#so happy with the footage that i don't care about the blur at the start of the first clip

[copia]

Papa Emeritus IV in Rite Here Rite Now: Sneak Preview — "It's the smell of the burning temples, swept away by rhyme..."

[eggonthemoon]

Alien Stage Round 6 Character Analysis and Lyrics Breakdown

Okay so obviously spoilers, don't click Keep Reading if you haven't watched Round 6.

God fuck it's so fucking beautiful, where do I start?

I don't even know what is going on with those rapid shots of what I assume is some form of experiment that Till was involved in. I have no clue what the goal was or if it succeeded but somehow (for no real reason other than that one image of Luka standing behind Till ominously) I feel that Luka is involved with it.

Was this an attempt by Heperu's (Luka's guardian) rival to make a human capable of going up against Luka? Till being the youngest and Luka being the oldest also means that Till's guardian could have caught on to what Heperu was planning to do with Luka and then start experimenting on humans shortly after and it would still somewhat line up with the timeline.

But I'm getting into conspiracy territory, back to suffering!!

Allow me, to the tips of your fingers

Allow me, to the ends of your feet

Dissolve me in your gaze

I don't want to let you go

Oh this hurts. Seeing him look so defeated and exhausted, you can tell that even though to the public it's not certain whether Mizi died or not it doesn't matter to him. Because she's still gone away from his world, where he is unable to reach her. He wants to dissolve and die but he also doesn't want to let her go if there is even a sliver of hope that she lives.

Please, leave me scars

Please, hurt me so that

Not a single drop of me remains

Let me drown in you

The footage that plays to these lyrics really show how defeated he is. He refuses to sing, his passion for the art completely dead and buried. And (his guardian I assume) when someone shoves the fact that Mizi is gone in his face he lashes out and punches one of the aliens near him.

Until these falling stars

Are buried in the blur of time

However his heart isn't entirely in it and is quickly apprehended.

He is beyond exhausted and doesn't even protest or put up a fight while (the same alien he punched btw) another alien runs their fingers through his hair.

On your icy lips

Read my soul

Yes, my soul

He hopes that even if Mizi is dead that her spirit watches over him, seeing his soul and by extension, Him, for all that he is. Every thought and breath until he falls asleep is for Mizi.

But didn't we already know this is how he'd be like? Time for something juicier~

Even if your cold words

Carve scars beneath my eyes

May they linger on your tongue

You can break me apart

God this is heart shattering. Even if Till doesn't care for him, even if Till throws hurtful words his way, Ivan will still lie awake at night, cherishing what sliver of attention he is given. It doesn't matter if Till hates him, because as long as he is on Till's mind Ivan is happy. He is entirely in Till's hands, capable of being build up or torn down depending on how much (or how little) he is perceived by him.

Notice my pain

And mend me right now

To quiet my fears

I'll drown in you

He wants so deeply to be seen by Till, noticed. Till who doesn't let anything hold him down and always picks himself back up became a pillar of hope and strength to Ivan. It didn't matter how or in what context he gets to be seen, so he went out of his way to provoke him just to get Till to look at him even for a moment.

This was mentioned a while back on VIVINOS Patreon but the entire incident where Mizi and Till got attacked by that hound monster was orchestrated by him. I feel like there is two possible reasons for this depending on when in the timeline this takes place.

Either he wanted to test Till's resolve in hopes of being proven wrong about his courage (after all your hopes can't be dashed on the rocks, if you never had hopes to begin with) only for his obsession to end up growing even stronger than before.

Or he tried to let Till get roughed up enough that he'd be transferred (solitary confinement? emergency room?) somewhere else away from the others at Anakt, so they could escape together.

But we all know how that turned out.

Either way what Ivan wants isn't freedom, he's long since given up on that. There's no point in his freedom if the person that inspired him to yearn for it isn't by his side. He needs Till there, his very presence to reassure him that no matter what Till won't falter. But he failed to take account of the one thing that weakens Till's resolve.

Mizi.

Mizi is to Till what Till is to Ivan. And so without Mizi in his world Till crumbles. Since Till will only go where Mizi is and Mizi already gave away her heart to someone else, it's impossible for Ivan to be free while keeping Till in his world.

And so he follows him, resigning himself to a life without freedom.

Sick of these nights to come

To be engulfed in silence

But the distance between them is killing him, and each and every day they come closer to their inevitable doom.

It doesn't matter if they believe the lie the aliens told them, that if they die singing they will be blessed. Because what is the point in that? How can going somewhere far away from the people they love be a blessing?

In your gaze where I am seen

Consume me

Yes, me

His desires mirror Till's. He wants his soul to be seen by him, recognized for his undying love for him. He wants Till to see that he can give him all that Till yearns for in Mizi and more.

To this everlasting melody

Face to face we dance

And yet Till still refuses to look Ivan in the eyes.

Things get a little unclear but since they aren't shown singing here and there's no flashback to accompany the lyrics, we can assume that at this moment Till most likely gave up on singing.

With our story

Lost in forever's embrace

I'm not sure if Ivan intended this from the start or if it's a decision he made then and there but one thing is certain. If Till stops singing then that would mean he forfeits, he'll lose. Till has never once given up. Even when he went back for Mizi that night, he never intended to leave her in the first place. But now without her he crumbles.

And Ivan can't let that happen, not like this.

Moral grey area aside, this scene is so deeply moving to me

And I don't say that in a romantic context, absolutely not. This is something much deeper than just love. This is the culmination of everything they've been through, all those moments lead up to this.

Because this isn't a kiss.

This is Ivan throwing his life away for Till.

Till was going to loose, the only thing that could overturn that is if his opponent attacks him. The kiss was to distract Till and keep him from catching up to what Ivan was planning.

Just look at the contrast between their first and second kiss. As soon as the score board shows Till is in the lead, he gives him a gentle peck on the lips. The contrast is stark and full of meaning. This was the genuine kiss, hidden behind a smokescreen of aggressive bravado created from the previous one.

And it worked. Till was completely convinced that Ivan's intentions was to kill him, and he was fully intent on letting him.

I know a lot of people doubted his intentions. Because he didn't let go of Till's neck the minute he saw their scores, a lot of people assume that this was Ivan trying to drag Till down with him.

But the minute he coughed up blood what does he do?

He smiles.

and let's Till go.

He's only human. He might know logically that Till has won the match. But emotionally he refuses to let go until he is certain.

Until he knows for a fact that he is the one bleeding and dying he'll keep up his charade.

And then.

And only then.

Till truly sees Ivan.

As he dissolves in his gaze.

[waka-nii]

the horny bitch in me decided it was time for some hajime-nii // 2,7k words

cw: nsfw - fem!reader, incest, dubcon, manipulation, oral (male receiving), prostitution.

"Why am I doing this?" You muttered to yourself, hearing the sound of the shower in the room of the fanciest hotel you've ever been to. You're sitting on the king size bed, waiting for the man in the bathroom to join you. Who was it again? "Just an old associate" your brother told you when asking for this favor. You were to "seduce him, lure him to room 204 and have sex with him" easy, right? Your dear brother would take care of the rest. Apparently, they needed some shade on him and his wife was a wealthy woman who prided herself on the beautiful marriage they had, so what better than blackmailing him with footage of his affair with a much younger and prettier woman? Kokonoi Hajime always has his eyes on the money, and this was a big jackpot at the low price of whoring his sister to a perverted old man.

"You'll do this for me, right? You know how Sanzu does things. I don't want this bastard dead until I squeeze all his money out." he told you, cupping your face lovingly. "You're the only one I can trust with this. You'll get your part, I promise."

Now you wish Sanzu had gotten word of this first. How are you going to do this? This man does not attract you in the slightest. He's old, saggy and you're not sure if his teeth are even real. At least you managed to convince him to take a shower first.

"Are you ready, princess?" you cringe at the nickname.

"Of course, sir. I've been waiting." Please God make this quick "You can use my body as you please"

"Come here, let me see you" The man says, motioning for you to come closer. You do as he says, laying on top of his almost bare body. You can feel how hard he is already, grabbing your ass as soon as he can reach. He looks at you and points to his lower parts. You take the hint and bring yourself lower to take off his underwear. Your face just inches from his member, you close your eyes and hope you can get through this. Giving this old man head was never in your plans, but you'd do anything to help Hajime-nii. Ah, Hajime-nii. His face pops up in your mind, his soft lips, his beautiful slanted eyes that always look at you with such tenderness. Prompted by his image, your mouth starts working eagerly on the man's cock. Not wanting to open your eyes and ruin the fantasy, you keep sucking breathlessly. You don't know if you're trying to make the man finish as soon as possible or the image of Hajime-nii in your head is making you start to enjoy this. Just as you start to think about it, the man aggresively grabs your head, pushing you down on his cock and cumming down your throat. Thank God that's over.

"Good girl, you did great." He says, smiling at you. Ugh, you never thought you'd be disgusted hearing those words. They sounded so good out of Hajime-nii's mouth, yet here you were, grossed out by the sound of them.

"Take off your clothes, sweetheart" Please stop with the nicknames. "Get on top of me" You do as he says, taking off the tight dress you wore, of course, courtesy of your dear older brother. Sighing, you lower yourself on him. You wait for a second, expecting him to do something, but he just looks at you expectantly.

"Fuck yourself on my cock, doll." Fuck, no. Not even a finger? Now you've done it. You see, you didn't tell anyone you were still a virgin. Not the man, not Hajime-nii. You were afraid you'd disappoint your brother, so you kept it to yourself. Taking some old dude shouldn't hurt too much, right?

"What are you waiting for?" You gulp and take a deep breath before finally positioning yourself and taking him all at once. You thought rushing it would make it more bearable, but now you're regretting it, tears forming in your eyes from the pain. The man groans and says something about you being untouched. To be honest, you're too focused on the pain to even hear what he says. Taking another deep breath, you start moving, grinding yourself on the man's member. The next few minutes are a blur. The pain, the suffering and the embarrassment of the situation make it hard to concentrate on anything.

"Damn, that was good. Guess I'll have to pay extra for being your first." The man says, winking at you. His voice brings you back to reality and you realize you're laying on the bed, make up ruined by the tears and completely exposed to the man that just took your virginity. He's already getting dressed again, nonchalantly tying his tie and grabbing his things, leaving a stack of bills on the nightstand before walking through the door without saying a word. Your hand immediately reaches for your phone, shaky hands scrolling through your contacts.

Hajime-nii 💞

Call.

Koko picks up at the second tone. His voice always manages to calm you down.

"What's up?" he says "Is it done?" You make an effort of holding back your tears.

"Yeah. Can you pick me up?" You say.

"Got it. I'll be there in 20. Order yourself some nice champagne, you deserve it." With that, he hangs up. You put down your phone and make your way to the bathroom. Normally you'd be so excited, filling the hot tub and getting in while you call room service and order the most expensive item on the menu, but now all you could do was look at your tired face in the mirror. You wash your face and take some deep breaths. Your brother can't see you like this. You decide you should take a short shower before he arrives, so you turn on the water and get in.

The water hits your skin with a force you didn't think was possible. Every part of your body hurts, and you can't stop the tears anymore. You let yourself cry under the hot water for a good five minutes before washing your body. You scrub with force, trying to get the memories off your skin but no matter how many times you soap and rinse, you can't get the feeling off. You feel dirty, and you can't do anything to clean that. Just as your thoughts start to consume you, you hear a knock on the door.

"Y/n? You there?" Hajime's voice coming from the other side is a much needed relief. You open the door, still wrapped in the hotel's white towel.

"You're still like that? Come on, put something on, we have to go." You nod as you disappear to the bathroom to put on your dress.

"Ready?" Koko says, sitting on the same bed you lost your innocence on.

"Yeah, let's go." You say while bolting out the door, saying goodbye forever to that damn room.

The ride home was silent. Koko drove as you quietly looked out the window. He must've sensed something was wrong, because he drove directly to his house, not stopping to drop you at yours. You silently thank him for this but decide not to comment on it, and neither does he. When you arrive, he opens the door and lets you in.

"Go to sleep, you must be tired." You nod and head to the guest room. Well, it wasn't really a guest room since you were the only one who stayed there. It was full of your things, it felt just like home. Maybe even more. You lay on your bed, not bothering to get in the sheets. In the dark of the night and the comfort of your room, you let the tears that were forming in your eyes out at last. How did you let things get like this? This was your fault, wasn't it? This is the only thing you were good at. You followed orders just to make everyone happy and waited for the much desired praise. Pathetic. Your thoughts quickly spiraled to a dark place and you started to feel out of breath. You sobbed, hiding your face in the pillow and gripping the sheets with force.

"Y/n..." you hear your name coming from the door. When you lift your head, Hajime is already sitting by your side. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

"Hajime-nii..." You can't even look at him in the eyes. Koko cups your face in his hands, making you look at him.

"You should've told me you didn't want to do it." He says, anguish evident in his eyes.

"I wanted to. I wanted to be useful to you. I wanted to be something good in your life." You say through the tears.

"Baby, you're the best thing in my life. You're my perfect little sister and it will always be like that." Hajime hugs you, resting your head on his chest. With his gaze no longer on you, he notices a red stain on the sheets. His heart stops for a second, realizing what had you so upset.

"Hey, baby, look at me." He takes your face in his hands once again. "Was this your first time?" You nod.

"Y/n, you should've told me. I would've never let that fucking bastard take your virginity." His heartbeat gets increasingly faster. "Why didn't you say anything!?" He raises his tone and you wince in reflex.

"I'm sorry..." You say lowering your head.

"Shh, hey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I'm here now." His voice softens once again. "Does it hurt?" You nod and lay your head on his shoulder.

"Tell me where it hurts." Hajime kisses your temple. "Tell nii-san where he hurt you." He takes your hand in his and looks at you. You guide his hand to your chest and lay it on your breasts, the thin fabric of the old t-shirt he gave you being the only thing keeping his skin from touching yours.

"Did he hurt you here? Grabbed you too hard?" You nod, feeling his hypnotizing gaze on you. Koko lays you down softly on the silk sheets he got for you. He hovers over you and lifts your shirt slowly, allowing you time to stop him if you wish, but you let him continue. Bringing his lips to your waist, he kisses your stomach as he continues to push your shirt over your breasts. He leaves a trail of kisses going up your bust and takes your nipple into his mouth, softly running his tongue through your bud. Leaving some more kisses in the area, he looks up at you.

"Better?" You nod. "Does it hurt anywhere else?" You nod once again. "Show me." You take your brother's hand in yours and guide it to your lower area. Where a few hours ago you only felt a sharp pain now there is a heat growing with every touch.

"My baby... I shouldn't have let someone else take your virginity. I should've been your first." Rubbing your heat through your panties, Hajime kisses your lips softly. "You're too pure for this world. I'm not letting that happen again, okay? I promise." You nod, trying to focus on his words, but his touch is getting more and more satisfying. Your brother knows what he's doing to you. He knows how good he's making you feel, and he's not going to let anyone else see you like this ever again. Hajime removes your underwear and brings his hand to your mouth. You lick his fingers, getting impatient. He brings his hand to your cunt once again and spreads your folds. The sensation of his fingers massaging your clit feels so good you're almost forgetting your earlier experience. His movements are slow and sensual, treating you like the most delicate being. Your moans and whines are like music to his ears. His sweet little sister falling apart from his touch, there was nothing compared to that. He presses soft kisses to your temple as he inserts a finger in your cunt, making your moans get louder and louder.

"Shh, it's okay baby." He breathes against your ear. "Nii-san's gonna erase every trace of that man on your body." Those words combined with his touch make you fall over the edge, feeling the knot on your lower stomach come undone on his fingers.

"That's it, baby, you're doing so good." His words are so similar to the man's earlier yet they have a completely different effect on you. "You wanna make nii-san feel good too?"

"Y-yeah... I wanna make nii-san feel good." You say looking up at him, mesmerized by how good he looked right now. His long hair was sticking to his forehead, where small beads of sweat were forming. You can't recall when exactly he took off his shirt, exposing his svelte chest. He looked ethereal right now. You couldn't wrap your head around the fact that you're in the same situation as this evening, yet it feels so perfect now. Koko places himself between your legs, looking at you with a smile on his face.

"It won't hurt this time, I promise." he says as he lines up his cock with your entrance. "Tell me if you want to stop, okay?" You nod and he pushes himself slowly into you. You let out a squeak at the feeling and he chuckles at your reaction.

"You feel so good around nii-san's cock." Hajime says as he sinks the rest of his length into you. "God, how did we not do this earlier?" He moans in your ear, the sound of his voice making you clench around him.

"Is it alright if I move now?" You hear the impatience in his voice. Nodding, you lift your hand to his cheek. He smiles at the gesture and kisses your palm as he carefully thrusts his hips into you. You can't do anything but moan and quiver below him, too dazed to form a thought in your head.

"You're doing so good baby- Fuck... fuck, you feel so good." Koko rests his forehead against yours before kissing your lips. He swallows all your sounds, exploring your mouth with his tongue. He moans against your lips, moving his hips faster.

"Nii-san... Gonna cum..." You breathe out, feeling that familiar heat once again.

"That's good, baby. Come on, cum for me. Cum for nii-san." His thrusts get harder and deeper, making you cum for a second time tonight. Your cunt tightens around him as you climax, making him reach his own.

"Ah, fuck..." Hajime pulls out of you and with some strokes of his hand releases all over your stomach. He catches his breath for a second, admiring the masterpiece before his eyes. His sweet baby sister was now marked by him, and he'd never let anyone else touch you now that he's had a taste of you.

"Are you okay?" He asks. You nod, too tired to move your limbs. "I'm gonna get something to wipe that off, yeah? Koko walks to the closet and grabs a towel, then wets it a bit in the sink of your en-suite bathroom. He cleans his cum off your body. He thinks it looks so good on you, but right now you're looking so drained from the crazy day you had. Well, he can always do that again. Maybe take some pictures for his own enjoyment, too.

"Hajime-nii, this... This isn't normal." You say. What you just did definitely wasn't normal, yet it felt so good. "It's wrong."

"Wrong?" He lays down beside you. "Tell me something, baby, did it feel good?"

"Yeah, it felt good..." you say as you let him take you into his arms.

"Then there's nothing wrong with it. Nothing could possibly be wrong if it makes my sweet little sister feel good." His words make you blush. "Look at me baby" he holds your chin directing your gaze at his. "I took your first time, okay? I was your first. Not that man, not anyone else. It was me. Understand?" You nod.

"You took my first time, nii-san." He smiles at you, patting your head.

"That's my girl. Now go to sleep, you're really tired." Hajime lays your head on the pillow.

"Don't leave" You say.

"I'm not going anywhere, babygirl. Now sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up." Your brother lays by your side, putting his arm around you to run his hand trough your hair. "Sweet dreams."

[cakejots]

this is us trying, Chapter 6 - The Pounce

In this AU, they don’t know each other outside of the suit. And in this AU, Ladybug and Chat Noir love each other. But in this AU, Chat doesn’t want their identities revealed.

Written for @ladynoirjuly 2021

notes: this is a coherent story based on all the prompts; each chapter contains at least 3 prompts. this chapter has 4 prompts

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10

Read on AO3

17. Secrets

Marinette was sure she didn’t have any alarm set for the day. And even if she did, it wouldn’t be this early in the morning. Her video call with Adrien the night before lasted well over a few hours, and it was the second day in a row where she wasn’t sleeping her usual routine. Though tired, she really can’t find herself regretting her actions. She was sure Adrien felt the same, he didn’t want the video call to end so soon and always managed to find something new to chat about.

She thought she could ignore the constant buzzing of her phone, but she’s only clowning herself if she believes that. Marinette tried to use her pillow to cover her head to block out the noise, but to no avail. She tried again with her thick blanket but eventually gave up. She was too disturbed to go back to sleep now anyway. With a grunt, she lifted herself off of her comfy bed and grabbed her phone from the shelves above her.

She eyed the screen and saw the time, as well as the caller.

Alya.

“What?”

“Woah, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“Care to check how many times you’ve called me?” Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know I hate it when my sleep gets interrupted.”

“I’m really sorry Marinette, but this can’t be put off any longer. Why didn’t you tell me? Are there any more secrets you’re hiding from me?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Her phone gave off a chime, and it was a link Alya had just shared. “Access that link.”

Marinette grew wary as she saw the first few words of the link. The name of the biggest gossip magazine was etched within it.

“Uhh, Alya, what’s this? You know I hate reading things from gossip magazines.” She’s pissed that she was woken up for this useless bullshit.

“I know I know, just click it please, it concerns you.” Alya pleaded.

Marinette paused. “Me?”

Her mind imagined the worst-case scenario. Was her secret identity compromised? She didn’t manage to read the rest of the link as she quickly clicked on the link.

The first thing she saw when the site loaded was a video embedded at the top of the page, and the thumbnail of the video was of her and Adrien throwing affectionate gazes at each other, with Adrien’s hand buried deep within her hair. Fear shot through her entire being. When was this?

She further inspected the thumbnail and saw that she was in pyjamas. It was the night they revealed themselves, they had just exited the park and were ready to head home.

“Oh.”

Fuck.

“Marinette? Did you manage to read the article?”

She couldn’t take it anymore, she hastily closed the tab. “No, but I see myself and Adrien on the video thumbnail. Shit...” She admitted, not bothering to hide since Alya already saw it.

“Are you okay?”

“What did the article say?” She whispered.

“They were speculating if you’re Adrien’s new fling— ”

“The fuck?”

“—or romantic partner, but they don’t know who you are, so you’re safe.”

“But he’s not! I need to make sure he’s okay.” She was jumping out of her bed when Alya’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Marinette, I think that might be a problem. Herds of reporters are situated outside the Agreste mansion.”

She felt a vein pop in her temple. “Are you there?”

“What? No! The clip is rolling live on TV.”

She switched on her TV and sure enough, the mansion was surrounded by reporters.

“Adrien...” Blood drained from her face as she looked at the sheer number of reporters outside his house. Her vision started to blur. He was no doubt going to blame himself for this again.

“Marinette?”

“A-Alya, I’m sorry, I need some time alone. T-Thank you for telling me,” she stammered.

“Don’t sweat it. And I’m sure you have reasons for keeping your secrets, I won’t pester you now, but I hope to get an update on the both of you once this is over. And please promise me you’ll tell me about it later.”

Comfort flooded her chest, “Of course, Alya. Thank you so much.”

Marinette hung up and was left alone with her own thoughts.

Thinking back, Adrien was acting slightly weird after they got onto the streets. He had asked her to transform out of nowhere. Was that when he had realised they were being followed? Why didn’t he tell her? Marinette browsed her messages and calls, there was nothing she missed from Adrien.

Why was he pushing her away again? Even after the reveal. Why isn’t he opening up to her?

She wiped her tears. This is no time to be questioning his decisions. She needed to save her kitty as soon as possible. He must be feeling devastated dealing with this all alone.

18. Can’t Transform

Adrien was curled up by the side of his bed, his phone all blown up with notifications, calls, and messages from gossip news agencies and the public. It was till the point that he had to reconfigure his “Do Not Disturb” function to stop all the ringing and buzzing that wrecked his phone. He was so overwhelmed that he disabled everything.

His phone was currently by his side, his chat with Marinette on the display. Marinette was online earlier on, and he was happy to see that, but she was gone as soon as she came. Adrien really wanted to ask her for help, but he was sure that she’s pissed with him right now. He didn’t have the right to ask since he brought this upon himself. He just hoped she forgave him for allowing her face to appear on the news.

Marinette (09:01): chaton?

A chime brought his attention back to the phone. Adrien saw her message, but he just stared.

Marinette (09:01): chaton i can see you online

Adrien (09:02): hi

Marinette (09:02): can you call me?

Marinette (09:02): my calls can't seem to get through

Adrien (09:03): i muted everything

Marinette (09:03): oh

Marinette (09:03): then can chat call me?

Adrien (09:03): i can't transform

Adrien (09:04): i don't want to risk them seeing the transformation

Marinette saw that he typed and stopped a few times. She’d be patient with him, he’s allowed to take as long as he needed.

Adrien (09:06): i'll call

Adrien (09:06): but can you give me a while?

Marinette (09:06): of course :)

Perhaps it was her staring at her screen, knowing that Adrien was there. Perhaps she was solely focused on seeing something happen on her screen. Or perhaps she managed to will Adrien into calling her, because he eventually did. And it didn’t feel like it had been 10 minutes.

“Adrien!”

The line had gone quiet. So quiet that she was about to remove her phone from her ear to check if the call had ended when a voice spoke through the speakers.

“Hey, Marinette.”

He sounded apprehensive. Was she coming off too strong?

“How are you feeling?” Her voice gentler this time.

He still took a while, but it was definitely faster than the one before.

“Overwhelmed.”

“Okay, okay. Are you okay with waiting a while more?”

Is Marinette coming to get him?

“I guess.”

“Nice. Do you think you can transform after the herd of reporters is gone?”

“I think so.”

“Very good. Would you be comfortable with sleeping in my house for a few days?”

Adrien wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay with Marinette after all this was over. What if she interrogated him? Was he ready to tell her why he did what he did? The whole truth? What if she leaves? Or rather, kick him out after she learnt the truth. He didn’t want that. Enough people had already left him. He doesn’t want any more of that. They can’t leave if he wasn’t there in the first place.

But Adrien wanted to be with Marinette. Even more so after what his actions had led to. He may be selfish right now, but he wanted the affirmation that she’d still have him, even after he messed up. He didn’t want to be alone after this ordeal. She has proved repeatedly that she wouldn’t abandon him. And right now, she’s inviting him into her life, willingly.

Justifiably, Marinette is in no wrong here, but Adrien found himself finally believing what she had promised. It might be that words of assurance could only go so far for him. But certainly, it was her actions that solidified his belief in her.

“Mhm.” He sniffled.

“Awesome!”

Adrien wanted to explain. He wanted her to know how much this meant to him.

“My lady, I… I—”

“It’s okay, Chaton. Your safety and wellbeing take precedence.”

“W-Wait! Are you going to hang up?”

19. Trust

“Do you trust me?”

“Always,” he answered so effortlessly.

“Then yes, I’m going to hang up. But I guarantee you that you’ll see me soon enough,” Marinette assured. “Would that be okay?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Thank you, Chaton. Wait for me.”

They said their goodbyes, and Marinette waited for a while before she hung up. She got to her feet and went to work straight away.

.

“What is he doing in there? Can’t he see us? Just come out already!” One of the reporters threw his papers on the ground, getting agitated from standing outside the Agreste mansion for at least 2 hours. “This is taking far too long!”

“Hey! Look!”

He noticed someone pointing upwards and he lifted his eyes.

Soon, the herd of reporters directed their collective attention and cameras to the top of the mansion. They were so determined on getting any footage they could on the occupant of the building that all but one of them failed to realise that Ladybug and Chat Noir had appeared on the rooftop, with Chat Noir piggybacking their target.

“What is this?” Ladybug shouted at the crowd beneath her feet. “Is this any way to treat Paris’ Golden Boy? His love life is none of your concern!”

And with that, she jumped away from the persistent sound of cameras clicking coming from the crowd. Chat Noir followed without missing a bit, with Adrien hugging him tightly.

When Ladybug and Chat Noir had disappeared out of their sight, the media quickly got onto their vans and chased them down.

As the commotion was happening, Marinette texted Adrien to ask for the directions to access his room.

Adrien (09:32): the windows to my room are open. you'll see it once you get to the back of the mansion

She made sure the crowd had dissipated entirely before emerging from her hiding spot from the surrounding rooftops; she then made her way towards the mansion.

Sure enough, she found herself swinging into his room within seconds.

Adrien’s room was one of the biggest rooms she has ever seen in her life when she landed. It was at least twice the size of her previous bedroom, so big and spacious with various game areas across the first floor and a large library of books and CDs on the second.

She was still admiring his expansive room when she heard tiny sniffles coming from the side of the bed.

Snapping her head towards the bed, she spotted Adrien hugging his knees, head buried within his arms. “Adrien.”

Adrien lifted his head and saw her watching him.

He stood and wiped his tears, trying to smile. Turned out, wishing she was by his side was one thing. Having her actually be here with him was an entirely different thing.

Lady Rouge? Rena Bug? Marinette did not look happy. She was biting her lower lips before she started walking towards him.

Adrien began moving backwards bit by bit, anxious about her reactions towards him.

“Tikki, Trixx, Separation.”

Was that disappointment in her eyes? He didn’t know. Ladybug was quickly catching up to him and when he saw that she had raised her hand, he shut his eyes.

He was expecting some reproaching from her. He was expecting some pounding on his chest, or even a slap to his face. But all he felt was a hand wrapped around his head, settling itself within his hair and pulling him into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she breathed.

Adrien opened his eyes in startlement, before relaxing into her. Ladybug’s other hand was on his back, pressing him into her. And he circled his arms around her waist, returning the gesture.

“My lady, I’m covered in snot and tears right now.”

“Yeah, you’re disgusting.” But she pulled him in even more and tightened her hold on him nonetheless.

20. Save Me

Adrien wished he could’ve stayed in Ladybug’s embrace longer, she was so full of warmth and love, unlike the mansion. But he needed to pack his clothes for his impromptu stay at Marinette’s over the next few days, to avoid the scandal they were currently in.

Ladybug was exploring his huge room, but he couldn’t see her from the bathroom, so he assumed she was checking out his vast collection of books and CDs on the second floor.

He didn’t like how quiet it had gotten.

“My lady?”

Within seconds, Ladybug dropped from right in front of the bathroom door, face worried. “Adrien?”

“Could you… um, could you stay on the first floor?” He squeaked.

She relaxed and chuckled. “Of course, mon Chaton.” She looked around a bit. “I’ll just take a look around the arcade stations.”

He nodded before continuing his packing. It was quiet again, but at least he knew she was exploring on the first floor.

“Adrien?” He lifted his gaze from his bag and saw Ladybug standing beside his bed, pointing at it. “Can I sit on it?”

“Of course! Go ahead! I don’t see why not.” Surprise laced in his voice by her question.

“Just wanted to make sure,” she replied cheekily before she bounced on his bed.

Adrien was about done with his packing, but he didn’t want Ladybug to be bored.

“My lady, what happened to those illusions?”

Ladybug widened her eyes. “I was sure that the media would follow those illusions, so I had them travel to the outskirts of Paris before making them disappear right before their very eyes.” She then scratched the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. “That was the plan. But uh, the illusions should be gone as soon as I reverted to just being Ladybug.”

Adrien had finished packing and was walking out of the bathroom, bag in his hand. “So, they might be back?”

Ladybug immediately stood and walked to his windows. “I don’t see or hear any crowd outside. So I guess they are still trying to figure out where those illusions went.”

Adrien came up to her, Trixx and Plagg in his hands. “Then, for extra precaution, why not use Trixx’s power again to conceal ourselves?”

Ladybug’s eyes shone with understanding. “That’s a great idea! I didn’t think of that!”

When Ladybug called for her unification, her outfit was similar to Rena Rouge’s. Her dark hair was tied up in a thick ponytail with the ends highlighted in white. A tail was also added to her suit. “Come on, let’s go!”

But Adrien hadn't called for his transformation, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Uhh— right!” Adrien blushed and quickly turned around to retrieve his bag from the side of his bed before calling for his transformation.

“Oh, I see,” a smug look on her pretty face. “You just wanted to see me in this.”

Chat Noir was still blushing when he returned to her side. “Can you blame me? You look amazing in this. Can’t I admire how stunning my girlfriend looks?”

It was her turn to flush. “You can, you absolutely can.” She turned away, ready to use her flute when Chat Noir grabbed her hand.

“In fact, you look beautiful all the time.” He gazed into her eyes. “Marinette, for the plan you concocted to save me, thank you.”

“Anything for you, Chaton.” She grinned.

Chat pulled her into a hug and squeezed. His hand was on the back of her head, pressing her into his neck. “Thank you, so so much.”