#so i was unaware that it would just...cut off poor ladybug's head

[tears-of-xion]

So I decided to try my hand at drawing @mavilez ‘s lovely ML designs, and I had a lot of fun! ^^

I definitely want to draw them again in the future (as well as the Rena Rouge + Carapace ones).

-

Please do not use or re-post my artwork without my permission. Thank you!   (reblogs, however, are welcome and appreciated)

I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, nor it’s characters. All rights to their owners.

[quijotine]

in which adrien is a science teacher and has to pay his karma by babysitting a teenager that has his exact same humor when he was 15.

Chapter 2 of Chat Noir Is My Science Teacher is up, friends :D

Ch. 2. Mr. Deep

In which Matt is baby and Adrien begins to pay his karma for being a lil shit when he was younger, with interest.

When Matthieu braced himself for the day, the last thing he expected to happen was learning that Mr. Dupain-Cheng, his science teacher, was none other than his idol, Chat Noir.

Yes, Mr. Dupain-Cheng, the dorky teacher who laughed at his own bad science puns and had a themed t-shirt for every day of the week. Mr. Dupain-Cheng, the man who thought grading with “You Tried” stars and cat stickers was funny. Mr. Dupain-Cheng, who was so gullible he didn’t notice when students wanted to distract him from giving a lesson by asking him about his wife because they knew he could rant about her for hours. Mr. Dupain-Cheng, the only teacher that replied with an ‘ok :)’, a meme, and the signature, ‘Sent from my cat-phone,’ when replying to a well-thought email. That Mr. Dupain-Cheng.

How could this be possible? He was so... so uncool .

Read below the cut or on AO3 by clicking the link above.

When Matthieu braced himself for the day, the last thing he expected to happen was learning that Mr. Dupain-Cheng, his science teacher, was none other than his idol, Chat Noir.

Yes, Mr. Dupain-Cheng, the dorky teacher who laughed at his own bad science puns and had a themed t-shirt for every day of the week. Mr. Dupain-Cheng, the man who thought grading with “You Tried” stars and cat stickers was funny. Mr. Dupain-Cheng, who was so gullible he didn’t notice when students wanted to distract him from giving a lesson by asking him about his wife because they knew he could rant about her for hours. Mr. Dupain-Cheng, the only teacher that replied with an ‘ok :)’, a meme, and the signature, ‘Sent from my cat-phone,’ when replying to a well-thought email. That Mr. Dupain-Cheng.

How could this be possible? He was so... so uncool .

When Matt thought about who Chat Noir might be under his mask he always pictured someone bold and dashing, maybe one of those cool guys that worked in those crazy science startups. Someone brave, fearless... not a father of two who, Matt was pretty sure, screeched one time a flying cockroach somehow crawled from one of the sinks in the lab. He pictured someone like Barbara Keynes or Peter Parker.

They were witty and mysterious. Mr. Dupain-Cheng was too nice to be a superhero.

“Matt!” Timo tackled him into a hug as Matthieu and Mr. Dupain-Cheng joined the rest of the class. Ladybug had finished handing out autographs to his classmates and had already left. “Are you okay? Did you see the Akuma? It was so sick!”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Matthieu muttered, as Mr. Dupain-Cheng pointedly put as much distance between himself and Matt. He called the class’ attention to continue their museum visit.

“You’re in danger, kid.” His teacher’s words still resounded in Matthieu’s head. “For your own safety, lay low until I decide what to do with this, okay?”

He didn’t give Matt a chance to ask any questions, to say anything. He basically wanted him to ignore this, to act as if he had just found him practicing some obscure hobby outside school.

As they walked, Matt trained his eyes on the back of his teacher’s head, the blond, messy mop of hair towering over the group of teens.

“Hey, Timo?”

“Yeah?”

“Mr. Deep is, like, a nerd, right?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool,” Timo said, his attention more invested in his portable video game console than in the conversation. “He knows, like, all the animes.”

“That’s not cool,” said Matt.

“Of course it is,” Timo said, finally peeling his eyes off the screen. “We like that stuff.”

Timo had a point, Matthieu had to admit.

“And remember the time he helped me solder that motherboard we used for the robot competition? That was pretty cool.”

“I... suppose.”

Timo shrugged, blissfully unaware of Matt’s current crisis. “I keep telling you, man,” he said, returning to his videogame. “Mr. Deep is the coolest teacher at school.”

After the field trip, Matt went home stuck in a contemplative trance, wanting to decide what the revelation was that truly bothered him: the fact that Chat Noir’s civilian persona was absolutely nothing like what he had pictured, or that Timo was right and the reason why he disliked Mr. Dupain-Cheng was actually because he looked up to him, and that he embodied the complete opposite of everything Matt was taught to be.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, to be honest. As any self-respecting fan, Matthieu knew Chat Noir’s career by heart. He had seen those old clips of him as a teenager, cracking witty jokes and one-liners in the middle of battle. It kind of made sense that he’d grow up to be the kind of man that was unapologetically chaotic. Besides, those memes and punny cat stickers he liked to grade with? Suddenly it seemed all so obvious. It was almost as if Mr. Dupain-Cheng was flaunting the truth in front of everyone, knowing no one would peg him as the kind of man who was a superhero. It was all in the same way no one seemed to understand how on earth such a whacky dude would end up with one of the most successful designers in Paris.

Matt suddenly shot up from the comfort of his bed as he contemplated his thoughts.

Ladybug. Weren’t Ladybug and Chat Noir a couple?

Oh my god, is Mr. Dupain-Cheng cheating on his wife with Ladybug? Or backwards? Wait... Isn’t that famous designer his wife? What’s her name, MDC? No, that’s the brand. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Wait.

Does his wife even know? Oh, no... Poor woman! Wait... what if...

Matt gasped. “She’s Ladybug. She has to be.”

He paced around his room, his thoughts going a thousand miles an hour. “I can never let Hawkmoth akumatize me ever again,” he screeched, grabbing handfuls of his hair. “Oh my god!” he shrieked. “Okay, Matt, breathe. Breathe. Just... Think. Okay. This can be good, right? This can be good.”

He kept pacing around.

“Okay, Matt. Okay. You just figured out that Mr. Deep is Chat Noir and his wife is Ladybug... Cool, it’s all cool,” he said to himself in a pitch heightened by the sheer panic that coursed through him. “It’s okay, it’s—.”

He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as inspiration struck. He gasped excitedly and immediately got on his knees to reach under his bed.

“Of course!” he exclaimed, pulling out a small corkboard he kept hidden under the bed. The board was an indulgent little project if he did say so himself. It wasn’t related to any of his school activities, which is why he had to keep it hidden. Goodness knows what his parents would do if they found out he had been wasting time investigating who Hawkmoth might be.

This wasn’t bad, this was great!

I can help him! Matt thought excitedly. I can help him and Ladybug track Hawkmoth down!

He took a few shots of it with his phone to then ferociously kick it out of view, back under the bed again, when his mother entered his room.

“What are you doing on the floor, Matthieu?” Mrs. Magan, a middle-aged woman with stern eyes, said to him.

“I... lost a coin.”

Mrs. Magan frowned, not making much of the excuse. “Dinner is ready.”

Matthieu let out a silent sigh of relief as his mother turned around, then quickly followed after her, knowing better than to have her remind him a second time.

I can help him, he thought again excitedly. I can be his sidekick!

—-

Matthieu was not one to be late for school, but the day after discovering Mr. Deep’s identity he decided to be extra early, just to make sure he’d be able to talk to him in private. There was always the risk that he’d be late of course, but now that Matthieu knew the reason, he could hardly hold it against him.

Matt was lucky enough to spot him in the Chemistry lab when he arrived. He peeked through the small window on the door. it seemed he was grading papers.

He grinned and immediately went in, hardly being able to contain his excitement.

“Good morning, Mr. Dupain-Cheng!” he exclaimed enthusiastically, causing Adrien to jolt and knock some of the paper sheets to the ground. Matt rushed to pick them up before Adrien had the chance to do so. “So listen, I have thoughts ,” he said as he put the papers back on the desk and fumbled with his backpack to produce his phone. “I was up all night updating my Hawkmoth board, and I was thinking—I was thinking that maybe, you know this philanthropist, Lila Rossi—”

Adrien could only stare dumbfounded at how fast Matt rambled before he even caught the drift of what he was saying. Once he registered it though, he jolted once again.

“Shh!” Adrien hushed at the teen, frantically looking around himself to see if anyone was in the vicinity—even though the door was closed.

“Matthieu, what are you talking about?” he hissed.

“I wanna help you track Hawkmoth!” Matthieu piped with a bright smile, reaching into his backpack again to produce his phone. “Last night, I was thinking, ‘Hey, maybe this happened for a reason.’ I’m pretty good at this whole deduction thing, you know? I’m at the top of the class in almost all subjects and I have like, all the badges possible on the Ladyblog. Also, look, I have this board that I made about all the possible suspects because if you look at the akumatizations there’s a real pattern, and I’m thinking that whoever Hawkmoth might be, has some stuff to work through, because oh my god. Oh, like, this person he—”

“Matthieu, keep your voice down!” Adrien interrupted him. “No! I can’t let you do that. What happened yesterday was an accident, kid. Okay? It’s best if you just... If you just try to pretend like you don’t know anything while Ladybug and I decide what to do. This isn’t a game, Matt. You are in danger. If Hawkmoth ever lays hands on you, there’s no telling what might happen. Stay. Away. From. This.”

Undeterred by the ominous delivery of Mr. Dupain-Cheng’s warning, Matthieu beamed at him. “Don’t worry, Mr. Deep! I’m good at keeping secrets! I—”

“No. It is out of the question, Matthieu. This is dangerous and I—wait, what did you just call me?” Adrien said, suddenly catching the nickname.

Matthieu grew red in the face and smiled sheepishly at his teacher. “Mr. Deep... You know, ‘cause you’re always, like, going off these crazy deep tangents about the physics of akumas and stuff and—Oh my god, that makes so much sense now! Do you study them in your free time? Oh, wow! Do you and Miss Ladybug have a secret layer? Like Majestia and Knight Owl? Wait, actually, don’t answer that. Sensitive information, am I right? Oh! Also, I think Mr. Deep really fits you because you always give us this weirdly specific and deep life advice? And I don’t know how you do it but it’s always on point? Also, your name starts with a D...”

Adrien looked at the boy, shocked, and frankly a little scared that a kid could talk so much, so fast. There’s only one other person he had ever known whose mouth ran like a broken faucet if she was given the chance.

Wait , Adrien thought. Did... did he just pun with my name?

A part of him was flattered, another was surprised, a third one was slightly insulted.

The kid punned with my name. I’m his teacher !

“Matt!” he exclaimed, interrupting Matthieu’s spoken stream of consciousness. “No. This is final. Stay away from this. I don’t want to have to repeat myself. It is final.”

Again, unfazed by Adrien’s effort to act seriously, Matthieu beamed at him. “Don’t worry, Mr. Deep. I’ll prove you can trust me! I would not trust me, too, if I were you. But I’ll prove it! You’ll see.”

The bell rang, and with it came a thankful end to the conversation. At least on Adrien’s side.

“And don’t call me Mr. Deep.”

“Okay, Mr. Deep!” Matthieu said, beaming at him as he made his way out of the classroom. “Oops! I mean, Mr. DC.”

Adrien sighed, glaring at the boy and feeling some sort of karmic entity laughing at him. He knew exactly what Matt’s energetic yet jesterly energy reminded him of: a sixteen-year-old version of himself whose favorite pastime was seeing how much foolery he could get away with before Ladybug decided to murder him in cold blood.

“It’s your karma,” Plagg muttered quietly before his students began pouring into the classroom. “Kid’s your spitting image. Though I gotta say, he blabbers as much as Spots.”

“Oh, shush it!”

“You know you have to tell her soon, right?” Plagg muttered from inside Adrien’s overshirt. “The more you delay, the deeper your grave.”

“I said shush.”

The little god snickered. “Someone’s in trouble.”

Plagg was right, though. Adrien had to tell Marinette about this. It was already bad that he didn’t tell her the moment it happened. She hated it when he did that. But in his defense, he knew she had a tough day at the label and he didn’t want to freak her out. He hoped that excuse would be enough. Plagg had laughed at him when he asked for his opinion about it.

Yeah, he was in trouble.

There was no way but through, he knew this. That didn’t mean his legs could tell the difference between an honest conversation with his life partner and the visceral fear for his survival that was elicited at the image of said conversation. He felt them buckle as he casually leaned against the kitchen island, trying his best to act natural.

The kids had been put to bed and there was thankfully no Akuma in sight. At least not yet.

Marinette sighed with relief as she swiftly undid her hair and reached into the fridge for a bottle of wine. If Adrien hadn’t been so terrified by what he was about to do, he’d allow himself to swoon at her.

Witnessing Marinette shed the tiredness of the day as she swapped into comfortable clothes—usually loose shirts and yoga pants— and poured her drink of choice was one of his favorite things to watch. It didn’t matter that they had been living together for a little over seven years now, he’d never get tired of watching her exist.

“You want some?” Marinette said as she stood on her tiptoes to reach the shelf where they kept the wine glassware.

“Yeah, sure,” Adrien said, then continued speaking after thanking his wife for the wine. “You’ll never guess what happened today.”

“What?” she said, clinking her glass against his before taking the first sip.

“A kid punned with my name.”

Marinette chuckled. “Really? What did he call you?”

“Mr. Deep.”

Marinette snorted as she took another sip from the glass.

“He said it’s because I like to go on deep tangents and because my name starts with a D. Kid can’t pun to save his life.”

Marinette smirked at him. “You’re one to talk.”

He dropped his jaw. “I can’t believe you just asked me for a divorce, m’lady.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled, walking past him on the way to the couch. She placed her wine glass on a small side table and pulled out a sketchbook from one of its drawers. She busied herself reviewing her work while Adrien gathered the courage to nudge the conversation in the direction it needed to go.

“M’lady?” he said from behind her.

“What did you do,” Marinette replied immediately, as she flipped through the pages of the sketchbook.

”I— why do you always assume I did something?”

Marinette turned around and mocked him, then gave him a knowing smirk. “It’s in your tone, Chaton. You can’t lie.”

“I am an excellent liar, I’ll have you know.” He stopped himself from bragging further, seeing as Marinette frowned.

“What is it, Adrien? What happened?”

Adrien’s palms were sweating with anxiety. He gulped. “First of all, I love you and you know that, right?”

“Adrien,” Marinette said, her voice hitching up her tone.

“It’s nothing bad . I mean, it’s a ‘could be worse’ sort of situation.”

“ Adrien !”

“Hypothetically speaking, imagine... what if, er... one of the wielders accidentally revealed himself to someone who, uh, someone who absolutely shouldn’t know? Hypothetically speaking.”

“Adrien, what did you DO ?” Marinette screeched.

[cassava-49]

Death 6

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 7

Marinette stood in shock when Allegra and Lindalee brought in a slowly fading Kenya. This made her run to aid her fallen friend. "No, no, please, please don't die. Wake up please, please," Marinette said as tears began rolling down her cheeks. The three girls gathered around their friend hoping for the best. With that, the door burst open to the two boys who were both in shock at the sight of their friend.

"What happened?" Claude asked with concern as he rushed to the girl's side. "We stopped Cerberus, but, but he clung to her and, and dragged her down with him," Lindalee explained in between sobs. Kenya slowly turned her head to face them all and have a weak smile, as tears trailed down her face she finally disappeared back to her body for her final moments. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Lindalee apologized as she curled herself into a ball and continued crying. "It's not your fault, honey. Calm down and take a deep breath," Allegra tried to calm the blonde down as she engulfed her into a tight hug. "It's not your fault Lindalee. It's my fault, I shouldn't have let you guys protect me, I can protect myself," Marinette claimed.

"We are helping you because we want to, you never asked us to," Felix said to her. "It's no one's fault," he added. This made Marinette stand up and looked at her friends. "Please, go to the south of the building, I'll be fine," she said sternly. "This is my fight not yours. I'll take care of myself, you take care of yourselves," she added as she looked at everyone in their eyes, channeling her long forgotten Ladybug, no, Marinette courage and confidence. "I don't want anyone to die at my cost," she told them. Everyone stared at her teary eyed, not knowing what to say or do. Felix stood up and stood in front of Marinette looking down at her with his stoic face.

"No," he said to her face without hesitation. Marinette glared at him and was about to speak until he goes first. "Listen, we know that you want us to leave you, so you could protect us. How much have you've done that? All the time you'll sacrifice yourself time after time again, until to the point where you break and no one is there to help you. We are here to help you like how you have helped us, please let us," Felix lectured. "You don't have to face this alone, like what you have been enduring for a long time," he continued as he placed his hands on her arms. "Please, we aren't going to leave you and let you sacrifice yourself. Please, I don't want to lose you too," he added as he pleaded to her.

"We're with him, we aren't letting you do this on your own," Claude supported. "You don't have to endure this by yourself. We're you friends and were here for you," Allegra added. "We will stand with you to the end, like what you will do for us. Let's not waste Kenya's sacrifice," Lindalee joined. "Please, we're not them, if that's what you're fearing," Felix added. He opened his mouth to say something, only to be tackled into a hug, stumbling slightly backwards. "Thank you," she mumbled as she held on tightly. Felix smiled and returned it.

...

Allan continued the cat and mouse chase as he tired Geryon more and more. "Come back," Geryon called, getting a little exhausted. Noticing his moves were getting weaker, he immediately phased through a wall leaving Geryon panting as he tried to catch up. Allan began laughing at its predicament, but what happened next, he couldn't expect. He watched one of its paws went through each room trying to find him. Realising his mistake, he tried to get out only to nearly get caught. He continued running through the hallway, pass the rooms that held no patients.

He continued running forgetting about something, he was getting closer to Allegra's room. He continued forward trying to find the right time to escape. He began dodging, jumping and escaping from its clutches. It finally dawned to him when he passed her room. He came to a complete stop upon realising his mistake. "No!" Allan screamed as Geryon's hand went straight into the poor girl's room.

...

"Allegra!" Claude shouted as he caught the poor girl in time. "I-I feel cold," Allegra stuttered trying to stay awake her eyes slowly closing and opening. "No, no, look at me. Don't, don't," Claude pleaded as he cupped the girl's cheeks and tried to force her to keep her eyes open. "It, it hurts. I-I... ca-can't... bre-breath," Allegra said, each word coming out breathier than the other. Her soul slowly fading and coming back. Everyone began gathering around to her and tried to give her comfort in her final moments before returning back to her body one last time.

This suddenly enraged them all. "New objective," Claude said. "We're going for the head," he said grimly. "No, we are here to-," Felix tried to reason. "No problem with me," Marinette agreed. "Wait, wasn't our-," Felix tried to reason again. "No, not anymore. Marinette has given her consent," Lindalee interrupted. "But that's-," Felix tried again. "No, Lila's been hurting too many people that I love, I'm not going to stand by this time," Marinette argued. Felix then conceded as he nodded and agreed. "She's not like any other akuma. She's vicious, quick, powerful and definitely knows her objective," Felix stated.

"So far, she doesn't know anything about the soul and their ability outside of the body, mostly if they're dead. But our biggest challenge would be her goons. Since they're demons, they can see us and kill us. I don't know how far the miraculous ladybugs could go, but let's just try not to get captured," Claude stated. "Claude and I are going to take on the Furies, keep them far from her to cut off their communication. From what we could observe, she can command and control them from a 10m radius. And given how effed up Paris is, seems like she released all the monsters she can. Since we haven't seen her create new ones," Felix began. "On our way here, we saw the heroes were close, so they're probably already battling right now. So Lindalee and Marinette, this is where you factor in. You have to make openings for the heroes. Make sure that they would be able to defeat her. If possible, take her sceptre and you would be able to end this mess. If some monsters are still there, Lindalee, I would want you to distract them and take them far off the 10m radius. Make sure that you don't get caught though. And Marinette you are going to continue helping the heroes, if possible cause a few misfortunes to her," Felix added. "What about Allan?" Marinette asked. "He's busy taking care of Geryon. He'll be fine," Claude commented.

...

"You can just give me your miraculouses and everything would be over. I have a prior arrangement after this," Castigare offered again as her furies did the dirty work for her. "Look who's asking?" Lady Luck threw back. "On your left Lucky," Monsieur Noir called. Acknowledging it, she immediately threw the demon, that was tied in her yo-yo, to the incoming one sending them both away. "We need a solution fast," Monsieur Noir commented. "We can do this, we'll just end this in five minutes," Lady Luck responded as they nodded to each other. "Lucky Charm!" she called as a box of macaroons appeared. She began looking at her surroundings only to find a blank slate.

"Hey, red heads!" Claude called. "Aren't you supposed to bring souls to hell? Well you missed some!" Felix added. This enraged them as all six eyes glared at them. "What are you idiots doing! Take their miraculouses!" Castigare shouted, getting pissed off by, yet another subordination. "There's no one there! Take their miraculouses!" she demanded.

"All souls must be thrown into the cold, dark abyss called hell," Megaera called out. "Well, I guess you have to play tag first before you take us to hell," Claude taunted. Before any of them spoke Felix shouted, "One, two, three, go!" With that they were off, the Furies chased them in hopes of giving them to Minos for judgement, leaving Castigare, who was already thrusting a temper tantrum. "Idiots! There's no one there! Why are they all chasing things that aren't there!" she screamed.

With them away, Lindalee and Marinette went to place. They casually began throwing buckets of paint at her. But for them, it seemed like out of no where all the materials began flying towards Castigare. "What kind of new miraculous is this?" Castigare demanded as she tried to shield herself from the attacks. The two heroes shrugged as if it was nothing. "Invisibility? Telekinesis? What is it?" she urged. "We didn't release any miraculous for this battle," Monsieur Noir replied. She continued glaring at him. She then realized that Lady Luck was not there. "Where is she?" she asked. He shrugged and began to run towards her with his staff ready. Noticing this, she immediately countered with her sceptre. They began to fence with each other, unaware of the their invisible allies.

Castigare kicked Monsieur Noir to the ground throwing his staff away. She pointed him on the ground, and setting her sceptre on the side and reached for his hand that had the ring. With an immediate turn of events, Geryon came flying in with Allan riding him from behind, guiding the monster towards them. This made her curse as she was thrown to the side, her back hitting the building. This knocked three monster out giving Allan ample time to get off. As he got off he looked at Marinette and Lindalee but turned away as they made eye contact. He can still feel the guilt surging through him. He had indirectly killed their friend and he can't help but feel guilty.

As he pondered he didn't realize that something was approaching from behind. "Allan! Look out!" Lindalee cried as ran towards him full speed pushing him out of the way as Geryon's swift paw crushed the young girl.

...

On the far side of the battle field a group of Furies continued to chase the two souls, who continued separated them from their master. "Stop running you damned souls!" Alecto screamed at them as she tried to claw Felix, who swiftly dodged it. "Do not make us call on Medusa," Megaera threatened as she cornered Felix. "Don't think that we don't know that you are the protectors of that beast who haa wronged our Queen," she added. "Couldn't care less," Claude retorted as he guided some dust towards the fury's eyes.

"Nice shot!" Felix complimented. Taking this as an opening, Alecto got hold of his arm and threw him to the building. This almost knocked him back to his body, and just as he thought he could move Megaera immediately restrained him by twisting his arms and placed it firmly on his back with his face on the warm cement. "Got you now you little shit," she grunted out pressing him further more into the wall.

This enraged Claude more as he shouted, "Let go of him!" But just before he could move, he felt like his heart was being torn out of his chest. He fell to his knees wheezing as he was going in and out of consciousness. He glared at the furies angrily as he saw Tisiphone flying down in front of him grabbing a fistful of his hair making him face her. "What? You didn't think that we didn't have ways with souls like you," she said with a sinister grin. "Find the body then attack, very simple isn't it," she added adjusting his head. With that she dropped him and went to the squirming Felix.

Light headed and nauseous, Claude forced himself to stand up but continued to fail miserably. No, I can't let anyone get hurt again when I can do something, he thought to himself rebidding him of his accident more and more. Get up, get up, he told himself as he continued trying to push himself up but to no avail. Losing hope he looked around and thought of the risks.

"Stop squirming you. You know that it's hopeless. Your little friend will die, Castigare will revive her and turn her to stone using Medusa and grind her into dust after we're fine torturing get," Megaera said explaining Lila's plan. "It's a shame to ruin such a pretty face," Alecto said as she was about to leave to do some damage to his unconscious body. As she was about to lift off the ground, she felt it shake. The trio then felt it get stronger but missed the debris that was about to fall onto them. They were too invested at the thought of the ground splitting open only to realize the danger was from above, as they looked up they were unable to fly away as the debris fell on top of them. This made Megaera let Felix go to cover her head. With no living matter holding onto him, he was able to phase through the building to avoid the rubble toppling over them.

Once the furies were covered with heavy construction material, Felix phased out of the building only to find Claude on his knees slowly fading away. He looked at him with wide eyes, but before any of them could saw anything, Claude's soul slowly disappeared leaving his ghostly smile etched into Felix's burning heart. He felt himself tear up as he looked down whispering, "You idiot, you wasted your final energy on me instead on yourself. You such an idiot." With almost all of his friends dead, he turned to the direction to where he left Marinette and Lindalee. With a determined look on his eyes he immediately ran towards them to save them from anymore danger.

...

"Lindalee! No!" Marinette screamed at the scene in front of her. She immediately ran towards them taking Geryon by the wing, she used her new found strength to break it. This made the beast screech from the pain as it stumbled backwards, taking its paw of the poor girl, and fell on the fence of the hospital. With it on its back, she ran to the two with a painful twist in her stomach.

"No, please don't, please survive," she said as she took the little girl's slowly fading hand. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Why did you push me out of the way? I could still live unlike you," Allan stated as he pulled her frail soul close. "Oh right, I forgot about that," Lindalee said laughing lightly. "I guess I didn't want any of my friends to die on my watch by another monster again," she replied remembering Kenya. "What do you mean?" Allan asked confused about the situation. Marinette looked at him with a bleak expression saying, "Kenya's dead, Cerberus killed her. Allegra's dead, too." This made him fuel with rage as he gave Lindalee one last look as he got up and went to Geryon with a murderous look in his eyes. "Look away you two. I don't think I would be able to do this if either of you are watching," he stated as he aimed for Geryon.

"Get up, you lazy sack of meat. Get up and protect me," Castigare commanded once she got hold of her sceptre. But to no avail, the creature was unable to move for that matter. It seemed as if he was stuck in his place slowly choking as if a noose was around its neck. "You worthless minion!" she shouted as she stalked her way towards Marinette's room. "You'll get your jewels Hawkmoth, just let me do this while those two trouble makers are out of the way, for now," she told him coldly.

Hearing this Marinette turned her head as she watched the akuma ever the building. She felt a tug on her sleeve to find Lindalee smiling softly at her mouthing, "Go, I'll be fine. I'm not alone, I can feel Kenya and Allegra with me. Go now, before it's too late." Marinette nodded as she felt the tears flow down her cheeks. She set the girl on the ground as she faded back to her body.

"Marinette, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The time of reckoning had finally arrived," Castigare said as she entered the said person's room. "Who are you? Get out," Rolland said to her. "You must be her grandfather, a pleasure to meet you," she answered with a sickening voice as she pushed the old man away. But to her displeasure, she found the bed empty. She glared at our as she turned to the old man, "Where is she?" she asked menacingly. Rolland spat on her face and said, "Over my dead body. I'm never going to tell you where my granddaughter is."

This enraged her more, but as she was about to punch the old man, a yo-yo wrapped around her hand stopping her from hurting the man. Enraged by this intrusion, she pulled it towards her. Bad idea, since Lady Luck is very much armed with knowledge of almost all of the martial arts, instead of being limply dragged towards her, she got hit in the nose by the the girl's feet. "You want Marinette? Follow me," Lady Luck offered. "Why should I? For all I know it could be a trap," Castigare retorted cautiously. "Your loss," the hero taunted. "No tricks, no games," Castigare stated. "No tricks, no games," the girl parroted.

...

Felix arrived at the area only to find it completely deserted, expect for the passed out Geryon and an out of breath Allan. "Allan," he called out. "Where's Lindalee and Marinette?" he asked. Allan walked down the beast and approached the blond asking, "Where's Claude?" Felix looked the other way and said, "Gone, sacrificed himself for me." This made Allan twitch as he looked at the spot where Lindalee was. "Where's Marinette and Lindalee?" Felix asked again. Allan looked at him with a blank expression saying, "Lindalee got crushed by Geryon."

This made Felix's eyes widen with the news of another death. "And Marinette?" he asked looking down contemplating. "In the morgue," Allan replied. This made him face the boy and grabbed his shirt. "Wooh, wooh, that's not what I meant. I heard the doctors and nurses say that they had to keep her there since they got a call from Lady Luck and she has a plan," he quickly explained. This made Felix relax as he let him go, but quickly remembered the fury's words.

"I almost forgot, Megaera told me Lila's plan," he said as he continued to explain. Allan began to contemplate on it trying to find a solution. "I have an idea, I don't care about the risk any more," Felix said as he told him the plan. This made Allan's eyes widen as he looked at his friends with disbelief. "No, no, I'm not going to let you do that. I'm not going to risk it, not to mention almost all our friends are dead," Allan replied. "It's the only way I could think of. Please trust me on this, it's the only way. And I have nothing to lose," Felix stated. Allan sighed and gave in as he said a silent prayer. "Alright, let's try it," he finally said.

The two boys then went to Felix's room, which was luckily empty. "Are you sure about this?" Allan asked hesitantly. "Just do it," Felix demanded. With that Allan possessed Felix's body making him wake up, but sadly, he woke up in pain. Trying to stay awake without altering any of the nurses. He felt Felix's presence as he caused a swift breeze passed the IVs he has to remove. Allan painfully removed them and sat on the bed with all of his strength. He closed his eyes as he tried to feel Felix's presence.

Felix, on the other hand, looked at his physical face and tried to touch it only to have his hand of through it. He sighed and took a deep breath as he looked at himself as neared this fist face to his physical face. His ghost lips and physical lips touched to give breath to his body, with that the transfer began.

Felix opened his eyes only to squint at the light. But slowly he opened them and took in his surroundings and took a couple of breaths as he savoured the feeling of being alive. He began feeling pain but only smiled at the thought of feeling it again. He slowly got up, ignoring the pain, he walked out of the room. He stepped out and started to walk, he then started to get faster until he's already running towards Marinette's body.

...

Marinette followed the two into the morgue. "We're here," Lady Luck said as she opened the doors. Both of them stepped in to find Marinette's sleeping body still hooked to the machines. "What kind of hero you are. You led me right to her," Castigare stated as she placed the sceptre right above the girl's head. Marinette then felt her soul slowly reunite with her body. After a bright light of the unification, Marinette found herself surrounded by two heroes who told her to be quite. She nodded as they both whispered the plan into her ears.

Castigare smirked as she looked at Marinette's confused face at being awaken. "Where? Where am I?" the young girl asked. "Get up, you bitch," Castigare said with much rudeness to a newly awaken coma patient. "Lady Luck, what's happening?" Marinette asked with confusion. "It's alright Marinette, trust me right now. We have to do what she says so, please get up," Lady Luck reassured. Marinette nodded as she got up and looked at Castigare with sad eyes saying, "Lila, why did you do this to you? You know that this will not make you a lik-."

"Shut up," Castigare butted in. "Now you'll do as I-," she continued only to stop when she saw a second Marinette appear. "What? What is this? An illusion?" she asked taken completely off guard. "Yup," Lady Luck replied as she aimed for the sceptre, missing it by a few centimetres since Castigare caught up. "Hide Marinette," Monsieur Noir instructed as he appeared. He immediately extended his staff aiming for her knees.

Castigare tripped but had a tight grip on the sceptre. This enraged her and cursed Medusa for being late. "Give it up, Lila. Don't you see, your hurting a lot of people," Monsieur Noir tried to reason. "My name is Castigare, not that powerless Lila! Medusa turn them to stone!" she demanded as the doors opened to reveal the snake haired mythological woman. Medusa entered and immediately opened her eyes. "Close your eyes everyone!" someone shouted from behind.

Recognizing the voice, Marinette unconsciously turned around almost meeting the monster's eye. "Felix?" she asked in a quiet voice. Realising her mistake, she felt a pair of hands quickly cover her eyes. She felt warmth and suddenly the cold touch of stone. "Felix? Felix?" Marinette asked repeatedly as she touched the stone hand covering her eyes, the stone arm that held her close, and the stone body that shielded her. She felt tears run down her eyes realising that she was unable to every feel his warm skin on hers. To smell his natural scent that she yearned to know. To touch his smooth looking blond hair and run her hands through our as she pleased. Now, he is nothing but an emotionless statue with a stone heart.

"Please, don't go. The miraculous ladybugs will fix you, it's going to be OK," Marinette said trying to calm down. Speaking too soon, she felt something go through him and started to feel the statue crack. With one swift tug Felix's statue crumbled into rubble. "Did you really think that you could escape me? Even this boy's sacrifice is useless," Castigare remarked.

Marinette gritted her teeth with closed eyes. Using her sense of hearing that had been enhanced by her training as Ladybug, she was able to land a good blow. This caught Castigare off guard, stumbling back by the force, still stunned. Red eyes staring at the ground, Marinette looked at Felix's stone face that was still intact. She immediately recognised his expression as a caring and protective one despite the scowl that he gave Medusa and Castigare.

"You don't care who you step on, don't you?" Marinette asked in a low voice. Rubbing the blood off her nose, Castigare looked at her with cold eyes. "You know the answer to that. I don't care about anyone or anything, as long as I win in the end," she replied as she neared Marinette. "You don't even know how many you've killed just for a petty revenge, don't you?" Marinette asked raising her head looking Castigare in the eye. "Kill, ha! No one dies because during an akuma attack. With the miraculous ladybugs everything would be restored," Castigare replied as she stopped in front of Marinette placing her sceptre under the girl's chin. "Who told you that? Hawkmoth? Wanna bet?" Marinette asked menacingly.

This made doubt cross Lila's face, taking this chance, Marinette quickly snatched the sceptre and threw it across the room. This made the two begin their cat fight. As Castigare tried to run to her sceptre Marinette immediately grabbed her arm and tossed her overhead. Despite not having any ability or miraculous, Marinette has always been good at hand-to-hands combat, courtesy of her mother. Collecting herself, Castigare for up on her arms only to be roughly pushed back down on the ground. Noticing her near defeat, Medusa quickly left the two miraculous users to aid her.

"Wait," Lady Luck said as she placed a hand on Monsieur Noir's chest. "Lucky charm!" she called as the ladybugs hand her an adamantine sword, the same one that Perseus used to cut off Medusa's head. She began looking around and nodded at her cat and fox. Noir and Vulpes went to the hospital bed taking the blanket and getting strips of our, tying it over their man's covering their eyes. Now that their eyes are covered it would be difficult for Medusa to make eye contact with them, not knowing where they are looking.

Medusa quickly pulled Marinette off Castigare and pushed her on the ground, pinning her down not giving her a chance to escape. Marinette immediately closed her eyes, not wanting to open them. Castigare grinned maliciously as she looked at the squirming victim. "Not so powerful now, are you Marinette," Castigare taunted as she gets on on one knee and nears her face to Marinette. Marinette glared at Lila through closed eyes as she laughed and got up. "Turn her to stone," she said forgetting about the others in the room.

Medusa nodded as she turned Marinette to face her. She neared her face to the girl awaiting for her eyes to open. "Won't you open your eyes for me," she said with an enchanting tone trying to convince her to open her eyes. But before she could force her eyes open she heard a scream. As she turned the other way she felt her head being separated from her body. With that Medusa's head was kicked out of sight. "It's gone, you can open your eyes now," Lady Luck said as she pushed Medusa's body off Marinette and engulfed her into a hug they both desperately needed.

"Cataclysm" Monsieur Noir called on as he destroyed the sceptre while Vulpes had the blanket around Castigare's head. With that the little butterfly escaped and Lila detransformed, making Vulpes let go. "Stand down now, Lila, it's over," Vulpes said noticing the girl twitch to attack either of them. Lila complied and remained docile.

Lady Luck began to purify the akuma and cleansed the mess using the miraculous ladybugs. But with this Marinette was again back in her coma, given that she was awaken by Lila's magic. Buildings were fixed, wounds were healed, chaos turned to order. But the stone statue that turned into a boy didn't wake up. Vulpes approached Felix's body and looked for a pulse only to gasp at the occurrence. All the heroes looked at each other in horror as she announced, "He doesn't have a pulse."

"Miraculous ladybug has its limits," Lady Luck said quietly. Lila stared in shock at the thought of those she had possibly killed. But instead of regret and remorse, she felt vengeful as she got up to her feet and grabbed the closest pair of scissors and went straight for Marinette, while the heroes were distracted by the boy's body. She dug it into Marinette's neck, hitting the carotid artery. The heroes sprung into action and apprehended her, but as Vulpes tried to pull Lila from Marinette, only making Lila able to cut through it more. Lady Luck quickly removed the scissors, while Monsieur Noir placed a towel on it putting pressure on the wound. Lady Luck's fist collided with Lila's face as she instructed, "Vulpes, Noir, get Marinette to the ER now, she still had 10 minutes left and call some nurses to come down here. Go, I'll take care of this rat." Without being told twice, the two heroes pushed through the doors to deliver Marinette.

Lady Luck got to Lila's eye level. Lila on the other hand was glaring back at her saying, "You're as worse as Ladybug. But at least Ladybug would never hurt a civilian." This struck the last nerve, she wrapped the girl in her yo-yo and dragged her out.

Marinette, on the other hand, was starting to have a difficulty to breath. If crying was already obstructing her breathing, now she felt like she was drowning. She had hitched a ride on her hospital bed as the nurses pushed it into the ER, Vulpes and Monsieur Noir long gone because she had less than a minute to detransform. She still can't believe that Lila would go that far just to kill her. She can see that her whole being was slowly fading away ready to reunite with her body. With one last look, she could see her family's faces outside the room, she smiled and happily rejoined her body.

[a-marlene-s]

Futuristic Miraculous: Part 1

Couple: TerRI, Terry Mcginnis x Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug/Batman Beyond

Genre: Salt, hurt/comfort, friendship, and possibly more.

Summary: With her childhood friends close by, Marinette knew she could take on the world, even when dealing with a certain lair. It all first started with taking a job for being Jagged Stone’s personal designer and that resulted with her being in Neo-Gotham. All the while Terry is facing the fact he is the new Batman and dealing with all the past Robins wondering what Bruce was thinking in taking in a new kid into the cruel world that is of Superheroes.

Terry McGinnis x Marinette Dupain-Cheng: Futuristic            

Tag List: @battysorciere​

TerRi Sever: https://discord.gg/2qCNdjs

Age List: 

Bruce: 60

Dick: 43

Barbara: 42

Jason 39

Tim: 37

Damian: 34

Terry: 16

Marinette: 16

Penny R.: 32

Marinette refused to cry or look away as her classmates waiting to be picked up to go to the local airport. She could see many of them sneering, glaring or just giving her looks of pity. Then there was Lila… just giving a look that reminded Marinette of a cat that caught the canary.

At her right, Nino held back a snarl that threatened to escape his lips at the sight of Liar mocking his friend. At Marinette’s left, Kim is trying his hardest to hold back his own anger at what was happening. It’s completely unfair how things had turned out for Marinette. She had done everything she could for this trip to happen Neo-Gotham and for it to blow up in her face has become the last straw for her.

Marinette tried so hard to take the high road that the only thing she got out of it is broken friendships. Along with just seeing how depressing the world could be. It has been well over a year since Lila came to Paris and destroyed her life to the best of her abilities. Unfortunately for the Liar, Marinette has two best friends that managed to see through the lies and are now stand by her side through it all. Even going as far too foregoing Neo-Gotham for her.

With everyone’s back turn, Lila took the chance to send a menacing smirk to Marinette before boarding the bus with the rest of the class. Marinette’s eyes narrowed as everyone ignored them as the bus drove off, leaving them in its dust. This hurts.

Not as much as seeing the hurt in their faces when Lila’s reign over them comes tumbling down.

“Kim, Marinette, Nino, I have your work packets for the year.”  Ms. Mendeleiev approached the three students with three large packets of work. “I stapled my contact information in each packet. I will have the rest of your work on my website by the end of the month. The packets should be more than enough until then.”

“Thank you, Ms. Mendeleiev for your help.” Marinette thanked her instructor as she and her friends took their respective packets.

“If it means undermining, Miss Bustier, they by all means.” Ms. Mendeleiev snorted, she looked at her students, seeing the determination in their eyes. “If I was your homeroom instructor… things would have never gotten this far, I hope the three of you know this.”

“We know, Ms. Mendeleiev.” Marinette smiled sadly before she started to smirk. “I suppose we should be heading to the airport too if we want to catch our flight.”

“Penny said that a limo will be picking us up as soon as we give her a call.” Nino mentioned.

“Yeah, let’s call her! I want to see the looks on their faces when they see us flying first class!!!” Kim laughed.

Ms. Mendeleiev could only shake her head before she turned on her heal to leave. “Keep up with your work and keep me posted on your work.”

“Thank you, Ms. Mendeleiev.”  

-.-

Tim drank what feels like his hundredth cup of coffee in the past hour, it might as well be his hundredth cup of coffee at this point. He was supposed to be in Paris for just a simple and much needed vacation. But of course work has to come first before anything. This resulted with him waiting in the airport with a bunch of high school students that are to go back to Neo-Gotham with him as part of an exchange program set up by his associates and his old Alma mater.

Now… this wouldn’t be an issue. The actual issue being the fact that the one that did most of the work to make this program possible isn’t even here. Tim doesn’t buy that whole, ‘disciplinary actions’ and all that other crap the teacher tries to shove down his throat.  He ignored the rest of it and had emailed the associate that had put this together to send him the report from the missing student.

What Tim read made him wonder what the hell is going on in Paris. It makes it appear that they made the poor girl do all the dirty work and pushed her out of her own project at the last minute. As much he wants to forgo this trip, he has to keep up appearances as a CEO. Plus, who knows… maybe the kid will finally get a break from them.

Win-Win? No… it’s a lost for the girl that did everything she could to get her class to go on this trip. For nothing on her end.

“I happen to know Dick Grayson’s daughter, Mar’i Grayson! We are the closes of friends you know~”

Tim’s neck nearly snapped when he turned his attention to one of the French students. Once look over, and he could tell right off the bat she’s lying. First off… he knows all of Mar’i’s friends, safety precautions and to weed of anyone that wants to use her for connections. Second… this brat never spends a single day in the Manor and knew his own kids!!!! Tim guesses that the fact no one recognize him and assumed he’s some random employee that was supposed to be their guide or something.

Otherwise, the liar wouldn’t be spinning her tales otherwise.

“Why the hell are you here!!!”

Tim turned around to see three teens talking animated to a pink haired adult that is showing them a pamphlet. Considering they were all in the waiting terminal to catch the next plane, the four were blissfully unaware of their surroundings. That was until Miss Bustier approached the group but the woman that was holding the pamphlet pushed the teens behind her. Whatever was said by both adults, clearly made the teacher go on edge and the pink haired woman to smirk smugly at her.

With a heavy sigh, Tim drowned down his hundredth cup of coffee and headed towards what he suspects to be trouble.

“Marinette, Nino and Kim are under my supervision.” Penny stated, her expression neutral to hide her contempt. “I have their parents’ permission, the school is notified and that is all you need to know.”

Bustier’s mouth went agape at the woman’s words, even more so at the sight of her student’s smirks that were directed her way. Those three were supposed to be back at the school, not here in the airport. Not being here, waiting for the same plane as they are. She shook her head and tried to say something when it was announced that their flight is about ready to board, informing everyone to get to their spots.

“We must get going.” Penny said, pushing past Bustier and the rest of the students that decided to surround them. “We to get in line.”

Kim and Nino took hold of Marinette and pushed through the crowd as it appeared their fellow classmates were not planning on letting them through. The last thing they needed is more fuel to the fire by having Marinette being singled out for something she didn’t do. Again. Marinette for her own part, ignored the glares and everyone’s attempt to get her attention. As of now, they are not worth her time.

Marinette did however stick out her tongue out at Lila when she caught the other teen glaring at her. Might as well have some fun for now.

Tim, who had been watching, watched as the Marinette Dupain-Cheng be pulled away by her friends by her… friends? Classmates? Whatever she considers them, considering how majority of them were not comforting the now crying Liar. The Liar kept crying on and on how Marinette supposedly had stepped on her foot on purpose.

“Miss Bustier, is there a problem?” Tim asked, causing the French teacher to suck in a deep breath. Ah, she forgot about him. Figures. “Well?”

“Just a miscommunication is all.” Bustier tried to say.

“I assume that was Miss Dupain-Cheng?” Tim asked, raising an eyebrow at Bustier. “The one that is supposed to be dealing with disciplinary problems?”

“She chopped off Lila’s hair!” One of the teens seethed out as she tried to sooth the Lair’s tears away. “And she just stepped on her foot.”

Tim looked at Lila to see that her shoes were scruff free, her hair… well, it’s in a bob. He could only shake his head. Oh, how much he wants to cancel this trip. He’s close to doing it too. Taking in a deep breath, he looked back at Bustier. “Far as I am concerned, she is not part of this trip. You have no control over them. You, however, have control over the rest of your students. Now go get in line, we are about to board.”

-.-

Tim sat in his first class seat, asking the stewardess for a large cup of coffee. When he gets back home, he’s going to apologize to Bruce for all the shit he ever pulled on him throughout the years. This doesn’t include his own kids, but that is beside the point of it all. He had to deal with a bunch of whiny teens that are going on and on how the evil Marinette getting first class seats while they all have coach. Evil this, evil that, and here he was talking with said evil person, chatting away on her dream of becoming a fashion designer and how the Jagged Stone has hired her personally to design his clothes while he’s on tour.

It also helps that the woman from earlier, Penny Rolling is Jagged’s agent and confirmed her story. From what Tim could summarize what had happened was that Lila Rossi had cut her own hair to the point it was unsalvageable and blamed it on Marinette, claiming the designer did it. No one took Marinette’s side except for her two friends, Kim and Nino.

Despite the fact that Marinette was with Kim and Nino when this… accident had occurred, no one bothered to listen to reason. This caused Tim really regret not canceling the trip for the other Parisians. That was until Penny made mention that there was no point in going up against the girl… at that instant. If the girl wants a to be the center of attention, oh, she will get it.

Tim couldn’t help but laugh at the agent’s words before he quickly sobered up. Despite the fact Marinette and her friends are still going to Neo-Gotham, but they won’t have the same experience as the others… although, thinking further into it, it wouldn’t be all that great of a trip for them if Rossi keeps trying to sabotage them at every step.

At least they found a way to enjoy their time in the city…

“Excuse me, Mr. Drake…?”

Tim looked up at one of the stewardess to see her holding a note. “Is something the matter?”

“You have a message from one… Dick Grayson” The stewardess replied uncertainty, handing over the note to Tim.

Tim took the note and a raised eye brow. He watched as the stewardess scurry of before looking down at the note. Unfolding it to see what was written on it only caused both eyebrows to shot up.

Check the Neo-Gotham news!

Tim pulled out his cellphone and turned it back on. By the time his phone had booted up, he was bombarded by many missed texts, lost calls, and many news notifications all stemming from his home city. When he went to check on the latest text, he got another notification from a news station he follows.

Tapping on the notification and the headline of the article has him quickly making a group call with all the former batboys.

Tomorrow is Here, The Return of Batman!

“Okay, which one of you did it. Which one of you is the new Batman… What did you expect, Jason! I haven’t been in the same country, let alone continent… I don’t know, Damian! Bruce prefers to be alone and hardly bothers to talk to anyone outside of the family… Thanks Dick…  Let’s get this straight, whoever this new Batman is, is none of us… That’s what I thought.” Tim pulled his phone away from his ear as Dick, Jason and Damian started to argue among themselves on whatever is going on in Neo-Gotham. Apparently, there’s a new Batman and they have no clue who took on the old mantle of the Dark Night. Or as the Tomorrow Knight as people are taking to call him as now. Taking in a deep breath, Tim put the phone back by his ear. “I’m on a plan heading back home. I’ll talk to Bruce about this… What do you guys mean you won’t be here until then?… Just get here as soon as possible.”

-.-

Terry double checked that he has all of Bruce’s medications counted before placing them all in a small plant along with a sandwich and a steaming cup of tea. If he’s going to be dubbed Bruce Wayne’s part-time assistant, he might as well play the part. He has nothing against it, the old man is giving him the opportunity in becoming the new Batman. Plus, but the looks of it, there was really no one there to help Bruce as often as needed. Mainly making sure the guy doesn’t have a heart attack by doing the simplest of tasks… like saving him.

Terry shook his head as he picked up the tray and headed towards the room where Bruce is with Ace. Taking in a deep breath, he made his way to his new mentor.

Pushing the door open, Terry caught Bruce putting something away in his coat. He raised an eyebrow but made no comment. For all he knew it was other medication Bruce doesn’t want him to know about. “Remind me to go grocery shopping later. For a rich guy, your pantry is pretty bare.”

“Alfred used to keep the place stock…” Bruce briefly mentioned, reaching over to Ace to scratch his head. “Tim mainly just whatever he thinks is best for me…which isn’t much.”

“Tim?”

“One of my sons. You will be seeing him often as he pops by to make sure I’m properly taking care of myself.” Terry could hear the eye roll Bruce did at the mention of taking care of himself. “If you see a thirty something year old male that looks like he’s on the verge of collapsing… it’s him.”

“Is… is this the same man that took over Wayne Enterprises?” Terry enquired, placing the tray on a small table next to Bruce’s chair.

“He is. Out of my four sons, he took the most interest in taking over the company.”

“Got it.” Terry grumbled, taking a seat opposite of Bruce. He watched as the older male take his sandwich and eat it uninterestingly. A thought popped through his head suddenly, causing him to tense. “All your sons were past Robins and the occasional Batman… right?”

Bruce eyed Terry suspiciously before nodding, taking another bite from his food. “Your point?”

“Did you tell any of them about me?” Terry asked.

“I did not. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them barges through that door… right about now.”

Slam!

The doors of the room slammed open to reveal a very sleep deprived male, frantically looking around for who knows what. When his eyes landed on Terry, his slowly blinked over to Bruce and back at Terry before leaving the room. An awkward silence filled the air when the sound of the front door being slammed open and shut.

Terry looked over at Bruce just to see the man still munching on his sandwich. “Who was that?”

“That would be Tim.” Bruce said without missing a beat.

Terry looked taken aback at that statement. The same guy that’s supposed to look after Bruce, the same guy that looks like he’s going to keel over? Yeah, no. Tim looks like he hasn’t slept in months and is need of a proper meal. “…And he now the head of Wayne Enterprise?”

“I’m one of the chairmen.” Bruce stated.

The sound of the front door being slammed open reverberated throughout the seemingly quiet manor. Stomping all the way to the room Terry and Bruce are in. Tim came back, staring at Terry with a wide variety of emotions. “Who are you? Did Bruce adopt you? What’s your backstory? What’s your name…?”

Terry looked taken aback, he looked over at Bruce, hoping for some sort of help. Nope. The old man just took his medication and used his tea to drink it down. “…”

“Well?” Tim questioned, storming into the room. He now stood in between Bruce and Terry, waiting for the teen to answer his questions. “Who are you?”

“His father used to work for Wayne Enterprises.” Bruce butted in, emphasizing on a particular word.  

This only caused Tim to raise his hands into the air in defeat as he caught drift on Bruce’s meaning of the words, used to. “Great…. He did take in another one… If you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to my brothers.”

With that, Tim one again left the room leaving being a very perplexed Terry and annoyed Bruce.

“What the hell was that?” Terry questioned.

“…He gets like that whenever he’s off his coffee.”

-.-

Marinette, Nino and Kim did their best to ignore how Neo-Gotham gave them the creeps. It was clear the city needed massive cleaning up when it comes to crime. From what they had gathered, things had deteriorated since Batman had hung his cape for good. Shortly being followed by his former sidekicks. Since then, crime has risen to the point it makes them wonder if the city will ever be crime-free.

Maybe they’ll help while they are in the city for the time being.

“Spots On!”

“Shell On!”

“Show Time!”

-.-

Tim sat in front of the computer mainframe inside the Batcave, on a multi-line video chat with Dick, Barbara, Jason and Damian. “You know him, Barbs?”

“Terrence ‘Terry’ McGinnis has multiple run ins with the GCPD. Even serving a three-month stint in juvie for running with a street gang.” Commissioner Barbara Gordon said, her expression stern and not at all liking the fact that Bruce had managed to find someone to take over the mantle of Batman.

Jason whistled at that. “Damn. What this kids’ home life like?”

“His father was murdered the other night… in order to keep him quiet.” Barbara said, her eyes narrowed down onto Tim. For his own part, Tim wanted to earth to swallow him up. “Something about one of your business partners, by the name of Derek Powers, was creating a formula and one Warren McGinnis was a part of the research division of it.”

Once more, Tim slumped further into his chair as he thought over the business deal he had with Derek Powers. It was nothing out of the ordinary really. They both had something the other needed, and Powers just wanted to use the Wayne’s Labs for further research on a formula. Nothing out of the norm really! This has been done multiple times with different companies in the past. But it appears this time around… it was anything but the norm.

“Powers had Warren killed. Terry found out, and wanted payback. What’s new?” Damian rolled his eyes not at all amused by the entire situation. “I just want to know how he managed to get the suit.”

“Bruce is refusing to tell me anything and all of you know how he is.” Tim said, fixing himself back into the seat before he had the chance to fall off it.

“Does he gave a family?” Dick asked quietly, almost being talked over by Jason demanding Tim to demand for more answers.

Once again, Barbara answered. “He’s now living with his mother and had a younger brother.”

“Do they get along?” Jason asked.

“They do. More so after Terry’s return from juvie.”

“You know something…” Jason mused, he wasn’t facing the screen anymore, paying more attention to whatever was on his phone. “If I didn’t know any better…”

“Which you don’t.” Damian butted in.

“Shut it squirt!” Jason shot back.

“I’m not a child anymore, Todd!”

“That’s enough!” Dick said, breaking up a possible fight. “No more fighting. We’re not children anymore.”

Jason tsk’ed but continued with his train of thought. “The kid looks a lot like Damian when he was around that age.”

At this, everyone turned their attention to Damian who’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, nearly choking on a beverage he was drinking. “Let me assure you, I am not like father who sleeps with random women.”

“…You got to admit… Terry has Bruce’s chin…” Dick pointed out.

Silence…

“Who wants to bet Bruce didn’t wear a condom?”

A sharp ring interrupted any possible bets, Tim reached up and started to figure out what set off the alarm. Pulling up a screen that showed something… really, really… really odd. “So… a ladybug, a turtle and a monkey walked into a movie theater that’s being held up in gun point…”

TBC.

If anyone wants to be part of the tag list, don’t hesitate to ask

[itsgrandstudentdestinyblog]

Angels and Ghosts, Prologue

A bit for my idea where Marinette wishes the miraculouses, and by extension herself away. Don’t expect much detail of what happened with her and Adrien specifically--there have been lots of stories about him trying to gain the ladybug to wish his mother to life, many of them better than I could do. This would focus on the aftermath.

Have you seen what they said on the news today

Have you heard what they said about us all

Do you know what is happening to just every one of us

Have you heard, have you heard?

 There will be a catastrophe the like we've never seen

There will be something that will light the sky

That the world as we know it, it will never be the same

Did you know, did you know?

 Where the Wild Wind Blows (Iron Maiden) 

Paris was burning as Marinette looked down upon it from her old place on the Eiffel Tower. She’d not been here since that last time with Adrien.

She hadn’t known he was Adrien back then. She hadn’t known at all, not until he’d tried to take her Miraculous. Plagg had warned her and she had stopped him. Taken his Miraculous. Left Adrien there, desperate to use the power of a wish to bring his mother back.

She hadn’t let him. It wasn’t right—not to exchange another life for his mother’s, another family sacrificed no matter how much she wanted to end his own pain. So she had turned her back on him, Plagg by her side and left him on the Paris roof, unaware of what would happen.

What had happened.

She looked down over the neighborhoods, some shrouded in smoke, some afire. Her home, the school, both gone, burning away, smoke and ash rising on the morning air. The roads where she’d walked, crowded with angry mobs, burning cars, shouts rising into the air. She looked up as a formation of jets rocketed overhead, maybe heading to the borders.

All because of us. She whispered, “Spots off” and then was revealed. Just Marinette. If someone saw her, saw her transform they would…

Not have enough time to stop her. She reached up and took her earrings off. She’d forbidden Tikki from speaking.  Not because she didn’t want to say goodbye, but because she was afraid that the kwami might dissuade her. Her other hand held a black ring.

Plagg hadn’t spoken for days. Hadn’t spoken very much since that terrible night. He’d been angry—and heartbroken, and it had only gotten worse, as they realized how very far Adrien had fallen.

If only…

The thought vanished on the ashy wind. Useless.

Just one thing to do now. Marinette held up the two miraculouses, and started to say the words that could command their power, that would make a wish.

Her throat hurt as she said the words. It wasn’t just an old language, it was the First language, Tikki had told her. Older than the kwami, who after all were only as old as the universe.  This language had been the one used to speak the universe into being.

She spoke the words. Once, twice, three times. Three times to let the Powers know that she was serious. Three times, each time harder than the last, the universe asking her if she was sure. IF she was very sure.  

Blood burst from her mouth, even as the sounds of the world around her faded away. Her form started to blaze with…

Calling it light was inadequate. The blaze seemed to cut through everything else, more real than mere matter and energy. And contrasting with the light, Marinette’s shadow fell behind her, great and terrible.  She held up her hands, and then saw the Powers that now regarded her.

Marinette wanted to die, to crawl away, to close her eyes against the regard of those beings. Not evil. Evil would have been less terrifying than the virtue and glory that looked down upon her.

But she had to say her last request, and so, desperately, thinking of her friends, Alya (poor Alya, she had never deserved what had happened to her), all the  terror, all the people, good and evil, and yes, even Adrien, even if she couldn’t grant him absolution. That was one thing she knew looking upon the power before her. One thing it could not change was a man’s choice and Adrien had made his.

She gasped out her request for pardon and redemption for man and felt it take her. But there was one last thing to do. The price.

Let it fall upon me. Let it only fall upon me… she thought, and then a great wind took her and whirled her away.

And simultaneously, the world changed. Or rather, the world had always been as Marinette’s wish made it.

But not only as her wish had made it…

[eatbreathewrite]

The Adventures of Todd and Granny

(Alternatively: “I Saw Granny Ethel with the Devil”)

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

Yard Work

Of the many lessons instilled in him by Granny Ethel, the one that Todd knows best, is that good, hard, honest work keeps the devil at bay.

It’s only a saying. But he takes it to heart, if only to reassure himself that his brethren don’t know or care where he’s disappeared to for the past few months.

Really, they shouldn’t care. They’re often called away and sent on wayward tasks by superiors and skilled summoners alike. Sometimes for years.

Todd wouldn’t mind living like this for a decade, or two.

The Human Todd—Theodore—though, doesn’t seem to hold the same morals.

“Ugh—why won’t the damn thing just start?” he gripes at the old push lawn mower, rusted and peeling with age, as he yanks the motor’s rip cord for the third time in a row—unsuccessful. Not even a stutter. The heel of his shoe bounces off of its faded red deck with a dull, metallic thump as he tries to kick it into submission, but hitting machinery never inspires it to suddenly, magically work.

It isn’t that it doesn’t have gas—Todd has made sure it’s well taken care of in its old age and properly filled. It isn’t that it’s missing its grass-catcher bag, either. That’s another issue to be met further down the road.

Ultimately, it’s just Theodore’s poor luck and impatience. And a dirty carburetor, perhaps.

He’ll let him struggle obliviously for a few moments more—but only a few. Granny Ethel’s lawn is overgrown with a wily mass of green-yellow grass up to his shins, in desperate need of taming. But for now, he just shakes his head and minds his business at the stone-bordered garden on the other end of the lawn, getting his claws dirty pulling stray weeds from between herbs and taking notes on which ones need pruning.

More importantly, he only allows Theodore to swear so loudly because Granny Ethel is currently absent.

Their friend Sam from the grocery store kindly drove her to her routine check-up at the local clinic earlier that afternoon, though they probably would have walked if it wasn’t in the next town over.

Being who she is, he’s still a bit surprised they didn’t.

Another kick echoes off the metal body of the lawn mower—followed quickly by a strangled yell and the sound of something heavy—someone—hitting the grass with a sharp rustle. A soft landing.

Maybe he’s lucky after all.

Todd still ignores him, and pauses briefly to admire the ruby red glare of a ladybug landing on the back of his dark hand. Even as the swishing of disturbed grass only grows closer, until a distorted human shadow blocks the bright patch of sun reflecting off of the ladybug’s fragile shell.

Theodore clears his throat.

The ladybug’s wings unfurl in a flutter and it flits away, following the wind.

Again, he clears his throat to garner attention—and Todd ignores him. But he does keep him in the fringe of his peripheral vision.

“No help at all.” He huffs out an insulted breath as he stomps away, unkempt, sweaty blond hair flouncing with each step. It must be the hardest he’s worked out in ages, to get so worked up.

But Theodore doesn’t return to the lawn mower—this time he heads toward the far corner, to the small brown shed topped with a patchy, bright yellow roof. Unpainted, unfinished. It’s something Todd will take care of at an appropriate time. Granny Ethel’s birthday, perhaps…though she hasn’t mentioned it just yet.  

The doors rattle as he gives them a shake—locked, naturally. He sets his hands on his hips and hangs his head in defeat. Bends down and almost collapses in the grass, ready to give up, but stops. Frozen, as if struck by inspiration. His head tilts dramatically as he peers toward something in the corner, resting in the shadows between the shed wall and the fence.

Todd has to admit, this interests him greatly—he turns his head to watch, but doesn’t move from his spot beside the herb garden.

Theodore straightens up and slinks toward the shadowed nook, reaching a hand out into the blackness. And when he draws it back, a scythe handle is gripped in his palm.

It’s dusty. Rusted and bent at the edges, probably dull—and complete with another hand grip protruding from the main rod like a functional tool. Made of old wood; reliable wood. Hand-carved. Theodore wheezes out a laugh of disbelief and quickly turns. Todd can’t turn around fast enough and catches the brunt of the victorious grin wrinkling his face. Knowing, and so triumphant. The absolute epitome of foolish Pride.

He doesn’t even know what he’s holding, certainly. Not with those pristine, clean hands that have only been pricked by a splinter today.

Todd rises to his feet, to his full height. There’s no need to heed ceilings—not outdoors. When he takes the first step, Theodore’s smile crumbles. He clutches the scythe to his chest and takes a step back, shoulders tense. He holds the eye contact just to spook him. Just a bit.

But he doesn’t walk to him. He reaches the lawn mower and kneels to pass a hand over its motor, clearing it of whatever issue remains.

Ah. Like he thought. It’s the carburetor.  

He takes the rip cord in one hand and gives it a brisk yank—the motor stutters. Again, he pulls it, and the machine roars to life. Obedient, like a well-tamed beast.

Theodore’s strangled yelp of outrage satisfies the primal human vengeance he’s come to know as “pettiness.”

As the lawn mower idles, Theodore sets the scythe carelessly aside, dropped against the shed, and trudges through the tall grass toward it. He seizes it by the handle bar without sparing Todd a second glance even as he towers over him, still kneeling, thanks to the height of his spiraling horns.

Still, he doesn’t seem to know just how to operate the machine he snatched away. He pushes it forward, too rough—and jumps back with a start, cursing as the fresh-cut grass clippings pepper his navy-blue slacks in a rush of green.

But the beast has already been released, and as his fingers slip from the handlebar, it creeps its way forward without prompt and with surprising speed.

Straight into Granny Ethel’s beloved and flourishing lantanas.

Then right over them.

Both, speechless and stock still, stare at the vermillion whirl of shredded petals spit out in the lawn mower’s wake. Even as it bumps into the fence and tries to continue on, unaware—until it topples over and chokes itself out, blades whirring to a halt beneath its casing.

Just in time, too. In the distance, but not too far away, a car door slams shut. Swift and familiar, shuffling footsteps fast approach. The wooden side gate creaks open.

“We’re back at last, dears! I’m sure you’ve been working hard. Why don’t we take a break? I saw the most charming bakery on the way home and couldn’t help but—”

Something crashes against the cobblestone walkway. Soft—covered in a plastic bag. Bread. No, cinnamon buns. Todd can smell the sugary vanilla sweetness through the package. But he can’t quite turn to face Granny Ethel as a red hot glare fills his eyes, aimed only at Theodore.

But—no. It isn’t entirely the man’s fault.

It’s his, too, for playing a jealous, petty little game. Because he could have stopped the lawn mower and didn’t.

Sometimes, standing idly by is the worst sin of all.

Todd’s heart caves in as Granny Ethel breathes in and exhales, speechless, and presses her hands to her mouth when he turns to face her.

“Oh, my… The lantanas.”

Her eyes dart to the ruined mess of flowers and she takes a tiny step forward, over the fallen bag of sweet bread. Drops her hands from her mouth and holds them out in front of her as she ambles forward—and stops, a safe distance away from the destruction.

“Oh, my dudes, yikes,” Sam breathes, hissing in through his teeth and rubbing a brown hand across his frowning, pursed lips. “I, uh—I’ll go in and mix up some juice or something. You’ll need it.” He picks up the fallen bag of buns on the way.

Todd’s shoulders hunch as he very nearly curls in on himself in shame, wrapping his shawl tight around himself—because the heat never bothered him and it’s his it’s special and it was a gift from her and, somewhere deep down, he vows to never disappoint her, to hurt her, in such a way again. Ever.

Theodore, flushed deep red from neck to ears ever since his grandmother walked in, shuffles half-heartedly in front of the straight line of shredded lantanas, at least self-aware enough to realize he’d made a grave error. His hands knead roughly together, pale skin turning whiter from the pressure. Sweating, still, but not only from the summer heat.

“Gran, I…”

“Charles grew that patch for me.” Her soft poofs of cloud-white hair twist in the breeze as she closes her eyes and dips her head toward her chest, eyes closed. “Oh, they’ve been there ever since he planted them. Every single one.” She folds her hands in front of her loose, sunflower-yellow dress and shakes her head, saying no more on the subject.

“Oh my God. I’m so—Gran, I don’t… I didn’t mean to, it just… It wasn’t my fault!”

His frantic cry goes unheard by Granny Ethel as she stands with her head bowed in silence.

“There’s a silver lining, here, my dear.” When she looks up, her eyes shine behind her glasses, unshed tears catching sunlight, but her stare is hardened. And harsh.

Even with that small, tired smile, her fury is a cold-burning flame.

“You see, these particular flowers can live again. We will collect the undamaged stalks that are left and root them. Replant them. Then…” Her voice trails off into the silence of an unspoken thought. “For now, I’ll leave you two in peace to finish the yard work.”

Neither speaks a word, stuck in mortified silence, even as Granny Ethel disappears into the house.

The silence is only broken moments later when Sam makes his way back outside holding a tray filled with a glass pitched and three glasses, as well as a small pile of cookies. Peanut butter, of course.

But no sweet cinnamon buns.  

“Here’s that drink! Lavender lemonade with honey—and Granny’s special peanut cookies,” he smiles, trying his best to keep up a positive atmosphere as he sits cross-legged on the lawn with the fine silver tray in his lap. “She helped put it together, dudes, so don’t forget to thank her later.”

Theodore scoffs and grumbles out, “I’m allergic to peanuts,” but Todd knows that isn’t true. He’s seen entire containers of peanut butter disappear overnight, at times. And Granny Ethel simply wouldn’t do something that selfish, so he’s the only suspect.

But if the man is going to be that way about it, then all the more treats for him and Sam. He drains one of the glasses in a single gulp and devours two of the delicious, crispy cookies, nodding in appreciation. Because it’s what Granny Ethel would want—and he’d rather die than let her hospitality go to waste. Her happiness always comes first.

He hopes she’s not crying.

“She’s busy crocheting something in the den, by the way. Humming, and everything. Boy, am I glad she’s not mad.” Sam also eats a cookie and speaks around the crunchy bits in his mouth, providing him with just the answer he sought. “But, man, that’s some gnarly garden carnage, there.” He nods his head toward the lantanas and whistles low. “Did you apologize?”

“Why would I?” Theodore snaps, arms crossed tight as he refuses to look at the flowers and their faces, still evident in his guilt by the way he answers so quickly. When no one gives him an immediate response, he breathes a theatrical sigh and clomps toward the fallen path of ruined flowers. Hands on his hips, now, he observes the mess. “Is any of this even salvageable? None of the stems look un-shredded!”

“You should apologize,” Sam insists lightly, taking another cookie when he finishes the first. He meets Todd’s eyes and they share a knowing glance. Then, his brown eyes light up. “Oh—and by the way, Granny’s appointment went great! She’s fit as a fiddle.”

By now, Theodore is squatting amongst the flower shreds, combing through the mess for anything that looks particularly helpful and root-able. “Of course she is. Her energy knows no bounds.”

Todd can only nod. Granny Ethel’s health is nigh infallible. But—that aside, it’s time to return to work. He finishes his cookies, brushes the crumbs off his palms and carefully makes his way to the flower patch to pick out the lantana stems they can still save.  

There are few—but a few is better than none. And for the rest, they can grow from the seeds.

It will take some time to return Granny’s beloved lantana garden to its former glory, but not forever. And before they know it, this day will be nothing more than a mistake of the past.  

So, they continue their yard work until the day’s chore is done.

The remaining lantanas: neat. The lawn: trimmed. The herb garden: weeded and pruned.

When the tools have been returned to their proper place, they leave the yard behind, and Todd gives one final, sweeping glance around the space as he slides the back door shut.

Something is out of place. He can’t quite pin down what, but later, when he curls up in his small twin bed and drifts to sleep in the room he shares with Theodore, he dreams of a rusted scythe that he can’t quite remember putting away—one that he promptly forgets when he wakes.

[mrevaunit42]

The princess and the bad boy part 3

Hey everyone, Mr.E here and still alive! yay! sorry about the long wait but I decided to take the last month off from writing. I realized that despite the fact there were periods of time i couldn’t write for whatever reason, in the nearly 2 years (this june) I’ve been writing, I hadn’t actually taken an actual break. like a real break where i wasn’t concerned about what i was going to write. 

So i took one and I come back to you at the turn of the tide, refreshed and ready to go and what better way to start than a super late prompt for @starcoweek3 haha I’m so sorry i didn’t mean to be gone so long and i know this is so late but i hope you enjoy it

a special thanks to the person who left me a review on ff about this very idea. I really wish I could remember who it was but i can’t seem to find the review. I will update this with the info asap but for now onward with the story.

So in this third part of the au, Star’s parents are thinking of sending the princess back to Saint Olga’s and Marco isn’t having any of that but the real question is how far is our bad boy willing to go to keep star in his life?

Have an amazing week, stay awesome everyone! I’ll be back with my au of choice legend of zelda, maybe ladybug and a covy phantom thief au i’ve been obsessed with because damnit persona 5 came out. stay awesome everyone!

part 1 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11341726/72/There-s-always-a-star-and-a-hoodie

part 2 https://mrevaunit42.tumblr.com/post/142780634772/princess-and-the-bad-boy

and let me know if you want to be a part of the tag list.

@artgirllullaby @hipster-rapunzel @isolated-frequencies @aweirdlatina

“MARCO PLEASE!”

“NO WAY PRINCESS, NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!”

Star pouted, tucking her bottom lip under the upper reflexively. Marco crossed his arms defensively, glaring at the princess though conflict bubbled over onto his face.

The two not friends gaze never left the other as they remained silent.

It had been nearly a year since the magical princess from another dimension bounced into his life and while the two hated to each other at first, they grew to be surprisingly close to one another after Marco beat Lars into a pulp with a rather stunning display of kindness.

It's a long story.

The point remained the duo would never admit to being friends. “She's just an uptight princess” Marco replied while Star answered with the more neutral “He's just a roommate in a house I live in.”

No one was fooled of course. Everyone saw what the pair tried to hide.

The once barbed and purposely hurtful jabs were more lighthearted, even flirtatious nowadays. Where once upon a time Marco would attempt to avoid any contact with the princess, he now walked alongside her wherever she felt inclined to roam. Rumor had it (and by rumor, it was really Janna watching them through the window with a pair of binoculars) they even stayed up watching movies together after Marco finished his homework and Star completed a level of a video game.

The bad boy and the princess became close friends. Some would even go as far to say the best of friends.

“I'm not doing that princess.”

but an unlikely friendship was still bound to have some friction.

“Marco, you don't understand” Star pleaded, taking her braided ponytail into her hands and began tugging anxiously

Marco scoffed, his brown hair messy and ruffled from being under his beanie all day “What don't I understand princess? That you want me to dress up...”

“Marco, it's not....”

“or the fact you want me to pretend to all prim and proper? Something I am not and I hate” Marco went on

“Please, if you just...”

“I thought we had an understanding princess.”

Star stopped, the pain that underlined Marco's tone all too clear to her ears.

Star may have been a forcibly refined princess but she knew people as well as she knew her princess protocols (which were drilled into her head from the moment she arrived in Saint Olga’s) and she knew Marco was really hurt.

This really bothered him, far more than it should've but that was only proof how far Marco had let his guard down around her.

Marco was protective about anything that clashed with his bad boy aesthetic, an image that he held in higher regard than his own happiness but despite his best efforts of hiding his true self from her, she had seen the real Marco underneath.

And what was more surprising than the real Marco was how much Star liked him.

Marco was naturally gifted cook, incredibly smart and exceedingly kind despite how aloof he acted.

Whenever Star would ask for nachos, he would give theatrical sigh, resist for a minute or so before caving in. Sometimes she would approach him for an explanation for one of the many devices that littered the dimension or some help on a homework assignment only for him to reply he was in the mood for his tasty snack. He would cook with some assistance from Star and the two would spend hours in each others presence.

It was nice and intoxicating. So much so Star forgot there was a wall between them. A wall that seemed to hardly existed anymore.

Until now that is.

“....I'm sorry” Star muttered softly, resisting the urge to cry. She knew it was too much to ask for and truthfully it was unfair of her to ask such a thing of him. Despite Skeeve's words and the fact she was practically shoved into his life, he held no responsibility over her or for her.

She would accept her fate with grace and poise that was forcibly a part of her now.

“Do not worry Marco” Marco's head snapped back towards Star, her voice low and forlorn “I apologize. It was rude of me to ask such a thing.”

Marco could feel the guilt clawing at his resolve, bubbling and churning with a sickening wave that spread through his being.

He didn't mean to blow up at her, to lash out unnecessarily but old habits died hard and he was caught unaware by Star's sudden request for him to make some mild clothing adjustments for some unknown reason.

Truthfully Marco hadn't the slightest idea why he had taken Star's request so personally: Whether he publicly admitted it or not, there was no doubt that the magical princess had dug herself a nice, cozy place in his heart and that brought the emotional baggage that he was currently lugging around which he had to conclude was probably leading to irrational decisions. After all....

“I'm afraid I have other matters to attention. Good night Marco.”

Marco blinked but before he could realize what happened while lost in his train of thought, Star pivoted on the balls of her feet with an unearthly grace and strode out of the room without another word.

Marco was torn between chasing after her and sulking in his room. Both options were not very appealing and more than likely neither would end in a result that was acceptable.

Marco frowned, the guilt intensifying with each silent moment that passed.

Marco sighed. He needed to apologize or at least try at a poor attempt of one.

Marco was slow in his steps, his halfhearted attempts to justify his actions failing to halt his motions.

He rose his fist to knock on his roommate's door only to notice it was slightly ajar.

Marco was instantly worried: Star was an intensely private person and never once during her entire stay here did she ever leave her door remotely open. It was always closed no matter what.

Marco pressed against the wood gently, cringing upon hearing creaky door.

“Yes mother.”

Marco released a sigh he didn't know he was holding. It sounded like Star was too wrapped up in one of her mother's weekly calls. It used to be daily but enough time had passed that Moon felt Star didn't need her mother badgering her ever day.

Marco pulled back slowly. The last thing he wanted to do was eavesdrop on Star's private conversations. He had done enough damage today and being caught listening would deteriorate their friendship further.

“Yes I remember. Father will be visiting tomorrow.”

Marco paused. Her father? The king?  Here? Why?

Curiosity bit at Marco's resolve. Star hadn't informed him of this visit from her dad and she would've told him to ensure he wasn't intruding on any of their....umm.....hang out days.....

“Your father” Moon's refined yet distant voice cut through the still silence “will be there at 8 in the morning. Do you remember why he is coming?”

“Yes mother” Star's voice was neutral though Marco swore he heard the dull edge of defeat laced within “Father is here to see if the Diaz's are a more suitable place for my training than Saint Olga's.”

“and have you told them?”

“No. Like you asked, I...I hadn't told them of his visit”

Marco inhaled sharply, a moment of clarity overwhelming his emotions. Everything made sense the more he thought about it and made him sick to his stomach the longer he went on.

Moon was trying to see if Earth and more importantly the Diaz's were having a positive influence on Star. She did send her to Earth under their care after all but Marco knew his parents weren't the ones Moon was concerned with.

He was the one she was afraid would corrupt her daughter.

Marco knew Moon disliked him though he couldn't fault her given how the two treated each other early in their relationship.

Er friendship.

Though the two buried the hatchet and began a much more healthy, positive...friendship, he was well aware Moon still held reservations about him despite Star's constant praises.

Marco backed away from Star's room, making a mad yet silent dash for his own.

Now he understood Star's request.

She loved Earth with all her heart. Here she was free to do whatever she wished. Here she was popular and loved. Well mostly but Brittney never counted for anything. And with her here, Marco had found his best friend.

Alongside Ferguson and Alfonso of course.

Marco threw open his closet, coughing as the layers of dust trapped within flooded around him.

He recklessly pushed through the untouched corner of his room, the screeching of metal hangers against the bar filling the room until he found what he was looking for.

Gingerly, he pulled the bag covered clothing, trying to ignore how dusty the surface was.

“Okay” he spoke softly, jabbing at the covered item with his finger “You don't expect this to be a thing and I'll behave, deal?”

The article of clothing did not respond.

“Deal” Marco muttered ominously

Star let out a sigh, tucking her braided ponytail over her shoulder with her gloved hands, her blue princess dress perfectly pressed as always.

She didn't know what her father would say of Earth or how Marco would be this morning. Neither thought would bring her comfort and she was far too anxious for the day to begin to care.

Star stared forlornly at the photo her and Marco had taken the week before. The two not friends had gone into something called a photo booth to take their first photo together (Star insisted and Marco barely put up a fight)

she traced her fingers over the still image of Marco sticking his tongue at her while she gave a cheeky grin and peace sign, his stolen beanie sitting on top of her head.

She took a deep breath. If this was her last day on Earth, she was going to enjoy it to the best of her ability.

A swirling portal appeared without warning and Star scrambled to her feet, taking a soothing breath as she straightened her posture and resumed the well know Butterfly poise.

River strode out of the swirling magical gateway and with a pop, the link between dimensions faded out of existence.

“Star!” River beamed cheerfully, opening his arms for a hug.

Star gave a timid smile, wrapping both arms her father tightly and giving him the biggest squeeze she could.

“ooomphf!” River groaned, surprised at Star's firm embrace.

Star let go at once, rubbing the back of her head embarrassingly “S-sorry dad. I mean Father, I didn't mean to squeeze so hard”

“That's alright my dear! Say where is this Marco fellow that is supposed to help guide you around this....dimension”

Star chuckled nervously, her smile strained as she tried to think of an excuse why Marco wasn't up yet. Or going to see them at all today....

“Well....”

“Oh, I am terribly sorry” Marco's voice called from the hallway “I didn't realize where the time had gone. I was downstairs fixing up breakfast for Star and I. I hadn't the slightest idea you were coming King Butterfly.”

Star pivoted on her feet at the sound of Marco's voice.

“Marco!” she squeaked “I...I..aye...aye...aye.....”

Star fell into a hypnotic daze as she lay her eyes on Marco for the first time that morning and found an unexpected surprise.

Marco was dressed well! Actually, not just well but amazingly well. Incredibly well, did she mention amazingly already? Because he was.

His hair was combed to one side instead of the usual tangled mess it was. He wore a jet black suit that was in pristine condition, a red collared shirt underneath though no tie (the top button of his shirt was undone) elegant, well polished loafers that reflected light itself and the most surprising accessory, a pair of thick rimmed square glasses that gave him a sophisticated look.

Star blushed wildly at the sight of Marco. Thank god she possessed self control or she feared she would've gone slack jawed.

“Star, your jaw is hanging a little loose.”

Star carefully touched her face to discover her jaw in fact dangling openly.

Star coughed loudly in an attempt to regain her composure.

“Ah, you must be this Marco figure I've heard so much about” River spoke low, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Marco confirmed with a nod “That's me. I'm afraid my reputation has preceded me.”

“Not at all my boy. May I join you for breakfast? I left the castle in a hurry to get here in time.”

“of course!” Marco gave the most charming smile he could muster. He could physically feel his muscles ache at the gesture “Shall we?”

Star stared dumbfounded as Marco offered his arm towards her with a subtle hint.

Star shook her head, coming out of her stupor and taking his arm with her own.

“Lead the way my boy!” River said with a smug grin.

Marco and Star headed towards the kitchen with the straightest faces they could muster.

“This is amazing my dear boy!” River beamed cheerfully, wolfing down his food with reckless abandon.

Marco chuckled, unsure what to make of Star's father behavior.

Star sat nervously between her father and her hus...er best friend, eyes darting back and forth with utter confusion about what was going on.

Did Marco know what was going on?

Did her dad know that Marco knew?

Did Marco do all this for her or just to mess with her?

What did her dad think of Marco?

Were either of them going to let it slip what was going on?

River eyed Marco carefully, knowing full well what the young man as up to. He had discovered what was River's real purpose here.

Based on what his wife told him about Marco, this was all an act to ensure Star stayed here on Earth.

Marco was good. River had to give him that and if he had been any other man, he would've been fooled too but River knew full well what it was like to hide your true nature for someone you cared about.

Or loved.

River gave a mischievous grin neither of the teens noticed.

“So Star?” River called out suddenly

Star eeped, flushing a bright red as she dropped her fork onto her plate.

“Y-yes Dad? I mean father....”

“You are aware why I am here, correct?”

Marco's face was calm though he could feel the anxiety threaten to wrestle all control away from him.

Star shifted guiltily under her father's knowing gaze.

“I...”

“I've decided it is time to take you back to Mewni. I feel it's best to further your education at Saint Olga's.”

Star could feel her heart drop, a cold numbing feeling overtaking her.

Marco clenched his fork, his mouth tight with barely held restraint.

River eyed the two carefully “ I feel while Earth was a nice break for your studies, I don't know if it is really best for your training with the wand. After all, there is no magic on Earth.”

“I...I see....I...very well, if that is what you wish....” Star's face was smooth and still as stone, only the dim look of lost in her eyes cluing anyone in about her true feelings about the situation.

River leaned back in his seat expectantly, watching Marco carefully “Very well. It's settled then.”

Thud

River held back his grin as Marco rose out of his seat, fist slammed against the table

“LIKE HELL IT IS!”

“Marco!” Star cried out, appalled at his choice of language.

“Don't Marco me Star! This is bullshit and you know it.”

“MARCO!” Star's voice cracked.

River smugly smiled towards the angry teen “and why is it wrong of me my lad?”

“Star likes it here” Marco began “She likes being here. She likes using magic here. She likes the fact there's no one hovering over her, telling her what to do. She likes the fact she's free to act like the lady she was forced to train be or not be that person. She likes being Star, not princess Butterfly and people like that she's here! She deserves to be her!”

The anger flushed out of Marco's system, his voice soft and gentle, barely a whisper

“I like her being here.....”

“I see, Star?”

Star jumped once again at the sound of her named being called.

“Y-yes father?”

“What do you think?”

Star paused, pulled between the truth and her training.

“I....”

She took a deep breath, calming herself as she drew on her princess training.

“I hate Saint Olga's.” Star admitted, her eyes downcast and avoiding her father “I hate how restrictive it is. I hate how they demand everyone to be cookie cutter princesses, one among many and switched out easily without a second though. I...I do not...”

Star cleared her throat, her voice rising with each passing moment.

“I DON'T WANT TO BE PRINCESS BUTTERFLY, I WANT TO BE STAR AND I'M SORRY IF THAT DISAPPOINTS YOU!”

Star let loose her held breath.

River's laughter was not what Marco and Star were expecting, the joyful shout with a wide smile that was infectious.

“Well, if that's what my little girl wishes, that is what my little girl gets.”

“Wha?” Star stared at Marco who shrugged in response.

“We only want what's best for you dear” River explained calmly “We thought you were happy at Saint Olga's but evidently we were wrong. If you wish to stay here on Earth, then stay on Earth you shall”

“YES!” Star jumped to her feet, rising her hands high into the air before leaping at Marco, holding him tightly as she nuzzled his chest.

“and Marco?”

Marco looked at River's deadly serious face

“Take care of my little girl or else I will have to hurt you. She may be your girlfriend but she's my daughter.”

“of course!” Marco quickly agreed “I ...wait, what?

River gave a cheerful wave “Goodbye dear!”

“Daddy!” Star cried out “Wait, he's not my...” but River was gone. With a might swipe of his arm, the portal reformed and he vanished into Mewni.

A thick awkward silence filled the air .

“Oh man” Star covered her eyes embarrassingly “He's totally got the wrong idea.”

Marco gave a noncommittal shrug, slapping a fresh band-aid onto his cheek “Whatever, people will think whatever they want. What is more important is that you're staying!”

“YAY!” Star cheered, her bright wide smile infecting Marco with one of his own “Nice touch with the glasses.”

“Thanks, it was easier than putting my contacts in.”

“Contacts? Wait you mean...?”

“Yep, these are my actual glasses. Thought they made me look more gentlemanly”

“Thanks Marco...I...I'm sorry I didn't tell you yesterday...I..”

“Blah blah blah” Marco falsely mocked “princess keeps her promises which is ironically paradoxical with the whole princess never lies rule”

Marco gave a cheeky grin as Star smacked his arm playfully

“oh shut it Diaz and make me nachos!”

Marco bowed respectfully “as you wish princess.”

and as Marco made his way into the kitchen, the goofiest grin dancing on his lips, Star took one last look at the bad boy who dressed up for her and muttered to herself.

“I'm in trouble”

[thecatwhosleepsin]

As We Are

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Pairing: Adrienette (Adrien Agreste x Marinette Dupain-Cheng)

Type: one shot

Cross-posted on AO3.

Marinette stared dubiously at the growing pile of food on her plate.

“Are you trying to fatten me up for slaughter or something?”

Mock mortification marred Adrien’s features as he scooped some hot lasagna from his plate to hers. “My dear, I would never do that!” he gasped.

Her eyebrows pinched together, her fingers lightly brushing her unused spoon.

“Then, what is all this?” She looked around. “I was working on an important project in my room when you waltzed in, dragged me outside, shoved me in your car, and raced your way to the buffet –a buffet of all places! You did not take my consent into account. This is basically kidnapping! Talk about spontaneous.” She huffed, blowing a hair strand out of her face and crossing her arms.

“Hunger must’ve caused lapses in your memory!” He pushed her plate closer to her and waved his arms comically above his head. “Can’t you remember? I carried you to the front lawn like a bride and tossed you on the bundle of soft pillows at the backseat. I sported all those bruises and scratches just to bring you to lunch. Can’t you see all my efforts to show you my undying love?”

She rolled her eyes, musing to herself the reasons why she’d been stuck with him for almost twenty-three months now. “Well, obviously I am not a fan of surprises and romantic gestures. You could’ve told me where we’re going. And I’m not that hungry!”

The blond waved her off with a hand. “Nonsense, you look famished! All throughout the drive, your poor stomach had been roaring. It wasn’t the most pleasant sound.” He shook his head in disappointment and tutted.

Customers from tables nearby were becoming attentive of their banter and forgot their respective meals. Some raised their eyebrows and some were sniggering, all amused by their unique relationship. Marinette was irritated, though that did not stop her quickly warming cheeks.

Adrien continued on his rant, blissfully unaware of the attention. “You’ve been stressing over your project so much you’ve been skipping meals. Alya and your mother had told me about it. And I’m hurt that you never read my texts. I was worried!”

She was touched by his concern to be honest and felt guilty about skipping meals when she had been deprived of sleep as well. If he didn’t haul her out of her room, he might’ve caused a bigger fit if she ended up in the hospital -and Alya. Oh, Alya. Who knows what she would do.

She sighed and picked up her spoon.

“Eat! I refuse to hear anything else –or do you want me to feed you myself, Princess?” She quirked an eyebrow when she saw the smirk stubbornly tugging his lips. She shrugged and shoveled some pasta from the mountain on her plate, poising the utensil to her mouth. But he snatched the spoon away and she glowered at him.

“I thought you said-“ She was cut off by the delicious food entering her mouth, her eyes sending numerous daggers at him as she chewed the pasta gingerly, trying all her might not to groan at the delightful taste.

He looked smug. “Took your silence as yes to my proposition.”

“I have perfectly functioning hands.” Her fingers reached out in an attempt to seize the spoon back, though it didn’t help that him arms were ridiculously long.

His mouth curved into a small frown and his emerald eyes were so sincere, she couldn’t look away. “Let me do this for you, okay?”

She didn’t know if it was his raw, genuine expression (that she would not admit she cherished very much) or the relentless rumbles of her stomach that made her nod and comply with his request like a dutiful puppy.

His self-satisfied grin stayed plastered on his face throughout their whole exchange and she mused with disdain that it wouldn’t vanish anytime soon.

Marinette didn’t think it was possible, but his grin widened even more whenever he would tease her, bringing the spoon to her mouth with exaggerated coos (“Here comes the choochoo train!”) and then abruptly swerving it away from her as she opened her mouth. At her frustration, she would viciously stomp on his foot, smiling mischievously when he would let out a rather feminine yelp.

Somehow, they had managed to devour the enormous helpings on their plates, even after Adrien went back to the long table thrice to get seconds (despite her threats). The observers around them were surprised to find out the small girl had an incredible appetite, finishing everything her boyfriend (they refused to believe otherwise) had gathered.

“Heavens, that was enough to last me a year.” She sighed and patted the lump on her abdomen, following him out of the establishment. He held the door open, placing his hand over his heart and bowing graciously like a butler. She slapped his shoulder when he straightened up to cheekily beam at her.

“You’ll drive this buffet profitless,” he snorted, taking her hand in his as they made their way to his car that was parked a few blocks away.

She crushed his fingers, face incredulous and fuming. “You were the one who ate as much as a caveman and insisted on more helpings!”

He winced and jerked out of her grip, nursing his throbbing fingers. “Well, you’re my cavewoman. You may be serious about your ridiculous diet, but that monstrous appetite will never disappear, dear. It’s in our nature.”

Her jaw slacked in utter disbelief before sobering up. “You’re ridiculous!” She tiptoed and messed up his perfect model hair, his rich laughter ringing in the air. When his chortles drowned out, he grasped her wrists and she stopped, quizzically peering at him.

“The project you’ve been working on, when’s it due?”

“Huh. What?” She blinked at him, caught off guard by the swift transition of his moods. He was thoughtful now, somber even.

“When’s the deadline of your dress?” he rephrased patiently.

She pursed her lips and pondered. “Oh. The show’s this Friday.”

“That’s still four days from now and you’ve been working nonstop. From what I saw earlier, it was finished.” He pointed out, eyebrows scrunching together.

“No, it wasn’t. It’s still,” she paused, racking her brain for the right word. “-raw. It must be perfect.” Firm resolution burned in her eyes.

He frowned a bit and her lips unconsciously mimicked him. She liked his impish smiles and cheeky grins better.

“It will be perfect, just like every time. I’m sure of it. Just…don’t make us worry too much, okay? No more late nights and skipping meals. I’ll get angry.” He released her wrists to cup her cheeks. “Remember that whatever you get doesn’t make us any less proud of you, it could only be more.”

She kissed his palm, smiling. “Okay.”

He kissed her cheek and bopped her nose with a finger. “Well then, let’s go to the zoo!”

She squeaked when he pulled her to the car, a bit dazed. “What?”

“I told your mom I’d kidnap you for the rest of the day.” Adrien opened the backseat for her and she swatted his hand when she saw the innumerable white pillows, closing the door and calling shotgun instead. She didn’t want to be tempted by sleep after all that food.

“Really?” she asked when he slid into the driver’s seat. She wasn’t surprised. Her mom was always plotting. Two weeks into their relationship, Marinette had discovered several drafts of wedding cakes (with subtly drawn A and M initials) wedged between pages of a logbook when she was asked to retrieve a necklace from her parents’ drawer.

He shrugged and turned the engine on. “Or she told me. Doesn’t matter really. If I had known, I’d do it anyways. I terribly miss you.” He slipped his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss.

Her heart melted. Their time together was sacrificed for her fashion projects and his photoshoots. They were happy –really. This year had been the height of their respective careers. But they hadn’t seen each other for a week, opting for Skype calls before bedtime in some particular nights. And it wasn’t enough.

She squeezed his hand, a soft smile on her lips as she leaned on his shoulder, whispering, “Me too.”

[quijotine]

Chapter 6 of The Wall Between Us is up, fam

This is the one where shit hits the fan. 

You can read from the start here or go below the cut for the entire chapter.  Enjoy the tears >:)

Fic summary:  Marinette is left to pick up the pieces after losing her chance with Adrien and having Master Fu give up his memories to protect the Miraculous Box. She struggles to find her ground as the new Guardian, and when it all becomes too much, finds unexpected support in Luka Couffaine. Simultaneously, Adrien is learning how to navigate his emotions and slowly begins to realize important truths about his feelings for Kagami, Marinette, and Ladybug. Will Marinette and Adrien be able to sort through their feelings and do what's best for the Miraculous team?

CHAPTER 6 If it weren’t for his reflexes and his sudden kick into survival mode, he would’ve gotten hit. Adrien tumbled down to the side just in time to evade an attack from Kagami’s Akuma. He ran as fast as he could, desperately looking for a place to hide. Seeing as the neighboring shops and alleyways were flooding with civilians who were witness to the Akuma, he had to settle for the crevice between two large vans to transform.

He swiftly opened the communication device on his baton and typed and S.O.S. message to Ladybug, as well as his plan to direct the Akuma to an empty field by the riverbank. She would know which one he meant. They made a point of leading all erratic Akumas to this spot. It was in an old industrial zone where immediate damage could be minimized.

Having wrote that, he snapped the baton, clicked it back into his belt and jumped back into action.

This one’s gonna give me nightmares, Chat Noir decided as he got a better look of the Akuma. It floated hauntingly slow, crying as it hit its victims. Its fixed crying expression got more accented every time it hit a new victim. It called itself “The Griever,” and its power was to hypnotize people and give them hallucinations of their most painful memories. Chat gulped as he merely missed one of the beam attacks. He felt the energy buzzing closely to his ear.

Don’t get hit, don’t get hit!

“Hey, you, Casper!” he shouted, claiming the Akuma’s attention and effectively preventing it from claiming new victims. “Aren’t you looking for this?” He flashed his ring at the monster.

The Griever growled and charged speedily at Chat, taking him by surprise.

“Ack!” He vaulted out of the way and started leading the Akuma to the riverbank. “Hurry up, Ladybug!” he pleaded to the winds.

-----

Unaware of the show Chat Noir was putting up for the rest of Paris to see, Luka and Marinette happily sat at a riverside park, sittung under a honey locust tree and quietly enjoying the afternoon nonethewiser to the mayhem a couple blocks west of them. 

Luka’s head rested on Marinette’s lap. He sighed lazily at Marinette’s fingers, which combed softly through his hair.Marinette closed her eyes, gently placing her attention on the sound of the wind ruffling the feathery leaves of the honey locust and Luka’s steady breath.

The comfortable silence got abruptly interrupted by a sudden, constant string of wailing and crying. Both Luka and Marinette perked up as they witnessed the sight of Chat Noir frantically vaulting from rooftop to rooftop on the other side of the Seine, as a ghastly Akuma shrieked and charged after him.

The pair looked at the superhero with slightly hanging jaws and a moment of stupefaction.

“LADYBUG!” Chat Noir screamed to no one in particular, as he tried his best to outrun the Akuma.

Marinette suddenly jolted. “I, uh… I need to go to the restroom!” she said, quickly springing to her feet and rushing out of view before Luka could stop her. He couldn’t help but notice this was one of those circumstances where if he had just told her that he knew her secret, he could simply have said to not sweat it and that he’d wait for her on the Liberty.

Sadly, he hadn’t gotten around to gathering the necessary courage for that, so he was left to his luck, wondering how long it’d take for Marinette to come back.

“Ladybug, thank god!” Chat Noir exclaimed as Ladybug joined the site of the action. “Mind the beams,” he said. “If you get hit it will give you hallucinations of your worst memories. The Akuma is on the necklace.”

Ladybug made a face. “Yikes. Who hurt them?”

Chat knew the question was rhetorical, but he still felt guilty. He hoped it didn’t show.

“Lucky charm!”

“What in the world are we supposed to do with duct tape?” he complained, evidently frustrated.

For what it’s worth, Ladybug thought it was pretty straightforward.

“You distract it and I’ll charge at it. When it hits me, you destroy the necklace.”

“And the duct tape?”

“Summon your Cataclysm.”

After he did, she ripped a couple pieces and put one over Chat’s mouth and another on hers.

As she calculated, Ladybug got hit. Chat tried to focus on the task at hand instead of how much it pained him to see Ladybug cry. He managed to evade every hit from the Griever and used the fact it was ready to take Ladybug’s earrings to gingerly touch the necklace, suddenly reverting Kagami back to normal and with her, the rest of the grieving Parisians.

Ladybug released the Miraculous Cure, and everything was back to normal.

She was surprised to see Kagami on the sidewalk, still crying. It was rare for an Akuma victim to continue feeling the negative emotion that had landed them in trouble. In these cases, Chat and she stayed as long as they needed to calm down and reassure the victim.

“Hello, Kagami,” Ladybug said gently. “Can I sit with you?”

Kagami sniffed, not providing a particular answer.

“You want to talk about what’s making you so sad? Is there anything we can do to help?”

“M-my boyfriend broke up with me!” she cried. “He broke up with me even though I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Ladybug took a deep breath and gave Chat a look for some back up. She was used to dealing with Parisians in distress, but for once, she felt at a loss for words.

“I– We’re very sorry to hear that,” said Chat, softly.

Ladybug glared at him as if saying, Is that all you got?

“He-he said he doesn’t want to b-be with me because he-he doesn’t love me…”

Ladybug hissed in solidary pain. “It’s tough when people we really care about don’t–can’t feel the same we do.”

The words were as uncomfortable to her as they were for Chat. The topic was too close to the wounds in their own partnership.

“But,” she continued. “Uh… sometimes, these things happen for the best, even though we don’t realize them at first. I know it’s painful right now, but you’re a very strong girl, okay? And also, any boy you date should count himself lucky.”

Kagami sniffed, then nodded.

“Do you need us to take you anywhere?” Chat asked.

Kagami shook her head. “I… I need to be alone for a while. Thank you for rescuing me.”

She got up and left, giving the pair of superheroes no chance to insist on the offer.

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear back from her again soon,” said Ladybug.

“Yeah…”

“Anyway, I should go. My, uh… boyfriend is waiting for me,” Ladybug said.

“You got a boyfriend? Why hadn’t you told me?” Chat said surprised.

“Not now, Chat,” Ladybug said with a tired tone, sensing the drama that was about to bubble up. “We–.”

“That’s great, Ladybug!” he said, surprisingly genuine. The reaction caught Ladybug off guard. “I’m happy for you.”

Ladybug gave him a quizzical look. “Thanks…”

Their Miraculous beeped simultaneously and both let go a sigh, relieved to have an excuse to end the awkward interaction.

“Well, you can tell me more about him if you want next time we meet, Chat out!”

To say he practically scrambled to get out of the way was an understatement. Ladybug sighed, deciding not to stress about whether or not Chat Noir was actually happy for her or if he had just said that to save some face. It had been a pretty draining Akuma and at this point, she couldn’t find it in herself to care whether he’d make a fuzz out of this.

It was already dark when Marinette managed to go back to the picnic site, half expecting Luka to be gone by then. Imagine her guilty surprise when she found the poor boy still sitting on the same spot she left him.

“Hey!” Luka said happily.

“Luka! I’m so sorry, there was an Akuma and I got hit and–.”

“It’s okay,” he said with a chuckle. “You could’ve just texted me. But we can do that next time we get separated by an attack.”

“Right, hah,” Marinette agreed, then muttered to herself, “Why did I not think of that?”

------

The door groaned as Alya pushed it open, immediately greeted by a cold breeze and the smell of mold, dust, and old books.

The girls lingered at the door, unadmittedly a bit scared to enter. The small townhouse seemed like it hadn’t had inhabitants in a good while. Alya pointed her flashlight into the house; it had been a gloomy day in Paris and the weak, grey light did not do much for the interior other than make it look spookier.

“I thought Master Fu lived above his massage parlor,” Alya said, gathering courage to enter the house.

“He moved here after Hawkmoth found out he was the guardian,” Marinette said, tentatively stepping in. She reached for the light switch, finding that it rewarded her illuminating the small hall and revealing the layout of the house.

They stood at the beginning of a narrow hall which led to the kitchen. To the left, there was a door leading to a living and dining hall. Right of the hall were the wooden stairs that led to the upper floor. It was hardly decorated, but it was evident something had hung on the walls; the shadow of missing frames stained the otherwise creme-colored walls with a lighter shade.

“That’s super odd,” Alya said, also going in, closing the door behind herself. She did a quick sweep of the first floor, finding there was hardly any furniture: the kitchen had a plastic table with two chairs, a stove, and a small fridge which was unplugged. The living room was completely empty except for an old, wooden vitrine which displayed assorted utensils.

She turned on the tap on the kitchen sink, finding running water.

“Didn’t Master Fu leave almost a year ago?” Alya said, rejoining Marinette, who was inspecting the contents of the vitrine.

“Yes, why?”

“How come this house still has utilities, then?”

Marinette made a confused face.

“Somebody ought to be paying for them,” Alya explained.

“He left me a letter saying that I’d find everything I need here. Let’s check the upper floor.”

The stairs creaked as the girls climbed up to find a similar set up as they had found in the floor below: A narrow hall that led to a small bathroom and two rooms to the left of the hall.

They each found what Master Fu had meant: Each room was full to the brim with boxes upon boxes of books, documents, and all sorts of trinkets, no doubt related to his affairs as a Miraculous Guardian. Curious as she was, Alya got to work immediately, aggressively combing through each box and file, reading them thoroughly, and quickly developing a system to string the story together.

“You know, sometimes it amazes me that you never figured me out,” Marinette said with a bit of a smile as she lingered by the door. “I was winging it, at best. I’ll get onto the next room.”

Marinette took a bit longer to go through her boxes. She couldn’t help but be a bit overwhelmed sometimes, learning about Master Fu’s adventures or discovering some new piece of information about the Miraculous. It didn’t help that Alya would storm in excitedly every time she discovered something particularly interesting.

“Marinette!” she exclaimed incredulously from the other room, quickly rushing in holding a set of books. “Tell me you didn’t leave an entire grimoire set literally just chilling in this sketchy neighborhood for the good part of a year.”

Marinette widened her eyes, feeling her stomach drop and swearing under her breath. “Give ‘em to me,” she said. “I’ll take them.”

How was she supposed to know Fu had all this stuff lying around when he never got around actually telling her? Her resentment towards her mentor flared up but tried not to delve too long in it.

Hours passed, the girls making good progress on the boxes, when Alya came into Marinette’s room once again. “I found it,” she declared, holding a stack of papers. “It looks like he suspected he’d stop being the Guardian soon.” Alya placed her papers on a neat row in front of Marinette. “He left an automated billing account for the next five years and it looks like he owned this house. He left this sort of transposing document for you, but it comes into effect when you turn eighteen.”

Marinette felt her throat tangle in a knot. “Oh.”

“Do you need a moment?” Alya asked gently.

Marinette shook her head, swiftly wiping the tears that were pooling in her eyes. “No, please stay.”

The quiet was suddenly disturbed by Marinette’s buzzing phone. She muted it without looking at who had called.

“He meant for me to use this place,” Marinette said.

“It looks like it, yeah.”

Master Fu thought of everything, she thought, and brushed the cover of the book that she had been inspecting before Alya came in. It was a sort of instruction manual written by Fu, for her, that she hadn’t dare open yet. For the longest time she had thought Fu left her to her own devices, that he abandoned her to sort everything alone when in reality, he had left her a trail of hints. Memories and arrangements here and there that made Marinette feel as if he was still there, correcting her when she needed to, but also reminding her she was capable of doing this.

She sniffed, shook her head, and smiled. “Then in that case, we have a lot of work to do. Let’s get this place in order.”

------

Luka did not expect Marinette to be able to hang out with him that day. He didn’t need reminding that Marinette was a very busy person and he understood why. That didn’t mean he could help himself from feeling extremely disappointed when she didn’t even check her messages the entire day.

He had invited her to a picnic with his friends that came up spontaneously, but alas, she answered back around ten p.m., when he was already back.

“I’m so sorry, Luka!” she wrote, adding a sad emoticon.

“My parents hijacked me for the entire day, they have a big order to deliver tomorrow and they needed all hands on deck.”

Except he knew that wasn’t the truth. He had dropped by the bakery that day and her parents had told Luka Marinette left early that morning to help Alya with a project, but he suspected this had only been a cover for her to do something Ladybug-related.

“It’s okay, Mari. It wasn’t important or anything, just a picnic,” he wrote back, adding a smiling emoticon. “How was your day, though?”

Marinette only saw the first message, then responded to the second a good twenty minutes later.

“It was okay. Pretty boring, just making shortcakes the whole day. You?”

“It was okay, too. Just hung out with my friends.”

Marinette saw the message but replied nothing else.

She must be busy, Luka thought, forcing himself not to feel hurt. She’s just busy, she doesn’t mean to push you away.

And yet, he couldn’t help but to text her again. “Are we still on for the date on the weekend?”

He got a reply five minutes later. “Of course!” Marinette wrote with a beaming happy face. “I’m looking forward to it, I’m very excited.”

Luka smiled at the screen, excited to see she was typing again. “I have to go to bed now, though,” she added a yawning emoticon. “I’m completely dead. I’ll text you tomorrow!”

“Okay,” Luka wrote. “Good night!”

She didn’t see the last message. As he joined Juleka to watch T.V. he realized why: there had been an Akuma attack.

He sighed, for the first time ever feeling extremely irritated at the concept of Akumas.

-----

“Are we working on the hang out this weekend?” Alya asked casually as they took notes for one of Madame Bustier’s lessons. “I’m high-key super excited for it. I was thinking of using my allowance to make it look cute, you know?”

Marinette laughed. “You don’t have to do that, Alya.”

“I know,” she complained. “But it’s so cool that we can just chill there, I wanna make it cool.”

Marinette shook her head.

“At least let me buy some fairy lights and nice cushions.”

“If you must,” Marinette said, amused. “But I can’t work on it this weekend. I promised Luka I’d spend some time with him. I haven’t seen him this whole week,” she admitted guiltily as the bell rang marking the beginning of the weekend.

“Alright girl,” she said. “Tell me about how the date goes though!”

Marinette and Alya parted ways with Marinette hurrying to her house to get ready for her date with Luka, who had asked to meet in the ship.

She didn’t expect their date to be one of their regular hangouts at the ship, so she anticipated by wearing slightly nicer clothes than usual. Still, it took her by complete surprise when she arrived and found that Luka had set up a dinner table with a beautiful flower bouquet at the center. Not only that, but he had asked his mom to teach him how to bake a quiche for her.

“Oh my gosh, Luka!” she said, unable to fight off the blush that crept on her cheeks. “It’s so beautiful! You didn’t have to!”

He shrugged, blushing himself. “I thought to do something nice since we hadn’t seen each other in a while. Do you like it?”

“Yes!” she beamed as she took a seat.

It had not been ten minutes since Marinette arrived when some sort of commotion in the distance interrupted the quiet evening, no doubt because of an Akuma. Luka sighed, doing his best to hide his reaction. As he expected, Marinette excused herself to the bathroom, leaving him to eat dinner alone.

“Please let’s make this quick, Chat,” Ladybug said as she rushed into the scene to battle the Akuma that currently destroyed the eleventh Arrondisement.

“Caught you in a bad time, LB?” Chat Noir said with a bit of a smirk as he evaded the Akuma’s attacks.

“You have no idea,” Ladybug said with dread.

It was luckily one of the faster Akumas, and even though Ladybug’s train of thought was focused on rushing back to the Couffaine ship as fast as possible, Chat Noir’s unusual meek demeanor did not escape her attention. Suddenly, it dawned on her that they had been postponing their Guardian training sessions for almost a month now–with everything going on Marinette’s life, and also Chat Noir’s, she realized the last time she had seen him was for Kagami Tsurugi’s Akuma.

“Hey, you doing okay?” Ladybug said.

“Huh?”

“You seem a bit out of it.”

Chat Noir gave him a pressed smile and shrugged. “Nah, I’m fine… It’s okay, we’re about to detransform.”

“Chat…” Ladybug reached for his shoulder. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing important. I, uh, I broke up with my girlfriend last week.”

“Oh…” she said with a sad gasp. “Oh no, Chat. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he admitted with a pained smile. “I’m the one that broke it off, actually. But I still feel bad about it.”

Ladybug sighed and squeezed his shoulder. “Let’s recharge and we can talk about it.”

A macaron and a slice of cheese later, they reconvened in an indistinct rooftop, looking as the sun set, lighting up the Parisian landscape.

“So, what happened?”

“I just… I realized I don’t love her. I love someone else,” he said, looking down. “I couldn’t do that to her, lie to her like that.”

The silence that settled suddenly made him look up with panic. “It’s not you,” he hurried to say. “It wasn’t because of you. It’s this girl… This girl in my class. It just sucks in general,” he continued. “I– her… She’s with someone, this other girl. And apparently she had this huge crush on me before, but it went over my head because I’m an idiot and also because… well, because I was… Because I thought I was in love with you.”

She knew what he meant, and yet Ladybug couldn’t help but feel wounded by the way Chat Noir phrased it. She played it down, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

“Oh…” she finally mumbled, then cleared her throat. “Well, if it’s any use to you, I think you did the right thing, even if you can’t be with the other girl.”

“I know,” Chat admitted sadly. “It just sucks that I couldn’t see it before.”

Ladybug swallowed the knot in her throat. “It gets better,” she said. “Trust me, I speak from experience.”

Chat looked up at her with an intrigued expression.

“I, uh, I had something similar happen to me,” she confessed, a light blush creeping under the mask. “Except I was the one crushing on the guy and he started going out with this girl before I ever gathered the courage to tell him how I felt. I never did anything about it because I was too scared he would turn me down. It’s hard to be honest sometimes, but you did the right thing, Chat.”

“Thanks, Bug.”

The bells of a nearby church roared, announcing the passing of the hour, suddenly bringing Ladybug back into context.

“Shoot! I need to run, Chat.”

“It’s okay,” he said, reassuring her with a smile. “We can meet for Guardian training after the Wednesday patrol, if you’re not busy.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Ladybug,” said Chat, preventing from taking off. “For what it’s worth, I think you should still tell the guy how you feel. Like you say, it’s better to just be honest.”

She gave him half a smile. “Thanks, Chat,” she said, then quickly swinging out of the picture.

Back at the ship, Marinette’s nerves were in a wreck as she came out of the bathroom to rejoin Luka, desperately trying to figure out what could she possibly use an excuse.

“Everything alright?” Luka said as she rejoined the table.

“Yeah…” It was evident she was trying to come up with an excuse. “I, uh… Alya called me. She had a fight with Nino. Sorry I took so long.”

“No problem,” Luka said, with a sunny disposition. “Well, the food’s cold now, but I can reheat it if you give me a second.”

“Oh, it’s okay, you don’t have to do that.”

“It’s no problem, Mari.”

Luka went into the ship and resurfaced a few minutes later with the food. He took a second serving so that Marinette wouldn’t be eating alone.

“Are you okay, Mari?” Luka said, noticing how fidgety she was, shifting uncomfortably in her seat and looking away into the rooftop along the Seine.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine,” she said smiling. “The quiche’s delicious, by the way.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

A silence of the uncomfortable kind settled between them, Luka noticed, making him uncomfortable as well. “And, uh, what have you been up to this week?”

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Marinette replied. “Just school, the bakery, and uh…”

“The macaron mafia,” Luka said with a bit of a smirk.

“Yeah,” she piped.

“How is that going?”

“It’s okay,” Marinette replied, giving no further explanation.

Luka felt desperation and frustration at both of them slowly starting to creep inside him. He wanted to tell her more than anything that he knew, and that she didn’t have to keep lying to him, that he understood. But then, on the other hand, he was scared that she might leave. What if she just didn’t want him to know? He didn’t want to throw their relationship away just because he couldn’t get used to her double life.

The air between them got fortunately lighter when Juleka and Rose came back from their date in the city and joined them at the table. Judging by the way Marinette’s disposition changed when the girls arrived, he couldn’t help but be a little uneasy.

That night after Marinette left, Luka found it hard to sleep. He stared at the roof of his room in complete contemplation. He knew that the only way out of this situation was to be honest with her and to tell her what he knew.

In his defense, he tried. He did try. But as he quickly came to realize shortly after they started dating, Marinette had very little free time. Actually, the times that they had hung out before they got together, which were also not too many when one really counted, were as much time as she could ever spend with him. This resulted in him coming with date after date where his end goal would be to confess to her, to only be interrupted by Akumas.

And so, he found himself in the most recent of his failed attempts, taking cover yet again in an alley next to a trash container after an Akuma interrupted one of their dates. This time he made a point of keeping track of the time so that he could come out when Marinette was ready.

As luck would have it, he heard someone land somewhere along the alley after the battle seemed to be over. His heart raced, feeling opportunity beckon him to come out. This was as good a moment as any. It was better this way, to hell with a meticulously planned conversation.

Luka poked his head ready to call Ladybug’s attention, when he found Chat Noir with his back facing him, transforming into none other than Adrien Agreste.

He had the sense to crouch back into his hiding place before shock seized him.

After what felt like minutes, his phone went off with notification after notification. He picked it up, noticing it had been an hour since the Akuma ended. It was Marinette. She was worried.

His hands trembled as he replied to her messages. “Hey Mari. I got hit by the Akuma and I ended up on the other side of the city. My phone died and I had to go into a store to charge it, sorry.”

“That’s okay, are you okay? Where are you? I can meet you in a bit.”

“Don’t worry. It’s way too far, I’m in the first Arrondisement. I’m sorry to ditch you, but can we raincheck? I feel a bit woozy after the Akuma.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to meet you? I can take a cab and take you home.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m okay. I just need some fresh air and a nap.” He added a smiley face for good measure.

“Alright,” Marinette replied. “Take care. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

He waited to see if she’d keep writing before he turned his phone off. He hugged his knees and let out the sob he had been holding in for the past hour.

He had so many questions, all rushing and battling for his attention. Did either of them know? No, it didn’t make sense. Adrien would have never dated Kagami if he knew, and though he wanted to think Marinette would still be with him if she knew Adrien’s secret, Luka knew that was wishful thinking. It just didn’t make sense. Unless… Unless they knew and them dating other people was just a facade to protect their identities. But Marinette wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t–she was a good person. Right? Marinette wouldn’t lie to him. And yet, as of late, that’s all she did.

------

Ladybug had to admit, she was very impressed with Chat Noir. She didn’t know what came over him, but in the last few months it felt as if he had gone through some sort of metamorphosis. It was not to say that Chat Noir had lost that, well, that Chat Noir flare but there was something different about him. He was always punctual to their meetings, was level-headed in Akuma battles, and took his training seriously. He showed Ladybug the notebook he kept with all his notes from his Guardian lessons with her, and to her surprised, were neatly organized and jotted down with a clean handwriting she could swear she had seen somewhere. Not only he had been quick to pick up everything Ladybug had to teach him, but he went above and beyond to expand on her knowledge, and this also applied to their hunt for Hawkmoth.

“I have something for you,” he confessed one of such nights where he had been showing her his progress on his studies, much to Ladybug’s satisfaction.

“Oh?” she said, with an intrigued smile.

Chat Noir reached into the rucksack he usually brought to Guardian training and produced a pair of cellphones. “Burner phones,” he explained. “They don’t have cellular data; we can only send messages and call each other. I thought it would be useful if we can communicate whenever we need to.”

“Oh, Chat…” she said gingerly picking the unassuming little brick.

“Is it too much? I thought since you’re okay with the whole identity thing you might be okay with the phones, but if it’s too much you can just say the word and I–”

“Chaton, not so fast,” she said giggling. “It’s okay. I think it’s a great idea. I, uh… was just going to say I can’t really pay \a phone plan. I don’t have that big of an allowance.”

“That’s not a problem,” he said brightly. “I already took care of that. All you need to do is keep it charged. They run with prepaid cards, for more anonymity. I’ll get new ones when we run out of the credit they already have.”

“Chat, no. I really wouldn’t feel–”

“I insist. It’s really not a problem.”

Ladybug arched a teasing eyebrow. “Are you rich or something?”

Chat Noir smirked at her. “Maybe.”

“Is that a hint? Are you really rich? One of those obnoxiously posh kids? Oh no. This makes so much sense. You must be one of those insufferable private school guys. Are you like a real-life Bruce Wayne?”

“No,” he said, laughing. “Besides Bruce Wayne has no powers. I happen to have two.”

“Two?”

“The ring and my devilishly good looks.”

“Ugh,” Ladybug groaned, nonetheless laughing.

“Wait, that’s not all I wanted to tell you,” said Chat. “I, uh… was thinking.”

Ladybug’s stomach dropped with anxious anticipation. “About what.”

“I think… I mean, I’m not ready. But, uh, I just concluded that I thought you should know. I… I think I’m okay with us knowing each other’s identity. Eventually. Just… not now. Also, I–I think I’m ready to see this place you told me Master Fu left for us.”

Ladybug beamed with happiness, unable to help herself from pulling Chat Noir into a hug. “Chat that’s great!”

She hugged him, effectively causing him to blush and lose a bit of his focus. He gently pried her off him after he returned the hug.

“It’s not an identity reveal but–”

“You don’t have to justify yourself, Chat. It’s okay. I understand. When do you want to go to the hide-out?”

“I mean, if you have time right now…”

“Of course!”

Ladybug led Chat Noir to the neighborhood where the hide out was. In the dead of the night, there weren’t people out in the street.

“This is the neighborhood?” Chat said.

“Yes, why?” Ladybug said producing the key to the house from her yoyo.

“No reason. It’s just this is one of the sketchier neighborhoods. You know this map I’m working on that I told you about” he explained. “You get more regular crime here than Akuma-related.”

“My ”support group“ said the same,” Ladybug said as she opened the door. She picked up a flashlight Alya and her usually left by the door.

“There’s no light?”

“I don’t want to call attention with us wearing the transformations. You never know who might be watching.”

“Good point.” He walked around the house using his night vision to make out where everything was. “Maybe I can get a few furniture pieces for this place,” he commented. “Like a proper table and some chairs, and some kitchen utensils in case we ever need the kitchen.”

Ladybug was glad for the darkness because it made it easier to hide away her flustering. As much as she tried to deny it to herself, Chat always caught her attention when he took the lead. She shook her head and expertly pushed away the feeling,  aided by the thought of her boyfriend. Don't you even dare, you thankless heathen, she thought to herself and focused back on Chat's ranting.

“Maybe we can also get a safe in case you keep anything valuable here. And we have to change this lock. I don’t trust the locks in old buildings, we need a smart one and security cameras and–”

“Minou,” she said chuckling. “You’re literally just like my friend. I appreciate you’re exited to contribute, but where in the hell are we going to get the money for a freaking security system?”

“Leave it to me,” he said. Ladybug didn’t need to properly see to know he had his shit-eating grin on.

“I– Of course, I forgot you’re a rich kid.”

Chat laughed. “Sorry, I got carried away. But still, don’t you worry, LB. If you need anything for this place, just let me know.”

They went to the upper floor, the main attraction at least as far as Ladybug was concerned. She was pretty proud of the progress that Alya and her had made so far. They had managed to buy a few second-hand shelves for all the documents Master Fu had left and had a library of sorts.

Chat Noir went through some of the volumes until something caught his attention. It was a scanned copy with some notes on it, perhaps something Master Fu had been working on, but it was decidedly something he had seen before and had never connected the dots for. Not at least until then.

It was a page describing the powers of the Peacock Miraculous, and as any good encyclopedia, it had a picture of a brooch. The same brooch he had found in his father’s safe with the book–the grimoire, Chat would later learn that’s what it was.

A cold shiver ran through his spine.

Mayura was Hawkmoth’s sidekick. Natalie was his father’s assistant.

[ohlookamiraculousblog]

The Great Hair Dared

Chapter 1 – Dares. Focused on Hairs.

“Since TECHNICALLY Alix never won the race,” (everyone’s brain simultaneously: since she kind of tried to murder everyone over a watch), “then TECHNICALLY I don’t have to stop giving out dares!” Kim claimed triumphantly.

Alix couldn’t deny it, she hadn’t raced him

‘Or rather couldn’t remember racing him the one time she did, but that didn’t count because, well, breaking time and all.’ Marinette’s brain reminded her as she casually eavesdropped. It’s not that the story Alya was telling wasn’t interesting, but she had heard three times this morning of how Ladybug roundhouse kicked the last akuma.

The classwide outcry of groans was swiftly suppressed when Kim yelled out, “SO ADRIEN AGRESTE.” Invoking four heads to pop up and look back at Kim’s seat. “I challenge you to a dare!”

All eyes turned anxiously to a blonde-haired-green-eyed boy. An unamused glare glazed Adrien’s eyes and an annoyed sag fell over his shoulders. “What is it this time?”

“Hmm, honestly I’ve gotten bored with picking them. I think someone else should decide the dare.” And a genuinely thoughtful gaze crossed over the class. Scanning over he chanted, “No. No. Nuh-uh. No. Nah. Nope.” His eyes stopped on Alya first, “mmmmnnnoooooooo”

While Kim wasn’t afraid of much save spiders (which is fair) but he didn’t want to chance a dare coming from THAT mind.

His eyes quickly snapped to Marinette. He pointed, lurching forward in the motion.

“You!”

“Me?!”

“Yeah you! You’re gonna choose what the dare is.”

It didn’t bother Marinette, in fact she might even be able to help out Adrien. She shrugged, “ok I don’t min-”

“AND you have to be in on the stakes as well!”

A chorus of “ooooooh"s flooded the classroom. In an instant, the class had quite sharply turned on Marinette, if they’re enthusiasm was anything to go by. Soon the whole room was buzzing with excitement, Adrien himself included.

He had faith in her, Marinette couldn’t possibly let him down!

'WHAT?! Okay hold up Marinette think, think! THINK!!’ Marinette visibly struggled to come up with the perfect dare. She puckered her lips and looked from the ceiling to the floor as though she would physically find the answer.

It had to be something that Kim could never be able to do, and that Adrien and Marinette could breeze through. Mathematics came to mind, and while it wasn’t her strongest suit, Adrien had it down to a science. (literally)

But she couldn’t do that, no matter what the stakes, she couldn’t embarrass Kim like that. Yeah he could be obnoxious, but just because he preferred sports over studying didn’t give her a reason to humiliate him she decided.

Mulling it over further was put to a halt as Miss Bustier walked in and instructed them all to sit down.

She had time now, she had a chance to think.

And think she did, over the entire class period. Alya, knowingly, began writing up a second set of notes. She knew better than anyone that once Marinette was on a mission, not hell or high waters would stop her.

'Especially since this mission involved 'saving’ her beloved Prince Charming’ Alya inwardly giggled.

In the meantime, Adrien couldn’t help the occasional humming sound from behind him. Sometimes he would hear her whine lightly, he took note that there was a positive whine as well as a negative whine.

The positive whine was hopeful almost, as though she were saying, "yeah that might work!”

Mostly they would immediately be followed by a negative whine though. It was lower pitched, monotone, only a second or two long, and the piano portion of his brain told him it was a C sharp.

He tried to take notes, honestly! But the moment he saw Nino taking a second set he gave up. He resigned himself to taking mental notes.

Of the sounds he heard.

Coming from behind him.

Until finally he heard a gasp. She just had an epiphany, he just knew it. 'Double underline THAT noise in my memory.’

Now he had to wait.

It was horrible, waiting till the bell rang. 15 mins felt like another 6 hours. When the bell finally did ring, he had been sitting there for almost almost 36 hours.

As soon as the bell rang every student in the room turned towards Marinette.

Marinette stood reverently to address Kim. “I have decided.”

The silence stiffened in the room. All the students stared, paying much more attention than they had to the lecture not even a minute before. Marinette took a breath and spoke again, “instead of a dare, how about a bet?”

Kim’s face immediately scrunched up, “Ehhhhh…” he started.

“Now hold on! You chose me to pick the dare, so listen up!” Kim sat straight back down from where he had begun to stand in protest.

“They’re having that fireworks display by the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night, and I have it on good authority that Ladybug and Chat Noir will be there together.”

'What? I didn’t know that!’ Thought both Adrien and Alya. Both felt rather scandalized, although for very different reasons.

“Kim, you think they should get together don’t you?” Marinette continued, blissfully unaware of the two whirlpools of thoughts swirling behind her.

“You mean do I ship LadyNoir? Yeah of course!” To which a majority of the class nodded or hummed in agreement.

Miss Bustier was fascinated, here they were sitting and discussing like normal humans. It was so very different from class time, which could, at times, be rather frustrating. She couldn’t bring herself to break them up, so they continued on without interruption.

“Well, if you’re so certain that they’ll be together, it would stand to reason they would be on a date when they go to see fireworks.”

“I still don’t see what your point is Marinette.” Kim stated, balking at this lame idea.

“What if they kiss?” She stated simply.

It was quiet at first, but she heard it behind his voice. The intrigue.

“What?”

“You heard me,” she sassed, “I don’t think they’ll kiss. But if you’re SO certain that 'LadyNoir’” she mimicked, using air quotes to add to the teasing, “is legit, then if they kiss, you win.”

She already saw it in his excited eyes, she had one this. It was in the bag for her this time around. Was it cheating? Yes. But Kim never said she couldn’t bet on something she had direct control over!

As Kim’s eyes widened, Adrien’s shot to the floor. He suddenly had a battle of desires before him. In the unlikely case that Ladybug DID go, he now couldn’t even try to kiss her.

In Paris.

Under the Eiffel Tower.

While literal sparks went off around them.

This was going to be a difficult bet for him.

Even though he technically had control over his actions, he knew himself better than that. If his Lady allowed him, he wouldn’t think twice about losing some silly bet. Speaking of which, what were the stakes?

As if on cue, Kim spoke up. “Alright, fine. If I lose, I’ll shave my head.” This solicited a gasp from the class, everyone knew Kim adored his hair. “But if Ladybug and Chat Noir kiss, YOU have to get your hair cut like mine,” he directed towards Adrien, “and YOU have to get a pixie cut!” He said pointing to Marinette, yet winking towards Adrien, who suddenly sported a blush.

The whole room burst into excitement. Marinette’s logical side noted that that oddly enough the guys seemed to like the idea of a hairstyle change more than the girls.

The rest of her brain freaked.

Marinette squeaked. “W-what! That’s mental! That’s-” and she stopped short when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

Adrien looked, piercing her eyes with a shy smile before turning to Kim. “Give us a minute would you?”

With an approving nod from the athlete, Adrien led Marinette into the barren hallway. He knew exactly what this was about. ——— Earlier that day, the guys at P.E. (Kim included) had been talking about this very thing.

“Dude, pixie cuts are the cutest thing. You have to admit it man!” Nino proclaimed. All the guys hushed him so the girls weren’t alerted to their “scandalous” conversation. At least in the mind of 15 year old boys it was scandalous.

Kim was the first to agree, “oh yeah! I bet if anyone would go for that, it’d be Juleka.” Followed by sounds of agreement.

“She does seem that type.” Max added on.

Nathanael surprisingly was next to speak, “what about Rose? She basically already has one right?”

“No,” Max objected. “I believe we’re speaking strictly of girls with long hair, as well as a buzz cut.”

“Well, who else would look good with that hair? I know Alya wouldn’t.” Kim continued.

“Hey!!”

“Oh come on Nino, I didn’t mean like that. Just that the pixie cut wouldn’t work.”

“Mmmm. Fine.” Nino begrudgingly replied. “Okay here’s how I see it. Alix and Juleka would look good with it. Any other girl is a no go.”

Adrien finally spoke up. “What about Marinette?”

All the guys looked at him, non-verbally demanding him to defend his choice. “W-well I mean, not with pigtails obviously. More like…if she let her hair down and maybe a bit longer?” He slowly relaxed as each boy contemplated the idea. Each mind picturing a raven haired girl with about a third or maybe even half of her hair buzzed short.

“I think it’d look pretty good.” Ivan said breaking into everyone’s thoughts.

Kim finalized it. “Well, we all know Ivan isn’t biased for Marinette since he’s with Myléne.”

But before they could continue, Alya attacked. Poor Nino never saw it coming. Jumping onto his back with grace Adrien had never seen from her before, Nino was forced to stagger forward. Her arrival promptly ended the discussion.

—— “Marinette, we’re gonna take him up on it.”

“WHAT?! Except that I like my hair, Adrien!” Her panic and anger at the idea of losing her hair managed to overwhelm any thoughts of stuttering in front of Adrien.

“But has Ladybug EVER showed interest in Chat Noir?”

Marinette was taken aback at the very idea she would betray her precious Adrien like that. “She most certainly has not!” Both of them were giving a little more info than they should’ve known, but since they both knew it, they assumed it as common knowledge.

“Then what’s the problem?” Adrien reached out and Marinette felt a supportive and calming pressure hooked around her wrist. “LadyNoir won’t happen.” Adrien gave a sharp and dark glance to the ground and after a beat of silence, came back at her eyes with the same model smile she had seen plastered to street signs. “Then Kim has to shave his head! Surely he’d cool it with the dares after that.”

Marinette began to untense her shoulders, 'As much as Adrien doesn’t realize it, he has a point. Ladybug won’t kiss Chat Noir.’ (he did realize this)

'I’ll make sure of it!’

Inhale. Exhale. “You’re right, I’m getting worked up over nothing.” And as she brought her lips up into a reassuring smile, it dawned on her who was still holding her wrist.

Luckily Adrien already started dragging her into the classroom, so he didn’t hear the loud yelp echo through the courtyard.