#slight NathMarc

[friendlyneighborhoodborg]

Marc Appreciation Week 2019| Day 2: Hero/Villain| ”Coping Mechanism”

Okay, so I know the prompt is basically supposed to mean “this character but with a miraculous.”  The backslash (/) in the prompt is meant to be taken as “or.”

But...

That’s one ambiguous backslash.

Let me know what I’m doing right/wrong.  Disclaimers were in the Day 1 submission.

~1700 words, for those who care.

Chapters:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

           Monday was a lot smoother than Sunday.  On Monday, Marc had stuff to do, including, but not limited to, school, meetings, and feeling depressed.

           Few strangers would be surprised to hear that he was depressed today.  After all, it had been two days since his little episode, and akuma victims generally had some sort of depressed attitude for a few days after.  Anyone who knew him would be even less surprised; Marc was anything but the ray of sunshine some of his schoolmates were.

           Getting akumatized was exactly the trauma he didn’t need.

           It was a little bit of the dissociation he had heard other people feel.  Having no memories of the event, watching the news and seeing himself as that stranger was jarring for a multitude of reasons.  He saw him as someone with his thoughts and personality, basically everything that made him himself, only twisted into someone with a killing rage and the means to destroy.  There was a lot of himself in Reverser, and that’s one of the things he tried to ignore from his viewing experience.

           The other thing he ignored was how familiar that experience was, seeing someone with his face and emotions do things only a complete stranger would.  He did often feel like he was projecting himself to the people around him,  with an overwhelming need to stifle his passions to stay normal.  He only felt allowed to act like himself when he was alone with his journal.  Being someone else wasn’t too far off from his normal, everyday life, which is why Reverser’s power-set in particular kinda sucked.

           Then the last thing he tried to brush off was the increasing number of stares he got from people who had never been corrupted. He just hated people looking at him in general.  Including himself, sometimes, and the extra attention was not welcome at all.

           But he was begrudgingly used to getting judged. Judging himself had even become a habit. Every morning, he’d look at himself in the mirror.  He’d feel some sort of emotion, something he hadn’t quite found the right words for yet. It would fall somewhere between “Ugh, not him again” and “Well, it could be worse.”  He had found that hiding his face was a good way of combating the more extreme end of the scale of loathing, so he had starting wearing makeup.  And he’d do his own face in the mirror until he felt more like “Well, it could be worse.”

           Point is, he didn’t like people noticing him, but he could usually brush it off.

           He didn’t usually take this approach to his writing.  He generally thought the writing was pretty good, especially if no one but him was going to see it.  No matter what, he rarely ever wrote down his own thoughts, or if he did, they were unintended, or buried and disguised as something else.

           His thoughts wandered to the journal in his backpack. The tale of a forbidden love between a hero and a former villain, the kind of workplace romance that scores a high budget and has audiences flocking to the cinema.  A de-evilization gone wonderfully wrong, making the butterfly’s effects on its victim permanent, a blossoming emotions between him the heroine who saved him.

           Starring the dubious alter-ego of one Nathaniel Kurtzberg, and written as the heroine from a first-person perspective.

           God, he wondered what Freud would say if he was living today.

           Thankfully, only one student seemed to have cottoned on that his artistic admiration went a little deeper than conventional, but even then he wasn’t sure if Marinette actually knew the full-blown extent of his crush.

           ‘Nope,’ he reminded himself.  ‘Not thinking about that today.  He’s your project partner, and that’s it, and he very obviously has a thing for strong, female superheroes.’

           ‘Well, that’s why you wrote from Ladybug’s POV, isn’t it?’ he argued.  ‘Why don’t you admit what the problem is?’

           ‘That’s not the problem.’  He straightened his back.  ‘I know that’s not what the problem is.  And I don’t have time for this right now.’

           Today, despite his constant state of internal darkness, he was early to school.  And so was a certain redhead artist whose attention he duly attempted to avoid.

           Poorly.

           As per his double-standards.

           Marc shrank as Nathan’s eyes met his and he was waved over against his will.

           He didn’t appreciate being called out like this, especially not in public. But since it was him... he inched up to him.

           “Morning,” Nath said, smiling.

           ‘Gosh dangit.’

           Nevertheless, Marc was determined to keep a level head. It may have been true at one point that the wordsmith had maybe possibly harbored some potentially… problematic emotions for this boy, it was abundantly clear nothing good would come of them.  It was a morose conclusion, as it usually was, but one that had to be reached for both of their goods.  So, he was determined to end his crush on this artist by any means necessary.

           Even if his eyes were clear blue gemstones, teeming with some unseen energy that made him want to keep looking—

           ‘No!’ he chastised.  ‘Bad Marc!’

           “You okay?” Nathaniel asked, and Marc realize he hadn’t answered him.

           “Yeah,” he admitted.  “I’m not a morning person,” Marc admitted.  Internally, he mused, ‘Or an evening person.  Or an afternoon person.  Really, I’m barely a person.’

           Unable to see into Marc’s soul, Nathaniel continued.  “Well, I hope it gets better.”

           ‘It rarely does.’  “You seem to be in a good mood, at least.”

           “Yeah.”  He scratched his head absently.  “Probably not what you expected, huh?  How am I supposed to be emo when I like sunshine?”

           “You seem to be managing yourself just fine.”

           “Thanks, I guess.”  He shrugged off his bag.  “So, we didn’t really do any work yesterday.  Got any ideas for a story?”

           “Oh.”  Marc relaxed, knowing this must be all Nathan wanted from him.  “I hadn’t really given it much thought.  Probably the usual heroes’ dynamic at play.  Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Mighty-Illustrator.”

           Nath looked confused for a second.  “But what about…”

           “What?”

           “Well,” he opened his satchel and pulled out his sketchbook, then he started flipping through it.  “Look, see here.”  He pointed at one page in particular.

           He saw what Nathaniel had drawn.

           He was suddenly aware of everyone looking at him.

           When he came to his senses, he found he was hiding in a bathroom stall.  Someone was banging on the stall door, trying to get his attention.

           “Marc!”  Nathan’s voice carried a deep concern.  “I’m sorry, I should have—I mean, of course, I’m an idiot!  I just…” He groaned loudly at himself, and his voice softened.  “I’m sorry. I should have realized, it’s too new for you.  It only happened a couple days ago…… Look, you can feel free to hate me, I didn’t think about what you’d…”  He just trailed off and left them both in silence.

           Marc heard him start to leave.

           “How do you do it?” he asked, suddenly.

           “Wh-what?”

           “You turned your akuma into the hero?  Why did you do that?” he demanded.  “How could you do that?”

           Nathaniel didn’t answer verbally.  Of course he didn’t, why would he?  He didn’t like expressing himself verbally.

           There was a rustling of papers and something was slid under the door.

           Marc picked it up.  “Are you crazy?  You put your sketchbook on the bathroom floor?”

           “Just look, Marc.”

           He did.  “This is… Mighty-Illustrator and Marinette.”

            There was a pause, and then, “That’s Super-Nathan.”

           “Huh?”

           Nathaniel explained.  “Super-Nathan.  I told you, I’m not good with words or names. He was… well, it was me as a superhero. That’s how he was created, and that’s what I drew him to be.  I wanted to be strong and empowered and witty and do all the things superheroes get to do. I don’t know if you noticed this about me, but I don’t… I’m not strong and I’m not witty.”

           “You’re pretty witty.  I mean, you made this.”  He realized something was off with the picture, however.  “Um, I thought he was supposed to like Ladybug, though.”

           “That was only after I was akumatized.”

           “Oh… Wait, so then… oh.”

           “Yep.  Super-Nathan came first.  Then Hawk Moth turned Super-Nathan into a villain.  Super-Nathan became Evillustrator.  Then I turned him back into Mighty-Illustrator.”  He took a deep breath, and continued forward, his words blazing with a strength Marc hadn’t heard him use before.  “Super-Nathan is mine.  Not his.  I figured this is the one way I can get back at him.  Taking him back, using him to fight Hawk Moth.  Fictionally, anyway.”

           Marc was somewhat grateful for the door in between them.  Nathaniel couldn’t see his completely floored reaction.

           Marc looked down at the sketchbook in his hands. He flipped to the most recently-used page, careful not to look at any of the others.

           The face of evil stared back up at him, striking a heroic pose.

           “We don’t have to use him,” assured the cartoonist. “If you don’t want to.”

           Marc stared back down at himself.  He was only startled out of it when Nathaniel’s steps started walking away.

           “No,” Marc said, stopping him.  “We can use Reverser.”  He hesitated.  “Only… can we change his name?  Like you did?”

           “Well,” his collaborator mused.  “You’re the writer.  And it is you, after all.  You think of something.”

           Making sure his face was back to its normal pale, Marc opened the door.  And there was Nathaniel.  Marc passed him back his sketchbook.  It was taken with gratitude.  “We don’t have to work today if you’re not up to it still.”

           Marc considered this before slowly nodding.

           “Okay.”  He turned to leave.  “Whenever you’re ready, then, you’ve got my number.”  He stopped at the door, still with his back turned.  “Hey, Marc?”

           A noise of acknowledgement was made.

           “I don’t usually do art for anyone but myself. But…” he searched for his words, which seemed to have left him.   “It-it’s nice to work with someone.”  He turned back and regarded Marc, smiling.  “Especially you.”  Then, looking unsure of himself, he awkwardly made his exit.

           Marc was now all by himself in the washroom, and he was suddenly very aware of the heat in his cheeks.

           He sighed.  Not out of any particular emotion, except maybe frustration.

          ‘Gosh dangit.’

I’m taking the mostly positive comments as a sign that I’m on the right track, so I’m just gonna keep going with this.  If the other chapters aren’t as good... well, there’s worse things than this on this site.  And I only finished this today, barely on the deadline, so I’ll try not to stress much over it.

[spooky-z]

◊ Masterlist ◊

UPDATED 03SEP20

◊   FINISHED  ◊

COLLEGE FRANÇOISE DUPONT’S TALENT SHOW:  • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 4.1 • 5 • 5.1 •  [maribat, daminette, chlogami, class salt, aged up]

▫▪▪

IN THE DARK: here [9.05, lukadrien, daminette, kagami w/ sabrina w/ chloe, triggering things, lila salt, gabriel salt] 

▫▪▪

LEAVING THE MASK BEHIND: here [9.3, daminette, kagami w/ sabrina w/ chloe, kim w/ nino, mafia au, salt]

▫▪▪

MIDNIGHT SKY: here [9.6K, daminette, lukadrien, chlogami, félix w/ sabrina, mature, alya redemption, lila bashing]

▫▪▪

BROTHER: here [friendship, marinette, adrien]

▫▪▪

MOM? DAD? CHAOS: here [6K, daminette, jondrien, chlogami, sabrina w/ luka, class salt]

▫▪▪

FIELD TRIP: here [9K, daminette, jondrien, chloe, kim, max, sabrina, alix, class salt]

▫▪▪

NETi: here [4K, daminette, jondrien, chloe, kim, max, rose, alix, juleka, aged up, salt]

▫▪▪

BOMBSHELL DUPAIN-CHENG: here chapters: 0, 1, 2, 3 [1.3K, lukadaminette, chlolix, kimax, jondrien, feligami, fluffy, salt]

▫▪▪

... AND ACTION!: here [4K, marivenger, daminette, class salt, language]

▫▪▪

LOVECHILD AU: • 1  •  2 • [marivenger, tony w/ steve w/ bucky]

▫▪▪

CONFIDENT: here [3K maybe, maribat, daminette, language, class salt]

▫▪▪

CONSEQUENCES: here [1.2K maybe, adrinette angst, move on]

▫▪▪ 

FACT CHECK: here [3.6K, kagadaminette, nathmarc, luka w/ jon, sabrina w/ stephanie, chloe w/ tim, alya salt, adrien salt, lila salt/bashing]  

◊ ONGOING ◊

THE SOULMATE AU: • 1  •  2  first swap: here [maribat, daminette, jondrien, class salt]

▫▪▪

PACK AU: 1, 2 and 3 dogeball: here [1.6K, daminette, chlogami, lukadrien, kim, max, slight salt] hit: here [3K, audrey bourgeois salt, gabriel salt, language, violence] pack’s fury: here [1.3K, violence, gore, dark,blood]

▫▪▪

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AU: 1, 2, 3 and 4 • 1  •  2 drabble/marinette’s suit: here [daminette, jondrien, chlogami, luka w/ sabrina, class salt]

▫▪▪ 

EX-GIRLFRIENDS AU: here [I dont know how to tag yet]

▫▪▪

INSTAGRAM AU: • mari  • damian 

▫▪▪

K-12: here • 1 • [lukadaminette, jondrien, chlogami, kimdine, malix, class salt, bustier salt]

[shiniyi-writes]

NathMarc November, Day 3 - Coffee

Hello everyone ~

With this little story I want to participate in the NathMarc November, because I really like this ship and I really like the event.

Also, this is the first story I publish online, so if some of you could give me a feedback, I would be really thankfull.

Now, enough from me, enjoy the story :3

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

Nathaniel glimpsed, until he could fully open his eyes. A slight pain drove through his neck, the reason was that he fell asleep with his head on the small table in his room. His phone was next to him, so he picked it up to look at the time. It was nearly midnight, he asked himself how long he slept and yawned.

Now, fully awake, he was sure to hear a scrippling noise, which came from the other side of the table.

‘Oh, thats right’, Nath thought, ‘Marc came over and we wanted to work on the next issue of…’

Crap… he fell asleep while working at the comic. From one second to another he sat up, only to regret it one second later. He rubbed his neck against the pain, while taking a look at the drawings in front of him. They showed a half drawn picture of Ladybug, sending away a deevilized butterfly. One line drifted away from the rest of the drawing, it must happened when he fell asleep.

“Good Morning”, Marc finally said as he recognised that his boyfriend was awake. Nath looked up to him. Marc seemed wide awake and happy, while writing sentence after sentence in his usually curvy handwriting inside his black notebook. He seemed so… but when Nath took a deeper look in his eyes, he could see red where normally should be white. “How long did I sleep?”, was the first thing Nath asked him. “I think about two and a half hours” Marc responded while laughing a bit, “You looked kind of hilarious.” Saying this, Marc laid his pencil down and grabbed his own phone from the table. He tipped a through times on it, then turned the screen to Nathaniel. It showed a picture of him sleeping. The cheek he laid on looked squeezed and his mouth was slightly open. When he looked closely, he could see a small line of salmina, tripping out of the corner of his mouth. Nath eyes widened and a small red shine spread on his cheeks.

“D-Delete that!”, he stuttered out of embarrassment, but Marc could only laughed. “Nah, I think this will be my new lockscreen”, he said. “I said delete that!”, Nath repeated, while getting on his knees, so he could reach over the table to grab Marcs phone. Marc didn't saw this coming, so it was easy for Nath to take the device out of his boyfriends hands, to unlock the screen (the password was the date of the day they teamed up for the comic), to find said photo and to tip on delete. A mischievous grin was drawn on Nath face, while he gave Marcs phone back to him, but Marc still smiled. “Oh Nath”, he said grinning, “Do you really think I would show you such a funny picture without mailing it to me beforehand.” With this sentence, Nath grin vanished. He sighed while throwing his head in his neck. Marc chuckled, before he took his pencil and started writing again.

The sound of the pencil remembered Nathaniel of something else he wanted to ask Marc. “Hey”, he began, “You are here since 3 p.m., aren't you tired?” Marc shook his head and pointed to the side. He pointed on a silver can, in which Nathaniel had filled some coffee, when they came here after school. He made it extra strong because they decided to make an allnighter. The reasons was that Marc had a writer’s block that lasted a few days, so they weren't able to work on their comic. Still, they wanted to publish it on time.

Nathaniel, who drinks coffee more regularly, is used to the caffeine, so it didn't have the effect on him he wished for and he fell asleep. Marc on the other hand, who usually isn't drinking coffee, got the full effect and didn't become tired at all.

But there was still something that bothered Nathaniel. One thing he still remembered was that the can was nearly empty before he fell asleep and that Marc only drank one cup and, even if the coffee was strong, this wouldn't be enough to keep someone awake and concentrated over nine hours. “Say, did you make another can while I was asleep?”, Nath asked, only to receive a nod from Marc, who was still writing in his notebook. Nathaniel reached for the can to lift it up a bit. It was light…That would explain why Marc seemed so hyper to Nath.

“You drank a WHOLE CAN?” Nathaniel said in surprise. As a response, Marc held up his cup. “Almost”, he said and wanted to take another sip, if Nathaniel wouldn't have grabbed for the cup. “Yeah, almost…” he said. Marc tried to reach for his beverage, but Nathaniel lend back and stretched out his arm, so he couldn't get it. Marc gave up and let his body fell on the table. He sighed.

“Why do you have to be so cruel to me…”, he said in a faked sad voice, “I will never catch up to you, when I can’t finish this tonight…”. He pouted while looking at his boyfriend with puppy eyes. This look was one of Nathaniel's weaknesses. Everytime Marc did this, Nathaniel couldn't said no to him… but this time he had to stay strong. “Forget it” Nath answered, “So much coffee isn't good for you.” Marc sighed again, while facing the ground. “Also”, Nathaniel continued, “When you are tired you should just sleep, instead of pouring so much coffee into you.” “I didn't wanted to disappoint you…” Marc answered, quietly but loud enough for Nathaniel to hear. It surprised Nath. “Why should I be disappointed?”, he asked. “Well”, Marc began, “I-It's all b-because of my s-stupid writer's block that we hang behind. That o-only slowed you down and I-I was scared t-that you may b-be disappointed when I-I don't finish t-this up tonight.”

Hearing this, Nathaniel could feel his face heating up. On one side he was flustered, on the other he was ashamed. Ashamed because he made the one he loved uncomfortable by letting him think he could ever be disappointed in him.

“Marc, look at me” he said in a quiet voice. The boy on the table hesitated, so Nath grabbed his chin with two fingers, to lift his head softly. Without another word, he bend down to him and gave him a light kiss on the lips. He pulled away after a few seconds, just to look at Marc, who was know a blushing mess. “You could never disappoint me”, Nath whispered, “I love you and I love to work on this comic with you, allnighter or not. Also, writer's blocks can happen and it also could happen that I have an art block, but that are just signs that we are taking our hobbies, our passions, very serious and that's a good thing.” He kissed Marc again, deeper and more passionate this time. Marc responded with the same passion and kissed him back. All his sorrows, he had a few minutes ago, vanished and were replaced by happiness. They broke the kiss only because of the lack of air but didn't turned their gaze away from each other. “So”, Nathaniel began talking again after a few seconds, “Are you feeling better now?” Marc, now crimson red and smiling wide, chuckled. “Yes”, he replied, “Yes, I am.” “Good”, Nath said before giving him a kiss on the forehead. “Then let me put the cups and the can away, after that we can go to sleep”, he said while standing up and taking said stuff, only to feel again how light the can was. “Okay”, he said laughing, “I go to sleep and you try.”

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

@nathmarcnovember

[sunshinetrappedinourhearts]

Nathmarc month day 21: Mermaid/Pirate AU

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16491026/chapters/39165160 Okay, help. I don’t know what happened but this got WAY TOO LONG WTH. Also I don’t know if I should’ve interpreted this AU as a mermaid OR pirate au (as in, I should’ve made a choice) but this one is both. xD And it’s... long... (I put a read more tag, but you can also read it on my AO3~)

@nathmarcnovember

The first time Marc saw him, he had thought he was dreaming. It was early in the morning, about 6AM, during that time he was the only one awake on the ship. Because it was the only moment he could let his guard down a little and just think, look at the horizon, for just a short while feeling the illusion of freedom. He was standing on deck, leaning against the railing of the ship, his eyelids partly closed as the sunrise was blinding him. It caused golden glitters, dancing on the waves of the ocean. It was enchanting, no matter how many times he watched it.

Then, something appeared in the water, and Marc blinked. A dolphin?

But it was gone again. He frowned, rubbed his eyes and looked again.

There it was again. A lot closer.

He saw a hint of red, and he blinked again. Dolphins weren’t red.

Closer again, and then Marc saw.

He saw those beautiful ocean eyes, with just a small hint of green making them stand out from the actual water.

He saw the silky, slightly wavy red hair, almost covering one of their eyes, falling around the face, reaching to the chin.

The features of the creature were beautiful, almost feminine, rounded and soft, but still with a sharp jawline, making their appearance very androgynous.

For a while, Marc stared into those deep, ocean eyes, and they stared back. Until after a while, they turned around and dove underwater. In the process, a large, turquoise colored tail reached the water’s surface, and disappeared behind them.

Marc’s eyes widened, and he didn’t realize he was clutching the railing so hard until he saw his knuckles turn white and he let go.

He-

He was dreaming, right?

***

The second time, he saw him, it was while he was cleaning the deck, during noon.

They had been harassing him about not doing his chores well enough, which was, of course, not true, but they just liked making his life even more miserable than it already was. On top of that, they also enjoyed belittling and mocking him, so they had ordered him to clean the ship with only a small towel, so he had to clean it thoroughly almost every five minutes, and the water he was using also turned dirty soon, so he was constantly refreshing it. It felt like the chore would never end.

Marc sighed.

Does it even matter what chore I’m doing, though?

I’ll be stuck here for the rest of my life.

Or for as long as they will decide not to feed me to the sharks.

So he cleaned, and cleaned some more.

Then, when he turned around, his face focused on the direction of the ocean, he saw a familiar hint of red, as their face was just above the surface.

They seemed to be floating there, watching him with ocean eyes.

Alarmed, Marc glanced around him, but luckily, they were not in sight.

Yet.

He dropped his towel and leaned as close to the edge of the ship as he could.

‘Go away! Quick! They can’t see you! They’ll catch you!’

The creature blinked, than swam closer.

‘N-no, please! I said turn around! You have no idea what they’d do to you!’

‘But you’re not doing anything, are you?’

Marc almost lost his balance and fell in the water when he – obviously he, now that he had heard his voice – replied to him.

He blinked a bit, staring, unsure if he had imagined the words or not. The creature seemed amused, his eyes lighting up a bit as a smile teased his lips.

‘Didn’t think I could speak?’

‘Uh…’

‘Got it right, huh?’ He smiled a bit wider.

Beautiful.

‘P-please,’ Marc then managed to say. ‘It’s because I’m just a normal person, but they… They’ll catch you and sell you on the black market. I beg of you, bring yourself to safety-’

He furrowed his eyebrows. ‘Then, what about you?’

‘I’m… stuck here…’ he scratched his head. ‘I can tell you the whole story but please, not while they’re awake. Come back here at 6 in the morning, by that time, they’re all asleep until noon or-so.’

He seemed to be thinking for a while, and then nodded. ‘Alright. But… may I have your name, at least?’

‘It’s Marc.’

He smiled. ‘Thanks.’ And gone he was, his tail trailing behind him.

Marc didn’t have time to ask for his name.

***

He had been haunting Marc’s thoughts for the rest of the day, and night. So as soon as dawn fell, and the sounds of laughter and drinking died out, he hurried to the deck, not even feeling a slight hint of the cool morning breeze, his mind elsewhere.

He didn’t even have to wait, because when he arrived outside, he could already see the familiar red hair and ocean blue eyes.

When their eyes met, he smiled at him, swimming a little closer. Marc’s heart jumped, and he pushed himself against the railing as far as he could.

‘You came.’

‘Of course. You asked me to.’

‘I-’

Still thought I’d been dreaming-

As if he could hear Marc’s thoughts, he let his tail go out of the water, slightly, moving it a little.

He chuckled a little then, and Marc blinked.

He had been staring, probably, definitely-

‘S-sorry.’

‘I figure you’ve never seen a merman before?’

He breathed.

Somewhere deep inside, he’d known, but-

Mermaids, mermen, they were legends, myths of the common people. They didn’t exist.

Sure, he wrote stories about them, he had done so for as long as he could remember, but-

He’d never, ever thought his fantasies would be true.

‘That’s okay, though. You’re the first human I’m seeing, too.’ The merman smiled, wiping some strands of hair out of his face.

‘What’s your name,’ Marc blurted out. It didn’t sound like a question, but as a thought, lingering in his mind but not yet voiced.

‘Nathaniel.’

‘That’s… beautiful…’

Nathaniel’s cheeks colored a little, and he sank a bit deeper in the ocean, so the water reached up until his nose. After a while, he pushed his body up a little higher again.

‘So… those… other humans you’re traveling with… they’re not so nice, huh?’

Marc sighed a bit. ‘You noticed?’

Nathaniel nodded. ‘I’ve been watching the ship, just to see what humans are like… I’m… curious about them… But I didn’t like them much. They are loud and drunk and… mean. Then, I noticed you cleaning the ship, but you were a little different. So I started observing you.’

Marc breathed-

The merman had been watching him-

As he felt his cheeks burn a bit, he quickly looked the other way.

The sound of soft laughter met his ears, and he decided to look again. Nathaniel seemed amused.

‘What are you doing here, Marc? When you’re so different from them…?’

Marc pushed his hands under his chin, leaning his elbows on the railing as he sighed. ‘I’m their prisoner…’

The merman raised an eyebrow. ‘Prisoner…? What bad things have you done…?’

‘Nothing. These men… they’re pirates… Do you know what that means?’

Nathaniel shook his head, sinking a bit deeper again, until he got up. Absently, Marc wondered if he needed the water to breathe.

‘It means… they’re bad people… they rob other ships, steal treasure, carry slaves, they kill…’

Nathaniel’s eyes widened. ‘So… my father’s stories are true, after all… Then…’ he blinked. ‘Then, you’re the only one who is different?’

‘Ah, n-no, it’s not like that. There are many good people in the world.’ He smiled. ‘I’m just unlucky to have ended up here…’

‘Can’t you just leave?’

For the short moment his optimism lasted, the despair rose to his chest again, making him feel nauseous.

‘…I can’t… they’ll catch me… and kill me… I’m… going to be here until I die, probably.’ He didn’t want to look the beautiful merman in the eye while saying such sad things, so he stared at the horizon instead. The sun was rising slowly. There was no land in sight, not yet. It would take about 2 more weeks to get to the next harbour.

‘…how did they catch you in the first place…?’

Memories from months ago came back to him, like they did every night, haunting him in his sleep. They were dark, sketchy flash backs, and Marc closed his eyes, letting them wash over him.

He had just turned 18 years old, the right age to lead his life, make his own choices. Marc had packed only a small bag full of notebooks and pens, enough to last him at least a year.

‘I’m going, mom, dad,’ he had announced, eyes shining with anticipation.

‘Please, sweetie, be very, very careful,’ his mom had looked so sad, so fragile, and Marc had kissed her forehead reassuringly. In the past two years, he had grown taller than her.

‘It’ll be alright, mom! I’ll make sure to write to you every week.’

And so they had seen him off, and he had gone to the harbour, where the small boat he had bought was waiting for him. And he boarded it, beginning his journey to sail around the world; his search for the mystic, and to find inspiration to finish his book.

Marc opened his eyes again, and saw Nathaniel looking at him carefully, waiting.

‘I… I am a writer… So I set off to sail around the world in order to find inspiration, and finish my book… But after only a month I ran into these pirates… They stole all my money, and made me their slave…’ He felt a sad smile twitching around the corners of his lips. ‘They… even stole most of my notebooks, and they sold them for money… My stories are elsewhere now, they’re not mine anymore… There’s nothing left for me to live for…’

‘What were they about?’

‘About the ocean, the wonders hidden within them,’ he met Nathaniel’s gaze. ‘I wrote about sea creatures, mythical ones, like you…’

A small grin played with the merman’s lips. ‘Yet I am the first merman you’ve ever met.’

‘Well, yes… I wanted to meet one, but… Couldn’t fully believe they existed… And now that my stories are stolen, I found you… Ironic, huh?’

‘Why are you giving up so easily?’

Marc blinked. ‘There is no hope for me. There’s no way for me to escape.’

‘Hm,’ Nathaniel answered, and Marc didn’t know what that meant, but he didn’t ask.

‘I should get going,’ the merman then said. ‘My father is waiting for me. I will be back tomorrow,’ he smiled. ‘Stay strong, Marc.’

He wanted to say something back, but Nathaniel had already vanished before he could.

***

‘I am a bit like you, actually,’ Nathaniel said the next time they met.

‘…what do you mean?’

‘I make stories, too. Only they’re about the surface. About the people living there,’ he smiled softly. ‘And I don’t write them, I draw pictures about the people, about the life I imagine.’

‘So, we both… dream about a world different than ours…’

‘That’s right. So since I’m from the world you are interested in, and you’re from the world I dream about, I think we should tell each other stories.’

Nathaniel’s eyes had seemed even brighter than usual as he had said those words, and small sparkles seemed to be shining within them. They were like the sunbeams falling down on the ocean through puffy clouds, making the waves appear golden. Marc wished he could look at them more closely, but that was nothing but a fantasy.

‘Let’s do that,’ he said instead, blushing slightly. ‘You start… okay?’

That was the start of the exchange of stories.

And that evening, Marc had grabbed his long-forgotten notebook from under the broken mattress of his tiny old bed. It was the only one he had left, and it was still empty of words. The only reason why they hadn’t taken it.

And he started writing.

The light in his heart was back.

***

A week passed.

It was an hour before dawn, usually they would already meet up by then, to watch the sunrise together. But today, Marc wasn’t sure if he should go out to see him. Because yesterday evening had been horrible. And it was visible.

His face was beaten up, swollen from the aggression he had received, bruised from the fists he had seen flying towards him. He looked awful.

Just in time, he had fled from the scene, where he had become a punching bag of frustration, since they had lost a fight against another pirate ship, and had been forced to give up the treasure they had battled for.

It had happened a few times before, so Marc almost couldn’t feel the pain anymore. But it had been worse than usual.

If he hadn’t escaped then-

And he wondered, a tiny voice in his head did-

That if he had never met Nathaniel-

Maybe-

Just maybe-

He wouldn’t have tried to get away-

Maybe, he would’ve just lain there, waiting until death would’ve arrived to pick him up-

But he had imagined his bright ocean eyes and-

He had wanted to live.

Marc sighed. The merman had saved his life.

But he-

He looked horrible.

He-

He couldn’t see him like this…

Still, his heart ached if he imagined him waiting outside forever, possibly too long, so long that the pirates would already show up, and they would capture him, torture him alive, sell him and exhibit him and-

No.

Marc pushed himself up, and went outside.

As he had imagined, Nathaniel was already there, and a smile brightened up his face as their eyes met, but immediately, his expression darkened. And he swam closer.

‘Marc-’

He lowered his eyes, leaned against the railing, his hands trembling slightly.

He wished he was stronger-

He wished he could fight back-

Run away from this prison-

‘What happened, Marc?’ his voice was soft. ‘What have they done to you?’

He looked up, and Nathaniel’s eyes looked so sad. It didn’t suit him.

‘I’m sorry… It… happens… They… like to take out their frustrations on me,’ he laughed a bit, but it wasn’t because something was funny. It was because he felt awkward, and weak, and stupid. And he didn’t know what else to do.

‘They’re monsters… Real monsters…’ Anger, fury, fire in his expression. ‘I… want you to get away from this ship, Marc…’

‘But how? There’s just no way…! I have already accepted my fate, Nathaniel, there’s nothing I can do…’

‘Have you really…? You want to live, right? You want to travel the world, isn’t it? You want to finish your book… Even if you have to start all over again. There’s nothing you can do by yourself, but maybe I can help you…’

No-

God, no-

It was too dangerous-

He couldn’t-

‘No! You shouldn’t even be here, it’s dangerous. Do you even know what will happen to you if they find you?’

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. ‘Yeah. They put me in a glass bowl full of nasty water and exhibit me to the world, and millions of humans will come to look and point at me. Like a prison, you know. Like, the way you are now, isn’t it?’

It took some time for Marc to process, and his mind was running in circles.

Because he was right, wasn’t he?

So if Nathaniel cared about him, just as he cared about Nathaniel, then…

Then it was only natural that he wanted to help him, right…?

He didn’t want Nathaniel to be caught and imprisoned.

So… it was normal that…

Nathaniel wanted to help him escape from hís prison… right…?

So he couldn’t answer.

Instead, he looked at him, and Nathaniel smiled softly.

‘Don’t worry, I won’t act recklessly. I’ll come up with a plan. Alright?’

Marc wasn’t sure.

He much rather wanted to stay imprisoned for the rest of his life than make Nathaniel risk his own, but…

He nodded anyway.

Because he wasn’t going to make the merman change his mind anytime soon.

Hopefully later.

***

‘After I help you escape, we should create a story together, don’t you think?’ Nathaniel said, half a week later, smiling brightly.

Marc’s wounds had almost healed, his bruises almost vanished. The anger of the pirates had slowly faded away. Since soon, they would reach land.

Which meant there was gold to be stolen, booze to be drunk, people to be robbed, ways to get rich again and forget all about the losses they had suffered earlier.

‘You want to make a story… with me?’

‘Of course! You can write, and I can draw, so we can combine our best skills to create an amazing story.’

Earlier, Nathaniel had brought his drawings to the surface. Most of them were carved into stone. When Marc had told him they used paper and pencils for drawing on the land, just like the way he wrote down his stories, Nathaniel’s eyes had brightened up again.

‘Then… we could only make that true when I actually.. you know… escape. And we have a secret place where we can meet…’

Nathaniel grinned. ‘I came up with a plan.’

Oh, no-

So soon?

He could just reject it, right?

Because he wasn’t ready-

He couldn’t sacrifice him.

Not even if there was a chance of success.

There was too much at stake.

‘You’re setting course for the land, right? And you’ll get there in about…?’

‘Three days, I think.’

‘Perfect. Then, in two days, when the beach is close enough, you’ll jump in the ocean and I’ll help you get to the land.’

Marc blinked.

That was way too reckless.

There was no way they would succeed.

He was good at swimming, but that far…?

Besides, that would mean Nathaniel would swim all the way to the beach and that-

That was more than a little dangerous.

‘You’re worried,’ Nathaniel observed.

‘Y-yes. I mean, there’s too much risk, there!’

‘Are you underestimating me?’ the merman frowned, and within his eyes, Marc could see that he was genuinely offended.

‘Well, you have no choice, if you don’t do it, I’m going to show myself to the pirates.’

‘W-what!’

‘It’s either both of us free, or both of us imprisoned. I’ll let you make the choice.’

And with that, Nathaniel left.

He didn’t show up the next day, nor the day after.

***

The pirates were having ‘dinner’ on the deck, which basically meant they were eating everywhere and nowhere, and mostly drinking booze to flush away the nasty food they cooked. Beside the fact that they hardly gave him any food, this was also the reason why Marc had lost a lot of weight in the months he had been enslaved by them.

He was cleaning the empty plates they threw on deck, running around to make sure he got to everyone just in time before they would get irritated and decided to hurt him.

Occasionally, Marc glanced at the horizon, where the land was already clearly visible.

He was feeling a bit nauseous, because he remembered Nathaniel’s words clearly, and he-

What if he-

Was going to be reckless-

He sighed, trying not to think about it, when suddenly, he saw silky red hair and ocean eyes reach the surface of the water, and he almost dropped his plate.

Nathaniel immediately spotted him and he nodded at him, then pointed at the land that was right there, too far for a human to swim, but no problem at all for a sea creature.

He reached out his hand. As if offering it to him.

But Marc took a step back.

Because-

Because no-

He couldn’t-

They’d notice-

For sure-

They’d go after them, use their small boats, drown and kill him, and then capture Nathaniel and sell him on the black market after harassing and humiliating him.

He couldn’t-

He couldn’t let that happen-

The risk was too high-

He glanced back at Nathaniel carefully, and the merman’s expression was far from pleased. He glared at him, and then, he was gone.

Marc’s heart stopped.

Maybe he gave up, maybe maybe maybe-

Please-

But he knew the merman wasn’t like that, he knew all too well.

And he was right.

Because not even a minute later, when he was back at the place where the pirates were gathered, Nathaniel reappeared in the water, sticking his tail out, swimming carefree.

God-

His heart pounded against his chest painfully and he had to do something-

Had to-

Too late-

‘Oi! Wuzzat? Mermaid?’

Some pirates laughed.

‘Yeah, right, you’re drunk as a skunk, man.’

‘No, look, I’m telling you!’ the first pirate stood up, stumbled on his feet and leaned against the railing. So far, that for a  moment, Marc was afraid he would fall in the water.

‘There she is!’

The other pirates looked, and so did Marc.

Nathaniel smiled sweetly, and waved.

Marc groaned. He was terrible.

‘Fuck! It is a mermaid! Go catch it! Jackpot, man!’

‘You catch it!’

‘Jump in!’

‘Pffffft, no way man, what if it’s a siren, it’ll drown and eat me.’

More laughter.

‘Okay, seriously though, catch it. It’s worth money.’

Marc breathed.

And took a step forward.

‘I’ll catch it.’

Silence. And about twenty pairs of eyes staring at him. They were burning holes in him. But they couldn’t hurt him. He was going to escape. He had to trust Nathaniel.

So he took some more steps forward, his head held high.

Then, laughter.

‘Whew, you finally ready to die, shrimp?’

‘Giving up your life?’

‘That’s a wise choice for once, mate.’

More laughter.

The captain came walking towards him, however, until he was only inches away from him.

Marc had to move his chin up to be able to look him in the eye.

‘You’re going to jump in there by yourself and catch it, and we’ll pull you up once you have it. If you fail, well,’ the captain smirked. ‘Then you’re for the sharks.’

Laughter.

Marc’s head was spinning.

Trust him.

‘Regretting your big mouth already? Too bad, you don’t have a choice anymore. Jump in there. Now.’

Marc breathed.

Around him, they began chanting.

‘Jump, jump, jump, jump.’

They were stamping their feet on the ground in time with their yelling, and anxiousness grabbed him by the throat, making it hard to breath. But he walked. One foot in front of the other, staring right in front of him instead of at the faces judging and watching him.

The ocean seemed so, so far away.

But at last-

He was there.

He tried not to look down as he climbed over the railing.

Tried not to listen to the yelling behind him.

The only thing he thought of were Nathaniel’s ocean blue eyes.

Trust him.

And he would.

He jumped.

The sensation was a strange one; it felt as if he was falling forever, but then suddenly, he reached the water, way too soon, and he quickly closed his eyes as the cold water embraced him.

And then, two soft arms.

He looked up, and stared right into those beautiful eyes.

Nathaniel smiled at him and Marc’s eyes widened.

He couldn’t stop staring.

He was right-

Right in front of him-

Only inches apart-

Up close, his eyes were even more enchanting-

Nathaniel leaned closer and whispered in his ear. ‘Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Trust me.’

Marc was unsure what he meant, but he trusted him. So he followed his instructions.

The arms wrapped around him tightened and before he could register what happened, they were underwater. Moving downwards at an inhuman speed.

What-

What was happening-

Was he-

Did he-

Betray… him?

Was he going to die?

Were sirens real after all?

Had he-

Fallen prey-

Ah-

Lightheaded-

Little stars on his vision-

No sound-

Just blue, ocean blue eyes-

The only thing that mattered-

And then-

Two hands on his cheeks-

Soft lips on his-

And the air was back.

The stars were gone.

He carefully opened his eyes.

And coughed.

Some water exited his mouth and he blinked, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

The surface under his hands was warm, and a little rough. He looked down, and he seemed to be lying on some rocks. In front of him, the sun was setting in the ocean. It was a beautiful red, and orange, yellow, and purple, some hints of blue.

Enchanting.

Wait-

Where-

He quickly searched, but the merman seemed to be nowhere.

What… happened…?

Flashes came back to him, Nathaniel showing himself to the pirates, him offering to catch him, walking to the edge of the ship, and then- then-

He’d jumped down and-

Nathaniel had pushed him underwater.

But now…

He was on the surface.

When he turned around, he could see a village in the distance, belonging to the land that they were setting course to earlier.

The merman had brought him here.

He had saved him after all.

He…

He was free…

‘Looking for me?’

Marc almost lost his balance, and quickly turned his head in the direction of the voice.

There he was.

Looking at him, a small smile around his lips, as he was leaning with his arms on some lower rocks, letting his tail move in and out of the water.

‘N-Nathaniel…’

‘Marc.’

His eyes sparkled, and Marc-

He needed to get closer.

Now that he finally, finally could.

He wanted to take a closer look at him.

So he moved down a little, until he was kneeled down on the rock the merman was leaning on.

‘You… you saved me…’

‘I told you to trust me, and you did.’

‘T-thank you…’

Nathaniel shook his head. ‘You needed to be free. Besides, I want to create a story with you. You can’t do that when your imprisoned on that terrible ship.’

‘Did you… try to make it look like you killed me…?’

He nodded. ‘It was the easiest way to get rid of them immediately. It only means you need to lay low for a few days, until they have set sail again. So they don’t spot you.’

‘I… don’t know how to thank you…’

His smile widened. ‘Like I said, create a story with me. Although…’

‘Although?’

There was a slight hint of a blush on his cheeks, and Marc was mesmerized. ‘Although a kiss would be nice, too, I guess…’

‘A k-kiss?’

His mind was spinning.

How could-

Someone as beautiful-

Enchanting-

As him-

Want to-

‘Unless you don’t want to, of course.’

For the first time ever, Marc stopped thinking, and just acted.

He leaned in, cupping Nathaniel’s cheek with his hand, caressing softly.

And kissed him.

***

Months passed, during which Marc saw his merman almost every day. He had almost finished his story, and Nathaniel had been drawing many scenes to accompany them.

But Marc-

He wanted to go home.

He had written his parents immediately, and they had been delighted to finally hear from him. But after these adventures, he needed to see them. Take a break. Rest.

Only he didn’t want to leave Nathaniel. His heart ached just thinking about it.

He was sitting on the beach, thinking about his choices, watching the sunset with a sigh.

Then, in the distance, he saw a figure slowly walking up to him.

He frowned, squinting his eyes until he saw the person almost trip.

Immediately, he jumped up and ran to support them.

On the way, his heart skipped several beats, but only when he was by his side, preventing him from falling by putting his arms around him, he fully noticed.

‘N-Nathaniel…’ he breathed. ‘What-’

Nathaniel looked up at him, his legs trembling slightly, and he grinned.

‘Hey there, Marc.’

‘What did you do-’

‘I abandoned my tail.’

‘I can see that, but-’

‘I know you want to go home. And like that, with that… tail… I can’t go with you. Like this, I can… And besides…’ He scratched his head a bit. ‘I’ve… always wanted to live on the surface, anyways… And now I can become a proper illustrator, too… I couldn’t see any bad consequences, Marc.’ He smiled softly. ‘So I’m coming with you. On the condition that you properly introduce me to your parents as your boyfriend. And take me to see the world, after you’ve rested. Oh, and teach me walking, please, this is kind of hard…’

Marc just hugged him tightly, and some tears fell down.

But it didn’t matter, since they were tears of happiness.

[protectchatnoir]

tagged by @findmeinthevoid like a week ago i forgot fksjdksjdja

Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you, or interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

oh boy here we go!

• made of light, lost in darkness

• 1800-MEME-TEAM

• snapbacks and backpacks

• surprises

• think fast, think again

• a tribute to the (mostly) deceased

• we're all dead here

• i see right through you

• welcome to earth

• shine bright like a

• cats with violet eyes

• (0023) heyyyuuuyy did dy8ou get home okay

• literally every nathmarc november fic except the first 2 days

• the butterfly society

• lukadrien june (except it's october

• now cuz i forgot)

• a slight complication

• one new message

• spellbooks and black cats

• the miraculous place (???)

• he was moving in something like the opposite direction

• seven semi-wishes

• experiment fifty six

• SHE-RA FIC THINGY???

OOF that's a lot! oh dear

tbh i was expecting more tho?? like this is actually kinda reassuring djdjdkdjskdj???

anyways i'm gonna tag 👀 @renarrouge @megatraven @snekwami @3laxx

if i didn't tag u tho plz do it anyway i'm just tagging all of u ok if ur reading this u have been Tagged

[sunshinetrappedinourhearts]

Nathmarc month day 18: Art gallery

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16491026/chapters/39076621 Yeah, okay, so yesterday I was talking about how my fics are either 800 or 1800 words and this is another long one. xD (Also will I ever actually finish a fic before midnight? Probably not. Oh well. 8D) @nathmarcnovember

It was crowded at the Louvre today. At times, Nathaniel had to grab Marc’s hand in order to not lose him. Not that he disliked the feeling of his soft hand, warm and safe in his. Marc didn’t seem to mind either, as he smiled a bit shyly at him, his cheeks slightly pink.

The crowd was annoying, though. It was the first time they had gone to the art gallery together, but there were more people around than Nathaniel had ever seen. Beside actual interested visitors like them, and tourists of course, there also seemed to be a lot of school trips mingled in the chaos. Laughter and casual talk were dominating the silence. Irritated, he wondered if those kids had never had a proper education in which they had learned museums were supposed to be quiet places.

Sighing, he hold onto Marc’s hand as he tried leading him to one of his favorite sections. In the process, a girl probably a few years older than them bumped hard into him with her shoulder, and he lost his grip on the writer boy. Alarmed, he looked around to find him, but instead found the girl screaming at him.

‘Geez, can’t you like, look where you’re walking? Hello! I’m talking to you!’

Nathaniel lowered his gaze. ‘S-sorry.’ He then quickly turned around and Marc was already back to his side, his bright green eyes relaxing.

‘It’s too busy today…’ he mentioned, sighing softly.

‘Yeah, I know… We should have come some other day. I never thought there’d be so many school trips here today…’

They had been free from school early today, which is why they had planned to go today.

Marc shrugged, smiling a bit. ‘We couldn’t have known… Maybe the section you wanted to show me is a bit less crowded...?’

His smile was adorable, and Nathaniel felt his irritation soften a bit.

‘You’re right. I hope so.’

Fate decided otherwise. From out of nowhere, a large group of people came running towards them, a few of them yelling to get out of the way. Nathaniel quickly got to the side, pulling Marc with him.

‘What’s going on…?’ His heart felt heavy, beating painfully loud as he let his eyes shift over the hall, searching for whatever was the cause of the chaos.

A fire?

Shooting?

Or… an akuma?

‘Nathaniel?’ Marc’s voice sound a little worried and he turned to look at him, then noticed he was squeezing his hand. He quickly loosened the grip, but he didn’t want to let go of him.

If I let go now… maybe I’ll lose him.

The weird thought settled in his mind and he breathed.

‘Sorry. Did I hurt you?’ he turned to him, smiling a bit awkwardly.

Marc shook his head, then turned his attention back to the crowd of people running away from their direction, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.

‘What… could have happened…?’

Nathaniel shook his head. ‘I don’t know, but we better get out of here as well. Don’t- uhm, l-let go, okay?’ He averted his gaze, biting his lip as he felt his cheeks darken a bit.

Marc squeezed his hand. ‘I won’t.’

They followed the people quickly. Behind them, a voice arose.

‘I won’t let anyone disturb this museum anymore! Get out of here you barbarians! I’ll turn you all into paintings!’

Nathaniel tightened his grip on Marc’s hand, increasing his pace. His heart was pounding loudly against his chest.

Akuma.

It’s an akuma after all.

Get away…!

Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here soon-

Just gotta run!

Fast!

‘Nathaniel!’

Marc pointed behind them, and just for a second, Nathaniel looked over his shoulder to see what he meant.

People were disappearing, and there were paintings on the floor everywhere.

Actually, Nathaniel could swear one of the paintings looked just like the girl that had bumped into him earlier, and her face looked terrified.

Oh, no…

Could this mean-

A loud laugh then echoed through the hallway, and behind them a man appeared, who was dressed in white clothing, but they were full of splashes paint in a huge variety of colors. His face was covered with them as well. He was wearing a headset.

‘If you won’t listen to my explanations I might as well just turn you all into paintings instead!’

Exactly as he’d been afraid of.

The man tapped on his headset, and as if sending a sound wave, he aimed at the person just behind them.

Within seconds, the boy vanished, and a painting appeared.

Nathaniel’s eyes widened.

The akumatized tour guide picked up the painting, laughing as he put it up on the wall, next to one of the classics in this section of the Louvre.

Ladybug, please…

Hurry up…!

He squeezed his eyes shut as he ran, focussing on the warmth of Marc’s hand in his.

Then, suddenly, it was gone.

Nathaniel froze in his steps.

Looked beside him.

Marc was gone.

Instead, there was a painting on the floor.

He didn’t want to look.

Couldn’t look.

He was too afraid to face the truth.

Everything went silent to him, but he felt his vocal cords protest- he was probably screaming, although he heard nothing.

The painting was in his arms, although he couldn’t remember picking it up.

He still didn’t look.

Couldn’t.

But he knew what he would see up there.

He turned around, the akumatized tour guide was walking towards him and he backed away, slowly, step by step.

His heart pounding loudly, feeling lightheaded as his arms trembled.

The eyes of the tour guide were piercing.

‘B-bring him back!’ The words were there, suddenly. Nathaniel wasn’t even sure if he had said them out loud.

Probably, because the guide laughed. ‘No can do! It’s your fault for disturbing the peace!’

‘We didn’t disturb the peace!’ he felt a spark of anger then, because that- That was unfair.

‘Marc and I never did! Those kids did! We just came here to see the paintings! Please!’

‘Yeah, right. You children are all the same. Short attention spans, no freaking appreciation for art, just focused on your stupid talking, stupid phones and stupid loud music! Get out of my museum!’

‘I am an artist myself!’

‘That, he is.’

Nathaniel blinked, and within seconds, a familiar figure appeared, jumping between him and the akuma, as graceful as ever.

Upon seeing the always reliable red-and-black, Nathaniel, finally, breathed, hugging the painting against his chest.

‘Ladybug-’ he said.

She looked at him over her shoulder, winking. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll handle this! I mean, me for now, but I’m sure the cat will show up soon!’ She smiled, and Nathaniel just knew everything would be fine.

‘Go hide somewhere safe, Nathaniel!’

‘Ah, he- Marc-’

‘He got turned into a painting, didn’t he?’

Nathaniel hugged the painting closer, a wave of discomfort spreading through his chest. He felt nauseous.

‘Keep the painting with you and get away from here, Nathaniel. Once we defeat the akuma and I use my miraculous, everything will turn back to normal, and he’ll be with you again. Don’t worry.’

Ladybug took out her yoyo, getting ready to attack the akumatized guide.

‘Tch! You’re always disturbing my museum as well, Ladybug! I’ll turn you into a painting!’ The man readied his headset, and Ladybug elegantly dodged the sound wave.

‘No thank you, I prefer staying real!’ she said, turning back again, locking her eyes with Nathaniel’s.

He blinked, a little startled. ‘Nathaniel! Quick!’

Right-

There was no use standing around, he was no superhero like his comic counterpart. He was just a teenage boy, and his most important friend, his- his writer, his-

Marc-

He got turned into a painting by an akuma.

He had to keep him safe.

Ladybug and Chat Noir would handle the rest.

Nathaniel nodded at Ladybug. ‘Be careful…!’

And he ran.

The only thing he know was putting one foot in front of the other, and holding the painting close to him with all he had.

He didn’t hear the akumatized guide anymore, so he figured he was fighting Ladybug.

Ladybug… She would handle this, wouldn’t she?

Marc would be just fine… wouldn’t he?

In a few moments, he would be there again, so he’d be able to look at his radiant apple green eyes, see that smile accompanied by a slight hint of pink on his cheeks. He’d be able to touch his hand again, intertwine his fingers with his own, soft and safe.

Nathaniel’s heart hurt.

Please, Ladybug…

I’m… counting on you…

He ran and ran, until he entered a section, which was his favorite one, the one he and Marc had been on their way too. It was quiet there, no people, no chaos, no akuma’s.

He stopped running, his throat burning and his lungs aching. Exhausted, he sat down on one of the benches, never letting go of the painting.

And waited.

Waited.

Waited more.

He closed his eyes, thinking of Marc.

He should… tell him… When everything was back to normal. He should…

Slowly, he drifted away as fatigue took a hold of him.

***

A soft hand on his cheek, and he was wide awake, eyes open immediately as he braced himself.

Marc-

The akuma-

Painting-

Where-

He blinked, and apple green eyes were right in front of him, staring into his slightly worried, but then they softened.

‘Nathaniel. What-’

Marc-

Nathaniel had no idea what had just happened, he only knew that he had suddenly wrapped Marc into a tight embrace, and that he was really warm and smelled like home and that he never ever wanted to let go.

Two hands on his back, and Nathaniel knew that the other boy was hugging him back.

He closed his eyes, ignoring the few stray tears that were falling down. He blinked them away quickly before he pulled away from him to look at him.

And breathed.

Marc spoke first. ‘Oh, we’re in the right section now, aren’t we?’

Nathaniel furrowed his eyebrows, then he understood, and he couldn’t help but grin. ‘Well, yeah. A lot happened but yes, uh, I actually got us here. And look, it’s just us here, peace and quiet. We have all the time to look around.’

Marc smiled. ‘I got turned into a painting, didn’t I?’

Nathaniel scratched his head. ‘Kinda, yeah. Wasn’t a lot of fun. I imagined our date a bit differently.’

Oh, whoops-

Had he just-

Betrayed himself?

As he carefully watched Marc’s reaction after his slight mess-up, he decided that it didn’t matter. Because the writer boy was blushing a bright shade of pink, and it was even more adorable than usual.

‘D-date?’

‘Well, if you… don’t mind thinking of it like that,’ Nathaniel said, scratching his head a bit, feeling the blood rise to his own cheeks.

Marc looked at him carefully. ‘I don’t mind.’

Nathaniel smiled. ‘Good.’

‘Then… let’s look around…?’

‘Let’s. Ah, let’s… have some dinner afterwards too, if you have time?’

‘S-sure.’

His stomach felt weird and fluttery, like little sparks of energy were spinning through it, and absently, Nathaniel wondered if this was what people meant by feeling butterflies.

He got up, holding out his hand, and Marc took it.

[sunshinetrappedinourhearts]

Nathmarc month day 11: “I love you.”

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16491026/chapters/38920409#workskin Whoooooop, I’m still behind one day, but hey, at least I’m still writing. :D  I hope to write two stories on one day soon, but I’m not sure if that’ll work out. If not, I’ll just finish one day late, lol.  I’m quite satistfied with this one. It practically wrote itself, since I planned something entirely different but suddenly this happened, gdi Marc. (Or Nath, tbh not sure whose fault it is. xD) @nathmarcnovember

The mountain of envelopes was staring at him, begging him to send them, finally letting them fulfil their long-awaited purpose. There were at least twenty of them. And the collection was still growing. Marc blamed his head full of words, his heart full of feelings he was unable to convey. If only he’d be able to hand them to the person whom they were addressed to…  He sighed and once again put the envelopes away, preparing to leave to meet up with Nathaniel.

They had agreed to meet at one of their usual spots along the Seine, it was a quiet spot, and comfortable to work during the summer. Hugging his notebook, Marc walked on the riverbanks, and his body felt a bit numb, small electric sparks teasing his arms and legs as he moved himself forward.

His mind was filled with his soft smile and the way his ocean eyes lighted up whenever he spoke about something he loved,  the way he hid them behind his bangs whenever he was shy, the way tiny glitters danced within them when he was drawing.

Marc wanted to tell him, he needed to say to him those three little words full of meaning, because he deserved them more than anyone in the world.

But.

What if he would hate it?

What if he frowned in disgust, what if he laughed and walked away, what if the light disappeared from his eyes of disbelief and anger.

What if he could never ever see him again because of those three words?

The sparks sank to his legs and he pushed them forward with difficulty, sighing as he felt his hopes leave him once again.

He couldn’t say it. He could never.

There was too much at risk.

‘Hey, Marc.’

The voice awoke him and he looked up only to see those ocean eyes he found so beautiful.

The sparks came back and he smiled. ‘Nathaniel.’

The artist boy smiled back at him. ‘You were lost in thought, huh? I saw you walking but you didn’t notice me at all. I guess that means you got ideas for our next chapter?’ He grinned at him, and they walked a little further until they reached the bench they always used.

Nathaniel sat down, taking out his sketchbook. Marc joined him.

‘Always,’ he said, opening his notebook, but a single paper flew away, blown away by the wind. At first, Marc was confused, until Nathaniel caught it, faster than him.

Flashes of memories came back to him, writing another poem, but forgetting to put it in an envelope far away from his favourite notebook.

Oh dear god, no, it was too soon, too-

Marc quickly grabbed the paper, and Nathaniel looked at him, blinking as he still hold onto it.

‘Marc…?”

The sparks were everywhere, his stomach, his hands as they trembled and his cheeks as they flushed red. He couldn’t look him in the eye.

‘Ah, erm…’

‘If you don’t want me to read it, that’s alright, you know,’ Nathaniel let go of the paper, pushing it into his hands. ‘Everyone has secrets. There are… also some drawings I… can’t show you.’

Those words confused Marc and it was too tempting to try and read his expression, so he looked up to try. But it was hard. Nathaniel smiled a bit, but his eyes were half hidden behind his hair, and he was scratching his face a little awkwardly. Marc found it… cute…

‘Well, uhm, let’s… trade then?’ The words were gone before he could consider them and calculate all the possible consequences, and he bit his lip as a thousand worst case scenarios ran through his mind.

Bad idea. Very, very bad idea. Nathaniel was probably talking about drawings he was insecure about, thinking Marc had something similar. But if he agreed and read the poem then-

‘Ah, I mean, uhm, forget that I don’t want to push you, haha, let’s uhm, carry on and discuss the new chapter, shall we? I have some ideas we can use about-’

‘Sure.’

Marc stopped talking. Breathed. The look in Nathaniel’s eyes was calm, yet determined, gentle yet serious. He had trouble averting his gaze.

Nathaniel smiled. ‘I’ll show you one of the drawings if you let me read the paper. It’s a fair trade, no? Besides, I trust you, and you trust me, right?’

Marc was frozen. The sunlight glittering down on Nathaniel’s face as he spoke was a bit enchanting, causing shimmers of light on his hair and cheeks. It made his eyes even more bright ocean blue than he remembered.

He didn’t know how to say no, so he nodded, even though every single sense of foreboding screamed at him from the inside of his mind, begging him to stop this nonsense.

But his body moved at his own as he handed the piece of paper to Nathaniel, who took it from him, but didn’t read yet.

‘Alright, I’ll turn around, okay?’ He handed him his sketchbook, his finger on a certain page. ‘It’s this page. Don’t look until you’ve turned around as well, okay? We’ll give it back to each other after five minutes. If that’s enough time for me to read. D-don’t say anything before that.’

He was fumbling with his hair, and Marc found it adorable. He nodded. ‘O-okay.’

He took the sketchbook from him, and took a deep breath, turning his back to him. Electric sparks back as they glided through his limbs.

Nathaniel would realize. He wasn’t stupid. Had never been stupid.

There was no way back now.

He just hoped the artist would believe him… and take him seriously…

He sighed. He just had to trust him. They knew each other for two years now. Nathaniel knew Marc would never make fun of him.

He absently let his index finger go over the side of Nathaniel’s sketchbook. How would he react…? He shouldn’t have done this, he shouldn’t have… It was a bad, bad idea and maybe this was just a bad dream and he needed to wake up and-

He closed his eyes. Opened them. Nothing.

Marc sighed and opened the sketchbook on the page the artist had marked.

And he blinked.

He couldn’t understand the green eyes that looked into his from the page, not the messy almost-black hair, not the slight hint of pink colouring the cheeks, nor the hands covered by fingerless gloves, one of them resting under the chin of the person Nathaniel had drawn.

This…

It…

Huh?

No matter how long he stared, and how many times he blinked, there seemed to be no doubt.

He was looking at himself.

‘Ah, Marc? I finished reading… You can… turn around now…’

Oh, no. He had almost forgotten. Nathaniel had read the poem. About ocean eyes and silky red hair, about elegant fingers making brushes and pencils dance and creating the most beautiful of scenes. About carefree, gentle smiles and a warm hand in his and how he wished to feel that warmth more often. About how he wished to see more and more of the small lights within his eyes and desired them to be looking at him the same way he looked at them.

He wanted to run and disappear and turn back time right there. But…

‘…Marc?’

He hadn’t noticed he’d turn around but with his eyes squeezed closed.

Carefully, little by little, he opened them, the sparks all gathering at the area where his heart was, forcing it to beat louder and louder as they caused the blood to rise to his cheeks.

Nathaniel was looking at him, a slight blush on his face as he hold the piece of paper tightly.

Marc stared back, unable to move, unable to speak, frozen solid.

The silent seconds seemed to pass at hours between them, and they finally spoke, both of them at the same time.

‘I-’

‘I-’

Marc blinked, Nathaniel did too, but he chuckled softly right after. It made Marc smile, the sparks in his chest calming down a little.

‘You go first,’ he said, fumbling with the strings of his hoodie as the tiny smile was still teasing his lips.

‘No way, you go,’ Nathaniel grinned.

Marc breathed. ‘I… I…’ He tried, but the words stuck. ‘Ugh. I… It… Ngh…’

Nathaniel just waited, smiling gently.

Marc closed his eyes. Exhaled. Opened them again. ‘I love you.’

He blinked, unsure whether he had really spoken the words out loud or if he had imagined them. To confirm, he glanced at the artist boy carefully.

His cheeks reddened and he was avoiding his gaze a little.

Oh.

Oh, great.

He had said them.

What would happen, would he yell, would he run, would he hate, would he disappear would he-

Nathaniel suddenly looked right into his eyes, and his heart skipped a beat.

‘I love you, too, Marc.’

He smiled. ‘Guess it made sense, huh?’ He pointed at his drawing, grinning.

Marc didn’t understand what was happening, and it felt like he was dreaming and watching himself as he answered. ‘W-well, for me, too, r-right?’ he nodded at the piece of paper Nathaniel was still holding.

Nathaniel moved a little closer to him. ‘Y-yeah. I… suspected it a little, but I was… too scared to believe…’

Marc moved a little closer as well, their legs touching slightly. ‘I couldn’t tell you… I was scared as well…’

Nathaniel smiled, reaching out, and Marc felt like he was on fire when his fingers softly touched his face.  ‘Marc… Can I… kiss you?’

Marc nodded and closed his eyes.

[shiniyi-writes]

NathMarc November Day 10: Medieval AU

Hello guys ~

Here is my Story for Day 10 of @nathmarcnovember. It was a bit difficult, but I hope you guys like it anyway.

Enjoy :3

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

“Marc!”, the abbot called for the young monk in training. “Yes, abbot, how can I help you?”, the young boy asked him as he walked towards the older man. The abbot was holding up scroll as he looked at his apprentice. “This is the certificate of debt with the amount of money the church ows Pierre the sculptor”, the abbot told him, “I want you to bring it to Nathaniel the banker, so he can pay it out to Pierre.” Without hesitation, Marc nodded and took the scroll. “I will be back in an instant”, he promised the abbot before he turned around to go.

He left the monastery to get to the inner city. Many people gathered around on the market place, where merchants tried to sell their goods by calling out what they sell and what it costed.

At a glaziers stand, Marc could see his appearance in a glassy vase. His robe was already very old, so it looked a bit worn out and his black hair was pretty long and messy. He took a strand of his hair. One day he will end his training and had to shave it, like all the other monks. Marc got a little sad when he thought about it, because his hair was the only thing that reminded him of his dear mother, who risked her life by escaping her manorial lord and brought Marc to the monastery, so he would have a better life one day.

“Young man, I see you’re interested in this beautiful vase”, the merchant suddenly spoke to Marc, what startelled him a bit. “Yes, ehm… I mean no… not that it isn't beautiful, ehm…. Sorry, I have to go”, he stuttered before he ran away, blushing out of embarrassment.

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

A few minutes later, he reached Nathaniels parlour, where already many people were waiting in a queue. Marc knew some faces from church, also the one of the young woman right in front of him.

“Good Morning, Lady Marinette”, he greeted the girl. “Oh, good morning Marc”, she greeted back, smiling, “Are you on duty again?” “Yes”, Marc answered, “We have much work to do.” “I believe you”, she said, “Since the wars in the northern towns, many people are worried of their families and wanted to write letters to them and the monks are the only one to read and write, beside the king and his son.”

Marinette had a slight blush when she mentioned the prince. It was understandable, prince Adrien was good looking and really kind towards his inferiors, so it was no wonder that also Marinette, who worked as a maid in the castle, also fell for him.

Marc wanted to talk more to Marinette, but the doors to the parlour suddenly opened and people flowed inside, while the bells of the church clanged. “On time, like always”, Marinette said while walking inside followed by Marc.

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

A few minutes later, most of the people were gone already and Marc could see the young banker, sitting on a small desk and sorting some papers. Marinette stepped up to him, smiling.

“Good Morning, Nathaniel”, she greeted him. Nathaniel startled and looked up to her. “Good Morning, Lady Marinette… how can I help you?”, he asked her in a shy and quiet voice.

Marc didn't know what it was, but everytime Nathaniel and Marinette were talking to each other, he suddenly felt anger towards the girl. Sure, she was really nice and Marc liked to talk to her, but in moments like this, he just wished for her to go away.

“Mother sent me to buy some things at the market, but I need money for that”, she explained, while handing Nathaniel a piece of paper. “That's my loan from the banquet I served yesterday, can you pay me out?”, she asked. Nathaniel nodded and took out a small bag. He tipped out the content, which consist of golden coins, counted some of them and reached them towards Marinette. “There you go”, he said to the still smiling girl. “Thank you”, she said while turning around to leave, “Have a nice day.”

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

Now Marc stepped up to the banker, which welcomed him with a warm smile. “Nice to see you again”, he said. “Yes… nice to see you again, too”, he said a bit shy, funnily enough as always when he talked to Nathaniel.

“So, how can I help you?”, Nathaniel asked him. “Ah, yes”, Marc said while giving Nathaniel the scroll he was holding, “This is certificate of debt for Pierre the sculptor, he will come this afternoon to get his money.” “Ah yes, Pierre”, Nathaniel said in a sarcastic while rolling his eyes, “Will be funny to get mocked by him again.”

“I'm sorry…”, Marc apologized, but Nathaniel shook his head. “Don't be”, he said, “You are just doing your duty and besides, I'm thankful that you are warning me.” Marc had to laugh a bit when he heard this.

“Hey”, Nathaniel started, “Do you have a little more time? I want to show you my last works.” “Aren't you busy?”, Marc asked as he looked around to see that no one was behind him. “The most people will come after the market to get their certifications of debt paid out”, Nathaniel explained, “Only Lady Marinette doesn't like to pay with this papers, so she comes here before to get money.”

Marc hesitated a bit, but then nodded. “But I haven't much time”, he said, “I told the abbot I will be back soon.” Nathaniel nodded while signalizing Marc with one hand to sit down, then he reached under his table, to take out some pergaments and reached them to Marc.

Marc was messmerized when he saw the beautiful ink paintings Nathaniel made. The banker once told him he wanted to become a painter or a sculptor when he was a kid, but unfortunately he wasn't able to, only because he is jewish and jewish people were only allowed to work as bankers. So, now he works as a banker and only painted in his free time.

It was very unfair, Marc thought. Nathaniel had such a great potential, he was sure people would like it if they just would give him a chance.

“They are really amazing”, Marc said while flipping through the pages. “Thank you”, Nathaniel said, “That's really nice of you to say.

Marc couldn't let his eyes off of the paintings, they showed different people he also knew. He saw one of Lady Marinette, one of Lady Alya, one of Sir Nino and… also one of him…. and another one of him… and another one of him.

Marcs heart suddenly started pounding strongly against his chest. He asked himself why there were so many pictures of him and looked at the banker, only to see him smiling.

“I don't know why, but for some reason I always have to think about you whenever I paint”, he explained, “You are the first person I trust when it comes to my passion, because I know you would never judge me because of it and that makes me very happy.”

Marc suddenly felt his blood rushing through his veins and his body started to shake. It was just like the other times when he saw him and he asked himself what this feeling could be… but somehow he never found an answer, neither in his head nor in one of the books the monastery held.

Slowly, Marc stood up and gave the paintings back to the banker. “They are really beautiful, thank you for showing me”, he said.

A few seconds they just looked in each others eyes. Marc noticed just now that Nathaniels eyes had a really majestic shimmering blue. They were beautiful… and he was beautiful, too.

After a while they noticed how they looked on each other and turned their heads away out of embarrassment, their faces crimson red. “Well”, Marc said, “I-I have to go, or else the abbot will get mad.” Nathaniel nodded. “W-Would be nice to see you again the next days”, he answered and waved him goodbye.

Marc rushed over the market place, back to the monastery. On his way, he passed the stand of the glazier again and saw his reflection in his goods. He saw his red face and noticed that his heart was still beating fast. He really didn't know what this feeling was. It scared him… but at the same time it felt so good.