaning against her miraculous partner again, fighting to keep her eyes open.

Melodie puts her flute down, sitting down quickly. Sure, Ladybug is still awake, but there’s no way she’ll stay that way much longer.

Chat is holding her against his chest, likely purring while he rubs circles on her back. Ladybug keeps prying her eyes open, again and again. Finally, they close and stay closed. There’s a tense silence for a moment as they all wait to be sure she’s actually asleep.

Finally, Kid breaks the silence. “Well, aren’t you two sweet,” he teases.

Chat frowns. “It was simply the most logical way to get her to sleep quicker.”

“Mhm. And the fact that your tail is wrapped around her?” Gavroche raises an eyebrow.

Chat scowls, which does nothing to cover his blush.

“Kid, why would you agree to her deal? She shouldn’t be patrolling,” Melodie asks, suppressing a yawn.

“Well, if no one did, then she probably would have pushed it and made sure each one of us agreed. This way, I agreed to it, but you guys? You never said a thing, so if she tried to patrol, then we still technically fulfill the terms of her deal while being able to keep her from patrolling. Win-win. Not that I thought she’d stay up, just-”

“Good to have a back-up plan. Alright.”

“Mhm!”

“Well,” Gavroche says, “Chat will obviously be the one to take our Bug to her bed. Melodie, I’ll take the long way to my house so that I can stick with you. Can’t have you pulling a Ladybug on us.”

She nods tiredly. “That’s fair. Probably for the best - that took more out of me than I expected.”

With that, they all go their separate ways, Chat holding Ladybug delicately.

It’s only when he lands on her balcony that he realizes she’s still clinging to consciousness. Not really aware of anything, but not quite entirely asleep yet.

Her transformation drops as he enters her room. Her Kwami flies off.

“Marinette, it is time for you to sleep.”

She murmurs quietly, shifting as he places her on her bed.

Marinette has been drifting in and out of sleep. First she was on the roof, and Melodie’s song was really starting to get to her. Then she’s was with Chat. Then she was on her way home, Chat carrying her.

Now she can hear him speaking, and her very quick attempt to open her eyes show him leaning over her, facing towards her. She couldn’t make out much more.

Everything feels so heavy, and she just wants to sleep. For whatever reason, it won’t come again, and she lies there helplessly, waiting.

Someone (who was just here again?) pulls her blankets up around her, and tucks her hair out of her face. She feels gentle purring (when did she get a cat? Did her pillow come to life?) and that’s what eventually pulls her down into a deep sleep.

When her teammates come by the next day, late into the morning, they find she’s asleep. High fiving each other, they leave a note to contact them when she wakes up. She’ll need some help with the classes she’s slept through, but for now, she needs the sleep more.

---

Author’s Note: Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!

41 notes · View notes