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spooky-z · 4 years

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MIDNIGHT SKY

I have three important warnings about the AU oneshot.

The first is that this story is a little different from what I have already written. What does that mean? It means that the story will have dirty jokes, (1) detailed french kiss and alcohol. And sexual tension. Yes. An ace trying to write UST. Ah! They are 18 here.

The second is, of course, language. There is nothing more explicit than what I have written in other stories. It's just that it's hard for me to write stories without cursing like a sailor. Sorry.

The third is that I didn’t tag anyone in this story for the reasons above. I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

The two songs featured in the story are (in order of appearance): Gone by Charli XCX and Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus.

9.6K (the story is under "read more")

Maribat by @ozmav

In that au, Alya and Marinette dated for a year at the Collège, but when they joined Lycée and Lila arrived, they broke up because Lila managed to convince Alya that Marinette was cheating on her.

Lila's obsession with Adrien in the canon is replaced by Marinette, that is, instead of Adrien, Marinette is Lila's target here.

Since Lila never lied about being friends with Ladybug, Mari never suspected the girl.

So, Lila comments to Alya that it was very strange Marinette's constant disappearances and how the girl made up weak excuses about it

Alya is hard to convince at first, but with Lila's time and persuasive words, she ends up giving in and believing in Lila.

Alya accuses Mari, Mari denies it, but it's no use.

They break up.

Everyone starts to exclude Marinette, supporting Alya who is heartbroken because she still loved Mari.

Except Adrien, who is a good friend for the designer.

So, while everyone was focused on Alya, Lila approaches Marinette and Adrien in the image of a concerned and supportive friend.

She offers a shoulder for Marinette to cry, and friendship to Adrien.

This is, of course, hidden from everyone.

Lila uses Adrien and Marinette for personal gain. Knowing that Adrien was too innocent and Marinette too kind.

Marinette falls in love with the Italian and with Adrien's encouragement, she confesses.

They start dating and Lila loves that Marinette kisses the floor she steps on

This is all hidden from the class.

Lila gives the excuse that she didn’t assumed her sexuality to anyone and that she is not ready yet

Mari and Adrien are quick and comfort the Italian, telling her that she doesn't have to force herself into anything. That they loved her.

Months go by, Kagami arrives at Dupont stealing Chloe's heart and befriending Adrien

Eventually she joins the pair (adrien and marinette) bringing Chloe and Sabrina together, who apologize to Marinette

They start to hang out together as friends and Mari is happy.

This makes Lila angry, since adrinette are no longer isolated and available to her all the time.

Lila accuses Mari of not having more time for her and not loving her anymore, trying to make the girl feel guilty

Mari fearing that the same thing that happened with Alya, happens with Lila, starts to isolate herself from her friends, giving her full attention to Lila

Kagami and Chloe notices Marinette's behavior and how sad the girl looked

Marinette can't take it, and tells the four friends what had happened and that sends red lights to Kagami who starts watching Lila closely.

That’s until Chloe and Sabrina find a mistake in one of Lila’s lies and tell the fencer

And so, Kagami investigates and uncovers all Lila's lies

Including why Alya broke up with Marinette and she tells Marinette

Marinette doesn't believe in Kagami and fights with her friend, because Lila would never do that to her

So, Mari starts to avoid Kagami and Chloe and Lila celebrate with the victory

Lila warns Kagami to stay away from Marinette, because Mari was hers, thinking that the Japanese girl was interested in Mari

Kagami becomes Onii-chan, exposing Lila to Chat Noir and Ladybug

Marinette again has her heart broken and she cries on her friends' shoulders after asking for forgiveness for not believing.

She breaks up with Lila the next day when Lila is alone without the class present.

Lila tries to make the girl change her mind, blame Marinette's friends, emotional manipulation, but it's no use and Mari leaves without looking back

Lila has an outbreak of anger, but surprisingly, no butterfly appears

She tries to win Marinette back throughout the week, but the girl pretends not to see her and the group of friends was also quick to repel the Italian.

Kagami being the most brutal

With that, Lila takes personal revenge and begins to lie about Marinette and her friends

About them bullying her and harassing her.

Everyone believes in the girl and the group of friends become the outcasts of the class

Even though Lila made their lives hell, she still believed that Marinette would come back to her

The same for Alya, who still liked the girl, but treated her badly for revenge.

That is, until Lycée's graduation party takes place.

▫▪▪

The fact is: Marinette was happy.

For a while she thought it would be impossible to be happy. When you discover that the two people you loved with all your heart were two fake ones, it’s kind of makes you think that you are actually the problem.

And for a while she thought just that.

When Alya, instead of asking her to talk privately to try to understand what was going on, decided that the best time to yell at her was in the middle of the courtyard with all the students watching the show; her thoughts were that she might deserve it.

It had been humiliating, yes. She never felt so much embarrassment and hurt as she did that time. But being honest, Marinette knew that something like that could happen, since she couldn't tell her secret to Alya. It wasn't much of a shock.

She tried to convince Alya, denied it, did what she could. In the end she gave up and ran home to lick her wounds, putting on her big girl mask.

It was really a surprise that there wasn't even a butterfly. For her or Alya. No sign of akuma for an entire week.

Or later, when she found out that the girl she loved, the same one she loved the floor she stepped on, was all the time lying to her and that it was Alya's cause to break up with her.

And that in the end she became a villain almost bigger than Hawkmoth in Marinette's life; leaving her isolated, almost without friends; making up lies or accusing her of things she hadn't done. Lila tried, and in a way, managed to ruin Marinette.

She thought this was her destiny: failed and illusory relationships. No sincere and passionate romance. Kisses that wouldn't make her blood boil or her heart race. Nothing that made her weak and wobbly legs.

Marinette had broken up with Lila just six months after they started dating. She was about to turn sixteen. Alya broke up with Marinette after a year of dating, she was fifteen.

Maybe it was a curse, she thought. Since she was lucky enough to have been chosen to be a hero; loving and concerned parents; wonderful friends (all four); talent recognized by powerful people (Audrey and Gabriel).

In the same way as Ladybug and Chat Noir, if she had one side too good, the other would have to be as bad as to balance the scale.

What Tikki had firmly denied and said that Marinette just needed to be patient, that the right person for her would show up. She just needed to mature and wait for it.

Marinette tried to be positive about the words of the little goddess. Really. She really tried.

So, when she turned sixteen and Adrien announced that he and Luka were in a relationship, Marinette celebrated for her friends. She was genuinely happy for them. But when Sabrina, not even a month later, appeared hand in hand with Felix, both with red cheeks and babbling about deciding to try a relationship; Marinette broke.

She broke down and gave up.

Seeing how Chloe changed when she was with Kagami or how Felix was opening up more and more because of Sabrina, showed Marinette that she hadn't been enough for Lila. Or Alya. She was the problem.

Then she stopped.

Marinette began to focus more on studies, friends, commissions, training as a guardian and life as a hero. Not looking once for romantic relationships. And she was like that. Increasingly strong and independent, not once bowing her head to other people.

For her seventeenth birthday, Luka - who had discovered he was Jagged's son and was now living with the man - invited family and friends to celebrate at the rockstar's mansion in Gotham. Trying to keep the group away from Paris and Akumas for a while. Everyone agreed, since it was a good idea.

(Gabriel who was leaving for a business trip in New York and allowed Adrien to go with them, like a long-delayed vacation.)

And it was there that Marinette met Damian. Tall, arrogant, beautiful green eyes, olive skin, broad shoulders, defined muscles, dark hair like the night and a permanent frown as a causal expression. She felt like air was being stolen from her lungs.

The second time they kissed - the first being just a brush of lips - Damian held her tightly. His fingers sinking into the flesh of her hips, the palm leaving feverish impressions on her skin, the fullness of his cologne soaking her senses, the sharp drag of his tongue against the roof of her mouth, pulling the tiniest delightful sighs from her lungs.

Marinette had been lost in Damian. She dragged her hands through his smooth, combed hair, as if she were drugged with passion. Her nails scraping over the bare skin on the back of his neck, never wanting to let go. The sounds that escaped, Damian swallowed fervently, looking just as drunk as she did.

Marinette was weak, wobbly, her blood was like lava, her heart was beating as if it wanted to break her ribs, she was short of breath and her brain was like goo.

It was there that she gave herself over to love once again.

They returned to Paris, Luka staying in Gotham, but promising video calls and visiting when he was off tour with Jagged; Adrien was sad, but he was also the musician's greatest enthusiast.

For Marinette, leaving Gotham and, consequently, Damian, had been painful. The chaotic, disgusting thoughts about how the relationship had been only a 'summer love', but in the end it was him who insisted on continuing. Then the same promise that Luka had made to Adrien, Damian made to Marinette.

Returning to Paris was fine, but returning to Dupont had been disappointing. Somehow, Ms. Bustier's class came to believe that Chloe, Adrien, Marinette and Sabrina had been absent for a week, just to get attention and as a result, the verbal attacks became more violent. Alya and Lila being the two most aggressive.

Aurore, a few days after the group's return to Paris, had told Marinette that Alya let slip that she was dating Nino just to hurt her. As revenge for being 'unfaithful', so that Marinette would regret having deceived her.

Marinette was really sad for Nino, as he seemed to really like Alya.

Thus, a year passed in the blink of an eye and in two days, there would be the graduation party for all classes of graduates.

The first idea - coming from the teachers - was that the party would be in the American style of prom. Beautiful dresses, king and queen and all that bullshit, but all the students who were graduating refused. They wanted something different.

Hawkmoth and Mayura had been defeated, they were all graduating, all of them of age wanting to leave the lycée in style. And Chloe - as always - at the meeting with all the class representatives, offered the Moulin Rouge as a graduation party.

Everyone loved it. Well, almost everyone, since the teachers thought that a graduation party at a nightclub would be overkill; but with all the students excited about the idea and the fact that they were of age, the school allowed it.

It was three months of organization. Selling tickets to non-students, buying drinks - alcoholic and non-alcoholic -, food - since no one would be able to stand all night without eating -, talking to the club's employees, making the guest list. It was exhausting, but it only increased general anxiety.

"What do you think, bug?" Chloe was wearing a yellow sequin bodycon dress with spaghetti straps and four-inch silver strappy high heels. "Kardashian or Paris?"

Marinette chewed the strawberry in her mouth. One side of the earphone to the ear, the phone in one hand on a video call with Damian and with the other hand, she wagged her finger, asking Chloe to turn.

"Hmm, I think it would be better to choose something that you won't have to fix up every time you move around a lot." The brunette considered after Chloe turned to her again. "We are going to a nightclub to drink and dance, so I think a bodycon is not the best idea."

Chloe pouted, looking at the back of the outfit in the mirror. “But that dress makes my butt so round. 'Gami would love it.”

Marinette looked at the phone in time to see Damian raise an eyebrow at the subject, an amused gleam in his eyes. "For sure, but choose something that you will be able to dance with me because I intend to leave that club without feeling my legs."

She was biting into another strawberry when Chloe put her hands on her hips, still looking at herself in the mirror. “Watch out, bug. You spend a lot of time without feeling your legs, an hour can become dangerous.”

Marinette frowned without understanding, but the wink that Chloe sent and Damian's laughter took the confusion out of her.

"Chloe!" She took the pillow closest to her on the bed and threw it at her friend. "No sexual jokes." The blonde was laughing as she returned to the closet, easily avoiding the pillow.

"Because actions speak more than words." Damian had a small mischievous smile on his face. "And I'm a man of action."

“Oh? We'll see." Marinette threw the second and last piece of the strawberry into her mouth, chewing it slowly as she stared at the camera. "I'm looking forward to your actions, baobei."

▫▪▪

While Marinette was eager to leave the lycée and forget her classmates for good, she was also feeling salty about everything. About how Lila would get away with it, go on with life as if she hadn't fucked Marinette's entire lycée life.

On the one hand, she wanted to unmask Lila so that everyone could see how rotten the Italian was. On the other hand, she no longer cared what others thought of her, much less wanted to help them get rid of Lila's slimy claws.

There were more cons than pros and she didn't know what to do.

"Marinette, why don't you let your hair down?" Tikki flew to the girl.

"I don't know, Tikki." She took the mascara, wiping it on her lashes. "My hair is too big and I'm going to sweat." Marinette turned her face away from the mirror, studying the makeup.

She had decided to dare that night. After spending years with just mascara and gloss, Marinette had smeared black eyeshadow on her upper and lower eyelids, a little highlighter above the pink cheekbones and a pink nude lipstick.

The makeup had become a spectacle, giving it a mature look.

"Just take a ribbon to attach." The little kwami pouted and Marinette rolled her eyes affectionately. "And it will also match your outfit."

"Okay, okay. Let me fix this mane, then."

Marinette thought about wearing one of the many evening dresses she had designed before, however, considering the same advice she had given Chloe, she choose something safer.

Skinny jeans with subtle rips in thighs and knees, lace crop top with spaghetti straps and sweetheart neckline, her loyal Louboutin daf platform ankle boots. All black except for the Chanel red – synthetic – leather jacket that Damian had given her as a gift.

She opted for different jewelry this time. Tikki and the earrings would stay with Sabine, and a small, discreet pink gold earring in the shape of a ladybug took place. On the neck, the choker that matched the earrings adorned the delicate skin, as well as the ring on the finger.

"There." Marinette announced. The hair was in uneven curls, giving volume. "What do you think?" She opened her arms for Tikki to take a closer look at the choice of clothes.

She had adopted the sexy and dangerous look with praise.

"You look wonderful, Marinette!" The kwami squeaked excitedly. "Damian will love it!"

Marinette smiled excitedly. "Do you really think?!"

"She's right, my love. You look stunning.”

The two jumps in surprise at the new voice and Marinette turned in time to see Damian enter her room. Tikki soon became scarce.

"Dames!" She quickly approached her boyfriend, happiness on her expression. “When did you arrive? I didn't get late, did I?”

Damian was quick to wrap his arms around her waist, pressing the smaller body against him. There was an evil smile on his face. "I just arrived and I missed my girlfriend a lot, so I decided to show up early."

Marinette wrapped her arms around his hunched shoulders, her fingers sinking into the short hair on the back of his neck. "Good, because your girlfriend was really missing you too."

"And what does she intend to do about it?" Damian dragged his hands under the leather jacket, letting his hands roam over the bare skin on her back.

Her eyes darkened with the touch and the proximity of their faces. They hadn't seen each other for a few months since Damian had been busy joining Tim in charge of WE and that took a toll on both of them.

The hunger for touch - Damian's touch - for Marinette had become unbearably difficult to control without him around to relieve. But now he was there, so close that every slight movement of their heads resulted in their noses rubbing against each other.

And she wanted more, much more. Damian didn't seem averse to that, if the warm look was any indication.

"What do you want-" He didn't give her the chance to finish her thought, his lips firm against hers in a passionate kiss.

And Marinette gave herself up again, as anxious as she was, to get lost in their own little world. She wanted it so, so much. It was disturbing how lost in Damian she was.

"I didn't want to disturb the love birds, but they are all waiting in the limo." The two of them reluctantly moved away.

Both were panting, Damian's lips red and damp with lipstick marks on his skin, his hair ruffled by Marinette's fingers; she was no different, lipstick had smeared the skin around her mouth, her lips were red and her eyes were blurry.

Adrien had been the one to interrupt the two, still standing on the stairs and leaning on the bedroom floor as if watching a very interesting movie. He had a mischievous smile on his face.

Damian sighed, regaining consciousness, frowning at being interrupted.

"Sometimes you are a pain in the ass, Agreste." He grunted as he helped Marinette adjust her clothes.

"And you still love me." Adrien showed his tongue in retaliation. “Don't forget to clean that lipstick stain. You know that if Jason and Tim see it, they won't be talking about anything for a week.”

“Thank you, Adrien. We will be leaving soon!” Marinette replied before Damian said something rude and dragged her boyfriend over so she could wipe his face with makeup remover.

The model took no more time in the room and went down.

"I think it's best not to apply lipstick again." Damian leaned against the dresser, arms crossed over his chest, watching Marinette fix her smudged makeup.

Her hand faltered over the lipstick tubes with his comment, rethinking the options, and decided to pick a strawberry chapstick.

"I don't think you're going to care about the artificial strawberry taste, are you?" She winked at Damian boldly and took a second look at what he was wearing.

"Not at all. Now let's go, before Chloe comes for us.” And he pulled her into the hatch on the floor.

The girl was so distracted by his presence that she hadn't even paid attention to what he was wearing. And she approved the choice of the set.

Damian wore a gray v-neck t-shirt folded inside his black slim fit pants - without a belt -; over the shirt, a graphite blazer folded below the elbows to show the inner print of the piece; polished black shoes on the feet.

And she thought seeing him in a three-piece suit was surprising.

They left the house without much fanfare. Sabine and Tom sitting on the couch with Tikki and Plagg watching some old movie on TV just waved their hands, telling them to have fun and call if they needed anything.

Chloe's limo was parked right next to the bakery exit. Luka leaning against the open door, talking to Félix and Jason.

Félix had - surprisingly - left his ties and waistcoats in the closet this time. Wearing a rare gray polo shirt, regular cut black jeans with leather belt and on his feet, Gucci loafers. Only the hairstyle remained the same, as he and Damian were two people who breathed hair gel.

Jason hadn't changed much. All in black, regular pants looking well-worn on his knees, combat boots, Henley with open buttons and a leather jacket. Hair looking much wilder than on a normal day.

Luka, on the other hand, wore almost the same as Jason. The differences were that Luka did not have a leather jacket, his shirt was a white button down and was wrapped around his forearms and his pants were leather. But that was not what caught Marinette's attention about her friend.

It was the first time she had seen Luka in person in months (almost a year) and she learned from Adrien, that he had adopted a new haircut and that he had gotten some tattoos. But she didn't think he would have both arms full with complex designs and colors.

His hair was short on the sides and nape, the natural tone left untouched in the shaved parts. With longer top totally dyed blue. She was able to see that there were more piercings in the ears, a dark ring on the nose and a black plug in each ear.

"Hey, guys! Sorry we are late." Marinette smiled at their friends who had stopped talking to look at them.

"Good night, Mari."

"Bugnette, what's up!"

"Ma-Marinette, your music is still fantastic."

"Luka, you're total rock 'n roll! Jagged must be proud.” She commented.

"I liked the Red Hood style, Bugnette." Jason pointed out the similarities.

"It would be interesting to see Red Hood kicking ass on a six-inch platform heel." Felix looked at Jason, considering.

"There is an image that I would rather not have in my head." Damian groaned as if in pain.

Jason opened his mouth to probably swear at his friends and brother, but was interrupted by Chloe, who came out of the limo snorting in irritation.

“Can you guys get in soon? I want to make a dramatic entrance and you are getting in the way!”

“Wow, Chlo. You are wonderful." Marinette ignored her friend's angry snort, preferring to look at the clothes the girl was wearing.

"Of course. I am always wonderful.” Posing with hands on hips.

Chloe's outfit was not the most outrageous outfit she had ever worn before. They were simple pieces, but together they made a fatal set.

She wore a black satin top with spaghetti straps, folded into a white high-waisted mini shorts, on the legs, four-inch black over the knee boots - Tom Ford's lace-up nappa she loved - and on the neck there were two chokers: the broadest was white with black print and the thinest was leather decorated with crystals; plus a gold necklace with bee pendant.

Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her makeup was simple; black eyeliner, shadow on the eyelids was a sparkling metallic - yet soft - there was a lovely pink on the cheekbones and her lipstick was nude.

"I'm getting more and more excited about it all." Marinette murmured, an evil smile on her face.

Chloe winked at her friend, having the same thoughts as her. "Come on suckers!"

▫▪▪

When they arrived at the club street, there was a considerable line at the entrance for people who had bought tickets; but as Sabrina, Adrien, Chloe, Marinette and Kagami were students, they were entitled to VIP entrance and could take two guests each.

"That's a lot people." Adrien commented sitting next to Luka and Chloe.

He wore an oversized pastel pink button-down shirt; the last three buttons open with the left end folded into the slim fit light blue denim pants. On the feet, off-white converse with white socks.

The hair, which he had let it grow - not too long, just long enough for a little ponytail - was parted on the side and messy, two kitten clips holding the right side of the bangs, while the left side fell textured over the eye.

"I see Nath and Marc from your class coming." Kagami lays a finger on the window, showing the two boys to enter.

She wore a pleated red peplum off-shoulder knit top, black leather pants with golden zippers on both sides; and on the feet, six-inch silver gold peep toe platform high heels.

Her hair, now in a pixie cut, had her bangs pushed aside. The makeup, she just had a thick black eyeliner on her eyes, ruby lipstick on her lips and minimal blush. Accessories include a pair of diamond earrings.

"Aurore and Claude too." Sabrina replied. That night, she had left her glasses at home, opting for contact lenses.

Sabrina opted for a black backless bodysuit with spaghetti straps, a pleated two-tiered skirt with the first being gold sequin and the second layer was peach tulle. On the feet, five-inch black lace up bandage high heels.

Red hair in a French bob, with loose curls and messy bangs. A silver necklace with a fox pendant around her neck. The makeup the same as Kagami's, changing only the color of the lipstick, which was a wine purple.

"Everyone has arrived." Jason says, his eyes glued to the phone.

"Everyone?" Marinette asks, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah..." He looks up, feeling the sharp edge.

"Everyone who?" Damian asked, already knowing the answer to that question.

"You know..." Jason looks away before speaking again. “Artemis, Dick, Kori, Tim, Conner, Cass, Steph, Babs, Duke and Jon. Bruce and Selina didn't come because Helena cried every time they put her in the crib.”

Damian grunted and Marinette laughed, incredulous. Luka and Adrien were out of breath from laughing.

"My god, the entire Wayne family under one roof..." Félix gasped in horror.

"If Paris remains whole tomorrow, I will ask my father to declare a holiday." Chloe joked.

"Okay, I think we better get in soon because this is getting weird here." Marinette opened the limo door and let out a breath.

It was now or never.

▫▪▪

Lila was ready. This was the last chance she would have to mess with Marinette, before everyone followed the path of adulthood with colleges and jobs.

Was she a little obsessive? Yes. She would not deny it. But there was something about Marinette. Something that she couldn't name, that made her waste hours of the day thinking about her; feeling angry that the girl broke up with her and never looked twice at Lila again.

She simply pretended that the Italian did not exist, regardless of the lie that Lila told or accused her, Marinette did not even blink in her direction and that left her burning with frustration, a bitter taste in her mouth.

When Marinette broke up with her, the first thing she thought was that it was Alya's doing, but she soon gave up on the idea since Alya was her most loyal follower and didn't know about Lila and Marinette's relationship.

But she knew that Marinette would not have found it out on her own, that she had help and that the person who had done it would pay. It was only when she noticed Kagami's murderous looks that everything fell into place and she tried.

Lila tried so hard to ruin Kagami Tsurugi's life. At school, at home, with the girl's fencing partners. Everything. But somehow Kagami was untouchable.

So, she went around, attacking Chloe with gossip around the school, accusing Marinette of bullying, telling everyone that Adrien was gay, throwing suggestions to Sabrina's stupid father; everything she could do she did and in a way, she got some results, but nothing significant.

Not even when Lila talked – lied - about lovers or high society ex-lovers like Damian Wayne, Peter Stark, Princess Shuri to make the girl jealous, Marinette reacted.

It was frustrating. Marinette getting further and further away from her control, the days and months passing, the anger rising. But she had everything ready for that night.

Lila would recover what was hers for better or for worse.

Nino choked on his drink and coughed violently, drawing her attention.

"You're right, man?!" Kim asked worriedly as he hit the DJ on the back.

The whole class was sitting in a discreet corner of the club that filled up more with each passing minute, so the boy was soon surrounded by concerned colleagues.

Lila tried not to roll her eyes in annoyance.

Nino inhaled the air trying to compose himself, his outstretched arm pointing to a somewhere in the club. "Ma-MA"

Alya frowned in confusion before following the direction with her eyes, where Nino pointed. The reaction she had was almost identical to Nino.

"MARINETTE?!" She screamed; the club's music drowning out, but the class was able to hear without a problem as they were close.

Lila felt a sharp pain and burning in the back of her neck from the speed that she turned her head, but it didn't matter. With ‘Marinette, Marinette, Marinette’ singing in her mind, she rested her eyes on the sight of the gods.

There she was. Sin itself. Lila felt her mouth dry, feeling deeply dehydrated.

She had other people with her, but the Italian had eyes only for Marinette. For the way the pants hugged the curves like a glove, the contrast of red and black against the alabaster skin, the sudden ability to walk in heels.

The loose hair that she never showed anyone, just for Lila, but now everyone was seeing.

"Wow, Marinette looks beautiful." Alix sighed.

"I didn't know Sabrina could look like this..." Max commented back.

"Chloe looks beautiful, too." Kim's cheeks were flushed.

"... Mari..." Alya said again, her eyes glassy, unaware of Nino's grimace.

Lila felt her anger burn again.

Everyone was looking at Marinette. Everyone was coveting what was hers.

She swallowed the rest of the gin violently before placing the glass on the table and walked to the dance floor.

Tonight, Marinette would look at her, only at her.

▫▪▪

Meeting Damian's family on the sofas in the VIP area of the Moulin Rouge had been quite a scene, since the group of heroes - and vigilantes - attracted a lot of attention, even though they were doing nothing but talking and drinking.

Artemis and Kori, two tall and strong women, wearing simple clothes: Kori with a black lace trimmed silk satin mini dress accompanied by black shorts, and on her feet, four-inch open toe pump noir from Visage; Artemis, on the other hand, was more comfortable with blue ripped skinny jeans, a transparent black button-down blouse - a lace bralette underneath - and on the feet, Jeffrey Campbell's four-inch rodillo-hi wedge sandal.

Babs was also tall, but not quite as tall as the other two. She was wearing a scribbled multicolored Jeremy Scott mini dress and red YSL stilettos opyum 110 on her feet. Cass was the most casual, all in black wearing a black t-shirt with sleeves wrapped around her shoulders, denim and converse Chuck Taylor.

Steph was wearing a black Prada technical nylon jumpsuit with black Oxford heels and Marinette was never so proud.

She succeeded in just a year, making them understand that jeans and hoodies were not the solution for everything. Only Cass who was still fighting her, but Marinette was nothing but persistent. She was going to make it.

From the boys, there was not much difference from the ones she had seen before. All between Félix and Luka. Which was disappointing, honestly.

They were all sitting, talking and drinking, Jon had disappeared with Mirelle in the middle of the dance floor and Tim had gone to the bathroom when Adrien jumped off Luka's lap.

"I love this song!" He shouted excitedly. "We have to go!" He took Marinette and Chloe's hand, pulling both without thinking twice.

Chloe laughed excitedly, turning quickly just to wave goodbye to Kagami and Marinette blew a kiss to Damian who leaned back against the couch, relaxing to watch the girl.

They had to push some people out of the way to get a good space, but soon they were dancing.

‘Why do we keep when the water runs? Why do we love if we're so mistaken?’ Adrien sang for both of them, arms up as he moved his hips.

‘Why do we leave when the chase is done? Don't search me in here, I'm already gone, baby’ Chloe sings back shaking her head while tossing her ponytail over her shoulder.

‘Why do we keep when the water runs? Why do we love?’ Marinette shrugged to take off her jacket and do a slow body roll. The sharp and sensual hips.

She looked over her shoulder, catching Damian's eye across the dance floor. He smiled; his eyes dark. Tim catches the change and laughs hard. Damian looks at his brother, his expression irritated.

Marinette dances again with her friends, putting her jacket back on her shoulders, getting lost in the music. Feeling the melody vibrate under the skin. Dancing was really wonderful.

The three of them stayed on the dance floor for what seemed like hours. Jumping, singing or just playing with each other. At one point, Sabrina joined them, but she didn't stay long.

Adrien was flushed from the effort; Chloe had a wet neck and Marinette was scalding in that leather jacket. That's when they decided to stop and go back to their table.

Chloe and Adrien were quick to sit on the plush seats, leaving only Damian's lap free for her to sit on, which she didn't hesitate to do.

"Hey, big boy." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You come here often?"

Damian hugged her waist. "No, but if you want, I can come." He kissed her neck, his arm stretched out on the table to pick up the water bottle. "But first you have to drink water and take that jacket off to cool off."

She made a face, but didn't complained when she took off her jacket - which Damian threw on the table - and took the water from his hand. She managed to drain the bottle without having to stop to breathe, the thirst she hadn't noticed, calmed.

“Water has never tasted as good as it does today. Wow." She sighed in delight.

"I know something much better." Damian whispered in her ear and lowered his head to place a kiss on the back of her neck, enjoying the goosebumps.

"D-"

"If you guys stop flirting for a moment and pay attention to me, I would appreciate it." Adrien caught their attention.

"Agreste." Damian growled as he pulled his mouth away from her skin. “This is the second time today. Second."

Luka laughed at his friend, blinking slowly. “Easy Wayne. He just wanted Marinette to see that.” He pointed discreetly at the dance floor.

Dance floor where Alya and Lila danced against each other, trying to sensualize. Trying was the key word, since Lila didn't seem to know what she was doing. But the worst was not them trying to sensualize, but trying and, on top of that, looking at Marinette waiting for a reaction.

"Do they really think this is going to work?" Sabrina asked really surprised.

"I wish I could unsee it. Jesus." Felix grunted.

"They can be worse than Tim." Dick stifled his laughter in Kori's dress and she stroked his hair.

"It's like a live trainwreck." Kagami had a glass of whiskey in her hand, trying to hide her laughter.

"This is disturbing." Jason raised his eyebrow at Alya twerking. "Very disturbing." He was sitting on Artemis's lap, his eyes barely open, almost asleep.

"I should sue them for this." Chloe was extremely irritated.

"Think on the bright side: at least they haven't started-" Damian raised his eyebrow, before rolling his eyes. "Forget what I was going to say."

"They really are- oh my god." Marinette put her hands on her face in disbelief.

Lila and Alya were kissing. Kissing in a very obscene way, if Marinette could add.

"Guys, this is worse than I expected." Cassandra commented without emotion. A beer in her right hand and her left arm on Stephanie's shoulders.

Marinette was not really believing the general situation of what was happening. Of course, she imagined that Lila would try some of her irritating plans to humiliate her in front of everyone, but she didn't think that Lila would be allying herself with Alya in such a rude way.

For God’s sake! Alya had a boyfriend and even though she didn't really like Nino, she should at least respect him. Nino was not a bad guy, perhaps too innocent for falling for the lies of the two girls, but he was still kind and fun. Quite honest.

Seeing Alya simply dismissing his feelings as if it was nothing, made Marinette disgusted.

If she still liked either girl, that would be the moment when the feeling would end.

"I feel so bad for her boyfriend." Steph said pointing to a dark corner on the other side of the club, where Nino looked devastated.

Marinette felt her anger burn at the sight.

She had arrived at the club determined to do nothing against Lila or Alya, but that changed when she saw Nino looking so heartbroken.

Those two would pay for thinking only of themselves.

Marinette turned to her friends, the miraculous team, with a stormy expression. “Bee, Cat and Fox-” Chloe, Adrien and Sabrina straightened up, their eyes hardening. "I have a plan and I think you will like it." She smiled like the devil, the three showing equal smiles.

"What about me, Mari-hime?" Kagami asked, eager to help.

"You and everyone are going to sit here and watch."

Damian squeezed her waist, reaching for her ear again.

"I love it when you look like this. Ready to bite heads off."

Marinette turned her face only to place an innocent kiss on his lips, before moving away to Damian's ear.

"Then you will love even more what I am about to do." And she bit the lobe of his ear, pausing only to appreciate the way his fingers dug into the bare skin of her waist, before getting up.

"Now if you guys excuse us, we have a show to do."

▫▪▪

Lila was about to open her mouth again to deepen the kiss with Alya, when the music was abruptly cut off and everyone started booing.

"Sorry! Sorry!" The DJ - Allan from Mr. Dubois' class - said into the microphone. "I know you want to keep dancing, but a very peculiar request came and I thought you would love it."

She looked at the spot where Marinette had been sitting - sitting on the lap of a man Lila had never seen before - but did not find the girl. Only Tsurugi and Couffaine were still sitting there with the strange friends. None of Marinette's other three minions were there.

The man who had been with Marinette before noticed Lila's gaze and raised an eyebrow in defiance and she had to look away back to the DJ booth.

"What do you think of a live show?" Allan asked, getting excited by the enthusiasm of the audience. "Great, great- because I have four friends here who want the high point of the night!"

Lila had a really bad feeling about what was about to happen.

He turned back, waving to the people in the back and when they reached the light, Lila's heart dropped to her stomach.

Marinette, Chloe, Sabrina and Adrien were smiling like a cat that ate the canary while waving to everyone.

"You must recognize them: Adrien Agreste, Sabrina Raincomprix, Chloe Bourgeois and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, from Ms. Bustier's class!" Everyone shouted excitedly. "The stage is all yours." He said to them when he handed the microphone to Marinette.

Adrien, Chloe and Sabrina already had microphones in their hands.

The melody started and Marinette, along with the three of them, headed for the stairs that led to the dance floor. The light following in their footsteps.

La-la, la-la, la

They leaned against the railing, posing. Marinette first, Adrien behind her, Sabrina next and Chloe at the top.

Yeah, it's been a long night and the mirror's telling me to go home (go home)

Marinette started to sing, her voice rocking everyone in the club watching her and the three friends doing backing vocals.

But it's been a long time since I felt this good on my own (uh)

She ran a hand over her bare belly before going up to her hair, pushing it out of the way. Marinette was breathtaking.

Lotta years went by With my hands tied up in your ropes (your ropes) Forever and ever, no more (no more)

Marinette rocked her hips to the side, shaking her head in denial and the other three did the same, but Lila's focus was only on Dupain-Cheng.

The midnight sky is the road I'm takin' Head high up in the clouds (oh, oh)

Her voice came raw, sensual. She slid while holding the railing of the stairs, never failing to move her hips. A wild glow in the eye.

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (by you)

She got up and the four started to sing together in what looked like the chorus.

Fire in my lungs Can't bite the Devil on my tongue, oh no Don't need to be loved by you

They started down the stairs slowly, still dancing to the melody of the song.

See my lips on her mouth Everybody's talkin' now, baby Ooh, you know it's true (yeah, yeah)

It was then that Marinette, for the first time in months, looked directly at Lila. To Lila and Alya, who was shaking next to the Italian.

That I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (loved by you)

She raised her hand and with her finger, signaled a 'no' before winking at them and looking away again. Lila was having trouble assimilating everything.

La-la, la-la, la

They reached the dance floor, everybody making room.

She got her hair pulled back 'Cause the sweat's drippin' off of her face (her face) Said, "It ain't so bad if I wanna make a couple mistakes"

Side by side, they waved their hands in front of their faces as if they were hot.

You should know right now that I never stayed put in one place Forever and ever, no more (no more)

They started to walk in a circle, looking at each person around them and smiling.

Marinette took the lead again.

The midnight sky is the road I'm takin' Head high up in the clouds (oh, oh)

Her voice was raw, resonating through Lila's body like a charm.

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (by you)

The four returned to stand side by side, to sing together.

Fire in my lungs Can't bite the Devil on my tongue, oh no Don't need to be loved by you

Adrien turned to Chloe and Marinette turned to Sabrina, her back to Adrien. They approached, so close that any mistakes Marinette and Sabrina could bump each other's mouths.

See my lips on her mouth Everybody's talkin' now, baby Ooh, you know it's true (yeah)

Lila felt the hatred burn in the pit of her stomach, disgusted by the intimacy that Sabrina - the same girl who had scorned everyone with Chloe for years - had with Marinette, while she only had a quick look and worst, she had to share with Alya.

That I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (by you)

They moved away from each other and started walking on the dance floor, messing with people. Marinette getting closer and closer to her.

Until she stopped in front of Lila.

Oh I don't hide, blurry eyes like you

And sang to her. Directly to her. Marinette inches from her. If Lila reached out, she could touch Mari's skin again.

Like you

Marinette looked up at someone - Alya - behind her for a moment, before leaving again.

The meaning in the letter does not go unnoticed by either.

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no I don't need to be loved by you (by you)

They walked on the dance floor again singing and dancing together.

Fire in my lungs Can't bite the Devil on my tongue, oh no Don't need to be loved by you

Marinette approached someone, the same guy as before, the one she was sitting on the lap. He was a few people away from Lila, but even with the distance, she was able to see the way his eyes were dark with possessiveness.

He advanced, being pulled by Marinette, before she turned her back to him making him embrace her.

See his hands 'round my waist Thought you never be replaced, baby Ooh, you know it's true (yeah)

Lila saw his hands go over Marinette's hips, the comfortable way he hid his face in her neck and the swing of her hips against his. As if it were normal for them.

Jealousy was burning again in Lila's chest.

That I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (yeah)

Marinette looked up, meeting Lila's. The lyrics of the song were like a knife in her skin.

La-la, la-la, la, la-la

She saw Marinette turn around in his arms and kiss him. Slowly and deeply, completely oblivious to the screams of the audience.

You know it's true, you know it's true Loved by you

The others finished singing the song and with the end of the song, the hope that Marinette would return to her died.

But Lila would make her regret that.

▫▪▪

"MARI, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD SING!" Kori shouted over the applause.

"I didn't know the three of you sang." Conner commented in surprise.

"I think everything they do comes out well." Jon snorted.

"Thanks, guys." Marinette laughed sheepishly. It was still difficult to receive so much praise.

"You sang like a Rockstar, Bugnette." Jason raised his hand and she hit a hi-five.

"That's why I always invite her to be part of my music." Luka laughed; arms wrapped around Adrien.

"Damian doesn't seem happy about it at all." Tim commented, looking at his sullen brother.

"Oh no. He's like that because you interrupted us four times tonight.” Marinette replied.

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried to kill us yet." Dick laughed.

After the group of friends finished singing, they were approached by friends excited by the show. Damian getting annoyed at being interrupted for the third time that night.

Chloe had kissed Kagami, Adrien jumped into Luka's arms, Sabrina and Félix having a moment; but when Damian tried to monopolize Marinette, his family appeared to interrupt them.

"It’s because I’m without my katana here, otherwise I would have already killed you."

"Uh-oh here comes trouble." Adrien looked over Marinette's shoulder and she feared what it was about, but she turned nonetheless.

And for sure. There was a problem.

Alya, Lila and the entire class, even a constipated-looking Nino, walking up to them.

"And here they come wanting to be humiliated again." Sabrina shook her head in disbelief.

When the class reached them, Marinette was able to notice Alya's murderous look at Damian, as Lila had a smug smile on her face and Nathaniel's apologetic look.

"Good night, Marinette." Lila greeted, the fake sweet tone already taking Mari's patience.

"So, it's him, huh." Alya snarled, Nino looked like he was about to cry.

"He...?" Damian frowned.

"You must be Marinette's boyfriend." Lila doesn’t answer the unspoken question. "My name is Lila Rossi; it is a pleasure to finally meet you." She raised her hand to him, but he didn't react. Still looking at the group with contempt.

"Damian." He replied dryly.

The two had a silent dispute to face.

"Ah- hi, Juleka!" Adrien waved at the girl and she looked away, refusing to wave back. Luka had a sad gleam in his eyes.

Juleka was not part of the group of people who attacked them verbally, but she also remained neutral, since Rose really believed in the bullshit that Lila told. She didn't want to become a pariah of the class like Marinette, and it hit the Couffaine siblings hard.

Which got worse with the discovery that Jagged was Luka's father and that Luka was leaving Kitty Section to live with him in Gotham.

Juleka never forgave him for it and blamed Adrien for supporting Luka's departure

"So, it was with you that Marinette cheated on Alya, huh." Alix said without caring about anything.

"You aren’t that great." Kim looked analytically at Damian and Marinette felt Damian exhale heavily.

"Who said that?" Marinette asked Alix.

Ivan raised an eyebrow at her. "It's common knowledge that you cheated on Alya, Marinette."

"Don't act innocent!" Alya shouted. "I can't believe you exchanged a year of relationship to be with this... ugh."

Chloe stepped forward to defend her friends, but Marinette stopped her.

"Alya, whether you believe it or not, I never cheated on you." She said calmly.

Alya scoffed. "It seems to me that you got over it really fast, since you were exchanging spit with this one."

Marinette blew out an incredulous breath. “We broke up almost three years ago, Alya. Did you really think I was going to be single forever?”

Max frowned upset. "People who can't stay faithful shouldn't be dating."

"I agree with you, Max. I'm glad I was never unfaithful." Marinette responded as calmly as she could at that moment.

"You should have more compassion for other people, Marinette." Lila decided to get involved. "Knowing that Alya would be hurt to see you being cozy with your... boyfriend." A false expression of concern on her face.

She looked at the Italian, her face blank. Lila hadn't noticed the opening she left for Marinette.

"What are you talking about, Lila?" She asked, confusion on her face. "You didn't seem concerned about Alya when we dated for six months after she broke up with me."

Alya turned to face Lila, surprised by Marinette's words. The class was in the same state.

"What are you talking about, Marinette?" Rose asked, shock clear in her expression.

“Lila, after Alya broke up with me, came to me offering a shoulder to cry. She stayed by my side while I tried to forget about Alya and in the end, we started dating.”

"YOU WHAT?!" Alya snarled.

Marinette tilted her head. "I thought you told them, Lila."

Lila's eyes were wide, not knowing what to say.

“But why would Lila date you, if she was the one who said you were cheating on Alya? It doesn't make sense.” Nino pointed.

"Maybe because Marinette never cheated on Alya and Lila lied to you about everything." Felix replied.

Alya shook her head in denial. "This has to be a lie, because if it's true..."

"... If true, you broke up with your girlfriend just so that Lila would have the opportunity to date her." Nathaniel commented, a devilish smile on his lips.

"It's a lie, guys!" Lila shouted. "She's just saying that to mess you!"

Alya stopped shaking her head, considering Lila's words.

"I have proof." Marinette said and Lila stiffened. “But it doesn't matter anymore. Today is the last day I have to see you, so it makes no difference whether you believe me or not.”

"Last day?" Lila asked curiously.

"Yeah. I'm going to live in Gotham with these losers here.” And he pointed to the batfam, superboys - even if they were from Metropolis -, alien, amazon and the miraculous team behind her. "Today is our farewell." She shrugged.

"Oh." Alya sighed.

Lila didn't like what she heard. Angry again.

"So what? You are leaving just like this? Are you going to leave me to live with this nobody?! "

Damian snarled. "What did you call me?!"

"Damian." Marinette said and he stepped back. “And yes, Lila. I will leave just like this. I owe you no satisfaction from what I do or don't do. You decided to lie to me and I decided that you would not be part of it.”

She picked up the jacket on the table and took Damian's hand. The party was over for her.

“I grew up and you should do the same. Goodbye."

Deciding to leave as soon as possible, Marinette did not wait for Lila's answer and pulled Damian away.

She was an adult now; teenage intrigues were no longer part of her daily life.

When the two reached the Moulin Rouge's sidewalk, Marinette turned to Damian.

"So, how about a tour in your hotel room?" She winked at him.

Damian smiled beatifically. "I thought you'd never ask."

Tikki was right. Waiting was worth it.

BONUS #1:

"Hey, Damian did you saw Ma- oh"

“Okay, this is it. Run Agreste.”

"But-"

"Shut up and run."

"..."

"...!"

"LUKA HELP ME!!!"

BONUS #2:

Marinette picked up the phone, noting that there were two voicemail notifications.

She was surprised, since everyone who had that number was in the gardens enjoying Alfred's birthday party.

Marinette put the phone to her ear, curiosity eating at her.

"Hello, Mari?" She inhaled hard. How did Alya get her phone number? “Hi, it's me Alya, Alya Césaire. Hah of course you know who I am... You, uh, must be wondering how I got your number... I got it from Nathaniel. Don't be mad at him, please! I needed to talk to you, but it's like you moved to Narnia. You probably blocked me, hah.”

She felt tears prick her eyes. As much as Marinette held a grudge against Alya, she still missed the friendship they shared and hearing her voice like that was like putting salt in the wound.

“Mari- Marinette. I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry for everything.” Tears falling freely. “I know that just words won't undo everything I did or said to you, but I needed you to know that I regret everything. I loved you, I still love you, but I see that feeling has rotted and blossomed into the worst of me. You didn't deserve anything that we did for you. I want you to understand that I was stupid, childish and did not weigh the consequences of my actions, but that I am trying to improve-“ The signal for the end of the voicemail rang and Marinette immediately clicked on the second message.

“Sorry, I reached the time limit. Hah. After that night at the club, I came home and thought about everything a lot. Nino has been helping me daily and- I'm grateful Mari, because Nino was kind enough to forgive me for what I did. I think I'm really falling in love with him now that I'm not blinded by meanness. Lila is no longer in Paris. I may have... left some videos at the Italian embassy for her mother to see and even if she is of age, some things would be really harmful for Ms. Rossi at the embassy, so the two left Paris. The last thing I heard was that she was arrested for stalking a girl from university she was attending. Anyway. I thank Mari, for being my best friend, my girlfriend. I love you. Bye." The finishing beep rang again and Marinette put the phone down.

The tears came down salty, wetting the beautiful fabric of her summer dress. She felt light, relieved as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Marinette knew it would take her a while to actually talk to Alya, but deep down she knew she had already forgiven the girl for everything.

"Mari?" She heard Damian's voice and the silent footsteps on the wooden floor.

She quickly wiped away her tears, trying to compose herself. "I'm here, Dames."

He entered the room worried. Her voice seemed unsteady. "Hey-" Damian stopped, observing the state she was in and ran to her side on the bed. "What happened, habibit?"

Marinette pressed her forehead against his, a shy smile on her lips. "I'm fine, love." Damian put his arm around her, pulling the girl onto his lap. "Really. I'm fine. No need to worry."

Damian kissed her lips tenderly. "Of course I worry. I will always worry about you.”

She pulled him in again for a kiss. Longer, but no less sweet.

"I love you, Damian Wayne."

"I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

#one shots #daminette #maribat #lukadrien #chlogami #felix x sabrina #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #luka couffaine #chloe bourgeois #Kagami Tsurugi #sabrina raincomprix #ml felix #ml salt #lila rossi salt #lila bashing #alya redemption #miraculous ladybug #ml x dc

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mochegato · 3 years

Text

Capturing a Dream

Chapter 12 – That Holds In the Pain

Chapter 1 Chapter 11

“Is that… IS THAT ONE USING A YO-YO!” Marinette whisper screamed to Adrien. Her head was just visible around the corner of the warehouse they were hidden behind, observing the robotic henchmen that the Toyman had fashioned into marionette looking dolls.

Adrien poked his head around the corner just above hers and grimaced. “Yes, I believe he is.”

“That little… that… How dare he!” she seethed, glaring at the robotic marionette. “You can’t just… you can’t just steal someone’s shtick like that.”

“Apparently you can,” Adrien commented, turning back to the rest of the Team.

“I feel like this is a personal attack. Using marionette dolls, using a yoyo… what did I ever do to this guy? I’ve never even been to Metropolis before,” she groused. “Usually I’ve at least met someone before they decide to harass me.”

Adrien scoffed. “No you haven’t. With villains, I’d say it’s about half and half.”

“You get harassed a lot?” Conner asked.

“It’s not uncommon. Paris will do that to you,” she shrugged.

“What the hell is up with Paris?” Wally asked in confusion.

“Nothing… anymore. You know, doesn’t really matter right now. How’s it going?” Adrien asked Robin.

“I’ve almost hacked into the security cameras,” Robin answered quickly. “And done.” He moved slightly so the others could gather around him to look at his phone, which was precariously linked to the security camera wires running outside the warehouse. He flipped through a few screens before stopping on one with a view of the marionette henchmen waiting in the main section of the warehouse. He angled the phone for them all to see it.

“Oh, that's...” Marinette started.

“That's a lot,” Conner finished for her. It was definitely more than they could handle without using superpowers or super suits, although if they could distract Marinette and Adrien, they might be able to get away with it.

Robin noted an estimate of how many there were in the warehouse and continued flipping through cameras. After a few more he stopped again. “That your friend?” He tilted the phone toward Marinette and Adrien.

Adrien nodded. “That’s her.”

Marinette grabbed the phone, almost dislodging the wires connecting it to the security system. “Is that a play pen? Are you kidding me? What the hell is this guy’s problem? I kind of get the toy inspired henchmen, I mean, if you’re called the Toyman, it makes sense, but a play pen? Really?”

“Mentally disturbed is kind of a prerequisite for most villains,” Wally pointed out.

“Hey, can we get a still of that, please?” Adrien asked as politely as he could. “For… scientific purposes?” He gave Robin a huge grin.

Wally chuckled and shook his head, but Robin gave him a cold stare. “Oh come on, you’d do it if it were one of your best friends,” Marinette rolled her eyes. “How are we going to make fun of her for the rest of her life about this if we don’t have pictures?”

“Pictures or it didn’t happen,” Adrien nodded sagely.

Robin huffed. “Can we focus please? We’re supposed to be trying to save your friend.”

“Right,” Adrien nodded, letting him change the subject but pouting internally. “Anyone have any ideas?”

Marinette turned back to the marionette sentries. “They're all robots, right? Being controlled by one guy, we think?” Her voice was distant, as if she was still in thought.

Conner did a quick scan of the area. There were only two heat signatures. From the security cameras, those had to be the Toyman and their friend. “Yes,” he confirmed.

“Electronic, right?” she continued, more quickly this time. She turned to them with a glint in her eyes that Adrien immediately recognized. Conner stared at her for a few seconds. He’d seen that look before. It was familiar. He knew it meant something good. He just wasn’t sure why he knew that.

“Everything he has must be digital or electronic. Which is great for ensuring that everyone working for you is of like mind, more specifically, his mind. But terrible when things like an EMP goes off. Because then, it’s just the Toyman, all by himself.” She looked over toward the Team with a grin. “I don’t suppose any of you boys would know how to make an EMP, would you?” She was already well aware of the answer, having seen Wally and Robin both do different versions in the field with parts they found around them at the time, but she had to play dumb.

Wally nodded excitedly. “I can, if I can find the parts.”

Adrien nodded toward the warehouse across from them. “I bet there’s parts in there.”

“We just need to figure out how to get in without drawing attention to ourselves,” Robin observed staring at it.

“There’s a window up there,” Marinette noted, pointing to a tiny window way at the top of the warehouse. “If I can get up there, I can fit through. Open the door from the inside.”

“And how are you planning on getting up there?” Conner asked.

“Well… I was thinking… climbing might be an option,” she drawled out, pointing to a pile of boxes leaning up against the side of the warehouse.

“That’s not going to get you in,” he pointed out.

“No, but lucky for me, I have a rather tall conspirator who looks like he works out quite a bit.” She was still staring at the window, trying to figure out the logistics and missed the way his cheeks darkened slightly. Robin did not miss it. He narrowed his eyes at Conner and smacked his shoulder. Conner glared back at him.

“Think you can lift me up? Maybe even throw me a little?” she asked excitedly, turning back to him.

Conner straightened up and looked back between the window and her. “You sure? It could be dangerous if I miss or if you can’t get a grip.”

“I trust you.” Her voice was heartfelt and her eyes shone with confidence, like there was something more there, but whatever it was Conner couldn’t figure out.

He nodded. “Let’s go then.”

Working with Marinette was significantly easier than he had anticipated working with a stranger would be. They worked like a well-oiled machined, seemingly able to anticipate what the other was going to do and react accordingly. Instead of awkward fumbling to get her into position, it was a graceful act. She was crawling through the tiny window within a matter of minutes.

A few minutes later Adrien’s phone pinged. “She says that she’s at a door at the southwest corner of the warehouse.” They headed to the corner of the warehouse hidden from the marionette sentries.

As soon as he was through the door, Wally started running around, trying very hard to keep his speed to a reasonable level. Marinette slapped Adrien’s shoulder to get his attention. “Hey, Alya texted. Here look,” she said a little louder than necessary and pointedly turned away from the rest of the warehouse to look at the text. Wally looked over to Robin uncertainly, but Robin nodded at him. Wally instantly zoomed around the warehouse, cataloging and locating all the items they would need for the EMP.

He was back by Robin’s side in an instant. “Right, I think we’re good to go. All the parts are here, just a bit scattered. The only issue is one of the parts is going to take a bit of effort and noise to get out.”

“How much noise?” Conner asked cautiously.

“A lot. They’re going to notice.”

“We’ll need a distraction to cover him so he can work,” Robin stated, looking around them to see if there was some distraction he could use.

“How big of a distraction are you looking for?” Adrien asked hesitantly looking over to Marinette. He nervously fiddled with his ring.

“Large enough they can’t ignore it, but not enough to cause too much damage,” Robin answered.

Marinette put her hand on Adrien’s shoulder, and subtly shook her head. She looked around the warehouse. “It’s a baking supply warehouse…” she noted examining the bags on the shelf. Rows and rows of different sized bags of flour in a variety of flour types.

“Going to bake something for them, Mari?” Adrien grinned at her.

Marinette’s eyes narrowed at an industrial sized fan. Her eyes quickly flicked to the flour and a lighter propped on an exposed bracer by the door, left there for employees to grab as they left to smoke. “Depends on your definition of bake.” She looked back at him with a determined glint. “Did you know flour is flammable?”

“We are not setting the warehouse on fire,” Conner exclaimed.

Marinette looked at him shocked. “Of course we’re not. Do you know how huge that explosion would be? And how many baked goods we’d be denying people from that amount of destruction?” she exclaimed in horror. “We only need one bag to make a point.”

“I’ll go with you,” Conner volunteered.

Marinette nodded as Robin set his mouth in a frown. “Grab the fan, please?” she requested as she grabbed a small bag of flour. “Give us eight minutes. I’ll text Adrien when we’re ready then within a few seconds you should hear a big bang.”

Wally groaned and dragged his hand down his face. Robin came up next to him staring at the mechanism Wally was working on with a concerned frown. “What’s wrong? Is it not going to work?”

Wally looked at him confused for a second. “Huh?” His face suddenly smoothed out in realization. “Oh, no. Of course it’s going to work. I just realized, I’m definitely not getting new cupcakes everyday next week.”

Marinette laughed and made her way through the door. “Good luck, guys. See you on the other side.”

Adrien nodded to her and turned back to Robin and Wally. “Let’s get the rest as ready as we can then. What can I do?”

Marinette and Conner snuck around the far side of the warehouses, moving quickly but quietly. When Marinette seemed to slow down and examine an area with interest, Conner finally spoke up. “Okay, what are we doing here?”

“I need this,” she patted the industrial sized fan, “to blow this,” she held up the small bag of flour in her hands, “into the air. Then we need to light it on fire and take cover right quick.”

“Shouldn’t we have brought a larger bag if that’s what we were going for?” he asked looking at the small bag in her hand skeptically. “I could have carried the fan and one of the large bags.”

She smiled at him and glanced quickly down at his arms. “I have no doubt,” she said almost absentmindedly. She flicked her eyes back up to his, her cheeks reddening slightly. “But this is enough. Anything larger and we’d be looking at taking out the entire complex.”

“Flour is that explosive?” He looked at the bag in her hands in awe.

“Extremely. Lucky for us.” She stopped and looked around. “This should be good. Far enough from the warehouses, it won’t blow them up, but close enough to get their attention.”

Conner nodded and started looking for an outlet. “I can plug it in here and we should be able to hide behind that.” He nodded toward a concrete half wall.

Marinette nodded. “We should probably move further away from that then. I don’t think you understand just how big this explosion is going to get.”

Conner nodded but stared at her for a few seconds. “You’re sure about this? With flour?”

Marinette smiled at him. “I grew up in a bakery. Trust me. You learn the most interesting things.” She ripped the top off of the bag of flour. “Okay start up the fan and point it up and out.”

Conner nodded and turned on the fan, still standing slightly in front of the fan. Marinette moved behind the fan and grinned at him as she dumped just a little bit into the fan. She laughed as the flour flew right into Conner’s face. “Things like don’t stand next to flour when a fan is on.”

Conner narrowed his eyes at her but started chuckling too. Chimera already taught him a lesson about how easily flour spreads. He should have remembered it. “At least it wasn’t the whole bag,” he acknowledged, starting to dust himself off.

Marinette’s laugh calmed down into a sweet smile. “Trying to set the air on fire. Not you. Come on, get behind me.” She slowly emptied the bag into the fan’s current. After a few seconds the air in front of the fan was thick with particles of flour hanging in the air. There was more flour on the ground than in the air, but there was enough for what they needed. “Ready?”

Conner bunched up a piece of paper into a ball and nodded. They moved behind the half wall and prepared themselves. Conner took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. He lit the ball on fire and threw it into the flour cloud.

The explosion seemed to happen in slow motion at first then all at once as one particle ignited the next, which ignited the particles next to it, escalating at an expediential rate until the entire cloud was lit up and pushing out. Conner’s eyes widened in surprise as the blow back came for them. He dived on top of Marinette, forcing her between the ground, concrete wall, and himself, protecting her from all sides.

When he finally looked up, his ears were ringing from the explosion. He definitely had not been properly prepared. Thank god they didn’t use a larger bag. He looked down to check on Marinette, but stopped when he saw her wide, blue eyes. It was mesmerizing and confusing. Just seeing her eyes shouldn’t make him feel this way and he couldn’t figure out why it did. She was mouthing something worriedly at him. He furrowed his brow trying to make out what she was saying. He finally figured out she was asking if he was okay when he felt her push him back to sitting and crawl around him to check his back for any signs of injury.

He felt his skin tingle where she ran her hands over his shoulders and upper back, before working their way into his hair at the back of his head. It felt brilliant and like a betrayal at the same time. He moved out of her reach and gave her a weak smile. It felt nice to have her fret over him and touch him, but not as nice as it did when Chimera did it. They stood up just in time to see an army of marionettes descending upon them. “We may not have thought this through,” he whispered to her, or at least thought he whispered. He’d actually screamed it at her.

She nodded, keeping her eyes on the robots in front of her. She held her hands up in surrender. She slowly unwrapped the white ribbon in her hair and waved it around. “Parlay?” she requested with an unrepentant grin.

Conner gave her a flat look. “Really?”

“You want to take on that many? By ourselves? We just have to keep them distracted and ourselves alive for another few seconds.”

Conner sighed and turned back to the marionettes, raising his hands grudgingly as he did. Before the marionettes could advance on them, they all froze for a second before falling to the ground. Marinette and Conner looked at each other uncertainly for a second, waiting for them to do something. When they didn’t, Marinette grinned at Conner.

“Now it’s just the Toyman,” Conner said.

Marinette nodded at him. “Let’s go get him.”

“Should we wait for the others?”

Marinette shook her head. “They’ll catch up.” They reached the door to the warehouse at the same time as Wally, Robin, and Adrien. They found and tied up the Toyman easily. Without his army of robots behind him, he surrendered without a fight. Finding Chloe only took a matter of minutes after that.

“Finally! It took you long enough. Do you know how long I’ve had to sit here in this? It’s been ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Who are those losers?” Chloe scoffed, glaring at the Team members.

Wally crossed his arms and leaned toward Conner. “Can we give her back?” he asked, not trying to be quiet.

“Yes,” Marinette nodded.

“No,” Robin answered.

“Eh,” Adrien shrugged.

“Hey!” Chloe yelled. “Now get me out of this!”

“If you don’t like who’s rescuing you, you’re welcome to stay in there,” Adrien threatened.

“Fine, fine, whatever. At least they’re cute. What happened to the things?” she asked. She flicked her hands in the general direction of somewhere else.

“The marionettes were taken out by an EMP these guys created on the fly, and the ‘mastermind’,” Marinette spat the word out sarcastically, “is bound and gagged outside.”

“Rather lackluster fight, really,” Adrien mused. “Turns out the Toyman isn’t much of a threat once his toys are taken away. August was more of a threat.”

“What do you say, Chloe?” Marinette prompted her as she held the door open for Chloe.

Chloe scowled at her and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder, heading through the door. “Let’s get out of here before something bad happens?”

“Chloe…” Marinette started in a warning tone.

Chloe scoffed at her. “We’re thanking each other every time we save one another now?”

“Yes! Yes, that’s what we do,” Marinette’s exasperation was clear. Conner chuckled at her expression. Marinette’s eyes flitted over to him for a second, her cheeks turning slightly pink before focusing back on Chloe.

“Every time?” Chloe gasped.

“Yes, every time!” Marinette groaned.

“That seems excessive,” Chloe shook her head. “Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. What a waste of time.” She continued toward the warehouse exit, not bothering to look back at them.

“So… she’s like this all the time, huh?” Robin asked Adrien quietly as they followed her out.

“What? No… She’s being nice right now,” he answered seriously.

“That’s why her kidnap count is so high,” Wally nodded knowingly.

“Definitely a contributing factor,” Marinette agreed.

“I heard that,” Chloe announced loudly.

“You were meant to,” Marinette yelled back. Conner looked over to her with an amused smile, but quickly schooled his face when Robin raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’ll make sure to get that picture to you,” Robin whispered to Adrien as they made their way through the exit and into the flashing blue and red lights waiting for them outside.

Just before she made it through the door, Conner grabbed Marinette’s elbow. “Hey, I just wanted to say sorry for earlier. Telling you guys not to come. You did great for a civilian.”

Marinette beamed up at him. “Thank you. But… whoever said I was a civilian?” She winked at him and twirled with a cheeky grin back toward Adrien and Chloe as they were loading her into an ambulance so a doctor could check her out.

<><><><><>

“Try not to get kidnapped… until you get back to Paris at least,” Marinette instructed Chloe in mock seriousness as she gave her a hug goodbye.

Chloe scoffed, but returned the hug, pretending to do so halfheartedly. “Of course. Getting kidnapped in America is so boring. Who has time for that?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Come on. There were boring akumas too. And not all of our villains are that…”

“Pathetic?” Nino offered, slinging his arm over her shoulders.

Marinette quirked her head to the side contemplatively. “Not the word I was thinking but… I’ll go with it.”

“Hey, I got to meet Batman. I’m counting it as a win!” Alya gushed. “I got a picture of him! And the Batmobile. How awesome is that?”

Marinette grinned at her as she hugged her. “Maybe next time I can introduce you properly.”

“Yeah?” Alya’s eyes brightened with an excited glint. “That would be amazing! Think you can get me an interview?”

“I don’t know… nobody else knows my identity, other than Black Canary, so it would have to look like something he did on his own. You figure out a plausible excuse for that, and I can probably make it happen,” Marinette agreed.

“Yay!” Alya cheered, pulling her in for a long tight hug. “See, this is why you’re my favorite person. You always look out for me.”

“Hey! What am I?” Nino protested.

“The love of my life,” Alya reassured him, wrapping an arm around his neck and planting a kiss on his cheek. “But she’s still my favorite person.”

Nino rolled his eyes and groaned. “I guess I get that. As long as you two don’t start kissing behind my back.”

“So you want them to do it in front of you?” Chloe asked, looking up from her phone.

Nino sputtered, his cheeks turning red as the rest of the group laughed at him. Marinette moved over and wrapped him in a hug. “Don’t worry, Nino. We won’t start kissing behind your back.”

Nino gave her a deadpan look. “I’m not going to miss you, Dudette.”

“I will,” Alya pledged, jumping onto Marinette, knocking her over with a hug. “So much. You stay safe. Love you, girl.”

Marinette grinned back at her. “Love you too.” She turned to Nino. “And you too, even if you won’t miss me. Have a good trip and keep them safe.” She gave him a meaningful look with her last sentence.

Nino nodded in understanding. “You stay safe too. Love you, Dudette. And of course I’m going to miss you,” he said seriously, ushering Alya and Chloe onto the train back to New York so they could catch their flight home.

Marinette turned to face Adrien with a watery smile. “I think I’ll miss you most of all, Scarecrow.”

Adrien chuckled and looked down. “It was nice working with you again. As a team. I’ve missed it.”

“You know, you could probably join the Team… if you really wanted,” she offered.

There was a smile on her face, but Adrien could see it was strained. He offered her a soft, unstrained smile back. “Not remotely interested. My superhero days are behind me.” He looked down as he shook his head gently. “Don’t get me wrong,” he continued, looking back up to meet her eyes, “I loved every second of it, but I think now I need to focus on healing. After everything we went through…”

Marinette looked down guiltily and nodded in understanding. Adrien hooked his finger under her chin to encourage her to look up. “Because of what my dad… Gabriel did. Not because of anything you did. You aren’t responsible for my struggling, no matter what you think. And I’ll keep repeating that until you finally believe me. If it wasn’t for you… I don’t know what I would have become. I would probably still be fighting him, in and out of the costume. He’d still be making me miserable.”

He moved his hands so they were firmly on her shoulders, offering support and encouraging her to keep facing him. “Don’t ever think for even a second that any of what we went through, any of what we’re still going through, is your fault.”

“I’m sorry I left. I left you to heal alone,” she said quietly to the floor.

“Oh, Mari,” he pulled her into a hug. “You didn’t leave me alone. I have people there for me. I have people I can talk to. You made sure of it. You still do. I have people helping me. You’re one of them, even if you don’t think so. I’ve always been surrounded by people, but for the first time, I’m not alone. You made sure I was going to be taken care of. You check on me constantly. You did not abandon me.

“I’m getting the help I need. I needed to stay in Paris. I needed familiarity to heal. You needed a complete break. You needed to be away from all the reminders. A fresh start. And you needed it just as badly as I did. Don’t feel guilty for seeking the help you needed, too.”

He took a breath and squeezed her closer for a second. “Can you do something for me?” he asked quietly. He waited a beat before he continued. “I need you to try to let go of the guilt. Which isn’t easy, I know,” he rushed to assure her. “I was wearing mine like armor, but I think it was more of a barricade, holding in the pain. I thought it was protecting me from getting hurt. I still kind of do. But I think it was really just isolating me, preventing me from seeing the world as it really is.”

He pulled away to look her in the eyes, studying the eyes he knew better than his own, eyes filled with strength but also self-doubt. “We learned so many lessons as heroes, but… but I think I’m starting to realize not all of them were real.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly with a mirthless chuckle. “Guess therapy is doing some good after all.” He shook his head lightly and looked back at her with a concerned gaze.

“I’m slowly realizing a lot of the lessons we were taught, lessons we thought the universe was teaching us; about how the world was for us, that we needed to suffer to be heroes, they weren’t... it was just my… Gabriel. They weren’t universal lessons or miraculous lessons. They weren’t real. It was Gabriel punishing us, not the universe. Gabriel manipulating the way we saw the world. But he’s gone and we can make our own rules now. I’m still coming to terms with that. It’s still hard and uncomfortable and I hate it… but I also don’t?”

He shook his head again, his eyes settled back on her. “I’m still working on it. And I just wanted to let you know because… I just… you… you seemed to internalize the lessons even more than I did and…” he looked away and pursed his lips, trying to think of the words he wanted to say, the message he wanted her to take away. He looked back at her with compassionate determination. “I won’t let him dictate my future or how I see the world anymore. And you shouldn’t let him do it for you either. We defeated him. You defeated him. Don’t let him win this. He made us suffer, not the universe. Don’t let him make you think we can’t be happy, that you can’t be happy. I’m happy, mostly. And I just… the thing is you’re amazing at giving advice, but you’re shit at taking your own advice so… I just thought maybe if you promised to do it for me…”

A whistle sounded, cutting off the rest of his sentence. Adrien looked back at her for a few moments, studying her carefully again, looking for any sign that his words finally made it through to her. After a few seconds he gave a defeated sigh and kissed her temple before he hugged her again. “That’s my cue. I love you, Marinette. I’ll see you in a few weeks, okay? But if you want to talk before then, don’t hesitate. You have a phone, a laptop, a tablet, a Zeta tube, who the hell knows what else in your base, and a Kaalki. Do. Not. Hesitate.”

She nodded and squeezed him back. She pulled away and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Have a safe flight. Love you.”

She watched him as he walked onto the train and disappeared with a final wave. Her eyes stayed focused on the door he disappeared through long after he was gone. They continued their focus long after the door had closed and the train had started moving. She didn’t notice the change in scenery until someone accidentally knocked into her with an apology and guilty smile. She waved them off with a kind smile and turned toward the exit, stumbling slightly in a daze.

She walked another block before her breath started getting uneven. She stopped to lean against a building, her brow furrowing in confusion. What was going on with her? Why did her chest feel so tight all of a sudden? She looked around her, hoping to figure it out, but there was nothing there. It was just her. Just her and her thoughts. She gasped again and leaned harder against the building. She shook her head. She needed to get home. She looked around again, this time to confirm nobody was watching her and ducked into a hidden alcove. She put on Kaalki’s glasses and Trixx’s necklace, whispering the transformation words.

She stepped through the portal and breathed in the familiar air. She took another step and let her head rest against Conner’s doorframe, her bag dropped to the floor with a thud loud enough she was sure he had heard it. After a few seconds, she collected herself enough to knock lightly on his door. She barely had time to take a bracing breath before his door swung open and Conner appeared in his pajamas. “Chi! I wasn’t expecting you to be back tonight!” He pulled her into a tight hug. He let his arms linger around her, keeping her close as he pulled away slightly, just enough to look at her so he could ask her about the visit.

He hesitated momentarily when it seemed like she clung to him tighter as he tried to pull away. But just as soon as he noticed, she loosened her grip. “Yeah, my friends just left.”

His bright smile quickly gave way to a concerned frown. The smile she offered him didn’t reach her eyes and her voice was a bit too happy to be real. “How was it?” he asked carefully.

Although her smile got bigger, it didn’t get any brighter. “It was great. We had a lot of fun.”

He nodded cautiously. “That’s… good…”

“Yeah… good,” she agreed, looking away. She tapped her fingers together nervously.

“Chi?” She didn’t look up, but she did stop tapping her fingers. “Chi, are you okay?”

She looked back up at him with a heartbreaking smile and nodded, her eyes shining with uncertainty. “Yeah, I think I… don’t know.”

He pulled her back in for a tight, protective hug. “Did something happen this weekend?” he asked darkly. He was working incredibly hard to keep his anger tempered and his body relaxed so she wouldn’t be able to sense how angry he was at whoever caused her to react like this. He knew, he knew, seeing her friends was going to end badly and now she was just barely keeping in the tears. These were supposed to be her friends and yet every time she saw them, she came back a little more threadbare, a little more broken. Whatever they were doing to her, it had to stop.

She curled into his hug, taking some time to let his presence calm her before she spoke up, her voice so quiet, even with super-hearing he had to strain to hear her. “I’m… I’m really not sure. I didn’t think so but…”

“Do you want to talk about it?” She shook her head after a few seconds, just holding him tighter. “Chi, whatever happened, whatever your friends said…”

She shook her head stronger this time. “It’s not like that. It’s… I don’t know. Everything was great and then… I couldn’t breathe. I… I don’t know what happened.” She shook her head again, more gently this time as if to clear her head. “I think I need to talk to Black Canary, but first I just… I needed this.” She stopped herself before she said what she meant, she needed him.

His anger melted away and turned to concern. She didn’t talk to Black Canary, not for therapy. Batman and Black Canary had encouraged her to go. Batman made vague references that talking with her might help her after different emotional outbursts in battle. He shuddered slightly remembering the video of her fighting the mind-controlled Superman. His comments were subtle and deceptively casual, meant to encourage her to decide it for herself without putting pressure on her.

Black Canary was much less subtle in her encouragement, going as far as to threaten her position on the team if she didn’t seriously consider it. She was stopped each time by Batman from enacting it, but it didn’t stop her from pushing it whenever she could. Each time, Chimera closed off more, backed away further, as if the idea of opening up was a physical threat to her. It had always confused Conner.

If anyone was going to have an issue discussing emotions, he would have bet on him over Chimera. She always seemed so open with her emotions, but the more he thought about it, the only emotions she seemed to share freely were positive ones. The negative emotions she kept a tight grip on, as though she thought they would cause physical and psychological torment if they ever escaped. And from the few times she did discuss them, when consoling one of the Team about something they were feeling, it didn’t seem too far from the truth for her. If she was actually planning on talking with Black Canary, even if she was just seriously considering it and didn’t actually go… this weekend must have hit her hard. And honestly, he didn’t know if that was a bad thing after all.

He looked back in his room. They really needed somewhere to sit down so she could calm down and relax. But there was just a chair and a bed in his room. There was no way she'd be okay with that. That left the common room. “Why don't we move this to the couch? We can put on a movie and ignore it,” he offered. She didn’t respond. The silence was broken by a beep that sounded like it was coming from her glasses. “That means you’re going to lose one of your magics, right?” he whispered into her ear.

She was motionless in his arms for another beat before nodding. The couch was out then. She’d want to keep her identity and the fact that her appearance changed, a secret. He looked back at his bed. There wasn’t really a choice then. “How about my room instead? I don’t have to look at you while you recharge, if you don’t want me to,” he offered. He looked between the bed and the rug on the floor. He grimaced slightly. He really had no idea which she would prefer. “You want to sit on the floor or the bed? I can throw some pillows down for us.”

She looked between the two a few times. “Bed would be more comfortable,” she finally decided.

He nodded unseen by her, his heartrate picking up at the words. They might have woken up cuddling on the couch a few times, but they’d never done it intentionally and he wasn’t sure what this meant. Had anything changed? Were they still just teammates? Is this what teammates did? It definitely wasn’t something he did with Robin or Wally.

He piled up some pillows for them to lean against and nervously got onto the bed, positioning himself so Chimera would be able to lean on him comfortably. He fought to relax is body from the tension that instantly took over, unsure if he was allowed to enjoy this or not, afraid he might enjoy it too much if it didn’t mean anything, afraid he wouldn’t enjoy it enough if it was the last time.

Chimera crawled in after him, laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arm around his waist, squeezing him as if afraid he might leave her alone. He tightened his grip around her, reassuring her that he was still there for her. He wasn’t going anywhere. He never would. He fought the urge to nuzzle into her hair. That was definitely going further than supportive teammating.

He scrolled through a few shows and movies until he found one he knew she liked. “This okay?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, good choice,” she answered just as quietly. She knew teammates don't watch a movie like this. But right now she didn’t care. She needed this. She needed his steady heartbeat and his rhythmic breathing. She needed his scent and his touch. She needed him. She suddenly felt incredibly unsafe and unsure, like the world was getting upset around her and she wasn’t even sure where the hell that came from. She just knew she needed to feel safe and there was nowhere in the world she felt safer than with him, in his arms. She had no idea when that happened, hell, she didn’t even know she felt that way until just then, she just knew it was true.

He smiled gently at her. “Told you I had good taste,” he teased lightly.

His smile widened at her playful scoff and small smile. “Can you… can you close your eyes?” she asked quietly. Conner immediately closed his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see a bright, teal light flash quickly. Chimera moved a little bit before resting back against his chest. “Okay. You can open your eyes.”

He obliged, focusing on the movie, but let himself shoot quick glances at her new costume. “Is it… is it okay for me to…” He motioned to her costume.

Chimera chuckled lightly and buried her head in his chest a little. Conner could just catch a dusting of pink on her cheeks. “Yeah, it’s okay. As long as I don’t have to move.”

Conner smiled at her and nodded. “Understood.” He took in as much of her costume as he could. Orange this time with black boots and gloves, but most importantly, he could see her eyes. An incredible shade of blue that seemed more familiar than it should… He blinked a few times and focused back on the movie, her eyes were making his heart rate speed up again and he really needed to calm down.

They watched the movie for a little while before she finally spoke again. “You were right. There was an explosion. Nobody was hurt, but there was an explosion,” she admitted. This game was dangerous, she knew it was. She was daring him to figure out who she was. But at this point she wasn’t sure she cared anymore. “And we… I destroyed some… things.”

Conner chuckled and rested his chin on her head. “Yeah, us too. Does that mean we all win? Or we all lose?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure.”

“The explosion helped save someone, so I’m calling it a win. We protected someone and, you know, sometimes you need to destroy a little in order to fix something.” He looked down at her fondly. He picked up her hand with his free hand and started playing with her fingers until he realized what he was doing and let them drop. “And sometimes you have to cause a little damage to prevent more, like firefighters, you know? Set a small fire to prevent one that would destroy the entire forest. You told me that. I think you were right.”

He looked down at her expectantly. Any second now she should chuckle, at least crack a smile, tell him he should never doubt her, that she’s always right, but instead she sat up and blinked at him a few times, her face completely devoid of any emotion. She looked away absently, seeming to stare at nothing. “I’m going to lay down,” she finally said woodenly.

Conner stared at her in disbelief. His brow furrowed in surprise at the unexpected reaction. “What? Why?” What the hell just happened? She was smiling. Why was she upset again and why couldn’t he say the right things? Why did she keep hanging out with her friends if they kept doing this to her?

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up.

Conner lurched forward and grabbed her wrist. “Chi, no. Just…” he paused at her reaction. She seemed to curl further away from him, like she thought his anger was directed at her. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down again, forcing his body to relax and his face to smooth out. “Just, wait… please. Stay. We don’t have to talk anymore. We’ll just watch the movie, no talking, no thinking. I’m terrible at both anyway.”

He knew he convinced her when she let out a barely audible huff. She turned back toward him. Her eyes flitted up to him for a fraction of a second and returned back to the bed next to him. She wet her lips and gave the tiniest of nods before crawling back over to him and laying her head back on his chest. Conner cautiously settled his arm around her shoulders again. He was pretty sure she needed comfort, but wasn’t sure if it was welcome from him.

She nestled further into his chest almost imperceptibly, but enough for him to notice in his hyper vigilant state. He took that as a sign he made the right call and relaxed further. He wrapped around her more, cocooning her, protecting her from whatever was going on in her head.

After a few minutes he leaned his head closer to her ear and whispered, “I really want to say what a complete idiot that guy is but I promised I wouldn’t talk.” He smiled proudly at the giggles he could feel more than hear from her.

Tags:

@mickylikesstuff @mystery-5-5 @roguishredaxion @vroomtaka @laurcad123 @just-an-observer-ignore-me @emimar7 @moonlightstar64 @maribat-writing-and-prompts @aespades @yokomisaki @glastwime859 @mysticknown @glastwime859 @fan-writtenen @stackofrandomstuff @jalaluvsu @ultimatetornshipper @charme-de-malchan @lozzybowe @deathwishy @too0bsessedformyowngood @kokotaru @ichigorose @nathleigh @dorkus-minimus @ira-sairain @jayjayspixiepop @woe-is-me0

#Capturing a Dream #maribat #connette #connorette #konmari #marikon #Marinette x Conner #conner x marinette

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thatasianstereotype · 4 years

Text

Fuck. I’m Gay.

I’ve been reading a lot of ml salt fics lately (mainly @unmaskedagain which is a literal goldmine of saltiness). And getting into the Damienette ship. Marinette really does deserves better (Fuck Canon) but so does Adrien. He is not a “sidekick”. Chat Noir and Ladybug are partners = equals. So I decided why not write a fic where Adrien gets his own happy ending in the form of a grumpy assassin-turned-vigilante that loves animals more than people.

Somewhat of a crack writing where creative liberties were definitely taken.

Lila Rossi is a bitch and everyone knew it. Well, by everyone, Adrien means himself, his good-amazing-make-pastries-for-him friend Marinette, his maybe-not-really-sure friend Chloe and his-not-that-close-really-classmate Nathaniel.

Yeah. It was a small number.

But Lila is still a bitch.

Anyway, Lila’s lies and manipulations have disturbed the status quo and not in a good way. She ended up making the majority of the class fawn over her like she was a perfect goddess and not a pompous-temperamental-hormonal teenager. Teenagers were prone to be gullible; he can understand his classmates being inclined to believe her. But this was utterly ridiculous (man, Chloe is rubbing off on him). No. You know what’s even more ridiculous? Ms. Bustier letting Lila get away with it. She doesn’t even stop the class mistreating Marinette who claimed she was a bully just because of you know who - Fucking Lila Rossi. The audacity of that bitch and her bitchy followers, am I right?

Growing up he watched the tv shows and the animes. High schools always had their drama but he thought that was to get some plot going on. He didn’t think it was an actual thing that happens in real life. But he was proven wrong. Françoise Dupont High School had their drama and it was way worse than what he watched on screen.

The worst part was that he couldn’t get away from Lila. Or he’ll be pulled from school (Fuck you Dad). He had to sit next to that bitch and listen to her drone on and on about things they both knew she didn’t do, about things she promised to do for her ever gullible followers friends. And couldn’t say anything against it if he wanted to stay in school. But even his discreet questioning didn’t do that much. It got some of the class to think something’s possibly fishy with her stories but not enough to think Lila was evil. So he just gave up. Because what was even the point?

He was distancing himself from Alya and Nino. He couldn’t really be friends with people who thought Lila held the sun and moon. They didn’t hang out as much as they used to and he made excuses when they did invite him to stuff. Lately, he was making outrageous excuses - like he had to take his cat to the vet even though he didn’t have a cat - to see if they caught on. They didn’t. It was fun but he didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about that. But feeling sad-depressed-pain over it was a bitch so he decided to take his victories as they come.

Chloe had left the school earlier on. Her mom wanted to spend one-on-one time with her daughter (Yeah, Audrey is better at being a mother here). She was completely out of this drama mess. And Nathaniel kept his head down to not paint a target on himself.

His only consolation and ally in this whole mess was Marinette. His darling angel. His sunshine incarnate. His own goddess (not like that bitch Lila let’s get one thing straight).

When he was feeling overwhelmed (which was a lot), he spent it at her house. They spent it discussing fashion, trash talking Liar-la and the sheep class, playing video games, and making/eating the best baked goods in all of Paris. If he wasn’t at his photo shoots or at school, he was at her house. And with how often they spent time with each other, it wasn’t long before they accidentally revealed their alter egos to each other.

(The class’ Everyday Ladybug was actually Ladybug. How amazing is that! Isn’t Marinette the absolute coolest?!)

Since they outed themselves to each other, they had to give up their miraculous. And new heroes had to be chosen. As the guardian, Marinette decided to give the Ladybug miraculous to herself and the Cat one to Adrien. And make them the superheros of Paris.

(Just when he thought that Marinette couldn’t get any cooler)

They both collectively decided that being friends were for the best and put away their obsession crush over the other far far away. Now they were best friends-almost siblings. Oh who was he kidding? He was an honorary Dupain-Cheng. Marinette and her parents said so. And who was he to deny the goddess?

All was well.

Until he met this gorgeous boy with raven black hair and piercing green eyes that made him question everything in life.

Like fuck. His life wasn’t hard enough already?

It was a slow patrol. Just stopped a few petty crimes. No akuma tonight. He wasn’t really expecting much to happen.

Mari said patrolling regularly gives citizens a sense of security and it helps if one of them were on scene if an akuma does appear.

He didn’t mind. He loved running on the rooftops and feeling the wind in his face. After some time, he stopped and stood on top of one of the tallest buildings. Just soaking the view. The peace and serenity of it all. Seeing the glowing lights of his beloved city. Seeing the Eiffel Tower standing tall and proud.

(Forget school. Forget Liar-la and her hoard of bitches)

This was his city. This was why he fights Hawk Moth with Ladybug. They had something precious to protect.

He was done patrolling the regular routes and all his schoolwork was already finished. He could go to sleep but he didn’t feel that tired. And he really didn’t want to go back home. Mari shared her theory on his dad being Hawk Moth. She had really good reasons and a plethora of proof. If they could switch miraculous, why couldn’t he and Mayura - most likely Nathalie? Which would explain how Gabriel got akumatized.

After all her support with dealing with Lila, he was way more inclined to believe her even without the evidence. But those things just made him more wary of his dad. And he wasn’t too stoked on spending more time than what he can get away with with the guy. Because his dad being Hawk Moth explains why he wants Lila (his strongest supporter - Chameleon and Oni-chan, anyone?) close and makes Adrien play nice with her. And anyone who enables Lila’s bitchiness is on his enemy list.

Anyway, he was out here to enjoy the good mood not think about evil bitches and evil dads. So he sat himself down and enjoyed the sights. It was more calming than you would think.

He heard cars blaring and even a dog barking. The slight breeze felt nice. The moon was pretty bright tonight. The stars too. There was a lone couple walking through the park. There was also another teen in black running on rooftops a few buildings away.

Wait.

What?

He blinked and looked again. Huh, there was another teen in black running on rooftops. And it was not a hallucination.

What the actual fuck?

He was instantly on his feet, baton already in hand as he raced across the roof to reach said stranger.

“Hey!”

But because he was the lucky owner of the unlucky miraculous, the moment he said that, the guy was about to jump off a building to presumably roll onto the next one like Chat was watching him do beforehand. But his call made him lose focus and Chat watched horrified as the guy slipped and started falling into the alley.

Oh fuck! Mari was going to fucking kill this dumbass kitty!

He hoped to everything that Mari thinks is holy that he makes it in time. Extending his baton, he used it as a huge Pogo stick to basically catapult himself towards the stranger and wrapped his arms around him as he braced himself for the full weight of hitting the gravel at this height and speed. But he wasn’t that that concerned. His suit protected him from the majority of the injuries that would’ve occurred if he wasn’t wearing it. It hurt but it isn’t as bad as it could’ve been. Remember earlier? He takes his victories as they come.

This was not the smartest of ideas, he’ll admit. Mari had the brains to be honest. But it wasn’t bad if he say so. And he does say so.

He rolled over and immediately looked over the stranger that was remarkably unharmed in this whole mess.

And oh.

Oh.

The stranger was taller than he was with a lithe and lean frame. He had raven black hair that complimented his tanned skin and gorgeous green eyes that pierced through him, making his heart do funny things.

He was not expecting him to look as hot as he did. He wore a simply black t-shirt and jeans but he looked like a fucking Adonis, what the fuck. Even the moon shone down on him, highlighting his handsome features even more.

He shook himself of those thoughts and focused on what was more important. “I’m so sorry. Are you alright?”

He was rudely pushed away, but he didn’t take offense. He did cause the guy to fall after all.

“Do not touch me.” (What kind of accent is that?) “I’m fine. You are truly a moronic imbecile of the highest accord to yell like that. And what are you even supposed to be? Some kind of knock-off Catwoman?”

At that, Chat looked at Hot-And-Sexy weird. “Are you new here? I’m the superhero Chat Noir. I protect Paris with Ladybug.”

“You’re joking.”

“I know I come off as the goofy hero because I make purr-fect puns all the time but I’m not joking about this.”

He took out his phone to show the foreign (since he’s obviously not a Parisian) stranger the akuma attacks and Ladybug and Chat Noir being a dynamic duo, saving Paris and beating Hawk Moth. Ok, he showed the stranger a lot of stuff. Sue him. He gets to brag about his Princess. And himself too.

“I never heard about this before.” Hot-And-Sexy (he has got to come up with a better name) said afterward. “3 years this has been going on? Why didn’t you ask for help from the Justice League or other superheros?”

Chat shrugged. “We tried. But they said we’re obviously pulling a prank and making this all up. So we stopped asking for help.”

For some reason this made Hot-And-Sexy angry. “They ignored your plea for help and left you to fight for yourselves?”

“Pretty much, yea.”

“You and Ladybug are children.”

“Excuse me? Are you doubting our ability to protect our city?" He was not apologetic at the sharp edge his voice took. Forget looking hot. How dare he? The audacity really.

Hot-And-Sexy shook his head. “I’m not. I know some child superheroes who are adequate at their jobs and a few who are remarkable like Robin in Gotham. But the majority of them had adult mentors to guide them. From what you’ve shown me, you and Ladybug had no one. You were left alone to fend for yourself with essentially no help.”

He never thought of it that way. But hearing it like that made him think: Fuck Adults Who Chose Children to Fight Their War For Them and Fuck Hawk Moth For Putting Them In This Position In The First Place.

You know what. Just to clear all his bases - Fuck Everyone But The Dupain-Chengs.

Chat couldn’t help but shrug, not quite knowing what to say to that. “Life is a bitch, I’ve come to find out. But enough of that. Why were you running on rooftops anyway?”

“It calms me down.”

Relatable.

“Is...Is your tail moving?”

“Huh?” He looked behind him to see his tail was indeed moving lazily. “Yeah. I’m called Chat Noir for a reason.”

“May I touch them?” Chat was used to people (usually kids) pulling on his tail to see if it was real (It was). And it really hurts because they usually rough. Not that he blames them. Kids don’t know any better. Still, he usually says no when people ask.

But Hot-And-Sexy had such a sincere expression that he said yes. To his surprise and delight, Hot-And-Sexy was extremely gentle (Can this guy be anymore perfect?) and it felt nice to be petted like that. Curse his touch-starvation (again Fuck you Dad).

Hot-And-Sexy was apparently fascinated by his ears and tail.

“Are you a meta?” He noticed how Hot-And-Sexy’s voice turned softer and fonder (or was he imagining that?).

“Nah. I’m fully human. I just got powers to transform into this.” He looked down at his phone seeing that the time was nearing 2 am.

“Have you suffered any injuries from your stupid stunt?”

“Hmm?” Chat looked back at him before gesturing to his body. “Don’t worry. I may not look like it but I can take it.”

He can practically feel Hot-And-Sexy rolling his eyes. “What an utter dolt.”

But there wasn’t any heat behind it so he didn’t take it to heart.

“Thanks, babe.”

“That was an insult.”

“And I’m taking it like a compliment.”

Chat stood up and stretched his limbs. Hot-And-Sexy doing the same but dusting off his clothes instead.

“So, uh, need any help getting home?”

“I am perfectly capable of finding my own way, thanks.”

“Ok. Have a nice night.” He was about to leave when he was caught off guard by Hot-And-Sexy staring at him for a good few seconds, making his limbs freeze in place at the heavy attention.

Before he said. “You should try contacting the Batfamily in Gotham about Hawk Moth. They’re used to dealing with weird things. I’m sure they won’t turn you or Ladybug away.”

Chat was a bit distracted by how intensely those green eyes focused on him, making his heart beat faster and his cheeks turn a vibrant red.

He was so screwed.

He used his baton to shoot himself up so he can run on rooftops, hurrying to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

“Mari! I think I’m gay!”

“It’s 2 in the morning, Chaton. Go to sleep and we’ll talk about it in the morning.”

After a good night’s rest (and thank everything that was right in the world that today was a weekend), Adrien told Mari all about Hot-And-Sexy. And yes, he did call the stranger that out loud. His everything-that-actually-matters sister simply took it in stride after giggling a bit. They spent the majority of the day discussing emotions and everything that came with that bundle.

Before he finally came to a conclusion.

He is definitely gay (He liked girls but not like like them). And most definitely had a crush on Hot-And-Sexy with the pretty green eyes.

Good news: He is no longer having a sexuality crisis.

Bad news: He is going through an emotional crisis.

Like dealing with these feelings that is making his stomach flip flop over and over again? The only one he ever had to deal with was the one he had on Ladybug and that (he talked with Mari about it months before. She was amazing with these emotional matters) was more of a hero-worship crush than anything really romantic.

And his crush on Hot-And-Sexy was so much more.

So it’s been about 2 weeks since he encountered Hot-And-Sexy. And he still haven’t figured out what else to call him. But the nickname was growing on him.

(He also told Mari about asking the Batfam for help but she was a bit apprehensive after the disastrous attempts of convincing the Justice League. He shrugged, trusting her opinion and left it at that)

Anyway, Lila was being her usual bitchy self. Father was being non-existent like always. Mari was his only source of sanity at school. And Hawk Moth was being a bitch.

Because of course, the day before they have a huge test, he decides to akumatize someone (in this case, a businessman who was really unhappy with getting fired) and cut in on study time. And this akuma took a while to defeat. Guess he drew a lot of strength from his burning hatred of the failings of the corporate world.

And just yesterday, a teenager who was upset at being grounded got akumatized and terrorized the city for 3 hours before Ladybug could purify her. It did however confirmed her fears. Hawk Moth was getting stronger. It took longer to defeat his monsters. They needed to find him and ended this fast.

Adrien landed on Mari’s balcony and slipped in her room, crashing on her big comfy bed, de-transforming on the spot. Plagg sleepily floating and laying next to him on the pillow. He was so tired. And photo shoots and school drama were not helping things.

For the record, he was not at all expecting to see Hot-And-Sexy in a bookstore of all places.

He was so engrossed in looking through the latest Boku no Hero Academia manga (can’t wait until Season 5 comes out) that when someone touched his shoulder, he was not proud to admit he squeaked a bit.

He turned around and his eyes widened his surprise.

“Hot-And-Sexy!”

It was indeed the Adonis Adrien had a huge crush on. Today he was wearing a white t-shirt paired with a blue denim jacket and black ripped jeans. Wow. He really can make anything look hot.

No. Bad Adrien. Don’t let him know you actually have a crush on him.

And oh fuck. Hot-And-Sexy was staring at the blonde and Adrien tried not to let himself get flustered. He has a very intense stare. For all he knew, Hot-And-Sexy stares at everyone like that.

Calm the fuck down, heart. You too brain.

He raised a handsome eyebrow in amusement. “Excuse me?”

Adrien felt himself burn with embarrassment, his face turning bright scarlet. No wonder he was fit for the unlucky miraculous or was this just a side-effect? Note to self, ask Mari about this later.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t get your name last time. And I just started calling you that in my head. Cause you’re really hot and you have pretty eyes.”

Fuck mouth! Why won’t you stop talking! Please for the love of everything that makes Mari a BAMF stop. Stop digging further into the hole of embarrassment! Abort mission! Abort!

“When did we meet?”

At that, he blink a few times. Oh fuck. He was not Superhero Chat Noir. He was Civilian Adrien Agreste. Mari was definitely murdering his dumbass tonight. Lightning please strike him down right now. Where was an unlucky lightning strike when you need it?

After a few seconds of his horrified silence, Hot-And-Sexy chuckled (he had such a nice laugh). “You are extremely lucky I already figured out your alter ego beforehand, Chaton.”

Before Adrien could even unwrap that statement, he held out a hand and had a dangerously sexy smirk on his face. “My name is Damian Wayne. Would you care to get a cup of coffee with me?”

And Adrien nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak. He can deal with the superhero thing later when he can think straight (hah!) and is not distracted by Damian’s beautiful smile and alluring green eyes and perfect everything.

Guess what?

Ya Boi got game.

(At least, he likes to think he does)

After a successful coffee date (was it a date? Please let it be a date), they exchanged numbers (cue internal squealing) and met up a few times afterward to hang out.

Apparently, Dami was here on business to deal with something for Wayne Enterprises.

“Aren’t you 17?”

“Father believes in preparing us when we’re young.”

Dami was amazingly sweet. Arrogant and pretentious with a stick up his ass but sweet. He treats stray animals with such reverence that Adrien’s heart melt every time he sees it.

It was an added bonus when Damian scorned Lila with cruel words and disgusted looks when she tried to cut in Adrien and Dami’s date(?)/meetup(?)/spending-time-together event.

She cried and whined afterwards and Adrien has to endure his father’s lecture. But it was totally worth it.

Oh yeah. Mari was not pleased that he accidentally outed himself to a civilian. But nothing that a couple of sad kitty eyes can’t fix.

“You are so lucky you’re cute, kitty-cat.” Mari grumbled but she was smiling. “I just need to have a good talk with him on the importance of secrecy.”

That day Damian Wayne learned to fear a certain Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

It was 2 weeks later when Adrien woke up to a package next to his futon in Mari’s room. When he opened it, he saw the Butterfly and Peacock miraculous inside.

There was a card beneath it. And in beautiful cursive script read:

I dearly hope you enjoy my courting gift, mon amour. Allow me the honor to formally ask you out on a date. I look forward to hearing favorably from you soon.

- Damian Wayne

He couldn’t believe it.

“Mari! Damian likes me back!”

“Chaton, I swear. It is 2 in the morning.”

#ml x dc #ml salt #ml salt fic #lila rossi salt #marinette deserves better #but so does adrien #adrien deserves better #adrien agreste #sexuality crisis #gaydrien #adrien agreste x damian wayne #adridami #oneshot #how the fuck did this crack idea span 3K words #apparently I'm down with this ship

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san-fics · 3 years

Text

Behind the mask

MLB fanfic. LadyNoir

Part 4 Friends

“What was that all about?” Nino asked, as he and Adrien came to the table. “We heard Mari yelling.”

“Did she run away?” Adrien asked. “This is so unlike her,” he added with worried look. Marinette was his good friend, always supporting and taking care of him.. among the others, not only him, of corse. He didn’t pretend to be any sort of special to her, not while his heart belonged to another girl. But she sure was special to him. He treasured her, her friendship. There were few times he imagined how would it be — being loved by this amazing, kind girl, which Marinatte sure was. But, he wouldn’t risk losing her too. Not after Kagami.

He was trying to forget Ladybug with Kagami and ended up loosing her as a friend too. They weren’t so close though. And even he felt guilty, he could live with that.

But Marinette was a totally different story. She was one of his closest friends. This friendship ment too much to him. He would do anything for this girl...

“Apparently, she isn’t agree with me, quote: ‘messing up with people’s private lives’. How do you like that?!” Alya asked in sarcastic tone, not waiting for any answer. “She’s gone mad with all this LadyNoir story. I mean, they are public people. Plus, it’s not like I forced anyone for the interview or something. I’m allowed to have my opinion, aren’t I?”

“Of corse you are,” Nino took hold of her back. “Maybe she just didn’t sleep well? She use to support your Ladublog activities before, right?”

“I’ll go and check on her,” Adrien said. “Are there some Solar storms or full moon or something like that around? Why are all the girls gone crazy at once?” He asked before leaving, more to himself.

“Adrien Agreste!” Alya said inspired, “Who are those crazy girls in your life we don’t know about?” She asked with journalists spark in her eyes.

“I’m not Chat Noir,” he smiled nicely to her, “just a pretty face, you know. A cover without filling. Nothing interesting to post about.”

“You ARE watching my blog!” Alya squweked happily. “C’mon, Agreste, you know you’re more then that, we love you.” Alya smiled at him.

“Yeah, dude! He was probably just jealous of you,” Nino aded, patting him on the back.

“Go, get the girl, Agreste!” Alya reminded singing every word. She was angry with her friend, but she loved her too much to let go of the opportunity of sending Marinette’s long-term-crush to her.

Right. Get the girl, Adrien. Even she wasn’t THE girl, for some reasons this didn’t sound wrong in his head.

So, get the girl.

Marinette was siting on the stairs deep in thoughts.

“Mind if I join you?” Adrien asked, placing himself next to her without waiting for her answer.

Ladybug could zip away from him before he could even talk to her, before he could help her. But not Marinette. She was here. He could make this right. He’d support his friend at all cost.

Marinette felt his presence next to her like a wave of warm wind, calming her. Wow. That’s new. A week ago she’d still freak out for him being so close in her personal space. But now, it just felt nice. Warm. Plesent. It didn’t hurt.

“I... I didn’t mean to yell at her. It’s just.. happened. Sort of.” She said not moving her thoughtful stare from the trees in front of her.

“I know you didn’t.” He assured her. “Obviously, it’s not our superheroes’ personal life that upsets you so much.” He said carefully. He didn’t remember her to be so calm next to him, like... ever. So he wanted to make sure not to spoil the moment for both of them.

Oh, how would he want to hold this girl, to take her pain away. To bring her far from whoever could upset her so much, she’d lost her temper. To keep her safe... Wait, what?

He shook off the feeling of deja vu. Focus, Agreste, your friend needs you, he reminded to himself.

“So what was it? School? Parents? Personal life?” He said slowly, afraid to scare her away. “I’m here for you, you know, for anything you need.”

Marinette turned her face to him and blinked few times. There was something about this moment, he couldn’t really place it well in his mind.

“I uhhh...” She turned back to the trees. “It’s a guy problem?” She said more like a question. “I think.”

“Did someone... uhh.. hurt you?” He swallowed, scared to hear her answer. Clearly he wasn’t prepared for the conversation to turn this way.

“No! He didn’t. He would never!”

So, there was really a guy. Adrien felt like a prick of pain in his chest, wich was... Totally inappropriate, giving the fact that he was talking to his friend. “Step out of it, Agreste. You’ve been there,” he reminded to himself. “No more losing a friend over a broken relationships. Plus, it’s Marinette who is hurting, and you can’t even focus on helping her for once!”

“And he is your...” he started.

“Uhh.. How do I place it? I guess you can say a friend.” Marinatte said, going deeper in her thoughts. “At least he was. My.. ummm partner.. from a social project. Yeah.” She sounded convinced by herself.

“So, did you two had a fight or something?” Adrien asked. He should have feel better now, hearing that the guy wouldn’t hurt her, and yet it was somehow even more frustrating. At least in that case he could protect her, stay by her sight. But this way, he was looking at his ‘friend’ saying that guy didn’t hurt her, upset? Really?

“No. We.. did not. We’re good. It’s just... You know, with all this Ladyblog story I’ve realized, I... had feelings for him.” She finished finally.

“How is that about Ladyblog?” Adrien asked, ignoring the fact she’d just confessed she had feelings for another guy. It’s not his place to feel jealous.

“All this speech Alya gave about Ladybug. And Chat Noir. Like really, how much blind a girl can be not to see her love right in front of her? With all his care, and support, and...” She stoped. “Anyway. It all made me think of what is real and what isn’t. I think, he really loved me ones. My.. ummm... friend, that is. But I was so blinded with a perfect image of someone else, that I never understood I loved him back. You know, until now. He was always the real one in my life.”

Adrien was too shocked to comment. It was a story of his own life. But not about Ladybug, how he would expect. It was about Marinette. Ladybug was everything to him, but she was never his. The possibility of their relationships wasn’t real. Family? Kids? It was too good to be true, out of his reach.

But Marinette, she was real. Always there when he needed her. Always so close to him. And now this amazing girl next to him was confessing her feelings for another guy. “You suck, Agrest, with your timing and your luck, you are likely to end up lonely sad man, just like your father.” He thought feeling pity for himself.

“So, why can’t you tell him?” He manage to ask finally.

“I.. He.. It’s too late for that now. He made it clear we are just friends. Partners, you know, a little bit like Ladybug and Chat Noir,” she smiled sadly, “working together for the greater good.”

“You are not Ladybug, Marinette.” He said. “You don’t have a weight of her responsibilities on your shoulders. You’re just a girl who deserves to be happy. Plus, even if you were her, doesn’t he at lest deserves to know about your feelings? True love is not something that can disappear that easily. I’m sure he’d be happy. Imagine Chat Noir if Ladybug herself would confess to him.” Few nervous laughs escape his throat. “Ha ha ha. Yeah, right! Totally not possible, but still. Imaging, it’d be a furry-tail for him. A dream came true.” He fell silent, lost in thought.

“I know for a fact a person, who would be even happier than Chat Noir would.” she smiled slyly.

“Really? And who is that?” Adrien asked looking back at her.

“Alya.” She said. And they both started laughing. There was something relaxing in their common laughter, something uniting and warm. Like everything was good for few minutes. No troubles, no acumas, no fights. Just fun and joy.

“Thank you, Adrien.” Marinette said finaly wiping away tears of laughter. “I really feel better now. You are a very good friend.”

Friend. Right. That nasty word again. That mask he was cursed to wear and couldn’t stand anymore.

[part 3/7] ... [part 5/7]

[more MLB fanfic]

#ladynoir #mlb fanfic #adrianette #ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous lb #cat noir #ladybug #miraculous #ladynoir fanfic

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prettylittlebutterflie · 3 years

Text

It All Started With A Break

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31840603

Okay, so I have fallen down the rabbit hole known as MariBat and I just can't stop all the ideas I have because of this and decided that enough is enough and I am doing it.

This is my very first fanfic - or any fic actually - but I hope you guys like it and be WARNED that some of you may find some part of this story that's similar with another and that may've been because I really liked the idea when I read it and wanna have a kinda similar thing here and the same goes with some trope of this fanfic in the future, but I'll do my best to keep it unique. I am also new to the DCU, but I'm doing research and planning to binge watch stuff and if you could please help this poor soul find a way to navigate and somehow get an idea on how that universe work (especially abt the batfam), I'll be forever grateful to thy savior.

This fic is canon until S4 Ep 1&2 (Truth & Lie) of MLU and as for the rest, I'll let you guys know.

So yeah, that's all. Enjoy and hope you guys like it. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

P.S. Sorry I kinda ranted, this is my first time actually posting smth so bear with me people

SYNOPSIS

It’s been four years ever since Hawkmoth, who now goes by the name Shadow Moth, began his reign of terror in Paris. Four years worth of akumas that have brought pain and suffering. Four years of no rest in controlling their emotions, afraid of what may come if they were controlled.

After four long years, the Miraculous Team can finally see a ray of light. Everything they have sacrificed for that one goal they all share is finally going to be repaid… Not.

Locating Hawkmoth was easier said than done, and the frustration is finally getting to them. With that, it was decided that they need a break from their hero lives — ok, maybe not. After all, Shadow Moth is proving himself to be a workaholic (like dude, don’t you have anything better to do than destroy everyone’s schedule?) — but anyways, it was clear. THEY. NEED. A. BREAK. Away from Paris. Away from Hawkmoth. Away from the frickin akumas.

So yeah, that’s how it was decided (more like forced) that they are going to America to relax, let loose, and have some fun. After all, who knows, maybe a break is all they need to get things to start getting better — or worse.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

PROLOGUE

“Alright. So, we are going to take a break—”

“For two months.”

“For two months. And because it’s supposed to be a break, that means—”

“No thinking of anything Moth related.”

“No thinking of anything Moth rela— Moth related?”

“You know, Hawkmoth, Red Moth, Shadow Moth, those Moths.”

“Right. Moths. Aside from Moths, it also means—’

“No thinking of akumas.”

“No thinking of akumas. For this entire break, we’re not going to think about—”

“Anything Miraculous related.”

“Anything Miraculous related. Alya, do you really need to do that every time I’m about to say it?”

“It’s because she knows you. We know you. It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, how you always promise not to worry about something, especially anything Miraculous related, just to break it the moment anything related to it comes up. So, yes. She needs to say it and repeat it as much as possible for it to go through that head of yours.”

“Guys, I swear, I’m really going to follow through with this plan. I did agree that we need to unwind ourselves since we’re getting way too stressed and that won’t help us focus on our job.”

“Only after we bugged you about it. Get it? Bugged. Pfft—”

“Hey! Puns are my thing. And you shouldn’t be saying it like that. You’re making it ape-solutely obvious and that makes it not punny anymore”

“Dude, do you really have to do that? That’s so not paw-some. Pfft—”

“All puns aside, it is true that we had to convince you, Mari-hime, to agree on taking a break. Although I rarely take a break from fencing, my Mother and I are aware of the importance of having one and may I also remind you that you were the one who taught us that.”

“And that’s why I told you guys to go have one.”

“But you plus the kitty are the ones who need it the most. Remember what future-me said? About you two always leading us and how she— or rather I am the last one called upon? That means you guys are always gonna work while the rest of us may or may not be needed in some fights.”

“There is a 97.6% probability of you two showing up in fights.”

“Because we have to. It’s our responsibility as the one leading our team.”

“M’lady’s right. Besides, there were only the two of us in the beginning and with all the akumas, we just got used to it.”

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to rest. The music I’m hearing from both of you is filled with the stress you guys have and it doesn’t sound nice. Maybe you two unwinding will help make it more beautiful and even more powerful than before.”

“Fine. We’re all taking a break—”

“Especially you and Adrien.”

“Especially Adrien and I, for a month. Now, does anyone have any ideas on how we're gonna do that?”

“Ooh! Me, me! I have a competition coming up this summer break so I can’t really go anywhere too far since I have some training to do.”

“I’m sticking with the ape. Gotta keep an eye on him if I don’t want him messing up with the timeline. Plus, it’ll be pretty fun beating him up every time he asks for a challenge.”

“Hey!”

“The same goes for me. Someone has to make sure the correct time is recorded with not a single millisecond of it missed. Kwami knows how many times he messes it up whenever he does the recording himself.”

“Okay. So Kim, Alix, and Max will be staying in Paris. Are you guys sure that you’ll be able to take a break even if you’re in the city?”

“Yeah, we're fine. And I am totally beating you next time, little bunny.”

“Whatever. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming, y’know.”

“Anything else?”

“Oh, I have an internship in America this coming summer. The one at the Daily Planet. I just got the email and I was finally given an invite!”

“Really? Cool! Told you you’ll get it, babe!”

“Yeah! That’s really awesome, Alya! So I’m assuming you'll be accepting that?”

“You got it, girl! I mean, this is the Daily Planet we’re talkin’ about. I’ll learn so much about writing and journalism there, I’ve just got to take it.”

“So Alya’s going to America. Anyone else with plans outside of the country?”

“There will be an upcoming world-class fencing competition this summer and Mother and I have discussed my participation in it. It will be held in the States as well, specifically Gotham, two weeks before the end of the summer break. Maybe you should participate in it as well, Adrien. That way, you’ll have an excuse for your father to leave the country. I’m sure Mother will be happy to convince him as well to let you participate in it. That way, at the very least, I’ll have someone I know who’ll be an actual challenge.”

“Really? That actually sounds great! I’m sure Father would agree if your mother’s the one who suggested it. Thanks Kagami!”

“Okay. Kagami and hopefully Adrien will have a fencing competition in America too.”

“My Dad is having a tour in America right now. He’ll be having the last one at Metropolis during the summer break. He actually wants me to go with him, but I declined. It’ll be great if we all could go there and see it.”

“Dude, that’s so cool! Maybe you’ll even get to perform with your dad on stage. You did make that song with him that reached the record chart’s top. I’ve even made a playlist based on it.”

“Okay then, that makes Alya, Kagami, Adrien, and Luka going to the States. Chloe, do you also have plans to go there this summer? Maman said your mother was thinking of inviting you to be one of the models in an upcoming fashion show there.”

“She did mention something like that, but I wasn’t really paying attention to details once I found out that it’ll be outside of Paris. I’ll discuss it with her again then I can have my much needed vacation in the States.”

“So now that makes five of you going to America. Nino?”

“Well, I don’t really have any plans this summer. Just chill out and relax, y’know, make some playlist, listen to some music.”

“Ooh! How about you come with us, babe? That’ll be so cool and not all of us will be doing something most of the time while we’re there. You can just chill and relax there and maybe you could even study the kind of music they listen to and make a playlist out of it.”

“I would love to go, but I don’t think I really got the money for it. ‘Sides, my parents might not allow me to go out of the country.”

“You’re already 18 and if your parents ever say no, just tell them that you want to really relax, without keeping your emotions in check and have the freedom to let it out. I’m sure they’ll understand and unlike my Father, they actually listen to you.”

“As for the money, I have some savings and if you want I can lend you some-”

“But-”

“Lend. I’m not just giving it to you. You will have to pay me back, alright? And if you try to say no again, I’m going to insist that you don’t pay me anymore.”

“You sure? You're the best! Thanks, Minette.”

“No problem. So now that makes six of them—”

“Seven.”

“What?”

“Seven. We’re including you.”

“Me? But Alya, I already got plans this summer.”

“Plans? What plans?”

“I was planning on working on my commissions this summer an— Guys, can you all stop rolling your eyes on me and no, Chloe. I don’t need you doing it again.”

“Girl! We all agreed that we’re going to take a break this summer. How does doing your commissions sound like a break to you?”

“You all got your own thing to do this summer and mine just happens to be those. Also, the break was for anything Miraculous related. My commissions don't exactly fall under that.”

“Nope. We actually all agreed that for you, commissions should be added to the list of things you get to take a break from.”

“Adrien! I thought you’re supposed to be my partner? So much for the two of us against the world.”

“He is still your partner alright. But also, as someone who truly cares about you, he decided that you really needed a break. And besides girl, this could be your chance!”

“Chance? What chance?”

“Your pen pal! Doesn’t he live in Gotham? You could go and finally meet him. Who knows? Maybe something might happen.”

“Ooh, he’s from there? That’s awesome! You should totally go meet him. Maybe you could even go on a date or two-”

“A date?! Kim, he’s just a frie-”

“You stop right there, Dupain-Cheng! It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! All of us already had enough with Adrikins always calling you ‘just a friend’ when it’s pretty obvious how totally untrue that statement was. We don’t need you ending up just like him, thank you very much.”

“But he really is-”

“Yeah right. If he really is just a friend, then why do you guys stay up all night talking to each other? You always immediately check your phone whenever a notif comes up and you smile like a love-sick fool whenever you read his messages for you. And don’t get me started on the way you gush about him non-stop.”

“There is something beautiful in your music whenever you talk or even think about him.”

“Your smiles are much brighter compared to before the two of you got to know each other.”

“Markov and I also have a record of your heartbeat and we have observed your heart beating faster whenever we talk about this certain topic.”

“And it's been more than a year since you two have become pen pals. The two of you are now so close that it’s a wonder why you guys still haven’t video-called each other just because you insist for your first time seeing each other to be in person.”

“I think it’s rather romantic. They’ll look into each other’s eyes for the first time then BAM! They’re finally together. But I still plan on giving him a shovel talk the first chance I get. Can’t have him break my twin’s heart without him knowing I have the god of destruction on my side.”

“What do you mean shovel talk- I mean, what even gives you the idea that he thinks of me that way for you guys to assume that we’ll end up in… in that kind of relationship?”

“He’d be an idiot if he still hasn’t fallen in love with you.”

“Literally almost everyone I know had a crush on you or have you forgotten already that my boyfriend’s one of those people?”

“I know for a fact that that’s true since I’ve already admitted that one of my reasons why I began bullying you back then was because I had a crush on you.”

“I must admit, I think I also had the same feeling towards you at the beginning of our friendship until I really got to know Luka and you helped us get together.”

“Oh! There’s also that. Do you actually know just how many people you’ve helped get together, buginette? Alya’s even written an article about it at the Ladyblog of how you are also known as Paris’s own cupid and how all of the couples you’ve paired ended up living a happy life together.”

“Everyone’s been saying how Ladybug’s the next best person they can go to if they ever want to find love after Andre.”

“And yet every time you try to pair yourself with someone, the magic just doesn’t seem to work.”

“So we all decided that we’ll be Ladybug’s cupid and pair her up with the boy she just can’t seem to get off of her head.”

“Now, you coming or what? I won’t be taking the money you’ll be lending me if you say no. I’m only going with these dudes if you also come or else I’ll just end up getting bored when there’s no one who can go around the city with me.”

“...”

“““...”””

“Fine. You guys win—”

“““YES!”””

“So here’s the final plan for the break. Kim, Alix, and Max will be staying in Paris for Kim’s competition, while the rest of us will be going to America doing our own stuff—”

“With you finally meeting your pen pal.”

“Yes. Alright. I’ll go and meet my pen pal. And during the break, no thinking about anything miraculous related. If ever there’s an akuma, only those who’ll be needed will go. Max will bring us to the akuma’s location and if there is anything going on that we can’t be excused of or if the fight goes longer than expected, Alix will bring us back in time making it look like we just went to the toilets, the usuals. Any questions?”

“““Non.”””

“Good. Operation: Taking a Break is good to go.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Yay! Finally got to post it. So comments? What do you guys think and who do you think who is saying what? I know there will be new holders in S4, but I decided I’ll either make them a temp or they still don’t know the other’s identities bc of stuff, so yeah. Still thinking abt it. Adios (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31840603

#first post #maribat #marinette x damian #damian x marinette #maridami #marinette dupen chang #damian wayne #batfam #batfamily #team miraculous #miraculous team #ml x dc #miraculous ladybug

58 notes · View notes

mysticraven20 · 3 years

Text

Marinette is tired, Lila is scheming and Adrien is protective

Alya knows their identities

•••••

Marinette Dupain-Cheng loved to sleep.

However, Marinette Dupain-Cheng never got enough sleep.

Night akumas we’re getting more prevalent, especially during ungodly hours, commissions were coming by the galore, and with the added Baccalauréat exams on the horizon, sleep had been placed on the back burner, she’d only get it when she passed out. So, here she was, running on three hours sleep in the past twenty four hours ready to take on the day.

Ok, perhaps ‘take on the day’ was a little extreme, but at least she had made it to lycée on time.

“Um … Mari, I think you need to … um?”

Alya took the jacket off that she was wearing and slung it over Marinette’s shoulders, making sure it was pulled tight at the front.

“Wha-“ Marinette looked into her friend's eyes to see the concern.

“Let’s go to the bathroom.”

Alya guided a sluggish Marinette through the corridors and to the restrooms.

“Alya? What are you-“

Whipping the jacket off, Alya turned Marinette to the mirror.

The raven haired girl gasped and crossed her arms over her chest before running into a stall.

“Oh my God, oh my God.” Marinette’s voice screeched through the room, as she hurried to button up her shirt correctly.

Alya couldn’t hold back the laughter leaving her mouth. There was something so funny about Marinette being Ladybug. She could forgive people for not guessing, after all the two could be polar opposites at times.

The door to the restroom slammed open revealing a very angry Lila. Her face quickly switched to sugary sweetness as she saw Alya standing in front of the mirror.

“Oh Alya, have you seen Marinette around at all? I’ve put a coffee on her desk as I know she’s been working hard this week. Adrien told me all about it yesterday.”

Alya raised an eyebrow at the world class liar and let out a scoffed laugh.

“Yeah, ok,” she responded.

Marinette opened the cubicle door looking a lot more put together than five minutes ago. Brushing her skirt down she walked forward stopping in front of Lila.

“Move out the way,” Marinette’s eyes were barely open, struggling to focus on anything.

“Oh Marinette, do you need some help? Maybe you should go home? I can sit in your seat and keep Alya company.”

Marinette looked between Alya and Lila. The laughter came strong and hard, her arms wrapping around her stomach to control the cramps.

“Good one,” Marinette stated before patting Lila on the head, “your hair is so fluffy.” She moved out of the restroom, headed towards class.

Lila hurried behind Marinette and Alya making it known that she was worried about Marinette’s tiredness and that the ‘poor girl’ was taking on too much for her little body to keep up with. What Lila didn’t know was Marinette was one ‘little body’ away from smashing her teeth in.

Walking into class Marinette saw Adrien face down on the table, and low and behold, there was actually a coffee cup on Marinette’s spot.

“How many hours?” Marinette stopped next to Adrien and looked at the broken boy.

“Two. I had extra piano practise this morning.”

Marinette groaned and made her way up to her seat before slamming her own head onto the table.

“Marinette, don’t forget to drink the coffee. It won’t taste any good cold, it is a very very special blend.”

Lila’s voice grated into Marinette’s skull before it was joined with voices of other members of the class calling for her to drink it, and that Lila was so kind and caring.

Marinette looked up at the crowd around her. Nothing like peer pressure, she thought. With a small smile she took the coffee cup and put it to her lips. It was actually pretty good.

“Thank you Lila,” she said through clenched teeth.

The crowd, obviously happy with Marinette’s reaction, dispersed to their seats leaving Lila smirking at Marinette.

“Have a fun day, Marinette.” Lila flipped her hair and walked back to her desk. Marinette noticed there was a second cup and it was waiting for her.

“Oh my, who did this for me?” She said, hand on heart and acting like it was the nicest gesture anyone had ever done.

Mumbling took over the room as Marinette noticed Adrien’s hand go up above his head, which was still firmly planted on the table.

“Oh Adrien, you remembered how tired I was after our shoot yesterday. You are just the sweetest.” She grabbed the drink from the table and took a big gulp. “My favourite coffee too, Adrien, you care so much about me.”

A mumbled ‘whatever’ sounded from the boy still crashed out on the table at the front of the classroom. Marinette leaned forward and slapped him around the back of the head.

“What did you do that for?” She hissed.

“Firstly, ouch. Secondly, well, I had a coffee which you are now drinking and thirdly -“

A groan was heard from the back of the classroom, from the very classmate Adrien had delivered a drink to.

She groaned again a little bit louder and threw one hand in the air.

“Ms. Bustier, can I use the restroom please?”

The sentence was followed by a rather loud fart causing everyone to turn and face the liar.

“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.” Chloé called out, as everyone else broke into fits of giggles.

“Ms. Bustier, please,” Lila stood up, face as red as Marinette’s super suit and began to run out of the room.

The laughing continued and Adrien finally lifted his head, speaking to the disappearing Lila.

“No one messes with my bug.”

“Oh, Kitty, what would I do without you?”

“You’d bee in a bit of a mess.”

“You really are the purrfect partner.”

Marinette let out a giggle stretching forward to stroke Adrien’s hair. Alya grabbed her arm and pulled it back over to her side of the table, attempting to shhh the two heroes before they dropped themselves in it.

“What are you two on today?” Nino looked at a grinning Adrien, noticing his friend had suddenly gone a little cross eyed.

The day continued.

Lila running to the toilet, Adrien and Marinette on the verge of outing themselves, Alya stopping them before they did something stupid like fight the akuma aka the school janitor and, now, the girls were sitting in Marinette’s room as she attempted for the forty-seventh time to thread her needle. Tongue hanging out her mouth and eyes scrunched in concentration.

“Hey Marinette, truth or dare?” Alya asked. The raven haired girl let out a small giggle.

“Oh how fun, a game. I pick ‘truth’!”

“How many hours have you slept this week?”

“...Dare”

“Go to bed.”

“I don’t like this game.”

#adrienagreste #adrienette #ladynoir #marinettedupaincheng #miraculous #chatnoir #fanfiction #ladybug #ladybugandcatnoir #ladybugandchatnoir #lila rossi #alya cesaire #marinette x adrien

48 notes · View notes

aeonghaseyo · 3 years

Text

Your Trace, My Treasure

Summary: Marc and Nathaniel write and draw, respectively, on each others' notebooks because it's DEFINITELY a couple thing to do.

Word Count: 2105 AO3 link

Relationship/s: Nathaniel Kurtzberg/Marc Anciel Category: M/M Characters: Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel, Alix Kubdel (mentioned), Marinette Dupain-Cheng (mentioned), Juleka Couffaine (mentioned), Rose Lavillant (mentioned), Alya Cesaire (mentioned) Language used: English Author's Note: The creators of MLB really need to give the side characters screen time. The love square isn't the only romantic set of ships in the show and there are much more cute ships to write about. And so in my first time of writing a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic, it's about a ship that's entirely not part of the love square. This is my final workshop output from a creative writing class I enrolled in during the summer to get units in advance. Special thanks to my professor and two of my classmates for their feedback; I couldn't have made this work even more wonderful without their help. For the non-love-square ship and this being a successful workshop output thus far, I think I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back and more fanfic ideas to write. :)

Compared to the courtyard at Françoise Dupont High School where the lively chattering of students can be heard and the scrambling of footsteps were a staple, the art room was its own entire world of silence.

It was supposed to be a calming silence in that same art room where Marc and Nathaniel were to work on art-related endeavors of their own, but the former found this unwelcoming and rather deafening. It weighed down on his being that the atmosphere was unbearably awkward, much like he was most of the time even before he met Nathaniel and became his partner in creating comic books about Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their akumatized alter-egos who turned good and served as part of the superhero duo’s akuma-fighting team. Despite a remarkable development from being acquaintances, to newfound partners, and now to a bloomed romantic couple, Marc Anciel, as awkward as ever and still testing the waters on this newfound relationship, couldn’t shake this nagging feeling of inadequacy as someone’s significant other.

It just goes to show him that even though his romantic feelings for Nathaniel had been reciprocated at Day 0, it does not remove the remaining unease that Marc currently feels at Day 1. It was his first time in a relationship, and it was with the boy whose drawings he admired so much from the school paper. Simply put, it was too good to be true.

Unfortunately, the awkwardness Marc felt wasn’t masked enough, and Nathaniel immediately noticed from his place by the table beside his raven-haired beau. How could he not? It was very obvious, from the way Marc’s hand shakily distorted his usually refined, elegant script while writing the next chapter of their comic to the way his expression was contorted as if he was constipated. Nathaniel thought to himself that it was still an adorable sight, but clearly, something was up, and it wouldn’t do well to just ignore whatever troubled his beloved partner. Attempting to break the ice, the redhead cleared his throat, then spoke to call Marc’s attention.

“Marc.”

The novelist jolted in surprise at the utterance of his name. “Y-yes, Nathaniel?”

Leaning in for a better view of the page Marc was writing on, Nathaniel replied, “Your handwriting’s different.”

“W-wait, really?” blurted out Marc, quickly covering the page with his gloved hand. “I d-didn’t know you were p-particular with handwriting.”

Nathaniel placed a gentle, caring hand on his boyfriend’s with a smile aimed directly at him as he clarified himself, “It’s not that, Marc. I’ve seen it and it’s great. Right now, it just looks… wobbly. You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

Even if Nathaniel was a recluse in his own class, he could very well read into the emotions of people, but he doesn’t show it that often. As endearing as it was as a show of concern towards shy Marc, it was also overwhelming for the raven-haired novelist to have been the subject of such deep perception, even from the boy his heart palpitates for.

It was then that Marc’s fight or flight response reminded him in a split-second that he needed some sort of diversion for Nathaniel not to remind him of his own awkwardness.

“Isn’t it weird that our art teacher didn’t come here?” Marc rapidly questioned as he struggled not to look at the red-haired boy beside him. Despite this attempt to keep Nathaniel’s focus off of his disposition, glancing towards the door and not at Nathaniel did not help stop the blood from rushing to the novelist’s fair cheeks. His partner might be tired of this, of him, already, but that light chuckle of pure amusement coming from Nathaniel disproved that thought.

“Hey, hey, settle down Marc,” chided Nathaniel, “he might be running late. It’s okay for us to use the art room so long as it’s reserved around this time. Good thing that he reserved it at an earlier time than usual.”

With innocent green eyes, the raven-haired boy looked his boyfriend in the eye and asked, “H-he can do that?”

“Of course, he can. Let’s just wait for him, okay?” reassured Nathaniel, his left hand making its way on Marc’s right shoulder discreetly. “I’m sure my other classmates will arrive here shortly too.”

A shy smile emerged from Marc’s face as he replied, “Okay, Nath.”

Suddenly, a ringtone from the phone which was in Nathaniel’s pocket sounded audibly enough to catch both the boys’ attention. The redhead immediately fished out the device from his pocket and unlocked it, revealing three unread text messages from his close friend Alix.

Hey Nath! Something came up and I couldn’t swing by the art room. Love troubles again with Marinette. Juleka and Rose are also helping out with me so they can’t come.

I can’t believe that Marinette got invited personally by Adrien to his photoshoot but she can’t even give him her handmade gift or ask him out. Because she’s such a wuss, I got dragged here in the park by Rose because Mari needs all of her girl friends to push her towards Golden Boy Agreste YET AGAIN.

And apparently Alya alone couldn’t do it. Sorry! You’ll have Marc to keep you company anyway. Have fun! ;)

So much for those girls coming over to the art room. Nathaniel let out a sigh as he muttered, just enough for Marc to hear, “I stand corrected. The others aren’t coming.”

Catching on his partner’s crest-fallen demeanor and gazing at his face with sympathetic green orbs, Marc replied, “Guess it’s just the two of us for now.”

The next minutes were spent in silence again, with Marc continuing to finish a paragraph while Nathaniel sketched a bird’s eye view of the Eiffel tower as the background in one panel of the comic storyboard in his notebook. After several minutes elapsed, however, curiosity got the best of Marc, and so, with the tip of his pen lingering on the period of his last sentence, he kept on glancing at Nathaniel and the storyboarding he was working on. Besides the sheer focus that was evident in Nathaniel’s turquoise orbs, the shy novelist couldn’t help but notice the fine, steady strokes his beau’s hand were making with his fine-pointed mechanical pencil. So neat, so pristine. It’s amazing how he didn’t need an eraser to erase certain portions of his drawings over and over.

Marc had seen artist sketches himself of both people and objects, mostly done by his friend Marinette. As someone aspiring to become a fashion designer, she would be engrossed in sketching designs day by day, passion ignited by the sparks of inspiration she draws from around her. However, since Marinette’s sketches had obvious hints of disorder, as it normally is with crude artist sketches, it clearly contrasted with the otherwise structured sketches Nathaniel makes for his comic books. Marc, fully in awe, couldn’t help but take a break from his writing and stare at the red-haired illustrator’s creative process right next to him.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel, thanks to the strong, overbearing feeling of being watched, was getting overly conscious of his work. Keeping his composure to the best of his ability, he quickly turned to Marc and asked, “Do you need something Marc?”

Snapped out of his trance wide-eyed, Marc inwardly panicked. ‘Oh no, I must be staring at him too long! I hope I didn’t spook him too much.’

Scrambling for a sensible response, the novelist stuttered out, “I-i want to write something in your notebook.”

Setting down his pencil while his turquoise eyes were still on Marc, Nathaniel blinked inquisitively. “Oh, why would you want to do that?”

“B-because,” the shy writer reasoned, “I want to write something to remind you of me. T-that is, if y-you don’t mind.”

The red-haired teen averted his gaze from his partner as he remarked, “You know I don’t let anyone write on my notebook, Marc.”

This response triggered the disappointment that Marc had anticipated from the moment that they started continuing to develop the rest of the comic book they were working on together. It was even more daunting for the timid writer that their art teacher and the rest of Nathaniel’s classmates who were usually in the art room with them did not show up at that moment, or even at all. Marinette would tell Nathaniel that it’s a great idea for his newfound love to leave special traces on his personal notebook while Rose, somehow finding this romantic, would gush at this gesture with Juleka mumbling to herself in response. But what would have been the cherry on top for Marc at the moment is that if Alix was there to egg on Nathaniel, pressuring him to give in and let his boyfriend write something in his notebook. At least the comic relief from Alix’s teasing would help alleviate the collective awkwardness the couple felt at that moment. God, if only it wasn’t just the two of them in the art room at that moment.

But alas, he was alone, helpless and daunted, and he was facing the dragon which was Nathaniel, or whatever Nathaniel thought of him at that moment.

However, all of the fears and doubts that plagued Marc left him when Nathaniel continued with a small, endearing smile on his face, “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”

The novelist beamed at his boyfriend, green eyes sparkling with delight. “R-really?”

“In one condition.”

Marc took and held in a quick breath. “Anything, Nath.”

The illustrator picked up his pencil once again and uttered, with an outstretched hand right by Marc’s notebook, “Let me draw in your notebook.”

It was at that moment when Marc could feel his heart flutter, accompanied by the butterflies in his stomach as he opened his own notebook to the very last page and laid it out right by his beau’s workspace.

“It would be my pleasure.”

In a span of 2 minutes while Nathaniel was drawing on the last page of his boyfriend’s notebook, Marc, fidgeting and tapping his pen softly on his chin, racked his brain for a simple yet memorable piece to write on the first page of the illustrator’s notebook, which was left empty out of personal preference by its owner. Hoping to obtain bit by bit of inspiration, he glanced at Nathaniel, then at the empty page, then at Nathaniel, and so on and so forth. This went on, albeit unnoticed by the redhead, until mere seconds after, he scribbled away on the page once he had gotten attuned with his creative writing flow.

After both of them finished leaving their traces on each other’s notebook pages, Nathaniel and Marc gave each other back their notebooks and instantly opened them to where they each left their special mark. Struck with awe, the novelist softly traced the outline of the drawing and his emerald eyes were drawn to Nathaniel’s signature which he left underneath the recently drawn portrait. A tinge of pink formed on Marc’s cheeks as he admired every stroke that constituted this drawing of him done by none other than the boy he once looked up to, now loved, and who loved him back.

“No one’s written me a poem before,” Nathaniel uttered as he perused every line written by Marc on that now extra special page in his notebook, eyes taking in every word written in that distinct elegant script that served as an epitome of beauty that the redhead beheld. One particular line at the end of the writing, however, caught him by surprise: the words ‘Je t’aime’ accompanied by Marc’s signature in that same fancy handwriting the illustrator adored dearly.

Having regained his composure, Marc turned to Nathaniel and asked, “Do you like the poem? I-i thought of it on the spot so it might not exactly be to your liking, but-”

“I love it,” interrupted the red-haired teen breathlessly, wrapping an arm around his significant other and squeezing his shoulder. “Really Marc, you make the most wonderful written pieces.”

An expression as bright as day graced Marc’s features as he replied, albeit with a bit of shyness in his voice, “Y-you really think so?”

Nathaniel threw any single hint of hesitation in his being out the window as he placed a tender, loving kiss on Marc’s forehead. “I do. We’re meant to be partnered together, after all.”

And just like that, the uncomfortable awkwardness that haunted Marc was instantly warded off, and in a flash, he enveloped Nathaniel in a tight, warm, loving embrace and leaned into him in newfound solace. The silence in the art room has never been this comforting as the couple relished in this seemingly endless embrace together.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #miraculous fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #mlb fanfiction #nathaniel x marc #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #marcnath #mlb fanfic

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pl-panda · 4 years

Text

To marry a Vigilante: Part 1

MASTERLIST || First || Previous || Next

Disclaimer: Masterlist

------

When they finally pulled apart, Marinette needed a moment for her brain to restart. She was sure she would melt right then and there. At the same time, she wanted to jump and scream from sheer ecstasy. It was all she ever wanted and now she had it.

Damian stared at her empty expression.

“I think you broke her.” Plagg suddenly zoomed out of her pocket, followed by Tikki who tried (and failed) to catch him.

This was enough for Mari to finally start thinking coherently. “Um… Yeah… I… Maybe…” Or mostly coherently at least.

“Habibti. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out.” Damian guided her. Slowly, Mari returned to her senses.

“Thank you… I think I might have kinda lost my breath there.” She gave him an apologetic smile.

“Nothing happened. Now I think I need to leave or my brothers will get some stupid idea and I will have to practice my skill with a sword.” Damian deadpanned.

“Since I know I can’t stop you, please at least don’t kill them until I get to know them better?”

“I can try, but no promises.” He turned to leave, but she grabbed his hand.

“Oh! Wait!” She fumbled through her pocket for a moment before pulling out a small box. Plagg immediately was pulled inside it (much to Tikki’s amusement). “Damian Wayne. As Guardian of the Miraculous, I give you the miraculous of the Black Cat, which gives you the power of destruction. I trust you to protect it and use it to help others.”

Damian was stunned only for a short moment and definitely didn’t move his mouth like a fish. Definitely. “I accept that honor and thank you for your trust.”

“There is no one I would trust more than you with this. If not for your and your family’s help, I would’ve never caught Hawkmoth or the Cat.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re brilliant and it was only a matter of time.”

“Time I might’ve not had. Chat was working with Hawkmoth. Who knows when I would’ve fallen into a trap…”

“It’s all over now, Habibti.” He grabbed her hand. “Everything is going to be better now.” When she smiled he let go and opened the box. Plagg appeared in a flash.

“For the record, I hate these boxes.”

“Stop complaining. If you stayed there it wouldn’t have been so bad.” Tikki scolded him.

Marinette giggled at the interaction of the two little gods. Damian just shook his head and donned the ring.

“Can I see how you’ll look?” She asked before her smile took a more grin-like look. “I want to see if you’ll have a cute cat-ears.”

“Maybe when you are in Gotham.” He scoffed. “Thank you, angel. It’s the best Christmas gift you could’ve given me. Your trust means more than gold to me.”

“But Christmas is still a long way away…” Mari tried to dismiss him, but seeing his expression she doubled back. He looked almost scared. Almost, since Damian Wayne did not get scared.

“Angel… Christmas Eve is tomorrow. That’s why your class is leaving on Monday. You are all going to be attending the Wayne New Year Gala next Friday.”

“But… But… Wouldn’t there be decorations in stores? And Santa Clauses on the street? Or at least…”

“There were. Mostly Miraculous themed though. I can’t believe you didn’t notice.” He said with a bit too much amusement slipping into his voice.

“Kwami! Kwami! Kwami!” She started to pace. “I completely forgot! How could I have forgotten Christmas!?” She was close to collapsing. Damian was quickly by her, holding her wrists together to not accidentally get slapped by her flailing arms.

“Habibti. There is nothing to worry about. You already gave everyone the greatest gift possible by ridding them of that terrorist. I admit I regret that we will not be able to spend our first Christmas together as a family, but the last several months were the best of my life already. You don’t need to give me anything more.”

“But… But…” She was at the edge of crying.

“Marinette. Don’t worry. I have an idea.” Tikki reassured her Chosen. “Go tell your parents to pack everything.”

“But… Maman and I must be here at six on Monday” She tried to argue.

“You will be. Kaalki owes me a favor.” The kwami dismissed her.

“But… But I can’t just abuse the miraculous.”

“Marinette. All Kwami love you. They would be happy to help you if the need arose.” Tikki nuzzled into her cheek. Mari finally relented.

“Fine… But I’m buying her three boxes of sugar cubes,” she said with conviction.

The two kwami giggled and Damian cracked a smile.

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

Adrien cursed loudly. He barely managed to escape those damn heroes. And to think that his Lady marries some American ragtag instead of him? That’s how she repaid him for his loyalty? For all of his sacrifices? That was just a travesty.

But it didn’t matter in the end. She didn’t deserve to be Ladybug anyway and now finally, the world could be free from her. Of course, heroes could try to save her. They could even succeed. But he made a point. He severed all the ties with that cursed bitch. Now he could focus on his true soulmate: Marinette. She was the real Ladybug. She was loyal, honest, brave, kind, selfless, beautiful. They’re made for each other. In a perfect world, they would be with one another if he was not blinded by the imposter. She had a crush on him in the past, but he ruined it. Now he had to work trice as hard to get her to join him.

“Don’t worry mother. We will have our family again.” He said, looking at the stasis chamber.

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

When Marinette and her parents exited the portal in Wayne Manor, they were greeted by Alfred the Butler and Alfred the Cat.

“Ah. Young Madame Marinette, Madame Cheng, Master Dupain. It is my pleasure to welcome you. I was told you would be arriving through… extraordinary means.” He greeted them.

“We’re sorry for all the trouble we’re causing you on such short notice.” Marinette immediately started to apologize.

“You are no trouble at all. Definitely not compared to the usual Christmas mess.” He dismissed her apology. She wanted to protest, but the cat jumped onto her and she instinctively grabbed him and hugged.

“I see Alfred the Cat likes you, Angel.” Damian’s voice came from behind. Immediately, Marinette whirled around, only to stare into a pair of green eyes.

“Damian!” She wanted to hug him, but the cat was a bit in the way. Instead, she just leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. They both smiled.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Sabine spoke. “Is Cassandra home? I would like to meet my niece. We spoke several times over the phone, but meeting in person is…”

“She is in the gym, practicing ballet,” Alfred informed her.

“Thank you. Tom, be a kind husband, and carry my things to our room. And don’t forget the bag.” She patted Tom’s cheek before leaving.

“Come, Habibti. I will show you the garden.” Damian grabbed her waiting hand.

“Take my bags too, dad? Thanks!” Mari shouted without looking back before she, Damian, and the cat left the room, leaving Tom with half the house packed into bags.

“Why do women carry so much with them…?” He sighed.

“It’s a mystery of the world that we, mere mortals, will never know, Sir,” Alfred answered in his usual tone.

---------

“Cassandra?” Sabine asked, leaning through the doors leading to the gym. The mats that would usually cover the ground were all rolled in the corner to make space. A large mirror covered the entire right wall. A lone girl in a white ballet outfit danced to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet music.

The girl did not answer or break her dance, but Sabine noted that her gaze shifted toward doors in the mirror. It was just a short moment to assess the threat without breaking concentration on whatever one did. It was the same as she often did. It was an instinct learned through years of training. David Cain better stayed in that cell or else.

When the song ended, Cass turned the music off and walked closer to Sabine until they were standing about a foot apart.

“You’re a great dancer.” The woman started. Cass only nodded in response.

“Practice.” She said. There was more awkward silence where the two measured each other.

“I’m sorry sweetie. For what happened to you. If I knew, I would’ve searched for you and gave you a proper home.” A tear appeared in Sabine’s eye. When they spoke through video, it was mostly about meaningless things to get used to one another or neutral subjects. Now, in person, Sabine wanted to get all regret off her heart.

“No… fault.” The girl answered. “All… good.”

“Can I… Hug you?” Sabine asked, fully aware that not everyone liked physical contact.

“Hug?” Cass asked. To this day, only Dick or Tim wanted to give her hugs and it was rare. “Okay?” She more asked than agreed, but her aunt responded by slowly pulling the girl to her heart.

“I’m still sorry. If I see my sister, she is gonna get her ear screamed off.” She assured the girl. “How could she… You’re such a sweet girl.”

Cassandra Cain smiled. She liked being hugged by that woman. And the image of her mother cowering before her older sister was too funny.

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

“Damian!” Marinette shouted as he dragged her through the garden. It was much colder in Gotham than in Paris. And it was still only late morning here while she left Paris in the afternoon. She was a bit tired.

“I want to show you something, Angel. Come on! Before my brothers find us and drag me into their ‘Christmas spirit’ stuff.” He groaned at the thought.

“Christmas is important!” She argued.

“Definitely when you are here.” He answered easily. It was lucky he was too focused on the road to look back because she blushed… hard.

They walked through the forest that was on the manor grounds until they entered a small clearing. In the center, there was a stone garden gazebo with the fire burning in the center. It definitely gave heat, but little smoke dispersed in the air before it could alert anyone to that location. There were several stone benches inside.

“I found it during one of my… escape attempts when I was younger.” He admitted. “Now I use it as a retreat from my brothers. The herb mixture I use as fuel gives no smoke.”

“Why bring me here?” She asked.

“I just thought that we should enjoy the peace before the hurricane that my brothers become washes over us.”

Mari giggled. “I met your brothers.”

“No. You saw them. I had to live with them for the last five years. They are crazy.”

“It can’t be that bad… right?”

“Last year Todd set the Christmas Tree on fire.” He deadpanned.

“Okay, that might’ve been an accident.” She tried to argue.

“Four years ago Grayson decided to show his acrobatic skill to put a star on the top of the tree. He ended up crashing it on us and the dinner table.”

“It… happens?” She said, but with less conviction.

“Two years ago, Drake decided to surprise Brown and bought her a life-sized statue of them made out of chocolate.”

“It doesn’t sound that bad…”

“Except that insomniac idiot accidentally ordered it made out of chocolate ice cream!”

“Oh…” Marinette didn’t have an answer for that.

“So as I said, they can be a bit much.”

“Don’t worry. I still think it could be worse. My Nona once gave my parents a motorbike with two sidecars as a Christmas gift.”

“Tt. That sounds normal.”

“Except one of them was made as a crib for me. I was one at the time.”

Damian cracked a smile.

“I still think you will thank me for showing you this place.”

“May I remind you that you will all be stuck with my mom for the better part of the exchange. She will keep them in check.” Mari huffed.

“I don’t doubt that.” He pulled his phone and showed her a photo of Sabine standing over Talia. The next one was of unconscious Talia with Tom standing over her with the broken chair.

Mari giggled and she would later swear that Damian laughed a bit. Not that anyone saw them. Well, no human. Alfred the Cat could hardly testify.

------

Masterlist // Next

#arranged marriage AU #Damian Wayne #Damian al Ghul #marinette x damian #maridami #maribat #marinette dupain cheng #guardian!marinette #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #maribat au #miraculous lb #tiger miraculous #miraculous sabine

197 notes · View notes

miraculouscontent · 3 years

Text

Didn’t Need Burrow (April 11th-16th)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After the Truth episode occurs, Luka will either not appear nor be talked about(not even by Marinette, Juleka, Sass, or Anarka) at all, or, if he does appear, he'll avoid Marinette like the Black Plague. Guess who's fault it'll be(Kagami will still appear and be on good terms with Adrien, though, since anything that makes Marinette happy needs to be either ruined or gotten rid of, while anything that makes her miserable needs to stay around just to be rubbed into her face.).

I s2g if they have Adrien and Kagami patch things up immediately just to make Marinette feel awkward--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The idea that Nino's hat is a keepsake from his late brother comes up during an episode where it inevitably gets damaged and/or destroyed. Marinette is somehow responsible/blamed for this, and/or is forced to try and repair it regardless of feasibility, while being guilt-tripped/ridden every inch of the way. Bonus points for Adrien making some clueless comment about buying a replacement and STILL being treated as more empathetic to Nino's feelings even while ignoring them.

“Bonus” if everyone pressures her over the hat, which eventually leads to Marinette realizes that it can’t be fixed to be the exact same way, so she hides it and lies about it, leading to the episode blaming her for hiding things from her “totally understanding friends” (who are suddenly “totally understanding” and are only upset that she lied to them/”thought so lowly of them”) instead of her friends for making her feel like she had to be perfect.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: A Sleeping Beauty-inspired akuma will ensnare Ladybug, 'forcing' Chat Noir to kiss her awake. While Adrien/Chat naturally claims that he would 'never take advantage of his lady', he is openly gleeful at the prospect and taunts her afterwards, complete with a call back to Oblivio as he tells her to 'check the LadyBlog' to find out what happened. Her dismay over this is played entirely for laughs.

*flashbacks to the “jokes” in “Prime Queen”*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Just like in countless Salt Fics, Alya will get upset at Ladybug for claiming that it's 'too dangerous' for her to be Rena Rouge anymore after Miracle Queen. Regardless of what she does/how she lashes out, Marinette will be held 100% responsible for the fallout, with Su-Han criticizing her for selecting Alya/the others in the first place AND for 'allowing' their identities to be exposed.

That’s what you get for trusting people, Marinette (apparently).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will expose more Miraculous-related secrets on the LadyBlog, such as posting the identities of the heroes who were 'already outed' by Miracle Queen. Marinette will be blamed for this, with Su-Han reading her the riot act for every single choice she's made.

And also, Alya will get no flack for this because “she’s a journalist!! she’s just doing what she’s supposed to do!”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After spending most of the season taking the piss out of Marinette at every available opportunity, Su-Han will start warming up to her just in time to be taken out of the equation by something like Alya posting another 'big scoop' on her blog revealing his existence to the villains. Marinette will be left with even less support and all of the guilt, while Alya learns absolutely nothing from the experience because why would she?

Considering “Truth,” I just automatically presume that characters who support Marinette lovingly/unconditionally will either be abused or kicked to the curb.

Anonymous said:

Don't need Burrow: "Queen Banana" will be like typical episode with Chloe akumatization. 90% Chloe drama and angst, 10% akumatized Chloe (and probably 0% sense)

Show, I’m begging you, just let this character’s focus die already. We are SO tired...

Anonymous said:

didnt need burrow: the show ends with hawkmoth (now shadowmoth i guess) being defeated, heavy implications that the LS will be canon, but no solid proof, any other plot holes disappear in the cheery end music and all fans are left annoyed at the open ending filled with plot holes (bonus: That Guy says smin like "you would know if you watched carefully" to anyone that asks wtf happened)

Fun for us love square salters at least so there’s that? :P

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Trixx wants to return to Alya despite the danger/her past exposure, and ignores Marinette's concerns, leaving/reuniting with Alya over her protests. This is either played as 'It's fine, and Marinette should have trusted Alya more' or 'It's not fine, and it's all Marinette's fault for trusting Alya in the first place and letting Trixx get so attached'. Or both.

Astruc would totally use the opportunity to brag about the whole, “She’s already taken!” line in “Truth” being foreshadowing.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Bunnix reveals that there is an alternate, 'better' future in which Lila never worked with Hawkmoth and became a heroine instead. The turning point was, naturally, that Ladybug never called her out for lying/stealing from Adrien. (Possibly because Adrien never snooped in the safe in this timeline, yet it's still depicted as Marinette's fault.) May couple with confirming she's the future Hawkmoth and that it's all Mari's fault the heroes are still fighting her years later.

Which means that Chat makes the “reversible” mistakes (i.e: Cataclysming Bunnyx’s miraculous) while Ladybug makes the “permanent” ones.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette/Ladybug will get accused of being a selfish glory hound who needs to learn how to share the credit and 'be a team player'... after Adrien/Chat slacks off during a fight and refuses to help. Bonus points if this is tied into the exposed heroes' predicament somehow, implying that the REAL reason she won't give them 'their' Miraculi back is that she's selfish/short-sighted/not good at working with others/insert other bullshit excuse here.

T_T

I’m so tired.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will do something unbelievably selfless and self-sacrificing, only to promptly be slammed by the narrative and treated as though her decision was incredibly selfish.

Honestly you could just ad lib that.

“Marinette will do [something positive], only to promptly be slammed by the narrative and treated as though her decision was [negative].”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will pressure, belittle and berate Marinette until she breaks and agrees to give up being Ladybug/the Guardian. This is naturally treated as the worst thing she could possibly do, with everyone (including Su-Han) ripping into her for it. There is no equivalent of Plagg's 'I've had many holders, but nobody can replace you, Adrien' shilling, beyond Marinette being informed that she MUST continue and deal with her many inadequacies by becoming BETTER. She has no choice.

“You’re the worst Ladybug!”

“Okay I’ll stop being Ladybug.”

“HOW DARE YOU”

“?!?!?!”

Anonymous said:

Don’t need Burrow to know that the writers will retcon Marinette allowing Adrien to BORROW her lucky charm so that Marinette actually GAVE it to him instead.

Bonus: of course, the birthday scarf issue/secret is never addressed. RIP in piece, Marinette gift number xxx0

Technically, this has already happened even back in “Befana,” so I don’t count it. Adrien has said that Marinette gave him that lucky charm forever.

Definitely adding that scarf one though.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get Love Square scenes (shipping fuel) in the next episode (even though Maribug and Adrichat just broke up with Luka and Kagami).

I mean, we got love square shipping fuel in the Adrimi and Lukanette episodes, so :|

I’ve just come to expect inappropriate timing at this point.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a future episode Chat Noir will be even worse than he was in Lies and still be portrayed sympathetically. I don't know how you can get that low, but I have faith that the writers will be able to pull it off and that's not a good thing

“I don't know how you can get that low“

they’ll find a way, I’m sure

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Kagami will become an antagonist/team up with Shadow Moth post-Adrimi breakup for the plot twist "the main villain has been in the show all along." ((This is based on the end card for Lies. I really hope they don't do this because Kagami is one of the only reasons I'm still watching the show.))

I’d only be here for that if her endgoal is getting Luka and Marinette as far away from the plot as possible.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: We STILL don't know how the Peacock Miraculous got damaged and how Emilie Agreste fell sick. Bonus points, we find out in the season/series finale or on social media.

Double bonus if Astruc claims that the decision is good and they did it on purpose (probably to keep people talking).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe debuts as the new Bee holder on the same episode Chloé is akumatized.

I’m 100% expecting Chloe to be salty at all the adoration that Zoe gets.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: if Adrien is ever in the wrong about something, it will only be for about five minutes and it will ultimately be blamed on Marinette.

Marinette: *breathes*

writers: Yes! Something we can blame on her!

Anonymous said:

Didn't need burrow: The relationship between the Couffaines and Jagged will not be explored. They might perform a song together and that's all, Luka forgives Jagged for abandoning him (his daddy issues just magically disappear so he doesn't bring it up anymore) while Juleka doesn't interact with Jagged at all

I’m torn between, “Luka will basically never appear again,” and, “Luka will suddenly appear much more often now that he’s no longer a ‘threat’ to the love square (Marinette didn’t break up with him because of Adrien but sure).”

Anonymous said:

Didn't need Burrow: "Gabriel Agreste" will be all about how he's not really evil just misunderstood. He had a lonely childhood or some garbage and we should feel totally sad for him you guys.

wow i hate it

#Didn't Need Burrow

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don-quixotine · 3 years

Text

It has come to my attention that I’ve let Tumblr go untortured by angst for many a days now and I am here to right that injustice :)

End of S4. Adrien finally admits his family is Not Okay, that he is not okay. He admits his father is not good to him, that he is scared Natalie will 'die' the same way his mother did. And then, the cherry at the top of the pie: The person he trusted the most, the person he loves the most, has unwittingly reminded him of one of his worst fears: That he'll never be enough for anyone.

Lean On Me

Enjoy.

Lean On Me

It had been one of those days. One of those days that seemed to string along for an eternity, where the seconds were plucked away one at a time, the way one plucks an eyebrow. Painfully, slowly, torturously.

His day had started early with a photoshoot after a long night of vaulting across Paris. He had had lunch alone, despite the company of his father having been booked in his calendar. And then the worst part: the multiple Akumas, which meant he had to see her when just the night before, she had broken his heart in a way he didn’t even think it was possible: Ladybug had told someone. She had revealed her identity.

She cried when she confessed it to him, begged him to forgive her. It had all been too much to bear alone, she said. She needed a friend, someone that knew her as a civilian, she said.

He didn’t even know what part made him the most miserable: the heartbreak itself, or that what overpowered him at first was not grief, but anger. Blinding anger and hurt at the fact that no matter what, he’d never be enough for her. No matter how much he tried. Just like how he never seemed to be enough for his father.

He sighed. It had been a long day. For once, he couldn’t wait to get home. For once, his bodyguard was running slightly late to pick him up.

He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t even register the presence next to him, nor the first few times she directed herself to him.

“Adrien?”

“Huh?”

Marinette’s concerned expression greeted him. “I was just asking if you’re okay.”

Her question caught him off guard. It took his breath with it, shook the ground where he stood, and twisted his throat in a painful knot.

“Yeah,” he said quietly, offering her half a smile. “I’m fine.”

Marinette looked at him for a while longer and nodded. She looked back at the street, hoping the torrential downpour of that summer afternoon would calm down soon so she could walk back home.

The uncharacteristic silence made Marinette turn to Adrien again, taking the sight of something unfathomable: He was shaking, crying silently, with his back turned against her.

Marinette took a moment to react, partly because of the shock. The sob that finally escaped him shook her into action.

“Adrien,” she gasped, turning him around. “It’s okay,” she said, not knowing what else to say. “It’s okay, you can talk to me.”

Adrien collapsed onto Marinette’s arms, desperate to be held by someone, anyone, which she gladly did.

“No, nothing’s okay,” he sobbed. “My father hates me, he doesn’t want to see me. Natalie is sick just like— just like my mom was. And then... she... my friend— the girl I Iove—”

In another circumstance, Marinette would have allowed herself to feel heartbroken at the fact Adrien was in love with someone else, but the thought hardly even made it to the front of her attention. Adrien was hurting. He was hurting deeper than she could even imagine, and at that moment, all she wanted was to help him ease the pain.

“It’ll be okay, Adrien,” she said softly, holding him steady.

“No... No, it won’t.”

“Every problem has a solution,” she reassured him. “Even if I don’t know the solution to this one.”

Her admission pried a breathy laugh from the boy, followed by a whimper one could compare to that of a wounded animal.

“She told someone,” he cried, holding Marinette tighter. “She told...”

Marinette simply listened, even if she didn’t know what Adrien was talking about.

“We had a pact, her and I and... she broke it. I understand why she did it. But...” Another sob escaped him. “It hurts me that she did. Why won’t she trust me, Marinette? Why won’t— She said I should break it, too, so that we could be even but I— it doesn’t work like that for me.”

“It’ll be okay,” Marinette repeated calmly, rubbing his back in circles. “You don’t have to tell me exactly what this is all about. But if it will make you feel better, you can tell me. I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

Adrien hiccuped and shook his head, slowly prying himself off Marinette, slightly ashamed of his bout of vulnerability now that he was beginning to compose himself.

“Thanks, Mari, but... I really shouldn’t say. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright,” she said. “But you know, if there’s anything you need, you can tell me, okay? Absolutely anything. I mean it.” She looked out to the street again, finding that the rain had finally receded and Adrien’s car was pulling up.

“Well, I should get going,” she said, giving him one final look before deciding to leave, thinking he’d go his own way as well.

Adrien suddenly grabbed a hold of her wrist. He held her steady, strongly, the way one holds onto a lifeline in the middle of a wreck. Marinette turned to him. He was looking down, his hair hanging over his face.

He wouldn’t move, wouldn’t breathe.

“Adrien?”

“I’m Chat Noir,” he said and broke down again. His calm, a sandcastle washed away by the sea.

Marinette gasped. Her heart got stuck in her throat and tears menaced with making an appearance.

He buried himself in her neck, crying again, losing all semblance of composure. “Ladybug told someone, and we promised... We promised we’d never tell anyone. And I know— I know I shouldn’t feel so angry and so sad about it because I understand why she did it... But I can’t help it. I’m never going to be enough for her, I’m never going to be enough for anybody.”

Adrien didn’t see the tears that escaped from the corners of Marinette’s eyes.

She held him tightly, breathing deeply and methodically, deciding to place all her focus on consoling Adrien—consoling her Chaton, who had seemingly taken Marinette’s decision so well the night before.

He had kept quiet and then gave her a bright smile that night. You don’t have to cry, Ladybug, I understand, he said. You did what you thought was right, he said. I’m fine, he said.

“Adrien, you are enough,” Marinette said, fighting her emotions, holding him as tight as she could. “You are more than enough. You- you’re—”

Adrien’s bodyguard beeped impatiently, beckoning the boy to come to the car.

He did so immediately, without looking at Marinette, without letting her finish the sentence.

After he had left, Marinette rushed home and called Alya, who at the sound of Marinette’s unintelligible suffering, hurried to meet her.

“'Alya, I couldn't tell him. He's going to hate me. He told me, he trusted me, and he's going to hate me when he finds out it's me,” she cried, as Alya held her.

“Marinette, what are you—”

“It’s Adrien!” she cried. “Chat Noir is Adrien and he told me after school. Alya, he’s so heartbroken! He said he wasn’t, but he was lying. And it’s not just me, it’s his family, everything! Everything is falling apart around him and I can’t do anything!”

Alya heard Marinette and contemplated the situation as calmly as she could. Now, this is what she called a mess. All kinds of it.

“Marinette, the best you can do is be there for him,” she said finally when her friend had calmed down and after considering the situation. “You don’t know how he will react when you decide to tell him. But Adrien needs a friend, outside of Ladybug, outside of being Chat Noir. And you can always set boundaries, right? You’re the only one that knows how many secrets is one too many.”

Marinette was not sure whether taking Alya’s advice was the best course of action. Until the next morning, that was. She had been dreading going back to school with the knowledge she had acquired, she dreaded the day Chat Noir—Adrien found out she was the very same Ladybug that had unwittingly hurt him like that.

All that changed when she saw Adrien. How much brighter he smiled, compared to the day before. How lighter on the shoulders he seemed. He talked a little louder, laughed a little longer. And seeing him like that, so much better—at least on the surface— was worth the bargain. She’d take whatever he’d have to say when the moment came, but for now, so long as it helped Adrien, this was her secret to bear.

—

#angst #hurt/comfort #ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug #adrinette #if you can call it that lol #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #it's morning angst hours come get ya juice #i feel especially unhinged this morning #just mari trying to comfort adrien while she is breaking down herself #it's an angst party and there are no winners :D #just like in S4 oop

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multi-fandom-freak0221 · 4 years

Text

If Your Done With Embarrassing Me On Your Own Won't You Go Ahead and Tell Them

Oh my god y'all have just blown me away. I was not expect so much positive feed back. I was screaming so much I could not Believe how much you guys liked that. And so many people are asking to be tagged in the next part thank you guys so much. Also can I just say moving from Google Docs to Tumblr was a bitch to do and I hated it. But y'all inspired me so much that I decided to just go ahead and type it up on tumblr and move it to Google Docs afterwards.

This part's title is from "Impossible" by Shontelle. The song in this part is "Young Volcanoes" by Fall Out Boy

This is Part 2 of my fic based on @misashabunbun 's Love of Three.

Part 1

Tagging List (I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE I NEED ONE.):

@thestressmademedoit @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @lizziejay @indecisive-mess-named-me @captainmac6 @luveverything12 @kris-pines04 @brokenwordsarehard2

To say Marinette was busy would be an understatement. Between working with Luka and Uncle Jagged producing her album as Neon Titanium and her friends insisting that they help heal her brokenheart she felt like she was caught in a whirl wind. But it was nice she had fun. Luka and Uncle Jagged knew how to turn the hard work of producing music into a fun experience while still being efficient. And her friends they had her laughing harder than she laughed in while and smiling brighter than their resident sunshine child. They did everything they could think off.

She went shopping with Chloe and Kagami. She watched horror movies with Alix, Nathaniel, and Adrien. Marc and Luka let her rant to them which turned into a crying session which then turned into a meditation session. And on top of that her and Peter hung out as well. Whether they just worked in silence together on their respective projects or they were pranking Uncle Tony, kwami did she have fun renaming the protocols on the Iron Man suit. Soon Peter easily fit his way into her group of friends abd he fit in perfectly. Everyone got along with him.

But he wasn't the last to join their ragtag group. Everyone was shocked when Felix Graham De Vanily came to their group offering Marinette condolences on her lost engagement. He was sincere and courteous so of course no one was surprised when Marinette invited him to join in the currently planned game of dodgeball, except maybe Felix himself. But nonetheless he joined in the competition and found himself hanging out with the rest of the group as well. Soon his cold off-standish demeanor was traded for sly smirks and slick humor that nobody caught at first except Marinette and Peter who would laugh openly at his responses.

Soon enough Felix was a part of the group and felt comfortable letting his guard down. It help that they didn't treat him as the Graham De Vanily heir or Adrien's asshole cousin. They treat him like Felix, the boy who while very proper cried watching Big Hero 6. Also the boy who slam dunked on Adrien without breaking a sweat. Yet he still is the master of backhanded compliments and insulting people with a smile and having them thank him. He could truly be himself and he was thankful.

And while he easily was getting along with everyone, anyone with easy could see he had a soft spot for Peter and Marinette in general. It was in the way his face would soften when looking at them. Or the way he would smile when Marinette would get excited over something. Or the way he always paid attention to Peter when he was geeking out. It was the way he softly teased them over their height, Marinette being the shortest of the group and Peter only being taller than Marinette and Alix. And everyone knew Marinette's heart was still healing, so it came no surprise when Felix and Peter started dating. And while everyone was happy for them no one, but Marinette herself missed the looks of longing both boys would send towards her.

Believe it or not Felix was not the most surprising addition to their friend group. No the last addition came soon after Marinette formally did an interview after too much press took notice of Damian Wayne's fiancee being seen for the first time in almost a year, in New York of all places.

She remembered Uncle Tony setting up the interview with someone he trusted. She was glad that this was only an interview as Damian Wayne's (ex) fiancee and not MDC or Neon Titanium. She can only imagine how big a deal it will be when she reveals. But that was future Marinette's problem. Present Marinette had to focus on what to say without giving too much details because no matter how much he deserved it, she didn't want to throw Damian to wolves like that. She settled on saying that she was going through some things and no longer was content in Gotham. She claimed that she decided it was in her best interest to leave, but she didn't want to make a big deal about which is why nothing had been said until now.

The interview went well and everyone accepted her answers. It was released about a month after she left Damian and two weeks since Peter and Felix started dating. She still got news alerts for Gotham so she was waiting with baited breath for her interview to reach the Gotham, but it never seemed to. No announcements from WE or the Wayne family in general. She couldn't say it didn't hurt that no one even realized she was gone yet. But what hurt more was when 2 weeks after her interview she got an alert from Gotham Gazette saying the Damian claimed they set a date for their wedding. She cried that day. How could he not even notice she was gone? Was he so used to lying about her and their relationship that he didn't even give a second thought to what he was saying any more? And while she despaired, she relished in the fact that her friends did not let her be alone. Her face was buried in Peter's neck, she was sat on Felix's lap, Chole was threading her fingers through her hair, her feet laid over Peter legs and settled on Marc's, Adrien sat on the floor in front of Felix a hand rest on her back and everyone gathered around as close as possible trying to physically reassure her. Luka was even humming softly. She appreciated all the love amd support she had and soon she was feeling much better. Eventually it turned into a puppy pile napping session and if she ended up curled up between Peter and Felix? Eh, nobody said anything.

It was these series of events that led to their newest and by far strangest addition to their friend group. Here it was, two days after Damian's announcement and here in front of her stands no other than Jonathan Kent, Damian's best friend.

"Hey, Mari. It's been a while, huh?" She could admit Jon looked nervous. The way he wouldn't meet her eyes and how his hand was rubbing his neck. But him bring nervous did nothing to calm her nerves about why he was even here.

Marinette took a deep breath and drew as much of her inner Ladybug as she could. "Why are you here, Jonathan?"

Jon flinched at how she used his full name. "I'm so sorry, Nette. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry I didn't push harder. You were my friend too. I should have checked on you. Damian was such a good liar, I never knew. I should have known but I didn't and that doesn't excuse the fact that I wasn't there for you." Jon took a deep breath and finally met her eyes before speaking again. "But I'm going to do better, Nette. Whatever you need just say the word. Even if it means leaving. When we saw your interview Dad told Uncle Bruce to make sure his family was in order especially his youngest. He didn't give any details and Uncle Bruce got offended. I guess he did end up talking to Damian, but Damian doubled down on his lies and his family is believing him. But I know better because I saw what you said and I know even that wasn't the whole truth. So I want you to know I'm on your side."

Marinette was silent for a minute she study him and his words. The way she was looking at him made Jon feel like his whole soul was being judged, but he didn't dare look away. He needed her to know he meant it and that he was truly sorry for not being for. After a minute that felt like hours Marinette smiled softly at him. "I could always appreciate a hug from a friend." She held her arm open and Jon surged forward and hugged her tightly lifting her off the ground.

Marinette giggled a bit before he set her down. "Thanks, Jon for being here for me. I know Damian is you best friend-"

"He lost that right when he decided to lie to me repeatedly for his own benefit." Jon looked uncharacteristically upset at the fact.

"Well if you're in need of some more good friends, I know a group you should meet. Come on, we're about to have a pool day. I'm sure I have some swim trunks I've designed that you could probably fit. "

After they changed intl their respective swimwear, Mari led Jon to her Uncle Tony's pool where the rest of her friends were already waiting. "Hey guys! I'd like you to meet my friend Jon. He's in need of some good company."

Those who recognized Jon looked up surprised before see his nervous fidgeting and hearing Marinette's last sentence before nodding in understand. It was Peter who spoke up first. "Well any friend of Mari's is welcome with us. Come on we were about to play chicken fight!" And just like that their pool party was in swing. The played a couple pool games and had some snacks before Marinette decided to play some music. Soon a familiar tune was playing over the speakers.

When Rome's in ruins

It was Chole who started singing along first sitting laying on one of the pool chairs. In between Alix and Kagami.

We are the lions

Free of the colosseum.

In fields of poison

We're anitvenom

We're the beginning of the end.

Soon Alix was singing the next part as Chloe finished the first part.

Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds

It's all over now

Before it has begun

We've already won

Luka was quick to pick up the chorus while trying to get everyone to join in with him.

We are wild

We are like young volcanoes

While everyone was distracted with singing Luka had Adrien and Jon sneak with him behind the girls in the pool chair. Each of them grabbed one and threw them in the water. Luka grabbed Kagami, Adrien grabbed Chloe and Jon grabbed Alix.

We are wild

Americana, exotica

Do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby?

As everyone else's singing tapered off into laughing, Marinette picked up the next part solo as she walked to the diving board and climbed up.

Come on, make it easy, say I never mattered

Run it up the flag pole,

She ended her singing with a cannonball into the pool. Peter picked it up from his place in Felix's arms.

We will teach you how to make boys next door out of assholes

He sung his verse looking at Felix the whole time, who scoffed jokingly when Peter winked at him, but gave a him a kiss after he was done singing. Marc and Nathaniel picked up where he left off dueting together.

Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds

And it's all over now

Before it has begun

We've already won

Soon everyone was singing along again to the chorus playing around splashing each other.

We are wild

We are like young volcanoes

We are wild

Americana, exotica

Do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby?

Soon everybody had calmed down slightly singing a little quieter. Marinette her self was floating on her back towards the center of the pool. Smiling at all her support around her.

We are wild

We are like young volcanoes

We are wild

Americana, exotica

Do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby?

As the song ended Jon was the first to speak. "What the fuck is in the water in Paris that makes y'all so talented?"

Peter laughed as he easily agreed, "That's what I said!"

Adrien chuckled at the Americans in their group antics. "To be fair, Felix is from London and Kagami is from Japan."

"Still! That is crazy. And Marinette I never knew you could sing like that!" Jon looked over towards the bluenette, his eyes softening at her.

Marinette giggled. "Neither did the rest of the world until Neon Titanium featured in Luka's last single."

"What?!" Jon exclaimed. "You're Neon Titanium?! I loved that song! Nette you're even more amazing than I thought."

Luka threw his hand up saying "Here, here." Making Marinette blush as all her friends joined in on complimenting her.

About a 3 weeks later, Marinette found herself working on a dress for her debut as Neon Titanium which uncle Tony insisted she do at a gala he's throwing. Which she suspects he's throwing just for her to debut because there was absolutely no gala planned before.

That was what she was doing when Jon, Felix, and Peter found her. It didn't take long for Jon to fit in with group. And with how often he stayed with them in New York instead of going back to Metropolis, no one was surprised when he started dating Peter and Felix. Marinette was happy for them even though it seemed like everyone was in happy relationships but her. But she knew she still had some things to work out before returning to the dating scene.

As they approached Marinette paused her sketching to look at her friends. "What's up guys? You needed something?"

The 3 boys looked at each other before Peter spoke up. "Yeah, actually. We wanted to tell you something." He rubbed the back of his neck before letting out a sigh. "We like you Marinette. A lot. And we would love for you to date us."

Marinette could feel the rejection on her tongue, but before she could say a word Jon cut her off.

"Let us finish first Nette. Please. After we're done you can tell us to never bother you again, but just let us get this out." Jon pleaded at her. Marinette just nodded and let them continue.

"We all like you a lot," Felix started his words very sincere. "But we all know that your still healing. We only told you because we thought it would be fair for you to know."

It almost seemed as they had planned and rehearsed for this because Peter effortlessly picked up after Felix. "We're not trying to guilt you into dating us because at the end of the day it is still you decision. And we know it may be some time before your ready to even consider dating us, but we're willing to wait."

Jon grabbed her hands as he prepared to finish them out. "We just want you to know how amazing we think you are. We'll be beyond lucky if you decide to date us when you're ready to make that choice. And until you are we're still your friends and we'll continue helping you heal and be better how ever you want us to. And if you decide you don't see us that way we'll still be some of your closest friends because having you in our lives is a blessing Nette."

Soon they all seemed to be holding one of her hands as they finished what they had to say. Marinette had silent tears streaming down her face, but the big smile she had eased away their worries. She pulled them into a tight hug for a moment before pulling back.

"You guys are the absolute best friends a girl can have." She smiled at them gratefully. "You're right that I'm not ready yet, but when I am, you guys will be the first people I consider dating. Promise. Now do you guys wanna see the designs I'm considering for my reveal?"

As the boys gathered around Marinette for her to show them her sketchbook she thought to herself with a smile.

I might not be quite okay yet, but with all the great people I have on my side, I know I will be soon.

#dc x miraculous #marivenger #maribat salt #marijon #felinette #spideybug #ex daminette #OT4 YALL #ITS A COMING #Am i projecting my poly ass?#yes yes i am #give me 3 SOs to love and be loved by dammit!#im a hot mess #maribat #Neon Titanium

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